#and while I love Elody I do think it’s interesting to think about why she fell out of love with him

[magical-misfit]

Thinking about that one post that was like “Gerard wants to stay in the castle when war comes because he spent his formative years struggling to stay alive and survive and now he’s expected to do it again”

Like…yes you get it.

Gerard was ten.

And at ten years old he knew death better than others. He watched his first friend get eaten alive as part of the food chain at work, he nearly died at the teeth of a dog because he didn’t understand why it was weird for a talking frog to address a guard like a prince. A ten year old experienced near death for the first time and people still have the audacity to call him a coward.

He stayed in that pond for god knows how long (he states he’s thirty but we don’t know how long he and Elody have been married) and he waited for ages for someone to come find him, anyone really. That heron probably came by every day, same with the hunters and their dogs. How much death and injury did you think Gerard saw over those years in the pond? How much bravery and cleverness do you think he had to muster up in himself so as not to get eaten? No wonder he latched onto Elody and the castle life so quickly.

And when war comes at a time when he’s supposed to be free, a time when the curse has been broken and everything is fine, of course he flees. Of course he claims they can stay in their castle and be okay.

Because Gerard knows death. And he knows that if he leaves the castle again, he’s not sure he’ll make it back this time.

And he’s right. He doesn’t.

(At least that version of him anyway)

[sinofwriting]

Girls Are Private Creatures - Pierre Gasly & Charles Leclerc

Words: 2,399 Summary: Pierre and her have always been best friends, having a baby together didn't change or complicate that until he says something he doesn't mean to. Note(s): Was very fun to write and somehow Charles managed to sneak in his way into this as a love interest, still not too sure how that happened, lol. This is a one off, no part two, sorry everyone! Also, I don’t speak french and while I didn’t use google translate for the french, I still used a translator.

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“Ah, there are my favorite girls!” Charles exclaims, jogging over to them, exchanging kisses on the cheek with her before taking the baby out of her arms. Elodie gives him a gummy smile and he coos at her, nosing at her hair, before pressing a kiss to her cheek, a giggle leaving her because of the smacking sound it makes. “So, beautiful, Miss Elodie. I shall have to keep you and your maman close.”

She shakes her head at the poor wink Charles gives her, but gives a nod, stepping beside him as he begins to walk around the grid.

“Is that Elodie?” Max asks, as they start to pass the Red Bull garage. “Can I?” He asks, looking at her, with his arms already reached out to take her from Charles. Charles pouts at her, but she ignores him, looking at her content baby. “Elodie.” Her little head turns to look her way. “You want to go to Uncle Max?” Elodie gives a little squeal at the name, hands shaking and she smiles, nodding. Max eagerly takes the baby from Charles' arms. “I can’t believe you are letting Max Verstappen hold her.” He pouts. “You are just mad, your Elodie time got cut short.” She playfully scolds, bumping their hips together. He pokes his bottom lips further out for a second, before throwing an arm over her shoulder, tugging her close for a side hug as they watch Max talk to Elodie, bringing her into the Red Bull garage and pointing out different things to her.

“How are you feeling?” She sighs, drawing away from Charles. “I’m fine, Cha. You don’t need to worry about me.” He frowns at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “You are my friend. I will of course worry.” He then tilts his head to nod at her face. “You have circles, chéri.” “I have a six month old. Sleep is not a blessing I get.” Her french accent is thicker and his eyebrows raise, her upset clear just from that. “You only get circles when you are worried and not sleeping. What is happening?” She swallows, eyes locked on Elodie who now is babbling to Max in her babytalk, the driver has such a serious look on his face, as though he understands every word of it and is taking notes. The words are bubbling up in her but she sees Christian joining Max and Elodie and upon spotting her, he smiles waving her over. “It is nothing, Cha.” She shakes her head, giving him a smile, before reaching forward to squeeze his arm. “Let me know if you’d like to stay the night with us. Elodie always loves seeing her godfather.” “Of course.” He murmurs, watching as she leaves to join the trio in the Red Bull garage and before he can think better of it, he’s moving to Alpine’s garage.

He’s easily able to get to Pierre’s drivers room and he doesn’t bother knocking, just throws the door open, uncaring of the near naked state of his best friend and his protests as he shuts the door behind him, hands settling on his hips.

“What is wrong?” “Charles!” Pierre is looking at him with wide eyes, a hand over his crotch despite the fact that he has underwear on and it’s nothing that Charles hasn’t seen before. “Get out!” “Non. What is going on? Y/N and Elodie are here, you are nowhere to be seen. She isn’t sleeping and is worried about something but won’t say what.” Charles pokes at his chest, harshly, ignoring the yelp it earns him. “What did you do?” “Why is it me who did something?” He protests, the hand that has been hovering over his crotch, moving to rub at the spot Charles had poked. The younger looks at him unimpressed. Pierre sighs, sitting on his massage table. “I, uh, I fucked up.” “That is obvious.” “Thank you, calmar.” Charles shrugs. “I said it was a mistake.” His brows furrow. “What was a mistake?” Pierre winces and he braces himself on the table. “All of it. Us kissing and then starting our, uh, benefits. And uh Elodie.”

His head wipes to the side before he knows it and he can feel the sting on his cheek and something a bit wet on his lip. His tongue darts out and he can taste a bit of blood.

“Tête de noeud.” Dickhead. Charles spits out, glaring at one of his oldest friends. “Comment pourriez-vous dire une telle chose, penser une telle chose.” How could you say such a thing, think such a thing. “Je sais.” I know. “No, vous ne faites pas de lien. Elle est votre fille.” Charles hisses. No, you don’t. She is your daughter. “Et elle est votre plus grande partisane, la seule personne qu'elle aime le plus est Elodie et pour vous,” He stops himself, shaking his head. Anger and sick tangling together and sitting heavy in his stomach. And she is your biggest supporter, the only person she loves more is Elodie and for you too, “Je ne peux même pas te regarder. Tu me dégoûtes, Pierre. Je ne veux pas vous voir près d'eux ou moi. Et j'espère que personne ne s'en posera la question. I’m not feeling kind.” I can’t even look at you. You disgust me, Pierre. I don’t want to see you near them or me. And hope that no one asks about this.

Before Pierre can say anything else, he leaves throwing the door opening and ignoring the looks from fucking Esteban of all people as he leaves the stupid French garage.

Hours later as she burps Elodie, humming softly as she walks around the hotel room, she hears a knock.

“Charles.” She greets, opening it. “Chéri.” He greets back, pressing a kiss to her cheek before stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “She ate already.” He notes with disappointment, spotting the cloth over her shoulder. She throws him a sorry look as Elodie lets out a burp, making them both tell her good job and she pats for a few more seconds before rubbing at her back. “She’s been hungrier recently. You missed out by ten minutes.” “Is she still eating at night?” He asks, taking Elodie from her and cooing at the baby, rubbing their noses together just to see her little eyes go cross eyed before pressing a kiss to her forehead, inhaling the scent of baby with a bit of vanilla from that perfume he had bought Y/N for Christmas last year. She watches him with an amused smile. He always did the same thing with Elodie. “She wasn’t, but for the past few days, yes.” “Perfect.” He beams. “I will take the midnight feed.” “Cha,” she warns. “You have free practice tomorrow. You don’t need to exhaust yourself.” “It is free practice. Besides, I've driven the tractor hungover once already this season. I can handle a little free practice with some exhaustion.” He rolls his eyes at the idea of being exhausted from Elodie. She was many things but never exhausting and he tells her that.

“Exhausting, miss Elodie. Why I’ve never heard such a lie!” The baby giggles at his exaggerated tone and expressions, little hand going up to rest on his cheek and he pretends to eat it making her squeal. “Exactly! Your maman is crazy for saying so.” She stares at the two, feeling a pang in her heart as she’s reminded of all the times Pierre did something similar.

He always wanted the late night feeds, really any feeds he could get. He took all the diaper changes too, uncaring of the blowouts or when she started to move more how difficult it could be to get a new diaper on.

Tears prick in her eyes as she thinks of him, a weird concoction of sadness and anger dwelling in her. She knew he had been lying when he said that Elodie was a mistake. Pierre loved being a father. It hadn’t been something he wanted so young or expected but he loved Elodie, truly loved her. She was less sure about them kissing for that first time and then continuously falling into bed together. He could think of that as a mistake. But it was a mistake that led to Elodie. So could it really be one when it gave them such a perfect baby?

“Pierre told me what he said.” Charles murmurs after he sets Elodie on her playmat, which she grunts at before getting distracted by the toys hanging in front of her. She shudders, arms going over her chest. “He is a dick.” “Not in front of Elodie, Charles.” She warns. She didn’t care that Elodie couldn’t truly understand what they were saying or even hear them. She wouldn’t have Pierre insulted in front of her. “I’m sorry.” He apologizes, eyes flickering over to her before returning to Elodie whose babbling. “He shouldn’t have said those things.” “He shouldn’t have said that she was a mistake.” She corrects. “Pierre can say what he pleases about me, not her. Never her.” She murmurs. “Nor you. If you won’t stand for him saying such things for Elodie, which I will as well, I won’t stand for him saying such things about you.” “He didn’t mean it, Cha.” She shakes her head. “He loves her, adores her. Do not burn bridges you’ll regret.” “For you, I could never.” Her eyes snap away from Elodie and meet his eyes. “Charles.” He shakes his head. “Don’t say anything. I’m just telling you. You are worth more than he has given and ever thought of giving you. And if,” he pauses, lifting her hand, her left hand, to his lips. “You ever want to give us a chance, I will be here. And even if you don’t, I will still always be here for Elodie and you.” She watches with wide eyes as he presses another kiss to her hand before dropping it and pressing his lips to her forehead. “Lay down, relax, chéri. I will take care of Elodie.”

She does lay down, but she is unable to relax. Because hadn’t Pierre teased for the last year and a half that Charles had a thing for her? Something she ignored, thinking he was pulling her leg, being a little shit like normal. But to know it was true, to learn the truth of it. It sat heavy in her heart and god it aches at the thought of Charles and his feelings.

Charles wasn’t perfect, no one was, except for Elodie, but that was a bias that the majority of them had when it came to her little girl, but he was amazing even with his faults. His people pleasing ways, pushing his feelings away, not putting himself first, the anger he sometimes carried with him, the grief that still sat heavy on his shoulders. But there were his pluses as well, his dedication and focus to racing, his love for his friends and family, his ability to not have to be on all the time, to be able to sit at home or somewhere and chill, and his patience. He was unbelievably patient but also knew when to push, to not give up or in.

Something warm starts to bubble in her as she considers, admittedly not for the first time, a relationship with Charles. The way he’d come home to her and Elodie after days away. The sweaty hugs after getting out of the car. The dinners and vacations with his family. The gentle way he’d touch and hold her. Not like she was fragile, but something important. And Elodie, the way he’d be with Elodie, more so than he already was. She can see the days and nights when they have Elodie, not Pierre, how they’d put her to sleep together, play with her, read to her. Watch as she crawls and then toddles around. Can see him bringing her around Monaco to the spots he grew up with as a child and sharing them with Elodie.

The thoughts and near dreams are overwhelming but in the best way possible. However there is Pierre to consider. He wouldn’t disappear from their lives, he could never, not just because of Elodie, but because he was a best friend to both of them. He would always exist with them and she knew that Charles could handle her past with Pierre, he had already dealt with the knowledge, had a constant reminder of said past in front of him in the form of Elodie. But would Pierre be able to handle her and Elodie having a future with Charles?

They weren’t in love with each other. They certainly loved each other, but there was a reason that they only had sex and never went on dates and always made faces at the jokes and ideas of being together. Sex was a different beast than a relationship. And they both never wanted a romantic relationship with each other. They both had gone on dates with other people during their time as friends with benefits. She had only stopped after learning she was pregnant and once she was further along, Pierre had too in solidarity. It hadn’t lasted too long as soon as Elodie was two months he went back on the scene, but it had been something.

Her lips twitch into a smile as she's reminded of how excited Pierre had been when he came back from his most recent date. Rambling equally to both her and Elodie about how pretty and smart his date was and how she even liked kids, babies at that.

She’s jerked out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone chiming. Grabbing it, she sighs seeing Pierres name but opens the message.

Could I say goodnight to Elodie. Just goodnight. I won’t stay longer She sighs again, quickly typing out of course and sending it.

“Pierre is coming to say goodnight to Elodie.” She tells Charles, sitting up. He frowns, scooping Elodie up and sitting on the bed beside her before setting Elodie down to the left of her. “Will you be okay?” “I’ll be fine.” And she reaches out to him, taking his hand in hers and intertwines their fingers, earning wide eyes from him. “Besides, I think I need to talk to him.” “You mean?” “I mean, let me talk to Pierre. Make sure he’ll be okay with this. He means too much to both of us to not check.” “I will hit him again if he’s not.” The promise makes her jaw drop, “You’ll what? What do you mean again?” “Ah.” He swallows nervously, and he’s suddenly able to feel the ring that caught Pierre’s lip earlier more than ever. “Nothing?” He offers, with a smile.

@cixrosie @teti-menchon0604 @eugene-emt-roe @badbatch-simp24 @darleneslane @fanboyluvr @gemofthenight @peachiicherries @lpab @copper-boom @benstormy @boiohboii @iloveyou3000morgan @topguncultleader

[jq37]

It was a good first episode. There's always some growing pains before they lock down the dynamic, but this was a solid introduction to what's coming down the pipeline. Murph and Emily successfully broke my heart the most. One's marriage is crumbling and the other's just a really traumatized child. Lou and Ally character's are pretty great and seem to have the most plot going on ATM. That voice Lou's doing is such a choice. Zac and Siobhan need more time before we can fully sink our teeth in. PIB is entertaining, but that's all we got so far. And while I'm desperately trying to block out Siobhan's intro, beyond the stressful horror, Rosamund didn't give us a lot character wise. Looking forward to getting stressed out by the rest of the season.

I was a big fan of this first episode! There was a lot of interesting stuff intro'd with all the new PCs (and I really got a sense of like...Once Upon a Time but competent lol). I already went through my thoughts a bit in the recap for the week but here are some more casual thoughts on everyone.

(1) Rosamund: Roz seems to have retained a lot of her princess niceties and demeanor which is honestly impressive considering her entire Situation. I'm wondering if this is going to be a Ruby style arc where she turns jaded eventually or if she's just going be Like This the whole time. A sunshine-y character in a crapsack world is always an interesting contrast. Also, we kind of started and ended with her since Pinocchio was warned that someone was coming for her. I'm curious if the fairy who cursed her is the same fairy that Pinocchio met.

(2) Ger: Brennan does this really cool thing where the end of the world is happening but you're like, "Oh no! This character cheated on this other character!" The human drama stuff feels just as weighty and often more weighty than the life or death stuff. That's how I feel about Ger's whole situation. He's really a dude in need of some serious self-reflection and I'm charmed by how pathetic he is. The issues he's having with his wife are so grounded in reality, even though they involve conversations that start, "Remember who we started dating when I was a frog?" Can't wait to see more of him--and hopefully Elodie at some point too. Where is she Brennan???

(3) Tim: Once again, everything with the Gander is totally messed up. I really hate the idea of accidentally stumbling into a kind of eldritch pact. You're right that there's a very clear plot hook with him and his mission with the book. From the way it was framed, it almost seems like the book has the "correct" or at least more wholesome versions of the tales in it somehow. Or is a gateway to where those versions exist? Because Brennan said it was their town but without the flooding and Jack looked like how he "was meant to be" or something like that. A lot to think about.

(Sidenote: Me and my friend were joking about whether the bad guy this season was going to be capitalism, or the church and my halfway joking answer is capitalism in the form of some version of the Disney Corporation lol.)

(4) Puss: I don't have a lot to say about Puss that I haven't already said in my recap but I love Zac putting his all into his cat mannerisms and I really love this grounded look at what would actually happen after the Puss in Boots story. Looking forward to getting more info.

(5) Red: Yikesssssssssssssssssssss. Emily just went for the jugular right away, huh? As usual, no notes Ms. Axford. I think it's super cool they mixed the Red story and the Big Bad Wolf story. I wonder if/when we're going to get details on how it went down with her grandma because we never got that. I feel like Emily might steal the emotional killshot crown from Siobhan for me this season.

(6) Pinocchio: OK first of all, no one can say Lou doesn't commit to the bit. Second of all, as I said in my recap and at the top in Roz's section, there's clearly something afoot here. Why does Pinocchio’s stepmom want Roz kept safe? And who even is she? My pet theory (based on very little info to be fair) is that she's Cinderella herself somehow but she could very easily be lots of other people (one of the stepsisters is a guess I didn't mention in my recap). Clearly, we're missing a ton of puzzle pieces here so I'm eager to get more. Also, I’m gonna be so mad when Lou is having a super emotional scene and he’s talking Like That. You monster.

One last thing: I'm curious about the timeline here. Since Roz has been asleep for 100 years it seems, how does that slot in with everything else? How long has this plan involving her been in motion. If Sleeping Beauty happened 100 years ago, when did—for instance--the Cinderella story happen (if it happened)?

OK, that’s what I got. Looking forward to the next ep on Wed!

[idealisticrealism]

Hi! I don't know if you're still looking for people to discuss The Cleaning Lady with. But here are my thoughts, let me know what you think. I think if Adan hadn't passed, they would be setting up a love triangle with Jorge, and he would've been the catalyst to make Arman act on his feelings for Thony. I wouldn't mind Thony and Jorge getting together. I think the show needs some romance. This is controversial, but I think they should consider recasting Arman rather than killing him off.

Hey! I'm always down to discuss TCL, so thanks for the Ask! I think you're right about the original plan for the Arman/Thony/Jorge 'triangle' happening to make Arman act on his feelings. I don't think there ever would have been a question in Thony's mind about who she would choose, but obviously Arman couldn't know that for sure, and just seeing Jorge's interest in her (and realising that Jorge and Thony could actually make a good match) would have likely been enough to push him to do something about it. I think that's also why ep 1 had the scene of Nadia buying a house for herself alone, not to share with Arman, because the writer's plan was for Arman to come back and for Nadia to see that his feelings for Thony were never going to go away, and so she leaves him.

Tbh, it hurts my pride a little to say it, but I've also reached a point where I wouldn't mind Thony and Jorge together either-- but only as a theoretical concept a couple of years into the future, not during the course of the show. The timeframe is just too short; for example, the 4 episodes of this season have taken place over FIVE DAYS. Arman has only been missing for FIVE DAYS. If the eps don't start having bigger gaps, this entire season will happen over barely more than 2 weeks. So while I'm fine with Thony and Jorge developing some kind of 'friendship' over the course of the season (something that ep 4 is certainly setting them up for), I would be incredibly disappointed in the writers and their choices if they had the two of them develop a romance so ridiculously fast and also while Arman is (as far as they know) still alive and missing??? It would be a bizarre act on Thony's part and not consistent with her characterisation at all. Plus, the show has never actually been about romance specifically; it has always been about family and the choices that protecting her family leads Thony to make. The Armony romance was always just a bonus, so I doubt they're going to turn around and suddenly try to push a new romance plotline when there's other more thematically-aligned stories to tell.

As for the idea of recasting; I can absolutely see where you're coming from, and it's fair enough! But personally, I know that I absolutely couldn't deal with a recasting. Arman was/is one of my favourite characters of all time, and for me there is simply no Arman without Adan, without the face and the voice and the hearteyes and all the little things that are just such an inherent part of the character in my mind. Not to mention that Adan and Elodie's chemistry was just on another level, and I don't think the show could ever recreate that with another actor. So as much as it hurts, having Arman die is the only real option in my mind (though @enigmaticfox has posed an interesting theory about Arman being rescued alive but having to immediately leave Vegas/go underground forever in order to avoid the FBI etc). But honestly however the writers do it, I just hope that they do it in a way that honours both Arman and Armony.

Anyways that's enough rambling from me now. If anyone else wants to weigh in here, they're absolutely welcome haha

[adrizzleofdeidre]

"All I ever wanted was the world."

FULL NAME: Deidre Colette Tremaine AGE: 24 SPECIES: Caster FAIRYTALE: Cinderella GENDER IDENTITY: Female; she/her SEXUALITY:  Bisexual NATIONALITY:  American ETHNICITY: White

FACE CLAIM: Elizabeth Gillies SPECIAL / RECOGNIZABLE FEATURES: Striking blue eyes HAIR COLOR: Long, brunette, usually in curls or waves EYE COLOR: Blue ACCENT: American

PAST OCCUPATION: None CURRENT OCCUPATION: Social Media Influencer

SIBLING(S): Anastasia Tremaine; Elodie Tremaine (step) PARTNER(S): None atm. CHILDREN: None atm. PARENT(S): Veronica Tremaine and Baron Hardup

- Deidre has had years and years of vocal lessons so she's actually quite good at singing. When she was younger she'd use her singing as her talent when entering beauty competitions. Now she uses it as a quick thing to impress people with when opportunity arises. She'll occasionally sing for her fans on TikTok as well. - Deidre is a matcha girl. She starts each day with an Iced Matcha Latte. It fuels her and gets her ready to face the day. She's also a fan of matcha pastries and ice cream. Really, though, Deidre's a fan of her greens, as she likes her green vegetables, too. - Yoga and Pilates are Deidre's exercises of choice. She does them each a couple times a week in order to stay in shape and keep active and healthy. She'll occasionally throw in a spin cycle or Zumba class too for funsies. - Deidre takes her job as a Social Media Influencer very seriously. She posts content every day religiously. It's part of her routine by now. She posts OOTDs, Product Reviews, Get Ready With Me snippets, and other little peeks into her every day life. She's actually done really well at making a career out of it by getting sponsorships and doing collabs, etc. - Deidre adores spending time with like-minded people who are intelligent and easy to talk to. It's one of the rare times one sees a relaxed and at-ease, smiling, kind Deidre. It's inferior and stupid people that annoy her and keep her on edge. - Yes, Deidre does have a heart. She donates a lot of stuff to shelters for women in need, and she actually does love her family deep down even though she acts annoyed with Anastasia most of the time. She's just picky and choosey about where and when she lets her heart be shown. - The fact that Elodie is more talented with magic than she or her sister absolutely infuriates Deidre. It makes her so jealous, and that jealousy makes her so angry she can't see straight. She's treated Elodie absolutely awful as a result. Deidre practices her magic every day just to be half as good, and it makes her crazy.

Platonic Connections: Friends for Deidre please! She is a mean girl, but she does like her friends. I think. We could def have some interesting dynamics! Former Romantic Connections: Exes are always fun and interesting to play! Deidre is definitely hard to please and very materialistic so it's easy to see why some relationships did not work out in the past. Hook Ups/FWB Connections: While Deidre does require you take her out on a date before she sleeps with you, that's about all you'll get out of her "dating" wise. She's pretty much only interested in keeping things casual while she builds her social media presence. Romantic Connection: I'm not gonna lie, this would be a tough one. First off I never push or pressure ships, but more than that, with Deidre she's very resistant to romance. It could be interesting to see someone trying hard to break down her walls and love the real her, but just don't get your hopes up that it'll be easy. Familial Connection: Veronica Tremaine!! Complete the Tremaine family! She's such an interesting parent to play and there could be so much fun had. Assistant Connection: Deidre's assistant. They get yelled at a lot and aren't treated the best, but the pay is... decent. Plus you get all the pr products that she doesn't want to use after reviewing them.

[wondereads]

Personal Review (03/13/23)

Damsel by Evelyn Skye

Summary

The barony of Inophe is a poor one, plagued by drought and a lack of natural resources. Elodie has always been ready to sacrifice whatever would be needed for her people, and it seems almost too good to be true when the wealthy kingdom of Aurea proposes marriage. Turns out it is too good to be true; there's a reason Aurea is so prosperous, and Elodie is about to be sacrificed for the cause.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

This was an interesting take on the classic story of a hero saving a damsel (haha) from a dragon. I liked how much of the story was devoted to Elodie simply surviving. The sisterhood she found in the princesses who had come before her was wonderful, and it worked really well for worldbuilding and plot development even when Elodie is trapped away from everyone.

Unfortunately, it just took way too long to get there. It was around a third of the way through the book before Elodie is even sacrificed. I probably would've been much more involved in the building of tension if it weren't established what happens to her in the summary and on the cover. Getting through those first ~100 pages was a slog. Once I got into it, I was much more into it, but it was mostly the action. There isn't much intrigue in this book, and everything is pretty straightforward. While I definitely liked the 'twist' (you'll be able to predict it a mile off), it isn't explained enough, and the whole ending feels pretty rushed.

There's nothing wrong with simpler stories, and I think the big picture for this book is quite good. Most of my issues with the story could be fixed by allotting maybe 30 pages from the beginning to the ending, and then it'd be much better.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Elodie is a distinct, likable character. She has a strong personality; her devotion to her people is admirable, and her loyalty comes through well. Her struggles in the cave are compelling to read, and she has complex relationships with multiple characters that go beyond just liking or disliking someone. Her connection to her younger sister, Floria, is sweet, even if it sets unrealistic expectations for sibling relationships.

Elodie's family, which consists of her sister, Floria, her father, Lord Bayford, and her stepmother, Lucinda Bayford, are interesting, particularly Lord and Lady Bayford. I do feel like Elodie's connection with her father could have been explored more, but I loved her and her stepmother. Their relationship wasn't perfect, but them coming to understand each other was great.

The villains, Prince Henry and Queen Isabelle, were potentially interesting characters but ultimately underdeveloped. I would've loved to see more about their motivations, especially Isabelle. Henry was raised in this culture, but Isabelle married in—why did she decide to let it continue?

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

For the most part, this book is written in a way that neither stands out nor falls short. I appreciate the decision to have all the perspectives be women since this book does emphasize that it is all women who are sacrificed, despite that not being necessary. Unfortunately, the different perspectives are pretty similar in terms of voice. The characters are distinctive, but that mostly comes from their actions, not their voice. This is most egregious in Floria and Cora who, despite being much younger than the rest of the cast, speak the same way as them (no nine-year-old is speaking like that).

Meaning 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

This book touches on and has the potential to go much deeper into the issue of violence against women. Elodie is rightfully furious when she discovers the sacrifices must simply be of royal blood, not specifically princesses, but it doesn't really go much further than that. Why? Why would it have to be princesses? What does it say about this world that so many women disappear and no one notices or that people willingly sell off their daughters like they're valuable objects and nothing more? I feel like the rushed pacing contributes to this; this book just didn't have enough space to properly explore all its possibilities.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

This book was just pretty average. The big picture of the book was quite good, I really liked Elodie as a main character, and the character relationships were interesting. However, this book falls short in a few different ways. The pacing was too slow in the beginning, and then too fast, not allowing for the characters or message to be explored enough. I must admit, my standards going in were high since I once another book called Damsel dissecting the same sort of story, so I was a little disappointed. A decent read, but really not anything special.

The Author

Evelyn Skye: American, also wrote The Crown's Game and Circle of Shadows

The Reviewer

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[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter XL: Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

I

There’s that old saying: “things get worse before they get better.”

Perhaps that’s true. It is in most cases. But then there was also that one about calms before storms. Sometimes it could be hard to tell which phrase applied when.

Is it over? At last? I thought when the sky cleared and the frozen mashed potato landscape I came to know as snow lit up and an orange warm glow lit up in the distance.

I remember how I took what must have been the largest sigh of relief. For the rest of the day, even for a few days, it really felt like it was all over.

Scared refugees, people who once may have known a sense of normalcy, all huddled in fear. They too changed their tune once the beauty such a cold and barren place could bring. Less scared, more excited. Some were hesitant, yes, but a good few got up, headed for the door.

“Wait!” I snapped.

Two, no, three of them, looked my way. Both in confusion and horror at the sharpness of my tone. I too was a little startled even though I had grown used to it at that point.

“We don’t know how long it will last, or if it’s truly over,” I explained to them.

“Oh, come on!” An older man complained, thin gray hairs on an otherwise bald head. He looked grizzled, like someone who would have worked in a mine, or a construction site. Burly, with a wide stance, grit teeth.

He was the first, but the others began stirring up a commotion as well.

“We can’t just wait! If it’s going to get worse, we should go before it happens!”

“You can’t keep us here forever!”

Do you even think I want you here?

More was spoken, but each turn of phrase was drowned out by another. It turned into a storm.

“Go ahead and die, then, if you’re so eager to!” I was so tempted to say, but I hadn’t yet reached such a point. Instead, I turned to Wendy, who was seated somewhat toward the back, in the second booth. She looked listless, like she was staring off into space. From what I knew of her, it was more the opposite: she was gauging the situation.

“Wendy, can you take these people to the airport? After that, you can go wherever you want,” I instructed for her, as if it were some mission and I was the one at the helm.

Her face was still fixed on nowhere in particular, like it was focused on a speck of dust on a counter top. However, her eyes, ever slight in motion, turned my way. Then, a hint of a smile could have been traced upon her face.

“Are you sure that’s a risk you’re willing to take?” Her cinnamon-like voice rasped out the question.

Of course I’m not sure, but I don’t want to live without taking risks.

“Yes. If it gets bad again, I’ll reach out to you,” I answered after a moment of silence.

“How will you reach out to me?” Her voice was less husky that time, more absent, like one gets late into a tiring night.

I don’t know how. I’m in a constant state of not knowing enough and it’s too much.

“I’ll figure out a way,” I assured her.

She stood up and walked toward the door. Her arm raised and she made little waving motions in the air both as a playful gesture of goodbye as well as a motion for everyone who wasn’t Sunny, Tigershark, or I to head to the door.

“Bye sword lady!” Tigershark waved back to Wendy.

“Thanks for your help,” Sunny added in. Both of them stood beside me near the kitchen. For those precious few months where we had to scramble to deal with everything, it was Tigershark in the kitchen while Sunny and I took turns watching everyone in the dining area and passing around food. In a way, if not for the horrible circumstances, it would have been nostalgic. Like how so many years ago, I was in the kitchen while Sunny and Elodie, just a small creature, took orders and served the patrons.

It’s been too long since this place was an actual restaurant. And it may never be one of those ever again.

When everyone left, the three of us remained inside, hesitant. Even small Tigershark, with her joyous energy, was fixated on the window. None of us could pull ourselves away, and it made it hard to understand where to go from there.

Then, naive as we were, the next day came: clear skies once more. Sharp and coarse freezing air greeted us when we opened the front door and stuck our hands through as a meager test. It felt like the deepest layer of hell. In other worse, paradise.

Joyous rapture, Tigershark ran toward the back to grab her parka, then headed out the front door.

“Don’t stray too far!” Sunny called after her.

“I won’t! I just want to play in the snow!”

Again, we were so naive.

Sunny and I spent much of that afternoon in each other’s arms. Careless, we both fell asleep against each other at one of the booths, our faces pressed against the window. When we awoke, the fog had returned. At first, we thought it was just our breaths and condensation. But then we saw that void, that vapid nothingness. Neither light nor dark. Just inescapable gray blurs spilled over the sky.

We bolted out of our seats.

“Where’s Tigershark?” Sunny asked.

“Good question…” I squinted, then pulled my glasses from out of my lapel.

The two of us searched high and low throughout the diner with no success. The only place we avoided was the basement. Such a silly place to overlook, but as it turns out…

The diner’s front door flapped open and slammed against the wall adjacent. We ran in its direction and what burst forth from the door was the hooded figure of a redheaded devil, one who ran into my arms as I knelt down. There were cuts all over her face and she looked frostbitten; an uncontrollable stiffness covered her, almost blue in the face, and the only thing which helped animate her, brought her to life, were the tears which flooded her eyes.

“Where were you?” I asked, and by no means did I intend for my words to be harsh, yet the tone suggested anger rather than worry. All the same, I held her tight.

“I’m sorry!” She wailed and sniffled. I rubbed her back. “I ran off and before I knew it, the fog came back!”

“Don’t be sorry,” I tried to reassure her, “none of us knew it would come back.”

Although I had my suspicions.

“We were just worried, is all,” Sunny added, who stood beside me, and soon dropped to her knees as well. Within the minute, all three of us were huddled together.

Once Tigershark calmed herself down, as did Sunny and I, she explained everything:

“I wanted to run to Remora’s house. I thought maybe she was back there, you know, like how things were in the beginning when she would go back and forth. I know she said it burned down, but I found it, and yes, everything was burned inside, but it still stood.”

“I had no idea,” my words, a near whisper. I wonder if Remora ever revisited that house, or if she left it behind for good.

“There wasn’t a trace of her. There wasn’t much of anything,” Tigershark went on, a sniffle here and there, “I knew she probably wasn’t...but I just thought…”

“Why?” It sprung out. No elaboration. Tigershark broke away, looked at Sunny and I both.

“She saved me, right? When there was that blizzard that took my parents! So, maybe, she’d be there to save us again, and all I would have to do would be to tell her about the fog.”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry. I wish it worked that way.”

“Hey, that was a dangerous thing to do, but I can see why you’d think that,” Sunny snapped her fingers, “now come on, try and give me a big smile!”

To demonstrate, Sunny smiled wide. Tigershark, well, she tried, but her lips shook, and it wasn’t for the cold, but for her emotions at play. When I thought she would bawl again, she instead sucked up some air, then let out a deep breath.

“I don’t remember everything and I don’t know if I ever will but I remember my name. I remember I’m Rotellina Littlewheel.”

It seemed so random for her to say, but when she told me her given name, it all clicked: the researcher couple, the Littlewheels. Mead and Ginny Littlewheel. Mead had hair like honey, always wore those stiff scrub-like lab coats and had a drunken posture to him. He always ordered the usual: turkey leg, scrambled ostrich eggs, and buttered brioche toast. Then Ginny, a sweet woman who had a preoccupied mind. Always had research on the back of her mind. Always changed up her dish, but if I had to not a common food of hers, it would have to have been biscuits and gravy with chocolate potato cake.

Those two, while not eccentric, brought me a mild interest. Especially how they mentioned anomalies, like animals which shouldn’t have existed in this environment, or caves which seemed to have sprung up from thin air. I should have known something was up when they stopped showing up, but I just figured they were busy. Maybe there was a partial truth to that, at least up to their deaths.

“Yes, I’ve met your parents before,” I told the child.

“You have?” Tigershark’s jaw dropped.

Sunny nodded and added:

“We both did. I was always just passing by, but they were neat people. I remember them mentioning having a daughter, but they never showed any pictures.”

“Indeed,” I corroborated Sunny’s explanation, “I told them they should bring their daughter sometime and Ginny would tell me that they’d love to, if they could ever find a break from work.”

“So we could have still met!” Tigershark’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, if only under better circumstances.”

She shook her head.

“Still. I’m glad Remora found me. I’m glad I found all of you. She probably didn’t think about it. I know she wasn’t my parents, she wasn’t even much of a sister sometimes, but I still care about her and I still miss her.”

“We all do,” I assured her.

“Can you guys keep calling me Tigershark? It’s important to me,” she seemed to change the subject just as fast.

“Of course, dear,” Sunny and I spoke in unison.

It’s funny to think that even that was a pleasant memory compared to what was to come. I wasn’t sure, it must have been gradual, but it didn’t feel that way. My reaction to the change in environment felt like a shoe which I already knew would fit without even having to try it on.

We went now, more than a year after such a mess. Almost a year and a half had passed and I grew to resembled what lay outside the diner. I found myself shattered, fragments, glass shards of whatever it was I once was.

Tigershark, herself, came to understand the importance of staying inside. Her injuries that day had been all the proof she needed. Ever since, she kept herself laser focused on cooking and baking in the kitchen for all of our inhabitants.

I tapped the door to the kitchen with the back of my hand. Those days, I was a man of few words, save to complain about how my life had ended up.

Tigershark stood on a stool, stirring a giant bowl of mashed potatoes.

I wished to wave to her, say something, anything, but I didn’t. I just let the door close and walk past.

“Order up!” She yelled, and even with the incessant chatter from those who took up residence, her voice rose past them all.

As I looked out among the crowd with their concerns and uproar, I wondered what kind of role I had put myself in: was I really to be a leader when I couldn’t even keep my own morale high? Sunny continued to be in high spirits, her laughing and telling stories to the folks beside her. But it must have been forced, right? There was no way to be in denial of such a situation, yet I had succumbed to the pressure of trying to keep everything together while she was her usual self. I didn’t hate her for it, but I could no longer envy her either. Like it or not, I had to be the person I became, because the one who tried to be a ray of sunshine was as good as dead.

There went Astraea, the mysterious child-like figure with the spider-silk hair which seemed to take on a life of its own with the way it flew back in every direction as she walked. She walked past me, not even commenting on my blank stare, and went into the kitchen to get the food from Tigershark to take to the others. While there was always something off about her, both in speech and action, I allowed her to work as a waitress. Child labor laws aside, it could have been a sign of either my passivity or my desperation to have something resembling a functional system.

Beside Astraea, followed the sister of silence, Sister Cecilia. Another mysterious force to which I just didn’t care enough to look into, let alone give her much thought. She insisted on working, but I couldn’t imagine why. If I was someone seeking shelter, wouldn’t it have been enough just to know that I was taken care of?

Then again, everyone is different and I can’t expect to understand the perspective of everyone I meet.

That was the first thought. Then came the second thought:

Nor would I want to know everyone.

Despite that thought, there were things that I wanted to know. Things which refused to make themselves known to me. Long hours I spent at my desk in the back, just pondering, and trying to piece together a puzzle with nary a clue in sight.

First the strange things in the arctic, then the trap in the mansion. Remora suspected it to be a cosmic entity before her dismissal. Wendy later claimed it had to be the work of a cosmic entity once she saw the fog. But she also said they had to represent an emotion. So then, what? Every act that could have been linked to this possible ‘entity’ has been random. With the mansion it was ‘consume others and drain them of their sense of self’, with the beasts that looked like an amalgamation of various animals which shouldn’t fit together, and then this fog, a still nothingness which injures anyone who walks through. If one were to stay in there long enough –

I’d shake my head at my desk.

If it was just the thing with the mansion, I’d ask myself, “is hunger an emotion?” True, hunger is a feeling, but so are other physiological responses. With all the things that don’t add up, however, it does bring to mind cosmic entities, but not the kind Wendy described. When it came to things like Cthulhu or Yog-Sothoth, the whole point was that they were beyond comprehension, beyond understanding. But in that sense, wouldn’t the thing at the mansion fit, or at least fit the idea people have when they think of such things? Some incomprehensible beast with infinite knowledge? It was like how some would perceive such a being to be.

So maybe it all came down to perception: the mansion itself was perceived to be haunted, when really there was something far worse. That there would be penguins appear in the arctic is like how some might mistake the arctic for the antarctic region. Those creatures? It was like a mash up of what was ‘supposed’ to appear. Then, the fog...maybe like a blizzard without the winds and snow, but the danger that comes with a blizzard?

Gah. That didn’t quite add up either. I thought I was on the right track, and maybe I was, but it was still just a little out of my reach.

Something that is perceived to be, but off.

There was that other thing Wendy said, and when I thought about it, something clicked: they usually possessed a human host, and that everything that happened seemed deliberate, targeted, even, then it must have been someone under its influence.

If not for their deaths, I would have suspected that ‘Cronus’ fellow, or whoever it was Remora encountered and fought in the cave. Maybe they were hosts, in their own way, but it could have been that they weren’t the main one. So if there was a main one…

There were two immediate suspects.

She appeared a few weeks after the activity picked back up and more strangers had taken shelter. It was early spring and not long after I explained the situation to Cybele. There was no warning, and in fact, she showed up with a bubbly sing-song expression and a wide grin upon her face. It would have been normal, even welcome, if not for the danger which lurked outside.

“Astraea has arrived!” She announced herself and strolled through the dining hall. Odder still was her attire: a plain white T-shirt which stretched past her knees with the characters ‘せいそ’ written in the middle and a fashionable pair of skinny jeans. She had a brown bag with a strap over her shoulder, and a plush toy of some character from something poking their head out from the bag.

One patron, despite their mortified expression from what might have been terror at the thought that leaving the door open could ‘let in’ whatever was outside, got up to close the door that Astraea had left hanging open. For her part, she turned around and swayed her head across the room.

“Wow! There are many humans here!” She remarked. Then, she turned back to face me. “And, who might you be?” She stood on her tiptoes and looked up. In turn, I looked down, scratched my chin, and grasped at straws for an answer.

“I’m confused,” I replied, “where are your parents? Why did you come alone?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head, though continued to look up.

“I have been told about those, but have none. As for why I came alone, it’s because I did not come with anyone else!”

That’s too obvious of an answer. Like asking why something was round and being told “because it’s not flat.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have come alone. It’s dangerous out there.”

Maybe that should have been a sign. Others have come alone, yes, but…

“And why is that, Confused? By the way, you have an interesting name. I have never thought to be an adjective before, let alone a mood.”

“Uh, no. My name is Ray Sunshine.”

“Ah –” She let out a sound, sure to have had more to say, but Tigershark ran out at full speed.

“Astraea!” Tigershark yelled and her arms were raised high.

“Me!” Astraea replied, and the two embraced for a hug.

“Right,” I adjusted the cuff of my suit, “I’ll leave you two to your reunion.”

“Ray! This is Astraea!” Tigershark let go and turned to me. “I told you about her, remember?”

“Yes, and now I’ve met her.”

“What have you been up to all this time?” She turned back to Astraea.

“Well...I walked to this place called Japan and I tried singing some songs and then these guys in suits found me and recorded me doing karaoke and people started calling me an ‘idol’ and some even said I was their goddess, and I think they were a little confused, so I went on record and told them: ‘There has been a mistake. Astraea is not a goddess, Astraea is a human. Therefore I am leaving. Bye.’ After that, I decided to walk around a bit and now I am here.”

“Wow! How much of that is true?” Tigershark’s arms were pressed together in joy as she stood in awe of such a tale.

“Yes,” Astraea replied.

“I’m really happy to see you, but I won’t have much time to spend with you, I’m afraid,” Tigershark broke the news.

“Why?” Astraea tilted her head and looked puzzled.

“Because I have to cook for all these people!”

“Why do you have to?”

“You don’t,” I cut in, “your friend’s right. You’re free to enjoy yourself if you’d like. I can take over.”

“No! I need to help too! I like cooking and I don’t want you to be stressed about everything!”

I took a step back and my head jerked back as well. My eyes widened, and for a second, I wanted to thank her. Instead, I pressed my glasses up, then cleared my throat.

“I see. Very well.”

“So it has come to this,” Astraea closed her eyes and smiled, then pointed at Tigershark, the tip of her finger almost at Tigershark’s nose, “if I wish to spend the most time with you, how may I do so?”

“I’ve got an idea! You can be a waitress!” Sunny got up from whatever seat she had been at. “Sorry! I couldn’t help but overhear the whole thing!”

“She’s a kid,” I pointed out, “besides, does she know how to do that?”

Astraea shook her head and smiled wide.

“I do not know how to do a waitress,” she stated, her breathy words floated out from her.

“Then I don’t see a point,” I concluded.

“I can teach her,” Sunny was insistent.

“Fine, do what you want,” I waved off, then began to walk to the back.

“Hey!” Sunny called after me.

“What?”

“You’ve got people helping out. I know this is difficult to deal with, but you’re not alone. There’s Wendy, Tigershark, and I. Hell, there’s even Aurora. Yes, our resources may slowly deplete and we didn’t expect to deal with such a thing, but isn’t it more manageable with others helping out? So one more person should be fine, yes?”

You don’t understand. I’d rather have been alone.

“Sure,” I shrugged and walked off.

Nothing has changed since then. No, that’s not true. Little has changed since then. Wendy returned once to take some people back to wherever they came from. It was a little after Astraea had arrived, and Wendy left just as soon as she arrived. It should have been a relief to see more people go, return to the safety of their homes.

It wasn’t.

More people came in, from where, I didn’t know. It filled me with questions, filled me with dread. Why? Why didn’t they take heed of the danger? What led them to wander inside? Was it of their own volition or were they just puppets and props? Unreal, yet life-like.

While things remained hectic, I persisted. We did, I meant. Or maybe I didn’t know what I meant anymore.

Toward the tail end of spring and summer crept up (seasons were used as a unit of measurement, and didn’t reflect anything on the weather we experienced), I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. I was seated in the back, at my desk, and as usual, lost in thought.

“Who is this?” I answered, against my better judgment.

“Unblock Demetria’s number, you coward,” of course. That sly hiss mixed with an equal measure of dead seriousness and the pitch of a blue jay.

“Wendy? Why are you calling?” I replied, a little miffed by the suddenness of the situation.

“To tell you to unblock Demetria’s number.”

“OK. Why?”

“You need a way to keep in contact with me, right?”

Yes, but why do you have her phone? I felt like that was a vital question that was left unanswered.

“Fine,” I sighed, “I’ll play along.”

I scrolled down on my phone and unblocked Demetria’s number. I still didn’t really understand why.

When I went to put the phone back to my ear, it was silent. I checked, and she hung up. Then, my phone rang again. This time from Demetria’s number.

“Bitch,” she rasped.

“Is that all you called to say?”

“No,” her voice changed to that hiss she had when she sounded more playful, “but it needed to be said.”

“OK. I take it you met up with her?”

I reclined in my chair. I could have really used a smoke, but I resisted the urge.

“Yeah, you could say that. Her tracking skills are impeccable, it’s rather frightening.”

“What did she want with you?” I felt a hint of disappointment and dismay on the tip of my tongue. Not from Wendy, but from myself at the thought that Demetria could return, despite my worst wishes.

“She wanted to get away from home for a while, figured it would be a good idea to crash with me.”

“You didn’t tell her about the situation up here, did you?”

“I didn’t,” she stated, as simple as that.

At least I can ease my mind in that regard.

“So why do you have her phone?”

“You know how those types of girls can get: she’s at a point in her life when she keeps thinking she has to start over, be a new person. So she had it in her head that if I held onto her phone for her, it would be easier to do just that.”

Was that right? Well, I suppose from what I knew about her from her time here, it would track.

“That’s unfortunate. I hope she figures herself out one day.”

“Yeah. In a way, I think she already has, but you know, it’s like she’s always changing. Taking on a new image. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a chameleon one day. Anyway, if you ever want me to come back to the diner, just give this number a call. I figured it would make things easier for both of us.”

“Yeah. I guess. I’ll call if I need you back.”

“Good. Hey Ray?”

“Yeah?”

“Any new ideas? Anything come to mind lately?”

“Hmm...Astraea is a bit weird,” I mentioned.

“Ah, yeah, but what kid isn’t?”

“True. In that case, no. I’ve got nothing.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping we’d have some kind of progress.”

“It is what it is. Hope’s in short supply these days,” I couldn’t help being dour.

“Hey. Short supply doesn’t mean no supply. Talk to you later, Ray.”

Indeed, short supply doesn’t mean no supply. It means that it’s soon to run out.

There were times when I would forget Aurora was still around. Or times when I wondered if they had all but died out. Such wonders were put to rest one day when she entered the diner, not looking so proud or manic, but instead as weary as I had been. By then, it was near winter, and it wasn’t the cold that made people stir-crazy, but my adamant stance that no one was to venture outside.

So then when Aurora walked in, I knew there would be some people pointing her out, as if her entrance was a slight against them.

“Why does she get to come and go as she pleases while we’re stuck in here?!” One man roared.

She ignored his complaint and walked up to me. As for me, I leaned off to my side and addressed that man.

“Her and her crew live in the train right beside this diner. If you want to join them, you’re free to, but you probably won’t enjoy it any more than you do here.”

“Actually, Ray, that’s what I’ve come to talk to you about,” she didn’t look too pleased to be making any requests, but I could already tell what was coming. Rather than speak it into existence, however, she turned her attention toward Sister Cecilia, who happened to have been wandering around.

“First, who is that?” She pointed her thumb back.

“Some nun. I don’t pay her much mind.”

She squinted her eyes, her face turned to a scowl, then she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

“Hey girlie! Nunny!”

Sister Cecilia turned around, knowing that she had been addressed, and walked up to us.

“You’re a nun, huh?” Aurora scratched her chin.

“That’s correct,” Sister Cecilia wrote down and held up a sheet of paper to Aurora.

“I had someone in my crew who used to be a nun. What kind of nun are you? My crewmate was Buddhist. What about you?”

“Catholic,” she flipped one of the sheets. I take it she’s been asked that before.

“One of those, huh? So what kind of vows have you taken? Simple? Solemn?”

“Why does any of this matter?” I asked.

Aurora held her hand up to my face.

“I’m just asking questions. Don’t read into it. So, what is it?”

“I’ve taken a vow of silence,” she flipped to another page. Already written.

“What would that fall under? Solemn?”

“Nun of your business,” she wrote down and showed Aurora. That only made Aurora stare with greater intent.

“Is that so?” Aurora seethed.

“Won’t you just tell me what you came here to tell me?” My annoyance couldn’t be held back any further.

“Yes, but this is important too. Why don’t you know everyone here?” Her vitriol was now directed back toward me.

“Why do I need to?”

“It’s about trust, Ray. How can you trust anyone you don’t know? Any one of these people could double cross you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

No. It doesn’t.

“I think it would be idiotic for anyone to do that, seeing as they’d be stuck in the same predicament I am in.”

She must not have liked that answer as she lifted me up by the collar and dragged me up against a nearby wall, her other elbow against my neck.

“You know something? I make it a habit to know everyone in my crew. I’ve dealt with situations like this before: us stuck inside, rationing just to get by. I keep telling myself I’ve been through worse, and maybe I haven’t. Maybe this is the worst it’s been. But at least I’m struggling with others, at least we’re all still fighting, because lemme tell ya, I don’t want to be in this mess forever. What about you?”

Of course I don’t.

I said nothing, however.

She let go and I just about dropped to the floor. I knew I could have held up my own, fought back, but I didn’t.

“You’re not a leader. If you wanted to be one, you’d accept help from others. You’d put your trust into others. Not blind, but because you know who they are.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” I wheezed out.

“You’re being passive. Do you think that’s an honorable trait? Just letting everyone do what they want while you isolate yourself. Is that helping anyone?”

“Why do I have to get the lecture from you? You’re a ridiculous person most of the time.”

“And so are you. The difference is that I don’t have a magical weapon or any of that bullshit to help me and my crew out. We’re holding on by our pride alone.”

“That woman’s right!” Yelled that same guy who raised a stink when she walked in. “You do nothing while you tell us to stay inside. Why do we listen to you? You’re probably downplaying this whole thing right now!” He got up and in a huff, reached for the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I growled at him.

“Or what?”

“Leave it, Ray. If he wants to die, let him.”

“I bet I won’t! I bet you’re all just making shit up!” He continued to throw a fit, and as he was about to pull open the door, I darted for it and grabbed the back of his collar.

“You’re not leaving,” I ordered.

He thrashed about and then elbowed me in my stomach. As I reeled back, he turned and his fist flew into my face and all of the color around the room vibrated, faded, until black. I fell to the floor, my glasses shattered.

“I don’t know about any of you, but I’m leaving!” The man announced in a huff and jerked the door open, then ran off.

It was more than a simple injury this time; a few seconds passed, followed by a minute or two, and then echoes of screams could be heard in the distance, sounds of blades swinging every which way.

I pulled myself up.

“I’ll have to find his body and bury him later…” I muttered under my breath. Everyone looked out, and although they could see nothing, I heard collective gasps.

“You think I’m joking?” I raised my voice and looked around at everyone. I groaned my eye that got hit turned swollen. “Maybe some of us get lucky, it’s a few cuts. But that is also likely to happen. From the inside it may look like nothing, not a big deal. But it’s either be stuck in here or risk serious injuries, even death, just for the crime of walking outside. Do you think I like that either? Do you think I want to be stuck with any of you good-for-nothings? I don’t.”

My head swayed. I definitely needed some ice, or something, but I wasn’t finished.

“Maybe to you guys it looks like I do nothing. Even if that’s true, then that still puts me in the same situation as all of you. I’m just another good-for-nothing, myself. Not everyone has the strength to help out, and I don’t ask anyone to. I’m still going to take anyone in, they’ll still be fed, and I’ll tend to anyone’s wounds that I can, but if you value your lives, then you would stay inside.”

I was beginning to get a headache. I needed to get away. Astraea, for her part, started to clap.

“I didn’t understand any of that, but it sounded good!” She commented. Wendy put her hand on Astraea’s shoulder and I heard her say, “this isn’t the right time.”

As I began to walk away, Aurora put her hand on my shoulder.

“That’s what I came to tell you about: I want our crew to join you guys in here.”

I turned to her.

“Really? There’s already so little room as it is.”

“Yeah. I know. And a few members of my crew have died. Some of them we’ve had to bury twice.”

“What?”

“Yeah. The first time is hard enough, but the second time, when you have to put them down yourself, that just seems cruel. I’m not saying it’s a zombie situation, because even then, they’ve got some kind of life in them,” Aurora shook her head, “I had to bury Russell. We woke up one day, unable to find Russell until I looked outside, and there he was, on his back, torn apart. We suffered the injuries and buried him. There was also Chet, and Morgan.”

“My condolences,” I replied.

“Do you know what this tells me? This thing, whatever it is, doesn’t care if you’re indoors. It just can’t enter your place in particular. We’ll do whatever we need to. I just don’t want to suffer any more losses.”

I sighed.

“Very well. But understand that things aren’t as lax as I make it out to be. There are scheduled shower times. Scheduled eating times. You may not have much of a choice as to where you sleep, and it may not be comfortable.”

“We’re used to not sleeping comfortably.”

After that was settled, I went to the kitchen, grabbed a towel and a few blocks of ice, and pressed it against my face.

II

It was a few days later when I came back from burying the man who ventured out. He was more or less a mangled mess, chopped up, no delicacy to it whatsoever. While I was burying him, I received some scratches of my own. The sleeves of my suit were all torn up, yet I pressed on, digging up dirt, digging out until there was enough space. Once I laid his body in, I shoveled the dirt back over.

“For the record, I don’t hate you. You were an idiot, yes, but I don’t blame you, either.” I wanted to say more but winced as some invisible force cut into my side.

I gasped out and coughed on the suffocating air.

I better go. Shame I had to cut it short, but I shouldn’t have been performing any eulogies in a danger zone, anyway. Now, I better hurry or I’ll join his same fate.

By the time I returned to the diner, I was a bloody mess. But still alive somehow. If that meant anything. Sunny was seated nearby and gasped.

“Where have you been?” She asked.

“Mind your own business,” I groaned.

“I thought you said none of us were to go outside! You know how bad it is out there!”

“Damn it!” I snapped. “Of course I know how bad it is. I get myself hurt just so I can bury someone. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do that, either.”

“I never knew that. You never told me.”

“Why would I have? If I’m hurting, that’s on me.”

“It’s not just you. Whether you like it or not, we’re all hurting. You’re not alone.”

I huffed and shambled on past.

“And therein lies the problem,” I replied.

“You’ve grown cold!” She called after me.

“I’m this way because I have to. This situation hasn’t gotten any better.”

“But I have to have hope that it will,” her voice warmed up, and I couldn’t see why.

I just continued to walk into the back.

“You’re being a real asshole, you know that?” She yelled after me. “Come on, Sister Cecilia! Back me up here!”

Huh. That nun must be sitting across from her. No concern of mine.

I went into the back and knocked on the bathroom door in the hallway. No one answered. Usually that place was under constant occupation. I went to the sink and splashed some water on my face. I closed my eyes and refused to look at myself in the mirror. It was bad enough that my vision had become so terrible after my glasses broke. They were such an expensive pair, too.

From behind the mirror, I grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it on my wounds. When the inevitable sting came, I bit down on my lips. It would pass.

I sat down at my desk and pulled out a cigarette from the drawer underneath.

If Sunny knew I was smoking...well, Sunny and I seldom speak these days.

I flicked my lighter and took a puff.

Out of the corner of my eye, the shape of Astraea began to take hold. I just about jumped from my seat.

“What are you doing back here?” I asked.

“No one’s ordering right now and Tigershark said I could take a break,” she explained.

“I see. Go on and take a seat, then. I’ve been meaning to have a talk with you.”

She sat as instructed.

I inhaled another puff, then blew out.

“I’ll cut to the chase: you’re the cosmic entity, aren’t you?”

“Ah,” she smiled, “so that’s what you’ve been meaning to ask. The answer may surprise you, as I am human.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t need to hide anything from me. Who are you possessing?”

She tilted her head from one end to the other.

“I don’t possess anyone. I possess a Nintendo Switch and a Sothis plushie.”

I really wasn’t approaching this well.

“Look, it’s fine if you are. It’s not fine, because if you are, then you’re responsible for the misery of many lives. But it’s fine, because if you are, there’s nothing I can do about it. Apparently your kind can’t be harmed.”

“Ah! But I can. If you want, you can punch me. I’ve seen other humans get hurt, so I know I can get hurt too. Amen,” she continued her usual mannerisms. It could have just been her form, but I couldn’t imagine myself punching a child. Then, she added, “also I wouldn’t want to cause misery for others. I don’t find misery to be very interesting.”

Ah. So that’s what it is.

“It was either you or Sister Cecilia. Those were my suspects.”

“Suspect of what?”

“Of being the entity among us.”

“Amog...us?”

She needs to work on her enunciation.

“I suppose when I think about it, Sister Cecilia, while mysterious, isn’t as unusual as you, so I figured it would have to be you.”

“Why would it have to be either of us?”

“Because both of you showed up here unharmed.”

“Wendy did too,” Astraea pointed out.

“Yes, well, her weapon apparently wards off the threat outside. As for you and Sister Cecilia...”

“Well, I know it’s not Sister Cecilia, because she has a mouth and humans have mouths!” She answered, all gleeful, too. Then, she put her hands over her mouth, “I wasn’t supposed to reveal that!”

“You have a mouth as well,” I pointed out.

“Yes. Because I am human.”

“Anyway, I don’t think that was much of a secret. Everyone has a mouth. Most animals, too.”

“Then why would she hide it?”

I shrugged.

“Beats me. Maybe there’s something she’s hiding on her face. But I didn’t once think she didn’t have one. Anyway, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. I’ve got bigger things on my mind.”

“Like what?”

“Like what I’m going to do. Our food supply is starting to run low. Even if we combine with Aurora’s, we won’t hold out for much longer.”

“Oh!” Astraea shot her hand up. “I know what you should do.”

“What?”

“Apologize to Sunny.”

Even you would think so, huh?

“Yeah, you’re right. It wouldn’t really change the situation, but I still love her and she didn’t deserve that. It’s just...her and Sister Cecilia both have said that I’m not alone, but it’s like they don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“I would rather be alone. Because then nobody else would get hurt. If everyone else could just stay away, I would be the only one that would have to endure this.”

“Mm...and you’re sure they don’t understand that?”

I took another hit. Maybe they did. It just didn’t make much sense to me why they would insist that, then.

“It sure seems like they don’t,” I replied.

“I don’t know, it sounds simple enough to me. If you’re the only one getting hurt, then others wouldn’t be. Still, I don’t know why others wouldn’t be. Humans are capable of being hurt.”

“So why do you think Sunny would insist to me that I’m not alone, like I don’t already know that?”

“Hmm...because it’s true? There’s other people around.”

I wasn’t sure why I thought I could take advice from her. Someone I was convinced was some all-powerful space alien.

“I wonder if things will work between us…” I leaned back. “You know, before Sunny, I only dated men. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back to seeing men.”

“Don’t you see men all the time, and women, and children, and dogs and cats?”

This child really is tiresome.

“That’s not really...not like vision, like, relationships. Like, romance. Love. Things like that.”

“Oh. Those kinds of things.”

“Yeah. You know, I used to have a curious mind like yourself. I used to wonder about all these little things and chase rumors. Now, it’s like I have none of that left in me.”

“That’s not true. You said you wonder about Sunny and wonder about men. Anyway, I’m going to go now. It’s almost time.”

“Time for what?” I was a little struck.

“There’s an event in Animal Crossing. That’s what Tigershark said the game is called.”

She walked off after that and into her room. Well, the room Tigershark slept in. It still felt weird thinking that she slept there. Maybe I still had some hope that all of this would be temporary.

I put out the cigarette and tossed the butt into the nearest trash can. I tossed a mint into my mouth and chewed down.

I guess I’ll take the kid’s advice, was a thought I never imagined I would have.

Still, I caught Sunny, still seated, and seated alone. I couldn’t really see Sister Cecilia anymore, either, but the place was so crowded that she could have been anywhere.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked. She seemed surprise, shivered in place, but then looked up and smiled.

“It isn’t.”

I sat across from her. It was easier to see her eye to eye that way.

“How are you doing?” I initiated.

“Oh, you know,” she smiled and moved her head about, all sing-songy. “It’s difficult, both dealing with such an adjustment, and watching you become like this. But I remain hopeful that it won’t last forever.”

“How do you remain hopeful? I’d like to believe that this will come to an end, but I don’t see any end in sight.”

“I never said it was easy.”

“So how?”

“Because I have to. If I have nothing else, I still have that.”

“So it’s like that, huh?” I nodded.

“You know, I went outside the other day,” she began to mention.

“What? Why would you do that?” I protested, but she put her index finger up to my mouth.

“I’m not the type to let a little bit of danger stop me.”

“That is one of the reasons I love you,” I couldn’t help but say.

“You do realize that getting into danger means risking being hurt, right?”

I kept my mouth shut. She chuckled.

“I went up to our mailbox. It’s still standing, intact and unharmed. Of course, there’s been no mail delivery, but that doesn’t matter much to me.”

“So why did you do it?” I asked.

“I wrote a love letter with no address. I wonder what those words will mean when the letter is returned to sender. It’s for that reason that I have hope. Because I want to know what kind of people we’ll be once you get a chance to read it.”

I spat out. Caught off guard, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Even if my voice still sounded dry, void of passion, she managed that much.

“Why couldn’t you have just told me the stuff you wrote in person? Why do something so ridiculous?”

She laughed right back.

“It got a reaction out of you, didn’t it?”

“That it did,” I smiled. It felt unnatural, yet it wasn’t a conscious decision, either. “You know, when you would tell me that I wasn’t alone, I thought you were being ridiculous, because when the fog began, I didn’t want you to come back. I didn’t want any of these people here, I just wanted to take it all on and protect everyone else.”

She nodded.

“I could tell. It was stupid of you, but it’s not the first time you’ve done such a thing.”

“What? How’s it stupid? I would be protecting you.”

She grabbed a napkin from the napkin holder against the wall, folded it up, and hit my hand with it. It didn’t hurt at all.

“It was stupid. You don’t think I wouldn’t be hurt if you were the only one? I’d share that pain with you. In a heartbeat.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“Nor should you have to keep it to yourself.”

I gazed down at the table.

“Maybe you’re right,” I muttered.

“Louder for the people in the back,” she cupped her ear.

I looked up.

“I’m sorry,” I said, since I couldn’t find any other words. “Everyone’s been trying to tell me, but I’ve just been so focused on keeping everyone alive, and I couldn’t even manage that.”

“But you’ve still managed a great deal, and you wouldn’t have managed nearly as much if you didn’t have help.”

“Yeah. You’ve got that right…” I looked around. Wendy was at the other end of the dining hall, chatting with the sailor. I could tell that sailor guy wasn’t a real sailor, but I didn’t bother to consider who else they could have been.

“Hey. Do you think that there could be someone here who isn’t who they appear?” I turned back to Sunny. Her eyes shimmered, so radiant to the point that I had to avert my gaze, lest I go blind.

“Maybe. Wouldn’t it be fun to think about?”

I shuddered.

“I’m not sure if fun is the right word…”

She laughed.

“Maybe you’re right this time,” her hand waved over her mouth, then she leaned in, her eyes fluttered, “you know, there would be times when I was on my adventures and I would wonder if you missed me. I know, carefree me, wondering such things. It was just how you would be so casual, and wave it off, it was like you didn’t mind me being gone.”

Maybe that was true in a sense.

“I do like my alone time, but yes. Always.”

“Really?”

“But that’s why I was okay with it, because whenever you returned, it was like I had found a treasure. So while I always awaited your return, I was at ease at the same time, because I knew wherever you were, you were smiling.”

“What about here? Right now?”

I pressed my palm to my head. I felt about ready to weep.

“I want to enjoy our time together. I just wish things were simpler. Remember when we used to take on requests? Now everything’s so complicated. I mean, there’s this fog, our food’s running low, and hell, even if by some miracle, this all gets solved or goes away, what then? I wish we could go back to how things were.”

“You can’t. Those times are gone. But they were fun while they lasted, right?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“There’s gotta be some beauty in that. Yes, maybe it’s gone, and we can’t get those times back, but who’s to say something new won’t come from it, something similar?”

“You’re right,” I placed my hand over hers, “so, here’s to the unfamiliar?”

“To love,” she nodded, “and whatever form it may take.”

She leaned in and I met her halfway. Our lips were about to meet as well, the distance could have been measured with a microscope, but before they could join each other –

“Ugh, get a room you two!” Shouted a disgusted and squeaky voice.

We opened our eyes and looked around. That voice, it must have reminded us both of the same person.

“Did you hear that?” Sunny asked.

“No way…” I uttered.

“It sounded so familiar, don’t you think?”

We let go of each other and looked around. At first, nothing stood out, but then I saw someone with a black hoodie tied around her waist and wearing black slacks. Covering her face was a book, upside down which the title read ‘How to Sneak Into Diners For Dummies’.

“You know, I spent over a year away, and do you know what I learned?” She paced about and drew near us.

“Demetria?” I couldn’t help but ask. In response, she set down the book and that’s when I noticed her hair, shoulder length and wavy, dark green. She pointed at Sunny and I and shouted:

“I learned that none of us are smart!”

Sunny and I looked at each other, then back at her, and laughed. I couldn’t even be mad, as much as I didn’t want her to be in such a mess with us.

“That’s your big epiphany?” I asked.

“Yes,” she tossed the book behind her. “I had a whole hero’s journey while I was away. I went and got my degree which means I could be a marine biologist, but then I realized: degrees meant shit. I’m most likely to work at a coffee shop with such a degree, so I figured, you know what? If that’s the case, why don’t I just come back here?”

“Is that really your motivation?” I couldn’t say that I disagreed with such an assessment, but it seemed a little...out there.

“Not really. I also heard about what’s been going on. I won’t reveal my sources, but I can say that I know how to deal with it.”

“You do?” I didn’t believe such a thing, but who knows? I’ve been surprised already.

“That’s right!” She put her hands over her hips and smiled all proud.

“Demetria!” Tigershark just about tackled her as she ran and dived in for a hug.

“Whoa, there,” Demetria turned around. “Careful, you won’t believe how many knives I’ve got in my pockets.”

“You have knives in your pocket?!” Tigershark exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Demetria dug into her pockets and pulled out a couple of throwing knives. “This one’s named Hilda, this one’s Marianne.”

She then pulled out another, a black and gold switchblade knife.

“This one’s called Death Knight,” she held out. Tigershark jumped back.

“Why such a scary name?”

“What? Don’t like it? How about Mercedes, then?”

That switchblade knife, it’s just like...ah, I see. So that’s how she got in. I’m impressed.

“I missed you!” Tigershark cried into Demetria’s hooded sweatshirt around her waist.

Now that I think of it, that black hoodie…

“Aw, I missed you too. You know I couldn’t keep myself away for too long. You’re like family to me.”

“Yay! Speaking of family, while you were gone, I got another sister! Her name is Cecilia! I’ll find her and you guys can meet each other!”

“Uh, sure. Good luck with that, kiddo,” she snickered.

Tigershark ran off. That poor kid.

“So what made you reveal yourself now of all times?” I had to ask.

“Eh. It seemed you were starting to get back to better spirits, and to be honest, I was tired of keeping quiet for months on end.”

“Still, I’ve seen better days…” my right eye was still swollen.

“And you’ll see better days again,” she sounded so sure of that.

Tigershark ran back over, looking distraught.

“I can’t find Sister Cecilia anywhere!” She pouted.

Demetria whistled, or at least, it was an attempt at a whistle.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up. Let’s not worry about that right now,” she told Tigershark.

“Aw, but –”

The lights went out before the kid could finish her sentence. Soon we were met with pitch darkness, then gasps emitted from the crowds in their seats.

“I see it’s begun,” Demetria muttered.

Others’ voices flooded the room:

“What’s going on?” “Will we be OK?”

Were just a couple of things I heard among the commotion.

“Quiet everyone!” I raised my voice to a shout. “We’re going to go downstairs and check the breaker!” I couldn’t see her in the dark, but… “Wendy, Aurora! Make sure to protect everyone while we go down, OK?”

“Aye-aye, boss,” I heard from Aurora.

“No need to tell me,” was Wendy.

“I’m, uh, going to use the restroom,” chimed in Captain Acab.

“...OK? You’ve been here how long?” I didn’t understand the need to be told that.

“I swear, that sailor guy’s been giving off weird vibes ever since I’ve been here,” Demetria commented.

“Whatever! Let’s leave Captain Crunch to do his business!” Sunny’s cheer was unparalleled.

The four of us felt our way around to the kitchen, then crawled down on the floor until I found the hatch.

“Okay, down the hatch. Watch your step, guys,” I held open the hatch and the first to climb the stairs down was Sunny, followed by Tigershark, then Demetria.

“Why do you have your breaker underground, anyway?” She criticized on the way down.

“It was actually my idea!” Sunny answered. “I thought it would be neat!”

Once down, it was just a matter of feeling around on the wall until...aha.

I opened the door to the breaker box and flicked a flame on my lighter to help me see.

“Yep. Central lighting was tripped,” I noticed. I flicked the switch back and within seconds, everything lit up around us. All lights were blinding and it took several seconds of blinking before mine adjusted. Even then, my vision was blurred. How could it not have been?

Once I adjusted to the light, the shapes of the giant kegs of ale surrounded us.

“You know, I’ve never actually been down here before,” Demetria noted as she looked around. “It’s a little cold down here, actually,” she began to shiver, and so put her hoodie back on. It really did look more like a cloak than anything.

“Well, we got the lights back on, let’s head up,” I motioned for them.

“I just realized something,” Demetria walked forward instead, “it’s cold down here.”

“Yeah?” I wasn’t quite sure what the deal was, but then…

Wait. I get it.

“We can get everyone else down here and smuggle them out through the airport. There’s a tunnel down here and –” I began to formulate my plan, but Demetria stopped me.

“No. I’m sure the enemy knows about this path as well. I say we press on and end this, once and for all.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked her.

“Because I’ve faced our enemy before. I’m willing to be this is no mere oversight. Hell, if we keep down this path, we’ll probably be in for a fight.”

Great. I was unequipped and in bad shape. I wished I had time to prepare.

“How fitting, too...a fight in a basement…” She scoffed.

It felt weird having her lead, yet she was so sure about moving forward. As we took a few steps, I stopped her.

“Wait.”

“What?” She turned back, a look of disappointment upon her face.

“Listen.”

There was a creaking sound from nearby, something like screeching metal. It must have come from the safe beside the tunnel.  Then footsteps.

“Be on your guard,” I advised everyone.

“Tigershark, get behind me,” Sunny added.

She nodded and we stood in place until the figure emerged into view from behind the last keg at the far end of the hall: someone tall, black form fitting clothes, and a with short, blue hair.

“Remora!” Tigershark cheered, but Demetria held her arm out.

“Not quite,” Demetria warned.

Whoever she was, she smiled and began to walk up to us, then waved.

“Hello. Nice to meet you all, I’m Rhea Flection.”

My heart thumped against my chest. There was no way. Of course not. It was all wrong. Even as her voice matched Remora’s, it still made little sense.

“Yes. Nice to meet you, as well,” I greeted her, or whoever she was. “But I heard you died.”

“That’s right. I faked my death and have been hiding out here, in your safe.”

Of course you have. Oooof course.

“Do you know what’s been going on?”

“Nope!” She grinned. “But I’m sure we can all figure it out together! Follow me!” She began to walk toward the tunnel and I looked over to everyone else. Sunny and Demetria alike nodded, and it was a sort of telepathic communication of “let’s follow for now.”

We began to walk toward her and Demetria shifted beside me.

“Remember, Ray: some people aren’t who they say they are,” she whispered.

“I know, but what other choice do we have at the moment?” I asked in turn.

Demetria scoffed, then let out a loud, audible groan.

‘Rhea’ turned around and beamed.

“Hm? Did you guys say something?”

“Yeah, actually,” Demetria spoke up. “I’ve got a question for you that only the real Rhea would know the answer to.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“What color panties am I wearing?” She asked, deadpan, despite the crude question.

“Demetria! You can’t just ask someone that!” Tigershark protested.

“Easy! Green!” The figure who was supposed to be ‘Rhea’ answered.

“Ah, that puts my mind at ease,” Demetria replied. “Thank you.”

“No pro –”

Demetria in one swift motion reached into her pocket and flung a knife the stranger’s way; the knife landed square in the middle of her forehead and blood began to trickle down.

“Demetria! You just killed her!” Tigershark flailed her arms about and began to panic.

“At this point it’s like beating a dead horse, isn’t it?” Demetria remarked, then turned back to the stranger. “The real Rhea would have answered something like, ‘how should I know?’ Or ‘why would you ask me that?’ I would have also accepted, ‘no clue. I don’t go looking at people’s underwear.’”

“That’s just common sense!” Tigershark scolded, still flailing her arms about.

“Yes, which is why I know you’re not who you say you are.”

Whoever, then, the stranger was, as blood ran down her face, she formed a crooked toothy grin which stretched her face wide.

“Clever,” the figure uttered in a low, guttural sound.

Demetria, meanwhile, slipped on a pair of fingerless gloves and brought her right arm forward, her palm spread out. Then she made a pulling motion and the knife in the figure’s forehead flew out and the hilt landed right back into Demetria’s palm.

“I had Hephaestus put magnets into my gloves. The blade of the knife is more dull, while the hilt is actually more metallic, and I’ve practiced with my aim.”

“Wow, magnets! How do they work?” Tigershark was astonished.

“Miracles, dear,” Sunny replied and pat Tigershark’s head.

Once the knife was pulled out, blood began to spray from the figure’s forehead, and then their head split in two, like a banana peel and hundreds of vines emerged and the flaps which made up the upper half of the creature’s body had rows of jagged teeth. The creature took a step forward and all of us stood back. Their arms changed into several thorny vines as well and spun in place in a circle.

“Any more bright ideas?” I turned to Demetria as we all continued to back away.

“In fact, I do. Lemme see your lighter.”

“Why?”

“I’m thinking I can throw one of my knives at one of the kegs, then when alcohol pours down on the floor, I take your lighter, strike a flame, then toss it into the alcohol.”

“No, no way,” I shook my head with a violent force. “You’d burn the whole restaurant down!”

“Damn it, Mr. Krabs! Is this restaurant more important to you than our lives?”

Are you really comparing me to a crab?

“You don’t get it! If the restaurant burns down, we’ll all go down with it. I can’t take that risk.”

“Oh. Yeah. I didn’t consider that.”

“Anyone else? Any ideas that do not involve arson?”

The three ladies shook their heads and I was a little disappointed.

As whatever it was that impersonated Rhea drew closer, I really began to think that the end might be upon us all. That was, until the crackle of a rifle sounded and I watched as a bullet flew into the creature and the creature’s parts exploded onto the floor.

I looked from the direction of the fire to see Remora, also with blue hair in much the same fashion, and wearing a sailor’s uniform crouched down in a corner of a hole in the upper wall.

So now they’re both here.

She swooped down and split her rifle into two smaller guns.

“So, you’re Rhea, huh? You have got to tell me how you do that thing with your face,” teased the coy voice of Remora, something I wasn’t used to from her.

Nearby, the scattered pieces of the creature’s form slithered around and piled up against each other until it reformed, back into the shape of a person.

“And now you’re here too,” the impostor Rhea creature snarled.

“That’s right,” Remora smiled a sinister smile as well. “John. Jacob. Jingleheimer. Schmidt.”

She did a flip in the air and blasted away with the two guns, then landed and took cover between the giant keg barrels.

“She always has to show me up,” Demetria scoffed. “I could do that too, if I wanted to.”

“By the way,” Remora turned to us and winked, “they’re purple, right?”

“That question wasn’t for you!” Demetria shouted.

“OK. But did I guess right or nah?”

“That’s not the point!”

“I’m pretty sure they’re purple.”

“I’m wearing boxer shorts!” Demetria was fuming in protest.

Remora whistled, then replied, “didn’t need to know that, but OK.”

Her face then turned more serious, much more like the Remora I was familiar with.

“Sorry to cut this reunion short, but you guys should go on ahead. I’ll take care of this fashion disaster.”

We all nodded, then ran on ahead. As much as I wished the five of us could go on together, I at least had confidence that Remora could handle such a fight on her own. Once into the tunnels, the light began to grow dimmer and dimmer, but I just hoped that we could all find a light at the other end of this tunnel.

[gaybox]

ok but in seriousness i just read the first entries for crescendo and i actually love it so far. one of the biggest problems with trickster's original lore was that there was no explanation or reason to his actions or murders it was just kind of there because they needed a horror character. the story of his childhood is pretty generic but its still something that gives a bit more depth and hes started to shape up as a really solid character and i cant believe im going to say it because of how much i disliked all-kill on release but hes growing on me and hes becoming one of my favorite killers just because of how unique his story is and how much emotional involvement you can imagine between him and yun-jin and how that relationship shapes their time in the entity (favorite killers character wise, gameplay wise trickster can suck a whole dick and cock i have never liked playing/playing against him) and yun-jin hasnt gotten too much yet but what we got so far is really promising. i think the problem with a lot of newer survivors with these novel length stories are that despite getting an overview of their life and the context you get from it (<- not complaining btw), you never really know who they are as day to day people, and that's why i think yun-jin was different and a really good step in the right direction because despite not really having a lot of dialogue in her lore, you can still imagine who she is as a person by her actions. Like take Elodie who is still a great character and my secondary main; i have no idea who she is as a character. Like i know shes depressed but thats basically it, theres no implications to her characteristics, at least as an adult. thats why im really loving the tome entries so far because they just solidify yun-jins pre-existing personality, something that made her more unique that other survivors, and it just makes me love her even more. I love her interactions with trickster and while we only have three entires for her and they ended on her saying she was done with trickster, im excited to see how that relationship changes because of the way she holds him in the leaked ending videos. maybe she rekindles her interest for trickster and actually begins caring about him as a person and not as an asset to her career? can you imagine? character development? Also finally i just wanna talk about how much theyre talking about her interest in music. in her og lore it made it sound like she was more of a manager type instead of an actual music producer so the tome going in to detail about her love and emotion connection with creating and performing music is really exciting and part of the reason i even wanted to play her and became interested in her is because of the fact that she is a pop music producer and im a huge pop music nerd and audiophile so its just really fun to have a character in dbd reflect that instead of the only other musician we had in the form of a certain horse girl aligned individual

anyways very excited for the conclusion for yun and ji-woon and ill be simply ignoring the observer because i do not care about that fuddy bitch

[your-kpopmama]

Happy Valentine’s Day, Kiss My Ass!!

Words: 5,390 Drama, slight angst, a good ending A/N: it’s me! back again with a holiday special. 

If you asked anyone to describe Jeon Jungkook in one word, it would always be “loyal”.  He was loyal to his friends, his family, and most especially his girlfriend of 7 years, Elodie. Jungkook had met Elodie on a trip with his family when he was 18. Both of their families had seemingly booked the same tour package of Paris. So for a week straight, Elodie and Jungkook were quite literally inseparable.

Both being freshly 18, they had quite a lot in common, even if Jungkook’s english wasn’t amazing. They still managed to communicate and enjoy each other’s company while their parents enjoyed the wine at every destination.

Somewhere between The Louvre and Versailles, they found an indescribable attraction.

Now, most would say distance would ruin a friendship or relationship, considering Jungkook lived in Busan, South Korea and Elodie lived in some midwestern town in Michigan whose claim to fame was the worlds largest Cherry Pie. However, both of them being determined to form a friendship, made it seem as easy as that cherry pie her hometown was known for.

It didn’t take more than a year for them to realize they both wanted more than friendship, thus they began their journey of a life together. There were many flights between the two, Michigan to Seoul; Seoul to Michigan. Late night phone calls from someone just waking up. Conflicting schedules and many times where they wondered if it would work.

It only took Elodie two years to decide she couldn’t handle the distance. So she packed her life up, said goodbye to the folks, and moved clear across the world to be with the love of her life. Unbeknownst to him, since he had just entered his military service to get it out of the way. With the help of his parents, Elodie found a nice apartment not far from their house.

When Jungkook was discharged, the first face he saw upon leaving was hers. The love that surged through him struck him almost breathless. He loved her with his whole being.

It took one year for them to officially move in together once Jungkook finished school.

One more year before Jungkook popped the big question during the Jinju Lantern Festival that Elodie had begged him to take her to. Of course, Elodie said yes.

Six more months to plan a move to Seoul for a job that Elodie had gotten at an entertainment company as a translator - Jungkook was the best teacher.

And one more year for Elodie to gain some of her closest friends and Jungkook to score his dream job as a physical therapist.

It’s obvious to anyone that Jungkook is loyal.

—————————

“Elodie!” A shout from across the cafeteria pulled Elodie’s attention from the book in her hand to the small blonde boy bounding towards her with a tall red headed woman in tow.

“Jimin! Lani!” Elodie greeted, marking her page before setting her book aside.

Jimin and Lani were two of the people closest to Elodie at work, and two of her very good friends. They had taken Elodie under their wings so to say when she arrived at Big Hit. Jimin and Lani worked as stylists but were on the same team for a boy group called Wild, that had just debuted when she started. Jimin had already been there for two years and Lani was finishing up her first year. If it weren’t for those two, Elodie was almost certain she wouldn’t have survived the hectic schedules.

Jimin sat across from Elodie as Lani took the spot beside her closest friend. “Today has been crazy!” Jimin whined, reaching for Elodie’s untouched coffee.

“Tell me about it, Wild is getting a bit...wild these days. It’s hard to keep up with them in interviews.” Elodie laughed, pushing the cup into Jimin’s searching hand.

“Girl, do not get me started!” Lani chimed in, shaking her head, “if I get one more fan complaint about them all wearing the same clothes I may scream. I can’t just go to the dorms everyday and dress them.” She scoffed and reached for the cup too, “they act like don’t own a thousand and a half outfits.” She finished.

“I wonder where they get it from.” Jimin mused, reaching once again for the now community cup of coffee the three of them were sharing.

Elodie had to suppress a laugh because she knew exactly where they got their bad habit from. The three of them often shared food, drinks, and Jimin and Elodie shared clothes here and there when they were out on long schedules.

That was always something that amused Jungkook to no end, Elodie coming home in a borrowed shirt or pants from Jimin if there were unforeseen circumstances at work. The most recent one being Daniel and Hyun were arguing over who got the last strawberry milk and when Elodie stepped in to hand them one she had found in the cooler, Hyun had swung his arms out and slapped the open milk container and covered her from head to toe in the pink milk. A story Jungkook spent half an hour laughing about as he helped Elodie clean the dry milk from her hair.

Lani’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out with a groan, “what did those troublemakers do now?” She said mostly to herself. Her expression changed from annoyed to something Elodie couldn’t quite place. “Ah, I have to take this call.” She said and got up and all but ran from the table.

“Geez, what’s her problem these days?” Jimin huffed, his attention now on the half eaten cinnamon roll in front of Elodie.

Elodie shrugged and pushed the plate to Jimin, offering him the rest of the delicious pastry. “Who knows. I think she might be seeing someone. I caught her talking in the women’s room the other day and she got all flustered and ran from the room.” Elodie wasn’t one to gossip, but whoever has the red heads attention, has to be one hell of a guy and Elodie was curious.

Jimin frowned into the cinnamon roll and didn’t speak anymore until their allotted lunch hour was over.

Elodie made a note that she hadn’t seen Lani for the rest of the day.

—————————

If you asked anyone, they would tell you Jungkook would go to the moon and back for his fiancée.

So on this particular afternoon, when Elodie was running late because of a translation mishap with Wild, she had to call her fiancé for a favor. Nothing major, something seemingly harmless.

“Hello?” Elodie spoke into the phone when she heard someone pick up. A beat passed before Jungkook’s voice rang through.

“Elodie? What’s up? Aren’t you at work?” His voice sounded worried.

“Yeah, I have a quick favor. And before you say no, please just hear me out.” She rushed.

Jungkook urged her to continue, “can you pick Lani up from the train station for me? I’m gonna be running behind and I told her I would pick her up when she got back.” The other end of the phone was silent until Jungkook drew in a breath.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can pick her up.” He agreed easily than Elodie had planned.

“I know you two don’t get along very well, but I can’t get out of work. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to.” Elodie murmured.

“Love, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I had to head that way anyway for a few errands so I don’t mind since it’s for you.” He said sweetly.

Elodie felt her love for Jungkook grow a little bigger as they said their goodbyes and she got back to work.

“You’re awfully brave.” a voice called from behind her.

Elodie turned her head and saw the oldest member of Wild standing in the doorway. “Thank you, Wooyoung. I think?” Elodie seemed unsure of how she was to take that statement.

Crossing the floor and plopping down on the overstuffed chair next to Elodie’s, Wooyoung watched her for a moment before speaking up again, “Do you really trust Lani with your fiancée?” He questioned.

Elodie’s head snapped in his direction and started laughing, “Wooyoung! Of course I do. She’s my best friend and Jungkook is my fiancé. Why wouldn’t I trust them?” She thought the idea was absolutely ridiculous that she wouldn’t.

“I’ve seen a lot of unloyal dogs in my day, even the most loyal can change if a nice pair of tits walk by.” Wooyoung explained, dead serious.

“Who has nice tits?” Jimin called walking into the room with Hyun and Daniel behind him.

Elodie caught the three up on the short conversation between her and Wooyoung. “He’s not wrong, Miss Elodie.” Daniel chimed in. “Men are dogs.”

Elodie exchanged a look with Jimin before the two burst out laughing, “honestly, where do you boys come up with this stuff?” Elodie questioned.

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” Hyun said before heading out with the rest of the boys, leaving Jimin alone with Elodie. The two sat in a thoughtful silence for a while as Elodie went over the notes she had on the last interview with the boys to figure out what she had messed up.

“How long have you and Jungkook been together?” Jimin asked.

“Seven years or so,” Elodie answered absentmindedly, her eyes staying on the paper.

She didn’t see the pained look Jimin had on his face, mixed with guilt.

————————————

Elodie and Lani’s friendship didn’t start out easy. Granted even if Lani had been the one to show Elodie the ropes, they had conflicting personalities and interests. Elodie was quiet and soft spoken and enjoyed reading and coffee. Lani was loud and outgoing and enjoyed drinking on weeknights and hooking up with anyone who caught her eye.

Of course, Elodie had been jealous of Lani at first, wishing she had the body or the confidence the red head had to live life to the max. But it had also been Lani who told her that even Elodie’s way of living was living brightly. There was no wrong way to live your life as long as you were doing what you enjoyed.

So when Elodie had brought Lani home to meet Jungkook, she was shocked that the two didn’t get along at all. Jungkook was the first to outright say it, that Lani wasn’t a good person. No explanation. And Lani had glared daggers at Jungkook all night. No explanation.

Elodie felt torn because she didn’t want to be in a position where she had to pick, because at the end of the day it would always be Jungkook; and the two knew that. Quietly accepting her defeat, Lani had told Elodie that she would never force her into a situation where she would have to tell Lani to hit the road. The only thing Jungkook and Lani could agree upon was that they would put up with one another, for Elodie’s sake.

Now, Elodie gazed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of her apartment. Her black hair hung straight over her shoulders, and her once vibrant green eyes seemed dull in the soft yellow lighting of the tiny room. Her cheeks were smaller than they had been just six months ago, and her skin seemed paler than usual. One thing she knew for sure was that she needed some sleep. She would worry about her beauty later.

Returning to the living room she found Jungkook and Lani in an intense discussion over the coffee table where Elodie had left them. Upon hearing her return the two sat back and easy smiles replaced the tense looks that they sported moments ago.

“Everything okay?” Elodie asked cautiously while returning to her seat next to Jungkook.

“Peachy.” her fiancé gritted between his teeth.

Lani gave Elodie a sad smile and went back to picking at her slice of pizza.

Elodie knew everything wasn’t peachy.

————————————

If you were to ask anyone to describe Elodie, you would get several answers. Answers that ranged from “sweet” to “caring” all the way to “saintly”. Elodie had a big heart, and an even bigger heart for those she held most dear.

Lani and Jimin trailed behind Elodie as she browsed the racks of clothes in the department store. One of them offering fashion advice here or there in her endeavor to pick out the perfect gift for Jungkook for Valentine’s Day.

He had basically everything he could ever want, but Elodie still wanted to get him something nice; something special. Jimin had advised getting him a fancy new coat. Lani had suggested getting something more spicy for the bedroom. Both were good ideas, and Elodie was currently shopping for them.

Since she was too embarrassed to shop for the “something spicy” with her friends, she asked if they would tag along and help her pick out the coat.

“Does he truly deserve this though?” Jimin said out of the blue, his brown eyes never leaving the rack of coats he was currently picking through.

“What do you mean?”, Elodie laughed, “of course he does. He’s been so solid through this last six months in my hectic schedule. He’s been practically a saint.”

“A saint is what I would call you, Elodie, not your fiancé.” Jimin grumbled.

Lani elbowed him in the side and gave him a look Elodie couldn’t quite place. Jimin looked at her and spoke a mumbled apology before moving onto the next rack.

“Pay him no attention, girl. He’s just a little pent up.” Lani giggled into Elodie’s ear. “Oh! What about this one?” Lani picked up a long wool coat. It was black and had gold buttons down the front and at the cuffs of the sleeves. It wasn’t flashy but by no means was it plain; it was exactly Jungkook’s style.

“God! That would be perfect!” Elodie grabbed the coat and held it up to look at it closer, marveling at the quality. She knew she had to get it.

Lani tried to hide the proud smile behind her hand, but Jimin saw it and she rushed to Elodie’s side and out of Jimin’s eyesight.

————————————

If you asked anyone he worked with, they would say Jimin was hopelessly in love with Elodie. Everyone knew it. Except Elodie.

She was too wrapped up in her loving and loyal fiancé to notice the longing stares of one Park Jimin. He wasn’t shy about his distaste for Jungkook and he definitely wasn’t shy to show his feelings for Elodie, but he would never outright say it. See, Jimin had fallen for Elodie when she started at the company; love at first sight. Ever since then he made it his goal to bend over backwards for the petite girl.

When he found out she was engaged, it may have caused a falter in his step on his quest to make his way into her heart; but by no means did it stop him. He wasn’t pushy. He didn’t overstep boundaries. And he definitely didn’t make anything awkward. But he did make it a point to always be there when Elodie needed someone to talk to.

His love for her however, has caused him great misfortune. A while back, Jimin saw something he shouldn’t have seen. God, why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be the one to see it? He had information that could seal the deal and be in Elodie’s heart - but that information was a double edged sword. It could bring him and Elodie closer, or it could put her farther away.

Jimin was selfish, and he knew that. So for now, he sat with this information. Whether or not he chooses to use it has remained to be seen.

————————————

Elodie was busy at work as usual. Her phone constantly going off as she answered calls in regards to certain interviews Wild had lined up. She hadn’t been able to go home in almost 48 hours, and it was starting to get to her.

Despite the crazy schedule happening, she kept note of how many times Lani would sneak off with her own phone, a smirk plastered to her face, to return ten minutes later looking a little dazed. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Jimin either.

A deep frown was set into his features when Lani came back to the dressing room after twenty-two minutes (Jimin had timed it). “Jesus, Lani. Get it together will you? We have fifteen minutes before the boys go live and you’ve hardly been present! Get their outfits and help them dress.” Jimin barked at her, pausing his movements so he didn’t burn Wooyoung with the flat iron.

Lani’s head snapped in his direction, a retort on the tip of her tongue before she decided better of it. Elodie watched as she sat her phone on the vanity and disappeared in the racks of clothes, angrily picking out the appropriate outfits.

Elodie tried to help Jimin as best as she could, but the most she was qualified for was adding a light gloss to the boys’ lips.

Lani handed each boy their clothes and dressed them quickly before they were called to the stage for the interview. Everyone filed from the room and made a beeline to be on standby.

“Shoot! I forgot the mics! I’ll be quick!” Elodie shouted, waving down Jimin who gave a thumbs up and hurried off the everyone else.

Elodie made her way through the dressing room until she found the box she was looking for. Lani’s phone was ringing and Elodie glanced at it. “My Baby🥵💋” flashed across the screen.

Without thinking, she answered the phone, “hello?”

“Baby girl, you’ve kept me waiting too long.” A voice rang through.

Elodie’s heart dropped to her stomach, “what?” She breathed out.

“Come over after work tomorrow. Elodie won’t be here, she’s working over time.  We can spend our first Valentine’s Day together.”

That was Jungkook. No doubt about it. Panicked, Elodie tried to disguise her voice as best as possible, “Sorry, Lani is busy. She left her phone.”

“Oh?! Oh, god. I’m sorry.” Jungkook hurried and hung up. Elodie stood still for a few seconds, her head reeling and her heart pounding.

“Elodie? Hey, are you okay?” Jimin ran through the room to Elodie’s side. He glanced at her hand and saw Lani’s phone and the grief and confusion on her face.

Jimin knew that Elodie had probably figured it out, but now was not the time to touch base on it. They had work to do.

Gently prying the phone from her hands and guiding her to the stage, Jimin sent up a silent prayer that she would never know that he knew.

————————————

Elodie’s next three hours flashed by in a mere second. She couldn’t concentrate on the interview and Jimin had to save her a couple of times in her headset to keep her focused. Her mind never wavering from the phone call.

Her eyes never leaving an anxious looking Lani, who kept checking the time on her wrist watch and visibly getting more agitated as the interviews went on.

When they barely managed to finish, Elodie dropped all of her things into Jimin’s arms and took off for the dressing room. Quickly gathering her purse and coat, she made haste to get home. A quick phone call to her boss asking for tomorrow off since she wasn’t “feeling well” and a shabby plan in place, Elodie headed into her apartment.

“Baby, is that you?” Jungkook called from the bedroom.

“Who else would it be?” Elodie snapped back. Ten seconds passed before Jungkook poked his head out from the bedroom doorway, confusion written on his face.

“You okay?”

Elodie couldn’t help but think that his concern was fake, but a part of her still believed that he would never do something as heinous as she thought he was doing even if the evidence so far said so.

“Peachy.” She kicked off her shoes and made a beeline for the bathroom. Running a steaming bath she allowed herself to emerge herself into the water, letting her body relax.

She laid there for several minutes before the sound of the doorbell chiming broke her from her thoughts. Listening she could hear Jungkook talking to someone in a rushed tone. Curious she got out and grabbed a towel, wrapping it tightly around herself and walked into the hallway.

At the front door was Lani, looking at Jungkook like he was something to be eaten. Elodie felt anger surge through her body. Holding her head high, she walked behind Jungkook.

Lani noticed her presence first, her sultry stare turning into shock and then to fear. Jungkook turned around and saw Elodie standing there with a puzzled look on her face. “Jungkook, I’ve been waiting for you forever in the shower.” Elodie said sweetly.

“O-oh? Oh! I’m sorry. The doorbell...” he trailed off unsure of how to reply.

“Lani? Is everything okay? Did I leave something at work?” She feigned ignorance.

“Uh, yeah! Actually. But I was just telling Jungkook that I forgot it with my stuff and just remembered when I got here. I’m so sorry to disturb you guys. I know  you haven’t been home in over two days and probably want some alone time with Kook.” Lani sheepishly said.

Kook.

She called him Kook.

“What was it?” Elodie pressed.

“Hm?” Lani asked.

“What was it that I left at work?”

Lani’s cheeks turned bright red and had the decency to looked ashamed, “a-anyway look I need to go. You guys enjoy each other tonight.” just as quickly as she showed up, she was gone.

Elodie watched Jungkook close the door in silence, marveling at the boldness of her best friend. Showing up here while Elodie was home to try and flirt with her fiancé. Jungkook’s eyes met hers and guilt was laid in them so deep, Elodie felt herself drowning in it.

Without another word, Elodie returned to her bath.

————————————

Elodie didn’t like to lie, she didn’t like to create a fuss. She liked to be straightforward and get problems out of the way. In this situation however, she felt she had no other choice but to lie. She still couldn’t believe the facts that were laid out in front of her, so she devised a plan to make sure once and for all.

She left for “work” at her normal time and headed to the cafe a few shops down from her and Jungkook’s apartment. It gave her the perfect view of the entrance so she could keep watch for Lani.

What she hadn’t anticipated was the long wait time. She entered the cafe at 8:15 AM and it was now nearing 11:54AM. She didn’t know how much longer she could wait it out or if she even had to wait. She was starting to feel ridiculous.

Another twenty minutes of waiting produced something interesting, Jimin had stepped into the cafe. He didn’t spot her at first as he made his way toward the counter, but it was peculiar to Elodie that he was here; this cafe was on the other side of town from his apartment.

Elodie watched him and waited for him to turn around and she waved him down. To say the least, the shock on his face was genuine. Their eyes held each other’s gaze for a solid five seconds before a smile dropped onto his lips and he made his way to Elodie’s table.

“Fancy seeing you here.” Elodie stated, taking a long sip of her boba.

“I was in the neighborhood.” Jimin said cautiously.

Silence hung between them like a thick curtain, both lost in their own thoughts. Jimin broke the silence first. “Listen, Elodie. I have something to confess.”

Her eyes met his and she gave a slight nod to continue. “I’ve been keeping a secret from you. It pains me to say that, please believe me, considering what the secret entails.” He took a long pause to gather his thoughts and Elodie waited for him patiently, still keeping an eye on the front entrance of her apartment building.

“I actually came here today to work up the courage to tell you what I’m about to say. I wasn’t in the neighborhood.” He confessed.

“I figured that much out so far..” Elodie mumbled.

Jimin huffed a sigh and steeled his nerves, “I caught Lani and -“

Before Jimin could finish, Elodie caught the red hair of the current topic heading for the front doors of the apartment building across the street. Her heart hammered in her chest and she felt her stomach recoil. “Sorry, Jimin, I have to go.” she rushed the words from her mouth as she took off out of the cafe.

Jimin watched her run down the sidewalk and disappear into her building. “Oh, for fucks sake.” He whispered and took off after her.

————————————

Elodie wasn’t sure what she was going to walk into. She was hoping Lani just magically had a friend in this same building, on the same floor as her and Jungkook. But as she looked at what floor the elevator had stopped on, she couldn’t convince herself of anything anymore.

Slamming her hand onto the call button, she began to panic. Her breathing became erratic, and her vision slightly blurry. Once the doors opened she stumbled in and hit the button she needed and leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath.

“Elodie!”

Elodie’s head snapped up and saw Jimin rushing towards her. She pressed herself further into the wall as he came crashing into the elevator as the doors were closing.

“Jimin? What the hell?” She felt all the air leave her lungs in shock.

“Elodie, please do not go upstairs. I am begging you.” Jimin gathered her own shaking hands into his, holding tightly and pleading with his eyes.

“No, I have to.” She reasoned.

Jimin shook his head and groaned in frustration, “Elodie we both know what’s waiting up there.”

It was then she realized what Jimin had to confess to her earlier. He knew about Lani and Jungkook. But for how long? How long had he known? Surely just as recent as her, because Jimin would have told her. He’s a good friend.

So was Lani.

Elodie pulled her hands from his and stood up tall, throwing up her guard. “We can discuss how you knew and when you found out later, but right now I need to confirm it with my own two eyes. So if you are here to warn Lani or stop me, then please do not get off this elevator once it stops.”

Jimin’s hands fell to his side and nodded in compliance. He had to make this up to her somehow, and he would start by doing as she said.

The bell dinged signifying they arrived. Elodie gave Jimin an odd look before walking off the elevator. He followed behind her silently and prayed Lani had enough sense to not make this difficult.

————————————

The loud moans and the soft grunting beyond her bedroom door clued Elodie in quickly to her worst nightmare. Lani’s shoes by the front door and their clothes dropped precariously throughout the house just set her sense of dread deeper into her chest. Jimin had decided to stay in the living room at her request, but she wondered if she should have kept him by her side for support.

Her hand lay gently on the door handle, pausing quickly before pushing it down and sliding the door open to a dimly lit room. Her presence wasn’t yet discovered, luckily for her.

Elodie’s heart thrummed inside her ribcage, her stomach dropped and her knees felt weak - her head remained clear. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the jacket she bought for Jungkook laid sloppily on the floor amongst the wrapping paper it was in.

“Ah, Kook! That feels so fucking good!” Lani’s shrill moans brought Elodie’s attention back to them. Before she could even make a coherent thought she spoke,

“Oh yeah, Lani? Does it feel good? Does my fiancé MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD?!” Her hand flew to the wall to slap the light switch, illuminating the room.

Jungkook’s head whipped around so fast Elodie was sure it would snap. Shock and horror reflected on Lani and Jungkook’s faces as they scrambled to move away from each other.

“Babe..” Jungkook choked out, stumbling towards Elodie’s stilled body.

Ignoring Jungkook entirely, she made her way to the bed where Lani sat covered in the sheets. Ripping them off and tossing them to the floor, Elodie pointed her finger to the bedroom door, “Get the fuck out, bitch.”

Lani’s jaw dropped and Elodie screamed, “NOW!” and sent her into motion. She ran from the room and Elodie could hear the surprise from her when she saw Jimin in the living room - she would deal with that later.

“Get some fucking clothes on.” She spat at Jungkook and walked into the living room to see Lani struggling to get dressed. “Don’t even think of trying to leave when you finish.”

Lani slipped her dress on and sat meekly on the couch next to Jimin, both wearing guilty faces. When Jungkook finally emerged from the bedroom, she nodded at the space beside Lani and he sat down quickly.

Elodie just stood in the middle of the living room trying to collect her thoughts. Jungkook started to speak and she snapped, “Shut the fuck up, Jeon Jungkook.” she seethed, “are you three having fun? Huh? Is it fun for you to do shady shit behind my back and think I would never find out? HUH?!”

Three pairs of eyes were on her and she felt like suffocating, “Lani, I never want to see you again.” She continued.

“Jimin, I need to know how long you have known.” She pressed, her eyes boring into his.

“Four months.” He answered honestly. “I wanted to tell you, Elodie, I-“

“Then you should have.” She said bluntly. “And you, of all fucking people, Jungkook.”

He had the decency to look ashamed, and had the smarts to keep his mouth shut. “I want all of you out. Get the hell out of my apartment and the hell out of my life.”

Jimin and Lani didn’t need to be told twice, the two jumped up and ran towards the door, but Jungkook remained seated. “This is my apartment too, Elodie.” He mumbled.

“Fine, then I will leave.” She decided, but Jungkook grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Can we please talk this out? I’m so sorry, Elodie. Please let me make this up to you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“When did you stop loving me? Hm? Before or after you started fucking my best friend?” She questioned.

“I still love you, with all of my heart. Baby please understand that.” his desperate pleas had no effect on Elodie, “it’s Valentine’s Day.” He whined.

“Oh! Oh my god you’re right!” Elodie gently smacked her forehead in feign shock, “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” Jungkook grinned up at her, “kiss my ass!”

Elodie pulled loose from his grip and strode towards the front door, Jungkook shouting after her. Ignoring him she stepped out into the hall and slammed the door.

Breaking into tears, she leaned against the front door letting them fall down her face. “Elodie?”

Jimin walked slowly towards her, looking defeated, “I know you don’t want to ever see me or Lani again, but I just wanted to let you know we both called the agency and requested transfers. You shouldn’t have to quit your job or move on from the boys, you have done so much for them and they would be more said if you left than us.”

Elodie nodded gently and stood up straight, “Thank you, Jimin. And you are right, I don’t think I can ever be friends with you or Lani again, but I do hope you both find success and happiness.”

Jimin felt his heart clench at her words as they both headed towards the elevator. They rode down in silence and went different directions once outside.

“I’m strong. I can do this.” Elodie whispered to herself. And she was - and she could.

[missbrunettebarbie]

Since you asked me something similar for enneagrams, how would you order the four primaries and secondaries from most to least interesting for you to write/read about

I think I should start with a disclaimer that when it comes to reading about a character, a good writer could make me love them even if they wouldn't look like my type and viceversa. And also a second disclaimer that I can easily change my mind and on another day, this answer might have looked different. So, here is how I would order them right now, keeping in mind what I like to write:

Primaries

1. Snake - I don't think it should come as a surprise to anyone. It's my primary, I am very comfortable with it and I understand Snakes in a way I'll probably never will the others. So ofc I find it easy and enjoyable to write Snake characters: Juliet, Rafael, Elettra, Pandora-now-renamed-Mira. They are the main OCs who I can think of right now -I also have OCs from currently abandoned projects that I have yet to sort but I am sure I will find Snakes there too- and I get such a kick out of writing their plots especially since they are so very different from the other: Juliet is slightly immature in some ways, Pandora/Mira has just unburned, Elettra is trying not to burn herself and Rafael is wearing so many models his Snake is almost a dirty secret for him.

2. Bird - I debated between Bird and Lion, but my own Bird model won. Plus I find Intuitive primaries hard to write sns while I find the systems Birds build very interesting and easy to understand. Only two of my OCs - Elodie and Christine- are Bird primaries but I find both their POVs flow the easiest in their respective WIPs. Also, the number of OCs that model this primary is also telling: Nefele (probably the only reason why she's not a mess LOL), Elettra (when I will get to write her in book 2) and probably Rafael bc this guy models everything.

3. Lion - I like Lions, I truly do, but sometimes I can't quite click with them enough. It's especially telling when writing because two of mine are burned - Laura, Nefele- while the third -Angelina- doesn't get that much POV (yet?). Buut I love the intensity this primary brings to a narrative and how Lion models can shape a character and others' perception of them: Rafael and Pandora/Mira both have/had healthy and not-so-healthy Lion models that made people misjudge them.

4. Badger - I think the fact that none of my main OCs are Badgers justifies their place here. Tho, looking back to some old notes, I think an older OC I really loved might be a Double Badger so there is hope yet. Anyway, I think that the problem for me is that I get this primary in a way because we are both Loyalists. But Badgers' approach to people vs Snakes' is mind-boggling to me. The whole "caring about everyone until they give you a reason not to" is...not a POV I could write and not be exhausted even if I admire the hell out of people who think like this.

Secondaries

1. Snake - Yeah, I am actually surprised about this one, but the numbers don't lie: Elettra, Elodie, Laura, Juliet are all Snake secondaries. Laura and Juliet may be my favourites because they are trouble-making Snakes that love wrecking havoc. Elodie and Elettra are more of a chameleon variety that uses their secondary to blend in and 'strike' when you least expect them. Also Pandora/Mira has a very good Snake secondary model that she really loves. So yeah, I have a blast writing these guys xD

2. Lion - I think it's a bit more therapeutic for me, a burned Lion, to read than write about this secondary, but nonetheless I still love writing it: Pandora/Mira, Rafael and Angelina are all Lions and unsurprisingly the first two have a lot of narrative weight in their verses. Just like with the Snake primary, this is easy for me to understand but sometimes hard to write bc of my burning. Hence it being #2.

3. Bird - It's the one secondary I can't model, so I admire the hell out of genuine Bird secondaries. Probably why Nefele ended up as one LOL. And why she's probably the only OC I have who is a genuine Bird secondary -Rafael models it masterfully and so do Pandora/Mira and Juliet but not very well. What can I say, there is something very magnetic about characters whose MO I could never use.

4. Badger - Um, I think my own model may be at fault here, because despite its usefulness it can feel like a collar sometimes and fiction is a way to escape it. Poor Christine is my only Badger secondary and as I said I find her very easy to write about, but it's not enough. I may get Badgers' MO - I admire it- but I am also not interested in exploring it in fiction.

[cakesunflower]

No Need Convincing Me: Maybe Elodie finally gives in to getting a tattoo from Calum, or maybe he gets Luke to do it so he can support her? I just imagine it being complete fluff. Like the whole build up to her thinking about it, Calum sketching ideas for her, then actually going and getting it? Ngl I just miss Cal and Elodie, they're one of my favourite couples in your masterlist 🥺

           Honestly, it was a moment he’d seen coming. Maybe because he knew Elodie too well, or she just wasn’t good at hiding it. But he knew her interest in one day getting a tattoo increased every time she walked into his shop. He’d see it in the way she’d peer at the many designs on the walls and in the booklets with a bit more attention than usual, how he’d catch her absently flicking through his sketchbook full of designs, tracing his tattoos more often than not.

           Calum never said anything about it though, never wanted to push her. Getting a tattoo was a big commitment, he should know, and if Elodie decided she wanted to ink her skin permanently, he wanted her to reach that decision on her own without any influence from him.

           Until one day they were having lunch in the café across the street from his shop, and after Elodie took a sip of her drink, she carefully stated, “I think I want a tattoo.”

           Calum swallowed his bite of his spinach pasta, eyebrows shooting up. He tried to quell his excitement as he wiped his mouth with a napkin before asking, “Really?”

           He apparently didn’t do too good of a job in hiding his anticipation because Elodie was chuckling in amusement. “I’m not surprised you’re more excited than I am.” Calum shot her an almost sheepish smile. “But yeah, really.” Arms folded on top of the table, she leaned forward and asked, “Know any good tattoo shops?”

           He shot her a bemused look, which only widened her pretty smile. “Do you know what you wanna get?” he asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

           Elodie nodded, running her fingers through her light brown hair. “Yeah,” she answered, her shy smile returning. She hesitated for a moment, but Calum remained quietly patient until she spoke up once more. “You did that sketch of a dove; I saw it in your book. I was thinking of getting that.”

           Calum knew what she was talking about. It had been a hasty, quick sketch he’d done absently without really thinking about it. Elodie, Calum knew, admired all of his sketches, whether they were minimalistic or greatly detailed, and Calum loved her for it. “Why a dove?” Calum asked, tilting his head. He asked his customers this often, always wondering what their reasoning behind a tattoo was, making sure he never treaded on territory that was too personal. Of course, because it was Elodie, his curiosity was both professional and personal.

           She rolled her lips into her mouth, her gaze meeting his, and she offered a gentle chuckle. “It symbolizes a fresh start, right?” she said, smiling slightly. “I feel like a new person, a better version of myself. I feel like after everything that’s happened, I got a fresh start I didn’t know I needed. I got it after leaving Nathan and having a more active role in my family’s foundation and I got it—” Her smile turned shy once more, cheeks pink, shrugging gently as she finished, “I got it with you, too.”

           Calum gazed at her, feeling his chest swell and air rush into his lungs. He’d heard similar explanations from the few people he’d tattooed various forms of doves on, but Elodie’s explanation—it resonated with him the most, for obvious reasons. He couldn’t fight the smile off his face, watching as Elodie returned the smile. “Do you wanna get it today?”

           She nodded, and soon enough, the two were back in the tattoo shop. Calum didn’t have another client for a while, and so when he told Sierra he was using his station, Dominique, who’d been sitting next to her, eyed him and Elodie suspiciously. “What’s going on?”

           As Calum shrugged off his leather jacket, he watched as Elodie shot Dominique a smile, a combination of excitement and anxiety. “I’m finally getting a tattoo.”

           Dominique’s eyes widened, immediately on her feet. “No way! Are you serious?” she asked, the thrill heavy in her voice as her gaze flickered between Elodie and Calum. Then she narrowed her eyes at the tattoo artist, pointing her finger and demanding, “You didn’t talk her into it, did you?”

           Calum shot her a look, insulted she even had to ask that, and Elodie laughed lightly. “No, no, he didn’t. It was all me.” Then, with a hopeful smile, asked Dominique, “Can you sit with me? I’m definitely gonna need a hand to hold, and obviously Calum can’t do it.”

           He fought the smirk that wanted to curl at his lips. He loved that it wasn’t even a question that he would be the one giving Elodie her first tattoo. Luke could just as easily do it, but Calum loved that from the get-go, Elodie wanted it from him. It was a big deal, getting a tattoo, and knowing she had that much trust in him—not only to give her the tattoo but to also use one of his own designs—had Calum falling a little more in love with her.

           “Hell yes,” Dominique agreed before the two women followed Calum into the station.

           He could hear their conversation as Dominique asked Elodie what she was getting, and Calum kept himself busy by getting prepared, pulling out his sketchbook and flipping to the page where he’d sketched the design. Soon enough, Elodie was on the same chair she’d been on to get her nose pierced, Dominique sitting to her left to hold her hand while Calum sat to Elodie’s right so he could tattoo the spot below the inside of her elbow.

           Calum worked meticulously, as always, gloves on before sterilizing the area. He worked almost mechanically, going through all of the steps he always went through before the act of actually inking on the tattoo, forgetting in those moments that he was working up to marking his girlfriend’s skin with tiny needles. He looked at her, voice gentler than it was with any other client, as he asked, “You ready, El?”

           Her gaze met his and although Calum saw the nervousness, he also noticed her confidence in getting the tattoo—her confidence in him. She nodded, smiling slightly, left hand holding Dominique’s as she said, “Go for it.”

           He heard Elodie let out a quiet, controlled whimper at the first touch of the needles, and despite his desire to make sure she was okay, he continued his work. Calum owed it to her to keep his focus on the job at hand, so he left the job of comforting Elodie and attempting to get her mind off the pain to Dominique, who stepped up right away by striking up conversation with Elodie.

           When it was done, Calum sat back and watched as Elodie eyed the ink on her skin, still freshly raw and red, and he was surprised at the nerves knotting his stomach. He desperately hoped she liked it, hoped it was exactly on her skin as the way she pictured it in her head. Calum was never anxious like this after tattooing someone, was more than confident in his skills. But it was different giving his own girlfriend her first tattoo. Approval from his customers was always something Calum gratefully accepted; approval from Elodie felt far greater.

           “I love it,” Elodie breathed, the awe coloring her tone as she peered at it. She let out a soft scoff of disbelief. “It’s perfect, Cal. Thank you.”

           Calum’s eyes met hers and he found himself smiling at the delight in her eyes, feeling satisfied and relieved at the same time. Dominique, who’d been eyeing the new ink as well, hummed. “Perfect first tattoo for you,” she agreed. With a smirk, she added, “Proud of you, El. You didn’t even squeeze my hand that hard!”

           Elodie laughed at that and Calum smirked as well. “That’s my girl,” he praised, before reaching for his tray, getting ready to wrap it up.

           Now that any pain inflicting on Elodie was over, Dominique left the station to give the two of them a moment. And as Calum began gently cleaning the tattooed area, he said, “I’d tell you the aftercare process but since we live together—”

           She grinned, cheeks pink. “Perks of dating a tattoo artist,” she giggled lightly.

           He smirked. He was still going to tell her how to take care of it, though, despite her having some idea of it. It was his professional duty to do so. Once Calum finished wrapping it up, he sat back on the stool, hands on his knees and grin on his face. “There you go. One new tattoo, free of charge.”

           Elodie, who was now sitting up, facing him, scoffed. “Oh, come on—I’m sure we can think of some way for me to pay you,” she hummed, the teasing tone slipping into her voice as she leaned forward, mindful of her arm.

           Calum’s smirk returned, never one to be tired of this side of her. He leaned forward too because who was he to deny Elodie’s kisses?

[3wisellamas]

Because literally no one else is ever going to make content for this tiny ship, here’s some Sparrell headcanons.

Deal with it.

-During that brief period where Darrell was working at the bodega he would have felt very out of place, having never really had anyone around that wasn't him or his siblings, and tried to get to know his new coworkers and establish himself ASAP.  Sparko ended up basically being his first ever friend, being one of the few other employees there who hadn't fought and destroyed him in the past, and he especially loved hearing him talk about his school -- not just POINT Prep, but school in general, since that's something that Darrell never got to experience at all, and would be pretty curious about.  And from there they kind of bonded over gossiping about / trash-talking some of Sparko's old hero classmates, like, say, Elodie.

-And on the other hand, I kinda feel like, after getting manipulated (and drugged, let's not sugarcoat it) by POINT and becoming disillusioned on the whole "fancy-pants hero" lifestyle, Sparko would return to Lakewood a little lost, and really looking for a fresh perspective -- suddenly having a straight-up villain around to talk to, and one who's weirdly friendly and genuinely interested in what he has to say, would be a pretty big deal.  He really gets into Darrell's own stories about how fun it is fighting heroes and doing petty evil, and the ones about his big, crazy, complicated, yet loving and ridiculously supportive robot family (he missed his a lot while at PP!)

-Even after the whole reset thing, they both stay in touch as slightly more neutrally-aligned pals, and meet up to chat whenever they can, until they realize their meetings have somehow accidentally turned into dates!

-They are both a TERRIBLE influence on each other.  Sparko's parents and coworkers are very concerned that he's started littering, and wasting water, and even doing the occasional petty vandalism alongside his boyfriend.  And Darrell's family is shocked to find out that he's actually donated (!!) to a charity (!!!!), and has even been doing a few other minor good deeds when he's with Sparko, like cleaning up after said vandalism.

-Darrell's a robot powered by electricity, and Sparko's basically a living lightning bolt.  Think about that for a second.  Their kisses are electrifying, to say the least.  

-They can even boost each others' powers a little via kissing (or just whenever they want, but you know they'd be total dorks about it  ;v; ).  Sparko can easily inject some of his own energy into Darrell's electrical systems to overcharge him (with the side effect of making him super-affectionate just a bonus in this case), and Darrell's figured out how to let some of his glorb's energy leak out into Sparko, resulting in...you know.

-Sparko is FASCINATED by Darrell's brain.  He'll often watch it closely, trying to see if he can catch some of his thoughts forming.  (Darrell doesn't have the heart to tell him it's actually just chewing gum...)

-Together they're good enough to reliably beat Raymond in megafootball!

-Sparko's family loves and accepts Darrell right away, even though his parents aren't so big on his villain lifestyle (they're really worried their son is being "corrupted" into a villain himself).  However, Sparko is TERRIFIED when it's time to meet Lord Boxman.  He's seen the daily plaza attacks, heard his friends' stories about him, knows that he's an extremely dangerous level -10 supervillain who HATES heroes and friendship and love.  He's not prepared at all when the guy turns out to be in the middle of a self-improvement journey, trying to support his kids' decisions and reconnecting with his own hero friend, and accepts him into the family and asks him to call him Dad right away.  It takes several hours for Sparko.exe to start working again...

-Surprisingly, the person who DOES have a major problem with them being together is Shannon -- she didn't get to have a boyfriend, and in fact Darrell was one of the ones so against her being in love with Rad, so why does he get to have one instead?!  But, she starts to warm up to it when she realizes that they do genuinely care about each other, as friends in addition to boyfriends, and that Darrell isn't glitching like she was (at least, not always, with all the sparks literally flying).  She still pranks the shit out of them on their dates, though.

-Since the two tend to be nervous wrecks, they eventually start to pick up on each other's signs that they're about to panic, or situations that make the other anxious, and can help them get through it.  Of course, this doesn't really work when they BOTH have panic attacks at the same time...

-And particularly when Sparko's anxious over exams, Darrell tries to help him study (as best he can, anyway, since he almost never understands the material), brings lots of snacks, reminds him that he probably won't be expelled for one bad grade, etc.  Though he didn't really need much help in that area, his grades definitely improve!

-Likewise, when Darrell moves out to start his farm, Sparko visits him a lot, bringing groceries from the bodega or parts from Boxmore for whatever needs repairs at the moment, and basically keeps him connected to LPT and Boxmore and makes moving so far away from home a little easier.  He's learned a few tinkering skills from his boyfriend, as well as how to operate a tractor, but when it comes to actually planting and growing things he prefers to just watch Darrell work from a distance.

-Darrell actually learned how to cook, so that Sparko didn't have to just get takeout whenever he visited!  He even packs him lunches and sends him lots of vegetables from his farm, after learning those are supposedly good for non-robotic lifeforms.

-He also totally made Sparko a cowboy costume, to match his.  He doesn't understand the cowboy thing at all, but hey, if it makes Darrell happy he'll wear it, though only around Darrell Acres.

-He also does NOT get the hivemind thing at first, and whenever they're hanging out at Boxmore together he gets a little uncomfortable when there's like four or five other Darrells in the room.  He eventually figures out how it all works, but still tends to keep a tight grip on HIS Darrell's hand near the factory floors so he doesn't lose him.  

-Oddly enough, though, he's perfectly fine with Big Darrells.  Sparko finds nothing more satisfying than riding on his level -100 giant robot boyfriend's shoulder while he's smashing the shit out of some rando that gave them lip for being a hero/villain couple.  He even loses an entire hero level from cheering him on!

-They both snack on batteries.  Sometimes there's arguments about whether small but sweet AAAs are tastier than big, juicy 9-volts, though both definitely agree that CR2032s are a delicacy.

-Darrell helped pay for a decent portion of Sparko's college tuition, with some of the profits from his farm.  And at his boyfriend's insistence, he's taken a few business courses at the local community college as well (even if he didn't really need them).

-Later on, Sparko LOVES Robbie and Sara, and tries his best to be a good stepdad/uncle/whatever to them whenever they visit Darrell Acres.

[sinfulnature]

hello, hello, hello ! i am late but i am here finally and i’m sorry it took me so long. below the cut you’ll find little write ups for each of my muses. wanted connections will be posted later but in the meantime please take this. 

{  chris  evans,  39,  cis  male,  he/him,  pansexual  }  welcome,  henry  king   !  you  make  a  living  as  a  high  profile  director  outside  of  the  island  ?  cool.  you’ve  been  here  for  two  and  a  half  weeks,  right  ?  staying  in  room  402  ?  you’re  into  ass  to  mouth  &  worship,  but  not  gaping  &  extreme  humiliation  ?  mr.  conway  will  be  sure  to  accommodate.  i  heard  you  were  most  excited  for  the  beach,  which  makes  sense.  rumor  has  it  you’re  resourceful  &  critical,  but  i  think  people  should  get  to  know  you  for  themselves.

introducing henry king, a high profile director who flies out annually to the resort to spend his summer months relaxing with his wife and boyfriend at his side. 

he had a mostly stable childhood, one that was spent with two younger siblings in tow and a mother who was like a prototype of what a pinterest mom would be. his father spent a lot of time at work and it’s something that, while henry doesn’t begrudge him for it now, was frustrating as a child and not knowing why he wasn’t there. 

the first major thing that henry remembered his father attending was his junior year of high school when he was the student director for a one act production of snapshots, an anthology of short plays. his father, also a director, took the time to give him notes about the things that could have been done to tighten up the show. the last four words were i’m proud of you. that was the moment that henry decided that he wanted to be a director. 

fast forward to college and he goes to the goes to the university of southern california’s film school and instead of taking just the director classes, he takes the time to add a year and a half to his time in college and gets a screenwriting degree out of it. 

his first production partner was his father, who promised henry that he would fund one movie, from top to bottom, with the help of a production company that was owned by a close friend. henry wrote and directed the thing himself and, though it didn’t garner major awards, it was screened at sxsw. that was enough. 

let it be known that henry knows that his introduction into the world of filmmaking was super nepotistic. he understands that he had so many more advantages than any other person in his shoes, at his time, first starting to make movies when he did, and he was still terrified of failing. 

with the above, it should also be known that henry goes out of his way to make sure he’s telling stories that, while he has not experienced them, he can find the right people to help him tell it and amplify voices that otherwise might not be heard. not out of guilt or a need to make up for his introduction to the business, but out of an understanding that his platform should be used to reach every single person and not alienate. 

due to the stresses of his job and the level of scrutiny he’s constantly under, he’s well known to seem to abscond from the world as soon as his movies have come out for the summer. as a director of typically action packed, star studded films, he’s usually on his way to the resort by the second or third week of june. 

though he makes so many of these action packed blockbusters, he also tries to make sure that he makes movies that appeal to his soul and finds himself in the process of developing a high fantasy series that’s in the same line as the authorless harry potter books and lord of the rings. 

this is his second year at the resort and henry can see this honestly becoming an annual thing for himself, his wife, and his boyfriend to do. so many frustrations of his are squashed down throughout the year, not through anyone’s own fault, but just because there’s a lot of weight on one’s shoulders when billions of dollars sit on it every year. this is the place where his hedonistic tendencies shine through and he’s not particularly mad about it. 

{  corinna  kopf,  27,  cis  female,  she/her,  pansexual  }  hey  there,  alexandrea  conway!  you’re  still  the  financial  officer  and  you’ve  been  working  here  for  two  and  a  half  years ?  and  you’re  living  in  villa  one.  cool.  you’re  into  body  worship  &  creampies,  but  not  extreme  humiliation  &  scat  play  ?  that’s  what  i  thought.  when  you’re  not  working,  you’re  at  her  villa,  right  ?  well,  makes  sense.  people  say  you’re  even  tempered  &  prying,  but  i  think  they  should  get  to  know  you  for  themselves. 

introducing alexandrea katherine conway née douglas, the wife of oliver conway and chief financial officer at the resort. they’ve been married for about two years.

she had a relatively happy childhood and comes from a line of claimants to a scottish duchy of hamilton. she’s the youngest of six children and does technically hold the title of lady but she’s never done anything with it and it’s more a funny story that she tells at parties than it is a serious thing she buys into because she always thought it was a family joke.

prior to coming to the resort, drea graduated from the wharton school of business double major in business and marketing. post graduation she spent a fair amount of time as a prominent social media influencer. her multi million follower platform has translated into some business for the resort in the form of some of their most consistent guests. 

at the time of marrying her husband, he offered for the resort to be something they shared in ownership and it sprung some little goblin in her head to deny his offer. she wanted to earn it and not marry into it. 

the joke in that, of course, is that when most people look at drea they see incredibly soft curves, the bright blonde hair, the fact that the most articles of clothing she owns are just bathing suits, swim cover ups, and the occasionally very beautifully form fitting dress, the word bimbo appears in their mind on repeat. other words come to mind, too, but that’s the one that drea finds comes up most often. 

if we’re being really honest, in the depths of her soul, there’s something that drea finds funny about it. there is a gift in being underestimated and who cared what their perceptions were ? her happiness with her husband and job did not rely on anyone but herself.

she has incredibly open sexual preferences but with a body like hers she favors worship and the kinds of things that don’t leave bruises unless they are loves bites. drea is a switch and is happy to lead or follow, though goddess remains either way, if you’re interested in having her.  

{  inbar  lavi,  33,  cis  female,  she/her,  lesbian  }  welcome,  elodie  bram  !  you  make  a  living  as  an  international  fashion  designer  outside  of  the  island  ?  cool.  you’ve  been  here  for  two  weeks,  right  ?  staying  in  villa  two  ?  you’re  into  face  sitting  &  rimming,  but  not  food  play  &  blood  play  ?  mr.  conway  will  be  sure  to  accommodate.  i  heard  you  were  most  excited  for  the  beach,  which  makes  sense.  rumor  has  it  you’re  empathetic  &  domineering,  but  i  think  people  should  get  to  know  you  for  themselves.  {  dottie,  22,  est,  she/her  }

introducing  elodie odeya bram, an international fashion designer who makes an annual pilgrimage to the island as part of her process of designing her next year’s summer line. she had a relatively 

elodie has always strived to make sure that her brand is inclusive to all sizes and genders. another facet of her brand is that her clothes are considered kosher as they are fully made from plant or animal fibers but not both. her interest in design first came in high school when she was helping to craft costumes for a play and things spiraled from there. 

she realized that it was her passion, she attended the parsons school for design, and graduated with an apprentice ship under another designer who had long since been an inspiration for her own work.

elodie’s first collection to make waves happened a few years ago, when she was thirty and her mentor had agreed to take six pieces and let a capsule collection of elodie’s creation as part of their slot in paris’ fashion week. her luck in this mentorship was not beyond her and her good fortune has been at the forefront of her mind for years. seldom is there a night where she does not thank her lucky stars for all the things that have happened and continue to happen.

her mentor, in opening so many doors, also opened the door to the resort and has brought her into the light of one of her favorite places of inspiration. as part of her stay in the villas, she does frequently sketch her own designs and occasionally, when she brings back women to spend time with her, she’ll dress some of them up in her newest designs to see how they’ll functionally work.  

she’s quite likely to pull together a collection of women she wants to spend time with and there’s almost always some kind of sexual activity happening in her villa. whether fellow guests or employees of the villa, elodie’s indiscriminate in any girl she flirts with and wants to make a move on and we stan her for it. 

{  madelyn  cline,  23,  cis  female,  she/her,  pansexual  }  hey  there,  penny  rourke  !  you’re  still  a  lifeguard  and  you’ve  been  working  here  for  two  weeks  ?  and  you’re  living  in  room  202.  cool.  you’re  into  rimming  &  exhibitionism,  but  not  fisting  &  scat  ?  that’s  what  i  thought.  when  you’re  not  working,  you’re  at  the  spa,  right  ?  well,  makes  sense.  people  say  you’re  insightful  &  fickle,  but  i  think  they  should  get  to  know  you  for  themselves.  {  dottie,  22,  est,  she/her  }

introducing penelope jean “penny” rourke, a sweet natured girl with a petty streak who grew up in a small town in oregon and honestly only considers going back when the weather in the new york makes her forget about how bad the weather in oregon is. 

she grew up in a lovely home with a big family, her mother owning her own small business and her father a detective at the local precinct. solidly middle class, there was very little that penny craved or needed that she did not get. she took on a maternal role in her home, a natural adoption as the oldest of seven children, and she had a hand in their upbringing. while others may have seen that as a burden, it was something that penny enjoyed with her whole heart. 

when she went off to college, she applied to all of the ivy leagues and got a significant scholarship to columbia, which is where she met archibald hughes, son of a virginia senator and guy who she said, “you can’t sway my attention from my studies” to on their first day of meeting. she moved in with him in an off campus apartment their junior year of school. he was her greatest hype man and while they’d been having serious talks about marriage and their future. 

her relationship with archie ended rather abruptly when his paranoia hit an all time high at the behest of his father. insidious rumors, according to penny, accusations of things she’d promised archie long before that she would never do. her devotion to him was near unbreakable and archie had found the one straw that broke her back and everything came crumbling down: he put his trust in someone else. 

recently single, in need of a fresh start and a warm place to go for the summer, and on her summer break from law school, penny has been ready to engage in her first ever hoe phase and has already started it with some success. her ex has recently shown up on the property, though, and that’s made some of her more recent encounters awkward, to say the least, but she’s making it work. 

{  tommy  martinez,  26,  cis  male,  he/him,  pansexual  }  welcome,  jamie  flores!  you  make  a  living  as  a  famous  musician  /  drummer  for  the  raptors  outside  of  the  island  ?  cool.  you’ve  been  here  for  one  week,  right  ?  staying  in  room  401  ?  you’re  into  threesomes  &  body  writing,  but  not  bathroom  play  &  scat  play  ?  mr.  conway  will  be  sure  to  accommodate.  i  heard  you  were  most  excited  for  the  docks,  which  makes  sense.  rumor  has  it  you’re  charming  &  nosy,  but  i  think  people  should  get  to  know  you  for  themselves.  

introducing james sebastian “jamie” ibarra flores, known professionally as jamie flores. he makes a living as a drummer for the raptors, a band that has achieved critical success and have just wrapped up their first tour and the release of their first album. it was his idea to come to key passion in the first place and it honestly super tracks. 

he’s been with the raptors for about three years and prior to joining with them, he’d heard about the resort and promised himself when he had enough to comfortably afford to go after setting his parents up with making sure that their mortgage was paid for and it wouldn’t be the literally most financially irresponsible decision he’s ever made when there were other things and people to prioritize.

prior to coming to the island, though, did he drop like $3k on a girl’s amazon wishlist because he’s simpin’ real hard ? yes. can he afford to do it ? Yes. 

not particularly religious and verging on the edge of anarchist, jamie uses his platform to promote a lot of social issues and advocate for the reformation of most systems in the united states. he will not shut up when he talks about politics and one of his most used photos on his camera roll is a picture of his degree in political science from ucla. he’ll come at you with facts and an army of stans. 

though he’s typically a relaxed kind of person he’s under the belief that he’s Totally Chill and this is Not At All True. he constantly wants to know 103% of the drama without being directly involved but he’ll do it from his couch and creeping through stan twitter on a burner account so if he accidentally likes something, it doesn’t get back to the band. 

he loves ,,, reading fan fiction and reader imagines about himself. 

sexually very open and just wants to have a good time while coming off the success of his tour with his bandmates. 

[sinfulxlusts]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For each “⭐️” I get, I’ll write a headcanon about our muses.  - 20

Going under a read more to take care of everyone trying to scroll

1 Anna&Giorgio  It was definitely Gio who asked Anna out first, and the first time, she said no but how about friendship? So they ended up hanging out as friends since well... Neither really has time for all that much romance anyways, and then one night after a few drinks too many and some delicious food, they ended up making out in the back of the uber that was supposed to drop them off at her place first, before he’d continue on back home. But instead they both got off at her place and since then they’re just keep on being dorky domestic fools.

2 Audrey & Delia 

Audrey definitely does go insane by Delia and her levels of energy, but Delia definitely helps Audrey get out of her shell. So before Audrey is supposed to go on big talks in regards of her books she tends to ask Delia for a pep-talk before she just dies in her arms after the talk. 

3 Bianca & Piper 

Bianca definitely thinks Piper needs some more company in life, and just to live up to the lesbian stereotype, she brings home a full on black cat from the shelter. Except, it has a white heart on its tummy and Bianca ends up making an instagram for their shared cat while Piper gets to dress him up. 

4 Caleb & Juniper

She definitely ends up building a little spice-garden in his kitchen with lots of herbs and veggies/other things that he can make into spices on his own and have his own home-grown spices in his kitchen that he knows the quality on. 

5 Christine & Rosalyn 

Christine totally would believe 1000 times more that Rosalyn has a crush on her sister, than she’d ever be into her. 

6 Christopher & Odette 

They definitely fucked before they even knew they were going to teach at the same university/college. So they hooked up at a club, before they suddenly ended up running into each other at campus.

7 Double Delia

The reason they keep comparing each other to foods, isn’t because they work in a restaurant. Oh no, it’s because during their first date, Delia (my Delia) loudly declared that “I so love you-” and Delia (yours) went Uh? Whut? Before she heard my Delia go “CHOCOLATE CAKE” So basically, foods became their ‘i love you’

8 Elizabeth & Lucia

Elizabeth is definitely terrified about Lucia’s family, even though she keeps on a brave face, because she feels like they’ll crush her if she ever upsets Lucia. 

9 10 and 11 Emma & Lucia

Emma definitely didn’t realize she was romantically interested in Lucia until after they graduated Hogwarts, but when she realized it, she was deeeeply in love.

Emma 100% was seriously jealous when it came to Skye having the attention of HER best friend and she still holds a grudge against that australian blonde. 

Lucia and Emma might have massive fights, but Emma always comes back and curls up on her lap, begging for snuggles because she can’t sleep with the idea of Lucia being mad at her. 

12 Eva & Daniel

Eva probably smiles the widest whenever she and Daniel have their “first” dates over and over where he finds her in a bar they agreed to meet up in, and he is supposed to hit her up for the first time all over again.

13  Evan & Charlotte

Evan already has a whole section of his closet cleared for when Charlotte decides to move more of her things i, it’s just impossible to know because one the mirrors you slide around, is in front of that section. 

14 Hazel & Aaron

Hazel HATES tomatoes, but she doesn’t want to be a bother, so she always takes them off her own food and puts them onto Aaron’s plate, no matter what they’re having. 

15 Jack & Elodie

Jack secretly borrows the phones of multiple of his buddies just to hit up Elodie’s instagram and give her photos even more likes. 

16 Jamie & Lila

Despite how badly Jamie wants to have little Jamie’s running around, he’s happy to never be a dad, as long as he gets to see Lila smiling at him, especially whenever she thinks he’s not looking. Which are the cutest smiles in his opinion

17 Lucilla & Robert 

Lucilla is actually terrified that Robert will leave her for someone more “normal”. She’s terrified that her career, her fans, or her agent will end up chasing him away from her life, which is why she acts like a massive brat with him, because she’d rather have him leave because of *her* than because of her life. 

18 Maria & Austin

Maria will forever think Austin looks like a homeless bum whenever he doesn’t take proper care of his beard, and will call him out on it. 

19 Minnie & Austin

Minnie would never admit it properly, even if her mun keeps doing it, but she does get absurdly turned on whenever he wears the leather jacket with some rough jeans, or when he suits up with a full suit and tie and all. 

20 Nadia & Peter 

Nadia definitely originally just wanted to fuck Peter to get another thing crossed off from her bucket list of fucking, but she’s grown to love fucking him. 

[badrcputaticn]

MEET ANDY ROTH. // ( pinterest + stat )

⧼    hailee steinfeld, genderfluid, s/he/y   /   carolina by harry styles + bins full of old pointe shoes that are stained some type of grey-pink all peeling satin and some kind of dirty aestheticism wrapped in one. pencil sketches done with great pressure like the artist was trying in vain to communicate something that no one else could hear like they were so overcome that all they could do was simply press. looking over your shoulder at no noise but knowing that something is there and it’s there for you    ⧽   ━━   let me tell you a thing or two about ANDROMEDA “ ANDY “ ROTH. the TWENTY-THREE-year-old child of KORIAND’R & RAVEN ROTH ( adopted ) is an UNDERGRAD student at paragon academy, and has sometimes been referred to as THE CASSANDRA. they’ve always seemed very DYNAMIC & MAGNAMIOUS, though i’ve heard that they can be pretty CRITICAL & INHIBITED, too. it’s common knowledge that they have the power of PRECOGNITION ; guess we shouldn’t get on their bad side, huh?   [ blossom, seventeen, est, s/he/y ]

HERE’S ONE THING ANDROMEDA NEVER TOLD A SINGLE SOUL: she’s the picture image of her mother. not this one, or the other one, but the one before that. the one she doesn’t like to talk about.

they have the same sad eyes and straight shoulders. andy wonders if it’s AN INHERITANCE, something genetic, or if it’s from being raised by the same people. she thinks that the fact that she can’t say her biological mother did anything to raise her is scary.

she wasn’t abusive, she’ll tell anyone who asks. she was really rather nice, she’ll say. she was just really young, she’ll say, NOT READY FOR ME, and i can’t blame her for that. i never really knew her, she’ll say.

sometimes she dreams about elodie. she reaches out and touches the mirror and her reflection sits and stares at the outreached hand. “ andromeda, ” she says in a broken whisper. she touches her head. BLOOD COMES AWAY AT HER FINGERS.

elodie drank to forget, and andy supposes she has to live with the fact that SHE WAS TRYING TO FORGET HER. her only child.

not that she’d live long enough to have more.

elodie guinto, heiress of guinto hotels, will have her one and only child at the age of sixteen. she gives andromeda one thing: her name. her father, WHOM SHE WILL NEVER KNOW THE NAME OF, will give her one as well: the curse.

andromeda, or andy, she proudly states at age six, is raised by nannies. she grows up in the lone and cold halls of her family's estate. her contact with the outside world before she turns six and gets enrolled into expensive private school. her mother is never around and when people ask about her, ANDROMEDA WILL CREATE WILD AND MARVELOUS STORIES ABOUT HER BEAUTIFUL MOTHER. ( she reads me bedtime stories & takes me to the playground & lets me eat as much candy as i want ! )

for the latter part of her life at the guinto household, however, she will be raised primarily by her grandparents. they’re strict, proper people who carry more of their upbringing with them than anything else. they saw andromeda as an inconvenience and a stain on their family's reputation, AND THEY NEVER HESITATED TO TELL HER SUCH A THING.

andy never really had a choice in her younger life. she was a tool, never given such a simple luxury as insolence or rebellion. do this, or do not be a gunito. her grandparents will throw around the possibility of what would happen to her if she didn’t fit into THEIR BOX with frequency. we, they’ll tell her, are saints for even allowing you in this house.

they give her four-year-old self another ultimatum. do ballet or be afraid of the consequences. she chooses the former. it’s a PENANCE FOR HER MERE EXISTENCE and she’ll come to realize this, but it’s the only way to get her the attention she so desperately craves. it’s the only way for them to look her in the eyes. it’s the only way she can get praise.

they’ll put her in ballet academy soon afterward. between stretches and recitals and tech, when she’s alone in her room with no one else around, ANDY LIKES TO DRAW.

she’s seven, sitting at the dinner table with her grandparents, and she’ll have her very first vision. andy speaks, and her words are not hers, and she’s asking why her grandmother’s hands are covered in blood. HER GRANDPARENTS WILL SHAKE THEIR HEAD, ask if she’s eaten enough and send her to bed early.

they identify her mother because she has her id in her wallet next to her two fakes and quarter full flask. DRUNK DRIVING. looking back on it, andy isn’t surprised. her grandparents were, though. her grandmother grabs elodie, pleading with her doctors to JUST DO SOMETHING no one could, and just like that... in the flash of a moment:

ANDROMEDA’S PROPHECY BECOMES ANDROMEDA’S LIFE. her grandmother’s hands drip with blood onto the linoleum floor and she stares at andy with accusing eyes.

with no reason left to keep her, AND NOT LOOKING FOR A REMINDER OF THEIR DAUGHTER’S QUICK AND PAINFUL DEATH, they’ll give her to the state with mutterings of crazy words and instability and how it’s just too hard.

she never goes to her mother’s funeral, and in a way, SHE NEVER MOVES ON FROM THAT. she dreams of it, a lot. that’s the only place her mother is real anymore. her dreams. she doesn’t like to imagine her anywhere else. not the cold, quiet estate or the city boulevard.

andy will spend two years in foster care. from home to home to home. NO ONE WANTS HER, and she can’t bring herself to be surprised by this fact. her life is a series of her loving people so much more than they ever loved her or even were capable of loving her.

she’s always the outsider. they call her andlien, and a part of her finds it more funny than hurtful, really. SHE’S ALLERGIC TO FITTING IN, and now, these supposed powers from satan himself don’t really help. she doesn’t tell anyone about them. not her visions, or her grandparents, or her mother. they still can see it, though, in one way or another. SHE’S GOT THE SAME HAUNTED LOOK IN HER EYES AS ALWAYS and her shoulders are set with something that’s a lot like assured power.

she’s nine, and she climbs out the window of her current foster home and walks two miles in the rain. andy breaks into the roth home and sits in their living room until they wake up, or, at least, that’s what she thinks happens. THE TRUTH ? she doesn’t really remember. it was so foggy. they like to retell the story a lot. raven walking into the kitchen and putting on some eggs. andy piping up from her place on the love seat, asking if she, too, could have some breakfast.

kori and raven fall in love with her as they wait for her guardian to come get her. andy and her huge smile. andy and her messy, earnest kind of happiness. andy and her slightly sad eyes. SHE’LL TELL THEM ANYTHING THEY WANT ABOUT HER, minus one tiny thing.

in a single night, andromeda guinto will become andromeda roth. she won’t tell them about her powers until she’s ten. BY THEN, she’s well-rounded in the world of mutations. she loves raven and kori a lot, never once looked down on them for their differences. in fact, ANDROMEDA LOVED THAT THEY WERE DIFFERENT. she was different, too.

they’ll do their best to help andy come to terms with and accept her powers. ( THOUGH THEY DON’T TELL HER THIS, they both knew. they always knew. ) it’s not easy, and a lot of the time, andy is faking it more than she’s making it, but it’s not through lack of effort.

really, precognition is a weighted word. one people look in on, but never want for themself. they ask her to tell them fortunes, and read tarot and palms, and predict at the drop of a hat, but they don’t want to be able to do the same. she compares it to being in a zoo where she is the only exhibit. you want to look and see in awe, BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO LIVE THERE.

sometimes, she will find herself speaking without meaning to of things she has no way of knowing. sometimes, she wakes up from dreams that are far from the normal weird. sometimes, she sees flashes of pictures outside her imagination’s reigns. sometimes, she sees people that she knows are not real. sometimes, she will walk places that she has no way of knowing. sometimes, she draws things and has no memory of it.

SHE COMPARES IT TO BEING POSSESSED. even if she tried, she could not stop her powers. there was no medicine she was willing to subject herself to. andy thinks about being human, sometimes. andromeda’s life would be forever different if she just didn’t have the x-gene. it’s hard not to learn to hate her powers for it.

she’ll call raven ‘ mom ‘ when she’s eleven, and it’ll be a half-whined protest at raven’s third inquisition if she’s okay and if she’d like some chamomile tea. RAVEN AND KORI WON’T STOP GRINNING AT HER. it feels like letting something go. for a while, andy feels guilty. for elodie. who never even got a chance and never would. but, more often then not, she feels bitter, too. WHAT DID SHE EVER DO FOR ANDROMEDA ? raven and kori gave her the world. all she did was give her a life she never felt at place in.

she’ll grow up at her pace. DOING WHAT SHE WANTS AND LITTLE ELSE. she still goes to dance academy, despite everything, but she takes art classes too. she never sits still. that would mean thinking, and andy wants nothing else.

ANDY IS A SPECTACLE OF A HUMAN BEING BY THE TIME SHE GETS TO HER TEEN YEARS. beautiful and interesting and sparkly. her mothers are very, very proud. sometimes, when she goes home, she’ll shut her door and lean against it and let out a breath, like a deflating balloon.

she’ll be dubbed SHOOTING STAR soon after, and it’ll take her a few years to realize it’s not entirely a compliment. andy will meet the person she calls the love of her life ( they don’t feel the same way, but she calls them that still, only to herself, in the quiet of her own head ).

THE PROBLEM IS SIMPLE: one emotionally traumatized girl + a slew of people who just want to see her shine = a pretty rough relationship. she never really proper learned how to treat people, outside of her parents' relationship.

serial dating is her favorite hobby, and most people are aware of this fact. to andy, it’s not about notches on a belt. it’s just that she’s never felt content alone for long and she’s never been functional or emotionally open enough to keep anyone for long.

after high school, she takes a gap year. FOR A WHILE, IN THE ( sometimes ) QUIET OF HER OWN MIND, SHE’LL CALL IT HER FORGOTTEN YEAR. she imagined it to be lavish, honestly. she’ll tell anyone outside of her close circle stories about tours of the grand canal and seeing a proposal on the eiffel tower and doing the walk of shame past the colosseum.

for a long time, she reasoned that she had zoned in and out. that her powers simply took over and she was left dissociated. she would wake up in various situations: A ROOM OF FINISHED CANVAS, A CAFE WITH PAGES OF HER CALENDAR MISSING, WALKING TO SOMEWHERE SHE’S NEVER BEEN.

in a way, blaming her powers is almost second nature. she is a self-taught professional when it comes to the art of self-loathing. and the truth is... she doesn’t know their true power or really understand the extent of them. ( EVEN NOW, SHE DOESN’T. )

she’ll come to find out the truth about what happened to her that year. for reasons she doesn’t like to think about much, ANDROMEDA HAS BEEN ON WEAPON X’S RADAR FOR SEVERAL YEARS. since her suspicious entrance into the foster care system, so it would be.

for months at the time, they’d pluck her out of her surroundings, and they’d keep her at base. they’d try to find out what made andromeda tick, really, and how to weaponize it. she was alone there and her phone calls were mostly unanswered, even when she was home. HOW WOULD THEY KNOW ?

and so, like clockwork, they’d put andy back, after a telepath had wiped her mind. they assumed she wouldn’t tell anyone ( lest they deem her crazy ), and in that aspect, THEY WERE RIGHT.

andromeda wakes up in the middle of spectating a socratic seminar, in greek no less, and decides it’s time to go home, or the best next thing, paragon. SHE KEEPS HERSELF BUSY. double majoring in art and dance, even if dance still feels as much penance as it does pleasure anymore.

and though she is not aware of it, ANDY COMES BACK CHANGED. hers are rattled bones. not just from the shock of the experience, but biologically. she’ll dismiss the difference in the way she carries herself with ease, and she’ll try to forget the newfound clarity her powers have.

two years into her program, andy will take another break, and go to latin america. AND SHE THINKS, THIS TIME, A PART OF HER WANTS TO FORGET. she doesn’t stay long. only a couple months, really, but it’s worse, this time. andy remembers the plane to brazil and she remembers the plane back to new york, but she doesn’t remember anything between that.

SHE COMES BACK TO PARAGON LIKE SHE’S COME BACK FROM THE DEAD. she’ll find her way to her parents home at three am and cry in their bed as she tells them everything. she hasn’t felt like herself in so long, and she’s so goddamned scared.

the first two human psychiatrists do little. the mutant psychiatrist helps. the fourth, though, they’ll be the one to crack the code. on a thursday, after her impressionism class, she’ll go to therapy and there will be two people in the room. her therapist’s shoulders are very straight when they clear their throat and tell her in a soft voice that she’s not alone.

ON SOME LEVEL, SHE WISHES SHE WAS. they’ll bring in a telepath soon after and they’ll sift through andy’s mind with two fingers at both her temples until the floodgates open and everything comes back.

she tries to get over it with a lot more gusto than her therapist would like. THE TRUTH IS, this kind of trauma doesn’t fit inside her head. the thoughts are overwhelming to andy. how this happened to her, why they chose her, if they’ll ever come back for her. weapon x doesn’t know that she knows, and it drives her up a wall.

still, SHE’S SUNSHINE IN HUMAN FORM. violently bright, overpowering, pumped full of chemicals. andy has a habit of getting under people’s skin. she has a reputation for being dramatic and a total player. that roth heartbreaker.

she has trouble being present. she's still trying to grow up, the right way this time.

[audreysjensens-blog]

central pines [elodie davis x reader] {part one}

heyyy lovelies! i just watched trinkets (please please pretty pleeeease go watch it it’s beyond good) and am in love w elodie’s character. i hope you guys like this one!

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

fic playlist: 

bon iver - hey, ma

dead girl in the pool. - girl in red

banana clip - miguel

let it happen - tame impala (song parts 6:15 to 6:38)

overlap - catfish and the bottlemen

this baby don’t cry - k.flay

alligator - of monsters and men

It had been two and a half months since you’d arrived at Central Pines.

The food was okay, and the air conditioning was subpar. Since you hadn’t been too keen on going there in the first place, and your dad’s incessant emails weren’t going to end until you left, your newfound safe haven wasn’t exactly going to be something you cared too much about.

It was nestled in the outskirts of Portland, surrounding by hulking pine trees and dense forest, hiking trails close to overpowering the tiny rehabilitation camp.

Rehab, right, you reminded yourself. I’m in rehab.

The people were the only reason why you hadn’t left yet. Well, that, and your “family issues”, which is what the counselors had so fondly filed you under in their massive stack of patients.

Everyone seemed to be remotely friendly, and the people that you’d met had honestly made a decent impression on you. You’d leave if you were willing to jeopardize it, but going home wasn’t an option. Leaving meant getting caught, and getting caught meant that you’d have to go home. Plus, police, which was something you weren’t too happy to think about again.

You got up and out of bed, shaking out your messy Y/H/C curls and slipping your feet into your sandals. After your bed had been made (a small progression of what your counselors thought was a “good stride”), you took sleepy steps over to the closet and got changed for the day, finishing off your look with an embroidered jean jacket and a pair of loose slacks. You’d seen Booksmart a few weeks ago, and despite the fact that you loved the characters for who they were, you really goddamn wanted Amy’s jacket.

You looked to the other side of the room, barren with nothing to reveal any inpatients. Probably because you didn’t have a roommate. When you’d first gotten there, a girl named Safi was moving out, so there was no overlap between the two of you. You’d taken over your side, she’d left hers, and while your side was filled with posters of bands, movies, and corkboards with your friends’ photos, the other side contained peeling wallpaper and a sad-looking twin bed.

You checked your phone and saw that it was almost nine, which meant that you had to check in with Counselor Adams (or Tracey, depending on who you’d ask) before you could get any sort of breakfast. It was fine, because you’d rather die than go without your beloved coffee that came from Adams’s office, but you were kind of hungry. Regardless, you started making your way down the long dormitory hallways, seeing your peripheral friends getting ready for the day ahead and leaving their dorm doors open.

Adams’s office wasn’t the sort of place that made you feel like you were in an actual rehab center, but more like a therapist’s office, which you actually had grown to like. There were little photos of her family everywhere, along with comfy chairs, glowing twinkly lights, and tiny ceramic animals adorning the chair that sat opposite your couch.  Well, not your couch, but you didn’t really have anything else in this facility besides your belongings, and damn it if that old, overstuffed linen didn’t feel somewhat like home.

“Ahh, Little Miss Caffeine,” Tracey groaned, flopping down in her Frankenstein’d athletic ball/old couch chair. “My espresso hasn’t hit yet, but we still have a couple minutes. Keurig’s up and running.”

“Thank God,” you sighed in relief, shutting the door behind the two of you and going to tap what you wanted into the machine. “You still have that almond milk creamer?”

“How could I not?” Tracey chuckled, taking another sip from her mug. “I use so much of the Folgers original creamer that I’m on the toilet for days with diarrhea. You suggesting an alternative was quite literally the only thing saving me from a life of bathroom hell.”

You giggled then, letting your hot mug sit for a second before splashing in the Splenda and the creamer. “Oh, so we’re blaming the milk for it now, huh?”

“I refuse to believe it’s the caffeine,” Tracey said strongly, wild hand movements indicating her opinion. “If it is, I might go crazy trying new methods of waking up so early.”

You looked up at the clock, seeing that it was exactly 9 on the dot, and sat down on the couch, ready to start your session.

Tracey leaned forward, pushing a piece of her curly brown hair back behind her ear and adjusting her blazer and her Central Pines t-shirt. “So. Let’s talk. Weekly update?”

“Sure!” you said, swatting your hand over your drink to make sure it wouldn’t destroy your tongue upon the first sip. “So, I’m doing okay. I do a lot of hiking, and I went into town last week on the free day. Which was nice.” “Ugh, free days are the absolute best,” Tracey said, crossing her legs over her chair. “I remember when I used to go on them. I was obsessed with the coffee place at the end of the street that gave you those little donut things. I mean, it’s gone now, but, fuck, they were so amazing! Oh, sorry, keep going.”

You laughed again at her habit of constantly interrupting you, and kept going. “Well, uh, it’s been different here. I mean, I know you guys pretty well, but friends-wise, I don’t really have too many here. I think a lot of people kind of just want to keep themselves going while they’re here. Not like, I want to speak for them or anything. I don’t know what’s going on with the others, and I really hope they’re all doing well, but I don’t really know how to you know, bridge that gap. You know?”

Tracey’s face took on a slightly sad and concerned expression, and she leaned back in her chair, nodding at your statement. “I understand. It’s hard enough trying to make sure you’re okay, while also trying to reach out to others. I’m sure that people will come around. Everyone has their personal demons, and when you’re here, we can’t always fully stop them from amplifying. But there’s always outlets. If anything, come here if you’re feeling lonely. You know that I have an armory of snacks and food and conversation, and I’m sure people not reaching out isn’t anything to do with you. I promise.”

You felt tears sparking up in your eyes then, and you looked up at the positive sticky notes on the ceiling, trying to enunciate them in your head to give the tears time to go away. Tracey gave you a moment before speaking up again, this time in a gentler tone of voice.

“Everything’s going to be fine. In fact, you have a new roommate coming at the end of the day today.”

You snapped your head back down to meet Tracey’s eyes, your fidgeting hands ceasing the incessant folding and unfolding and folding of the cuffs of your jacket. You couldn’t help but feel the rush of hope and excitement a new person brought, but quickly shut down the feeling. It was probably someone who didn’t want to be bothered with you, let alone be as furtive as you were to make friends. Squash the hope, you told yourself, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“Really?” you said, trying to keep your voice level and break-free. “Are you allowed to… Tell me about them?”

“Sure! A little bit, at least,” Tracey said, reaching over and pulling a manila folder from beside her coffee table. She opened the folder, sliding out a packet or so before speaking.

“Okay, so her name’s Elodie. She’s coming here from a few towns over from you, and she’s going to be with us for a little while. Apparently her father and some other family’s helping her to move in. I haven’t met her yet, but John in admissions did, and he seemed to get a somewhat okay feeling from her. You know, people leaving their hometown and friends and all that, it’s not easy,” Tracey said, sliding the packet back into the folder and replacing it on the table. “At least, she has people here who get what it’s like.”

You poked your tongue in on the side of your cheek and took a deep breath, flattening out your pants with your palms. She was right.

“If you need someone to show her around other than John, whose niche TV show reference I’m sure she loves hearing, I’ll do it.”

The words left your mouth before you could take them back, and you felt almost like you were going to slap your palm against your head. What the fuck! I don’t wanna do that? Do I? What if she’s cute? Fuck! Stop! She’s probably not interested. It doesn’t matter. Ugh, this whole internal guilt thing blows-

“Really?” Tracey squealed, clasping her hands together in excitement. “I mean, I was hoping I could find someone that could show her around that wouldn’t say ‘Bazinga!’ every three seconds.”

A grin took over your face, and you stood up, turning to put your shoes back on and leave the carpeted room. It was officially 9:30, and the next person to be counseled was going to come in any second. “What time are they getting here?”

“Noon!” Tracey said, scarfing down her drink before her next patient. “Thank you so much again, kiddo. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, man!” you said, shooting finger guns at her before internally cringing and kicking yourself for the weird ass motion.

You said goodbye to Tracey and headed to the cafeteria, sitting down in one of the worn wooden chairs with a Clif bar in front of you.

Hello, Elodie, you thought to yourself. At least you’ll have a cool roommate.