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astrognossienne · 4 years ago

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scandalous star: gary cooper -an analysis

“I don’t like to see exaggerated airs and exploding egos in people who are already established. No player ever rises to prominence solely on talent. They’re molded by forces other than themselves. They should remember this – and at least twice a week drop to their knees and thank Providence for elevating them from cow ranches, dime store ribbon counters and bookkeeping desks. ” - Gary Cooper

He didn’t say much, but when he did, it carried a lot of weight. He was the archetypal hero of the Old West; the quintessential masculine ideal of the stoic and “strong silent type” that most Taurus men are. But for famously laconic Gary Cooper, his good looks and earnest, haunted eyes for decades made him the quintessential lonely American of motion pictures.He was a more equanimous, human protagonist versus boisterous, bigger-than-life Hollywood supermen. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his individualistic, emotionally restrained, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made. He was a man’s man...as well as a ladies’ man. Cooper became a hero to many, even as he developed a reputation as one of the most notorious philanderers in Hollywood. Privately a debonair ladykiller with a taste for high society, he crafted an image as just the opposite from his prototype cowboy image he materfully portrayed on the silver screen. He was insatiable, before and during his marriage. How did he reconcile his moral righteousness onscreen (Taurus sun) with his philandering offscreen (Sagittarius moon)? That was the work of the fixers, gossip magazines, and the studio system at large, which ensured that Cooper was never caught, never denounced, and held up as a paragon of American values.

Gary Cooper, according to astrotheme, was a Taurus sun and Sagittarius moon. He was born Frank James Cooper in Helena, Montana, the second son of an English farmer from Bedfordshire, who later became an American lawyer and judge, Charles Henry Cooper (1865-1946), and Kent-born Alice (née Brazier) Cooper (1873-1967). As a child, he met a freed slave woman named Mary Fields, otherwise known as Stagecoach Mary, and so awed by her was she that he later wrote an account of his memories of her in Ebony magazine. His mother hoped for their two sons to receive a better education than that available in Montana and arranged for the boys to attend Dunstable Grammar School in Bedfordshire, England between 1910 and 1913. Upon the outbreak of World War I, Cooper’s mother brought her sons home and enrolled them in a Bozeman, Montana, high school. Upon graduation, he eventually matriculated at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, where he attempted to nurture a passion for drawing - until a serious car accident ended his college days in the summer of 1920. He would recover from his severely injured hip through an odd but painful therapy, horseback riding.

When his father retired from the bench and moved his mother to Los Angeles, Cooper gave up agriculture classes to try his hand as a Hollywood extra. Cooper played an extra in a handful of silent films before arriving on the set of The Winning of Barbara Worth in 1926. The actor cast as the second male lead didn’t show, and someone shoved Cooper into the part. He appeared with Clara Bow (who soon became one of his conquests) in her star-making film It, but it was his appearance in another Bow vehicle Wings, released later that same year, truly launched his career. He plays a World War I flying cadet, and although his screentime was still relatively short, there was one scene — an extended close-up shot, the light streaming in from outside — in which he looked gorgeous. In 1929, he filmed The Wolf Song with Lupe Vélez. He soon had an affair with Velez, who purportedly claimed that Cooper “has the biggest organ in Hollywood but not the ass to push it in well.” For more on their relationship, read my star analysis on Lupe.

Cooper filmed The Virginian — his first real “talkie,” and the film was a major hit and cemented the foundation of Cooper’s image. His ability to project elements of his own personality onto the characters he portrayed, to appear natural and authentic in his roles, and to underplay and deliver restrained performances calibrated for the camera and the screen helped make him a cinematic success, often lauded by those he worked with. However, his good looks and charisma made him a success with women, whether he worked with them or not. Over the next few years, Cooper was paired with the most gorgeous and promising female stars in Hollywood —with Carole Lombard in I Take This Woman (whom he slept with), Claudette Colbert in His Woman (whom he allegedly slept with), Marlene Dietrich in Morocco and Desire (who he famously slept with more than once), and Joan Blondell in Make Me a Star (who he allegedly slept with). In 1932, Cooper and his Paramount “rival,” Cary Grant, were cast against Tallulah Bankhead in Devil and the Deep (1932). Like Lupe Velez, Bankhead was a loose cannon, with most famous quote being:

“The only reason I went to Hollywood was to fuck that divine Gary Cooper.”

Amidst all his public and private action, Cooper began courting Veronica “Rocky” Balfe, a starlet who went by the stage name of Sandra Shaw. She was also best known as the blonde dropped by King Kong. The two were wed in late 1933. Balfe retired from the screen to become a wife and mother, with her giving birth to their only child, Maria, in 1937. Cooper portrayed a new type of hero—a champion of the common man—in films like Mr. Deeds Goes To Washington and 1941′s Sergeant York (which won him his first of two Best Actor Oscars). Cooper met Ernest Hemingway at Sun Valley in October 1940 and they were friends for the rest of his life. He co-starred with Ingrid Bergman (with whom he had a year-long affair with) in a the film adaptation of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. He kept starring in more films and bedding his female co-stars until he got more than he bargained for when he made The Fountainhead. Naturally, the 47-year-old Cooper had an affair with his co-star, the 21-year-old Patricia Neal. However, this time things got crazy: Neal wound up pregnant with Cooper’s child. He insisted she have an abortion. When Cooper’s long-suffering wife found out about the relationship, she sent a telegram demanding he end it. This didn’t work; he also confessed that he was in love with Neal, and continued to see her. Cooper and his wife legally separated in May of 1951. Cooper’s daughter Maria, by then in her early teens, famously spat on Neal in public. Neal later claimed that Cooper hit her after she went on a date with Kirk Douglas. Neal ended their relationship in late December 1951. Amid all this drama, Cooper starred in what is now regarded as his defining role: the beleaguered sheriff in High Noon, which won him his second Best Actor Oscar. In later life, he became involved in a relationship with the costume designer Irene, and was, according to Irene, "the only man she ever loved".

Maybe all his previous actions had an affect on him because Cooper converted to Catholicism in 1958, and reconciled with his wife and daughter. Also, he began starring in films that centered around searching for redemption, such as Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Man of the West (1958). In 1960, Cooper fell ill with prostate cancer, which quickly spread to his colon, lungs, and bones; he died of it shortly after his 60th birthday in 1961. A year after his death, Irene committed suicide by jumping from the 11th floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel, after telling Doris Day of her grief over Cooper's death. Regardless of his philandering, regardless of the arduous work of his studio’s publicity departments, there was something plaintive, almost childlike, maybe even innocent about Cooper, so he can easily be forgiven his sins. He acted out what mattered to millions of people, and that act made him a star beyond measure.

Next, I’ll focus on his former paramour Lupe Velez’s arch nemesis. A woman who happened to be wife of MGM art director Cedric Gibbons (Gary Cooper’s wife Rocky’s uncle). She was another pioneer of Mexican cinema who was arguably the first Latina to successfully crossover to Anglo audiences: Leo Dolores del Río.

Stats

birthdate: May 7, 1901

major planets:

Sun: Taurus

Moon: Sagittarius

Rising: Taurus

Mercury: Taurus

Venus: Taurus

Mars: Leo

Midheaven: Aquarius

Jupiter: Capricorn

Saturn: Capricorn

Uranus: Sagittarius

Neptune: Gemini

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot: He was torn between an instinct to roam free and a determination to find security and make a solid, lasting contribution to the world. As he repeatedly changed horses in search of both ultimate certainties and high-spirited adventure at the same time, he could find himself deeply divided and uncertain. He sought to earth the fire from heaven and put it to work, but he found all too often that it would not let him rest. In his search for stability and security, he became a farmer and was immediately confronted with the changing seasons. He embraced the solid certainties of geology and are hit by an earthquake. He liked to feel the solid earth move. He sought certitude and permanence, yet his endless inquiries constantly confounded yesterday’s certainties. When he got his own uncertainties together (by accepting he wanted the best of both the changing and the unchanging worlds), he could have been a brilliant teacher, conversationalist, counselor, entertainer, wit, creative artist or entrepreneur – in fact he could have been anything he wanted. Once focused, he could be a human dynamo, and wonderfully humorous, witty and entertaining with it. As he discovered, his quest for solid material certainties did not make a happy bedfellow for his yearning for excitement and larger religious and spiritual understanding. In one way or another, be it through philosophy and the spiritual quest or through writing, music or art, he needed to put together and formulate a total vision of the universe which is based on unassailable facts yet satisfying to his idealism.

Constantly seeking, he was a natural agnostic, applying the criteria of science to counter woolly speculations, yet at the same time highly skeptical of the limited and statistical pronouncements of unthinking science. The danger, if he did not marry these elements within him, is that he would swing from one to the other and undermine the virtues of both. A restless changing of jobs, careers, partners, visions or aspirations left him drunk with his own spinning. When he deliberately tried to remain sober and commonsensical, it seemed to make matters worse for there was something of the gambler in him. This all-or-nothing streak can temporarily overcome your natural caution and enable you to burn your bridges (though you will usually ensure there is something tucked away for a rainy day). He felt an impulsive need to do things on a grand scale, to live with commitment, to feast on the world, and to understand what it was to be alive in all possible ways. He seemed to be called both to explore the reaches of the imagination and to build secure foundations. He brought far-reaching visions into manifestation, and these visions injected his conservative desire for stability and security with flair and colour. His vision of tomorrow and the larger world gave spice to any project he undertook. He saw endless possibilities and wanted to make them real. In this he could be the natural entrepreneur who saw economic opportunities at every turn, an inspiring counselor and teacher, and a stimulating companion whatever he did.

His well-shaped body displayed a warm attractiveness and ripeness. In his later years, he may have needed to watch the tendency to gain weight too easily. His strong broad shoulders supported a very large neck size. His most outstanding feature was his eyes and his gentle smile and voice. He was big-boned. He enjoyed dressing well, preferring soft colours. He was practical, steady and patient, but he could be inflexible in his views. One thing he did have was plenty of common sense and good powers of concentration, although he tended to think that purely abstract thought was a waste of time. His thought processes weren’t as quick as others, but his decisions were made with a lot of thought behind them. He also had the welcome ability to bring people together. He needed to be able to show his originality and independence in any job for complete satisfaction. His work should also satisfy his scientific bent and humanitarian leanings. He needed scope for his inventiveness, because he was able to bring a fresh view to any job. Ideally, his work should permit him to express the idealistic side to him character and allow him to help as many people as possible. He could be extremely efficient in the way that he tried to get maximum result out of minimum effort. He didn’t like extravagance and waste. He was a thoughtful and resourceful person, who was well-informed on many subjects. Success came gradually and as a result of hard work. Success and growth, for him, were expressed by material and financial achievements, bringing status and prestige.Worldly success was well within his reach, because he possessed all the necessary talents to gain power, influence and status. He was practical, determined and patient. When there were hitches in his plans, he simply worked around them. He knew where he was heading to, and had already figured out the best way to use his talents to reach his goals.

Although he could be fairly pessimistic about life in general, it didn’t put him off aiming for the top. He could be very single-minded about reaching his goals, and was prepared to put his career interests above his personal happiness. He was extremely aware of his own worth. He was prepared to work beyond the call of duty. His strong sense of ambition gave him a certain rigidity, arrogance and selfishness in the eyes of others. He belonged to a generation with fiery enthusiasm for new and innovative ideas and concepts. Rejecting the past and its mistakes, he sought new ideals and people to believe in. As a member of this generation, he felt restless and adventurous, and was attracted towards foreign people, places and cultures. As a member of the Gemini Neptune generation, his restless mind pushed him to explore new intellectual fields. He loved communication and the occult and was likely also fascinated by metaphysical phenomena and astrology. As a Gemini Plutonian, he was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, he showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, he questioned more and learned more. As a member of this generation, having more than one occupation at a time would not have been unusual to him.

Love/sex life: His sexuality was a wonderful combination of sensuality and basic laziness. He let himself be carried along by his pleasure-seeking instincts, greeting every new experience with fresh eagerness and then slowly draining from that encounter all the joy it has to offer. This passive, easy-going approach to sex not only made for good technique, it also conceals the egocentric strength and stubbornness that was at the core of his erotic nature. People don’t realize that beneath all that luxurious hedonism he was always the person in control. He was a conservative lover for whom appearances were always important. There may have been occasions when his sensuality lured him into indiscretions but he was quick to cover his tracks and hide the evidence. The quiet practicality of his sexual nature served as a handy antidote for his Martian braggadocio. He knew that he was the best there is but he was willing to sit back and let the world find out the good news on its own. In his youth Cooper was endorsed by several female “experts” of the time (such as Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead) as Hollywood’s sexiest man. His soft spoken and manly sex appeal projected just as well on the screen. After marrying at age 32, Cooper’s sex life became somewhat more sedate though he never lost his ability to attract women.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Scorpio

Lilith: Scorpio

Vertex: Libra

Fortune: Capricorn

East Point: Taurus

His North Node in Scorpio dictated that he needed to be careful not to let the more emotional side of his personality overwhelm him. Instead, he should have set out to consciously develop his more practical abilities. His Lilith in Scorpio ensured that he was dangerously attracted to those women who seduced and conquered on a daily basis; who liked life intense and was judged for her sexuality and general vibe and learned early on how to deflect moral judgments. His type of women may have been tried in the court of public opinion but no way were they going to show up for the sentencing. His Vertex in Libra, 6th house dictated that he llonged for a union of souls that was based on a model of pure peace and justice. Images come to mind of a mythical life on Venus, the planet of love, where there is never a discordant beat between lovers, but rather, continual harmony even if played in the minor chords. Physical lust was certainly a necessary aspect of two beings eternally intertwined, but the platonic component far outweighed it in importance for him. He had an attitude of duty, obligation and sacrifice when it came to heartfelt interactions. The negative side was the tendency to become hypochondriacal or martyristic to get the love he so desperately wanted. There was a need for others to appreciate the sincerity of his intentions, to the daily tasks he executed in a conscientious and caring way and for others to know that his actions, no matter how routine they may seem, were based on devoted love. His Part of Fortune in Capricorn and Part of Spirit in Cancer dictated that his destiny lay in creating practical and long-lasting achievements. Success came through hard work, determination, responsibility and perseverance. Fulfillment came from observing his progress through life and seeing it take a form and structure that will outlive him. His soul’s purpose guided him towards building security in his life, both emotional and material. He felt spiritual connections and the spark of the divine within his home and family. East Point in Taurus dictated that he was more likely to identify with the need for pleasure (including the potential of liking himself) and comfort.

elemental dominance:

earth

fire

He was a practical, reliable man and could provide structure and protection. He was oriented toward practical experience and thought in terms of doing rather than thinking, feeling, or imagining. Could be materialistic, unimaginative, and resistant to change. But at his best, he provided the practical resources, analysis, and leadership to make dreams come true. He was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. He generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. He was exciting to be around, because he was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, he could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, he chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, he was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because he was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—he was bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at his best, his confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves.

modality dominance:

fixed

He liked the challenge of managing existing routines with ever more efficiency, rather than starting new enterprises or finding new ways of doing things. He likely had trouble delegating duties and had a very hard time seeing other points of view; he tried to implement the human need to create stability and order in the wake of change.

house dominants:

12th

9th

8th

He had great interest in the unconscious, and indulged in a lot of hidden and secret affairs. His life was defined by seclusion and escapism. He had a certain mysticism and hidden sensitivity, as well as an intense need for privacy. Traveling, whether physically across the globe, on a mental plane or expanding through study was a major theme in his life. He was not only concerned with learning facts, but also wanted to understand the connections formed between them and the philosophies and concepts they stood for. His conscience, as well as foreign travel, people and places was also of paramount importance in his life. He loved the totality of the human experience and embraced the whole cycle of human life, including birth, sex and death. His darker side, and the complexes and emotions that he preferred to keep hidden, even from himself was a theme throughout his life. His ability to undergo deep personal transformations and spiritual regeneration was also highlighted.

planet dominants:

Venus

Saturn

Sun

He was romantic, attractive and valued beauty, had an artistic instinct, and was sociable. He had an easy ability to create close personal relationships, for better or worse, and to form business partnerships. He believed in the fact that lessons in life were sometimes harsh, that structure and foundation was a great issue in his life, and he had to be taught through through experience what he needed in order to grow. He paid attention to limitations he had and had to learn the rules of the game in this physical reality. He tended to have a practical, prudent outlook. He also likely held rigid beliefs. He had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. He likely had strong leadership qualities, he definitely knew who he was, and he had tremendous will. He met challenges and believed in expanding his life.

sign dominants:

Taurus

Sagittarius

Capricorn

His stubbornness and determination kept his around for the long haul on any project or endeavour. He was incredibly patient, singular in his pursuit of goals, and determined to attain what he wanted. Although he lacked versatility, he compensated for it by enduring whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted. He enjoyed being surrounded by nice things. He liked fine art and music, and may have had considerable musical ability. He also had a talent for working with his hands—gardening, woodworking, and sculpting. He sought the truth, expressed it as he saw it—and didn’t care if anyone else agreed with him. He saw the large picture of any issue and couldn’t be bothered with the mundane details. He was always outspoken and likely couldn’t understand why other people weren’t as candid. After all, what was there to hide? He loved his freedom and chafed at any restrictions. He was a serious-minded person who often seemed aloof and tightly in control of his emotions and her personal domain. Even as a youngster, there was a mature air about him, as if he was born with a profound core that few outsiders ever see. He was easily impressed by outward signs of success, but was interested less in money than in the power that money represents. He was a true worker—industrious, efficient, and disciplined. His innate common sense gave her the ability to plan ahead and to work out practical ways of approaching goals. More often than not, he succeeded at whatever he set out to do. He possessed a quiet dignity that was unmistakable.

Read more about him under the cut.

Actor Gary Cooper was born on May 7, 1901, in Helena, Montana. Spanning from the silent film era to the early 1960s, Academy Award-winning actor Gary Cooper built much of his career by playing strong, manly, distinctly American roles. The son of English parents who had settled in Montana, he was educated in England for a time. He also studied at Grinnell College in Iowa before heading to Los Angeles to work as an illustrator. When he had a hard time finding a job, Cooper worked as a film extra and landed some small parts. After his appearance in

The Winning of Barbara Worth

(1926), a western, Cooper's career began to take off. He starred opposite silent movie star Clara Bow in Children of Divorce (1927). Cooper also earned praise as the ranch foreman in

The Virginian

(1929), one of his early films with sound. Throughout the 1930s, he turned in a number of strong performances in such films as A Farewell to Arms (1934) with Helen Hayes and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) directed by Frank Capra. Cooper received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the film. Cooper continued to excel on the big screen, tackling several real-life dramas. In Sergeant York (1941), the played a World War I hero and sharpshooter, which was based on the life story of Alvin York. Cooper earned a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of York.

The next year, Cooper played one of baseball's greats, Lou Gehrig, in The Pride of the Yankees (1942). Again, he scored another Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Appearing in a film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Cooper starred opposite Ingrid Bergman in a drama set during the Spanish Civil War. This role garnered him a third Academy Award nomination. In 1952, Cooper took on what is known considered his signature role as Will Kane in High Noon. He appeared as a lawman who must face a deadly foe without any help from his own townspeople. The film won four Academy Awards, including a Best Actor win for Cooper. In addition to his excellent on-screen performances, Cooper became known for his alleged romances with several of his leading ladies, including Clara Bow and Patricia Neal. The affair with Neal, his co-star in 1949's The Fountainhead, reportedly occurred during his marriage to socialite Veronica Balfe with whom he had a daughter. Their marriage seemed to survive the scandal. By the late 1950s, Cooper's health was in decline. He made a few more films, such as Man of the West (1958), before dying of cancer on May 13, 1961. (x)

#taurus #astrology #star analyses #gary cooper #scandalous stars #long ass post #mine

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oveliagirlhaditright · 5 years ago

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When I couldn’t sleep last night, I thought of what I would do with a Kingdom Hearts Pilot for some reason.

I think I’d start it with some of the stuff in the Ansem’s Reports.

Like, I’d show Xehanort overhearing the conversation between Ansem the Wise and Mickey about the Keyblade, Doors that appear, and all that jazz. But I’d stage it in a way where you maybe don’t see Ansem and could believe that Mickey was just talking to Xehanort--like Xehanort is standing behind Ansem (so that’s the direction Mickey’s looking, to give the illusion he’s talking to Xehanort when he’s not. And Ansem is cut out of the shot). Then we’d see people in pods with Heartless approaching them and more Heartless appearing after that. But you wouldn’t see most of this shot--because you have to keep it kid friendly, so mostly imply what’s happening (that Xehanort is using these people to see how the Heartless react to them, and they’re stealing their hearts and making more Heartless this way). But since we’re still giving the guise that Ansem-Xehanort, who has now replaced him, is a good and peaceful leader... the audience wouldn’t completely understand what was happening here. Like, the pod wouldn’t be closed (so it doesn’t look like Xehanort is trapping them). Perhaps it would look like an open doorway that the people could easily escape through... but they don’t. And by the angle, you’re not sure if they turned into Heartless themselves (they did) or if more Heartless just came to join the party... and maybe if you looked closely, you could see a pink glow when the new Heartless appeared--maybe--but you don’t know what that means yet. And this section ends with the Door that Xehanort sees and opens. But I should point out through all of this... he never looks evil: just curious/astonished, that sort of thing (which are reasonable reactions via the circumstances). But later we’d come back to these scenes and show the truth (that Xehanort is an imposter and Mickey was talking to Ansem... that Xehanort was a mad scientist who gladly caused all of this. Yada yada ya).

We then get Sora’s Dive to the Heart after an “X many years later” text... because since the intro subtly set up the villain and that problem, this next part shows you who’s going to be the hero who will stop it. There also may be more hints that Mickey is the Voice that Sora hears--telling him what to do--if we’re still going with that. Maybe.

Sora wakes up on the Island to Kairi--as per usual--and that whole scene plays out... but I think I’m going to combine the two races into one for time. The race that Kairi suggests they run here, turns into the one where Riku goes “whoever wins, gets to share the paopu with Kairi, gets to be captain of the raft and name it” etc. (Kairi doesn’t hear the part about sharing the paopu with her) and Sora loses to set up that underdog narrative of his.

After this, we can have Sora go into the Secret Place and draw himself giving Kairi a paopu, because he thinks this is the only way he’ll ever be able to. He also unknowingly meets Xehanort here.

We get the scene where Sora, Riku, and Kairi talk about seeing other worlds and all of that jazz... I don’t think anything changes with this scene at all. But Sora’s eye roll when Riku’s flirting with Kairi perhaps make more sense now, since Sora’s already irritated about the race thing and all of that... and it somewhat makes Riku giving him that paopu fruit to “try with Kairi” even meaner spirited. Also, maybe give Kairi a bit more dialogue in this scene.

We cut away to what’s going on at Disney Castle with Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisey, and the missing King, as per usual, as the kids go home for the night.

Day 2 is just the kids working on the raft, since I probably cut a lot of that in day 1, in order to reorder things. And they’re desperate to get things finalized for their trip the next day. There could also be flashbacks in this section, perhaps, showing Sora, Riku, and Kairi’s younger days, and how they all met and became friends (or maybe I’d show how they met Kairi when Sora, Riku, and her were talking about her home world the previous night). But we definitely want to show some stuff of when Sora and Riku were actually good friends, before their rivalry became the forefront of their relationship.

And to show that Riku’s not completely terrible--and is still just an innocent kid and can/will be redeemed--he goes home early that night, because he wants to make sure that everything’s packed for his adventure (think the scene of Sora in the manga, but with Riku). Sora and Kairi maybe tease him about this--good-naturedly.

Sora and Kairi have their moment on the docks, where she tries to see if he’s noticed something off about Riku--and jokes about just the two of them taking the raft--before talking about how she only wants to see the other worlds if they can always return home, tells Sora not to change, etc.... and it cuts away to Sora really thinking over her words in his room (as he looks at dolls he put in a toy boat to represent them), and then noticing the storm that he thinks will destroy the raft... and he bolts, just as his mother calls him down for dinner.

The things we see in that second look at Disney Castle happens here.

If one wants, we could maybe get the Riku and Kairi scene here that happens in the novels... and that was teased in the beta trailer for the game... that I think consisted of Riku saying cryptic things to Kairi and trying to get her to come with him--and her being worried about him, and also wondering why he doesn’t want to bring Sora with them anymore--and Riku getting jealous over her “being all about Sora, and Sora being all about her” and leaving... and perhaps going to open the Door on Destiny Islands? This happens because Kairi stayed on the Islands, I guess, and Riku ended up coming back to open the Door.

Kairi goes into the Secret Place to try and shut the Door--and if we want some DDD stuff in here, we can get some cryptic voice (seemingly from nowhere) saying that they knew she’d come there, and in doing so lure Sora there. Kairi tries to question them, but then falls ill.

Sora rows back to the Island and notices that Riku and Kairi’s boats are also there... and notices that Heartless from his dream (though he doesn’t know that’s what they are) are on the Island.

Sora confronts Riku and tries to reach him, as in canon, and Riku is pulled in by the darkness as Sora gets the Keyblade... and yes, it does whisper its name to him. Because I, personally, might go with a more “Keyblades are really sentient” angle with this TV show.

Sora then goes to look for Kairi, and we have the moment where she loses her heart and it enters him (but the audience won’t know that for some time, of course). There may even be a pink light here when their chests touch.

Sora fights the Darkside (that he saw earlier, in his Dive to the Heart) and gets swept away to Traverse Town, as Destiny Islands is destroyed. But I don’t want Sora to be some ninja or ace fighter as he attacks the thing (because this is his first real battle). Have him really scraping to get by... maybe doing some of the things the manga did with it. IDK.

We see Donald and Goofy witnessing the star going out, as Mickey wrote about, and them looking for the bearer of the Keyblade (no “some sort of key” stuff. Donald and Goofy clearly know what the Keyblade is). Pluto almost leads them right to Sora--and Goofy even suspects this--but Donald waves the notion off, and they don’t meet Sora for now.

Pluto wakes Sora up... and at first he thinks he’s dreaming, but soon realizes he isn’t. The episode probably ends with him getting out of the alley and having a better look at Traverse Town as he says, “This is totally crazy. I’m in another world!”

...Tbh, I don’t know if all of this could fit in a half-an-hour episode--probably not--unless it was a longer special. Maybe the flashback stuff would have to be cut and saved for later, but meh.

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neonnhoney-rec · 5 years ago

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Kim Taehyung

Here are a few taehyung recs, most of them I’ve read and love, some are in my TBR. Tbh most of them are smut, but some are fluff and angst mostly angst. I will keep updating this woop woop.

I hope you enjoy tehee!

Buzzed- @junqkook

you spend weeks sulking after having sex with your best friend, but a party changes everything.

863 tokyo centre- @becomingbts

Not much of one, just Taehyung fingering you on a bus at 2am

Hush, hush- @becomingbts

Taehyung makes sure you don’t focus on your insecurities during your first time. To do this he blindfolds you, leaving you slave to your now heightened senses so you ignore your racing thoughts.

Headcase- @becomingbts

Movie night, blankets and hands. What more could go wrong? Oh right, possibly getting caught and all. Well, too bad Taehyung couldn’t care less about that.

Request: taehyung wants to cuddle but you leave- @minyoongimakesmefeelthings

Of lace and lust- @hobidreams

friendship rule number one: don’t imagine how amazing your best friend’s cock would feel inside you. except that’s all you can think about after accidentally discovering taehyung’s kink for panties. specifically, the lacy ones you’re so fond of wearing.

Cheeky- @guksthighs

“Want some vanilla?” Taehyung groaned before he pulled you up by the hand you were offering and took a bite of it, his gaze piercing yours before his hand was on the small of your back and he pulled you into a kiss tasting like vanilla and salt.

Tae gets jealous when you go on a date- @minstrivia

says it on the tin

Let’s marvin gaye- @minstrivia

it’s valentine’s day. and it’s due time he shows you how it feels to make love.

See you- @gimmesumsuga

Taehyung notices you at a concert, and can’t help but want to see you again.

Slowdance on the inside- @floralseokjin

Taehyung has liked you as long as he can remember. He’s unsure when the line blurred from friendship to romantically, but it’s about to get a lot worse when he’s forced to watch you date his friend, Jungkook…

Under the taeble- @functioningishardforme

getting a little handsy under the table

Four’s a crowd- @guksthighs

As a birthday present your boyfriends Jimin and Taehyung take you for a special stripping show, little do they know how attracted you’ll be to the officer and the acts you’ll be performing to win this new man’s heart and cock.

Playing to win- @tayegi

Taekook friends-with-benefits threesome/porn without plot nonsense

Sapphire- @writingseoul

playing video games with tae ends up a little differently then you thought

A freindly favour- @baeseoul

you help tae out before his date

baby,baby- @hobiwonder

When you’ve run out of savings to continue on to the last semester of your Bachelors - you take an unorthodox route. Helping a desperate couple have a child and getting paid for it? Heck yeah. But what do you know - it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

Talk- @taehyungforreal

Finals week is kicking your ass, thank goodness you have a friend to help you relieve some stress. It’s a great arrangement, as long as no one finds out… as long as you don’t catch feelings. What could go wrong?

Clair de lune- @taehyungforreal

being rewritten at the moment

Sore loser- @kingsuckjin

It’s game night with the maknae line. You team up as always with Jimin and Jungkook to beat your best friend and crush, Kim Taehyung. It’s all fun and games until this time he gets mad and decides to play a little game with just the two of you alone in his room.

Plan V- @taesbetch

When y/n can’t seem to find love she turns to her playboy best friend to help her find someone to lose her virginity too. However, fate has other plans

Breath of spring- @cupofteaguk

he works with color all day, but you just might be the brightest thing he’s ever laid his eyes on.

Corruption- @95boysbe

DOM tae takes your virginity

Laundry day- @hobidreams

taehyung discovers the surprise you left for him.

I belong to you - @jessikahathaway

you have rare blood, a deadly secret in the world that's run by vampires. Your family learns the risk the hard way and when your taken away to the highest ranking vampires in the world, your shocked at the decision you have to make, but its okay as one vampire in particular takes your fancy.

Obsidian- @kpopfanfictrash

The world of magic is divided into dark and light, witches and warlocks, choice and fate. You’re a prodigy of light, a witch who works within the police force. You’ve heard of Taehyung in passing, spoken in whispers as the warlock of dark who has the world holding it’s breath. All this changes on the night you’re assigned as security for a mysterious singer named V and you come face to face with Taehyung himself. What happens after that might be fate. (so good guys)

Silk and skin- @kpopfanfictrash

You and your boyfriend, Taehyung, are playing a game of truth or dare when a very distinctive kink emerges from the fray.

Drawing darcy- @kpopfanfictrash

Tae loves taking random photos of you secretly, and one day when you’re looking through his phone you find out

Impatient- @bxebxee

You are honor-bound to do your duty as a princess and marry for the good of the kingdom. Marriage, like many things in your life, is meant to serve a purpose. But you know you should be grateful because there are far worse fates than being engaged to marry Prince Taehyung.

Coming home- @taetaesource

Taehyung as a single parent. He was looking for a babysitter to help him raise his kid and then he met you.

Heart is where home is- @gukyi

somehow, when you woke up this morning, you didn’t really picture yourself falling in love with the attractive, well-read traveller sitting next to you on the plane, but a missed connection and an alarming amount of hand-holding later, you find that you both get a lot more than what you paid for.

Can you see my pulse- @rohobi

You fell in love with Kim Taehyung during Medical School. Now living totally different lives in completely different hospitals, you’re pulled together again as if by fate during a code black when someone plants a bomb in your hospital.

when you least expect it- @johobi

You’re in love with your childhood friend, Taehyung. The problem is, you treasure your friendship with him far too much to ever risk losing it. Oh, and he’s quite the Casanova. At your wits’ end with feelings you can no longer hide as diligently as you once did, you ask him to set you up with someone, anyone, in a last ditch attempt to avoid a heartbreaking conversation.

Electric lovers- @submissive-bangtan

An epidemic breaks out. The world is plunged into chaos. One giant corporation seizes its chance and puts you into quarantine, promising to heal the symptoms you begin to show. Just before you agree to undergo the crucial surgery, an android named Taehyung reveals the truth about the illness to you. A truth that makes you want to escape with him.

Babysitter- @kz-i-co

You were visiting home for the weekend to find out that your parents have hired a new babysitter. (jjk version aswell)

Shy lover- @squishyjiminnie

You’re popular and he’s painfully shy, he acts like he hates you but what if he thinks a lot more of you than you think?

Tempting- @kinktae

Y/N is an angel and a good one at that. She steers clear of the seven deadly sins, especially lust. She is out performing her duties when she runs into a demon. Luckily for her, that demon, Taehyung, doesn’t seem to buy into that whole “Angels and Demons are sworn enemies” idea. But unluckily for her, Taehyung just so happens to be the very embodiment of sin. Especially lust.

Or, “For someone who is meant to be so pure, you sure are dirty, angel.”

Who cares- @floralseokjin

what happens when Taehyung falls for someone who’s already taken? Can he control his feelings or will they take over and render him powerless? In the end is it all her fault or his…?

Wings- @bangtangurlarmy

He tells to nobody in particular as to why he is on Earth.

Third boy is the charm- @sangsanghaebwa

With Namjoon as your sweetheart roommate and Jimin as your adorable bestfriend, who you openly crush on, things still somehow remained easy, until Taehyung entered your life.

Fifteen minutes- @btssmutgalore

you don’t do dates - all you give guys is fifteen minutes to see if they can impress you, and Taehyung’s fifteen minutes have just started.

The counselor- @dom-joonie

You’ve been feeling a bit…depressed. At your friends recommendation, you go to see a counselor, but…he’s a lot more than you expected.

Enemy- @btssmutgalore

Taehyung may be cocky, but he has every reason to be. After all, he never gets turned down by women – at least not until he meets you.

Pluto- @katobobato

y/n has always had a knack for getting herself into trouble. She is no stranger to danger, what with being a member of one of the biggest gangs in the country. Not only is she a member but she is dating their leader, Jeon Jungkook. Things get heated, however, when she is abducted by a rival gang that hopes to use her as a way to get to Jungkook. Will her kidnapper, the ruthless Kim Taehyung himself, be able to subdue the snarky gangster or will she put up a fight to the end?

“134340?“.

Begin again- @writtenyoongi

things had been tough since your divorce from yoongi, you were still heartbroken over losing him whilst trying to balance being a single mother and providing the best you could for your daughter. when kim taehyung enters your life you start to learn how to love again, but the beautiful man is not without his own source of heartbreak.

Curious- @honeymoonjin

Taehyung confides in you and your boyfriend Yoongi that he might be bi, and the two of you offer to let him experiment with you to find out.

Upstream colour- @honeymoonjin

welcome to the first Upstream Colour drabble! please do not read this until after you finish UC, which is available to read here. Word count of this is 426. Mentions of sexual content, non-explicit. Otherwise it’s just fluff. Taehyung x reader

Somebody else- @jamaisjoons

yoongi doesn’t want you anymore. but he can’t stand watching you with someone else.

Multiverse- @jungkookiebus

what if…what if you found a tear in the universe? in a world where parallel universes seemingly don’t exist, there appears to be an overlap. what you had previously believed to be a haunting has now turned into something else, something tangible. everything you thought you knew about reality is about to be upturned and crumbled like a house of cards.

Stealing the bite- @wildernessuntothemselves

In a world populated by the supernatural, witches were the most despised and mistrusted of creatures. Everyone desired to make use of their powers but no one was willing to be seen openly conferring with them. And so there came to pass a heinous practice: Small covens of witches were isolated and kept under wraps in every kingdom, to be utilized when needed, and kept under close watch to prevent them from rebelling. Growing up in a kingdom ruled by werewolves, abuse and scorn were a fact of life, but you were determined to put an end to it. You devised a devious plan to gain power, and it involved a certain prince.

Clandestine- @ditzymax

As a professional assassin, Kim Kinsoo has many shrouded secrets in her life. Some of them she shares openly with her loving boyfriend, but there are other things he must never know…

Insomnia- @hobiwonder

this is being rewritten

Dirty dishes- @jaysdimples

when your boyfriend can’t seem to keep his hands to himself so he stirs up a little trouble in the kitchen while everyone else is a few feet away in the next room

Dalliance- @jvnghxope

The Association sends you to your first mission alone and you encounter a Pureblood ⎯a race you believed were extinct⎯ who is in the mood to play.

Freak- @kissmetae

your crush on your best friend was obvious and so was his. but as you took the next step together things turned out completely different. an accident caused an unbreakable bond and you found out about the secret he had kept from you for so long. a secret that put you in danger, forcing you to run away from him.

but the bond brought with it more than you both thought... to put it charmingly, your blood thirsty lover was thirsty for far more than just blood and the world you once knew turned into something completely different

Lavender flowers- @kissmetae

it all started when your boyfriend starting showing weird and abnormal behaviour...

at first it wasn't anything beyond the ordinary but as it gradually got worse and worse you were getting really worried...he couldn’t sleep and kept waking up in the middle of the night. but one morning was worse than others... and it would be the start of new encounters and a big change for both you...

Freedom- @tayegi

fleeing form your wedding you get into a little trouble with a certain vampire

Hung, open the door- @gotmetalkinginmysleep

You’ve been keeping the boys awake with your moaning for months thanks to Yoongi. Tae and Jungkook want to find out why.

The doms next door- @tatertotthethot

in which you unknowingly accept the offer to become a tattoo model for the two, sexually-crazed men next door.

Once bitten, twice shy- @pbandjk

You met Taehyung in college and he convinces you to move to his hometown with him. The town is nice, Taehyung’s friends are great, and you get along with everyone except Jungkook. You can’t seem to figure out what you’ve done to make him not like you, and why did you care so much? Also, why did none of them ever get cold?

Push your buttons- @littlemisskookie

You return to your childhood home in an attempt to uncover your past, despite the fact it seems as though everyone’s determined to keep it hidden.

Sehebon- @httpjeon

you find yourself on izo huen, home to the sehebon. luckily for you, you’ve arrived at an interesting time.

Thursday night- @sinsforjeon

You do a lot of things on a Thursday night but what you were doing right now was something you weren’t used to, not that you were complaining.

Flower arrangements- @iq-biased

From the moment you met Taehyung, his flourish for life drew you in completely. It wasn’t long before you fell head over heals for the tattoo artist who was so wrong for you, it felt right. But your story hasn’t always been an easy one, and just recently it’s become a whole lot more complicated…

Overworked and sequel- @iq-biased

A stressful weak teaching has you turning to your colleague for help.

Wrapped around- @jjkfire

Freshman year was a mess and sophomore year doesn’t seem to be looking too good either. You know boys like them are no good for you but maybe they’re just your kind of type

Summerboy- @koyamuses

In the mid-July heat, you find yourself unable to tear your gaze from the pool boy, whose skin glistens beneath rivulets of water as he sets about to clean your pool.

The talk- @kittae

A drabble series where Taehyung is a successful artistic erotica actor but has to expand his areas of expertise in the rapidly evolving world of adult film. Lost and inexperienced in everything that doesn’t involve classy settings, flattering lighting and romantic scripts, he basically has to start from scratch to make it in the online porn community. As a highly demanded A-lister in that community, you take him under your wings (or better yet, between your legs).

Always together- @kittae

having a romantic night with your life long lover and friend

New tricks- @geniuslab

When your newly adopted puppy turns out to be a lot more work than you expected, a cute dog trainer comes to the rescue. You soon become friends, but you begin to realize friendship might not be all you want.

Try my luck- @drquinzelharleen

When your sister passed away a few years ago you took in her two kids, Yoongi and Jimin. You were happy to do it. Now Jimin was going into kindergarten and you were so worried. But when Jimin comes home talking about his new kindergarten teacher, Taetae everyday. You start to wonder who this man is. Turns out he was just what your little family needed.

Slip through the seams- @deerguk

your locomotion is not that of a normal human being, rather it is to extent of physically being able to transport from one place to another. normally, your seams slip you into locations that you are familiar with, but when you unexpectedly happen upon the apartment of Kim Teahyung in Seoul, south korea- your ability that you have always deemed a curse begins to feel more like a blessing in disguise

Lucy- @gamerguk

after reading a few more titles of the videos you’ve uploaded, taehyung has come to the conclusion that you’re the hottest fucking dumbass he’s ever seen and so desperately wants to fuck.

The roommate- @jjungkookislife

y/n is desperate to find a place to live in her city when her best friend, jimin suggests she moves in with his friend Jungkook (poly au)

Addicted to your touch- @jjungkookislife

spending valentines with your boyfriends

change- @junghelioseok

a kind, handsome stranger makes you question your deteriorating relationship

Heaven- @pjm-com

Being an angel who is dating a demon wasn’t easy in your community especially when everyone weighs in.

Petals- @katobobato

Every day the same boy with fluffy brown hair steps foot into y/n’s flower shop. He never buys any of the flowers, no, he just takes his time inspecting them all, taking in the heavenly scents. One day, however, he doesn’t come in. y/n wonders what happened to him until she bumps into him on her way home, surrounded by dying plants.

“The flowers get sad when you don’t look after yourself“.

Dick and go- @jeonggukingdom

It was all shits and giggles when you and Taehyung were desperate seniors in High School, having no idea what to do with your lives, wondering if you’d ever find a decent job or even graduate in the first place. It is not so funny anymore when you come home from the big city to enjoy your vacation time and you find his sex-shop right in front of the house you grew up in when you were a kid. “If nothing works out I’m just gonna open a sex shop and call it something obnoxious like ‘Dick on the Go’ or something with a stupid zucchini logo flashing on top of the building.” He had said one time. Shit, you had no idea he actually meant it.

All that is gold- @winetae

As a college student struggling to make ends meet, Taehyung resorts to a less than ethical method to satisfy his appetite for expensive treats. The last thing he wants is for you to find out how he acquires the Gucci in his closet… however this proves to be difficult when you are his roommate.

↳ or : Taehyung is a sugar baby and somehow thinks he can keep this a secret

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gatesofember · 5 years ago

Text

Frailty and Fortune: Chapter 6

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 10

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: A few months have passed since Prince Nico’s wedding to William of Solace. Even with his husband at his side, Will sometimes feels lonely as he settles into his new life. He misses his home, his family, his friends, and his studies in Venadica. Meanwhile, Nico is uncertain how to help him, awkward about expressing himself, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to truly make his husband happy. As time goes by and Will continues to feel lost in his new home, Will and Nico must both learn how to make their marriage work.

Despite the fiasco with his husband, Will felt more confident than he had in a long time after visiting Phrygia. For months after his wedding, Will had spent most of his time with Nico or Hazel, but in the rare moments when he was alone, he hadn’t known what to do with himself. He wasn’t studying, he wasn’t helping with his father’s ranch, and he’d felt so useless that may as well have been wandering around the palace aimlessly. The Palatium de Divitae had been his new place of residence, but it hadn’t been home. The trip to Phrygia had reawakened Will’s usual drive and passion and reinstated a sense of self-efficacy that he’d lost sometime after his wedding. Now that it had returned, Will had no intention of losing it again; he had too much to give Pluto. Firstly, he had to address the problem of pit pony labor, then there was the abysmal state of Plutonian healthcare and the slow recovery of the economy. Will had a duty to Pluto. He couldn’t let the country down.

Will chose to start with the palace infirmary. It may not have been a matter of state, but Will knew that having a routine and working as a healer would protect him from falling into the cycle of idleness that he’d found himself trapped in before Phryigia, so he decided to try talking to Achlys again. Unfortunately, Achlys wasn’t any more agreeable on Will’s second attempt than she was his first. She practically chased him out of the infirmary the moment he showed up.

He’d try again later.

“And so now I’m not quite sure what to do with myself,” Will said.

Mellie hummed sympathetically and removed the hot iron from his hair. As Will’s personal maid, she helped him with his hair every morning and was therefore the first person to see what clothes Will had chosen for himself, so she often corrected his attire, as well. Since the wedding, Will had grown closer to Mellie than he’d ever been at his father’s estate. Her familiar face was soothing in an otherwise foreign home and they often reminisced about Diana and the Sun Palace together.

“Have you spoken to the Prince?” Mellie asked. “I’m sure he could order the physician to give you something to do.”

“That would make her hate me even more,” Will replied. “I’m not quite sure exactly what she has against me, but I’d like to get along with her if I’m going to help in the infirmary.”

“True.” Mellie took a pin from her apron and tucked his hair into place. “She sounds difficult to get along with, though. If she’s so rude to the Prince’s husband, then imagine how she must talk to everyone else! I ought to tell you that you’re better off not working in the infirmary at all.”

“You may be right, but I’m not willing to give up just yet.”

Mellie picked up the hot iron again and moved to work on Will’s other side. “Well, if I’m ever ill, I’ll skip the infirmary and go straight to you.”

Will smiled. “Thank you, Mellie.”

“It’s as much for me as it is for you; I’d rather not visit her if I can help it.” Mellie took another pin from her apron. “Just a few more pins and you’ll be done. Is there anything else you need me to do for you before I go? I’m leaving the palace when I finish here and I won’t be back until this afternoon.”

“Where are you going?” Will asked.

“I ordered a dress from a seamstress in the city,” Mellie answered. “I offered to run errands for a few other members of the staff, so there are a couple of other things I’ll need to pick up, as well.”

“Is Hedge going to accompany you?”

Another pin from Melle’s apron. “No, he has a shift with the Prince. Pity, though. I would have liked to spend the day with him.”

“Perhaps I can go with you, then.”

Mellie paused with a pin stuck between her teeth. After a second, she shook her head and took the pin from her mouth. “I’m not certain that’s a good idea. If we were still in Phoebus, I’d take you with me, but I’m still new here in Divitia and I’d hate to get in trouble.”

“I wouldn’t let you get in trouble,” Will promised. “Please, Mellie? I don’t have anything else to do and I’d hate to be locked up inside all day. I’d love to see the city.”

Mellie sighed. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to say ‘no’ to you?”

Will brightened. “Then yes?”

“You can’t go dressed like that,” Mellie said. “You’ll stand out too much. Put on some of your consor clothes and let’s undo your hair. And I just put in all that work, too....”

Not an hour later, Will found himself sitting across from Mellie in a horse-drawn cart bound for Divitia. The palace was on the outskirts of the city and the distance was too far to travel on foot, especially while carrying everything on the list of errands the staff had given Mellie. When they entered the city, Mellie’s reasoning for opting for a cart rather than a carriage became immediately apparent. A carriage from the palace would have drawn far too much attention.

Despite having lived in Divitia for the past several months, Will hadn’t seen much of the city. He’d ridden through in a carriage on a few occasions, but he hadn’t taken the chance to actually get out and walk around on foot. He’d known that Divitia wasn’t like Phoebus or Venadica, but the state of the city was far worse than he’d anticipated. The sewage system was in dire need of updating, evidenced by the putrid smell of human waste permeating through the streets, and Will saw more homeless within the span of a minute than he’d ever seen in one place before. Many of them were children, some elderly, and some closer to Will’s age. Despite wearing his consor clothes, Will stood out; the fabric of his clothes, though either undyed or neutral in color, was too expensive to blend in. It didn’t help that Will had bathed in perfumed water that morning and his smell kept drawing attention. Even Mellie, dressed in her plainest skirts and bodice, was too conspicuous to look like she belonged in the city.

“Haven’t the cattle from my dowry helped the people in the city?” Will asked as Mellie led him through the street to the seamstress’ shop. “I thought that the new jobs would lessen the poverty.”

“Oh, they have,” Mellie answered. “The rest of the staff talks about it and even I’ve noticed the change since we first arrived in Divitia. Unfortunately, it hasn’t helped everyone — or at least, some people aren’t feeling the effects of it yet. Even several hundred cattle aren’t enough to employ the entire city. Besides, many people aren’t able to work—they’re too old or too young, or perhaps they’re just not well enough.”

Then disease was a problem, too? Will didn’t know what kind of expression he was wearing, but when Mellie looked at him, her voice softened reassuringly. “But your dowry did help them, really.”

“Perhaps improving sanitation should be the next step,” Will said. “Updating the sewage would cost a great deal of money, but it would offer at least temporary employment to Divitians and it would go a long way to curb the spread of disease in the city.”

Mellie smiled kindly and told him that was a wonderful idea, but Will got the feeling that she was merely being polite. He didn’t have the opportunity to question her before she opened the door to a dress shop and gestured for Will to enter first. The seamstress greeted them kindly, mistaking Will for Mellie’s husband. When Mellie corrected her and introduced Will as another member of the palace staff, the seamstress quickly ushered Will out of the shop, insisting that it wasn’t proper for him to be there while Mellie was being fitted. Mellie protested until Will assured her that he’d be fine waiting outside.

“Please be careful,” Mellie said, and quietly added, “neither of our husbands will forgive me if I let something happen to you. Don’t go wandering off.”

“I’ll be right outside the shop,” Will promised.

Mellie looked doubtful, but let Will go.

Outside, Will leaned against the shop’s outer wall and kept himself entertained by watching people in the noisy streets. Peddlers pushed carts of fruits and fish along the road, shouting out prices as they passed. Other vendors stood on street corners or in front of shops advertising their wares to pedestrians, like the butcher across the street who was chasing off a graying beggar. Some of the meat hanging in front of his shop was so fresh that it dripped blood on the road and Will wrinkled his nose in disgust. The butcher would leave meat out in the crowded, busy street to spoil and gather dirt and dust? It wouldn’t decay as quickly in Angelus as it would in the heat of Diana, but Will could still smell the telltale stench of rotting entrails coming from the butcher’s shop.

Will’s eyes wandered further down the street, back to where the horse-drawn cart he’d arrived in with Mellie stood waiting for their return. A group of children had gathered around the horse, some hesitantly reaching out to touch its hide before stopping short and jumping back in fear while their friends laughed. It was like they’d never seen a horse so close before. Will debated approaching the children, but before he could, the driver chased them off and they scattered away.

From the other end of the road, Will heard a loud crash and the sound of breaking pottery. He looked over in time to see a gaggle of teenagers running from a shop with their arms full of bread, quickly followed by an angry baker shouting and waving his fist. The teenagers proved too fast for the man, bolting down the road and knocking over a cart of fruit to slow the baker down. Hungry children rushed forward to steal the oranges before the vendor could even start to gather them and the teenagers escaped from view. The baker shouted a few more profane words before stomping back to his shop.

Will nearly jumped out of his stockings in surprise when the old beggar he’d noticed earlier suddenly appeared right in front of him and said something. Between the thick Plutonian street accent, the missing teeth, and the scratchy voice, Will had a hard time interpreting exactly what the man was saying. It was obvious why he’d approached Will, though. Will reached for his coin purse, but discovered it missing from his coat pocket. Frowning, he searched his other pockets and found them empty, as well. He was certain that he’d brought it with him, but—

Ah. He’d been pickpocketed.

Well, that wasn’t very polite. They could have just asked.

Will supposed it didn’t matter much in the end; he’d brought the coin purse with the intention of giving coins to beggars and whoever it had ended up with would have far more need of the money than Will. He would have preferred to distribute the coins among more people, though.

“I don’t have...” Will started, but he stopped himself. With the way he was dressed, it seemed like a flimsy excuse. Even in his consor clothes, he was wearing more money than this man had ever had in his life.

Will looked down and noticed the man’s bare feet, dirty and calloused. The shoes Will wore around the palace wouldn’t be useful for someone who lived in the city—they were too stiff, designed for fashion rather than function—but Will had changed into a more comfortable pair before leaving with Mellie. Will lifted a foot and took off one shoe, then the other, and offered them to the beggar.

“Someone took my coins, but you can have my shoes,” he said.

The man gave Will a wide, gap-toothed smile accepted the shoes gratefully and wished Will the gods’ blessings, then scurried away like he thought Will might change his mind.

Mellie emerged from the seamstress’ shop a moment later with the news that her dress would be finished in an hour. She took out the list of errands the staff had asked her to run and gestured for Will to follow her further down the street. Will trailed behind her and stopped a few shops down to stand on his toes and peer over a crowd gathered around a store front to see what had them so interested. He managed to catch sight of a satirical cartoon, but couldn’t figure out what it depicted before Mellie noticed he wasn’t beside her anymore and called for him to hurry up.

It wasn’t until Mellie accidentally stepped on Will’s toes when she took a sudden turn that she noticed his shoes were missing.

Mellie blinked at his feet, like she wasn’t sure she was seeing things correctly. “What happened to your shoes?”

“They got muddy,” Will lied.

Mellie raised an eyebrow. “So you took them off to get your stockings muddy, too?”

Will wiggled his stocking-clad toes on the warm, dirt covered stone road. “Yes. Well. Um. I figured, why stop there? May as well dirty the rest of my clothes.”

Mellie sighed. “You gave them away, didn’t you?”

“My coin purse was missing! And there was a poor old man with bare feet and I couldn’t just give him nothing—”

“You were pick-pocketed, too? Really, you need to learn to be more aware of your surroundings. You’re lucky you weren’t mugged! What was I thinking, bringing you into the city? I have half a mind to make you wait in the cart until I finish.”

Will didn’t mean to pout, but he did it anyway.

Mellie pursed her lips. “Oh, stop it. You know I can’t be upset with you when you look at me like that. I won’t make you wait in the cart, but don’t complain to me when your feet start to hurt. You’ll have to do without shoes until we get back to the palace. Come on, follow me.”

Mellie led Will towards the next street. She nearly had to pull him along when Will stopped to watch a group of hungry children and skinny dogs picking through the discarded viscera in the alley behind the butcher’s shop, searching for something salvageable to eat. Will stopped again a few shops down when a fight broke out across the street.

“Shouldn’t we stop it?” Will asked.

“Absolutely not,” Mellie said. “This is exactly the kind of trouble you shouldn’t be getting into.”

“But—”

“You’d just end up making the situation worse. Now, hurry up—we won’t get back to the palace before dark at the pace you’re moving!”

Mellie ushered Will along. She dropped off a watch for repairs at a clockmaker’s store, then picked up a pair of shoes from the cobbler. (Regrettably, they were women’s shoes and far too small for Will to borrow.) Mellie was purchasing some fabrics when Will was approached by a small, skinny, dirty child who said nothing, but held out his hand to ask for money.

Will looked at Mellie. “Can you spare a few coins?”

“You shouldn’t have gotten pick-pocketed,” Mellie said. “Be more cautious next time.”

“But he’s just a child,” Will insisted. “Please, Mellie, I’ll pay you back when we get home. I’ll pay you double, even.”

Mellie sighed. “Oh, alright. Just this once.”

So she said, but by the time they returned to the dress shop, Will had convinced Mellie to hand coins out to three more children and he’d lost his coat to an expecting mother. He had to pawn off four of his waistcoat’s buttons to the seamstress help Mellie pay for her dress.

“I’m sorry I took all your coins,” Will mumbled on the way back to the cart, his arms filled with the bundles of fabric that he was helping Mellie carry.

“I’m sorry I took your buttons,” Mellie answered. “Let’s consider it even. Next time, watch your pockets.”

They arrived back at their cart and the driver helped them in, and for a while, Will was quiet. It was one thing for him to lose his coin purse—Will could handle that. But what about the poor baker who the teenagers stole bread from, or the vendor whose cart of oranges had toppled over? They’d lost a full day’s income. The Divitians who’d stolen were hardly to blame, either; Will had little doubt that if they could have paid, they would have.

“Is something bothering you?” Mellie asked.

Will sighed. “It’s just that the city is so poor. Maybe the cattle from my dowry have helped, but there’s still such a long way to go. I thought that sanitation work could help more, but you didn’t seem to agree with the idea earlier.”

“It’s not that it’s a bad plan,” Mellie quickly assured him. “It’s a wonderful plan, really. Only, it won’t fix everything. The city’s problems are far too deep and complicated.”

“Because not everyone can work?” Will asked.

“Yes, that’s part of it,” Mellie answered. “But there are other problems, too, like...well, let’s take one example. Something the staff talks about is the issue with people around your age who were orphaned as children during the Scarlet Delirium. Those who would have been apprenticed to their parents never learned trades, and without parents, they have no dowries, so many of them are struggling to gather enough money marry now that they’re old enough. And if they have children without getting married, their children will face all sorts of problems—you know how Plutons are about that sort of thing.”

“Surely employment can help, then,” Will said. “Then they’ll be able to raise enough money to marry.”

“But usually their parents take care of dowry payments,” Mellie said. “Parents start dowry funds as soon as a child is born. They save money for years. For people who are trying to get married right now, it’s too late to start saving—they spend most of what they earn just trying to survive. Even children who didn’t lose their parents are struggling. For years, families hardly have had any leftover money to save and some parents even had to use the dowry funds of their children to keep their families alive.”

Will frowned. Venadica had programs to care for orphans, so Will wasn’t familiar with the problems parentless children usually faced. Leo had been fortunate enough to be born in Venadica. He’d lived in the children’s ward until he was old enough to move to the consor dormitories, and had never lived on the streets or gone hungry. The Sorority even had dowry funds for Venadican orphans—Will recalled Leo mentioning it once. But Venadica couldn’t finance the dowries of every orphan in Pluto, nor could Will send every orphan to Venadica.

Will wondered if Reyna knew about the problem with the orphans. He’d have to discuss this with her.

“Mellie,” Will said. “I’d like to come back to the city with you some time. Perhaps we can do this again?”

“Perhaps,” Mellie answered. “Just make sure to keep your hand on your coin purse next time. You’re too easily distracted.”

Will sighed. Mellie knew very well that the incident earlier that day hadn’t been the first time Will had gotten pick pocketed. She’d told him many times that he was far too sheltered to survive outside of a palace. Living in Venadica didn’t count, she’d told him; the Matestra would never let anything happen to her nephew while he was in the Sororal City.

When they reached the palace, several members of the staff rushed forward wearing terrified expressions, demanding to know where they had been all day. One ran inside to notify everyone that the Prince’s consort had been found while the others wasted no time berating Mellie for bringing Will into the city.

“No one knew where you were!” one maid said. “The Prince has been out of his mind with worry. What were you thinking, bringing His Highness into the city with you?”

“Mellie was only doing as I ordered,” Will said. “She tried to refuse, but I insisted.”

Mellie cast Will a grateful glance when the staff stopped chiding her in favor of fussing over Will. They took the rolls of fabric he was carrying and urged him to go inside and find the Prince to give him some peace of mind. One manservant hurried ahead of him to draw a bath even after Will insisted that he would be fine using the washbasin.

At their persistence, Will entered the palace to find his husband, flinching at the first touch of the cold marble floors against his stocking-clad feet. He didn’t have to look long; Nico appeared almost immediately on the landing above him and called his name while he ran down the stairs.

“There you are!” Nico said. “I’ve been looking for you all day! Where have you been?” He halted when he reached the bottom step, looking Will over with a confused frown. “What are you wearing?”

“I went into town with Mellie,” Will said. He pecked Nico’s lips in greeting before starting up the stairs. “I was just about to wash up and change my clothes. I had a wonderful day, but I feel so filthy after spending all that time roaming the streets.”

Nico’s frown only deepened. “You went...to town?”

“Mm,” Will replied. “Mellie had some errands to run and I asked to accompany her. She picked up a new dress and did a few favors for the rest of the staff.”

After standing at the base of the stairs for a moment, Nico hurried after him. “Didn’t you bring a guard with you?”

“I didn’t see a need to,” Will answered. “Please don’t scold Mellie for it, though—she’s gotten in enough trouble already. Besides, no one in Divitia knows me well enough to recognize me yet and I wore the plainest clothes I own. I was perfectly safe and inconspicuous. Well, I tried to be inconspicuous, anyway. But it was nice to explore the city on foot. I hadn’t had the chance to do that yet.”

Nico followed Will as he turned to the corridor leading to their apartments. “Didn’t you at least inform anyone you’d be leaving?”

Will shook his head. “That didn’t occur to me. I suppose I should’ve. Apologies for worrying you.”

“Well, make sure to tell me next time,” Nico said in an uncertain tone, like he didn’t quite trust Will’s assurances about the lack of danger. “And take a guard with you. Anyway, where are your shoes? And your coat? And what happened to your buttons?”

“Oh, right,” Will said with a glance at his clothes. “Well, there was a poor old man with bare feet and I lost my coin purse, so I gave him my shoes. After that, I met a charming young lady who was expecting and the least I could do was give her my coat—it’s not like I don’t have plenty more. Then I convinced Mellie to give some of her coins away to hungry children and she didn’t have enough left for her dress, so I offered the seamstress my buttons to pay for what she couldn’t.”

Nico was quiet for a moment, so Will turned and prepared himself to be scolded again. To his surprise, Nico clapped his hands on either side of Will’s face and tugged him into a kiss.

“You are far, far too kind for your own good, Will,” Nico said. “And by the gods, I love you for it.”

Nico kissed him a second time, then a third, then he took Will by the hand and pulled him the rest of the way to their apartments, insisting that Will deserved a warm bath and a nice meal.

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