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knickynoo · 1 year

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Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s01ep06 "Go Fly a Kite" Review and Commentary

Link to previous episodes HERE

You know, I'm really having a blast writing up these posts. A big thank you to those of you who are reading these. Glad you're enjoying them.

In this episode: Electricity ceases to exist because Verne thinks he's adopted. Also, Marty is the Smart One for 2 and a half seconds.

We get a fun little surprise in this episode, which starts with a clip from the first BTTF film! It's a quick one, but we get to see the lightning striking the clock tower and Marty traveling back to 1985. Prior to this, we haven't gotten any footage from the movies woven into the episodes, so that's neat. Of course, its inclusion is due to electricity playing a big role in today's episode.

After the clip, we go to Real Doc in his lab, who continues to barely blink during these segments. If you've been keeping up with these posts, you're aware of my concern for Animated Series Real Doc. He's like Movie Doc but turned up 5 or 6 extra notches. There is a frantic, crazed air about him that isn't present in Movie Doc. A tangible sense of "some sort of fuse has blown in this man's brain" that I can't quite put my finger on, but it is there. Animated Series Real Doc is bananas.

I think—I think that Doc needs to go on a vacation. A nice, calm, relaxing vacation to a tropical island where he can sit on the beach and listen to seagulls and waves crashing. He needs to de-stress.

Real Doc tells us about Benjamin Franklin inventing the lightning rod, and how he was actually present on the night Franklin did his kite experiment. This brings us into the cartoon portion of the episode.

Jules and Verne are playing some sort of high-tech board game, complete with little holograph versions of themselves traveling around the board. Jules wins, and we see a tally chart indicating he's won the game 35 times, while Verne has won only once. When Verne asks how Jules always manages to win, Jules replies, "Face it, Verne, you lack the basic intellectual skills one would naturally expect in a member of the Brown lineage." He goes on to say that Verne isn't good at science and that he doesn't resemble their mother or father. While he's piling on all these insults, Verne is hitting a punching bag that has a picture of Jules drawn on it.

Jules says the logical conclusion is that Verne is adopted. Clara calls the boys to come eat then, to which Jules turns to his brother and says, "Ah, that would be my biological mother. Would you care to join my family for dinner?" He is being terrible. Poor Vernie.

Jules goes on to point out that there's a mysterious lack of baby pictures of Verne. "For all we know, you might even be a Tannen," he says, which makes Verne storm out of the treehouse in his little motorized car.

Meanwhile, Doc is in his lab putting the finishing touches on a new invention. It's a contraption that's powered by a mini flux capacitor and allows him to take a photograph of any person throughout history just by inputting a few pieces of information. ??? I don't. I don't really understand how this would work or what the point is, but ok, Doc. Also, Einstein is wearing those gloves that give him human hands again.

I find this to be unsettling and unnecessary.

Doc is just about to test the device (having decided to take a picture of Benjamin Franklin) when Verne comes flying into the room, demanding to know if he's a Tannen or not. When he mentions not having any baby pictures, Doc then goes to type Verne's name and birthdate onto the screen but is interrupted by an alarm that signals it's time for dinner. (I like the idea of Clara activating a big blinking light and a siren to signal Doc to COME EAT. That sounds like something that would happen.)

Left alone in the lab, Verne sits on the device's keypad and activates it. Because Doc had previously typed in "Ben Franklin" and then followed it with Verne's name, the device combines the two pieces of information and prints out a photo of the two of them. The result is a picture of Benjamin Franklin holding Verne as a baby. Naturally, Verne assumes this means that Ben Franklin is his real father.

We briefly visit the Brown kitchen then, where Clara is serving dinner. She stops Doc before he can reach for the food, and is like, "Aren't we forgetting something?" (she wants him to wash his hands) and I must include Doc's full response because it is. Something.

"Yes, yes. I should launder the epidermal surface of my upper forelimbs' terminal components, utilizing a perfumed block of rendered animal fat." That is TWENTY-TWO words just to say, "Right, I should wash my hands." Doc is so extra.

Verne steals the DeLorean and travels to 1752 to meet his "real dad", and he manages to interrupt Ben Franklin's kite experiment. This then causes all lights and forms of electricity to go out in the present day since Franklin never made his discovery. Marty soon arrives at the Brown residence, having concluded that every single light going out in town must be Doc's fault somehow. Very good conclusion, Marty.

The family gets a video message from Verne—Doc has begun to convert some of the house to run on steam, which is how the video goes through—where he says goodbye to them and that he's off to be with his real father. Jules admits that he's to blame for putting the idea in Verne's head, and we learn Jules's full name as Clara angrily says it: Jules Eratosthenes Brown.

Doc laments that now Verne is lost in time with no way for them to know where he went, but Marty knows just what to do! He rewinds the video, enlarges the image, and zooms in to see the date and location programmed onto the time circuits. "Marty, you're a genius!" Doc exclaims, then grabbing Marty in a too-tight hug. (I am glad Marty's getting a moment to show his intelligence here because 1. he deserves some recognition and 2. he's been an utter bonehead thus far in this cartoon)

Marty, desperately attempting to escape Doc's affection.

Marty, Doc, and Einie take off for 1752, where they proceed to chase Verne all around. Eventually, Verne comes across a large building that has a clock tower, and he decides climbing up to the top will be a good place to hide from his "fake dad" (aka Doc).

Upon reaching the top, Verne accidentally knocks over some building materials on the roof, sending lots of bricks and pieces of metal crashing to the ground. When Doc sees the crash and resulting pile of rubble, he fears that Verne has also fallen and is buried beneath it. He starts shouting for people nearby to help, but they don't seem particularly eager.

"Don't you get it?! This is my little boy I'm talking about!" Doc says to them. "My son! My own flesh and blood! He might be hurt!"

It's all very sweet, and the words of love even reach their way all the way up to Vernie, who is listening from a ladder.

Listen. I have such a soft spot for Verne Brown. This cartoon overall is bonkers, but I really like his character a lot. He is so wildly different from the rest of the Brown family, but he and Doc have such a special bond that adds to this show. I love this scene and how he's instantly moved to tears at hearing how distraught Doc is.

Verne decides that anyone who loves him that much must be his real father, and he calls to Doc from the top of the clock tower. Unfortunately, he slips and ends up hanging off the building. Hmm...what other Brown has done this before?

Doc scrambles to the roof and takes Verne by the hand, but then Doc slips and they're both dangling from the clock. Marty and Einie arrive, and they come up with a plan to rescue Doc and Verne. I should clarify, actually, that it's Einstein who comes up with the plan. He barks, and Marty goes, "Great idea!" and runs to follow him. They fly the time train by just as Doc and Verne fall, catching them safely inside.

With that crisis averted, they now have to deal with the other one: Ben Franklin's lightning experiment being interrupted. Seeing as the sky is clear, they must "create" a storm of their own, which Doc does by creating a lot of smoke via the train, having Verne spray a hose out the window, simulating thunder by banging on a pot, and creating lighting with some sort of device that generates large amounts of static electricity. It makes Marty's hair look very silly.

He has to crank the machine while holding onto Doc, who is dangling out of the train (Doc has to aim where the bolt of lightning will go). That's right. Marty is supporting all of Doc's weight just by holding him with one hand. More evidence for my "Marty has superhuman strength" theory.

The plan is executed successfully, and we return to 1991, where all the lights turn back on. Unfortunately, Clara had to break apart and burn every chair in order to run the stove while the guys were gone, so they're all reduced to sitting around and eating on the floor.

We end the cartoon with this sweet family togetherness moment, and then we get back to Real Doc. *throws confetti*

The live-action segment begins with a lab full of Hawaiian shirts hanging on a clothesline because Doc evidently decided to do some laundry while the cartoon was happening, and he lost track of time. After getting himself back on track, he uses some socks to demonstrate static electricity. He's still not blinking.

After Bill Nye shows us a do-at-home experiment using socks and balloons, we return to Doc, who gives us perhaps the best example of static electricity because his hair looks like THIS

He goes on to tell us that he has to look his best for tonight because he's meeting Clara for dinner. Which is adorable. I love that they have special little date nights together. I wonder if Marty babysits Jules and Verne while Doc and Clara go out. I hope Doc didn't look in a mirror and met up with Clara at a nice restaurant looking like that.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It's definitely the most heartfelt one so far in the series, and I like that it really shows us a glimpse of what a loving, dedicated father Doc is. I do, however, feel like it's also the least funny episode so far—which makes sense given the plot, of course. But it didn't leave a lot of room for me to make funny commentary. :(

Join me next time as I skip episode 7 entirely and jump to 8 instead because episode 7 is so weird and bad that I don't want to put myself through having to write a post about it.

#back to the future #bttf #bttf: the animated series

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still-astray · 2 years

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I have another request 😭 so basically Sophie gets told by a rude staff that she has to go on a diet. Since she’s still growing it’s bad for her health and she loses a lot of weight and passes out. When she does Stray Kids storm JYP ENT and the other JYP idols find out like ITZY TWICE NMIXX and they are pissed so they rip JYP a new one until he tells them that she was only supposed to lose a kilogram. Because of that JYP is also angry so the staff is called in and Chan has to be held back before he beats his booty a new one. Then Sophie wakes up. Her self confidence is a bit low because timeline wise this is after the bullying incident but the group just allowed her to do stuff without the buddy system. But SKZ raise it back up. 🍿⚾️ it’s a bit messy bc I just got back from school💀

a/n: i am so sorry this is later than usual!! i didn’t have a lot of chances to write today 😔 anyway here you go!! hope you enjoy <3

Fifteen

sophie encounters yet another challenge of being an idol

genre: angst

word count: 1.8k (scenario only)

warnings: extreme weight loss, fainting, displays of anger (no one gets hurt!), brief mention of hospitals, brief swearing, underlying theme of bodyshaming, brief bodyshaming mentions

•🧚🏻‍♀️•

“Hey, Sophie, why aren’t you eating?”

Sophie froze, chopsticks poised to push more meat around in its bowl. “I’m… just not very hungry,” she fibbed, praying that the boys wouldn’t push for more information.

“I get that you’re trying to stay thin, Sunflower,” said Hyunjin, looking concerned, “but remember you’re still growing. You’ve got to eat enough to stay healthy.”

“I’m still in the recommended weight for my size and age,” mumbled Sophie, taking a tiny bite of meat and praying that nobody would ask her how much she weighed.

“Won’t be for long if you keep eating like that,” pointed out Seungmin.

If you only knew.

•🧚🏻‍♀️•

“Oh wow!” Sophie straightened up and looked around, amazed at her new view. “Good gracious, Kai, you’re tall.”

Hueningkai chuckled and looked up at the small girl perched on his shoulders. “Like it up there?”

“Heck yeah.” Sophie voiced her pleasure in English, unable to remember the Korean words anyway.

Beomgyu and Natalie strolled out of the cafe, each one carrying a tray. “How’s the weather up there, Soph?” called Natalie teasingly.

“Kinda warm,” replied Sophie honestly. “I miss having shadows to stand in.”

“Welcome to my world,” quipped Hueningkai as he let her scramble down to sit at the picnic table with the others.

Beomgyu began passing out snacks and drinks. “Soph, why’d you only get a smoothie?” he asked, passing her the strawberry banana drink. “Usually you’re starving around this hour.”

“You’re not on a diet, right?” asked Natalie, concerned. “You’re already so thin.”

“N-nope, I’m fine.” Even as she said to, her voice began to shake just a little bit.

“How are your members letting you go out without them now?” queried Hueningkai. “I mean, the way Jeongin told Beomgyu, seemed like you’d never get to leave the dorm again.”

Sophie giggled despite feeling a bit dizzy. Probably just the heat. “Seungmin finally convinced Chan that I’d forget how to interact with people if he didn’t let me get back to normal life.”

Sophie sipped her fruit-flavored drink, hoping the frostiness would cool her down. She really was starting to feel weird.

“It’s so stupid that people are so against coed groups,” said Natalie, shaking her head. Her short, dyed-blonde hair brushed against her jawline, and Sophie thought that she saw black clips holding it back. But a moment later, the clips had moved. Sophie blinked, and more spots appeared.

Inwardly freaking out, she nudged Hueningkai. “I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled to him before slipping to the ground.

Hueningkai caught her before her head hit the concrete, picking her up and laying her down across the bench. Beomgyu and Natalie already had their phones to their ears. “Yes, hello, we need an ambulance,” Natalie said, surprisingly calm for the emergency situation.

“Hey, Jeongin- uh, where’s Chan?” Beomgyu asked into the phone. “Hey, Chan- so we were just sitting here having a snack and Sophie just passed out- hello? Hello? Wait, he what? Then why do I hear everyone else running too- Jeongin? Jeongin?”

“What happened?” Hueningkai asked, since Natalie was still on the phone.

“I think Stray Kids is storming the JYP building,” Beomgyu related, not really looking like he believed it himself. “Chan said something about too thin before he tossed the phone back to Jeongin.”

“Diet?” guessed Hueningkai, taking another look at the very thin girl lying unconscious on the bench.

“Probably, but why that much weight loss is beyond me.” Beomgyu shook his head.

“Damn it!” Completely forgetting to watch his language, Chan tossed the phone back to Jeongin and ran out of the room, snapping to himself about “should have realized why she’s suddenly so thin” before he dashed out of earshot.

Like a match in a roomful of gunpowder, the anger exploded through the room, spreading to the other members as they too sprinted from the room. Only Hyunjin remained behind, dialing a number into his phone.

Natalie finally got off the phone. “Ambulance is on its way,” she reported. “They want one of us and one of her members.”

“Her members are currently-“ began Beomgyu, but was cut off by his phone ringing again. “Hyunjin?… Yeah, I was going to call one of the TWICE members to fill in for you guys, but I guess that’s not necessary now… Okay, just come here to the cafe, I’ll send you the location. See you soon.” He set his phone down on the table. “Hyunjin figured that a member might be needed in some way or another, so he didn’t join the rampage.”

“The what?!” demanded Natalie.

“Stray Kids are storming the JYP building,” Beomgyu told her. “And from what Hyunjin said, it sounds like other groups found out really fast and have joined in.”

If one had been practicing in any random practice room along a certain hallway that day, they would have heard what could be compared to a stampede outside the door.

In truth, it kind of was a stampede. A stampede of idol groups ready to defend Stray Kids’ adorable, sweet maknae.

It wasn’t just Stray Kids running for justice now; somewhere along the way TWICE had heard the news of Sophie’s blackout, and had joined the younger group. Then ITZY found out, and then NMIXX. Now there was just a crowd of idols running through the halls, not really even thinking about what they were going to do when they reached JYP except for find out what was going on.

Upon reaching the office, Chan was the first one inside, followed by Changbin. Sana and Nayeon from TWICE slipped in next, followed by ITZY’s Ryujin and NMIXX’s Lily. The others crowded where they could, whether that be at the back of the office or standing outside the door.

JYP looked very surprised to see the unexpected visitors. “What’s going on-“ he started to ask, but Chan interrupted. “I want to know why my maknae passed out today due to losing too much weight!”

The other idols chimed in, each adding their two cents until the office was in an uproar. Finally, JYP managed to calm them down enough to say his piece.

“It’s not like that,” he said.

Hyunjin paced the small ER room, occasionally glancing at the sleeping Sophie to see if she’d awoken yet; however, each time he was disappointed.

“Relax, Hyunjin,” advised Beomgyu, looking just as tense as Hyunjin. “She’ll wake up on her own time.”

“85 pounds,” muttered Hyunjin, ignoring Beomgyu for the moment. “She’s supposed to be at least in the nineties!”

“Hyunjin.” Natalie’s voice broke through his cloud of distress. “Sit down. Breathe.”

Hyunjin exhaled, too frustrated to do either of those things. “She wouldn’t eat, not even when we suggested American foods,” he mumbled. “Stupid, stupid diets. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid-“

“H-hyunjin?”

<JYP’s office>

“It’s not like that.” JYP sighed, looking extremely regretful.

“Then explain what it is like,” snapped Ryujin, her eyes flashing fire.

“She was only supposed to lose two pounds-“

“She was already only 100 pounds!” exclaimed Changbin angrily. “Are you trying to tell me that 98 pounds is healthy?”

“98 pounds is still within the recommended weight limits-“

“But it’s not technically healthy?” interjected Nayeon, her arms folded.

“It’s a healthy enough weight and considering her role in the next-“

“Whoaa,” interrupted Chan, alarmed at the potential spoiler. “Okay, so she was only supposed to lose two pounds. How did that turn into fifteen?”

JYP gaped. “Fifteen???”

<Sophie’s ER room>

“H-hyunjin?” The small, weak voice coming from the bed cut straight to the older member’s heart, as much relieving him as hurting him that she sounded like that.

“Sophie.” He was at the bedside in one step, embracing the confused girl in a long hug. “You scared us so bad.”

“I- I’m sorry,” mumbled Sophie, her voice muffled by his hair in her face. “But I still don’t know what’s going on…”

“You passed out while we were at the cafe,” explained Beomgyu, trying his best not to run around leaping for joy that she’d finally awakened.

Sophie nodded, still looking confused. “I didn’t eat anything, did I?”

“No, you’ve not eaten in two days,” said Hyunjin crossly, still hugging her. “Diets aren’t supposed to starve you, Sunflower.”

“The- the staff kept saying I was too big though,” said an even more confused Sophie.

“Sophie, how much weight were you supposed to lose?” Hyunjin asked her.

“I don’t know…” Sophie began to tear up, and Hyunjin hugged her tighter.

“No, no, it’s okay, don’t cry. Tell me how much you lost.”

Sophie swallowed. “I… uhh, may or may not have been tricked into to losing fifteen.”

“Fifteen?!” Hyunjin’s howl hurt her ears, and she poked him in the ribs as punishment, even as she began to cry softly.

“I- I didn’t know how much I’d lost, and then one day I looked at the scale and realized I’d lost way too much, I tried to talk to her about it but she kept brushing me off-“

“Which staff was this?”

“The red haired one who always looks at me like I’m a roach on her perfectly cleaned white floor.”

“We’ll get this taken care of, Bubble.” Hyunjin began to rub the girl’s hair comfortingly, and she gradually began to relax. “But if something ever seems wrong about a diet, please come to us.”

<JYP‘s office>

The female staff member already looked nervous enough when she walked into the office, but when she saw Chan’s livid expression, her eyes widened and her lips pressed together nervously.

“I want to know why you forced my member to lose fifteen pounds!” Not even thinking about the consequences of his actions, Chan lunged for the staff.

“Chan!” Changbin grabbed him, barely holding him back. Lily and Sullyeon joined him, as well as Sana and Jiho.

“Chan,” said Jiho calmly, although her eyes spit fire, “attacking her is just going to cause more problems. Don’t get into a lawsuit over a diet problem.”

“It’s not just a diet problem,” snapped Chan, but he allowed the others to restrain him. “My member passed out today, that’s not normal! She was already thin enough, why did she have to be thinner?!”

“She- she was still bigger compared to Lia-“

JYP glared daggers at the staff, and she stopped talking. “So you made her lose thirteen more pounds just so she could be the thinnest JYP idol?”

“N-no-“

“Then what? So she could beat AB6IX Daehwi’s record of a seventeen-inch waist?”

“N-no-“

“So there was absolutely no good reason for her to lose that much weight,” finished JYP. “As of today, you are officially fired and if I hear of you talking to Sophie again, I’m getting a restraining order placed.”

The staff member gaped at him. “You- you can’t do that!” she sputtered in disbelief.

“Oh, yes I can. And I will.” JYP waved her away dismissively like she was a pesky fly. “Go on, get out before I let Chan do what I know he wants to do to you.”

That did it and the staff shot from the room like a rocket. JYP turned to Chan. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get back to Sophie.”

•🧚🏻‍♀️•

Members’ Reactions:

(after the fact) (gifs from giphy are noted in pink)

Chan:

(gif credit: @ straykids on GIPHY)

THE most relieved to know she’s alive, literally

wishes she could come home right away but her condition has to stabilize

once she’s home though he begs felix to make american food so sophie will eat more

absolutely hates the fact that her appetite is slow in returning due to her extreme diet

even more determined than ever to protect her from haters

disables the notifications on her phone for the stray kids social media accounts so she’s not as tempted to read comments and posts about the whole situation

“can’t you eat just two more bites?” “chan i’m full, i’m sorry :(” “you only ate a third of your dinner though :(” “i’ll eat a little more tomorrow, i promise <3”

Minho:

easily the most disturbed by the weight loss

he noticed her weight change most when he was teaching her dance

like he’d correct her waist position and notice how easily he could encircle it with his two hands

or she’d be lining her arm up to match his and he’d notice just how thin hers was even compared to his

he didn’t say anything though because he wasn’t sure what was normal for a girl her age and size

now he feels absolutely horrible and sophie’s still trying to convince him it wasn’t his fault, two weeks later

Changbin:

(gif credit: @ straykids on GIPHY)

doesn’t show how upset he is about this around sophie but in reality he’s almost as mad as chan was still is when he thinks about it

dont bring it up in his hearing or he’s going to get all upset again (again, he doesn’t show this to sophie)

constantly trying to get her to eat more

“it’s meat, sophie, eat it and you’ll get muscles like mine” “but i’m a girl…” “what does that matter? you’ll be the strongest female idol- and more importantly, you’ll be healthy again…”

Hyunjin:

more concerned with keeping sophie at a healthy weight than remembering the incident

always changes the subject faster than lightspeed whenever anyone even briefly references it

trying to push it out of everyone’s memories

he succeeds in helping sophie get mostly past the bodyshaming

with some help from felix and jeongin of course

Jisung:

also just trying to get everyone to forget about it

he’s always concerned with the length of sophie’s shorts, so whenever he would notice that whatever shorts she was wearing were too short in his opinion, he’d also unavoidably notice how she was getting thinner on what seemed like the daily

beat himself up for a good week and a half that he didn’t put two and two together sooner and sophie had a heck of a time convincing him it’s not his fault

often sneaks her little sugary treats that she stocks up on and makes last way longer than they should

even bought her american candy upon a couple occasions

she treasured that candy almost more than her prized Enhypen autograph page

Felix:

(gif credit: @ straykids on GIPHY)

was already planning to make her american dishes in the hopes she’d eat them but after chan practically begged him to do so that just further solidified the decision

researches all sorts of things to make them taste as good as possible

even tries american variants on korean recipes

everyone loves the experiments, felix hasn’t failed one of them yet and now he constantly gets references from his members about that one God’s Menu line

will cook literally anything for sophie except for soufflé because of how noisy the dorms are on the daily

Seungmin:

leaves positive body affirmations he either makes up for finds online around the house and everyone just knows by now that they’re meant for sophie

changbin got so confused for a while at why seungmin was leaving these slips of paper that said things like “you have the perfect figure already” around a male-dominated dorm

the rest of the members had already figured it out by this time and it was a laughable occurrence that he still prefers not to be mentioned or referenced

anyway back to seungmin

also recommends sweet [some are ballads, some are not] songs for her that are meant to encourage girls

even puts his Hometown Cha Cha Cha OST on there which makes everyone laugh

he explains that he did it as a reminder that he and the members would always be there for her no matter what she goes through

Jeongin:

honestly he kind of babies her

not that he doesn’t already (he absolutely adores having someone younger than him in the group who he can baby) but even more so now than before

will randomly pick up her eating utensils and poke the food at her lips, making her smile and then he pushes it in all the way and thus makes her eat in the absolute sweetest way

again goes on a buying spree but this time it’s themed plushies instead of random ones

this incident’s theme is disney

he nonchalantly finds out her disney favorites and then sometime in the next few days, those plushies start popping up in random places around the dorms or practice room with her name on the attached gift tag

constantly showing her how many STAYs think she’s beautiful and perfect

#skz’ bubbly sunflower 🫧🌻#stray kids’ sophie #stray kids 9th member #stray kids imagines #twice imagines #nmixx imagines #itzy imagines #txt imagines

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yuppieresearch · 1 year

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THE LOST TAPES

throughout the sintracorp building, there are several nameless VHS tapes that have been dubbed “the lost tapes”.

The lost tapes are never specifically referenced by anyone in-game, and Brian himself only comments on the lack of a title for the very first tape; he wordlessly collects the other two. The only tapes that any of the NPCs mention are the Videoclub Misterio tapes, which I have already made a post on here. Because of the lack of acknowledgement, it is hard to draw any definitive conclusions from these tapes, such as why they were made and who made them.

Each tape features a symbol drawn on the tape itself (with the exception of the final tape, which is only accessible via the Sintra residence television), and said symbol is also displayed at the beginning of the corresponding tape. The symbols on the second and third tapes are both vévés, religious symbols commonly used in different branches of vodun. Because of their correlation to vodun, I personally assume these tapes were created or originally owned by either R. Corvo or Mr. Hugo, though this is a bit of a stretch.

CONTENTS OF THE TAPES/MEANING OF THEIR SYMBOLS

LOST TAPE #1

The first tape features no dialogue. It seems to show two people attached to a string and gear mechanism, which causes the two of them to walk towards each other when activated, but other than that, it is nearly indecipherable. A friend of mine proposed the idea that the two intertwined individuals are supposed to represent Brian and Mr. Devil, with the string mechanism specifically reminding him of puppetry.

As for the symbol found on the tape, I believe it to be Hecate’s wheel. Hecate’s wheel is a Greek symbol used to represent the moon goddess Hecate. She is mainly known for her "triple goddess" aspect, appearing in the form of each phase of female life: maiden (the virgin), mother, and crone (the witch). These three sides are reflected in her wheel.

I am unsure if the symbol corresponds to the tape at all, but I find it interesting that it is easy to assign characters to the three sides of hecate: Kate or Atia Moeta as the virgin, Xiu Ying as the mother, and Domori or the snake as the witch.

LOST TAPE #2

The second tape also has no dialogue. We are shown a hand-drawn animation of two children playing together. The shorter child noticeably wears an eyepatch, which the other, taller child draws an eye on. Whether this is done in an attempt to comfort or tease the shorter child is unclear, but the shorter child appears uncomfortable or uneasy. It cuts to the shorter child walking alone in the woods and discovering what appears to be a woman's corpse. A section of the deceased woman’s hair moves around before the tape ends.

I believe the symbol on this tape is the vévé of Ayizan. Ayizan is the loa (or, spirit) of the marketplace and commerce in vodou. She is regarded as the first priestess, and as such, she is associated with priestly knowledge, purification, protection, and mysteries. Though the theme of mystery is prevalent with these tapes, this gives no context as to who these children are or how they relate to Yuppie Psycho.

LOST TAPE #3

This is the only tape to have dialogue. We are shown various shots of the ocean, boats, and a statue that I am unable to identify but it appears to be of a woman in blue praying. The subtitles read: "Darling, you were always right... I was not ready. to lose it all."

The symbol on this tape might be the vévé of Siete Rayos. Siete Rayos is the loa of lightning and fire, and seems to like cigars, rum, and bananas as offerings. From the dialogue and clips alone, i assume this tape is related to the Sintra family in some way. Rei often remarks that her family used to visit the ocean a lot on vacation, and there is the connection of fire to Domori’s burning.

Interestingly, the text files of Yuppie Psycho label this tape "homevideo," while none of the other tapes are given names (only being called "lost tape 1" and "lost tape 2″).

thank you again to my friend asher! he was a big help in identifying symbols and gave second opinions on the meaning of each tape. ^^ if anyone has any ideas on how these tapes connect to yuppie, please feel free to share!

#yuppie psycho #yp #lost tapes

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letarasstuff · 3 years

Text

Ranting

(A/N): This was requested by an anon, I hope you like it :)

Summary: In the middle of midterms, Spencer's daughter has enough and for the first time in her life, she rants to the team

Warnings: one swear word, school, school stress, mental breakdown, shitty friends, a bit of angst (but there is fluff to balance that out), weird grammatical sentences that are according to google correct

Wordcount: 2.3k

✨Masterlist✨ _____________________________ As a teenager, Spencer was pretty closed off. But this had several reasons, like being a child (or moreover a teen prodigy) at college and getting his first Ph.D, or that he hadn’t had a safety net of people he could have gone to. So as he became a father himself, he tried everything possible to assure his own daughter that her feelings and thoughts are always welcome and valid.

Unfortunately (Y/N) herself has developed the same habit starting high school and ever since Spencer can’t do anything to get her to open up to him. It’s not like they don’t have a good relationship, they have one of the strongest father-daughter bonds the BAU has ever witnessed. The girl simply has other ways to cope with her feelings and how to act them out in the safety of her own four walls. Her father learned to accept it, knowing that he can’t and won’t force her to talk to him.

So what follows now not only shocked Spencer. But also his work family.

It’s the time every teen in high school dreads: Midterms.

A word a teacher can mutter and a shiver goes through the rows of students in the classroom. Or at least it feels like it to (Y/N). She takes her school work very seriously. In her mind every single grade determines her future.

The rational part in her knows that the grades in her sophomore year doesn’t matter. That they are even long forgotten when she graduates. There is just so much pressure on her. But it isn’t coming from her father.

Spencer is pretty laid-back regarding school. He knows his daughter is trying her best and that it’s just the tenth grade and not the end of the world. School is not everything life has to offer, especially he has to know it as a scholar and profiler flying through the country in a jet back and forth.

It’s (Y/N)’s classmates, who pressure her to get good grades.

“We depend on you and your notes”, Tyler exclaims as he jogs next to her through the busy hallway. “Ty, I know. But I don’t have the time to get them done for all of you to understand by tomorrow. They are still a mess that only I know to see through. I still have to finish my history project and I go to my Dad’s work this afternoon, which means I won’t get much done and I still have to do the homework I got today before sorting my notes for the test in two days.”

At her locker, the boy still doesn’t let go of the subject. “Do you want to say that our grades don’t matter as much as yours? Because this would be a true selfish statement.” Maybe it is the lack of sleep, because she pulled three all-nighters in two weeks, or the fact that she is slowly getting fed up being treated like an unpaid private teacher, but (Y/N) can’t stop her sassy answer. “Tyler, you wouldn't even know how to tell apart your ass from your head if it weren’t for me and my help in biology. You wouldn’t even know how to spell selfish if I didn’t let you copy my answers in spelling tests in elementary school.”

Done with the day and her friend’s shit, she slams the door of her locker shut and leaves a flabbergasted boy behind. Half an hour later the teenager enters the bullpen with her visitor badge clipped to the pocket of her sweater.

On the way there she was fuming. The audacity of her friends. It’s not only Tyler, who tried to get her notes of a unit, she was the only one listening, even though the teacher said loud and clear that this will be important for midterms. A few other friends out of the group she usually hangs out with texted her the same question of when her notes will be given to them. Understandably, (Y/N) comes into the office in the worst mood anyone from the team ever saw, including her own father.

“Hey Sweetheart”, he tries to greet her with a hug. Even though both of them are not big on touch, they are extra affectionate with people they are close to.

To everybody’s surprise, the girl takes a step back, effectively avoiding his open arms. “Hey”, she grumbles out before taking a seat in the chair already waiting for her. Nobody is allowed to sit in this one, except for her. Not even Derek has ever put his butt on this one, knowing the sacredness of it.

Without sparing anyone another glance, (Y/N) gets the needed stuff for that history project out and continues working on it. The team resorts to throwing a questiongly look to Spencer, who shrugs his shoulders with a look of despair. So everyone resumes their work without even daring to say a word.

The general silence is occasionally broken by an unnerved sigh leaving the teenager’s lips. “Is the conference room occupied?” She asks, her voice clearly showing how annoyed she is. Her father shakes his head. “No, not that I know of. Do you need help with your school work?” This is obviously the wrong thing to say. “Do I look like a baby? I don’t need anyone to help with that, I have been going to school for ten years now, I think I can handle this project as perfectly fine as I did since day one. It’s just your keyboard typing that will be the reason for my first grey hairs if I don’t get out of here soon.”

Quickly (Y/N) gathers her stuff and storms off into the conference room. Immediately the team crowds her father’s desk. “What happened?” “Who hurt her?” “Go, talk to her!”

“Guys, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m at the same loss as all of you. The only thing I know is that (Y/N) is under pressure, because it’s midterms. But judging by the way she reacted, I don’t want to go near her. It’s safer to try to defuse a bomb than talk to her in that mood. Last time I saw something similar, her favorite show was declared finished, got a revival and then didn’t get one and nobody mentioned it again. She was so mad, I think it took three years of her life.” A silence of uncertainty spreads through the room.

“What about we give her some room until she calms down?” JJ suggests, being unsure herself how to deal with a teenage girl. But the rest agrees and goes back to filling out their paperwork.

This continues for about 20 minutes, till a loud bang and a frustrated scream is heard followed by “DON’T THEY WANT TO GET IT OR ARE THEY JUST STUPID?!” Alerted by that, seven people (yes, even Dave and Aaron leave their offices, while Penelope was already in the bullpen) storm into the round table room only to see a more than outraged (Y/N).

“Sweetheart”, Spencer speaks to her in the gentlest voice they ever heard from him and slowly moves towards his daughter, “What’s going on?”

Her response is delayed by several deep breaths she has to take in order to be able to talk without seething. “ALL OF MY SO CALLED FRIENDS ARE ASKING ME FOR MY NOTES, like do I look like a personal tutor? And when I tell them that I got a life, a life outside of school and grades, because otherwise I go completely bananas, just like all of you say, they get mad. Now they act like I’m the most selfish person in the whole world. I’m so done, can’t they understand that they are old enough to take care of their own stuff? I’m not responsible for them, their grades or anything regarding their lives. Otherwise I would be the mother of at least four toddlers and one baby and at the age of sixteen I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility. I know friends are there for eachother, and I really don’t mind helping them from time to time. But what they are doing is terror. Terror.

“Oh and don’t get me started on their tormention if I get something lower than an A-. Then they suddenly transform into geniuses, like they suddenly know everything possible. Of course, I’m the dumb one. I should have studied more.

“I am under an insane amount of pressure, because I know they rely on me, but enough is enough. I tell them that if anyone asks me for anything school related again and they act like I owe them an answer, I’ll cut off all ties to all of them. What am I, a roboter just there for their needs, without some of my own?”

After her long rant, (Y/N) takes a couple more breaths. It’s pretty much the only sound right now, because the team is stunned. None of them heard her talking, no ranting, like that. Not even her Spencer has seen her like that.

Realizing what she just said, the teenager fidgets nervously with her hands. “I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, you know, blow up like that. I, I really don’t know where this came from.” Nervously she scratches the back of her head. It really wasn’t her intention to let it out like that. Her plan was just to come home tonight and deal in the confinement of her own four walls with all of her feelings. It’s easier to be honest to yourself when you are alone than having an audience watching you losing it.

Suddenly (Y/N) finds herself engulfed in a massive bear hug. “Oh, my sweet sweet summerchild. You needed to rant to us and I’m so happy you did. Even though your uhm, friends, sound like big douchebags, we can help you sort something out”, Penelope tells her while keeping her arms around the teen.

“Just like lil mama said, we are here for you, Baby Reid. Don’t ever be afraid to tell us something, may it even be as small as you having stubbed your toe.” Morgan ruffles her hair and gives her a reassuring smile.

Just like them everybody shows her their support, be it encouraging words or affectionately gestures. Rossi invites her to a calm and quiet dinner at his mansion, cooking class included. Hotch assures her that she will get through this rough patch, with or without these fake people. JJ suggests (Y/N) comes over to her home and she can participate in a family game night at their home.

When it’s Emily’s turn, she makes sure to get her message loud and clear by looking the teen in the eyes (not as deep as it sounds, because some people make an intense stare really uncomfortable): “If those kids give you a hard time again, tell me. I’ll pay them a visit in classic protective godmother fashion, because nobody traits MY godchild like this. Just give me their names and I’ll handle the rest.” Obviously she doesn’t say this aloud in front of everyone, else Hotch will have her head, knowing she goes through with her threats. Instead she whispers it into the teen’s ear. Still, it makes (Y/N) smile, having such a strong support net.

Sensing the family’s need for time of their own to talk about the whole situation, the team leaves the room. Spencer gestures to her to take a seat after moving two chairs opposite each other. He wants her not to feel trapped.

“Do you still want to talk about it? It doesn’t have to be now, we can do it tonight, tomorrow, in a week or in a month. Just, please don’t shut me out. I know it’s difficult to be a teenager, especially in times like these. But it won’t do you any good keeping all of this for yourself. Today you took it out through anger. How will it look next time?

I don’t want to pressure you into talking. We don’t need to. We can find other coping mechanisms. We can try and reduce your stress. Anything. But we both know that this is not the right way.” While speaking, he takes his daughter’s hand, making her look up to him.

(Y/N) nods. Her eyes fill with tears. “I just can’t keep going like this.” She whispers, feeling all the stress, pressure and the intensity of the last few weeks crashing down on her. Quickly Spencer gathers her in his arms, letting her cry in his embrace.

After calming down, she looks up to her father with bloodshot eyes. “We can talk tonight. But I need you to do me a favor.” “Anything”, he assures her, stroking a hand along her back. “I, uhm, I need a new phone. I may or may not have thrown mine against the wall after getting a text from Tyler.”

Spencer looks at the crooked cell laying on the floor, the screen cracked. “I think we can get that sorted”, he tells her with a smile and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

The two of them leave the office earlier, having many things to talk about and many problems to solve. But with the help of her family (Y/N) gets through this, a time where people unfortunately only like her for her smarts and not being herself.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos @jswessie187 @kneelforloki

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962 @ellyhotchner

#spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x teen!reader #spencer reid x daughter!reader #Emily Prentiss x teen!reader #Penelope Garcia x teen!reader #Derek Morgan x teen!reader #x teen!reader #x daughter!reader #reid!reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #reader insert

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prince-honeypaw · 2 years

Note

Hi can I request a regresser Keigo (aka Hawks) head canon. I haven’t seen much about him with regressing and I really love him. Your page is so amazing btw. Have a great day! :3

♡ Hey there! Thank you very much for the compliment, and though I happen to have already done a couple little Hawks HCs before I was in a pretty good writing mood so here it is! (^人^) ♡ Please be wary, there may be some triggering content here! Namely mentions of abuse via Hero Commission! Other than that, enjoy.

♡ Were it not for the laws of this land, Keigo would exclusively eat dirt cups. Made with chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos, and gummy worms, a dirt cup is valid currency for a cheeky little chick that just won't sit still!

♡ Very emotional baby. He wants to be seen and heard in ways that the commission wouldn't allow. He wants to laugh too loud, cry too hard, and play too wild.

♡ Bonus Headcanon: Speaking of the commission, Keigo has tail feathers. Unfortunately these feathers are not linked to his quirk in the same way that his flight feathers do and were routinely plucked for his social image. After finding that they help balance him post-hooded Nomu attack they stopped plucking them... But, the damage was already done. Now Keigo plucks or preens a bit too roughly when he's anxious. They'd tell him to stop it, but that never worked, of course.

♡ Thankfully, it's rather easy to distract him from plucking. Giving him a tangle toy or a wool pull puff can sate the desire to pull and pluck! Helping preen also discourages the urge to pluck because it shows him that being gentle with his feathers is an option.

♡ He hoards fidget toys like a little dragon. There are six sand bananas in his apartment and most are stuck to the wall.

♡ Keigo is very gentle with toys that have faces! He has to turn them around one at a time when he cleans his room because he doesn't want them to know about the snack packages he hid under the couch... They are too pure to know his evil secrets like that. (He would also turn them around when he was doing anything involved with the Paranormal Liberation Front for the same reason.)

♡ Fashion sense is nonexistent. Keigo likes to feel pretty more than look pretty when he's little, and that means that he just puts on whatever he likes! It doesn't matter if it matches or clashes or whatever, if it feels good then it looks good!

♡ He'll spend hours putting on hair clips, pins, bracelets, and accessories of any sort just to decide that he wants to wear something completely different and the cycle begins anew. If his CG were in a hurry or planning on going somewhere with him, they would have to give him two colors and give him a time limit or they aren't going anywhere.

♡ Solidly against the naptime movement until he can no longer deny that he is tired. He will wrap in a blanket and shuffle over to his CG or a pile of laundry or other soft items and just... Flomp.

♡ He'll be back to shenanigans in two to three business hours, thank you.

#tw: mention of abuse #sfw agere #bnha agere #Agere Hawks #Honey HCs

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rosecaffelatte · 2 years

Text

it’s the little things | yamagata hayato

plot: it’s been a few years since you’ve entered adult life and… work is tough. but you manage, kinda. still, you can’t wait for your weekly date with your long-term partner hayato at your special place. however, you watch him doing some weird stuff… well, time to find out!

genre: timeskip au, established relationship, domestic au | fluff, hurt/comfort | yamagata x gn!reader

cast: yamagata hayato, you, shirofuku yukie

word count: 4k

warnings: swearing, food mention

hikki’s notes: this is for the open underrated characters collab! also, an himym clip about fries was the inspiration for this haha

“Hirosedori~ Hirosedori~”

Hm? Wait, is that…?

You quickly snap out of your after-work fatigue and soon realize, That’s my stop!

Just in time, you niftily stumble out of the metro. You can feel your heart racing, the pulse in your head doesn’t help your mild headache. As you try to calm down from your workout session for the week, the doors behind you are beeping.

Well, that was something.

As you attempt to fix your appearance, the metro picks up speed and soon leaves you with windswept hair. You let out a small sigh. But before you can drown yourself in self-pity, your phone rescues you. You can feel the corners of your mouth go slightly up as you read the message from Hayato.

Ready for our romantic date? Be there in 15 minutes!

Leave it to your long-term boyfriend to cheer you up without even knowing you’re feeling down. One look on the clock tells you that you’re a bit early.

No wonder. You basically sprinted out of your office but honestly, who can blame you? Today hasn’t been a great day. Actually, the whole week has been – to put it mildly – very shitty, especially since your co-worker Yukie has switched to working only part-time.

-✧-✧-✧-

two days ago

“As if she knows what she’s supposed to look for! She’s just lounging around in her mansion, scrolling through IG the whole day, chilling on daddy’s money!” Yukie cursed while you grimly nodded your head in agreement.

Apparently, the current owner of your company got bored with resting her sweet bum on the piles of money and decided to pay her inherited companies a visit like she always does for the last six years. It has become an annual tradition at this point.

“Have you seen our supervisor? I have never seen someone so desperate for a promotion!” you growled.

“I’m pretty sure that little brat doesn’t even have the authority to promote anyone,” Yukie agreed. You couldn’t help but smirk. Never in your life had you seen someone roll their eyes that... loudly. Also, bless this lady for spending lunch break together with you, unpaid, one might have to note.

The owner announced her arrival last Friday but didn’t specify when she’d arrive. Since then, it has been a living hell for your department. Thank your supervisor, who’s nitpicking at everything you and your colleagues do. Getting shooed around for no reason when it hinders you from getting actual work done sounds more straining than it first does. Also, who are you putting on a play for?

“Right?! She’s not even here yet, so why all the trouble now?!” While you angrily took a bite from your banana and Yukie watched you in amusement by how irritated you chewed your fruit, both of you didn’t notice the other person walking into the break room.

“Since you have time for a friendly chat, why not grab a cleaning bottle and a towel to clean the office, huh?” your supervisor hissed from behind you. “And you, Shirofuku-san,” he shouted while standing in the door frame, “why are you still here? Your shift ended 30 minutes ago. Grab your lunch and leave.” And with that, he turned back to your co-workers.

Oh, if looks could kill... The only thing that made you feel some joy that day was when Yukie was parroting your supervisor when he walked out, shadowboxing in his direction and pretending to smash her glass bottle on his head.

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ

“Fuck this dude! Just lick the bottom of her shoes while you’re at it, man!” Yamagata cursed. “You did not go to college to waste your skills on cleaning duties! And then he still expects you to hand in today’s workload tomorrow?!” He was pacing restlessly up and down in your shared apartment.

Unfortunately, you had to bring your work home that day. The thought of staying at the office until midnight didn’t necessarily impress you. Surprisingly, you still found the energy to complain about your current work situation to Hayato, who has been your best hype man ever since you got together. You love how attentively he listens to your stories and asks questions, so you can talk smack together. This is not limited to just your office stories.

As he was lividly walking the living room up and down, you rest your head in your propped-up arms on the dining table as you calmly watched your beloved boyfriend getting increasingly angrier at someone he has never met in his life before.

-✧-✧-✧-

Just a five-minute walk from the metro station to “the birthplace of true love” as Hayato always says. You guessed it, the place where Yamagata took you out on your very first date.

“I better get going. Maybe I can get a table for us.”

Before you knew it, you’re in the middle of the hustle and bustle in the shopping street. It’s full of university students, middle and high school kids who want to celebrate the beginning of their free time with some cheap street food with their friends. As you walk down the street, you notice several groups of adults accumulating in front of bars.

Just the thought of having to attend these voluntary-but-actually-mandatory drinking parties already triggers your migraine. The last thing you’d want to do is hang around people you already see +50 hours a week, but it’s not like you have a choice. Either you are part of the team or you’ll become an outcast who apparently hates spending time with their colleagues. Unlike school, you cannot escape them after a few years. This is where you’ve settled.

Of course, you could change workplaces with your academic background, no problem. But who says the pay will as okay as it is now? Who says that you will get a job in your area which doesn’t require you to move away? Who says that your long-term boyfriend will tag along with you? This is adult life. You cannot run away. Making compromises and trying to make the best out of your situation is the reality.

Life is not a picnic.

Stop pitying yourself. This is what the majority of the workforce goes through and they handle it perfectly fine. Stop bitching.

Still, you can’t help but think that there’s absolutely nothing that can cheer you up for the week.

You are so deep in thought that you almost missed the restaurant. Only the yellow and bright red neon light from the sign told you to stop in your tracks.

It’s a McDonald’s.

Yes, you read correctly. A fast-food chain where you wouldn’t quite expect a professional athlete to dine. You’d think they’d avoid junk food at all costs, but it seems like you need to consume lots of calories after your workout so your body has enough bla bla bla. Okay, to be honest, you don’t even know what the hell a protein is, no matter how often Hayato explains it. And yet, he always asks for your opinion on his sports career as if you knew if his new training plan is hard enough to develop enough muscles.

Don’t act all innocent though, it’s not like you don’t do that either. He’s trying his best to give you thoughtful answers whenever you ask him about how you should proceed with upcoming projects at your workplace like he has the required knowledge to give a real judgment.

“Doesn’t Shirofuku know more in this field? Maybe you can split up the work, save more time like that.”

“Thought so too, but she works part-time now...”

To some, it might seem like unnecessarily wasting your time but there’s more behind that. It’s not really about the feedback but rather you let the other one know what’s happening in your life and what has been on your mind lately. It doesn’t matter if Hayato knows what you’re talking about, it’s that he knows that something is happening in your other part of your life he doesn’t or can’t spend with you.

Having someone lend you a sympathetic ear is sometimes enough than actual advice. That’s why you can always count on him having your back when you’re venting again. Of course, you try to keep it to a healthy amount, but this week has been really… demanding.

It’s hard to find other (and more fun) things to discuss anyways when your full-time job is taking in five out of seven days of your week.

It sure was a rough time adjusting to your new adult life when all you did before was live the irregular life of a uni student. Having two-month long holidays, partying and going out pretty much every week, meeting new people by starting drunk conversations while waiting in line in front of the toilets, going on spontaneous dates in the middle of the night on a Tuesday. But it was time to grow up and your new 9-to-5-life put your relationship with Yamagata to the test. Luckily, your love life is as fulfilling as it was in the beginning.

It’s not about what do you, it’s about with whom you spend your time. If it’s the right person, everything can be fun. Being around each other was already enough to make you feel loved. So, basically, you two still have the same life as before, just a little bit different.

Vacations and off-days were now strategically planned six months ahead…

Wait, wait, wait! What if we split our annual leave in two? Then, we have two nine-day vacations!

“Hayato, I’m impressed.”

“We have one day left right? We’ll take leave on a Monday, have a weekend trip and a chill, tourist-free last day and… babe?”

“Sorry, you kinda turn me on when you have a plan when organizing things.”

…you became grumpy old people when you hear “party” if you can call those “parties”…

“What the hell is the dress code for an adult party?”

“Stop calling it like that! It’s a social gathering for grown-ups to celebrate my co-worker’s birthday. Wear the suit, you look hot in it. Also, did you get something as a gift?”

“Got the 800-Yen-est bottle of wine.”

…you two already found your four friends for life…

“I should really check in with the boys, see how they’re doing. I haven’t talked to Semi or seen Tendou in months.”

“Doesn’t tagging them in memes count as communication and upholding a friendship?”

“You know what, you’re right.”

“That was not what I was going for...”

…and dates, you can make anything a date. Yes, even at your dinner table at home. Simply put on some music or a series as background noise while you’re cooking, light some candles for the romantic mood, just to miss the food that you cooked for three hours with your fork, and splash the sauce everywhere for you two laugh at your miserable attempt to have a romantic candlelight dinner.

“It’s literally pitch-black, I can’t even see your face really,” you laughed while you felt your way to the light switch.

“Don’t you dare turn on the light! I wanna have a romantic candle-light dinner like they always have in the movies!” Yamagata demanded half-seriously while trying to stifle his laugh.

“The flames cast a weird shadow on your face. You look like a creepy figure from a horror movie and I probably look like one too!” you tried to argue, in vain however when you spotted your boyfriend with crossed arms and puffed-up cheeks.

“Romantic. Candle-light dinner. Now!”

Who can be that heartless to reject an angry- and tough-looking adult who is trying to pout his way to get what he wants like a small puppy?

-✧-✧-✧-

Hm, I can’t spot him…

You stop peeking through the glass door and entered the restaurant, taking a final look around the restaurant before going to the register. But as you’re getting in line, you realize who is getting his order from the cashier.

It’s Hayato!

Just as you are about to sneak up to him and poke him in his sides, your instincts tell you to quickly hide behind a pillar. Something’s off. You observe him powerwalk to the table mounted to the wall and quickly place his tray to, uh…

What the…

Hayato is grabbing a handful of curly fries and stuffs his face with them as if he hasn’t eaten for weeks. He honestly looks like a small child that is trying to eat all the forbidden cookies before his parents come home.

Uh, training was hard, I guess?

But this explanation doesn’t sit right for you. Two things are bothering you.

The first “red flag” is you never get curly fries, ever. Secondly, there are already two large straight-cut fries on the tray, the usual order you to get for this special date along with three burgers and chicken nuggets. But back to the elephant in the room. You watch Hayato intently as he finishes the small curly fries in record time but keeps two, count ’em, two curly fries. He throws the paper away and frantically heads to a free table, leaving back a dumbfounded and even more confused you.

What the fuck was that?

You cannot make sense of what just happened, but instead of wracking your brain over his inexplicable move, you make your way over to him.

Let’s find out.

For the second time of the day, you can feel a smile creeping up the more you close the distance between you and your beloved boyfriend. It’s as if your hair didn’t fall off at an alarming rate over the last few days.

He doesn’t seem to notice you. Well, no wonder when he’s intently staring at the food.

“Hey, handsome. Is this seat taken?” you flirtatiously ask but quiet enough, so nobody from the table around you can hear you.

He looks up from the tray, already knowing who it is. His face immediately lights up.

“Not for you,” he answers with a sly grin and wiggles his eyebrows.

He really refined his wiggles over the last few years. You quickly lean over to him for a quick kiss and take the seat on the opposite side.

“Good, you’re here already. I’m starving!” Hayato gushes and immediately digs into the gigantic Double Big Mac.

You just shake your head as you watch him munching down through the layers of pure protein, you think.

Can you imagine how much an athlete eats? You two always have to cook for four even though it’s only you two living together. Oh, don’t assume that Hayato won’t down a blender full of protein drink after dinner. Sometimes, you feel sorry for him when you watch Hayato force himself to drink a mix of milk, bananas, peanut butter, flaxseed oil, and disgusting chocolate-flavored protein powder. But right now, you’re just enjoying the time with him. Sitting down and relaxing has become a luxury you noticed.

“So,” Hayato asks with his mouth half full, “how was work? How’s Shirofuku? Was kiss-ass shooing you around again?”

“Ugh! I don’t even know where to–”

You stop yourself.

Do I really want to talk about work after work on our special date?

“You know what? No. Tell me about your practice match today.”

You make yourself comfortable and lean against the tables with your elbows. The stress has really taken a toll on your hunger, so you start small with the big fries and begin munching on one fry after another.

“Sure. Uh, we played against Tamaden Elephants. There was this tall guy, undercut. I swear I know him from somewhere, I just can’t put my finger on it,” he says and sips at his drink deep in thought. “Anyways. He was really good at...”

As Hayato tells you about his scrimmage, you just nod and make some sounds to show that you’re listening, kinda. You are way too tired and mentally strained to hold a conversation... The only thing you can generate energy for is eating your fries. That’s literally the only thing; you can’t even keep your eyes open.

I’ll just rest them for a little bit. He won’t notice...

And slowly, you drift off to dreamland unnoticed.

You think. You think you did, only because Hayato hasn’t said anything yet. In fact, he’s stopped talking and is now watching you how you’re peacefully dozing off, still shoving French fries in your mouth like on autopilot.

Do I look that stupid? I can see you sleeping in front of me, Hayato thinks to himself and chuckles lightly. Would be a shame if someone would take a photo... whoops.

Hayato has already whipped out his phone and is taking some photos of the beautiful scene that is unfolding right in front of him. After mesmerizing you for a few more moments, he slightly leans forward and pokes you gently in the cheek.

“Wha–?” You startle up and shake your head lightly to wake yourself up. “I– wow. I actually fell asleep.”

Yup, you should have definitely drunk more water over the day as your head pulsates from waking up so fast. It’s going to take a moment until your brain has booted up to its full performance but when was that ever the case?

“Stressful day, huh?” asks Hayato softly as he unwraps his second burger from its wax paper.

In hopes of becoming more awake, you take a few sips from your coke after you let out a frustrated groan.

“Don’t even get me started. My supervisor really took it too far today. Can you guess what he made me do today?!”

You angrily squeeze the drink in your hand. Hayato takes it out of your hand before it explodes in your face. He nods understandingly as he slowly pushes the other batch of fries on your side of the tray. Just what you need, your comfort food. You can always rely on them! Oh, and Hayato too, of course.

“It’s like you’re reading my mind,” you say brightly before you shove one fry after another into you once more. “Where was I? Oh yeah, my shitty supervisor actually made me do the work of my co-worker because he– oh my God! Look!”

You hold up two curly fries and wave them happily in front of Hayato’s face.

“Well, technically, those were in my fries, so–”

“Nu-uh! These are all mine, muahaha!” you quickly interrupt and eat half of your lucky catch.

They’re so fresh that they still make a crunchy sound. Meanwhile, Hayato is just watching you calmly with a grin on his lips, knowing exactly what’s coming next.

“Say ‘ah’!”

you demand and Hayato happily complies. One bite from your personal piranha and it’s gone.

You are still beaming with joy and carefully examine your recent discovery. The one that’s left is not one of those broken pieces you find at the end of the paper bag. It is still intact that has four swirls. Still hot and crunchy.

“Damn, I can’t believe we got so luck–”

Wait a minute.

Well, has it clicked yet?

Shocked by the sudden realization, you jerk your head up to look at Hayato who just stares back at you with furrowed brows. He has no idea what’s going on in your head right now, so excuse his confusion when you go from a shocked expression to a pleading one. The one with big puppy eyes. You look as if you’re about to cry.

“Hayapyon~” you softly coo as you flutter your eyelashes.

“Uh, yeah?” Hayato cautiously responds, still worried that he’ll actually make you cry if he now says the wrong thing.

You, however, crack a huge grin, ready to uncover his little secret.

“Could it be that you planted the curly fries to cheer me up?”

Hayato freezes up, mouth hanging wide open. His eyes are moving frantically around the restaurant, looking desperately for a good excuse. But since he can’t come up with one, you decide to put more salt on the wound.

“I saw you buy curly fries earlier and devour them like a starved animal.”

“Shit, you saw that?!”

He has finally come back to life.

“Yes!” you laugh out loud. “I left work early and caught you just in time. You looked like a chipmunk when you stuffed your face with those fries.”

“Man…,” he lets out a loud sigh and lets him fall back onto the backrest, “that’s supposed to stay a secret. Now I have to come up with something else…”

“Whoa, hold on. Do you always do this when I’m in a bad mood? Well, now that I think about it, we did find curly fries on our last dates quite often…”

You glance over to Hayato who’s trying to avoid eye contact with you. One of the few moments where he gets flustered and not you.

“I don’t know,” he mumbles as he scratches the back of his head, “you are really stressed for the last few days and tried to distract you from work.”

He finally looks up to you, only to see you internally tearing up with big puppy eyes once again.

“Is that why you tried to cook and ordered food in the last few days? Or ran a foam bath with rose petals and candles for me? Or took over the tasks in the household for me?” Imaginary tears come out of your eyes. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Hey! I do cook from time to time!”

“Eh, it’s more like ‘you wanna cook this recipe but after all these years, you still don’t know how to cook and don’t know what that vegetable is called, so I do all the cooking while you’re waiting for instructions from me after you cut the bell pepper’-ish.”

You quickly walk over to his side and sit down right to him, only to cuddle into his side.

“But I’m still grateful for what you’ve done for me.”

Before he can protest any further, you quickly plant a soft kiss on his lips, causing Hayato to roll his eyes but ultimately admit defeat.

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ

a few hours later

“Hey babe, can you call my phone? I can’t find it anywhere.”

“On it.”

Without even looking, you speed-dial his phone and let it ring for a few seconds until you realize that it made it somehow under the pillow you’re sitting on.

”Found it,” you shout.

Surprised but at the same time not, you look up from your book and fish his cell out. As you decline the call, the screen reveals to you his new locking screen.

It’s you.

And you’re not pretty to look at.

It’s you, asleep, clearly sitting in a McDonald’s with your dry ass lips, glazed with a beautiful layer of grease, your mouth slightly agape. Your hair was statically charged for no reason and was visible flying away from your head. The overhead light helped to emphasize that. You’re not even sure if that’s a new grease stain on your chest or if you actually walked around like that in the office the whole day.

You are too disgusted with yourself that you don’t notice your finger still pressing on the screen until– “What the–” –the photo moves. A live photo. Now you can see in full HD how you’re stuffing your face with one fry after another.

”When… When did he– HAYATO!”

He cautiously, almost hesitantly, peaks out of the bathroom and immediately sprints over to you the moment he spots your appalled expression. Out of reflex, you quickly turn around and guard the phone with your body to keep it out of his reach. He doesn’t play around when he tackles you like that.

“You’re not supposed to see it that early!” Hayato yells as he struggles to pry his phone out of your hands.

“Change it immediately! Your teammates will see when you lose your phone again! I look like shit!!”

“No! You look cute as hell!” Hayato vehemently disagrees as he pins you down.

But no matter how much strength you gather, you’re too weak to stand your ground, literally. While you’re struggling for the phone, both of you fall to the ground and are rolling around on the living room floor. Unfortunately, Hayato succeeds, rolls you off from himself, and runs away from you. You, of course, leap to your feet and chase him through the flat.

“Give it back!”

“Neveeeer!”

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yn-x-animeboy · 3 years

Text

Jungkook x y/n (as a famous artist) Pt.2

pArt 1: here

pairing: reader x Jungkook

genre: fluff, romance, for entertainment purposes

BTS x Fem Reader

sinopsis: You are a popular artist in America, pretty famous, loved and well-known by the general public (actually you were one of the top 10 artists in the world but you are pretty humble and naïve to realize your popularity), one day during one of your fan meets you talk about how much you love BTS, and not only how you wish to meet them and work with them but how Jungkook is one of your celebrity crushes. During the meet you fangirled with other ARMYs in the crowd; video clips of you fangirling and talking about BTS at your meet where posted and reposted all over social media. This obviously broke the internet because you were not only a famous singer but you also were always accepted and loved by ARMY and this made a lot of people happy. Suddenly it felt like everyone wanted you to meet the seven handsome and talented idols and collaborate, but you could only wish, you believed they didn't even know who you were...or so you thought

Part 2- BTS x Y/N You went to bed, turned your phone on silent mode and looked at your ceiling, replaying that fake scenario you talked about a few hours ago, oh how you wished it could become real. Finally dozing off and resting for the work-packed day you had tomorrow; unaware that your social media was currently going crazy and how they yearned for your new weekly EPISODE to come out.

While you were peacefully sleeping social media platforms like twitter and instagram where going crazy all over the world, headlines with titles like: “Y/N FINALLY CONFESSES”, “Y/N AND JUNGKOOK RELATIONSHIP WILL SAVE 2021”, “ARMYs BIGGEST FEAR… Y/N+J&K''. People demanded the episode of the leaked videos to be uploaded as soon as possible, even though it was the middle of the night were you where; your international fans where active and ready for some content after watching the “leaked” videos; they exploded your teams’ contacts; your team left with no other choice but to actually speed up the process and upload said EPISODE; your manager contacted the main editor and offered him two days off if he could finish the video that same night.

The episode was uploaded at around 2 am; meaning in Korea, the video went up at around 4pm.

4:00 o’clock in the afternoon, a beautiful day outside Seoul. The guys were currently about to shoot a new episode of RUN BTS; on set, the guys were standing in the middle of a room as some hair and makeup staff fixed their appearance. Cameras were being set up around them by the camera crew. Staff spread around the room doing their respective tasks. The guys did have their cell phones with them but they were all turned to airplane mode so they wouldn't disturb the shoot. Just like you, they were unaware of what was happening on their social media platforms.

“ACTION!” the director started. RM lead the opening line “1,2,3…”, “Dallyeora Bangtan!” (RUN BTS!) they all said in unison, and the episode began. behind the cameras, staff were learning about the ``BTS x Y/N'' ordeal as the seven boys were filming. The “Hybe Corporation '' (RIP big hit) would normally would see this type of situation as a negative thing for their Idol Star Group’s image, immediately clearing up any misunderstanding and false info that was being spread online; but the head of the company, Bang Si-hyuk, decided to first watch the video himself and look into it this time.

Again, the head team would’ve even ignored this situation, but this time it was different. Bang Si-hyuk actually knew who you were, and was surprised when he saw your name pop up. After a quick meeting the next step was decided for BTS in regards to this situation. “Just to make sure, the boys are still shooting right? Bang Si-hyuk asked his assistant, “Y-yes sir, they are in the middle of a game, no news have been broke to them”; Bang Si-hyuk nodded and looked around the room of people that attended the emergency meeting, “Okay so, like we agreed, we will surprise they boys with this, they are big fans of y/n, and I really do like her too, she is a good girl who goes well with BTS. SO... after their scheduled shoot, send them to the other room and let them react to y/n’s episode highlights, and tell them what is happening, I think this could be the beginning of something good” Bang Si-hyuk concluded the meeting at that. Staff quickly went and prepared everything.

After shoot the guys were expecting to get into their assigned cars and go home like they normally do when they are done on set, but they were stopped by staff; “Guys okay so you are done with this episode, please now direct yourselfs towards the meeting room, the company has treated you to some refreshers, snacks and drinks; you will be told what to do'' The small woman stepped aside to let the boys go to where they were asked to go. The guys didn't think too much of this, brushing it off as a probable “catch-up” meeting.

Once they got to the meeting room they sat on one side of a wooden table, a laptop sitting in the middle, and a single camera behind the table. Jungkook took a seat in front of the laptop, Jimin to his right and Suga to his left; J-Hope, V, Jin and RM sitting in higher chairs behind them in that order, with a clear view on the computer. They all looked at the staff for answers, this was not one of their weekly meetings… The staff allowed them to have the promised snacks, instant noodles and beverages for this. One staff member told them what they were going to do “Okay so before you all go home we need you to react to this video, it is only a couple of minutes long, we have edited it and cut some parts out; you are allowed to eat and loosen up; you can react as you wish and add any comment as well, any questions?” They shook their head as they had done this before so many times.

The video started and a preview came on screen, it was your intro music, on screen a quick preview of your complete episode was shown. The boys immediately recognized the images, they had seen your show many times before. “Oi, it’s y/n'' Jin immediately said as soon as your face appeared on screen, “Is this a new episode?” JImin asked out loud, “Wait what day is it? they normally go up on Friday, did we miss it?” Taehyung spoke, mouth full of spicy noodles, J-Hope and RM reached out and cleaned Taehyung’s face with napkins as if he was a child, before he made a bigger mess.

“Hello everyone welcome to another episode of…. f** I don't even know what we call these videos, jajajaja” “Wait what?... jajajajaja omg guys thank you, I'm so sorry, yeah you heard them, welcome back to y/n’s camera roll, I can’t believe I forgot that, anyway today’s episode is a little different……” Your introduction from the episode played on screen, making the boys chuckle at your genuine personality “hahaha gwiyeoun” (haha cute) Suga added, J-Hope agreeing with him as he gave Suga a piece of the food he was having. Kookie was currently watching the screen not even blinking, he hadn’t taken a bite out of his noodles or a sip out of his banana milk, Jimin noticed and pointed at him looking back at the guys with a silent laugh, they all knew Jungkook was your biggest simp.

The video continued, they kept adding comments and watching with interest. The staff had actually reedited your original video to make it shorter and show the parts where you mention BTS.

“Hi, y/n, can I ask you another question?” you nodded and signaled him to proceed;

“I saw that you liked an instagram post about BTS a while back uploaded by a fan account and I also saw that you actually follow their personal twitter account. ALSO in your behind the scenes video for your music video shoot you can be seen in the background dancing the Boy with luv choreo. So I wanted to ask if you were an ARMY and if you know them personally? and like should we be expecting a collaboration soon?”

You chucked at his talking speed, curious questions and great detective skills.

Jimin reached over and paused the video before they could hear what you answered next. “No way….Omg what she says she hates us” Jimin said. “Imagine if she said she hates us, is this why you guys are making us watch this?” Suga looked at the staff. “Can we keep watching hyungs…” Jungkook said looking around at the others, a bit desperate to find out what you said next. “Oi, wouldn't you want to know guki…” Jin teased him, wiggling his eyebrows and slapping the back of his head playfully. Before Jungkook could fight back RM reached over them and pressed play, preventing a ‘playful’ fight among the youngest and oldest member to take place.

“OMG hahaha I love you so much, what an amazing question, Okay so first off no I don’t know them personally and sadly no plans of collaboration are on sight. Oh wow I have never been asked if I liked BTS before, I’m excited hahaha. Yeah I am an ARMY, I love them so much I am one of their biggest fans, and they are also one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to work ethic and professionalism, listening to them or watching them gives me motivation to keep doing what I love, which is this.

anyway I am rambling I should stop; you guys can say y/n stop whenever I start rambling okay? hahaha''

As this part of the video played, the guys seemed to lean closer to the screen as you spoke. Once you finished your answer they paused the video again. RM stood up with hands on his head; Jin and J-Hope held on to each other with their mouths wide open looking at the screen; V was still sitting in the same spot, frozen, as if he was paused in time along with the now paused screen; Suga stood up with his hands on his mouth bouncing his knees lightly; Jimin reached to RM behind him and stretched his arms out with a ‘Did you hear that?’ expression; Jungkook leaned over the table and pulled the screen closer, he was smiling from ear to ear letting out a small “wow” under his breath, then he replayed your answer to listen to it one more time, rereading the subtitles under the video making sure he did not miss any words.

“OMG NO WAY, NO WAY DUDE” Tae came out of his frozen state and held on to Jungkook's shoulders shaking slightly; They all looked at eachother surprised, they couldn't believe that ‘the one and only Y/N’ was an ARMY. They composed themselves and played the video to proceed once the staff told them there was more.

The video resumed:

“Guys should we actually talk about BTS for a bit? hahaha” you asked your fans

A girl spoke after: “Can I ask you a BTS question then? Okay so, who is your favorite member?

“Well first off, I don't have a favorite member. I really mean it when I say this. I love them all equally and I love them all as a group. I don’t prefer one over the other or like one better. I really do support them equally. I mean there is nothing wrong with having a bias, as long as you also respect the other members, hope that all made sense lol” Everyone seemed moved by your support towards them and nodded.

Again the boys reacted, they were so surprised they paused again and walked back and forth making sounds of excitement; They loved the way you answered the question and were so moved by your love and appreciation towards them and the way you saw them as a group. They felt like jumping and celebrating. They sat back down again to keep watching their favorite american artist talk about them some more.

Your episode was again cut and it skipped to another question:

“Y/n so you don’t have a favorite, but do you have a crush on any of them?, like if you could date one of them right now, which one do you pick?” A fan asked.

The guys chuckled at the question, they thought there was no way you would answer such a question.

“okay...well...Like I said just to be clear I don't have favorites amongst the group members, but I do have a type…. I consider one of them to be my celebrity crush”......

“So in that case, if I had to pick someone that I would date in real life...i would say…. Jungkook”

The. Guys. Went. Nuts. Jungkook immediately stood up and lifted his hands up in the air as if he had won an award, he paused the video and started smiling like crazy; his cheeks tinted in a redish pinkish tone, he covered his face as he was at a loss for words, he knew he was seen as attractive by female and male artists, he even knew of a couple of well known idols who had admitted to having a crush on him; but this was different, he had considered you to be his celebrity crush for years now, ever since your debut in america when you were just 15 and he was 16; he was a big fan of yours; he knew everything about you, he loved your music, he thought you were one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen, he even had a picture of you performing as his wallpaper currently; he constantly watched your videos and wished he could someday date a girl like you.

A staff member spoke, taking Jungkook out of his trance state: “How do you feel Jungkook?” He lifted his face from his hands and ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes were glossy and his smile wide. “I-I don't know what to say, I can’t believe it,” he said as he sat down looking at the pause screen, looking at your still image. His hyungs patted him on the back; Jimin turned his head to the staff as he was rubbing JK’s back with one hand, “You know Jungook has had the biggest crush on y/n for so long now” Jimin told the staff. The other members agreed and nodded. Jungkook looked up and spoke to the staff: “Yeah I remember listening to her debut song for the longest time without really thinking about who the artist was. When her first studio album broke records I decided to look her up, I watched a video of her talking about the album and her experience as a new artist and I think ever since then I have had a crush on her; she is my ideal type”

“Why is she your ideal type?” a staff member in the back asked JK. “Ha. um. well I think my ideal type of girl is someone who is funny and has a bright and cool personality; someone who as soon as they step into a room they immediately light it up; someone who is goofy and isn't afraid to become a joke or mess up; A confident person; someone who isn't too girly or too boyish; someone who likes to learn new things and from who I can learn new things too; someone who is younger than me; Someone who loves dancing and singing a lot, etc. And y/n is kinda all that and more tbh; He rambled, the guys were all used to his ‘secret fangirling over y/n’ habit, but the staff was taken aback; they only thought the guys thought highly of you as an artist, but this… they felt moved. “Ay ay, stop drooling, lets keep watching hahaha” Suga poked at JK’s side and pressed play.

The video time skipped again: “...I love that question, and your scenario is so cute, you should write a tumblr post about it, well yeah I obviously have created fake scenarios in my head about BTS, past crushes, fake arguments even hahaha, there are so many BTS fake scenarios in my head…. hmm oh I know which one, okay so this fantasy of mine is about how I would meet them irl and work with them, I will make it quick”

“Okay so, my literal fantasy is to one day meet them at a talk show, you know how hosts like to surprise their guests with something/someone they like?, I believe Ellen has done it multiple times where she surprised a guest with their idol or celebrity crush, you know?” The group nodded, invested in your fake scenario “Well i would be invited to like the Jimmy Fallon Show, where he would just randomly surprise me with BTS. Then I would be given the opportunity to introduce myself and tell them how much I love and support them. I would also be able to show them my korean speaking skills, I learned Korean and Spanish back in school and I have never been able to actually use either them, lol, anyway...well after that we would all become really good friends, and we would collaborate and put out one or multiple songs for you guys. I mean that's basically it, I wish I could meet them, and become their friend and write songs with them, even produce songs with Suga or RM if I could''

“What???? does she speak korean?”

“OMG Jungkook is she speaks korean marry her”

“OMG I wanna meet her now”

“That's so cute”

“She is so cool”

The guys added and all looked adoringly at the screen; RM and Suga also commented about how they would love to work with someone like you and produce a ton of music together and that they wish you all could collaborate in the future too.

_____

And That is how the boys learned about the video and your view on them….not only that they also learned about your embarrassing fantasy and celebrity crush…. After finishing their day at work, they went home and watched your episode complete this time. They felt like they accomplished something so important by just leaning your perception on them. Jungkook also felt that but he was even more excited than the rest, his celebrity crush had admitted to crushing on him back, he knows that the chances of meeting you or even having a friendship with you were probably non existent. And even if they did meet you, the idea of dating you in real life seemed impossible to him due to you both being artists, under strict and powerful companies, living opposite sides of the world, in different time zones even; but he was still happy, and the guys too; they all went to bed wishing they could someday meet you.

----

Part 3- Jimmy Fallon Show ------> here

ily:) Xx, plis give me a lil’ <3

#bts #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts imagines #bts scenarios #jungkook #jeon jungguk #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x you #jungkook imagine

122 notes · View notes

neonacity · 3 years

Text

Black Daisies Chapter 5| Canzona

Preview:

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

An NCT mafia AU with OT23.

Summary: Working for the mafia comes with many layers. There’s excitement, violence, loss, and betrayals. Yet there’s also friendship, family, loyalty, and code. The last thing it needs? Love and all the complexities it brings.

TW: violence, death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities. If you’re uncomfortable with any of these, feel free to skip. Author’s note: This is purely a work of fiction. In no way am I supporting all the illegal activities and behaviors that might be mentioned in the story nor am I implying that any member of NCT acts whichever way I may write them here--they’re all sweetiepies that need to be protected.

Chapter: 1/ First Stage

Chapter: 2/Overture

Chapter: 3/The Conductor

Chapter: 4/Crescendo

The fog of smoke from the lighted cigarette mixed with the cold breath coming from blood red lips. A woman stood in a small overhead overlooking the city, watching the shadows move across Seoul like a dark cloud bidding disaster.

The sound of gravel crunching under boots sounded from behind her. She didn’t acknowledge it at first, however, instead dropping the nearly finished stick of nicotine between her fingers to the ground. A gust of air blew the stray stub away, its embers flaring up slightly before dying out.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

For a moment, it was only silence that answered her. Her dress danced in the wind, its red color looking like dried blood in the darkness.

“You were waiting...for me.”

She finally turned around to look at the guest. Her eyes, though naturally sharp, flickered with familiarity as she took in the form of the boy in front of her.

“I know you’re about to do something silly. I’m only here to tell you to stop whatever idea you’re having right now.”

The figure didn’t move in front of her, but the way he stared at her made the distance between them almost crackle with electricity. The man’s jaw tightened, before it finally relaxed just a little bit.

“None of NCT is planning to participate in his game.”

The woman merely raised a perfectly shaped brow, knowing that there’s more to what he is saying.

“But I—”

“Jaehyun. Don’t be stupid.”

“Being the Don means I can do anything I want, right? So you and I can—”

“There is no you and I,” her voice, though it sounded clipped and cold in the meeting hall earlier, had a tinge of emotion this time. Is it desperation? Frustration? Helplessness?

Jaehyun took a few steps towards the smaller figure in front of him, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to keep him from reaching out to her.

“You will be free. From him. From all of this.”

“If you win.”

“And I will.”

“Not after you’ve betrayed your brothers. You know what things this kind of game brings. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”

He locked his jaw again, his expression intense even under the shadows that wrapped the two of them. Jaehyun finally pulled one hand from his pocket and moved it to touch her arm. The woman took a step back, evading his touch carefully.

“I don’t need to betray anyone. We all agreed on it. Everything will carry out as usual,” he said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. As she looked up at him, she saw the same desperation in his eyes—the same eyes that used to be so innocent before they were hardened by his life in the mafia.

“And you believe them? Look at where you are now, in front of me, telling me you’ll be doing this. You think you are the only one who has a reason to go after the position among all of you?”

“I…” he trailed off, a frown settling on his forehead. “I trust them.”

“With the way you are acting, I don’t think you are worthy of their trust at all.”

Something finally snapped inside of him and he finally closed the distance between them in quick strides. He didn’t touch her, but they were close enough to each other that the cold fogs of their breath mingled in the darkness.

“This is the only chance I have—you have—to finally leave.”

For a moment she simply looked at him, gaze unfaltering. She wanted nothing more than to reach out to his face and cradle it, tell him everything is going to be fine, but even as a flicker of emotion slipped on her gaze, she quickly let her cold mask replace it as fast as it came.

“I don’t need you to save me. Don’t do this.”

Before he could say, or do anything else, she finally took a step back again before turning on her heels to walk away. Jaehyun followed her with his gaze until the darkness swallowed her retreating form.

“Yo, you okay?”

I looked up from squinting at my computer and turned towards the boy grinning in front of me. I probably looked funny, my face all scrunched up from staring at my screen, because he broke into a laugh before dropping himself into the seat next to me.

“Ya… I know Taeyong said you’ll be our first line of defense, but you haven’t peeled your butt from your seat since last night. Relax. I don’t think Cypher is going to do anything—at least not for now.”

My squint turned into a frown and I opened my mouth to shoot back a reply. Before I could say anything though, a painful throb on my left temple made me stop. I barely slept a wink last night. I leaned back on my chair with a defeated sigh.

“You don’t know that, Yuta. Those guys… they’re nasty. If they got the same message that we all got last night, I’m 99 percent sure they’re thinking of something to sabotage us now.”

“Mm… were you able to hack into their system though?”

“Yeah. Their firewall sucks as usual. Nothing seems out of place for now…” I trailed off as my gaze moved across the room. From upstairs, I saw Taeyong slip out of his room in his sweats, hair messy from sleep. He ducked into the fridge on the second floor, rummaging for something there.

After the announcement from the Don, all the members decided to stay in the headquarters temporarily instead of going to their separate dorms to ‘watch each other’s backs.’ It was a good move in my opinion, but another side of me is also a little bit nervous of having everyone around all the time. Not that I don’t like having the guys as company… but I have my personal reasons to be anxious about the recent change in living arrangements.

From upstairs, Taeyong finally managed to fish out one of the tetra boxes of banana milk from the back of the fridge. I didn’t realize I was still staring at him until his eyes finally met mine and he gave me a sleepy smile.

I quickly turned my eyes back to Yuta only to find him giving me a Cheshire grin.

“What?”

“I asked you if you also tried checking temporary databases Cypher might be using but you were too busy eating up breakfast with your eyes,” he snickered before throwing up his hands as if in surrender. “I get it, I get it. All of us are handsome but you only have eyes for—”

I quickly gave him a punch on his left shoulder as I felt blood rush to my cheeks. “I—wasn’t staring!”

“Sure, you were just drooling—”

“Hey, anyone up for some drinks tonight?”

Our childish banter temporarily stopped as Yuta and I looked up to see a very sweaty Johnny stride through the door. He was slightly panting as he approached us, the slight flush of his cheeks a sign that he just finished his morning run.

“Why? You going to Anarchy?” Yuta asked in curiosity as he dug his hands in the front pocket of his sweater.

“Yeah, I have to make sure the dealers are selling the new goods well. I could go alone as usual but our Mom there,” he moved his lips to point towards a still sleepy-looking Taeyong upstairs, “said it is best to go in groups for now. You know, just to be sure.”

Yuta shrugged. “I can go with you. I’ll also ask the other guys too. I sure need a bottle or two.”

Johnny turned to look at me. For the first time since last evening, I felt extremely conscious of how I look. I was wearing an oversized hoodie, my hair up in a sorry excuse of a bun. My glasses didn’t do me any favors, barely concealing the dark circles under my eyes.

“You want to come with us?” he asked, smiling at me.

“Uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have to—”

“She has to watch over the rats, is what she’ll say,” Yuta interjected from his seat. He turned to look at me then with a frown. “Seriously, if you’re going to act like this, you’ll never see sunlight in the next two months.”

I opened my mouth to speak but Johnny was too quick to answer for me.

“Great. You’ll come with us then.”

“But—”

“You can work in the club. I’ll have Jungwoo bring those mini computers you both love tinkering with. You can use them to do your magic codes and spying voodoo, right?”

I stared at him, at a loss for words.

“Good talk. We leave at 9PM,” he flashed me another grin and turned to walk away. I was about to give another rebuttal when my eyes landed on the way his shirt stuck to the muscles of his back. I closed my mouth and sank back to my seat.

Beside me, Yuta was grinning from ear to ear again.

“Don’t you just love it that we’re all staying here now?”

I turned and gave him another punch on the shoulder.

Two hundred miles away from Seoul, a man sat back on his seat as the screen in front of him turned black. The lone light of the overhead lamp in the room made eerie shadows dance across his face as he mulled over the closing words of the Don.

“You are free to do anything you like.”

His impassive face slowly broke into a smile so sinister it almost made his angelic features unrecognizable. He has no fucking idea why the idiotic man decided to start this little game of his, but he likes it nonetheless. A chance to take over the whole mafia sounded so enticing to him that it almost made him laugh, but there’s another reason that ultimately made his blood boil in excitement.

NCT.

“Jihoon.”

He only slightly moved his head to look at the female who cracked the door open to his room. She had the same eyes as him, though hers didn’t look tainted with madness. In fact, it look slightly worried right now as they took in his expression.

“You called for me?”

“Ah, yes,” he finally turned his swivel chair towards her so he could give her his full attention. He intertwined his long slender fingers on his lap and gave her a sweet smile.

“I need you to make preparations. We’ll be going on a little field trip.”

Her questioning gaze almost made him snicker.

“Where are we going? We have a deal to close tomorrow and we can’t—”

“Oh dear, I can’t care less about that now. It can wait.”

The girl pursed her lips. “Fine. Where are we headed to so I can make arrangements?”

The boy leaned back on his seat, head pressed against the headrest. He grinned at her, the emotion playing in his eyes making her blood run cold.

“Seoul. We’re going to visit some friends.”

---

A/N: Hi everyone! Decided to post this today even though it is super short. So I’ve decided to introduce Jihoon... and I would love it if I can have a face claim that I can use for him as a reference. To those who have been following the story, I’d love to know your suggestions! This will make it easier for me to develop him because then I’ll have an idea of how he looks like. <3

Chapter 6: Rapture

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sunflowerghostvol06 · 3 years

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No judgement - breaking through the mv

This is my intake and analysis that I've done for No judgement by Niall Horan, feel free to comment and differe! But don´t forget to be kind ♥

We all as a colective assume that this song was written for H, right? In a instagram live that Niall did on May 28, 2020 he explains that No judgement is about someone he's known for a long time, mentioning that the lyris are very self explanatory.

You can see it at minute 30:52

youtube

Why this is important? Well, because there are a few "coincidences" in the music video that when I first saw it made me think it was full of H references (and possibly Louis/Larry too, but that's just a wild guess, so pinch of salt on this, as I will try to make it as neutral as possible). So I'll explain what I can see.

1) At the very begining of the music video we can see this little figurine right next to Niall, it's right there on top of a pile of books (out of the ot5, H is the one considered as a reader, there are bookstores out there that put up a Harry Styles' book section)

now, this is a hint to me because it takes me back to this moment in the Kiss you mv (2:52)

2) Right after that we have a fishbowl with two fish which had me thinking about William the fish and the Adore you mv (also, something extra, Changes by Cam mv also features a fish and there's a whole theory about that x and x) mind you this music video came out exactly 2 moths later than Adore you mv:

3) The amazing representation of 'Bring back manly men' photoshoot Harry did for Vogue and as a response to the hatred he was receiving, in the music video Niall did this:

We also know that while in 1D H almost always had a thing with eating a banana mid concert, there are memes made out of this, it's just so funny: a quick search on google and you have this as a result

4) Video continues and now we have Niall with his banana and a beautiful couple in front of a bear holding a sunflower. I'm so sorry, I try to make this neutral, but this is just too loud to go unnoticed: a) because there is a fricking bear, and we all know that Louis' nickname is boo bear, H actually called him that a few times (que to the happy birthday, boo bear and thanks boo bear interview) and b) the sunflower, H has a song called Sunflower, vol6 and it's one of the songs that just screams longterm relationship, and there are loads of sunflowers in this mv for it to just be a coincidence

What kills me about this is the fact that as soon as this couple comes in the shot, all of a sudden there's blue everywhere, but not any type of blue, oh no no no, a specific type of blue. And you'all know exactly which one:

And how could I not mention the deliberated use of blue and green here, everything else in the shot is neutral colored but not those in particular. Why? Give me a non-Larry explanation, please, I beg of you

5) we have loads of fruits everywhere, they're there and who in this world is forever associated with fruits? No other that the kiwi, watermelon sugar, cherry, banana guy

6) The fact that there's a fricking birthday cake in the music video, just 5 days after H's birthday. Look at the number, yes, it's one year off because this is 2020 and H turned 26, but still, too much of a coincedence if you ask me (also, it's right in the middle of H's age and Louis' favourite number, just saying)

Something to add, notice how the old man is wearing blue and a bowtie with a hat, we've seen H wearing that type of hats before, and notice how the old lady is the one holding a cigarette.

Anyways, this is as much as I could post, this is what I saw and read from the music video. All in all I'm in love with the song, with Niall's voice and as he said: "No Judgement is one of my favourites I’ve written. Loved writing this song as I knew exactly what I wanted to say. And from blank canvas idea to the most colourful and most fun video to make with my guy Drew Kirsch. What a day with the wonderful Pimm and Barbara, the real stars in this clip. Let’s stop judging each other, life isn’t about that. Enjoy it and enjoy this video! Go and dance like no one is watching."

Hope you have a great day! And happy pride to everyone!

TPWK ♥

#No judgement #Analysis #No judgement music video #music video #niall horan #Niall #Harry #harry styles #H #Larry #larry stylinson #sunflower #boobear #tpwk #ot5 #mv #blue #green #pride #Youtube

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wollymalfoy · 4 years

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Love can kill

George Weasley x reader

Description: the reader has Hanahaki disease due to George Weasley not liking her because shes a Malfoy.

Warning! Mentions of blood and vomiting!

Writers note: I absolutely adore this! I’m excited for you all to read it! Also I’ve got loads of requests I’ll try and get at least one done this week since I’m also trying to do the next part of Hogwarts is my home...

‘Come on sis’ Draco said as you jumped off the train at Hogsmead station ready for your fourth year. You and your brother sat on a carriage with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise. Being Draco’s twin meant you was friends with all the same people he was, and you didn’t complain. Behind closed doors these guys were the sweetest people ever. Well, Blaise was still a stuck up git, but nice none the less. As you reached the castle you saw your favourite red head in front, George Weasley. Although you had never spoken to the boy you had a huge crush on him, he was funny, handsome, kind and everything you would want in a guy. The only downside was that he hated you. You, your family and your friends. I mean he had reason to you were bully’s and pure blood supremacists, but it still crushed you knowing it would never work between you both. You wished things were different, you wished you didn’t have to put on this charade of being this pure blood bully, but you had been taught to be like this from a very young age and so was Draco. To be anything other than this was a sin in your household.

You sat at the Slytherin table with your brother and friends during the feast and began to feel an tickly feeling in your throat. You sat and tried to cough but the tickle wouldn’t go away. ‘You okay?’ Your brother questioned. You didn’t say anything you just clutched at your throat it was incredibly uncomfortable. You coughed more to try and relieve the feeling and you felt something in your mouth. You stuck your hand in and pulled out a yellow petal that had splatters of blood in it. You looked at Draco with a terrified look and he returned the look. You then had a feeling that you was about to be sick. You put your hand over your mouth and got up from the seat as fast as you could, Draco following in suit. You was only halfway through the hall when you could no longer hold it. Blood along with many yellow petals like before came pouring out your mouth. You collapsed and began coughing profusely, with Draco rubbing your back. Everyone was watching now, standing on their seats to get a better look. The teachers including Madame Pomfrey came running over to aid you. Your throat began to feel as though it was expanding and you couldn’t breath. You coughed and tried to push whatever this was out, face purple from the lack of air. Finally a flower head popped out. ‘Is that a sunflower?’ Draco was astonished. ‘I think we should take you to the hospital wing dear’ Madame Pomfrey said grabbing your arm to pull you up, with Draco helping.

In the hospital wing you coughed up a few more petals but seemed fine after those. ‘What’s happening to me?’ You asked terrified. All the teachers stood around you and Draco was sat on the bed holding your hand. ‘I think dear, that you have hanahaki disease...’ Professor McGonagall said sadly. ‘What’s that?’ You and Draco said in unison. ‘Its where a victim of one sided love begins to vomit or cough up flowers from a flowering plant in their lung.’ Said Professor snape, ‘to put it plainly, you love someone a lot but they don’t love you back’ Draco looked at you still terrified, ‘So how do we get rid of it.’ ‘Well you can get it removed, but that would make it so she would never feel love again’ said Madame Pomfrey. ‘Or?’ Draco snapped. ‘Or she can wait till the person returns the feeling and it’ll go away’ she stated. ‘What if they don’t return the feelings?’ You asked sadly, knowing that it was impossible for George Weasley to ever love someone like you. ‘If they don’t then the plant will grow so large that breathing will be impossible’ Professor Dumbledore stated sadly. ‘So I’ll suffocate to death?’ You said tears pricking your eyes. ‘No!’ Draco yelled, ‘your gonna have to remove it!’ ‘Draco, you heard what they said, if they remove it I’ll never feel love’ you said sobbing, ‘not even for you, or mum or Dad. I can’t live a life without love.’ ‘But I can’t lose you, Y/N’ Draco now began to sob. You leaned forward and gave him a hug. ‘I know but there’s nothing else we can do’

The next day you woke and walked up to the teachers desk in the front hall where Madame Pomfrey had a potion that would slow down the growth of the plant inside you which you now knew was sunflowers. ‘Good morning’ Draco said sweetly behind you, he had a clipboard and quill in his hands. ‘Good morning, what are you up to’ you said pulling your face at the potion in your hands. ‘Well I though since you can be cured by the person loving you backkkk, I thought I’d make you go on a date with them.’ He said smiling. You took the potion and coughed at the taste it was horrible. ‘So what’s the clipboard for then?’ You asked wiping your mouth on the sleeve. ‘Well you’re not gonna tell me who they are, are you?’ He raised his eyebrows as he said this. You shook your head as you laughed, Draco knew you like the back of his hand. ‘But I think you should, ya know seeing as you could die from being a stubborn bitch’ he mumbled. ‘Hey!’ You laughed. ‘Okay so at least narrow it down for me, what house are they in?’ He said turning to look at the four house tables, ‘and it better not be Potter.’ ‘It’s not Potter don’t worry’ you laughed, ‘I’m not going to force them to love me, so you can save your efforts.’ He looked at you sadly but clearly ignored you, ‘I’m guessing he’s not in Slytherin because most of the guys are ugly and that’s fine, I don’t care what house he’s in or she or them whatever they identify as...’ he went on and you listened sadly. He wasn’t going to let you die slowly, he needed you, you knew that but you didn’t want to force love and maybe forcing it will only make it harder to achieve. You didn’t want the love to be from pitty.

Months went by and you continued to cough up petals every odd day, sometimes even a flower head. Draco hadn’t stopped finding you a guy to go on dates with. He’d come to you in the morning with a random guy from your year and you had to politely decline, he even brought Ron Weasley over one morning, ‘okay this is the worst pick but I’m running out of guys here’ he said with a tight hold on Rons robes. ‘Draco, if it makes you sleep better at night, the guys not in our year’ you smiled softly. ‘Ahhh, into older guys, I see’ he said as he started crossing off names on his clip board.

That night you went to the astronomy tower after a very bad episode of coughing up petals. It had lasted over an hour and you were exhausted after it. You needed some time away from the noise and chaos of the common room. You heard foot steps from behind and grabbed at your wand as you spun around. ‘Woah! I’m not going to hurt you’ it was a Weasley twin, you couldn’t tell which one since it was dark. He moved closer and you recognised which boy it was, George. You’re cheeks flushed red as he came to stand next to you, peering over hogsmead and the Forrest. ‘Do you come up here often?’ He asked and you nodded, you couldn’t speak when he was around. You started coughing and he looked at you with a terrified look. ‘Don’t worry no petals this time’ you laughed and he smiled at you. ‘Hermione told me the details of what you have, it must be terrible’ he looked away as he said this. There was silence for a while until he spoke, ‘so what flower is it?’ He smiled. ‘A sunflower’ you said. ‘I like sunflowers they’re my favourite’ and with that he lay down on the floor. You watched him for a while, not speaking. ‘You’re very quiet when you’re on your own you know’ he said opening his eyes to look over to you. ‘I don’t have to put on a show when I’m on my own’ you said and turned away. As time past you decided to join him on the floor. You both lay side by side until sunrise.

Many nights went by and you would see George at the astronomy tower and would hang out with him. You became comfortable with him very quickly, he was easy to talk to and he never judged you. You could tell him anything and he could do the same with you. One night you began coughing profusely, Petals pouring out of your mouth. George stayed by your side, and rubbed at your back and you puked and choked. ‘I wish I could do something to help you’ he sighed. You looked at him, his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. George quickly looked away. These meetings continued for the rest of the year, you’d watch the stars, play games and by March you two would move the party from the astronomy tower to the kitchens for late night snacks. ‘Do you like pickles?’ You asked him as you took a large one out of a jar from the fridge. ‘I do’ he laughed ‘I don’t I think they’re gross’ you said and then threw the pickle at him. He looked at you shocked then looked to banana that was on the counter in front of him. He thought for a second then threw it at you. ‘So you wanna fight huh?’ You laughed and threw an egg at him but it missed and hit the wall. He picked up another piece of fruit and threw it at you, it hit you on the shoulder. You and George threw food back and forth. Dodging a variety of foods till you said out of breath, ‘fine you win!’ He smiled and walked over to you, he wiped a bit of cream from a pie he threw at you away. You’re stomach exploded from this one touch. You’re cheeks flooded a red colour. You thought you saw his too but it could of been the light.

It was the end of the year which meant the last night you’d see George till next school year. ‘Write to me okay?’ He said looking at you while you both sat on a ledge of the astronomy tower. ‘Of course’ you smiled. ‘I’ll miss our little late night shenanigans’ he laughed. ‘Me too’

You Sat at the table in Malfoy Manor, across from you was your brother Draco. ‘So, I hope you know I haven’t given up with finding your cure’ he looked at you with a sad look. You nodded unable to contain your smile. ‘Wait, I haven’t seen you barf up any petals all summer’ his faced warped from a confused look to a happy one, ‘you did it didn’t you, you got them to love you!’ Your father looked up from his copy of the daily profit, ‘well I guess we’ll see if it’s gone tomorrow, at your check up won’t we’ he said dryly. ‘You gotta tell me who it is’ Draco asked you all night, ‘have you asked them to be yours?’ ‘No Draco I haven’t and I’m not telling you who it is until I know the plants definitely gone’ you said getting irritated.

The next day you went to St Mungo’s for your checkup. Your mother, father and Draco stood beside the bed. You sat there impatiently waiting for the results. A tall wizard entered the room, his wand out. ‘Well we have great news!’ He said happily, ‘it’s gone!’ Your mother and Draco dived to give you a hug, while your father stared at you with a smile. A huge smile, you hadn’t seen since you was young. This is it you thought, George truly loves me!

You spent the whole summer excited to see George again, to tell him about the disease and to tell him you liked him. You had the confidence knowing he liked you back. Draco still asked you every night before you went to sleep who the guy was. Your mother also started on the questioning, and you kept it a secret from both of them. ‘You’re going to have to tell me some day’ she laughed.

The night you arrived at Hogwarts you ran to the astronomy tower as fast as you could after the feast. You waited, pacing around the tower. You heard foot steps and whipped your head around. It was the red headed boy you had been longing to see all summer. He smiled and you ran to him closing him in a warm embrace. ‘Do we hug?’ He said laughing. ‘The disease is gone!’ You said letting him go. ‘That’s great, so who is the lucky guy?’ He said sadly. ‘You’ you muttered. His eyes widened, ‘me? Really!’ You nodded and he picked you up and span you around. ‘I was afraid it was going to be someone else. I like you so much’ he said, ‘but of course you know that’ you both laughed. He cupped your cheeks and kissed you, with passion. You had wanted this moment to happen for so long and now that it has blowed your mind. ‘I’d love it if you became my boyfriend’ you said when you two parted. ‘And I’d love it if you became my girlfriend’ he said then kissed you again. ‘Of course it had to be a Weasley!’ Shouted a voice from the stairs. You looked and there was your brother walking up the stairs shaking his head trying to hold back a smile.

Thanks for reading! :)

#hanahaki disease #draco malfoy #draco malfoy sister #draco malfoy x reader #george weasley x y/n #golden trio era #george weasley fluff #george weasley x reader

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mammon-sama · 4 years

Text

The Purgatory Hall Boys Are Bad at Road Trips (Fanfiction)

I just *clutches chest* really love the boys at Purgatory Hall and felt they needed more spotlight so here they are being big dummies on the road. Oh, I also posted this on AO3 here.

Title:

The Purgatory Hall Boys Are Bad at Road Trips

Summary:

On a R.A.D-sanctioned road trip to the Caverns of Degeneracy, the Purgatory Hall boys prove that they have just as many brain cells as the demon brothers (read: none).

Genre:

Humor/Fluff/Slice of Life

Rating:

Word Count:

6870

Hour 0

Our story begins just outside the gates of Purgatory Hall, where two of its three non-native Devildom residents stood near a rather expensive-looking, immaculately-maintained vehicle.

The short, prone-to-fits-of-righteous-anger one yanked behind him a wagon, which was piled high with duffel and overnight bags, all made of a stiff white and gold fabric straight from the Celestial Realm.

The other, older man, who never left home without a mysterious smile and his magic wand, too, tugged the handle of his own luggage—although his was a wheeled backpack which sagged due to the weight of the approximately seven-hundred souvenir keychains from around the Human World that he had clipped onto it.

The pair were waiting for their third friend—who, in every sense of the word, was an angel—as together they were planning to embark upon a new R.A.D tradition, which the Demon Prince Diavolo had appropriately christened—Our Annual Road Trip to the Caverns of Degeneracy (A.R.T C.D for short). The Caverns of Degeneracy were on the far outskirts of the Devildom, over six-hundred-and-sixty-six miles away from the R.A.D campus, and yet, for some asinine reason, Diavolo had decided that they were the perfect spot for hosting the academy’s yearly Bleeding Hearts Festival.

(Many of the Student Council Officers and faculty had wagered that the Demon Prince had just wanted an excuse to take a road trip—a phenomenon he had recently been introduced to through one of Leviathan’s video games.)

Diavolo himself planned for his personal driver to ferry him and his butler, Barbatos, up to the Caverns a day early so he could begin preparations for the festival and encouraged all students to find their own means of transportation in order to get to the event on time.

The R.A.D Student Council Officers—all of whom resided in the House of Lamentation—had decided to pile themselves into Asmodeus’ tour bus (he had bought it specifically because once he became a famous DevilTuber, he would need it to do meet-and-greets with his fans and also because it had a “bear-y adorable design”) and drive down together.

As the Purgatory Hall boys had no modes of transportation to call their own, Lucifer had graciously allowed them to borrow Mammon’s Demonio 666 Lexura (fits had ensued à la the secondborn but were ignored), which both Luke and Solomon now hovered around.

However, as Solomon poked and prodded the vehicle, commenting admiringly under his breath at the paint job, the young angel peered nervously at the sorcerer’s backpack.

He cleared his throat, bent on sounding as polite as possible—but failing miserably—and said, “Solomon, er—are you the one who’s bringing our road trip snacks?” He followed this with a silent please say no, please say no, Father please let him say no.

Solomon raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were bringing them.”

Luke dropped the handle of his wagon. “No! I would’ve made some snacks if I had the time but I was helping those,” he gagged, “wretched demon brothers pack using some low-level Celestial Realm magic.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Solomon said, snapping his fingers. “I just remembered that I volunteered to make the snacks, but Simeon heard and immediately offered to do it for me. Then he sent me on a bunch of errands to buy groceries, but it felt more like he was trying to get me out of the kitchen.” He laughed at the last part and shook his head because there was no way that such a criminally calm angel like Simeon would be that underhanded.

“No!” wailed Luke, yanking his hat off and clutching it to his chest in despair. “Don’t you know what this means?”

“It means you don’t like Simeon’s cooking as much as you let on,” decided the sorcerer with a smile at Luke’s theatrical display.

Luke shook his head so vigorously that Solomon had to hold in a laugh based on how much the angel looked like a chihuahua shaking itself dry. “For trips, Simeon only makes the most nutritious, most energizing food.” He screwed up his face in disgust as he seethed, “The most disgusting food.”

“The stuff Simeon cooks for dinner isn’t particularly unhealthy and you seem to like that just fine,” pointed out Solomon.

Luke frowned. “Yes, b—but I’m talking about real healthy stuff here, so we’ll all have lots of energy throughout the trip! L—like entire salads squished between two pieces of bread and ‘yummy morsels’ of banana slices dipped in cashew butter and drizzled with mung bean and coconut water paste!” He gestured toward himself. “Look at me, Solomon! I was made for jam-filled pastries and perfectly-iced cakes! No—not,” he shuddered, “health foods.”

“You’re serious? He’s really going to bring that kind of stuff?” Solomon’s eyes widened. “I guess I should’ve given in to my gut intuition and made some pork pies as backup snacks. ‘Snackups,’ if you will.”

Luke could feel bile rising up his throat at the thought of Solomon’s cooking. “Er—no, I don’t think that would’ve been necessary!” He spotted a figure exiting Purgatory Hall. “Oh, look, there’s Simeon, now; we can just ask him what snacks he brought.”

“And then burn them,” finished Solomon.

The younger angel gave a scandalized gasp at the comment as Solomon nodded at Simeon, who walked closer to the pair.

A lone celestial blue suitcase trailed behind the elder angel as he beamed at his traveling companions. “Is everyone ready?” Before waiting for an answer, he turned toward Luke with a gaze that was almost motherly in nature. “And has everyone gone to the bathroom? We only have a day to drive to the Caverns of Degeneracy and I want to see some of the Devildom sights along the way. I even brought an instant camera to take pictures.”

He pulled out from his cape pocket said camera and an enormous stack of printed DevilmapQuest directions and began to rifle through them, trying to decide which of the landmarks and tourist destinations he wanted to visit most.

“S—Simeon! Why did you have to stare at me when you asked if we all went to the bathroom? I may be young, but I at least know that I should go to the bathroom before long car rides!” He then blushed and handed Solomon his wagon handle. “A—and that being said, I—I have to go to the bathroom.”

As he ran inside, Solomon peered over Simeon’s shoulder at the map sheets and laughed. “You know, most of these directions are online.”

“I know, I know,” admitted the older angel. “But reading the directions off of a D.D.D requires knowing how to operate one, and you know I’m not too good at that.”

Solomon smiled and said, “That’s fine, then. We three will take turns driving and meanwhile, one of the two who aren’t behind the wheel will navigate.”

“Haha, you’re aware Luke can’t drive, right?” asked Simeon, turning to give Solomon a look that cautiously strode the line between tolerant and what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you.

“Well, I guess he’ll be the one giving directions, then,” replied Solomon, without missing a beat. He couldn’t help but silently add he’ll be doing that, either way.

As Simeon continued to sort through the DevilmapQuest papers and double-check all the items packed in the messenger bag slung across his shoulder, Solomon began to load everyone’s luggage into Mammon’s car. He couldn’t help but envision himself playing Tetris as he carefully arranged in the trunk the seven blocky bags that the group had among them—six of which belonged to Luke, who packed as if he were planning to change his clothes at least twelve times a day.

His own backpack—and Simeon’s messenger bag—would be staying with the trio in the cabin space of the car. He hadn’t felt the need to pack nearly as many outfits as Luke and most of his bag consisted of medical supplies, while Simeon’s was supposed to be filled to the brim with road trip snacks.

Speaking of snacks, Solomon felt his mouth turn dry as he mulled over the healthy monstrosities that Luke believed the older angel had created in place of actually palatable food. He turned to Simeon. “Er, Simeon—what’s on the menu in terms of snackage?”

“‘Snackage?’” Simeon laughed. He pat his messenger bag and said, “Let’s see, well, whenever I go on long trips, I try to make foods that provide a lot of energy, since we’re going to need it—especially you and I, as we’ll be driving. Here, I made dried, salted edamame and roasted chickpea trail mix, almond-butter-and-white-bean-stuffed dried dates, and oatmeal-honey-sesame-black-bean balls with dried pineapple, coconut, and avocado.”

Solomon did not like how many times Simeon had mentioned “beans,” for as far as he was concerned, road trip food was junk food exclusively. He took a deep breath and carefully twisted his mouth into a smile. “That sounds well … delicious. Ten out of ten.”

“Excellent. Now, where is Luke?” Simeon peered behind them toward Purgatory Hall, where a munchkin of a silhouette now appeared. “Ah, there he is.” He tossed Solomon the keyring Mammon had tearfully given him the day before. “Mind starting the car?”

Solomon nodded and after examining the gaudy charms that adorned Mammon’s keys, he clicked open the car and stepped toward the driver’s seat door. “I’ll take the first shift. It’ll take us fifteen hours of sheer driving to get to the Caverns of Degeneracy, so we’ll take three-hour turns.”

As Solomon yanked the car door open, something tumbled out of the front seat. He jumped back, and Simeon and Luke rushed toward the commotion.

“M—Mammon? What are you doing here?” exclaimed Luke.

Simeon laughed, his brows furrowing in confusion. “Hoping to hitch a ride?”

Solomon had to swallow his smile when he saw the almost-comical tears that ran down Mammon’s face. “Did your brothers leave you behind?”

“N— no! They’d never leave without me, The Great Mammon!” Mammon hastily wiped his nose before sprawling his hands over his Demonio 666 Lexura. “I just couldn’t fathom leavin’ my beloved baby for so long! I had to say goodbye!”

“Speaking of saying goodbye, you do know that Asmo’s bus already left a few minutes ago, right?” asked Simeon. “I caught a glimpse of them before I came out here and they were already on the road.”

Mammon’s face paled. “Wh—what? They wouldn’t! Wait—of course, they would! Those bastards!” He immediately turned into his demon form, planted a kiss on his car’s hood, and sped off into the horizon.

“I suddenly understand what the term ‘speed demon’ means,” commented Luke as he watched Mammon’s quickly disappearing form.

“I sure hope he manages to catch up to them,” Solomon said, rubbing his chin. “Anyway, everyone, pile in. It’s time to get this show on the road.”

Hour 1

After they had driven well out of the bounds of R.A.D’s campus, Solomon announced, “All right—first item on the agenda—”

Luke raised his hand from the back passenger seat as he strained against his seatbelt. “—What’s an ‘agenda?’”

“Oh. An agenda is basically a list of things we have to do,” explained Solomon.

Simeon’s eyes widened in concern. “I didn’t know we had an agenda.”

Solomon nodded gravely. “Oh, yes—an unwritten road trip one. And the first thing on it is picking some tunes.”

Again, Luke raised his hand. “I have a suggestion! I have a suggestion!” From the pocket of his shorts, he drew out a CD case labeled 1001 Hymns to Praise Him. “This album is my personal favorite.”

Solomon began coughing violently in attempts to cover his laughter, while Simeon smiled and took the CD from him. “That’s a great idea, Luke, but how about we play this when I drive, and when Solomon drives, he’ll pick the music.”

The sorcerer handed Simeon his D.D.D, keeping his eyes on the road as he instructed, “Here, go to my Akutify account and play my Travel playlist. Hope you guys don’t mind that I managed to export my entire Spotify account onto Akutify, so we’re going to be listening to Human World songs for now.”

It took Simeon seven tries to carry out Solomon’s orders, but before long, “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys blared through the state-of-the-art stereo system of the Demonio 666 Lexura.

Luke was silent for a few moments before he innocently asked, “I don’t understand, Solomon. What do they want ‘that way?’”

Solomon shook his head. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for years.”

Hour 2

It didn’t take very long for Simeon to discover the first location on his list of places to visit along their trip.

“The Maw of Beelzebub,” Simeon breathed, taking in their dark, ashy surroundings from the passenger seat. “I’ve seen it in pictures when I researched for TSL, but I never fathomed I’d get to see it in person.”

Luke pouted as Simeon exited the vehicle. “Don’t tell me we’re going to see those dumb demon brothers.”

“Nope,” Solomon said, unbuckling Luke from his seat, despite the vehement protests from the little angel. “The Maw of Beelzebub is a chain of three volcanoes, actually. The two smaller ones that form the ‘eyes of Beelzebub’ are active, but the huge, massive one that we’re going to walk across by way of that bridge,” he pointed to a shaky overpass that was suspended over a volcano crater a thousand miles wide, “is dormant. However, you can still see the enormous pool of lava bubbling inside. Tourists like to drop things down into it—and of course, it disappears into the molten lava—which is why it’s named after Beel because no matter what you feed him, he’s still hungry as if he’s never eaten.”

“Remind me again, then, why we’re walking across it?” Luke asked as the trio wandered over to the entrance of the precarious bridge.

Simeon looked at him curiously. “Don’t you think it’s exhilarating, Luke? To be so close to something so much bigger and powerful and dangerous than yourself?”

The younger angel pondered that for a moment before deciding, “Father is so much bigger and powerful and dangerous than me. I think that’s enough.”

Simeon laughed. “So it is.” He wiggled his fingers under Luke’s hat to rumple his hair. “But let’s go see it, anyway.”

Hour 3

“Psst,” Luke hissed, “Simeon.” The elder angel seemed to be too enthralled by the latest song in Solomon’s playlist, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction, to hear him, so Luke reached out to poke his shoulder.

If he wasn’t strapped to his seat by his seatbelt, Simeon would’ve jumped about fifty feet in surprise. “Ah, you startled me, Luke. Did you need something?”

Luke adamantly refused to meet Simeon’s eyes as he flushed and muttered, “I have to go.”

“Don’t worry, Luke—there’s no shame in needing to go to the bathroom,” assured Simeon.

“There is when you just went ten minutes ago,” mumbled Solomon under his breath, but he swerved into a gas station, nonetheless. “I guess we’re due for a tank refill, anyway.”

Simeon put up his hand. “You paid for the gas last time—let me do it, especially since Mammon left explicit instructions that his car is supposed to be ‘fed’ premium gas only.”

Solomon grinned cheekily. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He followed Luke, who had already gone into the gas station convenience store. “I guess I’ll just have a look around, then.”

However, before he got more than a few feet into the store, he heard someone whisper-screaming his name.

“Psst! Solomon! Over here! Behind the candy stand!”

He followed the voice, only to find that it belonged to Luke, who was very much not in the bathroom and rather ripping open a packet of fruit snacks.

“Whoa, I didn’t know you had it in you to employ the much-loved five-finger-discount,” Solomon said, nodding appreciatively. “Considering you’re an angel and all.”

Luke stared at him with blank eyes. “I don’t know what that means, but these were in my pocket from earlier!” He motioned for Solomon to come closer and poured a few of the gummies into his hand. “This is my last pouch—eat them fast. They might be our last bit of yummy food before we have to eat Simeon’s nightmares.”

Solomon bobbed his head, before dumping the fruit snacks into his mouth all at once, savoring their sweet taste. He gestured toward Luke. “Do you always keep those on you?”

The angel’s offended gasp could be heard by all the demons in the convenience store. “I’m a ten-year-old, Solomon! Of course, I keep fruit snacks in my pocket!”

Hour 4

It wasn’t that Simeon was a bad driver. It was just that driving in the Devildom (and the Human World) was very different from driving in the Celestial Realm.

Here, in uncontrolled intersections, it wasn’t customary to say “hello” to the drivers rolling to a stop in all directions. Even stranger, the traffic lights weren’t celestial blue, gold, and white, but rather red, green, and yellow!

Luke, who had discovered a “2020 Devildom Rules of the Road” manual crumpled inside one of the cupholders, was forced to bark instructions at the eldest angel, all while offering condescending commentary on how imbecilic the rules of driving in the Devildom were.

“Simeon! Listen to this! In the Devildom, you have to obey the posted speed limits, or else you’ll get in trouble!” realized Luke.

“Wait—you don’t have speed limits in the Celestial Realm?” Solomon asked.

Luke replied smugly, “No, because angels have the sense to know how fast they should or shouldn’t be driving.”

“Wow, that’s honestly impressive.” Solomon grimaced as Simeon ran through another red light. “Remember, if the light is red, then you have to stop.”

Simeon offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m so used to remembering that blue means ‘stop.’”

Solomon slunk low in his seat, knowing better than to rile up the angel, who was rumored to have a feisty side when he got angry. “I just hope the police or whatever they have here don’t catch us for breaking so many traffic laws.”

“What’s a ‘police?’” asked Luke.

“Oh, you know … people who are supposed to make people follow the laws and stuff,” replied Solomon. His eyes widened. “Do you not have a police force in the Celestial Realm?”

“The Celestial Realm is a perfect world, Solomon,” answered Simeon. “We don’t need police.”

Hour 6

Solomon didn’t know that he could get sick of songs. Sure, he got tired of the “Despacito” remix after the first dozen times it was played on the radio—but he meant real music.

“Amazing Grace” in particular.

Luke’s favorite album, 1001 Hymns to Praise Him, really should’ve been called 1001 Ways An Angelic Choir Can Sing “Amazing Grace” because Solomon swore about ninety percent of the songs on the album were just renditions of the classic hymn sung by different groups of angels.

And this seemed to bother neither of his driving companions, who crooned along to the choir in heavenly tones—it seemed to be a prerequisite for angels to be divine singers—without missing a beat.

He hadn’t even known all the words to “Amazing Grace,” but now he could recite all six verses on demand. He fought the urge to smash the “eject” button on the CD player, but he worried that Luke would throw a fit or Simeon would look at him with a stare so full of disappointment that Solomon would be willing to throw himself off a bridge just to rid himself of its gaze.

But one could only hear the line “amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” so many times.

He had to do something.

“Hey! I have an idea!” Solomon chirped. “Let’s make up our own song!”

He had to fight the urge to smack himself upside the head. Why did he say that? He had no ideas for potential song lyrics!

“I like that!” Luke pursed his lips, deep in thought. “Here, let’s have the first lines go like this: ‘Father, You are all that I need!’”

Simeon used one hand to snap out the beat, and continued, “‘Father, listen to my creed!’”

Solomon sighed.

He did not know if this was any better.

Hour 8

“Luke, wake up. We’re here.” Solomon couldn’t help but layer on the desperation thick as he shook the younger angel awake, despite the fact that they were in no danger whatsoever.

Luke shot up, trying very hard to hide the fact that he had been drooling all over his shoulder. He rubbed his sleep-filled eyes. “What? Did we beat all the other demons here? Are the Caverns of Degeneracy as hideous as I imagined?”

Solomon unbuckled Luke’s seatbelt and dragged him out of the car. He snickered, saying, “We’re not at the Caverns, yet.” He gestured toward their surroundings, which now consisted of precarious cliffs and rocky crags instead of the open road of the Devildom.

Simeon stood a few feet ahead of them and turned around, spreading his arms wide in wonder. “Welcome to Sinner Falls!”

Luke stared at the dark stone formations. “I don’t see any waterfalls.”

“That’s because Sinner Falls isn’t a waterfall,” Solomon explained. “You probably better know it as ‘the Abyss—’”

“‘The Abyss? ’ Why didn’t you say so?” Luke exclaimed, his eyes glittering excitedly. “The place where demons are tortured for a thousand years during the Millenium has always been one of my dream places to visit!”

Simeon smiled, a little taken aback by the younger angel’s enthusiasm. “If we’re lucky, we might get to see Abaddon, Angel of the Abyss. He’s supposed to be guarding the canyon up ahead.”

“If we see him, do you think he’ll let me call him ‘Abba?’” teased Solomon, even though the remark earned him a kick in the shin and a “He most certainly will not! How dare you even say such a thing about one of the most high-ranking angels!” from Luke.

“Careful now, Solomon,” Simeon warned, as the trio walked toward the deep canyon amongst the cliffs. As far as anyone could tell, there was no end to the inky, suffocating blackness that was visible when looking down into it. He pointed into the canyon. “This is the Abyss—er, Sinner Falls. Us angels cannot pass this invisible barrier—” he pressed his hand out to the ledge of the canyon, only for it to smash against some kind of unseen wall, “—but any human or demon who falls down into it falls for eternity, never to come back to the surface.”

Luke beamed. “That must be why it’s called ‘Sinner Falls!’ Because most humans and all demons are sinners!” Despite this, he grabbed Solomon’s hand to prevent him from wandering too close to Sinner Falls’ ledge (as he was wont to do), because, despite their bickering and mutual pestering, Luke had a soft spot for the sorcerer.

Simeon followed in suit and intertwined his fingers with Solomon as the trio looked down into the great Abyss, wondering if any of their demon friends would be among the many thrown into it one day.

Hour 9

Simeon rifled through his messenger bag, intent on looking for something to eat. He had made sure to pack plenty of goodies and was pleased as to how nutritious the snacks he’d made had turned out. He scooped a handful of edamame and chickpea trail mix into his hand and turned to Luke, who was hunched over a map in the back passenger seat.

“You haven’t eaten anything in over eight hours; aren’t you hungry?” Simeon offered him the bag of trail mix.

Luke gulped, as he beamed and shook his head. “N—no, no! I’m okay!”

Simeon shrugged and held out the bag toward Solomon, who was driving. “Do you want some? I can pour it into your mouth if you want, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road.”

“As titillating as that sounds,” said the sorcerer, “I’m afraid I’m not hungry at the moment.”

“I guess that’s more for me, then.” Simeon poured more of the trail mix into his palm, but before he could eat any of it, he heard a strange sound.

It was a low rumble, but very, very loud.

It almost sounded like … stomachs growling?

He whirled to face Luke and Solomon and scratched his head in confusion. “Are you two sure you’re not hungry?”

When the pair shook their heads furiously, Simeon raised an eyebrow. He yanked out from his bag the stuffed dried dates and the oatmeal-honey-sesame-black-bean balls. “So … you two wouldn’t mind if I ate all of the snacks?”

“Yeah, sure, go nuts, Simeon,” Solomon assured. He winced as his and Luke’s stomaches rumbled in unison. “You wouldn’t actually have any nuts in that bag o’ treats, would you? Preferably of the chocolate-covered variety?”

“The dates have almond butter stuffed inside them,” pointed out Luke helpfully, although his expression was less-than-enthused.

Simeon raised his other eyebrow. Clearly the pair were hungry but refusing food. What kind of rebellious spirit had gotten into them? Didn’t they know that food was essential to oh, survival? His left eye twitched as he felt a black miasma of rage cover him. “If you two don’t eat, I’m turning this car around. That’s a promise.”

Solomon exchanged nervous glances with Luke at the normally calm angel’s outburst. “Angry Simeon is scary,” he whimpered.

“If you don’t eat, you’ll see just how scary I can be,” promised Simeon with a smile that bordered downright terrifying. He plopped an oatmeal-honey-sesame-black-bean ball into Solomon’s mouth and handed a stuffed date to Luke. “Now, eat your snacks.”

He definitely didn’t miss Luke’s grumpy, “Yes, mother.”

Hour 11

“Solomon, I hate to complain—” which earned a snort from the sorcerer, as Luke continued, “but do you really have to play that now?” He gestured toward the sound system, which, now that it was Simeon’s turn to drive, blared 1001 Hymns to Praise Him. “Seven Lyres is my favorite orchestra and their take on ‘Amazing Grace’ is simply the best!”

Solomon, who had purposely pulled out a reed pipe from his backpack in an effort to drown out the nine thousandth chorus of “Amazing Grace,” sighed and put it down. He knew he wasn’t an expert in playing the reed pipe—in fact, this was the first time he’d ever seen the instrument, but the racket was so soothing.

“Where did you even get that from, anyway?” asked Simeon.

“Found it in my backpack. I didn’t pack it, but considering there was a note attached to it that said ‘Blow,’ I think Asmo put it there as some kind of visual innuendo.” Solomon shrugged. “Now seemed like as good a time as any to play it.”

Luke tapped his chin thoughtfully. “What’s an ‘innuendo?’”

“Something you’re not allowed to make until you’re much older,” replied Simeon sternly.

Luke seemed satisfied with the answer and held out his palm toward Solomon. “May I try?”

Solomon handed the reed pipe over and cocked his head. “You know how to play?”

He received his answer when Luke gestured for him to lower the stereo volume (which Solomon did with immense pleasure) and began to carefully place his fingers over the openings and gently blow into the instrument.

The young angel played masterfully and Solomon would’ve given him a standing ovation if it weren’t for one tiny thing.

“Why don’t you play a different song besides ‘Amazing Grace?’” he suggested.

Luke furrowed his brows. “It’s the only thing I know how to play!”

Hour 12

“I don’t like this place, Simeon,” Luke mumbled, yanking his hat over his eyes. “It looks like something straight from the End Times.”

He, of course, was referring to the town at which’s city limits they stood in front of. It was one of the last tourist spots that Simeon had wanted to visit, and it was renowned for being one of the Devildom’s most haunted ghost towns.

Solomon nodded. “I’m with the Chihuahua. I’m super excited for the end of the world, and even I’m not getting a good feeling from whatever-this-place-is-called.”

“Deathblow Beggar’s Pass,” answered Simeon, ogling the city entrance sign gleefully. “They say it’s the most haunted district in all of the Devildom.” He took a step onto the creaky wooden path that led into the town. “It’s been evacuated for centuries and now, even most demons are petrified to go inside.”

Luke gripped Simeon’s cape so tight, his knuckles turned white. “Then why do you want to visit this place?”

“Don’t worry, Luke,” the older angel said (avoiding the question, which the young angel noticed), laughing, as he tousled Luke’s hair under his hat. “I’ll make sure none of the scary ghosts come near you.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “Sc—scary ghosts?” He cleared his throat when he realized how incredibly uncourageous he sounded. “I—I mean I’m not scared of any g—g—ghosts!”

Solomon and Simeon shared a secret smile at the angel’s feigned bravery, and instead of teasing him, Solomon turned to Luke very seriously. “I strictly deal with demons, not ghosts. How about you do me a favor and sit on my shoulders to be my lookout in case any of those ghosts try to pull anything?”

“W—well if you need my help, I’m definitely willing to offer it!” Luke blushed as he climbed onto Solomon’s shoulders. “It’s my duty as an angel to help humans, after all!”

“That’s the ‘spirit,’” Solomon said. He laughed when he saw the angels’ unamused faces. “Get it? ‘Cause we’re walking into a ghost town?”

Simeon laughed stiffly as to not hurt the sorcerer’s feelings before straightening his posture and looking ahead. He channeled his inner fantasy writer as he declared, “Get ready, everyone! We must put aside our doubts and fears as we charge forward into Deathblow Beggar’s Pass, where no creature has exited without releasing screams that could curdle the blood of the Demon Lord! We might not be of this world, but we certainly can brave its most terrifying sites!”

It would have been a very heroic speech if it weren’t for the fact that not five minutes after the trio entered the city limits, Solomon and Simeon sprinted out, with Luke wailing loudly.

“That was the worst ever!” the little angel blubbered, yanking Solomon’s hair.

The sorcerer didn’t even have enough energy to flinch as he panted, “What in the name of all things unholy was that?”

There was nothing but fear in Simeon’s eyes as he doubled over, trying to catch his breath. “We should’ve known the saloon bathroom stalls wouldn’t be empty.” He gagged. “I never want to see millennia-old demon penis again.”

Hour 15

“Simeon, are we there yet ?” asked Luke for the twenty-first time in the hour.

The other angel sighed. “Almost, Luke. Just a few more minutes.”

“Don’t you have the map?” Solomon pointed out as he honked the horn in irritation at a slow driver ahead of him. “Shouldn’t you know where we are?”

Luke fussed with the multitude of papers that were stacked on his lap. “I only have the stuff for Simeon’s places.” His eyes opened wide in realization. “Wait—how do you guys know where to drive if my maps don’t lead to the Caverns of Degeneracy?”

“Diavolo said as long as we travel along Route 666 until we see the sign markers, we should have no problem getting there,” explained Simeon. He peered ahead and squinted at one of the upcoming signs. “And look—that sign says that the Caverns of Degeneracy are ten miles up ahead.”

“I hope we’re the first ones there,” said Luke. “It’ll be nice to see all the looks on those dumb demons’ faces when we get there before them.”

Solomon pursed his lips. “Speaking of those ‘dumb demons,’ I wonder if they’re all right. We haven’t heard from them since we left Purgatory Hall.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Simeon assured. He let out a laugh as he continued, “Assuming they haven’t killed each other already. It must be hard having all seven of them cooped up in one small space.”

“We can only hope,” said Luke solemnly. He paused for a moment as he shimmied as far as his seatbelt would allow him and peered over Solomon’s shoulder to look at what was going on in the front seats. He pointed at the gear shift. “What does ‘D’ mean?”

“I’m not supposed to say that word in front of you,” answered Solomon as Simeon simultaneously replied, “Drive.”

“Oh. What does ‘R’ mean, then?”

Simeon replied, “Reverse,” before Solomon could say anything.

At the elder angel’s preemptive glare, Solomon widened his eyes and innocently said, “I was going to say ‘reverse,’ as in ‘Uno Reverse Card.’’”

Luke turned toward the dashboard. “What’s ‘E?’”

“I feel if I say ‘Evanescence,’ Simeon is going to yell at me, so I’ll just go with ‘empty,’” pouted Solomon.

“Empty what?”

“Gas.”

“So … since that line-thingy is almost at ‘E,’ that means we’re nearly out of gas?”

“Yep.”

Simeon turned around to cover Luke’s ears at Solomon’s next sentence: “Holy shit—we’re almost out of gas!”

The older angel’s eyes promised murder as he stared at the sorcerer, before directing his stare to the fuel gauge. “We’re running on fumes.”

“We need to refuel, stat. Simeon, grab my D.D.D and look up the nearest gas station,” directed Solomon. “I always forget that Mammon’s car is a gas-guzzler.”

“What should I do, Solomon?” asked Luke, eagerly awaiting orders like a baby soldier.

The sorcerer nodded, deadly serious. “Sit there and be cute.”

Luke pouted as Simeon—with surprising speed—brought up a log of the nearest gas stations on Solomon’s D.D.D. “There should be a station three miles ahead.”

Solomon frowned as he analyzed their fuel gauge. “I’m not sure we’ll make it.”

“We have to!” cried Luke. “How will we ever beat those demons if we don’t even make it to the Caverns of Degeneracy?”

“We’ll have to trust that Mammon’s baby is strong enough to get us to the gas station, then.” Solomon stroked the dashboard as if trying to offer the vehicle some kind of encouragement.

And as the car’s fuel began to peter out, Simeon and Luke began to cheer in chorus, “You can do it, Mammon’s car!” while Solomon exclaimed, “You’re a fierce, strong woman who doesn’t need any man to tell you that your fuel gauge is empty!”

After an eternity (okay, it was more like five minutes), the Demonio 666 Lexura finally eked it’s way to the first pump at a Demobil gas station.

As the engine sputtered out, the trio let out a cheer, and Solomon and Simeon shared a hug in the front seat.

“Thank Father we made it!” exclaimed Luke as he unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the car. He pat Mammon’s car. “Also, thank you for getting us here, even if you belong to the scummiest demon in the Devildom.”

Solomon grinned and turned to Simeon. “You spotted the gas bill last time, so I’ll do it now.”

“Are you sure?” asked Simeon. “My TSL royalties are huge, even after I’ve tithed my ten percent. I’ve got no problem paying.”

“Nah, it’s fine—you can go stretch your legs.” With that, Solomon exited the car and began to work the gas pump.

Simeon nodded and together with Luke, walked toward the attached Demobil convenience store. By the entrance stood a higher-level demon, who appeared to be selling bouquets of fresh flowers.

The vendor, who had noticed the pair exit Mammon’s car and had seen Solomon get up to pump the gas, called to Simeon, “Flower for your Mister?” He gestured toward the white-haired sorcerer.

Luke gasped, absolutely scandalized, and huffed, “Simeon would never settle for a human!” while Simeon chuckled, replying, “I’m sorry, he’s not my ‘Mister,’ but I’ll take a bouquet, anyway.”

After exchanging Grimm for the flowers, Simeon and Luke strolled back to the Demonio 666 Lexura, where Solomon was just closing the fuel tank.

“Simeon bought you flowers!” announced Luke.

The angel nodded as he handed the sunny bouquet to Solomon. “It matches your wand.”

“How did you know gerberas are my favorite?” laughed Solomon. “These are great—thank you.” As they all piled back into the car, he carefully arranged the flowers in one of the cupholders and beamed, because God, sometimes the angel was so nice.

The group drove in silence for a few moments before Luke commented, “I didn’t know gerberas smelled like … salt?”

Simeon sniffed the air. “I think that’s the sea. After all, the Caverns of Degeneracy are right along the beach.”

Just as the angel spoke the words, Solomon pulled right into a parking lot that was situated right next to miles and miles of black sand.

Luke cheered, kicking his feet at Solomon’s seat excitedly. “Yay! We’re here!”

Their road trip had finally come to an end.

Destination

After wandering the beach for a few moments, the trio eventually found themselves at the mouth of the Caverns of Degeneracy, which turned out to be several huge caves filled with glowing pastel stalactites and stalagmites. Hellfireflies twinkled in the air, while friendly gentlemanbugs strolled about the cavern floor. Some kind of glittering pink moss had been used to adorn the walls with the words, “R.A.D Bleeding Hearts Festival 2020.”

In the middle of it all stood Diavolo, who was discussing the festival decorations with Barbatos.

As soon as he saw the Demon Prince, Luke raced up and, bobbing uncontrollably, asked, “Are we first? Are we first?”

Diavolo let out a hearty laugh. “Welcome you three! And first for what, Luke?”

Solomon sauntered up and answered, “To arrive.”

“Luke’s been very anxious to know if we’re the first ones here at the festival,” elaborated Simeon, placing his hand on the younger angel’s shoulder.

“You make it seem like it was a competition to get here first—which, yes, you three are,” said Diavolo. His eyes lit up. “That’s an excellent idea, though! Next year, we’ll make the R.A.D C.D a contest to see can make it to the Caverns the fastest! First place will get a coupon for teatime with me!”

Luke wrinkled his nose. “Teatime with you? That sounds—”

“Incredibly fun,” cut in Simeon smoothly. He turned to Diavolo. “Have you gotten any word from those seven demon brothers?”

Diavolo grimaced. “It seems that they’ll be late. Beelzebub ate all their road trip snacks immediately as he entered Asmodeus’ tour bus, so they had to stop for food at every fast food restaurant they could find because he still wasn’t satisfied, Belphegor kept falling asleep at the wheel, and Mammon got so many speeding violations and every time the police showed up, Asmodeus tried to seduce his way out of their ticket, which only earned them more fines and lectures from Lucifer. It’s comic-con season, so of course, Leviathan had to stop at every convention center along the way, and unsurprisingly, Satan’s road rage forced him to get into out-of-car fights with every driver he encountered when he was at the wheel.” He sighed. “They managed to turn a fifteen-hour trip into a twenty-two hour one.”

Solomon smiled as he said, “I guess we should’ve expected that.” His grin grew even wider as he gestured toward his traveling companions. “Meanwhile, we did all fifteen-hours of driving—courtesy of me bending the speeding rules quite a bit when there was no traffic— and saw some of the sights of the Devildom along the way.”

“Oooh, did you manage to get any pictures?” asked Diavolo with an excited gleam in his eye. “I always want to travel around the Devildom but never get the chance.”

Simeon nodded as he pulled out from his messenger bag some of the pictures he had asked fellow tourists to snap with his instant camera. He handed them one by one to Diavolo and beamed at the goofy scenes.

The first one was from when they stopped at the Maw of Beelzebub: Solomon teasingly dangled Luke’s hat over the bridge’s railing while the young angel cried and stomped on the sorcerer’s foot in retaliation. Simeon, meanwhile, tried to rescue Luke’s hat.

The second photo showcased Solomon sitting at the ledge of Sinner Falls with his feet swinging over the bottomless canyon. Luke and Simeon posed obnoxiously as if they were going to fall into the Abyss, even though as angels, they were unable to.

The final picture was the only one he had from Deathblow Beggar’s Pass, and it was of the trio crouched in front of the sign that spelled “Enjoy your stay at Deathblow Beggar’s Pass!”

Diavolo examined the images wistfully. He sighed as he handed the photos back to Simeon. “You three looked as if you made some fun memories.”

The angels and the sorcerer exchanged contented glances and chorused, “We most certainly did.”

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