#also the line about her not wanting to look at her diary cause it just reminds her how nothing ever changes

[merrinla]

Halsin's Sorrow from early access

The old datamine looks like an alternate universe. I find some parts of it much interesting than in the full release. The part of Isobel's death, when Halsin killed her in self defense, after she attacked him for unknown reasons. Then Ketheric unleashed the shadow curse. These events were mentioned in Halsin's diary. And it's really emotional.

---------- [This is an ancient notebook, whose ink is faded and pages are starting to crumble. It's not easy, but some words can still be made out.]

How do you describe events like these? An accident? A tragedy? The cruelty of fate?

It does not matter. Isobel is just as dead.

I can't remember what happened with any clarity. We were negotiating. She with [...] I led the druids. [...] words grew heated [...] threw the first punch. It was mayhem.

[...] stared at me, my glaive's blade buried in her stomach and shock in her eyes. I can't believe she wanted to hurt me. It was pure instinct - the heat of combat.

[...] washed the blood from my hands. My glaive was still there, coated in her blood, but something else felt different. There's a sickness in the blade. It seems cursed, but by whom? Selûne herself?

It is locked away now. I do not trust its power in the wrong hands. And I never want to see it again. ---------- In Ketheric, I see my errors made manifest. He did not fall - he was pushed. His grief was twisted by shadow, but none could deny my hand gave that grief shape. ----------

He gave the glaive the symbolic name Sorrow. And in the description it caused psychic damage to the one who used it. ---------- A heavy, cold energy clings to the glaive like the blood rusted to its blade. It fills your very being with regret

The wielder takes 1 Psychic damage whenever they deal damage using this blade. ----------

Halsin saw Ketheric not as an enemy, but as a victim of circumstances. After all, he knew what it was like to lose family (in theory). And he obviously blamed himself that his actions provoked such a chain of tragic events. Even if it wasn't intentional. But he also understood that Ketheric needed to be stopped and put an end to the curse. That was his motivation to join you.

So earlier he was more intertwined with the main plot of Act 2. And I can only imagine what emotional interactions this trio could get. How would Halsin react to seeing Isobel resurrected? What would Ketheric say to the person who took his daughter's life? And what would Halsin answer him?

In the release version if you kill Isobel, then during the audience you will have an interesting conversation with Ketheric. He will tell you the story of his family so that you understand what it cost him. Maybe this is a rewritten dialogue of the previous plot.

Isobel also has cut content. Оriginally more scenes were planned with her. For example, in one of them she sang.

Anyway, although this is no longer canon, I hope someday the developers will reveal new surprising details about what was left behind the scenes.

UPD: Much later I took screenshots of his journal, glaive and found a few lines about it

[xbomboi]

misc. bribelle thoughts

prefacing this by saying bribelle is my favorite ship. actually might be one of my favorite all time ships considering whenever i catch 11:11 i make a tweet on my priv twitter saying “11:11 bribelle and rarijack” because i’m insane.

anywho…

i think it’s a lot easier to justify saying faybelle potentially has feelings for briar in a canon context because even aside from her diary, her behavior in epic winter can most definitely be read with flirtatious undertones, especially after witnessing the dream sequence

but i’m always trying to justify things to myself in accordance to canon without feeling ooc, because i’m the type of creative who would rather write my own original thing than make alterations to a pre-existing work. that’s just me.

and briar is trickier to do so with. in the show alone, she only actually verbally responds to faybelle once and it’s a line that also adds exposition. “but it’s forbidden!” girl come on throw faybelle a bone at least…

by epic winter, i’d say briar could potentially have had surface level attraction to faybelle, but it isn’t until having that dream and probably especially post-epic winter when she’d get time to actually reflect on it that she’d start to develop palpable feelings for her.

i’ve kinda noticed something about briar: she likes attention. i guess she’s kinda like faybelle in that respect.

briar grew up with neglectful parents. fill in the blanks. why wouldn’t she want attention when she lacks it properly from the two most important people in her life?

along this line of thinking, briar especially values explicit displays of affection, particularly from a potential romantic partner.

so, regrettably, let’s look at her relationship with hopper.

i.e. briar’s behavior in the webisode “Here Comes Cupid.”

when she first confronts hopper about his unconventional advances, she’s disinterested and borderline repulsed.

but after hearing him profess his love via the recording, she’s taken aback and actually grows endeared.

until this BAFOON fumbles the bag and does some really creepy shit by leaning into her personal space and calling her hot. understandably, this miffs briar and she once again loses interest.

(side note, too many people ignore how blatantly creepy hopper is to women, ESPECIALLY briar. he needs to be held accountable, not rewarded by getting the girl.)

even then, despite not necessarily returning his affections, she’s somewhat comfortable in the status quo that he devotes his attention to her. which is exactly why i think in bunny’s diary (bunny is wrong btw she doesn’t know a damn thing so idk why the one wiki that’s not the official wiki list hopper as briars crush when the source is bunny’s word like fuck all) bunny mentions observing briar appearing disappointed when ginger asks hopper to the dance and he accepts.

to briar, it’s like she’s losing one of the few things she’s familiar with, the few constants in her life. in this case, her only plausible option who she’d have reason to believe would accept. and we all know how briar is about losing things.

briar sorta settles into this state of fondness towards hopper’s affections, despite them being unrequited. because at least he gives a damn about her.

faybelle—at least, outside of her diary and up until epic winter—might as well be any villain; faybelle just wants to cause chaos for the sake of ruining somebody’s day. and i don’t think briar likes it that way.

i’d assume around the time of faybelle’s introduction to the series, briar’s stance would be one of upset towards faybelle, believing she doesn’t take their story as seriously as she(briar) does. that her role in sleeping beauty isn’t as important to her as being evil in general.

i have half the mind to say that this could potentially be read from briar’s behavior in faybelle’s diary.

first off, that underlining wasn’t added; the underlines are in the official print. meaning briar is putting emphasis on those words specifically. sure it’s a lesson to faybelle about not being an asshole, but also it reflects on briar in a way. like it could be her saying, “you’re supposed to be my villain, but you act like i’m no different to you than anyone else.”

now, this next part is obviously a surface-level gag about faybelle making a malicious act seem so thrilling, but if we close our eyes and pretend that we’re in a different world called I.D.G.A.F. dimension, we can now analyze this in a different light.

briar’s confused by faybelle’s verbal expression of almost-affection. it doesn’t help that she’s most definitely barely awake. but i’m willing to say her confusion is partially born out of actually having heard faybelle say such a thing. it’s gotta be surprising and hard to believe in that moment, because briar has every reason to think otherwise.

in the show, like i said, faybelle just does whatever the fuck. open a sweat shop? sure why not. assist her peer’s mom in attempting to turn the entire world into her own dictatorship? count her in. make a deal with the mafia? just a regular tuesday. but god forbid she focus on being the one to make the sleeping happen in sleeping beauty.

i think that irks briar. or at least make her generally act indifferent when faybelle comes waltzing around to do god knows what; if she won’t care, why should briar, right?

then there’s epic winter. or, as i like to call it in bribelle terms, “they finally fucking interacted”

when briar explains faybelle’s inclusion of herself to crystal, she simply says it’s her thing and cites the sleeping beauty story. like “hey crystal this is my villain btw, trust.”

later when briar’s yapping about the story, some may say it’s counterproductive in relation to briar’s arc that ashlynn brings up the miserable part of it only for briar to talk fondly of it, but i know briar personally, and have been filled in as to what the truth is.

briar dropped that attitude because faybelle was there. she started talking up the story, almost as a cue to faybelle, like “hey remember how you’re like a big part of my life’s purpose???”

faybelle butts in about it. and briar doesn’t get the chance to respond, but i think she was almost expecting faybelle NOT to gaf, so her doing so threw her off just a little. maybe she expected to hear something like “who cares?” instead.

then of course when they get to the castle briar’s little act is dropped and her deep fear of the sleeping beauty destiny is once again present. and of fucking COURSE that’s when faybelle decides to CARE ABOUT THEIR STORY.

listen to me, LISTEN. briar looks at faybelle BEFORE faybelle actually says “no, there’s another room far more important to our story. isn’t there, briar?” she looks at her BEFORE she actually talks. she was looking to see if she’d react, then when faybelle does speak she looks away, then she bumps her to get her attention so briar has to fight the adhd and lock in.

and faybelle just keeps instigating which honestly kinda takes briar out of her typical sulking over her destiny mood and more of like ‘what is your game here exactly’ mindset.

there’s so much to that look briar gives her. so many emotions in there.

after this they go up and faybelle taunts some more only for briar to almost actually prick her finger yada yada. and like i said, it’s a lot easier to understand faybelle’s pov. it’s very clear she doesn’t actually wanna go through with cursing briar, teasing and all. she makes as much obvious by her reaction alone when briar gets too close.

but once briar’s fine she’s like ‘yeah, okay, back to normal,’ meanwhile briar is kinda just done because faybelle is acting a fool. but she never shoves faybelle off of her unlike she did when hopper intruded on her boundaries huh briar why is that what’s that about briar still, briar has yet to have any indication from faybelle about how she actually feels in regards to their story and her role in it. or how it pertains to their relationship with each other. rather, faybelle doesn’t take it seriously much to briar’s chagrin.

then the dream sequence happens.

to me, this is the turning point.

it’s a stupid music video for an insert song, but goddamnit it confirmed darabella and even hunter got to be there with ashlynn so i’ll die standing on business.

this is what briar’s been waiting for from faybelle. that frenemy status is something i think briar wants to figure out which one to see faybelle as, depending on how she really wants to proceed with the story. and i’d say faybelle surprises her; hell, she even shows her a side of her rarely seen.

like with hopper, an outward display of affection such as this is something briar is drawn to. faybelle’s display towards briar in the dream sequence is something briar would be endeared by, as she goes out of her way to prevent her from experiencing the very thing she’s been dreading for so long. that’s gotta fit briar’s love language.

side note, i think it’s very very interesting to note that faybelle is the one to swoop in and save briar in this case, without any other characters present to show a significance in the ending of the story. i say this because hunter gets to be in ashlynn’s sequence and the bears are in blondie’s, despite none of them being in the tower asleep. all this is to say, if briar really did have feelings for hopper or really was gonna end up with him or some guy, they’d be there, right? but nope, just faybelle. I Understand.

after that we don’t really see them interact at all again, but there’s the general disdain for faybelle’s actions as a shared sentiment amongst the others. either way, by the end she shows remorse and seemingly ends on good terms with everyone, meaning i don’t see why briar wouldn’t be left thinking about the dream, seeing her in a whole new light. honestly briar would probably be kinda intrigued by the idea of the bad girl having a soft side for her. briar and i actually spoke about this the other day.

either way, this is briar learning that despite the general ignorance faybelle portrayed, she actually does care about her.

faybelle demonstrating, proving to briar that she is capable of showing affection and actually does care for her is what i think is enough for briar to begin to start falling. (which is kinda reflected in how i approached their relationship in fable fest.)

because briar knows there might actually be something there.

or maybe it’s a kid’s cartoon and one girl mean other one nice, idk.

[vickyvicarious]

Letters van Helsing has now read:

9 May - "I am longing to be with you, and by the sea, where we can talk together freely [...] I shall try to do what I see lady journalists do: interviewing and writing descriptions and trying to remember conversations. I am told that, with a little practice, one can remember all that goes on or that one hears said during a day. [...] I have just had a few hurried lines from Jonathan from Transylvania. He is well, and will be returning in about a week."

24 August - "I found my dear one, oh, so thin and pale and weak-looking. All the resolution has gone out of his dear eyes, and that quiet dignity which I told you was in his face has vanished. He is only a wreck of himself, and he does not remember anything that has happened to him for a long time past. [...] ...after saying that she could never mention what my poor dear raved about, added: 'I can tell you this much, my dear: that it was not about anything which he has done wrong himself; and you, as his wife to be, have no cause to be concerned. He has not forgotten you or what he owes to you. His fear was of great and terrible things, which no mortal can treat of.' [...] I have had a great shock, and when I try to think of what it is I feel my head spin round, and I do not know if it was all real or the dreaming of a madman. You know I have had brain fever, and that is to be mad. The secret is here, and I do not want to know it. [...] I took the book from under his pillow, and wrapped it up in white paper, and tied it with a little bit of pale blue ribbon which was round my neck, and sealed it over the knot with sealing-wax, and for my seal I used my wedding ring. Then I kissed it and showed it to my husband, and told him that I would keep it so, and then it would be an outward and visible sign for us all our lives that we trusted each other; that I would never open it unless it were for his own dear sake or for the sake of some stern duty."

17 September - "Jonathan wants looking after still. He is beginning to put some flesh on his bones again, but he was terribly weakened by the long illness; even now he sometimes starts out of his sleep in a sudden way and awakes all trembling until I can coax him back to his usual placidity."

18 September - "But it is here that the grave shock that he experienced tells upon him the most. Oh, it is too hard that a sweet, simple, noble, strong nature such as his—a nature which enabled him by our dear, good friend's aid to rise from clerk to master in a few years—should be so injured that the very essence of its strength is gone."

He has also read Lucy's diary, the first entry of which (24 August) contains these lines: "I must imitate Mina, and keep writing things down. [...] Last night I seemed to be dreaming again just as I was at Whitby."

So, the impression he will have of the facts, upon writing his letter to Mina today, goes something like this:

Mina's then-fiance went to Transylvania and was supposed to return by around 16 May.

Instead, Mina found him terribly ill in a hospital in Budapest on 24 August, about three months later. He had been raving about great and terrible things, but could no longer recall them.

He had written a record of these things.

No one knows what is inside his record, but Mina has possession of it.

He is still fragile/slowly recovering.

Mina was with Lucy on Whitby, where Lucy was likely first attacked.

Mina kept a thorough record of those days.

So his goal in asking to speak to Mina is likely to try and get access to her journal from Whitby, and Jonathan's journal as well if he can manage it (less directly linked but suspicious). Not knowing that she has already read Jonathan's journal, it probably feels like a huge ask (since she sealed it up with great deliberacy) and he probably expects her to have no knowledge of the significance of anything she remembers from Whitby either. No wonder he is so polite and apologetic in his letter.

[v-era-18]

Red Licorice

Chapter 10: Old Tapes and Melted Ice Cream

Scream - Soundtrack - School's Out - By The Last Hard Men -

“Everyone is a suspect until proven innocent. (Y/n), don't let your mind be fogged by a dream that might not be reality.”- Randy Meeks 

10

Today Randy Meeks was officially (Y/n)’s hero. Not only did she get to hang out with him in the Blockbuster listening to him rant about the sucky horror movies he had to recommend to the elderly, but he had also treated her to ice cream. She was currently sitting on the counter watching the boy work at a steady pace moving the cart filled with old movie tapes in every direction to fill up the counters. There was a rush crowd recently much to her dismay. The murders and attacks from the past three days have led people in a frenzy to grasp anything in regards to scary movies or horror possible. She was especially surprised with the many students she had seen this evening tonight as well. 

It wasn't too long ago school was let out early due to the alleged attack of Sidney yet again in the girls bathroom on the second floor. Upon hearing this she did grow in hysterics for her friend, but was glad there were enough eyewitnesses in the courtyard to determine her innocence. After that fight with Gale she had every right to look guilty in every way possible, but many of the students did agree that Weathers went too far with publishing a dead girl's diary and providing it to the press without a warrant. The icing on the cake was Gale being arrested not too long after (Y/n) had assaulted her, apparently Autumn had called the police and said the reporter was causing the students emotional distress and wanted her removed. 

It was funny, she had always thought the girl had hated her to some degree but it turns out she had the wrong idea about Jonah and her. They saw each other as brother and sister; there were no romantic feelings in sight. It took the girl losing Casey for the other to see it. 

So much has happened over the past few days and it was all weighing down on her shoulders heavily. It really did feel good to let off some steam in the light of things. Like eating butterscotch ice cream. The last time she had some was last summer with Stu—.

Oh right. Stu.

The girl was still having a hard time coming to terms with what was said in Casey’s dairy. Even if he was drunk and rambling as he had said, what would provoke him to even think such a thing or especially say it out loud in confidence. And the fact when it was published for the entire town to know his first instinct was to keep it from her instead of just apologizing. (Y/n) can deal with a lot of things concerning her best friends, but this hit the nail on the head. She honestly didn't know how or if it was possible to forgive Stu after this. 

She loved him, wanted him. But she wasn't going to let him come back into her life that easily. That boy was going to have to crawl to get to the finish line of her forgiveness. 

She looked up to see Randy helping another group of girls with their selection, one of them was laughing a bit too loud for whatever the boy said to cause such a sound. (Y/n) frowned, licking the ice cream with her eyes glinting with a foreign emotion. It wasn't but a minute before the boy looked over seeing the way she was staring at them, and man it left chills down his spine. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Randy cut the customer off, “Is there anything else you need, I-its really busy and I and to get back to-,” He looked back over to (Y/n), paying attention to how her tongue took a long lick again of her ice cream before plump lips closed over in smooth motions. He gulped nervously, “Someone.”

The girls followed his line of gaze, seeing the Afro haired girl reading from one of the movie tapes in the pile on the front counter. They just so happened to see the girl with her ice cream as well making their skin crawl with envy. 

The brunette that was flirting with Randy frowned, “Isn’t she busy enough with trying to come to terms with her and Stu Machers new relationship?” 

The boy wiped his head over to the girl in shock. 

“She has Stu Macher already. I heard that their relationship was a long time coming sort of thing and that Tatum and Casey simply got in the way.” 

Her other friend nodded in agreement, “there are speculation that is Casey had confessed sooner that they would’ve been-”

“Is there anything else you need?” Randy’s voice was short and curt this time. 

He of course couldn’t yell or tell them to shut their damn mouths, but boy was he not going to let them have the satisfaction of making fun of his friend. The girl didn’t deserve the backlash and rumors that were being caused by that Dairy, and he was sure if Casey knew about what would happen after her death the girl wouldn’t have trusted her secrets to the words on the page.  

The girls huffed, snatching the tape he recommended out of his hands before quickly leaving to their own devices at the other end of the store.

It was a good thing he recommended a shitty horror flick. What's the point of watching horror if you didn't want it ‘too scary’. The point was to feel the thrill of jumping back in your seat, the adrenalin of not knowing that it was going to be you next, or the person beside you munching on popcorn. 

“What's up with them?” (Y/n) asked smoothly. 

Randy placed the cart beside her with a grimace on his face, “Just some girls who don't have manners.” 

The girl cocked her head to the side, not seeming convinced, “ Just some girls? One seemed really interested in whatever jokes you had to offer her a few minutes ago. I'm sorry but I refuse to believe her hyena laughs were real.”

  The boy snorted at the girl's tone, “Keep that up and I'll start believing that you're jealous (N/n).” 

The girl bit her lips nervously, “What if I am?” 

(Y/n) watched as Randy paused his action with stacking the tapes on the cart. Her heart thumped widely in agitation in response. Shit. She really wasn't thinking when the question presented itself.  Was it being too forward? Maybe being at work wasn't the space to-. 

The girl's thoughts were cut off from a hand being placed along her thigh. Looking up the girl could see the boy's face flushed in red, however his eyes swirled with an emotion she so craved notoriously. 

“Well to answer your question,” The male smoothly took the girl's ice cream from her hand before giving a quick long lick on the left side-eyes never leaving hers, “You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

(Y/n) quickly closed her thigh together to get the thrum of her area to cease, that look the male had given her sent her hormones into overdrive. 

“Randy do you—” 

The girl's question was cut off with the sound of the store's bell going off at the front. Looking over the two teens' hearts stopped in shock from Stu Macher and Billy Loomis making their way inside the store. Randy scowled slightly, not in the mood to deal with two males whose heads were too big for their own doing. 

“Won’t cha look at that. Devil spawns knockin at my door,” Randy sneered. 

(Y/n) pursed her lips anxiously before taking a sloppy lick of her ice cream. It was a shame, things were going so well so far between her and Randy. Did Stu and Billy just have to pop up now? 

The two watched as the boys made conversations here and there with a few people, probably discussing what went on in the courtyard this morning. Seeing them so carfree sent chills down her spine. How could they possibly laugh and joke around at a time like this? One was exposed for affairs with a victim and the other was accused of being a murderer. Seemed like a time to lay low rather than to draw attention to one’s self. 

“Now that's in poor taste,” Randy huffed in agitation. 

“What's not?” (Y/n) asked. The male pointed off in the two directions, specifically the horror genre. Her eyes narrowed in on Billy who was now being flirted with by two girls, making something within her stir haphazardly. It didn't feel right. 

“If you were a suspect in a senseless bloodbath, would you be standing in the horror section?” 

“Randy we've been over this,” The girl shivered slightly, “I was there with the killer ....the bathroom was down the hall from Sid's room. Directly contradicting the theory of him being the killer, it was a misunderstanding.” 

Meeks looked over at the girl as if she had grown two heads, “Are you serious? He's got killer written all over his forehead! Are you forgetting his paper last year on how ‘Micheal Myers Could've Gotten Away With It?’” 

The girl nodded in remembrance. She was there helping the boy with the paper last spring, apparently he wanted to leave the teacher frustrated and intrigued with his paper and needed help. Billy was known for being bad at English so he relied heavily on (Y/n) for her feedback. She was there reading back to back on the first details of getting rid of body parts to planting evidence on unsuspecting victims. She asked him to tone it down-for obvious reasons. 

“Yes I remember, I was the one who proofread the entire thing.” Randy scoffed in response, making the girl tense slightly, “ Okay D, if he really attacked us that night then why did the police let him go?” 

“Because, obviously they don't watch enough horror movies,” Randy starts to make his way to reshelf some of the tapes making the girl hop off the counter to follow, “This is standard horror movie stuff. PROM NIGHT revisited.” 

(Y/n) thought about the movie for a moment. It was true, the simplest things can lead to a murder, but she couldn't help but ask, “Why would he want to kill his own girlfriend?”  

Randy laughed lightly looking at the girl sincerely. He honestly didn't wanna head down this road with the conversation about her childhood friend- especially after everything that happened this morning. But he couldn't sit there and let her intelligence be thwarted over guys who thought more with their dick than their own brain. “You know there's always the simplest bullshit (N/n). Especially when it comes to murdering your girlfriend. You know that's the beauty of it all, Simplicity. If it's too complicated you lose your target audience.” 

The girl pursed her lips taking it in, “So what would be Billy’s reason.” 

Meeks paused mouth open before closing it, looking away. His stomach was in knots, he didn't want to say what he actually thought at the moment. 

“What? What were you about to say?” 

“Maybe…”

“Maybe?” 

The male sighed, “Maybe Sidney wouldn't have sex with him.” 

(Y/n) turned her nose in distaste. “Randy what the fuck-”

“I'm not shaming Sid, (Y/n)! I'm not! That would be shaming you as well for being virgins, but when you look at the way he's been acting not to mention the rumors about him cheating on her. I mean come on! You know he hasn't been really faithful!” 

The girl leaned against the cart, her eyes glazed over, “No I didn't, I guess I really don't know either of them after all.”

Randy hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on (Y/n)’s cheek wiping the tear away before it could roll down her soft skin. “Listen (N/n), I mean it when I say that the world isn't perfect. And you can't blame yourself when people start acting differently either. “ He sat down an old tape before using his other hand to place it on the other side, he was cradling her face now. “Everyone is a suspect until proven innocent. (Y/n), don't let your mind be fogged by a dream that might not be reality”.She couldn't help her cheeks warming up from the intense gaze the boy was giving her, and for a moment her heart accelerated when she saw a flash of blonde with a huge pink smile. He was warm, warm like Casey. 

“Randy I—” 

“What are you two dorks doing?” 

Randy and (Y/n) gasped and separated from their position at the voice. Stu looked at the two with a clear strained smile upon his face.

The girl's cheeks heated upon seeing Stu stand there leaning against one of the shelves filled with movies. His eyes were scanning her face looking for reactions. But she didn't give him any, he simply did not deserve the satisfaction of a simple glance from her. The memory of Casey’s diary was still burning in her consciousness, and it was so hard to overlook the male in front of her and everything he did during the summer behind her back. 

To her, that strike to the back of his head simply wasn't enough. He needed to hurt like she was hurting at the current moment. 

“Having a moment,” Randy confessed, rolling his eyes, “Something you clearly interrupted.” 

Stu snapped his eyes towards his friend, “Oh really now?”

“Yes, now what do you want? Haven't you done enough today?” 

Macher looked back at (Y/n) taking her in. She was currently pretending to look at the movie tapes on the cart finishing off the icecream cone in hand. It was a sight he rarely got to see anymore with her enjoying sweet treats-and here she was, only the dork beside him was the one who gave it to her in the first place. A bitter swell started at the bottom of his stomach. He should've been treating her out to ice cream—but that bitch Casey had to go and mess everything up. 

Billy’s plan had backfired on him. He was supposed to be asking her to the party now, but how could he get over what he had just seen occur? They were about to fucking kiss from christ sake. His precious kissing someone he thought of being a good friend. Keyword , thought. 

“Came over to ask you guys something about this afternoon, but you guys are now acting like me and Billy shot your dog.” 

“Well maybe it's because our own friend has a murderer written across his forehead lollygagging in the horror section with two girls-while his girlfriend is freaking terrified of him.” Randy snorted. 

A look of disbelief ran across Stus face, “What? It was just a misunderstanding. He didn't do anything.” 

“You're such a little lap dog!” He retorted, “You really want to believe anything that comes out of that killer's mouth?” 

“Oh-kay,” Stu mocked, waving his hands around. 

“You know, I honestly don't think it's Billy. “Stu muttered watching how (Y/n) shifted back and forth on her feet. “You know, I think it's her dad. Why can't they find her pops, man?” 

“Because he's probably dead. His body will come popping out in the last reel somewhere! eyes gouged out, fingers cut off, teeths knocked out! See, the police are always off track with this shit. Come on, man!  Just like I told (N/n), if the police had watched PROM NIGHT they'd save time.” Randy huffed pushing the cart in another direction, “ There's a formula to it- a very simple one. Everybody’s a suspect!”

(Y/n) neared the two boys slowly taking in the crowd watching them overhearing the conversation., It was getting heated a little two fast for her liking. “Would you two keep it down...we're attracting unwanted attention.”

Randy nodded, cheeks a bit red before continuing-a lot softer this time, “I’m telling you, the dads a red herring. It's Billy. There's too many positions —the father, the principal, the town derelict..”

“Which is you.” Stu smiled. 

 Randy rolled his eyes, “The point is, while they're off investigating a dead end, Billy who has been written off as a suspect is busy planning his next hunting expedition.” 

(Y/n) puffed out her cheeks thinking for a moment recalling the actions of the killer that night, the one memory that she couldn't shake was the bathroom incident. Billy had never made any moves on her before-it would add up to her. “It wouldn't make sense from my experience D…..in the bathroom..” 

Meeks noticed the change of tone looking back over to the girl, “What do you mean?” He searched her face for a moment before the gears started to turn. “(Y/n)...is there something about the case you didn't tell the police?” 

The girl bit her lip hard looking anywhere other than the boy's eyes for the moment. She could feel Stus eyes on her, just yesterday she told the boys about lying to the police about what the killer did to her. They're her childhood friends so it was a lot easier. But could she really tell Randy about what happened?

“(Y/n),” Randy whispered gently, “Did you lie-”

“Buzz off,” Stu stepped in between them, glaring at Randy slightly, “She obviously doesn't want to talk about it.” 

(Y/n)’s eyes widened slightly at Stu’s protection, she almost expected the male to throw her underneath the bus from how she was treating him. But here he was, stepping forward and telling Randy to let go of the possibility she lied to the police about what happened in the bathroom with the killer. A part of her was fearful of how Randy would look at her after-hell she was still concerned if Billy and Stu were being truthful with no judgment being tossed her way. Afterall, so many secrets have been brought to light the past few days. How much could she really take?

Randy stiffed slightly, shifting wide eyes back and forth between the two of them letting it sink in. The male felt a bit guilty from how his tone sounded a bit ago, he didn't mean to come off as judgy. He was only looking out for her best interest.  

Meeks held up his hands, giving the best soft look he could muster in the girls direction, “Hey. No judgment here. If you weren't ready to say anything then dont. But I will say that we can't run away from something that can put a possible serial killer behind bars.” 

“How do we know that you're not the killer?”

Randy’s body shook before turning around into Stu seeing Billy laying against one of the carts  he was previously working on. Of course Billy was listening in on the conversation closely from afar and only decided now to jump in. Meeks had taken it too far by questioning his girl about that night. What right did he have to know? Afterall, Stu wouldn't want a trip down memory lane with the mistake he had made with her. 

“Oh…, hi Billy.” Randy shifted uncomfortably. Even if the awkward boy showed to be uncomfortable, the two other males could tell he was still pissed at them from this morning. 

“Maybe your movie freaked mind lost its reality button?” Billy suggested coily, “Huh? Huh, ever think of that?”

Randy laughed, shaking it off, “You're absolutely right. I'm the first to admit it! if this were a scary movie, I would be the prime suspect.”

Stu cocked his head to the side, curious, “What would be your motive?” 

Randy looked behind Stu to (Y/n) again who was gently directing two girls to the other side of the store towards the rom-com or history section he couldn't tell. Maybe he would have nailed it on the head if he wasn't so distracted . Her jeans lowered on her waist a bit more, showing a bit of the black lace peeking out subtly. She finished the last of the sweet treat of a cone, giving a wave goodbye to the girls as they headed off in the direction. A slow smile etched its way onto his face. 

“Its nineteen ninety five-motives are incidental,but,” He licked his lips as the girl pulled up her jeans-the lace disappearing underneath, “I promise my goal wouldn't have been to kill Sid, or Casey , or Steve-” He looked back at Stu and Billy whose eyes seemed to darken from the moment his eyes shifted over, “It would be to take revenge on whoever did her wrong.”

Stu suddenly became red in the face, forgetting where he was he was quick to step forward-.

“I'm Back! Is there something you guys really need?” (Y/n) chirped from behind.

Randy watched Stu’s expression carefully. The taller male taking a deep breath-rolling his shoulders back-exhaling then putting on his playboy award winning smile. To the average eye they wouldn't have noticed the pissed off expression a second ago, But Meeks saw it. And boy did he want to fucking run. 

What the honest fuck was that?

Stu turned around to the girl, taking a movie tape from one of the shelves and messing with the spin to distract himself from the previous threat Randy had given him. “Well (N/n) in honor of school being let out early due to the killer on school grounds-” 

“In honor-?”

“I'm throwing a good ole get together at my place this afternoon.” His eye twitched as her eyes shifted over to Randy instead of completely focusing on him. He would have to fix that later. Patience, Patience was the key right now. “I need two horror fanatics great at movies to set the mood….and you and Randy are perfect for the job.” 

“What?” Randy squeaked.

Billy chuckled behind the boy amused with his fear, “What's the matter? Can't handle the thought of being around so many girls at once.” The male shifted his attention back over to (Y/n) hoping to get a rise out of her about Randy. She couldn't possibly think that Meeks was just the perfect one of the group. It was taking everything out of him to not simply throw it in her face that he liked Sidney first and simply moved on once Billy started dating her. He knew she couldn't handle it, that's why he refrained from saying anything about it, but the way her eyes shifted to in a familiar way he was too quick to catch-every bit of patience and sympathy started leaving him. 

She was fucking jealous of the though of females around fucking Randy Meeks. When did they fucking miss this obstacle so clearly?

“He won't have to worry about that.” (Y/n) chirped lightly, she smiled at Randy placing her hands on her hips, “So what time are you picking me up?”

Randy blink, once twice, then cocked his head to the side, “What?” 

She giggled, likening his nervous reaction, “What time are you picking me up? I need time to get ready, just give me an easement so I can get everything ready.”   

Randy went to answer only for his left arm to be gripped tightly out of view. It honestly fucking hurt and would be likely to bruise from the overwhelming pressure and force. He knew why Billy was doing this, he wanted him to reject her. To let one of them drive her to Macher place instead. But unfortunately for Billy, Randy was sick and tired of their mind games and them getting whatever they wanted.

“Be ready by seven. I'll close up shop here and pick you up shortly after,” He smiled through the grip tightening, “Do I have to greet Miss Gia?”

“No, she'll be at work by then!” The boys watched as the girl gathered her backpack by the front counter before heading to the exit of the shop, “I'll see you at seven, don't be late! And don't forget the horror movie we discussed earlier!”

“Of course! I won't!” 

With that the girl left out of the Blockbuster quickly and headed home. 

Once he was sure the girl was fully down the block, Randy yanked his arm out of Billy’s hold. 

“What the actual fuck is your problem?” Randy hissed, “Both of you?” 

Billy simply rolled his eyes, cracking his neck, “I don't know what you're talking about?”

Randy rolled up his arm displaying the red mark that was most definitely doing to bruise his pale skin. He couldn't believe Loomis had that much strength within him to have a grip that tight on his arm. And what mental capacity gave that psychopath the green light to even place hands on him in a public place no less. 

“You were trying to stop me from taking (Y/n) to the party,” Randy accused, “If you wanted her so badly you would've just just asked her out instead of going out with Sid-.” 

The boy cut off once more being yanked forward by his sweatshirt and held still under a venomous glare. Billy smiled at him ruefully taking in the fearful expression as if he could eat it alive through everything he did. It was moments like this that he really revel in the power being feared could give. 

Stu leaned on Randy's shoulder taking in the sight of his boyfriends dominance taking effect, hopefully this time Randy would finally get the message. 

“Dont get so fucking cocky with me!” Billy spat, “We’re letting you have this one thing with her-but if you push it we won't be apologizing for what happens next.”

“Huh?” Randy shuddered, “I don't understand. You have Sid? What does it matter to me or (Y/n)?” 

Stu scoffed, losing the goofy persona for a second, “It dosen’t fucking matter. It's more important that you listen carefully instead. You're picking her up from her house and bringing her to mine. No debtors, no longing glances, and most definitely no touching like whatever the fuck you were two were doing earlier.” 

“We see or hear that any of that-things will get ugly. Do we make ourselves clear?” Billy snarled. The other male was slow to respond making Loomis shake him in place once more, “I said, ‘do we make ourselves clear?’”

“Yeah, Yeah, got it.” Randy uttered solemnly.

Billy smiled, smacking the boy on the face two times, pleased. “Good Kid.”

[rokhal]

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard whatever is an amazing portrait of the impact of methamphetamine in the rural US. Everything from the textures to the design of the environment to the story itself.

I guess, as an American, I should be used to living in a media panopticon where everyone knows how we talk and what our houses look like, but the Baker estate is not like a movie set or an influencer's home. There's real clutter, the kind that accumulates when you haven't moved cross-country in over ten years and your kids have grown up: kennels for cats who've lived and died, tool boxes, riding mowers, plastic bags full of plastic bags, pool toys. The age of the house shows, not just in the dated wallpaper and cupboards, but in the glimpses we get through the crumbling walls of construction techniques that have been obsolete for eighty years. The pegboard as wallboard. The cludged-together, homeowner-grade repairs of railings and staircases. The immersion is total. This could be any rural home I've ever visited whose owners lost the battle against entropy.

Houses on cheap land can get big. Real big. The Bakers appear to have inherited a plantation house, but there's a lot more on the property. It's perfectly normal to build a mother-in-law apartment and park a trailer in your backyard when you've got the land. Code inspector? What code inspector? You don't need no stinkin' permits. You're not gonna sell, and if you do, the buyer can figure out what they want to do with your wobbly deck.

You own the house and you've got no neighbors to complain about their property values. If you've got money, you trick out your garage. Get a lift. Get a hoist. Fuck it, dig an oil pit. You can do it! That's your man shed. Build some racks out of hog panel and hang all your tools in some haphazard arrangement that makes sense only to you. You've got to be your own mechanic if you want to keep your vehicles running.

Then there's the Baker family themselves. They were nice. Normal. Probably voted for Trump, but so did everyone they know. Of course they'd take pity on a nice white woman and a little girl begging for shelter, they're not animals. Jack was ex-military and pushy; Marguerite was socialized to stand by him whether or not he treated her well; Lucas was an amoral genius who couldn't make it in the real world; Zoe was at least prepared to fly the nest but either she'd tried and had to retreat, or she hadn't quite gotten up the nerve.

By the time we meet them, Jack and Marguerite are caricatures of themselves. Violent, paranoid, impulsive, irrational, moody. They can barely even function. Marguerite's kitchen is swarming with cockroaches and flies, and Jack's outbursts destroy the furniture and walls of the home that he was once proud of. The areas where Jack and Marguerite live are heaped with garbage bags, dimly lit, and filthy.

Every time we meet Lucas, he's wired as hell. Lucas seems hyperfunctional, constructing his elaborate traps and escape rooms, except he can't make the details come together. He lines the walls of his areas with white plastic sheeting, but the mold creeps through the seams anyway. He doesn't bother to change the codes on his padlocks. He toys with Ethan and banks on Ethan being too dumb to shove a bomb through a conveniently placed hole in the wall.

Zoe can still be reasoned with, but we see her fears in her diary. We see the tinfoil taped over her window to block the light.

Lucas, Jack, and Marguerite exhibit behavioral changes consistent with early, chronic, and long-term methamphetamine abuse. Their house bears the same marks of frenetic remodeling, ambitious yet ill-conceived design choices, repetitive behaviors, and neglect that scar so many homes occupied by meth addicts.

Meth is like other drugs in that it rewires the brain to promote drug-seeking behavior, but it also over time causes the brain to atrophy. Signs resembling dementia or schizophrenia eventually occur, accompanied by cognitive decline, and much of this is permanent. It becomes harder for the user to fight back against their dependency (against Eveline) the longer they use the drug (the deeper Eveline's mold works into their bodies).

This is an American horror story, it's a familiar American horror story, and it's a love letter to our country from Japan that seems to me to say, "We're so sorry about what you're going through. Here, shoot some mold-monsters about it."

[enihk-writes]

[at the end of a burnt wick]

pairing: tang bo x afab!she/her!reader

NOT exactly an x reader because i didn't want tang bo and reader's relationship to be romantic, tried to make them platonic / co-workers like ah-duo and the emperor from the apothecary diaries + implied tangchung because all roads lead to old men yaoi

summary: anthology of a married pair

content warning: archaic wedding practices mentioned (i.e. having to consummate a marriage against the will of both parties) // stillbirth and child loss (disconnect with traditional expectations of parenthood)

word count: 6.66k

author's note: my roman empire lately is about how i used to audition to nijisanji and only niji at least 3-4 times (didn't even pass the first stage lol) before i got really fixated with rotbb.... maybe one day i will try my hand at vtubing and streaming again... for now it's fanfiction time ragggghhh!!!!! fictional men 4ever!!!!

[PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TRIGGERS CAUSED BEYOND THIS LINE]

═══════════════

FIRST MEETING

the first time the young tang bo met her, was when he was a little over fifteen.

she was also just as young as he — a wee lass that had yet to lose the childlike roundness of her cheeks, round eyes that seemed to sparkle in wonderment at all the grandeur around her. tang bo didn't understand what was so special about the surroundings, he'd grown up here all his life and had already seen most of anything money could buy. this girl was weird.

he didn't find out until much later that this was the first time she had ever left the four walls of her room, much less her own home.

he thinks that it was no wonder she had looked so amazed with everything she saw back then. he can't imagine a life where he had to live constrained to one place, going through the same routine everyday would have bored him to death.

he wasn't looking forward to future conversations with that girl — he was certain she would be utterly dull and boring.

═══════════════

ENGAGEMENT

tang bo was furious that the elders had went and signed off the engagement contract without even asking for his approval. he had been meeting with countless hopefuls for a few years by now, and he'd been able to fend them all off by acting in ways that had all these well-bred ladies huffing and puffing in indignation. crying to their fathers that they would rather die than marry a man like he.

so who was it that agreed to this!

tang bo mutters under his breath, teeth gritted, fists clenched. he had to see with his own two eyes the woman who was stupid or desperate enough to let herself be wed to the likes of him.

elder!

the young man throws open the doors to the main hall, not caring one bit about the guests sitting inside. the elders and the patriarch in question frowned at his behaviour, biting their tongues from chastising him in front of strangers.

his gaze lands on a familiar face, a little older and a lot less naive, but familiar nonetheless. he didn't know that a person's demeanour could change so drastically in a few years.

tang bo's hands fall to his sides, he shuffles towards the end of the table, plopping down on the empty spot across his soon-to-be betrothed. he eyes her figure, chewing on the inside of his mouth, trying to come up with something to insult her with.

tang bo—

the patriarch didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence when the young man scoffs at the girl's face, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a sneer.

really? her?

tang bo glances over at the heads of his family, finger pointing rudely in the girl's face. they all sigh, knowing what was about to come from the impudent boy. they could only hope this girl wouldn't take his jabs to heart.

hey you.

he juts his chin at her.

all my other candidates looked prettier than you. hey, did you even bother to put in any effort when coming to meet me?

she ignored him, sipping on her tea serenely. the girl's guardians shift in their seats nervously. ah, this young master has yet to face their mistress' infamous anger.

tang bo clicks his tongue.

oi, did you even — hey!

he didn't expect her to splash the remainder of her drink onto him. the warm liquid splatters across his face and drips down his now damp hair, even the front of his robes were now soiled from the tea.

he looks over to the elders of his family in surprise, hoping that they'd stand up for him but none met his eye. he felt betrayed when he catches some of them trying to hide the twitch of their mouths suppressing their laughs.

they all thought that it was about time someone put this boy in his place, talented and intelligent as he may be.

needless to say, the rest of the meeting went on smoothly. and it ended with the confirmation of the two's engagement. much to tang bo's despair and the girl's indifference.

═══════════════

FIRST 'DATE'

he really tried his best to drag his feet that day. the elders had arranged for an evening dinner in the newly established inn downtown with his bride-to-be and tang bo really did not want to go. he was kicking up a fuss with his clothes, this one was too dull, that one is too bright, it's too rough, it's too short... and so on. but when he finally ran out of excuses and the attendants tiredly managed to dress him appropriately — the sun was beginning to set.

tang bo perks up. perhaps he didn't have to go out with her after all!

he steps out of his room, surprised to see that there was no one in the courtyard. he shouldn't have felt a jolt of worry then, but he did, and he wondered if something was wrong.

where is she?

he asks to no one in particular, heading to her room three doors down from his, footfalls heavy on the lacquered wooden planks of the corridor. he hears panicked voices muffled behind the doors and throws the doors to her room open.

she sat in the middle of the room in nothing but her undergarments, surrounded by the tang estate's maids and piles of unworn clothes. she had her back facing him, and all he could see were the maids hurriedly hiding away the containers of makeup all shying away from his scrutinising gaze.

out.

the maids didn't have to be told twice. they all scurried out of her room like mice, tails between their legs and faces pursed in anxiety at being caught in the middle of something they probably shouldn't be doing. tang bo sighed heavily. to think the woman he was to marry was getting bullied, by mere maids too? he felt ashamed on her behalf. he didn't like people who were fine with others taking advantage and stepping all over them. he hated that they didn't have a backbone to stand up for themselves.

kicking off his shoes, he entered her room — nose scrunched up instinctively at the suffocating dust in the air. he looked around to see all the windows shut tightly, there were no gaps for even a sliver of light to shine inside.

how has this girl been living so far, for her to be fine with this treatment?

tang bo coughed, stumbling over to open the windows, lightheaded from the lack of breathable air. he waves his hands to chase the dust outside, coughing even harder when the little particles get all up in his face.

he hears her giggle. much to his growing annoyance, what was so funny anyway.

he sits in front of her, letting the pile of unworn clothes cushion him from the hard floor. under the orange glow of the setting sun, he sees her for the first time today, all dolled up in the most garish makeup that would have certainly humiliated her, and had he not barged in she would have had to go around in public like that.

you look uglier today.

she chuckled and hummed in response, she looks around in search of something. grabbing a rag from under the clothes, she proceeded to wipe off her painted face, only to have tang bo take it out of her hands with a soft, let me.

he holds her chin between his fingers, rubbing off the white powder that contrasted starkly against her skin, making her look sickly. he rubs off the crudely drawn-out eyebrows and the thick rouge that sat on her lips. he can't help but notice the way her lashes fluttered as she tried to keep her eyes closed. maybe his fiancee was a little cute.

with her face now bare, the girl lets out the breath she had been holding. but tang bo wasn't done yet.

where are you facing. turn back here.

he ordered pointedly, and she couldn't help but to go back into her prior position. lips and eyes squeezed shut, much like a puppy getting told off for misbehaving.

picking up a brush out of the many lying haphazardly over the vanity, tang bo dipped it's tip into the little porcelain jar left ajar. it was lipstick in a shade deep red, the type that would have looked lovely especially on her.

he holds the girl's now bare face in one hand, the brush in the other, outlining the shape of her lips with the new rouge. the feathery touch of the brush tip was ticklish, moreso with how tang bo had been holding it in an uncharacteristically gentle way as though he were a potter painting intricate patterns on a cup before he sent it off to the burning fires in a kiln.

he pinched the brush, smudging the tint against his fingers and drawing faint circles at the outer corner of her eyes.

tang bo leans back to admire his handiwork. he couldn't help but feel proud of the results. not only was he good at martial arts and medicine, he had an amazing eye for aesthetics too? where would anyone find a better husband then he?

the girl opens her eyes cautiously, her gaze meeting his. he looked pleased, boastful even.

hmph. you look more presentable now.

he hands her a mirror, and as she looks at her reflection against the shiny bronze surface, she had to agree. her fiance had done a good job with her face. maybe he wasn't all that awful.

thank you, young master tang.

the girl smiled, her eyes crinkling upwards in a smile. tang bo scoffs and looks out the window, hiding his embarrassment at her sincere words. thinking back now, this was the first he'd heard her speak, wasn't it? maybe he should pay more attention once in a while.

heh. of course you should be thanking me.

the sky and grown dark. lucky him, he didn't have to go out to that dinner with her after all.

═══════════════

THE FIRST REAL DATE

tang bo felt a little irked that she had been walking behind him even when he had slowed down to match her pace. it's almost like she had been deliberately hanging back.

you.

he grabs her wrist and pulls her towards him. she stumbled over her feet and falls over with a startled squeak.

you're my fiancee. so stand proud and walk beside me.

he declares with a hand on his hip, the grip on her wrist with his other not once loosening. he walks again, just as slow as he had been earlier, feeling a little happy that the girl no longer lagged behind.

he'd started to warm up to her, no longer seeing her as the stranger living in his house, one day to become his wife. she was more akin to a little sister he'd have to babysit.

no, actually she was more like an apprehensive kitten left on his doorstep that he'd grown to like taking care of.

buying her sweets and spoiling her with accessories she might not even have a chance to wear just because he thought she'd look cute in them has been one of his favourite hobbies these days.

why was he so anxious about getting engaged before? ever since she became his fiancee, he didn't have to go out and meet with any more annoying noble ladies clamouring over each other trying to win over his affection. the best part was that she kept to herself, and minded her own business unless it was time to visit the elders and the patriarch for afternoon tea — which he didn't mind since having her as his own personal walking event reminder has really saved him from getting scolded even more by the old farts.

ah! look! they're selling meat skewers over there! come on, let's go get some! i'm sure you'd like those too.

tang bo giggles and drags the girl over to another street vendor. ah, lucky him. he's hit the jackpot with the whole engagement game — a tolerable and cute wife-to-be, could a boy ask for anything more? guanyin-ma really was looking over him after all.

═══════════════

FORTUNE TELLER

after two seasons of living under the same roof, the heads of the tang clan decide that it was time for the two to meet with the fortune teller. set up an auspicious date through the tung shing, and be wed on the right phase of the moon and the best placement of the stars in the sky.

the young master is lucky to have found someone this compatible. it is hard for children born in his year to find a suitable partner. they say snakes rarely get along with the other zodiacs.

says the old eccentric woman who proclaimed herself to be the best fortune teller in sichuan and the one who had been checking the birthdates of all the potential brides that had been introduced to tang bo thus far. the boy felt the urge to get up and fight that hack, respecting his elders be damned, so she was the one sending him all those insufferable girls his way.

he feels a hand grab at his arm. fingers digging into his flesh enough to keep him seated. he looks over at the girl sitting next to him, expression unchanging, her body angled to lean a little closer to his.

his hand reached over discreetly to peel her fingers off him, bringing her hand down to hold his under the table, fingers intertwined. she seemed to relax a little, tense shoulders falling ever gently, her jaw growing slightly more slack.

to the untrained eye, the girl's expressions were the same. but to him, he's watched her long enough, even if it wasn't every day, to spot the subtle changes whenever she expressed herself. tang bo pats himself on the back for being such an attentive fiance.

his attention shifted from the conversation between the fortune teller and the elders to the girl's hand. they were soft and smooth, as expected of a lady of noble birth. his on the other hand were calloused from training, the tips of his fingers were starting to turn darker from the constant exposure to poisons. shit, he might have to start wearing gloves.

the girl hadn't been paying attention to the conversation going on either, spacing out until the elders called on the two. stifling their startled gasp, the two youngins stared at their elders, a confused expression painted on their faces, not one bit guilty for ignoring everything that was being said.

ah, it's good they are getting along well.

the fortune teller chuckled with a knowing glint in her eye trying to suggest something, but both tang bo and the girl didn't seem to catch her drift, the old woman's point flying over their heads.

the elders soon turn back to their discussion, talking about the best days that would suit the two.

look here, since they are both born as snakes, their auspicious numbers are two, eight and nine. i'd suggest we hold the wedding...

tang bo nudges at the girl.

hey.

she looks up at him. he leaned down next to her ear, wanting to ask her about her birthday, too embarrassed to ask about it outright in front of the elders. he didn't want to seem like an incompetent fiance to his future bride.

she hides a growing grin. it was nice of him to start paying attention to her. little steps, little steps. she wriggles her hand out of his grasp and writes down the date with her finger on the surface of his palm.

good thing their hands were under the table, or people would know about the cause of the redness dusting the back of his ears.

the meeting dragged on until late in the evening. it ended with the agreement that they were to be wed on the eighth day of the eighth month on the eighth year of the emperor's reign.

truly the most auspicious day for a union.

═══════════════

A BRIDE-TO-BE'S DRESSING ROOM

the long-awaited day came by later than expected. the previous emperor passed before he even got close to the eighth year of his reign. not wanting to change the numbers of the date, the elders decided to push the event back until the current emperor had reached his eighth year.

by then, the two had grown into a man and a woman, a lot older than the common age to be wed. but it was no matter. who would dare speak up against the tang clan's young master and his wife-to-be?

the day, hell, even the night before had been hectic. tang bo slipped past his attendants to take a peak at what was going on in her room. traditions be damned, who cares about the groom not seeing his bride until they were at the altar? that was so outdated!

what are you doing here?

she had been left alone to rest from the non-stop preparations since before dawn. tang bo walks in, careful not to make too much noise as he slides the door shut behind him.

why? can't i visit my wife?

i am not your wife.

yet~

his teasing voice moved behind her. he picked up the brush to comb out the knots that were all tangled up — the maids had put on extensions to lengthen her hair. she hadn't been able to grow them to the expected length, much to the annoyance of the maids. they hadn't been nice when attaching the accessories, she could still feel the burning sensation on her scalp.

there was no need to kick up a fuss at this point. especially in front of tang bo. this guy would have kicked out all the attendants who had been treating her poorly, but that felt like too easy of a punishment. she wanted to deal with them herself when the time comes, sorry for that, young master tang.

the leather gloves he wore were cold, and the feeling of his fingertips scratching against her scalp was soothing, enough to draw out a quiet purr from the woman. much to her shocked embarassment.

oh?

she leans away from him.

...please ignore that.

but how could he?

my wife... how can you be so cute~!

i need you to shut up right now.

═══════════════

WORLD'S MOST BORING CEREMONY

if it was any consolation, the two had agreed that this whole affair was a pain in their ass.

wife, do you know when this will end?

what makes you think i have the answer to that?

tang bo thinks his bride was lucky to have that red veil over her face. if she wanted to shut her eyes and sleep, none of the guests nor elders would be any wiser. poor old him. they should have made a veil for the goom too, which smartass decided otherwise anyway? if he ever met that person, tang bo promised he would pummel the other to the ground.

wife.

she hums in acknowledgement, bowing her head at a guest who had come up to the front to pay their blessings to the pair.

wife.

tang bo called out again, his tone getting a little impatient. wincing when he felt her pinch the skin between his thumb and index finger. he tried to smile at the strangers passing them by, feeling drained and completely spent from the day's activities. it didn't help that the noisy chatter of everyone around them was making him feel worse.

wife, you should tell the elders that you're tired and want to rest for the night... i'm sure they'd listen to you.

why me? you go!

huh? me? nuh-uh, you go!

the back and forth lasted for a bit until they both agreed to ask the elders together. after all, having a partner-in-crime to take the fall together with you was way better than facing backlash alone.

perhaps the atmosphere of a wedding had put the elders in a carefree mood, perhaps it was the result of a dozen empty wine bottles. they think it might be both, but no matter, they received permission to get out of there.

the best news either had ever heard today.

scurring away quickly, the newlyweds giggle amongst each other like kids up to no good even as they were well into their twenties. the guests and elders cooed in amusement, talking about how nice it must be to be young and in love.

though that second part was so far from the truth, when the two talk about it again in their later years, it had grown into a funny story they liked to reminisce about over a midnight drink.

═══════════════

THE FIRST NIGHT

tang bo glanced over at his wife, carrying the same grimace as she did. it was hard not to cringe at the overtly crude decorations in their now shared room.

right. that was how it was in these parts. they were now husband and wife so the elders are probably expecting the results of the two carrying out their marital duties within the next year.

i don't want to do that...

me neither...

now sitting across each other on the floor, they discuss how to trick the maids who would certainly check the bedding the next morning. if nothing happened tonight then they would be under more scrutiny. but who's to say that there won't be any surveillance after? ugh! this was all so annoying!

tang bo watched as the woman before him let out a big sigh, dropping her head into her hands. he felt sorry for his wife, it must be hard living as the new daughter-in-law of his family.

should we get this done and over with?

he suggested finally, after exhausting all their options. his wife makes a face at that, but she can't argue.

awkwardly he hands over a vial, an all-purpose antidote of sorts, in case she gets accidentally poisoned while coming into contact with him. the head had passed it to him sometime during the ceremony earlier, tang bo had been hoping he didn't have to use it, at least he held himself back from throwing the whole vial at the wall when it was given.

he didn't say it at first, but he could hear the eyes and ears surrounding them grow careless every few moments, revealing their presence by accident with an unintentional movement or sound. how uncouth of them to be watching the two newlyweds like this. it seemed she'd also noticed their presence, with how she'd glance out the windows whenever a small rustle was heard.

i'm so sorry.

he murmured an apology as he kissed her cheek — he didn't have to look to know she had a faint look of disdain, directed to no one in particular yet still stung through his heart.

it's not your fault.

so she says. but it might as well be. to him at least.

the consummation wasn't a pleasant process. neither could look at the other in the eye. the knowledge that people were standing outside the room to listen in on the completion of their marriage made this whole ordeal so much worse.

wife...i...

tang bo feels his hips stutter, his face burns in shame as his hoarse voice tries to speak.

her hands reach out to brush his hair out of his face, fingertips lightly smooth out the crease of his furrowed brows. she'd resigned herself long ago, knowing this whole process was inevitable from the time she reached adolescence. to think her own husband did not...

she felt a slight twinge of pity. the young master tang was a lot more sheltered than she had thought.

when it was all over, they scrambled to get away from the other, each sitting at the furthest end of the bed — letting what had conspired sink in. how many more times would this have to happen in the future?

she was the first to collect herself. getting up, she shuffles over to tang bo, her hand reaching out for his.

my husband, we should go and clean up.

he nodded, taking her hand in his wordlessly as she led him to the tub hidden behind the partition. after dipping the dry towels in the now warm water to wipe their bodies clean, slipping into clean nightgowns and peeling off the soiled bedspreads to throw them aside, they finally crawl under the covers, yawning tiredly.

sleep came over easily, surprisingly enough.

═══════════════

DIAGNOSIS

the questions that hung around in the air at this time of the year were all about babies, children, the next generation. everyone wanted to know which of the wedded members would be expecting soon.

most eyes were turned on tang bo and his wife.

unfortunately.

their marriage had happened over five years ago, almost ten, and all this time their other relatives who had gotten married later than they were popping out one offspring after another — yet none were to be seen for the young lord and his lady. the elders often lamented on the silence of their side of the estate.

rumour has it that their relationship was on the rocks, with how neither shared a room nor did they spend a night together like all the tang spouses — save for the occasional times they'd go to visit the other's quarters every two to three months. to scratch an itch as one might say. after all, they were still young and quite healthy, so such urges were still common occurrences. might as well do it with someone familiar rather than do that with a stranger.

the relationship between tang bo and his wife was actually far more amicable than anyone could have guessed. it was hard to describe the solace they'd found in each other's unspoken commanderie within the household. they'd been living together long enough to know virtually everything about each other, yet there was always a line drawn between them to keep the distance.

today, she wasn't here for any of their usual arrangements. tang bo had came back to find his wife nursing a cup of tea in one hand, resting it on top of a propped-up leg. she had set out a game of weiqi on the table, next to a steaming teapot and array of snacks.

looks like someone's got news.

his teasing voice called out to the woman, settling down on the seat across her. he hums in thought, contemplating his move as she places down her white bead on the board.

your uncle came over to see why we weren't having kids yesterday. he's given me the results this morning, right after you left.

the woman holds out the folded paper, a little crumpled from being kept between the layers of her robes. tang bo takes it, opening it to read what his so-called uncle had diagnosed his wife with. talk about elder butting into a youngster's business for no good reason.

this...

he says that i'm barren.

she looks down with a small smile,and it looked a little bitter. of course, how could she not be? after all that had happened those few years back?

to say that she's unable to carry a child after all she had gone through back then was such a cruel prank from the heavens. he knows his wife wanted to be a mother more than anything, to give that little baby all her love in the world or along those sentiments — as did he. so if that's not going to happen... then, what now?

they were silent as they moved their beads across the game board. contemplating their next moves and what to say to the other.

there's crab stick snacks here, you should try some.

as always, she breaks the silence first. grabbing a few sticks of the salty treat to nibble on before handing the container over to her husband. tang bo reached for the food mindlessly, thinking about how nice it'd be to have these with some sweet wine.

ah, but his wife wasn't much of a drinker so that's a bummer.

═══════════════

ONLY CHILD

he should have heard the cries of the baby.

it was quiet inside, and out where he was waiting too. the nurses and maids walked out of the room with buckets of soiled, bloody rags with their heads down and mouths drawn into a thin line — something was wrong, something had gone terribly wrong.

tang bo felt his feet move, walking towards the bedroom where the doors were still shut tightly. he weaved past the attendants trying to hold him back, all telling their young master to go back and wait.

wait? why did he have to wait when he didn't know what was happening to his wife right then? she needed him. and she needed him right now.

the midwife slides the door open just as he was about to open it himself. they both take a step back in surprise.

young master... the lady is alive and well. she is waiting inside.

the older woman bowed and scurried away from the scene to join the others in the courtyard outside.

his wife lay on her back on top of fresh bedsheets and a clean nightgown. she had a sickly pallor, lips were chapped dry with red marks of blood from where the skin ripped open. hair that was riddled with sweat stuck onto the sides of her face, the untied tresses splayed over the top of the bed. her eyes were unfocused and blank, staring straight up at the wall, mind elsewhere. her cheeks were still stained with the remnants of her tears, the evidence of what transpired within these four walls.

wife...

tang bo called out cautiously. she didn't respond, barely even moved an inch to acknowledge his presence.

next to her on the bed was a small swaddle, the stillness of what was supposed to be alive unnerved him. the child's dull skin, probably in some shade of grey, eyes that were never to open, oh.

he sits by her bedside, back facing her. he too, did not know what to say to her at that moment. he was the last person that could have possibly comforted her. well, it was his child too but they were both not lovers so this was an offspring born out of necessity rather than a genuine want. and at this point in his life, tang bo wasn't actually too thrilled about the prospect of fatherhood. not that he would resent that kid, it's just he might not have loved them like he should.

his wife, she's mentioned her anticipation of motherhood but once in a while, he'd catch glimpses of the unreadable expression she had when no one was looking — all while she rubs her growing belly. it made him think that perhaps she wasn't always telling the truth.

once there was a patient who had came to the tang estate to treat the growing tumors in his intestines and since he was a rather important guest, most of the members of the main family, the two of them included, had dropped by to greet him and wish him well for recovery. tang bo could never forget the intensity of her absent gaze at the patient's stomach, her balled fist tightening over her shawl ever so slightly.

perhaps it's good that she's dead.

tang bo feels his eyebrows rise up in shock.

you're not too keen on fathering a child either, are you?

he shakes his head.

well, that makes the two of us. the heavens must be looking out for her, keeping her away from parents like us who can't give her the love she needs.

his wife sighed deeply. her tired face falling to the side to look at him, a lopsided smile making its way onto her lips as if to ease the heavy tension of her words away. she might be right. perhaps, it was better this way. tang bo closes her eyes with his palm, patting her to sleep the way one would with a feverish child.

their daughter would later be the two's first and only child.

═══════════════

SWORDSMAN

the woman wondered how one-sided her husband's relationship with his friend was. the man was a rather expressionless fellow — his sentences were short, curt and straight to the point. her husband didn't seem to mind, with now he was almost always all over that man. ah well, she's just happy tang bo has an actual friend.

rather than worry that he was drunk off his rocker out on the streets past midnight doing who-knows-what in who-knows-where, at least now he's causing trouble with someone she could easily track. apperently, the man was a troublemaker in his own home too.

the first time she met the older sect brother of her husband's friend, they shared a look of silent understanding. ah, so you too have an oversized child to deal with.

watching tang bo come home staggering on his feet together with the man, leaning on the other for support used to riddle her with worry but now she just ushers them both into a spare room prepped with the necessary herbs to concoct a hangover remedy and hope for the best. her husband was a capable man, he would never let himself falter and die in a ditch.

in hindsight, she might have been too confident in his abilities.

the swordsman was the best thing to have happened to her husband. and it was not an exaggeration by any means. not when he looked at his happiest for the first time since she'd known him. even if they were both past their fifties and sixties.

how nice. she thinks to herself whenever she spots them together. to find your other half, your kindred spirit in this word before you died... it must be nice.

she can't find it in her to be bitter. really.

═══════════════

FIRST CHIPPING

if he were to look at what society deemed as a bastard husband, then that requisite would have had his face plastered as a prime example. the type of husband that any aspiring groom should not ever become.

though for those who were in the know, mainly his wife and himself, there was more to their marriage than what everyone saw. it didn't take long for either of them to recognise that this union had been a discreet way for them to hide away from what kids like them were supposed to act like in this rigid society.

they've stuck by each other as the only people who would have understood each other the best. so now that tang bo was finally finding the happiness he should have sought after all this time, he was always feeling the guilt of leaving her behind on her own in that house that had always been too big for just the two of them.

she has yet to utter a word of displeasure to him. that's how she was — the quiet one who kept to herself, letting things happen until the worst had passed over. it was one of the little things he detested about his wife.

he can't bring himself to really hate her. there was a time when he had opened up his heart and confided in her about some things he's been scared to come to terms with. the type of realisation one has from a very early age and has buried deep within themselves to fit into society and the expectations people had of him.

his wife had held onto his hand wordlessly, squeezing it ever so often to assure his nerves. he's never been this vulnerable before. he never thought things like this could be so frightening.

she had something to say too. but not right now. this was his moment, she's not so tactless to take it away. she can't stop thinking that if they'd been more honest earlier, then perhaps they wouldn't have hurt the other unknowingly all these years.

the walls they'd built between them were starting to come down a little — who would have thought they'd find out something new after decades of marriage.

═══════════════

COMING TO TERMS

she couldn't really understand why her husband was loudly crying into her shoulder. her good robes were getting wet from his tears and snot. how did this almost seventy-year-old man have no shred of shame — in front of the attendants no less?

she had given him her blessings earlier today, and he was now free to pursue the swordsman so why was he not going off to sweep his beloved off his feet and ride off into the sunset or whatever those romance novels say?

wife, you know you aren't obligated to be bound to me any more right? if you wish, you are also free to love someone else...

tang bo managed to say between sobs.

...thank you for your consideration.

she hesitated. what did he mean by her being free to love someone else? she can't think of a time when she'd ever felt that kind of emotion, at least not the one that every person around her was chasing after, even back when she was in her youth.

there was always a disconnect whenever the other wives she'd corresponded with ranted and raved about their husband's infidelities or little annoyances. they were always on the verge of hysteria, driven to that point out of love for their husbands they said. and she'd think about how foolish it was.

thank goodness her relationship with tang bo had not been built on a foundation that flimsy. rather, it was one based on mutual respect. which was far better—

ah but. he must have felt trapped in this marriage. not everyone in the world was like her. not everyone had been born with the inability to be like everyone else and it was unfair how they all just instinctively know what romance and lovers-love is. so to have held him back in this loveless situation for this long was a cruel thing.

the good wife, the understanding wife, the kindhearted wife. it's all that she's been the majority of her life. she doesn't know what else there was to her now that she's let-go of these titles. she's free to do what she wants. but what does a caged bird set free know?

she had packed lightly, the clothes on her back were lighter and less showy, the stark opposite of what she used to wear as the daughter-in-law of the tang family. there was not much hesitation as she donned the weimao — it's white veil falling past her knees. she looked at the darkened courtyard of their estate.

she's received enough goodwill in this lifetime. she prayed at the ancestral shrine one last time, asking them to look after everyone now that she's going off.

═══════════════

MORNING AFTER

tang bo awoke to the frantic bustle of the maids outside his room. turns out his wife had gone missing overnight without anyone noticing. he walked out of his room, wandering around the family estate until he reached the main halls where it was quieter. no one was allowed in here outside of events except for the elders and the main family.

he picks up the tattered note that had fluttered to his feet — eyes widening as he takes in the words written on it.

tch, that woman could still pull some tricks at her old age huh. he didn't think she'd still know how to surprise him. the paper was burned away on a candle flame. he wonders if he'd see his wandering wife on his travels with his taoist-hyung. would they all share a drink at the teahouse when they do? oh he hoped so. there's not much things to look forward to at this age, so at least give him some stories and a meal.

ah. he should let his taoist-hyung know about this too. before it slipped out of that old head of his.

[4rainynite]

EAH Dorm Rooms Headcanon pt 1

Apple & Raven's Dorm.

One's a princess who's loyal to her destiny, while the other princess is rebellious and fighting for a cause.

Throughout the series we've seen Apple & Raven's room the most since they're the main characters. but let's dive in a little more.

It's obvious that Raven and Apple have different styles as Raven's style would be associated with the gothic subculture and Apple would be associated with the preppy subculture. Apple's main colors are red, white, and gold (and sometimes pink) and her motifs are apples, bows, and pearls. Raven's main colors are purple, black, and grey/silver (and sometimes turquoises) and her motifs are birds/feathers, chains, and scales. Also, their main colors are Ever After High school's color and their alliances purple for the Rebels and red for the Royals.

Mirrors seem to be one of the things that unites the two girls. Think about it, in the Snow White story it was a magic mirror that told the Evil Queen who was the fairest. Throughout the dorm mirrors are shown on both sides (heck, there're tiny mirrors on Raven's slippers). Throughout history mirrors have been used to reflect what we see and who we want to see. And during the book and web series mirrors have been used during important story lines for example: Headmaster Grimm hearing the Evil Queen laugh, Apple using the mirror net to spy on Raven (consent much?), how the Evil Queen spies on others (Ugh, privacy!), mirrorpads, mirrorphones, mirror prison, the booking glass in Dragon Games, etc. Mirrors are important in the EAH world.

From what is stated on Apple's card (under Apple's side) the room she and Raven share is the largest dorm room (in the girls' dorm) reserved for epic tales. Seeing how the Headmaster plays favorites I'm surprise he didn't give this room to Apple first. But maybe he doesn't assign the rooms and as long as the character is from an epic tale: evil, good, or neutral they can have it!

Apple's side: Apple is a Royal both in alliance and birthright. Apple aspires to be the perfect queen and her dorm room reflects it. Honestly, don't tell me this wasn't the bedroom you wanted when you were five-years-old and in your princess phase.

From what I read in the books Apple's furniture consists of: redwood furniture, canopy, gilded chairs and wardrobe. Only the best for a future queen!

Apple lives and breathes the princess lifestyle and not just because she is one, she works hard for it. She's also very studious as she is one of the few students with the top grades so whenever she's not checking herself in the mirror she is studying, reading, or preparing for future school events.

Apple cares deeply about her looks and her magic talking mirror helps her both in fashion and in confidence. I love the irony that Apple spends more time consulting a magic mirror than Raven.

Though it was never seen in the show Apple did receive a jewelry box similar to Raven's. The jewelry Apple may keep in there are probably pearls, rubies, mini crowns, and apple barrettes since that is what she usually wears.

In the Getting Fairiest line Apple has a nightstand where she places her crown while getting ready for an event or sleeping. It was never shown in the webseries, but we did see Briar's nightstand where she keeps her sunglasses (will show when it's Briar's turn) and them seem to be larger than the toy version.

Apple's Fainting Couch has been seen in a few episodes, sadly we never saw her use it. Which is a bummer because, picture this:

Apple laying on her fainting couch writing in her diary WITH HER GLASSES ON! Suddenly, the door knocks and Apple scrambles to put her glasses in the secret compartment and looking very awkward hiding them. That could've been a running gag, we were robbed of that and seeing Apple in her glasses! Plus, the embroidered apple pillow is so cute!

It wasn't seen during Dragon Games, I'll let it pass since the animators were probably busy and we're human we forget stuff. I also believe that Apple keeps her diary in the storage of the fainting couch.

Seeing how she and Raven have the biggest dorm (in the girls' dorm) of course Apple would have a closet and a dresser to fit all her luxurious clothes. But, sometimes the closet isn't there in some scene. My theory is that since Ever After High School is magical maybe the furniture appears when it is needed, or for example when the student is in the room the windows will appear to bring in some like. Like I said above during the Fainting Couch the animators are busy and the layouts change with each animator.

The vanity was originally Apple's desk which had a bulletin board above it. Again, layout change and the furniture appears when it is needed. I kinda like that Apple has fairy lights seeing how traditional her style is, but see does have a poster of guitar, so she may have a spark to her.

Raven Side: Even before the Rebel movement Raven had a rebellious streak in her. She questioned how her world worked, her story, and herself. Despite Raven's fashion sense matching a traditional fairy tale villain it was her choice to dress that way.

Raven's didn't originally look the way we see it now; Apple (along with Briar) redecorated her side of the dorm to resemble more of an evil queens lair. In the webseries Apple gave Raven an evil throne, an evil crown, and an evil haunted mirror (she may have added the extra mirrors), while in the book Apple put spikes on most of Raven's furniture and gave her a goblin bed sheet set. As nice as Apple was trying to make Raven feel at home, it wasn't right of her to change roommates and go through Raven's things without consent.

One thing that stands out in Raven's room is a white guitar, which gives us the idea that Raven is a music lover. One of my many headcanons is Raven's dad got her into music as a bonding activity between the two and the guitar used to be his before he passed it down to his daughter.

Personally, Raven's is my favorite room design (that we got to see) and if I had the budget, I would remodel my room like hers.

As stated above the room Briar (and Ashlynn) are currently living in the same dorm as Raven's mother (and Cerise's mom). I believe Raven lived in her mother's dorm during freedom year (freshmen year) or will live there her final year, and like many boarding schools/ colleges students don't live in the same room every year.

In the color palette it says imperial gold, but I see black in the color scheme, sure there's 'gold' in the flooring and candlelight, but maybe this was an early idea that the creators had to unite Raven and Apple in a way.

Despite being the future Evil Queen, Raven spends the least amount of time looking at herself in the mirror, gotta love irony. It was also mentioned in the book that Raven tries not to compare herself to Apple since that's what lead to her mother going off-book and vain, so she avoids them.

I believe the wide-eye girl was Brooke, which means besides Maddie and Kitty, she's the only non-Wondelander to see a narrator (lore).

We were able to see the jewelry box when Raven was getting ready for her date in 'Date Night' and an actual was available like Apple's. The jewelry we saw Raven take out of the jewelry box were mainly a silver ring and a chain necklace; so, her jewelry is mainly chains, spikes, and amythest. On the bracelet one of the charms is a potion bottle and Raven does have a potion/ bookcase (can be seen in one of the above images) that I wish we saw in use.

In the getting fairest line Raven has a nightstand where she places her high collars during the night. It wasn't seen in the show, but it's somewhere in her dorm.

We only saw glimpses of Raven's destiny vanity in the webseries. In 'Unfairest of Them All' Raven was heartbroken when Baba Yaga Hut's baby destroyed it., luckily it was rebuilt. The vanity has a built-in keyboard and a brush that looks like or doubles as a microphone. Raven is usually seen with her headphones on, listening to Taylor Quick, playing her guitar, or playing on her keyboard at her vanity. She probably spends more time making music than looking at herself.

Like Apple's diary in her fainting couch I think Raven keeps the books in the vanity's cabinets and reads them when she's alone.

The closet and evil throne (not shown) are only seen in glimpses since furniture appears when it is needed. At first I thought Raven was the only student with a fireplace in her dorm, before we saw 'Epic Winter' on Briar's side of the dorm has a fireplace as well, so I guess each dorm has a fireplace on one side of the room. To keep warm during the cold months and having two fireplaces is a bit much and a fire hazard.

At the beginning of 'Croquet Tastrophe' Apple was first seen in Raven's side of the room for some odd reason. But, wait, Apple has a mug in her hand for some reason. Which made me think Raven owns a coffee machine that she lets Apple use sometimes.

The girls do have a balcony (pretty sure everyone at the school has one) that the girls like to go out to get fresh air during times of stress and peace. In 'Apple's Princess Practice' they have a zipline which I'm pretty sure Briar set up.

Well, that's the first of the dorms, now to the next.

Images can be found here: EAH wiki, Royal&Rebelpedia, and @teatimewithmaddie .

[twelvroses]

LIZ's DIARY - 16/07/24. mentioned: @dreamquest @fiixion @yunzip @pinkscaped ♡ (& ahin lol)

The latest episode of Dreamquest just aired; I’m writing this in my dorm. Have I even written about my dorm? I can’t remember the last time I actually had the time to sit down and write, I think it was just before the show started… I used to be so diligent about keeping this diary, but life has gotten so hectic. I’m sharing a room with Yoon and Miyu. Both of them seem nice, but it’s a little awkward. Since we were all on different teams, I don't know how to approach them them because I'm not sure if they see me as a friend or just someone they'll need to beat. I wish I was the type of person who could start a conversation with anyone, but I just don’t know how to keep it going. The words don’t come for me. I haven't really bonded with any of the other girls, and I can tell that some of the other girls think I’m a bitch, but everyone always thinks I’m a bitch and I can live with that. Sani is really nice, though, she's really really cute, and she was so nice to me after the Fancy performance, so I think it'd be fun to be on a team with her at some point. But it would be really nice if I could at least befriend my dormmates too. I mean, assuming none of us get eliminated, they’re gonna be the first and last people I see every time I wake up or go to bed. Don’t you think that kinda sets the tone for your entire day? Even if none of us make it, it still would be nice to have some friends. That reminds me, now that I’m at Valentine, I hope I get a chance to meet the Medusa girls soon. I’ve always really liked Choi Gain sunbaenim. She just comes out and says whatever she’s thinking, no matter who’s listening or how many cameras are on her. I’ve been trying to be like that, but like everything else I try to say, it dies in my throat. Maybe if I get to hang out with her, it’ll rub off on me a little bit. 

Anyway, I won't have chance of meeting Medusa if Valentine drop me, and they might do just that, cause the CEO already told me that he expects big things from me. He told me to keep my sights set on top 5, because this is the very first time Valentine has EVER sent a trainee to a debut show, and I’m their only trainee, so if I totally flop, it’ll be really embarrassing for them, and I feel like the whole place is built on one man's very flimsy ego so he'll probably just drop me. We got to see our rankings and right now, I’m at nine. It’s not too bad, and so I want to be proud of it, but I know it’s not good enough. It doesn’t feel fair. I didn’t get a single solo line in Genie! How the hell am I supposed to get screen time and convince people to vote for me if I’m not being given the same opportunity to sing as some of the others? I wonder if the showrunners think I can’t sing because I rap. 

I also hate my new CEO, Yoo Seobin. He walks around like a weirdo mafia boss. You know, Ahin sunbaenim told me that when they go out for company dinners, he makes him, Choi Gain and Kwon Harin sit at a separate table with him. It’s supposed to be a ‘leaders privilege,’ but he’s kind of just keeping them away from the party. He thinks he’s the godfather, or something. Like it's an honour to sit with him. If I end up in a Valentine group, I pray to god that I’m not the leader. I’d hate to sit and drink with him. Did you see his fucking press release about me? He talked about how I was hypnotizing and my beauty was unmatched or something… Like he’s a married, middle aged man. It's so weird and I'm really worried if he keeps talking about me like that, people will start making up rumours. Even the thought makes me want to throw up. I wore the baggiest clothes I own last time I had to go to his office, and he still kept looking at me weird. Ahin sunbaenim said I can wear one of his sweaters next time, because if he sees me in boy's clothes he might assume I have a boyfriend and back off. It’s kind of cute that he thinks that would work. 

But Ahin sunbaenim is nice. I’m even going to record a demo for him next week. It’s not gonna be for me in the end, I think he’s just gonna send it out to a bunch of labels and see who wants the song, but I’m getting paid for recording so it’s already the most legit gig than I’ve had in about five years. He’s fun to hang out with. I think he has a little bit of a crush on me, but for once that doesn’t bother me. I think it’s just refreshing to come across a guy, especially one who’s a bit older than I am, who isn’t so fucking leery and demanding. He doesn’t even flirt or anything, he just gets shy around me and it’s easy to make him blush. It’s funny. And he does have a nice smile.

I just realised I'm writing about boys in my diary so I'm going to stop now because I'm not twelve. Kwon Ahin is the last thing I need to be thinking about right now. What I need to do is win this competition. I really hope, like really really really hope that I can rap in the next round. Like a proper rap that wasn’t written by fucking JYP, I mean. I’m really regretting singing for my audition. My first choice was Payday by Yoon Mirae but Seobin told me I had to pick something recent. If I’d pulled off a Yoon Mirae song I think I might be way higher in the ranks by now. But if I don’t get to rap there’s no way I’m gonna crack the top five. And if I get kicked from Valentine, it’s like losing the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had. I feel like I might just be setting myself up for one big joke. I couldn’t even rise up the popularity rankings of Bouquet. Do you know how easy it is to be more popular than a Bouquet member? Most idols who debut achieve it on their first day without even knowing cause they probably don’t know who Bouquet are. Were. Also, FUCK OHJANG ENTERTAINMENT.

I owe more money than I’ve earned, my parents lost all enthusiasm for this path for me a long time ago… I can’t even remember what it felt like for them to take pride in me. Honestly I started writing this entry because I thought I was going to end it by affirming to myself that this would be a turning point and I’d ace it from here on out, but I kinda feel worse than when I started writing. I should go to bed. I have to get up early to get some practice in before official practice starts, and if the girls who ranked lower than me find out I’m whining and moping about ranking 9th, they’ll think I’m even more of a bitch than they already do.

Well, just wish me luck in the next round, I guess!

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 165+166

The warning earned a chuckle from me lmao. Because why did I literally gasp while reading the first line xd

The warning for eps 166...didn't make me laugh at all.

Yayy Gwen is finally awake!! I guess thanks Leland for removing the thorny plants so she won't hurt herself :|

Nah cause Leland really dare try to kidnap a girl who asked whether he's okay after she herself just woke up from an intense nightmare 💀

Bro has the GUTS. THE AUDACITY. To start ranting about the kids he's kidnapping.

This scene is so emotional, and I am so glad Gwen is finally starting to know who Leelathae is. Though I won't lie, I'm a little disappointed that Leland is the one to tell her :/ I was expecting a family moment with Jack and the other pastel kids. But it's all good since she finally gets to know her :D

I would like to apologize in advance. Serpent Leland kinda made me laugh due to his abs lmaooo.

But it's pretty cool how Gwen and Frederick sees Leland as a threat (tho unintentional), though with different perspective. Gwen sees Leland as a big bad wolf while Frederick sees Leland as a serpent.

HECK YEAH!!! You go, Frederick!!! For once, his ability to misunderstand something is actually resulting in something wonderful and amazing!!

Aww the Possum immediately hugging Gwen <3

Oh uh whoops. Can Curtis see through that glasses? Hopefully...

Guys, Leland is throwing tantrum again :/ but i can see how using Laverne as a weapon against him is a really useful tactic. Considering how in the past, he bought Laverne to be a replacement for Jack. So turning Laverne against him probably feels like a 2nd betrayal for him.

OOHH....Aww man. Damn. I can feel that comb hitting Leland's hand and pushing the thorns in. Ouch...

NAHH NOT CELSO!!! My man this is why you don't scream your move when doing stealth move 😔

Did Frederick just do a Judo move.

I looked it up and this move is called shoulder throw or Seoi-nage.

BUT FREDERICK ACTUALLY, SERIOUSLY JUST SHOULDER THROW HIS FATHER, THEN PROCEEDS TO PLANT HIS HEAD ON THE WALL. Those laverne carrying are working. Plot twist he's actually buff lmao.

Ahwguwau Frederick actually learning from moments where he got hurt and being brave tho!! So proud of him <3

I love Aurelia and her comments man XD

Frederick immediately checking up on Gwen and making sure she wasn't hurt. These guys deserve their happy ending Lambcat c'mon :')

AURELIA FINALLY GIVING GWEN THE DIARY!!! PASTEL KIDS CHILDHOOD WJSJIWNSGEKA

But of course! Let's start from the beginning of chapter 166...

Lorena would be so proud if she see how Frederick tied his dad with her vines.

Yeah, Gwen definitely should start on the second page... Just reading the first page by glancing could lead to many misunderstandings.

May I just say, I love how Gwen is being stern(is that the word?) To Aurelia about how she needs to read that book and that she really want to know about her mother. Hah! Again, I love Aurelia's comment (this time about the war literally happening downstairs XD)

IT'S TIME. INTOOOOOO PASTEL KIDS CHILDHOOD WITH LEELATHAEEEE!!

(Cue that batman transition music (i forgot the era))

WUJWJWHWAIB THEY??? ARE ADORABLE!!! Awww Leelathae reading them a story with Jack and Gwen & Jamie's onesie!! Also their plushies!! I'm having cuteness overload....

HAJSYAISYAJ THEY HAVE MATCHING DRESSES!!!!! Maybe Leelathae sew them herself??? SJSJSHJAUS

Oh. Okay. That's not good. I suppose there's a side effect after giving birth to the children? That's...depressing.

But before we go deeper into that, birthday party!!

I must say, I absolutely adore how chaotic Lorena seems to be lmao. Look at her and her little sword XD and Maria looking really elegant. She really does give the eldest sister vibe. Gwen looks so cute with the pigtails! (I forgot the hairstyle name). Jamie with the fruits and Gwen with the fruit and cooking utensils!

Also it seems that the pastel family is having a small party for birthdays instead of big ones like the plaid kingdom. I wonder why they don't invite the plaid family over? Blaine and Lance would be 6 and 5 years old at this time, so they're probably at the academy already. But what about Leland and Isolde?

Man, this family is genuinely so wholesome and that makes me even sadder for what's about to happen. CAUSE DAMN??? Leelathae passing out while holding the cake, and Jack noticing like 😭 AND THEN JACK RUNNING TOWARDS HER LIKE MARIA AND LORENA RUNNING TOWARDS GWEN I'M GOING TO CRY.

R.i.p cake (i had to do it)

Ahh I see. Okay. So the left ventricle (which is a part of the heart) is weakening and it can't strengthen back up? That's what I'm getting, at least. I wasn't aware something like this could happen. I'm just researching, and is Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) the correct term for this? I don't know anything about childbirth beyond what I learn in school so... this one's purely based on searching the symptom in google.

Okay, let's see... *puts on glasses and squint my eyes* *clears throat*

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) or also known as Postpartum cardiomyopathy is an uncommon form of heart failure that happens toward the end of pregnancy or in the months following delivery, when no other cause of heart failure can be found.

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiomyopathy/what-is-cardiomyopathy-in-adults/peripartum-cardiomyopathy-ppcm

(This information is taken from American Heart Association website. I hope that's alright?)

Symptoms of PPCM that we've seen in Leelathae:

- Fatigue

- Shortness of breath

- Chest pain

- Feeling lightheaded or faint

- Dizziness

For now that's the only things I can note. I mean, I'm not even sure if that is what Leelathae is going through. But it seems likely. I don't have anything to add on this matter right now, so what if we go back to the story. Shall we?

"I'm going to perish...from a broken heart"

OHHHHH, OKAY DAMN LEELATHAE. Man... this reminds me of the broken heart syndrome. It's pretty interesting. If I'm not wrong, it's a heart condition that comes from extremely stressful situation or emotions. And it is possible to pass away from it. So yes, you can die from a broken heart.

Oh man this just got depressing real quick... The kids sitting beside Leelathae's bed, the medicines piling up overtime, Leelathe crying and Jack hugging her...

Leelathae :( she just wants to see her kids grow up and her husband man... and yet because a certain jealous man just had to steal a portrait...damn it Leland.

The witch!! It's her!! :0000

That's nice of her to offer to listen to Leelathae's vent :) though she does mistake her for a witch :')

THIS WHOLE TIME. IT'S THE WITCH LMAO. Okay actually being mistaken as a witch has a perk this time!! And does this mean Leelathae can bake??? Like mother like daughter real.

The panel of the witch hugging Leelathae is actually pretty sweet haha. They're besties now X)

I wonder how this spell will work....

That's it for now. 2 episodes in a post! Wooo! I gotta stop procrastinating... this post was so long lmao.

Mono out! (Ngl I'm still in lmao)

[bluecatwriter]

That Unknown and Terrible Land (I know it's more like a chapter but the whole series would have been overwhelming)

Thanks so much for the request! When I first read the title, I was like, "What fic is that?" The title is almost always the very last revision I make to a fic, especially chapter titles, and so I totally forgot that I'd named that chapter that. XD 

The chapter in question, from the fic "When You Have Read Those Papers, You Will Know Me Better": "Mina reads about Jonathan's vow."

(Major spoilers, Christianity CW)

-Speaking of titles, the whole fic's name is my least-favorite title I've ever done. It's too long, and I always want it to be "these" instead of "those." Could I change it? Yes, but as the infamous Edna Mode said, "I never look back, darling, it distracts from the now." ;)

-Anyway, I am Not Normal about Mina spending the ENTIRE DAY by herself in the same place as she was assaulted immediately after the assault, and although this fic doesn't focus on it, it's the backdrop for her reading Jonathan's diary entry from that day. (In fact, I have in my drafts a fic that's an expanded version of this chapter, going through her whole day. It's slow going though because there's just. So much!)

-The immediate opening scene is a mix of domesticity and lingering terror. I put her in Jonathan's nightshirt because I imagine she only has one nightgown (which was ruined with blood) and no one thought to get her a new one during the day.

-I wanted to show that she knows intellectually that none of this was her fault— but she doesn't know it in her gut. Like many people, she struggles with connecting the two.

-Writing Jonathan through Mina's eyes is always interesting because I imagine her as being very attuned to how his manner changes over time. She can see the toll that the past few months have taken on him, and it's heartbreaking. Even so, he's doing his best to be calm and collected.

-It's a common theme in my fics to have a character unable to speak something emotionally difficult until they break eye contact, either by looking away or by drawing closer in a hug. This is inspired me yours truly, who can only talk about emotions when speed-walking without making eye-contact, or curling up in a ball like a pillbug.

-There are many different possible headcanons for when Mina read of Jonathan's vow to become a vampire should she become one, and while I like different interpretations, I think this one is my favorite, both because the Harkers have become very wary of keeping secrets from each other at this point, and also because it gives Mina a clear motivation for coming up with a plan to make everyone else in the group vow to kill her if she should be "too far gone." 

-In this fic I wanted to show that Mina is not relieved or encouraged by Jonathan's vow to follow her into the dark— but she is comforted by it. It's a complicated soup of emotions! Her faith and her salvation are still important to her— and her husband's faith/salvation as well, which he is jeopardizing here. I wanted to show that this is not a straightforwardly good thing here, but neither is it something she can entirely hate. She doesn't like the conflict it builds in her, and in this fic that turns toward outward anger at Dracula for forcing them into this situation, for putting their souls on the line like this. She doesn't blame Jonathan; she blames the one who put them into this mess in the first place.

-I liked the idea of Jonathan's vow spurring Mina on to make sure this is a choice he will never have to make (#Quinceycore). 

-Because I can never resist a Biblical allusion, I used this reference to explain her state of mind: "She must keep her faith and supplicate the Almighty to bring her back into His fold until He had to comply, like the parable of the widow regaling the unjust judge until he gave her justice." This is a reference to Luke 18:1-8, a parable in which a widow gets justice for her cause by simply pestering a judge who "feared not God neither regarded men" until he gets annoyed with her and gives her what she wants. Like all parables, this can be interpreted in myriad ways, but the most common interpretation is to compare the widow to a person praying and the unjust judge to God, which is fascinating to me. I wanted to show that the same framework that is causing Mina so much turmoil and shame is also giving her the tools for self-empowerment. (If I ever get around to finishing the expanded version of this chapter, there will be a lot more of this kind of thing.)

-At this point, Mina just kind of blanks out, which is what happens to me when I experience too many emotions at once. "All her wants and cares and terrors left her with the simplicity of a single desire: She wanted Jonathan."

-This fic is rated Teen but this may be one of the most passionate love scenes I've ever written.

Thanks again for the ask, I really enjoyed going over this one again!

(Ask game here)

[adainesfroggieboggy]

said i may rant ab emily axford and i will. it could just be the people i'm following, but i haven't seen as much love for doomsday diaries as her naddpod music! and i'm obsessed with doomsday diaries! it honestly might be my desert island album. it's so fucking good. i cannot say how much i love it.

not only are the songs so fucking good, they tell a story! It's got plot! she wrote a cute-sounding apocalypse album with a whole ass storyline and i love it. just. listen to doomsday diaries for me.

below the cut, i will be ranting about specific songs because i can't not. i need to. in conclusion, emily fucking axford.

evacuation?? are you kidding me with the "wear comfortable shoes" being the last line of the first verse and of the whole song? AND AND "and don't bring the memories, delete and erase, they'll only hold you back, you haven't got the space" i want to scream that part. i want to scream the whole chorus. "there's too many ways, to protest and fight for, the better days" and then the lull of "but they're gone, you should be too" the contrast brings me pure joy. glee.

and one of my favorite songs ever. is this love or mass extinction. could quote whole verses. "the flirting and the phone calls, and that cataclysm" and "my heart is a kingdom, that's been pillaged and razed" and the "serendipity or global calamity?" come. on. i love this song. it's a song about having love so world-shattering and loving someone who has burned the world down. i can't express. it was the top song on my spotify wrapped with something like 125 listens. hours i have spend listening to this song.

i love love love love the beginning of grey goo. "2023 and a biotech named steve, fueled by good intentions and a curiosity" i want to type out all of these songs in their entirety, but this is a highlights reel ok. "i look at all your freckles and your dimples and and your scars, the colors and the shapes that made you who you are, let the robots turn our every cell into their skin, but i will never forget the landscape of your skin" an entire verse because. "but i will never forget the landscape of your skin." again, could give the whole song. so good.

robot rebellion. the dancey lil dance i do to this song. upbeat and pretty to have lines like "'cause i am not afraid to die, long as you're here by my side" and "so go ahead and do your worst, 'cause i ain't givin' in without a fight" and the last verse! "we can run we can run we can run, and we can make our home amongst the trees, and i'd be happy there just you and me" pls i love it

bangers all around. i can do more of this. i can do this for almost every song. i'm stopping because god that's a lot of words but look at me. look at me and listen. this album? cannot get enough love. pls. and the cover is my favorite thing in the whole world. a selfie from a low angle of a poorly-lit emily, with sunglasses on, completely neutral, with beautiful tree branches and a blue sky above her and a comet photoshopped above her head and the words "Doomsday diaries" in the top right corner, and the loop of the y in doomsday is also the d in diaries. it's perfect, no notes. album cover of all time.

[marveinator]

Afraid- Ellie Williams (4)

Afraid- Ellie Williams (Part 4)

part 3 -> masterlist

Summary: You decide to make the deal a real thing and go over to Ellie´s house...

A/N: I listened to girl in red while writing this. FINALLY STH IS HAPPENING! It´s short but the next chapter will be out tmrw or the day after tmrw, I´ll see how much time I will have to write. BYE!

Chapter warnings: flirting, fighting, idk... LMAO

I turned around and slowly opened my eyes. It was hot and I immediately decided to get rid of the sweater I was wearing. As I sat upright in my bed I noticed how my head began to hurt. I looked down at myself. A gray sweater. Definitely not mine, but the one from-.

"Fuck."

Ellie. I was wearing Ellie's sweater.

As if in one fell swoop, I remembered everything that had happened yesterday. Ellie. Me. Together. Kiss. Well, almost a kiss. But still. Just the thought that I had considered kissing her made me shiver. And then also that smoking had been my idea and I had thus caused everything, didn't make the whole situation any better.

On the contrary, I felt like shit. Sure, it had been nice with her, but where would a kiss have led? She would never talk about it again anyway and… how did I even know I liked girls in that way?

Ellie Williams POV I woke up with rays of sunshine on my face, which surprised me because it was usually really cold, it was winter after all. Slowly I moved from my bed and went to the window, I had forgotten to close the curtains. Today I had no patrol, which is why I actually wanted to sleep in. However, I could only sleep fragilely tonight.

I remembered only a part of what had happened yesterday, so I decided not to write any details in my diary. I opened the book that was placed on my bedside table, dug for a pen and began.

With a sigh I closed the book again. No chance that after last night things between me and her would ever be good again (they never really were, but still). A pickup line was not exactly the best way to settle a murder. Well, looking at it that way, could a murder even be settled at all? Probably not.

I shook my aching head and, to my disappointment, made myself take off her shirt.

Then I remembered something. We had a deal. A date, almost. Today, with me, a duel. Funny way to hang out, but it had been her idea after all, so the only question was whether she even remembered it and if yes, if she would come over...

your POV I had to go to Ellie. Well, I had suggested the "duel" after all. And besides, deep inside I wanted to go to her, too. I wanted to prove to her that I could fight (and I was sure I would do and say stuff that I would probably regret but fuck it, you only live once, right?).

When I stood in front of the big brown door in front of Ellie's house, I felt queasy. Was this really a good idea? Overthinking everything. Like I always did. Now I was already here and I would go through it.

Cautiously I knocked on the door. As if in one fell swoop, it was torn open and Ellie was standing in front of me.

"Oh. Hi," she said shyly. I smiled and returned a soft "Hey."

Cautiously, I stepped inside and Ellie moved aside to let me go through the entrance. "Uh- where do I put my shoes?", I asked and Ellie pointed to the floor under the coat rack where two jackets were hanging.

Carefully, I put my shoes down there and followed Ellie, who was on her way to the living room. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean-isn't it a little… I don´t know- childish?", Ellie asked.

I shook my head. "It was a deal, wasn't it? Besides, the idea that you think I'm weak bothers me quite a bit." Ellie's eyes widened and she had that grin on her face again, as if in an instant. "Oh, and why does that bother you so much?" She moved a little closer and stood in front of me. She was tall and I felt a little intimidated, but tried not to let it show.

"Are we going to start or not?", I interrupted her, "Any rules?" The girl in front of me thought for a while before replying, "Well, no one should die, but it won't come to that anyway. And maybe not break any bones?" I giggled and nodded, so Ellie was scared after all? "But- I won't go easy on you." Yeah right. She should probably be more afraid of ME. I mean I would already have a reason to want to kill her. But to my surprise I didn't want to do that at all right now, I just wanted to prove something to Ellie.

"Well, Els, let's get started then?"

Ellie Williams POV Els. She had given me a nickname… cute. Before I could answer anything, I felt my arm being twisted behind my back and suddenly my front was pressed firmly against the wall. "Woah, woah, slow there babe." The girl behind me just laughed and tried to trip me up. This time, however, I was faster and managed to turn around. With full force I let my leg slide under hers and so managed to make her fall down. Now she was lying on her back and I quickly crawled on top of her so that I was sitting on her in the area of her hip. I took both her arms with one hand and pressed them above her head so that she could not fight back. "That's unfair, I wanted to kick your ass all week," sighed the girl under me. "Well, this whole situation just shows that I'm stronger," I replied and had to grin.

your POV "Move your hands, Ellie." The brunette on top of me immediately let go of my arms and sat up a little straighter (still on top of me).

"Always on top huh?" The words left my mouth without me even thinking about it. Ellie's facial expression changed abruptly, almost as if she was in a state of shock. She didn't seem to know what to say now, so I said "Would you also get yourself off of me again sometime?" to distract from my previous question. Ellie got off of me and sat on the floor next to me. I sat upright as well, so I was back across from her. "I'm never going to stop talking about this" Ellie giggled. "What?", I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She leaned in closer and I felt that weird feeling in my stomach again. This couldn't be happening…. and this time I wasn't even high-

"I'm better than you at fighting," she whispered. I felt warmth shoot into my cheeks and I suddenly I forgot everything around me. There was just Ellie again. Only her.

"Really good for you Els, but I think there are a lot of things that I am better at than YOU…", I explained to her. She grinned again and leaned even closer to me, almost as if she was going to-

"Shut up for once, babe."

Ellie Williams POV It's Now or Never. I leaned in further and felt our lips touch. A comforting warmth shot through my body, one I hadn't felt in a long time. I carefully put my hand on her cheek and also noticed how she leaned in closer.

After a while we let go of each other and looked into each other's eyes. A smile formed, to my satisfaction, on her lips. "Yeah, Liam definitely wasn't a good kisser-" I had to laugh now as well, finally feeling complete again. That one kiss had healed so much that was broken inside of me. This girl could fix me, I just knew it.

"You should go now, babe, Maria and Tommy are probably wondering where you are…", I said as I brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She nodded in an understanding way and stood up.

Before she walked out the door she turned around and stared at me.

"Ellie," her soft voice said. "Yes?" She looked down at the floor and began to play nervously with her fingers. "Don't make me regret this." I sighed and nodded.

"I'll do my best."

[hekates-corner]

Apothecary Diaries | WN Translation | Arc 9 - Chapter 17

Hi and welcome!

For a number of reasons I ended up here - I relay all that happens in the chapters, playing wine-aunt, as I translate to the best of my abilities.

So, be warned, this involves all the spoilers. Want some but not all? My dm's/asks are open.

New here or missed a part? Check out the Masterlist!

Chapter 17 | Hitoban Pt. 2

“Now, what are we going to do?” - Tianyu asks like it’s someone elses problem.

“Whatever I say, won’t you just show me how to do it right?” - Maomao looked at the courtyard.

She/they had decided to let Lihaku sleep since he’s on night patrol. In return, Maomao got a map of the villa.

Narrator-Mao also lets us know that she’s persuaded the quack to go out, so they have to wrap it up early.

“I’m scissors. I’m not going to cut, unless you tell me what paper I’m supposed to cut. If you want to stab anything in the back, that’s fine.”

Maomao: … …

Narrator-Mao notes that Tianyu seems to have a deep-rooted feeling that she doesn’t trust him.

Maomao thinks something along the lines of “But that guy’s someone like that.”

And goes on as narrator that he seems to be lacking ethics.

“For now, let’s go to the place where the yokai appeared.”

Tianyu then uses a word that’s common for interjections but can mean a couple different things - natives don’t rec using that phrase unless it’s orally ���cause it’s that hard to pinpoint.

The first location is a courtyard where the floating head is seen often.

“Sightings are concentrated on that tree or building/toward the tree and on top of the building.”

Maomao glances at the floorplan of the villa - noting as narrator that, although a villa, it’s quite spacious.

“Ho/Huh” - Tianyu looks alternately at the tree and building.

“Is there anything you’re curious about?”

“Not particularly. What about you, young miss Maomao?”

That’s how Tianyu calls her.

“For me, there’s two things.” - She turns her initial attention to the tree.

“It’s a little different from the trees that grow elsewhere in Saito. It’s larger and taller than the others”

“So what/What’s that about?”

“Don’t you care? Different types of plants produce different kinds of medicines. I’ll have to get a little closer to see/find out.”

Tianyu’s like “Yeah, what’s that got to do with anything right now?”

If he’s got an uninteresting personality, Maomao will get/look bored.

“And the other one?”

“The other thing is that the trees and buildings look like “masks”.”

“That’s because he said it would show its face.”

“Yes. When a/the “mask (men)” or “face (kao)” appears/comes out. But they didn’t say “head (atama)” (alt version could be: they say when a mask or face appears - but they don’t say head, it’s complicated, stick with me pls)

One thing that bothered Maomao is that there are two different testimonies: “mask (men)” and “head (atama)”.

“Are you sure they mean “mask (men)” and “head (atama)”, so flat and three-dimensional?”

Narrator-Mao notes that “Tianyu is kinda/somehow very smart. He got close.”

Maomao argues that she doesn’t know about that, but she’s wondering and says that she’ll check out the tree.

Tianyu’s like “Please do. Is there anything to do?” and Narrator-Mao notes that “It looks like the scissors are ready to work.”

“Yes, then/well…” - Maomao pulls out a Tenugui from her pocket and wraps it around a stone that had fallen on the ground.

“Please hook this well to that tree.”

Tianyu’s response can be translated a couple of ways “Don’t talk nonsense/That’s unreasonable/Don’t be absurd/…” in short, he’s not pleased…

But as he says that, he already swung the Tenugui neatly and hooked it on the tree. Now she can climb confidently.

Maomao goes under the tree. The tree is broad leaved and around 2 jo tall.

“Is this an osmanthus?” (fragrant olive - osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)

Maomao looks around. It’s a tree that produces small flowers with a strong fragrance - it’s used to make keika chinshu wine and flower tea.

Maomao puts her hand on the tree and lets out a “Wow!” sound.

Tianyu: Ugh that’s disgusting/dirty.

Maomao, in her head: Shut up/Be quiet.

She had dried bird poop on her hands - going to try and rub it off on the trunk of the tree.

Tianyu’s like “Huh?” and asks her something, I’m not 100% of. It’s related to smell/a stench. I mostly get what she’s sniffing at/smelling but I don’t know if that quite makes sense, in or out of context.

“Eh? What are you stirring with the stick?” - Tianyu looks at her with blank eyes.

Maomao’s like “Huh? Picking it up/apart? I’m picking the contents of the feces up/apart like with chopsticks.”

Tianyu takes half a step back.

Narrator-Mao notes that even she doesn’t like to do it - animal feces contain a lot of information.

“This bird seems to mainly eat insects.” - Tianyu seems to mockingly repeat “It seems to only eat insects”, given the ending & context.

“But there are also some hairs mixed in, probably from a rat or some other small animal.”

“Eats rats? It it a falcon/hawk or black kite (milvus migrans)?”

Narrator-Mao notes that if the bird doesn’t just eat insects but also small animals it would’ve to be of a certain size.

“Yes. But… …” Maomao looks around - letting us know in narration that while the villa has a lot of greenery and plenty of water, meaning there are a few birds here and there, none of them were big enough to eat mice/rats. Also, if there was such a bird, the smaller ones would run away.

Or, at least they don’t appear to be there at this time - Narrator-Mao thinks, turning her attention next to the building.

“You can’t get up on the roof of that building, can you?”

“The roof, huh. Do you want to throw another tenugui?”

“Can you reach it?”

“Looks like it’s impossible/I don’t think so.”

Since there didn’t seem to be a solution, Maomao thought about heading back.. but then Maomao felt/saw something move at the edge of her vision.

She wondered what it was, but since she couldn’t find anything in particular, all she took note of was the openwork decoration under the roof.

“... I really want to climb the roof.”

“Eh, that’s impossible.”

“Let’s do something. We need a ladder.”

“Even if you say that, you’ll have to ask the gardener.”

Narrator-Mao concludes that “perhaps his interest has waned considerably, and he’s not motivated.”

But in her head she’s like: speaking of gardener, if I remeber correctly…

He should be/is the old man who said he’d seen the head yesterday.

She goes about heading to the hut where the gardener’s supposed to be.

“Even if you suddenly ask me to lend you a ladder…” - The old man responds with a troubled/annoyed look and Narrator-Mao wonders that it might be because of the strange thing he saw yesterday that he’s feeling a little lackluster/lifeless.

“I’m told to be kind to guests, but I’m not told to help them rummage around the mansion.”

Tianyu’s like “That’s a fair point.” and in her head Maomao’s like “Which side are you on?”, concluding as narrator that Tianyu’s completely unreliable.

“It looks like a bird is nesting in the cracks in the roof of this mansion.”

“A nest? Well, there’s been a lot of poop lately.”

“Yes. It would be a hassle if the birds were to nest, so I thought I’d clean it up. I would be happy if I could get the eggs. We use them as an ingredient in our medicine.”

“Medicine? Even though we don’t know what kind of bird it it?”

“Yes, eggs are generally good for nourishment.” - Maomao says the appropriate things.

But there’s one more thing to add/that she’d like to add.

“The monster commotion that has become a hot topic lately - I think I know the cause.”

“R-Really?!”

“Yes.”

Narrator-Mao notes that she thinks at least half of the problem can be solved.

The elderly gardener immediately prepared a ladder, but it turned out to be more unstable than expected.

“Maybe I should be (the one) climbing?” Tianyu asks Maomao.

“The way you put it, you have no intention of climbing (it).”

“Yeah.”

Maomao doesn’t feel like asking that much of the old gardener, so she decides to climb up herself. However, as she put up the big ladder, a bunch of government officials and servants gathered around.

“.......”

Unfortunately, no one stepped up to take her place, it was really just a sight-seeing trip.

“Incidentally, the original man of leisure/busybody was also there” - Narrator-Mao notes.

It’s Jinshi. The people around him took three steps back at the appearance of “the great man”.

Jinshi had an indescribable look on his face and went about telling Basen something - Basen nods and comes over to Maomao.

“It looks like you’re going to climb the ladder, but I’ll take your place. What do you want me to do?”

“Are you, Basen-sama?”

Narrator-Mao’s like: To be honest, if Basen were to go, it would be faster if she just did it herself. Although Basen has better athletic abilities, she felt like he would be slow to make quick decisions. In addition—

She goes on thinking that he’ll do something with his enormous strength.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll go.” - While she flatly/firmly refuses, there’s no way he’ll back down.

Basen goes on to argue that either he or Jinshi said he’ll replace her, asking again what he should do. Maomao realizes she has no choice but to give up because it’s assumed/expected that they switch.

“Perhaps, just perhaps, there’s a bird nesting in the gap in the roof. If there is a bird would you be able to/could you please catch it?”

“A bird?”

“Yes, I think it’s probably a nocturnal bird. If it’s asleep, please take your time. If you can reach it.”

“Understood.”

Basen lets out a heavy breath - Maomao on the other hand becomes anxious.

“Basen-sama. Please don’t kill it, because it won’t be able to get into paradise if it’s killed in vain.” (alt is that he won’t if he kills in vain.)

“Please don’t kill it… …” - Basen’s voice immediately becomes quiet.

Maomao thinks “I’m anxious/nervous.”

As narrator she tells us that she was thinking about going to wake up Lihaku, ask him to switch places but then she saw the gap in the roof. It seems like Lihaku would never be able to get into it.

“I think it would be better if I go because of the size of the gap.”

“No, no, I’ll go. Leave it to me!”

Maomao is filled with anxiety as she watches Basen climb the ladder. One lucky thing is that his body is strong, so even if he would fall of the ladder they wouldn’t have to worry about him getting injured.

Basen climbs the ladder and looks through the opening beneath the roof. He makes a circle with his thumb and forefinger.

Maomao thinks something along the lines of “So there’s a birds nest *right?*”

The openwork is removable and Basen goes about removing it slowly. He threaded a string through it and lowered it to the ground. He then twists his body through the gap and enters.

Not only Maomao but everyone around them swallowed hard.

She thought everyone was quiet but before she knew it Chue came over and showed everyone a board with the word “Quiet” written on it.

There was nothing for a while, but then suddenly there was a loud rattling/clattering sound.

“I missed it/It got away-” Basen’s voice echoes.

Maomao thinks something like “Oh/Hey”

As she’s panicking, Chue climbed up the ladder with a note. Maomao was wondering what she was going to do, but Chue waited in front of the gap Basen had gone into. Chue catches what jumps out of the gap with a net.

“....”

Even Maomao was stunned at how skilled she is.

“I caught it!”

Chue was holding up a large net, she looked very triumphant, proud and a little irritated.

She was a showoff and didn’t miss the delicious moment.

Notes | Chapter 18

The scissor part is a refence to chapter 1(?), aka the rock paper scissor fight. This part held me up so hard, 'cause I was like "is this guy high? scissor? why scissor?". I opened a solid 20 tabs and translator for this just to go "you can't be serious" xD

A tenugui is a japense towel/the cousin of a cloth handkerchief. It's usually made from thin, colorfully printed cottonwool. Around 30cm by 90cm big, on average.

The part where Maomao and Basen go back and forth based on his wording Basen really wants her to trust him/put faith into him. I'm not sure if she says if killed in vain he or the owl won't get into heaven, I'd assume it's about Basen though.

Like I said in last chapters notes, everything will make sense in the next one. It's not the conclusion of this mini-arc per se, but it's a good enough point to post.

Start of some JinMao crumbs xD

[vickyvicarious]

(spoilers)

For some reason, Jon saying how "resistless" Dracula is, how Dracula says oh so politely I'll take no refusal, reminds me of Mina.

Mina will send a telegraph to Van helsing about him coming to breakfast in more of a demand than a request, but so politely. Seward not wanting to share his records and making up excuses on why, and Mina not having any of it (politely).

Jonathan notes how "charming" Dracula is, how he talks to him in "his smooth way", how "resistless" he is. Seward also talks about letting Mina visit his violent patient because he "couldn't resist her" due to her being so appealing when asking.

Both Dracula and Mina use charming assertion to get what they want.

Hm... You raise an interesting point.

I do think there's an important subtext that shouldn't get lost here... namely the threat lying just beneath the surface for Dracula at all times. His charm is not only resistless for its own sake, but because Jonathan knows that if he challenges it, that might peel away the thin skin of polite friendly smooth talk and reveal the true danger beneath. We can't forget that any more than Jonathan. (And of course, Mina has no such threat - if anything, it's still more the fear of the threat cause by Dracula that's a possible option if people refuse her, when there could be said to be any threat.)

That said, Dracula's charm can be genuinely powerful in its own right. He is good at talking around or past things he doesn't want to mention (without having to outright shut them down; he did pretend not to hear at times but also was able to steer the conversation away), or just speaking with confidence that he will get his way and that everyone else agrees with him and will naturally fall in line. He's good at framing things in a way where arguing back makes you look like the one in the wrong ('obviously you won't want to go anywhere that's locked anyway', etc.). That "is it not so?" which he repeatedly uses sounds like a question but it isn't, really, it's phrased in a way to make you agree. It always comes after him stating things as facts to ensure you do agree. And by doing so, to make you become complicit with and approving of what he's doing. He has a kind of mastery of language that includes these sorts of tricks, but also he's just a genuinely good conversant. He talks well and interestingly, his conversation is engaging and can be entertaining. Maybe to compensate for the many ways he is instinctively (or otherwise) creepy, or maybe just as a holdover from his living days, Dracula is good at wielding his words and charisma. I think you can see in his treatment of Jonathan how much he's missed having a good conversant to play off of, and while he obviously does mix in lots of tormenting and being scary, he also plays the role of Charming Host well when he genuinely wants.

It's all the more interesting since this entire aspect of his character vanishes in London as he recedes to the edges of the narrative, becoming a largely offscreen menace. His speech against Mina showcases much of his power over words, but she is able to pick out the key information to use against him. And his blustering to the boys in the house later that day is hardly up to his usual standards in my opinion; it may sound kind of tough but is pretty much immediately proven to be flimsy with him fleeing right away. There's certainly no attempt at charm in it.

...but I digress. Back to the point, with Mina. I think she is very good at manipulating people when she wants. The telegram to van Helsing I don't think is the best example, because both the medium being used (paid by word so short and to the point) and the circumstances (a reply to his letter asking if he could come see her) make her message less demanding, even if politely so. It's more just letting him know she is available and giving the go-ahead. But she does get Seward to show her his audio diary as well as let her visit Renfield, and she is able to establish a very quick bond with him and the rest of the suitor squad, as well as van Helsing. I mean, everyone packbonds quickly but Mina especially is good at charming people right away. She also does this later on, convincing van Helsing to let her come along to chase Dracula, convincing everyone but Jonathan to promise to kill her if she turns fully, etc. Just because I say she's good at 'manipulating' doesn't mean I think she is being Machiavellian about it; she's not conniving or evil or merely using people for her own ends. But she is good at ensuring she gets her own way when she feels strongly enough about it, because she knows the right arguments/emotional appeals to make.

I think there are two pretty distinct differences between Mina and Dracula in this regard. First: honesty. Mina genuinely believes in what she's doing, and in fact the idea that she would deceive Jonathan to manipulate him into bringing her along is a particular fear of hers about turning further. All of her 'resistless charm' comes from a place of genuine feeling and care. It's most often motivated by consideration for others, and in fact she tends not to speak up if its only for her own sake. Dracula, on the other hand, is fundamentally dishonest, especially when he is at his most charming. He plays the role of a friend or at least someone friendly, but he doesn't genuinely care for anyone else over himself and at his variant of 'resistless charm' is entirely about what he wants you to do or not do. (Not to mention, at the end of the day he views people as prey.) Mina is motivated by outcomes she wants to achieve to aid others. As a result, Dracula's charm is inherently more something he has to intentionally put on while Mina's may be more instinctive or at least more connected to genuine feeling.

The second big difference is connection. (This overlaps a little with both the idea of honesty and also motivation, but I chose this term to be more distinct from the above point.) While both of them may be very charming, and you may give in to both of their words, the type of words they use are different. They both sometimes use a kind of logical framework to make a request sound like the answer yes is only sensible, even, but the type of framing logic is based on different premises. Without getting too much into all the specific examples, the types of charming words Dracula uses to ensure his way tend to rely on duties or social structure (your master/employer said you'd obey me, you are a good guest). Mina on the other hand justifies herself through people (I know you through Lucy and you'll know me from this journal soon, you have to stop me lest I harm you all). Mina's method of appeal tends to remind people of the connections of trust, respect, and love between her and themselves/others. It kind of harkens back to the importance of 'recommendations' and letters of introduction and such, but not so formally. Even when she doesn't specifically ask for the sake of some other person, like when she wanted to see Renfield, her reference to Seward's diary is a reminder of the intimate exchange of trust and comfort accompanying her listening to it. Again, I don't think she is thinking all this out to figure out the best way to make people listen to her, but she really cares strongly about people, and as that is her motivation it also naturally informs how she talks and appeals. Compare this again to Dracula, who doesn't trust, respect, or love anyone else really, and his words based on more external structures make sense. His charm is a power-play while Mina's is reaching out to others.

(I have thought about vampire!Mina weaponizing her charm before though, and I think that would bear more in common to Dracula's style of doing so for sure. At the very least in the more malignantly intentional/dishonest way. But as it is their styles of charisma are different at the core despite both being charmingly irresistable at times.)

[bloody-wonder]

mid-year book freak out tag

years go by... i still read books...

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023? moby dick! i totally did not expect to like this dusty tome so much but it was just too perfect a mix of tropy revenge tale, sea adventure mockumentary, and making stuff up and putting it into categories that caused pleasant vibrations in my neurodivergent brain. i have watched so many whale documentaries after reading this, you guys have no idea🐳

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023? flamefall is the second book in the aurelian cycle and it’s the best sequel i’ve read so far this year. the addition of a slow burn mm master/servant story line improved things considerably, not to mention that it was my favorite character’s time to shine. this series is sooo good, please read it guys you won’t regret it i swear🙏

(ngl i’m a bit annoyed that fourth wing, this fireborne sjm-ified, is doing numbers out there and meanwhile there’s no fandom for the aurelian cycle to speak of😒)

also i simply have to mention defekt, book two of litenverse. i found the first book quite boring despite it’s shortness but the sequel has a sad lil guy🥺. highly recommend for fans of black mirror, severance or the murderbot diaries. you don’t reeeally need to read book one btw, i think you can just read the description and then jump straight to the good stuff

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To? i want to read witch king but i keep putting it off cause everything i hear about it sounds suspiciously like *american author does mdzs* and idk how i feel about that😬

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023? i’m looking forward to system collapse the most bc it’s gonna be set chronologically after network effect and it’s longer than the other murderbot novellas too. very excited to see murderbot and art bicker again hehe

5. Biggest Disappointment? ig it’s the warrior’s apprentice😬 many people recced the vorkosigan saga to me as “the lymond chronicles in space” but based just on this first(-ish) book i have to say miles is uhhh,, not lymond😐 lymond’s key traits are that he’s queer and a cunt and baby miles is simply not that (yet). of all the other books that people mentioned on my overcompetent scheming bastard post this was the last one i hadn’t read so i was a bit disappointed that it didn’t pull me in like the lymond chronicles. however, of all the books mentioned there it’s also the only series i can see myself continuing any time soon so. it wasn’t all too bad ig🤷‍♀️

i was also somewhat disappointed by assassin’s apprentice but i will make myself push through the realm of the elderlings just bc i’m so intrigued by the fool👀

6. Biggest Surprise? apart from the life changing experience that was moby dick i gotta admit i didn’t expect to like the goblin emperor, what with it being one of those cozy hopepunk fantasies where people are nice and decent to each other🙄 but it really did grow on me by the end, it indeed made me feel cozy and soothed. now i wanna try katherine addison’s older darker stuff that was apparently so controversial she had to change her pen name or smth👀🤭  

7. Favorite New Author? so i read another book by christopher rice and can confirm that he’s now one of my favorite authors. the man’s early 2000s gay thrillers are very melodramatic and refreshingly juicy - you can really tell they were published in ye olden pre-twitter times

8. Newest Favorite Character? cyrano savinien hercule de bergerac. after just reading that first act where he monologues about his nose for three pages straight and then spends all the money he has to hijack a theater and cause a scene by duelling a guy on stage while insulting him in ballad form i thought wow but this is one of my sexy fucked up guys who like to swish their swords and run their mouths! please enter the mind rotation chamber, monsieur🙌

9. Newest Fictional Crush? power sur eater🐉 you guys are sleeping on the aurelian cycle and on the Glory and Tragedy of My Boy who has done nothing wrong ever in his life and i love him😭 seriously, if you’d like to watch a character like draco malfoy go through jaime lannister’s arc you gotta read this series

also csevet aisava? the guy who put sexy in bureaucracy?? it’s a crime that he and maia didn’t kiss tbh

💕Best Ship💕 the relationship of griff and delo in the aurelian cycle was SO dramatic and full of rawest scenes! kinda reminded me of captive prince at times, bc of the whole master/servant element. and the ending? “i will grow old in love, let them sing of others”?? i am Emotion🥺

10. Book That Made You Cry? furysong made me cry my eyes out like every ending to a ya series should. have i mentioned you should read the aurelian cycle btw? but also both moby dick and cyrano de bergerac made me laugh AND cry as only really good books do. there’s a part in moby dick about seeing whales in mountains and stars that made me remember i am a human being and was a small and happy human being once - like that scene in ratatouille when anton ego tastes ratatouille and the nostalgic memories hit him and he becomes not evil anymore. that was nice but i cried like a little bitch😭

11. Book That Made You Happy? re-reading twittering birds never fly without skipping all the yakuza plot scenes made me realize how hilarious this manga actually is! yashiro can obviously crack a joke but this time i discovered the comic relief goldmine that is nanahara

skjdvnksjdvk like?!

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year? i have a LOT of criticisms about martin crimp’s “free adaptation” of cyrano de bergerac but ngl it was fun to watch the play come to life on stage (even tho there were no swords, a crime😒) and even more fun to watch christian kiss cyrano on the mouth like god intended

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year? so this year i actually started reviewing stuff on goodreads for the first time and it’s quite fun and really useful for refreshing your memory on what you thought of a book. i try to go for short and witty over in depth and analytical so i suppose the best examples of the reviews i have written so far would be the ones of moby dick and the goblin emperor

14. Most Beautiful Cover? the og red cover of fireborne slaps! the revolutionary red? the minimalist black dragon? the main characters’ profiles formed by its wings?? talented brilliant show stopping. idk who made the decision to redesign the covers after the first book but that decision was utterly stupid🤨

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year? i need to finish some series (the diviners, the dreamhealers, the broken earth), then like i said i want to read witch king and also i’m doing the classics challenge again so i have to at least finish reading roxelana and re-read the picture of dorian gray (the uncensored edition👀). i have looked up my old mid year tags and was pleased to discover that i since have managed to read all the books mentioned there EXCEPT for you love me which has been a staple in my reading plans since 2021 so i’m gonna put it on this list again to honor the tradition lmao

overall i have to say my reading year is going well but i still miss the exhilaration of discovering new books worth obsessing over like it kept happening in 2019-2021 with the secret history, captive prince, all for the game, mdzs and lymond. last year i used to think i wasn’t doing a good job of finding books like this but now i’m starting to suspect that i have actually read ALL the good books and there aren’t any left :( but that’s absurd right?? or isn’t it?! anyways tell me what you’ve been reading so that i can maybe get intrigued by something and prove myself wrong on this🙏📚

@figuringthengsout @counterwiddershins @fugitoidkry @magpiefngrl @sugarbabywenkexing @fandomreferencepending @pemberlaey @oliviermiraarmstrongs @hello-jumping-in-puddles @thehalcyonharbinger @pinkasrenzo @beeblackburn @weirdsociology @veliseraptor @theodoradove @sixappleseeds @doh-rae-me @venndaai 

talk to me about books guys! if you want to!!

goodreads │ old mid year tags 2020 2021 2022 

[delinquentbookworm]

📓👋 Hello hi~~

Heyyyy 👋

Sorry that this isn't a starbreaker thing, but one thing I do keep thinking about (and will probably never write) is a fic about what happens in Junior Year from Mazey's perspective. Just because I feel like she'd see so much happening from behind the scenes but there are also so many completely unrelated fires she has to put out, and she doesn't have context for anything, so it's impossible for her to see that there's an evil plot going on.

Also, Jace would try to get on her good side (if for no other reason than she has the ability to fire people now, and Porter gets so many complaints). Mazey's a sweet person, I think she would get along with who Jace pretends to be, and it makes me laugh to think of them as work besties who bond over a shared love of trashy reality TV or something.

So, Mazey Phaedra is a teenager who ran for student president because she thought it'd look good on college applications or whatever, and then she ends up as Acting Principal of Aguefort. Suddenly she has a full-time job on top of being a full-time student. There's a million responsibilities, like making sure all the clerics don't flunk out because they don't have a teacher, and making sure all the teachers who are still there get paid on time, there's probably some legal problems caused by Grix trying to kill a bunch of people at a music festival. And she has to do classroom observations and performance reviews, for all these faculty who are decades older than she is and have more experience than she does and probably don't take too kindly to her critiquing what they're doing. (She's pretty sure that Tiberia Runestaff hates her, at the very least.)

The budget is an absolute mess, and there are line items that are explicitly labeled 'HUSH MONEY' and 'FOR BRIBES', so the school might be breaking more laws than Mazey originally thought. She makes the mistake of opening a drawer in Arthur Aguefort's desk when she's looking for a pen, and some shrieking phantoms burst out and escape through the window. Someone is stealing material components from classrooms and healing potions from the nurse's office, but before she can deal with that, she finds out that a student adventuring party on a quest just caused a diplomatic incident in the Baronies that might destabilize the entire region, and the Council of Chosen is pissed. Jawbone is saying that way more kids are stressed out than normal and maybe the school could use a second counselor, because for the first time since he's been working there, his diary is entirely booked up, he now has a waiting list for kids to talk to him. Which, great idea, she'll just have to see if they can afford to hire someone else. Then there's a member of the Council of Chosen absolutely hounding her about shapeshifters and a girl named Wanda Childa, and Mazey has to argue against some pretty extreme surveillance measures. And then, there's talk of a Rat City under the school and when she mentions getting an exterminator in to deal with that, the druid teacher is all over her case about how the rats aren't hurting anyone. Except. You know. The structural foundation of the school.

But hey, at least she has a Vice Principal to help her with all this stuff. And Jace really does his best to talk her through all of her new responsibilities and explain what's going on, and he's kind and he's patient and he seems to be genuinely remorseful that she has been put in this situation. It really should be his job to do all this stuff, but his contract forbids him from doing it because Aguefort never changed the rules after Kalvaxus died. And Jace seems just as frustrated about that as Mazey is. But he's not frustrated at her, like some of the other teachers are. He doesn't talk down to her like the new cleric teacher does. She is so unbelievably stressed out and overwhelmed, and he seems genuinely understanding, and acts like he genuinely wants to help. So of course she warms up to him.

She still has classes during the day so a lot of her Principal stuff gets done after hours, and Jace ends up staying late to help out more often than not. She finds out that Jace and Porter are together when Porter shows up to give Jace a lift home. And honestly, finding out those two are dating is the most boring revelation that there's been all year.

One evening, while they're going through the stupid number of emails she's getting from the Council of Chosen and everyone else, Jace points out the fact that Mazey does have the authority to change the rules about what Vice Principals can do. She could make it so that he can take some of this stuff off her plate. She could even fully remove the rule that stops Vice Principals from being able to take over as the actual Principal. Which is so tempting. She considers it, she even almost does it, but then she decides that she's an Aguefort student and she's supposed to rise to an occasion, not just give up, so she commits to staying in the job until the year is over. She does hand over a few admin-type tasks, and things get a bit easier.

Every now and again there's a meeting that really can't be done outside of office hours and it clashes with a bard class she really wanted to be in, so she asks Jace to attend it on her behalf. And she realises later that he should have been teaching his own class at that time. When she checks, she finds out that he was teaching a class during that meeting. Somehow he was in two places at once.

She asks him about it and he gets this kind of panicked look on his face before admitting there're a couple of clones of him running around the school, helping him out with stuff. Which. Can he teach her how to make one of those?? That would help so much! He can't, it turns out. He tries but neither of the two spells he mashed together to make it work are bard spells, and she can't seem to map what he's saying onto her own style of magic. Still. She appreciates the fact that he tried.

TL;DR, Mazey has the most hectic, chaotic year of her life, during which time she is fully convinced Jace is the nicest person ever. And then a few months later he tries to kill her.