#where ALMOST every chapter has 4-6 of the previous chapter’s panels

[obstinaterixatrix]

out of boredom/curiosity I read 60 eps of a webtoon. it was not good.

[pinkhairedlily]

[Open Your Mouth] Chapter 4 - R

See previous chapters here: AO3 | Tumblr

Summary: Or maybe it was just the first time she was treated like she had an agency. The gestures for permission, the unspoken questions of consent, the way he wouldn’t touch her first or grab her or mar her skin even when they were having sex. Most men would have their true natures revealed once shown the great pussy. But there he was, always cradling her like she was porcelain china. Not that she minded. It was a breath of fresh air to be held like that, in gentle caresses and soft whispers that beg to betray his true feelings at any given second. It was madness not to be consumed by it, but it was tragedy that she only knew of this reality just now.

-xxxxxxx-

April 20, 2021, 11:16 PM

“Still in questioning for two weeks,” Sasuke grits through his phone. “And they didn’t allow him to post bail?”

“Akugawa’s attorneys tried to appeal this week but it’s a no go. Doesn’t help that he’s brought to a different district so it’s completely out of our jurisdiction,” Neji replies. “Have you heard from Jugo?”

“Just a text message saying they lied to him and told him the directive was from Asuma.” Sasuke lets his fingers run through his hair, too frustrated to think straight this evening. “All they have against Akugawa are purely circumstantial. This is ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but the media ruckus is hungry for the gay serial killer angle. Well, I gotta go Uchiha.”

“Have fun. It’s your wedding anniversary tonight, isn’t it?”

“Shut up. Aren’t you with a woman yourself?” The call ends.

Rid of distractions, he is now at liberty to gaze freely at the rosette reading a book beside him. She gives him a smile and ditches the book to trace lazy circles on his chest. The lunch break meetings have become too short for the both of them thus the need for dinners and coffee. He didn’t plan on making a move, not when there is still an active case, but she’s enthralling in a sense. It’s her presence that pulls him into her orbit – or maybe it’s the pink hair and the emerald eyes that make it difficult to look away.

When he almost hailed her a cab for their fifth dinner, she grabbed his arm and slowly pulled it down to her side, intertwining her fingers with his. It was the first time he held her hand.

With a flushed face under the dim city lights, she asked him, “I would like it if you take me home with you.”

And even after arriving in his flat, he hesitated to kiss her. Only when she brought his fingers to her lips did he move, suddenly gripped with a drive to gently coax her into pleasure. She undressed for him in the dark, already wet and pulsating for his touch, his kisses, and he let the jasmine perfume perforate his senses. He was careful not to leave marks of his trail – after all, it might just be the last as it could be the first – and regrets were felt stronger when there were remainders.

The first time was followed by a second, and she posed a question. “Why are you so gentle with me?”

He looked at her face and tucked a stray strand behind her ear, the color of his dreams. “I’m afraid you’ll break.”

She took his hand and slapped it on her perky breasts. “Try and break me then.”

Where he wavered, she asserted – her nails leaving scratches on his back, bruising his lips, marking his neck, and pulling his hair – but she did it so beautifully that he basked in pain as she yelled his name in ecstatic throes.

He pulls away from reminiscing when the lazy circles start to draw lower. He softly takes her dainty wrist and places an open-mouthed kiss where her pulse is.

“I take it your team is still prohibited from pursuing other leads?” Sakura gasps.

Sasuke shakes his head. “Both chiefs had to save face, particularly when the district attorney got the call first, then the media, and we were the last to know. But it’s more of a pro-forma. My guts don’t tell me they’re still out there.”

“You don’t believe it’s him?”

“He perfectly fits Yamato’s profile. Had several sexual relations with married CEOs, naively accepted promises of secured futures, let down just as quickly as he has been picked up.”

Sakura climbs on top of him and starts to grind on his hardened member. “Too bad. Akugawa is a nice colleague. I was the one who encouraged him to enroll in those meditation classes.”

One arm wraps around her waist to keep her steady while the other tugs away the sheet that comes in between their moist flesh. He brings her breasts closer to his tongue, his words lapping against her skin. “Oh you must be good in yoga too.”

“I’m flexible like that, Detective.” She slips his cock insider her ready core, and the fitting sensation makes the both of them shiver.

“What other things are you good at, Dr, Haruno?”

She locks eyes with him and words are lost as they start to find rhythm in their thrusts.

-xxxxxxx-

April 25, 2021, 6:27 AM

“I take it they’re gonna name you as the director for the overseas expansion.” He asks as soon as they step out of her penthouse.

He didn’t expect to step foot in her domain; he knew it was how the elites operate, but maybe she waited for the sixth date to test him. He couldn’t deny how he was intimidated by her biometrics door, the large cctv panels on her foyer, and her voice-automated house system, but it fascinated him to see the bleak contrast of her plant-filled space against the extravagant automations and sharp marble floor.

“I’m not quite sure.” She angles her eyes on the retina scanner, and the security system beeps to life. The whole floor will be inaccessible even to the administration until she comes home. “Either way, it’s gonna be a success for the Senju-Haruno corporation and its shareholders.”

“Shouldn’t they give you bodyguards then?”

Her fingers ease in into his waiting hand. “I have a detective for a lover. I’ll be fine.”

He leaves soft kisses on her knuckles. “Can’t your lover be worried?”

“I don’t think they’ll come after me. I’m a woman, remember?”

6:41 AM

“Sorry to delay your trip to the office. I’ll just check the ravine again.” They hazard park on the side of the forest. “Stay put. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Sakura nods with a tight-lipped smile. “I’ll stretch my legs out for a bit, but I really wouldn’t want to wander. I don’t know the area quite well.”

He hops off the car, unaware that a nondescript black sedan stopped a few meters away from their spot. Sasuke traverses the wide trunks and mossy forest floor until he finds the exact dumping spot – a clump of thorny bristles and rue hedges. His eyes survey the surroundings and notices a disturbed, rather steep area above the ravine, a tricky slope which cannot be possible for someone like Akugawa. With his built, he would have skidded down when he dumped the body. It had to be someone petite.

Light footfalls behind him. Sasuke glances at the sound, his hand ready to pull out his gun.

“Sorry I followed you. I’m kinda jumpy.” Sakura waves at him from above the slope, her silhouette prominent against the morning backlight.

Then his eyes register another bigger, taller, heavier silhouette behind her.

“Sakura!”

Gunshots miss Sasuke by a breadth, but he doesn’t miss how the hooded figure clamps a hand over Sakura’s mouth and drag her away into the forest. He scrambles up and follows their trail, cursing his ineptness.

His breaths are louder than the wakening birds and traffic on the roadside, and his feet feel more like lead for every tree that leads him deeper into the forest. Then he hears two consecutive shots, and he feels all of his sensory motors go into overload.

Sasuke’s feet direct him to the sound. When the vines give way to a clearing, the first thing he sees is her disheveled rose hair, pulled apart from her high bun, tousled like an unkempt mane on her back.

And a dead man on the forest floor, a gunshot to the head, and another on his side.

She was trembling, eyes wide, clenched teeth, and closed fists. Giving her time to adjust to the events, he goes first to the perpetrator and lowers the hoodie. It’s one of the Mingwa private cronies, probably following him to make sure he isn’t doing independent investigations. But since they touched a Haruno-Senju heir, the corporate publicity will angle this as harassment and attempted assault while the private faction will absolve their hands of any involvement. He calls Kakashi and Asuma for help.

After which, he glances at her, and she finally blinks out of daze. She slumps against him as soon as he’s near, and the reverberations of her body immediately hit him.

“I’m sorry,” he says even though he has a lot of questions.

“He slipped and I went for the gun,” she whispers shakily against his shirt.

Yet he still wonders why there were two shots when one to the head could have sufficed, especially with unfamiliar hands. Or how she’s able to take down a man that size with her dainty wrists.

“I’ll call in sick today. Bring me home?”

He tightens his hug before he lets her go then he realizes he’s not familiar with the terrain.

She tugs on his coat and starts to walk. “If we cut across here, we’ll see the road in five minutes.”

-xxxxxxx-

May 5, 2021, 10:22 AM

“Did Dr. Haruno come back okay?” Kakashi sits down across Sasuke’s desk and fidgets with his unused pens. Even though the investigation was halted, his room remains littered with manila papers, bulletins, and notes on the white board. The necessity to preserve becomes apparent when they receive news of Akugawa posting bail this morning.

Sasuke nods in response. “She still went through with her trip to Belgium last April 28. I don’t know when she’ll be back, but I’m not privy to her internal emotions so it’s not my place to say she’s okay.”

“About time they gave her bodyguards.” The chief detective taps an unlit cigarette stick on his desk. “It’s great seeing you like this.”

“This what?”

“Happy?”

Sasuke clucks his tongue. “It’s not official. She just might be in it for the thrills.”

Kakashi smirks and lights up his stick. “Sex must be great then.”

“Get out, Hatake.”

A rap on the door catches both of their attention. Yamato comes in followed by Asuma, Tenten, Jugo, and Neji.

“There’s a fourth body in the same ravine. Body is now with the ME. Estimated time of death is enough for Akugawa to file for several cases. It’s gonna be a media bloodbath,” Asuma says.

As the lot file out of the office, Kakashi pulls Sasuke to fall behind a bit. “Trust no one, Uchiha.”

11:45 AM

There’s something off-putting about the smell.

This body does not follow the two-week gap; the ME estimated the date of his death on April 27. This slight change in MO presents the possibility of a copycat, but other than that, all injuries are the same – a stab in the carotid, teeth pulled out, arms and feet cut, genital missing – which means another thing, the killer slipped somehow and they’re on a rush. For what, they don’t know.

“Ando Suzuki, CEO of Suzuki Airlines for Japan,” Asuma states his name for confirmation. “Let’s do our usual. It’s time we ramp up our progress, Uchiha.”

Sasuke ignores the pointed insinuation and steps closer to the corpse. It didn’t rain last week despite the forecasts so the state of the body is more or less preserved. He brings his nose closer to the neck, right where the murder tool punctured the artery.

“Sasuke, what are you doing?” Tenten asks. “Forensics have close up shots for that.”

“It’s the smell.”

“Like decomposers and rotting flesh?” Jugo scoffs.

“Is it possible that they might have tried to remove him?” Sasuke asks the ME who quickly goes to him and helps him turn the corpse on its side.

They see fresh scar on the pricked wounds, like someone tried to drag them out of the ravine. As if they knew the position would give them away this time. The smell hits him strongly when the ME returns the corpse to a prone position, and Sasuke almost vomits when he recognizes it.

It can’t be. In controlled breaths, he steps away from the examining table and slumps against the wall. Kakashi notices but pretends not to. It’s Tenten who slithers beside him inconspicuously and taps on his arm. She raises a brow which he responds to with a cluck of his tongue.

“I’ve always wondered,” she starts. “Why can’t it be a woman?”

“If you can recreate a position of a woman stabbing the artery without defense wounds, let me know,” Yamato says with a cold smile. It’s meant to shut Tenten up; he doesn’t like his profiles being challenged. “And the smell you’re talking about Sasuke? It’s jasmine. The area probably has blooms.”

2:30 PM

“Something’s weird with Uchiha,” Neji pulls out his badge, ready to present it to the landfill. They’re revisiting dumping sites again for a second go-through. The killer is starting to leave breadcrumbs all over the place. “Did you see how pale his face went earlier?”

“Jasmine and rotting flesh don’t make good perfume,” Tenten figures. The guard sees their badges and gestures for them to come inside.

There’s a peculiar batch of scavengers in the area, people who aren’t part of junkshops or associations, just individual peddlers. A bald man in his 70s glances their way and starts to move towards their directions with only one foot and crutches for the other.

“Police?” He has a putrid gummy smile. “That lad didn’t come here again.”

Neji tugs Tenten away, but his wife stays rooted to the spot. “A lad?”

The old man opens his palm.

“He just wants money, dear,” Neji grumbles. “Let’s go now and talk to the real rational people.”

Tenten pulls out her wallet and sticks a wad of one dollar bills on the man’s hand. “A lad?” She repeats.

“Thought it was our fellow. We have young ones with us, you know, like your age but definitely shorter in height. He comes in dressed in a black raincoat and plastic boots, dragging bulky garbage bags like they’re not heavy at all.” His smile gets bigger by the count of the bills.

“Did you get a good look at this man?” Tenten asks, still unwilling to let go.

“Tenten,” Neji warns.

“This might be our lead. A concrete lead for once.”

“Wind knocked his garbage of a hood one time. Shiny bald head says hi.”

Neji is at the end of his wits. “Dear, you’re not even sure if he’s talking about our guy.”

Tenten sticks a 10-dollar bill on the old man’s almost torn shirt pocket. He proceeds with a guttural laugh, the phlegm oozing through each gasping breath. “He always dumps those bags on a full moon.”

4:30 PM

Sasuke sneaked in earlier to the administration office just before the receptionist’s desk came into view. With slight intimidation into play, he managed to get duplicate recordings of the cctv of the whole floor.

He taps Kakashi for help and another IT staff.

“Looks normal to me,” the silver-haired man remarks. “Why are you snooping on your girlfriend?”

“All of them were her patients at one point,” Sasuke replies. “And we don’t do labels.”

“But their visits were nowhere near their kill dates.”

“Their visits were logged as emergency procedures because Akugawa or their company doctor wasn’t available. So why?”

Kakashi smirks. “Are you insinuating they were there to get a glimpse of her? The recluse medical corporation heir. Nothings amiss in the recordings, right? No sexual body language?”

Sasuke hopes the same, but the lurch in his guts tells him otherwise. He swallows whatever saliva that hasn’t dried yet in his mouth in anticipation of the inevitable.

“The recordings are fine. She’s always accompanied by her assistant when she has clients,” the IT replies. “It’s the code that bothers me. You see, a malware is playing with it, looping the same frames while continuing the time ticks. Either someone knows their technology or this is a complete human error.”

-xxxxxxx-

May 7, 2021, 12:01 PM

“Oh, it’s you,” Laura says nonchalantly, never glancing up from her keyboard, and click-clacking away even though it’s already lunch break. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

“Do you know how to code?” He doesn’t spare her a glance either, his eyes trained on the door.

“Is this a side job? I can get Shin if you’d like. He fixes the systems here when he has time. He’s a computer geek before he settled for dentistry.” She stops typing and eyes her wristwatch. “She’s here.”

True enough, the door opens just as Laura tells him. She wears her rose hair loose today, falling like waves against her tucked in white long sleeve polo and denim jeans. She spots him after she gives her white coat to her waiting assistant.

Smile, wave, and unhurried walk to reach him. “A lunch break?”

“Wondering if you were still alive after your trip.” The jasmine in the air transports him to two different scenes, his memory being stretched out in two drastic dimensions, one where she’s writhing beneath him and one where he sees the corpse falling on top of him. The scents mix, and he fails to cover up his gag. Both women look at him with brows raised but he waves them off with his handkerchief.

“Days of absence and your heart grows fonder. That saying is true after all.” She places a hand on his cheek and softly taps it. “A sandwich?”

“I’m starving.”

“Two sandwiches then.”

8:19 PM

She invited him for dinner while they were munching on half-dozen random sandwiches from Subway. He didn’t talk about the case nor did he question her radio silence since her Belgium business trip. This was why she genuinely liked Detective Uchiha Sasuke.

Or maybe it was just the first time she was treated like she had an agency. The gestures for permission, the unspoken questions of consent, the way he wouldn’t touch her first or grab her or mar her skin even when they were having sex. Most men would have their true natures revealed once shown the great pussy. But there he was, always cradling her like she was porcelain china. Not that she minded. It was a breath of fresh air to be held like that, in gentle caresses and soft whispers that beg to betray his true feelings at any given second. It was madness not to be consumed by it, but it was tragedy that she only knew of this reality just now.

She knew he had an inkling. She messed up in the forest. If she had the luxury of time, she would have dismembered the man who grabbed her. A stab from a scalpel was a merciful way to go, and that man didn’t deserve it. Filthy hands.

The anger rushes to the surface, and she stabs the roasted meat rather too loudly.

“Is your meat still alive?” He emerges in her dining room and continues to look around. “Your wooden mansion is a far cry from your depersonalized penthouse.”

She laughs as she strains the cooked pasta. “I like having two personalities.” He must have triangulated by now that the location of this mansion is smacked in the center of the dump sites, a safe, close distance to the landfills, the forest, and even the meditation place. He must have seen the black pick-up truck on her garage, the one she uses for farming. She can see all the pieces fitting into a completed puzzle in his head, and she’s sad to let him go.

He opens the wine she placed on the counter, and he fills himself a glass. “You also have a crystal collection like Akugawa.”

“I gave him his first obsidian. Their healing properties are supposedly at maximum during full moon.” She places two plated bolognese pasta on the table and a wide platter of medium rare meat. “Dinner’s ready.”

“This looks good.” His tone is genuinely fascinated. “Didn’t know you could cook. We always dined in or ordered take out.”

“A change of pace, wouldn’t you think?” She also fills herself a glass of wine and watches in amusement as he takes a first bite of the meatballs she especially prepared for him.

“You should tell me where you source your meat. I’ll one up you in our next dinner.”

I’m too sad there won’t be a next one.

10:17 PM

Sakura changes position, and she’s on top of him, gyrating her hips in familiar pleasure. Sasuke wants to take it slow, to re-encounter her folds and curves after several days of not seeing her, despite his senses overriding in danger. He took her an hour ago, on her immaculate grainy wood counter, wine spilling on the sink as he thrusted into her unclothed core. She had gone commando, and this drove him insane. Maybe his lust is taking over him, clouding his judgment, muddling his perfect frame by frame memories, but he has to play this game. It’s only a matter of time.

He feels her insides throb in urgency, and he knows she’s near her orgasm. Her juices leak out, and he bucks against her wetness, releasing his load into her with eyes closed.

He waits for the scalpel to puncture his carotid, but nothing comes. “Sakura.”

She continues riding his limp member and rubbing her clit against his balls. A strategic distraction as they are coming down from a high. He expects her to trace lazy circles on his abdomen, a mannerism he picked up from their nights, but the dainty hands go to his neck instead.

He opens his eyes, and he sees a different Sakura. Her microexpressions are different, her eyes throwing daggers, soft pliant lips in hardened scowl, and hollowed cheeks.

“I don’t know what’s your issue with a scalpel, Sakura.” Her voice is different, the accent changed. “You must have fallen in love with him already. Such a frail human.”

“I wanted to prepare myself before I see him go. That is all.” Her face shifts and the emotions return to the Sakura he knows. He also notes the loosening grip on his neck, unaware that he is holding his breath.

Another shift and it’s back to the other Sakura. “She has such a saccharine charm effective in luring me to do things.” She smiles at him, but it’s not the smile he’s familiar with. “Don’t worry, you’re not gonna die yet.”

She chokes him with surprising strength. He places pressure on her wrists and elbows, but she doesn’t budge. His legs start to thrash out beneath him, and his sight starts to dim.

“Great work as always, sister. We’ve always wanted the truth about Madara, don’t we?”

[popculturebuffet]

Of Moons, Millionares and Mothers Part 2: The Ballad of Duke Balloney or “I’m Flintheart Glomgold and I Always Will Be!” (Commission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people. I”m Jake, I review stuff and today continues my look at Ducktales season 2 story arcs, of Moons, Millionares and Mothers. And while this arc as a whole is paid for by WeirdKev27, due to the Arc’s length, 17 parts including 15 episodes and 6 comics (2 of which will be in the same review), this one’s special as he’s using his patreon review every month to do so. If you too want me to review something of your choice simply hit up my ask box or join my patreon at patreon.com/popculture buffet. You get access to my discord, to pick a short when I do a group of them for characters birthdays, help me hit neat stretch goals like my next which is reviewing a darkwing duck episode a month, and best of all EXCLUSIVE REVIEWS. And I just added one this saturday of a carl barks story centerting around wigs, legal battles and attempted murder, both by our villian.. and by our heroes...

I will never get tired of that panel nor the boys inexplicably finding a blowgun. Point is it’s there if you want it at THIS LINK, but enough plugging so I can help pay the streaming bills and keep doing this... let’s get to the meat of things shall we?

This episode begins the second arc of this retrospective, The Glomgold Arc. And this arc was inevitibly going to come to this blog for two reasons. The first is that I have made no secret, in fact i’ve shouted it as loud as I can the neighbors are concerned, that I fucking love the 2017 Version of Flintheart Glomgold. 

Glomgold is Keith Ferguson’s best role, tied with Lord Hater obviously, but it is indeed a tie. No one but Keith could’ve pulled off glomgold’s combination of ego, ham, and batshit insanity. He just makes the utterly stupid and wonderfully ludicrious things that come out of the mans mouth sound so damn natural with such an unearned confidence. It’s very clear that Frank had Keith in mind when putting this version of everyone’s faviorite South African Billionare pretending to be a Scottish Billionare and wisely built the characcter around him and his immense talent. I was not familiar with Keith at all, wasn’t even aware he voiced hater before this show but damn if that hasn’t fully changed. 

Glomgold was also just in general a brilliant update of the character: While I know a lot of duck fans weren’t happy with this version at least at first. As the action figure sitting on my shelf that once road in a car with my david hasslehoff baywatch funko pop I have entirley due to my love of baywatching,  this insane music video hoff did in the early 2000′s, and just in general how gloriously rediculous the man’s life is when you stop and think about it for a second from a pay per-view concert that ended up falling on the same night as The OJ Chase,  to his kung fury cameo , to his weird insetence they never had sex on baywatch desspite mounds of video evdience and the fact the show was buit around the bulk of it’s cast’s sex appeal, to the fact the model of his pecs used for the spongebob movie was sold in an auction and on and on... I was going somewhere with this...

Oh right as the action figure, and previous praise, shows I am not one of these fans: The original isn’t bad, in fact one of my faviorite life and times chapters that i’ll be covering this week and talking about later in the review has him as the main antagonist and a pitvitol figure in Scrooge’s life in the worst way possible. Rosa GETS what’s needed for Flinty to feel specail: to have him be an evil mirror to scrooge, what he could’ve been had he kept down the path he started down in Africa. A ruthless, amoral asshole who will do ANYTHING to get rich. 

It’s just often that isn’t emphasised enough and he’s instead just another one of the millions of generic assholes trying to get scrooges money sometimes with hired goons...

Not only that but Frank really COULDN’T have him at full effectivness. See an arch enemy in the Silver Age, which STARTED the same year Glomgold Debuted no less, wasn’t a big deal. They were still considered your deadliest foe but they’d often, much like Flinty be shuffled into the rogues gallery, show up for an issue to meance the hero, then either escape, get thrown in jail only to escape from that easily later, or be presumed dead. The last one I bring up because it happened to Magneto a LOTTTT pre-claremont. For Fuck’s Sake Charles have those teenagers train to look for a body once in a while!

Original Flinty was built for that, and brilliantly so as Barks had a talent for it , as seen by the fact The Beagle BOys, Flintheart and Magica have stuck around ever since and even in comics overseas where Flintehart is replaced.. it’s by Rockerduck who Barks ALSO created. The 87 Show followed the same formula, which was just as standard for 80′s cartoons. It’s why Megatron took until his toy was canceled the movie to shoot starscream in the face. 

The problem is villians evolved and the expecation became more that a true arch enemy had to be a true threat. While Frank and Matt COULD’VE made Flintheart a real and honest threat, he also would’ve had to make him a Big Bad. The probelm was those seats were clearly taken: while i’m pretty sure some ideas came as they went, the main story beats were clearly planned out well in advance: Webby being a clone was always the plan, as was FOWL, Darkwing being a fan of a fictional Darkwing who became the real thing, and Della being on the moon. So he presumibly carefully choose each season’s big bad... and thus Season’s 1-3 would be full up wise. Season 1 had Magica, who he made into a TRUE threat, yet left the door open for her to return as she did, Season 2 had Lunaris who even if they hadn’t fully thought him up, they probably had thought up the moonvasion, and Season 3 was what they’d built the series towards with FOWL. 

Details probably changed, it’s very clear to me they were likely going to have all three buzzards be important and ended up deicding to pivot to it just being Bradford over time. But given how well they though tout the general framework, I highly doubt Flinty was ever considered as a seirous big bad.. and I know i’m saying this in an arc that tried to set him up as one, but i’m getting there simmer. 

So they could wait for a season 4 that might not happen.. or make him a recurring villian. So Frank and Matt decided to do that and leaned into comedy. Centering him around keith who Frank worked with previously on Wonder and thus knew he could play a hammy manchild like no one else, they simply leaned into the goofier aspects of his personality. His being similar to scrooge became him being an intentional and blatant knockoff. As Scrooge himself perfectly summed up in episode 1 “The poor man’s version of me.. which to be fair still makes him insanely rich”. 

It’s another reason to really love this version as while yes, they did make him a bafoon.. he’s a wonderfully, redicuously layered bafoon: He still contrasts scrooge perfectly, manically hammy to Scrooge being calm, especially around flinty, blantatly crooked to Scrooge’s died in wool honesty, and wasting money on revenge instead of spending it on his actual company. There’s more obviously but some i’m saving for the review. 

Not only that but his insane schemery has a rhyme and reason to it: He attacks Scrooge every week like the saturday morning cartoon villian he is, but his schemes are always unwieldly and massively stupid, and he always goes with the first draft. It’s something the team enforced: the first version is what they role with because that’s how his sad brain works. He also is obssed with sharks and explosives, the former being given a suprisingly heartfelt and unsuprisingly insanne origin story towards the series end, and works them into every plot no matter how much itm akes no sense. He’s pure ego, pure stupid and pure fun. 

So yeah circling back to him being the big bad, I felt he was made one for this season for two reasons: the first is while a lot of fans (raises hand) enjoyed this version, some didn’t like how inept he was, so this would give them a breif bit of Flintheart being a genuine threat again. The other was frankly... they didn’t want to play their hand. Lunaris WAS the big bad... but fans would get supscious if there was seemingly no true threat on the horizon. Magica popped up in episode 4. We didn’t know her full plan yet true, but all we needed was lena SAYING HER NAME and fans of any other version of teh Disney Ducks would instantly go “Oh shit there she is”. So fans would now have the expectation of a main antagonist.. but would be instantly supscious of Lunaris and Penumbra if there wasn’t one for the first third of a season it took to them, and it’d leave a gap in the story to not have someone driving the plot on earth. 

So Flinty got an upgrade.. a slight one and we’ll talk about the eb and flow. And thus he got a proper origin. Now granted they could’ve planned this too, but this one’s harder to tell as the curse you me gag could’ve been a clever setup or could’ve just been a one off gag they somehow turned into an entire episode. So Flinty got an arc.. and a comedic foil, the other reason this was inevieble, and Kev’s faviorite character, Zan Owlson. So how did it work out for them? Well we’ll begin that journey under the cut. 

We begin our story a few months ago.... on every level really: the months ago shadow war aired when this episode originally good, the months ago I reviwed Shadow War (which via counting I found out was my 200th episode not counting Patreon. Nice), and most importantly for this story, the four months ago before the present day of Season 2. 

Glomgold saying curse you me as he fell into the bay during the Shadow War.... only for once in his life he dosen’t somehow get out of it unscathed and instead passes out, almost drowning. He’s found by Fisher and Mann, two fisherpersons... Mann is specific about that due to being a woman despite the obvious irony. It’s a good gag. Flinty acts like he normally would.. hostile, demanding that they know who he is.. and while they don’t.. neither does he. 

Cue credits and cue present day. Via a newscast with Roxanne we learn what I mentioned earlier: It’s been four month and Glomgold’s been missing. The general mood.. has been about what you’d expect. 

Yeah Roxanne turned on him real fast. I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if it was because he later openly bragged about stealing scrooge’s money during the shark thing on live tv at some point, making Roxanne look terrible for enabling him and for blatantly supporting him earlier. I mean.. how else do you get a corrupt journalist to do anything decent. 

But with Glomgold gone SOMEONE’S gotta replace him.. and that someone is Zan Motherfucking Owlson. Top of her class at Mouseton Univesity, Owlson is the show once again updating things: previously they added Mark Beaks to the Rogue’s Gallery as he contrasts the 50′s (scrooge ) and 80′s (glomgold) idea of billionares from previous versions of the property being a modern tech weasel. Though instead of just one thing Owlson represents a few: The most obvious is she’s a woman of color: Having a black woman in such a high position of power is something disney would’ve outright vetoed in the 50′s and 80′s. Here it’s well accepted as it always should have been. It also feels like a delebrate move on Frank’s part: There weren't’ any major african or african american coded characters in season 1, despite the show being very open and accepting, so that needed to change. The other is frankly outside of Brigtaa MacBridge, whose also weirdly absent from this series for some reason and has taken Fethry and Rockerduck’s place as the most major overseas duck character to never get adapted, there are hardly ever any females on Scrooge and his richer foes level. He’s had the occasional female rival or suitor, but only Brigittta had staying power and while I love the idea of her, another person as rich as scrooge whose willing to spend more and has a crush on him, she badly needed an update as she’s essentially Adventure Era Amy Rose in a grown ass woman’s body. 

Owlson also provides a diffrent dynamic in that she portrays the ideal of what we’d want from a ceo: She’s honest, works hard, earned her way as square as scrooge did, gladly donates to charity and is extremely charismatic and intelligent. Granted most CEO”s are nothing like this but still, she’s what we WANT them to be. Using the money not for themselves or taking big paychecks but to help people. She also provides something Glomgold needed: a straight man. While he has one in Scrooge at times, Owlson unlike both of them is a fully functional resonable human being. Scrooge, while a good person deep down, can be reckless, impulsive and greedy, and Glomgold had a tarzan like experince with sharks, goes on to name his dummy son sharkbomb, and tried to murder Scrooge on live television twice that we know of. She’s the calm, snarky, put upon sane person trying to reign in the crazy shark explosion man. 

Owlson dosen’t get a ton to do here, but that will change and she does get a decent amout in the final scene. But what she does here establishes who she is and how sh’es FIXED Glomgold industries; She’s shut down the vast number of money sinking scheme related departments, set ups everal charities, and is even setting up a new one with Scrooge, Dimes for Ducklings. In short she knew exactly what was needed to fix the company and it’s image and did so in FOUR MONTHS. Probably even less given they had to be sure Glomgold wasn’t coming back right away. I guarantee he’s faked his death like 10 times just to try and kill scrooge. They have to make sure it’s real first.  As one last note before we move on, Owlson is played by Natasha Rothwell, a producer and writer who i’ve only seen outside of this in Love, Simon and Sonic the Hedgehog.. that is a weird combo of things that mean a LOT to me I haven’t been able to bring up here again. 

We find the tv this was all playing on on the docks with a non-anthro segull pecking it while a bunch of fisherpersons go about their day. We also get this guy. 

Add him to the list of spinoffs I want THE LIST OF SPINOFFS JAKE WANTS: 1. Darkwing Duck 2. Donald, Daisy and the Kids 3. The Sabrewings 4. Tailspin Reboot 5. The Flintheart Glomgold Show 6. A Sequel Movie 7. This Guy Punching A Fucking Fish 

So you might be wondering when any of our main cast are going to show up.. and why the fish puncher isn’t in said main cast. Well that’s about now as Webby and Louie are fishing. Well okay more acuratley webby is fishing because she genuinely enjoys it and Louie is tagging along so he can nap on a boat while Webby paddles him around. That plan is threatnned by her spear fishing and he suggests using rods instead, but they need bait for that. 

Naturally, given we need to get this plot going our heroes run into Duke Baloney, aka an amnesiac Glomgold. Understandably, both of htem think this is some sort of scheme at first because waiting for someone related to Scrooge to stroll by his fish stand for some sort of shark themed trap, especially since he’s right near the water so he dosen’t have to worry about keeping them hydrated like that time he dropped one from a plane onto scrooge’s board meeting with two chainsaws strapped to it. But .. it’s not. While we the audience saw him amnesiac, and at first I thought that spoiled the episode... it really dosen’t. He still ACTS like himself on instinct, so your not sure if he faked it as part of some elaborate scheme or is really gone till this scene shows that, no he really isn’t there. And the how is simply in knowing the guy: Glomgold is not good at subtley. He has disguises and such, but their never remotely convincing. He could NEVER pull off  actually being a humble fish monger nor have gone four fucking months without yelling at scrooge or remotely contacting him. There’s also the fact Fisher and Mann 100% belivie in duke and back up his very real story of being dredged out of the bay. There’s also his south african accent, which actors including David Tennant himself have admitted is one of the hardest to pull off but Keith does swimingly, which is a hint.. but only on rewatch or for those who know his comics origins. 

Louie isn’t convinced which is fair: even if Glomgold isn’t good at this sort of thing, he’s still tried it a lot. Webby however correctly figures he has amensia. So the two simply try talking to him. Fisher and Mann do get a bit dickish laughing off the idea he’s possibly Glomgold.. despite the fact you know you dredged him out of the fucking water 4 months ago.. and if you actually looked at the news, would see Glomgold disappeared around the exact same time you found Duke. It just annoys me because otherwise these two are great characters: Friendly loveable fisherpersons who love their job, have no comeptiviness and genuinely want to help their friend duke. The encounter does have them seeing a fancy money clip Duke has but with no other options they leave for now. 

But while Duke has forgotten who he was... bits of glomgold still stir within him. And that starts when Duke spots the McDuck Industries fishing boat, the best fishing boat on the sea, something his friends are okay with.. but Duke naturally isn’t. So while Duke was a calm sane fisherman before the true glomgold in him is on full display as he comes up with insane schemes involving fish and explosives, before presenting a rather insane scheme to his friends involving getting engineering degrees and other stuff.. it’s as poorly drawn and wonderful as you expect from him. But what’s telling is that he reigns it in when his friends show obvious concern with his actions... something Glomgold would NEVER do. For one he dosen’t have friends. For another, he doesn’t care about anyone else’s feelings or thoughts. 

By now Webby is also championing that Duke is a diffrente person.. which is true. Duke is Glomgold stripped of his hate and resitment towards scrooge. He’s who the man COULD’VE been had he not sworn eternal vengeance on Scrooge. Louie is doubtful that he’s amnesiac still.. but neither can quite figure out the full story so it’s time for research.. and for Webby to accidentally knock Louie into some lobster traps.. which given he’s spent the entire episode assuming an amnesiac man isn’t that despite all the evidence to the contrary, he earned that. That said these two were the perfect choice for it: All of the boys have a bit of skeptic in them, and we already had a plot with Huey being skeptical.. and even he would’ve given up by now as would dewey since he only has a pinch at best. Webby.. has none. She can question motives and stuff sure, but at her heart she’s a kind forgiving soul who belives the best in everyone. And.. its’  paid off fo rher. Look at the whole Lena situation, she believed in her, even while Lena was actively manipulating her,.. and it truly changed her, convinced Lena to do the right thing despite the cost, to choose love over the abusive monster who made her. It’s the only missed opportunity in the episode for me. Character wise it has exactly the 8 it needs to tell the story and focuses heavly on the five it truly is about. But not having Webby bring up Lena when we don’t hear her mentoined AT ALL during her absence (though to the shows credit they did a good job showing Webby still had never remotely given up), and it made the wait more agonizing and would’ve made her motivations hit even harder: that she belives in duke because she believed in lena and it was real. And while this thank christ isn’t remotely romantic, the point does stand: She wants to see the best. 

Louie is a conman by nature so he only sees the worst, the weakest in people, the things he can use to take htem down or take hteir money. He can’t fathom someone doing good because he can’t fathom HIMSELF being good. And that.. says a lot.. but he’s accepted himself as a shady conperson who cares only for himself.. even if that’s not the truth. His inclusion here enhances his own arc much like Huey’s role in quack pack enhanced his. It shows that deep down Louie dosen’t think much of anyone.. and probably not himself. That he has to be shady and greedy to survive when that’s not tru. Sharper than the sharpies yes but also square.

One last bit before we moved on  I just found out though: The Crew originally had this as a straight up origin story: no kids, none of the rest of the duck family, except presumably Scrooge’s parts here, just Glomgold’s struggle with amensia and his past leading to who hei s now. Honestly I think that version could’ve worked, but likely given disney seems TERRIFIED of making a show starring an adult without a chlid and had to be talked into the child light Golden Lagoon, that was a non starter but I think it still works fine. I also foudn this out via a twitter thread of Frank’s rewriting history that goes in deep on teh production of each episode. Had I known this existed before writing this one, I would’ve used it for the other two arcs and most dangerous game night, but I intend to read through it so I have everything on the table from here on out. 

For only the second time in her long career of researching stuff though, Webby has hit a dead end. Mostly because she couldn’t find anything on Duke.. and NOTHING on Glomgold’s past pre-Duckburg. The most she has is his visa...

I want to frame this on my wall.. and someone is actually seling id cards out there, so I want this one at some point. It’s not Disney because they don’t care about fan merch like this, but then that just means they don’t get the money because they didn’t think of it or put the work in then huh. 

But yeah with nothing else our heroes go to the only person they know who knows him well...  Scrooge. 

Meanwhile Duke has .. this... I just.....I can’t put words to this truly bizzare surreal dream sequence.. it involves Glomgold going insane, the kids dancing on a bagpipe, and owlson is there.. despite the fact that Glomgold should have zero idea whot hat is. I think the kids mentioned here but even then, he somehow knows exactly what she looks like.

Otherwise good stuff and it’s raining hard as Duke goes in. Fisher and Mann have formally added him to their sign, and warmly welcomed him in and Duke says “this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me I think” which is probably true. and makes what’s coming all the more heartbreaking. 

But before what’s coming Duke has another thing coming.. Scrooge who the kids brought to talk to him. The two talk casually, the kids watch not knowing.. and then Scrooge comes back to them. Turns out Webby was, unsurprisingly right on the money, Flinty does have amnesia, and unlike what Louie thought.. he isn’t inherently evil. Duke is just duke.. and Scrooge has no intention of fixing the amnesia. And while that SOUNDS bad.. his intentions are noble: Glomgold.. was a throughly miserable person. He was never happy and never would be till Scrooge was dead by his hand and that was never going to happen.  It isn’t even taking an enemy off the board: Flinty is only a threat on occasion. Scrooge clearly ENJOYS their conflict: it may annoy him from time to time, but he clearly enjoys upstaging the guy. And as he points out, it’s not a brain injury or anything: Glomgold is practically immortal as Louie put earlier, and Scrooge outright mentions Glomgold’s taken a LOT of explosions to the face. So he’s in no real danger physically or emotionally.. he’s happy. He has friends, a calling he truly enjoys. There’s another reason too but we’ll see that in the final scene. 

So Duke is finally happy... but it doesn’t last... the kids go out but a storms a coming, and Duke selfleslly heads out to save them.. only to get hit on the head and fall in the ocean again. 

It’s here we get the 2017 version of Glomgold’s origin story. We did kinda get one with life and times, as we saw his first meeting with scrooge and why he hated him, long story short with the long story coming later this week Glomgold left Scrooge for dead and Scrooge’s response was to come back, kick the fuckers ass, tar and feather him and utterly humilaite him, leading to Flinty swearing vengance. 

But while I love that version..t his one is just as awesome if not better. And it’s without having Scrooge ride a lion. Here we instead meet Flinty as a child Scrooge’s age... and as a shoeshine boy. Yup just like Scrooge Duke, Glomgold’s birth name, was an industrious young boy with big dreams. He also had unwieldy schemes from minute one, but Scrooge saw in this lad the same fire he had and tried replicating his own origin. 

The problem was... the different context ruined it. Scrooge was paid by an equally poor ditchdigger the us equilvent of his pay: still useless in scotland, but a good lesson in hard work and not being swindled. Scrooge tried that... as the richest duck in the world and without giving flinty the same amount of money. 

So Duke/Flinty took umbrage at this yelled at scrooge.. and pick pocketed his money clip. In the only bit taken from the rosa version of their first meeting, Scrooge never realized he’d met flinty already. There and then duke came up with his first true, and first insane scheme: Save the money and use it to mold himself into a richer, more scottish version of scrooge dedicating his life to one upping him and killing him. A “single white female” type thing as Frank put it. 

It’s.. utterly brilliant... taking Glomgold being a knockoff as mention and just running with that... making Glomgold a LITERAL knockoff. This was indeed the plan all along: A way to have him be both south african and scottish and it was brilliant. It also gives him more depth and more tragedy: He COULD’VE been the next scrooge.. but instead of being his own man or learning any of the hard lessons scrooge did he doubled down on never learning anything and getting vengeance on an old man’s well meant but accidently classist gesture. 

So Glomgold reawakens and while it first looks like he’s going to save the kids... he instead throws Webby into the raging sea, and steals their fish. Webby is heartbroken and Louie asks him “what about duke.” His response is heartbreaking as it is character defnting

“I”m Flintheart Glomgold and I always will be!” the lightning shot, the cackle..i t’s just such a damn good moment that underscores the tragedy of the episode as Glomgold’s new friends are horrified by what he is now and what he was always meant to be and Glomgold leaves to go stalk scrooge once again. He indeed is Flintheart Glomgold and always will be.. because he threw the decent person he could’ve been away. He’s miserable.. because he can’t let go of his rage or ego and just move on from something that happened to him when he was ten! He has to be in his 60′s now! Glomgold may think Scrooge is his worst enemy.. but it’s really Flintheart Glomgold.... and it always will be. 

So naturally his first actoin is to storm into his company and scream at scrooge. How he found him there... honestly not a huge suprise it’s his company and he likely knows how to find scrooge anywhere because he’s a creep like that. Scrooge and Owlson’s reactions are both worth a look at:

Given Glomgold bursts into an already annoying meeting of Scrooge trying to get the dimes part knocked down to nickles (and likely lower before that given he mentioned Pennies earlier), to accuse Scrooge of trying to trick him by appearing as a boat in his dreams her bafflement is both understandable and hilarious. Like she probably HEARD what Glomgold was like but gennuinely didn’t belivie it and her face is just now frozen in a look of “oh my god they were not exagearating what fresh hell is this”. 

She tries to be professional and introduce herself but he just brushes her off and yells at Scrooge blaming him for being forgotten (”You literally forgot yourself), with Owlson also considering calling security. She only dosen’t because Scrooge points out he’ll tire himself out eventually and as usual for their jousts, is not remotely threatened or worried. He’s just..sad. And getting back to his reaction.. that’s what’s telling about his plan. He probably KNEW this would happen. He in his heart knew Duke Balloney would be gone soon, and he’d have to deal with Glomgold again. It helps soften the implicatoins: it wouldn’t last and fraknly if it did Scrooge would probably have people check on him regualry to make sure he was okay. He’s not a monster.. he just wanted Flinty to be happy for five minutes and to not ruin that out of some misplaced sense of right and wrong.. when the right thing was to simply let the man be happy till it inevitably blew up. 

Glomgold however, furious at being forgotten and cast aside has decided to take a huge poorly thought through gamble and challenges scrooge to a classic Scrooge comics trope between the two, but with higher stakes: A contest to see who will be the richest duck in the world by the end of the year.. and given Christmas happens right after this i’m just assuming he means a year from now. Winner gets both companies and fortunes. Scrooge scoffs at this.. till Flinty pulls out the clip, taunting him with how he did it and “If I can beat you once scrooge i’ll beat you again”. And this, Flinty revealing he stole from him and he NEVER KNEW it or realize it, enrages scrooge enough to agree and to take him seriously... meanwhile Owlson.. just tries to get actual work shit done and just forges their signatures. Look she is a woman of color in the business world with genuinely good motives... she’s probably used to using white nonsense to get things past two idiots having a peeing race. 

Final Thoughts:

This episode is truly excellent and like Most Dangerous Game Night! i’d forgottne just HOW good it was. The pacing, the comedy, and the character work is all on full blast and i’ve gushed plenty enough about how great an origin story is. it’s a character piece that explains why this doofus is the way he is and that is what holds him back. 

Next time on MMM: Louie’s back as he pulls a ghostbusters to make quick money and Storkules starts rooming with Donald with predictable results. 

If you liked this review consider joining my patreon and i’ll see you at the next rainbow. 

[snowdice]

Goblin Brain Study Session Fic 1 [Day 46]

Because I don’t want to just have walls of text for my Goblin Brain Study Session posts, I’m separating them by days. If you want to read the previous chapters, click the links below. Chapter 17 and what’s done of Chapter 18 is under the cut.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16  My Master Post

See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. Also, if you’re interesting, don’t forget that I am constantly updating the timeline as I write. :)

I am still very tired and do not want to study today, but I need to. Ugh.

Chapter 17

“Aw, come on kiddo,” Patton beseeched doing his absolutely best not to laugh at the adorable discontent expression on Anxiety’s face.

“You murdered all of my cows,” the boy grumbled. “All of them.”

Patton did giggle then. “That’s the game.”

“You knew!” Anxiety insisted. “You knew the cemetery was there, didn’t you? You’re familiar with this highway. That’s why you let me take the 150 cows you cheater.”

Patton didn’t bother to deny it. “All’s fair,” he said instead.

“You’re the worst,” Anxiety shot back. “Why don’t we play a game I can win.”

“Like what?” Patton asked, curious.

“Like…” he said. “Like, let’s play a game where whoever’s youngest wins.”

 Patton chuckled. “Well I guess you’ve got me beat there.”

“Or a contest to see who has the straightest hair.”

“Sounds like a fun game, but we’d have to wash both our hair just to make sure neither of us are cheating.”

There was a pause and Patton glanced over at him.

“Aw!” he cooed. “Do you secretly have curly hair too?”

Anxiety groaned.

“That’s adorable!”

“Is not,” he grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. “It ruins my aesthetic.”

“Aw, stop being so grumpy, kiddo.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t be if you hadn’t murdered all of my cows.”

“I sure did kill the moo-d, huh?”

 Anxiety groaned. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“…Carjac-”

“I know, I know,” Anxiety huffed. Patton smiled over at him and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Ugh, stop! No!”

“I want to see the curls!” Patton teased as Anxiety batted him away.

“You’re lucky I don’t have the god damned knife.”

“Excuse me, was that a bad word Mister?”

“Ugh,” Anxiety groaned.

“I will turn this car around,” Patton threatened.

“Oh, yeah,” Anxiety said. “That’s what would make you stop driving. Silly me. I’ll try not to use the grown-up words.”

“See that you don’t.” Anxiety just shook his head and turned the radio up a bit to ignore him.

 “The cows have been cleared up,” Anxiety noted.

Patton hummed. “Do you want to get on the interstate again?” he asked. “It would be about 10 minutes faster and I’m sure if anyone was tracking us, we lost them in all of that.”

“Sure,” he agreed. “I don’t see why not.” Patton nodded and took the next turn back onto the familiar interstate.

“So,” Patton hedged once they were back on the main road. “We’ll be there soon. What are your plans once we get there? Nothing in particular,” he rushed to say when he saw the kid frowning. He was a secretive little thing. “Just, what do you want me to do?”

 “Oh, um,” he said, playing with the edges of his hoodie sleeve. “I don’t know.” He paused. “You can leave if you want.”

A smile flickered across Patton’s face. Not likely kid. “Well, I’m not going to leave at least until I make sure you’re with someone.”

“Thanks,” Anxiety said softly.

“I’m with you all the way Anxiety.”

“I still don’t understand you at all.” Patton just shrugged and smiled. “Also, you can call me Vee.”

“Ooo a partial name,” Patton said. “I’m moving up in your esteem.”

“I didn’t say that,” Vee snapped back. “My name might be Bob for all you know.”

“Right,” Patton agreed. “Of course. Bob. My bad.”

 That caused Vee to smile though he seemed to be fighting it. After a few moments, the smile faded, and he started playing with the strings on his hoodie. “You’ve got to get back to your family though, eventually,” he said.

Patton shrugged, not mentioning the fact that they were literally driving towards his brother this very second. “They’re all adults who can more than handle themselves. My brother’s older than me and the twins have him. You need me a bit more right now.”

Vee thought for a moment, still rubbing his fingers over the frayed edge of the hoodie string. “I have an older brother,” he offered.

 “Oh?” Patton asked.

“I tried to call him earlier after my uncle,” Vee said. “He didn’t pick up.”

“Well, I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for that, just like with your uncle.”

Vee bit his lip. “I don’t know if…” he said, “if he’d be on my side in this or not.”

“What do you mean?”

Vee looked away out the window. “Our mom’s the one who killed my dad,” he said quietly.

“Oh, honey,” Patton said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“So, I don’t know if my brother would side with her or not. I don’t want to think he’d hand me over to her if I went to him, but…”

 Poor kiddo, Patton thought. He wished he could say with certainty that his brother wouldn’t do something like that, but Patton didn’t know enough about him to know for certain. He hoped not. “I’ll help you figure it all out,” Patton promised. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to go with your mom.”

Vee snorted. “I don’t know what you can do, but thanks for the sentiment.”

“Oh,” Patton said. “I think I could do a thing or two.”

“Sorry,” Vee said dryly, “but your reaction to a carjacking was to get me ice cream.”

Patton laughed lightly. “Good point.”

 “I really don’t want to go with my mom, but I don’t think the cops would listen to me,” Vee said. “She’s technically my mom even though I’ve never even spent the night at her house. Does this make her my legal guardian now?”

“If she’s the one who killed your father, I doubt people would let you go with her.”

“You don’t know mom,” Vee mumbled. “I’m sure no one will even think to try to arrest her for that, let alone convict her. Would they let my uncle be my guardian even if she isn’t arrested?”

“They’d be willing to do that I’m sure. Especially since you’re already 15, anyone would listen to your opinion on where you live.”

 Vee look at least a bit relieved at that. “So, you like your uncle then?” Patton asked.

“He’s great,” Vee said. “He lived with us when I was really little. He always made me eat my vegetables and helps me out when I’m anxious. He’s a psychiatrist so he knows his stuff.”

“I have a friend whose brother is a psychiatrist,” Patton said. “I’ve never met him, but Logan sends people to him when they need mental health care. It’s a big help for a lot of them.”

“Yeah,” Vee agreed. “It wouldn’t be too bad living with him. I guess.”

 “Well I’ll make sure you end up with him and not your mom, okay?”

“Sure,” Vee replied.

Patton shot him a half smile and they continued driving for a few minutes before he exited the interstate. “We’re almost there” he told Vee.

Vee bit his lip. “I hope this wasn’t a stupid idea…” he said.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine,” Patton said. He flipped a switch on near his steering wheel that would open the gate for them a few seconds before said gate came into view. He drove up the driveway and chose to park in front of the factory building instead of trying to park in the underground parking garage which would certainly freak Vee out.

 “Just looks like a creepy abandoned factory,” Vee commented, eyeing the old concrete building with its boarded over windows. “It’s almost too perfectly abandoned,” he said, eyes narrowed. Smart boy.

“Ready?” Patton asked.

Vee still looked nervous, but he nodded determinedly after a moment and exited the car. Patton followed him. He let Vee lead the way up the gravel path to the entrance of the building. He studied the door for a couple of minutes and then pushed it slowly open. Patton was sure at this point that someone downstairs had probably noticed them and would come up to greet them soon.

 Vee was looking around himself with suspicious eyes. “Okay,” he said. “What do we do now?”

“Probably just wait to see if anyone comes to meet us,” Patton said.

Vee started poking around a bit. “It’s pretty clean for an abandoned factory,” he said.

“Mmhmm,” Patton replied.

He considered a couple of panels near the door and Patton observed him, curious about what he’d do. He made a startled noise when one of the panels came off. “Oops,” he said. He peered into the hole he’d just made. “Well… that’s not good. Whoever put that camera there is probably not going to be happy with me.”

 Patton had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He would not.

Vee set the broken panel back against the wall. It hung off of it awkwardly. “At least we know there really is someone here and it’s not just an abandoned factory.”

“That is good,” Patton agreed. Just then there was a soft ding which Patton identified as the hidden elevator the room over.

Vee’s head shot up to look in the direction of the sound, and the boy shuffled closer to Patton.

Logan himself rounded the corner after a moment and looked over at them with his lips pursed and looking especially cross. “How is it,” he asked, “that you always do exactly what I need you to do in the most irritating and inconvenient way possible?”

  Chapter 18

Janus had a couple of seconds to regret every decision he’d made in the past few hours before Roman’s car hit the water. He’d managed to brace himself enough to not go flying into the front seat, but he still was jerked around by the impact. The airbags in front went off when they hit which was just his luck, and the car immediately began to fill up with water.

Roman and Remus were already struggling to get the airbags out of their way and Remus reached over to release Roman’s seatbelt since he hadn’t been restrained himself. Janus jerked over towards the window to try to roll it down.

 It rolled down about 1/8th of the way before the automatic system gave out and the window got stuck. Janus took a split second before he dove for Remus’s bag and grabbed out a hammer and swung at the window, shattering it in two goes.

Roman and Remus had already noticed the broken open window, and so Janus went ahead and pushed himself out of the window and towards the surface. He immediately noticed that there was a figure swimming towards him through the water and tensed for a fight assuming it was one of the people who had been chasing him.

 He struck out with a fist, still half blinded by the water in his eyes. There was a started yelp as he felt cartilage snap under his fist. “Hey! Fuck!” the figure said in response. “Janus!”

Janus blinked the water out of his eyes as the familiar, if slightly distorted voice sunk in. “Lena?” Janus asked as Remus popped his head out of the water next to him. She glared at him, holding her nose with one hand and treading water with the other. “Shit, sorry.” Remus seemed to notice what was happening and swam forward to give her a bit of support.

 Roman popped up, sputtering a moment later and smacked Janus across the face.

“Karma,” Lena spat.

“How are you even here?” Janus asked, rubbing his nose.

“Everyone went dark and Logan sent us to go figure out what was going on,” she explained. “Then we saw Roman’s car in a high-speed chase and followed you.”

“Speaking of!” Some other guy’s voice called from a few feet away. “Can I get a bit of help?” One of the men from the other car had popped up out of the water and he was currently wrestling with him.

Remus stayed to help Lena out of the water, but Roman and Janus both swam over to help the guy with Lena drag the first guy from the other car and then the second one out of the water.

 “Fred,” the other man with Lena introduced himself while he and Janus trussed up the men from the other car.

“Janus,” Janus answered.

“I figured,” Fred replied.

Janus gave him a confused look.

“You were one of the names The Boss was angrily mumbling about this evening.”

“Yeah well Logan can shove it,” Janus grumbled.

Fred didn’t comment, instead he just stood up and looked at the two men tied up on the ground. “Well,” he said. “Lena’s car’s only a 5-seater. Guess you two are going in the trunk. Wanna help me out Janus?”

Janus and Fred hauled the two men into the trunk together despite their muffled protests and Fred slammed the trunk closed.

[capricornus-rex]

Two Sides of the Coin (6)

Chapter 6: Occupational Complications | Jidné Sheedra x Cal Kestis

Summary: Hell-bent on exacting revenge and retrieving the Holocron, the dreaded Darth Vader is now on the hunt for the young Jedi Knight, Cal Kestis. Under the assumption that he still possessed the artifact, while fueled by the intrigue of the boy’s strength and skill with the Force, the dark lord hires the bounty hunter, Jidné Sheedra, to track him down and have him delivered alive. However, the task becomes a trial for young Jidné, as she faces a conflict that tests her beliefs of a scarred past she had hidden for so long.

Also in AO3

Tags: Fem OC, Jidné Sheedra, Force-Sensitive! Fem OC, Bounty Hunter! Fem OC, Jedi! Fem OC

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 | Previous: Part 5 | Next: Part 7 | Masterlist

6 of ?

Jidné tilted her head back, sighing, she turned around to answer Cal right in the face.

“Yeah,” said Jidné, plainly.

She wrapped her cowl around her shoulders after clearing off the dust and leaves that clumped onto it during their skirmish with the Bashiji cats. They exchanged looks, but she kept her distance from him. Cal’s eyes wandered to the girl’s hilt, the two strands of turquoise beads attached to the ring of the pommel’s base stood out from the black and silver color scheme.

A robotic chittering came within their earshot, ID-3 appeared from the branches where he was hiding the whole time. Alarmed by the sight of a probe droid, Cal reignited his saber and pointed it at the black hovering disc of a droid.

“No, no, no—wait! He’s mine!” Jidné put herself between ID-3 and Cal who had his saber at the ready, who only looked at the Imperial probe droid by face value.

“He’s mine,” she repeated, more calmly this time.

Cal stopped at Jidné’s behest, he looked over her shoulder and saw the droid was hiding behind her back, its single red lens for an eye peeked over her hair.

Confused, Cal pulled his eyebrows together, “That Imperial probe droid is yours?”

“I reprogrammed him, and he’s with me,” she explained. She turned to the shuddering black disc hiding behind her shoulders. “It’s okay, ID-3, they won’t hurt us.”

Now standing much closer, she got a good long look at him. The sunlight that pored through the jungle canopy highlighted of his features for Jidné to see: the freckles that riddled his cheeks like stars to a night sky, the clear emerald shine of his eyes and the soft gaze that he makes with it.

Cal ticked the boxes of the job detail—red hair, a Jedi, and as much as she was too prideful to admit it he is handsome—but there’s no sign of the Holocron on his person. Jidné presumed that he wouldn’t carry it around with him, as people might mistake it for some heftily-priced relic.

He switched his saber off after believing that the probe droid was indeed harmless. ID-3 was still frightened from the sudden stance but quickly warmed up to Cal after spotting little BD-1, to prove that he was good, ID-3 raised one tentacle and waved it as if saying “Hello” both to Cal and BD-1.

“Booo-wooo…” BD-1 cautiously beeped in response. For good measure, he lit up his scanners at ID-3 and his lens panned up and down to get the full picture of the droid. The abrupt change of tone in BD-1 verified that ID-3 wasn’t the Imperial droid he used to be.

“See, he’s harmless!” Jidné insisted.

“Sorry we doubted you, ID,” Cal apologized for both himself and BD-1.

ID-3 accepted the apology, his raspy and monotonous tone somewhat had a cheery chirp in it.

“Oh! You’re hurt,” Cal uttered, spotting blood staining on Jidné’s jacket through the tears of her cowl.

Jidné searched for the injury, the adrenaline practically made her numb from feeling the sting, she only felt it when she slightly flexed her shoulder.

“Oh, crud…” she mumbled.

Cal snapped his fingers and out comes a healing stim from BD-1’s little compartment.

“Here,”

Jidné’s slender fingers picked up the green vial from Cal’s palm. She brought it closer to examine it.

“A healing stim,” she identified. “You have one impressive little droid.”

BD-1 took the compliment and chirped happily. Jidné sucked in some air before injecting herself of the green, soothing substance on the flesh of her upper arm. The substance relieved her of the pain, but she still has to treat the wound.

“Thank you, both of you,”

“You’re welcome, again,” Cal cooed bashfully, hanging his head low so Jidné doesn’t find him blushing.

And then the same awkward silence immediately followed them back.

“So, uh, what are you doing in the middle of the jungle?”

Okay, that was bad enough! Cal scolded himself in his subconscious.

“I should I ask you the same,” chuckled Jidné.

“W-Well, I was about to take a look around the town there until…”

Jidné bobbed her head, prompting him to continue.

“Until I heard you.” He finished.

“Oh… Well, my hero,” she giggled at her lighthearted yet dry joke. Cal received it as a compliment and awkwardly chuckled along with her.

The silence was getting old between the two of them now—that much they’re certain of. Both youngsters just don’t know how to interact with one another for their own various reasons.

“Listen, Jidné… um…”

“Yes?”

Cal had his tongue tied, he didn’t realize that he was saying things to her out on a whim, he didn’t exactly plan ahead with the conversations that he starts with her. He gulped the lump that’s been stuck in the middle of his throat so he could say the words right.

“You should treat that wound soon,”

Jidné examined her wound again, “Yeah, I suppose I should.”

“Right, err… so… I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Sure,” she shrugged her shoulder; in a deadpan tone, she added, “Maybe.”

Jidné watched this endearing, bumbling, ginger Jedi slowly back away into his original path. She remained where she stood until he was out of sight, out of the forest and back into the open—where he planned to be in the first place.

“Good gods, that boy… is a threat? To Darth Vader?”

“Trill, beeeee-eeep!” ID-3 chirped teasingly.

The bounty hunter translated the droidspeak, her own droid was teasing her that she must have found him cute.

“Oh shut up, you flying saucer,” she chuckled in great denial.

She began walking in the opposite path, where the wood gradually cleared out; along the way, she found her rifle that the Bashiji had chewed on. She picked the weapon and studied the damage, bite marks have dented the paneling; she flicked the safety and cocked it to see if it would still work.

“Well, so much for that mint condition earlier,” groaned the girl. “Come on, ID. I need to wash off this blood.”

The droid hovered as he followed her along, continuing to tease her in an upbeat string of notes and chirps—which Jidné constantly defended herself from.

“Beee-beeep!”

“You can’t prove I was blushing—you were behind me!”

Eventually, ID-3 finally toned down on the teasing, much to Jidné’s relief. Her trek ended when she spotted the bank of a river that leads to a waterfall on the far right, the crashing was within hearing range and so she decided to go to the main basin.

Stripping off her cowl and jacket, leaving only her black tank top, the claws of the Bashiji have sickled through the fabric and nicked at the corner of her shoulder; had that cat buried its nails into her then it would’ve reached the bone. Jidné soaked her clothes into the shallower part of the water, then scooped up handfuls of water to wash away the dried blood; when the wound had lessened the bleeding, she decided that it would be impractical if she hiked back to her ship to patch herself up.

“Never thought I’d be doing this again,” she mumbled under her breath.

She resorted to using Force healing, albeit was a skill that she’s still learning; in her level, it required her to meditate—compared to her late mentor who did it as simply as breathing, it was one of the things she strived to imitate in terms of mastery. Nonetheless, she sat herself up—back straight, legs crossed together, and her mentality clear. Jidné allowed herself to relax on her grassy seat, her fingers loosened around her kneecaps and took slow, calm breaths—feeling the warmth of the midday sun pinching her cheeks with its rays.

Her surroundings in her consciousness were beginning to blur as she puts her mind into focus. Her senses have softened and keened at the same time—a phenomenon that was instinctive as it was complicated to comprehend to those who are less sensitive, it was something she can’t put into words yet there was a familiarity to it. At first, she managed to reconnect with the Force and gently willed it to the wound—bit by bit, new skin began to seal the damaged flesh; when she sensed that she was succeeding, she strained out of impatience which she mistook for eagerness.

“Come on…!” muttered Jidné almost voicelessly, but the demand in her tone was apparent.

Jidné sensed that the new skin had slowed down in closing the wound, she forced herself just a little bit and she snapped back involuntarily; as consequence, the injury didn’t fully close, a significant portion of it remained fresh and unhealed—perhaps half in size. At least the bleeding stopped.

She examined her wound, patting on the new skin that concealed the rest of the injury. Accepting that she had lost control with her grasp on the Force, she resolved to letting what remains heal naturally; her mind shifted to the thought of Cal. The fact that he’s already met her and identified her as a Jedi—and not a bounty hunter—a strategy came up onto the top of her mind.

“This complicates things, though,” she thought out loud.

She continued to clean the grime, dust, and blood off of herself by the riverbank. Seeing that the forest was devoid of other humans or sentient life forms, she decided to take a dip into the cool water of the waterfall’s basin. The coldness blanketed and soothed every inch of her body, her dark hair swirling underwater; as she swam around, her mind constantly reminded her of Cal—the way he behaved, the way he spoke, but most importantly, his touch.

She brought her hand up from the water to examine it and try to reenact how she took his hand, how he held it, and how they shook each other’s hands. His palm was coarse, no doubt from his line of work, but if Jidné thinks about it—his grasp was so gentle. Water plopped when she jerked it back down, but she can’t stop rubbing her fingers in that hand.

“Definitely complicates things,” she groaned and submerged her face into the water, bubbles boiled as she exhaled her frustration underwater.

On the other hand, Jidné relished her time alone, bathing in the waterfall—it was a badly-needed cleanse. In the very center of the basin, she attempted to meditate—burying her toes into the silt floor of the stream to anchor herself, her body submerged from the chin down, and letting the coolness blanket her.

“Find it, Jidné,” she coaxes herself. “Latch onto it.”

She repeated this mantra until the sound of the waterfall have hollowed out in her hearing, until the only thing she could feel was her entire body subtly floating within the weak current of the water.

Nothing.

She growled, smacking and pounding the water with her fist, creating fountain-like splashes that rained down on her head. She brought her hands back out of the water again, gazing at her empty hands riddled with water droplets like transparent pearls.

“It’s always like this. I couldn’t be that damaged with the Force, could I?”

ID-3—who was hovering above the water, staying close to her as she swam—answered her question, even though it wasn’t exactly directed to him. He sounded affirming towards his owner, chirping high-pitched, raspy tones at Jidné.

“Thanks, ID, I appreciate that,” she hummed and continued to swim.

After her bath, she put on her clothes and collected her things before proceeding to hike through the jungle, avoiding the denser patches of greenery where Bashiji cats or other predators might jump on her again.

She decided to climb the waterfall’s wall, curious to see where it would lead her. Her little droid clamped itself on the harness’s strap on her back as she climbed. Using the skills she’s gained from her Padawan training back in the day, she scaled the rock wall with little to no equipment—just her iron grip.

“Just don’t look down, ID!”

“Booo-wooooo!!” the droid chirped in a nauseated tone.

The climb led the duo to the mesa, in the same level where she originally came from before landing into the surface of the jungle. From there, she stalked the ridge in search of the Mantis—relying on the homing beacon as she goes. The farther she went, the device’s beeping rhythm became faster until slow beating transitioned into a quick flickering with the noise barely keeping up with the pace.

She places herself on a vantage point, quite higher than her original spot where she first found the ship—atop a boulder’s throw. Zooming in through her binoculars, she scanned the treelines again, hoping to spot that same silver twinkle that she saw prior to this unprecedented predicament. The Mantis stuck out more from her current perspective, she patiently sat there, examining Cal’s companions.

Jidné eventually spotted that particular Lateron that Sorc was talking about. She watched the four-armed gray creature flail his arms while inaudibly conversing with a much older lady wearing beige clothes while a second lady in red and black garments—whom Jidné assumed to be Dathomirian—stood idly to survey the nature around them.

“Completely harmless, I wager,” Jidné commented to herself. “Kinda cranky for his size, though.”

She thumbed the knob on the underside of her binoculars to zoom in some more, she got a closer look of the Mantis and it was clear enough for her to see their faces.

“They’re obviously hiding it inside that ship,”

That fact led to Jidné remembering that her initial plan had been slightly ruined, hence the necessary alterations. With Cal thinking that she was friend not foe, the bounty hunter concocted her Plan B on the spot.

“I guess I have to keep up an act now, huh?”

“Beee. Trill, beep,”

“Figures…” she sighed. “One hell of a contract, eh, ID?”

[whyaretheynaked]

CH.107: The Gift-Giving Sequence

Chapter 107 isn’t over yet but the interaction between Mike and Lucy on pages 4-6 does seem to be done so I’ll comment. Parts of it are pretty strange and could stand some scrutiny.

Mike is better-disposed towards Lucy than he has been since ch.96 when she flipped him off. Maybe the deflating phone-call he had with Sandy in ch.105 has changed his outlook? He’s put too much stock in Sandy as a replacement for everyone else in his life so it makes sense that losing some confidence in her would change his attitude.

There appears to be a callback to way back in ch.63 (exactly one year ago in-story) where Lucy was upset that Mike hadn’t wished her a happy birthday and recalled previous years he had done so.

He finally surprised her.

If intentional this is a cool little connection.

Here Daisy, like Sue in ch.103, takes Lucy as an excuse to be aggressively sour on Mike. Lucy seems to think she’s going too far but is uncharacteristically limp in her objection. When was she ever so timid about expressing annoyance? This is in marked contrast to ch.103 where she forcefully lectured Daisy on something that was far less her business than Daisy haranguing Mike over his behavior on her birthday a year previous.

And here’s where things get very strange. David gives Lucy a “simulated” present from “Mike”. He’s the only person to give her a gift at this time, just minutes before class starts. This is weird, even for David the gag character. Is Lucy meant to open it now? Carry it around the whole day unopened? What’s also odd is that this weird joke (?) from David is not used as a means of humor.

Lucy trashes the gift “from Mike” apparently as a statement about how much she hates him. The other characters stand mute, apparently at a loss for words. Only Lucy thinks this is funny. Mike looks more upset in every panel, but why is this his reaction to something as strange as what he just saw?

Lucy retrieves the gift from the trash so I guess she was just joking about what’s actually a gift from David, but she naturally doesn’t know what was inside an unopened gift; what if she broke whatever was inside by throwing it across the room? That’d be very insulting to David. Yet neither he, nor anyone else, appears again and the scene ends focused on Mike and Lucy interacting. Why is David so important to these actions but vanishes before they’re even over?

This final exchange between Mike and Lucy is strangely reliant on a small point of semantics. If Mike doesn’t speak exactly of Lucy planning to trash a gift from him, Lucy’s response doesn’t make sense. I’m sure Lucy didn’t plan what to do ahead of time if Mike gave her a gift (the trash-toss certainly gives the impression of a spur-of-the-moment thing) but that doesn’t close the book on the issue of her throwing a gift in the garbage, either a hypothetical one from Mike or the real one from David. Yet the bells rings and the conversation is over without the real issue being addressed.

The titles of chapters can be more abstract than this, but is this the “unwanted gift”? But she retrieves it, so doesn’t that mean she does want it? Why wouldn’t she want a gift that, again, is actually from David?

What’s more, isn’t this last exchange just a gentler repeat of what happened in ch.96?

So why is Mike so affected by it? He’s just a by-stander to a joke at his (and David’s!) expense by Lucy, which has happened several times since she returned in chapter 95, so what’s the big deal about it happening again? Why show Mike being relatively friendly to Lucy only to push him further away from her by a weird coincidence?

Is it really supposed to be like this?

This sequence is so strange I’m left thinking it was originally conceived significantly differently and was later changed before publication. Some aspects of the construction of these pages seem to support this to greater or lesser extents.

Is this panel so big and dramatic just for Mike’s entrance? Mike is emphasized by being at the center, markers of surprise emanating from Lucy and Daisy’s faces, and their near sides cast in shadow to dull their colors so he stands out more in the light. He and Lucy are on bad terms but why is it so important he’s around? It’s been almost two months since Lucy came back and it’s not like they fight every time they’re around each other; they’re in the same classroom every school day after all.

Note that Mike is carrying a book. He’s just entering the classroom so this reasonably could be a prop to communicate this and give his arms something to do. It also gives him some body language indicating discomfort, which makes sense.

The next panel is where things got more unambiguously strange.  As Mike moves to his seat, Daisy glares at him in anger but Lucy seems to be looking at the book he’s holding. Why would she do that?

In the next two panels the book has vanished which is little odd. There’s also a fairly large empty space in the top panel. Perhaps this is to leave room for the dialogue balloon in the bottom panel so the composition of the two panels is almost the same. Not strange, really.

It is strange that Lucy’s attention is fixed on Mike (following from the previous panel) before he says a word or even looks her way. Again, they’ve been in the same classroom every weekday since she came back. Why is she acting like he’s a remarkable sight?

The next is very strange. David hands Lucy the gift. Naturally he has to be right next to her to do so...

...but the very next moment, as Lucy tosses the gift, David’s location has jumped several yards into the middle of the room even as he maintains the bodily position he had in the previous panel. The perspective make him seem further away from Lucy than Daisy and closer to the front of the room than Paulo is. The composition doesn’t make sense given the actions that are occurring. Taeshi’s art isn’t perfect but I don’t think she’s ever made a mistake like this before.

Daisy’s position is odd as well. Her first is still balled from threatening Mike, but at this point that was two panels ago. The chronology is confused.

An Alternative

What if these pages were originally supposed to run something like this?

Roughness of the edit notwithstanding, this avoids all the problems I detailed above. Mike surprises the other characters (and the reader) by showing up with a birthday gift for Lucy but she trashes it because she hates him. Simple. It’s significant for Mike’s character because in the wake of Sandy disappointing him he tries to back-peddle on his antagonism towards Lucy (with something more than just a few civil words) only to be totally rejected. There’s no way back.

This version also makes Lucy look like a huge jerk who instead of simply refusing Mike’s “unwanted gift” takes the chance to insult him and is very pleased with herself about it. The smirk as she thanks him, probably already having decided to toss his gift, is especially obnoxious. I’d say this is consistent with her characterization since she returned; she’s taken most opportunities to insult or annoy Mike that have come up,

However, I get the impression Taeshi at least intends for Lucy to be well-liked by the reader, for better or for worse, so this becomes a problem. If this sequence really was changed from an original form that resembled these edits, that may be why. When Daisy harangues Mike Lucy (weakly) objects, making her seem less stringently antagonistic to Mike. Instead of it being Mike’s present she throws into the trash it’s David’s, and she does it as a joke and retrieves it afterward. While this prevents Lucy from seeming like such a jerk it comes at the cost of some very strange actions and dialogue and, much worse, a lack of involvement for Mike, who becomes the focus character as soon as he shows up but is a bystander to events that don’t really involve him. As it is, he’s just along for the ride instead of really being a part of things.

[smkkbert]

Mothers know best

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

Rating: Explicit

Previous chapters: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11 12 13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20

Chapter 20 of 22: Ya’aburnee

= The desire to die before another person because of how unbearable it would be to learn of their death (Arabic)

“Are you coming, or what?”

With held breath and wildly beating heart, Oliver watched Felicity as she had almost reached the top of the ladder. Since she had run towards the ladder and started climbing it like they were still six years old and had no fear of falling or anything really, he had been holding his breath and just waited for her to reach the end of the ladder safely. He was sure that, once she had reached the small front porch of their tree house, he would relax a little more. Well, or at least he hoped so.

“I am just waiting here until you have gotten onto safe ground.”

Instead of continuing to climb up the ladder, Felicity stilled which really didn’t help Oliver to relay at all. She angled her head back over her shoulder and looked at him. Her smile was almost a little mocking, and she let one of her hands go of the ladder, leaning back instead. Oliver knew that she was just doing so to tease him, and he tried his best not to make her see how much it affected him. He doubted that he was successful though.

Really?” she asked, perking up a doubtful eyebrow. “There was a time that you couldn’t wait to chase after me to see who would make it up here first. I think you almost threw me down the ladder years ago.”

“Possibly.”

Oliver’s reply was elusive although he remembered the incident clearly. He had come quite close to throwing Felicity off the ladder by accident. He had wanted to get to their treehouse before her, so he had wanted to pass her in the middle of the ladder by just climbing through her. His movements had almost made her slip and fall don several feet onto the ground though, so he had never intended of trying it again.

“What, you are really just going to stand there and wait for me to arrive at the top?”

Oliver puckered his lips. He could hear that she was trying to challenge him as challenging had always been half of what their friendship had been about. They had challenged each other to do the stupidest things, just so they could tease each other with it. It had always been a lot of fun. He couldn’t deny that there were much more important things to him now that she was his wife and carrying their baby though,

“Hey, your pregnancy and our marriage turned you into a woman who wants to claw out other women’s eyes because of jealousy,” he reminded her of the conversation they had had five days ago at The Geek Squad, “so you can hardly blame me for turning into a person who wants to make sure their his wife and unborn baby are safe.”

Felicity’s lips twitched up into a smile. She looked at him with so much love in her gaze that it almost took his breath away in an entirely different way than her risky climb had managed him to do. He knew that she understood him, and he didn’t even have to tell her all the reasons why it was important to him that she was getting up to their treehouse safely.

“Just for the record,” Felicity said, “if I were to slip and threatened to fall down-“

“I would catch you,” Oliver replied immediately. “You can just fall down. I am here.”

Instead of falling down, Felicity hurried to climb up the rest of the ladder and crawl onto the floor of their treehouse’s front porch quickly though. Letting her shanks dangling from the edge of the wood panels, she cocked her head at Oliver.

“Are you coming now?”

“If you promise not to move,” Oliver asked, “so I don’t feel like I have to catch you because I  can guarantee that I will just let go and let myself fall back, so I can still catch you before you land down there.”

Felicity smiled, amused and enamored at the same measure Oliver guessed. She put a hand onto her heart and mouthed a silent vow then, actually making him agree on following her up the ladder. Still, he hurried up there to make sure that he was there to pull her off the edge of platform if necessary.

By the time he had reached the treehouse, Felicity was still standing at a safe distance to the edge of the platform. Hence, there was no reason for him to safe her. It didn’t stop him from putting his hands to Felicity’s hips and walk her backwards into their treehouse, brushing a kiss against the tip of her nose.

With a content sigh, Felicity wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and leaned back just enough to look at his face. She was smiling happily, infecting Oliver with it easily. If Felicity was happy, there was no reason for him not to be happy.

“So, why did you want to go to our treehouse on Christmas Eve Morning?”

“Christmas Eve Morning,” Felicity whispered, shaking her head. “As someone who was not raised in Christian Belief, I have to tell you that it sounds weird to call it Christmas Eve Morning when the only holiday is Christmas Eve. Like, I am not sure that Christmas Eve Morning is actually a thing.”

“It is for my family,” Oliver replied. “Christmas Eve Morning is always used to set up the tree and put all the gifts under it and build up the Natal Scene.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “Can this child please be raised as a part of the Jewish community because your traditions freak me out, and I am saying that as someone who has lived with you and your family for a while.”

Oliver chuckled and pecked her lips. “Whatever you want.”

“Really?” Felicity asked, perking up her eyebrows, and poked her forefinger against his chest. “Be careful what you promise me because I am going to nail you down on it.”

Knowing that she was most likely saying the truth, Oliver made up his mind quickly. Felicity would probably make him adopt a dozen of dogs, tattoo her name on his forehead and run around at their home all day every day for the rest of her life. Especially with the pregnancy, she did have some crazy ideas going through her head currently.

Clearing his throat, he quickly changed the topic. “You didn’t answer my question. What are we doing here?”

When he had woken up this morning, Felicity had already been awake. She had lay beside him, her head propped up onto her hand, while she had been watching him. As soon as he had opened his eyes, she had suggested getting to their treehouse, so they had done so. They had even skipped breakfast as Felicity’s morning sickness had increased through the last days, and she couldn’t get a bite down.

Taking his hand with a smile, Felicity led Oliver over to where they had carved their initials into the wooden panels. O & F.

Oliver smiled at the three little signs. Lifting his free hand, he brushed his fingertips against the carved letters and the sign between. O & F, Oliver and Felicity. Those two names had never seemed to belong more together than they did right now.

“I think it’s time to follow your granddad’s instruction,” Felicity said with quiet voice and held out a knife for him. “Now, those letters do need that heart around them.”

Oliver felt his heart warming at Felicity’s words. It had been years since they had built this treehouse with is grandfather. Just like he himself, Felicity hadn’t forgotten about any details about it though. She remembered that his grandfather had suggested carving a heart around the letters, but they had both turned that idea down. They had just been friends after all.

Now that they were married, Felicity was right though. That heart really should be there now. Hence, he took the knife from her and started carving that heart. Sappy as he was now that he was a married man, he even added an arrow to go through the heart.

Doing the whole thing barely took some seconds. As soon as it was done, he and Felicity stood back and watched the new carving. Felicity’s arms were wrapped around his waist tightly, while he had put an arm around her shoulders and had rested his chin on the crown of her head.

“All those years ago, who would have thought that we would end up here?” Oliver asked and kissed the crown of Felicity’s head. “Would you have thought, Mrs. Queen-Smoak?”

Felicity angled her head back and smiled at him at the mention of her new surname. It was the first time that he had been able to bring it up naturally since they had been to the Council Courts office yesterday. She looked utter content as being called Mrs. Queen-Smoak, so he guessed that it had been the right decision for her.

“I wouldn’t have,” she admitted. Her smile widened before she asked, “What about you, Mr. Queen-Smoak?”

Oliver chuckled. His arm tightened around Felicity’s shoulders, and he brushed a kiss against her forehead. He loved to hear his name as much as Felicity loved to hear it seemed. Both of them were utterly content with the decision they had made.

Asked about their surname in Las Vegas, they had delayed the decision. They hadn’t wanted to make the wrong choice just because they were in a hurry. Changing your name was a big thing after all.

On their flight back from Las Vegas to Starling City, they had eventually talked this decision out. Oliver had suggested that he would just take hers. After all the months of using the name Smoak at The Geek Squad, he was utterly used and comfortable with it. He wouldn’t mind using it officially in every aspect of his life. After all, he knew that he couldn’t be prouder than to sign any paper possible with Felicity’s family name.

Felicity, on the other hand, had pointed out that they were leading a company called Queen Consolidated after all. It was his father’s legacy, so it would be wrong to change that name. Besides, all the money that would cost would be lost for improving those bio-stimulants. They were already making good process on those, but they needed every penny they could offer to really give people hope that it would work out at the end.

Eventually, they had agreed that taking on each other’s name was the right thing to do. While Smoak-Queen had the better ring to it, with Queen Consolidated there for them to lead, they had eventually decided to take on the name Queen-Smoak.

Oliver Queen-Smoak and Felicity Queen-Smoak. Always and forever.

Still looking at their letters as well as the heart and arrow carved into the wood panels, Oliver tightened his arm around Felicity once more. She angled her head back in response, smiling at him with so much love in her eyes.

“I love you,” she whispered, “and I couldn’t be prouder to call you my husband.”

Oliver’s smile widened even more, and he tightened his arm around her shoulder just a little more. “I love you too.”

* * *

“Just close your eyes.”

With the way his lips brushed against the shell of her ear and his breath ghosted over the side of her face, Felicity couldn’t feel more content. She released a low sigh and let her head drop back against Oliver’s shoulder. Her eyes fluttered shut, and all tension seemed to leave her body. She turned into wax in his arms, and she felt completely at peace by it.

They were lying together on the bed. Felicity was sitting between Oliver’s spread legs. Her feet were hooked under his shanks. Her hands were rested on top of his thighs, massaging small circles into his muscles. She guessed that they were aching after the long run he had gone out for this afternoon. He had been so proud of himself, saying the thought of coming back to her was spurning him oven even more and had helped him to run his usual route even more quickly than he had ever had. It was why this lazy way of spending their first married Christmas Eve just right.

Staying like that, Felicity just enjoyed all the sensations Oliver made her feel. His chest was pressing to her back, warming her skin even through the thick hoodie she was wearing. His arms were wrapped around her, keeping her safe. His hands were moving up and down her stomach, one over and one under the fabric of her hoodie.

This morning, after they had returned from their short trip to the treehouse, it had been the first time that she believed to have seen some change in her body. If she had really focused on her reflection in the mirror, she had been sure that she could see the smallest of a baby bump showing there. Oliver had needed a lot of convincing before he had agreed to it, and Felicity actually believed that he had only given in because he hadn’t wanted to get into a fight with her. Anyway, he had agreed, so Felicity would just nail him down on that.

Lacing her fingers through Oliver’s on her existing or non-existing baby bump, she eventually opened her eyes. Her head turned, so she could look at his face, and she smiled at him softly.

“We have been married for a week,” Felicity whispered. “Can you believe it?”

“I believe that more easily than the fact that we haven’t gotten into a severe fight yet,” Oliver replied and nuzzled her nose with his. His lips brushed against hers briefly. “What does that say about me?”

Felicity smiled. “It says that you know us very well. We are bound to have a severe fight sooner or later. Well, rather sooner than later I guess.”

“We do. Right?”

Oliver’s question or rather the way he scrunched up his nose at the thought that they could be fighting made Felicity chuckle. Of course, with the way things were right now, it seemed impossible that they could get into a fight. Even during their friendship, they had been several moments that could have easily ended up in a terrible fight though. They might get into a fight in their future, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they were utterly in love with each other and that they wouldn’t let anything or anyone get between them.

“I am not worried though,” Felicity replied honestly, squeezing his fingers on her stomach. “We got through two engagements with the wrong people and still found our way to each other. I know that I will never give up on this easily.”

“Neither will I.” Oliver’s smile turned into a grin. “I will just take all the blame and apologize whether it’s my fault or not.”

“See?” Felicity replied and had to bite back a chuckle. “We are good at solving problems. Now you just have to continue taking all the blame for the rest of our lives.”

Oliver nodded. “Done.”

“Good.”

They both chuckled softly before they leaned in. Their lips touched in a gentle kiss, sealing the promise they had just made to each other. They wouldn’t give up easily. If their marriage should ever be at risk, they would fight as much as they could to make it stay away. That was how much they loved each other.

“I don’t regret it at all, you know?” Oliver whispered eventually, leaning his head more against hers. “I know this idea of getting married so quickly and so spontaneously has been crazy, but I am really happy that we decided to do it. I couldn’t be happier.”

“Neither could I be.”

Felicity watched their laced fingers on top of her lower stomach where their baby was growing. In a lot of ways, it still felt incredibly surreal to her. Being married to Oliver, the best friend she had and would ever have was just so weird. It was right in all ways possible, but she knew that she would need a lot more time to get used to it. Right now, she felt like she was floating on her cloud number nine.

It might even take all of her life, but she didn’t mind as she didn’t intend on getting rid of Oliver before that anyway.

“I determined my rental contract,” Oliver said after a moment of pause and placed a gentle kiss to the soft spot under her ear. “By the beginning of February, the loft is up to be rented by someone new. Once we got through the holidays, I will move all the stuff I really need here. The rest will be sold or given away for charity or whatever.”

Again, Felicity smiled and turned her head back too look at Oliver. His face was all relaxed. He looked content at the thought of leaving his loft behind to move into her penthouse. That had to mean a lot considering that a small townhouse like this was not something Oliver had ever seen himself living in. Felicity had to know given how long she knew him already.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I know this wouldn’t have been your first choice, but I am really grateful that you agreed to move here. I really, really love it here.”

“I know.” Oliver kissed the tip of her nose. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to move in here with you after all.”

Felicity looked at Oliver with slightly narrowed eyes to make her doubt obvious. She really doubted that Oliver would have ever disagreed with living here. If there was one thing that she knew, it was that Oliver had trouble to deny her anything that she wanted. She guessed that she was his weak spot, and he should probably wish for them to have a baby boy. Otherwise, he would be completely lost for the rest of his life.

“I don’t mind where we live,” Oliver told her eventually, shrugging his shoulders slightly, “as long as we live together.”

Again, Felicity smiled. She snuggled back even further into Oliver’s arms and closed her eyes for a moment. She really had no idea how she had been able to get this lucky. Oliver, a man she loved so much that it almost took her breath away, just wanted to be with her. He put back all of his own wishes and dreams to live the life she wanted because she was all that he really wanted to have.

“Once the baby is born, we might need something bigger though,” Oliver whispered into her ear eventually. “There is no real room for a nursery, and this townhouse is a little too small for two people anyway.”

Perking up her eyebrows, Oliver looked at him. “Are you really scared that we will annoy each other to hell and back already?”

Oliver chuckled. “No, I don’t. If it was up to me, we could as well live in a closet. I do know that, if we stay here, we will probably just continue to screwing each other’s brains out though, and we will end up having a dozen of kids within ten years.”

Felicity screwed up her nose. “Ugh.”

“Exactly,” Oliver agreed. “Because how are we going to have sex when we have twelve kids to take care of?”

Whispering those words against her lips, Oliver let his hand move from her lower stomach to the juncture of her legs. His fingers were aiming for her clit and center, willing to make her feel all the pleasure he could make her feel. Quickly, Felicity grabbed his hand and pulled it away though.

“What-?“

“I got you a Christmas present,” Felicity told him and pecked his lips briefly before she rolled onto her side and reached into the topmost drawer of her nightstand. She pulled out the small gift she had wrapped for him and handed it to him. “Merry Christmas, Husband.”

Oliver smiled at her choice of words. He took the gift from her and turned it between his hands that were still resting on the height of her stomach.

“It’s not even Christmas yet.”

Felicity just released a low sound, a mixture of a hum and a sigh. She doubted that she would ever get these Christmas traditions, especially since they seemed to vary so much around the world. In some European countries, she knew that Christmas presents were exchanged during Christmas Eve already. In other countries, gifts weren’t exchanged until early January for whatever reason. It seemed weird that it was different in the US and some other countries too. Shouldn’t it be the same everywhere?

“It’s already Chanukah,” Felicity told him, “so just open it.”

Oliver shot her a brief smile before he started unwrapping the gift. The moment he had turned it, so he could really look what she had gotten from her, an almost teary glance formed in his eyes. Felicity watched the expression of his face changing from joy to an emotion that she didn’t know to name and couldn’t describe and back to utter joy.

When Felicity had thought about what present to get Oliver for this year’s Christmas and Chanukah, the first holiday they celebrated as husband and wife, she had been torn between what to do. In one way, she knew that Oliver appreciated small gestures very much. In the other way, their first holiday as husband and wife had screamed for something fancy and extraordinary.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Felicity looked at the three-piece photo collage she had gotten from him. On the left side, there was a photo of them in Las Vegas after their wedding. They had taken it with their phones, making sure that this moment was secured for eternity. On the right side, two photos were put one below the other. The upper one was an ultrasound picture of their baby. The other was a snippet of their baby’s heartrate, quick but steady.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, his fingertips brushing against the photo snippet of her face at first and then the ultrasound of their baby. “I love it.”

“Yeah?”

Oliver nodded, still unable to take his eyes off those photos. “Yes, absolutely. Everything I hold dear in just frame.”

Felicity smiled. She put her hand to the side of Oliver’s face and stroked them from her temple down his cheek towards his chin. Firming her grip on him there, she turned his face towards him and captured his lips in a kiss.

She already wanted to pull back when Oliver chased her lips and deepened the kiss. His tongue darted out to lick over her bottom lip. With a sigh, she opened her lips to his touch and stroked her tongue against his. Tasting the taste of his tongue on hers made her hips urge back against his. She rubbed her behind against his groin, enjoying the way his lips shifted in response.

“You can ravish me now,” Felicity whispered against his lips before she pressed her lips down on his once more. “That might be your second Christmas gift to unwrap.”

“And I will do so happily,” Oliver replied. His lips brushed against hers once more as his nose nuzzled his. “After you unwrapped your Chanukah gift.”

“My Chanukah gift?”

While Felicity was pulling her bottom lip between her front teeth, Oliver chuckled. He reached his hand into the pocket of his sweat pants and pulled out a small box.

“You didn’t think that I would let you get away without a gift, right?” he asked, dropping it into her lap. “Not on my watch.”

Felicity knew that she shouldn’t feel so touched by Oliver’s words. In all the years that they had been friends, he had always made sure that she got at least one gift for Chanukah, knowing that her father had sometimes pretended to forget about that Chanukah tradition and refusing to give Donna the money she would have needed to buy even a single gift for her daughter.

Since Felicity had been taken on by the Queens as part of the family, she had been spoilt by gifts though. She still remembered the mountains of wrapped up gifts she had received during her first Chanukah in Starling City. Shyly, she had taken one gift and unwrapped it. The roller blades inside had already made her incredibly happy. She couldn’t have wished for more, but Robert had led her back to the gifts, telling her that all of them were for her.

Thinking about it now, Felicity felt tears welling in her eyes. She doubted that anyone who hadn’t gone through something similar could understand what it felt like to be suddenly spoilt like that. She had never had a particularly poor life, but holidays with the Queens, gifts or not, had always felt incredibly special.

“Hey,” Oliver whispered with the lowest of a chuckle. He rested his cheek against hers and tightened his arms around her shoulders. “This was not supposed to make you cry, at least not before you unwrapped it.”

“I know.” Quickly, Felicity wiped her hands under her eyes to dry the tears. “Blame it on the hormones. They make me weak.”

“So weak that you watched all the seasons of Downton Abbey last week.”

“Shhh,” Felicity soothed him, putting her fingers on top of his lips. “I watched that new commercial with the puppy that looks so sad. Everything just went to hell after that. I didn’t even remember who I was.”

“You are Felicity Megan Queen-Smoak,” Oliver reminded her and kissed the tip of her nose. “That is who you are.”

Felicity sighed contently, snuggling back into Oliver’s chest even more. She couldn’t get enough of hearing him say her new name. She felt like every single time he said her name, it helped her to accept this new reality a little more.

“I love the sound of that.”

“So, do I,” Oliver assured her with another whisper into her ear, and he kissed her cheek. “Now let’s unwrap your gift.”

Felicity did as asked of her and started unwrapping her gift. She did so neatly, ripping off every stripe of tape he had used and unfolding the paper her gift was wrapped in slowly. She could feel Oliver’s impatience in the low sighs that fell from his lips. As much as he tried to hold them back, he just couldn’t hide them from her.

When she had unwrapped the small velvet box, she put the paper away and turned her head back to look at Oliver’s face. He was nervous about her reaction. She could see that much. His hands tightened on her hips, and he rubbed his thumbs against her skin in small circles.

“Just open it.”

He just mouthed the words without any sound falling from his lips. He was smiling, but she could still feel that he had to take in deep breaths to even manage that tense smile.

As much as Felicity loved to tease Oliver, she didn’t want to torture him too long. Hence, she quickly followed his suggestion. With a move of her thumbs, she opened the small velvet box. What she saw inside simply took her breath away.

Inside of the velvet box, surrounded by soft lining, a beautiful diamond ring was placed. The thin ring was made of platin. A detail of a collection of twelve small diamonds in various sizes and forms was attached to the top of it, framing the center piece that was built by a square-formed diamond. Felicity stroked her thumb over the precious jewelry. Although they were taking a lot of space on the ring, they weren’t too big. They were just slightly higher than the ring itself.

“I proposed to you so spontaneously that I didn’t have ring,” Oliver said eventually, his voice hoarse. “I couldn’t get you a special wedding band because we got married so quickly, so I thought that I should make good for the lack of an engagement ring by giving you this because I really wanted to give you a special ring like this. I chose this one because it really got character, and it is a little vintage. It even looks close to the one my grandpa gave to my grandma all those years ago. Besides, I figured that it fitted your needs. It’s impressive, I hope, as it sparkles in the right light and it should scare any guy off who thinks it’s okay to flirt with you, but it’s also not big enough to get in the way when you are working. I know that you usually don’t like to wear rings because they annoy you when you are working on your computers. This felt like a compromise between style and practice.”

Listening to Oliver’s words, she couldn’t help but smile even more. He had put so much thought into choosing that ring. He knew her so well that he just knew that she needed something that she could wear during work without getting in the way. As much as he wanted to give her a ring that he thought was worth having, he didn’t want her to feel hampered in her work when she was wearing it.

“You hate it,” Oliver whispered, mistaking her silence for something it wasn’t. “I knew I should have pulled a Sweet Home Alabama and ask you to pick your own wedding ring to make sure that you would really like it. I knew I should have done it, but I decided differently because of my ego or because of- whatever it was, I am so sorry, Felicity. I will just give this back and you will choose a ring that you truly love and-“

Putting her hand to the back of Oliver’s neck, Felicity turned her head once more. She captured Oliver’s lips in a searing kiss. She doubted that it could carry all the love she was feeling for him, but she hoped that it helped him to at least feel a little bit of it. There were no words to say how much she loved him, and there were no words to tell him how grateful he was that he was so considerate of her needs.

Oliver gave into the kiss with a sigh. His grip eased on her hips, and he wrapped his arms back around her waist to hold him as tightly as possible.

“I love it,” Felicity whispered, pulling away just enough to lock eyes with Oliver. “I really love this ring, and I couldn’t possibly wish for anything better.”

“Yeah?”

Relief and utter joy showed on Oliver’s face. She could feel his uneven heartbeat to going back to a rhythmic movement now that this burden was taken from him. His lips pressed against her temple for a moment, and Felicity was almost sure that he needed this moment to recover from the shock he had gone through, thinking she didn’t like the ring at all.

“Yeah,” Felicity just confirmed with a breath whisper. She lifted her left hand that already carried her wedding band and smiled. “Will you slide it on my finger?”

“Gladly.”

Oliver took the velvet box from her and took the ring from it. Slowly, his eyes locked onto Felicity’s, he slid the ring onto her finger until it was placed right in front of her wedding band.

Lifting her hand in front of her face, Felicity looked at the two rings together. They were both quite simple and yet unique. Together, they built an incredibly duo. She couldn’t wish for anything more beautiful, and she knew that they would make a good picture on her hands now that she was going to carry them for the rest of her life.

“I love them,” Felicity whispered and placed a quick kiss to the underside of Oliver’s jaw. “Thank you so much.”

“I am glad you like them,” Oliver just replied and brushed his thumb over the rings on her finger, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. “They do suit you very well.”

Felicity smiled. “It’s a shame that I have to take them off tomorrow morning when we meet our parents at the mansion. Our moms are going to faint if they see the rings.”

The closer the day had come, the more nervous Felicity had started feeling about it. She loved Oliver, and she was happy to share a life with him. As long as it had been a little bit of secret between them, Robert, John and Tatsu, it had been a lot easier though. Once they told their mothers about the relationship they had started and the marriage they had agreed to, it would be a lot more difficult though. Their mothers wouldn’t make it easy for them. Unlike everyone else, they would barge in and try to make decisions for them. It was just who they were.

“Hey,” Oliver whispered, prompting Felicity to turn her head back over her shoulder and look at him once more. “You and me, that is all that counts. We are going to make the decisions for us, our marriage and our baby.”

Felicity nodded, hoping Oliver was right. She knew that it wouldn’t be easy to fight off her mother though Oliver would probably disagree and say that his mom was much more a problem than hers. As long as each of them was keeping their own mom covered, she guessed that it should be alright at the end.

Their lips touched in another kiss. Felicity moved her hand towards the back of Oliver’s neck. She tried to deepen the kiss, but Oliver pulled back slightly.

“Do I get to ravish you now, Mrs. Queen-Smoak?”

“Feel free to do so, Mr. Queen-Smoak.”

Of course Oliver didn’t have to be told twice. Capturing her lips in another kiss, his hand moved between her legs. With slow movements, he stroked his fingers back and forth against her sex over the panties she was wearing. Felicity moaned into the kiss in response, arching her back and digging her fingernails into his skin slightly.

Soft waves of heat were already running through her body. Just the touch of his fingers where she longed for him made her crazy for more already. She couldn’t wait to feel his calloused fingertips thrusting inside of her wet core and his thumb rubbing against her clit. She wanted to fall apart in his arms and feel him catching her while she was falling, knowing that she was safe and sound with him.

“Oliver.”

His name fell from her lips in a desperate whisper, telling him that she just needed more. She knew that he needed more too. With every shift of her hips, moving her sex against his fingers, she could feel his cock hardening more and more. He wanted her as much as she wanted and needed him right now.

Oliver’s hands moved from her sex to her hips. He held onto them firmly and supported her rubbing movements. He thrust up against her ass slightly, and Felicity could feel even more heat forming in the pit of her stomach. Her almost desperate need for Oliver was almost ridiculous given that they were married and expecting a child. She guessed that it didn’t change the fact that they had been together for barely some weeks, so the passion was still running high.

Maybe (hopefully!) that would never change.

When Felicity pushed her hips down onto Oliver’s lap just a little bit more, applying more pressure to his cock, he seemed to remember why exactly what he had been supposed to do. His fingers hooked into the waistband of her panties, and he tugged them down her legs. Felicity helped him to get rid of them by shifting her hips and moving her legs until she was freed of the lace eventually. He dropped it to the floor carelessly.

Stroking his tongue against hers a little bit more firmly, his fingers started moving from her knee up her leg. His fingers brushed against the inside of her thigh. A trail of goosebumps followed his touch, and she felt even more turned on by his touch. She was impatient to feel his fingers where they had been before without any barrier between them this time.

It didn’t take too long for Oliver’s fingers to find the way to her center. They brushed between her folds and stroked from her entrance to her clit slowly. Although he was avoiding the most sensitive areas of her sex yet, Felicity moaned into the kiss already.

Felicity shifted her hips, continuing to rub her butt against Oliver’s lap and trying to make his fingers touch where she was aching for him already. Oliver made sure to avoid those spots, keeping his touch light. His fingers moved back and forth between her folds gently. Though the slow touch was intimate and loving, it was also so very teasing. As long as his fingers would move there instead of going a little deeper or a little higher, he would just keep her here where she was turned on and hungry for more without offering this more to her.

“Oliver.”

She whispered his name against his lips before she stroked her tongue into his mouth and moved it over the roof his mouth. Oliver groaned into the kiss, but Felicity already pulled back. He tried to chase her lips without success. Felicity was always staying right out of reach, letting Oliver close enough to feel her breath on his skin, but not close enough to touch her.

Their eyes were locked on each other, and Felicity could pinpoint the moment that he got what she was doing. He puckered his lips slightly, considering whether he should just give into the deal she had to offer – more kisses for his fingers inside of her core – or if he should play this game with her for a little while. The sparkle in his eyes told her that he decided on the latter.

As frustrating as this teasing was for her libido, it did so much good to her heart. She couldn’t put into words how much it meant to her that she and Oliver could be this silly even during sex. When they had talked during his rehearsal dinner and she had told him that what they had had was gone, she couldn’t have been more wrong. They were still the friends they had been all their lives. Now, they were just so much more than that too.

The thought made her smile, and Felicity couldn’t help but feel even more eager to play this little game of teasing with him. Making sure that Oliver’s eyes were still focused on hers, she let her tongue dart out and wetted the seam of her lips. Immediately, Oliver’s gaze flickered down to her lips, watching her tongue moving there. When his eyes found hers again, she saw that his pupils were widened.

Finally, his fingers moved lower and the tips of his forefinger dipped into her core. Felicity moaned, her back arching even more. Just the sensation of that one finger sliding inside of her slowly took her breath away.

Felicity could feel the slight shift of his finger as Oliver was about to pull it out before he had thrusted it in completely. Opening her eyes that had fluttered shut from her arousal before, she noticed that he was looking at her with slightly perked up eyebrow and quickly captured his lips in a passionate kiss. Fair as he was, Oliver stayed true to their deal. His finger continued moving into her hot core.

Once his finger was deep inside of her, he curled it, causing the tip of it to press against her slick walls. Felicity moaned into the kiss. She scraped her front teeth against Oliver’s bottom lip and enjoyed the rumble it elicited from deep in his chest. It was an almost primitive sound, one that was the result of a deep need to be with her.

Oliver moved his finger out of her, but he thrusted two fingers back inside the next moment. Felicity sucked in a deep breath. She had trouble resisting the urge to let her head fall back to catch her breath. She was sure that Oliver would pull out his fingers the very moment she broke the kiss though. Maybe she should have never started this little deal in the first place.

For a long time, Oliver thrusted his fingers in and out of her slick channel. She moved her hips in synch with his thrusts, allowing his fingers to go even deeper. When they brushed against the ruffled skin, she felt little sparks of fire building everywhere inside of her.

The movements of her hips sped up a little. Her butt thrusted down on Oliver’s groin all the more. She could feel his body tensing more and more in response. His muscular chest felt even harder against her back. His heart was beating erratically, and Felicity’s heart hurried to adapt to the rhythm of his. It wanted to be completely and utterly in synch with him, forgetting everything else there was around them.

As Oliver’s fingers thrusted in and out of her even faster and his thumb brushed against her clit, Felicity felt like he was fanning the sparks of fire that had been built inside of her before. With just a few more circles of his thumb on her clit, she felt those sparks of fires exploding. Lust and love spread inside of her, rushing through each one of her veins and spasms running through every single one of her muscles.

Once more she wondered if she had really just learned what an orgam was supposed to feel like when she had first slept with Oliver. Of course she knew that it was exaggerated. She had had orgasms before, good orgasms even. What she was experiencing with Oliver was so much more than that though. It was breathtaking, souldcrushing and mindblowing. It was probably a thousand other things too, but those three words summed it up perfectly. With Oliver, everything was just more intense.

While the last trembles of pleasure were running through her body, Felicity pulled back just enough to look at Oliver’s face. He was smiling at her softly, nuzzling her nose with his for a moment. Pulling his fingers out of her core, he lifted them to his mouth and licked her juices off of them. His eyes stayed firmly locked on hers.

A low moan or maybe the quietest of a whisper escaped her mouth. She felt even more turned on than she had been seconds ago. She felt like it should be impossible, but it was still so very true.

Felicity hurried to capture his lips in another searing kiss. She could taste herself on his lips. The thought of how much she knew that he enjoyed it made her moan into the kiss. She tried to turn around, so she could press her clit against his cock and thrust against him. Oliver’s arms tightened around her waist to keep her in place.

Another moan escaped Felicity at the thought of having him thrust into her from this position. He would be able to go so deep and reach ever single sensitive spot inside of her. Her ass would rub against his groin. If she spread her legs, he would certainly get the sign and stroke his hand against her sex slowly, increasing her pleasure even more.

Felicity’s walls were clenching down on emptiness hard as her fantasy was making her so very ready for him. Moving her arms behind her, she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his sweatpants.  

“These need to go off.”

“Gladly.”

Although she was sitting in his lap, Oliver lifted his hips off the bed easily and tugged his sweatpants and boxer briefs down in one go. Felicity grinned.

“Eager, Mr. Queen-Smoak?”

“Only if you continue calling me that, Mrs. Queen-Smoak.”

“Gladly, Mr. Queen-Smoak.”

Oliver released that sexy growl that always made Felicity’s toes curl. She stroked her tongue into his mouth and grazed her teeth against his bottom lip. Her hips lowered down onto his. His cock, hot and hard as she loved it most, resting between her slick folds.

They moaned into the kiss in unison, moving together slowly. The head of Oliver’s cock bumped against her clit every time he angled his hips forward. Felicity pressed her back closer to his chest, trying to get as close to him as humanly possible. If she could, she would just melt with him.

When she wasn’t able to take the teasing anymore since every cell in her muscle felt like it was on fire and each muscle was stretched to a breaking point, she reached between them. Her fingertips brushed against his cock. His warm skin felt like velvet despite the hardness between. She took hold of him a little more firmly to position him at her entrance, causing Oliver to gasp for breath and let his head fall back against the cushioned headrest of the bed.

Motivated by his reaction, Felicity decided to delay her plans of making him thrust into her. Instead, she stroked her hand up and down his length slowly, almost torturously slowly to be exact. She enjoyed the way Oliver’s eyes fluttered shut. He bit down on his bottom lip firmly, restraining himself from releasing a long moan.

Smiling, Felicity leaned her ears close to Oliver’s ear. She scraped her front teeth against his lobe before she whispered, “Don’t hold back.”

At that, Oliver’s eyes snapped open. The deep blue of his iris seemed to dig right into her head and probably even into her soul. It clawed itself around her heart and tightened its grip around it to a point that Felicity was sure her heart couldn’t jump out even if it tried to.

Felicity didn’t know if it was her gaze or something else. Either way, Oliver did what she had told him. He didn’t hold back any longer. Instead, he started thrusting into her hand slightly and didn’t bite back his sounds of pleasure anymore. He moaned out and released those little hisses and growls, spurning her on even more.

With a soft smile on her lips, Felicity just watched him. She doubted that anyone more handsome had ever been born. If their baby was going to be born and it turned out to be a boy, he might be even more handsome though.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Felicity hadn’t noticed how close to the edge she had driven Oliver already. She was tempted to just continue with his treatments. She wanted to see him fall apart, see how his eyes turned hazy and his lips opened in wild panting. She wanted to feel his body trembling beneath her and feel his muscles shiver against her back.

Before she could do so, Oliver pushed her hand away and position himself at her entrance. He thrust up slightly, allowing just the thick tip of his cock to move inside of her wet core. It was enough for Felicity to lower her hips onto him, burying him inside of her completely.

Felicity had fantasied about what this would feel like before. Her fantasy didn’t live up to the reality though. Settled deep inside of her, he touched all those spots inside of her that felt like they had never been touched before. He stretched her inner walls, making them flutter around his hardness ever so softly.

They settled for a slow rhythm. Felicity’s back was arched slightly, lifting from Oliver’s chest. It only made her shoulder blades press more into his chest. Her head was placed against his shoulder. She could hear his erratic breath. It was ghosted over her the side of her face.

In the quiet of their home, their bodies moved together. They were completely in synch. Every movement of their hips matched the one of the other’s. Oliver moved his hands over her hips and her stomach. Felicity’s followed his there. She laced her fingers with his. That way, she felt anchored to him in all ways possible.

The long time of pleasuring each other before didn’t allow them to prolong this for too long. Rather sooner than later, they found themselves pulled to the edge. Felicity was panting so wildly that it made her chest hurt. The rhythm of her hips was uncontrolled. It was the same for Oliver. Felicity might not be able to feel much around herself, but she knew it was true.

With one final thrust, they came together. Their hands held onto each other firmly as he spilled into her. Her chest pressed to his back so close that she could feel his heartbeat against her ribs. They were both utterly and completely lost in each other.

As this ring has no end, my love is also forever. No words had ever felt truer.

* * *

Once Felicity had loosened her seatbelt, she kissed all three rings – her engagement ring and wedding band as well as Oliver’s wedding band – that she was carrying on a long necklace around her neck. Releasing a long breath that she didn’t know she had been holding, she let the ring disappear under the neckline of her dress. She could feel the cool metal in the valley between her breasts until it eventually took on the warmth of her skin.

Smiling nervously, she turned her head to look at Oliver. He was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at her with a soft and slightly calmer smile than Felicity herself could offer. His hand reached out, and he put it on top of her thigh, rubbing it up and down there slowly.

“You were right,” Felicity whispered. “Feeling those rings against my heart does relax me a little.”

Oliver smiled and squeezed her thigh gently, not saying a word.  He had been the one who had suggested that she should take a long necklace with her and string all their rings onto it until they could carry them again once they had told their parents about their wedding. He had just known that she needed this little rescue rope.

“Now, do we want to go in?”

Felicity sighed, looking at the Queen Mansion. She had been there so many times, and the house had almost felt like home to her. It probably had felt like a home to her once in a while. Looking at it now, she couldn’t deny that she was slightly nervous going in there though. Telling their parents about their marriage was not a small thing after all.

“Let’s do this,” she said nonetheless. “We are together after all.”

Oliver smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I will do all the talking. All you have to do is be there and look pretty which comes naturally to you, so it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

Felicity smiled. “My hero.”

Oliver winked at her before they got out of the car. They went over to the door of the mansion and stepped in. Oliver held the door open for her to go through first, and Felicity brushed her fingers against his forearm and the back of his hand. After all, she knew that this was the last opportunity she got to touch her husband until they had told everyone else about them.

The moment Felicity looked away from Oliver, who was winking at her encouragingly and looking ahead herself instead, Felicity snapped her fingers away quickly. She hadn’t known that Raisa was standing there and smiling at them before.

“Ms. Felicity. Mr. Oliver.”

Raisa’s voice didn’t sound surprised. She just smiled back and forth between the two of them. Her smile carried an almost knowing expression like she had all the information she needed to understand what was going on. It only made Felicity more nervous about all of this.

“Oliver just picked me up because my townhouse is basically on the way from his loft to here, and we figured that it would just be a good idea to drive together, so at least I could drink a little and- no, wait. I was the one who was driving, so he can drink and-“

Clearing his throat, Oliver stepped right behind Felicity, so his chest pressed into her back. He put his hands to her hips and lowered his lips to the shell of her ear.

“Felicity, we are going to tell everyone the truth now anyway,” he told her with whispered voice. “Stop making up senseless lies. You need your energy for when our mothers find out.”

Felicity put on a forced smile and walked past Raisa quickly. If she wasn’t completely wrong, she heard her chuckle before she turned to head down into the kitchen.

In the living room, Felicity and Oliver were greeted happily by their family. Donna had already arrived, so they were the last ones to join the party. They were hugged by Moira, Donna, Thea and finally Robert. The latter of them kissed Felicity’s temple and shared a meaningful look with her after looking down on her stomach.

Felicity couldn’t help but smile. At least one of the Queen Men did actually see what she was seeing there, no matter how small that belly might be yet.

Squeezing her hands, Robert eventually let go of Felicity’s hands and sat back down in the very same armchair where he had sat before. Felicity guessed that he wanted to enjoy the show of Moira, Donna and Thea finding out about the Queen-Smoak Baby that would soon enter this world. Little did he know that he was in for a surprise too, Felicity thought to herself.

“Now, let’s get you two a glass of champagne-“

“Not me,” Felicity interrupted Moira quickly before she could pour her a glass of it. “I’d be happy with some orange juice.”

“Of course.”

Moira didn’t even ask about it. She just poured a glass of champagne for Oliver and handed Felicity the glass of orange juice she had asked for. Felicity didn’t miss the quiet smile on Robert’s face as he sipped at his own champagne. After all, he was the only one except Oliver and Felicity in this room who knew the real reason why she wasn’t drinking any champagne today.

“Now let’s toast to this Christmas Morning,” Moira suggested, “and the fact that we still celebrate it together although it’s a much smaller round than we thought it would be earlier this year.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and stared down on her feet, unable not to. As happy as she was that she and Oliver had finally found their way to each other, she really couldn’t deny that she felt guilty about the hearts that had to be broken for that to happen. It would have been a lot easier for everyone if they had just recognized their feelings for each other long before this.

Still, they all clinked their glasses before they took some sips. While everyone was busy with their drinks, Felicity shot a brief glance at Oliver. His eyes met hers briefly, and she could see him shrugging his shoulders. She knew that he had a plan how to tell their parents, but she couldn’t deny that she was a little worried that it would just take too long. She kind of just wanted to get it off her back.

“Oh, I haven’t gotten around to show you what Raisa found when she cleaned the attic,” Moira said. Putting her glass of champagne aside quickly, she grabbed Felicity’s hand and led her to the giant Christmas Tree that was decorated with baubles and other kind of decorations in red and golden colors. “Do you remember these?”

Moira pointed at three special baubles. They were painted in a golden tone, and a photo was placed on each. One was showing Oliver, one Felicity and the last one showed Thea.

“We made these with Raisa,” Felicity remembered and smiled softly. “Of course I remember.”

She turned her head back over her shoulder to look at Oliver, who was smiling back at her softly. She knew that he remembered as well as she did. Just like her, he had carried that memory close to his heart all those years.

“I know that you were kids back then, but I still thought that it was nice to use them again,” Moira said softly. “They remind me of the good old times. I know it might be a bit of a painful memory right now, but I do hope that you will get around doing something like this with your kids once the time has come.”

Again, Felicity shot a look back over her shoulder to look at Oliver. She was pretty sure that this would be the easier it would get to lead over to the baby they were having and the marriage they had decided to have with each other. Oliver just shook his head though, making her bite down on her tongue to bite back a sigh. She really didn’t know what else he was waiting for.

Moira clapped her hands together with a chuckle. “Now, that should be enough of the sentimental moments. I think it’s time to unwrap the presents.”

When Oliver winked at her, Felicity felt her heart skip a beat. She guessed that this was finally the moment that he would tell their families about everything that had happened in their lives lately. Although she had been impatiently waiting to get over with this, she couldn’t deny that she was growing even more nervous about it now that the moment was right ahead.

Technically, she knew that there shouldn’t be anything for her to be nervous about. Thea wouldn’t mind if she and Oliver got together. Moira and Donna would right out celebrate it after all these years that they had hoped for this to happen and they had been turned down. Even in their wildest dreams, she guessed that they hadn’t ever thought this day would come. Yet, here they were.

“So, I guess that we all have to search for our first gifts,” Oliver said with a long sigh, “and Felicity’s as well as mine just happen to be placed under the mistletoe together?”

Felicity bit down on her tongue, doing her best to hide her smile of amusement. After all, this had happened several times through the years. To the dislike of their mothers, they had always managed to get under the mistletoe and grab their gifts separately from each other though. They had grown up with their crazy obsession of hooking them up with each other long enough.

Donna and Moira shared a meaningful glance. While Donna was sitting down on the armrest of one of the chairs, resting one leg over the other, Moira stepped towards Oliver and Felicity. She set her glass of champagne aside once more. Reaching out her hand, she wrapped her fingers around one of their wrists and smiled at them.

“We all know that you have been through a lot these last couple of months,” Moira said, her voice as soft as Felicity had rarely ever heard it. “You two do know that Donna and I are just teasing you when we say that we think you would make beautiful babies or that we want you to be together or even when we place your Christmas gifts under a mistletoe.”

Felicity guessed she was right. If they hadn’t just been teasing, they would have never accepted Carter or McKenna to become parts of the family. Their teasing was quite aggressive though, at least at times.

“This year, we decided not to do anything like that out of respect of what you have been through.”

“Catch some rest, kids, before we start a new try,” Donna said with a smile and winked. “Just kidding.”

“Wo know that we don’t really stand a chance,” Moira added. “Just take it as a little inside joke of two old friends.”

In the back of the room, Robert was failing miserably to hide an amused smile. He was trying really hard to take some sips of his drink to distract him from his wife’s words. He had already caught his daughter’s attention though. Thea was looking back and forth between her father and the rest of the family with a deep frown, trying to understand what amused him so much.

Frowning deeply, Felicity turned her head and looked at Oliver once more. She guessed that his plans of pushing her under the mistletoe to find their gifts and kiss her there wouldn’t work as easily as he had planned it. For the first time, their mothers showed a little bit or remorse for all the pushing, shoving and teasing they had done through the last years, and it still turned out not to be exactly right.

Oliver hesitated, and she could almost see him playing their options through. She was sure that he knew as well as she did that just telling their mothers the truth wouldn’t be enough. They would think that this was an early April’s Fool’s joke or maybe a little revenge on all the teasing of the last years. They mothers would need visual proof that they were indeed together now.

Puckering his lips, Oliver turned towards Felicity. His gaze was meaningful, preparing her for whatever spontaneous solution he had just found, as he took the glass of orange juice from her. Together with his glass of champagne, he put it away on a close table. His eyes stayed locked with hers the entire time.

“Well, if they don’t push us down there this year…”

He quickly grabbed her hand and led her over to the place right in front of the fireplace where the mistletoe his parents always hid somewhere was placed. Looking at her intensely, he just waited until she gave him the most subtle nod of her head. With that, he wrapped his arms around her and bend her back until the only thing keeping her on her feet was the hold of his strong arms. The next moment, his lips pushed down on hers and everything around Felicity turned into a blur.

Felicity wasn’t sure if it was ever going to be different, and she knew with certainty that she never really wanted it to change. She loved the feeling of having everything and everyone around her disappear solely because Oliver’s lips were brushing against hers and his tongue was stroking against hers.

Felicity didn’t know how much time had passed when Oliver let go of her eventually. It could have been seconds, minutes or even hours. All she knew was that his eyes were looking at her intensely, and he was smiling from joy that, finally, the cat was out of the bag. From now on, they could kiss wherever they were and whatever they were doing because they were officially together.

Oliver brushed his lips against hers once more before he pulled her back into an upright position. His arms stayed wrapped around her tightly though, making sure that she wouldn’t move an inch away from him while they were looking at their families to see their reactions.

While Felicity felt her breath getting caught at the expressions in Donna’s, Moira’s and Thea’s faces, she could feel Oliver chuckling softly. The sounds weren’t audible, but she could feel the slight shaking of his chest. His lips brushed against her temple once more almost like he was telling her that just those facial expressions had been worth getting married.

As the silence continued, Felicity shot an insecure glance towards Robert. He winked at her and made a small gesture with his hand that seemed to ask them to talk about how this had happened. Maybe all the three women needed to stop staring at them like they were aliens was understanding how this had happened.

“Felicity and I discovered that we had feelings for each other a while ago,” Oliver said, rising to speak for them to Felicity’s relief. “Felicity and Carter had already broken up, but I was still with McKenna when it really hit us.”

With a low sigh, Felicity rested her head against Oliver’s chest and listened to the beat of his heart. She really wasn’t happy with how things had gone down with their engagements, but their cancelled engagements were more easily to accept than the thought of being married to the wrong people for the rest of their lives.

“Eventually, after some serious and much needed ass kicks, I finally realized that my feelings for Felicity were more than friendship and more than I had or could ever have with any other woman. McKenna, independent from myself, saw that too, and we agreed to cancel the wedding before it was too late.”

Felicity knew that Robert had pointed that out to Oliver before he had made his decision to cancel the wedding and that McKenna had come to the same conclusion around the same time Oliver had. It didn’t matter who had known it first though or how many times Oliver had needed to be told to cancel the wedding. At least to her, all that mattered was that he had eventually canceled the wedding.

“After my canceled wedding, we decided to give ourselves some times to find back to ourselves and let the situation cool down a little. We did go on a date very quickly though. It went great, and we eventually decided to be together because together is what makes us the happiest we could possibly be.”

Thea was smiling like a Cheshire Cat by now, looking back and forth between Oliver and Felicity. She was holding back on a squeal though it seemed to take a lot of her to do so. She was really excited about what she had just been told by her brother and the sister-in-law that she didn’t even know she had so far.

Donna and Moira on the other hand were still looking at them like they had just told them that they both thought they were adopted and were actually the children of some Mafia Bosses. Although, thinking about it, Felicity guessed that they would look less shocked about that.

“I knew about this by the way.”

Robert grinned happily and sipped at his champagne. Neither Donna nor Moira managed to even shoot him the briefest of glances though. They were looking like they were in deep shock about what they had just been told, or like they had just had a stroke. Maybe they needed to be resuscitated.

“Felicity and I are living together in her townhouse,” Oliver continued. He cleared his throat, showing the first sign of nervousness. “And we are having a baby.”

“Oh, this is a joke, right?” Donna asked, only partly convinced. “The pregnancy detail is just overdoing it a little and-“

“It’s no joke,” Oliver replied and shook his head. “Felicity and I are together, and we are expecting our first baby.”

Since Moira’s and Donna’s gazes both dropped down to Felicity’s lower stomach at that moment, Felicity quickly pulled the fabric of her dress closer over the small swell that had built there. Maybe seeing the baby bump, as barely visible as it was yet, was going to help them.

“Stop it,” Oliver whispered. “There is nothing to be seen there.”

“Of course it’s visible,” she told him in a whisper of her own. “Your dad can see it too.”

Robert nodded firmly. “It’s there, and, yes, I knew about this baby too.”

Donna and Moira exchanged a gaze of disbelief. They really couldn’t believe what their kids were telling them here. After all these years, it didn’t exactly surprise Felicity. The two old friends had probably long buried this dream of theirs.

Thea couldn’t hold back on her squeal now though. She released a loud chuckle, shaking her head. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach as the chuckles seemed to make her stomach ache slightly.

“This is like a cheesy Hallmark Christmas Movie,” she said. “Just a thousand times better.”

“And this isn’t even everything.”

All eyes were turned onto Felicity as she finally found her voice. She angled her head back to shoot Oliver a quick smile. The warm smile he flashed her in addition to the rhythmic rubbing of his hand over the small of her back gave her the strength she needed to continue.

“Oliver and I got married in Las Vegas last week.”

Now, even Robert’s face showed surprise. This little piece of information was new even to him as it had been a well-kept secret between her and Oliver.

“I didn’t know about that,” he said. “Really?”

Felicity nodded her head and lifted the necklace she was wearing, so the three rings that were strung to it were visible.

“Oliver and I are Mr. and Mrs. Queen-Smoak now.”

There was a very long beat of silence. Felicity wondered if she should call a handful of ambulances, so everyone could be provided with medical care and some oxygen. She doubted that her mother or her mother-in-law were still breathing.

“Maybe we should have delivered the truth in smaller doses,” Felicity whispered to Oliver. “They are probably having a stroke.”

Thea was the first to snap out of her shock at Felicity’s words. With another loud squeal, she put her glass of champagne to the couch table and came running towards them. Her arms wrapped around Oliver and Felicity tightly as she hugged both of them at the same time.

“Congratulations,” she said, her voice still close to a squeal. “I am so happy for you guys, and I am so excited to be your baby’s godmother which I will be. You cannot stop me from that, no matter what. If I have to kill someone to get the title, I will do so.”

“We wouldn’t even try to do so,” Felicity said.

Thea pulled back a little, just to push Oliver away with one hand. She wrapped both of her arms around Felicity then, rocking her back and forth from side to side.

“Now, you are officially my sister.”

Felicity chuckled. “I always wanted to have a little sister, so I guess that’s great for both of us.”

Thea wanted to say something more, but Robert had already gotten up. Putting his hands to his daughter’s shoulders, he pulled her away from Felicity and almost pushed her into Oliver’s arms.

“Go and hug your brother now, Thea,” he told her with soft voice. “I need a moment with my daughter-in-law.”

While Thea grumbled a little when Oliver pulled her into his arms and rubbed the knuckles of his fingers over her scalp, Robert pulled Felicity against his chest. His grip was even stronger than Thea’s was.

“You have been part of this family since the first time you put your foot over the doorstep,” he whispered into her ear, “but I am still happy to welcome you into this family legally.”

Felicity chuckled. “I am happy to be part of it legally too. Officially a Queen now, I guess.”

Robert placed a firm kiss on her cheek before he pushed her an armlength away from her. He was still smiling all over his face, looking her up and down with an expression of almost disbelief. After all these years and despite knowing about her and Oliver before everyone else had, he couldn’t believe that he could really call her his daughter now.

He pulled her back against his chest and into another tight hug once more before he eventually let go of her and nodded towards his wife and Felicity’s mother.

“I guess I will check on the both of them now.”

Felicity nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her front teeth. Oliver quickly let go of Thea and wrapped his arms around Felicity from behind. His chin came to rest on his shoulder as they both looked at their mothers. Robert had stepped behind them and wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders, looking past them and the newlyweds.

“Who would have thought that we were actually going to be a family after all?”

Donna grabbed Moira’s hand firmly, anchoring herself to her. Her eyes were still directed at Oliver and Felicity though. With wide eyes, afraid to miss even the blink of an eye, she stared at the two of them. Her head turned from side to side slightly as she observed first one and then the other closely.

“This is not a joke, right?” she asked, completely flustered. “This is happening.”

Felicity smiled at her mother softly. Leaning back into Oliver’s arms, she turned her head to look at his content face for a moment. Still smiling, she looked back at her mother.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head. “This is the most real thing that has ever happened to me I guess.”

Oliver kissed the side of her neck in response to her words and tighten his arms around her. She could feel him smile against her pulse point before he eventually rested his chin on her shoulder again. Felicity guessed that he wanted to watch his mother-in-law’s reaction like Felicity was doing already.

“Oh my god!”

With a happy squeal that just seemed to sum up her mother the way she was perfectly, Donna flung her arms around her daughter’s neck. She swayed her from side to side with so much force that Felicity was almost sure some of her vortexes would dislocate.

Soon, much sooner than Felicity had thought, her mother let go of her and almost pushed her away. Putting her hand to her lower stomach instinctively, Felicity shook her head and watched her mother stepping towards Oliver. She should have known that she was written off, the moment her mother knew that Oliver was officially part of her family now.

“Son,” she said, stepping in front of him. Her hands framed his face and squished it together, making him look like a fish. “I am officially allowed to call you that now, right?”

“Absolutely,” Oliver agreed. He tried to nodded his head, but Donna’s grip seemed to be too firm for him to move easily. “Mom.”

Donna squealed once more. Just like with Felicity, she wrapped her arms around Oliver’s shoulders now. She had to push up onto the tip of her toes, lifting even the high heels od her shoes a little bit off the floor, to fit her body against his comfortably. She swayed him from side to side like she had done with Felicity before too. As soon as she pulled way, she squished his face against.

“Oh, I am so happy. I have no words for it,” she said. “I might be a little mad that you chose to elope, but I am sure that I will be able to forgive you once Moira and I planned a real wedding party for you. Of course you need a traditionally Jewish wedding. Don’t worry though. I will take care of it. I know exactly what I am doing. It will be fabulous.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. She had known this would come, but she would talk herself out of it for as long as possible. With a baby on the way and the task of raising a newborn at hand, she got that they had a little bit time. Her mother certainly wanted to see her dressed in a long wedding dress with lots of tulle. She would wear it for her sake (probably!), but she would wait for as long as possible to give into it.

“Oliver, I already know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to Felicity. It won’t always be easy with her. She is stubborn and very driven at times, but I have trust that you have the patience to take her as she is and still love her with all of your heart. Like I said, it won’t be easy, and-“

“Mom.”

“-there will be times that you will feel like you need to scream and let out all of your frustration and-“

“Mom.”

“-just breathe. If just happens, you can always come to me, and I will be there for you and lend you an ear to listen. After all, I know how difficult it can be to live with Felicity and-“

“Mom.”

Felicity stepped between Oliver and her mother decidedly now. Putting her hands to her mother’s shoulders, she took a few steps forwards. Her mother had to take a few steps back in response. Effectively distancing her mother from Oliver, she leaned her lips against her mother’s ear.

“Stop it. Don’t scare him away.”

Turning back around, Felicity hurried back to Oliver’s side. He looked at her amusedly, knowing how to take her mother. Still, she brushed a kiss to the underside of her jaw.

“She’s already your mother-in-law, so all second thoughts are too late already. And for the record, if we get divorced, you can have my mom, but I want your dad.”

Oliver chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his chest tightly. His lips brushed against her forehead, and she could almost feel him an I love you whispering against her skin.

“Moira!” Donna’s excited squeal directed their attention back to her. “Our kids are together now. Or babies are having a baby.”

Finally, Moira seemed to realize that this really wasn’t a dream. She stepped towards Oliver and Felicity, reaching out her hands for them. Oliver and Felicity both placed a hand in one of Moira’s and looked at her expectantly.

“I couldn’t be prouder.”

That was all she said before she wrapped her arms around Felicity. Unlike her own mother, Moira was only touching her carefully like she was afraid that she could break her. She stroked a hand over the back of Felicity’s head and down her back, the same way she had already done when Felicity had still been a child.

“Oliver couldn’t have chosen anyone better,” Moira told her, “and I couldn’t be happier to call you my daughter, even legally now. You are going to be a great mom.”

Moira pulled back just enough to look at Felicity’s face. She brushed her fingers through her hair, looking at her intensely. Felicity almost felt like time was passing right in front of Moira’s eyes. It was like she saw her when she had still been a kid and had just entered the Queen Mansion after being taken away from her home one moment. Then, the next moment, a thousand different images of Felicity as she had seen her through the years were showing in front of her eyes. Eventually, it seemed to have come back to the woman in front of her though, her daughter-in-law.

“Thank you,” Felicity said, not knowing what else to say.

Moira smiled at her, brushing her fingers against her cheek for a moment. She turned toward her son then, pulling him into a tight hug too.

“Congratulations, Oliver,” she whispered and kissed his cheeks. “I admit that I wasn’t always happy with the decisions you made, especially when it came to women, but this is something I don’t only approve to but support with all of my heart. I think it makes all the wrong decisions before irrelevant. After all, it led you to where you have always been supposed to be.”

“I made the big hit,” Oliver said, his eyes locked with Felicity’s as he said that. “She’s the jackpot.”

“Yes, she is,” Moira agreed.

As soon as his mother took a step back from Oliver, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back against him once more. His arms wrapped around her waist and he bend her back like he had done before when they had revealed their relationship to the others. Just like then, he captured her lips in a gentle kiss that made Felicity sigh out against his lips.

Now that the secret was finally out of the bag, Felicity felt like a giant weight had been taken from the top of her chest. She hadn’t even been able to understand how much she had needed everyone important to her to know about her and Oliver. Only now, they weren’t living a dream anymore. They were living the truest of lives. Together.

Under the joint squeals of their mothers – a sound that Felicity had never believed could fall from Moira Queen’s lips – their lips parted. Oliver bumped his nose against hers playfully before he brought her back into an upright position. His lips brushed against hers once more, and he held out the flat palm of his hand.

“What-?”

Before Felicity could end her question, Oliver cocked his head. The look he shot her was enough for her to understand. She grinned, taking off the necklace and letting the three rings fall into the palm of Oliver’s hand. He quickly pushed his own wedding band onto his ring finger before he grabbed her ringers with his thumb and forefinger and pushed it down onto her finger. It seemed to be one of his favorite things to do now.

Smiling, Felicity straightened up onto the tip of her toes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him once more. Before her lips could brush against Oliver’s, her mother’s words distracted her though.

“Finally, our fondest hope for them came true.”

“It seems like all our attempts of marrying them off to each other were successful after all.”

“We both just knew what is best for them. We are their mothers after all. Mother’s always know best.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Moira nodded her head firmly. “I wished our kids were just a little less stubborn, so we could have planned their shared wedding these last months and not the weddings we did plan these last months.”

With a low grumble that only Oliver could hear, Felicity let her head drop against Oliver’s shoulder. He chuckled lowly in response and tightened his arms around her waist.

“We will never hear the end of it, will be?”

“No,” Felicity replied and sighed against his shoulder before she leaned her head back and looked at his face with a smile. “Wanna know the good thing about this, though?”

Oliver smiled back at her, and Felicity’s heart stumbled in response to how enamored he looked. She doubted that she would ever get used to the feeling it elicited from her when Oliver’s eyes were locked with hers. It made warmth and content spread in every cell of her body it seemed.

“What is it?” Oliver asked.

“We can roll our eyes about it together.”

At that, Oliver’s lips spread into an even wider smile. He lifted a hand and brushed the knuckles of his fingers against her cheek. Felicity leaned her face into the touch of his hand.

“Together,” he confirmed.

With that, he leaned in and brushed his lips against Felicity’s once more. Together was now the keyword to assure them happiness, just like it had always been. Only now they really knew how true it really was, and they would never forget it. Partly, because their mother probably wouldn’t allow them to forget it anyway. 

* * *

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @arrowsalways @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles @addictiontelly @queens-of-arrows @memcjo @hysterical-for-joshifer-blog @oswinelevenforever @olicitylovemaking @bandanab310 @mymusiclove101 @lynslogic @scarletqueen23 @olicityshipper19 @alex-wesley @arrows-4ever @unabashedlynerdypatrol @louehmysoul @ligiapimenta @chattyyana @charlie-leau @coal000 @samcrowleys @ishippolivia @julianegomesqueen @malafle @miriam1779 @charlinert @melaux @ontheolicityship @myshipperlife @wrightainsley @lexi9515 @ladygreenwood @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl @morinamel @mje-thomas @kebarry @canadianheartgirl @nannett2307 @almondblossomme @paarti12 @kathrynelizabeth89 @imdfabulous @cutearrowgirl @mrt2501 @mecha1330 @arsipaci14 @mzminx @salasvia @brandis91 @cainc3 @morganmiguess @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl @iamisalima @nessafrancis-blog @jonhdiggle @niki-is-amazing @universed-posts @hopeful-warrior @senoritaswiftie @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel @iheartarrow @olicityovereverything @oliverfel4 @navyaarsha @fandoms-breathe-life @simone4mcswarek @olicity-in-the-heart @fullychippedcreation @geemarie @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld @tjmartinez @pleasantfanandstudent @itsmagnoliagirl @j69confessional2 @scentedcolorpirate @icanica74 @javinancupil @tjmartinez98 @certainmentalityface @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin @missafairy @letsplaymurde-r @lipizette @positivepiper @nuttymilkshakehologram @laksagirl @turnupthemusicandscream @pumpernickle93 @onceuponanolicity @1106angel @jaspertown @fadinglands @morganashimi83 @mochababychristy @omglovechrissie @mariejr88-blog @thetaufactor @onceuponanolicity @speakandseethetruth @bri206 @aglasgo @thats0klaroline @geemarie @pineprincess @nerdgirljen @peterpanslostgirl666 @eternal-olicity14 @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay @lovelycssefan @tsseract @flowerandsunshine @dcnmarvelgamergeek @blondeeoneexox @monetsmark @soaring-cities @bb-olicity @mashamarty @rulerofsilence @erika-amber @felicity087 @i-claim-only-emily @pattid1 @westallenandolicityshipper @babyolicityandwestallen @nothingmorethanmyotps @kayleenyc @tonto16 @olicityfluv @olicitea1990 @olicity5ever @haahaaa2408 @pattid1 @faegal04 @24karatgem @wrldtravler @readerkas @valery6488 @lemmyeatspeaches @olicity-beliver @greencoffeecups

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[comicteaparty]

June 8th-June 14th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 8th, 2020 to June 14th, 2020.  The chat focused on Devil Tongue by Samuel Soto-Saines and Lucas Soto.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Devil Tongue by Samuel Soto-Saines and Lucas Soto~! (https://deviltonguecomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until June 14th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

1. I really appreciated how this comic felt really authentically shonen manga right off the bat without feeling tropey or overwrought. 2. I liked when the protagonists confront the ghost in the theater. I just really enjoyed the ghosts dialogue and dramatic jestures. 3. Moira is my fav so far. She's got a sword and seems capable, though is also still an apprentice so I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows.

boogeymadam

1, ALL THE CATS!! :D but more seriously, the way the characters are introduced through their job, and yet their personalities still shine through~ 2, i liked the scene when they're leaving the Lemaire house and walking on a dark misty neighborhood street at night. It's so atmospheric and perfect for their discussion on what kind of ghost their target might be, as well as what kinda threats it may pose :0 3, I can't decide, they're all interesting. Leera was introduced last but I like her enthusiasm! 2, Moira and Leera during the scene where Moira is explaining tinctures to Leera. Moira's so goal oriented and focused while messing with some apprently-very-dangerous stuff and Leera's just trying to avoid boredom. Moira seemed patient of Leera (for the most part) and willing to explain stuff, which was cool. It made me smile. 5, Oh Man, a lot!! The lines are so very clean and precise, every characters' silhouttes is distinct. It's hard to pick which page is my favorite, but I'd have to say https://deviltonguecomic.com/comic/chapter-01-page-32/ because of all the dynamic angles and expressions on the characters. 6, Pupils taking over from the mentor. I like how Emery is allowing his pupil, Moira, to prove herself, and she seems extremely eager to do so and also: good at it! I can only imagine what Emery is like at this job :0 8, A fun and classic premise of paranormal investigators, of a sort, but with magic of their own, making it even more interesting. It's easy to root for the protagonists and feel curious about what got them into this business, or what they were like before they reached this level of fame and skill. And also, there are talking cats!! Huge draw!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I agree with your #6 Boogey. I do really like how Emery is like "I'm just here to mentor, this is Moira's job." I like seeing the apprentice really get to take point on the mission. I did see though on the cast page that Emery's magic type is just "?????" which definitely makes me what to see him throw down some magic now XD very curious what it is

boogeymadam

OHHH i hadn't spotted that! a secret, how exciting :0c

copperine (Lady Changeling)

I'm not familiar with this one, but I'm intrigued now (and should stop reading this channel till I've read the comic...)

I'll read in the morning and try to give some thoughts

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning is the character development. Cause we get a lot of it and find out things like Emery being an ex-magician, his relationship with Moira, etc. Yet, at the same time, the plot is not sacrificed and the story is still moved along smoothly, which is a great balancing act. My favorite moment in the comic so far is actually all the times Emery feigns that he doesn't care but then we get those shots of him peeking and spying. I find those adorable but just also really nice character moments. My favorite character at the moment is Emery. I like aloof characters and he fits that bill. I also like his general cynicism about life. Emery is the sort of character who I'd have as a friend in real life. XD As for characters interacting the most, probably Leera and a combo of Emery and Moira. Leera has pretty different motivations for being there, is somewhat opposite in personality from the main pair, and just all around adds an interesting dynamic too the group that kind of makes certain elements of the story seem more grounded. I really just in general love the comic's linework. Not only is everything super clean (making the action easy to follow), but it really knows how to bulk up the shadows to create specific atmospheres that really work for each panel and add so much to each scene.

In terms of themes, I like that the comic somewhat explores with Emery the concept of what to do with your life after your previous life fails. I think we all kind of like to believe we'll do X forever and X comes to define us in a lot of ways. But then suddenly X might not be there and it's like, what is life now? How do I deal with life? And with Emery, I do think we get to kind of experience one path that kind of takes. What I like about the comic's overall content is the...strange mix of fantasy and realism. I can't really put it into words. Like this is definitely a fantasy story, yet there's elements of realism thrown in I wouldn't expect. Like things are almost scarily normal in some respects like the houses or journalism, etc. So everything about the world really intrigues me since it feels super unique in tone. Finally, for strengths, I'm referring back to the art here. I think the atmosphere the art adds to each scene really helps give the comic that extra oomph.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Everyone's covered all the stuff I like about the characters, so let me just throw in some extra praise for the backgrounds. Those elaborate buildings! That towering opera-house interior! That one sequence with light streaming through elegantly-patterned windows!

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. What do you think Emery did that caused him to be exiled by the Magician Order? How does this factor into his general cynicism and bitterness? Also, do you think Emery will ever be a magician again?

10. How do you think Moira became Emery’s apprentice despite Emery being an ex-magician? Similarly, why do you think Moira hasn’t joined up with the Magician Order? As the story develops, how do you think Moira will grow and change as a magician?

11. Besides following Emery and Moira around, what role do you think Leera will have in the story? How might Leera’s presence hurt or help the duo on each case? Also, how will Leera change as she experiences things firsthand?

12. How do you think Moira and Emery will resolve the haunted opera house situation? Can the kidnapped girl be saved, or is she truly gone forever? Additionally, what other sorts of cases do you expect to see after this one?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

Honestly, I get the impression that Emery was good but also just a rebellious rule breaker type. So he probably got exiled for just not fitting in with the club regardless of anything else he might have done. Which to me would explain the cynicism cause it would show him how much of life is just a popularity contest. As for being a magician again, maybe, but the bigger question is would he want to? My current theory for Moira was that she's just ill-suited to the order. I'm sure she's heard awful things about it from Emery, so why join team lame when you can join Emery and be on team winner. As for how Moira will grow, I think she'll just learn to take things a bit more seriously and mature (though probably still pretty happy and excited). I've talked about Leera a bit already, but I think her major role in the story is the grounding element and reader's eyes. Cause someone needs to ask questions for the readers, and I think that will be Leera. But in terms of plot, I also think Leera will just help them get more work by spreading their name to lands far and wide. I think in terms of how Leera will change, I think mostly she'll maybe find better things to publish about and the power she wields with words. I think the kidnapped girl can be saved, but that it needs to be done quickly. As for how this will ultimately resolve, I assume epic battle followed by emotional ghost revelations. As for other sorts of cases, I actually am expecting lots of drama ones with heavy emotional reveals from side characters. I could be wrong, but that feels like the route the comic is going. O_O

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Ryccomics

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? Very good dynamic introduction between Moira and Emery. Very quickly and effectively I understood Emery is an older cynic, and Moira is the energetic and out to prove herself. 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? The magic reveal of what the potions/chemicals do is fun. I do not really understand how they work at this time, and I don’t really need to. 3. Who is your favorite character? Mauretta, she’s a lot of fun in design, and she gets to talk more than usual character type. I’m not sure what this character type would be called, but I’m going with person who starts the Scooby Doo mystery. 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? Moira and Emery have good chemistry. Having the young rookie be more powerful than the experienced partners adds to the dynamic. 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

So much going on in this panel. All 5 characters are doing something. 6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores? I don’t have an answer yet, because how this encounter goes will shape the narrative, everyone could die. It could be resolved peacefully, it could wrap like a monster of the week story, or lead to bigger things. 7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content? I like the map in FAQ area of site is cool. Gives information for those who want it, but can be safely ignored by those that don’t. 8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are? I like your line art, a lot. The silhouettes read really well. And when working in black and white having distinct shapes is so important, you’ve color code your characters. 9. What do you think Emery did that caused him to be exiled by the Magician Order? How does this factor into his general cynicism and bitterness? Also, do you think Emery will ever be a magician again? I know from the Cast FAQ, he broke their laws, in what contest will tell a lot about Emery and the Order. I am a little unclear what the Magicians are at this points, how powerful they are in this society. Are the Magicians outside of the Magician’s order?

10. How do you think Moira became Emery’s apprentice despite Emery being an ex-magician? Similarly, why do you think Moira hasn’t joined up with the Magician Order? As the story develops, how do you think Moira will grow and change as a magician? I think Moira will have to confront what caused Emery’s cynicism. I expect she will get more powerful as the story begins. 11. Besides following Emery and Moira around, what role do you think Leera will have in the story? How might Leera’s presence hurt or help the duo on each case? Also, how will Leera change as she experiences things firsthand? I Leera’s role will be mainly to ensure the characters get back onto the plot. Most stories have some form of this function, whether it is the Greek gods, a ticking clock to motivate the characters to act right now Given she works for a newspaper, she can prod the characters to do news worthy things. 12. How do you think Moira and Emery will resolve the haunted opera house situation? Can the kidnapped girl be saved, or is she truly gone forever? Additionally, what other sorts of cases do you expect to see after this one? I feel it will have a happy ending, monster defeated girl saved. This is because the character dynamics would change really drastically if Moira had to confront extreme darkness so early, she would get cynical. 13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic? Will be interesting to see how the combat functions with regard to group dynamics, are the other characters going to plan a part in the combat, or are they on the sidelines. 14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic? I was sad when it ended.

RebelVampire

I am looking forward to finding out more about Emery and what Emery is capable of despite the circumstances. As for final words, this is just a lovely comic with tons of unique aspects about it that I really like.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Devil Tongue this week! Please also give a special thank you to Samuel Soto-Saines and Lucas Soto for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Devil Tongue, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://deviltonguecomic.com/

Devil Tongue’s Story: https://deviltonguecomic.com/store/

Samuel’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/sainezart

Lucas’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucaswordcraft

[suicidalcatz]

DOG DAYS ARE OVER : CHAP 8

Pairing : Jake Kiszka x reader

Genre : College AU

Previous parts : Prologue ; Chap 1 ; Chap 2 ; Chap 3 ; Chap 4 ; Chap 5 ; Chap 6 ; Chap 7

Masterlist : Here

AN : Hi guys! I can’t believe I made it this far ! Last chapter did so poorly I’m having a life crisis, I hope you’ll like this one better, it’s the calm before the storm. I’m wondering if I should update more than once a week so I asked the lovely @brightonfleet and I’ll try to post on Wednesdays and Saturdays now, since the chapters are so smol. Thank you for your love and support, feel free to comment and send me messages, see you on Wednesday ! (Also the title isn’t clickbait this is my gift to you).

Chapitre 8 : Is he naked ?

One thing I never knew was that one day I'll be pissed at « Friday I'm In Love » by The Cure. My head felt heavy as I sat on the bed, eyelids still shut tight, budding headache waiting in the corner of my head for the perfect time to screw me over. I could feel the burning sunlight trying to attack my eyes even behind their curtains, bathing the whole room in their warm rays like they owned the place. It smelled like food, and someone hummed along Robert Smith's singing, so Mandy was already awake. Painfully stretching and rubbing my face, I rolled out of bed, carefully taking in the light in the room as I finally opened my eyes, trying not to trip on the covers. Yawning, I dragged myself to the kitchen to greet my roomate.

- Hey.

Mandy turned around when she heard my grunt, spatula in hand. The table was already set, with orange juice, bread and cutlery, which I almost knocked over while putting my elbow on the table.

- Hi dude. No offense but you look like a truck ran you over.

- Fuck you, my head hurts so much already, how come I'm hungover and you're not ?

As a response, she shrugged, looking like she herself didn't know the answer to that. But like the good friend she was, aspirine was alredy on the table next to a glass of water. Oh I remembered now, she probably wanted to apologize for her screw up yesterday night. I couldn't blame her nor get mad at her though. It slipped, it happened. And besides, I think we saved this whole situation by lying terribly and then drink some more. I could vaguely remember Josh holding out shooters for everyone and cook burgers in the middle of the night but other than that... my mind was pitch black.

- Where's Josh by the way ?

Swallowing a whole glass of water woke me up further and despite my stomach's complaining and churning, my appetite awaken too.

- He's sleeping on the couch, came the simple reply.

- What couch ?

Did we owned a couch ? No we didn't.

Turning back once more, my friend pointed something behind me with her spatula, motioning for me to follow the direction. Oh, so we did have a couch after all. And a sleepy curly head snoring on it, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito. Too many questions came to my mind.

- Okay, so since when do we own a couch ? And also Josh slept here ?

- We got out for a walk last night and found a couch so Josh could sleep on it when he wants to crash at ours.

- He plans to do that on a regular basis ?!

She shushed me hurriedly, standing still as Josh turned and moaned in his sleep. His clothes were scattered on the floor around him and on the worned out leather couch that creaked with his every movement. God I hoped no animals were living on it. Getting up, I stole a pancake from the plate next to Mandy, needing energy to register everything that just happened in less than five minutes. So what she's telling me is that we got so drunk we went who-knows-where and got back to the dorm with an abandonned sofa we found on the side of the road ? Just so Josh could sleep at our place. Couldn't he just bring an airmat or a sleeping bag, like a normal person ?

I had to admit my irritation was purely fake. This whole situation was so ridiculous it made me want to laugh more than anything, really. Going to great lenghts only so he could stay the night. Unbelievable, what a princess. It's with an amused grin that I studied his sleeping figure, peaceful and quiet. A rare sight.

- Is he naked ?, I half-murmured to Mandy.

She turned to me, then to Josh, putting her back to the kitchen counter next to me, intently watching him turn in his sleep before the blanket slipped and uncovered his bare ass in all its glory for the world to see.

- Yup, he is.

- Should've guessed.

Nodding to ourselves, we returned to our occupations, and I helped her with breakfast. Our sleepy guest sat with us only a few minutes later, with the covers hiding everything needed this time, devouring pancakes and chatting joyfully about last time and the day to come.

We didn't have school today, which was the main reason why the Christmas Festival was set to this day. And it also explained why students weren't that interested in coming. Even though it was a proven fact that we were all gonna party hard in the dorms after the concerts. Speaking of which, Josh had to perform today but wasn't stressed at all. In fact I never saw someone being this serene about singing onstage to a batch of people. He was talking about how it'll be amazing, and we'll be there, and they'll be rocking the school like it was no big deal at all. It truly amazed me, giving how nervous I was just presenting an assignment to the class. He ate a lot, babbled a lot, and then thanked us for everything and left. Time flew by fast after his departure.

I was too hungover to do anything more than lie in bed all day watching Netflix, let alone do homework. Mandy and I slept some more, and in what seemed like a minute later, had to shower and get dressed for the festival.

Much to my surprise, almost every department had their part to play to the Christmas school fest. The architecture dudes with the help of the carpenters students built cabins and decorated them with christmas lights and lanterns hooked on trees, the Music dept helped set the stage, Furniture Design peeps brought some tables and chairs they had left in the workshop (mostly projects refused by teachers), and Photography students as any other department invited a whole lot of people and bought alcohol for us all to enjoy. It wasn't crowded, but there was a nice amount of visitors nevertheless. A good amount of drugs too, judging by the familiar smell surrounding the school grounds. The stage was surrounded by wood cabins giving or selling beer, food, or cocktails, with stools or benches to sit, which were already taken by the time we got there.

We stood in the cold for hours, close to the heaters and the tiny hot dogs stalls, stuffing our bellies with junkfood in a vain attempt to warm ourselves up. We didn't know where the guys were, nor what their band was called. None of the twins were replying to their phones, so we were left with no clue as to when they were gonna play or if we could skip half of it and come back just for them.

- Can't believe the flyer said « free beer », grumbled Mandy while rubbing her arms.

- Yeah about that, I'm the one who asked for it to get removed, sorry.

Her hair whipped my face as she abruptly turned around to face me with a look of pure betrayal on her face.

- What ? Look at all the efforts they put on the festival, it's only fair they at least get some money out of it.

A lot of people brought their own booze to the party so they didn't have to spend a cent here anyway, we just didn't know enough folks to borrow from them.

- Screw that, she exclaimed before heading to one of the stalls.

Where was she going ? Should I follow ? What kind of crazy plan had she in mind ?

I saw her body leaning on the counter of a drinks stall where the barman looked overwhelmed by all those people calling him around, playing idly with a strand of hair while pretending to read the laminated menu just has her free hand got under the wood panel, fingertips caressing the handle of a huge beer keg. There was no way in Hell nobody would notice her stealing something so big, she couldn't get away with it. By the time I was facepalming while pretending I didn't witness anything at all, she came rushing to me with the keg in her hand and grabbed my arm, hurrying me to follow as we sank through the park.

- I can't believe you stole it, how the fuck are we supposed to drink a KEG ? Do you even know how to open it ?

She paused, letting the big barrel of beer clunk to the hard floor.

- I was kinda counting on you on this one, she said with a perplex tone. We'll find someone who can, don't worry.

I wasn't really worrying about that to be honest but oh well, now that we had it, might as well open it.

It turned out finding someone who could help us was more easier than I first thought, and since a lot of people had the idea of bringing their own keg along, nobody seemed to think it was weird we were carrying one. Now I wasn't a big fan of curing a hangover with more alcohol, but I got to admit it was a special night. And seeing everybody party without participating would've been a shame. That's what I told myself when I poured us another drink.

It was starting to get really chilly outside, so we stayed by the heater, taking turns to sit on the keg when our feet got too tired of standing still, listening to the bands playing, watching the christmas lights illuminate the trees and people sitting under them.

- Who's next ?, asked Mandy for the fourth time that evening.

Struggling once more to get the crumpled flyer out of my jacket pocket, I squinted my eyes, trying to read what band was next in the darkness of the night.

- Greta Van Fleet, I guess. Don't know her.

- Me neither.

Oh how wrong we were. I think my heart leaped in my chest when I saw Jake's figure enter the illuminated stage, followed by Josh, his tambourine, and their two bandmates. The lump in my throat came back, and as the first guitar notes were played it became impossible for me to either keep my mouth shut nor to take my eyes off of Jake. He looked so good. They all did, jamming and playing loud, smiling and having fun, but Jake. He was something else. He looked unreal. His unbutonned black patterned shirt revealed his chest and all the pendants that hung around his neck, bouncing to the rythmn of his body, while his hand recklessly attacked his guitar' strings. His face, so concentrated, like nothing in the world in that moment existed, a single drop of sweat running on his cheek, hair plastered to his forehead, some strands of it getting stuck at the corner of his gaping lips. That night he took my breath away.

- They're so good, muttered Mandy, taken aback too.

I could only nod, at a loss for words, barely having the capacity to register all the informations that were presented to me because it would mean I could miss a second of Jake playing. They all were simply incredible. You could tell they were putting their soul in their music, and it moved me in a strange way, changed me somehow, even a little. That drum solo was the most powerful I had ever witness, the skilled bassist made an amazing job of keeping everything together, and Josh's vocals would put to shame every damn diva on this earth. I think I died a bit when I saw Jake lift his guitar to put it behind his back and play his solo like that. Or if I didn't, I fell even harder for him. There was no turning back from the depths I was now. When Greta Van Fleet started performing at our school, I saw all the people surrounding us stop their activities to pay attention to them. That's how powerful they were.

Josh was in a bliss, we could tell by the spark in his eyes. He played the tambourine during solos, hopping on the stage like he was born on it, giving the crowd smiles and winks, and even blowing us a kiss. We waved at him, but my gaze kept finding its way to Jake like he was calling it back home. He was too busy to focus on anything else, drowning in his music, delighted by the sounds they were producing, barely realizing there were people cheering for them. He looked up from time to time glancing at his surroundings, and during one of them our eyes met. My heart skipped a beat, and he smiled, a pick stuck between his lips, eyes squinted with glee.

By the time they finished their set, my legs were shaking as if I was the one who just performed, but they didn't let us any time to catch our breath. A sweaty and barely dressed Josh jumped out of the stage to come rushing to us, holding us both in a tight embrace and giggling in our ears. He was talking excitedly about the show, how exhilirating it was, and bombarding us with questions about it and what we had thought of it. In the corner of my eye, standing on the stage, Jake was quietly picking up his stuff, putting his guitar back into its case with great care, chatting excitedly with the drummer. Oh fuck I wasn't mentally prepared.

- Are you kidding me ?, yelled Mandy who was holding Josh at arms' lenght. You guys killed it ! We absolutely loved it, you were the best !

- She's right, I chimed in, adrenaline kicking in. Why are you even in this school ?! Damn I wish I had recorded you, I kind of want to hear your songs again now.

Chuckling kindheartedly and hugging us some more, Josh thanked us a million times before settling down with us, helping himself to a beer he chugged before asking for another one. Still feeling starry eyed, I couldn't help focusing on the sweaty guitarist next to the stage, deeply lost in thought between his two bandmates having a conversation. Some people must've bought them drinks real fast because they were carrying red cups, still in their stage clothes with a coat put on top of it. Josh on the other hand... I couldn't look at his bare chest without scolding.

- You're going to catch a cold.

As much as his red velvet sleeveless jacket looked good, seeing his moist skin glimmering got me worried. We were in December, it was like -4 degrees outside, a few more minutes like that and he'll end up like the little match girl.

- Mama I'm too hot to catch a cold, came the reply with a smirk and a wink.

- Oh my Lord go put a coat on I swear to God Josh-

- Okay, I will ! But more importantly !, he said loud and clear while putting each arm around our shoulders. Tonight, my place, we're throwing an after party ! Ladies, please be my guests.

As backup to his words, Josh made grand gestures and a deep bow, taking our hands in his while I shook my head with a look of disbelief on my face.

- Only if you put on a coat.

[dulcidyne]

Experiments in Diplomacy: Troubleshooting [7/?]

There’s nothing in the Interspecies Diplomacy subsection of the Initiative handbook that covers sharing a tech lab with an angara who can kill her in her sleep. She knows, she’s read every page. Twice. (A collection of in-between vignettes from the Tempest tech lab) 

//Jaal x Ryder // Humor. Romance. SFW // Previous chapters: [1][2][3][4][5][6] or read on Ao3

“I’ve got it.”

Exhaustion scuffs her smile down to expose the wiry, frenetic energy she scraped up from the bitter dregs of her last coffee. Jaal tilts his chin to angle a skeptical glance and a wry smile her way. Both say he’s expecting her new idea to be highly impractical. Neither are wrong. 89 consecutive power draw trials and three hours of sleep mean her ideas are starting to get a little...eccentric.

“I’ll just wear more power cells.” Se-ah slumps her weight onto her forearms, letting Mags do most of the work of keeping her upright. “Problem solved.”

“Pathfinder, by my calculations the number of additional power cells required exceed the free surface area of your hardsuit.”

For an AI living in her head, SAM can be surprisingly gullible. She finds it delightful. Tapping her raw, bitten-down fingernails against Maggie’s carbon glass, she pretends to give his objection serious thought.  While she’s at it, she also pretends not to hear the dull staccato thump on the tech lab door. It’ll go away soon. At least, she hopes. The other side of the door is the last thing she has the mental capacity for right now.

“So we stack them.”

“Pathfinder—”

“Or I’ll just bring a portable generator, plug in for battle. We could make a harness for Drack.”

“Limitations in combat mobility render this solution highly impractical.”

SAM isn’t programmed with state-of-the-art emotional inflections—conveying emotion wasn’t ever high on her father’s list of priorities, clearly he didn’t think it should be high on SAM’s either—but there’s a jarring fluctuation in his modulated voice akin to alarm.

Jaal hears it too and works a thread of reproof into his smile, which, along with the majority of his attention, returns to the kett bioconverter he’s in the process of ripping apart for the sake of his own curiosity.  “Ryder…”

“There are no bad ideas,” she intones defensively, grabbing the jumper wires Jaal sets down by her hand and getting back to work. They’ve developed a good rhythm together in the lab, much like the one they have in the field. It’s a dance of increasing familiarity, steps formed out of subtle gestures, reflex, and split-second instinct. She gets the shields while he lines up the shot. Static crackle and rifle report ringing out a background duple meter. The tempo in the lab is slower, less frantic without projectiles and wild animals trying to rip through her armor, but it still thrums in her bones like a reverberating pulse straight out of the Vortex subwoofers.

“Is that a common human expression?” Jaal asks her in a way that tells her he doesn’t care for it. “I’ve had several experiences that prove the opposite.”

Se-ah clips the connectors into place and grins, wide and slow. “Yeah? Would any of them involve teaming up with a ragtag group of Milky Way aliens?”

Before he can reach over for it, she slides a tube of thermal paste his way. Her fingers pause on the rolled-over top, waiting for him to ask for an explanation of the phrase ‘ragtag’ even as she opens her mouth to launch into it.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he huffs a low laugh, drawing closer. “No...but I suspect you only ask because you are already sure of my answer.”

Distracted by his proximity, she studies the variegated violet freckling over his cheekbones, awash in rippling blue light. Are they the angaran equivalent of freckles? Do angaran biochromophores react the same way to sunlight as melanin does? Does the scientific curiosity explain the urge to trace her hand across them and map an array of constellations all for herself? Distantly, she notes that the thumping on the door has stopped.

“Maybe I’m just making sure we’re on the same page?” The words gust out of her, soft and too breathy. She can’t spare a moment to be embarrassed over how blatantly romance-vid her reaction to him is. There’s nothing critical in his soft chuckle except a hint of exasperation over one too many idioms.

His hand cups the back of her own—still perched on the tube of thermal paste—engulfing it in half the span of his fingers. Warmth grips her through the material of his glove and palms a hot, shivering caress up her arm and into her chest. Before she can think, her palm impulsively twists to catch it, pressing up against his and slip her five fingers between his three.

The pad of his thumb traces over the line of her own, slow and soft as a sigh. “I think that whatever is on your page is on mine as well . ”

“Good, that’s good. About that. We should probably talk about exactly what’s on that page—besides your email, I mean, and with this whole. Fraternizing . Thing. ”

Her heartbeat thuds against her sternum. Not because he’s pulling her closer, well that too, but because her carefully-planned response to his email is garbling up in her head as if his nearness is so much interference turning her carefully planned words to static. She’s never been good at these types of conversations. Good at avoiding them? Absolutely. But she’s tired of living in the liminal spaces of relationships where nothing is concrete or defined and everything is vague half-hopes and swallowed desires. That might be good enough for the person she used to be but not anymore. She wants this. Wants to tell him.

“If you’re sure she just forgot…” comes a voice from the other side of the door—Scottish brogue muffled but distinct. Se-ah barely has time to pull free and step away from him before the hydraulic system hisses metal panels open to reveal Peebee and Suvi, who at least has the good sense to look very apologetic.

“Sorry Ryder, but she kept insisting there was some mistake.”

Se-ah exhales long and slow. Then she bows her head back down in the guise of surveying the connectors scattered across Maggie’s top while silently cursing her merciful decision not to throw a certain asari out the airlock.

“Nope.” She pops the ‘p’ hard against her lower lip. “Not a mistake.”

“So what’s with the tension in here?” Peebee scans between them, then flicks a commiserating half-grin in Jaal’s direction. “Mad at you too huh?”

Se-ah bites down on her retort, hard, and her lip smarts for it. The imprint of his hand against hers is a phantom warmth transmuted into an insistent ache. All the words she couldn’t say are still buzzing in her head, too loud. She unclips all the connectors that she just put in. They’re all wrong. What was she thinking?

Jaal has no response but Peebee never has a problem filling up other people’s side of the conversation--a trait Se-ah finds either exasperating or charming, depending on the situation.  “Well at least she can’t revoke your access to your own room, right?”

“Is there something you want Peebee?” Se-ah flexes her hand, willing the wistful ache out of her skin.

“Why do you assume I’m here because I want something?” Peebee does a convincing enough job of sounded wounded. “I can have altruistic motives too, you know. I came because I was worried.”

Confusion has Se-ah glancing up from the bench just in time to see Suvi wisely edge out of the lab and make a discrete escape. “Worried?” she asks, “About what?”

“About you , obviously. You know, the whole amnesia thing you clearly have going on.”

Well, that’s on her, she should’ve known better than to engage. Se-ah heaves a sigh up towards the deckhead panels for her own naivete and goes back to reclipping the connectors, hoping silence will be enough of a hint to be left alone.

It is not. Because nothing in Andromeda goes the way she wants it to, especially not when a certain asari is involved. Instead of leaving, Peebee crosses the room to stand on the other side of the tech bench, ducking her head low enough to press her cheek against the glossy top.

“Ryder,” she says, voice full of concern. “Do you remember who I am?”

“Peebee…”

“Good! Good, that’s a relief. Now, do you remember telling me you weren’t mad about the whole borrowing the ozone scrubbers and that I could have my access to the lab back?”

“What I remember telling you is that there are consequences for putting other people on this ship in danger and that your access to the lab will be contingent on supervision until--”

Peebee scrunches up her face as if this is the first she’s heard of all this. “Nooo, I’m pretty sure you said I had my access back, no babysitting required. SAM?”

“Leave SAM out of this. You took them. Without permission. You almost destroyed Ma--the machine. Do you think I should trust you to be in here alone after that? ”

“Trust has nothing to do with this. I was obviously going to put them back as soon as possible. You know that. How was I supposed to know you’d be up all night using the damn thing? It’s called sleep , Ryder. Ever heard of it? Look, just admit you’re still mad at me. Then we can hug or something, Jaal will probably cry, knowing him--it’ll be better than a drama vid.”

Jaal clearly agrees with either the idea or the prediction that he’d be left in tears. Possibly both. He nods sagely. “That’s an excellent idea. Once you acknowledge your feelings, you can work towards resolving the issue.” Se-ah drops all pretense of working and scrubs her hand over her face. “I’m not mad. This has nothing to do with my feelings and everything to do with a totally reasonable punishment.”

“If you’re not mad, we can just skip to the hug part then—”

Peebee makes to circle around the tech bench, proving it is no empty threat. Her unique brand of emotional distance is oddly physical in nature; pinching, prodding, jumping on, squeezing, all while holding everyone at an arm’s length. She’d do it, the madwoman , she’d hug her. Se-ah startles back, hands coming up defensively to ward it off.

“Calm down Ryder, it’s a hug, not a bomb. Why so tense?” Peebee snorts, delighted over this new development. Her eyes are bright and glittering in a mad-scientist way. A woman afraid of hugs is an oddity and Peebee happens to specialize in unraveling oddities. Se-Ah would much prefer to stay tightly raveled.

She clears her throat in a bid for composure but can’t bring herself to lower her hands. “You can’t just flirt your way out of everything Peebee.”

“Oh yeah?” A dozen different flavors of innuendo squeeze into the smooth drop of her voice and the slow, satisfied curl of her lips. Glittering eyes shift into something beguiling, beckoning her. “Can’t you let me try though?” “I’m--a little busy at the moment,” Se-ah stutters, flushing all the way down to her shirt collar. Fabric scratches  her rapidly warming throat. She tugs it away impatiently. Damnit Peebee . She’ll take disarming a bomb any day over Peebee’s determined seduction technique. At least she knows how to handle a bomb.

White teeth flash into a triumphant grin. Whatever game Peebee is playing, she’s winning and she knows it. She moves closer, in for the kill. “Which is exactly why you should let me work out some of that tension.”

All at once, Se-ah is done. It’s so Peebee to derail conflict with a come-on; not even a come-on she’s actually invested in. Probably.

“Which is exactly why I can’t supervise you right now.” she snaps, imbuing her voice with every gram of authority she can muster. “The conversation about access reinstatement will have to wait for another time.”

Peebee’s smile dims and hurt slumps her shoulders before she squares them up for a shrug that tells Se-ah the wounded act from before was only partially put on. Being on the outs bothers her; which explains a lot. Peebee is at her Peebee -ist when she’s trying to hide the fact that she cares. It’s almost enough for Se-ah to forget how irritated she is and start feeling guilty over it.

“Have SAM make a note of it before the amnesia kicks in again,” Peebee quips over her shoulder, already halfway out the door.

Almost . Se-ah bites down on her very juvenile, very unprofessional retort. Snatching up a pair of needle nose pliers, she flays open an insulated wire with a focused viciousness normally reserved for Kett. Once the copper threads are stripped bare she realizes Jaal has been watching her intently the whole time. “Peebee is right,” he concludes. Traitor. Se-ah scowls, feeling hopelessly wrong-footed. She shouldn’t have snapped. A good leader shouldn’t ever let it get that personal. It’s just that Peebee...she clenches her jaw against a fresh wave of irritation. Peebee can be impossible sometimes. Flustered, she flings the wire away and watches it skid across the bench top.

“I am not mad. I’m just being reasonable. It was entirely professional.”

There’s a voice in the back of her head that says her claim to professionalism rings hollow . It sounds like a dead woman. She would never be this close with her crew, letting it undermine her leadership. She took Alliance regulations about fraternization seriously, didn’t see the point in risking her career over messy personal entanglements. She wouldn’t be on any page with Jaal, not with a diplomatic relationship with an alien species on the line regardless of if it went well or poorly. Something painful grinds in her chest, a raw fuse of broken emotion she’s still not ready to deal with. It feels like empty chairs at recitals, graduations, commendation ceremonies--like unanswered vid calls and unsigned cards and Scott’s accusatory, ‘You never get mad because you’re just like him’ . Career first. Personal entanglements later...she wonders what Jaal would think about that. What her--

Jaal’s palm settles over her shoulder and she glances up, startled. “She was right about the hug. You do need one, you’re very tense.”

His touch is a warm, reassuring weight that anchors her to the floor and she relaxes into it despite the objectively horrifying suggestion.

“Ryders don’t hug,” she says without much mirth. It’s an inside joke that isn’t actually a joke. One of Scott’s. He liked to pull a stern expression, looking eerily like their dad when he said it. Or, he used to. Once they realized the truth at the heart of it, after mom’s death, it was less a joke and more of an observation told with the cadence of one.

All of this is lost on Jaal. In her entire arsenal of idioms, she’s never seen him so baffled. A stomach-churning emotion props a stilted smile up at the corner of her mouth. It feels like it will topple off her lips at any moment. Beneath his hand, her shoulder bunches up as she shifts back to squeeze a couple extra centimeters between them without breaking contact.  

“We’re just not very good at it. We only inflict them on others on very rare occasions.”

Occasions she can count out on one hand: saying goodbye to halmeoni in the hospital, her and Scott’s 8th and worst birthday, Aunt Eldora crushing her lungs at mom’s funeral, the handful she shared with Iraenya, including the one signifying their tidy breakup after she signed on for the Andromedra Initiative. Even then, privately, she thinks the word ‘hug’ is far off the mark for all those situations.

There isn’t a single word that would be on the mark. All she can think of are the plastic dolls she played with as a kid and their serene, frozen-faced smiles (although her Matriarch Dilinaga was partially melted from her last expedition into the ‘Attican Traverse’, so it was more of a grimace) as she clacked them together into rough approximations of an embrace, their arms extended out and rigid.

Realization strikes him and Jaal chuckles, squeezing her tense shoulder. “Ah, you’re... ‘pulling my foot’.”

“Uh...no.” Her frozen-faced grimace is a near exact replica of her Dilinaga doll. “I’m not. I am really bad at them.I get...tense and awkward. It’s like hugging a bundle of sticks but with less capacity for warmth.”

“Oh.” The word drops between them like a stone. As the echoes clatter around them something strange happens to his face. It’s been weeks, so it takes her a moment to realize he’s schooling his expression to mask his emotions. Poorly. He manages to banish some of the slow-dawning horror drawing his brow into a rictus of concern and plaster up a tremulous smile as he gently releases her shoulder. The loss gusts cold beneath the thin edge of her shirt.

“I didn’t...I didn’t think that was possible…” She watches him choose his words with care, discarding a dozen alternatives before settling on one free of judgement. Considering his vehement pronouncements on emotionally stunted humans, it’s absence is...unexpected. “I don’t entirely understand. Is that...healthy for humans?”

“For some it is. For some people, the physical contact can be overwhelming. Painful, even. But  I don’t think it’s something you can generalize with us.”

He doesn’t seem to know what to do with his hands and finally settles for crossing his arms over his chest, folding them away. “I see.”

It would be nothing to reach out and pull his hand back into hers. A dozen centimeters, maybe less. Her fingers ache with possibility but that dozen centimeters is a 2.5 million light-year wide gap between them, full to the brim with mores and customs and her own personal hang-ups piled on for good measure. She sucks in a breath and squares her shoulders, her muscles drawing tighter, her hands clenching in on themselves.  

“Then,” he asks, “for you, specifically?”

“Uh…”

Blunt but disarming. Her shoulders fall and her hands uncurl in synchrony—as if he’s hit a reset button and restored her back to original factory settings. Factory-setting Se-Ah is not eloquent. All she does is gape while her brain finishes the laborious process of starting back up again.

“I don’t actually know? It’s not an easy question to answer.”

“It isn’t?”

“No!” Se-ah cries, an improbable laugh hiccuping through the word. “I mean, maybe it should be but it just isn’t for me. It’s been over 600 years since I’ve really touched anyone, much less hugged anyone and only part of that is because of the cryogenic coma.”

“That sounds...so painful.” Naked distress flashes through his face, to raw to hide, and his hand crosses between them to thumb a line from the point of her jaw to her ear. His fingers skim the curve of her ear before he can collect himself again and draw back. She doesn’t let him. Her palm traps his hand against her neck, over her pulse point.

“It’s just what I’m used to. I’ve never even thought about it until recently.”

His gloved thumb rubs a reassuring circle against her skin. “And now that you’ve thought about it?”

Fitting her fingers  into the spaces between his, she smiles. His hand on her feels better than anything and she wants...she wants more.

“ I think the problem is that I don’t have enough data. I’ll need to run some tests if you wouldn’t mind...helping?”

Jaal’s laugh rumbles against her ear, his arms enfolding her. It’s awkward. Her cheek bumps against the alien ridge of his chest, her hands and arms don’t quite know what to do and her muscles lock up against him.

“I told you I was bad at this,” she says, glad that he can’t see her mortified blush. 

“Are you uncomfortable?” Jaal’s arms loosen around her. “No, but this can’t be comfortable for you.”

Still cupping the curve of her neck, he pulls her closer into the embrace with the arm banding across her back. Another laugh reverberates, deep, all the way down to her toes. “I think you’re doing very well. Just...try to relax.”

Tentative, her free hand slips beneath the fluttering line of his rofjinn  towards his back. He’s so warm. Her arms tighten against him and with a bit of settling, her cheek finds a nice hollow. Seconds pass, an interminable amount of time for a hug before, but now her whole body is tingling. It’s as if she’s fallen asleep on the workbench and woken up with her arm numb below the elbow before going to pins and needles--except all over. It’s like waking up in a cryogenic chamber. Coming alive all at once, overwhelmed with something where there was once so much nothing.

The miniature star in her chest expands, rises, and spills out of her lips as a gasping sob.

[snkpolls]

SnK Season 3, Part 1 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 240 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE FIRST COUR 231 Responses

Overall, respondents had a positive experience with the anime’s retelling of the Uprising arc with a 4 being the most popular ranking. It seems most believe there was room for improvement, but that it was overall enjoyable!

Good shit man, good shit. Next arc is gonna wring my heart dry of every last feel in existence, but so far I am satisfied.

This season was poor. I hoped for better. The scenes I loved it the manga were removed. Lots of character development was gone. But my biggest pain is anime version of Kenny. I will be honest - I am disappointed.

I liked it but the manga version will always hold a special place in my heart

I thought it was amazing, despite all the new things and things taken out. I still love the series way too much to really criticize choices they or Isayama make. I know I'm still gonna watch it and love it.

FAVORITE ANIMATED COUR SO FAR? 235 Responses

Nearly half of voters favor the Clash of the Titans arc’s adaptation the most so far, but the Uprising arc came at a surprisingly strong second overall! 

Well done, WIT Studio! Although some of my favorite chapters became my least favorite and vice versa (sadly), this was over all the best arc in my opinion.

It was a good story, but they cut out way too many scenes I loved making it not the best adaptation when it comes to comparing it with the manga. Season 3 is still my favorite season though.

FAVORITE EPISODE(S) FROM THIS COUR? 231 Responses

“Friends” was the most well-liked episode of the first half of the season, but overall the last four episodes performed the strongest. This is likely due to their more faithful adaptation of the manga material than than the earlier episodes. On that note, “Pain” did pretty well in regards to the earlier episodes. 

First two episodes were meh (way too fast for my liking), then it got slightly better, but the last 4 episodes were amazing

that ending scene in ep 12, what the hell, that scared me so much but it was so well done! also that last scene before the ending song is great for hype lol, Erwin's (japanese) voice actor is a god, my god what a man, SUSUMEEE

RATE THE SOUNDTRACK 236 Responses

It is probably safe to assume that the majority of respondents agree with the sentiment, “OST when!?” The soundtrack was great this season according to voters. Hopefully Sawano treats us soon! 

It was so good and I really want the soundtrack to come out, I have 6 months to mentally prepare myself for the return to Shiganshina arc and I still won’t be ready

RATE THE ANIMATION 235 Responses

Overall, reactions to the animation were positive. Although there were some scenes that had room for improvement, ultimately we can’t deny that the hard work done on the action sequences really paid off. Here’s hoping for even more glorious animation in the second half of the season! 

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING KEY CHARACTERS BY THE END OF THE COUR?

We’ll let the results speak for themselves on this one. Levi, Historia, Erwin, Hange and Kenny drew the most positive feelings. Rod evoked the most negative feelings.

ARE YOU PLANNING TO WATCH THE NEXT COUR? 237 Responses

We’re happy to see that most of you guys will be around for more! 

I feel like this section and onwards are not going to make for very entertaining episodes and are better in manga format, particularly if it's going to keep forcing major changes

HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING THE DUB? 237 Responses

The majority of respondents have not watched the dub and have no desire to do so. 16% will get around to it eventually and 14% are keeping on up on it. 

IF SO, WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS OF THE DUB THIS SEASON? 211 Responses

Aside from the 75% who haven’t been watching it, those who have are having an overall positive experience with it this season, regardless if the original Japanese is the preference or not!

This season has been an improvement both in voice acting and script, I've been pretty satisfied with it.

I'm not sure why people think animes need dubs tbh. They never sound good. Kenny's voice actor really butchered the cowboy voice.

I've only seen a few scenes but when Levi shouted ''Nifa!'' it sounded really weird in the dub xD

The very idea of watching dubbed anime is heresy

DO YOU THINK LINKED HORIZON WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE NEXT COUR? 233 Responses

The majority are feeling pretty confident that Linked Horizon will be back again for part 2 with an exciting new opening for us! 16% are sure they will stick around, but we may not see them retake their role as the artist of the opening. A small sliver of respondents think that they will be absent. 

OVERALL, DID YOU THINK THE ADAPTATION OF THE UPRISING ARC WAS DONE WELL? 237 Responses

Just over half of respondents believed that the Uprising arc was adapted well overall. 28% felt it was a good story, but not a good adaptation - still enjoyable, but not close enough to the source material. Smaller percentages either preferred the anime’s retelling or, on the opposite end, believe that the adaptation wasn’t good in any way. 

Í think a few parts would've been better if they had stuck to the source, but overall it was a good adaptation

It was horrible to be very honest, ehhhhh they ruined it

There were a few cuts and changes that didn't make sense or took away from the story but it wasn't too bad. I love Attack On Titan too much to be ungreatful lol.

At some points it was a better adaptation, with changes I liked, and at some points the attempts to fix some issues created some others. I'd say I find it about even with the manga, the pros and cons balance out.

I enjoyed it, and I loved the action animation in the first few episodes, but I'd still have preferred a more faithful adaptation.

First half was rushed, i like the manga version of it better, but the second half that went more like the manga was excellent

It could've been a teensy bit better, but glad they hit all the marks that were important (except for the hesitation of the 104th squad killing people)

It was a good story, but they cut out way too many scenes I loved making it not the best adaptation when it comes to comparing it with the manga. Season 3 is still my favorite season though.

Although the story was entertaining and was produced well, it missed a lot of key factors present in the manga that really brings it down. At the end you have a feeling of hollowness as opposed to satisfaction

OPINIONS OF THE ARC BEFORE THE ANIME? 238 Responses

Prior to the anime adaptation, the majority of respondents were fond of this arc of the story. A few were indifferent or didn’t enjoy it, however. 

I thought this arc was boring when I read it in the manga and it honestly wasn’t any better when it was animated.

AND AFTER? 237 Responses

Opinions stayed about the same after the anime retelling, with just a small bump up in the “liked it” area.  

I actually like the Uprising arc. So when the anime came up I expected it to be better. So for me this is a good adaptation. Plus I think half of the budget was spent on making Levi 100 time hotter... My only regret is that they didn't show Levi shirtless.

Uprising arc is my favorite in the manga. So many changes have driven me mad but in the end, I have rather enjoyed this cour. The chara design and the animation are insane. Feel robbed in many ways though, but never mind.

I felt like a lot of details that made the arc good in the manga was lost in the anime

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING MAJOR CHANGES?

While most stances were overall neutral on many of the changes, the most disliked change was taking away Levi forcing Historia to take the crown, thus unraveling subsequent events which eventually lead to the beloved punch/smile scene. The most well received change was including a proper Kenny vs. Levi fight scene in the cave. 

I did disapprove of some removals and additions, because I felt that the way the manga structured it made the plot flow easily. For the anime, it felt a tad rushed with the fast stream of information given to the viewers.

Like many manga readers, my biggest and only really significant complaint was the removal of Levi's choking-and-speech moment. It was entirely crucial to both his and Historia's characterisation and future development.

I only liked two of the changes. Everything they did that stuck to the manga was really well done.

The fandom is happy because of the 2nd fight between them in the cave. That was the worst fight IMO: Kenny didn't learn anything from the first battle between them and decided to go against Levi again; he was babbling some nonsense, offended his nephew and as result - he almost got killed. So in other words - Kenny was shown as immature, dumb simpleton who despised his nephew and was pathetic fighter.

while different, i still think it was a good adaptation and none of the changes really bothered me too much.

An additional scene that I'm still upset they didn't include - the conversation between Nile and Erwin before Erwin's arrest, where they discuss their childhood together.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST COUR?

A shame a bunch of the political parts were ''rushed'', but it was to be expected. Otherwise a good adaptation!

Decent adaptation that skimmed over the boring stuff. Too bad some scenes were hacked away.

"Okay, this is epic." - Ben Shapiro

I don't care that Isayama approved the changes and that the majority of people seemed to have enjoyed this arc more in anime form with the changes. I'm not an idiot, I know how adaptations work and that they're a different medium and that it wouldn't be a 100% panel by panel adaptation nor was I expecting it to be. Neither of the previous seasons were. But they removed and changed SO MUCH of what made the arc great and my favorite personally that I'll never get over that.

After a few fast paced episodes that were slightly Concerning™️ things slowed down and made a lot of sense. I’m glad that isayama got a chance to see uprising play out in the way he would have liked. And as far as changes, some were great, some were not awesome, but we always have the manga. Overall it was amazing and what will I do with my Sundays for the next six months rip

It was pretty calm, right before the storm of the next cour

First sighting of god tier character Floch

I feel like a fair bit of changes were made just to give the main/loved characters far more screentime, and some other changes to be simply dumb and entirely unnecessary

I wish they had just stayed true to the manga. It seems like they wanted to remove some of Levi's darker parts which makes him a less interesting character.

While it could have been better (less CGI!), it was phenomenal overall, and I believe guarantees that the Shiganshina arc is in good hands!

Rod's Titan was so gross. YUCK!

EEEEEEKKKKKK

10/10 there was a brief flashback of Mina Carolina in the Cave.

I'm still salty about some cuts but overall I liked it. Who will say no to Anime SNK?

For Yams story and characters are the most important, for the anime team - it's fun for watchers. That's a bit sad but okay.

Historias new coronation outfit was better than in the manga

I see the anime as an extra, so nothing that happens in the anime will change how I see certain characters or the arc itself. So I really had a problem answering your poll. In my eyes, it a gimmick, a nice animated extra but nothing more.

Despite not being a 1:1 adaptation of the manga, the anime still manages to do a fantastic job of adapting Uprising as well as altering it. The story and characters were still executed very well, and this arc overall had a MUCH better reception than its original counterpart which, in my opinion, says something.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 221 Responses

SHOULD THE POLLS CONTINUE/OVERALL POLL FEEDBACK? 226 Responses

We’re happy to see you guys are enjoying the polls! We appreciate all of you! <3

Thanks again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in April! 

[hypeathon]

RWBY - Volume 6, Chapter 10 Production Analysis

Previous Volume 6 Production Analysis Posts:

Chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight & nine

The first RWBY episode of 2019 also marks what seems to be the beginning of the last act of this volume. By now, this usually means action sequences and coordination and entanglement between various characters. But how does all of that hold up in this chapter’s presentation?

Since the first scene in this episode involves a cooperative operation between the main cast and Saphron’s family, now is as good of a time as any to go into one character in particular. Adrian is... a fascinating character to put simply, though it’s not just because of what he’s capable of but also because of how he exists. Though not common, models of kids and animals have existed before in the show, but never a fully rigged model of an infant. The closest instance there was of one prior was in the premiere chapter of this volume and even then, the model wasn’t really moving at all. Given his body size, it would not be surprising if Adrian’s model was entirely key-animated which can potentially lead to some awkward motion to make a baby’s fidgety nature look and feel right. But not as much has been needed out of Adrian’s animation outside of a few giggles and small gestures, with one exception of course but more on that in a bit. One last note, Adrian has an actual “voice actor” despite not having any audible words named Lucella Wren Clary who is actually lead producer for volume 6, Joe Clary’s baby daughter.

Going back to Adrian’s animation, the whole opening scene with him, Saphron, Weiss and Caroline was animated by Colin McAtee, Alex Hoyle, Vince Cappelluti and Hannah McCravy. Most of these animators, have been mentioned before through these analyses with the exception of Alex, who confirmed to specifically have done the cut with the Nubuck guards trying to tend to Adrian’s fake crying whereas Colin supposedly animated the cuts that came right before and after. Colin also stated that Kerry Shawcross gave them quite a bit of freedom regarding how to animate the characters. Since Kerry became the main director of the show back in 2015, he has been accused of having a draconian grip over what animators are or are not allowed to convey, namely with fight scenes. This has stemmed from some critics wanting a justification to point fingers at someone for not having certain aspects of the show be as ideal as they want without needing to spend time fact-checking. The reality is that Kerry will always have a vision for how he wants a given scene to be expressed, he simply needs to as the director. However, he is willing to let any animators assigned to a scene (as well as storyboard artist, camera layout artists and whoever else involved) to provide their own creative input to depending on the scene. With some exceptions, he’s actually more easy-going with action sequences than dialogue ones, the latter involves the animators being more precise with character acting (and the animators themselves don’t usually mind it either). So to see confirmation that he gave the assigned animators more creative freedom with the Adrian distraction scene is an interesting change of pace.

In the next scene at the cliff side, there is concept art accompanied with a couple of set design notes. First is, “boulders cover path & jut up from rock wall along entire cliff side” while the other says, “Path width: 20-30 ft, tree height: 30 ft”. In the first place, these design notes are likely to provide details for environment modeling team to maintain the dimensions and key features of a given setting. That said, these same pieces of information can also help give an idea as to what is in store for the story from here on. Between the boulders and trees, they may potentially serve as cover for the main cast once they start fighting Cordovin’s mech. It’s also possible that the height of the trees specifically may serve for another fight within this episode, but more on that later. One other quick thing to mention are the splash effects at the bottom of the cliff side. Splashes have been done before in the show, but given the setting, it’s appropriately presented with more nuance.

Taking a moment to skip ahead, this is a good opportunity to touch on the visual effects in this episode a bit. More specifically, the effects when Cordovin fires the warning shot from her mech. There is a lot of great timing with the build-up where the ball of energy swells up in small bursts within the cannon while a shock wave releases to help sell that effect. The small shock waves themselves also dissolve into particles which were an interesting touch. The swelling ball also has two bits of animation going on in which the layer of roundish shapes give off a backspin while the slender pen-stroke like shapes spin to the left. The best comparison to make would be the way veteran animator of the Pokemon franchise, Masaaki Iwane, animates effects such as explosions and flames. Iwane very similarly uses that swelling build-up effect in many instances such as this sequence in Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back and this one (about 54 seconds in) from Pokemon: Spell of the Unknown. Describing all of this is frankly very difficult but that is simply a testament to how intricately handled the visual effect itself is from just one cut alone. This is not even counting the next cut of when the cannon fires. From then on, there is an extended swelling effect from the ball of energy as well as small sparks appearing in the form of particles and streams. Once the cannon does fire, we see a couple of split-second white flashes on the screen. This is honestly the only part where a small opportunity was missed to capitalize on the effect and apply something called impact frames. They are basically effects in the form of a few frames that are inverted in color to make a sort of flash to help give off the sense of impact as the name suggests. The white flashes from when the cannon fired almost did something like this and could have benefited from adding say, a more blackened silhouette of the mech and the burst from the cannon, similar to what was seen in these stills which may have come from this sequence in Naruto Shippuden.

Despite calling the lack of impact frames a missed opportunity, it’s also nitpicking, as it doesn’t take away from the outstanding work done in just one instance. It is hard to tell how much of each aspect of the moment was due to the visual effects team or the compositing team or whether 2-D Effects artist, Myke Chapman had any part at all in say, the sparks all over the control panels in the ship Weiss and Maria hijacked. Regardless, this is the most creatively handled work from those departments done yet, outmatching that of the electricity swirling around Hazel’s arms in volume 5 or Cinder’s wind column in chapter 5 of this volume.

With all of that gushing of the effects out of the way for now, let’s rewind back to a scene with Maria and Weiss being found out by Cordovin. In terms of animation, there was one bit of confirmation from Nyle Pierson and what he contributed to this episode, that being the comedic and now meme-worthy part where Maria is chewing cashews. If you recall, Nyle was also the one that confirmed to have animated Ruby’s reaction to seeing Jaune’s sister as well as Blake and Yang treading through the snowstorm to the shed. With three confirmed sequences, this should help give a small idea of how he animates. His timing with character acting can be a bit comparable to Hannah Novotny’s in terms of how he applies small bits of anticipatory action before body gestures or head shifts. That said, they don’t approach animating mouths and eye pupils the same. Where Hannah is more likely to shrink the pupils and makes a snarl mouth shape when say, characters get angry (in fact, she may have animated Cordovin threatening Maria through the intercom), Nyle keeps pupils fairly dilated and the mouth movements can be similar to characters in various Sonic the Hedgehog games. 

One aspect of this episode’s production that has been neglected are the storyboards and that’s because there was not much to highlight. Or rather, it was a struggle to find anything to bring up. Part of the problem was that aside from a couple of having establishing shots that make note of the terrain of the different characters and Qrow being framed at certain moments to show him being opposed to everyone else’s plan, the visual direction felt standard overall. There was one fairly clever instance of Qrow blaming himself where the main cast were several feet away from him, only for Ruby to wind up in front of him a few shots later after talking some sense into him (along with an interesting “misty” effect likely from the compositing). Other than that, not much else. That is not meant to be taken as a criticism so much as an observation. Not every episode needs to hit it right out of the park, as this one served as mostly a build-up episode. That said, there’s also the matter that in this episode, there were six storyboard artists which makes this and chapter 2 the most credited. This is strange because usually, an episode will vary from 3-5 storyboard artists and the number is never really dependent on episode length either. Chapter 3, the longest episode in the series (not counting credits) had only Rachel Doda, Kevin Harger and Mari Yang credited while chapter 4 which served as a transition episode, ran only at 13 in-a-half minutes and had all of the previously mentioned names as well as Emily Little, making for four artists. It’s honestly unclear as to why this type of pattern occurs aside from maybe scheduling. 

Moving on to the last segment of this episode, we have the start of a fight sequence between Blake and Adam. As much praise as there was with the effects from the cannon fire prior, the moment where Adam launched his attack at Blake was nothing to sniff at either. The attack came with everything expected from what Adam has done before where the screen dims and parts of his body glow. But this time, some black and red-colored spark effects were added which have never been done before and thus gave off an extra menacing feel. The effects of the slicing wave were also a little different from his character short where in that instance, it felt more like a stream of wind. Here though, the shapes are more defined with a heavy blur layered on top. Then there’s the animation. The only animator confirmed to have had a part in Adam and Blake’s fight this episode was John Yang who very likely animated this segment, though it’s unclear whether he animated anything after that though. John has been involved with the show since volume 5 and some of his previous sequences include Blake firing on Ilia which came prior to Kim Newman’s sequence, Oscar vs Leo, Ozpin vs Hazel, and part of Maria vs the bandits. In the chapter 1 production analysis, I speculated that he may have done Oscar leaping from train car to train car to get to Dudley. After some observation, I’m more convinced that he actually animated Qrow’s initial fight against the Sphinx Grimm and Ruby and Weiss helping Oscar defeat the Manticore Grimm. The way John times movement is with a brief but explicit sense of anticipatory action before each strike and movement is suddenly unleashed. The movements and strikes feel swift but intense in ways that feel a bit similar to animation director for volume 6, Joel Mann. In fact, John’s sense of timing can be compared to animator Yuya Takahashi who depending on whp you talk to, is known for contributing to various fan-favorite sequences in both Dragon Ball Super and Fairy Tail.

All of that aside, one last thing of note towards the end of the sequence were the cold-air effects when Blake and Adam spoke their lines, likely done by the compositing team. This was a neat touch in that it helped indicate the temperature of where they are. It’s one of those neat attention to details that along with the dust particles showing through the light in Lionheart’s office in chapter 1 of volume 5, many viewers would not think of acknowledge but none-the-less add a touch to the atmosphere.

That marks the end of this production analysis. This one was admittedly a bit more scarce and scattered in terms of what to talk about, but the parts that were noteworthy through the presentation definitely had much to breakdown. With the first of what seems to be a set of action-oriented episodes out of the way serving as build-up, we seem to be in for a bit of a wild ride as teased by assistant lead animator, Melanie Stern. Here’s hoping that there will be quite a bit more to touch on through the production of the next chapter.

[darkwatercomics]

~ Issue # 11 ~ Book One: Chapter Eleven: A World Without Magic ~

PAGE 1, PANEL 1

Insert.

Close up of Jesse’s eye, reflecting the burning hotel in front of her.

ARTIST NOTE: Inserts are to be read vertically and positioned from top to bottom going down the left side of the full page splash.

CAPTION: “There are moments in your life when you really have to chose to do something, when you just can’t stand by any longer. ”

PAGE 1, PANEL 2

Insert.

Close up of the right side of her face on the left of the panel. She’s looking breathless, dishevelled, blood running down from her forehead.

CAPTION: “It’s that age old question, the burning building question. What would you do in that moment? If it meant life or death for someone, would you have the courage to run toward the flames?”

PAGE 1, PANEL 3

Insert.

Head to chest shot of her with the main street burning behind her.

CAPTION: “I’d never really faced that choice, never really thought about it. But here it was and I was right in the middle of it. I could walk away or I could try to help him. It was really that simple.”

PAGE 1, PANEL 4

FULL PAGE SPLASH: Full shot of her from behind, stood watching outside the hotel as it burns, being consumed by flames, part of it collapsed in on itself, the ground bathed in a fiery glow.

CAPTION: “It was one of those defining moments you never see coming.”

CAPTION: “The kind that can change everything.”

PAGE 2, PANEL 1

Half page panel. Full shot of Magellan from behind with Noah facing him, the main building of the Byzantine Academy, along with Elijah, Marissa and Valentyne, as well as the Ministry guards in the background of the panel. Many of the students are now outside in the courtyard. It’s no longer raining. As in the previous issue the words ‘Way Back When’ are written in chalk on the ground.

NOAH: You really think we’d believe that? That you’d just walk away.

PAGE 2, PANEL 2

Two panels on this vertical tier. Head and shoulders semi-profile shot of Magellan. There’s a definite forcefulness to his stare, an authority.

MAGELLAN: What point would there be in taking anyone against their will. Blind followers serve no purpose, they stand for nothing. If my truth is not their truth then so be it. I can only enlighten those who are open to it, each of us must find our own path.

PAGE 2, PANEL 3

Head to chest shot of Noah, with Elijah, Marissa and Valentyne behind.

MARISSA: Wise words, Alfred, but you were always good with words.

NOAH: And it doesn’t change anything.

PAGE 2, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Head to chest shot of Magellan, The Twelve stood behind him and the shadowy shapes of his followers.

MAGELLAN: My acolytes grow restless, Noah, it would be prudent not to delay further. Some of them are young, inexperienced, as are your students. All it would take would be one single mistake, one moment of panic for this to get out of hand.

PAGE 2, PANEL 5

Over the shoulder shot of Noah with a full shot of Magellan facing him.

NOAH: Is that a threat?

MAGELLAN: It is … advice. The sooner I speak the sooner we will leave.

NOAH: I will not allow you to speak to them.

PAGE 3, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Head to chest shot of Magellan from Noah’s P.O.V. His whole body language has changed instantly, no longer calm or controlled. He’s stiff now, a contained fury in his eyes.

MAGELLAN: Allow?

PAGE 3, PANEL 2

Full profile shot of Megallan and Noah, now only a few feet apart, Magellan is leant forward, a blast of blue energy coming from his hands, with Noah’s head being thrown back with the impact of it hitting.

MEGALLAN: If I did this, what would you allow then?

PAGE 3, PANEL 3

A ground level shot of Magellan from behind in the foreground, with a shaken Noah fallen to the ground at the feet of Elijah, Marissa and Valentyne. Marissa is crouched, her hand on Noah’s shoulders, as she looks angrily over at Magellan. Behind them students are looking on in shock and the Ministry guards stand ready.

VALENTYNE: Alfred, don’t do this.

MAGELLAN: Michael, you’ve been very quiet. I thought you would have welcomed this, welcomed a chance for your voice to be heard.

PAGE 3, PANEL 4

Three panels on this bottom tier. Head to chest semi-profile shot of Valentyne, glaring across at Magellan with a stare of grim defiance.

VALENTYNE: Then you thought wrong, Alfred, I have my problems with the Normals and the Ministry, that’s no secret, but this isn’t the way. This way, your way, only puts innocent lives at risk.

VALENTYNE: It’s think it’s time you left.

PAGE 3, PANEL 5

Forehead to chin semi-profile shot of Magellan, his face filling the panel.

MAGELLAN: This is a mistake. You are making a mistake, all of you.

PAGE 3, PANEL 6

Full profile shot of Valentyne and Magellan facing each other, both now in a defensive position, hands half raised, glowing with the familiar blue energy. It’s a stand off, neither making the first move.

VALENTYNE: Maybe you’re right, but it’s our mistake to make.

PAGE 4, PANEL 1

SPLASH: Full shot of Valentyne and Amaris from behind, stood in the desert outskirts of Magic Town, shadows thrown along the ground by the gleam of the moon. The town itself sits quiet under a sky of stars. Written in the sand are the words ‘19 Years Later.’

ARTIST NOTE: The title is written on the bottom of the panel, on the ground of the desert, Book One: Chapter 11, A World Without Magic.

AMARIS: Seems pretty quiet.

VALENTYNE: Then we proceed with caution.

AMARIS: Always.

PAGE 4, PANEL 2

Two panels on this bottom tier. Head to waist profile shot of them, with Amaris in the foreground of the panel, looking to the town.

VALENTYNE: Are you up to this, Amaris?

AMARIS: Of course.

VALENTYNE: I’m not questioning your loyalty.

AMARIS: I know.

PAGE 4, PANEL 3

Similar to the previous panel but now it’s a head to chest shot of them.

AMARIS: He’s still my brother, but you can rely on me. I’ll go where this takes us. He’s made his bed now, up to him if lays on it.

PAGE 5, PANEL 1

Page width panel. On the left of the panel in the foreground is a full shot of Tom from behind, stood in the entrance of an alcove. It’s wider and lower than the alcove seen in issue # 10. On the right of the panel, crouched in the shadows of the far corner, is Jobe. Written on the curved walls in chalk are the words ‘Way Back When.’

TOM: Jobe, are you okay? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

JOBE: They lied, all of them, they lied. I heard what you said to the others.

TOM: It was just a vision, it may not be true. You already know that.

PAGE 5, PANEL 2

Two panels on this tier. Head to chest semi-profile shot of Jobe. He’s mostly in shadow, almost cowered into himself, looking fearful.

JOBE: But Magellan believes it. They let our parents die, Tom, they let them die.

PAGE 5, PANEL 3

Full shot of him in the foreground, with Tom stood in the background.

TOM: I don’t think it was like that. I don’t think they knew who we were.

JOBE: Why are you defending them? They’ve been lying to us all this time.

PAGE 5, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Similar shot of them to that of panel 1.

TOM: They were trying to protect us.

JOBE: Were they? Or were they just trying to protect themselves?

TOM: Jobe?

PAGE 5, PANEL 5

Similar to panel 3 but now it’s a closer head and shoulders shot of Jobe.

JOBE: They’re afraid of us, Tom, can’t you see that?

PAGE 6, PANEL 1

Page width panel. A similar shot of them to that of page 3, panel 1.

TOM: I don’t think it’s that …

JOBE: What else could it possibly be?

TOM: I … they’re not even sure it’s real.

PAGE 6, PANEL 2

Two panels on this tier. Similar to page 3, panel 2, a head to chest shot.

JOBE: So my parents died for something that may not even be real? All my life I’ve been lied to, they’ve only ever told me half the truth.

JOBE: In some ways I think that’s worse.

PAGE 6, PANEL 3

Forehead to chin semi-profile shot of Jobe, his face filling the panel.

JOBE: I think it’s me.

PAGE 6, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Similar to page 3, panel 3, full shot of Jobe cowered in the foreground, with Tom stood in the background.

TOM: What do you mean?

JOBE: I think it’s me. If it is true, I think I’m the one destined for darkness.

TOM: No, Jobe, why would you even think that?

PAGE 6, PANEL 5

Head and shoulders semi-profile shot of Jobe, still cowered, still fearful, mostly in shadow and looking down at the ground near him.

JOBE: Why wouldn’t I think that? I don’t fit in anywhere, I’ve always been alone, never had a normal life, never really had any friends.

JOBE: And worst of all I’m weak.

PAGE 7, PANEL 1

Page width panel. Similar to panel 1 of pages 5 and 6, but Tom has moved, now stood barely a foot away from Jobe, almost stood over him, both of their figures draped in the shadows of the alcove.

TOM: Jobe, you’re not weak.

JOBE: Aren’t I? Then why don’t I want him dead?

TOM: Magellan?

PAGE 7, PANEL 2

Two panels on this tier. Head to chest semi-profile shot of Jobe. He’s still looking down at the ground and clearly avoiding Tom’s gaze.

JOBE: I know if I had the chance to kill him, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. He had my parents killed, but still I know I couldn’t do it.

JOBE: I’m too weak.

PAGE 7, PANEL 3

Head to chest semi-profile shot of Tom, draped in the shadows, the curved roof of the alcove also acting as the top border of the panel.

TOM: Jobe, listen to me, it’s not weak to not be able to kill someone. It takes strength not to want to kill someone who’s hurt you so badly, to not give in to the anger and hatred you feel every single day. Honestly, you’re stronger than I am. I think if ever got the chance I’d probably kill him, I don’t think I could stop myself trying.

PAGE 7, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Close up shot of Jobe, his eyes and the bridge of his nose filling the panel, the shadows draped across his face.

JOBE: Could you do it though, if it came to it, could you actually do it?

PAGE 7, PANEL 5

Similar to panel 3 but now it’s a closer head and shoulders shot of Tom.

TOM: I think so, I don’t think I’ll really know until the moment comes.

TOM: If it ever does.

PAGE 8, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Night. Exterior shot of the hotel. In the foreground is a head to waist profile shot of Lady Stardust and Izzie facing the Acolytes who follow Abel, still locked in a stand off.

CAPTION: “Time has finally caught us up, Tom. It’s been chasing us since that first day. This is your chance to change it, to put it all right.”

CAPTION: “Tell me where the Octagon is and I won’t have to hurt her, join me and I can show you the true power of magic. It doesn’t have to be gone. This world doesn’t have to be what you think it does.”

CAPTION: “We can change it.”

CAPTION: “Forever.”

PAGE 8, PANEL 2

Head to chest shot of Jeremiah from Abel’s P.O.V, clearly not convinced. He looks more like he’d rather fight Abel than join him.

JEREMIAH: I have no intention of changing the world. That’s not what this is.

PAGE 8, PANEL 3

Similar shot of Abel, a head to chest shot of him from Jeremiah’s P.O.V.

ABEL: Really? What exactly do you think will happen to the world with magic gone?

PAGE 8, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Forehead to chin shot of Jeremiah.

JEREMIAH: Magic has long served its purpose. It brings nothing to this world now. It’s infected by darkness. It only makes things worse. Once it was the ultimate light in the world, but now? What magic has become, that’s what I want gone. There’s no beauty left in it.

PAGE 8, PANEL 5

Head to waist shot of Abel grabbing Jesse from behind, his arm forcefully across her neck, catching her off guard. He has his other hand threateningly close to her face. There’s an uncontained fury in his eyes and his expression is one of utter disbelief.

ABEL: No beauty? It is everything! It is the secret of life itself! It is sunrise and sunset. It is endless, infinite, far beyond the limits of our understanding. How dare you be so arrogant to think you know it! I could end this Normal’s life in a blink of an eye and it would be utterly insignificant to the sheer majesty and power of magic!

PAGE 9, PANEL 1

Page width panel. On the left of the panel is Abel holding Jesse hostage, half turned, looking angrily over at Mother M, stood behind the bar, leaning on the counter, studying him very much as a teacher studies a student they’ve very much got the measure of.

MOTHER M: You know, after everything we taught you, this is really disappointing.

ABEL: Disappointing?

MOTHER M: Well, I thought we taught you better than this, that’s all.

PAGE 9, PANEL 2

Three panels on this tier. Head to waist shot of Mother M, still studying him, leant forward on the bar, clearly trying to provoke him.

MOTHER M: I mean, you really haven’t thought this through at all, have you? You’re clever, Abel, you always were, but it’s still the same old problem. You’ve got the ideas, the talent, but you never could apply yourself enough to ever get anything worthwhile done.

PAGE 9, PANEL 3

A similar shot to panel 2 but now it’s a closer head to waist shot of her.

MOTHER M: So, what’s the plan? Stir up a few Acolytes, threaten me, threaten the girl, get Tom to give up the location of the Octagon.

MOTHER M: Then what?

PAGE 9, PANEL 4

Similar to the previous two panels, but now a head and shoulders shot.

MOTHER M: No answer? That’s okay. I’d kind of assumed as much. You grew up, Abel, but you didn’t grow any wiser. It’s probably a good thing the school burnt down. Don’t think you would have graduated anyway. It certainly saved your parents any embarrassment. I’m not sure your father could’ve dealt with the shame.

PAGE 9, PANEL 5

Two panels on this bottom tier. Head and shoulders shot of Abel and Jesse, his arm still tight around her throat. He’s holding his other glowing hand barely an inch from her face now. He’s seems agitated, distracted even, trying his best to get his thoughts into focus.

ABEL: If I really haven’t thought this through at all, then I’m thinking maybe I might just end this now, end it all in a blaze of glory.

PAGE 9, PANEL 6

Full shot of Jesse, now violently elbowing Abel in the stomach, hitting him full force as he reacts out of surprise and stumbles backward.

JESSE: I’m thinking not!

PAGE 10, PANEL 1

Two panels on this top tier. Head to chest shot of Abel from Jesse’s P.O.V, a fury burning in his eyes, his hand glowing in the foreground.

ABEL: You treacherous …!

PAGE 10, PANEL 2

Head to chest shot of Jeremiah, reacting with alarm, acting instinctively, his glowing hand in the foreground, mirroring Abel‘s.

JEREMIAH: Abel, don’t!

PAGE 10, PANEL 3

Page width panel. Head to waist profile shot of Jeremiah and Abel facing each other, both releasing blue energy from their palms, which impact against each other between them, erupting outward.

PAGE 10, PANEL 4

SPLASH: Exterior shot of the hotel, the front windows and the main door exploding as blue light erupts out into the street, as well as shooting upward through the roof into the night sky above.

S.F.X: Boom!!!

PAGE 11, PANEL 1

Page width panel. Full shot of Valentyne and Amaris stood in an alleyway, looking up as the blue energy is seen over the town’s rooftops.

AMARIS: Well, that can’t be good.

PAGE 11, PANEL 2

Page width panel. Exterior shot of the main street, the buldings either side of it have been damaged, charred or set aflame by the explosion of the magical energy. The ground is littered with debris and flames. Izzie is helping Lady Stardust up, both of them with bloodied faces and ripped clothes, both looking pretty shocked. Mort and Winston are behind them and are helping each other up. Magic Kind behind are either recovering or lying unmoving.

IZZIE: What the Jesus F Christ just happened?

LADY STARDUST: Nothing good, Izz.

PAGE 11, PANEL 3

Page width panel. In the foreground is a full shot of them from behind, facing the hotel, which has been wrecked by the blast of magical energy, the top half collapsed in on itself as it burns, the flames consuming it. On the edge of the panel are the fallen Acolytes.

LADY STARDUST: Nothing good.

PAGE 12, PANEL 1

Page width panel. Head to waist profile shot of Valentyne and Magellan facing each other in their stand off, but now Elijah is stood near both of them, holding his hand up, attempting to stop this.

ELIJAH: No, this isn’t who we are? If we do this there’s no going back. They’ll see this as proof of what they think we really are. I promise you this will do more harm than good. Then we are truly lost.

MAGELLAN: We’re already lost. They’ve seen to that.

PAGE 12, PANEL 2

Two panels on this tier. Full profile shot of them facing each other, with Elijah now closer to them, his hand dropped to his side.

ELIJAH: Do you really believe that?

MAGELLAN: Don’t you?

ELIJAH: If I did I wouldn’t be here, trying to make something better.

PAGE 12, PANEL 3

Overhead shot of them now stood in a circle, with the words ‘Way Back When’ written in chalk on the wet ground of the main courtyard. Both Valentyne and Magellan now noticeably stood down.

MAGELLAN: Something better?

VALENTYNE: Something better than us. They’re the future, Alfred, our chance to get things right. We have to try and show them a better way. That’s why we created this place, you can’t have forgotten.

PAGE 12, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Full shot of Valentyne and Magellan from the opposite direction, with a shot of Elijah from behind.

MAGELLAN: Then you still see their potential.

VALENTYNE: I see their potential not to make the same mistakes as us. That’s what this place is really about. Not the whims of the Council or the politics of the Ministry or long held grievances of old.

ELIJAH: We’ll never move forward if we continue to hold onto the past.

PAGE 12, PANEL 5

Forehead to chin semi-profile shot of Magellan, his face filling the panel.

MAGELLAN: This isn’t about the past, this is happing now. Your faith in people has always blinded you, Elijah. I confess that it has served you well, but it has also kept you ignorant of what has really been going on. This place has been a shield, for you and them. I thought Michael saw this as well but it seems I was mistaken.

MAGELLAN: You have made them weak. This place has made them weak.

PAGE 13, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Head to waist shot of Abel and Amaris stood among the students gathered at the top of the steps of the main entrance. While the others, including his sister, are looking on passively, Abel is glaring, and the anger in his eyes is clear.

MAGELLAN ( O.P ): Do you really think they’ll be strong enough to fight back when the Normals come for them. Because they will come.

MAGELLAN ( O.P ): Sooner or later, it’s inevitable.

PAGE 13, PANEL 2

Overhead shot of Elijah, Valentyne and Magellan stood in a circle.

ELIJAH: History repeats, right?

MAGELLAN: How many times have we seen it happen? Again and again. How many times have we seen them deny that part of themselves in the misguided belief that it can never happen again.

PAGE 13, PANEL 3

Similar to panel 1 but now it’s a closer head to chest shot. We can see the anger silently building in Abel, bubbling up unseen by his sister.

MAGELLAN ( O.P): But it will happen again. And our future you speak of are nothing more than a fallacy, told to stay their true power, to try to fit in, be good Magic Kind, be what the world expects.

PAGE 13, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Forehead to chin semi-profile shot of Magellan, half his face draped in the deep shadows of the night.

MAGELLAN: And the moment we step outside of what they expect, the moment they remember we are superior to them, that will be the day all of it will change forever. Everything you have done to acquiesce to them will count for nothing. Their fear will rule them.

MAGELLAN: They will come. They will storm these gates. They will burn this place to the ground. They will take you away, parade you, imprison you. And these children will be utterly unable to fight back.

PAGE 13, PANEL 5

Head to chest shot of Abel, fury in his eyes, unable to contain his anger any longer as it explodes. In the foreground is the palm of his glowing hand in a perspective shot as he fires off a bolt of energy.

ABEL: No! You’re a liar! A filthy liar!

PAGE 14, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Head to chest profile shot of Magellan as the bolt of energy sizzles right past the side of his head.

PAGE 14, PANEL 2

Full profile shot of the bolt of blue energy impacting a member of the Twelve, hitting them directly in the chest as they stumble backward.

PAGE 14, PANEL 3

Full profile shot of the member of the Twelve collapsing to their knees.

PAGE 14, PANEL 4

Page width panel. Full shot of Elijah and Valentyne from behind, exposed in the centre of the courtyard, facing Magellan, who is simply looking down at the fallen member of the Twelve, unmoving. The other members of the Twelve are also looking down.

PAGE 14, PANEL 5

Insert.

ARTIST NOTE: Insert is positioned in the bottom right of panel 4.

Head to chest profile shot of Marissa and Noah, Marissa in the foreground.

MARISSA: No.

PAGE 14, PANEL 6

Three panels on this bottom tier. Full shot of Magellan now looking up again. The members of the Twelve are now stood either side of him instead of behind, their hands glowing with energy.

PAGE 14, PANEL 7

Full shot of the gathered Ministry guards on the steps, glowing palms ready. The head guard is sweating, eyes wide open in alarm. It’s obvious he’s in over his head and doesn’t know how to respond.

PAGE 14, PANEL 8

Head to waist shot of the head guard, the other guards behind him, his indecision now turning to anger as he opens fire with no regard.

GUARD # 1: Open fire!

PAGE 15, PANEL 1

FULL PAGE SPLASH: In the foreground is a full shot of Jesse lying on the ground, pulled into herself, glass sprinkled all about her. Her shirt is torn, her face bloodied and blackened by smoke, her NASA cap lies on the earth in front of her. In the background are the buildings of the main street of Magic Town, damaged by the magical explosion, and behind her Mother M’s hotel is ablaze. Written on the earth by her cap are the words ‘19 Years Later.’

CAPTION: “Wake up Jesse!”

CAPTION: “All I could hear was the echo of Linc’s words, but fading, like waking up from a dream, and that’s when reality crashed in.”

CAPTION: “For a moment I’d been back there, and it had been so real.”

CAPTION: “But the past doesn’t change. We can dream it different, imagine how it could have gone another way, but every moment, every single one, once it’s gone it’s gone. Ain’t no do overs.

PAGE 15, PANEL 2

Insert.

Full shot of her now crouched on one knee, pulling her NASA cap on.

CAPTION: “No take backs.”

PAGE 16, PANEL 1

Insert.

Close up of Jesse’s eye, reflecting the burning hotel in front of her.

ARTIST NOTE: Inserts are to be read vertically and positioned from top to bottom going down the left side of the full page splash.

CAPTION: “I knew he was in there, trapped, maybe injured. I was scared, my heart beating so loud in my head I thought my legs might give way.”

PAGE 16, PANEL 2

Insert.

Close up of the right side of her face on the left of the panel. She’s looking breathless, dishevelled, blood running down from her forehead.

CAPTION: “I knew I could just run. Not ever look back.”

CAPTION: “But maybe I’d run long enough.”

PAGE 16, PANEL 3

Insert.

Head to chest shot of her with the main street burning behind her.

CAPTION: “We all bleed. Some of us bleed blood, others bleed magic, but we all go out the same way. We all end up in the same place.”

PAGE 16, PANEL 4

FULL PAGE SPLASH: Full shot of her from behind stood watching outside the hotel as it burns, being consumed by flames, part of it collapsed in on itself, the ground bathed in a fiery glow.

CAPTION: “Truth is, we can’t always chose how that end comes but we can chose how we meet it, we can chose how we live the last moments of our life, we can try and make it count for something.”

CAPTION: “No matter how we go out, it‘s up to us how we face it.”

PAGE 17, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. In the foreground is a full shot of Valentyne and Amaris pressed against a building wall, up ahead of them is the flame and debris of the burning, wrecked main street.  

AMARIS: Damn, it‘s looks like the balloon just went up.

VALENTYNE: It seems your brother has got himself into some trouble.

PAGE 17, PANEL 2

Similar to the previous panel but now it’s a head to chest shot of them.

AMARIS: We just need to get to him, I need to talk to him.

VALENTYNE: And if it’s gone beyond that?

AMARIS: There’s always options.

PAGE 17, PANEL 3

Similar to panel 1, with a full shot of them again but looking behind themselves as they hear Abel’s voice. In the foreground we see Abel’s boots up close as he is now somehow stood behind them.

ABEL ( O.P ): And what would those options be I wonder, dear sister.

PAGE 17, PANEL 4

Two panels on this bottom tier. Head to waist shot of Abel  staring across at them, with an alleyway behind him he’s stood in front of. He bloodied and blackened by smoke after the explosion.

ABEL: I’m insulted, did you really think you could come here unnoticed?

ABEL: We are linked, you and I.

PAGE 17, PANEL 5

Similar to the previous panel but now it’s a closer head to chest shot.

ABEL: I had very much hoped that I was wrong, but like most things in life, hope always ends in nothing more than  disappointment.

PAGE 18, PANEL 1

Two panels on this top tier. Head to chest profile shot of Valentyne and Amaris, looking across at Abel, with Amaris in the foreground.

VALENTYNE: And your disappointment justifies putting our people in danger. Using their loyalty, their belief like this is wrong.

PAGE 18, PANEL 2

Head and shoulders semi-profile shot of Abel, deep shadow cast on him.

ABEL: If Thomas Hyde carries out his plan then our people are already beyond imminent danger. Magic is our life blood, our very soul, without it we are nothing, without it we will fade and wither and die. We’ll be no better off than the Normals who wander these lands.

PAGE 18, PANEL 3

Three panels on this bottom tier. Similar to panel 1 but now it’s a head and shoulders shot of them, the emotion clear on Amaris’ face.

VALENTYNE: It is true, magic is our strength, I’d never ague that, but tell me, Abel, do we give up all that we are to protect all that we have?

PAGE 18, PANEL 4

Forehead to chin semi-profile shot of Abel, his face filling the panel. There is no doubt in his expression, he will not waver on this.

ABEL: We do what is necessary to survive.

PAGE 18, PANEL 5

Similar to panel 3 but now Amaris is looking down and it’s clear from her expression she’s struggling with this, that she’s feeling torn.

VALENTYNE: I see, very well, then let me ask you this question, are you willing to put that belief above even the life of your own sister?

PAGE 19, PANEL 1

Two panels on this top tier. Head and shoulders shot of Amaris, looking up again now, staring at her brother, willing him to answer.

AMARIS: Answer his question, brother.

PAGE 19, PANEL 2

A similar shot of Abel, the tension between them is palpable, neither of them want this, but yet neither is willing to back down either.

ABEL: I don’t have to. You took that choice out of my hands the moment you went to him. I told you when I left you had a choice to make.

PAGE 19, PANEL 3

Three panels on this bottom tier. Forehead to chin shot of Amaris from Abel’s P.O.V, determined, straining to stop her emotions showing.

AMARIS: Don’t make me do this.

PAGE 19, PANEL 4

Forehead to chin shot of Abel, equally determined, but his face full of emotion, if anything he’s utterly failing to keep his anger at bay.

ABEL: You’ve already done it.

PAGE 19, PANEL 5

A similar image to that of Valentyne and Magellan on page 3, panel 6, both in a defensive position, ready to strike, hands glowing.

PAGE 20, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Interior of the hotel, the lounge is consumed by flames, the curtains, the furniture. The bar has a collapsed beam that has crashed down into it. The place is wrecked. In the background Jesse is stood in the doorway, holding her hand up in front of her face against the sheer intense heat.

JESSE: Jeremiah?! Tom?! God dammit, this place is like a fucking oven!  

PAGE 20, PANEL 2

Head to waist semi-profile shot of her, making her way through the flames and the wreckage of the lounge, face bathed in a fiery red.

JESSE: Where are you? If you can’t speak, just grunt, I’ll hear you, okay?

PAGE 20, PANEL 3

Similar to the previous panel but now it’s a closer head to chest shot.

JESSE: Jesse Miller, this could possibly be the worst mistake of your life.

PAGE 20, PANEL 4

Three panels on this bottom tier. Full shot of her looking down at Jeremiah, who’s lying face up in the foreground of the panel in a head to chest shot, face blackened by smoke, stained in his own blood.

JESSE: There you are.

PAGE 20, PANEL 5

Full shot of her now crouched by him, sitting him up, the effort of this and the damage the smoke is doing clearly showing on her face.

JESSE: *Cough, Cough.* Come on, you sonvabitch, damn you, get up!

PAGE 20, PANEL 6

Full shot of them from behind, Jesse holding him up as he walks unsteadily, slumped exhausted against her with his head sagged forward.

JESSE: That’s it, just one step after the other, let’s get you out of here.

PAGE 21, PANEL 1

FULL PAGE SPLASH: High view looking down on the main courtyard of the Byzantine Academy. It’s erupted into an all out fire fight now, with Elijah and Magellan engaging in a duel of colliding blue energy, Marissa and Valentyne stood either side of Elijah, engaging in trade off of bolts with the members of the Twelve.

Magellan’s followers at the front are also engaging, as are the Ministry guards, several of whom have fallen, each side clearly advancing on the other. In the bottom right of the panel are Noah and other professors shepherding students toward the main entrance. The Words ‘19 Years Later’ are written in chalk on the ground.

CAPTION: “Before things get any worse.”

PAGE 22, PANEL 1

Three panels on this top tier. Interior. Full shot of Noah shepherding the students, stood in the doorway as they rush pass him.

NOAH: Quickly now! Go straight to your rooms! That’s it, quickly now!

PAGE 22, PANEL 2

In the foreground is a head to chest shot of a Amaris, half turned in shock as the main entrance explodes, Noah is engulfed and other students are thrown through the air, debris flying across the hall.

S.F.X: BOOM!

PAGE 22, PANEL 3

Exterior shot of the main entrance, which has been blown apart. Noah is lying among the rubble, unmoving, bloodied, covered in dust.

PAGE 22, PANEL 4

Three panels on this bottom tier. Full semi-profile shot of Tom peering around the alcove wall, with Zoe and Zek stood behind him.

TOM: No. This is happening because of me.

TOM: It can’t go on.

PAGE 22, PANEL 5

Full shot of them from behind, peering out at the battle being engaged in the courtyard. In the foreground is Jobe, turned away from them, shrunk into himself, clearly terrified by what’s going on.

ZOE: Tom, this isn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself.

ZEK: Elijah knows that, Tom, that’s why he wants to keep you safe.

TOM: People are getting hurt, Zek, they may even get killed.

PAGE 22, PANEL 6

Head and shoulders semi-profile shot of Tom, a determination in his eyes. He’s going to stop this happening no matter the cost to him.

TOM: And I can’t let that happen.

TOM: I won’t.

[edogawatranslations]

999: Alterna (1) - Part 4, Chapters 3-4

Table of Contents | Previous: Part 4, Chapters 1-2

Chapter 3

After a short discussion to determine the areas each of us was responsible for and how we would carry out the search, the eight of us divided up the rooms.

We also set a time limit - the next time the clock rang. Afterwards, we would regather in the large hospital room. If anyone found the missing circuit boards before then, they should promptly shout and inform the others. If none of us were able to find anything in that time, then we would have no choice but to come up with a different plan of attack.

“Start searchin’!”

At Seven’s call to action, we scattered off to our respective areas. I wondered if Santa would slack off on account of his laziness, but when I looked over, I saw him obediently running over to the area Seven had assigned him. At least for now, I didn’t need to worry about him.

I hurried down the staircase to the lower floor. I was assigned to the sixteen rooms towards the back. I quickly opened the first door and found four beds arranged in a space no bigger than my apartment. A medicine cabinet stood in one corner of the room. Sifting through all of its thin drawers would be quite time-consuming.

The monotonous operation dragged on. I quickly grew tired of it after searching just two rooms, but I didn’t have the option to give up. Reluctantly, I continued onto the next room.

While I searched for the circuit boards, thoughts of Akane drifted into my mind. She had vanished from right in front of me. Even after searching for her as much as I did, I wasn’t able to find her, and as suddenly as she had disappeared, she unexpectedly reappeared and surprised us all.

She had been spirited away - how else could I describe it? What in the world happened to her? If Lotus was right about there being a hidden door, then even if Zero had taken Akane away from us, I still wouldn’t be able to understand his intentions at all. I failed to reach a satisfying conclusion, and instead, my thoughts continued to stir restlessly deep inside my chest.

It wasn’t just Akane. A number of unexplainable mysteries about the others unsettled me as well. Snake stood out the most. His cool and collected attitude seemingly wasn’t shaken by anything at all. That aroused not only curious admiration, but also peculiar suspicion. I couldn’t help but feel that his superhuman sense of smell posed a threat.

Santa’s behavior was also an enigma. He clearly doesn’t want to cooperate. He acts like he lost his will to live, but the Santa that rescued me from drowning was almost like a completely different person. I couldn’t even begin to grasp his true intentions.

Seven’s amnesia presented another mystery. Was it really possible for someone to forget his own name and age?

Likewise, Ace and Clover weren’t exceptions. I had a strong hunch that all of them were hiding something.

A single chime from the grandfather clock cut short my train of thought. It was time. I stood up and left the room. In the end, I only finished investigating five rooms.

A black door loomed at the end of the long hallway. It struck me as blatantly out of place, as everything surrounding it was white. Something important definitely lay beyond it.

Unable to resist my curiosity, I approached it and grabbed ahold of the doorknob, but the door showed no sign of budging.

“No use, huh,” I muttered to myself. I turned around and headed up the stairs back to the large hospital room.

When I returned, six others had already gathered in front of the [8] door. Something felt different. Did someone find the circuit boards?

I approached Akane and asked her from behind, “What happened?”

“Oh, Jumpy, look!”

As she turned her head to look back at me, she pointed to the <RED>. I weaved between everyone until I stood right in front of the door.

Immediately, I noticed the change. The panel above the <RED> now displayed the word <VACANT>. I peeked underneath the <RED>. The gap that had existed earlier was now closed off by a steel cover. Someone had inserted a circuit board.

“Who was it?” I asked, turning to look at everyone. “Didn’t we decide that whoever found something would yell out and let everyone know?”

“That’s the thing...” Akane hesitated for a moment. The others all kept silent, with looks of confusion on their faces.

“We have no idea,” Lotus answered. “I arrived here first after hearing the chime, but it was already like this when I got here.”

What did this mean?

I decided to examine the other numbered doors. All of the <REDs> had their parts in order.

“Let me double check to be sure,” I said. “But nobody has any idea who did this?”

Ace and Akane nodded quietly. Seven threw his hands up in exasperation, while Santa shrugged his shoulders as if feigning ignorance. Clover, with her head hung low, was the only one who didn’t react.

“...Huh?” At that moment, I realized that Snake was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Snake?”

“Now that you mention it, I don’t see him around here,” Lotus said, spinning her head around. “Maybe he was too focused on searching and missed the chime?”

That was impossible. Snake had just been bragging about his extraordinary sense of hearing.

“Could Snake have been the one who inserted the circuit boards?” Akane suggested.

“Who knows? We would need to ask him directly to be sure,” Ace responded, stroking his beard.

“Whatever it is, he’s late. Maybe he’s wanderin’ around somewhere?” Seven spat, turning back to look at the door that led to the small hospital rooms.

“Did he get lost?” Lotus proposed.

“Yeah, that’s gotta be it. He’s blind, so-”

“That’s not possible!” Clover shrieked, interrupting Seven. “My brother may be blind, but he figures everything out through sounds and stuff!”

Clover clasped her hands. Her shoulders trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. “That’s why for him... getting lost isn’t... isn’t...” She turned away from us to hide her tears, before exclaiming, “I’m going to look for him!”

She vigorously dashed out of the room.

“Hey, wait!” I called out to try and stop her, but my voice couldn’t reach her. Without even looking back, Clover disappeared to the other side of the white door.

“Ugh, what now?” I muttered to myself.

“We can’t just be standing here doing nothing,” Lotus replied. “We only have five hours remaining. The <REDs> are functioning again, so...”

Lotus wanted to keep moving forward as soon as possible. I understood how she felt, but we couldn’t leave Snake and Clover behind.

“We can’t abandon two people. Let’s help search too,” June said, pulling on my arm.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I added.

Lotus yelled out, “Wait, Junpei!”

Ignoring her call, I headed towards the white door.

“We have no other choice,” Ace said.

“Tsk. No other choice, huh.” Seven added. I could tell that he was hurrying after us. “First lost circuit boards, now a lost person... Hey Santa, you’re comin’ with too.”

“Hey... Get your hands off me. I can walk by myself,” Santa’s childish voice echoed out.

“Lotus, what’re you gonna do?” Seven asked.

“I’m going too. I can’t open one of these doors by myself.”

Lotus didn’t bother to mask the displeasure in her voice.

Chapter 4

Just like when we searched for the circuit pieces, we split up and swept through the rooms one by one.

Since we didn’t need to scour under the beds or dig through the cabinets, it didn’t take too much time.

After examining every room, we regrouped in the large hospital room. In the end, we couldn’t find a single trace of Snake anywhere.

“Brother... Brother...” With head hung low, Clover’s entire body trembled with fear.

“Since we weren’t able to locate him during our search just now, perhaps he returned to the casino bar,” Ace said, glancing at the orange door. “I’ll go take a quick look.”

“Wait up, old man! I’m gonna go too.” Seven followed after Ace, and the two of them disappeared beyond the door.

“We’ll take the kitchen,” I said to Akane, before opening the green door. “Lotus, please look after Clover.”

After saying that, I headed back into the kitchen with June.

“Snake!” I called out.

No response. We crossed the kitchen and opened the door that led back to the passenger cabins, but nobody was there. We peeked inside the second-class cabins as well, but nothing had changed from earlier.

“...He doesn’t seem to be anywhere,” June said, looking nervous.

“Yeah...”

“Disappearing so suddenly like that... It’s just like what happened with June. Maybe there really is a mummy’s curse.”

The voice came from behind me. I spun around to see Lotus standing there.

“Lotus, why are you here? Didn’t I ask you to look after Clover?” I didn’t mean to, but my tone came out sounding harsh.

“Don’t worry, Santa’s still back there. But never mind that. This is more important.” Lotus licked her glossy bottom lip. “Junpei, June, I have a proposal for you. Care to listen?”

“What is it?”

“I hate beating around the bush so I’ll get right to the point.” Lotus lowered her voice and brought her face closer to us. “Do you two want to team up with me?”

Akane and I looked at each other with skepticism.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Lotus bit her lip impatiently. “I’m asking if you two will go through a numbered door with me.”

“That’s... impossible.” June answered.

“Why?”

“Well, Jumpy’s bracelet number is [5], mine is [6], and yours is [8]. We wouldn’t be able to open any of the doors.”

I quickly did a mental calculation.

[5] + [6] + [8] = 19 1 + 9 = 10 1 + 0 = [1]

Our digital root was [1]. But there wasn’t a [1] door in the big hospital room.

“Then we just need to add one other person,” Lotus said, grinning widely.

“Who?” I asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? Seven.”

[5] + [6] + [8] + [7] = 26 2 + 6 = [8]

Indeed, with Seven, we would be able to pass through the [8] door.

“Wait. What about the other four?”

“You’ll know if you calculate it, right?”

As Lotus suggested, I tried adding the numbers together in my mind.

[1] + [2] + [3] + [4] = 10 1 + 0 = [1]

“Their digital root would be [1],” I concluded. “That prevents them from going anywhere.”

“That’s right.”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s right’?”

“Are you thinking about leaving them behind?” Akane asked.

Lotus pouted. “Hey, can you not make me sound like a bad person? Once we successfully escape, all we’ll have to do is bring back help.”

“Lotus, please don’t lie. You don’t mean that sincerely, do you?” I retorted.

“Oh? Why do you say that?”

“We don’t even have five hours left. Even if we were to escape now, it would be impossible for us to bring back help within five hours.”

“Well now. You won’t know unless we try, right?”

Lotus and I both became more and more agitated, and our voices grew louder by the second.

“Both of you, please calm down,” Akane cut in. “Even if Seven joined the three of us, we wouldn’t be able to escape from this ship.”

“...Why not?” Lotus asked, blatantly showing her discontent.

“We wouldn’t be able to open the [9] door by ourselves.”

Akane was right.

“The exit is hidden somewhere on this ship. Seek a door. Seek a door that carries a [9].”

Zero said that to us. However, our digital root was [8]. Unless we added Ace’s [1], we wouldn’t be able to open the final door.

After I explained that, Lotus let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes and started scratching behind her ear. She mumbled, “I guess that’s a no then. Now what should we do?”

“Let’s find another way. A way to save all eight of us.”

“That’s impossible. What are you spouting all of a sudden? You know that at most five people can pass through a numbered door, right?” Lotus shouted. “That probably applies to the [9] door as well, don’t you think? Three people are getting left out no matter what.”

A cold shiver crept up my spine.

Why hadn’t I realized it earlier?

She explained it so simply, but to put it another way, out of the eight of us, at the very least, three would certainly lose their lives.

My chest felt heavy, as if filled with lead.

Unless we sacrificed someone, none of us could be saved.

To save ourselves, we would have to let our group members die. Were we truly capable of doing something like that?

Next: Part 4, Chapters 5-6

[deathvalleyqueen]

Her Father’s Daughter - Chapter 4

Title: Her Father’s Daughter

Raiting: R/Mature

Chapter Word Count: 2,323

MASTER LIST

Chapter Four: Sad Goodbyes, Strange Men and Stranger Mustaches

Negan was not what most people would have called thrilled when his daughter brought home her cousin and his weight in weed but he did see a change in his daughter as the days passed and turned into weeks. The pair had always close, more like brother and sister most said than cousins. For years they even went by the same name, Joey. They offered each other a different kind of comfort than what Negan could give either of them so he stopped poking fun at Joey so much and just accepted that he was not part of his family.

While things with his family were going well, the outside world was getting more and more chaotic. Large groups of the dead were gathering together and attacking anything with a pulse that got too close. So they ramped up their scavenging and managed to salvage a decent sized camper from a gas station with only having to kill 4 infected.  That’s when the decision to leave, to try to find a larger group was made.

Even though the three of them had each other’s backs to the end, Jolene had to be the one to point out the uncomfortable truth. “If a group of them… let’s say 40 or more swarm us. No matter how hard we fight, no matter how good any of us are with our guns or knives. One of us is gonna die at least, if not all of us. We are getting too out numbered.” It wasn’t a matter of debate for her, if the two men in her life didn’t realize this she feared they were going to be doomed. There was no nice way to put it and it seemed like these days she was the only one with any perspective on the scope of the situation and Jolene was not happy about the fact she was the only one of the three thinking about tomorrow. Her pale face read like an open book. Her eyes were heavy and tired from late nights of trying to figure out the next move the need to make. She let a heavy sigh and ran her hands through her long hair that fell like a ebony wave over her the light fabric of her grey t-shirt.

Negan and Joey looked at each other uncomfortably because what Jolene said was the truth.  “So what a risk it on the open road?” Joey asked very seriously. “How is that any safer?”

“Dumbass has a point.” Negan interjected quickly.

Jolene crossed her arms in front of her chest and let out a huff. “We can’t wait for people to find us. That isn’t gonna happen. We ain’t gonna get some nice stranger in a cowboy hat coming up to us asking if we want to join their community!” She threw her hands up out of frustration at the thought.  “That shit don’t even happen in the movies.” She couldn’t hold it back any more and let out a low scream out of frustration causing Joey and her father to stare nervously up at her. “We have been all over town… in every building, house and business… everyone is either gone or dead. We are the only one’s stupid enough to still be sitting here having this fucking discussion because you two..” She said pointing a finger at each of them. “You think we have something to save here and we don’t boys… sorry to fucking disappoint! All that is left is ghosts and corpses that want to fucking eat us.”

Joey and Negan grumbled and the older man leaned forward. “So what do you think is the best plan… oh zombie apocalypse expert child of mine. What did hundreds of hours in your stupid games teach you.” Her father was being obviously condescending though he was curious to see what his daughter was going to say. He had been more than impressed with the way she had handled herself in this new world but he still worried that she was not thinking with her right mind all the time. She took risks he didn’t think were necessary, giving him his fair share of new grey hairs. Though, for the most part she had made the right call when it came to things like securing water and ammunition and only taking head shots to conserve ammo. He knew in heart of hearts though his daughter was struggling with all the death that had suddenly filled her life.

Jolene started to pace as she spoke. “We need to find some place with defenses, sustainability, fresh water, if we had a power source like solar panels basic things like lights and fridges could be run.” She mused as she paced but then she stopped and turned towards the men. “These places aren’t going to just not be settled. We are what 5 weeks, 6 since all this started . Any place that was suitable already is already taken and that presents a whole new set of issues.” Jolene pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She should have seen that they needed to leave sooner but part of her wanted to stay in the only place she had ever felt safe, but the world was changing at an alarming rate and sitting ideally by was going to serve none of them in the long run. She took a deep breath remember her father’s words that first day they were reunited, she needed be strong for her mother. She could her Lucille’s voice echo through her mind ‘You can do this, you can beat this world my brave girl..’

Negan turned to Joey. “What the hell does she mean?” He asked somewhat clueless of what it was his daughter was referring to. He watched his daughter pace and knew that no matter what was best for them he had to get her away from this house if he had any hope of keeping his daughter sane. ‘Negan… you know she shouldn’t just have you and Joseph for company… she needs people darling.’ His wife’s voice echoed in his mind as Joey began to speak.

“Society is gone Coach… No Law… No Order… No Law and Order either..” He said with an uncomfortable laugh, his joke had fallen on deaf ears at that point. “I thought that was funny… but people are going to go back to a tribal society. It happens in every post apocalyptic movies and video game.”

Negan brought his hand to his face and shook his head unable to believe that his daughter and her cousin were probably right using their video game logic. “Fucking go on…” Negan said with a heavy sigh.

“Well when you revert to a tribal mentality you really aren’t trying to look at the greater good of society like most people did up till 6 weeks ago.” Jolene nodded as her cousin spoke. “So everything becomes and us versus them mentality.”

“We can hope that if we leave soon, come across a community within a few weeks that looks viable that they may be willing to accept new people but it’s going to be tougher as time goes on. Once the resources start getting limited…” Jolene started to shake her head and looked over at Joey who was doing the same thing. “It’s going to come down to whoever has the most… controls the most.”

Negan gave a slow nod and leaned back on his couch. “Well… I guess we better pack up the cars and trailers with everything we can and hit the road kids.” Negan stood up and the Joeys looked at each other for a moment as Negan stared at the two young adults. “Are you fucking deaf, dumb and stupid…fucking hustle.” Negan was in coach mode now, barking orders as Joey and Jolene started to gather supplies and load it into the three vehicles they had and two trailers.

Loading everything up took most of the day and some of the night but by the next morning they were ready to leave, weather they were really ready or not. Leaving the house was far more emotional than either Negan or Jolene had expected. Jolene had barely slept the night before. Trying to memorize every detail of her bedroom that she had since she was 5 years old, from the cracked window casing from when she broken in after she snuck out one night and her father locked her out trying to catch her. To the poems that she written in sharpie on the wall under the window next to her bed where she would sit and daydream on bright summer afternoons, writing them down on scrap pieces of papers and tucking them in her bag so she would remember them when the memories of this place started to fade.

  Negan too couldn’t sleep the previous night, he found himself wondering around his home getting fixated on little details like the notches in the pantry door where Lucille had measured Jolene every year on her birthday. The precise color of blue that the kitchen was painted after a three day argument as newlyweds, so many memories filled every corner of that house because it was more that just a building, it was one of the last few physical embodiments of Lucille’s dedication to their family.

As dawn broke and they placed the last few items in the vehicles Negan and Jolene stood at the end of the drive way just staring at the house. Jolene remembered when they moved in, it was her first real vivid memory. Her father and Lucille had just gotten married, she was almost 5 and getting ready to start kindergarten.  How the house looked like something from a story book. A little brick house, with white shutters and red door.

Closing her eyes for a moment she could still feel the joy she had as she ran into the empty house laughing and screaming how she finally had her own room. Jolene was shaken from her thoughts when her father placed his hand on her shoulder and kissed the side of her head. “It’s time princess…” Jolene turned into her father and started to sob softly into his chest.

Negan wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her tightly as his daughter sobbed against his chest. Out of the corner of his eye Negan saw Joey move towards him. “Not now..” He snapped before he kissed the top of Jolene’s head. “There is nothing but death and sadness left in that house, you said that remember… it stopped being a home when your mama stopped breathing. Now we gotta move on… be strong…” Jolene gripped  the back of her father’s black t-shirt as she continued to cry hard. “We had a beautiful life here… but it was all your mama. This place won’t ever feel the same. We would have moved probably any way.” He said smoothing her hair, rocking with her slightly as he stood gazing up the house. He kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “Come on Jo, time to go conquer the world.” He smiled down at Jolene who looked up at him through tears.  

“For mama..” Jolene said softly as she gained her some of her composure back and wiped the stray tears from her cheeks.

Negan shook his head. “No, for you…” He leaned his forehead against her’s for a moment, “Now get your ass to that station wagon… your burning daylight.” He said with his usual jovial manner and it made his daughter chuckle as she started walking towards her car turning back to give her father a little mock salute. “Yeah that’s right, remember who is the one in charge here you two. So no fucking funny business and I am looking at you Joseph!” Negan called at the two teens met up and gave each other a much needed hug before the three all finally got in their respective vehicles and leaving their homes for what would be the last time.

They were in no race because they didn’t know where they were going. They would drive for a few hours, stopping at any place that looked like it had anything useful left. It went on like that for days. Uneventful, downright boring even. It wasn’t until the fifth day did they finally run across a group of three rough looking men and fuel truck at a gas station.

They pulled their cars over and Negan instructed Jolene and Joey to stay in their cars. Negan walked with his hands up towards the men who had pistols drawn on him. “Hey… my kids and I ain’t looking for trouble guys.” Negan started as he gestured towards the cars.

The men still had guns drawn as a lanky, thin man with a thick mustache took a few steps forward and lowered his gun. “So what is it are you looking for buddy?”

Negan chuckled, “Well some place safe for those kids for one…” The men started to eye the cars making Negan look back somewhat nervous to see Jolene watching the exchange wide eyed.

The man with the mustache turned to his group who lowered the weapons. “You seem to have quite a bit of supplies…”

Negan chuckled. “You don’t know the half of what we have…” Negan looked back again at the cars and then back at the group of men.

“If you want to share your supplies… we have a place that has fences to keep the dead out. You and your kids can come with us.” The man with the mustache motioned for the other men to leave and Negan gave him a thankful nod. “You got a name there buddy?”

“Negan..”

“I’m Simon, pleasure to meet ya.”  The man said with a slightly unsettling smile before turning and walking back towards his truck and the fuel tanker.

[starbudspresents]

DGM225 - Translation Notes

It’s (finally) that time again! After six long months, we have a new chapter to chew on, and it’s more than half a dozen pages long. One could weep. :’P

I’d like to thank the StarBuds team for working so hard and so enthusiastically with me on this. You guys are my heroes. (@krorys​, @shinylyni, @togaochi, and our very welcome new friend @1000glaceons) Read the chapter HERE!

Now: if you’re so inclined, please venture below the cut for some notes on our translation choices and the inevitable untranslatable odds and ends.

☽ ☾

1.) As discussed in the last few chapters, the word I've been translating as "connection" here is 因縁 innen, which has a wide range of potential meanings: fate, destiny, tie, bond, connection, origin, pretext, justification, even the Buddhist concept of "hetu and prataya" (the direct causes and indirect conditions underlying each event). Some of those obviously don't work in context, but the rest were a tossup. I went with what I felt was the safest guess; if that connection turns out to be a destiny, I can clarify that later. :P

2.) I pondered Wisely's "voice" long and hard. He speaks in an old, humble sort of way, like everyone's mild-mannered grandpa. That serves as a reminder that his memories go back a much longer way than his apparent age would suggest. He is old in a way that very few characters in this are. (Road might be the only living match for him, if she is indeed still the first incarnation of the Dream memory, but that’s still no better than a guess.)

3.) So we have a glimpse of Bookman in captivity, presumably shortly before he made his escape, and the reveal that Bookman's escape was due to Wisely's actions in some way. Either Wisely did something that made the risks of an escape attempt worth it for Bookman, or he actually helped Bookman get free. Considering Wisely's nature, I've guessed that previous incarnations might have known the Bookmen, and possibly even this Bookman. If so, did he let a friend go out of sentimentality? Or did he just slip up and create an opportunity? Once again, every answer we get gives rise to five more questions.

4.) Then there's Wisely's annoyingly cryptic comment on Tyki's search for answers:   - ワタシから聞かずとも、ジョイド、おぬしはいずれ思い知るの。。。飲み込まれよう　そして引き摺られ - watashi kara kikazu tomo, Joido, onushi wa izure omoishiru no... nomikomare you, soshite hikizurare

More literally translated: Even if you don’t hear it from me, Joido, you’ll realize on your own... as if engulfed, then forcibly dragged.   So Tyki’s going to find out how he's connected to Nea whether he wants to or not, and knowing that is going to drag him off the course his life has taken so far, but to where? No idea. We only know that it will change things for him, somehow.

5.) The next couple of pages had me clutching my chest and wheezing hoarsely amid a tumult of complicated emotions. Mana's confused, desperate yearning! Nea's seemingly contradictory murderous love! All of... that. THAT. AUGH.

6.) Tyki accepts responsibility in part for the Earl getting away from him and Wisely and then finding his way to Nea. Since what's done is done, though, Tyki thinks maybe he can get some answers directly from the source, rather than from a tight-lipped (and now escaped) Bookman. So he extends the most fraught invitation to tea in the history of the world. I’m going to bet he didn’t ask anyone else’s opinion on that idea first because... uh.

7.) Wisely and the Earl head out, and meanwhile, Link hits Fiidora with half an arsenal of arcane techniques all at once. Fii-tan, understandably, cries uncle. He didn't attack Link out of malice, he just needed to get  the Earl free, and once that was done he had no beef remaining. He's... odd. Almost childlike, in an unsettling way. Very laid back, as Link noted. Naturally I love him.

8.) Speaking of Link, both of those spells were new!

"Needlebeak" is written 嘴針, an invented compound of the kanji for "beak" and "needle(s)", is read shibari, which is homophonous with the word for "binding," 縛り shibari. Good old Hoshino-sensei and her wordplay.

"Hundred-Feather Drill" is written 百羽錬成 (Hyappa Rensei), and is pretty literal. That's drill as in train, practice, rehearse, by the way; almost as if summoning a hundred feathers for a hundred different purposes was a practice technique he managed to weaponize. Wouldn't put it past him.

"The Hundredth: Deny" is a funny one. It's written 百式：禁 (Hyakushiki: Kin) but read Hakushiki: Kinji according to the furigana. The furigana reading is therefore very likely to be another play on words, but this one’s a bit beyond me, possibly.

 The kanji on their own mean "hundred," "formula/style/ceremony," and "ban/prohibition." I went with "Hundreth" instead of "Hundred Styles" because it's almost certainly part of the Hundred-Feather Drill, and shiki is an older adjective suffix. So, this is the hundredth feather of the drill, and its purpose is prohibition/rejection/denial. “Deny” sounded cooler than “prohibition” and was less easy to mistake for Japanese than “ban,” so.

As for the furigana reading of that final kanji (kinji rather than the correct kin): there are a number of possible meanings for kinji, including "approximation" (aka. "-ish"), "recent events" and "attendance (upon someone)."

With that in mind, it occurred to me that hakushiki, if heard aloud, would normally be assumed to mean "extensive/profound knowledge." Following that, the only meaning for kinji that makes sense is "recent events." Which leaves us with Extensive Knowledge: Recent Events no Jutsu. I can't guarantee this is definitely the joke she was making, but I chewed on it for easily two hours and this was the best I came up with. If any of you happen to know what reference she was making here, by all means let me know, haha.

9.) Aaaaaand there goes Nea, doing the most idiotically reckless thing he possibly could... unless he knows something about how Innocence works that the others don't. He doesn't seem all that worried that it's going to devour him and self-destruct by way of the Fall — I doubt he'd do this just because he's mildly annoyed about a nickname if he thought that was a likely consequence at all — but why not?

(Translating his lines in this scene were the most fun I've had in forever, incidentally, and I hope it shows. He’s like an apoplectic kitty, hissing and scratching without actually doing any damage whatsoever thus far. I love him.)

10.) Teeechnically Nea just says "eat food with you?" but Fiidora mentioned teatime earlier so I took a little creative liberty in order to get Nea's withering tone across properly. FUCK YO CRUMPETS

11.) "Back-from-the-dead guise" is awkward as fuck, I know, but bear with me. What he said in the raws was 天性したおまえのその姿, tenseishita omae no sono sugata. Tensei is straight-up reincarnation; the transmigration of souls, the cycle of rebirth, all that. The rest says "that form of yours." We don't really say "form" in English that way, and Nea's very glib, so I went with "back-from-the-dead guise" because Nea's implying that Tyki is wearing his own God-given face like it’s a costume of someone dead and gone. Which it is. Nea’s not too chuffed about seeing his old face prancing around on some oblivious baby Noah, clearly.

12.) Re: the next panel: holy cake-baking christ 

(@Noah: consider calming ur tit perhaps)

13.) Our very own Inspector Obvious, Howard Link, explains to Nea what a terrible goddamn idea this is, and Nea thanks him with -- wait for it -- MORE SARCASM. Link then announces that he will exhaust his strength attempting to stop Nea from doing this STUPID, STUPID thing. (The raws say 力尽く, which means "with all one's might" in the dictionary but the kanji literally say "strength + entirely exhaust," so. He intends a no-holds-barred takedown here. If there were any folding metal chairs around he’d be going for them.)

14.) haha oh god here we go, where's the kleenex, fuck

15.) So now we know what the time difference was like for Allen: he took Johnny's hand back there in the inn, but has only just now actually managed to emerge, and as far as he knows it's been no time at all. Wonder how long he'll manage to stay on the horse this time? (Hopefully, at least long enough to get to the Campbell mansion and find Katerina, as per Cross' suggestion.)

16.) I don't really have a lot to say about the next few pages except that I sobbed my way through translating what few lines there were. THEY HAVE SUCH A LOVE. Also Johnny is a reckless idiot, what was he planning to do?? Cushion Allen's landing with his own body?? Actually now that I think about it that's probably exactly what he intended. Fuck that, no, bye.

17.) That one page with the huge untranslated sound effect is noted in our translation gdoc as [Johnny screaming across entire page] and that was a general #mood for the whole job tbh.

18.) MORE EMOTIONS, SOBBING, WEEPING, ETC.

19.) Tiny note: the MS scanlation has Allen's little comment in response to Johnny's head-hug as "heavy" and I chose "can't breathe," but they both suit the purpose well enough. The raw just said くるしい kurushii, an expression of pain/discomfort which could have been due to either the weight or the smothering or both. :P

20.) Speaking of pain: ow @ Link’s face in that last panel. He got one thing he wanted (Allen's victory, snatched even from the teeth of defeat, a ray of hope for him re: his own probable future as Nea's next vessel) but lost something else he needed (Nea in control, so that Link might conspire with him and carry out Lvellie's commands). He's still torn, and not getting mended any. Wonder how long he'll manage to keep balancing on that knife's edge.

That's about it, I think! If anyone wants more kanji/kana transcriptions from the raws so they can double-check things for themselves, I'll be happy to provide them! I may also be open to answering meta questions here, though I'm currently on hiatus on my main. :)

Hope you've all enjoyed our release of this long-awaited and suitably glorious chapter! Please stick with us as we work to get the Re:Gray project (full rescanlation from the beginning, with the benefit of all we've learned so far!) off the ground. It's going to be fun, I promise. ♥

♦ panthaleia