#if yes can we discuss Holly black

[exbeaut]

Cruel prince series?? Anyone??

[autiponi]

Jeremy...?

...

A-1 and Master Daiki awaited directives to enter the conference chamber, where they would divulge any initial findings regarding Agreas' slayer to the demon queen.

-Do you remember what you're supposed to say?

-Yes master.

-Stick to the plan at all costs. I need her alive.  If Aj finds out about her, everything will be... Difficult.

-Master, please be aware that it is not just us who will be there, but all four of us. It may be difficult to control them.

-Just, remember what you have to say. If everything goes according to plan, they will only find out as much as we want them to.

-I understood.

Then they heard footsteps behind them. Turning around, they saw that it was Tenebris behind them. It was another one of the creatures who was

-Ah, as  I see Daiki and Miss A-1 came faster than expected! Respectable attitude as always... However, I assume that you have not found as much as we have. How unfortunate...

Daiki hated him from the moment they met. The arrogance and nasty self-confidence put Daiki in a very bad mood. He felt like getting into a deeper discussion with the puppet king again, but for the success of the mission, he put his pride in his pocket and just turned his head quickly.

-That will be seen, Mr. Tenebris. Nothing is known yet, and besides, this is not a race, but a serious investigation for .... serious beings.-You haven't changed a bit since the last time we met. The same proud, wonderful and calm Master Daiki. With his wonderful disciple too, of course.... I think I'm going to throw up.

Tenebris looked at A-1, showing his razor-sharp, holly-nasty teeth as he smiled even more than before. Seeing this, A-1 quickly turned her head away, feeling a new sense of disgust for Tenebris. She looked at the window and impatiently began to touch her katana with her finger. When the master saw this, he drew his pupil a little closer to him, causing her to move away from Tenebris.

-To you, I am MASTER Daiki, and she is MISTRESS A-1. And for now, please step aside. Your ugly teeth are not what we want to see today before we meet the queen.

Before there could be a bigger fight between them, the gates opened behind which stood a guard in snazzy armor and Aj herself, clearly tired with big bags under her eyes. The robe she wore could be seen to have belonged to Agreas before, her father's blood was still quite visible on the garment. The blood itself was black and shiny, it looked as if there were pieces of further shining stars in it.  In that one moment, she resembled her father even more than before.

-Please come in... The other two representatives from other worlds unfortunately can't come today. Therefore, we will start the meeting without them. So I welcome you Tenebris, Agreas, and.... you, whatever you are.

-This is my best student queen. Thanks to her alone we can have as much information as we have.

-I am A-1, my queen Aj. Nice to meet you.

A-1 tried as much as she could, to smile kindly while making a big bow. Aj, despite her attempt to remain neutral, was clearly disgusted.

-No matter what is… this. Come in and let's not waste any more time.

Aj took a seat at the end of the table and asked the rest of those gathered in the room to sit next to her. At least one of the guards also stood next to everyone in the room , for reasons of security and slight paranoia. However, they were not the standard demons that you would usually see in the H-666 dimension. They were a variety called "Primitive" or "Hollow" by the residents, depending on who you asked.

-Let's get straight to the point. Master Daiki, did you find out anything about the killer?

-Unfortunately. As is usually the case at the very beginning of such cases, I have little information to offer today. However, I have speculations about the person who would certainly be willing to kill Agreas. I am so sure of this that I think it would be a waste of time to look for someone else to blame. This... individual has already revealed himself more than once, not only to me, but also, for all I know, to your father. I hope he told you once, and do you know who I mean?

-Apparently he didn't. .... So tell me who you mean.

-Mike Insidios. A fanatic, a person out of this world, literally! He is a vicious murderer, a scumbag who is not only responsible for this case! And in addition, a great manipulator in his own right. I am more than sure that he is connected to this case. Agreas had something in him that this psychopath has been looking for for years, it was only a matter of time.

-But what was so special about my father that he decided to kill him? Please explain, Master Daiki.

-Mike pursues throughout the multiverse the children of Apollyon. They are creatures that have a piece of the soul of the ancient first creator within them. Legends once said that only one of the children can survive, and by then this one, in his quest for power, will destroy everything else that opposes him....

-Wait, my dad was a pure of fire and ashes demon, just like me. He couldn't have been that.... something you are talking about now. He was also never like you are telling, he never tried to destroy anyone. I'm sorry but this is absurd Master Daiki.anybody, I'm sorry but it's  ridiculous Master Daiki.

Aj was about to ask Tenebris  for his evidence, but Daiki  quickly cut her off.

-Your father didn't tell you much about what he did during the war, didn't you, Queen AJ?.

Saying this, he gently rose from the table and approached Aj with a slow but firm step. The queen, clearly confused by the Spar's question, also moved slightly away from the table and the guards were ready to attack if necessary.

-Didn't you ever wonder... that Angels in ours are in fact already practically an extinct species? You can only see them in armies of a fairly high category, but something strangely, you don't see their universe on star maps.

-What are you-.

-Also, perhaps you were not puzzled by the fact that Demons now tower over Angels in terms of species for some reason? This is not a normal thing, a few hundred years ago it was completely different in this regard.

-Master Daiki-.

-Something peculiar must have happened that demons no longer have a problem with the rather cocky, but still angels. Queen, your father, before he started taking care of you, was very fond of winning in all kinds of battles and fights on a scale that the universe has not seen, and probably never will see again. He was able to win definitively, without any victory on the other side.... he spared no one. He didn't even spare the universe itself.

Aj fell silent and began to look down bewildered. Daiki, seeing this, continued the argument while increasingly toning his tone to one resembling that of a snake.

-He, he must have had something special in him. Something that gave him so much strength and vigor in these battles. Do you know that during the war he was able to kill three pairs of troops without the help of anyone? No one ever won, every time! Your father, he must have had the soul of Apollyon in him. This is the only explanation why he was so strong, charismatic, yet aggressive and murderous. In addition, my Queen, he had all the syndromes of being... someone different from the rest of the demons. This "purity" you are trying to make us believe is only a half-truth.

-He was not like that... No...

-He was certainly not like that with you, that's obvious. But he had something left of it, however, this time instead of winning the war, he decided to successfully raise his daughter! Isn't that beautiful Queen Aj?

-...

-...No matter who he was now. It matters who he was before!  Before, he perfectly showed that he had the soul of Apollyon in him, that's also probably why Mike hunted him. This is my theory.

Master Daiki patted Aj gently on the shoulder and sat down again. The atmosphere became even more tense than before, Aj began to breathe more deeply and was visibly distracted. Her mind was still on the words she had just heard. She shook herself free and reluctantly sat down on the seat.

-...I will think about it, but so far I will not take too hasty conclusions. In any case, thank you Master Daiki.

Tenebris looked at each of them with his usual clear and unrestrained disdain, then laughed heartily.

-That is an interesting theory, moron. But I think I have a slightly better one! And best of all, it comes with proof!

-Then please show it.

Tenebris after making a couple of turns in his chair out of excitement took out quickly from the pocket of his fur what he had around his neck, developed photos of the party at which Agreas was murdered.

-Look and learn woodenly how to do an investigation! So, as we all probably know here, during such parties it is common to take all sorts of pictures of guests, they went around and took pictures, right queen?

-well-.

-YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER! I KNOW THEY DID! So, I decided, through the hands of my servants, to ask some of those willing to help for photographs of that awful evening. And, this is the part when you can start clapping, I noticed an interesting thing....

Tenebris pointed a big sharp finger at the silhouette of a woman with red and white hair with obvious excitement. Daiki recognized Blackjack in her, which immediately caused great trepidation in him as well as in A-1.

-This beautiful lady's face is obscured... but she still seems distinctive because of that gorgeous hair! She was talking to Agreas before the coup, and then left with a bunch of other guests afterwards! I think it's her, FOR SURE IT'S HER! As well as these others can be connected to this! It is very strange that then they had to oh so go, don't you agree?

-Sounds pretty convincing, even for you Tenebris. Did you perhaps find out who these creatures were before they left?

-Unfortunately, no, at least not everyone because I'm guessing that maybe the Queen AJ can associate some of them... but the ones that didn't can be found too, right, Master Daiki? Or in other words. MASTER OF POOR EVIDENCE! HA!

Master Daiki did not know what to answer because of the shock he had just experienced. A-1 seeing this quickly joined the conversation, she wanted to improvise before her master thought of something.

-It would be possible, you're right Mr. Tenebris. But if we don't know if those definitely did something, it could be a very big waste of time. That's why I suggest focusing on those we know who they are.

-...I understand your reasoning. However, there still may be truth behind those we don't know here!

-Maybe, but I still think it will be better to focus on those about whom anything is known. Unless you want to prolong the investigation unnecessarily.

-I agree with my student. Queen, it will make things easier if you show us who of them you know, maybe they are the ones who just threatened your father? 

-I can check....

Tenebris quickly slid the photograph under Aj's hands. after a moment of intently looking at the silhouettes of the exiting guests, she saw a certain, specific person.

-I recognize one of the demons here. He is wearing the coat of arms of the Magids, those, to say the least, have never gotten along with our family. They are a close family, having risen from the same flame as my parents' parents, and so on...

-You think, Queen, that they might have had something to do with his death?

-... Yes. Definitely yes. They always wanted to take over my father's throne.... maybe-

-Maybe they were trying to pretend to be innocent through this? And in a moment they may attack again, it's dangerous to keep such people at large!

-This is the first time I agree with you, Master Clown Daiki! This family may not want to wait for power anymore.... MAYBE THEY ARE ABOUT TO COME FOR THE WHOLE-

-After my speech, Urana, one of the Magids, came up to me. She said directly that I am not fit for power now, and can she.... help?

-TRAITOR! TRAITOR TO THE NATION! KILL, KILL! KILL- ULTRAKILL-

-Silence Tenebris! But I agree that you need to keep an eye on them, they can attack at any time.

-What about the rest of these individuals? I guess we won't ignore them oh just like that!

-I think you can let the rest go for now, let all forces focus on the most suspicious ones.

-I completely agree queen.

-Well, then, we have the first clues where to look. I am glad that you have approached this matter with due respect, you will certainly be rewarded.

-This is our duty.

-I will notify the other representatives of our discovery. You, I ask you to continue searching and.... possibly check on the Magid family. I authorize you to spy on their every move.

...

Blackjack was sitting anxiously in the cab and breathing heavily. She was looking around and trying to reach Jeremy incessantly. Mike, seeing her in such a state, worried himself, tried to calm her down.

-Blackjack... It won't help if you keep calling. We'll be there in a while and see what happened.

-Maybe, maybe she will answer something after all. Maybe he will at least give a damn signal. Why doesn't he answer... FUCK!

-He's definitely ok, we'll get him out of there if we have to.

Mike gently hugged Blackjack in a further attempt to calm her down,she did not resist however she still looked concerned at the tear-drenched phone screen.

-...I, really don't want anything to happen to him. What if it has already happened. Just, not Jeremy... 

-He's not a stupid guy so he's more likely to manage.

-... Do you promise?

-...Yes.

-...Are you sure?

-...Definitely.

-... It doesn't help anything, but thanks for your efforts.

Blackjack reciprocated the hug very strongly. It lifted her spirits slightlyodź her fear for Jeremy's condition did not diminish one bit.

-Thank you...

...

They arrived near the hospital as quickly as possible. From the outside, it was obvious that something was wrong; a black, glistening ooze could be seen behind the doors of the building. The bright red light from the alarm and the scarlet blood could also be seen from the once clean windows. Blackjack ran straight into the building without hesitation after quickly getting out of the car. Mike was barely able to catch up with her, he tried to call her to him, but that had no effect either, and so they finally separated in the dark and gloomy hospital.

The sound of an alarm siren could be heard everywhere. All the doors to the patients' rooms were ripped open or thrown wide open. There was an intense stench of blood and medicine scattered throughout the facility. The medicine themselves and their smell had an intoxicating effect on Blackjack, but even though she felt weak, she didn't care. The only thing she was looking for in the midst of all this was Jeremy, the only one who mattered right now.

-Who the hell could have attacked him...demons...? No, they don't know about me after all....probably. Wait...that slime looks familiar.

Blackjack knelt down to take a closer look at the smear on the floor, but her vision was too blurred to draw any conclusions. Just as she rose from her knees, she heard heavy metallic footsteps. They moved slowly toward her, giving her time to take cover behind a vine; she had no desire to face her potential attacker any closer.

She tried surreptitiously to see what it actually was, but the light and darkness did not help very much. The thing itself, whatever it was in the corridor was making sounds, surprisingly for her, instead of aggressive and wild sounds, they were sobs and crying whispers.

-No... no... NO NO NO NO NO, this is totally not how it was supposed to be! THIS IS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! I'm sorry.... sorry... sorry... all of you.... I'M SORRY! I-

-...Jeremy?

Only after a while did it occur to her that she recognized that voice perfectly, she couldn't mistake it for anyone else. She slowly left the place of her hiding place and with a slow step approached Jeremy. He, seeing her, began to shake visibly harder from fright. Blackjack, shocked by such a state of her friend, lightly grabbed his face while gently stroking his cheeks

Blackjack tried to get a little closer to him, but he was clearly moving away in fear.

-There was no one else here.... no one attacked us.... it's my fault.... it. is. my. fault. that. I. called. you. is. my. fault. 

-This... you did this to yourself...? these implants.... Why?

-I... didn't... want... you... to... know... I... .... have a problem... a disease. The ability to move me is slowly disappearing....it cannot be cured, Amelia, I had to do it to myself, this, it can help me....

-This is not your kind of technology, Jeremy.... what are you hiding? I could-

-YOU COULDN'T! you couldn't...the only thing that could help me was...the redemption I got.

-What are you talking about?

-From the sky... on my head .... fell a being that helps me understand, everything. Even what I really am... what I need.... Amelia, you were never there when I needed you, I was the one who always had to help you! You took away the meaning of everything for me when you left. SELFISH! I lived for you, Amelia, I hid it from you.... My life is slowly losing its meaning.

-Jeremy, try to focus! You are not thinking rationally right now! What has fallen on this head is why you are not yourself!

-I am myself. More than ever!

Jeremy's attempt at an attack on Blackjack was a hard fall to the ground, and it was obvious that his whole body was panting as if he was fighting with himself. In the midst of it, he began to repeat one word louder and louder.

-Run... RUN!

Terrified and shocked at the same time, Blackjack began to run down the hallway she was in before. After passing through the first door, she noticed that the next hallway was completely different from the one before. She didn't have much time to think about it because she heard screams and Jeremy's footsteps getting closer and closer. She started to run in any direction she could, getting completely lost and limping through the door, which was lying on the floor. Not knowing which side of the hospital she was on, she hid in one of the patients' rooms, thankfully escaping with her life. With that rather tenuous moment of calm, her emotions finally let go and tears came to her eyes of their own accord.

-Why... why exactly he!? .... Or, no... no... no! There must be a way to save him.... MUST BE!

She sat on the cold floor, helpless. She felt that if she didn't find a way to get Jeremy back to normal, she would probably lose him forever. She wanted to avoid that at all costs, but at the same time she could not think of a possible solution to the problem.

Her thought of a solution was interrupted when she heard footsteps slowly approaching her direction, at which point she realized that she had been talking to herself all this time due to stress.She quickly pulled herself together, picked up the metal tube that was close to her hands, and waited for the right moment...when the footsteps would only get closer to her.

-OU, YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND?!

It was… just Mike.

-I'M SORRY! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to hit you! I...

-I know, I know, I understand. Who were you trying to hit with that? My head is bursting through this pipe. ....

-Head... head! Yes, the head! He mentioned that it fell on his head, we need to get to his head!

-What are you talking about? Are you okay?

-I... I saw Jeremy.

-Oh, that's probably good then, so where is he?

-He...

Blackjack threw the metal tube on the floor and told Mike about the meeting with Jeremy, trying to hold back her emotions and tears. Mike was clearly shocked to hear more and more of the story.

-Something fell on his head.... and it made him "redemption"?

-That is what he said. That something probably also made him put those implants on, strange what was going through his head... he sounded like a complete lunatic. Mike, he was never like this before. Is it still him at all...? what happened to him?

-It could be the fault of a parasite.

-Parasite? No normal parasite takes over the brain, right?

-No, but there is one that specializes in it. Maybe you know Veranders?

-No... what does this thing do?

-In a nutshell, it gets into your brain and weaves a second personality into it. This abomination uses the worst traits of its victim so that the victim often becomes frightened and wild and very aggressive. In such a state, you are not fully aware of everything and cannot control your own body to a large extent. At the same time, the victim has characteristic eyes, the kind that are all black and dilated.

-Sounds familiar... very familiar.

-What do you mean?

-I had to tell you about it. Last night I was attacked by a strange woman. At first she was quite normal, I helped her not to freeze outside, she seemed scared but at the same time quite calm, she did not seem threatening... or crazy. But then she clearly wanted to eat me alive.

-Maybe she is the same spice, this creature does not take over the brain all the time, the victim can regain control, but only for a while... and then it is practically irreversible.

-So if Jeremy has it, we need to get rid of it now! We will find him quickly and...

-Careful Blackjack, it's not as simple as pulling it out like a tick and you're done. This thing, especially when you pull it out, can attack you and start controlling you. This is very dangerous, especially in the current situation.

-I'd rather it control me than him if something happens, he doesn't deserve it! I can get out of it somehow, he can't necessarily....

-...

-Mike, you promised to help, right?

-...And I will keep my word, but we still have to think carefully about how to get to him. Remember, he's still got implants that make him bigger than me and definitely stronger. Which, combined with being a lunatic, might make .... uninteresting.

-Yes, but for that you are stronger than me, and bigger! You'll give me a lift up to him when we stun him with this or that....it's stupid....or I know!

-And then what?

At the same moment she got the idea, Blackjack began to search vigorously through all the shelves of medicine, taking specific packages and vials. After gathering everything she needed, she sat down on the cold tiles and began to mix everything together in exact quantities into a vessel.

-We will drug him. Once he's anesthetized, it'll be easy to get the stuff out of his head.

-You took-

-Yes, I took ketamine plus prolofol, we need ketofol. except for a little pain at the puncture site, he should be fine. 

-I don't have a better idea, so I'm relying on you.

-It's the only way, but he'll need a very small dose. I don't want anything to happen to him, so I'll take care of injecting it into him, you'll have to take cover in the meantime so he doesn't kill you.

-I can go scout for him, you finish it and...

-Something is wrong with this place and everything is not where it should be, I found that out while running away from him.

-So I was right that something was wrong with this hospital. .... What could have caused that?

-Isn't the parasite responsible?

-No. The only thing the parasite is responsible for is the black goo that is spilling everywhere. The parasite is strong, but it can't interfere with anything but its owner. ....

-We will deal with this matter once Jeremy is safe.

After an intense moment of putting it all together, Blackjack poured what she had made into the smallest syringe so that there would only be a decent dose. After tucking it into the pocket of her sweatshirt, she and Mike made their way through the dark corridors of the hospital, listening for Jeremy. After walking down a similar corridor several times, they began to get the uncomfortable feeling that they were walking down the same corridor over and over again. In frustration, they tried to go the opposite way, which turned out to be necessary, for only then did they finally hear the unmistakable, shrill crunch of metal. Jeremy was somewhere nearby, Blackjack heard it, and with an anxious step she went behind Mike's back and began to hold him lightly by the hands of his coat.

-Are you scared?

-...No...No, that's not the point....

-Worried?

-More than ever, I don't want anything to happen to him. 

-Better worry about yourself now. Even if you help him, it will not be better if you have this parasite with you.

-What a sudden worry.... I do not care what happens to me.

-And for me it is the opposite. I've already lost a close friend once, so I don't want to lose the only person I have left of him now.

Mike smiled gently and stroked Amelia's dishevelled hair. Although she did not usually like to be touched, it gave her a surprising amount of confidence, which was needed at this point if everything was to go according to plan. They began to approach the source of the noise. However, they approached slowly enough to avoid any unnecessary footsteps. They could hear a faint scream, which they found extremely frightening in the current situation. Jeremy sat in the middle of the wrecked dining room.

The dining room reeked of fresh blood. The bodies of humans and various creatures were crumpled and twisted into horrible and unnatural poses that made one want to vomit. It was easy to guess that Jeremy was responsible for all this apparent carnage. Worried, Mike turned his gaze to Blackjack, whose face was painted with all sorts of emotions.

-J-Jeremy...why...why you?

-Remember this is not his fault. All he could do was watch....He can't control himself.

-Let's deal with him quickly, I can't see him like this anymore.

-I will go and distract him. Wait for my signal and then do the right thing quickly. Are you ready?

-...Ye, I'm ready.

Mike entered the dining room with an uncertain step, only now realizing what he had just gotten himself into. He started to search the floor for something to hold onto to get Jeremy's attention. He picked up a piece of shabby flooring and after a few steps threw it right at his head.

-YOU... NASTY MONSTER! YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD KILL EVERYONE LIKE THAT YOU.... YOU... KANALIO... Damn, I'm terrible at this.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mike felt an inner humiliation after what he had said.  But he stopped thinking about it when he saw that Jeremy slowly stood up with anger in his eyes.

-GET. OUT. OF. HERE!

Mike was attacked with razor-sharp claws, which he dodged quite gracefully, even though he felt he was barely able to do so. After a few more dodges, Mike managed to grab one of Jeremy's hands and momentarily knock him to the ground with a thud. Jeremy was in the perfect position for Blackjack to finally take him down, so without a signal and with strong emotion, she moved to take him down. Mike, seeing this, was lost, so he was finally hit by Jeremy, who hit him behind the door of the dining room with a loud bang.

Jeremy got up and slowly started to walk towards him, but then...

He felt Blackjack hanging on his back, holding him with great force. Without further hesitation, Amelia took the syringe and stuck it into the back of a distracted Jeremy's neck, but even after that, he still managed to grab her leg, causing her to be thrown onto one of the tables. Seeing her, Jeremy began to shake slightly, clearly trying to keep his body from killing her, but only avoiding the inevitable.

-S-Sorry, Amelia... .... I really don't want to do this! I warned you!

Jeremy was already swinging his claws over her. But suddenly they heard a huge roar. Something was running. Very fast.

The strange creature knocked Jeremy to the ground, but instead of focusing on him, tearing him apart, or simply killing him, it moved on in a frenzy. Blackjack was shocked, but seeing this as an opportunity to save Jeremy, she quickly woke up and ran over to him, covered in bruises. Before checking his head, she made sure he was definitely unconscious. After determining that he was stunned, she began rifling through his hair in search of the parasite.

-Rip it out and put it in the jar. -Rip it out and put it in the jar. After all, murder with pleasure. EASY.

She grabbed the tip of the parasite's tail a little hesitantly, and after a moment of hesitation and repeating to herself over and over what she had to do, she was ready for the operation.

-One... Two... THREE!

She grabbed the parasite with a powerful movement. A foul-smelling black goo began to fly from Jeremy's head, and the parasite itself, clearly wondering what was happening, tried to wrap itself around Blackjack's hand. Amelia managed to quickly finish it off, slapping its writhing body with her metal hand and dropping it into the jar without a second thought. It was all over now, she managed. She sighed in relief and began to look at the parasite in the jar as it wriggled madly and began to threaten Blackjack with its teeth. This creature was, in her opinion, far too conscious for a mere parasite.

-... What a nasty abomination, and on top of that, ill-mannered. May you die as soon as possible. Anyway, it doesn't matter now.

She put the glass down and looked worriedly at Jeremy. There was already an immediate improvement in his face, it finally seemed to be the same as before, she gently removed the syringe from his neck, laid his head in her lap and began to stroke him.

-It's all right Jer...it's going to be okay...you're safe now.

She snuggled his head against hers, her emotions already overtaking her, and she was flooded with tears, but this time they were of happiness. Although she had always appreciated Jeremy, this was the first time she felt so strongly how much he really meant to her, and every moment she couldn't be with him hurt even more. She sat with him for a long time, thinking and waiting for him to wake up, but suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards her.

-Mike? Is that you? I managed to save Je-.

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt something hit her hard. It was a heavy metal tonfa, glowing with electricity. It knocked her to the ground almost instantly.

...

-General, we managed to find a suspect .... However, there is another problem.

~Is her accomplice with her?

-Not exactly. I just found our decoy with her. She snatched Vandere from our bait. Anything we can do about that?

~I advise against it Lieutenant, it can be dangerous, leave the bait and bring the target, the accomplice will be taken care of later.

-I understand, out.

Yey! I did it!

[artemis-fowl-incident-report]

Coral and Beachwood Short

Okay, since I've not seen anything really discussed about Holly's parents, here are some of my personal head canons (yes, I used the name they give Holly's father in the movie, because we literally don't have anything else to call him)

- They originally met on a conservation mission, to check on a creature that we humans would know as the Loch Ness Monster. Coral was there to actually check the beast over, and Captain Beachwood of the LEP had been assigned to her for protection, since Loch Ness is a heavily monitored by humans searching for the monster. They were both blushing messes throughout the entire mission.

- It was Coral who asked Beachwood out, since he was a stammering mess who couldn't get his words out.

- Coral's favourite thing in the whole world is a type of candy called a "fire drop". Yes, they were made for Goblins, as a means of helping their children learn how to spark off their flames, since they make you breath fire. Yes, she did crave them when she was pregnant with Holly. Yes, Beachwood was utterly terrified of his wife from the moment he saw her eat these suckers like there was no tomorrow on one of their various dates (it was also the moment he knew he wanted to marry her).

- Beachwood had an obsession with human board games, especially chess. He started teaching Holly from when she first started to speak, which is why she can hold her own against Artemis.

- Coral's family wasn't very approving of Beachwood at first, since they were a little higher up in terms of economics, and through their relation to Cupid. Once they saw how dedicated Beachwood was to Coral, though, they started to relax a little around him.

- Both Coral and Beachwood really wanted a second child after they had Holly, but it just never happened, so instead they poured all their love and attention onto her.

- Beachwood started teaching Holly self defence soon after she started kindergarten, more as a means of protecting the other children, since some of the boys decided it would be a good idea to pick on her, and Holly gave the leader a black eye for his troubles.

- Coral loved getting assigned to long term projects above ground, since it meant that Beachwood and Holly could come with her, as the LEP usually assigned Beachwood as part of the security for said missions, and Holly was too young to be left alone.

- Beachwood used to put his LEP helmet on Holly when they were playing together, pick her up, and "fly" her around the room like they were going on a mission. (please, can an artist draw this one in particular. It's so god damn sweet)

[misslilli]

Thank you guys, for your feedback <3 This turned out differently than I had planned 😅 hope you still like it!

Felix Felicis

MSR. AU. M. | tagging @today-in-fic | read on AO3

Chapter 56 - A Change In Perspective

[ DS ]

On the drive up to the mall, the girls are so wrapped in an animated discussion about shapes and fabrics and colors they want me to try on, they don't take notice of the fact that I’m not partaking in the conversation. Staring out the window, I’m starting to overthink this whole thing. Absolutely mortified at the thought about parading their choices of naughty underwear in front of them and a whole store full of people.

Sometimes, I wish I were as confident as Holly is in her body, instead of being riddled with self-consciousness and body image issues - the list of attributes I hate about myself is long and very detailed, too short, too flat, too pale, too many scars and freckles, too silly, too clumsy, too many imperfections to count.

I'm neither sexy nor suave enough to pull off the garments the girls are talking about - I'll just try on a few for their sake, try not to make a face or die of embarrassment while doing so and maybe get a piece or two to get them off my back.

Then, I'll stuff them all the way into the back of my closet and pray to God they'll never ask me about them ever again.

"Alright, first we'll tackle the basics and then we'll move on to the more fun things, yes?" Once we’ve arrived at the mall, Holly is out of her mind with glee, rubbing her hands together before placing them on my shoulder, pushing me through the sliding double doors, into the strange new world of Agent Provocateur.

Greeted by their a bit too loud ambient music and the strong scent of what must be one of their fragrances, I'm shocked and overwhelmed by the vast selection of garments on display, bras and panties. A myriad of see-through lace and silk and criss-crossing straps that send a blush up my neck and into my cheeks. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

Drawn in by the familiar, I drift away from the girls towards the basic section, comforting beige and black and white, no lace or frills or see-through anything. I'm stopped by Holly's fingers curling around my arm with an admonishing glare in her eyes. "Immediately no! I-mmediately no! Wrong section, D, come on."

She tugs me away from the safety of basic colors I longingly gaze back at and towards the back of the store, into the sea of more seductive colors, ravishing red, exhilarating emerald and dazzling dark navy.

Stomach twisting and mouth suddenly dry, I nervously hold onto the selection the girls push into my hands from all sides, wishing I could crawl underneath one of the tables to die from the shame of wondering what my dad would say if he knew what I was doing in peace.

"Mhkay, I think we've covered all the basics, D, let's go try 'em on! I can't wait to see what it looks like on, especially this one!"

To my surprise, and immense relief, the changing rooms are not as public as the ones I'm used to, they're each curtained off from the rest of the store and the other shoppers. The only thing that worries me more than being seen in my underwear is having to see it myself, in the well-lit full-length mirrors on every side. Oh Jesus, no.

——

[ Sarah ]

"This is taking forever, how long can it take to change into underwear… at least at La Perla we get champagne while we wait…," Holly complains, lounging in a velvet armchair with a bored look on her face. It's been a while, indeed, what is she doing in there? I step up close to the curtain to see what's going on, maybe she can't decide on what to try on first.

"D, are you okay in there? Did you get it on alright?"

As an answer, I get a reluctantly drawn out "Yeeees." from behind the curtain.

"Well, get out here, we're dying to see!"

"Nooo…" At her small, whiny voice, the thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea crosses my mind. Our plan was to make her feel sexy, not ashamed.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, if you're not out here by the count of three, I'm coming in there to get you!" Holly is at the end of her patience, apparently, ready on the edge of her seat to make good on her promise.

After a moment, the curtain is pulled back slowly, and out comes our friend wearing the most gorgeous black lace two-piece and the most uncomfortable expression on her pained face I have ever seen. The ensemble looks so perfect on her creamy white skin, even with her arms crossed in front of her and the embarrassed blush, that even Holly, who is never short of things to say, is stunned into silence with the rest of us.

"Is it that bad?," she mistakes our silence to mean we keep our mouths shut so we don't have to say something unkind, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Bad? What are you talking about? You're a fucking knock-out, woman!" Of course, Holly is the first one to regain her ability to speak, incredulously jumping out of her seat and across the room in a flash.

"Really?" The shy, hopeful look that appears on our friend's face is so adorable, I can't help but smile and adjust her twisted strap, making sure it fits her alright.

"Yes, really. Does it fit alright? When you move? Or does it pinch in places?" Arms still wrapped tightly around her middle, she shakes her head at my questions, shifting from one foot to the other, avoiding to look in the mirrors at all costs.

Holly senses her discomfort and with a gentleness that's quite uncharacteristic for our blunt friend, she unwraps the protective arms and turns a horrified D towards the mirror. "Tell me what you see, D. Positive things only. What do you like about it?" Lip drawn between her teeth and a crease between her brows, it takes a few minutes of consideration for the reluctant answers to come.

"I hmm… I like how it feels, it's surprisingly comfortable and soft… I like the contrast of the black on my skin… and that it's sheer but not too revealing… the lace trim across looks amazing…" With a tiny sliver of a grin, she twists just a little, and adds "I also love how good my ass looks in these!" Alex, our quiet observer, only slowly nods her agreement, probably thankful that she's not in D's shoes right now.

It's such a wonderful experience, to witness D's confidence growing a smidge with each new ensemble she tries on to our praises, cheers and eventually, cat-calls that don't make her uncomfortable anymore but puts a bashful little upturn of her lips on her face. An upturn that falters a bit once we're at the cash register, confidence does come at a hefty price in boutiques like these.

———

[ Holly ]

Holy smokes, I had no idea that my innocent, grain of rice-sized duckling friend would actually turn out to look this smoking in the right pieces of lingerie. Who knew it only takes I was a bit worried at first, that this might end up a disaster of a shopping trip but as the day progresses, it becomes clear that it was the right thing to do, to help her start to overcome her absolutely unfounded self-confidence issues.

With an inward giggle, I have to admit to myself that if I were so inclined, I'd hit that in a heartbeat, no questions asked. And if this doesn't get a handwritten thank you note addressed to us from a certain gentleman, I'll eat my imaginary hat!

We're already a bit tipsy from the champagne in the private changing room at La Perla, waiting for the showing of the last item I personally picked out, the piece de resistance, the cherry on the sundae, the sinful red ensemble that will be the secret underneath of her Valentine's Day dress. It's a complicated number with various clasps and snaps but we're happily occupied toasting our successful outing.

"Helloo, girls!" I have to do no one, but two double takes to make sure I'm not mistaking the silky-voiced goddess with her arm raised to rest on the doorpost of the changing room she's leaning against, for someone else. What happened to the one who was too shy to look at herself in a mirror a few hours ago? For fuck's sakes, and she's still wearing her heels! Lord have mercy on the heart of the one who gets to unveil that on Valentine's Day.

———

[ FM ]

"… and this, I need this, and that one too… Ooh a book about dolphins, I literally know nothing about dolphins yet!" I fancy myself a reasonably strong guy but even I buckle under the weight of the books Felix piles into my arms at Barnes&Nobles. He's making good use of the gift card he received for Christmas from a secret Santa I strongly suspect wears rainbow skirts and t-shirts with silly sayings on them, like Thou shalt not try me ~ Teachers 24:7 or Don't make me use my teacher voice on the occasions she's not handing out presents. Slipping them into little boys's backpacks when they're not looking.

"I'm hungryyy Dad!," my son whines for the thousandth time, nudging me repeatedly at the cash register to get me to cave and take him to the food court for greasy fries and even greasier burgers, his absolute favorite.

Taking the bag from the shop girl, who, after a quick glance at my left hand, comments how very sweet it is for a Dad to take his son shopping on a Sunday afternoon, I force a smile onto my face. At times, the flirty attention a single Dad receives in the most mundane places like the grocery store or in this case, a bookstore, is quite the ego-boost.

In the past, I actually would have responded in kind, to see if I could get this girl's number in under five minutes, but these days, there's only one number I really need in my phone. The one that belongs to the shorty that has me wrapped tightly around her little finger and so smitten, in fact, that I find myself baking and decorating cupcakes, in an apron, on a Sunday, like Martha fucking Steward.

Felix, in his impatience to get to the foodcourt as fast as humanly possible, races up the staircase while I take my sweet time heading for the escalator - I'm not carrying his books up the stairs. Besides, him and I have spotted the group of friends, hands full of shopping bags and so engrossed in their conversation, who happen to step onto the escalator right in front of me.

Momentarily distracted by the only pair of shapely legs I'm allowed to stare at and appreciate for more than a passing glance, my ears perk up at the sound of my girlfriend's giggle. "You're absolutely right, Mulder will absolutely lose all his marbles!" Ooh this is going to be fun.

I step up the one escalator step that separates us, leaning in very close. "What exactly am I going to lose my marbles over?"

My amusement at her freezing in front of me and the slow pivot that brings me face-to-face with the picture of mortification, knows no bounds and I lean onto the handrail, tilting my head sideways to await her explanation, giving her my very best smirk.

"Uuuh… the… uhm…" Watching the usually so eloquent Miss Scully struggling for the right words is delightful, her friends sharing the same unveiled amusement until Holly finally has mercy on her floundering friend, holding out the bag in her hand smiling a little too sweetly.

"I think this is yours, D!"

The bag dangling from her finger sends my mind into a fun little merry-go-round of flashing images that almost have me stumble and fall over backwards, right down the escalator to an early demise. Jesus Christ, I'm losing my marbles already, and I haven't even snuck a glance at what's hiding underneath Agent Provocateur's pink tissues that peek out the top.

———

[ DS ]

Oh this is awkward alright, but Mulder's smirk disappearing the second he set eyes on that bag, replaced by an open-mouthed "O" and how he's stunned into speechlessness is worth the blush that I've been wearing the entire day darkening a few shades.

"Thanks Holly." I put on a show of rearranging the bags in my hands so La Perla is featured front and center and now I'm a tad afraid I'll give my poor boyfriend a heart-attack, his glazed-over eyes glued to the newest revelation of what we've been buying here today. He almost stumbles once we've reached the top and step off the elevator and I see Felix waiting for us, his annoyed expression transforming into a toothy grin once he sees who his dad is with.

"We're just heading up to the food court. Are you boys hungry?"

"Uh… huh," Mulder's still distracted, trying to sneakily get a look into my bags and I yank them away at his sneaky finger's attempt at pushing aside the tissue.

"Nuh huh, don't even try, that's a secret!"

"Mhh I love uncovering… secrets!" A slow grin takes over his sheepish face, accompanied by suggestively wriggling eyebrows, baffling me with his ability to turn anything I say into an innuendo. "Will you girls do us the honor of joining us for the mall's finest dining?"

For the first time since I've known the little guy, Felix looks up at his dad impressed and incredibly proud at his clever idea.

——

[ Alex ]

For a quiet observer like me, this scenario should be fun to witness, from the moment Mr. Mulder invites us to join them for fries and burgers, interrupted from putting his arm around his girlfriend by his overly-enthusiastic son squeezing himself between them, tugging both of them towards the food court. The exasperated look he shoots at Felix quite literally flying over the little ones head.

I'm amused to catch the warning glare Mr. Mulder gives his son once we reach an empty table, that clearly states "If you think of sitting between us too, think again little man!". He's old-school, I also notice, pulling out chairs for D and Felix as well, getting food for the whole table, awarding him a few brownie points in my assessment of character.

Felix digs into his food the second the tray is placed in front of him, distracting him enough not to witness the affectionate little kiss that's exchanged as a greeting between the two lovebirds. As usual, I don't partake in the conversation much, not because I don't have anything to contribute, but because I love to people watch in peace. You learn a lot of things just sitting back and paying attention.

They're an attractive couple, these two, their interactions more interesting to observe curiously and notice the little things going on during their easily flowing conversation.

Little things like his arm draped casually across the back of her chair to toy with a strand of hair absent-mindedly, twirling it around his finger or her hand resting possessively low on his thigh, reaching up to brush off crumbs or pick a piece of lint off his sweater, or the little occasional sideways glances that results in a small quirk of their lips when they catch the other gazing back.

And then there’s little Felix to observe, who wastes absolutely no time, once he’s finished eating, in placing himself smack into the center of attention, pulling out all the books he got with D’s gift card to show us proudly, confessing with a frown that he’s so sad he can’t thank his secret Santa because he doesn’t know who he is.

His dad seems to have guessed who, drawing Santa close to place a kiss into her hair and the look of sheer adoration he’s rewarded with is definitely not missed by the silent observer.

The calmness that radiates from their connection is a welcome change for all of us, from the superficial, frantic, red-flag-ignoring, tear-filled situationships we’ve had to pick up the broken pieces after. And I couldn't be happier she has found herself not only one, but two boys who absolutely adore her and appreciate how wonderful my friend really is.

———

[ DS ]

It's mind-boggling how much can happen in one weekend, two days packed with events that change almost everything coming to a surprisingly calm end. Felix is skipping along with the girls, talking Holly and Alex's ear off, taking his chance to charm the sweet Beejezus out of the two friends he doesn't know that well yet.

Which gives his dad and I a chance to hang back a few steps, bags dangling from his free arm that's not wrapped around my shoulders.

"You're a cruel woman, you know that? The anticipation is killing me and you're not helping, with that!" Chuckling as he holds up the bag to emphasize his point, I give his waist a little placating squeeze, to tell him the anticipation is killing me too.

Strolling through the mall, fitted perfectly underneath his arm is the first time I don't feel too short at all, or too imperfect or too anything. From the looks he gives me, to him, I'm perfectly fine just the way I am.

[tcm]

Reframing Films of the Past: An Interview with TCM Writers

All month long in March, TCM will be taking a look at a number of beloved classic films that have stood the test of time, but when viewed by contemporary standards, certain aspects of these films are troubling and problematic. During TCM’s Reframed: Classics in the Rearview Mirror programming, all five TCM hosts will appear on the network to discuss these issues, their historical and cultural context and how we can keep the legacy of great films alive for future generations.

Also joining in on this conversation are four TCM writers who were open enough to share their thoughts on their love of classic movies and watching troubling images of the past. Special thanks to Theresa Brown, Constance Cherise, Susan King and Kim Luperi for taking part in this conversation. Continue the conversation over on TCM’s Twitter.

What do you say to people who don’t like classics because they’re racist and sexist? 

KL: There are positive representations in classic Hollywood that I think would blow some peoples’ minds. I always love introducing people to new titles that challenge expectations. 

That said, anyone who broadly slaps a sexist or racist label on a large part of the medium’s history does a disservice to cinema and themselves. That mindset keeps them ignorant not only of some excellent movies and groundbreaking innovation but history itself. 

I think people need to remember that movies are a product of their time and they can reflect the society they were made into a variety of degrees - good, bad, politically, culturally, socially. That’s not to excuse racism or sexism; it needs to be recognized and called out as such for us to contend with it today. But it’s important for people who say they don’t like classics for those reasons to understand the historical context. In particular, we need to acknowledge that society has evolved - and what was deemed socially acceptable at times has, too, even if sexism and racism are always wrong - and we are applying a modern lens to these films that come with the benefit of decades worth of activism, growth and education.

SK: I totally agree K.L. For years I have been encouraging people to watch vintage movies who keep proclaiming they don’t like black-and-white films or silent films. For every Birth of a Nation (1915) there are beautiful dramas, wonderful comedies and delicious mysteries and film noirs. 

 These films that have racist and sexist elements shouldn’t be collectively swept under the rug, because as K.L. stated they shine a light on what society was like – both good and bad. 

CC: First off, fellow writers may I say, I think your work is amazing. I'm continually learning from the talent that is here, and I am humbled to be a part of this particular company. Similar to the prior answers, for every racist/sexist film the opposite exists. Personally, classic musicals attracted me due to their visual assault, creativity and their unmistakable triple-threat performances. While we cannot ignore racist stereotypes and sexism, there are films that simply are "fantasies of art." There is also a review of evolution. In 20 years, what we now deem as acceptable behavior/conversation will be thought of as outdated and will also require being put into "historical context."  What we collectively said/thought/did 20 years ago, we are currently either re-adjusting or reckoning with now, and that is a truth of life that will never change. We will always evolve.

TB: I would say to them they should consider the times the movie was made in. It was a whole different mindset back then. 

Are there movies that you love but are hesitant to recommend to others because of problematic elements in them? If so, which movies? 

TB: Yes, there are movies I’m hesitant to recommend. The big one, off the top of my head, would be Gone With the Wind (1939). The whole slavery thing is a bit of a sticky wicket for people, especially Black folks. Me, I love the movie. It is truly a monumental feat of filmmaking for 1939. I’m not saying I’m happy with the depiction of African Americans in that film. I recognize the issues. But when I look at a classic film, I suppose I find I have to compartmentalize things. I tend to gravitate on the humanity of a character I can relate to. 

KL: Synthetic Sin (1929), a long thought lost film, was found in the 2010s, and I saw it at Cinecon a few years ago. As a Colleen Moore fan, I thoroughly enjoyed most of it, but it contains a scene of her performing in blackface that doesn’t add anything to the plot. That decision brings the movie down in my memory, which is why I have trouble recommending it.

Also Smarty (1934), starring Warren William and Joan Blondell, is another movie I don’t recommend because it’s basically about spousal abuse played for comedy, and it did not age well for that reason.

SK: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress and I love her Oscar-nominated performance as Holly. I adore Orangy as Cat, as well as George Peppard and Buddy Ebsen, who is wonderfully endearing. And of course, “Moon River” makes me cry whenever I hear it. But then I cringe and am practically nauseous every time Mickey Rooney pops up on screen with his disgusting stereotypical performance as Holly’s Japanese landlord Mr. Yunioshi. What was director Blake Edwards thinking casting him in this part? Perhaps because he’s such a caricature no Japanese actor wanted to play him, so he cast Rooney with whom he had worked within the 1950s. 

CC: I cannot necessarily state that I am in "love," but, a film that comes to mind would be Anna and the King of Siam (1946). It is an absolutely beautiful visual film. However, Rex Harrison as King Mongkut requires some explanation. 

Holiday Inn (1942), and the Abraham number...why??? Might I also add, there were many jaw-dropping, racist cartoons.

How did you learn to deal with the negative images of the past? 

KL: I often look at it as a learning experience. Negative images can provoke much-needed conversation (internally or with others) and for me, they often prompt my education in an area that I wasn’t well versed in. For instance, blackface is featured in some classic films, and its history is something I never knew much about. That said, seeing its use in movies prompted me to do some research, which led me first to TCM’s short documentary about blackface and Hollywood. I love how TCM strives to provide context and seeks to educate viewers on uncomfortable, contentious subjects so we can appreciate classic films while still acknowledging and understanding the history and the harmful stereotypes some perpetuated.

SK: It’s also been a learning experience for me. Though I started watching movies as a little girl in the late 1950s, thanks to TCM and Warner Archive I realized that a lot of films were taken out of circulation because of racist elements. TCM has not only screened a lot of these films but they have accompanied the movies with conversations exploring the stereotypes in the films.  

CC: As a Black woman, negative images of the past continue to be a lesson on how Blacks, as well as other minorities, were seen (and in some cases still are seen) through an accepted mainstream American lens. On one hand, it's true, during the depiction of these films the majority of Black Americans were truly relegated to servant roles, so it stands to reason that depictions of Black America would be within the same vein. What is triggering to me, are demeaning roles, and the constant exaggeration of the slow-minded stereotype, blackface. When you look at the glass ceiling that minority performers faced from those in power, the need for suppression and domination is transparent because art can be a powerful agent of change. I dealt with the negative images of the past by knowing and understanding that the depiction being given to me was someone else's narrative, of who they thought I was, not who I actually am.

TB: I’m not sure HOW I learned to deal with negative images. Again, I think it might go back to me compartmentalizing.

I don’t know if this is right or wrong…but I’ve always found myself identifying with the leads and their struggles. As a human being, I can certainly identify with losing a romantic partner, money troubles, losing a job…no matter the ethnicity.

In what ways have we evolved from the movies of the classic era?

KL: I think we are more socially and culturally conscious now when it comes to stories, diversity and representation on screen and behind the scenes, which is a step forward. That said, while there's been growth, there's still much work to be done.

SK: I think this year’s crop of awards contenders show how things have evolved with Da 5 Bloods, Soul, One Night in Miami, Minari, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, Judas and the Black Messiah and MLK/FBI. 

But we still have a long way to go. I’d love to see more Native American representation in feature films; more Asian-American and Latino stories. 

CC: There are minority artists, writers, producers, directors, actors with the increasing capacity to create through their own authentic voice, thereby affecting the world, and a measurable amount of them are women! Generally speaking, filmmakers (usually male) have held the voice of the minority narrative as well as the female narrative. I agree with both writers above in the thought that it is progress, and I also agree, more stories of diversified races are needed. 

TB: One important way we've evolved from the movies made in the classic era by being more inclusive in casting. 

Are there any deal-breakers for you when watching a movie, regardless of the era, that make it hard to watch? 

KL: Physical violence in romantic relationships that's played as comedy is pretty much a dealbreaker for me. I mentioned above that I don't recommend Smarty (1934) to people, because when I finally watched it recently, it. was. tough. The way their abuse was painted as part of their relationship just didn’t sit well with me.

SK: Extreme racist elements and just as KL states physical violence. 

Regarding extreme racist elements, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation (1915) is just too horrific to watch. I was sickened when I saw it when I was in grad school at USC 44 years ago and it’s only gotten worse. And then there’s also Wonder Bar (1934), the pre-code Al Jolson movie that features the Busby Berkeley black minstrel number “Goin’ to Heaven on a Mule.” Disgusting.

I also agree with KL about physical violence in comedies and even dramas. I recently revisited Private Lives (1931) with Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery based on Noel Coward’s hit play. I have fond memories of seeing Maggie Smith in person in the play when I was 20 in the play and less than fond memories of watching Joan Collins destroying Coward’s bon mots.  

But watching the movie again, you realized just how physically violent Amanda and Elyot’s relationship is-they are always talking about committing physical violence-”we were like two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial battle”; “certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs”-or constantly screaming and throwing things.  

There is nothing funny or romantic about this.

KL: I try to put Birth of a Nation out of my mind, but S.K. did remind me of it again, and movies featuring extreme racism at their core like that are also dealbreakers; I totally agree with her assessment. I understand the technological achievements, but I think in the long run, especially in how it helped revive the KKK, the social harm that film brought about outdoes its cinematic innovations.

CC: Like S.K., Wonder Bar immediately came to mind. Excessive acts of violence, such as in the film Natural Born Killers (1994). I walked out of the theatre while the film was still playing. I expected violence, but the gratuitousness was just too much for me. I also have an issue with physical abuse, towards women and children. This is not to say I would not feel the same way about a man. However, when males are involved, it tends to be a fight, an exchange of physical energy, generally speaking, when we see physical abuse it is perpetuated towards women and children.

TB: I have a couple of moments that pinch my heart when I watch a movie. It doesn’t mean I won’t watch the movie. It just means I roll my eyes…verrrrry hard.

-Blackface…that’s a little rough; especially when the time period OF the movie is the ‘30s or ‘40s film.

-Not giving the Black actors a real name to be called by in the film (Snowflake…Belvedere…Lightnin’). I mean, can’t they have a regular name like Debbie or Bob?

-When the actor can’t do the simplest of tasks, i.e. Butterfly McQueen answering the phone in Mildred Pierce (1945) and not knowing which end to speak into. What up with that?

Are there elements they got right that we still haven’t caught up to? 

KL: I don't know if the pre-Code era got sex right (and sensationalism was definitely something studios were going for) but in some ways, I feel that subject was treated as somewhat more accepted and natural back then. Of course, what was shown onscreen in the classic era was nowhere near the extent it is today, but the way the Production Code put a lid on sex (in addition to many other factors) once again made it into more of a taboo topic than it is or should be.

One thing I particularly hate in modern movies is gratuitous violence, and it perplexes and angers me how America weighs violence vs. sex in general through the modern ratings system: films are more likely to get a pass with violence, mostly landing in PG-13 territory and thus making them more socially acceptable, while sex, something natural, is shunned with strictly R ratings. Obviously, there are limits for both, but I think the general thinking there is backwards today.

CC: The elegance, the sophistication, the precision, the dialogue, the intelligence, the wit. The fashion! The layering of craftsmanship. We aren't fans of these films for fleeting reasons, we are fans because of their timeless qualities.

I'm going to sound like a sentimental sap here, ladies get ready. I think they got the institution of family right. Yes, I do lean towards MGM films, so I am coloring my opinion from that perspective. Even if a person hasn't experienced what would have been considered a "traditional family" there is something to be said about witnessing that example. Perhaps not so much of a father and a mother, but to witness a balanced, functioning, loving relationship. What it "looks like" when a father/mother/brother/sister etc. genuinely loves another family member.

I was part of the latch-key generation, and although my parents remained together, many of my friends' parents were divorced. Most won't admit it, but by the reaction to the documentary [Won't You Be My Neighbor?, 2018], the bulk of them went home, sat in front of the TV and watched Mr. Rogers tell them how special they were because their parents certainly were not. We don't know what can "be" unless we see it.

[grimmradiance]

Close to Me: How the Hollow Knight's Fighting Style Reflects Their Trauma (and the Radiance's as well)

So I've been trying to actually beat the Radiance, which means I've been fighting the Hollow Knight. A lot, as a matter of fact, since I'm beans at this game sometimes. I've also been thinking about @lost-kinn's meta about how fighting styles are how Vessels, especially the Little Knight, communicate.

In trying to apply this to the Hollow Knight, I've been coming to some very interesting conclusions, especially taken in context of...Everything Else in the lore, and Everything Else implicated in this by the psychology of it.

There's a lot to cover here, and it tracks through a LOT of different places, including trauma psychology, the relationship between chronic stress and lifespan health, and shape symbolism. Two warnings first:

One: this essay is gonna get heavy. It includes fine-grained discussion of the Hollow Knight's trauma, including discussions of the real-life machanics of psychological abuse, as well as the Extremely Concerning Implications of them harming themself during their boss fight. please read with caution and when you're in a safe emotional place to do so.

Two: This post is not a place for justifying the Pale King. If you read this essay in its entirety and still want to do that, please make your own post; my relationship to the Hollow Knight themself is deeply rooted in my own experiences, so in the context of this discussion I can't promise I won't take it personally.

With that out of the way, let's talk trauma and fighting styles:

We know that the Hollow Knight is trained to be a paragon of fighting skill, through the Pure Vessel fight, and this gives us a fantastic way to compare what they were like before they were made Government Assigned Radiance Jail, and after. Or, in other words, we're given the perfect opportunity to see what the Radiance is doing (i.e. context effects), and what Hollow is (i.e. what we can conclude is reliably consistent as a part of them). Listed here, for reference:

Hollow's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Radiant Shade Soul, which launches a volley of Infection blobs in arcs

A Radiant Desolate Dive, which produces pillars of entwined Void and Light at random intervals

The Infection bursting out of them in random arcs, covering a significant amount of the aerial space of the arena

The Radiance ragdolling their body around trying to hit the Knight

Contact damage from them stabbing themself and falling over atop you

The Pure Vessel's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Pure Shade Soul, which launches a volley of nails in straight lines

A Pure Desolate Dive, which produces nails at specific intervals

A Pure Focus, which causes circular explosions across most of the aerial space in the arena

Lashing out with a Void Arm (word choice intentional)

I've highlighted attacks from each battle that are different, since those are our points of interest here. In addition, both the Pure Vessel and Hollow are exceedingly fond of teleport-spamming in a way that is usually reserved for a specific group of bosses.

Another very important distinction between these two fights: the Pure Vessel doesn't scream. Well, they certainly try to, but no sound comes out. No voice to cry suffering, after all. All of these points have a lot to go into, so let's address them one at a time.

All That Remains: Theoretical Background On The Significance Of Constants

Making comparisons across time is important specifically because humans (and human-like bugs) change. Most personality traits aren't set in stone--they exist as an interaction of someone's internal tendencies, their experiences, and their environment. Speaking of those last two points, not all experiences and environments are created equally. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs for short) are known to have lifelong implications for a child's health, both physically and mentally. These are events that are so stressful or stressful for so long that they exceed a child's ability to cope and become toxic stress (yes, that's the term in the literature, because it actively damages your organs). They compound, as well--the stress of one ACE makes it harder for a child to cope with another, especially if they overlap.

Some examples of ACEs? Being exposed to physical danger or the threat of physical danger, deprivation of normal social relationships with peers of a similar age, being forcibly seperated from family members, witnessing a loved one being hurt or killed, chronic illness in oneself or a family member, neglect of a child's emotional needs....

Poor fucking Holly. It's a miracle they didn't disintegrate under the pressure. The only other option is that they bent and adapted under that much stress--in other words, most of their personality has been forcibly reshaped by what they've gone through. Anyone who has up-close experience with parentification or complex child abuse already knows: this was by design. I'm not saying the intent was to traumatize the Pure Vessel past several points of no return, but the intent definitely was to reshape their personality for the purpose of being The Vessel. We only see them (the Pure Vessel) in battle after this process is mostly or entirely complete, but we do see them a few times beforehand. I'd like to draw attention to the Path of Pain cutscene right now.

I've seen people talking about the look the Vessel and the King share as a sign that TPK really does love his child. That might be true, but it's definitely not relevant when it comes to how abuse works. This is, in fact, exactly how the cycle of abuse uses affection as a tool. Long periods of abuse or neglect, smoothed over by small periods of affection that placate the survivor? That's textbook love bombing, the kind that forms stubborn trauma bonds and facilitates unhealthy dependency. Forgive me for not giving the Higher Being of knowledge and prescience the benefit of the doubt on that one. (/s)

Team Cherry knows about the importance of parallels and dissonance. There's a reason the music in the second phase of the Hollow Knight fight plays in the Path of Pain. There's a reason it cuts out the moment the battle with the Kingsmoulds is over, instead of at the room transition. There's a reason it doesn't cut out in the Black Egg. Actually, there's two potential reasons, which could also coexist: either little Hollow trusts the Pale King to keep them safe, even after the borderline torture that they were just subjected to, or big Hollow is so hypervigilant that they're in full functioning-through-trauma mode even while they're at death's door.

If you don't see how much the Pale King scarred his child at this point, I'm not sure we were playing the same game.

Walking the Straight Line: How the Pale King's Teachings Show In the Pure Vessel

The Pale King loves order and control. Everything about the White Palace and every decision we see him make implies this. Everything is spotless white walls and well-maintained gardens; the only signs of disorder are hidden away, either in his workshop or in The Pit™. This also reflects in the Pure Vessel's title--pure as in holy, but also pure as in without flaw. Considering the Nailsmith's emotional state after completing the Pure Nail, TPK's fate with his Perfect Controlled Kingdom, and the Godmaster ending as a whole, attaining perfection is not a good thing in any sense.

We know the Hollow Knight isn't perfect--that's the whole catalyst for the plot. But considering their upbringing and their fighting style as the Pure Vessel, their imperfections absolutely kill them emotionally. I'll spare the lecture on how perfectionism affects neurodivergent kids even more severely than neurotypical kids, if only to keep this post to a reasonable length (look up "twice-exceptional children" if you'd like to know the theory I'm glossing over in more depth). But, in essence, the deck is doubly stacked against them--they have a higher goal to reach, and far more obsctacles in their path, including their own emotional scars.

I've already discussed how Hollow isn't meant for this kind of stress in a physical sense in other posts. They're not prepared for it emotionally, either--the Pale King wants perfection, and they can't even stand up straight (every spoonie in the audience already knows how exhausting people's obsession with Standing Up Straight is). There's another page on their stack of emotional baggage, even BEFORE you consider that the Pure Vessel knows their perfection is what bought them a ticket out of the Abyss.

Bringing Teleportation To A Sword Fight: Where The Pure Vessel Reveals Their Fears

How else are they going to cope with that need for perfection, that need to prove themselves worthy of the reason their life was spared, by being flawless in any way they can? Being a mechanical, flawless fighter puts so much pressure on them, both literally (repetitive strain injuries fucking HURT) and figuratively--if you're predictable, the only sure way to win is to mop the floor with your opponents before they figure you out. Hell, that's the way most people play their first run of Hollow Knight, by throwing themselves at the bosses over and over until they figure out the patterns. That strategy is inherently going to fail against an opponent that's, say, an immortal higher being.

There's no way that the Vessel didn't figure this out, and yet none of their TPV specific attacks are positioned randomly--the nails are always evenly spaced, and the Focus explosions are always in a specific height region of the screen. That's clinging to survival strategies even when they become maladaptive in its purest form.

Another dip into psychological theory: let's talk about disorganized attachment. Attachment styles describe how someone's relationships to their main caregiver(s) influence their understanding on relationships in general. Disorganized attachment is a result of an upbringing of inherently unstable parent-child relationships, where there's no way of a child predicting whether an adult is going to be delighted to see them, ambivalent, upset, or otherwise. If my parent woke up some days saying "all right my child, time for the Infinite Buzzsaws Obstacle Course," I'd be the same way. In adulthood this manifests as an inability to form a stable sense of self-concept as well as concepts of others. Mission accomplished, TPK, there's no will to break if you broke it yourself.

This is where the fighting styles as communication comes in--Hollow needs to keep Ghost at a distance to fight, but also wants to be closer to their sibling (the only being who has a chance of understanding what they've been through), BUT also has a trauma-rooted fear of attaching to people, as their experiences with attachment are inherently unpredictable and dangerous. Hence, both the teleportation that doesn't seem to match their fighting style any more reliably than "aim at the thing attacking you" and the second attack unique to the Pure Vessel--they're quite literally lashing out in pain to push people away. There's a reason that attack is so reminiscent of the Thorns of Agony.

Of note is that Holly does seem to teleport like the bugs of the Soul Sanctum do (favoring the edges of a screen, rather than going wherever like Dream Warriors do), which makes sense--they're the most obvious answer to the question "how did they learn how to teleport, anyways?" However, Sanctum bugs have abilities designed to capitalize on this, like homing spells and slashes from above. I can only assume this means that someone saw Holly's proficiency with the nail and assumed it translated to other forms of combat, and didn't feel the need to give them at least a bit of a primer on how to make the best use of it. There's another tally for the Hollow Knight as an autism metaphor.

Trauma Bonds: How the Radiance Speaks Through Hollow

Now, we're back to the Black Egg, and two people stuck in the same sinking ship. The thing that makes this hurt so badly is that Holly and the Radiance are at complete cross purposes here, and yet they both want the same thing:

They both want out, no matter the cost. For the Radiance, this means forsaking the pacifistic nature of the moths and nuking Ghost personally.

For Hollow, this means forsaking the way they were raised and everything that was bludgeoned into their personality: the only way out is to fail, give up control, and trust that Ghost will do what needs to be done.

Imagine how much pain they're in to actually go for it. Going against a literal lifetime of conditioning is something that takes the average person years to even consider, let alone go through with. It's a form of learned helplessness--if you try to break free and fall, again and again, it actively discourages further attempts. Breaking through learned helplessness is an interesting process, because it generally involves re-establishing a sense of control by recalling previous events where the person was able to change their situation.

Which, as far as we know of, are nothing but traumatic memories for Hollow. It's very unlikely that they'd break through it on their own, but we know they have by the time we see the second phase of their fight. This is them at their most desperate: the same music as the Path of Pain, the way they let, or can't stop, the Radiance throw their body around, the way they actively try to let the Radiance out by stabbing themself.

You'd think that giving up and learned helplessness are inherently compatible, but when giving up both goes against your core personality, and involves your active participation, they're in direct opposition. So either Holly was able to process all their trauma by themself (which I doubt, judging by how much effort the player has to go through to even see Ghost's and Hollow's traumatic memories), or someone gave them a nudge or three in that direction.

Considering that there's been someone living in Holly's head who has a vested interest in them Not Doing Their Duty, I think we know who. And the thing is, I think we watch Hollow have this breakthrough during their battle. Imagine for the first time in decades, at least, you can move. You're in pain from being in the same position, probably hallucinating from sensory deprivation, with an infection sucking at what strength your body has left. And there's this little creature who looks ready to fight you, who seems to have let you go for that exact purpose.

And you look down, and both you and the Radiance recognize them from a place rooted deeper than consciousness, in the murky depths of trauma. You see the other Vessel who just as easily could have been you, and who looks so much stronger for not being you, for being an imperfect, willful creature. And the Radiance sees history threatening to repeat itself, another one of the Wyrm's cursed children seeking to lock her away once more.

What else do you do when you're triggered? You scream, and you go on instinct, and you retreat into your head. Those first blows, with the epic music? That's the Vessel the Pale King forged, the fighting machine that will endure unimaginable stress because it knows no other way. What snaps you back out of dissociation? Usually, either the passage of the triggering stimulus, or an even more relevant stimulus (severe pain from getting beaten up by a nail, for example).

The tragedy is this: we know this isn't a triumph. I think most of us went into that fight the first time, knowing we'd be putting the Hollow Knight out of their misery. The music turns tragic, Hollow screams, and then we see the Radiance and Hollow themself break through: the Radiance trying to fight Ghost directly with the resources she has, and Hollow trying to help her along.

For what it's worth, Hollow even had the right idea, when it came to letting themself rest while helping Ghost stop the madness their father started--they were just digging for the Radiance in the wrong place. The dynamic between the Radiance and the Hollow Knight is something I could write on for pages and pages, but this has gone on for long enough. Tune in next time, where I'll presumably talk about this same topic but in reverse with regards to the Radiance.

[txtdreamss]

mirrorball // [g.w.]

sequel to tolerate it

warnings: angst, fem!reader

summary: It’s been 2 weeks since George told you he has a date to the yule ball. As of now, it’s the night before and you are reflecting on your feelings for him and wondering if you can continue as his best friend.

word count: 1.5k

A/N: So, here it is! I am hoping to get this posted as soon as possible for those of you who wanted to see a part 2 to tolerate it. I had a really difficult time deciding on how I wanted to end this, and I really hope it pleases you guys (not sure I’m happy with the ending, but that is to be expected). Sorry in advance for any errors, as this is a one-woman show and I sometimes miss my own mistakes. :) Special thanks to @ajusquishy for being the first to ask about this addition to tolerate it!

*****

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself tonight

The past 2 weeks had been the most difficult time of your life. George had been following Alicia around like a lost puppy, and even Fred was getting sick of it. Oddly enough, it seemed like George couldn’t get through one interaction with you without mentioning the girl’s name.

“Oh Y/N, we decided to match my tie to her dress!”

“Did you know she said I am the cutest quidditch player she has ever met?”

“I’m thinking about asking mum to knit her a sweater this Christmas!”

At first you could handle it. As his best friend of nearly 6 years, it was your job to handle it. Why didn’t that make any of this easier?

There wasn’t a change in George that you had neglected to notice. Hell, your heart dropped when he showed up with a new bruise after quidditch practice. You were the one who had told him to grow his hair out (and damn, was that a good piece of advice). George had even been with you when he chose his first pair of dress robes for merlin’s sake!

Molly Weasley saw you as her stand-in while the boys and Ginny were at Hogwarts. Of course, she didn’t know that George and Fred had grown in their pranking abilities thanks to your sugar-sweet exterior, but that didn’t change the role you played in the Weasley children’s life. You were the responsible friend who also just happened to lead a double life when it came to the twins.  It was thanks to you that they had received only 3 detentions this quarter, and it was their fault that you now had an affinity for “accidentally” leaving dung bombs in the outer pockets of Cormac McLaggen’s bag.

“Hey, Y/N... I haven’t seen you around much. You aren’t avoiding me, are ya?” George’s baritone voice broke you out of your thoughts. He settled his arms on the top of your head, and sighed deeply, letting his head drop. “Fred and I need your help figuring out what the best escape route from the dungeons is.”

“Go ask Lee, he can do some math too.” Yes, you were being harsh, but George’s presence was enough to shatter any semblance of self control you still had left.  “Now, if you excuse me, I have a study date with some ancient runes and Hermione.”

As you stalked out of the common room, George couldn’t bear to bring up how he hadn’t been able to come up with any solid pranks in exactly 14 days.

*****

You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you

Tonight was the night; your hair was curled to perfection, and the gown your mother had sent you was the color of holly. The heels you had strapped on were a matte black dusted with the occasional piece of red glitter. Despite the fact that George was not your date, you couldn’t help my let your thoughts drift to him as you got ready. Would he think you looked pretty? Would he think you looked as good as her?

Lee tapped you on the shoulder, and you steadied yourself before letting him gently grab your hand. “Don’t let that prat get you down. You look like a goddess, Y/N. Now, let’s go show Georgie what he is missing.” 

Lee was a great friend for doing this for you; he knew about your feelings (Fred apparently can’t keep his mouth shut), and immediately became set on helping you get back on your feet. He had become your greatest cheerleader as of late, and claimed that George doesn’t know it, but he definitely has feelings for you.

As you both walked into the great hall, you couldn’t help but let out a gasp. There were snowflakes and all types of seasonal decor strung up across the room, and it was almost like the room had transformed into a winter dreamscape. Fred and George had beat you there, already sipping punch with Angelina and Alicia.

“You boys clean up nice.” The twins and Lee let out a chorus of ‘hey’s, clearly displeased with your mockery of their appearances.

“Oi, I was betting 5 galleons that Fred would show up in his trainers...” George’s voice was surprisingly meek, almost as if he was looking for your approval with his jabs towards his brother.

The boys immediately began discussing their plan to spike the punch bowl with firewhiskey, and Angelina and Alicia launched into a conversation about where they had purchased their gowns. You felt more than out of place at this point, and decided to relocate after notifying Lee that you’d be fine on your own for a bit. Almost immediately after, Angelina went to distract McGonagall while Fred and Lee snuck under the table of refreshments.

You went to talk with Hermione and the younger trio, and were drawn into a lesson in muggle dancing.

“No, Ron, that is not how you hit the woah.” (I’m sorry I felt so inclined to include this cuz the image makes me chuckle lol).

“Well, ‘Mione, why don’t you and Y/N show us how this is done then?” Harry and Ron crossed their arms, and Hermione slipped her arm around your shoulders.

“C’mon, Y/N. You look like you could use something fun.” She dragged you onto the dance floor, and you both began dramatically spinning each other to the sound of your wheezing laughter.

If only you had noticed a certain red-headed prankster gazing at you like you had hung the stars in the sky...

*****

You are not like the regulars The masquerade revelers Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten

Fred and Angelina had taken to the floor as soon as the waltzing began. After watching them twirl to the crescendos of the music, you finally decided enough was enough. All it too was a look at Lee, and he understood what you needed to do. You slipped out of the doors to the great hall, and found yourself wandering amongst the carriages powdered with snow, occasionally stopping to draw shapes into the piles of flakes.

Following five-ish minutes of mucking about, you finally decided to sit on the steps that bridged the courtyard and the hallways. Snowflakes continued floating, but you quickly realized the droplets of water on your face were from small tears and not the weather. Sniffles escaped your nose, and you crossed your arms in a poor attempt to keep warm despite your lack of sleeves.

Out of nowhere, you felt heavy cloth drop onto your bare shoulders.

“Be careful, love. Ya look like you’re halfway to becoming an ice lolly.” George shuffled his long, lanky body onto the steps. You looked at him through your lashes, and he seemed almost squeamish.

“Don’t you have Alicia waiting for you inside? I’m sure she wouldn’t be thrilled to see you out here.”

“Bloody hell, Y/N, I think we have been pretty dense.” Confusion evident on your features, George let his larger hand cover yours. “I didn’t want to ask Alicia. I wanted to ask you.”

“What do you mean? You’ve been talking my ear off about how much you like her for weeks now...”

“I was trying to make you jealous.” Silence overtook the interaction.

“So you’re saying that we both have been blind to our feelings?” 

George let out a small chuckle, and pulled his hand away. To be quite honest, you felt like maybe you had been ignoring the signs: the subtle stares, the extended physical contact, the willingness to be there whenever and wherever you asked him to.

“I think we may want to start over and forget the last few weeks.”

“I think I would quite like that.” You stood up, and brushed the snow off your skirt before extending your hand towards George. “Well, George, the yule ball is in... now... would you like to be my date?”

“I would enjoy that a bunch, Y/N.” He took your hand, and pulled you into his chest. “May have a dance to start off the evening?”

“...There isn’t any music.” You chuckled, but George simply grinned at you before beginning to hum.

“Problem solved. So, may I have this dance?”

“You may.” You dropped your head into the nook of his shoulder, and George began to sway and spin you, leaving 2 pairs of footprints in the snow beneath your feet.

From just beyond your view, Fred, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia let out somewhat of a “oomph” and high-fived each other before turning to go back inside.

Shining just for you.

[withallthingslove]

Hi, Did you see the last trailer showing more Nick & June together? He tell her: "Hey June, try and be happy" and they "I should have run away with you when I had the chance". What is your feelings about this new trailer? Thank you

Oh yes I’ve watched it lots of time. I’ll be honest when I first watched it (which was like midnight my time so I was v tired) I was very sad because I was like “omg they’re breaking up because she’s back with Luke, fuck.” But then the next morning I watched it again and analyzed it, and I think they either meet two times, or we are getting one realllyyyyyyyy long meeting between them. 

First off, I imagine that their meeting in the snow is just supposed to be Gilead-related, whether it is about the Waterford trial, war against Canada, Hannah, etc. I imagine they meet somewhere near the border in a safe area, and I don’t know if they knew they were meeting each other or if June was told something like “a Mayday agent wants to talk to you” and that person was Nick. I don’t think June goes with the purpose to “break up” with Nick and it’s more just assumed that since she is in Canada she’s back with her husband. 

We know in the first meeting we have “freedom looks good on you,” their forehead touch behind the wall, and “june try and be happy.” We also know that June’s reunion with Luke is NOT a fairytale. While Nick telling June to be happy is very break-up like, it also means he can either tell or she told him she isn’t happy. 

He’s not saying “oh I’m so glad that you are back with your husband and you are happy and adjusted to canada” he tells her “try and be happy” which means she isn’t happy at all and he’s just telling her to at least try. The way she closes her eyes when he tells her this also makes me get the vibe of she knows she won’t be happy without him and it’s bittersweet/sad but resigned to the fact that she is in Canada and he is in Gilead. Plus the fact that she is back with her husband, the man she is supposed to be in love with. 

Now for the “I should have run away with you when I had the chance”.... it’s probably dumb to try and analyze it given that we have no context but I’M GOING TO ANYWAY. 

Location: I think it’s the same house where they met in the snow, so they either go inside during the first meeting and June takes off her black outer coat and rearranges her scarf, or it’s a different scene entirely. 

Body language: June is attune to what Nick is saying, but she isn’t facing him fully, but Nick has his arm around her and he is turned entirely toward her. Essentially leaning in. I get major “I’m fighting for you” vibes even if that is not what the conversation is about. 

(Also for their forehead touch in the snow scene Nick seems to lean into a bit more so I get the vibe June is probably back to being torn since Luke is in the picture)

Nick’s comment: I think Nick is saying this because he wishes he had run away when he was a driver and not a Commander and it would have been easier to defect. I also think June possibly tries to convince him to leave (possibly on multiple occasions) and Nick feels like he can’t. 

I honestly don’t think Luke is much of a factor here in the conversation because if Nick and June had run away in season 1 or season 2 when they fantasized about it, Luke was in the picture for June, and June did not come to terms with her feelings for Nick until the end of season 2. Meaning it would have been more instinctual for her to go back to Luke and not work out with Nick if they had run away together earlier. But now I think it is clear that Nick is who June is in love with, but she is holding onto Luke because he is her husband and she feels like she has to. And I think now Nick knows that if they had run away together, he would have actually had a fighting chance with her in the real world given how solidified their love has become. 

Because while they fantasized about being a family together, it was always fantasy and Nick’s main goal was to get June and Holly out, knowing June would probably reunite with Luke. But now Nick is changing his tune and verbalizing that he wished he had found a way to go with June when it was easier for him to leave Gilead. 

Which brings me back to Nick fighting for June. Even if he is saying he regrets doing something that is not possible now, he is kind of for the first time being selfish (if you can call it that) and admitting what he wants. And what he wants is to have run away with June and been a family, Luke or Gilead be damned. 

I think love triangles are dumb but... would Nick be verbalizing how much he wants to with June if she was happy with Luke? No. Would June be having secret meetings with Nick to discuss their relationship if she was happy and in love with Luke? No. Would they be super touchy if June was happy in her marriage? No. 

Apparently the 9th and 10th episodes of the season are crazy, so I’m not going to try and predict what happens. But I do know the show has been marketing the love triangle and Nick’s allegiance a lot. And while they have advertised a lot of June and Nick’s scenes, they haven’t shown June with Luke. Which means June and Luke’s reunion is going to surprise a lot of viewers (I think viewers without critical thinking skills will be upset their reunion isn’t happy when... duh?) and there is probably more Nick and June we aren’t seeing.

I think there is a good chance that even if the love triangle isn’t resolved by the end of the season, fans will be able to tell where it will probably go. Just based on the tone of the trailers, we get apprehension/tension/fear/sadness with June and Luke, and love/bittersweet/longing with June and Nick. Which is very telling. 

[thatesqcrush]

The Trip

Bryan Kneef x Reader. CW: NSFW. Oral sex (male & female receiving), p in v sex, some roughish sex, incl. choking, hair pulling, and spanking, some daddy! references & of course, language. Bryan being his usual asshole self. For holiday bingo: silver & gold. Dedicated to @beccabarba who is a super awesome person, writer, and friend. If you haven’t read her stuff - DO IT (after you read my story though, ha! JK, JK).

WC: 3.5k

--

You sighed in annoyance, fanning yourself with the pamphlet that you had been given. It was the annual ERISA Litigation Conference, taking place in Palm Beach, Florida. It was not how you had exactly planned spending your Christmas. Your parents extended their vacation in Europe and your sister had the flu. When your boss, Gavin Firth announced he needed a volunteer to attend the conference, you leaped at the chance. Spending a week in Florida, even for work, sounded like a vacation – something you not had in five years. Chicago at Christmas was brutally cold. No thank you.

You were stuck for the entire day at the Tideline Hotel and Spa, in “Conference Room B.” The luxurious hotel had gone all out with elaborate holiday decorations. Silver and gold reindeers and dark green garland with red holly berries flanked the hotel. Multiple Christmas trees adorned the lobby. The hotel added a menorah and a kinara for good measure as well.

There was an issue with the air conditioner in your conference room and all the other conference rooms were filled. You were sweltering. There was a small bar and you were waiting on a refill of a peach bellini when you noticed him walking in.

It was Bryan fucking Kneef.

The head of STR Laurie’s litigation department sauntered in, wearing a two-button linen suit with pick stitching and flat front trousers. The top button of the white shirt he wore under was unbuttoned, with a tuft of chest hair sticking out. He recognized you immediately and he made way, pausing briefly to greet to other litigators.

As Bryan approached you, he took off his sunglasses, revealing his bright green eyes. “Hello Y/N.”

“Hello Bryan; what are you doing here? I thought you had court this week.” You replied, as you took your drink from the bartender.

“Passed it off to Caleb. When I heard the conference was here in sunny Florida, I jumped at the chance.” Bryan made a jack off motion with his fist which earned a raised brow from you. “What a perfect way to blow off some steam on the firm’s dime?”

“It’s nine o’clock in the morning Bryan.” You replied, as he ordered a scotch from the bartender. “You need Jesus.” You rolled your eyes.

When he turned his attention away from you, you glanced back at him and eyed him carefully – he did look good. More than good as evidenced by the pool of desire that was growing between your legs. It was safe to say that you had a crush on him – how could you not with how attractive he was. And he was intelligent and a smart ass, with the sharpest of tongues. But his acrid attitude turned you off. He, however, loved to goad and hound you – ever since you joined the firm years ago. Before Caleb became his associate, you were his associate. There were countless nights where you would burn the midnight oil finishing his briefs while he was galivanting around Chicago sowing his seed. Aside from being worked to the bone, you learned a lot from him. Eventually, you worked your way out and were fast-tracked to junior partner.

Bryan felt as if he was being watched and he turned, catching you staring, which caused your cheeks to flush. You sure had grown up from being his associate. You were more beautiful than he remembered, with shapely hips and perky breasts encased in mint sleeveless sheath dress. Your lips appeared soft and lush and he zoned in on them as you chided him on his choice drink. He wondered how your lips would feel around his cock.

“Where are you sitting?” Bryan asked, shifting his stance as he felt his cock twitch.

“By the window, it’s too damn hot in here.” You replied. When he replied he would join you, you felt your heart race. You both settled and gave your breakfast orders to the hotel staff. Bryan removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

You squirmed in your seat – how could someone even make rolling up their sleeves sexy? You fanned yourself some more and chugged your drink.

The first day of conference went well overall. There were various speakers discussing issues such as fraudulent claims, insurance companies acting capriciously and how to be more effective with settlement demands. You took copious notes while Bryan dicked around on his phone.

The day ended in the early afternoon and you decided to use your time at the hotel pool. Purchasing a swimsuit in December had been a bit more difficult than you had imagined and the only thing you found at the last minute was a black single strap suit with a silver and gold diagonal stripe.  The back was dangerously low and the swimsuit bottoms were cheeky, showing an ample amount of your ass. You wore a lace cover-up that had a very boho-chic feel to it. You paired it an oversized floppy hat and black sunglasses.

You made your way to the pool, armed with a book and a drink in another. You found a lounge chair and took off your cover-up. You laid on your stomach and read a few pages, feeling the warm sun on your skin. You felt your eyes begin to droop and you were about to give in to sleep when a voice spoke, causing you to jump. You saw Bryan standing over you.  Your eyes trailed over his chest hair which was neatly trimmed and followed the vertical trail all the way down from his navel down to his short swim trunks which left nothing to the imagination. Bryan Kneef definitely was packing.

“Your ass is better than Memo 618.” Bryan licked his lips and you sat up, covering yourself. “This seat taken?” Bryan did not wait for you to answer, instead sitting at the edge of your chair.

You scooted up more in the chair and crossed your legs and arms, pushing up your tits further. Through his sunglasses, Bryan appreciated the view, noting if he just tugged the top a little, your tits would be exposed.

Two women in bikinis that left very little to the imagination walked by and Bryan peered up, taking off his sunglasses to leer at them. “Hi ladies.” The two women smirked at him and Bryan watched them walk away. You watch the scene before you and you suddenly feel self-conscious – you were still carrying some holiday weight – and holiday weight from years prior.

“I’m getting a new chair.” You announce loudly. “Nice seeing you Bry.” You gather your belongings and move to leave when Bryan grips your arm.

“Stay, come on. I figured we could catch up since I hardly see you around in the office and maybe tonight we could grab dinner.” Bryan replied. To your surprise, he seemed sincere.

“Are you asking me out?” You asked. “What – can’t get the Barbie bimbos?”

Bryan rolled his eyes. “It’s dinner – come on, we’re colleagues, we’re friends.” You gave him a look. “Okay, we’re colleagues.”

“Fine.” You acquiesce. “Go sit over there. You’re going to ruin my tan.” Bryan chuckled as he moved to the empty lounge chair. You roll back onto your stomach once more and start to dive into your book when you feel a pair of hands on you.

“What in the actual fucking fuck?” You swore and look over to see Bryan squeezing lotion onto his hand. He rubbed his large hands together. “You’re going to burn. Let me put some lotion on you.” His hands began to rub your back and you felt your desire skyrocket. He may have been an asshole, but the man’s touch… was something else.

As his hands moved lower and lower, you let your mind wander on what else his hands could do. You couldn’t help but let out a very soft moan in response as his hands moved up the backs of your thighs.

The chair creaked as Bryan stood. He crouched beside you, and pushed your hair back. “Just say the word and we can do much more than just dinner.” His fingers scraped gently along the back of your neck and you shivered. You stared at him, mouth agape as he sat back on the other chair, his arms behind his head, with a very smug and sure look on his face.

**

You met Bryan for dinner at the hotel restaurant, which had a 5 star Michelin rating. Bryan wore another linen suit and you wore a cream colored off the shoulder fitted dress with a sweetheart neckline. Large hoop earrings hung off your ears and you kept your makeup light and your hair loose. Bryan was ever the gentleman, helping you into your seat.

Dinner was going well, with drinks flowing a bit too easily. You could see why Bryan was the way he was, expecting things the way he did. The man was charming and suave. When not being a pissed off asshole, he was actually really easy to get along with. You discussed old cases and the merger with Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart and found you both had a mutual dislike for Diane Lockhart.

When the check arrived, Bryan insisted on paying, which you let him. Bryan watched as you knocked back the rest of your wine. You wiped your mouth on the napkin and met his eyes, which were blown with lust. Your brain screamed no, but the throb in your pussy said YES.

“Does your offer still stand?” You asked. Bryan noted the twinge in your voice.

Bryan grinned like the cat who caught the canary. “You bet your sweet ass it does.”

**

“When we get back to the office, not a word.” You moaned as Bryan sucked on your neck.

“When we get back to the office, I am going to fuck you there too.” Bryan murmured as he worked the back of your dress zipper. You turned around so he could unzip it fully. You pushed your dress down, until it pooled at your feet. You turned slowly and stepped out. You weren’t wearing a bra – just a tiny piece of fabric that dared called itself a thong. Bryan had quickly shed himself of his own clothes, just clad in boxers with a very sizeable tent evident.

“Do you have condoms?” You ask, drinking his near nude form in.

“No worries; I’m snipped.” Your brow arched, pleased with this information.

“Just as well. I’m on birth control.” You shrugged.

“Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Bryan growled. He pulled you to him closely, kissing you deeply once more. His hands went to your ass, grabbing and squeezing the meaty flesh of your ass. You let out a moan and he used the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth, exploring. He tasted like mint and something else that was very much uniquely him and you wondered if he tasted the same below. Bryan picked you up easily by the backs of your thighs and carried you to the bed. You both fell onto the bed, a mess of tangled limbs. The two of you continued your heavy make out session, hands touching everywhere. Bryan sat up and took one of your breasts into his mouth. You threw your head back as his tongue licked one nipple while he firmly rolled and pinched the other. You writhed in his lap, feeling his cock grow even harder beneath you, if that was even possible. Bryan switched breasts and repeated his actions. His beard burned you in the best of ways, leaving red marks along your skin.

“Oh God!” You groaned as he suckled on your tit harder and then nipped you.

“Not God.” Bryan chuckled darkly. “Just me.”

You entwined your hands into Bryan’s dark hair, keeping him in place. “Do that again. That felt so fucking good.” Bryan smiled and did as you requested which earned another moan from you. Bryan licked the space between your breasts and then placed wet kisses along your abdomen. You momentarily felt self conscious of your stomach but that thought was quickly forgotten as Bryan pulled your thong to the side and buried his face into your hot needy cunt.

Bryan ate you out like a man possessed, his tongue mimicking what he planned to do you later. He was relentless in his actions, gripping you tightly to his face. You hips undulated against his mouth as he alternated between burying his tongue into you and lapping at your folds. He snaked two fingers into you and began to finger fuck you, while his tongue found your swollen bundle of nerves and stayed there. The sounds that emanated – helpless and uncontrolled sighs and wails which go straight to Bryan’s cock. As he stroked the sweet spot inside of you, you let a deep guttural groan. You came hard, your thighs gripping the sides of his face tightly. Bryan continued to lap at you through your orgasm and your second orgasm approached fairly quickly.

Bryan takes a moment to remove his mouth from you, but he continues to rub haphazard circles on your clit. It’s beautiful when you come. Your back is arched towards the ceiling, your thighs tremble and shake. A light sheen of sweated coated your skin.

You threw your hands over your face as you let out a giggle. You had never experienced oral sex like this before. The man’s tongue was clearly sharp both in and out of the bedroom. “Holy shit!” You panted.

Bryan climbed over you, kissing the space between your breasts once more and then covered his body with yours, kissing you deeply. You could taste yourself on him and it just spurred your desire.

“Let me return the favor.” You murmured and Bryan was quick to roll himself over, shedding himself of his boxers. His massive cock sprung, falling back on his taut belly, with a heavy smack. Your eyes widen slightly as you take his size and girth in with an equally proportionate sack.

You spat into your hand and reached up to jerk his cock. His cock feels thick, hot and heavy in your hand. Your fingers graze the ridges and veins of his engorged cock before taking him into your mouth. Bryan hissed and he wrapped both of his hands into your hair, guiding your mouth on his cock. He had to will himself to not just fuck your mouth and completely unload. ‘No, no’ Bryan thinks to himself, deciding to save that idea for another day.

“You’re such a good little cocksucker.” Bryan praised and you squealed in response, though the sound was muffled because your mouth was full. The taste of his pre-cum flooded your mouth. You pulled away to take a brief breather, a strand of saliva connected you to him. You continued to use your hand to help you before taking more of his length into your mouth, triggering your gag reflex. The sounds of your mouth slobbering all over his cock drove Bryan crazy. You didn’t ease up. You reached up and gently cradled his balls, massaging them softly. Bryan let out a grunt of surprise as you dipped your head down and sucked gently on his balls, using your hand to jerk him.

“Enough.” Bryan barked. “I want to fuck that pussy.” He climbs off the bed, reaching over to grab the hotel bed pillows and stacks them one on top of the other. “All fours.”

You realize what he is doing and you climb into position. Your ass was up in the air, the rest of your bod diagonal, with your head to the side. You let out a squeal as Bryan smacks your ass, the sting burning your skin briefly.

Bryan positions himself behind you and runs his cock along your soaked pussy. You push against him, eager to feel him inside of you. Again, teasingly, Bryan rubbed his cock against your folds, barely just slipping in. You whimpered in protest.

“Please.” You desperately begged. “Fucking fill me up with that big fat cock of yours.”

In one movement, Bryan slid his cock into you. You gasped at the fullness. You gripped the sheets as you felt his balls nestle at your pussy. He filled you so completely that it took your breath right out of you. Bryan began to slowly piston in and out of you, watching as his cock disappeared into your warm sheath. He rotated his hips, before coming to a still causing you to mewl and whimper.

You were close to the precipice and not in the mood for niceties. “Come on, I’m not gonna break,” you gritted. “Fuck me. Fuck me hard.”

That earned two spanks in succession as Bryan growled in response quickening his tempo. The headboard of the bed banged against the wall as he fucked you hard. His hands gripped your hips tightly; you were certain there would be bruises in the morning.

“Your pussy is so fucking tight and wet.” Bryan grunted, spanking you some more.

“All for you.” You whined, pushing back and meeting his thrusts. “Give it to me Bry. I want to come!”

“This is my pussy.” Bryan grunted, leaning his weight over you and twisting your hair into his palm. He pulled you back hard, the pain of it should have alarmed you, instead, you gave into it, craving more. You were flush against him, your back to his chest and he fucked up into you. Your mouth grew slack and your eyes fluttered close as he wrapped his hand around your throat, squeezing. His other hand found your clit and began to rub again.

“I… I…” you babbled incoherently, your mind was going fuzzy with the pleasure you were feeling. Without warning, Bryan pulled out of you, rolling onto his back.

He held his cock straight up and looked at you expectantly. You felt your self-consciousness rear its ugly head at the idea of riding him.

“I can’t.” You replied weakly. Bryan gave you a look that could only be described as ‘what the fuck.’ His eyes turned dark and stony and his face hardened.

“You can and you will.” Bryan replied with confidence.

“I’m too heavy.” You bemoaned.

Bryan let go of his cock and slapped the outside of his thigh. “I’m a grown fucking man. Come on and ride daddy’s cock like a good girl.”

You nodded and Bryan reached for you, pulling you on top of him. You followed his lead, reaching down to grab his cock. You noticed your essence all over his cock and you groaned internally before you climbed onto him and sunk into his cock. You began to roll your hips. Bryan’s own eyes fluttered close and his hands were on your hips, guiding you.

“Fuuuck.” Bryan growled, thrusting his hips up to meet you. He leaned you down and took a breast into his mouth, as he jack-hammered into you. You cried out again and reached down to rub your swollen nub.

“Are you going to be a good girl and come for me?”

“I am going to… oh Bryan, fuck! Just like that.” You gasped.

“Come for me.” He commanded with a grunt, gripping your hips tightly as he pounded into you. “Cream on daddy’s cock.”

You wailed Bryan’s name as you came completely undone. Feeling your walls flutter around his cock, seeing your wrecked face - it was all too much for Bryan and he came, stiffening as he emptied his hot creamy load into you. Murmurs of “let my pussy milk that cock,” left your lips.

“That’s it, take it like a good girl.” Bryan rumbled, deep and low. Your eyes were squeezed shut and you could feel his load drip out of your pussy and pool in between your bodies.

You collapsed against Bryan, falling into a heap as you came down back to reality. Bryan pressed a kiss to your head, before gently lifting your face to give you a soft kiss. eventually peeled your sweaty body off of him. You laid next to each other, your chests heaving, each trying to catch your breath.

You rolled onto your side, facing Bryan. You ran your hand through his chest hair. “That was … wow.”

Bryan gave you a shit-eating grin. “Can’t wait to do that again.”

You pressed a kiss to his lips and climbed over him, one leg over each side of his face. Bryan smirked as he realized what you were doing. “Why wait?” You asked, your voice dripped with lust.

“I hope you don’t suffocate me.” He teased with a wink. You rolled your eyes and went to make a smart remark when he surprised you by pulling you down onto his face, his tongue doing all sorts of wonderful things. You let out a surprised ‘fuck!’ and looked down at him. Bryan looked up at you, his mouth left you briefly. “Oh but what a way to go - you will need to take over my caseload when we go back.” He replied before devouring you once more.

FIN.

--

Tags: @madpanda75 @tropes-and-tales @delia26 @mgarner1227 @beardedmccoy @youreverycolor @neely1177 @the-baby-bookworm @mrsrafaelbarba @skittle479 @ottosuricato @sass-and-suspenders @mommakat32 @dreila03 @beccabarba @garturbo @lovebennycolon @imjustreallynosy @sweetsummertime99 @whyissvuruiningmylovelife @annabelleb49 @scarletsoldierrr @cesarofangirl78 @redlipstickandplaid @redlipstickandblacktea @zoeykaytesmom @differentshadesofgray @misssirenlove @esparza-army @bananas-pajamas @mishaissocoolike @thefanficfaerie @theenchantedgalleryofstories @catnip987 @choppedgalaxynerd @pieceofshittytitty @ktiz90 @evee87 @itsjustmyfantasyroom @detective-giggles @rampantmuses @jazzyjoi @caked-crusader @rachelxwayne @prurientpuddlejumper @lv7867 @permanentlydizzy @bisexual-dreamer02 @madamsnape921 @averyhotchner @teamsladsandgents  

[gristol-liker]

The Ones Who Hurt You - pt1

You approach Gristol in the mailroom with a smile. He’s in the secure mailroom, sorting letters. The door is closed, so you stand before the window and speak through it.

“Hey, Gristol!” You wait until he turns away from the mailboxes and steps up to the glass. “Guess what I just got clearance for. Here’s your hint.” You hold up your psycho-portal for him to see, waving it back and forth.

“So you managed to convince them somehow.” He doesn’t seem impressed or happy about your news.

“I told you I could. They know that you and I are... on good terms.”

“And that was enough?”

“It took some convincing. I explained to them it’d be safer for the person involved if they’re actually welcome in your mind. Truman and Hollis both agreed. After some more discussion, they okayed it.”

Gristol frowns at you. “I never said that you’re welcome in my mind.”

“Come on, Gristol. You don’t know what I went through to get this approved. They wanted to send in someone more experienced. If it’s not me, it could be someone worse. You might get assigned to Sasha. And his dozens of machines.”

“I am not dealing with him again.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to. We just need to pick a time. My schedule is pretty open, so I’m fine with leaving it up to you. You can’t wait too long though, or the bosses will get upset.”

Gristol thinks for a moment. “Fine. How about right now?”

“Right now?”

“The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

He’d agreed much faster than you’d expected him to. Even though the two of you had previously spoken about the subject of his “wellness checks,” he’d always seemed to be resistant. That’s part of the reason you’d decided to ask the grand head to allow you to be the one to perform them; at least you and Gristol are friendly. If “friendly” is even a term that can apply to Gristol.

“You’ll have to come out of that room,” you say as you tap the glass with the corner of your psycho-portal. “We can probably use the classroom; no one should be using it right now and the beds are nice and comfortable.”

“No.” Gristol opens the door and exits the secured room. “We will do it here.”

“Okay, if that’s what you’d like. But I’m insisting we sit down for this. It’s safer for both of us.” You’ll never forget the time you returned after projecting into someone’s mind, and the force knocked you down to the floor. You weren’t hurt, but you could’ve been. “Come on.” You gesture for him to follow you, but instead, he takes the lead, heading down the steps and to the mailroom’s couch. You roll your eyes; ever since Gristol had stopped pretending to be Nick, he’d become a lot more self-centered.

You sit on one end of the couch and Gristol sits on the other. As you go to place the psycho-portal on the center of his forehead, Gristol holds up a hand to stop you. “You’d better not go messing around in there. You Psychonauts have done enough damage already.”

“It’s not like that. I’m just going to take a look around. I’ll hardly even touch anything. Promise.” When Gristol drops his hand to his lap, you set the portal on his head and prepare to enter his mind.

You find yourself standing on a tiled floor beside a long, red carpet. Ahead of you is a path marked out by line dividers and an ornate wall with a door blocked by two sideways candles. Portraits adorn the wall, but you don’t get a great look at them. Other than that you seem to be in a black void. His mind isn’t what you were expecting.

“Impressed yet?” A voice behind you says.

You turn around to see... “Gristol?” It’s him, yes, but he’s thinner than in the real world and is dressed much differently. He’s wearing a long, light-blue coat with a gold belt; a red cape with white fur trim; and, most notably, a large red crown that seems to be some kind of fusion of a crown, a Fabergé egg, and a chandelier. The crown is at least as tall as Gristol is, maybe even taller. “Gristol, you look...” You hold back the urge to say ridiculous.

“Regal? Elegant? Handsome?”

“Yeah, sure.” Looking at that over-the-top crown makes you want to laugh, but now’s not the time for that. “What is this place?”

Instead of answering you, Gristol steps around you and onto the red carpet. “Follow me.” He even walks differently in here; his head held high, one hand behind his back, and the other raised in front of him. You follow behind him, trying to reconcile with the fact that this is the same guy that would deliver your mail with a pleasant smile. At the end of the carpet, there’s a small gate that Gristol passes through. “Normally only Grulovians would be allowed here, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

“I’m honored,” you say sarcastically, going through the gate after him.

“Unfortunately, the ride doesn’t work anymore. Another thing ruined by the Psychonauts.”

“Ride?” As you start to ask for further explanation, the candles holding the door shut lift up and the door opens. You both walk through.

Part 2

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 18: Growing Pains (originally published on July 12, 2021)

AN: Welcome back everyone. Now, this is going to be a pretty heavy chapter for me to write. Well, mostly the A-plot, the B-plot will be courtroom nonsense ala Phoenix Wright and Harvey Birdman. But I'm getting off track, as someone who have faced some very tough times before in my life, I hope I can be as respectful to both the original episode and everyone who watched it as possible. Now then, let's get rocking and rolling.

Synopsis: Steven goes to his first doctor's appointment and realizes how deep his problems run.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Volleyball, Yellow Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Charlyne Yi as Navy

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Zuli

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Amy Sedaris as Yellow Zircon, Blue Zircon

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Featuring Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

--

The day after his failed date with Connie, Steven stayed in his bedroom for most of the morning where he was surrounded by ice cream and watching the preview for a new Dogcopter movie, which showed the titular canine standing on top of a black car chasing a blue car and a mail van while a pug gave him orders.

"I know you're eager to catch the mail truck Dogcopter, but it's really a decoy!" the other dog at the wheel named Drew ordered Dogcopter. "Chase the blue car instead! Good boys chase the blue car, and you're a good boy Dogcopter!"

With a fearless expression, Dogcopter leaped off the black car and used the propeller on his back to fly towards the black car, followed by using a pair of extendable hands to open up the trunk, revealing a bomb and a ring box inside.

"Nice work DC, now get the bomb outta the trunk and off the bridge!" Drew congratulated Dogcopter. "We're almost out of time!"

However, it was too late for Dogcopter. The bomb went off as he tossed it off the bridge, and the resulting explosion blew him away. As Dogcopter collapsed on the bridge, the ring box fell from his mechanical hands and onto the asphalt.

"Dogcopter, no!" Drew cried as he burst from the car to keep his friend alive. "I can't lose you Dogcopter!" Luckily, Dogcopter was unharmed and he woke up to pop open the ring box, which contained a ring shaped like a dog bone that he presented to Drew. "Is that?"

"DOGCOPTER 6: TILL DEATH DO WE BARK: I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU MAN AND WOOF!" the announcer read the film's title as it appeared on the screen, making Steven groan in agony at the irony of the trailer he was watching.

"Everyone's getting married except me!" Steven yelled as he sank into his bed and started turning pink. "Even Dogcopter succeeded in popping the question! I feel like poop." Steven then picked up his phone and tried calling one of the Crystal Gems, but he unfortunately got no answer. "Wish the Gems weren't doing a field trip to Homeworld today. I wonder if they got any reception?"

--

Meanwhile, on the Gem Homeworld, it was a rather tense time. Following the exposure of Black Rutile's revolution and attempted massacre of the Crystal Gems, the citizens were in fear of who among them could still be a supporter of her. And three followers, in particular, were about to be put on trial.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth led their classes into the Diamonds' throne room, which was already set up like a courtroom with stands for the judge, jury, witnesses, attorneys, and the accused. Those accused were Holly Blue Agate, Morganite, and Navy, who sat down at the plaintiff's bench with varying expressions of irritation, resignation, and sadness.

"Now class, we want you all to be on your best behavior," Garnet advised the Gem students. "This is a serious time for our kind, and we want absolute silence for most of this trial. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Garnet." The Gems obliged before they retreated to the jury box while their teachers took their seats at the prosecutor's stand. That was when Garnet took notice of Pearl sticking her nose in the book by George Ikari that she had gotten at yesterday's signing.

"I see you're keeping yourself busy Pearl." Garnet remarked, forcing Pearl to look up from her book.

"Thanks for noticing Garnet." Pearl replied to the fusion. "I've just been a little enraptured by this little tome lately. George uses such flowery terms for such simple concepts, and the concepts in question could be very useful to Steven too."

"All y'all, shush!" Amethyst ordered her two seniors. "Here comes the judge!"

"All rise for the honorable Yellow Diamond!" Yellow Pearl announced, serving as the bailiff for this trial, before her former Diamond emerged from the curtained entrance and made her way to her throne.

"Good day to you Gems." Yellow Diamond greeted the other Gems in the makeshift courtroom with utmost seriousness. "In case you are wondering, Blue and White Diamond are out searching for more of Black Rutile's supporters, so I shall serve as sole judge for these proceedings." She informed. "Now without further ado, read the charges."

"Holly Blue Agate-12B, Morganite-8HK, and Ruby-EJ9, you stand here accused of your support of the intelligence officer turned terrorist Black Rutile." Yellow Pearl announced as she read off a hologram. "How do you all plead?"

"Not guilty!" Holly Blue declared, speaking on behalf of all three of them. "Black Rutile is no terrorist, she had big dreams for our kind! She simply wanted to restore us to our old ways because she believed Steven had made us weak, no doubt weak enough to be so easily conquered!"

"Liar. Kinda not surprised you would do this." Amethyst snarked in-between fake coughing, inciting a glare from the Agate before she continued her plea.

"If you can find it within yourself, your most grand clarity, to scrub this silly trial altogether and let us go, it would be most grand." Holly Blue continued.

"Request denied." Yellow declared coldly. "If you really insist on begging on your knees this whole time, then I guess your defense attorney might not be needed."

"Wait, attorney?" Amethyst wondered out loud just as a new Gem stepped into the room.

"Sorry for being so fashionably late, Yellow!" a tall, confident Gem apologized as she strode into the throne room. In addition to the honey yellow pantsuit with large diamond-shaped buttons she wore to match the gemstone above her upper lip that resembled a mole, a straight bob-cut, and a cat's tail emerging from her rear, this new Gem also wore a large sunhat, a neon fur coat, sunglasses, high heels, mustard yellow opera gloves, and a cigarette holder in her left hand. "Had to quell a few uprisings a few districts over. Hope you're not too mad."

"Oh goody." Bismuth shared the sentiments of her fellow Crystal Gems as they grimaced at the cat-like defense attorney, all except for Amethyst.

"Who's the new pussycat here?" Amethyst asked about the attorney.

"That's Cat's Eye, one of the most affluent uppercrusts on Homeworld." Bismuth informed the smaller Gem.

"And one of the most irritating." Lapis groaned as she buried her face in her hands.

"She's almost like an Earth cat in a way." Peridot added. "Incredibly smug, loves making others mad solely for her amusement, and that grin on her face just rubs me the wrong way."

"So Cat, how have you been lately?" Pearl asked the opposing attorney with a strained smile.

"Miserable, my darling Pearl. Perfectly wretched." Cat's Eye answered as she made her coat, hat and sunglasses disappear with a snap of her fingers, revealing a pair of cat ears atop her hair. "Now then, let us get down to business." With that, Cat's Eye took her place alongside the prosecuted trio and kicked her legs up on the table.

"Oh Cat's Eye, thank you so much for coming out today!" Holly Blue exclaimed gratefully. "These horrible traitors have framed us for a crime we clearly didn't commit, and now we could lose every-"

"Could you move approximately 30 centimeters away from me?" Cat's Eye raised a paw-like hand to Holly's face while filing her sharp nails. "You're invading my personal space." The Agate meekly complied and returned to her seat, causing Amethyst to laugh raucously.

"That cat may be trouble, but seeing Holly put in her place will always crack me up!" Amethyst cackled, but her chuckling was cut short when Cat's Eye turned her cigarette holder into a riding crop to whip Amethyst in the hands with. "MEOWCH! Bad kitty, what the H?!"

"Order in the court." Cat's Eye declared crossly as she returned her weapon to her gem and took a stand. "Now, without further ado, I'd like to make my case for these three Gems and call a witness."

"Go right ahead Cat's Eye." Yellow rolled her eyes before the cymophane made her plea.

"Your honor, Gems of the court, these three stand here wrongly accused by these band of ingrates for allying themselves with a known terrorist who once filled a high seat in White Diamond's court." Cat's Eye stated. "But, maybe they could've been spared this fate if the Crystal Gems had simply shown them a little kindness."

"OBJECTION!" Pearl yelled and pointed an accusing finger at Cat. "We tried to show Navy here kindness, but it was all a ploy to steal back her squadron's ship!"

"That is true." Navy agreed. "But I simply played nice because you left us all to drift forever in space, even after Steven said you'd get us all back!"

"I'll admit, she raises a good point." Garnet found herself agreeing with the Ruby. "We were in a rush to get back to Earth, so rescuing the Rubies just flew over our heads."

"I rest my case." Cat's Eye declared with a prideful smirk. "Now, if we have nothing else to discuss, I'd like to call Yellow Zircon to the stand."

The Gems in the gallery began muttering among themselves as Yellow Zircon sadly got up from her seat and marched to the witness's stand, while her blue counterpart gave her a cheeky grin. "Whatever you do," Yellow Zircon said to Blue Zircon. "don't make a fool out of me."

"Oh, I won't." Blue Zircon said innocently as Yellow Zircon made her way to the stands, where Cat's Eye sat down in front of her with a seductive gaze.

"Now my dearest Zircon, do try to not make a fool of yourself for me." Cat cooed, cupping the Zircon's face in her hand and squeezing her cheeks, making her usually arrogant witness blush.

"I-I won't." Yellow Zircon sheepishly obliged and sat down in the witness's box. "But how did you become an attorney? You don't know the first thing about law and order!"

"Well, I'm here because I'm smarter than you think I am!" Cat's Eye yelled at Yellow Zircon's face, a far cry from the smug seductress she presented herself as. "Not because I'm so gorgeous! Though I really am."

"This is going to take a while." Pearl groaned before picking up her book again. "I wonder how Steven is doing."

--

Back on Earth, Steven continued to scroll through all the numbers he had on his phone. Pretty much most of the people in his contacts had either already began to drift away from him, would probably be too busy to call, or simply didn't have time for him. All except for one.

"Hi, Steven!" Greg greeted his son on the other end after Steven decided to give him a call.

"Hi Dad, how's it going?" Steven asked his father.

"The tour's been going great!" Greg replied happily. "Which reminds me, how have you been doing? You been throwing any dope ragers while you got the house to yourself?"

"Yeah, you know me. Steven the party animal." Steven responded sarcastically. "I'm glad you're finally coming home tonight Dad. I wanna talk to you about something that's happened between me and Connie?"

"Oh, this isn't that whole situation after you came back from Homeworld the first time again, right?" Greg asked sympathetically. "By the way, Sadie and Shep wanna say hi while they're working on a new routine that they're excited to show off. And guess what? The tour got extended!"

"Wow, that's-that's great." Steven tried to sound happy for the musicians and their manager, but at the same time, he was sad that he'd have to wait a little while longer for his dad to come home.

"Yeah." Even if they were far apart, Greg could sense the disappointment in his half-alien son's voice before trying to turn things around. "I get that you want to see me again soon, but this manager job is working great for me! Takes me back to when I was touring as a lad. Anyways, we're gonna go through a tunnel. You wanna call me back about your Connie sitch?"

"I-it's not really important." Steven fibbed.

"You sure?" Greg asked Steven. "You know, I can make a quick stop when we pass through Delmarva."

"No, I'm totally fine. Have fun!" Steven reiterated before hanging up and letting out a deep sigh. "Maybe I should get some more ice cream."

Steven then walked down to the kitchen to fetch some more of that dairy goodness from the freezer, but when he opened the freezer door, he discovered Connie's glow bracelet left in there after last night. Taken by surprise, the depressed half-Gem once again turned pink, but this time was different.

This time, parts of Steven's body began swelling up like a balloon and tearing through his pajamas as he accidentally tore the freezer door off its hinges before slowly turning back to normal. As Steven was left aghast at this new development, he decided to take a breather on the couch. However, his body began swelling up for the second time in a row as Connie began calling him on his phone.

"I shouldn't worry her." Steven tried to hang up on Connie upon realizing her promise yesterday to call him at noon. "You know what, I'll let her go to voicemail!" Steven's body had other plans as his right arm began to inflate and took the call for him, allowing Connie to be seen on his screen while the arm returned to normal.

"Steven, are you there?" Connie asked through video call.

"Hey Connie, what's up?" Steven casually asked, trying to hide the strange new changes his body was going through.

"I've been worried about you Steven." Connie answered when she noticed how pink her best friend was. "Um, are you glowing?" she asked before Steven's face began to puff up. "Good grief, what's wrong with your face?!"

"Wait, my face?" Steven mumbled through his inflated head. "What's wrong with my face?"

"Uh…." Connie replied.

"Oh right, the swelling." Steven realized what his would've been-wife was talking about. "Parts of my body have been randomly growing for some reason. But I'm sure it doesn't hurt, I'm perfectly fine!"

"How long has this been happening?" Connie inquired.

"Since this morning." Steven meekly replied, causing his face to blow up some more.

"What do the Gems think?" Connie began pressing further.

"Can't reach them right now." Steven answered as his face returned to normal while the rest of his body kept growing. "Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were asked to serve as prosecutors for a trial on Homeworld, so they decided to make it into a Little Homeschool field trip." As Steven finished, his form returned to its normal size. "It's really nothing to worry about."

"You don't look well." Connie nervously observed. "I think you should see a doctor. I can ask my mom if she'd like to give you a checkup."

"I wouldn't want to bother her." Steven declared. "Besides, I already got a pretty okay idea of what doctors do when I went to see Lars in the hospital after his crash landing."

"Steven, you need to see a medical professional," Connie demanded. "Doesn't matter if my mom can see you or not, you need help."

"Okay, you're right." Steven accepted the opportunity while his face began to deform yet again. "Call me when she's ready."

--

Thankfully for Steven, Connie's mother had an opening and soon enough, Steven was sitting in her office with Connie by his side.

"You're lucky I had a cancellation today," Priyanka stated as she prepared for work. "Usually, I'm booked weeks in advance."

"Think you'll be able to help Steven out?" Connie asked her mother. "Even if this is some sort of Gem issue?"

"Gem issue or otherwise, he still has a human body, which means we can run tests." Priyanka remarked. "At the very least, we can see if you're suffering from a non-Gem condition, Steven."

"See? Everything will be fine." Connie assured Steven. "I'm sure everything will be fine." As Connie left the examination room, she began dialing on her phone and put it to her ear.

"Okay, give me all you got." Steven said reluctantly to the doctor.

"Alright, let's check for symptoms first." Priyanka said before putting a thermometer in Steven's ear to check his temperature. "Mild fever." She observed before walking away to pick up a stethoscope, returning to find that Steven is starting to once again glow pink. "Glowing pink color to the skin." Priyanka continued as she put the stethoscope to Steven's heart and then his gem. Next, she reached for a blood pressure device to check Steven's blood pressure, but it caused his arm to swell up and break the machine, causing his doctor to fall over in alarm.

However, Priyanka was quick to regain her composure as she looked over the notes she had taken. "Blood pressure is high!" she realized as she got up. "Well, these readings are quite interesting. Tell me, Steven, if you don't mind, who's your GP?"

"GP?" Steven wondered.

"Your general practitioner?" Priyanka explained to her patient. "As in, your regular doctor?"

"I guess you?" Steven answered confusedly. "I never have been to a doctor's appointment before, mostly because I have the Gems, my dad, or my healing spit to rely on whenever I get hurt."

"You're almost seventeen and you have never seen a doctor?!" a shocked Priyanka yelled, causing Steven to once again turn pink and inflate before she tried to calm him down. "I-it's okay, it's okay! I'll talk with your father later, but now we'll just need to run some more tests."

Steven looked nervously at Connie's mom as she walked over to a cupboard, opening it to fetch some hospital gowns. "Get undressed, then we'll help you into a gown." Priyanka ordered.

"Is that one of those blue things that don't cover your butt?" Steven asked embarrassedly before he was thrown a hospital gown.

"Yes, now let's get started." Priyanka declared before snapping on a rubber glove.

--

"Thank you for your testimony little Peridot." Cat's Eye thanked Squaridot, while licking the back of her hand, as the square-headed Peridot finished her testimony. "Tell us your designation so we may enter it into the records."

"Peridot, Facet-4E3M Cut-7ZY." Squaridot stated as she left the witness's stand and rejoined her classmates. "But everyone calls me Squaridot."

"Squaridot?" Cat's Eye repeated with utter disgust. "Who comes up with these abhorrent names?! I mean, Laz, Zuli, and now Squaridot?!"

"Would you care to get to the point?" Bismuth snarked to the catlike defendant.

"Gladly." Cat's Eye answered before clearing her throat. "Gems of this courtroom, the testimonies we have heard so far have given me enough to make my deduction." She announced to the courtroom. "These Crystal Gems are only kind to other Gems who treat them kindly in exchange. And that DOES, NOT, MAKE, SENSE!" She emphasized her declaration by slamming her fist into her open palm with each word. "If they say that they practice restorative justice, then why didn't they use that kind of justice on my clients here?"

"OBJECTION!" Amethyst yelled. "Girl, did you even see the Human Zoo back in the day?! Holly Blue was treating my quartz peeps like garbage!"

"That is because they were beneath her in the caste system!" Cat's Eye argued with Amethyst. "I swear you droll quartz, did you emerge yesterday or something?!"

"Actually, she was," Pearl answered for the purple Gem. "And you're just making stuff up in the hopes of sounding smart!"

"Do I have 'stupid' written on my gem, you no-good servant?!" Cat's Eye shouted at the white Gem, making sure to whip Pearl's hands for added emphasis. "Let's review what we have learned so far. Those two Lapis Lazulis retaliated violently when ordered to not terraform and their friend came close to poofing them both, yet 2F8D immediately forgot all that when coming to your silly little school!" she analyzed. "That does NOT, MAKE, SENSE!"

"Laz and I argued about going to Little Homeschool!" Zuli objected to Cat's Eye's observation. "An argument you obviously weren't there for-" Before Zuli could finish, she got a whip in the hands by Cat's Eye's riding crop.

"No backtalk!" Cat's Eye exclaimed as she returned to her statement. "Back on subject, then came Miss Squaridot here," she once again cringed at the name while gesturing to Squaridot. "who was given a second chance, yet was poofed without a second thought! That does NOT, MAKE, SENSE!"

"I tried to give Squari a second chance after I released her from her bubble," Peridot began. "but she then just ran off and got herself taken over by Hessonite's warship."

"Ah yes, the swashbuckling vigilante Hessonite." Cat's Eye said smugly. "Tell me, why isn't she here today to give a testimony?"

"Hessonite is off weeding out more of Black Rutile's supporters across many of our former colonies, alongside Citrine." Yellow Diamond answered.

"Speaking of Black Rutile, what if, and a very big if here." Cat's Eye stated. "What if Black Rutile wanted to do better than the Crystal Gems by offering these lost Gems a helping hand?"

"OBJECTION!" Pearl roared and once again pointed straight at Cat's Eye. "That no-good Rutile didn't care one bit for her subordinates! Not only did she let them all get defeated by us, but she abused her Topaz as well!"

"As I had stated earlier with Holly Blue, the Topaz was merely a subordinate to Black Rutile, especially since the Rutile had such a shockingly high status in White Diamond's court." Cat replied.

"Same with my Ruby and Pearl that fused into Rhodonite," Morganite spoke up. "It was only natural that we mistreated those beneath us."

"And on the topic of Pink Diamond's entourage," Cat declared. "allow me to call her former Pearl to the stand."

Rising from her seat, Volleyball separated from her Little Homeschool classmates to walk to the witness's stand, where Cat was awaiting her.

"My dear Pearl, you truly deserved a better Diamond than Pink." Cat cooed to Volleyball while stroking her broken eye, which was now showing the absolute faintest signs of a pupil following her fusion with her white-colored successor at the Reef. "Tell us all this court needs to know sweetie,

"Actually, you can call me Volleyball now." Volleyball corrected the defense attorney. "That's the name Steven gave me."

"VOLLEYBALL?!" Cat's Eye shrieked outrageously at the top of her lungs, quickly returning to her normal condescending tone. "I shouldn't have spoken too soon after complaining about that Peridot." She muttered while pointing a thumb over to Squaridot. "Now tell me, word on the street is that you may know a thing or two about this revolution. Is this true?"

"Yes, it's true." Volleyball revealed remorsefully, shocking the prosecutors and the jury. "Not too long after Era 3 began, I was left wondering what purpose I could still serve now that Pink Diamond was gone, until Black Rutile and Holly Blue Agate approached me with the chance to seek revenge by spying on their enemies."

"That is a bold-faced lie if I ever saw one!" Holly Blue fibbed while beginning to sweat profusely. "I never approached her in the slightest, the poor Pearl came crawling to me in tears, begging, no, pleading that she get some sort of payback for the abuse she suffered!"

"Really laying it on thick Holly." Morganite stoically muttered to the Agate.

"Yes, I can clearly see you lying." Pearl added before she walked over for Volleyball. "But as for you Volley, is it true? Did you really join Black Rutile and spy on us this whole time?"

"I'm truly sorry Pearl, they gave me no other choice." Volleyball apologized, now on the verge of tears. "I was so horrified by how they wanted to fight back against you, that I decided to back out after you and Steven offered to fix my eye." Volleyball then began to sob as she rushed out of the witness's stand and into Pearl's arms. "Please forgive me, I just didn't know any better!"

"It's okay VB, I'm here." Pearl comforted her crying fellow ex-servant. "Just let it all out."

"Wah wah wah, I betrayed your trust!" Cat's Eye mockingly cried. "Please forgive me even though I was allied with a proud sociopath! Oh brother, this era has lost all sense of justice. At least give her a week's punishment, anything."

"Big talk coming from the alleycat who doesn't have a single clue about justice." Pearl growled at Cat while Volleyball's tears started drying and she returned to the jury.

"Big talk coming from a Pearl who wanted to be free despite still essentially serving her Diamond." Cat snapped back at the Pearl. "And on that note, I feel we are ignoring the big Jasper in the room." Biggs Jasper raised her hand. "I wasn't talking to you!" Biggs lowered her hand while Cat kept a stiff upper lip. "But really, I wish to speak of a certain Jasper that has been housed on Earth lately."

"Here we go." Lapis rolled her eyes at whatever outlandish claims the defendant was going to make now.

"You see, the Jasper is just as much of a victim of Pink Diamond's faked death as pretty much everyone on this planet." Cat's Eye proclaimed. "And did the Crystal Gems ever try to extend a hand in friendship and sympathy? NO! They just let her get dragged to the bottom of the ocean in an unstable fusion, fall into an earthquake, rocketed sky-high by that Lapis, and later corrupted! That does-"

"Not make sense, we get it." Garnet interrupted what was essentially Cat's catchphrase at this point. "We tried so many times to help Jasper, but she just kept refusing out of her vendetta against Rose."

"And doesn't anyone find it ironic that Jasper has a burning hatred for a Gem that was her Diamond in disguise?" Cat shook her head with a cheeky smile. "Oh, how cruel fate can be."

"Good grief, how long can this puddytat keep yapping?" Amethyst whispered to Pearl, who just groaned and got back to her book.

--

As for Steven, Priyanka had gotten to work on examining her unusual patient. However, with each test she made him take, things just kept going wrong. Sticking a tongue depressor in Steven's mouth made him glow pink for the second time this appointment, taking his height stretched his neck up high, and testing his reflexes bubbled the hammer she was using. But it was taking Steven's X-rays that really clued Priyanka in on what was going on.

"So this is an average human skeleton." Priyanka demonstrated the X-ray image of exactly that to Steven before moving on to X-rays of the Crystal Gems. "By comparison, these are X-ray images that the Crystal Gems allowed me to take for research purposes. Their charts look like this."

Due to Gems having bodies of light, only their gemstones could be pictured. And in Amethyst's case, whatever she ate that day could be seen too. The doctor then showed off Steven's own skeleton, which was covered in cracks. "And this is your chart." Priyanka continued. "Definitely the skeleton of a human your age, albeit quite a large amount of fractures in the skull." She pointed out the various cracks that decorated Steven's skull. "Yet despite the injuries, everything is still perfectly aligned. Almost like the injuries healed just as fast as they were gained."

"That's good, right?" Steven nervously asked.

"Well, you've made miraculous recoveries," Priyanka replied. "but that doesn't change the fact that you've clearly been traumatized. You may have recovered physically, but what about mentally?"

"Are you saying there's something wrong with my brain?!" Steven cried as he glowed pink.

"Not wrong!" Priyanka assured Steven while kneeling to his gaze, turning his body back to its normal hue. "It's that adverse childhood experiences, or childhood trauma, can leave a lasting impact on how your body reacts to stress." She explained. "This can affect all kinds of development, social, emotional, and physical. When humans are in crisis, their brains release a hormone called cortisol. It can cause your heart to race, your muscles to tense, among other effects. I wonder if your body is perhaps reacting to the Gem equivalent of cortisol, if any. Steven, can you recall any childhood experiences that particularly stuck with you?"

"I can list so many." Steven stated before he began recounting some traumatic experiences. "It all started when I learned my favorite ice cream was discontinued around the same time I nearly got eaten by a bug monster. Then there were even more monsters that threatened my life, I got stuck in a bubble & nearly drowned, I made a new friend who nearly killed me; which is pretty often, I got turned into a giant pulsating blob of cat heads after an attempt at shapeshifting, got so old I nearly died, saw the Gems die multiple times, I woke up on a spaceship with a black eye, and more recently got tossed off a cliff."

"Steven, this is serious!" Priyanka yelled worriedly.

"That was only some of the earlier stuff!" Steven cried. "You really should've been there when I was tossed off the cliff. Black Rutile was a sociopath and proud of it!"

"I think all these experiences have subjected your body to an almost inhuman level of stress, and it's affected your ability to healthily react to new forms of stress." Priyanka deduced as Steven looked back on more harrowing experiences he's been through, from legitimately traumatizing moments to parts that would at first be seen as mere jokes or accidents. "You've been dealing with genuine threats to your life from such a young age, whether big or small, your body is responding to such minuscule threats like your life is always in danger!"

"But, why am I only swelling up now?!" Steven began fretting as he slowly felt his body change once more.

"Stress can be far less harmful when we have a circle of loved ones who can help you," Priyanka advised, causing Steven to flashback to yesterday evening's failed proposal. "Maybe if you've been drifting away from people who would've supported you, or if a recent experience had felt particularly off-"

Before Priyanka can finish, Steven began trembling in place while bolting from his chair before he began to swell up to possibly the biggest size he's ever been today, to the point of cracking the ceiling with a bash of his head.

--

"There are just some who don't want to be helped, and we try to respect that!" Pearl kept arguing with Cat's Eye while everyone else in the courtroom awkwardly spectating the event.

"And there are also some who you've forced to change without their consent!" Cat's Eye replied, baring her sharp teeth at the former servant. "Think of it, Black Rutile believed she could be a better ruler because she would take into account the feelings of everyone!"

"Are you sure you're not another one of her spies?!" Pearl asked, folding her arms and turning away from the defendant.

"I couldn't care less about what she's doing, I just think she raises many good points for a maniac!" Cat answered while her stuck-up image began cracking apart more and more, slowly revealing the petulant aristocrat underneath. "For example, in ending an oppressive empire, Steven created an even worse one where all who don't agree with him are deemed outcasts!"

"Steven is simply trying his best!" Pearl yelled back.

"You know, I am so glad that we invited our Homeschool classes, because this is way too much fun for just us three to get involved in." Amethyst whispered to the other Little Homeworld teachers.

"You're right, watching an uppercrust get humiliated puts a real big smile on my face." Bismuth grinned.

"They've been going on for too long." Morganite mumbled as her face was buried in the table. "Can't we just shut them up and reach a verdict already?"

"Well, if you're so loving towards Steven, then where is he now?" Cat's Eye asked one final question. "Did you actually care for him to begin with?"

"That is where you are absolutely wrong Cat." Pearl declared with a smug grin as she presented George Ikari's book to her opponent. "Steven is currently going through some tough times, and we're trying our best to help him thanks to this book from Earth. The author has a son much like Steven who lost his mother too, so he knows what he's talking about." With that, Pearl returned the book to her gem and took a bow. "Court adjourned."

It was here where Cat's Eye finally lost all control and lunged at Pearl with a mighty yowl. Gone was the smug and austere wannabe lawyer, and in with the furious predator going in for the kill.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Cat's Eye shrieked as she wrestled with Pearl and kept trying to chomp at her face. "I AM CAT'S EYE, AND I WILL NOT BE TALKED DOWN TO BY A MERE PEARL!"

"Woo, catfight!" Amethyst cheered before Garnet put a stop to her revelry and prepared for a fight.

"Get ready Gems, we're in for a fight." Garnet declared while summoning her gauntlets, and the other Gems prepared for battle against the feral defendant. But fortunately for them, and unfortunately for Cat, the judge finally decided enough was enough.

"Okay, I've had enough sitting down and watching." Yellow declared fiercely before getting up from her throne and flicking a ball of electricity at Cat's Eye, making yellow lines course through her body and finally poofing her, leaving only her small gemstone to be collected by Yellow Pearl. "Now that that's settled, have we reached a verdict?"

"I believe so." Pearl responded after getting up and dusting herself off before turning to the other Gems. "What shall be decided?"

The Gems in the jury all rose up, their decision clear as day. "We, the jury, hereby declare Holly Blue Agate, Morganite, and Navy guilty as charged. In addition, Cat's Eye shall be tried for public assault of the prosecutors." Squaridot announced on the behalf of her classmates, to the horror of Holly Blue as she and her two compatriots were escorted away by Amethysts. While Morganite and Navy had resigned themselves to their fates, Holly was far less than pleased. In fact, she was furious.

"Get your hands off me, you no-good Kindergarten spawn!" Holly Blue shrieked at the Amethysts dragging her away by the arms before turning to the Crystal Gems with hatred in her eyes. "I hope you're happy Crystal Gems! Era 3 has destroyed this planet!" she yelled at the Gems. "Pretty soon, this planet is going to burn! We're all going to die! The Gem race shall be driven to extinction all because of you!"

As soon as Holly Blue was fully removed from the premises, all was finally quiet in the makeshift courtroom as the trial adjourned. Pearl let out a dramatic sigh as Garnet and Amethyst helped her back to her feet and walked her back to the prosecutor's table.

"Court is usually a lot more funny on TV." Amethyst remarked. "What Cat and Holly tried to do was just sad."

"Still, what if they're right?" Pearl moaned in exhaustion and grief. "What if we are soon to be our kind's downfall? Maybe we should've just ended colonization and left it at that."

"Don't get too down on yourself Miss Pearl." Blue Zircon lent some comforting words to Pearl. "You all tried the best you could, and that's all that should matter."

"Uh, can I go now?" Yellow Zircon shakily inquired to her fellow Gems, still reeling from being publically humiliated at the witness's stand.

"Yeah, you're dismissed." Blue Zircon told her fellow Zircon and turned back to Pearl.

"Yeah, we tried our best with Era 3, kinda like how we're trying our best with Steven." Lapis reiterated the other blue Gem's kind words. "Speaking of which, wonder how he's doing?"

"I'll go call him right now!" Pearl stated eagerly as she unsheathed her phone from her gem and began dialing Steven, but she got no answer. "Darn, no signal on Homeworld." She huffed in frustration. "Well, I hope he's doing fine."

--

Little did Pearl know, there was more than one reason why as to why Steven was unable to reach her, that reason being he was so stressed out, he was swelling up to a massive size.

As Dr. Laurie walked past the office Steven was in with a cup of coffee, he took one look at the giant pink boy, then back at his mug before dumping its contents into a nearby drinking fountain while Connie raced back to the office to aid her friend.

"Mom, what's happening?!" Connie asked her mother while they watched the inflating Steven fill up most of the doctor's office.

"I'm not sure dear, I just asked if he had any stressful experiences lately." Priyanka answered, trying to remain as calm in a crisis as possible while other doctors huddle around the window to watch what was happening, along with a man in sunglasses who seemed to blend in with the crowd.

"Steven, you don't think?" Connie then asked Steven.

"It's not you Connie, it's everything that's been going down lately!" Steven yelled as he grew larger and larger with every second.

"What is he talking about?" Priyanka asked, glaring at Connie.

"You haven't told your mom yet?!" Steven yelled.

"Told me what?!" Priyanka started yelling as well.

"It's not your fault Connie!" Steven tried to assure Connie amidst his growing stress. "But I still think you need to leave!"

"I refuse to leave your side!" Connie's mom fiercely declared. "This is a medical emergency!"

"Hey, you know one of us can take over!" one of the doctors watching Steven called from outside.

"No, he needs to be alone!" Connie stated. "I think anyone else being in here with him is making things worse!"

When Steven's height increased to the point of ripping his hospital gown, breaking the ceiling over him, and causing alarms to sound, the doctors took it as their cue to leave. "Point taken." That same doctor who suggested one of them take care of Steven realized before rushing away.

"Oh no!" Steven was in full-on panic mode now. If he grew any larger, the hospital would surely be destroyed. "Please, just go!"

"Steven!" Connie yelled sorrowfully.

"I just…" Steven began to cry before starting to get angry. "I CAN'T BE AROUND YOU RIGHT NOW!" The Maheswarans braced for impact as Steven's screaming broke the window behind them when suddenly, Greg came barging into the office.

"Steven!" Greg called his son's name while Connie and Priyanka turned to notice him.

"Dad?!" Steven exclaimed while finally beginning to settle down at the sight of his father.

"I'm here for you kiddo!" Greg declared as he ran up to his giant son, turning to the Maheswarans who took it as their cue to leave the area as well.

"Come on Mom, let's give them some space." Connie said to her mother as they abdicated the office.

"Alright." Priyanka agreed and took her daughter's hand while Greg took Steven's side.

"How did you know I was here?" Steven asked Greg.

"Connie called me an hour ago." Greg answered comfortingly. "Plus, I was the only one she could reach since she told me the Gems were off in space today."

"Connie?" Steven called for his friend when she and her mother were outside. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Connie beamed and spoke to him through the broken window. "I'll come when you're ready."

"I'm so sorry Steven." Greg apologized to Steven. "If I had known, I definitely would've been a big help."

"It's alright Dad," Steven sighed. "you were super busy and I didn't know what was going on."

"Come on Steven, talk to me," Greg suggested. "Just you and me, father to son."

"I, well, um," Steven stammered before tears began welling up in his eyes again. "I tried proposing to Connie!"

"You what?!" Greg yelped in alarm. "Steven, aren't you a little too young to think about marriage right now?"

"I know." Steven kept on crying. "That's one of the reasons why she said no."

"Oh, Steven." Greg sighed.

"My body, it keeps reacting like it's always the end of the world." Steven kept on complaining tearfully. "I think I've nearly witnessed the end of the world so many times now, that everything that goes wrong for me just feels that extreme! I should be feeling happy these days, Earth is at peace and it's Era 3, but Black Rutile is still out there saying I'm a bad person and I'm swelling up over all these third-era problems! What do I do now?! How do I move on after every horrible thing that's happened to me?! How can I still live my life when every day it feels like I'm going to die?!"

Despite Steven being overcome with trauma to the point of sobbing, Greg was there to lend a hand like he always did. "It's going to be alright Schtu-ball." He said while holding his son's giant finger. "I'm here for you till the end of the line."

At long last, Steven finally calmed down and began to regress to his normal size, and he only had one request for Greg. "I just want to go home."

"You bet." Greg obliged, and Steven began to fetch his clothes while Connie and Priyanka stepped back into the office. "So, what's up doc?"

"This has certainly been an eventful appointment," Priyanka stated shakily. "Real eye-opener. As I'm sure your son has already told you, he has been through more stress than is normal for a human. I suggest finding ways to monitor these breakdowns."

"I'll see what I can do." Greg nodded while Steven returned to his side fully dressed when Connie gave Steven a big hug.

Outside the office, the doctor in the sunglasses from earlier peeked from behind a corner and spoke into an earpiece. "Giant boy crisis averted." He spoke in a deep voice to someone on the other end. "Yes sir, retrieving copies of the Gems' X-ray scans as we speak." Looking around to see if anyone had caught him, the man then took off his doctor's coat to reveal a black suit underneath and walked away with no one the wiser.

--

That night, Steven had been returned home and taken to bed, where Greg had prepared him a warm cup of tea and a sympathetic ear to his son's plight.

"I guess I thought I could follow Connie to college." Steven explained to his dad while sipping the tea. "Like, if we got married, I'd know what to do with myself for once. But turns out I still gotta figure everything out on my own."

"Cut yourself some slack, kiddo." Greg smiled earnestly. "It's okay to be worried and make mistakes when figuring out what to do with life, nothing unusual. Okay, maybe turning pink and the swelling is kind of unusual, but I'm sure the Gems will know what to do. And if you want to be a giant boy, I can lend you the carwash to take a shower in."

"Yeah, that's the thing." Steven revealed calmly. "I haven't told the Gems everything yet because I don't want them to worry so much, just like the old days when I was just some little kid who was way over his head." That was when he made a realization and spat out his tea. "Wait Dad, your tour!"

"Don't worry about me." Greg assured his son. "Shep and Sadie will be fine on their own. Just get some rest Steven; you can't just solve every problem in one night. Speaking of the Gems, where are they?"

Just then, the father and son heard the Warp Pad activate from Steven's conservatory, and the Crystal Gems marched into his room utterly exhausted from the trial they had just returned from.

"If I meet another Gem like Cat's Eye ever again, I swear I'm going to freak!" Pearl yelled with her hands buried in her face when she noticed Steven and Greg in the same room. "Oh, good evening you two. How was your day?"

"Nothing really special you guys." Steven fibbed. "Nothing at all."

--

So ends Growing Pains. Have to say, this might be one of the longest chapters of Alternate Universe yet, probably because of the B-plot. How hateable did you think I made Cat's Eye? I specifically wrote her with Cruella de Vil and Franziska von Karma in mind. And speaking of despicable characters, next chapter has Steven facing quite possibly his greatest challenge yet: making Kevin a better person. Oh, this should be fun.

[haddonfieldproject]

<<PREVIOUS⏺<<CONTENTS>>

1.3.11 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st, ‪11:46 AM

‬Haddonfield, Illinois

The man walked into the foyer of the large house, squeezing passed the very large security guard who answered the door. A large grandiose staircase arose before him and split half-way up to the second floor, veering off right and left directing toward the two wings of the giant mansion. To his left was a luxiorious dining room with seating for up to twenty. Large renassiance style portraits hung on the walls: picturesque scenes of Italian countrysides and vineyards, the kind of paintings you'd see reproduced on the walls inside of an Olive Garden, only these were no doubt original. To the man's right was a large parlor, with more vibrant paintings, sculptures, antique sofas, and a grand piano in the far corner.

An elderly woman sat on one of these. She was cross-stitching silently. She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed, and then she looked back at what she was doing. The man sighed, ignoring her. In front of him, to the left of the stairs was a sliding door that opened into the actual living space of the home. From there he heard the voice call to him, “Come in son, come on in.”

The man entered the room and saw his boss sitting on a large leather sofa, a persian cat on his lap. He was watching the large flatscreen television mounted above the stone-hearthed fireplace before him. More aerial shots of the burning hospital. The man was frail, liver spots speckled his olive skin. His hair, once brown, was gray and thinning at the top, his eyes once black as night has turned to the color of charcoal smoke. He wore a plush royal blue robe and an old fashioned sleeping cap that reminded the visitor of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The man bent to one knee before the old man. The cat hissed and jumped off the elderly man's lap and ran off toward the adjacent kitchen. The old man extended his hand, “Thank you for coming so soon.”

The man kissed the old man's hand, “Sure thing Mr. Vizzini.”

“I hope I did not trouble you too much last night Andre,” Mr. Vizzini said as Andre took a seat on the couch beside him.

Andre smiled, “Hey boss...a little romp through the woods never hurt no one.”

Mr. Vizzini laughed. “Good. I didn't get to apologize to you before when we spoke. We were...” he chose his words carefully, “too busy speaking of the grave matter at hand.”

Andre nodded.

“I trust you delivered my message to Mr. Tarasenko and our beloved mayor?” Mr. Vizzini asked, turning back toward the television.

Andre turned toward the screen as well, the national news had gotten a hold of Holly West's interview with Rosalita and were now playing it to the nation.

“Yes boss,” Andre sighed, “And I would have called you sooner but I was getting some much needed sleep.”

Mr. Vizzini nodded, “Your insomnia again?”

“Yes sir, it's been a really bitch, pardon my french.”

Mr. Vizzini smiled, “Well we all need our rest. When one is tired, one cannot think.”

“Yes sir.”

“And I need everyone at the top of their mental capacities.”

“I agree.” Andre remarked.

The old man held up a small square device that he had in his lap. It was a gray box with a single solitary red button on the top. He held it up now and pushed it. Somewhere in the far reaches of the house a chime was heard, soft and tonal. After a few seconds, there was a small crackle of static, and a woman's voice could be heard on an un-seen speaker.

“Yes Mr. Vizzini?”

The old man cleared his throat, “Caterina, would you be a dear and bring my guest and I a scotch on the rocks please?”

“Certainly Mr. Vizzini.”

There was a click indicating the speaker went dead.

“So what did our friends have to say for themselves?” Mr. Vizzini cocked his head to one side inquisitively.

“Tarasenko looks shaken up.” Andre said.

Vizzini grunted and nodded.

“And Dodge wants another front, just like you said he would,” Andre smiled.

“And you told him that that would not be possible?” The old man cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes sir,” Andre said, “he asked me to ask you to reconsider, again, just as you said.”

The old man sighed and nodded. He closed his eyes as if wrapped in meditation.

There were footsteps and into the kitchen appeared a young, tall, beautiful red headed woman that Andre had seen before. It was the waitress from Lou Martini's club.

Tina Tomcat, Andre remembered.

She looked tired in the face, but smiled at the two men cheerfully, holding a small glass in each hand of the brown scotch. Little crushed ice floated in each glass. Her corset had been replaced by a very cliché french maid outfit, which covered her private parts and some more of her body, but not much else.

Mr. Vizzini smiled as he took his glass, “Andre, I'd like you to meet Caterina. Caterina this is my dear friend Mr. Andre.”

Tina smiled at Andre and held out his glass. He took it with a smile of his own.

“We've met before,” Andre replied.

The old man waved a wrinkled hand, “Ah I suppose so, at the Rabbit-in-Red!” Mr. Vizzini took a sip of his drink and then said, “Caterina came in late this morning after no doubt a night of considerable carousing. Mr. Andre and I were just discussing how important sleep is to the body.”

Tina turned and waved a hand back at him, “I'll sleep when I'm dead,” she said with a wink, “besides, I make a hell of a lot more at the Rabbit than I do at this place.”

Andre's eyes went wide. He stared at Mr. Vizzini nervously and took a sip of his drink. He winced. It was very strong.

Mr. Vizzini broke into laughter, which then turned into racked coughing. When he was done coughing, he wiped his eyes and said, “That's what I love about her.” He choked another gulp of his drink down. “I appreciate honesty in a woman.” He raised his glass to Tina.

Tina gave a little curtsy, and disappeared around the corner.

The two men looked back at the television. A picture of the Chumway brothers now dominated the screen. The big bold tag line at the bottom read: MANHUNT ENDS IN MAYHEM.

After a moment, Andre cleared his throat, “Sir, may I offer an opinion.”

Mr. Vizzini sipped and nodded, “Certainly. My appreciation for frankness is not specific to the female gender.”

“I worry that this may not be a good time to send a message to Dodge.” Andre looked down at his glass. The old man had a reputation, he didn't want to discover the fine line only after crossing it.

“You think I should give Mayor Dodge the money.” Vizzini said, very frank himself.

“I think it would be wise to, I think we can both agree the situation has changed.” Andre said, gesturing toward the television.

“I think for the better perhaps.” Vizzini replied. “To my knowledge, the shipment has yet to be...spoiled shall we say. There may be time and an opportunity here to...salvage it, and for that I'll need friends in high places, and for that I'll need leverage.”

“I haven't considered that,” Andre admitted, “But there is always the flip side. This place is now crawling with law enforcement at all levels, and no matter how good we are, there is always a trail, and eventually that trail leads to Tarasenko, which in turns leads to Dodge, which in turns leads to you.”

“I have considered it,” Vizzini said. He sucked the rest of the scotch down in the glass with a loud slurp.

“What was done with the van, if I may ask?”

Vizzini waved, “Oh that was easy. The First Congregational Church of Holiness and Power was just bequeathed a brand new cargo van for their congregation. Complete with title in the envelope signed off to the church from a Mr. Juan Pagan of Winchester Indiana and cash to obtain a new tag.”

Andre smiled and nodded approvingly.

“Mr. Pagan even called me this morning and told me the Pastor of the church called him and thanked him personally.”

“Praise God,” Andre lifted his glass.

“Indeed.” Vizzini took some ice in his mouth and chewed it.

“However.” Andre frowned, “If the cops do get the shipment and nab Tarasenko, do you think he'll talk?”

“Doubtful,” Vizzini responded.

“What about Dodge?” Andre asked. “I see the honorable mayor putting a finger on you at the first hint of trouble.”

“Oh please,” Vizzini laughed, “I have the ability to be on flight to the United Arab Emirates like that,” he snapped his gnarled fingers, “Robert Dodge would love to fantasize but as yet he possessed no such ability. He will go down, he will go down hard and he will go down alone.”

“Is that what you want?” Andre asked.

“Of course not. I'm going to give him the money Andre. This is an opportunity with two heads.”

“How so?”

“On one hand, this is a great opportunity to get more out of our arrangement with Dodge. The spotlight is on him now,” Vizzini gestured at the TV which was now in a commercial. Ramon Aguilar of the newly crowned World Champion Chicago Cubs was singing the praises of a Liberty Burger extra-value meal.

“He'll be desperate. Like an ant under a magnifying glass directing the light of the sun, he will have no where to go and he will be like puddy in my hands.”

Vizzini's eyes went dark. I'm beginning to see the reputation, Andre thought.

“From the other angle,” Vizzini continued, “this is a good time to teach a lesson. The mayor has to learn that he is becoming a liability for me. A liability that I can no longer stomach.”

Andre drained the last of his scotch. “I just worry the cops are going to nab the shipment before we can inact damage control.”

Vizzini smiled and patted the large man next to him on the knee. “Worry solves nothing. We will just have to wait and see what happens.”

Andre sighed, “I just wish I knew.”

NEXT>>

[smalltownfae]

4, 13, 18, 24, 27 "S", 29, 37, 39, 44 for the book asks? :)

4. Is there a book that you think needs a bigger fandom??

All of my favourites XD Ok, tbf at least the ones where I got attached to the characters have small fandoms (Realm of the Elderlings, First Law, Poppy War, The Goblin Emperor, Howl's Moving Castle) contrary to books I love and have close to no content like "The Seventh Bride" by T. Kingfisher. I wish there was fanart for it, but I also wouldn't get deep into fandom talk about that book. I guess I would like Octavia E. Butler's books to have bigger fandoms, especially the Xenogenesis trilogy and Earthseed duology. I would just love to see fanart for it and memes and theory and analysis posts for those books. I understand that the books I love aren't the kind of books that call for a big fandom of artists or people that are into fandom to begin with though. A lot of people read them, but don't create anything for it or discuss it without tiring :(

13. How many books have you read this year??

Counting some manga and graphic novels, I've read 91 books so far :D

18. Do you know anyone else that likes books??

Yes. None of my irl friends love books as much I do, but two of them read around 6 books a year at least. My online friends are bigger readers and I love that I found people with similar interests through tumblr <3

24. Have you read a book that was really hyped up but you didn’t enjoy??

Ah, "The Name of the Wind" question ahah Quite a few actually. I will just leave a list with links for the reviews if I said something about it. This is according to the hype I saw online because I saw none irl for most of these. Portuguese people don't care XD

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King (the author himself is overhyped. I had an english professor that knew it too); "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway; "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Goethe; "The Last Wish" by Andrzej Sapkowski; "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss; "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown; "Prince of Thorns" by Mark Lawrence; "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells; "Red, White & Royal Blue" by Casey McQuinston (sorry); "Daisy Jones & The Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid; "Uprooted" by Naomi Novik; "Every Heart a Doorway" by Seanan Mcguire;

The so bad I gave up (joke): "The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories" by Angela Carter; "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan; "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black; "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir; "Circe" by Madeline Miller; "Sorcery of Thorns" by Margaret Rogerson; "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers.

Sorry for the long list. You can see why I am tired of being fooled XD

27. Name a book that you own starting with (S). Have you read it?? Did you like it?? If you haven’t read it, are you looking forwards to it.

“Strange the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor. I haven’t read it yet and once again this is a book that was super popular on the internet so I am afraid. I’ve heard about the insta love which also doesn’t motivate me, but I the writing style seems beautiful and the main character seems to be one I would like. I am hoping to like it, but I am keeping my expectations low.

29. Have you ever bought a book because the cover was so nice??

Guilty as charged. I bought “The Jungle Book” and I am keeping it because of the cover, but I didn’t like it ;-; I mean, look at this:

I hate artists...

37. Is there a book that you think everyone should read??

No. Everyone has different tastes and just like I believe that there is a book for everyone I also believe that there is no book that will please everyone. Now, a book that someone should read in order to be more open minded and empathethic might exist but I haven’t read it so I can’t recommend it. I also think that for personal improvement is better to talk to as many people as we can that have different experiences. It’s always better to learn from others than read it in a book and a lot more informative and fun too.

39. What book that has made you cry??

Most of the Realm of the Elderlings books by Robin Hobb, especially “Fool’s Fate”. Never before I cried that hard because of fiction and I am sort of a crier (or used to be before this book broke me). There are more books that made me cry, but besides that only “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid comes to mind and I didn’t cry that much.

44. Favourite book quote, go.

I don’t have only one, but I will insert a few here:

Robin Hobb (there are so many but I’ll stick to 2 short ones):

“You seek a false comfort when you demand that I define myself for you with words. Words do not contain or define any person. An heart can, if it is willing” - Golden Fool

“I never confuse the cost of something with it’s value.” - The Mad Ship

Patricia A. McKillip (there are so many but I’ll stick to 2 short ones):

“When you open your mind and hands and heart to the knowing of a thing, there is no room in you for fear” - The Riddle-Master of Hed

“Soon is such a long word.” - The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.” - “The Women of Brewster Place” by Gloria Naylor

“War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.” - “The Poppy War”, R.F. Kuang

"Do you know what’s worse than a villain? A villain who thinks he’s a hero. A man like that, there’s nothing he won’t do, and he’ll always find himself an excuse." - “Last Argument of Kings”, Joe Abercrombie

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.” - “The Song of Achilles”, Madeline Miller

"If a man has to say trust me, Gogu conveyed, it’s a sure sign you cannot. Trust him, that is. Trust is a thing you know without words." - “Wildwood Dancing”, Juliet Marillier

I am sure that there are many more from other books and that I forgot because I am bad at writing them down. I hope to get better at it.

Thank you for the questions!

[sword-of-summer]

All of them answer every question fuck you

ahahaha no i respectfully deny your "fuck you" and i accept the ask and so-

i am 5'10", and i don't wish to be taller or shorter- i am the perfect height for hugs and messy hair, and yep, i like it here-

dream pet would be a mix of golden retriver and a husky called Holly and a chonky cat called Loki- yes ofcourse my future kids have names everyone should name their future pets-

ripped jeans/black pants with a Darth Vader tshirt or a Ethnic Fusion Kurta with black sneakers/artificial leather slip-ons, and if it's cold, a black jacket open obviously- and a black wristwatch i love my black wristwatch.

favourite video game was Clash of Clans and going even back, GTA Vice City and, the og- MARIIOOOO

three things/people are Oreos, Nutella and Pizza. The Holy Trinity-

"Beware me my fingers are smeared with chicken popcorn grease"

you didn't mention an opinion, @chunkybirb, so imma give my opinion on Vanilla ice cream and Nutella- ANYONE WHO HADN'T COMBINED THESE TWO COMBINE THESE TWO THEY ARE FUCKING AWESOME

im either phlegmatic or melancholic bruh idk maybe ik or maybe not

im v v v v ticklish

not an allergy, but an intense hatred for ketchup- i vomit if it gets too close to me fuck you ketchup

im heterosexual

any between tea and coffee but full milk coffee (ik, kill me), never had cocoa- but i love a chocolate or nutella milkshake

both. both is good. (cat and dog)

i would be an elf cause hell yeah, knowledge and wisdom

favourite youtuber is Samay Raina, a stand up comedian turned youtuber who is just awesome-

as i mentioned in 1., i am 5'10"

i would not change my name cause it's the coolest fucking name ever, i am Tanay, and Tanay in Hindi means Son, and my parents literally named their son Son, and hell yeah i like it

i forgot how much i weigh- last i checked it was 75 kilos, but ive gained weight since 2019 so yep, gotta walk in the mornings

yes i believe in metaphysicality cause one- it seems cool- second- me and @theclassyghost discussed a metaphysical life theory that i really really like and metaphysicality gives preservation of knowledge so i believe in spirits

SPACE. SPACE. SPACE.

im not that religious, no

pet peeves no well nah not really

nocturnal def nocturnal i sleep at 4.50 anyway hehehehe

fav constellation is Cassiopeia

fav star is Sirius tho

what the fuck are ball jointed dolls

i do have a fear of losing people that's just anxiety i guess

yep, global warming is real

never thought that much about reincarnation tbh but maybe, i do

fav movie is Spider Man : Into The SpiderVerse and Inception and The Dark Knight Rises and Revenge of The Sith and yes, for my indian gang, 3 Idiots and Gully Boy

yep i get scared v v v easily

i have had no pets but i plan to once i grow up

@chunkybirb 's blog is fucking cool awesome and *chef's kiss* a masterpiece

blue calms me. i love blue.

live in Norway cause pretty lights, snow, and less people than this overpopulated country i am in

born in Mumbai, India

v v v dark brown like it's almost black but no it's dark brown

introvert

horoscopes and zodiacs, i do read them, never believed that much tbh-

HUGS I LOVE HUGS

i really wanna visit my brother i haven't met him in a long time i really wanna play cricket w him just like old times

my sister- she's annoying but well i care for her

nah

tattoos idk bruh im okay idk may get one or may not get one

nope, smoking is ewwww *vomits*

ah my crush- she's cool [ if she exists

when the chalk doesn't write on the board but goes iiiiiieeee I HATE THAT

a sound i love is rain pitter pattering i just hhhhhh sends me into happiness

nope fatass here

nope fatass here

favourite actors have to be eddie redmayne, oscar issac and pedro pascal- and margot robbie and winona ryder in the actresses section also yes, elliot page

bruh already answered in 30.

im okayish!! spotify and tumblr, cool combo-

my hair are okay being black for me

yesterday, monday, from 6.40 to 6.50

music

uhhh naah not that i know of

well in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase books, the sword of Frey aka Sumarbrander TALKS and demands to be called Jack, so here i am

bakwaas, music and comfy

yep, i believe in evolution

unfollow on hate and when they dm me sending nsfw pics ugh why are people like that

follow, well, i like people and they seem cool, so i follow them

fav kind of person is the one who'll sit with me for hours not even talking and just vibing to music

fav animals are beavers, doggos and cats

three fav blogs are @chunkybirb, @theclassyghost, @little-boats-on-a-lake, @aredhel-of-gondolin, @sue-me-imbadass, @alleenkaas, @my-ackerman, @brrrrrrrrrrzone

fav emoticon has to be ☹ this me seeing my stupidity outrank others

fav meme has to be Butternut is a master of psychological manipulation

INTP

Libraaa let's go

no dog, i have

black darth vader tshirt, black pants, black sneakers and black wrist watch

i have no selfies my phone has no cameras i live in eternal darkness

what the fuck are platform shoes

i, uhhh, i remember weird things like what i drew in class in 3rd while i was supposed to be doing english

lazy ass here, no front flips possible

i like birds they fly

nope i don't Iike swimming i like blankets

wrapped up in blankets reading books sounds better than both

ketchup

hyperspace travel

nope none

reading writing eating sleeping

my friend

tumblr seems cool

i have around 60-70 idk

yes i can run but why

yes they do but what's the fun in that

nope I'd fall over

sapphire let's go

koala bear or panda

sunflower or the one on a lemon tree

ketchup store

one cup of coffee is enough, tysm

read minds that sounds cool cool yeaaahh

nope never wore it a black clothes guy here BatMan

winter winter all year long

i don't know and i don't wanna try

i don't know and i don't wanna know

everyone cause they are better than me

bookstores cause bookstores any bookstores

sneakers, black onez

apparently some gas bitches mixed up to form a planet

non vegetarian but i partake meat just twice or thrice in two weeks

i don't know they don't seem like liking

naaaaaaaah

bugs ew

spiders ew

about the fact that i come off as arrogant and overconfident while in reality it's just that my communication skills suck

i can draw averagely whenever im in a mood

this thing im answering but i like answering it

uhhhhhhh brain freeze- idk bruh questions are good they give knowledge

yep, while sleeping

ahh yes calming, they are

cloudy days cause fucking cool vibes

hehehe wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy

CumuloNimbus i really like it's name yknow nimBUS

dark blue, dark blue always or black

naaaah no freckles

fav thing is when they laugh and it's just happy and we're both laughing like shitheads but who cares we're rebelling against depressing life and we laugh

both. both is good [ fruits and vegetables

sleep but i have to answer 170 questions cause @chunkybirb

sky sky sky it's my blog's header duh uh sKy

sweet and sour candy. SWEET AND SOUR CANDY.

dim lights it makes me feel cool

ahhh so here we go- Mooncalfs, Thunderbirds, Phoenixes, Sphinxes, Dragons that seem to be Space Nebulae, and more and more and more

i really feel like a boomer sometimes

i love everything about this site/app it makes me feel happy cause i like the people and the posts

uhhhhh i think too much about everything cause i just do. i like thinking

"He's dead, guys. For the sake of The Force, please watch Star Wars now he wanted to discuss it with you" actually no i would just say "A big shoutout to Garlic Bread he loved Garlic Bread"

myself cause i should be sleeping but sleep is for the weak and i am the weak and the strong i am a paradox-

that i obsess too much on things and try involving people it never works out

nope. had braces for 4 years, that beat out teeth showing smiles

i prefer computer-tv ahahahahaha

never tried them, so IDK

naaaaah not motion sickness- never travelled by sea so idk seasickness

lobed ears

yep i believe that deeds do count in life and beyond

idk bruh i don't believe in physical attraction too much- bodies are fake- mentally/metaphysically tho, im a 7

ahhhhh many many Stupid Genius, Tani, Tanu, Tanya

i still do-

i really want to talk to a therapist. converse. and discover.

im both, i am both.

10:1 is the ratio- giving 10, receiving 1

uhhh nothing just when i am right and people use the old "disrespect" argument

3, Hindi, Marathi, English

girls

uhh no i am not

my hair i love them everyone says things about my hair but i love them

knowledge vibes i give, someone tells me- and that's all i ever wanted

anyone i know tbh, my mutuals, my friends, my discord friends

ahhh no i wouldn't but i wish i was born 20 years earlier

bleh bloo, neither like nor dislike

i don't know if i have one

i don't know, haven't had physical contact in a long long long time in a galaxy far far away

the above point stands but i would like to ig

anything i write, 3 hours later, i instantly hate just idk why

anything i write

that i am normal no i am not and i am not okay hahahahaha

65-70 ish people

somewhere around-

many many many don't ask please but okay if you do ask

somewhat

uhhhhh idr exactly but i won't tell in public duh uh

mediummm hairrrr

last year lockdown i became harry potter

i don't know buddy i seriously don't know

yep i do cause knowledge i like knowledge

naaah never tried

no i definitely cannot stand on my hands or my head for more than 30 seconds

yep, im pretty sure i answered most of them correctly-

og link-

[justasparkwritings]

Codename Cupid: Chapter 22

Previous: The Final Notice 

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x OFC

Genre: Secret AgentAU, Government AgentAU

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 3.2K

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Abortion

Summary: Black Panther, Cricket and OT7 finally meet. 

Cricket & OT7: Return to Sender

Present Day

           “Why are you following me?” I ask, hands bound together, eyes blindfolded. The car has stopped, and whomever was driving has exited the vehicle in favor of opening my door and yanking me out. It’s silent, apart from my breathing and unavoidably stalky footsteps. I’ve never been able to walk on eggshells, perhaps it was my mother’s direction that stomping on them was far more impactful, that has led me to wear through every heel of every shoe I’ve ever owned. Now, it isn’t my saving grace, rather a rude awakening that I must sound like an ogre to the people who live below me.

           I arrived at the designated location, Jungkook trailing behind me. He refused to let me go alone but did compromise and stay in the damn car. He could see me, and I could see him. I was waiting for no more than a minute before promptly kidnapped. Not even chloroformed, just fucking grabbed and taken. Kidnapped, blindfolded and bound. Bound! Some knot a boy scout or aspiring I’m tossed in the back of a car, which, is how I’ve found myself willfully dragging my heels as they ever so gracefully force me in their desired direction.

           “Black Panther, why are you following us?” The voice asks. I know that voice, I’ve heard it before, I’ve heard that code name. Had it been referring to me this entire time?

           “Us?” I ask again, tossing my voice to see if it reverberates against anything, any sign that furniture or people are nearby.

           The man guiding me stops abruptly and peels off my blindfold. Empty spaces are their own kind of hell, and this is no exception. The panic of darkness arises as I close and open my eyes, ensuring they’re really open and not a trick of the mystery man’s charms. I jump softly as seven lights are dropped, one in each spot in front of me, a delicate row of halos waiting to be adorned. Five men step out of the shadows, the one holding me in place making number six.  Their pressed suits, cut from the finest cloth, each distinct in their pattern and style, garnish their bodies. As if on cue they cross their arms over their chests and glare openly at me.

           “Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung,” I rattle off, each man nodding as I speak their names.

           I know them all, tailed them, surveyed their homes, run into them at the grocery story and Mexican restaurants. All except fucking min Yoongi, but I know them. I know these men. I’ve spent the better part of what, two years, trying to understand them, trying to figure out how they’re related, and here they are. There’s space for another, and it takes me a minute to realize who it is that occupies that is supposed to occupy that spot.

           “There’s only six of you… where’s -

           “Jeon Jungkook,” His voice comes from behind me, goosebumps running up my spine as the heel of his boots hits the concrete. My body is awash in shock, anger, comfort and hope. My Jungkook. My, I have to come home to him, my north star, my sunshine on a cloudy day, my Bunny.

           I was fucking right all along, wasn’t I?

           “Welcome to the party.” Seokjin says.

           “Is this where you tell me that Euna is Hans Gruber and somehow I’m Sergeant Powell?” I question, by tone delicate against their stone expressions.

           “If anything, you’re Harry Ellis,” Yoongi says.

           “That’s so rude,” I retort. “At least let me be Holly Gennaro.”

           “Then who are we, McClane?” Yoongi snorts, the absurdity of my statement causing a brief moment of joy. “Bunny wishes.”

           “You’re interrupting our mission,” Namjoon states, pulling my attention to him. His broad shoulders give way to a tapered waist, round golden spectacles are situated against his face, and his jaw is locked tight.

           “Me? How the fuck – oh,” My eyes move towards the bulletin board against the far wall, in quintessential fashion there are pictures, string, maps and enough thumbtacks to secure the list of vets from the Vietnam Memorial. I can’t read it, but I can see it. “You guys aren’t the bad guys.”

           “No, we’re not,” Namjoon says.

           “The Lee family is,” Taehyung says. It’s odd seeing him this quiet and stoic, after all he’s the hottest librarian in the damn county. He comes alive within the confines of his books and stories, he comes alive. He has voices and characters and gestures to match each. Looking at him now, it’s wild to imagine him doing a full interpretive reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or his most famed retelling, Peter and the Starcatcher, when he’s glowering down at me.

           “They are poison, seeking revenge on anyone who has worked on cases to bring them down,” Hoseok says.

           “So, you all, how did she find you?” My mind is moving too fast for me to form coherent sentences.

           “Cupid didn’t find us,” Jimin tells me, eyes still boring holes into mine.

           “You did,” Namjoon answers.

           “I did?” I ask, eyes wide.

           “Mm, your little stunts, your run ins, your photos. She gave you our real names and you-

           “Gave her our locations,” Taehyung finishes the sentence, eyes still trained on me.

           “You left the notes, and the photo for Euna to find,”

           “Yes, but unlike you, our move was intentional,” Yoongi says.

           “Codename Cupid needed to know there were higher stakes at play,” Hoseok tells me.

           “How was I supposed to know this was some larger conspiracy?” I demand, temper rising.

           “Did you not receive notes?” Hoseok asks, by his expression I can tell that he’s responsible for the code breakers that have arrived at my apartment and office over the last nine months. “Strange packages arriving out of nowhere, sent to your office, on the driver’s seat?” Hoseok pushes.

           “Yeah, but I’ve had some really sketchy clients in the past, though none of them preferred an ABA rhyme scheme,” I retort.

           “Do you know how we found you?” Yoongi snaps.

           “Yes?” I ask, genuinely confused, “Google my name and my office pops up. Anyone can find me.”

           “Your tactics are fucking bush league, Black Panther. They’re embarrassing,” Yoongi tells me.

           “You’re a P.I., not a cop, not an agent, you’re not in the Bureau, yet you’re overstepping into situations that you have no grounds being involved in. You are fucking playing with fire and we were about to be burned if we hadn’t –

           “Seokjin,” Namjoon’s voice is biting, harsh, a belt to the back as it cracks in the hot air.

           “She needs to know,” Taehyung responds for his hyung.

           “Cupid has been lying to you for months, leading you on, paying you over your asking to track us down for what? A few lies you don’t even believe to be true?” Jimin asks.

           “We embezzled funds from their charity organization? We reported her family to the IRS?” Taehyung asks.

           “We stole jewelry from her famed collection to sell on the black market?” Seokjin adds.

           “We’re trafficking high quality cocaine from Colombia into the upper echelon of society?” Jimin rattles off more lies.

           “We fucked her, broke her heart, and god – the worst one – we made her abort our child?” Yoongi spits on the floor, disgust flowing through his saliva like blood in the Nile.

           I stare at them, mouth agape as they recite words I’ve only spoken to one person. My vision becomes blurry as I try to breathe, in through my nose, out through my mouth, but my heart is pounding in my ears and I can’t breathe. The tears always sting before they fall, and my eyes land on him, tall, blonde hair, clear framed glasses, doe eyes.

           “You told them?” I whisper, the end of my sentence curling up into itself as the first tears start to fall.

           “I had to,” A whisper, feet frozen to the ground as he refuses to make eye contact with me.

           “You were using me?” I ask. “Look at me.”

           “I wasn’t using you,” He says, soft eyes meeting mine, the fire scorching the earth.

           “So how do they know?” I spit, the little droplets doing nothing to squelch the flames.

           “I had –

           “You told them information that I shared with you, in confidence, in my fucking bed, in my fucking homeJungkook!” I yell.

           “Cricket, can we talk about –

           “How dare you use my nickname to get me to calm down, I’m not a fucking child,” the sound of my cries reverberates against the warehouse, echoing violently.

           “I can exp-

           “There isn’t time for you to sort out your fuck up, Jeon. We have real problems to discuss,” Yoongi snaps. I can feel the tears dripping from my chin, falling to the concrete beneath my feet. The adrenaline pumping through my body as both a reaction to fear and a telltale sign that I’ve been embarrassed beyond repair. Not just embarrassed, eviscerated, betrayed. An hour ago, hadn’t I been deeply in love, terrified I wouldn’t return home to him?  

           “What do you want from me?” I ask. Jimin hands me a tissue, which I am grateful for as I attempt to gently blot my soaked skin. My mascara, never waterproof, comes off my eyes in dark splotches. How poetic.

           “Come, have a seat, Jungkook, get her a water,” Namjoon instructs. He strides towards the bulletin board and pressing a few buttons, the board sinks in the floor to reveal a hallway. The gasp that echoes through the warehouse is audible, and louder than I intend.

           “Sorry,” I say, feet guiding me past Jungkook, towards the corridor. There are no pictures on the walls, no signs that this space is used by anyone. The industrial style gives way to a door, bulletproof.

           Namjoon pauses, inserting his thumb into a scanner that gives way to a retina display, where he gently places his chin against the base. The machine works quickly before giving him entrance. I watch, amazed. Who knew in the 21stcentury that covert ops and me, a lonely P.I., would intersect?

           “This is, headquarters,” Seokjin says. He takes a seat at the long table in front of us and points to the chair next to Taehyung. I sit quickly, my eyes adjusting to the surprisingly bright space.

           “Oh my god the view,” I say, composure slightly recovered as I take in the expanse of greenery.

           “Yeah, benefit of being in the middle of nowhere,” Yoongi says.

           “Read your file,” Namjoon instructs.

           The file in front of me, manilla of course, is packed. “Why paper copies?”

           “Easier to burn,” Yoongi mutters. He’s taken out his computer and is busy typing away, no doubt pulling up a list of my infractions. Undoubtedly fucking an undercover operative is number one, though falling in love is objectively far worse than sex.

           Jungkook brings me a water and deftly cuts the zip ties around my wrist. His hand moves to sooth the indentation and redness from their grip, but I pull them away before his thumbs graze over the skin. Out of the corner of my eye I watch him retreat to his seat at the end of the table.

           “If you’re the top of the line, 007 should be shaking in his oxfords, can’t you encrypt it?” I ask.

           “Your encryption is only as good as your worst coder. We can’t take that chance,” Namjoon tells me.

           “First, I don’t think that’s the saying. Second, the government, who I’m assuming you work for, Interpol, MI6, etc. all use computer systems,” I counter.

           “Do you remember the election of 2016?” Yoongi retorts.

           “Point taken,” I nod. Of course, Russia. No one was ever safe. “But can’t you blame a lot of that on Zuckerberg and the higher ups at Twitter?”

           “Read your file,” Namjoon instructs again.

           I open it to find a rather aggressive breakdown of my work as a PI, both items that were on the internet and ones that only top-level government agents could have accessed, that is, unless the NSA has been tapping my phones. Details of my family life, my past relationships, my driving record, it was all here.

           “Why isn’t Jungkook on the list of romantic partners?” I ask, eyes looking from Seokjin to Namjoon.

           “Are you in love?” Namjoon asks.

           I don’t wait for a response from Jungkook, or to find the courage to say the simple three lettered word, yes. Instead, I busy myself by clearing my throat and loudly moving the pages about my life to a separate pile. Underneath is all my evidence, print outs of my documents, surveillance photos of me working. I stare at them, horrified.

           “How long have you been tailing me?” I question.

           “How long have you been working with Euna?” Taehyung asks.

           “Sixteen months,” I reply.

           “Ten months.” Taehyung answers.

           “You hacked my computer? Is that legal?” I inquire, knowing full well that it isn’t.

           “I can tell that you don’t understand who you’re dealing with, so let me put it this way. We’re the ones who knock. We’re the ones who cause dignitaries, presidents, whole countries to quake in their boots. It’s us.” Namjoon’s voice is calm within the storm, its resolute and baritone and every word that he utters is meaningful, impactful. He means what he says, and he fucking says what he means. In every interaction I’ve had with him, which frankly have been maybe more than he realizes, he’s been measured in his speech, only speaking when he has something worth saying. He is patient with himself, kind to others, except for today, when he clearly does not want to deal with me.

           “How very Heisenberg of you,” I roll my eyes.

           “You don’t want to be Jane,” Namjoon urges.

           “Okay first of all, in a Breaking Bad scenario, I’m clearly Jesse. Second of all, Krysten Ritter has had a very lovely career. Finally, this cannot be overlooked or underestimated, I’m Veronica Mars, bitch.”

           “Read. Your. File.” Namjoon’s teeth are clenched, his fist resting on the table, his patience going.

           I glance at Yoongi who is sniggering, Seokjin who is making eyes at Jungkook, and Jimin who is busy doodling along the margins of his file. These glimpses, these little hints at the weight of their souls, these are the men I’ve been following for nearly two years.

           It’s in staring at the remnants of my evidence that it hits me. “Jungkook gave you these photos.”

           “Yes,” Seokjin answers.

           “Everything you told me was a lie,” I say, eyes burning holes into the stolen images of my work.

           “Crick- Y/N, that’s not true,”

           “I knew you were connected, that day in the dog park, I knew,” I should’ve trusted my instincts, though they told me to trust him, maybe I should’ve run.

           “I didn’t lie, Cricket, I -

           “Look, I’ll work with you, whoever you are, but I’m not working with Jungkook,” I look at Namjoon.

           “That’s not an option, Black Panther,”

           “How did I get that nickname?”

           “Can you focus for ten minutes? Read your damn file so we can discuss the next course of action before you have to go meet Codename Cupid for your weekly meeting,” Namjoon bites.

           “Fine, do I have to go to that meeting if you’re, doing whatever you’re doing?” I question. “Seems a bit redundant.”

           “If you don’t meet with Cupid, she will know we found her, and our decade of work is completely useless.” Seokjin says, stepping in to mitigate the anger erupting from Namjoon.

           “What am I supposed to say to her? She knows too much already,”

           “She doesn’t know what she knows,” Yoongi answers. “Looking through her emails and texts, it’s clear that her family wants the seven of us dead for espionage, and for attempting to bring them down. All Cupid knows is that you found us, which she assumes is a fatal flaw in our plan, though she has yet to understand the plan at all.”

           “It’s completely intentional,” Hoseok adds. “Cupid only knows that we either worked for her company or dated her or a sibling. She knows our fictitious careers and lives but has no clue about who we truly are.”

           “Her brother, Dae-Seong, Codename Archer, is the one who wants us gone, eviscerated, eradicated. He’s the one driving this whole thing. Archer’s convinced Cupid that vengeance will solve her romantic woes,” Jimin tells me.  

           “But what about Jun-Seo? You left him the night of your engagement party, and Kwan-Min, you went on a few dates… Couldn’t this be about them?”

           “Codenames Bow and Arrow are less of a threat than Cupid and Archer,” Taehyung answers.

           “Cupid has been kept in the dark for the past, fifteen years, in regard to their business. The dark dealings of her company reside solely with her siblings and their parents. We want them,” Namjoon finishes.

           “Why not use Euna, sorry, Cupid, as the patsy?” I ask.

           “Who will run their company?” Yoongi asks.

           “Someone else?”

           “There’s too much evidence, nearly the entire company is dirty,” Jimin tells me.

           “So, you’ve been spying on them from the inside?” I question.

           “Sort of,”

           “It’s Nixon, Watergate extreme?” I ask.

           “What does Cupid know, and when did she know it?” Yoongi answers, his annoyance completely dissipating at my Watergate mention.

           “Why do you think she’ll believe me? She doesn’t have much faith in me as of late,” I question, the lilt of insecurity in my voice. Jungkook glances at me, eyes soft at the familiar tone, he tries to offer a smile, at least, it looks like he’s trying.

           “Yeah, because you fucked Jungkook and she found out. Before that though, she couldn’t sing your praises enough,” Namjoon’s calmed down, his frustration settling like sediment at the bottom of a pot. Adding an eighth person to the group was always going to shift the balance, move the power around and rattle nerves. But me? I’m burning it down. Though I can’t completely be to blame - Jungkook is also at fault.

           “Fine. What do I say to her?”

           “Haven’t we gone over this before? Lie,” Yoongi says.

           “Yoongi, if you’re going to be an ass, can you please direct it at someone else?” I snap.

           “Feisty,” He nods approvingly.

           “Black Panther, you have notes in your file about what we need from you,” Namjoon instructs.

           “You want me to end my relationship with her?” I question.

           “Yes,”

           “What about –

           “Either you end it first, creating an enemy, or she ends it with you which will not be helpful for us,”

           “I just,” I look at them, eyes finally glancing to Jungkook. He looks exhausted, and sad, so sad, his irises choppy waves searching for harbor. “Do I have a choice?”

           “No,” Namjoon answers, but Jungkook’s eyes tell me exactly what I need to know. I don’t have a choice, and somewhere along the line, he stopped having one too.

           “Fine, tell me what to do,” I flip to the page in my file, eyes scanning the words, mind no longer full of Jungkook my boyfriend, but of Jungkook, Operative, member of OT7. This is a job, a job that seemingly could make or destroy my career. I don’t have time or the emotional space to navigate his crashing midnight eyes. All I have now is focus, drive, determination, and hints of stubbornness. This is the same drive that in a weird twist of fate, has led me to this very conference room, with these seven mysterious men.

           I cannot fuck it up.

           I will not get a second chance.

Next: Black Panther Meets Codename Cupid  

[btsslowburnfic]

Chthonic Love Chapter 2

Series Summary: Greek AU Yoongi/Hades x You/Persephone.  The Olympic Lord, Namjoon kidnaps you as a "gift" for his brother, ruler of the Underworld. Lord of Death: Yoongi.

Chapter 1 found Here

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

You stood there for a moment in absolute disbelief. You already hated most of the Olympian Gods who used mortals and lesser deities as their playthings all the time. And now here you were, in the Underworld of all places. Why?

"Um excuse me miss," you heard the woman by the door say. "I'm sure you are still very upset and terribly uncomfortable, but I do have my orders. I hope you understand."

You looked over at her empathetically. No one chose to stay in the Underworld, she clearly was as trapped as you were. "Yes of course. Please, lead me to my chambers." you bowed your head as you followed Lethe out of the throne room. What a fucking day. You thought. You tried to keep track of where you were going in case you decided to try and escape on your own.

"And down that way is the kitchen. I'm not sure what Goddesses from the mortal realm eat but I'm sure we can find you something. If you head that way," she gestured up a set of stairs to the left, "you'll find the library."

"Thank you. I'm sure I won't be here for very long." you said to her. She turned and gave you a patronizing look.

"Well you are a Goddess so maybe someone will come get you out of here. But if you have any thoughts of escaping you'd best put them to rest. Many have tried and all have failed. It might not seem like it today, but there are much worse places you could be than a palace in the Underworld."

You bit your tongue and took her words into consideration.

" Ah, here. This will do. "she said as she opened a large obsidian door with intricate silver carvings in it.

"Is this the furthest room from Lord Yoongi's?" you asked without thinking. You ran your hand down the beautiful inscription.

Lethe chuckled." No. But I'm tired of walking and it's not like he's going to check." you turned your head and your eyes widened. “What? You're not going to tell on me are you? This is a very nice room." She crossed her hands in front of her chest.

Despite your attempt to suppress it, a smile crept across your lips. “Of course not. Thank you. This will do for tonight."

“Will there be anything else m'lady?"

"No. Thank you Lethe." You turned and walked into the room. It was sparsely decorated but quite large. An empty fireplace was carved into the stone as well as a set of window seats on either side. A medium sized bed and wardrobe were in the room, covered in a layer of dust. You cringed slightly and conjured a light breeze, you opened a window and sent the dust particles out into the sky. Your powers weren’t very impressive without a living specimen.

You sighed and walked over to the now open window. You were slightly surprised the windows weren't barred.

From your window you saw the black sand dunes and Stygian Sea. You had heard stories about this place your whole life and while they captured the desolate nature of the land, they had failed to.mention its beauty. The Sea ebbed and flowed like liquid black glass, the sea foam of the mortal realm nowhere to be found. The sand dunes were almost pure black, like Night herself had spilled out into the expanse. You began to turn back to your room when movement caught your eye. You saw the silhouette of the man you had seen earlier walking across the plane. The solitary figure exuded absolute control over this dominion as he approached the Sea. You found yourself unable to take your eyes off of him, his long black cloak waving in the breeze and his pale hands cutting a sharp contrast to the surrounding landscape.

You watch him raise his arms and then you see the faint green glow appear across the water. Ships of the Dead. It was one thing to hear about the transition that humans went through when they left the mortal plane, it was another to see them approach their final resting place.

You saw Yoongi raise his hands and direct the ships. He looked up towards the castle. There was no way he could see you, and yet you felt seen. You suddenly felt like you were intruding on something quite private. You turned your back and closed the window.

-----

Yoongi had left his throne room feeling angry and flustered. He prided himself on his sense of control. He immediately headed to his study and slammed the door behind him. He took a few deep breaths. I control my emotions, they do not control me. He repeated to himself several times while breathing deeply. Even if my brother is a fucking idiot. He sat down and rolled his head side to side. What to do with Persephone. She was right. She was the Spring Goddess; she didn't belong in the underworld. He would need to find out more about this bet and the contract. And Hoseok. He didn't know how though; the other Gods didn't come this way. He sighed. He would have to figure something out. The poor woman was frightened of him and he'd made it worse by putting his cursed hands on her. He looked down at them and shuddered. That's what the mortals said. That he was the one who killed them. His hands were unclean. He was the despised and unwanted God. Yoongi took a deep breath out. No. He hadn't killed since the Titan Wars and he'd never killed a mortal.

He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to drive the self-hatred away. Fuck this day. He grabbed his cloak and decided to head to the beach early. He was the Lord of the Underworld, he could still do something right around here.

As much as it irritated him he found himself wondering about Persephone. He wondered where in the castle she ended up. Yoongi knew Lethe was kind and likely would not have actually put her that far away from the atrium of the castle. Although they weren't kidding when they said they weren't prepared for guests. Other than Namjoon popping in from time to time to start shit, no one had ever come to visit him. He wandered over towards the shore. She had looked so frightened and so helpless. He lifted his arms to summon the Ships. And he had made it worse for her. The dead began to sail towards him. He laughed sadly to himself. A companion? Who was Namjoon kidding? He guided the ships to the estuary. He looked up to the castle for the second time today and this time he swore he could see Persephone looking down at the shore towards him. He started to feel something inside him stirring but as soon as he blinked, she was gone. He must have imagined it.

"Open the gate Min Holly. You're a good boy."

----------

You paced around your room for a while. There is absolutely nothing to do. You sigh and take a seat on one of the window benches. Fucking Zeus. No. Namjoon. You’re not going to call your kidnapper by his Lordly title. You pouted; your brother would surely come for you. You’re surprised he hasn’t already to be honest. You look out to the horizon. You can’t tell if it’s day or night. It feels as though you’ve been here for a few hours but you have no way of knowing how long you were unconscious. Should you be freaking out instead of being bored? Maybe. But after sobbing from confusion and anger in the throne room you did not feel like you were in particular danger. Lord Yoongi had seemed more annoyed than menacing and you had been escorted to a guest room rather than the dungeon. You swished your dress back and forth in front of the mirror. You definitely looked like you had been kidnapped. Even though you knew it was silly and vain, you took the moss out of your hair and braided it. There. Much more like the Goddess of Spring, you thought as you raised your chin and walked over to the door and turned the handle. It opened easily, leading out to the hallway Lethe had escorted you through earlier. You quietly closed the bedroom door behind you. No one had told you that you had to stay put. You wander back towards the throne room. You hadn't visited many palaces but you knew that this one was desolate by comparison. Most castles were constantly bustling with activity and full of courtiers. You poked your head into the throne room. Nothing. No one. Just a throne carved into the obsidian walls. You entered, your feet barely making any noise on the stone floor. The rooms in the palace were all lit by an ethereal blue flame that provided light but little heat. You found yourself shivering as you completed your circle around the room.

You exited and walked through the giant set of double doors across the hallway. This would be considered the Great Hall at any other palace. You could only tell by the sheer size and the tapestries hanging down from the ceiling. There were a few servants milling about, looking about as bored as you felt.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the guest quarters?” you heard a voice. You jumped in surprise and turned towards it. A male servant, dressed nicer than the others and with an air of authority, had walked over to you and stood there looking like he had seen a ghost.

You straighten up, “I did go to the guest quarters. They were dreadfully boring so now I’m here.”

The two of you awkwardly stared at each other. “Are you going to escort me back to my quarters?” you asked, putting your hands on your hips.

“Umm...no I suppose I haven’t been ordered to do that.” he puts his hands behind his back and starts to turn around.

“Has Lord Yoongi returned yet?” you ask.

The man sighed as though you were asking him a most difficult question, but he does answer it, “Yes. He is in his office now. I’m on my way to give him my daily report.”

“Most excellent. Please take me with you. I have much to discuss with him now that I have settled in for the evening.” you began to follow him.

He stopped and widened his eyes at you. “I do not think that would be prudent m’lady. It’s only been a few hours since you arrived. Perhaps there is something else you could find to occupy your time.”

You stopped and looked into his eyes, “I’m so sorry. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Persephone. Goddess of Spring. Harbinger of Winter. It’s so nice to meet you.” You stand there waiting for him to do the same.

The man lets out a tired sigh. “Yes m’lady of course. I am Penthos, the Chief Steward. I will do as you wish Goddess, although I do still advise against it.”

Your lips pressed together in a thin, firm line. “Your concern is noted. Please lead the way.”

"Very well but the Master does not like to be disturbed.” he said as he exited the hall with you following. You rolled your eyes as Penthos led you up a sweeping staircase. He knocked on the door, a low grumble responded indicating he could open the door.

"M’Lord." Penthos announced himself.

Yoongi didn't even look up from the parchment he is writing on, “Yes Penthos? Anything of note today?"

He awkwardly cleared his throat hoping for Lord Yoongi to look up, but to no avail." No sir. Other than your brother appearing and bringing a woman here against her will to be held captive, it's been a very normal day around here." Penthos remarks dryly.

Yoongi smiles while still looking down. You noticed how it instantly made him look so much younger. “Well I suppose that it has been a more eventful day than usual."

You realized that Penthos had no intention of introducing you, "Excuse me, the captive would like to have a word m'lord." your soft voice cut through the room

Yoongi froze. His quill dropped down onto the paper. He slowly raised his head and looked up at you. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked over to Penthos. “Penthos, thank you for bringing Lady Persephone here. You may leave.”

“I am sorry sir. I know you don’t like to be disturbed but she commanded me as a Goddess so I felt like I had to.” he said, daring to look fearfully over at you. Your mouth dropped open in surprise.

“I introduced myself to you and asked you to bring me here.” you retorted.

“That’s enough Penthos. As long as Lady Persephone is a guest here, you should treat her with respect and listen to her.” Yoongi waved his hand, dismissing this conversation as he returned to his parchment. It was Penthos’ turn to look at you. You raised your eyebrows in a “see?” gesture. You turned back towards the desk, “Thank you Lord Yoongi. Your kindness is most appreciated.” you responded with a slight curtsy.

“Just Yoongi is fine,” he grumbles from his desk.

You heard Penthos scoff as he exited the room.

“That seems so improper my Lord,” you lightly protested.

“Suit yourself. My realm, my rules.” he said, puffing out his cheeks and scribbling on the paper.

You looked around the study. This room clearly got used more than the throne room or the hall. The fireplace here was lit and there were cloaks and furs strewn about. Pages of filled parchment were all around the desk with books piled on both the shelves and the floor. A lyre and harpsichord were both against the back wall. You realized you have been standing there for several minutes just gawking at the room. Yoongi hadn’t said anything yet, still writing on his parchment. You sighed and looked for somewhere to sit. There was nowhere that you could see so you grabbed one of the furs and placed it in front of the fire, having a seat next to the blue flame.

Yoongi looked up from his paper. Until you moved, he had forgotten that you were there to be honest, he was lost in his own world. He saw you sitting next to the fireplace and found himself thinking you didn’t look so out of place here after all. He cleared his throat, “I apologize. As I mentioned before, my realm is not used to accommodating guests. I could find a chair for you if you wish.”

A King apologizing to you? You almost laughed at how strange it was, “No. This is fine, thank you. There are a few things I wanted to discuss with you if you have time.”

He placed his quill back in it’s holder and moved the parchment aside. He looked over at you, his face such a careful mixture between Godlike beauty and eternal sadness it rendered you momentarily unable to speak.

“You may speak freely here, Persephone.” he encouraged you, breaking you from your trance.

“Thank you. Firstly, is there a way to communicate with the mortal realm? I’m sure I’m bound here for some reason, which I would also like to know more about, but I would at least like my brother to know I’m ok. Is there any way you could do that?”

Yoongi blinked a few times. He was amazed you were here at all. He was certain you would be angrily crying in your room or plotting an escape or something. He never expected you to just calmly come and sit on the floor of his office, wrapped in one of his furs looking so beautiful. Wait, you had asked him a question. He sat there and tried to remember what you had asked but he just couldn’t. “I’m so sorry. What did you say?” his face turned red.

“My brother, Hoseok. I’m sure he is worried about me and I would like to let him know I’m ok.”

Yoongi thought for a moment, leaning back in his chair. “Ah yes, as you can imagine, not a lot of visitors from the Mortal Realm or Olympus pass through. I can’t leave here. I mean, physically I can, but my job,” he gestured to the window, “the dead would start to stack up and it would just be a mess. I can try to send a message through Charon though.”

“The ferryman?” you responded as you rubbed your hands together, wishing the blue flames put out heat.

“You are familiar with Chthonic culture?” Yoongi sits back in his seat surprised.

“Only a little. We had to pick between studying Olympus or the Underworld and I chose the Underworld.”

An almost imperceptible grin flashed across his face. “I imagine it’s not a popular topic.” he surmised.

You shrugged, “It seemed more interesting to me.”

“Are you cold?” he asked, as he noticed you rubbing your hands together and curling your knees to your chest.

“Yes. I’m the Goddess of Spring and my brother is like sunshine incarnate. I’m not used to...this,” you gestured to the air.

Yoongi raised a hand towards the fire and turned the blue flames red.

“Thank you. I wasn’t dressed properly for my visit to the Underworld.” you smirked.

Yoongi laughed at this, “You’re taking your kidnapping quite well. Shouldn’t you be plotting your escape?”

“Who says I’m not?” you raised your eyebrows at him and for a second you saw his expression change back to the same one you had seen when you first entered; eternal sadness. “I suppose I should be in my room crying but it was just so boring in there, and if I cry too much my face gets puffy and itchy. Besides, it’s not like you kidnapped me. I don’t think,” you turned to look at him. “You didn’t ask Namjoon to kidnap me did you?”

“Definitely not.” Yoongi stated as he pulled out fresh parchment and ink. “Apparently your brother made some sort of bet with Namjoon and you were the collateral.”

“Hoseok would never--!” you began, outraged.

“Yes yes, I’m sure it was my brother being a bastard and using some sort of wording to trick him. I don’t know the details. He brought you here and then literally dropped you onto my throne room floor. That’s all I know for now. Hopefully you can write to your brother and get more information.” he stood up and gestured to the parchment. “I can give this to Charon tonight if you’d like me to.”

“Oh really?” you said, eagerly looking over to the page. “You'll let me do that?”

Yoongi sighed, “Of course. I try to not make keeping people as hostages a habit.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” you said as you swung your legs underneath you to stand up. You felt like your one leg has pins and needles in it from sitting on the ground and you began to stumble. Yoongi stepped over and grabbed your elbow to steady you. He immediately thought back to earlier when you told him not to touch you and reached his hand back almost violently.

You didn’t even notice, “Thanks.” you smiled at him as you walked over to the desk and sat down. “I just meant I didn’t think you would be so nice.” Yoongi felt that same feeling from earlier; something in his chest beginning to untether itself. He stood behind you as you sat at his office chair, finding himself admiring how the red flames illuminated your face. He watched your delicate hand dip the quill into the ink jar and begin to write.

“No one has ever called me nice before,” he quietly said.

You pause thoughtfully, unaware of how much your passing comment meant to him. “Well that’s just because you don’t get any visitors down here. You are definitely one of the nicest Gods I’ve met. And I have met so so so many of them.”

“You don’t care for the Olympians?” he asked even though it was obvious.

“Being a minor deity I should really refrain from commenting,” you responded as you write your brother’s name at the top of the paper.

Yoongi leaned closer to you. “I told you to speak freely here Persephone.” You felt his breath on your ear and you suddenly became extremely aware of how close his mouth was to your body. You knew what you were about to say was heresy but something inside of you wanted so deeply to meet his challenge you allowed yourself to say it. “I fucking hate them.” you took a steadying breath, “And I hate your brother most of all.”

You felt him even closer this time, he whispered into your ear, “That’s a secret we both share.” You shivered, but not from the cold.

Yoongi smirked for a moment, watching as you began to write your letter. The Goddess of Spring was full of surprises. NEXT CHAPTER