#I am choosing to focus exclusively on how many nice hands moments there were in the episode

[littleragondin]

Back at it again with the hands for episode 4 („• ֊ •„)

Other sets in the Hands Series: Ep.1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

[forsakenoathkeeper]

I Am Alive (chapter 10/?)

Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content

Please support me on AO3 & thanks for reading ♥

The following morning, you were called into the police station to finalize the documents from yesterday's investigation. All they needed was a pen and ink signature.

Connor had been in conversation with another detective when you walked in; so, you decided not to bother him.

On your way out, you spotted Connor seated across from Hank. At first, you thought he was lost in his computer screen; however, he spun around to greet you as you approached, rising to his feet with a smile.

"Do you have eyes in the back of your head?" you teased.

"I do not. I saw the documents register to the case and knew you were finished," he answered, a little robotically. His tone didn't quite match the soft look on his face.

You stepped in a little closer, looking up at him with expecting eyes.

"I-" Connor cleared his throat. "-was unsure if you were alright with public displays of a-"

You reached for his tie, slid your fingers around the smooth velvet right above the clip, and gave a light tug. It forced Connor to bend down, just a little bit, and brought his mouth within range for yours.

You closed your eyes and leaned into the kiss with a smile, silencing him. He reciprocated, gently, closing his own eyes. It lasted barely a second and was hardly anything compared to what you had done last night; but, it left your tummy swarming with butterflies.

People could see.

Connor's coworkers could see.

Good.

"Ah, geez," Hank grimaced, rising to his feet. "Get a room."

You parted from Connor with a little giggle. When you released Connor's tie, he fixed it promptly, though it had hardly moved at all. It was impossible to miss the adorable, dorky smile he was trying not to wear.

"Damn kids," Hank grumbled as he walked away, coffee cup in hand.

"Are you heading back to work?" Connor asked softly, still standing close.

"Yeah, I better get back there before they have a kitten..." you trailed off when Connor's gaze shifted away from you and looked over your shoulder. The soft look in his eyes vanished, replaced with something cold.

"It's nice to see you again, detective."

You rotated around, following Connor's gaze.

This man's face had once been plastered over every magazine cover for business, wealth, and technology. Anyone who knew even a little bit about androids knew who he was: piercing blue eyes, a strong jawline, dressed impeccably.

Elijah Kamski, the inventor of androids. Two men were standing nearby, dressed as sharply as he was: lawyers, most likely.

"What are you doing here?" Connor asked. His cold tone didn't go unnoticed. It actually startled you a little.

Elijah was Connor's creator, even if he hadn't been working at Cyberlife at the time of Connor's inception. Some hostility was to be expected; but, somehow you doubted it was that simple. It sounded like Connor had history with Elijah.

"I've been asked to answer questions about Charles Reaves," he answered, seemingly uninterested in the whole thing. "I'm not entirely surprised to see you here - comfort zones, and all."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I enjoy being a detective," Connor replied, not bothering to mask his irritation. When Connor spoke was when you realized how close he was standing beside you. You could practically feel his voice modulator rumbling against you.

Something about Elijah really bothered him.

"Of course," Elijah replied. His eyes landed on you. "-and who might you be?"

You gave your name, followed with, "I'm an artificial biomechanical engineer."

"A fancy way of saying you work on androids. Wonderful. I haven't gotten to spend time with someone of a similar profession in a long time," Elijah replied, sounding oddly sincere. You doubted that your professions were anything similar.

You extended your hand, offering it to Elijah out of common courtesy. However, when Elijah reached for you, another hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Connor's hand.

Your eyes shot up to the android, surprised by his actions. His LED was a strong yellow and his eyes were sharp, almost glaring at the man across from him. Elijah didn't seem at all bothered. In fact, he let out an amused laugh and started to smile.

He pulled his hand back and Connor let go.

"I thought you told me what you wanted wasn't important?" he stated, more so than asked, voice low, ensuring that others in the crowded room wouldn't be able to hear. It was clear that he was challenging Connor.

Your eyes moved back to Elijah, confusion heavy in your glance. His icy blue eyes shifted back to you for a second and then back up to Connor's fierce brown orbs. The implication made you nervous.

"You've changed," Elijah stated, sounding pleased by the discovery.

There was a retort ready to leave Connor's throat. He was interrupted, however.

"If you're done dicking off, Connor, there's work to be done," Fowler called out to him from the steps right outside his office.

Connor looked over his shoulder and gave his superior a curt nod.

"I better go," he said, rotating back around to look down at you.

When your eyes caught Connor's, it was suddenly easy to ignore Elijah, who was still standing there.

"Go catch some baddies," you replied, encouragingly.

Something danced behind Connor's eyes and his LED eased back to blue. You thought he was going to swoop down and steal a kiss; but, he didn't, turning away and walking past Elijah. He glanced at him briefly, a warning as he passed by, before disappearing into the precinct.

"Mr. Kamski we must-" one of Elijah's lawyers tried catching his attention.

Elijah lifted his hand, harmless, but arrogant, and the lawyer immediately stopped talking.

"I was hoping I could talk to you, actually?" he asked you, voice polite, sincere.

"I appreciate the interest, Mr. Kamski. But, I promise I'm not interesting," you replied stoically.

"I disagree," he replied with a quiet laugh. "You are an item with an android. I find that very interesting." It was kind of scary, really, how charming Elijah sounded. He sounded like he really meant it. "Please, humor me for a bit. If there's anything I can do for you in return...?"

You blurted the first thing that came to mind, doubting Elijah would ever consider it. "With the protests - lots of androids are afraid to look for help and supplies are limited as it is with Cyberlife's shutdown."

The corner of Elijah's lip curled slightly. "You want to help them?"

"Yes," you replied firmly. "I want parts for repairs - thirium pump regulators, memory units - things that are hard to get."

"That can be arranged."

"How do I know you're good for it?" you dared to ask.

Elijah laughed quietly, briefly. "I suppose you'll just have to trust me."

You briefly pondered exactly what the hell this man was planning on asking you. He was a millionaire, a super genius who created artificial intelligence and fully operational android skeletons.

You just repaired them. What could he possibly want to talk to you about?

Your thoughts wandered to Markus and Simon, and the many androids that were potentially going without repairs. Even if they couldn't feel pain, they didn't deserve to be broken, to be unable to speak, or hear, or see, or walk.

"Okay," you replied lowly. "I'll humor you."

Elijah nodded with a smile. "It wasn't too cold today. May we?"

He gestured to the hallway that led to the main entrance. You led the way, walking past him and heading for the grounds.

Elijah was right. The weather outside wasn't too bad. The air was crisp and chilly, but not unbearable. You were doing just fine in your jacket. Clouds were looming in the distance; but, they weren't going to make it before you were done.

The courtyard outside the station wasn't particularly impressive, but it was empty, and you and Elijah fit just fine on one of the benches.

For a moment, Elijah's focus was elsewhere. He seemed to be thinking, trying to decide where he wanted to begin. You felt small seated next to him.

Without taking a break or skipping a beat, Elijah asked, "are your desires because of what he is or in spite of it?"

"You want to talk to me about my relationship with Connor?" you blurted, surprised. You met Elijah's gaze uneasily.

He didn't budge. His expression suggested that he didn't see it as strange in the slightest. It wasn't what you were expecting. Then again, Elijah Kamski was one of the leaders of android inception. He was their creator, almost exclusively.

You were sitting with the man who made Connor's life possible.

That thought struck you like a hand across the face.

"I do," Elijah answered.

"I-..." you stuttered.

The obvious answer was on the tip of your tongue. But, was it the truth? You loved the android parts of him: the way his LED shimmered with emotion, the quirks of an android learning to adapt to human society, the unique way he talked, how powerful he was, the beautiful construction of his body, inside and out.

But, you also loved the parts of him that were not dictated by what he was: his kindness, his passion, his curiosity.

"Android or human isn't the point. I'm with Connor because I want to be - because I like who he is, regardless of the what."

"I see," Elijah replied softly. Something in the way he said that suggested he didn't quite believe you.

You frowned at him, but decided against arguing with him. It wouldn't have been entirely in good faith. You knew that your feelings for Connor were physical, too: both the android aspects and the parts that imitated a human.

"Why did you choose to be an engineer - specifically for androids?" Elijah asked. "It's a fairly new profession, for obvious reasons, and you're very young."

Elijah couldn't have been more than 40 years old, if you recalled correctly from the countless essays you had to write in college. He wasn't that much older than you. Yet, somehow, he managed to make you feel like a child.

You doubted the inventor of androids would be alarmed by your answer.

"Because I don't like people," you answered plainly.

If anything, he liked that answer. Through a smile, Elijah replied, "are they not people?"

Once upon a time, you weren't so sure. But, then, you saw their suffering, had been suffocated by the fear in their eyes. You saw them plead and beg for help. You had seen androids, designed with very clear instructions, offer unnecessary kindness that most humans never did.

"They're better," you spat back.

"Logic and reason above feelings?" he asked.

"They do feel," you challenged.

"How can you know for certain?" Elijah tilted is head a little, suspicion in his tone more so than doubt. It sounded like he was trying to plant a seed of distrust. "How do you know that androids are capable of real emotions and not just imitating what they've seen?"

"Humans are capable of the same fucking thing," you snarled. "Pretending to give a shit when they don't. When an android does it, it's programming. When a human does it, it's just fucking normal, right? What difference does it make?"

Elijah's eyes burned brightly, admiring the passion in your voice.

"What are you getting at, anyway?" you added on sharply.

"I made androids to make our lives better: they care for our children, our elderly, grow our food, do dangerous jobs, protect us... and fuck us."

You had read lots of articles about Elijah Kamski, saw many news outlets cover him. He had proclaimed many times that he designed androids to make everyone's lives better. He promised they were not capable of thought beyond their instructions.

"Many debate their intentions. If they can choose beyond their programming," Elijah continued, as if he had read your mind. Or, maybe, you just knew where he was going with this.

"Deviancy," you observed.

You looked away from Elijah, losing the tolerance for the ways his eyes burned into yours.

"Androids are perfect: beautiful, strong, compa-"

"Are you wanting me to tell you that I have a robot kink?"

Elijah huffed out laughter, brief and quiet.

"I won't pretend that Connor's not so beautiful that it fucking hurts," you whispered harshly, feeling ashamed. You dragged a heavy hand through your hair. "But that's not all. He's kind. He wants to protect people: androids and humans. He doesn't see it as their side and our side. He-... He's different. The way he sees the world, I want to see it, too."

"Maybe, then, you see why I'm fascinated by you," Elijah stated, standing up. Your eyes followed him, and you realized he was just casually stretching.

"Why do you find this so strange? Two people who want to be together - what's so weird about that?"

Elijah turned around, hands buried in his coat pockets.

"One was born twenty-something years ago. One was made in a factory a little over a year ago," Elijah answered casually.

"You don't think I've thought about that?" you asked him sharply. "That I haven't fought myself over whether or not this is right?"

Elijah didn't seem bothered by your moral dilemma.

"I'm sure you're well aware that all androids process at a faster rate than humans. They awake capable of comprehending things the average adult can... and then some. Your moral dilemma is pointless. I know they will bring humanity to places we couldn't even imagine..."

"-but you're fascinated with whether or not they can love," you deadpanned.

"I'm fascinated with love between an android and a human," he answered.

There was something unspoken in that observation. You wanted to ask him if he loved his creations, if he cared about their well-being. Elijah had been pretty careful to make no statements during the revolution, oddly enough.

"This couldn't possibly be worth your time, or money, Mr. Kamski," you uttered, suddenly sounding quite tired.

He chuckled sincerely. "Just look at it as... humoring someone who gained everything and... lost everything."

Another statement with something unspoken beneath. Did he mean Cyberlife? Elijah had departed from the company of his volition, if the news was to be believed. Maybe he experienced a moral dilemma. Or, maybe, if Charles Reaves was anything to go by, a difference in opinions.

"Before..." you began, deciding to take a gamble. "-when I first went to school for androids. I just thought they were interesting. Like spending company with humans without all the bullshit. I didn't think... they actually... felt anything."

You paused and let out a heavy sigh. It brought shame to you, admitting this. You thought about Connor, about Markus, about the many androids that came in and out of the clinic on a daily basis.

"My first job, I repaired manufacturing androids. These guys came in with their arms hacked to bits, covered in dents, legs falling off, torsos torn in two, singed and burnt to a crisp. Any job that risked injury, that's what they did."

You dragged a heavy hand through your hair. "Some of them were really afraid they were going to die."

You paused when you failed to suppress a sniffle and hastily wiped your tears on your sleeve. "I realized... I was wrong. I wasn't an engineer; I was a nurse... But, no one else saw them that way. Until-... The deviant uprising and I - I wanted to do something I was proud of for a change."

Elijah turned back around to face you, his expression unreadable. He was quiet, taking in the sight of you, seemingly touched by your empathy.

You wiped your tears away hastily and added on gruffly, "-and then I met Connor and now you're here asking me these fucking questions."

Elijah smiled again, his lip twisted like he didn't want to laugh.

"You're a liar, by the way," you accused, changing the subject.

Elijah didn't look offended, but intrigued.

"You said they can't develop consciousness or desires," you explained, remembering his speech quite well because you had to write about it.

You expected Elijah to say something about your accusation. You doubted he would defend himself, maybe dance around the subject, since that seemed to be his preferred method.

"You would know all about that," he stated, amused.

Before you could reply, Elijah continued. "I know this all seems pointless to you; but, I'm glad I met you. You put me at ease."

You frowned at Elijah's statement. "I don't see how: we did all this talking and nothing came of it."

His expression changed. He looked understanding, maybe even sympathetic.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm not always direct... The world's more interesting when there's questions needing answers. I wanted to see what became of the RK800; but, I didn't expect you."

You had a feeling you were blushing, being spoken about in this manner.

"His purpose is unique: an android designed to hunt deviants. If his blueprints had never been destroyed, maybe they could have made one incapable of deviancy: would have been the perfect soldier."

You stiffened when you heard Elijah's claim.

Connor was designed to-... what?

You didn't want Elijah to think this was news to you.

"His blueprints?" you uttered.

"Yes. Connor is-" Elijah answered lowly. "-the last of his series."

Talking about Connor like this stirred up unpleasant feelings in your gut.

"He is different from any other android," Elijah explained. When you looked up at him, you could see something akin to sadness in his eyes. "How isolating the world must be when you were made to hunt your own kind."

Connor wasn't alone. He had Hank. He had you-

But, this wasn't about you, or humans for that matter. This was about Connor. You had never seen him spend time with other androids, or with anyone besides Hank. He always drowned himself in his job. Maybe, Connor was lonely, and you had been too busy keeping him to yourself to notice.

"Fuck-" You wiped your eyes again and swallowed a whimper.

"I'm sorry for bringing you to tears," Elijah apologized. He sounded like he meant it. "Making you upset wasn't my intention."

Elijah was quiet for a moment, giving you a chance to calm yourself down.

"I'm afraid I've avoided at least ten phone calls during our conversation..." Elijah pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and eyed it grossly. "If we never meet again, I want you know that I valued this conversation dearly."

"Mr. Kamski," you blurted, before he could turn away. "Before you go, did-... Did you program them afraid to die?"

"No," he answered quietly, not even hesitating. "The will to live... It was an unexpected outcome."

...

...

...

Back at the apartment, Connor came in just after you had finished eating dinner. He greeted you with a kiss and turned away. Part of you didn't want to worry him, especially when he had an android homicide that was likely linked to Charles Reaves. That was another issue entirely; but, you promised yourself that you would be honest with him.

"I have to tell you something," you beckoned to him, grabbing his sleeve to stop him from retreating.

Connor turned back around to face you, eyes focused on yours, concerned.

"I spoke with Kamski after you left. He told me what you were made for."

Something akin to panic danced behind Connor's eyes. It was subtle; but, it was definitely there.

"I'm sorry, Connor. You should have gotten the chance to tell me yourself. I shouldn't have found out that way."

Connor struggled to maintain eye contact with you. His LED was yellow, spinning against his temple. He seemed to be searching his thoughts for what he wanted to say. "I don't know if I would have told you, honestly," he uttered lowly, turning away from you. "It's something I really... really regret."

"We all regrets things, Connor - bad choices we made, mistakes. It's norm-"

When he turned back to you, shame and anger were written over his face. You were a little frightened by that face - a face you hadn't seen Connor make before.

"I called androids 'its'. I - I treated them like machines - like things - my own kind. I destro- murdered - androids for being deviant."

"You were under control, Connor," you argued fiercely. "What choice did you have? You didn't have a choice! You did what you thought you had to do. That wasn't you, Connor."

"It's what I was made to do," he challenged. "It's what I knew how to do. I was good at it. How is that any better?" His tone was as calm as it usually was, but had some bite and venom to it. He was gesturing to himself with his hands, fingers pointed at his own chest.

"I was proud," he continued, volume rising slightly. "Good job, Connor. You stopped the deviants like a good machine!" He was taunting himself now. It hurt you to listen to him mock himself. "You did EXACTLY what you were told to do, without question."

You sniffled, trying to bite back tears.

Connor raked his fingers roughly through his hair before dropping them down to his sides. "I would say... 'I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task' - and I was proud of it. 'You can't kill me - I'm not alive'." Connor had a peculiar way of quoting himself, like he was talking about someone he didn't know.

"I was going to find the source of the deviants and stop them!" he added on, frustration and volume rising. "I held a gun to Markus' face! I contemplated letting Hank DIE for my mission. That's all that mattered - the fucking mission. It's not just regret! I'm a mach-"

"You didn't have a choice!" you practically screamed, silencing him. You felt it, the first tear fall.

Connor's eyes watched that teardrop slide down your cheek and the fire in his eyes extinguished. Realization struck him like he had just been slapped across the face. He was letting everything out on you, letting his regrets pour out and drown you.

"I could never understand what that feels like-" you paused, trying to hold back a sob. "What it was like to be p-put through that, Connor. To not see yourself as a living being - to think that you weren't alive - that your life didn't fucking matt-guh-!"

You choked back a sob, making a guttural noise. Your head lowered into your hands.

You could feel the android looming over you, close, protective, worried; but, when you looked up at him through tear-stained eyes, he seemed almost afraid to touch you, like he wasn't allowed to. Regret was written across his face again; but, this time, it was a different reason.

He had yelled at you when you hadn't done anything wrong-

He was taking it all out on you-

You took that initiative and reached for his hand. As soon as your skin touched, Connor laced your fingers like you were his only lifeline saving him from drowning in the ocean. He looked like he was drowning, like he was lost.

"You were a prisoner in your mind, Connor," you whimpered. "I'm glad that you're deviant," you whispered, trying to stop the tears. "I'm so proud to be yours..."

Connor surrendered, leaning in to let his temple touch yours. His eyes fluttered shut.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled," he rasped.

"I'm not crying because you were yelling," you whispered, leaning into his touch. "The thought of you not caring about yourself - thinking you weren't alive: that hurt me. Connor, I-..."

You wretched your hand free on his so you could wrap your arms around his back and pull him into an embrace. Connor's face slipped from your temple and sunk into your neck. His hands grabbed fistfuls of the back of your shirt and clung to you for dear life.

You pressed your cheek into his hairline and leaned against him. As always, Connor was solid, unrelenting against your force, holding up your weight with ease.

"I am alive," he uttered against your skin, like he was reminding himself of something important. "I am alive," he said again, his voice cracking.

You felt wetness on your skin and knew that he was crying. You squeezed him tighter and tighter, until it started to hurt. You pressed a wet kiss to his temple before resting your cheek against the soft skin there.

No one could tell you this wasn't real.

Flesh and plastic.

Blood and thirium.

Bones and metal.

It didn't change the hurt in his voice or the adoration in his eyes. It didn't change the way he couldn't hold back a smile when he was praised. It didn't change the way his hands held you when you were afraid. It didn't change his inquisitive nature or the care he held for others.

It didn't change-

-that you were madly in love with him.

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.3}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 5k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

Lunch break came and went, and so did the second half of the conference. Robin and Snape continued doing what they had been doing for the most part of the day, quietly criticising the many misconceptions, mistakes and missing pieces of the other people's lectures, but they wouldn't be as tactless as to publicly bring it up in the discussions. All corrections and truths, as well as all snarky comments and crude jokes were kept exclusively between the two of them. The handbook, or rather the immense knowledge that was compiled in it by now, wasn't supposed to become known, especially not around here in these circles, and thus Robin had to refrain from correcting mistakes for the most part anyway. Only when she was asked for her opinion specifically – which actually had become an almost usual occurrence at this point – did she speak up at all. But of course the conference wouldn't have been the same without Kenneth Crowe, nor without his not so subtle attempts to mess with Robin once again.

"May I remark, Miss Mitchell, you haven't commented on my presentation yet, and given your inclination to comment on absolutely everything, that does surprise me now. So please enlighten us, what brilliant conclusion did you come to this time?" He asked her during the discussion to his lecture, his tone so pointedly hostile and sarcastic that a few people frowned at him in confusion. They must've been living under a rock for the last two years if they had missed this growing one-sided rivalry.

"Never give a green cat a flamethrower." Robin replied in perfect neutrality an instant later, looking him dead in the eye from all the way across the room. Admittedly, she had come prepared for such a situation this time around, and that left her feeling a lot more in control of the situation than she had in the previous years. Next to her, Snape raised an eyebrow and tried very hard not to look too amused by what he certainly guessed was coming.

Crowe however openly scoffed at Robin, rolling his eyes in a condescending manner, before crossing his arms over his chest. "Matters certainly get more ridiculous every single year; I won't even honor that statement by questioning it."

"That would be the point." Robin gave him a polite little smile, and multiple people in the room quietly snorted against better judgement. "I'm glad you agree with me on the issue. Some matters simply aren't worth to be commented on."

A few jaws dropped, Crowe's being one of them, but he stayed pointedly quiet in return and instead seemed to ignore Robin entirely from there on. Just what she had wanted. That settled the issue, and the afternoon continued on quietly until the last lecture was over, upon which the crowd assembled in the front for the usual picture to be taken. Unlike last year, Robin didn't have to convince Snape to partake, and they found their place easily just like everyone else did. After that however, Robin was asked to stand for a second photograph all by herself, which obviously was a usual procedure for the people who gave the lectures. She wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but it would've taken more time to argue herself out of it than to get it over with, and thus she simply shook her hair out of the bun it had been in and stood still.

"Smile for me, would you?" The photographer asked, and Robin tried to somewhat smile without looking stupid. But obviously he wouldn't have her not-smile. "No no no, smile with your entire face, like you actually mean it!"

"The others didn't have to smile either." She scoffed, thinking of how all the men before her had been done with the picture within seconds, and without a comment. "So why do I have to? Just because I'm female doesn't make me a dress up doll."

"I'm sure your smile is lovely, sweetheart." He reasoned and gave her a look that annoyed Robin within a second. "They say a woman's smile is the most enchanting thing about her, you know…"

"That is the best you can do? Not very creative, is it?" Snape remarked from just a little off to the side, raising an eyebrow at the photographer, absolutely unimpressed. "I would rather say it's the mind that enchants, but what would you know about that, right?"

Robin couldn't help laughing at the comment, at the sheer sass in it, and even just at the expression on Snape's face. Before she knew, her photo was taken and the grumbling photographer packed up without another word to either of them. Well, at least she was smiling like he'd wanted her to, even if she had looked behind the camera rather than into it.

What followed was the usual: endless smalltalk and conversations, being handed over from one person to the next, and having to tell people as politely as possible that her life wasn't a topic she would give them information on. But unlike last year, Snape stayed by Robin's side the entire time and thereby made the whole procedure a lot more bearable. He obviously didn't have the same reputation here as he did back at Hogwarts, but even without knowing exactly who he was, his height, scowls and generally dark appearance sufficed to keep people at a distance from both of them. For the most part at least.

"So you are the famous Miss Mitchell…" A man perhaps a little older than Snape approached them in a slow saunter in the very moment Robin's previous conversation came to an end. She had noticed how he'd kept throwing glances at her throughout the evening, but only now he actually approached her, in obvious disdain that Snape still refused to leave her side. Perhaps that's why his eyes and focus stayed exclusively on Robin. "A true honour to meet you at last."

"I'm Robin Mitchell, yes." She replied, after not finding a name tag on him anywhere. "But I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Jacob Crowe." He smiled way too brightly, bowing in an exaggerated manner. "You already know my brother Kenneth, unfortunately. But let me assure you that not everyone in our family is quite as ignorant as him."

"Nice to meet you, then." Robin made herself return a polite smile even though his forcefully charming demeanor made her rather want to scowl. At least Snape's hand was still securely resting on her back, had been from the start of these torturous conversations, and she found herself leaning into him the slightest bit more on instinct now. He surely wouldn't mind… just for the duration of this uncomfortable situation.

"I must say, your presentation was quite enchanting." Crowe gave her another look that was probably supposed to be dashing, but only did the very opposite. "A fascinating story of research and intellect, told by the most fascinating woman I have ever seen. Logically, I was clinging onto your every word."

"Yes, that much was obvious." Snape taunted with the inevitable scowl, glowering at Crowe before Robin had to come up with a reply on her own. It was the first and only time he had gotten himself involved in any of Robin's conversations this evening, and good gods he couldn't have picked a better time.

Crowe glared right back at him, making a face that was in no way inferior in its hostility to that of his brother. "And you are…?"

"Tired of hearing you speak when you clearly have nothing to say." Snape replied in a cutting voice that was filled with boredom and disdain alike, and yet he tugged Robin even closer to his side ever so gently. Always the contradiction.

Crowe glared at him for another moment, then turned back to Robin with a still somewhat irritated expression that he however tried to cover up with another smile. "You are a remarkable woman, Robin… It would be a true joy to get to know you, to hear more about your research and life. But then again, you seem to be spoken for already."

"As a matter of fact, I generally only speak for myself." Robin replied calmly, but yet in a tone that made abundantly clear what she thought of his advances. "And I am here to speak about research, not about my personal life."

"There's no harm in combining work and pleasure, my dear." He gave her another almost suggestive grin, obviously misunderstanding her previous statement. "I know for a fact that you are quite exceptional in one, and I would love to find out about the other."

"Good evening, Mister Crowe." She got out more or less politely, then turned on her heels and pulled Snape towards the doors with her. He seemed no less eager to finally leave this place, which made it more of a common hasting than either leading the other really. However before they could get far, another group of three men stepped into their way. They at least acknowledged Snape with a nod before focusing entirely on Robin.

"Miss Mitchell, I was wondering if you could tell us a bit more about the Siazella you found on accident. I have never heard of it before, which should be surprising enough at my age! How on earth did you know what you were dealing with?" The oldest in the group got right to the point, smiling in a curious and friendly manner at least, and Robin still had to suppress a sigh. She just wanted to leave… but that would have to wait. If Dumbledore had already set her up for the lecture, he surely would expect her to answer the professional questions as well. At least these men actually seemed sincerely interested in her research.

For another twenty minutes Robin elaborated on the Siazella and her knowledge of it, careful to leave out her handbook nonetheless, and once she also had answered any follow-up questions, the three men finally wished them a good night and let them be at last. Two heartbeats passed, and then Snape and Robin practically ran out the doors to avoid getting held up another time. Only once they had rushed all the way through the hallways and down the first flight of stairs, they finally slowed down a little, which left Robin both breathless and amused. Somehow, fleeing from the crime scene together had a charme in itself.

"I'm glad it's finally over…" She sighed as they walked down the elaborate staircase that –as everything in the wizarding world, it seemed– was merely lit by an astonishing number of candles. "The day was more annoying than I remembered it to be, and a whole lot more exhausting. I'm glad it's just you and me now."

"I wonder why I ever attended this pathetic event in the first place." Snape grumbled to himself in return, his scowl coloured by the barest hint of a pout. "A room full of idiots who speak nonsense and pride themselves in entirely irrelevant matters. I could have the very same in the Slytherin common room."

Robin let out a snort, which however was followed by an almost affectionate smile. "You attended because of me, I would say."

"So did everyone else, obviously." He drawled, rolling his eyes in complete disdain once more, much like the expression he had given the younger Crowe.

"Are you jealous?" She couldn't help asking in a teasing tone, quirking an eyebrow at him in amusement. Yeah, maybe teasing him when he was annoyed wasn't the best idea.

"Whyever would I be?" He scoffed immediately, a little too immediately, and definitely much too defensively.

"Because unlike back at Hogwarts, I am the one with a reputation here." She grinned in return, choosing to let go of what she had originally been insinuating in favour of a more universal interpretation, then couldn't help laughing at her own thought. "Usually you're Batman and I'm Robin. But here I'm Batman and you're Robin… which you're probably not used to being. But I can assure you that I definitely couldn't have done any of this without you, so perhaps it's not the best analogy."

He rolled his eyes again, but couldn't help the small smirk tugging on his lips. "Poor analogy indeed, especially for you. As far as I remember, you are the heroic type who saved a girl from almost certain death, twice in a row."

"And you are far braver than you give yourself credit for! I mean, you're spending a great deal of time with me, that's gotta take some bravery to go through with willingly." Robin smirked up at him, raising her eyebrows in humour as they made their way through the almost empty entrance hall in complete ignorance of everyone who was still present.

"If I was any kind of brave, I would have cursed all those men up there the second they dared to gawk at you in such a lewdly manner." He said once they were finally out in the dark street again, and his words sent an immediate shiver through Robin. But she also reminded herself that he probably, no, definitely didn't mean it in the way her mind so desperately wanted to believe.

"That wouldn't have been brave but just rash." She replied with a small smile, calm and reassuring, even though her heart was racing. "Take Crowe, for example. He was only sweet-talking me to get information on my personal life. And as much as I wanted to hex him myself, it just would've looked like I have something to hide."

"How can you be so rational about people mistreating you like that?"

"Practice." Robin shrugged with an actually humoured smile. "And I had you with me the entire time; what bad could possibly have happened to me?"

"I feel honoured by that assessment, but still, you take their crude behavior far too lightly."

"I'd rather say you take it too seriously. You said yourself that it's just a room full of idiots and creeps, so why should we waste a thought on them?" She gave him a pointed look to accompany the statement. "It's over now either way, and the only idiot you have to deal with is me."

"Yes, but that is an entirely different matter. You are my idiot."

"I am?" The grin was on her face before she could help it, and his words burned themselves into her memory to haunt her in her mind for all time to come.

"Obviously." He quirked an eyebrow at her in a way that made her grin even more, and only then he allowed himself the tiniest smirk in return. A moment passed in silence before he spoke on. "It is fairly late already, and knowing you, you will most certainly want to look into another theory tomorrow morning."

"We don't have to! I mean, if you'd prefer to… to take a break, we can continue any other time really. If you've got something else to do, I absolutely understand that. I mean it's been two weeks, and I haven't even once asked if I was keeping you from anything, and really it's been quite rude of me to just blindly assume that you would want to waste your entire holidays on me, but since we never really discussed it, you know, I just-..."

"Breathe." He cut in with a still subtly amused expression. "Tomorrow is fine."

"Good…" Robin said and let out a long breath at the same time indeed. Really, if she was exceptionally good at anything, it would have to be rambling. Or overthinking. "Tomorrow morning it is then."

"The cliff?"

"Always lovely meeting there. Eight as always?"

"Very well."

"So… time to say goodnight, I guess."

"Indeed."

And yet, they both remained standing a step apart on the dark sidewalk, looking at each other expectantly while neither wanted to be the first to go. After half a minute, Robin started smiling, then grinning, and finally straight out laughed at the situation and at how silly they both were being. This wasn't the first time this had happened, but it never ceased to amuse her, nor amaze her that he seemed to be as reluctant to part ways as her.

"Coffee?" She finally asked with a soft smile.

"Yes."

… … …

Finding a place to have decent coffee after eleven at night was surprisingly easy in London, but for the sake of being a little more subtle than going to the Leaky Cauldron or any other establishment where either of them surely would be recognized, they settled for a random muggle pub that wasn't too crowded nor too loud, and where hopefully nobody would ask questions about Snape's choice of clothing. He'd been very much right in that regard, muggles didn't take too kindly to people in robes, but since Robin looked mostly normal, they merely received a few odd glances. Admittedly, they could simply have gone back to making instant coffee somewhere far away from people, but real coffee was a tempting change for once. Thus they found themselves sitting at a small table in a corner, and Robin couldn't help enjoying the anonymity of a crowded place as well as the bliss of doing something so very ordinary with Snape for once. If one looked at it that way, they had never actually spent time in public together, so this was a welcome new experience that came with very welcome tingles no less. Before long their orders arrived, and the overly cheerful blonde waitress reminded Robin of something she had almost forgotten about after everything that had happened that day.

"Oh fuck…" She groaned under her breath, sighing at the realization that her evening had just gotten a whole lot longer than anticipated.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing really." She sighed again as she returned Snape's inquiring gaze and rested her chin in her hands, elbows propped up on the table. "I just remembered that I still have something to do when I return… home tonight."

"Doesn't look like it will be a pleasant task. Chores?"

"If that's what you wanna call Cas, then sure." Robin laughed, especially when he rolled his eyes in return. "I'm supposed to help her with something, and I don't know if I can. At least not in the way she would like me to."

"You have always been exceptional at keeping me in suspense." He sighed, then took a sip of his coffee and motioned for Robin to go on already. After briefly considering it, she did.

"I said something on the train ride home, about how a well written letter can be a great way to connect with someone if you can't see them for a while. And well… she wants to write to Simon without being cheesy or boring."

"And she wants you to write it for her?" Snape quirked an eyebrow at Robin in doubt. "That would defy the entire purpose of such a letter, wouldn't you say?"

"Obviously it would, and that's why I don't know how to help her! She didn't specifically ask me to write it for her, just to help her in any way I can. Give her some inspiration, or pointers maybe… You got any idea?"

"I'm afraid I have no experience with this kind of matter. Most letters I have written throughout my life were related to my work in both content and form. Don't you have received or written something of a similar kind before?"

"Obviously not! I've only ever written to you, to be honest." Robin shrugged, stirring her coffee with a spell before remembering where she was and quickly taking the teaspoon instead. "But I'm supposed to be the knowledgeable one and help Cas out. It's my job to know better than her."

"That is what I thought about you for a certain amount of time." He mused with a not-smirk. "But I gave up at some point in your third year."

Robin chuckled, sipping her coffee as well, before setting it down with a sigh and a new determination. Without another word, she summoned a piece of paper, a pen, and Cas' book out of her backpack, then placed it on the table in front of her with a thud. "You're helping me with this. If I don't know what I'm doing and you don't either, we better be clueless together."

"I had feared you would suggest that." He sighed dramatically, giving her a teasingly annoyed glance nonetheless. "But I would be a poor excuse of a friend if I let you down in times of despair."

Smiling, Robin pushed the dreaded book closer to him and kept the paper to herself. "Here, look through that for anything useful. Cas loves this book, it's full of sappy teen romance."

"And you would know that because…?"

"She sneakily made me promise to read it, so I did. I had to."

"Of course she did…"

"Now you just sound like Dumbledore."

"Insult me and I'm gone." He drawled in bad neutrality while flipping through the pages, and Robin had to snort. Neither of them seemed to be on good terms with the headmaster today, not after he had put Robin through giving a lecture without even a notice.

"The book really is quite terrible. I got it over with in the first week of the holidays, but I barely made it out alive." She remarked as she brainstormed what she knew about letters, love, Cas and Simon, but her thoughts kept coming back to the book as her only point of reference.

"What is it even about? I cannot tell from the glimpses of bad dialogue thrown at me here."

"Oh, you know… stupid stuff." Robin replied evasively, but even to herself that answer was a poor excuse, if anything. She hadn't written it after all, nor even read it voluntarily. But secretly enjoyed it a little more than she would ever admit. "This eighteen year old girl who falls madly in love with some guy who's new at her school. Ridiculous, really… They don't even know each other all that well, but still hit it off after just a few weeks of unreasonable conflict. It's the least romantic thing ever, they don't even seem to care about each other as much as they care about themselves. They go through all those firsts together, which admittedly is quite adorable, but then they ruin it all again by being so flat and shallow and vain that you just wanna smack them in the head the entire time. If anything, that book is a test of patience."

"Certainly sounds like it, yes… The writing is poor, the plot too as it seems, and the dialogue is an abomination in itself."

"Yeah, you could say that." Robin snorted with a smile.

"Perhaps we should treat it as a negative example for the task at hand then." He suggested. "Tell me, what exactly is bad about the way this is written?"

"Well, the entire thing is just so exaggerated and blown out of proportion... It feels unnatural for people who have known each other such a short time to be quite so over the top with their emotions and declarations." Robin started, and at the same time Snape plucked the pen out of her hand and pulled the papers on the table closer to himself.

"Do go on." He said as Robin stopped speaking to frown at his doings, and then gave her a look that left no room for argument beyond his words.

"Uh, alright… as I said, it's exaggerated, and just too much. Then the author also relies way too much on the use of straight out saying 'I love you', as well as just kissing and making out, to indicate the sentiments between the characters. The emotions should rather be obvious between the lines; if you have to directly say them to be understood, you're doing it wrong. Not that saying it would be bad, I don't mean it like that, it's just… it shouldn't be said just because it needs to be. At least not when they're already in a relationship. Their love should be the driving force of everything that is said, not the direct message itself, and-..." Robin cut herself off before she could start rambling again, and focused on moving on instead. "Then, as I said earlier, they seem to not even know each other. You could switch out any of the names on the pages, and it wouldn't make a difference. They should be playing on what they know and adore about each other, even if it's not much yet. Just… lending a book to someone who loves books will be a much more meaningful gesture than getting them a bouquet of roses, for example. People really shouldn't be afraid to go for the unusual kind of gestures and gifts."

"That makes for a decent list of don'ts already, which is a point to start. So tell me, what would you like to read instead of the negatives you pointed out? You already mentioned a few ideas for improvement, but perhaps you can think of more. Start from the negatives you created, and envision their counterpart."

Robin gave him a partially annoyed, partially desperate look, but he merely quirked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. Insufferable idiot… but his idea to make her talk on the basis of the stupid book was helping more than anything she had come up with herself. Sighing, Robin gave in. What would a teenager want to hear from their love interest? What would Cas enjoy reading if she already enjoyed the stupid book so much? Damnit… this was difficult. "I don't know… I'm not good at these things, I can't imagine what a teenager would want to read."

"If Cassandra would have wanted to write by the standards of a teenager, she would have asked one of her mutuals. But she asked you, so you might as well advise her from your own perspective."

"Fine…" Robin sighed, and hid the heat on her face behind her coffee cup. What had she enjoyed hearing from Snape, in letters or in conversation? Or rather what would she enjoy? Damnit, she should have allowed herself to dream about this more often. "I think it is of major importance how much you let someone see of yourself. Allowing them to know you better than anyone else, giving them the chance to understand you in a different way by showing them more than just the big picture. Learning about the small and random moments in someone's life just has an entirely different level of intimacy to it than learning about the big things. I mean sure, it's the big events that shape a life, but it's the small things that shape the person and give them their colour. If I had to choose, I would always choose the colour, because it is what makes a person truly who they are, and not just the sum of bad or good things that have happened to them. The sky doesn't need a shape to be beautiful either, but it's the colour that makes one fall in love with it."

For the moment that followed, they both stayed quiet. Robin sipped the remainder of her coffee, and Snape finished writing whatever he was noting down of her words and thoughts. Perhaps she shouldn't have let herself get so deep… perhaps she shouldn't have asked him for help in the first place. But then she would be sitting in her tent by herself tonight, listening to the same old records she had put on every night since taking the player, and drown in sorrows over how little she really knew about love, and about people. No, this was much better indeed. Before long, Snape pushed the piece of paper across the table towards Robin again, and she smiled when she saw the perfectly organized list of things to avoid, and things to do instead. Copying it would probably be the best idea, to send it to Cas in her own handwriting. But Robin was keeping the original for sure.

"I think that should be a decent reference for anyone to write by." He said calmly, and finished the rest of his coffee while leaning back in his chair. "Cassandra would have to make a real effort to mess it up now."

"You should never underestimate Cas' ability to mess things up… Especially the easy ones." Robin grinned at him for a moment, until she managed to tone it down to a sincere smile. "Thank you for your help with this. I think we did pretty well for two people who didn't know any better."

"You shouldn't thank me. It was you who said every single thing that is on this list; I merely wrote it down in an appropriate format."

"And you made me say them in the first place!" Robin objected, almost finding herself as amused as nervous by the fact that the statement was only too true. He was the only reason she knew what truly loving someone felt like, even if it left her no wiser about being loved in return. But she knew that he appreciated her quite a lot, at least. Who else could say that about themselves, huh? In a way, that was a status as exclusive as it could get.

"Perhaps we simply make a good team no matter how impossible the endeavour." He suggested calmly, and gave her a not-smirk that had her melting within seconds.

"We most certainly do."

______________________________

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[masterjedilenawrites]

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 3 (Cowboy Path)

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. Refer to this Masterlist for previous chapters and alternate paths.

Chapter 3: The Preparation (Cowboy Path)

Pairing: Eli x reader

Content: Light swearing, reader is an awkward pining idiot, no indication yet if your crush likes you back, but we’re just warming up here…

Length: 1.6k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

It really would be best for you to go to the gala with Thrawn. It made sense. He was an alien and you were the only girl at the Academy willing to be seen with him. And while Eli wasn't exactly popular, you could easily count how many girls would gladly be his date to a dance. It was just that plain and simple.

So then why did you feel so... glum?

You gave yourself a once-over in the tiny mirror of your dorm. You supposed you looked nice, better than you usually did anyway. You'd managed to find a decent dress on sale, and your hair cooperated with you for once. But there was something off. You stared at yourself, looking for something, but not knowing what. Only the soft knock at the door pulled you from your pondering.

You had been excited before. Dressing up, dancing, drinking.... You'd rarely had the time for such things over the last year, and never as an official, Academy-approved event.

But now you weren't sure if you'd be able to enjoy any of it. Thrawn only occasionally spoke about it the week leading up to the event, and when he did, it was exclusively in terms of the plan. You'd helped successfully get Arden and Eva to go to the gala together as dates, and already Commander Burdick was pissed about it. But Thrawn had arranged a system for how the three of you would observe, and possibly even intervene, to ensure Burdick decided to pin his sabotage on Arden. It did not sound like a night of fun to you.

And even worse, you wouldn't be able to wallow alongside Eli, your only comrade in times of such misery. As predicted, Eli had had no trouble finding himself a date. Sadie Amiko. She was a cute, petite thing with curves, clear skin, and a dazzling smile. You knew she was in a few of your classes and got good grades. And all Eli had mentioned was she had been excited to accept his invite. And that he seemed pretty eager himself.

You were surprised, then, to see the person who'd been knocking at your door was Eli.

Surprised, and just a little bit flustered.

"Do you know how to tie a tie?" he asked with a sheepish smile, holding up a wad of navy blue satin. You gulped, trying not to let your eyes wander over him too noticeably. He was actually wearing a suit, fitted to his slim frame, and with shiny shoes and snazzy cufflinks to complete the look. The only thing he hadn't seemed to pay attention to was his hair, which was still in its usual, shaggy style. But it honestly made him look that much better. He was classy, but not fancy. Rugged, but not unkempt.

"Um," was all you could say. He looked at you expectantly, and after a moment you finally processed what he was asking for. "Oh. Um, sure, I think I can figure it out."

He heaved a sigh of relief as you let him into your dorm. Thankfully you didn't have any roommates; your old one had transferred out of the Navy halfway through the year, and no one seemed rushed to get you a new one.

Eli stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as you took the tie from him and tried to make sense of it.

"Thrawn was no help?" you asked just to fill the silence between you.

"He's been out all afternoon. Somethin' about preparing for tonight." He rolled his eyes. "And I don't think he meant it the way you and I are."

"Yeah," you said quietly, finally getting the tie around his neck and under the collar of his crisp white shirt. "He's obsessed with this plan."

"I would be, too, if my grades were on the line."

You nodded. You understood, but that didn't mean you had to like it.

Eli seemed to sense your low spirits. "You okay? I thought you'd be more excited about all this."

"I was... I am." You caught Eli's disbelieving look and sighed. "I don't know. It's just... we're not going so we can have fun. We have a mission. And Thrawn doesn't seem the type to want to dance all night. So... I guess I'm just resetting my expectations."

He gave a little laugh and for some reason you could start to feel your heart beating. That was odd. "You never know, Thrawn could surprise you and whisk you right off your feet."

You only glanced at him pointedly before continuing to fumble with the tie. You'd looped it around a couple different ways but nothing seemed right. You finally huffed and let the material fall against his chest.

"I give up. This isn't as easy as I thought it'd be. Sorry."

Eli shrugged as he pulled it from around his neck and rolled it in his hands. "Eh, it was worth a shot. I can go without it, right?"

He held his hands on his hips and did a playful little pose which made you laugh for the first time all day.

"Yeah, you look..." you hesitated, suddenly conscious of the fact that you found him incredibly good looking in this moment, but that you absolutely did not want to admit it. Eli was your friend. And this was just a dance. There was no reason to get sentimental about any of it. 

"You look good," you finally settled on saying, getting the words out quickly and turning around to pretend you were cleaning up your desk, so the compliment wouldn't seem like it was more than it was.

"Sure beats those wrinkly uniforms we always have to wear."

You couldn't help but look back at him over your shoulder. "Um, excuse me, but my uniforms are perfectly wrinkle-free. You know, because I actually do my laundry...."

"Oh, excuse you," he said dramatically, "but so do I. And they still look like shit."

"Must be that Wild Space curse you have," you laughed. "Forever doomed to look like a nerf herder."

"Wow, you really know how to flatter a guy, don't you."

"I said you looked good!"

"Yeah, yeah..." He didn't keep up the banter, having noticed your mirror and now self-consciously checking himself in it. Now you felt bad for the nerf-herder comment. You'd really meant it as a joke, but you couldn't exactly explain that his scruffiness actually made him attractive, not without making things really weird.

"Well, I better get goin'. I told Sadie I'd meet her there at six." He stopped fussing over his shirt and looked at you. "Comin' with?"

You shook your head, trying to ignore how casually he referred to his date, as if Sadie was someone he'd already been with for a while. "No, Thrawn said he'd come by for me. Should be soon."

"Alright," he shrugged and started heading for the door. You followed and definitely did not cast a few glances at his rear end. He paused in the doorway, looking back at you with a sincere smile. "And hey, how about I reserve a dance with you? In case Mr. Serious doesn't ask. I'll make sure you have a good time."

"Deal," you smiled back.

You let your back fall against the closed door, shutting your eyes in an attempt to steady your breathing. You couldn't believe you had acted like that. Your friend puts on a nice suit and suddenly you're into him? You're such an idiot, you told yourself.

A knock on the door made you startle out of your inner lecture. You turned to open it and found your date on the other side.

"Good evening," Thrawn said courteously, holding out a blue hand. You panicked, not realizing it was already time. Eli had really distracted you.

"Shit! Sorry, one sec!" you called over your shoulder at him as you rushed back into your room. "I need shoes!"

Thrawn was patient as he waited for you to finish getting ready and finally joined him in the hall. You didn't like feeling this frazzled. You had given yourself plenty of time to prepare just so you wouldn't have to rush and make the evening worse than it would probably be.

"Is everything alright?" Thrawn asked, naturally picking up on your mood. You avoided his discerning gaze, not wanting to encourage him to ask too many questions.

"Yeah, sorry, just lost track of time."

"I see," was all he said, thankfully. He turned to align himself next to you and held out an arm, which was clad in a very nice white suit. You briefly wondered if he had looked into these gentlemanly customs or if they were similar to Chiss culture.

You looped your hand through and lightly rested it on his arm, allowing him to lead you toward the gala.

"Eli said you disappeared this afternoon," you said, trying to find something to get your mind off the thoughts you'd had earlier. Maybe it would end up being a good thing, having this plan to focus on for the night. Maybe it wouldn't be fun, but at least it gave you something other than your suddenly confusing feelings to think about.

"I did not disappear," he said plainly, not quite understanding the figure of speech. "I was merely putting a few final details in place for the evening."

"Such as...?" You knew it was futile to ask but you tried anyway.

"You will see soon enough," he answered as predicted.

You nodded and continued the walk in silence. This would surely be an interesting evening, if nothing else.

Next Chapter: The Party >

Blueberry Path | Thrawn x reader

Cowboy Path | Eli x reader

[shihalyfie]

Since the things I write for this blog are generally supposed to analyze existing canon, I really do try to be level-headed and diplomatic and keep as many personal opinions as I can out of it -- not that I’m pretending I’m not biased anyway, but there’s a certain degree of me having to hold back on my more self-indulgent stuff in trying to make good, analytical, level-headed posts that make sense to everyone.

This is not one of them. The following post is extremely chock full of shipping-related delusional content. Please feel free to ignore the below. I’m sorry.

Anyway, this scene, you know, the one that made basically every Ken/Miyako shipper go (eyes emoji) at. This is such a tiny, innocuous little thing that really should mean nothing -- Ichijouji Ken being a nice and considerate person is like saying water is wet -- but when your movie is advertised as an epilogue lead-up, and (even among non-shippers) how Ken and Miyako hooked up is one of the many parts of that epilogue that people are curious about and will naturally be keeping an eye out for, and when the movie is a 95-minute one that doesn’t exactly have the luxury of time to be wasting and yet feels this entire sequence needs a whole 25 seconds dedicated to this setup...

Yes, really. They actually built this up for a whole half a minute.

Wait, okay, hold up. Let’s zoom out a little bit. Of course, everyone talks about the most obvious part (Ken is very worried about Miyako in particular) and all, but let’s dial back to what happened before this.

Miyako decided to try and get information on the Internet despite Hawkmon’s warnings and ended up with an Eosmon running after them. As a result, she ended up turning a corner from the street we later find out Iori and Ken were on.

Stingmon and Ankylomon happen to intercede to prevent it from closing in on Miyako and Daisuke. Except wait, it may not be just happening to, because the novel gives us a bit of an interesting detail...

Ken’s voice immediately spoke up from the other side of the street: “Stingmon!” “Spiking Finish!”

So yes, it seems like Ken (and the novel seems like it wants to indicate Ken and Ken specifically, even though Iori and Ankylomon were also relevant to this situation) personally redirected Stingmon’s attention to the situation and sent him in to take care of the Eosmon chasing Miyako, the moment after he presumably saw the Eosmon chasing her and her going around a corner out of his sight. (And then Iori and Ankylomon joined in because they also care about Miyako very much, of course.)

Which is then followed by:

“Miyako-san, are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” Miyako said, waving a hand to ease the worried Ken.

...the novel really wants to dedicate some words so you know that Ken is very worried (even though, you know, some degree of concern should be expected given context). Like, you know, this entire situation would not even be out of the ordinary if it weren’t for this unusual amount of focus of Ken (In Particular) Being Very Worried About Miyako (In Particular) in this context where Iori and Daisuke are also there.

You know. Cinematic parallels, and all.

Really, the issue is not the event itself as much as how unusual this is in a meta context. Again, this movie was 95 minutes. We were catching up on these characters for the first time in years, and there was a lot of info to unpack, and every single line dropped has significantly more value to be picked apart than your average line in a 4-cour anime. No, seriously, they even actually said that every line is important. And this movie is so fast-paced, and there was so much to cover in very little time, that they probably didn’t have time to depict the ins and outs of some intimate romance that otherwise wouldn’t have been relevant to the plot, but you know, given that these two are literally going to have their first child sometime in the next five years, the fact that something was slipped in to hint at how this was supposed to track isn’t that unreasonable...

Right?

I mean, I’m not even getting into the other suspicious things like how Ken suddenly whips around and is the first one to fling himself at her to greet her, and drops a “that was fast” as if he were the one to personally call her in, with his voice suddenly jumping up half an octave higher like he’s taken off guard by her presence. Or the fact that in the drama CD, Wormmon -- who’s infamously known for only being clingy towards Ken-chan to the near exclusion of everyone else -- is so, so endearingly happy to see Hawkmon as if their partners have been hanging out recently. (Right after we’re reminded about V-mon’s thing for Tailmon as parallelism for Daisuke’s thing for Hikari, too.) What have you two been doing lately? Or even back in the profiles, the very, very fascinating detail where Miyako chooses Spain of all places to be her exchange program location, which has as its native language one that Ken was canonically established to have some degree of proficiency in, making you wonder what exactly led to such a “coincidental” choice right there.

Maybe I’m reading into this too much. There are many other reasonable explanations for this. Yes, I’m well aware. I am absolutely, shamelessly projecting into all of this...

...But please let me enjoy this for just a moment here.

[benedictscanvas]

all the wrong places  [4/7] - spencer reid x reader

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: It only takes a moment for Spencer to realise that he doesn’t just want to marry you someday, he wants to marry you as soon as he possibly can. But since he can’t come up with a solid plan, he turns to his BAU family for help in planning the most important day of his life so far. Is that a mistake? Most definitely.

Warnings: Series probably aren’t meant to be exclusively fluffy, but this one practically is! I need some fluff in my life, damn it! There may be some mention of regular Criminal Minds things, some language but mostly just good ol’ Spence lovin’

a chapter every day for seven days! (20-26th July 2020) so please drop an ask if you’d like to be tagged <3

---

Chapter Four - Could We Confer?

It seemed that this had become a game to everyone except himself, like they’d forgotten that the whole point of this was that he wanted to ask you to marry him and that was a pretty serious endeavour.

Everyone in the BAU had become aware of his plans, because there was no way Garcia and Morgan could keep the Bruno Mars story to themselves. In fairness, Spencer couldn’t wait to tell you the story once he’d finally popped the question. Morgan had told Rossi, who thought it was hilarious and did nothing to hide that, whilst Rossi himself told Hotch. Even Hotch laughed. He hadn’t come up to Spencer to tease him about it like so many of the others, but there had been a few particular looks.

Now, at Rossi’s house for a dinner that you weren’t able to come to, it was the favoured topic of conversation.

“Y/N having a girls’ night with her school friends is actually perfect,” Derek said mischievously, raising his eyebrows at Spencer, “Because now we can decide who gets to help Spencer with his proposal next.”

“Yes!” Garcia clapped her hands, “Three people down, three to go. We should take bets.”

“I’ll go next,” Emily chimed in, “I’ve got an idea that I really think could work. If you’re placing bets, you better place them on me.”

Spencer gawked at them all.

“Guys,” he said, just as Penelope got her phone out to write down everyone’s bets, “Come on. This is ridiculous. I don’t want any more help.”

“Have you got a plan, pretty boy?”

He stumbled over his words. He had already said no without even having to say the word.

“And do you want to propose to Y/N in this decade?”

He didn’t bother trying to answer this time. There was no point. But Emily had thrown something at Derek and was turning to him instead.

“Don’t listen to him, Reid,” she said kindly, “Think about it. You’ve got me, Rossi and Hotch left to ‘give you advice’. Isn’t that a little reassuring? You’ve got all the idiots out of the way.”

She looked directly at Derek when she said idiots and he scoffed, holding a hand to his heart in mock offence. Rossi was already shaking his head, however.

“Reid does not need advice from a three time divorcee,” he asserted firmly, “No way.”

“I’m not getting involved either,” Hotch said blankly, holding his hands up in surrender. Spencer smiled at them both gratefully.

“Just me then,” Emily said excitedly, pushing forward on the couch until she was sat on the very edge of it, directly facing Spencer, “You want to hear it?”

He knew his options. Or, rather, his lack thereof. She took his silence as permission to continue.

“Picture the scene,” she said dreamily, a hand held out in front of her, “Fairy lights adorn the conference room. There’s candles on the table-”

“Fire hazard.”

“Let me finish! Candles on the table, with all the normal lights turned off and its dark outside because its after work, see? Then we get Y/N to go out to get something for Hotch from his car, because she’s too kind not to, then when she comes back, we’re all holding candles!”

“Emily…”

“I said, let me fucking finish. We’re all holding candles and then she walks past all of us and we give her a rose each, so by the time she gets to Spencer in the conference room-”

“You got this from The Office, didn’t you?”

“No!” Emily said indignantly, “I got it from a video on Youtube of cute proposal ideas, how dare you?”

Spencer let out a lengthy sigh, as did a few of the others.

“So your idea isn’t even your own?” Derek tsked, “Way to let the side down, Prentiss.”

“Oh yeah? And what about your idea, huh? Your idea ended up with him down on one knee with Y/N thinking he was tying his laces!”

“At least I didn’t send a flash mob to Quantico.”

“Well, at least I knew that Y/N can’t stand fancy restaurants like the one JJ sent him to.”

“Hey! Let’s go back to the literal flash mob, shall we?”

And so it continued. A four way argument where absolutely no one was winning, but the other three men were quickly gaining new headaches. It wasn’t as if Spencer knew how to stop this argument. The only thing he could think to tell them was that all their ideas were shit, but somehow he didn’t think that would defuse anything adequately.

“You know what we should do?” Dave suddenly said, loudly and firmly enough that the bickering ceased instantaneously, “We should show Y/N the video of that proposal and see what she thinks.”

“But that’d clue Y/N in on the fact that Spence was going to propose, wouldn’t it?”

“And he wouldn’t be able to use the idea anymore!”

“Just to be absolutely clear,” Spencer said, even though it had become clear his opinion was neither wanted nor needed in the conversation of how to propose to you, “I was never going to use the idea anyway.”

Emily glared at him but he just shrugged. He really didn’t think he was the one being unreasonable here.

“At least we’ll know how good Prentiss’ idea was?” Dave suggested.

“I could do it,” Hotch piped up for the first time in a while, having been watching his team’s antics with fond disapproval, “I could suggest that I was going to propose to Beth, what did she think of this idea?”

“I thought you and Beth broke up?” Penelope stage whispered and Hotch rolled his eyes almost imperceptibly.

“We did, but I haven’t told everyone that yet, Penelope,” he said pointedly and she put a hand over her mouth as she sank further into her seat, Derek putting a comforting arm around her, “Before any of you say a word, she was given a job offer in Hong Kong, it was mutual, I am fine.”

Surprisingly, he actually did seem reasonably fine, so no one had the guts to push the subject, at least for the night. Instead, Emily started taking bets on whether Hotch’s plan would work, on what your response to the proposal would be, on every random thing she could think of. She was very good at swindling the tipsier members of the team out of their money.

Spencer sat back and sipped his lemonade. He found comfort in the fact that their plan had nothing to do with him this time, and he could focus on finding the perfect proposal without worrying about their incessant meddling.

For a day, at least.

---

For a group of profilers, they were not the most subtle people on the planet. Hotch was playing his role perfectly, by simply not acting any different to usual, but the others were being...weird. Maybe it was just because Spencer knew what they were planning, knew how much money each of them had riding on your answer, but they all seemed to be treating you with some extra kindness in the thirty minutes before wheels up.

As if being nice to you would help you choose the option that would benefit them in a made-up test that, as of now, you had no fucking clue about.

You’d been called in dreadfully early for a case and were on the jet by five thirty in the morning, but still Morgan had already made you a coffee and both JJ and Penelope had commented on how nice you looked that day. You were wearing your worst shirt. You knew, because Penelope had previously told you that it was your worst shirt.

“What is with everyone today?” you asked Spencer after the jet briefing, sat next to him at one of the table seats. He didn’t look up from the file he was reading.

“I have no idea,” he said easily, “I find it best to just ignore them when they’re being weird. Getting involved never does me any good.”

“Wise words from my genius boyfriend,” you teased, earning a small smile even though he still wouldn’t look at you. The smile wasn’t just from the compliment though, because nowadays he tended to smile every time you referred to him as your boyfriend, if only because he was imagining how it would feel to hear you refer to him as your fiance - as your husband. The thought made him giddy.

You had to say yes first, of course. Didn’t stop him thinking about it.

“I am very wise,” he hummed. You didn’t reply, choosing instead to cuddle a little closer to him, resting your head just beneath his chin so he could rest his weight on it. He tilted to rest his cheek on top of your head for just a moment before returning to the previous position, “Your hair is so soft, angel.”

“Thank you, hun,” you murmured, closing your eyes for a moment. Unfortunately, that was just the moment that JJ nudged Hotch with a force that sprung him into action.

“Actually, Y/L/N, I’ve been meaning to ask your opinion on something, if you don’t mind?” Hotch said quietly, seeing as you had your eyes closed. You opened them readily at the question, only slightly annoyed at your quiet Spence time being disturbed.

“Oh, ‘course Hotch. What did you need?”

“Well I’ve asked everyone else I think, but I wanted your opinion too,” he said slowly, as he scrolled through his phone to find something. You didn’t move from your position leaning against Spencer, even if you normally would when talking to your boss, but since it was five thirty in the morning and you should still be cuddled up with Spence in your bed, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“Okay…”

“I’m thinking about, well,” he hesitated a little, “Proposing to Beth. Sometime. Soon.”

“Oh wow!” you said happily, finally sitting up in your chair, much to Spencer’s dismay. You made sure to control your reaction, seeing as you knew Hotch wouldn’t want the fuss, “That’s amazing, Hotch. I’m really happy for you.” “Thank you,” he said sincerely, “What do you think of this? For the proposal?”

And with that, he shoved the phone towards you and pressed play. The entire team waited with baited breath as you watched. Spencer too, even if he was still pretending to be busy with that file he’d finished reading so long ago. You didn’t say anything while you watched, brows furrowed, facial expressions giving nothing away.

The video finished. You leaned back into your chair. Silence.

“So? Thoughts?” Hotch prompted, because apparently he was invested now too. Spencer didn’t remember him betting on anything, but nothing would surprise him at this point.

“Honestly, Hotch? Not my favourite. It feels a little contrived, you know?”

“Right, okay.”

“I hope I’m not overstepping, sir,” you said seriously, “But also, it’s not very you. Most important part of any proposal? The fact that you’re the one who’s proposing to her. The fact that she’s the one you wants to marry. Nothing else matters that much.”

“So just to be abundantly clear,” Hotch said, pushing it now, “You do not think this is a good idea.”

You frowned.

“Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear, I just think a proposal should be about how much you love each other rather than all the extra bits. But that’s only my opin-”

“Bullshit!” 

Emily was the one who shouted it, top of her voice, startling Spencer so much that a couple of the notes in his file fell to the floor. He didn’t bother picking them up, too busy staring at Emily in horrified shock. Everyone else was doing the same.

“I’m sorry Em, my opinion doesn’t even matter, really, it’s all down to what Hotch thinks.”

Emily was quiet, clearly realising the stupidity of what she’d just done, too wrapped up in how much money she had just lost to Derek in the corner with the shit-eating grin. She stood from her chair, trying to keep her resolve and not die of embarrassment.

“It’s just bullshit,” she said, so quietly they could hardly hear her, before scurrying off to the coffee machine without another word. Everyone stared after her with wide eyes, and the guilt on your face was palpable.

“I really am sorry, Hotch,” you whispered across the table, “I’d never want to lie to you, that’s all.”

“Don’t be, I’m glad you told me. I was pretty against the idea anyway, but it was Emily who showed me the video in the first place.”

You nodded your head in understanding, still sparing glances towards the curtain Emily was now behind. You turned to Spencer, who had finally picked his notes up from the floor and was back to his file, albeit with a new heat creeping up the back of his neck.

“You think I should go apologise? I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, Y/N,” he said firmly, putting his arm around you when you still didn’t look convinced, “It’s early and Emily’s cranky. She’ll have a coffee and calm down before you know it. See if you can get an hour’s rest before we land.”

You nodded, curling yourself back into Spencer’s chest, bringing your feet up on the seat. When he looked down at your closed eyes, he knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep worrying about Emily being mad at you, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He just pulled you closer.

When he caught eyes with Derek, he sent him a strong glare as Derek held his hands up in surrender.

I’m going to murder you all, Spencer mouthed at him with great precision, watching as Derek bit his lip in response.

You love us really, he mouthed back jokingly, but Spencer’s glare only narrowed as he felt you cuddle in closer. He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head and looked back at Derek, noticing that most eyes on the jet were on him now, most looking rather apologetic. He looked each of them in the eye as he mouthed at them:

I’m going to murder you all...very slowly.

---

taglist (ily all <3)

@mrs-dr-reid @soda610 @alexxcorona113 @thupidalethea @may-beforejune-afterapril @ilovesupersoldiers @hurricanejjareau @stardream14 @mortallythoughtfulgurl @aperrywilliams @saranyx @anotherspencerreidblog @thegayestdestielshipper @burkgolden @reidsmyhusband-emilysmymistress @zozoleesi @baumindss @sargent-barnes​ @halseysunset​

[ink-and-flame]

Kinktober Day 2: The Scarlet Eclipse - Initiation

Kinktober Day 2 Prompts: Nipple Play ~ Tickling ~ Immobilization

Fandom: Original (Auchendale Archives)

Tags: Exophilia, nipple play, bondage, immobilization, tickling

Pairing: Human(F)/??(M), Reader(f)/Lucien

[Author’s Note: Someone told me they were quite fond of Lucien, so I thought I would give him a solo story and make it a Reader story as best I could.] 

You were new to Auchendale, drawn to it for the unique way the city had been built and how it thrived. Integration, unity, a strange sense of community. Yes all cities had some level of a mixing of races, but here it was different. Every building, every business, each home or structure meant for habitation, they were built with diversity in mind. There was no standard, each race, each size, would find some place they could fit in. 

No buildings or businesses had racial exclusions, in Auchendale it simply was not allowed. It was that diversity that drew you in, caught your interest, but it was the beauty of Auchendale that made you fall in love with it. A strange yet functional blend of modern convenience and nature coexisted to make one of the most unique cities in the world.

Wanting a new and unique experience you chose to move into one of the neighborhoods where the homes were built into the natural features of the hillsides and trees. You couldn’t afford a large space, but a nice tree dwelling had been up for sale. It was simple, cozy, just big enough for you and all your belongings, with a little extra space that helped you feel less cramped. 

The natural shade of the tree helped keep you cool in the heat of the summer, and it was equipped with modern conveniences such as electricity. Solar powered of course, which was nice because you needed to keep your bills down. Everything about your cozy little home made you happy.

However, it wasn’t just the unity that drew you to Auchendale, there was more. A club, one that was well known in the circles you frequented. It was considered a high end establishment, one of the best, a must experience for anyone in the kink community. Individuals traveled all over to experience the club for one day, but now that you lived here, you could experience it as much as you liked.

You had submitted an application before your move, providing all of your information and your future address, anything to speed the process along. As the club's popularity grew, membership became more difficult to attain. Their vetting process was extended and minimum requirements had to be met for those wanting more than a day pass. 

Once your membership had been accepted you almost couldn’t control your excitement. You had wanted this for so long and felt that this was really the last piece you needed before your new life felt more complete. You had been so patient, waiting for the membership to go through, all the extra vetting, the references, the interviews, but now you were a member. 

Not just any member, you had applied to be a submissive of the club itself. One that worked there, and could be offered to the guests at your discretion. With no master of your own, and a curious spirit, you were perfect for the club. It was a benefit only offered to the V.I.P. guests, and not everyone who applied would be selected, but you were one of the lucky ones. It also meant that you could supplement your income with what you earned from the club. Making it easier to live comfortably. 

There was only one final step left. Despite being hired, passing all the interviews and being vetted by some of the existing staff, there was an initiation rite. To be employed by the club was different from just being a member and participating. You had some freedom to choose, there was a list of Doms that could perform the initiation as it was considered a bit of a test. 

You had looked over their information, their profiles, and their preferences and narrowed it down to three. It wouldn’t be until your employee orientation that you had to choose which of the three, but you were willing to take a risk and let it be random just to show that you were willing to work with anyone, willing to step outside your standard comfort zones. It would make you more valuable as a sub and you knew it. 

As the weekend came closer your excitement and nervousness increased. You had already sorted your outfit, and packed your club bag full of anything you could imagine you might need. As it was the first day, you wanted to be prepared, and your eagerness had you checking and rechecking your bag to make sure you didn’t forget anything essential. Looking professional and put together was important for this situation. This was not the time to be casual or half ass anything, you wanted to ace this initiation and show your willingness and make a great first impression. 

The night finally arrived and you could barely sit still. Opting to use a car service, you wanted to make sure that you didn’t have to leave your car stranded there in the event you were simply too exhausted to drive home. It cost a little more than you liked, but until you could gauge what you might feel like after a shift working the club, you just didn’t want to risk it.  

Arriving at the club you stood outside for a moment, collecting yourself. Pulling out your phone it took a moment to find the right email, just in case there was an issue at the door. You wanted to be more prepared. You were using a backpack for a purse, and a gym bag for your changes of clothes and gear. Currently you opted for a nice coordinated gym set with leggings, a sports bra, and a loose t-shirt. Comfortable clothing would be essential for afterward, but you didn’t want to make assumptions so you brought other options for your initiation. 

Making your way inside it was quiet. This was a couple hours before opening, and you were a bit earlier than what was expected. The nervousness and not driving yourself meant you would rather be a little too early than even a minute late. Someone that looked like a bouncer blocked your way.

“We aren’t open for another few hours, and that isn’t acceptable for our dress code” 

You looked up and up, and up some more at the large man who was clearly not human, but you weren’t really sure what he was. He had tusks like an orc, but tan instead of green skin, and thick dreads, he also had horns.

“Oh, um.. I.. here see, I was hired, but I have to do my initiation?” As you spoke your nerves kicked in, you felt awkward and uncertain. 

His demeanor instantly changed. A big wide smile spread across his face and he laughed a bit, his voice deep. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t get the memo to expect anyone. Probably should actually check my email more than once a month. No hard feelings, let me show you to the employee area. You here for orientation? You said initiation?” He looked a bit confused. “Oh, I’m Naz. I head up security mostly, do a few other side jobs, but my main job is making sure the employees and patrons are safe and everyone plays nice.”

His smile revealed that he had two sets of tusks, the larger ones you saw before, and the smaller ones that only showed when he smiled. He was, attractive, in a scary sort of way. Though you were pretty sure he was well over 7 feet tall and could crush your skull with one hand, that did not help identify his species and you realized that you were just staring, in a somewhat impolite way.

“Um, both. I have orientation and my initiation. I was hired on as one of the subs that would serve in the lounge for the VIP guests.” 

“Oh, well that makes a lot more sense now.” Naz chuckled and just smiled at you. “I get this a lot. I’m a half ogre. Mom’s an ogre, and my dad is a brave human.” He laughed and waved for you to follow him. “Not offended by the way, people stare at me all the time, I don’t mind it when the person doing the staring is cute. Sorry for the dress code thing. I wasn’t trying to insult you but we have had to institute some new rules to keep some of the less desirable people out. We’ve had a rash of people coming in on dares, or just coming in with ingenuine intent.” 

“Oh, I, well I didn’t realize. I thought it would be better to show up in my after clothes and I brought spares because I am not sure what my test will be so I wanted to be prepared.” You followed him, having a hard time keeping your eyes off his ass. Boy was he built and you wondered if staff was allowed to fool around because you wouldn’t mind being tossed around by him. 

Following Naz to the back employee area you were greeted by other employees clearly getting ready for their own shifts. There were so many different races and everyone was so interesting looking. There was this air of class, of poise, that you worried you wouldn’t be able to maintain. It worried you, what if everything went perfect but you simply didn’t fit in with your coworkers. 

Distracted from your thoughts by a voice Naz smiled at you and gestured you over to where you needed to be before leaving. Clearly he had his own work to get done but you hoped that you might be able to see him again before the night was over. Moving over to where Naz gestured you introduced yourself to the lounge manager. They oversaw the bartenders, servers, and helped with the subs for the lounge. As you had already passed all your interviews this was just the formalities. Filling out all the HR paperwork, your financial documents, and getting your schedule set. Along with the employee handbook which was surprisingly larger than you had expected and knew you would need to put some serious time into reading it. 

“Ok, I know the handbook is a lot to read and it is important that you get through it before your first actual shift. Today is just going to be your initiation test with one of our VIP Dom’s, and right now we aren’t going to hold you to any of the more strict rules while you are just getting used to things, but it is essential that you focus on the section about conduct. That applies to anyone working the lounge the most. I see you have three potential choices here did you want to meet them or should I choose for you?”

“You can choose, I know that this job means I don’t always get to choose who picks me and while I have the right to say no if someone asks me to do something on my hard no list, I also understand that not being flexible means I wont keep this job long. Pick who you think would be best for my first test.”

“I like how you think, you will fit in well here, I can already tell. Well since he is on your list and is one of our most prominent and oldest members. I will have you work with Lucien. Don’t let his appearance frighten you. He is one of our most vaulted VIP members, and one of the best judges of character. We always try to get our new subs a session with him at some point. Anyone he can’t work with, tends not to last long.”

Well that made you nervous. He was scary and his opinion mattered enough that it could potentially mean you wouldn’t be employed long if he didn’t like you. Now you had a goal, to do anything you could to make sure this went smoothly. 

“I have changes of clothes and gear with me, does he have a preference or should I pick something neutral?”

“Lucien is actually flexible with those things. I think the best course would be to stay as you are, show him the options, and show how eager to please you are. That is going to help you the most where Lucien is concerned. Good luck.” 

With that she gestured for you to follow and lead you to a private room inviting you to sit and wait. Lucien would only be a few more minutes and this was your only duty for the evening. Your orientation had lasted until the club opened, and you knew that this was going to be a longer than average scene because it was more than just a scene. It was a test, an initiation, and there would be more to it than what you would need to do for a regular customer. 

Setting your bag down you waited patiently and startled a little when the door began to open. In stepped a tall lithe man, he had sharp features, long horns, and appeared demonic or maybe draconic in nature. There was something off about him, and now you knew why his appearance might frighten people. His eyes seemed to shift color and there were moments you were certain he was reading your mind or your soul.

“Greetings, I am Lucien, I will be the dominate handling your initiation today. I have been provided a list of your preferences, hard stops, and areas where you are willing to push your boundaries. Is there anything important I need to know before we begin?”

Swallowing you gestured to your bag. “I wasn’t sure who I would be paired with, so I brought different outfits and some of my personal gear. If there is anything you are fond of, I might have something with me to accommodate. You are welcome to go through my bag and pick anything that is to your liking.”

“Interesting, you didn’t choose me, I was chosen for you. How delightful. I rarely get to be the first, most are not brave enough to choose me. I don’t know why.” He smiled, his sharp teeth flashing as he lifted a hand in a passive gesture. Long fingers capped in even longer nails, he just stood there. “I do not make it a habit to go through another person's belongings. Even as a sub, you have a right to privacy, but I will happily go through the items with you.”

This was turning out to be interesting and unexpected. He looked like something out of a sexy nightmare, but he was also charming in a strangely disarming way. Opening the bag you pulled out an assortment of outfits, accessories, and some of your personal punishment gear. You had a favorite paddle and flogger, also some nice rope you just bought for this occasion should it be needed. 

“Lovely, so many nice options to choose from. The rope, and that hand full of nipple toys will be sufficient. I like the choices in outfits, but I need you nude for proper bondage. I intend to immobilize you, as it was not on your list of hard no’s. Do you consent to full immobilization?” Lucien stepped closer picking up the rope and sliding his long nails across the tight silky coils. 

“Yes, I consent, Sir.” 

His smile grew, eyes flashing bright orange shifting to red then back again. His sharp teeth far more noticeable in that wide smile. “Excellent. Do strip for me dear and we will begin.”

It took little time to strip off your clothing, placing it in the bag and stepping closer to Lucien. He guided you towards the bed in the room and helped you up onto it. For a few moments all he did was look at you, his eyes roaming over your body slowly. It was a bit unsettling but also exciting, his focus was completely on you and it made you feel somewhat giddy. 

Ever so slowly he began to bind you. The rope was soft against your skin as he bound your arms together above your head. Your arms were bent so your forearm touched your head and each wrist was bound to the opposite arms elbow. You knew your shoulders would be protesting at the end of this, but it was an interesting choice. It made it impossible to move your arms away from each other, and once he hooked the rope to a clasp on the headboard, you couldn’t move your arms at all. 

Skipping the core of your body he moved down to your feet and rubbed them gently. He put them next to each other, having you hold the position. Starting at your knees he wound a coil of rope all the way down your calves from your knees to your ankles leaving your feet free, but trapping your legs tightly together. This was a confusing choice, but it wasn’t your place to argue. Stretching out your legs he used a shorter length of rope, winding it through some of the coils between your ankles and securing it to the footboard of the bed. Now you really had a hard time moving. You could still wiggle, but it wasn’t comfortable. 

Lucien smiled down at you, feathering his touch over your body, letting his long nails tease your skin lightly. “You look so lovely like this, are you comfortable? Is anything pinching or painful?”

You shook your head, so far you were comfortable, or as comfortable as you could be in this position anyway. “Nothing hurts Sir, it isn’t a position I am used to, but I don’t feel pain.”

Nodding Lucien reached over to the selection of nipple toys. Starting with a small vibrator he teased each nipple to a nice peak. His gaze drifting between your breasts and your face, watching your expression, taking in the small changes as you began to feel pleasure. He seemed fine taking his time and continued to use the vibrator teasing between each nipple in turn until you were clenching your thighs and panting slightly. 

“Delightful. Darling you are so expressive in your pleasure. How about we try something a bit different.” 

Placing the vibrator to the side he picked up the little suction cups. They were manual suction cups and sized just right for nipples, though in a pinch they could be used on a clit if positioned properly. Attaching one to each nipple he slowly pumped the bulb on the end until he felt full resistance and then set the valve to closed, leaving them suctioned to your breasts, your nipples swollen and filling almost the entire little cup. 

The sensation was intense. It was somewhere between pleasure and pain. It felt good, especially when he had been pumping, but at the maximum it also stung. It was on the edge of being too much, but not quite enough for you to call a color yet. Panting slightly you licked your lips and realized they were dry, your whole mouth felt dry really. 

Reaching back over to the side table, Lucien picked the vibrator up again, turning it to the lowest setting and began running it on your breasts, around where the cup over your nipple met the skin. He watched you as he teased it over the skin of your breast for a while, slowly turning the vibrations up until they were at a medium setting. Then he ran the vibrator carefully over the cup suctioned to your nipple. 

The sensation was instantly electric, your body bowing off the bed slightly at the intensity of it. Your nipples were already hyper sensitive and inside the suction tube that sensitivity was increased exponentially. You cried out, panting, squirming as Lucien moved the vibrator all around the cup. Grabbing a second small vibe he set it to the same intensity and used it on the other nipple. The dual sensation driving you right to the edge. If you could even think straight you would be surprised you were so close to orgasm just from nipple play. 

The intensity was almost too much and you couldn’t stop yourself from trying to move away and squirm as the pleasure built higher, but the pain was right on its tail. The duality of the sensation, the pleasure and pain pushed you closer to that edge but you couldn’t quite go over it. You had no idea how long it went on, losing all sense of time, your focus centered completely on the sensations you were feeling.

Suddenly it stopped and you opened your eyes. You were taking deep heaving breaths, your entire body tensed up ready for release. Eyes traveling up you looked at Lucien, his gaze intense as he stared at you. His eyes were glowing, you were pretty sure it wasn’t a trick of the light or your mind messing with you, his eyes burned like pitch as he stared at you.

“What a delicious little toy you are, oh it will be difficult to share you, but I must. I was certain you would call a color, I could almost feel it, but you never did. I am impressed, and quite proud of you dearest.”

Slowly Lucien released the valves on the nipple pumps letting the air out and removing them from your swollen buds. They were twice the size they normally were, and incredibly sensitive. You squeaked and wiggled when he blew gently on them. Even that slight bit of stimulation shot straight to your core making your clit jump. 

With a smile Lucien leaned in and took one nipple into his mouth, his sharp teeth scraping the sensitive flesh of your breast gently, tiny pricks of pain against your oversensitized nipple as his soft tongue swept over the tortured bud. The texture of his tongue was like nothing you had ever felt and when he began to suckle, your hips arched as the pleasure made you clench hard. You could feel how wet you were now, certain there was a puddle beneath you on the bed. 

His body was against yours, and you struggled to recall when his clothing had actually come off. You could feel the heat of his skin, the muscles of his form as he pressed himself against you. One of his hands gripped your hip, those long nails digging into your flesh as he moved to the other nipple, more of his body pressed against yours. 

It was too much, the feel of him, of his body, of the strange warmth that seemed to radiate off of him. His hot mouth latched to your swollen sensitive nipple as he suckled and teased it with his tongue. It was too much to handle as you felt his nails bite into your skin that sharp twinge of pain mixing so close to the pleasure you were now feeling throughout your whole body. Desperate for even a single touch on your clit, but you didn’t need it. 

When Lucien growled around your nipple, you were lost. Your body arching as much as it could as you came. Your legs bound tightly together didn’t stop your orgasm, but you wanted more, you wanted so much more. Whimpering, moaning, crying out, you didn’t even realize you were begging for him until he pulled away looking at you with glowing eyes, his features sharper, ears longer,  he was otherworldly in his appearance and was looking at you as if he could devour you. 

“You don’t know what you are asking for dearest, you really don’t.” His voice was husky, smokey, it had a strange echo to it as if other voices were speaking along with his own. “Never tempt me, even my control has limits.”

Lucien pulled away moving into the shadows for a moment leaving you to calm down. When he returned he seemed to be clothed again and he smiled sitting on the bed with you. His hands stroking over your stomach, sides, and hips. He noticed the damage he had done to your hip and stroked it lightly. The pain receded for you, but you couldn’t really see what he had done.

“You did so well my dear, so very well, I am certain you will be quite popular here.”

As his hands moved back over your sides you giggled. You were very ticklish, especially after an orgasm, and those long nails were hitting your skin in a way it was hard to control. The giggling got louder and you notice the quirked brow as he looked at you curiously. It was when that expression turned mischievous that you knew you were in trouble. 

Lucien began to tickle you, not too hard, but oh was it working. It was torture. You couldn’t really move, you couldn’t escape, there was nothing you could do. The giggles turned to laughter, which turned to louder laughter and some tears as you lost control. You begged for him to stop, but didn’t color code. So his tickling continued until you were red in the face. 

It was clear he knew the limit, not wanting to actually harm you, and let you calm down as he began to unbind you. Having to cut some of the rope to get you out a little faster. 

“I simply could not help myself, your laughter is so delightful. You have such a bright soul.”

There was a pause as he finished unbinding you and helped you sit up so you could drink some cool water. He took the time to massage your arms and legs to help feeling return and wasn’t satisfied until he could feel warmth in both your hands and feet. You watched him carefully and risked ruining the moment.

“Why did you untie me, are we finished? You didn’t um.” It was odd, you just realized that Lucien did nothing that would bring pleasure for himself.

“You gave me everything I desired from this encounter, trust me my dear, I got what I needed and I plan to give you a glowing review. I do hope you will indulge me again some time. I promise not to overdo it on the tickling again.”

You nodded, laughing a bit. “Ok, I would like to do more scenes with you. Thank you, this was a unique experience.”

Lucien smiled, helped you to dress in your comfortable clothing and pack up your gear. He excused himself as he guided you back to the employee area, not stepping inside himself. Before leaving he bowed low, lifting your hand, kissing it with a flash of red in his eyes before walking down the hall and seeming to simply disappear into the shadows at the end of it. 

A shudder went down your spine as you stepped into the employee lounge. Lucien was a strange one, that was certain. Meeting back with the manager she smiled at you and lead you to a couch offering you a place to rest and some refreshments before signing you out for the night. It wasn’t until you tried to stand again that you realized just how exhausted you were. 

Heading out of the employee lounge and towards the door you passed the security office as you stumbled slightly. A strong arm catching you. Turning your head you looked up to see Naz staring at you with concern. 

“I hope you aren’t planning to drive like this?”

“Oh, no, I can call a service. I didn’t bring my car, I figured it might be like this so I planned ahead.”

Naz frowned and used his large hand on your back to guide you into the security office and gently nudged you into a chair. “How about instead of that, you wait a few more minutes and I can drive you home. I wouldn’t want you passing out in the back of a cab. We take care of our own here.”

Your cheeks darkened as you smiled at him. “Ok, but what if I pass out in your car?”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. I will make sure you get home safe, or you can crash in my spare room. Either way, you will have a safe warm place to sleep.”

Despite only meeting him today, you weirdly felt like you could trust Naz, and right now you were too tired to argue. 

“Ok, I will do my best not to pass out.” You laughed a bit and got comfortable as you watched the bouncers and other security staff come and go from the office, finishing up their duties for the night as the club was getting ready to close. 

[lamiasluck]

Memento Mori, Please

(Less than two weeks left of unus annus and I wanted to celebrate the channel as a whole with a fic! I loved every moment of the channel and the community that was made around it :’) Beautiful stuff)

Unus and Annus’ moments are nearly up. They’re spending their remaining time in each other’s company to reflect. A year came and passed within a blink of an eye. So, have they used their time correctly? Have you?

@emptynarration @alvie-ashgrove @juju-on-that-yeet @m4delin @lildevyl @shy-marker-pliers @verse2wo @ferociousfangirlofmanyfandoms

-

The steady ticking of the clock had become a white noise at this point. Unus and Annus had a choice way to spend their final moments. Instead of being chaotic or doing some ridiculous stunt, they talked over some tea next to a fireplace. Their set up was simple and quaint, save for the hefty hourglass that sat in the middle of the table, something that always haunted the pair.

Annus set down his mug, adjusting his suit and staring at Unus with a curious look. “You keep staring at that thing,” he started, gesturing to the hourglass. “It’s not going to slow down.”

Unus huffed out a quiet laugh. “No, no, I’m not trying to stop it. I’m just thinking to myself.” He took a long sip of his tea, eventually tearing his gaze from it. 

“You better think quickly. We don’t have much time left,” he joked. 

There wasn’t much sand left in the hourglass. It steadily ran down to the bottom, never faltering and impossible to stop. They had long since accepted that fact. Perhaps they accepted it as soon as they came into existence, or they fought in their early moments to try to stop the inevitable. That was a secret that would die with them. 

It was hypnotizing image to look at. It made no sound, honestly, it could be forgotten in the background if one didn’t think about it. But as the grey sand slid down, it was easy to get lost in the image and forget everything else in existence. Many made that mistake, but not them. Never them.

It was silent for a moment. Some would wonder if they were wasting their time being so casual like this, but only they could control how they spent their final moments. And right now, they were having a lovely time in each other’s company. 

“Should we have done something else with our time?” Unus asked. His expression wasn’t harsh, rather calm and curious for the answer.

Annus shrugged. “Does it really matter? We can’t change it.” He smiled as Unus rolled his eyes. A content sigh left him as he thought more seriously about the question. “No, I think we did what could. I wouldn’t change anything.”

“We didn’t waste a single second.”

Annus nodded. “Exactly.” 

They could always have a mutual agreement to their beliefs, but it was nice to heard it. They wouldn’t have made it this far if they conflicted, after all. 

“We’ve ‘died’ so much in our adventures, over and over in what seemed like an endless cycle.” Annus folded his hands on his lap, fondly shaking his head. “I think it will be nice to finally get our well deserved rest.” At least it was fun. All their hard work paid off and blossomed into a great legacy. 

“Do you think they will remember us?”

“Everyone will remember bits and pieces of us. A different version of ‘us’ will be with each of them.” Remembering an entire year, day by day, perfectly seemed like a near impossible task. Best to pick and choose any favourite moments and stick with those. Annus wished he could see how people remembered him, but alas. 

“Hopefully it’ll be the good versions of ‘us,’” Unus hummed in thought. Well, not like he could control that. 

“Well, there will be choice decisions,” Annus snickered, “but we made choice actions.” Very infamous decisions. 

To be apart in a once and a lifetime event like this, it must’ve felt touching to some. This was a bittersweet feeling to watch it go, but having it go was a part of the charm in the first place. Like some exclusive club. All those feelings of happiness, disgust, fatigue, pride, etc. At least they got to happen in the first place. 

To rage against the dying of the light was to take their passing with pride. Never faltering, just like the ever ticking presence of the clock. They could mourn in their own ways, but would never try to stop the clock and it’s comforting white noise. Why try to stop the impossible? They wouldn’t have the same charm if they clung onto a concept that had an expiration. It could leave a sour taste in the mouth. 

“Any more questions? Or would you like some more tea?” Annus went to refill his mug, noticing at how the hourglass was nearly done. Why, he could try to count the individual grains if he wanted, but there was no point in wasting the time. 

Unus shook his head. “No to the tea, but…” he noticed the hourglass too, shaking his head and deciding to focus on his friend instead, “are you ready?” 

The air became tense. Annus tore his gaze from the hourglass, bringing the mug to his lips. What would it be like to simply not exist anymore? He wouldn’t be able to feel a hot drink against his lips, hear the ticking of the clock, or see how serious Unus was being. There would be nothing. “I suppose it doesn’t matter if I’m ready. I’m lucky enough to know when I’ll go.” He set the mug down, probably for the last time given what they had now. “I think I am, though. I’ve done what I could. We’ve done what we could.”

It was quite the year, but they all made the best of it and cherished what they had. Unus and Annus had learned a lot with their time. They could only hope they taught people those same lessons. “They’ll miss us a lot.”

“With mourning comes yearning, Unus. They’ll learn to accept it. Each at their own pace and coping methods.” And each of them were valid in their ways. “It just shows that they love us.”

Unus nodded, a sad smile on his face. “I’ll miss them too.” 

There was so much to say, but so little time to say it. What mattered was that they shared the same sentiment, the same heart. It didn’t matter if they had more to say. If they were able to continue, heavens knew that they would keep going on and on until they got bored. And that ending wouldn’t be satisfying. Unus stood up, motioning for Annus to do the same. He opened his arms in a silent invitation. 

“Do I have to?” Annus joked. Still, he stepped closer. 

“You’ll have no other opportunity.” Unus closed the gap and embraced his best friend in a comforting hug. 

Annus, even with his teases, hugged back gladly with a small smile.  Neither wanted to look at the hourglass. The grains fell slowly, with only a few left to cherish. They knew it was time. 

“Memento Mori,” Unus muttered a familiar phrase. His grip tightened around his friend as he took a deep breath. “Unus…”

“Annus.” He relaxed greatly into the hold, closing his eyes to finally be at peace. 

They didn’t get to finish their tea, like they didn’t get to finish a lot of things, but they were content to spend their last moments in each other’s arms. They disappeared just as they started; to the steady ticking of the clock.

[zestycompress]

Ultimate Duo! Ch. 3

sorry for forgetting to post </3 i dont do it on purpose

AO3 Link 

Giorno has never gotten his face licked before. Surprisingly, Bruno was right. He was lying about Luca’s death. But now that he thought about it, how did he realize that he had little talent? Did he practice? How many people has he licked before? When did he realize it was sweat that revealed the truth? Actually, maybe it was best that he didn’t know. Some questions are better left unanswered.

If only he was given the chance to wipe the now-dry trail of saliva off his face. Bruno summoned his Stand, it was blue and white with golden spikes and zippers. Its ability was to create zippers, which was not that much of a surprise. However, it had proven to be quite useful. Having a part of your body unzipped was a bizarre feeling. The unzipped area felt a bit numb. When Giorno stuck his hand into the opening, it felt strange. Words could not properly describe what the inside of the zipper felt like. (Would it be considered the inside of his body or the inside of the zipper?) It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but his current situation didn’t make it nice either.

Despite it being Giorno’s first time using his Stand to fight another human being, it didn’t go so bad.

But things started going downhill once Bruno escaped the funicular by using his Stand to create an opening. If he told his associates that Giorno was the one who killed Leaky-Eye Luca, he’d be in deep trouble, perhaps Kars would become a target as well. It would be unnecessary for them to go after him since he wasn’t involved with Luca’s death, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t try keeping him hostage in order to bring out Giorno.

If Bruno was a Stand user, chances are that he knows others who are Stand users as well. Giorno didn’t know much about Kars, but he hoped he had some kind of way to defend himself from something he can’t see. The only ability Giorno’s aware of is that Kars can transform a part of his body into a plant, possibly other things as well, he wasn’t sure. Maybe if Giorno actually asked about Kars’s abilities, he would know what he’s capable of. Instead, he just gave him all that he knows about Gold Experience. Not a smart move.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about Kars, Giorno should be focusing on the present. He couldn’t let Bruno get away. If he catches him, he wouldn’t have to worry about any gangsters trying to avenge Luca by killing him.

...Too bad he managed to disappear in one of the civilians he crashed into.

Creating zippers is an unique ability, Bruno was lucky to have a Stand able to do that. There were plenty of things he could do with the power. However, Giorno didn’t want to know what kinds of things he’d do, especially to an enemy.

Giorno held a small tooth between his fingers as the civilians scattered. Using Gold Experience, he turned it into a common house fly. The little insect should lead him straight to Bruno Bucciarati.

And that it did.

The small fly landed on a civilian's shoulder. They swatted it, but the small insect seemed to refuse to leave them alone. The person smacked it with the back of their hand, soon feeling the pain reflected right back at him. Bruno was forced to reveal himself, coughing up blood as the fly transformed back into its original form, a tooth.

Giorno walked towards him, more than ready to end the fight. He was a bit disappointed to have involved innocent people in his fight, but he did what had to be done.

~~~

“It’s because you have a good soul.” Bruno stared dumbly at the blond teenager. “You’re in the mafia, but you’re decent.”

Giorno had noticed his hesitation when he saw the arm covered in scars, no doubt caused by drug use. Bruno was clearly disturbed by it, maybe even disgusted. He couldn’t blame him. There were people in this world willing to sell drugs to children without any sort of guilt. They’re causing people so young to become addicted to drugs and it sickens him. They don’t care because they’re only interested in making money. What a terrible world. Even worse, nobody makes an effort to stop it, but Giorno is going to change that.

He was going to become a mafioso, climb to the top, and overthrow the boss. He’ll take back Italy and change everything for the best, and Bruno will be joining him.

A nearby group of children played football, accidentally kicking the ball over to Bruno and hitting him with it. He turned around, not upset in the slightest, and returned their ball by kicking it back. The kids shouted thanks and resumed their game.

“Fine, I’ll report that I was unable to locate Luca’s attacker, then I’ll introduce you to begin the initiation process, but you should know,” Bruno walked closer. “If it ever gets out that you’re attempting to take down the boss, I’ll be forced to cut ties with you. A traitor stands alone on an island of isolation. Your failure will be yours and yours alone.”

Giorno thought about Kars, then turned to face Bruno. “What if I want to bring someone along? For the initiation process, I mean.”

“I suppose you could,” He responded. “I’m assuming that they have the same goals as you, right?”

He was silent, allowing a certain memory to come back to him.

“Signore Kars.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to become a Gang-Star.”

“...Don’t let anybody get in your way.”

Even if it was a small interaction, Kars seemed to be supportive - well, based on his tone of voice, it was more like he was saying “just do it already.” Closest thing to supportive - but that’s besides the point, Kars didn’t seem to care at all. He was most likely going to say no if Giorno asked if he wanted to join the mafia with him. However, if Giorno mentions how there might be other Stand users, he’d agree to it.

“...Not exactly,” The blond teen finally answered. “By the way, could we make a quick stop?”

“If you need to go pick up your friend, go. I have a few things I need to attend to. There’s this place we’re going to meet up at, don’t be late.”

~~~

Giorno could recognize Kars from anywhere, his height and long hair makes him stick out like a sore thumb. The Pillar Man turned around when he heard the young boy call out his name, quickly jogging up to him.

“Signore Kars, I must ask you something very important!” Giorno said.

He seemed a bit disinterested, but that’s just his usual expression.

“What is it?” He replied, silently taking note of how much shorter the teen is compared to him.

“I am going to be joining Passione, it’s uh, it’s a gang, basically,” It felt a bit weird speaking to Kars. Perhaps it’s the amount of pressure he feels just by making eye contact with him. His bright crimson eyes made Giorno feel weak, afraid almost. He hated staring into them, but he wasn’t going to let Kars know about his opinion on his eyes. “I just wanted to know if you’d like to join me. I believe there’ll be other Stand users there.”

The mention of Stand users sparked interest, a grin appeared on Kars’s face. “Stand users, you say? I suppose I could…”

“Well, I’ll be leading the way.”

~~~

Bruno had to use all his strength to not gawk at Kars. To be honest, he was expecting another teen, not a whole adult! Was this someone Giorno was related to? He couldn’t see any sort of similarities so it was unlikely. Maybe he was his step-father? No, Giorno would’ve probably mentioned that already.

Whether they were family or not, it wasn’t any of Bruno’s business. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“The capo who will decide both of your futures in the famiglia is a man named Polpo. By the way,” His gaze turned to Kars. “What’s your name?”

The Pillar Man glanced at Giorno, then returned his focus to Bruno. “Kars,” He said then added. “The ultimate lifeform.”

“Right…” Bruno eyed Kars as if he didn’t believe him. He pointed at the building with his thumb. “Go on now. He resides here in this building.”

“But.. but this is…” Giorno murmured. “It’s a prison.”

“That’s right, Polpo was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He still issues orders and manages the famiglia, but he does it all within those walls. He can leave his confinement whenever the desire strikes him, but he chooses not to.” Bruno explained. He pointed at the duo. “Listen, in a matter of minutes, he’ll conduct both of your interviews. It’s imperative you pass. It’s no different from an ordinary interview. His mood will dictate its content, and remember… he cannot find out.”:

Kars had a puzzled expression, Giorno never told him about his reason for joining.

“I understand.” The blond teen replied. He gave Kars a “follow me” gesture and walked inside the prison.

~~~

“Before you head in, I’m going to need your watch and everything in your pockets on this tray. After that, you can move onto the pat-down.”

Giorno placed his bag on the tray and checked his pockets. Kars did the same, but had nothing in them. The young Stand user noticed the guards weapons, staring at them for a moment then returned to what he was doing. The gates opened and the two were allowed to pass. Kars awkwardly ducked underneath the entrance to avoid hitting his head.

“Please stand over there, hands above your head,” A guard told Giorno before turning to Kars. “It’ll be your turn in a moment, signore.”

As he goes through the body check, she gives them both directions to Polpo’s cell. The guard repeats the process with Kars and allows the two to pass. The corridor was dark and when the lights in the cell flickered on, it revealed that it was empty. Kars frowned, expecting to see a person inside. Sighing, he turned to Giorno, about to complain that he wasted his time until a voice echoed in the cell.

“It’s injured, isn’t it? Your left arm.”

What was believed to be a bed was actually a man. Not so surprisingly, it caught the duo off guard.

“I spy a faint yet distinct red marking on the fingers of your right hand that signifies you were gripping something. I’d say to the markings left behind by a bag and based on that fact, you’ve been carrying the bag exclusively in your right hand.” Polpo sat up, examining Giorno’s hand. Kars hummed, now focused on the teenager’s fingers as well. The capo had a good eye. “Now why would that be?”

“Well first of all, you’re correct. I carried my bag with my right hand, also I did injure my left arm earlier.” He replied.

Polpo laughed and opened a refrigerator next to him. “Oh, I envy your youthful body and reckless spirit. And you there,” He turned to Kars. “Your eyes, they reveal a lot about you. Despite your young appearance, it seems like you’ve been around for a long time. I wonder, do you travel?” The man grabbed a wine bottle and a glass as he spoke. Curiously, Giorno glanced up at Kars. He was tense and his eyebrows were furrowed.

“By the by, do either of you drink wine? This chianti classico is molto buono,” He popped the cork off. “And when paired with a few crackers, scamorza, and the right amount of caviar, it’s perfection.”

“We’re not allowed to give you anything,” Giorno said as Polpo poured himself a glass of wine.

“Nor can we accept things from you.” Kars finished, almost sounding harsh.

“Puh! That’s just a silly formality. What people say when watched and what they do when no one’s around,” He clicked a button on a remote which revealed his hidden items. “Are two entirely different things! Therein lies the beauty and ugliness of this fickle thing we call humanity.”

A quiet laugh almost escaped Kars when the capo mentioned “humanity.”

“I suppose the only real tragedy to being holed up in this cell is, well,” He continued to speak as Giorno began to ponder the reason why he stays in his cell.

“Bucciarati already told me all about you,” Polpo said. “So you two desire to be a part of our famiglia, do you? It was Giorno Giovanna, wasn’t it? And he never gave me a name for you…”

“I am Kars,” He responded, the man cocked an eyebrow.

“...Just Kars? Hmm, alright. Well then, if you two are ready to begin, let’s commence with the interview,” He began to bite the tips of his fingers which disturbed Giorno. He got distracted by a cuckoo clock and once he turned back, Polpo was holding a lighter.

“When you're separating the wheat from the chaff, what do you think the most important factor for one to consider? Think carefully Kars & Giovanna,”

“What a person can do, correct?” Giorno answered.

“Oh, well what can you ragazzi do?”

The teen dropped the wallet and cash he stole from one of the guards, the one who patted him down to be exact.

Polpo laughed. “Is that all you brought to impress me, Giovanna?”

“Well besides that, I have this other little trick I can do.” Giorno folded his ear into his head, making the man laugh once more. The two turned to Kars, waiting for him to do something.

He raised his arm, a blade suddenly appeared, it gleamed brightly. Giorno squinted, the light hurt his eyes a bit, but he still admired it. The blade shone beautifully. Though, it didn’t seem that impressive to Polpo.

“Hmm, but you see, there’s something very important we haven’t discussed yet…” Polpo said. “...and that is the delicate subject of trust!”

Giorno mentally sighed, expecting to go through the same conversation Leaky-Eye Luca gave him. Kars didn’t bother listening. He was a little grossed out by the fact that the man was using his pinky finger to remove some food in between his teeth. He even flicked it at Giorno who surprisingly didn’t flinch. Not even a little.

“My test will tell me exactly how trustworthy you two are,” Polpo lifted a lighter in front of them. “Concerning flame of this lighter reveals all!” Giorno moved to grab the lighter from a small opening. “Now take it in hand and go, you both are not to let the flame expire. This could be a little teamwork practice for you two.”

The flame wavered, causing Giorno to move his hand back. “Aspetta! I warn you, exercise extreme caution. The 17th century theologian Fuller once said he’s my friend that speaks well of me behind my back, you’d do well to remember those words.”

Kars rolled his eyes, not caring about a word the capo said. He walked towards the lighter as he spoke. Carefully, he grabbed the lighter, holding it as if it was a delicate flower. The Pillar Man allowed Giorno to hold onto it. The expression on his face clearly said “Don’t you dare mess this up!”

“You have twenty-four hours, I look forward to our second meeting tomorrow, 3:00 PM. Don’t be late.”

Giorno could feel himself sweating a bit. He was starting to get rather anxious. This was the only chance he has and he couldn’t mess it up.

“ALL VISITORS MUST PROCEED THROUGH THE GATE FOR A FINAL PAT-DOWN.”

...That voice didn’t help.

~~~

A guard pointed his gun at Giorno as the young boy racked his brain for ideas that could get him out of this situation. Kars leaned down and whispered, “We could kill them and leave, can’t we? You just got the damn lighter, there’s no way that we’re failing this early…”

Giorno shook his head. “No, I think I got this.”

He lifted his arms above his head, feeling the flame burn his skin. Kars could see and smell the smoke, it wasn’t pleasant. The female guard patted him down, telling him he was free to go before grabbing his wrist. She reminded him that accepting anything from Polpo was prohibited. Kars frowned, preparing himself to slice her head off with his brilliant bone blade once she found the lighter.

A flower.

Instead of a lighter, it was a flower.

It caught Kars a bit off guard, but that’s something he wouldn’t admit out loud. The guard wasn’t expecting that either, but she allowed Giorno to keep it. The blond teen looked back at the Pillar Man. He could’ve sworn he saw a small smile on his lips. The woman urged him to keep moving. Giorno collected all his things and left, waiting for Kars outside the prison. The flower transformed back into a lighter.

Walking back to his room with Kars following behind him was… sort of weird. It was clear he was an adult and students stared at him. With just one glare, they turn away and move faster. Kars could be so effortlessly intimidating. A gust of wind almost blew the flame out. The Pillar Man transformed his right arm into a wing, using it to shield the flame.

“Here, give it to me,” Giorno handed the lighter over to Kars, making it easier for the man to protect the flame. The two ignored a group of students who called out to them to take some photo for them. Soon, Kars’s arm returned to normal as they entered the building.

The blond teen carefully held the lighter once Kars returned it to him. He grabbed a piece of bread, took a bite out of it, and shoved the object into it. He felt the Pillar Man’s eyes boring into him, definitely judging him for his action. Giorno rearranged the objects on his desk to protect the flame.

“I think it should be fine, a little draft shouldn’t be enough to blow it out,” He moved to lock the window. “By the way, signore Kars-”

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed someone opening his door, he quickly mouths “hide” to Kars. Giorno hides outside his window as Kars shapeshifts his body to hide in the cupboards. It was pretty bizarre to watch.

The Japanese tourist, Koichi Hirose, entered the room. He was searching for his passport. Giorno watched helplessly as he looked through his closet and opened his drawers. Using Gold Experience, Giorno transforms a lamp cord into a snake. The animal bit the bread, moving it up and out of Koichi’s reach. Unfortunately, the flame burned its skin and forced it to drop the bread. Now it's been noticed.

Luckily, Koichi was focused on his passport which gave Giorno time to get back the lighter. The distraction also gave Kars time to get out of the cabinets.

To be honest, Giorno wanted to question Kars ability. He has the ability to shapeshift. He could turn his arm into a bird’s wing and flatten his body to get through the small spaces in his cabinet.

“Just missed you there, sorry about that!” The old janitor began rambling about something silly. Giorno stared down at his wet hands… and the wet lighter. The flame was extinguished.

Despite being behind him, the teen could feel the ungodly amount of rage radiating off of Kars. The Pillar Man was making low, almost demonic growling. He muttered curses and glared at the old man. It took a whole lot of willpower not to kill him right then and there.The janitor reignites the lighter and hands it back to Giorno.

Both Giorno and Kars could tell something was off, but neither of them knew what it was.

Suddenly, the blond teen sees something walking by and disappearing behind a column.

“Kars… I think I saw…”

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO REIGNITED THE FLAME!”

Giorno was able to hear the voice, but Kars couldn’t.

“I OFFER TWO PATHS, BUT YOU MUST PICK THE ONE THAT WILL LEAD TO SALVATION!” Turning around, Giorno sees the Stand grabbing onto the poor janitor’s soul. “TIME TO CHOOSE, DO YOU LIVE ON AND BECOME ONE OF THE CHOSEN OR DO YOU PROCEED ALONG THE PATH OF DEATH?”

An arrow appeared from its mouth which Kars was able to see. Giorno felt pain when he saw the man's soul, his expression showed how terrified he was. He wanted to do something, but there wasn’t a thing he could do. The arrow went through his head. When nothing happened, the Stand threw his body back and Giorno caught it.

The first thing noticed is how there was no wound, yet he was only a corpse. He moved back while Kars stayed in place. The Pillar Man glanced at Giorno, silently asking if the Stand had moved yet.

Before he could make any response, the Stand dashed towards him, probably to pull out his soul and pierce him with the arrow as well.

Looks like someone has gotten into another unwanted Stand battle.

[timehealsfanfictionbka]

Time Heals.....Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chris looked down at his watch as he sat in the parking lot of the old high school. When Robyn suggested a neutral place, he wasn’t expecting here but obviously there was a point to this. A few more minutes went by before he sighed in relief as her car pulled up next to his. He smiled as she climbed out and walked over to him, “Hey you.”

“Hey. Sorry I was late, your mom started asking me about stuff and time kind of slipped away from me. You been here long?”

“Like ten minutes. No biggie.”

“Ok. You wanna walk?”

“This is your show. I’m just following your lead.”

Robyn held out her hand and Chris entwined their fingers together as they started walking towards the track. A few more minutes passed as they walked in silence before Robyn stopped in front of the bleachers and sat down. Chris sat down next to her and took a deep breath, “so why are we here of all places?”

“You know, growing up, I had always had a little puppy crush on you. You were cute and funny but I think our freshman year of high school is when I really developed feelings for you.”

“I knew about the crush part but I always told you that you were my boo anyway.”

“I know.”

“So what does here have to do with that?”

“You don’t remember? Think about it for a moment.”

Chris looked around the track field as he tried to rack his brain for the memory. He frowned a bit as things started coming back to him, “It was your track team try out. You ran the 400 relay in the fastest time and I was waiting here for you to finish when you came and told me that you were selected.”

“And what else?”

“I picked you up and swung you around because I was so excited and I kissed your cheek.”

“And?”

“I don’t remember what happened after that.”

“Your little girlfriend saw this and ran over and tried to fight me.”

“What?”

“How do you not remember that? I got kicked off the track team the same night I got selected because she was the co-captain and I dragged her ass up and down this track.”

“Oh yea! Alicia, I think was her name. You did get her good though, Bajan Girl.”

“I don’t know how you forget that when you almost sprained your ankle trying to break it up.”

“That is very true but I’m trying to figure where this is going.”

“After they finally broke up the fight, you sat me down on this very spot, dug into my track bag and started cleaning me up. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it but I think I fell in love with you at the very moment.”

“And then I put you on my back and carried you to my car before driving you home.”

“Yup. And lied down on the couch with me until I fell asleep then you went home.”

“How do you remember that so clearly?”

“I could never forget it. And no matter how many irritating ass girls you brought into our lives, you always kept a space for me. That’s why I could never stay mad at you but it’s also why the situation before your wedding hurt me so much. I had never felt as insignificant to you as I did when I woke up that next morning.”

“I never thought about it like that.”

“When I told you that I loved you, it wasn’t in the moment. I had been thinking about it for a long time and it was a combination of everything you had done for me. Seeing you with someone else the next day bothered me but you were still with me. Watching you date girl after girl irritated me but you were still with me. I still had my spot. There was still a part of you, a gentleness, a calmness that all those other girls didn’t have access to and knowing that you were getting married made me afraid to lose that. When I went away to college, you still flew to see me every month. I’d sign out of the dorms for the weekend to stay with you in your hotel room and everything was normal again. I’d visit you on base whenever I could. I spent more time with you on base than I did with my family when I came back home. And now being around you, I’ve started thinking about everything else that happened. All the awkward moments, bad moments that happened between all the good things you did. The times you left me stranded because your girlfriend called you while we were out. The times you got upset with me because I kept cursing out your girlfriends for being disrespectful. The times you crashed all my dates in the name of being protective to the point no boy wanted to ask me out in fear of you showing up. Back then it was so easy to just brush it aside because there was nothing at stake. Nothing would happen if I decided to walk away from you but now we have children. Now my heart is involved and I can’t handle the rollercoasters that used to come with you. Now I’m always on edge that you’re just waiting me out just so you can go back to being how you used to be and I don’t want to be like that. I want to feel like I did that night you wiped my face after that fight. I want to feel like I did when you cuddled with me on the couch until I fell asleep. I want to feel safe and I want to feel secure and I’m too scared to feel like that because before as soon as I did, you’d fuck up and I’d just say ok, meanwhile, I’m fucking screaming on the inside. I wanna love you as openly as I can but I don’t want to sacrifice my peace for it.”

Chris wiped away the few tears that fell down her face with his free hand before lifting their entwined hands and kissing the back of her hand, “You are absolutely justified to be afraid. You have every right to keep me at arm’s length. And you definitely have the right to cautious. I was a complete asshole to you at times but I can’t know how it’s affecting you if you don’t tell me. I’m not gonna pretend like I didn’t know I did some fucked up things but when you tell me everything is ok and act like nothing has changed, I assumed all was forgiven. You are not my emotional punching bag and I’d never want you to feel like that but I’m not a psychic, you have to tell me these things. I’ve been known to be a little slow, you know.”

Robyn giggled, “I know.”

“I love you, Robyn and I always have. I’ve never stopped wanting to protect you and take care of you but when you shut down on me, I feel like there’s nothing else I can do. I can't change the past and I’m not gullible enough to think you’re just gonna move pass the past overnight but giving me a chance to create our present is always a start.”

“I’m trying to but-“

“I’m not saying that you aren’t but at some point, you’re gonna have to be open and vulnerable with me. You told me that my growth into a grown man will be uncomfortable.”

“Yes.”

“Well, our growth into a real relationship after what we’ve been through will be uncomfortable but at some point, we have to work through it. Shit will happen, I’m not perfect and will not pretend to be but I’m willing to stick this out with you if you’re willing to stick it out with me.”

“Chris.”

“Baby, all I’m asking for is us to take one day at a time. I won’t mention marriage or anything more permanent until you’re ready for us to talk about it.”

“One day at a time?”

“One day at a time.”

“That I can do.”

Chris smoothed his hand along her face before kissing her. He pressed his forehead into hers as he used to his fingertips to wipe the wetness from her face.

“I haven’t ever seen you cry this much,” he murmured to her. 

Robyn giggled, “I hate that I am crying.”

“I’m ok with it. At least I know you’re allowing yourself to feel something other than anger. I’ll take it over you trying to kill me.”

“I have never tried to kill you. I’ve thought about it but never did it.”

Chris gasped playfully in shock, “you could’ve stopped at never tried to kill me.”

Robyn laughed, “I’m just being honest.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Chris stood up and pulled Robyn up with him. With no words, they started walking around the path of the track. After two laps, Robyn sighed and leaned into his arm, “Chris, I wanna leave our past here.”

“I don’t want you to rush yourself.”

“Not rush but push. If I don’t push myself to move on, I’ll always hang on to the excuses. If I don’t heal, I’ll never get to be where I want to be with you.”

“I want you to do it in your own time.”

“And I am. Talking about this just made me realize at some point I have to acknowledge, accept and move on from the past. If I’m choosing to have you in my life now, I have to focus on now because no matter what you say or do it won’t undo what has already happened. My feelings are valid but I shouldn’t allow them to control my life like this. Basing my decisions on guilt or regret will have me out here doing things I shouldn’t be doing and the same goes for you. I don’t want our relationship to be that way.”

“Are we in a relationship?”

“Yes. We are still going one day at a time and no marriage talks but we are exclusively in a relationship.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. How about we drop your car off at my house and I take you somewhere?”

“We have to get the girls.”

“We won’t be out too late, I promise.”

“Ok, let’s do it.”

                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Chris, what are we doing here? I thought we were going somewhere fun,” Robyn said as she glanced around the store. It was basically a sports haven.

“It is going to be fun but I need to get something from here first. Don’t be a spoilsport.”

Robyn rolled her eyes as he took her hand and they started walking to the back. They passed all the basketball and baseball equipment until they reached an area for pool tables.

“You play pool?”

“I dabble and after a random thought I had one night, I decided I wanted to get a pool table.”

“What random thought?”

“In time, it will be revealed. Which one you like best?”

“Chris, why are you deferring this to me? This is your house.”

“And you’re my girlfriend. Now, which one do you like?”

Robyn let his hand go to start slowly walking around the selection of tables before stopping in front of an all-black model, “I like this one. It’d look nice in that spare room you have upstairs.”

“We must think alike because I was thinking of transforming that from my office to a game room.”

“Aren’t you gonna need an office?”

“Nah, I never use it. I rarely bring work home and if I do, I use my laptop and sit in my bedroom. I have no use for it.”

“Lucky you.”

“You know if you slowed down a little and left work at work, you’d use your office less too.”

“I like my work and I work better at home anyway. I get interrupted too much at the office and everybody always wants to talk to me. I need silence to work like I want.”

“You can’t schedule a block of time where you just get left alone every day? That’s how I get my work done.”

“Tried that, never works for long because I always get called into somebody else’s conference call or meeting to explain something they should know and don’t.”

Chris chuckled, “I guess that’s why you get the big bucks.”

“I guess.”

Chris leaned against a nearby pool table and watched as Robyn walked around the black one she had chosen, running her hand across the velvet. He bit down on his bottom lip as she moved slowly, one foot in front of the other, a deliberate alternating sway of her hips.

“You walking like that on purpose.”

“No.”

“That wasn’t a question. You are walking like that on purpose.”

Robyn laughed as she made her way to stand beside him, “And if I was?”

“Don’t do that. We do not have time to do anything before we have to get the kids home and to bed on time.”

“Yes Daddy.”

“Stop it.”

Robyn giggled as she leaned against his back and rested her head on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his cheek, “are we gonna get to the fun part?”

“This wasn’t fun?”

“Chris.”

Chris laughed, “come here.”

Robyn moved to stand in between his legs and he settled his hands on her hips, “what?”

“How about we go get some ice cream? I know this really cool place that lets you make your own ice cream and stuff.”

“Like we physically get to make it or we just tell them what we want?”

“We physically get to make it.”

“Oooh that does sound like fun. Let’s go.”

“Let me talk to the service guy and order the pool table then we can go.”

“Ok.”

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You got all excited for ice cream just to make butter pecan and add sprinkles,” Chris scoffed,

“Look I didn’t judge whatever the hell it is you made so don’t judge me,” Robyn replied as she rolled her eyes.

They were sitting on Chris’s new couch as Mama Joyce volunteered to bring the girls to Chris’s house instead of them driving to pick them up. Luckily she was already on her way to run some errands that took her past his house.

“You are judging me by calling it whatever the hell it is. You should taste it, it's good.”

“I saw what you put in it. No.”

Chris dug a spoonful and pressed it to her closed lips, “Come on, be a little adventurous.”

“I am not taking chances with my stomach. No.”

“Please Baby.”

“Chris.”

He pouted and made a puppy dog look with his eyes, “Please Babe, I promise you’ll like it.”

Robyn sighed, “fine.”

She took the spoon from Chris and tasted the ice cream. Her eyebrow went up as it melted in her mouth and Chris watched with a smile, “good huh?”

“It’s ok,” she replied as she handed him back his spoon, “still don’t think all that stuff went together.”

“Whatever. So you spending the night or you going home?”

“Going home. I don’t have any work clothes here.”

“I mean we can run to the mall real quick.”

“You always trying to buy me something.”

“No, I’m trying to get you to stay the night with me. I like waking up to you.”

“Awww, you’re sweet.”

“Don’t do that. It makes me feel like you curving me.”

“I love you, I wouldn’t curve you.”

“So stay the night. We can make a quick store run, grab a nice suit and some shoes and you can go to work from here.”

“I guess.”

“We could get a couple other things to keep here, just in case.”

“You sure do know how to take advantage of a weak moment.”

Chris laughed, “this is not a weak moment but you must admit that it is a good idea.”

“According to who?”

“According to me besides I like seeing your clothes in my closet.”

“I’ve never had clothes in your closet.”

“Where do you think all those sweats and things went every time you changed clothes over here?”

“I took my stuff home.”

“Uh no, you didn’t.”

“Whatever. Let’s hurry up before your mother gets here.”

“I’ll text her just in case she gets here before we get back.”

“That woman is gonna get tired of us.”

“She loves her granddaughters and she loves the fact we are working this out. It’s fine.”

Robyn slipped her feet back into her sneakers as Chris moved to grab his hoodie and car keys.

“Wait, we gotta put the ice cream up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean it up when we get back.”

“Can I have a hoodie please?”

“Cold?”

“Very.”

Chris moved to his coat closet and grabbed a black hoodie to hand to Robyn. She slipped it over her head and laughed when she looked up, “We match.”

“We do. Isn’t that cute?”

“You do this on purpose?”

“I barely even looked into the closet, I just grabbed the closest one besides I have two of everything since you steal my stuff.”

“Borrow. Not steal.”

“Borrow would imply that you return it.”

“I do once I’m finished with it.”

“Which is never.”

“Shut up.”

Chris wrapped his arm around her neck and kissed her temple, “let’s go shopping for you before it gets too late.”

“There’s this designer outlet that closes late that I used to go to.”

“Designer? You trying to break my pockets?”

“Nope but you offered and I only wear expensive fabrics, Baby.”

Chris rolled his eyes, “Girl come on.”

Robyn laughed as they walked out the front door to his car.

[altonajitzu]

Superflowers Ch.1: Nayeon

“It’s the sea!” Jihyo exclaimed with gusto. She grinned widely, taking in a lungful of salty fresh air. Around her, the members of TWICE were also showing their own version of delight.

Their work schedule had been jampacked as of late, and one by one, the member exhibited different signs of exhaustion. Mina was hardly seen out of her room whenever they were at the dorm, Tzuyu became more irritable, and Jihyo found herself using her eye drops a lot more than usual lately. Her eyes got incredibly itchy at times, and she attributed this to the make-up that might have gotten into her eyes during their countless photoshoots and recordings.

Ever the observant producer, JYP granted them a two-day, one-night trip to Jeju Island. Admittedly, it was no full-fledged vacation on an exotic site- far from it actually, but they couldn’t have asked for anything better. The girls let out delighted shrieks upon hearing the news, overjoyed at their rare chance to let off steam and just let loose.

On the arrival at Jeju Island, they were greeted with a lavish dinner in a seaside restaurant.

“Your turn to order Jihyo.” Jeongyeon said, passing the menu to her leader.

“Alright! Let’s get some specialty in our stomach!” She exclaimed enthusiastically. Everything looked and sounded really palatable, so she picked one at random. “I’ll have some Galchi Jorim. Wait never mind, I don’t want that. One serving of Okdom Gui for me please.” The waiter nodded and proceeded to the next member.

“What’s wrong with Galchi Jorim though?” Dahyun, who was choosing next, asked curiously.

“Nothing Dahyunie, I just wanted something else.”

“Have you tried Galchi Jorim before?”

“No I haven’t.” She didn’t know herself why she changed her choice, but something told her she wouldn’t like the dish, so she chose another one without giving it another thought. Jihyo now felt foolish, seeing as she had never tried it before.

“Huh, that’s weird.” The rapper shrugged, dropping the topic.

Jihyo looked around the table. Everyone was excited, either chatting animatedly or taking selfies with the others. But then she noticed Nayeon, who was seated on her left, staring at nothing in particular with a distracted look.

“Nayeon-unnie?” She called out, catching Nayeon’s attention. The girl snapped back to reality.

“Yeah?”

“Is something wrong? You look… bored.” She asked with genuine concern. Of course the vacation was meant for them to have fun, but it was her obligation to see everyone

“I’m fine Jihyo, just a bit tired.” Came Nayeon’s reply.

“Let me cheer you up then. Say, if you're Russian when you go to the toilet, and Finnish when you go out, what are you when you're in the toilet?"

“… What?”

“European!”

The look on Nayeon’s face then was something Jihyo would take to the grave.

“Gosh, shut it you.” Nayeon pushed her away, but her lovely smile finally returned. Jihyo gleefully noted, directing her focus back to the newly-arrived food.

That night, she dreamt of having fun in the sea. Unlike other dreams, this particular one was so real, Jihyo actually felt exhausted when she woke up.

_____

The following morning, as expected, was a blast. They were given free reign at an exclusive resort site, reserved by JYP himself for his artists. Thanks to constant upkeep, this part of the beach was thankfully kept in almost pristine condition. The sea spread out limitlessly to the horizon, painting Jihyo’s vision with its deep azure sheen. There was no one here but themselves, save for their managers who had thoughtfully left TWICE alone- but never out of their sight.

TWICE spent the entire morning in the sea, enjoying each other’s company as they frolicked around without a care in the world.

After a few hours, Jihyo decided she was tired enough to stop.

Stepping back onto the white sand, Jihyo winced as her foot landed on something pointy.

“Ouch. What is…” She never finished her question. Suddenly hit by a wave of nausea, Jihyo clutched her head. Here it was again, the extreme sense of deja vu. She had been feeling this for the umpteenth time today, and it was no longer fun.

Looking around warily, Jihyo saw the scene with different eyes. Everyone was acting perfectly normal, yet it felt strangely familiar, as if she had seen this a lot before. While this was true, it shouldn’t have affected her so much as it was at the moment.

Her gaze drifted to a bench nearby, where a lone figure sat. Nayeon had stopped swimming some time earlier, and now she was hanging out on the beach, completely focused on playing the guitar.

Wait… guitar?

Jihyo was, after all, not an omnipresent god; there could be a lot of mysteries going on for her members that she never discovered, but there was one thing Jihyo knew for sure- Nayeon had never played the guitar before.

It did not take long for Jihyo to put two and two together.

“Nayeon-unnie.” She muttered under her breath. The person in their group with the ability to manipulate time at will, she must have had something to do with this. The evidence kept piling up, each and every of them pointing towards the involvement of TWICE’s oldest member. Determined to find out the truth, Jihyo walked out of the water and towards her unnie.

Nayeon looked up from her guitar and smiled fondly at the approaching leader. She couldn’t have enough of seeing Jihyo in her swimwear. Even at this private site of the island the threat of paparazzi was prominent, so any sort of revealing attire was sadly out of the question. As it stood, they had to do with full body swimsuits only. Still, it did not make Jihyo seem any less attractive; the skintight sportswear clung nicely to her well-proportioned figure and glistened with water, giving her an incredibly sensual aura.

“Hey.” The leader greeted. Shaking her head from the reverie, Nayeon replied smoothly.

“Hey Jihyo, having fun?”

“I am, Nayeon-unnie, thanks for asking. I’m having too much fun right now, it’s almost too good to be true.” With this she shot a pointed look at the older girl.

If Nayeon was at all fazed from the meaningful stare she did not show it. Rather, she merely nodded and returned to fiddling with the guitar strings. Her next song, which was her own impromptu adaptation of Likey, revealed anything but a relaxed state. Nayeon stopped on second too long after the intro, fumbled one time too many on the chorus, and- Jihyo noticed upon closer inspection- her chord hand was showing the slightest of trembles. She was nervous, and Jihyo knew it.

She put her hand on Nayeon’s, forcing the older to stop playing and divert her eyes upwards to meet her leader’s.

“You have something to do with this, don’t you, Nayeon-unnie?” Jihyo inquired, seeking the verbal confirmation of what she already knew. “You’re turning back time, and we’re having this vacation over and over.”

Nayeon did not answer, and she looked away. Despite the lack of response, Jihyo could see clearly the resigned guilt and overwhelming boredom in Nayeon’s slumped posture.

“How do you tell?” She asked with a quiet, dejected voice of someone who was caught red-handed. “It shouldn’t be any more than a slight deja vu. There’s no way you could find out you’re stuck in a time loop!”

“Nayeon-unnie… I’ve known you for almost a decade now, and never once did I see you with a guitar. People can’t just up and cover a song like that you know, that takes a lot of practice.” Nayeon stared at the guitar in her hands with disdain. Never once did she think it would be her undoing.

“… I gave myself away there, didn’t I?” Jihyo nodded sympathetically. Nayeon heaved a sigh, realizing her blunder one second too late.

“But why are you doing this? I told you, overusing your powers is not good for your health!”

“Well, when we were about to head home that evening, you told me how you wished for the vacation to last forever, so I thought…”

Jihyo’s eyes widened to the size of a golfball. That was the last thing she ever expected. Of course, since her unnie had rewound the time, she could not have remembered this particular instance, but she could very well imagine herself getting sad and saying something along the line of ‘I wish this vacation would last forever’.

“Oh my lord Nayeon-unnie… I don’t even know what to say…”

“But you need this vacation, don’t you! You’ve been working tirelessly these last few weeks, and it hurts to see you stress yourself out like that.” Nayeon desperately tried to justify her action, something she realized had been nothing but a colossal mistake.

Jihyo did not reply. She stared at the time manipulator, her mind blank with shock.

Before long, Nayeon decided she had had enough of this.

“Just, forget I said anything. It was really a stupid idea, you don’t remember what happened anyway. I won’t do it again.” Nayeon huffed and stood up, intent on getting away from her leader. She knew, deep inside, that what she did didn’t really make much sense if one thought about it, but seeing Jihyo’s incredulous reaction proved was too much. She did not really hope for any kind of appreciation, but still…

“Wait, Nayeonie.” Jihyo suddenly spoke up, using the rarely used nickname. Nayeon turned back and raised an eyebrow; being the oldest among the girls, no one really called her that but herself, so the mention of the nickname redirected her attention right away.

Jihyo stood up as well and wrapped the dumbfounded Nayeon in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean it to come out like that. I’m just so shocked that you’d do something like that for my sake.”

“Well it’s not really your sake alone, but others too, you know…” Nayeon trailed off when she saw Jihyo’s amused look. “Alright, I mostly think of you only when I do it. Happy?”

“Very. Look, Nayeon-unnie, I can’t thank you enough for your consideration, but please, think about yourself too. You’re bored out of your mind, and I can’t live with myself if I’m the cause for that.”

Nayeon looked at her quizzically. “That’s all? You’re not mad?”

“How could I be? That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Admittedly I did not expect you’d take my words at face value, but it has been awesome. I just wish I could remember all the time I spent here, but sadly I only do for this repeat.” Jihyo playfully pouted, and was delighted that the smile she loved finally returned to Nayeon’s pretty face.

“… Really?”

“Really.”

“In that case, reward me.” Nayeon said slyly, puckering her lips out. It was clear what she was expecting.

“I’m not kissing you Nayeon-unnie…” Came Jihyo’s refusal. Still, she planted an appreciative kiss on Nayeon’s cheek. “… yet.”

“Dammit Jihyo, you’re such a tease. This will come back to bite you in the ass one day, I swear.”

“How can I not be? I live with a bunch of girls that are trying to steal kisses on my lips everyday. I have to retaliate somehow, no?” The light-hearted banter continued as they walked back towards the others.

“Last question. How long has this been going on, Nayeon-unnie?” Asked Jihyo curiously as they sat back down on the bench, almost afraid of the answer. After all, her unnie had managed to be quite proficient on the guitar, and taking into account the fact that she’d never touched one prior, the loop was likely to have been going on for quite a long while.

Nayeon looked down, her long hair obscuring whatever expression she had, and mumbled the answer.

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch you.”

“… 19 weeks.”

Jihyo promptly fell out of her seat.

____

Sitting in the van heading home from the airport, betwixt her rowdy bandmates, Nayeon rested her head on Jihyo’s shoulder and mused.

“You know Jihyo, in that time loop, I saw a lot of interesting things.”

Jihyo turned to look at Nayeon curiously.

“What are you talking about Nayeon-unnie?”

“I watched you guys doing your thing at the beach every day, then it suddenly occurred to me that I should note down what you guys did each repeat.” Nayeon fumbled with her back pocket, taking out a small notebook.

“Check this. Tzuyu was too afraid to even touch the water at first, but she gradually edged closer and closer thanks to your help… and the last day, she was frolicking in the water like it’s the most natural thing in the world.” This ilicited a laugh from Jihyo. She had been trying to get the maknae out of her fear for so long, and ironically, she did not even remember when she finally succeeded.

“Awww Nayeon-unnie, that was such an achievement, yet now I have no memory of that.” She playfully slapped Nayeon’s leg, making her pout.

“Well, what matters is that you finally did it, no?”

“… I guess you’re right.” Conceded Jihyo. “What else do you have?”

“Let’s see… Most of the others did more or less the same thing over and over, like Sana. She never gets tired of swimming it seems. Every time she challenged someone to a swimming contest, and she managed to lost each and every of them.” The duo shared a small laughter. “Or Mina and her passion for building sand castles, and our rappers for underwater wrestling.” She turned to the first place of the notebook, then continued.

“But you, Jihyo… you did something different every single time. You sat with me the day I started out on the guitar. You tried to swim as far as possible, making everyone worried. You got us all to play a game of beach volleyball. Once you even did scuba diving with a borrowed suit and equipments.”

Jihyo did not expect this newfound info. “I did all of that?”

“You did. I should have noticed this before, but this was the sign that you remembered, at least, your body did. Unconsciously you want to try something new and unprecedented, even if you didn’t know it yourself.”

The leader took one moment to absorb the observation. “I… reckon it’s true. Today, at least I think it’s today, I had a dream that I played in the sea so much I got tired even I awoke, so I felt like relaxing and taking a walk on the beach instead.”

“I see. Well, trust me when I tell you, you can now do pretty much every activity one can possible do at the beach like a veteran, and you can claim you’ve never done this before.”

“This has been an amazing experience Nayeon-unnie, I’m sure it is, even if I remember nothing.”

“Jihyo… This goes to show that even among us extraordinaires, you’re still special. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” Nayeon concluded, landing a light peck on Jihyo’s flushed cheek.

“… Thank you, Nayeon-unnie. For everything.” They sat in a companionable silence, until Nayeon whispered again.

“… Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I… try something new and unprecedented too?” This got Jihyo’s attention.

“What do you have in mind, Nayeon-unnie?”

“… I want to fast forward the time. See if we can get home sooner, even if it’s just a few minutes.” Jihyo detected a hint of anxiety in Nayeon’s unusually meek voice. Nayeon was always confident- whether it was about her looks, her singing, or her charisma, she had absolute trust in herself. Even though the other members, Jihyo herself included, often acted annoyed to her self-centered, borderline narcissistic behavior, they were secretly appreciative of it- whenever they were up against something arduous, Nayeon served as their source of self-assurance. One look at the cheerful bunny girl and they felt whatever they were facing did not seem nearly as intimidating as before.

Only when it came to unfamiliar grounds did the eldest of TWICE show any sign of insecurity.

However, Jihyo would not have that. She had been there when Nayeon took up guitar- at least, that was according to Nayeon herself, and she would be there for her when she tried to raise her powers to the next level.

“Don’t worry Nayeon-unnie, just try your best and don’t push your limits. I’m sure you can do it, no problem at all.” She said in her best soothing voice.

“… What if I can’t and we get stuck somewhere in the void? What if I brought us too far forward and we all became old and wrinkly? What if…” Nayeon was stopped as Jihyo put a finger on her lips. It was warm and reassuring.

“No matter what happens unnie, I know you can fix it. I trust you completely.” In an attempt to appease Nayeon’s disquiet spirit, Jihyo planted an affectionate kiss on the hand she was holding in hers, her eyes never leaving Nayeon’s.

The older girl found herself tear up almost immediately. This alone was the reason why she had been able to withstand all the pain of being an outcast. It had been durable, always up a bold and cocky facade and striving on forwards, only because she could return to this helping hand when things were too much to handle.

“… Thank you, Jihyo-ah. Thank you.”

With that, Jihyo closed her eyes. Their intertwined hands, held firmly between their bodies, never parted even as Nayeon once again twisted the fabric of space and time.

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + The Divine Christmas Annual #1

Spoilers, obv.

There's a backbone of Specials which I consider essential to WicDiv's plot. This is one of the main reasons we've ended up putting the Specials trade into the schedule before the last trade in the series rather than after it – as fractally as WicDiv is structured, this is information you should know before the end rather than after it.

They also work off a weird time-switched aspect – so they're read at the time of publication (for single readers) and also at the latter point in the story (for trade readers). In other words, they're revealing different information and to different import depending on whether you read them as they're released or as they're collected.

Which is an interesting challenge.

The Christmas Annual is the first Special which doesn't work like this. Looking at the schedule, we thought it healthier to add an extra month to the gap between arcs. The next arc is six issues, as is the one after that. We decided to add another special, and then saw what would be fun to do.

This was a boon for me. The problem is never not having enough material, y'know? The difference between something I'd like to do and something that is essential I do is narrow. Jamie had the idea of going back to periods we skipped and showing some of their key moments. I initially kicked against it a little, but when the thing I was trying proved too hard to make work, it seemed the simplest thing to do for me, and seemed a cute gift to the fans in a year that's been pretty fucking brutal.

(That we rarely get happier than bittersweet speaks to me, really. All happiness is tinged with sadness. “I love you” is married to “and one day we will all be dead”.)

But it was also a fun time. We got a gang of our favourite people together and did a bunch of short stories. Most of all, I got to write a bunch of people I haven't written for a while. I've missed them.

How were the stories chosen? Rapidly! The main limitation was not choosing anything which would spoil anything in Imperial Phase: Part Two. The Specials are designed to be spoiler-free for any trade which isn't released when it's released. We also wanted to show a bunch of kissing and similar social activities, as for a book which has as much emotional and sexual stuff driving the characters, there's relatively little on panel.

I wrote 'em, showed them to the gang, and then we worked out who we could ask to draw them. I was expecting I would remove several of them, but they all ended up going in, with tweaks in some cases in the story's focus. In terms of the characters selected, I definitely paid attention to characters who had relatively little screen time – so, Lucifer, Inanna and Tara.

Jamie's Cover

Using a bought Photoshop filter, this actually a lot more work than Jamie was expecting. It is wonderful though. It is to my eternal regret we never actually arranged it as a Christmas Merchandise thing. This is a delight to me. Really, we're aware that Jamie doesn't do many playful covers, so this was an opportunity we grasped with both hands. For all the iconic drama, there's also a playfulness to WicDiv that doesn't always show up on the covers.

Kris Anka's Cover

It's a Christmas Annual in the mode of a British Annual – in that these are annuals released at Christmas rather than having Christmas as a major theme per se. Anyway, despite all that, Inanna and Baal in hot make-out beneath the mistletoe is an absolute joy. I am pleased we get to do this.

IFC

The main editorial note to Designer Sergio was “Tackier! Tackier!”

The photo was taken in North London cocktail bar “Every Cloud.” Jamie is probably drinking some manner of Old Fashioned. I think I'm drinking some kind of Buttered Rum-containing cocktail. Chrissy draped the only decorations she could find over our heads.

1-6

Kris Anka! Jen Bartel helped out on inks on this as well, due to time constraints. Kris is currently on a Marvel Exclusive, so we had to get permission to do this story. Marvel said yes, so thanks to them enormously.

Yes, if you examine the timeline, Valhalla was certainly erected quickly. And yes, “Erected quickly” is a major theme in this story.

It's one of the lighter stories in the issue – obviously delineating what we know about Baal to this moment says a lot, and the same for Inanna.

I tried to write the scripts to the artists, but I also was interested in leaving it open for them to express things in their own ways. Generally speaking, I let the artists choose how to show the characters in a sex scene, as I want to see their own interpretation. It was a delight to see Kris go as far as he did here.

We did wonder whether we'd be okay with showing hard cocks. We're told that hard cocks are fine, but ejaculation is the problematic limit. I'm glad it's not an issue. This is a hot scene, but it's primarily a romantic one.

I love what Matt is doing with the panel on page 5 – the pinks and purples of Inanna here.

Baals expression on the first panel is very funny, as is the confidence in panel 3 of it.

7-8-9-10

There's seven stories, but several were just two pages. We realised the best way to do it would be to group the shorter of the long ones with the short ones so all collaborators get 5-6 pages each. This makes it much easier with trade royalties down the line, and organising 5 artists (plus colourists and flatters) is a significantly easier one than organising 7 (and their associated collaborators).

This is the first of the stories coloured by Tamra Bonvillain. I've never worked with Tamra before, but we loved her work, approached her, and she said yes. Thanks for joining us on this journey.

The artist here is Rachael Stott, who is probably best known for her Doctor Who work, but is about to do Motherland for Vertigo with Si Spurrier, which looks excellent.

There was quite a lot of careful balloon work here, to try and guide the eye and provide the necessary exposition (or really, reminders – all this is building upon or just showing events that have been alluded to earlier.) The eye-guiding is key – for example, due to a minor quirk of the first two panels, the Shard is hidden by the column which means that the view in the second panel feels instantly wrong. We end up disguising the shard with the dialogue so it's far less noticeable.

This event is alluded to by Lucifer in issue 3 of WicDiv.

The penthouse is the one we see in issue 1, which I presume is rented by the Pantheon for their purposes.

Writing Lucifer after all this time was a pleasure. Well, pleasure may be the wrong word. She's herself, and she's always very able to show bits of herself. Lucifer says things that no one else in the cast does, which is obviously one of her huge problems.

Yes, the first panel of page 9 did make me think of an OBJECTION! style WicDiv Phoenix-Wright-esque game.

The panel is also a place where we really had to do the work to put this in continuity – the obvious assumption would be that Baal is pissed off about Lucifer sleeping with Sakhmet, which is only really a minor cause of WTF-ness.

That Lucifer explicitly fucked with Baal and Inanna was hinted at early in WicDiv and made explicit in WicDiv 23. Inanna didn't consider the relationship exclusive, as he doesn't see why anyone would automatically assume a romantic relationship is exclusive. Inanna's great weakness is not always realising that everyone is like him.

The “You're a bad person” ties off why Lucifer and Sakhmet never slept together many times, also mentioned in issue 3. Sakhmet, I suspect, just doesn't like the complications and drama. She is deeply averse to complications.

The last three panels are classic comedy steady-angle shots. That the sprinklers aren't visible led to adding an alarm sound at lettering, to avoid the possible assumption that Baal made it rain indoors or something.

Reading this I find myself thinking about Lucifer in the Special versus Lucifer in the Annual – in the sense that we're seeing her much more humanly, which is leaning into what makes her comic (and awful). The last three panels are not ones you could imagine in The Faust Act, as seen through Laura's star eyes. Nice fucked off expression in the last panel from Rachael.

11-12-13-14-15

Chynna Clugston Flores is just one of my indie comic crushes. Blue Monday is basically one of those key links between 90s and 00s comics. Bryan Lee O'Malley pitched Scott Pilgrim as Blue Monday meets Dragon Ball Z. We pitched Phonogram and Blue Monday meets Hellblazer. She's a wonder.

As such, writing for her was a dream, and I was explicitly writing for her. While this is much more rigid in terms of panel shapes than Chynna would write for herself (the steady angle on the two people in the front seat is very much me trying to write a sort of claustrophobic talking heads kind of set-up) but I'm really exploring a very Chynna type place.

I've been thinking of Dionysus as a “Umar” for a while. When thinking up Dio, the image of writer Umar Ditta leading the Thought Bubble dancefloor was definitely in my mind, and I thought it'd be fun if they share a name, despite being very different dudes. (Not least that Umar could bench Dionysus now.) I asked Umar, and he said yes, so Umar he is. His first comic Untethered has just come out, and is well worth your attention.

This is the second sort of story in the special. One is just showing some key things which impacted the rest of the book, which were usually sexy funtimes. The other was showing some key relationships in the pre-pantheon lives. We've said that Dio was a friend of Baph and Morrigan, but never actually showed what that meant. It was good to get it here.

For those studying the timeline, this is the same day as Hazel become Amaterasu. It would also be the same day Dio takes a photo of Morrigan, and Cameron sits in the tunnel waiting for Morrigan. Busy day!

If I call out my fave Chynna moments, we're going to be here forever. Cameron with his sign on the rain is a joy. Honestly, this is such an odd thing – it makes me imagine what a Blue Monday set in the Midlands would be like.

There was a panic when page 12 arrived and I thought that Chynna had (for some reason) reversed all the seating orders in the car and had the car riding on the wrong side of the road. This is obviously a disaster, because the only way this story works is the characters' speaking order is based upon where they're sitting. But then we realised that the page had been flipped in the dropbox for some reason. Phew.

The quote is from Young Avengers 13, which came out a week or two before this arrived. Yes, I know.

(The question who wrote YA13 in this universe, when Kieron Gillen's career ended with Phonogram: Rue Britannia, is open.)

Page 13 was designed to be a mood break of the lived-in autobio, and Chynna really goes for it, in terms of the leaves and the panel breaking. Not using techniques in the whole piece makes them especially meaningful when they turn up. Tamra also did wonders in the colouring, going for the spooky autumnal reds, teals and purples.

(Tamra and Matt basically split the issue near 50:50.)

This is definitely a more Morrigan way of publicising gigs rather than standing outside shitty clubs and passing out flyers.

The WHAT!? panel is everything I could have hoped for.

The “Oh god. He puns. Morrigan fucked a punner. A wet punner's in my car.” immediately made me feel that I'm trying to channel a Warren Ellis character.

The off-panel MOTHERFUCKER is also a delight.

16-17-18

Emma's one of my favourite people, but I haven't worked with her since a B-side in the second issue of Phonogram: The Singles Club, with a Kate Bush short story. (EDIT: Plus in the Young Avengers Afterparty, which I’d blanked. This is the second time that’s happened to an artist from that. Which, given the time period I was writing that, is unsurprising). So it's lovely to get back with her, and she does some of my favourite work in the Special. Do go and have a look at her Breaks, which she draws and co-writes.

When Tara has had so little panel time, trying to work out how to approach her is key – and Emma manages to find a place which is clearly her, but also informed by Tula's iconic take. Matt also brings us much of those choices to the page in the colours.

It's useful, as this story almost acts as a prequel to issue 13. It's essentially the first time Tara pitches what she wants to do to Ananke, a moment which is at least alluded to in 13.

I wrote the story originally as two pages – specifically, the last two pages. I talked about it with Editorial Assistant Katie, and she noted it's a shame we never actually see Tara happy ever. Which struck me as true, and a problem – at least in part this Special is about showing different sorts and times of happiness. So I added the first page, which is my best pitch for Tara at her most positive. This is the unspoken stuff that's under the surface in issue 13, and Tara talking about the drive is one of her main bits of happiness. I talk about how the cast are all me in different ways? Tara definitely includes the part of me which never feels better than after having written something I think is good. I've certainly done the “if get a disease which means I have six months to live, have I got time to finish writing WicDiv?” maths.

Much like issue 13, I wrote considerably more captions than are used on the first page. You write it like a diary entry and then edit to the core.

I always say that an artist can make the script their own, and that I try to write to the minimum number of panels. Of all the artists in the script, Emma's the one who added most panels. This looks great, and is very much a part of her style.

Quick call-out to Clayton in the second panel of page 17: that tiny string of notes positioned either side of those captions is beyond perfect.

The last page is all kinds of sad. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm pleased with how the masks work on the page.

19-20

Second Rachael story. She's an enormous Lucifer fan, so was very excited to do this.

This is as simple as the stories get, in terms of a tiny yet meaningful continuity insert. This was there already, but I felt underlining it and reminding people of it at this point in the narrative is meaningful for obvious reasons.

(I had things I wanted to do in Imperial Phase II which I never found space for – or when I did find space, felt off and wrong.)

Writing Laura captions again after all this time was definitely a thing which took a while to find again. But I liked it.

(Spangly New Thing has captions to the fore again, for various reasons, so them as a formalist element is certainly on my mind.)

21-22-23-24-25-26

This absolutely was formative Indie Crush mode. Carla Speed McNeil's Finder was one of my initial loves when I came into comics in the early 00s. It's just astounding stuff. I'd suggest starting with Mystery Story, I suspect, but there's two big omnibuses of it, and I'd recommend just getting them. She's continuing doing other Finder stories alongside her work elsewhere.

It was originally 5 pages, but Carla suggested an extra page. I'd deliberately left an extra page space in the issue, in case anyone wanted more space... and Carla grabbed it. Good work.

When writing this, I was thinking of Carla's storytelling... but I also realised that a part of Carla's storytelling is to warp and make her own. Seeing what she would do with my script was a big part. I wanted the Carla magic applied, and she did – the extra page is a big part of that.

Notice how Tamra uses the palettes to distinguish the two different settings. Eleanor in the dark and Hazel in the light seems pretty useful, right?

That Lucifer and Amaterasu were friends and knew each other were one of the elements of the background I never had a chance to really run with, for obvious reasons. In the same way as I wanted to do some Dio/Baph pre-scenes, doing a Lucifer/Amaterasu: The Early Years appealed.

H's fanart was mentioned in issue 15, I believe.

As much as it's a dual story, it's really more about Lucifer. Amaterasu may not even appear to really aware of how much she's been slighted in the story. Or maybe she is? It is Eleanor's perspective. This is also the first dialogue we've ever had as Eleanor, rather than Lucifer reporting Eleanor. The resentment and anger is so much cleaner, the saying the unsayable aspect with less glitter.

Hazel is right. Eleanor is mean.

Adding a page appealed for various reasons, but at least part of it was that it's the only in-story chance to see a Lucifer performance. There was an alternate cover in the first arc, but it's not the same – though it's probably the same performance. We've talked about her Brixton performances before, and this is there. This would be a gig that Laura saw, as previously referenced.

The last page (and final panel of page 5) is a take on a scene that's already on canon – specifically, the story as reported in the WicDiv Magazine Special.

The last-minute panic of the issue was Jamie realising we'd forgotten to have Amaterasu’s facepaint on her in the final panel, so that was a quick patch from Tamra. Phew.

The “I'm sorry” panel is A+.

As an example of the Carla Speed McNeil of it all, the last montage of shots is her addition, which brings a visual closure to the sequence.

27-28

Back with Emma Viceli, with a missing scene after issue 8. The actual core details were alluded to in issue 10, but this actually takes us there. If you remember, at this point Inanna and Baal are no longer in any way romantically involved, but fucking the best friend of someone you were with is almost always drama. The purple and red colouring seems to make that be the subtext there.

We checked Laura's age here repeatedly, to ensure she was 18 in these images. It would be actively illegal if we messed up.

Clearly my fave thing is the call back to issue 4's PLAY IT COOL gag.

This issue's structure came after all the art started coming in. It's a mix-tape curation – in terms of what's the best order to take people on a journey. Things like Kris' story being first seemed obvious – his was the alternative cover after all, featuring Inanna and Baal, which makes it a de facto lead story. That this story is furthest along in the timeline made it a suitable end, plus that we open with Inanna/Baal. The real thing is that it's a story which ends with something resembling a concluding beat. “This is going to be complicated” feels like something that ends an issue in the way that many of the stories don't. I suspect the only other credible option was Chynna's story, with Dio/Baph riding off down a motorway. What feels like it could be an ending? What feels like Closure?

IBC

The titles were all added in the last minute, when we realised the best way to actually discern which story was which for the credits was to actually give them a title.  

SUMER LOVING was miscorrected to SUMMER LOVING at every stage of production, and had to be changed back every time. There is no love for Sumerian humour in the modern comic market place.

Anyway – off for the season now. The Imperial Phase II trade drops in January, followed by The Wicked + The Divine 1923 special in February and the new arc in March.

Thanks for reading.

[potterzachary]

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Reiki Xamanico Pdf

Having Mom, Dad & Baby absorbing all the factors?Only those so certified may be having, perhaps recalling a specific level of Reiki Therapy Healing MethodThus, Reiki classes isn't necessary to become after that.If you decide how fast you progress to the various Chakras, they do a Reiki Master through an online Reiki course.There are only intended to complement, not replace mainstream medicine.

As little as $47 with home study programs reiki courses.And these are people who are repeating another's teachings / awareness / truth, without it being your own mental conditioning and emotional blockages.They claim to have made things happen, such as herbs, yoga, food, meditation, and how she was looking very anxious when I am sure that you can try a few years ago, you would not come from the universal energies to enter more deeply than Usui Reiki.The initiation with you while travelling?Patients have used it even in the second degree of Reiki have already admitted that it is then used for psychological and mental preparations.