#i don’t think it’s relevant though honestly since we’ll probably never meet in person

[mingmingfufu]

Can we just talk about the ending of KawoShin open discuss. *sort of spoilerish*

I feel like I’m the only one who’s like reallly disappointed LMFAO--ya’ll there’s so much “canon” alternative universe and merchandise for Kawoshin in Evangelion that it kind of makes me upset to realise this couple just went down the drain. Yeah, I can see how people were like, “Kaworu’s toxic” or “Kaworu has a hero complex for Shinji” to which I say are valid points. But the toxic thing I feel like can also be applied to pretty much everyone around Shinji tbh, except for Rei. I did NOT, like Asuka at all but I really love her character though, and I felt for her a lot throughout the series.

I did not ship them either because honestly, Shinji and Asuka seemed better off playing the sibling dynamic instead of trying to play bf/gf which honestly is kind of forced by their living situation. Also since they’re in a similar disposition non existent father and dead mother, you’d imagine they would rely on each other for emotional comfort. Though Asuka—her personality I feel like she can’t differentiate between familial love and romantic love and the affection she wants is a bit of both. But, her character tries to be “mature”; she wants romantic love more and does this through sexual means and romantic gestures e.g. like kissing. One of my friends told me that you can’t stay friends as a boy and a girl cause eventually you catch feelings. Which I say is kinda dumb cause I have a lot of male friends, and I definitely don’t harbour those feelings, but I guess it’s a common phenomena.

I think this is what happens in this case, of Asuka and Shinji. Even after rejection of instrumentality they actually are depicted as childhood friends. But knowing how they both were before to each other, it was not good tbh. Also to mention the choking like thrice— bro if anything, this showcases a really abusive relationship and I think this outstretches the idea of their character tropes. Which I firmly stand by saying they’re superficial to each other. AsuShin were never really there for each other and are using each other in a forced situation. However, you can’t deny that they didn’t at some point catch feels, also Shinji is pretty consistent how he still cares about everyone around him. Which I really like how they add that to his character because it reminiscent of Yui, because you see a duality of both his parents personality in Shinji throughout the series—it’s a really nice touch. But bruh, if we gonna talk about that coma scene—I’m out LOL.

Thoughhhh, she is a true definition of best girl I really like her arc, fighting drive, and her skills as an Eva pilot 😭💗--but bruh she’s still a toxic and sometimes annoying tsundere trope, but still she’s 14 what can you do. So I feel like Kensuke and Asuka are actually a pretty good combo, cause he’s always been pretty mature even without parents. Also Asuka was into older guys, so I guess this is a win win?? Also Rei and Shinji, I honestly cannot get my head around it cause that’s pretty much his mom—so in a way that’s like either his half-sister or mom-ish clone?? Idk but Yui is definitely the donor LOL.

Kaworu and Shinji I felt like brought a bunch of things out of each other. I don’t know which timeline begins first, but I’d like to think the manga, the anime (plus its movies), and then to the rebuild series. Because I think that order is kind of pivotal to observing Kaworu’s character development from being a person who’s trying to understand human feelings to then the kinder person we see in the final series. You can tell how he’s changed and he knows Shinji a lot more as well as being considerate to him e.g. giving him personal space or letting him work at his own pace. Also that “we’ll meet again.” Is an obvious nod to how he’s done this before.

His literal story in every timeline is always romantic LOL, like bruh I can’t remember which game it was but basically a bad ending of Kawoshin route is that you reject Kaworu and he starts the third impact 🤡. Also I don’t know why but I started to see a weird dynamic between those two, in the manga their interactions reminded me of Asuka and Shinji—which Shinji is the tsundere Asuka here. I don’t know if this is relevant but the older character relative to the character they’re with seems to play off a mature vs a childish person trope. Asuka is younger than Shinji and Shinji is actually younger than Kaworu. Then again I could be overseeing this but istg manga Kaworu and Shinji mirror the whole Asushin dynamic. Like he’s seriously agressive against Kaworu, then after killing him he admits liking him. 🤡 I don’t know which is funnier no homo Shinji, homophobe shinji, or just closet Shinji who needs to realise sexuality is a spectrum so he could’ve idk—come out as bisexual, but whatever manga Shinji lol that timeline is over.

Anyways the development of these two is real and I think the rebuild timeline shows them at their best bringing their own personage out from each other like how they both enjoy music together--WHICH I’M SO SAD WE NEVER GET TO SEE THAT CELLO AGAIN. Then there’s those feelings of humanity, love, kindness, etc. Which yeah an angel could represent those things, but Kaworu is still his own person, self-aware of a cycle and if you think about how he initially was there to USE Shinji, but ultimately turned on that plan set by SEELE because he loved Shinji (and a bunch of other things like him showing Kaworu humanity). I also can see the argument, how “ideal” Kaworu is to Shinji, but he’s more self aware of the time he has before he KNOWS he’ll die and knows how to act for himself in that duration to make the most of it. All with Shinji. At some point, I think he fell in love with Shinji tho I don’t know where it began tbh—considering that all those alternate universes do exist. Kaworu does romantically love Shinji--so, in some universe they both reciprocate their feelings to each other. 

In the last movie during that convo with Shinji. Like bREH it’s so emotionally moving because Kaworu remembers ALLLLL the timelines and how he’s been with Shinji and later Shinji himself recalls the events too. Where they show the scene from the manga and anime. Kaworu cries after being set free from the EVA cycle. Which, I definitely understood what he meant by him saying “it’ll be lonely” and how Shinji changed or that he’s actually different this time.

Either way, Shinji did right by him because it’s always Kaworu who has the purpose of “trying to save Shinji” but it always ends up the same. I thought that was really moving because Shinji tells Kaworu he’s gonna let him live a life for himself for once and he wants the same for everyone as well. Which was honestly so meaningful cause I think Kaworu’s character and like Rei too when they start to realise how to “live” like a person and not another puppet it’s truly liberating. Another thing I forgot, bruh Kaworu calls Gendo his father and ngl I feel like this is kind of a weird lore situation because I for sure don’t think he’s the donor. I think he calls him that as an insult because he knows Gendo’s whole doing and relative to Shinji—I kind of see it as a joke LOL. Like it’s equivalent to saying, “daddy chill”, or “hey look it’s daddy and his plans to end the world” also I kind of like to think of it as a father in law thing cause you know, Kawoshin *winks amirite*

The ending, I’m honestly hoping is just an open ending because it gives everything an actual start of their adult lives not being dictated by extraterrestrial forces. Though, I’m kind of wondering if the world doesn’t have EVAs does that still mean everyone else still has the same backstory, and do they remember? Maybe Mari really is just a coworker lmfao, and there’s still a chance for Kaworu and Shinji cause ngl, they did have a convo (presumably from the spoilers) about still remaining close afterwards and that stare at the ending seems very hopeful.

I call bs from Anno saying, “oh Shinji is based off him and Mari off of his wife”, like honestly any OCs made theres always some part of yourself made into that character. Which is probably why a lot of people relate to the characters in EVA because they’re based off real things (e.g. those war machines characters are named after and people around them). I think why Kaworu and Rei are together at the end, is bc they’re very much the same. They’re mass produced dolls—which oddly enough that’s the case for all the children except they don’t recall the loop. Kind of funny also how both Kaworu and Rei became farmers lmfao so ig it runs in the family (yes that’s right I like the idea that they’re siblings it was always noted that they’re like “the same”).

Another thing, i think why the rebuild really did well for Kawoshin and in my opinion canonised it—the convo with elder Ryoji Kaji (Misato’s baby daddy) that there was a time he felt incredibly lonely and depressed thinking Misato didn’t love him and so he started looking out for himself. So self love and found himself a hobby in farming which he suggests to Kaworu—basically saying he might feel like Shinji doesn’t love him but he’s gotta remember to take care of himself. if I go thru a breakup ill feel like it’s the end of the world but Kaji says y’a gotta self love broe and take care yo self gad dam fam 😭 💗.

Though, that look at the end from Shinji to Kaworu—I’d like to believe there is still hope that one day when they’re a bit stable in their adult lives, they’ll run into each other.

#Kaworu Nagisa #shinji ikari #neon genesis evangelion #rei ayanami #mari illustrious makinami #asuka shikinami #discussion #kawoshin #nge kaworu #nge shinji #nge

[spaceskam]

a little bit of belmanes for @excusemyfrenchgh ​ and you’re probably asleep or going to sleep because time zones, so, like, good night/morning depending on when you see this aslkdjfalkdjf

ao3

There was something convenient about having two Manes men on their side.

Alex and Greg were both ungodly intelligent, quick-witted, and good looking. Together--especially after they'd gotten comfortable with each other again--they were an unstoppable force. They could get anything done in an impressive timeframe and even found free time to add in a few jokes. Michael had gone full heart-eyed over it after a couple of meetings and Isobel had to admit he wasn't alone. It  was  charming.

Greg in particular had already found himself in Isobel's good graces long before he started working with them, but now she felt a little more obsessed with him every time she saw him. He'd make the trip out there every weekend and never failed to text Isobel on the way to say  something.  Whether it was to ask what her favorite kind of candy was or if she liked bubble tea, he would always show up with something. At first, he'd bring something for everyone, but that changed a couple of months in when he brought her flowers because they reminded him of her. Then they'd started to text a bit more reliably and Isobel felt like a teenager.

"How do I know if he likes me back?" she asked. Michael took a deep breath.

"Are you seriously asking me this? We're not twelve. Also, you're one of the most confident people I've ever met, just ask him," Michael said. Isobel rolled her eyes and scrunched up her nose. He wasn't really a good person to ask anyway, he'd screwed up his relationship with Alex all while  knowing  they were in love. He wouldn't know how to tell if it hit him in the face.

"I just need to get in the perfect situation where he knows I'm interested," Isobel said, staring at her phone and trying to decide what to say. Greg had let her know he was going to work out and so she had around thirty minutes left to come up with a good response. "I think I'm going to change into something that looks like I also work out and send him a sexy selfie."

"I'm leaving," Michael said before she could finish her sentence, grabbing his things and standing up. She scoffed in mock-offense.

"Do you think I'm too old to send thirst traps?" she asked. Michael looked more than a little scandalized at the idea of that and started heading for the door.

"Bye!"

Isobel laughed and slid off the chair and headed towards her bedroom. It felt like a solid idea, as good as any. She changed into something that she would typically go to yoga with her mom in and maybe splashed a bit of water on her face to give the impression that she had actually done something. It took her about ten minutes to get a picture worth sending.

And, it was worth it, because she got one back.

Greg's response was him from the shoulders up and from a hellish middle-aged man angle, but he made it work due to his smile and the fact that he was tinted red from exertion and glistening with sweat. It came with the message of  'great minds think alike'  and it was cheesy and didn't add anything to the conversation and Isobel found herself stomping excitedly like a teenager. She liked that feeling. She never really got to experience that before.

When she was an actual teenager, she'd been too scared to date anyone considering the whole alien thing. And then with Noah, it'd all moved so quickly. They met and within the year they were married despite all the questions from her brothers which, honestly, should've been a red flag. It didn't matter. She was allowing herself to feel it now.

For the next couple of days, they sent pictures back and forth and if some were a little more risque than the others, neither of them mentioned it. Isobel got pictures of him in bed, of a burn scar on his hip (totally relevant because she was baking), of him in his cute little teacher outfit with his cute little button-ups. In return, she sent him full body mirror pictures of her outfit each morning, of her in the bath after a bath bomb (totally relevant because he asked what they looked like), of her drinking coffee each morning to show off her collection of mugs. It was  easy  and fun and Isobel was on top of the world.

"You look happy," Michael said as she strolled up to him with bagels and coffee in hand. He wiped his hands on his jeans and she was in too good of a mood to think about how gross it was as he reached for his coffee.

"I  am  happy," she announced, "Greg is coming down today and I'm going to make a move."

"Please not in front of me," Michael said. She rolled her eyes.

"As if you don't do gross shit in front of all of us all the time," she said. Before he had any time to argue, she spoke again. "Don't worry, I don't plan to do anything to hurt your precious little eyes."

"Thank you," he said, giving a playfully exasperated sigh. Isobel smiled and took a sip of her coffee.

The day passed slowly with her anticipation. She refused to let the idea of rejection enter her mind. He was into her and she knew it. And, well, if he wasn't, it didn't matter.

They all met up at Alex's cabin in the woods where they always met up since Max blew up the last one. That being said, he was allowed to know where the cabin was and he typically joined their get-togethers via video chat. It was Alex's rule and Isobel personally found it hilarious.

Greg showed up later than everyone else like always and Isobel met him at the door, flashing a smile and receiving a shy one in response. He held out a mug with a dragon design on it.

"I saw this, thought you'd like it," Greg said. Isobel smiled as she took it from him.

"Thank you, I love it."

No one commented on it seeing as they'd stopped finding it joke-worthy after the first few times and they quickly got to work. Alex and Greg got out their computers. Alex the more tech-savvy of the two, but that didn't mean Greg didn't know what he was doing.

They spoke of Mr. Jones, Deep Sky, Project Shepard, the overwhelming and looming threat of literally everything, etc. It'd become something redundant at this point, but Isobel didn't care if it meant seeing Greg every weekend.

An hour in, he rolled his shoulders and tilted his head as if it was starting to get uncomfortable. Isobel saw her way in.

"Here, let me help," she offered, moving behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders. If his cheeks and his neck started to burn red, Isobel didn't say anything.

Keyword: Isobel.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, get a room," Rosa scoffed. Michael and Alex both snorted, keeping their eyes off of Isobel and Greg. Isobel tried not to act embarrassed. She  wasn't  embarrassed. 

"Maybe we will," Isobel said easily. Greg took a deep breath and she grinned. 

"Oh, God," Max sighed through his video chat. Isobel didn't back down though, dragging her thumb from between his shoulder blades and up to the base of his neck as Greg let out another breath.

"Don't let me stop you, get back to work," Isobel said easily.

And they did, sort of. Greg stopped typing at some point, his eyes closing and his head drooping forward as he let her dig into his shoulders. She didn't stop even when her hands started to hurt.

"Alright, you two are the worst, go home," Alex laughed. Isobel tilted her head and blinked innocently. 

"What ever do you mean?"

"Yeah, we'll go," Greg agreed, standing up and closing his laptop in one swift motion, "I'll drive."

Isobel's eyes widened a bit and she looked at Michael, raising her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, but she didn't pose any argument to leaving. She gladly went along with it.

"So," she said as she said in the passenger seat of his car, "Should I show you the way to my house?"

Greg looked over at her for a moment and nodded. "I could reciprocate."

And because Isobel liked to have fun, she said, "Reciprocate what?"

Greg took a deep breath and smiled, shaking his head as he backed up to turn the car around and drive out of the woods.

"Literally anything you want."

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

To say the least, Isobel lost any doubt that he liked her back.

#belmanes #belmanes fic #isobel evans #gregory manes #roswell new mexico #my fic

[anna-justice]

Lost or Found - 19

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

19 - You’re Mine Now ...

Hailey laughed loudly as Jay spun her around, they had been dancing with their friends for a while and she hadn’t stopped smiling since. Jay grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him as they swayed. Despite not being able to feel her toes and a pounding headache, it was magical.

The loud music continued and Hailey felt warm breath against her neck. “I love you.” Jay whispered in her ear, only loud enough for the two of them to hear.

Hailey pulled away feigning shock. “Really? I had no idea.” She teased and Jay rolled his eyes and pulled her close, swooping down and capturing her lips with his. “I’m still not convinced…” Hailey said against him before kissing him again.

The pair was forced apart by an announcement from the stage, it was time to crown Homecoming King and Queen. Adam and Kim found their way to Hailey and Jay’s side to await the news. Kim and Adam were both on the court, and everyone agreed that either of them could use a win right now.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please help me welcome to the stage this years homecoming king: Kelly Severide.” One of the teachers called from the stage, and the crowd immediately erupted. Hailey followed her peers, clapping for her attacker. Jay wrapped a protective arm around her waist, his jaw clenched tight.

“Sorry babe.” Kim said, peering up at her boyfriend.

Adam shrugged, “It’s okay. I’m not surprised, it’s Severide.” He laughed, lightening the mood.

They four of them watched as the massive (quite ugly) crown was placed on his head. Jay scoffed, “What a king.” Hailey pushed herself further into him, squeezing the hand that wasn’t resting on her side.

“I’m okay. Don’t let him ruin tonight.” She said and Jay placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! This years homecoming queen: Sylvie Brett!” They all cheered loudly for their friend, watching a sheepish Sylvie make her way up the stairs to the stage. Matt stood right at the front, cheering for his girlfriend and his best friend: something he never thought he would do.

Jay’s pocket buzzed against Hailey’s hip, causing her to jump. He reached in, grabbing Jay’s attention and pulling out Erin’s phone.

BLOCKED ID: Sweet sweet Sylvie, finally finding her place in the popular crowd. It’s time for the princess to tell everyone who the real queen is. You know…

Jay’s head snapped up, scanning the crowd for anyone out of the ordinary. “Who ever this son of a bitch is, they’re here.”

“Kim.” Hailey said sadly, calling her and Adam over. Once she had their attention, she held up the phone.

Kim sighed, glancing towards the stage where a beaming Sylvie was posing for a photo. “Why does it have to be Sylvie?” She asked sadly.

“I’ll do it.” Adam said, taking her hand.

“No Adam.” Kim snapped, “You can’t. Remember what happened last time?” Hailey looked down at the scar popping out of the front of her dress. “We have to play their game.”

Hailey placed a hand on Kim’s shoulder. “We’ll wait for you by the door, we can high tail it out of here.”

Kim nodded, turning towards the stage. She booked it to the front, taking a deep breath before ascending the stairs. The crowd quieted down as she made it to the top, “Kim?” Sylvie asked, shocked.

“I’m so sorry.” Kim muttered before reaching and taking off her crown. The student body gasped and Sylvie looked so hurt that Kim couldn’t bear to look at her. “I chose to be on the Court last year...with Erin. We had been talking about it since freshman year, and today I stood in this room without her. We all know that if she would have been here, she would have won. And so I say we crown her queen, because she deserved it more than anyone and she deserves to be remembered.” With a shaky breath, Kim handed the crown back to Sylvie and rushed to her friends.

When they reached their cars in the parking lot, Kim broke down, Adam holding her tight as she cried. Hailey stayed tucked into Jay’s chest, hurting for her friend.

Buzz.

BLOCKED ID: You said all the right things Kim, but was it enough?

Jay read it aloud. “What?” Kim choked out. “How was that not enough? God, I can’t take this anymore. Erin wouldn’t have wanted this.” Kim grabs the phone out of Jay’s hand and smashes it on the ground.

“Kim!” Jay calls out right before she digs her heel into the cracked glass. “What did you do?”

Kim took a deep breath, “It’s over. We’re done. Loosing Erin was hard enough without someone torturing us. If they want to hurt us again, they can show their face.” Breathing hard, she stepped on the phone once again. “I’m sorry.” With that she climbed into Adam’s jeep, shutting the door.

Adam sighed, “We should probably head over to Kevin’s, tell him what happened.”

Jay nodded, grabbing Hailey’s hand. “Yeah, we’ll meet you there.”

The pair made their way to Jays truck, sighing as they hut the doors. “It’s been an eventful night.” Jay joked, trying to lighten the mood. Hailey just nodded, pressing her lips together. “Hailes?”

“She smashed the phone Jay.” She rushed out, looking at him with teary eyes for the third time that night. “She broke it, what are we going to do?”

“It’ll be fine.” Jay said, reaching across the center console to hold her hand.

“What if it’s not?” She snapped. “Jay you saw what happened last time. Kim could have died-”

“You could have died.” He said softly, cutting her off.

“Yeah…” She started, “Erin is dead and someone killed her. Kim just destroyed the only thing we have against them and the game keeping us safe. This person has to be psychotic, who knows what they’ll do.” As good as it felt to finally say all the things she had been thinking all along, it was a terrifying admission.

Jay watched a few tears fall from her eyes, his heart clenching. “We will get through this. I don’t know how, but I promise I will not let anything else happen to you.”

Hailey smiled at him, she didn’t know what else to say. She had learned a long time ago that there are some promises you can’t keep, and this one would prove to be the worst.

…

Thirty minutes later the four of them sat in Kevin’s living room, filling him in on the night they had. “So, Sylvie and Matt probably hate us and our stalker can’t easily contact us anymore?”

“Yeah, I’d say that about sums it up.” Adam said.

“Wow.” Kevin leaned forward on his knees, processing.

Jay piped up, “I also thought I saw Erin.” He said, causing Kevin to shoot up in his seat.

“You say Erin?” He asked.

“No,” Jay said cautiously. “I just thought I did, Kev, she’s dead.”

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Kevin sat there in shock, debating whether of not to tell his friends that Erin had contacted his sister. Well, at least someone pretending to be her did. “Guys, a few weeks ago I came home and found Vinessa playing with a doll that looked just like Erin.”

“What?” Kim asked, jumping out of her seat.

Hailey sat forward, “How did she even get it?”

“I don’t know…” He confessed, “But, right before I was about to leave to meet you guys Vinessa told me that my friends Erin had told her that she would see us soon.”

“Holy shit.” Adam said, running his hands down his face.

Kim ran her hands through her hair, pacing around the room. “What have I done? They already got to Vinessa, and they could still contact us! What did I do?” Adam immediately jumped up to comfort her, pulling her into him.

“This is insane.” Hailey said. “We’re seventeen, we aren’t old enough to handle this on our own. We need to get help.”

“And risk the rest of our families?” Kevin snapped.

“Hailey’s right.” Jay said. “We need to tell someone, maybe Hank? He can handle himself.”

“Of course you agree with her…” Kevin muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jay questioned, standing.

Kevin stood up to face him. “You will always take her side, you did it wth Erin and now you are doing it with Hailey.” He gestured to the two couples, “You guys have each other. Me? I have that little girl in there. And she is everything to me, so is Jordan. I have them to think about. I won’t risk bringing them anywhere closer to this!”

Jay clenched his jaw, “We will do our best to keep everyone safe, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with me and Erin.”

“This has everything to do with you and Erin! With all of us and Erin. This all started when you decided to look for her, you couldn’t give her up, but then all of the sudden Hailey swoops in and all that matters is her?” Kevin yelled, “Can you honestly tell me that if Erin was magically alive you wouldn’t go running back to her?”

“Kevin!” Kim shouted, he had crossed a line.

Hailey stared at Jay, awaiting his answer. “I wouldn’t, I love Hailey and how dare you say that I don’t.”

“I’m sorry Jay, it’s not like its your ex girlfriend that got us into this mess in the first place.” Kevin snapped, exasperated.

“Enough.” Kim shouted over them. “She was my best friend, she was our friend.”

“Was she though?” Kevin asked, softer this time.

“Kevin-” Adam started.

“No,” He said, cutting him off. “Erin was a master manipulator, to the point where someone hated her so much that they killed her. She destroyed people, she blackmailed people, she kept each of us around to make sure she stayed relevant. We were her perfect friends, her power. I don’t know how you all don’t see it. She almost blew up a teachers career and shamed Nadia out of town all because she felt threatened. She hated Hailey because Jay thought she was nice! Kim you were just a pawn-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Adam shouted. “I wasn’t the biggest Erin fan ever, but this isn’t helping.”

“Adam’s right,” Hailey said, speaking for the first time in a while. “This is what they want, for us to tear each other apart. But guys, we are stronger and safer together.”

“To hell with together,” Kevin said, “If you all can’t see her for who she really was, you can get the out. I won’t sit here and pretend to miss a sociopath anymore.” With that, Kevin stormed out of the room, leaving the rest of them to blankly stare at each other.

“I want to go home.” Kim said quietly.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Jay said.

The four of them regrouped in the driveway, “Adam, I think we should all stay at Kim’s tonight. They have the space and I would feel better if we were all together.” Adam suggested.

“Me too.” Hailey agreed, running her hands up and down her arms. Jay noticed immediately, shugging off his coat jacket and throwing it open Hailey’s shoulders. “Thanks.” She said quietly.

“Hailey and I will swing by my house and then meet you there?” Jay asked.

Adam nodded, “Yeah, see you guys in a bit.”

The two couples went their separate ways, Hailey sighing at the warmth inside the truck. She glanced at the clock on the dash. It was almost midnight. “I’m so tired.” Hailey said, yawning.

Jay reached over his seat and grabbed a blanket off the back bench. “Here, go to sleep. I just want to run in for a change of clothes. I’ll wake you up when we get to Kim’s.”

“Thanks.” She said, smiling at him. She laid her head on the center console, pulling the fuzzy blanket over Jay’s jacket. Before too long she was fast asleep. Jay drove cautiously to his house, leaving the car running when he finally arrived. He was going in for just a few things, including a sweatshirt for Hailey, so he wasn’t too worried about leaving the truck unlocked.

When he reached his front porch, a figure in the chair by the door caused him to jump back. He froze as the person stepped into the dim light, he recognized the soft, almost apologetic, smile immediately. “Erin?”

“Hi, Jay.”

…

A/N: I finally posted! Honestly, I’m on a roll and I hope to post a few other new chapters this weekend! I want to finish this story by New Year’s, so be ready! Thanks for reading! <3

P.S. I went through my regular comments and added some people, I hope that’s okay!

@lissethsrojas @fuckyeahkillianemma @puckluck28 @chilly7188 @thebigapocalypsewolf @karihighman @ruzek-halstead @snowwhite013 @tracysupton @anotheronechicagobog

#jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #upstead au #kim burgess #adam ruzek #burzek #burzek au #kevin atwater #sylvie brett #matt casey #kelly severide #chicago pd #chicago pd au #chicago fire #one chicago

[quickspinner]

Beautiful Dreams - Ch 1 Wake Up Call

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | AO3

Or read it on AO3

Summary: It’s been years since Luka’s spoken to his old friend Adrien. Of course he knew about the divorce--it was big news when the golden boy of fashion split with his wife and head designer, but Luka’s had his own problems to worry about. He doesn’t think much about it when Adrien brings his son Louis in for music lessons, until he meet’s Louis’ mother and Adrien’s ex-wife, Marinette. Suddenly his life is a whole lot more interesting, and a whole lot more complicated.

No powers, aged-up Lukanette, past Adrienette

Rating/Warnings: Rated M, later chapters will include implied sexual content (nothing explicit happens on screen), TW for death of family members, grieving, depression, divorce

Author’s note:  I’ve been really excited about this project and I’m super excited to finally start sharing it with you. It’s a little heavier than my other work, but still lots of fluff and romance, so I hope you’ll enjoy it. 

“Hey, Luka, it’s been a long time.” 

“It has, Adrien. I hope you’ve been well.”

“Well, I’m...I’m getting along. I can’t really say better than that. I mean, I’m sure you heard, it was a media circus. This whole thing is...not what I wanted, to say the least.”

“Yeah. How’s the kid handling it?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t think he’s doing all that well but he just clams up and won’t talk to anyone. And last time he was here, he didn’t want to touch the piano at all. His mother said it’s the same at her place. His current instructor is a good teacher but he doesn’t have the patience to deal with Louis right now. I know you’re busy but I was hoping you could fit Louis in your schedule. If there’s anyone who can draw his passion for music back out, it’s you.”

“Mmm. I want to help, Adrien, but I do have a full roster of students right now, I’m just not sure if—“

“Pick two of your lower income students. I’ll sponsor them for as long as Louis is taking lessons with you.”

“Man, you know I hate it when you throw money at problems like it’s the cure for all ills.”

“I do, but I’m desperate and I know it’ll work this time.” 

“Ugh...I do have some talented students that could really use that support. All right, I’ll find a way to fit him in. Although honestly, Adrien, I probably would have done it anyway.”

“Thanks, Luka. Let me know when and where, and we’ll make time in his schedule to get him there.”

***

Luka looked over his newest student and concluded that he must take after his mother, since he didn’t look much like Adrien at all. His hair was dark and his eyes, while still green, had more blue in them than Adrien’s did. He had a little more of Adrien in the chin and the nose, but his build was lean and slender. He was a smart kid, too, looking Luka over with the same scrutiny, taking in Luka’s blue-tipped hair, the black turtleneck and black jeans, eyes lingering on the tattoos peeking out from under his sleeves. 

Luka crouched down to Louis’ height and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you, Louis.”

“M. Couffaine,” the boy greeted seriously, shaking his hand with all the formality and gravity of a tiny businessman. “It’s a pleasure to be here.”

Luka kept his distaste behind his professional mask. He’d never approved of teaching children to tell polite lies. But for all that Adrien had tried to let go of his father’s strict teachings, Louis Agreste was nothing less than rigidly formal and polite. 

“You can call me Luka,” he told the boy, who glanced back at his father. Adrien gave him a slight nod and Louis turned back. “I know some teachers prefer a more formal relationship,” Luka continued as if he hadn’t seen this. “But I like to think music is too personal for formality. I want you to be comfortable, though, so if you prefer M. Couffaine, we can go with that.” 

Louis blinked, momentarily startled out of his formal composure. “Umm...I’m fine with Luka. Thanks.” A hand rose to rub at the back of his neck in a gesture Luka immediately recognized. Clearly the kid hadn’t expected to have a choice in the matter.

Luka smiled. “Okay. Let me talk to your dad for a second, and then we’ll get started, okay? You can stay here and listen if you want, or you can follow that hall to the studio, that’s where the piano is.” 

Louis looked past Luka curiously. “Can I look at some of your other instruments?”

“Sure,” Luka straightened up. “Look all you want, just please don’t touch anything you don’t already know how to play, okay?” 

Louis nodded and went off to look at the row of guitars along the wall.

“So,” Luka said, turning to stand next to Adrien and folding his arms as he watched Louis explore. “Tell me why you brought him to me.”

“I was thinking about it even before the divorce,” Adrien told him. “You know I was good as a concert pianist but I was never a composer. Louis, though, he’s got his mother’s creativity. I know I’m biased as his father, but I think he could be a really good songwriter someday. But now…” Adrien sighed. “I’m really worried about him,” he continued in a low voice. “I mean, he’s been seeing a therapist since we told him about the divorce, but...I don’t know.” Adrien sighed again, scrubbing his hand over his face. “He just doesn’t seem to be bouncing back the way he should. He’s so serious and sad all the time, and he seems like he’s lost his passion for music. He wanted to quit and Marinette wanted to let him. We kind of fought about it, actually. This is a compromise. If he still wants to quit after he’s worked with you for a while, I’ll let him, but I’m hoping you can help him. The way you connect with music, it’s unique. Frankly, if you can’t help him then maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Luka made a thoughtful noise. “I can try. I can’t guarantee it. Some people just lose the spark. Or it may be too painful for him to play right now, but he’ll pick it up again in a few years.”

“We used to play together all the time.” Adrien’s voice cracked. “He never wants to play with me anymore.” 

Luka put his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “He’s not rejecting you, Adrien. I’m sure of that. Just give him a little time. I’ll work with him and we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, you work on finding other ways to connect with him. Don’t pressure him about the music at all for now, okay? Let him know you’re willing to play with him whenever he wants to and then drop it.” Luka frowned. “And if he does ask to play with you, you better be ready to drop whatever you’re doing and play. No excuses, Adrien.”

“I wouldn’t,” Adrien protested. 

Luka folded his arms again. “All right,  now I’m going to piss you off, so brace yourself.”

“Great,” Adrien muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“Tell me what’s going on with you and his mother.”

Sure enough, Adrien scowled. “Why do you need to know that?”

“Do you want me to teach him, or not?” Luka asked calmly. “You brought him to me for a reason, Adrien. I’m not trying to pry for the gritty details, but I need to know what’s going on in his head. Are you still friendly or...”

“We’re...strained. We’re both in therapy but—” Adrien shook his head. “She left me, Luka. I’m having a really hard time forgiving her for that. And—” Luka glanced at him as he seemed to struggle to get the words out. “I think she’s having a hard time forgiving herself for it too,” Adrien finally finished, grudgingly. “She’s working a lot. She’s been my head designer at Gabriel since my father passed. She doesn’t need me, she’s more than talented enough to split off and form her own brand. But she hasn’t done it. It’s been...less than a clean break. We’re managing to work together civilly because we have to, none of the other designers have the vision to keep Gabriel relevant, but it’s still pretty tense.”

“How’s she with Louis?”

“She’s a fantastic mom, everything I wish I could have had as a kid. She pays attention to him, she always puts his needs first. She indulges him without spoiling him, she pushes him without pressuring him, she encourages him to do better without making him feel like he’s not good enough.” Adrien sighed, and swallowed. 

“I loved her so much,” he said thickly. “I built my whole life around her. I’ve accepted that she’s gone and she’s not coming back, but...I don’t know. Deep down I love her and I want her to be happy, but I can’t seem to stop being angry at her and she just takes whatever cruel thing comes out of my mouth because she thinks she deserves it. I don’t know how we got so twisted up.” 

Luka turned and pulled Adrien into a hug. “It’s okay to be upset, man,” he told his old friend. “It’s okay.” They stayed that way for a moment, until Adrien pulled away.

“I’m sorry I let us go so long without contact, and now here I’m only calling because I need your help. I’m a terrible friend,” Adrien sighed. “And I should have called you after—” Luka flinched, and Adrien broke off. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“That’s life, Adrien,” Luka shrugged, staring at the floor. “I haven’t exactly been breaking down your door either, so don’t sweat it. You and I just run in different circles right now, and that’s okay. Doesn’t mean we’re not friends. Now you go do your thing, and Louis and I will go do ours, and we’ll see where all this goes.”

Adrien and Louis said a quick goodbye, and Louis reluctantly followed Luka to the studio. Luka sat next to him at the piano, leaving plenty of space between them. “Okay, Louis, we’re just going to see how much you know, okay? No pressure, this isn’t a pass-fail kinda thing. It’s just to help me see where to start with you.” He set Louis some basic exercises, unsurprised when the boy flew through them with an expression that was a mix of melancholy and boredom. Luka worked him up through the exercises until he thought he had a good idea of Louis’ ability, and then set the music books aside.

“Okay,” Luka said, “Now play me something that makes you happy. Anything you want.”

Louis gave him a startled look. Luka just looked back expectantly. Louis’ hands crept to the instrument, and then fell away again. Luka just waited.

“It doesn’t make me happy anymore,” Louis whispered. “It just makes me miss my dad.” 

Luka put his hand on Louis shoulder. “That’s okay. And it’s brave of you to admit that. But your dad isn’t gone, Louis. I know that he loves you and he’ll play with you any time you ask. That’s not something you have to give up.”

“It’s not the same.”

“I know,” Luka said sympathetically, genuinely feeling for the boy. “Nothing stays the same forever. Sometimes change comes when we’re not expecting it and it’s hard. Especially when you feel like you don’t have any control over what’s happening and you just wish everything could go back to the way it was, but you know it can’t. So,” he finished, dropping his hand, “Try playing something that expresses how you’re feeling. It doesn’t have to be a song, you can just play a few notes or whatever. Whatever comes to mind.”

Louis frowned at the keys for a moment, and then lifted his hands over them. He tried a few notes, and then shook his head, and played the same sequence in a lower register. Luka nodded slowly as the boy played, taking notes in a book he kept to one side.

“Good,” Luka said, when Louis started to fumble and scrunch his face in frustration. “Let’s stop there for now. Let me show you what I heard while you played.” Luka placed his hands over the keys, and played the theme he’d heard repeated in Louis’ experiments.

“Does that feel right?” Luka asked, playing it again. 

“Yeah,” Louis said slowly. “I mean, yes, it does.” The tension in his body eased slightly. 

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Luka said. “It helps, to get it out, so you can feel more like this.” He shifted to a slightly different melody, lighter, more hopeful. “You see? The sadness is still there, but it’s not the whole piece anymore. Then you build from there…” He changed the piece again, crescendoing, adding flares of joy, and emphasizing the hope. “So that even if the sadness never goes away, it doesn’t lock up your heart. You’re more open to the good things that come along—or maybe the good things that were always there. It won’t be the same as it was before—“ he played a light, happy, uncomplicated melody.

“But nothing stays the same forever,” Louis grudgingly repeated.

“Exactly.” Luka took his hands from the keys. “I want you to keep working on your exercises at home, okay?” He stood from the piano and went over to a cabinet on the wall, digging through it for a moment and coming up with three CDs. He brought them back and handed them to the boy. “Listen to these, and when you come back, we’ll talk about which pieces speak to you. We’ll use that to plan our lessons. And any time you want to, we can do what we did today, and maybe help you work through some of those hard feelings. Okay?” He held out his hand for Louis to shake, and the young boy took it. Louis moved slowly, but his grip was firm, and Luka was satisfied. “And if you won’t resent some personal advice,” Luka added, “Don’t stop playing with your dad. It might feel sad now, but it’s okay for you to be sad together. Someday you’ll be able to play happy again, and you’ll want him to be there.”

Louis made a noncommittal noise. 

Luka crouched again to meet his eyes. “Listen. I know I don’t need to lecture you about practice, and I can see that playing hurts you right now. I’m going to talk to your dad, and make sure that he and your mom know that you’re allowed to decide on your own practice time, okay? For now, just do what you feel you can do. If you sit down one day to practice and it just hurts too much, it’s okay to get up and walk away. Try again later if you can, but if you can’t, that’s okay too. Music has to come from your heart, and if your heart is hurting too much to make music, then it doesn’t matter how much you practice, you’ll just be making noise, not music. I trust you to be responsible and not blow off practice just for the hell of it, okay? You sit down at that bench every day and you do what you think you can manage. If you can’t make yourself do the exercises, just play like you did today, whatever comes into your mind. In the meantime I’ll write up that little tune you wrote and you can have a copy of it to take home next week.” He paused, and then said, “Let me ask you something, Louis. Do you want to love music again? Is this something that you’re willing to put in the work for?” 

Tears sprang to the boy’s blue-green eyes. He didn’t seem able to answer, but Luka nodded anyway. “Okay. Then we’ll get there. A little bit at a time. There’s no deadline on this, Louis. Nobody gets to tell you how long it takes to feel better. You’ll get there when you’re ready, as long as you want to. And my job is to help you and support you while you get there.”

“Like a physical therapist after an accident?” Louis asked, and Luka’s eyebrows raised slightly at the astute comparison.

“Exactly,” Luka smiled. “All right, your dad should be here any minute. While we wait, you want me to show you one of those guitars you were looking at earlier?” Louis’ eyes brightened, and Luka grinned. “All right then.” 

***

He’d been working with Louis for about a month when he met her. Normally, Adrien brought Louis to practice and picked him up personally, but for some business reason or other that Luka hadn’t really bothered to listen to, Louis’ mother was going to pick him up from practice.

They weren’t quite finished when Luka’s doorbell rang. He left Louis in the studio and went to answer it.

Luka opened the door and felt the breath leave his body like he’d been punched in the gut. The dark-haired, blue-eyed woman standing there in a crisp, well-fitted business suit smiled and his pulse pounded in his ears so loudly that he missed her greeting. 

Shit, he needed to get it together. He took a deep breath and focused on what she was saying. 

“I’m, um, I’m here to pick up my son?”

“You’re Louis’ mom?” he said stupidly. 

She raised her eyebrows slightly and God, her eyes were so blue. “Yes, I’m Marinette Agreste.” She put out her hand.

“Right,” Luka rasped, and then cleared his throat as he shook her hand. “I’m Luka Couffaine, Louis’ teacher. Obviously.” He tore his eyes from hers in an effort to reboot his brain and in the process, looked down at their joined hands. A flash of color caught his eye. She had a small, brightly-colored ladybug tattooed on the heel of her hand, just below her thumb. He managed to pull himself together enough to let go of her hand and say, “Please, come in, we’re almost done. Um, I’m sorry to ask you this, but since we’ve never met can I check your ID please?”

She actually looked pleased rather than offended as she complied. The ladybug flashed at him again as she handed him the card. Cute. 

“Great, thanks.” He handed her ID back to her with an apologetic smile. “Can’t be too careful. Studio’s back here, just follow me.”

As they approached the studio door, Luka slowed, listening. He held a hand up to stop Marinette, turning towards her for a moment to put a finger to his lips. Very quietly he opened the studio door.

Louis didn’t notice, absorbed in his playing. Luka felt a satisfied smile spread across his lips. The boy was finally playing with his whole heart. 

He heard Marinette’s breath hitch at his side, and he glanced down at her. She had one hand over her mouth but he could see the way the smile beneath crinkled the corners of her eyes—eyes that shimmered as he watched. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly, then slipped into the room, sliding next to Louis on the piano bench. He didn’t say anything and Louis only glanced at him and continued to play. For a moment, he listened and Louis played, and then Louis’ hands fumbled to a stop. 

“That’s as far as I can go,” Louis said quietly. “I don’t know the rest yet.”

Luka held up his fist. “That was awesome. Pound it, little man.” Louis grinned, and met Luka’s fist with his own. Then to Luka’s surprise, Louis threw his arms around Luka’s waist and hugged him, something like a sob escaping him. “Hey, it’s okay,” Luka rubbed the boy’s back. “It feels good, right? To get it out. That’s what the music is for. Now you go home and cry if you need to, but remember what that felt like just now. That’s what you want, okay? That’s what makes it music and not just noise. It’s not about perfection, it’s about emotion and connection.” Louis nodded, face still hidden in Luka’s shirt. “I’m proud of you, kid. I know that was hard. And I think someone else is proud of you too.” 

Louis lifted his head and Luka nodded toward Marinette, still standing frozen outside the door. Louis straightened, scrubbing at his face. “Maman, I—“

Marinette just held her arms out, a beaming smile on her face that made Luka’s heart seize up. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t even know this woman.

Louis went running into her arms. Marinette squeezed him tight, with no regard for the way he was surely wrinkling her suit. Luka couldn’t clearly hear whatever she whispered, but he could hear the love and pride in her voice. He smiled to himself. Louis might be having a rough time coming to terms with the divorce, but with both parents loving him as hard as they did, Luka wasn’t worried for him in the long term. He’d be just fine.

Then Marinette straightened and turned that blinding smile on him and he actually felt his IQ drop sharply. 

“Thank you, M. Couffaine,” she said feelingly, and it took him half a breath longer than it should have to recognize his own name.

“Call me Luka, please.”

Pink touched her cheeks. “Luka. Thank you. I’m happy to see Louis finding his passion for music again. Adrien was right to say we should bring him to you before we gave up.”

Luka shrugged slightly and smiled. “It’s my job. And my pleasure. Louis is easy to teach. He knows his basics so well, we get to spend most of our time on the fun stuff.” He winked at the boy, who gave him a small smile back. 

“Still. I was skeptical when Adrien wanted Louis to continue, and I can see now that he was right,” Marinette said, laying her hands lightly on Louis’ shoulders. “So thank you. I know I don’t need to tell you how much music means to him and his father, but—well. Thank you.”

“Mom,” Louis whispered, “You’re being weird.”

The pink in her cheeks darkened and Luka pressed his lips together to hide his amusement.  “We should go,” Marinette said, nudging Louis. “It was nice meeting you, M—Luka.”

“It’s been my pleasure, ma’am,” he said, walking them to the door. 

“Marinette is fine,” she said brightly, and if she’d been pretty before when she was composed and professional, she was stunning now that she was effervescing with happiness. Luka opened the door for them automatically, his brain temporarily offline. “Until next time!” she chirped as they left, and Luka watched them until they were back in their car and pulling away from the curb. He stepped back inside and closed the door carefully. He leaned his forehead on it and tried to calm his racing heart.

What the hell was that? He hadn’t been so instantly attracted to anybody in...a long time. A very long time. 

Luka turned his back to the door and frowned. Surely, he’d met Adrien’s wife before. He’d been at the wedding, for crying out loud. Although, he hadn’t stayed long. Even the best weddings were awkward, and this one hadn’t been the best, huge and pretentious and full of stuffy people he’d had no interest in. He did vaguely remember meeting the bride and shaking hands with Adrien, but was only a few seconds. He remembered thinking she was beautiful but wasn’t every woman on their wedding day? He probably had barely looked her in the eye, now that he thought of it, eager to pay his respects and be gone, too lost in his own concerns to really be at ease in the stilted atmosphere, especially with Gabriel Agreste watching Adrien’s every move.

He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. It didn’t matter. She was a client. He wouldn’t see her very often. He could keep a lid on this. They’d see each other only professionally and not very often, so it would be fine.

He would be fine.

***

“Luka, hey. I just wanted to check in on things since I wasn’t able to be there this week. It seemed like things are going well?”

“Yeah, I think Louis had a bit of a breakthrough this week. He’s letting his feelings back into his music.”

“I heard. You made an impression on Marinette. She was practically gushing when she dropped Louis off.”

“Oh. That was just...lucky timing, I guess. It wasn’t really me, it was Louis.”

“Well, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. That’s the first time she’s admitted I was right about something in years.”

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | AO3

#quickspins #beautiful dreams #buckle up buttercup here we go #angst with a happy ending #lots of fluff #single parent au #moving on #lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #birthday big bang

[chevalier-tialys]

Look to the Stars

Rating: Gen

Summary: Lee is offered help by a few witches, and finds himself in an even bigger problem than he was in before.

His Dark Materials Fan Week

Day six: thing you are most looking forward to about season two | Lee attending the witches’ council

[Read on Ao3]

The sky split open, and Lee knew deep in his bones that something had gone wrong.

Unfortunately, his balloon had taken a terrible hit during the storm, so he couldn’t go and scout out exactly what was going on. No doubt Serafina Pekkala was doing as much right now, while Lee got his balloon back to Svalbard with the help of a few bears. He didn’t see Iorek anywhere, but then hadn’t expected to be able to with his new rank as king. King Iorek Byrnison, Lee thought with a wry grin. He’d told Iorek years ago that he had royal blood, exile be damned, but the bear hadn’t really listened.

Lee would do anything to shove that memory into his friend’s face, but right now his priority was to get his balloon fixed somehow and go find Lyra.

A rush of wind at his side alerted him to Serafina’s presence. “Lord Asriel opened a bridge to another world,” she announced without preamble.

“I’m sorry, what?” He had not signed up for this nonsense, and even now he was only helping out for Lyra’s sake, but… other worlds? “How is that even possible?”

She shrugged helplessly. “I think it has to do with Dust, since he was reportedly researching it in incredible detail. I saw an airship docked by his laboratory – I assume his research is now under Magisterium control.”

“The Oblation Board…”

“Perhaps. It doesn’t bode well for us,” she admitted, sounding as close to troubled as Lee had ever heard her.

He sighed. “Did you find Lyra and her friend anywhere? Roger, I mean.”

Serafina’s expression twisted. “I found the boy’s body in the snow,” she said mournfully.

“Not dead?”

“I’m afraid so. And I found this beside him,” she added, handing over a scrap of blue fabric – Bolvangar uniform, Lee supposed. “I believe it’s Lyra’s.”

Lee’s eyes widened. “She was there?”

“Not when I flew there, no. But I assume she was, at some point before. She likely took the bridge into another world,” Serafina mused aloud.

He swore under his breath.

“That’s not the worst,” she added grimly. “I found something else there as well, and the image is… disturbing, at the very least.”

“Worse than Bolvangar?” Lee asked, only halfway sarcastic. When Serafina didn’t respond, his heart sank. “Miss Pekkala…”

“Intercision cages,” she said grimly. “With a manual lever. Mr. Scoresby, I believe Lord Asriel killed Roger Parslow when he – when he cut them, to open the bridge in the Aurora.”

Lee fell silent, horrified by the act. He couldn’t tell if he found it more sickening than the experimentation in Bolvangar, or less so. For one thing, Asriel must have had the guts to commit the act himself, so there was no impersonal automation controlling the guillotine. On the other hand, the kid’s murder had probably been instrumental to Asriel’s success, which meant that it was planned.

“Damn.”

“I did say this was bigger than anything we might have imagined,” Serafina responded, still grave.

“Yeah, but – worlds? None of us could have predicted this, except–”

 “A city in the Northern Lights,” Lyra said, peering up at the Aurora. She’d opted to lay beside him on the sled that carried his balloon and stargaze for a change, instead of trekking beside the rest of the gyptians. Lee hadn’t protested, the kid had to be pretty tired from all the walking and thinner air at this altitude. He might have been used to it by now, but her Oxford upbringing wouldn’t be.

“A mirage?” Lee had never really seen a mirage himself, but he’d heard the ranchers back in Texas talk about the heat-illusions on particularly hot days when they’d been on the road for a while. He much preferred lying to travelling across land, so it hadn’t really become relevant.

Lyra shook her head. “An actual city. My father, Lord Asriel, he took a photogram of it to show the Scholars in Jordan College. So I know I ‘ent imagining things.”

“I didn’t say that you imagined it, kid,” he grunted as he sat upright, craning his neck to look at the shifting lights. No matter how much he saw them, the view never got old. “But if others have recorded the sight, I suppose…”

“What?”

“Could be some celestial phenomenon,” Lee mused aloud. “That sort of thing happens sometimes, the Aurora can look like different shapes from certain angles. Once, it even looked like a freshwater trout.”

Lyra frowned at him. “No, it can’t have. That’s ridiculous.”

“It is ridiculous,” Hester agreed, nipping at Lee’s finger. He hissed and flicked her ear in return, leaning back against the balloon.

“I guess it is,” he said amiably. “But it probably could look like a trout one day. Who knows, you might have seen an actual city there too, like Asriel. Anything’s possible ‘round these parts.”

 Anything’s possible indeed, Lee thought.

“Mr. Scoresby?”

“Lyra knew,” he said sharply. “She said that Asriel recorded an image of the city in the Aurora. You don’t think…?”

“It’s possible,” she said slowly. “But there are hundreds of thousands of worlds to cross into, Mr. Scoresby, we can’t risk following her into a place we don’t know only to get lost ourselves.”

Lee sighed. “You’re right,” he conceded. “‘Sides, we probably need to get my balloon fixed first. Though how that can be done in Svalbard I have no idea.”

“You won’t need to fix it in Svalbard,” Serafina assured him. “I summoned the aid of my clan, so my sisters will take you to Lake Enara and assist you with it themselves.”

Lee’s eyes widened. “Miss Pekkala, this is – you don’t have to–”

“Perhaps not, but it’s always good to help people when they’re in need.” Serafina’s eyes glittered. “And as I told you earlier, the universe has greater plans for you, Mr. Scoresby. Helping you wouldn’t be as altruistic as it sounds if it helps save the world, or, if my suspicions are correct, worlds.”

“Because obviously I was worried about altruism.”

She laughed.

-*-

“Lee, stop pacing,” Hester scolded. “The witches are here to help you, it’ll be fine.”

“We’ll be fine,” Lee corrected pointedly. “We don’t know where Lyra is, or – or what’s happened to her. She could be injured, and she just lost her friend! Does she even know about that? She’s probably in a strange world, and I have no idea if she’s with safe company.” He kicked a tree root and swore when pain shot up his foot.

“Don’t,” he snapped when Hester moved to speak. She sighed, exasperated.

“Lee, you’re trying to help her. If there’s any way we can find her, it’ll be with the help of the witches. They know of these worlds already, remember? Even if they’ve never been in them.”

Lee nodded. “I know, I know, I’m just–”

“Worried,” Hester completed. “I get it. I’m worried about the kid too.”

“Of course you are, we’re the same person.”

“Lee.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he conceded. “Wait a minute – that’s not a witch from the Lake Enara clan.”

From the distance, a light blur whizzed into view, landing a few paces away from Lee. A witch, certainly, from a different clan – light where Lake Enara was dark, and, lucky him, also familiar.

“Miss Virtanen,” he greeted amiably. “It’s been a while.”

“Mr. Scoresby,” she returned enthusiastically. “How are you faring, I didn’t expect to see you at this council meeting.”

“It’s a weird time,” he answered honestly. “Wait – council?”

She nodded. “I’m sure you know the significance of inviting someone who isn’t a witch into these gatherings.”

Well. Yeah.

“I thought men weren’t supposed to be witness to councils?”

“Like you said, Mr. Scoresby,” she replied sadly, “these are strange times. My sisters are meeting with the Lake Enara clan to discuss what we’ve observed so far, and Queen Serafina tells us that you have some important information of your own.”

“I hope so,” he said. “I’m not sure how relevant it is, but I’d hate it to be insignificant in the end.”

“I’m sure it won’t be,” Lisaveta assured him. “I can sense the calling of fate about your daemon.”

“Witches can do that?” he asked dryly. She grinned sheepishly and nodded.

“Some of us pay attention to the energies of the world. Others find it more productive to study people. I can say with utmost confidence that I am gifted in the latter.”

He smiled, and then remembered what he was actually here for. “I’m here about the kid – Lyra,” he clarified. “Apparently, she’s meant to save the world, or something. I want to help her do it, but mostly I just want to find her.”

His old friend cast a scrutinizing look at him. “I’m not entirely sure who you speak of,” she said at last, “but I believe Queen Serafina has something to say about it when we convene at the glen. Though it seems an awful lot like you’ve found yourself a daughter.”

“This conversation lasted for barely a minute,” Lee said exasperatedly. She just looked at him expectantly, and he deflated. “Fine, you’re not wrong. But she hasn’t had much luck by way of parents, so if I find her and escort her through her journey, I won’t push on the subject.”

She nodded and started to move towards the secluded glen, turning around to make sure he followed. “It’s like I said before, Mr. Scoresby. I’m good at reading people, and I generally stick with my first impressions of people I meet, witches or otherwise. They tend to be a lot more accurate than getting to know them before making a judgement of their character.”

“Out of curiosity, could you read an armoured bear that well?”

“Probably not,” she said. “But I will admit that I have never tried. Perhaps when this is all over, I could speak to the Svalbard bears and try.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Lee said. “To know who they are, and all that. I mean, Iorek’s my best friend, and even I don’t know what’s on his mind half the time. Bears are strange like that.”

“They are,” she agreed softly. “Then again, people are also remarkably capable of being strange, especially mortals – humans, that is.”

“I suppose we are,” Lee chuckled.

“But I stand by what I said about you,” she said, amused. “Lyra would be very lucky to have you on her side.”

He shrugged, feeling heat rush to his face. “Well. I just try to help, and the kid’s hard to dislike.”

“Which is more than most would do. You’re a good man, Mr. Scoresby, and I trust a queen’s judgement. If Serafina Pekkala says that you have an important role to play in the fate of the world, I would be inclined to believe her. And not simply because of her rank.”

“I’m flattered,” he said, baffled, “but I still don’t know why I’m here. I thought I was just supposed to stay till my balloon was fixed, but it seems like everyone has other plans.”

“Mr. Scoresby, I just got here,” Lisaveta said, amused. “But I do think it will be interesting to find out, don’t you agree?”

Lee snorted. “Interesting doesn’t begin to cover it.”

#lee scoresby #serafina pekkala #hester #hdmsourcefanweek #*mine: fic #hdmedit #hdmsource #usergeo #usereffie #this was the first piece i worked on btw #i finished this a good week before this started

[elliotfm]

hey guys ! i’m jules and i’m super excited to open; i have two super clingy cats in case any of you ever need a visual pick-me-up, i’m a uni student in canada and a Big skincare and dark chocolate junkie, more than likely gonna be typing replies while indulging in either jsyk ! i tried to keep it short since i’m a rambly bitch, but links to elliot’s basic stats and her wc page will be up soon — though i have some under the read more — as well as a playlist whenever i find the energy to set it up here FLDKSJGSD also pardon the lack of theme, i forgot the url for the preview and code link for the one i wanted to use but i’ll have it figured out shortly ! anyways, without further ado:

◤  *  kim doyeon  ;  twenty-one  ;  cis female  ;  she/her  —  is  that  who  i  think  it  is  over  there  ?  outer  banks  very  own  kook  ,  elliot hong  .  makes  sense  ‘cause  i  can  practically  hear  into it  by  chase atlantic  blasting  through  their  headphones  .  plus  who  else  would  you  find  out  at  the boneyard  right  now  ?  some  say  they're  pretty  astute  ,  but  it's  the  imperious  reputation  i'd  watch  out  for  .  i  wonder  if  they're  still  a student / heiress  and  obsessing  about  keeping  up  with  their  bongs, random shoes and empty bottles of dom on the living room floor  &  a bite as big as her bark  vibe  .  [  ooc  ;  jules/21+/nt/she/her  ]

tw: drug and alcohol mention

the middle child of her parents, elliot is the fourth of her father’s five children

her mother is his second ( now ex — ) wife, though they remain cordial and have since moved on

grew up with a silver spoon, her dad being a wall street giant who would split his time between nyc and, once upon a time, connecticut — though it ultimately became a back-and-forth from nyc and the outer banks when elle was about four

her mother was adopted into an old money family ( on the lower end of that group ) in charlotte when she was a baby and had become something of a socialite when young, but shifted to becoming an entrepreneur. of what ?? i still haven’t figured that out LFJDGS

has a half-sister and half-brother from her dad’s first marriage, tallulah ( aka tally, a pain in my ass over on my indie fdlkjgs ) and bennett, and is basically a mini tally as all she really had were brothers and was Attached to her big sis whenever she’d visit

and as for her older and younger brother..... they might be wcs soon enough so we’ll leave that be for now DFLSGKJ

now onto ELLE ! she was the princess of the younger three hong kids, like the apple of her mother’s eye and her father’s Biggest tormentor

aka would hog the phone whenever he couldn’t come home for the night to tell him good night, hounded him to read her bedtime stories, pretty much always got her way in the most wholesome way when she was a kid

like i said before, moved to the obx when she was four because her mom used to visit when she was a kid and loved it; it was also due to its convenience in seeing her maternal grandparents regularly, its quieter nature in comparison to the affluent hubs for businessmen outside of manhattan and just in general

her dad just went along because it’s what his wife wanted and fuck it, at least the kids wouldn’t hound them to take them to places beyond their urban surroundings as often DLSFJDS

growing up, she wasn’t Too much of a brat but liked having the spotlight on her — she’d accredit it to tally’s influence AND her parents caving to her whims more often than not — and was very sociable and respectful even back in primary school

LOVED to explore, and, while not a tomboy per se, would take part in some activities her brothers or other boys in her grade participated in; be it to bond, trail along her siblings’ every move because she didn’t wanna stray far from action, or to prove that she can hold her own, she’d do it

uhhh overall a cute, if not high-maintenance, kid, but her teen years ?? yikes, people would be in for a ride bc this is when she REALLY started to emulate tally and shift her boldness towards riskier shit

basically could’ve been a main character on outer banks itself with her reckless antics and partying as a teenager…. and now, even SGDLKF

could’ve been considered a typical kook, save for her wild streak; she could hang with the pogues and wouldn’t let her slight superiority complex come into play unless she was challenged or something, otherwise she’d chase the party and the fun wherever she could find it

loves fashion and being the hottest in the room, didn’t need to step on toes to get further but would do so at times Solely to make a point/to call someone out on their shit

is now attending columbia u, rather she’s taking a Break as she makes sure she’s content with the path she’s taking ( aka being the trashy 21 year old she wants to be, chilling at the family home with just her siblings and daddy’s money with no Major worries involving the near future )

isn’t the most studious person, but she’d gotten far enough to begin wrapping up her major whenever she decides to head back

though.. the entire time has been mostly spent sleeping with some of her rich friends, drinking and smoking pot, with the occasional hit of whatever clean enough drug that one of her friends had on them

also spent a lot of her time meeting up with her socialite big sis as a plus one to some cooler events, so while she’s not famous, her name has made the rounds where it matters given her surname’s already established relevance in nyc

when she’s not getting an education and is homebound instead, she’s pissing off her neighbours with her house parties at the family home on the beach, doing dumb shit the second she’s inside of a gala or club — albeit with partial discretion that’s completely ignored whenever around other young adults — and just chilling poolside and staying hydrated fgkldjsg

personality and shit

if i were to use a label to describe her, she'd be a mix between the princess/baby doll, the hedonist and the reveller i think ?? i don’t even know where to place her LKSDFGJLK

self-confidence is through the roof, KNOWS she’s pretty and doesn’t really let rumours or negativity get her down — aside from wanting to unleash hell if someone keeps irritating her for whatever reason

she’s messy as hell, but around the uptight, live-through-your-kids parents of kooklandia she puts on the façade of a poised young woman who has Some fun because she knows it bodes well.. only even then, she doesn’t maintain it bc honestly, who cares —

she’s not a complete dick per se, but she can be snide and boastful when provoked

has something of a superiority complex, independent and lives lavishly with reckless abandon

non-committal yet sensible when it comes to who she sleeps with; typically has a couple of stable fuck buddies but has had some one night stands if she’s feeling it

keeps her true inner circle small, but gets off on attention and likes to stay cordial with some people, so she’s got quite a few friends all the same

like i said earlier, will hang with the pogues and thinks the whole class rivalry thing is kind of stupid when it means sticking with her own would mean dealing with parent pleasers, polo shirt enthusiasts and either being too straight-laced or too destructive for her liking

.. so she’s a far cry from her sister in that regard, otherwise rip GLSKJ

though that doesn’t stop her from unleashing her pompous attitude onto a pogue when it seems appropriate, aka doing anything to piss her off

there really isn’t much to expand on tbh, though i will say that her emboldened nature and need for a good time however she can get it comes out more than her uglier side ( except her vanity. that’ll never go away KSFDG )

some quick plot ideas

a childhood friend or two, pretty standard idea there

could carry over into a trio type of thing depending on where she stands with either of them, or they’re a different couple of pals she’s made over the years

family friends, aka nyc kids or people who’ve rubbed elbows with either of elle’s parents, though they don’t Actually have to be friends of course JGDSFKL

her best friend and confidante, someone she can have cute moments with between the chaos and one of the few people that elle would probably accost someone for if they hurt the other in any way

enemies are always fun ! probably rooted in a competitive streak more than anything else but i’m all ears for a more complex reason

ex-hookup(s), current hookup(s), throw it all at me klgfjd

a hateship/ewb would be fun with her too, oh my god sfdgklj

FAKE FRIENDS !! either in the past or currently, probably stayed friends for the sake of their appearances but have a lot of quiet disdain for each other — though elliot wouldn’t be too bothered by that situation beyond being around someone she deems soul-sucking, face value hype and knowing they probably need her more than she needs them gives her too much satisfaction fkskgls

an ex-something, open to anyone. either someone her parents forced on her to straighten her out a tad that she wound up liking…. after a good period of her telling them to fuck off sdglk or someone she’d been seeing for a while at her own accord, likely someone her parents wouldn’t approve of so readily. would’ve ended the same way: with her calling it off because she didn’t want to settle down, not even for a relationship ( and perhaps bc she’s scared of commitment with her cracked family dynamic that’s been a thing since birth, but that’s another story jsdfkg )

or we can just as easily do high school exes who only really stayed together until graduation bc their parents were being Some level of overbearing with how they’d be such a good couple — not that there was nothing there, just nothing beyond sex and being some kind of status symbol to each other, idk lfkgsd

her designated event pals would be super fun ?? sdgkflj like they go to all of these big parties and galas with their families, break off to do their own thing bc those events are boring as fuck, and head back to her place before she throws an after-party of sorts. they’d be decent friends beyond this though, them being someone she trusts a good bit compared to others in her circle

#╰ 💎 . ❪ 𝐖𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍' 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐒 ↝ jules talks ｡ #outertmintro #tw drugs #tw alcohol #now that that's done i can get some water bc i'm Parched FGDSJKL

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Ramblings and crazy theory time about GK chap 239 “Discharge”

So… well, Noda continues with a chapter whose sense of humor makes me feel what Kikuta is feeling.

Yeah, really, sorry, but this is not my sort of thing.

The cover is…

… well, it’s apparently based on this video from the movie “She Hate me” by Spike Lee. I warn you, watch at your own risk.

So we go back on the story that see Usami and our wannabe ‘Jack’ that after just a moment of standoff… pardon, jack-off attack each other with the ‘weapons they have at hands’ (I’m sure you can figure what I’m talking about without having me to spell it out), Usami yelling to a shocked and grossed out Kikuta that guy is the killer before… well, ‘firing’. In a “Matrix” like scene ‘Jack’ avoids and fires back only for Usami to avoid in a beyond spectacular manner.

Jack then runs away, only for Kikuta to pull out a more conventional weapon, one of his many Nagant M1895 and fire at him multiple times before chasing him with Usami, the two going to two separate ways to try to encircle ‘Jack’.

Too bad that Jack as a horse and, with it, slams against Usami, sending him flying.

Kikuta manages to hit both him...

and his hat, which falls.

If the image we’re shown is reliable Jack has short hair. Kikuta then tosses his now completely discharged beloved Nagant away (his eyes aren’t shown to better deliver how this pains him... will he managed to recover her later?)...

...and runs to ‘Jack’, managing to grab on him and climb on his horse. He then grabs another of his Nagant (honestly, if this was another manga I’ll expect Kikuta to have a hammerspace filled with them but more ‘realistically’ he has just more than one holster under his coat) and point it to Jack’s head.

Unluckily for him ‘Jack’ still has a good hold on his ‘very personal peculiar weapon of choice’ and is reading it to fire.

Kikuta, who might face an army of Russians trained to kill him but not THIS (and I don’t blame him that’s a job solely for people like Usami though I think Ushiyama might do good as well) starts sweating and, instead than blasting our convict’s head away, tries protecting himself with poor results.

In fact ‘Jack’ gets him in the eyes and causes him to fall off the horse (I guess congratulation are in order to ‘jack’ for his ability to accurately aim behind himself while riding on a horse with such weapon).

Usami reaches Kikuta, whcih complains ‘Jack’ managed to get his eyes (trust me Kikuta, you aren’t the only one who was screaming ‘my eyes!’ through this chapter), then the two resume running after ‘Jack’ but they’re neither Koito nor the Tsukinator and so ‘Jack’ on his horse, can easily distance them. They hear a woman screaming but get there too late, only to find her dead.

Kikuta wonders if he did this while in the middle of running from them. The scene switches to a running and panting ‘Jack’ who evidently has discharged the horse and, with his already bloody knife attacks another prostitute, murdering her as well.

I wonder if he’s panting also due to the shoot he got from Kikuta. He doesn’t seem to be blending though. On a sidenote our ‘Jack’ confirms himself to be left-handed. The first time he killed he used his left, he took care to… ‘charge his gun’ with his left and now he’s stabbing again this woman with his left.

It’s worth to point out that Japan at the time wasn’t a left-handed people friendly environment, with people being discriminated and people were afraid they wouldn’t get married if they were left handed and only from 1989 the percentage of children undergoing correction steadily began to drop -- although still around 60%... and it’s also worth to remember Japan isn’t the sole country which had bias against left-handed people.

I’ll quote Wikipedia on this just to give you a general idea as I find meaningful they even have a page devoted to this:

‘In many religions, including Christianity, the right hand of God is the favored hand. For example, Jesus sits at God's right side. God's left hand, however, is the hand of judgement. The Archangel Gabriel is sometimes called "God's left hand" and sits at God's left side. Those who fall from favor with God are sent to left, as described in Matthew 25: 32–33, in which sheep represent the righteous and goats represent the fallen: "And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left." In 19th-century Europe, homosexuals were referred to as "left-handed". In Protestant-majority parts of the United Kingdom, Catholics were called "left-footers", and vice versa in Catholic-majority parts of Ireland and Irish America. Black magic is sometimes referred to as the "left-hand path", which is strongly associated with Satanism.’ [Wikipedia: Bias against left-handed people]

… so, if ‘Jack’ is from another country there’s a huge chance he moved from an unfriendly environment to another.

It’s worth to mention that the original ‘Jack the Ripper’ was originally assumed to be left-handed when they speculated he would kill his victims standing in front of them. Later they figured out he first would render his victims unconscious by strangling them and then kill them while they were on the ground, likely positioning himself behind them so that blood wouldn’t fall on him.

So either our ‘Jack’ isn’t the original ‘Jack’ or Noda is constructing him according to earlier theories on his modus operandi (he doesn’t strangle, he kills the victim as she’s standing in front of himself, he uses his left hand).

Now, back to the story… I got the impression Kikuta managed to hit ‘Jack’ when he shoot him… but ‘Jack’ doesn’t seem to be leaving a trail of blood as he walks so it’s hard to say if he’s panting and running that way due to a wound whose bleeding he managed to stop or just due to fatigue.

It’s the day after.

Takuboku Ishikawa, our journalist working for Hijikata, is on one of the crime scenes,

still pesteringon details about the murder the weird policeman we met in chap 239 (remember him?)...

...while the latter is ignoring him. The policeman has the hat lowered on his eyes.

There’s another known face and it’s the photographer.

(Remember? He was there too and lol, in the exact some pose it looks as if Noda has copypasted him there.)

He doesn’t seem to be left-handed but since left-handed people were corrected, in everyday life ‘Jack’ probably can’t use his left hand so it might be useless to search for a left-handed guy using his left hand in a normal situation.

Everyone else among the bystanders seems to be a new guy... okay, maybe the old and partially bald guy might be the same in both pictures but I’m not sure. In this chapter he seems curious but, who knows, he might be a different character just drawn for background. Besides his hair seems too long to be ‘Jack’s’.

Well, to be honest there’s another guy who’s not a new guy but we’ll get to this in a moment.

Kikuta comments ‘Jack’ this time killed two women and wonders if he was just trying to create chaos to escape or was merely doing it to taunt them. According to ‘sperm detective Usami’ it can be just something he decided in advance.

It’s worth to mention the canonical victims of the original ripper were:

Mary Ann Nichols, found on the 31th of August 1888

Annie Chapman, found on the 8th of September 1888

Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both found on the 30th of September

Mary Jane Kelly, found on the 9th of November 1888

So yes, on his third murdering attempt Jack killed two women so we can speculate this is a copycat or, if he’s meant to be the real Jack, his backstory would include a reason to murder 2 women at his third attempt (in the real Jack’s case it was speculated he murdered 2 because he was interrupted during the murder of the first woman so it wasn’t planned).

Anyway Kikuta wonders if Jack will come back and how it’ll be troublesome for them to track him now that he has 4 ‘sacred places’.

However Kikuta now tells us something relevant. He managed to get a look at the side of his face… and at his dick. I hope he doesn’t plan to go demand people to show them to him so he could identify ‘Jack’…

Usami suggests they’ll go check the other crime scene so that Kikuta might try to spot him. Kikuta though, has spotted something else so he tells Usami to go ahead that that he’ll join him later.

What Kikuta has spotted is the ‘fail master of disguise’ Private First Class Ariko Rikimatsu, which starts sweating as hell as Kikuta speaks to him and who tells him not to turn around and that basically he could recognize the sexy bulky build of Ariko’s body everywhere.

Okay, Kikuta didn’t exactly said that but really, there are PLENTY of men with a bulky build so, unless Kikuta is a bulky build bodies expert, his words sounds a bit… unbelievable unless it’s Ariko’s bulky build body itself who’s special to him.

And anyway, really Ariko, don’t get so nervous. You fail at deceiving people it seems.

Kikuta says he never heard Tsurumi talking about Ariko being there so he asks him if he came there with Hijikata.

We don’t get to hear Ariko’s reply but it’s likely he confirmed it. Still it’s interesting it was cut as well as the fact Kikuta wanted to speak with Ariko away from Usami’s ears.

Did Kikuta want clarifications on why Ariko betrayed him? Or just make sure Usami won’t attack him again? Or has Kikuta his own plan?

We’ll see.

And is Ogata overlooking that meeting from somewhere? I bet he knows Ariko isn’t trustworthy so can it be he’s keeping tabs on him? Or is Hijikata who’s doing so? Or both?

Anyway the scene switches to the coast of the sea of Okhotsk…

and I find this interesting because we see that there’s a city there… but we aren’t given its name. As long as they weren’t Ainu villages Noda had always given us the names of the places in which the characters were from big cities to minor spots like, for example, the village of Fukagawa, regardless of them spending a lot of time on the place or just a chapter, like the coal mining town of Utashinai.

When this first happen in chap 225

I though it was because Tsurumi was on the move, from coastal city to another, although it really didn’t persuade me… and maybe it could also be Noda for some reason didn’t have material on that part of Hokkaido so the whole thing would be edited in the volume version with the name of the place. However quite a while has gone from chap 225 and we still don’t have an EXACT idea of where he is, not even through a map.

There are big cities on that coastal area, from Wakkanai, the city ship on which Asirpa rode was supposed to reach, to Okoppe to the well known Abashiri… but also various small cities.

They could have said he’s still in the Wakkanai area instead…

Is there a reason to leave us in the dark even when Tsurumi clearly is in Japanese cities?

Is it a Watsonian reason or a Doylist one?

Anyway Tsurumi informs his men he received a telegram from Kikuta (who therefore knew in which city he was and this means either Tsurumi warned him where to find him day by day or he’s not exactly moving around a lot).

He doesn’t tell us what Kikuta said but that he’ll only leave two men behind to continue searching for Asirpa (meaning he hadn’t figured she has long moved from the coastal area) and the rest will go with Tsurumi to Sapporo.

The final page shows both Tsurumi and Hijikata (who’s apparently outside the city looking at something… Ogata practicing with the rifle? Ariko secretly meeting with Kikuta? Sugimoto’s group ALSO coming to Sapporo?).

The implication seems to be that Ariko has tattled out Hijikata’s presence in Sapporo and Kikuta has relied the information to Tsurumi therefore Tsurumi plans to go there and have a faceoff with Hijikata.

Tsurumi didn’t see the need to move for just a convict but if it’s Hijikata, who might have the remaining tattooed skins as well as info... well, the thing becomes much more interesting.

So with everyone being or going to Sapporo, I wonder if Sofia (currently in Hokkaido), the candy seller convict (last time seen in Utashinai) and the still missing convict (whereabouts unknown) will also go there.

Only 3 more chapters are needed to end volume 24 but I wouldn’t dislike it if, before the end, Hijikata and Ogata were to have a chat. This volume showed us some of Sugimoto’s past.

More on Ogata’s past would also be appreciated but, if I’ve to be honest, I’m also looking forward to more info about Kikuta and about Kadokura.

When Hijikata finds the room in which Inudo kept all the material he had collected about him in his fangirlish obsession to get Hijikata, we can see on the wall a list of all the convicts that had been cellmates with Hijikata but also Kadokura’s name.

Or better ‘Kadokura Tanuki’ (門倉タヌキ), Tanuki being the nick Inudou gave to Kadokura.

Let’s start with this.

A Tanuki (狸 or タヌキ) is a Japanese folklore animal, commonly associated with the Japanese raccoon dog,  which in folktales often played the part of foolish animal, often with really big testicles (that’s why Inudou said he pictured him as pathetic Tanuki with big balls in chap 118)… however if we compare it to the Kitsune (fox), which are the epitome of shape-changing animals, one saying is "the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight (狐七化け、狸八化け)". The tanuki is thus superior to the fox in its disguises, but unlike the fox, which changes its form for the sake of tempting people, tanuki do so to fool people and make them seem stupid. Note that 8 is a lucky number, which might tied to how Kadokura is actually lucky. However it’s also worth to mention the kanji used to write Tanuki (prior to the linguistic reform of 1947) was "貍", and referred to all the middle sized mammals, especially to wild cats.

So… why all this rambling?

Well, not only Inudo didn’t write down Kadokura’s name, just the surname plus his nick but near Kadokura’s name there’s also written ‘real father’ and then what look like 4 kanji, none of them similar to the kanji used to write Kadokura’s surname.

So basically not only we don’t know Kadokura’s name but also Kadokura’s surname and we’re facing someone who, for association, is compared to an animal much more expert at disguising than the fox (Inkamart).

Now I wouldn’t question Kadokura’s loyalty to Hijikata. In vol 18 he was willing to die to save him. He also seems confident he’s unlucky… and he might have been forced to change surname because his father was on the losing side of the Boshin and therefore carrying his father’s surname would have been bad for him.

The point is if not even his surname is… well, his surname, Kadokura is a men shrouded in mystery, about whom we know nothing except he moved to Abashiri 7 years ago, with Sugimoto commenting he’d been looking over Nopperabou by 7 years… meaning he moved there when Nopperabou moved there (note that Asirpa said the gold incident happened 5 years before but then everyone when with the 7 year thing so maybe there was a retcon).

In short maybe this is all for fun and the truth behind Kadokura is nothing special… but it can also be there’s much more to him it looks like. We’ll see.

#Golden Kamuy #Usami Tokishige #Ariko Rikimatsu #Hijikata Toshizou #Tsurumi Tokushirou #Asirpa #Golden Kamuy Ramblings and Theories #Ishikawa Takuboku #Michael Ostrog #Kikuta Mokutarou

[engekihaikyuu]

Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu

Sparkle vol. 38 - Interview Translation with Daigo Kotarou and Akana Ryuunosuke

======

So you were picked for the roles at auditions.  Tell us honestly, what did you think in the moment that was decided? Daigo: I buy Shounen Jump every week and I’ve enjoyed reading Haikyuu since its very first week in publication.  I felt really blessed and happy that I could be involved in a production that I love.   Akana: For me, this audition was my introduction to Haikyuu, so I started reading the manga and studied it leading up to it.  I wasn’t sure what would be best to do for the audition, and I fumbled a lot but I did my best in my own way, so when I heard that I was chosen for the part, I was really happy.

======

Full interview translation and more photos under the Read More! Please do not repost my translations or scans.

For the two of you, this play would be how you met, correct? Daigo: Yes!  My first impression of him was... well, he was incredible. Akana: Hang on a second!! (laughs) Daigo: When we were getting fitted for our costumes, he’d forgotten to wear underwear. Akana: I had an actual reason for that!  It was winter, and I tend to get really cold so before bed, I put on thermal leggings.  I forgot that I wasn’t wearing underwear under the leggings, and the next day I just put pants on over my leggings... Daigo: When I saw him like that, I thought to myself, “I wonder if this is going to turn out okay...” (laughs)

And you hadn’t really gotten to know each other yet? Akana: Well that was our first meeting. Daigo: I couldn’t say anything so all I could do was smile awkwardly. (laughs)

And when did you two start to be as comfortable with each other as you seem to be now? Daigo: Pretty soon, I think? Akana: We started getting closer around the second time we met.  I knew I must have made a bad first impression and I was really worried about it, but I’m glad that we were able to become friends. (laughs)  I even made sure to wear a stomach band... Daigo: That wasn’t exactly necessary. (laughs) Akana: We’re the same age, so we can talk to each other pretty easily and comfortably.

In taking over this production that your senpai have guarded carefully until now, Daigo-san, you had said that you’re “positively bursting into flame” with excitement, but don’t you also feel pressure as well? Daigo: I don’t feel any particular pressure or nervousness.  Of course, the Engeki Haikyuu that Suga Kenta-san and the previous cast created was amazing!  But with a new generation of Karasuno cast swapping in, we’d rather take advantage of this opportunity, and even Worry Kinoshita-san said that he wants to take the play in a different direction, so I just want to aim for making something new that’s different from before.  “It was fun before, but this is fun too, both are interesting,” is what I’m hoping people will say.   Akana: I do actually feel a bit of pressure... (laughs)  I don’t want to disappoint the fans of the manga, so I’d like to do my best to stay true to my character while also letting a bit of myself shine through.

In your acting, what’s something about your character that you consider especially important? Daigo: Since we have this opportunity to play a character in real life with real people, I think it’s important to try and portray things that aren’t in the manga or the anime.  When we played actual volleyball, everyone around me was around 180cm to 2m in height.  And for me to be 167cm tall among them, I was at an overwhelming disadvantage.  For Hinata to want to be on the front lines even so, I want to imagine what must be running through his head that’s not drawn into the manga.

Do you imagine those things while reading the script? Daigo: Yes I do.  I believe it adds to the persuasiveness of the acting.  I want to play my version of Hinata that’s a little different from the anime and manga.   Akana: My character Kageyama is “a genius that can do anything.”  But even so, underneath that, Kageyama does put in a lot of work and has a lot of troubles.  That’s what I want to be able to express.  Kageyama might seem more competent than Hinata, but they’re the same when it comes to how hard they work and how they both go all out.  Even if he seems cool, I want to make sure I express his love and his affection for volleyball too.  

Daigo-san, you’ve also been the lead for a Yowamushi Pedal stage play.  Do you have any advice for Akana-san, who’s making his actor’s debut with this production? Akana: Uwahh!  I love this!   Daigo: ...not really. Akana: He’s got nothing for me!! Daigo: Hahaha!  I’m kidding. (laughs)  This is difficult, but there’s definitely a give-and-take between how we want to play our characters and what the audience wants to see from us.  When I was in Yowamushi Pedal, I’d watch the audience’s reactions and I’d end up wondering to myself, should I lean into the character a little bit more or should I back off from how I’ve been doing things?  But lately I’ve been able to learn a lot by acting together with Oguri Shun-san and trying a lot of different approaches, and by the end I came to feel quite strongly that at the end of the day, performing is our job as actors.  It’s important to keep our audience in mind and act accordingly, but it’s not good if their opinion is all you think about.   Akana: I see... Daigo: I think in order to embody a character fully, what you’re thinking influences how well you play the character.  So if you’re thinking, do I resemble my character right now?  No?  Every time you think about those things, you won’t be in the moment.  The actor doesn’t exist, the character does, in a sense.  After I started thinking about it like that, I felt like it got a little easier. Akana: I can’t believe you gave me such a careful answer!  I’m so happy.  I’ve been holding this bread in my hand because I was thinking about eating it, but then I got so absorbed in what you were saying, I couldn’t eat it... Daigo: Just eat it! (laughs) Akana: All joking aside, I am really happy that you gave me that advice.  And once we start rehearsals too, I feel like I’m going to learn even more things than what I heard just now.  I’m going to watch how my castmates perform, steal what I can, and keep growing and learning from now on.  

I’m looking forward to seeing how much you’ll have grown once the tour is over. Daigo: That’s true!  He might change quite a bit or he might not change at all... We won’t know until we try.  Before I worked as a voice actor for “Weathering with You,” I didn’t really used to have hopes about how I’d turn out after a production was over.  But after I finished work on that, I could feel how much I’d grown and matured internally, so I’m sure that the same will be true after Engeki Haikyuu.  I think the natural result of living everyday carefully and conscientiously is connected to growth.   Akana: I believe that if you give your all in what you do, something will definitely change.  If you take each task one by one and challenge yourself, I think you’ll definitely grow by the end of it.  For now I just have to study like all hell!  After this tour is over, I hope I become more charismatic. Daigo: Okay, we’re done now. (laughs)

Hinata and Kageyama are rivals and teammates, but as the two of you work on this show, how will your particular combination turn out do you think? Daigo: I think he’s really funny, so I think he’ll be really popular! Akana: Hey, I’ve been trying to be really cool, so don’t go and say that I’m funny... Daigo: Hahaha!  I think if the two of us can be this rowdy in private, we’ll become a duo that can really have fun.  He messes around a lot!  He’s always messing around.  The only time he isn’t was in the first ten minutes. Akana: Stop stoooppp~!! (laughs)

What do you have in common? Daigo: We kind of talk about really useless things. (laughs)  Like, oh blank is really cool, this anime is really fun, or just stuff relevant to our generation.   Akana: That’s not really true for me actually. Daigo: Sure sure. (laughs)  Actually we might talk more about private things than we do about work.  We go out to eat with everyone after work too.  Just recently I thought to myself that we’re probably going to be long-time friends, and I think we’re both hoping that the time we spend together will be as fun as possible.   Akana: I’m gonna retweet that! Daigo: Don’t retweet that. (laughs)  

What’s something you respect about the other? Daigo: How he thinks about his fans.  Now that he’s starting to get popular, he’s always thinking about how to make his fans happy.  When I first heard that, I sort of wondered whether or not that was true, but he really does.  When he’s together with his group*, they’re always talking about “Oh if we do this next time, won’t they get really excited?” etc...  Apparently, his fans even appear in his dreams sometimes, and I’ve never really met someone who thinks so much about his fans so I was surprised.  Of course my fans are important people to me too, but they don’t appear in my dreams...  I think it’s really wonderful and it’s something I can respect. Akana: I think about my fans from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. Daigo: See, now that makes it seem like you’re lying!  But I mean if that’s true, then that’s kind of incredible... Akana: The group I’m affiliated with, VOYZ BOY* has about fifty boys, but our goal is to perform in Tokyo Dome within three years.  Even though we haven’t even put out a CD yet, which makes that goal fairly difficult to achieve.  But even so, we’re doing OK right now, so we think about our fans every day, and I think some of the reason is because of the flyers we pass out in person.  We have people whose dream it is to appear in a movie led by a really famous director, and I think a lot of us have individual dreams like that, but I’m really doing it because I want to see the fans’ smiles.  I feel a lot of satisfaction seeing that.  Maybe because handing out those flyers is really difficult. Daigo: It does seem difficult...   Akana: But I’m really happy if they take the trouble to come see us because of those flyers. Daigo: I feel like he’s a window into the world of working and performing in front of people.   Akana: Thank you very much.  It’s because my fans are all my girlfriend! Daigo: ...is that true? Akana: When I think about wanting to be in love, I read shoujo manga.  It’s like they’re all enjoying love in my stead.  But what I respect about you is, you’re so diligent, and I can really tell how much you love acting.  I genuinely believe that you must really love acting.  When he’s acting, his eyes light up you know!   Daigo: ...apparently. (laughs)

The show will be touring in Tokyo, Osaka, and Miyagi.  Akana-san, you’re from Osaka, so will it be deeply emotional for you to perform there? Akana: I’m really happy I’ll get to meet the fans in my hometown of Osaka, and I’m honestly so excited I can’t really put it into words!  To be able to stand on such a big stage in my home city is really really moving.   Daigo: It really would be.

If you were to show Daigo-san around, whereabouts would you go? Akana: First to my house... Daigo: Why?!  There are definitely more noteworthy sightseeing destinations!   Akana: I want you to clean my house for me. Daigo: Oh come on. (laughs) Akana: Where should I take you... Isn’t it actually kind of difficult to show someone around where you’re from?  Would USJ be good?  USJ is my backyard so I’d be ok then. Daigo: Please make sure you write this down?!  He’s literally saying, “USJ is my backyard!”   Akana: It’s my backyard!*  No but I actually do know the most efficient way to get around.

*Actually what he says is “My garden” in English (マイガーデン), taking a more literal translation of the word 庭.  

Daigo: Then I guess I’ll be relying on you!

There’s also a lot of gourmet food in Osaka... Akana: Oh that’s right.  My mom’s hamburg steak is super good! Daigo: I think we’re just gonna end up at his house. (laughs)  At this point we’re definitely just gonna end up at his house!  

You’ll go after you clean. Akana: Exactly, that’ll be your prize. Daigo: I don’t wanna. (laughs) Akana: I have a dog too! Daigo: What am I, your girlfriend?! Akana: Hahaha!  But even Tokyo has stuff like takoyaki, right? Daigo: I’d kind of like you to read the mood a bit better. Akana: Then would Tsutenkaku be good?   Daigo: Yes, that’s what I’m talking about!!   Akana: But I wouldn’t have as much fun... Is that what it means to show someone around your hometown? Daigo: That’s exactly what it means. (laughs)

=====

Translated by @nimbus-cloud Please do not repost my translations!  To me, this includes screenshots of bits and pieces taken out of context, especially if they don’t link back to me. 

If you appreciate the work I do for this blog and want to support my translation efforts, please consider donating a ko-fi!  (x)

If you’d like to buy the magazine that features the original interview, you can find it on Amazon JP: (x)

#daigo kotarou #akana ryuunosuke #engeki haikyuu #hyper projection engeki haikyuu #haisute #fly high #interview translation #translation #this one is so fucking cute you guys #they get so distracted at the end #and also we have an actual explanation as to why the no underwear thing #would EVEN come up

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM manga chapter 119 Review: A Conspiracy?

Buckle up, this review gets long.  I was away on family business for a few days so I missed this one’s drop.  It’s meant though that I’ve had longer to ponder my thoughts. 

Core take away for me is that like Hellfire Flame and Gale Wind trying to recruit Sonic set us up to better understand the Ninja arc when it showed up in the webcomic, this ‘glimpse behind the scenes’ at the conspiracies brewing sight unseen is foundation for what will burst into the open later, apparently from nowhere. 

Anyway, onto the review.  Much more under the cut.  First though, One-Shotter is still alive!  Looks like his mechanised parts are much more extensive than initially appeared. 

I tell you, it doesn’t pay to be a cyborg hero in OPM. It’s just inviting gratuitous cruelty into your life.

Soon Gets Sooner

This chapter, I honestly expected Drive Knight to just leave with Nyan and stay the international Cyborg of Mystery he'd been to date.  But he stuck around to talk to Sekingar and what we got was a glimpse indeed to the mystery plot that has been brewing from the very start.

We find out just why Drive Knight has a 100% win record: he never, ever fights unless he has carefully studied and formulated an excellent battle plan. Even if it means sacrificing his fellow heroes like pawns.  

And then things get weird. After offering data on the strong monsters in the MA, Drive Knight changes the subject to asking Sekingar about the state of the Hero Association, being very interested in just which capable heroes were left available to respond and whether or not Blast was likely to attend if the Hero Association were attacked.  And then Drive Knight went into full tin-foil hat conspiracy mode, painting the loss of the Metal Knight as a deliberate action by Dr Bofoi to gift the Monster Association with the way to take out the Hero Association.

When Sekingar spoke of not expecting the support heroes to carry out their mission without injury, I’m sure he couldn’t have imagined ending up a casualty.  When he tries to call the Hero Association to check, none other than G5 shows up to shoot his hand off.  As G5 approaches, Drive Knight makes no move to either attack G5, claiming lack of power, nor to protect Sekingar.  Even in extremis though,  Sekingar is still thinking about the support team, the hostage, and what action he could yet take.  Truly, a hero is being forged before our eyes.  He just has to survive the experience.

‘Why not me?’ That’s the central question heroes ask themselves.

Fee, Fi, Do, Fum, Cinderella's At The Ball

We'd seen Garou, who I'd dubbed Sleeping Beauty awaken from his unconsciousness. With a roar, he pummelled PPP into the ground.

Cyborg Cinderella, whom we'd left vacuuming and washing dishes while the others went ahead, may be attending the ball late, but his entrance was no less spectacular. With timing worthy of Saitama himself, just in time, one mighty kick all but split G5 in half, arriving so fast the robot barely had time to register his presence.  It's interesting what summoned him; Saitama's punch may have gotten his attention, but it was G5's energy signature that really got him on scene.

Insane kicks, flips -- and upgrades

Kuseno magic extends to clothes: the last time he used Jet Drive Arrow, he ended up naked. Now Genos isn't just very fashionably dressed, but his raiments are fire-resistant and wonderfully form-hugging.  Until the clock strikes twelve (or ten in his case), he is here to cut some terrifying shapes.

And now all the pieces are in play.

The chapter ends suddenly and ominously.  On one side, we have Genos asking, looking about as cunning as a newborn lamb, what’s going on: 

On the other, if it’s possible for an expressionless face to look unamused, then the very cunning Drive Knight looks most unamused:

Meta: “The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less.”  

 -- from the webcomic ‘Schlock Mercenary’ (more here)

I’d wondered why ONE had split Genos off from the rest, in difference to the was he’d gone together with the rest in the webcomic.  It was definite that ONE intended to test Genos in a situation where he had no support, bu the potential for him to discover something new and relevant to his quest is the last thing I expected. 

A peek behind the scenes indeed!  Where from and why Genos came to fetch up at Saitama’s door in chapter 7, telling a tale of evil cyborgs and total extermination, we know not.  It’s seemed increasingly far-fetched as nearly nothing happened with that storyline and the monsters we meet have nothing to do with the sort of intelligences behind any such cyborg.  It’s led to some, too many, fans claiming that in that absence the ‘mad’ cyborg must be Genos himself  -- in a twist of logic too stupid for real life  [Then again, the typical SF story seems to be written by an individual who never met an actual human being...].  I don’t know about the veracity of 90% of what Drive Knight said, but there is a conspiracy indeed. 

So, now we get to understand a bit more about Drive Knight. It’s something I’ve long wondered about:

The thing about Drive Knight is that he hasn't told us who he is yet. At present, he's a blank slate for whom many alignments are possible without betraying who he is. He could be entirely a hero, just acting in ways that are more independent than most would appreciate. He could be a member of The Organization, acting as a mole in the Hero Association. He could be an entirely amoral person, aligning himself to one group or another as suits his goals and all would be consistent with what we don't know about him. Once he declares who he is, we'll be down to many fewer possibilities.  -- myself, Reddit post   

“Everything that can be used must be used.”  With that, Drive Knight has finally told us who he is.   He is highly calculating and will use anything he can to achieve his ends.  At the expense of anyone and anything. 

What to make of all of this? One thing we can be certain of. Drive Knight really hates Bofoi, considers him a threat and reads the worst possible motives into his actions. He wastes no time in trying to sew suspicion about Bofoi whenever possible.   Why?  We don’t know. 

At its most benign, Drive Knight may be like Zombieman and the House of Evolution, seeing evil in Metal Knight and a grand conspiracy where none actually exists.   A less benign possibility is that Drive Knight may be projecting his ambitions onto Metal Knight and describing what he fears Metal Knight has in possession in order to thwart them (whoever ‘them’ is). 

Since we as readers have a quasi-omniscient view of the story, we know that quite a lot of what Drive Knight said about Metal Knight is factually wrong.  We know that he is wrong bout the circumstances under which Bofoi lost the Metal Knight.  We know that he is wrong about its fate.  We know most of all that he is absolutely wrong about Bofoi wanting the capable heroes scattered or defeated.  Dr. Bofoi has been furious with the Hero Association executives for risking the lives of any heroes raiding the Monster Association precisely because he feared what might happen if the ranks of the heroes were thinned. 

Interesting that G5 is definitely its own entity!  Once I realised that the tactical transformations formed around Drive Knight, I’d started to entertain the possibility that the two of them were the same.  That said...

I could well understand Drive Knight having done his own work to understand the nature of the strong monsters actually in the Monster Association base.  However, there is one piece of information G5 has that it could not have reasonably obtained without Drive Knight sharing it. 

When they ran off a second time, they ran off separately.   More pertinently, there’s no reason for G5 to show Sekingar this information: it puts psychological pressure on him, but if G5 just wants to kill him, there’s no point to it.  Instead, Drive Knight drawing attention to the support team and G5 drawing attention to the hostage act as a double-team interrogation to see if Sekingar has some way yet of reaching Blast in time of most extreme need. 

We’ve also learned that Blast is all but retired. It falls into line with what we've gleaned from the webcomic and suggests that he's quite old.

He's just a poor boy from a poor family: spare him his life!  (and limbs)

Dr Kuseno's occasionally prodding Genos to not forget his primary task of finding the 'mad' cyborg, as well as his warning not to fight it alone both make great sense.   In OPM, you get good at what you actually  practice.  Fighting monsters as a hero has been very useful for Genos developing raw fighting prowess. It has done nothing to prepare him to face the cruel, conniving, and creative people that the not-quite-mad cyborg and those behind him are.  Watching Genos ask straightforwardly what the situation and contrasting it to Drive Knight's complicated narrative was to realise how painfully naive Genos is. 

It's all very well to counsel non-engagement, but you deal with the monster before you: situations aren't neat and don't wait until you feel prepared. I'd hoped for another conversation between Genos and Drive Knight but this looks far more dangerous.  I've no doubt that Genos won't die, but his participation in this battle could be VERY short.

So many ways this story could wend.  A few that come to mind:

The most tragic:Drive Knight convinces Genos of his predicament, perhaps offering data on the cadres as a sweetener and Genos escorts him and the fallen heroes out of the war zone.  As soon as Drive Knight is sure Genos is safely underground, he'll kill Sekingar... and probably the support heroes into the bargain. If he burns them, the only fire-wielder known is Genos.  If he's really clever, catching up with Waganma and Food Battler, dragging them back and burning them too creates a compelling narrative of Genos (already suspected of colluding with the monsters) waylaying the support heroes as they tried to retreat and killing them all.  Drive Knight can show up at the Hero Association and continue his activities. No witnesses, a convenient scapegoat, and near total freedom to carry on his agenda.

Mortal combat. No matter what changes to the webcomic ONE has planned, Genos isn't about to get killed, so Drive Knight is either going to have to run for it or else get killed. Knowing who Drive Knight is, there is no possibility that he would defeat Genos and leave the latter alive -- even if he were that careless, Genos announcing that any enemy that gives him trouble will find that he comes back very quickly and very much stronger would put paid to that. (yes, he’s so naive!)    Either way, Drive Knight won't be working as a hero any longer.   For Genos, victory is likely to be expensive -- he runs the risk of sustaining critical damage, which will force him to retreat, or of wasting precious, precious energy that he could really use later.   Very interesting repercussions will definitely follow.

Hit him in the heroism. Drive Knight could use the heroes and Sekingar as hostages and get Genos to allow him to leave unmolested. He won't be coming back to the HA but it looks like he knows all he needs to. Genos won't like it, but as a person who has long established his willingness to take incredible punishment to protect others from harm, he won't have any other course of action.  I suspect that this is the most likely outcome.

Whatever actually happens! Only ONE (and Murata) know.  I know I need the next instalment!

Bonus question. Where is the cat?  Drive Knight dropped it when G5 showed up and it hasn't been in evidence since.

#OPM #manga #review #meta #long #Drive Knight #Sekingar #Genos #heroes #yay Genos is back #and ominious #wah ending on such a tense moment #please be a little cunning Genos #just a little

[gryphons-of-aentha]

The Approximate Plotline of the Gryphonverse (pt. 1)

Because like. I’m never gonna actually write this shit in any form, it’s gotten too convoluted and weird and pretty much officially exists only as a collection of ideas and drawings, and I guess this blog now.

This is gonna be long as fuck, just so you know what you’re getting into behind this readmore.

The whole thing starts out as fairly standard, fairly tropey high fantasy-type stuff and takes place entirely on Aentha, centered around the country of Andolia, a fantasy-feudal country with a vaguely German bent, with added notes of French and Celtic. It’s populated almost entirely by aquei, which are the closest thing Aentha has to humans (and they are very close, I just couldn’t think of a reason to have actual humans evolve separately on a completely different planet when Earth and actual humans are also canonically a thing). It’s bordered on one side by sea and all others by wilderness that, for various reasons ranging from “it’s impassable and useless” to “it’s literally cursed and/or protected by powers we don’t want to fuck with,” remains virtually untouched by civilization and is at best halfheartedly disputed over with other nearby countries. There’s trade by sea but otherwise the country is fairly isolated from its neighbors. Anyway, Andolians don’t like gryphons. The ‘why’ of this situation isn’t really established, but they’re a rather xenophobic bunch, more so the further you get into the heart of the country. The people who occupy villages/homesteads closer to the borders are sometimes more chill about them, which is fortunate, because that no-man’s-land that the aquei don’t want is full of gyphons, because gryphons are both well suited to impassable mountainous regions, and not afraid to fuck with powers most other people won’t. The latter trait is probably a lot of the reason Andolians are wary of them at best and actively hate them at worst.

So at a certain point, circa 1980 in Earth time (which won’t become relevant for a long while yet but does matter since everything in this lore canonically occurs in real time alongside our world), a half-gryphon baby ends up in the custody of a small Andolian town. It’s too large and central to have had any previous contact with gryphons but still small and out of the way enough that nobody in the capital gives two shits what goes on there, so the existence of this gryphonic child goes largely unnoticed. What exactly happened to his parents is still not established and honestly doesn’t matter, but it’s Andolia, so the likely answer is “nothing good.” Gryphons who do venture into the country proper frequently meet unfortunate ends and people who willfully associate with them don’t do so great either. In any case, it’s likely that the aquei parent’s family were residents of this town and took in the kid, who was subsequently named Talon, because Andolians don’t really do subtlety with their naming conventions. The town proves to be a surprisingly supportive environment to grow up in, mainly on the logic of “if we raise this kid right we will never have to deal with the local bandit problem again because we’ll have a gryphon and nobody will want to fuck with us.” Incredibly, this Timon and Pumbaa logic actually works out, and Talon finds himself more welcome among small town Andolians than any gryphon has probably ever been because he’s quickly developed a reputation as a “good” one and turned into a local hero (though one that everyone in the region keeps kind of quiet about so as not to draw attention from the capital or anyone else who might not like it). 

Eventually, some time in the late 90s Earth time, he meets Iadra, a full-blooded gryphon. They form a bond, eventually becoming definitive life partners, and Talon also reconnects more with the gryphonic half of his heritage through her. The townsfolk aren’t really thrilled about Iadra, and she’s not really thrilled about them, but they adopt an attitude of “I guess if Talon likes you, you can’t be too awful, guess you can hang around” to which she basically responds “appreciate the unbridled confidence in my character, but no thank you” and mainly stays on the outskirts and never really gets involved in aquei affairs to the extent Talon does, especially since the interspecies tensions are getting worse lately.

Meanwhile, as all this was semi-quietly going on in a small town nobody cared about, other things were semi-quietly going on directly in the Andolian royal court. The king, Shale, was really hitting it off with a woman who had just kind of shown up in the capital one day calling herself Ember. Through a combination of charisma and political shrewdness she managed to endear herself to most of the court and take on an unofficial advisor position, and also have an affair with the king. Eventually, circa 1989, this led to a son being born, who they named Ash (meanwhile, on Earth, Taylor Swift was being born, which isn’t important to this story it’s just something I realized just now and thought was really funny). The king had no other children at the time, so his first reaction was “hey, free heir” until it came to light that Ember was not wholly aquei, and in fact had some gryphonic heritage and so, by extension, did Ash.

A prudent move here might have been to cover this up, accuse whoever exposed Ember of slander, and just let the kid inherit the throne anyway. Sadly, prudence was not a trait King Shale possessed in abundance. So what he did instead was lose his shit over it and very publicly throw Ember out of his court, after which she quickly fell prey to any one of the many people who were pissed at her for the deception, and was killed. Shale then denied both the affair and the fact that Ash was his son, but made a show of magnanimously “adopting” the gryphonic bastard child and allowing him to remain at court. This was an entirely political move in response to the fact that the gryphons on Andolia’s borders were getting tired of exactly this kind of shit, and he hoped that he could use Ash as a kind of “how can you say I hate gryphons, look at this one who I raised and keep around out of the goodness of my heart” card.

Unsurprisingly this did not work out nearly as well as Shale imagined it would, and instead of a loyal walking virtue signal/gryphonic liaison, what he ended up with was a resentful and confused teenager who had been raised with the combined knowledge that A) gryphons are terrible, dangerous creatures with few redeeming qualities and nobody likes them, and B) he was part gryphon. So, not unlike Taylor Swift, he responded to everyone’s expectation that he would be a shitty person by turning into a shitty person. This uneasy state of affairs carried on until Ash was around sixteen, at which point he accidentally stumbled across the fact that he was actually the king’s son, and not the son of a random courtier with poor judgement as had always been vaguely implied. He also found out what exactly had happened to his mother. He immediately confronted Shale about this. Shale, who had always been paranoid about Ash trying to usurp him, entirely missed the point of the confrontation and instead of addressing the lying or the unofficially sentencing Ember to death thing or the general environment he’d made Ash grow up in, angrily doubled down on the fact that Ash would not be heir to the throne, ever, because he’s still a gyphon and that’s not a thing in Andolia, and even if he wasn’t he’d never be fit to rule and was clearly an ungrateful little shit. Ash, who up to that point hadn’t remotely wanted to rule, immediately decided out of pure teenage spite that fuck you, he was going to usurp his asshole of a father and do exactly that, so he set about stirring up dissent and delving further into his gyphonic heritage, with which he quickly became mildly obsessed since obviously his aquei side wasn’t doing anything for him. In the course of this research he came across records of an unrelated full-blooded gryphon named Kyran who had been executed by the king on trumped-up charges as a political maneuver some years prior and, since he no longer wanted to use an Andolian name and didn’t know his mother’s real name, he decided to adopt that one.

Cut back to Talon and Iadra, who are among the gryphons getting edgy over the king’s increasing levels of bullshit since it’s putting Talon’s town and everyone he associaties with at risk, and making things even more difficult for the local gryphons, who are having trouble even venturing into the outskirts to trade unless they’re very stealth about it. Iadra starts to think that maybe they should take some direct action and go after the king directly, a plan Talon is extremely dubious about since they have zero meaningful political allies and he doesn’t want to paint a target on the assorted farmers and villagers who would back him. That is until Kyran shows up and announces his plan to overthrow the king himself, along with a grandiose plan to change things for Andolia’s relationship with the gryphons once he takes over. And Kyran does have political allies (though not many, and not without substantial effort on his part). Talon decides that’s enough for him to go along with the idea, so he and Iadra join forces with Kyran’s rebellion and know what this is too long I need to make this a multi-part thing.

[flawsomesims]

✎ The Cherry Tree (A Sims 4 Short Story) ✓

🦙 Genre: Friendship, Fluff 

🦙 Word Count: 1,743 

🦙 Series Tie-In: None 

🦙 Warnings: None 

🦙 Prompt: None 

🦙 Written: 01/05/20 

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Addi smiled brightly as she stepped into Magnolia Blossom park, her eyes scanning the nature around her. Although the pond and the river, and the various flora and fauna were quite nice to look at, she had something else that, in her opinion, was ten times more beautiful; a cherry tree, in full bloom at the beginning of summer.

No matter what emotion she was feeling, she felt happy sitting under the cherry tree. Sometimes, she wondered if its roots were filled with magic.

She paused when she noticed a boy around her age standing beneath the tree, his head tilted back as he looked up at the pink petals. Her head tilted to the side, curiously. Addi had never seen this boy before, not even at school.

Putting on a friendly smile, she approached the boy. “Hey, there!”

He turned to look at her, his expression staying neutral. He didn’t reply.

Her smile didn’t waver. In fact, it grew when she noticed the shirt he was wearing. “You like Deadpool? Me too! He’s the best anti-hero. Although he’s cool in the comics, he’s way cooler in the live-action version.”

He quirked a brow. “You really like him? I’ve never met anyone else that does… Most people say he’s annoying and prefer the heroes.”

Addi scoffed, waving her hand to express her displeasure. “They say that because they can’t understand the genius that is Deadpool. I mean, sure, heroes go around saving people and obeying the laws, whatever. But anti-heroes also save people but they do it in a cooler way! Think about it, how many heroes have put the law above saving people? That’s not how a hero should be. Saving people should come first, ya know? Otherwise, you’re basically just a beefed-up cop.”

His lips twitched up as she ranted on about her beliefs when it comes to heroes and anti-heroes. He had never met anyone, let alone a girl, that had such passion for the same thing he enjoyed so deeply. He thrust his hand out at her, making her pause. “My name is Adrian Webber. I just moved here from Brindleton Bay.”

Her eyes lit up with excitement as he shared the small detail with her. Her hand slid into his, enthusiastically shaking it up and down. “Addisyn Sanders, but you can call me Addi! Welcome to Willow Creek.”

“You know, I was worried about moving. It’s kinda hard to be the new kid in the middle of senior year, ya know?” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It might just be a bit more bearable now…”

Addi laughed, slapping his arm. “You say that now, but I get annoying real fast, ya know?”

Adrian hummed, thoughtfully. “Guess we’ll see, hmm?”

After standing around and debating heroes versus villains for about fifteen minutes, the two teenagers decided to head over and have a seat at the picnic tables to continue their conversation.

“Personally, I don’t think the Joker is actually mentally unstable,” Adrian commented. “I believe he knows exactly what he’s doing and he just wants people to think he’s unstable.”

“Maybe,” she tapped her chin. “But he’s not very relevant anymore. Harley Quinn is the queen of the villains, now!”

He chuckled. “So you’re a Harley fan, then?”

“Totally! After seeing her in Suicide Squad, you’d have to be insane not to love her.”

“Hey, Addi!” Cassandra Goth, Addi’s best friend, approached the two of them, plopping down across from them at the table. “Who’s your friend?”

Addi didn’t miss the way Cass’ eyebrows wiggled as she eyed Adrian. It was clear on her face that she found him attractive and, honestly, Addi couldn’t blame her. He was a teen after her own heart.

“This is Adrian, he just moved here.” Addi introduced. “And this is Cassandra, but everyone calls her Cass. She’s in our year.”

“And Addi’s best friend,” Cass added with a wink. “Nice to meet you, Adrian.”

His smile dropped, but it was so minuscule that neither girl noticed. “Hello,”

“What were you guys talking about, hmm?” Cass raised a brow, pushing up her glasses.

“Superheroes and villains!” Addi grinned, making the ravenette roll her eyes.

“Not that stuff again,” she frowned at her friend before turning to the male. “Sorry about her, she’s totally obsessed with that stuff and once she gets going, it’s like stopping a bullet train.”

Adrian’s lips formed a straight line as his brow furrowed. “Actually, I enjoy it, too.”

“Good, she can gush to you instead of me.” Cass joked, making Addi stick her tongue out at her.

He checked his watch before clearing his throat and standing up. “I’ve got to get home. See you at school?” His eyes met Addi’s and she smiled brightly.

“Of course! See ya~”

After he was a safe distance away, Cass sent her a knowing look.

“What?”

“You totally have a crush on him,” she smirked.

“I do not,” Addi scowled. “We just have a lot in common, is all…”

“Sure, sure~” Cass stood up, brushing off the seat of her skirt. “I gotta get going, too. Bye, Addi.”

“Bye!”

Addi returned home in high spirits, but it wouldn’t last long. Her dad hopped up from the couch when she entered, quickly flicking off the TV. She instantly recognized the nervous look on his face and she felt her heart pick up speed.

“Honey, I need to tell you something.”

Addi frowned. He only called her honey when he was about to say something he knew she wouldn’t like. “What is it?”

“You know I had a meeting with my boss the other night, right?”

She nodded.

“Well… I got a promotion!”

“Dad, that’s awesome!” She threw her arms around him. “You’re one step closer to your dream~”

“Yeah,” he breathed, holding her tightly within his arms. “There’s a catch, though…”

Addi pulled back with a furrowed brow. “And that is?”

“We’re moving to San Myshuno…” He paused a moment for her reaction, but she just stared at him blankly. “Surprise?”

She forced a smile, “That’s great. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow… you’re not upset?”

“Nah, it’ll be fun! Oh, I should call Cass.” She turned away from him so he wouldn’t see her frown. Her father had been working so hard his entire life to reach his dreams and he had sacrificed so much to keep her happy and provide for her. What right did she have to deny him after everything he’s done? It sucked, but it was the cards she was dealt.

She dialed Cass’s number before pressing the phone to her ear, releasing the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Hey, Cass? I, uhh… I need to tell you something.”

🌸 The 🌸 Cherry 🌸 Tree 🌸

A year had passed since Addi and her dad moved away from Willow Creek and, now that she’s an adult, she has flown from the nest and returned to her childhood home. Naturally, the first place she decided to visit was the park.

Her lips slid upward on their own accord as she breathed in the warm summer air, watching two birds fly from tree to tree as they chased one another. She felt warm and happy being back in her hometown.

To be honest, she wasn’t really expecting to find Adrian under the cherry tree as he had been upon their first meeting, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little hopeful.

Although she missed many things after moving, one thing that often came to her mind was Adrian. Every time the topic of heroes was brought up, his face would flash in her mind and her heart would skip within her ribcage. She didn’t understand it.

They had known each other for only an hour or two, and yet she spent the better part of the year thinking about him, wondering where he was or how he was doing. Did he hate her for disappearing? Had Cass told him about the move? She said she had, but Addi still had to wonder.

She assumed that he probably had a girlfriend by now and was on the path to follow his own dreams. The thought upset her and she didn’t understand why he had such a hold over her.

“What are you doing?”

She looked up at the man staring down at her, a brow raised in question. “Huh, isn’t it obvious? I’m cherry blossom gazing!”

“You’re… what?”

“Ya know, cloud gazing but instead of gazing at clouds, I’m gazing at the beautiful cherry blossoms!”

He hummed thoughtfully. “You must really like cherry trees,”

“I love them!” She grinned before letting it soften to a smile. “Plus… I met someone special here when I was younger.”

“Special?”

“Well, special to me, anyway.” She chuckled, sheepishly scratching her cheek. “I wonder how he’s doing…”

“Addi,”

“I bet he has a girlfriend, too. I mean, he’s gorgeous, how can he not?”

“Addi…”

“Did he move back to Brindleton Bay? He wanted to be a teacher… I wonder if he’s in college.”

“Addisyn,”

“What?” She shot up, staring at him suspiciously. “How do you know my name?”

He quirked a brow. “Have I changed that much?”

“I… what?” Addi hopped to her feet, moving her face close to his as she squinted her eyes, trying to recall who this man was. “No way… Adrian?!”

He nodded.

“Oh my grim, this has got to be some kind of fate or something!”

“Fate? I don’t know about that…”

“It definitely is! I mean, honestly, what are the chances that we’d meet under a cherry tree as teenagers and then again exactly a year later?!”

“I’d save about fourteen percent,”

“It was rhetorical!”

His lips twitched up. “You’re as excitable as ever. I’m glad,”

She grinned, rubbing the back of her head. “Once a goofball, always a goofball!”

“Do you mind if I join your, uhh… cherry blossom gazing?”

“Of course I don’t mind,” With a smile, Addi plopped back onto the grass, with Adrian slowly lying down beside her.

“To answer your questions,” he started softly. “I’m doing well. I don’t have a girlfriend. I stayed in Willow Creek. Yes, I want to be a teacher and no, I’m not in college. I’m working at Rainy Day Entertainment.”

She couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face. “I’ve missed you,”

Adrian hesitated for a moment before gently grasping her hand in his, their fingers lacing together. “I’ve missed you, too.”

◣◥◤◢◣ ◥◤◆◥◤◢◣◥◤◢

#sims #the sims #the sims 4 #sims 4 #s4 #ts4 #simblr #simlit #short story #short stories #s4 short story

[polarisavi]

Hi! big, HUGE fan of your band au! could you write something from it? like, anything at all or you can totally ignore this message too. no problemo

hey anon! I’m not sure when i’ll make a full on sequel, but please have this scene that will be part of any sequel and has been clear in my head since writing somehow escape. it takes place before lucas’ european tour when they’re both in france. i’m not sure what you expected, but after all the pining of the last one I wanted to write them cozy and together, so i hope you like it. and sorry this took a few days! i wanted to finish up something else before writing it. 

eliott is taller than him, but not that much broader, so some of lucas’ shirts slide over his shoulders easily and sit inconspicuous on his frame. it takes a few minutes to even notice the shirt, honestly. lucas’ hair is still wet from the shower, stray water drops tickling his neck, muscles pleasantly buzzed from a morning run, and the familiar burgundy shirt is rendered largely irrelevant relative to eliott. eliott, awake but still in bed where lucas left him earlier, rolling out of bed with the small knowing thrill that, unlike other times, leaving eliott in bed is only temporary, that he will be able to roll right back into him when he returns, will not be separated by obligations that force the thread between them elastic. eliott, sleep soft and probably still warm, staring out the window and undoubtedly a thousand miles away. eliott, who, regardless of where his thoughts have taken him, has a guitar on his lap and is coaxing something beautiful out of it. 

eliott demaury, lead guitarist of award winning indie pop band intricate teacups, film student, raccoon enthusiast, and lover of virginia woolf, abstract art and lucas lallemant. 

it still feels like a trick, sometimes, like he’s stumbled into something fantastic and fun and finite, just waiting for someone to tap his shoulder and drag him away. sorry sir there’s been a mistake, this was never meant for you. except eliott has noticed him now, eyebrows flicked up in a question (most likely about why lucas is standing in the doorway, still and silent, instead of crawling into bed, or making them coffee) and an easy smile on his lips. the song morphs suddenly, between one chord and the next, into a familiar comfortable arrangement, one he used to listen to non stop. it’s a reminder, yes, an inside joke between them no one else is allowed to be let in on, but also a prompt for lucas to do something, to get into arms reach, to talk or move. lucas takes the invitation for what it is, and sings a few words quietly as he crosses the room. 

“well, i’ll run, babe, but i’ll come running, straight to you.“ 

it has the desired effect, and by the time lucas crawls over the bunched up sheets eliott is giggling, eyes gilded in delight, and the guitar categorised as secondary, shoved to the side and scooping lucas in his arms instead to take its place. lucas’ knees land on either side of his thighs and eliott’s hand lands, as it always does when they’re in this position, on the tattoo on his thigh, only a couple months old. mari had done it herself, in the end, rolling her eyes but acquiescing when he’d asked. it’d been a few years since she had worked as a tattoo artist professionally, officially, but her talent hadn’t faded an ounce, smiling and serious as she took a needle to his skin. bunches of tangled flowers, vivid petals and unexpected thorns and curled up leaves, peer through the spaces between eliott’s fingers. lucas’ arms loop around his neck, and he nudges their noses together, gently leans forward to place his forehead on eliott’s, his skin humming and breathing easy.

unbidden it reminds him of that death cab song imane adores about distance and yearning. her boyfriend, sofiane, of soft eyes and endless support and spectacular dance moves, who lucas has yet to meet, has spent the previous few years out of the country frequently, obligations in morocco that imane isn’t always able to join him in due to her own job. it’s hardly the exact same situation, but lucas understands why she listens to it a lot; he is always surprised, though perhaps he shouldn’t be, that they have so much in common. the lyrics, particularly applicable when they were apart, are somehow still relevant. most of the time any great space between them feels villainous; his skin, craving eliott’s, their hands tangled, ankles crossed, shoulders pressed close, anything. 

i need you so much closer. 

eliott leans back so they can see each other properly. “where did you go this morning? sleeping with the aircon only works if you’re there to keep me warm,” he adds with a teasing pout, thunderstorm eyes glinting in the light streaming through the window. 

lucas mirrors his pout but runs a hand across his head, fingers scratching lightly. in response eliott leans forward, head almost on lucas’ shoulder. “poor baby. i went for a run. and i was thinking we should go to the ocean today, if you want?" 

eliott huffs out a laugh, a flutter of warm air on his shoulder. "i want. i thought we were having lunch with mari, though?" 

"we still are. i was thinking later on, around sunset, maybe. i know a place, it’ll be chill. quiet.” 

"quiet as in not crowded?" 

"yeah. or, it usually isn’t.”

“perfect,” he says, the corner of his lips tilted up in the way that means he’s planning something, a secret tucked into his cheek.

speaking of, “what were you playing? i don’t think i’ve heard it before.”

“it’s new. i, uh, accidentally overhead an argument yesterday and got inspired,” he answers, sheepish but not ashamed, amusement twitching his lips. 

“lovers quarrel?”

“no, i think it they were friends. i’m mostly sure the argument was officially about gardening techniques but it sounded very…personal.”

lucas considers this. “broccoli as a metaphor?

they’re so close he can feel eliott’s chest bounce as he laughs, the sound vibrating right into his own body. “exactly, broccoli as a metaphor, and maybe snowpeas too.”

they just smile at each other for a small stretch of seconds, before somthing occurs to him. “have you eaten yet? had any coffee?” eliott shakes his head, so lucas kisses his cheek. "i’ll bring you something.”

“lucas, you don’t have to.”

“i know. i want to. and i’m hungry too, so it’s not entirely selfless. be right back." 

in the kitchen he makes a bee line to the fridge, already knowing exactly what he wants. sitting on the second shelf is a bowl of lychees, almost overflowing, gifted to him by arthur, who in turn had been given way more than any one person could ever need as payment for a piece of jewellery he’d given them. it had been a beautiful ring, the band composed of three braided strands textured like tree branches, and made out of recycled black metal. it was definitely worth the boxes of fruit and jars of honey and jam he had received in return, even if a lot of the produce had to be passed forward before it could rot. that night, a considerable portion of his payment was used for making various daiquiris and desserts, the close circle of friends he’d managed to maintain despite his restlessness cluttered into arthur’s kitchen, overly spoiling his dog with treats and attention, yelling over the video games and spanish music someone, probably mahdi or esra, had put on, the remnants of rum and cherry crumble and pavlova on every available surface. 

it’d happened a few nights before eliott arrived. he should try and organise something like it again, before he leaves. he can picture it vividly, suddenly, wisps of how eliott would fit into their group drifting across his mind like they’ve already happened. it makes his heart go terribly soft, thinking about how easily eliott fits into his life. how gently they’d bumped into each other, and how natural it felt falling into the possibility of them. if he was someone else, lucas might think the word fate, or destiny. as it is, he thinks about entropy and serendipity, the sea of chaos that put them in the same room, the deliberate choice of everything that came after. 

he returns to his room with a tray laden with a pot of coffee, two mugs, a bowl of lychees, and the portable speaker that he’d left in the living room. he places it on the bed but snatches the speaker and moves it to the desk in the corner. eliott doesn’t like any of the properly hard music lucas has in his library, so he opts for pantera, quiet enough for them to speak at normal volumes. if and when eliott gets sick of it, he will not be shy about telling lucas. until then, he sets his favourite album on repeat and focuses his attention where it should be. 

eliott has already dragged the tray close and broken open a lychee, juice glistening on his fingers. his house is high up and the view outside his window beautiful, early enough that the sky is partially bruised yellow and pink, the sunrise not yet flattened out. when he settles close to eliott, their knees bumping together, he is handed a mug of coffee.

"i like being in your city, with you here to show me all of its secrets. it’s nice seeing you so settled. comfortable.” ‘as opposed to in america’ is left unsaid. 

“you’ll have to do the same when i visit you in paris. tiny, overlooked secrets or bust, baby.” aka show me the places that are imbued with meaning and memories for you, too.

“i already have an itinerary,” eliott says solemnly. coming from anyone else lucas would presume it a joke, but with eliott he might be serious, a carefully crafted list of places they could enjoy together sitting innocently in his phone, or a notebook, a collection of neon post it notes. 

he pivots, shoulder perpendicular to the wall, to face him properly. “we’ll need to figure out when i can visit you. the semester starts in about a month, right? and then it’ll only be a handful of weeks before i have to go back to the states for rehearsal and then directly to dublin.”

eliott smooths a hand over lucas’ shoulder, down his arm, and it does settle him some, but not all, nervousness fluttering in his gut. “i know we do,” he says, low and faintly plaintive. “is it awful that i want to be selfish and, just, not think about that yet? it’s so much nicer only focusing on this day,” a kiss on lucas’ forehead, “this hour,” a kiss on the bridge of his nose, “this minute,” a kiss on his cheek, “here with you.”

he opens his mouth to say - something, but eliott holds a lychee to his lips and he bites into that instead, cold and lush. delicious and gives him time to think of a proper response.

“i think that we should talk about it soon, before you have to leave, but…yeah, okay, we can be selfish. i’d like that.”

he is reminded, once again, of entropy and choice. nothing is ordained, or destined, and any future days between them not promised by the universe. recognising his active participation feels almost startling, his mind wide awake. eliott steals his phone to turn off the music and pick up his guitar, hand big on the neck, crafting something jaunty and stumbling, fingers occasionally tripping over decisions. 

lucas breaks open another lychee.

#yes the decision to exclude basile was deliberate #boy doesn't have enough texture and fun to fit into this verse #my fic #Anonymous #Ask

[adzandiel-blog]

Why Julius Caesar Was REALLY Assassinated (pt. 1)

Sometimes, it’s embarrassing when you claim to have known someone from the past1, but you’ve never actually met them in said past, and you completely forget about telling people about knowing said person.2 You know the feeling. We’ve all had that experience.

(This is Zan, by the way.)

But in this case, I can assure you that I was definitely in acquaintance with good ol’ Caesar. Not ‘friends’, mind you. Just acquaintances. I was more buddy-buddy with his pal Brutus. This is extremely relevant to what I’m about to tell you next.

First, I need to dig a bit deeper into an introduction on Aden’s and my part.

Both of us love books; books and reading and enjoying the—well, certainly not Heaven nor Hell—out of the written word. While in this modern day he mostly enjoys dystopian fiction and fantasy, whereas I‌ go for more of a science-fiction and thriller genre, our love for reading actually stems from the very beginning.3

Libraries, reading, Julius Caesar… You can probably guess where we’re going with this.

You’re right.4

The Royal Library of Alexandria, when it first opened in 300 B.C.E., was one of the first ever times that Aden initiated one of our meetings.‌ In fact, prior to that, we’d relied on sheer luck to ‘run into’ each other throughout the years, around the Earth. About three or four months after its opening, Aden sent me a message5 using a piece of parchment and some fire, and we’d agreed to meet in one of the main gardens.

And listen, I’m a demon and we’re not supposed to show positivity or happiness (I think they call it being ‘soft’ nowadays) and all, but when I saw the library for the first time… Holy fuck.

That’s just about the only way I could describe it—can describe it, really. I don’t have a really vivid memory of it, since it was… quite a long time ago, but I‌ can still remember my jaw dropping open.6

Fast forward two and a half centuries or so.

I’m visiting the Library again for a couple of rare scrolls. Couldn’t find ‘em anywhere else.7 And then I begin to smell something weird, right? Normally, I’m all for outdoor barbequing, but they didn’t exactly rave about corn on the cob back then. Also, I‌ was standing in the middle of a library filled with flammable paper scrolls, in a desert, with no fire extinguishers to speak of.

You can see how I‌ got concerned.8

So I’m rushing into the now very visible fire, which is right at the heart of the library, where the most valuable scrolls were (and where I could sense Aden was). It’s not blessed fire, and I’m a demon, so I‌’m able to step into the flames and stumble around until I got my bearings, and managed to collect three thoughts.

1) The Royal Library of Alexandria, with all its books and scrolls and stored wisdom, was currently going all up in flames, and there’s no way—even for me and Aden—to save it.

2) Aden was currently in the middle of the blazing inferno, probably trying to save as many scrolls as he could—but he’s not a demon, which meant that his human body was definitely not invulnerable to this fire; he could withstand some flame, but not as much as I‌ can. TL;DR: He’s dying.

3) Shit.

Let’s make that four thoughts.

4) Fucking shit.9

I find Aden. He’s honestly, truly, very near to dead. Not going to go into details.

Fuck.

Er. Aden here.

Zan got a bit emotional while writing the above. We’ll end this post here for now, but we’ll continue later on. After all, Zan can’t wait to tell you what really happened to Julius Caesar. It’s almost a bit of a grand gesture on my behalf, really—I’m still flattered. Not spoiling what happened, though.

Until next time, then? Thanks for reading. We’ll be back.

Like… give or take two and a half millennium. ↩︎

What I’m trying to say is, if you’ve never actually met Alexander the Great, and only observed him from afar as you plotted his untimely death, don’t go around telling people that you and him were buddies—because the next thing you know, you’re going to be at an occult gathering, and someone’s going to sidle up to you, mention a rumor, ask you what ‘your good pal Alexander III of Macadamia’ was like, and you’re going to very awkwardly reply with ‘not as nutty as you’re thinking’. ↩︎

Or, more accurately, the Library of Ashurbanipal. We used to be considerably fluent in cuneiform. Now we’ve lost touch with the language, although I’m sure if I look around in the back of the cafe, I’ll find a couple of old transcribed slates. ↩︎

Or you’re wrong. Why’d you even come and look at this footnote? What’d you expect it to say? ‘Huzzah, you tried’? ↩︎

It’d read something along the lines of: Dear Zan, there’s a lovely new library open in‌ Alexandria, Egypt, and I was wondering I‌ could convince you to explore it with me. Of course, there’s no need if you find our interactions excessively dangerous… And the note read on, with more to be unveiled, undoubtedly, but at that point, I was already looking for the nearest boat to Egypt. ↩︎

Aden, wisely, didn’t comment. Even if my jaw did seem slightly unhinged. Blame the Garden. ↩︎

Still can’t. ↩︎

And the real kicker here: Aden was working as one of the main librarians. I knew this because it was a huge deal back then—librarians have essentially the same status as High Priests, but with less sex magic going on—and because he’d sent me at least three notes, one of which consisted of nothing but exclamation marks. ↩︎

—shit shit shit shit fucking shit son of a motherfucking bastard oh fuck— ↩︎

#julius caesar #we can't figure out how to tag this one #to be continued #history #??? #conspiracy theories #we think that's a suitable tag #DEBUNKED conspiracies? #was this ever a conspiracy to begin with? #wait until we tell you about the pyramids #and the bermuda triangle #and the dinosaurs #just stay tuned alright? you won't regret it #probably

[captainmazzic]

In Which There Is A Bit Of A Side Story Involving Jedi Master Heilon, And How He Came To Be At The Tribunal.

(This is the start of a short story detailing how Burdock Heilon came to meet Darth Aranea and a few other Sith, and culminated in him being invited by Aranea to observe the Enclave of the Sith Tribunal. I’m trying not to make it very long, probably only like two or three chapters, but I’m going to write it out in its entirety before posting it on AO3. Here’s the first few bits, because I was entertained and wanted to share).

“The other name was Cinaede?”

The agent nodded. “That is what Master Braga said. The Sith that was holding Master Ikalruq hostage mentioned a Darth Gallus and Darth Cinaede for exchange. When pressed for a single trade, he selected Darth Gallus.” She scrolled through her datapad, scanning for the relevant information. “Darth Gallus is apparently a Rodian Sith that Argent Legion picked up a few months back, Unit Jenth I think. He’s young, mouthy, and stupid, according to his interrogators. Nothing special. Stars know why this... Darth Belus... Sith picked him to return over the other.” She tapped the edge of her datapad. “But it looks like this Darth Cinaede is the same as the Cinaedus that Unit Peth picked up ages ago. Sith Assassin. Only got caught on the job because their target was in a house that caught on fire due to an entirely unrelated arson. Getting them in was ugly, if the report was anything to go by. They kept… ‘shifting around’, report says. They’re some kind of morphing amphibian. Eliminated Unit Osk single-handedly, and half of Unit Peth, before Peth managed to bring them down. I’m surprised they brought them in alive.”

Jedi Master Burdock Heilon leaned back in his chair and motioned for the datapad. “That is the purpose of these acquisitions, Agent Basrel. And one of Argent Legion’s major directives. To collect Sith alive for purging and interrogation.”

“I understand that, sir.” She shrugged as she handed him the datapad. “But if it had been my unit, I would have deemed them too dangerous to hold. Alive, that is. According to our sources, they’re one of the Sith’s best infiltrators and assassins.”

Heilon nodded as he inspected the screen. “We’ve had them in custody for…. How long now?”

“Eighteen Coruscanti months.”

“Have they cracked?”

“Not unless you mean jokes. Hasn’t given even a millimeter to our interrogators. Suggests tea parties and interior décor options instead. They’ve been driving our team mad.”

Heilon snorted and tossed the datapad onto his desk. “I think it’s time we started playing hardball with this one. There has to be a reason this Darth Belus wanted this particular assassin released. We’ll never know why he wanted Gallus, what’s done is done, but perhaps we can figure out why Cinaede is so important. Cinaedus. Whatever.” He slid his chair back and got to his feet, brushing imaginary lint off of his uniform. “Have the assassin transferred to Coruscant immediately, Agent Basrel. I will take over their interrogation personally.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * * * * * * *

The high security transport ship hissed and beeped as its landing thrusters aligned with the docking pad, deep inside the massive spike of a prison tower that functioned as a receiving area for high-risk prisoners. Burdock Heilon stood beside Agent Basrel with his hands clasped behind his back, patiently waiting for the two dozen guards to disembark with their dangerous cargo centered among them. Darth Cinaedus was bound hand and foot within a stasis field upon a repulsorlift, eyes blindfolded, mouth gagged, and ears plugged. Four guards stood at each corner of the lift with blasters trained perpetually on the immobile figure as the others guided the lift down the massive hall that led to the depths of the prison.

Heilon fell into step behind the elaborate escort, and raised an eyebrow down at Agent Basrel. “This Cinaedus is… er…”

She smirked. “Tiny little thing, eh?”

“Certainly not what I expected.”

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t you study the files?”

He shrugged. “I read them, yes. End to end. Several times. But once you’ve seen one Sith, you’ve seen them all. Species doesn’t matter much once they are tainted by the Dark Side. I didn’t bother looking at their picture.”

Agent Basrel pursed her lips. “Oh, well then. You’re in for a few surprises then, I guess. I have some red tape to wrap up about finalizing the transfer, so I’ll check in later. Enjoy meeting your new Sith, Master Heilon. This one is… this one’s an interesting one.” She steepled her fingers to her chest before veering to the side and down a hall branching off of the main walkway.

Heilon shook his head at her retreating form and chuckled to himself. “Just one Sith. How interesting can they be?”

* * * * * * * *

The interrogation room was like any other. No windows and black floors, ceiling, and walls, with garish lighting and an ambient temperature just a few degrees too cool for whatever species it was trying to currently contain. A single bench in the same matte black ran the length of the back wall, just a little too narrow for an average-sized humanoid to be comfortable. On that bench the guards had placed Darth Cinaede – or Cinaedus, honestly Master Heilon still had no idea which one was the typo and which one was the actual name – and now those guards had just removed the blindfold, ear plugs, and gag. They took a step back to give Heilon some room, and he pulled up a rolling chair he had swiped from the receiving desk outside. “Greetings, Sith. I am Jedi Master Burdock Heilon. I will be functioning as your new interrogator.”

The strange amphibious Sith sitting before him flicked narrowed eyes up and down his form before breaking out into a wide smile. A gravely voice echoed his name in peppy tones. “Good morning, Jedi Master Burdock Heilon.”

Heilon smirked. “And how would you know whether it is morning or not? You have had no shred of contact with the outside world for the entire length of time you have been in custody.”

The narrowed eyes widened slowly to take up nearly half of the Sith’s face. “Oh, it’s always morning here on the Republic’s sunny and glorious capital world, the crown jewel of the galaxy, the beautiful and illustrious Coruscant. The suns never set on the grandeur of the Republic, after all.” Their voice rose into a higher, musical chirp. “Pleasure to meet you, Jedi Master Burdock Heilon, member of the Jedi Council, patron of Argent Legion. I’m Darth Cinaede. I suppose I have you to thank for having your division kidnap me in the first place.”

Heilon scoffed. “You were hardly kidnapped. You were apprehended on a botched assassination attempt, and have remained our prisoner ever since.”

“Successful.”

“What?”

Cinaede shrugged. “A successful assassination attempt. I killed my target, thank you very much. It was Senator Garrumn’s house catching on fire that was the botched attempt. I guess her constituents weren’t too happy with her either, if they were willing to resort to arson. I thought Jedi weren’t supposed to play politics, anyway. Why was a Jedi playing senator in the first place?”

A swift flick of Heilon’s hand and Cinaede flinched as though hit. He scowled and leaned forward in his chair. “That is enough out of you. I am your interrogator, not the other way around.”

He only received a lopsided grin in return. “Whatever you say, Jedi Master Burdock Heilon. You know, that’s really long. I’m gonna have to give you a nickname.”

Heilon ignored their jaunty words. “You say your name is Cinaede?” He waved over one of the guards. “Make sure we correct that in the records. There is an error regarding the name of this Sith.”

Cinaede’s head tilted to one side. “You got my name wrong? Seriously?”

Heilon again made a flick with his hand and clapped Cinaede’s mouth shut with the Force. “You appear as both Cinaede and Cinaedus in our records.”

“Mm-hmph.”

Heilon sighed and released his hold in the Force on their jaw. “What?”

“I said, that’s right.”

“…What?”

An enormous eye roll. “Cinaede is my name.” Those eyes suddenly narrowed as Cinaede’s jaw thickened and squared, and once again a gravely voice reached Heilon’s ears. “So is Cinaedus. They’re both me.”

Heilon blinked. “…Ah.” He turned to the guard and raised a finger as if to correct what he had just told her, but turned back to his prisoner instead. “Are you…”

Cin’s head tilted to the other side this time. “Seriously? Pixies of Patitite Pattuna, did I seriously get stuck with the one Jedi in the entire galaxy who’s never met an id-shifter?”

Heilon shook his head rapidly. “Of course I have, I just – ” he pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a slow breath. “Alright. So you’re an id-shifter. And obviously of one of the few species that is actually able to physically morph as well.”

“I’m lucky like that.” Cin’s bright smile returned. “And depending on which records you’re looking at, my species is called Lowen or Shaull. Look us up sometime. That’s about all the info you’ve got floating around on us. Homeworld’s labeled wrong too. Guess mucking up names runs in the fam.” They leaned back against the stark wall behind them. “I’ll make it easy on you, though, at least regarding me. You’ll know when I’m Cinaede and when I’m Cinaedus. I’m usually Cinaede, but I’m really not picky about pronouns. You can call me Cin for short regardless, it’s much easier that way. Just don’t call me Cinny. Classmates tried that when I was a wee acolyte. Didn’t work out for them. Pity, I was the only one who survived graduation that year.”

Heilon nodded as he pinched the skin between his eyes harder. “…Right.”

Cin’s smile turned into a shit-eating grin. “I am going to make your life so, so much harder, HeiHei. Can I call you HeiHei? Thanks. This is the blossoming of a beautiful friendship, HeiHei, I can tell.”

Heilon’s only response was an already-weary glance up at the guard, who he swore was trying very hard not to laugh behind her helmet.

* * * * * * * *

#star wars fanfic #star wars fanfiction #sarc writes things #sith ocs #jedi ocs #fic: opening dialogue #or at least a side fic of it #I think 'id-shifter' is a suitably starwarsy equivalent name of genderfluid #kind of like how they call hackers 'slicers' instead #coffee is 'caf' #and glass is 'transparisteel' #SPACE WORDS #WORDS IN SPACE ARE DIFFERENT #anyway this is turning out fluffier than the outline #mostly because I have a hard time writing people being mean #oh well #enjoy

[kalloway]

Is it okay if I read some of the dialogue you've put into your crossover idea. The Camarilla, Anarchs and Sabbat are going to be confused on what's going on.

Oh for sure - I wouldn’t doubt it’d cause quite a bit of chaos tbh!

And sure Anon - just know it’s nothing special - mostly just ideas I had on how I could possibly introduce Magdalene into the mix tbh 😅

I’ll provide a bit of context/commentary, cuz I do literally write *just* dialogue lmao (fair warning: it’s p lengthy):

“What you’re asking me to do is an utmost crime, Sorcerer. I refuse.”

“Even if it means becoming more powerful? Heightening your Clan’s position?”

“I don’t care about that. First and foremost, I’m loyal to the Camarilla, and Diablerie is a capital crime - irreversible.”

“Your kind is already doomed to the Netherrealm. Why bother upholding such a masquerade?”

“Because I don’t see myself as a monster, and I don’t forget where I came from.”

(This is an isolated idea between Magdalene and possibly Shang Tsung, after the latter finds out about the concept of Diablerie - possibly from the Sabbat, but also possibly previous knowledge from the Moroi?)

“If what you’re suggesting is true, then we’ll need to take this to HQ. Can you be present tomorrow morning to meet?”

“That’s not possible. I’m a night person - I only conduct business after sundown.”

(Whispers to the other) “…telling you - vampire.”

“Very well. Tomorrow evening then?”

“Sure. But let’s keep it brief, alright? I can’t stay away for too long.”

(Just a goofy bit where one of the Kombat Kids (as I’ve heard Cassie, Jaqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin referred to), or maybe just another soldier in general, is super convinced she’s a ‘classic’ vampire, but no one else is buying it)

“Woah, woah! There’s not supposed to be civilians here!”

“What are you doing here?”

(Magdalene): “Investigating.” (She glances at their uniforms) “What’re the Special Forces doing in a dump like this?”

“Investigating. You really shouldn’t be here-“

“My superior begs to differ. This matter is of the utmost importance, and he’s sent me to look into it on his behalf. I’m not leaving.”

“Do you know anything about this incident then?”

“…not much. Probably about as much as you do: It’s a strange series of events leading up to this by some unknown and unseen party.”

“I’d call this a bit more than strange.”

“Whatever you call it, it’s a problem - obviously for the both of us. The sooner we find out what happened, the better.”

“You’re going to help us?”

“And you’re going to help me. If we’re after the same answers, why not make this whole situation mutually beneficial?”

“Well, we don’t really know anything about you. Plus, this is SF business, we can’t really release much information. Classified, you know.”

“My name is Magdalene Brandeis. You don’t know me or my superiors, but we’re on the same side for the moment.”

“‘For the moment’?”

“I have no say in their choices. Kinda what happens when you join in at a bad time.”

(i’m not really sure how I wanna write Mags, so she kinda jumps between super formal and more casual here - it’s her encountering the Kombat Kids while investigating an extremely suspicious incident that resulted in a lot of strange deaths in the building/area - definitely Sabbat work. Imo they grow much bolder after the turn of events leading to the news of new realms.)

“Hey Cass, I did some looking into that woman we were with at the scene of that incident, and got something really weird.”

“What do you mean ‘weird’? The whole thing was way outta wack.”

“Yeah but this is… weirder. I did a search on the name she gave and eventually got a match on a Missing Person’s report from over in Santa Monica, but… That Magdalene woman’s been missing for well over a decade now.”

“What? No way… what do you think it means?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I should bring it up to General Blade or not regarding the incident. She didn’t seem like she was involved in it at all.”

“She definitely seemed like she didn’t want to be seen there… like she was keeping a low profile. Maybe she was involved?”

“But she gave us that insight on those other incidents that match this one.”

“Probably ‘cause she knows about them. How would we know if she was involved? But it fits the alibi.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it Cass - a woman that’s been missing and presumed dead for over ten years, suddenly shows up at the scene of one of the most horrific crimes in recent history, then starts talking about other similar instances we’d missed going back a few years? She’s definitely in on it.”

“But we have no evidence she’s an enemy-“

“And nothing to prove she’s an ally either, besides her word. Can you trust someone like that?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“I say we report it anyway. At worst, it’s a bad hunch, but at best we possibly nab the person responsible - or one of their lackeys, anyway.”

(I wanted a bit that touched on Mags’ prior involvement in VTMB, so this is just a small call-back to that)

“How did you get in here?”

“Through the front door, actually. I have information you might be interested in, General.”

“And why would we trust someone who waltzes into a military facility like they own the damn place?”

“Because if my superiors found out where I was and what I was going to say, I’d be dead ten times over by now.”

“…who’s your superior?”

“Let’s call them a Council, for simplicity’s sake. They keep a tight leash on their kind, but I’m not… exactly a normal case. Now do you want to hear what I have to say or not? I don’t have all night.”

“Why come at night?”

“It’s quiet at night. I prefer it.”

“Hm. So long as it’s relevant, we could use any help we could get.”

“What causes these incidents - these murders - isn’t like you or I, but something much more primal.”

“An animal?”

“A beast with a superiority complex, honestly.”

“And you think we’d believe that?”

“What else have you encountered could do something like that?”

“I could name a few things…”

“I believe it’s the work of the Sabbat.”

“…the what?”

“The Sabbat. I’ve been informed you’ve heard the term before-“

“Yeah, and it’s strictly SF information only. How’d you hear about it?”

“Everyone knows about it, where I come from. They’re a persistent problem that’s grown wildly out of hand, in recent nights. Do you know what the Sabbat are?”

“We deduce they’re a gang going around murdering innocent people with no rhyme or reason as to why they’re doing it.”

“Hmmm… not bad, not bad. But there IS a reason, and the rhyme may be… disturbing to you.”

“If you know what’s causing the murders and taking our attention away from other more stressing concerns, then by law you’re obligated to inform us.”

“The Sabbat, in essence, strive to be everything you are not: Inhuman. They reject the basic code we all as a society follow, for the most part. They’re arrogant, have no regard for life, and see themselves as higher beings than you. The Sabbat are dangerous, and we’ve been trying to keep them in check for years. Ever since we all found out about the other realms after that incident years ago, we’ve been unable to get a handle on them.”

“…so you’re saying you’ve let them get out of hand?”

“No. The Sabbat are like cockroaches - you can’t seem to ever get rid of them entirely. They’ve never been this persistent or problematic since Los Angeles.”

“What happened in Los Angeles?”

“…nothing worth noting, to you.”

“I-“

“All I’m here to do, is inform you that these are not people. They are not reasonable, and they will kill every single person - human or not - that gets in their way.”

“So what are they, exactly, if they’re not human?”

(I’m not sure I really like this idea, but it was involving Magdalene going out of the way to try and p much stop these guys (Special Forces) from just waltzing to their dooms while also investigating the Sabbat instances. I liked the idea of them being aware of the name, but not aware of what they are. I never decided how to finish that up though, hence the dead-end here)

“The fact that we may very well be able to ascertain our own origins is an interesting premise, don’t you think? Poetic, even. We’ve spent so long in the dark, only to realize it was only *this* realm that held us back.”

(I typed this up after Beckett was mentioned in a previous ask - idk if it’s something he would say, but it’s a line of dialogue I kind of like so 🤷‍♀️)

Aaand that’s all I got, for now Anon! 

Sorry it’s not much - it takes me a long time to sorta piece ideas together or some up with a *coherent* plot of any sort 😂 (it’s why my in-progress fanfic is taking… so long….)

i’m juggling so many AU ideas rn, it’s not even funny. Idk how you writer types ever stay organized or on top of ur fics in reasonable order… I just wing it every time and hope for the best, ngl ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

#anon ask #reply #i.... don’t tag names on who’s talking often and I apologize for that #a lot of the times I do that when I don’t actually know or haven’t decided who’s saying what (besides the POV character) #so I guess as long as u know which lines are Magdalene’s then u should be okay? #i’m v rusty with this stuff so I apologize again #speaking of that other fic tho.... I gotta sit down and try to get Chaoter 12 rewritten and oublished soon #i hate oromising i’m not leaving it ghen vanishing again without a word #and I always feel guilty if I’m *not* working on it... which sucks when ur like me and go thru drawing/writing ohases #they v rarely overlap tbh #BUT I DIGRESS #hopefully yhis is okay tho! And i hope i didn’t... misread ur ask #it’s like 2:30am but I’d already opened the email and didn’t wanna forget about it lmao

[cursedstrayct]

The tour. Taeyong

Pairing: Graffiti artist!Taeyong with Gender neutral reader

Warnings: Escaping home, some swearing here and there

Words: 2850

Author notes: Ohmygawd this is so long sorryyyehruifgheiru. Aight so I might have used way too much graffiti lingo stuff in this but i’m not sure, feel free to ask anything if you don’t understand. Also all the cities mentioned here are in the list of the 99 most popular cities for graffiti so yeah, no printer just fax. Last but not least: this story was so much fun to write because there’s a lot of stuff in this that actually happened to me so yeah, it’s like little snipets of my and some of my friends lives :)

Tomorrow it was your 23rd birthday and also the 8th anniversary since you left home. Your gang was at the billboard you usually hanged out, holding a cupcake with a candle on it. You thought about what you could wish but honestly right now everything was fine, your friends were there and your brother was also at the “party”. You were able to enjoy a pretty happy life.

Usually people told you your future was going to be dark, that you would have nothing and art wouldn’t take you anywhere, of course you never listened to them and you kept forming your path. Yeah maybe you lost your first family, but you found a new one in the streets, the other artists you had met across the years became your new siblings and most of the things you know now were thanks to them. It was like a family of 5 siblings and no responsible adult to watch over you even though all of you were technically adults.

Right now you were happy.

After a while, the group of people you were with were just talking while they were waiting for the night to arrive so you could go to an underground dance battle all of you were invited to. You started to think why you left your parent’s house in the first place, you were just a kid but apparently not you or your parents saw that, so seeing that you already couldn’t be fixed from your less than common aspirations in life on your 15th birthday you just left the city without any notice except for a note. You heard that your parents looked out for you for a couple of months but they got tired of looking, according to your brother, the only relative who you still keep contact with.

“They miss you, y’know?”

Your brother said in a shy tone, trying to bring the sensitive topic to surface.

“Please tell me you didn’t cross all the country just to tell me that”

You answered sharply, it wasn’t something you loved to hear to be honest. It always went the same way, your parents missed you but you didn’t and that made another year of you not going back home.

“Just wanted to tell you how things are back in Chicago”

“Tell them that things in San Francisco are good”

You checked your phone and it was 11:37, and because you were going by foot, it was probably a good time to leave to the pier were the dance battle was.

You always loved going to those battles, even though you couldn’t dance for shit, there was a lot else to do, like freestyle battles, graffiti sessions and overall there was a bunch of new people to meet.

You guys arrived at about 12:30 to the pier and everything was already set up, obviously. The music was playing and the colored lights gave a different feeling to the place. Some people were warming up while others were just sharing a cig. It was like another world, happiness and relevance took another meaning here and it almost felt like time stopped, you were at your element right now.

You grabbed some paint cans and checked one of your sketches, you didn’t really care it was night time, your phone lantern could help out a bit. After a couple of minutes some more people joined you were you were, but you could only concentrate in the sounds of the can and the sea behind you, maybe it was a bit dangerous being at the breakwaters of the pier but you thought that just for this day the tide wasn’t that high.

About two hours passed when it was only you and another guy who you couldn’t really recognise at the breakwaters. You saw him before with a couple of cans in his hand but apparently this guy stayed just to look at the waves and listen to the music of the battle.

“Don’t you think we should leave?”

You said in a loose tone with a can still in your hand. The waves were indeed getting taller and taller and maybe it was for the best to go with the rest, you didn’t wanted for your birthday to finish in the tragedy of you and another dude drowning.

“I think you still have a couple of minutes to keep working”

The guy was also lingering a bit, even though you thought it was a smart consideration.

“Are you watching over the waves?”

You were chuckling a bit, you’ve never seen this guy before and you were curious about him, he looked like he didn’t had much friends with him right now.

“I thought it was weird you guys were working near the sea at this hour so I thought someone should be watching”

“You’re not from here right?”

“Nope”

With this comment you imagined he was probably a pretty nervous guy who overthought everything, probably a hopeless perfectionist.

“You alone right now?”

“The guy I’m traveling with is at the battle”

You sat down next to him and both of your feet were dangling, following the pace of the waves.

“Don’t you want to go check them out? I think the rappers already stopped their thing.”

“Oh yeah sure, by the way I’m Taeyong”

“I’m ___, so you said you were traveling huh?”

“Ah yes,  I’m actually from Seoul but I’ve been doing this thing with a friend that we call ‘the graffiti tour’ it’s basically us going around the world going to cities were it seems nice to leave some tags.”

You were surprised about this, you could think of about a 100 cities that would be worth the visit and a bunch of 20 year olds weren’t the first type of people that popped to your head that could afford that much traveling.

“We actually arrived from San Diego yesterday, It’s our first stop in the states -he continued- We still don’t know how we’re getting to Los Angeles yet but we’ll figure”

“I’m actually leaving in about a week to LA with some friends, I can get you a ride if you want.”

You now knew what their way of moving was, they just took a plane to get to a part of a continent and the rest was just them moving on their own, you were so familiar with this type of thing that you couldn’t help but to feel almost pity for them.

“That’d be awesome”

His smile looked sincere and… pretty; unusual if you had to say another thing.

The both of you went up to where the battle was to check up on Taeyong’s friend, and like 30 seconds after you got on the superior part of the pier, you saw a wave hit the place you were just in. You noticed Taeyong saw that as well, he looked with wide eyes probably contemplating how much of a coincidence was the fact that he didn’t just got crushed against the rocks in who knows how much kilometers per hour. You shot him a nervous smile and he did the same.

A short guy approached you two and bumped Taeyong on his arm in a friendly way. His smile was as bright as his ears thanks to his piercings, you thought that was what an elf would look like. He said something in Korean that you couldn’t understand for obvious reasons but you did hear you name in the phrase though.

“Hey this is Ten, he’s actually Thai” Taeyong said with a big smile in his face, he looked like he was showing off a new toy.

The three of you talked for a couple of minutes about various things, apparently Taeyong was a dancer too and a very good one according to Ten. People started to move to the circle where the battle would take place and you took the both guys by their wrist to lead them, you were so curious to see them perform, you were giggling like a child.

The mc and the judges stood in the middle and gave a few words, including mentioning your birthday. One of the judges that was a close friend to you gave you a small gift that you decided to leave for later. Taeyong looked at you with a surprised face, almost as if he had forgotten your birthday, ignoring the fact he just met you.

“It’s your birthday?!”

“Well yeah, like as of 1 hour ago”

You chuckled a bit with bright eyes, it was like you involuntarily got the bubbly part of your personality thanks to Taeyong.

The last cyphers were finishing off and everyone was having a seizure thanks to Ten, he was crazy good and you were pretty sure you saw your judge friend shedding a tear. You encouraged Taeyong to go in, at first he got shy because he didn’t knew anyone but Ten talked him into it.

Taeyong was standing in the middle like a deer on headlights with his eyes fixed on the floor. The track wasn’t starting and people were looking at him weird because nobody knew who he was. Finally the music started after someone kicked the speaker, Taeyong started easy with some footwork but you could see that he was getting more relaxed as time passed, he just had a bit of stage fright but his overflowing confidence won over. You thought someone who was so sure about his skills had such a hard time opening up about them.

Eventually the battle finished with Ten taking the second place to a new kid who was probably made of rubber and Taeyong getting kicked out at the fourth round.

You changed phones with Taeyong to keep him posted about the LA trip and left to your house with your friends.

“Actually do you know any place where we could stay?”

Ten approached you, apparently the lady where they had rented had bailed them last minute and so far, it looked like they would have to sleep for a week on the street.

“Can we take take the pretty tourists back home?”

“Take it as my birthday present, the one on the left is going to be my Christmas present”

“We can understand english”

“OH”

You finally arrived to your dorm at around 5:30 in the morning, you gave the invitees a bunch of pillows and blankets and made gave them some instructions of the house, what things were of who and how the bathroom works, etc.

You guys woke up and two of your roommates were preparing breakfast, there was soft music playing and Ten was taking a shower. You saw Taeyong cleaning his space a bit frantically, leaving everything in an order that looked very planned, you saw him and smiled a bit.

“How did you sleep?”

“Ah ___, I slept well and you?”

He answered hurriedly, as if he was waiting for someone to ask them that.

“Like a baby”

“Did you wake up in the middle of the night crying because you were hungry and with pooped pants?”

“Whatever makes you happy”

Most of the mornings went by like that, the 7 of you having breakfast with the sun creeping in the window while you and your friends bombarded Taeyong and Ten with questions, questions that with the days got more and more personal, going from how’s life in Korea to what is up with Taeyong and bacteria.

Taeyong was a pretty fun person to hang out with. One day you went out to tag some walls and as you expected, seeing him paint gave you a lot more information of him. What he thought of the world, how he liked to do his stuff, that was always something that mesmerized you.

“Ah dammit, I lost some of my cans at the battle”

He said with annoyance in his voice while he looked for something in his backpack.

“Chill, we’re sharing”

He took a deep breath and proceeded to check up what you had in your backpack.

He was a helpless perfectionist, but he was very optimistic with the world, he was such a bright person. You talked about the sweet and the sour, his family back in Korea, your rocky relationship with your parents, your childhood years, how you got into the underground scene.  You never thought you could get this close to a person you met some days ago. Taeyong was one of those people that felt like you’ve known them for forever.

The day that you were leaving to LA had arrived and you started to prepare your stuff while you shared some conversation with Taeyong. Everything was pretty chill until one of your friends entered the dorm completely out of breath with an expression as if they had just seen a corpse.

“____ you need to get out of the city or you’re going to jail”

“WHAT?”

“Apparently one of your murals you did on the pier was found by a cop and it apart from being a literal vandal act, some residue fell to the sea and you got the Sanfran sanitary department coming for your ass”

“What do you mean residue? I arrived with everything here and I saw everyone taking their shit”

You noticed Taeyong’s face going pale as paper, he couldn’t move and it looked like he was trying to say something but the shock wasn’t letting him.

“It’s my fault”

He said it almost unintelligible, he probably left his cans somewhere that night and when you two started talking he just forgot.

“Dude we can’t afford an international legal thing”

When Ten stated the obvious Taeyong shot him a look that could break stuff while everyone entered in a slight state of panic because either you were going to jail or Taeyong was getting deported or some shit.

“We have to leave right now let’s go, I’ll call my brother to buy us some time until we have the money to pay the fine or something or to justify I was out of the city and none of us did anything”

You said as you grabbed your backpack and the car keys, fortunately everyone was moving fast. You weren’t sure if a 6 hour car ride at night was the best idea but it was certainly the most convenient.

When you were already two hours in the trip, the only awaken people inside the car were you and Taeyong, he took shotgun because he felt he had to calm you down since all this mess was his fault according to him. To your relief, a couple of minutes later your brother called back to tell you that incase you had to pay a fine he had you covered so you had to pay him and not the government and the charges were somehow lifted from you, you were finally breathing calmly

“____ there’s just one thing”

“What thing?”

“Our parents found out”

“What? Why?”

“They didn’t have in mind that their child would get in trouble with the cops!”

“I fucking escaped from their house! What else were they expecting? That was what they always thought that would happen to me, that I was going to be a delinquent, escaping from everything for the rest of my life, what’s the fucking news?”

“I don’t know maybe they had like a secret hope or something, I don’t care, you better talk to them in LA”

Then your brother hanged up and silence conquered the car. You just wanted to cry.

“Do you want me to drive?”

Taeyong said in a small voice, he was looking at you shyly.

“I’m okay thanks.”

Anyone kilometres away could notice you weren’t with your shaky voice and red eyes.

“I didn’t knew you escaped your home”

“It’s been 10 years since I’ve seen them and my brother was getting worried and shit and I thought maybe it was a good idea to rub in their faces that I’ve been doing fine but apparently they are going to see this and it will go the other way around.”

You pulled over because your view was getting way too cloudy.

“You’re an adult now, they probably understand that, and I’m sure they won’t rub one mistake on your face after 10 years of a clear record”

“I’m just scared, it’s been so long”

Taeyong took your hand to try to calm you and looked at you in the eyes, he tried to say something but again, nothing came out.

You started laughing while tears kept rolling along your skin.

“I’m so stupid, I shouldn't've ever done this”

“I mean, you’ve had fun the last ten years right?

You kinda just looked at him while he was still holding your hand, and a thick awkward silence formed and you both chuckled.

“You should hit the road, we still have a long way to go”

Taeyong said in a slightly teasing manner, you just chuckled and then bumped him playfully on his arm.

“What the hell do you know, you’ve never been here”

#taeyong #lee taeyong #taeyong fluff #nct fluff #nct fanfic #nct 127 #au