#i was reading about alice last night wondering if it would be relevent again at some point | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

therealvinelle · 3 years

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I've always wondered this, but what do you think the Cullen's political viewpoints would be, given their individual backgrounds? if vampires don't change after they turn, then surely they would all be extremely racist (especially Jasper). would this not come up at some point? they aren't like the Volturi because the Volturi are too old to care, but the Cullens are young enough that they have been brought up with opinions on stuff like sexism, racism, homophobia and the like.

Oh fuck.

You get an early answer because otherwise I'll just chicken out and delete this one, pretend I never saw it.

UMMM.

Since I'm guessing you meant American political viewpoints, we need a disclaimer. I am not American, and not too knowledgeable about your politics. Not just in the sense that I don't follow the day-to-day drama, but as I am not an American citizen there are several things I don't know, can't know because I've never lived in your country and therefore can't know what the effects of living in a country ruled by American policies is like. What I do know is based off of the news in the foreign section, social media (by which I mean tumblr posts), and Trevor Noah's Daily Show.

I am an outsider looking in.

Which is really rather appropriate, since the Cullens are too.

The Cullens go to high school and college, Carlisle works, they pay taxes, they own real estate, and submerge themselves in American culture. Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Bella are young enough that this is in many ways their world, and apart from timeouts they've more or less spent their entire lives, human and vampire, integrated into American society.

Not fully integrated, mind you, they do what they need to to fit in and get to school or, in Carlisle’s case, to work. They go no further. No extra-curriculars for the kids, no book clubs for Esme, no game nights for Carlisle. They walk parallel to humans, not among us.

In addition to this they're obscenely rich, which puts them another thousand miles from the experiences of your average American. They won't deal with the health system, which means healthcare is a non-issue, they're not going to need welfare or other social programs, unemployment is another non-issue. Name your issue, and the Cullens don't have personal stake in it. Even the climate crisis won't be a problem for them the way it will for us.

What I'm trying to say is, American political issues are a concept to them, not a lived reality. Just like they are for me. So hey, you made a great choice of blog to ask.

I'll also add here that you say the Volturi are too old to care, and I agree- from an ancient's point of view, racism is a matter of "which ethnicity are we hating today?", and it all looks rather arbitrary after a while. Same with every other issue - after a while it all just blends together into "what are the humans fighting over today? Which Christian denomination is the correct one? Huh. Good for them, I guess."

I can't put it any better than this post did, really. The Volturi are real people, humans are nerds and tumblr having Loki discourse. Aro thinks it's delightful and knows entirely too much about Watergate (and let's be real, Loki discourse as well), but the point I wanted to get at is that politics really don't matter to vampires.

And I don't think they matter to the Cullens either.

So, moving on to the next point while regretting I didn't put headlines in this post, I'll just state that I don't think vampires' minds are frozen. Their brains are unable to develop further, and they can never forget anything, but... well, this isn't the post for that, but in order for this to be true of vampires they would barely be sentient. They would not be able to process new impressions, to learn new things, nor to have an independent thought process. Yes, we see vampires in-universe (namely, Edward, who romanticizes himself and vampires) believe they're frozen and can never change, but there is no indication that this is a widespread belief, or even true. Quite the contrary - Carlisle went from a preacher's son who wanted to burn all the demons to living in Demon Capital for decades and then becoming a doctor and making a whole family of demons. Clearly, the guy has had a change in attitude over the years. Jasper, in his years as a newborn army general, slowly grew disenchanted with his life and developed depression. James initially meant to kill Victoria and hunted her across the earth, then became fascinated and changed his mind about it.

Had these people been incapable of change, Carlisle would still be hating demons, Jasper would be in Maria's army, and James would still be hunting Victoria.

It goes to follow, then, that they are able to adapt to new things.

The question is, would they?

Here I finally answer your question.

So, we have these people who don't really have any kind of stake in politics, who keep up to date all the same (or are forcibly kept up to date because high school) and are generally opinionated people.

Where do they then fall, politically?

(And this is where you might want to stop reading, anon, because I'm about to eviscerate these people.)

Alice votes for whoever's gonna win. She also makes a fortune off of betting each election. Trump's 1 to 10 victory in 2016 was a great day to be Alice. MAGA!

The actual policies involved are completely irrelevant, she does this because it's fun. Election means she gets to throw parties. Color coded parties for the Republican and Democratic primaries, and US-themed parties for Election Night! (Foreigner moment right here: I at first wrote "Election wake" before realizing that's not what y'all murricans call it.)

Alice loves politics. Doesn't know the issues, but she sure loves politics.

Bella votes Democrat. She actually knows about the issues, and cares about them. This girl is a Democrat through and through.

Carlisle doesn't vote. I can't imagine it feels right. Outside of faked papers he's not a US citizen, this is meddling in human affairs that he knows don't concern him.

More, this guy has never lived in a democracy.

In life, Carlisle lived under an absolute monarchy that, upon civil war, became an absolute theocracy. From there he learned that vampires live under a total dictatorship.

For the first 150 years of his life, democracy was that funky thing the Athenians did in history books thousands of years ago, no more relevant to him than the Ancient Egyptian monarchy is to me. Then the Americans, and later other European countries started doing this.

Good for them.

There's this mistake often made by those who view history from a... for lack of a better term, a solipsistic standpoint. A belief that the present day is the culmination of all of history. “My society is the best society, the most reasonable society; all the others had it backwards. Thank god we’re living in this enlightened age!”

The faith in our current system of government is one such belief. We (pardon me if this doesn’t apply to everybody reading this post) have grown up in democracies, being told this is the ultimate form of rule, and perhaps that is true - but remember the kings who have told their subjects they had were divine and the best possible ruler based on that. Remember also that most modern democracies haven’t actually been democracies for very long at all, America is the longest standing at some 230 years (not long at all in the grand scope of things) and they have a fracturing two-party system to show for it.

Every society, ever, has been told they’re the greatest, and their system of government the most just. Democracy is only the latest hit.

This is relevant to Carlisle because he’s immortal and decidedly not modern. Democracy has not been installed in him the way it was the rest of the Cullens, Jasper included. To him- well, it’s just not his world. He has no stakes in our human politics, and as he is older than every current democracy and has seen quite a few of them fall, he’s not going to internalize the democratic form of rule the way a modern human has.

I think the concept of voting is foreign to him.

It requires a level of participation in human society that he’s simply not at. He does the bare minimum to appear human so he do the work he loves, but nothing more, and I find that telling.

As it is I think he'd be iffy about his family doing it. He won’t stop them, but in voting they’re... well it’s kind of cheating. They’re not really citizens, none of this will affect them, and by voting they’re drowning out the votes of real human voters. He does not approve.

Edward votes Democrat. He's... well he’s the kind of guy who will oil a girl’s bedroom window so he can more easily watch her sleep without being discovered, justifying it to himself as being okay because if she were to tell him to get lost he’d stop immediately. Same guy is so sure that he’d leave and never return again if she wanted him to, except this is the man who returned to Forks to hang around his singer, knowing there was a significant chance he might kill her. To say nothing of his Madonna/Whore complex, or of the fact that he tried to pimp out his wife twice, and was willing to forcibly abort her child.

This guy is very much in love with chivalry, with being an enlightened and feminist man who supports and respects women, while not understanding the entire point of feminism, which is female liberation.

He votes Democrat because he’s such an enlightened feminist who cares about women’s rights.

Emmett doesn’t care to vote, but if he has to he votes Republican. The guy is from the 1930′s, and has major would-be-the-uncle-who-cracks-racist-jokes-if-he-was-older vibes.

Esme doesn’t vote, that would require getting out of the house.

More, I just... can’t see it. I can’t see her being one to read up on politics and The Issues, period, but if she has to then I doubt she’d be able to decide.

Jasper doesn’t vote. Alice can have her fun, he does not care.

There’s also the whole can of worms regarding the last time he went to bat for American politics.

I imagine he stays out of this.

Renesmée doesn't vote. She has no stock in the human affairs. Who would she vote for, on what grounds? When Bella tries to pull her to the urns, she points out that she's three years old.

Rosalie, guys, I’m sorry, but that girl is definitely gonna vote Republican. Perhaps not right now as it’s become the Trump party of insanity, but the Mitt Romney type of Republicans? Oh yes.

And for the record, yes I imagine she does vote. To step back from politics would be another way she was relinquishing her humanity, and that’s not allowed to happen. So, yes, she goes to the urns, less for the sake of the politics involved and more because like this, she’s still a part of society in some way.

Now, onto why I think she’s Republican, I think it’s both fiscal and social.

This girl was the daughter of a banker who somehow profited off of the Depression, and who then became part of a family with no material needs that would soon become billionaires thanks to Alice. Poverty to Rosalie is a non-issue, as it is I imagine she views it as a much lesser issue than what she’s had to deal with. The humans can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, Rosalie’s infertility is forever.

Rosalie’s empathy is strongest when she’s able to project onto others, and she won’t be able to project onto the less fortunate at all.

Then there’s the fact that the Republican party is all about traditional family values, and pro-life.

Rosalie, a woman from the 1930′s who idolizes her human life and who‘d love nothing more than to get to live out this fantasy, is down for that. And as of Breaking Dawn she’s vocally pro-life, so there’s that.

This all being said I don’t think Rosalie cares to sit down and fully understand these politics she’s voting for, the possible impact they’ll have- that’s not important. What’s important is what voting does for her.

TL;DR: I bet anon regrets asking.

#long post #twilight #twilight vampires #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #politics #history #twilight history #carlisle cullen #alice cullen #bella swan #renesmée cullen #jasper hale #rosalie hale #emmett cullen

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creaturefreature · 3 years

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so I finished playing chapter 2 of deltarune the other day, but i wanted to wait a couple days to post my thoughts so i’d have a little more time to think about it. so here they are, spoilers below the cut

-aight first of all is it just me or was ralsei acting incredibly suspicious throughout the whole chapter? i don’t know he just seemed wayyy more calm about everything. i hope i’m just reading to much into things because i am not ready to be betrayed by the fluffy boy

-the mechanic of ‘recruiting’ darkners to the town was such a cool idea. i’m looking forward to seeing more characters joining and just chilling there in future chapters

-it’s nice that we got confirmation that the king does care about lancer to a certain extent even though he’s still a horrible guy

-i’m so glad seam returned in this chapter to stay in the castle town even if they only got a small role. that said i’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to see Jevil again but I was kind of expecting that would be the case anyway

-the cyber aesthetic is cool and all but i definitely prefer the chess/playing cards feel the first chapter had going for it instead. i’ll miss the alice in wonderland-esque vibes it had

-i absolutely love the queen and think she’s a really entertaining antagonist. she had so much funny dialogue and an awesome battle theme to boot. her design kinda reminds me of a mix between spade king and a xenomorph

-i found the puzzles to be a little more difficult than the last chapter especially the traffic jam puzzles cause it was hard to get the timing right (especially because i’m not used to using the keyboard controls)

-the music!!! absolutely!!! slaps!!! i’d even go as far as to say it was better than chapter 1’s soundtrack. if i had to choose a favourite it would probably be either ‘attack of the killer queen’ or ‘big shot’

-berdly was cool and i ended up liking him a lot more than i probably should have. he had a surprisingly sympathetic backstory and i found it funny how he’s just basically an incel gamer version of falco. i wonder if more of kris’s classmates with join us in the dark world in future chapters

-speaking of which did anyone else notice how the doors in the queen’s mansion had the names of kris’s classmates and asriel on them? how the heck does she know about them?

-rouxls finally got his own battle! nice to see lesser dad get more screentime in this chapter and nice to see the thrash machine return also. i find it neat how the game remembers your choices from chapter 1 and makes them relevant in chap 2

-i love how when the queen gets recruited to castle town the first thing she does is immediately adopt lancer. looks like he’s got 3 parental figures now

-the ending scene where susie meets toriel and they bake a pie and she invites her to stay the night is so wholesome. an interesting note is how susie seems reluctant to call her parents. maybe she doesn’t have a great relationship with them? it would explain a lot

-the cliffhanger at the end was insane, arguably even crazier than chapter one’s cliffhanger. i doubt kris is the Knight, but the fact that they’re able to create dark fountains means they definitely have some sort of connection to them

-overall i really really enjoyed it! i can’t tell if i preferred it over chapter one but either way i’m looking forward to what the future chapters hold. i just hope Toby Fox doesn’t rush himself and takes all the time he needs - he’s given us so much and the guy deserves a break

#ace’s post #deltarune #deltarune spoilers #deltarune chapter 2 spoilers

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swanqueeneverafter · 4 years

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The Once & Future Queen Pt.4

Camelot. Present. Night. (The guards light fires in grates all over the city. A Dorocha sweeps past some candles in the Physician’s Chambers and blows out some of them. Knights patrol the streets with torches. Sir Bedivere lags behind when he sees/hears something. He walks over to some barrels and finds three small children huddling behind them.) Sir Bedivere: “Hey, hey, hey. It’s all right. It’s all right, you’re safe now. (Bedivere hears the Dorocha and checks to see the knights walking in the distance. He leaves the torch and runs through the street with the children in his arms. A Dorocha streaks right for them and Xena jumps out with a torch just in time. Gabrielle takes one of the kids and they bring them to their parents inside a house. To Xena:) Thanks.” Xena: “Couldn’t let you have all the fun, could I?” (They grin at each other.)

Storybrooke. Library. (Will and Alice play chess while Robin and Belle read through several books.) Alice: (Taking Will's knight:) "Check. Do you know after all those games we played while I was in the tower, you never once beat me?" Will: (Making his move:) "Did you know I never tried?" Alice: (Indignant:) "Come on!" Will: "Well, I might’ve tried a little." Alice: "Uh huh." Will: "Just set the board up again. (Will rises out of his chair and walks over to Robin:) She's really something, all right. If Wicked Witches are your type, which I get. You're still together, then?” Robin: “That is not relevant.” Will: “Hey, no judgments here, mate. It’s not like she made a fool out of you, just that other version of you.” Robin: (Sighs:) “I just want Zelena to be happy, even if she thinks... Wait!” (Robin pulls out a book, hopeful of finding something.) Will: (Pulling out a book of his own, surprised by the pop-up pictures when he opens it:) “Whoa!” Robin: “1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL repair manual. (Puts the book back, deflated:) All due respect, I'm beginning to think your magic-library theory might be a tad off. Any book we want is hardly gonna be stacked beside... (Takes out another book:) ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ Why would a cat want a hat?” Will: “I've seen stranger.” (Robin walks over to Belle who has several books stacked high.) Robin: “What are you working on, Belle?” Belle: (Looking up from a book:) "What? Oh, I just received a message not long ago from Camelot. Apparently there were spirit sightings from one of their villages and in the lower town. According to this text, last night was Samhain’s Eve." Robin: "So?" Belle: “So, it is said that on the stroke of midnight of Samhain’s Eve, is when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. The appearance of those spirits cannot be a coincidence.” Robin: “You think the barrier between our world and the spirit world has been broken? How can that be?” Belle: “I’m not sure. But if someone has torn the veil between the worlds, then God help us all.”

Swan-Mills House. (Regina is sitting in the garden staring at family photos when Henry joins her.) Henry: “Hey. Well, you will be happy to know that things with Ella went pretty well.” (Regina smiles, putting the photos aside.) Regina: “I guess we'll just have to see where that goes, won't we? Keep me in the loop, I'm pretty good with advice.” Henry: (Joining her on the bench:) “And how are you with precocious little girls?” Regina: “Your sister went down about an hour ago.” Henry: “Good. So, uh, what are you looking at?” Regina: “Oh, just some photographs your grandmother dropped off. They’re from Emma’s birthday.” (Hands them to Henry.) Henry: “Oh, great. (Looking through them:) This reminds me that I have to convince either Snow or David to buy a smartphone.” Regina: “Don’t you dare. Pearl’s Presto Photo Shop is barely still in business as it is.” Henry: “Hm. I’m glad Emma was here with us for her birthday.” Regina: (Nods:) “She’s spent far too many of them alone.” Henry: “You know, I don’t thank you enough for my childhood. Being born in prison, if you hadn’t adopted me, I would’ve grown up in the same system as Emma. Thank you, Mom.” Regina: (Smiles:) “You’re welcome. I just hope wherever your mother is, she finds her way back to us before her next birthday.” Enchanted Forest. Past. (Sitting by the campfire, Emma is lost in her thoughts while Mulan and Tiger Lily discuss Tinker Bell and their chances of returning home.) Tiger Lily: "Tink's progress is encouraging. She's come such a long way in a short amount of time." Mulan: "Won't that be a little suspicious if she's advancing quicker than the other fairies?" Tiger Lily: "I've thought of that. I've told Tinker Bell not to be tempted to show off her skills. Blue is already down on her for rule breaking so Tink must be careful." Emma: "No." (Mulan and Tiger Lily turn to Emma.) Tiger Lily: "I'm sorry?" Emma: "Being careful never lead anyone in history to greatness." Mulan: "So what are you saying?" Emma: "I'm saying that I miss my family and I want to go home. (Turns to look at them with a glint in her eye:) But before that, I see no problem with testing Tink's skills fully and at the same time giving Regina a birthday she's not soon to forget."

Camelot. Present. Council Chambers. Morning. (Villagers crowd into Camelot with the belongings they can carry. Guinevere discusses the refugee villagers with Lancelot, Belle and Agravaine.) Lancelot: “They’re coming from across the kingdom. They’re looking to Camelot for protection.” Guinevere: “And we will give it to them.” Agravaine: “We cannot house them all.” Guinevere: “We have to try.” Agravaine: “How? We cannot live like this forever, Your Majesty. We must find a way to vanquish these creatures. We’ve suffered fifty dead, maybe more. Mainly in the Lower Town.” Guinevere: “And there’s no way of fighting them?” Lancelot: “No, our only weapons are torches. And the light doesn’t kill them, it only repels them.” Guinevere: “What are they?” Belle: “They’re Dorocha, Your Majesty. The spirits of the dead. On Samhain’s Eve in the time of the Old Religion, the High Priestesses would perform a blood sacrifice and release them.” Agravaine: “But who’d do such a thing now?” Lancelot: “Morgana.” Guinevere: “You see her hand in this?” Lancelot: (Shrugs:) “We know she was travelling to the Isle of the Blessed.” Guinevere: (To Belle:) “How do we defeat these creatures?” Belle: “I don’t know, Your Majesty. No mortal has ever survived their touch.” Lancelot: “Somewhere in all your books, Belle, there must be something. All I’m asking for is a way to fight them.” Belle: “I fear the Dorocha cannot be defeated by swords and arrows. If I’m right, and the veil between the worlds is torn, then there’s only one path open to us. To travel to the Isle of the Blessed and repair it.” Lancelot: “And how do I do that?” Belle: “I’m not sure. But for the tear to be created would’ve required a blood sacrifice. To seal will require another.” Lancelot: (Nods:) “We ride before nightfall.” (The others are surprised.) Agravaine: “And who will be the sacrifice?” Lancelot: “If laying down my life will spare the people of Camelot, then that is what I must do.”

Forest. (Agravaine rides through the woods. Arriving at a hovel, he dismounts his horse and enters without knocking.) Hovel. (Looking around he sees no one, but the place is clearly being occupied. Suddenly a dagger is held to his back.) Agravaine: “My lady?” Morgana: “My lord. (Agravaine sighs, relieved:) I trust you bring me good news. (She lowers the dagger and walks further into her home:) Tell me.” Agravaine: “The kingdom is on its knees.” Morgana: “How terrible.” Agravaine: (Chuckles:) “Indeed.” Morgana: “What of the poor people?” Agravaine: “More fall every night.” Morgana: “Such a shame.” Agravaine: “You should know that Lancelot intends to vanquish these creatures.” Morgana: (Scoffs:) “Impossible.” Agravaine: “He makes ready to go to the Isle of the Blessed as we speak. If the Dorocha don’t kill him on the way, our brave little lamb intends to sacrifice himself to repair the veil. (Morgana thinks it over and turns away:) Something’s troubling you. Morgana?” Morgana: “Something the Cailleach said. She spoke of someone called Merlin. Called him my doom.” Agravaine: “Your doom? What did she mean?” Morgana: “I don’t know.” Agravaine: “Morgana, we should be celebrating. Lancelot will be dead within the week, Guinevere will be inconsolable, leaving the throne open for Camelot’s rightful heir.” (Morgana smirks.)

Enchanted Forest. Past. Palace. (The courtiers are gathered to celebrate Queen Regina's birthday. Notably absent from his wife's big day, King Leopold's throne is occupied by his daughter, Snow White. As was the case for her previous birthday, Regina is disappointed to learn that most of the gifts on the large table are not addressed to her, but rather the King's daughter.) Snow White: (Beaming to a courtier:) "Thank you, so much. (To the room at large:) And thank you all for making this day, so special." (Snow basks in the applause while Regina remains seated, barely able to keep her forced smile upon her face. As the applause dies down however, the sound of drums can be heard from the streets below. At the blare of trumpets, Snow, Regina and several courtiers make their way over to the large balcony. Marching to the beat and clad in green and gold tunics, the drummers are followed by dozens of women dressed in beautiful violet dresses. Glancing at her step-mother, Snow White gauges the genuine surprise upon Regina’s face then returns her attention to the parade.)

(It's an explosion of colour, music and excitement as the parade continues. There's dancing, singing and exotic animals on display, all gathered to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Regina begins moving to the beat while Snow looks on aghast. The menagerie of animals draws several audible gasps as well as 'oohs' and 'ahhs' of wonderment. Mirroring the ostriches stampeding through the streets, Snow White turns and runs from the room, unnoticed by all but Regina, causing a genuine smile to cross her lips for the first time that day. After the monkeys, lions and elephants raise the crowd's enthusiasm into a frenzy, numerous explosions cause a shower of gold and glitter to flutter down onto the people below. Finally, a large scroll unfurls with huge lettering to deliver one unmistakable message...)

Happy Birthday, Regina.

(Standing amongst the applauding crowd, Emma stares up at Regina, having not taken her eyes off the Queen since she emerged onto the balcony, to watch her brilliant smile.) Emma: (As Regina wipes a tear from her eye:) "Happy Birthday, Babe."

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

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towine · 6 years

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hello there! if you're still taking prompts, could I request some soumegu? ^^ I still love that first soulmate fic you did! as for the request, i'd love to see pretty much anything in your lovely style, but maybe I could request some megu obliviousness while souma is obviously interested in her? it'd be an interesting reversal of what usually happens in fics. anyways, I hope you have a wonderful day! c:

hello! oh my goodness, you are so sweet, thank you so much ;v; what impeccable timing you have, yesterday i was just thinking about how i wanted to write soumegu again. i hope this is at least vaguely close to what you were looking for! it’s set late in their second year and disregards the current canon in terms of elite ten and stuff, though i don’t think it’s super relevant in this fic. i hope you enjoy it!

In her mind, Megumi refers to it as simply the dress.

A gift from a recent shopping trip with Erina, the ever present Hisako, and Alice in an upscale shopping district that Megumi has never set foot in before in her life. According to Alice the situation was “dire” and required immediate action, as the Annual Tootsuki Spring Gala was quickly approaching and the current Elite Ten were required to attend—and Megumi had nothing to wear.

She’s grateful, truly, to her friends for buying her such an extravagant gift. She was content with the simpler dresses available, though the price tags still nearly gave her a heart attack. She would never be able to afford clothes like these on her own, and it was only through so much insistence on their part that she chose this one.

Wearing it now, Megumi is glad she listened to their advice. She would have been terribly underdressed if she went with any of the other dresses hanging in her closet. Her pale blue, borderline seafoam green tulle skirt swishes in a manner reminiscent of the dresses she dreamed of wearing as a child, flipping through stories of love and princesses. The bodice is ornately decorated with beads and lace into intricate flower patterns that curl over her chest and shoulders, while the back plunges well below her shoulder blades. Megumi did more than a few twirls in the mirror after putting it on. She couldn’t help it.

“Megumi-san,” Hisako says, looking over her with emotion welling in her eyes. “Looking at you, for some reason I feel like a parent giving away the bride at a wedding.”

“Please, Hisako-san,” Megumi giggles, blushing. “You look beautiful yourself, you know.”

“But Megumi-chan, you are truly the star of tonight.” Alice’s own golden dress shimmers beneath the chandelier lights as she speaks, a mischievous hand over her mouth. “And in such a scandalous dress, too, oh my.”

“S-Scandalous? Is it because of the back?” It’s hardly the most revealing dress Megumi has seen tonight, though it is definitely something new for her. She’s not used to her back and neck feeling so open, especially since she’s pinned her hair up.

“Stop making her nervous,” Erina says. “Alice is exaggerating, of course.”

“She means it’s different,” Hisako clarifies with a smile. “You should be confident, Megumi-san.”

Alice nods. “You’ll definitely be catching a lot of eyes tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sure that isn’t true.” Standing next to these three, certainly Megumi pales in comparison.

Besides, the last thing she wants is to draw a lot of attention to herself. Fancy gatherings like this always make her nervous about accidentally committing some kind of social faux pas, or tripping over her feet. All she wants is to get through tonight in one piece.

Though it is kind of nice dressing up. Erina even let her borrow some of her jewelry, pearls glittering at Megumi’s ears and neck. This must be what it feels like to be a princess.

“Tadokoro?” a voice behind her says.

She blinks, turning around.

A smile blooms across her face when she realizes who it is. “Souma-kun, you’re here!”

“You’ve finally made your appearance.” Erina raises an eyebrow.

Souma admits sheepishly, “Ah, I had something before this that dragged on a little long.”

He wears a fitted, burgundy tuxedo and a cream-colored dress shirt, a black bow tie at his neck. Megumi’s never seen him in such formal clothing before, and she can tell by the way he shuffles his feet and tugs at his collar that he must be as unused to this as she is.

He keeps glancing at her as he makes small talk with the others. Megumi tilts her head in confusion. Did she spill something on herself? Surely one of the other girls would have told her if she did, and a quick look at her front shows her that no, there isn’t anything there.

Alice seems to notice something in the crowd, and she says loudly, “Oh, I think I spot my parents. Come say hello, Erina.” She tugs at Erina’s arm, then Hisako’s. “You too, Hishoko.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” Hisako protests. “And I don’t think my presence is required—”

Alice is already tugging them along, and for a brief second Megumi thinks she sees a scheming glint in her eye. When it comes to Alice, it’s usually better not to ask.

Now it’s just her and Souma.

She turns to him with a smile. “Do you want to get some air?” she asks, gesturing towards the balcony. “I think I could use some.”

Smiling back, Souma says, “Sure.”

Standing out on the balcony like this takes her back to their conversation from long ago, back at Polar Star. It feels like a lifetime ago, and it awes her to think of how different their circumstances are now. This balcony is considerably larger and more ornate than the one in their dorm, with a handful of other gala guests mingling around as Megumi and Souma lean against the marble balustrade.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these things,” she says, resting her cheek against her hand. “I never really anticipated these types of responsibilities as an Elite Ten.”

“Me neither.” Souma laughs. “I kind of feel like a kid playing dress up.”

“But you wear it really well!”

“Aw, no way—”

“It’s true! I like the color. Much more interesting than the usual black and white.”

“You think so?” Souma tugs the edge of the jacket to smooth it out.

Megumi nods firmly. “You made a good choice.”

He grins. “Thanks. You look really nice, too, Tadokoro.”

She can’t help the blush that rushes up her face. “Really?” Looking down at herself, she watches the way the fabric of her dress sways a little with the evening breeze. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to wear something like this. It’s kind of nice.” She does a little spin, giggling at the way the skirt twirls, beads sparkling.

When she looks at Souma, his eyes are a little wide, staring at her. She feels concern when she sees the sudden flush on his cheeks. “Souma-kun? You okay?”

“Uh, yes,” he stammers, coughing into his hand. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” She steps closer, tilting her head as she examines his face. He seems to be turning redder, which can’t be a good sign.

“I’m just a little tired from a long day.”

“Maybe you should head home early, then.” It’s a habit of his to overwork himself without realizing it. It really makes her worry, sometimes. “Rest is important, Souma-kun. You’re allowed to skip events if you’re not feeling well.

“I promise I’m fine,” Souma reassures her. “And anyway, if I skipped out on this, I would have missed seeing you all dressed up.”

Megumi really blushes then, waving her hands in front of her. “O-Oh no, there’s far better dressed people here tonight than m-me—”

“But I mean it.”

Souma catches his eye on something and reaches a hand out. Megumi’s breath stalls in her chest. She watches as he touches the silk ribbon dangling from her hair, letting it slide through his fingers.

He says, “You really do look beautiful.”

Her heart thumps, loud enough that surely Souma can hear it. Staring up at him, she can’t find the words to say, and he is still looking at her with the faintest blush on his cheeks.

“Yukihira-san?”

Their gaze breaks. A staff member stands at the entrance of the balcony.

“One of the alumni requests to speak with you,” he says. “Something about an exhibition next month.”

“Ah, that’s kind of important,” Souma says regretfully. He turns to Megumi. “I’ll be back, okay? But feel free to walk around, I’ll find you.”

“O-Okay,” she says, still a little dizzy from what just happened.

Once Souma leaves, the strength suddenly disappears from her legs, and she holds onto the balustrade as she tries to will her heartbeat back to a normal rate. What on earth was that about? Maybe Souma really has overworked himself, and it has him acting strangely.

Yes, that’s probably it. Megumi gazes out into the night sky and absently touches the ribbon again, her fingers tracing over where Souma’s just did.

Peeking through the heavy curtains that cover the windows looking into the balcony, Alice and Erina watch the events transpire with rapturous interest, Erina flushed and wide-eyed like she gets when reading shoujo manga, while Alice all but squeals with each infatuated look on Souma’s face. When he walks away, they audibly voice their disappointment.

Beside them, Hisako only sighs.

#shokugeki no soma #food wars #soumegu #filled #caiwrites #anonymous

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idealisticrealism · 6 years

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Blindspot 3x04 recap

Aka ‘You probably should have just watched 3x03 again, Laura’

Okay, clearly I don’t do well with deadlines. Despite having 2 weeks to do it, I’m still doing this last minute, so it’s gonna be a fairly short one. Not to mention that this wasn’t exactly my favourite episode, so I may have fewer thoughts about it than others... but there’s definitely a few thoughts I do wanna share, so here goes.

At first I thought that little girl was Alice but then realised all the many reasons why that made no sense. Instead we get introduced to a bomber guy who is clearly gonna be relevant to the ep despite just seemingly blowing himself up...

Oooh Jane came out with the truth about Roman calling her. Nice, honey. I’m proud of your openness. I wonder if Weller noticed she was acting weird last night, since it’s morning now? Also dude she gave him yet another perfect opening to tell her about Berlin and he didn’t take it!!!! Literally no matter what happened in Berlin, his staying silent about it is bad enough in itself. Dude you are setting yourself up for a big fall here!

Naww I love that Zapata is always checking in on Patterson. Ugh, these sisters. And instead of forcing her to take a break, like all the others would have tried to do, she just asks how she can help. I just love these two. I love that Zapata helps her see things from a different angle and gives her a plan to follow. Poor Patterson is so determined to make it up to Stuart and she needs all the help she can get

God I love Hirst’s accent. But dude what is happening with this scene. How have she and Reade been on such close terms that they had a bet that involved potentially shaving her head?? That’s the kind of thing you agree on whilst drunk. Have these two gotten drunk together?? What is going on. Also she legit takes the ugly jumper thing and agrees to wear it to a meeting?? At work, at the FBI?? With executive people?? That just feels very unlikely. Also dude she basically just said ‘hey Reade if you’ve done any shady shit make sure it’s buried deep because we’re gonna have people looking into us’. Wow.

Anyway my lil genius has cracked a tatt, which relates to the bomber guy we just saw before. Lol the guy’s ex wife nailed him by recognising his handwriting and tipping off the cops. You go, girl. Now though Patterson’s smarts they’ve found a van in some particular car park in Brooklyn, and lol Weller’s doing the bombsquad thing for some unknown reason. All that’s in the van is a letter though-- to the bomber’s daughter, from the bomber. He’s not really dead. Dun dun dunnnnnnn (lol get it bc his last name is Dunn haha)

Oh boy we’re actually seeing the wedding video. I don’t know whether to roll my eyes or melt into a puddle, but tbh I’m a little more leaning towards the eye rolling. I like that Zapata and Reade are doing theirs together, because I imagine they were both like ‘you go first, no you go first, no you go I don’t know what to say’ so they just went in together. And lol ‘what do you even do in Colorado’ (right tho??) and ugh they’re so looking forward to being part of Jeller’s future and Reade even tells them he loves them (sidenote I like his earrings) and they say ‘don’t screw this up’ which kinda just hurts to hear because man did they screw it up real bad. Also Patterson ‘videobombing’ is the best lol. But I wanna know what happens in between the cuts! Where’s the director’s cut of this vid? haha

Lol Zapata giving Weller shit about the bombsquad thing (right tho????) and then also giving Jane shit, saying that she was surprised she didn’t squeeze into the suit and go with him. Ugh Zapata is so great this season already, can she just be like this forever? I’m still confused about Hirst’s ugly sweater sitch and why this is even being included. Is it to show her bond with Reade/the team? To show she’s a good sport?? Why Gero what are you trying to sayyy. Also they found the bomber’s daughter (who has had some trouble with the law herself) and they’re gonna bring her in to try find the bomber or whatever

Roman is looking dapper and heads into some fancy event as his new Tom persona. And then he meets Blake, the gorgeous hostess of the event, and who was also another former ‘LA Complex’ character-- fun fact she played the long-lost sister of Jonathan Patrick Moore’s character, so technically her and Roman’s siblings kind of dated. Ish. But ugh he’s being all cute and charming and weirdly Australian and she’s clearly liking it. She has such a great smile, it lights up her whole face. Aaaand the moment she walks away he’s off doing something sneaky, bc of course he is.

The bomber’s daughter is being recalcitrant, naturally. Goes with the territory. Weller and Reade are interrogating together which is nice, I like my good boys playing together. Glad to see Weller isn’t being such a butt. Anyway turns out her dad doesn’t drop the letters himself but has someone do it for him, and there’s an emergency signal for if she needs help. So they go to the park and they’re so cute all loitering about ‘undercover’. And I like that Jane can tell from across the park that Weller isn’t happy with the situation. Naww, so married. Based on Weller’s gut they all move out, looking for the drop guy. Of course it’s Jane that spots him-- and does he spot the daughter, or Jane?? I can’t tell which he’s looking at. She loses him momentarily and then next thing he’s got a gun on her-- only he recognises her, his tone surprised but not hostile when he says ‘Remi?’ So they knew each other in the Sandstorm days?? He’s definitely not pleased to see her working with the cops though…

Oh boy. Now Weller is on the wedding vid and okay it’s pretty damn cute. And ugh he said the thing about her being his starting point AND end point and ughhh how many of us included a line like that in our fics?? But ugh he loves her so muuuch and he’s so emotional and amazed and happy to be marrying her ugh

Okay after that brief interlude we’re back to the suspect guy. What has this guy been in? I recognise him. And he seems to actually like Remi/Jane, which is why I think she is able to get the jump on him. I always love Jane being a badass. I wanna know what happens right after this tho-- like does she radio/call the team and be like ‘hey guys come to the house across the street I’ve incapacitated our suspect’ and Weller is all like ‘are you okay?????’ while the Reade is hoping that she managed to do it without drawing attention or injuring him too badly, and Zapata’s just miffed bc she didn’t get to kick any butt lol. Back at the lab Patterson fills them in-- he’s a dude that’s wanted in like seven countries for “like, all of the crimes” hahahaha. I love the way she said that. Zapata’s kinda impressed with him since according to the CIA he’s the go-to guy for forged documents. Then Reade sends Jeller in to do the interrogation and tbh I’m kinda getting used to Reade giving the orders. It’s pretty much like hearing Weller’s voice come out of his mouth lol. And then aw their suspect is kinda sad that Jane doesn’t remember him, bc he was like an uncle to her? And then omg he says “that summer, in Kalispell, up on Flathead lake” and dude I was literally just there in July??? My friend has friends like an hour from Kalispell and we all went rafting together at Flathead. Yayyy Montana. I love when slightly more obscure places I’ve been get mentioned haha. Jane tries to get him back on track and he just keeps reminiscing. Clearly he knew them when they were pretty young-- he says he did her adoption, so however old they were when Shepherd took them in I guess? Sounds like he wasn’t a huge fan of Shepherd tho which I approve of haha. Too bad he won’t tell them anything about the bomber guy.

Again Patterson and Zapata are having one of their little vibing moments and they realise the suspect must have had a ‘go bag’ somewhere. And Zapata being the kickass FBI and CIA trained badass that she is, realises that it’s hidden in the seat of his car. Lol she even uses the CIA lingo. And then omg Patterson just whips out a butterfly knife from her pocket?? Lord that is so damn cool. I wish I could be cool like her and carry one of those around but alas carrying knives is illegal in my country. Ugh then they find his stuff and high five over it and I just love them so much

Hirst is arguing with some bigwig guy who wants to take away their suspect bc of his other crimes and ugh I could listen to her talk all day. I’m proud of her for saying ‘you all’ and not ‘y’all’ to him haha. Lol Weller tries to tell the dude he can’t take them and errrr Weller I think he’s a little above you on the foodchain, buddy. Anyway Patterson calls them into the lab-- they stuff they found includes a coded ‘black book’ of his transactions. I love that she calls Zapata ‘00Z’ haha. And then they figure out from the cypher thing that the bomber is in Ithaca, bc Patterson is a genius, of course

Uh oh. They’ve arrived at the place in Ithaca and the local fuzz are all over it instead of keeping the perimeter-- they apparently found a bomb which has also supposedly already been disarmed. Well that was quick. Also omg the guy calls Tasha darling and her face is all ‘bitch please’ and Weller shoots her a look like ‘please don’t kill him, please don’t kill him’ lol. And Reade puts a hand out to settle her lol. They get in and it’s a pretty basic bomb, then as the dudes go to lift it Weller realises it’s a decoy and yells for everyone to get out-- and good thing it’s a room with a lot of exits bc Weller and the main cop go through one, Zapata pushes another cop through another, and Reade and Jane go through another. Not sure about the last cop, but he’s probably fine bc ~magic~

Oh now it’s Jane’s turn for the vid. And omg she immediately makes a sex/dirtytalk joke??? Wow girl, you’re really opening up, aren’t you? But ugh she never thought she would have this and she’s so emotional about it and she’s like halfway through a sentence when Weller walks in?? And I know this should be adorable and all but I’m kinda mad about it? Like he already had his chance to share everything he felt without being interrupted, but now whatever she was gonna say is lost bc he felt that he was entitled to butt in?? And then she jokes that he thought she’d run away and he said he’d never let that happen bc he’d ‘never let her out of his sight’ which tbh I do not like??? Firstly it hurts bc she DOES leave, but also it feels kinda weird and possessive and like a ‘you will never be free of me’ kinda thing? Feels more stifling than romantic. But whatevs just gonna let that one slide right on past

Back at the bomb house, Weller is immediately searching for Jane, and belatedly remembering to check on everyone else haha. Zapata emerges, lookin kinda fine with all those soot stains, then a cop stumbles past and Reade stands up. Assuming the other cop who was saved by Zapata gets out fine, then that just leaves Jane. Who is unmoving on the floor, and ugh Weller’s voice gets all small and wobbly and he’s all ‘no, no’ and goddammit writers can you not? Then she miraculously regains consciousness under his touch and he cups her face in his hands as she tells him she’s okay and then he hugs her to his chest and nope I do not need this in my life please stop

Why do these guys all look so great covered in dirt and soot?? They’re back to the NYO with the news that their bomber guy has a bunch of bomb stuff (surprise!) and is likely planning an attack. They split up and Weller finds Jane in the locker room icing her bruised ribs, and he knows right away that it’s not the injury that’s bothering her-- it’s Roman. Nice hubby senses, Weller. Ooh interesting she says that she doesn't care about her past bc she finds nothing but pain in it, which makes me feel like this Rossi guy is going to reveal something big and kinda positive to her about her past. And then ugh she says that right now, them, is what she cares about and ughhhh why they gotta be so cute? Tho again I take issue with Weller-- this time with calling her perfect. Jane knows she’s not perfect, so why not say that he loves her as she is, imperfections and all? But whatevs. He promises her a lifetime full of perfect moments though and okay that’s pretty sweet with the heart eyes and the hand kissing and ugh he loves her so much and yet he’s STILL lying about Berlin and I haaaaate it

Oooh we’re back at Roman’s charity event. And ugh Blake is so cute and she’s a good auctioneer and she auctions off a little bracelet and she clearly knows the little girl who made it quite well, and cared about her particularly, I think? And her jokes are so sweet and I love that she gets them to start bidding and then bam here’s ‘Tom’ with a $20,000 bid and says that he ‘likes wishes’ so cutely and omg the way she’s looking at him rn is just so-- Oh no I ship it. Why do I ship this I mean it’s like a terrible idea but wow I do. Oh noooooooooo

Patterson called Zapata to the lab even though their tests re the bomber are still ‘marinating’, because she wants to talk to her about Operation Cuttlefish (aka their investigation into Stuart’s murder) and lol she tries to give a nerdy explanation of cuttlefish’s camouflage ability but Zapata is like ‘good lord just show me’ lol. Turns out a bunch of things have been meddled with and now they both wonder whether there could be another leak in their taskforce. Man, this office is leakier than a damn sieve….

What, Hirst even made a video entry? Really? Ok, I guess. I do love listening to her talk. And lol she says ‘y’all’ this time. Patterson again videobombs with shots and also to inform everyone that she met a guy named Jonathan Walker Blue and that they’re in love and I was literally about to make a comment about how that’s a weird name and that I wanted to hear more about this guy, when I suddenly realised that I’m an idiot and she was referring to Johnnie Walker Blue. The whiskey. Lord that went right over my head the first time haha. Then Hirst goes on to say that they’re an amazing team and even though they’re gonna have hard times, they’ll lean on each other. “To the good times and the bad, may love rule mightily over both” and lbr that’s totally gonna be a theme for the season (and the show as a whole) isn’t it

So they’ve discovered that the bomber is planning to bomb a university in the city within the next hour, and while they were about to waste a lot of time evacuating all the campuses, Patterson discovers that the colours on the materials that the bomber had on his workbench were the same as the colours for the metro university so he must have been making an ID badge for there, giving them their target. And lol Weller is giving all the orders and then is just like ‘okay you heard the boss’ (meaning Reade) and it’s like well I think we all know who is really running the show here…

Aaaaahhh Blake comes to deliver the bracelet personally to Tom bc she has the epic hots for him and omg THIS FLIRTING IS SO FREAKIN SMOOTH I CAN’T. And then she gets all earnest and is trying to ~understand~ him (because she liiiiiiiiiikes him) and ugh they move in closer and there’s more flirting and then he tells her about Tom’s backstory of fighting in Afghanistan and inheriting money from a friend who died and wanting to use it for a good cause and oh god she’s falling like a rock for him and I DIG IT. FOR STUPID MASOCHISTIC REASONS. Seriously gimme more of this, Gero. (Ship name: Take?? Blam?? lol). And then ugh he asks her how the wish bracelet works and then when she explains he ties it on HER wrist and tells her she deserves the wish more than he does and I’m????? So into this???? Which is ridiculous bc it’s all a total lie but damn it’s just so cute and she’s basically swooning and then she offers to buy him a drink and they joke about the open bar and ughhhhhhhhh why. Why must I want this. And then he says he can’t because (sadly) he has a plane to catch and ughhh I’m bummed about it. But then again, the old ‘leave em wanting more’ thing does have merit, so maybe we’ll see…. Oh aaaaand he’s tracking her with a GPS he planted in the bracelet bc the whole thing was a ruse. Of course. Dammit, Roman, why you gotta crush all my dreams

Back at the lab, Patterson realises that Roman gave them the clue to crack the bomber’s manifesto, because all the older manifestos use the same code. Also literally how was anyone meant to crack that code without that very random and specific picture?? But eh. So now they know that the bomb is under the medical building at the university and man that’s just mean. You know how hard it is to evacuate a hospital??? That crap takes forever. But anyway damn Zapata and Reade are looking like a really badass team rn. Zapata gets slammed into the wall by the bomber guy (rude) but Reade shoots him just before he can shoot her. Phew. Unfortunately now this means that Jane and Weller are disarming the bomb on their own….

Lol it’s finally time for drunk!Patterson to get to have her say on the video, and of course she mentions D&D. Apparently Jane is an elf paladin and Weller is a dwarf monk. What’s the bet that Ashley herself chose those characters? I kinda wanna look up their abilities and characteristics now. And ugh she just loves them and believes they can do anything and she’s just the sweetestttttt

And now Jeller have 80 seconds to disarm the bomb, which has an anti tamper device which requires them to work as a perfect team in order not to set it off haha. Symbolism, symbolism everywhere. Also lol Weller, saying ‘steady’ over and over doesn’t really help buddy. And then they pull each of their wires (as advised by Patterson, bc no one would get through anything without her) at the exact same time, staring at each other as the timer hits zero. Sidenote but anyone here used to watch Castle?? Can’t help but think of the scene in S3 where Caskett hold hands in front of the bomb and then Castle disarms it by yanking out all the wires. Anyway, different OTP, different time. Then Jane is giving Weller a look and tells him that disarming the bomb with him was kinda hot and he pulls her into his arms and lol they’re getting off on this and Patterson is like ‘Mom! Dad! Stop, I can hear you!’ hahaha. But they don’t care bc they’re already making out haha.

Ooooh the fancy schmancy dude from the other organisation is back to tell them that Rossi escaped from his custody, which they’re all pissed at him for, bc now they have to help fix his screw up. But I only care about Patterson not-very-subtly pulling Zapata away from the bullpen mouthing ‘CUTTLEFISH’ lol. And lolll Zapata's like ‘god I’m the only adult in this place’ haha. Patterson has discovered that the anonymous tip from their last case (the one from Karen about the train crash, I assume, not Rich’s sneaky fake tip lol) was wrongfully marked as low priority on the database-- so someone in the FBI is doing this tampering? Idk I don’t think I’m following along very well lol

Ugh I’m actually mad at Weller for fast forwarding through Patterson’s message on their wedding video??? Like clearly he’s watched it before (probably many times, whilst drunk, and always laughing bitterly at the part where he tells her he won’t let her out of his sight, and ouch I made myself sad) but Jane clearly hasn’t seen it since she asks how long it goes on for. And then they basically ignore the rest of what Patterson’s saying anyway in favour of having a little chit chat. Sigh so rude. It is cute though how Jane is teasing Weller about not ever saying lovely things like in the video. And dude clearly I am wired a little bit oddly but for the split second when he moved fast I almost thought he was going to hit her, which makes no sense at all and once that tiny fraction of a second passed I was like ‘aww he’s playing around with her and being cute and silly, how adorable’ and then I’m sure he was gonna say some more sweet things and then demand apology kisses, but instead suddenly there’s Roman on the screen. And mmmmmm isn’t it symbolic that the two of them, having been all tangled up in each other, suddenly separate when Roman appears?? I see what you did there, Gero. But okay I literally cannot get over Roman’s little decorating effort. Like I know this is supposed to be a grim moment but I am almost wheezing over his lil fairy lights and flowers and handwritten sign?? He could have just appeared in front of a blank wall but nope he is just that Extra. I love him. Not cool of him to tell Jane she’s broken and tell Weller that their relationship is built on lies, though. But omg he literally toasts them with what I assume is champagne and lol this is hilarious. Err, I mean, it’s terrible, sorry Jeller….

Oooh Zapata wants to hang with Reade for drinks but he tells her he’s already home-- only for her to see him a moment later with fancy schmancy dude from before, and immediately gets all suspicious. My head says we’re supposed to suspect there’s dirty dealings going on but my heart says ‘gay love affair’. Though lbr there could be some dirty dealings involved in that, too lol

A mysterious envelope has been slipped under the Jeller's door. And Jane, seasoned FBI consultant and ninja warrior, just goes right ahead and picks it up with her bare hands. Really? No thought for fingerprints or anthrax or anything? Fine, whatevs. But hold up, it’s from Rossi, about some secret that he thinks she deserves to know. Weller comes over just as she pulls out some birth records-- and BAM, turns out Rossi organised the adoption not of Remi and Roman, but of Remi’s daughter, 18 years ago. Ohhhhhhh boy. I feel like Gero is actually literally Oprah rn-- you get a daughter! And YOU get a daughter! Daughters for everybody!!!! And as legitimately terrible as this plot decision is, I hate it somewhat less given that Weller’s spawn also exists. I mean, at least instead of just one of them having a child outside the relationship, then now both do, which balances things out a bit? I literally can’t believe I even am in the situation of having to write that sentence but this is where we are now. This is what you did to me, Gero. Ugh.

Well. Interested to see tonight’s ep. Here’s some spoilers you might not have caught yet: Reade’s estranged twin, Duane, comes demanding that Reade donate him his kidney or he’ll die; Zapata falls into a brief coma after a rollerblading accident and awakens only able to speak German; Patterson turns out to be a chihuahua piloting a very convincing android; and Hirst admits that she is actually Canadian and not from the South at all, eh. Can’t wait!

#Blindspot #Blindspot recap #Jeller #*sighs eternally*#That Blam tho

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idontlikesummer · 7 years

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Japan 2017 Trip 1.2 (?)

Yeah, it’s fast, haha. But I had to rush back to Japan because of a family event at the tail-end of July. Buying a plane ticket for a trip the next day is literally the most spontaneous thing I’ve done in my life. This 6-day trip is a lot less exciting than the previous one because we’re not technically there on holiday, but it was still somewhat of an experience. I traveled with my family this time—mainly my brother and mom, since my dad couldn’t make it to Tokyo with us. I won’t be including as much details here as my previous trip, since it really was a rushed trip! But if you’re still interested in some undiscovered parts of Tokyo and my ramblings on childhood, feel free to read on!

This is my first time taking a transit flight! We went on Thai airways for the first time! Stopped at the Bangkok for an hour, hehe.

We sat near the window seat! I was really nervous at first since I’m really bad at enduring turbulence, but this was hands down the BEST ride I ever had. Forget about the turbulence, the plane didn’t even SHAKE. Regardless, my anxiety just wouldn’t allow me a night’s rest, so I didn’t sleep for one night!

I also ate garlic pork rice in the morning! It was really good! The first time I ate in a plane for ten years, I think. After touching down, we rushed to Ueno to take the shinkansen to Sakudaira station, where my paternal family lives.

We always take Asama line to my family’s hometown. It used to be a white bullet train with blue and red lines, but now they changed it to gold and blue ;w;. My brother and I were lamenting since the colours we associated with our childhood is gone.

To those interested, this is how the old train looks!

Chicken bentou at the Ueno station! It seems to be a very child friendly bentou.

View of the countryside where my paternal family stays! It rained a lot the few days we were there, so in spite of it being summer, the weather was very cool and pleasant. There was also a lot of fog! We used to play by a river near this area as kids, but it seems that there are a lot of plants creeping around the area this time and it’s hard to reach the river, so I couldn’t really get a picture of it. I feel a bit wistful and poignant staring at this scenery, since I haven’t been here for years. I hope I can come back more often from now on. It really is a very lovely village.

More pictures! I was fascinated by this signpost because it seems that a lot of people living in this village have the same surname as the words on the post.

Apparently, my aunt told me I was named after this flower! It was in full bloom when we arrived

Some really NICE dinner at the event. Most of the food here was sashimi! We ate sashimi for three straight days

There was a slug in the bathroom HAHA. It didn’t really move so I didn’t mind it much.

We went back to Sakudaira station soon after three days. These boxes of tomatoes were relevant to my interests! One whole box only costs 80 yen which is REALLY cheap!! They are really big too, just in case you’re wondering!

So we took the train all the way back to Tokyo again! And we docked at Shimo-Ochiai station, where we rented AirBnB! THIS PLACE IS SO GOOD. Would highly recommend if you’re staying in Tokyo! It’s a two-storey house with really homey décor! And the host (who is really friendly and professional!) lets you pick one of three rooms. We decided to pick the Japanese style room on the third floor! You can find the link to the AirBnB here!

This is how it looks! You can exit the doors on the right to go to the balcony!

The kitchen and dining area! We sat here to have supper every day while we were in Tokyo!

I caught a sticker of Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin on the door!!

Naturally, since Shimo-ochiai was a stop away from Takadanobaba, I decided to drag my family to the polar bear’s café!! They are having a different sale right now. It seems that they are having a panda fair atm!

Now they have calendar coasters!

When I found out that they were selling a limited edition cappuccino with coffee art of panda disguising himself as polar bear, of course, I had to go get it

LOOK AT HIM.

I had the salmon stew that Polar Bear made Grizzly in episode 25!! It was REALLY good!! My mom got the same thing, and my brother took the katsu dish!

Now they placed hats on the life sized penguin and panda HAHA

We went to eat at a sukiyaki restaurant with Belle!! (and no we didn’t order what was in the picture because we couldn’t finish that). It's called 木曽路 (Kisoji) and to anyone interested I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT because of the quality of its meat and its generous portions!

THE MEAT IS TO DIE FOR.

In sukiyaki, after cooking the meat, you’re supposed to dip it in raw egg. It sounds intimidating but it’s really delicious!!

VEGETABLES (that my brother refused to eat because he doesn’t eat his veges)

TOMATOES

Lok at all the vegetables sizzling in the pan. The onions were my favourite!

And they served the udon last before the dessert! It’s really quite a lot of food! But it’s all delicious so thank God that we could finish everything

I didn’t manage to get a picture of the sizzling meat in the pan so have a look at it on the restaurant menu.

THE FOOD IS REALLY GOOD. Literally everything here, especially the beef, was melt in your mouth heaven.

NEXT DAY (Harajuku and Shibuya)

We headed straight to Harajuku to eat since we left the house later than planned today. The first vegetable juice I drank in my life is Pokemon vegetable juice!

YUZU RAMEN. This is the craziest ramen I’ve ever eaten! It was not bad!! Apparently, it’s one of the more popular ramen joints in Harajuku. It was already jam packed by the time we arrived!

If you ever get the chance to eat Kakuni (braised pork) in Japan, DO IT. I promise you a slice of heaven

We went to Meiji Jingu just like last time, and we shopped a bit in GAP! Before long, we were hungry, and since my brother and mother couldn’t walk so much, we decided to go to Doutour coffee soon after shopping at GAP.

Don’t let the cheap prices of this joint fool you. Doutor coffee is everywhere in Japan and for GOOD REASON. Honestly this was the best BLACK COFFEE I’ve ever had. I think they roast their beans really well!

We went to Marion crepes after that! It's in the middle of takeshita street, so we had to walk a bit to get there. I also managed to shop at this place called good day! It sells the best clothes in the entire street in my opinion!

Life is good. A toast to marion crepes

We walked quite a bit after that! My brother went to do some shopping in Adidas, and we walked to Shibuya from there. Once again, on the way, I stopped by Alice on Wednesday, a quaint little shop which sells Alice in Wonderland merchandise! My family was really tired from the walk, so I decided to bring them to eat cow tongue rice.

It is as GOOD as ever. By the time we finished, everything in Shibuya was closing, so we had to go home after that. But the adventures of the day don’t end there!

It turns out there was a mini supermarket at the place we were staying. I got really carried away looking at their meat! I MEAN LOOK. All these are perfectly red and they only range from 200 to 800 yen!!

Their bacon and ham are to DIE for. But that’s enough excitement for the day. I bought some roasted pork to eat for breakfast the next day (but sadly I didn’t take a picture of it)!

NEXT DAY (Shibuya)

There was a melon bread shop near the shimochiai station! Apparently they specialize in melon bread with CREAM

This is a mini model of the melon bread. I’m excited already

The REAL THING. This is the best melon bread I have ever eaten HANDS DOWN. I love how you could just randomly walk around in Japan and go to a random shop, and everything you try is delicious.

I want this vending machine in my house

We decided to look around in the Tokyu Shibuya supermarket since my mom always talks about what nice food these supermarkets have. True enough, look at these omg

I REALLY WANTED TO TRY THIS

They didn’t have a price tag on these watermelons so I assume they’re not for sale. Pity!!

I am literally screeching at how fresh these prawns look

From the roof top of Tokyu!

We went to a Tempura restaurant at the top floor! I was really carried away looking at this thing while we were waiting for the food

IT WAS SO GOOD. I ate the set at the bottom! It was really refreshing and thirst quenching, since it’s cold noodles! They also used wild vegetables for the tempura (they didn’t have the typical stuff like sweet potato and pumpkins), so it was a really pleasant surprise! I didn’t know what I ate I just ate them all

I decided to eat kakuni again! I really want to try making this back at home. It’s such a good dish I’m obsessed

Immediately after we went back to the basement to have dumplings. Travelling with family is always about eating

Kimi no na wa posters outside the Tokyu building! It seems that the bluray just got released! We walked around a bit after that and visited the shops my family wanted to go. Including Loft

In the meantime I got carried away taking pictures of graffiti outside the shops lmao. Halfway through, my family decided to take a rest at Starbucks, while I went to Shibuya 109 in the meantime. They had clearance sales all throughout the building so I managed to snag some really good deals from this shop called Ingni!

Before long it was time to eat (AGAIN). If you’re ever in Shibuya Tokyu please eat at this restaurant! It’s called Maisen, and it serves tonkatsu (Fried pork cutlet). I think this is the best tonkatsu I’ve eaten all my life. Usually I only get the air-flown version of the food here, so eating it at the restaurant itself was a GREAT experience!

SO TASTY.

TOPS cake! It’s a chocolate brand in Japan that my entire family adores! I’m not one for chcocolate but even I loved this! It’s really worth a try if you’re in Tokyo! We ate this with our host, and we had a great chat!

Of course I’m a glutton so I ate extra things for dessert.

NEXT DAY (Shinjuku and Shibuya (Don’t we always go back to Shibuya?))

Arrived in Shinjuku! Apparently this shop is a Singaporean brand! Fancy seeing you here!

SHINJUKUUUUUUUU. I came through this exit about five years ago with my father! It really brings me back to the good old days tbh

Remember this guy from my previous trip? I saw this whole stash of Totoros at tokyu hands in takashimaya, so naturally I put my own totoro in the middle of them to snap a shot HAHA.

After this we went to meet up with my cousin who was in Tokyo! We travelled the day with her after that! First, we needed to eat, so we had to take the big lift up to the highest levels in Takashimaya. I had a bad experience with lifts before, so I excused myself and decided to take the escalator.

We ate tempura again! The last tempura was ice cream, if you’re interested! It wasn’t bad! But I did prefer the tempura from yesterday.

After this, we decided to look around in Shinjuku! We went to Tower Records, Don Quijote and Gap! And after a while we decided to go back to Shibuya again (lol)

Now I actually managed to get a proper shot of the Shibuya cityscape! I love this place so much.

We went to the basement of seibu to try out some food! Most of the shops close at 8pm, but the restaurants close later. We went to this Western buffet restaurant, and I took pictures of some of my more presentable salad plates. Lmao. Everything else after these three plates was just chaos.

Some of our mini-main courses!

After this we had to go back home ;w;. We said goodbye to our cousin and went back to Shimo-Ochiai! She was very nice to send us off at the platform despite holding so many things in her hands. I haven’t seen her for 8 years prior to this, so I hope we can see her soon again!

But the day hasn’t ended yet! Our host was very kind to buy us tarts on our last day! These cheese tarts are from a company called BAKE—which is apparently one of the most famous producers of cheese tarts in Japan. The quality of the tarts are REALLY good!!

FINAL DAY Departure

Nothing much to say other than us going back to Singapore! We left the house before peak hours so we didn’t manage to say goodbye to our host for that one last time ;w; The trip to Narita was mostly uneventful and I slept a little on the train..

Last meal in Japan at Narita airport! Porridge is great because I get quite airsick easily, so I can’t swallow too much oily food before a flight!

LOOK AT THE DECORATION. I love all the attention to detail tbh

Half an hour before the flight, I decided to swallow this down. It’s not bad! I wanted to save it for when I touched down in Singapore, but it seems that they don’t allow water on planes

BONUS:

This is just a little tidbit! But my grandma used to make us this thing called Matsutake gohan (it’s basically mushroom rice, but the mushroom they use is a special kind that only grows on mountains in autumn)! My aunt made this for us to bring back to Singapore so I was really happy and touched. She gave us enough to feed my family for three meals!

Also, I managed to eat the cup noodles I got from the cup noodle museum in my previous trip! Look at all the Hiyoko-chan narutos!!! I really hope they sell the original cup noodles in Singapore soon. It is my favourite flavour of Nissin cup noodles!

But yeah, that’s about it for now! This trip was really rushed so there were lots of things I didn’t take pictures of. But thanks for reading all the same!

#other stuffs #japan #food #photography #tokyo #nagano

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kor-knight · 7 years

Text

Dead with the Devil ch 8

LONGEST CHAPTER TO BOOT. Enjoy it. I’m thinking, maybe like. 2 more chapters left? Who knows.

Don’t hate me for the cliffhanger!

Ao3 Deal with the Devil chapter 8

“Elizabeth! Dinner is ready!”

Alice’s voice rang through the house, sending chills down Betty’s exposed back. Taking a deep breath and sparing one more glance in the body mirror, she cracked her door open a bit and shouted a quick “be there in a minute!” before promptly shutting the door and leaning back against it.

Tonight was prom – the prom. The one she wasn’t even going to attend, let alone fret over. But here she was, standing half naked in her bra and panties while she internally struggles about what dress she should wear.

On one hand there’s the pink one, pretty and safe by anyone’s standards. It was comfortable and easy to move in, great for the occasion on all accounts, and it made her feel confident.

But on the other hand, there was the daring black dress, strapless and silk, it hugged her curves so closely it left little to the imagination. It was completely irrational to even consider wearing that dress, considering she’d never even shown past her knees to the student body, let alone Jughead. But there was a tiny piece of her mind that was clinging to the idea, however preposterous it may seem, that Jughead might enjoy her wearing it.

Not that she should let that dictate what she wears, considering she would still have to head downstairs and convince her mother of letting her out later than curfew, but that was a battle to be won at a later time.

Sighing, Betty just shrugged her shoulders and reached for the pink dress, slipping it on easily as she sat at her vanity, applied a minimal amount of makeup and stood.

One more glance in the mirror before Betty took a deep breath, counted down from 10 and made her way downstairs.

“There you are! What took you so long-” Alice’s voice cut off, 3 pairs of eyes landing on Betty as she landed on the last step of the stairway. “Where do you think you’re going?” It wasn’t a question, not really anyway. Her voice was clipped, stance tall, hands on her hips. Betty knew better than anyone that this was an Alice Cooper specialty stance, dedicated for her mistakes or scolding small children at the conventions they went to.

Sighing, Betty stepped down onto the landing and reached for her shoes. Swiftly putting them on, she stands once more, clasping her hands together tightly behind her back. “Prom is tonight, and I was wondering if I could go.” She knew better than make it seem like a question, considering the time spent on the receiving end of Alice Cooper’s parenting style.

Her mother quirked a brow, fingers digging visibly deeper into her sides as she shifted feet. “Oh?” A few tense moments past by in an agonizingly slow pace before Alice spoke again. “With whom?”

Betty knew she should lie, come up with a reasonable male figure to spit off as her date of choice but her mind was coming up with blanks.

Kevin? No, the whole town knew he was gay. It was as scandalous as her little black dress to consider lying about him being her date.

Trev? He was a pretty chill kid, moved here a few months back. They had chemistry together and he was always smiling at her. But the “outsider” label stuck with him harshly, many older folks giving him hell for not being a “true Riverdale citizen”.

All the other “respectable” boys were either taken or opting out of attending, many of whom gave statements in the issue of the paper last week as to why. So with a final sigh, Betty gave in the her mothers scrutinizing glare and sunk her shoulders a bit.

“Jughead.” her voice was just above a whisper, mumbling to her toes.

“Speak up Betty, I didn’t raise a mouse.” Betty flinches at the sharp tone, stepping back a bit.

Inhaling deeply, she opens her mouth and exhales, looking up at her mother once more. “I’m going with Jughead.” She stated clearly, loud enough for her mother, father and sister to hear from where they sat at the table.

Alice’s features went to stone, mouth sitting in a thin line as she stayed silent. Her father looked up from his plate of food, eyes wide with disbelief, hand poised with a fork full of pasta before he dropped it back down to his plate with a clink.

“Excuse me?” His voice was deep, not nearly as cold as her mothers had been, but close. He opened his mouth again to say more but Alice swiftly placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly.

“I’ll handle this dear.” Alice looked up at Betty’s still frame, eyes narrowing as she rounded the table. Polly opened her mouth, but a quick glance from Alice sent her eyes down to the plate in front of her, back now facing Betty. As Alice approached Betty, she fought the urge to retreat away. Standing tall and squaring her shoulders, Betty waited for her mother to blow up.

“Give me one completely relevant, good reason as to why I should let you go whore yourself around with that Jones boy tonight.” Hands on her hips once more, Alice stared down at Betty.

“Who said I was going to whore around?” Betty asked incredulously. “It’s a dance mother! You know, what normal people go to? To have FUN?!” She didn’t mean to shout, but this conversation was exhausting and she was going to be late to their meetup. Prior to tonight, Jughead had sat her down and talked out the details pertaining to “the night,” - whether Jughead was going to come pick her up at home, and risk a severe verbal onslaught by the infamous Alice Cooper, or to schedule a meet up place and time so they both survived the night. They opted for the latter and came up with the idea of meeting in front of the parking lot at the school by 8pm sharp. With a quick glance over her mothers shoulder, Betty caught sight of the clock that read 7:46pm and her eyes went wide.

“I will not just let you leave this house to go parading around town with that Southside trash, ruining my good reputation along with that of the Registers!” Alice’s face was slightly red, from anger or something else, Betty couldn’t tell. Hearing her mother call Jughead names sent a flare of white through her vision though.

Trying to cool her rising anger, Betty closed her eyes and counted down from ten in her head, clenching her fists together tightly. Once she reached one on her countdown, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, opening her eyes once more.

“I don’t honestly care what happens to your reputation, mother. But I’m going tonight. And don’t even try to stop me, got it? You want the whole town to know about your crazy daughter? The one with the panic disorders and depression?!” Her voice was raised once more, but this time it was in her control. Her green eyes never wavered as she stared down her mother, shoulders squared and hands at her sides. “I’ll be back later, don’t wait up.” She stated coolly, turning on her heel and heading for the door.

“Don’t come back here tonight, you hear?” Her mother’s voice rang out behind her, more emotion in those few words than the entire conversation beforehand.

As Betty walked down the stone pathway to the Cooper house, she turned and began walking backward, a wicked smile on her lips. “Who said I was even gonna be home tonight?” She winked at her mother before turning back around and heading down the sidewalk to the school, a faint music could be heard through the quiet streets.

“I’m going Jughead, with or without you.”

Archie’s voice still bounced around Jughead’s skull, eerily deeper than normal. He was pacing his room at the Whyte Worm, tie completely forgotten as he wondered what he should do.

Tonight was Prom. He was supposed to go meet up with Betty and have a good time. He even bought a tie for gods sake!

But low and behold, Archie decided it was going to be a fantastic idea to tag along with a deal tonight. A fucking deal. One so incredibly similar to that of the one where they lost a brother in arms. Jughead’s heart was hammering in his chest as he thought back to that dreaded night. The gunshots, the screaming, the blood, the smell of burning flesh. He remembered everything, and it haunted him everyday. They shouldn’t have been there that night either, but Jughead insisted they get a front row seat at this part of the business, since they were to inherit the whole thing when they came of age.

But after that night, Jughead swore that this had to stop.

Too many Serpents died at the hands of possible buyers during gun sales. Many of whom Jughead grew up with or learned from. He spent hours arguing with his father, FP Jones, the leader of the gang, over whether they should stop the deals now or wait till Jughead takes over.

And from his knowledge, FP told the other elders there were to be a minimal amount of trades to be had in the coming years, to avoid dwindling numbers and the idea of recruiting new members.

But someone scheduled this deal, and Jughead couldn’t tell what pissed him off more – the fact that someone was going behind his back, or that Archie was stupid enough to try and attend this thing. With a sigh, he turned on his heel and head out the door, down the hall and quickly opened the door of his fathers room.

FP looked up at Jughead as he entered, feet up on the desk in front of him. “What’s up Jug?” He quirked a brow, waiting.

“Who’s scheduling deals again?” He figured it would be easier to get straight to the point, his dad never liked the idea of beating around the bush either. And from the reaction of his father, Jughead knew it wasn’t in his knowledge that a deal was being made either.

His feet flew off the table in an instant. “What did you just say?”

Jughead shifted his weight, crossing his arms. “Someone is making deals again dad. And Archie is there!”

“What the hell is he thinking?” It wasn’t a question directed at Jughead in particular, but he still shrugged his shoulder as a response. FP flung his leather jacket over his arms quickly as he strode past his son. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. Ah ah-” He reached a hand out to stop Jughead in his tracks. “Let me deal with the elders, you go get that dumbass out of there before he gets hurt, got it?” Jughead sighed, contemplating an argument before sighing with defeat and nodding. His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder, nodding. “Good luck.”

Jughead raced down the stairway to the main entrance of the Whyte Worm, bolting past the double doors instantly. As he rounded the corner, he was nearly clothes-lined by an arm leaning against the outside wall. Skidding to a halt, he opened his mouth to yell at the guy to move before realizing the arm belonged to a woman.

A dark haired woman, clad in a tight black dress and nasty looking heels turned to face him, a sly grin across her lips. “Hey handsome, forget something?” She quirked a brow and jutted her chin to his untied tie that lay around his neck, completely forgotten to Jughead.

“Sabrina, I don’t have time for this. Please just go away.” He tried to bolt past her, hoping to find a trail to where Archie’s infamous deal was being held, but her body appeared in front of his view before he could move an inch.

“Why can’t we play like before?” She purred, a hand tracing his collar bone with ease. “We had a lot of fun together, don’t you remember?”

He pulled away from her hands, taking a full step back. “Look, I said this once and I’ll say it again. We’re done. Nothing more between us. So please just move.” He tried to step around her again, but she swiftly cut his trail off once more.

“Come on Juggie,” the nickname only Betty called him rolled off her tongue with ease, sending shivers down his spine. “Play with me.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, not caring what happened anymore. Without a second thought, Jughead placed a hand on either side of her, a grin plastered on his face as he stepped forward.

Then pushed her to the side and walked past.

“What the hell?!”

“I told you Bri, I don’t have time to play right now.” He called over his shoulder.

Her next words halted his feet in their tracks though. “I can tell you where Archie is.” He spared a glance over his shoulder, eyeing her closely.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” He inquired, stance sideways in an attempt to make this conversation go by quickly.

She smiled at him once more, waltzing forward. “Cause the deal was set up through my father, duh.”

Jughead deadpanned, anger boiling in his veins quickly.

She piped up again, hand reaching out to land on his shoulder. “But before you get mad, yes, I remember that night. No I’m not trying to get anyone killed, but we’re having trouble, and the Serpents are the only gang in town still running guns.” He shrugged off her hand, putting another few feet between them. “And before you get even more brooding, I know all the details. But I didn’t know Archie was going to go. I made my dad swear there was to be no violence.”

Scoffing, Jughead turned his back to her. “We’ll see about that.”

Sighing, Sabrina sauntered past him, coming to stand beside her car. “Let’s go save the day Batman.”

Betty inhaled sharply, hands running up and down her arms to try and warm them from the chilly wind. It wasn’t a cold night, but she definitely should’ve worn a jacket or something, But she left the house in such a rush, the idea had slipped her mind completely.

Looking around once more, Betty sighed into her hands, tapping her foot on the ground below. She didn’t know how long she’d been waiting, but her fingers were too stiff to find her phone right now.

“He’s probably just running late,” she murmured to herself, letting out another wisp of breath into her palms.

“Or he stood you up.” A voice erupted behind her, deep and familiar. Betty turned and came face to face with Chuck Clayton, all star football player, team captain, and resident “good boy” among the masses. Sighing, Betty just turned back around, choosing to take the higher ground and ignore him. “You know, when I heard that the Jughead Jones had made such a fool of himself in front of the school just to ask you, Betty Cooper, out to prom. I was a bit taken aback. You see, I’ve always seen Jughead as a rival, in both women and school.” His voice was directly behind her, sending shivers down her spine that weren’t from the cold. “And when they told me he asked you to prom, I thought everyone was playing. You know, ‘the jokes on Chuck, we got you!’ sorta thing. But then I saw the video Reg took, and I just couldn’t stomach it.” His hand was on her shoulder then, sending warmth through her body at the contact, even though she didn’t want it to. He leaned down to whisper in her ear behind her, the proximity of his lips sending another wave of shivers down her spine.

“Then I found out it was all a bet. And the world makes sense again.”

The words froze her muscles, sent wave after wave of nausea through her stomach, and her heart began to hammer against her ribs. “What?” She squeaked out, voice a whisper compared to his.

“I said, “he spoke a little louder, a group forming around them now as he egged her on, “that the only reason Jughead Jones asked you to prom, Betty Cooper, was because he was in it for money.” A wicked grin crossed his face as her breathing began to speed up. “No one in their right mind would ever ask you to prom for any other reason.” His voice was cutting deep, a vicious onslaught of pain against her heart with each flick of his tongue.

“You’re wrong.” She pleaded, hands in tight fists at her sides. “Jughead is different.”

Chuck laughed then, a hearty laugh that had little emotion in it. “You’re right, Jughead is different. He only asked for $100. Anyone with a brain would’ve asked for triple that to put up with your boring ass for the night, especially since you won’t put out as well.”

Betty’s heart hammered painfully in her chest, her vision began to blur as unwanted tears threatened to spill over. She wasn’t going to cry, not in front of this crowd, or Chuck Clayton of all people.

“Aw, are you gonna cry?” Chuck cooed, laughter spread across the crowd of their peers.

Betty failed to keep her breathing under control, fingers clenching and unclenching in fists at her sides. Her vision was blurry and only getting worse, ears felt like water was in them. Without another word, Betty turned around and stormed off, ignoring the cat calls and Chuck’s voice from behind. She just needed to get away. Quickly finding her phone, Betty turned it on, the bright screen cutting through the blurriness with ease.

9:16pm

The time blinked begrudgingly at her, as if too mocking her shitty decision of a night. Sighing, Betty head in no particular direction, but only trying to get away from the looming music and crowd of people behind her.

Sabrina drove down an abandoned road, the gravel crunching soundly before the tires as they made their way to the deal location. She had tried to keep up a conversation with him during the ride, but Jughead would have no part. Just stared out the window and let his mind wander.

Why was Archie doing this?

Who was setting this deal up on the Serpents end of it?

A million questions swam through his brain as Sabrina tried and failed to keep getting him to talk. Finally the car halted, and Jughead was jerked out of his mind with a start.

Blinking, he looked around. But since they were seemingly in the middle of nowhere, he had no real idea what was around them. But off to the left were a few parked cars, some nicer than others. At the very end was Fred’s – Archie’s dad – old truck, and Jughead sighed with a bit of relief.

“I told you I knew where he was.” Sabrina’s voice broke him out of his temporary reverie. Shaking his head, he reached for the handle to open the passenger door when a loud bang resonated clearly through the calm night.

Shooting a quick glance at Sabrina, Jughead threw the door open quickly. “You said there was no violence!” He shouted at her before closing the door.

“I thought that too!” She squeaked out, shutting the ignition off before bolting out of the car to follow.

Jughead took off before she got fully out of the car, heading in the direction of the sound with ease. Panic rose high in his chest as a barrage of unwanted thoughts surfaced. A million different pictures ran through his mind from the night where Caleb was shot, his blood on Jughead’s hands as she took his last breath. Shaking his head, he picked up the pace before erupting in a clearing slightly illuminated by a few torches and solar lights.

A few guys stood around, looking tense and poised with pistols in hand. They quickly shifted their attention to Jughead once he was clear in the opening. Throwing his hands up high, he halted his tracks instantly.

“I’m unarmed, I swear.” He blurted out quickly, to no one in particular. When the guns trained on him turned back to their original target, Jughead took a deep breath and exhaled in relief.

Then he turned to see what the guns were trained on.

A few feet away were a few Serpents, guns trained on the guys across the clearing. Most had Kevlar vests under their jackets, but Jughead assumed only he knew that due to experience. His eyes looked them over, one at a time, making sure none were injured. The 4 closest to him were seemingly fine, so he sighed with relief before slowly walking over behind them. Archie stood at the end of the line, guarding the cache crate of automatic weapons with timid force. He didn’t look over at Jughead’s approaching figure, just tightened his grip on the hilt of the gun in his hand, eyes narrowing.

“Now where were we?” A guy from across the way called out, quirking a brow.

“We were just about to leave, since we can’t seem to come to an understanding.” Cobra called out from the line of Serpents in front of Jughead. He was a second generation, like Jughead, but much older and less friendly. He also wasn’t in line of taking an elder seat anytime soon, so Jughead assumed he was the one in charge of this undermining deal.

“I don’t really like that plan.” The man across the way retorted, cracking the bone in his neck so loud even Jughead heard it. He flinched at the sound, so eerily similar to a gunshot he had to hold himself from ducking.

“Well we don’t like getting surprised, so it seems we’re both in the rough tonight.” Cobra called back, jerking his head to the side at Jughead. Nodding in understanding, he made his was quickly to the crate and placed his hand on the strap.

“I wouldn’t do that son.” Another voice came from across the opening, making Jughead flinch from the crate.

“He can do what he is told.” Archie retorted, voice so deep even Jughead had to strain to realize it was his. Taking the signal, he reached for the handle once more.

Then the shrill BANG of a gunshot split Jughead’s eardrums in pieces as he fell to the ground, failing to regain his composure quickly. A flurry of gunshots echoed through his ears, but the sound felt like it was traveling through water. With the noise nullified, Jughead tried to sit up once more. Finally managing to get on his hands and knees, he surveyed the area.

A few Serpents stood, still shooting at the remnants of the other guys. One Serpent lay clutching his arm, blood spilling down his fingers quickly.

Then Jughead’s eyes landed on the crumpled frame of someone so familiar, so close to home, he had to cover his mouth to stop from screaming at the top of his lungs.

A few feet away lay Archie, limbs unmoving as blood slowly began to spill around him. “No, no!” Jughead cried out, racing over to his friend quickly. Pulling him over, Jughead noticed the wound quickly. It was at his collar bone, a few inches from where his vest protected him.

“I’m sorry.” Archie spit out, blood spewing from his pale lips as he spoke.

“No, don’t worry. We’ll get you help, ok?” He quickly looked up and called for backup. Archie nodded slightly, eyes slowly closing. “No, hey. Look at me.” Jughead called out, shaking Archie slightly. “Talk to me man, you gotta stay awake. Tell me about Veronica, ok?”

Archie opened his eyes again, coughing slightly before smiling. “She’s great. Real pretty.” Jughead nodded, glancing quickly over his shoulder at the approaching car. Archie’s hand came to lightly tap on his shoulder, pulling his attention back. “Tell her I’m sorry..” Then Archie’s eyes slowly began to close, hand falling to his side.

“ARCHIE!”

#bughead #riverdale #jughead jones #betty cooper #archie andrews #riverdale au #bughead fanfic #betty and jughead #jetty #betty x jughead #prom #school #southside serpents #riverdale fanfiction #bughead fanfiction

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snarkyperson · 5 years

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and then i could remember to breathe

I don’t like being depressed, or being melancholy, or spending too much time ruminating and stuck in my own head. But it freaks me out when I DON’T feel like that, because that’s how I’m used to feeling. That’s why I was in such a state yesterday. Last night I started to feel a little hysterical again and then I woke up at 10:00 and I was overtired like a toddler and basically having mental temper tantrums and then I slept again and now that I’m awake one more time I feel very introspective (not in a good way) and melancholy. My response when I realized?

“Ahh, there she is. Now we’re back to normal.”

I would like my normal to, you know, not be a default state of hating myself, but we play the cards we’re dealt, I guess.

Do you like Simon and Martina? I have been a die-hard fan for a lot of years, and last night I listened to their latest podcast, which is very good and you should listen to it. It’s about playfulness and being yourself and finding things that spark your joy. This should be inspirational, and in some of my moods it is. Last night, however, it sent me down the path of “I will never be my authentic self” and “No one will ever appreciate my weird as shit thoughts and putting them in the blog just makes people not want to read it” and “Nothing I do brings me joy because I am an empty husk of a human being” and then somehow THAT morphed into, “I should stop talking to my friends because I am too weird and depressed and my friends deserve someone who can bring them joy and good things.” So I went to bed convinced I would never talk to my friends anymore, even Vel and Amy, until I could be a better person. A different person.

I thought about that this morning when I woke up the first time. Are we ever really different, though? I mean, we’re always changing. Growing. Maturing. Our interests shift and maybe one year we like tunic shirts and the next we like fuzzy sweaters. We get obsessed with kdramas and then next year anime. Whatever it is. And we learn things. I hesitate to use myself as an example because of the year I’ve had, but when I look back over the span of my life dealing with mental illness (and yes, even this year), I have learned a lot and changed a lot and grown a lot. I don’t know if I’m a different person. I probably am in some ways.

You always want to strive to be a better person. You always want to grow. But I don’t know if it makes sense to live on a secluded island and cut off all your friends until you do.

I think I was feeling a little sensitive because Vel didn’t seem like he wanted to talk to me last night. But I mean, he probably needed a break from me. I can understand that. Maybe he had a bad day at work. Maybe it was completely benign and he just wanted to play some fucking Final Fantasy, Aaz. I think just with all the stuff going on I’m feeling tender.

At least this is all familiar. Back down my old familiar rabbit holes. Happy day.

I’m going to try to write in a bit because I had some pretty good ideas last night. Good ideas that, again, are coming from how I personally would react to a situation. That is starting to piss me off. But bear with me while I try to explain.

Tom Waits is one of my favorite musicians, and one of my favorite songs of his is Alice. It is -cough- entirely possible I named my Hawke in this last story Alice specifically because of that song. And it is also entirely possible that this protagonist is named Alice so that I could hopefully work it in somehow.

Before I continue, I renamed Ehlren Leo, because it’s easier to spell and not so outlandish and also is different enough from Leto (get it, get it?) that I won’t get a copyright strike.

So anyway, Leo is a musician and photographer. Photographer isn’t relevant to this, but anyway. He plays bass guitar and does some back-up vocals in a cover band. My idea is that Alice & co. go to see this band perform one day after Leo and Alice have been dancing around each other for a while, and in a move that shocks everybody, Leo takes main vocals in addition to bass and sings Alice, and he looks at her the entire time he sings it, and she is like HEART EYES MOTHERFUCKER.

Now, that’s not strictly a self insert. I think probably a lot of ladies would have that reaction, wouldn’t they?

The second idea though comes from personal experience. Thanks to my friend lithium, I am starting to have tremors in my hands. Most of the time I don’t really notice, but it is really jarring and apparent and difficult to deal with when I’m eating with a fork and usually makes me extremely angry in a way that is really disproportionate to how serious they are. It’s just the whole “god I have to take this fucking medication just to function and look what it’s doing to my body rar rar rar.”

So anyway, I mentioned Leo is a photographer. I was thinking, maybe he goes with Alice to the Art Institute because there are some really beautiful flower gardens nearby if I remember correctly. Or they go to the lake or something. Not important. What’s important is that they go, and she is going to sketch and he is going to photograph, but then his tremors start up and he can’t hold the camera steady and he starts having a fucking meltdown.

This is where I get stuck. Thinking from personal experience, nothing anyone can say makes me feel better when I’m having one of those meltdowns. I just have to have it and get it out of my system. However, this is both a romance novel and a chance for character growth, and I would LIKE it to work such that Alice is able to talk him off the ledge. He trusts her, and for someone with his kind of trauma, that is a really big fucking deal. Because he trusts her, I wonder if it is feasible that he would, I don’t know, actually listen to her when she tries to calm him down. I mean, it’s fiction. I’m probably overthinking it. But this goes back to that “I want to treat this carefully and realistically and with respect” thing.

My ideal ending to it is that Alice agrees to be his hands, and he actually lets her. She holds the camera up, and he puts his hands over hers to adjust the view, and they manage to successfully complete the shoot.

I can hear Amy already. Stop overanalyzing everything and just write it. However, I feel so under qualified to be tackling these kinds of intense issues. I have trauma and abuse in my past, but nothing like what Leo is dealing with. I want to do him justice. I don’t want it to be a typical romance novel where he is MAGICALLY HEALED because LOVE. But I do want him to have growth, and to realize he is finally in a healthy, trusting relationship, and to realize that maybe he can take down some of his walls and get some relief. Because he’s not alone anymore. He has Alice, and he has Cali, and he even in a lesser way has Liam and Zulah. He is building a little community where he can be safe. That makes a big difference in a sick person’s life.

Shit, I’m testament to that.

I say “so anyway” too much. Got to work on that.

Go listen to Alice. Seriously.

P.S. I’m not going to write about the scary thing anymore. I’m 95% convinced (now) that it was a dream.

#personal #mental illness #writing

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onceuponamirror · 7 years

Text

heart rise above

///// CHAPTER 6

summary: It wasn’t an experiment with freedom borne of some Americana fantasy; rather, a road trip of purely logistical intentions. The plan was simple. Drive from Boston to Chicago for his sister’s college graduation. That’s it.

Or, he drives a Ford Pickup Named Desire.

Mechanic!AU

fandom: riverdale ship: betty x jughead words: 25k chapters: 6/?

[read from the beginning] [read the latest]

Well, I've been afraid of changing 'Cause I've built my life around you

“Knock, knock,” comes a familiar voice, quickly followed by Veronica’s dark head peeking around her bedroom door.

“Hi, V, come on in,” Betty says distractedly, standing back to get a better look at the organized piles on her bed. “Where’s Kevin?”

“Downstairs, being interrogated-slash-interviewed by your mother. She says she wants to do an article on the pageantry of parade floats.” Veronica takes a seat by Betty’s pillow, crossing her legs as she presses one hand into the soft florals of the bed sheets. She’s wearing a short black sundress and her sunglasses are perched on the top of her head. She glances around. “Are we going somewhere tropical?”

Betty looks up. “What? No. I’m just making sure I have everything.”

“There’s like two weeks worth of sun products here, B,” Veronica replies, her lips curling upwards. “We’re going to Sweetwater, not Waikiki; you don’t need four towels and SPF three-thousand.”

“I’m just going through my options,” Betty insists. “Besides, Polly texted me this morning and said she and the kids are going down to the river today too, since it’s so nice out. They need high SPF; they’re so fair.”

“Let Polly bring her own kids’ sunscreen.” Her look is pointed.

“I’m sure she is. I thought I’d have it just in case,” Betty says, throwing the jumbo bottle into a bag anyway. Veronica throws a hand into the air, but doesn’t say anything else. “Anyway, what suit should I wear? I’m sure you have an opinion.”

“Mais oui,” Veronica preens, standing up and coming around to the selection of suits laid out on the bed. She immediately reaches for the stringiest bikini available and dangles it in Betty’s face; a tiny pink thing that Betty hardly ever wears and, right now, wonders why she even still has it.

Betty grabs it out of Veronica’s hands and puts it back on the bed. “Not that one.”

“I thought you might say that,” Veronica grins, something glittering in her eyes. “You’d look so Bikini Kill in it, but I get it. It’s a lot for just Sweetwater. Okay, what about this one? One-pieces are very in right now. I’m wearing one too. Granted, mine has quite a few more cut-outs in it.”

Veronica has selected a simple white one-piece with a low back and high hips, and Betty smiles and takes it, going behind her closet door to change.

As she’s pulling her cutoffs on over the suit, she hears Kevin enter the room and immediately exclaim, “Oh my god, am I going off to war?”

“You two are so dramatic,” Betty huffs, slipping an open pink button up over her arms and coming around the door. “I just wanted to have enough food and sun protection for everyone. You’ll be thanking me when you’re hungry and want one of the sandwiches I made.”

Kevin and Veronica exchange looks. “True,” he admits, shrugging. “Alright, I’m loading up the car. Gimme something to carry.”

Throwing the rest of the snacks into one of her large canvas bags, Betty passes it and the cooler to Kevin, who accepts them with a theatrical grunt and a poorly repressed eye roll.

“I’ll take this one,” Veronica offers, grabbing the second beach bag, and then they’re both gone.

Betty moves in front of her little vanity mirror, staring at herself. She hasn’t quite gotten past catching her reflection in the mirror of her childhood bedroom; amongst the pink flowers on the wall and the old photographs, it feels like a looking glass into time, like she’s sixteen again and questioning everything, especially her own appearance.

But looking at herself now, she actually likes this look—pale pink, light washed denim blue, and crisp white have always been her colors. She reties her ponytail and tugs it through the back strap of her ratty old blue baseball cap, hoists the last bag over her shoulder, as well as her purse, and slips onto her Keds.

When she gets downstairs, her mother is typing away by an open window, a glass of fresh lemonade beside her. “I’m going now, Mom,” she says, and it’s a moment before her mother looks up.

“Have everything?” She asks, folding her hands together. Betty nods. “Sun-block?” Betty nods again, and Alice Cooper returns her gaze to her computer. “Then have a nice day. By the way, the fridge looked a little empty yesterday. Pick up some fruit and milk on your way back, would you?”

“Sure,” Betty says easily, waving goodbye. Kevin and Veronica are waiting for her outside, leaning against her big blue car and gossiping away. They fall suspiciously silent as they spot her, but move aside for her to throw the bag through the open window. Veronica slides into the passenger seat and Kevin climbs into the back, and then they’re off.

“So how was your date last night? I was very patiently waiting to ask until Betty was here so you wouldn’t have to tell the story twice,” Kevin says, leaning forward and resting his chin on the back of Veronica’s seat.

She twists excitedly. “It was quite nice, for a first date,” she says demurely. “We went to that French place in New Paltz you like, Kevin.”

“What does Archie do?” Betty asks, eyes on the road, realizing that if he’s sticking around with Jughead, he must also have some kind of freelance job.

Veronica laughs. “I can’t believe I didn’t open with that. He actually writes commercial jingles. Do you remember that one about the singing vacuum cleaner?”

Kevin and Betty simultaneously burst into the same hypnotically insipid tune, and Veronica giggles again. “Yes, that one. The twins were so obsessed with that commercial. Cheryl took the televisions out of their rooms because they were constantly singing it.”

“How could I forget?” Betty half-gripes. “That sounds like a fun job, though.”

“He says it’s just to pay his bills, and he wants to really be a singer-songwriter,” Veronica adds, with a slight sigh. “Which is cute.”

“Or potentially annoying, if he’s not any good,” Kevin quips.

Veronica waves a hand and her bracelets tinkle slightly. “I don’t think I’ll know him long enough to get annoyed. We’re just having fun. He’s leaving in, what, less than three weeks? How long do you think it’ll take you to fix that truck, Betty?”

“About that,” she says, sighing.

“So, have you slept with him yet?” Kevin asks, a smidge too excitedly.

“I have my rules, Kevin Keller,” Veronica replies with faux-offense. “I’m not quite as prone to playing with my food as I used to be, but I still like to wait a little bit. Probably date two.”

“You’re seeing him again, then? Besides today, obviously.”

Veronica nods. “Tomorrow night. I suppose this could count as a second date, but considering you two sprung his inclusion in our afternoon plans on me, I’m not partial to anything that wasn’t my own idea.”

“Well, it was Jughead’s idea,” Betty says, “and we did check with you.”

She notices Kevin and Veronica exchanging looks again. “Yeah, though we couldn’t exactly say no, with him making such big puppy eyes over at Betty,” Kevin says, after a moment. Betty exhales loudly. “I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t meddle, but—”

“Then don’t,” Betty interrupts. Veronica opens her mouth, but Betty is faster. “Either of you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you two whispering already. Please, guys. I’m not going to be able to unwind at all today if I feel like I need to babysit your twitter feeds. And you both have been on my case about relaxation, so you don’t get it both ways. Pick one and stick to it.”

They stare at one another, then at Betty. “Very well,” Veronica pouts, shifting in her seat so that she faces the road again.

Betty reaches forward and turns on the radio, and the sweet crooning of doo-wop filters through the speakers. She’s always liked the genre; it has the chronic romanticism that can span to relevance of any part of her life, but it’s also as soothing as it is saddening. Like catching the eye of her reflection across the crowded room of her heart and not being able to close the distance.

She slips her hand out the window, undulating it against the wind, and lets her mind clear.

They reach their destination not much later, and it’s still early enough for the parking lot not to be madness. Sweetwater River is an inlet of the larger Hudson River, with a small stretch of patchy water mostly used by kayakers and other boaters, but largely a leisurely stream of floating inner tubes, frolicking families, and warm, coarse sand.

It takes a moment to gather all the things Betty has packed, plus the collapsible and utterly gigantic beach umbrella Veronica insisted on and secretly stashed in the trunk (“I never want to hear another word about my packed lunches, Ronnie.”), but eventually they heave everything out of the car and find an unoccupied patch of beach to drop anchor.

Betty texts Jughead instructions for their location, having gotten his cell number last night, and he replies with a thumbs up emoji, promising Archie is a slow-mover but they’re on their way.

She puts her phone on her towel, while Kevin sheds down to his swim trunks and pulls on an open, cuffed button up and Veronica starts lathering herself with tanning oil. Betty kicks off her sneakers and tucks her knees under her chin, peeking up at the sky from under the brim of her baseball cap.

She watches the trees rustle with an unseen breeze.

She’s still sitting there, staring at nothing, when she hears a voice over her shoulder. “Hey there, Gilligan,” Jughead says, plopping into the sand beside her.

He’s dressed the same as usual, with dark pants and drooping suspenders, but this time he’s rolled his jeans up to the ankle and is only wearing a white undershirt. He’s still donning the beanie and he’s barefoot.

“You found us,” Betty greets, momentarily distracted by the surprising amount of definition in his arms.

“Wasn’t hard,” he scoffs. “Could spot that thing a mile away.”

They both turn and look at the big beach umbrella behind them. Archie and Kevin are making introductions under it and Veronica looks pleased to see him. Betty gives Jughead another once over, feeling a bit disappointed as a thought occurs to her. “You’re not dressed to swim.”

He rubs behind his neck in what she’s learning is a tell-tale nervous tick. “I’m not much of a swimmer, honestly. I’ve got a pair of trunks in Archie’s backpack, but…mostly I planned to read or write, if I’m lucky.” He pulls a dog-eared paperback and a moleskin journal from his back pockets and gives them a little shake.

She stretches her arms over her bare, tanned legs, sizing him up. “Have you ever swum in a river? It’s not like the ocean. The water is cool and calm and you just float along.”

“I can’t say that I have. Sounds almost nice,” he admits.

“It is. There’s nothing like it. It’s…well, I’m not the writer here, so I’m not quite sure how to describe it. But, peaceful.”

“Well, you make a hard case to argue, Betty Cooper.” She pretends to look offended, and he grins. “I’ve got an image as an aloof miscreant to uphold, but I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll want to once you realize how hot it’s supposed to be today.” She says it lightly, but Jughead’s eyes are lingering on her legs and she feels the heat of the day already. She quickly pulls the cooler over to them. “I brought drinks and water and snacks, also. And sandwiches for lunch.”

“And dinner, and desert, and The Last Supper, by the looks of it,” Jughead says admirably, peering into the snack bag next to it.

“Everyone always makes fun of me, but they all manage to eat whatever I bring anyway,” Betty huffs, halfway between a laugh and indignancy.

“I’m not making fun of you,” Jughead replies seriously. “I think it…I’m basically always hungry. So between my Homo neanderthalensis companion and me, you definitely don’t have to worry about the food getting eaten. On my honor, I swear to thee,” he adds wryly.

“Big words from a guy wearing a wool hat at the beach,” Betty jests, and he snorts, his fingers tracing the edge of his beanie. She reaches over and picks at one of his loose suspenders. “Like, did you confuse Hawaii 5-0 as Hawaii 50 and think it was about old men at the beach?”

“Ouch,” he whistles. “You know, I like my suspenders.”

She does too, but she won’t give him the satisfaction, so she just shrugs coyly.

He shakes his head at her, giving a good show of looking affronted. “So I take it my sacred vessel is in the hands of Joaquin today?”

“Yes, even though I told him I wanted him here,” Kevin says tersely from behind them.

“He wanted the hours, Kev, don’t blame me,” Betty replies, sweeping a look over at him. He’s stretched out on his stomach underneath Ronnie’s giant umbrella and looking downright petulant. He starts to reply, but something catches his eye beyond Betty’s shoulder and he seems to lose the train of thought.

“Oh my god, it’s Queen of the River Styx,” he drawls instead.

Veronica looks over, sighs, and then raises a hand in the air in greeting. “Hi Cheryl!” She calls across the water. Cheryl hesitates, then responds with a half-wave of her hand that is probably the same gesture she uses in a dismissal.

“God, she is so extra. I mean, I love it, but so extra,” Kevin mutters, and this time Betty actually agrees; Cheryl Blossom is floating downriver on a large, bright pink flamingo-shaped raft, wearing oversized sunglasses and a cherry red bikini.

It’s outdoing herself, even for Cheryl.

“I’m gonna go say hi,” Betty announces, mostly because she’s been aching to get into the water but didn’t want to rudely be the first one to leave the beach encampment without good reason.

She peels out of her cutoffs and shirt, tossing her hat onto the sand. Jughead is watching her, but when she catches his eye, he mutters a “have fun” and hastily turns his attention onto his book.

She dives into the water, enjoys a moment of the cool quiet beneath the surface, and then bobs upwards. She always loves that first meeting of the river and the sun. Betty starts swimming towards Cheryl’s raft, where the redhead in question is currently rubbing sunscreen into her pale, glossy skin.

“Hello there,” Cheryl says, not looking up. She deposits the tube of sunscreen into a cup-holder on the flamingo’s wing and trades it out for a bottle of water with a straw in it. She takes a sip, and then uses one finger to push her sunglasses up onto her forehead, finally glancing over.

“I didn’t know you’d be here today, Cheryl,” Betty says, treading water in front of the raft. She grabs hold of it, and it sweeps both of them slowly downriver.

“Came with the fam, don’t forget to come say hi,” she replies coolly. Betty and Cheryl’s dynamic had once been fraught with high school hierarchies, but years of therapy and mood-stabilizers have done wonders for their relationship. Betty is grateful for the shift, considering she’s now related by marriage to her and sees her quite a bit more than she ever expected, still after she and Veronica broke up.

Cheryl even once admitted that, since the split, Betty is the only other person besides her therapist that she talks to about her bipolar disorder—as Jason always tries to fix her and Polly couldn’t be trusted to keep it from him—and ever since then, the two women have grown closer. As close as one can get to Cheryl Blossom, that is; they still have plenty of off-days.

“So, who’s the tall drink of orange juice talking to my ex?” Cheryl asks, in an incredibly poor attempt at sounding casual. Across the water, though now farther away, it’s clear that Archie and Veronica are laid strewn on towels and talking closely.

“Cheryl, you can’t do this again,” Betty warns. “It’s been over a year.”

The redhead sighs heavily, palming her hands along the cool water as she adjusts against her raft. “Oh, spare me the lecture, Olivia Newton-John. I know. I’m not going to interfere, I just want to make sure he’s up to standard.”

“You both mutually agreed breaking up was the right thing to do,” Betty reminds her, because there’s something longing in Cheryl’s expression that worries her. “You know it was. The timing just wasn’t right.”

“Yes, but I always thought, after—well, it doesn’t matter. So who is he? She certainly has developed a type, at least.” She flips her long red hair over her shoulder.

Betty folds her arms on the edge of Cheryl’s pink flamingo raft. “His name is Archie. He and his friend were on a road trip, but their truck broke down in the parking lot of Pop’s. Veronica was covering one of her mom’s shifts, and, well.”

Cheryl sighs and flicks an invisible shred of dust off her bathing suit. “So he’s not sticking around long?”

“Should take me a few weeks to fix it all up, but no. They’ll be gone,” Betty says, digging her chin into her crossed arms.

“Veronica isn’t like us,” Cheryl says, after a long moment of inspecting Betty. Her voice is uncharacteristically tender. “She’s not as picky.”

“Are you serious? Veronica is the pickiest person I’ve ever met, Cheryl, you should know that better than anyone.”

“I don’t mean it like that,” Cheryl sighs impatiently. “With shoes and jewelry and dresses, yes, she is, of course. But she gets back on the horse right away. She’s fearless. She sees something she wants, and she goes for it, because she knows she’ll always land on her feet. I always loved that about her. Me…I don’t do anything I can’t control, can’t predict. And neither do you, Betty dear. That’s where we’re alike.”

“I’m not like that,” Betty says quietly, knowing it’s a lie. She’s good Betty Cooper, she who does everything for everyone, but Cheryl has a point. The sun shines brightly on the water and her eyes find Jughead on the beach, his nose in a book.

“Please. Let’s not insult either of our intelligences,” Cheryl insists sharply. “You had a boy down on one knee for you and you practically ran away screaming. So riddle me this, Rapunzel: why wouldn’t you let down your hair for sweet Trevor Brown?”

But Betty can’t answer that. She still doesn’t know how to put it into words, still can’t even begin to form the thought without the feverish flutterings of a panic attack. She presses her lips together, and Cheryl just leans back against the flamingo’s neck, pushing her sunglasses back down over her nose.

“I thought so. I’m not paying my therapist all that money every week for nothing, Cleopatra of denial. Now, give me a nudge. I want to float away my troubles.”

Betty complies, giving the flamingo raft a shove downstream. Cheryl waves her away, tipping her chin up to the sun, and then the current sweeps her lightly down the river. Betty dips her head under water once more, and starts swimming in the opposite direction, her limbs feeling strong and toned as she heads upstream. She finds Polly, Jason, and the kids on a beach not far up, and cuts their way.

She tans herself on the private Blossom beach for a little while, trying very hard not to think about Cheryl’s words, and has a bit of light conversation with her sister and brother-in-law. It turns out that Polly has, indeed, brought her own high SPF sunscreen. The kids are busy with squirt guns, and she indulges them in a bit of warfare before reentering the river.

As she returns to the original stretch of sand, where Kevin is texting, Jughead is still reading, and Archie and Veronica are now splashing each other playfully in the water, Betty is bathed in sunshine and sparkling green water and feels simultaneously so at ease—and so alone.

She desperately wants to blame Cheryl Blossom for planting the seed, but truthfully, she’s lived with this thought for some time now. It’s duplicitous; swimming amongst the reeds and trees along the riverbanks is freeing, anonymous—but humbling, and isolating. She feels so small amongst the pines.

She kicks back towards the shore, past Archie and Veronica, and steps out of the water. Jughead’s head rises slowly from his book, and for a fleeting moment she wonders if he might be looking at her in a way that speaks to the heat in her own belly at the sight of his toned arms.

“Do you guys want to go swimming with me? The water’s really nice,” she asks, glancing between the two of them.

Kevin’s eyes don’t leave his phone. “Maybe in a bit,” he says vaguely, which is Kevin for there’s-something-much-more-interesting-happening-on-Instagram.

She turns to Jughead. “What about you?” His Adam’s apple bobs and he makes a noncommittal sound. She really doesn’t want to go back into the water alone, but she doesn’t want to stay here on the beach either. “Please, Juggie?”

The nickname just slips out, and she’s far too sure she doesn’t know him well enough for it, but it seems to do the trick; he scrunches up his face and then sighs, getting to his feet. He rustles around in a blue backpack near the cooler, says he’s going to go change behind the trees, and disappears.

Kevin finally glances up, but doesn’t say anything. While she waits, Betty decides her wet hair feels too tight on her head, so she pulls out her ponytail and shakes it free.

Jughead returns a few minutes later, wearing nothing but a black pair of trunks and his hat. His clothes are bunched up in his hands, and he dumps them by his book. And then, after a moment of deliberation, pushes the wool beanie off his head as well. It falls onto the sand beside the rest of his things with an unassuming plop.

He stares at it, and then looks over at her. “Okay,” he says, in an indecipherable voice.

She forces her brain to play catch up, because the sight of his bare chest momentarily caused her to forget herself. She swallows. He has broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and once again, a surprising amount of lithe definition. Even Kevin is eying him with something like impressed approval.

“Right,” she says, turning on her heel and making her way back towards the river’s edge. She dives under the water and surfaces quickly, pushing her hair back over her head. “Come on!”

She swims out further, but Jughead’s toes line at the sand’s end. “You can swim, right?” Betty asks, because Jughead is behaving strangely enough for her question it.

“Yes, I can swim,” he says flatly, but he hasn’t moved. “How deep does this go? I mean, how deep is the river?”

She cocks her head at him, treading water. “In the middle it’s probably 15 feet, but we can stick to the shallows, if you want.”

In a moment of decision, Jughead splashes into the water and dips his head under. He pops up a second later, flipping his hair back with a force that sends droplets flying. “I’ve just got a thing about not being able to see the bottom or touch down,” he says quietly, swimming towards her. “I know it’s ripe for metaphorical investigation, but spare me.”

“We won’t go too far out,” Betty promises, and for a moment, they’re just treading water, staring at one another. Jughead allows himself to sink slightly so that just his nose and eyes are above the surface. She can’t read his expression, but she feels warm and is unsure what’s the sun and what are her own nerves.

“Well, I’m here,” Jughead says finally. “But I’m not sure I see my way through the hype. What am I supposed to be doing in order to access catharsis?”

She laughs, and shifts onto her back, limbs spread out around her as if she were making a snow angel. “You just float, Juggie. Let the water take you where you want.”

Betty kicks, frog-like, and swims in a circle around him. He watches for a moment with something like amusement, and then mimics her, allowing himself to float on his back.

“Wow,” he deadpans. “So this is nirvana.”

She laughs and splashes water at him. “Shut up.”

Ducking under the surface to avoid his retaliatory splash, she swims further out, though is sure to remain close enough to the shallows that he won’t get nervous. He follows, and they both consent to the current guiding them downstream.

Lazily, she cuts her arms over her head in a half-hearted backstroke, but mostly lets the river’s flow to do its ancient work. After what feels like an hour but is more likely ten minutes, she looks over, and Jughead is grinning at her, his normally downturned lips quirking upwards.

She’s overcome with a simple thought: he’s hot. And then, slightly more poetically: she likes it when he wears handsomeness around the softness of his eyes. With a face that looks like it’s carried tension for years, relaxation looks especially good on him.

“Well, alright. This is nice, Ophelia,” he says.

“Leave it to you to make a morbid reference on a beautiful day,” Betty sighs, closing her eyes to the sun.

“I mean it, though,” Jughead says, softer. “This is actually kind of…nice. You’re right, it’s not like the ocean.”

“You’ve been missing out, Jughead Jones,” she replies, eyes still shut, but waiting for him to crack a cynical joke or drop some obscenely large vocabulary, or any of his usual responses.

But he doesn’t say a word.

Finally feeling her fingers and toes beginning to prune, Betty accepts that it’s probably time to pull herself out of the water for a bit, though she has no desire to. She feels so at ease, half-swimming, half-floating in peace with just Jughead by her side, but his stomach gives a loud gurgle and she breaks the silence with a giggle. “Hungry?”

“Always—but, particularly now, yes,” Jughead replies honestly.

“Lets head back, then,” Betty says, performing a half-curl in the water, her legs momentarily the only thing above the surface. She submerges herself fully, allowing a respite of underwater tranquility, and then returns for air.

They both turn and swim up against the stream, and when they reach the shore, everyone has returned to their stations. Kevin’s hair looks wet, so Betty assumes he finally went into the water, and Archie is strumming an acoustic guitar while Veronica suns herself.

Archie looks up as they approach. “Were you swimming, Jug?”

“No, I tripped and fell in,” Jughead replies, pokerfaced. “Yeah, I went swimming.”

“It’s my fault,” Betty intercedes, dropping to her knees and digging around in the cooler for a chilled lemonade. “I practically begged him.”

Archie’s eyebrows briefly knot into a peculiar expression, but he doesn’t seem to dwell on it because Betty has procured sandwiches in each hand.

“Who wants lunch?” Betty asks, only to be met by an affirming chorus of yeses. “We’ve got turkey or chicken salad.” People announce their decisions and Betty starts dolling out the sandwiches.

“I take back anything I’ve ever said, ever,” Kevin says gratefully through a mouthful of chicken salad. “Thank you for thinking to bring food, Betty.” Everyone agrees, and she feels a flush of warm appreciation.

After everyone polishes off their lunch, Archie resumes care of his acoustic guitar and launches into a soft rendition of the Girl From North Country. Jughead mutters in her ear that it wasn’t until two years ago that singer-songwriter Archie Andrews even knew who Bob Dylan was, and she fails to suppress her giggles.

The sun is now high overhead, her skin feels kissed golden, and her eyes fall to his lips as they pull from her ear.

Kevin has placed Betty’s baseball cap over his face while he lies on his back, Veronica is curled towards Archie, watching him play, and Betty and Jughead both lean back on one elbow, the length of their bodies warmed to the sky and facing one another. She watches a stray droplet run down his jaw.

“Remember me to one who lives there,” Archie crones in a gentle, pleasing voice. “She once was a true love of mine.”

Betty tucks a damp, tousled strand of hair behind her ear. Jughead’s eyes follow the movement.

#bughead #bughead fanfiction #betty x jughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #lalala #i am now realizing how influenced by sarah dessen i still am #even all these years later #as an adult #like all i want is some moody and tender and sweet and sad and soft story of love and summer #well bitch i wrote that #fics

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vexley · 7 years

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Just Things About Riverdale, Chapter Eight: The Outsiders, Part 2

I said I’d be back to add more, because I was super tired the first time I posted about Chapter Eight. So, I watched it again, and it made me just as angry as it did the first time around. Enjoy!

Honestly not at all invested in Fred & Hermione’s relationship. Sorry, not sorry.

Ngl, I kind of ship Polly and Cheryl???

Dude, could you IMAGINE?

Still fucking furious at Sheriff Keller.

Am I the only one who keeps comparing Sheriff Keller and Kevin with Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles??

I really need more Beronica screen time. Honestly, just.

They’re playing video games, that is so adorable.

Oh my god, was this what they were like B.G. (Before Grundy)?

I think maybe I need some flashbacks.

Jughead is so snarky in this episode, I love it endlessly.

I bet Jughead has daydreams about sharing a college dorm with Archie. I mean, c’mon. Or had, I suppose. I really don’t think he’s completely forgiven him yet.

Scooby Gang meet-up.

Veronica comforting Betty.

Kevin & Veronica’s friendship.

I still think the baby shower was a terrible idea.

I was right.

BOYFRIEND.

Am I the only one who thinks Archie looks more jealous of Betty than Jughead?

Not sure how to feel about Alice Cooper anymore.

Veronica jumping to Betty’s defense.

Veronica giving Betty the elevator eyes.

That head-tilt though.

I’m still pissed at Archie.

Family dinner, and Betty is sitting right next to Veronica rather than her sister?

Yes.

I could not care less about this dumbass Blossom vs. Cooper bullshit.

Omg, does the entire town belong to the Blossoms?

Everyone gtfo while you still can.

lmao

Richest Man In Riverdale.

Honestly, who gives a fuck? It’s Riverdale--some tiny ass town that no one cares about.

HA! Kevin and Hermione’s shoes.

That sounded less weird in my head.

Aaaaaaahh, Jughead’s smile.

Archie and Jughead just talking!

Is Kevin sipping beer???

Poor Moose.

I guess.

Honestly, I’m not that invested in him as a character.

I’m really fucking sick of these Buick commercials.

I’m really starting to wonder if Sheriff Keller is the only cop in town.

Veronica being totally happy for Betty!

Sorry guys, it’s Beronica, I can’t help it!

Does Archie really not understand why talking shit about the Serpents would upset Jughead? I mean really? They’ve been friends for years, right? Jughead has lived in South Side for years--you would have to be really fucking dense not to pick up on something like this.

Same with Betty?

Everything about this scene just pisses me off.

Joaquin’s fucking EYES though.

I just.

Archie really is a dumbass.

Like, there is no logic behind this plan. He has absolutely zero proof that the Serpents are involved. How did they even become suspects? There is no evidence, and Veronica and Betty didn’t even try to talk him out of this.

The writers must have thought this was the necessary way to reveal that FP was a Serpents member and allude to his involvement in regards to Jason’s murder, because I just cannot see how else this could possibly be relevant.

Where exactly in the hierarchy does FP weigh in? Because all he has to do is tell another member to stand down, and that’s it.

I have a whole lot of questions.

Get the hell off my screen, Max Greenfield.

Fucking golf clubs.

I love how Moose and Kevin are just like, “Fuck it!”

“All these years.”????

Jughead said that his dad fell off the wagon after Fred fired him, and FP is saying that it’s been years. When was the last time that Jughead saw his mom and his sister? How long has he been homeless?

No, but seriously, that sweater. I want it.

lol The way he holds the fucking cupcakes.

That sass.

LMAO I did not misspell anything there, I do mean sass.

I still love Cheryl Blossom, just so everyone knows.

I still hate Penelope Blossom, just so everyone knows.

I was not joking about the weird chemistry between FP and Fred.

I think I ship them?

It’s never not going to be funny that FP just watched Archie sneak off into the night.

Archie just fucki

Okay.

Okay, you know what? I’m just going to stop here for a minute and talk about this thing that Archie seems to love doing...

If you honestly want to read all about my fury on this subject, click here.

Jughead looks like maybe he’ll cry, and I’m not okay with that.

I definitely need to write some Polly/Cheryl AUs.

Peryl? Haha. Chery?

I’ve never even been to Chili’s, tbh.

Omg. I’m starting to hate this fucking car.

Alice Cooper looks like she’s about to give in to some of her rage issues.

Fred deserves so much better than this town.

CONFRONTATION.

“I should’ve told you about my dad when I had the chance.”

Dude, this kid has been living alone for who knows how long. He has only just reconnected (more or less) with his friends, after quite a bit of time spent keeping the fact that he’s homeless a secret.

I don’t really blame him for not laying all his cards out on the table.

I realize it’s a strange thing to say, but some times it feels like Betty is more invested in her partnership with Jughead for the Blue & Gold than she is in their actual relationship.

Now that I’m watching this again, FP’s behavior strikes me as really odd. During his talk with Fred, he seemed to be completely sober. At the trailer, once Jughead and Betty walk inside, it’s almost like he’s putting on a show of being “the drunkard.”

The way he looks at Jughead; his eyes seem very clear, and his speech isn’t slurred. It’s a huge difference from way he was acting at the Sheriff’s station the day that Jughead was taken in.

This is some fucked up shit right here.

This scene (between the Coopers) is such a major contrast in comparison to the one between Jughead and his father. I feel like it really illustrates the fact that, while both families are broken, it’s often the people you expect the least who fight the hardest for the ones they love.

[screams internally, externally, and eternally]

I really just can’t stand the fact that Jughead feels like he’s in the wrong in this situation.

“You can talk to me about anything.”

What a fucking joke?

Look at how you reacted to finding out, asshole.

“You’re like...You’re like my brother.”

Yes, you have definitely been giving off that vibe, all season.

I love the fact that they’re cementing the “bro” thing so early on.

It took the writers of Teen Wolf, like, 4 seasons.

“You are my brother.”

I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!

Okay, I know this is wicked suspicious, but I’m still not convinced that FP had anything to do with Jason’s death.

“He really likes me now.”

Okay, that’s another thing that really pisses me off. Like, I know I joked about the Romeo&Juliet thing is part 1, but that is basically what they’ve turned Joaquin and Kevin’s relationship into, and I fucking hate it.

FP Jones, swooping in to save his man.

Yup, shipping it.

Party 1.

#riverdale #ash watches riverdale #chapter 8 #the outsiders #part 2 #with twice the anger #and double the feels #plus teen wolf references #a bit gayer #honestly #i need more beronica in my life #a smidge of archie andrews hate #tbh #spoilers #maybe #riverdale spoilers

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diverseladybookproject · 7 years

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Amanda Reads - March 2017

Since I revamped my blog this month, I thought I’d do a little survey on Twitter to ask how y’all would like these books rated—should I use my rainbow system from #diverseladybookproject, or should I continue with my wacky number of dogs petted system. Well. The people have spoken. And the dogs have been petted.

A reminder of how the rating system works:

0 dogs petted: DNF. I couldn't get through the book. It's not a good day.

1 dog petted: It was an okay day. I mean, I got to pet a dog. But it could have been better.

2 dogs petted: A solid effort. May recommend.

3 dogs petted: A really good day, tbh. Would recommend willingly to friends and family.

4 or more dogs petted: Best day. Will be recommending to all the people. Pet all the dogs.

March was both a good and a bad month for books. I DNFed two books this month. YES, TWO. It’s a first, both for me and for my time on this blog. Would you believe that I haven’t DNFed a book since I started writing about what I’ve been reading on this blog? That’s almost a year’s worth of books! And these are my first DNFs. I’ll explain why on both accounts, don’t worry.

Well. Let’s get started. You might be here a while.

Everything Belongs to Us by Yoojin Grace Wuertz

After being up late into the night finishing The Last of August at the end of February, I was in a major book hangover. MAJOR BOOK HANGOVER. I was sort of trying to read this book, and I thought I couldn’t get into it because of said book hangover. But then I had the privilege of meeting Brittany Cavallaro and realized, nah. I just wasn’t into this book.

The premise sounds awesome. Two young women tell the stories of their lives in South Korea in the late 1970s. I wanted to like it. And really, maybe I will like it at some other point in my life, when I have more time to devote to a sprawling story that is more character-based than action-based. I haven’t ruled out that possibility. But here’s the thing—I was 15% in, and I still hadn’t met the second young woman that this book was supposedly about. In fact, the first chapter was from the point of view of a guy who seemingly has nothing to do with the story? I was confused and frustrated and bored. So I scrapped it. But like I said, I’m not ruling out trying again when I’m in a different mindset.

Rating: 0 dogs petted—DNF at 15%.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I got back into fairly regular running and hiking with the dogs after a goofy start to the year and brought Lauren Oliver along with me. (She’s a runner, so I think she’d approve.) This is the second book in the Delirium trilogy, and I was terrified that it was going to suffer from middle book syndrome. And it did, in some regards—Alex was gone, the setting was completely different, and it was sort of like a whole other story, unrelated to the first book. But the threads tied back to Delirium, and I enjoyed the new characters and plot. I won’t say I liked this book better than Delirium, because it was so different. But I did enjoy listening to it a lot. I’m not going to say any more about the plot so that I don’t spoil the first book, but yeah, it was good. I’d recommend that people complete the trilogy.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

OH MY GOD.

You’ve already heard me talk about this book some, and it’s worth all the hype. Here’s the premise: Starr Carter lives two lives. She’s the daughter of a former gangbanger and lives in the rough part of town, but she also attends a wealthy, mostly-white private high school. She has a white boyfriend, but is terrified of bringing him home to meet her father. You get the idea. One night, she’s at a spring break party in her neighborhood when shots are fired, so she leaves with her childhood best friend Khalil. On the way home, they’re pulled over for no apparent reason. Khalil is frisked. When he’s checking to make sure Starr is okay, he’s shot by the white police officer, even though he is unarmed and is not resisting. Starr is the only witness, and it’s her word against the white cop’s. Her worlds are colliding, and she has to learn how to live in both of them while being true to herself.

I think I’ve stated that this book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and it shows on every single page. It bleeds relevancy and politics and everything that we’re not supposed to talk about in books for young adults. But young adults are the ones who are going to change the world. Remember that.

I’m never going to shut up about this book. And Angie Thomas, the author, is lovely and wonderful and deserves all of the praise that she’s received.

Rating: 4+ dogs petted. If you want to read this book and either can’t afford it or don’t want to buy it, I’ll buy it for you. I’m serious. Everyone needs to read this book. I’m all over social media. Find me and I’ll make it happen.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

This was my other DNF this month. I’m wondering if the pattern has more to do with when I’m reading these books than the content of the books themselves, but that’s a contemplation for another time. This is another one that I really wanted to like. Tea is a necromancer, so she has to leave home with the brother she brought back from the dead to train and hone her skills. Also there’s a war brewing, but I didn’t get that far. I found it to be slow and boring. The concept is completely awesome, but I think it just wasn’t for me. Or maybe it wasn’t for me at that time. In any case, I DNFed. Although I promised some Twitter people (hi, Twitter people!) that I’d give it another try down the road, and I will.

Rating: 0 dogs petted—DNF at 20%.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

As with Pandemonium, I’m not going to say a lot about the plot to this one here. It’s the third book in the Delirium trilogy and the best of the bunch, in my opinion. Lena picks the story up right where Pandemonium left off (that ending, omg), and surprise! We get Hana’s perspective too! That was one of my favorite things about this book—Hana has been cured, so her perspective is different and interesting. Sarah Drew does a fantastic job, once again, of helping me get inside the character’s heads to feel what they’re feeling (because I listened on audio while I was running and hiking and driving in the car). And Alex was back. I repeat. We got more Alex. Hallelujah, because he’s the best and even though I hate myself a little for it, he and Lena are one of my OTPs. Fight me.

Rating: 3 dogs petted, only because the dystopian genre is a little old now and I’m not sure who I’d recommend this one to.

Since You Asked… by Maureen Goo

The way this list is organized is a little confusing, but I started reading Since You Asked… right after I DNFed The Bone Witch. I wanted something light and contemporary, and I had picked this up at the North Texas Teen Book Festival, where Maureen Goo was promoting her upcoming release I Believe in a Thing Called Love. I chose this particular book after The Bone Witch because YA contemporary often helps me get out of reading slumps and I wanted a cute high school romance. That uh… that wasn’t what I got.

Since You Asked… is what I would consider a slice-of-life book. Nothing huge happens in the plot, really, and there isn’t a big arc that takes us to the end. It just sort of exists. It was fine—not knowing whether Holly would ever get with her friend David was part of what kept me reading. (Yeah, I shipped Holly and David HARD, and I don’t regret it.) I finished it in 24 hours and was left feeling a little let down, but I still enjoyed the read. And the cover! It’s got a great cover. I don’t know, I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads right after finishing it, but I think I’m going to downgrade it to 3. The lack of plot arc has been niggling at me. But it was cool to see an entire book told from the perspective of a Korean-American high school student. That aspect reminded me a lot of Lane from Gilmore Girls.

Was that review wishy-washy enough? Ha.

Rating: 2 dogs petted. I loved Goo’s writing style and am really excited for her upcoming release, so I’ll be reading her again!

Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

THIS BOOK. I’m not sure how I’m going to write about this. I have no cans to even right now. I looked at my review on Goodreads and it’s mostly me repeating “THIS BOOK” in all caps with hearts at the end. Hahaha.

The synopsis is simple enough: Tourmaline Harris thinks she put her mother in prison by calling the cops when she was ODing, and now her mother’s former boyfriend and dealer are after her. This is on top of already living in the dark world of a motorcycle “club,” which her father is the president of. (Yes, there are lots of motorcycles in this book and I WAS THERE FOR IT.) At the same time, Virginia Campbell is given the assignment by her boss to weasel her way into the good graces of said motorcycle club, but won’t tell her why. Virginia’s life is equally dark—she was essentially sold to a drug dealer who moonlights as a lawyer by her mother when she couldn’t pay her legal fees. Said drug dealer (fittingly named Hazard) turned Virginia into a pageant queen and a lower-level drug dealer to pay off the debt. As Virginia attempts her mission, Tourmaline is in need of a friend. Oh, and they both have swoony love stories and I was a puddle on the floor at the end because of the feels.

Bonus points for kickass ladies (Tourmaline and Virginia, plus some), a wonderfully complicated female friendship, complex family dynamics, a POC love interest who actually VERBALLY DISCUSSES WITHIN THE STORY what it’s like to be black in the South and what that might mean for them, and a veteran who has seen stuff and is afraid to be vulnerable but finds his equal and OH MY GOD I’m puddling again.

THIS BOOK. <3 <3 <3

Rating: 4+ dogs petted. I love this book so much. Words are hard. Swoon.

Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles by J.M. Sullivan

Where do I even begin! I’ve been waiting and WAITING for the opportunity to read this book by my lovely friend J.M. ever since I first heard about it. Who can resist an Alice retelling with zombies? Okay, hi, I actually don’t think I would have picked this up at all if it weren’t for my friendship with J.M.—I’ve never been a fan of retellings, for some reason! And zombies freak me out! After I stressfully asked her if I would be scared reading this before bed and she laughed at me (LOL), I dove right in. And oh my gosh, y’all. It’s so good! I don’t feel like I need to dive into the plot too much, since you should all know the story of Alice in Wonderland, and it’s just that with a twist. There’s Alice. There’s adventure as she fights the zombies while trying to save her sister from becoming one. There’s a hint of love, there’s the characters you love (again, with a twist), and there’s a kickass teenage main character. What more could you possibly ask for in fantasy literature! Go read it go read it go read it!! (Alice releases on May 16, 2017—full review to come the week before the release!)

Rating: 4 dogs petted! This was so fun (and not scary, I promise)!

On The Fence by Kasie West

On March 31st, I decided that I should read this YA contemporary novel that was billed as a possible comp title to Something Beautiful because it had a friends-to-more plotline. I figured it would be my first book of Backlist April. I even billed it as such in last week’s Friday Reads! But guess what I did?

… I stayed up until 2 am finishing it in a single sitting. Oops?

Here’s the rundown:

Charlie just finished her sophomore year of high school and has the whole summer ahead of her. She’s looking forward to running, basketball camp, and lounging around, like a typical teenager. But on her first day of summer vacation, she gets a speeding ticket, which prompts her police officer dad to force her to get a job to cover the cost. Working part time leads to less time for running, which causes her to not be able to sleep some nights. So she starts spending some of the hours in the middle of the night chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence that separates their yards about all the things she can’t seem to say to him during the day. Braden is practically her brother… right? OR IS HE MORE???

(Capital letters added for emphasis are my own doing, not the publisher’s. Ha.)

This was the cutest. I was on board with Charlie and Braden from the very first page, and I loved that he (obviously) saw more in her than she ever saw in herself. I don’t know why I waited so long to read a Kasie West book, because her writing reminded me a lot of Sarah Dessen (one of my faves). And, for those who want to know, On The Fence is a great comp title for the first half of Something Beautiful. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Rating: 3 dogs petted. Light. Fluffy. Cute boys and a girl’s journey to self-discovery. Just not, like, a deep book. You know?

Hi. I apparently spent most of March reading. I’m okay with it, tbh.

What have you been reading?

Happy April!

-A.

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marulikestea · 7 years

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8th Anniversary: Van Gogh Is Bipolar

For our post commemoration of our 8th anniversary/valentines as a couple, we went to this place called Van Gogh Is Bipolar, located at Teacher's Village in Quezon City.

As you may have noticed, our previous anniValentines was also related to Van Gogh (Sip & Gogh). That’s because I wanted to achieve a form of continuity and relevance in our celebration, especially since this would be our last one before we tie the knot. I wanted all of our actions to mean something, even the most minuscule ones, and connect it to the final page of a chapter in our story that would symbolize its worth to us, as two beings who fell and are in love, and everything else in between.

...

Also because I've always wanted to eat here ever since I've read about its uniqueness and quirkiness from 2 or 3 years ago. Lol.

Yes, I’ve waited TOO long for this.

THE HALLWAY OF DOORS

Arriving at the destined location, we got confused at first as to where the entrance to the establishment was. Sure enough, there was a small (and easy to miss) signage at the lamp post that read "Van Gogh Is Bipolar", but the door to the place was, unfortunately, obscured to our naked eye.

But then there were 2 sets of wardrobe closets that were begging to be opened.

Curioser and curioser.

So Ian opened the first closet, which actually led to this hidden garden right beside the building.

THE QUEEN’S GARDEN

The door to Paradise. Reminds me of Narnia. :P

The garden, which looked like a small haven of reprieve in the middle of the otherwise busy streets of urban life, had small tables and chairs installed that invite customers to stop and have a short break. An old double deck bed frame was reused to serve as roof from a makeshift (bar) counter and a convenient storage of whatnot at the top bunker.

The garden. Prolly looks better at night, with all the lights and whatnot.

Collection of old shoes. Perhaps abandoned by their previous owners.

Across the makeshift counter was a collection of old shoes strung together to serve as a wall to obscure the view from outside. It looked pretty eerie and post-apocalyptic, now that I think about it.

Statue of a man. Is this St. Joseph perhaps?

At the corner, stood an antique wooden statue that looked like it had seen better days during its years of its former religious glory.

There was also a mural painting on the wall that depicted a woman on a mask.

The white queen.

Having scouted the entirety of the surroundings, we approached the second wardrobe door and opened it... to reveal yet another door inside.

To Wonderland.

The guardians at each side of the entrance.

I didn’t know if Ian had knocked or turned the knob open, but soon after, we were greeted by a female employee and welcomed us inside.

After instructing us to remove our shoes of course.

INTERIOR

Even before stepping inside, I knew that this private space exuded an otherworldly feel... like an Alice in Wonderland kind of realm where everything is a touch of creativity and madness.

The left side of the room.

WHY IS THE RAVEN LIKE A WRITING DESK?

Near the entrance of the room is a white desk where customers would leave “love letters” or feedback to the personnel of Van Gogh is Bipolar.

This is also where they stash their guide books, as well as menu papers for the customers to fill up as they go along their journey here.

Can you spot the “hidden” Van Gogh?

I would love to have this mori-looking clock in my unit. X3

THE QUEEN OF HEART'S DOMAIN

Just beside the white desk is the Love Red Wall , the lover's area famed for its crimson color, vandalized walls of love messages and kiss marks, and seats that are only good for 2.

Upon closer inspection, the tables were former vintage luggage converted to what they are now, with glass panels placed on top to reveal the many letters, stamps, pictures old money, and other papers underneath.

“LOVE alone is worth the fight.” - Switchfoot

“The Love Red Wall”, it says.

A painting of a woman; The red and white queen as one entity IMO.

THE HATTER’S SHOP

Not far from the love red wall area were shelves that boasted of many different vintage tableware, old decorations, and broken antiques.

A Pinocchio wooden puppet.

In particular, was a collection of hats and other masks and head ornaments that lay at the at the bottom shelf of the tea counter section (to be tackled on later) . It can be worn and borrowed by customers during the duration of their stay inside the premises.

An array of headgears that can be worn while staying at Van Gogh Is Bipolar.

My personal mad hatter. Kyuuu~ <3

Not one to pass such an opportunity, Ian tried on an officer’s hat. It suited him very well, if I do say so myself. The look reminded me of Hayao Miyazaki’s male protagonist from “From Up the Poppy Hill”.

As for me, I picked a flower crown of red and pink to match my outfit. Gotta uphold the fairy/nymph vibe you know. *_*

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

On the other side of the vicinity is a whole new flavor to take in. Slightly parted by a curtain, the previous dining area is now adorned with mirrors, broken clocks, and self portraits of the man himself.

The supposed dining area before it was converted into a restaurant.

Can you spot us in this image? ;P

Through the looking glass; Our only couple shot in this place, unfortunately.

“Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.”

DRINK ME POTION

Similar to the Drink ME! Potion from Alice in Wonderland, there are 4 bottles of liquid placed on top of the long table for customers to try on their mouths. Supposedly said (not sure if I got this right) to have calming or healing properties of the sort, one is suggested to have at least 2-3 drops on the tongue.

Choose your own poison.

Ian and I both tried the baking soda and the coconut oil. The former tasted sour while the latter one, as expected, tasted of coconut.

THE DARK ROOM

Lastly, is the dark room which is also the comfort room, where a resident skeleton guards the main door to the sanctuary.

Similar to the red wall, its walls are also vandalized with messages from customers, and is even made more prominent due to the black light used to illuminate the room.

Left: A skeleton illuminated by the black/purple light.

Right: Ian ❤ Maru :Our own mark inked on its walls.

This reminds me of the game Alice: Madness Returns, wherein everything is all big and purply when you drink the potion that turns you smaller in order to see the hidden clues within the game.

Now that we had a tour of the area, let’s proceed to our main agenda of the day: food.

A map from their guide book. The circled part became our territory for that day. :P

BTW, To those who wanted to know which area we occupied during our wonderland experience, we situated ourselves at the red wall lover’s area. Because that was the perfect seat for us in every single way, don’t you agree?

FOOD

What’s unique about Van Gogh is Bipolar, aside from the fact that their food is organic and mostly anti-depressant, is that you have no control on what food you will get. They don’t provide you with a menu of fixed food to order, but rather a paper to answer based on your preference with food (and a guide book of Van Gogh Is Bipolar Experience).

Their menu paper is as vague as it gets. Similar to the time when we had dinner at Dinner in the Dark.

We chose the Lovers feast (meat preference), with Ian’s preference to spicy food and less rice whilst mine is my hatred for fat and love for herbs.

This set was also the most expensive one (at whooping P3,500), its serving being good for two, with complete meal courses.

A MAD TEA PARTY

After ringing the bell and submitting our menu papers to the kitchen counter hidden among the shelves, our server told us that we can brew our own tea depending on our mood.

But first, we had to choose our own teapots first from their existing gallery.

A variety of teapots to choose from. Which of these call to me, I wonder?

After acquiring our pots, we proceeded to the tea counter section and started our tea alchemy session.

The counter where you do tea alchemy based from your current mood.

A simple instruction on how to make your own tea.

The mood wheel.

I didn’t have any specific strong emotions at the time so I decided to go for stressed, anxious/worried and agitated ergo Happy Chill, Light Chill and Soothing based from my usual feelings at work and wedding planning lol.

Oh, and I also added a bit of Extra Calm too, just because.

Added sugar and hot water afterwards.

Jar of tea leaves: Extra Calm, Soothing, Extra Upper, Upper, Happy Chill, Light Chill

So vintage~

Here’s a closeup view of our chosen teapots by the way: A simple black teapot for Ian and a brown floral one for me (again, to match my current vibe).

Not long after we made our tea, our soup was already ready for consumption.

A POOL OF TEARS

According to our server, our soup is called Virginia Woolf Tears; a veggie based soup with various herbs and a cheesy flavor similar to Parmesan, which I could be wrong. Haha. Ian's bowl was marked with more chili compared to mine, as indicated in his preference.

Also included is Courtney Love's Potion: a bottle of mango shake and coconut water.

HUMPTY DUMPTY

For our next course, we got an Axl Rose’s Organic Egg Shot for our appetizer.

It's basically a shot glass of black sauce, organic egg (yolks), chili, sea salt and Jagermeister. Maricar was the one who prepared it for us, and while she did so, she told us how the owner was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and deviced a diet to encounter depression. Later on, his friends told him, “why not sell your diet to others?” and that was the start of everything.

Maricar also told a little about herself, and that Van Gogh Is Bipolar is already on its 8th year.

HUH!!!

What were the chances that we celebrated our 8th Anniversary on 2 Van Gogh-related establishments, with the last one on its 8th Anniversary too?

It’s destiny~ *coughs* 82∞ = eighth to infinity *coughs*

Raw-organic egg served with herb-liquer

After the mixture was done, we gulped our appetizers in one shot...

...But not before saying our cheers in Russian.

One of Van Gogh is Bipolar’s tradition is to say cheers in another language before taking a shot. So after Maricar taught us the Russian word for cheers, we raised our glasses in the air and uttered, “Na Zdorovie!” (На здоровье)

THE TALKING FLOWERS

For our salad dish, we got Larry Flint’s cabbage Experience, which is a beautiful plated dish, adorned with edible flowers picked from their backyard garden.

Freshly boiled whole cabbage served with fresh herbs and fruits and other healthy organic fresh kitchen ingredients.

This meal was particularly messy to eat, because it involved a hand-on experience in pulling the cabbage leaves and using it as a wrapper to hold the other ingredients in place (ala Korean style) before dipping it on the sauce and eating it.

Don’t let its looks full you, because this dish will fill up your tummy in no time. And this is only just salad.

LOVER’S FEAST

For the main course, we got the Lover’s Feast, (I forgot what it’s actually called), which was a series of all things meat (salmon belly, chicken, lamb, pork, beef), black rice, vegetables and fruits all served into one big platter. If that wasn’t enough, it also accompanied 2 glasses of organic red wine, which tasted strong in my opinion.

WHO STOLE THE TARTS?

Finally, for our final course, we got our dessert. Contrary to the header, our dish wasn’t tarts. Lol.

We actually got 2 variants, which were referred to as the wholesome and the sinful desserts.This reminded me of 707′s Valentine After Ending in mystic messenger (white and bitter chocolate) lol.

Wholesome - Sliced organic ice candy with fruits Sinful - Mel Gibson's Darkest Sin

Similar to our Axl Rose appetizer, the sinful delicacy needed certain preparations, so this time, Daniel was the one who did it for us, since Maricar hinted that this was his favorite part of serving.

Basically, the sinful dessert, which was also called Mel Gibson’s darkest sin, contains Van Gogh’s favorite drink: the absinthe. Mixed in with sugar and fire on a glass tea kettle, our server displayed a fantastic reenactment of Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire.

After pouring back the alcohol (now darkened by the burned sugar) on the shot glass, Daniel taught us the French term of cheers (à votre santé) and left us to enjoy our drink, with chocolate as our chaser.

ADVICE FROM THE CATERPILLAR

Our stay in Van Gogh Is Bipolar, to say the least, has been a tremendous and extraordinary experience.

Almost like a metamorphosis of the soul.

This place provides an environment that lets us be detached with the real world for a short while, a small respite from the stress of everyday life.

A secret hideout of lost sheep if you will.

Though similar in some aspects that some establishments have offered, there is something strange and special about Van Gogh Is Bipolar that the others could not replicate: Madness & Beauty.

From its artistic vintage style to its nostalgic paraphernalia of the past, old souls like us are hooked to such aesthetics like moths on an open fire.

What's also amazing about this shop aside from its homey yet impressive display of interior design, is that their food reflects the same high caliber to which its walls and its very atmosphere emanate. Not only do they give customers like us an experience unique from the traditional ways of conventional eating, they also make sure that what you consume is healthy to your mind, body and soul. And that, in my opinion, is very laudable.

Except for that sinful dessert. That alone felt like a punch in the gut. >.<

Overall, eating at Van Gogh Is Bipolar has given me a benchmark of a private world that I want to make with my future husband. ❤ ❤ ❤

To end this post, here’s the final curtain event that happened before our departure from Van Gogh Is Bipolar:

DATE WITH THE CHESHIRE CAT DINAH.

Ian’s actual date, lol. How dare you two-time me, you fiend! XP

P.S.

We spent almost 3 hours inside, can you believe it? XP

#food #anniversary #8th #van gogh is bipolar #philippines

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