#rivaling elliot in bad things that have happened to them

[avocado-frog]

Trying to keep myself from adding in plot points for no reason because they would drastically change the story and having to convince myself to not do it is like going to a grocery store with a six year old who wants to buy toys that they're never going to play with

[locria-writes]

untitled pt. 2.5/?

general notes -- second half of part 2? still no enemy-kun in sight smh but lots of rival-kun, and exhibit a of symphora’s bad choices. also didn’t realize how much info dumping happened but oh well.

last edit -- 06/07/22

As fate would have it, Symphora never did get the chance to humiliate Regulus that afternoon.

They were supposed to have a practical lesson for major core that afternoon, but apparently there was some mishap on base, so they just chucked them into a conference room to read textbooks and fill out assignments.

Secondary school, or rather, upper secondary students in Concordia, spend every afternoon taking specialized courses, or major core, as everyone called it (she really didn’t get it, but it was just something that was, and who was she to question it?). It was to prepare students for lyceum, and ideally university, giving them a rare chance of freedom in their education. There were various streams, some better than others, but at Harmonia Institute, all streams were offered with the highest quality. Students could choose between things like social sciences, natural sciences, business, and so forth, with the least popular (in terms of willingness), was the military stream.

Symphora cared little for the military training, and really only had an interest in the engineering that went into the various mechatronics employed on the field, and would have preferred to do something closer to her interests, like the STEM stream, or even social sciences, but unfortunately, she had little choice but to join it, bound by archaic family traditions and values. All heads of the Sun family served in the military, in one capacity or another, and she would not be an exception to that unspoken rule.

Her father, Metellus Sun, was a war hero, an ace Mercury Frame pilot in the Second Liberation War nearly twenty years ago, and still worked as an armament engineer consultant; her grandfather, Aelius Sun, had served as the Concordian National Defense’s chief of engineering, before becoming Defense Chancellor until his passing; her great-grandfather Seneca Sun had served as Grand Marshal of the Aerospace Force and later Defense Chancellor; her great-great-grandfather Tiberius Sun was a war hero in the First Liberation War and an ace Venator pilot, and so on for several generations before. She always thought it strange that her family was so entwined in the military when they originally made their fortune through asteroid mining and aerospace engineering.

Her own personal misgivings aside, the company she found herself with was less than stellar. In a school like the Harmonia Institute, where majority of the students are from great affluence, it was a rather unpopular choice. Most students who did choose the military stream were scholarship students who had been lured in by the promise of a monthly stipend and free tertiary education. More than that, there was a concerted effort to discourage girls from joining, at least, in non-support roles, which meant there were scant few of them in the upper secondary school program.

In her entire grade of ninety-four students, there were only eight in the military program, and half of them were from her own class – herself (forced by her father), Donatus (fell for the stipend), Elliot (also fell victim for the stipend), and most unfortunately, Regulus (with worse yet, similar circumstances to her own). In the entire upper secondary school, there were only eighteen in the program, and only three were girls (including herself).

“My eyes feel like they’re on fire.” Elliot slumped down in his seat next to her, looking increasingly miserable. “We read and studied all day already, and we still have study hall later.”

“Honestly, we could’ve skipped today and missed nothing.” Sick of staring at her laptop, Symphora dug out her phone, again, ignoring her father’s paramour’s texts asking about dinner. She still wasn’t sure how the woman got her number. To her chagrin, it was 17:30, nearly half an hour left of this hell.

“Anything fun happen?”

She tapped their class’ chat, and unsurprisingly, it was just a few inane questions about the day’s schedule, classes, and so on, with the most entertaining messages still being from whatever fight they were having at lunch (Claudia, Antonia, and Januaria all got into an argument which was the status quo). Of course, there were also several new messages from Januaria, lamenting her poor program choice and bemoaning her boredom, and the usual suspects teasing her. “Nah, same as lunch, unless you wanna see Janny bitching.”

“I don’t know why she chose fine arts if she hates it so much.”

“She likes art and stuff, she just really fucking hates Otho.”

“More than Regulus or less?”

“Maybe a bit more?”

“Let me guess, a lifelong hatred?”

“You know it.”

“Man, you Astra kids really love to hate each other.” Astra, referring to the families that belonged in the upper echelons of Concordian society, like her own Sun family, the Burakgazi family, the Berkovich-Sobol family, and dozens of others who either built Concordia to what it was today, or had acquired enough wealth to rub elbows with them. She would very much have liked to punch whomever came up with such stupid names for socioeconomic classes, instead of just sticking with the tried and true ‘upper class’ or ‘bourgeoisie’.

“What can I say? Primary school was brutal.”

They quietly chatted like that for a while, until both their phones began buzzing non-stop.

[T-43 weeks (class 9-5)]

[17:41] Janny Berkobitch: SYMA ELLI DONUT ANSWER ME

[17:41] Icki Vicki: DINNER WE NEED TO TALK DINNER PLANS

[17:41] Angelic Can: SAAB GOT FOOD POISONING NO STUDY HALL FOR US HURRY UP AND ANSWER

[17:41] Othomatic: Stop fucking screaming

[17:41] Toni: no swearing!!!

[17:42] Marius Jim: who do you think you are, the berkobitch?

[17:42] Janny Berkobitch: boo you whore

[17:42] Hamper: Boo you whore

[17:42] Oli Oli Oxenfree: boo

[17:42] Birdbrain: Boo

[17:42] Donut: boo

[17:42] Elli <3: What’s happening????

[17:42] Janny Berkobitch: dinner plan change, so everyone shut up

[17:42] Janny Berkobitch: saab is sick so no study hall. we can go immediately after major

[17:43] Janny Berkobitch: i don’t feel that place at nf centre anymore and i wanna get those cheap burgers again. elli i promise to buy you dinner today and another day

[17:43] Sunnyside Up: The place by the rail station?

[17:43] Elli <3: The diner by the rail station?

[17:44] Sunnyside Up: Haha jinx owe me a soda

[17:44] Elli <3: L

[17:44] Icki Vicki: Lol didn’t think we’d see the day the berkobitch wants commoner food

[17:45] Janny Berkobitch: posting poll now and shut up vicki

[17:45] Janny Berkobitch: also syma please tell lt. hottie I said hi <3 and you can’t jinx elli through text!!!

[17:45] Toni: vote nf if you wanna go to the modernist place J me and claudi are still going

It took all but four minutes for most of the replies to roll in – Januaria, Elliot, Donatus, Angelus, Marius, and herself all going, while most of the others all decided to go to that modernist place in Nova Futura Centre as originally planned. There were only a few who declined all invitations together – Fatima, who had to babysit her younger brother for the night; Otho, who nobody really wanted to go to any of these anyway; and Regulus, who merely refused to reply to any of these gatherings (much Symphora’s delight, of course). Symphora and the other two would catch the monorail directly to the diner, seeing as they were off-campus for their military courses, while the others would meet them there from the school.

Fortunately, right as the clock struck 17:55, class was dismissed, but unfortunately, she wasn’t free yet. “Miss Sun, could I borrow some of your time?”

Had it been anyone else, she would have been tempted to say no, but she could never say no to Aurian Cantrell.

Lieutenant Cantrell, or as a non-insignificant amount of the female students (and quite a few of the males as well) called him ‘Lieutenant Hottie’, served as both the liaison officer with Harmonia Institute, and her class’s instructor. He was only twenty-three, having graduated from the Concordian Military Academy three years before at the top of his class, and it was his first year working at the school. Whichever military bureaucrat signed off on this deserved several raises, in her opinion, for while the number of students in the military program did not increase, it wasn’t uncommon to hear girls whisper about wanting to join the rear service now, and he had only been working there for less than two months. Sophists would say it was his passion and sincerity that drew in students, but honest observers would say it was because of his lovely and eye-catching face.

Perhaps, if one were feeling rather uncharitable, his face would be called formulaic – his features were sharp, but not austere, his sandy hair was always neat, if a bit longer than regulation, and his blue-grey eyes were bright and clever. He was tall, broad-shouldered, lithe, and graceful, and quite honestly, resembled those idols she saw online all the time more than a military officer. He wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful like they were, but combined with his charm and affable nature, most couldn’t help but give him a second look. Symphora, having always had a weak spot for beautiful things, was no exception to this.

Straightening in her seat, nervously uncrossing her legs to re-cross them in a more ladylike manner by the ankles, she smiled politely. “Of course, sir.”

Cantrell laughed sheepishly, rubbing his neck. “Whenever you guys call me ‘sir’, I always feel like I’m getting stabbed in the heart. I’m not even ten years older.”

“Then…is there something I can help with, Lieutenant?”

“I am a bit ashamed to say this, but I’m not very familiar with these simulation machines…” He trailed off, but Symphora knew where he was going. The Military Academy used simulation cockpits from the current generation Velus series, while the machines at the Cadet School used the defunct prototypal Rudis series instead. Out of everyone at the Cadet School, she was probably the most well-versed in the machines, which was expected since her father had designed them and passed his knowledge down to her. So whenever anything went wrong with the machines, or if anyone had a question that instructors couldn’t answer, they all turned to her, and so far, she had yet to come across something she didn’t know.

“Oh, of course, Lieutenant. I’ll be happy to help.”

“Isn’t it kinda embarrassing you need a kid to teach you about machines you should already understand, Lieutenant?” Regulus was the only one who hadn’t left yet, and stared at Lieutenant Cantrell looking most unimpressed.

Cantrell smiled, the venom he received not at all disturbing his bright charms. “Miss Sun has been around these for as long as I have, and she is Vice Marshal Sun’s most precious protégée. I’d say there are few others as qualified as she.”

“If we’re taking that into consideration, I have almost the same experience. Out of everyone here, looks like you’re the useless one.”

Not trusting herself to not say something outrageously rude back to Regulus and ruin the perfectly-crafted sweet image she built up for Cantrell, Symphora merely glared at him while silently mouthing, “Shut the fuck up, please.”

If he noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“Then, Mr. Burakgazi, if you’d be so kind to join us, I would welcome your expertise.” Really, Cantrell was just too polite and cordial for this rude colony.

Thanks to that jerk, the walk to the simulation lab was painfully uncomfortable. Cantrell, bless his heart, had done his best to keep a conversation, which was mostly just them chatting anyway while Regulus, once again, failed to adhere to societal norms and decided to settle for looking halfway between angry and constipated. Unfortunately, (Symphora was beginning to believe that this just was not her day), as soon as they arrived at the lab, Cantrell received a call, and immediately ducked out, leaving her alone with the very bane of her existence.

As soon as the doors shut, she glared at him. “Why the hell did you tag along?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“Listen here, asshole, the Lieutenant asked me to do this, and you just had to stick your fat fucking head into it.”

He scoffed, not even bothering to look at her. “What, thought you could have a nice date with him?”

Her face turned red, out of anger, not embarrassment. “No, I just hate seeing your stupid mug more than I have to.”

“I’m glad we finally agree on something.”

“Then why did you butt in?”

“I don’t have to answer that.”

Normally, Symphora considered herself to be a controlled person, or at least, as controlled as a fourteen-year-old with all the raging hormones and self-induced angst can be. However, this time, she couldn’t help but let her irritation overflow – maybe it was the chronic sleep deprivation, maybe it was the annoyance that had been simmering inside from the morning after she boiled her eggs for too long and the yolks turned all gross and green and powdery, or maybe it was just one of those inexplicable bouts of impulsiveness that everyone felt – she took a few quick steps toward Regulus, and pulled him down to her level by the collar.

It must have been quite a comical sight, seeing as he towered over her (he stood at an admittedly impressive minimum of 175 cm, while she was an insistent 150 cm in her school-sanctioned loafers with only a 5 cm heel).

“What the fuck is your problem, huh? Are you stalking me or something?”

Regulus looked like he was biting back words, before eventually settling on, “Can’t have you fucking over everyone here because you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t know what I’m talking about?” Oh, she was seeing red now. “Remind me again who placed first in theory and practical last year?”

“That was a fluke! I told you, my machine was busted!”

“Oh, I’ll show you busted…!”

Had she not heard Cantrell entering the room again, she would probably would have punched Regulus in his pretty face, or better yet, kneed him where it really hurt, but her desire to not appear as a barbarian triumphed over her impulses. Symphora let go of his collar, roughly shoving him aside as she turned to Cantrell with her patented saccharine smile. “Lieutenant.”

Cantrell looked a bit sheepish, though not before raising a brow at Regulus’ slightly-dishevelled look. “Sorry, but some urgent business came up. Could we hold off on this for later? Again, I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Oh, it’s fine, no problem, Lieutenant.”

Of course, she was rather disappointed in not being able to dazzle him with her knowledge, but on the bright side, at least Regulus wasted his time for nothing, so at least this wasn’t a total bust for her.

[kitkatt0430]

Things I'd like to see in the Leverage Redemption, either in the back half of season one or in a later season:

The team working with one - or more - of the Leverage International crews

The return of McSweeten, the sweetest FBI agent - while it'd be good to see him still be in the FBI, I also wouldn't mind finding out he quit and joined Leverage International

The return of Tara Cole - it'd also be interesting to see if she's part of Leverage International now or if she freelances with them on occasion still; I could also see her working with Parker to relocate people hiding from abusive partners

The return of Chaos - while it'd be fun to pit him against Hardison again, it'd also be interesting for him to actually be battling against Breanna and be shocked by the reveal... but also open to having multiple rivals because no doubt Chaos is only happy when he's being somebody's rival

Sterling's gotta show up for another frenemy mine situation. It'd be nice to see him reminisce with Sophie about Nate and if there was a hinting at the three of them having an on again, off again polyamorous relationship then well... all the better, really. But also Sterling walking into their new bar, Sophie cautioning Elliot not to do anything rash, and then Eliot punching Sterling in the face to Harry and Breanna's confusion while Parker appears from the rafters munching popcorn would be both hilarious and a fun call back to the original show.

Maggie - much like with Sterling, having her reminisce with Sophie, maybe hint at a threesome... that'd be lovely. It'd also be fun to watch her mess with Eliot by flirting with him again and I could also see her calling on Leverage teams on when she notices something hinky going on in the art world.

Harry's daughter should show up. He's clearly not married anymore and the age of his daughter is unclear - he's mentioned she likes EDM but that's really all we've heard about her. Are they estranged due to the divorce and Harry's shady dealings as a lawyer? Will finding out he's now a Robin Hood esque thief improve their relationship? Or are they actually on good terms and so learning he's no longer a corporate lawyer and why come as a shock to her when she finally shows up?

Hardison and Breanna's Nana should guest star. She adores Parker and Eliot. Everyone gets cookies. It becomes clear why Nana keeps raising kids who are strongly into social justice and making the world a better place through less than legal means... Nana unofficially adopts Sophie and Harry. (Parker teaches any new foster kids how to pick locks)

A return of a few old enemies. There were a number of bad guys they dealt with in the first season who could have conceivably bounced back in the time since the first show came to an end. It'd be interesting to see the original team have to take a back seat with Breanna and Harry being the only visible faces to the operation. Or having them coordinate with another Leverage team to take down a former nemesis.

The return of the Old Nate painting. Admittedly they probably won't so as not to have even the likeness of the actor who shall not be named seen on the show. But even if they don't show the actual painting, referencing their old good luck charm would be nice.

It'd also be nice to have Sophie's issues with acting addressed.

By the end of the original show, Sophie's time spent finding herself over the course of five seasons as well as running her own theater had helped her become a better actress. But we've since seen a bit of a backward step on that front - she's noted to Hardison and Eliot that she's putting up something of a front for the team and when she performs a dramatic reading of a poem at the not really Magic the Gathering faire, she initially overacts for the con, but when it stops being about the con and starts being about solving the riddle Sophie's dramatic reading becomes authentic and well done... a bit of a reverse of the issues she had with acting in the original show.

It feels like her renewed acting problems, her continuing grief over Nate's death, and her feeling like she's pretending to be someone she isn't anymore are all interconnected. So seeing her acting skills improve again as she learns to deal with her grief for Nate and her confidence as a grifter returns would be a nice bit of character development to see happen with her.

[dipplie]

Temporary list of my stories and OC’s until one day I make a comprehensive and well made list:

Blinded:

Polli: My oldest OC and fun fact was my persona till she become edgy and I wasn’t 12 anymore. Everyone’s favorite yes yes I’m aware. Yellow, energetic, eats dirt and bugs, I can’t tell if she’s evil because of a wisp possession or just crazy. Breaks the 4th wall. Is she a Mary Sue???????? Who knows.

Melody: NOT Polli’s girlfriend despite Polli’s delousions. Has an abusive mom :(. Only has one eye and then no eyes and then robot eyes or smthn idk she becomes a badass when she gets older. But otherwise trembling in her shoes all the time.

Melodys Mom/Sharren: Bitch. Okay well all I’ll say is she’s old and grumpy and probably smells bad.

Louise: Total hotty, rich kid, FtM, got bullied as a kid for his weight. Had a squad of fans basically in high school. Lived with his mom after his parents got a divorce but his mom was semi abusive, projected her femininity onto him, and wouldn’t have been supportive of his transition, so between middle and high school he went to live with his dad and got his sex change and testosterone. His best friend in elementary and middle school stopped talking to him after his transition, and became his competition for the most attractive and sought after boy in school (except Louise is a sweetheart while his friend Tommy is a dick and really gross) His dad runs a company that specializes in technology, and after meeting and falling in love with Melody (even after all her abusive trauma and losing both her eyes) he has his dad and some of the developers create a way to get her vision back and I mean honestly I love him how could you not love him he’s so perfect.

Watching:

Fick: Big nerd boy with thick glasses. I feel like he’d use Reddit but don’t quote me on that. Big crush on Vivinya. Boy don’t wander into the woods- oh look dead body with a curse on it don’t touch it- aaaand now he has a wisp that makes him kill people, way to go kid. Panic attack central.

Vivinya: True crime girl, yucky yucky. Probably had a knife collection. “uwu I’m insane” except she actually is and starts using Fick to kill people for her and treats him like her “Yandere boyfriend” or something cringe and gross oh god. She deserves jail. JAIL. Needs to learn guys need to give consent too. Just overall sucks 1/10.

Tommy: I mentioned him early to be Louises ex best friend and rival. He used to have a crush on Louise actually but that don’t excuse being a BITCH!!!! Also needs to learn people gotta give consent he is just as gross as Vivinya. Cheats on all the girls he gets with because he’s again, a bitch. Idk if he deserved to get murdered though I mean he was still a teenager but it’s fine. Thinks of the song Seventeen from Heathers actually this story does feel a tad reminiscent of heathers with vivinya being a crazy and wanting to off a bunch of students. Huh.

Suzannie: Tommy’s older sister who’s a detective. What a coincidence. Monotone and depressed. Probably because her little brother got murdered. Gets real awkward when she’s talking about her brothers murder(s) to Fick and Vivinya like “when I find who did this to him they’ll regret being born”. Kind of really pretty actually.

Adolescents (there isn’t actually a story here yet but don’t worry about it shhhh):

Nelson: HIMBO HIMBO H- Jock stupid idiot big dork god he’s so awkward and his main personality trait is having a crush on Naomi and being a dork when talking to her. Probably could benchpress you.

Naomi: Gamer or something and a nerd geek. Her main personality trait is having a crush on Nelson and also being a dork when talking to him. Probably a weeb and fandom dweller. Can’t draw but she commissions artists to draw. She does write copious amounts of fanfiction though.

Andrés: Ohhh the school bad boy babyyyy. Baseball bat with nails in it or something. There’s like... A thing between him in Charlotte and he wants to be a thing but she’s being difficult and makes it hard to talk to her or about her and ugh.

Charlotte: Princess, high school princess. She’s actually pretty nice when you get to know her- but she’s a diva. Ballerina after school. Best friends with Naomi and doesn’t know what she’s talking about when she mentions ships or OTPs but she listens anyways because she’s a good friend. There’s like... A thing between her and Andrés but she doesn’t know if she’s super into him but geez he’s really hot but she gets such mixed responses when she asks her friends about it and what if it doesn’t work outttt.

Marlon: They/Them but they’re okay with either pronouns they aren’t sure yet, he or she is okay... Box boy box boy. Autism... He doesn’t want to admit He’s attracted to men but he’s totally attracted to men. He lives alone which is probably illegal for his age but somehow he manages. Everyone thinks he’s “the quiet kid” and he’s really sad about it no don’t make jokes like that please guys ahh-

Sing for Me:

Kat: The color pink, addahadda(adhd), angry and loud and short. For being only like 10 and being an adorable little lesbian dressing in sparkly pink dresses she actually likes screaming a lot and would totally sing heavy metal if her producers let her. Loud and mad but gets so soft around her girlfriend. “If anything happens to Brie I’m killing everyone in this room and then myself”.

Brie: French... Birds and stuff. Loves her girlfriend even though she is so loud. So fast. So much. Likes to write pretty things. Is only like an inch taller than Kat. Filled with so much love for everything.

Elliot: The girls manager. Lots of coffee. Stressed out of his MIND please help this man. Probably gay. Seems like a smug dick but he is just a tall and lanky dork that loves puppies and wants nothing more than for Kat and Brie to be happy. Accidentally brands them as sisters and then Kat kisses Brie and- oh fuck oh shit oh no what has he done. Hides the fan and non fan responses from them. Poor guy.

Horror Hosts:

Ichabod: Hot demon who’s the son of the current ruler of hell or something. I mean he’s hot, smart, and royalty, what more do you want. I very specifically hear the dub voice of Kyoya Ootori from OHHC as his voice don’t @ me. Goat legs????? Yeah??? Don’t be rude.

Barnabie: Ohhhhhhhhh big orc teddy bear I’m crying I love him????? He puts up a more confident ploy and the given stereotypical personality orcs supposedly have but he’s just a shy boy that wants to give girls flowers and call boys pretty. Help him.

Garrison: Gary Burger. Fat hairy gay man. I mean werewolf. Wouldn’t it be funny if I made the whole werewolf thing backwards and made him transform into a HUMAN only on the full moon??? Party animal, pun absolutely intended. LOUD AND FUNNY he’s a dork. Bites. Horny on main Garrison please you’re supposed pamper and flirt with the guests but not quite that much.

Vincenzo: Token Vampire but he’s Italian because I felt like it. Talk and lanky of course. Bitch face. Blood coffee? Yeah lots of coffee. Tired. Let him sleep in Ichabod. Steps on people. Can summon and reanimate corpses but has a bitter attitude towards them because they get annoyed with him as much as he gets annoyed with- everyone else. He does have a soft spot but idk where it is. When he’s talking to guests he’s more suave and sexy though.

Kai: Genderfluid haha get it because slime fluid-... I’ll stop. Probably objectively the hottest because they can look anyway they want and shift their vocals to sound like almost anything, also probably objectively the best in bed (if you’re okay with the texture of Jell-o) and honestly come on save some for the rest of us it’s not fair. This boy can SING oh my god seranade me and whisper in my ear baby. Spunky and sassy.

Hallvor: BABY OCTOPOD BOY OHHHHH I LOVE HIM HE’S SO SWEET AND IS AN ANGEL DARLING BOY SO EMBARRASSED SO SHY SOFTEST VOICE OHHH- ohhh nooo he’s got a knife ohhhhh Hallvor baby don’t be like that ohhhh... Used to work in hentai actually (I wonder why) but quit because of immoral practices and good for him we love that. Okay he’s not actually a yandere or whatever but he DEFINITELY wants to squeeze you a little too hard and has those crazy eyes.

Carla: Main character of this OHHC monster clone. She sucks I don’t like her because listen listen she kills monsters as a living and when she tries to kill our boys here, Ichabod catches her and goes “no” but then the rest (not knowing her murderous intent) fall in love with her and Ichabod is like: “shoot well I’ll keep you alive and around but I’m watching you” and blah blah romance and feelings and character development and wow she seems like she’s grown to care about them... So Ichabod removes a curse he put to prevent her from harming them or leaving... AND THEN SHE STABS THEM ALL IN THE BACK IM CRYING. I mean she might have an extra reason for needing to kill them but I haven’t decided if I want to actually put it in the story yet so.

Fingertips:

Maria/Marianna: Was this goth angry chick and the head of these losers but after a failed heist, fire, and being betrayed and dropped from a window on a 3rd or 4th story down into flames, and going to the hospital and changing her name, she changed totally and become a soft pretty girl... And then the next three boys went “HEY BOSS WE FOUND YOU” and she went “oh no” and now she’s just an anxious wreck like “no no no no no I don’t shoot people in the face anymore no no no no no” And has a fear of hands. Also was Diamontés best friend in primary school and yes all these characters went to the K-12 school all the other characters do/did. Pretty voice. The story is mostly about her being anxious around all the other characters because who was it that betrayed her and dropped her into the flames below? Find out next week on th-

Nikki: He’s that character that you see and immediately go “oh he’s gross and is angry and is a bitch” and you’re right he is and has a cockney accent and screams a lot and probably swings a knife around a lot, but he’s got a sweet interior (somewhere in there... somewhere) Screamo heavy metal. Him and the rest of these character briefly talked about having a band and then they didn’t and then at the end of the story they do and although he plays guitar mostly, if he does do lead vocals he screams a lot. Bitch.

Anthony: Pretty boy but like the “was in the army” pretty boy vibe. Probably played football in highschool. Pyromaniac. Punches Nikki a lot. Almost gives himbo vibes sometimes, almost. Kind of likes the old timey cozy aesthetic. Plays the piano sometimes but “oh I’m not very good at it” Plays extremely well

Diamonté: TALL. Purple goth boy aesthetic hellll yeahhhh. CRAZY EYES AND THEY SPEAK VOLUMES WATCH OUT. Drums. The scary kind of quiet because he just smiles at you. Crowbar. Okay but he’s actually really sweet though. Secretly loves watching Anthony and Nikki get into fights so that’s why he rarely puts a stop to it. I think he’s a sadist. Can be a gentle giant, but can also be a not so gentle giant. The only time he’s really talkative is after copious amounts of booze.

Unnamed/Undesigned 1: Literally a pimp and he’s pretty gross. Blonde hair and pink and white clothes.

Unnamed/Undesigned 2: Chick that likes to throw knives and be angry and threatens Marianna a lot but in a quiet and monotone way, Marianna is pretty scared and hopes that these are just shallow threats uhhhhh.

Unnamed/Undesigned 3: Sells guns (without a lisence of course) and wears a bandana over his face a lot. Tired. Grumpy.

Unnamed/Undesigned 4: Like Marianna, was cold hearted and cool but then got caught in the fire and got all soft. He only has one eyes but how sweet his eyepatch is a heart. Recoved along side Marianna and they are good friends good friends tha- wait Marianna are you going back with them oh god you can’t do that oh dear oh no oh-

(I don’t have a story or name for these two but they’re my comfort ship OC’s and my current hyper fixaction right now):

Rodriquéz: I literally designed him with almost all the traits I find attractive in a guy other than freckles so as you can imagine I find him super HOT. I also designed his personality on what I find attractive from a guy so as you can imagine I find him super GREAT. But anyways he’s grumpy and closed off and monotone and smug. I really could go on for hours about how I want him to step on me I’m so sorry guys. Both him and Samantha give the “21 and having immature fun” vibes. They’re a thing but they like going to bars together and splitting off and doing their own thing (or doing someone else’s thing if you get what I mean haHhahHhahGahGhaha-) But so help them if anyone doesn’t oblige by the “no” from one of these two, someone’s gonna get beat up.

Samantha: (She literally just my personality shhhhh don’t tell anyone it’s a secret) Bubbly, energetic, a little shy by extroverted, bombshell blonde or something? It took me way too much time and effort to design her but I’m really happy with how I finally designed her, I love her outfit. She could kick me in the face and I’d say thank you. Girly drinks at the bar. Got that trauma and anxiety™️ secretly though. Skips and jumps a lot. As I’m typing this I keep looking up at the drawing of her and more and more I would want her to also step on me.

(Space Story I don’t have a nice title for):

Unnamed/Undesigned 1: So... Funny story this story originally was with me and uh... My ex I guess... So I gotta replace the MC’s... Whoops ahaha... Awkward. But anyways the MC is a robot and a girl and is a slight tsundere or smthn.

Unamed/Undesigned 2: Has a space ship, works for this organization in space that protects the galaxy. Is cocky, lazy, sly, oblivious, and an idiot. The love interest- obviously. Probably accidentally committing space crimes. (Like space pirating hAHAHA-) Kind of cool when he wants to be.

Dandelion/Dandy: CAT. WITH A JET PACK. Kind of an asshole. Fun fact used to be Polli’s cat but then when the Second MC crash landed on earth she was like “fuck this noise I’m going with space boy laterz” (okay she can’t talk but she thought it).

Zizii: Lesbian alien? Yeah???? Okay but I mean her main character trait is being a dorky back alley doctor and engineer obsessed with the MC because they’re a sentient robot with emotions and a lazer arm and rocket boots WOW!!!!!!!!

Story I want to revive:

So I had a story I started writing a long time ago about this tech theatre kid that had a crush on this other theatre kid character, but in a play that other character has to kiss another person for the show, and as the story progresses the MC convinces themselves that it isn’t just a play and that their crush actually loves and is kissing that other kid. And in the play, that other character is supposed to die. Show night comes along and they die, but like actually, and by the hands of the MC (Idk maybe like a light falls on em or smthn). So it’s a grotesque scene the audience sees as just an act. (Mutters I dunno I think my idea’s cool...) So I’ve been wanting to design these characters and work more on the story but I’m busy being obsessed with Rodriquez and Samantha so. (And the Horror Host Club too I love them too still).

Other Characters that either don’t have a specific story or are kind of like background characters:

Jacqueiliquinne Merril: Sara Berry vibes from 35mm (go look up The Ballad of Sara Berry, maybe like an animatic idk the first one that comes up is nice) But otherwise rich, pretty, popular, bitch. Tries to like, steal Louise from his squad and it’s like bro that’s unnecessary who hurt you that’s so rude. She gives Nui from Kill La Kill Vibes too. Oh she knows her name is long and annoying but you have to say the whole thing.

Brianna: Jaqueiliquinne’s sister. Big titty goth gf??? She’s pretty popular too and kind of a bitch too but to a much lesser degree. Her and he sister throw hands a lot when no one is around, you know, “THEY GIRLS ARE FIGHTINNGGGG”.

The Louise Fan Club: 4 characters I haven’t named yet. One writes fanfiction of Louise and shares it with the others and with him sometimes and although he thinks it’s a bit weird he also finds it a tad endearing and supports her. One is an aspiring photographer and is constantly asking Louise to model for him. One is an artist and draws Louise all the time. And one is an aspiring musician who writes songs based of Louise’s relationships which again he finds a little weird but endearing and supports her.

The Jacquiliquinne Merril Fan Club: Genderbent-ish (I say ish because one of the characters is a little bit less defined gender wise) versions of the Louise Fan Club. Yes I’m lazy, and no they don’t get along with them, infact they hate each others club with a passion. 

Unnamed/Undesigned: I wanna make some hacker kid just because I wanna have one.

Unnamed/Undesigned: I also really wanna have a super cutesy magical girl and then a really super duper generic boring character probably like star vs the forces of evil idk I never watched that show but it looks cute.

Me: I exist in the universe fukc you I can do what I want it’s my story and I get to chose the who also if you wanna be in the mess of a universe go ahead draw yourself with my OC’s I allow and encourage and appreciate it. I literally made the Horror Host Club as a sort of Harem story and you are absolutely allowed to make out with them if you’re a monster fucker DO it GO ahead it’s canon.

and that is ALL I have FOR now Knowing me I’ll make like 12 more characters by July, and I mean I need more characters for the high school anyways so...

[mydearsaddiary]

Speakeasy Tonight Fanfic- Neil Season 3

Hello! For those of you who don’t know Im writing a fanfic on how I’d imagine Neil Season 3 to go! This is chapter 4, here’s a link with all the chapters: https://mydearsaddiary.tumblr.com/NeilSeason3Fanfic

Little curiosity notes: We’re back in Chicago and Neil stayed in Boston ): Time to get back into the prohibition business because Vera Peters is causing trouble around town again! Let’s go!! (There’s drama but fluff here too, promise)

Chapter 4- Trouble on the home front. I declare war.

1926

I was back in Chicago for five days now. To forget everything that happened in the last week I was drowning myself in work. The guys at the Ice Box seemed a little worried, especially because they knew about the engagement. Uncle Charlie seemed sad and disappointed at the same time. I didn’t blame him. It’s weird the things you think. I didn’t think Neil to be the type that broke hearts, but I did know he was afraid of commitments. Maybe this was just him escaping

However, anyone could see that the break-up was getting at me. I didn’t talk about anything but business, nobody had mentioned Neil since I got back and everyone felt a little empty without the Doc in his usual spot drinking his bourbon

-Hey, MC- Cliff called me at the bar while I was working on the inventory that night- What do you want me to do with this?- He pointed to the box of Neil’s secret bourbon stash

-Well, no use wasting good bourbon, right?-I picked it up, but Cliff saw it was a little too heavy for me and picked it up himself. I didn’t like anyone thinking I needed help but I did feel weaker in the arms these days- Just put it in Charlie’s Studebaker, I’ll take it home with me

-Alright, leave it to me- He said taking it outside

-Hey, doll- A familiar voice came behind me- You feeling better?

-Hey, Vince-I smiled at the other who sat at the bar- I’m fine, time heals things don’t it? If I just keep working, I’ll get over it in no time

-I could always take you out for a spin, you know that, right?

I chuckled- It’s too soon, but should I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know

He nodded- Well, if you’re interested in keep on working I might have something

-Yeah?

-Seems like your days dealing with the drys might be over for a while. I got some leads Vera Peters is been causin’ trouble around town

-But the mayor and O’Sullivan are down, she doesn’t have any help

-You think dat would stop ‘er, lassie?- Donovan said something for the first time tonight, hanging on tightly to his whiskey

-She did give me a call right after, spilling something about me “winning the battle, but not the war”

-She is onto something. She had O’Sullivan wrapped around her finger. Now that he’s in jail, that bastard O’Fallon is in power, and I think she’s been hanging around The Broiler

-That’s what I ‘eard too. Vera Peters might be lookin to be de next big name in de gangster racket

-Uncle Charlie mentioned she’s still showing up to the temperance meetings. Trying to keep her image, I guess.

-Seems like those temperance meetings are gonna be a war zone from now on-Vince said- O’Sullivan was the big name. If she somehow works her ways into his operations-

-She’d be causing trouble especially for us since she obviously hates me- I sighed- One more chapter of the Vera Peters saga-I looked around for a certain fella- Elliot!- I called. He got up from his gambling table and left his starlet blondes waiting for him

-May I say you look extraordinary tonight, MC?

-Thanks Elliot, you may say that- I poured a drink for myself- Have you been hanging around Gerald these days?

-I’ve been to the Broiler recently.

-Heard anything interesting?

He looked to his side a little sketchy, as if he was about to tell a lie- Well, only about the changes in management due to O’Sullivan being in jail

-Can it, Elliot. I’m asking about anything that might cause us trouble

-Vera Peters has been hanging out there. She doesn’t drink, but I know her and Gerald have been keeping each other company. I thought it might be something romantic

I laughed- Vera and Gerald? Yea, it makes so much sense- I said ironically- I’m sure Vera isn’t Gerald’s type. She’s interested in something else. She wants something and it’s not good. Think you can go back there and find out more about it?

-Yes, me and Gerald were planning to gamble tomorrow over at the Broiler

-Great. Dig some and tell us what you find out

After that I also told Sofia to keep her eyes and ears open, Vince offered to drive me home but I reminded him I have driven Charlie’s Studebaker. I took driving as a hobby, it always seemed interesting and now that I was trying to get my hands on anything to do to forget about my current situation, I couldn’t find a reason not to do it.

I went home that night like I went home every night since I came back from Boston. I had no energy to do anything, but at the same time I couldn’t rest. It was like my body spent the day telling me to give up and sleep, but it wouldn’t let me sleep once I laid in bed. Insomnia was part of my nights, at least until seven in the morning when I did manage to sleep, and then I’d wake up once or twice, and proceed to get up at ten a.m., when I couldn’t go back to sleep anymore.

So then I’d find something to do. I didn’t feel hungry in the morning, so I’d drive around for a few hours. Then at around noon I’d go check the inventory of the appliance store. Uncle Charlie would be there working, we’d talk for a few hours, then he’d ask if I wanted to play some chess. Unfortunately I cringed at the thought of touching a chess piece and I’d say I’d rather do something else.

Sometimes he’d ask me if I wanted to go back to Columbus, be near everyone else. I’d tell him I knew he was worried, but it was normal to be sad and it was momentary. I knew why he’d ask though. My face when I would wake up was pale, I’d gotten a little bit skinnier, and I didn’t talk as much. Even Uncle Charlie had to start playing the host.

That brings us to when the Ice Box would open. I was still convinced that Neil Dresner wasn’t going to be the cause I stopped doing my job. The only job I wasn’t doing well was talking and pretending I was doing fine. I didn’t dance anymore either. I usually stayed in the back room working on the inventory, helping Cliff make drinks and deal with some problems, like Vera Peters.

That other night, Elliot walked into the Ice Box and he brought company as he always did, but one of his friends that night was Gerald O’Fallon

-What is he doing here?-Vince tightened his fists walking over to the door, but not before Cliff held him by the shoulder

-I’ll find that out-I called the both of them to a table in the corner of the speakeasy. I’m sure the talk we were about to have was going to be important

-So, Gerald, Elliot- I stared at the both of them- What can I help you with?- I said expecting they’d give me some information

-Well, I talked to Gerald some about Vera, like you asked

-I see you’ve kept it very secret too, like I asked- I stared at him

-No… MC, listen to him

I turned my attention to the red-headed rival and he started to talk- I seem to be in need of your help once more- I could see in his face how much he hated that. And this time again it must be bad if he’s here. I didn’t say anything so he could continue- With your scheme against Mrs. Peters, you took O’Sullivan out of power. He was already known as a gangster, but his pursuits grew with his connection to the mayor and he got arrested. It actually helped some. O’Sullivan was ruthless, and it gave me control of the Broiler

-I must imagine that control isn’t there anymore if Vera Peters cuts her rug at The Broiler- I said drinking. I found myself wondering why I was drinking only Neil’s bourbon. I decided it was because it tasted good.

-No, turns out O’Sullivan handed a lot of things over to Vera. A lot of our information, things that can compromise our business. She has complete power over the Broiler-He actually had a sad expression. I don’t think Gerald would be one to give Vera Peters power of his establishment so quickly, so I believed him. Besides, there was sincerity in his eyes.

-What is she exactly doing there?

-She wanted control of our operation. Of course at first I laughed, but with everything O’Sullivan gave her, even our businesses with my boss in New York City could be compromised. She has the power to shut us down completely. So I had to give her control of the Broiler. If she shut us down- He lowered his voice- My boss from New York would hunt me down to bump me off. We bring a lot revenue to him.

-Vera Peters in control of O’Sullivans operation sounds like the last thing we want- I sighed loudly. This woman was never going to give up was she?

Donovan chose this moment to storm into the box coming to me. He seemed to hesitate seeing Gerald, so I pulled him away from the table for a few minutes

-What on earth is going on with you? You storm in here like that and people will think we’re being raided!

-Lassie, it’s…-He handed me a newspaper- It’s fresh of de press, it’ll be out tomorrow

I looked at the front page- Mayor Adler announces marriage to Vera… Peters!

-Former prohibition officer Adler. A couple o’ years back ‘e quit the job and became dirty, which is good for our business. But from what I remember from this boyo he is ruthless. De meanest in many ways. If he was just doing his job it’d fine ‘cause he was gonna leave oehs alone. But Vera Peters seduces the man and decides to marry ‘im… Adler is known for doin’ whatever it took to protect ‘is family. A lad looks at his kids the wrong way, next thing you know the next day he mysteriously disappears.

-Vera gets protection by being in power as the mayor’s wife again, on top of being married to someone who kill for their family. And now Vera is his wife and he’d bump off anyone who dare go against her-I had to sit down and take another drink- Vera Peters is aiming to be the queen of the Chicago’s underworld, just as she tried to before trying to get me under her wing and take control of me. And now she’s ten steps ahead of us.

I handed the newspaper back to him and asked him to wait until the Ice Box was closed. I went back to Gerald and asked him to do the same.

I liked Elliot and he had helped me out, but I didn’t ask him to wait around because I knew he was a talker, the more he knew, the more dangerous it was for us.

So when the Ice Box closed everyone relevant stayed behind. Me, Vince, Cliff, Donovan, Andrew watched the door for us, Sofia and even though it wasn’t Cleo’s or Julius’ job I asked them to stay too. Uncle Charlie was home and I definitely did not want to add more into his plate while he still wasn’t totally recovered yet

Of course, Gerald was an addition-Care to fill us in why this sap is still here?-Vince pointed at O’Fallon- And why I shouldn’t give him a slug on his schnozzle, right now?!

-I’d like to see you try your wop!-Gerald said and Vince started to go up to him ready to fight. Two armed men giving me a headache once more

I put myself in between them- If you two start with the lead poisoning treatment, I’ll let you kill yourselves outside and we’ll do this without you!- I yelled at the both of them while Cliff and Donovan helped me pull them apart- Now, can it! We’re gonna need to work together on this.

-Why would we need to work together with this bog-trotter?!

-Because we have a common enemy. We need all the help we can get, Vince. Vera Peters is on the move again

-I thought she was done with-He said

-So did we- So I told the rest of them what was happening. How Vera had taken over the Broiler and managed to marry the mayor once more.

-Since she’s gone dirty, who’s saying we can’t get rid of her?

-I am Vince. Remember? We can’t kill the mayor’s wife. Besides, Donovan filled me in on how he’s got an obsession to putting family first, now Vera is part of ‘is family.

Donovan this time spoke- We kill ‘is wife and the man is gonna hunt down whoever it was till they’re six feet under.

-Vera Peters is gonna make a move on the Ice Box like she did before. She’s not gonna leave us alone- I started talking again- She tried to get Uncle Charlie killed, and threatened to put him- And Neil, but I wasn’t going to mention him- behind bars.

-Seems like we’re in hot water- Cliff said

-Change that to boiling water- Sofia said- And that’s not all, I’ve been hearing some rumors too…

This time a familiar voice, very familiar, came from the door- Vera Peter’s been hiring new muscle, she also bought a place under a laundromat and a warehouse with her husband’s money. She’s planning to open a new speakeasy.

Everyone was quiet for a second. Until Sofia spoke again

-Yes, that’s what I was going to say… She is… Expanding- I could tell she was looking at me now

My eyes were fixated on the man that stood there, tall, holding his cigarette. His icy blue eyes pierced on me. I wanted to hug and kiss him. And then I don’t know if it was pride that took over me, but my last moments in Boston played over in my head and I felt my blood boil in me, so I turned to everyone again

-It’s late, everyone, so let’s go home and sleep. Everyone needs to be here early tomorrow, at around noon. We’ll talk more about it then. Even you, Gerald.

It was the last thing I said before I grabbed my coat and walked out. I didn’t even give myself a chance to look back when I passed Neil. However when I was almost at the Studebaker I heard Neil calling my name behind me

I got into the car starting it and he just opened the door and got in the car himself

-What are you doing, Neil?! Get out of the car, I’m going home!

-I love you-He said, interrupting me- I’m sorry, MC. I’m sorry about everything just-

-Get out of my car!-I gave him the most serious and furious look I could. He was quiet for a moment, but I think he saw something in my eyes, because he left.

I started driving, and there was I crying again. I thought at least that part of it was gone. It was too much at the moment. Neil appearing out of the blue made me forget Vera Peters was ever a problem. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to hear him say that he loved me, or how much I missed him… How much I couldn’t deny that I was still in love with him. But I couldn’t be a fool. I just couldn’t forget everything that had happened in Boston and let him get away with it.

My nightmares about him and Lillie getting back together were over though, since he was back here. I hated the fact that it made me feel better.

I was so confused. I drove home, took a bath and surprisingly I fell asleep very quickly. I guess my body just understood how much I needed to not think about anything right now.

The next morning I woke up around ten. It still wasn’t the sleep I needed, but it was better than what I had been getting lately, besides waking up numerous times throughout the night.

I went down and Mrs. Fitz had prepared breakfast. Uncle Charlie smiled once he saw me there. I smiled back, sitting in the chair in front of him- Morning, Unc.

-Morning, young lady. You seem to be in a better mood today

-I slept better- I was getting the food set on my plate- Listen, Uncle Charlie… I wanted to talk to you about something

-Is it about Vera Peters? I saw it in the papers- He got serious- Woman is tough nut

-She’s dangerous- I said as I told him all the new information I found out yesterday, I laid it all out in a way that wouldn’t give him a heart attack- Which brings me to my point. I want you to take a trip to Columbus. Visit the family, stay safe.

-Now, listen here young lady, you want me to leave you alone?! With all of this happening?

-I won’t be alone. I have Cliff, Vince, Donovan, everyone at the box! I can trust them. She has tried to have you killed multiple times and she will try again! God, even if I happened to get hurt I’ll have Neil right by my side to…-I didn’t even realize I had said his name until I said it, this time Uncle Charlie gave me a puzzled look

-Neil…?

-He…-I lowered my eyes- Popped up at the Ice Box last night

This time he let out a laugh- I knew that sap wouldn’t disappoint me. He came back for you

-No, Uncle Charlie. Probably his bourbon or because he owes you the world or-

-He came back for you.-He said, this time he had a hand over mine

I had to change the subject or I’d start crying- Unc, please go to Columbus. When you were in the hospital, I handled Louis, I’ve dealt with Vera Peters once and I can handle her again. You, on the other hand, can’t handle any more assassinations attempts- I looked straight into his eyes- Trust me, Uncle Charlie. Let me deal with this. But to be able to do my job right, I need to know you’re safe. Besides, Poppa misses you and my sisters do too. It’d be great for you. You don’t need to worry about me

He sighed looking back- Alright, MC. I’ll go to Columbus. Seeing the girls and Edward again would be nice

I smiled- Thanks, Uncle. You leave everything to me.

That day I called Vince and Cliff, since they were basically Uncle Charlie’s kids I figured they should know he was going, it didn’t take much for them to agree it was a good idea. They came over and spent the next couple hours with us, helping us pack his bags and even taking him to La Salle station.

-I called Momma, said you should be there soon. You’re gonna be okay?-I said hugging him before he got on the train

-Yea, I can manage it just fine. You fellas take care of her- He said

They did agree and I thought about telling him I could take care of myself, but if it made him feel better I just let it be- I’ll give you a call when everything is good

And then he was off. That was a load off my shoulders. Knowing Uncle Charlie was safe made it a lot easier for me and everyone who cared about Charlie to concentrate on the problem at hand.

-Alright, fellas. To the Ice Box.

Cliff drove us there. Once we got there, everybody else from our little gang was there plus Gerald. Neil was there too, but I tried my best to ignore him. However, my mind now kept wondering back to what Uncle Charlie had said about him coming back for me. I know it was true, but there was something in me that was still allowing me to be more mad than forgiving. If I just let it all go so easily, what kind of girl am I?

-MC, what do you think?- Vince said and I was pulled out of my trance

-H-Huh?-I looked around, people were looking at me

-Are you alright, honey?- Cleo said- You’ve been looking tired these days- She said. I didn’t want her to say any more that’d trigger Neil to act all Doctor so I kept talking

-I’m fine. What was the question?

-About Vera- Cliff said this time- What are you thinking about that?

-Oh, right. I was thinking there is pros and cons. Vera Peters is in our territory now, the gangster territory. It means she is putting herself in danger too. Even though she’s protected we can allow ourselves to treat her like a gangster

-Which means…-Vince started

-She’s still the mayor’s wife. That’s her protection. We know the mayor’s her weak link and if she is not his wife, she’s in a weaker spot. However it won’t be as easy as connecting the mayor to a gangster this time

-Mayor Adler jus’ leaves the Chicago underworld alone- Donovan said- There’s nothin’ to link ‘im to any gangsters

I sighed- So we’ll have to find another way to separate the both of them. If we could discredit her somehow for the mayor to want to leave her

-Chica- Sofia said- I’ve heard the one thing mayor Adler hates the most is betrayal. He’s tough alright. Everything we’ve heard about him protecting his family is true. But if Vera betrayed him, that’s the only thing that would make him drop her and she’d lose his protection.

-Betray him? How would Vera betray him?

Neil opened his mouth for the first time- The highest betrayal to a partner is adultery

Cliff looked at him- But that’s crazy. There’s no way to make Vera Peters cheat on the mayor

-Maybe there is- I said- We can’t control what Vera does, but maybe if somebody seduced her, it’d be our best chance to have her fall to their charm and let herself go. Vera Peters left her husband in jail. She doesn’t have loyalty.

-Who in their right mind would seduce Vera Peters?-Vince asked

-It’s not about their right mind. It wouldn’t be real, first of all. They’d just seduce her enough to get her to neck, if somebody took a picture and mailed it to dear Mayor Adler…

-He’d feel extremely betrayed by her- Sofia ended it for me

-Exactly. We need someone with a cause, someone who will be close to her and spend time with her without it being suspicious.

This time everyone looked to Gerald, his eyebrows raised in surprise- Y-you…! You want me to seduce Vera Peters?

-You want to get her off your back right?- I said

-Yea but-

-No buts, Gerry. Here’s the deal. She has control of The Broiler, you work there. It means you’re already spending more time with her than anybody else in here.

-Yes, but we haven’t really exchanged kind words

-Then just soften up. Don’t just start seducing her, just give into her ways, and then the more time you spend together, do that thing where you say sweet stuff and give your looks to whatever Jane you’re trying to take to your bed that night, she’ll fall for it. Everyone knows you’re good a seducing ladies

-You think he’s a good seducer?- Neil arched his eyebrow

Donovan started talking to save me from answering that question- Yes, O’Fallon, everyone knows you got a lurid reputation with the lassies. It’s just one more lass you got ta seduce. Done that plenty o’ times

I talked again- Just until you can get her to neck with ya. Then have somebody take a picture, we take it go get printed, send it to Mayor Adler and he feels so betrayed he ends the marriage. It’d make Vera lose her power among the politicians and it’s one step closer to getting her off your back

-Alright. It’s worth a try- He said not convincingly, but judging how much he hated her, he would do it.

-Say it works- Cliff started- Vera still has control of the Broiler. Information that would compromise everyone

-Once she’s not the Mayor’s wife, she is just a gangster

-Which means…-Vince started again

-No! We don’t have to kill her, Vince- I continued- Her voice won’t be as strong, but the documents she has might still be proof against The Broiler. To get her off her position of power there completely, we need to find whatever documents she has and burn it to ash- I looked at Vince- She had this office where she used to meet with O’Sullivan. When me and… Neil… Went there we only got was the stuff that was important to us at the time, if you can sneak there and grab everything she has that is sensitive information and gives her an edge, she’d lose control of The Broiler

-You got it, boss

I continued overlooking the fact he had called me that- It seems like a good place to start. If we get the mayor to leave her, she’ll turn to Gerald because she’ll think he’s on her side. She’ll think The Broiler is her safe place. Having her trust you-I was looking at Gerald-It’s gonna give us an edge

-And then we burn those documents behind her back and she can’t have a hold of my business anymore

-Exactly

-We also have to account for one more thing-Neil said- Vera Peters might be looking to make alliances with other big names like Ferlinghetti

-I could spread some rumors about her-Sofia said- Make her look bad and dangerous to others

-Alright- I said- Seems like we have an idea of where to start. I’ll see what else I can find out

It was almost time for the Ice Box to open. Gerald left to go back to The Broiler and we opened the place

The whole night I couldn’t afford to be by myself or I knew Neil would see an excuse to come talk to me. He was watching me the whole night. Sometimes I’d see him talking to Cliff or Donovan, but I felt his lingering look on me even when I wasn’t paying attention. So I played host, danced with Vince, talked with Cliff about inventory. Always made sure I was engaged in some other activity so he didn’t have a chance to talk to me

The place was packed with people. The dance contest was off for that night, but it seemed like all of Chicago was there. I found myself in between people on the dance floor, until I felt a hand grab my upper arm and pull me. I turned around and saw Neil, in his not usual spot. I thought I’d be able to avoid him in the middle of dancing but there he was

-MC, I need to talk to you- He said loudly. He had to or I wouldn’t be able to hear due to the music, people and festivities

-I have nothing to say to you, Neil Dresner! I have work to do! You leave me be!- I yanked my arm off him

-Why are you so stubborn?!-He went after me- Just listen to me!

I swear the next thing I said was a curse word that’d make Momma pass out if she heard- I don’t want to talk to you!

-Fine. I didn’t want to have to do that, but if you won’t talk to me I have no other choice- He said with a mad but determined look on his face

I looked at him as he walked past me and onto the stage. He took the microphone from Cleo who looked just as shocked as I did, I could even see Julius astonished. The music and the band stopped. And suddenly the whole Ice Box was looking at him

Neil hates being the center of attention. What the hell is he doing?

-Alright everybody, sorry to interrupt your dancing and the music, but this will only take a minute. Besides…-He motioned to me- This seems to be the only way the Ice Box Flapper here will pay attention to me

Then the crowd parted around me and now they looked at the both of us. I could feel myself going red. I kept thinking what had gotten into his head, but I couldn’t do anything but watch. I could see the amusement on Cleo’s and Julius’ face now. I looked around quickly at the other fellas and they all looked just as amused. Of course they would! They’re not the ones being put on the spot and it’s Neil! It’s Neil standing on the stage about to give a speech. If I wasn’t in that situation I’d find it amusing!

-Everybody who knows me, knows I prefer to be left alone in my corner, in my peace and quiet, and everyone know I hate it when people pay attention to me- And it showed. I swear I could even see him blushing and all stiff and uncomfortable- But, I’m standing here today because MC told me she’d fight for me, and now I’m telling her I’d fight for her. Tooth and nails if I have to-He said repeating what I told him when I proposed. His icy blues looked deep into mine from the stage, so I couldn’t help but look right back at them- I’m an idiot and I’m sorry for hurting you… I have a box- he said pulling a little velvet black box from his pocket, opening it and holding it out to me. I was a little too far away to see much, but I could see the shine of the ring in it- The ring inside it, I picked it out myself. The day we went shopping in Boston. There was no one else in my mind but you when I picked it out.- He seemed even more nervous now, and I could tell because his breathing was rapid- You make my world brighter than I ever thought possible, and I can’t imagine going through every day without having you by my side. I love your stubbornness, all the snappy remarks you make when we’re together. I love how easy it is for people to underestimate you but you prove them wrong every time, you proved me wrong. I love how alive you look when you dance and I love how you always speak your mind. I love how strong you are and how nothing can bring you down. You surprise me every day, you’re so unexpected and everything that is you is what makes me so madly in love with you- At this point I forgot the whole Ice Box was there. It was just me on this dance floor, and Neil on that stage, singing words of love to me- And if you, MC Granger, would do me the honor of marrying me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be the man that you deserve.

A silence followed for a second while I gathered my thoughts and what I wanted to say. The whole Ice Box looked at me, but I could only focus on the man on the stage. Neil had stolen his way into my heart. Seeing him stand there just made me sure that I was completely in love with him. I wanted to be his

-Well, Doc- I started- This is the first time I’ve seen you off your seat and away from your glass of bourbon- laughter ensued- And that was a heck of a proposal…

Who was I to let pride stand in the way of my happiness, when Neil didn’t let his?

-So I’d have to say… Yes! I’ll marry you!

And then I noticed that I was in the Ice Box once more once the crowd roared and clapped. I blushed for a second but then saw Neil approaching me. He took me in his arms and kissed me passionately. I wasn’t a fool so I kissed him right back with the same intensity. It was love, it was pure love in one kiss. And suddenly it was only the two of us again.

Once we broke off, he held my hand slipping the beautiful jewel on my ring finger. It looked expensive, but I didn’t complain or anything. I laughed instead, happily. I don’t know if it was the emotion of the past few days or if the lights were too bright on my face, but when I looked up to him again, I knew I had tears running down my face.

I could feel his warm hands on my face cleaning it up- I’m sorry…-He said

I shook my head- I love you, Neil

-I love you, MC-He kissed me again and I pulled him off the dance floor

-Cliff, you think you can close tonight?-I asked once I was close enough to the bar

-You two lovebirds go ahead!- He quickly ushered us off- I’ll see you guys tomorrow

I got into the Studebaker with him and the whole time we just laughed with each other. I drove us to Uncle Charlie and since we had the houses to ourselves, soon we were in my room, then in my bed, with no clothes on.

-You can sweet talk after all-I teased him

-It wasn’t sweet talking- He was surprisingly serious- It was the truth. Of course I would’ve preferred if I could’ve said all that in private since now, I’m sure I’m going to have to deal with all the mockery, but you wouldn’t hear me out otherwise, so… I had to improvise. Can’t complain with the results

I laughed- Love makes you do strange things, don’t it?

-I need to spend less time with you- He teased right back, but this time I answered with a kiss

Everything that followed was bliss. The touches, the kisses, the movements. I was over the moon. He wasn’t gentle but he was being gentler than most nights. The desire in those days came crashing down at once, but not in a just sex mood. We had as much time as we wanted, so that night we made love. With all the electricity and wonderfulness that came with the feeling and the man on top of me, moving fast and deep, there was the feeling that we were catching up on how much we missed and loved each other. Even when ‘later’ arrived, pure contentment was still felt in the air

We fell asleep that night with our arms around each other, kissing until we were out of breath. The world outside didn’t exist. I was his and he was mine and that was the only thing that mattered.

Needless to say that was the best sleep I had that week.

1941

-Alton, are you taking these?- Neil asked the now 14-year-old boy about some candy he gave to his father to hold. They were at a drug store, Charlotte had gotten a slight cold but Neil always got so worried when any of them got sick, so he went to get more medicine.

-Yes I am, dad! Just a second!-Alton said bringing some more to Neil- These two too!

-Alright, but that’s it!- He said as he went to the cashier to pay

-Hey Pa!- a young man came running into the drug store to the cashier

-I’m working, John, later!

-Didn’t you see the papers? We were attacked, the U.S., the naval station at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese empire!

That got the attention of both Neil and Alton, who now looked at the young man

-What were you saying?- Neil this time asked

-It’s all over the news!- the boy John continued- They came flying and at least two-thousand Americans got killed. President Roosevelt declared war against Japan today- He looked back and forth at the three of them- The U.S.A is in a war with Japan

Neil held Alton tightly now. He had had enough of war for a lifetime. He had always assumed it was something only his generation had to go through and something his kids would never come to know. It was probably just wishful thinking

-Seems like the war to end all wars was a joke, eh?-The cashier, John’s dad mentioned- You know- He turned to Neil- I fought in the Great War.

-Dad fought in it too-Alton said before Neil could stop him

-So you know. Besides, isn’t Japan allied with that crumb dictator from Germany and Italy?- He mentioned

-Do you think this is gonna explode into a huge war?-Alton asked, with more curiosity than fear

-I think we ought to be ready

Neil grabbed the bags- Thank you- He said to them, now pulling Alton with him into the car to go home

-Are you alright?- Alton turned to him- Did it scare you?

Neil sighed, but he was close to his kids, so he talked to Alton- Yea, I’m fine, Alt. It’s just… I thought I left wars and all that in the past.

____

Author notes: Some drama heeere and back to the prohibition business!!! Next Chapter we’ll see how things are progressing with the gang’s war against Vera!! Also, we’ll start to get deeper into the wedding planning because MC and Neil are hearing the bells and they’re tying the knot pretty sooooon! Also: Hazel is coming to Chicago, like mentioned in chapter 2!

Thank you so much for reading my fanfic!! Chapter 5 is already in progress!!

Candy, My Dear Diary (5/26/2020)

[talesofthevalley]

Hey I couldn't find the rules so I'm sorry if i request too much 😣 I would like your headcannons on how the bachelors and bachelorettes would deal with feeling jealous or possessive towards the farmer. If this is too much feel free to just do your favs ❤️

Sure thing friend! Also, thank you for being my first follower! =)

-

Bachelors

Elliot:

When Elliot get jealous, you can instantly tell because #thedrama gets cranked up to eleven.

His nose gets put up in the air and ‘hmmphs’ at everything the interloper says or remarks.

He gets up close to you and does his best to make sure everyone around is reminded that you two belong to each other.

You can bet that tomorrow there will be a new love poem written for you.

Sam:

Sammy boy stews in his own juices for a while, doing his best to not act like an ass (with mixed results).

If the interloper gets a little too familiar he’ll quit beating around the bush and straight up tell them to buzz off.

He might throw hands if the other dude doesn’t back off, but he’ll do his best to keep from that.

He knows it’s stupid and neanderthal, but he can’t help himself.

Harvey:

Harvey rationalizes himself into a corner. He knows you love him, but this creep is a little too familiar, but he trusts you, but he wants to keep this creep away from you, but he trusts you to take care of yourself - and more to that effect.

To avoid things getting worse, he’ll mumble an excuse and leave before he can do or say anything you’ll both regret.

He’ll make sure to cuddle you close tonight.

Sebastian:

Sebastian’s jealousy manifests the same way his anger, joy, and sorrow do. That is to say quietly, just below the surface.

He’ll do his best to stay on the level, but he’ll also do what he can to get this creep away from you.

He’ll steer the conversation as best he can, butting in every chance he can. Make the guy as uncomfortable as possible until they leave.

Shane:

Shane wants to yell and snarl, driving the guy away. But he doesn’t. He used to get mad all the time, it’s one of the reasons he drank so much.

He keeps reminding himself that you chose him. That it’s you and him.

He makes his way to somewhere else because otherwise he’ll do something bad. Or worse, something that will make him want to drink again.

Alex:

Some people get aggressive when they get jealous. Alex? He shows off.

He stretches and flexes as casually as he can where he knows you can see.

If he can find a way to reasonably get himself shirtless you can bet your behind he’ll do it.

He’ll find some way to tease and fluster you and ruin your ability to interact with the object of his ire.

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

Bachelorettes

Emily:

Of all of them, Emily’s jealousy is the least... theatrical of all of them.

She’s secure in her love for you and your love for her. All the same, she can help but feel a twinge of... frustration... at this interloper.

She breaths in and out, doing her best to keep her emotions on the level. 

And if she shows you a little extra TLC, well that’s no one’s business now is it?

Haley: 

Our dear sunflower girl goes right into her patented Queen Bee mode as soon as she gets a whiff of what this interloper is getting at.

If you’re sitting down? Why your lap looks like the best seat in the house dear! If you’re walking around? Well it’s a girl’s right to hold her SO’s hand now isn’t it?

Jealous? Oh sweetie what are you talking about? She’s not jealous. But doesn’t she have the right to show off the love you two have?

Abigail:

Abigail was never one for beating around the bush. This creep think he has what it takes to steal you away from her? Hah!

She’ll slam her adventuring sword down on the nearest table and make a massive show of cleaning it nearby.

While holding it she’ll look her short-lived rival right in the eye and tell them to buzz off.

Once they’re gone she’ll get bashful and nervous. “I wasn’t actually gonna... you know..”

Leah:

Much like Sebastian, Leah simmers in her jealousy, glaring at her newfound rival.

She’ll stalk around a bit before making herself scarce. But not before kissing you full on the mouth right in front of them

Then, later that day, she’ll surprise you with a new project she’s working on inspired by you. Oh? Why what would that have to do with anything that happened today? What a silly thought.

Penny:

Oh Penny. Poor nervous little Penny.

the first time it happens, she’ll rationalize herself into a corner like Harvey before making herself scarce.

She’ll find Maru or Sam and vent for a bit before gathering herself up to talk to you again.

She’ll talk to you about how she felt, and you’ll both feel worlds better afterwards

Maru:

Jealous? Pah. Maru doesn’t get Jealous! Jealousy is for kids. Come on, she knows you love her and she loves you. What’s the problem? If you wanna talk with some other person than what’s the big d- okay that’s enough.

She’ll go and work on one of her inventions for a while, calming herself down by giving herself something to think about.

By the time she’s done her thoughts will be together and she’ll be able to properly vocalize her feelings.

[enza-thestorm]

L͟o͟v͟e͟ i͟s͟ n͟o͟t͟h͟i͟n͟ ͟g w͟i͟t͟h͟o͟u͟t͟ a͟ l͟i͟t͟t͟l͟e͟ b͟i͟t͟ o͟f͟  ͟pa͟i͟n͟

Ch3

Two weeks later

Wraith's POV

" s̸o̸m̸e̸o̸n̸e̸'s̸ w̸a̸t̸c̸h̸i̸n̸g̸" the voices warned, I look, up from my book as I saw Wattson heading towards me

"hello miss blasey" she said smiling, a small soft smile appeared on my lips

"Natalie please call me Renee, miss blasey makes me sound old besides we're friends you don't have to be formal" I said chuckling

"ah perdón Renee" Natalie said smiling sheepishly but quickly composed herself

" I had a question for you, how do you know you're in love with Bangalore weren't you both rivals?" Natalie said curiously

I hid the smirk that was forming on my lips " yes we were rivals but one thing led to another and we realized how much both of us love each other" I said smiling

"Could you tell me the full story how you both got together" nat said, I nodded as I placed a bookmark in my book as I placed it down "sure"

F͜͡l͜͡a͜͡s͜͡h͜͡ b͜͡a͜͡c͜͡k͜͡

"Did your weapon malfunction or did you? BANG!" Those were the last words I heard before a bullet went threw my head. I groaned as I held my head rubbing the growing headache

"ah your awake, sooner then expected considering you had gotten shot right in the head, here's your clothes and your pudding have a wonderful day" the nurse said,

she then handed me my clothes and my pudding cup I mumbled a thanks as I jumped off the bed as I got dressed,

god no matter how many times they are able to bring you back from the "dead" you never get used to it. As I opened the lid of my pudding I started to replay what had happened,

one minute I'm taking down caustic and Gibby the next thing I new there was bullet holes in my armor and smoke everywhere and before I could react she was right there in front of me with that cocky smirk of hers

A gun aimed at my head as she said those last words before she pulled the trigger and BAM! Lights out, that's the second time she got the jump on me with that cocky attitude of hers,

Next time will be different, next time I'll be the one who has the upper hand, I headed out the door as I ate my pudding "heeeeeey wraith~"

mirage said as i mentally groan, This headache will only get worse with him babbling nonsense towards me

Is he talking to me? Shit I should at least pay attention "and so when it was just me and him I used my decoy escape as I snuck up behind him and finished him haha I b-b-bazzo bamzol fooled them, I fooled them man I'm so awesome"he said smiling as tripped on his own foot and fell

I held in a laugh as I covered my face he's annoying but he's adorable at the same time, he quickly got up composing himself as he coughed his embarrassment away "anyways enough about me how was your match wraith?" He said

" it was going decently I took down caustic and Gibby but the next thing I new someone was shooting at me, and a smoke grenade hit me In the face and as I was recovering from the blow I couldn't see anything around me"

"I felt a gun pressed on my forehead when I heard Bangalore said her signature phrase" I said a bit annoyed "woah that's rough wraith" he said as he hovered his hand near my shoulder

"she can be scary, sometimes I wonder is she human? She always has that stone cold face" he said

" sigh can we change the subject please Elliot I don't want to think about this anymore" I said "oh! Sure well I came by to tell you we're having a little party at my bar later on wanna join us"

"Hm I'll think about it" Elliot smiled as he started walking away backwards "alright I'll see you there wraith" he said as he winked and fingered gun, I shook my head as I headed towards the couch,

hoping to rest just a bit before the party, once I laid down and closed my eyes I soon drifted off

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"𝙉𝙤 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙤!!!" 𝙞 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 "̸k̸i̸c̸k̸ h̸i̸m̸"̸ 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬  "̸w̸h̸a̸t̸ a̸r̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ w̸a̸i̸t̸i̸n̸g̸ f̸o̸r̸!̸"̸ "𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡!" 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙮𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙢

𝙞 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙨 𝙜𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙞 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨���𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜,

𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞 𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙧 " 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙤 𝙉𝙊!! 𝙋𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙀 𝙇𝙀𝙏 𝙈𝙀 𝙂𝙊" 𝙞 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨  "𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 611367 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚?" 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 "𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙" 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 "𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙂𝙃𝙃!!! 𝙋𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋!!" 𝙞 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I gasped as I shot up as cold beads of sweat hung on my forehead as I my eyes were instantly turned cloudy white i looked around panic with my kunai in hand ready to strike,

I took a deep breath in and out in and out till finally, I calmed down and my eyes returned to their normal color, I looked around as I saw the time displayed 7:49pm huh I slept for an hour surprisingly, i sighed as I got up and stretched might as well get ready for Elliot's party.

I dug around threw my clothes as I did not care what I would wear, as I finally found some decent clothing, I changed into them and kept my scarf on once I was ready I headed towards where the party will be at, it didn't take long to get there as I hear the light sound of music playing I opened the doors of Elliot's bar

I was greeted by the sight of octane downing four bottle of tequila at once and Ajay smacking him upside the head and scolding him, I smiled lightly as I headed towards the bar I waved at mirage as he smiled and came up

" well well look who finally showed up " he said with a smile and a wink I shook my head lightly and smiled softly " now what would this fine lady want to drink" he said I rolled my eyes at his flirting " this fine lady would like Kamikaze Elliot" I said " coming right up"

As I waited on my drink I noticed a certain soldier in the corner all by herself drinking alone I raised my eyebrow I figured she would celebrate with Gibraltar about their win together, I shrugged as i looked away from her and noticed my drink in front of me as I smiled

" here you go wraithy" mirage said with a smirk knowing full well I hate that nickname I sighed " thanks Elliot" I said as I took a sip of my drink as I felt the burning liquid go down my throat as I sighed happily I needed this honestly

As I drink my beverage some of the legends started to come to the bar soon we all started chatting well they did I just sat there listening and only talking when it's necessary,

I was soon on my third drink when I heard a familiar name come out of a certain medics mouth

" Bangalore is nothin but stubborn as hell shit ya have no idea how much that women is a pain in my ass and she's always the one in the worst state each time she is forced to visit the med bay and here I thought wraith was bad but Banges just ten times worst from a busted lip to a fractured rib and broken arm yet that women some how's endures all that pain till the end of the match" lifeline said shaking her head

Soon more people started commenting about the new legend, the IMC soldier the good and bad stuff about her how she can hit a target from 50 yards with no scope and how she is a cocky competition which I have to agree, "s̸h̸e̸s̸ w̸a̸t̸c̸h̸i̸n̸g̸ y̸o̸u̸" the voice said I looked behind me as, both me and Bangalore looked at each other

Eyes showed no emotions but there was something else in them that I can't put my tongue on it before I would get another look I saw she had gotten up left a tip and left just like that with out saying a word to anyone, I snapped out of it when I heard a roars of laughter coming from Gibraltar

Lifeline was telling everyone a story about how one of her patients decided it was a good idea to shove grenade up there ass and Ajay had scolded them and got rid of the grenade from there ass, I laughed lightly

"so wraith got anyone in your life" mirage said wiggling his eyebrow at me smirking I rolled my eyes "no Elliot I don't have anyone frankly I don't have time to date anyone it'll just be a wast of time" I said honestly I saw Ajay stare at me as I raised my eyebrow taking a sip of my drink "you need to get laid wraith I can see how tense you are" I almost choked on my drink as I started coughing,

Oh my fucking god I new Ajay was blunt but god that's a bit to forward "are you ok mon ami" wattson said concerned laced in her voice I nodded as I cleared my throat I looked up and saw a smirk firm on Ajay's smooth lips "what just an opinion from a doctor" Ajay said smiling innocently I glared at her as I cleared my throat one last time

"Thanks for your opinion lifeline but I think I'm good" I said Ajay shrugged " alright but if you ever need help relieving some tension I'm here- SILVA!! I swear to god put that down right know before I kick your ass" Ajay said before she got interrupted from octanes action I'm surprise where the hell did he get all those grenades??? "No quiero you c-c-ant make me your not my moms!" Octane said drunk

"Watch me" Ajay said heading towards him poor octane, I turned away from them as I laid my head down on the counter I soon started feeling the affects of the alcohol and I guess Elliot noticed as well "alright I think that's enough I don't want you getting drunk and do something you might regret later" he said

I nodded "agreed thanks for the drinks Elliot" I said as I paid for my drinks "anytime wraith"Elliot said with a smile as he got the money, I started walking back to my room as I headed straight for the bed and crashed on it soon falling asleep

[vixenandviper]

HOLD! WHO GOES THERE? WHY, IS THAT [CATLINA JOHAR] THE [MADAME OF THE HOUSE] OF [ILLASQA]? THEY DO LOOK [ASSERTIVE] FOR A [WOMAN] OF [29] YEARS. DON’T THEY CALL [HER] THE [SAVVY AND PROTECTIVE HARLOT]? I’VE HEARD THEY’RE ALSO [SILVER TONGUED AND VICIOUS] THOUGH. DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT BUT THEY DO LOOK AN AWFUL LOT LIKE [SUMMER BISHIL].

Basic Info

NAME: Catlina Johar

PRONUNCIATION: Cat-Leena Joe-Har

OCCUPATION: Madame of the Nightshade

AGE: 29

PLACE OF ORIGIN: The Red Keep

FAMILY MEMBERS: None known

Physical Description

HEIGHT: 5′2″

HAIIR COLOR: Dark chestnut with some lighter brown highlights

EYE COLOR: Dark brown

GENDER: Female

BUILD: Pete and slim

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES?: None besides a few freckles

ANY HEALTH RELATED ISSUES?: None

Personality

Catlina isn’t a sweet person. She can drip honey from her tongue if that’s what you want but it’ll cost you. Overall, she is someone who isn’t afraid to speak her mind but won’t give you any insight into her past. She does have a bit of an explosive temper but her rage is something she rarely taps into because she knows if she did, the things she’d say would probably land her in prison.

She is, however, extremely loyal to those who have been good to her. Whether that’s a simple favor or someone who has befriended her, you can be sure Catlina Johar will have your back. She is extremely protective of the people who work in her brothel and by extension, the people that work in the tavern. The tavern itself is owned by someone else but they all work together closely.

Additional Info

Catlina runs a tavern and brothel in Illasqa currently, though she was born in the Red Keep. I would love for her to have a few girls and/or guys in her care and business partners. Anything involving the brothel, essentially. As well as rival brothels or establishments too. She’s extremely protective of the girls in her care and wouldn’t let anyone do anything without their consent.

I’d love the Elliot to her Margo. He could be someone who frequents the tavern/brothel or someone who bought it with her. Essentially, he’s her only real friend and the only person other than herself she actually trusts. She would kill for him… and probably has. And he thinks of her as his best friend.

People from her past. She was born on the streets of the Red Keep, her mother was probably a prostitute herself. But an older woman took pity on Cat and took her in, essentially ‘buying’ her from her mother. She was the only person Cat ever saw as a mother but she died when she was a child. Afterwards, Cat lived on the street and probably ran with some bad crowds, fending for herself. She probably made friends enough with some of the prostitutes and convinced them to let her clean up after them or fetch them food and drinks, etc, that they gave her a little closet she could sleep in. She eventually got a job as a serving wench and worked as a prostitute when she was older. But I would love plots from her past, anyone that would have known her back then.

History

She could have ended up in the gutter, in the shit and the muck, in the poorest areas of the Red Keep were it not for her intense desire to not die. Catlina was born without a last name. She was born without a first name until she was given up, just a few days after her birth. Her mother was a prostitute and she was an accident.

Cat was given up to an old woman known around town as Mani who often sold pastries and bread and cakes to the courtesans and clients that visited the Red Door. Her mother had left her in a basket, her only words to the old baker woman were “Please… I can’t. Please take my johar.” The first few years of her life were probably the happiest she could have actually known, given all of the circumstances. The woman was old and growing frail, already into at least her mid-sixties by the time she’d been given Catlina. But she had a heart full of love and a warm home, even if it was really just a room on top of her bakery.

The woman had decided to give Catlina a real name, though she often called her ‘Johar’ as her birth mother did. She taught Catlina how to read and write over the years and some basics that she knew about keeping her business going in the bakery. She often told Cat tales of her own youth and the life she’d led with her husband who had died a few years before. It had been a joyful and full life, even if they’d never had children. And she never told Cat who her mother was, only where she worked. She always said “We’ll talk about this when you’re older.”

But older never came for Cat’s caretaker. She was returning from buying goods from the woman when the bakery was ablaze. The old woman’s body had been burned to an unrecognizable degree and all the magi putting out the fire could tell her was that they hoped she’d died before the inferno took over the home. It seemed the oven had caught the rickety old walls on fire and the rest… was left as cinders. She had once again lost everything and she realized the woman who’d taken care of her was the closest thing she had to a mother.

For weeks, the girl managed to survive on the streets, doing odd chores for various business owners who knew her caretaker. They gave her a few coins, enough for her to buy some bread and fruit and occasionally would let her sleep in their store rooms. It was enough for her, she only ever wanted to survive.

Catlina found herself on the streets during a storm and afterwards, the girl became terribly ill. She remembers falling asleep on the streets and later feeling nothing but warmth. She didn’t know that’s what death would feel like but she was certain she was dying. And perhaps it was Jvala greeting her herself. Welcoming her back into the volcanic earth that she grew.

When she came to, she found it wasn’t Jvala’s warmth welcoming her into the After, but rather someone physical and real and towering and… she was terrified at first. Arvasdarr happened to be the one to find her, broken and sick and cold as she was in the streets. And through whatever hope or goodness or pity he had left in his heart, he took her in and helped her recover. She was with him for a few months at the most, and he’d never quite felt human. She’d asked him very straightforward if he was a dragon. He laughed at her but that was all the answer she needed. Even as a child of just ten years old, she knew he needed his freedom. And he needed to fly free more than anything. And he couldn’t do that looking after a kid. So she went to the place her Mani had mentioned, the Red Door.

No child of ten should have seen the things Catlina saw there. But she begged a few of the girls to give her chores, errands, let her clean, anything, if they’d just let her stay in one of the small store closets. They allowed this little trespass as long as she stayed out of their way. So Catlina went to Arvasdarr and the two parted ways. It was for the best, although he might have been the closest she’d ever find to a father figure.

The years drug on for Catlina, she cleaned, cooked, ran errands, bought groceries, mopped up bodily fluids and even helped the women at the brothel kick drunk men out of their rooms. And she stayed out of sight when she could and out of the way the rest of the time. The women there kicked her a few coins back every time she did them a favor and Catlina began saving more and more of it, buying only as much food as she needed to survive, the rest she stockpiled in order to one day leave the Red Keep.

She had dreams, she wanted a small house somewhere on a beach maybe, and she wanted to live by what she could provide herself. If she found a family along the way, she might be happy to make her own, but all she needed, perhaps, was independence and her own indomitable willpower.

Catlina started servicing the clients too sometime around fifteen or sixteen. She was making more money and paid for a room at the brothel out of her cut. Still, she scrimped and saved, occasionally fighting with one other girl there specifically, but she paid her as little mind as possible. She knew it would solve nothing and get her nowhere near what she wanted.

At eighteen, she left the Red Keep. Her first stop was a three year long stint in East Reach before she finally had enough money saved to book passage and move permanently to Illasqa. She found work there at what was then the Shrieking Clam. But she was motivated and she put in more than her fair share of hard work. On top of taking clients, she did what she could around the tavern and inn to make it function and look better.

She also met Avitej Kumara there. If only she’d known how much her life would change just by meeting him.

The first rule for any whore is to never fall in love. And perhaps she’d broken that rule the moment they’d locked eyes. But she would not realize the extent of the hold he had on her for many years. He was wild then, seemingly untamable. But he’d come often to the Shrieking Clam, it was a favorite haunt of his apparently, and when he’d laid eyes on her, there’d been no one else he wanted to claim.

The next few years were a whirlwind for Catlina. She quickly gained the previous owner of the Shrieking Clam’s favor by being hardworking and having the business tact and savvy that he was looking for. He was aging and wanted someone to take over for him. He trained her on everything she needed to properly manage a brothel and as she stepped further into the role of leadership, the place really started to turn around, and she took less and less clients.

When the man finally retired, Catlina was twenty six. By that point, she only ever took one client when he came around, and she had fixed and rebuilt all of the broken parts of the brothel. She renamed it the Nightshade and slowly, but surely, it had become less and less of a den of debauchery, and more and more a palace of pleasure. If it was any other sort of business, it would be respectable outside of Loqoala, even admired and favored.

But that was Calina Johar’s life. Hard work. The fate she was given overcome by sheer will but the fate she wanted still so far out of reach.

[humyngoblynn]

So I’ve had a lot of thoughts about 4x13 of the magicians. while I would’ve preferred them not kill Quentin at all and us get a sort of conclusion to the arc of Elliot and Quentin confessing to each other once again, I would have been willing to put that on hold to have Quentin’s growth over his mental illness first, the same way that Elliot had growth over his in regards to his feelings for Quentin

I think it would’ve been entirely possible for Q to sacrifice/commit suicide so that when he comes back in season 5 he’s acknowledging how wrong that was.

Plan A for bring back Q:

He comes back shadeless, something that has already been established & we know is possible. It would be sweet and funny to see like a pouty shadeless Q sitting in the corner while everyone try to figure out how to bring back his shade.

however ,I wouldn’t want to go through this route because it would get sort of tedious as it is something that has been done before with a Julia plus we did have World23 where Alice did bring back a shadeless Q and then he turned into the beast—which I don’t think Quentin 40 would do, but since its already a possibility that a Quentin without his emotions is like the worst evil that you could get, to the point that he is a rival for the monster, they probably wouldn’t end up going through the idea of bringing back Q as shadeless

Plan B (my preferred plan that would offer new material and drama)

I would have 1/2 of season five being everyone in the group trying the hardest to bring back Q.

-Elliot would propose shadeless  path but Julia nicks it as she knows how hard that is. Penny23 points out the failure of that in his world. -Alice would be against summoning because of the beast of season 1 so they couldn’t do that.

-they try séances but Q never comes just charlatan who annoys them

the point is that the group try over and over and over to think of any plans to bring Q back, just like how Q didn’t give up on them. Like how he never gave up on Alice when she died & he never gave up on Julia & how Q never gave up on Elliot. How Q literally never gave up on any of the characters when they came to a crossroads where they would die.

I would like for them all to go through that, where they’re trying to like channel their inner Q and his stubbornness to try to find away but they’re also struggling with you know some other thing that’s happening because no one can leave these magician (ie the revolution against the library, Margo and Fillory etc.) so its kind of like a subplot that’s within the main plot that’s sort of also the main plot . But for the living characters it gets harder to look for ways caz they arent Q, so some of them start to accept his death as everything else going on gets to be too much and they start to lose hope of getting him back so they kind of go on these journeys of discovery trying to figure out their feelings about Quentin and what to do in a Quentinless world

Intermingled with that is Quentins side,. Here he gets to the underworld is found by Penny40 caz Q has been hiding from the librarians. Penny40 has mellowed so he tries to be understanding and be a listening ear to which Q pours out his soul to.

Penny 40 ask Q “hey why are you here? why did you do that? I was reading your story, I was watching what was happening to you guys and I’m just really confused like what led you to a decision like that? Don’t you understand you could’ve literally done anything else and figured out another way to save everyone and it would’ve been fine.”

Q has this big emotional breakdown where he admits that yeah he wasn’t thinking it through and has a little monologue of growth where he confronts his depression and realizes that committing suicide wasn’t the answer to his mental illness and he said something along the lines of “you know my whole life I’ve been struggling with these dark clouds with this emptiness inside me, with this hole that was caused by my depression and I spent my whole life thinking I wasn’t worth anything and just hoping that like somehow my life would mean something and when I found magic I thought that was it, like it was Magic.

It could fix everything and I wouldn’t feel sad and I wouldn’t have this hole and I wouldn’t be suffering but magic didn’t fix everything and instead it made it worse only this time I had magic and I kept feeling like I was messing everything up because it was magic. of course it’s supposed to be a beautiful wonderful thing and Fillory is supposed to be this great and beautiful place and some how when I’m there it’s not and that it doesn’t fix everything. magic hurts people and it hurts me and the people around me and everything hurt and then I blamed myself because I killed a God and I cut off magic and then I tried to go on a quest and fix everything but then I made it worse somehow and now the monster was loose and Elliot was gone and everything was so bad. the library was taking over and nothing was right.

magic didn’t fix any of my problems made them worse & everybody around me was miserable and I had a role to play in somehow making magic an evil horrible thing that destroyed everyone’s lives and so I thought in that moment that maybe if I just I did this one last thing and I saved everyone that it would be better and that without me around magic would stop hurting everyone and it would stop hurting me. I wouldn’t be there to mess everything up but then I got here and I realized how was wrong I was.

sure magic didn’t fix everything and it wasn’t a cure-all that I had read about fairytales and I didn’t wanna acknowledge that sometimes things just aren’t as great as you fantasize them to be but I took the wrong approach and now I regret it because being here and lonely without anyone is a lot worse than everything I dealt with up there. because being with you guys and laughing with you and going to brakebills and doing magic, having friends that understood me was worth it. and I would do anything to have it that back ,not only did I hurt everyone I love but I let the darkness inside me get the better of me and it caused me to lose everything I care about because I could’ve done something else. I gave up &I regret it”

Q just acknowledges the fact that he let his depression defeat him and how that was a wrong choice and how he acknowledges that yeah not everything is fixed with magic but that he shouldn’t have given up and essentially committed suicide because in the end he realizes he did want to live and he did want to be with his friends and with the love of his life and you know just a life in general and that maybe the suffering for all of that would be worth it. At the end of the day they made it all worth it and that he would fight for himself so that he could be with them.

so while everyone else is like trying to search for a way to bring him back and inevitably fail and then trying to figure out a way to mourn him and sort of MoveOn, Q spends his time in the underworld hanging out with Penny 40 while. they figure out a wat to get him back to the land of the living.

instead of having everyone attempt to bring back to life and they succeed, it about a man who suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts his whole life realizing that suicide wasn’t the answer and actively trying to find a way to live, maybe he finds orpheus and steals his windpipe to lead a way out of the underworld or somthing

and then the season ends would like him and Elliot making out. like the first thing he does when he comes back is to find El and confess while Elliot cuts off by making out with him and saying how sorry he was for rejecting him and they cry and hold each other and never have angsty relationship problems again cause my heart can’t take it

Short and sweet of what the death of Q should have meant for season 5

We could use Q’s death in two way: 1) everyone tries their hardest to bring Q back but inevitably fail and have to deal with the idea of losing one of their closest friends/love of their life. 2) Q gets to the underworld and immediately realize is he shouldn’t have committed suicide & actively saves himself so for the first time instead of focusing on saving everyone else in the world he focuses on saving himself so that he can get back to the love of his life and his friends.

There I fixed it

[lunamanar]

Off-the-Cuff First-impressions Review: Trials of Mana

I got Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana in the mail today and am surprised by just how excited I am about it. After the admittedly predictable letdowns of the Secret of Mana “remake” and the FFVIII “remaster,” not to mention the iOS revision of the former, you’d think I’d be jaded at this point. 

But! FFVII remake is Actually Good, and so far it looks like Trials of Mana is, while certainly lower budget, also Actually Good. The voice acting is kinda meh, but not bad enough to detract from the game in my opinion, and considering they are working with SNES-era scripts (the dialogue is 99% word-for-word the same as the more recent translation of the original SD3 game, so it’s going to be a bit stilted anyway) it’s really not bad at all. 

Besides, the actual meat of the game--the world, character and monster design, and the gameplay--is extremely solid and I have had very little trouble acclimating to it. It’s fun to play, it feels good to run around and explore the world and the battles are both very simplistic in a way that is familiar to an old fart like me and very satisfying in the way they function. One of the biggest weaknesses the original game had was absolutely horrendous input lag in some areas due to 1. the sheer size of the loaded map section, such as Rolante/Laurant, 2. The number of on-screen instructions the SNES had to process during battles, particularly during fights where you had massive sprites taking up the entire screen (the awful awful wall-guardian “Genova” [harhar] is probably the single hardest boss in the game purely due to input lag/drops; when you attack an enemy, even assuming your weapon swings when you tell it to, and that’s a big ‘if,’ the monster you are attacking is actually in a state which is several frames ahead of whatever state it visually appears to be in on-screen, making it extremely difficult to time your attacks properly to both defend and do optimal damage to what should have been a relatively minor “miniboss” fight). Trials of Mana, on the other hand, has none of those problems, simply thanks to more modern technology. So far every fight I’ve engaged in has been smooth and responsive as well as very visually appealing.

And wow is this game pretty. It’s not the most amazing example of the best graphical advances in gaming history, to be sure, but I genuinely don’t think that matters, as it’s still beautifully detailed and really does look like they took the original graphics and magicked them into more modern models. The re-imaginings of each area and monster are very faithful to both the aesthetic and the layout of the original design while at the same creatively expanding on them; I've had no trouble finding my way around familiar maps or identifying the bestiary, but I have found a lot of added depth to them, such as the ability to jump down on rooftops and find hidden nooks that were just static backdrops or otherwise out of sight in the original. The areas are more layered and interactive, but very importantly, nothing is missing. Not even the dogs and cats, who still bark and meow at you if you talk to them. I feel like I’m being allowed to see and explore the original maps from angles I didn’t have access to in the past. It really makes the 16-year-old in me unbelievably happy, to be able to finally, actually see and do these things I could only wish for back then. For people who have never played it, it’s probably a very pretty, if otherwise unremarkable experience, but for me it’s the granting of a wish I’ve had for a long time, but never expected to happen. 

Similarly, I think a lot of people will look at the plot for this game and go, “...what?” Because it really doesn’t seem to have been changed at all from the SNES version, aside from a few little tweaks to the dialogue here and there to ease the transition between some sections or correct for differences in game mechanics (of which there are only a few; again, this is definitely a remake--it remains the same game with the same mechanics at its core). This can lead to some pretty awkward interactions between characters, and at times it seems pretty clear that the voice actors weren’t given a lot of direction about the context of their lines. It’s not a bad story, but it’s a very simply told one, and feels more like it’s targeting 12~16 year-olds (which it probably is, to be fair) who might not care so much about nitpicking the semantics of the plot and character motivations. Which is to say, most of the characters who are not main protagonists or villains are painfully cardboard-flat. They do what they do and say what they say because it advances the plot for them to do and say those things. Elliot falls for a “trick” that I’m pretty sure most 4-year-olds would see through. The Bad Guys are 1-dimensionally evil, wanting to either destroy or take over the world, with the possible exception of Lugar and Koren who have slightly more complicated “I’m your rival” reasons. That leaves the complexity up to the protagonists to shoulder, and while I haven’t played that far into the game yet, thus far is is beat-for-beat and shot-for-shot the same as the original, so I expect that character-building will be left largely up to the player to mentally write in, especially since the game features light/dark class-changes as a feature of its progression. (I do kiiiind of hope that your choice in class changes has a more material effect on the ending’s outcome, but I think that might be asking a bit too much from a remake of this sort.) But the somewhat archaic plot and character arcs are not surprising and for me don’t take away any of the game’s charm. Nikita is still the best, the shop owners still dance inexplicably, the fact you can play a werewolf is badass, rabites are still cute, Don Perignon is still kind of a jerk. I’m very nervous/excited to get Busukaboo and Flammie and hope they’ll be as much fun now as they were then. And the whole world is so damn pretty, I’m just glad to be there. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the music. I’m not sure how much of a hand Hiroki Kikuta actually had in this remake, but the synth-orchestral arrangements of his originals are excellent so far. They’re both accessible/adaptable to the game’s sudden scene transitions (”Nuclear Fusion” starts and ends just as cleanly) while being a richer version of the themes, keeping close to the original sound while making better use of all the instruments that the SNES just wasn’t capable of emulating well. It blends very well with the rest of the game and I hope that continues to be true. 

I do have nitpicks; while I know it’s a popular mechanic, I don’t like the “shift-lock” sort of dash using the left analog stick as both directional and a button. I think the camera controls are solid, but I do wish there wan a toggle-option to have the camera just follow over your shoulder wherever you run until you either run into a battle or turn it off. The character models don’t seem especially affected by anything except the most intense/pervasive lighting and sometimes feel oddly out of place, like I’m watching one of those old movies where an animated character comes into the Real World. Some of the monster designs seem cute-ified more than I’d like. And I can’t help but think that if the game can be this nice as a third-tier title for SE, what could it have been if they’d but the resources behind it that they obviously did with FF7? I understand why they didn’t, but it’s hard not to wonder what it could have been if they had.  Seiken Densetsu is one of the most fraught series in the history of home video games and the fact that it’s even still around is something of a miracle, in my opinion. After the last...four?...titles following Legend of Mana, and the disappointment that was SD2′s (second!) remake, I really didn’t go into Trials of Mana with high hopes. I have been really, honestly pleasantly surprised. Even if you’re a diehard old-schooler who really doesn’t like modern JRPGs, if you have any nostalgia left for this series, you should give this one a go. I think it translated really well to 3D models, and what little it loses in the switch, it makes up for in playability. It’s not hard to pick up, it’s easy on the eyes and ears, it’s less grind-y than the original, and it doesn’t try to be more than what it is. I’ll probably always prefer the original, of course; there are too many memories attached to it for me, too many things that were groundbreaking at the time that are now old news or completely obsolete nowadays, and the new game certainly doesn’t push any modern boundaries. But it’s worth checking out, and especially if you’ve spent 20 years feeling let down by the Mana series, this might actually be the game you were hoping for, albeit maybe a decade late. 

[aximili]

X, Q, E

oooo i didn’t think i had any ocs starting with x but i remembered one from ages ago actually..... i had a story called After Life abt a kid trying to redeem his soul after he gets sent to hell, it was a bit all over the place tho and i scrapped it. although recently saw there’s a netflix show of the same name w ricky gervais and still managed to be annoyed

Full Name: Xanthe (if she had a surname it’s gone from my memory omg)

Nicknames, If Any: Xan

Hogwarts House: slytherin

Gender: female

Sexuality: bi

A Song I Associate With Them: hmmmm.... That Man by caro emerald

3 Important Relationships: WELL i only remember 2 other characters she knew, tbh this world was never well-developed

-ransom, he’s her very officious & stuffy angel rival who she ends up having a weird hate-fling with

-there was the main kid whose guardian demon she is (oh yea she’s like a guardian angel but the opposite. encourages u to be bad.) but for the life of me i don’t remember his name lol. once i had developed RanXan as concepts i got distracted by their s*xy little rivalry. yes it’s all terminally het, i was like 14

2 Fears: she’s been (well, not alive, but around) for a long time so she’snot scared of much. she’s a very cocky person and embraces being the bad influence, especially to annoy ransom, bc on the surface she’s like, well this whole heaven/hell divide is bullshit, people aren’t just one thing. but i think deep down she’s afraid of the idea that she really is bad. and afraid of what happens once she fades into irrelevance in hell and stops getting assignments but still has to carry on existing

1 Element of their backstory: i think she was alive way back in Biblical Times - obv she wasn’t called xanthe then but chose her own name. she was a serial liar and said that god was talking to her in order to get things she wanted. but she died young, like everyone did

Q - oo i DO have one Q oc! he’s from adrift, my pirate novel that i will one day finish

Full Name: Queryn Smousk

Nicknames, If Any: idk if anyone calls him a nickname. they mostly just don’t refer to him. 

Hogwarts House: hufflepuff

Gender: male ? hm

Sexuality: gay

A Song I Associate With Them:  bottom of the river by delta rae

3 Important Relationships:

-rictor avis: queryn is a generic sailor on the pirate ship, rictor is the surgeon/carpenter for the crew, he’s a huge tall crow man, and is equally or perhaps more creepy than queryn. they hang around together and give everyone weird vibes. rictor is mute & queryn isn’t, but he says very little out of choice (he doesn’t speak the main language, idk common or whatever, very well) but they like to sit in the crows nest together in silence most hours of the day when theyre not working. everyone even their crewmates thinks they might be up to some weird shit. their dark secret? theyre just a cute couple.... they just like to hang out. they bonded with quiet, intense looks when queryn was first rescued dying in the swamp and brought on board and rictor mended his wounds. it was tender. absolutely nobody else knows theyre a couple even tho they don’t keep it a secret. theyre just chill

-garran korrash: garran is the bosun and is a literal/figurative grizzly old bear, and as well as being queryn’s manager he’s one of the only people who he’s really chill with. garran was the one who insisted they stop n help him out, and queryn’s been grateful ever since. he doesn’t say it bc he hardly says anything, but he shows it in hard work

-sonya perlace: like almost all of her crew, queryn would die for captain sonya. he comes from a pretty harsh society where the strong survive, and even tho he never quite fit in there, he really respects sonya’s strength & leadership.

2 Fears: even tho he’s a pirate his biggest fear is drowning since he nearly drowned before. he has a lot of nightmares about it. he’s also creeped out by elliot. cause what the fuck even IS that?

1 Element of their backstory: p much the only backstory he has is that he was part of this society of amphibian/lizard people in the deep swampy area of the continent that’s cut off from the rest. he was out hunting but got badly gored by a huge aninal (idk what, like a Bigger Lizard.. theres always a bigger lizard) and couldnt make it home. he started sinking into the bog but couldn’t pull himself free, then the area began to flood with torrential rainwater and he cried for help. luckily sonya & garran happened to be trekkin through the jungle and heard him

E - has to be elliot, the little bastard supreme. i played him as a dnd character with an altered backstory but i’ll use the adrift version

Full Name: elliot (no known surname)

Nicknames, If Any: nope

Hogwarts House: slytherin

Gender: male

Sexuality: probably bi? he only a teen though and being surrounded by furries hasn’t had much chance to develop any feelings on the matter

A Song I Associate With Them:  mariner’s revenge song by the decemberists

3 Important Relationships:

lol 2 of the 3 are fully hatred relationships because this young man has iiiiisssuuuuuues

-sonya perlace: he acts the begrudging deckhand who’s resigned himself to his life, but he is 100% devoted to eventually killing her. she killed his mama and he has been waiting for his moment ever since, he’s even had opportunities to leave the crew but has stayed so he can keep close to her. it’s fully like, would have a picture of her with daggers & darts in it, if he had such resources

-niphea perlace: niph is the captain’s daughter, the first mate, and the reason elliot’s still alive - she persuaded sonya not to throw him off the ship along with his mum. he has understandably mixed feelings abt this, and he rarely shows it, but she’s always been an advocate for him and treated him fairly so he does like niph more than anyone, despite himself. also she’s his closest in age on a ship full of adults. he.... tries not to think abt the fact he plans on killing her mother in return cause that’s a bit awkward isnt it

-aidan moss: quartermaster aidan doesn’t like things he doesn’t understand, and he doesn’t understand what elliot is, so he goes out of his way to be awful to him, tending to delegate his own jobs to elliot at every chance he can get & generally insulting him. elliot tolerates it bc he has to. but make no mistake this dude is no2 on the kill list

2 Fears: i don’t think he has a lot of fears because he’s already been through some of the worst things imaginable. i don’t even think he precisely fears drowning/dying at sea, because he’s been focused on the image of how his mother died for so long, & imagining doing the same to sonya, that it kinda no longer affects him?  but he also saw his dad die over a long period from wound infection and i think that must have made a traumatic impression on him, so i imagine he’s probably at least repulsed by decay/rot

1 Element of their backstory: so elliot is the only human character in a world of animals basically... i mean this is major novel spoilers but when tf am i ever gonna finish that.  he comes from a very remote island of remaining humans, descendants of the few who survived nuclear disaster a long time ago. when he was small he and his parents were exiled from the island for breaking its rules (yea, as tends to happen w small isolated communities, things got over the top cult-y) and sent out in a tiny boat to fend for themselves. his dad died slowly while they drifted in the ocean, and he and his mum were near death when they were picked up by sonya’s crew, who were like what the fuck are those??? they kept them in the hold to discuss what to do w them, but elliot’s mum, thalia, tried to break free, attacking niph when she came with food. as punishment sonya made her walk the plank, and that’s where it all went wrong yknow. woops this isn’t 1 element is it. oh well 

[roxyes]

Connections

{ && friendship connections }

—— best friends ;; a partner in crime, the ying to the yang. the pair or more that are typically attached by the hip, consult each other, and couldn’t live without one another. - Lohri, Nna

—— bad influence ;; best friends who constantly encourage each other to do bad things (drugs/partying/cheating/etc).

—— good influence ;; best friend who look out for each other and often act as a conscience to each other. - Aria, Sage

—— family friends ;; friends who met through family, could either be close or it be an awkward situation because they don’t really get along or know each other well. - open

—— childhood friends ;; friends since the diaper days, could be a brother/sister or sister/sister type connection. - open

—— friends with lingering feelings ;; self explanatory, friends where either one or both have some kind of romantic feelings that pass more then just friends. - open

—— friendzoned ;; dun dun duh, a friend who wanted to be something more but was denied. 

—— partying buddies ;; a friendship that relies on nothing more then alcohol, drugs, going out and having a wild time. you could add more to this by having them occasionally hook up with intoxicated or something like that. - Arden && Lucas

—— confident/cornerstone ;; someone who acts as a shoulder to lean on and someone to vent to. - Jo

{ && enemy connections }

—— frienemies ;; they’re nice to each others faces and act like friends but are constantly talking badly about each other. - open

—— friends turned enemies ;; a pair of people who were friends up until a certain point, but either realized they never really liked each other or one just dropped the other. - open

—— enemies because of a boy/girl ;; the two are fighting for the affection/attention of the same person. - open

—— competition/rivals ;; the two are always in competition whether it be over grades, athletics, or attention - Elliot

{ && current romantic connections }

—— friends with benefits ;; friends who hook up and either have or haven’t blurred the lines between the physical and emotional connection. - open 

—— mutual crushes ;; either they both have feelings for each other that is p obvious but aren’t ready to take the next step. or it can be one sided or both could be completely oblivious to the other liking them.

—— one night stand ;; pretty straight forward. could have been a in the moment thing, alcohol could have been involved. they could either be acting as if it didn’t happen, or completely awkward around each other because of it. - open

—— exes that ended good terms ;; a pair of exes that were on the same page when they broke up and have remained good friends and supportive of each other moving on/forward. 

—— ex hook up ;; a pair of exes that broke up but there is still that lingering sexual chemistry between them. - open

—— ex friends with benefits ;; they thought they had it, but in the end it didn’t work. could be because deeper feelings got involved, a relationship started with someone else, fighting, etc. - open

{ && acquaintance connections }

—— study buddies ;; open

—— classmates ;; on the same classes during college, or maybe as an extra curricular. - open

—— lab partners ;; p basic, they were partnered up to work on assignments/labs either they get along or don’t or maybe feelings?? - open

—— tutor ;; basically the same as lab partners except tutoring. - Levi 

—— roommates ;; they live in the same dorm, maybe they hang out? maybe there is some attraction, maybe they just find each other annoying? - Aziza, Aria, Daphne

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: May 28-June 1, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 8:

Emus! I'm so glad they finally appear! And the entire scene with them is simply funny and worth it. Pete's an uttee nutcase, though an entertaining one as well. The premium scene with Emi is so adorable that I want to see the emus again in future chapters.

Glad I get to show Alec who's boss. This guy should just stop treating his employees like crap. If only I could have him replaced by someone better (not Ellen, though), that would be better.

I'm glad I finally get to hang out with Anna outside of work. Most of her appearances have her and the MC doing their jobs, so a casual chat about the emu incident feels refreshing. And Charlie's office getting trashed means something fishy is going on, probably someone opposed to him like Ellen, though I could be wrong. Since the summary for Chapter 10 sounds like Anna has some secrets to share, it seems that something is up with Charlie. He's really fishy.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 19:

Another exciting chapter that kept me hooked like the previous one. I was worried what Cingerix might do to the MC, so I picked the premium option to talk him out of serving Caesar. I think doing so results in the MC and Victus having a positive opinion on Cingerix, who helped his sister escape as a result.

It was fun to watch MC train under her dad and Euthymios in preparation for the gladiator match, and Cingerix developing feelings for Euthymios. If only I can get my hands on Flavius for killing Locusta and poisoning the MC, my life would've been complete. At least there was Delphinia to pray for her daughter's safety, though the MC should really be more defiant towards Flavius.

Anyway, with my anger gone from me, it was satisfying to watch my MC deliver a speech gearing public opinion against Caesar. Even more so with Sabina chanting with the crows.

Man, I can't wait for the final chapters. Especially now that the MC has told the news about Cingerix's change of heart to Delphinia.

Passport to Romance Chapter 12:

I'm just sick of Elliot and William bickering that I want to shove them inside a room to sort out their own messes. On to the regatta.

As expected, the folks there are so snotty that I can just roll my eyes. I get that Sumire has to develop as an artist, and taking criticism is an important part of it (hence me telling her that it's a learning experience), but the impression Bronwyn gave did nothing to endear me to her. Same goes to Carlisle, whom I dislike more for talking like money's the only thing that matters. Either way, who cares about these two? I didn't spend diamonds to steal Carlisle's champagne, though. :P

So Elliot just got his entire friends in trouble by placing a huge bet on a losing boat? Well, thanks a lot, loser! I swear, Elliot keeps blowing his chances to make meaningful contributions to the group that it pisses me off to no end. The only times he did that were to provide the group a place to stay in Lucerne and a private plane to fly them to Monaco. However, their stay in Lucerne doesn't make sense when they could directly go to Germany from France, and Elliot just waited until they missed the second flight to reveal that his family owns the airline of the missed flights. I seriously question his usefulness. As for Marisa, she better not lose all that money from betting Carlisle.

Nightbound Chapter 7:

Why are there options to be mean to Vera for no reason while ignoring the fact that she saved MC from a zombie? I get that her power is deadly, but she used it for good, and had no intention to harm others. Let's hope others will warm up to her.

Heh, no surprise Lady Smoke is Vera's mom. I stumbled upon a theory @a-whore-of-rome came up with, though much of the information involves Vera's first premium scene, followed by the mention of Lady Smoke as a mobster. And wow! Vera and her mom are complete opposites. I think Lady Smoke kinda has a point that they shouldn't live in fear because of their powers. After all, their power to kill others with their bare hands isn't necessarily a curse, but can come in handy depending on the user and their intents. I think Lady Smoke lets this power get in her head that she largely uses it for her benefit. A pity I didn't get her monster tear, but I certainly have plans to get it.

A premium scene to talk to Priya Lacroix. Pass, at least for now. I make no secret why I hate Priya, even though spending time with a love interest sounds like something I'd do once I know who my LI will be. For the time being, none of the love interests capture my attention.

Platinum Chapters 1-2:

First impressions-wise, the story seems OK. I don't like the clichéd bits (small town girl gets picked up by a star), but there's still hope for something else. Super glad that my MC gets to wear glasses as a regular accessory, rather than as part of another outfit. After all, I also wear glasses. And not to mention that the fanbase meter and that certain actions can cause the MC to lose fans looks like a good mechanism that prevents an immediate rise to fame cliché.

Interesting that both Avery and Raleigh can be either male or female, depending on player choices. For Avery, I picked the female one because she's so pretty. The male one's eyes look dopey, but that's just personal impression. Raleigh's harder because both choices look good, though I ended up picking the female one. It's probably not final, though.

Heh, I know Ryder from AME would make a cameo appearance in this story, and it seems that he's in his element. Also, Shane is a good friend to have so far. It's a blessing.

What is it with PB and its affinity with the rival girl cliché? I get that Jaylen isn't a saint, but this cliché discourages players to view characters with proper nuance and understand their roles in the story. After all, an important part of evaluating characters is to not let biases on certain "types" hinder one's thinking.

Anyway, let's see how this story developes.

Open Heart Chapter 16:

Honestly, I really don't like the fact that the MC acts friendly towards Landry even though the way he sabotaged the MC involved disrupting patient care. Because of this, I continued picking options that don't give him credit. Not once did he feel remorse over sabotaging the MC and putting patients at risk. It's like the situation with Sebastian in The Sophomore all over again. Forced to forgive someone who not only expressed no remorse for their wrongdoing but also forgetting that what he did are illegal, dangerous, and degrading. It doesn't help that his sabotage of the boiler is enough to erase sympathy for him.

That aside, I finally get to work with Ethan on Naveen, and it seems that Ethan is more open on his respect for MC. That seems reassuring, especially since I giggled at him saying that his middle name's Jonah after the MC saying Ethan "Freaking" Ramsey.

Seeing Aurora wish the MC luck was nice and calming. I'm proud of her taking the initiative of being nice towards the person who consoled her. It doesn't erase her flaws, such as her overconfidence when she downplayed a case as "not interesting", but I'm ready to see her slowly warming up to others and learn that all patients are interesting in their own way.

Man, I can't believe the next chapter is the finale. I won't be surprised the MC will win and keep their medical license, followed by a little celebration that involves premium options to spend time with a love interest.

Bloodbound Chapter 3:

Too bad that it costs diamonds to actually have fun in Vegas in order to blow off some steam in preparation for meeting with Landgon. Well, I'm not super tempted to buy them because my LI is neither Adrian nor Lily, though I like them both.

Anyway, on to meeting Langdon. I knew this guy's shady, but to see him keeping various supernatural beings alive sickens me. Even more so when he planned to keep MC and co. as part of his collection.

So the cameo comes from Cal. Well, not surprising, and I'm just scared at what might happen to him.

And Lily saying "to defeat the Huns" is what I need to cheer me up and lighten my mood. Despite being a vampire, she always stays true to herself and helps in any way she can. I have great confidence she'll be a great assistant to Jax.

Regarding the second flashback, I feel bad at Adrian killing the Confederate soldiers, though I wonder if that scene has changes depending on his appearance. And Gaius just reminds me how ruthless and creepy he is despite having another side to him in the previous chapter. He's shaping up to be a villain I like.

[shakespeares-globe-blog]

The double self: Doctor Aldersen & Mr. Robot, the false myth of progress and the overthrowing of the capitalistic pattern through divided personalities.

Mr. Robot, the much acclaimed American drama thriller, is a television series created by Sam Esmail and aired for the first time in 2015.

Plot

The series revolves around the miserable and lonely life of Elliot Alderson, a young security engineer, who works for one of the richest and most powerful corporations in the world, the E-Corp, through his own point of view, which is heavily influenced by his social anxiety and his chronic paranoia. One day, he is recruited by a mysterious anarchist known as Mr. Robot and joins his team of hacktivists known as fsociety. They plan to cancel consumer debt by destroying the data of the E-Corp (which Elliot calls “Evil Corp”) and to inspire a revolution that will ultimately lead to an equal distribuition of wealth and to the downfall of the capitalistic pattern.

A double first-person narrator

The story of the revolution is told through a first-person narrator, which is Elliot himself, and through his thinking process. Elliot, however, has serious dissociative disorder, anxiety and paranoia, resulting in each episode being one big paranoid delirium, and the viewer shuffles from reality to illusion, not knowing what actually happen and what was just product of Elliot’s mind. Nonetheless, Elliot perceives the viewer as a product of his mind, talking to him and talking to himself at the same time, so that the narrator and the viewer are one and the same, two parts of the same mind.

Although Elliot's mind and his imaginary confidant is already a division of his mind, this is not the only way his personality gets split up. In fact, later in the series, after finding out Mr. Robot is his (supposedly) dead father, his sister Darlene and his friend Angela see him talking frantically to apparently no one, bleeding and severely hurt. When asked what he was doing, he admits he was talking to Mr. Robot, his father, whom he pushed out of a window in a rage tantrum - as his conscience comes back, he finds out Mr. Robot is no one but himself, and that he threw himself out of a window during one of his manic episodes. So, Mr. Robot is Elliot's alter-ego: he's the unconscious, instinctive part of his soul, taking over his mind to make up for Elliot's inadequacy and introversion; unlike Elliot, Mr. Robot is bold, irreverent, loud, a born leader. A modern Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde scenario, where Elliot hadn't known he'd been the one to plot the downfall of capitalism out of interiorized spite and disdain for the utilitarian society.

Mr. Robot can be cold-blooded, tyrannical, hateful, harsh; he hurts Elliot and the people he loves. Not unusually Elliot shows his willingness to free himself from his alter-ego, resorting to morphine and several other expedients, and even to the strict regimen of prison (calling himself guilty of hacking and privacy violation), ignoring him when he appears, not letting him take control. However, Mr. Robot is controlling and an undeniable part of him, as cruel and destructive as he is, and he can never get rid of him.

Although Mr. Robot, with his merciless and fierce behaviour, represents Elliot’s opposite, he is still part of him. Not to mention, Elliot perceives Mr. Robot as his dead father, whom he deeply loved and cared for - Elliot relies on him and never actually shuts him down. Mr. Robot saved him on several episodes, and Elliot loves him, as twisted as their relationship is.

Other characters

Even though they’re not clinical cases, every character in Mr. Robot needs to be mentioned, even if briefly, in this article, because of their divided selves. As a matter of fact, characters in Mr. Robot don’t change - they’re anything but dynamic - but as the story goes on - so, as Elliot progressively understands what is going on around him - they reveal their real personalities, and their real intentions, which might be the complete opposites of what the viewer thought at the beginning of the series. The clearest example might be Tyrell Wellick, Elliot’s “rival”, who in the first two episodes shows his cold, detatched manners. When you first see him, you might think he’s the typical ambitious and merciless villain, all perfect and with a heart of stone.

In reality, as the story goes on, his façade falls, and he reveals his extremely emotional and moody personality, levelling this impassible, god-like villain to a simple, flawed human being.

Another example is Whiterose: professional, calm Chinese Prime Minister of State Security by day, fierce and fearless leader of one of the most powerful hacker groups in the world at night.

The real illusion: the false myth of progress

Elliot: You’re not real. Mr. Robot: Is any of it real? I mean, look at this, look at it! A world built on fantasy! Synthetic emotions in the form of pills! Psychological warfare in the form of advertising! Mind altering chemicals in the form of food! Brainwashing seminars in the form of media! Controlled isolated bubbles in the form of social networks. Real? You want to talk about reality? We haven't lived in anything remotely close to it since the turn of the century! We turned it off, took out the batteries, snacked on a bag of GMOs, while we tossed the remnants into the ever expanding dumpster of the human condition. We live in branded houses, trademarked by corporations, built on bipolar numbers, jumping up and down on digital displays, hypnotizing us into the biggest slumber mankind has ever seen. You'd have to dig pretty deep, kiddo, before you can find anything real. We live in a kingdom of bullsh*t, that even you have lived in for far too long. So don't tell me about not being real: I'm no less real than the f*cking beef patty in your Big Mac. As far as you’re concerned, Elliot, I am very real.

One can argue that one purpose of the TV drama is that of showing how Elliot’s mind is no more messed up than the society he lives in: Elliot’s delirium blends in so well with modern society that the viewer is not sure of the dividing line between the two. He always expresses his disappointment and dissatisfaction of our unjust, contemporary society; the way we’re being controlled, the way we’re not even conscious of our enslavement, the fact that progress and materialism have made us nothing but brainwashed lapdogs, the fact that only a small percentage of the population can actually call themselves rich, the fact that money overcomes relationships. And at the same time, it’s the same reality that allows us safety and control. Our society is divided as well.

The representation of the Middle Eastern world in Mr. Robot

In a show that clearly shows today's multi-faceted Western world, it is impossible not to show the very different Middle Eastern reality, and talk about it. The main character, although born and grown-up in America, is of mixed race, and his feelings and problems are based on the creator's very own experiences growing up as a Muslim immigrant.

The best representation, however, is given off by two other characters: Sunil and Shama, two hacktivists of fsociety fighting to destroy the Western system that continuously discriminates them, to avenge the failing American Dream their families wanted to pursue but failed because of America’s interiorized racism. Many developments this season were extremely direct critiques of President Trump and his supporters. In an episode, Shama and Sunil, on the run, are framed by the Chinese as Iranian terrorists and used as scapegoats to cover their evil actions. Elliot knows the two of them weren't part of any terrorist plan, but what he doesn't know is that the Chinese set them up to divert attention from their leader&apos;s political plans and drumming up public support for the unlikely candidate she is backing in the upcoming presidential election in an effort to sow chaos and discord: Donald J. Trump. And the worst thing is Elliot knows he's powerless, since the medias are already targeting them as terrorists and people will unlikely question it, helplessly falling into the propaganda hole. Nearly through the end of the season, Elliot finds the courage to visit Shama and Sunil's families to give out his condolences. The episode is one of the most sentimental and meaningful of the whole serie. “This country now blames Muslims for everything,” says Shama's father as he sorts through their belongings, as they're about to move out. “There’s no room for us here anymore.” But later on, as Elliot decides to kill himself by the shore, he meets Mohammed, Shama&apos;s little brother, who asks for a trip to the movies. While there, Elliot recreates with Mohammed the same memories he once had with his own father, but the movies are his memory lane, not Mohammed's. The boy runs away, and Elliot finds him praying in the mosque, the happy place he and his sister grew in. There, they have a meaningful conversation — Mohammed calls Elliot out on his suicidal tendencies and on the Western society’s individualistic pattern (”Why do you always talk about yourself?”), and Elliot understands he has something to live for. Maybe for the first time, we don't see a place of indoctrination, but a loving place to go to find hope —and so Mohammed says: “Did you know I could be President of the United States? My sister couldn’t be. She wasn’t born here. My mom and dad couldn’t either. I’m the only person in my family who could be President. Isn’t that cool? If I were President, I would be able to stay here. In the house we live in. I would find a way to bring back my sister. I’d put the real bad guys in jail. And I’d make everyone eat Pop Tarts for dinner. And make everyone be nice to me.”, and Elliot realizes there are still things left that are worth living for.

[cordonianchoicesqueen]

Rewritten: The Royal Romance: Hello Cordonia (Part Four)

A/N: We are in Cordonia! Drake and Riley have their first fight and finally Hana, the true unsung talented queen of the TRR series makes an entrance. Also, on second reading of TRR, there’s a lot of really sexist chatter by the male characters about how awful all the women are to each other/ gold digging... They make you so worried about the women in court but they are all fabulous in their own ways... Definitely will have to come back to that at some point!

Summary: Riley drops her life in NYC and boards a plane to Cordonia with Drake and Maxwell. Arriving at the palace she feels very overwhelmed but manages to make a new friend in the process.

Choices Chapter: Book One, Chapter Two, First Half

Disclaimer: Characters and main storyline from Pixelberry’s Choices.

Word Count: 2570

Warnings: none

Hello Cordonia

The next hour or so was a whirlwind. I walked into Elliot’s with my head high. My manager turned around to shout at me for coming in the wrong entrance and being a couple minutes late but when he saw my carefree expression, he paled. I told him exactly what he could do with his sexist rants and disregard for his employees and then rushed home. I had no idea what to pack but I didn’t have time to worry about it, throwing random outfits into my bag. I grabbed anything sparkly or fancy I could find… I mean I was going to a Palace! My wardrobe nor I was truly prepared for this major life change. Just before the car sent for me pulled up outside, I left my key to my apartment on the table and texted my landlord, glad that I had decided to take out periodic tenancy. With that, I felt my ties to New York fall away and I felt free… if not just a bit petrified. 

When I got to the airport, my bags were taken for me and I was escorted through the airport. I skipped line after line and before I knew it I was standing on the runway beside a magnificent private jet. As I walked up the stairs, I let my hand run across the cold railing trying to take in everything. Yesterday, all I had to look forward to was a day off from a job I hated so I could sleep and do nothing. Today, I was boarding a private jet to travel into the unknown. It was terrifying. Yet, my overly anxious self finally let the excitement take over instead of fear. The cabin was stylish and like no airplane I had ever been on before. The chairs were the size of three economy style seats and large tables so clean you could see yourself in them were dotted around. Maxwell and Drake sat across from each other, sipping glasses of champagne. “Wow,” I said, not managing to contain my inner monologue. Maxwell jumped up, handing me a glass, “say goodbye to New York and helloooo to Cordonia!” I took the glass, feeling underdressed even for an airplane journey, “I can’t believe this is happening.” “Believe it,” Drake chimed in, downing his glass, “we’ll be there before you know it, ready or not. And if you’re not ready, those ladies at court are going to eat you alive.” “Don’t scare her Drake!” Maxwell scolding, gesturing for me to sit down with them. “You okay, Riley?” “Honestly… I’m terrified,” I said exhaling. “I knew it. She’s not gonna last a week. It’s a waste of time bringing her,” Drake bristled. Drake had obviously taken a strange dislike to me from the get go. He wasn’t happy that I was out with them the night before and he definitely wasn’t happy I was there with them now. I tried to brush aside his feelings about me… but for some reason I really wanted this grumpy, asshole to like me. He was obviously close with Liam. It wasn’t just the women I would need to win over in court. “I don’t get why you’re being so grim about this…” I said neutrally. “Look, no offense,” he said, his words dripping with offense, “but I’ve seen girls like you come and go. It never ends well. Not for you, not for Liam, not for the royal family.” “Riley’s not some crown-chaser, Drake” Maxwell fired back. I’d yet to see Maxwell look upset or angry about anything. He, so far, had always seemed so bubbly. It was nice to have him in my corner. It was time to fight my own battles and it seemed the only way to fight Drake was with a fire of my own. “Drake, to be fair you’re more my usual type. Down and out bad boy who have a strange superiority complex and like making other people feel bad,” I chided him. “Hah,” Drake rolled his eyes sarcastically. “I’m serious. I don’t usually mess around with rich boys, much less royalty. So you can keep your opinions to yourself until you actually know me,” I said never breaking his stare. Maxwell let out a low whistle, “well I think that’s enough for our pre-flight entertainment. How about we get this plane in the air and play some card games to pass the time!”

A while later, the pilot announced the plane’s descent. “Look,” Maxwell said to me pointing out the window. “You can see Cordonia out the window. You won’t want to miss this, Riley.” I peered out the window and saw one of the most beautiful costal cities I had ever seen. Small buildings scattered the landscape down to docks where extravagant yachts and ships were moored. The sea was a fantastic blue, so clear I felt like I could see all the way to the depths into the sand where the fish hide. So used to cities with unapologetic concrete structures stealing as much of the landscape as they could and the New York grids, I instead could make out the winding roads of this city leading to so many unexpected parks, plazas and market stalls. A maze I couldn’t wait to be inside. The lights of the city were soft and seemed to be united into one pattern instead of different obtrusive flashes fighting one another demanding my attention On the top of a hill overlooking the whole city was a gleaming palace with a garden so splendid in colour I could almost smell the flowers from my seat on the plane. “This is Cordonia?” I smiled despite myself. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale… The sparking ocean, the swaying trees…” “If you burst into song, I’m jumping out the plane,” Drake said behind me but I felt like I could hear an almost smile in his voice. “I’m just saying it’s beautiful,” I shook my head not being able to believe my luck. “It is, isn’t it… Are you ready?” Maxwell gave me a reassuring smile. “Ready as I will ever be!” I exclaimed.

We rode in a black car with tinted windows up the long pathway through the grounds of the palace. Fountains sprayed water high into the clear blue sky and flowers of all colours burst from ground to meet us. “Welcome to your home for the next few months, Riley,” Maxwell said. The castle itself was extravagant with gold trims and ancient carvings built into the exterior. “This is where I’m staying? I didn’t realise I’d be living in the palace,” I said, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. My apartment was probably half the size of a singular room in this spectacular building. I had done nothing to deserve this type of, literally, royal treatment. “Most of the nobility live here while the social season is underway, including all the ladies vying for Liam’s hand,” Maxwell explained. “Yeah, living under one roof just makes it easier to attend the rose ceremony later,” Drake joked, giving away a little too much about his reality TV watching habits. Maxwell rolled his eyes as the car stopped outside the grand doors, “Drake’s just kidding… at least about the roses. Anyway, I’ll show you to your room!” Maxwell hopped out the car and held the door for me. Palace staff appeared out of nowhere to take my bags and bowed to me before heading inside. “This is my cue to take off,” Drake said getting out of the car and looking at me once more. “See you around… if you’re lucky.” I watched him as he walked away. I scrunched up my nose as I tried to figure out what his game was. I was so convinced he just had a natural dislike for me but as the plane journey had gone on, it seemed that he was almost testing me, trying to see how far he could push me before I snapped. I wondered if I was only a social experiment to him, a play thing that I was sure he would get bored of quickly. Through the doors to the castle, I was immediately greeted by more splendour and a staircase with a blushing red carpet that would rival any images of castles or mansions I had seen. The baluster was a dark wood elegantly carved. The walls were covered in portraits of the royal family and landscapes of the Cordonian countryside. I followed Maxwell slowly up the stairs. “So what’s the deal with Drake,” I asked Maxwell, wanting to enjoy my incredible surroundings but not being able to get Drake’s behaviour out of my head. “Why is he so… angry?” “Oh don’t mind him. Drake’s never really… fit in,” Maxwell said carefully. “Not used to courtly life?” I asked. “Definitely not,” he said in a matter of fact tone. “He’s a commoner. He’s always been an outsider here. Even if he is Liam’s best friend…” I wanted to know more but knew better than to pry. I let the conversation drop as Maxwell led me down corridor after corridor. There was no way I was ever going to find my way around this place with it’s suit of armour lined, high ceilinged halls. “Your room is here in the west wing. In case you need anything from me or my brother, our rooms are just a couple doors away,” he said reassuring me yet again. “I didn’t know you had a brother?” “Yeah, an older brother. His official title is Duke Bertrand Beaumont. As the eldest son, he’s the heir and I’m the spare. You’ll see him tonight. He’ll be excited to meet you,” Maxwell smiled elbowing me. I couldn’t imagine another Maxwell! So bubbly and supportive even with people he barely knew. This was a case of two had to be even better than just the one! “I’m really looking forward to meet him,” I said with full honesty. Maxwell stops short in front of an ornate door, “this is it! Here’s your room!” As we entered, I realised I needed to learn to stop my jaw automatically dropping open when I saw the splendour that was presented before me. The lavish guest room had one of the largest beds I’d ever seen, with huge detailed throws and filled with fluffy pillows. There were full length paintings, gilded ceilings and mirrors that made me feel like Alice lived here and could fall into the looking glasses. “Wow.” “As a guest, you are spared no luxury,” Maxwell smiled looking at my face. I must have looked like a young child in their first candy shop, “so there’s nothing stopping me from jumping on the bed? From raiding the mini bar?” “There’s no mini bar, but the staff here,” Maxwell gestured to the man placing my very small suitcase in the room, “will get you anything you’d like.” “Sweeeet!” I yelled, letting myself go and throwing myself backwards onto the bed. I felt my body sink into the sheets. They were soft as silk and I immediately felt like I could have drifted off into the best sleep I had ever had. Maxwell laughed, “I’ll let you settle in before your big debut tonight…” I sat up abruptly, “my what?” “I’m sorry, I keep forgetting that you’re not used to this. The first event of the social season is tonight, The Masquerade,” Maxwell made jazz hands. “It’s the ball where all the suitors will be presented to the Prince, as well as to the King. Not everyone dresses in costume… but you might need to have a think about it…” Maxwell glances doubtfully at my modest suitcase. “I’m guessing it’s unlikely you’ve got a costume or a fancy ball gown in there.” I gulped, “nope not gonna have that.” “There’s a seamstress who frequents the palace before social events to aid the ladies with any last-minute fixes to dresses. She’ll be downstairs, you should find her and ask if she has any spare dresses in your size,” Maxwell said. “Thank you, Maxwell. This is all very overwhelming but you are being so helpful,” I half smiled. “Remember. Tonight is very important. It’s your chance to make a first impression on all the influential people at court and to stand apart from everyone else!” he stated. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” I said more confidently, standing up and straightening my posture.

It took me a while, but I finally managed to follow Maxwell’s directions down through the castle to the room that was temporarily being used as the women’s make-up and wardrobe space for the social season. As I stepped inside I heard a gasp. The gasp came from a gorgeous woman in the back corner of the room, dressed only in her bra and knickers. I immediately went beetroot as she moved the dress she was holding to cover herself. “Sorry! So sorry,” I said. Damn it, Riley! What did Maxwell just say about making a good impression?! “I didn’t realise someone was already here…” I continued rambling. The woman laughed, her laughter was the type that was infectious and I felt a cool relief wash over my embarrassment, “No problem. I should have put up a sign or something!” Still holding the dress to her near-naked body, she approached me, each step as dainty as the next, extending her hand, “I’m Hana. I suppose you’re also here to prepare for the Masquerade.” I shook her hand. “You’re just like me… searching desperately at last minute for something to wear!” I had been warned of vicious women who took no prisoners. Hana seemed competent and caring, rather than someone who would shiv me with a stiletto. “More or less,” I replied, not wanting to give away too much in case I was reading her wrong. “Just let me slip my dress on and I can show you around. The seamstress has already left for the day,” Hana said. I turned around so that she could dress. I could hear her struggling with the zipper. “Do you need a hand?” I asked, still staring at the door. “That would be amazing,” she giggled. I helped slide the zipper up her dress, that suited her petit and slim body shape perfectly. She picked up a matching mask, securing it in pace and then tossed herself a daring look in the mirror. She turned to me, grinning, “Thank you. Not many people in court are like you...” “Helpful?” I asked. “Nice,” she said, a steady smile on her face. “Ah this dress is perfect!” Hana spins, showing off her skirt in full twirl for me. “Now, what about you? Let’s find you a dress!” It only took Hana a moment to find me a stunning, long, white ball gown with cold shoulder sleeves and sexy slit up the side of my leg. It was everything I needed to look at myself and feel transformed into the princess I wanted to be. It covered all those bumps I did not like, was the perfect length and showed off all the parts of my body I loved. Hana secured a stunning silver masquerade mask to my face and I truly looked the part of pauper become princess. “You look wonderful,” she smiled admiring her handy work. “You did a wonderful job!” I responded, glad I had somehow already made a friend in this strange place.

[marksburyscripts]

Season 1, Episode 3-- Lament of Prometheus

Google Doc

Content Warnings: -Hospital (Sound effects) -Mention of transphobia -Cardiac arrest -Minor suicidal ideology

[Henry’s room at St. Charlotte’s Hospital. Day. The sound of a heart monitor, respirator, and other medical equipment can be heard in the background.]

VICTOR

Sorry it took me so long to get here today. I got tied up at work. Real joy came in just as I was about to leave. One of those people who are more likely to assume that I don't know my own name than to acknowledge that trans people exist. I swear, if I get called Victoria one more time. All I can think of is that time we were at that diner on Blackwood Ave, and that guy was being so rude to the waitress he made her cry, so when we were on our way out, you threw a carrot at him. [Laughs] You should come to work with me sometime, you'd have a field day with the people who go in there.

VICTOR (Cont.)

...Look, I know I say this every day, but…. Henry, I… I'm so sorry. I-- I never meant-- You know I never meant for any of this to happen.  I need you to know that. I need you to know that I only did it because I had to. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. You’re my best friend, you-- you never gave up on me. Even after the fire, you only ever wanted to make sure that I was okay. Well, it's my turn now. I need you to be okay, Henry. Even if I crossed a line, even if you never want to look at me again. It doesn't matter. I just need you to be okay.

VICTOR (Cont.)

...Your parents invited me over for dinner last night. I probably should have said yes. I can't remember the last time I had an actual meal. But… I dunno, it just didn't feel right. I feel like if they knew the truth, if they knew that this was my fault…. Plus, I don't want to risk putting targets on their backs.  ...I think things are gonna get bad again, Henry. I-- I ran into one of my old classmates. She said…. [A breath] She said things that…. Well, they have implications. About… things she shouldn’t know about. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not paranoia, it’s not. She just moved here. Here. Marksbury, Middle-of-nowhere Massachusetts. “Right around the corner”, she said. That’s not a coincidence, it can’t be. Especially with what she said about…. [A breath] Henry, I-- I don't think it's satisfied yet. I think it's let me suffer, and it's coming to finish me off. ...Maybe that'd be best. 

VICTOR (Cont.)

No. No, I've-- I’ve gotta stop saying things like that. Influences my self image, apparently. Which is probably true. Besides. I can't die yet. Not until I make sure that no one else is going to get hurt. Not until I can apologize to you. Properly, so I know that you hear me.  [Sarcastically] Victor's being dramatic and emotional again, big surprise. [He laughs] ...I can't wait until you call me a pretentious idiot again. Say that, say that you hate me, that I'm a monster, I don't care. Just… say anything. I don't care if you just spout off insults, you have every right to. Just so long as I hear your voice.  You don't even know how bad things have gotten. You probably thought that the worst of it was over. That I'd sunk as low as I could. If only, huh? ...I almost don't want you to see me like this. I feel like I'm falling apart in every sense of the word. You told me once that I was your inspiration. I don't think you realize that you're mine. You and Elliot, you were both always so… happy. You always looked to find the positive in every situation.

VICTOR (Cont.)

So. What's the positive of this one? Everyone else is dead, and you might as well be. I'm a wreck, a felon, and my only surviving family member wants nothing to do with me. And now I might be hunted to top it all off. What's the bright side? Henry, I am begging you to tell me, because I can't see one. I can't see a single thing to be happy about, and I desperately need one. I don't know how much longer I can take it. 

VICTOR (Cont.)

Not to mention the… “weird stuff” is happening more and more lately. It seems like every week is something new. Sometimes it’s small; I set something down, leave the room, and when I come back, it’s somewhere else. That sort of thing. Annoying, but I can live with it. Other times…. [Inhale] Other times, people get hurt. Not often, but… it does happen. Is that the point I’m at now? Am I hurting people I don’t even know just by… existing around them?

VICTOR (Cont.)

...Sorry. Sorry, I-- I know you probably don’t want to hear this. You’re just the only one I can talk to about it. My therapist, he’s fine and all, but… even if it were easier for me to “express my feelings”, how do you explain everything to someone whose job it is to talk to people who hallucinate? I told him about the woman outside of the bar, and you could just tell he didn’t believe a word I said. If that’s too over-the-top for him, how’s he going to react to…. I mean, that’s a lot to take in. Granted, I wouldn’t say “Paranormal” or “Supernatural”, but… it’s definitely borderline, if you don’t know the science behind it. 

VICTOR (Cont.)

...I know what you said when you found out. But I didn’t get a chance to explain, Henry. I know that if you knew why I did what I did, you would understand. I just…. I made a mistake. It was a huge mistake, and people died because of it. But… it’s like I said, you know I’d never mean for anything like that to happen. If I’d known, I never would have rushed it. I would have studied more, made certain that-- ...Maybe that second attempt was the one. Maybe it would have worked. Actually worked.  ...I think about that sometimes. More often than I’d like to admit. What if that was the one, the one that would change history as we know it? I’ll never find out. Frankly, I’m not sure I want to.

VICTOR (Cont.)

...I don't mean that. I wish I did. I'm not going to try again, don't worry about that. But… it was all I focused on for so long. And suddenly… it's gone. Done. Years worth of work, and for what? For it to fall apart at my feet, dragging down everyone I love with it. I could do it right if I tried again, I think. [Getting more and more worked up] Maybe-- Maybe there was something wrong last time, damage to the anterior insular cortex that I missed originally. Henry, you're the expert on cognition and neuroscience. I understand the how, you understand the why. If we worked together, you and I could change everything. Think of all the good we could do. We could change the world! Imagine, sparing mankind from all that anguish! Together, we could rival Prometheus bringing fire to man, we could--

VICTOR (Cont.)

[Snapping out of it] ...No. No, even if I thought for a second that you'd agree, I… I wouldn't do that. As much as I hate to admit it… it is tempting sometimes. I wish I wasn't still curious. But… deep down, something needs to know how to perfect it, and it eats away at me every day. Maybe they’re right, maybe something is wrong with me. I’m no stranger to hyperfixations, but… I just wish I could shake this one. Why can’t it be a normal topic? Like… theater, or obscure geology facts? Whatever happened to when I was ten, and I knew everything there was to know about mermaid folklore? [Laughs] God, I wish things were still that simple. But it's not that simple. It's never going to be that simple again. Because of me. All because I decided to try and bring--

[The door opens]

NURSE

Sorry to interrupt. But visiting hours are over.

VICTOR

Already?

NURSE

I’m sorry, I pushed it back as far as I can. But you got here late today. [Sympathetic] He’ll be here when you come back tomorrow, Mr Frankenstein.

VICTOR

...Right. Right, of course.

[He gets up to leave and the door closes. There is a beat, then soft, otherworldly whispers begin to fade in, then out.]

WOMAN

My dear Henry Clerval. What a part you’ll play in this game.

[The whispers fade in once more. They are mostly unintelligible, but every so often, phrases can be heard, including “Wake up” and “I had more faith in you than that”. The heart monitor begins to pick up more and more speed until it stops suddenly and flatlines, the whispers immediately vanishing as it does. It remains like this for a few seconds, going back to normal only seconds before the door opens again]

VICTOR

Sorry. Forgot my phone. I’ll see you tomorrow. 

[The door closes once again]

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