#except for brooke…. didn’t do her justice :(

[misiahasahardname]

the tdd cast have many reasons as to why they signed up to total drama!

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Paramount War (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

ace’s execution is, in a way, the exception that proves the rule when it comes to one piece’s themes of blood and family. ace is set up to die for the crimes of a father he never knew and never wanted, and he does die here, but in the end he dies for the family he did choose, in the form of luffy, rather than the one he didn’t. 

god do i wish we knew more about ms portgas d. rouge. with ace’s storyline pretty much wrapped it looks unlikely that we’re going to be learning more about her than what we got, which in my opinion is an absolute tragedy, because what little we do know about her is amazing and she’s an absolute badass. oda give us more female ds please.

whitebeard’s power is so cool. it might be one of the visually coolest devil fruits we’ve ever seen, in my opinion. he he causes earthquakes and tsunamis while far past his prime; he pulls the sky apart with his bare hands. this whole arc is world-shaking, and whitebeard’s power is perfectly appropriate for it. 

doflamingo’s speech on justice and rightness is one of the most well-remembered quotes from this whole saga, and rightly so. i’ve always found it fascinating, myself, because he’s right. he dead-on hits how the one piece world works- the world government and the marines rule the world not because of any inherent actual goodness or justice or right, but because they won a war a very long time ago. 

in a way, this reminds me of blackbeard’s line of “people’s dreams never die” from jaya. i like how oda isn’t afraid of letting his villains be right about the themes of the story, sometimes even having better awareness of them than the protagonists. 

man, if i had to pick a single favorite spread out of the whole manga, it might be luffy’s marineford entrance. it’s so epic, and so completely unexpected for everyone else there. absolutely nobody was expecting strawhat luffy to drop out of the sky with a posse including two former warlords. it just makes me grin!! so much!! 

it also gets followed up by a solid two pages of just people’s reactions, from smoker’s “what the HELL is he doing with CROCODILE” to moria’s immediate incoherent rage, and i just love that the world and cast of one piece is so well-established and built up that we know exactly how all of those people know luffy and why they react the way they do. 

going back to what i mentioned in the last post about marineford being luffy’s conflict of interest arc, i’d say it’s also the only time where he isn’t the future king first and foremost. in this arc, before anything else, he’s a little brother.

there are a lot of what-if moments in marineford. moments where you kind of have to ask “what if this specific thing hadn’t happened, had gone differently?” would things have turned out differently? squard’s betrayal is one of them. does this change the outcome? would whitebeard have been able to survive if not for this injury? there’s no way to know. marineford is a lot of little tragedies, and they just pile up and up.

marineford has just so many incredibly striking spreads. all of the momentous moments (and there’s a lot of them, in this arc) are done full justice. this is such an image heavy post just because marineford is such an incredibly visually strong arc. 

conqueror’s haki is so cool and i love the way it’s set up and built up throughout this saga, with luffy’s constant inadvertent uses of it, from duval’s bull to marigold and sandersonia to the wolves in impel down, all leading up to this moment. 

i’ve heard people complain about conqueror’s as kind of a deus ex machina, but i honestly love it, it’s very cool and honestly i think it just seems to fit luffy as a power. if there was ever gonna be a character who turned willpower into a weapon, it would be monkey d. luffy. 

i’m gonna take this chance to talk about garp, because this sequence of panels is heavily implied to be garp’s thoughts just before luffy punches him down, and it hurts. garp is a flawed person who makes some bad choices, and there’s no arguing that, but i think it’s very obvious he really, really cares about his grandsons, even if he never could understand them as people and that they never would have been happy as marines. and that’s just tragic, really. 

the moment ace gets freed and the brief span of time where he and luffy can fight together feel so triumphant, and i think it’s one of the reasons the final tragedy of marineford hits so hard and feels so cruel, because luffy succeeds, here. he saves ace. he gives absolutely everything he had and makes it, and saves ace. the ultimate failure isn’t his. there was nothing more he could have done. 

the first time i was reading one piece, i hit this page (which is also the last in the volume) and had to put the book away, take the bus downtown, wander around for a few hours, and buy myself some candy and some new books before i started feeling okay again.

the thing about ace’s death, i think, is that it’s a tragedy, but it also feels so completely essential to the story going forwards and luffy’s character growth specifically that it’s really, really hard to imagine one piece without it. there are a lot of (really excellent!) fix-fics out there for marineford, and although those are often really good and their authors super talented, i think it’s really hard for them to ever hit the same way canon does with regards to this. 

i always think of this scene specifically in contrast to zoro and mihawk’s fight, back on baratie. zoro and mihawk are both people who believe in honor in battle, true victory or death, and that’s reflected in their fight, in zoro’s refusal to turn and run even in the face of imminent death, and mihawk’s respect for that resolve. whitebeard, too, is an honorable man. he refuses to turn to run, even when facing certain death. 

the blackbeard pirates, however, are not. 

i do enjoy how, just like roger’s, ace’s execution backfires tremendously on the marines. this was entirely a predictable outcome, too! this exact thing happened twenty years ago! the marines don’t learn. they don’t change. they’re so assured of their own rightness and power that they make stupid mistakes like holding a massive public execution after the last one blew up in their faces. 

(this is why they need coby so badly, for the record, and why it’s important that he still decides to become a marine after witnessing their corruption firsthand in shells town. the marines are long overdue for a reformation, one that orients them towards real justice.)

i really, really enjoy crocodile in this saga. mostly because he hasn’t been redeemed at all, he’s still pretty much the exact same kinda awful person he was in alabasta, he’s just on luffy’s side this time, and it lets us see him in a better light, when he gets angry at whitebeard for nearly dying or when he helps luffy and jinbe escape to keep the marines from getting their way. few of one piece’s characters are truly so one-dimensional as they can seem, and i really appreciate that. 

i really really love all the interactions between luffy, ace and sabo as kids. they’re so fun and bounce off of each other so well. even though we only see them together for a brief time, they really feel like siblings. (which of course only makes later events hurt so much more.

i’ve always been a little fascinated by the fact that it takes us this long to get luffy’s full backstory. it’s almost a fakeout, because we get part of his backstory in the very first chapter, and we’re kind of led to believe that’s all there is. it’s not until ace’s introduction nearly two hundred chapters in that we’re given any indication there’s more.

but at the same time, it makes sense. marineford is luffy’s focus arc, as arlong park to nami or thriller bark to brook. he hasn’t had a focal arc that’s really about him before this, while all his other crewmates have. it makes sense that this would be when he finally gets his flashback. 

i think it’s cool that dragon and the revolutionaries show up at the grey terminal fire, because it’s one of the only looks we’ve gotten so far into what their actual regular operations are like. and, of course, they’re saving people. i really like this about the revolutionaries, that helping people in trouble is basically their modus operandi, when pretty much everyone else in one piece’s world mostly does saving on an incidental basis if at all. 

i think a lot about how the last line of sabo’s letter to ace is also both of their last words to the strawhats. 

death in one piece always feels much realer and more impactful to me than in most other series, and i think this is part of the reason why: in one piece, we are always shown the mourning. nami at bellemere’s grave, carrot grieving pedro, ace and whitebeard’s funeral. 

there are fewer deaths, comparatively, than most other series, but they’re given so much room to echo. we’re still feeling the impacts of ace’s life and death in the most recent chapters of wano. it ties into the theme of inherited will and all the way back to hiriluk’s final speech, of men not being dead so long as they’re remembered. 

the picture of luffy at marineford always kind of strikes me. he looks so young and so solemn, and yet much more himself than he did when we last saw him losing his mind on amazon lily. i really like it. 

sometimes i just think about the sheer depth of trust and love the strawhats must have in each other to separate for two years, far longer than they were ever together, to solely dedicate themselves to improving for the sake of crew and captain. none of them even hesitate, and none of them ever doubt that the crew will be reformed at the end of it.

after all, luffy keeps his promises. 

[mochegato]

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 9 – Who Do You Know

Chapter 1     Chapter 8

*Note: Most of Batman’s dialogue and all of Red Tornado’s is from the show, so, not my words.

This had passed frustrating several rooms ago.  Now, Conner was straight up annoyed.  He searched each room as they passed by them from the hanger to the communications center, searching for any indication of what time it was.  Had there always been this jarring lack of clocks in the Cave?  He could swear he had always been able to tell the time before.  Or maybe it was just that time hadn’t mattered until he was counting down the minutes to Chimera’s return.  As soon as he got the chance, he was going to put a clock in every room in the Cave and start wearing a watch.

She was supposed to be back anytime now.  She was scheduled to fly ridiculously early that morning into whichever city she was supposedly staying in instead of the Cave and Zeta tube into the Cave as soon as she could.  He absolutely had not been pushing to get the Team back as soon as possible after their mission wrapped up so they would be there in time to greet her.  Okay, so maybe ‘absolutely’ was not the correct word there… or ‘not’.  

He hadn’t seen Chimera in person for a little over a week now and he missed her, so nobody can really blame him for being excited to see her again.  But more than missing her, he was worried about her. She had been extremely apprehensive going home.  She had tried to cover it, but he knew her better.  And eventually, after much wearing down as a result of a coordinated effort by him and Robin, she admitted she was nervous of being reminded of the final battle.  He didn’t know how bad the battle was or exactly how badly it had scarred her, just that it had, but if her reaction to the failure exercise was any indication, it was severe.  Being back there without anyone to talk to about it, anyone who could understand her reactions, could be devastating for her.

On top of that, the trip came within a few weeks of Robin’s breakdown after the Haley’s Circus mission and her discovering that Conner had been using shields Lex Luther had given him to enhance his powers.  He had never seen her so angry.  He didn’t think she was capable of that amount of rage and he prayed to whatever god or goddess responsible for watching over them, that she never directed that anger toward him.  He was honestly concerned for Superman the next time she saw him and Conner had kept a close eye on her after she found out to make sure she didn’t go after Lex by herself.  After the anger receded, he could see the disappointment set in.  That was more disturbing than the anger.  While the anger had been jarring, seeing the disappointment in herself for having missed that he had turned to the shields was heartbreaking.  

She looked like she was barely holding it together before she left.  Her phone call on Christmas had done nothing to calm his fears.  She had tried to cover, but he could hear how empty her voice sounded no matter how cheery she tried to make it sound.  He could almost convince himself he imagined it but Robin had been there for the call too and he heard it as well.  He needed her to get back so he could be assured she was okay.  Conner wanted to see her, hold her, feel her in his arms, hear her laugh, so he could make sure she was okay.  He wouldn’t believe she was okay until he could.

Superboy was knocked out of his concentration by Batman’s gravely voice. “…  The mole was Red Arrow.”

“Rolly?” Robin exclaimed in shock.

“No way,” Kid Flash insisted.

“Batman that cannot be,” Aqualad spoke up.  Roy was his best friend.  He would more easily believe himself capable of betrayal than Roy.  “He was Green Arrow’s protégé.  We have all known him for years.”

“Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone,” Batman informed them calmly.  Superboy froze, staring at Batman in shock.  Roy was another clone, like him.  

“We have learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming the Green Arrow’s sidekick.  The clone was preprogrammed with the drive to become a member of the League.”  Superboy furrowed his brow.  Had that been their plan for him as well?  If the Team hadn’t rescued him when they had, who knows what they could have made him do.

“We believe when his mission was taking too long, they enlisted someone to help him speed up the process.  With her help, he was finally admitted into the League, at which point his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Savage,” Batman continued.

“Who was helping him?  Was there a second mole or was it someone assisting from the outside?” Aqualad asked.

“It was a second mole.  His girlfriend, Chimera,” Batman answered unemotionally.

“What?” Superboy exclaimed louder than he meant to, shock and hurt quickly flashing over his face before turning to a glower.

“I was unaware they had started a relationship,” Aqualad stated carefully, a slight furrow in his brow.  Roy had mentioned he was getting very close to Chimera, but had not mentioned that it had progressed to that level.  Not to mention he had thought Chimera was closer with Conner than Roy, but then again, he tended to misread romantic overtures.  But, the idea that Chimera may have betrayed them was disturbing, but then again if Roy could be a mole, could he really be certain of anyone. Certainly the timing of Chimera’s introduction to the Team coinciding with evidence of the mole arising was suspect.

“Chimera isn’t a mole and she isn’t dating Roy,” Robin insisted, whirling on Batman in shock.

Batman nodded.  “We are not certain she was assisting him, but there is more than a little evidence to support the idea that she was.  I’ve been keeping an eye on her since she joined and facts seem to match up.  As for dating, I’m sorry to say she is.  We didn’t tell anyone because she claimed she didn't want to cause strife within the Team, but with this new information, it seems like there was something more to it. We believe she may have been his handler.  She joined the Team to help Red Arrow get into the League and sabotage the Team’s missions subtly.”  His voice was cold.  “Red Arrow has gone into hiding, but we don’t think he’s been able to contact Chimera about it yet.  When she comes back let us know immediately.  Do not alert her that we are aware.”

“There is no way…” Artemis interjected loudly.

“She would never!” Kid Flash exclaimed at the same time.

“Chimera would never betray us like that,” Conner insisted angrily.  How dare Batman suggest Chimera would betray them!  She was like a daughter to him.  She might not realize their relationship was like that, Hell, Batman might not realize it was like that, but Batman treated her like he treated Robin and Conner wasn’t blind enough to miss the protective pats and hair ruffling.  He certainly hadn’t missed how Robin treated her like a sister.  And after all that, Batman would so easily believe the worst of her.

“The clone Roy and Chimera, the Team will apprehend them,” Aqualad stated gravely.

“Negative.  Red Arrow is a member of the Justice League and Chimera was working with him to betray us. We will handle them both,” Batman answered.  He suddenly turned away, bringing his hand to his ear.  “I’m needed in the Watchtower.  Tornado, watch the kids.”  He strode away without further discussion.

“Okay, but we’re going to get to them first, right?” Kid Flash spoke up quietly, so Red Tornado couldn’t hear him.

He looked up quickly, apprehension on his face when Red Tornado hurried toward them before suddenly stopping midstride. They all stared in confusion. “Tornado!” Kid Flash exclaimed, moving to check for any outward signs of a cause.

“What happened to him?” Rocket asked.

Zatanna raised her hands to her temples.  She could feel something strange.  Something was off about the whole situation.  “I’m sensing a low level mystic force at play.  I don’t know if it caused his shutdown, but… come to think about it I was getting the same buzz off Batman.”

“Magic… like Chimera?” Artemis asked.

Zatanna shook her head.  “No. It feels different than Chimera’s magic.”

“Could it be different because it’s a trace, not the full impact?” Aqualad asked.

“No. I’ve sensed Chimera’s faded magic. All the Cave is steeped in it.  I haven’t sensed this before.  Not to mention, Batman said he hadn’t been around Chimera.  How would her magic be on him if he wasn’t and why would she implicate herself?”

“That wasn’t Batman,” Robin said aggressively.

“Robin…” Aqualad started calmly.

“He can still be Batman and wrong,” Superboy growled. “We don’t know if he is being lied to. We just know Chimera isn’t betraying us.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know she’s doing it…” Rocket hedged.  “Batman said Red Arrow didn’t know.”

“That might be an option except he said she’s his handler.  That means she knows what she’s doing.  She’s aware. It isn’t programming.  And he said she’s dating Roy.  Chimera isn’t dating Roy and she isn’t a traitor… And Batman never calls us ‘kids’,” Robin insisted, turning his focus back to examining readouts on Red Tornado.

Aqualad shook his head sympathetically but firmly. “Roy has said he and Chimera were getting close and they wanted to keep the fact secret, which confirms at least that part of what Batman said.  We know very little about her personal life.”

“You know less about mine,” Robin challenged, brooking no resistance.  He knew Chimera.  Maybe he had only known her for a few months, but he knew her and trusted her.  She couldn’t do this.  She just couldn’t.  “I would know if she were dating, especially a team member or hero.  There's a reason she told us she doesn't date teammates. There's…”  He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out how to phrase what he was thinking without revealing Chimera’s secrets.  She did not like to talk about this part of her life.  “…deep seeded trauma there. She didn't just get over that in a few days. She wouldn't start dating Roy without talking to someone. Without NEEDING to talk to someone. Since it's a hero, that means taking to one of us, specifically me or Conner or Artemis.  She didn't talk to me.  Conner?”

Conner shook his head.  “She’s only ever repeated that she can’t date teammates.”

“Artemis?” Robin prompted.

Artemis shook her head and sent a smug look to Aqualad. “Never said a word.  Never even indicated.  Zatanna, Chi, and I had a girl’s night the other day and we had a long talk about dating.  She never mentioned him.”  She glanced over at Zatanna.  “Did she give any indication of dating anybody or liking anyo… Roy?” she quickly corrected herself.

Zatanna looked between the Team anxiously before swallowing and straightening her back.  “No.  No, she didn’t talk about Roy.  And Robin’s right.  She doesn’t date teammates.  Even if she wanted to,” her eyes flicked over to Superboy so quickly anyone not looking for it would miss it, “she doesn’t.  We would know if she went against that.”

Superboy’s head whipped over to them, eyes wide.  Artemis said him, meaning she had mentioned someone else.  Zatanna emphasized that she didn’t talk about Roy, meaning she talked about someone else.  He silently urged either of them to continue talking about that night, release some clues on who she may have mentioned.  Instead Artemis cocked her head to the side and thought for a moment.  “She hasn't been acting different either.  Chi can't keep a secret, other than her identity, to save her life.  Remember Kid Flash’s ‘surprise’ party?  And let’s be honest the identity is probably only still a secret because we haven’t met her in person.  We would know something was going on, even if we didn't know what.”

“Not if she’s been deceiving us from the beginning, if her whole supposed personality was an illusion,” Aqualad noted stoically.

Conner’s brow furrowed in frustration.  Aqualad was seriously proposing Chimera was their enemy.  Chimera had almost died for them.  She’d risked her life and her sanity for them, more than once.  And Aqualad was just turning on her.  One statement and none of what she had done for them mattered. He clenched his fists and stepped forward to yell at Aqualad when Kid Flash’s voice interrupted his movement.  “He’s taken her to the Batcave hasn’t he?  Multiple times?” He glanced up from staring intently at a spot on the floor to look at Robin inquisitively.

Robin nodded in agreement.  “He has.  And he doesn’t let anyone he doesn’t trust completely come into the Cave.”  

“So,” Kid Flash started, “he’s trusted her deeply from the beginning.  He hasn’t ‘been keeping an eye on her’.  And her behavior hasn’t changed… but his has.”

Conner nodded in agreement.  “Which means she’s not the one we have to worry about.”  He glared pointedly at Aqualad, making sure he understood their point.  

“Maybe not about her but for her,” Zatanna offered carefully.  All eyes turned to her waiting for her to explain. “He singled out Chimera for a reason. So either they want our whole team here so they can do to us what they did to Batman, or they are targeting Chimera specifically.”

“Why would they target her?” Rocket spoke up again.

Superboy kept his glare at Aqualad.  “If we’re being honest, she has more power than the rest of us.  They could want to put her at a disadvantage, isolate her.”

“Isolate who?”  The voice floated into the chamber like a kitten’s purr, but cut through the air like a fog horn.

“Chi!” Superboy exclaimed, rushing over to her.

“Hey.” Her smile beamed as she hugged him.

He examined her face quickly.  She was smiling, but she looked exhausted, like she’d been through a grueling mission, one that isn’t dangerous, just draining.  His expression turned concerned.  “How was the trip?  You look tired.”  

Her smile weakened.  “It was good. I missed my friends and family so much.” She slumped against his chest. “Being back was just… a lot.”  She took a deep breath and straightened up. “But it was good.  I’m good.  It’s all… good.”  She let out a defeated sigh, but looked back up with a plastered on smile that lasted until she examined his face, morphing into a concerned frown at the sight.  She raised her hand to run it over his face, but quickly realized what she was doing and dropped it to his shoulder instead with a faint blush.  “How was it here?  How have you been?  How is Robin? How was the mission?”

“I’m fine.  Robin’s fine. It was fine,” Superboy hedged with a strained smile, slinging his arm over her shoulders and guiding her over to the group.

“That was too many ‘fines’ to be true,” Chimera commented apprehensively, looking at him questioningly.

“You really want to throw that stone Ms. ‘all good’?” he commented back with a pointed look.

Her face went slack, her eyes widened at the call out.  “Uh… no,” she admitted turning back toward the group, eyes flicking between them under her lashes.  “Can we not discuss this… now?”

“Later?” Superboy asked hopefully.  He knew her natural inclination was to bury things deep down, until they were so hard to see, she could pretend they never existed.  Internalizing every emotion, every let down.  It was the opposite of his way of handling things. Letting them simmer on the surface, where the slightest touch sent them radiating out into the world around him, usually with screaming or punching.  Chimera hummed noncommittally in response, absolutely no intention of bringing up memories and emotions she wished would disappear.

“It was after the mission that was enlightening,” Aqualad stepped forward.  “We need to talk about Roy.”

His voice was serious and laced with a significance that Chimera didn’t understand.  Superboy’s arm tightened incrementally on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.  She looked up in time to catch the dark look he was giving Aqualad.  She turned back to Aqualad with a quizzical expression. “Like, Rogers?”

“Rogers?” Aqualad repeated.

Artemis tried to stifle her laugh.  “No, Chi.  Not like Roy Rogers.”

Aqualad looked between them, his brow furrowing in confusion, before he returned his gaze back to Chimera.  “No, Roy Harper.”

“Oh!”  Chimera nodded in understanding.  “Okay…” Her brow furrowed faintly and she looked to the side in thought before looking back at Aqualad with a wince.  “Is that… another actor?  I haven’t really seen many… any westerns.  I really only know who Roy Rogers, John Wayne, and Woody Strode are.  Well, know is a stretch.  I’ve heard their names.”

Aqualad blinked at her a few times, unsure what she was talking about.  “No. Red Arrow.”

Realization rippled across Chimera’s face.  She nodded, her eyes going wide.  “Oh!  Okay. Yeah.”  Robin and Kid Flash talked about Red Arrow a lot, but by his code name, rarely by his real name.  She would never have been able to remember it if she wasn’t prompted first.  Her eyes darted over to Robin to see if he held any answers, but instead of looking back at her, he was glaring at Aqualad as well. She looked back at Aqualad, noticeably more apprehensively.  Her brows furrowed in confusion.  “What about him?”

“Batman said he’s the mole,” Aqualad informed her, watching her reaction carefully.

Chimera’s face immediately fell, her eyes darted back to Robin again.  “Robin,” she whispered.  Her eyes moved over to Kid Flash, next to Robin, and turn pained.  She looked back to Aqualad.  “Is he sure?”

Aqualad nodded.  “Batman said he’s actually a clone of the real Roy Harper programmed to infiltrate the Justice League, but was discovered by Batman before he could do any damage.  

Chimera gasped, eyes entirely focused on Robin and Kid Flash.  “What happened to the real Roy Harper?”

“He didn’t say.”  Aqualad answered.  She tensed to go over to hug Robin and Kid Flash.  Robin and Kid Flash always talked about Roy like he was one of them.  They understood each other in a way few others could.  They would tell stories about him and laugh like their lives weren’t constantly at risk, like they were just normal teenagers.  Those times were some of the few she got to see Robin like the kid he was.

Artemis’ voice cut through her thoughts before she could move.  “But we have reason to believe that isn’t true.”

Chimera turned to her with a hopeful smile. “Really?”  A flash of relief appeared in her eyes.  She couldn’t imagine the toll it would take on Robin and Kid Flash if it was true and she didn’t want to have to see it.  They’d all been in this for a long time together, grew up in it together.  They were like family.  Not to mention she knew he and Aqualad were close as well.  If there was a chance Batman was wrong, they had to investigate it.

“I wanted to let you know because… we know you're dating him.” Aqualad informed her carefully.

Chimera’s eyes snapped back to Aqualad, her mouth hanging open in shock and her body turned rigid.  “That I’m what?” Her voice came out an octave higher than normal.

“Batman told us,” Aqualad informed her calmly. “And Roy has mentioned it as well.”

Chimera flinched back and shook her head.  “What?  I've never even met Red Arrow.  Why would he say that?  Why would Batman?”

“That’s why we have reason to believe Roy isn’t the mole.  Because Batman told us you were dating Roy at the same time he said Roy was the mole. He said they thought you were his handler,” Robin bit out bitterly.

Chimera’s heart stopped.  She gaped at Robin.  Batman… Batman said he thought she was betraying them.  Batman thought she was a traitor.  Batman was her mentor, as much as she had one, or at least she had thought of him as hers.  She had thought he might be more than just a mentor as well, but that must have just been her.  More than that, he was a League founder.  If he thought it, the rest of the League must as well.  They would all believe she was a traitor.  They would all turn on her, even her team.

Her breathing picked up.  She couldn’t handle this.  But she couldn’t even blame them for it.  This was her fault.  This is the price of anonymity.  This was the tradeoff of keeping yourself guarded.  You keep people from knowing you, but then they don’t know you.  They don’t know who you are, so they don’t know who you are and who you’re not.  She never let them know who she is, so of course her team will believe Batman.  

She was going to lose them and even if she proves herself, there will always be that doubt and once you’ve lost that trust, it never fully recovers… as her trip home proved.  Everything seems the same on the surface, but if you pause to examine it more closely, everything is different.  The way they look at you, the way they relate to you, the way they see you, has changed.  Robin wouldn’t trust her anymore.  He’d put up a wall between them, the same one he put up with anyone he didn’t fully trust, keeping them at a distance with a false smile.  And Conner!  He’d pull away too.  Still friendly, but not friends.  Still there, but not the same…

“…imera!  Chimera!”

Chimera felt a squeeze on her shoulder and a hand on her cheek, bringing her back to reality, stopping her descent into panic. She slowly moved her eyes to the arm belonging to the hand on her face and followed it back to its owner, looking up to see Superboy’s soft, concerned eyes.  He gave her a supportive smile and nod to let her know they were on her side. “That’s why we knew he was lying,” Superboy assured her.

Chimera let out a shuttering breath and buried her face in Superboy’s chest.  He wrapped his arms around her protectively, nuzzling into her hair.  “We know you better.  We know you would never do that.  No matter what he said, we know you,” he whispered into her hair.

Aqualad looked between them and nodded once, satisfied for now with her innocence. “Roy… Red Arrow is the key.  We need to find him and see what he can tell us. If Chimera is innocent then he may be as well.  Regardless, we need to find him before the League does.  Artemis, Superboy, Zatanna, you’re with me.  The rest of you, see what you can do about Tornado.”

“Wait, what’s wrong with Red Tornado?” Chimera’s eyes peeked out from Superboy’s chest.

“I’ll stay here,” Superboy responded with a sharp edge to his voice.

“We’re potentially going up against Red Arrow.  We need you with us to bring him in if…” Aqualad took a breath.  “If he decides to fight us.”

“I thought you didn’t think he was the mole,” Chimera asked uncertainly, subconsciously clinging a bit closer to Superboy.  If they still thought Red Arrow was the mole, did they really still think she was his handler as well?

“I don’t…” he looked away in contemplation.  “I don’t know.  But we need to speak with him to figure out what is going on.  Hopefully peacefully and it is best to be cautious,” he added. His voice was even, but anybody familiar with him could hear the strain in it.

Chimera gave him an understanding smile.  Although he didn’t speak about Red Arrow often, and almost never with Chimera, she knew they were close.  Believing his friend capable of something like this must be hurting him deeply. She looked up to Superboy.  “You should go,” she whispered.

“They can handle Red Arrow,” he argued back quietly.  “I can stay until you’re…  I can help with Tornado.”

Chimera shook her head.  “I’ll have Robin.  I’ll be okay until you come home.”  She glanced subtly over to Aqualad.  His shoulders were more tense than usual, his grimace more pronounced.  He was trying to hold it together, but he was suffering. “Aqualad needs you more right now.

Superboy huffed and looked over to Aqualad and the others Aqualad had singled out for a moment before looking back into Chimera’s eyes.  “Fine.  But I don’t like it.”

Chimera rested her head back on his chest, watching the rest of the Team. “Nobody likes what’s happening right now.”  She closed her eyes and squeezed him for a moment.  “Be safe.”

She stepped away from him, avoiding his eyes.  “You too,” he whispered, letting his fingers linger on her as she walked away to join Robin, Kid Flash, and Rocket.

“The problem’s hardware, not software,” Robin mused, examining schematics on a holographic display.  He didn’t even look up when Chimera stopped next to him.  He reached out, giving her a one armed hug.  She slung her arm around his shoulders, returning the squeeze. “But where do we start?”

Zatanna paused on her way out of the room.  “I have an idea.”  She glanced quickly behind her to see how far away the rest of her group had gotten. She bit her lip nervously, not wanting to upset Aqualad with her tardiness.  “Chimera, you remember the android he had in his quarters?”

Chimera perked up immediately.  “Yes! New hardware for his existing software. Brilliant idea, Zatanna.  Good luck with your mission,” she called to Zatanna as she ran to catch up with the rest of her group.  “Hey, Rocket, do your force bubbles move?  Might make moving the body easier.”

<><><><><> 

“I heard we’re dating,” Chimera started out with a sarcastic smile, extending her hand to shake Red Arrow’s.  “It must have been a terrible relationship if I can’t even remember you. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I don’t think this relationship is working out for me.  I think we should see other people.”

Red Arrow huffed out a laugh and smiled against his will.  He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.  He looked up at her sheepishly.  “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Chimera shrugged and moved past him to sit on a bulkhead.  “Not your fault.  And not the worst end to one of my relationships, so...”  She offered him a smile.  Red Arrow smiled back and moved to sit next to her for the planning meeting, but was cut off by Superboy taking the spot before Red Arrow could sit.

Red Arrow raised an eyebrow at him, but backed down.  He wasn’t looking to start a fight with the only heroes he knew that weren’t under mind control. Instead, he took a seat between Robin and Kid Flash.

“Would anyone care to enlighten us as to why you have Black Canary tied up and gagged?” Aqualad asked, bringing the conversation back to the issue at hand.

“Yeah, about that…” Kid Flash started with a grimace, warily eying the hero that was bound and gagged at their feet.

“Can we start from the beginning?  I don’t think I’m the only one who doesn’t have a clear picture of everything that’s going on,” Chimera requested.

“The entire Justice League is under the complete mental domination of Vandal Savage,” Red Tornado spoke up from his android body.  “Red Arrow seems to have been his means.  His method was something Savage referred to as Starotech.  An alien bio organism infused with nano technology and magic.  It shuts down the mind’s autonomy allowing Savage to reprogram the individual to suit his needs.  Even my inorganic brain was not immune.”

Chimera straightened up in surprise.  “Wait, so Red Arrow was the mole?”

“I was the mole,” Red Arrow confirmed with a grimace.  “I just don’t know why.  If it was the Starotech, then they wouldn’t have needed to have a handler for me or key phrases that would shut me down and ready me for new orders.”

Superboy watched him curiously.  “Batman and Tornado said you were a Cadmus clone, like me.”

Red Arrow sighed and looked down.  “That explains it.  I must have been pre-programmed to infiltrate the League.  I was probably given occasional new orders as well.  I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on Artemis and Superboy.  More recently, I think Chimera was added to the list, in a much more explicit way.”

“Why?” Superboy straightened, glaring at Red Arrow.  His arms twitched to circle around Chimera and pull her closer to him.

“They didn’t tell me,” he shrugged.  “I never knew why I did any of it.  I wasn’t part of the team, I was a tool.”

“I’m an easy target,” Chimera spoke up quietly.  “He was already implicating Superboy and Artemis.  Robin, Kid Flash, and Kaldur have known each other or of each other for years and see each other regularly enough to know if something was off. Zatanna and Rocket joined after Kaldur started noticing indications of a mole.  That leaves me.  And since you know almost nothing about me, I don’t even have a mentor to vouch for me, it makes doubting me easy.”  

Superboy ran his hands up and down her arm to comfort her.  Chimera leaned into his side slightly, keeping her focus on the conversation.  Superboy looked over to Kid Flash and Red Tornado.  “So where does Black Canary fit in?”

“Oh! Riiiiiight.” Kid Flash awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.  “We were transferring Red Tornado’s consciousness from his regular body to his android body when she interrupted us.  She attacked us and we had to stop her.”

“So she’s infected as well,” Artemis observed.

Aqualad frowned at the ground in concentration.  “If it’s an infection, then we need a cure.  I will contact Queen Mera about creating an immunization based on Starotech.  We have Black Canary we can test the cure on.  Let’s move.”

Robin wormed his way next to Chimera as they moved to the communications hub for the ship.  He pulled her into a quick side hug.  “You know, we don’t need to know everything about each other to trust each other.  And I do trust you.”  He spoke quietly so only she could hear him.

Chimera closed her eyes as she hugged him back. “I trust you too, birdbrain.”

Robin rolled his eyes and shoved her away.  “I take it back.  I hate you.”  Chimera cackled with laughter.  Robin reluctantly joined her, trying to keep his annoyed facade.  They tried unsuccessfully to school their expressions when Aqualad glared at them until Queen Mera answered, drawing his attention away.

<><><><><> 

Waiting was torture.  It always was.  Waiting for something to happen when there was nothing you could do until then except think about the upcoming event, was agony.  Chimera looked around the room.  The Team was scattered each in their own space, waiting for Black Canary and Red Tornado to finish their preparations so they and Red Arrow could go in first and distract Savage, while the Team put the vaccine patches on the rest of the Justice League one member at a time.  

Everyone was in their own head, bodies tense, and emotions on edge.  They were going up against people they’d looked up to their whole superhero careers, parental figures, mentors.  People who taught them how to fight, how to strategize.  They knew more than the Team did and it was still unclear how much of their previous fighting knowledge they retained or if the person controlling them would have to come up with their own moves and techniques.

The Team was clearly dreading the former option, including Chimera.  With so many different powers to go up against, she had cleared out the miracle box so she would have options for which powers to utilize.  Changing was going to be tricky and she was going to have to keep Trixx well fed so she would be able to keep up her illusion of her suit not changing, but there was too much of a possibility for failure not to at least try.

She hoped she was hiding her apprehension better than the rest of the Team.  No matter how much they tried to hide it, Chimera knew their tells.  She knew Artemis set her jaw like that when she was anxious.  She knew Aqualad clenched and reclenched his fists like that when he was nervous.  She knew Kid Flash held his arm like that with his other hand when he was afraid.  She knew Robin stared intently like that when he was apprehensive.  She knew Zatanna bit her lip like that when she was unsure.  She knew Superboy glowered like that when he was worried.  It was slightly different from his many other glowers.  And she didn’t need to know Rocket and Red Arrow to see their nerves in the darting of their eyes.

She looked between them and furrowed her brow until she perked up, something occurring to her.  “So… it’s like a video game, right?”  All the eyes in the room darted to her with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance, but she continued on undeterred.  “I mean, they’re like characters in a video game, being controlled. That means there’s someone with some kind of controller.”  She looked over to Aqualad.  “Do you think there's any way that we could get our hands on that controller?” she asked with a devious glint in her eyes.  “Just for a few minutes?”

“Oh my God!  Yes!” Kid Flash exclaimed, immediately seeing where she was going and excitedly bouncing.  “Can we? Can we, please?”

“We will not take advantage of our compatriots and mentors in such a demeaning way,” Aqualad answered sternly.

“Yeah, yeah morally reprehensible reshmensible.  But, do you think we could?” Kid Flash asked again, his eyes bright.  In an instant he was next to Chimera, both giving Aqualad overly wide smiles.

“No,” Aqualad said firmly.

“Angelic smiles aren’t working,” Chimera noted in a stage whisper.  “Deploy kitten eyes.”  She and Kid Flash immediately switched to sad, pleading eyes, aimed directly at Aqualad who barely noted them before rolling his eyes.  Chimera harrumphed when she realized hers wouldn’t work since she had sunglasses hiding her eyes.  Instead, she elbowed Zatanna who looked confused for a second before grinning and schooling her face to offer her own kitten eyes.

Superboy quickly looked to the ground to hide his smirk, but Artemis and Robin made no attempts to hide her laugh that echoed throughout the room.  “Oh my God, you guys are such dorks,” Artemis eked out between laughs.  

“Yes,” Kid Flash agreed, “dorks who love video games.” He turned back to Aqualad.  “Pleeeeeeeeease.”  He held his hands out in front of him in supplication.

“Are you two going to take this seriously?” Red Arrow snapped.

Chimera rolled her eyes and offered a kind smile. “Come on, tell me you don't want to see Batman punch Green Arrow.”  Her smile turned enticing.  “We can make that happen,” she singsonged at him.

Red Arrow scoffed.  “I don't need remote control to do that.  I just have to tell Batman any of the things Green Arrow has said behind his back and then suggest a spar between them.”

Chimera waved him off.  “Fine.  Green Lantern or Wonder Woman punch Green Arrow,” she offered instead with a knowing smirk.  “I’m not even a protégé and I definitely have JL members I’d like to see get punched a few times.”  She shrugged in an overly casual way.  “Or, you know, one member anyway.”

Red Arrow cocked his head to the side considering the image of Wonder Woman decking Oliver.  “Now that you mention it...”

“Oh my God!” Chimera exclaimed, eyes widening in excitement.  “Dance Party!”

“Yes!” Kid Flash jumped on to her thought process, mirroring her excitement.  “The Flash breakdancing.   Hawkman doing the Carlton.”

Red Arrow looked over to Chimera with an analytical look.  After a few seconds, his face broke into a reluctant smile.  “Batman doing a scene from Phantom of the Opera, that’s angsty, he’d like it.”

“Yes!!” Chimera exclaimed, jumping with excitement that he had joined.

“Green Lantern and Aquaman doing the Kid ‘n Play,” Robin gave a small smirk, nerves still there, but lessening.

“Do you think we can get Martian Manhunter to do the Macarena?” Superboy pondered, coming up behind Chimera and resting his arm on her shoulders.

“It’s our imagination.  We can get them to do whatever we want,” Chimera laughed.

“I would pay to see Wonder Woman do the worm,” Artemis smiled coming up next to Zatanna and bumping her hip with her own.

“Can we get my dad to do something?  What should we get him to do?” Zatanna added with a hesitant smile.

“How about the Running Man?” Rocket offered, joining the rest.

“Green Arrow doing Gangnam Style dance,” Red Arrow gave Chimera a playful smile, joining the group to stand next to Chimera.

“My flute records.  I can take video for posterity,” Chimera grinned back conspiratorially.

“I’ll take you up on that,” Black Canary grinned as she came up behind them.  “I think it sounds like fun.  Plus, I need more blackmail material.  If I come across the opportunity, I’ll let you know.” She winked at them before turning to Aqualad with a serious expression.  “We’re ready to go.”

Aqualad’s expression immediately transformed from light to serious.  He stepped forward to address his team.  “It is time. Are we ready?”  He looked around to the Team waiting for nods from the group. Once he received them he watched Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Red Arrow step up to the Zeta tube.  With them in position, he turned to Chimera. “Open the portal.”

*Note 2: The android body is from the show as is Queen Mera and some scientists coming up with a vaccine in a few hours, so those cheap cop outs are theirs not mine.

Chapter 10

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[jtavington]

The Beginning of a Long Road

TW: Character death--after a fashion

Chitin flew off the husk faster and faster until the throne room was filled with dark blossoms of the stuff. Byleth sagged against a pillar. It was done. The war was over, and all that remained was burying what was left of Emperor Edelgard. Her stomach clenched.

Edelgard knelt, hands folded as if in prayer. Her shoulders rose and fell almost imperceptibly. Unlike every Beast Byleth had battled since Miklan, the Hegemon had left a living human in its wake. The din of battle faded as the world narrowed to the three of them. Byleth held her breath without knowing why. One moment. Another. Edelgard opened her eyes. She blinked, once. No rage or cold arrogance marred her features. If not for Byleth’s own bruises, she would have said the cold arrogance of the Crest Beast had only been a fantasy.

It was Dimitri who recovered first. He led Aredbahr  rest at his side and took a step forward. His hand stretched forward. “El,” he whispered.

Every tactical instinct Byleth possessed screamed it was foolishness. Long before Edelgard had transformed herself, she had sanctioned the transformation of those who had had no such choice and who had not retained even a sliver of their mind. She who had spoken so highly of humanity had cast her humanity aside rather than brook defeat. There could be no reconciliation.

And yet, she waited and breathed a prayer to a goddess who no longer spoke to her. Before she had been Hegemon or even Emperor, Edelgard had been a girl drawing her dagger against a bandit. Byleth had thrown herself in front of the axe without so much as a conscious thought, only an overpowering feeling that the stranger could not, would not die that day. Byleth had awoken after five years. A boar has become a man. One final miracle did not seem so much to ask.

Edelgard smiled—

--and threw the dagger into Dimitri’s shoulder. He grunted in pain and pierced her in turn. The body crumpled to the floor, never to rise. The war was over. There would be no miracle.

Something hard lodged itself in Byleth’s throat. It was not the grief she had felt when her father had been murdered in front of her. She was, she realized with a shock, angry. She had risked her life for Edelgard and begun truly living in return. Dimitri had fought so hard to regain his sanity and become a man who could reach out his hand. If he and Edelgard were fated to kill each other, why had she not had the decency to die like every other Demonic Beast? Why allow these few moments of hope only to dash them with something as easy to prevent as a dagger throw? It was unjust.

It was unjust, wasn’t it? But what were goddesses for except dispensing justice. She didn’t have Sothis’ wisdom or experience, but she did have the power to turn back the hands of time. She would knock the dagger away and then they would see what they could see.

She reached out with her power, peeling back moment after moment. The dagger flew from Dimitri’s shoulder back toward its sheath. Edelgard rose to her knees. There. All she had to do was let time begin again and knock the dagger away. She flicked her wrist.

Time didn’t restart. A purple haze clouded her vision and there was a sound like a thunderclap as time kept running backwards. The husk slid up Edelgard’s skin. Fingers became claws. Her sclera went black. Plates like metal dotted her face as enormous wings sprouted from her back. The veins that had covered her face were gone, and her red irises contained the barest suggestion of a pupil. Other than that, it was as if she had never been defeated at all.

If this was Sothis’ idea of a prank or divine punishment, Byleth was going to deck her if they ever met again. What had just happened?

A scream cut through the air, distorted by dark magic and rage. The Hegemon—Edelgard--clawed at the stone. “Permanent? Hubert was right! It’s permanent!” Her head snapped up and her gaze fixed on Dimitri. “I’ll kill you!” She bared her teeth. Her canines were like a wolf’s.

She charged. Dimitri barely had time to raise Aredbahr before the lance pierced her for a second time. She clawed at Dimitri’s face as the air rang with her shrieks. War was filled with stories of soldiers spurred on by adrenaline long after their wounds should have finished them, but Byleth had never seen a Beast simply ignore a blow from a Relic to the gut. Edelgard screamed shrieks and curses Byleth hadn’t even known she knew.

Dimitri staggered backward and pulled Aredbahr free. There was a hole where it had been. Edelgard seemed to notice she had been stabbed for the first time. She looked down. The husk shifted and writhed, taking excess from one place to fill the gash until it was as if it had never existed.

“What?” said Edelgard, and fainted.

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched (and books I read) this week - 35

As I wait for season 3 of Succession, I thought I’ll re-watch the pilot of Season 1, directed by Adam McKay. Absolutely a great start for the week.

The opening credit theme is a killer!

✴️               

George Méliès X 2:

✳️✳️✳️  The Méliès Mystery, a fascinating biography of magician, toy-maker, pioneer director, impresario and THE inventor of the cinema. Gave me a whole new appreciation for his work. 9/10

✳️✳️✳️ And of course, Scorsese’s Hugo, which recreates the 7 years in Méliès life, when in desperation he burnt the negatives of all his 700 films, and as he operated a small toy booth at the Gare Montparnasse, penniless and forgotten, (Photo above). This is the setting for the story, transformed into a children fairy tale about an orphan looking for his dead father. A technical tour de force and an ode to early cinema, which eventually turns into a history lesson.

✴️          

In a similar vain, Sylvain Chomet’s animated story of Jacques Tati’s 1957 unproduced script The illusionist, which was written in an attempt to reconcile with his daughter whom he had abandoned when she was a baby. 

Lyrical, sentimental and melancholy. 

"Magicians are not real"

✴️          

“Do you want the world to end in Your lifetime?”

Scenes from an Empty Church, an unexpected Covid “Dinner with Andre” from an independent filmmaker Onur Tukel! 

Never heard of it, didn’t know what to expect, watched it for over an hour ... and suddenly it grabbed me, and grabbed hard. It starts as a talkative, philosophical tract with 2 priests trying to deal with the very unusual pandemic that shut down their NYC church. They talk about it, and talk about it, and some of their parishioners enter the conversation and talk about it, but at the end, the anguish and desperation that they feel is being transcended. A bit, at least - 8/10

✴️      

First watch - Stanley Kubrick’s very first film, the short self-financed boxing documentary Day of the fight (1951)! Done when he was 23, fully cinematic and well-composed, with distinct narration The Killing-style.

Happy Find of the week!

✴️      

Bernadette Peters X 2:

✳️✳️✳️ Mel (“Fun”) Brooks’ slapstick film-about-filming Silent movie, a blatant Product Placement vehicle for Coca Cola. Bernadette Peters played the Madeline Kahn role, the very voluptuous Vilma Kaplan, “A bundle of lust”.

“You brought me papers?”

My father would have loved it!

✳️✳️✳️ First watch: Woody Allen’s 1990 Alice, a rework of Fellini’s Juliet of the spirits. With cameos of Thelonious Monk and Mother Teresa, and scenes of Mia Farrow smoking opium. Bernadette Peters was “The Muse” who had to wear reading glasses.

✴️      

So I also re-visited Fellini’s baroque Juliet of the spirits, with the delightful Giulietta Masina. Both Fellini and Allen cast their middle-age wives / girlfriends in the same role. Also, I didn’t realize that Fellini was gay, and his marriage to Masina was partly pro-forma.

Long Live Nino Rota!

✴️      

Gérard Depardieu X 3:

✳️✳️✳️ I have to see all of Truffaut‘s films again! His straight-forward, sweet, simple story telling style. First: The Woman Next Door, where the new neighbor is the old, tragic lover. L'amour Toujours.

And always with Georges Delerue‘s score.

✳️✳️✳️ "When are you coming, Cherie?" 

30 years ago I used to love Green Card, because 1. Romance with Andie MacDowell and 2. Similarities of my marriage of convenience of the same time.

It was actually a rarity, a comedy about immigration policy. I also used to like Peter Weir‘s films.

✳️✳️✳️ La Vie En Rose (2007), a standard French bio of Édith Piaf’s very hard life, full of Marion Cotillard, accordions, and endless grief.

Her music though was better. 3/10

✴️        

As if there was a pandemic, and you can’t get out of the house. Buñuel’s absurdist The Exterminating Angel, about a party of upper class socialites slowly descending into anarchy after getting stuck in a mansion and not able to leave. Uncomfortably claustrophobic and eerily nihilist. Re-watch.

✴️        

White, part 2 of Kieślowski’s ‘Trois couleurs’ trilogy. A disappointing revenge fantasy, whereby a hapless Polish hairdresser suffers a humiliating divorce and somehow manages to gain ‘equality’ by implicating his ex-wife in his fake death.

I loved ‘Blue’, but not this ‘Anti-comedy’.

✴️      

Shirley Jackson X 2:

✳️✳️✳️ Shirley, a “Woman’s film”, made by (nearly all) women, about “brilliant, tortured” writer Shirley Jackson, the author of ‘The Lottery’. Reminiscent of ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Wolf’, but this younger couple are dull and uninspired. I didn’t find it compelling, except of the final cathartic scene at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the dive below.

‘Let’s pray for a boy. The world is too cruel for girls”.

✳️✳️✳️ Shirley Jackson’s horrifying short story The Lottery (full text here), published in The New Yorker, and featured at the opening scene of ‘Shirley’ above. A story about a small town in New England which follows a long-held tradition of stoning one member of the community every year in a ritual that is accepted by all.

✴️        

Al Pacino in William Friedkin’s Cruising, a commentary on the S&M leather scene at the end of 70′s NYC. Gay sex & open hustling were normalized, but within a story of a serial killer. Not homophobic, but unconvincing and disappointing. With Paul Sorvino and Joe Spinell. 

✴️ Documentaries X 3:       

✳️✳️✳️ Inside Deep Throat, a prurient 2005 documentary Produced by Brian Glazer and narrated by Dennis Hopper. With the typical HBO horrendous quick editing, it claims that Deep Throat is the one event that mainstreamed blow jobs.

America’s reactionary obsession with sex and porn and the politics of religion and morals which fucked it all up. Despicable Alan Dershowitz does his Talking Head shtick.

✳️✳️✳️ First watch: The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris‘s breakthrough doc, which was faulted (justifyingly) for using reenactments in telling a real story. 

America is filled with so much miscarriages of justice, gun violence, police abuse, and crime, that it’s hopeless to navigate it.

✳️✳️✳️ Fox and the Big Lie, Australian Broadcasting Corp's doc - How Fox News promoted trump’s propaganda and helped destabilize democracy in the USA. Part 2.

✴️         

Why I quit Netflix (It’s true)

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)

[quitereal]

Spoilers for the movie Trust (2021) and trigger warning for discussion of cheating/infidelity below the cut, it will be a rant

I love Kat, and she was amazing in this movie. Seriously, just look at the gifs, she’s sensational, her acting was honestly the highlight of the whole film. But I’m just gonna say, that was not a high bar, because this movie is hot garbage. Hot entirely because of Kat, because she is fucking hotter than hell, and she brought her A-game, which is frankly more than can be said for LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE ON THE CAST. Obviously she was better than Matt Daddario, because he has all the acting skill of a potato. Victoria Justice was... fine. She was clearly phoning it in, and same for Lucien Laviscount. They were there, that’s about the extent of what can be said for their performances, but honestly, I can’t blame them. It is a testament, frankly, to Kat’s talent and dedication that she put as much into this shitty film as she did. 

I’m not gonna mince words here, it was bad. It was just bad. Kat’s performance was a bright spot, but she didn’t save the movie by any stretch. Everything from the music to the writing to the editing to the very premise of the plot was just bad. The music was jarring, there was no theme to it, some scenes had no background music at all, others had weirdly upbeat music, and others felt like they were trying to set the tone of a film noir, which this “mystery” certainly was not. The writing made no sense, the characters were not compelling, they seemingly had NO motivation whatsoever, and the ending was just trash. The editing was all over the place, and sorry, I’m just never going be a fan of tons of flashback cuts. START THE STORY WHERE THE STORY STARTS. Don’t do this flashback nonsense to try and make a boring story better, it was not good. If you need to pull these sort of tricks on your audience, then you don’t have a good enough story. And onto the plot, which is probably the worst part of this suck-fest.

Okay, so the story starts by trying to convince us that Brooke (Victoria Justice) and Owen (Matt Daddario) are a married couple that are deeply in love. Except they’re just not. From the get-go, they’re both suspicious that they’re BOTH going to cheat, and that’s what gets us started down this road. At one point, Brooke describes her suspicions as a “sliver of doubt” except that if it’s truly just a sliver, you go to counselling, you don’t hire a decoy to trick your husband. Owen also clearly knows his wife is suspicious and actually uses her insecurities to needle at her with a business trip he’s going on with his (apparently entirely female) production crew. They are just deeply trashy people who are not at all in love, and are apparently married because... I can’t think of a reason, they’re terrible together, they have zero on-screen chemistry and I just did not believe for a minute that these two people even LIKED each other, let alone were deeply in love. 

Like, I get it. She has to hire a decoy instead of going to counselling because going to counselling does not make for a good movie, but neither does what they did here. The ending is really the part that makes everything else make no sense, because if the movie is about this deeply unhappy couple who are wildly suspicious of one another and don’t even trust each other enough to have a FUCKING CONVERSATION about their insecurities, they really should break up right? Well, not in this fucked up world. In this world, after both spouses have cheated on one another, apparently the logical step is to immediately forgive one another, and have a baby within the year. BECAUSE BABIES MAGICALLY FIX SHITTY RELATIONSHIPS RIGHT?! Oh my god, it’s so bad, I cannot.

And let’s get into the WORST part of this movie, the fucking misogyny and slut-shaming portion of the film. So, Amy (Katherine McNamara) is introduced as the decoy that Brooke hires to essentially seduce her husband to see if he’ll cheat. Notably, Amy is NOT supposed to sleep with Owen, only find out if he’ll take the opportunity, but lo and behold, apparently Owen is on her “hall pass” and when given the opportunity to sleep with one of her top-five celebrity crushes, Amy takes it. But Amy actually proves to be the only character so far to have an ounce of integrity, which is actually not a good thing in her line of work, because for some reason, after she sleeps with Owen and he treats her like ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, she tries to protect him, and then tells him about the whole arrangement with his wife as if she owes him? Her coming back to tell him the truth is absolutely nonsensical, the way he treated her after their tryst showed his complete and utter disdain for her, even before he found out she was part of a trick his WIFE was playing on him. And of course, everyone turns on her, even though she wouldn’t even have been involved if they would just talk to each other. The worst thing I can say about Amy is that she’s DUMB AF, like she clearly made a mistake here, but in her defense, she is the ONLY character who actually seems to feel bad that she slept with a married man and acknowledges that SHE MADE A MISTAKE. She even gives the money back. Neither Brooke or Owen seem at all bothered that they cheated on their spouses, Owen only shows any signs of distress when he thinks he’ll get caught (and then when he is) and Brooke never even admits to what she did (and yes, I realize she didn’t sleep with Angsgar, but she did get almost naked and make out with him, so like, where are we drawing the line in the sand? In my book, that’s cheating too). Neither of them seem to feel badly for hurting their spouse, and to solve their problem, they cut out Amy & Angsgar, as if they’re the source of the problem. Like no guys, temptation is not your issue. You are the issue here, but sure, have a baby, slap a bandaid on your problems like it’s gonna make everything better. I feel so fucking bad for that kid, they are gonna need ALL the therapy.

Like I do realize I probably have issues with the entire premise of the film, but it’s just so, so poorly executed. If you’re going to do a movie about cheating spouses, you should, at some point, have them acknowledge the deep betrayal that infidelity is and actually DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT. Like they should’ve lost the nonsense back-flashes and spent that time exploring how Owen & Brooke moved past their mutual betrayals and forgave one another, but instead they just seem to say “well, I guess we’re even now,” and live happily ever after. 

Honestly, the whole film feels like someone is desperately trying to justify their own cheating behavior with a movie about how “everybody does it” and it doesn’t really hurt anyone. It’s bullshit, and so is the whole movie. 

It was not good. But Kat was great. If you haven’t seen it, don’t. Just look at the gifs of Kat, because she looks fucking amazing. 

[uh0hsp4ghetti0]

My thoughts on the obc of BMC

I saw it live and I'm listening to the album as I write this

The original off Broadway cast. The album for the show in Jersey feels like a fucking party. It makes me so happy. Everyone sounds like they're having fun, and you can feel everything their characters are feeling even though you can't see them. In A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into you can feel how giddy Christine is throughout it. In the last line you can literally hear her smile. It makes me so happy. But in the Broadway version it's so bland, she probably said it with a blank face too. She sounded like she was having so much fun in the original. This just makes me big :(

WILL ROLAND IS NOT RIGHT FOR THE ROLE OF JEREMY. He was good in Dear Evan Hansen. I liked him in Dear Evan Hansen. He wasn't the main character in Dear Evan Hansen. Will Roland is not good in the main role. At least not for Be More Chill. He's trying too hard to be "dorky". Will Connolly was perfect as Jeremy. I get why Will C didn't come back for the obc, he's done with theater, but I'm pretty sure Will R left Dear Evan Hansen for Be More Chill. Will R was amazing live, the cast recording seriously doesn't do it justice, but still.

G-George 🥺. I love him but he overacted so much. It was not gucci. I don't know what it was about it, but it felt like I was watching a kid's show or something on Disney Channel. Especially the "my mothers would be thrilledddd." You know what, he sounds like a really stereotypical gay guy. He doesn't do the voice in the episodes of Superstore he's in, what is this?? Why is he doing this???

Jake. Fucking Jake. He was pulled straight from r/fellowkids. I hate him. He's the worst character. His actor's cool, he's fine, but the fucking character. Petition to bring back Jersey Jake. We want good Jake, not someone that sounds like a sixty year old white guy wrote him.

The whole show is very r/fellowkids. They floss. They fucking floss.

On the other hand, Jenna is amazing. She's way more fleshed out. I love her character way better here. It's outright said that everyone just uses her for her gossip. "I just wanted to be part of a group! Now, I finally am! And I won't let you take that away." The line seriously makes me feel for her. I just like her more :/ Also, her actor's fucking voice.

Oh my fucking god, The Play. It's so cool. I love it so much. And it's even better live. The acting is kind of :/ in the album, kind of quick and stinky, but the overall song. It's so much more realistic. Of course Michael wants an apology, he was treated terribly. And then the fucking "kung foo fists activate" and Will Roland's glitchy voice. "Why are you hitting me" was adorable in the show, not so much in the album. It's just. I love The Play. Except for the end, which pisses me off. The ending was amazing in the original, and so much more powerful. (Except when Squip starts speaking random Japanese)

Chloe's character. Brooke's character. That's all. They make me smile. (Edit from 2021: Fuck Chloe, I hate Chloe)

Fuck yeah, spank the Squip, Rich.

Rich in general 🥺

Christine's kinda :/. I don't have much to say about her. She's fine. She's more or less the same, I don't love her. Her singing is much better than in Jersey though.

Jersey Jeremy's a better person than Broadway Jeremy and that's all I dare to say about that.

"Oh Jerebear I'm ready", Michael's two moms, his gay patch, hentai cat girl statue in Jeremy's bed. Fan service much? I'm just glad they didn't do any boyf riends bullshit.

Jeremy and Christine's relationship is fucking adroable :/

"I can't hear knocking anym-o-O-ore" fucking broke me

The loser, the gEEk, or whatever

W-Weed socks-

I'm glad they didn't change Michael in the Bathroom. On the topic of song changes, what the hell is Halloween? They shortened it and added a tiny snippet at the end to make up for it??? It feels rushed and I dislike it

It's one am, this was a bad idea. Feel free to tell me if I fucked anything up :/

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 8, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

More information continues to emerge about the events of Wednesday. They point to a broader conspiracy than it first appeared. Calls for Trump’s removal from office are growing. The Republican Party is tearing apart. Power in the nation is shifting almost by the minute.

[Please note that information from the January 6 riot is changing almost hourly, and it is virtually certain that something I have written will be incorrect. I have tried to stay exactly on what we know to be facts, but those could change.]

More footage from inside the attack on the Capitol is coming out and it is horrific. Blood on statues and feces spread through the building are vile; mob attacks on police officers are bone-chilling.

Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was inside the building, told reporters he overheard three rioters in “Make America Great Again” caps plotting to find Vice President Mike Pence and hang him as a “traitor”; other insurrectionists were shouting the same. Pictures have emerged of one of the rioters in military gear carrying flex cuffs—handcuffs made of zip ties—suggesting he was planning to take prisoners. Two lawmakers have suggested the rioters knew how to find obscure offices.

New scrutiny of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the attack shows Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL), Don Jr., and Trump himself urging the crowd to go to the Capitol and fight. Trump warned that Pence was not doing what he needed to. Trump promised to lead them to the Capitol himself.

There are also questions about law enforcement. While exactly what happened remains unclear, it has emerged that the Pentagon limited the Washington D.C. National Guard to managing traffic. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested support before Trump’s rally, but the Department of Defense said that the National Guard could not have ammunition or riot gear, interact with protesters except in self-defense, or otherwise function in a protective capacity without the explicit permission of acting Secretary Christopher Miller, whom Trump put into office shortly after the election after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

When Capitol Police requested aid early Wednesday afternoon, the request was denied. Defense officials held back the National Guard for about three hours before sending it to support the Capitol Police. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, tried repeatedly to send his state’s National Guard, but the Pentagon would not authorize it. Virginia’s National Guard was mobilized when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the governor, Ralph Northam, herself.

Defense officials said they were sensitive to the criticism they received in June when federal troops cleared Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so Trump could walk across it. But it sounds like there might be a personal angle: Bowser was harshly critical of Trump then, and it would be like him to take revenge on her by denying help when it was imperative.

Refusing to stop the attack on the Capitol might have been more nefarious, though. A White House adviser told New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi that Trump was watching television coverage of the siege and was enthusiastic, although he didn’t like that the rioters looked “low class.” While the insurrectionists were in the Capitol, he tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Even as lawmakers were under siege, both Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani were making phone calls to brand-new Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) urging him to slow down the electoral count.

After Trump on Wednesday night tweeted that there would be an “orderly” transition of power, on Thursday he began again to urge on his supporters.

With the details and the potential depth of this event becoming clearer over the past two days—Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, Virginia, tweeted her support, and state lawmakers as well as Republican attorneys general were actually involved—Americans are recoiling from how bad this attempted coup was… and how much worse it could have been. The crazed rioters were terrifyingly close to our elected representatives, all gathered together on that special day, and they were actively talking about harming the vice president.

By Friday night, 57% of Americans told Reuters they wanted Trump removed from office immediately. Nearly 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s actions before the riot. Only 12% of Americans approved of the rioters; 79% of Americans described the rioters as “criminals” or “fools.” Five percent called them “patriots.”

Pelosi tonight said that she hoped the president would resign, but if not, the House of Representatives will move forward with impeachment on Monday, as well as with legislation to enable Congress to remove Trump under the 25th Amendment. The most recent draft of the impeachment resolution has just one article: “incitement of insurrection.” As a privileged resolution, it can go directly to the House without committee approval.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has no interest in further splitting the Republicans over another impeachment, or forcing them onto the record as either for or against it. Timing is on his side: the Senate is not in session for substantive business until January 19, so cannot act on an impeachment resolution without the approval of all senators. It can take up the resolution then, but more likely it will wait until Biden is sworn in, at which point the measure would be managed not by McConnell, but by the new House majority leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY). A trial can indeed take place after Trump is no longer president, enabling Congress to make sure he can never again hold office.

Whether or not the Senate would convict is unclear, but it’s not impossible. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), for one, is so furious she is talking of switching parties. “I want him out,” she says. Still, Trump supporters are now insisting that it would “further divide the country” to try to remove Trump now, and that we need to unify. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who led the Senate effort to challenge Biden’s election, today tweeted that Biden was not working hard enough to “bring us together or promote healing” and that “vicious partisan rhetoric only tears our country apart.”

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to agitate his followers, and today began to call for more resistance, while users on Parler, the new right-wing social media hangout, are talking of another, bigger attack on Washington.

Tonight, Twitter banned Trump, stating: “we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” As evidence, it cited both his claim that his supporters would “have a GIANT VOICE long into the future,” and his tweet that he would not be going to Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Twitter says that Trump’s followers see these two new tweets as proof that the election was invalid and that the Inauguration is a good target, since he won’t be there. The Twitter moderators say that “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”

Twitter also took down popular QAnon accounts, including those of Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his former lawyer Sidney Powell, who is having quite a bad day: the company that makes election machines, Dominion Voting Systems, announced it is suing her for defamation and asking $1.3 billion in damages. After taking down 7,000 QAnon accounts in July, Twitter continued by today taking down the account of the man who hosts the posts from “Q.”

While Twitter officials might well be horrified by the insurrection, the ban is also a sign of a changing government. With the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia this week, the majority goes to the Democrats, and McConnell will no longer be Majority Leader, killing bills. Social media giants know regulation of some sort is around the corner, and they are trying to look compliant fast. When Twitter banned Trump, so did Reddit, and Facebook and Instagram already had. Google Play Store removed Parler, warning it to clean up its content moderation.  

Trump evidently couldn’t stand the Twitter ban, and tried at least five different accounts to get back onto the platform. He and his supporters are howling that he is being silenced by big tech, but of course he has an entire press corps he could use whenever he wished. Losing his access to Twitter simply cuts off his ability to drum up both support and money by lying to his supporters. Another platform that has dumped Trump is one of those that handled his emails. The San Francisco correspondent of the Financial Times, Dave Lee, noted that for more than 48 hours there had been no Trump emails: in the previous six days the president sent out 33.

This has been a horrific week. If it has a silver lining, it is that the lines are now clear between our democracy and its enemies. The election in Georgia, which swung the Senate away from the Republicans and opens up some avenues to slow down misinformation, is a momentous victory.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[herbertandlom]

January 8, 2021 (Friday) More information continues to emerge about the events of Wednesday. They point to a broader conspiracy than it first appeared. Calls for Trump’s removal from office are growing. The Republican Party is tearing apart. Power in the nation is shifting almost by the minute. [Please note that information from the January 6 riot is changing almost hourly, and it is virtually certain that something I have written will be incorrect. I have tried to stay exactly on what we know to be facts, but those could change.] More footage from inside the attack on the Capitol is coming out and it is horrific. Blood on statues and feces spread through the building are vile; mob attacks on police officers are bone-chilling. Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was inside the building, told reporters he overheard three rioters in “Make America Great Again” caps plotting to find Vice President Mike Pence and hang him as a “traitor”; other insurrectionists were shouting the same. Pictures have emerged of one of the rioters in military gear carrying flex cuffs—handcuffs made of zip ties—suggesting he was planning to take prisoners. Two lawmakers have suggested the rioters knew how to find obscure offices. New scrutiny of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the attack shows Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL), Don Jr., and Trump himself urging the crowd to go to the Capitol and fight. Trump warned that Pence was not doing what he needed to. Trump promised to lead them to the Capitol himself. There are also questions about law enforcement. While exactly what happened remains unclear, it has emerged that the Pentagon limited the Washington D.C. National Guard to managing traffic. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested support before Trump’s rally, but the Department of Defense said that the National Guard could not have ammunition or riot gear, interact with protesters except in self-defense, or otherwise function in a protective capacity without the explicit permission of acting Secretary Christopher Miller, whom Trump put into office shortly after the election after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper. When Capitol Police requested aid early Wednesday afternoon, the request was denied. Defense officials held back the National Guard for about three hours before sending it to support the Capitol Police. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, tried repeatedly to send his state’s National Guard, but the Pentagon would not authorize it. Virginia’s National Guard was mobilized when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the governor, Ralph Northam, herself. Defense officials said they were sensitive to the criticism they received in June when federal troops cleared Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so Trump could walk across it. But it sounds like there might be a personal angle: Bowser was harshly critical of Trump then, and it would be like him to take revenge on her by denying help when it was imperative. Refusing to stop the attack on the Capitol might have been more nefarious, though. A White House adviser told New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi that Trump was watching television coverage of the siege and was enthusiastic, although he didn’t like that the rioters looked “low class.” While the insurrectionists were in the Capitol, he tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Even as lawmakers were under siege, both Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani were making phone calls to brand-new Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) urging him to slow down the electoral count. After Trump on Wednesday night tweeted that there would be an “orderly” transition of power, on Thursday he began again to urge on his supporters. With the details and the potential depth of this event becoming clearer over the past two days—Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, Virginia, tweeted her support, and state lawmakers as well as Republican attorneys general were actually involved—Americans are recoiling from how bad this attempted coup was… and how much worse it could have been. The crazed rioters were terrifyingly close to our elected representatives, all gathered together on that special day, and they were actively talking about harming the vice president. By Friday night, 57% of Americans told Reuters they wanted Trump removed from office immediately. Nearly 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s actions before the riot. Only 12% of Americans approved of the rioters; 79% of Americans described the rioters as “criminals” or “fools.” Five percent called them “patriots.” Pelosi tonight said that she hoped the president would resign, but if not, the House of Representatives will move forward with impeachment on Monday, as well as with legislation to enable Congress to remove Trump under the 25th Amendment. The most recent draft of the impeachment resolution has just one article: “incitement of insurrection.” As a privileged resolution, it can go directly to the House without committee approval. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has no interest in further splitting the Republicans over another impeachment, or forcing them onto the record as either for or against it. Timing is on his side: the Senate is not in session for substantive business until January 19, so cannot act on an impeachment resolution without the approval of all senators. It can take up the resolution then, but more likely it will wait until Biden is sworn in, at which point the measure would be managed not by McConnell, but by the new House majority leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY). A trial can indeed take place after Trump is no longer president, enabling Congress to make sure he can never again hold office. Whether or not the Senate would convict is unclear, but it’s not impossible. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), for one, is so furious she is talking of switching parties. “I want him out,” she says. Still, Trump supporters are now insisting that it would “further divide the country” to try to remove Trump now, and that we need to unify. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who led the Senate effort to challenge Biden’s election, today tweeted that Biden was not working hard enough to “bring us together or promote healing” and that “vicious partisan rhetoric only tears our country apart.” Trump, meanwhile, has continued to agitate his followers, and today began to call for more resistance, while users on Parler, the new right-wing social media hangout, are talking of another, bigger attack on Washington. Tonight, Twitter banned Trump, stating: “we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” As evidence, it cited both his claim that his supporters would “have a GIANT VOICE long into the future,” and his tweet that he would not be going to Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Twitter says that Trump’s followers see these two new tweets as proof that the election was invalid and that the Inauguration is a good target, since he won’t be there. The Twitter moderators say that “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.” Twitter also took down popular QAnon accounts, including those of Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his former lawyer Sidney Powell, who is having quite a bad day: the company that makes election machines, Dominion Voting Systems, announced it is suing her for defamation and asking $1.3 billion in damages. After taking down 7,000 QAnon accounts in July, Twitter continued by today taking down the account of the man who hosts the posts from “Q.” While Twitter officials might well be horrified by the insurrection, the ban is also a sign of a changing government. With the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia this week, the majority goes to the Democrats, and McConnell will no longer be Majority Leader, killing bills. Social media giants know regulation of some sort is around the corner, and they are trying to look compliant fast. When Twitter banned Trump, so did Reddit, and Facebook and Instagram already had. Google Play Store removed Parler, warning it to clean up its content moderation.   Trump evidently couldn’t stand the Twitter ban, and tried at least five different accounts to get back onto the platform. He and his supporters are howling that he is being silenced by big tech, but of course he has an entire press corps he could use whenever he wished. Losing his access to Twitter simply cuts off his ability to drum up both support and money by lying to his supporters. Another platform that has dumped Trump is one of those that handled his emails. The San Francisco correspondent of the Financial Times, Dave Lee, noted that for more than 48 hours there had been no Trump emails: in the previous six days he sent out 33. This has been a horrific week. If it has a silver lining, it is that the lines are now clear between our democracy and its enemies. The election in Georgia, which swung the Senate away from the Republicans and opens up some avenues to slow down misinformation, is a momentous victory.

Heather Cox Richardson https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/2563012823842768

[flutistbyday-1]

Picture

This is a fan fiction work for “The Royal Romance”

TW for drug use.

“Picture”

A/N

I was inspired by all the things I see on Tumblr. This idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and I hope it does my dream justice.

Characters are a little OOC, and the universe is almost an AU. In this universe, MC (Riley) decides she isn’t quite ready to marry anyone but is a part of Liam’s council. He is heartbroken but puts on a brave face.

This is a one-shot.

Song inspiration: “Picture” by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow

Word count: 3,850

Liam's alarm clock beeped at him, almost angrily. Angry that he was coming down from a bender. Last night, it was a hooker, cocaine, and whiskey. He wasn’t proud; no, he was ashamed of who he was. Ever since Riley broke his heart, accepted her position as a duchess, and chose Valtoria over him, this was his life.

His head hurt. He was hungover as hell and had a meeting he needed to be at in an hour. He slowly pulled on his pants, his socks, and his shoes. He stumbled out of bed, his vision blurry from the hangover that he now had. This was his punishment. He glanced around his room. Much like himself, it was disheveled. This is what he gets for putting Riley what she went through. Riley had to watch Liam and Madeleine pretend to be in love for an entire month before her name was cleared. He deserved every ounce of heartache he had. Liam wonders to himself if he would ever be worthy of Riley‘s love.

Liam glanced at his nightstand, where a photo lay facedown. It was of him and his friends, Maxwell, Drake, Olivia, Hana, and Riley, all together, the night after Anton was hanged for his treason. They all had genuine smiles, except for Liam. He was heartbroken because the ruse was over that night. He had placed the photo on its face because he couldn’t look Riley in the eye while he slept with another woman. Silent tears fell as he combed his hair.

Bastien knocked at his door, his sign it was time to leave his quarters.

The day after Liam proposed, the train was quiet. Painstakingly quiet. Everyone knew that Liam was going to propose to Riley the second he announced his engagement to Madeleine was over, yet there was no ring on Riley’s finger.

Liam was heartbroken. He wanted to be showering Riley in kisses and adoration.

Drake was nervous. He was worried Liam knew about his feelings for Riley. He was worried that Liam would stop being his friend for his transgressions.

Maxwell didn't know what to say. The whole point of him bringing Riley to Cordonia was for her to be a Queen, but he had his suspicions that her heart was elsewhere.

Hana upset that Liam and Riley were on the rocks.

Hadn’t this been the whole point of clearing her name, Liam thought to himself that night, so that she and I could get married? Make my Kingdom stronger? He looked at Riley, but she was looking anywhere else but at him. Drake was ignoring him, too.

Liam didn’t know that Drake and Riley shared several passionate kisses while on the engagement tour. He didn’t realize that they shared one passionate night somewhere on the train between France and Italy. He didn’t know that Riley had begged Drake to take her away from it all, just after the first day of the Engagement Tour at Madeline’s estate. Liam didn’t know that Drake was also in love with Riley.

To be fair, everyone who ever interacted with Riley fell in love with her, at least a little. Hana had stolen a kiss the first night at Madeleine’s estate. She and Riley were in Riley’s room, drinking hot cocoa — Hana’s famous recipe— and catching up. Riley had whipped cream on her lip, and Hana had leaned in and kissed Riley before she could stop herself. Riley had smiled warmly at Hana in return, but even then, Hana knew that Riley’s love for Liam would outweigh any love Riley had for her. Or so Hana had thought.

Even when Maxwell had kissed Riley on the top of her head, in a protective manner, he wished his lips were on hers instead.

That night, after Liam proposed, all eyes were trained on Riley. Riley never looked up from her lap, though, because she knew she had broken four hearts that night.

Riley spent most of her days waking up, feeling the grating emptiness of her king-sized bed in her new Duchy. The Duchy that Liam had kindly gifted her, trying to keep her in his kingdom. Of course, she had her corgi, Duke Ramsford, to keep her warm. But it wasn’t the same. She knew that it should be Liam in the bed next to her. Maybe Drake. Maybe even Hana. Her heart and stomach churned.

It had been five months since Anton was hanged. She slept in the castle the entire time they hunted him. They lured Anton in with a fake wedding— hers and Liam’s. They let the whole country think their King was going to have a Queen. She tried to act interested in her ‘wedding,’ but she was terrified.

The nightmares were so nasty during those weeks of deception. She could hear Anton laughing in her dreams. Madeleine fell to her knees, blood pouring out of her mouth. Riley, Madeline called. Riley, save me! Madeleine was poisoned again and again in her sleep. Her nightmares exaggerated the event, playing on her fears.

The nightmares were worse after they were kidnapped by Anton. Oliva was covered in blood, dead. Riley’s legs never worked in her nightmares. She couldn’t scream at Oliva to stand. Night after night, Mara would come bounding into Riley’s room, gun drawn, searching for the perpetrator that made her Duchess scream, but there was never anyone there. Riley was always wide-eyed, sweaty, and teary, though.

After three weeks of relentless nightmares, alone in her Duchy, she begged Liam to let her stay in the castle. She didn’t tell him why, but he knew after the first night. He had heard Riley’s blood-curdling scream from down the hall. The cry had made the hair on the back of his neck and arms stand up. No shoes, no shirt, just his pajama bottoms, he flew to her room. The door was open, and Bastien was already there, Riley clinging to him. Liam’s eyes met hers, and he knew that it was just a bad dream. Wordlessly, he picked her up, bride style, and laid her in bed and curled up next to her. Her sobs ebbed, and she eventually dozed. The next night, he heard her screaming again. He ran faster this time, but Bastien was already there, Riley clinging to him then. The night after that, he just climbed into Riley’s bed instead of his own.

Months passed, no words spoken between anyone about the sleeping arrangements.

There was one night, after a few glasses of champagne and several rounds of poker, Liam and Riley were both tipsy. Riley’s nightmares had stopped, much to her relief, but to Liam’s dismay. She was going to leave him soon, and he knew it. But that night, when they went to bed, Riley didn’t just lay in the crook of his arms. No, she straddled Liam and kissed him fiercely, the alcohol knocking down that one last wall Riley had around her heart. He had gladly accepted her kiss and they spent the night tangled in the sheets together. Liam never made a move to do more than kiss her on the forehead after that night, and for that, Riley was grateful.

When Riley left for her Duchy, she allowed Liam to kiss her on the forehead. She smiled ruefully up at him.

“Call whenever you need something,” Liam had said.

Duke Ramsford nudged Riley with his nose, pulling Riley back into the present.

I can’t believe it’s been two months since I’ve seen Liam face-to-face, she thought. In those two months, Drake, Hana, Maxwell, Oliva, and even Bertrand visited her, trying to pry her out of her Duchy, to no avail.

She closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly, one last time before she got up for the day. She sat up, the wine hangover kicking her ass, making her dizzy and nauseous all at once.

She took a glance at her bedside table— an empty spot where a picture had been, the same one Liam had placed face down at his castle just days ago. Hers was tucked away in the top drawer, as she had a visitor in her room. She stood, pulled the picture from the top drawer, and traced all of the faces of her friends, Liam’s last. They were all happy, except Liam. No, Liam was heartbroken that day. Riley had left the castle two days after the hanging, not even saying so much as a goodbye to Liam. Then, three weeks later, she was on his doorstep. It wasn’t fair and she knew it. She knew Liam couldn’t say ‘no’ to her. The picture was laid back in the drawer and the drawer was shut.

Riley picked up her phone, although she knew there would be no notifications. Nobody had tried to contact her in almost a month.

Riley sent a text to Liam, although he hasn’t responded to her in three days. Hey, call me when you can. I want to talk.

She almost said, “I miss you,” but she didn’t.

Riley desperately needed to talk to Liam. She wanted to ask him if he still loved her. She needed to know if she should move on. Tears pricked her eyes, not knowing what she would do if he had moved on. The other night, lying next to another man, she realized she was in love with Liam. It was always him, and she was a fool for ever thinking it wasn’t. She was going to the castle today. She was going to beg him if that’s what it took.

Riley decided to text Hana.

Riley: I need to get out of the Duchy. Care to meet me at the Beer Garden? I could be there around 7.

A few seconds later:

Hana: I’m so glad to hear from you, Riley!! Of course, I’ll be there. See ya. ❤️

For the first time in almost two months, Riley was leaving Valtoria. She glanced at the clock. 2 PM. Riley mindlessly wandered to her closet, looking for something comfortable yet stylish.

What Riley didn’t know is that Hana was texting Drake. She knew Riley was miserable. She had to help in whatever way she could.

Hana: Riley texted me today!

Drake: Holy crow, you heard from Brooks?

Hana: I know!

She said she wanted to get out. I think you and Liam need to happen to be at the Beer Garden around 7:30 tonight.

Drake: You don’t have to tell me twice.

Riley arrived at her destination at 6:59, wearing a soft yellow dress, with a pair of wedges that complemented it.

Hana already had a table and waved at her. Riley saw that Maxwell was there too. She didn’t realize how much she had missed them both until they were in front of her.

“Hey, stranger,” Maxwell said as he wrapped her in a hug.

“Hey, yourself,” Riley responded as she wrapped both her arms around him and squeezed.

He kissed the top of her head and let go.

Riley gave Hana a side hug then sat down, her favorite ale already in front of her, no doubt thanks to Hana. Hana had artfully arranged the seating so that Riley’s back was to the entrance, so she couldn’t see Liam and Liam couldn’t see he when he came in.

“I didn’t realize how badly I needed to be out until just now, when I saw you two,” Riley admitted with a smile. “Thanks for meeting me here!”

“Of course, Riley. It’s our pleasure.” Hana always knew what to say.

The three of them sat and talked, two of them not paying attention to the time. Hana, however, was anxiously waiting for 7:30. She peeked at her phone for what felt like the 15th time.

“Hot date, Hana?” Riley inquired.

Hana blushed. “No,” she groaned out. But you’ll have one! She thought.

The time on Hana’s phone was 7:35. Drake and Liam will be here any second now.

Hana peered at the entrance, and just in time. Liam and Drake came into her sight, followed by Bastien, and Hana visibly relaxed.

Maxwell and Riley were caught up in conversation. Riley laughed loudly at one of Maxwell’s terrible jokes, beer snorting out of her nose. Hana laughed at Riley and handed her a napkin. Riley blushed but continued to laugh.

“Here,” Hana giggled.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hana spotted Drake and nodded slightly. He gave her a nod back.

7:50. 8:15. 8:47. Riley and Maxwell were tipsy. Riley laughed harder than she had in ages. 9:30. Riley was drunk. Hana gave her water. 10:00.

“I should go,” Riley said to Hana and Maxwell. Riley stood, but she felt the full effects of the alcohol and she faltered in her steps. She laughed loudly, uninhibited, while Maxwell rushed to hold her up. “Thanks, Maxie,” she giggled.

Hana pulled out her phone to text Drake. It’s now or never, Drake. Riley is leaving.

Drake had kept Liam’s attention all night. He somehow managed to keep Liam from staring at Hana, Maxwell, and... Riley. Drake, however, couldn’t help but stare. Especially after how much he had to drink.

“Hey, man, ” he said to Liam. ” I’m getting tired. You ready?” He motioned at the door.

“Ah, how the mighty have fallen,” Liam teased, setting money down on the counter.

“Oh, shut up. I’m thinking of you, Your Majesty,” Drake teased right back.

Liam laughed heartily as he turned. Just then, Liam caught a glance of Maxwell holding someone up. She was giggling at him, no doubt being charmed by his goofy personality.

Liam made his way to the table, noticing Hana as well. He approached and cleared his throat to gain their attention.

Hana turned and smiled brightly. “Liam! How pleasant to see you.”

Liam took her hand and kissed her knuckles. He turned to Maxwell, now sitting with the woman draped in his arms, her face in the crook of his neck. “Lord Maxwell.” He smiled. The lady looked up at him, and he felt foolish for not recognizing her immediately. Blame it on the alcohol.

Riley stiffened at the sound of Liam’s voice, but Maxwell gave her an encouraging squeeze. She looked up and smiled brightly. “Liam.” She was drunk, and everyone knew it. Her heart ached for him, and his heart ached for her. “How are you?”

Liam’s heart pounded. “I’m well, Lady Riley. Thank you for asking.”

“‘S gooooood,” Riley said, her words getting away from her. “I... appear to be intoxicated.” She giggled.

Maxwell stood, taking Riley into his arms once again. “You must forgive us, Liam, but Riley needs to get home. Lots of meetings tomorrow. Important ones, too. Yup, real important,” he rambled.

Riley leaned into Maxwell, letting him do the hard stuff, like walking, for her. She wrapped her arm around his waist; he was leading her with one of his hands on the small of her back and his fingers of his other laced with Riley’s on his stomach. They walked toward the exit, in their own world.

Hana stood, placing money on the table, watching Maxwell lead Riley away. Riley laughed again.

Liam wondered if he’d lost Riley to Maxwell somewhere along the way.

As if she could hear Liam’s thoughts, Hana said, “She still loves you, Liam.” She pressed her skirt down. “It was always you.”

Riley’s head whipped around, and she smiled brightly at Hana and Liam. She waved at them then disappeared from their sight.

Hana sighed. “Over me. Over Maxwell. Over Drake. It was always you, Liam.” She smiled sadly as Liam turned to look at her.

“Thank you, Lady Hana.” He bowed and took his leave.

Riley woke with another hangover. She glanced at her bedside table, wondering how the hell she got home last night. I’m such a lightweight. I can’t even have a few beers without getting drunk. She tried to mentally tally her beer intake. Seven? Was that before or after Maxwell's drinking game? Nine? Fuck. I have to see Liam today.

She picked up her phone. 6:30 AM. Liam should be awake by now.

Riley: It was great to see you last night, Liam. Can we do dinner tonight? Catch up?

Riley set her phone down and threw her hands over her eyes.

Liam woke up at the crack of dawn, his head pounding from the shots he and Drake did when they got back to the castle.

“I still love her,” Liam said to Drake as he threw back another shot.

“I know. We all do, Liam. The difference is she loves you. You’re both too goddamned stubborn to do anything about it.”

Another shot.

What time did Drake leave? I have to see Riley today.

His phone dinged and his heart stopped when he saw the name on his screen.

Liam: That sounds wonderful to me, Lady Riley. I’ll have supper ready at 6.

“Duchess Riley called to say that she left Valtoria and should be here by 5:30, Your Majesty.” Bastien watched for Liam’s reaction, knowing how he felt about Riley. He watched Liam’s heart break a little more every night when he held Riley. He also knew that Riley was in love with Liam, but was too broken up after what Anton did to her. She needed time, and he needed whiskey.

“Of course. Thank you, Bastien.” He nodded, dismissing him. He wanted to drink. He was worried she was going to leave him once and for all today.

He made Riley a Duchess with the hope that she would accept his marriage proposal. He was heartbroken, but understanding when she said no. He then hoped that with her staying in Cordonia, he could woo her the proper way, and not just stolen moments here and there, but she kept him at arm’s length. Even when they shared a bed, and she clung to him, scared witless from her nightmares, she kept him at arm’s length. Eventually, it just hurt his ego. He was strong, but only around her. When the nightmares stopped, and when she went back to Valtoria, his drinking habits got worse and he quickly started cocaine. It was the only thing that made him feel alive.

She used to come back to the castle for council meetings, but she stopped two months ago, much to Liam’s dismay. She would join via phone call.

Today was going to be different, though. After dinner, he was going to confess that he was still in love with her. That he still wanted to marry her. He didn’t know if he could stand to be away from her ever again.

After last night, seeing Riley all tangled up in Maxwell’s arms, after what Drake said— it just reaffirmed his feelings.

He walked to his room and opened the top drawer. A ring for Riley that was never worn sat in its box, not seen by the light of day for almost five months. He picked up the box, red satin, and examined the ring. The ring was his mother’s, and he was anxious to see it on Riley’s finger. Regina had given it to him after he ended his engagement to Madeleine. Even back at the beginning of the social season, Regina knew Liam’s heart belonged to Riley.

Riley’s town car pulled up to the castle, and her heart was beating so rapidly that it made her faint. Liam was outside, ready to open her door. His heart was pounding, too. They both had the same plan: make it through dinner and then profess their love. All of that went out the door as soon as Riley saw Liam on the steps.

The car hadn't even stopped when Riley almost ripped her door open.

“Ma’am!” Mara protested, slamming on the brakes, but it was already too late.

Riley was out of the car, running at Liam's full speed. She didn’t care who saw— she needed to kiss him. She flung herself at him, hoping he knew what she wanted when her door opened like that.

Liam was waiting at the top of the steps when Riley’s town car pulled closer to him. He smiled, thinking about his lips on hers. Her car door whipped open before Mara had come to a stop. His heart stuttered for a moment; he didn’t want to hope that she was going to run to him. He wasn’t ready for that heartbreak again. But Riley was running at him as fast as she could, so he braced himself.

Riley leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him, kissing him fervently. He held her closely, kissing her back with just as much passion. She pulled back much too soon for his liking, but he was dizzy and breathless. They both were. Her breath was warm and smelled like champagne— her liquid courage.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Duchess Riley?” His heart thumped. He smiled at her, wondering if this was all just a dream.

“Yes,” she whispered. Her eyes searched his, hoping he understood. She would die right here if he turned her down.

He chuckled, “What?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He faltered, loosening his grip on her legs, and they fell to the ground. Her eyes glazed over, and tears began to fall.

I’m so stupid, she thought to herself. Her heart shattered.

“Please, Liam. Please! I know I’m late. I know you may have moved on—” Sobs wracked her body. She was too late. He didn’t love her anymore. Her voice cracked as she spits out one last desperate plea: “But I love you. It’s always been you. Please, Liam. I want to be your wife.”

He sat there, watching her come unraveled in front of him. Finally, he thought. She sobbed violently, shaking from the emotions.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. He kissed her hard, and they crashed into each other like waves of a stormy sea. Every apology they never muttered out loud was conveyed with their lips. Every I love you. All of it was out in the open now. Liam kissed Riley until the tears stopped.

After several minutes, they parted. Riley’s eyes were red and puffy, but hopeful. Liam couldn’t contain his smile anymore.

“I was going to do this in the hedge maze after dinner, Riley,” he got down on one knee, ring in hand. “But you seem to have your plans,” he laughed.

She laughed, too, a real, hearty laugh. She gazed down at Liam. “I was going to wait until after dinner to confess my feelings, Liam, but once I saw you, I had to let you know.” She smiled brightly.

He looked up at her with loving eyes. His heart pounded but for a good reason this time.

“Duchess Riley Brooks, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She squealed, pulled him up by the lapels, and kissed him. “Yes! A thousand times, yes!”

“It’s about Goddamn time,” Bastien muttered as he headed inside, carrying Riley’s bags.

“I’d say so,” Mara agreed.

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 1

Summary: Brooklynne Stackhouse is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse’s little sister. Like her older sibling, she is a telepath, but her powers are far more stronger and far more uncontrollable than her sister’s. After a series of murders in Bon Temps, Sookie takes it upon herself to investigate, taking her younger sister with her in a club called Fangtasia, where they meet vampire and sheriff Eric Northman.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (language, blood...)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 8088

Schedule: A new chapter will be posted every Monday. Chapter 2 to 8 are available on my Patreon for early and instant access.

Masterlist

It was a warm night in Bon Temps, just a little after midnight. Adele Stackhouse was playing cards with her granddaughter, Brooklynne Stackhouse, in her kitchen. Entertaining the 23-year-old girl was nothing unusual for the old lady. Brooke had special needs. Not that she had any disability in particular, on the contrary, she had special abilities, some would even say supernatural ones.

Like her sister, Sookie Stackhouse, Brooklynne was a telepath. But she was more than that. Her strong telepathic ability made it difficult for her to focus on anything and she spent most of her time, like most of her life, trying to control it. And that’s what she was doing. Playing cards with her grandmother was a fun ritual but also a good exercise. The rule was simple: don’t cheat.

Brooklynne Stackhouse was bored most of the time. It’s not that she wasn’t allowed to leave her house, she just shouldn’t. So, she read a lot. Listened to music. Learnt new things on the internet. Danced. Sang. Played with her grandmother.

As Adele was about to win their current game, her first granddaughter interrupted them. Sookie was coming back from work, the blonde 25-year-old was wearing her uniform, the shorts and the white shirt with “Merlotte’s” written on it. She appeared to be in a great mood.

“Hey Gran.”

“Hi, honey,” Adele greeted her with a smile as she removed her glasses. She was wearing a long and white old-fashioned nightgown.

“Guess what happened tonight?”

Adele thought for a moment and a smile formed on her face.

“You got a date!”

Sookie frowned.

“Um… no…” she said, a bit bothered, “a vampire came into the bar!” she told her before Adele had the chance to be disappointed.

The old woman gasped. “Oh! Did he have fangs?”

Brooke chuckled quietly.

“Yeah, but most of the time they stayed put away.”

“Did he bite anybody?”

“No,” Sookie laughed. “He just had a glass of wine. Well, he ordered it but didn’t drink it. I think he just wanted some company.”

“Did you like him?” Adele asked with a grin and Brooke looked up at her big sister, curious too.

Sookie looked down and shrugged.

“He was real interesting.”

Adele smiled and hummed, looking at her granddaughter as if she could see right through her. Brooklynne actually could. Sookie’s thoughts echoed in her head as she heard them in her sister’s mind.

“You know what else?” she said as she sat down next to her. “I couldn’t read his thoughts.”

Brooklynne’s smile disappeared as she focused on her sister’s face. “Quiet?” She asked silently.

“Yep,” Sookie replied out loud. “I guess we can’t read vampires’ thoughts because they’re dead. It was so peaceful,” she sighed as she remembered being alone with him.

As the night’s events went through her head, Brooklynne saw it all. Bill, the vampire, entering Merlotte’s, ordering the wine, being attacked in the parking lot, Sookie rescuing him. The silence.

“Dangerous,” Brooklynne said as she looked back at her cards.

Sookie knew what she was referring to, but she didn’t want to alert her grandmother so didn’t reply.

“I’ll let you go to bed,” Sookie said as she got up.

She kissed her grandmother’s cheek before walking up to her bedroom.

“G’night Brooke.”

“Dream sweet dreams for me,” she sang quietly, like she would sometimes.

“Come on, honey, let’s finish this game.”

***

It was a hot morning. Sookie took the opportunity to put on a two-piece bathing suit and lie down a lounge chair, thinking about nothing but the vampire she had met the night before, and the weird dream that followed. Brooklynne was near her, wearing a short yellow dress, her long blonde hair brought up in a ponytail, and dancing barefoot on the grass. The music was in her head. She wasn’t paying attention to anything. Not even to her brother who had just stopped his truck in front of her. He got out quickly, not even bothering to say hello, shut the door of his car and walked straight up to Sookie.

“Hey! How come you didn’t tell me you beat up the Rattrays last night?”

“I haven’t even seen you since then!”

“Where’s Gran?”

“Hanging the laundry out back, and you keep your voice down! I don’t want her to know about any of this.”

“Fortenberry couldn’t wait till I got to work this morning to tell me about it!”

“Hoyt Fortenberry? How the heck does he know?”

“He went over to the Rats last night to buy some weed. And Denise drove up like she wanted to kill somebody, she was so mad. The only way she would sell him any weed was if he would drive Mack to the hospital in Monroe.”

“Uh-huh. Well, did Hoyt tell you that Mack came after me with a knife?”

“Motherfucker! You want me to kick his ass?”

“I already took care of that, thank you.”

Jason nodded, content to hear that justice had already been served.

“Well did you know that in addition to drugs, the Rats also happen to be vampire drainers?” she asked, and her brother frowned. “Yep. One of my customers last night was a vampire and they were draining him in the parking lot. I couldn’t have that.”

Jason took a deep breath, as if he were angry. Brooke was listening to them but when she heard why Jason didn’t like vampires, she took an interest in the conversation.

“Sookie, you do not want to get mixed up with vampires. Trust me.”

“Oh, shut up. Even if you hate vampires, you can’t let trash like the Rats go and drain them. It’s not like siphoning gas out of a car. They would have left him to die.”

“Who fucking cares? He’s already dead.”

“That’s not his fault!”

Jason sighed. He was about to walk out when a thought crossed his mind.

“What did he look like?”

“Handsome… in a sorta… sorta old-fashioned, like from a movie on TCM.”

“Was he bald-headed?”

“No,” she almost chuckled. “He had really nice hair.”

“Tattoos?”

“None that I could see,” she shrugged.

“It’s not your fault that they hover,” Brooklynne suddenly started to sing as she kept dancing, looking up at the sky as if her siblings weren’t just right in front of her, “I mean no disrespect, it’s my right to be hellish, I still get jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” Jason stopped her and she laughed with her usual childlike laugh.

“Jason!” Adele interrupted them. She was walking towards them with a basket of wet laundry. “Sakes alive, boy, where have you been keeping yourself? You get on over here and hug my neck.”

“You get here, Gran,” he said as he stepped towards her to do as she said. “How’s my girl?”

“You’re all sweaty.”

“I know.”

“You want some iced tea?”

“I would love some iced tea,” he nodded as he let her grandmother drag him inside the house.

***

Jason stayed for lunch, during which he ate all of his food and most of Sookie’s and Brooke’s who were used to it. The phone rang, making Adele get up and leave the kitchen. Brooklynne focused on neither of their thoughts but rather escaped her own. She did that, sometimes. She left. Her body was still there, but her mind was travelling. She often went to “other worlds” as Adele called them. The doctors called it ADD. Brooke had no name for it as she wasn’t always in the same place. At that moment, like most of the time, she was at the pond in the cemetery, except there was more light and more sun but it wasn’t hot. There were other people there, but they couldn’t see each other, she just felt their presence.

“Brooke, stay with us,” she heard Sookie say and she came back.

She looked around and her siblings were still eating their food, but Adele was nowhere to be found. She could hear her on the phone in the other room.

“How long?” she asked.

“You’ve only been gone for about 5 minutes,” Sookie replied.

“Enough time for me to eat your food,” Jason smirked. “You weren’t hungry, were you?”

She didn’t answer. She never really did.

“That was Everlee Mason,” Adele said as she walked back in the kitchen with the phone in her hand. She had a horrified look on her face. “Guess who was found strangled to death in her apartment? Maudette Pickens.”

It was like an alarm ringing inside Brooklynne’s head, and it was coming from her brother’s mind. Jason had a worried look on his face and it didn’t take long for Brooklynne to find out everything.

“Oh my Lord,” Sookie breathed out.

“She didn’t show up to work and wasn’t answering her phone, and so her boss called Bud Dearborne. He rode over, got the manager to let him in and they found her.”

“I went to high school with Maudette!”

“Can you believe it? A murder in Bon Temps?”

“Well, why are you surprised?” Jason spoke up. “Now that we got ourselves a vampire.”

“Just because he’s a vampire doesn’t mean he’s a murderer,” Sookie objected.

“Oh, come on! Fang-bangers go missing all the time in Shreveport. New Orleans. They never find them, but everybody knows the vampires are killing them and then disposing of the bodies.”

“What’s a ‘fang-banger’?”

“A vampire groupie,” Sookie answered, but that didn’t help her grandmother much. “Men and women who like to get bitten…”

“My stars!”

“Maudette was a fang-banger?” Sookie asked, more than surprised. “How do you know that?”

Jason didn’t answer right away. He was stuck. Brooke was listening silently to his every thought, but guilt and worry was all over his face.

“I don’t know, Sookie!” he replied loudly, with a defensive tone. “The way that you just know things sometimes!” he hit the table with his fist before he got up and took his plate to the sink.

Sookie watched him walk around the table carefully but didn’t reply. Her brother put down his plate and turned around, leaning against the sink.

He sighed. “There’s also hookers who specialize in vampires,” he told them with a calmer tone, “they drink Tru Blood to keep their supply up and they keep a bodyguard there in case the vamp gets a little too frisky,” he finished with a grin as if he thought the information amusing.

His sisters and grandmother did not, however, find that information amusing, and just stared at him in silence with a curious and suspicious look. Even though Sookie was trying to stay out of her brother’s mind, it was not a choice for Brooklynne who already knew everything.

“I read that in a magazine,” he lied.

“I wonder how much one would charge for something like that,” Adele said.

“A thousand bucks,” he answered, almost too quickly.

“See, now that just makes me sick,” Sookie sighed.

“I know,” Adele agreed, “what kind of cheap woman could ever do something like that?”

“No, it makes me sick that they’re getting a thousand bucks to lay there and do nothing while I bust my ass for 10 bucks an hour plus tips,” she clarified.

“Oh, I don’t think they just lay there,” Jason added with another grin, “I think they’re expected to… you know, participate.”

“Ew,” the waitress grimaced.

“Yeah,” Jason chuckled.

But his smile gradually disappeared as his eyes wandered around and his mind got lost in dark thoughts. The sudden change made Sookie curious and she focused on her brother’s mind, trying to hear something.

“Well, uh… thanks for lunch, Gran,” he said before he walked out of the kitchen.

Brooke watched as her sister got up and went after their brother. Sookie stopped him, putting her hands on his shoulders and turning him around to face her.

“What?” he asked with a frown.

She didn’t answer and took his face in her hands, closing her eyes as a way to focus.

“This can’t be happening to me. How could I lose control? How come she…”

But before he could finish his thought, he realized what she was doing and stopped her. He pushed her hands away and stepped back.

“Don’t try that with me, goddamn it! I’m your brother!” he shouted before he left the house.

Sookie watched him leave and didn’t try to stop him this time. She slowly made her way back to the kitchen where Adele was waiting for an explanation. Brooklynne wasn’t paying attention anymore, and she was playing with a lock of hair, twirling it around her finger, looking at it like it contained the answer to the meaning of life. When she was like this, people around her had just started to assume that they could say anything, and she wouldn’t hear them. But she did. She heard everything, spoken or unspoken. She was just really good at keeping secrets. Especially other people’s secrets.

***

Sookie left in the evening with a mission. Of course, she was going to work, but she had another task to accomplish. Adele Stackhouse was head of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead, a social organization she created to honor the American Civil War. People met to discuss the war and the effects it had on Bon Temps. Adele wondered if Bill would agree to come and speak at one of their meetings about his recollections of the war. Sookie agreed to ask him, it was a good excuse to speak to him again, after all. It was all Adele could think about that night, as she played Scrabble with her granddaughter. She tried to stay up as late as she could to ask Sookie when she came back from work but as she was falling asleep on the couch, she went to bed around 1AM, after she made sure Brooklynne was sleeping in her room.

It was the first thing they talked about in the morning. Sookie was sitting at the kitchen table, wearing the top of a green bathing suit with white dots and a very short white dress with green flowers. She was watching TV, listening to Reverend Theodore Newlin screaming at Nan Flanagan, a vampire rights advocate from the American Vampire League. Brooklynne was there too, sitting in front of her sister and turning her back on the TV. She was playing with the bottom of her green lime shirt and tugging at it.

“I don’t think Jesus would mind if somebody was a vampire,” Sookie told her grandmother who was fixing breakfast.

“I don’t either, honey,” she said as she put a plate of food on the table.

Sookie took a bite and hummed. “Is this sausage different from what you usually make?”

“No.”

“Uh… It tastes so much more complex than it usually does.”

“Oh dear, you think it’s gone bad?”

“No, it’s delicious. It’s like, I can close my eyes and I can see the farm the pig lived on and feel the sun and rain on my face and even taste the earth that the herbs grew out of.”

Adele stared at her with surprise and curiosity. She didn’t understand where all of this was coming from.

Brooklynne laughed. “You’re weird.”

They were interrupted by the sound of the back door opening and closing.

“Hey, Miss Stackhouse,” Tara said with a smile as she stepped in the kitchen. She was wearing a blue top and a pair of jeans and her black hair was tied up in a messy bun.

“Good morning, Tara,” Adele greeted.

Tara went for the coffee pot, but it was empty. As she was about to make more, Adele stopped her.

“No, you sit down. I’ll make a new pot,” she said before she kissed her forehead.

“All right,” Tara laughed.

She sat between Sookie and Brooklynne with an empty mug in her hand.

“What’s up, Brooke?”

The girl raised her head and smiled as soon as she saw her friend, as if she hadn’t heard her come in.

“Hi Tara.”

“What are we thinking about today?”

Brooklynne ignored the question, as always, and leaned forward, putting her pale hand on Tara’s dark arm.

“You’re pretty,” she smiled.

Tara laughed. “Well, aren’t you cute?”

Brooklynne smiled again but didn’t reply. She then leaned back in her seat and started playing with the bottom of her shirt again, ignoring the rest of the world.

“Any news about Jason?”

“Yeah, we heard from Everly already. They let him go last night.”

“I knew they would.”

“I didn’t,” Sookie shrugged.

Tara was offended by the lack of faith her sister had in her brother. He was dumb, for sure, but he wasn’t a murderer.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re still alive. You obviously did not hook up with that vampire last night.”

Brooklynne chuckled, still looking down at her lap. Sookie and Tara gave her a quick look but went back to ignoring her. The look on Sookie’s face answered Tara’s question.

“Oh, Sookie, sometimes you are just plain dumb.”

“Shut up! Luckily Gran was in bed when I got in last night.”

“Did he bite you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? You know they can hypnotize you.”

“Yeah, and black people are lazy, and Jews have horns!”

Tara rolled her eyes. She turned around when she heard Adele coming back in the kitchen.

“You must be glad they let Jason go, huh, Miss Stackhouse.”

“I can’t even believe that they arrested him to begin with! I have a good mind to call Bud Dearborne and chew him out. Jason’s a good boy. Everybody knows that.”

Brooklynne chuckled again. No one had time to say anything more as the phone started to ring and Adele picked it up.

“Hello? Oh, hey! Everley!” she greeted over the phone as she left the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, Jason came in by the backdoor.

“Am I too late for breakfast?” he asked. “Oh, hey Tara!”

“Hey. Hey Jason,” she stuttered like a 15-year-old talking to her crush. “I’m so glad they didn’t lock you up.”

Jason opened the fridge and took out a plate of cold sausages. He froze for a few seconds then turned around and leaned against the fridge.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, me too. I don’t even know why they suspected me,” he continued as he took a bite of a sausage. “I think somebody heard I’d been with Maudette?”

“Had you?” Sookie asked.

“No,” he answered with an annoyed tone.

“Are you sure? She was a woman,” his sister insisted.

Jason sighed in annoyance. “That’s funny. At least she was human.”

Sookie gave him a dark look but didn’t have time to come up with an answer as her grandmother came back in the kitchen with some news.

“You will never believe what happened,” she said with excitement, “Oh, hey Jason.”

“Hey, Gran.”

“You sit down. I’ll fix you breakfast.”

“What happened?” Sookie asked.

“Well, apparently, a tornado touched down over at Four Tracks Corners,” she said with a sudden dark tone, “It turned over that rent trailer in the clearing. You know the one?”

“Uh-huh…”

“And it killed that couple that’s been staying in there.”

“Wh- Mack and Denise Rattray?” Jason asked.

“They were trapped under the trailer. Mike Spencer said they were crushed to a pulp.”

Brooklynne laughed out loud suddenly, and even though they all turned to look at her, they didn’t think it was because of what Adele had just said. She just did that, sometimes.

“A tornado,” she repeated with a small laugh as she played with the bottom of her shirt.

***

Adele spent the day cleaning the house. Brooklynne helped at the beginning but quickly got distracted. She was laying on the couch, looking at her own hair, when Sookie came back in the house. Adele was vacuuming in the living room.

“You know, he sleeps in the ground all day. I don’t think he’s gonna even look at the rug.”

“I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing this for me. So I can be proud of my home. And how do you know where he sleeps?”

“I don’t, actually,” she chuckled. She then tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “What’s that smell?”

Adele turned off the vacuum. “What smell?”

Brooklynne sat up and watched her sister sniff around the living room.

“It smells like rotten food or something. You can’t smell that?”

Adele shook her head no and Brooklynne shrugged.

“Well find it.”

Sookie took a few more steps and pushed the armchair a little, then bent over and found a piece of old biscuit on the floor.

“Uh, you can’t smell this?”

Adele shook her head no again and gave her granddaughter a weird look.

“Well, I better throw this out.”

As she was about to exit the living room, her grandmother stopped her.

“Oh, Sookie?”

“Yeah?”

“Jason and Tara are coming over this evening as well.”

Sookie’s eyes grew big as bad scenarios went through her mind.

“Gran…”

“Well, they invited themselves. Jason said that he wants to meet the vampire for himself and… Tara said she thought she ought to be here as well.”

“I don’t know why everyone’s getting their panties in a wad about some stupid vampire!” Sookie whined.

“Did you want to be alone with him?”

Sookie shook her head and shrugged, “I don’t know… maybe…”

Adele grinned.

“Aren’t you gonna tell me to be careful?”

“You’re always careful, Sookie, about what counts. And I can depend on that. Isn’t that right?”

Sookie paused for a minute. She then nodded before she turned around and left.

***

Bill arrived with the night. All eyes were on him. Jason’s were more like daggers. He was looking at the vampire as if he had killed his entire family. Tara’s look was more suspicious, while Brooklynne was extremely curious. Sookie hadn’t lied. She couldn’t hear his thoughts. Not even when she tried. It was completely silent. A peaceful sensation Brooke had never felt before. She was fascinated. So was her grandmother, but for a completely different reason.

“Your people, Mr. Compton, they were from this area, I believe?”

“Yeah, my father’s people were Comptons and my mother’s people were Loudermilks.”

“Oh, there are a lot of Loudermilks left. But I’m afraid old Mr. Jesse Compton died last year.”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s why I came back to Bon Temps. There were no living Comptons, so I’ve set up home in the old Compton place. And as I expect the VRA to pass…”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be too sure about that if I were you,” Jason interrupted him. “A lot of Americans don’t think you people deserve special rights.”

“They’re the same rights you have.”

“No, I’m just saying there’s a reason things are the way they are.”

“Yeah. It’s called injustice.”

Jason’s mouth twitched out of anger.

“Listen, it’s called ‘this is how we do it’.”

“Jason!” Adele stopped him. “This is my house. I will not tolerate rudeness!”

Jason grunted but leaned back in the armchair. Bill was obviously angry, and it was his eyes now that were daggers.

“Did you know the Stackhouses, Mr. Compton?” Adele continued her interrogation.

“Yes, um… I remember Jonas Stackhouse. He and his wife moved here when Bon Temps was just a hole in the road. I was a young man of 16. Isn’t this the house he built? I mean, at least in part?”

“Yes, it was,” Adele nodded with enthusiasm.

“Did you own slaves?”

“Tara!” Sookie breathed out, surprised by the sudden question.

“I did not. But my father did. A house slave, a middle-aged woman whose name I cannot recall and a yard slave, a young, strong man named Minas.”

“Oh, these are just the sort of things my club will be so interested in hearing about.”

“About slaves?” Tara asked quite aggressively.

“Well… about anything having to do with that time…”

An awkward and uncomfortable silence settled which was mercifully broken by Bill.

“I look forward to speaking to your club, Mrs. Stackhouse.”

Adele laughed like a 16-year-old.

“Now… if it’s alright with you, I thought that Sookie and I might take a walk. It’s such a lovely night.”

“Well, it’s alright with me if it’s alright with Sookie.”

Jason put his beer down and got up.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.

“Jason, sit down and shut up,” Brooklynne said calmly, calmer than anyone who would say that would, as if she expected him to comply instantly. And he did.

Bill frowned as he watched the young Stackhouse immobile in his seat. It was as if she had just glamoured him without even looking at him, without even having the powers of a vampire.

“Um… shall we?” Bill asked Sookie as he held his hand.

“We shall,” she said as she took it.

Once they were out of the house, Jason turned to look at his sister and complained.

“I told you not to do that to me! You made me look like a fool in front of him!”

“Oh Jason,” Adele said as she got up, “You don’t need any help to look like a fool.”

***

Brooklynne was lying in her bed, in the darkness of her room, when Sookie came back home. The entire evening was still fresh in her memory and Brooke saw all of it. She learnt that Bill’s blood was inside Sookie, that it was the reason for her acute senses and the weird wet dreams, and that Bill would be able to find Sookie at any time. To feel her when she was in trouble and come to the rescue as fast as possible. Information Sookie had had trouble to take in. But not for long as the evening ended with a kiss. And the night ended with another wet dream.

***

Days passed and Sookie kept seeing Bill. Though it seemed she wasn’t sure about her feelings. She had admitted to Adele and Brooklynne she was scared of him and Brooklynne knew why. She knew everything all the time. That’s why she was always so tired, so absent. But she was aware.

Sookie had had an unfortunate meeting with three other vampires, a moment during which Bill showed his dark side, his vampire side. He called her ‘his’, so that other vampires would leave her alone, as if it made her safe or safer.

She thought she was at least safe during the day, but even that proved to be untrue as one morning, while she was doing a favor for Sam, her boss, she found her colleague, Dawn, a waitress and Jason’s ‘friend’, dead in her bed. That same morning, Jason got arrested again.

Adele was worried. She knew people would want to know who was killing those young ladies and she was afraid they’d come after Jason. She asked Sookie to keep her ears open and to listen carefully in case she would hear the killer or find out who had done it.

Brooklynne wanted to help too, but she knew her grandmother wouldn’t let her leave the house.

An opportunity arose, however, when Sookie came back home from work sooner than she should have. She had made plans with Bill to go to a vampire bar in Shreveport called ‘Fangtasia’ and try to find some information that would help Jason. Brooke wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass.

“I’m going with you.”

“No way!” Sookie said as she fixed her makeup. “I’m not taking you to a vampire bar!”

“Why not? You’re going! And I’m bored! I wanna leave the house and I wanna help, you know I can do it!”

“I know you can do it, it’s not about that, it’s just… it’s too dangerous!”

“I can defend myself, you know that!”

“I also know that other people, especially vampires, shouldn’t know it.”

“Well, I’m going with you, I’m not asking. I’m an adult and I can do whatever I want.”

Sookie sighed. She stayed silent for a minute, fixed her outfit, a white dress with red flowers on it, and put on her shoes, red ballerina flats.

“He thinks it’s a date,” Brooke continued.

“What?”

“He thinks it’s a date. If I’m there, there would be no doubt about it.”

“How do you know what he thinks?”

“I watch movies,” she shrugged. “A lot of them.”

Sookie rolled her eyes. It was a good argument though she didn’t really mind being alone with Bill. But she didn’t want him to know that.

“Fine! You can come with me.”

Brooklynne smiled, victorious.

“But you have to stay with me, all the time.”

“I will,” she nodded. “I won’t leave your side, I promise.”

“And you have to stay focused. Be careful.”

“I will! I promise!”

“Fine then,” Sookie sighed. “Come on.”

***

“Wh- you’re taking Brooke?” Adele asked Sookie in a whisper as if her granddaughter wouldn’t hear her.

“She can help. And it’ll be good for her to leave the house.”

“Well, I agree, but… a vampire bar isn’t the safest place…”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Stackhouse,” Bill interrupted her. “I promise no harm will come to your granddaughters.”

Adele smiled awkwardly. “Ah, well… if you insist…” she said with worry in her voice.

“Good night, Mrs. Stackhouse.”

“Oh, go- good night, Mr. Compton. Be careful girls.”

“Bye, Gran.”

The three of them left the house and got into Bill’s car, Sookie in the passenger seat and Brooklynne in the back. She was wearing one of Sookie’s dresses, a short yellow sleeveless gown, and a pair of low heels yellow pumps. Her long blonde hair was caressing her nude back. She was excited to finally be going out, to meet more vampires, and to clear her brother’s name.

***

When they arrived at Fangtasia, Sookie immediately took her sister’s hand, to make sure she wouldn’t go anywhere. As they were walking towards the bar, Bill put his arm around Sookie’s waist and brought her to him, in a protective way. It was awkward to be holding her sister’s hand while being in the arms of a man and she unconsciously let her sister’s hand go.

Once they were inside, they were immediately greeted by a female blonde vampire wearing a leather black sleeveless dress and high heel pumps. She was wearing a lot of makeup, including a very red lipstick.

“Bill. Haven’t seen you in a while,” she said in a completely disinterested tone.

“I’m mainstreaming.”

“Good for you,” she almost rolled her eyes as she replied with a bored tone as if she didn’t care or didn’t like it, “Who’s the doll?” she asked, sounding almost interested.

“Pam this is Sookie, and her sister, Brooklynne. Sookie, Brooklynne, this is Pam.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Sookie smiled at her as she held out her hand.

Pam looked at it as if it contained the plague.

“Can I see your ID?”

The request made Sookie laugh, however she understood why she would ask. Brooklynne looked like a teenager.

“I can no longer tell human ages. We must be careful we serve no minors, in any capacity.”

She took a look at both IDs before she gave them back to their owners.

“Twenty-five, huh? How sweet it is,” she said as she looked at Bill. She was mostly interested by Sookie, probably because she was the one in Bill’s arms, Brooklynne thought.

She finally let them pass and Brooklynne took her sister’s hand again as they walked past Pam.

The club was crowded, loud, dark and red. There were dancers everywhere, male and female, some vampires, some humans, most of them were half naked, wearing black leather and black lipstick. It was almost like the cliché vampire bar one would imagine. The humans came for the danger, the vampires came for the fun of it.

“This feels a little bit like what a vampire bar would look like if it were a… a ride at Disney World,” Sookie said. However, Brooklynne couldn’t picture any of this in Disney World. Too much nudity.

“Well, don’t get too comfortable. It tends to get more authentic as the night wears on.”

“There are more humans here than vampires,” Brooklynne noticed as the loud thoughts of the customers echoed in her head.

They took the direction of the bar where a vampire asked them what they wanted to drink. He had medium long black hair, dark eyes, and tattoos on both arms. He was shirtless, only wearing a sleeveless black leather vest. He looked tired, though maybe that was just because of the eyeliner around his eyes.

“How’s it going Bill?”

“Very well.”

“I’ll say it is. This is your meal for tonight?”

“This is my friend Sookie, and her sister, Brooklynne. Sookie, Brooklynne, Longshadow.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sookie politely greeted, but once again received no answer. “I’ll have a gin and tonic, please.”

“And I’ll have a bottle of O-negative.”

“And what about the sister?”

Brooklynne didn’t give him an answer. She didn’t realize he was talking to her. The voices in her head were too loud and she got distracted. Sookie took her hand, making her sister look at her and focus once again.

“She’ll have a coke,” Sookie answered for her.

“Longshadow, Sookie here, would like to know if she could ask you a few questions. Would this be acceptable?”

“I just have a couple of pictures I’d love you to take a look at,” she said as she took the photos of Maudette and Dawn out of her bag, “Do you recognize either of these women?”

Longshadow took the pictures and put them on the bar.

“Yeah, I’ve seen them both here before.”

“Great! Thank you,” Sookie said quickly and enthusiastically, as she was happy he was cooperating and wanted him to continue, “Do you also happen to remember who they hung around with?”

“That’s something we don’t notice here. You won’t either.”

“Okay, then. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time.”

“This one,” he said as he took Maudette’s picture. “She wanted to die.”

Sookie frowned. “How do you know?”

“Everyone who comes here does, in their own way. That’s who we are: Death.”

Sookie didn’t reply. What could she say to that? Bill paid for the drinks and they walked away. They settled at a table and Sookie started listening to the people around her. Brooklynne was already “scanning” the area. She tried to block out the music which she found horrible. A man was screaming some words she couldn’t understand over loud guitar and drums. She found other people’s thoughts more pleasant for once.

Sookie heard a man among the crowd of clients, he was thinking about the blond vampire sitting on the throne on the stage at the end of the room. He walked slowly towards him and kneeled near him. He put his hand on the vampire’s leg and started moving it up his thigh. Suddenly, the vampire, who had been silently staring at the bald man until then, got up with vampire speed, and pushed him away. The man, who looked like he was in his forties, fell down and hurt his head which started to bleed. A female vampire with short brown hair and a short black dress helped the human get up and they disappeared in an instant.

“Still think you’re in Disneyland?” Bill told Sookie who chose to ignore him.

“Do you hear anything?” Sookie asked her little sister.

“A lot of things,” she replied. “Nothing helpful. It’s loud.”

“How come no one fucked me? I got a dog collar too.”

“Morticia, how’d you like me to rip that tape off your tits?”

“It ain’t gay if a guy’s a vampire, is it?”

“I’m gonna get kicked out of my frat if I don’t fuck a vampire tonight.”

“You’re able to pick up anything?” Bill asked Sookie after a while.

“All anyone’s thinking about here is sex, sex, sex.”

“One needn’t be telepathic to pick up on that.”

Suddenly, Bill straightened up. “Uh-oh.”

“Don’t say ‘uh-oh’. Vampires are not supposed to say ‘uh-oh’!”

“It’s Eric,” he said as he looked at the blond vampire on the ‘throne’. “He’s scanned you twice. He’s going to summon us,” he told her like it was a bad thing, something he’d had preferred to avoid.

“He can do that?”

“Oh, yeah...”

And as he said it, Eric gestured for them to come. Bill held out his hand but before she took it, she looked over at her sister, who was looking inside her empty glass of coke. Gone, as usual.

“Brooklynne, come on.”

The girl looked up and gave her a confused look.

“Come on,” Sookie said again as she took her hand.

Sookie squeezed her sister’s hand as they approached Eric. Pam was standing behind him, her arm resting on the top of the ‘throne’.

“Bill Compton. It has been a while.”

“Yes, well, I’ve been…”

“Mainstreaming,” Eric cut him off. He said it with a grin, as if it was something to be ashamed of. “I heard.” He looked over at Sookie, who was on Bill’s left, holding his hand. “I see that is going well for you.” He then, looked at Brooklynne, who was standing a little behind Sookie, squeezing her sister’s hand too, and looking at Eric and Pam with a sort of fascination. The silence in their head was relaxing. “Very well, apparently,” he chuckled.

“Yes, of course, sorry,” Bill said. “Eric, these are my friends…”

“Sookie and Brooklynne Stackhouse.”

“How do you know our names?”

“I never forget a pretty face. You’re in my vault,” Pam said as she pointed a finger at her head.

“Great. That’s just great,” Sookie blabbered, not sure how to handle that information. “It’s nice to meet you,” she told Eric.

“Well, aren’t you sweet?” he grinned mockingly.

“Not really.”

As she said it, Bill squeezed her hand to stop her and Brooklynne laughed. It was a childlike laugh. A laugh that Eric never thought he’d hear in Fangtasia and a laugh that had no place in his club. It made Eric smirk.

“Vår lilla djurpark börjar växa till sig,” Eric said. (Looks like our zoo is growing.)

“Jag vet,” Pam replied. (I know.)

“I think he just called you a pet,” Brooke whispered in Sookie’s ear.

“How do you know?” her sister gave her a weird look which Brooklynne ignored.

“You speak Swedish?” Eric asked, suddenly very interested.

“Ja. Inte lika bra som dig,” she said with an amused smile. (Yes. But not better than you.)

“You speak Swedish?” Sookie was taken aback. “How?”

“The internet,” she shrugged.

“Well, your friend is full of surprises, Bill,” Eric grinned.

“I know right?” Sookie sulked.

“I understand you’ve been asking questions about some of my customers.”

“Yes, I have.”

“If you have anything to ask, you should ask it of me.”

“Alrighty,” Sookie nodded. She took out the pictures from her bag and gave them to Eric. “You recognize either one of these girls?”

He took a look at them and smirked as he hummed, probably remembering something pleasant.

“This one offered herself to me,” he said, pointing at the photo of Maudette. “But I found her too pathetic for my attentions. Now, this one, however,” he continued, pointing at Dawn, “I have tasted.”

“I remember them both,” Pam said.

“On account of the vault?” Sookie asked, not caring she was being sassy with a vampire, or not realizing it. Brooklynne laughed quietly, looking up at her big sister. Bill quickly took Sookie’s hand again, to stop her. Eric noticed. Pam didn’t budge. “Never had either of them, though. They weren’t really my type.”

“Are you hearing anything?” Sookie asked silently to her sister who shook her head no.

“Well, thank you very much. That is all your time I need to take,” Sookie said as she took the pictures back from Eric.

“I’m not finished with you yet,” he said quickly and dryly. “Please,” he gave her a fake smile that didn’t seem friendly at all, “Sit.”

Sookie looked over at Bill and she understood from the look on his face that they didn’t really have a choice. She looked at the chairs next to Eric’s ‘throne’, one on his right and one on his left, and realized there wasn’t enough chairs for the three of them. Bill gestured Sookie to sit on Eric’s right while he let Brooklynne sit on his left.

“Well, we can’t let poor Mr. Compton without a chair,” Eric said as he raised a hand stopping Brooklynne from sitting.

“I’m fine.”

“I insist,” Eric continued as he rested his hand on his lap as a silent command to the young woman.

Brooklynne’s eyes grew big, though not out of fear but surprise. She looked at her sister who shook her head no.

“Really, Eric, I’m fine on my feet.”

“Sit,” Eric ordered. He would not be refused.

Bill sighed. He silently and slowly walked over to the chair on Eric’s left and sat down. Eric smirked at Brooklynne as he held out his hand.

“Jag insisterar.” (I insist.)

Brooke hesitated for a few seconds but then smiled, amused, as she took his hand. She sat on his lap, turning her back to Bill and facing her worried sister.

“Oroa dig inte. Jag kommer inte att bita,” he said with a smug smile. (Don’t worry. I won’t bite.)

“Jag är inte orolig,” she replied with a smile of her own as she put her hand on his shoulder. (I’m not worried.)

Eric chuckled, almost impressed. “I like you.” He kept his hands to himself, something Brooklynne appreciated particularly. “So Bill, are you quite attached to your friend?” he asked as he looked Sookie up and down.

“She is mine,” Bill immediately said with a threatening tone.

“Yes, I am his.”

“Good. I imagine you aren’t his, then,” he told Brooklynne as he looked back at her.

“That’s right,” she replied, wondering why he’d even be interested in her, and wishing she could hear what he was thinking, for once.

“Where the fuck are they? My backup was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. I can’t handle a raid on my own. These fucking vampires…”

The undercover police officer's thoughts resonated in Sookie’s head and set off loud alarms.

“We have to get out of here!” she said suddenly, making Eric and Pam raise their eyebrows and look at her like she was crazy.

“Sookie!” Bill reprimanded her rudeness.

“Eric, the cops are coming! There’s gonna be a raid!”

Brooklynne frowned at the new information. Sookie heard something she didn’t? That was unusual. She straightened up and focused on the room.

“Tell me you’re not an undercover cop,” Eric asked with a threatening tone.

“I’m not but that man in the hat is,” Sookie replied as she gestured towards the man.

“Even if you’re right, we do nothing illegal here.”

“There’s a vampire in the ladies’ room, she’s feeding on a man,” Brooklynne said, in a surprisingly calm tone.

“How do you know this?” Pam asked.

Brooke looked up at her, then at Sookie, who shook her head no. Before she had the chance to reply, however, the police barged in.

“Police! Police! Freeze!”

They all got up at the sudden entrance, and Eric instructed them to follow him.

“Hands where I can see them!”

They exited through the back door.

“I enjoyed meeting you, Miss Stackhouse. You will come again,” he told Brooklynne before he disappeared in the night with Pam.

Bill, Sookie and Brooke ran towards the direction of the car and left as fast as they could. They were quiet in the vehicle, listening to Bill’s foreign music, neither girl could tell what language they were speaking, though Brooklynne imagined it was some kind of Asian language. Brooklynne kept thinking about Eric, how peaceful it had been to be near him, the silence that had overtook her as she was sitting on his lap. She couldn’t figure out why he had found her so interesting though she supposed it didn’t really matter. He probably didn’t want to do anything pleasant with her.

A car appeared suddenly behind them and blinded Bill’s rear-view mirror with a bright yellow light.

“Shoot,” Sookie breathed out as she realized it was a police car. “Pull over.”

Bill obliged. He knew what was coming. A suspicious policeman worried that Bill was taking advantage of two young women. There was only one way he’d get out of this without any issue and he didn’t imagine Sookie would be pleased by what she was about to see him do.

The police car flashed its light behind Bill’s as the officer walked towards the driver’s seat. He knocked on the door and instructed the vampire to open the window.

“Brooke, can you take care of this?” Sookie said suddenly, surprising and confusing Bill.

“With pleasure,” she replied with a satisfied smile. She was happy to finally be allowed to use her abilities.

“Hello, officer,” Sookie greeted.

“Evening, miss. What are you three doing out this late?”

“Nothing. And that’s a good enough answer for you,” Brooke merely said. “Now turn around and drive away.”

Without another word, the police officer did exactly as she said. He got back into his car and drove away.

“How do you do that?” Bill asked, completely baffled.

Brooke shrugged. “I don’t know. I just do it.”

“You can glamour people without any effort! Only vampires can do that!”

“What’s ‘glamour’?”

“Vampires can hypnotize people,” Sookie explained, “make them do things…”

“Can we go home?” she stopped her as if she weren’t interested anymore, “I’m tired.”

Sookie chuckled as if she were used to it.

“Of course,” Bill nodded as he started driving again.

***

The next morning, Brooklynne got up late. The adventures of the previous night had tired her, and she wanted to be well rested to attend her grandmother’s meeting. “Vampire Bill” talking at the church was all the town could talk about that day. It rose curiosity among the people of Bon Temps and a “Descendants of the Glorious Dead” meeting had never seen so many people. Everybody was there. The sheriff, Bud Dearborne, wearing his uniform for some reason. Tara and Jason. Sam Merlotte, who hated Bill, though not so much because he was a vampire but rather because he had a crush on Sookie himself. Arlene, Sookie’s colleague and vampire hater, who had come with René and her two children who had begged her to take them. All the seats of the church were taken. But they were less interested in what he had to say about the Civil War and more about the vampire himself.

Brooklynne was cursed to hear every single one of their thoughts, one more stupid than the other. But she managed to hear what the vampire was saying, despite Sam’s angry thoughts provoked by the mere sight of the vampire, and other dirty images that showed up in his mind about her sister.

The meeting went rather well and even made the crowd wet their eyes. It was a miracle that between a Jason high on V, three stupid high school drop outs armed with garlic, and several vampire haters sitting on every bench, nothing wrong had occurred.

Most of the town headed out to Merlotte’s after the meeting. Bill and Sookie, however, felt like having some alone time together. Adele agreed to let Brooke go to the bar after Sam promised to watch over her. He let her bartend with Tara who taught her how to make some drinks but didn’t let her drink them. She got tired around 2AM however and Sam drove her back. The lights were out which Sam found odd. He was sure Adele would be waiting for her granddaughter.

“Looks like everybody’s sleeping.”

“No, nobody’s home…” she said quietly, more surprised than him. Adele would be at home at this hour. Unless an emergency had forced her to leave. But if that had happened, she’s have called to warn Sam about it.

“How do you know?”

Brooklynne didn’t answer and got out of the car. Sam followed her inside the house. The floor was slippery, and she almost fell as she stepped inside the kitchen. Sam turned on the lights and they were suddenly faced with horror. Blood everywhere. A pool of red liquid surrounding Adele Stackhouse’s dead body. Brooklynne’s mind suddenly became blank. All she could hear was a loud buzzing sound, all she could see was her dead grandmother lying in a pool of her own blood. The buzzing sound turned into a loud shriek. A terrified scream that she didn’t understand was coming from her.

**********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87

[those70scomics]

I've been rewatching the show recently, jumping between seasons, and was curious... Do you think Jackie is less insecure about her looks when she's with Hyde? When she was with Kelso, she asked him a lot about how pretty she was (I guess I'm thinking about the van competition episode in particular), but she doesn't seem to do this with Hyde, and I was wondering what your thoughts were on this whole matter. Really appreciate your deep insights into the characters!! You truly do them justice!

First, thank you for the lovely compliment! :D And this is a great observation / question!

Jackie certainly acts less insecure about her physical appearance when she’s dating Hyde. The one exception, of course, is “The Acid Queen” (6x04) when she asks Hyde if he thinks Brooke is hot, and he refuses to answer (at first). That episode is less about Jackie’s self-confidence, though, and more about her confidence in Hyde’s love for her.

Jackie: “How do I know he loves me if he doesn’t obey me?”

Jackie matures a lot during her relationship with Hyde. Perhaps part of her insecurity about her looks while she’s with Kelso stems from the fact he cheated on her so much.

Further, in “Kelso’s Serenade” (2x21), Hyde tells Jackie, “See, I myself don't like you. I find you abrasive. But if I didn't know you and I'd never talked to you, I'd think you were totally hot.” He reveals to her that personality counts just as much to him as physical appearance. At this point in the series, he finds Jackie aesthetically attractive, but he’s not attracted to her sexually. So by the time they engage in a sexual relationship, she knows he also finds her personality -- her substance -- appealing, as well. 

Before Brooke, Kelso’s main -- or, maybe, only -- requirement for attraction is a girl’s physical appearance. In “Hyde Moves In” (1x24), he freaks out when Jackie is sick and not wearing makeup. His words to Jackie. The following lines of his to Jackie from the episode sum up his point of view:

I wanna apologize for screaming when I looked at you the other day. It's, just, you looked really gross! But I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I realized something.

I realized that just because you look bad now that doesn't mean you're gonna look bad forever! I mean, I just saw your mom downstairs, and even though she's pretty old, she's really hot. And that gives me hope for the future!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I realized that this whole mess, that's just a temporary thing. But physical beauty, that lasts forever!”

This is quite a contrast from Hyde’s words to Jackie in “Kelso’s Serenade”. Kelso can’t find Jackie sexually attractive unless she’s aesthetically appealing to him. Hyde can’t find Jackie sexually attractive unless her personality appeals to him.

Jackie doesn’t feel the need for constant reassurance about her looks from Hyde because she already knows -- and trusts -- he finds her aesthetically pleasing. That’s not the most important factor for him. Who she is on the inside matters most, and maybe that’s partly what inspires her to grow and change while she’s with him.

[msjr0119]

Hold On

Part 16- Back in the Big Apple 🍏

Nobody got injured at the Homecoming ball, they all get separated into different safe houses- for safety.

Riley and Drake had confirmed that they had feelings for each other, however Drake believed Riley should be with Liam. Heartbroken, she moves back to New York. Only keeping in touch with Hana, Maxwell and Olivia.

Riley meets lawyer, Nate Cooper and begins a relationship with him. In Cordonia, Drake begins to court Kiara.

Nine months after Riley had left Cordonia- there is a reunion, but not the reunion the friends had hoped for.

*Characters belong to Pixelberry*

If you are under 18 please do not read this series. If you do, you are consenting that you are over the age.

Series warnings: Suicide, domestic abuse, swearing, stabbing, smut 🍋. If any of these triggers affect you do not read!

Tags- @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @choices97 @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h

So this is a very mini part.. it includes a conversation from the present day and a conversation from four days prior to the present day. The next parts include the actual court case.

*******

Present time- Day three of court

“Hey, Li. What you doing?”

Leo felt guilty that neither him nor Riley had contacted him earlier. The previous days, both of them had been in regular contact with Liam. They knew that if anything went wrong, that Liam would travel to New York immediately- they wanted to avoid this. Not only because he had his King duties to attend to, but it would break him hearing what his brother and partner went through in New York.

“Leo, how’s it going? We are all sat waiting to hear how it’s gone.”

Li- to be honest it’s gone tits up... Leo whispered in his head to himself.

“Erm. Well.. are you all there?”

“Yes...”

Liam looked around, he was sure everyone was there. He wondered why Leo was asking such a ridiculous question. You could never ask Leo a question and get a simple response back. Searching the room a second time - he noticed that everyone in his court was present except that one person. That one person that he hadn’t seen since the ball.

“Yes, everyone except....”

“That person had caused some shit Li. They are here in New York and has... well let’s say don’t ever piss Riley off.. her New York accent came out - did you know she has a real broad accent? Well anyway she can handle herself...”

Leo didn’t know how to tell his brother what Riley had done outside the court- he didn’t blame her one bit though. Everyone was wishing to do it too. Leo and Bastien tried to prevent her, but she was so full of anger- stronger than the two men who couldn’t restrain her. Luckily, they eventually calmed her down.

“Is she okay? What’s happened? Tell me now!”

Liam interrupted frustratedly. He didn’t have time for Leo’s games- he just required a simple answer. An answer that Leo wasn’t going to give him anytime soon.

“The sentencing has been adjourned.. due to new evidence...”

******

Four days ago

Nate was in the cell, awaiting a brief regarding the court case from his attorney. There was an issue, due to his original lawyer being his colleague. The court soon realised and required him to get another representative - it would have been too biased, and the judge wanted a fair trial. The court case was due to start tomorrow- he felt confident that he would be released free of charge- due to Riley’s actions after she reported him. After waiting hours for his new attorney to show up, he started to wonder if he would have anyone. Just then there was a gentle knock at the door.

A woman entered. He believed he was going to definitely lose the case. Women’s rights and feminism- she was sure to make her client, Nate look a fool and help Riley gain her justice against him.

“Mr Cooper. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Please tell me you are not here to defend me? I need a man!”

“Oh god no. Do I look like I know American law?”

Nate looked at the woman- she didn’t have an American accent. His mind pondered as to what her intentions were.

“So who the hell are you?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am. But I can help you. I can help you bring down Riley Brooks and Leo Rhys. You’ll be a free man soon, Mr Cooper.”

Nate was intrigued as to who this mystery woman was and why she hated Riley and Leo so much to risk helping a stranger.

“Go on...”

“Well, I’ve done my research. The reasons why you are here. I can turn them into false accusations. If you stick to my story and we work together- those two will not have a leg to stand on..”

[ncityislove]

The Jury is Out

➳Pairing: Renjun x Reader x Jeno (ft a few other Dreamies)

➳Genre: Angsty fluff but mostly angst lol basically enemies to lovers

➳Word Count: 5K

****STORY HAS BEEN RE-EDITED

You were used to working with the guy you disposed most in the world on a day to day basis but one day all that changes when you have to work together after school for two weeks. Was it crazy to want to be friends with your enemy? Was it possible to be something...more?

Part 1/5

Second Chapter

Requested? no bc y’all stay sleeping on my mans but anyways

The air is cold and frigid, causing you to zip up your bright yellow fleece jacket. You regret not bringing your coat, which you had left in your locker because you honestly didn't think you'd need to wear one indoors but you didn't account for the chill of the breeze outside to seep through the cracks of the classroom windows.

You clamp your teeth shut in an attempt to prevent them from chattering as you jot down the notes from the PowerPoint on the board. Normally, you'd be way too invested in the lesson to even notice the temperature but you were doing a dissection tomorrow so you had to learn all about the body parts of pigs. Pigs. As if the anatomy of pigs wasn't straight forward enough.

Finally, the lesson neared its end and your anatomy teacher, Mrs. Brookes, clicks off the PowerPoint and you cram your notes into your overflowing folder.

"I've got an announcement, everyone," calls Mrs. Brookes. 

The class halts their movements to hear her speak. 

"The end of the semester is here and that means finals and all that."

The classroom groans in unison.  

"Yes, yes I know! Boo, finals. But! With finals comes the new semester and that means college applications will be due! So, if anyone wants to get a head start on teacher recommendations—"

Your eyes snap across the room to peer at a “certain someone” only to find he was already glaring at you. Huang Renjun was the top of your class—always has been and probably always will be. Unfortunately, that made you second at everything which was unbelievably insufferable. You were smart, always did your work and gave 100% to everything you did but so did he. And he was always just a little bit better—just a little bit smarter than you and it made your blood boil.

You knew your destiny was to be a judge since you were three years old. You dreamt of wearing the flowy black gown and holding that beautiful wooden gabble as the whole courtroom looked to you, knowing the power you held. You wanted to be the best judge there ever was--a fair judge who brought justice to everyone and you had the perfect plan to do it. You would attend Oxford, get your degree in law, be a lawyer for a few years, five or six maximum and go from there. The only problem with that was that Oxford chose only one student from your school every year for their full-ride scholarship and it just so happened that the student at the top of your class wanted to go there too.

To put the cherry on top, Renjun also hated your guts. He made your life a living hell and often times he’d go out of his way to do so. You can’t remember when the spiteful behavior began but it had been so long it was comfortable. Sometime in middle school he’d had his sight set on you and you haven’t had a peaceful day since.

You shake away your disgruntled thoughts, bringing your attention back to Mrs. Brookes.

"I'd be glad to help out!" Mrs. Brookes smiles. "It would be nice to start now so I won't have to write one-hundred-thirty-two letters at once."

The classroom fills with whispers before Mrs. Brookes quiets them once more. "Also, as you all know, we have a lab tomorrow so go ahead and pick your partners, quickly!"

You sigh, pressing your lips together as your eyes flicker back to Renjun who nodded his head in confirmation of what you already knew. Although the two of you couldn't stand each other, you always worked together to ensure you got the highest grade. This way, you didn't have to deal with lazy partners or someone who just didn't have the intellect to keep up with you.

By lunchtime, you’re practically starving, having skipped breakfast because you overslept. Again.

You purchase a salad, stuffing a fork full of lettuce in your mouth as you set up a small foldable table in the center of the cafeteria. You were in a numerous amount of clubs, one of them being the Red Cross Club, which was currently donating blood to hospital, and you were the first one to volunteer to man the sign-up table.

You managed to get a few sign-ups before people stopped passing by and you quickly get bored. You suck through the straw of your milk carton, unlocking your phone to see you had four unopened messages.

Sadie [11:36]: Heyyyyy girrrrrrl Sadie [11:36]: guess who's coming home? It's me lmao Sadie [11:37]: did you hear about the fire? Some dumb ass freshman burned down the ENTIRE chemistry building so they're letting us out on winter break early for remodeling Sadie [11:38]: can't wait to see you! We've got so much to catch up on about Jodie ;)

You roll your eyes shoving your phone back into your pocket. There was a point in time when you and your sister were practically joint at the hip, always together no matter what. Secret handshakes, your own made-up languages and all that, but it wasn't like that anymore. You weren't exactly sure when the rift began but you were very much aware of it now. The only person who seemed to not notice was Sadie. The last thing you wanted to do was be stuck in the same house with her for who knows how long, let alone talk about her idiot of a boyfriend, Jodie.

 A deep bellow and a loud guffaw drags you out of your thoughts as your eyes follow the source of the sound. Lee Jeno was doubled over in laughter, as were the rest of his friends, slamming his fist down on the table as everyone around him erupted into applause. You hate people who clapped when they laughed. You also hate people who obnoxiously drew attention to themselves in public but you couldn't stop your heart from swooning while watching him do those very things. There wasn't a shortage of good looking boys at your school but none of them ever had the effect that Jeno did on you. It's not that you have a crush on him—not even close. He was just so damn dreamy. You’ve had your fair share of interactions with Jeno, him being Renjun’s best friend and a member of two of the clubs you were in. He was in student council just like you but instead of being the useless treasurer, he was the Vice President (and of course Renjun was class president) and the best soccer goalie the school's had in...well, ever. It was the combination of his good looks, you think, and intelligence that was so attractive to you.

You had certain rules that you set for yourself to ensure your high school career went perfectly. Although it was kind of corny, it worked for you. You had a plan and you were going to succeed.

Rule number one: no parties. 

Rule number two: no drinking. 

And most importantly, rule number three: no dating. 

Having a boyfriend would be a huge distraction and you couldn't risk your future on some relationship that wouldn't last past graduation but sometimes you couldn't help wishing you hadn't made the rule for the sake of Jeno's existence.

You made a sour face at the group of boys, shivering when you feel a pair of eyes burning a hole in your head. You glance over two seats from Jeno to find Renjun inspecting you with an unreadable expression. You stare back for a moment before looking away, a look of displeasure evident on your face. You were quite thoroughly creeped out. Geez, were you in some kind of movie or something? You were competing against each other but you weren't arch enemies or anything like that.

When the final bell rang at the end of the day, everyone rushed off to get on the big yellow buses and go home. You rarely hardly ever rode the bus, having too many extra-curricular activities after school and just outright preferring to walk in the mornings. Mondays and Wednesdays you had mock-trial club, STEM and chess club were both on Tuesdays, and book club and Red Cross were every other Thursday before school. On top of all that, you were captain of the varsity volleyball team. A large part of you only wanted to join because you thought the uniforms were cute but you also needed a sport to put on your college application.

Today is Wednesday and you were on your way to Mr. Koffee's class for mock trial. Mr. Koffee wasn't the most interesting person in the world but you always looked forward to his club meetings the most out of all your other extra-curriculars. It was mostly because it was the closest thing to being a real lawyer you'll have for a long while.

By the time you make it to the classroom, all the seats were taken except for the one right next to Jeno so you quickly cease it, receiving cold looks from your female peers. You shrug it off, not really paying them any attention. If there was another seat you would've taken it but seeing as there were more people there today than usual  you had no choice. Renjun sat behind you typing away at his phone, ignoring your presence as usual.

Mr. Koffee strides into the room, closing the door behind him. The students shift their attention to him as he stands in front of his desk, arms folded.

"Well isn't this a surprise. Everyone decided to show up today." 

The class laughs but you could tell by his expression it wasn't meant to be a joke.

"Quiet down, everyone," he begins. "We've got some major trials next year against some big schools and I have no doubt we'll win them all but I'd still like us to be prepared. I think our performance level would greatly benefit if you were able to do a trial without me involved so I'm stepping down from my role as Chief Justice."

Your ears perk up at this. You often alternate between being the defending attorney and a juror but neither role satisfied you in the way you knew being the judge would. You struggle to hold in your giddiness as the teacher continues.

"I'll be choosing the best-fit person to play Chief Justice sometime between now and next week if anyone's interested."

"Mr. Koffee," you call out, raising your hand. " I don't think it will be too hard to decide considering I'm the obvious choice."

Jeno snickers at your words and Renjun scoffs.

"Suddenly, I think I want to be the judge." Renjun muses, his finger tapping his lips lightly. 

You withhold the urge to hit him on the back of his stupid, round head.

 "Mr. Koffee, I'd like to be judge, too!"

Your neck almost snaps at how quickly you turn your head to gawk at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

Renjun's lips twist into a lopsided smirk.  "What do you mean? I’m taking my role of chief justice, obviously."

You glower at him. "You are such a--"

"__!" Mr. Koffee scolds.

You mumble an apology but your eyes never leave Renjun's. He must really get a kick out of making your life a living hell, didn't he? He wanted to be a lawyer when he graduates so why on Earth was he volunteering, knowing damn well how badly you wanted this? He already had everything he wanted and he was probably going to get the scholarship at Oxford anyways—what more did he want? Why did he still take things away from you when you never had a chance in the first place?

"Like I said," Mr. Koffee continues. "I'll come to a decision at the end of next week. Moving on," he begins pacing across the front. "The school carnival is in two weeks and I registered the club on the list to have a booth. Are there any volunteer—"

"Me!" You and Renjun shout at the same time. You both cast glances at each other before looking back at the teacher to hear his decision. Volunteering to run the booth wasn't the best idea. You already had enough on your plate as is but you knew you would have a better chance of being chosen if you did this and so did Renjun which was why he couldn't let you do that.

"Okay, Perfect. You two will run the booth for the carnival," he announces, clasping his hands together.

You gape at him, horrified. Now, what have you gotten yourself into? You glimpse at Renjun who's expression was not too far off from yours. Jeno cracks up in his chair, his shoulders shaking in laughter, clearly enjoying this.

"Oh this is gonna be good," he giggles.

"I needed two people but I thought no one would volunteer," Mr. Koffee explains, his lips almost curving into a smile for once. "Now let's move on to our next case, shall we?"

--

The drive home is dull. You pick at your chipping nail polish as your mom blabs on and on about Sadie. Her words go through one ear and out of the other, her voice drowning into the hum of the engine and the wind flowing in through the window. Your thoughts are filled with Renjun and murdering him in cold blood. This was something you could never forgive him for.

Your mom parks the car in the garage, and you grab your bookbag as you wait for her to unlock the door. The weather only seemed to get colder and colder and it only worsened your mood. With the all your school work and club activities, you were sure the added on stress from Sadie coming home months early would be  your end. You could see it on the news now, Young Teen Found Dead With Premature Wrinkles And a Notebook Full of Plans for Murder. 

The house was warm and welcoming compared to the harsh temperatures outside. You remove your shoes and jacket and scurry up the stairs before your mom could talk your ear off some more about your sister.

You plop down on your bed, crawling under your honey yellow duvet, finding an escape from the world for a moment. Every now and then, when life just felt like it was a little too much, you’d hide under your covers like a child. You’ve been doing this a lot lately, taking refuge in the safety of your covers when Renjun had done something to ruin your day. Just three days ago, you were in this very same spot after Renjun tripped you in front of everybody during second period. It took a lot to embarrass you and because everyone saw him trip you, that didn't bother you much. It was the bruise on your elbow you got trying to break your fall that pissed you off. It was the fact that he got away with tripping you in front of so many eyes and yet, he didn’t get in trouble. He never did. He was the perfect model student. The class president could never do any wrong. 

You weren't sure how much time had passed while you were under there but you figure you ought to start on your math homework so you could finish your English paper early.

After a few hours, your parents call you down for dinner. Your dad had just got home, setting the table in his work clothes. Your parents invested themselves in a conversation of the weather which inevitably turned into a bubbly discussion about Sadie. Expecting this, you eat as quickly as possible trying to flee back to your room. Surprisingly, you're able to leave with ease, your parents too excited about Sadie's arrival to notice you leaving the table early. 

--

You're shocked awake by a heavy object thrown on top of you. Your eyes pop open, your heart thudding in your chest as you notice the familiar mop of hair splayed across your face. The high-pitched squeal only confirmed who the culprit was.

"Sadie?" you whine, groggily.

She lifts her head up, but not enough to remove her hair off of your face.

"Missed me?"

"Not really," you try to push her off which only resulted in her squeezing you tighter.

"There's that sense of humor I missed so much."

You roll your eyes. I wasn't joking, you wanted to say but you bite your tongue. 

"Why'd you wake me up? I already have to get up early enough for school."

Sadie finally sits up, her lips pursed. "Oh? But doesn't school start in like twenty minutes?"

"WHAT?!?" you glance at your alarm clock and she was right. You must've forgotten to set your alarm last night. You sigh throwing your legs over the edge of the mattress.

"If you need a ride I can drive you," Sadie offers.

You stare straight ahead at the yellow walls in front of you. Suddenly, you regret choosing such a bright and happy color for your room theme when oftentimes you felt anything but happy. It was your favorite color at the time and it still is today but you were starting to get sick of it. It felt as if your room was mocking you. Even your bedroom was happier than you.

"No thanks," you say, getting up and rushing to get dressed.

Sadie sighs but thankfully leaves you alone. When you go to the kitchen to grab your breakfast, you're surprised to see a feaast large enough to feed a vilage instead of your usual bagel and banana.

"What's all this? And where's mom?" you ask, running out of the kitchen.

Your father looks at you briefly before his eyes go back to the thick novel he was holding. "She's out running errands. We have to celebrate Sadie coming home, dear."

Sadie smiles, patting the chair next to her.

You frown. "Yeah, well, I'm already late so I'm gonna head out."

"Young lady!” your father barks, stopping you dead in your tracks. “Just where do you think you're going? Your mom wanted us all to eat together and that's what we're going to do. You'll have enough time to eat if Sadie drives you--now how does that sound Sadie?"

"That's okay with me," she chirps.

"What's the use of eating 'all together' if mom's not even here?" you exasperate, air quoting with your fingers.

"I will not allow you to waste the good food your mother worked so hard to make for the whole family, now sit down and enjoy your breakfast with your sister," he says, returning back to his book.

You sigh in resignation, taking the seat next to Sadie, who claps her hands excitedly.

You do your best to say as little as possible to Sadie, only giving her a 'yes' or 'no' when she asked a question. When you arrive at school, you hopped out of the car without saying goodbye, which you would regret all too soon because she decides to wish you good luck in the loudest voice she could muster. You pull your hood up when everyone stares at you, having recognized your sister immediately. People start to crowd around her car greeting her like she was a celebrity or something and you grit your teeth, stalking into the building. 

This was exactly why you didn't want her to drive you to school. Not only were you second best at school but at home as well. Everyone loves Sadie. She’s pretty, smart and fun and, well, she was the complete opposite of you. She never turned down the opportunity to have a good time and somehow still managed to pass her classes with ease. Even having graduated high school two years ago, she was still as popular as ever, her existence leaving a permanent imprint on the school. Even the freshman knew your sister's name.

You re-adjust your headband as you enter Mrs. Brookes' class, feeling somewhat relieved you weren't late. Your table was occupied by a large animal that looked like roadkill and on top of that, the awful chemical smell burned your nostrils. You gag as you drop your items to the ground. Renjun's book bag slams into the chair next to you causing you to jump out of your skin.

His lips slant into a smirk as he examines your appearance. "Why're your clothes all wrinkly?"

You looked down at your uniform, noticing its creased state for the first time this morning. You could just add ironing along to the list of things you forgot to do last night.

You send him a dirty look as you smooth your skirt down with your hands. You were still mad at him for yesterday and would rather cut your left leg off than to work with him today but you already told Mrs. Brookes you were partners and you knew she wouldn't let you change partners last minute.

The bell rings and Mrs. Brookes goes over the lab rules, passing out your assignment. You and Renjun put your gloves on as instructed, deciding to split the work in half, you doing the front of the paper and him the back. You made an incision at the stomach, charting the intestines on your worksheet. You look up to check on Renjun's progress to see him poking at the swine with a shaky hand, his face a ghastly pale. You almost laugh out loud. Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all. Renjun had a weakness?

You snatch the scalpel from him, slitting the pig's neck open and he flinches. 

"Is that so hard?" you ask, handing him the blade back. 

Renjun swallows as he takes the tweezers and pauses to re-read the directions for an unnecessary amount of time. You let out an impatient sigh and Renjun finally puts the paper down and inserts the tweezers into the pig, searching for an artery with his body as far away from the animal as he could manage. When he let out a girlish yelp, you decide you’ve had enough, slamming down your scalpel.

"Give me that," you snap. 

Renjun hands you the tweezers with no hesitation, stepping a safe few steps away from the table. 

"Look, I'll do all the physical work and you just write the answers down okay?"

"O-okay," he nods, his face was now a dangerous shade of green. For a millisecond, you feel bad for him but then you remember how much of a complete jerk he is.

Renjun is mostly silent as you do all the hard work and he copies the answers onto the worksheets. You don’t tease anymore for the sake of keeping him from hurling in front of you. 

If you thought Anatomy class was weird then lunch was double weird. When you arrive at the sign-up table, there’s someone sitting in the seat next to yours--which was supposed to be empty last time you checked--and of course, it wasn't just anybody--no, that would be too easy. Haven Geller, Renjun's ex-girlfriend, of all people was sitting in the chair next to yours, dill-dallying with her hair as if she doesn’t see you standing in front of her.

You simply shake your head and sit down. "I thought I was the only one doing sign-ups today."

Haven feigns just noticing your presence. "Oh! Hey, y/n, didn't see you there."

You scowl but say nothing. This wasn't your first meeting with Haven. She was on the volleyball team with you and as you were team captain, you've had your fair share of hiccups with Haven. She wasn't a bad person per se, although you didn't know her very well, you could assume she could be honorable when needed. It was her attitude that you really had a problem with. She never followed instructions and she never went to class. It was this kind of behavior that almost got her kicked off the team several times and she always acted like she didn't care. It was mind baffling that Haven and Renjun we're together so long. You wouldn't have imagined they'd get together at all, them being polar opposites and all.

"I talked to the teacher about it and," she pauses to pop a bubble with her chewing gum, "she said I could help out. I need more volunteer hours to put on my application, you know?"

You nod your head in understanding, chomping on your celery as Renjun and Jeno approach you, lunch trays in hand. Haven straitens up in her chair, smiling at the boys.

"Hey, __. You wanna sit with us today?" Renjun asks.

Haven is just as surprised as you, if not more at the question directed towards you.

"We need to start planning out how we're gonna do the booth for the fair." he continues.

You look skeptical. Didn't he know that only people who are friends sit together at lunch? And you most certainly were not friends with Renjun.

"Yeah, I think I'll pass," you decline, taking another bite of your celery.

Jeno smiles at you and you looked away, your face heating up.

"Look, I'm sorry alright? I know I shouldn't have volunteered to be the judge and I know I shouldn't have volunteered to do the booth and I apologize. Please? Come sit at our table."

Your face is stoic as you mull over his words. Renjun never apologized for anything because he was never sorry. You were seeing a lot of firsts for Renjun today. There was a silence between all of you before Haven took the opportunity to greet Renjun.

"Hey, Junie! It's nice to see you," she chirps.

Renjun nods at her before turning back to look at you.

You looked back in forth between them, weirded out by the odd exchange. Did they get back together? You didn't keep tabs on Renjun's love life, it was more so his academics that you were more interested in but the last time you saw them together was before school ended last semester.

Jeno steps forward, drawing your attention. "Hey, so, I'm throwing a victory party at my place this Friday by the way. You should come."

Your eyes widen. "Me?"

"Her?" Renjun asks, equally exasperated.

Jeno wrapped an arm around Renjun's shoulder, jostling him a little. "What do 'ya say?"

No.

"I'll think about it," you say and you're shocked by your own response. You should've been upfront about it but you found it hard to say no to Jeno. It was against your rules after all--and besides you wouldn’t even know how to behave at a party. You had nothing to wear either. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't go.

“Isn’t a little premature to schedule a party before you’ve even won the game?” you inquire.

“Not if I know we’re gonna win it’s not.”

Renjun blinks, shaking his head. "Erm, anyway--are you gonna sit with us or not?"

"You can go," Haven says, smiling at you. "I'll hold down the fort."

You still feel unsure but Renjun was grabbing your book bag and food before you could protest her offer. "W-well okay, thanks, Haven."

"No problem!" she exclaims, grinning, although it doesn't reach her eyes.

Sitting at Renjun's table has to be one of the strangest experiences you’ve ever had. Everyone was so loud and rowdy and on top of that, they were all staring at you. You feel so out of place and Jeno, sensing your discomfort, introduces you to everyone. The ones sitting directly across you though, Haechan and Jaemin, seem to stick out the most to you.

You and Renjun exchange a few ideas for the booth, eventually agreeing on a courtroom theme.

"You guys are like two Einsteins," Jeno jokes.

"Yeah, except __ is smarter," Haechan chuckles.

"And way prettier," Jeno adds.

Your cheeks tinge a baby pink as you deny the boys' words.

"Can you guys shut up? We're a little busy here," Renjun grumbles as he scribbles messily in his notebook.

"But it's true. __’s gorgeous."

Renjun just rolls his eyes bringing the conversation back to the booth. After a few minutes of Jeno throwing endless compliments your way, Renjun looked like he was quite literally about to pop.

"Jeno--for Christ's sake! Can you not flirt with my lab partner?? We're working here!"

"Lab partner? You’re not even doing science, man,” he snickers.  “And isn't the school fair not for another two weeks?" Jeno counters with an innocent smile.

You could've sworn you saw Renjun's eye twitch as Haechan and Jaemin burst into laughter.

"Bro, how many times do we have to tell you to relax?" Jaemin snorts, reaching over the table to touch his shoulder.

"Yeah," Jeno says, propping an elbow on the table. "It's not like you're being graded on this anyways."

Renjun groans, throwing his head in his hands.

"Maybe that's true but I'd prefer to not half-ass this, considering what's at stake," you chime in, feeling the need to defend him.

Renjun peeks in between his fingers at your words.

"And what's at stake?" he asks.

"Things you wouldn't understand, Jeno."

Jaemin cackles and Haechan covers his mouth, ‘ooh’ing at your response.

"Oh yeah?" Jeno raises an eyebrow. "Try me."

"Maybe another time," you say, grabbing your bag. "I'll see you after school, Renjun."

The bell rings just as you get up and you push past the doors, not looking back.

-

After the last bell rings, you squeeze through the sea of people down to the track field. Students shove passed you, brushing your shoulder as they run to get to their buses in time. Your eyes water as the harsh wind blows against you and you stuff your freezing hands into the pockets of your padded coat. Despite the cold weather, the track team was getting ready for practice and you thank the heavens you played an indoor sport.

There’s two other people preparing their booths and you were glad you and Renjun weren't the only ones starting early. You pick out the least disgusting table and pull it up on its legs. Dust flies everywhere and you swat at the air vengefully. You look at the time on your watch. Renjun is late.

You wipe off the table with an old dirty rag and sit on it, refusing to do any more work on your own. When Renjun finally shows up, it’s fifteen minutes later and he’s carrying a black metal box and a bucket full of spray paint.

"Look who decided to show up," you place a hand on your hip.

Renjun gives you a pointed look. "I had to go get all the supplies."

"I didn't know it took so long to get a few cans of paint," you mutter, dusting off the back of your jeans.

It's not like you had all day to do this. You had homework to do! Papers to write!

"__, can you maybe not be so uptight for once? It's not like I took my time to get here, I walked as fast as I could."

"Uptight?" You repeat. "I'm not the one who was freaking out at lunch today over a school fair booth, if I remember correctly. And your friends are trash by the way."

Renjun slams the metal box on the table. "Don't talk about my friends. You don't know them and you don't know me, so mind your own damn business," he snarls.

For a moment all you see is red. Renjun is such an ass. This is the last straw. You can’t take his insults any more. After all he’s put you through, especially after yesterday’s antics, he had the nerve to talk to you like that?

"I don't know you?” you hiss.  “We've had the same classes together since junior high, idiot. I know that you carry around two packs of number two pencils for no logical reason and I know that your bookbag looks like it was a filing cabinet in its past life. Hell, I wish I didn't know you, that's for sure, because then I wouldn't be out here in the freezing cold building a stupid booth with the likes of you!"

You hadn’t intended to say those words out loud but you couldn't deny how good it felt to say it. Maybe you were a bit harsh but who cares? He's said way worse to you countless times.

Renjun stands there staring at you for a beat, his fists clenched into a tight ball before he storms off, snatching his book bag and dragging it on the ground behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" you call after him. "What about the booth?!"

You watch with your mouth hanging open as Renjun kept walking until his figure becomes too small to see. Who knew he could be so sensitive? You assumed he would just brush off your words as he always did but it seems you struck a chord. 

You chew your bottom lip as you angrily stare at the table. No matter what Renjun could’ve said to you, you wouldn't leave him to do all the work on his own.

You curse under your breath as you grab a can of spray paint, shaking it with force. You stayed after school for a reason and you were going to do what you came to do, with or without Renjun.

[sadbi-hours]

So I guess 9x07 of ahs decided to come after my deeply angsty ass tonight...and my god, did it do it beauitfully!

Oh, god, this episode bruh...where do I begin?!

Well let's start with Benji! Just when I thought I couldn't connect or feel anything new for Benjamin after the 100th episode than I already processed, welp I ended up being 100% completely wrong...so freaking wrong! I felt it all for this man tonight...I felt everything I could possibly feel for him!

I felt that bittersweet happiness that he emoted after he said his final goodbye to his brother...and he did what he believed was the right thing (spoiler and tw ahead) for the first time in his life...by ending it forever!

That fucking logic hurt me deeply in my soul! I understood it on a gut level. It resonated with me...because for--I am going to get personal, but heck it was a very personal episode tonight--someone who's tried to end their life before, I can empathize with his logic of believing the people you love are better off without the burden of you!

He's thinking of what he believes is best for his son, protecting him the only way he had left and knew how to...he took it as a fool proof plan to defeat RR and end the horrors he started in 1940s by being forced to kill his own mother...who only ever wanted the same before grief and rage twisted her soul and intentions!

I mean that's some deep shit! And Miss Lily Rabe just decided to came for our souls tonight, huh?! Lol! Because how could I condemn her for what she's done! She lost her son in the worst way possible...let it fill her with rightful hate and rage and a call for justice and she unleashed her pent-up emotions in a horrifying way--i am seeing a recurring theme for the ladies of 1984!

And I kind of like how it tied into the blood curse of Camp Redwood! I've been wanting to know more about the camp's logic for keeping everybody who has died stuck there...and we got it and why it may not have been as intricate as some of Ryan's plot twists, I believe it worked beautifully! Sometimes simple is better...and The White Lady's hatred for the camp counselors of any kind is what has keep them there...not a moral thing per say was fucking brillent on his part! Plus Hello our little Friday the 13th easter egg so to speak lol!

And I will just say too that the writing was really on point this episode...for me at least! Ryan wasn't relying solely on soundtrack to get his point across on what we should be feeling...he let the shows composers and Lily and John's amazing acting do it for us and I think that was a wonderful decision!

And speaking of amazing acting, Lily and John both slayed it this episode...I mean their scenes together are what sold me on Ryan's twist! They broke my heart in two...I mean when Benji was giving his speak to the ghosts of Redwood even they were lowkey crying for him, except Montana...she didn't even bother to hide how deeply what he said touched her...and I think that she can relate to him deeply when it comes to losing a sibling that was in some ways your entire reason for existing!

And while we didn't get too much of Benji and Bobby's relationship...I feel like Bobby was probably Benji's only friend...someone despite his jealousy of, understood and listened to him! I see the recurring themes you are sending out there, Ryan Murphy...and tonight, just know that you have my full support of it haha!

(Warning for those who are anti Montana, dark xavier, or xantana...this is their little section but I won't be sticking on them much because there wasn't much of them tonight...which I actually liked but anyways...)

And I guess Montana just runs the ghosts of Camp Redwood now...I mean in her words: Choice! I believe that 100%...and I don't need to explain why lol...but I also like that while they are scared of her and they should be...they also subtly in some ways look to her for or to know how to express compassion! I mean, I love my girl but she is Montana (who hasn't shown much of it besides those two times with brooke in ep 2 and again with xavier in ep 5) and while I know that all of Camp Redwood was crying at Benji's speech, they all tried to hide how much it affected them...all except Montana! She so to speak openly weep for him...and showed him that she understood and felt for him by once again offering up one of her homeboys off as tribute to take him to his mother...

And tbh, I don't know how I feel about that...It could just be Montana always trying to adapt to what people need and crave from others as a way to get what she wants...or she does it because deep down that's who she is: always giving up who she truly is to be what people need her to be!

Richard wanted a ruthless sex kitten...she gave that to him, but that was to get him to do what she wanted...but it still in a way makes my point lol...anynhow, Chet seems to be seeking something of a sister/mother type figure and she's given that to him, by looking out for him and keeping him in check...Xavier wants to have control over his situation, she gave him that (tho my xantana loving ass still thinks there is more to it than that but that's for another day)... Ray wants someone to take his moral conflicts out on, well she lets him bitch her out as he cleans up her kills... and everyone in Redwood wants to leave, she hatches a whole ass plan to maybe help release them from it...and Trevor wants what could have been, so well you know...and I ain't mad because we all know Montana lives for variety and no matter how much she loves someone, she'll never be 100% faithful in a sexual manner, so who knew I'd come to a day i'd be cool with that, but she has never lied about that part of her...and in some ways, she remains me a lot of Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk, who was very similar in that belief...and I swear it's so nice to see a woman in media allowed to be that sexually open and not condemned for it by the people around her who matter...

But we will see, Xavier has been known to be a jealous boy when it comes to Trevor...so who knows how that will turn out?!

And look I know I may be reaching, but that's what I've come away with for her this ep. and I'm just airing it out there haha!

And that leads me to Brooke and her whole debacle this episode:

Not only do Donna and Brooke need a freaking hug after this episode, but I truly thought I couldn't love Brooke more after last ep...and I was pleasantly wrong on both beliefs lol!

I loved her struggle to trust Donna and her motives for helping her...all understandable! Donna and the entire lot of those she's blindly trusted have fucked her over, but I love that here her trust wasn't misplaced. Donna only ever wanted to fix what she's caused...and she never wanted anything else from her. She gave back to Brooke what Brooke gave to her: trust and understanding.

I mean she was so in sync with what Brooke was trying to do with rushing her with the truck...not for a moment did Donna believe she was trying to kill her and I adore it! I seriously thought for a moment that Brooke was going to let her trauma and need for revenge allow her to become Montana 2.0 but she didn't! Brooke has completely stuck to what she believes is right these last two episodes and I 100% love her for it.

And I also liked that entire roller rink scene...and it's underling purpose! Donna let her experience some of what she missed in 80s while in prison...and thank you Ryan Murphy for having one character in 1984 actually in a way healthily air their traumas in a safe place...with a trustworthy (ish) person...and in return get almost a heathy response on how to cope with it!

I forever will give you kudos for that, but I also understand this is ahs and this is also a homage to 80s slashers and the main final character always returns to their greatest horror...and for Brooke that's Margaret and Camp Redwood, but my girl Donna decided to fuck it all and be a ride or die bff for a bitch...and I stan it so hard!

I love how we are getting ahs' verison of a positive female relationship...i'd never thought I'd see the day haha! Ryan just giving everyone something this season!

And Dylan's character, Bruce (?) is it bad I want to see more of him, even tho he's clearly psychotic and probably be looking to end Brooke's life after what she did...which I cheered her on the whole way as she did it...but yeah, please give me more of Dylan's insane character! Please and thank you...as if we didn't have enough chaos going on with only two episodes left, I also want Dylan's brand to be added to the mix haha!

And to Margaret, I still only have one thing to say...

I mean Lavinia said (@scienceandmischief for pointing it out her name to me! Thanks so much ❤) that Margret was already unhinged...Lily's character just nudged her in the direction she wanted to go...she still needs to pay for what she's done and hopefully my wifey Brooke will be the one coming to collect...but I am fascinated by a few things. Has Margaret's fanatic religious talk...been her deep down way of trying to atone for what TWL awoken in her and the things she's done?! I mean I don't know if it really matters at this point with her...but it still makes my brain wheels churn.

[missjanjie]

Flying Too Close to the Sun (1/?) | Branjie

Title: Flying Too Close to the Sun Authors: Joley123, Multifandomgeek Summary:  Quidditch is very important to Brooke. As the captain of the Slytherin team, she’s going to do everything to make her house proud, and the only thing standing in her way is the incredibly annoying Gryffindor captain.

When Vanessa began her studies at Hogwarts she had one goal in mind - to become a Quidditch icon. The sport is unequivocally the biggest source of her energy and passion, and she will stop at nothing to be the best. There was just one pesky thorn in her side that came in the form of the Slytherin captain. Word Count: ~3k Relationship: Branjie (Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo) Rating: T

Read on AO3

------

When you’re born a witch, going to Hogwarts is just something you know is going to happen in your life. You eat, sleep, grow up, and when you’re old enough, you get to go to school in this place far away from home, where you’ll learn everything you need to know about the magic you were born with, so you can be a useful citizen. For Brooke, it was never a question of being nervous or excited about it, it was just how it was supposed to be.

But, as she stepped inside the castle for the first time, looking around with wide eyes, impressed by the sheer size of the walls around her, she couldn’t help but feel small. She was told so many times about this place, by so many people in so many ways, that it never felt special at all.

At least, not until now. Not until she was looking at its imposing silhouette against the moonlight, then walking up its worn stairs and wondering where they were repaired after the war, where the witches and wizards fought and fell. She had just stepped inside the stone walls and saw the biggest staircase she had ever seen - though she barely had time to glance at the statues and portraits before she was being ushered inside the Great Hall, walking by the long tables with the colors of the four infamous houses until she was halted with the small group of children waiting to be selected into one of them.

We’re so small, she thought as she glanced at the other students, everyone else looks so grown up.

For once, she wished she knew someone, had a friend to hold her hand or give her a smile, a brother waiting for her at one of the tables. She thought about her brother. She had been thinking about him since she started getting dressed for the trip, really, but she pushed the thoughts away like she had been doing all day. Instead, she looked to the kids around her, appearing just as terrified as she was feeling. There was a scrawny looking girl with voluptuous brown hair just by her side, but she was too busy trying to contain her own excitement to pay attention to Brooke and offer any sympathetic gestures.

Names were being called, but she was only barely paying attention. She looked up at the enchanted ceiling showing the night sky, wondering if she could even expect anything about the selection, if it was set in stone with the legacy of her family. Wondering if she could choose to not be a part of it, and what would happen if she did.

“Brooke Lynn Hytes,” called the teacher before she could decide. It was all very quick, the hat whispering inside her mind then sorting her into Slytherin, then the cheer that came from the students. Suddenly, she was sat down and being asked questions, receiving congratulations, having people telling her useful tips to navigate her student life that she would forget in seconds, and being introduced to way too many people to possibly be able to learn all of their names.

The only person she really registered on her first day, she would meet in the dormitory. Brooke was so glad to see her cat and to get her hair down from the tight ponytail she had on since morning that she barely noticed the other girls getting in their own beds with their own pets, except for one.

“Cute cat,” said the girl, settling herself on the bed beside Brooke’s.

“His name is Henry,” she said proudly.

“My mom made me bring a frog, what the hell am I supposed to do with a frog?” responded the girl, lifting the cage from under her bed to show Brooke a big, angry-looking bullfrog. Brooke shrugged and the girl put the cage down again, shaking her head. “If it was a chocolate frog, at least, now that would make sense,” she said, giggling, taking a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from her bedside table and taking a handful. “Want one?”

“No thanks, I’m still full from dinner,” said Brooke, honestly not knowing how this girl was still able to eat after such a feast, even if she was very big. She wondered if it would be rude to lay down under her covers and say goodnight. She was so tired.

“What’s your name? I’m Silky.”

“Brooke Lynn. Or just Brooke.”

Silky smiled. “Alright, ‘just Brooke,’” she joked, making Brooke roll her eyes, even if she smiled too. “Imma catch my beauty sleep, see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Silky,” responded Brooke, settling in for the night with a smile in the corner of her mouth.

---

The first year proved to be way harder than Brooke thought. Even if she was a very good student, with good background and impeccable discipline, classes were hard and the professors were very demanding. It didn’t help that some classes seem to require not only study but talent. Brooke hated every time someone could do something better and faster than her just because it happened to be easier for them. It was an aspect of magic she just couldn’t get her head around.

Silky quickly became her best friend, her casual approach to life balancing very well with Brooke’s perfectionism. She also made Brooke laugh a lot, and that was something the blonde appreciated with all her heart. Sometimes, she couldn’t fathom why Silky was her friend, a concern she shared with her once only to receive the response “bitch, shut the fuck up and pass me the pumpkin juice”. So, she didn’t ask anymore, just counted herself lucky.

The one place Brooke found refuge in school was flying lessons. She had always loved Quidditch, her memories of going to matches with her father and brother the best ones of her childhood. She loved how people united around it, how it made strangers cry together and laugh together and dance together. She loved the excitement of watching a match, to cheer your favorite team on, to know when something amazing was about to happen or even to be completely surprised. She loved everything about it, and even if she didn’t get to really play yet, just the feeling of being on a broom was enough to fill her body with a kind of adrenaline and energy she knew she could become addicted to.

“Did you hear a first-year girl tried for the Gryffindor team?” said Silky one day when they were walking to class. She didn’t like Quidditch like Brooke, but her love for gossip was arguably even bigger.

“Really? Is she like a prodigy or something?” asked Brooke. At that point, they weren’t flying for more than two months.

“Nope, just plain stupid,” laughed Silky.

Brooke scoffed. “How egotistical. She should be focusing on learning the skills properly like the rest of us instead of trying to drag her team down by being too cocky.” That’s what Brooke was doing. She was learning, studying and practicing so she would be the best asset for her house in next year’s trials. She wasn’t good enough yet.

By the time their first year ended, Brooke had a goal in mind. She spent all summer extracting every knut she could from every relative possible with chores and small favors so she could buy herself a nice-enough broom. Her father eventually took pity on her and added to the money she saved so she could buy a second-hand nimbus from one of his work friends. Then, she started training, practicing every move she could try, every routine in the books. She even lost some weight, making her mother worry and almost call the whole thing off until Brooke agreed to reduce the hours she spent doing it.

When Brooke’s second year in Hogwarts began, she enrolled herself in the Quidditch Mentorship Program, one step before the actual trial for the team. Interested students from second-year forward could practice with a member of the team and refine their Quidditch skills before the actual trial. It was a better way to assess the commitment of potential team members, as well as have them improve their skills and better choose which position they wanted to play. It wasn’t mandatory, but it certainly improved your chances.

Brooke’s name was the first on the sheet pinned on the common room’s activity board. Her first training session with her assigned mentor would be on Saturday morning, and she couldn’t wait. She hoped it would be a rigorous person, committed to the rules like herself. Someone that wouldn’t be afraid of calling her out if she made a mistake, someone that wouldn’t see in her blonde hair, tender age and even gender a reason to go easy on her. Someone to push her boundaries and be serious and efficient about it.

When Saturday came around, Brooke tied her hair even tighter than she was used to before making her way to the field, her new broom in hand and an excited feeling in her stomach. She spotted a girl sitting on the grass by the shade in a sloppy position. She looked like a fourth-year, and there was no one else around.

“Hi, I’m Brooke,” she said, approaching the girl, who looked up at her, squinting against the light. “I’m here for the Quidditch mentorship?”

The girl swiftly stood up, smiling widely. “I’m the girl you’re looking for!” She swatted her butt to get rid of the dirt that stuck there from sitting on the ground and extended her hand for Brooke to shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Katya.”

--- “No running!”

Screeching to a halt, Vanessa heeded the command and walked the rest of the way from the train into the expansive castle. No number of pictures or even the most detailed descriptions could have done it justice, she pointedly observed. As early as she could remember, her siblings had gushed about the magical marvel that was Hogwarts. The inside was straight out of the fairytales she was fed for bedtime stories and her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm – this was all she had been waiting for.

And Vanessa did not like waiting. It felt like she had spent her entire life waiting just to be here and the first thing she gets to do is wait with forced patience while everyone ahead of her gets their turn under the sorting hat. It had been at least twenty minutes and there was still easily a dozen first years ahead of her. So, she watched the sortings to pass time – observing which house seemed to be the most populated, how long each sorting took – anywhere from five seconds to three minutes – though when it reached that length it felt like an hour.

“Come on, come on, come on,” the way she bounced her leg so fervently caught the attention of the girl to one side of her, who turned to watch her with an amused grin.

“You know, they say patience is a virtue, but if I’m stuck here another minute, I’m gonna go crazy,” the girl laughed at her own comment, tucking a piece of short, chestnut-brown hair behind her ear. “What are you hoping to get?”

Vanessa blinked as she processed what the girl had said. “What sorta book you read that from?” she shrugged at the question. “Can’t say I care, long as that hat don’t tell me to get the hell out.”

This time, the girl let out a laugh that was downright goofy, leading Vanessa to cover her mouth as she giggled. “I doubt it can do that,” she assured. “I’m Yvie, by the way.”

“Vanessa.”

The subsequent small talk did make the time pass quicker and before she knew it, Vanessa watched Yvie get sorted into Gryffindor. Huh, thought for sure that chick would be a Ravenclaw. She shrugged – the hat knew best. It had to, or surely, it’d have been replaced by an equally powerful object. Either way, she beamed as the hat was placed onto her head and sorted her into Gryffindor as well. At least she knew someone going into it, deciding to sit with Yvie and watching the next student – a taller blonde girl – get sorted into Slytherin.

---

“Look!” Vanessa huffed when she didn’t immediately get Yvie’s attention and yanked on her arm. “Look! They have quidditch try-outs today!” her pearly-white grin did little to phase the other girl, who was looking at her as if she had sprouted another head.

“Are you nuts? We still have flying lessons – we’re literally still covering the basics. Like, do you want your own bed in the infirmary? ‘Cause that’s how you get—and you’re not listening to me. Okay, cool. Your funeral, I’m gonna go take a nap.” And with that, she turned on her heel and left her to her own devices.

Vanessa had made it down to the pitch. Her goal was right there in reach. She got a running start and she was on her way and before she knew it, she was only a couple yards away, the wind hitting her face only preparing her for what she would feel up in the air and—

“Absolutely not. Come here, girlie.”

The next thing she knew, Vanessa was hanging like a ragdoll as she was being hauled off by what she could only assume was an older girl that didn’t know how to mind her own business. Not to mention how embarrassing it was – she was sure plenty of students had witnessed the ordeal. She pouted and crossed her arms as she was plopped down onto a bench. “Yo, what the hell was that about?”

“It was about not letting Gryffindor be known as the house that let a first year try out without training the right way,” the girl tossed her long ponytail off her shoulder and sat beside her. “You kinda remind me of myself, though. I’m Alexis, what’s your name?”

After a few moments of silent defiance, Vanessa looked up at her. “Vanessa,” she sighed and looked back down. “I just wanna be part of all that. I been into quidditch since I was four on my brother’s hand-me-down training broom.”

Alexis gave a sympathetic nod and wrapped her arm around the first year. “I get it, gotta follow your passion and stuff. But let’s do this thing right, yeah? Normally the quidditch mentorship program don’t start til your second year, but I think we can get an early start. What do you think?”

Vanessa perked right up as she nodded with a reinvigorated smile. “Yeah!”

And Vanessa did try her best to be a good student. When she wasn’t just trying to show off, she actually followed Alexis’ instructions. As stubborn as she was, she was starting to find she was improving under her supervision. That, and having an older and wiser friend made surviving a new school easier. She could still present herself as being wholly independent and capable, while knowing there was someone that she could go to with all of her problems.

Being back home felt lonely in comparison, leading Vanessa to immerse herself in quidditch training. She was determined to blow everyone away when her chance in the pitch finally came. She’d make Alexis, her family, and all of Gryffindor proud. And maybe she would rub it in the faces of everyone who talked about her behind her back – she wasn’t blind or immune to the gossip, but no one would see her sweat if she had anything to say about it.

By the time the summer ended, Vanessa deemed herself ready to tackle her second year headfirst. She signed up for the mentorship program with Alexis, making it official, and their first scheduled training session soon followed. She even spotted familiar faces on the field – Yvie and A’keria – another girl in her year that she had developed a friendship with.

On the other side of the field, she noticed a Slytherin girl looking at her funny. Naturally, Vanessa was ready to march over and share some choice words with her until Alexis gave her a warning glare. Later, she thought to herself. She’d remember that face.

A few months later, the try-outs went by house and by random draw, Slytherin was up first. Vanessa watched intently, specifically looking for that blonde girl – who she could finally put a name to – Brooke Lynn Hytes. Duly noted. And she was good, much to Vanessa’s chagrin. Though it gave her a new goal as she waited her turn – be better than her.

And when all was said and done, she liked to believe that was what she did. She saw Alexis beaming with pride and the other Gryffindor hopefuls looking impressed. Perfect.

“Wow, Vanessa, you looked incredible out there!” A third-year boy told her. “I mean, you look incredible now, too, uh…I—”

“Thanks,” Vanessa walked past him as if she hadn’t paid the slightest bit of attention, causing a confused Alexis to jog until she caught up to her.

“Girl, what the hell was that? That boy was totally flirting with you!”

Vanessa shrugged and kept walking. “Sounds like his problem.”

Alexis froze with a puzzled expression before shrugging it off with an equal amount of nonchalance and following her protégé back into the building. No point in ruining her momentum with personal questions, she decided.

Besides, none of that mattered when Vanessa saw her name on the list. She was a force to be reckoned with and now everyone had to deal with it.

“Looks like your buddy made it, too.”

Vanessa looked over her shoulder and saw Brooke Lynn celebrating with the other Slytherins. “Good, lemme take her on, see who she’s giving the stink eye to after the next game.” Their eyes met for a brief moment and she could feel an instant surge of adrenaline pulse through her, one that made her heart speed up and her jaw clench.

Oh, it was on.