#I mean come on he plays the violin (among other instruments)

[flamefatalis]

I finished Thriller Bark today and I just… love Brook so much.

[deeva-arud]

Deeva Årud - Club Wear Voice Lines

When Summoned: Lights dimmed, tension building up… Are you ready to feel our rhythm? Summon Line: Playing music with friends is fun, I’m glad to be here even though I’m starting to feel a bit nervous.

Groooovy!!: We’d be delighted to see you at our next show. Spotting a familiar face among the crowd is always nice. Home: “Let’s rock and roll”, as some would say. Home Idle 1: I joined the Pop Music Club on my second year. Perhaps it’s quite a drastic change from my previous club but… it’d be a lie to say I’m not enjoying my time here. Home Idle 2: Most of the time I’m the one suggesting we should practice, but somehow Lilia, Cater and Kalim always distract me with all these unknown snacks and gadgets. Sometimes I have the feeling they do it on purpose… Home Idle 3: I need to warm my hands, it’s hard playing an instrument when they’re cold. Home Idle – Login: *humming Piece of My World* Ah- sorry, I didn’t see you there. Can I help you with something? Home Idle – Groovy: I’ve been playing violin and other instruments since I was a kid. My family has always had a connection with music and I’ll gladly continue this legacy. Conveying your thoughts and feelings through sounds is quite satisfactory. Home Tap 1: My first concert with them? Since it was the first time I’d be playing in front of many people, I knew I’d have a hard time trying to look at the audience. Cater noticed and told me to look at him so I could feel less overwhelmed… Let’s say I didn’t expect him to be so literal. His clones substituted the audience because no one came to see us. Home Tap 2: Hm, my violin? Indeed, it’s not the same one I use at Mostro Lounge. An electric violin is more suitable for the club’s activities. I’m surprised you noticed it. That means someone’s been paying too much attention to the musician playing ambience music… That was a joke. Home Tap 3: Kalim and I joined the club in the same year so I got to see how much he’s improved his drumming technique. It’s impressive. Certainly, Lilia’s been an excellent teacher to him. Home Tap 4: I like the idea of having customized masks for our performances. Maybe I should mention it once we have enough funds. Home Tap 5: I recently accepted to do some vocals just for our club sessions. You can come see us, but please refrain from telling everyone else. At the moment, I only feel comfortable singing for a few people. Home Tap – Groovy: When it comes to a band like this many wouldn’t think of a violinist, but that actually gives songs an interesting feeling, don’t you think? Duo: [DEEVA]: Ready for a shocking performance, Cater? [CATER]: Ready as ever, Dee-chan!

[syntia13treeman]

Case files 04.01

what I think happened in:

Case 04.01, the case of "The Red Violin of Schwarzwald" or "Feed the Violince"

Today's case comes in the form of a very old letter. The author of this letter, an illegitimate son of some English noble, a talented violinist, as a youth was summoned to audition for Royal Court Orchestra of the Palatinate (Germany).

That summer he left his home in Alnwick Abbey in company of his music teacher, Mr Bardwell, who appeared to be one of those miserable people who feel the need to lift themselves up by putting others down. Bardwell spent a chunk of their journey trying to convince the author that he didn't actually have talent, just a good teacher (himself). (Aside: considering that Author's whole career was carried by magic instrument, Bardwell might have been actually right about that, I'll give him that).

As autumn and their destination grew nearer, Bardwell grew more distant, occasionally muttering to himself or spacing out as if 'listening to distant music'. This culminated one night in a violent fit of uncontrolled movement and incoherent words, which ended with the Bardwell flinging himself from a moving carriage and bashing his head open on the rocks.

The coachman, convinced he just witnessed a murder, attacked the Author. The fight led to his death and spooked the horses, which run off into the night, taking the empty carriage with them. Left alone with two corpses, the Author set off on foot through the woods.

Eventually he came upon a campfire tended by what appeared to be a distinguished English gentleman - nice, generous fellow who offered to share a meal, and effortlessly coaxed out of the Author his entire life story. Then, among many mentions of 'luck' and 'fortune', offered him a gift - a beautiful violin, which he pulled out of an 'unusually shaped sack' filled with various knick-knacks. The Author was then sent on his way, and less than a day later he arrived at the Manheim School.

The rest is history. The violin was, of course, a cursed object, which played amazing, mesmerizing music, but demanded blood in return, and if denied, it took its toll anyway, by compelling the audience to mindless acts of violence (including oral eye removal - don't think I didn't notice that little detail).

And as is often the case, the Author was not completely satisfied with the magic that entered his life, because it 'only' brought him fame. It didn't give him the status he believe he deserved, as the 'upper crust' of society whom he played for never thought of him as 'one of us' and never noticed nor appreciated the blood sacrifice he made with each performance.

Honestly, the Author had no right to complain about that, as he himself started teaching music to those he considered below him specifically so that he could occasionally murder 'someone unimportant' to feed the violin and spare himself some pain.

And so he continued for the rest of his life (I presume), praying on the poor, playing for the rich. At some point one of his noble half-siblings sent their son to spend one summer with the Author, so yay family ties.

As he grew old, the Author decided to write a will, in which he left the hungry-hungry-violin to the aforementioned nephew, together with a letter explaining the nature of the thing (which was rather kind of him, really, most inherited cursed objects don't come with a warning, in my experience). And then, presumably, he died, and the violin changed hands, one way or another.

So that's the story of a nameless bastard [both meanings]. Let's forget all about him and focus on the important bits, in reverse order of interest:

4.) Who put the letter online and why? It's either some sinister figure doing it for sinister purposes, or just some poor history student innocently digitizing documents found in a tiny local museum somewhere for extra credit. There are no in-betweens.

3.) How did the murder-feeding work? Was it more 'kill a man and bleed him on the strings for 3 months' worth of recitals', or more 'chain them up in the attic and bleed them bit by bit before each performance till dead'? No theories from me, just something to ponder.

2.) What happened with Bardwell? He 100% heard the violin and was compelled by its music. Was it just because it was near, or was the Gentleman playing it, waiting in the woods? Was the intent there specifically to kill the man, or was he just driven to find the source of music, and it was just too bad for him that this included jumping from a moving vehicle? And finally, why did it affect him and not the other two men present? Possibilities:

Maybe he had, at some point in his life, come in contact with this or similar artefact and was marked by it.

Maybe he made a deal with some stranger, accruing a debt that he didn't quite pay off and it's now come due.

Maybe he sat in the audience once, as a child, listening to strange music played by red-stained fingers, which he was never able to forget.

Or maybe it was just something about him - like his love of music combined with ego and jealousy - that made him particularly susceptible to the lure.

My money is on option nr 3; I wonder if we'll ever know.

1.) last but no least: Who was the Gentleman?

I don't know, but I love this guy just on principle. He is so very 'magic salesman' 'devil in disguise' 'stranger danger' folklore staple!

I guarantee that no matter where you're from, he'd greet you in your own language, claim kinship and wear exactly the kind of clothes that made him seem trustworthy in your eyes. You'd sell your soul to this fucker before you could blink and wouldn't realize till it was way too late.

I'm getting very strong 'actual-supernatural-being, not human-turned-other' vibes from him, and I'm really stoked about it. (I have nothing to back it up, maybe it's just all the stories featuring various devils/spirits/similar that I read as a kid that make me biased).

If he isn't a recurring character, I'm gonna cry. I want to see what other abominations he can pull out of his funky little sack, and what tricks he'll use to ruin many other lives. Just let me have this, ok? Please?

[profanepurity]

how does Lucifer feel about the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and does he play the fiddle

(I ask only the most serious and important of questions as you can tell)

This question came in at the perfect timing when I’m finally solidifying Lucifer’s design. (along with some other characters 👀)

This is so cute lol. So the short answer is yes, he does play the fiddle. Lucifer is ridiculously good at almost every single instrument. As far as the song goes though, he actually kind of loves that song, and I’ll get into why in a minute.

This is The Most Reverend Bishop Stell.

This man is feared by every sibling in the ministry. Only the Papas seem to be able to interact with him comfortably they prefer coming to him for advice over Nihil, as well as Imperator of course. His stare is dreadfully cold and intense as if he can see into your soul he can. His teachings are always so well-spoken and captivating, but his tone leaves you with a sick sense of apprehension for the Old One’s will to finally come to fruition. His handsome features gracing you with a smile usually mean that something horrible is about to happen.

This is how Lucifer chooses to present himself to the church usually. He is an unnerving, but normal man, just idly serving in his faith. This way he can keep a close eye on his followers, but not have a high level of authority that would require him to be super hands-on. He’s only a bishop after all.

While Bishop Stell may prefer to quietly observe from a distance and mind Papa's leadership, that does not mean that Lucifer doesn't truly show himself from time to time.

If the worship and music are good, more often than not Lucifer is among his followers while they dance and sing in reverence. This doesn't totally reveal his identity either, as he's thought to be just a lively ghoul and not given a second glance usually. He takes on the attire of one of Nihil's ghouls, just to really make himself seem dismissable the open jacket and exposed chest kind of work against that though. There's always the exception of one lucky sibling every now and again that finds themself dancing with the devil under the moonlight if they happen to recognize that he is not simply one of the infernal creatures within the ministry.

Occasionally a bold sibling will ask Lucifer if he is in fact capable of playing the fiddle like all the stories and songs, to which he is more than happy to demonstrate. When I tell you this man will be as dramatic as he possibly can be with it, literally setting himself on fire as he starts fiddling, letting spirits dance around him while he's absolutely shredding that violin. See, he does all this to prove a point to his children. Even if someone manages to outplay him in anything, as difficult as that is, he will inevitably have their soul. He claims it's a reminder to the siblings that despite him humoring them and playing along, they better not forget who exactly they're fucking with. Really Lucifer just likes showing off.

Don't get me wrong, Lucifer loves rock and metal, but there's something about '70s-'80s country that he just- likes. Any song that mentions him he finds pretty amusing, and will usually make it a point to play it at some point in the most toe-curling, back-arching demonstration for his followers to witness.

Oh, if you're wondering what's in Lucifer's flask...

Sometimes it's Tennessee Apple, just to fit with the vibe, but more often than not Lucifer drinks a combination of Everclear and Listerine. That unholy concoction, in large amounts, is the only thing remotely strong enough to make him feel just a slight buzz. He likes to alternate between cool mint and artic mint, it's total bullshit that the other flavors are zero alcohol content.

Anyways lol, Lucifer adores shredding any instrument and being among the clergy. However, while he can of course sing more than jaw-droppingly well, that can give him away a lot of the time. That and, once again, Papa is the one he allows to have control of the church and is almost always leading a ritual or worship.

Lucifer's absolute favorite thing to do to remedy that is to get Belial to fuck around with the siblings and ghouls with him. If there is one thing that Lucifer loves just as much as his own voice, it's Belial's. In fact, Belial himself, the one that fell from the pinnacle just after he did, whose body he witnessed hit the bottom of the pit just as hard as he had, could be one of the few beings in existence Lucifer highly regards I can't wait to tell you more about Lucifer's historically accurate best friend. Hearing Belial sing reminds Lucifer of how they used to create stars and planets together, yet how much more he loves that that pretty voice now corrupts mankind and spreads wickedness across the land.

That and Satanas will get super pissed when Lucifer interacts very closely with the clergy, so he just loves doing it.

There's no harm in self-worship, it's a good example for the church.

You'll be seeing a more rendered design for Lucifer and the other Lords of Hell that are going to be in Praeteritum (and another series) very soon!

Thank you so much for the question, this was so much fun to draw! Thank you to everyone who has submitted an ask/ submission for being so patient as well, I'm working through them as I can!

[fuckmeyer]

What about a snippet? As a treat. (You can and should say no if you aren't comfortable doing that. I'm just sooooooooo excited and curious to see the next book.)

sure! lil sniglet. as a treat. i always delete stuff, so i'm happy to share. though you might see a version of this make it into the final...

Eclipse AU

[a deleted draft in which Edward & Bells are getting tacos together on their first third-first date. warning: Come Nightfall spoilers.]

“I suppose, in keeping with the theme of our first dates, I should probably confess something to you.” Edward's smoldering amber eyes captured mine. “Isabella, I and my family are vampires.”

I feigned a gasp of surprise.

“What a coincidence,” I said. “I’m a vampire slayer.”

“I’ve killed. I’ve stolen. I’ve cheated. I’ve lied.”

“Me too. Except the stealing and the cheating.”

“Yes, but you’re a terrible liar, so the latter doesn’t count, either.”

I sipped my Coke. “The Volturi didn’t seem to think I was a terrible liar.”

After a beat, Edward burst into laughter.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this lightheartedness from him - another change of Edward’s during our separation, I supposed - but it set a grin on my face.

“How very sexy of you,” he purred.

“I know you’re a sucker for women who break the law.”

“I’m a sucker in general.”

My turn to laugh. “Good one.” He winked. “Y’know, all things considered, this night turned out better than I thought.”

“Seeing as how you stayed through the appetizers this time, I’m inclined to agree.”

Blushing, I glanced down at my remaining tacos. “In keeping with the theme of our first dates, does this mean I get to ask questions?”

“Ah, what is legally referred to as our One Conversation, wherein I disclose potentially sensitive information?” he said. I nodded. “You know I loathe this game.”

“I know.”

“But I’ll do it for you. Because I adore you.”

“Ditto.” I wiped my mouth with my napkin and threw it down on the plate like a gauntlet. “Ten for ten?”

“All right,” he said. “Hit me.”

We leaned back in our seats, studying each other.

I cleared my throat. “We’ll start off easy. Besides breaking the law, tell me, Mr. Cullen, what else do you enjoy doing in your free time?”

“Well,” he said, “I’m a musician. And a composer. You might be familiar with my work.”

“You write lullabies.”

“Among other things, yes. I also play the organ, harp, clavichord, harmonica, hurdy-gurdy—”

“The what?”

“A string instrument operated via hand crank. Similar in timbre to the bagpipes.” I blinked. “That counts as one of your questions, by the way.” Before I could protest, he added, “Recently, I picked up the violin.”

Poking the ice cubes in my Coke with my straw, I brightened. “You started playing violin?”

“Part of my emergency preparedness plan. If I ever need to challenge the devil to a fiddle contest in exchange for a soul, I need to be able to play something more advanced than ‘Hot Cross Buns.’ More importantly, performing has been helping me retrain my gift.” He paused. “Oh. I’m a mindreader, by the way. Did I mention that?”

“A vampire and a mindreader?”

“I know it’s a lot to process.”

“I’m processing. Go on.”

“Besides that,” he said, “I enjoy reading, listening to music, going to art museums, and constructing pyres using the torn limbs of my enemies.”

“Hot.”

“I know you’re a sucker for men who kill.”

“I’m a sucker in general,” I said, and sipped my Coke.

It took several beautiful moments for Edward and I to stop laughing.

[adamwatchesmovies]

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

How do you follow a film like John Wick? The 2014 ballet of violence was such a pleasant surprise because it took a plot that’s been done to death and revitalized it. That’s where John Wick: Chapter 2 finds its purpose: by expanding on the world at the characters within it to make what was familiar new.

Set about two weeks after the first film, everyone now knows that assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has come out of retirement. For crime boss Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), this is the opportunity to collect a debt John owes him.

Like before, the stunt choreography is the reason to buy an admission ticket. By now we sort of know Wick’s preferred method of dispatching his enemies but it’s still plenty of fun to watch him efficiently and methodically take out anyone foolish enough to stand in his way. Director Chad Stahelski even throws in a couple of new tricks to make our jaws drop, like a scene in a bar that involves a pencil and not much else. There’s a particular death in that scene that’ll have you squirming, and you’ll love it.

If you think the only appeal is the violence, you're wrong. There are several points where the cinematography and staging are a wonder to behold. A climactic scene set in a hall of mirrors is a great example. Amazingly, cinematographer Dan Laustsen was able to shoot real people performing real stunts in this tiny enclosed space while keeping the cameras out of any reflections and making it look as good as it does. Oh, and shoot it in a way that’s easy to follow, which is the most impressive aspect.

So far, we’ve talked about what you’d expect from a John Wick film. What’s new? The side characters and large chunks of world-building. John is back in an environment he sought to escape. We caught a glimpse of it previously but now, writer Derek Kolstad gives us a good look. This world hiding in the shadows has its own politics, codes of conduct, currency, honor system and rules. Piecing how it all works is loads of fun because it makes so little sense it makes perfect sense. Countless assassins are hiding among us. The busker playing violin in the subway? They’re hiding a gun in their instrument and are ready to take someone out as soon as they get the call. Think that’s weird? Try wrapping your head around the secret society of killers disguised as vagrants! You have to believe these people spend most of their bullets taking each other out rather than high-ranking politicians who’ve made enemies, which actually makes the movie much more digestible than you’d expect. Like Sin City’s Marv said “I love hitmen. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad.” When these hired killers take each other out, they’re not people with jobs; they’re targets for John to take out. The secret society is so busy with itself that there's no room for police officers to respond or innocent civilians to get in the way/be taken hostage. Anyone and everyone has a gun hidden on their person. It’s so absurd it removes you from the weight of what all of these deaths would mean had this film been set in the real world.

John Wick: Chapter 2 (which is not going to be the last in the series) is not as surprising or fresh as the first but it makes up for it. Common, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne and Claudia Gerini all play memorable characters with small but important roles. They join Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo and Ian McShane in the pool of actors who give the world a lot of personality. Once again, the fight scenes and gunplay are spectacular. It’s got more than a few brilliantly shot scenes, and its fast pace means the 122-minute running time flies by like nothing. If you liked the first, you'll want to see this one too. (March 26, 2022)

[hythlodaeus-mynewoldfriend]

🎻 💜

Thank you for asking! Apologies for the slight length on the second one but I did try to just keep Stasia’s a summary, and I’m on mobile so my thoughts are jumbled a little due to incorporating 6.4 lore still in some spots. So spoilers for EW below the cut!

🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)?

Sadly none of my ocs play any instruments. Sibs mother attempted to get her to learn but she refused because was it really necessary for a lady to have playing music as a hobby? That wasn’t going to be her chosen hobby when she’d have to spend more time indoors as her supposed husband allowed.

💜 PURPLE HEART — what is your oc's ancestry/genetic background?

God I have thoughts on two of them for this one. I’m gonna do Sib and Stasia.

Sib is some old old old money with her family’s fortune having roots in Doma, which is why their name doesn’t reflect those of other Thavnairians and Hannish. Way back long time ago her ancestors came across a mine full of red gold and upon further digging found there to be more metals and ore and precious gems. Eventually they got more mines and soon found themselves moving the Thavnair near the time of establishment of Radz-at-Han hoping for better and easier trade. Their hopes were realized and their business took off and has been a staple despite their relatively small size among peers, though by choice as it has been a family business from the start. A more recent development among her family is their notions of beauty and their relation to dragons, the longer the tail, more scales one has, etc. means their line is closer to dragons of the first brood, this is false there is no relation to the first brood but good luck trying to convince her mother of such things. As the only living heir Siberite had expectations to run both the family business and marry higher if possible both of which she is well trained to do, now if only her parents can get her to come back home and stay there…..

Now for Stasia her heritage is a little different. She’s about 300 years old but not because she’s elezen or viera, no she’s half Ascian and half sundered soul essentially that can live for as long as she wants but can be killed like anyone else without the need for auracite, her youthful look is something she’s proactive about by using some dark magic. She has creation magic, though at lower level than the unsundered. She’s an oddity in that she can easily transport between reflections without needing to body hop (not that she could even if she wanted too, though she can do minor tweaking of her looks) and can bring others with her if she wanted. The last unique thing about her is that she is a new soul, having no memories or imprints of the Final Days like other sundered souls. All this simply because her father is Lahabrea.

When Stasia was born Lahabrea stuck around for a little while feeling the need to blend in and be there for his kid having made plans to leave them behind soon after Stasia turned 5, at which point her power of teleportation manifested and she found herself on the 13th. Once brought home Lahabrea worked on honing her skills and making them greater to allow for the free transport to come at will with little consequence, something that proved futile as with the control she gained it made going to the lengths expected of her near impossible at the age of 10. Finding her a disappointment and too weak to gain anything he taught, he left. Once on her own at the age of 16 did Emet-Selch find her and discovered that she was a new soul much like the phoenix her father made all those years ago. Gaining her trust he took over her teaching and she eventually came to help in creating the Garlean Empire posing as a cousin within the Galvus family. During their time together Emet told her of their history, about the world before, what would happen when all the rejoinings happened, told her of the paradise she would be in to help mark the start of a new beginning for their peoples.

While she spent her life with them Stasia never knew much on who the unsundered were before the Final Days….until a portal to Elpis was opened and she followed the WoLs to the past and met Emet-Selch, finding the truth in the paradise he spoke of real and seeing the origin of the sentimentality that led to his downfall and rejection of sundered souls as living beings (which her not being complete in a way must have meant he considered her in the same crowd). On her second trip did she find herself helping Siberite out in Pandæmonium Stasia found out she had an older brother in Erichthonios and that she’s more like her father than initially thought now that there wasn’t millennia’s worth of degradation on the mind. While she never told Lahabrea her relation to him it didn’t stop Erichthonios from figuring it out and asking in the stored memory of the crystal that she take to keeping an eye on him since he’d no longer be the oldest. While she still rejects these men as father figures (and will never forgive them for the pain they caused her) the trips to the past helped in gaining understanding on just how to move forward and make a path of her own.

[adolphvs]

(   JACOB ANDERSON  +  CIS MAN  +  HE/HIM   )    dearest  reader,  i  am  ever  so  delighted  to  introduce  ADOLPHUS,  the  thirty-one year old  prince,  known  among  the  ton  as  genial  +  passionate  but  their  foes  would  certainly  tell  you  that  they  are  more  obstinate  +  absent-minded.  perhaps  that  is  why  many  seem  to  think  they  had  something  to  do  with  the  ongoings  around  the  ton,  but  here  they  are  anyway  !     (   penny  ,  24  ,  she/her  ,  gmt+1  ,  n/a  .   

pinterest.

full name:  adolphus frederick. nickname(s): ado, dolphy, dolly ( the latter is reserved for family only ). birthday: february 24th. gender / pronouns:  cis man ,  he / him. orientation:  bisexual / biromantic. personality: dutiful, considerate, perfectionistic, sensitive. title(s): prince of the united kingdom. place of birth: buckingham house, london. relationship status:  single ; unbetrothed.

tenth child and seventh son ( youngest surviving, after the sad loss of his two younger brothers ) of queen charlotte & king george, adolphus is about as easy-going as they come. it would be hard not to be with all the privilege but relatively little of the pressure that innately comes with being a member of the royal family.

ever the dutiful son, adolphus was an excellent pupil to most of his tutors ; he was by no means perfect, tending to pick and choose his moments to rebel or play tricks. he wasn't especially thrilled about being shipped to gottingen in lower saxony to complete his education at the ripe age of twelve, but such was his parents' desire, and so off he went. he dabbled in university there, and upon returning to england did the same at oxford.

adolphus' true passions weren't exactly the focus of a university education. music was featured, much to his joy -- but the arts more generally were not included. when he was finally free of formal education, all of the prince's energy went into learning all he could of the arts, and he is known as a great patron -- encouraging anything and anyone across the land to engage.

he will be the first to say he is no great talent himself. he dabbles, especially in painting and a great number of instruments ( the pianoforte & violin are his both his favourite and the two he is most adept at ) but is purely for the love of it. adolphus would much rather admire other's work.

being the youngest prince, of course, had a large part to play in his freedom to pursue his interests but duty to his parents, family and country always come first. as such, upon being made honorary colonel-in-chief of the hanoverian guard foot regiment adolphus began military training and service. he is not greatly suited to military life ( being rather a sensitive soul, but thankfully possessing a sharp enough mind to get by ) but has yet to leave, having served dutifully in several conflicts. it is an unfortunate recent event that has brought adolphus back to london in time for the season.

( injury tw ) he was severely wounded in the shoulder ( it's healing slower than he would like and he is very begrudgingly wearing a sling and has been warned off dancing or strenuous activity but knowing adolphus nobody expects abstinence from either to last too long ) and captured in the same instance. thankfully the ordeal was short-lived. as royalty, his time captured was incredibly tame and in fact adolphus managed to escape by drinking his captors under the table -- or so the story goes.

truthfully, he couldn't be more relieved to be enjoying the season and at home again. he's a social butterfly and relishes the opportunity to speak to folks he might not come across very often ( and of course, those he does. ) adolphus has not yet officially turned his mind to marriage -- thankfully there are a good few siblings ahead of him -- but he is a great romantic at heart and part of him dramatically believes it would kill him to be stuck in a completely loveless marriage. for the time being, he is quite happy engaging in fun dalliances, however long they may last.

[fiinia]

Komm Süsser Tod - Part I

Finding and solving an old puzzle, "1234 0594184 1432", we enjoyed our first "What if" scenario. 1234 - I love you. 1432 - I love you too. 0594184 - You and I Will Be Together for More Than One Lifetime.

Did you notice the session was named "Komm Süsser Tod"? Bach, by means of melody and harmony, expresses the desire for death and heaven in this famous piece. It was also a play on words since I hope you noticed by the end of it all that Ture ended up living alongside a corpse. " "Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh" (Come, sweet death, come, blessed rest)" ".

Wake up and smell the coffee

Is an admonition to face the truth, to pay attention to what is going on around one, to accept reality.

Coffee is symbolic of vitality, accomplishment, and achievement. We drink it when we need an extra boost of energy in order to get ourselves going. Coffee itself, eventually becomes very closely associated with what we achieve.

We allude to the fact that coffee is the answer to productivity and gratitude, justifying a moment to pause. Enabling a mind to be stagnant. It's a journey that starts with a brew and ends with satisfaction.

What if,

Edgar had remembered to change batteries on his alarm clock the night prior, in order to "coincidentally" run into Ture on his way to grab a coffee at Ture's work place? What if, Ture had been accompanied by his dear friend on his way to work, instead of walking alone on that street? What if, Edgar had pushed Ture away once he heard somebody running towards them from behind?

Something as simple as changing batteries in an alarm clock, could have changed the fate between two people so drastically. Yet… Edgar was sloppy at remembering the small things, which led to another's downfall. So what if… By one simple small change taking no longer than a minute; Edgar had remembered to take out the dead batteries? Would this change the fate, of not just his and Ture's, but for another group of people, as well?

Konditori Vers - Bakeshop Verse

"The coffee shop was cloistered and close, so many tables and so little room, that was likely part of their charm."

"As you step inside, the air inside swirls with aromatic dreams."

"A coffee shop of white cups and black coffee, of small jugs filled with cream, has that ambience of friendly chatter."

"Yet… among the café's interior, the first thing you notice… Is the coffee mug which brings a teal spark to the room, a hue that is seawater in summer's light. It was a one-cup coffee table. Each leg was dark bamboo, narrowing and widening at the joints. Yet on the top of this simple piece was a carving of grapevines and the more you looked, the more hues of brown you saw. Some shades were like pinewood made wet by rain, others were bright like rosewood or dark like deepest oak."

A look at the 50+ hour battlemap.

This was where we spent two and a half sessions. A shopping street with The famous 50-piece fountain and a boule area. I should've used a counter for how often "the famous 50-piece fountain" was mentioned during inside and outside the sessions, probably around 50 times.

Behold, The famous 50-piece fountain, where the infamous youtuber with 12 subscribers Lars Larsson skated whilst the journalist Jason Yu held a photoshoot.

As for the boule area, though nobody ended up playing boule, they used the balls as weapons during their battle section.

The GM seat where you could see how Ture looks:

The board when we had zombies:

We can't forget the extreme rain that was about to fry Martin's computer either, or the fog that I had to turn off immediately as well. You can also see that there are indeed three zombies admiring The famous 50-piece fountain.

During the time of our anniversary, we listened to piano music and piano music only. Because in the actual time-line of where we all met Edgar, there was always violin music playing; the instrument Ture used to play on.

So it only felt fitting that during Ture's time in the anniversary, there would only be piano as that was what Edgar would mainly play.

As for the Lacrimosa puzzle, once all the pieces were out it had the finished name Lacrimosa.

Latin for "weeping/tearful" Lacrimosa is associated with weeping or feeling tearful.

This song’s theme is grief, not knowing what happens when we die. The expression expresses a deep admiration for death. It will help people let go of all of their emotions that have been holding them back: tears, grief, and all of the other emotions that they may have felt throughout their lives.

Lacrimosa is a composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, part of his Requiem in D minor. The Lacrimosa is the sequence for the funeral Mass for the dead.

As for the person who solved the puzzle when our anniversary ended:

I can't put all the 26 images here, so the link is better for that.

43, have you ever heard of the expression that some don't truly see colours until you experience true love? That everything is black and grey without their presence? I felt extremely cheesy when I made everything colourful in the start of the puzzle where Edgar was seemingly "alive", then the rest of the puzzle and the entire board was nothing but black and white with a nice exception to Edgar's orange token. The aesthetic reasons nobody asked for.

[mykingdommusic]

The Art Of Never

27 years of history, 4 albums and the new "Redefining Nothingness" coming out on October 7th, the ability to renew itself time after time always keeping faith to their style made of different facets of melodic Black Metal, fierce Death Metal and dark Gothic Metal. This is MEMORIES OF A LOST SOUL. Pioneers of the Italian Death/Black scene, the Calabrian band with "Redefining Nothingness" will definitively give voice to an album for fans of ROTTING CHRIST, DARK TRANQUILLITY and CRADLE OF FILTH! In the meantime you can pre-order the CD at: http://smarturl.it/MOALS-CD Hi Buzz, welcome. Give us a short presentation of your project MEMORIES OF A LOST SOUL and let me know more about the choice of this name. The memories of a lost soul were born in 95 at the behest of my best friend the max, from primordial death metal we have evolved over the years passing from Scandinavian to today's sound, a sort of black death mixed with gothic and prog, the name has a very obvious meaning, that is, they are my stories, my memories. MEMORIES OF LOST SOUL represent one of the historical bands of the Italian Death Black scene. Your debut dates back to the late 90s and today with "Redefining Nothingness" you come to present the fifth full-length album. How did  the band evolve over the years?   Over the years as I told you before, we have gone from death to black, to symphonic and prog to create a sort of horror soundtrack, the result is really liked by our fans that have increased over the years, now we have managed to making it much more theatrical for the new album, but without losing the nastiness. As I said "Redefining Nothingness" is your new album, the fifth of your career, which comes 8 years after the last "Empty Sphere Requiem". Would you tell me more about this release and what does it mean to you personally? It definitely means a point of arrival, both as a composition and as a choice of sounds, among other things I think I sang really well this time!

We can described your music as a mix of melodic Death Metal and Black Metal atmospheres but there are very different elements such as Mediterranean sensations, operatic voices, passages closer to Gothic and Doom. Is it easy for you to put together all these influences and how does it born a song by MEMORIES OF A LOST SOUL? The method of composition has evolved a lot over time, mainly our pieces however continue to be born from the guitar, but Adler does a great job with keyboards and violins, pianos and instruments that he plays live not as sound effects. "Redefining Nothingness" is certainly a point of arrival of the band as well as your most mature work. When I listened to your new album for the first time, I had the impression that everything was conceived with an obsessive attention to the atmospheres and the sensations that the single songs had to express. Could it be considered appropriate? Yes, absolutely, as I said after 27 years of career we are now convinced that we have reached a truly high compositional and stylistic maturity, in addition to this, however, the desire to communicate sensations has not diminished, indeed it has increased, because it's more awareness. Some musical references that I find in your songs are ROTTING CHRIST, DARK TRANQUILLITY, CRADLE OF FILTH. Do you agree? and what is your consideration about these bands? They are definitely among our favorite bands, I also listen to dimmu borgir, opeth and much more not exactly metal, many soundtracks and classical music. "Redefining Nothingness" is also the opportunity to present the new line-up with Noxifer (drums) and Morlock (bass) from LENORE S. FINGERS who will accompany you, Buzz (guitar and voice), and Adler (keyboards and violin). I think this is one of the strongest formation you had so far. Are you agree and tell me in which way their presence helped you in presenting the album like it is? All the formations of the memories of a lost soul have been important in their historical period, this is certainly the one most suited to the new type of sound, but if we are here we must also thank the previous formations, with which we have always been there. discharged for reasons unrelated to the band. 

Can you describes in a few words the songs presented in "Redefining Nothingness" as lyrically as musically in a sort of Track by Track? Let's say that the disc is composed of two concepts, one is the theme of a possible alien attack, which goes from "their coming from the stars and prometheus'key, up to" alien artefact ". Then the theme of the great monsters of the past returns like dracula, monsters that turn out to be much more human than humans. After 27 years you are still ready to face a challenge. Pure need of express yourself, simple passion or even the desire to demonstrate something that MEMORIES OF A LOST SOUL have not yet done so far? Surely we need to express ourselves and passion first of all, unfortunately our creative vein has been slowed down over the years due to our scarce means, but finally we have set up a real home engraving studio, in addition to the collaboration with my dear old sound engineer.  Would you like to leave a message? Thanx for your time... We are sure that our fans will appreciate our new work and will forgive us for waiting, as always, quality is the reward for their patience, but we promise that now we can now be much faster in the releases!

[collisiondiscourse]

Man, why does it feel like the threshold for success has a time limit? I always feel like if I'm not an insanely popular artist or powerful influencer by the time I turn eighteen, then I am an utter failure and a waste of my teenage years. I think one of the biggest pitfalls of how the generation of kids today has been raised is that we've basically been socialized to think that our best achievements have to come in our youth or else they become virtually worthless.

Like... Oh? you're a talented pianist and played in front of an auditorium of hundreds at an opera house? how old were you when that happened?

A forty-seven-year-old would be met with a few impressed nods, maybe, and people congratulating them for all their hard work and experience.

A fourteen-year-old would get news articles. they'd go viral on the internet and thousands of people would be clambering over each other to sing praises of how they were blessed with such innate talent.

I get it. It's impressive, right? Because they're young and haven't had plenty of years of experience. These kids, by all means, deserve all the praise and attention for working hard to get where they were!

But that's not the case, is it? And the culture of people putting more credit for young people's achievements doesn't even fuckin end there.

Because not only does this exact same pattern happen with literally every single thing ever, even totally non-competitive hobbies like painting, it happens with such frequency that it's considered normal. Articles use age markers about successes to serve as clickbait for their articles. Cable companies start shows purely about young prodigies and how they've beaten their adult competitors. Because who wouldn't wanna hear about a ten-year-old chess champion, right?

And what's even worse is that it then becomes a competition even among young people themselves! You scroll down on a video of a pre-teen playing Winter Wind and I promise you there will be at least one asshole saying shit like "This kid is not impressive. I saw a nine year old do the same thing the other day!"

It eats away at you! It really fucking does! because we go down this stupid rabbit-hole wherein younger and younger kids get paraded around and raised to be prodigies and meanwhile here you are, sixteen, and having a panic attack because you can't go back in time and force your eight-year-old self to keep playing the violin. It's stressful. It aches. Instead of bringing up younger people around us, we're stuck in this miserable zone where we constantly get compared and pitted against each other because we couldn't "maximize our childhood".

Isn't it enough to just... exist?

There have already been many conversations on the nature of college. How it's utter BS that people have to choose what career they want for the rest of their lives as early as junior year in HS. But what a lot of people don't talk about is just how early people are forced to decide what hobbies they want to do for the rest of their lives. People who start learning how to play an instrument at 28 can't do so without constantly being questioned why they started so late. A drawing with decent coloring garners more credit and attention for the average tween than the struggling middle-aged woman, despite both having an equal amount of experience with visual arts.

Parents constantly tell their children to study harder, to practice more--to just keep on work, work, working until their children become the perfect model dolls they use flex to one another over brunch. It's constantly having your name be followed up by your latest achievement and not anything about who you are as a person.

"This is Codi. She is a straight-A student and got invited to compete at Harvard."

"This is Codi. She is on her school's math team and knows how to play the piano."

"This is Codi. She is--"

I am a human being, thank you.

It's never "This is Codi, and he loves fashion and losing at video games." or "This is Codi, and he likes listening to annoying pop songs from the early 2010s and laying down in the rain."

Why? because none of that matters! None of that is worth listening to because anything less than what I can do to represent my family, my school, my team, my country will never be anything more than a waste of time. It's toxic, how today's generation of teenagers have to be celebrities or important figures or champions or prodigies before they are people.

It gets worse, though.

People start counting your talents like tally marks for points. You can't "just be an artist" anymore. If you draw, then you also have to be good at writing. And poetry. And graphic design. And a sport. Oh, you only know one language? Oh, you've only learned the basics of the guitar? It's like a fucking marker, ticking off boxes to determine the worth of these teenagers on the marketability of their achievements.

And, okay, it's a misrepresentation to only blame parents, right? Because it's a systematic thing. A new societal expectation for kids to be the next fucking Renaissance--with peer pressure for things like relationship experience and wild stories too. We kids now worry about not being special enough, not phenomenal enough, or beautiful enough, or talented enough, or smart enough, or experienced enough. And it's weird!

It's weird how teens now flex how tired and burnt out they are! It's weird how I've had conversations that turned into competitions of how many bullshit responsibilities we have on our plate. It's weird how I've met kids on the honor roll that are so adamant to prove to people that they've gone to parties, had alcohol, and slept around.

It's a goddamn tragedy, watching so many of my peers turning into burnouts before they've even graduated high school.

We are expected to be the most. If that one singer could do it, if that one global warming activist could do it, if that one Olympic athlete could do it--then why can't you? Why can't you have over 20.7k followers on Twitter? Why can't you have started your own band and release a popular album? Why can't you have published your own book by now? Why can't you be good enough?

I sit here, typing away at this stupid post and being unhappy and feeling like I am not good enough. I am an artist. I am a writer. I speak more than one language and play more than one instrument. I used to be a straight-A student and nationally competed in maths and sciences competitions. I am an international finalist for my sport and have multiple gold medals from foreign countries.

Yet still, I feel like my timer is running short.

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 3

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 9.9k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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"But I want to sleep..." Seohyun complained.

"Is sleep more important to you than us?" Wooyoung asked.

"Of course it is. Is that even a question?" Seohyun raised her brow and Wooyoung gaped at her.

"We've been friends for long now, Wooyoung, I thought you knew better not to ask questions like these," Yeosang said, laughing.

It had been more than a month now since that incident with San. Seohyun looked at each of them slowly, smiling. Despite herself, she had gotten quite used to the company of these boys. And they were EIGHT. It was hard to not be alone. Even if some of them were busy, the rest would always fool around after school as well.

Seohyun had gotten to know them well now too. She knew that Hongjoong, the oldest, also acted like one. He had a thing for fashion, and had reformed her navy blue cap that she always wore, embroidering a cat on it.

Seonghwa was the mom of this group for sure. He was always keeping them in check, always stopping them from doing something stupid (which was most of the times) and always helping them with homework. He was very caring, and he couldn't hide that part of himself.

Yunho was the clown of the group, and surprisingly, she was getting along with him and Yeosang quite well. Yeosang and her had the savageness in common, which mixed well with Yunho's humor. Since the three sat next to each other, they would always pass a joke or two to her even during class, and she had to beg them to stop one too many times.

Wooyoung and Mingi were quite funny too. There was just something contagious about their smiles. Seohyun found herself smiling a lot in their company. It didn't help that Wooyoung laughed like a hyena; even when she had no reason to laugh, she'd burst out laughing when she heard Wooyoung laugh.

She was getting along well with Jongho too, especially because they were paired for a project. She hadn't had the chance to talk to him much but once she did, she found that he was actually quite witty despite his dad jokes, and that he loved singing and... breaking apples. Which was weird but it was fun to see how strong he was.

"All you do is sleep, Seohyun. You have to come with us now," San insisted.

Seohyun stared at San. She was glad they were out of danger -for now. The old ghost had finally moved on after realizing that killing Seohyun was not worth it (thanks to Jiwoo). San had gotten close to Jiwoo as well. When she was not hanging out with the boys, she was with San. He liked being in her company because apparently 'he didn't want to look stupid alone staring at the distance'. He could see all sorts of ghosts now and Seohyun was helping him practice differentiating between the living and the dead.

"All right, but if I see something stupid, I leave. Okay?" Seohyun locked eyes with him and he nodded assuredly, smiling and showing off his dimples.

Hongjoong had been insisting that she finally come to their 'second home'. Apparently it was a warehouse that Hongjoong's father owned but had no use for so Hongjoong turned it into a place for him and the boys to hang out. She had no idea what they did there, and they finally wanted to show her the place because they all 'approved of her now and accepted her as one of them'.

The warehouse wasn't far from school so they decided to walk there. The black cat was walking with them now. San bent to pick her up, patting her head.

"Still didn't come up with a name?" Seohyun asked.

"You rejected Shiber. I don't want any other name," San pouted.

"I told you you could call it Shiber, I'll just... call it whatever I call her... hey what do I even call her?" Seohyun wondered.

"You never actually call her, do you?" San laughed a little, caressing the cat's neck, "She sticks to you, and you didn't even give her a name. I'm disappointed in you."

"I couldn't find the right name," Seohyun mumbled, frowning.

"Still, she's been your friend for what, like a year now-"

"FINE. Shiber. That sounds like a male name though."

"It's my plushie's name, but she reminds me of it," San admitted.

"You're naming my cat after a plushie? SAN!" Seohyun punched San's arm, making him laugh out loud. Wooyoung joined them, grinning.

"San's had that plushie since he was a kid," Wooyoung said. "I'm not surprised that he couldn't come up with any other name."

"You should've told me before, I would have never allowed him to name the cat then..." Seohyun shook her head but grinned.

"We're here!" Hongjoong announced, and Seohyun took off her sunglasses as she looked at the large warehouse, the sun reflecting harshly back at her, making her eyes water.

They went inside, Seohyun stepping in last and she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Mingi turned the light on, and she ran her eyes around.

"Woah," she breathed. It really did feel like a 'home'. The place had everything they could think of; sofas, couches, tables, a fridge for snacks, a basket for basketball, and so many musical instruments and equipment. "Are you guys secretly famous musicians or what?"

"Nothing like that," Seonghwa laughed, "We just really like music. Hongjoong is always making songs though. We fool around."

"I wouldn't call this 'fooling around'," Seohyun said, walking towards the equipment, stopping mid-way. "Can I?"

"Of course," several of them replied, nodding. She smiled as she ran her fingers across the piano, looking at the speakers and the mics. She saw some pages, probably lyrics scribbled on them, lying on the table near.

"So you guys... make music? Do you want to be idols or something?"

"For now, we're just exploring," Jongho replied, "Who knows? Maybe some of us might want to go into the musical side."

"So you all sing?"

"I'm the rapper," Mingi said, "Hongjoong raps too."

Seohyun made an impressed face. She pressed some of the piano keys, and something clicked at her mind. She looked up at Hongjoong as a grin spread across her face. "So that's why your fingers are always tapping at the desk. You make music!"

"Oh? I'm surprised you noticed," Hongjoong admitted.

"It's hard to not notice when you're sitting in my vision with fingers tapping nonstop while I'm trying to focus in class. You were doing something like this today, weren't you?" Seohyun said and played the keys that had unintentionally been printed in her memory.

"Woah, I'm more surprised that you remembered it!" Hongjoong clapped in disbelief and then narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you... know how to play?"

"The piano? Not much. But I have a drum set at home," Seohyun said and she saw as the boys looked at each other, applauding her.

"What?" Seohyun asked.

"We knew there was something about you," Wooyoung went on dramatically, waving his hands as he said "who knew we had a shared passion for music?"

"I wouldn't call it 'passion' per se, it's more of a... hobby. A stress-reliever, if you will. And stop ogling at me like you guys won a jackpot. I know what's going through your heads, and I say no."

"But you can play!" Mingi wailed, "We need more people to play the instruments! These guys-" he pointed at the boys one by one, "-they never learn!"

"Hey, hey, hey, look who's saying! Didn't you want to learn drums? What happened to that?"

"I don't have a drum-set!"

"I can play too!" Jongho and Yeosang complained.

Seohyun watched as the boys started arguing among themselves, and she shook her head. She had never imagined they like making music this much. If she had known, she might not have told them about her drums, much less her room full of instruments at a time like this.

"If you don't shut up, I'll never bring any instrument here."

"You mean you will if we shut up?" San asked, followed by Seonghwa who said, "You have more than one instrument?"

Seohyun sighed. "This is overwhelming, okay? Like I respect what you do, but I'm still new to being friends with you all, and it would take me some time to open up to you guys about the instruments. It's just... I have some memories- I don't really want to go back there."

"Oh..." San raised his brow and she bit her lip. She hadn't lied. She had some memories attached to those instruments that she would rather forget. It had been about two years since she'd played. She wanted to shut out that part of herself. She wanted to throw those instruments, but she hadn't been able to.

"Can you just... tell me which instruments you have, other than the drums?" Hongjoong asked cautiously.

Seohyun rolled her eyes. "Drums, bass, electric-"

"WOW!" Wooyoung gasped out very loud.

"-and violin. And I can play piano and guitar too. But it's been like two years since I last played so I'm probably very rough now..."

"Is one of your parent a musician or what?" Yunho asked.

"No, the drums were my mom's. The rest, I bought them when I was going through a phase."

"A phase. Wow," Yeosang snickered, earning daggers from Seohyun.

"Alright, we won't pressure you or anything. But you're free to play the piano if you want to," Yunho suggested, "and you're free to do whatever you want."

"Thanks for understanding," Seohyun muttered, smiling at him.

"But I wanted to learn the drums..." Mingi wailed.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll be the one to teach you," Seohyun said nonchalantly, making him smile his famous gummy smile.

"So anyways, what's with those mirrors?" Seohyun asked.

"Oh, that? We like to dance too," Jongho said.

"Oh my god. You guys should stop watching all those idol videos..."

"But we're good at it!" Wooyoung laughed, "And anyways, even if we don't go down that route, we love doing it anyway. It's our way of releasing stress."

"Sure," Seohyun nodded.

"Don't tell me you can dance too," Seonghwa narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh no. I don't think I can," Seohyun admitted. Unless you could count those random 3 am sad twerks as dancing. The boys watched as she suspiciously tried to avoid their gaze, looking around.

"So now that we've told you so much about ourselves, how about you tell us something that we don't know?" Jongho suggested.

"I don't know what's there to tell," Seohyun said, her eyes unintentionally falling on San who lightly shook his head.

"Anything. Something. It's just that we'd like to know you more," Seonghwa smiled warmly at her.

"How about you just ask me and I'll answer? Because it feels like I'll never be able to start myself..."

"Or how about," Yeosang started, a devilish smile spreading across his face, "we play truth or dare?"

"Oh no..."

----------------

Yeosang made everyone sit in a circle, and though very reluctant at first, Seohyun had to sit down too (after being dragged by Wooyoung). They discussed the rules; they could choose between truth or dare, and if a person didn't want to answer a question they should just say so instead of lying, which would earn them a penalty.

Hongjoong spun the bottle, and Seohyun prayed it would never land on her. At least not today. She wasn't feeling it. She still thought that the eight of them were well knit as they were, they didn't need her between them.

The bottle landed on Yunho, and he laughed nervously. Jongho asked truth or dare, and he replied with dare. Not fair, Seohyun thought. She wasn't sure she would ever choose dare. She had no idea what sort of dares they were gonna give.

"Alright, show us your golden retriever! You haven't done that in a long time!"

"Golden retriever?" Seohyun asked. She had heard them talk about it once or twice, but she had no idea what it was about.

"Ah, I'm getting nervous~" Yunho laughed awkwardly. She supposed it was because he was gonna do it in front of her for the first time.

"Come on, don't be shy," Wooyoung teased and he nodded, taking in a deep breath. He turned his head back, then looked forward, his eyes a bit wide as he made a paw out of his hand and flicked it, barking in the cutest way possible.

Seohyun was silent for a moment before she burst out laughing. She was howling at this point, making the rest of them laugh too.

"At least I made her laugh!" Yunho said proudly.

Seohyun wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. "That was hilarious. You really do look like a puppy, Yunho."

"Thanks?" Yunho said and laughed.

"Alright, next!" Jongho said, spinning the bottle, and to Seohyun's relief, it stopped at Hongjoong who was right next to her. He wailed.

"I choose... dare."

"You all are gonna end up choosing dare. I'll be the only one choosing truth it seems," Seohyun groaned.

"You know what to do," Yeosang said, locking eyes with Wooyoung who nodded. "Michael Jackson impression."

"NO! I CHOOSE TRUTH!"

"It's too late to turn back now!" San said.

"It's embarrassing enough to do it even in front of one of you, and now there's EIGHT of you. Alright. Here goes nothing." Hongjoong got up and straightened his clothes. He took a few steps back so everyone could see. He made the famous pose and sang Billie Jeans, attempting to mimic Michel Jackson's style. It would have been okay if everyone hadn't burst out laughing, making Seohyun laugh a little too.

"How did you even come up with this?" Seohyun asked in disbelief.

"I don't even remember now..." Hongjoong pouted. He spun the bottle, and it landed on Wooyoung.

"Truth," he smiled rather proudly, folding his arms.

"Who do you love more, Hongjoong or Seonghwa?" Yeosang asked. The rest of them laughed as Wooyoung's eyes went wide in panic.

"That's like you're asking if I like mom or dad more! Isn't this unfair?"

"Who did you like more though?" Jongho asked.

"Mom-"

"You like Seonghwa more. Alright, next!" Hongjoong concluded, leaving Wooyoung attempting to explain that it was not like that anymore and he liked both of them equally, but everyone was ignoring him. Seohyun thought it must be an inside joke too.

"Your turn," San smirked at her. Seohyun, who had been distracted and hadn't seen the bottle spin, eyed them suspiciously.

"I move my eyes off the bottle for a second and it lands on me. Are you sure you didn't cheat?"

"We did NO SUCH THING," Wooyoung huffed.

Seohyun locked eyes with each of them. "Fine. Truth."

She watched as the boys looked at each other, suggesting questions while Seohyun tried to calm the rumbling storm of nervousness in her stomach. Should she have gone with dare?

"Can we ask... anything?" Mingi looked at her and Seohyun shrugged.

"I mean, we're friends now, right? So go ahead. If I think it's too personal, I'll say so." Seohyun nodded and the boys looked at each other before finally turning to her.

"What's the real reason you don't have friends?"

Seohyun's eyes unintentionally went to San's, and the boys noticed, looking between the two of them. San shrugged, as if saying 'I tried.'

"Does... San know something?" Seonghwa asked cautiously.

"You don't have to answer, you know that right?" Yeosang added.

Seohyun sighed deeply, nodding. She looked at San again, who nodded back, pointing behind her and mouthing Jiwoo. Seohyun sighed in relief now. She might as well give it a try.

"Since you guys shared something today, I will too. But it's kind of... weird. Unbelievable. You might think I'm lying. You might think worse things. Whatever you think, do tell me, because I can prove it."

"Don't tell me you're some sort of a secret agent," Yeosang said, earning a slap from Hongjoong who shushed him.

"Alright, we'll hear you out," he said.

"I... can see ghosts. The dead."

There was a moment of silence before Jongho raised his eyebrow. "What? You mind saying that again?"

"I said I can see the dead. I can see ghosts. I can touch them. I help them move on."

While the boys exchanged looks, still in disbelief, San smiled at her and Seohyun nervously laughed. She had finally said it out loud.

"So you can... see ghosts? Like in the movies?" Mingi asked.

"Yep. They're just like us. Unless they're old."

"How do we believe you? I mean, you could be joking," Yunho asked.

"Well, San knows," Seohyun said, and everyone looked at San, who nodded, then looked back at her.

"How does he know?" Wooyoung asked.

"Long story. He got caught up in something, which led him to discover my secret and eventually led him to seeing ghosts too."

"You both are mad." Wooyoung laughed nervously.

"You want proof?" Seohyun challenged.

"Sure. I can do with that," Wooyoung folded his arms, anticipating.

"Alright folks, you're in for a surprise," Seohyun heard Jiwoo say. Jiwoo rubbed her hands and went near Seohyun, picking her hair and making it look like it was flying in the air.

The boys... shouted.

"MEDUSA!" She heard someone shout amidst them. San tried to calm them down but it was no use. They all were... freaking out, to put it simply. Half of them were gasping while the other half was laughing in disbelief.

Jiwoo dropped her hair down and they watched as she pulled the sunglasses off her shirt and the glasses magically disappeared.

"Where did the glasses go?" Wooyoung asked.

"Ji- the ghost. Her name is Jiwoo. She's a friend of mine. So when she takes something of mine, it would disappear once I'm not holding it anymore. But-" Jiwoo handed her the glasses back and they watched it appear out of thin air, "when she gives them back, here they are."

"Is this... magic or really a ghost?" Jongho asked.

"It's a ghost, believe me," San finally said.

"So you can see ghosts now too? How?"

"Let me explain," Seohyun said, and narrated the events, giving a little backstory about how she was born with this, and that she actually helped ghosts move on.

"That's kind of cool though," Yunho commented.

"Wouldn't call it cool," Seohyun muttered and Seonghwa noticed.

"It must not be easy to live like this..." he said, and she hesitantly nodded.

"Is that why you changed schools so often?" Hongjoong asked and she nodded. The boys looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that again," Yeosang said, "We'll help you. You won't have to move again if something happens."

"It's not that easy, Yeosang. If something unexplainable happens, I won't be able to hide it."

"Oh don't worry about that," Mingi laughed, "unexplainable things always happen to me. We'll cover for you, trust me."

Seohyun was, for the first time, touched by how earnest they sounded. They really were a weird group of friends.

"I'm kind of jealous that San can see ghosts now too," Hongjoong sulked. "Can't we see too?"

Before Seohyun could answer, everyone else burst into complains too about how they wanted to see too. "Hey hey," Seohyun began, "first of all, it's too risky. I almost died and then San was able to see."

"WHAT!"

"You forgot to tell them that part," San muttered.

"Ah, right. So when I had to teleport San, we ended up in the other dimension, right? So I had to teleport again, and I had a massive nosebleed plus headache. I passed out too."

"Oh..."

"Even if it was easy, I would never do that to you. And I wish I could take it away from San. I wish it would fade," Seohyun said, and San looked at her, shocked. He had not expected this.

"It's not about it being cool, San," she locked eyes with him, "Being able to see ghosts mean you're attracting danger every second. Thank god you can't touch them. That means they're not able to touch you, not directly. I want you all to be safe, that's why I won't ever do that to the rest of you."

There was a moment of heavy silence, then Seonghwa broke the ice. "I understand. It's okay, you don't have to do that. We want you to be safe too, so if you're ever in some sort of danger, don't hesitate to ask for help."

"Thanks Seonghwa, I really appreciate it." Seohyun smiled.

"It's really unbelievable though. What does this ghost look like?" Wooyoung asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.

Seohyun grinned a little. "Well, she's a girl. Jiwoo. She's about my height, has long black hair with red streaks. Has a mole on her cheek. Also, she's weird-"

Jiwoo kicked Seohyun's back lightly, but she just continued. "She died in a car accident. A ghost with amnesia. Unbelievable is the right word, Wooyoung."

"Woah. She sounds familiar though..." Wooyoung looked towards Hongjoong who shook his head. Seohyun noticed but didn't comment on it.

"So you're waiting for her to remember so she can move on?" Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah. She's been sticking with me for months now, and I got used to her."

"Ah... that's understandable," Hongjoong looked at his wristwatch, "Anyways, we should go home now. it's late."

"I thought we were playing truth or dare. This turned into a horror show. How will I sleep at night!" Mingi wailed dramatically, making them laugh. Wooyoung called him 'scaredy cat' and San said, "Like you're one to say."

Seohyun smiled at Jiwoo. This had been an unexpected night, and she had never expected them to believe her and not make fun of her. She looked at the boys, bickering, and smiled at them.

She felt comfortable.

-----------------

The next few days at school had been... annoying, to put it simply.

The boys were very excited at the new discovery about their friend they had made. They simply couldn't contain themselves- save for San, and Seohyun found her patience wearing off day by day.

It wasn't that she was ungrateful for how things had turned out. She simply hadn't expected this sort of a behaviour. Secondly, she did not know how to deal with 7 excited boys who couldn't stop asking her the most stupid of questions.

She had to admit some of the questions did make sense. Like Yeosang asking if a ghost's touch and human's touch was any different. Seohyun shook her head as she thought of how the question had shook her.

"What do you mean?" Seohyun asked.

"Do you feel different when a ghost touches you? Like, Jiwoo. Does her touch feel different than a regular human's?"

Seohyun inhaled sharply as she was reminded of the time she had spent in her music room, laughing, with him, holding his hand, touching-

"I'm sorry, was it a wrong question?" Yeosang finally asked and Seohyun realized she had been staring at him too long.

"Uh, no. I'm sorry I zoned out. I suppose it is- it is a bit different. I don't know how to explain it. It's not... warm."

Seohyun shook her head as she waved off the memory. Another memory made its way....

"This friend of yours, Jiwoo," Hongjoong asked, "is she here right now?"

"She may not find the idea of dying twice appealing," Seohyun muttered.

"What?" Hongjoong furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Now why would a ghost attend school? Surely she doesn't wish to die of boredom. AGAIN."

Hongjoong laughed. "So she's not here? Do you know her full name?"

"Ahn Jiwoo, I think," Seohyun replied. She noticed Hongjoong's eyes gleam as his mind worked.

"How old do you think she is? And can you describe how she looks like?"

"Playing detective, are you?" Seohyun raised her brow.

"Just answer. I may have something."

"Well, she looks our age, maybe a year older, she has an average face, honestly I haven't noticed much. She does have red hair."

Hongjoong nodded slowly, and Seohyun asked when he was going to let her in.

"I'll just check something. If it's true, I'll tell you."

Seohyun shook her head again. She should really be focusing on class. But her mind went back to think of the stupid questions. Yunho had asked if 'ghosts could eat' and when she had replied no, he said he was just wondering if they did eat, did they excrete as well. And if so, was the ghost realm full of-

Shit, she thought as she heard Yunho giggling. "You keep shaking your head. What's wrong?"

"Believe it or not, I was actually thinking about you," Seohyun admitted.

"Oh?" Yunho turned a bit towards her, smirking. "And what scandalous thoughts made you shake your head so much?"

"How in the world could your brain wonder if the ghost realm was full of ghost shit?" Seohyun almost shouted, but clearly she hadn't been quite as well. She earned a warning glance from her teacher and sunk in her chair as Yunho shook with silent laughter.

After the class was over, Hongjoong made his way to Seohyun.

"Is Jiwoo here?" He asked.

"Again, no. Why are you so interested in her?" Seohyun folded her arms and Hongjoong snatched Seonghwa's seat from his spot, sitting near her and placing a book on her desk.

"This is last year's yearbook. We have some photos from an event, and I want you to tell me if you spot Jiwoo."

Seohyun raised her eyebrows. Jiwoo- she could have been a student here?

She supposed it was possible. San turned too, muttering how he can recognize her too, and they flipped the pages, checking each one carefully until finally San pointed at a person and looked at Seohyun, who had paled.

"That's... Jiwoo. How did you know, Hongjoong?"

"I guessed when you told me her name. San told me how she had died of an accident and had amnesia, and I could remember hearing something about a senior here who had died in a car crash. So I put 2 and 2 together and here we are."

"But, this doesn't help much, right? We only know that she was a student here. What's this got to do with how she died, and why she is still here?"

"There were rumours circulating her death," Hongjoong sat back, "Her father was a prisoner falsely accused of some crimes, and she was trying to get justice. I talked to some of my senior friends, who had been her classmates, and they told me that she had started receiving some threats."

"And they must have given all this information to the police too?"

"Yes," Hongjoong nodded, "Now you know her identity. You can talk to her friends, go to her home, and finally help her move on."

San felt his heart sink as he looked at Seohyun. They both were thinking the same thing. Seohyun had grown very attached to her and she did not want to do this. She gulped, and nodded slowly.

"Of course. I guess I should thank you..." As the words left Seohyun's mouth, Hongjoong heard something bitter in her tone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Hongjoong asked, and Seohyun didn't reply, only shook her head no, and San shushed Hongjoong, mouthing that he'd explain later. Seohyun got up abruptly, her bag falling off from the chair. But she didn't hear it. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything.

"I need some air," she muttered and rushed out of the classroom, leaving the boys staring.

"Shit," San clicked his tongue, "You did the right thing, Hongjoong, but you have to understand. Jiwoo is her friend. A sister to her. If she moves on... I should go after her."

"Are you sure I did the right thing?" Hongjoong asked him as he gave him space to move. San nodded and went after Seohyun.

"It looks like there's more to the story than she lets on," Yeosang commented. Hongjoong only looked at the door. It did seem like it.

San ran around the 1st floor where their class was, then went downstairs, hoping she was somewhere here. After checking the empty rooms, he went outside, towards the lawn, and found a figure sitting near a tree, staring in the space. He narrowed his eyes, then spotted the cat wandering around her, and his shoulders sank in relief.

He wasn't sure if he was the right person to be there. Surely Seonghwa could comfort her better. Or Yunho. But he was the only one other than Seohyun who would miss Jiwoo. He could relate to her, somewhat. So he decided to sit down beside her.

As he did so, he realized she was shaking. San looked at her worried. "Seohyun? Are you alright?"

Seohyun couldn't breathe. She was having some sort of an attack, like the ones she had about two years ago. She heard San alright, but she was afraid if she spoke, she'd cry.

"Here, have some water," San uncapped the bottle and closed her hand around it, and she managed a sip then handed it back to San.

"This is about Jiwoo, right? She's your friend, and you don't want to let go of her. I understand, Seohyun."

Seohyun sighed, fisting her hands. It wasn't just about her. It was the flood of memories that had come crashing without a warning when she thought of Jiwoo disappearing.

San put his hand on hers, caressing it, hoping it would give her some sort of comfort. He looked at her. All her walls, her strong walls she put around her were breaking down. Her lips were parted and wobbling. She looked like she might cry any second.

"You want to talk about it?" he whispered, and she sighed, nodding, taking deep breaths. She wouldn't cry. Not right now.

"You know it. I have grown attached to Jiwoo. Hell, she practically lives with me. I shouldn't have allowed this in the first place. I knew she was going to move on someday, yet I grew emotionally attached to her. I'm so weak."

"You're strong because you helped her too. She had no memories. How do you think she would have felt if not for you? She couldn't even go to her family or friends. You became that for her."

"I know," Seohyun bit her lip. "It's not just that. It's... I- I had someone. Like her. He and I... We were close. And one day, he was gone-" She bit her lip again, taking a deep breath.

"It's okay. You had no one then, right? You have us now. You have more friends than you could have ever thought of. You're so brave, Seohyun," San said, putting an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her back as he smiled. "You're one of the strongest people I know. We're both going to miss Jiwoo, but we have to help her move on. You don't want her to stay here too long now, do you?

Seohyun shook her head. San smiled again as she looked at him, making her smile a bit too. "There. We'll send her off with a celebration, okay? No more sadness. Okay?"

"Okay," Seohyun smiled. She could do that.

"Let's get back to class," San said, getting up first then helping her up. She dusted off her clothes and they walked in comfortable silence back, though San had to admit he felt weird. His heart... wasn't acting right.

Hongjoong casted a cautious glance at Seohyun as she entered, but she passed a little smile as she settled. Yeosang looked curiously at her, and she made a face.

"Is something bothering you?" Yeosang finally asked. He watched as Seohyun sighed. Sometimes it felt to him like she was carrying the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Like she would bend under the pressure.

But she was strong too. She passed a little smile and said, "Yes. I'll talk about it later."

Yeosang just nodded, watching her curiously as she stared at her notebook. And then she sat back in her seat, staring at San.

---------------

"You're telling me that I was a student here? That this is a big, big 'coincidence' that you had to transfer, of all the schools in the city, right here?"

"For the hundredth time, Jiwoo, yes. I know you think I transferred here on purpose, that I somehow found about your life and didn't tell you, but believe me, this is a big, big coincidence." Seohyun replied, looking at San for help.

San shrugged, saying, "The way you're always hanging around Seohyun, when do you think she even had the time to plot this?"

Seohyun clapped her hand, smiling approvingly at San. "See? I told you he isn't that dumb. That is a great point, San." She watched as San shook his head, the faintest trace of smile on his lips.

The three of them- with the cat, of course, had this meeting in the same park that Seohyun and San had once teleported in. It had took a few days for Seohyun to finally settle with the fact that yes, Jiwoo was going to move on. But it won't be like before.

Seohyun found herself thinking of that time. The piano. His slender fingers gracefully playing music. His hands guiding hers across the keys. His contagious laugh. His deep eyes, covered by dark tendrils of hair-

"Earth to Seohyun?" Jiwoo was clapping in front of Seohyun now and she blinked. She cast a quick glance at San, who was watching her more confused than curious.

"Yeah. I'm back. What are you planning?"

"I suggested we show her the photo. She might recognize some people from the photo." San said.

"Also, I walked around the school building a few times, and it did feel familiar. I thought it was just because it was a school and schools are, you know, pretty much built the same. But I would have the strongest of headaches when I walked there," Jiwoo admitted.

"A ghost having headaches? Here's something to tell Yunho," Seohyun thought out aloud, "Though one might think that death would relieve you of all worldly headaches..."

"It's probably because of my amnesia. But yeah, San's right. I'll have a look at the photo. I'll come to school tomorrow."

----------

"Wow, that's me," Jiwoo gasped.

"Of course it's you," Seohyun muttered. Jiwoo ignored her and continued to stare at her picture. Seohyun cast a look at the boys. They were watching the book flip pages on its own, their mouths slightly open in surprise.

"She can hear us, right?" Wooyoung asked Seohyun, who wanted to make fun of Wooyoung but wasn't quite in the mood. She was more busy thinking if Jiwoo would indeed remember something.

"Come closer, Jongho. We're still in class, no one should see the book moving on its own," Mingi motioned with his hand.

"No one is looking unless you start acting weird," Yeosang commented.

"I'm having the worst headache right now. Is this normal?" Jiwoo asked.

"You're a ghost, unnie. Nothing's normal about you."

Jiwoo tsk-ed at her and then looked at Hongjoong. "He should know something about where exactly I died. If it was an accident, I might be able to remember something."

"Not sure if that would work," Seohyun's mood was very gloomy. San shook his head at her, and she sighed before asking Hongjoong if he knew something about where she had died.

Hongjoong, to Seohyun's dismay, said he'd find out in a minute. It looked like he texted one of his friends, and while they were waiting for an answer, San told the boys what was happening just so they would stop asking after each second.

Seohyun caught Hongjoong glancing at her, as if trying to convey a message. Seohyun understood and casually checked her phone, indeed finding a text from Hongjoong, which read:

There's a possibility that her death might not have been an accident

Seohyun frowned. Was she murdered? Or did she commit suicide? She felt as if it would hurt Jiwoo no matter the answer.

What do you mean?

Hongjoong replied:

I'll tell you later.

With that, Hongjoong told Seohyun out loud that his friend would have to ask around for the address, and that settled it. Jiwoo announced that she was gonna roam around the school again, and maybe that would make her remember something too. She asked San to remind Hongjoong to find out her home address too. That would certainly spark a bulb, if nothing else.

As soon as Jiwoo walked out of their classroom, Hongjoong brought everyone closer. "My friend gave me the address. It's near a restaurant here."

"Why didn't you tell Jiwoo?" San asked.

"When Jiwoo passed away, her friends were told that it was an accident. But according to my sources, they say she was out with some of her friends. They had somehow gotten in an argument, causing her to flee and accidentally crash with a car."

"So it is an accident, right?" Seonghwa asked.

"That's the thing. Some people say that one of them pushed her in front of the traffic, and that they are all covering it up. We have got to find out what happened. Before we tell Jiwoo."

Seohyun pursed her lips. This is not how she thought it would have turned out. Sure, most of the ghosts she dealt with had usually been murdered. But that didn't make hearing any of this easier.

"Alright, we will find out. We need to distract Jiwoo. San, you'll help me out, right?"

"Of course," San said, sitting straighter. Seohyun laid out their plan; they were gonna divide into two. San, Wooyoung, Yeosang and Jongho would lead Jiwoo to a false address, somewhere far from where the rest of them were going to go and actually investigate what really happened. If she had died in a car crash, however that happened, the people around would remember and would be able to recall the incident.

After school, they told Jiwoo that she would go with San to check if that was the right place, since Hongjoong's source could be 'unreliable'. Meanwhile the rest of them were going to find out her home address by asking around. Jiwoo didn't suspect them thankfully, and gladly went along with them.

"I have the home address too," Hongjoong said, "It's on the way to the restaurant. We should pass by there too."

"Yeah," Seohyun muttered. "Do you think I should talk to her family too?"

"I think you should, but after we visit the restaurant. That would certainly give us more information. because all you have now is nothing about the real Jiwoo."

"Point." Seohyun thought it was kind of ironic. She knew nothing about how Jiwoo would have been when alive. The thought of it made her heart twist with pain.

As they walked to the site, Seohyun was so lost in thought that she didn't see the rest of them exchange nervous glances. They all realized that Jiwoo had been her only friend for a good while. And they could definitely see how difficult it was for Seohyun to let her go.

"Can I ask you something?" Seonghwa finally said.

"Whenever someone asks me if they can ask me something, it's usually going to be something about my personal life. Go ahead, shoot."

Seonghwa shook his head. "How many ghosts friends did you have to let go of?"

Seohyun stopped in her tracks. It took her a second before she started walking again. "That is a very good question, Seonghwa."

Mingi and Yunho exchanged looks. They knew she always made remarks like these when trying to avoid something. "Jiwoo has been your friend for a few months. It must be hard for you."

"It is, actually," Seohyun admitted. "And most of my friends, sadly, have been ghosts. They're a better company. I sharpen my dark humor on them. I make a lot of dead jokes, if you haven't noticed that already."

"I did," Mingi raised his hand, smiling sheepishly. "Knowing you can actually see ghosts makes them more funnier."

"I know," Seohyun smiled back.

They finally reached the restaurant. It was a traditional one, with tables set outside as well as inside. Potted plants made for most of the décor, a stark contrast to the mauve and white theme, and the scent of spices filled the air.

Seohyun's eyes traced what could have been a possible path; Jiwoo walking out of the door, a car speeding forward-

"How do you suppose we're gonna find some information? We can't just go and ask them to show us the CCTV footage or something," Yunho said, looking pointedly at the camera.

"We won't have to," Hongjoong said, "We just have to make up a good story. Come on, we're eating something from here."

"Really, Hongjoong? Do you think we have the time?" Seohyun asked.

"Trust me. Come on," Hongjoong said, not waiting for them and walking inside. They seated themselves in the corner, and a waiter came to take their order. After ordering some barbeque, Hongjoong told them that he was going to ask for water while they would be in the middle of eating, and they would start talking about the incident. When the waiter comes, he would hear them talk about it, and provide his comments on the topic without asking.

"If I was the waiter, I'd kick you out," Seohyun said, sitting back and folding her arms, making the rest of them snicker.

"This works every time," Hongjoong said, his eyes glinting with challenge, as he mirrored Seohyun's pose.

"And what if he doesn't talk?" Seohyun asked.

"In that case, I have a backup plan. I don't come unprepared." Hongjoong said, and Seohyun rolled her eyes, looking at Yunho who was sitting beside her.

"Is he always this confident about himself?" She asked.

"When he's sure, yes," Yunho nodded.

"Don't tell me he's a secret investigator or detective or something," Seohyun muttered.

"I could make some similar assumptions about you," Hongjoong muttered back.

"Shut up, blueberry."

"You should, you old-"

"Just because I have grey hair doesn't mean I'm old-"

"Stop it, you both," Seonghwa laughed. Hongjoong pouted. "But do you dye your hair?"

"Yeah. Some years ago I went blonde. Now I prefer the more... dead tones, if you will," Seohyun said, and Mingi grinned. "How's the drum learning going, Mingi?"

"Ah," Mingi sighed, "I still make do with boxes and plates. I think I could do a good freestyle if I had an actual drum set."

"I used to air drum all the time. You should drum along to some songs you like. Really helps."

"I'll try that," he smiled.

"When do you think you're showing us your music room?" Hongjoong asked.

"Not anytime soon," Seohyun said. Before Hongjoong could ask something, they saw the waiter come with their food. Hongjoong muttered ''play along' and started speaking.

"I've been wanting to try this place for a while now. But I heard there was some sort of accident here, so I couldn't come." Hongjoong widened his eyes in signal and Yunho began, "Oh I've tried, and I'll tell you, it's really good."

The waiter set their food, and Seohyun watched Hongjoong and Yunho go on about the restaurant, slightly amused. As soon as the waiter went, Hongjoong frowned at them.

"The three of you could have said something."

"This seemed more natural," Seohyun said. "Two guys raving about food. Nothing suspicious about that."

After a few bites of the amazingly juicy barbeque beef, Mingi asked for water. Hongjoong cleared his throat.

"I heard a girl died somewhere around here. They're saying it could be murder. People these days!"

"I'll tell you, sir," the waiter, a middle aged man with wrinkles around his eyes began, surprising Seohyun, "it was an accident. A bunch of students. The usual crowd. Had an argument and the girl went out in a rush- nobody followed. A few seconds later, we heard a horrible sound and screams. The people out there witnessed it."

"But why would people say she was pushed?" Seonghwa asked.

"People make all sorts of stories, girl," the man said, shaking his head in disapproval. "I was inside. I know none of the friends went after her. The crowd outside was too absorbed with their food. Nobody saw anything until the crash happened."

"Ah.. I see. So I guess since this was an accident, the matter cleared up quickly? With the police and all?"

"Of course," the man said, "they saw the footage. Nobody pushed her. A pity that people had to spread rumors like that. Didn't help us. Nobody came here for days."

"I'm sorry that happened," Yunho said, and Seohyun felt that he actually meant it. "I hope more people are coming here now, for the food."

"Oh we're getting back now. Enjoy," the man smiled at them and went away. They all looked at each other.

"So it's an accident. But this doesn't make sense," Seohyun said, "if she died because of her own mistake, why is she still hanging around?"

"Unfinished business?" Mingi suggested.

"Usually happens when someone is killed, but yeah. She must have made it to the hospital and lost her memories during treatment. That must mean she's holding a grudge, or actually has something so important to do that despite her memories being lost, somehow she stuck to this world."

"That makes sense," Yunho said.

They finished the food lost in thoughts, and decided that is that was the case, it was wiser to not talk to her family. She could be holding a grudge against them too.

Though they now knew how Jiwoo had died, and they were one step closer to sorting this all out, Seohyun felt dread creeping upon her.

-------------

"I can't believe you sent me to the wrong address!" Jiwoo exclaimed.

"It wasn't on purpose! Hongjoong's friend confused you with someone else. It seems like he deals with this kind of stuff often," Seohyun was nodding her head along, as if that could convince Jiwoo. "And anyway, at least it wasn't all a waste. We're going to the place where you died, are you sure you're ready?"

"Born ready," Jiwoo said, pumping her fist in the air.

"Born ready but-"

"Don't, Seohyun, just don't" San cut her off, shaking his head. Jiwoo laughed. Seohyun pouted but stopped.

The three of them were going to the place where Jiwoo had her accident. It was only yesterday that Seohyun had come with Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho and Mingi, and had falsely led Jiwoo to someplace else with the rest of the boys. Now, upon constant insistence of Jiwoo, the two of them decided they'd better take her.

It wasn't because Jiwoo threatened to summon a bunch of revengeful ghosts. Nope. It certainly hadn't been that.

"We're close now," San said, pointing ahead, "It's right across the road. You should start looking on your own now. Without distractions."

"Don't look at me, San," Seohyun muttered.

"You're right. You both can... wait for me here. I'll see if it rocks a memory," Jiwoo said, and went ahead, leaving the two of them watching her go.

"Do you think we should be there for her?" Seohyun finally asked, "The memories might be painful."

"I think she should just walk down memory lane. We'd only distract her. Going on her own is sure to bring back some memories."

"I still wonder what made her stay," Seohyun said, and San looked at her. It was one of those moments when she was not wearing a filter. San felt like he was intruding- it was rare to see her so... present. There.

"Have you dealt with many murder cases? Or suicide ones?" San finally asked.

"You think it's one of the two?" She asked.

"I think it could be something simple. I know if I died today, the only reason I'd hang here would be to say a final goodbye. That is, if I die suddenly."

"Believe it or not, those are the hardest," Seohyun turned towards San, "With other cases, it's usually finding justice, or personal satisfaction. But goodbyes are difficult. I wouldn't want that for anyone. It's harder for those who are living."

San narrowed his eyes at her for the briefest moment. It felt like sometimes she meant more with what she spoke. Like there was a backstory he did not know.

"It looks like you've had some experience with that," San asked cautiously. Seohyun bit her lip and he saw the slightest of tremble in her hand before she closed them in a fist. She was suddenly reminded of San's hand on hers comforting her.

"You're right, actually," Seohyun finally said, surprising San, "I'll tell you. I need to move on too."

"You don't have to," San assured, but she shook her head.

"His name was Joon Hyuk. It was two years ago. He and I used to go to the same music academy. We were only friends then, not close, until he passed away suddenly. He had a heart problem."

"I'm sorry to hear that," San said. He truly was. He couldn't imagine how he'd cope if one of his friends met the same fate.

"I was shook, but that wasn't the end of the story. He was hanging on because he wanted to say goodbye to his family. It took him a few days, and I helped him come to terms with his death. That's when we grew close. I used to be home alone, and we'd just sit in the music room and talk all night. He told me all about his life. I told him about mine. He taught me to play the piano." Seohyun shivered a bit but continued. "He said his goodbye, but he still didn't move on."

"Does that usually happen?" San asked.

"No. It was because he found something to stay for. Me."

The breeze made San shiver too as it settled in. His heart twisted with emotions he couldn't recognize. He wanted to comfort Seohyun somehow, but he stood frozen.

"Ironic, isn't it? He found something to live for when he had already died." Seohyun's lips quivered. She stared at the light bulb near her, hoping it would force back her incoming tears. This wasn't the time to cry. She looked at San and smiled, "I knew it was wrong. But I was so alone. I craved friendship. I craved love. And I got it for a while. It was short. He started to change. You remember the old man?"

San nodded. The man because of whom he could now see ghosts too.

"It's like the process sped up. He started to become bitter. It would come and go. When he was sane, I finally told him to move on before he became- that, before I had to force myself to send him away. And he did. Without a goodbye this time. I guess that was the only way he could manage it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Seohyun. I-"

San wanted to say so much but they heard a scream which was unmistakably Jiwoo's, and with a look at each other, they rushed to the source of the sound. They found Jiwoo clutching at her head, down on the ground

Seohyun rushed to her, sitting down and hugging her, muttering comforting stuff that San couldn't make out. He just stood and provided cover, hoping no one would notice Seohyun hugging the air.

It took a few seconds for Jiwoo to calm down, and when she did, she sighed loudly, looking at the sun.

"It's coming back," she announced. "I remember how I died. My own fault. How dumb is that?" She laughed.

"Glad to see you're back in your spirits," San scoffed.

"You, boy, have been making unintentional puns," Jiwoo scoffed back, making Seohyun grin.

"So how much do you remember?"

"It's coming back. You guys should go your own way. I'll just wait for it to come back. I think I know where to go too. I remember my home. I think- I think I know why I'm here too."

Seohyun and San shared a look. "You wanna tell us?"

"I gotta check something first," Jiwoo said, getting up and helping Seohyun up too. "Off you go."

"Weirdo," Seohyun muttered and Jiwoo just waved at her before she started walking. Seohyun was resting her hands on her hips, tapping her jeans, watching her go with a frown.

"IF YOU MOVE ON WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE I'LL HUNT YOU EVEN IN THE AFTERLIFE OR WHEREVER IS IT THAT YOU GHOSTS GO!" Seohyun shouted at Jiwoo, startling San and the couple walking past.

"YOU BETTER HOLD A FREAKING FAREWELL PARTY THEN!" Jiwoo shouted back. Before Seohyun could retort, San took her by the arm and dragged her in the opposite direction, laughing and telling her she should stop before the whole neighbourhood comes out.

"I'll walk you home," San said. He wasn't sure if now was the time to leave Seohyun alone.

"If you insist," Seohyun said, and they walked in silence. San wanted to say something about how she had been wise to send Joon Hyuk off, something to comfort her, but he couldn't find the words. He was sure Seohyun would be too busy thinking about Jiwoo. He decided he'd walk in silence and let her sort her thoughts.

When they finally reached her home, Seohyun looked at San. "You wanna stop for some coffee? Maybe a snack?"

"Oh no, don't bother," San waved her off.

"I have chocolate chip cookies," Seohyun wiggled her eyebrows.

"That's not fair. Lead the way," he said, and Seohyun smiled in victory, letting him in.

Though the house looked plain from the outside, it wasn't such inside. It was well decorated, the brown and white reflecting the walls and the floor, and had an overall homey feel. Plus, it was quite spacious. No wonder she had a music room here.

San sat on the table in the kitchen, looking around while Seohyun made two cups of coffee. The refrigerator had fruit magnets with various lists sticking. Grocery, things to do. Doodles. San smiled. It really did look like Seohyun lived here. His eyes fell on her figure as she rocked back and forth, mixing the coffee. Her hair created quite a contrast with her navy blue shirt. The soft grey hair looked fluffy.

Seohyun turned around, catching San staring at her, and he shifted in his seat as Seohyun set the two cups and the cookies. San took one and bit into it.

"Oomph, that's delicious."

"Thank you. I made them."

"No way!" San was genuinely surprised. "I didn't know you liked baking."

"I like making food," Seohyun admitted, sipping the coffee.

"That sounds so mundane now," San laughed.

"What do you think I did at home? Made talismans?" Seohyun scoffed and San almost choked on his coffee.

"You surprise me everyday, Seohyun. We must look quite boring to you," San said.

"Well," Seohyun munched on the cookie, "You aren't boring. None of you are, actually. Why don't you tell me something I don't know about you then?"

"Well," San imitated Seohyun now, "I collect plushies. And I know taekwondo."

"That's... interesting. Taekwondo and plushies. Wow," Seohyun laughed. "Poor Shiber, I guess."

"HEY!" San frowned. "Your turn."

"I didn't realize we were taking turns?" Seohyun raised her brow but thought about it. "My favourite colour is blue."

"Mine's purple," San said. "I hate vegetables."

"Hard not to notice," Seohyun commented, biting into the cookie and thinking. "I want to be a musician."

"Cool. You can compose for us," San smiled and Seohyun smiled back mockingly.

A thought struck her. "Wanna see the music room?"

San raised his brows. "Can I?"

"If you want to?" Seohyun shrugged. "It's okay. That room needs air anyway."

"Alright then," San finished his coffee. Seohyun got up, her heart thumping. She was right. It was about time she opened that room for someone else. About time she let go too.

"Here we are," she said and fished out keys from her pocket (San thought she must carry them everywhere) and opened the room, turning on the light

It was gorgeous, San thought. A piano in the corner, a drum set in the other, couches as they entered, three different guitars hanging by the wall, a violin case resting on the table. The dim white lights made everything seem a bit eerie, but it smelled like roses, and indeed San noticed a scented candle on the table. It felt like a room full of memories.

"I do come in every now and then, but I don't really play anymore." Seohyun looked around.

"Can I see them?" San asked, and Seohyun nodded.

Seohyun watched as San examined the guitars then walked to the piano, running his fingers on the keys and making some sounds, then off to the drum set.

"I'd pay to see you play," he grinned.

"Oh you won't have to. I'll do that for free one day," Seohyun smiled.

"So you don't play anything anymore?"

"Just the violin sometimes. Or drums when I'm angry."

"Can I hear the violin?" San asked and Seohyun looked at him.

"Pretty please?" He made puppy eyes and Seohyun scoffed. "Now how do I reject that?"

Seohyun opened the violin case, saying something about how it's gonna be short. While she tested the strings and the bow, San sat on the piano stool nearby. Seohyun flipped her hair back and inhaled.

And then she played a tune so melodic, a tune so haunting that San wasn't sure if seconds had passed or minutes. He only saw her face, etched with the most emotions he'd seen on a single person. It was as if she was telling him a secret, baring her soul to him, and he just couldn't decipher it.

When she did stop, San felt short of breath. He just stared at her in awe and she came closer, already having put the violin back. "How was it?"

"That was... breathtakingly beautiful. You were amazing," San said and immediately felt like he should have said something more.

But she seemed to understand. "Thank you," she said. She was leaning against the piano. San got up and came closer.

"Thank you, Seohyun," he said, touching the tendrils of hair that fell on her shoulder, "For everything."

"I- I've done nothing," she almost whispered. San locked eyes with her, still playing with her hair, now his thumb caressing the soft skin of her cheek.

Seohyun stared back at the dark orbs, his gaze so sharp that a part of her wanted to run away but the other part wanted to never look away. San blinked once, then slowly, painfully slowly brought his face closer and kissed her cheek lightly, leaving her out of breath.

Thank you for playing for me," San said, "I'll never forget it."

And then he drew back, and Seohyun came out of the trance.

"If you sugar coat it so much I'll never bring you here again," Seohyun was smiling.

"Nah. Now I'll wait for the day you're angry," San winked, pointing at the drums. "I should give pointers to Mingi."

"HEY!"

prev - next

[purpleyellow]

Road To Kingdom

The boyz 12th member

Mae’s masterlist

“A summary of Mae during RTK” 

a/n: not @/ me using the performance names as historical events. Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open! 🧡

... After the concept meeting for Sword of Victory...

Mae cracked open the door to a practice room, making sure no one was inside before dropping her stuff, as well as her body, on the floor. The lightbulb making it almost impossible to keep her eyes open reminded her that she used to do that during her trainee days.

Here she was again, feeling hopeless like she was going to face the biggest challenge ever. And the girl was sure she wasn’t ready for it. 

Minkyung had a problem of self-doubting even though she couldn’t pinpoint it, all the members seemed willing to take on the challenge, yet she felt like she’d be the downfall of the group. And yes, she had a thing for being dramatic as well, that’s why she rested the back of her hand on her forehead and sprawled out her other arm.

The door flung open with mild force, startling her from her thoughts and sending her body into a more normal position. Q entered the room without a word and just laid on the floor next to her. Both members looked at the ceiling deep in thought.

Mae went back to the idea she had during the meeting. Not a particularly bright one, though it did attack the fact she felt like an upcoming burden to the group. Taking a deep breath she mumbled, “I think I should take a hiatus”.

After her words, the room went back to silence. Her heartbeat had increased due to the heaviness of what she had spoken, and looking to the side, she saw Changmin frown.

“Are you sick?” He asked after a few minutes and the girl shook her head. “Physically or mentally unwell? Is there an issue we can fix?”

His questions made her taken back, for Mae it was very clear why her taking a break would be beneficial for the group. 

“I’m saying because of the program”

“We’re joining a competition, so you want to drop out?” Changmin sat up confused. 

“I’m thinking of the bigger picture. The group will do better if you don’t have to worry about me keeping up with you guys”.

“No, you’re not. I’m sorry, but you’re being selfish now” He chuckled. “We don’t mind if you need to repeat the same move a couple of times extra to understand how it goes. Do you honestly think it’s going to help being one person down?”.

“I figured I wouldn’t be setting you back. It can be stressing sometimes and -” She sat up trying to explain her thoughts, and he shook his head.

“Minkyung, you bring a lot to the team, just because you struggle with something doesn’t mean it’s worth losing everything else. When we were rookies I used to get annoyed because you were so quick to give up. But then you began understanding how you learn and your limits. And even though it takes you a little longer you push yourself. Why did you suddenly come back to assuming you can’t do it?”

“The meeting today. Everyone is preparing a lot, there’s so much thought involved and maybe not pulling it off would mean I failed you guys”

“I’m terrified too,” Changmin nodded, placing a hand on his chest “I mean, did you listen to the stunts they were talking about. My first thought was to run away. But then I remembered we’re here to prove ourselves” 

Sighing, Mae looked at him annoyed “You’re a great dancer, and singer and whatever else, you’ll do fine because that’s how your body works”

“And you’re an insane performer” He cut her off with wide eyes. A random giggle left his mouth before he continued “I’m talking about acting and becoming another person on stage, you literally do that in the blink of an eye. This is your chance of growth. Who cares if you pull an all-nighter to get the right angle? When you’re on stage it’s like someone else entirely, and we haven’t even done some crazy concepts like we’re planning on doing”

“If the angles are wrong then we won’t look synchronized” The girl mumbled looking at the big mirror and Q chuckled.

“And that’s why you’re not going to rest until it’s perfect. None of us is going too actually. We’re going in as a team, with all our flaws and strengths”

“It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it?” She mumbled after a moment of silence. Changmin laughed and added. “I’m scared to death”

… Five hours before Catching Fire…

The last rehearsal before the performance had ended and the group went back to their dressing room. Sitting sideways on the couch, Mae rested her head on her arm and watched some members go get their makeup retouched.

Jacob sat on her side and stared at the girl’s blank face before laughing. “Can you blink, so I know you’re still alive?”

Blinking once, she slowly adverted her gaze to him and bit her lip “This is crazy”

“It’s not as fast-paced as they show it on TV though. At least we have some time to process what’s going on” Jacob shrugged making her narrow her eyes at him “But yeah. It is crazy”

“Sunwoo keeps going on high places. And there’s some acrobatic stuff I’m not sure how it works and-” She kept mumbling like she hadn’t been there for the tiring practices and rehearsals. Laughing Jacob interrupted her by adding.

“And you fake kicked someone”

“And I fake kicked someone” Mae repeated with wide eyes making him laugh and Hyunjae approach them.

“Hey, I’ve been jumping on high places too,” He said defensively making her stare at him and shrugged. Jaehyun laughing before patting her on the back “How about once we get home today you have a really long night to sleep”

“I’m good” Mae shook her head “I’ll sleep but tomorrow don’t let me miss the meetings please”

Agreeing with her, Hyunjae stepped back to the styling session and the girl stood up to use the restroom.

Just as Mae turned around the corner, a faint sound of a violin came from Golden Child’s door. Before she could fully process the song it was playing, the door opened wide showcasing Jangjun.

“Well, do we have a spy among us?” He laughed bowing at her and Mae repeated the gesture a little embarrassed.

“I was just passing by and heard the violin. I didn’t mean to interrupt” She said making an x with her hands.

“Nah, I don’t believe you” He teasingly said and dropped an arm over her shoulder, ultimately bringing her inside the room “So, what did you hear? Are you going to sell this information to your members? And what is it going to be your concept today, I can see the hunger games thing on your shirt, is it like a revolution”

“Uh, I don’t know… Hello” Bowing to the rest of Golden Child, the girl tried to remember what he had first asked her. “I only heard a melody, and don’t worry I won’t spread it around”

“Hyung, I told you not to play it right now” Bomin scoffed to Joochan, who seemed to realize he was still holding out his violin before hiding it on his back.

“But Mae-ssi is a friend, isn’t she? She will hold out the shock factor for us” He laughed making the girl nod and give them a thumbs up. “Do you know how to play it too?”

“I do actually” She laughed and Joochan gestured her to take the instrument “Oh, no it’s fine”

“You heard our song already. At least play for us or tell us something about your stage” Jibeom teased leading her to sigh and take the violin to herself.

Fixing up her posture, Mae quickly played a random song she had learned as a child making the boys cheer. 

“Okay, I should be going now,” She said bowing embarrassed by their compliments and Denyeol nodded along. Fist bumping her before raising a finger.

“But, Mae if you could do us a favor” He started grabbing her attention “Please make sure you show you’re surprised”

Laughing she nodded making her way to the door, before leaving she held up her hands with her fists closed “Golden Child fighting!”

“Mae fighting!”

(requested by 🍓🥛 anon) 

… Behind the scenes for Heroin…

“Why are we so embarrassing?” Sunwoo giggled and clicked his pen repeatedly. He and Mae were sitting on the same side of the table waiting for Leedo from Oneus to show up for the writing session. 

Bouncing her leg, Mae hugged the boy’s arm and looked at the door expectantly, only to get startled by it opening up. 

“Hello” The tall boy put his head inside the room and entered it slowly. The three idols greeted each other and sat down still a little awkward from being the first time they truly interacted.

“I got the demo, so we can write the raps to go with it” Leedo said unlocking his phone. A piano melody that would blend in with Sunmi’s Heroin started playing, and Mae quickly unlocked her own device.

Opening a piano app, she waited for the recording to be over before quickly replicating it on her phone in different tempos.

“You picked it up quite fast” Leedo laughed scribbling down on his paper, and she smiled. “Sorry, just a habit before writing. This way we can adjust it as we go”

“No yeah, sure” He cleared his throat and Sunwoo bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing.

“Anyway, for the lyrics, I was thinking we could talk about becoming an idol”

After finishing up with their rap parts. The three idols made their way up to the practice room where the rest had began working with the choreographer.

“Mae, come here” Juyeon called out as soon as she stepped in the room, so he could run over some parts with her and Ravn. “There’s only actual choreography for you after the last chorus, but we do some kind of puppet thing during your verse”

“My love for this song couldn’t be any bigger” Mae giggled and looked around the room for the camera “Sunmi Sunbaenim, if you’re watching this, let’s be friends”

Laughing, Juyeon pulled out a chair for them to start while saying “Watch out. Taemin Sunbaenim commented on danger, maybe she’ll actually see this”

“Wait, he did” Mae stopped with wide eyes and Juyeon nodded. “Holy sh-”

“Yeah” Laughing he pulled her arm “Just remember this is still a broadcast” 

“Honestly, if she ever reaches out let me know. I want to be her friend too” Ravn added making them giggled, and she gave him a positive sign.

“As long as you don’t tell Juyeon, because he’s been censoring me a lot lately”

“Well, we have an agreement”

Sulking, Juyeon added “I don’t see how this is fair but okay”

… 1 minute after Quasi una fantasia …

The members bowed to the staff and extras before slowly stepping away from the stage. Mae could see some of the boys crowding around Juyeon who seemed pretty upset, though she had no idea what was going on. 

Holding her side, the girl went behind the boy and gave him a back hug making them waddle together back to the dressing room. Once they were all settled back, she stepped away from the crowd and raised her shirt a bit showcasing a forming bruise right above her waist.

“Crap, how did that happen?” Kevin who looked her way at the right time said under his breath. “You need to ice it, probably"

“I bumped on the corner of the piano," She said recalling the incident. “Hopefully it wasn’t noticeable. The camera wasn’t turned to me anyway”

The one part that had gotten her most nervous during this performance was her piano solo for the climax of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Not only it dictated the rhythm for the first dance break, but it was also challenging for her as she hadn’t played something like this in a while, and it ended a few seconds before her part. 

So strategically speaking, she had to run off the instrument as soon as it was done and went back to the center of the performance. Not without hitting her hip against the wood.

“Is it hurting?” He asked while waving for a staff member and asking them for ice.

“It’s starting to. Do you think it’ll leave a big bruise?” Mae shrugged and hissed as the cold hit her warm skin. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on something else “Well, not mentioning everything. How was the performance?”

“Weren’t you there to see it yourself”

“I don’t know. I kind of blackout every time we go on stage” She made him laugh, but her face was dead serious.

“Wait really?”

“Kind of. I can remember it roughly I guess. Today there was so much to focus on that I’m not sure if I was entirely present. I banged my hip and didn't feel it at first for all things”

“Dude, same I guess. I need to lay down and get smushed by ten weighted blankets tonight” Kevin added hugging her on the other side and leading them to the couch.

… 3 days before Checkmate …

“The synchronization feels off” Eric spoke from the huddle of members watching the recording of their practice.

“Mae…” Q started, but before he could finish the girl spoke “Right arm higher. I got it”

“If you got it then why didn’t you do it right away” He turned playfully to her and poked her nose. 

Massaging her back, the girl laughed and walked back to her spot next to Haknyeon. The boy dropped his bottle on the floor to help her out “Did you fall on your side?”

“No. I did trip while running from one side to the center, so maybe that was it” She shrugged looking around the room “Nobody is intact”

“Tell me about it” He pouted and called Sangyeon closer. “Hyung, maybe we should work on another part. We’ve been doing this section of the chorus for too long”

“Go talk to the captain, I’m not in charge of that” The leader laughed sending him towards Changmin, Juyeon, and Hyunjae talking to one of the choreographers.

“They would listen if you’re the one asking,” Mae said leaning on his side and Sangyeon nodded. 

“Yeah, but I already came all the way over here. I don’t feel like walking back” Sangyeon chuckled, looking to the side where one of the staff members started calling his attention.

“We’ve got the costumes ready if you want to do a rehearsal with them” Looking up at the leader, Mae separated herself from him to run for the stylists while he went to call the other boys.

After the stylists helped her put on her clothes, one of them brought a box and quickly pulled her to the side “I know we’re not doing hair and makeup for today. But I’d figure it’s best for you to have it on for the rehearsal so we can make sure it won’t fall”

“Wow, is she getting a present?” Eric laughed approaching them and the stylist opened the box to reveal a thin black tiara to go along with her outfit.

“The crown itself is one of the props, so we had to make it subtle, but we couldn’t pass away the chance to represent the nickname you were given during the program,” She said helping her adjust the thing on her head and Mae walked to one of the mirrors.

“Wow, thank you so much Unnie,” The girl said checking herself out in the mirror “My face looks dead but damn this is pretty” She added making Eric and New, who also had joined them, laugh.

“You know, during a chess game, the Queen is one of the main pieces” She turned around to them holding a hand to her chest and a teasing expression “Thank goodness we didn’t go with a narrative that would give me that role because I’d crumble under the pressure”

“Only for the first week, then it would quickly get to your head” Chanhee scoffed patting her on the back and making her giggle. Eric chuckled as well and urged them outside “Let’s go work, so we can get Kingdom’s lost princess back to her place”

“Mock me as you want, I never asked for the nickname”

[cianishere]

why richard robbins is a king among men, or an analysis of the maurice (1987) soundtrack

hello, i am gay, a former band kid, and a slut for classical music analysis…… so i’ve been wanting to do an in-depth analysis of Richard Robbins’ absolutely breathtaking soundtrack for Maurice (1987) for some time. it’s an incredibly emotionally moving work of art, but i also feel like there’s so much care and thought and soul put into the pieces of the soundtrack, and Robbins absolutely deserves all the credit in the world for writing the perfect accompaniment to the film. the songs have lives of their own, outside of the film, but they also breathe a certain life into the scenes when paired with the performances of the actors and the cinematography and camera work. the soundtrack means so much to me, so i wanted to take a moment (or a few thousand words or so) to expand on all of its intricacies. i’m not a professional musician or a music student, i’ve j been playing woodwinds for over a decade and can find my way around a guitar and piano, so these are my thoughts and interpretations as a musician. feel free to share yours! this was a bit of an undertaking, so i recommend reading while listening, and i hope u enjoy!

(the pieces are listed in order of their appearance in the film, not the album)

PROLOGUE - THE LESSON

The opening piece is a very traditional overture, setting the mood for the film and foreshadowing the (musical) events to come. It begins with a mysterious, almost eerie sound with pizzicato in the low strings and high woodwind and harp lines before opening into the dominating melody in the high strings. Though the melody is grand and moving, it also has an air of hesitancy, almost melancholy, and in this moment, we’re introduced to Maurice’s musical signature, the clarinet (specifically, the low clarinet line). The low clarinet triplets and the sets of five recurring notes in the low flute and violin create a sense of impatience and forward motion, as we can sense young Maurice’s uncertainty in his conversation with his headmaster. This section transitions into a solo in the English horn, which Robbins uses to represent the idyllic, pastoral English countryside. Here, it seems to signal both the natural surroundings that the scene takes place in, as well as the pastoral beauty of childlike innocence. This solo honestly gets me EVERY TIME, it’s so gorgeous and the gradual layering of other instruments underneath is mesmerizing. The piece ends with shrieking upward woodwind scales, capturing the sense of impending fear that we can sense in young Maurice.

AT THE PIANOLA

This piece is a bit strange to listen to outside of the film, as it plays in the scene as Clive and Maurice play Featherstonehaugh’s pianola in his Cambridge dorm room. The piece captures Clive and Maurice’s pianola playing, which echoes the thematic melody introduced in the opening composition, but the single piano line is quickly swept away by a traditional string orchestra before moving into a call-and-response between the high strings and high woodwinds. I always thought this piece was so beautiful in its development, growing from a simple piano melody into a fully orchestrated concerto. The melody, particularly in its piano form, always struck me as very French, reminiscent of the French Romantic pianists with some impressionist elements as well. The transition from piano melody into the full orchestra is welcome, but overwhelming—it evokes the excitement and intensity of falling in love, as the film reaches the precipice of Clive’s confession. The instrumentation is also fascinating here: as I mentioned previously, Maurice is musically represented by the clarinet and/or woodwind melodies, but Clive usually comes through as high strings. This piece is pushed forward by the strings, as the violin and viola take on the melody under the piano and are followed by the woodwinds. The woodwinds follow the strings in a call-and-response pattern, musically establishing Clive’s lead in their romance, with Maurice following along with his advances, especially at first.

MISERERE (GREGORIO ALLEGRI)

UGH I have so much to say about this piece. I want to start with its origins, which is a setting of Psalm 51 to music, at first for the exclusive use in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week (a nod to this scene taking place in the spring, around Easter). We all know this piece and the scene it accompanies, as those shots of Cambridge (and that wicker chair) are forever immortalized in my heart (<333) The lyrics are incredibly significant, as Psalm 51 is a confession of sin by David—specifically, of his feelings of lust for Bathsheba.

Have mercy upon me, O God: after Thy great goodness. According to the multitude of Thy mercies, do away mine offences. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged.

David is asking for mercy for his act of sin, and to be “cleansed” from his lustful act by God.

Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and stablish me with Thy free Spirit.

He prays for God to return to his life, and to give him salvation again.

I think this choice of psalm is SO fascinating, as it can take on two meanings. On one hand, it represents the feelings of guilt that both Maurice and Clive feel for their attraction to each other, knowing that their feelings are considered to be sinful in their (and the societal) understanding of Christianity. In a way, this piece can signify both Clive and Maurice asking for that salvation and asking to be saved from their desire. On the other hand, however, I think the choice to overlay this particular piece with Maurice and Clive’s first moment of physical intimacy is critical in interpreting its meaning. Rather than asking for salvation from God, the psalm’s lyrics could also represent Maurice and Clive asking for salvation from each other through their desire. There are a few points in the psalm that could be read in a rather different light in this context, particularly “Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew [show] Thy praise.” The “high spirit” that they are searching for, in this case, is not the forgiveness of sin by God, but rather the intimacy and physical affection of a lover. (As Forster points out in a later section of the book, one’s God and one’s lover can be equal “incentives to virtue.”) I feel like this psalm is being used in both ways: as a reminder of the internal and external pressure that Maurice and Clive face, but also to musically express the reciprocal desire they are seeking from each other as they begin to explore the physical side of their relationship. This piece is also just so damn beautiful, the high C just gets me every fucking time. The specific vocal arrangement—and the excerpt of that arrangement—that Robbins decided to use highlights a solo female soprano, sounding almost like a Greek siren. As her voice emerges from the varying vocal textures, there is a sense of seductiveness, but there is also a loneliness there, as she stands alone among the choir. The choice to center the soloist was a beautiful way to show the loneliness that Maurice and Clive feel as they both continue to hold that fear and hesitancy about their feelings and desire.

THE CAFE ROYAL

This piece plays during the infamous “to the ladies!” scene, during which the Halls and the Durhams are dining together, and Clive announces his decision to become a barrister and enter politics. This piece begins as a classic, grandiose waltz, representing the glamor and high society lifestyle that the two wealthy families live within. At the beginning especially, it seems almost overstated, hinting at the façade of British upper-class life that Maurice desperately despises. As the piece continues, a duet of low clarinet and oboe emerge with a woeful melody that is built upon on its repetition by a dark solo cello line. (I don’t play double reeds or cello but they’re two of my favorites, and all I can say is that Richard Robbins knew how to pick instruments that fuck, plain and simple.) The contrast in mood created between this grand waltz sound and the individual instruments emphasizes the trapped, isolated feeling that both Maurice and Clive feel as upper-class British men, expected to have careers, marry, and build families. Stuck in the middle of their constructed lives, Maurice and Clive are represented by the duet and solo lines, standing out among society and desperate for an escape.

IN GREECE / THE WEDDING

This piece opens with a haunting melody that sounds almost like a chorus—I’m still not entirely sure what the instrumentation of this section is, but it sounds like high woodwinds and strings layered together and/or an echoey, chime-like percussion instrument. The lone melodic line overlaid with harp runs (again, Robbins said I will exclusively highlight instruments that fuck hard, and ignore everything else) in the beginning brings the same sort of haunting loneliness as in “Miserere,” evoking the duality of the Greek siren as well as the hymnal church choir. Gradually, the piece builds into a waltz through the development of a pizzicato bass line as well as running woodwind and string harmonic lines. I think the use of a waltz in this section of the piece is a symbol of the bitter end of Maurice and Clive’s relationship, as the minor key and legato melody in the high woodwinds gives the waltz a mournful quality.

The opening section of the piece is quickly interrupted by the abrupt and angry sound of an organ. Rather than romantic, this interlude is loud and overwhelming, representing Clive’s overzealous transition into heterosexual marriage and family life. The interlude then transitions into a beautiful but incredibly sad melody, reminiscent of the music that might accompany a funeral service. This short but emotive section is probably one of my favorites in the entire soundtrack—as it plays, we can see Maurice exiting the wedding chapel after Clive and Anne, and that hidden pain and fear and loneliness is brought to life by this melody.

PENDERSLEIGH IN GLOOM

Simultaneously romantic and melancholy, this short piano interlude demonstrates the inspiration that Robbins took from classical French pianists. This composition reminds me of a transition section within a Debussy piece as the uneven tempo and dynamics exude emotion, conflict, and hesitation. In this moment in the narrative, between Clive’s marriage and Maurice’s meeting of Alec, Maurice is in a state of contemplation and uncertainty, and Robbins has reflected that perfectly.

MISS EDNA MAY’S SURPRISE / THE TRAIN

Though this piece is definitely not the most sonically appealing, I think it is the most texturally interesting on the soundtrack. The piano melody in “Miss Edna Mae’s Surprise” begins as a playful, jaunty, idyllic piece, but quickly builds drama and transitions into the surreal and eerie. The melody wavers between fun and nightmarish, never fully settling into one, but establishing tension through the contrast between the two. As the piece builds layers of woodwinds and strings, it continues this contrast between the expected, playful melody and something more sinister before suddenly merging into a screeching, forceful ending with high woodwinds and piano. Similar to “The Café Royal,” this piece represents the internal conflict that Maurice faces and his fear of settling down into the heterosexual family structure. While there is a sense of joy and happiness on the surface level, as Maurice acts the part to uphold societal norms, internally he is incredibly afraid of being trapped in a cycle of marriage and family that would be unfulfilling and dishonest to his selfhood.

The next section of this piece, “The Train,” is one of the most creative compositions I’ve heard in a long time, and I was honestly blown away when I listened to it closely (and LOUDLY). Rather than using train sound effects, Robbins uses the sounds of the orchestra to emulate the different sounds one might hear on a steam engine train. The rhythmic beat of the railway tracks underneath the train car are created by repetitive staccato notes in the strings and percussion. The airy, legato sound of the steam engine is actually created by single reed woodwind instruments played in a particular way. The woodwind players are blowing air into their instruments with a very loose embouchure, which is the muscle tension created by the lips around the mouthpiece that forces the wooden reed to vibrate and create sound. By loosening their embouchure, the players are blowing air into their instruments without the reed vibrating, resulting in a sound resembling air or stream escaping from engine pipes (can u tell im a clarinet player :-)). The melody of this piece emerges in the high woodwinds, including upper clarinets, flutes, and oboe. The melody line is eerie and tense, much like the mood of the train scene in the film, and the blended lines are erratic and dissonant. They seem to echo and fade in strange ways, mimicking the sound of an approaching or departing train whistle. Robbins is able to capture the sounds of a steam engine locomotive while also establishing the tension and conflict in Maurice’s character in this scene. As a woodwind player, I am in complete awe at Robbins’ creativity in building this composition, and I honestly think his ability to layer these sounds to create such a complex, textured sonic landscape is nothing short of genius.

THE MOONLIT NIGHT (a tiny bit nsfw, feel free to skip!)

Maurice’s nightmare of the “sinking ship” of heterosexuality is brought to life through an eerie, isolated English horn solo over tense string chords, eventually transitioning into a low clarinet melody, Maurice’s musical signature. Slowly, as Maurice’s nightmare fades away and he wakes up from his sleep, the low clarinet melody diminishes and is overtaken by low, warm chords in the lower woodwinds (bass clarinet, my beloved <3). These low sounds are interrupted by hesitant but curious flute runs, through which Robbins introduces Alec’s musical manifestation. The flute sounds grow faster in tempo and more intense in sound as Alec watches Maurice from outside his room but reduce to a single line of low strings, woodwinds, and percussion as he climbs through Maurice’s window. This ominous and minimal sound is gradually layered with sudden high strings, led by Maurice’s low clarinet, before fading away into near silence until the first touch suddenly takes the piece into swift motion. It develops into a beautiful and intricate waltz as Maurice and Alec embrace, representing their intimacy through the style of a partnered ballroom dance. The melody of the waltz, layered over staccato strings, is an ascending, fluttering scale that begins in the clarinet before finishing in the flute. Robbins’ choice to compose the melody as a shared scale between Maurice and Alec’s respective instrumental representation is a perfect way to express their first night together, and the airy, light, understated flute is a brilliant way to embody the spirit of Alec’s character. In the final section of the piece, as the melody grows irregular and begins to fade away, the ascending lines and rhythmic pizzicato strings begin to mirror the gasping breaths and soft moans of intimacy, constructing a gorgeously imaginative musical landscape for this critical scene.

ALEC’S FAREWELL

This short but expressive piece captures Maurice’s transition from dejected acceptance of Alec’s departure to a tentative hope as he realizes that Alec has missed his boat to Buenos Aires. Plucked bass and a fragmentary string melody overlay a tense, oscillating clarinet line, representing Maurice’s internal anticipation as he anxiously fidgets in the taxi ride back to Pendersleigh. At this point, Maurice does not have confirmation that Alec has purposefully missed his boat to reunite with him, but the suspense created by Robbins’ minimalistic composition leaves room for such a possibility, without completely revealing its certainty.

THE BOATHOUSE

This piece begins as Maurice makes his way towards the boathouse on the evening of Alec’s expected departure. He has just spoken to Clive, confessing his love for Alec, and now hopes to be reunited with his lover in the boathouse, the safe haven that Alec had promised Maurice after their first night together. Continuing where “Alec’s Farewell” left off with an oscillating clarinet line and minimal strings, the piece quickly erupts into motion as a solo clarinet begins a low triplet melody, accompanied by strings and a solo oboe harmony (the clarinet line is fucking FIRE and I would pay so much goddamn money for the sheet music). The clarinet solo moves swiftly, desperately, shifting between major and minor keys to represent Maurice’s restless search for Alec. As he enters the boathouse, the clarinet ascends a scale before lingering on a high A, as if he is calling for Alec. When the call is not answered, the clarinet line repeats, bringing Maurice’s anticipation to its height until he opens a second door and finds Alec resting within the room behind it. As the two meet and share a moment of reconciliation (“So, you got the wire, then?”), a lingering bass note (another one of Alec’s musical representations) swells into serene, legato woodwind chords that echo until their final kiss, and Alec’s “Now we shan’t ever be parted, and that’s finished.”

While listening to this song more closely, I was completely struck by its similarities to Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from the 1957 musical West Side Story. The final chords in “The Boathouse” are strikingly similar to the final high woodwind chords echoed by a low bass line in “Somewhere.” Bernstein also highlights clarinets throughout the musical, particularly to emphasize the vocals of the protagonist, Tony, while using flutes to underscore the voice of María, Tony’s love interest. Aside from the musical similarities, I think the thematic parallels between the story of Tony and María are worth mentioning as a source of musical inspiration for Robbins. A retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York, Bernstein’s West Side Story is a classic tragedy of an unconventional relationship that is unaccepted by society. Although not sharing in its tragic ending, Maurice definitely builds on the cultural trope of two star-crossed lovers desperate for an escape from a prejudiced society. Bernstein himself was gay, although he spent much of his career closeted, and West Side Story (particularly “Somewhere,” but also “One Hand, One Heart,” “Tonight,” and “Finale”) became emblematic of the struggles that gay couples face, especially with the popularity of musical theatre among American gay men. The lyrics (copied below, but I highly recommend finding the 1957 ballet version or the 1961 film version!) represent Maurice and Alec’s story beautifully, and the fact that Robbins was inspired by this piece of media that holds so much significance for queer people when composing the soundtrack for Maurice makes my gay little heart grow three sizes <3

There's a place for us, Somewhere a place for us. Peace and quiet and open air Wait for us, somewhere.

There's a time for us, Some day a time for us, Time together with time spare, Time to learn, time to care. Some day, Somewhere, We'll find a new way of living, We'll find a way of forgiving. Somewhere, Somewhere . . . There's a place for us, A time and place for us. Hold my hand and we're halfway there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there Somehow, Some day, Somewhere!

CLIVE AND ANNE

For Clive’s final scene, Robbins returns to piano and string instrumentation in the melody, representing a return to the traditional life that Clive now finds himself living with Anne. This variation on Clive’s signature melody, however, is significantly slowed down, almost to the tempo of a funeral march or dirge. As he shuts each of the windows, eventually stopping for a brief moment to reminisce on his time with Maurice, the melody grows increasingly loud and desperate as the high woodwinds are layered in. The sudden and dramatic development of this piece sound like a futile cry out for help, as Clive remains trapped in a prison of his own creation. The composition ends without a concluding chord, tense and unresolved. It’s fascinating to me that we can hear Robbins’ simultaneous resentment and pity for Clive—though the piece is deeply sorrowful, Robbins does not leave Clive with a satisfying ending, choosing to keep him suspended in the societal purgatory that he chose for himself. 

END TITLES

Are you crying yet? No? I don’t believe you. Robbins establishes the ending to the story by building the piece off of a gentle, pastoral variation of Maurice’s low clarinet melody. The legato chords and balance of high and low instrumentation recall Robbins’ musical sampling of “Somewhere” before the melody shifts into a call-and-answer duet between the clarinet (alongside an oboe) and flute. Much like the clarinet and flute duet in “The Moonlit Night,” the two lines blend together—but in this final composition, Robbins has written the two parts as complementary, yet distinctly different, rather than imitations of one another or two segments of a single line. The melody becomes a conversation between two harmonizing entities who are sharing in the creation of something wholly new. The duet tapers off into an English horn solo over a harp line, bringing back the idyllic English countryside that we first saw young Maurice exploring in “Prologue – The Lesson.” In this final piece, Robbins adds on to this solo with the clarinet and flute before the melody spreads throughout the full orchestra and builds to a grandiose and rousing finale. I think the English horn solo is the part that breaks me every time because of its introduction in the very beginning of the story— through this understated melody, Robbins is assuring us that Maurice did stay true to himself, and he did find his happiness, though it may not be what Ducie or anyone else wanted for him. Maurice and Alec in the clarinet and flute, alongside the English horn, managed to find harmony in each other and peace in a life built on a love they shared, and nothing more.

[caffeinated-croissant]

Musical Milestones

In honor of @writersmonth 's final Pride prompt : Write a story about a milestone, I present you a band au featuring Piper, Percy and Jason.

Percy Jackson’s three greatest loves are: Piper McLean, Jason Grace and music. Piper McLean is the omniromantic, asexual love of his life. Jason Grace is the Demiromantic pansexual love of his life. The three are in an amazing relationship with each other and music.

In their band, they all sing but constantly switch between a guitar and two other instruments. Percy is taken with “his” drums and piano; Piper has a lovely talent for the violin and drums; while Jason primarily sticks to the piano and violin.

Percy was not expecting the most amazing news to come from the call he picked up, with their manager, Frank. Maybe he had expected it as a social call, or another small venue, not what Frank had ended up sharing instead.

“I’ve got huge news for Coastal Lights, so go get the other two,” Frank didn’t even wait for a greeting.

“Hello to you too, Frank.”

“Nope, none of that, go get Jason and Piper cause this is huge.”

“Boooo, you’re no fun Zhang.” Percy started moving out of the kitchen after he set up a timer for the oven.

“Percy, why are you always like this?”

“Cause I’m a drama queen, according to Piper and Jason anyway.” He moved into the bedroom where Piper was tuning Jason’s ukulele. All instruments in their apartments were never solely owned after entering the relationship, neither were their clothes for that matter.

“You really are blueberry,” Piper looked up from her work with a questioning tilt to her head.

Percy pouted, “I see it’s pick on Percy day already.” He made a small gesture to follow him as he left for the living room.

“Starshine, It’s always pick on Percy day.” Jason barely looked up from his book.

“Fine, maybe I won’t bring you back any of my mom’s cookies the next time I visit her.” Percy sat down next to Jason laying his head on Jason’s shoulder. Jason looked affronted at the cruel statement.

“We’ll just steal from the stash you’ll end up bringing back.” Piper told him as she snuggled into Percy’s otherside.

“Percy put me on speaker.” Frank Zhang had a high patience for his friends, but he was not going to deal with this trouple's petty antics, when he had important news.

Jason set down his book, knowing their manager wasn’t normally like this unless he had band news.

“You're broadcasting in 3...2...1, you’re now live.” There was a reason Piper and Jason, among his other friends, called him a drama queen.

“I managed to book you three a spot at the “Day For Night” music festival in Nashville, North Carolina.”

Those words did not register for a good 10 seconds before it did click and the Coastal Light’s apartment went up in cheers.

=

The “Day for Night” music festival was huge. The stage was gigantic. The crowds were massive. And managing to get in as a little band like they were was a ridiculously huge deal.

The festival was mostly all outside and was literally never quite. Throughout the festival stood multiple little kiosks selling something. Some did characters, some sold records of older bands, while a vast majority of the rest sold merchandise of all different types of artists who have passed through these types of festivals. Besides the normal people who bought tickets and stuff, there were also speakers methodically placed around so it was loud enough for everyone to hear but soft enough to escape.

Percy, Piper and Jason knew they were gonna blow up in the music industry. They knew that when they were first recording their own songs on youtube. Maybe they weren’t the best back then but dam they had an audience. From that point on they knew they’d be big but now, right before they went on stage it was cemented. This was the show where a lot of their favorite artists blew up and now it was their turn.

In their first three songs the trio easily switched from instrument to instrument in a musical chairs type way (except there were no losers). They played a cover of “Riptide” originally by Vance Joy as a starter. A cover of “Tear in My Heart” originally by Twenty Øne PilØts easily followed. Their last cover was “How Far We’ve Come” originally by Matchbox Twenty. Their next three songs were originals off of their album Chaos in Control. Their last song was a special that had never been recorded, it was called “Broadway Fevers”.

=

That one scene in “Clouds” was surprisingly accurate for Piper when she heard “Broadway Fever” being announced as the next song on the radio. She was driving to Percy’s mother’s house, with Jason in the passenger’s seat next to her and Percy in the back seat.

“Oh my god, oh my god -” She shoved Jason’s shoulder not taking her eyes off the road - “Beanie? Blueberry? Did you guys hear that?” She shoved Jason’s shoulder again before getting a small glance at Percy, who was already half asleep - hearing Piper's singing didn’t help either.

Jason turned to the back seat, “Should we wake him up?”

“Yes! He shouldn’t miss this!” Piper was vibrating in her seat. Their song was on the radio and this might’ve just been the best feeling in the world, although she’d easily trade it for her boys in a heartbeat.

Percy could be slow to wake up, but he could still detect the general vibe of the people around him from the get go. “Why are we listening to our song on youtube?” That didn’t mean he always connected the dots immediately.

“Try the radio instead,” Jason was less vibraty but he was definitely still hyped under his mellow patience.

“Wha..?”

“We’re on the radio!” Piper was still vibrating and she would not calm down until at least a few days later, and even then she was giddy but at that point they were all giddy.

[jeidafei]

Vol.27 Komui’s Lounge Translation (Part 2/4)

>>Part 1<<

T/N: Before we begin, last time I used a derogatory term to refer to a specific popular meme. I have removed the word, but it might still show up in reblogs prior to the edit. I’m so sorry if I have offended anyone. I did not mean to be racist, or to ridicule and stereotype black people. 

I have since educated myself on the practices surrounding the use of the term, and learned that my use of the word was in bad taste and ignorant, and I sincerely apologize. It will not happen again. 

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Okay, now that that’s cleared up, let’s proceed...

Question 2: Since Lavi wears an eyepatch, he’s practically going through his daily life with just one eye. I’d love to hear some fails.

Johnny: This one’s for Lavi, huh.

Tiedoll: Shouldn’t be any problem, right? Since there’s another man fitting the description over there.

Cross: Huh? I’m not one-eyed. I can see perfectly out of both eyes.

Johnny: EH!? Really, Allen?

Allen: Ah, yes. He’s wearing a mask but he can see normally, it seems.

Johnny: Wow. And I’d always assumed…Very well, then. Why must you wear a mask, sir? //sparkling eyes

Allen: Uh oh. Johnny’s switch is On.

Johnny: Ehehe. Since General Cross practices sorcery, we in the Science Division are also super interested in learning about him. We’ve always theorized among ourselves whether a grand mystery lies under his mask and stuff.

Cross: Mystery, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t tell even the women I slept with what’s under my mask.

Allen: I don’t recall ever seeing you take it off. Wouldn’t it get all hot and stuffy if you leave it on at all times? Isn’t it getting stinky or something? //sniff sniff

Cross: Stop sniffing, Idiot Apprentice.

Tiedoll: How about you stop acting all high-and-mighty for once and just let them know? Or is the truth that you simply added it to complete your look even when there’s no reason to…?

Cross: I’d rather it be such a simple reason, though.

Allen: What do you mean by that?

Johnny: I knew it! So there really is a mystery after all!

Cross: Come on. Who cares, anyway, right? Tis a question about Bookman Jr.’s one-eyed fails, after all. Well, when it comes to the Bookman Clan, I reckon they won’t be unduly hindered even with just one eye. Since their physical ability surpasses that of normal humans.

Johnny: Eh!? What’s with that!? Where d’you get that from!?

Allen: Master, you know something about the Bookman Clan, don’t you?

Cross: Just a little bit about their founder. Don’t bug me.

Allen & Johnny: Nuh-uuuuuh~~~!

Tiedoll: Hmm. Full of mysteries as always, the Bookman Clan. Perhaps that physical prowess would explain why Yuu-kun could never beat Bookman when dueling.

Allen: Eh? I mean, Bookman really is a formidable opponent, but Kanda beats Lavi every time, though?

Kanda: Because the idiot never gets serious…

Johnny: Ugh~~! General Cross’s mask. The mystery of the Bookman Clan. I wanna know everything already!

Question 3: Since Johnny has left the Order to go after Allen, who took over his job of making Order uniforms?

Johnny: I’m not the only one in charge of making uniforms; there are other staff on it, too. Since it requires the combined expertise of various fields. But yeah, come to think of it, I was put in charge of design a lot. I reckon Cash would be the one in charge of that, now.

Allen: By the way, there’s another question for you, Johnny. Is Johnny’s scrunchy the same as Cash’s?

Johnny: Uh…yeah (blush). She gave it to me.

Allen: Really…? //making assumptions

Tiedoll: Aw, how charming. Don’t you agree, Yuu-kun?

Kanda: What?

Cross: Leaving behind a woman to chase after my idiot apprentice. You Science Division folks really do love to suffer, as always.

Question 4: Krory’s a baron and he seems educated, after all. Does he play any musical instruments? The piano or violin seem to fit him.

Allen: He can play both the piano and the violin. And he’s also a very good singer, Krory.

Johnny: I know, right? Back at the Order, I saw him discussing music with Marie a lot.

Tiedoll: How wonderful. I’m sure that makes Ma-kun extremely happy.

Johnny: There’s also a question about Krory’s cooking skill. How should I put this…Back at the Order, I’ve only ever seen him order food and dine at the cafeteria.

Cross: Oh, he’s a great chef. Though not as good as his grandfather, Arystar Krory the First.

Allen: Eh!? You’ve tried Krory’s cooking before!? Where!?

Cross: At his castle. He treated me, that time I went to give him that man-eating flower I’ve been safekeeping for Krory the First, Rozanne. (*Volume 5)

Allen: Oh, Rozanne!! I remember now! So that was it! 

Master, have you known from the start that Rozanne was an Innocence? That flower was how Krory became an Exorcist, you know?

Cross: Idiot Apprentice, who the hell do you think I am? Of course I knew!

Allen: And you also toted your so-called friendship with Krory’s grandfather to swindle money off Krory, too, didn’t you?

Cross: Eh? Don’t remember any of that.

Allen: You did!!

Cross: Really? Well, you pay him back for me, then.

Tiedoll: You’re the absolute worst, Marian.

Allen: Krory is my beloved friend, and you taking advantage of such a kindhearted person…you...Idiot...Masteeeeeer~~!!

Johnny: A-A-Allen, calm down! Please! //sweating

Cross: AH!? We’re discussing his cooking here and I’m answering properly, aren’t I!? What, you wanna fight, brat!?

Johnny: Ah…uh…ah…//sweating profusely

Right! There are more questions! Here, “Please tell us the impression Kanda and Krory have of each other, since they don’t have that much to do with each other.” Kanda, you’re up!

Kanda: Huh? Nothing in particular.

Johnny: Eh? But, back then when Didi was wondering whether Krory’s teeth or Mugen is sharper and stronger, you seem like you really wanted to chat...

Kanda: N-no, I didn’t…

Johnny: But you kept glancing this way when he mentioned that Krory stopped Lavi’s Hammer easily with his teeth, right?

Kanda: Grrrr…..Tch!

Tiedoll: To translate that, Yuu-kun’s thinking he wants to have a go with Arystar-kun, correct?

Johnny: I knew it!

Kanda: Just take it whatever way you want!

Cross: Must be an easy life with such a tongue-tied apprentice. Mine’s such an annoying nag, it’s intolerable.

Allen: And whose fault do you think it was that I turned out like that?!!

(to be continued)