#courtesy of a different idea of them meeting years earlier seeing each other entirely but Will makes the decision that they are better off

[cartsandhorses]

Those aus where the characters never meet but it’s hannigram and they just don’t have a reason to. Not that that would stop them but maybe Will was recommended a different psychiatrist or left the field entirely, dropped off the face of the earth. He would be the talk of psychiatric circles but Hannibal would never have a reason or opportunity to seek him out. Hear his name in passing and move on, never see his face and fall in love. And maybe they walk by each other but by the time they look back it’s too late. A brushing of shoulders Hannibal would find rude and that Will would go out of his way to avoid but didn’t. A scent that Hannibal inhales and can’t let go of (he wants to, it bothers him) but can’t trace its source because Will already walked away. But he had gone still. Just for a moment, uncertain of why…

They never do get an answer. Not this time. Perhaps they’ll both feel something missing, distantly and locked away.

It’s like outside forces divine intervention are keeping them apart.

[helpistolethesecharacters]

I'll Be Your Romeo If You'll Be My Juliet

Lucius Malfoy x Male Reader

Word Count: 1911

This was a request from an anon for a Lucius x male reader.

I hope this is everything you wanted from your request anon, if it isn't, feel free to send me another request!

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It was time for the annual Yule gathering. The Black family had the honor of hosting it this year, and they had taken every opportunity to remind everyone of that fact.

The heirs, the ones that mattered anyway, had been almost insufferable on the lead up to the yule break.

Lucius had mixed feelings on the whole subject, not that he could let that show to anyone.

Luckily, it looked like his betrothed was of a similar mind. The lovely Andromeda Black had been as quiet as he had been lately. If they had had even the smallest bit of interest in each other, they might have brought their concerns up.

Lucius thought fleetingly of a world where they could be in love. They would spirit themselves away to an abandoned classroom where they could talk uninterrupted about all of the things that were bothering them. They would take comfort in not being alone. It would bring them closer together and they could fall in love all over again.

But reality was a cruel mistress, and rarely allowed for such flights of fancy.

As it was, Lucius and Andromeda were just two teens who had been promised to each other from before they had even been born. There was nothing more between them.

Lucius sighed silently as he exited the floo into the receiving room at the Black Manor.

He barely registered an elf banishing the soot from his dress robes as he moved out of the room.

"Heir Malfoy, a pleasure to have you in our humble home this evening. And of course you as well Lord and Lady Malfoy!"

Lucius nodded at the welcome and stood obediently by his parents' side as he waited for the greetings to end. Sometimes he tired of all the stiff pureblood airs and graces.

After the obligatory back handed compliments they moved off into the party proper. With a last terse command to not embarrass the family name, courtesy of his father, Lucius moved away to see if he could find someone a little closer to his age.

He absently took a glass of sparkling cider from one of the floating trays that dotted the ballroom. The Blacks really had outdone themselves this year. The room was done in shades of white, sliver and blue. It really was stunning, but nothing seemed to be able to knock Lucius out of the numbness he had slipped into.

It had started at the start of that school year with the arrival of a transfer student. The other boy was their age, and the most enchanting creature that Lucius had ever laid eyes on. He had watched his sorting with longing, but the dratted hat had put Y/n into Ravenclaw. It wasn't really the end of the world, Lucius shuddered to think if he had been put into Gryffindor, or worse, Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, Lucius was already betrothed, but even if he wasn't, Abraxas Malfoy would never allow him to sully the Malfoy name with a male partner.

So Lucius had had to swallow his feelings as best he could. It hadn't worked very well, so he had allowed himself to pine from afar just a little.

He was jolted out of his daydream by the object of his thoughts. Lucius inhaled his mouthful of cider at the sight of Y/n.

He looked amazing in his dress robes, dressed up all fancy for the ball. Lucius thought to himself that if this was the cause of his death it would be worth it.

He was aware, once he managed to stop choking, of three things. One, everyone was looking at him, two, his face was probably red enough to shame a Weasley's hair, and lastly, that Y/n had the brightest e/c eyes possible.

He was struck with the awful thought that this was probably the first time that Y/n had known that Lucius existed.

'Well, that was a fantastic first impression,' Lucius thought to himself. He pointedly looked everyone who would meet his gaze straight in the eyes. As he had thought, it was enough to discomfort them into looking away.

Lucius raised his chin and moved off into a different area of the ballroom.

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

Ever since Y/n had realised that Lucius Malfoy was at the party as well, he had been jittery. The other boy was always looking at him. He had been the cause of enough distraction before this, when he was just someone who lurked at the fringes of his awareness while he studied in the school library. Now, Y/n was sure that he would never be getting rid of the image of Lucius in dress robes. How was he ever going to be able to concentrate again?

He shook himself slightly and tried to focus back in on whatever it was that the Greengrass heiress was talking about. He was supposed to be making connections here, maybe paving the way for a betrothal contract. As the first Pendragon to be seen in this and the previous generation, there was a lot of pressure to make the right political connections. A marriage to someone who was already politically powerful in this community would go a long way toward putting them back on the map in this magical community.

It was the Gods eternal joke that he was the only one that could do this. He only had one other relative, and his uncle wasn't exactly all there anymore. His parents had made it clear that this was their only chance to become the powerful family that they had once been.

Sure, potions had made it possible to have a male pregnancy, but it was still looked down on pretty harshly by most purebloods. Y/n had no idea how he was supposed to get his family back to its former glory, when to do it he would have to marry a girl. Why did he have to be gay?

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

Lucius was slowly going out of his mind. He had moved around the party doing his best to ignore Y/n, but he couldn't get him out of his head. The other boy was still standing where he had first spotted him, entirely surrounded by everyone their age.

What was worse was that these were people Lucius had grown up with. He had known these people for his whole life, and it was this that allowed him to see what was happening.

They were all flirting with Y/n.

Lucius was almost certain that some of them, most notably his friends, were only doing it to irritate him and not because they were genuinely interested in Y/n.

He had been shooting furtive looks over at the group for the last half an hour, and still they kept it up. Lucius just didn't know what to do. Oh sure, he knew what he wanted to do, but he also knew that there was no way he could actually pull it off.

For one thing, if he showed his hand by going over there and making a fool of himself he would face serious consequences when he got home. He was sure he would already be in trouble for his incident earlier that night, but if his father heard even a hint of a whisper that his only heir was gay, well, Lucius wasn't sure he would survive that particular punishment.

He was pulled up short at the realisation of where he was. He was in a room with some of the biggest gossips in the magical world, all of which could just about smell weakness. He shot his eyes around the room and realised with a start that it was already too late.

He recognised the look in his fathers eyes when he met them. Someone must have said something about his preoccupation with his classmate to Abraxas. Lucius swallowed, noting his suddenly dry throat.

He looked away from his father, toward Y/n and his friends. There might be a way to salvage this, pretend to have been watching another of his friends. He would still be in trouble for lusting after someone who was not his betrothed, but much less than if it had been the very male Y/n.

There was a commotion over by one of the doors, but Lucius was too busy thinking. He was realising that he was done. He couldn't live like this anymore, and he was done pretending that he could.

He squared his shoulders and moved over to his friends.

"Excuse me, may I borrow Y/n for a moment. We won't be long."

He didn't even bother waiting for a response, just grabbed a hold of him and started off in a random direction. The only thing in his mind was getting as far away from other people so he could have this discussion in peace.

He pulled Y/n out of the ballroom and down hallway after hallway until he decided they were lost enough that only a house elf would be able to find them.

He turned back to the other boy after making sure that the area was empty. They were both panting a little after their impromptu jog.

Y/n was looking at Lucius cautiously.

Lucius surged forward and connected their lips.

They were gasping for breath again when he pulled back.

"You know we can't do this."

Lucius cut him off before he could continue.

"I'm done. I'm done being the perfect heir for parents that don't care to know the real me. I'm done pretending that I'm not head over heels for you. Most of all, I'm done holding back from the things I want just because society wants so badly to tell me no."

He pulled in a deep breath, still standing in Y/n personal space. Neither boy had moved back.

"I want you, Y/n, and I think you've known that for as long as I have. If I haven't missed my guess, you want me too. I'm certainly not alone in all the looks I've sent your way, and I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't at least find out if you could feel the same way as I do for you."

Y/n sighed and shifted back a step.

"Those are pretty words Lucius, easy to say them here, alone in a secluded corner of someone else's manor, but how will you feel walking into Hogwarts next week, and letting everyone see. How will you feel when your parents cut you off?"

"I'm not totally helpless Y/n, I'll find a way to survive. I know for sure that if I have you by my side there isn't anything that we can't face."

He softly took Y/n's hand and stroked the back with his thumb.

"So what do you say? Can you feel the same way I do?"

Y/n shut his eyes in resignation.

"You know I do."

They stood at the end of their silent hallway for some time, just holding each other.

"You know this will be the second scandal of the night?"

Lucius pulled back to look at Y/n.

"What do you mean?"

Y/n looked at Lucius, shocked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean? Didn't you hear, just before you pulled me out of there, one of the older Blacks ran in and caused quite the scene. By the looks of things Andromeda is missing. From what I managed to gather, she's run off with that muggleborn from Ravenclaw, you know, Tonks-something, or something-Tonks."

[oneoftheprettynerds]

Belle Of The Ball: Dark! King! Steve Rogers x Reader

A/N: So this my first ever proper dark fic and I’m so nervous. I finished it but my mind thinks it’s garbage. so I’m gonna post this now when I’m feeling a random spurt of courage and am confident in my work. So here’s my masterpiece, cookies.

This is for Dark!MCU  Festive Fic swap hosted by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor  and @darkmcuficswap

My giftee is @hermesmaximoff Hope you enjoy it love!

Thanking @firefly-graphics for the dividers: both personalised and general.

There is also an amateur somewhat okay shitty poster I decided to make which is included at the end.  

WARNING: THIS IS A DARK FIC CONTAINING DUBIOUS CONSENT BORDERING NON-CON AND EXPLICIT SMUT. YOUR MEDIA CONSUMPTION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. LOSS OF VIRGINITY, ABUSE OF AUTHORITY, BREEDING KINK ALSO PRESENT.

Summary: Invited to the Royal ball by the benevolent monarch, you could barely control your excitement to visit the Capital. While you were busy admiring his prosperous reign, King Steve was quite occupied getting enamoured by you. As you try to fulfil the King’s demands, secrets find their way out.

CHARACTERS + GENRE: DARK!STEVE ROGERS X READER, SUPERNATURAL STEVE ROGERS X READER (read to find out what), ROYAL AU, HALLOWEEN THEME (I tried for the request, hope you do like it)

King Steve Rogers invites the princes and the princesses of all Kingdoms, near and afar,

To celebrate his several years of reign.

He requests thy kind and noble presence

At the joyous regale

of his auspicious ball

On the thirty first of October,

after sundown, in His Majesty’s finest castle.

Challenging thy with the unique theme of

A Halloween Masquerade Ball,

The King expects exceptional indulgence from all.

 The Most Grandiose Halloween Celebration is being organised with the spookiest of events within.

Come here if you dare.

“We have been invited to a royal party! My day couldn’t have been better!” Your elder sister exclaimed, jumping quite unladylike in your chambers, as you went through the details of the venue. You chuckled at her antics, knowing rather well that she would be scolded if someone else was present. 

“Emma, Mother has to approve first. As Lady Ava always says, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

“As if mother would really decline an invite from the King, dear sister.” She rolled her eyes at you, not letting her enthusiasm die as you pondered over her words.

Your sister had a point though, the King summoning your presence was not to be taken lightly. The invitation came up handwritten in a scroll with the King’s wax seal atop it. It was placed elegantly beside a golden mask in a rectangular black box, that bore the Majesty’s sigil on the front.  

The theme of the ball wasn’t that peculiar if you reflected over it, the renowned monarch was also recognised for his distinct interest in eerie, unearthly beings. He was known for adventuring into haunted lands, mysterious manors and sinister soils, meeting up with people rumoured to be sorcerers and occultists.

Of course, the reason for his encounters was sometimes rumoured to be because of his familial distress, how he couldn’t find a mate to procreate with and conceive his own heir no matter what. Three females, who were pregnant with a progeny of his blood, none his wife though, had died during the first two or tercet months, reason unspecified why.  

Coming to You, you and your sister weren’t actual princesses, rather the daughters of one of the esteemed Ministers in the King’s cabinet. The benevolent King, however referred to the daughters of the town, more exactly, the Kingdom, as noblewomen. He held high reverence for the females and was the sole creditor to the improved condition of the women in this era. No matter how troubled his own life was, the King was the most merciful royal to be crowned to date, his people prospering under him.

Your sister nodded eagerly to your mother, drinking in her words like the fine tea you all had in the afternoons, while you just smiled at her advice.

 When you both met your mother for dinner, you were surprised to find her already informed about the invitation. Her conformity to the celebration astonished you even more, but Emma’s zeal was starting to rub off on you too by the end of the meal. 

Your mother continued, “Your father mentioned The Majesty is looking for a wife, quite possibly. He has been insistent in trying to get a successor the correct way this time, by courting the lady who piques his interest. Even though this might be a rumour, or some gossip spun by the ladies of the Cabinet, you both should try your best to be graceful and presentable. Among the hundreds of guests, he’d be having over, on the off-chance, if Gods allow, that either of you manages to entice him, it will only promise you the most pleasant of all forthcomings. It would also do me and your father some good, if you managed to find some other suitable bachelor, from a nice background to engage with.”

Your sister had always been one with the more overactive imagination out of you two, while you had been the more serene and poised one. When she’d be out playing with the children in your town, you’d be talking to the younger toddlers, drawing with chalks on the side. For every kid she splashed with water in the nearby sapphire river, you made tots flower crowns. These were the values you both grew up with, and these will be the values you’d die with.

After days of shopping velvet fabrics and silk textiles, and bothering your seamster to make sophisticated and stylish dresses, you both neared your day of departure. After some instructions to you both to represent your father and town well, your mother bid you adieu. It was nerve wracking to not have your mother by your side, for an event as big as this was, but since you both had passed more than twenty name days, you were expected to be proper, independent ladies. 

With a heavy heart and some self, positive affirmations, you and your sister embarked on the voyage, which was filled with her chitchat.

You only hoped that the gala was as exciting as your family made it out to be. That it was just a King trying to celebrate his sovereign with some western festival integrated together. That the event would not be as unnerving and creepy as the last line of his invitation made it out to be. 

For some unknown cause, it did not sit well with you. Your apprehensive intuition made you wary of the invitation for some reason, but you let your sibling’s zest take you over. What benefit would fretting get you?

The ball was far more pompous than anything you’d have imagined in your little head. All the ideas that Emma had come up with during your journey, to anticipate the extent of extravagance for the ball, were all exceeded with tenfold finesse. You had travelled to faraway, distant lands with your parents, but the King’s mansion, with all the festivity happening, was truly a sight to behold.

Entering The Capital had been the highlight of your excursion, you were sure earlier, but well you were proved wrong. Your father greeted you both when you had arrived, eager to see his angels after almost six moons, and had ensured you both got the best of the accommodations in the well-built, enormous fort. He introduced you to several of his comrades as well as their brooding, young lads and then, left you both to rest for the main event next eve. With two maids at your every beck and call, courtesy of your father, your time went smoothly and now you found yourself at the said Halloween themed celebration, staring around in awe of every little detail that had been so meticulously handled to make the event as dazzling as it was.

The servants were dressed rather ridiculously as cats, wearing some bizarre structure resembling cat ears, horribly short black dresses barely past their thighs and some whiskers draw using either coal or makeup, you weren’t sure. It was a poor attempt to make them appear feline. However, the food was as immaculate as everything else, entirely themed like only blood red wine, candied apples, chicken pumpkins, cheesecake brain, mummy muffins, some appetizer with bell peppers as jack-o-lanterns; these were the few that met your sights.

The hall was so grand, almost the size of three jousting arenas and playing fields combined with pillars having detailed architecture supporting the place. The walls were covered in scarlet, golden and black velvet drapes, the royal colours, and beautiful masquerade masks were pinned atop them, along the walls. Almost hundred round, white clothed tables filled the ballroom, with gold plated candlesticks and utensils upon them. The entire place had entertainers progressing around, the essence of it being magicians, clowns, contortionists, palm and tarot card readers. 

In the centre of the hall, was an empty space, reserved for the soon to be ensuing dancing. An orchestra on the side had beautiful instruments, playing soft melodies for now, reserving the upscale beats for later.

You had only read a few books on Halloween to be prepared but nothing could have geared you up for this. Your small-town self was gaping at everything with a childlike wonder while somehow your sister was quite composed and calm, somehow your roles had been reversed. 

Emma was wearing a blue gown, having several layers of nets and cloth, each a different shade of azure. She tried to dress as the mythical creature called mermaid, with crystal heels and a beaded neckline. Her masquerade mask had scales like fish, made using shining sequins. She looked so gorgeous, truly managing to look captivating.

You on the other hand were dressed like an angel, which you were against, finding it too mainstream and typical and wanted to dress like an enchantress with violet and jade colours, which your mother immediately negated. On demand of your sister, she let you wear a fluffy white ball gown, and had you made wings with dove feathers, an apparatus which was astonishingly light to wear. Using her art and craft skills, Emma made you a headband with two wires attached to a metal ring, shaped like an angel’s halo. The loop at top made of some special metal that glowed golden in the dark, making it look like a real, floating halo. Your mask had a fur lining on it, and silver sparkles were sprinkled all over you, with pretty makeup on your face, courtesy of your sibling.

The change in music brought you out of your reverie, as trumpets and harps began to hum, signifying the arrival of the King on the grand staircase. He had a crimson red velvet cape descending his broad shoulders, his tuxedo underneath could hide neither his long legs nor his bulging, protruding biceps. His black, shining shoes cost more than your entire apparel, you were certain. 

As your gaze ascended his masculine form, you were mesmerised furthermore with his high cheekbones, full lips tainted cherry pink, a Grecian slanting nose, sleek eyebrows, luscious blonde hair, a thick beard and the best of all yet, cerulean blue eyes, the prettiest you’d ever seen in the entirety of your small life. The ladies beside you, Emma included, had the same reaction whether they had witnessed his Highness before or not. Every female’s gaze seemed to flicker between his azure eyes and the Golden crown resting atop his blonde locks, flooded with rubies and emeralds and gemstones you weren’t sure your books had.

For a moment you felt his eyes land on you, which surprised you even more so, that you questioned yourself about it, but his cheeky grin and wink confirmed it, make you shiver involuntarily as heat spread through your face while a titillating stir ran through you, a first for you. His impeccably white teeth were clearly visible now, showing two elongated canines, which finally gave you a sense of his attire, paired with his blush lips, A Vampire.

He spoke a few words, eyes unsteadily wavering, observing different members of the gathering. He let the dances commence, partnering with his most suitable match at the festivity, the daughter of the wealthiest lord. After the first song was over, other couples joined alongside him while you stood at the side, observing everything. Only mere moments ago had your sister been courted by a young man, the two of them shooting each other coy glances since they had entered. 

A tap on your shoulder had you puzzled, you turned around focus landing on warm, brown eyes. You recalled him to be Lord Stark’s son, Peter, having met him yesterday at dawn. His familiar brown eyes gave you sense of comfort, which you liked, not being alongside Emma now.

“Shall we?” He asked, his cheeks ruby like yours were, as he extended the palm of his hand towards you. You giggled, smiling like a little babe who got extra cookies for dessert, and accepted his hand. Sauntering to the dancing arena, you only prayed to The Heavens above that Lady Ava taught you enough to embarrass neither yourself nor your guild.

Tracing his steps and following his lead, you did manage to dance without falling, which was a surprise seeing how spread out your wings were. You and him made easy conversation, about your hometowns and interests.  You saw your Father proudly looking at you and Emma, dancing with lads, you guessed, he approved of.

As the song ended and the orchestra played a transitioning tune between the melodies, a cough sounded beside you as you and Peter stopped. Your eyes widened as you nervously curtsied beside Peter, A ‘Your Majesty” falling from both your lips.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I share a dance with the most stunning dame here?” 

Peter politely stepped back, letting go of your waist, as The King’s wide stature more than filled his place. Your heart was beating rather loudly, blood pumping to your ears as you tried to make sense of what was happening. In your peripheral vision you could see the prying eyes of others looking at you both, ready to criticize you for one wrong move. Your father watched intently, a slight warning in his eyes to not mess this opportunity up while your sister comfortingly smiled at you. You tried to even your breaths and make sense of what he was saying, to not just stand and gape like a fool in court.

As the harmony played out, he swayed you around, lifting you up and twirling you around. Compliments spewed out from his lips, making you crimson like freshly ripened apples. You couldn’t keep up with your expression of gratitude through your words as he admired your eyes, your elegance and your ensemble which just couldn’t make him shift his eyes from you. 

After two songs had played out, he left as suddenly as he had come, with a promise to meet you later. You watched him dance with other maidens, who approached him when you were dancing together, entertaining every approaching lady like an excellent host.

You made your way to the side, hoping to get some liquor, or at least some fluid in your veins and not faint right there this moment. Emma came up beside you while you were having wine, and rubbed your back in a parental way. Her eyes communicated her understanding of how overwhelmed you felt at the instant. Her date and Peter soon came and kept you both company for the rest of the night. As duos danced and people got intoxicated, you had to call it a night on behalf of your sister, her incessant giggling make you worried for her inebriated self. 

You slipped her out before your father caught her and gave her a stern talking to and tucked her in her bed keeping a glass of water and some fresh fruits for her on the bedside wooden bench. You concluded retiring for the night yourself but only after assuring your father of your whereabouts and well beings. Before returning to the hall, you took off your wings and the halo, also opting to leave the mask behind as the fur tickled your skin. Your makeup hadn’t ruined in the heat of the hall, it was a miracle. You made your way to the Hall, hoping to find your father, assumingly drunk with all his entourage.

Two hallways before the decorated ballroom were you pinned to the wall, one hand of your attacker covering your parted lips while the other held your face delicately, with a lover’s touch. A split second was all it took for you to be immobilised by this man and another by your wavering form to recognise the cobalt blue eyes and blonde curls. When The King was certain you wouldn’t scream, his hand left your mouth slid upwards, mirroring his other hand, with thumbs in front of your ears and palms resting on your cheeks.

“Your Majesty?” You mumbled back, your voice somehow even lower, afraid for yourself and even more so terrified to offend him.

“Say, would you come for a while to my chambers, the view of the creek from my balcony is splendid.”

His choice of words gave you an option, but his eyes, almost hypnotically told you there was only one correct answer.

“You are the one, I can feel it.” He whispered lowly but your heightened senses gladly picked it up.

You meekly nodded, your inner self surprised at your body moving of its accord alongside him, as your mind started voiding of thoughts like reporting to your father, checking up on Emma. You felt like you were trapped in someone else’s form and fought with an invisible force to take over the reins of your own body.

You did not fail to notice the lack of guards outside the King’s chamber and how every entrance managed to open itself. The King wasn’t lying about the picturesque scene though, as you stood in the balcony, hair getting ruffled by the strong breeze that seemingly came from nowhere.

Your body stiffened as King Steve came uncharacteristically close to you and slid his hands around your middle, his nose nestled in your locks, inhaling deeply.

His lips descended your neck, laying feathery kisses on his path as you stood there, unable to even move your hands or turn around. This out of body sensation was broken when you felt intense pain on piercing of your skin where your head met your torso. You suddenly gained all wits and enough strength to flail your limbs around but all your might wasn’t enough to even stir the man from his task. Your throat couldn’t gather enough energy to scream, though you doubted anyone would come. You started getting light headed and only then did he stop, carrying you in his arms to his widespread four poster bed, mattress as soft as sponge and sheets as silky as butter. Too weak to fight him off, you harvested all your energy in staying conscious as your gaze danced around, trying to make sense of every object present but not awake enough to notice too many details. The wine you drank did not make it any better.

As you laid on the stranger’s bed, you felt his body sit beside you, holding your neck; leaning down, his lips meeting yours for the first time. You did not reciprocate, neither did you have the strength nor the will, while his tongue slipped inside your mouth, roaming around like a traveller in foreign land.

As the kiss drew on, you felt some energy sidle inside you, enough for your mind to function again but not ample enough to fight off the brawny thief who robbed you of your first kiss. King Steve broke off the kiss and connected your foreheads together, his indigo eyes turning black in want, leaving you a frightening and gasping mess.

He backed away, sitting more straighter now as his hand drew back from around your neck and slid along your stomach, nearing the most intimate part of your body, even though there were still layers of cloth present. His hands did not stop there, however, and made their way downwards only stopping at the hem of your gown and slipping inside.

You shrieked out suddenly, becoming aware of his intentions quite late and grasped his wrist that rested now on your knee. 

“Your Majesty, I……I can’t-”

“Do you wish to refuse your King?”

You looked down, caught in the dilemma of wanting your safety and offending him once again. Your virtue had to be preserved till marriage, your mother had taught you, but on the other hand, the King’s words were the law.

“Answer Me.” The King’s cold voice broke through your thoughts, not a shout but still scarier than a yell.“

Your Majesty, I’ve never engaged in s-” You started tearing up, lower lip wobbling and body shaking at the thought of the future. You did not see this ending beneficial in any scenario. If you lost your virtue, you would never get wed but if you refused the King and he felt insulted, your family and your connections would be in the ruins, he held that much power over you.

Cradling your face with his other hand, he began again, “You think I’m not already aware, pretty one?” The man who was reprimanding you only few moments ago upon not answering him, had a smile on his face this time: not assuring or comforting, but malicious and sinister to its very core. “I could smell your untainted scent from my room, before even descending the stairs.”

“Your e-eyes..” You gaped again as colours morphed in his eyes, red now swirling around in the pools of darkness, his words lost on you as you felt your fear rising due to the inhumane action.

“For an intellectual, bibliophilic girl, you sure are oblivious, sweetheart.” He scoffed, looking unimpressed at you, “Come on, prove to me you aren’t heedless like the rest, draw the conclusion." His eyes held yours, again altering into hues of different colours, seemingly mocking you now. 

You don’t know how the thought jumped into your head, maybe because the two holes on your neck stung suddenly or because the automatically opening doors entered your mind, the contemplation that his fangs appeared so realistic and authentic the more you stared at them paired with the blood on his collar, not just the fresh red stain of your plasma but also the burgundy stain present there, giving his lips the cherry red shade you admired hours ago on his arrival at the event.

“This is not a co-costume, no-” You inhaled a quick breath, “you are a vampire.” Your face paled in realisation while he smirked proudly, tapping your knee in a weird, twisted form of appreciation.

“Tremendous, my dear. But only half, you see. My mother was one, yes, but my father, he gave me an even better ability, he was an Incubus.” You shuddered as the words sunk in, your only worry being staying alive now, when your life was in the hands of this sex demon, having the greatest of powers and strength. Your mind did not spend any time mulling over the existence of supernatural beings, only dwelling on possible escapes now.

“That is why even your untouched body couldn’t help but react to my form and it is also the very reason, that I can read what goes on in your mind, all your memories, your hobbies, every book you’ve read, your precious sister, Emma isn’t it? So please, do not even think about fleeing if you don’t want your family to suffer.”

The threat loomed in the air, nasty sobs wracking your body as his thumb came to wipe the tears off. His hands started undoing the lace on the front of your bodice as you sniffled. Managing to quieten down just a bit, you begged, “Please don’t do this, I’ll have nowhere to go if my family found about me partaking in this unholy deed before marriage.” You had little hope about him seeing reason but there was optimism nonetheless. 

“Darling, do not fuss that I’ll leave you unhinged and deserted after finding pleasure in your body, you are to be mine now. Essentially, you already are.” His lips claimed yours again as the front of your dress slackened, bundling around your waist.

You pulled back, surprised at his promise, “You mean that?” He nodded, coming to kiss you again. You turned so that his lips met your neck, tongue licking the salt residue of tears there. “In what sense?”

“In every sense you could think of and more. I’ll give you everything, make you my queen, would you like that?” He mumbled in your neck, tongue now soothing the two punctured cavities residing there.

You could feel yourself crossing your legs involuntarily, trying to caress the abrupt yearning in your intimate part, your underclothes dousing with wetness somehow. Steve smirked in your neck, sitting upright and playing his trump card.

“I’ll marry you and we’ll rule together with the plenty of successors you’ll give me. Won’t that make your parents proud? Isn’t that what your parents taught you? Catch the King’s eye?” You meekly nodded, his charisma of an Incubus winning you over. “I’ll make your father The King’s Hand and send your mother the finest of jewels and gems, satins and silks.” He looked over at your submissive form, looking at him with the innocence of a toddler, swayed by his promises.

“I’ll let your sister have a grand wedding with the man she dears. All you have to do is surrender yourself to me and be my Queen, rule alongside me. So I ask, will you?” You cut him off, your lips pressing against his as you tried to mimic his earlier movements. He held your waist, surprised but pleasantly so, crushing the layers of the rolled top half of your dress underneath his hands. You had very little idea about what bedding someone meant but you had this primal urge to not have any skin of yours covered or untouched by him.

Steve shed his cape and threw every cloth on his torso away, almost as eager as you to get skin to skin contact. Your hands tangled in his hair as he lifted you up and sat you in his broad lap, not before sliding your dress all the way down. As he broke the kiss and took in your body, parts of you hidden under the smallclothes, he let out a growl that frightened yet excited you with another shiver down your spine. 

He made quick work of his bottoms, his cock standing and reaching his muscled chest almost and you gaped. Your sister, Emma had informed you of men’s parts being far much smaller than what you had just witnessed. His member stood erect and proud, glistening as he pumped it with his fist. His eyes drank in your surprise and trepidation, getting amused and turned on even more. 

You still laid stretched across the bed, legs straight ahead of you while your torso rested on your elbows, eyes wary of his every next movement.  He eyed your scantily clad body, gaze filled with lust and nothing more and climbed between your legs, one hand coming down on your waist while the other grabbed the back of your head and pulled you into a possessive kiss, robbing you of your breath. Your mind was slowly registering the reality of it all, this was going to happen no matter what. You were going to sin by engaging in fornication. But is it really wrong if your benevolent king demands that of you?

His hand sliding from your face to your bosom distracted you from your chain of thoughts. He slid the cups of your garment revealing your nipples and took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it while his other pinched the abandoned one. You didn’t know if you should be more surprised at his actions or the rush of the feelings that ran through you.

He slowly released your nipple and trailed soft kisses down your stomach to your most intimate part yet, kissing it through the cloth there. His delicate touch was abruptly contrasted with him grabbing the fabric, tearing it into two and revealing you bare. 

You closed your legs out of instinct but his heavily muscled hand took them apart in a single push. He eyed you with a warning, to not obstruct him anyhow anymore.

“Let me taste that sweet nectar of yours, sweetheart. I really want to find out if it is as addictive as my senses picked it up, as sweet as the aura that surrounds you.”

And with that he dove into your pussy, his tongue roaming your wet cavern. Neither did you understand what he spoke of nor had you sister told you about the activity happening right now. But all you could do was focus on the astonishingly pleasant shivers running through you as you had an out of the body, more accurately an out of the world experience. You had no sense of the time that passed and how long you laid there clutching the silk sheets letting out mewls. But out of nowhere, something in you snapped and all your energy left you. 

As your blurry vision cleared and your eyes found his face, he licked his still glistening lips, his beard moist and wet but erotically so. He dove right into kiss again and you tasted your own sweet nectar for the first time ever. His hand roamed your body, grabbing your curves and caressing your soft flesh. 

One of his hands made its way down furthermore and spread your fluids along your folds, and then lined up himself along your hole. With a sudden push, you felt yourself being full like never before, and a sudden pain hit you as your face visibly flinched. Steve swallowed your grunts of pain with his kisses and started rubbing your bud above your linked bodies. 

The shudder that ran through you once again made you incapable of thinking, the ache slowly subsiding behind the pleasure you felt. When your moans filled the air, Steve kissed your collarbones and sucked leaving bruises there, and started thrusting again. As his movements became faster and consistent, and his callused hands rubbed you and pinched your intimate flesh, you ascended to another world. Each action of his introduced you to a new star in the wide galaxy. The same unknown descended upon you again as something snapped in your abdomen and you experienced pure bliss. 

“Going to make you the mother of my children, you will carry my seed and bring the Kingdom several heirs. This time I’ll succeed, you will be mine, my Queen in every sense.” His words made you clench around him and that was all it took for him to achieve ecstasy as well.

Your head lolled and your eyes met his sweating frame lying across the silk sheets as a sinister grin adorned his face again, “I need to fuck a successor into you tonight, you ready?”  

[j-ungkooky]

Temptation (Taehyung)

Ceo Au! Suggestive smut (he’s crouched under ur desk and :)) (smut will be in future chapters) Angst (later) 3181 Words Chapter 1. 

“Good morning.” Taehyung simply greeted before disappearing into his office. 

It was enough to get all the women in the lobby immediately shooting each other knowing glances because not only was Taehyung the company’s CEO, but he was a very handsome one at that too. His polite demeanour and respectful nature only contributed to his desirability. Due to everyone’s unanimous acknowledgement of Taehyung’s appeal, there seemed to always be some sort of competition for his attention. Whether it was to drop something off for him in his office or offer him leftover donuts, his deep voice thanking you followed by his infectious smile was all worth it. Taehyung being new to the company only made the competition over him more fierce. He had taken over the position from a now old and retired gentleman and because he had no idea what the personality of each individual in the office was truly like, it was all fair game. 

She definitely would’ve been lying if she said she didn’t have some sort of crush on Taehyung but it was all physical and surface level. He was her boss after all and she only saw him for a few minutes each day. They’ve barely exchanged more than a handful of words to each other in the month of his takeover.  

“Jesus...did you see his arms? They’re suffocating in that button up.” Jisoo, her colleague commented. 

“You’re drooling,” she teased, “besides, you should be worrying about your meeting today and not about whether or not blood is circulating through his arms.” 

Jisoo scoffed and pushed herself off of the reception desk. 

“Don’t remind me,” Jisoo groaned, “it doesn’t help that Taehyung’s going to be sitting in for that meeting too. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through anything without puking.” 

The two of them continued to talk and catch each other up on what they did over the weekend before Jisoo eventually had to go back to her desk. She watched as her colleague walked away and felt a twinge of jealousy within herself. For someone like Jisoo to get nervous despite being pretty, charismatic and the office favourite was a slap to her self esteem. Jisoo also held a high position within the HR department while she was just a measly receptionist. She definitely wasn’t going to stay in this position forever but the job paid well and would suffice for now. 

As the clock inched closer to everyone’s starting time, the lobby began clearing up as people went to their respected department. After a few minutes, she was left alone to man the front all by herself. She stared at the closed office doors surrounding her and felt another pang of envy in her heart knowing that people behind those doors were doing far more important work than her. Her days consisted of sorting through mail, sending emails, transferring calls and light house duties. She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t all bad because at least she could surf the internet whenever she wanted without anyone monitoring her. Her eyes traveled towards Taehyung’s door and she wondered how he was adjusting to everything before an email notification needed her attention. 

With it being Monday and the meeting Jisoo was talking about earlier being held today, it was quite busy. She usually had an hour of free time before her lunch break but the emails had been nonstop. People kept revising their forms and asking her to print out multiple copies of the revised papers to the point where the printer just stopped working altogether for a scary moment. With it being so busy, she decided to stay at her desk for lunch today. She was buried so deep in her computer work that Taehyung’s presence had gone unnoticed. He needed a break from staring at his screen all day and decided to go explore the office. In the month that Taehyung transferred over, he had no time to go around introducing himself or making himself familiar with the space. His decision to finally become accustomed to his environment brought him in front of her desk. The unusually loud crinkling from the untouched candy jar she left out for everyone broke her focus. She looked up to see her boss struggling with how small the jar was. 

“Do...do you need help?” she finally asked.

Up close, Taehyung’s visuals had her feeling shy and flustered like a high school girl sitting next to their crush. Taehyung seemed just as surprised to hear her voice as his movements came to a halt and he pulled his hand out of the candy jar sheepishly. 

“Sorry,” he apologized while rubbing the back of his neck, “I realized I must’ve looked really stupid.” 

She waved his doubts away and took the jar from him. She tried her very best to seem unfazed and collected but the red tint in her cheeks and her inability to stop smiling so wide probably gave her away.

“The um...” Taehyung cleared his throat before continuing, “the watermelon flavour please.” 

After a few seconds of sifting through the numerous options, she found the one he wanted. Taehyung opened his hand and she almost laughed at how tiny the candy looked in his gigantic palm. Her amusement didn’t stop at his physicality but shifted towards his entire personality. When she first met Taehyung, she was beyond intimidated. She couldn’t look at him for too long without feeling like he was looking right through her. Taehyung carried himself with an air of confidence and always had an answer for everyone, as expected of a competent CEO. She wasn’t nervous around him because he was scary but because his presence was so large and full while she was so small compared to him. But having him stand before her enjoying a piece of watermelon flavoured candy with an innocent smile on his face was just so...unexpected. 

“Is this your lunch break?” Taehyung asked noticing her untouched sandwich sitting beside her keyboard. 

She looked where he was and let out a forced laugh at her pathetic set up.

“Yeah I didn’t have time to properly take a break today.” she explained. 

The reason she was eating at her desk suddenly occurred to her and her eyes traveled over to her inbox which was now at double digits. With only an hour before the big meeting today, she was already behind despite only talking to Taehyung for five minutes. 

“Sorry Taehyung I have to get back to work,” she sighed running a hand through her hair, “is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked looking at him for a quick second before going back to her monitor. 

Taehyung watched as she worked and wondered if this was the kind of work culture he wanted to uphold. He didn’t like that she didn’t take a break and was going unnoticed for her extra work. Perhaps he’d talk to HR and accounting later to avoid situations like this from happening again. Taehyung drummed his fingers against his her desk and sucked his teeth. 

“Nope, nothing else you can do for me!” he smiled, “Thank you for your hard work but please make sure to take a proper break next time. I’m going to the coffee room to take a breather myself.” 

She looked up to thank him out of courtesy and he surprised her by thanking her once more and using her name. He grabbed a few more pieces of candy before going on his way. 

“Hey Taehyung!” she called, leaning over her desk. 

He turned his head with a raised brow. 

“If you’re still going to the break room, it’s the other way.” she informed him. 

Taehyung turned around on his heel and began walking hastily in the correct direction with bashful smile on his face. 

“What an interesting guy.” she thought while laughing to herself. 

________________________________________________

The hour leading up to the big meeting didn’t get any easier as her inbox continued to flood with people requesting numerous things from her. She was finally able to breathe when the meeting started and people stopped demanding her assistance. Jisoo had come up earlier asking for words of encouragement before Taehyung emerged from his office. She watched in awe at how effortless Jisoo made it look cracking jokes with Taehyung and drawing out deep belly laughs from him. She cringed at how awkward she must’ve been with Taehyung earlier and refused to look at him when he walked by; not that he would’ve noticed anyway as Jisoo had his full attention. She made an early new years resolution to be more like her follow coworker in the coming year. 

Despite the craziness earlier, she was already bored browsing through the same pages for the past 40 minutes. The meeting seemed to be going well as no one left the boardroom to ask her to do anything. With her sanity hanging onto Pinterest boards, she welcomed the delivery man with a gigantic smile and lively greeting. 

“Big one today.” the delivery man commented while slapping the stacks of boxes on his trolley. 

She took a look around her desk to see if there was any available space to put the packages but to no avail. 

“You can just leave them there.” she said and began rolling up her sleeves. 

“You sure?” the man asked, “these are quite heavy.” 

She reassured him by telling him that she deals with deliveries every Monday and that this was no different to prior ones. She bid the delivery man farewell as he disappeared through the elevator doors with the same concerned face that never left during their entire interaction. 

"Finally something to do.” she thought and with that, began working on the boxes. 

Taehyung struggled to keep his eyes open during the meeting. He opted to rest his chin on his hand and pretend to take notes when in reality, his eyes were closed and he was drawing random shapes in his notepad. From the moment he received emails outlining what the meeting entailed, he knew it meant absolutely nothing to him. He didn’t actually know why he agreed to be a part of it but he was definitely regretting his decision to do so. Taehyung had a long list of tasks to fulfill especially since he was only a month onboard this company and this meeting was wasting his time. Wanting to make a good impression on his employees, Taehyung tried really hard to pay attention but he simply could not trick himself into caring as the minutes ticked by. He racked his brain on ways to escape and took a deep breath before pursuing his liberation. Taehyung looked at his apple watch and feigned surprise at a non-existent message on it. 

“Everyone, I apologize for leaving so suddenly but there is an issue I have to attend.” he announced while getting up from his seat. 

He uttered a few more apologies before leaving the boardroom and closing the door. It wasn’t until he was out in the hallway by himself that he suddenly felt incredibly foolish over how easy it was to leave. He sat in that godforsaken room for almost an hour thinking of ways to flee and that was all it took. Pinching the bridge of his nose and inhaling a sharp breath, Taehyung made his way back to his office. 

“Holy shit! What is in here?!” she groaned struggling to lift more boxes from within the delivery boxes.  

In the span of an hour, she was still working on one of the four boxes delivered. Perhaps she should’ve listened to the delivery man earlier but her pride got in the way. It didn’t help that the skirt she was wearing today was a lot shorter than her usual choices but all her work clothes were currently in the wash as she simply could not be bothered to do laundry over the weekend. Every time she lifted something up, she had to immediately place the item somewhere so she could pull her skirt down or she’d accidentally flash the office. 

She attempted to set one box down on her desk and winced when it slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. She waited a few seconds to see if anyone came out to figure out what the noise was and breathed a sigh of relief when the office remained undisturbed.

“Better than aimlessly scrolling through Instagram.” she thought before bending over to pick up anything that fell out. 

“Do you need help?” a familiar voice called out. 

She jumped in her shoes and proceeded to drop everything from her arms. She snapped her body up to see who it was and surprising her again for the second time today, Taehyung was standing in front of her desk with a curious look on his face. 

“I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that,” he apologized profusely as he made his way behind her desk, “please let me help you!” 

It took her a beat to register her appearance and she quickly pulled down her skirt that was riding up way too close to her crotch. She smoothed her hair before attempting to stop Taehyung from doing anything. 

“No, no don’t worry!” she laughed as he held up the items out of her reach. 

“If you want it then you have to grow a whole foot taller.” he teased. 

“You have a meeting to go back to.” she reminded him to which he scrunched his face in disapproval. 

Just as she was slowly convincing Taehyung to go back, his face turned from playfulness to dread when the boardroom door opened. 

“Let me ask Taehyung to join the meeting again.” a colleague’s voice could be heard before their footsteps approached the lobby.  

She was about to tell Taehyung that he was needed when he ducked under her already cramped desk and put a finger to his lips as his eyes pleaded for her to keep quiet. Before she could process what was happening, Jin, her coworker appeared. 

“Hey! Is Taehyung around?” Jin asked as he marvelled at all the boxes spread out in the lobby. 

She stood still trying to calm her nerves. On one hand, she was fighting against the biggest laughing fit of her life and on the other, Taehyung her boss, expected her to cover for him as he cowered under her desk. 

“He is...” she glanced down at Taehyung who was now shaking his head and making a cutting motion with his hand, “I-I haven’t seen him actually! Is he not in the meeting?” 

Jin cocked a brow and leaned over her desk trying to see what she was looking at. 

“Is everything okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.” he laughed. 

She forced a smile and shook her head, “Oh yeah I’m fine! My computer’s been acting up all day and it’s getting a little worrisome with everything going on.” 

Taehyung was impressed by how quick she was on her feet and slowly breathed a sigh of relief until he heard Jin offer to come around and take a look at her computer for her. This whole situation was already absolutely ridiculous and humiliating until she sat down on her chair to click a few keys and feign relief that her computer was magically working again. The issue was no longer the fact that Taehyung was hiding from his employees but that he was contorted under her desk that was way too small for his large frame, now with her cunt inches away from his face. 

“Well now that you’re here anyways, I was hoping you could help me with some paper work and scheduling.” Jin said. 

“S-sure.” she managed to answer despite her throat drying up and the adrenaline slowly making its way through her veins. 

She could feel every time Taehyung breathed because his exhales would land right against her inner thigh and when he sighed, she could feel it right against her sex. Her thong provided little to no protection against any sensation caused by him. She tried to clamp her thighs together but her knees would hit Taehyung’s face in the process causing her to open her legs again as a reflex and there was no more room for Taehyung to back up against.

“Are you okay?” Jin asked. 

She could only nod as a response; she did not trust her voice to come out stable and natural. The battle she was fighting up there was mutually shared by Taehyung underneath. His brain was going a million miles a minute as he tried to figure out how to talk to her after this. How was he going to make this all alright and normal? He could offer her a raise and an extra week of paid vacation? Maybe he could fire her but he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if he did that. Taehyung was beating himself up for putting her in a situation like this and began to mentally prep for a lawsuit. While trying to figure out a solution, Taehyung forgot that he was just a man with a simple brain and another mental battle was underway as he tried very hard to avoid gazing somewhere he really shouldn’t. As she kept squirming, her skirt kept rising and Taehyung couldn’t help but steal a glance at the growing wetness appearing on her undergarment. The growing arousal within Taehyung’s pants made him feel more cramped and with his legs were beginning to fall asleep, he began to pray to any god out there for some sort of divine intervention. 

“Fuck fuck fuck...oh my fucking god,” he chanted in his head, “Jin shut the fuck up already.”

A gasp escaping from her lips followed by her suddenly jolting startled Jin and he gave her an odd look. Taehyung had completely lost feeling in both of his feet and he fell over grabbing onto her thighs for support. His hands felt so warm against her skin and their sheer size grabbed a lot more area than anticipated. Taehyung fought back a groan when the bottom of her skirt had flipped over and her entire lower region was in full view. 

“Hey Jin, is it okay if we do this over email? I’m suddenly not feeling so well.” she was able to muster out. 

It didn’t take a doctor to know something was wrong from her complexion turning completely pale. 

“Yeah I think you should go home for the rest of the day. You really don’t look well,” Jin acknowledged with furrowed brows, “I’ll just catch Taehyung up with the meeting myself.” 

The minute she heard the boardroom doors close, she pushed her chair back so forcefully that it crashed into the wall behind her. She got up and immediately pulled her skirt down and made a beeline towards the washroom without saying a single word to Taehyung. Taehyung on the other hand stayed fixed under her desk with his eyes bulged and his mouth ajar. There was absolutely no positive outcome for what he had caused. 

[forthiswholeworld]

for @cursed-or-not because we’re thriving on each other’s clownery (page break bc this got Too Long to inflict on unsuspecting dashes) 

They’ve had Cas back for four days when Dean realizes something is wrong.

For a paralyzing moment, he stumbles on the thought, feels the fear of it choking him as he freezes in the doorway with a mug of coffee in his hand. He watches Cas blink dazedly at Sam’s debriefing on the rugaru in San Antonio and wills himself forward, wills his mind not to go straight to darkness and loss and cosmic consequences. Cas flashes a ragged smile as Dean sets the mug in front of him, and it occurs to Dean that maybe this is less about cosmic consequences than it is humanity. 

Now that Dean thinks about it, he can see it: the circles under his eyes, the weary slope of his back-- the things Dean had attributed to resurrection rather than humanity. 

Cas is human, though, and Dean thinks he needs to remember that before he remembers that he was gone. 

Cas needs food and laundry detergent and coffee and sleep, and now that he thinks about it Dean is absolutely sure he hasn’t seen Cas touch his bed since he got back. 

He doesn’t bring it up; they’ve been here before. They’ve come back and kept secrets and spent sleepless nights trying to fix things before, and heart-to-hearts have never gotten them anywhere. 

Instead, Dean drinks three pots of coffee and waits.

It’s 2:07 AM when he hears the echo of footsteps in the hallway. He swings open the door and tries to look like he hasn’t been waiting in ambush as Cas freezes.

“Dean,” he says, voice rough and a little frantic, and Dean is reminded of the days he’d wake up to Cas blithely watching him from the foot of his bed. (The days when Heaven filled the space between them and Dean didn't understand the difference between being a human and being human.) 

He watches Cas’ eyes flit away from his gaze and smiles brazenly. “Trouble sleeping?” 

Cas shifts on his feet. “No,” he says like he’s not the worst liar in the entire multiverse.

Dean holds his gaze for another beat before breathing a sigh. “Cas.” He settles back against the doorframe to scrutinize him. “What’s up?” 

Cas swallows. His eyes trace a scuff on the floor. “It gets so quiet here at night,” he mutters, and Dean understands.

He works his jaw as he realizes. He thinks he should’ve recognized the signs. He should’ve seen the tired eyes and haunted glances and known then, because Dean doesn’t know what it’s like to come back from nothingness, but he knows what it’s like to close his eyes and see hell.

He watches Cas’s gaze flit from the floor to the wall behind him and settle just above Dean’s left shoulder, and he’s not consciously aware of deciding anything but he’s inhaling to say something, and he guesses it better be good because there’s not a whole lot he can say to heal emptiness. 

“Sleep in my room,” he says, and he’s not sure which of them it surprises more.

“Dean—” Cas starts, and Dean knows he’s going to refuse, but there’s a millisecond where his gaze catches on Cas’s and there’s something heavy in the space between them, and Dean knows what it is but he’s always refused to put a name to it.

Cas swallows as he looks away. “As long as you don’t mind,” he says, and Dean also tears his gaze away before he can do something dumb like consider the vulnerability of it. 

“Come on then,” he mutters as he heads back into his room. “You can take the bed.”

“Dean—” Cas protests like Dean knew he would, and Dean narrowly avoids rolling his eyes.

“We’ll both take it then,” he says before he can ponder the sheer idiocy of it. 

Cas hesitates beside the bed, but Dean thinks he must be either too tired or too apathetic to argue, because he swallows and steps forward. 

Cas is careful as he pulls back the comforter and settles in; he’s careful not to take too much blanket or too much space, and they both lie stiffly on their respective sides of the bed until Dean decides he can’t take it anymore and clears his throat a little obnoxiously. He hears Cas huff a laugh. 

“You said it was too quiet,” Dean says softly, and he’s grateful for the darkness because he thinks he’s wearing a damningly fond expression. 

He thinks he feels Cas relax as he mutters, “that’s on me, then.” 

The stillness doesn’t feel so stifling after that, and he hears Cas’s breathing start to even out. 

He can feel the thrum of caffeine in his veins as he watches the ceiling. Even in the dark, he can see the outline of the ceiling fan, the trimming on the wall, the chair in the corner. He can hear Cas’s breathing, feel the warmth in the space between them, and he realizes he has no idea what emptiness is. He wonders how long it’s been since Cas closed his eyes without seeing it. 

He lies awake for the next three hours, but the rise and fall of Cas’s chest is steady and even beside him, so the caffeine overdose is a small price to pay. There are no windows in his room, but if there were he’d be able to see the first hazy traces of sunrise filtering in by the time he starts to drift off. 

Cas is gone when he wakes up. 

He staggers out of his room just before noon, and Cas doesn’t quite meet his eye as he wordlessly hands him a plate of pancakes, courtesy of Sam and Eileen, but Dean thinks the circles under his eyes look a little less absurd, and it’s enough. 

The next night, Dean leaves his door open. 

He isn’t sure what he’s expecting, but 11:00 rolls around and he’s just getting ready to turn out the lights when he hears a tentative knock at the doorframe. He looks up to see Cas in the doorway. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Cas mumbles, and something about his awkward stance and fragile uncertainty makes Dean’s chest ache. 

He thinks this is where he becomes brash; this is where he scoffs a laugh and brushes off this heaviness like neither of their shoulders are bowed under the weight of what-ifs. This is where he flees back to the safe side of the lines they’ve drawn. 

He swallows. “You wanna come in?” 

Cas stills. “I--” his eyes flit to Dean and then away in a millisecond. “No. I just--” 

“Cas,” Dean interrupts, and he guesses he’s being reckless instead of brash and can’t say whether it’s for the best but he can feel the thrill of it in his veins. “Get in here.” 

Cas watches him for half a beat, probably just as surprised as Dean is that he’s managed not to be a defensive asshole about this, and then he swallows. “Thank you.” 

Dean thinks he absolutely doesn’t deserve a thank you, but Cas shuffles in and hesitates at the side of the bed and before he can say as much he’s pulling the comforter aside to make room. 

Dean falls asleep earlier tonight; he thinks it has something to do with not being hyped up on three pots of coffee and the thrill of reckless, stupid ideas. He’s not sure when Cas nodded off, but he wakes up at 3:42 to the sound of gasping, panicked breathing. 

“Cas?” He asks with a sleep-worn voice but he’s halfway across the bed, reaching for Cas’s shoulder before he can get a response or take half a second to consider how horrible an idea this is. 

“Dean,” Cas breathes, and Dean isn’t sure if it’s a question or an answer or a prayer but Cas’s breath mingles with his as he says it and something in the fragile space between them finally shatters as Cas leans into the touch. 

Dean pulls him into his chest, holds him there and tries not to let the ache of it convince him he’s going to regret this.

Cas clutches the back of Dean’s shirt like it’s all that’s keeping him tethered to this world where things are allowed to make noise and wake up and see light, and Dean rests his palms against Cas’s shoulders and wishes he had the words to promise he’s holding on just as tight. 

Dean isn’t sure how long it is, whether it’s two minutes or three hours or an eternity, but Cas’s grip on his shirt loosens, and he breathes less stuttered exhales, and he rests his chin somewhere in the crook of Dean’s shoulder and closes his eyes. 

Dean leans slowly back against the headrest and thinks he’s never been very good at this. 

The intimacy of it is familiar—the weight of an arm over his stomach, the heady tangle of limbs, the needy warmth— that’s always come naturally to him. It’s the tenderness that gets him. It’s the brush of Cas’ breath against his neck, the softness of ten years of fear and loss and a word that Dean can’t say as easily as he should. It’s the ache where the rhythm of his pulse screams something between I want this forever and I’m so afraid.  

Cas is gone when he wakes up. 

Cas is gone, and Dean’s arm is stiff and he wonders if it will ever be enough just to hold an angel haunted by empty nights. 

That night, he tells himself he isn't waiting for the knock. 

He tells himself he’s not waiting, but he hears the shuffle of bare feet in the hall and a single rap at the door and a millisecond later he’s swinging it open. 

Tonight, there’s no apologetic hesitance or fumbling for words.

There’s Cas, standing plainly in the doorway and there’s Dean, dropping his hand from the doorknob and standing too close. There’s the tilt of Cas’s head as he searches Dean’s face for something Dean knows with terrified certainty he’ll find, and there’s Dean’s gaze flitting to his mouth for a stupid, breathless moment. There’s the part of Cas’s lips and the desperate beating of Dean’s heart, the distant electric buzz of the lights and the hitch of his breath as Cas leans forward—

There’s the cluttered breath and scrape of teeth as their mouths crash together.

His lungs stutter on the drag of stubble and chapped lips and tired warmth, and because he never thought he’d be allowed to, he pulls Cas in, clutches the front of his shirt and crowds him up against the doorway until they’re pressed together and they can both feel the desperate rhythm of his pulse. Cas’s fingers ghost over his jaw and something in Dean is absolutely dizzy with the realness of it. 

He doesn’t know how long it is before Cas breaks away but he feels ready to shatter. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Cas says, and Dean breathes a ragged laugh into his shoulder. 

There are still things he can’t say, words that form in his chest sit and like a lump in his throat and will probably stay unsaid for just a little while longer, but he lets his arms circle Cas’ waist and murmurs “sleep in here, then,” and he has to bury his face in the crook of Cas’ neck to hide a stupidly fond smile.  

Cas breathes a soft “thank you” against his temple as Dean pulls him toward the bed, and Dean can hear the worn tiredness in his voice and thinks that might be all there is for a while but for the first time in their lives they have time, and it’s enough. 

It’s enough, he thinks, and he pulls Cas against his chest and holds onto him until there’s no empty space between them. 

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

blood of the covenant part 2

Part 1 here

Summery: After your explosive argument last night, it’s time to take a look at the remains of your relationship as see what’s worth saving. You don’t know if you can do it after Raph’s betrayal 

Warnings: angst, murder mention

((A/N: This is the part I haven’t really thought through but some of you wanted a part 2 to this so here you go sorry it’s kind of shit))

The sun is shining through the window, it’s a beautiful Autumn morning and you groggily open your eyes that are still bloodshot from your tears last night. Could Raph have really meant what he said? You strip off your clothes and head for the bathroom, maybe a scolding hot shower would cure some of what you’re feeling.

The water pounds down on your delicate skin, turning it a slightly more pink colour from the heat and you sigh deeply. Nothing could scrub off what happened last night. You get out of the shower and wrap a towel around yourself. You wipe the away the condensation at look in the mirror to see the huge purple and brown bruise on our chin, you consider putting makeup on to hide it but decide against that idea. Let him see what he did to me. Heading back into the bedroom you get dressed, you decide on something more casual, a white T shirt and black jeans will do. 

Going down the stairs you decide that coffee sounds good as you’re way too depressed to eat anything substantial. You pass you meeting room which has it’s door shut, pausing for a second you can hear vague noises inside and know that the boys are in there talking about the business. Sometimes you’d sit in with them, perched on Raph’s lap and kissing his neck much to Leo’s annoyance. Today wasn’t like that, today you were estranged from the man you think you still love.

Flipping the switch to the kettle it roars to life and begins to boil, you grab your coffee mug that Raph got you, rolling your eyes as you look at the cartoon tiara and the word “Princess” scrawled across it in pink, swirly writing. Some way to treat your princess you think to yourself.

__________

Inside the meeting room the boys are all sit around a large table smoking. Leo is at the head of the table and takes one more drag before continuing his sentence.

“So if Paddy’s has been compromised we need to find a new drop off point. Any suggestions?”

“The docks, no one is ever down there since those bodies washed up” Donnie suggests. Raph side eyes him but Don brushes it off. Last night was not the first time he’s made advances towards one of Raph’s girls and he doubted it would be the last, but Donnie is his brother and he loves him so certain things can slide by.

“If we’re seen down there we’ll have the cops breathing down our necks even more than they are now. No, we need somewhere more discreet. Put it on the agenda to find whoever is killing in the city though, murders on our terf is the last thing we need”

Raph simply sits and stares at his hands. Last night was tough for him and he doesn’t quite know what to do now. The safety of the meeting room was his only solace; knowing that you wouldn’t come barging in with his brothers around. 

“Raph, you there, buddy” Leo interrupts his train of thought

“Yeah, just thinking”

“Hey, I heard yelling last night. What’s up with you and y/n? Another domestic? You’ve got to keep that girl in check, y’know”

Raph clenches his fists and doesn’t look up at his brother But shoots another look at Donnie who turns his head away. Advice from a man who couldn’t keep interest in a woman for longer than a week wasn’t what he needed right now.

_____________

You pour the boiling water into your mug and stir it around so that all the coffee grounds dissolve before adding sugar. You hear a noise from down the hall and assume the meeting is over. The boys come wandering into the kitchen and sit at the table, apart from Raph who stands opposite you. He winces when he looks at your chin.

“Pretty, isn’t it” you say gesturing to your face. He doesn’t reply but the boys turn to look at you and then at Raph with anger in their eyes. It was one of their rules to never lay hands on a woman, even the ones they has killed they were pretty gentle with beforehand but to hurt a significant other was an entirely different ball park however, this wouldn’t be the first time Raphael had broken this rule.

“Raph” Leo says sternly. “We’ll be having words later” 

Raph didn’t doubt that but, for now, he needed to talk to you.

“can we have a word in the other room?” He says sheepishly.

You follow him upstairs to your bedroom and once inside he shuts the door.

“I don;t know what to say”

“Sorry would be a good start” you suggest.

“I’m sorry” he stares down at his feet.

“Tell me about her”

“What?”

“Tell me about the girl you fucked and killed. It was her dying wish? What sort of psycho wants to fuck her killer?”

“I- I wasn’t entirely honest about who it was”

This is an immediate red flag for you. He wasn’t honest. Was it someone you knew? A friend? And why would he kill them? 

“It was Jess”

Jessica Brian, a woman he had known since before Splinter died. She always had a thing for him, you could just smell it and you never liked her for that so her passing wasn’t exactly traumatic for you. But he knew her and he liked her and he fucked her. She had been there for him when Splinter died and they became good friends so why did he kill her?

Raph could see the questions building up in your head

“She got a new boyfriend, Casey Jones, that detective. He was using her for information on us and a few tings slipped through the cracks so she had to go. It’s a shame really.”

“Oh yeah it’s such a shame that you had to put your dick in a beautiful woman, I really feel for you” you raise your voice.

“Listen to me!” he begs “It meant nothing to me, but everything to her. That’s the only reason I would do it besides, Mikey was egging me on”

I’m gonna kill Mikey you thought to yourself, how typical of him to get between you and Raph. Mikey had never really liked you, he trusted you but not liked. He thought you were too volatile for Raph and maybe he was right but fuck him for doing that. For going as far as to make Raph betray you, you know deep down that really it’t not his fault, it’s Raphael’s but you’re still so full of rage that you’ll take it out on anyone at this time.

“So her dying wish is to finally have you, and you what? Just forgot about me?”

“I thought you’d never find out”

That was the kicker. You always said you’d never keep secrets from each other, even if they hurt and this one felt like a punch to the gut. You were bubbling with rage and didn’t know any way to contain it. You had only one idea and it wasn’t a good one.

“NO RAPH!” you scream at the top of your lungs. He gives you a very confused look, not sure what you’re playing at.

“PLEASE, PLEASE JUST GET AWA- NO!” you’re howling now “PLEASE DON;T I’M BEGGING YOU!” you slap yourself hard in the face and this is when Raph catches on. Knocking everything from your vanity onto the floor it makes a crashing sound and you can hear his brothers running up the stairs to your rescue. Quickly you get into the corner of the room and begin to cower as Leo, Donnie and Mikey burst through the door and restrain Raph as he’s walking towards you. Leo throws a punch and it sends him flying onto the bed where Mikey jumps on top of him and begins to pull him out of the room with the help of Leo. Donnie comes towards you slowly and places a gentle hand on your knee

“You ok?” he asks sincerely 

“I will be” you sniffle, trying to hold back a sly smile.

You wondered what they would do to him but decided you didn’t really care since even that one punch was the least he deserved.

_______________

It’s been a few hours and it’s starting to get dark outside. You’re in the living room lighting up some incense and you watch as the smoke lifts up into the air, dissipating a few feet up above the stick. The room fills with the scent of smokey rose and you lie back on the sofa. Maybe you had taken it too far earlier but, then again, he betrayed your trust completely and you needed to do something to let your anger out.

Raph and Leo enter the room, Leo eyes you suspiciously clearly still not sure as to weather he should believe the events of earlier.

“Play nice now, you two.” he says “You’ll be the death of me, I swear it” he says gesturing between you and Raph before leaving the room. You watch as he goes and notice how good his ass looks in those tailored pants he always wears. Maybe you should have gone for Leo last night instead.

“That was cute, earlier” Raph begins “Really had me in the dog house with them”

You smile coyly, it was exactly what he deserved. Now he had a matching bruise on his jaw courtesy of Leo.

Raph sits on the sofa by your feet, places a hand on your ankle and begins to rub at it with his thumb back and forth. You knew he could be gentle sometimes, it was moments like this that reminded you why you were with him. Getting past that rough tough exterior and to the heart of this man was the best thing you ever did. You get that warm and cosy feeling inside that only Raph has ever been able to bring out in you.

“Did it hurt?” you ask, pointing at his face

“I’ll live” he replies.

You know you need to talk about last night but you’re unsure as to how to bring it up. Hey Raph, wanna tell me again why you fucked Jess, destroyed my trust in you and lied about it? Seemed a tad too forward. Raph leans in and kisses you on the lips sweetly, looking into his eyes you melt a little inside. It was so difficult to stay angry at him even though he gave you every reason.

“What do we do now?” 

He frowns slightly in thought

“Well, if this were one of your soppy romance books, this would be the part where I spill my heart to you and then you forgive me” he says

“Well then, I’m all ears”

“Jess has-had” he corrected himself “Been in my life for years, she was like family and you know the old man wasn’t keen on humans. With the anniversary coming up and her betraying us and what we had to do to her....When she asked for me...How was I supposed to say no? Aside from you she was the only one there for me after dad died and I felt like I owed her something even at the cost of hurting you.She was terrified and shaking and I think she just wanted to feel safe again so I did it and I’m sorry and I know I messed up. I’d take it back if I could and I mean that”

This was Raph’s go to line- that he’d take it back but, he seemed earnest and the sad puppy look on his face cut you deep. It wasn’t like now he’d said that you were going to forgive him, it would take a lot of time to do that, but at least you could move forward together. You know that at least the next three fights you have will be about this, though. For now, however, you let him put his arm around you and you snuggle into the nook in his shoulder.

“tell me I’m yours” you murmur

“You’re mine, baby. Mine and mine alone”

You smile into him and breath in his scent deeply.

“If you ever do it again, I’ll cut you”

He laughs dryly, knowing that you mean it.  You stay like that for a while letting the room grow darker around you as you sit in silence simply holding one another. The incense burns out and the house become quiet so you decide to head back to your room to go to bed.

Under the covers you face the wall with Raph behind you, one arm wrapped around you protectively. You much preferred this to the night before, falling asleep alone and sobbing and although you’re sure there will be more nights like that in your future, for now you allow yourself to live in this moment where you are safe and loved with the man of your dreams beside you.

Fin

[sanoiro]

5x01 - Really Sad Devil Guy - Spoilers & Speculation

  Warning! There is always a possibility that certain scenes might have been mixed up under their non-respective episodes.

I’ll be clear about all this. Do not copy and paste the speculations, If you have found the original accounts from where the bts come from use yours do not get any of the photos from here. This post was NOT written to aid fandom spongers but in order to have fun with some dear friends and as a courtesy to the fans who come across my posts. I’m not a news blog nor a source and I’ll not be treated as such.

Written By: Jason Ning Directed By: Eagle Eglisson

Jason Ning has written/co-written the episodes:

1x03 - The Would-Be Prince of Darkness

1x06 - Favorite Son

2x05 - Weaponizer

2x16 - God Johnson

3x04 - What Would Lucifer Do?

3x11 - City of Angels?

3x14 - My Brother's Keeper

3x20 - The Angel of San Bernardino

4x03 - O, Ye of Little Faith, Father

4x08 - Super Bad Boyfriend

5x01 - Really Sad Devil Guy

Cast: Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin and Aimee Garcia as Ella.

Season 4 Recurring Characters: None Officially Announced Guest Cast:

Erik Aude...Rod

Kelsey Chock...Kirby Jones

Patrick Duke Conboy...Club Guy

Joël Dupont...Lux patron

Mark Elias...Vincent Gill

Chasten Harmon...Megan Garner

Brian Majestic...Neighbor

Sierra Nowak...Emily

Jose Stephan Perez...Club Guy

Behind The Scenes Videos:

5x01 Locations:

1) LUX - Party

2) Precinct

3) The Yacht - Party - Maze (stunt) - Ella - (Ella & Maze) - Mr DOB? Money Lucifer?

4) The House - Night with Lucifer & Maze - Morning with Chloe Detective - Baby Shower - Girl

5) The DTLA Penthouse - Morning Lucifer - Night Chloe Sting  (Green Screen)

Due to the confusing titles we have ended up between friends to retitle them and this one is ‘The Gambler’ episode. The reason behind the name is because the case is taking place mainly in a high profile gambling establishment but also sets forward a very interesting concept for S5. 

Everything is a gamble and you need to be aware of what you are about to throw on the table. In my belief, the cards at our leads hands are misleading and sometimes some of them do not know what the power of the cards they hold. Pity that it’s not a card game though but a through of the dice with many unknown sides to the players. No God does not play dices with the universe as Neil Gaiman explains in Good Omens but how much of what is going on can be blamed on him? Not much in my humble opinion.

As you already know after all these years BTS is not easy on the contrary they are confusing and frustrating to no end… So stay cautious and try to have fun rather than search for definite answers. These answers may come only when the season P1 drops and if I managed to spot something correctly we were fortunate.

The first episode as Ellis said will clarify why Lucifer returned to Earth but unfortunately, we can only speculate as the bts do not give us a definite answer but we know one thing, do not expect Lucifer and Chloe to meet too soon in 5x01. For the most part, it seems like Lucifer tries to avoid her and for a very good reason. As Henderson said you cannot expect to lock an alcoholic to a liquor store for 20 years and do not have a regression.

The beginning of the episode will most probably take us to… Hell. The reason for that speculation is Ellis’ birthday cake. Yes, Ellis is an executive producer and usually, by now 5x01 should have wrapped as an episode its post-production so we assume that that scene takes place in the first 5-10 minutes of the first episode of S1.

If the scene of that cake is not one of the S5 first scenes then probably is a cut scene from Chloe wondering how Lucifer is doing and the answer is well… he is delusional. According to Boris’s speculation we might get a similar scene like the beginning of S4 but this time it’s Chloe who works and the files pile up as well as the boxes around her office... Some bts suggest that might be actually happening but we simply cannot be sure. 

We might also spot Gaudium on that cake but I would assume he appears like that because the delusion has not yet dropped so his real form might be a wonderful CGI. Henderson always wanted him somehow in the show so that would be the perfect time to do so…

So what has caused Lucifer wanting to get to earth? Again we do not know but it might be somehow related to the case Chloe will be working on. Of course, that relationship might not be obvious but more like the case of 5x04 where Lucifer’s connection to the case Chloe was trying to solve was purely accidental due to Eve.

Now the writers did tease that Lucifer will see a familiar face in Hell and many have speculated over that. When I heard it for the first time I thought it was Dan and I still hold that opinion mainly because Dan’s arc is more or less similar to the one of Charlotte. If a character is going to die in S5 I do expect it to be Dan even if it is for a little while, something that will lead to bigger problems later on and perhaps it will be the reason on why he needs the matching bracelet he wears with Lucifer and which appears in 5x03.

If that face is not Dan then who else could it be? Father Frank? In Hell, you may ask? Well, he felt immense guilt over accidentally killing his family and the boy’s family at that car crash so that’s where I place my next bet. In any case that familiar face is probably who shakes up things and causes Lucifer to seek something on Earth. 

My calculations on how long Lucifer is in Hell give out a 6 month period which has been confirmed and my speculation was based on that due to the babies that play Charlie :D. So what has changed 6 months later on Earth?

As we know from Lauren German fools everyone into believing she is doing well and she is supported by Maze and why not Ella. In 5x01 there is a bts which shows Chloe at a LUX party with Maze but Maze is dressed in leather and Chloe in work clothes. In the time of Lucifer’s absence, it was hinted by DB that Amenadiel has taken over LUX but fear not as LUX is the same place it always was and Amenadiel tries to imitate Lucifer’s dressing code and kind of entertainment in the establishment. At the same time if you notice the fridge at Linda’s apartment it has some photos with Amenadiel, Linda and Charlie so the domestic life is going well on that front as well for him.

^If it’s Amenadiel it fits with the rehearsal if not then Lucifer and Chloe reunite earlier but I believe it’s Amenadiel. 

Moving on as you know each episode has a case! Episode 5x01 features many different locations but I’ll start from Maze’s clothes at LUX. We do not know if the LUX scene is early in the episode and I would assume it is not. Maze’s clothes at LUX are seen in two locations LUX and at a boat where she is accompanied by Ella yet that’s not the murder scene.

^That’s the main pattern I saw at LUX day of the extras wearing. 

^Josh’s photo is upside down ;) 

^Just a speculation but does LInda visit LUX? No idea. 

After LUX day which lasted for over 13 hours I believe it lasted in total for about 15-16h... So it’s  big scene. 

^Chloe shot and Lesley Ann waiting to enter the scene

Ella’s shirt is also one of the reasons why I believe that’s at the beginning of the episode as later on, she wears a yellow and then a blue shirt during the episode. 

The murder scene takes place at a downtown Penthouse - not Lucifer’s - which acts as an illegal gambling establishment for rich players. If you have watched the movie Molly’s Game you will get what I mean. So let’s assume that murder happens there, the LAPD investigates the scene but afterwards, when Chloe is at the precinct she turns to Maze for some reason or Maze drags her to LUX. 

Note that Lucifer looks angry perhaps even dejected according to the available bts

^No Green screen so do not expect something supernatural to happen just Lucifer infuriated giving a verbal point of how pointless everything is I presume. 

Now call me a weird but there is a possibility of Ella being at the playing table BEFORE the murder case... or perhaps who could be the last person to see in Hell? Ella even for a fraction of a second? No idea again just a wild speculation...But I do not think that’s it... not entirely at least.. Aimee was well dressed at the following photo there... In my other speculation, Lucifer tries to get people to help him without involving Chloe at all.. Yet note that the dates they were posted on social media were different so we cannot be sure

Now if Ella does help with the case is it too farfetched to hope that she will spill the beans about Candy to Chloe in 5x01? Dad I HOPE SO!. 

Afterwards, we see that Maze and Ella track down a rich guy on a boat. Maze is wearing the same clothes she did at LUX and I would speculate that the yacht belongs to Lee (The yacht is called the Lightbringer and is a known in L.A. yacht to rent for events etc.) with all the money he got OTHERWISE it was Lee who got killed and is the familiar face in hell and a close relative (his son?) took his fortune. You see a young black guy was hired as a guest so it is possible to assume that. There was a script page as well a blurry one but we do not know if the name was Les or Lee.. Here is the thing though... There was also a guy who looked like Jeremiah aka Lee in DTLA but I do not know if it was during the murder -if it happens there which if it does then fitting! or if he was there for his usual encounter with Lucifer...- 

Now about that yacht...

Now at that yacht we have Maze kicking some not so pretty behinds and we do not know how it goes from there unfortunately but I would assume that Lucifer and Maze are reunited early on that episode perhaps around the first quarter or so.

While everything happens Lucifer visits the DTLA Penthouse - Gambling establishment and he seems pissed possibly because his money was the reason Lee was murdered if we support that theory?

From there we also have a location that was shot at the WB ranch, the place where FRIENDS shot their intro scene at the fountain and which was sold by WB yet they can still use it for the time being.

At that ranch, there is a small town set which has some middle-class houses. In one of those houses, there was a baby shower for a baby girl I suppose and is where Lucifer seeks more answers. I do not know if someone bleeds or something but they had to wash the street afterwards. The scene happens at night and Lucifer again is NOT pleased. Along with Lucifer I believe that there was also Maze and I do not know if Maze was also there in the morning shots that follow with Chloe but she had her stunt with her and her presence at the stages suggest that she may have been at the precinct as well with those clothes but that’s a speculation. 

Lucifer’s car at the lot in the main WB lot not the ranch. 

Now do be careful as Chloe's visit in the morning might be before Lucifer’s one at night we just do not know exactly at the moment. 

^You can see Lucifer in the middle of the shot. 

^I believe that’s in that house at night. 

^Maze Lucifer and the Guy?

According to the guest's clothes I suspect that Chloe gets there in the morning and then Lucifer at night as he wears the exact same ones...

At this point my belief is that perhaps Maze helps Chloe, then Lucifer gets involved without Chloe realising he is there or perhaps that’s the point she sees him and Maze along with Lucifer get into a fight. The suspect might have run or perhaps Lucifer and Maze protected Chloe unfortunately we cannot know what exactly is going on. 

A third speculation at the same timeframe is that Maze is reunited with Lucifer at the penthouse and they start working together from that point. The follow Chloe perhaps even save her from the suspect as he runs and then both return at night to confront him. 

Now there is also a morning shooting scene there or perhaps even two as we do know that Chloe as a Detective goes to ask the guy some questions while Lucifer has some action scenes at that point.

Ellis’ and Lesley-Ann’s stunts were there and took care of the scene which needed to be delivered yet, in my opinion, there was no meet up there. I do not know if Chloe managed to take a glimpse of Lucifer or not but I assume that at that point she knows Lucifer is back but he still avoids her to spare her the pain as he probably believes he will have to go back to Hell once his quest finishes.

Fast forward we go to the last part of the episode which takes place at the DTLA Penthouse at night where Chloe appears to be on a sting operation, pretending to be a player and I would also assume that Ella is at the van guiding her through that. At the same time though we have Lucifer and Maze trying to do their own thing and Dan somewhere in the middle.

We know that it’s the final scene as there are police cars at the scene and my speculation is this.

Chloe is at the sting operation, Ella helps and Dan is also involved close by at a car. Lucifer and Maze try to gain entrance and we have a Green screen used and some wires as they were shooting two different scenes and one of them had Ellis suspended I believe from the wires. No idea if he was trying that the human way or Lucifer had enough and flew up there yet at some point the suspect break free and goes to the street.

The last part of the episode is divided in two parts. The sting operation and the second painful part

^ The building on the right with the helicopter landing space is the where the penthouse is located and the middle of the street in front of Hope park is where the conclusion of the episode was shot with some other additional scenes. 

Two scenes were shot for the first time. One of them was Lucifer? lying, being levitated, using human means to climb to the penthouse? Who knows but there was a green screen behind him. Perhaps he was in the penthouse and was pushed or trying to avoid Chloe he opted to fall off? No idea. 

Now at the same location, we have Ella with a messy ban like she was really into the game she might have been instructed to Chloe to play at the penthouse.

Maze’s outfit makes me wonder if Maze decided to also go undercover to help Lucifer or even Chloe we will know once it drops I’m afraid. Yet it looks like she is along with the girls at the end of the episode. 

Also see javiergame4 ‘s BTS ON REDDIT AND POSTED ON IGMUR BTS

At the end, I think that the guy who Lesley-Ann was hugging was the culprit and the one who starts a chain of events. 

I do believe that Dan who might be in the car waiting for the sting to end up trapped with the culprit in the car and to be eventually be throwed outside the window. 

Of course, that is one interpretation as there is also the following bts Lucifer in front of the car and then the car seems to have turned so either Lucifer is the cause for the guy’s, perhaps Dan’s injury or the reason why he is paradoxically saved. Perhaps both. You can see teh green screen be used which may suggest a car chase or something which Lucifer puts into a halt. The second car I believe is Chloe’s. 

^The guy ends up on the street

But someone in white seems to protect someone so we do not know what is going on. If Lucifer protects Chloe, if some power comes forward and saves Dan. 

^The person in white next to the ambulance

My opinion? Chloe indeed needs help and Lucifer comes forward in a scene that reminds me a bit of Lois and Superman in Superman Returns meaning that it might be him saving her that exposes his return from Hell to her. 

Chloe, Ella - see the bun behind Chloe, and Maze in front of a dead body bag coroner bed. 

Also Chloe appears to be in front of the guy who gets injured... Again we assume this is the end of the episode... But someone eventually DOES die as we know from the body bag and again I would assume that it is Dan. Do not ask me why I insist on that so much but I have this gut feeling he will have a short experience with Hell which will allow him to seek a second chance like Charlotte for when Death reclaims him once more. 

Now if Dan does die for a while and Lucifer has a hand in his revival it would also explain why in 5x03 or even at the end of 5x02 we have Dan and Lucifer wearing the same amethyst bracelet... Also why Lucifer cannot really leave again for the time being... 

Additional info

We do know there is a woman guest with lines on the boat and the DTLA penthouse so I would keep an eye on her for the case.

Aimee Garcia was showing off Ella’s pens for the season and I have to admit that the screwdriver caught my interest for an obvious reason…

So has Amenadiel visited Lucifer at Hell? According to D.B.’s interview where he said that the character is currently busy so he has not, consider that Lucifer changing to a full Devil body in front of him may have not been the best memory he has of his baby brother. So in a way, Amenadiel might be deep down calm that the pieces have fallen into their place. He is of course sorely mistaken…

[whimsandvanillalattes]

"You?" (Part 2)

Pairing: Kwon Jiyong (G Dragon) x Reader

Genre: Soulmate AU, Romance, a dash of fluff

Soulmate AU Prompt: Soulmates have identical counters that count the number of times they have passed their soulmate.

Part: 2/?

Part 1 | Part 3

Alternatively titled: Y/N and GD think too much.

A/N: Thank you everyone who read the first part and everyone who liked/left comments/reblogged. It means the world to me. Also, I’m so so sorry for not updating sooner. As an apology, accept this really long part! Another thing I want to add is that I’m more used to writing OC stories rather than reader centered ones. I really tried to make Y/N gender neutral but for some reason I couldn’t make that work. I’m really sorry about that too. Please bear with a Fem!Y/N here. For my next story, I’ll definitely make a gender neutral Y/N.

-

You swore under your breath as you veered around an elderly couple. You had overslept and if you didn’t reach the train station in another minute, you were going to be late for class. You lived at the university dorms so you had never really been late before. But you and one of your best friends had had a sleepover at your other best friend’s house and last night had been spent binge watching Lee Jong Suk’s dramas (in honor of his enlistment, and because you just loved him). Unlike you, they didn’t have morning classes so now they were sleeping soundly at home while you were just hoping you reached class before your professor.

Luck was not in your favor though, because you encountered one of the largest crowds you had ever seen (and you had seen a lot, considering how much of your free time you spent going to music shows and fan meets) at a little distance from the station. You saw some people taking pictures and, while you were offended on behalf of their center-of-attention whose privacy was being invaded, a part of you was tempted to stop and see which idol or actor was causing this commotion—you were sure it was either of the two because that was the only logical explanation. But your professor’s angry face appeared before your eyes, and you seriously wanted to not fail, so you pushed through the crowd and got to the station.

About ten minutes into your journey, your phone began to vibrate. Intensely. You pulled it out of your pocket and saw a ton of notifications. Most were from twitter, accompanied by a single one from a tabloid. You clicked on that, figuring it would make more sense than the frenzy of tweets. The headline read:

BIGBANG’S G-DRAGON spotted enjoying his military leave with his sister.

The article went on to say that he had “attracted a lot of attention.” So GD was on a leave? And so-called fans and paparazzi—or should you say Dispatch—wouldn’t even let him relax on his break. Now, you wouldn’t call yourself a VIP, but you had been listening to K-pop since you learnt the language and regarded BIGBANG as one of K-pop’s legendary groups. You could sing along to most of their songs and many of their solos (maybe you should call yourself a VIP). Which made you not exactly happy about how GD was being treated.

The tabloid article also had pictures. Dispatch is fast, you thought. He was wearing a black mask and a cap, so his face was barely visible. It was surprising how anyone had managed to recognize him. But then again, you had recognized him in the photos immediately so it wouldn’t have been hard for longtime VIPs to do the same. Taking a closer look at the photos, you noticed something strange. His surroundings looked familiar. Two years of living in Seoul had made you quite well-acquainted with the city and with a start, you recognized his location. The crowd you had just encountered had been caused by him.

The fangirl inside you freaked out. You had walked right past THE G-Dragon. A part of you cursed yourself for wanted to be a good student and not stopping, while another part tried to convince you to get off the train at the next station and run back. The more rational part of you, however, curbed all these stupid ideas. Enough people had swarmed him already without you joining them. Besides, you had a class to get to.

Scrolling through the comments, you were in the midst of adding one of your own to rebuke Dispatch for invading his privacy and making him uncomfortable when something on your wrist caught your eye and you almost dropped the phone. Setting it down on your lap, you turned your wrist over.

And gasped.

The 0 you were accustomed to seeing on the inside of your right wrist was not there. In its place was a cursive 1.

-

You ended up skipping the first class, not because you didn’t reach the university on time, but because you spent about half an hour in the toilet bawling your eyes out. You had finally passed the boy you had wanted to meet your entire life. Only, you had simply passed him, without even realizing it. What were the odds of meeting the guy you passed only once in your two years in Seoul, especially when you had passed each other at or around a busy train station? You weren’t one to be pessimistic usually, but it was frustrating how you moved to an entirely different country for your soulmate, but you hadn’t even been able to find out what said soulmate looked like.

Your bad (awful) day didn’t end after that. Sleep deprivation combined with narrowly missing your soulmate lead to a terrible mood and a terrible headache, you learnt, and you were not able to concentrate in any of your classes. So, several consecutive classes later, you had a clear plan in your head. You were going to crash onto your bed in the dorm and catch up on at least a bit of the sleep you had forsaken for Lee Jong Suk. You would worry about your soulmate when you were thinking straight.

Naturally, you forgot to set your alarm.

For the second time that day, you overslept. This time you were running late for work. Unlike class, you had been late for work several times and knew that your manager would absolutely kill you if you were late again. So, you got dressed in a frenzy, almost left all the lights switched on, and, for the second time that day, you ran for your life.

You reached the coffee shop you worked at ten minutes after your shift started and thankfully your manager thought a warning glare was enough punishment. You hurried to the employees’ room at the back of the shop and changed into your uniform. A quick peek in the mirror informed you that you looked like a mess. Your dark circles had somehow intensified and your hair resembled a bird’s nest, courtesy of the fact that you hadn’t bothered to brush it. It was frustrating how this was what you looked like the day your soulmate showed up (though you were sure he hadn’t noticed you either). You pulled it back into a ponytail in a measly attempt to tame it. While it was not the most effective, at least now you looked less like a homeless sleep deprived person and would gladly face your soulmate if he showed up at the coffee shop. Which was next to impossible, because he had never come here in the two years you had been working here.

The smell of coffee began to put your mind at ease once you settled down at the counter. As you prepared two teenage girls’ orders—a strawberry shake and an iced americano (totally contrasting drinks, you mentally noted)—you fell into a sort of routine, unlike the events of the morning. That put you in a comparatively comfortable state of mind and your thoughts finally began to align themselves. Usually, you kept a novel or a textbook with you during your shift but having very conveniently forgotten to bring anything with you afforded you the opportunity to think of your soulmate—who hadn’t really left your mind all day anyway. Maybe he took the morning train from that station everyday and you hadn’t ever crossed him before because that was not your usual route? You often stayed at your friend’s house, so you had taken trains from that station many times though. Had the timing always been wrong? Or had your soulmate recently moved to Seoul? Was he from another city? Busan? Daejeon? Pyongyang, North Korea?

A loud grumbling sound broke your train of thoughts. With a start, you realized it had ensued from your stomach. The only thing you had consumed the entire day was a cup of coffee and some cookies you had found in your bag. You were starving. A particular red velvet cupcake, with cream cheese frosting, had caught your eye and was enticing you to have it. The only customer in the shop was seated at a table by the window, typing away at his laptop. He had been like that for about an hour, his now cold coffee abandoned on the table. You could afford a snack break, then. There was at least one perk of working at a place that had food. You retrieved cupcake and quickly punched yourself a receipt which included the 20% employees’ discount, adding the due amount to the cash register. You settled down on a stool and indulged in a bite of the heavenly cupcake (that you enjoyed more than you normally would because of the lack of food in your system).

The bell above the door rang, and you tried to swallow it down so that you could greet the new customer. You glanced towards the door and nearly choked on said cupcake. Walking towards the counter, wearing a black hoodie and the same cap he was wearing in the picture you had seen earlier but having somehow lost the mask, was Kwon Jiyong. Aka GD. Aka G-Dragon.

What? How? What is he doing here? Is it really him? But-

Incoherent half-thoughts ran through your mind, but the gist was wondering why he was here of all places. Was it because this particular coffee shop was not in a mainstream area? Or had he suddenly craved coffee and had been tempted by the fact that there was only one other customer?

You were able to regain some of your composure and uh, not choke by the time he got to you. Your manager’s hawk eyes were on you and you could not afford to appear unprofessional, no matter how much you wanted to squeal and ask this man for an autograph. He probably noticed that you knew who he was though because a wide smile appeared on his face and you nearly melted in a puddle (Be professional, Y/N! you scolded yourself internally.) Either that, or he had found your almost-choking antic amusing. Possibly both.

“Good evening, sir!” At least your voice hadn’t betrayed you.

“Hello,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Your Korean pronunciation is pretty good.”

“Oh, thank you.” A blush threatened to appear on your face. “I’ve been living in Seoul for a while.” And I’ve been learning Korean for more than a decade, you decided to not add.

He ordered an iced Americano and you began to prepare it for him. Unlike with most customers, you felt extra nervous, mainly because you could feel his eyes following you. You were just hoping not to mess up.

“You know,” he began, “I thought you would ask me for an autograph. I know you recognized me.”

Whoops, busted!

You smiled. “I want to, but my manager would kill me if I do, so I can’t.” Conversing with him had seemed like a hurdle two seconds ago but now that he had initiated conversation, it was just…natural. As if talking to Kwon Jiyong was the most normal thing in the world and something you had been doing your entire life.

He chuckled. “You’re that scared of him?”

“I can’t afford to lose this job,” you said, shrugging as you handed him his drink. You had never seen him in person before, and you were a pretty big fan of his, but after your initial shock, you couldn’t help but wonder at how comfortable you felt talking to him. It was strange because you were the kind of person who could never be completely relaxed talking to an ordinary person for the first time, much less talking to an idol.

“I guess I can give it to you the next time I come here, then.”

Now that was something that made you almost freak out. “You’re going to come here again?” you asked. It was hard to mask the excitement on your face, and he seemed to find that very amusing. At least, that was what you inferred from the wide gummy smile that adorned his face, and you couldn’t help thinking of how cute it looked.

He took a sip from his drink. “Well, the coffee’s good,” he grinned, “So yeah, I am.” His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen.

“I need to go now.” He stepped back from the counter. “See you next time.”

“Bye!” you called out. He waved at you over his shoulder as he opened the door and for some reason you were waving back, not caring that your manager was rolling his eyes at you.

*

“Oh, sit down already!” your roommate and one of your best friends, Soo-jin, whined. You rolled your eyes as you plopped down on your bed next to Min-ji, your other best friend.

“Okay, now spill,” Min-ji ordered. You had briefly told them what happened the entire day and they had deemed it too important to discuss in the morning, so the three of you were now gathered at your dorm room. Min-ji was the friend whose house you had had a sleepover at the previous night. She had decided to stay at your and Soo-jin’s room that night so you could talk peacefully.

“What do I start with, GD or soulmate?”

“GD!” they cried in unison. Both of them had been BIGBANG fans since they were kids. You told them how you had seen a crowd in the morning which had turned out to be because of him, and then how he had showed up at your workplace. When you finished, they just stared at you for a second.

“Woah,” Min-ji breathed out finally. “You’re so damn lucky.”

“But he is so sweet!” Soo-jin exclaimed. The fangirling was starting now. “He even asked if you wanted an autograph.”

“I know right. And telling her that he’d come again!” Min-ji was almost squealing now. She looked at you. “How did you even survive it?”

“I almost didn’t. I’m just glad I didn’t totally freak out and left a, you know, terrible impression.” You shrugged. Now that you thought of it, it was odd that he had talked to you at all. Hadn’t he been ambushed by enough fans already for one day? He knew you knew who he was, so why talk to you any more than necessary? In any case, the three of you discussed (err, fangirled over) him a little longer before Min-ji remembered you had another important matter to discuss.

“What about your soulmate, though?” she asked. “When did you pass him?” Both of your friends had already found their soulmates. Min-ji’s happened to be her neighbor so they had known each other almost their entire lives. Soo-jin’s soulmate was one of your seniors and they had met a little after she started university.

“My counter changed to one in the morning.” You leaned back into a pillow. “I noticed when I was on the train. We probably crossed on the station, or when I was rushing to it.” You sighed. If only you had been paying more attention to your surroundings, you would have met yours too.

“Hey, what if your soulmate’s one of those Dispatch photographers?” Soo-jin exclaimed. You snorted.

“Dispatch? Seriously?” You rolled your eyes at her. You could always count on your friends to find all sorts of weird ways to cheer you up.

“That’s totally possible, though,” Min-ji added, playing along. “Didn’t you say he’s older than you?”

“You’ll have to start stalking Dispatch’s professional stalkers!”

“That might actually end up being a good thing.” You laughed. “I’d know all the latest gossip.”

Min-ji nudged you with her foot. “Show us your counter.” You thrust your wrist towards them. They promptly gasped, as you had expected them to. Your friends tended to be quite dramatic too.

“I know,” you began, “it is surprising. I was so shock—”

“Y/N,” Min-ji interrupted, “when did you last check your counter.”

“When I was leaving for work, I think. Why?”

“Well, it’s not Dispatch, for sure,” Soo-jin whistled.

“What?”

“Look at it again.”

You did, and you gasped too. Your wrist didn’t say 1 anymore. Now it read 2.

-

To say that Jiyong was confused would be an understatement. He was far beyond confusion. He was conflicted in the worst possible way. His entire day had been…chaotic. It hadn’t entirely been bad—he had experienced intense excitement and adoration at one point—but it had not been an ideal way to spend his break. Even trying to make sense of everything that had happened made his head throb.

When he had managed to disengage himself from the swarm of paparazzi at the station, he noticed that the counter that had read 0 for the past 20 years suddenly read 1. He had always imagined he would be overjoyed at this occasion. Strangely, he hadn’t been anywhere near overjoyed. He had become too used to living as if he had no soulmate. The discovery that not only did he have one, but that his soulmate was very close was a change he hadn’t seen coming, and it was not entirely welcome. And, he had to admit, he was also frustrated because he had only passed his soulmate, rather than actually meeting.

He had decided he needed coffee to clear his head and had taken great pains to find a place where he could get it without attracting public notice (again). At least, he had thought that was his consideration. But, in hindsight, it could have been the soulmate pull. They did say it worked in strange ways. How else could he, out of all the coffee shops in Seoul, have ended up at the one his soulmate worked at? Crossing her once in a day could be a coincidence but meeting her again in the span of some hours could most certainly not be one. In any case, he had winded up at her workplace. There, he had encountered a cute, albeit quite young, foreign part-timer who knew him, he had realized immediately. After the rough morning, he should have bolted but something had compelled him to stay. And he had discovered that the part-timer was fun to talk to.

He hadn’t realized she was his soulmate until he got back to his car and his manager pointed out that his counter had changed again. That was when things had begun to click in his head and the reason talking to her was fun started to become clear. He had been tempted to run back inside and tell her this new turn of events. But that had been accompanied with thoughts of rejection that held him back, and he had felt suffocated beneath a variety of emotions. Instead, he had told his manager to drive on.

That was why he was currently lying on his living room couch, a steaming bowl of ramen he suddenly did not want to eat abandoned on the mahogany table in front of him and all the lights expect the one in the hallway switched off. The atmosphere was gloomy, but he liked it better that way; it was a perfect representation of his inner turmoil. Her eyes, wide with excitement and surprise as they had been when he had mentioned coming again, seemed to be permanently etched in his brain. Now that he had uncovered her identity, the pull felt even stronger. His entire being was craving her. And she had moved to Seoul, so that would mean she was looking for her soulmate too. Had she put two and two together yet and realized she was actually looking for him?

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake off the doubts. He had gotten his counter when he was ten, so that would mean she had to be twenty. He had always known about the age gap, so it didn’t really bother him. It wasn’t like she was a minor or anything. But was she okay with it? All her knowledge about her soulmate came from whatever he had first said after she was born. He didn’t even remember what he had said. He just hoped it wasn’t something stupid. In any case, the most she could have inferred from that would be that he was a Korean man a few years older than her. There was a big difference in being a few years older and around ten years older. And did she even want him as her soulmate? His life hadn’t really been a pure, sinless, scandal-free one. She probably knew about that.

And most importantly, he didn’t like the pull. His mind was sort of sick of the effect the bond was having on him. It wasn’t her fault, but it made him want to avoid her at all costs.

What was he to do now? Go to her the next day? Or pretend his counter still said 0? Coming to a conclusion was not easy. He told himself to wait until his enlistment was over and then approach her. If she wanted to find him, she wouldn’t leave before she did. But even when eventually he drifted into a light, troubled slumber, he had not managed to convince himself.

[rayj4ck]

Red Eyes

This site might be falling down around our ears, but that sure isn’t going to stop me.

“Remind me why we’re here again?” Bow asked as he broke another cobweb with an arrow from his quiver.

“We’re here for the First One’s Tech. We can’t let the Horde get it first.” Adora said back, stepping over pieces of stone and debris.

“But I thought the signal was weak. It’s probably really old and barely functional.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Catra said, doing an honestly ludicrous amount of work to keep the spiderwebs out of her hair. “The Horde can weaponize a toaster if they tried hard enough. We can’t give them an inch.”

“We’re here!” Glimmer interrupted, and the gang looked up at a giant, metal door. Or rather, they would have if it hadn’t rusted off of its hinges a long time ago. Walking into the room, they all wordlessly spread out and started looking for anything not dead or rusty. Adora saw it first. Out of the corner of her eye, a glowing pearlescent fluid leaking out of a cracked glass tube. Stepping over to it, she bent over and examined it closer. “Hey guys, I thin-ow!”

“What? What is it? Catra said, over almost as fast as Glimmer had teleported.

“I cut my palm. I guess it was on this broken glass. But I think this is the stuff we’re looking for.” Adora said around the hand on her mouth, nodding to the leaking fluid. Catra took out her canteen and slowly poured water over the spill.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Bow squeaked.

“It’s fine. It the signal was already so weak, diluting it will only make it harder to find.” Catra answered, continuing to pour. “And we still have what’s left in the tube to examine.” As the fluid was washed away a small, but sharp shard of glass was revealed. “Yep, that’ll do it,” Catra said, looking at the hand in Adora’s mouth. “Well let’s bag the goo and go before Adora here stubs her toe and gets put out of commision all week.”

“Hey!”

-

Adora was just finishing up her post-mission shower, and decided now would be a good time to properly bandage the wound on her hand. Grabbing a basic first aid kit from a few rooms over, she went back to her own and sat down at her desk, unwinding the simple cloth she had wrapped it in earlier. “Woah,” she said, gazing in awe down at her palm. The wound had healed almost entirely, leaving only a slightly swollen pale line and very small scab where a gaping gash had been only hours before. Not even She-Ra did that. “Huh…”

“Adora! You coming to dinner?”

“Yeah I’ll be right there!” she shouted back, quickly trashing the old bandage and applying the proper one. You could never be too careful.

-

“Adora! Come on, wake up!” Glimmer shouted, pounding on her door. “We’ve got meetings to get to, and there’s no way you’re skipping without us!”

“Honestly, I get we weren’t allowed to sleep in at the Horde, but that’s no reason to make up for lost time,” Catra muttered to herself.

“Ok ok ok. I’m here.” Adora said, throwing open the door, barely put together and still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Yawning, she got out “Sorry guys. I guess that adventure yesterday was more tiring than I thought. I’m exhausted.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go though, we can still make it if we rush.” Bow replied, turning around to start walking down the corridor, the others moving to keep up. “You ok?” Catra asked, falling back to keep up with Adora, while looking forward toward Bow and Glimmer, making sure they weren’t eavesdropping. “You look like you’re about to pass out. All pale and unfocused.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be alright. Just need to wake up.”

They were halfway down when they heard Adora cry out. Whirling around, Bow had an arrow nocked, but Catra was frozen in shock. “What? What is it?” Glimmer asked, staring at Adora, who was gazing in fear at a point in space in front of her. Adora slowly extended her hand out in front of her, into the sunlight. As soon as her hand crossed out of the shadows, the skin began to sizzle like it was over an open flame. Adora drew her arm back with a hiss. Looking back up at the others, they stared in shock at her eyes. They had gone blood red.

“Uuuuhhh…” Bow said, lost for words. Glimmer and Catra, however, were more on the ball as they each grabbed Adora and dragged her back to her room. “Hey, wait!” Bow called after them, racing back down the hallway. Shutting the door behind him (gently, so as not to arouse suspicion), he turned to the three girls. “What’s going on?” He hissed to the three of them. “What’s with the bad camera effect on Adora’s eyes?”

“Wait, what’s up with my eyes?” Adora asked, going a shade paler than she already was.

“Here.” Glimmer said, steering her to the mirror on her desk. And then freezing in place. Because there was Glimmer, looking shocked. And Catra, looking equally shocked. And Bow, in the background looking like a violin string so taut it was about to snap.

But there was not Adora.

Catra and Adora looked at each other, then back at the mirror. Glimmer put her hand behind Adora’s head and put up two fingers, wiggling them back and forth. They were clearly visible in the mirror.

“...aaaaaAAAAAAHHHHH-” Adora started a scream but was cut off by Catra’s hand. “Definitely don’t want to do tha-ow!” Catra jerked her hand back, looking down at a spot on the side of her index finger. There were two parallel scratches. Looking back to Adora, Catra carefully put her fingers back in her mouth.

“Uuuhh, aht are oo doing?”

“Sshhh.” Catra shushed her, feeling around. Suddenly her eyes widened as she hit something on the top set of Adora’s teeth. “Fangs, Adora.” Catra whispered. “You have fangs.”

Adora felt around the roof of her mouth with her tongue, and sure enough, found two extra-long incisors. She looked like she was about to start crying, but the doors were thrown open, startling everyone in the room.

“I figured out what it is!” Entrapta stated confidently, holding up a vial with a sample of the First One’s Goo from yesterday. “Well, sort of. I figured out what it is, but not what it does. It’s a virus!” She said, pulling over a chair and dropping down in front of Adora who, mid-panic attack, was beginning to put it all together. “It was either made as some sort of bio-weapon, or a performance-enhancing therapy, to figure out which, I’ll have to see how it...affects the...body.” she trailed off, looking slightly over Adora’s shoulder. Into the mirror, where she could see her whole face with one eye, and Adora’s head blocking the mirror with the other. It was very disorienting.

“The cut. From yesterday.” Adora began, unwrapping her hand, which she was barely surprised to see was fully healed. Bow, who had just finished processing, was forced to start all over again when he saw where this was going. “The original container was broken. I cut myself on it while we were retrieving it, and must’ve gotten some of the virus in my blood!” Adora refocused to find Entrapta dangerously close to her face.

“Could I have a sample of your-”

“Whatever it is, the answer is hard no.” Catra interrupted her.

“But how are we supposed to find out what’s happening to Adora!”

“I know a way.” Glimmer spoke up suddenly.

-

“Oh sure. I’ve collected a lot of the First One’s books over the years.” Castaspella said over her shoulder as the group walked. “I’m normally looking for books on magic, but since so little is known of the First Ones, I always saved the books I found. They might contain magic more powerful than anything we can comprehend!” She continued, worryingly excited at the idea of controlling fundamental forces that could shred the fabric of reality. “Unfortunately, they’re all written in First One's writing. No one can read them.” she continued, losing a bit of the wonder from her eyes. “We’ve had our best translators on it for years, but every time some bit of progress is made, some other proof comes out to contradict it. Truly maddening.And so I must admit, taking a trip all the way here in the middle of the night seems a little extreme for just an inventory check-up, and Adora’s...choice of attire can’t have helped.”

The four exchanged nervous glances behind her back, although Adora’s was masked behind a pair of large shades courtesy of an unknowing guard they would definitely return them to later. “It’s, uh…” Catra started, floundering. “Scouts!” Glimmer picked up. “Horde scouts could be all over the woods. We needed to keep this place safe and secret, so we decided to travel at night where no one could see us.”

“Mmmhmmm. And the shades?”

….

“Night vision!” Bow said, maybe a tad too loud. “Entrapta’s testing a new night vision gadget. Adora volunteered. Right Entraaaaaaa-.” Bow turned around to get Entraptas approval, but she was gone. Catra rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t worry. This happens a lot. We’ll pick her up before we go.”

“How will you find her?”

“I’ve got this.” Catra pulled a small screen out of one of her uniform pockets and held it up. On it was a radar-like readout with a dot pinging away, telling how far away it was, and the altitude difference between the screen and-

“Oh my god, you chipped Entrapta?” Glimmer almost shouted, appalled.

“Hah! No, there’s no way that would stick. No, I got tired of having to hunt Entrapta down, and she got tired of dealing with me after I had found her. So she chipped HERSELF and gave me this.” Catra looked at the screen, but her gaze was miles away. “I got pretty good at reading it. New castle might make it hard, but I’ll manage.”

“We’ve arrived!” Castaspella interrupted her thoughts, and they turned their gazes to the door in front of them.

“Awesome. Thanks Auntie!” Glimmer said as she pushed the door open.

“Oh I must warn you though,” Castaspella called in after them. “All of these books have been enchanted! You cannot leave with one!”

The group all got individual looks of disappointment. “Thanks Auntie, we’ll be sure to be careful!” Glimmer called around the closing door. Turning to the room, she looked over to Adora. “You’re up.”

Sighing, Adora began to scan shelves. “Farming, history, fiction...instruction manual? Nope” Adora murmured as she scanned the books. It took a couple hours, but eventually. ”Here, this could be something. Research stations.” Adora said, pulling another book down. “I think we got the virus from a research station. Number…” Adora concentrated, trying to remember the number station she had visited.

“407! Station 407!” Adora snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up, she turned back to the book. Flipping through the pages, she came to one with a picture.

“Hey, I recognize that vial!” Bow said, excitement audible in his voice.

“Research Station 407: researching a way to artificially induce...vampirism?” Ador began, the word sounding alien to her. Continuing to read down the page, she said “Vampirism is a condition based in myth more than history, but Research Station 407 is dedicated to recreating the benefits of vampirism while attempting to minimize the downside. A more detailed description can be…” Adora trailed off, mouthing the words. “Ok, I don’t know if some of the words in that title translate into our language, but I’ll know it if I see it,” Ador said, shutting the book she had and putting it back on the shelf. “I’ll keep looking.”

More time passed. Out of the corner of her eye, Catra caught Glimmer tapping her foot and checking her watch. She knew what the princess was thinking. They were running out of night. They would have to head back to the castle soo, or else Adora would be spending the whole day in this castle, leaving Bright Moon horribly defenseless while the Queen was out on her diplomatic visit to another kingdom. “Got it! Adora cried, holding another book up above her head. “Good, you know what it looks like, but we have to leave now.” Glimmer said, walking around Adora and pushing her toward the door. Or rather, attempting to. Adora’s superhuman strength made the feat nearly impossible.

“But, but-” Adora started, waving around the book.

“I know, I know, we can come back tomorrow night. But we can’t leave Bright Moon undefended during the day, even if you have to stay inside the castle. We’ve already been away too long.”

“Oh shit.” Catra interrupted, and three pairs of eyes swiveled to her. “Entrapta.” Glimmer and Bow’s eyes widened, and Adora started pulling her own hair. “It’s OK. It’s OK. you guys go now, I can grab her and we’ll catch up with you back at the castle.”

“But-”

“No time,” Catra said, spinning Adora to face the door. Bow had it open, and through a window, they could see the horizon beginning to turn orange. “You need to go now! We’ll be ok.” Catra finished, giving Adora a quick kiss on the cheek, then putting all of her body weight into shoving her toward the door. Adora only went a few steps, but it was enough to break her stupor. With only a short look back, the three began to sprint down the hallway. Catra pulled out her tracker, and began to hunt Entrapta down. But she paused, looking back to the room in thought.

-

“Well, shoot!” Adora exclaimed. They were all back in Glimmer’s room, laying around. “Now we have to go back tomorrow.”

“Not necessarily,” Catra responded with a cheeky grin wide across her face.

“What do you mean?” Glimmer sat up, giving Catra a suspicious look. Unable to contain herself, Catra reached behind her, into the bag she had brought, and withdrew the book Adora had found.

“Catra!” Bow shouted, jumping to his feet. “You stole a book from Mystacor?”

“It was a library. I borrowed it.”

“Something tells me you never applied for a library card.”

“A what now?”

“How did you do it?” Glimmer interrupted, getting right up in Catra’s face, eyes curious and maybe a little excited.

“Well, your aunt said we couldn’t LEAVE with one. So I just threw it through the door, walked through, and picked it back up.”

There was a moment of silence as the other three contemplated the semantics. “Note to self: tell Aunt Castaspella to up her security.” Glimmer said to herself.

“Doesn’t matter. Here,” Catra said, frisbeeing the book to Adora, who expertly caught it. “Tell us more about Vampirism.” Adora gave Catra another stern look, but quickly dropped the act and excitedly flipped to the page she needed to read.

“‘While Station 407 has been unsuccessful in synthesizing a perfect version of vampirism, a version has been created that still offers the carrier almost all the benefits, while minimizing downsides. Benefits include increased strength-’”

“Wait!” Glimmer shouted, and everyone froze. “How do you think being a vampire affects She-Ra?” The four looked at each other, before Adora ran back to her room to grab the Sword of Protection.

“You know,” Catra said, while they were waiting. “A SWORD of protection seems like a weird choice. Wouldn’t a shield of protection make more sense?”

“Well, it can turn into a shield.

“No, I remember-”

“And you can still protect someone with a sword.”

“I know. But it’s not what they’re known for. When you think ‘sword’, the first thought is not ‘protect’. It’s ‘attack’.”

“Yeah, but…” Glimmer trailed off, finding herself incapable of coming up with a good argument. They sat in silence until Adora burst through the door, not even winded, and did the whole “Honor of Grayskull” thing.

“Well, the look is pretty much the same.” Bow said, walking a circle around She-Ra and seeing no differences. “But are you stronger?”

“Well, she usually is as She-Ra,” Catra said. “Here, let’s just check. Hold out your arm.” She-Ra extended her arm, and with a “Hup!” Catra lept up into the air and hung off of it.

“Seems lighter than usual, but it’s kind of hard to tell with such little weight.”

“Here, jump on you two!” Bow and Glimmer looked at each other, shrugged, and jumped on. Or in Glimmer’s case, teleported on.

“Nope. still no noticeable difference.”

“Well start picking things up then.”

“Be careful with my stuff!”

She-Ra walked around the room, adding desks, tables, and shelves to her other hand. It took most of the furniture in the room before she said “Ok, now I’m starting to feel it.”

“I don’t think She-Ra was this strong before.” Bow gaped up at how much she had in her hands, the other two nodding in agreement.

“Let’s see what else you can do!” Gimmer aid, teleporting back over to the book and holding it out excitedly, like a kid with a toy they want to convince their parents to buy.

Sitting back down with the book, She-Ra kept reading. “‘Vampires also possess other varieties of abilities, such as transforming themselves into creatures of the night such as wolves, bats or frogs!’” She was practically shouting by the end, and the other three were looking at her with barely contained excitement, which she mirrored back to them. Screwing her eyes shut, She-Ra concentrated all of her willpower, and-

Poof!

When she opened them, she was a wolf. A MASSIVE wolf. She stood nearly eye level with the rest of her friends, despite being on all fours.

“Awesome!” Catra shouted, rubbing behind She-Ra’s wolf ears.

And then She-Ra licked all the way up Catra’s face.

“Agh! Pfflflbt. Not awesome!” Catra cried as she reeled back. “Change back! Change back!”

Poof!

“Sorry,” She-Ra said, looking bashful. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Let’s file that power under ‘Awesome, but at what cost?’” Bow grimaced as Catra wiped more drool off her face. “Next.”

“‘Imposing their will onto others.’” She-Re read. Looking up from the page, she gazed at the others in trepidation. “I don’t really know how I feel about that. Feels....wrong. Reminds me a lot of Shadow Weaver.”

“It could be a powerful tool, but yeah let’s not.” Catra agreed, horrified of anything Shadow-Weaver-esque happening again.

At this point, Adora let her transformation go and returned to her normal body. Continuing on, she read “‘Vampires are resistant or immune to most forms of injury, with a few key exceptions listed under Weaknesses.’” Ador frowned and flipped a few pages. “Yes, I would like to see those please….Aha!”

“‘While vampires possess many strengths, some of which may be yet to be discovered, they also have many weaknesses. The first and foremost is an intense reaction to sunlight.’ Intense is one word for it.” Adora muttered to herself, before speaking up and carrying on.

“‘While causing physical harm, the reaction is so adverse many vampire’s sleep schedules are inverted from those of a human, sleeping during the day and waking during the night. Another potentially lethal weakness is silver.’” Adora looked up to Glimmer. “How much silver is in this castle?”

“Not a lot.” Glimmer began ticking off the spots she knew on her fingers. “The silverware, some of the fancy detailing in the throne room, the mirrors hey maybe that’s why you couldn’t see yourself in them!”

“So if I try something like this,” Adora started, striding over to the waterfall, and small pool beneath it. “Then I should be able to….woah. The red eyes ARE really weird.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of getting used to them though,” Catra said, walking up behind Adora and wrapping her arms around the other’s waist. Looking into Adora’s eyes in the pond, she saw the concern. “Hey, don’t worry. Whatever this is, we’re gonna figure it out. What’s a little virus against the four of us?”

“Yeah!” Bow called out from behind them.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Adora took a deep breath and grinned at Catra’s reflection, which returned her smile. “Alright, let’s go see if I have to be deathly afraid of like, turtles or something.”

“There’s the spirit!” Catra let go of Adora’s waist and threw a hand up. Bow tossed the book into her hand, and she grabbed it without turning around. Offering it to Adora with a cocky smile and raised eyebrow, she said “Your tome, my lady of darkness.”

“Why thank you,” Adora responded, before chuckling and opening it back up to her page.

“‘A wooden stake through the heart will be lethal to vampires.’ Well yeah, no duh. ‘While not lethal, many vampires experience an irresistible need to count small objects.’”

“So let’s cancel the annual marbles tournament.”

“We don’t have an annual marbles tournament.”

“It was a joke you dork.”

“Oh right.”

“‘While not specifically a weakness, a serious detriment vampires must overcome is the inability to enter a domicile without being invited first.’” Adora lowered the book, confused. “What? How does that make sense?”

“Yeah, what about Mystacor?” Bow agreed, hand on his chin.

“Remember how Castaspella greeted us though?” Catra said as ears perked up excitedly. “She said ‘Welcome back!’ Maybe that counted!”

“And the castle?”

There was silence for a minute as everyone thought, before Glimmer snapped her fingers. “Remember what my mom said after Catra had proven she was on our side? She said ‘You, Adora, and any other defectors are always welcome here.’ Maybe that counts too?”

“Maybe?” Adora agreed, but she still sounded confused. “Maybe it’s because the infection took hold here? So this kind of counts as my home?”

“So how fine-detail is this anyway? Like if I say ‘Adora, you are no longer welcome in my room-’” Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Adora being yanked back like a rope was tied around her chest, and being thrown out the door.

“Ooow. Glimmer!”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry! I didn’t know it would work like that!”

Adora stood up and rubbed her head, not necessarily injured so much as shocked by the lack of warning. “Well, that rules out any stealth missions to th-” Adora was cut off from her attempt to walk back into Glimmer’s room by a Thunk , like she had just walked into the door instead of the opening where it was. “That’s going to be really annoying. Glimmer?”

“Right. Adora, you are welcome in my room again.”

Putting her hand out to test, Adora found it could easily pass through the door frame once more. Walking back over to her seat, she picked it up, giving Glimmer a look. “Let’s try not to do that anymore, yeah?” Glimmer nodded back, eyes slightly wide.

“‘Finally, an important note, vampires of old needed to DRINK BLOOD TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES?’” Adora looked up from the book, horrified. Her friends looked back at her, and Adora couldn’t help but notice the new hints of trepidation in their eyes. Hands shaking, she looked back down at the book, she kept reading. “‘However, the need to drink blood has been removed from the current version of the virus, instead granting the subject a boost to the positive qualities of vampirism, and minimizing the detriments.’” A collective sigh of relief flowed through the room, and Adora’s heart returned to a normal bpm. “I’m not doing that,” Adora said, finality clear in her voice. The other three were happy to nod. Clearing her throat and recentering herself, she looked down at the final part of the description page.

“It looks like there are some other weird weaknesses in here, but they got removed? Somehow? I don’t know, I’ll ask Entrapta when I translate it for her.” Right at that moment, a yawn cut through whatever Adora was going to say. “Tomorrow. I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

“Time for bed, huh?” Glimmer asked, stifling her own yawn. “Lucky. You have an excuse to go to bed. The three of us have to stay up another like 12 hours.”

“What, why are you guys tired? ARE YOU INFECTED?”

“No, Adora. We’ve been up as long as you have.”

“Oh right. You have.”

“Well,” Catra said as she stood up, stretching. “Get some good sleep for the rest of us.” Leaving Adora with a kiss on the cheek, she padded out of the room to go find breakfast. After a quick hug from each of them, Glimmer and Bow were right behind her. Adora followed them out the door, but turned down the opposite way and made her way to her own room. Closing the blinds to keep the sun out, Adora paused for a minute, eyes on the rising sun. She couldn’t help but think back to being able to lift all of Glimmer’s furniture with ease, including her three friends without even breaking a sweat. And the thought wormed it’s way to the front of her mind before she could stop it.

Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Is this disease worth curing?

Shutting the curtains, Adora laid down to sleep.

-

Of course, the choice was removed from Adora’s hands and made for her. The Horde, having gotten word of the Queen’s diplomatic mission away, decided to attack castle Bright Moon.

In the middle of the day.

“Looks like Lonnie finally got promoted enough to see a real battle!” Catra shouted over the laser fire. “All it took was the other two people better suited for the job to defect to the other side!”

“Bold words from someone hiding behind a tree trunk!” Lonnie called back.

“Hey, can you blame me? Your face alone is enough to scare away half the army!”

Catra only heard an enraged scream in response, so she figured she had won the banter battle. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the actual battle. She and the princesses, who had been filled in on Adora’s condition, were holding the line as best they could, but without She-Ra they were being slowly pushed back toward the castle gates. No one had suffered any critical wounds yet, but Catra was worried that when someone did, that would be the crack that broke their line.

Glimmer poked her head over the log to get a look at the enemy and, all of Catra’s fears coming true in one incident, couldn’t react fast enough before a laser blast skimmed too close side of her face. Crying out and falling back, Catra caught her before she hit the ground and pulled her back into cover. Ripping open her field First Aid kit, she began to clean the wound. The blast went clear through the top of her ear, taking a chunk right out.

“You’re ok. You’re ok.” Catra repeated over and over as she bandaged the spot. When she was done, she pulled Glimmer into a close hug and said it right into her (good) ear. “You’re ok.”

“I’m ok.” Glimmer parroted back, still mostly in shock. Slowly though, her eyes refocused. “I’m ok,” she said, looking right at Catra and nodding. Nodding back, Catra let her go and she returned to her spot behind the log.

“Whoever just shot that laser blast is about to have their insides turned into their outsides!” Catra yelled, letting the anger she felt color her tone.

“Yeah? You and what princess of power?” Lonnie called back, and Catra could only curse under her breath. She was right. Looking over into the sky, Catra squinted her eyes against the setting sun. “Come on come on-”

“-come on come on!” She-Ra exclaimed as she paced the entry hall to Bright Moon, casting her gaze out the window once again. Pausing she considered trying to walk out anyway, sun be damned, for the dozenth time. But, once again, she scowled and kept pacing. As strong as she was, Vampire She-Ra was no much for the sun. All she could do was wait.

Catra crawled along on her back, until she was pressed up against the gate, putting it and her the last thing between the Horde and Bright Moon. Glimmer, Bow, and all the other princesses had been incapacitated in some way or another. She was the last one standing. She couldn’t do much though, because she scarcely lifted her eyes when a heavy combat boot came down on her (maybe broken) ribs, pushing a pained cry out of her lungs. Looking up, she saw a blaster leveled at her face, a smug Lonnie on the other end. “Any last words, Catra?”

Coughing out blood that she made no effort to keep off of Lonnie’s boot, she managed to squeeze out between bloody teeth “I would say goodnight, but I don’t think you’ll be having one.”

Lonnie raised her eyebrows in confusion, lowering her blaster slightly. “What kind of la-” was as far as she got before the doors to Bright Moon Castle blew open so hard they flew off their hinges, and She-Ra descended onto the battlefield like a force of nature.

-

“Ok, I’ll be first to say it.” Bow began as he was lowered onto the bed. “I would like She-Ra to be able to fight in the daylight again.” A chorus of tired agreements sounded off from the beds around him.

After She-Ra had run everyone to the infirmary herself, they received their prognosis. Catra did have a few cracked ribs, as well as a major concussion. The chunk out of Glimmer’s ear will make it harder for her to hear in that ear for the rest of her life, as well as a broken arm that will leave her bedridden right along with Catra. Bow had taken a blast similar to Glimmer’s, but while not physically touching him, it streaked right past his left eye, making him temporarily blind in that eye. The rest of the princesses had taken injuries that would leave them bedridden for at least a week as well.

“I agree,” Adora said, letting go of her transformation and sitting down next to Catra’s bed, carefully taking one of her hands. “Sitting in the castle waiting to be useful while you guys were out there fighting was torture.”

“I’ll get right back on that,” Entrapta piped from a few beds away. “Just as soon as, you know.”

“Yeah. That’s fair.”

-

Luckily, the appearance of She-Ra had put the fear of 8-foot tall princesses into the Horde, because they didn’t attack again. Adora stretched her limbs, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin without the accompanying feeling of burning alive. She had decided to take the day off, as much as she could, and opted to lay there. The other three decided to join her, Bow and Glimmer laying so their heads made a triangle, and Catra deciding to just lay on Adora. Finishing her stretch she lazily wrapped her arms around Catra with a sigh. “Bing strong enough to pick up a tank with two fingers was fun, but man I missed this.”

“Same.” Catra agreed from her spot on Adora’s torso. “Let’s hope we never have to handle vampires ever again.” getting three nods empathetic in return.  

-

Entrapta picked up her recorder and pressed the button. “Day 7 of the First One's Vampirism Virus Experiment. With the combined information gained from the book Adora read me, field data from her infection period, and data obtained from multiple simulations, I believe I have worked out the “downsides” presented in the Vampirism Virus.” Entrapta lowered herself, gazing carefully at the fluid in front of her. “However, results cannot be confirmed without live experimentation.” Picking up a syringe, she carefully extracted part of the serum. “The virus has been shown to reject animal cells, dying inside their bodies with no effect on the host. As such, there is only one possible option.” Entrapta continued, putting the point of the needle against her own arm.

“11:54 AM. Beginning Human Experimentation phase.”

[everything-jeronica-blog]

"Look!" Fangs' mouth is right at his ear. Jughead doesn't even need to back away, because the volume's just right. "The black-haired one, right at the front. Apparently, she's part veela." 

(A Jeronica Hogwarts AU)

----

Jughead scans the field.

It’s instinctual, the way his eyes lock onto the golden glint right beside the hoops. Everything else blurs away. His muscles tighten, and he flies, jaw locked in concentration.

There is wind in his face. He feels free. The sky is the limit. Warming, in its spring embers. He is burdenless. He is flying, he is at peace -

Then there’s the familiar whizzing of a bludger. Thank Salazar he’s had years of practice. Good ears, lightning reflexes, but even then, sometimes it wasn’t enough. He veers sharply to the left, gripping onto his Firebolt for dear life - and turns around just in time to see the bludger pass him. Inches away from his face.

“Fangs Fogarty!”

There is laughter ringing from the field. Jughead stares. Fixes Fangs Fogarty with his trademark glare, because he’d almost got his head cracked open. Again.

“Why do you always think it’s me?” Fangs pouts. “It could be Sweet Pea, you know.” He points at the taller boy on his left. “He’s the better beater.”

“Hey!” Sweet Pea swings his bat at Fangs, who dodges swiftly. He blinks. “Wait. Of course, I’m the better beater, is that even up for discourse?” and punctuates it with an overdramatic hair-flip. With his bat. In clear Sweet Pea-fashion, he flips a little too much, and his bat goes flying. Straight into Fangs’ eye.

“Ouch!”

Jughead rolls his eyes. He’d lost the snitch. Again.

This is the Slytherin Quidditch team. He has no idea how they’d managed to snag the House Cup (thank Merlin for their chasers).

—

“They’re here!” Archie yells, bursting through the doors of the great hall in a flurry of red and gold.

Jughead side-eyes the other boy. His smile is threatening to swallow up his entire face. It’s mildly terrifying, and so he returns his attention to the charms essay that was due in less than twenty-four hours. It’s pre-midterms week, which means deadlines and everything, and he can’t be bothered to give a damn about what Archie meant -

“Oh my God,” Betty squeals. Snaps her potions textbook shut and jumps up. “Did you see them?”

“Yeah. Professor Johnson’s giving them the official tour,” Archie is still smiling. Then pauses, because everyone’s eyes are on him. He puts on his prefect face, puffs out his chest and clears his throat. “They’re at the courtyard if anyone’s interested.”

The great hall falls silent and then on cue, erupts into chaos. There is screaming and yelling. Some stand up immediately, running out - mostly a bunch of scrawny Gryffindors. Second-years, maybe. The worst of the lot. Jughead sighs in defeat. Puts his quill down, because there was no way he was going to finish this essay right now.

“Who’s here?”

The look Archie gives him is scandalized. Betty only snorts, before smacking the back of his head.

“What kind of Quidditch captain are you?” Betty shakes her head. “I’m not even in Quidditch, and I know. Archie’s not captain, and he knows.”

Jughead hisses in pain. “Well, I’ve been trying to keep up with my deadlines,” he gestures to the mess that is his half-done essay. “Will one of you tell me, before I decide that this bottle of ink looks better on your face?”

They exchange a look. Jughead wants to strangle them. It’s always a big mood. Sometimes he wonders how they’d even become friends - seeing as they were all from different houses, and were so, so different. Betty with her brains, Archie with his crazy, and Jughead with his… ambition. Maybe.

“The Beauxbatons quidditch team, dumbass.” Archie rolls his eyes. “They’re here for the joint training, remember?”

“Oh.” Oh. Right.

Sweet Pea’d probably told him about it. Something about pretty girls and Quidditch, Jughead thinks. Because Sweet Pea only talks about pretty girls. They would be training with all four teams, as part of bettering inter-school ties, and a final official match with the recent champions - them. Oh Merlin.

“Are they any good?” he asks. This is ridiculous. Training, after the Quidditch Cup? They have Newts, for fuck’s sake. Plus, weren’t they just a bunch of stuck up snobs? Like that stupid girl from the Triwizard Tournament a few years back who couldn’t even disarm her opponent. “They’re probably just a bunch of airheads, anyway.”

“Oh honey,” Betty coos. “You have no idea.”

---

Dinner is always a grand affair because this school is too damn rich for its own good. Fangs and Sweet Pea are bickering, again, and Jughead just wants Headmaster Weatherbee to give his dinner address right there and then because his head hurts. Also, food.

He clears his throat. Taps his spoon against the side of his goblet, and the great hall falls silent. Jughead finds himself staring at the ceiling. At the floating candles - the fascination is never-ending, even after six years. The naive first-year he’d buried underneath responsibilities a long time ago always manages to find his way back out at times like this: with low blood-sugar levels, and a semi-conscious state of mind.

He remembers the first Christmas feast they had. Remembers Archie, Betty and himself eating so much turkey they all got sick after. Remembers puking his guts out. Remembers how they ended up in the hospital wing for the whole weekend. The stories are infinite. Each different, but familiar. It’s home.

Then there’s a nudge right at his ribs, and the pain snaps Jughead out of it. Sweet Pea is positively vibrating in his seat. He’s pointing to the entrance. Fangs yells something he can’t make out over the roar of the crowd. It’s distracting at best, and Jughead has no choice but to give in.

It’s the Beauxbatons quidditch team. They walk in like they own the place, blue robes swishing - Jughead hates it. Like how their noses are always in the air. All seven of them, with their backs ramrod straight. The perfect posture. He wonders what they feed their students to make all of them clones. Maybe it’s some sort of dark magic. He shudders.

“Look!” Fangs’ mouth is right at his ear. Jughead doesn’t even need to back away, because the volume’s just right. “The black-haired one, right at the front. Apparently, she’s part veela.”

He turns. Doesn’t even bother questioning Fangs’ knowledge. Ignores Sweet Pea’s fingers digging into his arm. The light from the enchanted candles hits the girl’s raven hair at the right angle, and it’s striking. Cascades down in perfect waves, complimenting her skin, and Jughead thinks the girl might be glowing. It’s ethereal. The others fade into the background.

Maybe it’s the veela thing, but he finds herself unable to look away. The air in his lungs disappear, and his mouth dries, because the girl is staring, right back at him with her big brown eyes. And she winks.

Jughead blinks. The magic fizzles out. He gets it together in time to close his mouth as the girl continues her strut forward because drooling over girls is definitely something beneath him. He’s Jughead Jones, a pureblooded Slytherin, and is definitely classier than that. Only now does he register Sweet Pea’s death grip on his arm, and yanks his hand away. Fangs squeals. They’re screaming, because Did you see that? and I can’t believe she winked at you, Jughead Jones and Jughead just wants to die.

He swallows. Then looks up to see Betty smirking right at him, all the way from the Ravenclaw table.

Fuck.

—-

As luck would have it, the Beauxbatons quidditch team were going to be staying in their common room. Something about extending their courtesy as the most recent House Cup champions. Fangs has promised to swear off butterbeer for the next thirty days if Sweet Pea bags one of them. Sweet Pea accepts with no hesitation, and Jughead wonders why he’s friends with such snakes (right, they’re Slytherins).

The common room is abuzz. They’re at their usual spot, right by the fireplace. The training schedules are out, and they’re due to play with the Beauxbatons in three days. The perfectionist in Jughead has gathered the team to discuss strategies despite the earlier sandbagging because he’s not about to lose to some unknown snobs when their pride is at stake.

“I think it’s better to start defensive,” Sweet Pea pitches. “We’ve got to sound them out first, since we don’t know how they usually play.”

Fangs nods. Jughead likes how they can go from joking to dead serious in the blink of an eye. It makes him proud and happy. They talk formations and then what they’re most familiar with - the home ground advantage would definitely help, and Jughead goes on and on for a while before he notices that Sweet Pea’s eyes are unfocused, and Fangs looks weirdly uncomfortable. They’re looking at something over his shoulder -

“Are you listening?” he snaps, and the team instantly refocuses on him. Jughead rolls his eyes. It’s not like them to get distracted during meetings, and he’s about to repeat whatever he’s been saying for the past five minutes when there is a hand on his shoulder and -

“Discussing strategies?”

The air turns icy. Slytherins are highly competitive in nature, and it’s evident in the way he feels the team stiffen up. Collectively. the voice is unfamiliar, and Jughead just hopes to Salazar that it’s not who he thinks it is.

He turns around. The girl’s black hair looks even softer under the dim light of the common room. There is the urge to run his fingers through it. Jughead feels the magnetic pull sucking him in, and tears his eyes away with difficulty - the girl seems to notice and blinks in response.

“Y-yeah,” Jughead croaks. “Uh, it’s kind of private, so - ”

The girl giggles. No one says anything. Only now does Jughead notice that he’s in his sweatpants. The one with a burn mark at the left pant leg, courtesy of the trick wand he’d bought on a whim from the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, while the raven-haired girl is still all dolled up. The self-consciousness eats at his gut.

“I’m Veronica,” she extends her hand. “Veronica Lodge, captain of the Beauxbatons quidditch team. It’s nice to meet you,“ she smiles.

He feels the ice melt. Fangs’ shoulders lose some of its tension. This Veronica person has eyes that twinkle with no abandon. It’s infectious, and Jughead feels his lips tug upwards of their own accord. He feels lighter. His body is suddenly on autopilot.

"Jughead Jones,” he takes the offered hand. “Slytherin captain.”

Handshakes are telling. Or rather, enough for an educated guess. Veronica’s handshake is firm. Just the right amount of pressure. Borderline honesty, maybe. A willing introduction. Dainty fingers, soft and smooth skin - high maintenance, no doubt. Not far off from the stereotype, really. But it’s genuine, and that’s something Jughead appreciates.

Veronica Lodge doesn’t let go. Continues staring right at him, oblivious to everyone and everything else - Jughead is stuck between pulling away and doing nothing because one: he is powerless to the magnetic pull, and two: handshakes shouldn’t last more than three seconds. It’s starting to feel more like a trap. His smile freezes.

But just when he’s about to pull away (it’s the enemy, for fuck’s sake - what if his hand start corroding), he feels Veronica’s fingers dig just slightly into the back of his hand - and then he’s being hauled forward. Right into the girl’s embrace. Jughead thinks he feels lips against his left cheek, as the girl tiptoes. There’s a goodnight whispered right at his ear. Maybe he stops breathing.

As quickly as it happens, it’s gone - and all that’s left is to stare at Veronica’s retreating form. Or rather, the sway of her hips. Reality is unforgiving, in the form of Fangs’ maniacal laughter. Jughead tries his best to school his face into something presentable.

“Holy shit,” Fangs wheezes. “She’s wild.” The mirth is reflected in Sweet Pea’s eyes, and Jughead has never wanted to hex the both of them so badly. But detention is out of the question, and so he settles for whipping out his wand threateningly.

"Don’t,” he deadpans. points the eleven-inched ebony beauty right at Fangs, whose smile disappears for the entirety of one second. Then resumes his high-pitched cackling. Again.

Jughead hates them all.

—

He meets Toni on the way to charms. It’s a pleasant surprise. They’re climbing the last set of stairs to the classroom when it decides to move. Jughead blames it on the pink haired girl.

“It’s all your fault,“ he jokingly accuses the girl. "You have really bad luck, Toni.” Then flops down, because it’s going to be awhile. The stairs change every five minutes if you were lucky, and ten if you weren’t.

“It's your fault,” Toni pouts, sitting down. “If I hadn’t bumped into you I’d actually be on time for once.”

Jughead laughs. Reaches forward to adjust Toni’s tie, because Toni never ties it properly. It’s always lopsided, the red and gold making a statement Jughead always ignores.

“Oh right,” the girl starts. “Have you met the Beauxbatons team? We trained with them yesterday.” Her lips quiver the slightest bit, and Jughead sighs. Gives the tie a final tug. Then shoves Toni away with a little more strength than necessary, because he’s pretty sure Fangs and Sweet Pea had already told Toni everything.

“I think you already know,” he narrows his eyes. Toni bursts out laughing, and Jughead can only sulk.

“But seriously,” her voice turns serious. “They’re good. We barely won by ten points, thanks to my lucky saves.”

Jughead is a skeptic but Toni is reliable, and she never sugarcoats, so maybe it’s a fair warning. Or the truth.

“Really?” Jughead raises an eyebrow. “Those airheads?”

“Believe me, I know,” Toni sighs. “We were caught off guard. They scored in the first five seconds. And their seeker? The black-haired one? She’s crazy good.

Oh.

"That’s… new.” He’s taken aback. Their training is in four hours, and Jughead knows there’s no time for a strategy change. They’re going to have to improvise. Fall back on their skills. It’s unsettling.

But before he can go into full panic mode, the stairs start moving. Toni jumps up, pulling Jughead along. The second bell rings, and it’s enough to send both of them into a full sprint because no one has time for detention when you have Newts.

He forgets about the game, at that moment, because they have approximately sixty seconds to get to class, and Toni’s laughter still rings in his ears when they settle into their seats.

—

Jughead tugs on his gloves. It’s frayed at the edges, but he doesn’t care. It’s snug. It’s what got them to the House Cup, and he’s a closet sentimental sap. The emerald is empowering. It’s like the world, in the palm of his hands. Literally.

Sweet Pea pulls him into a hug. Fangs joins in, and soon it’s a team huddle - their pre-game tradition. It’s times like these he’s thankful to the team, for following him despite his shitty leadership.

Six years and the pre-game jitters still get to him Professor Clayton releases the bludgers and the snitch. Yells for fair play, but no one is listening and reminds them that it’s technically a training, a friendly match. The quaffle is in his hands. Jughead grips his firebolt tighter in an attempt to stop his hands from shaking.

The Beauxbatons Quidditch team stand in formation. They still have their noses in the air, and Jughead accidentally makes eye contact with Veronica. Her raven hair is still impeccable, and Toni’s words echo in his mind. She’s smiling, but Jughead thinks it’s a facade.

Sure enough, when the quaffle is tossed into the air, Veronica’s smile drops. They fly. The scuffle is real. Jughead finally understands what Toni means, when one of the Beauxbatons chasers swoops in from nowhere and intercepts the quaffle effortlessly. Their teamwork is flawless, and before he can blink the quaffle soars through their hoop, and they’re zero to ten.

His shock is reflected in Fangs and Sweet Pea’s eyes. Jughead’d told them earlier, about Toni’s warning, and they were cautious. But this? This is nothing like what Toni said. He sees the resolve hardening in their eyes, and knows, trusts that they have to bring their a game. In other words, he has to catch the damn snitch. As soon as possible

Jughead watches. Does his best to avoid bludgers, while keeping an eye out for Veronica. The half-veela is hovering near the stands, keeping him at a distance, and it’s safe to say that none of them have spotted the snitch. The glint in her eyes throws Jughead off guard because it’s nothing like the one back at the common room. It’s hard. Predatory.

They’re now twenty to ninety. The Beauxbatons keeper is probably a god. He sees the frustration in his chasers, in the way their passes get sloppier. They’re getting desperate. Fangs and Sweet Pea are clobbing bludgers with terrifying accuracy. The only time Jughead’d cracked a smile was when one of the Beauxbatons chasers halted his pursuit of the quaffle because of a bludger sent by one Fangs Fogarty.

Then suddenly Veronica makes a sharp dive to the right. Jughead is on high alert. He follows immediately, hot on the small girl’s heels. The evening sun is not helping. He squints.

He sees it, finally. It’s fast. Zips around in random directions, unpredictable at best. He puts all his effort into accelerating, legs locking around his Firebolt. Veronica doesn’t fall behind. The competition is real.

But the snitch accelerates right to the ground. It’s almost a ninety-degree drop, the most dangerous maneuvers to ever be done. The highest rate of injuries and casualties. Jughead side-eyes Veronica, who shows no sign of slowing down. What the hell. His hesitation costs him the lead, and Veronica pulls ahead.

Jughead grits his teeth. Accelerates a second later, but it’s not enough. He’s one foot behind Veronica now, and goes as fast as he can -

There is the familiar whizzing of the bludger. He spares it a glance. It’s heading straight for him. But if he swerves now, Veronica’s going to catch the snitch, and there is no way he’s letting that happen.

They approach the snitch and the ground is coming up at their faces. Jughead sticks a hand out and sees that Veronica is doing the same. Five meters, four meters, three meters -

There is a loud crack. He hears it, over the roar of the wind. His left arm goes numb. The impact pushes him forward. It’s enough to make him lose his balance, and he almost falls off her broom. It takes everything in him to not let go of his Firebolt and start braking because the battle is lost. He’s not stupid enough to put all of his eggs in the same damn basket when the basket already has a hole at the bottom.

The pain sets in just when he touches the ground. Someone’s helping him onto the stretcher. The medics are on the scene. Jughead swats their hands away, craning his neck, ignoring the jolt of pain through his shoulder. The snitch is in Veronica’s hand, obedient and still, and she’s smiling. It’s triumphant.

The pain explodes. Veronica’s smile burns into the back of his eyelids. It’s the last thing he remembers before everything goes black.

—

Defeat is a bitter pill to swallow.

Fangs sighs. The hospital wing is silent, save for the humming of the fan. Madam Pomfrey had kicked the entire team out, save for him, only because his accident-prone ass has made him a regular. Visiting hours were long over.

It’s a broken shoulder. Nothing some skele-gro can’t fix, but the damage is already done. Jughead looks smaller in the hospital bed. He’d woken up earlier to eat, and Fangs is not sure what to do about the empty look he’d saw in Jughead’s eyes.

“Hey.”

He jumps. His wand is out, defensive. Finds himself face to face with Kevin, who has both hands up. “It’s just me, babe.”

Fangs visibly relaxes. Pockets his wand, and lets himself melt in Kevin’s embrace. The only place he lowers his guard. “I missed you,” he murmurs, into the pale column of Kevin’s neck. There’s a hand on his head, stroking soft comfort, and he feels his worries dissipating.

“What happened?” Kevin asks and kisses his hair. “Archie called it World War Z.”

He snorts, “Of course he would say that.” He breaks the embrace only to push Kevin down into the bedside chair and settles on his lap. “You should have seen him, Kev. He risked himself for the snitch. It was crazy.”

Fangs take a deep breath. “I mean, he saw the bludger going straight for him, and didn’t avoid it because that would mean that the other seeker would catch the snitch.”

Kevin hums. Fangs’ eyes are shifty. There’s more, and Kevin knows Fangs well enough to know that it’s only a matter of time before the dam breaks. So he waits, rubbing circles into the other boy’s arm.

“I - I saw it, you know. Sweet Pea and I,” Fangs continues. His voice wavers. “How the Beauxbatons beater went for him. Sweet Pea was screaming. We - I - I could have - ”

“Could have what?” Kevin cuts in. “Stopped it? It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault.” He thumbs away a stray tear. “Things happen. He made a decision, and there’s that. Besides, Jughead’s okay now, right?”

Fangs sniffles an acknowledgment, and Kevin cringes. “You’re really ugly when you cry,” then cries out in faux pain when Fangs thumps his back painfully. The audacity.

But then Kevin is smiling and it’s all sunshine, and Fangs feels the cavity in his chest close. As annoying as he is, Kevin Keller is still his favorite person. He kisses the dark haired boy’s cheek because he doesn’t want to think about what he’d do if they’d never met. If he hadn’t sat next to this stupid boy on the Hogwarts Express, who ate all of his chocolate frogs that day and made him cry, and spent the next two weeks sitting beside him during lunch just to make up for it.

“Let’s go,” Kevin whispers. “It’s getting late. Don’t you have classes tomorrow?” he tugs on Fangs’ hand. He bends to kiss Jughead goodbye, and Kevin does the same. Whispers promises to visit again tomorrow, after giving the blanket a final tuck. Their fingers tangle, and he lets himself be led out of the hospital wing, only to stop short at the entrance - there’s a silhouette he doesn’t want to deal with right now.

“You’re still here?” Fangs asks is in disbelieve. The raven-haired girl turns around and Kevin raises his eyebrows.

Veronica nods. “Please let me see him.” She’s begging. The night always brings out the most desperate sides of people or rather, the truest ones. “I have to see him, even if he doesn’t want to see me.”

There’s the briefest flash of lightning, and Fangs thinks he catches a glimpse of the cracks in Veronica’s eyes. Something is threatening to overflow, and a part of him is ashamed of himself for denying Veronica entry. But Jughead had taken one look at Veronica and asked her to get out, and there wasn’t really anything Fangs could do.

He sighs. Suddenly there are flashbacks to the game when he’d witnessed Jughead’s legs give out the moment he landed on the ground. Remembers how Veronica had tried to approach an unconscious Jughead on the stretcher but was obviously blocked by their team. He doesn’t remember the details, but somehow Sweet Pea’s rational thinking had convinced the team that it was ridiculous to put the blame on the opposing team, and they’d caved. Only to be proven otherwise by Jughead Jones himself.

“Go,” he says. Kevin squeezes his hand.

There is a pause before Veronica’s eyes widen. “Thank you,” she says. It’s sincere. “Thank you so much.”

She smiles, and even in the dim lighting Fangs feels the full impact of the half-veela’s smile. But it lasts for only a second before the black-haired girl rushes inside, and Fangs is left to stare blankly at the wall.

“Wow,” is all Kevin says. “She’s hot.”

Fangs makes sure to dig his heels into Kevin’s foot on his way out. The resulting yell he gets is satisfying.

—

“You can’t avoid her forever, you know.”

Jughead jumps. Then glares at Sweet Pea, who’s currently perched on his bench like it’s his home. Technically, it might be, since his family was (is still) notorious potion masters, and the dungeons were where they thrived. Just like the Jones, but with different specialties. Last he checked, he was sitting all alone, trying to finish up his veritaserum as quickly as possible. Potions is always a bore because really, all there is to it is to chop up ingredients, and brew it - how difficult can it get?

“Stop creeping up on me. I’m busy,” he stirs his cauldron. The mixture is a clear liquid, and Jughead thinks he’s going to be done in another five minutes. Professor Johnson has given up on watching him and Sweet Pea a long time ago because they never fail to top his class, and Sweet Pea always sweet talks him into letting them go early.

"It’s almost a week, Jughead. You know it’s not her fault.” Sweet Pea snatches the ladle out of his hands, and Jughead is forced to stare at his own reflection in the cauldron.

A week. A week, since the modern-day apocalypse, as Archie had called it. It’s his third day after being given the all clear by Madam Pomfrey, and his shoulder is as good as new. There were some scratches on his firebolt he’d already polished off, but the incision on his pride is deep and still hurting.

“For the record, Josie tells me Veronica scolded them right after they brought you off the field. When she had no reason to,” Sweet Pea continues. Then looks around conspicuously, before pulling a small vial out of his pocket. Jughead doesn’t bat an eyelash.

“Who’s Josie?” he asks, frowning. Raises his hand to call the professor over, and takes pleasure in the way Sweet Pea panics. Just a little. Hides the vial in the sleeves of his robes. The professor gives him a nod of approval, and that’s it. He’s done while the rest of the class is still struggling, and only in advanced potions is Jughead thankful for his bloodline.

Someone yells. There’s a horrid stench. Jughead spares the commotion a glance - some Gryffindor boy had knocked over his cauldron, and Professor Johnson rushes over. Sweet Pea makes use of this window to dip the vial in his cauldron. Jughead rolls his eyes.

“Josie? Oh, my new girlfriend,” Sweet Pea pockets the vial. “The Beauxbatons keeper?”

Jughead stops short, in the middle of packing. Gets a good look at Sweet Pea, and thinks about hexing the smugness off his face. What a little shit.

“Wait. The god-like one?” He slaps his textbook shut. “Merlin,” then huffs when Sweet Pea’s face explodes into a shit-eating grin.

“Yeah. Turns out she’s god-like in bed, too,” Sweet Pea laughs. Again, Jughead considers hexing Sweet Pea, and leaving his body here right in the dungeons.

“Gross. I can’t believe you’re fraternizing with the enemy,“ he picks up his book bag. "Whatever happened to loyalty?”

Sweet Pea blocks his path. “Don’t you dare question my loyalty, Jones.” Jughead finds himself staring right back at Sweet Pea’s finger. “It’s a friendly match, and so what if we lost? Your shoulder’s definitely more important than some stupid game. Besides, like I said Veronica scolded the team for playing rough. For you.”

Suddenly his tongue feels heavy. He doesn’t trust his mouth. His brain processes the words Sweet Pea said, and it’s stuck in his head. In a loop. What the hell.

"We’re supposed to learn from each other. Different playing styles. Exposure, or something. You made a decision, and you got hurt. It’s no one’s fault but yours. So get over it,” Sweet Pea spits. The venom burns. “The next training’s in two days. Get your shit together. Talk to Veronica. You have a team to lead, captain.”

The emphasis on the last word makes his shame increase tenfold, and really. He should have known. Sweet Pea pushes past him, shoulders knocking painfully.

Jughead swallows.

[otome-addicts-notsoanonymous]

This is the entry for @suzunokoi for the fanfic giveaway! Remember, you must COMMENT on this post to vote! Voting rules and the master post can be found under #fanficgiveawaymaster or here. Other submissions can also be found under #fanficsubmissions.

First Love and the Promise of the Future Chapter 1 (SITSC Fanfic)

Chapter 1

Meeting You Again

The Point of View and Reminisce of Mirai Kageyama

            It was a hot nearly midsummer day in May when I first met her. My first and only love whom I have never forgotten since the day we met. Even now, I still think back to that day.

            She was a beauty that crossed right into my path on day. I had been lying down on the grass, and I was looking up at the sky. Back then, I was bored out of my mind like some teenage kid who had nothing else to do than stare at something in front of him. In fact, I was in my teens during that time, and I was 16 years old, in my second year of high school.

            I sighed. “What am I even doing? All I do during my free time is lie down on the grass and look at the sky all day at the same place.”

            There was no one around as I said these words aloud. At least, that was what I thought until I heard something near me.

            “Stupid Mana… She’s always telling me that she’s better than I am.” It was a girl’s voice. “Just because she’s the strongest hero at school, doesn’t mean that she should try to prove her strength against me when I’m around her. Geez.”

            It sounded as though the girl was venting her anger out on someone.

            Is she talking about her rival or something? I thought.

            I wasn’t really interested or anything. I wasn’t even looking at my surroundings, either, so I didn’t even know what she looked like, or what she was doing. That was, until…

            “Ahh!”

            I heard a scream when something had hit my legs in front. There was some pain around my ankles, but it wasn’t as upsetting as the discomfort around my upper thighs. That was when I looked up and saw a girl with shoulder length hair that was a very dark shade of pink, like a dark cerise color, or a dark magenta color. Perhaps it was more like a darker shade of Mexican pink. Whatever the shade was, it was definitely very—and I mean very—dark for a pink color. She also had sapphire blue eyes and she wore a school uniform on like me, but was from a different school. There was also a white ribbon tied around the left side of her hair and had a surprised (or should I say a more intrigued expression) on her face as she stared at me. I stared right back with a similar look of my own.

            “…” She kept staring into my eyes with that same expression on her face before asking a question from me. “Why are you laying down like that?”

            I looked right back at her, stilled speechless from the fact that she fell right on top of me. “…”

            Then, she smiled. “Never mind that. Anyway, I’m Kirie Kuroki. I’m a second-year student at Souseizouma Academy. What’s your name?”

            “My name is Mirai Kageyama,” I answered. “I’m a first-year student at Kazenori Academy (風典学園 Kazenori Gakuen).”

            “By the way,” she added, “you can call me Kirie. There’s no need for any formalities, so you don’t have to say my name with an honorific attached to it.”  She backed away and stood up confidently, and held out her right hand. “Here. Let me help you up.”

            I took her hand and she pulled me up without and problem. “That’s a pretty strong grip you’ve got there, Kirie,” I said, moving my fingers back and forth as I looked at my hand. I was amazed by how she easily got me onto my feet in an instant. It was almost as if our roles as a guy and girl were reversed because of her masculinity. But, I had to say, she was really pretty. She had the figure of a normal girl. Although, she seemed more tomboyish in my eyes.

            There again was another smile from her. “Thanks, Mirai.” Within a split second, she blinked as though an idea suddenly came to mind. “I know! Why don’t we make a promise?”

            “A promise?” I tilted my head to the side, slightly puzzled by her notion.

            She nodded with her eyes closed and opened them shortly afterward to look at me. “Yeah. A promise to meet again and become lovers.”

            “Huh?!” My eyes widened, and I was taken aback by those words.

            “You don’t want to?” she asked.

            I soon found myself blushing as I stared into her blue eyes. The moment I first saw her when she was on top of me, I had fallen in love with her. I just didn’t realize what my speechlessness was until now.

            I shook my head rapidly. “No. It’s not that I don’t want to. I mean, I really do want to see you again, Kirie. So…”

            Kirie smiled softly at me. “Then… Let’s make a promise. If by any chance that we do see each other again, Mirai, we’ll officially become lovers.”

            I nodded nervously. “Yeah.”

            “Then, get ready for this.”

            I had no time to reply when all of a sudden, Kirie swiftly came forward and kissed me on the lips. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, but then, I quickly accepted it and returned her kiss, sealing our promise in hopes of meeting her again one day.

Three years have passed since then. I’m now an undergraduate at Rentomi College (練福大学 Rentomi Daigaku). Since I’m in my second year here, I’ll be able to graduate by next spring when I turn 20. It’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve been putting in more time and effort in taking several classes. However, I still can’t believe that I’ll graduate on my own birthday. It just never really striked me as a very logical thing to do as a young adult.

            I gave a sigh and glanced at the sky, moving my head slightly. “I wonder how Kirie’s been keeping up this whole time. I really want to see her again.”

End of Mirai’s Point of View

At the same time in an editorial office

            A young woman with dark magenta hair pinned up behind her head was handing in a large stack of papers to someone; she had blue eyes and wore a pair of rounded glasses that had silver frames.

            “Here you go, Takuji,” she said with a refreshing smile. “You can get this all done before lunch, right?”

            A young man with mint-colored hair and periwinkle eyes grinned eagerly. “You can count on me, Kirie. I’m your boss, after all. I can handle any amount of work someone gives me.”

            “As expected of the magician in our company,” Kirie praised. The look on her face was more of a teasing one, though, despite her compliment. “Unlike you, I’m human, but I have some powers of my own.”

            Takuji closed his eyes and smiled, letting out a child-like laugh. “Ehe. Well, you did go to Souseizouma, after all. But that school was basically a co-built place in order make things peaceful again, joining both Sousei Academy and Zouma Academy into one. I guess it didn’t really work out since your principals didn’t even like each other very much. Plus, it’s been sixty-three years since the grand opening. Anyway,” he looked at the stack of papers on his desk and started writing on each and every one of them with a black ink pen at a very quick pace. “We’ll be going to work at the casino tonight in order to interview the greatest celebrities ever. I guarantee that it’ll be great for our company. Asuka will love it, too.”

            “Hai, hai,” Kirie abided. She knew her boss’s mind and personality like any other friend or employee at Rapunzel, a sister branch of Cinderella’s in Roppongi. It was only a matter of time before he would finish, which was a good thing for everyone since they trusted him and had a deep respect for the colorful magician.

~

            Later that day, around 3:30 p.m., Mirai and Noel were walking towards the hotel they usually hung out at with some of their other friends. They were about to cross the street up ahead. Soon, the light turned green and they made their way through. Once they were in the middle of the street, someone bumped into them. Or rather, someone bumped into Mirai.

            “Oh, I’m sorry!” the young woman who had made her way into the college student’s path apologized. It was Kirie. She bowed politely with her eyes closed before opening them again to look at the two in front of her. “I didn’t see you there earlier. I hope you didn’t get hurt. If so, then I apologize again for any injuries that I may have caused to you.”

            Mirai shook his head with a light smile of his own. “No, it’s fine. You didn’t hurt me or anything, so there’s no need for you to apologize for anything. But thank you for your courtesy.”

            “Is that so?” Kirie smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, I’ll be going this way. I have a meeting right now, so… Anyway, it was nice to meet you.” She smiled cheerfully and strolled back to Rapunzel.

            Mirai kept smiling. As he started walking again, a lightning bolt came across his mind as if he realized something. He looked back in a somewhat shocked and stunned state. Noel looked back.

            “What’s wrong, Mirai?” the tall blond asked. He felt a bit of concern for the younger male.

            Mirai kept looking in the direction Kirie had sauntered. “It’s just… I felt like I met her before somewhere a moment ago, but I don’t know when and where I did. It feels too familiar like a strange sense of nostalgia that leaves a tingling feeling in the one’s entire mind and body.” That was exactly how the college student felt when he stared in the same direction.

            Noel put his hand around Mirai’s arm. “Come on. We’re in the way of a car, Mirai.”

            Mirai nodded and walked with Noel to the location they were headed before. “Yeah.”

~

            Around seven o’clock that night, many of the employees from Rapunzel and Cinderella were all gathered inside the hotel run by Satsuki Kitaoji. There were also journalists and editors from other departments as well, who were all wearing business casual clothing to formal clothing. They had all been invited by the owner himself, and were making their way in to the building.

            Takuji and Kirie were also a couple of the guests there. There was another young woman with them with long white hair and blue eyes that seemed to have a shine to them. She was around Takuji’s age, being a few months younger than him, and was a year older than Kirie.

            “I can feel it!” Takuji exclaimed. He wasn’t loud enough to catch the other guests’ attention, though, and had a pretty tolerant sense of “excitement” for the situation. “There’s definitely a large scale of us getting more than half the scoops here.” He went on, bragging about Rapunzel in a calm tone of voice. “Our company’s had the most success and profit in all of Roppongi. In addition to that, we’re also the oldest editorial department to have been built over a hundred sixty years ago, so it doesn’t matter that the others outside our company are here; we’ll be making the most of this night at all costs.”

            Then, a voice was heard behind the mint-haired young man.

            “Oh? I don’t think so.” It was the chief editor of Cinderella making his way with one of his employees to the scene. Next to him was a young woman who was in her early twenties, but a few years older than Takuji, Asuka, and Kirie. The chief editor glanced at his the woman and introduced her to the small group of three. “Anyway, this is my new employee. She joined this morning at Cinderella and her first assignment will be to interview one of the many celebrities in the casino. Still, I see you haven’t changed since you started working at Rapunzel, Tamoto.”

            Takuji bursted into a fit. “Don’t mess with me! My team and I will pummel you out of business! Also, I told you not to call me that, Jinnai!” His expression was comical enough that anyone who saw the mint-haired young man would more than likely compare him to a growling bear.

            And that someone did.

            Oh! the young woman standing next to the chief editor from Cinderella thought. That’s cute. He looks like an angry bear from the woods.

She was blushing at the sight of Rapunzel’s current CEO while the other two women were looking at the mint-haired young man. The white-haired one smiled at the sight of the two men; Kirie, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes in slight irritation. It seemed that Takuji’s venting state was more of an eyesore for her to see than for the other guests who were watching.

            “I’m sorry for the trouble my boss has caused for yours,” the woman working for Cinderella apologized. She bowed, showing her condolences towards the matter.

            “You don’t have to apologize,” Kirie responded casually. She threw her right arm out and frowned to display her disdain. “Takuji’s always like that. He and Atsushi over there are basically the comic relief for this party. It kind of takes me back to when I was in high school and college, though. In fact, I was a lot like Takuji a few years ago.”

            The woman’s eyes widened. “Really? If I may ask, how old are you?”

            “I’m twenty years old,” Kirie replied with a strained smiled. “I graduated college early to get a job at Rapunzel after I met Takuji and Asuka since they basically recruited me. Anyway, I’m Kirie Kuroki. What’s your name?”

            The woman smiled back. “I’m Ayame Irodori. I’m twenty-four years old. You’re really young to have graduated college at that age, Kirie. I’m very amazed by your accomplishment. You must have been top of your class, too.”

            “Not really,” Kirie dismissed. “I just kept working towards a high grade for the career. That’s about all I really did.”

            “Either way, that’s still something others would be proud of,” Ayame praised. “I was a scholarship student during both my high school and college days, but I graduated a few weeks before my last year of college ended. It was tough every now and then, but I’m glad I made it through.”

            “I think that’s more of an achievement than what I’ve done,” Kirie stated. “You’ve gone through more than I have and you’ve managed to pull through all of it.”

            Asuka, the white-haired young woman, smiled pleasantly. “Maybe this is actually a way of hard work paying off since you’ve gotten a wonderful career such as this, Ayame-san. It’s a perfect opportunity to start off an interview with one of the main celebrities gathered here tonight. Do your best!”

            Ayame nodded. “Thank you, um…”

            “By the way, this is Asuka,” Kirie introduced. “She’s Takuji’s fiancée/bride. The party’s actually the wedding celebration for them. Everyone who’s been invited received a single company wedding invitation.”

            Ayame’s eyes widened at the sudden news. “Really?! I didn’t expect this to be a party for a wedding ceremony.”

            Kirie nodded. “Yeah. Guess Atsushi—that idiot with the small shaven goatee—didn’t tell you anything but to come here in a fancy dress and a pair of shoes, huh? He always does that to new female employees.”

            “Maa, maa, Kirie,” Asuka smiled once more. “It’s not nice to say that about others, even if they have facial hair.”

            Kirie’s eyes lowered themselves. “But you just said a rude thing yourself, Asuka.”

            “That shouldn’t matter right now,” Asuka said with a disapproving frown. She turned towards Ayame and introduced herself. “By the way, my name is Asuka Suzushiro, and the man you see with your boss is my soon-to-be husband, Takuji Uramoto.” Not only had she introduced herself; she had introduced Takuji. “Takuji’s going to be interviewing the owner of the casino later on after we get married.��

            Kirie smiled slyly. “Asuka’s going to be interviewing Chihaya.”

            “Chihaya?” Ayame tilted her head to her left. “You mean, Chihaya Koda?”

            Kirie nodded again. “That’s right. You know, since his skills have benefited those in need, Asuka feels a strong connection to what he does. She’s also teacher and kids like her for genuinely wanting to help them whenever they’re stuck on a problem. She and Takuji both work, so it keeps their lives busy most of the time. This is one of the few times they get to spend time together, even though it’s mainly for work. It’s kind of tiring sometimes having to see Asuka double as both a teacher and a journalist/interviewer, really. I have to be on the lookout for her, especially if she overworks herself and collapses from fatigue and exhaustion.”

            “Wow,” Ayame breathed. She placed her closed hand near the side of her chin in thought. “That must be hard, having two jobs and trying to manage your work and love life at the same time. The most horrifying thing I think that could happen while doing that is ending up in a hospital, and trying to recover from everything. I don’t know if I could ever try working two jobs, though. If I were in a relationship, I think it might affect it to the point where it’ll sever completely, and I might never be able to see the guy I’m dating again.”

            Kirie smiled. “At least you’re not an idiot like Asuka is. She’s too much of a hard worker to think about her body’s limits.”

            “Kirie-chan!” Asuka angrily scolded. “I can take care of myself without getting sick. If I did collapse, it would cause trouble for Takuji. I don’t want to worry him and make him miss work just to take care of me.”

            Kirie shook her head in dissatisfaction and looked at Ayame. “See? That’s even more selfish of you to say so.”

            Takuji turned around and agreed, taking hold of both of Asuka’s hands with his own. “That’s right, Asuka! I don’t want you to cut me out of your life like that!” He gazed into his soon-to-be wife’s eyes with a staid and passionate expression. “We’re going to be married tonight, so we have to find time for each other no matter what. Isn’t that what being in a relationship is about? Supporting and taking care of the person you love is important when you’re together with them, isn’t it? Love is not one-sided if you have someone that you’re with, so you can’t let go of the person you love.”

            Asuka’s eyes widened as she gazed right back into Takuji’s periwinkle eyes. “Takuji…” Then, she smiled softly and nodded. “Of course. I want to be with you forever, too. Thank you…”

            Seeing the two of them stare at each other for what felt like centuries, Kirie sighed while shaking her head once more. “What a stupid couple…”

~

            Several minutes later, Kirie, Takuji, Asuka, Ayame, and Atsushi were in the casino. Many of the guests were already set on gambling, while others walked around every now and them to try everything they could find. It was an incredible sight to behold, and it was nice.

            Takuji, however, sighed in exasperation. “Is this really where our wedding will be? I thought everyone would celebrate out on the top of the roof or something. There’s a pool up there, so why not just go to the highest place here?”

            Asuka smiled at the mint-haired young man. “It can’t be helped right now. We’ll just have to be patient until Satsuki-san tells us. He told us there was something important he wanted to say beforehand, remember?”

            “I know,” Takuji answered. His irritation soon showed on his face. “But if he dares to make a fool out of this, I’ll have him know his place in this world.”

            Ayame looked at the couple and frowned. “I feel bad for Takuji. He must have really wanted to have a grander celebration than this.”

            “Yes, but this is just the beginning,” Atsushi noted. He couldn’t help but keep his broad grin on his face as he continued. “He’s usually like that when he doesn’t get his way at big parties like this one. He’s known for being a guy who likes to party. Asuka and Kirie have attended occasions with him, along with the other workers from Rapunzel whenever they were invited to one. Takuji’s always been the one to treat everyone, though. Oh, and let me just tell you this. You’ll need to know it if you ever meet anyone else like him and Asuka.” He looked at the brunette with a serious expression and said, “Take heed of the wealth they have. Magicians are the wealthiest beings to have ever lived in this universe, and are practically paid every day in their world. Unlike the economies of some countries here on Earth, their economy is much more successful. In fact, it flourishes without having any reason. It’s also like getting paid without having to work but they actually have people who work because—“

            “—that’s the way the world runs?” Ayame finished. “I’ve heard many people say things that end with those words before you hired me, Boss. It just keeps getting older and older every time I hear someone say that the world runs that way.”

            The editor-in-chief was a little taken aback. “Err… I guess you already knew about this stuff, huh, Irodori?”

            “Doesn’t everyone know about magicians by now?” the brunette lowered her eyes, somewhat irritated by the well-known facts. She knew by the fact that magicians like Takuji and Asuka rarely had natural physical features and all of their kind had pale white skin that was beautiful on the outside. “We’re in the twenty-first century, Jinnai-san. The least you can do is try to keep up with your employees. I’m not as old as you, and I’m not someone who looks that way, either. So, in all pretenses, I don’t want to be on the same level as you.”

            Atsushi’s mouth dropped when he realized the truth. Indeed, he was nearing the age of what the youngsters called an “old man” since he was nearing his mid-twenties. But hearing something like that was the most critical hit he had ever taken in his life. It was as if an arrow had struck right through his heart, piercing it in the center.

            “…!” He had a pained look on his face as he stared at the floor. “You got me there, in my most important organ… Irodori.”

            Ayame sighed at the pathetic sight of her current employer. “Geez… Get a grip, will you?”

            Meanwhile, Kirie was playing pool with a few of her co-workers from Rapunzel. Everyone who was playing and/or observing the match were enjoying themselves, throwing in laughs and a round of applause every now and then.

            “Go for it, Kirie!” one of the onlookers shouted encouragingly. It was a woman who had been employed around the same time Takuji had started working at Rapunzel.

            Kirie made a shot and the ball she hit with the cue ball went into one of the holes. As the game kept going, there were more cheers than anywhere else in the room. This, of course, attracted the attention of a familiar college student. He turned his gaze towards the Rapunzel employees who were playing and watching the players make their moves. Needless to say, the first person to catch his eye was Kirie herself. He couldn’t take his eyes off her and kept staring at the dark magenta-haired girl as lingering feelings floated all around him.

            Shortly afterwards, Satsuki Kitaoji began his speech.

            “Attention, everyone,” he said. All eyes were now on the casino owner and each and every person excluding Satsuki himself was listening. “As you all may know, today is a very special day, which is why I have opened the Urban Casino and Resort Roppongi today for those who wish to enter and enjoy themselves here. Tonight, in particular, marks a very special night for my friend, Takuji Uramoto, and his bride, Asuka Suzushiro. In order to celebrate their wedding, I have arranged for it to be held on the rooftop of the hotel and casino. Everyone is invited to come as you are all guests here. I apologize for not making this announcement sooner, but we will now be moving to the roof for the wedding ceremony.”

            Takuji’s sour expression brightened and he was back to his jubilant old self in no time. He started jumping, which sounded as if he was making bouncing effects, going “boing” everywhere with his arms held high for everyone to see. Satsuki, in particular, glanced to the right corner of his vision, and smiled amusingly. He was content to see the young CEO of Rapunzel back in high spirits, letting out a lighthearted chuckle. On the inside, he felt as though he was going to burst into a fit of laugher at any moment. Asuka, on the other hand, smiled happily at the sight of her fiancé/groom. It was very uplifting to all of the guests gathered in the casino; Takuji of all people could not contain his happiness and kept jumping for a while before he stopped. Most of the guests had let out a laugh or two at the scene and were enjoying themselves not nearly as much as the mint-haired magician.

            After that, they all made their way up to the roof, which had a large pool, and the wedding began. Takuji and Asuka exchanged rings and a few words right before putting their partner’s designated wedding ring on each other’s left ring fingers. Everyone smiled and clapped once Takuji’s ring was on his, and they all partied for a while before almost all of the interviewers, journalists, and reporters were gone, leaving Kirie, Takuji, Asuka, and Ayame to go to the VIP room, stay in the hotel, or go home.

            “Thanks, Satsuki,” Takuji smiled at older man. He was still bubbling with bliss on the inside as he and Asuka walked together with Satsuki. “Nothing could make a man happier than to finally marry the love of his life. And it’s all thanks to you, my friend.”

            Asuka smiled along with them. “Indeed. It was really fun to have everyone with us. Thank you, Satsuki-san.”

            “It was my pleasure to hold the ceremony here as part of the grand opening,” Satsuki responded courtly. He was glad to see the two of them have a good time. “You two have helped me throughout many difficult situations, so it was the least I could do. Why don’t you come with me to the V.I.P. room? I also invited Kirie earlier and she said she’ll stop by later. Yuzuki and the others will also be there, so we can all hang out leisurely.”

            “That’s a great idea,” Takuji grinned excitedly. “We can’t just let the fun go by. The night’s still here, so we have to enjoy ourselves while we still can!”

            Asuka nodded. “It’ll also be a good time for our interviews, so we’ll have plenty of it left afterwards.”

            “Alright!” Takuji held out both his arms in front of him with closed hands. “We’ll get everything done and have lots of fun talking with each other. It’ll be the best thing we’ll do in Roppongi!”

            Satsuki smiled agreeably. “Of course. I’m looking forward to answering your questions and spending time with you, Takuji. It’s been some time since we last had a chat together with everyone else, so I’m also looking forward to it.”

            Soon, the three of them made their way to the VIP room Satsuki had mentioned not too long ago and kept conversing with one another along the way, enjoying the time they had together.

~

            Kirie slowly opened the door to the V.I.P. room and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

            “Excuse me,” she said. She took a look around and saw a group of four other men with Satsuki, Takuji, and Asuka, in the room. She glanced up at Satsuki and asked, “Um… Yuzuki’s going to stay with her for a while, so I thought I should let you know since you’re his older brother.”

            Satsuki saw the look on Kirie’s face and smiled. “Thank you. I’m sure that Miss Ayame would at least like to know that he’s been looking after her when she wakes up.”

            “You’ve been a big help yourself,” Chihaya proclaimed, acknowledging Kirie’s assistance. “When she passed out like that, you were the one who told the other guests to prepare a room for her, and let her rest. We don’t normally see someone like you, but I guess extraordinary human women actually exist in this world.”

            “Now, aren’t you a rude one,” Ryoichi Hirose, the famous author, smirked. “True, she’s a rarity amongst almost all of the women in the world, but she’s at least got the guts to help someone out. That’s something that should be commended by others such as yourself, Chihaya. Even I have to give her some credit for it.”

            Noel nodded while still having his nonchalant expression on his face. “Women can be strong to a large extent, but it mostly depends on them. Not many are like her.”

            “I know what you all mean,” Chihaya added, “but you don’t really have to explain any further than what’s already been said. Remember, I was only stating my side of it. It’s not like I really wanted to downgrade her or anything. I was just complimenting her in my own way.”

            Satsuki frowned. “Still, that was very impolite of you to say, Chihaya. She’s a guest here, and being rude to a guest is not something that I approve of.”

            Chihaya let out a small chuckle. “I know. You’re always like this, Satsuki. But that’s one of the good things about you.”

            As the rest of the group continued to engage in a conversation of their own, Mirai could not help but stare at Kirie’s face. He knew he had seen her before, and it put him in a daze. Kirie herself soon noticed the gaze she was receiving from him and glanced at the college student. Then, she smiled in a faint but relaxed way at him.

        ��   Satsuki caught on shortly after and frowned. “Mirai, go on and greet her. It’s not tactful if you just keep looking at one of our guests for the rest of the night without saying anything.”

            “…” Although he heard the financial prince’s words, he could not react to them the way he usually did. In fact, he was still looking at Kirie with longing eyes.

            Satsuki glanced at Mirai once more. Then he turned his head towards Kirie with an apologetic expression. “Please forgive him, Kirie. He’s not usually like this. He’s really a good kid at heart, but…”

            Kirie shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all, Satsuki.” Then, she glanced at Mirai, still smiling at the younger man. “It’s nice to see you again. My name is Kirie Kuroki. I’m also an editor at Rapunzel, so I also work with Takuji and Asuka over there.”

            At that moment, Mirai’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. The name he had just heard triggered his first memory with the dark magenta-haired young woman.

            “…!”

            Kirie? The same Kirie I met three years ago? Is it really true? Am I really seeing her again? Those thoughts swirled around in his head as stared at Kirie in realization and remembrance of his first love standing right in front of him.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: MOVIE REVIEW: The Lovebirds

(Image courtesy of Netflix)

THE LOVEBIRDS— 3 STARS

There is nearly always a smirk of veiled anticipation when a plot setup meets a full-stop right after a descriptive peak with the zinger transition of “hi-jinks ensue.” Digging into the meaning and origin of that phrase apparently goes back centuries. In describing movies, using that classic adage is an attempt at “less being more” while completely winking at you that so much more could be said about what happens. The Lovebirds, premiering on Netflix on May 22, is the kind of place where you drop “hi-jinks ensue” and run with it.

Here’s the rub though. For “hi-jinks ensue” to work and live up to its promise, you need strong and effective events to come before and after when that phrase is planted. Have a weak setup and the absurdity of hi-jinks after can feel like a jolting improvement or tail-spinning crash. Have a great setup and the hi-jinks that follow can either evolve or devolve the auspicious start. This “one wild night” romp has about half of each measure in that balance.

LESSON #1: BODY LANGUAGE IS SEXY— When we meet Issa Rae’s Leilani and Kumail Nanjiani’s Jibran, they are in the throes of initial attraction. They’re on a date they don’t want to end. The seductive pick-up conversations are hot and the embraces are hotter. Every back-and-forth line comes from a smooth voice and oozes with come-hither postures, proximity, and the edges of contact. After the first ten minutes of The Lovebirds you’re going to be auditioning your own “I Want to Kiss You Face” and having it judged. Just you wait. 

LESSON #2: PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE WORDS STIFLE PASSION— Cut to four years later and the co-habitating New Oreleanians are at each other’s throats, nagging and shouting from rooms apart. Their words are filled with frustration and indignation, where any closeness looks distant or uncomfortable compared to earlier in their relationship. Somewhere, selfish pursuits from both of them have replaced adoration. They don’t speak up about what’s really bothering them and nitpick inconsequential BS instead. 

LESSON #3: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO RATTLE A FAILING RELATIONSHIP?— If the choices to answer this lesson’s question where on a Wheel of Fortune spinner, “murder” would be like the dreaded “Bankrupt” landing slot. In a flurry of events on the way to a social party moments after agreeing to break up, Jibran and Leilani land on that very dark wedge as unwilling witnesses and borderline participants to a crime. From a very different and far more jovial place than Queen & Slim, they come up with the “best bad idea.” They run. 

And, with that, hi-jinks ensue, and this review’s faucet of furtive flow ceases. The less you see coming the better. The Lovebirds puts this frazzled breakup on blast with a dippy concert of calamity. Much like Game Night a few years back, the pratfalls before our central couple can be ingeniously hilarious while others over-stretch the freedom of preposterousness we grant movies like these. Comedy in this realm is a fickle SOB and often depends on what level of insanity and perceived mistakes each viewer is willing to accept. 

What smooths the questionable parody of this caper comedy is the people delivering the jokes. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are a vivid pair of talents to combine. These motormouths turn on a dime. Issa has that enormous smile that mirrors vitriol and vigor. Kumail has those eyes and Eugene Levy-level eyebrows that can dance with dread or delight. Each take turns throughout this punchlined plot being the target of blame or the pure-dumb-luck savior for the duo. Their fascinating dynamics radiate high appeal.

LESSON #4: NO, WHAT WOULD IT REALLY TAKE TO RATTLE A FAILING RELATIONSHIP?— Somewhere, Leilani and Jibran went from comfortable to miserable. It’s not that they can’t speak their minds. They do that incessantly to each other’s limits. It’s that they don’t speak from their hearts. No matter the madcap swerves and predicaments that tumble before these two, it’s all pushing against the wavering realization towards their connection and a romantic bond that hasn’t completely broken. The reactions of each significant other watching their partners being thrust into a situation of distress is an extreme test of that care level. 

Much of their banter, useless information monologues, and competitive cutdowns feel incredibly improvised. Credit editors Vince Filippone (xXx: Return of Xander Cage) and Robert Nassau (The Big Sick) for chopping together their chops with crisp pacing. If their jumpy jabbering isn’t ad-libbed, then kudos to the writing/story team of Hannibal actor Aaron Abrams, The Go-Getters’ Bredan Gall, and Blindspot creator Martin Gero. For example, any three cocktail napkin idea men that can take the clunker self-aware line of “help me come up with something believable” and then spin it for a laugh deserves a dollar in the tip jar. 

Beyond the dialogue, those writers and The Big Sick director Michael Showalter assembled a semi-crafty plot course that is far from predictable and does not entirely wear out its freshness or welcome in a tidy 86 minutes. Far less and far worse has been slapped together for date night couch watch. Granted, once someone sees The Lovebirds and the hijinks that ensue, someone will say it shouldn’t take this much, per se, but where’s the fun in less?

LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#879)

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[lostsummerdayz]

Syrup and The Ultimate Sweet: A delicious sugary snack; Short, Sweet, and Satisfying

By Nay Holland

Right off the heels of their visual novel showcase, Ratalaika Games released one of their seven visual novels yesterday, Syrup and The Ultimate Sweet, developed by NomnomNami.

The original game was developed for YuriJam 2015, a two-month game jam that featured visual novels and dating sim based around, as the name would imply, Yuri or “girl love.” Five years later, it would see a widespread console release on all major handhelds and consoles. This is a review for the Nintendo Switch version, courtesy of Ratalaika Games themselves!

Perhaps the one thing that drew me in was the expressive art and vibrant colors, all of which helped define a specific character. Syrup’s aesthetic is green, so her hair, the lollipop she eats, and her speech is green. The candy golem is as pink and red as pink and red can be, so her speech reflects that as well. The story and art were both done by the talented NomnomNami herself, while the immersive music was done by Mock Off.

So. What is Syrup and The Ultimate Sweet?

The official description of the game is as follows.

In a magical town there lives a candy alchemist, Syrup, who one day discovers a candy golem in her basement. Where did she come from? Who could've made her? Go find out!

Featuring a memorable cast of colorful characters and 10 unique endings. Your choices affect the story! Will Syrup achieve her dream of making the Ultimate Sweet, or will she meet a much more tragic fate...?

It may sound like a simple premise and to some degree it is. However, there is a lot of underlying depth that took me by surprise. I’ve completed the game from cover to cover, viewed all ten endings, and was overall left impressed. It was short and sweet, sure, but it was a feel good story that left me with something to think about. The importance of being kind to others, treating others with respect, owning up to your own negative insecurities, and promoting self-growth. All of these themes and more showed themselves throughout the story.

This will round out the spoiler-free section of the review. In short, I recommend giving this game a try. Whether it’s on the official NomnomNami page or on the many different console choices available. Past this point, there will be complete breakdown and critique of the game itself based on my personal experience!

Now then. Let’s indulge in the sugary succulence!

Syrup is a skilled alchemist who uses her craft to create succulent treats for her candy shop. While traveling into the basement of her candy shop, she comes across a candy golem whose first request is to “eat her.”

Awkward pleasantries and introductions aside, Syrup’s assistant, Pastille sees the golem and encourages Syrup to befriend her. Naturally, upon seeing a sentient talking candy girl who requests Syrup to devour her, Syrup is reluctant to take her in. Eventually, she warms up to the idea and the candy girl becomes the shop assistant. Syrup eventually gives the candy golem the name, Gumdrop.

Syrup immediately has suspicions that a witch created the candy golem as it was the only logical reasoning for Gumdrop’s creation. Because of this, Syrup immediately suspects Butterscotch, a witch who lives on the other side of town, to be the one responsible for the creation. Upon arriving at her house, Butterscotch neither confirms nor denies that she created Gumdrop, but Syrup has pressing matters on hand.

See, there’s this treat called the “Ultimate Sweet,” which is such a delicacy that whoever eats it will sing praises of the gods and shout to the heavens above. However, no alchemist was able to successfully create the candy. It’s revealed that part of this reason is due to the final ingredient located on top of a cold frigid mountain that only those proficient in magic can hope to survive.

The only woman who Syrup knows that is proficient in magic is none other than Butterscotch herself. The very same woman who Syrup is the most disagreeable with. However, she’s able to put her differences aside if only to use Butterscotch’s ability to secure the final ingredient.

After run-ins with hostile wild wolves and a friendly anthropomorphic wolf by the name of Treat, the unlikely duo ends up finding the final ingredient. However, in doing so, they end up entrapped in an ice cave. It is here that Butterscotch reveals her secret. She has been keeping a false appearance in order to maintain her own self-worth and in keeping the false appearance, her magic has been subdued the entire time.

It is at this moment that Syrup’s ego, paranoia, and overall cold exterior begins to defrost. She realizes that part of the reason for Butterscotch’s insecurities are due to the fear of Syrup’s hatred for her. Once Syrup finally acknowledges this and sets to right the wrongs that she made, Butterscotch is able to calm down. Due to her calmness and assurance in life, she’s able to melt the ice wall away and return back to town.

As repayment for Syrup’s kindness, Butterscotch reveals that she has been spying on Syrup via a crystal ball and to inform her to watch the crystal ball in privacy to get the answers that she sought the entire time.

Upon viewing the crystal ball, she learns that it was Pastille who created Gumdrop. The intention was that Pastille wanted Syrup to make friends. Being that Syrup was cold to all of the residents, Gumdrop’s creation was made as a last ditch effort to help Syrup find a friend.

At this point, Gumdrop intrudes on Syrup and Gumdrop, who was told not to reveal who created her, admitted-without-admitting that Pastille did indeed create her. At this point, Syrup has an understanding that Gumdrop, despite the awkward introduction and Gumdrop wanting Syrup to eat her, “was created with Syrup in mind.”

Syrup and Gumdrop decide to take on adventures alone while building up their friendship together in the process. Pastille understands this, happy that his plan was a success, while Butterscotch is saddened that her former-rival-turned-friend is gone. However, she’s content to see Syrup in a much better state than how she started.

That concludes the Gumdrop route.

I mentioned that there were a total of ten different endings. To break this down further, there are five normal endings representing each of the characters featured in the main menu. As you complete their route, their appearance changes to reflect this. Gumdrop, for example, wears an overcoat.

The other five endings are the bad endings. These range from Pastille flat out leaving Syrup altogether, deeming her a lost cause to Butterscotch and her cat familiar, Toffee, taking over Syrup’s shop after she refuses to work with the latter due to their use of magic in their sweets.

These are the endings that you acquire when give into Syrup’s negative traits to the utmost extreme. Take an earlier scene where Syrup and Butterscotch are trapped in the ice cave. The ideal choice is Syrup forgiving Butterscotch for being who she is. You do have a choice to give in to Syrup’s frustrations by declaring that she hates Butterscotch for getting them into this mess.

In certain route paths, this choice leaves the two of them, frustrated with each other, to sit in silence as they inevitably freeze to death. In other routes, they are saved from an “outside source.” (later revealed to be Pastille using his magic to melt the ice)

If the latter happens, then Syrup has one last chance to make amends with Butterscotch, who approaches her while still feeling bad about all that has happened. The actual canon choice at this point is to forgive her.

If Syrup still holds onto the bitterness into her heart, she ends up dying due to implied pneumonia. This is the “worst end,” as she dies alone with coldness in her heart.

There’s one more “bad” ending and it’s so obvious that I ended up getting this ending first purely by accident. It’s an ending you can get within two, count ‘em, two choices. You decide to actually eat poor Gumdrop right in the beginning of the game. As you’re doing it, the text that follows is meant to fill the player with regret. 

You essentially just ate your friend’s creation who is sentient enough to know that she is being eaten. At the end of the day, all she wanted was to be friends with Syrup, but, well, that is one way to go about it. 

Right, so, now that all of the sad endings are out of the way. Back to the main endings.  I mentioned Gumdrop’s route first because I feel it may be the “canon” route, although each of the routes have their own merit. However, Gumdrop’s ending wasn’t the first ending I got.

After eating Gumdrop, I decided to play the game for real, answering how I feel Syrup would answer along the way. Early on in the story you have the choice to give Gumdrop to Butterscotch and Toffee. After a while Syrup realizes that it was probably cruel to do such a thing, so she goes to retrieve her only to find that Butterscotch was eating Gumdrop!

It’s almost as if this was mocking me for my blunder from earlier.

Syrup ends up saving Gumdrop and re-crafts her missing body parts, while deciding to keep her hair short.

The game continues on as normal, although the crystal ball scene plays a bit different. In this route, Syrup feels betrayed that Pastille would hide the fact that he’s a witch from her. Rather than succumbing to her earlier negative traits, she reflects on the budding relationship she has with Butterscotch and declares it’s best to make amends with her. After all, everything involving Butterscotch’s insecurities were a byproduct of Syrup’s cold attitude.

In the end, Syrup teaches Butterscotch how to make candies and she starts selling candy on the side. Syrup and Pastille reaches an understanding with each other, with the latter just happy that she was finally able to befriend her rival. Perhaps even form a budding romance if the text is anything to go by! Butterscotch ending achieved.

There’s also an ending where Syrup doesn’t look at the crystal ball. In some routes, it’s flat out told through Syrup that she has an idea on what the crystal ball would show her, meaning she had suspicions that Pastille was a witch the entire time. However, no matter the route, if Syrup doesn’t look at the crystal ball, she convinces some investors to invest in the shop. She then spends the rest of her life wealthy yet remains distant to everyone. This is Syrup’s ending.

I feel like this is neither a good nor a bad ending. Just as simple a “normal” ending if this game had one. Syrup may very well realize that Pastille wasn’t completely honest with her, but she doesn’t care. She just gets even by making profits instead. Money is a strong motivator after all, but is it the best one?

There’s a hidden Toffee ending which follows the exact same path as the Butterscotch ending, yet a bonus scene plays. Toffee wants Syrup to take them to Treat to thank her for taking care of their master, Butterscotch. These scenes are short, but it expands on Toffee’s characterization.

There’s a scene where Toffee asks Syrup a simple question. Is Toffee a boy or a girl in Syrup’s eyes.

At this point I never got to think about Toffee’s gender, so for this question to arrive, it took me off guard as much as it took Syrup. When Toffee revealed that they were agender, it made sense.

A funny touch is that if you go back to this scene later, you have the option to indeed choose “Neither,” in which Toffee will ask if you’re a time traveler. I want to think in my purest of hearts that this is a Life is Strange reference. If so, kudos to you Nami!

Toffee’s entire characterization, from deliberately foregoing cat puns when it’s time for serious conversation, to their gender reveal, offers a hidden layer of depth for a supporting character. A depth that one wouldn’t be aware of if they didn’t take the time to get to know them.

As I unlocked this Toffee ending, I realized that Syrup and the player are one in the same. Characters reveal themselves, such as Butterscotch’s insecurities, Pastille being a witch, and Toffee being Toffee, the more they feel they can trust Syrup.

In order for others to trust Syrup, Syrup has to trust herself. The only way to trust herself is to look at her negative traits, acknowledge them, learn from them, and grow as a person.

With this new knowledge of Syrup and how the player is meant to view her, I felt I was ready to take on the final ending. Pastille’s.

Syrup confronts Pastille for keeping this a secret from Syrup as Syrup considers Pastille family. Pastille was at a crossroads. He didn’t know how Syrup would react and didn’t mean any ill intention. He just wanted to see someone who he cared for as a sibling figure happy. Syrup acknowledges Pastille’s witch-hood and offers a partnership.

In the end, Pastille’s magical powers to seek out rare ingredients and Syrup’s alchemy in making delicious treats proved to be a powerful combination. Not only were they both renowned for their accomplishments, but the two of them couldn’t be any closer.

I feel, with Pastille’s ending being the final ending that I unlocked, it was the perfect way to close the book on this visual novel. It took me about an hour to reach all the endings, so it is a bit on the short side. However, while short, it is indeed sweet. I was able to learn about all five central characters within the contained space that the story gives.

No piece of information was lost on me. I felt it was due to this that I felt some of the dialogue choices sting more. In the end, if you look at it from the perspective of watching Syrup’s growth affecting her relationships with everyone around her, then it’s a feel-good story to compliment the colorful art and music.

[chvrchesrp]

Welcome to CHVRCHES’ ninth event!

This event is our fourth invite event, which means it’s the kind of event everyone is familiar with on tumblr: we give you a setting, you run amok with it! What’s written is canon, the rest is up to you! You will be split up into one of 3 groups to culminate the season finale, depending on your alignment. The setting of this Invite is, for Saints and Angels, the restaurant Absolution... in a way. For the Sinners and Demons, it’s Cheap Thrills... for a time. 

All 3 scenes happen simultaneously. The “end” of one is the same time-ending of the others. The date stamp for the event is Sunday, May 28th, in the afternoon. There is no second part, so you can engage with this scene—and after—as long as you want until our next event in late June. ♥ Long post ahead:

SCENE ONE:

Raziel, Gabriel, Cassiel, Shibah, Donato, Lazarus, Zoe, Zack, Adele, Naomi, Noah, Grace, Isaiah, Maria, Joshua, Magda—

You show up to Absolution because that’s where you’ve been told to go. It seems odd, given you know you’re going to an Ascension—but what’s odd when you have no idea what an Ascension even entails? So you go in, humans filing past angels, heading not up the stairs to the Angel-only meeting room that only angels know how to open, but instead down a set of dark stairs into Absolution’s cellar. You can’t see how the door opens, but it does, so you step into the darkness, unsure if you should be expecting wine casks or caskets. In contrast, you see nothing—or maybe it’s something like synaesthesia, where you feel the colour blue and see the sound of humming—and there, in the back on a wall not bordering the outside, is an ornate, white-framed ceiling-height mirror. Gabriel is the first through, a harp in hand, her face stoic.

Following are Raziel and Shibah, side by side, though not touching. Everyone else follows suit. Stepping through the mirror feels like the texture of water—it feels like rain, if rain didn’t have a weight or a temperature. Once on the other side, behind you isn’t a mirror: it’s the pearly gates. This is the first time in history that alive humans have been on this side. There is another set of gates, further on, if they could be called such: they’re made from boughs of what seems to be tall trees and everything around you reminds you of the lushness of Eden, though that garden differed from this one. There is an eerie sensation to being in Heaven: there’s the sense that birds are singing, and then you can’t find any birds, but the moment you realize you can’t find any birds—there’s a bird, solving the dissonance for you. You can’t see the sun, but you can feel it all around you, and everything feels pleasantly hazy.

The gathering of trees form a circle around you, as if mimicking a foyer or antechamber but of nature; to the right of the second gates, Gabriel sits her harp and waits. Raziel and Shibah stand in front of those gates. It feels like an eternity before something happens—but then it feels like an instant, more angels than you can count materialize into a more corporal form, and you realize it wasn’t the sun you were feeling, but maybe was the energy of angels?—and there is no way to see them all. One by one, which is an illogically faster process than you’d think, each angel begins to stamp their feet. You realize there are two rhythms happening, distinct and competing, and the tapping becomes a dull roar becomes a cacophony. An angel you don’t know leans over to you, the mouth doesn’t move but you hear, “This pattern for Raziel—this for Shibah.” You stamp your feet to match your vote.

Gabriel’s head is cocked to the side, listening, trying to pick out something you sincerely can’t: a melody out of the chaos. The stamping continues and all eyes fall to the pair of competing angels at the gates; then, very faintly, very faintly, around the edges and almost out of the corner of your eye, Raziel begins to glow, as if that same sun-energy-feeling from earlier is concentrating around him. The people have spoken: it was very close—almost too close for comfort. The vote was very nearly perfectly split: 55% voted for Raziel. Over time, the beats sound less cacophonous: people have changed their sound to support Raziel, or make no sound at all and stand aside. Anyone not standing aside moves to complete the circle as Raziel steps into the center. Then, one by one and then all at once, the angels began to dance.

There were defined movements you can’t quite pick apart at first—a swooping here, a kicking there, a tossing of one’s head, an arching of the back—and you try to join in, but clumsily. But even if you lacked the ability or the body, something more helps you. It gets easier the more go-arounds you do it: you don’t even feel like you’re doing steps, but that something is guiding your body as your energy lends its support, and you are spinning around the center like spokes on a wheel, around and around, faster and faster until you’re nearly breathless and giddy—and then you hear song, the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, and then you realize you’re helping make the song, and the feeling in your chest is one of harmonic euphoria. In the center, Raziel looks larger than life, not physically, but something about him.

The entire garden has reached its energetic height, and like the crest of a wave, it breaks, and there’s a sound like thunder if clouds were made of silk, and then it’s done. Everyone is laughing and it’s a party, refreshments appear as if from thin air, and the sounds of the high harp move to a lull. Those who don’t support go their own way as the rest remain. It was not the strongest Ascension—not as strong as Adon’s—but it worked, and God was no longer dead. Long live God. When all the merriment this side of Heaven winds down, the angels lead the humans back through the Gates, through the mirror-feeling, and back into the cellar of Absolution.

Only after that does only Gabriel seem to realize: the mirror is solid. The Gates of Heaven have closed.

SCENE TWO:

Belial, Leviathan, Abaddon, Babylon, Crowley, Renee, Dominic, Isadora, Elijah, Olivia, Kezia, Ethan—

An Ascension is short notice, but you’re not invited anyway. But what’s the fun in that? You can’t get near it, even if you wanted to—so instead, the Church of Sinners invites their brethren to their own little shindig down on the piers. Satan was invited, but declines attending, and Kiara is notably missing altogether. Nevertheless, the rest of the usual suspects and congregation gather for boardwalk festivities, some riding some rides, others hijacking busker materials and doing poor caricatures for passers-by or painting one another’s faces. For awhile, everyone seems contented to their sunny, pre-Memorial Day afternoon. Belial is making balloon animals and popping them at children.

Then, there’s an unmistakable feeling—a shifting. Like, quite suddenly, nothing around you seems for certain, or solid. You feel a sharp jolt under your feet, but don’t see anything there. Then, in succession, a few stronger sharp shakes that pass quickly. The buildings around you make a strange noise, but nothing seems off except maybe you feel like something’s tilted? Like you just got off the spinning cup ride and you’re just waiting for your ears to catch up to gravity. More strong shaking followers, lasting about a second, and it feels violent—rebellious—and you have trouble standing. People around you are screaming, but they don’t seem to be heading toward safety—they just seem to be running away. 

When you are steady enough to look up, the ground is still shaking but you can see where it’s split, like someone pierced the earth clean through at a point, like all the cracks had a center; up from the cracks rises a dark mist not unlike what Pestilence had subsumed from Dr. Drobot in the Escape Room. It moved as if on an air current toward that same center, swirling—as above, so below—and right in the center of the mist and the cracks is a cross-legged, absolutely diabolical-looking Warmonger... who has now integrated into a demon. He has a sword in his hand and his energy engulfs the piers, as anyone who is left is unable to tear their eyes away. The beach becomes colder because War is drawing all of the heat toward him like the earth’s crater: he is glowing and fire unfurls from his back shaped like wings. The ground is scorched where they touch.

There is an audible snap louder than a gunshot in the air and Renee falls to the ground, re-experiencing mortality for the first time in hundreds of years. Belial didn’t die, so she doesn’t hollow, but he is no longer a demon—so she is no longer his ligatus. Far from her, Belial’s wing shapes slowly crackle down, becoming more like a sparking forcefield of energy around his body, like a visible aura. When Belial steps away from the summit of the earthquake, little reverbs tremble from his step, and then stop. Now, he looks just like himself, but a faint red glow permanently lines his skin. The Horsemen of War has been fully integrated and laughter echoes even though there are no walls; the laughter is not kind. A good quarter of the pier is decimated and two rides barely have their skeletons left—but you’ve survived.

With a dark, menacing glint in his eye, Belial turns not to Renee—an afterthought, barely a memory at the moment—and instead focuses on Babylon. You can stand now... but tread carefully.

SCENE THREE:

Somewhere in Las Vegas, courtesy of @whatroughbeast—

Morning dawns to an empty room in Sunset Tower, while the workers of the Paradise Hotel let out a collective breath of relief the moment their employer leaves the premises – the door to the manager’s office is left open and while the vault is closed once more, the remains of Belial’s investigation are still scattered on the floor, untouched. There’s a fresh pressed suit hanging over the back of a chair and a cellphone and ring of master keys tossed haphazardly on the desk. The message is clear: Satan doesn’t intend to return to this place again. His time is Los Angeles was born only from orders and leaving the City of Angels behind inspires no heartache. After all, Satan is going back to the closest to home above the earth a demon can find.

The Strip is baking in the midday sun when the once-Devil arrives in Las Vegas and it's the vault there he immediately returns to, even larger than the one in Paradise and laden with gruesome mementos that stretch back over the bulk of human memory and beyond. He leaves with only one thing: a weapon thousands of years old, stained dark with the lifeblood of creatures both mortal and divine, and he carries the wickedly curved blade like a natural extension of his own flesh. There is no pause for reflection, no moment wasted on further brooding or strategy, not after so much time already gone and the threat of the Rapture ever-looming on the horizon.

This time, Lucifer’s manor is devoid of the throng of eager guests that had accompanied Vice’s dazzling Centennial, but the memories that accompany Satan’s first steps into these halls are fresh in his mind, inspiring future actions to recreate the past. The manor has already been the stage for one death this year and if Satan gets his way, Jairus’ blood will not be the last spilt on these floors. As he stalks through the endless halls, every step bringing him closer to the being who has always carried the heaviest weight of Satan’s bitterness, there is no question of outcome in his mind. It took an angel to kill God, after all. Only a demon could properly kill the Devil.

[gravelgirty]

Hogan’s Heroes: Above My Pay Grade (and over your head)

Part III of the Tape and Needle and Scissors and Thread series.

Follows after Part II, Irish Rejected Potatoes and Incendiary Chocolate

Baker was just a little smaller than Kinch, and wasn’t he grateful for it.

The young man slithered into the radio bunker holding his breath with a grimace over the effluvia of Slim’s mint chewing gum. The man couldn’t live without that stuff.

Weather was not the camp’s friend right now, but at least most of them were dealing with it.  Baker had kicked around a lot of the country before joining up, and the one thing you couldn’t do was yell at the great outdoors and expect results.

He liked Newkirk—most of them did even if they wouldn’t let him anywhere near a card game. The man was a little grouchy but Ma said artists were like that. And anyone who didn’t call Newkirk an artist never saw the man crack a safe. Or make a ballgown out of a Nazi uniform.

Baker looked twice in the tiny space and hunkered his bottom into the one dryish part of the room. Kinchloe had worked a wonder building this room right the first time, and as he’d been told, the earth had been rock-hard and dry as pumice at the time.  Oh, for the days. Smuggling timbers to hold up the sides had been another Kinchloe-miracle, and figuring out how to wire the camp’s reception using the Stalag’s own watchtower? Sheer genius. Baker hoped to meet him someday when the war was over. And if he was denied that chance? Well, unlike a lot of the men at the Stalag, Baker was quite comfortable with his faith in the ability to finish one’s affairs—if not this life, the next would do.

He checked the readings, double-checked the switches, and kept a sharp eye on the main circuit that fed the power through the main box. They weren’t getting much news right now, and nobody knew if that was really good news or bad. Sure, they understood they had to pull back once in a while, but three weeks of ‘holding back’ was a blip on the watches of officers.  For thems on the front line, it was eternity.

Once in a while there was a brief interlude of entertainment as various parties tried to send out doctored news.  They could be kind of fun.  One really remote signal, which they only seemed to get in lousy weather like this, was clearly the work of German freedom fighters who’d worked with the Yanks back in World War I or even earlier—a lot of their phonetics were the same as the camp’s, but the differences were telling: ‘Quack’ instead of ‘Queen’ and ‘Unit’ where ‘Uncle’ ought to be. Baker’s excellent memory let him sift out such conversations and he could tell with fair accuracy if the source was using the Army or Navy forms, how old they were, and if the users were actually English, German, French, or Spanish. Depending on how bored he was, Baker took Hogan’s orders to “fight fire with fire” literally, and answered back on the open waves with whatever language he felt like using at the time. The nice thing about working in a camp like this, was that someone, somewhere, knew the language.

Languages were fantastic. He loved them. If you heard his great-great-grandmother talk, it was because back in Africa, nobody thought twice about learning twelve languages before they were mature. Or his mother’s great-uncle who came back from WWI with British Sign Language for his wife. There weren’t enough schools for the colored and there really wasn’t much for the deaf. Least of all for the deaf people of color. But they’d learned, and they’d learned how to sign in British. And the French method, which became American sign, and also, the Sign language of the Plains Indians. There were a few times where Baker had saved their bacon with using that sign around Carter. Carter was too pure a soul to keep his thoughts to himself, but luckily for the Resistance, he answered Sign with Sign and it would never, ever occur to him to talk out loud what someone was saying with their hands.

Carter was a lot of things, but he would never be rude.

This suited Baker. When he’d taken his post Hogan had told him that a leader who knew everything was too weak to trust his own men. Baker had taken THAT to heart. Before long he and Carter were working through what they knew in Sign even if their mouths said different. It was fun, even if Newkirk called it ‘hand-dancing’. (Baker suspected Newkirk knew some BSL).

Humming to himself, Baker popped his ‘phones on his head and toyed with the pleasant possibilities of new equipment.  Or a whole box of vacuum tubes for emergencies. Right now they were down to mostly using the “horsepack set” re-wired to acid batteries instead of the standard hand generator.  It made things interesting because the Germans had a lot of time and money invested in VHF technology and most of the old buzzards giving Hogan his orders were still insisting on protocols that might have worked back in WWI. Baker was glad the scrounging was up to others. There were too many shifts in which it was all his two hands could do to cover up the holes in their system, and there was only so much magnet wire, insulated wire, and galena to go around. Twice since joining the camp he’d had to hold down the fort with his two hands and yelp directions as the others scurried parts to him from the back storage.

All this for unpowered radio. There were days when he missed the grim simplicity of using a steel razor blade and the lead off a pencil to catch a signal in the bottom of a foxhole. At least when it didn’t work, you knew why.

And foxholes could collapse on you. Nah, he didn’t miss that. Forget foxholes. Foxholes could give you nightmares.

I need more sleep, he thought. For a moment he could have sworn there was movement in the room.

The young man looked up, blinking in an attempt to rest his eyes so they would stop seeing things that weren’t there.

A soft plat of mud dropped past his face, grazing his cheek, and died ignominiously on his new clean papers.

“Oh, ugh.” He muttered, and sat back in silent astonishment as the soggy walls quivered like jelly. A moment later he realized it wasn’t the water in his eyes.

O’Brien heard him scream just in time.

# # #

“Ohgod.” Baker stammered. For the past fifteen minutes, that was about all anyone could get out of him.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Carter asked.

“He was nearly smothered in an avalanche of mud!” Newkirk cried.  “Would you be ‘okay?’”

“I don’t know. That’s never happened to me.”

“He’s too cold.” Hogan growled.  “Everyone, back off.  Baker gets the spot behind the stove.” All made space except for LeBeau, who was rustling back and forth through the that cabinet of morbid curiosities he called a spice shelf.  “LeBeau, what are you doing?”

“He’s cold.” LeBeau shot back.  “Don’t worry, I know what he needs—I need that cocoa!” He suddenly yelped. “Someone tell them to hurry up!”

“You heard the men.” Hogan barked.  “I signed for it—Klink should turn them over without any trouble.” Or no more than usual.

It was at that perfect moment that the men returned with the first armload of Red Cross boxes.

It didn’t take long for them to see why Klink was uninterested in paying himself an aggravation tax out of the portions.

# # #

Back in Klink’s office, Klink was wondering if wax cylinders were responsive to the 110% humidity. His precious recordings just weren’t holding up. Perhaps it was the thickness of atmosphere?

“You called for me, Colonel Klink?” Shultz asked politely.

“Oh, yes.” Klink gave up thoughts of music and returned to his desk. “Tell the men to inspect the foundations. As soggy as this earth is, we have to be careful of subsidence.”

Schultz blinked. He was a toymaker, not a Civil Engineer. “For all the buildings?”

“Yes, didn’t I say the foundations? I didn’t say ‘some of’ or ‘part of’—“ He hastily corrected himself. “Don’t bother with the prisoners’ barracks. Just concentrate on the main buildings with concrete block.”

“But we do not inspect the prisoners’ barracks.” Schultz said sadly.

Klink thought Schultz was even more optimistically delusional than normal if he hoped for a crumb of LeBeau’s cooking—even the Frenchman couldn’t muster miracles out of muddy puddles and mold—the two most common ingredients in the camp right now.

“They have troubles of their own right now, Schultz. I don’t want to give Hogan a reason to come out here. Right now they’re finding out about those Red Cross packages.”

Schultz shuddered. “Not even the cockroach could make a good meal out of twenty pounds of curry powder.”

“You are probably exaggerating, sergeant.”

“It is possible. But do you think the shipment was on purpose or a mistake?”

“I have no idea. The Red Cross is supposed to be above petty politics.” The lucky, lucky men.

“I was just wondering. It seems cruel to send the prisoners such rations. Especially this time of year.”

“I told Hogan we would be willing to share a portion of our meals with his if he so chose.”

Schultz gagged. “I hope the Geneva Convention doesn’t hear about this.”

“I knew he wouldn’t accept the offer, Shultz!” Klink snapped. “But I had to make it! It was the only thing I could do!”

# # #

DELIVERED FOR EACH PRISONER OF WAR, STALAG XIII:

·        8 ounces Mulberry fruit in syrup

·        16 ounces lentils

·        2 oz. soap

·        16 oz. flour (chickpea)

·        8 biscuits

·        8 oz. margarine

·        12 ounces Nestle's Milk (powdered or canned)

·        14 oz. rice

·        1 lb. pilchard

·        2 oz.  curry powder

·        8 oz. sugar

·        1 oz. dried eggs

·        2 oz. tea

·        1 oz. salt

·        1/4th lb. chocolate

COURTESY OF THE INDIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY

Back in the Barracks, Hogan’s ears were still burning with Klink’s generosity. He kept clam and watched his men as various and sundry truths (all awful) dawned.

“I like good curry as well as the next Brit, but this is too much of a good thing!” Newkirk exclaimed.

“There’s no meat!” Carter exclaimed. “What’s wrong with the rice? Its brown!!”

“Bloody entire world is locked up in this bloody war,” Newkirk ranted. “And every bloody country gets some sort of rations for their own tastes, and we get the only vegetarian rations ever made!”

“What’s a lentil?” Carter wondered. “Don’t they use that to feed sheep?”

“Pour some outside and see if any sheep come runnin. I’ll take care of it meself.”

LeBeau was groaning. This was not the exaggerated “I am an artist” response to Hogan’s orders to create the impossible. This was a man insulted by futility.

“What are pilchards?” Someone was asking.

“Can you eat them with curry?”

“Mulberries! Hot dog! We’ve got fake blood for our next undercover job!”

“I’m allergic to chickpeas!”

“This isn’t even real tea. It’s green tea! I’m not drinking anything that tastes like Timothy Grass!”

“Yippee! Margarine!”

“This is chocolate?”

“Two whole ounces of soap! Everybody cut theirs in half—we can keep clean AND bait the rats!”

“I didn’t know mulberries grew in India.”

“Hey, look! Nestle’s!” Carter yipped. “Man, you want to talk about big blazing fireballs! All that sugar, I guess—oh. Here ya go, LeBeau. Sorry, Baker.”

“Hey, that’s odd.”

No odder than hearing Private Addison open his mouth.

Everyone, even Baker and LeBeau, stopped what they were doing and looked at their token doorstop. He was staring out one of the more convenient cracks in the wall.

Broughton went over to his buddy and peered. “Hey that is odd. Colonel, you might want to take a look. The Germans are acting funny.”

Now everyone was looking.

“They’re inspectin’ the foundations.” Newkirk realized. “Wonder why? Their buildin’s’re solid enough to hold up to any rain.”

“Foundations can shift.” Baker chattered. He was grateful to take LeBeau’s fresh cup of warm water colored with Nestle and some of the ersatz chocolate. He just tried not to think of how it looked like a cup of runny mud. “Maybe theyr’e worried about a collapse.”

“Cor who wouldn’t be? And how are we going to deal with a collapsed tunnel? The earth keeps sinkin’, the Germans are gonna notice. And we’ve got a big hole about to open up right between 2 and 3.”

Hogan had been thinking precisely the same thing. It was possible his brains were rusty from lack of use, but as so often happened, someone’s idle comment was the impetus for his brilliance.

“Baker!” Hogan barked. “Come with me! Right now!”

As the Barracks gaped, Hogan grabbed his staff sergeant and took off running as well as terrain permitted, a sputtering, muddy Baker in tow.

# # #

Klink hadn’t expected Hogan to return quite so quickly, or half as loudly. Or with company. He was in his office trying to figure out how to clean mold off his wax cylinder collection when a particular THUMP announced the return of his particular anti-muse.

“COLONEL KLINK! I DEMAND TO MOVE THE LATRINES RIGHT NOW!”

“Hogan, you shouldn’t be yelling.” Schultz was chiding.

“I DON’T CARE FOR MY MEN TO BE LAUGHINGSTOCKS! RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR MEN, SGT!! I DEMAND YOU GIVE US PERMISSION TO MOVE THE LATRINES!”

“What are you talking about, Hogan?” Schultz asked wearily. “And what is wrong with you, Baker?”

“Mud!”

“I can see that, Hogan.”

“The ground’s getting too soft! It collapsed in on him. Baker’s the first one to fall casualty to this rain but he won’t be the last.” Klink could hear Hogan in the front room as he drew himself up with his hands wrapped around his elbows. “What’s the Stalag going to do about this, Schultz?  As prisoners we have the right not to drown in a sinkhole!”

“Yeah!” Baker chimed in. “What’s K-klink gonna d-do about this?”

Klink opened the door and stared at the incredible sight. Hogan had Baker with him, and Baker was covered with rank mud from head to toe. One of the Barrack’s thin blankets was draped over his shoulders and a cup of thin mud steamed weakly in his hand.

Klink’s skull throbbed. “Baker, why did my men make you fall in the latrine?”

“Uh…” Baker chattered.

Hogan’s mouth was already opening for a fresh salvo of…whatever. Klink lifted his hand and stood. Without a word he went to his cabinet and pulled out a bottle. “Baker, what are you drinking?”

“I think its chocolate.”

“I don’t think the Swiss would approve.” Klink tossed a hefty splash in the mug. “It won’t make it taste better.” He warned. “But it should keep you away from the doctor.”

What the hell. Baker decided his day had just hit a high note. Liquor from a German officer was a pretty damn fine way to summarize his day if he wanted to dwell on the positive. He knocked the whole thing down and gasped for breath. He kept gasping.

Hogan’s nose wrinkled. “What IS that?”

“Wutendes Drachenfeuer.”

“‘Angry dragonfire?’“ Hogan translated with the most suspicious look Klink had seen off anyone outside his own family.

“We carried it with us in the high-altitude flights.”

“Killer-diller, that’s worse than my granny’s How-come-you-so!” Baker’s admiration was frank and unfeigned. Like a return from death, color rose to his cheeks. His spine straightened and a sparkle came back to his eyes. His lips lost their blue tinge. “Zow! I didn’t know you could make moonshine out of cayenne peppers! Wait ‘till I tell Mom! She’ll take a powder for the day job!”

Klink’s monocle fell out. “I am pleased to think your mother would be thankful for the news, but would you speak English? American is hard enough to understand.”

Hogan shook his head. “Are you all right, Baker?”

“Nebber Bedder!” Baker beamed. “Wow.” Steam was coiling off his body as his body temperature rose.

Klink bristled at Hogan’s expression. “It isn’t poison! Unless he was perfectly healthy. It should wear off in half an hour.” His mouth tightened. “Now, did my men mock Baker for falling into the latrine?”

Hogan’s fabricated response was halted as Baker began humming bits and pieces of The Pretty Young Girl of Ronceverte.

“Baker, you are too young to know that song.” Hogan sighed. “Colonel, we need to move the latrines to a safer spot for now. The rains—“

“Yes, yes, I understand, but I don’t know where you could move them.” Klink snapped. “Oh—“ A thought came to him. “Move them to your Barracks!”

“My Barracks?!” Hogan yelped. “But the smell—“

“It would be the safest place to put them, wouldn’t it? You may not appreciate this, but Barracks 3 is one of the drier places in the camp!” Klink locked the cabinet, sat down, and began writing busily. “That is an order, Hogan! Move the Prisoner Latrines to Barracks 3!”

“Don’t snap your cap, sir.” Baker beamed. “We can do it. I’ll help.”

“You are not helping.”

“I can sing to the men. I know lots of songs for field labor.”

“I’m sure you do, Baker…”

Klink sighed in relief as they left. Schultz was still staring.

“The latrine collapsed on him! I haven’t seen anything like that since the last war!”

“I was afraid something like this would happen.”

“Hogan looks very angry.”

“I did tell him to move the latrines to Barracks 3.”

“Oh. That would not make anyone happy.”

“Well if they don’t want to find a sinkhole where the toilet is, they’d best make changes. I warned the Engineers! But did they listen to me, oh, no!” He puffed out his chest and crossed his eyes. “Kolonel Klink, ve asshure you ve know vat ve are talking about.”

Schultz laughed. “You have a good impersonation of Hochstetter.”

“That wasn’t Hochstetter. Things are bad enough without him being here!” Klink’s voice dropped. “And he’s overdue for a visit as it is.”

The Germans shut up, but their eyes cast nervous lines about the room. Hochstetter was a more immediate devil than der Fuhrer…and it was never wise to invoke the devil.

[aesarctic]

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

I reread The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle series, by Maggie Stiefvater.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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THE SUPER NON-SPOILERY REVIEW: This is one of my all-time favourite series. This start to the series is fantastic. I highly recommend reading it. Please note that the synopsis only gives a slight fraction of what actually goes on in the book. There's so much more, and it's so, very worth it. THE NON-SPOILERY REVIEW: The characters? Awesome. The plot? Amazing. The writing style? Incredible. Everything about the book? Fantastic. Everything I said up there? 100% true. I love this book. The writing style is so different, but it works. The characters feel like actual people rather than paper dolls. THE SPOILER REVIEW:

Disclaimer: This entire review was written after my first re-read of the book. I have read the rest of the series. I will include a section at the bottom that goes over things that may spoil the other three books.

We open with a prologue, and its first sentence: "Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love." I don't like that line. I've come to terms with it because I've read the rest of the series, and there's so much more than that plot line, but I needed to say that. The church watch is one of my favourite scenes. It's one of the moments of the book that is so mysterious. There are ghost-phantoms walking in a line like grade-schoolers, each saying their name because Blue and Neeve need to write it down on a notebook for future psychic meetings. Because their family is a bunch of real psychics. This is the beginning that I love. We meet the Original Gang in a single-file line, organized with Maggie numbering them for us. I like it. Appreciation for: "'What's Ashley?'" "We're supposed to look nice for Ashley so it's a good thing I have a grease stain on my clothing now." --Richard Campbell Gansey III Gansey isn't my favourite character, but he's so human, I can't say I dislike him. Normal book characters make it easy, but Gansey feels like a real person, and I appreciate that too much. Especially when he says lines like, "'Ask me if I found something,'" and has self-doubt moments, like where he asks Adam, "'Why? Was I so awful?'" "Am I invited?" Adam. Another character I don't love, but I definitely don't hate. Lines like this make me feel for him. With every book, there are chapters you like and chapters you don't, but with this book, no matter how subtle, every chapter is used, and I appreciate that greatly. "'Ashley, this is Gansey. Dick Gansey.'" Bond. James Bond. Gansey has so much more courage than I do--I guess that's why Maggie put him in Gryffindor. When people ask about his hobbies and interests, he tells them. I do what I can to avoid talking about what I like, knowing it'll probably be boring for the other person. Adam and Gansey's relationship is weird for me to read about. Sometimes it feels completely real, and other times it feels really plastic. Adam talks about things that Gansey left out in his mini-rant--"He left out the part how it haunted him...the midnight calls to Adam when he couldn't sleep for obsessing about his search."--and that feels so real. Noah is my favourite character. Hands down. I love how straight-forward about being dead he is, and rereading the book, it's so obvious. He mentions it casually all the time, he references it, he does things that indicate he's dead. It's one of those things you don't expect, so you don't predict it, but it's really just right there. I love how he cares for his family and friends. He made a good relationship with Ronan and Blue. He asked Blue to talk to his family for him. I hate Whelk. Also, his chapters were sort of boring to read from. I hate him for other reasons, but that was something, too. Gansey considers Noah a close friend, but I find it strange how no one knows about Noah. I talk about all of my friends all the time. Gansey talks about Adam and Ronan, but never Noah? That seems to be stretching it. Everyone sees Gansey's friend group as three people total, and I have a hard time believing none of them ever mentioned Noah in a story. It wasn't as if he never did anything. Noah was there when Ronan was building the ramp to propel his car to the moon. He was using his fingers to visualize a measurement. He at least somewhat participates in things. I didn't catch this my first time around, but Blue was so against having Raven Boy friends. I almost laughed every time she mentioned how much she hated them. "'My socially inhibited friend Adam thinks you're cute, but he's unwilling to make a move. Over there. Not the smudgy one. Not the sulky one.'" ..."One was smudge, just as he said, with a rumpled faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times." So, first, foreshadowing for Noah being dead. Sometimes I forget he did have some colour to him, as everyone thinks he's alive. I always imagine him as off-white and ghost-like. There must have been more. Second, I never saw Ronan as sulky. I had to reread that a few times. Poor Gansey, trying his best to be understanding and polite and failing miserably in almost every conversation that I can remember. I love the idea of Noah babysitting Ronan. No wonder Ronan and Noah have such a good relationship (another fact I love)--they're together so often because of Noah's unpaid babysitting rig (courtesy of Gansey). Ronan and Gansey's relationship is something I'll never quite get clear. They're friends. They both respect each other, I think. They both look out for each other. Maybe? I mean, on one hand, it's a definite yes, and on the other, sometimes Ronan's anger makes it confusing. I wish we could get a full on book on how all four boys (because Noah counts) became friends with each other. I'll include that the scene where Ronan is building that ramp to the moon with Noah's help is one of my favourite friendship scenes. Not to mention Ronan grieving for Noah when he find out he's dead. This has turned into a Ronan and Noah bullet point, but whatever. I'd also like a copy of Gansey's journal. It sounds like what my sketchbook looks like, but more. I'm not a romance person whatsoever, so shout-out to Blue's curse so she can't kiss anyone. You're doing great. I know it seems like this review has no order to it, I'm sure none of my reviews have any order, but I do actually go through my book as I write this points. I just hit the point where Malory calls, and I'm here to say that I dislike Malory. I have no respect for him. He's a side-ish character that I'm sure is beneficial to the story, but gods, I wish I could just not hear about him. He doesn't appeal to me. "Whenever Gansey talked to British people about America, they always seemed to think he meant Texas." This seems accurate, to my understanding. I'm American, so I wouldn't completely know, but my dad did not grow up in the States, so I have a small understanding. I appreciate this line. Shout-out to my notes. The book says, "It rang twice before Ronan's voicemail said merely, 'Ronan Lynch.'" The way I responded was, "I can't believe Ronan put that much care into his voicemail." "Whelk was not sleeping." Good. Calla. When I first read this series, I did not have the appreciation I should have for her. I love Calla, now. All of the comments Blue makes, things like, "Calla would have put her middle finger up at them" or whatever that line was. The way Calla is just kind of like, "Oh, hey, a secret killed you father, by the way. Is that enough proof for you?" Not to mention, "Blue, don't forget we're going through Neeve's stuff Friday night. Don't forget." Other lines include, "I got his license plate number." "'No,' Calla corrected. 'Kick him in the nuts. Then run the other way.'" "She hissed, 'What are you?'" [Ronan storms out.] "'He asked for a specific. I gave him a specific. I'm sorry it wasn't puppies.'" "'Maura,' Calla said, "that was very rude.' Then she added, 'I liked it.'" "'Are you putting yourself out with the trash?'" So many nicknames for the four boys: 1) The smudgy one 2) The sulky one 3) The elegant one 4) President Cell phone 5) Soldier Boy 6) The mean one 7) The white trash one 8) Captain Frigid 9) Trailer Park Boy 10) Scholarship friend 11) The Irish one Bonus: calling Chainsaw a b*st*rd in the beginning and a pterodactyl later on. The scene where the boys make their way over to Blue's for the reading is another favourite in the book. They find out everyone's met, and everyone's dumbfounded. Blue, who isn't speaking, asks if she should leave because she's being loud (to which we know what that means) and the boys are like "What the heck are you talking about?" I'd also like to point out that when Blue mentions the difference between Gansey's and Adam's politeness, I think that's important. I love how it's the intention of the card picking. Gansey doesn't have to pick if he intends Blue to pick it. I love what that leads to, too. Blue picks her card, Gansey picks her card, Maura takes that card away, Gansey picks death. Nice. Then Gansey says, "'Actually, I don't care about that.'" Nice. "Ah, yeah, death? I know of him. He's pretty whatever." Maura: "What is this 'ley line?' I don't think I've heard of it." (Meanwhile she drew it while in the shower and visits the corpse road once a year.) *Persephone leaves the room via pie crust worries* Calla: "I'm not good with specifics" (Meanwhile, she unravels more than half of Neeve's secrets later in the book and unraveled Ronan's earlier) Shout-out to Gansey saying they're all adults there. When Noah suffers, I suffer: "Noah stood in the doorway to his room, his face pathetic and long-suffering. 'Make [the noise] stop,' he said." Shout-out: "'What the fresh hell is this?' Gansey asked pleasantly." Another all-time favourite scene: Ronan saving Gansey from the wasp. I'm not exactly sure what to say about it, but I love it. It shows friendship, I guess. Or trustworthiness? Respect for Gansey not dying? The fact that Ronan has some heart left? One of the main lines of this book is "it's starting," and it's so cliché, but it fits. Also, when Noah says, "'Don't throw it away,'" what is the "it?" I can't believe Aglionby's honour code goes as far as not having locks for the lockers. Are the students allowed to get their own locks if they want? Is that against the rules? I guess so. Shout-out to the fact that Calla's work involves Aglionby. I'd love to know more about that. I don't remember if we ever find out more about that or not. I wish I could remember, and if we don't, I wish we did. When Adam sends flowers to Blue, all that I could think of was that flowers are temporary. Flowers die. I like how Maggie goes back to Adam's accent every now and then. She even has Blue explain that bit about the word "pretty." I'm very into dialects, accents, and language, and I found that great. "'Safe as life.'" Another main line. Another great line. Helen making fun of Gansey's obsession with Henrietta gives me life. I think a lot of things that deals with the church confuse me. Gansey knows where it is because he was able to record Blue's voice while he was there. However, he constantly needs directions to get there. Also he knows the name of it and Blue doesn't. "'Ronan said, 'I'm always straight.' "Adam replied, 'Oh man, that's the biggest lie you've ever told.'" When I first read this book, I was wary. One of my friends recommended it to me. I opened it, and the writing style was different. The characters were different (human). The humour was different (and familiar). Spoiler alert: the writing style, characters, and humour are three reasons that I love this series more than many, many other series and books. I read this line, and I believe my thought process was something along the lines of, "Yes. That's it. I like this series." It's a repeated joke I hear millions of times a day, and it was so familiar and comfortable, it was nice to read it from book characters. Shout-out to the description "broccoli trees." Cabeswater is more of a character than a setting. I have an appreciation for its mysteriousness, but it's not my favourite. I've grown to like it more since I read the series for the first time, though. I love that Noah has this thing where he pets Blue's hair. I do that, too, to my friends. The moment Blue and Gansey find Noah's body, I will never forgive them. They call the police, and he's moved off the ley line. Bye, Noah. Blame your friends. I'm glad they fixed it, though, via grave robbing his bones and moving them to a creepy rundown church. Another favourite scene (the first book is full of them, I know): Gansey's confrontation with Noah about finding his body. And figuring out his last name. And that part about him being dead. Noah has this moment: he's stealing energy from Blue, and the moment he materializes, he's apologizing. He hesitates before bumping knuckles with Adam, and he's explaining that he was more when he was alive. He has a conversation with Ronan, Adam, and Blue about being dead, and you can still tell he feels bad and is confused. He doesn't remember dying--or when he stopped being alive, I should say. He then talks about Whelk, and I already don't like him (Whelk) without that part of the conversation. I have too many feels sometimes. You'd think Maura would be good at keeping her word that her and Neeve would be home at midnight. Gansey makes a point that he wants to fix Noah, and all I have are exclamation points. He wants to fix Noah. It's a Quest--capital Q. He wants that. It's a main point of his. So much is packed into the last fifty pages, and yet it doesn't feel rushed at all. The fight between Gansey and Adam. I don't know how to feel. I think Adam is supposed to be the "correct" side of the argument, but this issue is something I'm not familiar with. Adam has the right to be angry, of course. Maybe it's right to take it out on Gansey, or maybe it isn't. I'm not sure. Gansey's always trying to help, and from what I remember, he always tells the truth, but he did pay off Adam's insurance? I can see why Adam's upset, I guess. One thing, though, and this annoys me, is that Adam makes a point of Gansey's vocabulary. The entire book, Adam is telling Gansey to fix his words: use simpler words. This makes sense, as everyone wants to know what Gansey is saying. However, Gansey was raised with an excellent vocabulary. It's not a different language--it's all English--but it's almost a different branch of English. Gansey was raised on X branch while everyone else was raised on Y branch. Of course Gansey's X-branch words are going to be different. Of course he's going to need correcting. Of course this is going to take time to correct. They've only known each other for a year, and it will take longer than a year. What I'm getting at is while it's okay for Adam to ask for clarification, I don't think he should use it as a target point during the argument. I'm sure Adam is very annoyed at Gansey's vocabulary, and I understand why, but I still don't think it's right. And this leads me to how Gansey responds to Adam lashing out at it: "'This is the way I talk. I'm sorry your father never taught you the meaning of repugnant. He was too busy smashing your head against the wall of your trailer while you apologized for being alive.'" This was too far. I knew it, Adam knew it, Gansey knew it. It was addressed as too far. Everyone knew it wasn't okay. I don't think I need to discuss why, but I just wanted to say that while I can rant for two paragraphs on one point of Adam's, I'm not excusing these lines that Gansey says. All of the characters have flaws. Every single one. Everyone is trying to fix themselves and figure out themselves and become better people. That's human. That's excellent writing. Towards the end of the book, we see a lot of that. Appreciation for Blue calling out for Noah when she gets to Monmouth, and then Noah commenting on Blue's hair. It's not that Adam has bad intuition or anything--he knew he needed to do something about the ley line. It's just that he thought he had to wake it up. It was good he left to wake it up, otherwise things would have ended badly with Neeve and Whelk, but there must have been something else Adam could do. And then he became Cabeswater's eyes and ears, and that was something else. Appreciation for Noah's concern for Adam. I wish I had kept track of everyone who said things are changing. Maura, Ronan, Gansey? Blue? I think there were others, too. Adam, maybe? Whelk missing Noah is very strange. I think he misses the idea of Noah. Not the actual Noah. I love when they go to Noah's funeral and everything after. The interaction of Blue with his family (I have this theory that "I'm sorry I drank your birthday schnapps" is a code for something in the Czerny family), the later grave robbing, putting Noah's bones in the ground at the church, everything Noah says and is when he reappears. Maybe I really like Noah. Maybe he's my favourite character. SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT THREE BOOKS: Disclaimer: All page numbers for The Raven Boys (TRB) is for the paperback copy. -"'Gansey,' he said. ...'That's all there is.'" (page 15; TRB) "'Gansey,' he said. 'That's all there is.'" (page 417; TRK - hardback) -The entire interaction when Gansey goes in for his reading. We know what the third choice may be with Adam. We know what Calla means about Ronan's father. We know what death and Gansey mean. -When Adam gave Blue the flowers (page 81), my first thought was that flowers are temporary. They die. Almost like Blue and Adam's romantic relationship. Foreshadowing? Looking too deep into it? Who knows -"Ronan, I want you to tell me again what you'd found out about dreamtime and song lines." (page 233) -There are many tiny hints to Ronan creating Cabeswater -Adam and Ronan have many thoughts about each other. First thoughts. Their relationship is foreshadowed this way. -Blue makes a mental note to look out for Gansey being one for levity. I don't know if she does look out for that in the future, but I'd like to know if she does. (page 358) I've heard that you should read The Raven King before rereading this book. I did not have time for that, but next time! I'll see if there's any more foreshadowing. In the meantime, if someone else would like to tell me any foreshadowing they found in this book, I'd love to hear it! EDIT: I need to add more. The characters are so thought out, real, and human. Maybe I mentioned this, but I have an incredibly hard time hating people. I don't have an incredibly hard time hating book characters, movie characters, or TV show characters. They're too flat. They're like the emotions from Inside Out. But these characters are so different. I can't hate any of them. I feel bad disliking some more than others. Let's take Adam, for example. Out of the four boys, he's my least favorite. Except he's not. It's so blurry and unclear. How do I feel about Adam? Sometimes I like him and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I find him relateable and sometimes I don't. And every character is like that! They're all so human! It's incredible! I love it! And the setting is so well done. Setting the tones for each place: Cabeswater, 300 Fox Way, the diner Blue works at, Aglionby. All of it. I mean, especially Cabeswater, I really like Cabeswater. The plot gets a little iffy for me, but it still works so well. Everything's a huge 3D puzzle. It has ups and downs and isn't flat, but it fits together. In real life, everything affects something. In this book, everything affects something.