#first friend best friend he will kill any man who looks at nari the wrong way and i respect him greatly for it

[casinoarcs]

Can we please talk about how much cyno loves tighnari . Bc it’s everything to me.

[sugarsugarmoon]

Teaser! Full fic coming in December 2020!

Background: Most people know about the eruptions of volcanoes like Mt. Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helen’s, Mount Fuego, and Eyjafjallajökull, but beneath the surface of the earth exist 20 supervolcanoes. The largest regular volcanic eruption in recorded history spewed 50 cubic km of material. Mt. St. Helen’s: .25 km³. In comparison, the last supervolcano eruption exploded with more than 2800 cubic kilometers of material. So what would happen if 3 of the calderas in one of these systems erupted at the same time?

Summary: After the eruption of the Yellowstone, Island Park, and Henry’s Fork calderas, the state of the planet changes completely. Ash blocks out the sun and coats the streets. Millions died upon impact, and millions more from the after effects. The world is plummeted into volcanic winter, and the survivors have to relearn how to live their lives.

After years of staying put in your hometown with your best friend, Taehyung, waiting for your father to return, the two of you decide to make the journey through the Outlands to try to reach his family in New Toronto. All machinery has failed. Phones and radios are useless. Together, the two of you must survive the apocalypse to try to start a new life.

Along the way you encounter new friends, foes, and a mysterious stranger, who joins your gang but is hell-bent on revenge against the marauders who he blames for his sister’s death.

Genre: Science Fiction, Angst, some fluff, smut, post-apocalyptic fiction (just sayin…experts say supervolcanic eruption is the most likely natural cause of human extinction)

General Warnings: Death, Apocalyptic scenarios, smut, abandonment, anxiety

Credits: banner made by the AMAZING @suhdays @suhbanners

a/n: I’m not a scientist or a volcanologist, and also this is science fiction. The science might be tweaked to serve my purposes. But I have done a lot of research about the Yellowstone caldera, supervolcanoes, the end of the world, the end of the human race, other things that people with anxiety might do a lot of reading about. Also there’s more smut in this than I expected. Picked a whole bouquet of oopsie daisies.

🌋

You can’t remember a life before the Wasteland. You try to think back to fuzzy memories of your childhood, but there is nothing there. Some of your companions say they have vague memories of happy childhoods and blue skies, but you secretly think that they’re just repeating what they’ve heard from older folks.

🌋

Closing your eyes, your feet followed the sound. You were slightly wary that it could be a trap or a trick, but the melody was so intoxicating that you couldn’t stop yourself. Your legs carried you into the hall way and up the stairs. When your feet landed on the soft carpet of the corridor upstairs from you, your eyes snapped open. The music was louder here. And standing before you was the reason why. A tall, almost statuesque young man with no shoes and a violin stood before you, eyes closed as the bow dragged across the strings, creating another perfect chord.

“Uh...hi,” you mutter quietly.

His eyes shoot open, and he gasps. The bow drops to the floor, and he backs away from you slowly, never tearing his eyes from your face.

“I don’t have any food or water. Stay away.”

“No, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I...I live downstairs. I didn’t know that there was anyone else left in this building,” you say, reaching your hand out gently toward him as if that might provide some sort of comfort to him. Instead, he just withdraws from you further.

“Yeah right, like there was someone else living here without either of us noticing,” he rolls his eyes and stops in front of a door. His eyes dart to the handle, then it seems to dawn on him that he shouldn’t be showing a potential threat where he will be sleeping later.

“You don’t have to fear me. I’ll go back downstairs, and we can talk another time.”

You didn’t see him again for a while, but you did start to become aware of the little sounds that indicated that there was indeed someone living upstairs.

🌋

Standing before you is a figure clad in all black. The first thing you clock is the weapon pointed at you, ready to fire at any moment. Then you take in the appearance of the figure. Thick soled boots, black pants that are dotted with ash, a black hoodie with the hood pulled up, dark hair over dark eyes, and a black respirator covering the bottom half of their face. 

They stand there completely still for a moment while the four of you back away. You instinctively reach for Teahyung’s hand, accepting that after all this time surviving the apocalypse, you were going to die. Then the figure begins to lower the weapon.

“Come with me,” they say in a stern voice.

“So you can murder us?!” Namjoon exclaims, his voice slightly trembling.

“I won’t kill you unless you’ve harmed my family. I promise.”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Taehyung snorts under his breath. Luckily, the masks that you have to wear to keep the ash out of your lungs muffle it enough.

The figure raises the weapon again and motions you forward. You all reluctantly following, probably all coming to terms with your inevitable death. The figure leads you into a drainage tunnel that dead ends at a door. The door leads to a small, cottage-esque room that is dimly lit.

You look around at the scant amenities. A small, low table sits next to a cot in one corner of the room. When you look up, standing before you is someone so beautiful that you can’t believe this is the person that stopped you on the road. He hangs his hoodie on the hook next to a leather coat and straightens himself out.

“You know, you brought us back to where you live. That seems like a pretty bad idea, doesn’t it? You don’t know what we could do to you,” Namjoon says in a snarky tone.

He’s not wrong. It’s very rare that people let anyone know where they live anymore for fear of being raided for supplies or living space.

“I’m not worried about you.”

His voice is low and sullen, and you can’t tear your eyes away from his face. His skin is flawless even though it’s the raining bits of volcanic rock and cooled magma from the sky every day. Taehyung must catch you staring because he elbows you hard in the ribs.

“What do you want with us?” you finally pipe up, taking the mask off of your face. “We don’t have anything that you want.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” he says, dragging his eyes across the three men’s faces to rest upon yours.

He pauses for a moment, takes in your face. His mouth hangs slightly open for just a moment, and you think that you might see him blush. Then he turns his attention to a corner of the room with several pictures taped to the wall. His blushing makes you blush, and Taehyung jabs you in the ribs again.

“Stop it,” you hiss.

“Now, why I brought you here: have any of you seen this girl?” He holds up a photo of himself and a girl who looks remarkably like him just with longer hair. She is smiling in the picture, holding a lily in her hand.

“No. Sorry,” Namjoon replies curtly.

“Look closely at it. Are you sure? Her name is Nari.”

“I looked closely at it. I haven’t seen her. Have any of you?” Namjoon looks at each of us with a pleading look in his eyes.

“No,” you all answer in chorus.

The man begins to cry, dropping to his knees with tears flowing down his cheeks. All four of you gasp a little bit at the sight in front of you and look at each other awkwardly. Finally, you step forward, lowering yourself to his level.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. It might not feel like it now, but it will,” you coo to him, hoping that you can help him feel a little better. You don’t tell anyone not to cry anymore. Everyone cries a lot more now, just a lot more quietly.

[xmagicxshopx]

Rush Hour Pt 1

Genre: Action Adventure, Angst, Romance, Comedy Rating: PG-13 - M Warnings: drug trafficking, human trafficking, language, smut (in pt 2) Pairing: officer!jungkook x reader , officer!taehyung x oc (Nari) Notes: AU fic. Not idol!bts. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: Thank all the crime shows my parents watch for this. XD Not to mention I love the Rush Hour movies. @u@

Tagging: @grxnadxs​

Summary: You and your best friend are being framed for a crime you didn’t commit and there’s only two people who believe you. Agent Inspector Jeon of the Busan Police Department and Detective Kim of the Daegu Police Department. Can they rescue you before it’s too late?

MASTERLIST

Organized Crime.

South Korea’s biggest enemy.

Financial fraud, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking. It was all because of organized crime and it made the police departments absolutely sick. A beast they couldn’t contain, let alone kill. Drugs were their biggest problem, really. And what drugs couldn’t produce in real cash flow, fake won made up for it. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

“Detective Kim---Agent Inspector Jeon has arrived.”

Having been standing there watching the city with his steaming mug of hot chocolate because he’s not a coffee drinker, he simply turned his head to the officer-in-training and smiled a friendly smile before nodding his head and saying casually,

“Let the asshole in.”

“Hey, I heard that, asshat!”

Detective Kim, more commonly known as Kim Taehyung, just laughed as he set his mug down to greet one of his best friends and favorite partners in law enforcement. Walking through the door was one chuckling Jeon Jungkook, otherwise known as Agent Inspector Jeon. After performing their super secret handshake, the both of them took a seat in which Jeon sighed heavily.

“They briefed me on the situation. One of them is from Busan so they sent me over. It’s a pretty ugly case. This organization seems to have quite the record.”

“No kidding. Drug and human trafficking?? Disgusting. Makes me sick.”

Jungkook watched his older bestie tossing the folder full of files onto his desk and he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Kim Taehyung was a good man. An honest and traditional man. Someone who one day wanted to settle down and have a family. A wife and kids. He cherished his fellow human beings so human trafficking always hit harder for him than anything else.

“Hey. We’ll catch them, hyung. They’re going to slip up and that’s when they’ll hang themselves with their own rope. In fact, it sounds like they might already have. It says they’re on the run. Armed and dangerous. But we’re more dangerous. Besides....”

Kim looked away from the window once more to see what his younger friend might be trying to say. The sight before him made the male snort and shake his blonde head in amusement. Jeon Jungkook had since stood up from his seat and was standing in a fighting position while saying with confidence that only he could pull off,

“I’ve been taking boxing lessons. These dirt bags won’t see me coming.”

“Whatever you say, Jeon. Whatever you say.”

Meanwhile, on a train heading out of Daegu.....

“I’m scared....”

You could hardly hear your best friend and honestly you couldn’t blame her. Both of your voices were hoarse from the lack of hydration. The first thing you’d do once getting to the next town would be trying to buy some bottles of water. Your tongue felt like sandpaper. Trying your best to comfort the female next to you, you simply reeled her in and let her head rest on your shoulder.

Criminals.

In the eye of the public, that’s what you were.

The world knew you both as criminals but the world couldn’t be farther from the truth. You two were just a pair of best friends who had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Simple on paper but oh-so complicated in all actuality. With an internal sigh, you gently stroked your best friend’s raven locks as you spoke up softly,

“It’s going to be okay, Nari. I’m going to take care of us. Just stick with me and everything will be fine.”

Nari, your best friend of four years, nodded gently against your shoulder as she shifted a little closer in the bus seat the two of you were sharing. Honestly, the two of you weren’t used to the silence of the bus. The life you both had been living for the last four months was anything but silent. Guns, violence, moving from home to home. It was all so chaotic.

Human trafficking.

You were no longer considered a person. No. You and your best friend had become objects to be used by scum bags who called themselves men. To be used as they saw fit. Whether it be as a cover-up for a smuggling operation or to release sexual frustration, you were no longer considered a human being. It may have only been for four months, but it’s been the longest four months of your lives.

“Once we get off the bus, I’ll get us a hotel room, okay? I managed to knock the one guy out and grab his wallet. Let’s just hope this won is legit and not fake. Otherwise we’re screwed.”

You didn’t want to scare Nari, but you had to be realistic too. The situation was not pretty but you were going to do your very best to make this as easy for her as possible. Your best friend was a soft and sensitive soul so naturally this was extremely hard on her. Not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. The physical scars would heal, but the mental and emotional? That was a whole other ballgame.

“Let’s get off here. Surely there’s a hotel or motel near by. If not, we can always ask around.”

Back at the Daegu Police Department....

“Okay. So your prime suspects are two females, both in their 20s and South Korean natives. Squeaky clean criminal records. Not even a parking violation.”

Both Taehyung and Jungkook found themselves sporting identical expressions of confusion as their eyebrows knitted together. While the younger of the two was staring at the huge TV screen that had the suspects’ passport photos on display, Taehyung was looking through each of their files and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“The one was going to school to be a kindergarten teacher with a minor in journalism while the other has an online degree in Police Science and has taken several self-defense classes.”

While the blonde detective was rattling off more information from the files, Min Yoongi who was Daegu’s Intelligence Analyst was bringing up those very same records up on the screen for Jungkook to look over as well. Dang. It was hard to believe these girls were their prime suspects.

“The files go on to say the university student, Nari, was currently shadowing a kindergarten class when she went missing four months ago. The Police Science graduate was currently working at a cafe in Busan when she too went missing four months ago.”

“So they were together when they went missing?”

Just as Yoongi and Taehyung were about to wager a guess to the younger’s question, a new voice entered the room as a young man that went by the name of Jung Hoseok strolled in. Hoseok, or otherwise known as Hobi, was a Forensic Psychologist and had been brought it to try and figure out why two girls with absolutely no prior criminal records would be suspects in one of South Korea’s largest drug trafficking ring.

“Possibly. According to their records, they live at the same address. An apartment building on the shadier side of town. Judging from their day jobs, I would say it was all they could afford. The Busan girl commutes.”

Jungkook turned around to look at the older males with his hands stuffed in his pockets, expression pensive as he stood there in deep thought before asking out loud,

“So maybe they did it for the money?”

With a casual shrug, Hoseok looked to the TV screen where the records and photos were on display. It just didn’t add up to him. He had dealt with a lot of cases and in all his years of forensic psychology, he had never seen anything quite like this. But then again.....

“It’s not uncommon for financial stress to drive a person to commit crime. For now, they’re probably going to be your only suspects. They were seen on the storefront’s security footage with the bag as they fled the scene. Looks like it was a deal gone South.”

It was then that Yoongi pressed a button on his tablet and brought up the exact footage Hobi was referring to. The four young men watched as the two female suspects approached two men who were twice their size. Again. It didn’t make sense to Hobi. This was a professional ring. Why would a ring leader who was supposedly one of the smartest men in crime......be sending in two puny girls in their 20s to perform a hand-off???

“Looks like the one put her self defense lessons to good use. But she’s lucky neither one of them got shot.”

While Yoongi spoke in his usual calm tone, the rest of the boys watched on as the footage soon revealed the spat that took place. One man was knocked out and Taehyung could see one of the girls swiping his wallet. The last few seconds of the recording was of the girls running off while leaving the bag behind. The bag was then taken by the two men who ran in the opposite direction. Dang.

“Okay, Hobi hyung. Put your brain to work. Why would those girls try to fight when they were just going to let them have the drugs anyway? What’s the purpose here? The only crimes they committed were assault and stealing a dirt bag’s wallet.”

The psychologist took a moment to consider the young inspector’s questions. Yes. What was the purpose of the whole transaction??? All the girls got away with was a wallet and who knows if it had any actual won in it. Even if it did, the odds of the won being legit were slim to none. Still......it wasn’t adding up......there was more to this story here. That’s for sure. It was then that Taehyung spoke up as he said in an authoritative tone,

“Okay. Jeon---call in Jimin from your guys’ Busan department and have him interview the cafe manager and the staff. You and I are gonna take a trip to the kindergarten class Nari was shadowing and see if the teacher might have any insight. Maybe they got close while working together.”

He then turned to the older males in the room and added in the same tone but with more softness and naturally more respect,

“Yoongi hyung, if you can get me any further footage, maybe even some traffic cams, I’d greatly appreciate it. Maybe we can track down where they ran off to. Hobi hyung, try to take a closer look at the footage we already have. Maybe you can spot something we aren’t looking at. See if you guys can enhance the video any. Get a closer look.”

With that, the four men went to work. Innocent or not, these two women needed to be found because they could be the key to bringing down the largest drug trafficking ring in South Korea.

“There’s a convenience store. Want to grab some supplies and food and then find a place to stay?”

After receiving a timid nod from Nari, you offered her a warm smile and gently tugged her along as the two of you headed into the store. There was plenty of won in the wallet you had swiped so thankfully they could afford the necessities without having to skimp. Shampoo, body wash, water, and food. Pretty simple. Well maybe some toothbrushes and paste as well. The two of you felt absolutely disgusting and probably looked just as much.

The hotel room would probably have little bottles of shampoo and body wash, but you planned to douse yourselves in both. Now that you got to thinking about it, both of your hair looked like rats nests. Comb and brush. Okay. The list was getting longer but still. You both were a little more than ready to start feeling human again. Could anyone blame you???

Once picking out the cheapest shampoo and conditioner you could find, you went to go pick up a bottle of body wash that was just as cheap. You guys didn’t need to be in a beauty pageant, just clean. After picking a brush and comb both, you gently tugged your bestie along with you to have her pick out some food.

Ever since the human trafficking started, Nari had nearly completely shut down. She became quiet and shut off. It was hard for even you to get her to speak. Like the few moments they had alone together while waiting for their next ‘owner’ to arrive and take them ‘home’. It was so heartbreaking because your best friend was once a ray of pure sunshine. A light in the darkness.

And now she had become part of the darkness.

“Okay, Ri, what sounds good for dinner tonight? I think some instant noodles are calling our name.”

You would have loved to just call room service. However, for two reasons, you didn’t go that route. One, it wasn’t essential and therefore you didn’t want to risk wasting your limited funding on it. Two, you didn’t want to give the organization or the authorities any ammo that might help either one of them track you both down. Oh how you wanted to use this guy’s credit cards. But you knew better. Credit Cards were so easy to trace back. It was safer to use the won notes.

After allowing Nari to pick out her bowls of instant noodles, you picked out some as well before buying a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. Carbs. You both needed carbs desperately. The organization and all of your ‘owners’ hadn’t exactly taken the best care of you. Apparently you didn’t need to have a pretty or healthy body to be a sex toy. Go figure. With all of your hygienic items in one basket and the food in the other, you gently tugged your bestie along so that the two of you could pay for the items and get the heck of here.

Coughing up more notes than you wanted to, everything was paid for and the two of you were soon out into the world once more. Honestly, the weather was perfect for a nightly stroll. It had been so long since you felt so.....free. Granted you were currently on the run but you’d take what you could get. Just before you had left the store, you asked the employee on the other side of the counter if there were any hotels close by. Turns out there was. Thankfully just a block away from the store.

“Come on, Ri. Let’s get a roof over our heads and some food in our bellies. You can have first dibs on the shower. It’s gonna be okay, bestie. We’re gonna be just fine.”

You could only hope you didn’t turn into a liar. Going over it all in your head, you were pretty confident that you wouldn’t be found. At least not for a few days. But your mind was already thinking of the next steps to take. Thinking and calculating. You knew better than to think you could be on the run forever. No. You just needed a bit of time before contacting the authorities and explaining the situation; hoping they’d hear you out.

“Morning, Jeon.”

“Morning, hyung. Ugh. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Just kept thinking about those girls. Makes no sense.”

It was a new day and the game plan was simple. Information gathering. After that, the pair would get together with Yoongi and Hobi to analyze the data collected. Meanwhile, Yoongi was going to try and see if he could use traffic cams to map out where exactly the two girls went. They could still be in Daegu for all they knew. Hobi’s job was to pick apart the suspects’ body language and see if there was anything he could identify that might help them figure out why the girls are even their prime suspects. That part still didn’t add up with any of them.

Okay so maybe not such a simple plan. But it was a plan all the same.

“It was a good call to wear something casual. We wouldn’t want to scare the kiddos.”

Taehyung honestly hadn’t thought about it till late last night. He too had a hard time sleeping. All he could think about was the girls. There was this nagging feeling telling him these girls were innocent. He highly doubted they were armed let alone dangerous. Speaking of, as he popped the trunk to his personal vehicle, he said casually,

“Probably ought to hide the guns too. These kids are young but you know how they pick up on every little thing that’s out of the ordinary.”

“Good point. You’re batting a thousand today, hyung. I’m gonna have to up my game if I’m going to keep up with you.”

“Just put your mad boxing skills to good use should something go south and we’ll be square.”

Chuckling softly, the two made their way into the building and showed the receptionist their badges before being escorted to the kindergarten classroom Nari had been shadowing. It was odd to be working in something other than their usual suit and tie. Jungkook could get used to working in his button up shirt and skinny jeans. The two could hear lots of giggling and it warmed Taehyung’s heart. God how badly he wanted to be a dad. But he needed to focus. This was a job. Not a field trip. He couldn’t let his feelings get involved.

“Good morning, Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Kim Taehyung and this is my partner Agent Inspector Jeon Jungkook. If you have a moment, we’d like to ask you a few questions concerning the girl who was shadowing your class. She disappeared a little over four months ago. Her name is Nari. Do you remember her?”

Turns out this Nari girl was quite the ray of sunshine to be around. Naturally shy upon first meeting but once she got comfortable, she was a bit of a chatter box. Kind of cute, really. She got along great with the kids and when she had first disappeared, they immediately picked up on it and kept asking where she was. The class had even made get well cards after being told that she was simply not feeling good and needed some time off.

The whole thing silently broke Taehyung’s heart. This Nari sounded like his dream girl. Aside from the criminal part. Which still didn’t make sense. This girl enjoyed reading, writing, anime, and kids. She enjoyed several things that he too enjoyed. It was a shame to think that she possibly turned to organized crime. But for what? What was the incentive to just drop everything and turn to crime? She had such a beautiful life and it seemed like it was something she was still working on building. Why just abandon it?

“Okay, Jeon. Playtime’s over. Let’s go.”

His partner had been of little help during the questioning. However, it wasn’t entirely Jeon’s fault. The kids were insistent that he play with them. Who was a man to deny so many sets of puppy eyes??? That was how Taehyung found his younger partner currently being used as a human jungle gym. He had a kid hanging off each arm as he flexed his arm muscles to help hold them both up. A little girl was giggling and squealing in happiness as she had been placed on his shoulders, hugging his face to keep herself from falling. What a dork.

“Okay, kids. Let Mr. Jeon go so he can get back to work. And what do we say to others who play nicely with us?”

“Thank you, Mr. Jeon!”

The chorus of high pitched voices was so endearing. Perhaps Jungkook was starting to see why his hyung wanted to be a father so badly. These little ones weren’t so bad. Well that was probably a result of good parenting. Not to mention it sounded like the teacher was trying to set good examples for them too. After smiling to the kids and trying to dodge their questions of whether or not they’d be seeing him again, Jungkook quickly made his exit with his partner who was smiling and shaking his head in amusement.

Kids. Go figure. It was then that both agents heard Yoongi coming in through their ear pieces. Taehyung had just been popping the trunk back open to get their guns when the Daegu native started speaking in a calm but rushed voice,

“You two better get back to the office. Hobi made a huge discovery that’s going to change this into a whole different ballgame.”

Well that didn’t sound good.

Making haste, the two drove from the school parking lot and headed straight for the station. It wasn’t often that Yoongi sounded so urgent. He was usually pretty cool, calm, and collected. That’s what made him such an awesome analyst. He was able to look at things with a clear head. It was a trait that many in the department wish they had as well. Arriving in the information room where the male worked, Taehyung said in a breathless tone,

“What you got for us, hyung?”

But it was Hoseok that spoke up in reply; his tone grave.

“Your suspects just turned into victims.”

Wait what???

Meanwhile, you were up bright and early. It was easy and yet difficult to sleep all at the same time. The exhaustion had knocked both you and Nari out the second your heads hit the pillows of your shared king sized bed. However, it seemed like you were awake every other hour. Your body screamed sleep but your mind was on full alert. It was hard to sleep peacefully when you knew danger could be around every corner. You could open your eyes and find yourself right back in the jaws of danger.

It was exhausting, really. But this was your reality for the time being. Looking away from the window, you peered over at the sleeping figure in the bed. Poor Nari. She looked so small and frail laying there in that big bed. It was comforting to see her getting some sleep. Hopefully dreamless and restful. Last night had been wonderful. Their first night where they weren’t held in some kind of captivity. No disgusting cages or dirty food and water. For the first night in four months, they were just two girls hanging out. No longer objects. But humans.

They were humans again.

Deciding it was safe to take a shower, you tiptoed your way to the bathroom and just cracked the door so that it wouldn’t let all the steam out. Gosh the shower last night had been amazing! Hot water, soap. It was wonderful! The both of you had brushed your teeth twice just for good measure too. While you allowed the water to warm up, you thought about the tasks at hand today. The plan sounded simple but it was going to be tricky regardless.

A disguise. You both needed a disguise. Just until you could get your thoughts together and a plan for when you notified the authorities. You didn’t want to just go waltzing in the Daegu Police Department with hands in the air. No. You needed a plan. You needed to be able to prove your innocence. And that was when you thought of those disgusting bracelets you had to wear. Ugh. They were the ugliest shade of orange too. It was surly a color you’d despise for the rest of your life.

“They’re what?!”

Jungkook tried to put a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder but it got roughly shrugged off. Taehyung was furious. Absolutely furious. Seeing red. That was all the male could see as he stared at Yoongi and Hoseok. The two had just informed them that the two suspects were actually being trafficked and were part of the transaction that took place on the storefront camera footage they were able to obtain.

Human trafficking. These two poor girls were being handed off along with the drugs. It all made sense now. The one using her knowledge in self defense to try and disarm and distract the punks. Swiping the wallet and yet leaving the drugs behind. It all finally added up. These girls weren’t criminals at all. There was a reason their records were so squeaky clean. They never asked for this. They were forced into it. They didn’t go missing willingly. They were kidnapped.

“It’s gonna be okay, Tae. I was able to get access to the town’s traffic cams and I think I know what city they’re in. But you gotta calm down first. The chief isn’t going to let you go into this guns blazing and you know that.”

However, the blonde detective wasn’t entirely listening. It was like his ears were filled with water. He just stood there staring at the single clue that lead Hobi and Yoongi to discovering what was actually going on in the footage from earlier. Each girl sported an orange colored wristband. After doing some digging, Yoongi had discovered it was an inside tagging system for women who were being trafficked. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. It left a horrible taste in Taehyung’s mouth as he thought of Nari......Nari........

It was then that the feline looking male spoke up but this time directed his attention to the younger inspector.

“Kook---Take him to the cafe around the corner. I’ll forward you guys what I believe to be their city of refuge. It’s not too terribly far from here but it’s a drive. Looks like they took the bus.”

“Thanks, Yoongi hyung. Come on, buddy. Let’s go have a drink.”

That was how Taehyung wound up sitting at a small table with a steaming to-go cup of hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Jungkook had opted for an iced americano. Ugh. Gross. While the younger was looking over the traffic cam footage Yoongi had forwarded to his phone, the detective simply stared out the window of the local cafe. His partner had tried to place a single glazed doughnut in front of him to go with his hot chocolate but Tae had touched neither one; too lost in thoughts of the sweet college student trying to become a kindergarten teacher.

His dream girl.

‘I bet she wants to have kids too someday.....I’ll make sure she has that chance. I’m gonna find her. And I’ll save her.’

The young inspector, on the other hand, was more focused on you. What was your story? Certainly you weren’t going to be working as a barista the rest of your life. The fact that you had taken an online course in Police Science intrigued him. Perhaps you were interested in going into law enforcement? That would be cool. Especially since you were a Busan native. What would be the chances of you working in the same station as him?

“Okay, Ri. Today we’re gonna try and get some fresh clothes and maybe do something with our hair. Basically we need a disguise. Just until we can get our thoughts together and figure out how to notify the police without it looking like we’re turning ourselves in.”

It saddened you when all your best friend did was nod. Again....she used to be so talkative. So bright and cheery. You weren’t sure you were going to be able to take her out of this hotel room just yet. While your guys’ physical scars were already starting to heal, there were far deeper cuts that needed attention. Carefully taking a seat next to her on the bed, you gently wrapped an arm around her and spoke in a soft and soothing tone,

“Nari, baby. You gotta talk to me. I’m no therapist but I think being your best friend has to count for something. You can tell me anything. So please, say something.”

“You could have died.....”

Hmm? Out of all the things you were expecting Nari to say, that definitely wasn’t one of them. Before you could ask her to clarify, she did it for you as she added in explanation,

“They had guns, bestie. And they were shooting at us. They were shooting at you. I was so scared you’d get hit and die. I’ve lost so much. I can’t lose you too. Please---”

“Hey, hey. Shhh. It’s okay, Ri. It’s okay.”

You sat there at the foot of the bed hugging a sobbing Nari; gently rocking the both of you back and forth as you allowed the girl to cry out her feelings. You had been in such a constant state of survival mode, that you hadn’t taken into account how the dangers of the whole situation would affect her. Of course seeing your best friend get shot at would be traumatizing. Gently kissing the girl’s forehead while stroking her hair with a free hand, you said softly and soothingly,

“I’m sorry I scared you, Ri. It wasn’t my intentions. I just......I needed to get us out of there and it was the only way I knew how. And the good news is, we’re not only alive, but we’re free. No more drugs, no more trafficking. We’re humans again and we’re gonna get through this together. I’m with you every step of the way. Okay? Together?”

You held out your pinkie finger for her to take and was happily surprised to see her return the gesture by weakly wrapping her pinkie around your own. This was progress. It was the most Nari had said since the two of you escaped from the organization. Hopefully with this off her chest, she’d open up a little more and just maybe, things would get back to some kind of normal between you two. You really didn’t want to lose your best friend. Nari wasn’t the only one in that hotel room who had lost a lot.

With the both of you feeling a little bit better, you carefully stood up from the bed and brought your bestie along with you. It would be okay. You’d make it be okay no matter the cost. It was time to get out of these disgusting clothes and find something more suitable for wear. Not to mention your hair needed a trim something awful. Then again.....you were willing to go the extra mile for a disguise if it meant surviving to see real freedom.

Deciding it wasn’t smart to stay in one place for two nights in a row, you made the plan to get your clothes, get stuff needed for your hair, maybe purchase a couple duffel bags, and make your next move. That was as far as you had gotten in the planning. Should the two of you stay in this town or perhaps travel back to Daegu? Maybe Busan? Ugh. You just didn’t know yet. Okay. One step at a time, here. One step at a time.

Crossing the street, you had heard from the hotel desk clerk that there was a hand-me-down store for clothing not too far from where they were staying. That would be perfect! You didn’t need to look like models. You just needed some clean clothes to wear. And you had saw where a pharmacy was close by as well. You decided to dye your hair and cut it yourself but you just weren’t sure what color to get. Poor Nari, on the other hand, was way too happy with her hair and especially the color. So to try and find some even ground, the two of you had agreed on a hat. She could tie up her hair and wear a baseball cap. That would work.

While Nari wanted something pretty, you were more focused on trying to disguise yourself as much as possible. In fact, when you came out of the dressing room with a plain white t-shirt tucked into a pair of black skinnies and a black blazer to match; paired with black combat boots that looked like they could kill, Nari couldn’t stop herself from mumbling shyly,

“You look like a boy if it wasn’t for your boobs and long hair.”

“That’s the plan.....babe.”

You couldn’t help but grin as you watched your best friend blush heavily. Don’t get the wrong picture, the both of you were far more into boys. But it was cute to tease your bestie because as much as you loved her, she was such a cute and easy target. When you heard that familiar whine of mortification, you couldn’t help but feel your chest bubble with happiness and relief. Perhaps that talk in the hotel room really did do some good. Nari just simply needed to get some feels off her chest.

After he got Taehyung to finally eat and drink something, Jungkook ended up lugging his butt up from the cafe chair and hauled him outside into the fresh air. It wasn’t like his older friend to get stuck in his feels like this. Sure human trafficking had always been a sore subject, but he was taking it to a completely new level of sore. Stuffing his hands in his pockets and squinting against the sun’s rays, the young inspector said casually,

“Jimin said there wasn’t much to report on the barista from Busan. Apparently she was trying to save her tips from the cafe in order to go into law school. She’s on the fence of whether or not she wants to be a cop or an attorney.”

Jungkook really wanted to meet you. You fascinated him to no end. First the course in Police Science and now law school? You sounded super cool with how you had taken several self defense classes as well. He wondered if you liked boxing......Yeah......maybe he could teach you one day.

Wait what???

Shaking his head to clear it, it was then that he heard Yoongi coming on the ear piece once more.

“Your girls are on the move. They stayed at a hotel last night but they’ve not made any further reservations. Apparently one of the other guests recognized them in the hallways. I informed the manager to keep it quiet because we don’t want to scare them off. If we’re lucky, we can catch them before they depart. The manager said they’ve not returned the room keys yet.”

“Thanks, hyung. Keep us posted.”

“No problem. Forwarding you guys the hotel address now.”

“You hear that, hyung? We’re gonna find them and it’s gonna be okay.”

Feeling a hearty pat on his shoulder, Taehyung nodded and tried to give his younger partner a smile. The two girls must be so scared. Running from not only the organization, but the law as well. When in all reality, this had since then turned into a rescue mission. This was definitely a first for him in his career of law enforcement. Pulling himself together, the blonde squared his shoulders and held his head up high as he walked to the car. Meanwhile, Jeon was reading off the directions to the city where the girls were currently staying in.

“So.....Hyung.......You seem pretty invested in this case. You wanna talk about it?”

Yoongi was right when he said it was a bit of a drive. At the same time, Jungkook couldn’t help but mentally praise the girls for thinking of taking such a far, out-of-the-way route to escape danger. It was a quieter town too. Or so he had heard. Listening to the ticking sound of the vehicle’s turn signal, the blonde detective finally spoke up but in a small voice.

“I just want to find them and bring those dirt bags to justice.”

Okay. So clearly his hyung wasn’t ready to talk about it. Which was totally fine. But it was easier to work with a Kim Taehyung when he had his head on straight and he wasn’t thinking with his heart instead of his brain. Subconsciously nibbling on his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his, Jungkook silently nodded and turned his attention to his phone. With the help of Yoongi and his ability to enhance images, he was able to get a better look at the two girls they were trying to rescue.

“They’re both kind of cute. Once you get past their bird nest hairstyles and grungy clothing.”

That didn’t seem to make matters any easier as Jungkook could hear his hyung gripping the steering wheel all the tighter; the sound of his skin squeaking against the material of the wheel. Oops....

“What hotel was it again? I think we might be approaching the town soon.”

Yeah. Definitely not ready to talk about it.

“Bestie.....are you sure you want to do this? We can get you a ball cap too, you know. It doesn’t have to be this extreme.”

“I’m absolutely positive, Nari. Lay it on me.”

Nari couldn’t believe what she was about to do to her best friend’s hair. It was already painful enough to watch you chop it all off. She knew the point was for you to look as far from yourself as possible but still......This was just crazy. You had chopped your own hair off and now sported a boy cut of sorts. Bangs hung in your eyes to try and hide them while your back had been completely taken up. Not a single strand of hair was hanging down or coming anywhere close to your shoulders. Nothing framing your face. Just your bangs.

“They won’t be looking for a blonde, Nari. Just trust me.”

And that was how you got your hair bleached for the first time ever. It was worth it, though. Everything you were doing, you were doing for you and Nari both. What was a little hair if it meant keeping you both alive and getting your tickets to true freedom? It was so worth it in your mind and you could only hope your bestie would see that too. With time.

After washing and drying it, you stood there in the hotel bathroom mirror with your girl next to you. Nari looked shocked and a bit pale while you were grinning like an idiot. This was perfect. Sporting your outfit you had picked out from the store and turning your head this way and that way to inspect your new hairstyle, you couldn’t wait to throw both the organization and the police for a loop.

They’d never see you coming.

“Okay, Ri. Sadly we can’t stay here. We gotta keep moving. Let’s check out and find a different place to stay. We’ll grab a bus to the next city over and grab another hotel room. We still have plenty of won left. The guy was stupid enough to leave his wallet loaded.”

Helping your bestie secure her baseball cap on and making sure her hair was tucked in nice and neat, you couldn’t help but think how cute she looked dressed so casually compared to the rags she was forced to wear for the last four months of her life. Nari was way too pretty to wear such filth. You couldn’t wait for things to get back to normal. The first thing you’d do is take her shopping for some pretty new clothes to wear to the kindergarten class she shadowed. You knew how much she loved those kids.

Once the both of you packed your items from the convenience store last night and the new batch of instant noodles and snacks from the pharmacy earlier today, you hoisted up the duffel bags and made your way out of the room; making it look just as it did when you arrived. It would be like you were never even here. Although you couldn’t help but notice how deadly quiet it was in the hotel hallways.

“Thanks for staying with us. Have a wonderful day!”

Cool. You were out and on the street once again. The next step in your plan was simple. Find a bus routing out of town to the next city and hop on. Simple, right? Just as you were about to make a step for the bus stop down the street, you felt something hard and cold pressing into the small of your back. Not only that, but a chin rested on your shoulder and whispered in your ear,

“Scream and I’ll shoot you right where you stand, slut.”

Well that sucks.

[victoriousfrankenstein]

Experiment 1: “Descend in pain, demon!” -- I, FRANKENSTEIN (2014)

You’re probably wondering why I’m kicking off this series with this shlock. Well, I’ll just tell you--it’s free with Hulu and I’m not trying to break the bank here. (Spoilers ahead, not that you care lol)

I, Frankenstein stars blandly chiseled Aaron Eckhart as Frankenstein’s monster, here conveniently named Adam, with assists from Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto, Yvonne Strahovski, and Jai Courtney. The backstory goes like this: in 1795, Victor Frankenstein brought his monster into the world (in an undisclosed place), immediately rejected him (for an undisclosed reason), and tried to kill him (by tossing him off an undisclosed bridge). The monster survived this attempted drowning and came back to kill Dr. F’s wife, then led him up north through the unforgiving arctic, where the good doctor eventually succumbed to the cold. This information is communicated to us visually and via voice over, in case we couldn’t figure it out for ourselves.

The movie truly begins with the Creature burying Frankenstein next to his wife (“It was more than he deserved,” spits a bitter Aaron Eckhart). As he does this, he is attacked by demons and immediately kills one of them. This awakens some nearby gargoyles who fly from their perches on a castle to merc the rest and save the unconscious Creature. They remark that they’ve never seen a human kill a demon before and conclude that “it” must be special; as they loot what they believe is a corpse, they find a pretty sweet journal belonging to one Victor M. Frankenstein and gasp because the rumors are true!!! Then the Creature begins to move!!!!!

The gargoyles take him back to their queen (Otto), who demands to know why the demons wanted him. She explains that the Gargoyle Order has been at war with demons since the fall of Satan, and that they were commanded into being by St. Michael himself. She also gives the Creature a name--Adam--and requests that he stay with them for protection...but he leaves and forges his own way for 200 years, before finally returning to hunt down the demons who want him for some reason.

So it’s now Modern Times, but I couldn’t tell you where this movie is actually set for the life of me. The gargoyles live in some monstrous European cathedral and all the actors are affecting that bland movie British accent, but there are few indications of what the actual, specific setting is. Unless, of course, the cathedral is real, and I just don’t know my landmarks. Sorry.

Anyway, now scientists are hard at work trying to figure out the secret to reanimating dead corpses. Dr. Terra Wade (Strahovksi), working under Bill Nighy (who unsurprisingly turns out to be Prince Naberius, leader of the demon horde), zaps a rat back to life. She weirdly measures the electricity in Joules and not volts; I am not a scientist, but this sounds wrong to me.

She tells Bill Nighy that they aren’t yet ready to reanimate a human corpse yet, and he fires back that hasn’t she heard of Victor Frankenstein? She proclaims that Frankenstein is a myth, made up to “scare children.” For me, this opens up a can of worms I’m not sure the writers thought of when they put this in the script. Just...who is Frankenstein in this universe? Does the Mary Shelley novel exist? Does it exist, but as real documentation and not a work of fiction? Is he more of a legend? She wonders why Frankenstein didn’t share his discovery with the world if the story is true, but he explains that himself in the actual novel, which leads me to believe it was never written in-universe. But then seriously, where did the myth come from?! Terra speaks as if the Brothers Grimm invented the story and it’s very odd.

She does admit, however, that if Frankenstein did reanimate a corpse, it would be helpful to study the creation. So Bill Nighy assembles his troops.

Demons attack the cathedral, where Adam is being kept by the gargoyles. The CG is absolute ass. This movie has big 2004 energy for a lot of reasons, and this is one of them. The only thing I appreciate about the fight scenes is that there isn’t an excess of shaky cam, so it’s easy to see what’s happening; unfortunately, what’s happening isn’t usually very interesting. The fight choreography is stale and repetitive. The music is incredibly generic.

However, this scene particularly has holy waterboarding, so that’s pretty good.

It also has the best worst line in the entire film!

The demons capture the Gargoyle Queen, who is then traded back for Frankenstein’s journal. Now the bad guys have the ability to reanimate dead humans, something a man in the 1790’s figured out and they could not.

Meanwhile, Adam breaks into the lab and finds a room of stashed corpses, which the demons are presumably storing to raise an army of the undead. He jumps through a window into the lab to get the journal back. Everyone knows immediately who he is because Victor Frankenstein was really good at drawing.

Unfortunately, security shows up with Bill Nighy, who chews the scenery as much as he can. He calls Adam “Frankenstein,” as “we are all the sons of our fathers.” Adam cannot accept this. He breaks out of a separate window and lands on a train, where he begins to read his life story, then doubles back to meet up with Terra and tell her all about the gargoyle/demon battle. And that she’s working for a demon prince.

Demons attack them. One of them monologues about how they will summon their brethren to possess the corpses. What does this have to do with Adam? He doesn’t have a soul...and demons can only possess bodies without soul!

 Adam is injured. Terra learns that he’s hot. Sexy Wound Dressing commences.

This is probably the most annoying part of this film to me. Adam and everyone waxes poetic about how he was rejected by his creator and humanity, and I have to wonder why. He looks and acts like a dude. A ripped dude, yes, but a dude. He apparently learned how to speak in a single winter, so it’s not like he was ever really a wild animal? His scarring isn’t even raised! He could hide his blemishes with foundation if he really wanted to, yet several people in this movie call him “it” before even learning what exactly he is. It’s about as unnatural as Ben Shapiro purposefully misgendering trans people.

Anyway, Terra tells Adam she’ll make him a companion since Frankenstein didn’t because he was a bad dad. This is a one-off line that amounts to nothing.

At this point there is a third of the movie left, but you can guess exactly how it unfolds from here. It’s hardly worth recounting in detail. Basically everyone is after the journal, but Adam destroys it before anyone can get it. That doesn’t matter. Terra is forced to reanimate the corpse of her murdered colleague without it, which sets into motion the reanimation of the thousands of corpses Bill Nighy has had on ice for….centuries, presumably?

Demons ascend to Earth to prepare to take over their new corporeal forms. Luckily, Adam is here to take them and the gargoyles, who have betrayed him, down.

I didn’t mention the gargoyle betrayal before because it lasts four seconds and amounts to nothing. They’re all fighting demons now. Bill Nighy reveals his true form!

A demon tries to possess Adam, but it doesn’t take. Our king says “my body, my choice!” He has a soul! Yasssss!

The whole laboratory sinks into Hell and the gargoyles save Adam and Terra. The movie ends with Adam vowing to protect humanity. And because I know you’re wondering, yes, the last line is this:

We do not ask for the lives we are given. But each of us has the right to defend that life. I have fought to protect mine. And when the forces of darkness return, you shall know that I am out there, fighting to defend yours. I, descender of the demon horde. I, my father’s son. I, Frankenstein.

Jesus Christ.

So, is this movie worth watching?

That is a resounding no. There are some movies that are a fun kind of bad, and others that are just boring. I, Frankenstein is the latter. Even watching it with a friend wasn’t that fun. The film has about four different colors, and the acting is even less varied. It’s the same performance all around--gravelly, serious, dull, with nary a joke to be found. Only Bill Nighy makes an attempt to do something, but even he doesn’t ascend above the generic Evil Rich Guy mold.

It’s funny because as I watched this, I thought it seemed like an Underworld ripoff. According to IMDb, the franchises were originally envisioned to exist in the same universe, but I, Frankenstein did so poorly that the idea was scrapped.

Is it any wonder? The performances are empty, and so is the world itself. A few extras in the first scenes gawk at Adam’s scarring, but none show up at all in the climax. “This city” is referenced throughout, but can it really be called a city when there is no life to be found? When it isn’t even named?!

Please stay away from this film. Its scarring runs deeper than Adam’s, and it doesn’t even have abs.

[niyazova-sa]

Star Wars AU

Okay so like we got:

Aliya - formerly of no real allegiance until the resistance find her and get her to join á la Jyn Erso. Lost her parents to the First Order and its sympathizers. Definitely a Force User and kickass fighter dual-weilding lightsabres. Grey Jedi.

Nari - Resistance golden girl. Young but a talented spy and diplomat. Daughter of a resistance general and republic senator. She's great with a blaster and sharp as a whip. Slow to trust what seems like a tenuous ally in Aliya at best and perhaps a little annoyed by the new girl becoming the favourite.

Isak - childhood friend of Aliya's who grew up in the outer rim with her. Not force sensitive but shoots like he is. Got roped into smuggling for a while, keeping out of the conflict but abandoned it to follow his best friend into the fight.

Enyo - Daughter of republic senators who ran off to join the resistance with her best friend Nari after recovering from an attack by the first order.

Yami - joined the resistance as a kid with her brother after a First Order attack on their homeworld that killed their parents.

Yama - Flyboy. Pilot to rival Poe Dameron, leader of his squadron and enormous flirt around base. Has definitely tried to get in Poe's pants though no one knows if he's succeeded (he has).

Alon - command staff. Works closely with Leia and is such a dad to the pilot squadrons. Used to be blue leader and misses flying.

Kelsi - Star Mechanic, she can fix anything and bring ships others would write off back from the brink. Only one Poe Dameron would trust with his X-wing since she seems to work actual magic.

Madelyn - her and her sister come from the outer rim and joined the resistance after seeing the awful things the First Order have done. Force sensitive but didn't know it until meeting Leia.

Mia - the Resistance's resident nerd. You name it, she can do it. Mostly works with fixing tech and droids and decrypting things but has been known to be taken on delicate info retrieval missions and can give 3P0 a run for his money in the language and knowledge department.

Sekani - not actually head medic on base but one of the best doctors in the resistance who everyone chooses to see if they've got the option because he's such a sweetie.

Jian - Lieutenant in the Republic military who handles a lot of the communication between the Republic and Resistance.

And you know what? Lets throw Nebula Squad into this too and ignore the 15 year time jump.

Jaya - grew up in the Resistance, her parents being commanders who went missing when she was young and were presumed dead. Great pilot but generally does covert ops.

Zera - another kickass pilot (black 2) who ran away from home to join the resistance after growing up in the first order but realising what they did was wrong.

Min - Resistance chief medic who acts like a mum despite only being a few years older than most of them.

Aleksandr - Cassian Andor type who gets sent on top level missions and has done a lot of the more unsavoury work for the resistance.

Cody - sweetheart droid and comm tech. Knows just about everything about how any technology works and often helps with mission strategy when they need to destroy any new first order tech. Spends most of his time looking after the droids and upgrading everything in sight.

Leon - First Order deserter, never been good at following orders so a liability on missions but such a great shot that they keep sending him out anyway. Often on Aleksandr's team and drives the man crazy.

Elliot - grew up in the resistance but isn't really all that much of a fighter. He left after he lost his parents and lives in the republic. He still feeds back any valuable Intel he hears to the resistance and is very good at getting people to spill everything.

Luna - historian/archivist turned data analyst for the resistance. She has encyclopedic-like knowledge of so many things and helps the resistance plan for covert ops and figuring out what might be going on from changes in social circles and standings of others and basically anything that's not the actual fighting.

Malai - science genius who works in weapons development and upgrading for the resistance even though that wasn't her initial field of study. Also helps out in the med bay.

Karl - famed resistance General who fought in the old war as well. Only outranked by Leia herself.

[nadziejastar]

I don’t mind if Skuld meets up with Lea and Isa, as a friend. I just not looking forward to the writers pushing Skuld/Isa romantically. She barely had any screen time with him, and it would feel forced and infuriating. I’m fine with it if she’s meeting them again and getting to know each as FRIENDS, but I know the writers have a different idea. Honestly, there’s probably gonna be ship wars between Isa/Skuld and IsaLea.

Yeah, it does feel like they are going to push Isa/Skuld romantically, at least from Isa’s end. When I heard Lea and Isa’s backstory in KH3, I was totally incredulous. I knew it was total B.S. Like, it was just so contradictory to everything we saw previously, I didn’t buy it for one second. Like, who did they think they were kidding?

But even besides the bad retconning, it had such an awful effect on both Isa and Lea as characters. It was a horrible idea to make a mystery girl Isa’s motivation, let alone his potential love interest. That’s going to fuel terrible shipping wars. I have noticed that the worst shipping wars tend to happen because of bad writing. When the canon relationships are well-written, there is not as much controversy and toxicity.

Isa/Subject X Is A Horrible Pairing

Saïx: Back when we were still friends, we used to sneak into the castle.

Lea: Yeah.

Saïx: And we made a friend there, a girl. We apprenticed to Ansem the Wise to rescue her.

Subject X hasn’t had ANY screen time with them. She was just mentioned out of nowhere. Now all of a sudden, they were apprentices and doing everything in Organization XIII for her? And I love how Saïx is so casual about how they used to be friends. Nice to see how much you valued your friendship with Lea there. He talks like he couldn’t give less of a shit that they’re no longer friends.

Geppetto: Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please! Give me back my son!

Riku: Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet.

Geppetto: He’s no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!

Riku: He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I’m not sure, but maybe he can help someone who’s lost theirs.

In KH1, Riku was a huge asshole. It didn’t matter that he was trying to help Kairi. He kidnapped Pinocchio right in front of his pleading father and he wanted to steal his heart.

Axel: You’re sure things are better this way?

Saïx: I never expected you to question it. If you could save one of them…why would you choose the puppet? Or put it this way. Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one?

Saïx was also a huge asshole. He constantly dehumanized Xion and called her broken, defective, and “it”. He wanted to destroy her and didn’t care that Axel considered her a close friend. If you make finding Skuld his motivation, you are confirming that he was aware of his actions the whole time. If he had enough empathy to care about Skuld, why was he so cruel to Xion and Roxas? Why did he not feel bad for kidnapping Kairi, and trying to kill Sora and Riku?

Sora: Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku.

Riku: A puppet that’s lost its heart to the Heartless… Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi. How about it, Sora? Let’s join forces to save her. What? You’d rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?

Sora: Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience.

Riku: Conscience?

Sora: You might not hear it, but right now it’s loud and clear. And it’s telling me you’re on the wrong side!

Riku: Then you leave me no choice.

In KH1, the message was clear: it’s wrong to join the villains, and steal people’s hearts, even for a girl. They’re the actions of a villain.

Kairi: You know, Riku has changed.

Sora: What do you mean?

Kairi: Well…

Sora: You okay?

Kairi: Sora, let’s take the raft and go—just the two of us!

And let’s face it: Riku was NOT presented as an appealing love interest for Kairi in KH1.

Lea: Yeah, and we failed. One day she was just gone!

Saïx: You gave up.

Lea: I did not give up. One day we’re apprentices, the next Ansem the Wise has up and vanished, the day after we’re Nobodies, the day after that we’re doing icky jobs for Xemnas. I couldn’t keep up with you.

Saïx: Following Xehanort’s Nobody was the only way to discover what happened to her. She was his lab rat.

Lea: So? You found her? I helped you rise up the ranks, so I hope it paid off?

Following Xemnas’ icky orders without any remorse doesn’t make Isa more sympathetic, nor does it help us support a possible romance between them. And why is Lea so nonchalant about this? He helped Saïx rise through the ranks, and he hopes it all “paid off?”

Are you crazy!? Of course it didn’t pay off!!! Your best friend sold his soul to the devil and is a Seeker of Darkness! He has yellow eyes and pointy ears. He’s corrupted by darkness! He lost his heart to Xehanort! And you think it might have paid off!? What the hell is wrong with you!? Do you not care about your friend at all?

Sora: Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?

Riku: The Heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear.

Sora: You’re stupid. Sooner or later they’ll swallow your heart.

Riku: Not a chance. My heart’s too strong.

Sora: Riku…

Riku: I’ve picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this, for instance. You can go see your friends now. Let’s get under way, already. And keep Sora away from Kairi until we’re ready to land.

When Sora hears that Riku joined the dark side to save Kairi, he says he is stupid!!!! He cares about Kairi, too. But he’s afraid Riku’s heart will be swallowed by darkness. He’s worried for his friend, and rightfully so! Besides, Kairi wouldn’t want that. Lea would have said the same thing if he was a true friend.

Saïx: I’m afraid not. Nary a trace. I started to wonder if we’d imagined her. Maybe she never existed. And then in time I awakened to a new purpose. I realized I could be stronger.

Okay…? So now all you wanted was to become stronger? It wasn’t about the girl? It was about power? First off, I don’t buy that at all. But whatever. Let’s go with it for argument’s sake.

Ansem: The heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade.

Riku: What? You’re saying my heart’s weaker than his?

Ansem: For that instant, it was. However, you can become stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunge deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger.

Riku: What should I do?

Ansem: It’s really quite simple. Open yourself to the darkness. That is all. Let your heart, your being become darkness itself.

Isa is basically KH1 Riku. It wasn’t even about saving Kairi at that point. It was about being stronger than Sora and gaining power. This tempted Riku to open himself up to darkness. He sold his soul to Ansem after he lost to Sora! This makes Saïx more sympathetic how?

Saïx: The marks under your eyes. They’re gone.

Lea: Yeah. Don’t need ‘em.

Saïx: Always told you they’d stop you from crying. The upside-down tears.

Apparently Saïx has “always” been a condescending douchebag…

Riku: It’s up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door…and change the world.

Sora: But that’s impossible. How did this happen? I’m the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!

Riku: You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your part’s over now. Here, go play hero with this.

You know who else was a condescending douchebag? KH1 Riku! He kidnapped Belle, taunted the Beast, took the Keyblade from Sora, and then threw him a wooden toy while he was wallowing on the floor as Donald and Goofy left him. The difference is, Riku was a condescending asshole when he was a villain—the very beginning of his arc in the Dark Seeker Saga. Saïx is a condescending asshole during his “redemption”—the very end of his arc in the Dark Seeker Saga.

Lea: I didn’t forget you.

Saïx: Yes…I know. You wouldn’t do that. But…I was jealous.

Lea: You admit it.

So, what is his excuse? Why is he still allowed to party with everyone in the epilogue? Well, instead of being a victim of Xehanort in need of rescue, Saïx was just mad that Lea forgot about him and Subject X. And I love how Lea acted like he knew the entire time that he was jealous, and was just being too stubborn to admit it. I’m sorry, I gotta call B.S. again.

And yet, Axel couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his response. “Well, nice to know where I stand.”

He said it with a grin, but the hint of a frown tugged at the scar between Saïx’s brows. Apparently, the joke wasn’t very funny. “You made it back in one piece, didn’t you?”

Were you worried I wouldn’t? Axel almost said, but he didn’t want to deal with putting him in an even fouler mood. Disgust and rage seemed to linger closest to the surface of Saïx’s memories.

Axel didn’t know Saïx was “jealous”. He was desperate to find any evidence Saïx had feelings for him at all. On ~Day 72 Change~, Axel finally returns from Castle Oblivion. Roxas said he was worried about him, and Axel was upset that Saïx wasn’t. He is sad about how much his friend has changed. But let’s assume that was the truth. Let’s say that all of Saïx’s abuse in Days was him acting passive aggressively due to his petty jealousy over Axel hanging out with a couple of kids.

Maleficent: Why do you still care about that boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all.

Riku: I don’t care about him. I was just messing with him a little.

Maleficent: Oh, really? Of course you were. Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it.

Riku: Mind your own business.

Sora: Riku! What’s the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don’t you realize what you’re doing?

Riku: I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?

Riku always used Kairi as a shield when he was bullying Sora. “Don’t you care about Kairi?” In reality, Riku was bitter that Sora made new friends. Yeah, he was trying to help Kairi. But she was just an excuse. He was being petty. It also seemed like he only became so hellbent on rescuing her, because he wanted to one-up Sora. The way KH3 was written, it also felt like Saïx was just using that girl as a cover for his own resentment of Lea. It didn’t seem like he genuinely cared about her very much. She was just a convenient scapegoat.

Right…this little room that Maleficent had made up just for me. I stayed here in this castle, except when I went to Captain Hook’s ship to get Kairi. And when I was here I spent most of that time in this room. Swinging a sword…reading books…and what else?

Thinking about things that upset him. He’d been angry at something. He’d believed it was his fault that Kairi was in that state…but he told himself that it wasn’t a mistake to have gone to other worlds and gently touched her face as she slept.

In KH1, they didn’t have an entire saga planned for the story. And it’s clear that Riku was originally written simply as a villain for the first game. An arrogant, jealous, bully who wants to steal your girlfriend. He has a weak heart that is prone to darkness. After they decided to make more games, they wanted to make Riku a main character. And so they focused on him being Sora’s best friend instead of his bully/rival. They tried to humanize his actions from the first game in the novel for CoM. They emphasized his his strong affection for Kairi as his motivation, and the reason for him turning to darkness. And...it didn’t work. He strokes her face while she’s sleeping. 

All this did was make Riku seem creepy. To be honest, Riku always seemed creepy to me in KH1, even when I first played it as a 14-year-old. This is why they distanced themselves from that interpretation of Riku’s character. Terra became the reason he wanted to see the outside world, not Kairi. But now, this this what they want Isa to be like? He willingly joins someone he knows is evil, gladly follows their orders, and tries to murder his best friend…just so he can get his hands on the object of his affection? Someone he doesn’t even know? That comes off as creepy. And stalker-ish. They’re going backwards regarding positive character portrayals.

Lea: Stop it. The whole act. I thought this was all for her.

First of all, this is B.S.

“Shouldn’t you already be out on your mission, Axel?” Saïx interrupted.

Mission? Saïx hadn’t given him his assignment yet. Axel blinked up at him, and Saïx stared back. Oh. Axel felt a little bit sorry for Saïx and his inability to lie.

Saïx could not act to save his life.

Saïx: At first. I sacrificed everything to try and track her down. You’re the one who went off and made other friends. Left me and her both in the dust. It infuriated me how you just exited our lives. I lost…all sense of purpose.

Saïx never showed any kind of human emotion except disgust. He was by far the most Nobody-like Organization member. But he feels such rage after Axel leaves, that he tries to kill him over and over again. His best friend. All because he was jealous that Axel made new friends with a couple of children who didn’t treat him like shit? That makes him sympathetic how?

Saïx: Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

And why is he so violent to Axel anyways? In his own words, when you lose your true purpose, it makes you inevitably destroy yourself. So why is he trying to destroy Axel and not himself?

"And we still haven’t found out where Axel went?” said Xaldin.

Saïx scowled with displeasure at the name.

It would make sense if Isa’s heart lost all sense of purpose and wanted to fade away after Axel left. And it would make sense if Saïx was not aware that it was Isa’s heart making him feel suicidal. 

“What are you doing here?” The Claymore materialized in Saïx’s hand. “Foul traitor—”

“No, Saïx,” said Xigbar, glaring hard at Axel.

“What have you come for?” With rage barely contained under every word, Saïx stalked toward Axel.

It would make sense if Saïx felt Isa’s despair and took it out on Axel in a psychotic rage. He was so unhinged, even Xigbar had to stop him from attacking Axel.

Riku: Quit while you can.

Sora: No. Not without Kairi.

Riku: The darkness will destroy you.

Sora: You’re wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can’t touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It’ll never die!

Riku: Really… Well, we’ll just see about that!

KH1 Riku also tried to kill Sora when he was consumed with darkness. Goofy shields him from Riku’s attack. It didn’t matter that Riku had the Keyblade. Donald and Goofy chose to stay with Sora because he was on the right side and Riku was not.

Lea: Well, then, you blew it! Wise up already and just quit.

Um, its not that simple, Lea. You see when you have Xehanort’s heart implanted, you are consumed by it. You become one of his 12 selves. Your true heart and consciousness has to be put to sleep in order for Xehanort to turn you into a vessel.

Mickey: There’s something real strong that binds us to each other. Even in the darkness, you can reach him. All you gotta do is follow that connection!

Goofy: Gee, we’re all connected to Sora.

Donald: You said it!

Lea: And if the darkness gets ya, I promise I’ll bail you out. “Dark Rescue” is my middle name.

Riku: Guys, thank you. Sora and I will be back soon.

You should know this already after they almost made Sora the 13th vessel and Riku had to go save his heart afterwards. They didn’t ask Sora to fill out a résumé before they hired him as a vessel. Presumably they didn’t ask Isa, either. You can’t just quit. You couldn’t even leave the original Organization willingly. You’d be turned into a Dusk. But Lea thinks he should just quit…

Lea: Would you get lost? I’ll clobber you tomorrow.

Saïx: I expect no less.

This is how you act after you find out your best friend has been turned into Xehanort’s vessel? You want him to get lost and can’t wait to clobber him?

Sora: What? You… You’re not Riku.

Riku: The Keyhole cannot be completed so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps.

Sora: The princess…? Kairi’s a princess?

Riku: Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened.

Sora: Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!

Sora knew Riku wasn’t acting like his old self. And neither was Isa. Axel complained CONSTANTLY about how much he had changed. When Sora learned the truth, he wanted Xehanort to let his friend’s heart go.

Young Xehanort: To move through time, you must leave your body behind. Ansem first sent me on my way, and then placed himself here when the time was right. That was what set all these events in motion.

Sora: What are you saying? That he knew everything that would happen?

Young Xehanort: No, not everything. But remember, Ansem possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time.

The reason Riku acted like a sociopath is because he was possessed. BBSV2 would have gone into more detail and made Riku more sympathetic by showing how Xehanort’s heart took control of him from the very start. That’s why in KH3D, they showed Young Xehanort reach out his hand to Sora, causing him to have a flashback to when Riku did it in KH1.

Riku was being influenced by Xehanort’s heart for the entirety of KH1. If Saïx was possessed, then Xehanort also saw his experiences in real time. That’s why he always knew what Axel and Saïx were planning and why he didn’t stop them. It provided him with too much valuable information.

Saïx: Why…so sad?

Lea: You let them reduce you to this?

Even though his friend was supposed to be possessed, Lea isn’t the slightest bit sympathetic. He’s disgusted at him for bringing it on himself. After he’s defeated, he turns his head and can’t even look at him.

Aerith: No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere. The only way to stop them is—

Sora: Seal the Keyhole, right?

Leon: Maybe. But no one knows what will happen once it’s sealed.

Sora: Well, we can’t just stay here. We have to do something. I’ve got a friend back there.

After Sora defeated the possessed Riku, he wanted to go back and rescue him from Xehanort’s clutches.

Saïx: Well, if I make it back…you won’t get it out of me a second time.

Lea: See you, Isa.

Saïx: See you, Lea.

After Isa is finally freed from Xehanort’s control, there is no sincerity to his confession of jealousy. No apology for trying to kill Lea. No heart-to-heart conversation about everything they went through as kids. Isa is just an asshole, telling Lea that he won’t hear an apology from him a second time. Then it’s just “see ya”. And they’re magically friends again.

It was Naminé’s drawing of Roxas and Axel, standing side by side. “You’re best friends,” she said.

Right. Those two had been friends—well, Axel believed they still were. Roxas was his only friend and his best. And Axel was the same for Roxas—probably.

Axel states multiple times that Roxas was his only friend. After everything that happened between them, Axel to stopped thinking of Isa as his friend.

On the sofa opposite him, Naminé spoke up instead. “Sora and Riku are best friends.” Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

But more than that. Roxas was the only friend he’d ever had. He considered that Isa was never his friend in the first place. That’s how badly Axel was hurt by his relationship with Saïx. That’s how betrayed he felt.

“…Riku…” Sora looked up, holding tight to his friend’s hand. “It’s Riku… Riku is here.” He knew that it was Riku’s hand he clasped. It was bigger than the one he’d held a thousand times before, but in his heart, Sora felt it.

A knot of something he could barely define swelled in his chest. Clinging to that hand, to Riku’s hand, Sora fell to his knees. “I was looking for you…!” Tears spilled over and flowed down his cheeks as he pressed Riku’s hand against his face.

How long had he been searching? How badly had he wanted to see Riku, to talk to him again? And Riku was here. Here at last. I found you. Finally. I missed you. I’ve missed you for so long…

They’d been separated on Destiny Island, then they ended up fighting, and then they’d gone through that door together from opposite sides…and he’d been searching, searching for Riku all the while.

“C’mon, Sora,” Riku chided him lightly. “Keep it together.”

Riku allowed himself to be locked behind the Door to Darkness, and he sacrificed his appearance to save Sora. When Sora and Riku finally reunite, Sora was overcome with emotion.

Riku: What I said back there…about thinking I was better at stuff than you…To tell you the truth, Sora… I was jealous of you.

Sora: What for?

Riku: I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart.

Sora: Yeah, well, I’ve got my share of problems, too.

Riku: Like what?

Sora: Like…wanting to be like you.

Riku: Well, there is one advantage to being me… Something you could never imitate.

Sora: Really? What’s that?

Riku: Having you for a friend.

Sora: Then I guess…I’m okay the way I am. I’ve got something you could never imitate too.

Compare Lea and Isa’s final conversation to Sora and Riku’s reconciliation at the end of KH2. The latter have a genuine talk where they gain insight into each other’s feelings. There is forgiveness and mutual respect. They are able to empathize with each other and grow closer as a result. Lea and Isa were turned into a cheap knockoff of Sora and Riku from KH1.

Only they forgot to actually, ya know, redeem Isa and show that he was possessed like they did with Riku. And unlike Sora, Lea became less concerned with his friend’s well-being after finding out he was possessed. Based on canon, I don’t know why they were even friends to begin with. And why are they friends again now? They don’t get along, they don’t seem to like each other, and they don’t act like they care about each other at all. But now Subject X is going to come along and be part of a healthy trio and have a possible romantic subplot with Isa? Yikes.

[elfnerdherder]

Ill Intentions: Chapter 18

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Chapter 18: Dialogue

           “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me!” the girl gushed. She was pretty, in that I-can’t-remember-quite-what-my-natural-hair-color-is sort of way. Large eyes, thick eyeliner. She ran a blog online and had Will Graham’s face all over it. He wasn’t quite sure when it popped up, but readers assured her that they’d still follow her work *if* the Will Graham fad faded.

           “Of course,” Will replied. “I didn’t realize that people were following this so closely. When I saw everyone’s insightful comments, as well as your support as I tried to keep journalistic integrity, I thought that you had some interesting ideas. Your theories.”

           “My theory that you already know who it is? Yeah, I know. Not many people believe me. I wrote to you, but you didn’t respond.”

           They were seated outside of a coffee shop that didn’t make coffee, and whose only idea of something closely resembling coffee was an espresso. Anything else on the menu had syrup or energy drinks in it. Will settled for a pumpkin spice latte because it felt right at that time of year, and he added another coffee to his watch. He needed to drink water soon.

           “Sorry.”

           “No, I get it. You’re busy.”

           “I have been lately, yeah,” Will agreed.

           “So you meeting me means that I’m right, right? You know who it is?”

           Will laughed. “I was more interested in you talking about your publisher that would love a writer that could engage like I did. I was going to ask if you could see about presenting a manuscript for me anonymously.”

           He didn’t like talking himself up like that. The brag felt forced, pushy, but Nicole didn’t seem to mind. She squinted, much the same way she had when she first walked up to the table, and she adjusted her cat-eye glasses. From writer to writer, she seemed to be able to see bull shit a mile away.

           “You have a manuscript?”

           “Something I’ve been kicking around for a bit. I think that just about now is the most convenient time to present it.”

           “Not meaning to sound rude, since I like you Mr. Graham, but what am I getting out of this?”

           Will smiled, and he reached into his pocket, tugging out the handkerchief with care. He set it on the table between them, catching Nicole’s eye.

           “That handkerchief,” he said, maintaining eye contact, “belongs to the Chesapeake Ripper. I took it from him.”

           Nicole looked from him to the handkerchief, and she snatched it up with hardly a breath, her grip tight enough to tell Will that he now had her undivided attention.

           “When you look over that manuscript and send it in for me, I’ll let you post about whatever you like. With this as evidence when that time comes.”

           Nicole looked from the handkerchief to Will; her grip didn’t slacken. “Why do you care so much about who this publisher is?” she asked. “She’s amazing, don’t get me wrong, but why her? Why me?”

           He finished his drink before he answered. Just around them, there was the gentle murmur and discussions of holidays between friends, the plans just ahead and what lay on the horizon. Normal, calming things. His watch beeped to remind him to drink water.

           “I heard that she is willing to publish anyone with a good story. Someone that can see when something’s real and make the most out of it.”

           “Yeah?” Nicole pocketed the handkerchief, her silent agreement.

           Will stood up and threw his cup away. “I’ve got something she’s going to like. That’s all.”

-

           Jack picked Will up on the steps of Tattler News before the news vans and avid fans could quite get to him. It was the day before Will’s appointment with Dr. Lecter. Will didn’t quite like to admit it, but there was something exciting about Jack stopping him; he wondered if the agent had figured out that something wasn’t adding up.

           “Find something?”

           “A body. The Maestro.”

           He didn’t quite deflate at the mention of the bastard’s name, but something close to it. Will was getting just about tired of the Maestro and his nosiness. His need to be seen. Will Graham & Co.

           They rode to the scene in silence. It was an hour or so of countryside dusted in a powder of snow, and Will Graham tracked rolling hills that gave way to branches stripped of their green. The FBI sprung for electric heaters in the leather seats, and Will indulged a little.

           The body was found in an open amphitheater in the middle of Wolf Trap National Forest that would normally showcase theater or performances for campers. He stood at the top for longer than was necessary; this he only found out after Jack shouldered past him, headed down with the steps of a man that was maybe getting just a little too tired of this shit. Will wondered about his absent wedding band. Maybe he should have asked in the car.

           Snow had fallen in the time between the body being placed and the body being found. Will huddled into his peacoat and tried to breathe through his nose, the air just bitter enough to make his throat uncomfortable. Forensics was busy dusting away at the snow that’d given a fine layer to Mr. Peters’ final form. It was like unearthing a rare and grotesque artifact; each sweep of the soft-bristled brush showed more and more of the mystery beneath.

           It sounded an awful lot like Lacrimosa was on the wind. Will could remember it from listening to the old lady next door, the window open to her music room where children did their best to recreate works of art on introductory, factory-glued pieces of garbage. They’d get better with time, she would reassure parents. Maybe invest in a nicer violin, and it wouldn’t sound so squeaky? Maybe some steel strings? Cat gut strings? Maybe don’t buy from Amazon Prime next time?

           The notes that hummed when he laid eyes on Mr. Peters came from the belly of a rich and aged cello, something whose notes mellowed and curved around the sound of his death. Despite the build-up of music that’d grown with each death, with each frustrating note as Will willfully ignored the Maestro, this felt somehow anti-climactic in comparison, something soothing and yearning. Will rubbed his ear agitatedly. He wondered of the Ripper had seen the body, too.

           “This guy isn’t in any orchestra that I know of,” Jack said when Will made it down the final few steps. “Thirty-eight, single, rents a house somewhere out here.”

           Will stared at the mop of unruly brown hair, and he could hazard a guess.

           “He also left this,” Jack continued, passing the note over. Rather than look at Will, he continued to stare at Mr. Peters, brow set. His avoiding Will’s face was more telling than the note would be.

           “How’s your wife, Jack?” Will couldn’t help but ask. He took the note and held it tight in his left hand, stalling although he couldn’t say why.

           Jack side-eyed him, lip curling. “Excuse me?”

           “You’re not wearing a wedding band.”

           He could tell that Jack didn’t want to answer. Despite the murmur and hum of the forensics team moving about the seats, gleaning everything over for clues, it felt as though there was nothing more than the music, Will, and Jack. His fingers tapped lightly along the paper.

           There was no way in hell Jack was going to give him a copy of it. His corkboard would have to miss out on a note.

           “Died,” Jack said. There was nary a flicker of emotion as he said it. “She died.”

           Will wasn’t sorry for the death –at least there was one death that he didn’t feel some form of culpability for. He looked down to the letter, a weird tightness in his throat.

           “My condolences,” he said, and that was as far as he’d go without feeling like an ass about it. He didn’t ask why Jack wasn’t wearing a ring if it was a death that’d taken her and not someone else.

Will Graham & Co.,

           The next stanza, I’ll admit, is a stepping stone to the final act. When the Conductor is trying to reach out to the many musicians of their ensemble, more often than not there are one or two persons that refuse to do as they’re asked. The rest of the musicians may reach out, the conductor may also attempt private tutoring or various angles to attempt to make them see reason –

           In the end, there are some that do not comply. They must be removed from the symphony so that the performance may continue unhindered.

           Does Jack Crawford feel close to finding the Chesapeake Ripper? Does he feel close to finding me? As the conductor, I feel a certain responsibility in helping. Perhaps I will catch your killer for the both of you.

                                                                                                                       -Another Avid Fan

           Will stared at the letter, then at the body in front of him. In that moment, he’d have liked to have felt fear in realizing that he was one of the ones that Maestro felt the need to remove because he wasn’t complying with ‘the plan’. In truth, there was nothing more than a flicker of annoyance, a feeling that out of all of the places he needed to be, this wasn’t one of them. Beside him, Jack held still and waited for him to speak, a certain energy about his silence.

           “You ever see something like this?” Will asked.

           “Serial killers competing for the attention?”

           Will snorted. “I wouldn’t call it competing. You’ve got one going off on their own, killing, and the other’s just trying to catch up.”

           “Sounds like you’ve got a favorite, Will.”

           Will opened his mouth to reply with something particularly snarky, but he snapped it shut and circled the body instead. Jack’s wife was dead, and she’d died recently. Given everything he’d done –and arguably what he was going to do –he owed it to Jack to be a little nicer.

There was nothing special about the body. It was dressed much the same as the others, the only giveaway about the intentions behind it being the curled brown hair. Will supposed that that was something to consider about himself, that the open and exposed throat didn’t rattle him as it had the first time. Hearing the music had made him nervous, made him wonder at himself.

           Just what was he becoming that now, all that he could feel was a vague flicker of annoyance at the timing? The presumption?

           His watch beeped: Get ready for lunch.

           “We can assume he’s coming after me,” Will said when he finished his lap.

           “Or the Ripper.”

           “Does he know who the Ripper is?” Will wondered. “If so, maybe we just need to follow the blood trail. This is personal to him.”

           “Looks like you’re personal to him,” Jack corrected.

           “Maybe. Maybe he knows me, maybe he’s just getting really mad I’m not addressing him in the column. Maybe I keep ignoring him, and it draws him out for you to bring him in.”

           “Will,” Jack said, and something in his voice made Will look up from the way snow had gotten inside of the man’s throat, clung to the bleached vocal cords. The wind stirred, dancing small swirls of powder off of the stage. “I got a call from my boss. As of right now, they’re wanting to bring you in and keep you until we can get this under control. The more you’re out in the public eye, the more in danger you are. The more in danger the public is.”

           Will didn’t hesitate to let the words sink in. “No.”

           “It’s not a request.”

           “You can’t –I don’t want –”

           “Honestly, I got my ass chewed for how long I left you out here, but that’s neither here nor there. Where the Maestro is specifically targeting you, we’re moving you to a special safe house. I thought maybe showing you just how much danger you were in would help you come to that conclusion on your own, but…”

           Jack didn’t finish his thought, and he didn’t have to. Will looked from him to the body, a strangled laugh trying to gurgle out.

           Are serial killers your muse?

           “Either way, this has gone on long enough,” Jack carried on when Will didn’t speak. His tone brooked no argument. “We’re going to get you taken care of, but first and foremost we’re going to keep you safe. With, or without your consent.”

           It wasn’t until they were on their way back from the crime scene that Will found the right words.

           “You’re not stupid, Jack,” he said.

           Jack glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

           “You know protocol. You know rules, regulations, and the right steps to take,” Will continued, staring out of the passenger window. “You’ve been doing this a long time.”

           “I have.”

           “So you’d know that protocol said the moment the Ripper sent, oh, I don’t know, the third letter, I should have been pulled. But I wasn’t.”

           “That was a mistake that –”

           “Don’t bullshit me, Jack,” Will interrupted, and he looked back to Jack with a mildly unsettling smile. “You let me keep my freedom because you hoped it’d bring the Ripper to your front door. I was bait, only you didn’t want me to think I was.”

           “You weren’t complaining about it,” Jack pointed out.

           “I wasn’t,” Will agreed.

           “If you’d asked to be taken to a safe house, I’d have had you there in a heartbeat.”

           “Yeah, I know.” Will looked back to the window and tracked the gently rolling hills of snow. The wind often picked up just enough of it to create small, hollowed mounds that rolled and carried across the ground, gaining more snow and momentum as they went. One poor step, and your foot would just keep going until you found yourself hip-deep in the mess of it. Chilled to the bone.

           “I’d have never compromised your safety.” Jack sounded as though he were trying to convince himself just as much as he was Will.

           “You did, Jack,” Will replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad about it. Just trying to let you know that blowing smoke up my ass to tell me you should have pulled me sooner is a shit excuse, and you know it. You haven’t lied to me yet. Don’t make a habit of it now.”

           Silence, save for the humming of the heater and the faint catches of music in the background. Jack Crawford played smooth jazz on the radio.

           “She’s fought cancer for a year now,” Jack finally said. His voice was raw with the kind of emotions Will didn’t want to share in. “My wife. I’d hoped to catch the Ripper before she died. She’d heard enough about him over the years. It feels…wrong to wear her band until I’ve got him. I think I’ll be able to put it back on once I do.”

           He found himself taking on some of it anyway –mostly the grief, the loss. Will curled his bottom lip into his mouth, bit down hard. It seemed that no matter what Jack did, he was destined to lose. No matter how hard he fought, it would never be good enough. Will couldn’t be mad about Jack using him as bait, not when he had such a need at stake. People that always lost became desperate. People that always lost either continued to lose, or they found a way to change the game so that they could win.

           “I’ve got a therapy appointment tomorrow with Dr. Lecter, Jack,” Will said when they started to hit traffic going back into DC. “I understand that you’re pulling me, but can I just have a couple of days to get my shit in order?”

           Jack didn’t respond to that until they were pulling up alongside Tattler News, where Will’s ‘avid fans’ were waiting with signs and baskets of treats. He put the car in park, looked over, and gave Will a long, searching stare. It was reminiscent of the first time Will had ever spoken with him, seated just across from one another at the coffee shop. Things had spiraled since that moment, left Will hitting the ground running with no time to look back.

           “We’re taking you to the safehouse on Saturday,” Jack finally replied. “Whether you’re ready or not.”

           “Got it.” Will opened the door and climbed out, sliding his messenger bag over his shoulder. When he went to close the door, he paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to find the right words. This wasn’t a piece of paper. This wasn’t a word doc. That he could tinker with until perfect. This was a person. “Thanks, Jack. For…understanding.”

           Jack grunted an affirmative. “Saturday, Will.”

“Yeah, Saturday,” Will agreed, and he shut the door, hurrying past the crowd that tried to rush him with cries of adoration and questions about the Chesapeake Ripper.

-

           Hannibal Lecter’s office was a private practice with a fenced in courtyard and an elegantly painted door sign. Will was five minutes early, and after signing in and filling out the appropriate paperwork, he idled in the waiting room with a sense of unease coupled with excitement wrestling in his guts. The couches were upholstered, nary a magazine out of place on the freshly dusted coffee table; the receptionist didn’t sneak glances at him as though she were questioning what he was there for.

           His watch beeped to tell him that he’d better be at Lecter’s office. He swiped the notification away, as well as a reminder that Beverly had texted, and Molly had called twice. He thought to pace, to release the emotions that curled and licked along his short breaths, but reason overcame him. He had to play it calm. He glanced down, allowed his glasses to tilt and adjust crookedly. He had to lie, and he had to be very, very careful while doing it.

           Thankfully, among many of his other talents, lying was indeed one of them. As of late, he’d come to know that fact intimately.

           He stood when the door opened, and he stared for quite some time when he met the gaze of the man that stood across from him. He had to fight the self-satisfied smirk that threatened to crawl onto his face.

           Dr. Hannibal Lecter was handsome in an unconventional way. Poised in the doorway of his office, he wore a blue suit with thin white pinstripes, shoes a polished brown that matched the pocket square in his suitcoat. He was broad-shouldered, but it tapered to narrower hips. His cheekbones were high, his eyes deep-set. Thin lips were set in a placid, emotionless line, and his jaw was illegal in twelve states. Hair was combed, face was clean-shaven; in truth, he was the antitheses to Will Graham’s own mildly abused suit and scruffy beard.

           “Will Graham, come in,” he said, and Will’s heart lurched.

           He followed him into an office, hardly aware of the feeling of feet pressing into carpet, moving him forward. He could only repeat those four words in his mind, in that voice, his pulse in his throat, his skin becoming somewhat clammy. The FBI had been a surprise; this time, they were on an even playing field.

           Will could hardly wait.

The office was just as tastefully decorated as the waiting room, rich mahogany wood and oil paintings of lovely scenery. To the far side was a fireplace and a desk, and in the center of the room sat two comfy looking leather chairs that faced one another.

           “A pleasure to see you so soon,” Dr. Lecter –the Ripper –said, extending his hand. “I think we’d both agree that it is on much better terms than an arrest.”

It took Will a moment longer than necessary to shake his hand, but he did, awkwardly studying the two leather chairs. They looked arranged more for a stand-off than an actual conversation.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” he said, looking back to Lecter. “Whatever you said did the job.”

“I assure you that all that I did was tell the truth,” he replied, a quick smile flitting over his lips. It slipped past the professional veneer that he held, made it just a little easier to see the Ripper beneath. A secret for the two of them. The truth, but only just.

“Please, have a seat,” Lecter continued, motioning to the chairs. Will nodded, made his way to the one where his back wasn’t to the door, and he sat down in it, easing into the supple leather with only the mildest of stiffness. “Have you done this before?”

           “Therapy?” Will asked, looking around. The loft above housed nothing but books upon books upon books, and he studied them with interest before he looked back to Lecter now seated across from him. “Oh, yes. Several times.”

           “How did it work out for you?” he asked. He sat much the way Will thought he might, one leg crossed elegantly over the other, hands clasped in his lap. His expression was still blank, still shuttered to whatever thoughts had to be rushing though his mind. Was he surprised to see Will? Angry? Afraid? Impressed?

           God, Will kind of hoped he was impressed. Afraid as well would be a bonus.

           “Not too well. One of them told me I kept anticipating her questions, so I knew how to avoid them,” he admitted. He rubbed his ear, stopped when he realized the motion. Lecter’s eyes tracked it the way a bird of prey tracked a mouse in a field.

           “Why now, then?”

           Will smiled. “Because I finally found something interesting to talk about.”

           Dr. Lecter didn’t speak for a while, and Will finally looked away from the corner of his glasses, startled to see an intent, probing expression. It was not so obvious as others, but there was a sensation like he could see into the back of his mind, peel the layers of the skin and find the truth beneath. Will made sure to hold very, very still.

           “I’d like to help you, if I’m at all able,” Lecter said. He shifted and rested his hands on the arm rests. “I tend to recommend appointments at least once a week, increasing to two should the need arise but no more. My rate is two hundred per hourly session, although if you are of a lower income I do have a sliding rate.”

           “I can pay,” Will assured him.

           “If I may, can I ask how you were referred to me?”

           “You come highly recommended off of google,” Will replied. That seemed to amuse the Ripper; at least, his eyes lit up and the edge of his lip turned. Will tracked its movement, then looked back to the edge of his glasses.

           “How many therapists have you been to before you found your way to me?”

           “…Growing up, my dad made me see one, once. Then there was one in high school, one my graduating year, one in the second year of college, and one right around graduating there.” He ticked them off on his fingers, wriggling them with some small bit of irony. “I guess the difference is that I’m seeking one out this time rather than someone shoving them at me.”

           They met eyes again, and something taut was pressed to Will’s ribs, testing. There was a set to Lecter’s shoulders, like he was prepared to lash out at any moment. Will didn’t jump up to accuse, though –that would spoil the fun.

           “What sort of thoughts intrude in the spaces of your mind?” Hannibal asked. “What most would you like to talk about?”

           “Killing, Dr. Lecter,” he said, and he rubbed his mouth like he could soften the harsh sound of the consonant. “I think a lot about death.”

           Hannibal nodded like he’d been expecting this, like he’d been waiting for this. “Do you fantasize about how you’d take someone’s life?”

           “It’s more like…I recreate how someone else did it.” Will shifted, crossed a leg in order to match the Ripper’s. “Is this a session today, Dr. Lecter? Or is this some kind of consultation?”

           “I have the time; consider this your first session, free of charge.” He shifted in his chair, crossed his legs the other way to get comfortable. “At the very least, you can ascertain whether or not the two of us would be a good fit.”

           “I’m not worried so much about that,” Will replied. He tamped down the urge to show just how smug he felt. “…When I was twelve, I was put into special education classes because my social skills were sub-par. I was tested and found to be on the autistic spectrum, but high-functioning enough that I was allowed back into regular classes after I saw a few therapists and doctors. Things were…fine. Normal.

           “In high school though, we were in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina happened, and there was…a lot of death. There was a lot of looting, desperation, murders…fear. There was a lot of fear.”

           “Is that when they discovered that you have hyper-empathy disorder?” Lecter asked.

           “Is it that obvious?”

           “When one knows what to look for, yes. Tell me, do those glasses have a prescription?”

           “No.”

           “You avoid eyes.”

           “Eyes are distracting,” Will explained. “When you’re trying to see something more than a physical appearance, eyes get in the way of everything else.”

           “And I’m sure with your lack of love for many things, why look for something you don’t care to see?”

           Will nodded at that, glanced down and pressed his palms together, lining up the fingers with careful precision. It reminded him of his last stint in therapy, a feeling of a cheese grater on his eyes, although he had to remind himself that he’d chosen to be here. He’d chosen to sit down in this room.

           Because this was the lair of the Chesapeake Ripper.

           “I have a confession,” he said, and he didn’t look up. He could imagine the look on the Ripper’s face at a statement like that. “While you may have gotten me out of an arrest, Dr. Lecter, it looks like Agent Crawford’s ability to keep me out on the streets is coming to an end.”

           “An end?”

           “Apparently I’m drawing too much attention to myself. I’m being taken to a safe house.”

           “A safe house,” he mused, and Will glanced up in time to see the Ripper’s careful mask slip, a flicker of annoyance in the set of his jaw as he cupped his chin in hand and stared across the room contemplatively.

           “I thought to tell you,” Will said. “If you thought we were a good fit, I was going to request a last-minute appointment for tomorrow. Just to get my affairs in order before I’m sent away somewhere that you can’t reach.”

           There was silence once more in the spacious office. Will kept time with his heartbeats as the Chesapeake Ripper deliberately rose up and went to his desk, taking the time to grab a pen and casually open a small, leather bound book. He glanced across the way at Will, then down to the paper, and he jotted a couple of things down, shoulders squared.

           “I can make time for tomorrow at seven-thirty sharp,” he said. “Does that suit you?”

           “Do you trust me to be on time?” Will asked.

           Dr. Hannibal Lecter looked up from his paper once more, and the smile he gave was something borderline feral. The shadows filled the hollowed spaces of his cheekbones, and Will wondered if that was how he looked when he first observed Will drive a knife into someone’s gut.

           When no one was watching, did he always appear so hungry?

           “Only time will tell,” he said calmly, and he nodded towards Will’s watch when it beeped. “Perhaps if you program it into your watch, you won’t be late.”

           And Will couldn’t help but laugh, completely calm and somehow at ease, even as the doctor saw him out of his office with a hand pressed to the small of his back.

[askcursedangels]

A writing idea... Ciel and Nari being taken by hell's leader and the others have to go to hell to save them?

(I’ve done this as multiple parts! Here is the first of them, I’ll try to upload the other parts when I get them done!)

“What thehell?!” Nari shrieked as she jumped backwards, in turn making Ciel stumbleover. “Wh- What is going on?! Ciel, whatthe hell is going on?!”

“Like Iknow! It’s not every day you get surrounded by a group of demons!” Ciel responded frantically, pulling herself up from theground. “And by the looks of things… Not just any demons…” She stared at thebeings surrounding them as a few of them suddenly moved to the side, allowingsomebody new to step into the middle of the group in order to confront the twoangels.

“Well, lookat what we’ve found ourselves here…” The man laughed ominously, before staringstraight at Ciel. “The bratty angel child of my main trophy… Hah, another oneto add to my collection… Just the bitchy head angel to go…” And then, his eyesmoved to Nari, and his face turned dark. “And the little shit who tainted mydaughter. I wouldn’t mind tainting you in return…���

The twoangels both turned pale as the demon underlings grabbed hold of them, and nofighting or resisting that they did could help them in escaping.

  Lucas lookedaround the café which Ciel was meant to work in anxiously. There was no sign ofher… There hadn’t been for most of the day before, or that day. He could tellthat his constant presence was annoying Chrys, but… Just where was Ciel?

Every timethat the door opened, his eyes shot in that direction because of how he wasdesperately hoping for it to be his girlfriend, but it never was her.

However… Oneof those times, Pandora was the person who came running in. Lucas simplysighed, but Chrys’ reaction was much worse. The demon princess was suddenlyshoved into a wall, before Chrys confronted her and held his fist up. “Rightyou… You’re the only one who I know isa threat to my sister… Where is Nari?!”

Lucas frozewhen he heard that. Nari… Ciel’s best friend… was missing too? That couldn’thave been a coincidence, so he rose to his feet and ran over, asking whetherNari being missing too was true. Pandora frantically nodded, before she startedtalking quickly in a panic. “Th- That’s why I ran here as f- fast as I could!L- Last night, my father was bragging about two ‘trophies’ he had gotyesterday! And he only calls angels who are his prisoners trophies! I thinkhe’s got both of them, and I can’t get them out on my own!” A heavy silenceweighed between the three then, just as Pandora began to cry. Chrys’ eyeswidened, and he stepped back from the demon. She was shaking as tears continuedto pour down her face. “I- I’m scared that my dad is g- going to kill Nari… He’sseen her before, b- because she was kidnapped by some angel hunters! I- Ihelped her to return here, but he kn- knew about our relationship! He says… she‘tainted’ me…”

Chrys thenclosed his eyes, before he growled. “That means your father has declared warbetween angels and demons. He’s kidnapped angels himself, rather than thosestupid hunters going after them… Technically, we could use you as leverage toget my stupid sister and Ciel back… But damn it, Nari would hate us all for it…”Chrys then turned to face Lucas, and glared at him. “Keep an eye on demonprincess there. And call Selena to get her ass here too. I’ve got something todo quickly.”

And by something to do… He meant that he wasgoing to tell Ciel’s father and grandmother about what has happened. He wasNari’s only family, so he didn’t have anyone to tell about her going missingthough…

  Ciel couldfeel nothing but pain coursing through her body as she regained consciousness,though there was a feeling of… comfort around her body too. The mixture ofaches and warmth… she found it odd.

“Careful…Don’t strain yourself. Take your time to open your eyes, don’t feel forced to…”A quiet voice whispered into her ear, before a hand started stroking throughher hair. Ciel did want to just allow herself to fall back intounconsciousness, but her curiosity got the better of her. Slowly, she openedher eyes, just to get a glance at the person who was trying to help her torelax.

She firstnoticed a bruised arm, and what seemed to be a pair of black and red angel wings.Eventually, her eyes went up, and she became aware of a white dress, andshoulder-length black hair, the same colour as her own. And then… She noticedthat the person holding onto her was crying.

Trying to becareful of the pain in her body, Ciel then sat up, and took a bit of a closerlook at the person who was with her. The woman was so familiar looking for somereason…

And then it clicked. This person was her mother, Anthea... A fallen angel...

Ciel slowlyreached her hand out, and took hold of one of the woman’s hands. The comfortingwarmth was present in her hand then, just as the woman started speaking slowly.“Oh gosh… My sweet, precious daughter… You’ve grown up so much… I- I only gotto see you as a new-born child, and nothing more…” The woman edged forwardslightly, and pulled Ciel into a gentle embrace. “Ciel… I’m so sorry that I hadno choice but to not be there, all because of my selfishness… Choosing my lovefor your father over my duty…”

“M- Mum…”Ciel winced as she attempted to return the hug, before realising that somethingwas wrong with her body. “Wh- What’s going on? Wh- Why does it hurt so much?!”

“Ciel, relax…Please, calm down… That cruel demon king wants to keep you trapped here, and todo that… He’s clipped some of your beautiful, beautiful wings… I- I tried toget him to stop, and so did the other angel which he brought here… But wecouldn’t stop him. And then… He dragged the other angel somewhere, saying thathe was going to… ‘teach her a lesson’…”

Ciel remainedconfused for a moment. She had been with another angel…? But then sheremembered – she had been with her bestfriend Nari when she had been taken. “M- Mum, we need to save her! B- Buthow?!”

“I don’tknow… I’ve done my best to try and get away from and save others from the demonking for all the years I have been imprisoned here in hell, and I don’t knowhow to escape still…” She then sighed, and took hold of Ciel’s cheeks. “We’regoing to have to hope… That the heavens are planning on sending somebody hereto save the two of you. I’m a fallen angel, I technically belong in hell now…But you can still be saved. At least… You can be saved before your wings turnred, and then black… like my own…”

[theafictionados]

A The 100 Character For Every Twenty One Pilots Song

Hello there!

Are you a fan of The 100? How about twenty one pilots? I have good news: you don’t need to be either to listen to twenty one pilots songs. But it helps! However, to get the most out of this article, I would advise that you be a fan of the CW show The 100 because this list contains spoilers up to Season 4 Episode 8! (And was written before Episode 9 so if anything crazy happens that contradicts everything I’ve said, NOT MY FAULT)

Now: to begin at the beginning. Let me start by introducing myself in case you are a person who is unfamiliar with my ridiculous life.

My name is Robyn Jeffrey and I’m a co-host with The Afictionados Podcast Network. (website, twitter, soundcloud) We do podcasts about your favorite tv shows including AND TOTALLY LIMITED TO AT THIS POINT, The 100, Riverdale, and LOST (my personal favorite). You can find us by searching “Afictionados” in Soundcloud or iTunes!

Something that I really love about TOP is that you can listen to their songs and there is nary a swear. I’m one of those people who get kind of taken out of things where there’s too much profanity. I also love that when they sing love songs, they hardly ever use gendered pronouns. Not all of them, but most of their love songs could be sung to any gender. And that makes writing this a little easier.

Ever since I became a fan of twenty one pilots, my sister and I have played this game where we choose a The 100 character that is best represented by each song. When I was at Unity Days in January, I shared this fact with a few friends and they wanted more!

I have tried my best to do this with every single TOP song. However, I tried very hard to not overlap or give multiple songs to one character, even though many of these songs could refer to Jasper or Murphy and so on. That’s why I’ll have a section at the bottom of the song with alternate characters that might also work. If you have a suggestion for a character that I don’t have already, let me know and I’ll add it with full credit!

Although Vessel was released first, I will begin with Blurryface, for my sister and I began with Blurryface. I’m aware that they also released a self-titled album in 2009 but I only just realized that you can buy that on iTunes and I’m not familiar with it at all so we’re only doing the last two albums OKAY? Here we go!

Blurryface

Heavydirtysoul – Octavia Blake

“Gangsters don’t cry.”

Originally, this song was Jasper’s song but with the addition of my rule of only one per customer, I felt that a different song described him better (or possibly, he was the only one to fit that song). And thus I came to the conclusion that this was an Octavia Blake song if I ever heard one; especially if you take the last season into consideration.

“There’s an infestation in my mind’s imagination.

I hope that they choke on smoke ‘cause I’m smoking them out the basement.

This is not rap. This is not hip-hip.

It’s just another attempt to make the voices stop.”

“Can you save my heavy, dirty, soul?”

Alternate: Jasper Jordan, Clarke Griffin, John Murphy, etc.

Stressed Out – All

“We would build a rocket ship and then we’d fly it far away.”

I felt that this song could refer to so many characters that I decided to make it a song for everyone. I think you could find a piece of whoever you wanted in this song.

“Wish we could turn back time to the good old days,

When our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out.”

Ride – Jasper Jordan

“I’m falling so I’m taking my time on my ride.”

Jasper is found in so many of these songs that it was hard to pick one for him. I found that this was a song that fit him best especially taking Season 4 into account. He knows that he won’t make it and so he’s just having fun with the time that he still has.

“Yeah, I think about the end just way too much

But it’s fun to fantasize.”

“I’ve been thinking too much. Help me.”

 Fairly Local – Roan

“I’m fairly local. I’ve been around. I’ve seen the streets you’re walking down.”

This song was originally Lincoln but since I found a better fit for him, I switched it to Roan and I think I like it even better! This song is reminiscent of when new people show up, like Skaikru, and try and take over.

“Yo, you, bulletproof in black like a funeral.

The world around us is burning but we’re so cold.

It’s the few, the proud, and the emotional.”

“I’m not evil to the core.

What I shouldn’t do I will fight.

I know I’m emotional.

What I wanna save I will try.”

Alternate: Lincoln, Indra, any grounder pick one

 Tear in my Heart – Finn Collins

“She’s the tear in my heart, I’m on fire.”

If this isn’t the most Finn Collins song you’ve ever heard, you’re wrong. This is one of the first songs that we assigned to a character. This is so Finn it’s incredible. Think season 2 Finn looking for Clarke. Like that Finn. It’s ridiculous. My favorite part of the song is that it literally says “I’m on fire” and isn’t that just brutal? It literally talks about her stabbing him HAHA

“Sometimes you’ve gotta bleed to know,

That you’re alive and have a soul.

But it takes someone to come around to show you how.”

“She’s a butcher with a smile, cut me farther than I’ve ever been.”

 Lane Boy – Nathan Miller

“They say ‘stay in your lane, boy’… but we go where we want to.”

This was kind of a hard one to choose. But I’m happy with the conclusion that I came to and I think it actually fits really well. This is one of my favorite songs on Blurryface. Also I <3 Miller. That is all.

“Who would live and die for on that list?

But the problem is,

There’s another list that exists and no one really wants to think about this.”

“If you get in between someone I love and me,

You’re gonna feel the heat of my cavalry.

All these songs I’m hearing are so heartless.

Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless.”

 The Judge – Thelonius Jaha

“You’re the judge, oh no, set me free.”

The way I’m choosing to look at this one is that Jaha is calling ALIE the judge. He wants ALIE to take him into the City of Light and away from all of the pain of his life. It also shows Jaha’s soft side when he’s always making sacrifices for others. I think.

“When the leader of the bad guys sang,

Something soft and soaked in pain,

I heard the echo from his secret hideaway.”

“I know my soul’s freezing.

Hell’s hot for good reason so please take me.”

 Doubt – Wells Jaha

“Don’t forget about me.”

Okay check it out. Not only is this super literal because Jaha actually forgot Wells in Season 3, but it’s also totally relevant to the 4 episodes he was in regarding Clarke and such.

“Even when I doubt you,

I’m no good without you.”

“Fear might be the death of me,

Fear leads to anxiety.

Don’t know what’s inside of me.”

Alternate: Monty Green

 Polarize – Bellamy Blake

“My friends and I, we’ve got a lot of problems.”

This was the one of the first songs that we assigned a character to and yeah maybe it started only with “better brother, better son” but if you look at the whole song it actually works quite well.

“It’s deciding where to die and deciding where to fight.

Deny, deny, denial.”

“I wanted to be a better brother, better son.

Wanted to be a better adversary to the evil I have done.

I have none to show to the one I love.”

 We Don’t Believe What’s On TV – Lexa

“We have all learned to kill our dreams.”

This was a really hard one to choose. I felt that many of the people that I could possibly give it to, already had a song. And although it could fit Lexa and Clarke’s relationship better, I’m pleased with my choice.

“I used to say, ‘I wanna die before I’m old’,

But because of you I might think twice.”

“I need to know that when I fail, you’ll still be here.”

Alternate: Finn Collins, John Murphy, Marcus Kane, who’s in love?

 Message Man – Clarke Griffin

“You don’t know what I’ve done. I’m wanted and on the run.”

This song was a Murphy song for such a long time until I realized, after the premiere of Season 3, that this works even better for Clarke than it does for Murphy. Clarke’s a major badass.

“A loser hides behind a mask of my disguise.

And who I am today is worse than other times.”

“You don’t know my brain the way you know my name.

And you don’t know my heart the way you know my face.”

Alternate: John Murphy

 Hometown – Maya Vie

“Take me home and show me the sun.”

Listen up. I had the hardest time figuring this one out but then my mother suggested Maya / Mount Weather in general and it’s absolutely perfect. I couldn’t think of anything else ever again. Now this song will haunt your dreams as a Mount Weather song.

“Where we’re from, there’s no sun.

Our hometown’s in the dark.”

“We don’t know, we don’t know,

How to put back the power in our soul.

We don’t know, we don’t know,

Where to find what once was in our bones.”

Alternate: Bryan, Charles Pike, peeps from farm station, Ilian

 Not Today – Charles Pike

“Heard your voice. There’s no choice.”

This was another difficult one. I want to dedicate this choice to my girls Sarah and Claire (aka the #1 Pike apologists).

“You are out of my mind, you aren’t seeing my side.

You spend all this time trying to get to me.”

“Don’t you test me though, just because I play the piano,

Doesn’t mean I am not willing to take you down. I’m sorry.”

 Goner – Lincoln

“I’m a goner. Somebody catch my breath.”

This one hurts. But it’s just so perfect. And don’t just look at the lyrics to this one. It’s the real musical genius of the finale of Blurryface that encapsulates Lincoln so perfectly. The soft, quiet beginning, into the loud, angry ending. It all works.

“Though I’m weak and beaten down,

I’ll slip away into the sound.

The ghost of you is close to me.

I’m inside out. You’re underneath.”

 Vessel

Ode to Sleep – Ilian

“I’m not free, I asked forgiveness three times.”

Some songs and this album were much harder to figure out than others. I knew that I wanted an Ilian song and this one fit the best out of what was left. It works with the fact that he blew up Arkadia and that he feels terrible about what he did in the City of Light.

“Please tell them you have no plans for me.

I will set my soul on fire, what have I become?”

“I swear I heard demons yelling,

Those crazy words they were spelling.

They told me I was gone.”

 Holding Onto You – Marcus Kane

“You should take my life, you should take my soul.”

This song was the Lincoln and Octavia song for a really long time. The second verse is one of my favorite verses of all of TOP’s discography. I think it’s just beautiful. But it works very well with Kane and Abby as well.

“Fight it.

Take the pain, ignite it.

Tie a noose around your mind,

Loose enough to breathe fine and tie it,

To a tree, tell it ‘you belong to me.

This ain’t a noose, this is a leash.

And I have news for you.

You must obey me.’”

Alternate: Lincoln

 Migraine – Raven Reyes

“Am I the only one I know, waging my wars behind my face and above my throat?”

How perfect is it that Raven had migraines this season and they have a song called Migraine? It’s perfect. I’m really pleased with this pairing. I think that Migraine is one of their best songs. It’s sometimes hard to catch all of the beautiful lyrics so I recommend looking them up because they work so well.

“…It is a door that holds back contents,

That make Pandora’s box contents look non-violent.

Behind my eyelids are islands of violence.

My mind’s ship-wrecked.

This is the only land my mind could find.”

“And I will say that we should take a day to break away

From all the pain our brain has made.

The game is not played alone.”

 House of Gold – Monty Green

“We’ll make pretend that you and me lived ever after happily.”

Sure. Maybe this song was given to Monty because he’s the only one that really got to talk with his Mom other than Clarke. But if you think about it, you could maybe think of it as CoL Hannah talking to Monty and trying to persuade him into joining her. And his father is even mentioned in the song. It works!

“She asked me, ‘Son, when I grow old,

Will you buy me a house of gold?

And when your father turns to stone,

Will you take care of me?’”

“And since we know that dreams are dead,

And life turns plans up on their head.

I will plan to be a bum.

So I just might become someone.”

 Car Radio – Luna

“Peace will win and fear will lose.”

This song is incredible. It has some of the cleverest lyrics I have ever heard. I really think it could fit with just about any character that is truly haunted by something that they’ve done. It really fits with Luna because of what happened on her little island and how she promotes peace over violence.

“Sometimes quiet is violent.

My pride is no longer inside.

It’s on my sleeve. My skin will scream.

Reminding me of who I killed.”

“I find over the course of our human existence,

One thing consists of consistence

And it’s that we’re all battling fear.

Oh dear, I don’t know if we know why we’re here.”

Alternate: Raven Reyes, Monty Green, Clarke Griffin, Bellamy Blake

 Semi-Automatic – John Murphy

“I’m semi-automatic. My prayer’s schizophrenic. But I’ll live on.”

This song has been the Murphy song for years. The real Murphy song. It speaks for itself.

“I’m never what I like,

I’m double-sided, and I just can’t hide,

I kinda like it when I make you cry,

‘Cause I’m twisted up, I’m twisted up inside.”

“The horrors of the night melt away,

Under the warm glow of survival of the day,

Then we move on.”

 Screen – Emori

“We’re broken people.”

We found that this song worked really well with Emori. Sometimes she’s talking about herself, then herself and Murphy, and maybe even sometimes herself and Otan. It’s however you like to interpret it that makes it so fun.

“I do not know why I would go

In front of you and hide my soul

‘Cause you’re the only one who knows it.”

“While you’re doing fine, there’s some people and I

Who have a really tough time getting through this life

So excuse up while we sing to the sky.”

 The Run & Go – Abby Griffin

“Cerebral thunder in one way conversations.”

I remember the day that I realized that this could be an Abby song. I remembered the person that she shot at the end of Season 3 and then listening to the chorus, I found that it fit all of this radio stuff that Abby and Kane are dealing with lately.

“I have killed a man and all I know

Is I am on the Run and Go.”

“Don’t wanna call you in the night time.

Don’t wanna give you all my pieces.

Don’t wanna hand you all my trouble.

Don’t wanna give you all my demons.

You’ll have to watch me struggle

From several rooms away.

But tonight, I’ll need you to stay.”

 Fake You Out – Harper McIntyre

“Silence gives you space.”

I made this a Harper song as soon as I saw God Complex and the “If you come back” debacle. Put DNR into this context and it works nicely. She’s feeling farther away from Monty than usual.

“I’ll never be, be what you see inside.

You say I’m not alone, but I am petrified.

You say that you are close, is close the closest star?

You just feel twice as far.”

“They feel they have no control over their prisoner’s cell.

And if you’re one of them then you’re one of me.

And you would do almost anything just to feel free.”

 Guns for Hands – Eric Jackson

“You all have guns, but you never put the safety on.”

I had this song for Indra originally. But after hearing Sachin’s interview with Meta Station, I definitely felt that Jackson would be the one most hoping that everyone would stop shooting each other. He just wants everyone to be healthy. Is that too much to ask???

“I’m trying, I’m trying to sleep.

But I can’t, but I can’t when you all have

Guns for hands.”

“But there’s hope out the window.

So that’s where we’ll go.

Let’s go outside and all join hands

But until then, you’ll never understand.”

 Trees – Indra & Gaia

“I know where you stand, silent in the trees.”

This song doesn’t have a whole lot of words. It’s a slow long with the same lyrics over and over again. And we had a really hard time deciphering who this would go to but in the end we assigned it to 2 characters. The relationship between Indra and Gaia. Indra wanting her to be a warrior and Gaia choosing to stay peaceful.

“I want to know you.

I want to see.

I want to say hello.”

“Why won’t you speak

Where I happen to be?

Silent in the trees.

Standing cowardly.”

 Truce – ALIE

“You will die but now your life is free.”

This is another one of those songs that doesn’t have a whole lot of lyrics. But I took it to mean ALIE’s downfall. She’s about to go to sleep after Clarke pulled the lever and is now just reflecting?

“Now the night is coming to an end,

The sun will rise and we will try again.”

“I will fear the night again,

I hope I’m not my only friend.”

 BONUS

Heathens – Echo

“All my friends are heathens, take it slow.”

I was thinking that I’d really love to have Heathens on this list and I looked at the other list of characters that I hadn’t used and thought that Echo would be a good one. Then I listened to the song again with an Echo lens and realised that it was perfect. Think Mount Weather Grounder Gang.

“Welcome to the room of people who have rooms of people

That they love one day, locked away.

Just because we check the guns at the door,

Doesn’t mean our brains will change from hand grenades.”

“You’ll never know the psychopath sitting next to you.

You’ll never know the murderer sitting next to you.

You’ll think ‘how’d I get here, sitting next to you?’”

THANKS FOR READING!

Tell me your thoughts on Twitter! @RobynEJeffrey

[mairiangel]

Love and Duty — Prologue

Summary:  How do you learn to love someone you once treated a sibling?

Relationship: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark

Notes: I originally posted it on AO3 but I decided to share it on tumblr too because I have nothing better to do.

AO3 Link: x

PROLOGUE

The Black Cloaked Woman

Her back was pressed against the wall, obscuring a part of her face from the attention and noise that surrounded the dirty, cheap inn she found herself in, one hand currently shaking the mug of ale in her hand in boredom. It was already the dead in the night when she decided to gather more information about the politics of Westeros before she traveled to the Neck even though it doesn’t really interest her that much.

However, it seemed that the inn she had visited had no information at all—or it could be that these lousy alcoholic men had been paid to be silent which is no way in happening as far as she is concerned. At that, she sighed in frustration, one hand waving a few wisps of her brown hair away from her cheeks, the glance she gave the drunkards daring to approach her is enough to make them back away and never turned her way again.

Good, she doesn’t have time to entertain some insipid individuals who would rather drink a copious number of alcoholic beverages than do anything worth everyone’s while and probably help the economy as well. She pursed her lips and groaned when there was still next to no information she can encounter, all these people in the inn are just sharing bawdy tales that no doubt they wouldn’t talk about if they’re sober at all.

It was ten minutes after that when she decided to give up and rest for the night, she can’t afford to lose sleep if the task would hinder her to conserve energy to trek Stone Hedge in the morrow. She needed to be in top shape lest she grow too tired. She stood up from her seat at the corner of the inn—far away from the gossipmongers yet close enough on their hearing range, it was something she had already grown used to.

She brushed some of the dirt that had clung to her black cloak, careful not to let the hood drop from her face and then her gaze drooped towards the still full ale with nary a spill, she almost snarled at the thought of gathering nothing when something caught her ears, she stiffened at the words that had sprouted from the mouth of a young man in some common clothes sitting by the second table from her left.

“—Prince Jon would marry the former betrothed of that incest child!”

She tensed and contemplated no more as she sat back down, grabbing the mug of ale and looked up at the man from under her eyelashes, her grey eyes piercing the side of the man. ‘Former betrothed of the incest child?’ It didn’t take her a minute before she figured out who the man was speaking about, she is having a rather hard time not to interrogate the drunkard itself.

The whore on his side gagged, her teats bounced as she leaned backwards, catching the attention of no more than the three men beside her including the man who said the information. “King Joffrey’s? You mean Lady Margaery Tyrell? But—but she is too kind for a sour-looking man like him!” As if the thought alone is preposterous. The man remained his gaze fixated at her teats bounded by the rag of a dress she wore. “No, it was the first one.” He said, still raptured at her physique.

“Aye, heard it was the one that poisoned the bastard king,” The man beside him said, taking a huge gulp of ale on his hand. “And the Targaryen isn’t that bad, now, is he? He deserved someone like Lady Tyrell— “He was cut off by the woman beside him, clinging to his arm, her face was almost reminiscent of the whore’s reaction.

“You meant the Lady Stark?!” Her loud exuberant voice had guaranteed to capture everyone’s attention, the woman in black cloak thought that it was intentional. Her guessed had been right about who was to marry who still just the thought of that is enough to make her shift in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable at the union.

There are few things that made her repulsed and this is one of them, the thought of them marrying each other to secure the hold of the Southron in the North is something that she decided, she does not want to think about until she is back on her room in this inn but for now, she would listen.

“Aren’t they siblings?” An old man had decided to join the conversation, his hand gripping the mug of ale, the woman of the same age as he nodded and said to the audience. “Aye, my grandson was a stable boy in the Red Keep, he heard that they were raised by the same father, the former hand of the king after Jon Arynn!” Her enthusiastic tone promised more of the tale and those that hadn’t paid attention in the conversation before had now focused their gaze at the old woman.

The black cloaked woman once more shifted on her seat, her hand had gripped the handle of the mug too tightly that she immediately let go. This conversation was turning to a dangerous turn, years of being patience had somehow managed to be rendered impractical when she had the sudden urge to murder the ones responsible for the death of her father but she held back, barely.

The whore from before laughed scandalously, her low voice had managed to stir some of the men beside her yet she paid it no mind, hands crossed just below her ample bosom, she grinned, a knowing tone. “The Daughter of Winterfell? She has my thanks in killing that incest bastard then, us, commonfolks, can’t kill a king yet that Stark managed to be one.” The man beside her had grab her by the shoulders and then let her lean on him, an inconspicuous hand slightly caressed the hips of the woman, she let it be, leaning further into his touch.

“Aren’t those accusations proven false?” The man who had started the conversation asked, his eyes strayed from the woman to the man she was leaning into, he pursed his lips and brought the ale on his lips, stubbornly drinking it in silent protest at the sudden intimate moment the two had. “Didn’t that conqueror with the dragons said that the accusations with that Lannister Imp and his former lady wife are baseless?” He asked and then added, “Heard it from my friend’s wife who is a handmaiden of a lowly lady.”

The woman in the black cloak held her breath and her grey eyes momentarily found itself on the still full mug of ale. She hadn’t believed that rumor yet a part of her had wished that it was true but then again, another part of her is relieved that it wasn’t proven to be the truth. She had been pondering this for a few minutes when she realized that she had missed a part of the conversation, she silently cursed inside her head and listened once more, slighty tilting her long face down when a man from the tavern walked in front of her table, she can’t risked being find out now.

“—that reminds me, aren’t they siblings?” The woman with the exuberant voice asked, her eyes alight with keen interest, it was already common knowledge about that little fact. “No, wait— “She rectified, a hand on her hips as she stood up and then tossed a handful of her brown hair to her side.

For once, her tone was hesitant. “—cousins, aye?”

Sensing that the conversation was already nearing the end, the black cloaked woman stood up from her seat and started walking away from the blabbermouths knowing that if she stayed up any longer she would end up waking up late, she already got the information she needed anyway.

As she walked, the dim light of the inn caught the strands of brown hair falling from her cheeks, grey eyes shifted towards the entrance of the inn briefly before she tilted her head down, obscuring the long face that she had as she continued on her way, with various thoughts coursing through her head all at once but one thing she can be assured with is that,

It is time to go home.

Notes:  Please inform me if there are any wrong spellings, I’m not the best student when it comes to Grammar™.

[cielofics]

(Old) ICMSAR XII

WARNING(S): OCC's, Parent!bashing, depressing!thoughts, suicidal!tendencies,

NOTES: "Japanese" "Italian" 'Thinking' 'Tsuna's eye speak' [Phone call]

Additional Notes: Yuni is the Sky Arcobaleno and is 10 year old in this.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Amano Akira does.

Ienari was not having a good day today. Actually, he hasn't been having any good days ever since that baby came but today is worse.

First of all, that stupid baby woke him up by another one of his life-threatening techniques ("is it just me or are his methods getting deadlier?" he mumbled). Then, a weird looking kid with a blue flame on his head came running into him and started speaking weirdly, while IGNORING the explosions happening behind him.

"Sawada-dono! Please run before I-" the boy who introduced himself as Basil said.

"Huh?! Who are you to tell me-" he was cut off by a very loud voice.

"-force you to fight Squalo on the request of 'Cielo Nascosto'!"

"VOII! WHERE ARE YOU GOING BRAT?!" said a silver head cutting over Basil's voice, making me unable to hear him.

"Sawada-dono!" Basil said pleadingly while having a weird glint of amusement in his eyes.

"WHAT IS IT?!" he yelled, oblivious to the upcoming danger.

"Stop him!" Basil said, pushing the innocent and oblivious Ienari  towards the sword-wielding shark.

"Oh sur- WAIT WHAT?!" Ienari exclaimed as he realized the gravity of the situation. He was about to say more but those were stopped when he was in front of the crazy-looking silveret.

"Heh, so you're the Decimo candidate?" The silveret asked, grinning madly.

"Please go easy on him, Squalo-dono," Basil said. " Cielo Nascosto won't be too pleased if he ends up dead," Basil screamed from behind.

"WHY?!'" Squalo yelled, while Basil himself nodded in agreement with Squalo. All he knew was that Cielo Nascosto has become the best hacker in the world in only a few days. And he had asked us to do this but not to injure Sawada-dono much. Other than that, he didn't really know anything.

"I thank thou for thou help, Squalo-dono!" Basil said, standing off to the side. Even though, he wouldn't admit it, he was quite excited to see what would happen to the brunet in front of him. Now, don't get him wrong, he wasn't betraying Vongola but the plan that Cielo Nascosto had made... was surprisingly enjoying to listen. So how much would he enjoy if he sees it?

"Hey don't ignore me!" Ienari yelled.

"Fine then," the silveret said, his grin widening.

"EH?"

"I won't ignore you. Get ready to DIE!" he yelled excitedly.

"HIEE!" Ienari yelled, while frantically looking around for Reborn to shoot him with the Dying Will Bullet. What he saw was Reborn talking to that Basil guy, while sipping his coffee.

Ienari yelled, "Reborn! HELP ME!"

Said hitman merely looked at his helpless student and took out... a camera?

Ienari paled. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Filming."

"WHY?!"

"Because."

"BECAUSE WHAT?!"

"VOIII! DON'T IGNORE ME!" the silveret said, pissed at the brunet ignoring him.

Ienari, on the other hand, was frightened. He couldn't dodge the man in front of him completely, thus resulting in him getting injuries already. By this time, he was panting and had slowed down considerably.

Damn you Reborn!

A fatal blow was about to be dealt to Ienari when suddenly a voice interrupted Squalo. "Heh, so he's the Decimo brat? He's so weak!"

"Haha! I know, right! He's so weak!"

"Byakuran! Don't be rude!"

This time, Reborn's pacifier glowed indicating another arcobaleno. He looked towards the place where the girl's voice came from. It was Yuni.. with a very familiar looking albino and the Varia boss.

"Who are you?!" Ienari yelled in anger. He was not weak! They were!

The 3 arrivals glared (well 2 did, the 3rd just stared at him in pity) at Ienari.

"It seems he does not knows how to go into HWDM," Byakuran said. ("Is that wings on his back?" Ienari mumbled)

"It appears so," the girl with the pacifier said, looking at him with pity. Ienari felt rage within him. She's clearly younger than me! What right does she gets to tell me I'm weak?

"Oi Arcobaleno! Does this trash even knows how to fight?!" Xanxus yelled at the Sun Arcobaleno.

"Nope, he's weak," Reborn replied bluntly.

Ienari felt a tick on his head. How dare they ignore him! He's going to become the boss of the world's strongest organization!

"Hey you!" Ienari yelled at the flying-white-haired-marshmallow-eating-b******. "I'm NOT weak!"

Byakuran narrowed his eyes at this and Reborn cursed Ienari for his stupidity but still didn't do anything.  

"You're not weak?! Is that a joke?!" he screamed, raising his hand, an eerie light coming out of it. Reborn tensed and was about to interfere when suddenly..

Clink~

Everybody turned towards the origin of the voice and there stood a very familiar brunet, with wide eyes and disbelief was written on his face.  

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was very awkward for everyone. It was like getting caught in the act of doing something unforgivable, considering the disappointing and disbelief emotion on Tsuna's face. Well, actually, they were about to kill each other so yes, it was something unforgivable they were about to.

XX..XX

[Tsuna's POV]

Ugh, why is my HI ringing?

I cursed my HI as I was just heading home when I suddenly heard a loud explosion happening in the park I often visited to treat my injuries. He took one look and noticed a person flying in the air.

So that's why, I thought while sighing. There're here... God, why must you hate me...

I made my way towards the park while cursing the people who made my life miserable. God being on the top of my list.

As I got closer, I could heard 1 yelling, 3 whispering. It was at that moment that my HI went of the charts. Ugh, is Byakuran going to kill someone?!

His question was answered when he heard Ienari.

"Hey you!" Ienari yelled at the flying-white-haired-marshmallow-eating-b******. "I'm NOT weak!" I face-palmed. Count on my brother to make things worse.

Byakuran narrowed his eyes at this and he heard Reborn curse Ienari for his stupidity but still didn't do anything. Think fast, Tsuna! Or you will find your brother 6 feet buried deep in Earth.

"You're not weak?! Is that a joke?!" he screamed, raising his hand, an eerie light coming out of it. Tsuna tensed and was about to run straight when I remembered I had a can in his hand. So, I did the only thing I could. Drop it.

Clink~

I saw everyone freeze and turn towards me. I'm pretty sure I was having a disbelief and disappointing expression on my face, if Byakuran's guilty expression was any evidence.

We stood there for a while; frozen. Merely staring at each other when Byakuran's shocked an guilty expression turned into happiness. Please don't tell me....

XX..XX

[3rd POV]

"TSU-CHAN!" Byakuran screamed, and in less than a second, he found himself on the ground being hugged to death.

Yuni's grin widened and Xanxus merely smirked. Reborn had a poker face but I could tell that he was confused. Basil and Squalo were clueless as usual. Ienari was fuming. Why? Only he can know

Yuni ran up to the brunet while Xanxus merely walked to him slowly.

"Tsu-chan! Hisashiburi!" Byakuran said, squeezing the living daylights out of the brunet

"Byakuran! Control yourself!" Yuni reprimanded as she helped Tsuna out of his hold.

"Hehe, Gomen," Byakuran apologised as he took out one of his marshmallow packets upon freeing Tsuna from his hold.

'What are you doing here, Bya-kun? I thought you were in Italy?'

"Aww, can't I visit my childhood friend?" Byakuran said as he looked at Reborn from the corner of his eyes.

Tsuna smiled and acted like he hadn't seen anything at all. 'How long will you be staying here?'

"For 2 weeks~"

"Hello, Tsuna-san!" Yuni exclaimed, hugging the brunet. Tsuna smiled once more as he pet Yuni on her head. 'Konbanwa Yuni-chan"

"Heh, you've grown, trash," Xanxus said while smirking from behind.

Tsuna looked at his uncle. 'Nice to meet you too zio'

Reborn decided it would be a good idea to interrupt. "Who are they, Tsuna?"

'AH, Bya-kun is my childhood friend. I met him when I was 6. Yuni-chan, I met a few years ago; when I was 11. I met Zio when I was 12.'

"Zio? Your uncle?"

'He told me that I'm somehow related to him. So I decided to call him my uncle.'

Reborn merely nodded and didn't say anything else.

"HEY!" Ienari yelled once again. He then pointed an accusing pointer at Tsuna. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, DAME-TSUNA?!"

Everybody narrowed their eyes and the temperature around them dropped a few degrees Celsius. However, Ienari didn't notice this and continued his rant. "YOU INTERRUPTED MY FIGHT! YOU REALLY ARE DAME! HAH, CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!"

Tsuna face-palmed at the side when he saw his brother's stupidity. The three skies were already letting out a massive KI and Ienari seemed to be oblivious to it.

Reborn took the liberty and kicked him at the back of his head hard.  

"Shut up, Dame-Nari," he hissed angrily. "In case you haven't noticed but he saved you from ending dead."

"WHAT?!"

"You are nowhere near their level. Heck, you won't even be able to beat Basil. Let me remind you, you are still in the first stages of activation. The Dying Will Mode, the lowest level ever," Reborn hissed at the stunned teen. "You who have been trying to skip your training and not doing anything, are nowhere near their level."

After saying that, Reborn looked at Tsuna and mouthed 1 word, "Tranquilliser." Ienari was too busy processing the words to notice the smirk coming from Tsuna.

Tsuna brought out a dart, filled with sedatives and merely shot Ienari on his nape with deadly accuracy.

Ienari dropped like a sack of potatoes, while showing some signs of... poison cooking?

Reborn looked at Tsuna with a raised eyebrow. Tsuna merely shrugged, 'I got this idea from the cooking that Bianchi does. I merely adjusted it.'

.

.

.

"Tsu-chan, you're scary~" Byakuran said, sweat-dropping as he saw Tsuna go up to his brother and started poking him on his cheeks.

When Tsuna saw that Ienari was definitely out. He nodded seriously before removing a... permanent marker? Tsuna looked at Reborn with that famous glint of showing his devil side showed up. Reborn, quick on the uptake, chuckled eerily. He really liked how Tsuna's brain worked!

Yuni asked hesitantly, "What are you going to do with that marker, Tsuna-san?"

The three skies gulped when they saw two devils sprout out from the the brunet and the hitman.

XX..XX

Tsuna was proud of what he did today. Today, he had managed to get something done which he usually wouldn't do. Reborn, standing on his left, was crackling madly.

The three skies in the back were merely sweat-dropping at how influential the hitman was on Tsuna. Getting over his amazement, Xanxus said, "Oi, brat!"

Tsuna turned towards him with a questioning face.

"Why don't you go ahead and get that trash to your house. We'll be coming for dinner."

Tsuna nodded and proceeded to grab Ienari from his ankle and dragged him away. Not minding the rocks and whatever was on the ground hitting his brother.

When Tsuna was out of their view, the three skies turned towards the poker faced hitman and said, "Most expensive hotel, now."

He nodded his head and they went together in silence. Not paying any attention to the bag of luggage they left behind.

.

.

.

"... Did they forget about us?" Basil asked from the sidelines.

"..I think they did..." Squalo replied.

XX..XX

"What is going on?" Reborn demanded. He was aware that they remembered about the brunet but they didn't say anything.

Byakuran looked Reborn seriously, "I'll say this: I don't know why Tsu-chan doesn't remembers but he was supposed to when I gave him the Vongola Gear Ring when he was 6."

Reborn nodded his head and looked towards Xanxus. "How does he remembers?"

The three skies remained quiet for a while before answering, "Tsu-chan of the parallel world and I found something disrupting the balance of the Tri-Ni-Sette. No we don't know what it is. Anyways, we decided to send our memories to our parallel selves, meaning the us of this world, to help us with restoring the balance."

Byakuran paused, letting the hitman absorb whatever he was saying. "However, what we didn't count was the fact that Tsu-chan wouldn't remember. I'm guessing that the Vongola Ring would unlock his memories now."

Reborn nodded. So they came up with the same conclusion as us.

"That is why," Yuni piped in. "We came in contact with Tsuna-san and help him whenever necessary."

They remained quiet for a while before Byakuran remembered something else.

"Also, Arcobaleno."

Reborn looked up.

"I visited Kawahira a few months ago and..."

"And what?"

"There is one more Tri-Ni-Sette Advisor."

[omegasquire]

Rose Gold: Ch 4

Zack’s fingers laced behind his head, gaze on the screen before him. He was joined by Sephiroth, the two of them watching the feed. It was a live recording from Cait Sith. They’d agreed to use the toy to assist in monitoring Strife and getting a better feel of what they were facing. Red had offered to join Cait Sith, acting as a sound medium when the toy couldn't come up with the proper words to get Strife talking.

“What do you remember?”

Zack watched the shifts in expressions on Strife’s face as he and Red spoke. He knew Strife, or at least who he was before everything got flushed down the toilet, including their friendship and dreams together, but who he saw now was neither the young man he met at Midgar, nor the manic, tormented enemy they faced and killed three years ago.

He was and wasn’t Cloud Strife.

It bothered him to know he was seeing a stranger with a familiar face for a second time. Since the moment Strife woke -- no, since he’d appeared in the Ancient Forest -- his actions had been weird. Zack wasn’t blind to Strife’s differing mannerisms. He’d followed the battle with focused eyes, nary missing the confusion and despair that was etched in his features. To the very end, those were emotions that were unsuited for the man they'd called their enemy.

“All I know is she wanted me to... save someone.”

“Save?”

Zack’s brows furrowed. He’d always liked to look at the brighter side of things. Sometimes people called him foolish for it, but he wanted his glass half full, not half empty. If it was empty, that was because he’d drank it himself, and he’d rather fill it instead. No one could survive with a negative mind.

Still, he didn’t know if he could do that here. He was staring at a glass that he couldn’t decide was half full or half empty. His hand was poised, ready to pour more in, but should he?

Raking his hands through his hair, he silently groaned at the complication of their current predicament. He’d always wanted the three of them to be back together again. They were such close friends in SOLDIER.

How do you save someone when you don’t know what’s wrong?

The words came back to him. He’d offered a simple reply, one he believed to be the best, but he hadn’t understood where the question had come from. Strife didn’t save.

How do you make things right?

Zack wished he knew the answer to that one. He wished he could just say they could all sit down and talk, and things would be okay again. It wasn’t that simple, though. There was too much history, too much damage. All of them had suffered because of Strife.

Glancing at Sephiroth, who had yet to take his eyes off the screen or note Zack’s sudden frustration, Zack knew the biggest obstacle was the man standing next to him. Sephiroth would be hard to sway. He’d closed himself off to any potential of starting over again, and it made Zack sad to know this. Sephiroth just couldn’t get over Strife.

“Hey...” When the other man didn’t respond, he tried again. “Hey, Sephiroth? What do you make of it?”

There was a lengthy pause before Sephiroth replied. “It’s suspicious. Despite his proclamation, there are too many holes, and we’ve only started trying to piece this together. Strife may say he is innocent, and Aerith may vouch for the planet’s desire to keep him alive, but that doesn’t mean we can trust him.”

“I know. He seems so different, though.”

“Regardless, we need to play this close to the chest until we know more. We’ll head to Junon. The equipment there may not be on par with that in Midgar, but it’s better than keeping him here.”

It was risky to bring Strife with them to a populated area, but Junon would at least have better facilities to secure Strife than the airship. Zack sighed. He wanted to believe in a positive future. Until then, this was their next best route of action.

“Yeah…”

Cloud stared in shock. Jenova’s son? That was impossible. To say he was from that monster’s loins disgusted him, and it appalled him that Red was suggesting this. “I’m not Jenova’s son.”

“No?”

“I’ve never been Jenova’s son.” Cloud was born from his real mother. The only connection he would have with Jenova was when Hojo had poisoned him for five years in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. He was not that monster’s offspring.

Red looked at him. He would find no weakness or lie; Cloud wouldn’t make this up.

He was a regular boy from Nibelheim who aspired to be in SOLDIER, and promised a friend he would be her knight when he made name for himself. When that dream fell through, he ended right back in his hometown and his nightmares began. He had wanted nothing other than to destroy Jenova for all that she had done to the people he cared about, the planet, everything.

But I love you.

Cloud hid a flinch at the whisper that barely reached his ears. He blocked it, unwilling to surrender to it. He wasn’t going to listen.

A soft sound of a lock tumbling free distracted him from his thoughts and had him turning toward the door as it slid open. His muscles tensed on instinct, teeth gritted in anticipation. When Zack came in, relief cut through his defense, but he still held firm.

Red’s words echoed in his head. He was in a place where he was assumed to be Jenova’s son. People likely hated him. They would doubt and distrust him. Red already expressed his skepticism. He wasn’t sure he could trust anyone in this place -- whatever it was -- either.  

Zack paused before smiling at him. “Hey, we’re getting off here.”

Cloud hesitated before pushing to his feet, conscious of the three sets of eyes glued on him. “...Alright.”

The other man’s smile turned a bit rueful. “Sorry, but we'll have to truss you up a bit before we head out.”

Alarmed, Cloud’s eyes widened before narrowing in suspicion. Zack was quick to hold up his hands and explain. “It’s nothing bad, just a spell. It’s for everyone’s safety. Think of it this way, it’s either we do this or you get locked in here for who knows how long.”

He didn’t like either option, but Cloud relented. “Okay.”

Zack reached out and patted his shoulder. The action was so familiar yet so foreign, Cloud had to stop himself from ducking out of the man's reach. He held still as Zack drew magic from the materia in his possession.

A slight dizziness came over Cloud, but Zack kept him steady. It was as if the tether that connected him to the planet and its resources was ripped away from him. The sudden emptiness was jarring; he tried to settle his nerves that trembled with this added vulnerability.

He couldn’t defend himself like this. No weapon, no magic, no escape, he was at the mercy of whoever tugged his chain.

The hand on his shoulder gave a light squeeze. “All done. Still doing okay?”

The immediate thought was no, he wasn’t okay. Biting back what could’ve come out as a sarcastic remark, Cloud opted to nod instead. “...Yes.”

Zack returned his nod and held out a pair of cuffs. "Put those on and follow me. Stick close."

It wasn’t said, but Cloud knew what hung behind those words. He would have to stay on Zack’s heels if he wanted to be on decent terms with whoever else was here. He had to treat this place as enemy territory, and as much as it wore on him to be reminded of the title that had been forced on him, he couldn’t lash out.

Snapping the cuffs in place, he let Zack check them before following him out of the room. Behind him he heard the soft steps of padded feet and knew Red and Cait Sith had joined them. Cloud took quiet note of their route, the walls painted the same as he remembered on the old Highwind.

Was this really all in his head? Was it something else entirely?

As they passed a few of the crew, they were open about their disagreement to his presence. If they assumed him to be the Calamity’s son, he couldn't blame them. The way they felt about him was likely the same as he felt about Sephiroth.

He paused at the sight of the man waiting for them by the ramp. Instinct fought with reason until reason won and he continued walking. He met Sephiroth’s gaze and held it, finding it difficult -- if not impossible -- to determine what went on behind that cold expression.

There was hardly enough time for him to know Sephiroth when he was younger, the General too engrossed in his own missions while Cloud and the other infantrymen were dispersed to do menial tasks SOLDIERs couldn’t be bothered with. After Nibelheim, all he knew was a burning hate for a madman who destroyed everything he ever knew and loved.

Was it possible to forget that day and treat Sephiroth as someone completely removed from that nightmare?

He didn’t know, and a stubborn part of him didn’t want to try.

Breaking eye contact, Cloud took the first few steps outside the airship and squinted against the sun. It was glaringly bright, especially when it reflected off the water. It was hard to tell where exactly this was, but the closest he could come up with was Junon. Why was he at Junon?

Pushing that question aside for the moment, Cloud turned his focus on those gathered at the base of the ramp. He saw some of his comrades from AVALANCHE, as well as a few men in uniform. None of them greeted him warmly.

Passing his gaze over each of them, Cloud was disheartened at what he saw. Cid wore an open expression of distaste for sharing the same air as him. Yuffie shifted her weight as if it would dispel her uneasiness, barely meeting his eyes. The militant men scowled, too.

Trying not to linger too long on this display of hostility, Cloud moved on. He froze when his eyes finally landed on Aerith. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but it still shook him to see her alive. Like the rest, she didn’t open her arms to welcome him.

He had no allies here.

His chest tightened at the thought and forced his attention ahead of him. Zack had paused and looked over his shoulder at him, and Cloud thought he was going to say something, but Zack just turned back around and kept going.

They made their way to one of the trucks parked and ready for them, and Cloud was ushered in the back, along with Sephiroth, Zack, and Aerith: the three people he wanted to be with the least. A couple infantrymen -- he couldn’t tell if they were SOLDIERs or not -- joined them, while the rest piled into the other truck.

The ride was silent and the air thick, and even if they didn’t all look directly at him, Cloud knew they were watching him, waiting for a reason to raise their weapons against him. The most unnerving was Aerith, who sat across from him. Cloud met her eyes despite himself.

Memories were drawn up, along with the words he never said. She’d given her hand to him, helping him find that strength to fight again. It was probably silly in her eyes how he’d been dragging his feet. In retrospect, he supposed it was silly; he carried the burden on his own, hindered by it, when he could’ve just let go of his past grievances and move on.

He wasn’t alone. He had his friends -- his family -- to support him. Together they could fight and conquer their fears.

But where are they now? No one loves you. No one cares about you.

Cloud clenched his jaw. That infernal voice was back.

They see you as an enemy, someone they must kill. They wait for you to say the wrong word or make the wrong move, just so they have an excuse.

He knew that. It didn’t make a lick of sense, but somehow he was standing on the other side of the line that defined good and evil. If he was supposedly evil, then he couldn't give them the opportunity to fight him -- not when he was at such a disadvantage, and certainly not when he hadn't had a chance to fulfill Gaia's request.

They’ll never see you as who you really are. They’ll never trust you.

Fire burned within him. He didn’t want to hear this.

Come to me. I will care for you as they will abandon you. I will help you find what you seek.

For a split second he faltered before hastily throwing away the unfinished thought. He couldn’t let that seed to be planted.

Please, come to me. I suffer as you suffer. I promise to never let you be alone. Please...

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut and erected a wall to block the pleas that crawled through his mind. So lonely, so pitiful, he had to fight the sympathy that had cultivated over the years he'd come to know and care for the children with Tifa. This tender, desperate cry reminded him too much of the orphans forced to struggle on their own in a world wary of sharing their compassion with the less fortunate. Their lives had been torn apart by poverty, exploitation, terrorism, war, and the near destruction of the world. To ignore this voice was like ignoring them, and he did all he could to keep from reaching out to that voice.

When a hand suddenly touched his, Cloud's eyes flew open. Aerith was leaning forward, her delicate fingers gently resting on the back of his palm. He became stiff as she stared into his eyes, her brows knit in a soft frown.

“Your eyes.”

“...What about them?”

“They’re green. They look just like Sephiroth’s.”

Cloud jerked. Sephiroth’s eyes had always been tinted green, pupils like a cat’s. Beautiful as they were, they were signs of Jenova’s influence on the body. All those numbered failures had eyes like Sephiroth’s. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo were the same. To share in that feature, Cloud recoiled from the implication.

“No…”