#and getting her first impressions without any fandom influence has been really refreshing

[qinghe-s]

of course loss is the great lesson

— from ‘Poppies’ by Mary Oliver

[id: four screenshots from various episodes of cql/the untamed and fatal journey, each with a line from the poem in the caption. the first has the line “and what are you going to do —” and shows nie huaisang, in distress, eyes wide and mouth open, facing the viewer. he is held back by jin guangyao who is looking at him, showing little emotion.

the second image has the line “what can you do” and shows nie huaisang in white, simple mourning robes. he is looking off to the right.

the third image has the line “about it —” and is showing a closeup of a sword plunged into someone wearing white robes with gold embroidery, a trickle of blood spilling from the wound.

the fourth image has the line “deep, blue night?” and shows a closeup of nie huaisang’s face as he looks down and over his shoulder. end id.]

[ink-and-flame]

Kinktober Day 0: Intensity Caged part 2

Fandom: Original Tags: Exophilia, angst, hurt/comfort, Pairing: Orc(m)/Human(f), Darnok/Lia

Word Count: 3534

[Authors Note: I wrote this last night as a bridge between last years kinktober and this years. I have lots of plans for these two and this world]

The event at The Scarlet Eclipse didn’t finish until after midnight, but the caged subs had been taken to the back at midnight to allow the assistance time to remove the costumes and have the medics do a final check on them. Lia had come out of the situation physically ok, her body strangely relaxed, though some places where the jewels had been stuck were a little red from where they had rubbed or the adhesive had stuck particularly well. Otherwise, Lia was in perfect health. Physically at least, mentally was a different story.

As much as she tried not to, she found her eyes searching for Darnok and the woman that was with him. Sometimes he was by himself, but most of the time he was with her. While she did hang on his arm, she did not appear to be overly affectionate with him. Lia never saw them kiss, or show any form of deep intimacy. She was confused, hurt and confused. It didn’t make sense to bring someone he wasn’t even attached to if she was an option. Lia had to believe there was more to the situation than what she saw and she promised herself that when she spoke to Darnok she would keep her emotions in check and do her best to be rational.

It took the attendants a good amount of time to clean off all of the body paint, make up, and glitter. While they were working Lia was brought refreshments, plenty of water, a protein drink, and some fruits, nuts, and cheeses. They advised that a heavy meal might not sit well, but that she still needed to eat something. Lia found it to be refreshing and was glad that she didn’t feel sick. It would be difficult to hold a conversation if she was nauseous the whole time, though the nausea could still happen. Seeing Darnok with the other woman had caused her stomach to drop in a rather unpleasant way.

Once clean Lia dressed in the comfortable loungewear she had brought with her at Darnok’s recommendation. After that evening, she needed to feel softness and warmth again. The material was her favorite, the most cozy sleep set she owned. Not that she would usually go out in public in pajamas, but this was a unique situation. Once dressed she was escorted to the lounge area with the other subs and encouraged to just relax while the staff helped the party wind down. 

Some of the subs were sitting together, chatting quietly in hushed tones. Others were off by themselves having brought entertainment with them. Lia had not thought to pack a book or anything other than her phone. Though she noticed a couple others looked like they might be sleeping and a nap sounded glorious. She wondered if she would see Darnok again, or if he would just leave. At least she had been smart enough to drive herself. That way she wasn’t stranded. 

Time passed seemingly slowly but eventually people began to filter in. Lia realized it was the Dominants, the other half of the pairs. She watched as subs were praised and doted on. It made something twist inside Lia and she found herself having to turn away, pretending she was just getting more comfortable where she was sitting. As more time passed Lia worried that Darnok had indeed left her there. She felt hot tears prick at her eyes but she relaxed her face, took several slow breaths, and blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. 

Almost ready to just leave she heard Darnok’s unmistakable voice followed by a laugh that made the hair rise on the back of Lia’s neck. Turning she saw Darnok with the woman from earlier. It was bad enough she had to see them together at the event, but now this? Lia was ready to just walk out, this was not what she had agreed to. However, before she could move to stand the woman moved past Darnok and over to one of the other subs and began to dote on them. Now Lia was completely confused and her emotions were a mess. 

Darnok stepped over to Lia with a big smile on his face. “Oh Lia my dear you were wonderful. I heard nothing but nice things from the staff. You behaved so well, and apparently were an ideally behaved sub even in sub-space. I am so thrilled you were able to achieve that. I hope it wasn’t too rough for you, are you sore?”

Lia just blinked slowly at Darnok. Maybe she misunderstood the situation completely. He was still going to have to explain some things, but some of the hurt began to fade as Darnok praised her. “I feel ok. Some soreness and stiffness, but overall I am alright.”

“You don’t sound alright pet, I am sure you are exhausted. Is there anything I can get you?” Darnok looked Lia over with concern.

“An explanation would be nice.” Her voice was colder than she meant it to be.

Darnok looked confused, the wheels in his head turning. It took a few moments for him to piece together what she might be talking about. “Is this because I changed your attendance from my date to my sub?” 

“That would be part of it. At first I thought one thing, then I saw you at the party and thought another, and now, I am really just not sure what is going on.” Lia hated the way she sounded, like some bitter jealous person, but maybe she was. 

“Ahh, yes, let me explain. When I heard more details about the event I realized that this was simply an opportunity that could not be passed up. V.I.P. access is not just given to anyone, you can’t even buy it no matter how rich you are. I knew you could handle this, even though I am sure it pushed your limits. I have such confidence in your abilities and while you have not been a member long, I feel that this was the kind of opportunity you might regret passing up. I spoke with the owners, explained that while you were new I was confident that you would be perfect for this, and they agreed.” Darnok was smiling, reaching out he stroked Lia’s cheek.

“I will admit, there was a part of me that envied you this opportunity. They made it clear that you being granted access would not mean that I would be granted access as well, and nothing is guaranteed. They will be going over the performances of the subs tonight and eliminating any that they feel did not do well enough to be granted access.” Darnok rubbed the back of his neck. “That is where my date came in.” He held Lia’s hand. “It was purely professional I assure you. I am not exactly her type. The woman you saw me with is Morwenna Gould, a prominent Domme at this club. She has sway and influence beyond most here. Joining her put me in a position where I could be granted access as well, and I.” Darnok paused.

“Lia.” Lifting her chin with one large finger. “I feared if you went without me, that you would replace me. There are others that I know can offer you more than I am able to, and I did not want to lose you.” There was a half smile on his face. “Even I can be insecure sometimes, and for any hurt this caused you I am deeply sorry.”

It was a lot to take in, Lia listened, keeping to her promise that she would make sure her emotions stayed in check. Once she knew the whole situation it made more sense, it didn’t heal all the hurt, but it helped. Knowing the woman was not someone he loved, or was intimately tied to helped more than any other part of his explanation. Seeing his insecurity laid bare made her skin flush. His eyes were so earnest, so open, she could not resist the desire to simply forgive him and push it all off as a misunderstanding.

“I am sorry too, I should not have let my mind and emotions run away with me. I guess it hurt a little at first when you changed things, and then hurt more when I saw you with her. I thought I was being replaced, pushed aside, forgotten.” Lia looked away, feeling shame for all that she had felt. 

Darnok turned her face back to his. “Oh Lia, my sweet little pet. I never meant for you to feel such things. Perhaps we should have a deeper conversation later. Discuss our arrangement further.”

Lia nodded, they had needed to have that talk for a while now. Things had been changing for them and perhaps an airing of grievances and a renegotiation could re-spark some of what they had lost. Before Lia could say anything Morwenna had walked up and addressed Darnok, interrupting them.

“Your sub is positively enchanting to look at, I dare say I am quite envious that you possess such a splendid little jewel.” Ms. Gould nodded to Lia giving her a gentle smile. “My dearest if you ever tire of his brutishness, I would be happy to show you a different side of things.” Morwenna winked with a small laugh. “Oh don’t look so scandalized, I tease, I tease.”

“Really, this is not appropriate you will scare her.” Darnok shook his head and looked the Domme up and down. “Did your sub do well?”

“Of course. She is one of my best, perfection really. That isn’t why I am here. I have to say that your sub has impressed the owners more than anyone here. For her first time at such an event, and to my understanding, her first time doing anything like this, she performed above and beyond any expectation and one of the most desired works of art at the party. Whomever chose her look should get a promotion I was simply stunned when you pointed her out.”

Lia’s eyes widened. So Darnok had known who she was. How did she never catch him looking at her. Had she been so caught up in her own head that she missed it. Was he just subtle, not wanting to make her nervous. She would ask him about it, but later. Now that she knew the truth Morwenna no longer upset her, but she did make Lia uneasy.

“I knew my little Lia would be perfect, the moment I was informed of what the sub participation would be, I just knew I had to try and get her involved. I am glad I did. I requested quite a few prints if I am honest.” Darnok patted Lia’s hand.

“Now that I have praised your sub I suppose I should explain why I came over. As you know, I am terribly competitive and with her performance I thought if you both are accepted into the V. I.P. club that perhaps you would be interested in a little wager? Even if you aren’t accepted, I would still be interested.”

“A wager?” Darnok raised a brow.  “What kind of wager?”

“Now, now, none of that. Focus on your sub. We will talk later. I just wanted it to be on your mind.” Morwenna blew a kiss to Lia and headed back over to her sub, the both of them leaving without so much as a backward glance.

Lia looked at Darnok curiously. “It seems we have quite a bit to talk about. I am not sure where we should go for that though?”

“I have a room at the nearby hotel. I figured it would be better than trying to drive back to the city so late.” Darnok handed Lia a small slip of paper.  “You will have to drive there from here, I am not certain you can leave your car here once they close.”

Lia nodded and slipped the paper into her bag before standing. Darnok walked her to her car and made sure she was safely inside before stepping over to a dark vehicle. The driver got out and opened the door for him and Lia watched as Darnok climbed inside the huge SUV. This, along with every other obvious hint, pointed to Darnok having a lot of money. 

When she pulled up to the hotel she was surprised it was so modest. Though Auchendale wasn’t exactly a bustling hub. Nothing like Oreth’Thalor where Darnok lived and worked. Still, it was a nice hotel and Lia felt under dressed in her night clothes. Hoping she wouldn’t get turned away by the front desk, Lia grabbed her bag and headed inside. Darnok was waiting for her with a smile and led her up to his room. Which was a rather nice room if she was honest. 

Sitting on the couch Lia got comfortable as Darnok removed most of his tux, sitting in just the shirt and pants, looking far more comfortable and quite handsome. She sipped at the water he had given her and waited for him to begin speaking. She knew that this was going to be a long conversation.

“We have known each other for quite some time now, and while our relationship began in a rather unorthodox fashion I would not change it. However, I think we are past time for renegotiation's especially since we never really set up anything official. I need you to understand that I keep my vanilla life and this life separate and that is how it must remain. I protect my privacy and it is simply not feasible for me to allow these separate aspects of my life to blend at this time.” Darnok glanced at Lia to see her reaction so far. 

“Our time together recently has been sparse and I would like to change that. I can increase to every other weekend over the next month or so, and then every weekend can be considered based on any time constraints we both have. I understand part of the problem was your job and I was wondering if anything could be done about that? I really would like to see you more than once a month.”

Lia struggled a bit with her schedule and getting consistent days off would not be easy, but it was something she was willing to try and do if it meant seeing him more. “I can work towards that. I can’t promise every weekend, I would lose my job, but I have been there just long enough now that I have a bit more negotiating power with my schedule. I would just need to know in advance which days so I can be prepared.” 

“That won’t be an issue, I can create a calendar and share it with you. It can be one that we use together to help us schedule our time better. I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, but this could help us if we both end up with a day off during the week and can switch out the weekend day, give us some variety.” He was smiling now, it was a soft gentle smile.

“I know that for a while we were testing limits, pushing ourselves and we lost that as our time together was compromised. I would like to try and get back to that when we feel ready. I know you have so much potential in you and I would love to see you bloom.”

Lia blushed as she thought of some of the limits they had spoken of before and was curious to see if they could recapture some of what they had before. She knew her feelings for him had changed and they were a lot more muddy and complicated now. After their little excursion into the city, she wondered if maybe they could try dating again, but wasn’t sure if this was the right time to suggest it.

“We will have to keep our meetings to The Scarlet Eclipse and Possibly this hotel. I am impressed with the service here so I may use it more, perhaps for a long weekend. Something we had not tried yet. As I said my privacy is important to me and trips into the city, dates and such will have to cease.” Darnok could see the emotion in Lia’s eyes before she could hide it. “I know it seems harsh but it is necessary to maintain the separation between the two sides of my life.” Leaning forward Dar smiled gently at Lia. “I want you as my sub, I want this to continue, but we need more structure so we both can get what we need from this.”

Lia felt as if she had much less say and control over their relationship than he did, this all seemed to be more in his favor than hers, but then she was the sub and she did not want to lose him. Maybe this would be temporary as Darnok sorted out their new normal. It could change, they had changed in the past, and could again. Maybe they just needed to get back to the basics, back to what drew them together in the first place. Maybe then he would remember their passion, remember what made him mark her that first night.

“I want you as my dominant, more than I realized at first. I really have never had anything like this and I don’t want to lose it. You are probably right, you know more about this lifestyle than I do and maybe structure is something we have needed for a while.” She smiled, but there was hesitation there and she knew he could see it.

“Oh sweet Lia, please don’t take this personally or as something wrong. You said it well, we need structure, and this is the best way to achieve that. Come here darling, let me hold you just for a little while. You don’t have to stay the night if you are uncomfortable with that.”

Lia stood and moved over to Darnok, sliding easily into his lap and leaning into his powerful chest. She knew herself well enough to know she would not go home tonight. She would share his bed, give herself to him if he desired it, and wake up in his arms wanting him more than she already did. It couldn’t be helped, she had grown attached and she would take anything he offered. 

The night went almost as Lia expected. They shared a bed, and Darnok did desire her. What she had not expected was the intensity, the passion, and how gentle he was. It felt more like love making than sex, and it broke her heart even more. For a brief moment Lia felt what she imagined someone he cared for might feel with him. Something she hoped to be true, he couldn’t be this way if the emotions weren’t actually there could he?

Morning came and she was reluctant to leave, but they both had lives to get back to and Lia had a lot to think about. She wasn’t sure how long it would be before their visits started up again. Something she was both eager for and dreading slightly.

After a few days she received an invite to a shared calendar and was able to renegotiate her schedule. She had gotten quite lucky that a few other people were looking to adjust their schedules as well to accommodate their own needs and it worked out in her favor. It felt like the only thing that was working out for her so far. She had not heard back from the club and was afraid that Darnok would get the V.I.P. invite and she wouldn’t. A thought that hadn’t really worried her until her imagination decided to run away with that idea. 

It was only a few days before they were to meet up since the event that Lia finally heard from the owners of The Scarlet Eclipse. She sat down hard on the couch as she read the letter, the discreet black card falling onto her lap. She had been accepted. Her Membership fee was waived for the first year of her new status and would start up again at a different rate if she chose to keep it. 

This was a bit of a shock as that part had not been mentioned. The basic membership she had started with was quite affordable, but she had been forced to upgrade to help accommodate what both her and Darnok required. It wasn’t cheap, and she worried just how much the V.I.P. membership was going to cost after the first year. She was sure that would be provided at some point and decided it was best to just enjoy it and worry about cost later. 

[themachiavellianpig]

Prodigal Son, Episode 4: You can still be scared of family

Episode 4 of Prodigal Son and Malcolm Bright is spinning right out of control while navigating murky memories, complex family relationships and the murder of an instagram influencer.  

As always, spoilers below.

Following the revelation in last week’s episode that Malcolm had told his mother about the girl in the box before his father’s arrest, we begin the episode with a Malcolm who is decidedly Not Handling It Well. I’m deeply intrigued at Malcolm’s relationship with mental health professionals; he’s willing to return to his childhood therapist of his own volition and openly admits that he’s becoming obsessed with the question of his mother’s guilt, but is hugely reluctant actually to do anything that she recommends. I do have to admit, however, that after years of protagonists who refuse to admit to mental health difficulties, it is refreshing to see Malcolm openly and easily agree that he is in crisis - even if he does then immediately leave the office to go to a crime scene. (Sidenote: I am deeply impressed with his therapist’s patience and professionalism in the face of a somewhat-manic Malcolm; she must be fantastic with her younger patients). 

I’m also pleased with the way in which the show deals with Malcolm’s suspicions about his mother - when he finds that his attempts to find any sort of corroborating evidence have failed, he simply talks to his mother about the memory. 

Admittedly, he only does this when she appears in his apartment for the world’s most unsettling intervention and he doesn’t so much talk to her as openly accuse her of helping to cover for a serial killer, but it’s still more direct communication than we often see in dramas such as this, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. 

The argument between Malcolm and Jessica gives us three significant points: Jessica’s ability to wrestle some sort of compromise out of the Surgeon, her reaction to the details of Malcolm’s recovered memory, and her bold statement of Mothering Intent, “I don’t need you to love me, Malcolm, I just need you alive”, which really tells us all we need to know about the standards of successful parenting when your partner kills twenty-three people.

The fact that Jessica managed to convince Martin to remove Malcolm from his approved visitors’ list is downright fascinating. Malcolm slides right past it in favour of accusations of collaboration with the Devil, but I really want to know just how Jessica managed to convince Martin to give up his most tangible link to his son. THis is aman who has so far delighted in his ability to mess with his family - I can’t see him giving up his best chance to continue to do so without getting something new in exchange, and Jessica was certainly desperate enough last week to consider a new deal with the Devil to save her son. 

Throughout the argument with Malcolm, Jessica presents herself as someone who has had quite enough of this nonsense, thank you very much - except for the moment when Malcolm tells her that she was wearing a red dress, which gets a moment of genuine surprise and possibly even fear from Jessica. When she finds the red dress in her wardrobe later, she recalls an argument with Martin pre-arrest - an argument in which all of the accusations and promises are phrased in that oh-so ambiguous way that only happens in certain types of flashbacks. 

Jessica’s reactions throughout the argument with Martin convinced me that she’d thought her husband an adulterer, not a murderer - and, as she alluded to in last week’s flashback, she’d always been prepared on some level to sacrifice marital fidelity for the sake of appearances and her ‘perfect family’. I’m also very taken with the idea that Martin knew that that was the assumption Jessica was making, because how spectacularly cruel would it be for him to allow Jessica to ‘choose’ not to say anything, knowing full-well that she might one day discover that she’d really chosen to protect a murderer? 

Jessica: You’re a monster!  Martin: You may be right. But no one else needs to know that.

The final, heartbreaking detail in Jessica’s involvement with her husband’s crimes is her admission to Malcolm that she was so preoccupied with drowning her sorrows before Martin’s arrest that she can’t remember Malcolm asking her for help. To have ignored the warning signs of her husband’s murderous impulses is one thing; to have ignored your own son asking for help is quite another. Over these first four episode, Jessica’s character has been constantly intriguing - a state of affairs that I sincerely hope will continue even as she and Malcolm seem to make peace. 

The Crime of the Week is, as always, perfectly serviceable, with bonus points for the creation of another visually-stunning crime scene and the selection of a victim who has some sort of emotional resonance with someone other than Malcolm. JT’s status as a “fan” of the instagram celebrity/latest murder victim is played for laughs just once; the rest of the time, it’s treated with some degree of respect, especially when he reveals to Malcolm that he had met Tatiana while serving in the military. The contrast between JT’s respectful admiration and the actions of the requisite stalker was subtly done; crime shows tend to focus only on the obsessive end of the fandom spectrum when dealing with questions of celebrity.

Roger the Stalker, played with some cracking facial expressions by Daniel London, allowed the show to make good use of Malcolm’s tendency to tap dance over polite convention. I’m not clear on the professional standards for NYPD consultants, but I’m reasonably sure that Malcolm shouldn’t play keep-away with a suspect’s belongings or obsessively photograph a suspect in interrogation to make an unsubtle point about privacy. 

The icing on the objectively hilarious cake, however, comes when Malcolm fabricates a medical emergency and tells Roger that he needs emergency surgery in order to coerce a deathbed confession from a man who, to be perfectly clear here, is in no danger of dying. I can’t decide if Malcolm’s promise to look after the man’s cat makes him a better or worse human being, but it will almost certainly be grounds for another complaint against him. 

This episode also finally gives us some more insight into the character of Ainsley, who thus far could have been cut from almost every episode with almost no impact on plot. Her focus on the murdering father who she barely remembers comes to forefront sharply in this episode, which makes perfect sense considering the hold Martin still has over his wife and son. To grow up with such a ghost would certainly pique the curiosity; at the very least, Ainsley simply wants not to be left out of her own family. Everyone else gets to have a relationship with the Surgeon so why not her? 

It also gives us the opportunity for a little moment of sibling reassurance when Ainsley and Malcolm discuss the fact that Martin watches Ainsley’s broadcasts: “The Surgeon’s a perfectionist. He wouldn’t be watching you if you weren’t the best in town.” Is this sweet or worrying? As always, I am never sure. 

The final reveal of the episode, that Ainsley has gone to visit Martin of her own accord, is surprising but not shocking - and will hopefully give Martin Sheen a great opportunity to show how the Surgeon forges a relationship with a new person.

Although I am deeply concerned about what sort of father-daughter bonding activities we will see between a serial killer and a homicide journalist. 

Enjoyed this review? Find the rest of season 1 of Prodigal Son reviewed here

[roxannepolice]

Prophecies and free will - the (seductiveness of) disenchanting the Galaxy FFA

Or a really long introduction to the smut hut vision meta

Prophecies are a slippery matter in fiction - or at least they became so as the process of disenchanting or rationalisation of the world progressed. There's always some sort of tension between the notion of destiny and free will, not always a very comfortable ome, and the simplest disenchantment is to reject the former idea completely. Nevertheless, prophecies are a more than useful plot device in the way they affect the interpretation of the text and build suspense. Besides, it would be a bit dull if all authors always chose the same, most rational answer.

Macbeth is a fascinating text for many reasons, but one of them is the way Shakespeare used practically every way in which a prophecy may get resolved - that is, except for the option that they don't come to fruition at all - and even that interpretably. So:

prophecy as a trigger setting in motion deeds leading to its fulfillment - that's of course the case of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth killing Duncan. It's impossible to say what would have happened if Macbeth never encountered the witches or never acted basing on their prophecy. Interestingly, Macbeth is usually juxtaposed with Oedipus, but I'd argue it's an oversimplified reading of the text, as it's hardly the only prophecy in Macbeth

prophecies fulfilled on their own - that's all of those applying to Banquo and Fleance. Banquo doesn't do anything to bring them to fruition, yet they all come true and, arguably, independently of Macbeth's actions - though only arguably.

an interesting point to be made is that prophecies applying to Banquo and his offspring do not get fulfilled in the text taken alone - it's more of tacit knowledge those interested in Shakespeare or british history and, arguably, target audience of 17th century London have (had) that Macbeth is in fact grounded in history and James I was Banquo's offspring. Otherwise, audience is left to assume the fact that Fleance escaped means that at some point he became the king of Scotland - or that the whole prophecy thing was, in fact, bs

a self-fulfilling prophecy - that's the case with Macduff. There was of course a general uprising against Macbeth's rule but it was only through his attempt at avoiding the prophecised threat and killing Macduff's family that he got himself a mortal enemy - and one that, incidentally, wasn't of a woman born

prophecies not going to go the way you think - that's Birnam forest and Macduff's birth. They both made Macbeth feel invincible yet they both somehow came to be. A point to be made is that for such a prophesy it be, it has to be expressed ambiguously (a frequent case in ancient times when oracles would basically get high to have visions) and thus it's actually its believer's arrogance that leads to their fall. Enter Eowyn the badass

That last take on prophecies - that they come to fruition in some, far from obvious, way - has become almost a cultural standard by now. It allows for suspense to be built, introduces some irony, especially if combined with self-fulfillment, and all that without really challenging the tension between destiny and free will. Such is currently the case with Cersei Lannister and the valonqar prophecy. Few think she's right to believe it's Tyrion who'll kill her and if so, then only as a result of the way she treated him out of fear caused by what Maggie the Frog said - hence the most satisfying option apparent is if she's killed by Jaime (not going to go the way she thought) because of the way she treated Tyrion (self-fulfillment).

The problem is, George R.R. Martin could yet turn out to be a trope refuter. There are those who believe the show and the books will go in completely seperate directions, the former reviving the epic fiction genre, the latter deconstructing it completely. Thus all of the prophecies are bs, prince that was promised and valonqar alike. However, once a prophesy is introduced it will always affect the way readers interpret the text and I think Martin considered that. Cersei surviving past the last page of the last book won't mean she definitely won't get killed by someone's younger sibling - because the readers, trained by Macbeth, know better than to not consider every younger sibling of ASOIAF. The truth is, for the most creative readers to not come up with some way in which the valonqar prophecy will be fulfilled, Cersei would have to spontaneously combust and even then some would argue she got choked by the smoke, and smoke is fire's younger sibling or something. In a way, valonqar can be Birnam forest gone meta.

I introduced ASOIAF in its most disenchanted reading (which, in itself, doesn't have to be the correct one for what we do know by now) because a good deal of audience expects it to be the new cultural standard and apply the same attitude towards - among others - Star Wars. Disenchantment. No more lineages, no more prophecies, the Force gets stripped of all the mystical bs, it's just magic in a fairy tale. Now, I'm all in for premarital sex, but tbh, I would feel as a tad uncomfortable if after 19 years it turned out Shmi was lying about Anakin's birth.

And I would also say the potential disenchantment is what makes ASOIAF adult fiction at least in the same degree as sex and violence described, whereas Star Wars remains a saga for 12 year olds. Disenchanting the world feels good, feels smart, feels like telling your younger sibling Santa Claus doesn't exist. It basically has a strong Vernon Dursley vibe to it.

So, leaving Scotland and Westeros and returning to the Galaxy Far Far Away

So far there have been three, arguably four, arguably two, prophecies in Star Wars’ main story. The two undisputable ones are that of balance and the smut hut visions. The third one is that of Padmé’s death in labour and the fourth one, very similar, whatever Luke saw on the Dolorous Night. I think it’s a bit too simple to treat them all as indiscriminately going to go not the way we think combined with self-fulfillment. So, let’s analyze.

I’d argue that the prophecy of balance is a case of one itself being an agent influencing actions in the desired direction. Now, the Force may not be as morally unambiguous as jedi would like, but it’s not as amoral/downright malevolent as the three witches (sometimes interpreted as the Moirai, hence the amorality). But it’s also the main reason why Anakin became a jedi and later a sith in the first place, and the jedi in their old form, as most here agree, had to go for the balance to come. Would Qui-Gon train a “too old”, strongly attached to his mother force sensitive and help him get a better life than that of a Tatooine slave? Probably yes, because Qui-Gon was a good person. But would jedi let him join the order? Probably not, for their own good - but their good was a secondary matter here.

Anakin's vision of Padmé's death is a tricky one. In many ways it's a classic case of self-fulfilling prophecy, but there's a bit more to it. First of all, it's the only one that we actually see the way it plays out in Anakin's head, as opposed to his getting impression of Shmi dying. It also differs an extent from the way Padmé actually died, which, I think, is the best argument for the theory the vision was implanted in Anakin's mind courtesy of Palps (though it's far from being a decisive). Or just good old subconscious beeing mean.

Similar discussions apply to what exactly prompted Luke to consider killing Ben, up to the point of some people believing this was Snoke's direct influence, too. Or it could have been, again, Ben's subconsciius that he had no intention to follow. Funnily enough, it's also the only case when a good deal of audience isn't inclined to question the vision, but whatever.

And finally, the smut hut. Now, following a few months of uncertainty, the SW databank stated explicitly that Rey and Ben both had visions of the future. I don't think the visions were in any way manipulated by Snoke, or the raisin would have bragged about it. I also refute the idea that the visions are going to go completely the other way than they think, because Rey talking about solid and clear vision precludes an amibuguity of Birnam forest type - granted the latter was a case of being overly literal about what could be seen, but unless Rey's moral sense is highly questionable, I'd say if she says she saw Ben doing good, that means she saw him doing good. And leaks from Jedi the Last only enforce that belief.

There is however the question of what exactly have they seen. Now, I know most reylos think they have seen their grey future together - and I'm far from decisively refuting that - but it just doesn't add up, imo. It's too simple, too easily reconcilable for their reactions. If I were to interpret their expressions when they tell each other what they saw - to refresh, Rey tells Ben he's not going to bow to Snoke, he'll turn and she'll help him whereas he says when the time comes I don't think this part gets the attention it deserves, from any part of the fandom she'll be the one to turn and that she'll stand with him (I find it interesting, btw, that Ben is arguably the only character so far to not act in order to directly achieve or prevent a force vision, though only if we assume he hasn't seen his future with Rey) - Ben looks sceptical (yup, I think homeboy's done with all the visions he had and others had about him) but Rey is downright disquieted, even before he brings in her parents. How hard to reconcile is what they said they saw if they have indeed seen the same thing? But, as I already stated, that's just my take and having a choice between an answer that's interpretably simple and intuitive but bringing even more questions, I'll choose the latter any day.

Because the really interesting question imo is why have they seen whatever they saw because, regardless of whether their visions were gray or black and white, one clear result is that they brought them closer together, if only for a while. Another case of a prophecy being an agent in its own fulfillment? Force badly wants 'em great-grandbabies? Were the visions coercions? Or warnings, if black-and-white? Inevitable or but possible? Or will the galaxy far far away get disenchanted and the entire scene was but a plot device?

[briangroth27]

Incredibles 2 Review

I absolutely loved Incredibles 2! It's a great time at the movies and definitely worth the 14-year wait. I was initially skeptical of it picking up seconds after the original, but I think the story threads here—particularly Jack-Jack's (Eli Fucile, Nick Bird) development and the Anti-Super laws—needed to be dealt with onscreen rather than off.  I liked that they reversed the structure of the first movie and had Helen (Holly Hunter) go off on the adventures while Bob (Craig T. Nelson) stayed at home to watch the kids. Even better, this switch was rooted in statistical facts that Elastigirl was the most effective and efficient hero between herself, Bob, and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). Since so much of her Elastigirl persona was left in the past in the original movie because she’d moved on in life while Bob hadn’t really, showing Helen truly loving her work and being great at it was a perfect moment that let us see a whole new side to her. Seeing Helen so overjoyed at getting to be a hero again—and being great at it, with no collateral casualties—was excellent! It was also nice to see that she had detective skills; a good contrast to Bob smashing his way through problems (and which have probably have helped her deduce what her kids are up to over the years!). That her heroic competence was truly valued outside her family circle and by the people who wanted to use her to push their politics Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener) was a genuine and welcome surprise; I'd love to see more female heroes respected and revered the way Elastigirl is here. Bob playing Mr. Mom was a lot of fun, even if I’m more than ready for a competent parenting duo instead of the always-effective mom and the cliché overwhelmed dad. That said, Bob’s battle with Dash's (Huck Milner) new math, Violet's (Sarah Vowell) teenage angst, and Jack-Jack's terrible toddling was extremely relatable and a great change from the superhero midlife crisis we saw in the original. I enjoyed Bob’s playful ego about being the better hero in his marriage and loved that it was balanced by genuinely caring that Helen had the space to do what she needed to do. That sort of loving/selfish balance is an extremely difficult line to walk but the writing and acting totally pull it off without making him unlikable (and it's not even hinted or implied that Helen is in any way selfish either). It was especially sweet of Bob not to tell Helen what was going on with the family not because he didn't want to come off as incompetent, but because he knew she'd stop her mission. Yes, he benefits from her completing it, but I fully believe that he also wants the better future for his kids that Helen can secure. I would've liked to see more of Dash and Violet in general, and particularly their school lives. Dash has homework trouble and Tony (Michael Bird), the boy Violet made a date with, forgets her (a cool example of superhero lives wreaking havoc on civilian ones as well as the law affecting the Parrs in an unexpected way), but the Anti-Super laws would've been stronger if we'd seen the kids’ lack of choice Bob talks about. Violet wanting to be normal and Dash being "defined as a person" by heroism does play out that choice, but we don't really get to see consequences of the laws in terms of impacts on the kids. Does having to come in second place in track rankle Dash? And if he's defined by being a hero, how does he feel about having to hide at school?  Is anyone suspicious of his speed? Does Dash have to fight to control himself when confronted by bullies that openly hate Supers? By teachers who preach that Supers are bad and should be illegal? Playing up the questionable aspects of the first movie's ending—is he cheating by using his speed, even for second place? How is not living up to his potential affecting his development?—would've built up a lot more pressure on the need to make Supers legal again. Violet hating being a Super made her a good proponent for not being legalized, though I would’ve liked more of that as well. How much of her tragic love life is really angst about not being able to be herself? Maybe she could’ve gotten involved with a student organization to keep Supers illegal, pitting her against her mom’s efforts. What if she discovered another Super kid at school and was forced to choose between outing them or letting them stay hidden? Might she find that pretending to be normal at school is simply boring or stifling her in ways she doesn’t want to admit? That said, I loved what we did get from Dash and Violet and absolutely dug Jack-Jack's awakening powers! The idea that Super babies often have multiple abilities is a very cool metaphor for kids having unlimited potential and it also made for a lot of fun, varied action scenes. His battle with a raccoon was highly entertaining and his unexpected bond with Edna Mode (Brad Bird) was a brilliant twist! Edna discovering a role as a loving aunt was as hilarious as it was heartwarming and a great way to reveal a new dimension of her character. Frozone is always a welcome addition and it was great to see more of him here, both as a "rebel" with Bob and Helen trying to get the Anti-Super law reversed, as a protective uncle to the Parr kids, and finally a hypnotized enemy. I’d like to finally meet his wife Honey (Kimberly Adair Clark) though. It's beyond time she was more than just a nagging influence taking the joy out of his superheroics (though I like that she knows her worth!). I really hope she’s also a retired Super so we can see what the two of them are like outside of their home. Or, it would’ve been easy to make her a Lois Lane-type figure, so she could cover Helen’s return to prominence and at least get a moment of bonding with her. Either of those options would be great and I’d like to see their relationship explored somewhere. I knew who Screenslaver (Bill Wise) was almost immediately, but that didn’t lessen my love for this character at all. The hypnotism was a spooky and old-fashioned angle that felt totally fresh and fit the retro-futurist world of The Incredibles perfectly! Screenslaver also managed to comment on modern concerns about social media obsession, which was a nice bit of relatability (just like Bob and Dash's struggle with new math) while remaining rooted in the films’ era, when TVs were the hip new thing everyone was obsessed with. Screenslaver was a creepy, cool villain who topped Syndrome for me. I just wish his argument—that people were getting lazy and becoming too dependent on Supers—was more explored with examples of people being "less" because of superheroes (beyond hearing about a death caused by waiting on one). Maybe Screenslaver should’ve been saved for a movie set after the law against Supers was lifted, but slightly clearer examples of his point here would’ve worked just as well. I feel like his argument would be stronger if we got to see Supers making things too easy or if more people were put in peril because they waited for Supers to fix their problems instead of the big argument against heroes being the collateral damage their fights cause. That said, I absolutely loved this villain and would definitely be down for a Screenslaver return! Underminer (John Ratzenberger) was also a cool, second-tier villain that felt like a classic comic book bad guy. He's clearly patterned off of Mole Man, but that didn't matter to me; it was kinda refreshing (and appropriately old-school, given these movies’ time period) to see a villain who just wanted to rob banks. He also provided a good way to reintroduce the family's heroic dynamic and to showcase Bob and Helen's different fighting styles while complicating their lives further, building off the end of the first movie brilliantly. I liked that it became a strike against the heroes that he was forgotten in the scramble to stop his drills and that he actually got away. The new Supers that were introduced didn't make the biggest impression, but I preferred this to more focus on a bunch of random new people who would take screentime from the Parrs. I did like Voyd (Sophia Bush) a lot; her fangirl attitude toward Elastigirl was fun and she was a nice answer to Syndrome's toxic fandom. I hope she returns in a sequel! Krushauer (Phil LaMarr) was a solid threat and got some good and funny lines in, while Screech playing up his full animalistic nature was creepy and something I hope Daredevil does with Owl Jr. These wannabe Supers did bring a variety of challenges to the final battle, so as secondary adversaries go, they worked perfectly. All the fight scenes contained very clever uses of everyone’s powers and were choreographed with an insane amount of fun and imagination! The numerous powers on display also made for battles that were never uninteresting. Even Bob's Incredibile got a nice showcase here as a display of the retro tech in this universe. I love the design of this world in general, but classic spy and superhero aesthetics like that are my favorite parts; I wish more superhero franchises would embrace stylized elements like this to carve out their own identities. Speaking of classic aesthetics, I loved that Bob, Helen, and Lucius had their own old-timey superhero theme songs! Michael Giacchino’s music was great as always, but those themes were great surprises! Brad Bird's direction was crisp and the writing emotionally resonate, bringing the heart of the first movie back at full force.  I can't wait to see what comes next from this world! I hope we don't have to wait another 14 years for Incredibles 3 (and I didn't need the apology/”trust us the wait was worth it” video that played at the beginning of this one; it only made us wait longer!), but I definitely want to see more adventures in this universe. Now that Supers are allowed again, I’d love for the next movie to introduce Dash and Violet's trouble-making cousins as wannabe supervillain bad influences. Cousins would bring aunts and uncles who have differing parenting styles from Bob and Helen, as well as Bob and Helen’s in-laws, who have their own opinions on how to “correctly” be heroes as well as parents. I'm thinking Christmas Vacation with superheroes, but whatever the next film is, I'll be in line to see it! While we wait, you should see Incredibles 2! It's among Pixar's best and definitely worth seeing on the big screen!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

[knifeonmars]

Capsule Reviews, October 2020

A few general thoughts on some comics I have read in the recent past. 

Batman: I, Joker

Though it's sometimes considered one of the classic Batman Elseworlds tales, I'd long resisted reading I, Joker on the grounds that I'm very much not a Joker fan, but after a finally reading it I was thoroughly impressed. The premise sees a man brainwashed and surgically altered to resemble the titular archvillain in a futuristic Gotham so that he can be ritualistically hunted and murdered by "The Bruce" a descendant of the original Batman who controls a cult-like populace. It's a premise which has only gotten better with age, given that we're now 75 years in the age of Batman and the Joker has moved in the years since Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight and culminating in the recent Joker film, towards being a counter-culture symbol of angry populism. The presentation of an empty, cruel Batman satisfying a horde of bloodthirsty worshipers is an on-point as a piece of cultural criticism as it's ever been, and while it's not as vicious a parody as something like Marshal Law's City of the Blind, it's still a great skewering of Bat-fandom in general and what the character has become. It's also just a really solid comic: It's 50 pages, so it's tight and exactly as long as it needs to be, sets up and pays off everything elegantly, really well designed and rendered, well paced, and while I was left wanting more I was also satisfied with the story. I, Joker is a wonderful little gem that I think more people should read.

Fantastic Four: Grand Design

I've been a big fan of Scioli since American Barbarian, but I put off reading his Grand Design because I'd heard some unflattering things about Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design and feared similar issues here. I think Scioli's effort does have some of the same problems people have pointed out about Piskor's, but as a noted fan of him, I still mostly ended up liking this book. The nature of the Grand Design books is essentially skewed recaps, so this book is more than a little clipped and distant in the way it surveys the Fantastic Four's history, cutting out a lot of the emotion and nuance of many events in favor of wry humor. 

Scioli offsets this to some extent by emphasizing the troubled relationship between Reed Richards and Sue Storm, choosing to make explicit the troubles which are generally left subtextual. Here Sue actively pines for Namor as she realizes that leaving Reed would mean loosing her whole support network and Franklin Richards is strongly implied to be Namor's son rather than Reed's, the kind of stuff which has never flown in the mainstream comics. 

Those kinds of creative flourishes, the points where Scioli actually gets to write something rather than just recapping, is where the book comes alive, and so I have mixed feelings about the ending. Scioli essentially goes off the rail around the late 70's, abandoning established continuity in favor of his own inventions as he rushes towards the end. The results are refreshing and should feel familiar to followers of Scioli's other work, with Black Panther showing up in a Voltron-mech and Reed Richards becoming a Herald of Galactus, but there's a tangible sense that this is only happening because Scioli's not interested in Fantastic Four continuity past this arbitrary cutoff. To me, that was disappointing, given that I'd hoped to see an all-encompassing attempt to wrangle these character's' histories, and a lot of interesting characters and plots written after the 70's are dismissed to somewhat crotchety effect, and the actual ending is quite perfunctory. After most of the series has slavish recapped individual plot points, once Scioli is on the final pages of the book he skips over years of events and ends things without any sort of catharsis or emotional payoff. 

All in all, Fantastic Four: Grand Design did not end up being my favourite Scioli book by a long shot. It's clipped and dry for most of it's length, and then when it finally gets interesting, it just... stops.

The Marquis of Anoan

A long held subject of curiosity for me, a well-timed sale on Comixology meant that I finally took the plunge on checking out this short Eurocomics series. In it, a young Frenchman journeys around and beyond early 18th century France, having encounters with seemingly paranormal events and confronting them with rationality and science. It's quite enjoyable. It's gorgeous rendered, and though each story is relatively short by North American standards, they're densely written and presented, so they never feel overly short. They're very European in certain respects, like their approach to romance and nudity, but never in a way that struck me as particularly offensive, though that's obviously a matter of personal taste. I was ultimately left disappointed that the series is dead in the water after five books, with a decade having passed since the release of the last one. One of the most amusing threads running through them was the development of the title character's reputation as a magician and exorcist, much to his discomfort. The ending of the third book in particular has a diagetic text piece and illustration from a contemporary paper which shows how the populace at large views the protagonist and I'd have loved to see that kind of presentation further developed.Alas, the series is ended, but it's well worth checking out for anyone interested in relatively low key and beautiful Eurocomics. Just keep in mind though, that this ain't Hellblazer, nor does it aim to be.

Elseworld’s Finest

A two-part, 100-page Elseworld's tale that I picked up out of sheer curiosity, Elseworld's Finest reinterprets the duo of Batman and Superman as figures from the pulp adventure stories which saw their brief heyday in the years immediately preceding the birth of the superhero genre. It's a world informed by Indiana Jones and Disney's Atlantis, or at least by the things which influenced them. Bruce Wayne is a roguish solder of fortune, Clark Kent is the survivor of a misty and forgotten space kingdom linked to Atlantis, it's all very pulp as it moves through an origin story for the pair which sees them being variations of their more recognizable superheroic selves. It's really quite fun, and an amusing genre shift for the proceedings, which should appeal to anyone who grew up enjoying latter day takes on such stories, by which I mean, if you like Indiana Jones or Atlantis you'll find this fun. The only aspect which irked me is that there are a few too many winks towards the DCU as we know it, in the form of characters like Hal Jordan and Carter Hall popping up in bit roles, but overall the whole thing is quite agreeable. I don't think it's resonant in the way that I, Joker turned out to be, but it's still a very fun Elseworld's story.

First Knife

Simon Roy and Artyom Trakhanov teaming up for a post-post-apocalyptic story revolving around an ancient cyborg waking in a post-lapsarian tribal far future Earth is extremely up my alley, so I was really looked forward to this series and was not disappointed. Anyone who's seen Roy's work on the first arc of Prophet or Habitat at Image Comics will find the vibe and conceits here familiar, but not overly so, and the series takes things in a different direction than either of those stories did. This is not a series about cyborg Buck Rogers awakening in the future and saving the day with the power of old fashioned, plain spoken American gumption; it's about a barely human soldier losing his grip on sanity as he's worshiped as a god, and the people who surround him dealing with that. It's very good. There's action, wonderfully emotive, textured, and distinctive artwork, and it's generally a pleasure to read. Highly recommended to fans of that strain of primitive scifi.

[pinkrae]

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract [review]

So, me and my boyfriend watched the latest DC animated movie Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and I’d like to give my opinion on it. For those, who want to avoid spoilers, I’ll give a quick general opinion of the movie itself and will go in further detail under a read more.

VVV SPOILER FREE [aka, short version] VVV

In general, I liked the movie. It was fun to watch and had good fight scenes that left you at the edge of the seat at times. Add a bit of dirty humor and character development in it and the movie is more than enjoyable, with a few minor Nope moments. But even those didn’t ruin the movie for me, as I am a big huge fan of Teen Titans and I just love seeing them finally getting proper treatment in contrast to that hellspawn of a crap show that is TTGO. Plus, we got to see some pretty awesome characters that need more screentime! 

Overall, I’d say that plot-wise DC stayed as true as possible to the source material, and any fan that loved the original Teen Titans series and the comic that the movie was based on would really like it. And not just that, I’m sure new fans that aren’t familiar with the Judas Contract would be into it as well, even if just to see the amazing assortment of characters they’ve put in. I know I loved it. A lot. But again, I just really love seeing my bbies on the screens again and I’d watch and love anything DC’s giving me. xD 

So, all in all, I recommend the movie, absolutely. But for a more in-depth comment, click below. BEWARE though, it’s super long. ;D

VVV SPOILERS AHEAD [aka, SUPER LONGASS version] VVV

First of all, a flashback of the sorta original team meeting Starfire at the very beginning of the movie. Even for a fan, who would kill to see every single one of the Teen Titans characters on screen, I sort of felt that this scene was just a tad unnecessary, as it had no real relation to the movie itself, other than to just show Starfire’s origin (as well as a shot of Kory’s butt and a DickKory kiss that they obviously couldn’t live without). On the other hand, however, I get what DC’s doing. If you’ve seen previous animated movies, such as Son of Batman and Justice League vs. Teen Titans, you already know the origin of Damian and Raven, which is a really cool sneak peek for those, who don’t read comics or are not familiar with these particular characters. And now in this movie we received a glimpse of Starfire’s origin, plus, as we later on see - flashes of Terra’s past as well. And Jaime’s family gets an appearance, too, so all we really need now is to look a bit into Gar’s past and we’re good. So for me, the first scene was a 50/50. On one hand, it felt rushed and non-relevant to the story, but on the other hand it’s cool to see DC providing a bit of character background to those, who may be new to this fandom.

Next up - Dick and Kory. Not my favorite ship in the world, but hey, it’s canon, what can you do. And DC finally revealed more than just throwing not-so-subtle hints as they did in the previous movie. Also, all the dirty jokes - priceless. Really good for a laugh, definitely. It was nice seeing them working as a team and building their relationship at the same time. And, well, it was nice to see Dick in general. I’m always excited to see him around.

Then the team itself. Damian. Always refreshing to see his butt kicked. xD Don’t get me wrong, I adore Damian and his snarky attitude, but I’m glad that the movie didn’t focus on him as much as in other movies featuring this batkid. He got beaten and removed from quite a big part of the movie, which was both kinda disappointing because it’s Damian, but at the same time I can’t entirely say I minded it.  Raven. We didn’t get to see a whole lot of her, which is kinda understandable since the movie was expected to focus on other characters, but hey, there’s no such thing for me as too much Raven screentime. c: What we did get to see, however, was sorta of an aftermath of the previous movie about how she gets along with her trapped father that she’s always carrying with her in the form of the gem on her forehead. That was a neat little nuance that I enjoyed a lot. Also, although it doesn’t seem so at first, it looks like her friendship with Damian is still going pretty strong, so the bond that they created in TT vs. JL wasn’t forgotten, which I have a lot of respect for.  Blue Beetle. As my boyfriend would say: “He’s not the jerk they made him out to be in the last movie”. xD And yeah, it was super cool to see a lot of character development specifically for Jaime (which is a tiny bit weird, since, again, the movie’s expected to focus on other characters). We get to meet his family (and, spoiler alert, at the end of the movie he gets to see them too~), his struggles and how he tries to deal with them. It was absolutely amazing. Beast Boy. As always, we got to see a lot of sides of this lil’ green bean. As the social butterfly that he is, it made a lot of sense that he’d be on social media, post pictures and count followers etc. Although I would’ve liked to have seen it in the previous movie as well (since, as we see in the flashback at the beginning, he’s been on social media for quite a while), it was a nice addition to his character here. And while he’s forever with a smile on his face, his interactions with Terra changed from humorous ‘trying-to-impress’ sort of style to a deep understanding of each other (even if Terra didn’t want to admit it and never would), creating a great character development for Gar, especially after her death. Terra. A part of me didn’t entirely like her.. behavior in the movie. Probably because of the influence of the Teen Titans series’ Terra, who was always bubbly and cheerful among the teen titans. This Terra was suspicious from the very beginning and she had already been on the team for a whole year. You’d think that a person would be able to show more genuine happiness over such a long course of time. But no. Not Terra. So that bothered me a little. But other than that - her design was closer to her comic counterpart and I loved that the most about her. 

NOPE moments:

Slade and Terra. Man. I know and I understand that it’s kinda a canon thing, but oh boy was it cringy to watch. I wish they hadn’t shown that, but I get it that it was her entire motivation to be on this mission in the first place. As creepy as it may be.  Terra’s look in the last parts of the movie?? Dafuq happened with her? Like, why the sudden change? I get that it was the end of her mission and she could return to Slade (*gags*) and everything, but why the fuck did she have to cut her short hair even shorter and pierce her ears?? Also the dark lipstick. Was that supposed to be like a rebel kind of thing? If so, it was really misplaced and out of the blue. So unnecessary. Just no. 

CONFUSION moments:

AKA - DC, are you sure you have your timelines in check??

So. The thing that me and my boyfriend spend too much time talking about is, first of all, the actual age of the teen titans. Because that has never ever been mentioned anywhere. At all. I’ve checked so many sources and come up with nothing. No information or whatsoever. That’s why a lot of things confused us. For example, if Gar was a Teen Titan 5 years ago already, how old is he really? How old is anyone, for that matter? Well, the eldest ones there are obviously Starfire and Dick, so technically Gar should be around that age as well, unless he was suuuper young when he started out in the TT.  But the biggest issue was the timeline itself, as pointed out by my boyfriend. Five years ago they met Starfire. And in the movie Terra celebrated her 1 year anniversary since joining the team, aka, it’s been 1 year since the previous movie. So that makes it that Starfire came to Earth 4 years before Justice League vs. Teen Titans. SO. What the fuck? xD This means that from then on out, in the span of only 4 years, Dick, first of all, went from Robin to Nightwing (which, we all know didin’t happen right after Star came to Earth), then they had to have gone through the Jason!Robin time and Tim!Robin time before they even got to Damian!Robin. And even if Jason and Tim weren’t part of the Teen Titans in this universe, they’re still there. They exist. And they didn’t come to be in just 4 years, that’s crazy. So it just makes me wonder - what the hell did DC do to Jason and Tim? Well, we have seen Jason in the 2010 Batman: Under the Red Hood, but they seem to have thrown Tim out of the equation all together and it just makes me really sad. And it’s confusing asf, too.

Well, to end this review on a positive note: YAY FOR DONNA AND JERICHO.

In the last scenes of the movie we see Donna Troy getting the hang of her flight ability and in the after credits scene we clearly see Jericho and that earned quite a few squeals from the both of us. :D I’m a little confused about Jericho’s age here, though, but hey, it’s all confusing when it comes to ages here >.> All I can hope for some RaeJeri bonding in the future~ C: This ending definitely left me wanting more. And I just can’t wait to see what comes next. I WANT MORE. Even despite all the confusion, I really love this DC animated universe. It needs to be more thought-through in terms of time, sure, but I still love it. I genuinely enjoy it and can’t get enough of it. And I wish we get many more Teen Titans movies because they deserve it! The Teen Titans deserve all the love and they definitely need more of it. Go watch the movies. All of them. Seriously.

[lashton-attraction]

Rogue

Pairing: Kim Hanbin/Kim Jiwon (Double b)

Fandom: iKON

Words: 10.5k

Warnings: Language

Summary:  Hanbin is handed the task of interviewing the serial killer Bobby, but things don't go as planned when there's a little girl's life on stake and Hanbin is forced to take risks to save her life, even if it's illegal. And how can Hanbin explain the growing attraction towards the serial killer, shouldn't he be disgusted with his actions?

Notes: I’m not into kpop or anything, I just wrote this for my sister who is into iKON. Also, it’s published in ao3 and Wattpad

Rogue

It was stupid how cliché it started when Hanbin thought of it. Really cliché actually. It started all a rainy day in Los Angeles, the city of angels as it was called. Though Hanbin wouldn’t really call it that. Maybe because his work didn’t allow him to believe in angels? He had seen too much evil to believe in the greater good. What Hanbin believed in was humans, and how fucked up some could turn out with just the wrong influences. He, himself, being a victim to exactly this. It was all Jiwon’s fault, really. Not that Hanbin would even change something even if he could.

“So, Kim Hanbin,” the police officer smacked a yellow file with his name on it in the table, to look intimidating. Hanbin had to scoff ever so slightly, this was the exact tricks the FBI taught sheriffs across the country. Hanbin should know, he used to be one of them. The balding sheriff held pride in being a police officer when Hanbin himself was an ex-FBI agent. As if it really mattered. It didn’t. It didn’t matter if Hanbin was guilty or not. They’d get away either way.

“Where is he?” the balding man asked, and Hanbin tried to decide whether he was going to play dumb or arrogant. The dark-haired male decided that being dumb was more fun than arrogant. Playing arrogant would mean that Hanbin would have to answer shortly and use his body language a lot. Body language revealed too much, Hanbin had taken classes upon classes on body language just so he could read a person he was interviewing.

“Who?” Hanbin asked, but the smile gave it away that he knew exactly who they spoke about. They spoke about Jiwon. Who else?

“Your stupid companion, of course!” the man exclaimed, and Hanbin prided himself by knowing he was a far better policeman than this man across him ever would be. “Kim Jiwon,” the man said to make sure there was no doubt who he was talking about.

“How should I know? I’m not his nanny,” Hanbin answered, and though it was a truth Hanbin wasn’t Jiwon’s nanny, it sure did feel like he was it sometimes. Were they dating or was Hanbin a protective parent for the older male? Sometimes even Hanbin wasn’t sure. (Jiwon always was though, and always made sure to show Hanbin how much Hanbin meant to him.)

The police sheriff only sighed and left the room. He probably needed some coffee and a break from a twenty-three-year-old smarter than himself. The sheriff slammed the door on his way out, taking his file with him. Not surprising though, Hanbin only guessed that most of the file was just complete rubbish. Just filled with blank papers to make it look thicker. Hanbin used to have a clean record. It was a necessity to become an FBI agent. Last time Hanbin had been in an integration room had been weeks ago. That time Hanbin had been on the other side of the table. He had been the one asking the questions, not the one answering them as he was now.

It had been that cliché rainy day in Los Angeles, where the day started shit and nothing throughout the day made the shitty day better. Hanbin could still remember the awful coffee he had had that day just because the coffee machine refused to cooperate, and how he’d been surprised by the heavy rain. Hanbin, usually, enjoyed a calm morning walk and tried to go to work if he could. Nothing was like a calm refreshing morning walk to clear his head. That day he had decided it would probably better his mood if he walked to work.

Until he had been caught by the awful rain and was soaked through his suit. His expensive, Italian suit mind you. In only a matter of minutes. Hanbin didn’t usually hate the rain, but that day he’d been unprepared for it. So, it had bothered him more than it normally would. Hanbin wouldn’t have been so grumpy about it if it had brought an umbrella. Hanbin wasn’t an idiot – far from it really – and he’d checked the weather forecast before he’d stepped a foot of his apartment. However, the site had straight out lied to him. Cloudy with the hint of sun his ass.

When Hanbin arrived at the bureau he was slightly pissed off and soaked to the bone. If Hanbin had tried he could probably squeeze water out of his underwear – not that he was going to. Because that involved taking it off. There was no relief in knowing that the shitty coffee they served here was worse than what he had had that morning – but he would still drink it. While making small puddles all over the place. At least the coffee would be warm.

“You look awful,” was the first thing Hanbin heard when he left the elevator. It was his dear colleague Junhoe who said the pretty compliment, and Hanbin only sighed.

“Really? Cause I thought I was especially stunning this morning,” he replied back in a sharp tone, only making his colleague roll his eyes.

“You’re in great need of coffee,” was all he heard from Junhoe said back, and Hanbin smiled slightly. Despite feeling the cold water dripping down his legs. It was funny how Junhoe could read him so easily, maybe because the man too had taken courses upon courses to study behaviour and body language. Or because it was a known fact that Hanbin without coffee was a bad match.

“You can borrow an extra shirt from me, it’s in my locker. But I can’t help you with the pants,” Junhoe said before shooing Hanbin away. “Be quick! You have to interview Bobby in five!” Junhoe shouted after him.

Hanbin stopped dead in his tracks before turning to Junhoe, “wait. They caught him?” Hanbin was surprised Junhoe hadn’t told him right away. “Bobby” was the name the press had given the serial killer that had been on the loose in California lately. It was the only reason Hanbin was down here, to catch a killer. The brunet was slightly disappointed the killer had been caught when he’d been off work, but there was nothing he could do about it. At least they had him in custody. Hanbin still got to interview him – being the best interviewer on the team.

The young adult would’ve liked to see the arrest, maybe even be the one doing the arrest. However, his boss, Hughes, had literally forced Hanbin home to get some sleep. Not surprising though, Hanbin had been on his third day without sleep and claimed that as long he had more coffee than blood in his veins, he’d been fine. Hughes was not impressed, to say the least.

“Didn’t you get my text?” Junhoe asked, and Hanbin only shook his head as an answer. He hadn’t been able to check his phone yet, cause the fucker ran out of battery right before it started pouring – and Hanbin happened to forget his charger at home. The world was truly smiling down on him today.

“No,” Hanbin answered, though it was more of a sigh. He proceeded with raising his phone and press the home screen to show how his phone was out of battery. Junhoe answered with laughter, and Hanbin sighed once again. Was it fair that Junhoe got to laugh off his pain?

“Hand it over, you can borrow my charger,” Junhoe said, and Hanbin gave him his phone before walking over to the men’s wardrobe. Hanbin quickly changed out of his wet shirt and into Junhoe’s dry one. His blue dress jacket with white stripes was too wet to wear, and it would only make the dry shirt wet. His blue pants with white stripes, equal to his jacket, was, however, the only pair he had. Hanbin had no other choice but wear them. Not that it really mattered if he had another pair for change, the interview was soon, and Hanbin didn’t have the time change his pants even if he could.

Hanbin was many things, but late was not one of them.

He stepped out of the wardrobe and met Junhoe on his way to see Hughes. The black-haired handed him a cup of coffee, warm coffee, and Hanbin accepted it gratefully. He did, however, only get to take a few sips of the hot beverage before Hughes had walked up to him, not looking too impressed. Hanbin didn’t blame him, his pants were wet along with his hair, but what could he do? Unless Hughes wanted to switch clothes Hanbin was stuck wearing his wet clothes, with a dry, borrowed shirt.

“Good morning,” Hanbin said, and tried to pretend that this was unlike any other mornings. Him with a cup of coffee ready to work – that part wasn’t untrue, but still something felt off. Maybe it was because Hanbin was shivering from his cold pants?

“You’re late, Kim,” Hughes answered instead, and Hanbin counted himself lucky that the wet pants were uncommented. Better that way anyway. Junhoe was probably dying to joke about how Hanbin had peed his pant – and he probably would say something about it hadn’t they been in front of their boss.

“I’m on time?” Hanbin said unsure, now he didn’t have a clock nearby to confirm this, but he was pretty sure, he wasn’t late. “What’s the rush anyway? Bobby’s not going anywhere.” It was meant as a joke, a small light-hearted joke before Hanbin was sent into an interrogation with “Bobby”, but the serious look from Hughes ended Hanbin’s chuckle before it even started.

“There’s a girl-...” Junhoe began and hoped for Hanbin to catch what he meant, but Hanbin only narrowed his eyes not quite understanding where Junhoe was going. “She’s only, what seven or eight, and Bobby has admitted to taking her, but she doesn’t have long. She’s alive for now, but we need a location.”

“That doesn’t make sense? She’s not his victim type at all, he goes for males in their early 20s,” Hanbin said, trying to make sense of it all. “Besides, he doesn’t kidnap, he’s a murderer.”

“It’s personal,” Hughes said, while Hanbin lowly cursed. Cases were always so much harder when things got personal because the killer had a twisted way of justifying their actions. “We checked up on her, and he used to date her dad.” He handed Hanbin a file, and Hanbin only sighed. Fuck, this case was getting harder to crack than he first had thought. Now he was on a tight schedule, and he knew the supervisors from Washington D.C would press him to work double just to get the little girl. It was a priority.

How would it look like if the FBI let a girl die? Hanbin didn’t want to know. All he knew was that needed to find that girl.

“Do we know how much time we got?” Hanbin asked quirked a brow, Junhoe slightly shook his head. Hughes, however, just made his lips create a thin white line. A gesture to sign he didn’t want to talk about it. They’d been here all night and they still hadn’t gotten anything out of Bobby. Expect what he wanted them to know. That’s why Hanbin was here.

“He just says she has little time,” Junhoe answered when Hughes didn’t, and Hanbin nodded as an answer. Unsure what else to say, it’s not like he could blame them. The only thing he could do was hope that he could do a better job. He left them without as much as a goodbye sensing the conversation was over and headed over to interrogation room. He could already see through the one-sided window the Asian male chained to the table. Hanbin prided himself knowing the male was Asian. He’d been right.

When Hanbin had studied “Bobby’s” victimology he’d seen that most of his victims were Asian. It was natural to attack your own race. Bobby’s victims told Hanbin that Bobby was likely to be Asian himself. The man chained to the table was in his twenties and Asian. Just as Hanbin had foreseen not guessed.

The grin only grew bigger when Hanbin noticed other traits he’d been right about. He’d been correct about how Bobby was a male in his mid-twenties to early-thirties. Not to mention the most important part, he was attractive. How else would he be able to lure in countless victims, even if the victims knew the danger of a serial killer on the loose? And the internalized saying you shouldn’t get into a stranger’s car.

Now, why would victims continue to do this even if it was foolish? The killer was a smooth talker, oh for sure. Hanbin knew this despite not speaking a word to him, but he had to be attractive. Smooth talk only got you part of the way, the rest was being attractive. Attractive people earned your trust a lot easier than ugly people. The sad truth. (Not that Hanbin could really relate, his job earned him trust immediately, besides he knew he was fairly good looking.)

The black-haired male didn’t dwell outside the window, he had a girl to save. He could almost feel Hughes breathing down his neck despite the fact that Hanbin hadn’t started the interview. Hanbin walked directly into the room, not bringing anything with him except for a file about Bobby. Bobby was too smart and would see through any foolish act Hanbin would try to pull. To outsmart Bobby, or Kim Jiwon as the file he’d scanned had told him, he’d have to lay low. Make Bobby believe he was smarter than Hanbin. Just slightly give into the older males believes, he wouldn’t see Hanbin taking him down. To busy priding himself with his intellect – well, so was the plan.

Bobby didn’t respond unless the small grunt that escaped his lips counted as a reply. “May I sit? My name’s Kim Hanbin, I’ll do a quick interview with you, if it’s alright with you, Mr Kim?” Hanbin proceeded to ask but refused to call the male in front of him Bobby. It would only fuel the fire. Hanbin knew the man was proud of his work and what he had achieved, calling him that name would prove that. Hanbin would not help Kim Jiwon remember of crimes he took great pleasure in.

“You’re gonna sit either way to ‘establish dominance’,” the killer replied with a dark, husky voice. It was so raw and darker than Hanbin had expected, it surprised him. In a way, it reminded Hanbin of raw oil, so raw and natural, thick yet slick.

“Actually, I was just trying to be polite,” Hanbin said and dared to smile to some extent. His brown eyes noticed how Bobby licked his lips ever so slightly, but Hanbin showed no reaction to it.

However, it was at this very moment, Hanbin realised something he should’ve realised much earlier. He was Bobby’s goddamn type. He was an Asian male, in his early twenties, male and fairly good looking. Hughes had known this when he’d sent Hanbin in, and the black-haired male had only realised too late. Maybe Hanbin would’ve noticed if he hadn’t had such an awful morning?

“The FBI’s never polite,” Bobby said and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Probably a habit.

“Well, I am,” Hanbin replied and sat down, and put the papers in front of himself, even though he needed them. It was just for reassurance, so didn’t have to look at Bobby the entire time. “So, Mr Kim, would it be alright if I asked you some questions?”

“Do I have a choice?” his head shifted, and the blond parts of his hair revealed an eyebrow piercing Hanbin hadn’t noticed before.

“You do have the right to a lawyer,” Hanbin explained. “Have someone read your rights to you?”

“They have,” Bobby answered, but didn’t say anything else than that.

“So, do you want a lawyer?”

“Lawyer’s no fun,” Bobby answered, and followed up with a sick grin. If Hanbin wasn’t used to this kind of behaviour from this work, he’d be scared shitless. But he wasn’t, so he continued the interview as he’d never seen the psychopath smile.

“Then you don’t mind me asking some questions?” Hanbin asked to get some kind of declaration from the male on the opposite side of the table. The Asian male didn’t answer in words, he only made a hand gesture that Hanbin could only interpret as “go ahead”.

“You have admitted to the six killings, correct?” Hanbin asked, deciding against showing the pictures of the bodies how they found them. Instead, he showed pictures of six fairly attractive Asian males how’d they looked like when they were alive. Hanbin could see that Bobby was disappointed, he wanted to see his own work – that selfish bastard.

“You only found six?” Bobby asked, and Hanbin didn’t know if this a way to play him or not. To freak him out to make him believe that Bobby had, in fact, killed more than six people. Or if this was a fact, and Bobby was disappointed that he’d go down in history as a serial killer with six victims, when it was a larger number.

“Answer the question, please.”

“I killed them,” Bobby confirmed, with no emotion in his voice. Not joy, not remorse. Nothing, and it was worse than having at least something there, even if it was relief or happiness.

“When you said, ‘you only found six’ do you mean by that there are other victims we haven’t found?”

“Perhaps.”

“Would you like to elaborate?” Hanbin asked and dared to look directly into his eyes. Bobby had a nice front, but that didn’t matter if the inside was as horrendous as Bobby’s.

“Not really,” Booby replied and started to study his nails like they were more important. It didn’t make Hanbin feel small, cheap tricks like that didn’t work on Hanbin.

“So, it was a false statement,” Hanbin asked, scribbling down something on a notepad. However, it was nothing of importance. What he really wrote was “dinner: spaghetti.”

“No, it’s the truth.”

“Then, would you tell me more about this so-called truth?” Hanbin asked, almost mocking the killer, and he could see it worked. Something sparked in Bobby’s brown eyes.

“I’d rather not,” he said and pressed his lips together forming a thin line.

“If you don’t want to give me the details, it’s probably a lie? Why would you hide the truth? You’re already in here,” Hanbin trailed on, continuing to write gibberish. To make it seem like he wrote something about lying tendencies.

“What kind of crap to they teach at the FBI academy?! It’s not my fault you and your fucking people can’t find eleven bodies!” Bobby roared furiously before he slammed his hands against the surface of the table. Making the quiet room echo from the loud slam. For a second, he breathed through his nose angrily, before he realised, he’d said too much. That Hanbin had outsmarted him. He sent the FBI agent a petrifying look, and if looks could kill Hanbin would be dead right about now.

“Would you like to talk about Grace Adams?” Hanbin continued. Ignoring any viciousness from Bobby.

“What’s there to talk about?” Bobby asked, pretending like he couldn’t be less interested. He probably wasn’t interested in the police finding her either, but that wasn’t up to him to decide.

“We could talk about where she’s located,” Hanbin suggested.

“A place you can’t find her,” Bobby answered, and he looked proud like he knew there was no chance FBI and the local police could find Grace. He was probably right.

“What do you mean by that we don’t have much time?” Hanbin asked and tried to smile slightly and Bobby. He didn’t return the smile, not that Hanbin had expected him to.

“What’s the time?” Bobby asked, instead of answering the question. Hanbin looked down at his wrist to check the clock.

“Uh, it’s 8:42 AM,” Hanbin replied, this time actually smiling at the end of the sentence.

“Then you have about 48 hours to find her,” Bobby replied.

“48? What happens if we don’t?”

“She’ll run out of air, and then die,” Bobby replied as if it wasn’t obvious. What was worse, was that he looked like was excited. Excited about seeing the little girl dead. The little girl hadn’t done him anything.

“Why do you want her dead?” Hanbin asked though he knew the answer.

“Revenge,” was the short answer the killer gave him that Hanbin had anticipated.

“Has she done something to you?”

“No, her dad did, we used to date,” was the blunt answer Bobby had to offer.

“What did he do to you?” Hanbin asked, almost already knowing the answer. However, he secretly hoped for a more valid reason. No reason made it okay to kidnap or murder, but some reasons were more understandable.

“He broke up with me.” The answer made Hanbin curse on the inside. He’d been expecting it, he still didn’t want it to be true. Because it was so childish, he couldn’t grasp the validation Bobby had, the logic that said it was okay to do horrible actions to you if they did you unjust.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to get revenge on him?” Hanbin asked, it was a stupid question, but he figured he had time for stupid questions too. Maybe Bobby would lower his guard if he thought of Hanbin as stupid, so he would slip up again.

“I thought about it, but what’s the fun in killing him if I take what he cares most about in this world. If I rip his heart out, as he did with mine, that’s more fun. Don’t you think? And who knows, maybe he’ll kill himself? That’s what I call to kill two birds with one stone,” the laughter that erupted out of Bobby was cruel and wicked, just like Bobby. It made shivers move down Hanbin’s spine. He loved his job but hated moments like these. When he saw how fucked up humans could be.

“You are aware that you’re going to jail, right?” Hanbin asked, steering the conversation into a new direction.

“I am aware,” Bobbly replied, but he didn’t look happy about it. It wasn’t like he could break out of here. He’d need help, and a psychopath like Bobby didn’t have the ability to make those connections, those bonds, with other people. He didn’t have friends, so he had no one to help him.

“If you tell us where the girl is, we’ll agree on lessening your punishment,” Hanbin informed Booby, and the male only nodded.

“I’d rather see her die.”

Hanbin nodded and sensed the conversation was coming to an end. He collected his papers, before getting up. He had already gotten useful information out of Bobby, there was nothing he could get out of Bobby now. Bobby had given him useful information, more than Hanbin had been rooting for, it was better to not push the limit.

“Leaving already?” Bobby asked when Hanbin got up from the chair.

“I told you it would only be a short interview,” Hanbin said and smiled politely at the killer. “Goodbye Mr Kim,” with that Hanbin was out of the room, and he couldn’t feel more relieved. He loved his job, he really did, but he hated to have awful conversations like this with killers such as Bobby. Hanbin hated it and was more than happy to take the cup of coffee Junhoe reached him when he met the black-haired male. Anything to get his mind of the killer, and how he hated this society that created outcasts like Jiwon.

“How did it go?” was the first thing Junhoe asked, while Hanbin was sipping from the coffee he was in great need of.

“It went alright, I think. I got some new information out of him, but he didn’t tell me where Grace is,” Hanbin said, it was a small victory, but he hadn’t gotten what he needed.

“At least he was talking to you, I think you’re the one who’s had the longest conversation. What’s your trick?” Junhoe interviewed, and Hanbin almost felt like he was the one who’d committed a crime.

“What? I spent roughly ten minutes with him. I didn’t do anything special, we just talked,” Hanbin replied, unsure what his special trick was supposed to be.

“Then Hughes was right,” Junhoe mumbled, but it was more to himself than to Hanbin.

“Right about what?”

“Bobby found you attractive.”

***

The balding police sheriff entered the room again. This time he’d brought a younger female. The way he looked at her Hanbin could only guess she was his “secret weapon”. She was probably a better interrogator than the sheriff, not that that would hard. She smiled politely at Hanbin, but Hanbin didn’t return the smile. How much was the clock? How long would it take until Jiwon came? Would he even be able to come?

Hanbin didn’t doubt his lover’s words, not one bit. Jiwon had promised to come, so he would, but he didn’t trust the Russian mafia. Would they assist Jiwon? That was the only risk here. If they wouldn’t, Jiwon would go out on a stupid one-man’s-mission to break Hanbin out, and he’d probably fail. At least they’d meet in prison.

“Good day Mr Kim,” the lady welcomed and took a seat. The sheriff joined her shortly after, he just needed to finish glaring at Hanbin first.

Hanbin looked at the blonde woman but didn’t say anything. What was he supposed to say? Greet her back? It just seemed meaningless, pointless. A waste of time, so he restrained himself from doing so. Barely acknowledging her, showing she had his attention – at least for now.

“We’d like to ask you some questions. I assume, you’re already familiar with your rights?” she continued, ignoring his cold greeting.

Hanbin only looked at her like she was stupid. Of course, he was familiar with his rights? He was an ex-FBI agent, he was used to this kind of environment, only that he was more familiar with being the one asking the questions, not the one who was asked the questions.

“We’re trying to understand your actions. You left a good job, friends and family, and you’re never able to return to his good life – for what?” She was almost mocking him, and Hanbin wanted to roll his eyes. He didn’t feel like he’d lost a lot, he did miss his friends, but he had gained new ones.

“The same reason I became an agent in the first place,” Hanbin answered, it was the truth. The full truth. He hadn’t abandoned his life, and his job, his friends just to help Jiwon. No matter what it looked like now.

“To go rogue?” She asked rather rudely.

“No,” Hanbin asked, and considered if he should continue and tell her the reason or not. He decided that he was more mature than being offended by someone interrupting him. “To save people. To help them. Grace was going to die,” Hanbin told, though in all honesty, he didn’t really think it was her business why he decided to leave the FBI.

“You don’t know that,” she argued, and Hanbin scoffed. Yes, he knew that. Out of the three of them, he was the one he knew Jiwon best by far, he’d never tell them where Grace was if Hanbin hadn’t done what he did. Grace would’ve died.

“I do,” Hanbin said but didn’t offer further explanation.

The lady sighed, but Hanbin could tell that she wasn’t here to argue with him, so she tried to move on to something else. Hanbin wanted to sigh too, this was going to be a long interview – and she wasn’t nearly as good as the sheriff wanted her to be. If she was half as good as the sheriff wanted her to be, she’d be twice as good as she was.

“When was the last time you saw Kim Jiwon?” she continued.

“Don’t know,” Hanbin answered and shrugged.

“Oh, I think you do,” the sheriff said, finally saying something.

“Don’t remember, he doesn’t hold any particular importance to me,” Hanbin said, and he cringed on the inside. It was better for Jiwon and himself he pretended they didn’t have any kind of relationship, but it still felt wrong to lie about Jiwon. To pretend he meant nothing to Hanbin. When he really meant so much to him.

“Last time you both were seen you were together,” she told Han as if he didn’t know that already. He could clearly remember delivering Grace to her parents before he and Jiwon had driven away like the devil was chasing them. And the Devil wasn’t really chasing them at the time, but a police car definitely was.

“Of course, we escaped together. Would you rather we escaped in two cars?”

“So, you know where Kim Jiwon is now?” the sheriff asked, and Hanbin restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Of course, he didn’t now where Jiwon was right now. He had a vague idea where he could be, but he didn’t know where he was right now because Hanbin had been locked up here for the past couple of hours.

“No, I don’t know where he is, and frankly I don’t care. All I know is that I’m here, and he isn’t,” was the smart-ass reply Hanbin gave them. They should’ve hired the FBI to interrogate him because Hanbin was smarter than them. They’d never get anything useful out of him.

“When was the last time you saw Jiwon?” she asked. She looked at him expecting an answer, but he didn't say anything. A whole minute went without him saying anything he remained silent just so he could annoy her. “Answer the question, please,” she continued.

“I told you I don't remember,” Hanbin lied. Clearly, he remembered that the last time he saw Jiwon. It was probably 12 hours ago, he was sitting there staring at Hanbin anything just like the female police officer. For a moment he had been silent, but his eyes had said enough, he’s been angry at Hanbin, if it was up to Jiwon, Hanbin wouldn’t be sitting here right now. He’d probably be sitting next to Jiwon at this moment in some Russian mafia base. Only that, they probably would be killed in a merciless way. If they weren’t, they’d never be able to leave the country, this was the only way to do this. Jiwon had been angry, but Hanbin had refused to back down, and the only thing Jiwon could do was to agree with Hanbin.

“Don’t lie,” she said. She looked proud like she’d caught him in a lie, technically she had but it was an obvious lie. Everyone could tell that Hanbin was lying, of course, he was, she wasn't nearly as she’d good like to be. It was obvious he remembered the last time he saw Jiwon, he just didn’t want to tell them that.

“Does it matter?” Hanbin asked.

“Of course, it does,” she replied. “We need to catch him as soon as possible.” Hanbin doubted they could catch him.

“I doubt you will,” Hanbin muttered, but she didn’t what he said. Probably for the best anyway.

“What?” she asked, hoping he’d repeat that sentence, but Hanbin wouldn’t. He was smarter than that. A lot smarter than the female officer and the sheriff. Hanbin didn’t answer a question and that aggravated her.

“Why are you protecting Kim Jiwon?” she asked, and finally she asked an important question. However, Hanbin was still smarter than her. He’d prepared for a question like this, he’d been expecting a question like this – and he had an answer prepared. This question and other questions she was too stupid to come up with.

“I’m not,” Hanbin said, anger filling his voice – at least the blonde woman was led to believe it was anger, but Hanbin was only faking it. “He’s a killer,” Hanbin spat out, as he hated Jiwon. Sometimes Hanbin still wanted to hate him, but he couldn’t because he was so much closer to loving him.

“So, tell us,” she tried. She seemed so desperate that Hanbin almost pitied her. “When was the last time you saw Kim Jiwon?”

This integration was going to take its time, and Hanbin wondered once again when Jiwon would come and get him. Hopefully soon. Last time they’d been a situation like this, things had been different. Last time, it was Hanbin who broke out Jiwon.

It seemed so long ago, yet it seemed like it could’ve been hours ago.

***

The second interview with Bobby had been the very same day. It had been right before Hanbin’s lunch that Hughes had called for him. Apparently, after Hanbin’s little morning interview with Bobby, Bobby refused to talk to anybody that wasn’t Hanbin. Even going as far as saying “bring back the hot guy. I just want to talk to Hanbin”. Hughes didn’t mind, of course, because Hanbin was one of the most skilled interviewers here – but Hanbin minded. He was one of the best interviewers, but he hated to interview. Especially killers like Bobby. Psychopaths that didn’t feel anything and prided themselves with their work. Hanbin hated those people and did what he could to put those kinds of people in jail.

The second interview Hanbin decided against bringing in any papers, but he still wanted to have a polite approach. Bobby was more likely to talk to him if he acted like a decent human being than all the other stupid techniques Bobby could easily see through. Who even believed “bad cop vs good cop” nowadays? Bobby was too smart for stupid acts like that, and it was about time his colleagues realised as much.

That’s why Hanbin decided that instead of bringing files upon files to scare the killer (which didn’t work) or bring candies the psychopath would get if he played along as if he was some sort of child, Hanbin brought lunch. First of all, he was missing his own lunch; and he could only guess Jiwon hadn’t eaten for a long time. Interrogation rooms didn’t come with room service. Jiwon had been locked up since last night, Hanbin didn’t know the exact time – but it didn’t matter. He was bound to be hungry.

Now Hanbin wasn’t a fan of McDonald’s, he preferred healthier food, homemade if possible, but Hanbin wasn’t about to whip up a three-course dinner just for a serial killer, and he wasn’t going to drive around for decades just so he’d get to that vegan place he liked. McDonald’s was just across the street, and Hanbin had time to drop in and get out within five minutes because McDonald’s was known for one thing – not excellent, healthy food but fast food.

Hanbin entered the room with a bag of take-away food from McDonald’s and smiled slightly at Bobby who only studied him in response. Hanbin thought it was justified because it was out of character for a policeman, so he chose not to comment on it. However. He stilled looked into the cold eyes and realised Bobby this time wasn’t chained to the table, which Hanbin didn’t mind. Firstly, Bobby needed his hands to eat, secondly, he wasn’t threatened by the killer.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Hanbin said and raised the bag, “and I was supposed to have lunch now,” Hanbin explained as it was his only motive, and it was to some extent, but not really either. All this was about creating trust so Bobby might tell him something useful.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Bobby asked, frowning slightly. Even if he was a genius Hanbin was a complex enigma he just couldn’t solve. And it was just absurd that Hanbin would ever be slightly nice towards him. In a way that mindset was right, Hanbin was just doing his job, just in a different way than most. (He always got the job done, however, so there was no reason to complain.)

“I just thought you might be hungry, you’ve been here a long time, and I don’t think the others have given you anything to eat. Have they?” Hanbin tried to smile a genuine smile because it seemed like Bobby liked his smile.

“They haven’t,” Bobby confirmed.

“Just like I thought,” Hanbin said, but he didn’t know if he said it to himself or to Bobby. “So, Mr Kim, I didn’t know what you liked so I just bought you a Big Mac meal with a chocolate milkshake, I thought it was easier to just by the same I was getting. I hope you don’t mind,” Hanbin explained as he began to pack out of the bag and give Bobby his food.

“You can’t cut the deal with ‘Mr. Kim’,” Bobby said instead of thanking for the food.

“Oh yeah? What do you want me to call you?” Hanbin said and started to take out his own food.

“Jiwon.” Bobby didn’t say anything else than that, but it was unnecessary, it would just be extra words to fill the silence and neither Bobby nor Hanbin was a fan of useless words just because one could stand the silence. In the silence was at its loudest, filling silence was just a way of saying “I can’t stand my own thoughts.” Hadn’t Bobby been a psychopath, he’d probably be the most talkative person Hanbin had yet to meet – because he’s thoughts would normally kill a normal person. Oh, but Bobby was far from a normal person. The closest thing the brown-eyed male would ever get to normal was when he faked being normal.

“Uhm, okay,” Hanbin was unsure what to say. He didn’t want to be on first-name basis with a killer.

Bobby inspected the food throughout but didn’t take a bite of his burger, even if he probably was dying to. He looked as his burger, then at Hanbin and back at the burger.

“I haven’t poisoned it if that’s what you think,” Hanbin replied, at took a bite of his own burger. The meat tasted like crap, but he was hungry, so he’d take it. Slowly, Bobby took a bite of the burger and swallowed it. This was followed by a larger, quicker bite. This continued until the burger was gone and Bobby went lose on the fries, Hanbin was first-hand witnessing Bobby devouring a Big Mac meal.

“Would you mind talking about Grace?” Hanbin asked, looking at Bobby who was still eating fries.

“What about her?” His voice turned darker, almost eviler if that was possible.

“Would you tell me where she is?”

“Now what would be the point of that?” Bobby asked his voice coloured with mocking, and a hint of something arrogant.

“You told me she was somewhere the FBI can’t find her, what do you mean by that?”

“Obviously, you can’t find her.”

“Would you like to elaborate?”

“She’s close, I suppose, but it doesn’t matter, you can search high and low and you won’t find her. In less than 48 hours she’ll be dead.”

“Dead how?” Hanbin asked, really wishing he hadn’t asked that question.

Bobby took his hands up his neck and made a chocking notion, “she’ll slowly run out of air. The last two hours of her life will be hell, she can breathe, but so poorly, but yet she can't die.”

The first twenty-four hours went by in a flash and neither Hanbin nor others managed to get anything else useful out of Bobby. Hanbin had twenty-four hours left before Grace Adams would die. If she died, he was as good as dead. Well, not really, he’d just be promoted to do desk work, and not see a glimpse of a field mission in ten years. (Hanbin was just overreacting a little.)

***

"Hey scum! You’re going back to your cell,” a lanky boy said, he was ginger and covered in freckles. He looked condescending at Hanbin, and the black-haired male wished he could hit that smug smile off. He probably thought he was superior to Hanbin, the brown-eyed male almost wanted to scoff at the thought. As if Hanbin hadn’t seen the boy mopping the floors as he was brought to the station. The boy wasn’t above him, not the slightest, Hanbin was an ex-FBI agent, and this boy was mopping floors.

Just because Hanbin wore handcuffs at the moment didn’t mean that this stupid loser was above him. He’d never be, even if he wished so. Hanbin wanted to hit him, spit at him or prove his superiority to this failure of a man somehow, but Hanbin was smarter than that. He had a plan he needed to follow, and he would not stray from that plan just because he felt provoked.

The ginger-haired male yanked him up as soon as he had uncuffed him from the table and proceeded to pull him with him. A power-display. However, Hanbin didn’t feel like the underdog, mostly because he knew that if his hands were free, he’d beat the shit of this stupid man. The man knew it too and only acted this way because he knew Hanbin couldn’t take him on right now. Cowardly really, but Hanbin expected no less from the bald sheriff and the team that surrounded him. They were all idiots more or less.

The cell was small, and Hanbin guessed that it was mostly used for drunk teenagers. At least it smelled like puke, however, the smell didn’t bother Hanbin the slightest. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn’t be spending much time here. And Hanbin had faith in the plan. Jiwon would come soon, and he’d break Hanbin out, and they’d be on their way to Russia. Probably in some dumbass way, but he’d still come. Hanbin could hear low rumbling slightly far away, and he wondered if it was Jiwon, or if he was just getting his hopes up.

***

Five hours. Hanbin had five hours left to find the girl, and he was getting no way. Bobby was not telling them anything. Not even Hanbin. He’d tried to talk to the guy, but he didn’t say anything. As expected, why would the psychopath killer even try to spoil his plans? He was getting exactly what he wanted by keeping his mouth shut, so why would he even try to prevent the outfall that seemed like written in stone?

The police couldn’t offer him anything, the only thing Bobby could ever want was his freedom, and he wasn’t getting it. There was no way, yet here Hanbin was, sneaking into the cell where Bobby was kept as a last desperate attempt to get the killer to talk. He knew he wouldn’t, but he’d try. For Grace and her parents.

“What are you doing here?” Bobby asked from the shadows of his cell, and Hanbin stopped in his tracks to look at the man. Half of his face was lit up, just like his hair, however, the blond part of the hair was the one covered with shadow. It suited as some weird contrast, or a stupid way of life saying how good and evil just had a thin line between them. There was only a thin line between light and darkness and Hanbin was dancing on that line. He shouldn’t even be here. Hughes had sent him home two hours ago, or so the man thought. Yet here Hanbin was, snuck into the cells and looking at Hanbin, face to face with a psychopath. Yet in some strange way, he wasn’t scared. He never really feared killers, couldn’t give them the satisfaction of being scared. However, there was something about this setting that almost told Hanbin to be afraid.

But the man across him was calm as ever and sent out a soothing vibe. Even if he shouldn’t. Maybe Hanbin was just as fucked up as the man on the other side?

“I came to talk,” Hanbin confessed, and he could hear a slight scoff from Bobby, he expected it, so he chose to ignore it.

“I’m not in the mood to talk about the girl,” came from the cell, but Hanbin chose to ignore this too. Bobby would listen either way and reply if he was interested enough.

“I want to make a deal,” Hanbin stated. Waiting for a response from the older man, he didn’t have to wait long.

“Oh, do you?” came from the cell, and despite the darkness in the room, Hanbin could hear shuffling from the cell, almost as if the killer leaned forward.

“Show me where Grace is,” Hanbin begun, and took a small pause.

“Listen, I’m not about to point on some stupid map and then get three years less of my punishment,” Bobby spat out.

“No, I’ll take you with me. You’ll show me,” Hanbin said, and he was probably breaking at least five rules right now. Just a proof that Hanbin was dancing on the line between good and evil, he tried to do good, even if what he did to achieve it was illegal – evil.

“And what’s in it for me?” Bobby asked, and Hanbin hesitated. He didn’t want to utter those words because it was wrong. He couldn’t say it because it was illegal, and he couldn’t even foresee every consequence. It felt wrong to do it, but what other choice did he have? His bosses wouldn’t let a murder of a little child pass by like it was nothing.

“I’ll turn a blind eye and pretend like I’m surprised when you’re gone,” Hanbin answered when Bobby’s intense eyes became somehow intimidating. The killer started to laugh, almost as he’d predicted this outcome. Maybe he had? Hanbin couldn’t really tell.

“I’ll do it,” Bobby said, though it was unnecessary, Hanbin knew he would.

Breaking out proved much easier than Hanbin had anticipated. Maybe because there was a total of five people he had to avoid (most people were sent home) and because Hanbin took the escape route he’d been shown on his first day. No one was there, but that didn’t mean that Hanbin tried to be cautious. Luckily, Hanbin was lucky Jiwon was no fool and wasn’t loud or obnoxious – that would put him behind bars and he’d never get a taste of freedom again.

“Hurry up,” Hanbin murmured as he opened the escape door and held it open for Bobby. The half blond, half black-haired male exited quickly and waited stand-by for Hanbin to follow. The police officer was quick to follow him. He just wanted to find Grace as soon as possible.

“This way,” Hanbin whispered and jingled car keys as a message that they were driving. Bobby, the genius, obviously caught on this cue and followed Hanbin to a black SUV. The FBI would later be able to track the car, no doubt about that, but it didn’t matter right now. By the time they realised that Bobby, Hanbin and an SUV was missing and realised all three cases were connected Hanbin would hopefully have rescued Grace and he’d take whatever fate he’d be served.

The car ride was silent, for the first hour with Bobby only giving directions where Hanbin should drive. The second hour, however, consisted of a bored serial killer who tried to understand Hanbin and asked way too personal questions. Like about his past relationships, sex life and what he wanted in a relationship. Almost a twisted way of hitting on him. It was more creepy than flattering, but yet Hanbin felt something along the lines of flatter.

***

Hanbin was shaken out of his thoughts by a large crashing sound. First Hanbin tried to use his logic and brush it off as a car in the parking lot or a stupid driver maybe a little drunk too, but it couldn’t be. It was too loud, and a rumbling sound soon dismissed it as a car. It was probably someone doing something stupid and reckless.

Oh.

It had to be Jiwon. That stupid fucker. Hanbin didn’t even know what he was doing, but he knew it was a bad idea. He was doing something that Hanbin would’ve deemed too stupid for a great mind like Jiwon’s. But maybe that was the plan? Maybe that was that stupid idiot Hanbin dared call his boyfriend’s plan? Maybe Jiwon was using the element of surprise to his advantage?

He was. Hanbin was proven as much when a car, as in an actual truck, crashed into the wall, damaging the neighbour cell more than Hanbin’s, but bricks and dust were crashing onto the ground, creating a massive ruckus. When Jiwon had said he’d break Hanbin out of prison this wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. Hanbin wanted to smack Jiwon for putting them into this situation, but he couldn’t do anything except grin when he saw the vague face of his lover. The blue Toyota reversed with a great deal of problems, but it managed to do it with just enough force. Hanbin was quick to leave out of the big hole and counted himself lucky that his cell was located on the first floor.

Halfway on his way to the now ruined truck, he was met by Jiwon who wrapped his strong arms around him. “Missed you,” Jiwon mumbled into his neck, and Hanbin’s already large grin grew. Shivers moved down his spine, and a feeling of relief washed over Hanbin. He didn’t want to admit it, but there had been a small fear nagging in the back of his head that he’d never see Jiwon again. Luckily, that fear turned out to be nothing but complete rubbish.

“Hi baby,” Hanbin greeted but didn’t get to finish his sentence before he felt Jiwon’s warm lips were pressed against his own. Hanbin should’ve just made it a quick kiss, pulled away and dragged Jiwon away with him. He should’ve said that they’d have more than enough time to kiss and whatnot when they were safe in Russia. But Hanbin had always been weak to temptation. So, instead of pushing Jiwon of him like a smart and decent human being would’ve done. He pulled him closer.

He pulled him as close as possible, almost like Hanbin’s entire existence depended on physical contact. Their lips moved in a hastily, hurried pace – but the passion was still evident. Like it always was. That’s one of the things that made Jiwon so different from any other person Hanbin had ever been with, Jiwon’s very being, every ounce, was filled with passion. So, Hanbin managed to see behind his actions and forgive him for it.

Jiwon’s warm hands snuck under his shirt, and more shivers crept across his skin. His own hands were already locked around Jiwon’s neck, as he leaned into the soothing and comforting touch. He shouldn’t think that Jiwon was a safe space, he shouldn’t feel as comforted as he did when his eyes locked with Jiwon’s, but he did. Their lips continued to move, but the once hurried pace slowed down to a slow, almost lazy kiss. They shouldn’t be kissing here, not in this situation, but that fact made it even more thrilling, and Hanbin couldn’t help but lust for more.

Jiwon was the devil, and Hanbin carried his own demons. Now that his demons had danced with Jiwon’s devil it had created such natural force that was hard to contain. Maybe even impossible. With Jiwon Hanbin felt alive, even if he knew that Jiwon could easily end him in more than one way.

Hanbin pulled away as slowly as he could, trying to save the taste of Jiwon. Hoping to make the moment last as long as he could without dying from lack of oxygen. “We should go,” Hanbin whispered, still just centimetres away from Jiwon.

“We should,” Jiwon agreed, but not before he pecked Hanbin’s lips one more time.

“And how do you suggest we get out of here? The car is a wreck, I mean, can you even drive it?” Hanbin asked now they were back to being serious. After all, they had to get away, and now preferably.

“Babe, do you think I came here without a back-up plan?” Jiwon asked and looked a little offended.

“By the way you crashed into the building, well yes,” Hanbin answered in a matter-of-factly voice. It wouldn’t surprise Hanbin if Jiwon’s back-up plan was to take the bus.

“Okay, rude,” Jiwon joked, and Hanbin could feel his heart flutter, the way his boyfriend spoke was so innocent, but Hanbin knew he wasn’t. Speaking in that manner made is so more special because it was a special side of him, he showed to no one but Hanbin. “I actually have a back-up plan. Or more of a second getaway vehicle,” Jiwon continued, and with that, a black car pulled up the driveway. The window opened halfway, and a bald man poked his head out just slightly.

“Get in car,” he said with a thick accent and the couple was quick to obey, they didn’t need to be told twice. It was now or never if they didn’t get away soon – they both end up in jail.

***

Hanbin wanted to throw up. He felt sick to his stomach. What kind of monster would do this? To a little child even? And for what? Revenge? Just because someone did “unjust” to the psychopathic killer. Hanbin couldn’t even grasp the fact of how Jiwon could justify this.

He had locked her in a tank, and Grace would slowly suffocate to death as she ran out of air. What kind of damn sicko thought of something like that? And yet Hanbin could find it in him to yell at him, to scream at him, to hit Jiwon or to do something – at least just stay away from him. But no, Hanbin did nothing. Maybe because Hanbin was so tired from the long drive? But deep down the black-haired man knew it wasn’t because of tiredness, there was something in his subconscious that was starting to grow. A feeling, a desire. Something tempting yet forbidden. Something Hanbin knew he could let himself have no matter how much he wanted it.

The tube-like thing was opened and inside was the poor girl. Grace. She looked worse than the pictures he’d seen, but Hanbin didn’t really care about her looks. All he cared for was that she was alive, and she was. He could tell by her gaze staring directly at him. Bobby on the other side had seemed to morph with the shadows, which was a good thing. Hanbin didn’t need Grace to see Bobby and cause her more distress. If the bastard had taken his leave and leap into freedom Hanbin wouldn’t mind either. Good riddance really.

“Grace?” he questioned her with a voice so fragile it could break every second. Her brown eyes never left his, but she made a small nod giving him permission to talk. However, she was wary of him and kept her distance.

“I’m here to take you home, to your dads. Would you like that?” Hanbin asked and took a small break for her to process it.

“R-really?” she stuttered, and her brown eyes were filled with so much hope but there was something in her eyes, so afraid to trust him in case he’d deceive her. God, what had Jiwon done?

“Yes, I pinky promise,” Hanbin said smiling slightly. He then held out his pinky for her to lock it with his. Her small pinky was intertwined with his. Hanbin smiled largely at her before he moved slightly so Grace could get out of the tank, she trembled slightly, until she almost fell to the ground. Not too surprising, Grace was probably in need of medical help.

“Do you want me to carry you?” Hanbin asked not wishing to make her uncomfortable in any way. He needed to get her home safely, nothing else. At least she was still alive. Maybe everything could get a happy ending? Maybe, even if real-life usually never did, this time things would end on a high note? Hanbin couldn’t help but hope so. Even in if California more or less had a killer on the loose.

Grace nodded weakly before a small yes escaped her lips, and Hanbin nodded slightly too. Before he bent down slowly to her height and picked her up so carefully as he could. He proceeded to walk out of the abandoned storage house and across the gravelly road toward where the car was parked. From here Hanbin could already see Jiwon inside the car and it surprised him. He’d thought that Bobby would’ve escaped. That he’d seen the last glimpse of Kim Jiwon, but he was apparently wrong.

Now, this place wasn’t really the most populated area and getting away from here to say Mexico would be a bit difficult, but it had its perks too. No one would see you and tip the police, going back to Grace’s house would probably be stupid. If Hanbin was right, which he probably was, the Adams household would be surrounded by police force just in case Bobby would make a move towards the parents. The rest of the police was spread around downtown and the border to Mexico and the neighbouring states like Oregon, Arizona and Nevada.

Cautiously Hanbin entered the backseat still holding onto Grace making sure she didn’t see Bobby. He didn’t know if she had seen Bobby’s face neither did he care, the only thing Han bin cared about was keeping Grace safe. He hoped that she’d never go through something as terrible as this again. She was just a child for fuck’s sake! She was as innocent as white snow, like a little lamb. Grace deserved nothing but getting home safely and live an undisturbed life. Monsters like Bobby should stray away from her path forever.

“What’s your name?” she asked, still sitting in Hanbin’s lap as Jiwon started the motor and begun to drive away from the storage house.

“My name’s Hanbin,” the black-haired male side smiling slightly at her. Now, it wasn’t safe of her to sit in his lap and not with seat belt, but Hanbin was pretty sure he couldn’t get her to move away from him the way she clutched onto him. Besides, it had its perks, it meant she was facing Hanbin and not Jiwon.

“I’m Grace,” she chippered, “where are ya from?”

“Hi Grace,” Hanbin laughed slightly, “I’m from South Korea. My family and I moved all the way from there to here,” Hanbin said dragging out ‘all’ to show the distance.

“My dad is from South Korea, he says it’s further away than my school,” she said a matter-of-factly and Hanbin couldn’t help but giggle slightly.

“Your dad is right. Have you been to Disneyland?” Hanbin asked.

“Yes,” Grace nodded violently.

“South Korea is farther away than that,” Hanbin told her truthfully.

“Wow, that’s really far away!” she said in awe, and Hanbin agreed with her. In the rear-view mirror, Hanbin could swear he saw Jiwon looking fondly at them, but it was gone as soon as he noticed it.

Grace ended up sleeping on Hanbin’s shoulder, which was fine. Jiwon and Hanbin kept a conversation in hushed voices that died out at times, but that too was fine. The conversation started fine, normal really, but after about a while it took a weird turn to Jiwon trying to hit on him again. This time with less personal questions, but still weird to get from a psychopathic killer. What was is dream date? If he had any kinks? (That one was kind of personal.) If wanted kids? Where he saw himself in ten years, and where he wanted his wedding to be held. Whenever Hanbin tried to return those questions Jiwon only answered the same Hanbin had said.

A while later they were finally outside Grace’s house, as Hanbin had expected the house was surrounded by police, well there was just one car, but it didn’t matter. They were still there watching over the Adams family. Luckily, the police didn’t seem to see Hanbin sneaking into the backyard with Grace, or knocking on the door before he bid Grace goodbye and told her he had to leave. She didn’t seem to mind too much because she was too excited to see her parents. When Hanbin was further away he could hear excited shouting and happy crying. A small smile crept on his features knowing Grace was finally safe.

Hanbin made it inside the car and met eyes with Jiwon, they shared a small smile before they could hear the distant sound of police sirens.

“Are you ready to leave?” Jiwon questioned turning on the engine but not moving an inch, just looking at Hanbin as away of saying ‘you call the shots’.

“Yeah,” Hanbin answered hesitantly before they drove away before the police could even reach them.

***

“Are you ready to leave?” Jiwon asked hugging Hanbin from behind, the question was whispered into his ear like a secret. Something meant for only Hanbin to hear.

“Yeah,” Hanbin replied calmly leaning into the touch. They were looking at the small passenger plane that Aleksandr – part of the Russian mafia – would fly. Hanbin didn’t really know what kind of deal Jiwon had made with them, but he knew they were greatly indebted to them. Arriving in Russia the two of them would probably live in the shadow side of the society, but it didn’t matter. As long as they were together and free it was fine. More than fine, it was perfect.

“The plane is ready to be boarded,” Aleksandr said, and Hanbin nodded slightly. It was so strange for the Russian to speak with a British accent, but Hanbin had been told that Aleksandr used to study some kind of business major there and had adopted the accent over the years. Aleksandr was the guy you went to if you had a problem with anything. Whether it was driving a plane, medical problems, how to smuggle weapons in and out or something as small as the dishwasher didn’t work. He knew something about everything, but his speciality was how to whitewash money to make it seem legal.

The couple entered the plane not caring to have any luggage with them. Anything they needed would later be provided by the Russian mafia. The only thing Hanbin needed was right beside him. Jiwon. A few minutes later the plane took off as a private plane, little did the United States now the plane was transporting to illegal criminals away from the US and into what could seem like the enemy’s country.

“Dasvidaniya Amerika,” Jiwon said with a surprisingly good Russian accent while the plane was taking off.

“Are you gonna miss it?” Hanbin found himself asking.

“What’s there to miss?” Jiwon replied, “I have everything I need right beside me,” Jiwon continued and dragged Hanbin into a kiss. Maybe everything could, even in real life, end on a high note?