#I have to make him a Su 47

[f-15-h]

Black shadow earth mode I guess

[merakiui]

I saw the yandere prompts and my first thought was 2 for Leona, but since you wrote it for Azul, maybe 47 instead..? 👀 I specifically pictured nightmare suit Leona and ougghhh hes so hot <3 he can become my shadow and haunt me forever anytime. Preferably a metaphorical shadow and not literally so he can get handsy- I mean!! 🙈🙈

-🐈‍⬛ anon

NIGHTMARE SUIT LEONA!!!!!!!!!

(cw: yandere, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, gender neutral reader, leona's a demon you have a pact with, so in that sense he's a shadow, victorian era, arranged marriage, leona's basically the (literal) demon on your shoulder, he has nothing but bad (read: questionable) advice on how to deal with your husband lol, subtle jealousy)

(monstrously yandere prompts)

"Well, aren't you dressed for death? Guess white's gone out of style for weddings. Mourning black is finally in fashion."

You don't have to turn around to confirm the owner of that sardonic drawl. He's been with you ever since you called out to the darkness in your desperation all those months ago. In exchange for keeping you safe and playing the part of watchdog, the demon known as Leona would have your soul. You've since realized business with demons is foolish and dangerous, but the pact has been sealed and its proof is stamped right above your heart.

You are stuck with him until the end of your days.

And while you suppose you're grateful for his help, even if he is the laziest demon you've ever met, he is not the most pressing problem. Rather, it's your wedding.

This day has been penned in the calendars ever since you became of age, and even then you were dreading it. You're not sure what your husband thinks. He's a man led by advantage. Your social status and your family's wealth is far more important than the role you're meant to take up by his side.

Leona has given you countless options to save yourself in the years leading up to this day, most of which were rather unsavory, but today you're truly contemplating them.

"I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. It's your life," he says, leaning casually against the wall. A single green eye tracks your movements. He watches you run your fingers along the sheer fabric of your veil. "If you'd prefer to skip all the pleasantries, I can do it in your place."

"You'd do that?" you ask around a disbelieving scoff. All he really does is work in the shadows, offering his sarcastic commentary when he's bored and wants to find entertainment in you.

"Why not? Better a demon than a human with a clean record, right?" he muses. You blink and then he's at your side, peering into the mirror alongside you. Gingerly, he takes the veil from your hands and places it atop your head. "You're already dressed for a funeral. It'd be a waste otherwise."

"You just want to sharpen your claws on the poor soul, don't you?"

A sly smirk quirks up on his lips, and he feigns surrender. "You caught me."

Perhaps I ought to run away, you think, but only for a second. There's still your pact with Leona. You're tethered, and eloping with a demon doesn't sound particularly appealing. His company would only serve as a reminder for your bad choices.

"No need to pout, little human," he adds, melting away into the dark corners of your bedroom. "The solution is staring you right in the face. If it were me, I'd take it. An opportunity for an immediate checkmate... And it's so simply acquired. Don't tell me you're tied up in a moral dilemma!" He barks out a sharp laugh. You've long since abandoned your morals, for they were swallowed up the moment you shook hands with a demon.

Worst of all, he's right. This is the best move you could possibly make. A mysterious death on the day of his wedding... Why, no one would be any wiser and you'd play the part of a grieving spouse well enough. They'd say it was the will of a higher power and then his beastly business practices would be exposed. The odds are in your favor. Leona will ensure that and you know it.

You grit your teeth, and suddenly there's a dagger lying where your brush once was. Your fingers curl around the ornate handle.

"Would I ever steer you in the wrong direction?" he asks, emerging from the dark with the face of your soon-to-be husband. "Well, human? All that stands between you and your precious freedom is one pitiful human. Are you really going to let him dictate your life?"

It's a trick question. Your soul already belongs to him, but right now...

You lunge at him and he scoops you up, pulling you into a strange, stilted waltz. The dagger is plunged in his chest.

Leona challenges you with a sharp grin. "More force next time. How else are you going to puncture his heart?"

"You are an abominable influence," you snap, scowling.

"And I am your shadow, little human." He drags you closer to him, his hand delicately caressing your cheek. "No matter where you go, you'll never escape me. So why not make a friend out of your enemy while you still can? I'll give you everything you could ever want and need, and all it costs is the heart of your husband."

You've never known Leona to willingly offer you an advantage in this never-ending game of chess he seems to delight in.

But perhaps his benevolence stems from a place of envy.

A silly thought. As sinful as envy is, you can't possibly imagine your demon harboring it.

"One condition," you tell him, taking hold of his gloved hand. This time, rather than your husband's face, you peer at him. Into that singular green eye.

He raises a brow. You imagine your demanding nature is quite impressive to him. For a human to demand things from a demon without any regard for the consequences... Fascinating.

"Do him in ruthlessly and you shall have my appreciation."

Malice sharpens his smile into something starved. "I intend to."

[thewitchblue]

I loved the ice skater reader btwww

Could you do a Wally west x reader fem preferably 🙏🏼 

Could you make them super strong like Sakura from Naruto. Like Wally with Someone super strong is just 🥰 fr

And can she have super strength? the kind where she kicks the ground and a hole appears.

She’s a model and well model are kinda skinny? 

So she doesn’t even look like she could lift a baby without struggling. So like the Young Justice got kidnapped and Wally c call reader to come help him. And the young Justice is shocked. Because this skinny girl just came and saved them.

English is not my first language 😔 su sorry for spelling mistakes🙍🏻‍♀️

You didn't expect to get an emergency signal in the middle of a random Wednesday afternoon, but here you were; riding a motorcycle like hell is chasing you down and muttering curses. You just got off of a photoshoot, and you had to cancel the next one because of Wally.

If Wally isn't dead when you get there, you'll kill him yourself.

Your anger was so burning hot you didn't even notice the craters you left as you stormed to the warehouse.

You kicked the steel double door open in your anger, which immediately breaks and knocks out a guard with a loud crack.

All guns were immediately aimed at you, but your blood was singing a wrathful song at that moment. You were a hurricane tearing through guards like wheat.

How the hell did your idiot boyfriend get caught by these inadequate goons? Wally was probably dared by Tim to not use his superspeed for one mission.

Actually, almost definitely that was the case. Your boyfriend, as much as you love him, isn't the best fighter or the brightest. He knows this, and he's always been a tad self-conscious about it. He wasn't even the better fighter in his own relationship. There was no other way this dare could have gone differently.

You were as graceful as you were brutal. You practically floated through the battlefield, aiming fists that threw back multiple guards at the same time. You tossed people around like they were ragdolls and even used some of them like a hammer to take out more in one swipe.

The guns were broken before they could even fire. Your shockwave punches mixed with your superstrength crushed the guns like they were clay.

You held eye contact as you took the AK-47 out of the goon's hand and turned it to dust in front of them. You called out loudly,

"Either you all turn yourselves in, or you all get ripped to shreds. Your choice."

Most of them, unsurprisingly, chose to live. One of them even cut out the team on the way out.

Wally ran up to you after buying your favourite sweets and handing it to you with a grin. You sighed at his puppy-dog eyes.

"You are so lucky I could cancel my photoshoot and that I still fit in this stupid suit."

Aqualad recovered from the shock the fastest out of the entire team. Before you could continue to rail into him, he asked with crossed arms,

"Who is this?"

Wally gave you a kiss with a big, albeit awkward smile while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He insisted on the suit when you found out he was Kid Flash. He wanted matching suits, but you told him you don't want to look like a mustard bottle and picked something else. He wrapped you in his arms and introduced you to the team,

"Guys, this is my girlfriend!"

You grumbled your displeasure at being introduced to the team under such dire circumstances.

"You are SO lucky I love you. I could and would have killed you otherwise. How did you even fall into their hands? These idiots were as tough as a wet paper towel."

Tim offered in a cheery tone,

"He made a bet and lost horribly."

You turned your glare from Wally to Tim. The kid seemed like the brains of the operation. If he's the one to hurt your Wally... Well, John Constantine would have a better fate than him.

"What's your excuse then?"

That caught Tim off guard. Your voice was silky, like a midnight caress. He vaguely recognises you, but he can't pin your face to a name or even where he found you. Was it at school? No, it couldn't be. Kon would never shut up about you. You are his type in every way. Did you meet at a gala? No, he knows everything about every rich socialite. He never came across you at any of the events he was at.

"My excuse? I was the one to warn him against it!"

The audacity Tim felt almost made you smile. Of course you know Tim. Who doesn't? The only brain to rival Bruce Wayne.

"If that's the case, how did you all get overwhelmed? Wally, no offence, isn't your get-out-of-jail-free card."

Tim agreed immediately to your amusement,

"Oh, no, that is Kon. He's our get-out-of-jail-free card."

Kon didn't look nearly as amused as you were. Wally was slightly offended, but he scored Kon's dream girl, so he didn't care too much.

Aqualad walked into the centre of the group and said,

"Nobody is a get-out-of-jail-free card. We all are important, and all are at fault."

You crossed your arms. Damn right, they are at fault. That photoshoot was important to you.

You look gorgeous even when furious. The cooling rage somehow complimented your eyes. Nobody quite comprehended the situation. You were so tiny yet so deadly. It was all shocking. Wally's SOS ace card was a tiny model? They wouldn't have believed you were at all able to fight if they didn't see you just demolish an entire warehouse full of guards. You look like you couldn't lift a twig, let alone 200 kilograms of muscle. Yet here you are, burning and devastating.

Your alarm went off before anything else could be said. Shit. You had a lunch date with an important client. You groaned while shutting off the alarm. Fine. You climbed back onto your motorcycle and said,

"Don't let there be a next time."

You sped off before anybody could offer for you to join the team or express their thankfulness. Wally watched with a dreamy expression.

"I have the hottest girlfriend."

[dcdreamblog]

How exactly did Supervillains in the 40s avoid being arrested as enemy agents or forced into some wartime version of Task Force X when the All Star Squadron was officially part of the US military structure

I know civilians and soldiers could get into fights and it's not like the civilian would "disappear" but that was for one off things. I can't imagine if some guy who wasn't in the military for some reason decided to go around beating up soldiers repeatedly and intentionally that the court cases would go well for him

Just a polite reminder to folks that I don't delete relevant asks, but I DO have a system in place to make sure everyone takes a turn before I do an ask from the same people. So if you've sent an ask, just be assured I saw it, I'm working on it and that I will post it when its your next turn. Just so no one gets anxious or thinks I'm ignoring anything.

Because I've already answered this in general I'm going to zero in on something I feel needs pointing out. This idea that a WWII version of the infamous "Suicide Squad" was somehow an inevitable idea SOMEONE must have thought of and therefore is an idea that must be explained away as not happening before it did. Let's get one thing straight: Task Force X's basic underpinnings, legal, moral and basically functional are fucking ridiculous and far from being an inevitable idea. The fact that the idea ever got off the ground at ALL is a mind boggling pile up of governmental corruption and incompetence.

(A "perp lineup" of the Squad's original membership, leaked when the team was first dragged into the light)

Firstly, legal. Like it or not criminals have rights. PRISONERS have rights. To conduct invasive surgery without their knowledge and hold their lives at stake so they can complete already illegal missions for an unaccountable black box of the US military is SO far beyond the line in so many different ways that the list of crimes brought up against Task Force X when it was originally sued out of existence is 47 items long. In reference to each 'member'. Individually. Without factoring the counts of each crime. That picture above, not counting their military handler represents 423 military crimes and rights violations by EXISTING.

99% of military men and women in history would have looked at this idea and thrown it out in the shredder because even BREATHING something like this was liable to get you court martialed in a sane world. The United States doesn't have any history or legal basis for penal battalions and even if they HAD it would have run smack dab into... Secondly, Moral. The All Star Squadron was TECHNICALLY made up of conscripts. And I truly cannot tell you how large I need that TECHNICALLY to be in your head. Every member of the Squadron wanted to be there, served at their own pleasure alongside men and women they trusted to fight the good fight. Had any attempt been made to introduce supervillains, much less supervillains UNDER DURESS into the Squadron's membership it would have kicked up the kind of shitstorm most politicians don't want to dream about. It, at minimum, would have meant the immediate end of the All Star Squadron as a functioning body in ANY worthwhile contact with the United States government or Allied military command. At maximum it would have created a high stakes legal crisis as the Squadron puts the coerced villains under their protection from the forces of the United States. Meaning you would be risking sparking a conflict between the Squadron and US Military Law Enforcement DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR. The original Creatures Commandos were less than a half dozen otherwise unremarkable soldiers who had entire STABLES of intelligence personnel dedicated to making sure no word of their existence made it back to a single active mystery man lest they kick in the door and start demanding answers. Once you have supervillains start going missing in an era where there were only about 2 dozen notable supervillains you are going to trip the alarm bells before you get your pants on.

Thirdly, basic function. Let me make this clear. Task Force X doesn't work. Every single time the team has been reassembled under a new legal smokescreen it has lasted a couple of months MAX before something goes lethally wrong. One or more members goes violently rogue. The Squad is co-opted by a 3rd party with nefarious goals or some combination of all of the above.

Even if it did work as advertised, what it's advertised to do isn't good! It's taking thieves, murderers, assassins and maniacs. Slapping bombs in the back of their heads and putting them at the behest of the parts of the US Government everybody hates! At BEST it exists to prop up the interests of the American empire at its most cynical, toppling unfriendly governments and conducting assassinations on foreign soil. At worst it is an uncontrolled stew of the worst, controlled by the worst OF the worst for their own vision of what their military authority entails. The only other justification is using it as some kind of trump card in an undeclared cold war against the superhero community by parts of the government who hate superheroes because superheroes target them for being corrupt monsters who do shit like this! Conclusion: My point is. Supervillains were, and are, criminals. They are arrested, charged for the crimes they commit, convicted by a jury of their peers and then they go to prison for an allotted time period. This system sucks but boy oh boy is it better than whatever system Task Force X represents. You know the SECOND they thought they could get away with it they would be finding any reason to arrest young metahumans and then "drafting" them into the Squad, you KNOW they would. There was no WWII era version of Task Force X because Task Force X is a really dumb idea that no one besides the profoundly stupid would even entertain.

[absolutebl]

47 BLs Announced for 2024

Here are the BLs I have logged on the Spreadsheet of Doom (TM) as announced for 2024 (with supporting evidence, so not just options or acquisitions) as of the beginning of the year. Bold are the ones I'm most intrigued by .

JAPAN

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka

From YTV releasing 1/11 about Soga, who, after a divorce and relocation to Osaka, seeks solace in dining at 26-year-old Sakae's restaurant. Unbeknownst to Soga, Sakae sees him as more than just a regular customer.

Ossan's Love Season 2

Five years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan, so probubly not. More here.

Perfect Propose

Fuji TV (the Pornographer series) adapting Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team includes Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (scriptwriter for “Old Fashion Cupcake”). Hiro’s so stressed at work he barely has time to eat so he passes out on the sidewalk. An unfamiliar face saves him and insists that they once promised to marry each other.

KOREA

Love For Love's Sake

Based on the Manhwa Love Supremacy Zone by Hwacha, this will star actors Lee Tae Vin, Cha Jun Wan, Oh Min Su and Cha Woon Ki. The plot of the drama is based on Tae Myung Ha, a young man who is dropped into a game based off of a novel that he knows. His mission is to make another player, Cha Yeo Woon happy. Cha Yeo Woon is Myung-Has favourite character in the novel. But then the game starts going completely different from the novel.

Love in the Big City

Movie adaptation of Booker nominated famous coming of age novel ‘Love in The Big City’ by Park Sang-Young. A cynical yet fun loving student writer name Young pinballs from home, to class, to Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and Marlboros. But as time passes Jaehee settles down and leaves Young to face his problems on his own, finding comfort in the arms of the series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness and another who might be the great love of his life. Not really BL. To star Kim Go-eun (The King: Eternal Monarch), Noh Sang-hyun (aka Steve Sanghyun as Young) and Nam Yoon Su (The King’s Affection). More here.

TAIWAN

Anti Reset AKA Anti-Reset AKA Antireset

From Vidol to air on 2/2/2024 about a human and robot find love.

THAILAND

1000 Years Old

From Feel Good Bangkok this is one of many gay vampire BLs coming in 2024. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). More here.

A Secretly Love

Khonprot, a third-year head hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through many girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks things may be different.

Addicted Heroin (Thai version)

From the producers of Love Stage!!

Bad Guy My Boss

Assistant to a player boss who is in love with his boss decides to quit to save himself. The boos then makes a move. (A gay "What's up with Secretary Kim"?)

Born to be Y

announced 9/23

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn

Star Hunter started filming this 12/23 about an actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer, Call It What You Want sort of thing.

Four Ever You Project AKA Fourever You Project

Sampler pack BL series from Wabi Sabi stars Bas (Gen Y), Earth (UWMA, 12%). Four stories, four couples, all adapted under the Fourever You Project.

I Saw You in My Dream

DeeHupHouse for WeTV based on the novel of the same name by Afterday. The story portrays Aya, a young man who has prophetic dreams. Everything he dreams always comes true. He doesn’t have a problem with it until he starts to dream of dating the guy next door. But the guy next door is in a serious relationship with a girl he’s known since high school.

Iridescent Love

Got nothing.

Harikarn Solution (the Chains of Heart people - boo) stars Gun (Khom in Unforgotten Night) opposite fresh face but cast includes familiar faces from other pulps. Ordinary office worker kinda recluse dork but who at night however, has an only fans account. Then he meets the guy next door.

Jack & Joker (YinWar)

DeHup brings us be gay, do crimes. Yin, War, Mark and a few other familiar faces doing Leverage but gayer. Yes, thank you, I will have that.

Kidnap

GMMTV Ohm Pawat is back but there is some question over whether this is BL or not.

Knock-Knock Boys

Kongthup for WeTV airing 4/2024 Four college friends who conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. stars Seng Wichai, Best Vittswin, Nokia Chinnawat and Jaonine Jiraphat.

Lost On The River

Another Sammon story

Love Sea (FortPeat)

MAME warning, stars same couple as LITA2, but new characters to the Mameverse. While travelling a writer has a one night stand with a very irritating man.

Love Sick AKA Lovesick remake

Remake of the original. No thank you.

Love Upon a Time (NetJames)

Domundi announced for 6/7/2023 then delayed to 2024. NetJames in a historical BL! Also feat Tonnam(Dr Sing from Triage).

Lovely Addict

9NAA brings us a hotel set, high heat, features same pair as Venus In Sky.

Lover Merman

Fantasy BL about a man who falls in love with a merman.

Me and Who

Domundi for WeTV brings this adaptation of Wickedwish’s novel of the same name. it depicts a young man who dies and is reborn into the body of a billionaire heir. The heir happens to be engaged to a handsome man.

Monster Next Door

WeTV Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil. It portrays an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until an extrovert moves in next door. He is loud, frantic and annoying. Do opposites really attract? Will they find a way to get along?

My Golden Blood

GMMTV. Okay, I do find Joss very watchable but this looks very bad and also very like Kissable Lips. But at least land is finally giving us the trashy gay vampires we richly deserve?

My Love Mix-Up Thai Remake (GemniForth)

GMMTV. Hum, well I do love this pair and I did like the original and maybe this time these characters will actually kiss? I'm actually fine with this pick-up. I kind of enjoy seeing different countries remake the same IP. Especially if it's IP I'm mostly unfazed by.

My Stand-In AKA My Stand In

Chinese IP ALERT! Adapted from the novel Professional Body Double (职业替身) by Shui Qiang Cheng (水千丞) stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please).

OMG Vampire AKA OMG! Vampire (LeeFrank)

Frank and Lee Long Shi are back only vampires now. So many vampires.

Only Boo!

New main pair in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks, grumpy/sunshine pair who fall deeply in love but, of course, to become an idol baby boy can't date. Boyband but from GMMTV? Control your singing and I'm game.

Ossan‘s Love Thai Remake (EarthMix

Ugh, why?!?!

Red Peafowl

More Thai mafia stuffs.

Spare Me Your Mercy

Increased rates of deaths in terminal patients has a police captain investigating the palliative care doctor with whom he's fallen in love. Their relationship deepens but the mystery persists, driven by mistrust. Adapted from the novel Euthanasia by Sammon (Triage, Manner of Death) stars some old guard BL actors: Tor Thanapob from Hormones as the doctor and (fuck me YES) Jaylerr from Great Men Academy and goddamn Grean Fictions as the captain!

Spirit Reborn AKA Kemjira Will Survive

Star Hunter (of all studios) adapting supposedly the scariest BL. Khem is born cursed. A daughter would be safe but a son dies at 20 so Khem’s mother cleverly gives him a girl’s name, Khemjira “forever safe.” But Knem is baout to turn 20 and he doesn't think it's working so he seeks the help of a cursebreaker, turns out to be his great love from a prvious life.

Star Scope

Wabi Sabi trailer here. Looks sad, one of them is terminally ill, abandons his bf in high school them meet again in uni.

The Boy Next World (BossNoeul)

Same couple as LITA, this is the backstory of Cirrus & Phugun from TharnType 2 played by different actors.

The Hell Guards AKA Hey Don't Mess With My Heart

Boy wakes up from a coma and becomes a messenger between grim reapers and the underworld. Oh will it be... bureaucratic? I think it WILL.

The Hidden Moon

Casting happened 9/23. This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) ‘เ��ือนพราง’ by Violet Rain. A Bangkok writer is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai which is being converted into a café. He gets into an accident and nearly dies on his way there. After that, he sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, one boy catches his attention. Stars Benjamin Brasier (2 Moons 2) and Folk Touch Inthirat from Brothers. Trailer here.

The Next Prince (ZeeNew)

Domundi brings us more ZeeNew in a fantasy/historical set in a palace where Zee plays a knight and Nu a prince - FUCK YES PLEASE. I did not expect this pair to stick so I really hope this happens. Trailer here.

The Rebound (MeenPing)

VIU Basketball based romance staring Meen (a national basketball player, so yay for that).

The Trainee (OffGun)

GMMTV Office set, may not be BL. Trailer here.

Time the series

MFlow Entertainment for Gaga, WeTV, Channel 3 trailer here. Airs 1/9 After witnessing the death of his beloved Chris from a gunshot wound, the heartbroken actor Foam is given a pocket watch that allows him to go back in time and discover the truth… Can Foam take the chance to set things right and bring Chris back from the brink of death? Only time will tell…

To Be Continued

High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite when both of them have full times jobs but coming out is still a problem. Trailer here.

Vampire Project (BounPrem)

Wabi Sabi's My Broccoli only now... vampires.

Wandee Godday

GMMTV and AllThis Entertainment producing a very pulp offering for GMMTV with new pair GreatInn doing high heat Boxer meets surgeon. It features a one night stand, fake relationship, and all the cheesiest of tropes. Also features Drake, Podd, and Thor+ pretty boy (be still my heart). This is totally my kind of BL even if it actually isn't GMMTV's style of BL, so I'm intrigued. Trailer here.

We Are (PondPhuwin)

GMMTV's university friendship Bl featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawin - basically ALL in the good kind of messy friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is gay. I'm IN! Trailer here.

A reminder we had c. 136 BLs release in 2023 but c. 55 that did not get made.

That seems about right.

Of those announced we seem to get about 2/3 actually released for the year we are told they'll release in.

(source)

[sncsolby]

Haunted AirBnBs

The shippers have been fed tonight. Some Solby (and random funny) moments in their most recent video:

The Black Monarch

7:31 Not Sam spreading his legs asking Colby to get on the bed. 👀 We're not even 10 minutes in guys, and you're already acting sus.

Linville Manor (surprising they haven't mentioned it's located in BROCK Hall 😁)

35:26 reaching for the door handle at the same time, then opening the door together. Sofie: "That was really cute."

36:51 S: "You can get rid of your ribs too." C: "Why would you wanna do that?" *Sam zooms into his face*

41:35 *Sam hands Colby a jar of cumin* C: "Oh, you got me cumin, bruh. Oh, shit." I just love how they make each other laugh. I wonder what Sam was expecting when he gave him the jar. S: "She's gonna think we're weird, alright?" Sofie: "Listen, I get it, you guys are gonna sleep together tonight!" Read to filth, boys. Even though I lowkey think Sofie and Sam are dating.

47:35 S to Sofie: "You don't like to sleep next to male gaze?" C: "Male what? Gays? OH!" S: "Not gays!"

48:51 Sofie: "Can you do hand stand for 10 minutes?" C: "EZ, I do tenners all the time." *proceeds to show a montage of definitely tenners*

49:22 That was a cute moment. But as if Colby could beat a contortionist even with Sam's help.

50:20 C: "You should try it." S: "I should try it?" C: "I know you only bend over off-camera, but you should try it right now." S: "What the ffff" C: "You know what I'm saying?" S: "I don't know what you're saying, can you enlighten me? When do you see me bent over?" The segue into merch promo is WILD.

1:01:14 That glug glug was hilarious, ngl. Colby dying in the back and Sam's face after 😂

1:01:33 What in the handshake...

1:07:09 S: "One of the biggest things in the research is, it breaks people up." C: "You're right, couples." Sam zooms in on Colby. S: "Exactly." Whoever edited the part zooming further on Colby as they stare at each other needs a cookie.

1:09:49 C: "I'm gonna sleep with the lurker." S: "Oh, you're not wearing any pants under there." C: "Yeah, I'm kinda naked, dude. " The way he said that I can't 😂 S: "What the fuck, dude." C: "He's not evil, he just watches, dude."

1:11:52 The review, they're so unserious I s2g

Henry Derby House

This investigation got so unhinged and I'm here for it! 😂 It gives old married couple.

1:18:33 SnC messing with Nick

1:18:42 Nick taking the toilet plunger and actually using it for like the next 10 minutes is a vibe

1:19:51 S: "How do we know someone's not going to come in this house tonight?" C: *looking at Sam behind the camera* "Somebody could come in us-I mean the house anytime, dude, we don't know." COLE BROCK

1:21:21 When Sam exits the closet: C: "Oh, he finally came out of the closet." S: "Dude..." C: "Oh, fuck." I cannot with these two.

1:26:50 "What was that?" 😂 I swear these two share a braincell.

1:33:10 S: "I don't know anything about cooking, but we got all the random ingredients, there's no cheat codes. We literally have to make everything from scratch. And I have the utmost confidence in me and Colby. Why? Because we used to actually have a cooking show too." The flashback to Samantha and Colleen with Colby going DO NOT had me weak.

1:33:58 The whole cooking segment was hysterical.

1:34:37 Nick: "I'm going to preheat the oven because they definitely don't know how."

1:34:40 Sam and Colby arguing over the nightvision gives me life. S: "You see anything?" C: "I can't see shit, you're supposed to - you have the nightvision, man." S & C: "We need a bowl." That was cute, and the wheezing. 😂

1:35:21 S: "How do you open baking soda?" Oh, Sam. My sweet summer child.

1:36:11 S: "I love the smell of vanilla. I used to huff vanilla as a kid...What?" Okay, Sam. 😂

1:36:33 Sam trying to open the vanilla extract with...a box? I guess Colby was using the brain cell at that moment.

1:37:16 I knew they couldn't possibly make an edible cookie. Sneaky fuckers.

1:42:47 C to Nick. "I think I might get salmonella eating that shit, brother." The way Sam laughed at that was cute.

1:43:17 Colby throwing it back to the Samantha and Colleen video where he pretended to be sick, and making Sam and Nick laugh. 😂 I love how he glances at Sam before he does that.

1:43:37 C: "👍 Agreed." As if you know anything about cooking, Colbs.

1:43:49 S & C: "Really..."

1:45:48 LMAO poor Sam

1:56:11 The bloopers at the end are a nice touch. 😂

Overall I liked the episode, obviously they made 3 in one because they didn't catch all that much, except for maybe the Black Monarch.

Seeing them happy makes me happy. ☺

[hadleysmis]

Mistranslations of Les Misérables by Su Manshu

This is a long post! To make sure you don't have to scroll so much, I'll summarise here that I will be discussing papers written by Chiang Yung-chieh (2015), Qiying Tong (2017), Ivan Yung-chieh Chiang (2018), and Li Li (2022).

If you are interested in the mistranslations of Su Manshu, please click below to read more. Thank you!

Observations by Li Li (2022)

A neat summary has been made of her research by Li Li herself:

There are SO much to go on, but this will specifically focus on mistranslations. Things such as political and religious intentions (outside of mistranslations) and the OC main character Nande will be talked about in another post some day (rip me).

1) Adaptation for an oral-storytelling purposes

"She stood trembling with her mouth open." (Wilbour, p. 47)

Becomes: “ 当时凡妈吓得浑身发抖，满嘴的牙齿碰着直响 ” (Su, p. 55)("Madame Magloire was shaking with fright, with all of her teeth chattering noisily.")

Li Li argues that these types of changes shown throughout the translation was done in order to help with the culture of orally reading a story, e.g. in a teahouse, and thus indulge in dramatisation.

Another example of the change based on the same reasoning:

"He blew out the candle with his nostril, after the manner of convicts, and fell on the bed, dressed as he was, into a sound sleep." (Wilbour, p. 52)

“ 即刻鼻子里呼声，好像打雷一般。” (Su, p. 62) ("In an instant, breath from his nose could be heard, like thunder.")

Li Li does agree that there are some questions to be raised about Su's English proficiency, of which I will talk about after this section, however since these translations lean in to more visual storytelling, she argues that Su must've changed it for dramatic's sake.

Su talks to the audience like he is physically telling the story, which strengthens the argument for this interpretation:

“Go away!" (Wilbour, p. 41).

店主人就附着此 人耳边说了三个字，就叫他浑身发抖起来。看官，你道是三个甚么字 呢?就是那 ‘快出去’ 三个字。(Su, p. 44).

("The host bent down to his ear and used three letters, which startled him. Reader, do you know what these three letters said? They said “Go away now!”.")

2) The Bishop

There are erroneous translations in which Li Li argues is due to Su trying to project his political and religious beliefs into Les Misérables, and therefore representing the character of Bishop Myriel in a negative light. Thereby, Myriel becomes hypocritical, greedy, and un-saintly.

"Every time he said this word ‘Monsieur’, with his gently solemn, and heartily hospitable voice, the man’s countenance lighted up. Monsieur to a convict is a glass of water to a man dying of thirst at sea. Ignominy thirsts for respect." (Wilbour, p. 49)

你想他把 ‘先生’ 二���称呼罪人，好象行海的时候，把一杯冷水送给要渴 死的人，不过是不花本钱的假人情罢了。(Su, p.58)

("‘Monsieur’ to a convict is like a glass of cold water to one who is dying of thirst at sea – which is no more than pretending to be kind-hearted, but at no cost.")

Ivan Yung-chieh Chiang (2018) brought up the mistranslation of Bishop wanting money (written lower in this post), and argued that this was due to the failure in understanding yes-no responses (which are inherently different in Chinese and English). However, Li Li argued that this was purposeful and had a political agenda.

She argues in her research that, Su Manshu's translation of Les Misérables is indeed activism in literary translation.

Observations by Ivan Yung-chieh Chiang (2018)

1) “ 一個 ”

The peasant’s face assumed an expression of distrust: he looked over the new-comer from head to foot, and suddenly exclaimed, with a sort of shudder: “Are you the man!” (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 57)

那男子聽到這裏，霎時面孔上現出一種疑惑的神色，對著華賤 從頭到腳細細地打量一番，忽然大聲問道:「你是一個人嗎?」 (Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 119)

一個 is not the same as a definite article. A definite article in this scenario emphasises that the town collectively knew of Jean Valjean and had been worried about his presence. By saying 一個 , which in this case means "alone" or "one" as in "one person" then diminishes this context, and the nuance is thus lost.

2) “ 十九年前 ” and “ 你曾當過兵嗎? ”

“What are you doing there, my friend?” He replied harshly, and with anger in his tone: “You see, my good woman, I am going to sleep.” The good woman, who really merited the name, was Madame la Marquise de R__. “Upon the bench?” said she. “For nineteen years I have had a wooden mattress,” said the man; “to-night I have a stone one. “You have been a soldier?” “Yes, my good woman, a soldier.” (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 59)

......「我的朋友呀，你為什麼在這裏呢?」 華賤就帶著怨恨的聲音答道:「我的慈善婆婆呀，我就在這裏 睡了啊!」

老婆子道:「就睡在石椅上嗎?」 華賤道:「十九年前，我還有一張木床;今天夜裏，就變成石 頭床了。」 老婆子道:「你曾當過兵嗎?」 華賤道:「不錯，我曾當過兵。」 (Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 122)

「十九年前」 is different from saying "For nineteen years", as the latter is a continuous state which extends to the present or near-present (e.g. "For nineteen years I have done this" can mean "Up until now I have done this" or "I am currently doing this" among other similar phrases). Meanwhile 「十九年前」 is strictly about the past, becoming "19 years ago". This then sounds like disconnected problem Jean Valjean brings up. He's essentially saying "19 years ago I once slept on a wooden bed, but now I sleep on a stone one."

「你曾當過兵嗎?」 "Were you once a soldier before?" Given that there was the change in meaning made in the first point, this second point of the woman asking Jean Valjean if he had been a soldier before, seems like an illogical question to spring into the conversation. Like "Oh, you slept on a wooden bed 19 years ago? What were you, a soldier?".

3) “ 我現在很餓 ” and “ 當我進門的時候，見了師父這樣仁 慈 ”

“Stop, stop, Monsieur Curé,” exclaimed the man. “I was famished when I came in, but you are so kind that now I don’t know what I am; that is all gone." (Hugo, 1862/1931, pp. 65-66)

華賤道:「我現在很餓，又渴。當我進門的時候，見了師父這樣 仁慈，也就令我忘記了。」 (Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 122)

The split in the sentence is done at the wrong place. It is due to the misunderstanding of "When I came in", and what that makes of the tenses around it, thereby categorising parts of the sentence structure incorrectly.

Therefore, it becomes erroneously translated into "I am famished. When I came in, I found that you were so kind. 「當我進門的時候，見了師父這樣仁 慈」

4) Jean Valjean's money

And along with that there were many bitter experiences. . . . However that might be, his savings had been reduced, by various local charges, to the sum of a hundred and nine francs and fifteen sous, which was counted out to him on his departure.

He understood nothing of this, and thought himself wronged; or to speak plainly, robbed. (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 82)

不料隨後還有許多危難。當其在監中做工所得工價，除去用 度，還應存百零九個銀角子和九個銅角子。不料時運不濟，盡 被強人搶劫去了，一些兒也不曾留下。(Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 178)

'Robbing' becomes a physical action, and thus is translated as 「盡被人搶劫去了，一些兒也不曾留下」 (“[He] was robbed of all his money, with nothing left”).

Before this passage, Su Manshu does translate that Jean Valjean does indeed have money: 「我身上還帶了一百零九個銀角子和十五個銅角子」 (“I have money . . . one hundred and nine francs and fifteen sous.”), so this adds onto the inconsistencies.

5) “ 不然”

“You are humane, Monsieur Curé; you don’t despise me. A good priest is a good thing. Then you don’t want me to pay you?” “No,” said the bishop, “keep your money. How much have you? You said a hundred and nine francs, I think.” (Hugo, 1862/1931, pp. 64-65)

華賤說道:「師父既然是一個慈善的人，��不用算我的飯錢 了。」 .... 孟主教果然忙答道:「不然，不然，一定要算飯錢的。你共有多少錢呢?你曾說你有一百零九個銀角子。」 (Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 126)

The translation makes it so that Bishop Myriel does indeed wish to be paid. This is due to the yes/no response difference in Chinese and English.

Essentially, a 'no' response in this setup in English would mean "No I don't want to be paid." However in Chinese, it would mean "No, you should pay."

6) “ 睡得稍遲 ” and “ 不住地寫字 ”

That evening, after his walk in the town, the Bishop of D__ remained quite late in his room. He was busy with his great work on Duty. . . . At eight o’clock he was still at work, writing with some inconvenience on little slips of paper, with a large book open on his knees. . . . (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 60)

卻說太尼城有一位孟主教，一日晚上，到太尼城四處閒遊。後 又因公事忙碌，所以睡得稍遲，到了八點鐘的時 候，他還擱著一本大書在腿上，手裏拿著一塊小紙，正在不住地寫字。 (Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 122)

"Remained quite late in his room" is then translated into “ 睡得稍遲 ” (“get up late” or “go to bed late”).

"Writing with some inconvenience" is erroneously translated into “ 不住地寫字 ” (writing non-stop).

7) Left and Right and possessives

The bishop’s countenance was lighted up with this expression of pleasure. . . . He seated the man at his right. Mademoiselle Baptistine, perfectly quiet and natural, took her place at his left. (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 66)

孟主教滿面堆著笑容，請華賤坐在自己左邊，寶姑娘又坐在華賤 的左邊。(Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 127)

Jean Valjean is seated at the left, and Baptistine is then seated left of Jean Valjean. This error is most likely due to Su getting mistaking which character the possessive "his" was referring to.

8) Rye bread

Meantime Madame Magloire had served up supper; it consisted of soup made of water, oil, bread, and salt, a little pork, a scrap of mutton, a few figs, a green cheese, and a large loaf of rye bread. She had, without asking, added to the usual dinner of the bishop a bottle of fine old Mauves wine. (Hugo, 1862/1931, p. 66)

話說凡媽拿飯進來，華賤看時，有湯，有水，有鹽，有油，有豬 肉，又有羊肉，又有無花果，又有一大塊烘乾的麵包，又有一大瓶紅酒，樣樣都用銀器盛來，光彩閃閃，映在 鋪桌子的白布上面，真覺異樣好看。(Hugo, 1862/1976, p. 127)

Rye bread is confused with 'dry bread', thereby giving this translation: “ 一大塊烘 乾的麵包 ” (“a large loaf of dried bread”).

From these examples, we can see that Su Manshu struggled with: tenses, sentence structures, yes-no responses, and possessive pronouns.

All in all, Su Manshu, given that he was nineteen when he translated the work, couples with the rarity of English language education in China, he still did a remarkable job, and this data isn't collected to negate that claim.

Ivan Yung-chieh Chiang's (2018) argument was that Su's proficiency in English is greatly overstated in many of the Chinese literacy spaces.

Observations by Qiying Tong (2017)

To fit his translating choices, Su would often add new context into the narrative. For example, the Bishop saying “No, keep your money.” in response to Jean Valjean asking if he should pay for accommodation, becomes:

[There is nowhere on earth can we find a truly selfless and righteous man. The Bishop said, ‘of course, you have to pay for the meal and room.’ ] (translated by Qiying Tong)

As stated throughout this post, agreed by all the researchers, this is just a thing Su Manshu does in the translation; adding bits that didn't exist to give context to his translation choices, but also at the same time omitting information of intricate descriptions and simplifying them.

It's this kind of add-ons and deletions which make this translation truly a thing that exists.

Additionally, Qiying Tong nealty puts into a table of sinification Su Manshu puts into Les Misérables:

Figure 1 & Figure 2

Figure 1: [Names and places that were traceable in the source language] (Tong, 2017, p. 15) Figure 2: [Names and places that were invented in the new storyline] (Tong, 2017, p. 15)

Since I don't want to use this post to go into a dive about the then-political climate of China, and the reasoning behind some of the name changes, I will move on. If I have the time, I will revisit this table.

This paper dives into the political reasoning behind translations, as well religious viewpoints that ultimately shaped the 1903 "Les Misérables". This paper needs a separate post dedicated to itself ㅠㅠ

Observations by Chiang Yung-chieh (2015)

Chiang Yung-chieh (2015) agrees with Li Li's conclusions that it is biased, and the mistranslations go deeper than just a language proficiency problem.

Both agree that Su was using this translation in order to make a political statement, both using the presentation of Bishop Myriel as one of their evidence.

His research argued about which translation Su Manshu must've based his translation off of (because it definitely wasn't the original French). Because of that, there isn't much information I can give in relation to this topic more than his agreement with Li Li about the purposes behind the translation choices.

In conclusion, translation errors are undeniable. We know that Su's English skills definitely lacked; however some things cannot just be left to coincidences, and Li Li makes a strong argument about the possibility of religious and political motives coming into play which would've also played a large role in how Su translated.

The 1903 translation itself was a political statement, published in a newspaper trying to encourage a revolution. Li Li is the only researcher in this list who is adamant that Su based his translation purely on Wilbour, while others argue or shrug about the actual source.

It doesn't particularly matter though in the sense of seeing this as an adaptation that was written, since there are never-seen-before like Nande, who has his own adventures and main character spotlight.

This all points to it being political activism, along with some complaints about Christianity and some Western influences (although this seems to be debated). And this debate still exists because researchers are scratching their hands trying to find out to which extent Su intended something to be a commentary, and at what point was things just written due to a linguistic misunderstanding.

References:

Chiang, I. Y.-c. (2018) ‘Su Manshu’s English Proficiency Reexamined’, Compilation and Translation Review, 11(2), pp. 129–162.

Chiang, Y.-c. (2015) ‘In Search of the Source Version of Su Manshu’s Can Shehui: An Intertextual Study’, 東亞觀念史集刊, 8, pp. 187–266.

Li, L. (2022) ‘Su Manshu’s Adaptation of Les Misérables: The Manipulation of a Bridging Text in an Activist Translation’, Translation and Literature, 31(2), pp. 35–51.

Tong, Q. (2017) Skopos and ideology in the rewriting of Su Manshu and Chen Duxiu's Chinese translation of Les Misérables. Master's thesis. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

[skaruresonic]

why is Gordon x Alyx even controversial? both of them are fully grown adults. What could possibly be the issue here?

The pithy answer is "antis," but the more honest answer is that an influx of fandom tourists came in and gentrified Half-Life, twisting a canon ship into the most bad-faith interpretation possible.

Strap in, because this is a batshit story.

In 2020, wayneradiotv released HLVRAI, also known as "Half-Life but the AI is Self-Aware."

HLVRAI is to Half-Life what the Snapcube dubs are to the Sonic games: a haha funny meme series that is set in its own canon and only superficially resembles the original series. This would not have been a problem had HLVRAI not been conflated with Half-Life; for the longest time, the two fandoms were considered conjoined, and it was because of the ship wars that OG Half-Life fans had to beg AO3 to separate the tags over the course of three years. HLVRAI introduced an influx of young fans to Half-Life, but a certain subsect of new fans kicked up a ruckus because they found Half-Life's canon to be, in short, "problematic." Specifically, HLVRAI is set in a canon where Gordon Freeman has a child based on a throwaway line about an Easter egg of a baby photo in his locker. In reality, Gordon is stated in the PS2 manual to be "unmarried without dependents" and the Easter egg simply depicts a developer's child; this is worth noting in order to better understand how the fandom tourists thought about Half-Life canon.

Fans of HLVRAI shipped HLVRAI!Gordon with the character Benrey, who is an extremely spurious interpretation of Barney Calhoun, Gordon's buddy in HL2.

Benrey and Barney have nothing in common aside from sharing a face, yet fandom tourists who knew nothing about the games saw Freehoun (Gordon/Barney) as, like, a sort of "vessel" for Gordon/Benrey. As such, they started looking for reasons to justify it as The Ultimate Ship.

Being a Valhoun (Alyx Vance/Barney Calhoun) shipper myself, I was only on the fringes when the shitshow happened. At the time, the most prominent ships in the fandom were Freemance and, to a lesser extent, Freehoun. I remember Freemancers had just produced a Freemance zine before HL fandom all went to shit; however, after the dust settled, nothing like that happened again.

The fandom tourists, I kid you not, started calling Freemance pedophilia on the grounds that, and I quote: --- 1.) Gordon is "chronologically 47" in HL2, despite Eli heavily implying that Gordon hasn't aged during stasis and is still mentally and physically 27.

--- 2.) The games heavily push Freemance, which can, according to these geniuses, be taken as a problematic age gap ship at best. Freemance is also predatory because Gordon is preying on a vulnerable Alyx, according to them. In addition to ignoring how it's Alyx who makes the moves on Gordon, HLVRAI fans have repeatedly revealed their ignorance of her age. They think she's a teenager in HL2, despite her age being easily deduced from information offered in HLA's opening scene:

19 + 5 = 24. Alyx is 24 in HL2, only three years younger than Gordon. This tidbit was routinely ignored in favor of portraying her as a younger vulnerable party to a "much" older man (who in reality hadn't aged during his time in stasis). --- 3.) Upon first meeting Gordon in HL2, Alyx off-handedly remarks that Gordon likely "[doesn't] remember" her from Black Mesa. HLVRAI fans took that to mean Gordon definitely knew her when she was a child, or even babysat her, despite her words implying the opposite.

Don't ask me how that works. I don't know.

--- 4.) As an icky 47-year-old whom the game "ships" with a "possible teenager" (who despite living in a world subjugated by alien fascists must be "protected" from older white guys, apparently), Gordon Freeman thinks of the full-grown Alyx who flirts with him as the four-year-old he most definitely babysat back at Black Mesa.

--- Hmm, said the fandom tourists, isn't it sus how Valve keep trying to push Freemance in our faces? Maybe Valve are a bunch of pedos in disguise...? 🤔 If by now you're thinking these are some Olympic-tier mental gymnastics, you'd be right. The situation really was that absurd, to the point where antis straight-up lied about canon in order to justify shipping Freehoun. Which, to rub salt in the wound, wasn't even real Freehoun grounded in Half-Life canon, but some proxy for another ship. Fandom's response to this extreme contortionist act, understandably, was "Jesse what the fuck are you talking about."

And then, being the creatures of reason and intellect that they are, the fandom tourists started doxxing people over this shit. A mutual of mine had an anon report her to the authorities for merely writing Freemance fic. The situation got so bad that most of the old guard packed up and went elsewhere, mostly Disco Elysium.

To this day folks are still tentative about even posting what used to be fandom's most common OTP because that side of fandom is just so rabid.

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Horizon (Chapter 5)

series masterlist

faerieprince!san x oc

royal/fantasy au, soulmate au

chapter wc: ~18k

chapter warnings: fluff, angst, tragedy, violence warnings, mention of death/su!cide, past traumas, atz interactions, suggestive

chapter synopsis: yeosang manages to contact neve and together with gaeul, yena, yunho and mingi, they open a portal to another world and find out what those monster-like creatures are and why they kidnapped not only faeries but darklings as well. they get answers that connect everything from the beginning to the end. gaeul must come to a decision and finds herself in a dilemma- she can either return her magic to her original state or save her soulmate bond with san who loves her anyway.

manager-nim: @eightmakesonebraincell (couldn't have seen it to the end without her :') <3 )

[Day 132 in other dimension/132 hours and 47 minutes in Mirinae]:

Yeosang was not having fun moving around in his dimension as a spirit.

As the Prince of Space who ruled over the dimension, he had an unquestionable authority over all those who dwelled in the bridge of a dimension between life and death. With his soul intact in his body, that perhaps rendered him a force to be reckoned with.

But as a spirit just like the others? He was certainly not enjoying the lack of said authority. 

Now that he felt like any other soul in that dimension, most dismissed him as background. Those who did not either went after him or spread word around, which was worse- there was always a spirit a little unhinged that dared to try something with him. Thankfully, his loyal friends in that dimension were sticking with him- at the price of a few favours.

“I’m just sayin’, eh?” One of them said- a boy who might still be in his teens, though he looked older- or perhaps, his long stay here was making him look older. “You can’t be away from your body too long. It’s funny business, tryna find a darkling in ‘ere. Like finding a needle in a stack.”

“We’ve found one before,” Yeosang, who was walking aimlessly along with his two partners, said. “We can find one again.”

“It’s quite a long shot, though,” the other soul- older than Yeosang, said. “I’ve a better chance trying to remember my name.”

Yeosang casted him a glance- these two were one of the few who had stayed in this dimension long enough to forget their names but still hadn’t gone insane. They gave up on moving on, instead deciding to serve Yeosang from here with a promise that they could be a part of his court in this dimension and do his bidding for him. Yeosang was pretty sure the idea of freedom in this dimension appealed to them much more than actually serving the prince, but as long as they were sane, he wasn’t going to let them go. 

“And you’re only getting weaker the longer you stay away from your body-”

“I’m not, actually,” Yeosang smirked at the boy. “Since my body is not home.”

“Oh,” the boy nodded slowly. “Does that mean you’re staying for long?”

“I’m only here to find a darkling, and if I have to open up a door to another dimension here, so be it. I’ve had enough of simply waiting.”

“But, sir,” the older one said. “That’s dangerous- if the balance gets shifted, this dimension could fold in on itself.”

“Yeah? Maybe it’s time I got rid of you lot…” Yeosang tsk-ed.

“Ay, you don’t mean that,” the boy poked Yeosang in his arm and Yeosang actually paused to look at him and let his careless action sink in. However, he shamelessly continued. “If it weren’t for us, some darkling monster would have gotten your arse-”

“And that’s your cue to shut up if you don’t want to meet my new friend Gaeul,” Yeosang said and the two straightened. “Funny how you’re more scared of her when I can do worse here.”

“She sent them from the home dimension,” the older one pointed out. “They ceased to exist. I doubt you can do that.”

That was true. Yeosang nodded in agreement and the three fell silent again, staring into the thick cloud of fog they had been moving in for days now, relying solely on straining their visions and detecting the souls with magic. If Yeosang stopped and shut his eyes as if meditating, he could hear his friends back in the other dimension- he was pretty sure he heard something about Yena opening a portal to whatever dimension that held those creatures. He was praying she noted down the calculations because that was a dimension they definitely needed to explore, especially since those creatures could come and go as they pleased- which made him wonder yet again if Gaeul could actually control the dimension and serve as a bridge, just like him. Was she attracting those creatures to Mirinae without her knowledge? 

That made Yeosang actually clap in realisation and his partners frowned in confusion. “I have an idea. What would attract a darkling’s attention?”

“A helpless faerie?”

“You?”

“A portal to Mirinae, where the faeries live,” Yeosang was smirking dangerously and though the idea wasn’t all that bad, the two had some qualms about it.

“That would attract anyone’s attention, sir.”

“And that’s why I allowed you to serve in my court,” Yeosang straightened, the plan already running through his head. “Make sure the faeries know not to interfere if they don’t want to be burned into non-existence. We have a trap to set.”

The two got right into action, disappearing into the fog and leaving Yeosang alone as he waited for their signal. He wished he had a helping hand because there was no guarantee a rogue faerie wouldn’t make things worse, but he had to make do with what he had. As soon as the boy returned with his own plan of his friends acting undercover and roaming around to keep watch, Yeosang opened a portal to the part of the basement in his castle where he usually practised his magic, and let his plan play out.

~

Even though San had never felt weaker than this before, he wasn’t one to sit and wait, much to the younger princes’ dismay. Wooyoung and Jongho only watched helplessly as he went through old scrolls on magical bonds and pushed himself to come up with a way to keep that bond intact, even when it felt like one snap could break it forever.

“Not gonna work,” Jongho, who had given up trying to stop him since it was no use, opted to be his counsellor instead. He could feel what San was trying to do better, so he helped wherever he could. “Healing magic might have a better shot than Earth magic, if I have to say.”

“But Earth is what connects them,” Wooyoung, who was watching the two from the couch, sipping casually on a margarita, said. “Healing magic would scare the bond’s unnatural state.”

“Earth doesn’t connect them anymore,” Jongho said. “Gaeul’s magic is as far from Earth as it can get.”

“Not helping,” San muttered, taking a sip of Wooyoung’s drink. “There must be something that’s kept the bond alive.”

“Magic,” Jongho replied, resting his head on the table. “Magic keeps any bond alive. There must still be a kernel of her old magic inside Gaeul that kept the bond alive- or maybe, the bond itself is that kernel. In that case,” he yawned unceremoniously. “Good luck figuring it out.”

“It’s a loop,” Wooyoung sighed. “I’m lost.”

San resisted the urge to poke Jongho awake. He knew it was a shot in the dark but he had to think of something. Maybe he could save the bond- but for that, they’d have to be in the same dimensions, so that was not an option anymore. He slumped down hopelessly and Wooyoung tsk-ed.

“I’m sure they’re figuring it out,” Wooyoung said after a moment but San shook his head. “You don’t have to feel so hopeless. Everyone’s trying to help you here.”

“I just… I don’t know,” San almost cried. “If the bond breaks, would she still want me?”

“Yes, you love-sick bastard, I’m sure she will,” Wooyoung slapped San’s arm for good measure and Jongho laughed in his sleep. “Go sleep. You’re beginning to look more like Gaeul with each passing day.”

San smiled at that despite the situation, crawling to the nearest couch. “If only we could turn back time. Easy to say, huh?”

As San settled into the couch and wrapped himself up in his blanket, something clicked in Wooyoung’s mind and he waited for San to properly fall asleep before he went to write a message to Seonghwa.

I have the craziest theory, but it might be the only thing that could work. Asking you before I suggest it to Yena- if she hasn’t thought of it already.

~

Yena knew something was up with Yeosang when his fingers started twitching in his sleep mode. She thought she hallucinated for a second- after all, they would never admit it but they all were starting to feel a little crazy now that so much time had passed. But when Yeosang’s body jerked again, Yena looked around for Mingi.

“You didn’t notice Yeosang… moving or anything while you kept watch, did you?”

“What makes you think I was actually watching him?” Mingi, who was descending into a new level of laziness with each passing day, said. “If you didn’t notice, I’m always almost dozing off when I’m on duty.”

Yena pouted and Mingi asked what the matter was. 

“I think he’s doing something funny in his realm,” Yena’s voice was low, as if she herself didn’t quite believe it. “I can’t sense anything but he moved quite a bit just now.”

“I pray he is,” Mingi sighed, going back to drawing things on the sand with a stick. “It’s kind of boring without him here.”

Yena wanted to joke but she had to admit he was right. “Well, let’s hope he’s not getting a beating there, eh?”

Yena wasn’t wrong.

Yeosang almost got thrown a good distance away by the darkling spirit he had managed to get in his trap. Problem was, with all his energy focused on the portal, he couldn’t dodge the first attack and the portal shut close, prompting the darkling to attempt another attack.

Yeosang wiped his face as he got up, glaring at the darkling who was now being held back by his spirit friends. He observed it for a moment- it didn’t look like it had been here for long.

“Do you know just who you were attacking?” Yeosang stepped closer. “I could burn your soul with a mere thought.”

“Ah, so you’re him,” he cocked his head. “Prince of this realm.”

“Well, you must know what I can do then,” Yeosang scoffed. “I need you to get a message to your Prince of Space- tell him I’m calling him.”

“Why would I? He will burn me as soon as he spots me.”

“I could do the same, but we’re striking a deal, and you must be interested in what you could gain,” Yeosang considered him. “What business do you have left to still be in this realm?”

The darkling broke free, swiping his unnaturally white hair back. “I’m looking for my sister.”

“Ah,” Yeosang nodded slowly. “Well, tell you what- if you get my message to Prince Neve, I can ask him to get you the whereabouts of your sister. Sounds good?”

“And what if she’s… gone?”

“You know there’s nothing that can bring her back then,” Yeosang said and he looked grim. “The only favour we can do, then, is give you the same fate as her with the hope you’ll reunite somewhere- unless you’d like to simply cease to exist right now-”

“Alright, I get it,” he groaned. “I’ll do it. I don’t know how to get to the Prince though.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Yeosang smirked. “You can’t fool me.”

The darkling immediately dissolved in thin air and the boy clapped. “You think they can feel their prince like we can feel you?”

“Let’s hope that is the case,” Yeosang sat down. “Now we wait.”

—---------------------------

[Day 134 in the other dimension/134 hours and 32 minutes in Mirinae]:

Gaeul didn’t know what she was expecting when she poked Yeosang’s arm. She was on watch while the others scattered- some to get food just because they were bored and missed eating, some to roam around. She herself had been staring holes into the shell she had brought with her from the beach when she was with San- the shell that resembled the colour of his magic. But when she felt overwhelmed because she missed him and because the days were feeling too repetitive and everyone felt tired, she resorted to poking Yeosang’s arm, sighing. If he was awake, he would probably engage her in some activity and keep her distracted.

She poked his arm again, pouting to herself. She wondered if he would feel sore when he woke up- after all, he had been in the same position for days now. He didn’t look like he was sleeping peacefully either- there was a slight frown on his face, eyebrows furrowed a little. Gaeul pushed the blonde strands of his hair back from where it was poking his eyes, noticing his birthmark. She was about to poke it next but he opened his eyes-

Making Gaeul scream and making Yeosang wince in return and shut his eyes in disappointment. When Gaeul finished screaming, she frowned and poked his arm again, making him open his eyes and he let out a short laugh when she nearly jumped.

“Yes, I’m awake,” his voice sounded hoarse and he cleared his throat, though he remained unmoving. “What were you doing? You scared me so bad that I almost went back to the realm.”

Gaeul put a hand on her heart to calm it down. “I- nothing. Just… poking you because I was bored.”

“I thought I told you not to mess with my body.”

“Gentle pokes,” Gaeul stifled a smile and he laughed. “I was… bored.”

“Just admit that you missed me,” Yeosang finally got up with a groan, stretching his muscles and looking around. “Where’s everyone?”

“Taking a break, they’ll be back soon,” she crossed her legs and scanned Yeosang- he didn’t look any different. “So? Did it work?”

“Somewhat,” Yeosang got up and brushed his clothes. “I managed to contact Neve indirectly, but… I think the closer we get to Rukbat, the better it is.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Gaeul said and Yeosang nodded. “How did you manage to contact him anyway?”

“That’s a story I’ll tell only once,” he shuddered involuntarily. “Let’s go find them. We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

It looked like Yeosang was thinking as they walked in silence towards the town and Gaeul nervously scratched at her fingers, wondering if she was one step closer to going home. As soon as Yeosang spotted Yena scribbling in her diary, he whistled loudly at his twin and Yena perked up when she saw him.

“Finally,” Yena groaned, sharing a smile with Gaeul. “So? Got kicked out of your realm or?”

“Kind of both,” Yeosang chuckled, waving at Yunho and Mingi who spotted him and they ran towards him, Mingi attempting to put Yeosang in a chokehold but folding in on himself when Yeosang poked his stomach. 

“We’re going to Rukbat- as close as we can. Chances are Neve will find us before we do.”

“How did you contact him?” Yena asked.

“I had to open a portal to the home dimension as a bait which caught a darkling spirit's attention…” Yeosang’s voice got smaller as Yena glared at him. “Come on. It worked.”

“I can’t believe I��m the one lecturing you about the rules, but that could have gone way worse, Yeosang. I’m surprised you came out unharmed.”

“Not entirely, I’m sore,” Yeosang rubbed his left forearm where he had landed when he received the blow from the darkling. “But we’re good. So are we portalling to Rukbat?”

“We should,” Yena nodded. “Should I get us to the outskirts of Rukbat, or straight to the mountains where he’s most likely to come?”

“He’ll definitely come to that place where it all started,” Mingi said and Yena nodded grimly. “So maybe save us the hiking part and portal us to the river in the mountains? We could wait there.”

Yunho snickered at that. “You’re just tired of walking around, isn’t that so?”

“Whatever, we are all tired,” Mingi sighed, looking apologetically at Gaeul. “No pressure.”

Gaeul laughed nervously- it was an inside joke at this point. “Let’s save the trip then, if that’s okay with Yena.”

“Of course,” Yena nodded, immediately opening the portal and making everyone step through it before she entered, shutting the portal. Gaeul shivered at the sudden drop in temperature and Mingi started picking some wood to light a fire while Yeosang and Yena sat down as she updated him on the calculations of the portals she had noted so far. Gaeul sat by the river at the same spot she had come with San, smiling faintly at the memory when they had flirted a bit and played around, still so curious about the other. 

Yunho bent down and submerged his hands in the river, closing his eyes shut as if taking in something unexplainable. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Gaeul curiously watching him.

“Water has memories,” Yunho told her.

“Like… actual memories?”

“Not really,” Yunho settled down next to her. “Some memories are meant to be forgotten. Some… stay due to some sort of magic or intensity factor- I never understood why. I tried this when I was looking for the black hole too but it didn’t really work. But… it looks like you and San have been here before.”

Yunho grinned when he saw her gape at him. “What did you see?”

“You were throwing water at each other,” he laughed. “Is that a good memory?”

“I was just thinking about it right now,” Gaeul admitted. “We came here with Wooyoung and Jongho- they stayed down but he wanted to show me the river.”

Yunho nodded. “He really wanted to show you the river, yes. I think the memory here is because of San. He must really cherish that memory.”

“Really? How can you tell?”

“I looked at you through his eyes,” Yunho turned to Gaeul and she raised a brow. “What if there is no choice but to break the bond for you two to be together? I mean… it’s about time we started seriously considering that possibility. It might kill you, but there is a chance that you’ll make it out alive without the bond. What then?”

Gaeul took a deep breath. “I don’t think anything should change. It would hurt but I know I love San because he is… San. I don’t love him because we’re connected. Yes, it made me more drawn to him than I would have perhaps otherwise, but… I think I would have gone for him anyway.”

“Really?” Yunho teased. “None of us good enough for you?”

“Come on,” Gaeul laughed. “Okay, on second thought, Seonghwa is taken, that’s too bad, but Yeosang-”

“Shut up right there,” Yeosang put his hands over his ears and Yena and Mingi laughed out loud, knowing Gaeul did that to tease Yeosang but also because she actually thought Yeosang was particularly beautiful, just like everyone else. Gaeul sent finger hearts to Yeosang, making him hide behind his sister. 

“You two are the prettiest!” Gaeul called out before turning back to Yunho, sharing a laugh. “Yeah, I think I would have chosen San anyway.”

Yunho pretended to be hurt, earning a slap and Mingi joined the two in their following banter. Meanwhile, Yena sighed as she laid down on the grass.

“Wake me up when Neve arrives.”

—--------------------

[Day 136 in the other dimension/136 hours and 43 minutes in Mirinae]:

Gaeul and Mingi held on to each other as they screamed their lungs out, making the poor man in front of them shut his eyes in plain old disappointment, waiting until Mingi at least came to his senses and stopped screaming, Gaeul following suit.

“Neve?”

“Yes, Neve. It’s honestly a surprise you recognised me. I thought you’d scream longer.”

Gaeul’s grip on Mingi’s arm loosened- the duo had been playing with magic, dodging each other’s attacks until one of them got hit, in which case they would receive a forehead flick. Gaeul was just preparing Mingi for the blow he was about to receive but the shock they both received when the door to the cabin, which was right behind them at the moment, opened and something dark stepped out, resulted in them holding on to each other for dear life.

Gaeul assessed the darkling- he looked and felt just like a faerie, maybe a tad bit different. It was his aura that confirmed he was a darkling. He was middle-aged but looked weary, his dark hair with streaks of grey a stark contrast to the paleness of his skin, going well with his facial hair. His dark eyes bore holes into her.

“Now what is that?” He wondered out loud. Mingi scoffed at the way he phrased it.

“That’s your new patient,” Mingi said and Neve laughed, patting Mingi’s arm in encouragement. 

“Always the one stuck with the helpless, huh? You look better than the last time I saw you.”

“I’m not the only one this time,” Mingi craned his head to where the rest of them had gone- they would surely be coming back now if Neve wasn’t masking his powers. “And thanks. You look older.”

“Age. I can’t keep travelling in time to avoid that now, can I?” Neve smiled in defeat and looked back at the approaching figures, smiling cheek to cheek when he spotted Yena. Gaeul watched with curiosity and surprise as Yena approached Neve with a pout and let him hug her.

“Are you the same Yena that couldn’t manage a single portal?” Neve scanned her. 

“In flesh and blood,” Yena grinned. “It’s been years. I might have reached my full potential, or maybe I still have some way to go.”

“You still have,” Neve confirmed and looked at Yeosang. “Your other half.”

“Yep. Yeosang,” Yena introduced and Yeosang nodded in greeting. “And that’s Yunho- Prince of Water.”

“And Prince of Ice,” Neve added and Yunho raised a brow. “Those two elements aren’t meant to be in the same person.”

“Really? Why?” Yunho asked, though his tone said he must have a reason to believe him.

“That’s a long story for another time, but it’s a miracle you’re… in one piece,” he said dismissively and Mingi rolled his eyes, telling Yunho that was just the darkling being himself. “Now, what was all the fuss about?”

“Who do you think she is?” Yena pointed at Gaeul.

“What do you think she is,” Mingi quoted to correct. “Let’s start with a blank slate.”

“Interesting,” Neve stepped towards Gaeul, making her squirm- she hadn’t found the will to speak ever since she came in the presence of the darkling, and she could understand now why Yena wanted her to meet him- it was like her slumbering powers were finally cracking open their curious eyes. “She’s not entirely faerie, but there’s not a hint of darkling in her. Yet…” he brought his hand and touched a stray strand of hair. “Yet my power sings of familiarity.”

“Can you feel if… Kieran has tampered with her in any way? Her magic or her memories?” 

Neve paused and looked at Yena in surprise. “Kieran?”

“Don’t tell me how he is,” Yena mumbled and Neve looked around in surprise. Yeosang cleared his throat.

“We believe that Kieran somehow figured out the time-loop and killed Gaeul here to mess with us.”

“If he killed her, then why is she alive?” Neve frowned, looking at Mingi. “Don’t tell me you’re travelling back in time again.”

“We’re not,” Mingi shook his head. “Just confirm our suspicions and we’ll tell you the story.”

“Okay,” Neve shrugged, looking at Gaeul for permission before putting his hand on her forehead and closing his eyes, wincing before he drew back after a few moments and looking in utter surprise at Gaeul and then at the others.

“Kieran did leave one last gift for you, huh?” He managed to say, settling down on the grass as he processed what he had seen. “She used to be faerie, but now she is not. And it’s because Kieran killed her at the right time, though I’m not quite sure if he was aware of the extent of his prank…”

“You can tell him your story, Gaeul,” Yena urged, asking everyone to settle down. Gaeul nodded and looked around, Yunho beside her patting her arm in encouragement as she told him the events following her coming back from the dead, to her magic reversing and spotting those otherworldly creatures, to finding out that the Prince of Earth is her soulmate and that the bond might be the only thing that was keeping her alive.

“I think Kieran must have known that the bond could cause some significant destruction to the timeline- though it may not have been the outcome he expected. I should ask him just what he was thinking…” Neve looked cautiously at Yena who raised her brow. “He’s in our worst prison, don’t worry. Apparently we respect the treaty enough to punish even the Prince of Illusions.”

“Good riddance,” Yeosang muttered. “He’s created enough of a mess here before he left.”

“Well,” Neve crossed his legs, looking at Gaeul. “How does your magic feel right now?”

“It’s been weird ever since you came,” Gaeul admitted. “Why is that?”

“We must have something in common- I can feel it too,” Neve looked at Yeosang and Yena. “The same way I can feel with them. With those two, we are the descendants of the same magic- we’re practically related in that way,” he scoffed and Yeosang groaned, making Yunho and Mingi grin. “But with you… perhaps the dark nature of your magic speaks to my inherent nature, or perhaps…”

“The dimensional power,” Gaeul completed and he nodded grimly. “Have you heard of those creatures before?”

“I have seen them,” Neve said proudly and Yena clapped. “As she well knows, I have travelled a lot of worlds.”

“See?” Yena said haughtily. “I knew he would be of help.”

“I’m surprised you managed to contact me though,” Neve looked at Yeosang. “That was risky but it worked.”

“We’ve been here for how many days now?” Yeosang looked at Yunho and he told the day count- 136. “I thought it would be easier to reach you.”

“It would have been, but I stopped travelling in dimensions last year. It finally started taking a toll on my health,” he looked at Yena. “And so, I would advise you to limit your use of dimensional magic as well.”

“Yes sir,” Yena saluted. “So? What are those creatures?”

“The Panthers of Soca,” Neve said. “Originally from Earth but these creatures were the first to be transported to another dimension by the direct descendants of the original magic holders- those creatures are far too intelligent to have been manipulated by darklings, or even faeries.”

“Another dimension? Not another planet?” Yeosang asked.

“You know how there are uncountable dimensions layering our world. This here is still Mirinae, but another dimension that simply has a different time flow. The Panthers of Soca also dwell on Mirinae, long before it was inhabited by the faeries, but in a dimension where the state of Mirinae is accustomed to their needs.”

“So they’re… panthers? Animals?” Mingi asked.

“Not that simple,” Neve shook his head. “They have a single purpose- to bring balance to nature. They existed before faeries, and when the first faerie birthed from the purest kernels of magic, so did darklings from the darkest of magic- dark in nature but not evil, mind you. It is believed that the Panthers of Soca raised the first faerie and the darkling, making sure their powers were two halves of one whole.”

“So can they speak?” Gaeul asked.

“Not in a language we’d understand anymore.”

“So the question remains,” Yunho began. “Why did they kidnap the faeries from Mirinae? Why did they bow to Gaeul?”

Neve looked at Gaeul with curious eyes. “I’d have an explanation but the fact that they bowed to Gaeul is… unsettling. After all, she was once a mere faerie.”

“A mere faerie of the yin-yang bloodline who just so happens to be the Prince of Earth’s soulmate,” Yeosang began, making Gaeul hide her face in her hands. “Who used to have affinities for at least three elements, which is unusual as it is, even if she is from the prestige bloodline, but who just so happened to come back from the dead after being killed in a time-loop, resulting in her magic reversing so now she has the power to make a thing unalive- not kill, but lose its meaning, its existence-”

“Yeosang-” Yunho warned but he continued.

“-and who holds an affinity for cold fire- an element that was supposed to be a myth, and that’s not all- her soulmate bond remained intact after death. And you’re still wondering why the Panthers of Soca, who apparently strive for balance, bowed to her, a mere faerie?”

“I would have thrown up if I was back in Mirinae,” Gaeul muttered but everyone ignored that, staring at Yeosang who had just stated the very obvious but overwhelming facts. 

“She’s the epitome of unbalance,” Yeosang said and Gaeul was the first one to laugh at that, making everyone join in defeat. “It’s honestly a relief they didn’t decide to kill her instead.”

“Okay, now I will throw up,” Gaeul warned and Yunho put a cautious hand on her back, finding that she indeed felt queasy and sent some comforting magic through her. “But why kidnap the faeries?”

“The faeries aren’t the only one that went missing,” Neve revealed and a collective gasp sounded. “A few darklings too. I never thought it could be connected to something bigger.”

“So do we open the dimension and I don’t know, talk it out with the Panthers? Or do we make sure Gaeul is trained well first?” Mingi asked.

“You said she is my patient,” Neve smirked. “I think that means we’ll have to train.”

~

San was sure this must be how Yena had felt when some foreign darkling magic was interfering with her soulmate bond and even healing her was hurting her. Because for the past couple of days, he was positive he was simply dying. There was no other explanation- he was deteriorating from the inside, and that was a nice way to put it- his organs felt like they were catching fire though he physically felt cold.

As he sat under the glass roof of Wooyoung’s room and stared at the dark cloudy sky that kind of reflected his current state, he wondered if this was how everything would end. If he would wonder for the rest of his life what it would have been like had he lived a happy, normal life with his other half. 

He liked imagining how he would have come across Gaeul- maybe she would have finally left her home for good and come to live somewhere in Jongho’s kingdom, where she could practise her Nature magic freely. Maybe they would have crossed paths somewhere on a beach there, stopping for a moment feeling something strange in the air and going back to their separate paths, only to find each other again soon.

Or maybe she would have come to live in his kingdom. Maybe she would have met him while he was travelling, in disguise, like he had encountered Yena. Maybe he would have offered to show her around if they met on the road. 

Or, in a more romantic scenario, he would have been drawn to her anyway. Maybe he would have found himself going to the beach in Ascella and met her where she was perhaps the most powerful- with earth, nature and water element in one place. That might have heightened her soulmate bond especially when he would be closer. They would have taken one look at each other and known they were meant to meet, though it would have been a bit difficult to accept it.

San started to wonder for the first time why his soulmate wasn’t just another ordinary faerie. It could have been anyone, but Gaeul was from the most privileged bloodline of the fae. That itself was something- the fact that she possibly held affinities for not one but three elements. Even ignoring the mess that Kieran had created, it was strange enough for San’s soulmate to be this powerful. Perhaps the fates had written for him someone who could be his counterpart- someone that could match his magnitude of power.

The Earth element, as simple as it sounded, was perhaps the most vague elemental power to possess- stranger than water and nature elements. Earth wasn’t simply the soil under your feet or the bringer of life- it was also the bringer of death and destruction. The fact that the yin-yang bloodline had mostly nature and earth magic users was alarming enough, but to possess water affinity with it? Wasn’t that combination unstoppable?

And now it had taken an unknown form- he wondered just what was going on in that dimension- was Gaeul able to hold control over her powers now? Just what could she do now that she wasn’t just his counterpart but his complete opposite as well?

Nature, earth and water. What a combination-

San got up slowly, looking at the sleeping figure of Hongjoong next to him as realisation started to dawn on him. He contemplated not waking him up but figured if what he was thinking was somehow plausible even though it sounded far from it, he had to let Hongjoong know. Plus, Hongjoong always made something out of their senseless opinions too.

San poked Hongjoong’s arm repeatedly until he stirred, opening one eye. “You okay?”

“I was thinking-”

“Ugh, stop thinking and go back to sleep,” Hongjoong groaned and shifted away from him. 

San sighed. “The faeries that have been kidnapped. What magic do they possess? And how many were there?”

“It’s in the report we received a few days ago,” Hongjoong muttered sleepily. “Read that.”

“Weren’t they earth, nature and water elements holders?” 

“So you did read? What’s the problem then?”

“Think about it,” San crossed his legs, his tone urgent. “What elements did Gaeul have an affinity for?”

There were a few moments of complete silence and San wondered if Hongjoong had actually gone back to sleep before he got up abruptly and stared at San as he started connecting the dots. “So you’re saying this isn’t random?”

“Does it look random to you?” San countered and Hongjoong shook his head.

“I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to overwhelm you, but I think you should know now,” Hongjoong sighed, scanning the face of the younger Prince who looked pale enough as it was. “Those creatures that took the faeries? Apparently Yena accidentally opened a portal to their dimension. When they saw Gaeul, they bowed to her.”

San felt like someone had kicked him in the gut. “They… bowed to her? Out of fear-”

“Or respect,” Hongjoong countered. “Maybe both.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Nobody does,” Hongjoong patted San’s arm. “But I think I should contact them now- let them know this is something they cannot simply dismiss as coincidence.”

“How are you going to contact them?” San asked.

“A little trick I’m learning thanks to our little time-traveller,” Hongjoong smiled. “Apparently light can travel through different dimensions and time-flows without losing its form. So a simple message like this-” he snapped his fingers causing a spark to light for a few seconds. “It can travel through our dimension to theirs.”

“Wow. That’s really convenient but please don’t send it to the past,” San looked paler if that was possible. “We’ve had enough of messing with the past.”

“Don’t worry, Yena’s controlling the other end of it for now,” Hongjoong assured. “I’ll go contact them-”

“Wait-” San held Hongjoong’s wrist, stopping him. “Can I… can I see her?”

“Gaeul?” Hongjoong asked and San nodded sheepishly. “Are you sure? Actually, you can but I’m not sure if it’s such a good idea for her to see you in this state…”

“I just wanna talk to her,” San pleaded and Hongjoong gave in, sending the spark-message and asking him to brace himself for a portal opening in the room.

They felt it before it appeared in front of their eyes- a tingling feeling in the air followed by a tear in the space and the portal opening with sparks. Yena waited in front of them, Yeosang beside them.

“Every time I think he couldn’t look any worse, he surprises me,” Yeosang commented and San scoffed.

“It’s not that bad.”

“You just look like a grayscale painting of yourself, other than that? It’s fine,” Yena shook her head. “You go first, Hongjoong, because we have a lot to say.”

Hongjoong sighed in relief- it looked like there was finally a positive outcome. “Funnily enough, San’s brain actually works even when he looks like this. He says the missing faeries are all either earth, nature or water element holders.”

“See?” Yeosang looked pointedly at his twin who bit her lips guiltily. “Another item to add to my list of why Gaeul is not just a ‘mere faerie’ like Neve said.”

“Neve? You’ve done it then?”

“Just two days ago- two hours for you, that is,” Yeosang began. “Those creatures aren’t simply animals, Hongjoong. They are the Panthers of Soca- the ones that maintain the balance in nature. The ones that were there when the first faerie and darkling came into being.”

“The Panthers of Soca?” Hongjoong was positive he had gone paler than San. “I thought that was a bedtime story.”

“I thought so too, until I saw them for myself a few years ago,” Neve came into their vision and passed a subtle nod to the two. “Greetings. You look like death.”

“I feel like death, thank you,” San muttered. 

“So you’re the poor lad who’s had the misfortune to be Gaeul’s soulmate.”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” San raised a brow.

“Oh, you wouldn’t?” Neve raised a brow back. “Because I’ve been thinking about your two’s situation, and honestly? Things don’t look so bright, Prince of Earth. You’ll have to start weighing your options soon-”

“Neve,” Yena warned politely, turning to San. “He’s a darkling. He never looks at the bright side of the picture. I don’t know how I made it back when he trained me, to be honest.”

“I know what my options are,” San looked grimly but firmly at the darkling who met his stare.

“Yeah, anyways, if the faeries have something to do with Gaeul’s original powers, then what do the darkling have to do?”

“Darklings?” Hongjoong asked.

“Your kind isn’t the only one that got taken,” Neve said. “We had a few darklings that went missing, and now I’m wondering if it’s related to this.”

“Well, I think before anything we need to confirm that,” Hongjoong looked at Yena and she nodded. “If the faeries reflect Gaeul’s old powers, the darklings must have something similar- or something that resembles Gaeul’s current powers. Once we confirm…”

“We’re looking for a way to communicate with the Panthers,” Yeosang told them. “We should know why they are still keeping the faeries alive, and check if there really are darklings there too. You should go back to your library, Hongjoong…”

Everyone laughed at that as Hongjoong groaned. “Alright, I’ll see. San?”

San nodded at him before turning to Yena. “Can you call Gaeul here? I need to see her.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Yena looked at Hongjoong who nodded in approval. “I’ll get her then…”

San waited nervously and the others simply watched his face change when he finally spotted Gaeul, his eyes looking livelier than they had ever since she had left.

Gaeul, however, saw San and nearly fell on her knees right there as the feelings she had been suppressing finally let loose. San smiled weakly at her and looked at Hongjoong.

“Can I get a little privacy?”

“Uh,” Yeosang looked at Yena. “I think as long as you two don’t interfere with the portal, you can. No touching, though, you hear me? ANd no poking through it”

Gaeul raised her hands in surrender and Yeosang muttered something about how he would be monitoring her before leaving with the rest and San waited until Hongjoong left the room before turning to her.

“Hello, love.”

“You look… like me,” Gaeul laughed, suppressing her tears and San chuckled at that, warning her not to cry. “Are you okay?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he got up from the bed and Gaeul watched his significantly weaker steps towards the portal and Gaeul dared to take a step forward herself. “How are you? Is it too much?”

“I’m okay with everything, I’ve trained a lot here-”

“I heard,” San smiled. “Cold fire? Seriously?”

Gaeul shrugged, smiling back. “Unexpected, isn’t it?”

“I hope they aren’t too hard with their training,” San asked. “Now’s the time to complain.”

“I’m okay with everything, San, I just… I miss you so much. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you-” Gaeul looked up as tears blurred her vision. “More than 4 months. That’s a lot of time without you. I feel it more with each passing day.”

“It may have only been a few days for me, but I feel it too, if you can’t tell already,” San joked and Gaeul glared at him, making him laugh. “I never thought I’d physically need you. I think I finally understand why you couldn’t stay away from me.”

“Excuse me, you were the one who couldn’t stay away from me,” Gaeul corrected and they shared a grin. 

“I just wanted to see you once. I feel a lot better now, even though I can’t actually feel you,” San sighed. “Stay strong, Gaeul. You’ll figure this out, okay? You’ll figure this out, and then you will come back home.”

“I will come back home, to you,” Gaeul promised. “So hang in there, San.”

San took another step forward, merely inches away from the portal and it took everything in his willpower to not step right through and hold her in his arms. Gaeul reached out a hand but stopped when she heard the warning groan from Yeosang, who walked to her and held her hand, squeezing it and she was surprised he didn’t scold her.

“I think you should say goodbye now,” he told her and Gaeul looked at San who nodded at Yeosang.

“No goodbyes. I’ll see you soon, Gaeul,” San said and Gaeul felt short of breath all of a sudden, about to say something but San had already waved his hand in front of the portal, effectively dismissing it and Gaeul stood staring at empty space, feeling lost until Yeosang squeezed her hand again.

“It’s all going to be over soon. Don’t give in now.”

The tears finally escaped at the gentleness of his voice and Gaeul wiped her face with her free hand. “I just… I don’t know if it’s worse to see him like this or to not see him at all.”

Yeosang sighed, patting her back and urging her to follow him back to where everyone was waiting, looking anxious. Gaeul pursed her lips and Neve cleared his throat before he spoke, “I’ll need to confirm what powers the missing darklings possessed, and for that, I’ll have to portal back home. I see no other way, but portalling back home and then coming here again is going to be tough on me. I’m not the same person I was a few years ago, sadly.”

“Just say that you’re old now,” Yena rolled her eyes and everyone laughed a bit, lightening the mood. “How dramatic.”

“Uh, there is another way but that would involve us preparing a little,” Yunho suggested, looking at Gaeul. “We could have Yena open the portal there. We could go there.”

“Go there?” Mingi shuddered at the thought. “Those creatures will rip you apart. I’ll stay here to collect your remains, though.”

“They… won’t,” Gaeul looked at them and Neve raised a brow in surprise at the confidence. “I felt it back then. They won’t hurt me. I don’t know what we’ll do if we go there, but I know they won’t hurt you if you stay with me. If we go there and Yena can bring us back, then I’m up for it.”

“You don’t have to rush,” Yeosang reminded her, knowing very well that a part of her wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible now that she had seen San in that state. 

“I know,” Gaeul nodded in thanks. “But tell me you’re not worried about San. He looks closer to death than I ever did.”

“That’s true,” Neve commented. “He does look like he’s moments away from… fading. Whatever her magic does to life.”

“And if we can’t make it back?” Mingi dared to ask.

“Well then,” Yunho clapped as he met eyes with every one of them. “It was nice knowing you all.”

—---------------------------

[Day 142 in the other dimension/142 hours and 17 minutes in Mirinae]:

It took a lot of planning, to put it simply. A lot of planning and arguments and bickering to finally agree that yes, they were going to open the portal to the dimension where the Panthers of Soca dwelled. It was a risk, but everyone was fully prepared to defend themselves, fight back or face worse consequences.

Despite playing it safe so far, everyone did admit they were a little tired of everything now and just wanted to solve this matter and get it over with. It was Neve who finally pushed their buttons and got them to admit it, and Gaeul was thoroughly impressed by that, reminded of Wooyoung who would have probably been even quicker than Neve. 

It was actually Gaeul’s big plan- she was the one who was tired of sitting and waiting. She was tired of seeing the others pretend that each passing day wasn’t wearing them down- yes, the break must have been very much welcomed when they first came here, but it had been months. Everyone had a life they wished to resume. They missed their court, their people, and hell, even the boring meetings. They missed their friends. Yena missed her husband- it was plain as day.

And Gaeul missed San. She could not simply wait for some miracle to happen now that she had seen San in that state, looking just like she had when she came back from the dead. She would make that miracle take place. 

And for that, she needed Neve- probably the only one who could perhaps understand her. And she had been right. 

“That’s easy enough,” Neve said, glancing at the others who were looking zoned out- either playing with their surroundings or staring into the space. “I think they’re going a little crazy anyway. They need some action.”

“Right!” Gaeul instantly relaxed, making Neve stifle a grin. “I know they’re doing it to make me comfortable and whatnot but if only they knew how uncomfortable all of this is making me… And they keep talking about training me. Haven’t I trained enough?”

“You can never train enough, Gaeul dear,” he pointed out and Gaeul groaned. 

“I know, but…” Gaeul bit her lip in frustration. “I just want this to be over already. And I don’t think just sitting and waiting for something to happen is the better choice.”

“I understand,” he nodded in approval. “I think the Panthers of Soca are intelligent enough to try holding a conversation with us instead of simply attacking us. And you know what? I have this strangest feeling that they’re connected to this in more ways than we can imagine.”

“Like?” Gaeul frowned.

“You’ll see,” he smiled knowingly. “I can see what’s coming. If you use that pretty little head of yours, you might see it too. The others are far too done to even form sane thoughts.”

Gaeul looked at the rest again, laughing a bit at the sight of Yunho arranging water drops in the air, Mingi sketching in the sand, Yena and Yeosang back to back pretending to read something but Yeosang’s book was upside down and Yena’s eyes weren’t on the book at all.

“They’re hopeless,” Neve shook his head in amusement. “But they’re an odd bunch. They’d do anything for the people they care about.”

“Well,” Gaeul rubbed her arms. “I hope they don’t get too disappointed with what happens later.”

So, after countless arguments and defence plans, Yena was finally ready to open a portal to their dimension, Gaeul next to her and Neve behind them to control the portal if something went wrong. Yena took a deep breath, glancing at the rest before meeting eyes with Gaeul. “Ready?”

Her powers sang in answer as if they had waited for this very moment. Gaeul nodded and Yena shut her eyes, concentrating on getting the right calculations and getting the portal working, Neve providing help once she started opening it- a tear in the space itself, Gaeul was always surprised to see. The portal grew wider, the murky cloud in it clearing and revealing-

The same spot where they stood, except the world seemed darker and shadows prowled the land.

For a few moments, everyone was simply too surprised to react as the sight of the Panthers became clearer- their eyes sharp colours of green and yellow as they spotted Gaeul. She held her breath, watching them turn and then walk with cautious strides towards the portal. Yena waved her extended hands with a sense of finality, letting the portal hang in the air so she could relax back and Neve followed suit.

One of the Panthers came forward and scanned each of them slowly before fixing its eyes on Gaeul and then, with a small bow, it rose. Gaeul could feel everyone holding their breaths, and when it opened its mouth to speak-

“It’s been a while, Im Gaeul.”

Gaeul glanced around but they all looked beyond confused. She cleared her throat. “How do you know my name?”

It was a simple, perhaps stupid question, but she hadn’t heard her full name in such a long time that it shook her to the core. Yena whipped her neck back to gape at Gaeul.

“We know everything about each one of you,” the Panther spoke and Gaeul felt its voice echo in her head in the most odd way- as if she could hear it from her ears and from inside her mind at the same time. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do,” Gaeul said and once again, watched everyone around her lower their defences as they tried to make sense of the situation.

“How come you’re talking to it?” Yeosang was the first one to ask. “What language are they speaking? Do you understand?”

Gaeul looked in confusion at Neve who simply looked oddly satisfied, as if all his predictions about how this encounter would go were coming true. He scoffed. “She seems to understand their language.”

“They’re speaking a different language than all of us?” Gaeul whisper-screamed, making Yena stagger on her step and she wrapped her trembling hand around Gaeul’s. 

“If you allow us to enter, we shall talk about everything. We have the answers to your questions, but first, you must allow us to enter into your world.”

“You didn’t need that when you stepped in Mirinae, why do you need my permission now?” Gaeul dared to ask.

“Because we’re finally contacting you. We shouldn’t have let it get to that, but we are finally making contact. There is no other way.”

“What are they saying?” Yunho asked.

“They want to enter this dimension so they can talk,” Gaeul looked at the rest. “Shall we allow them then?”

“You should,” Neve was the first one to speak. “And all of you should take care not to disrespect these creatures.”

Mingi looked pale- perhaps, he sensed something different about this situation. “Allow them to enter then.”

“You sure about this?” Yena asked Gaeul and she nodded. Yena nodded at the Panthers and two of them stepped through the portal and their presence finally hit-

Power. Raw, limitless power. That’s what this was. Gaeul wondered why the Panthers bowed to her when they should have been bowing to such power. She watched them sit, their wings drawn in and tails moving in the slowest motion.

“We bow to you because we must apologise for letting it get to this point,” the Panther began. “All that has happened. All that has gone wrong. It wasn’t meant to be like this.”

“Why do I understand your language but they don’t?” Gaeul asked. 

“All the answers in due time,” the Panther was almost smiling. “But first, you must hear our story and make a decision. Only you are allowed the privilege to make your own decisions.”

Gaeul’s heart sank- she looked at the others and translated their message. Yunho said it was better that she heard them out first and they would talk later, so Gaeul readied herself to hear their story.

“The reason you are here today, Gaeul, is because we allowed something to happen after your Prince of Illusions, Junyoung, died. His uncle was far too gone to let it go and he performed necromancy- the worst sin. That is the moment everything started to go wrong.”

“But that happened more than 25 years ago?” Gaeul frowned in confusion.

“It was something that should never have happened. If we had taken care of it at that time, you would have been living your old life. We are the maintainers of balance, yet, a bad judgement on our part that perhaps, the darkling Kieran who got brought into this world by force could live like a faerie… we didn’t foresee the corruption and the wrongs that would follow.

“Kieran was forcefully brought to Mirinae. Junyoung’s uncle could have very well raised him as his own, however, his mind deteriorated and he resorted to the ugliest path of them all. He kidnapped Yena- and that would not have happened had we stopped it right when he performed necromancy.”

“But that must not have been the first time necromancy was performed, right?” Gaeul glanced at Yena and Yena realised what they must be talking about. “Why was this time different?”

“We have the power to see all the possible flows of time and events that will follow after a decision,” the Panther said. “Thus, we have the power to change the time flow if something goes horribly wrong.”

“But you let it happen?” Gaeul almost whispered.

“It was the first time we could not see the time flow clearly- perhaps, the necromancy was supposed to happen. Perhaps, Yena was supposed to get kidnapped. That’s why we stayed put, because everything was still in balance. However… when Yena reunited with her family and the Prince of Dark got killed… that’s when we realised the time flow was damaged already- beyond repair. And only one thing could fix it now.”

“I… I don’t understand,” Gaeul’s voice quivered and Yena put a hand on her back, knowing her life events were involved since her name was being called so frequently. 

“The time-loop is a complex thing, and it is the first time we witnessed such a complex loop. It would have been a never-ending series of Yena going back in time to save Seonghwa, and Seonghwa getting killed again and again. It would have looped for infinity- but we could foresee that, and if we let it run its original path, perhaps, at one point, Yena would have given up on saving Seonghwa. How would the timeline have flowed then? It would have been the demise of your kind- for a time-loop to repeat itself for infinity before it breaks and follows a route unforeseen, it would have caused the end of your species. Your world would have folded in on itself and none of you would have remained.”

It hit Gaeul then- just how she was connected. Why the Panthers, such powerful creatures, bowed to her- in apology.

“And to prevent the time-loop from looping into infinity…” Gaeul almost whispered.

“Yes. For that, we had to intervene. We should have intervened earlier, but the damage was done. We used you as the last resort- a yin-yang faerie who’s soulmate happened to be powerful enough. We planted in Kieran’s head the idea to kill you. We let you die at the right time so the time-loop would end, so the faeries who sacrificed so much by leaving Earth and making Mirinae their home… they could all live. But for that… you had to die first.”

“Should I have remained dead then?” Gaeul could feel the sting of tears already.

“Not at all. Because we let you die at the right time, you came back. It is us who brought you back to life, slowly, surely. It is your bond with your soulmate that allowed us to do so. Your natural powers reversing is just a consequence you have to live with now. It seems like you’ve embraced it.”

Gaeul didn’t answer. “Why kidnap the faeries and the darklings then?”

“The reason we took all these faeries and darklings is because they possess magic similar to your original magic and your current one. They are safe- you need not worry. If you choose to live, their magic might help with the restoration. If you choose death, they will wake up with no memory of being here. But you need to make a decision-”

“Why give me a choice at all?”

“Because we have wronged you, and we will allow you a choice now- you can choose to remain dead. Your soulmate will never know he lost his other half. Because you have come back now, and the timeline is restored to something that does not lead to the end of the faeries, we can make it so that you never came back at all. None of them will know you ever existed.”

Gaeul couldn’t believe her ears and her heart tugged at her. “I should have been given this choice before you brought me back to life.”

“We couldn’t allow it to happen at that time,” the Panther shook its head slowly, the other grunting in agreement. “But you can choose now. Or… you can continue down this road.”

“How can I continue down this road when I’m still struggling to live with myself?” Gaeul’s voice raised in anger and the rest shifted in confusion.

“We can try to restore the soulmate bond to its original state. It is the only thing we can do for you now.”

“If you can see the multiple time flows, you must already know how this ends?” Gaeul asked. 

“We cannot see it because you are an anomaly, and your decisions are being influenced by us. Therefore, we do not know what will be better for you. Magic is a part of our existence, and losing it is losing a part of one’s own self forever- and you have lost your original magic forever. However… a soulmate bond is equally as precious, though your mate can continue to love you even without the bond. But we cannot guarantee your wellbeing if you choose to live and restore the soulmate bond. You could end up losing this magic too- forever. Or you could end up losing what is left of the bond too. ”

“But the bond is the reason I was able to come back, wasn’t it?” Gaeul was crying now. “Is it the only reason I had to be the one to be sacrificed?”

The Panthers didn’t respond and Gaeul finally understood why they gave her the option of death as well. She could go back so she never got to relive this misery.

But… her life now was anything but miserable. She had found a family now. San loved her. Could she give him up? And if she chose to restore the soulmate bond… 

Could she live as a faerie without magic? It was, she had heard in old poems, worse than losing a limb. It was like losing a part of yourself- she had experienced some of it herself and it had almost driven her crazy. What if she couldn’t take it?

And worse of all, what if she ended up losing everything just because she was selfish enough to want to live? She would lose her magic that she had just started accepting, and her soulmate bond. She would be nothing without the two. It didn’t matter if San would still love her- she didn’t doubt that. San would love her no matter who she was, but…

Could she live with herself? 

“What happens if I choose to live and everything goes wrong?” Gaeul asked, startling everyone.

“We do not know. What is a faerie without its magic and its bond? If it is a risk you must be willing to take… then you are very brave. Think about it, faerie. And when you have made a decision, we will be ready..”

“I understand,” Gaeul nodded and the Panthers got up, scanning each one of them before turning around, a portal appearing in front of them. They disappeared into it and the rest of them relaxed but Gaeul remained motionless.

“I have no idea what they talked about,” Yena patted her back again. “But I have a feeling I know.”

“I have a feeling I’m right too,” Neve muttered.

“I don’t know,” Gaeul sighed. “Do you mind if I take a breather before I tell you what we talked about?”

“Not at all,” Yena assured and Gaeul passed a weak smile before going towards the shore, leaving the rest confused but they would wait. They would give her all the time she needed to sort her thoughts out.

But to everyone’s surprise, Gaeul called Neve to talk in private and he passed a knowing glance to Yena before he joined Gaeul by the shore.

“You look too pale, kid,” he began. “Everything alright?”

“I need advice- and I’m not asking any of them because I know what they will say,” Gaeul looked at the rest who were stealing cautious glances. “Would you like to hear what the Panthers said about all of this?”

Gaeul told him everything and Neve looked oddly satisfied. “I knew it was something along those lines,” he admitted. “The thing with Kieran definitely should not have happened. I figured you were used as a sacrificial goat too, but… I didn’t expect them to be apologetic about it, neither did I expect that the world would basically have ended if they let the timeline in which Seonghwa remains dead run. Makes you wonder just how powerful they all are, doesn’t it?” He glanced back, spotting them getting closer every second as if they couldn’t contain their curiosity anymore. He waved his fist in the air in warning and they scattered off.

“They’re… so young right now,” Neve sighed. “They would not understand how their actions have forever changed something in this universe.”

“Right,” Gaeul felt nauseous. “What do you think I should do?”

Neve glanced at the faerie- she looked torn. “I think the dumber decision is to choose the plain old death when, if you choose to live and restore the bond anyway, there is a chance you will eventually die.”

“Thanks for the confidence boost,” Gaeul muttered.

“But if they do succeed…” Neve was smirking. “It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?”

Gaeul pursed her lips. “I’m more scared of becoming something I am not because there’s still a chance this could go very, very wrong.”

“You’re already something you are not,” Neve pointed out and she realised he was right. 

“I don’t know,” Gaeul sighed, biting her lips. “Death seems pretty appealing right now. San would never know I existed. Everyone would go on living their life and I’d move on.”

“You won’t,” Neve’s eyes twinkled. “Yeosang will still remember who you are when he meets you as a dead spirit. It’s one of the drawbacks of his powers- I know, because we share the same powers. And I wouldn’t forget you either. Not sure about Yena, but if she also remembers you? She’ll go to hell and back to undo the damage she has done and make it worse than it is.”

“And that is exactly why I’m not talking to her right now,” Gaeul groaned, feeling her heart torn between her love for the princess who really would do anything for her no matter what and anger because she did not know what to do and how to handle this.

“Look, it’s your decision,” Neve raised his hand. “I’m just pointing out the odds. It’s worth trying to live because you’re going to die either way- a clean death or a slow death will be the only difference. You’d actually be a coward to choose death-”

“You would have done the same,” Gaeul glared at him. “Can you imagine losing your magic and the soulmate bond?”

“The former, I can,” Neve sighed. “Sometimes… it is wise to be a coward. You should have let me finish the sentence.”

“Thanks for your help,” Gaeul sighed. “I’ll talk to them now. They need to know the whole truth. They deserve it- Yena deserves it.”

—----------------

Gaeul had just finished telling the others what she had learned from the Panthers and she watched them settle into a confused, somewhat angry but a bit satisfied mess. 

Satisfied because all of it finally made sense.

“I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Yena broke the silence after what seemed like an hour of letting all the information sink in. “Because I planted the dreams about Seonghwa’s fate in his head so before he died, he could tell me what to do to save him when Kieran decides to kill him. Does that mean the idea wasn’t mine?”

“I’m wondering how I knew just where and when to find you when you jumped back in time,” Yunho was staring into the distance. “I don’t think my water magic alone could have done that.”

“Right?” Yena huffed. “I don’t know what to make of it. I just know that I’m really, really angry all of it had to happen this way.”

“Can we make a decision now?” Gaeul almost whined. “You’ve done enough thinking- it isn’t that hard-”

“It is,” Yena insisted. “The Panthers said they can’t see the influence of your decisions on the timeline anymore since they intervened- this means there can be another path, another possibility we haven’t entertained yet. I’m not letting you risk yourself like this.”

“Neve,” Gaeul begged for help but he ignored her, drawing figures in the sand. She looked to her next ray of hope- Yeosang.

“Please tell me you see the obvious answer.”

“I’m with Yena on this one, sorry,” Yeosang almost laughed when Gaeul groaned loudly. “Look- there are a number of ways this could go differently, not just the two paths they told you. They’re not all-knowing. Give us some time to think.”

“Mingi?” He was near enough that Gaeul poked his arm for good measure. “What do you think?”

“I’m with whatever you choose,” he said with a tight-lipped smile. “Unless you choose dying because I’m not letting that happen-

“Not you too,” Gaeul groaned, meeting eyes with Yunho who seemed lost in thought. Gaeul waved a hand in front of him and he came back to reality, getting up. 

“Come with me, I want to talk to you about something.”

“You can talk here,” Yeosang narrowed his eyes and Yunho laughed.

“Not for your ears, this one,” Yunho pointed at every one of them and they stuck their tongues out collectively, making Gaeul smile for the first time in a while before she followed Yunho.

“I think it’s about time I talk to you about why Seonghwa asked me to keep an eye on you and let him know if things went south,” Yunho revealed and Gaeul gaped at him, making him shake his head. “I was quite burdened by the task, you know. I’m wondering if I should involve him now.”

“I feel betrayed but also pleased that you all care about me like this,” Gaeul smiled in defeat. “I was wondering who to burden with such a task again-”

“Gaeul-”

“You’re the right person,” Gaeul paused, facing him and Yunho looked like he wanted to run away. “If I choose to live and become someone who I am not… I would like someone to do something about it instead of letting me live like that and letting me lose myself. You understand, right?”

“This isn’t right,” Yunho shook his head furiously. “You deserve a happy, healthy and long life, Gaeul.”

“But what if it’s just not possible?” Gaeul smiled sadly. “I don’t think I deserve a sad, miserable and short life, do I?”

“You know what?” Yunho put his hands in his pockets. “You should fight back for once. I don’t like how you just accept things as if you have no will to live. Ask the Panthers to do their best for you. They should be able to restore your bond at least, if not your magic, with the powers they have. They should do that for you because they’re the reason you’re here now. And Gaeul… I was wondering if you had finally started enjoying life. Was I wrong?”

“You weren’t,” Gaeul sighed. “I’m selfish, aren’t I? I wish I could think like you guys but… you should understand I’ve never been able to be selfish about something until now.”

Yunho admitted defeat then- Gaeul was right. So much had happened to her ever since she came back to life and the way she had lived her previous life hidden from the world, forbidden from venturing into unknown territories even of her own magic? It was no surprise Gaeul found it so easy to give up on things. 

“You have something you want to live for now, don’t you?” Yunho asked.

“I do,” she smiled at the memory of San. “But not just for the reasons you think. I like where I am- I like what we have, even though we didn’t meet in the best circumstances. I have found a family in all of you, and I wish I could keep it.”

“Then try, for us. Let us be selfish with you for once. Do it for yourself and for us. And… I promise that if things go south and I find you in pain that you cannot bear… I’ll take care of things. Me and Seonghwa and Hongjoong… we’ll take care of it.”

Gaeul looked in surprise at Yunho- not at his offer but at his candid confession that he thought the same of her-

“But for that, you have to try living first, Gaeul. You have to give yourself that final chance. Don’t leave us wondering what would have happened otherwise.”

-but because he, all of them returned her sentiments. All of them would want her to live. She was overwhelmed with this feeling of being wanted, of being loved, and she found herself looking around, sitting at the nearest rock and sighing deeply, looking up at the sky and basking in hope.

Hope that everything will be alright.

Yunho seemed to understand that and he let her have a moment. Gaeul finally spoke, “I’ve never had someone do so much for me. I may not be the best at returning this, but I want to. I’ll try living, and I won’t forget what you all have done for me. And I’d like to do something for all of you in return, when everything is over.”

“You don’t need to do anything for us,” Yunho scoffed in amusement. “Don’t let Wooyoung hear you say that, by the way.”

Gaeul laughed, wiping her eyes. “But I’ll also ask you to keep your promise. If things go wrong… please don’t make me suffer for too long, will you?”

Yunho pursed his lips, looking like he could cry as the weight of it finally started sinking in. “Is there… is there a place you would like to rest at if it comes to that- heavens forbid it comes to that.”

“You’d know even if I don’t tell you,” Gaeul winked and Yunho shook his head. Of course he did. And when Yunho put an affectionate hand on her head to caress it and tell her the things he wanted to say out loud- to be strong, to face this with a smile on her face, to put her worries aside for a while and trust that everyone here has her back, Gaeul found herself burying her head in her knees, feeling sure for the first time in her life-

That she was meant to be here. 

—----------------------

Gaeul had made her decision.

For the people who loved her, for the family she had found in them, but most importantly, for herself, she made the decision to live and restore the soulmate bond so it would stop killing both San and herself. 

She could live with this magic. She could live being ‘the Queen of the Underworld’ as they were calling her. If she managed to restore her soulmate bond with San and her yin-yang element remained intact, she might even be able to tap into San’s power and share it. It wouldn’t be her own, and it would probably be too dangerous to even try, but…

Gaeul smiled to herself- perhaps it was a gift that her soulmate was San who possessed pretty much the same elemental power as her original magic. She would find solace in San even magically. Perhaps, it was meant to be this way.

Besides, her new magic wasn’t all that bad, Gaeul was realising. There was much more than wilting nature- she had a whole new element now. She could master that and venture further into the unexplored territories of her magic- hopefully, her magic wouldn’t have those spontaneous outbursts of uncontrolled power now. If it could get less chaotic and controllable… she could deal with that.

“What are you thinking?” Yeosang gave Gaeul a funny look, having spotted her smiling as they prepared to contact the rest and tell them about Gaeul’s decision. Yena had taken to explaining what they had talked about with the Panthers earlier, knowing Seonghwa would be distraught and feel the same as she felt- like somehow, this was all their fault when they, too, were simply chess pieces in the game of time. 

“I’m thinking that I wished I had known how much my perspective of life would have changed if I had simply been a bit more optimistic about the future,” Gaeul almost muttered the last part, making Yeosang laugh out loud.

“There’s a reason pessimists exist,” Yeosang grinned, “so there’s someone to ground the optimists.”

“You should simply be a ‘realist’,” Mingi commented, handing Gaeul a sliced piece of peach that he had found in one of the stalls in town and was binge-eating. 

“Wasn’t I a realist?” Gaeul asked.

“I was the only one with a remotely realistic perspective-”

“No, that’s me,” Yunho intervened and before the two could argue, Yena clapped to get everyone’s attention. 

“Gaeul- it’s time to tell San what your decision is and bring him here- Hongjoong should have explained everything to him by now.”

While Yena waited for Gaeul to exit the group that was pointing fingers at each other now, Neve elbowed her. “Do you reckon we bring everyone here? Just in case? The faeries and darklings might not be enough.”

“Oh?” Yena wondered. “But the Panthers said something about them having the same powers-”

“Come on, think about it,” Neve looked at the group. “All of them are connected to Gaeul magically in some way, right? Yunho and Mingi with ice and fire for the cold flame, Yeosang being a bridge to two worlds like Gaeul, and you,” Neve looked at Yena. “Gaeul can probably willingly open portals to the Underworld.”

“Seonghwa with the darkness of their magic,” Yena continued, seeing Neve’s point, “Jongho with his nature magic, but what about Wooyoung and Hongjoong?”

“The only elements that might be able to combat her magic,” Neve smiled in satisfaction. “The Panthers should have just kidnapped you lot and made things easier for everyone.”

Yena laughed at that and Gaeul finally joined the two. Yena immediately opened the portal, not wanting to waste more time- the rest were gathered in Wooyoung’s room with San, who immediately brightened as soon as he spotted Gaeul, waving enthusiastically at her. Neve opened the other portal to the Panthers and three of them entered this time. Gaeul explained what decision she had made and Neve told them how it might help with her decision if all the elementals were present. When they agreed, they gave them some space and Yena smiled at Seonghwa.

“Can you step in, Hwa?”

Seonghwa looked confused- he did not know of their new plan. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, please, step in,” Yena was jumping up and down with excitement now, making the rest laugh and when Seonghwa stepped in, Yena jumped in his arms as she hugged him, Seonghwa swinging her around and kissing her temple. Gaeul smiled at the two, her heart aching to do the same to San even though she knew she couldn’t- not right now.

“They’re getting busy,” Neve made a face as he spotted the couple kissing each other everywhere. “Hongjoong, you next.”

“Are we all going?” Even Wooyoung looked excited.

“One by one, yes,” Neve rolled his eyes, clapping. “Hurry up!”

Hongjoong grinned, walking through the portal and giving Gaeul a somewhat awkward pat on the back and telling her she did well. Next, Wooyoung came through, immediately crushing Gaeul in a hug.

“I’m so glad-” Wooyoung broke apart, squishing her cheeks and making her groan in pain, “-that you’re normal now. Somewhat. San couldn’t shut up about you so I kind of hate you a little right now.”

“Not sorry about that,” Gaeul grinned and Wooyoung left to join the rest of his friends, taken aback when he was the one who was showered with hugs and kisses now- after all, it had only been about 6 days for him while almost 5 months had passed for the ones in the other dimension.

Yena finally came back, looking the happiest she had in a while, instructing Jongho to help bring San to their dimension after the Panthers would put a shield around Gaeul so that their proximity would not cause her magic- or San’s- to burst explosively. 

San wished he could go and simply even hold Gaeul’s hand when he saw her up close but even with the shield, the two sucked in their breaths when they spotted each other, their hearts swelling with a flurry of emotions and their magic roiling restlessly inside them. The Panthers couldn’t help but strengthen their shields as they felt the shift in the air- a shift that made even the creatures restless. Jongho passed a weak smile to Gaeul, having felt San’s magic through direct contact, and steered him away where the others waited.

One of the Panthers grunted to catch her attention. “We have gathered faeries and darklings that possess the same kernels of magic that you once did, or do now. They are safe- we have tapped into their powers which will help shape our own magic as we try to restore your bond with your soulmate. On our cue, you must tap into the deepest part of your magic- but do not take one step further. Wait right there.”

“Okay,” Gaeul nodded- she had learned how to do that pretty recently. “What about San?”

“Once you are ready, we will bring him into the circle which will cause your powers to explode- before it can do any damage, we must contain it. The darkling is wise- or perhaps, we have been too dependent on what we could foresee to think for ourselves. The rest of them must tap into any magic that resembles yours and right at the moment when San enters the circle, they must direct all their energy into the circle.”

“Is that safe?”

“We cannot guarantee your safety or San’s.”

“But I cannot risk San’s safety-”

“It has been decided. The decision was not only yours to make in case you decided to restore the soulmate bond, faerie. The decision was also equally San’s to make.”

Gaeul looked at San in disbelief who smiled knowingly, nodding. “...How?”

San pointed to Hongjoong and Gaeul realised he must have been some sort of messenger between the Panthers and San. She made a mental note to ask San just how it happened, half tempted to exit the circle and simply grab him by his shoulders and shake some sense into him because he was risking his life. He chose to risk his life when he could very well have denied it. All Gaeul could pray was that if anyone was getting hurt during this process, it would be her, not him.

“You do not understand that your pain is his, and his pain is yours, as long as you are bonded,” The Panther said. “It doesn’t matter who makes the decision because the outcome will be the same for both of you. However, we only thought it fair to alert your other half that you were about to make a decision that would affect him no matter which path you chose. Even if you had chosen to give up, San would have lived with the pain of a dead soulmate.”

Gaeul’s heart swelled at the thought and she nodded- some things were just beyond her control and understanding. Praying one last time to all the forces above that things wouldn’t get more messed up from here, Gaeul instructed Neve on what to do and watched all of them take their positions, San waiting right outside the circle the Panthers had formed.

“The union of 3 worlds takes place- the faeries, the darklings and us- the Panthers. The trinity loop comes to an end for once and for all- the one that began when Kang Yena time travelled- a timeline where Seonghwa would have remained dead, the current timeline where Seonghwa was brought back through time travel, and… a timeline where none of this would have happened in the first place. Thus we begin to fix what has been broken, to provide compensation for a sacrifice that had to take place without the consent of the involved.”

Gaeul’s heart sank- it was finally clear just how messed up the time travel business was. She shivered involuntarily and the Panther told her to tap into her magic. With a cue to the darkling, Gaeul shut her eyes and muted everything around her, pushing every thought away and willing herself to peek into the deepest part of her magic-

Where it was so, so dark. Where an eerie silence threatened to swallow her, hanging like impending doom on her. Where there was no one but herself and what her magic had become-

And the lone spark of bright magic in front of her, moving around like a firefly, glowing a brilliant shade of golden. The magic that connected her with San- the soulmate bond. The one thing that brought her back to life, the one thing that kept her alive.

She could feel in her heart that she had made the right decision.

The magic moved around her, watching her and circling her, waiting and waiting for what was next. And then all of a sudden, it exploded with such force that if it wasn’t her subconscious but herself standing there, she would have burned to ashes by the sheer force of it. Gaeul thought it was beautiful that the last thing she saw was the colour of San’s magic, that the last thing she felt was how warm his magic was, before she passed out in its embrace.

—----------------------------

“Look, there’s a reason it is called butt and not ‘butts’. It is one unit.”

“And when we give a shot to someone, we just call it a shot on the butt, right-”

“But there’s two of them”

“-not a shot on the right butt or the left butt!”

Gaeul groaned, clenching her shut eyes as she tried to move her limbs but all she could focus on right now was-

“Look, it’s just one unit with two subunits, the left buttcheek and the right buttcheek-”

“Right! You don’t say the left butt and the right butt, do you?”

“No, that’s different, it’s two because-”

“It’s one, now please, for the love of god, stop talking about butts,” Gaeul finally managed to open her eyes, the lights flooding her vision. She could feel someone check her pulse, someone opening her eyes wide- probably checking her vitals. She pushed them back as best as she could, muttering a ‘wait’ before sitting upright, her head spinning. She buried her head in her knees as she tried to make sense of what was going on-

She looked up again, inspecting her surroundings as her vision started to clear. There were a few women standing cautiously around her. She didn’t recognise them nor did she recall ever being in this room- it looked like a healing chamber but where was she?

One of the women stepped forward, her eyes curving into a smile. “Can you tell me your name?”

“... Gaeul. Where am I?”

“Where do you think?” She smiled knowingly. “How does your magic feel?”

Her magic.

It was so calm inside her. It felt like she was breathing for the first time in her life- no dangerous gut feelings, none of that tickling sensation in her nerves that was a sign of her chaotic magic. Gaeul raised her hand in front of her eyes and willed her magic, wondering if she just had a very long dream-

A snowflake that burned like fire formed and settled into her hand in cold ashes. Everyone around her shifted uncomfortably- some out of curiosity, some out of fear of the unknown element in front of them. Gaeul looked at the woman in front of her who was the least surprised and it finally came to her like a flood of memories-

San. Her magic. Her bond.

She could feel something in her heart this time, something that resembled neither the doom she was so used to feeling now, nor the chaos, but something almost pure, resembling hope. Was it her soulmate bond? It felt so different now- it was not demanding, it was not overwhelming. It was simply there, waiting patiently, something timeless.

Gaeul sucked in a sharp breath. “Is… Is San here?”

“You’re in Prince San’s kingdom, in the Healer’s chambers,” the woman said. “I’m Jihyo, the Head Healer.”

“Jihyo,” Gaeul nodded- she had heard about her from both San and Yena. “What happened- how long have I been here?”

“You’ll know everything soon, please allow me to inspect your magic first,” she insisted and Gaeul nodded, letting her put a hand on her forehead. She watched her shut her eyes and go somewhere for a moment before she nodded, drawing away. “Do you feel overwhelmed in any way? Any indication you might have a magical outburst?”

“None, it feels very… different now. Almost new,” Gaeul said, recalling her last memory- the Panthers of Soca around her. “Is everyone… Did it go okay?”

“Everyone is fine, you returned safe and sound,” Jihyo finally relaxed. “And everything about your magic looks good. Welcome to the Kingdom of Cancer, Gaeul. It’s a pleasure to have you here, and San has been waiting for you for quite some time. Do you want me to escort you?”

Gaeul nodded, following her and pausing midway when she spotted a mirror-

Her skin no longer looked like death. There was life on her face, in the pink tint of her cheeks, in the way her eyes glowed. Jihyo grinned at her. “Like what you see?”

Gaeul laughed at that. “I just… it’s been a while since I looked like myself.”

“I heard,” she nodded in understanding and Gaeul asked her to lead the way.

As they exited the healing chambers, Gaeul noticed the details about San’s castle that he had shared with her during the last few days they had spent together before Gaeul had portalled to the other dimension. She loved the fact that the castle was more beautiful than she had imagined- the simple traditional style of the castle with all its grey and brown tones felt like it was meant for the Prince of Earth. 

Along the way, Jihyo pointed out the details of the castle- the Great Hall, the library which she promised to give a separate tour of later, the frames of some individuals of importance, a secret passageway that Gaeul wondered just how ‘secret’ it was if she knew now. Finally, when they reached the section of the castle where the royal family and guests dwelled, it started settling in and Gaeul could feel her heart fluttering, the bond growing restless.

“And that,” Jihyo pointed, “is Prince San’s chamber. Do you want the guard to call him out or let you in?”

“Am I allowed to go in?” Gaeul asked, earning a chuckle from Jihyo.

“Well, you are his soulmate. You can scare him to death if you want,” Jihyo winked and Gaeul grinned.

“He can probably feel me as well, can’t he?” Gaeul asked and Jihyo nodded, smiling. 

“You know what? I’ll go in and brief him. He’s not the strongest when it comes to matters like these. Meanwhile… oh, here he comes. Dokyeom! She’s awake! Give her some company while I go tell San.”

“Oh my god, she’s awake!” 

Gaeul laughed at the tall man who rushed towards her and stopped abruptly a few feet away from her, scanning her once before baring his teeth in surprise at the healer who warned him not to try anything funny before she knocked and went inside. Dokyeom bowed dramatically. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Cancer. I am Dokyeom, Prince San’s Right Hand. Do you know what a Right Hand is?”

Gaeul shook her head in amusement, anticipating his answer. He cleared his throat. “A Right Hand is basically the actual person running the castle while the prince sits on his ass on his fancy throne and pretends to give orders. It is I who is burdened with the royal affairs and the never ending duties!” He sighed dramatically and Gaeul finally laughed- she had heard all about him too and knew all about San’s court of comedians. “Now that Prince San has found his soulmate, my burdens will increase-”

“I could help decrease them, if you’d like,” Gaeul decided to play along and Dokyeom’s eyes lightened.

“Ah, I didn’t realise this could go both ways. What’s the catch?”

“Hmm… I’ll think about it and let you know, yeah?”

While the two grinned at each other, both suddenly feeling like partners-in-crime even though they had just met, Jihyo came back and folded her arms at the two, already knowing nothing could be done now that they had teamed up.

“Gaeul… He’s ready to see you.”

Gaeul gulped and the two practically had to push her inside. Once they shut the door and Gaeul was left alone…

It hit like the first time.

She could see San’s back from where she stood at the entrance of what she presumed had to be the living room- not as lavish as she thought but magnificent nonetheless. San was standing at the edge of the balcony, facing the sky- she could tell he was nervous. She recalled the first time she had felt him before she had seen him, when he found her in Wooyoung’s basement. This felt just like that time.

Slowly, Gaeul walked until she reached the balcony herself and then paused- she could now see San’s chest move as he breathed. She knew that he was aware that Gaeul was right behind him. Perhaps, he didn’t have the strength to move right now, just like Gaeul didn’t have the strength to call his name and make him look at her. 

She didn’t know how many days she had been unconscious here, but it had been almost 5 months in the other dimension for her. 5 months without San. She couldn’t believe how she survived that but oh, was she glad to be here right now.

So without waiting any longer, Gaeul walked to him and wrapped her arms, slowly but surely around him, hearing him suck his breath in as she pressed her body to his in a back hug. San didn’t move, didn’t dare breath for a good few moments, almost making Gaeul worried but when he finally relaxed and sniffed, Gaeul knew she wasn’t the only one overwhelmed with emotions right now. 

San paced his hands on hers- this time, they didn’t feel that tingling sensation, that course of electricity in their nerves that they had become addicted to, yet… this felt way more intimate, knowing there was no interference of magic this time. Just simply two people who had lost each other and found each other, over and over again.

They stayed like this for a moment until Gaeul finally nudged her head against his body. “Hello… San.”

She could feel him smile even though she couldn’t see it. His rich, smooth voice rang in her ears as he said, “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Gaeul.”

Gaeul sighed, unwrapping herself and letting him turn in her arms until he finally faced her and the two grinned at the sight of each other before they hugged again, this time fiercer, almost crushing. San rocked her body against his and they both laughed as they tried to find the words.

“I missed you too,” Gaeul finally said as she drew back, his arms around her waist while she caressed the soft skin of his face, pushed the strands of his hair back. “It’s been too long.”

“It’s been long for me too,” San pouted. “You were out cold for 33 days now. Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

“33 days?” Gaeul gasped. That was unexpected. “Just what happened?”

“Well, what happened was that you gave it your all,” San smiled proudly, pressing a kiss on her forehead that made her flush. “I was out cold for a few days too. They said our bond was stronger than any, now that it had survived death. And everyone who was there- everyone shared their powers with you, for us. So we could have a second chance. And look at you now,” He smiled widely. “You’re okay. We’re okay, Gaeul. We made it.”

Gaeul rested her forehead against his chest as she let the words sink in. She had done it. Her magic was no longer chaotic- it was new but it was hers. And her bond… “Are we okay?”

“We’re more than okay,” San caressed her head. “This is where I’m meant to be.”

“This is where I’m meant to be,” Gaeul drew back. “Thank you for believing in me, San.”

San nodded- it was the least he could have done. He pressed another kiss to her forehead, wiping the tears that left her eyes. “No more crying, okay? You’re home now.”

“Home,” Gaeul smiled. “I’ve always been home, San, when you were with me.”

“God, I’m so glad you’re back,” San hugged her briefly again before drawing back and cupping her face. “Can I kiss you?”

Gaeul’s heart warmed at the way he was so cautious as if doubting her need, her want to be with him. So in answer, she fisted his shirt and he wasted no more time crashing his lips on hers.

Again, Gaeul couldn’t help but be surprised at the fact that it felt just like the first time- perhaps, it was just the soulmate bond that made everything more intense. Gaeul moved her lips along his desperate ones, trailing her hands up and down the soft material of his button-up shirt. San picked her up effortlessly in between kissing, the two sharing a laugh as he brought her inside and placed her on the couch as if she was fragile. It broke Gaeul’s heart.

“I’m not a timebomb anymore, San,” Gaeul scoffed. “You can be yourself.”

“Oh?” San raised a brow, a devilish glint in his eyes- the first time she saw it and it made warmth course through every nerve in her body. “I thought you wanted to go slow-”

Gaeul arched up to kiss him, earning a surprised yet pleased groan from him. “For you it may have been some 30 days, but for me it has been 6 months-”

“5. You were out cold for one-”

“Shh,” Gaeul smacked his arm and San laughed, kissing her jaw. He continued to trail his lips down her neck, peppering kisses along the way. “I won’t break now. I’m feeling so different now, San. Do you feel it too?”

“How so?” He asked, sitting back and bringing Gaeul to rest on his lap so he could caress her head or kiss her as he wished. 

“Just… so normal. There’s no funny feeling anymore when we touch, so I guess it’s just-”

“Just the plain old nerves,” San smiled knowingly. “But heightened.”

Gaeul nodded. “And my magic- well, basically, I don’t feel like death now, but I also don’t feel so good.”

“That’s because your magic now has a new potential that needs to be unlocked,��� San traced his finger along Gaeul’s neck, moving to her collarbone. “The amount of magic you possess right now is honestly crazy. It seems you’ll have to train like a normal faerie now.”

“I’ve had enough training,” Gaeul pouted. “Everyone must be tired now-”

San kissed the pout off her lips. “You haven’t trained from the best trainer amongst us yet.”

“Oh? Who is that?”

“Who do you think?” San buried his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling before kissing there.

“Certainly not you… right?”

Gaeul felt his lips curve into a smirk against her skin and before she could take that comment back, San was on top of her and tickling her, her laugh roaring in the room. And when she finally caught her breath and they had had enough of drinking each other's gaze, San kissed her slowly, surely, one hand craning her face to his while the other rested on her hip and caressed the skin exposed from her top. Gaeul ran her fingers through his hair, tugging at it, making his kisses grow deeper and more passionate.

All night, they lay in each other’s arms, moving to the bed at some point. San caressed parts of her skin or her hair as she told him her stories of her time in the other dimension. They would share a laugh over something funny, wipe each other’s tears when they felt overwhelmed, sometimes interrupt the other with a kiss which would escalate things for a few moments. But it was comfortable, it was safe. Finally safe in every sense possible. They didn’t even notice when daylight started filling the room, though they didn’t mind.

They had all the time in the world now.

—---------------------

“Pass me the potatoes.”

“It’s right in front of you, Yeosang.”

“Did I stutter, Wooyoung?”

“My hand is farther than yours, don’t be an ass-”

“Just admit you’re short-”

“There you go,” San groaned, making the effort to get up from his seat and lean across the table to push the potatoes in front of Yeosang who couldn’t stop laughing now. “Kids.”

“Don’t you act mature just because you have ‘someone’ now,” Wooyoung scoffed. “You used to be the one-”

“That ‘someone’, Gaeul smacked Wooyoung’s head, making everyone laugh, “Is right here.”

“Ah, she’s here again,” Wooyoung muttered and Gaeul took a seat next to him, scoffing in disbelief as she looked around the table. 

“I thought this party was in my honour. Who invited him?”

Jongho was the first one to giggle out loud at that, making the rest join as they joked about kicking Wooyoung out. Yena even opened a portal to Wooyoung’s room while Yeosang and Yunho manhandled Wooyoung as if they were about to kick him back home in the most literal sense. Gaeul shook her head at the crowd, meeting Seonghwa’s eyes and sharing a grin.

The party was arranged by Wooyoung, ironically, who wanted to celebrate one year of ‘crime-free, evil-Gaeul-free, and sappy-San’. Everyone had gathered in San’s castle thanks to Yena and Yeosang’s portals. Gaeul offered to open a portal as well but no one was brave enough to entertain the possibility of stepping in the portal and ending up in the dimension where the Panthers of Soca dwelled- the ‘Underworld’, they called it. Gaeul had to admit that even though she was getting better at portal practice, thanks to the twins who offered to teach her in their free time, she couldn’t trust herself with portals right now either.

Everyone was still helping her train her magic- since there was no urgency now and Gaeul had learned the basics in her time in the other dimension, it was slow now. It was mostly San teaching her with everything else along with magic too- defence, offence, speed, strength, agility. Dokyeom was always there to save her when she got too tired of having San as her personal trainer.

Jongho and Hongjoong, perhaps, were the ones learning the most from her. Hongjoong’s magic was probably the only thing that could combat Gaeul’s magic so he mostly trained her on how to prevent her magic and herself from becoming restless when they came in contact with his magic. Light magic could nullify the darker elements of her magic but it seemed like it couldn’t do anything against her cold fire element so often they just researched it as best as they could. Hongjoong also took it upon himself to record every characteristic of her magic for any similar cases in the present or the future and they decided they would search around the planet for anyone with similar magic so they could make a more detailed record.

Jongho ventured into the anti-nature territory of his element and the two would often spend a couple of days together every few weeks. Their magic was probably still the most similar, other than Seonghwa’s. Gaeul found herself the most comfortable with the Prince of Nature, often reminded of her past while with him. Jongho learned that the yin-yang bloodline had a different method of wielding their nature magic and while Gaeul taught him about that, Jongho taught her how to manipulate her magic so it could still resemble the properties of her original magic and each day, Gaeul found herself getting closer to having a natural characteristic to her magic as well.

With Seonghwa, it was like exploring the darkest parts of her magic. In the beginning, it had been a little awkward as they both figured out just what parts of their magic were similar in nature but a few funny incidents melted the ice, such as Seonghwa’s magic accidentally creating a dark sphere around them, rendering Gaeul blind, or Gaeul accidentally littering Seonghwa’s garden with cold fire snowflakes that started burning the ground as soon as they touched it, making them lose all rational thoughts for a good few moments as they started stomping on the ground to put the fire out, later realising they could have just waved a hand and undone the damage. Yena found them a laughing mess once they put out the fire and she wished she had been there to witness it.

With the twins, it was usually teamwork because they were still learning the limits of their dimensional magic which each other while also teaching Gaeul- she learned that she could open a portal to different worlds in the same dimension more easily than opening portals in this world like Yena did, and since it was risky business they decided to only teach her the basics and leave it at that. Yeosang helped her with the consequences of being a bridge between two worlds- often, they found their consciousness in the other world while they slept. He explained that it was essential to be aware of your bearings at all times because she could unconsciously dissociate her soul from her body and find herself in two different worlds at the same time. It was complicated, but Yeosang was probably the most patient teacher she had-

Unlike a certain someone, being Wooyoung, who didn’t even have to train her since their magic was not similar in any way, but took charge of her physical training anyway, finding any excuse to mess with her. San would often butt in and smack his friend but he soon found himself sidelined as the two grew closer so he would just watch them spar with each other and learn how to build their defence better.

Mingi and Yunho were often together while training Gaeul, and most of the time, they weren’t sure who was training who. The three would always sidetrack while training and either find themselves experimenting with something else entirely or sharing stories and talking all night. Gaeul could now make her cold fire as hot as Mingi’s fire or as cold as Yunho’s ice. She was the bridge between those elements and since their training had been the quickest to end, Gaeul still found herself visiting Mingi sometimes to learn about the history of fire magic or just to have him show her around his kingdom which she had always wanted to visit the most since she was a child.

Visiting Yunho was probably the most relaxing- mostly because of her water element. He himself was very welcoming and since his castle bordered the sea, they often spent time at the beach with the waves washing their worries away. Yunho found himself opening up more to Gaeul and she returned the sentiment. They would often exchange water-messages- Yunho told her he could send a message through water bodies to any one of them but he couldn’t get a reply, unlike Mingi’s fire message- probably due to the complexity of water which he still couldn’t figure out. Gaeul was convinced she could reply back and after many failed attempts, her first message that Yunho received was ‘San thinks that there are two butts, not one. What do you think?’ which had him hollering.

Gaeul slumped back in her seat as the rest argued among themselves and joked, still teasing Wooyoung who was arguing back loudly and she shut her eyes in amusement- some things never changed. When she opened them and looked at San, he motioned at her subtly to join her outside, sneaking out without making a sound. Gaeul was sitting right next to Wooyoung so it was a bit hard to sneak out especially when he kept involving her but with an excuse that she was going to get a drink (which was right on the table had Wooyoung actually processed what Gaeul said), she got up and exited the Great Hall-

Only to be caught by the wrist and turned around to bump into San, melting when she found herself in his arms.

“Hey, beautiful,” San grinned, tucking her hair back. “What do you say we go get some fresh air?”

“Sure,” Gaeul breathed, laughing. “I think I need it.”

“Ah, do you?” San teased and they grinned, planning to go outside but he couldn’t wait and took a turn in one of the empty corridors, pinning Gaeul against the wall and kissing her, smiling in between.

“That’s not what I meant by fresh air,” Gaeul exhaled. “But I think this works too.”

“Works better, right?” San kissed her again, drawing apart to look at her with the warmest smile on his face. “They won’t know we’ve disappeared until Wooyoung shuts up, which is probably going to take another hour-”

The sound of someone throwing up drew their attention and they burst into a fit of laughter when they spotted the said man himself, pretending to throw up at the sight of them making out while the rest finally revealed themselves, joining Wooyooung. Though it would have been embarrassing, the way they were all making fun of them made Gaeul laugh until tears glazed her eyes.

“Did you follow us right after I left?”

“You’ve learnt stealth from me, you can’t beat me at my own game, Gaeul,” Wooyoung shook his head and San gave up, sinking to the floor and burying his head in his hands.

“We should have waited until they took it a step further!” Mingi complained. “I wanted to catch them right in the middle of doing something dirty-”

“Cleanse your brain,” Yunho smacked Mingi’s head. “Besides, you didn’t even bring a camera.”

Another argument started where some pointed their fingers at the duo for having dirty minds while the rest agreed that they should have captured this moment, and Gaeul once again found herself giving up, slumping down beside San.

She had never smiled so much in her life, laughed so much. Not one moment in her life where she felt alone or like an outsider. Gaeul watched them with fond eyes as they argued, San’s own gaze settled upon her and she thought that after all that she went through, all the hardships that she had endured, that they had endured for her, this was exactly where she was meant to be. As San’s fingers brushed hers, she intertwined their fingers- something that came so naturally now. 

Everything was finally right.

taglist: @yunnierights @monstaxdirtywonk @moni-cah @uyumilk @atxxzist @hazysan @bewitchedinyourhunger @kk-fleury @sincostansan @onedumbho3 @wooya1224 @icouldntcareless22 @jjaelly @huachengsbestie01 @ztjileen @charreddonuts @mdibby @gugggu6gvai @altgojo

[frogizz]

The Untamed Mind Dump (Spoilers duh)

(I have yet to read the novel for MDZS, and I am on Episode 47 of The Untamed so I want to do another mind dump like last time)

Jin Guangyao, I've been suspicious of him ever since I saw that face of his (I am not calling the actor ugly or anything like that, I can acknowledge its the acting that made him look suscpious not his actual face.) But I didn't excpect for him to be that sick of a human being.

Wei Wuxian being the scapegoat all over again

Damn these people love to gossip

I forgot about Wei Wuxian offering his Golden Core to Jiang Cheng

I miss Jiang Yanli bro

I also miss Wen Qing

At least I have Wen Ning, he is so awesome

I have the firm belief that while Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian are responsible for the death of Jin Zixuan, I know damn well Jiang Yanli's blood is not on Wei Wuxian's hands. Heck, I kind of think even though Wei Wuxian was the cause of Jin Zixuan's death, that that situation was obviously curated from the start, there was no intention to kill anyone that day because Wei Wuxian was doing this all in self defense. (Still sad that Jin Zixuan had to be a casualty).

I legit don't remember Su She before episode 45

The way I had to pause, sit up, stand up, walk around when that lady revealed Jin Guangyao tortured his father like that and what he did to Qin Su??? OH MY GOOOODDDDDDDD

Lan Wanji, you're the best supporter and best friend ever (I know in the novel he's Wei Wuxian's lover but in The Untamed their relationship is still amazing as best friends).

Wei Wuxian is such a great leader and protected those teens well (most of them are teens right? they all seemed kinda young)

I feel so bad for Jin Ling, all of his family's dirty laundry being aired out from both sides because his (defected) martial uncle is infamous for doing dirty tricks and is the supposed one who killed his parents, his maternal uncle being really hard on him, his paternal uncle being absolute scum and him doing things worse than what Wei Wuxian was ever accused for, and then to top it all off, he is constantly bullied.

To add to that, Jin Ling's outbursts are to be expected, he's just like his maternal uncle, really emotional. Jiang Cheng has had his outbursts of anger and aggressiveness (verbal and/or physical) and this could be the only way Jin Ling knows how to express himself.

At first I thought Jin Ling was an arrogant and stupid spoiled brat but I just want to hug this poor kid, the trauma of not having his parents and knowing that they died brutal deaths, the bullying, just everything. Just let him have a nice and warm blanket while snuggling with Fairy for once, please?

Speaking of Fairy, can people stop threatening the dog please? Like, they're such a good boy/girl (Netflix subtitles swapped them at somepoint from he to she and then it so I have no idea).

I WAS CRYING WHEN LAN SIZHUI STARTED TO REMEMBER HIS PAST AND THEN WEN NING WAS TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH HIM BRUH I WAS UGLY CRYING, SOBBING, THEY'RE FAMILY, THEY DESERVE TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER, THE LAST OF THE WEN FAMILY AAAA

I am such a sucker for reunited families, families with close bonds, found families, I don't know why, but it strikes me in the heart in such a painful and joyful way.

Zewu Jun, I always have mad respect for this man and I understand how he needs to make his own judgement and not only trust the words of others, I just can't blame him for that. But man was I afraid that he betrayed everyone by actually being 100% on Jin Guangyao's side knowing everything he did in episode 46, but he looked as confused and weirded out as ever so thankfully he isn't on his side anymore, I love this dude, I'm his biggest supporter.

I'll make each of these things their own post because I have so much more I want to say.

[raevenlywrites]

Tonights Magnus Archives listening starts with Ep 45: Bloodbag, and carries on with 46: Literary Heights , 47: A New Door, 48: Lost in The Crowd, 49: The Butcher's Window, and 50: Foundation

Bloodbag

hey! i bet thats Selasa (god ive got to look up some spellings). i wonder what his whole deal is. I wonder if hes ever gotten any deliveries from Breacon and Hope XD

-

Martin! youre hovering! You cant rush a skittish archivist. Just leave him some tea out and wait for him to come to you :P

Literary Heights

I bet this will have a Leitner....

-

Oh damn! I wish I could remember what Ex Altiora's friend who was struck by lightning was. Bc I bet this dude with the branching scars is him

-

"The Vast" huh....

-

Oh! The Bone Turners Tale. Well shit. Guess Its time to make a relisten tag for Leitners

-

Oh gross! The Spiders are eating The Worms? Ick. Also i bet its Not Sasha poking around in the tunnels

A New Door

Ooooh I bet this is A Spiral One

-

Oh shit, I wonder if the figure she saw was Michael?

-

FUCKING HELL ITS MICHAEL ON TAPE

-

"You make it sound like theres a war."

"I wouldnt want to tarnish your ignorance prematurely" I AM SCREAMING

Lost In The Crowd

Mmk, so Alone is definitely a fear, along with The Vast, The Spiral, The... Squirmies, possibly separately The Spider, and whatever is going on with Not!Copiers and Meat

The Butchers Window

What can i say but AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Oh, I can say "Jon! Be sus of Sashas computer constantly breaking! Just like your statements that wont digitize!!!

Foundations

Not much to say on this one since its a historical, i found myself blanking a lot. I will say, however, re: Supplementals "Good work boss ;)"

[friendly-books]

Dresden files White Night live blog

Content warning: Transphobia

“That’s big or you, Mini Mouse” pg. 16 Ha

Interesting bit about Wiccan and the Bible

Cool that Murphy was able to tackle Molly while she was invisible 

Molly, why are you here? This is a crime scene and you’re a civilian 

“(In case it slipped by, Molly has authority issues)” pg. 31 Ha

So the victims were all women practitioners 

I’m guessing by the way the women died our killer is a White Court Vampire or it could be more than one killer 

“Finding things. Following things. Blowing things up, mostly” pg. 47 So Harry’s good at thaumaturgy and fighting magic. At least that’s what he likes he’s good at

Interesting to see the difference in training between Molly and Harry with calling up their wills. 

“Despite all of that, the same folks I’d tried to help were afraid of me.

Even Mac” pg. 72 Aw poor Harry :( 

“Then a couple of Red Court ghouls showed up and killed two kids.” pg. 79 Ah so that’s why Harry hates Ghouls so much understandable 

“Kill them all” pg. 79 Psych much Murphy how’d you know Harry’s going to kill all the Red court?  

Helen Beckitt is back?!? 

“I mutter off-color limericks in my sleep” pg. 84 Ha 

“You don’t always think clearly where women are concerned” pg. 84 Ha

Who wears a turtleneck if it’s warm out? Sus Could be a vampire and hiding her bite mark?

Is Helen Beckitt a minor practitioner? 

Not liking how one of the possible suspects could be Thomas 

Obviously it’s not Thomas

 Harry maybe calm down, you're getting really angry Lasciel influence?

Oh no Murphy’s car

I love that Mister always slams into Harry’s shins 

Wonderful acting Harry truly a great performance 

“I was going to kill my brother later” pg. 127 Can’t wait for that confrontation 

“An NBA-sized gay burger who works with a dog” pg. Ha

“I’d get plenty of sleep when I’m dead” pg. 134 You’d be surprised how little you get 

“Okay Lash” It’s starting! 

“Do I merit an affectionate nickname now?” pg. 135 Yes 

“Could evil, true capital-E Evil, do such a thing? Help create something whole and lovely and precious” pg. 140 Interesting I wonder if even this soon after Naming Lash she began to change. I don’t she would have helped Harry with the music pre Naming 

 Elaine! I didn’t know you would be in this book

“He’s got a phychosis about charging to the rescue. I always thought it gave him a certain hapless charm” pg. 159 Yep and I agree that Harry has charm

Now people aren’t telling Harry information because he’s a Warden

Oh Elaine got into the PI business cool

The buildings on fire and Harry didn’t cause it shocking 

“Okay, here’s the plan. We follow all the other flammable people out of the building before we burn to death” pg. 171 Ha

“Harry you jackass this is how getting yourself  into trouble” pg. 177 Ha and at least you admit it 

I hope it’s a warden so Harry can fight them 

I’m glad Harry is being smart about chasing a bad guy

Mouse lore!

I hope Ancient Mai meets Mouse 

“I wondered if I could find someone to make Mouse a Kevlar vest” pg. 192 Ha and I think that would be adorable 

Little Chicago is so cool that Harry can use it listen into a conversation 

“I doubt that. It would take a subtle worker of the Art to manage that. He isn’t one”

“He’s a thug,” the passenger said. “Plain and simple. His talents makes him good at destruction and little else. He’s a beast to be prodded and directed” pg. 199 Well the passenger clearly underestimates Harry 

Cowl? It’s a bad guy convention 

How did Cowl see Harry? It’s very cool but very bad for Harry

“Bring it, Darth Bathroom” pg. 212 Ha

I ask again how does Harry not have more brain damage or at least a concussion. He really shouldn’t poke your physic around things unprotected 

“It would be more convincing if she weren’t holding the book upside down” pg. 219 Ha

“she didn’t score quite high enough to be considered for Council membership” pg. 229 Interesting so the Council has a test to decide who gets to get in. What constitutes high enough? Why does there need to be a test? Do the Wardens administer it? How does the test work? Did Harry take the test? 

“Unless we keep losing people to the vamps, in which case I guess we lower our standards”  pg. 229 What do you mean lower our standards? With a war going you should be happy with anyone joining. They don’t have to be powerful to be helpful. There are other areas that aren’t front line fighting that they could help with. This comment also shows how Carlos is the White Council’s golden boy prodigy compared to Harry’s black sheep. 

So Elaine is under performing on the test. 

“DuMorne was a warlock himself. Black wizard as bad as they come. He planned on training us up to be personal enforcers. Trained, strong wizards, under mental compulsion to be loyal to him. He nailed Elaine with it. I killed him” pg. 234 Interesting If we take what Harry said as true then why would Justin want or need enforcers? Was Justin trying to overthrow the White Council? Or was he planning on making an army? If he was then who or what was he planning on fighting? He clearly kept it a secret from the rest of the White Council as they don’t know about Elaine. Justin kept secrets from the White Council like Bob and Elaine I wonder what other secrets he had. 

“the Wardens are a fine bunch of assholes. Presents company excluded” pg. 235 Ha and I agree 

“I carefully did not lose my temper and barbecue her stupid face right then and there” pg. 245 Whoa there Harry let’s calm down 

“She met my eyes for a moment, and though her lips didn’t move, I heard her voice quite distinctly”

“The communication spell between us was an old one” pg. 246 Oh fascinating so telepathy exists maybe. That brings into more questions. Do other wizards know telepathy? Is this gray magic? Now that Harry remembers it will he use it? Or is it a subtle magic that Harry isn’t good at?

“It was my brother” pg. 247 Oh no

“The Wardens would freak out if you went to them now, anyway” I said, “and reveled  that you’d been hiding your talents from them” pg.252  Why do the Wardens care? Is it so they can draft her? 

Why don’t you like boats Harry?

“In fact I haven’t had a good time this close to the lake in general” pg. 260 Harry I like you but I need to know those are fighting words What did Lake Michigan do to you? Lake Michigan is clearly the best lake out of the five. 

“I’m not sure I could have made a focus for something like that. It took real skill” pg. 260 Yes Harry has skills 

“Water Beetle” pg. 262 Ha is that a homage to the blue beetle? 

“There’s no way the real Dresden would have come here with a woman like that instead of his dog” pg. 267 Ha

“Thunderstorm. Or I just plug it into any wall socket” pg. 268 Interesting I thought electricity and magic don’t go together. But if this works then magitek could be a thing in the Dresden files which would be so cool

“He’s not a thing” I snarled “His name is Thomas” pg. 269 Couldn’t agree more Elaine that was rude to call Thomas a thing

“Fucking boats” pg. 273 Ha

“In the space of a heartbeat the water between where I stood and the next dock froze over, a sudden sheet of hard white ice” pg. 285 So cool that Harry used a fire spell to freeze part of Lake Michigan

Oh no Madrial has a assault rifle 

“Slim, dark-haired, pale, and handsome” pg. 289 Bi Harry 27

“Is there anything I could do to make you not trust me then?” I asked “Cause I don’t want to wear the cloak. No offense” pg. 297 Ha

Oh cool Lash can translate languages 

Harry, how are you going to explain that you know these ancient languages when you’re bad at Latin?

“She was naked from the waist down” pg. 316 Why is naked from the waist? Never mind, I don't want to know. Bad implications 

Well I agree that the ghouls need to die this definitely has some Lasciel influence with how brutal Harry is being cause this is just torture at this point

“I called up Hellfire again, and with a snarl cast out the simple spell I use to light candles.” pg. 318 Scary how Harry uses a not necessary harmless spell as it is a fire spell but a spell we’ve seen him use to light candles and fireplaces used in such a destructive way 

“Sixteen, Carlos,” I said “Sixteen” pg. 319 Too young 

“Never again” pg. 324 And Harry means it

“Oh sorry about that” I said, with all the sincerity of a three-year-old claiming he didn’t steal that cookie all over his face” pg. 336 Ha

“I love to see a good testosterone-laden alpha-male struggle as much as the next woman” pg. 336 Ha and it’s fun to see other people’s reactions to Harry and Thomas who aren’t in the know

Oh no three killers 

I wish Harry and Thomas could talk to each other

Oh no Anna :(

Nope Mouse is alive just gotta keep telling myself that 

What did Mouse do at the vet? Glad Harry could pay for the damages

Harry goes to Kim’s grave :(

“DuMorne’s methods of  teaching us to discipline our emotions had not been gentle, but they worked” pg. 349 The more I learn about Justin DuMorne training the more convinced I am that it’s just child abuse

“She doesn’t have a lot of talent that way” pg. 356 Oh she does have some talent 

“The Velvet Room? I thought I burned that plac- uh, that is, I thought some as-yet-unidentified perpetrator burned that place to the ground” pg. 365 Ha

Yes we’re getting Marcone!

“Marcone doesn’t like me,” I said “And it’s mutual” 

“Marcone doesn’t like anybody,” Murphy replied. “But he respects you” pg. 366 Marcone likes Hendricks. Yes Marcone does respect Harry. He might like him a little bit considering he saved Harry’s life and offered him a job twice. Now the shipper in me is gleefully saying that Marcone likes Harry a lot.  

“Murphy rapped her knuckles gently against mine” pg. 367 Yay fist bump 

“Stallings and I found an autographed picture of Julie Newmar on eBay.” pg. 368 That’s a good gift 

Harry’s a platinum member?

“Don’t ask me” I told her “I’m gay now” pg. 373 Ha

It’s nice that Marcone takes care of his employees 

Hendricks!

Harry really notices what Marcone is wearing. 

Also while I know it’s for the readers sake that Jim reminds us what characters look like so we don’t forget I find it amusing that Harry constantly describes people and their looks when he should know what they look like “his eyes were the color of worn dollar bills” pg. 379 yes Harry I remember what Marcone’s eye color is. You’ve described it in every book Marcone’s been in. 

“I am under no illusion about your fondness for myself and my business. I regard it as a preventive measure. In my judgment, my buildings are considerably less likely to burn to the ground during one of your visits if you are disoriented from being treated like a sultan. I do, after all, recall the fate of the last Velvet Room”

“Murphy snorted without taking her wary eyes from Marcone “He’s got a point, Dresden.” 

“That was one time” pg. 381 Ha and what Marcone is doing is working. Harry hasn’t set anything on fire yet. Also Harry you set fire to Marcone’s building that’s kind of hard to forget and I doubt he’d want it to happen again. Think of his insurance 

“Marcone’s voice cracked like a whip. “Stop everyone” 

We all did” pg. 381 Cool

“Marcone blinked once” pg. 382 Oh Marcone blinked that seems to be his tell I guess or at least he’s not as in control at this moment. It’s always interesting and I like that Harry notices it mostly because he causes them

“I don’t believe it’s polite to gloat” Helen murmured to him. 

“If you knew this man, you would realize what a rare moment this is” he replied “I’m savoring  it” pg. 384 Ha and I didn’t realize that Helen was now working for Marcone interesting 

“He wasn’t wearing a business suit. He had on jeans and a black leather jacket. His hair was longish, a little mussed and he also sported a stubble of a beard that gave him a rakish look that would attract attention from the girls who fantasized about indulging with a bad boy” pg. 393 Bi Harry 28 I think. Just the girls Harry hm 

“His eyes were still green-but they were the green of summer hunter’s blind, bright and intelligent and predatory, but touched with more…something. Humor, maybe. More life” pg. 393 Oh interesting I wonder if this event with Persephone is what caused his eyes to change or if age and world warily changed them

It’s fascinating that both Demeter and Marcone this is a defining moment. For Demeter it’s her daughter who she thinks died. For Marcone he watched an innocent girl “die” from a bullet that was meant for him. And that caused him to climb the ranks and clean up the streets. 

“Owie” pg. 395 Sobbing 

Wait if Pricscalla is Skavis and we’ve established that Skavis is a man…I swear if this book pulls a creepy cross dresser a la Psycho, Dressed to kill, and Silence of the lamb I’m going to lose it

Molly what are you doing here? It’s dangerous 

“I. Am. Not. Yoda” pg. 401 Scary 

The mini sun was scary it was definitely Lash influenced 

“Sure, we’d  face somethings as children that a lot kids don’t. Justin had qualified for his Junior de Sage Badge in his teaching methods for dealing with pain” pg. 416 Not sure what Junior de Sage Badge means but if Justin’s involved then it probably isn’t good

“Rather effeminate-looking man” pg. 424 COME ON! >:( this is so stupid and a bit transphobic Jim you didn’t have to have this villain nor this plot point. I hate the whole creepy cross dresser trope as I feel that it’s transphobic. I don’t have the right words to describe or articulate the many reasons why this is bad so I’m going to stick to this sucks

“Once you start thinking, Gee maybe that isn’t me  thinking about suicide, it kind of falls apart” pg. 427 Interesting 

“The sigil of angelic script, the only unburned flesh on my left hand, itched madly” pg. 440 Interesting 

“I interpreted him purely because I knew how much it would annoy him” pg. 442 Ha

“Look, we both know you’re going to do it, and I’m too tired to dance” pg. 442 Ha

“There was a moment of silence that might have been vaguely irritated. Being adolescent at someone like Marcone is good for my morale” pg. 442 Ha 

“We both know you need me, Dresden, and I’m too tired to dance.” I could practically see the shark smile on his face.” Ha 

“Say please.” I stowed for a sullen minute before I realized that doing so was probably building Marcone’s morale, and I couldn’t have that. “Fine,” I said. “Please.” 

“Pretty please,” Marcone prompted me.

Some pyromaniacal madman’s thoughts flooded my forebrain, but I took a deep breath, Tasered my pride, and said, “Pretty please.” 

“With a cherry on top.” 

“Fuck you,” I said, and hung up on him. I kicked the base of the vending machine and muttered a curse. Marcone was probably laughing his quiet mirthless little laugh. Jerk” pg. 443 Ha I love their banter and the way Harry brings Marcone down to his level of humor and it makes Marcone seem younger. Cause who else teases Marcone no one but Harry as far as I can see. Harry’s the only one stupid enough or brazen enough to do it. I love to see it. Can’t wait for more. 

“Lasciel manifested her image to me again. The fallen angel’s manner was subdued, and her voice had something in it I had rarely heard there-uncertainty.” pg. 447 Interesting  

“She was wearing the usual white tunic, though her hair seemed a little untidy” pg. 448 More interesting things she’s changing 

“My head,” I told her “My rules. We aren’t finished” pg. 451 Ha and Harry’s not wrong 

“Because you’re so noble” she purred” pg. 452 Purred?!? 

“You. Cannot. Change. Me.”

“Lady, you ain't Lasciel” pg. 453 But he can and will 

“How many shadows like you have ever stayed in a host like me longer than a few weeks, huh? Longer than three years?”

“Never” pg. 457 So cool

“Pretty much,” I said. “From a grumpy old Scot on a farm in the Ozarks” pg. 475 Ha and I would love to see Harry’s apprenticeship with Ebenezer 

“A virgin” pg. 489 I was right about Carlos. Why would you come to the succubus vampire den and be a virgin? That doesn’t sound safe 

“Fairies, tiny pixies, each surrounded by its own sphere of light, trapped and miserable, crouched in the cages” pg. 496 Oh no why would you do that to the Little Folk? What’d they ever do to you? 

Justine!

“Groovy, I thought. Thanks, Lash

A started second passed. Then she replied, You are welcome” pg. 504 When was the last time Lashciel got thanked? Lash certainty seems shocked by it. When was the last time she was treated as a person?

“Damn, there aren’t nothing like a good entrance” pg. 509 Ha 

“You can barely speak Latin, but you speak ghoul?” pg. 524 How are you going to explain this?

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” I hollered, “to Bowling for Vampires” pg. 536 Ha

Marcone to the rescue!

“His cold green eyes wrinkled at the corners” pg. 556 I think Marcone is amused by Harry’s antics 

“No. Threats won’t deter you. We both know that. I can’t force you to do anything, and we both know that too.” I jerked my head at the cavern. “People are dying, John. Help me save them. God, please help me” 

Marcone’s head rocked back as if I’d slapped him. After a second he asked “Who do you think I am, wizard?” 

“Someone who can help them,” I said “Maybe the only one” 

He stared at me with empty, opaque eyes.

Then he said, very quietly, “Yes.” 

I felt a fierce smile stretch my mouth” pg. 559 bsbshjsvshjshejskanaj Ahh! I love this so much. Ok I need to stop giggling and kicking my legs like I’m 12 again. Ok I’m good now. My shipper heart loves this. Interesting how similar Marcone and Harry are with how threats and being forced to do things won’t work. I like that Harry calls Marcone by his first name. I like how before Harry said please begrudgingly with Marcone doing to annoy Harry but here with people’s lives on the line Harry does it easily and without hesitation. I love Marcone’s reaction he’s clearly shocked and didn’t expect it and he’s reeling. Then he asks Harry who considers him a bad person why he would choose Marcone to be good and Harry’s he thinks Marcone can help. When was the last time Marcone saved innocent lives without repayment or selflessness. Probably before he was part of the mob if ever. I love the description of opaque eyes as Marcone is letting Harry see his emotion and Marcone is clearly thinking about what to do. Harry believes and trusts Marcone to do the right thing or else he wouldn't have askedI. Harry’s banking on that little kernel of good that he saw in Marcone’s soul. I love that Marcone agreed to help but I doubt anyone heard him say yes except for Harry. I love that Harry’s response to that is to smile. I love that Harry can get such big reactions out of Marcone like back in Death Mask with with shroud and now with Harry asking Marcone for help. 

You mentioned that when you write already in love Marcone you like White Night. I assume you were talking about this scene. 

“Murph” I complained, “can’t you pick on someone your own size” pg. 560 Ha

“Hell’s Bells, I’m good” pg. 577 Ha 

“Nice shot” Marcone noted” pg. 579 Oh Marcone complimented Harry

“Bloody Hell” he gasped “Harry. There’s a knife in my leg. When did that happen?”

“In the dual,” I told him. “Don’t you remember?” 

“I thought you stepped on me and sprained my ankle,” Ramirez replied. Then he blinked again. “Bloody hell. There’s a knife in my guts.” He peered at them. “And they match” pg. 584 Ha

“Can you walk?”

“Yes. I can walk” I snapped 

“I could get someone to carry you” Marcone said, his tone was solicitous and sincere.

“Bite me” pg. 585 Ha and that fact that Marcone was concerned and sincere in his response. I kinda want to know what would happen if Harry said yes. He’s so tall I feel it would a little silly

“No one likes a wiseass Harry” pg. 586 Ha and come on Murphy being a wiseass is Harry’s personality 

“If you recall,” he said, “I agreed to extract you  alive. I’m not leaving until I have done so” pg. 587 Marcone does keep his word

“My God” Marcone said, his voice hushed “It is the most beautiful nightmare I’ve ever seen” pg. 589 Ha glad to see even Marcone is affected by Lara and Thomas

I wonder what Marcone’s thinking about with Vittorio attack? Probably something to do with Amanda 

Lash accelerating Harry’s brain is cool

“Why do you continue to be so stubborn about this my host?” pg. 593 Lash you’ve been in Harry’s head for three years. You should know how stubborn he is 

“An Outsider,” Lasciel said. “I have felt such a presence before. This attack is drawn directly from the mind of an Outsider” pg. 597 Interesting  

“If frying my brain got Murphy, Ramirez, Thomas, and Justine out of the mess I’d gotten them into, it would be worth it.” pg. 595 Harry just loves his friends so much 

“She…doesn’t deserve you” pg. 595 If the shadow of a fallen angel thinks you’re too good for the real one that means something 

“Kiss me. I know it seems weir-” pg. 608 Lara didn’t even let Harry finish his sentence 

“There’s an outside chance that I have abandonment issues” pg. 615 Ha

“Still…a man like you and it’s been four years…” She shook her head. “I have enormous personal respect for you, wizard. But that’s just sad” pg. 615 Ha

“Lara looked back at me for a moment and then she…turned pink” pg. 615 Is Lara embarrassed? 

“I looked slowly around the ruined room. There was a hole in house, almost perfectly round, right through the floors above us and the roof four stories. Bits and pieces were still falling” pg. 618 Ha 

“Some Listerine,” I said “I’ve got a funny taste in my mouth” pg. 619 Ha

“We use the money. We expand the Ordo, build a network of contacts. A hotline for midddle-class practitioners. We contact groups like the Ordo in cities all around the country. We put the word out that if people are in some kind of supernatural fix, they can get word of it onto the network. Maybe if something like this starts happening again, we can hear about it early and stomp on the fire before it grows. We teach self-defense classes. We help people coordinate, cooperate, support one another. We act” pg. 635 Yes! I love this idea. This is what the White Council should be doing. I hope it grows and helps people. 

“The Black Council,” I said.

“Oooh,” Ramirez muttered. “Yours is better” pg. 639 Ha

“You don’t leave an injured friend all alone.” pg. 640 Aw :)

“Tonight you will be visited by three spirits,” I announced “The ghosts of past, present, and future. They will teach you the true meaning of ‘you are still a scumbag criminal’” pg. 640 Ha 

“Marcone was there, sitting behind the desk was Helen Beckitt, or maybe Helen Demeter, I supposed. She wore her professionally suggestive business suit and was sitting across Marcone’s lap. Her hair and suit looked  slightly mussed. Marcone had his third shirt button undone.” pg. 641 jfhfjfyrhfjkgjfhdhd I shouldn’t have drank something before this ow my lungs pain. I hope Jim is happy with himself because my lungs hurt thanks to him. I knew that Marcone and Helen were sleeping together but I didn’t realize this is how we learn about it. Wait, Harry seems less shocked than I thought he’d be. Wait did Harry figure it out back in chapter 29? Before me even though I had prior knowledge what? Did I miss something? All Helen did was put her hand on Marcone’s shoulder. This does have more interesting implications.

“I cursed my timing. If I’d come ten minutes later, I’d had opened the door in media res. It would have been infinitely more awkward” pg. 641 Awkward for who Harry cause Marcone and Helen don’t seem like the type to get embarrassed. Also why would you want to walk in on them? 

“You should see how much my insurance premiums go up after your visits, Dresden” pg. 641 Ha

“Maybe Helen deserved to know about her daughter. Hell she probably did. But whatever else Marcone was, he was no fool. If he thought the news of her daughter’s fate might shatter Helen, he was probably right. Sure, she should know. But did I have a right to make that decision” pg. 646 Interesting I’ve never wanted more than to crawl into Marcone’s head than I do now. What are you thinking Marcone?

“I looked at the third line.

Then I signed it, and left without another word. pg. 648 Oh interesting that Harry was Marcone’s third signing. Harry really did help Marcone with becoming the first freeloading accord member as I doubt Marcone could have gotten Lara’s if Marcone hadn’t come to the rescue 

“Free will is horrible, Harry, believe me. I’m glad I don’t have it.” pg. 651 Are you sure you don’t have a little free will Bob? Cause back in Death Mask you didn’t do what Cowl wanted and instead helped Harry. That could be because Harry Named Bob

“Hey, Harry are you crying” pg. 652 Sobbing 

“I started playing 

Beautifully” pg. 652 More sobbing I knew this was coming but I’m still sad. 

Thomas is a hair stylist yay! 

Final thoughts 

General thoughts about the book

I thought the fights were good and I found the book funny. We’re up to Bi Harry 28 moments. I’m counting Harry’s description of young Marcone and nobody can stop me. I always enjoy Marcone and Harry banter. I love that part where Marcone offers to get someone to carry Harry. Marcone was in the book so that’s always a good thing. I’m sad for Harry that people are scared of him now. That’s going to continue to happen now that he’s the Winter Knight. The ghouls got what they deserved. I loved the Mouse lore we got. If my math is right it’s been four years since Death Mask so Maggie is roughly three at this point. I can’t wait to see what Harry and Elaine do with this organization. Will the Alphas be a part of it? As always I have thoughts about this book. 

White Council 

Now about this test. What I’ve gotten from the world building is that there are small, mid, and high practitioners of the Art. The White Council only lets the high/mid practitioners in if they pass a test. I have so many questions about the lore. Elaine seems to know how to show talent but not enough to meet the membership requirements. Now onto Justin he just keeps getting more secrets. Why would Harry think that Justin was training Harry and Elaine if there’s not at least a little truth. Maybe that’s another reason the White Council doesn’t like Harry is that they’re afraid of him. It could explain why the wardens would be upset about Elaine. If so it seems really stupid on the White Council’s part as if they keep alienating Harry he’s not going to want to be a part of the Council. While the Council kicks Harry out instead of Harry leaving it will probably have the same effect as now Harry has no ties  nor allegiance with them and I doubt he will be all that nice to them in the future. If the White Council keeps treating Harry as a black sheep or a monster, that's the fastest way Harry will become one. Self fulfilling prophecy and all that. 

Priscilla reveal 

I didn’t like it. I feel like the same plot point could have happened if Priscilla was a cis woman. I hope it was unintentional but what I got from this whole chapter is the creepy crossdresser serial killer like the villain in all the movies I mentioned. Which isn’t great for transgender men. As these tropes and media could lead the general public to think that transgender men are violent and dangerous. As statistically transgender men have been the victim of violence rather than the perpetrators. It perpetuates this myth that transgender men should be feared. 

Lash 

I knew she was going to die but her death still got to me. Redemption and self actualization are beautiful things. I wish we got to see more Lasciel and Lash moments in the books. To see what she was before and then to see what she could become. It would have been interesting to see how their dynamic would develop and how her character would evolve. As I feel like Lash became a separate entity entirely when she redeemed herself. As she was a shadow of a fallen angel with free will and choice that has got to do something. Her and Harry could have been a foil to the denarians in that Harry and Lash have an equal partnership. I love that she left him their music and I know this moment is when Bonnie is conceived. As I mentioned before, when was the last time anyone thanked Lash or now when was the last time anybody grieved for her? Surely after her fall God grieved for her and the choices she made. I doubt the denarians will. Harry must be so lonely now. He’s had Lash in his head for three years now. While they weren’t friends and they didn’t talk to each other much in three years is a long time. His head must be so quiet and lonely. He’s presumably the only one who will grieve for Lash. Well now I’ve made myself cry.

Marcone and Helen 

Hooboy do I have questions. So Helen now works for Marcone. Presumably after she got out of prison. She probably wants to get close to Marcone so she can kill him. Surely Helen was the one who asked for a job and the one who brought up sleeping with Marcone. Why would Marcone agree to this? He doesn’t seem like the type to sleep with an employee. Why would he sleep with the mother of the child that’s currently in a coma that she blames Marcone for? This puts Helen in a unique position as I assume Marcone put two and two together about the Three Eye drug, Tommy Tomm, and Victor Sells. And he must know that Helen had a part to play in Tommy’s  death. And Marcone hasn’t done anything to her. Given the fact that Marcone’s usual response to his men dying is fatal retribution it’s interesting that he hasn’t done anything to Helen. As for telling Helen that her child is alive. Yes, someone should tell her. That’s her daughter. Marcone doesn't know what Helen will do if she finds out. She deserves to know. And Marcone shouldn’t have kept Amanda a secret from Helen. That was not Marcone’s choice. Maybe it’ll stop her from trying to kill Marcone. Hopefully Harry will tell Helen now that Harry’s got Maggie and is a parent.

Onto the next book!

[starrynightoveratrhone]

Good Omens S2: The Metatron's Plan to Separate Aziraphale and Crowley

Alright. I just finished rewatching S2 of Good Omens. When I first watched it I was a ball of mess and couldn't really formulate any thoughts. Now, though, I have a bit of a clearer head and here are my thoughts...

So let's start at that bit where the Metatron asked if he could speak to Aziraphale (yes, we are skipping the coffee as I believe there was nothing on it to make Aziraphale act in any weird way or control him whatsoever). Go back and pay attention to time stamp 36:15. That look that the Metatron gave to Crowley after Aziraphale turned his back was an i-have-an-evil-plan look. Now, I think this evil plan was as simple as "I will tell Aziraphale that he should replace Gabriel as the Supreme Archangel AND tell him that he can bring Crowley with him." Doesn't sound so evil, no? But it is. You see, the Metatron knows that Aziraphale, with his religious trauma, will be easy to manipulate into thinking that being the supreme archangel is an opportunity for him to be able to make a difference. The cherry on top here is that he can turn Crowley back into an angel and bring him back to Heaven where they can work together. The Metatron knows that Crowley knows better and wouldn't fall for this. He knew that they would have a big fight, which is exactly what he needs in order to separate them.

Separate them? Why? Well, because of that 25 Lazarii miracle they did together. The way I understood it, that measurement means that with that teeny tiny half-of-a-miracle was enough to resurrect 25 dead people (pls correct me if I'm wrong). If this is the case, then imagine what they could do together if they actually used up all of their powers to its fullest. We know that Heaven is preparing for the 2nd coming and they certainly wouldn't want Aziraphale and Crowley to thwart their plans like last time. Separating them is perfect, even more, one of them will be in Heaven under the watchful eyes of the Metatron.

Still not convinced? Well, go back to time stamp 47:44. See how fast the Metatron came back right after Crowley left. When told that Crowley did not take it well, he brushed it off like he knew that was going to happen. He immediately proceeded to tell Aziraphale that they should get going. Aziraphale backed away because everything was happening all at once and it was so overwhelming, he obviously needed some time to think and gather his thoughts. But the Metatron made sure not to give Aziraphale any time to think, he needed to get him out of there as soon as possible while his thoughts and emotions were still muddled.

I believe that Aziraphale and Crowley together would be powerful enough to stop the 2nd coming. I don't exactly know how, we'll have to wait for S3 (and please please please keep on rewatching, let's convince Amazon that S3 is a MUST!).

EDIT: I just saw on Facebook that the Metatron wearing a black coat instead of white (or something light colored since he's an angel) is kinda sus. I think this goes well with this whole theory I made up. Like, he really is up to no good and that's foreshadowed with the way he dressed.

I will be posting my theory on why Aziraphale did not go back to Crowley after the Metatron told him they were preparing for the 2nd coming. I think this post is long enough, so I'll just post that separately.

[moisette]

I was trying to keep my stacks but why not? I thought the Boon was still up and expected Jake to pick himself up but it was Dwight's so it died with him...

HE HAD POWER STRUGGLE. Why didn't it work? Was it because I sucked him out of the pallet? xD;

Imagine if I had Save or NOED this match.

I honestly didn't play so good this match... My perks weren't amazing either. I am starting to enjoy Machine Learning, though 8u I like the sound effect it makes x3

Was that Legacy??? I'm not crazy, right? Was the corn getting to me? I...don't think he was cheating or at least nothing seemed out of the ordinary... I wanted to chase him more to see if he did anything sus but he DC'd so u8

She wasn't wiggling anyways but Mad Grit value uB<

I won. Her gate was almost open. I see no reason to take more than I already have.

I LOVE this outfit btw x3

"Why slug everyone at 4 gens!?" "This is why the abandon feature was made!" Why were they all injured and in the same corner of the map 8u Why stick around after being unhooked? For a flashlight save? Why was the Claudette there? I know why the Mikaela and the Jake were there. I could have played nicer but that's not really on me, is it? I'm supposed to kill these guys and they allowed me to do it. I actually ran into the Jake who was injured and on a gen after Alan unhooked him in my face and I took the trade. I was like "Who's on this gen? ......Not you again... -exhales- -kicks gen and leaves- >>"

[litsnobconfessions]

Date: February 15-16, 2025

Day: 46-47

Content Watched: The Legend of Korra, Season 3, Episodes 9-13

Year: 2012-2014

Rating: TV-PG

Run Time: 115 minutes

Okay, let's start by talking about the animation because honestly, I feel like I've dunked on the animation in Korra a bit, and I feel a little guilty because I am aware of just how much work went into animating this series. There is a reason that I started this project with ATLA and Korra. And though most people I know prefer ATLA, I do think Korra's still a great series. If I have time in the future, I'd like to create a post about my thoughts looking at the two side by side, but for now, I just want to be on the record confirming that Korra has some great animation. And while I do think that where Korra shines is typically the fight scenes, my favorite animation in the last episodes of the show is not a fight. In fact, it's something very small: Zaheer's expression when Korra confirms what Kuvira is doing and he realizes that this was the consequence of his actions. You see in his face that he knows he miscalcuated, and, dare I say it, regret.

And on that note, I'm going to focus this review on one of the major themes of these episodes: forgiveness and redemption. Because there is a lot of it going on here. Asami learns to forgive her father, who tries to make up for the wrong he's done by sacrificing himself getting the gang into the giant mech suit. Asami also has to learn to forgive Varrick, or at least to work with him, though I love how she stands up to him by literally twisting his arm. Toph and Lin finally reconcile, and I realize that Toph's decision to go hide out in the swamp reveals that she's still dealing with the same problems of distancing herself from others that we saw in ATLA. I mean, yes, she knows what's going on in her kids' lives, but none of them get to see her. (Though I do like her proclomation that she's too old to be fighting a war, and it's time to leave the world to the kids. I think this is a lesson all of us could stand to remember a little better.) Su also reconciles with her son. I like this scene because we've already seen in "The Metal Clan" that she believes in giving people second chances, so it's perfectly in character here. Even Wu gets redemption when he uses his skills to evacuate the city in a (mostly) calm and orderly fashion, and then chooses to step down from the throne.

And then, of course, there's Bolin. When I talked about Boiling Rock, I mentioned that Zuko's redemption is a process. He has to apologize multiple times, to multiple people, and accept their reactions. Some people don't forgive as easily as others. And he has to prove himself through action. Here, we see this with Bolin. For Korra and Mako, it's enough that Bolin has owned up to his mistakes and returned to give them intel on Kuvira's plans. For Opal, who has been more directly affected by his actions, this is not.

Honestly? I like that she stands up for herself when he first comes back. Sometimes it takes more than a verbal apology, and Bolin's attempt to trick her into a picnic is definitely the wrong way to go about things. (Though I do like that they also show us what a bad apology looks like.) When he does prove himself, I think it's not only in helping Opal save her family, but also in risking his life to save Zhu Li. Honestly, this moment reminds me of when Zuko tells Toph he needs to learn to be more careful so he doesn't hurt people with his anger. In both of these moments, it's clear the character is acting on their personal convictions, rather than out of a desire to say or do the thing they think will get them forgiveness. And in both cases, it's this personal conviction that leads to their redemption.

Zhu Li's redemption arc is different. Obviously, her actions were both strategic and useful, but she still apologizes to Varrick for making him think he betrayed her because she knows that even if she has good reason, she has probably caused him emotional harm. But unlike Opal and Bolin, Varrick also has a lot of apologize for, and I appreciate Zhu Li for refusing to let things go back to normal. And he does try to apologize, though he's not great at it. I really like how annoyed Zhu Li is when he starts talking about Mrs. Beaks, even though his line just before he gets cut off by the approach of the giant mech reveals where he's going. (Though, to be honest, I don't think ostrich horses are particularly common in thr southern water tribe, so he's probably making up this story.)

But can we also take a moment to talk about Zhu Li? Because this is probably my favorite character arc in this show. Like I said before, she has 2 seasons of being Varrick's stoic, silent helper. And then, in a few short episodes, she reveals her annoyance over how she's been treated, her love for Varrick, and then proceeds to be arguably the bravest and most daring character of season 4 by claiming fealty to Kuvira in order to spy on her. And when Kuvira finds her out, she doesn't. back. down. Instead, she stands up to her and gives her what for. I imagine that Zhu Li is one of those people who didn't know she could do this until she did. And I think that's why it takes standing up to Kuvira to stand up to Varrick. I may be Zuko, but Zhu Li is my hero.

Korra also undergoes redemption here. She apologizes to Asami for being distant, and talks to Tenzin about how angry she was and how her actions affected others. And she accepts Bolin's apology because she feels partially responsible for the events playing out. But in the end, she able not only to accept her own actions, but accept the things that have happened to her. Korra even states that this is what allowed her to have compassion for Kuvira.

Finally, I want to talk about the ending. Because Korrasami might be my actual favorite ship of both shows. For one, it has the perfect ship name (both characters get their full names as part of it!) But far more importantly, on a second watch through, I saw how this relationship really built up, even from as far back as season 1.

I know that Aang and Katara's relationship was introduced in the very first episode, but it always felt like it kept getting forgotten about and then remembered for an episode or two before being forgotten again. Korra and Asami's relationship doesn't do anything overt until the final minutes of the series, but over the course of the show, they clearly grow closer to one another. You see the two girls spending more and more time with one another until season 4, where Asami is the only person Korra writes to, and in the rare moments Korra has to just be a teenager for a little while, Asami is the person she does that with. Essentially, even though there's been no talk of kissing or crushes, their scenes have developed the type of intimacy that makes the end feel perfectly natural. I guess by the time Korra came out, they had figured out how to do slow-burn relationships right.

Tomorrow, we'll meet a much smaller hero from my childhood (and possibly one of the reasons I love Pema so much ;)

[blogger360ncislarules]

Justin Hartley is enjoying the rewards of his hard work — literally.

PEOPLE has the exclusive trailer for season 2 of CBS'sTracker, which stars Hartley, 47, as Colter Shaw, a rewardist who traverses the country working as part private eye, part survivalist in order to help law enforcement find people in exchange for money.

The trailer teases audiences by showing Colter back on the job as a montage of scenes from the upcoming season flash by, including him sharing a steamy kiss with a possible new love interest. But will this new flame become a distraction to his work?

"I'm making sure you haven't done anything stupid," asks Colter's business handler Velma Bruin (Abby McEnany).

Seemingly being asked again about what he's been up to, Colter says he doesn't "want to talk about it," resulting in tech expert Bobby Exley (Eric Graise) noting how that "sounds sus."

Other scenes in the montage include everything from a car ride with older brother Russell (Jensen Ackles) to a surprise moment featuring the return of fellow bounty hunter Billie Matalon, played by Hartley's wife, Sofia Pernas.

Ackles' return as Colter's brother was confirmed by Hartley himself, who also serves as an executive producer on Tracker, during the Summer Television Critics Association 2024 Press Tour in California in July.

“We got him, he’s coming back,” Hartley said. “We’re having fun with that. It’s a great story.”

Other returning characters include lawyer Reenie Green, played by Fiona Rene.

Though Hartley previously told PEOPLE that he likes “the fact that Colter doesn't have a girlfriend," a possible enemies-to-lovers romance with Billie might be in his character's future based on the trailer.

"Aren't you mister popular," Billie says in the clip while she walks up to a bar where Colter is seated.

The two can then be seen dancing briefly before Rene says in a voice-over, "Notice I didn't ask about you and Billie," to which Colter answers, "Can we just focus on the work?"

Last season, Pernas, 34, guest starred on the show’s sixth episode, titled “Lexington," introducing viewers to her character and the will-they-won't-they dynamic between Billie and Colter.

Colter even asked Billie out to dinner — an idea she, herself, had pitched earlier in the episode — but Billie shockingly declined.

“I think she is terrified of being vulnerable, and I think if she had dinner with him, she would have to address the pink elephant in the room inside of herself and be like, ‘Oh crap, I actually like this guy,’” Pernas previously told PEOPLE of her character’s decision. “I think she is someone who probably doesn't like to address her feelings as readily as she addresses other things.” 

Season 2 of Tracker premieres on Oct. 13 on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.