Hehe, I really like them <3

DAY 02 of @flufftober2021

Sneaking Out Together

Title: In this Moment [Chapter 1]

Author: Vividly_Violet

Fandom: Tokyo Revengers | 東京卍リベンジャーズ

Rating: General

Relationship: Mikey | Sano Manjirou/Takemitchy | Hanagaki Takemichi, Mitsuya Takashi & Takemitchy | Hanagaki Takemichi, Hanagaki Takemichi & Toman Gang

Word Count: 1864

Chapter 1

School just ended and Takemichi wanted nothing more than to go home, eat dinner and then pass out on his bed. It's been a tiring week what with the constant chaos his life has turned out since joining Toman and subsequently dating its leader.

Even before he joined the gang he was already a trouble magnet as the rest likes to call him. Attracting unwanted attention especially from other delinquents that has him ending up bruised and hurting, it's made 10x worst with Mikey added in the equation since anyone who has a grudge against Tomans president or wanted to increase their street cred keeps targeting him since word got out of their relationship thanks to said leader blabbering their status to everyone they meet as a form of showing his possessiveness.

He also has a very punchable face as Baji would laughingly put it and Chifuyu couldn't even refute nor defend him from that statement. At least tomorrow was the weekend. The mizo middle all have different plans for tomorrow, Toman doesn't have any scheduled meeting or any upcoming fight, Mikey and his sister along with their Grandfather are suppose to go on a trip today according to Hina who heard it from Emma herself. So no clingy boyfriend trying to monopolize his time. Finally. A weekend all to himself.

Or so he thought.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked flatly at the crowd gathered in front of his house.

"Takemitchy~ why a sleep over of course!" Mikey exclaimed excitedly.

"Sleepover? I didn't hear any of this. Weren't you and your family supposed to be on some trip." the teen exclaimed.

"Bailed on them, why do I have to hang out with them when I can spent my time with you." Takemichi blushed at that but shook his head. No he will not fall for Mikey's cliche yet none the less sweet words.

"But why at my house, no one informed me of any sleep over."

"Huh, didn't Mikey texted you." Draken asked.

"I didn't received any." Draken turned Mikey.

"Oi didn't I tell you to inform Takemitchy." the taller teen smacked their leaders head.

"Ehh I forgot. Uhhg you keep hitting me, that's why I keep forgetting things." Mikey whined.

"You've been hit by a freaking metal pipe before, the hell does my smack have anything to do with you not texting Takemitchy." Draken hissed at the shorter boy.

"It does so!"

"Why you—"

"I guess we couldn't impose on you like this." Mitsuya said side eying their commander and vice commander who were now pulling at each others hair.

"Who cares we're here, might as well get on with it." Baji said pushing himself from the crowd towards the front door before Chifuyu stopped him.

"Baji-san we came here unannounced. That's rude."

"Sorry for the trouble." Mitsuya apologized. Bless the only reasonable man in Toman, Takemichi thought.

"Ahh no no, don't apologize Mitsuya-kun, it's okay. We can uhh have the sleep over." Takemichi quickly said.

"You don't have to—"

"No, no its really okay. You guys are already here. It'll be rude to turn you away plus— wait where are they?"

"Huh? Oh those guys." the pale lavender haired teen sighed and face palmed as he watch his friends make their way into the house without letting its resident welcome them in.

"How'd you open the door!" the awfully blonde haired teen exclaimed.

"I have a copy pf your key!" said Mikey spinning the key on his finger.

"How!?"

After Takemichi successfully convinced Draken to take the key and compromising that he'll be the one holding it, much to Mikey's pouting or threat all of them gathered in the spacious living room.

"So what are we gonna do?"

There was a chorus of "Movies"

"Video Games"

"Board Games"

"Food"

There was a short pause. Everyone looking at each other and before you knew it the gang erupted into a shouting match on what to do first with Mikey loudly whining about being hungry as he threw wrappers on the others head and Baji almost breaking a vase. It continued for a while until Takemichi had enough of it.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone quieted down, not used to seeing the crybaby loose their temper except for when Mikey and Draken broke some of his stuff but even then the pair couldn't take it seriously because of the dog shit situation.

"But I'm hungry." Mikey whined. Takemichi dragged his hand across his face. He went to the kitchen and came back with a pack of cookies.

"Here. Share." he glared as he handed it out to his boyfriend who reluctantly had the others get one before hoarding the rest to himself and nibbling on the treat.

"I guess that's the extent you're willing to share."

"Why don't we play some video games while others the boardgames before dinner then we can watch a movie after. How does that sound?" Mitsuya, being the only rational person in the group suggested.

"Tch fine." grumbled Baji.

"That sounds okay." Chifuyu said as he swatted his captains hands from taking his cookie. Draken shrugged in acceptance while Mikey gave a thumbs up as he stuffed his face with more cookies.

Takemichi gave Mitsuya a grateful look before showing Chifuyu where the video games and board games were stored.

"Ahh shit. I forgot, I don't have much in the fridge right now. I was planning on doing the groceries tomorrow but I guess I'll have to do it today."

"I'll come along with you. Might as well help out." The second division captain offered.

"Ahh thank you so much Mitsuya-kun! I'll meet you outside then, just let me change out of my uniform."

After Takemichi changed he rushed downstairs and shouted at Draken to keep the damage to his house to a minimum before grabbing Mitsuya's offered helmet and mounting the bike. The pair then drove off to the nearest grocery store.

🔹🔹🔹

After thirty minutes or so the pair returned to a still standing Hanagaki residence much to their relief even thou there were scattered scrabble pieces lying everywhere, Chifuyu sitting on Baji's back as he and Draken Play Mario Cart, the first division captain struggling to remove his vice off him and chess pieces in the fridge when Takemichi went to put away some of the stuff they bought.

"Why are there chess pieces in my fridge?"

"Mikey was being a brat, he put them there after he lost. Against Baji of all people. Now he's sulking at some corner." Draken explained without taking his eyes of the screen.

"I was not, Baji was cheating!" came Mikeys protest from the corner of the room. He was not sulking there. He just thought that the plant was better company than his friends. Takemichi just laughed nervously at them at least nothing was broken before going back to the kitchen to prepare their dinner. Mitsuya was already there preparing the rice. After he placed it on the rice cooker the two worked together to making karage.

"This is the last batch." Mitsuya said as he placed the floured chickens on the pan.

"Ahh thanks, can you ask the others to prepare the table. I'm also finishing up the side dishes."

"Sure."

It was Chifuyu and Draken who came up to set the table working carefully to not disrupt the two who were finishing up their cooking. Takemichi placed the bowl of Kinpira gobo — a salad made of braised burdock root and carrot — in the middle besides the platter of karage before washing up and removing his apron.

"Dinners ready!" he called out and Mikey and Baji came running to the kitchen.

"Calm down you dogs." Draken scowled, taking his seat besides Mitsuya.

"Ahhh this smells so good."

"Huh, You and Mitsuya sure are housewife material." Baji cackled as he shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth. Takemichi's eye twitched at the comment while Mitsuya remained unfazed.

"Hey if they're gonna be housewives I call dibs on Takemitchy." Mikey declared. Takemichi choked on his rice at the declaration while the others just collectively rolled their eyes.

"You— you can't just say stuff like that!"

After they ate, the group dragged some spare futons from the closet down the hallway and set it in the middle of the livingroom, pushing the couch back to fit it in. They then proceeded to raid Takemichi's room, his parents and even the guests room of its pillows. And dumping it all in the middle to create a small mountain of fluffy pillows which Mikey promptly jumped in to.

The rest of the night was spent on watching movies from horror films to comedy to some action films with a little disturbance along the way with popcorns being thrown and pillows hitting some faces that erupted into a pillow fight. But for the most part, the gang had fun till they all passed out in the living room at around 1 in the morning, Mitsuya being the last to fall asleep had the been the one to turn off the television.

🔹🔹🔹

Takemichi batted at the finger prodding at his cheek. After some time where the prodding hasn't ceased he groggily opened his eyes and was met with deep bottomless dark ones staring at him. He almost shrieked in surprise if it weren't for Mikey covering his mouth.

"Shhh" Mikey shushed and mouthed 'come' before he stood and made his way to the front door. Takemichi carefully extracted himself from Chifuyu's hold, the other teen had rolled to his side and clung to his arms. He placed a pillow in place of himself and chuckled when he heard his partner mumble 'baji' under his breath.

"Why are we sneaking out like this?" he whispered as he put on his shoes.

"No reason~" Mikey smiled as he pulled his boyfriend out the door who was struggling to put on the other pair of his shoes.

"Mi— Mikey-kun!"

"Shhh you might wake up the others. Now get your bike." Takemichi rolled his eyes but nonetheless locked the front door and pulled out his bicycle which Draken had thankfully fixed after breaking it again for who knew how many times already.

They rode is silence enjoying the cold breeze that wafted their face. The street was dead with the occasional business men staggering home, drunk or exhausted or both who knew. After a while Mikey pulled on his shirt and pointed to a konbini.

"Doroyaki, I want some Doroyaki."

"You woke me up for this?" Takemichi said exasperated but still followed his boyfriend inside.

Four packets of Doroyaki later the pair rode off again with no destination in mind just enjoying each other's company. A few minutes later just when he thought worriedly that Mikey has fallen asleep because of the quiet, he felt strong arms wrap around his waist. He almost swerved his bicycle but quickly righted himself.

"Mikey-kun?"

"Hmm can we be like this forever." Mikey sleepily mumbled against his back.

"I don't know about forever but we can stay like this for as long as you want or when my legs gives up peddling."

Trouble

Hi yeah its me, and look I’m already back with a new fic for the new year :D cherish this moment I don’t think i will have have this turn around so quick again. For the TSS Fanworks Secret Santa Exchange because I was a pinch hitter :DD @nerdywriterhaven I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Patton has a thing about boardgames and Virgil has a thing about Logan. Together they figure it out. 

Word Count: 7900

Quick Taglist: @alias290​ @chelsvans​ @coyboi300​ @dante-reblogs @dwbh888​ @glitchybina​ @faithfulcat111​ @felicianoromano​ @harrypotternerdprincess @holliberries​ @jemthebookworm​ @killerfangirl3​ @mrbubbajones​  @musical-nerd18​ @nonasficcollection​ @stricken-with-clairvoyancy​ @the-sunshine-dims​ @themagicheartmailman​ @themultishipperchild @thenaiads​ @treasureofpriam​ @vianadraws​ @welovelogansanders​  

Read on Ao3 || My General Writing Masterlist

Patton shows up at Virgil’s dorm room just slightly after six pm on a Tuesday with two thermoses of soup that are still warm to the touch, a halloween tupperware of chocolate chip cookies that had been passed between him and Virgil so many times that Patton really doesn’t remember whose it was originally, his laptop, phone, the chargers for both, and the board game Trouble.

Virgil, predictably, shuts the door in his face the second he sees the game box hidden under all the other things in his arms. Patton also thinks that Virgil tells him to go away, but it’s muddled by the door.

Instead he shuffles all the supplies to his left arm and knee, and knocks again on his door just below the leftover tape from the nametag that his RA keeps putting up and Virgil keeps ripping down because he doesn’t want anyone knowing where he sleeps. His knuckles hum with the rap, datatata dat dat! And he smiles even when there’s the sound of something being thrown at the door from that side.

Patton chooses not to hear it because he’s a good friend and an even more stubborn houseguest.

The door a little bit down the hall opens up with the usual fanfare of someone who is running late to a night class-- which of course is the charm of Roman Prince. He looks nice, as usual, and Patton even thinks that if he hadn’t been wearing two different colored shoes, no one would even know that he had probably just woken up from a nap. The music of his room blares out into the hall with a rap song Patton thinks is Hip With the Kids these days, but Patton himself can’t make out any of the actual words.

All the much better because he’s pretty sure it’s Remus’s music and Remus likes his songs like he likes just about everything else: dirty, scandalous, and offensive. Not that Patton is good friends with either of the Prince siblings, but he’s heard the rumors floating around about both. Roman smiles at him, with glittering white teeth and dimples and soft warm brown eyes that could have been made of melted chocolate.

“Oh! What a spectre!” Roman says, seeming to forget that he’s on the way to a class at the sight of Patton standing at Virgil’s door. “Tell me, angel, what brings a glorious sight such as you to our dorm buildings on this amazing day?”

Virgil’s door swings back open before Patton can answer and Virgil hisses from the darkness, the way he’s usually prone to do whenever Roman or Remus or their blatant disregard for the rules about music volume at two AM is brought up.

He looks not much better from the glimpse Patton got before the door was closed in his face earlier: he’s still pale to the point of looking sickly and dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, with his eye shadow smeared and his hair not brushed at all. There’s a red imprint on the side of his face that Patton thinks matches a crease in his blankets or pillows from where he probably tried to suffocate himself on and off all day between anxiously texting Patton all about “the absolute worst day of my entire life and no I’m not even exaggerating this time Pat”.

“Hi Virgil!” Patton says, as Virgil reaches forward and to take a thermos and the tupperware from his arms and glare unbidenedly at Roman. “I brought dinner!”

“I hate you,” Virgil says, and does not mean because he loves Patton’s Broccoli Cheddar Cheer Up Soup and he’s been in need of cheering up since Patton had seen his messages at noon on his way to his second class of the day.

Roman gasps like he’s offended on behalf of Patton who is not offended as much as endeared to his best friend of several years. “Virgil! How could you act so callus towards a beautiful muse such as this?”

“Get lost, Princey,” Virgil tells him firmly, grumpily, Virgil-ly. “He came here specifically to make a pun about my pain.”

“I do it with love,” Patton adds. “And I brought cookies to make up for it.”

Roman looks like he doesn’t know what to do with that information and Virgil doesn’t give him time to find out because he kinda hates Roman-- although Patton always tells him that “hate” is a strong word and Virgil always says he means it anyway. Patton supposes that if he, too, had hallmates that played music louder than life up to the early hours of the mornings during Finals Week, and then cranked it higher when he knocked on the door to ask them to stop, he might also strongly dislike them.

Virgil ushers Patton into the dark room and then kicks the door closed while Patton is waving goodbye at Roman.

It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light level: Virgil was certainly making use of those thick blackout curtains! It made the whole room look like it was three AM, rather than six PM! There are blobs of stuff all around the room, piles of clothes and blankets that Virgil prefers to have on the floor rather than put somewhere where he’s not going to trip over it in the middle of the night, but Patton supposes that’s just how Virgil’s always been.

“If someone breaks in, they’re gonna trip over this shit and I will be out of here long before they can get back up,” Virgil had said the first time Patton had suggested maybe, possibly cleaning something until they found the floor.

The desk where Virgil did his school work is empty and the textbooks and computer that normally covered it are all on the ground like a massacre from what Patton can make out. Virgil shuffles through the room and ends up turning on the purple lava lamp that Patton got him three years ago so that they could at least see each other and the faux-floor, and even then he doesn’t look happy at needing that much. The elevated bed had the blankets ripped up from it and turned into a nest with Virgil’s phone light peeking out from the depths like some underwater cave with a sea monster in it waiting for an unsuspecting diver.

“Remind me, how you got into this building?” Virgil says, tiredly as he pries open the cookie container. “It requires a key and last time I checked, you don’t have one of those, Pat.”

“As if a key would stop me from checking on you!” Patton replies. He plops himself on a pile of clothes and clears away another spot for Virgil to collapse next to him, so that Virgil can’t exactly escape. “Now, what is this about Logan again? You were being kinda vague and world-ending-y again. ”

Virgil lets out a moan around the cookie he shoved in his mouth and drops to the floor next to Patton, to munch angrily or just upsetly without actually offering an answer, because he’s Virgil and he’s allergic to talking about things that upset him. Patton sets down his other thermos, his laptop, and his own phone to make room for the game between them.

“Must we?” Virgil asks as Patton sets up the board with a practiced hand. Even in the near darkness of the room he knows exactly what he’s doing, and could probably figure it out with no light at all.

“Of course!” Patton says. “You sounded like you were in Trouble.”

“ Sorry to disappoint.”

“It’s rather Risk -y of you to be self deprecating while within hugging distance.”

Virgil doesn’t say anything for a moment, just swallows the bite of his cookie and stares at the colored pieces in front of him. The board game is well worn and well loved-- one of the first ones Patton had ever gotten and one of the first ones he ever convinced Virgil to play with him. Although “convinced” is a strong word for how Patton had just been staring at the board numbly with red rimmed eyes when his father had asked Virgil to come over and try to coax him into eating something, anything, please .

They’d lost three pieces of the red team and one of the yellow and two of the green, but that’s okay because Patton generally played blue and Virgil had custom ordered four purple pieces for just the two of them a few years ago.

Carefully, placatingly, Virgil reaches a hand forward and pops the dice bubble for his number. He gets a four.

Patton gets a five.

“How many times have we played this one, Pat?” Virgil asks, in a voice much softer than before. In the faded purple light and the shadows, it’s hard to see the number on the die, and harder to see exactly what Virgil is thinking about with his eyes hidden like that. His nails are bitten down to the quick, ruining the black nail polish he spent an hour applying last weekend over their shared Biology notes.

Patton shrugs as he reaches forward to take his turn and pops the bubble. Honestly he didn’t think he could calculate the answer if Virgil pressed: this was their go-to game, this was his go-to pun, this is what they did even when the world was falling apart at the seams. It was easier to focus on moving playing pieces a couple pegs than it was to focus on the sound of a heart monitor or raspy breathing or bony pale fingers that shook when they tried to hold anything.

It was easier to find a way to win when the instructions were so clear, and the rules were so fair, and the consequences of losing were just having to put the game back in the box.

Virgil doesn’t say anything more and Patton doesn’t force him to, although he desperately wants to. He wants to reach out and catch Virgil’s hands in his own, he wants to give him a squeeze, he wants to wipe away the tear tracks in his makeup and he wants to tell Virgil that whatever it is, Patton will be there for him.

He wants Virgil to look at a game for once and have fun.

But the only sound in the room is the popper when they roll the die back and forth.

Patton gets the six first. He moves his second leftmost piece to the start and hits it again for a three.

Virgil stares his blue piece on the board for a long moment, without blinking. His hands lie limply in his lap and the tub of cookies sits at his knee. The purple light makes his eyes glisten sweetly, wetly, sadly, with a resignation that Patton knows and wishes he doesn’t. The lump in his throat swells up.

“Virgil?”

Virgil blinks. And then blinks again.

“Why should I even bother at this point?” he asks. He runs a hand up to his hair and tugs at the locks.

“Virgil, this is the opening of the game,” Patton says. “You can’t give up alrea--”

“But it’s not like I’m going to win,” Virgil says and Patton sucks in a breath sharply.

Oh. It was one of those days.

Patton thinks that he should have been expecting this; it had been a decent amount of time since Virgil last had refused to finish a game, and Patton had almost thought that maybe they had kicked those thoughts for good! That through sheer willpower and perseverance and proof to the contrary, they might have managed to rework how Virgil approached a challenge. That at one point Virgil might laugh and smile even when he wasn’t in the lead--

And yet, Patton’s sitting with one piece three spaces ahead of Virgil and Virgil is ready to call it quits. The game had just started. Patton had only been sitting in the room for a total of five minutes. Virgil hadn’t talked for more than a couple sentences.

It’s one of those days, except that Patton doesn’t think that it’s ever been this bad before, because usually they at least made it to the one piece around the board in Trouble , through to one check in Chess , through to one hotel being built in Monopoly , or one train ticket completed in Ticket to Ride .

“This is a sign, isn’t it?” Virgil continues. “I’m just being stupid even considering it. Of course I am. I always am. Nevermind, I don’t want to do this today Pat. Thanks for the soup and the cookies and I’m sorry that I made you walk all the way--”

Patton reaches out and snags Virgil’s arm before he can get all the way off the ground. The board nudges to the side dislodging several pieces into the surrounding void, but Patton thinks that he can replace a hundred playing pieces.

He cannot replace his best friend.

Virgil’s skin is cold, even though the room was comfortably warm, and he’s soft to the touch-- which is never what Patton expects when he gets those lightning quick hugs, when Virgil rests his head on his shoulder during movie nights, when they go shopping and there are crowds that make Virgil want to run for the hills and only Patton’s hand in his keeps him grounded there. Virgil is soft despite the jagged persona he puts on to drive away other people, and he hasn’t gotten any sort of touch in a while because he shuts up the moment that Patton’s own warmth floods over him.

The room holds the silence for an eternity: Virgil frozen halfway up from the ground, and Patton latching on to him like he can pluck all the reasons Virgil is upset out of his mind through osmosis. The lava lamp makes him look unreal, makes the silence ring louder, makes the lump in Patton’s throat grow larger.

“Virgil,” Patton says, “please.”

Please tell me what I can do. Please allow me to help. Please let me in.

“It’s stupid,” Virgil says.

Patton wants to laugh, because nothing that ever hurts Virgil has ever been stupid. “I don’t think so, kiddo.”

Virgil bites his lip and inhales with all of his chest.

“You didn’t go to any classes today. You’ve been crying. You’re still wearing yesterday’s clothes.” Patton says. “Something happened. And it can’t possibly be stupid because nothing that affects you like this is can be anything less than something huge.”

Patton feels Virgil’s hand curl into a fist like he can hide his shaking when Patton is right there .

“Do you remember Logan Ackroyd,” Virgil says. “The senior a year older than us who I had Sociology with last year?”

The same Logan who took extra notes for when Virgil missed class and emailed them to him. The same Logan who offered Virgil a granola bar when he overheard that Virgil had missed lunch. The same Logan who helped Virgil break into the auditorium after school hours to search for his missing earbuds.

The same Logan who has eyes more knowledgeable than the entire galaxy, who wears a tie to class, who smells like coffee beans and pen ink and looks like he’d give really good, safe hugs.

The same Logan who Patton has never once met, but feels like he knows intimately thanks to Virgil’s starstruck rambles.

Logan must be something great and amazing. Patton has known that for a year now, from watching the months slip away and suddenly the ghost of Logan joins them on every outing, summoned by the blush over Virgil’s ears and the soft smile on his lips and the way that Virgil steadfastly won’t meet Patton’s eyes like it will prevent Patton from noticing the way that the senior is always on Virgil’s mind. Logan is kind. Logan is smart. Logan has a new book every day. Logan has a voice like the ocean waves.

Logan, Patton thinks, should have been more careful if he caused Virgil this much distress. Because there are things that Patton would do for Virgil that not even a cold blooded killer would consider doing.

“Yeah,” Patton says, with a smile soft and dumb and innocent. “You guys have Analytical Science together this year, right?”

Virgil lets go of his lip, and breathes out a breath that sounds like more relief than Patton is supposed to hear. “Yeah. Yeah. He, uh… yeah.” Virgil shifts back down, shifts so that he’s on his knees and Patton is right next to him, and they’re still touching and that warmth is stronger than the shadows made by the blobs in the lava lamp.

“Janus… Janus asked him out yesterday,” Virgil says, using his other hand to pluck at a thread in his jeans.

Oh. Patton doesn’t think cookies and soup were enough.

And golly, Patton doesn’t think Logan is as smart as Virgil is always saying he is either, because if he said yes in front of Virgil, he must have been the stupidest person on the planet.

Virgil is quiet, dismissible, a shadow in his own skin even on his best days. But he is not un-noticeable.

He carries an aura around himself that storms and thunders and promises danger to those that get too close. His laughter is a threat first and a comfort second. His smile is a knife blade that even Patton sometimes wonders if he might find in his back one day. Virgil was someone that you noticed and you stayed the fudge away from.

Unless you were Patton, who hadn’t been afraid of Death from the moment he watched his mother cough up blood over the cards to CandyLand, watched his mother turn into a real-life game of Operation, watched her breathing get ragged and her fingers struggle to hold playing cards between them.

Logan hadn’t been scared away by Virgil’s thunder, and somehow he had weathered the storm that Virgil put up to protect himself and lived securely in the eye of the hurricane. And somehow he hadn’t noticed, hadn’t cared, had taken advantage of Virgil’s softening heart just to shatter it.

“He didn’t…” Virgil says. “Janus… he didn’t really mean it. I don’t think. It might have been a joke because they’re friends but Logan told everyone that he would only consider dating someone who could… could…”

“Could what?”

Virgil’s eyes flick down to the Trouble game board, to the pieces lost in chaos of the floor, to the box they hadn’t needed except for transport. Patton feels his heart thud in his chest before he crawls up his throat and he tastes it in his mouth along with the remains of the raw cookie dough he licked off the spoon while cleaning up.

Virgil’s words come back to him in whispers. But it’s not like I’m going to win. This is a sign, isn’t it? I’m just being stupid even considering it.

“Someone who could….” Patton says, “beat him in a boardgame?”

Virgil yanks the thread on his jeans sharply and nods without meeting Patton’s eyes. “I told you it was stupid.”

“Virgil,” Patton says. “This is great! We’ve been playing games together for years! You can beat--”

“That’s the thing!” Virgil says with his shoulders curling up to his ears and burying him in layers of excess fabric. “Pat, I can’t even beat you in a board game and I know all your strategies!”

“I don’t think that Trouble actually has any strategies. It’s really luck of the roll--”

Virgil peeks out of his hood enough to give Patton a miserable glare. “When was the last time I won against you, Pat? Be honest.”

Patton purses his lips. “I don’t think that’s fair, kiddo. I’ve been playing games since I was able to understand the rules--”

“You don’t even remember, do you.”

“It was Dominos and you won by twenty points.”

“Nice try, but you purposely miscounted and you actually won by two.” Virgil reaches out for another cookie and offers it to Patton without making any move to pull his other hand from Patton’s hold.

“You would have a lot more wins if you didn’t insist on not finishing games sometimes!” Patton says. “You never know the ending of a game until you play it out!”

“I could tell you that Logan was going to beat Janus in Chess the moment the opening moves were made,” Virgil counters. “He won in twelve moves and then the next game in six.”

Patton opens his mouth, but Virgil shoves the cookie in before he can actually say anything.

“And God Rest Remy’s soul because Logan obliterated him in Trivia Pursuit.” Virgil continues, “He turned Roman to mincemeat over Scrabble, and not only beat Remus in Poker, but won one hundred dollars off him too. I also watched him win in Othello against some kid he tutored in Calc, a game of Mancala with an art kid who was doing it for clout, and Stratego which he won before I finished reading the fuuuuuudging rules and made his opponent cry over it.”

Patton swallows down a bite of cookie that he didn’t not chew well enough because he feels it tear up his esophagus as it goes. Virgil politely ignores him dying for a second and offers him his own thermos of soup to help it down, before remembering that he’s supposed to be brooding and staring at Patton for too long makes him soft.

“Not to make a pun here, but no dice; I legitimately cannot beat Logan,” Virgil says. “He’s just… so good. At everything. What is the point in humiliating myself with this? Even if I find a game so obscure that he’s never heard of it and doesn’t have a strategy built for it, just going up to him and putting the board between us is like-- that’s telling him that I’ve had this massive stupid crush on him for ages and what if he doesn’t even like me? What if I win and then he has to date me because he said so but he actually hates me? What if--”

Patton coughs so hard he thinks he might have dislodged his own lung, which is fine!! Because at least it got Virgil to snap back to him and table his panicky spiral for later.

“Weren’t you,” Patton croaks, “Weren’t you already going to confess to him? You bought the chocolate kisses and you sent me pictures of them in your bag right before class last week.”

Patton can’t see Virgil’s ears because of his hood but he knows that they’re glowing red from the way that Virgil can’t meet his eyes again.

“I just….I did but then he….” Virgil nudges a pile of questionably clean band t-shirts with his socked foot. “He said he wasn’t interested because class was starting and I still don’t know if he meant an actual kiss or a Hershey kiss because he had to leave class early to pick up his kid brother from his middle school because he was sick with a fever and then I was too mortified to bring it back up-- See Pat, I can’t even come up with a creative way to tell Logan that I wanna listen to him ramble about jellyfish immortality and play with his hair or tell him that I wanna know what the flavor of his chapstick is-- which, by the way, I did say to him and he told me was cake batter and that I could find it at the corner drugstore because he thought I was looking for recommendations-- There is no way to subtly tell him that I want to date him.”

“Then maybe… don’t be subtle?” Patton suggests, and then points at the game between them. “Boardgame?”

Virgil scowls at the game like it had personally offended him. “But I can’t beat him. And if I lose and by some miracle he still wants to be seen with me, then he’d be breaking the very rules he set up and everyone else who lost is going to be pissed at both of us and I can’t do that to Logan.”

Patton bites back the then don’t lose that he wants to say. It seems so obvious to him. He doesn’t really see why Virgil doesn’t think he can win one single game. There isn’t even a rule that says Virgil can’t come back and play again-- which isn’t that the point of games? That you can play them for a little while, pack them up, and then come back to them later? That you sit down with friends-maybe-more and you play and have fun ?

Not for the first time, and not for the last time, Patton wonders why Virgil ever played games with him at all. He knows the first time was pity because he found Patton sitting on the floor of his bedroom with Trouble on the ground in front of him and staring at it numbly because he had cried all the tears out of himself already at the hospital, at the funeral, at the everything that had come after that he couldn’t remember. The first time it had been to get Patton to react because he had been so lost, but every time after that Virgil had made the conscious decision to pick up the pieces.

Even if sometimes he had put them back down halfway through and Patton hadn’t figured out how to convince him that the point isn’t to win as much as it is to have fun.

Virgil twists his wrist loosely in Patton’s grip so that he’s holding Patton back, his cold fingers somehow feeling comforting rather than startling. Patton has always loved that about him, although he’s never sure how that works. The coolness of his touch is familiar, but the vulnerability of Virgil reaching out is something newer, something special, something fragile and Virgil holds onto him like he’s expecting Patton to let go at any moment and Patton steadfastly refuses to let him drift off. Patton squeezes his wrist gently, lightly, softly.

I’m here. I’m not leaving. We’re in this together.

“I think that Logan can make decisions for himself,” Patton says with words so featherlight they barely move the air. “Remember the dominos? Any player can choose to lose, whether it be miscounting or it be refusing to finish the game in the end. But if you never even offer to play with him… Logan can’t make that choice, Virgil.”

Virgil holds his gaze for a moment, two, three, and there’s something in his eyes that shies away from the glow of the light, something slippery and weak and scared. Something that Patton is afraid to put a name to, lest it disappear from him forever.

Something that causes Virgil to squeeze his wrist back.

Together. Us. We’ve got this.

“So what game do you want to play with Logan?” Patton asks. “We can go look at my collection if you want? I loaned out Backgammon to a girl in my Shakespearean class, but other than that I have the usuals with me.”

Virgil takes a deep breath. “Can we…” He says. “Do it tomorrow? I don’t want…” He squeezes Patton’s wrist again and Patton can fill in the rest of the blanks with his own interpretations. He is, after all, fluent in Virgilese, as much as Virgil is fluent in Pattonish.

“Yeah, yeah,” Patton says and shifts through the piles of clothes that act as cushions so he’s right next to Virgil, pressing their shoulders together, leaning his head on Virgil’s collarbone, and reaching around him for another cookie. Virgil moves the tub between them and then pulls the Trouble game board in front of that.

He hesitates for another moment-- they’re missing two of Patton’s blue pieces to the floor, and one of Virgil’s purples to a pile of sweatshirts-- but the fact that Virgil drops forward and presses the bubble to roll the die makes Patton’s chest warm.

He gets a six, and then a four and that thing in his eyes seems to grow just a bit stronger.

That is, of course, when the rap music from next door starts up loud enough to shake the entire room and Patton wonders if Logan would still be up for playing a game with Virgil when he’s incarcerated for second degree murder.

Patton, at least, gets a hug out of it, when he tackles Virgil to the ground before he can get to the door, and he manages to coax Virgil back to their area, back to the floor, back to the game, and then later into the blanket-fort-and-movie-night that they watch with one earbud each and their foreheads pressed together late into the night.

***

Patton’s mother developed lung cancer when he was seven. He remembers it in vague flashes: the blood, the shakiness, her fall to the floor because they had never had any sign of it happening until it was too late to do much about it. He was told it was because his maternal grandparents both smoked a lot when she was growing up and she spent the weekends helping them around the house still.

The doctors said she had a year. She got eighteen months.

He barely remembers her face from his own memories anymore, all of them blurred and twisted by the passage of time that he almost got swept away in entirely. Her picture still hangs around the house, though, and he guesses he’s lucky in that regard. He liked how he could see her every time he passed by the stairs, even after his dad remarried and he had grown up and the telemarketers stopped calling the house to tell her that there was an interesting charge on the credit card she didn’t have anymore.

He still wakes up sometimes with his heart beating in his ears and his eyes blinded with tears and his lungs refusing to cooperate because of nightmares about forgetting her entirely, of seeing her stand up to call out to his dad, of seeing her cough out blood and then fall to the floor right in front of him as his dad is running down the stairs. He still wakes up and feels his heart aching where she might have once been if everything had gone just a little bit different. He still wakes up and wishes that he could go back to sleep because at least in his dreams she’s still there waiting with a deck of cards and a smile that says, “Alright, Buster, don’t think I’m going to go easy on you this time!”  

Usually those types of days he labels as “Bad Ones”, and he finds it harder to crawl from under his blankets to do pretty much anything.

Virgil knows immediately when he sees Patton staring at his black laptop screen that it’s a Bad One.

Patton loves that he knows not to ask, hates that Virgil can read him so easily, wants to cry because it’s been so long and shouldn’t the edges of that pain have gone away by now? He wants to pull Virgil’s purple comforter back over them and drift back off into the blissful warmth while pretending that the idea of a game right now didn’t make his hands shake.

She hadn’t left Patton specifically a lot of things, but the things that she had left him had been boardgames. Things that she had collected over the years and kept on a shelf in the study for them to play after work and school: Candyland, Trouble, Snakes and Ladders. She had a whole shelf for him when he got to an age where he could understand more complex concepts: Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Mysterium, Star Realms, Settlers of Catan.

After she was gone… Patton had stared at that shelf and wondered if she had ever thought that maybe she wouldn’t get a chance to play some of them with him.

He wonders how many of them he could have beat her at, how many of them she might let him win in, how many of them they would love to play together and how many of them they would both play through once and then wrinkle their noses at because it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be.

He wonders and maybe it’s a bit too much because he’s stomach is rolling nauseously and he thinks that if he has to look at a game he’ll actually throw up this time.

Virgil doesn’t say anything, even as he gets up and Patton remains buried under too many blankets and the alarm on his phone goes off again for his morning class. The darkness is safe and warm and Patton thinks he understands why Virgil likes it so much as he closes his eyes and tries not to think of a woman who is long gone and in the ground.

“Breakfast?” Virgil whispers at some point.

“Cookies,” Patton mumbles back.

Virgil had carted a hand through his curls and then the door to the room had opened closed and locked behind him. Patton thinks that was nice of him-- to lock the door like he was protecting anyone from coming in and stealing his valuables even though Patton was there. Or maybe since Patton was there? Patton presses his head into a pillow that smells vaguely like chocolate cherries and black licorice and other things that screamed Virgil, and thinks that Virgil might consider Patton a valuable that needs to be protected and kept safe.

Sometime later Patton wakes up with Virgil lying beside him, headphones on and typing on his computer with one hand while dragging fingers through Patton’s curls with the other. It’s impressive of him by itself, but not nearly as impressive as the fact that Virgil’s hood is down and the blackout curtains are parted enough to bring in a decent amount of light.

Virgil blinks at him and removes one earmuff. “I read that flowers need sunlight to grow,” he says in lieu of explaining the rays of light cascading into the room over the two of them.

Patton wants to laugh, and thinks he might if it were any other day and not this one. He settles for a somewhat bent smile and Virgil reaches to somewhere he can’t see and brings back a muffin from the Campus Cafe.

“Chocolate Chip,” he says. “Which is like a cookie, but better because it’s a muffin and I said so.”

Patton can’t really tell if the tears that prick in his eyes are from the lingering sadness or the softness of just a simple gesture from his best friend. Maybe it’s both. Maybe it’s neither.

It’s a muffin, not something he should be crying over, and he repeats it even as he takes a bite from the top and Virgil pretends like he doesn’t see Patton scrubbing his cheeks as he chews. It’s a muffin, but Virgil got it just for him and Virgil came right back here and sat with him so he wouldn’t wake up alone and sad and and and--

And if Patton liked anyone romantically like that(™) he thinks he would have fallen straight into love with Virgil.

“Did you miss class?” Patton whispers.

Virgil shrugs. “Nothing important. I sent an email to my teachers saying that I wasn’t feeling too good and didn’t want to risk accidentally spreading anything to anyone, which already helps because I didn’t go to class yesterday and I’ve already turned in all my work for the week for most of my classes. Besides, you were here and I didn’t want to just leave you all alone-- what if Roman started playing his Disney compilations at 160 decibels again?”

“You like Disney, though.”

“I also like my hearing and my best friend,” Virgil says like it’s nothing, like it’s obvious, like it shouldn’t be making Patton tear up again because Virgil is just so nice.

“I’m sorry,” Patton whispers.

Virgil moves his computer and jostles around on the bed until they’re lying side-by-side even though the bed was definitely not made for two persons. He presses his head to Patton’s, and he’s cool and soft and safe.

Together. We got this.

“Your mom?” He asks.

Patton nods, with a lump in his throat that makes all the words he wants to say crumble to ashes on his tongue. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Pat,” Virgil says.

“But… Logan…”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Virgil says. “And, full offense, but no boy is going to be more important to me than you regardless of how fuuuuuuunkily hot he is. Funkily, yeah, sure, that’s a word that I definitely was going to say right there.”

Patton feels the laugh build up in his chest, against all the odds in the world, and it tastes like chocolate when it rolls out of his mouth.

Virgil bumps his shoulder, and grins. “Look, I’m trying here. Cursing is in my nature!”

“Thank you,” Patton says. For everything.

“No prob, Bob,” Virgil says. I would do it all all over again and never change a thing.

“I’m not Bob! I’m Pat!”

Virgil’s laugh is like the sun breaking through the clouds after a rainstorm, like a rainbow cascading through the sky, like being caught after a fall. Patton gets the energy to smile back when he hears it and that alone nearly makes him want to cry again.

Patton twists the blanket under him between his fingers and takes a deep breath. “Did you…” He says before pausing to swallow back the taste of his own stomach acids he’s not sure is entirely imaginary. “Did you pick a game? For Logan?”

Virgil’s nose twitches, which means the answer is a sound no. “It’s not that important right now. You’re not feeling up to--”

“ Vir -gil,” Patton says and Virgil’s nose twitches again.

They share a look for another minute, two, three, before Virgil exhales and looks away.

“Fine, fine,” he says. “I didn’t pick out a game yet. I actually saw him in the Cafe earlier with Janus and he waved, though, which was awesome until I waved back and forgot to look where I was going and walked straight into a glass door. At this point it’s going to be a miracle if Logan doesn’t laugh in my face when I ask him to play anything with me.”

“He won’t laugh at you,” Patton says and Virgil slides his arms up and crosses them so he can bury his chin in them like he doesn’t believe Patton at all. “From what you’ve told me, Logan is really nice isn’t he? And the other day didn’t you say that he went on a rant about Pluto being a planet? I think that’s just as silly as you walking into a door.”

Virgil hums to show he’s listening, even if he isn’t taking the words to heart as much as letting them filter through his ears. Patton licks the last of the chocolate muffin from his fingertips and blinks away the urge to hide away from the rest of the world when he spies the box for Trouble on the ground next to Virgil’s desk trash can.

Virgil follows his gaze to the box and he purses his lips, although Patton isn’t sure if its from the fact that he’s remembering that neither of them won last night, or if he’s thinking about odds of beating Logan again or if he, too, is thinking about ghostly fingers trying so hard to move playing pieces that they can no longer touch.

Patton rolls over and stares at Virgil’s ceiling instead, counting his breaths until he feels like the static between his ears isn’t going to overwhelm him.

“What game do you want to play?” Patton asks.

“I won’t win.”

“I didn’t ask what game you wanted to win,” Patton points out. “What game do you want to play against Logan?”

Virgil is quiet, but he sighs so heavily that Patton can see his bangs flutter out of the corner of his eyes.

“This is going to sound stupid,” Virgil says, and again Patton remembers that nothing Virgil ever says has ever once been stupid. “But I don’t want to play against him at all.”

Patton frowns, rolling his head to the side to take in Virgil’s gaze that is already looking at him. His dark eyes are there and the something in them that Patton doesn’t want to put a name to is there again, shining just like the rays of light between Virgil’s blinds.

“I mean I want to play a game with Logan, just not against Logan. It’s stupid, okay? I was just thinking about the cooperative games back at your house that we used to play with your dad and step mom-- you know like the Unlock , Escape-room-in-a-box games? Or maybe Flashpoint? Or Forbidden Island? I was just thinking how shit I am at making my own decisions in Pandemic and Logan is really good at strategy so I bet that working together we’d be able to beat any game.”

Patton breathes deeply, sharply, and tries to ignore the piercing pain in his chest at the mention of the games. Virgil winces like he wants to take the words right back out of the air and hide them somewhere where neither of them have to face them at all.

“I don’t…” Virgil says, “I don’t want to play against him and lose. I’d rather play with him and win. Again: it’s stupid.”

Patton closes his eyes, and sees the shelf his mom left him full of boardgames she picked out long before he was past chewing on building blocks, of him at eleven years old finally getting the courage to drag a kitchen chair to the case and pick out a game while Virgil stood by to make sure he didn’t fall and to remind him that it was okay if he didn’t didn’t feel strong enough to try, of the two of them sitting at the kitchen table with the game directions between them that don’t really make any sense because it there’s no directions on how to attack each other when his dad comes home early and freezes at the sight

He might not remember his mother’s face outside of photographs he doesn’t remember being taken, but he remembers clearly the softness of his father’s expression when he dropped into the seat next to them and asked if they knew how to play this one yet.

“It’s a cooperative game,” his dad said, with a voice shaking and eyes wet. “That means we all work together to get to the goal at the end. Each player is going to have a different superpower-ability-thing that they can do that will make it easier for us to win as a team.”

So no, Patton doesn’t think that it’s stupid at all. It’s hard to do things by themselves, it’s scary, it’s difficult, it’s frustrating. That’s why when Virgil is texting him that the world is ending because of a boy, Patton will always show up at his dorm with soup and cookies and a game for them to play together instead of telling him that he’s being dramatic and silly. That’s why when Patton is missing a woman who hasn’t been in his life for twelve years now, Virgil will always stay with him to remind him that he’s going to get through it, instead of telling him to suck it up.

It’s much easier to win when they’re on the same side.

And Virgil has only ever had fun when playing games that he wins, hasn’t he?

“Why don’t you?” Patton asks suddenly.

Virgil must have nodded off because he jerks suddenly when Patton speaks up, “huh?”

“Why don’t you play a cooperative game?” Patton asks. “What did Logan say specifically about the whole dating thing?”

Virgil rubs an eye and squints at him tiredly. “I told you, he said he would only date someone who beats him at a game. I don’t--”

“Did he say beats him, or beats the game with him?”

“Neither?” Virgil says. “He literally said to Janus very loudly, “I will only consider someone a viable romantic partner if they can win in a game with me.””

“In a game with me,” Patton repeats. “ In a game with me. Not in a game against me!”

It takes Virgil a long, breathless moment to comprehend it, but it’s clear the moment it hits him. Virgil jerks so hard that he tumbles off the bed entirely and to the ground in a fumbling of long limbs, blankets, dubiously cleaned clothes, and his computer-headphones combo. Patton yelps and leans over to check on him but Virgil doesn’t even look like he noticed.

“Holy Shit,” He says, “holy shit, Pat.”

“Language.”

“ HOLY SHIT!” Virgil yells, and then he laughs and covers his mouth like he’s trying to bottle up the sound. “Patton! Patton! He didn’t say against!”

Virgil’s eyes sparkle, the light through the window makes his dark hair shine and just looking at him Patton thinks he’s never once seen him so happy before, so delighted, so excited.

So full of hope.

The next thing he knows is that he’s sitting up and Virgil is wrapped around him in a hug so tight, so soft, so cool and wonderful that those pesky tears come right back to his eyes. Virgil hugs like he’s unafraid of anything for just this endless moment, like he’s never been unsure of physical touch before, like he’s done it a million times before and Patton shouldn’t feel his breath catch in his lungs lest he shatter this dream with an exhale.

He’s standing at the eye of the storm that is Virgil, and he’s never felt so safe before in his life.

“Thank you,” Virgil whispers, “I, uh, I’m sorry for the sudden hug--”

And then, of course, Remus’s music comes back with a vengeance that rattles the ceiling tiles overhead and makes Virgil hiss and break the hug. Patton thinks that he could forgive it, if it weren’t for the unmistakable sound Disney’s Mulan soundtrack also ringing in the air, like it was trying to be heard over the rap music. Dust sprinkles from the tiles overhead.

“I’m going to kill them both,” Virgil vows, but Patton is quicker. He lunges forward before he even knows what he’s doing and coils around Virgil as tightly as he can, and just hugs him, his best friend, the guy who’s always been there for him, and who deserved all the happiness that he could get.

“Pat?” Virgil says.

“If Logan doesn’t treat you right I’m going to make sure no one finds his body,” Patton says.

And Virgil’s laughter makes it sound like he doesn’t quite believe Patton, but that’s okay. Virgil is still looking for reasons to play a game if not to win, and Patton is still trying to find a game that makes him smile, and together they’re going to figure out how to get Virgil to win with Logan.

But for now the hug is good, and the company is nice, and they have the game Trouble packed away ready for the next time they want to play.

Only Time Will Tell: Chapter Twenty-One

Title: Only Time Will Tell

 Chapter 21/? 

Chapter Summary: Everything seems normal until they go in the basement.

Over the next few days, Langdon did not come back to help Michael with learning how to read minds or feel other people's feelings, but Elizabeth had expected that after their small confrontation on the porch. She didn't know if Langdon had changed his mind about Christmas or not, but it was only a few days away, and she knew she wanted to do something for him.

It was true that she hadn't bought him anything; she hadn't bought Michael anything either. She thought the dinner would be enough, and she was going to enjoy having Michael help her. He'd probably like helping too because he'd be able to sample everything, especially the apple pie filling.

The morning after she and Langdon had gotten into it, she woke Michael up around eight and made a small breakfast.

"Hey, Michael?"

"Hm?" He looked up from a bite of egg and toast.

"I'm going to ask you something and I want your honest opinion. Don't just say yes because you think I want you to."

Michael put his fork down and sat up straighter.

"I was wondering how you would feel if I invited Langdon to move in here. I have space in the basement if I move around some stuff."

"He hasn't really acted like he wants to move in here."

"That is true," she admitted. "But I think part of that stems from him thinking we don't want him here. If we provide a place for him, he might start to feel wanted. I'm just wondering because we could start cleaning it out now and then on Christmas we can show him, if he still decides to come. As long as you don't overexert yourself, you can help by using your powers."

Michael perked up a little, but showed concern also, and she knew why. He didn't know if it was smart for him to use his telekinesis without Langdon being there. In fact, Langdon had told them not to, but she trusted Michael to know when too much was enough now.

"I don't mind him being here. I don't think he will hurt us."

"Neither do I. I wouldn't invite him to stay if I did." ----------

They started cleaning the basement that day, but Elizabeth had to work so it was pretty late. She also had to pick up a few crates so they could pack the stuff up first. Michael didn't have to use his powers for that at all, because nothing was too heavy.

Elizabeth was surprised by some of the stuff she found down there – like clothes she'd thought she'd left at home or lost during the move there, but also books from when she was younger and a few photo albums, mostly of her friends and some of her sister – and decided she would go through some of the stuff later. There were even a few boardgames. She'd brought them with her because she'd liked them, not really because she'd had any real thought of playing them.

Maybe now that Michael was living with her, she could teach him to play some of them. He'd probably like them. He actually put a box of games to the side when he found the one that contained boards for checkers and chess, the pieces in a bag along with them. She could play checkers okay, but she sucked at chess. She didn't have the patience for it.

"We can put the games in the closet in your room," she told Michael. "Just go through the ones that you want. Maybe we can give the rest away or something."

They continued going through the basement until around seven, and then they stopped to have dinner, which was frozen pizza. It was something easy and she knew Michael would eat it.

They watched an older movie called Monster Squad about a bunch of kids saving the world from monsters. It was one of Elizabeth's favorites from when she was a kid. Michael liked it but not as much as Harry Potter. Speaking of which, they were almost done with the third book and could soon watch the third movie.

The third movie was Elizabeth's favorite, so she hoped Michael enjoyed it. ---------- Later that night, after Elizabeth was done reading their nightly chapter, Michael brought up something he'd been wondering about since he'd agreed they should ask Langdon to stay with them.

"You won't forget about me if he says yes, will you?"

"What?"

"Well, he will need your help too. Maybe even more than me because he didn't have you to help him before and he's not used to it."

"Michael, I can help you both at the same time. And I could never forget about you."

"You'll still read to me every night?"

"Of course. We still have four books to go. We can't just stop in the middle," she teased. "We'll still talk and play games, and you'll still learn to do new things. The only thing that will be different is that Langdon will be here . . . if he decides to stay."

They had finished the last chapter of the third Harry Potter book. It had been even more drama-filled than the other two, Michael thought. Harry had found out he had a godfather, had found out that said godfather had been the reason his parents had died, and then had found out that that wasn't true at all. His friend, Ron, had had a pet rat named Scabbers, who was actually a wizard that could turn into an animal, and he had been the reason Harry's parents had been killed. It had been interesting, to say the least.

Michael still didn't like Snape or the Dursley's.

Hermione was probably his favorite. She reminded him of Elizabeth a little bit. He could see her being a Hermione when she'd gone to school, smart and clever, resourceful. So of course Hermione was his favorite.

"What's the next book about?" he asked as she got up to put the third one on his shelf.

"Well, I don't want to give anything away, but it's mostly about a tournament that's being held at Hogwarts. There are dragons and mermaids, a maze near the end."

"Dragons are awesome," Michael said. "They can shoot fire out of their mouth."

Elizabeth smiled. "I think I'll stick to dogs and cats. With my luck, I'd be the one it was shooting fire at."

Michael settled more into his bed. "What're we doing tomorrow? The basement still?"

"Probably a little bit. Not all day. We might could drop some of the stuff off at a Goodwill or something, just to get out of the house a little bit."

"That would be good."

"Okay. Good night, Michael."

"Night, Miss Elizabeth." ---------- Once Elizabeth got to her room, she read a few chapters of the Bible, a habit she had formed ever since she'd first begun to read it. It had become part of her routine to read a chapter of the current Harry Potter book to Michael and then go to her room to read the Bible to herself. Now that she knew Michael really was the Anti-Christ – or had been branded as such – she wasn't so sure him hearing the words and having them burn his ears had been in his head at all; the words might actually hurt him.

All she'd gotten from the Bible so far was that there had been just as much if not more war back in Biblical times than there was even now. It was pretty much God's people against everyone else. The wars were mostly about land matters.

There was nothing about how to defeat the entity in her house. There was also nothing about how to help Michael or Langdon. There was, however, a rule about not using witchcraft.

She wasn't sure what Michal was doing was witchcraft. He wasn't casting spells or lighting candles or doing anything outside the abilities he had been born with. It wasn't his fault he could do things other people couldn't.

What Langdon did, however, was probably witchcraft – rituals, summoning the devil – or trying to – time-traveling . . . definitely witchcraft.

It wasn't until after she'd finished reading for the night and was in the bathroom actually getting ready for bed that she began to feel the strange oppressive force that she'd come to know as the entity in her house. It wasn't with her exactly, but she could feel that it was going to become active. It wanted its presence known.

She heard a few thumps coming from near the kitchen so she went to check after she was done with her nightly routine. There was nothing wrong in the kitchen, so she wasn't sure what it was that she had heard.

"Let's not start this again," she said. "I'll even say please if it'll make you go away."

Honestly, it was late and she just wanted to sleep. She didn't receive a reply and nothing seemed out of place, so she went back to her room. She wasn't going to invite trouble in by actually challenging the thing that was haunting her house when it didn't seem to be threatening her or Michael. ---------- The next morning everything seemed normal. Elizabeth got up, fixed breakfast, waking Michael up with the smell of bacon frying. He came in, bed hair all over the place. He plopped into one of the chairs and began rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"I kept hearing things."

"Me too. But no one was attacked, so that's a step up."

Michael gave her a small smile that was interrupted by a fresh-out-of-bed yawn.

"What was it?" he asked.

"I don't know. I got up to check in here, but I didn't see anything that would've caused the noise."

She quickly fried up some eggs as well so they could have bacon and egg sandwiches and then put them on plates after fixing them up. She placed one of the plates in front of Michael and then one at the place she would be sitting.

"You still want to go to Good Will today?"

"Sure." He took a bite of his sandwich and began chewing. After he swallowed, he asked if they could watch the third Harry Potter movie while eating dinner that night.

"Of course," she said. "That's my favorite one."

"I like the second one the best so far," Michael said.

"Wait until you see the hippogriff. It's great."

After breakfast Elizabeth went out just to see what the weather was going to be like. There was a pretty strong breeze going, so it was a little chilly, but nothing major. She'd probably go for a jog later, once they got back from Good Will.

She went back inside, told Michael to go get dressed to go out, and then headed to the basement so she could figure out what exactly they could donate that day. When she opened the door, however, it didn't take long for her to figure out what exactly she'd been hearing the night before.

All the boxes she and Michael had filled up and set up so they could get to them easily were now toppled over and the items had been strown across the floor.

She sighed, feeling only vaguely irritated, and said, "Seriously? Why?"

Didn't the Devil have something better to do with his time? Something other than wrecking her house.

When Michael made his way downstairs, he stopped at the bottom and said, "What happened?"

"Our uninvited guest has made his presence known once again." She shook her head. "You wanna help? You can probably do it faster with your powers than if we did it by hand."

Michael nodded and grinned before stopping and scrunching up his nose. "You don't think it'll make him mad?"

"Do it because it might make him mad."

"I'm not the one he hurts when he gets mad," Michael said softly. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "We can at least get rid of this stuff today and then he won't be able to make a mess out of it again."

There was still plenty that could be made a mess of, but at least the basement wouldn't have so much clutter once some of it was gone. ---------- Elizabeth and Michael dropped the boxes off as they had planned but they went to a nearby park instead of going straight back home. They hadn't gotten out of the house just to get out in a while – mostly because they didn't think it would be allowed, but Elizabeth was willing to test boundaries because she was pretty sure the entity in her house had already learned that Michael would never do what he wanted if she was ever actually seriously hurt by it.

There was a baseball game going on when they got to the park, but instead of sitting on the bleachers to watch they walked outside the fenced-in area. They paid attention enough to make sure a stray ball wasn't going to come over and hit one of them, but that was it.

They mostly talked about the holiday coming up. She'd already told Michael that she had never really been big on celebrating because her family had never been. Michael had only had a few Christmases to pull memories from, but he remembered presents and food but no real change of atmosphere at Constance's house.

"Did you have a Christmas tree?"

"Yeah. She put the hooks on the ornaments and helped put them on."

"Do you want a tree this year?"

Christmas was only a few days away, so it might be hard finding one, but maybe they could get a smaller one.

"I mean, it might be fun," Michael said. "But we don't have to."

She told him her idea about getting a smaller tree and he seemed okay with it, so once they'd made their way around the fence and back to the parking lot, the got in the car and started off for the store.

Elizabeth was the one who turned the radio on. Michael had never seemed to take an interest in music, but he didn't mind listening to it with her in the car.

A song by Queen came on and she began singing along with it. Michael didn't sing with her – he probably didn't know the song, to be fair – but a big smile formed on his face as he listened and watched her trying to hit notes that she couldn't.

Singing badly was worth it if it made him smile like that. ---------- Michael stuck by Elizabeth when they got to the store. He normally did that anyway, but it was busier than normal, so he stayed as close as he could get to her. Even though he got out more with Elizabeth than he had with his gramma, he still didn't like crowds. Too many people made him nervous and he wasn't sure if it had to do with his age or if he just didn't like being around all the commotion crowds usually brought.

Elizabeth seemed to know exactly where she was going, though, so at least they probably wouldn't have to be there long. The aisles were packed with people, and not all of them had the decency to park their carts on the sides. A lot of people were blocking the middle, so it was like a maze trying to make it to where they wanted to be.

They finally made it to the Christmas tree section and Elizabeth pointed out that they needed just a small tree. There were bigger ones, but Michael pointed out one that was only six feet tall and it had white lights that came with it, already attached. It wouldn't take that much work to decorate it.

Speaking of decorating, Elizabeth let him pick out a few boxes other than the normal baubles that would go on. He picked out a box of bells, a box of candy canes – real ones so they could eat them after they took them back off – and a box of Christmas themed ornaments that came with a few Santa Clauses and a few reindeer.

"Okay, so star or angel?"

Elizabeth was holding one in each hand and Michael pointed to the star. He guessed it didn't really matter. The angel kind of looked like a doll, anyway.

Elizabeth picked up a box of hooks for the ornaments once they had what they wanted.

Having everything they needed, they made their way to the front of the store so Elizabeth could pay for their things. One of the workers helped them with the tree, which was nice, and then once they had been checked through the register Michael helped her take it to the car.

Michael was surprised they didn't have a problem putting the tree box in the car, but it fit in without a problem and then the boxes of ornaments were placed on the floorboard.

"How about we decorate tonight? After dinner and the movie."

He nodded enthusiastically as he agreed that would be the perfect thing for them to do that night.

He wondered how the Christmas tree would look in the living room and where they would put it. He also wondered if Elizabeth would actually have fun doing this since she'd admitted to never really celebrating Christmas before.

Umm the musican that gets famous and ups and leaves for ~*personal reasons*~ is most definitely Zuko and there was 100% some sort of misunderstanding between him and Sokka that led him to wrongly believe that Sokka wanted him gone. Zuko left bc of Ozai issues but he stayed away and out of touch bc of this. He ofc is still in contact w uncle and finally decides one day that he's ready to go back to visit uncle. And this leads us to Sokka being the jaded lover who moves on before the musican comes back home suddenly into their life again, and he definitely finally just started to settle into a real relationship with Suki after a very long time of just being depressed about Zuko leaving. Now Zuko's back and at first its awkward but then suddenly theyre hanging out all the time and all the feelings come rushing back like a tidal wave but Sokkas still dating Suki and he still doesn't know how zuko feels so he just ignores all the subconscious feels. And then him and Zuko get into a fight thats really over nothing important and blown way out of proportion and after sokka is mopey for a few days suki sits him down and tells him that she is dumping him bc first of all she cannot handle this kind of mopeyness in a relationship capacity and really believes they'll be better off as friends, second of all shes fairly certain she prefers girls over guys and thirdly sokka and zuko are clearly in love and she is tired of watching their failed communications. Sokka just sputters and argues at first but then realizes shes right and he finally finally goes and confesses to zuko and they now live happily ever after.

Don't mind my 4 am rant of a plot, I honestly have no idea what I just wrote🙈

INTERESTING (context: this post)

First of all, do not apologise, that was so fun to read and I live for people sharing their plots and headcanons with me.

Second of all, let’s discuss.

So, yeah, I can deffo see Zuko wanting a fresh start from all the Ozai nonsense, absolutely. Assuming they’re romantically involved prior to his leaving, does Sokka know about Ozai being a shithead then? Or has Zuko kept that a (albeit very well kept) secret/played it down? Does he tell Sokka why he’s leaving? I know you said he misunderstands and assumes Sokka wants him gone - but does Sokka ever get told this, get closure for getting left, or just a vague answer? (Would Zuko be too embarrassed to tell him? Wanting to appear composed and dignified?) Piggybacking off that, I wonder if he goes to Azula (if she’s around) at any point? Tries to garner some clues from there. I wonder what she’d say.

The palatable awkwardness their group of friends would feel - god. ‘Dear Reddit, one of my best friends has returned from tour and his ex-lover/another one of our best friends is still salty about it despite the fact friend #1 is clearly still in love with him and feels terrible about the whole ordeal. AITA for telling them both to suck it up?’ I cannot imagine group boardgame nights would ever be the same.

Also, we LOVE a dramatic fight over nothing. The backbone of angsty romance fics. Yelling until someone says something stupid like “BUT I LOVED YOU” and then just stunned silence. Chefs kiss. Great trope.

Suki being the one to slap sense into Sokka is very on brand plus I love her sudden realisation that she wants to explore dating women - it’s a learning experience for everyone! I think sometimes in canon Suki knows Sokka better than he knows himself so, yeah, this tracks. I, too, would be at my wits end, if my boyfriend, whom I’ve drifted from romantically (but still care deeply about), was that hopelessly oblivious to his own repressed emotions.

Tell me about the Zuko/Sokka reconciliation! I wonder how that would go? Another screaming match segueing into confessions? A meet up at an old date spot? I’m thinking: somewhere they used to go to get away from everything and just be, and one of them finds the other there. And then what, I wonder? Does Sokka go back with Zuko to his fast-paced life style? Does Zuko decide to trade it in once and for all for a quieter life now he’s seen the other side? Did he ever really like it anyway? Or did he discover a part of himself he didn’t know he had? If we’re in it for the long game, would this cause another rift? Or would we be in the situation with two sappy boyfriends both ready to drop absolutely everything for the other one because they’ve learnt that ✨love is all that matters in the end✨? MANY thoughts, many.

Shut up and sleep with me (Sebastian Stan x reader)

(The gif’s not mine, all credits to the original owner)

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x fem!reader

Word count: 2199

Warnings: smut, swearing

It was a damn cold and snowy night in mid-January, and I was roaming mindlessly through the streets of Dublin. A shitty ending to an even more shitty day. It all started with a car crash I had in the morning, then I was informed that the university cut off financing of the project I’ve been working on for the past six months and when I came home I walked in on my fiancé having sex in our bedroom with my best friend. The only comforting aspect of this situation was that Craig was wearing socks. Only socks. And no matter how many times I spoke of it, he always forgot to take them off. Luckily the house is mine, so I told him to pack his stuff and be gone by morning. And before he even had a chance to say something, I left slamming the door.

The moment I was leaving the house I haven’t really thought what I was going to do with myself for the night. But now I really wished I had kicked Craig and that bitch out straight away. I could rent a room in some hotel, but at that moment getting drunk in some pub seemed more appealing, and I didn’t really care that I may come across my students. My favourite spot called Dancing Leprechaun was just two blocks away, so I decided to head there.

The place was loud and crowded as always. It was a good place to disappear for the world. I took a seat at the bar.

“Same as always?” the bartender asked. He has served me many times before, but only just now I noticed his name was Joey.

“Make it double,” I replied with a slight nod.

“Your boy is busy, couldn’t come?” the bartender a small talk while handing me the glass.

“Well, when I last saw him, he was busy doing my best friend, and judging by the sounds they made, they both came,” I replied with a bitter smile.

Joey gave me a surprised look. I just shrugged in response and took care of my glass. The drink was gone faster than I expected, but it helped me feel less miserable, so I ordered another one.

“Second double whiskey on the rocks? You’re a tough one,” said a deep voice to my right. I looked into the direction of the voice and saw a tall, well-built man with shoulder-long brown hair and sharp blue eyes. “Mind if I join?”

“Whatever,” I murmured and shrugged again.

“Hey, if you don’t want my company just say a word and I’ll leave you alone.”

“It’s fine.”

The guy sat on a stool next to me and ordered a drink. “Tough day? I’m Sebastian by the way.”

“I know,” I replied bluntly. Perhaps, if the circumstances were different, I’d be fangirling over him. It’s not like you meet a famous Marvel actor every day after all. But in that particular moment the picture of Craig and my best friend fucking was the only thing on my mind. And maybe a desperate need to get drunk. “(Y/n). And yeah, I guess we can put it that way.”

We sat there for a moment in silence, sipping on our drinks and taking short glances at each other.

“May I ask what put you in such bad mood?” Sebastian broke the silence.

Normally I would never confide in a stranger, but now alcohol has done its job and Sebastian heard the whole story about how my relationship with Craig was falling apart for some time now, but I still wanted to fight for it and that today I caught that stupid cheating bastard fucking my friend. Sebastian listened to me in silence and didn’t dare to interrupt before I announced that was all I had to say.

“I think I know how to make you feel better, if you’ll allow me.”

“Alcohol will do for now, thanks.”

We sat there for some more time, ordering more drinks and talking about some random stuff. We caught the flow really fast and soon discovered we have quite a lot in common. We like the same music, books, we like playing boardgames and both are gamers.

It was nearly midnight when I decided I had enough and it’s time to go.

“Will you turn into Cinderella at midnight?” Sebastian asked laughing.

I shook my head with a smile. “I doubt I can look any worse than this.”

“Oh, come on, (y/n)! You are a very beautiful woman! Where will you go anyway?” Sebastian exclaimed and grabbed my hands. “Come with me to my place. I promise I will make you feel like a queen.”

I don’t know if it was all the alcohol I drank of if the slutty side of my personality took over, but I agreed to go with Sebastian to his hotel room. On our way we stepped into a liquor store and bought two bottles of cheap red wine.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks,” I said and sat on the edge of his bed. Sebastian poured the wine and handed me one glass and sat on a chair opposite of me. We sat there, drinking wine and chatting some more. When the second bottle was empty, Sebastian offered he’d make me some tea and I gladly accepted it. When we sipped slowly on the hot beverage, he came up with an idea to play truth or dare. The idea reminded me all the scout camps I attended while in junior high, but I thought it would be nice to feel immature again, so I agreed without any resistance.

“I’ll go easy on you for the beginning,” Sebastian said with a chuckle. “Is there anything you hadn’t tried in bed, but would very much like to try?”

I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Well…that would be a threesome,” I answered truthfully. “With two guys!” I added quickly, seeing Sebastian’s lecherous smile.

“Interesting…” the man pretended to contemplate what I said.

“My turn! Truth or dare?” I asked smiling widely.

“Dare.”

“Kiss me.”

A slight look of surprise came across Sebastian’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a wide grin. He came closer and crashed his lips with mine. I thought it would be only an innocent kiss, but the dare turned into a heated make-out session. Sebastian pushed me down onto the bed and laid on top of me with one of his hands on the side of my head, and the other crept slowly under my shirt and massaged my breasts. I rolled over so that I was sat on top of Sebastian.

“The dare didn’t involve touching,” I warned Sebastian with a smile and fixed my bra and shirt.

“Did you expect I’d limit myself to a peck?”

“Well…yes,” I replied with a wink.

Sebastian made a sound that was something between a laugh and a groan. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. But in case you wanted to know, your breasts feel really nice,” he said with his hands placed comfortably on my hips and slowly massaging them.

“Right…okay, give me a second.” I crawled off Seb’s body and ran to the bathroom, grabbing my purse on the way. I quickly cleaned my woman’s parts with wet wipes, applied some perfume and brushed my hair. “Won’t get any better,” I whispered to myself and went back into the room.

“I’m all yours,” I announced with a seductive smile, while crawling back on the bed and on top of Sebastian.

“I will make you feel like a queen,” Sebastian said and started to unbutton my shirt and unclipped my bra and then took them off me and threw on the floor. “They look just as nice as they feel.”

“Oh stop, you’re making me blush.”

Seb chuckled and lifted himself up a little to take one of my nipples into his mouth. He started to suck on It slowly while massaging the other one with his hand and I felt warmth spreading in my body. What I also felt was a growing bulge in Sebastian’s pants. I moaned quietly when Sebastian bit on my nipple. My reaction made him laugh slightly. He broke away from my nipple and looked me in the eye.

“You know what I think is the real art?” He asked while trying to unbutton his shirt. I shook my head in response. “Making a woman cum only by using my mouth. Do you want me to do everything alone?” He asked with a fake resentment in his voice and looking down at his shirt and then at me.

“Well, I’m the queen here, so you know…” I replied with a laugh and undid his shirt quickly. I then slipped it off his shoulders and tossed it away. “Oh man, I love hairy chests,” I said with a laugh. Seb laughed along. He then undid and slid off my skinny jeans along with my panties, and in the very end he took off my socks.

“Nothing worse than socks during sex,” I said laughing again.

“Only socks,” Sebastian pointed out with a smile and placed himself between my legs. Once again, he kissed me on the lips, then neck, both breasts, belly, until he reached my pussy. Sebastian smiled at me one final time before burying one of his fingers inside me. He started to work it in and out, and curl inside to stimulate my G spot. When Sebastian noticed the look of pleasure on my face, he placed his lips on my clit and started to suck on it and tease with his tongue. I moaned, quietly at first, then louder. The pressure filling my body made me arch my back and loudly moan against my soft spot. I felt Sebastian smile. Even his breath teased me now. I felt the peak approaching and Seb was still working his finger and lips on my pussy.

“Oh yes…Sebastian,” I breathed out quietly. “Fuck me. Please, do it now.”

My wish was his command. He moved his lips away from my clit and slipped his finger out of me.

“You’re so sweet down there,” he whispered with a smile. My hands found their way to Sebastian’s trousers and unbuckled them. He took them off along with his boxers and socks. But before anything more happened, Sebastian took out a pack of condoms from the bedside drawer and put one of them on.

“Safety comes first,” he said and then flipped me over so I was laying on my stomach. I lifted myself to all fours and Sebastian positioned himself behind me. His hands found their way to my hips.

“Ready, my queen?”

“Just do it already!”

He slowly slid his cock inside me, stretching me and filling up. “You’re so tight,” Sebastian hissed in my ear before nibbling on my earlobe. He gave me a moment to adjust to his size before he started to move in and out, slowly at first but picking up the pace. I felt the heat starting to build up in my core and it grew with each of Sebastian’s thrusts.

“Oh my God, yes,” I moaned when Seb moved one of his hands to my clit and massaged it.

“Cum for me, pretty girl,” Sebastian whispered in my ear and sped up even more. His deep voice and hot breath were enough to push me over the edge. I felt my walls tighten around Sebastian’s shaft and I screamed his name loudly as my orgasm hit me. My arms and legs started to shake. Watching and feeling me in my ecstasy made Sebastian come as well and I felt his penis twitch inside me when his sperm spilled into the condom. He stayed inside me for few seconds longer before sliding out and heading to the bathroom to clean himself up. I moved myself to the edge of the bed and sat there in silence.

“Did I make you feel like a queen?” Sebastian asked looking at me from the bathroom with a smirk.

“Yeah, but now this queen has to find a place to stay for the night.”

“I don’t mind having you here for the night,” the man offered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

***************************************************************************************

I was woken up by the sun shining through the window and straight onto my face. I checked the clock on my phone, it was already 9 am, do I decided it was time to pull myself together and head back home. Craig should be gone by now. I heard Sebastian shuffle in bed as I put my clothes on.

“Leaving so early and without a goodbye?” Sebastian asked in a sleepy raspy voice.

“That was the plan,” I replied without turning around to face him.

“You know you don’t have to.”

“I do.” I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed to the door. I was halfway out when the man asked, “will I see you again?”

This time I turned to face Sebastian whose look was full of hope and admiration. “I doubt it,” I said shaking my head and closing the door behind me, and leaving Sebastian there alone, staring at the door.

You are all very welcome to leave comments and tell me if you liked it or not! 

@kuroshikine

Ikevam (Taiwan): Your Impression on Arthur

The Taiwan server is releasing short clips of all other characters talking about their impression on Arthur. The project goes from 8/7 to 8/17. This is for the release of Arthur’s main story in the Taiwan server.

8/7 Sebastian

Sebastian: Arthur is for sure a genius detective fiction writer. Just saying this here quietly, I am a Sherlock Holmes fan. But I have never told him, because I like (Sherlock Holmes) too much to confess. ...... When talking with Arthur alone, most of the times, the topic is about females. Several days ago we talked about “how to make girls fall for you in one night”. I learned a lot from the conversation. But I think it is practical only because it is Arthur.

8/8 Isaac

Isaac: Memories between me and Sir Arthur? ...... I play boardgames competitively with Sir Arthur very frequently. But I always lose when I am about to win. It’s almost like Sir Arthur has decided the way to win, and will therefore definitely win. You ask me “Why do I play boardgame with Arthur competitively”?...... Because I want them to stop doing that. I hope Sir Arthur and Dazai stop calling me “Ai-chan”...... From the bottom of my heart. (Isaac is calling Arthur with honorific, and Dazai without, reason revealed in Issac’s story)

8/9 Dazai

Dazai: You want to know about Arthur? I like Arthur a lot. As a result, I end up teasing him. He always shows a face that he dislikes it from the bottom of his heart...... Maybe he is what people called “tsundere”? I don’t dislike kiddos who are not straightforward. ......Huh? Arthur is not “tsundere”, just not good at dealing with me? Hearing such a cute explanation makes me want to tease him more.

8/10 Mozart

Mozart: ...... I will only speak with Arthur if necessary, to a minimum extent. Because he always comes up with vulgar suggestions like “going to bars together to get girls”...... It does surprise me that he immediately gives up after my rejection. He is surprisingly good at keeping distance with other people...... He’s definitely a strange guy.

8/11 Comte

Comte: Even among the kids coming to this mansion, Arthur is amazingly good at getting used to this world. He frequently goes on the street to chase after girls. He is definitely a clever kid. I will just watch and do anything now, but if he goes after the adorable you...... Just kidding. Why would I consider taking him to the room to scold him? 

8/12 Jean

Jean: ...... Arthur once jokingly touched my eye patch. I was annoyed...... So I swapped out his coffee for herbal tea the moment he wasn’t paying attention. Maybe he’s really bad at herbal tea, the moment he unknowingly drank it, he started coughing...... That makes me slightly gladder.

8/13 Leonardo

Leonardo: There was one time, his pet was walking happily in the hallway, wiggling its tail. That proud look is exactly the same as Arthur...... Even though there is the saying that the pet is like the owner, but that’s just too much. You just need one look to know that it is Arthur’s pet. But let me keep it as a secret from you for now, what kind of pet he has.

8/14 Vincent

Vincent: Previously Arthur asked me to paint him a portrait. I like Arthur. When I was about to start, Theo rushed in...... saying, “How can my brother waste his talent on you? Let me use my amazing skill to paint your stupid smiling face!”...... In the end Theo painted Arthur’s portrait. They are such good friends.

8/15 Shakespeare

Shakespeare: I’ve only met Sir Arthur in the mansion several times, but I understand after some communication. He is a “special person”...... Sharp insight, an resistible attractive quality...... and the shadows sometimes in his eyes. He is the kind of person that can escape a dramatic fate in no way. So...... is the story this time a comedy or a tragedy...... Hehe...... I really am looking forward to it

8/16 Napolean

Napolean: Arthur always shows his womanizing frivolous side...... But I know he is more than that...... His eyes show that he always wants to protect something. But I guess me saying these without evidence will only confuse you...... However, if you really care, you should approach him, see for yourself Arthur’s heart.

8/17 Theo

Theo: Speaking of Arthur...... Huh, I guess he can be counted as a bad friend. I don’t even remember how many times I have drunk with him since I came back alive in this world. Because of my job, I know a lot of people...... But it’s the first time I met someone like him, who differs so much from the first impression. He always has that silly smile, but behind his expression...... Ah...... I talked too much, forget what I just said..... Okay?

Honestly this week has been such a ride. Friday, Saturday, Sunday I was at Spiritfest in Waimauku and that changed my life forever. To put words succinctly one after the other to express myself feels like a horrible concerto trying to make a child birth seem more beautiful but it already is beautiful in its own visceral and very moving ways.

I find it hard to relate to this world anymore. No it's not drugs I take to get away from it either. No, I'm slowly at an impasse, the one where you know your life is heading into avant garde oblivion and all you can do is smile, grab your walking stick and smile as people pass you by.

I'm not usually a blogger and I'd like to share why here: because it's not really about me that I care about. I care so much about others to the detriment of my health or life or economy. I love people so deeply I never could dare keep them but I know that I have to let them go. After I've met someone so real I could take hours just in their eyes alone, and them within mine too. And that's what I'd rather share.

"You're something special E", is something a beautiful being told me just today. I know I am but can I be here with you rather than on the other end of lines of code?

Distance doesn't bother me much at all usually. But my inevitable death rolls in like the storm clouds or the wind upon the waves it comes slower than it blows ready to engulf me in my own emptiness and isolation. Coming in from the sea, I can hear the bells. I can hear the heavens songs when I'm feeling close to the other side. Today is one of those days.

I guess I should write about my BCT blog eh? Haha yeah.

We made good progress on our board game today. It took me until 2am to make any progress on the board game the night before, and I just know I wanted to use flux to solder all the pieces together.

Next day we came in, had our BCT theory with Roy. I think he really is a fantastic lecturer, I understand the quality of his teaching because of my own valuable years of experiences, and I dearly appreciate his reflective tools and methods he offers for us as he stands before his future friends and families.

I was waiting for a friend to come to the beach with me today, but they had other plans. I think this is okay, because I am in a very odd and existential and emotional mood today, which begs to be said and felt.

In the end, we managed to complete our boardgame, I got to teach my group how to solder in a very basic sense and invited them to make changes or help as they saw fit. We made many iterations, mainly because of the power required for the LEDs were somehow so high we needed an extra strong power source. I went out to find a 2 dollar shop at lunch with Joe, to find a toy that ran off batteries so we could take it's cells and the cell housing to install on our board instead of the makey makey which is maxed out at 5V. In the end I bought some art supplies I really would rather be using right now than writing this and some 1.5V AAA batteries, and 2 small LED torches to use the cell housing and one one the buttons from the torch was implemented into a switch for our wheel of fortune (the dice roll mechamism) for our boardgame.

I was surprised that I'd have to take so long on doing simple circuits. I'm definitely a novice at electrical engineering or design but I look around the workshop, and other people's inventions with their boardgame and I can't help but feel like I just didn't have enough time to make our whole dream for the boardgame come together. It's not that humbling to realise that I really do know nothing about this practical application of electrical engineering and science....but I will get there and ill create all I need to leave a lasting legacy in this world, even if there isn't that much left in the world we really need to make. And as always.... I am dreaming.

A friend like this (complete)

A/N: finally finished that Avarice AU ficlet! You know, that one where Stan became a demon instead of Dipper, and how that would influence the demonology gang’s story? I’ve started clearing out my draft folder. This one was closest to finished, but expect other drabbles to appear soon...

On AO3: A friend like this chapter 3

A friend like this

Poker Night had become a regular occurrence, pretty much since the first day of classes, when Lee spotted them at lunchtime.

"What are you playing for?" he'd asked.

Maria had shrugged. "Just points. Brad doesn't want to play for money."

"Not against you, you witch. Hi, I'm Brad by the way. I've seen you in class, I think?"

"Yep, he's the guy who slept all through Demonology 101," Maria had said. "Evergreen, isn't it? Deal you in?"

"Call me Lee. And yes." He'd taken a seat and turned to the table behind him, where another student had been sitting all by himself. "Hey, wanna be our fourth?"

The other kid had looked up. "Really? I mean - sure!"

He'd hurriedly changed seats and beamed at them. "My name is Eduardo. How does this game go?"

"I'll explain," Brad had promised. "Nice to meet you Eduardo."

"Such a mouthful," Maria had teased. "Can I call you Eddy instead?"

"Er, sure."

Lee had grinned and given him a playful punch to his shoulder. It was clearly meant as playful - it also left a slight bruise.

"Nah," he'd said. "I think you look more like a Soos."

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

---

Of course Lee was odd. No one could deny that.

It was a lot of things, but one of them was how he never seemed to study. Often he didn't even show up for class, coming back the next day - or next week - in the grumpiest mood ever. And yet his marks were the highest of their year, whenever he bothered to go. Higher even than those of the resident nerds, Adams and Strange.

"How do you do it, dude?" Eddy had asked once, struggling with an essay about low-level binding wards. "Are you some kind of genius or something?"

Lee had paused at that, a weird look crossing his face for a second. Then the smile returned. "I'm no genius, buddy. I just know some stuff. Do you need help with that essay?"

"Does a Multibear poop in the woods?"

"Let's see it then."

---

Lee spent so much time with the three of them, that all those oddities really started to stack up. Eventually even they had to figure it out.

"Let's play for something other than points or candy tonight," Maria said, shuffling the cards one Poker Night.

"Oh?" Lee asked. He sipped his beer and burped. "We're finally playing for money then? Your funeral! Hey Brad, how rich did you say your parents were again?"

"You're a real hoot," Brad said. "But no. We're playing for answers today."

"Answers? Ugh."

"Yep," Maria said. "Whoever loses has to answer a question truthfully from the winner. No evasions, no lies. Like playing truth-or-dare!"

"Last time we played truth or dare Eddy got stuck in a skylight for three hours."

"Yeah, we're not doing that again," Eddy added. "Please. It was so cold..."

"Well, how about it?" Maria said, her poker face already in place, a slight smile curling her lips. "Are you in or not, Lee?"

"What the hell, sure," Lee said, and met her eyes with a poker face of his own. "Bring it on."

Eddy was decent at poker - Brad was a disaster, either raising too much and scaring everyone off, or trying to bluff with a lousy hand. Usually the winnings went to either Lee or Maria, depending on which one of them got caught cheating the most.

Not tonight. Tonight Eddy and Brad flanked Maria, blatantly sitting close enough for her to peak at their cards before they folded. The first time could have been coincidence. The other times, not so much.

Lee cocked an eyebrow. "Are you three ganging up on me?"

"This isn't cheating," Maria said. "It's cooperative play."

"Don't bother, I've got a bad hand anyway. You win." He threw down his cards on the table and sat back, arms folded in front of him. "What's your question? Is it how many girls I've dated? What my most embarrassing memory is? It's something like that, right?"

"While I do wonder about some of those things..." She shook her head and met his eyes. "Are you the demon Mercuriat?"

Lee blinked. If they hadn't been watching so closely, they would have missed the momentary expression that slid over his face before being replaced by 'honest' surprise.

"What?" he said, sounding flabbergasted. "No, of course not. Heh, why would you even think such a thing! It's ridiculous. Why would a demon - a handsome, clever and powerful demon he is, sure - waste his time like this? Makes no sense. None at all. Heh, I won't even count this one as a question, ask another. Go on, ask another question."

"Not before I get a truthful answer to my first one," Maria said. "Nice try though. And why we think you're Mercuriat, well..."

"Your disappearances tend to coincide with news about Mercuriat destroying some evil cult," Brad said. "It, eh, was Eddy who pointed that out first, I'll admit. I first thought you just made a deal for knowledge with Mercuriat, which would be a lot less terrifying."

"You sometimes talk about the past as if you were there," Maria said. "Things that happened centuries ago. And you know things. Like that time you mentioned how demons have a bar in the Mindscape? How the hell would a human know that?"

"Also, your eyes glow a bit when Maria beats you at poker," Eddy added. "So... that was a big hint, dude. Might want to watch out for that."

Lee - Mercuriat - stared at them.

"I... may have let down my guard a bit," he admitted. "This doesn't bother you?"

"We study demonology, bro," Brad said. "Bit dumb if we were scared of demons. And you're alright. But I'd just like to know one thing..."

Lee sighed, and snapped his fingers. Another beer popped into existence in his hand. "I was bored. That's why I pretend to be a student."

"We figured that, you're known for stuff like that - but not what I was going to ask. I just want to know... why a mullet?"

"Hey now!" Lee sputtered. "Mullets come back into style every few centuries. I figured it was time for them again. Someone has to set the trend."

Eddy patted his shoulder. "You tried."

"It's time to give up. Let it go," Brad said.

Maria got up. "I'll get the scissors!"

---

 Thomas liked the small library in the demonology building. Access was restricted to second years and up, so even on its busy days there weren't more than a handful of students there. It was a good place to go and study in peace.

Usually.

Not today, though. Dewitt and her friends were doing some assignment at the other end of the room. He could see their reflection in the big silver mirror that hung between the bookshelves. They were talking quietly enough but occassionally erupted into laughter, which didn't really help Thomas' concentration.

Elisabeth had given up in disgust already and gone home. Maybe he should follow her example...

He idly tapped his pen on the table, still deep in thought, when he noticed Evergreen coming over. His arms were full of books, which he put on the return tray. Oh, good. Looked like he and his friends were leaving.

Evergreen paused in front of the mirror, probably to admire himself. Thomas made a face. It's not that he actively disliked Evergreen, it was just... high school had instilled a natural distrust towards sporty types who looked like they could break him in half with one hand.

But Evergreen wasn't preening and flexing his muscles, like Thomas had expected him to do. No - he seemed to freeze at his own reflection.

Thomas couldn't find anything odd about it. It was just a mirror after all, not even an enchanted one. Good for trapping ghosts but not anything special. And Evergreen looked normal. His hair was still poofy, but anything was better than that mullet he used to have.

"Heh," Evergreen muttered. He put his hands against the mirror. His reflection's smile was bitter. "Don't know what all the fuss was about. This college thing is easy."

Then he licked his fingers and the weird, tense moment was broken as Evergreen used his spit to style his hair into short spikes. Thomas cringed. Yeargh.

---

A gloomy basement, plastic zip ties around their wrists, a group of cold-faced kidnappers with guns trained on them...

Thomas would have like to spend his Friday night a bit differently. Watching a movie, maybe. Or visiting the boardgame club, they usually met in the Mangy Dog on Fridays. Stars, even a dentist appointment would have been fine - anything was better than being kidnapped and forced to summon a demon.

At least he wasn't alone. Did that make it better? Not if they were going to die, of course - though dying all alone would suck - but maybe together they would come up with some idea to survive this thing. Elisabeth had a gift for banishing circles and Thomas was pretty good with figuring out loopholes, so together they maybe had a chance...

He wasn't sure what Evergreen could add to their escape attempt though. Really, he didn't seem inclined to help much. He'd taken a look at the crate with summoning supplies their kidnappers had left them with, shrugged, and sat back against the wall.

"Evergreen, you look up the regular summoning they want," Elisabeth whispered, as she and Thomas put their heads together. "Then the two of us can focus on getting out of here alive. We should be able to sneak something into the wording of the deal -"

"Nah," Evergreen said. "I'm going to take a nap for a while. Just relax, kid - things will be fine."

"Don't call me kid, we're the same age," Elisabeth said.

Evergreen snickered. "Sure we are, kid. But seriously, take a seat and relax. I've got this."

"Excuse me if I'm not eager to put my trust in you," she said. "Why are you even here, Evergreen? I can understand why they kidnapped Thomas and me. But you? You spend all class playing cards with Dewitt instead of paying attention."

"Odd how Hicks never says anything about that," Thomas mused. It wasn't like Evergreen and Dewitt were subtle about it. Not to mention the armpit concerts they held during last Contract Negotiation class.

"Suit yourself," Evergreen shrugged, sliding the hood of his jacket back over his head. "Wake me up if something happens."

"If something happens? We're going to get killed and you don't care! What is wrong with you?"

"Hey, you there!" One of their guards called out. He gestured at Elisabeth with the hand that still held his gun. "Stop shouting and get to work!"

"Come on," Thomas muttered to Elisabeth, who looked ready to explode. "Time is ticking."

---

"Alright," Thomas said. "What do we know?"

"We made the preparations correctly," Elisabeth said. She tapped her fingers on the table, deep in thought. In the background her aquarium made soothing bubbling sounds. "I'm sure of it. That circle should have summoned Gubal the Thousand-Eyed."

"But it wasn't Gubal who showed up," Thomas pointed out.

"You don't have to remind me." Elisabeth shuddered. He couldn't blame her - he had nightmares too, about everything that happened in that basement. Being threathened with guns had been bad enough, but when the sacrifice had been dragged out and their kidnappers started the summoning...

The wording had been tricky. They'd worked really hard on it, and Thomas still wasn't sure it would have been enough to save them.

In the end it hadn't been necessary. It wasn't Gubal who answered the summons. Instead, of all things, a three feet tall, winged, fire-breathing goat showed up. In the smoke and confusion it must have escaped the binding circle somehow, because through stinging eyes Thomas saw it make a beeline for their kidnappers and then... then...

Crunch.

Goats eat everything, after all.

When the smoke cleared their kidnappers were reduced to bloody smears on the floor. The demon goat had disappeared again. And Lee Evergreen was cutting through the plastic strips binding the other captive with a knife he'd pulled out of nowhere. He'd paused long enough to give them both a shit-eating grin.

"We have to face the facts," Elisabeth said. "He must be some kind of supernatural entity. My money is on demon."

They looked at the list Thomas had been working on, detailing all the strange occurrences and weird habits they'd noticed in the past three years. They had only really started to pay attention after the kidnapping, but the list was still pretty long. Long enough for Thomas to wonder how the hell he'd ever missed this.

Well. He knew why. He'd been too busy with the whole university experience. Studying, the boardgaming club, homework sessions with Elisabeth... He'd ignored the, let's say, less academically inclined part of their class. They weren clever enough - he couldn't remember Evergreen ever getting a question wrong, in fact - but they didn't seem to take things seriously. Evergreen and his buddies were always goofing off, especially Dewitt. Sometimes loud enough to disturb the entire class, which was more than annoying.

"Do you think they know?" Thomas said. "They spend a lot of time with him."

"His friends? Probably. Maybe he's starting a cult, who knows." Elisabeth took a deep breath. "We have to tell Hicks."

Let the professional handle it. That seemed like a good idea. On the other hand...

Getting Hicks involved could have big consequences. And maybe it wasn't necessery? Evergreen - whatever else he was -hadn't done anything wrong, as far as they knew... On the contrary. They probably would be dead if not for him.

Elisabeth with a mission was difficult to reason with, though. Especially since Thomas wasn't quite sure about his own arguments to let 'Evergreen' be. It would be smart to tell Hicks, it would, but...

But he remembered a mirror, reflecting eyes that seemed too old and too human in their loneliness.

He needed to think. And derail Elisabeth, at least for a while. "Maybe we should wait until we have some kind of proof."

"Thomas, really? Are we going to waste time with - don't give me that look, fine. But if he eats our souls I'm blaming you."

He smiled. "I can live with that."

Stars, he really hoped he wasn't making a big mistake.

---

"You think too much," Lee said, baring his teeth in a grin. "You need to act, not think."

"That's easy for you to say." Brad massaged his fist. Lee was teaching him to box, which was harder than it seemed. Of course Lee had freakishly good reflexes, being a demon and all, but still. He'd toned it down for their little brawl and Brad still couldn't manage to land a punch.

Well, he'd managed to hit the wall. Unfortunately. He just wasn't cut out for this stuff.

"Are you calling me stupid?" Lee teased. "Come on, punch me! As hard as you can. Don't be a sissy."

"Why do you even want to learn this?" Eddy asked, from his cosy corner of the couch, where he was playing a videogame with Maria.

"Just in case I ever need to defend myself," Brad said.

"There are easier ways to defend yourself," Maria said, idly killing Eddy's character when he was distracted. "Like a gun."

"I was thinking about something less lethal and more close-range," Brad said.

"Or there's magic. Not everyone has Mercuriat on speed-dial, you know. That's quite an ace in the hole."

"Less lethal, Maria. I think calling a demon on some poor robbers is a bit much."

"Yeah, and I'm not your bodyguard," Lee said. "So, are you punching me or not?"

-------

It had taken a while to track them down. Evergreen didn't have an adress Thomas could find, but apparently he hung around Dewitt's apartment a lot.

He knew who Evergreen was, now. And sure, technically he could just summon him and tell him that way, but...

But it was still freaking Mercuriat, biggest and baddest demon around, and if he had to face him, he preferred to do it when Mercuriat was surrounded by people he probably didn't want to physically or mentally scar.

Probably being the key word there.

This was all such a huge mistake.

Still, he steeled himself and rang the doorbell, before he could chicken out. Maybe he was lucky. Maybe only Dewitt was here - she could give 'Lee Evergreen' the message and with a bit of luck he'd never need to see Evergreen again.

Damn it. The door was opened by Hallman, which didn't bode well on the odds of Dewitts other friends being absent. The smell of pizza wasn’t promising either.

"Strange?" Hallman said, clearly confused. "Hello."

"Good evening," Thomas said. He took a deep breath. How to say this...? "Listen. I need to talk to you - and your friends. I know Evergreen is actually Mercuriat -"

There was a gasp and then a burst of pain as Hallmans fist made contact with his face.

Through the haze of pain and watery eyes he could hear voices.

"Whoa! Is that Strange?"

"Did you punch him?"

"I'm sorry! He said he knew about Lee - I reacted by instinct, really, I didn't mean too!"

"You punched Strange!" The voice sounded way too amused about it. Thomas blinked away the tears and recognised Dewitt, flanked by both Evergreen and Noguerra. "That's kind of impressive, Brad."

"Yoo bwoke my noze," Thomas groaned. "Whad de hell!"

"I'm sorry, you startled me!" Hallman protested.

Evergreen gave Hallman a pat on the back. "Looks like those boxing lessons weren't a waste of time after all, heh?"

"Let's clean up your mess, Brad," Dewitt said. She took out a knife, and Thomas hurriedly backed away until his back touched the wood of the door. Someone must have closed it behind him.

"Whad?" he said, pronunciation still mangled by his swollen nose. "Yoo goin' do kill me now?"

"Don't be a baby," Dewitt said, and cut into her own finger. "Hey Lee, wanna make a deal?"

"Shh, we have company," Noguerra said.

Dewitt made a face. "Don't give me that look, he knows already. So, Lee - what about it?"

Thomas stared in horror as Dewitt and Evergreen high-fived, and blue flames covered their hands for a second.

His nose healed itself in the blink of an eye, leaving him free to sputter: "That isn't even close to how you make a safe deal! No laying down the terms? And we have nice, sterile needles for a blood sacrifice - why the hell would you use a knife like that!?"

"Because it's cooler," Dewitt shrugged.

"She's right," Evergreen added. "So, smart guy. Why exactly are you here again?"

Right. He was here for a reason. He wanted to help these crazy people.

"We know who you are," he said, focusing on Evergreen. "Or, well. What you are, actually. You're Mercuriat."

Evergreen seemed to freeze, just staring at him. It didn't escape Thomas' notice that Dewitt, Noguerra and Hallman all seemed to draw closer to him in some kind of protective move.

"You seem really sure of yourself," Dewitt said. "Why?"

"Does it matter? Listen, I'm here to warn you. Elisabeth and I, we figured it out after... what happened in that basement. I tried to stop her but she still went to Hicks, and apparently he'd figured it out himself already. He's been calling some experts. Don't know for sure when they'll arrive, but I thought... I should warn you." He avoided their eyes and shrugged. "I kind of owe my life to you, so... There."

There was a long silence.

"Alright," Evergreen said. "Seems like I have some cleaning up to do."

"Uh," Thomas said. "You're not going to hurt Elisabeth or Hicks, are you?"

"A word of advice, Strange," Dewitt said, not really unfriendly. "If a high-level demon says he's going to do some cleaning up, it's better to not ask too many questions."

"I can't let you hurt anyone."

"I'm not going to hurt them, kid," Evergreen said, sounding exasperated. "I'll probably trick them into loosing their memories about this. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Wait, what?"

"What did you expect me to do?"

"Well, I don't know... I kinda thought you would just... leave? I mean, why would you stay? You've been found out."

Evergreen paused. "So you came to warn me... just to throw me out?"

“Er. Well…” He flinched when Evergreen threw an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. Sofly, but with a definite hint of a threat.

“I’m not going a̡̜̰͎̭̗n̲̣̤̯͙͓y͔w͉̦̠͉he̬r̭̲͈̝͘e͖̦̮̲͍̙͜,” the demon said.

“Not until graduation, at least,” Dewitt added, with a rather unsettling grin. “It’s going to be epic.”

“Great,” Thomas said, weakly. “So this is a cult then.”

“No, dude, it’s so much better.” Noguerra waved his slice of pizza around in a grand gesture. “It’s friendship.”

“Oh boy.”

He glanced around the room, hoping to glean some sign of whatever nefarious thing they were planning. The room was a nightmare. It looked like an arts and crafts room and a library melded together and exploded. The table was covered in sheets of paper, pictures, empty pizza boxes and, for some reason, underwear.

Thomas almost didn’t dare to ask. But his curiosity got the better of him. One day that would get him killed, for sure… “Why do you have piles of men’s underwear lying around?”

“Right, that,” Hallman said, sheepishly. “We can explain that.”

Evergreen moved to the table and showed Thomas one of the pictures with a dramatic flourish.

It looked like the cover for a book.

‘Mercuriat, Gentleman Demon’ the title proclaimed, with a picture underneath of Mercuriat in full demon shape, his face turned away but the pose rather provocative.

Thomas took another picture from the pile. It was even worse. ‘Mercuriat and the Quest for Gold’. Sheesh.

"Alright. So this isn't a cult," he said. He leafed through the pages, reading. "This is worse."

"This is making money!" Dewitt grinned. She high-fived Evergreen again, who seemed entirely too pleased with himself. "Mercuriat? More like Mercuri-HOT!"

Thomas cringed. Hallman did too. “We’re not using that as a slogan, Maria.”

“We’ll see.”

“But why?” Thomas had to ask. He waved at the table with the pictures, the lopsided stacks of what he now realised were supposed to be freshly-written novels. “Just… why?”

Evergreen shrugged. “You know that movie that’s supposedly based on me?”

“Er…” He’d come across it in the past, when looking up demons in pop culture. It was a cult classic, wasn’t it? Rather old though. “Might have heard of it.”

“We’re cashing in,” Dewitt grinned. “Turns out, writing a bestseller isn’t that hard when you have some demonic assistance. We’re going to be filthy rich!”

“Mystery! Adventure! Romance! Gentleman Demon has got it all,” Noguerra added. “Maria writes, and Brad and me are working on merchandise.”

Hallman seemed less enthusiastic. “I still don’t think autographed underwear is ever going to sell.”

Thomas stared. At them. At the room, with the ridiculous pictures and everything. And at Mercuriat, the literal demon, who just stood there with a sly smile.

“What?” Evergreen shrugged. “It’s free advertising.”

Silence.

“So… you mentioned something about losing memories? Because I would be fine if I never heard about this.”

Evergreen laughed, and surprised him with another one-armed hug. “You remind me of someone I used to know, kid. Get that stick out of your ass and we’ll get along fine, you’ll see.”

The Revelation - Chapter 15, TRR AU

Summary: Olivia takes things into her own hands and thank goodness she does. 

A/N: Two chapters in three days, who even am I? We are FINALLY getting to the fluffy part and eeee i’m squealing, scrapping the original plot was the best decision I ever made lol

Word Count: 5300+

Warnings: language

MASTERLIST

‘Tea Elizabeth?’ 

‘Yes please Hana.’ 

‘Sugar?’ 

‘One… please. Um.. could you.. could you pass the biscuits?’ 

‘Of course.’ 

’Thank you.’ ‘

You’re welcome.’ 

 ‘Enough!’ Olivia Nevrakis slammed her hands on the table top, finallly voicing her frustration. ‘I can’t take it anymore! How can you just prattle on like nothing’s happened?' 

‘Olivia I don’t…’ Hana tried to interject, but was silenced by a dismissive wave from the redhead who turned on Elizabeth. 

 ‘So..?’

She paused, eyes wide with a biscuit half way to her mouth. The three of them were seated in the gazebo in the main garden, taking tea at Hana’s suggestion that the fresh air would be good for Elizabeth. She’d been back in Cordonia for about a week and was still nervous about everything, only leaving her Atlantean mansion if necessary. Hana had offered to move in with her to keep her company and eventually Elizabeth had confessed what had happened at the hospital. Her best friend of course had been very understanding and accommodating to her reclusive wishes. Perhaps a little too accommodating, Olivia thought, one red eyebrow arched as she waited for an answer. 

Elizabeth set the biscuit back down on the table, obviously uncomfortable under her scrutinising gaze. ‘Olivia I don’t know what you want me to do.’ 

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. ‘You can drop the pathetic act. It doesn’t suit you. Get over yourself and stop playing princess in your ivory tower. I want you to do something, anything Elizabeth.’ 

‘I did,’ Elizabeth replied, voice soft but holding a slight edge to it. ‘I went to the hospital, I saw him, he obviously didn’t want to see me. Or did you miss the part where Savannah slapped me?’ 

‘And you’re just gonna let that little tart get away with that?’ Hana gasped in alarm. 

‘Olivia!’

The redhead ignored her raising both eyebrows now, glare trained on Elizabeth who stubbornly refused to respond. After a few seconds, Olivia lost her patience.  

‘If you insist on being difficult, I’m not going to sit by an watch the two of you go in circles.’ With that she stormed off back to the house. 

Though she didn’t say his name, Elizabeth knew what Olivia was getting at but she couldn’t get over the image of Drake’s accusatory gaze on her. If he really wanted to see her, he would have called right? A stab of regret shot through her which she immediately pushed down. Her feelings were a mess and lately it was just easier to push them down and pretend they didn’t exist. This was usually easier said than done especially now as she could feel tears welling in her eyes, hating herself for being reduced to a pathetic blubbering mess.

‘Elizabeth…’ Hana consoled gently, sliding over to comfort her. 

 ‘Its fine. I’m fine,’ she replied, dabbing away the moisture before taking a big gulp, steeling her shaking voice. ‘I think I’ve had enough tea for today Hana. Thank you for organising this. I’m going back to my room to rest.’ 

Turning her head to avoid her friend’s disappointed look, Elizabeth hurried into the house, feet carrying her to her room as if on autopilot while she struggled to keep her composure at least until she was in private and the tears could fall freely. Once the door slammed shut, Elizabeth sank onto the bed, extremely aware of the pounding headache that threatened to split her head open. Popping a couple of painkillers, she sank down onto the pillows and cried herself to sleep.

-

A sharp insistent knocking woke her from the thin sleep she’d fallen into and elizabeth frowned curiously, knowing everyone knew not to disturb her when her door was closed. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she opened the door to find Olivia standing on the other side of the threshold. 

 ‘You look like hell,’ she pronounced upon seeing her. ‘Clean yourself up and get downstairs. Don’t even think of arguing.’ 

‘Wh-what’s happening?’ Elizabeth queried, taking in the redhead’s casual outfit. 

‘You’ll see.’

More out of curiosity than anything, Elizabeth obeyed, sliding into her old college hoodie and a pair of jeans only to come down to find voices coming from the parlour. Pushing the door open, she found the room set up with snacks, drinks and a huge stack of boardgames in the background music was playing softly. 

‘What’s all this?’ She asked, directing her question to Olivia and Hana who were adjusting a tray of small shot glasses filled with a substance that looked suspiciously like chocolate. 

 ‘I’ve planned a boardgames night,’ Olivia announced before her usual confident facade dropped a little. ‘I’ve never actually hosted one of these but apparently this is what commoners do for fun?’ 

‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Elizabeth mused, perusing the selection of boardgames on the coffee table. before the doorbell rang. ‘Are we expecting someone else?’ 

Hana opened her mouth to answer before the redhead cut her off. ‘That’s probably the pizza, Hana can get that.’ 

 Elizabeth watched her retreat before turning back to Olivia as she strolled around the room. ‘Wow Liv I’m… impressed. I wouldn’t have take you to be the type to organise something like this. Its more like the kind of thing you’d go out of your way to avoid.’ 

 ‘Hmph I needed to do something to pull you out of that bat cave of yours. Come help me get the rest of the snacks,’ she ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. 

 ‘LITTLE BLOSSOM!’

Maxwell’s cry of enthusiasm reverberated so loudly inside Elizabeth’s head that she almost dropped the bowl of marshmallows she’d been instructed to carry before she was enveloped in a bear hug, marshmallows and all. ‘I’ve missed you so much!’ He exclaimed before looking sheepish. ‘I would have brought Cooper too but Olivia said no.’ 

The redhead rolled her eyes and gestured behind him. ‘He did bring someone else..’ 

 Elizabeth followed her gaze, behind Maxwell and Hana, behind the couch stood… Drake. 

He gave her a small uncertain smile when her eyes landed on him. For a moment she was frozen still, taking in his dark eyes, usual denim shirt and jeans that she assumed was his uniform by now. She watched him wipe his hands nervously on his clothes as he let her take him in. A host of emotions bubbled up at the sigh of him and she balled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms to distract herself from crying and tore her gaze from his. 

 ‘Um.. Olivia can I talk to you for a minute?’ 

‘I’m sure whatever you need to say can be said in front of the entire group.’ 

Elizabeth gave her a pointed look, internally cursing her friend’s stubbornness while at the same time not wanting to create a scene, knowing Drake was still watching her. ‘I think this is more of a private thing.’ 

 ‘Nonsense, we’re all at least acquainted here right?’ She replied brashly. 

 ‘Ol-‘ 

‘It’s fine,’ Drake interrupted, heading towards the door, ‘I think I left something in the car anyway.’ 

Elizabeth winced at the look on his face and once he was out the door, she grabbed Olivia and yanked her into another room. ‘Olivia what the fuck?’ 

‘If you do not the your hands off my arm, I will not hesitate to hack. Them. Off.’ 

She hastily released her forearm, her fingernails having left little crescent shapes in her pale skin. 'Olivia… you… you ambushed me?’ 

 Olivia rolled her eyes. ‘Please that’s nothing compared to what I really wanted to do. Look,’ she stared Elizabeth in the eye. ‘You weren’t getting anywhere on your own. I had to step in.’ 

 ‘I was perfectly fine!’

‘You were miserable and you know it. You know I’m right. Now you’re going to go back in that and we’re going to have some actual… ugh… fun.’ The redhead rolled her eyes in disgust. ‘You guys need some closure and this could be it.’ 

She immediately turned on her heels and Elizabeth had no choice but to follow. ‘So what are we playing first?’ 

 ‘Maxwell has already set up Monopoly so I guess we’re playing that first,’ Hana chimed in as they settled back into their seats. Halfway through the game when Maxwell had unsurprisingly landed in jailer six times, the air was still tense between Drake and Elizabeth who had barely glanced at each other twice the entire game. 

‘I think we could all use a drink,’ Hana intervened wisely, making for the drinks cart. 

‘And a change of pace,’ Olivia put in. ‘At this rate I’d rather watch Drake attempt perfect fork placement. That would be much more entertaining.’ 

‘Ha ha,’ he replied sarcastically. 'How about Snakes & Ladders? can’t go wrong with a tried and true?' 

'Ooo dibs on lil green guy!’ Maxwell chimed in, grabbing the gamepiece. 

 'I’ll take red… obviously,’ Olivia grabbed the corresponding token. 

 Not realising it, both Drake and Elizabeth reached for the blue piece at the same time and their fingers brushed slightly before they simultaneously jumped back, making her inhale a little at the heat of their skin against each others. She hadn’t touched him since..   

‘Hang on we’re one person extra.’ Hana observed, yellow token in hand. 

‘Richmond and I can share,’ Drake put in abruptly before looking at her in askance. ‘If you’re okay with that?’ 

Elizabeth nodded, still not recovered from their brief touch and now that his dark eyes were on her, suddenly found herself unable to speak. 

 ‘Lets play!’ Maxwell announced, grabbing the die. An hour later, they were on their fourth round of the game with all of them having won once before except Olivia to her chagrin but the atmosphere was much more relaxed, the awkwardness having mostly worn off and Drake reached for the die and handing to the Elizabeth. 

 ‘I trust you,’ he declared knowing that they were very close to winning again, except for two long snakes that stood in their path. 

 ‘I’ll try to make you proud,’ she grinned back and rolled. All eyes were on the little white cube as it spun across the board to finally land on…

‘Six! That means we win!’ Elizabeth chirped, moving the blue token six places to the finish line. 

 ‘Awwww,’ Maxwell whined. 

 ‘Ugh I hate this game,’ Olivia groaned. 

 Drake’s eyes sparkled when he looked over at her. ‘Nice moves Richmond.’ 

‘I had a good teammate,’ she grinned back at him, feeling at ease for the first time in months. When their eyes met, there was a kind of magnetic attraction sparking in the air between them and she took a moment to really take him in. Despite her fragmented memory, there was something about him that was just so familiar and… comforting. Realising she’d been staring a little too long, Elizabeth turned away, hoping her hair covered her face enough to hide the blush. 

 ‘Anyway what do we win?’ 

 ‘I didn’t know we were playing for a prize,’ Hana observed turning to Olivia. 

‘Don’t look at me, I don’t do all… this,’ she gestured vaguely to the room. 

 Drake rose to his feet and grabbed a packet of graham crackers and the bowl of marshmallows from the table. ‘Maybe its a good time to break these out.’

Elizabeth watched over his shoulder as he carefully roasted the marshmallow over the fireplace until he deemed it perfectly cooked before trapping it between graham crackers and a piece of chocolate and presenting it to her. 

‘A s’more,’ she reasoned, looking up at him. 

‘The best you’ll ever eat.’ 

He gave her a reassuring smirk as she took a tentative bite. Elizabeth’s eyes widened at the explosion of sweetness in her mouth, the gooey texture of the marshmallow mixing perfectly with the chocolate, complimented by the crunchiness of the graham crackers. 

‘Told ya,’ Drake’s grin widened, turning back to make another for Maxwell who was already bouncing in anticipation. He looked questioningly towards Olivia who shook her head. 

‘Count me out. I’ve had enough peasantry for one night.’ 

Elizabeth took another bite just as the tingling sensation she’d come to associate with memory recall buzzed in the back of her head. Instead of the usual pain that she experienced, this time it seemed much more subdued and instead of fighting it like she usually did, she let it flow. 

-

She could feel the breeze of the night air brushing her hair as the warmth of a fire warmed her cheeks. Drake was there, sitting next to her, hands on hers to adjust the way she was holding the stick over the fire so that the marshmallow wouldn’t burn. 

‘That’s better.’ 

‘So you’re the s’mores expert?’

‘Damn right. i’ve made hundreds of these.’ 

The way his face softened in the firelight was fascinating as he recounted a story of going camping with his dad as a boy.Despite that, we loved it. He smiled shyly at her, a little embarrassed to be caught so tender. She watched him affectionately, he looked so happy talking about his family, she could tell it was important to him.

‘That sounds so wonderful… and simple.’ 

‘The best things in life usually are, Richmond.’ 

A strong urge bloomed in her chest and she was overwhelmed with the urge to kiss him, to feel his lips on hers even for a moment. He must have seen it because he was leaning in too before checking himself and pulling away, though his eyes betrayed the front he struggled to put on, telling her he wanted this as much as she did. The memory seemed to skip forward a little and Elizabeth guess that Drake must have just told her about the scandal at the coronation that she’d read about in the newspapers but still had no memory of. 

‘I never knew you wanted to come after me.’

His face was bashful. ‘Oh well yeah.. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.’

‘You were worried about me..’

‘Honestly, I still am.’ His head dropped before he turned to look her so deep in the eyes she thought she might never escape his intense dark eyes. ‘I don’t know what I would do if something like that ever happened to you.’ 

‘Oh Drake..’

She was already leaning in again, his cautious glance over his shoulder warned her against giving in but she couldn’t contain her affection for him. He cares… 

‘A kiss would make me feel better.’ 

‘Richmond..’ War broke out on Drake's face as he debated between duty and passion. ‘We can’t..’ 

‘But I want you right now.’ The need to feel him against her burned hotly inside her so badly that if she didn’t have him she would have exploded right there and then. 

‘Dammit Richmond.’ 

The look on his face told her his resolve was breaking down. She couldn’t stop herself from leaning even closer and he responded immediately, closing the gap, his lips finding hers gently at first quickly giving into the heat and desperation that dwelled in both of them. His hand came around her waist to pull her closer as hers wound into his soft hair. This was all she wanted, all she ever wanted for the rest of her life. 

-

'Richmond, you okay there?’ Drake’s voice pulled her out of the memory. ‘Do I.. do I have something on my face?' 

 Elizabeth shook herself, realising she’d spaced out and was staring at him intently. ‘Yeah.. I’m fine,’ she mumbled before looking closer. ‘Actually you gotta little something..’

He used the back of his hand to brush at his mouth. ‘Gone?’

‘You completely missed it,’ she couldn’t help but giggle at his failed attempt to wipe away the large chocolate streak. 

Before she knew what was fully happening, Elizabeth raised her hand to his face and in gentle motions, swiped the chocolate away from his mouth. She heard Drake’s slight gasp as her thumb softly grazing the skin in an intimate gesture that sparked that feeling in both of them, like in her memory. 

She looked up into his eyes and found that the spark lead to a tiny lick of flame in her belly now was present in his. His eyes dropped to her lips and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing as she was. Like in her memory, Elizabeth found herself leaning forward a little, wondering how the feeling of his lips compared to what she remembered. Both of them drew closer and closer as if magnetised by an invisible force, movements slow and hesitant, lips inches awa-

CRASH!

The pair immediately pulled away from each other to find a very tipsy Maxwell bending down to pick up the bowl of popcorn he’d tipped onto the carpet. 

‘Sorry, sorry, sorry,’ he exclaimed, trying to help but knocking over more empty cups in his intoxicated state. 

Drake leapt to his feet. ‘Looks like someone’s ready to go home.’ 

‘Drake buddy.’ 

‘Don’t call me that,’ he grumbled, slipping Maxwell’s arm over his shoulder and looking apologetically towards Elizabeth. ‘I should get this one home. Can someone walk us out of this maze?’ 

 Receiving a meaningful prod from Olivia, Elizabeth stepped forward. ‘I’ll do it.’ 

When they’d found their way out the front door, Drake shifted a sleeping Maxwell on his shoulder before turning to her. ‘Thanks for tonight Richmond. It was… I had fun…’ 

‘Me too..’ 

 He paused as if he wanted to say something and thinking better of it turned away instead. Elizabeth’s stomach dropped as she watched him leave, emotions in a twist after her memory recall and the moment they’d shared in front of the fireplace. It  had left her breathless, hungry for more and overall confused about her feelings towards him. Whatever they were, they were certainly strong but he didn’t seem to thi- 

‘Richmond!’ 

She snapped her head towards Drake who was jogging back to her, having put Maxwell in the car. ‘I had fun tonight,’ he declared again, confusing her even more. ‘Would you… that is… do you… Um.. what I’m trying to say is… Would you like to go out with me?’ 

 Elizabeth felt her eyes widening. ‘Like on a date?' 

‘Yeah, like a date,’ Drake affirmed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. ‘Only if you want to.’ 

 Doubt flicked for a second before she recalled her memory and the undeniable attraction between them earlier. ‘I’d love to.’ 

 Relief flooded his face as soon as the words left her mouth. ‘That’s… uh… wow. D-does tomorrow work for you?’ 

She nodded, speechless by the goofy grin on his face. 

 ‘Seven good?’ 

‘I’ll be waiting.’ 

 Drake’s grin widened. ‘Great. Tomorrow then.’ 

‘Tomorrow,’ Elizabeth promised, standing in the doorway until he’d gotten in the car and drive off before shutting it and leaning against the wall, unable to contain her smile.

-

‘So no indication of what activity he’s got planned?’ Hana called from where she was seated on the couch in the boudoir.

‘Nope, just that he’d pick me up at seven,’ Elizabeth’s voice was muffled as she wrestled herself through yet another outfit suggested by her friends. 

‘I don’t think this is the one.’ She emerged from behind the screen in a frilly pink dress with lace ruffles and immediately wrinkled her nose at the sight of herself in the mirror. ‘I look like a bakery threw up on me.' 

‘You’re right, you’re right,’ Maxwell chimed in, pacing the floor, past the numerous discarded outfits on the floor, waving his hands theatrically as he spoke. ‘We need something versatile, yet elegant. Functional yet fashionable. Simple but classy, understated but not too understated, just the right amount of uh... stated-ness.’ 

‘What about this one?’ Elizabeth asked, stepping out from behind the screen having grabbed another dress and changed into it during his external monologue. 

 Both of her friends lit up at the sight of her. 

 ‘Oh Elizabeth,’ Hana gasped. ‘…that’s perfect,’ Maxwell finished.

-

‘Okay, okay, okay,’ Elizabeth murmured to herself, smoothening her hands down the front of her dress to dry her sweaty palms. ‘He’ll be here any minute now.’ 

With her hair done in loose waves, braided to frame her face and a touch of makeup on, she tried not to pace in anxiety. She’d been on first dates before and this one was no different right? Still she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was important somehow, that it would either make or break their entire relationship or what was left of it. A couple minutes past seven, the doorbell rang and she gave herself a final glance in the mirror before heading to open the door for Drake. His eyes went wide when he saw her. 

‘Wow, you look…'

'Over dressed?’ She offered, smoothening down the front of her green dress again. Out of all the outfits they’d tried on, including her new selection of duchess clothing, her old green dress felt the most right. reaching far back in her memory, past the haziness, she could recall wearing it on that first night in New York when she’d taken Drake, Liam and their friends to the secluded beach. It had always served her well and she’d almost come to think of it as lucky. 

 ‘Stunning,’ Drake finally finished before handing her a bouquet of flowers. ’Not to be cliche but I got you these. I didn’t know which ones you liked..’   

‘They’re perfect,’ she assured him, lifting the lilies to smell their fragrant aroma. ‘You look nice too.’

‘Oh,’ a blush appeared on his cheeks before Drake smoothened down the navy button down he was wearing. ‘Thanks.’

‘So where are we going?’ She piped up, curiosity brimming since the day before once they were in the car. 

 ‘All in good time, Richmond.’ The smile he gave her from across the centre console was enough to warm her inside. 

-

'Watch your step now, it gets a bit finicky here,’ Drake warned. 

They’d only driven about twenty or so minutes before he’d parked the car and grabbed a picnic basket out of the back and gestured for her to come with him. Elizabeth glanced around warily at her surroundings, they were in a different part of the city now, more crowded and congested than she’d seen before, one of the poorer areas she guessed. 

 ‘Are you sure you know where you’re going?’ she asked suspiciously as Drake paused yet again to gather his bearings. 

‘I wouldn’t lead you astray Richmond,’ he assured her before indicating towards a set of stairs. ‘Watch your step now.’ 

 Doubt still sat in the pit of her belly as they picked their way up the narrow staircase that opened up to- 

‘Wow.’ 

Elizabeth took in the view from the spacious rooftop where she could see the entire capital in all her splendour, lights twinkling out like a carpet below her. She turned in a slow circle to take in the fairy lights casting their warm glow down from the canopy hanging over their heads to soft blankets and collection of pillows that was to be their setting tonight. 

 'Would you like a drink?’ 

 She glanced nervously at the green bottle he was holding. After her accident she’d stayed away from any and all forms of drinking and she wasn’t about to test her limits now.   

‘Don’t worry its non-alcoholic,’ Drake added to reassured her. 

 ‘Oh then yes please. This is amazing,’ she breathed accepting a glass. ‘How did you find this place?’ 

He shrugged from where he was kneeling, unpacking the picnic basket. ‘My mum used to buy her spices from the lady that lives downstairs and we used to play up here while waiting for her. It's got the best view of the whole city. Thought you’d like to see.' 

‘Its a phenomenal view,’ she repeated. 

‘Yeah it is,’ he replied and Elizabeth glanced over to see his eyes on her. She coughed nervously, nodding to the two plates of spaghetti carbonara he’d set up. 

 ‘You made that?’ 

'I do have some talents you know..’ 

 ‘You mean something other than hanging in the back of ballrooms and sulking?’ The quip was out of her mouth before she realised and Elizabeth watched an identical look of surprise bloom on Drake’s face before it morphed into a smile. 

 ‘Guess you’ll have to stick around long enough to find out.’ 

‘I guess I’ll be the judge of how good you claim to be,’ she nodded towards the plate, raising a mouthful and taking a bite. 

‘Well?’

‘Not bad, a little too heavy on the salt but I guess that’s to be expected,’ she replied cheekily, testing the waters between them again. 

‘Everyone’s a critic,’ he gestured in mock exasperation but his eyes gleamed back at her.

‘In all seriousness though, this is pretty good. You do good work Walker,’ Elizabeth replied, feeling much more at ease now, a thrill running through her as Drake winked. 

‘You can always count on me to find the right food.’The words rang a distant bell in her head as a strange sense of de ja vu hit her. Where had she heard that?‘

You okay?’ He asked, noting her changed expression. 

‘Yeah it just feels like I’ve heard that before..’

Drake was looking at her more carefully now. ‘That’s probably because I’ve said it before.’

‘Oh?’ Elizabeth leaned forward, ready to hear about this. 

He cleared his throat nervously, a habit she was beginning to recognise as one of his hallmarks. ‘See this one time we were in Italy-‘ 

‘We went to Italy?’ 

‘Yeah with the royal engagement tour,’ he informed her. ‘I’d invited you out to dinner, not unlike this but I didn’t want to call it a date for some reason, probably because...' 

A cool breeze floated through the air, ruffling her hair a little as Elizabeth listened to him recount the story of their first non-date, between bites of spaghetti. 

 ‘Wow,’ she replied when Drake was done. ‘That sounds like me alright… we.. I sound happy.’ She couldn’t help smiling faintly. 

‘Yeah happy that you caught me off my guard for once..’ 

‘Sounds like you didn’t mind too much.’ 

His eyes glittered as he took her in. ‘Yeah, I didn’t.’ 

He was just about to say something else when a string of shouts in Greek rang out from below them, the locals getting into a disagreement of sorts over produce. Drake’s ears went red as the profanities grew louder and louder. 

'Sorry.. not exactly the kind of atmosphere I wanted to have for a first date,’ he laughed nervously.   

'Its okay,' she giggled now that the shouts were dying down. They sat in silence until the sounds of a band playing filtered up to their vantage point. 

 'Would you like to dance?’ Drake asked suddenly. 

Elizabeth’s eyebrows lifted. 'You can dance?' 

'Uhh.. yeah I can,’ he mumbled. 'You taught me actually.'

'Oh I did?’ 

There was still so much she couldn’t remember and that reminder scared Elizabeth to her core. She’d liked all she’d heard and remembered so far but what if there was something she didn’t? What would she do then? 

'Yeah I mean if you don't want to,’ Drake’s ramblings brought her out of her introspection, his voice flat.’It's fine.' 

Elizabeth watched his face fall a little before she made a split second decision, taking a leap of faith. 'No Drake I'd love to.’ 

His head picked up and she nodded again to affirm him before he stood up and held a hand out to her. They made their way to the middle of the rooftop, where under the stars Drake gently positioned them into the starting position for a simple waltz. Elizabeth could not help but inhale sharply at the sensation of his hand in hers, skin warm as he guided her slowly across the floor. Her feet seemed to move of their own accord now, body reponse to his guidance and soon enough they were gliding across the floor in the traditional Cordonian Waltz, Drake’s eyes never leaving hers. 

 ‘I remember,’ she breathed softly, looking down at where their feet moved in perfect complimentary movements. 

 He nodded encouragingly. ‘Your brain may not remember but your muscles do.’ 

 Elizabeth allowed him to spin her into a delicate twirl, her hair and dress trailing behind after her as a sense of peace settled over her for the first time that entire night. Drake was tucking a lock of her hair out of her face from where it had come undone, a small gesture but strangely intimate, fingers gently grazing her ear before dropping back to her waist. Entwined so closely, the word and all her problems seemed to fade away and she took a moment to really take in how handsome he was, slightly fragile in his own way just like she was but handsome none the less. She couldn’t describe it but being right here, right now in this moment just felt inexplicably right..  

‘Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?’ He murmured softly. 

 ‘You have,’ she whispered back just as quietly, not wanting to break the spell they’d weaved together. ‘I think I’ve mentioned how nice you look too. I thought you said you only dress up if there’s someone you wanted to impress.' 

Drake’s eyes never left her as he turned her in another graceful turn before guiding her back to him. 'Yeah well... I guess I found someone worth impressing.' 

She cocked her head to the side. 'Wait why does that sound so familiar?'

He sighed deeply before answering. 'Because I said the exact same thing to you on the night of the Coronation.

'Tell me more?'

As Drake talked the memory took shape in her mind and suddenly she could see it all clearly, playing out in her head as if she was watching a movie. Elizabeth was suddenly hit with the realisation that it was that night that had changed everything for her. Even if he hadn’t been sure about them, she was. And even if Liam had proposed that night, she knew what her answer would be. It was standing right in front of her now. 

 Once again there was that magnetic pull rekindled between them as Elizabeth and Drake stood face to face, lost in each other’s eyes, barely swaying to to music that had long since ceased. If she’d made the choice once, what was stopping her from doing it again. Elizabeth thought to herself, taking him in for the tenth time that night. He was closer now, merely a couple of inches away, close enough for her to reach forward but unmoving, waiting for her to close the gap. Suddenly the prospect of them, of him seemed much too overwhelming as all her insecurities came crashing back in, causing Elizabeth to turn her head away. 

 ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, ashamed and embarrassed. ‘This is too fast.’ 

 ‘It's okay,’ Drake’s chest rumbled form where it was pressed against hers as he gave her a small reassuring smile. ‘I’ll wait as long as you need to.’ 

‘Thank you for understanding,’ she murmured back, meaning every word. 

‘Besides its getting kinda late, I should be getting you home.’ 

She nodded and a short drive later they were back at the door to her duchy, both standing on the porch, unsure of what to do until Drake finally spoke up. 

'Can I…um… May I kiss you goodnight? On the cheek of course.'

'Oh! Sure,’  He drew in close, planting a chaste kiss on her face. 'Goodnight Richmond.’ He gave her a soft smile. 

 'Goodnight Drake,’ she replied, watching his broad backed figure climb back into his car and drive away before closing the front door and leaning against it. Elizabeth raised a hand to her cheek that radiated warmth from the spot where his lips brushed her face, smiling to herself as she made her way upstairs for the night. 

The smile remained on her face long after she was well asleep. 

-

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Schemes and tricks to win her heart | 03

Characters: Taehyung x Reader  Jin x OC

Word count: 3956

Synopsis: Rich company heir Kim Seokjin has a plan to win the heart of the girl of his dreams, and you, his little brother’s best friend, are dragged along for the ride. His younger brother objects, of course. Bestfriend!Taehyung and Chaebol!Jin

Notes: This part was probably the most fun to write. I tried to be funny, and hopefully I succeeded but even if I didn’t at least I enjoyed myself. That’s the important thing, right?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

In which Jin never does things by halves.

The next morning you receive an odd text from Jin while making breakfast. It says “Good luck.” That’s it- no context, nothing else. Confused, you ponder over its meaning for a moment- could he have gotten your exam dates mixed up? Did he send a text to the wrong person?

Luckily, you are not kept in suspense for long because almost as soon as you receive the text, you hear an urgent knocking on your door. Sighing, you set down your toast and walk across your apartment. It is probably your neighbour with another noise complaint- Jungkook and Taehyung had been over late last night, making a lot of noise while engaged in a board game with your roommate. It might even be your roommate who had left earlier without her phone. Regardless, you answer the door completely unsuspecting in your teddy bear pyjamas and with your bed head.

Jimin and his fiancée stand on the other side, grinning brightly, and it takes you a few seconds to recognise the looks in their eyes and comprehend what the numerous duffle bags set at their feet are for. The second you do, you panic, your eyes flying wide as you try to slam the door shut.

“No.” You say quickly. “No way!”

Jimin prides himself on his quick reactions, however, and shoves his foot between the door and the frame before you can lock them out. Suddenly Jin’s cryptic message becomes clear. Jimin gives you an ominously bright smile, his foot still wedged in the door, and you’re not proud of your next actions since you always pride yourself on your maturity, but you begin to kick repeatedly at Jimin’s shoe like the child you really are.

“Stay out! You’re not welcome here! You and her both- I know what’s in those bags!” You declare, as Jimin and his fiancée begin to push against your door with all their body weight.

“We can do this the easy way, (Y/N),” Jimin exclaims, his voice strained as he leans against the door with all his might. “Or I can call Jungkook and have him hold you down!”

At the mention of Jungkook, you pale and are distracted enough that Jimin and Chaeyoung gain the upper hand and the door to your apartment is thrown open, and you along with it.

You try not to lose any time though, and you are on your feet and racing across your apartment before they can get to you.

“No makeovers!” You cry. “This isn’t a drama- I’ve told him how I feel about his stupid rich man makeovers!”

Jimin stands on the opposite side of the coffee table from you, his hands held up pacifyingly while Chaeyoung makes herself comfortable, dragging in the duffle bags and producing clothes and makeup and skin products from their depths.

“Now, now, (Y/N),” Jimin begins, his voice airily calm in that annoying way he uses to peace-keep arguments. “It’s not a makeover! It’s a gift! How many girls can say they’ve had one of the richest people in Korea pay for their wardrobe?”

“A lot! Taehyung gets around!” You cry, grabbing the open textbook on your coffee table and wielding it before you like a shield. Chaeyoung, meanwhile, has waltzed into your bedroom and comes back out with an armful of clothes. “What does Jin have over you that he put you up to this? I’ll double it!” You exclaim desperately. Jimin shakes his head.

“Just the knowledge that there will be one less fashion disaster in the world and he’ll finally get his happily ever after with Sooyoung. And an all-expenses paid cruise for our honeymoon.” He informs you, and your heart sinks- you’d hoped it was like a $20 or something that you could actually afford but you should have known better when you’re dealing with super rich company heirs.

“Jimin, babe, I think we’re gonna need more garbage bags, it’s in a lot worse state than I originally thought.” She calls, dumping another armful of your clothes in your hallway. You stare in anguish at your wrinkled clothes, and the distraction is all Jimin needs to leap across the table and wrestle you into a headlock.

“I got her Chaeyoung!” He calls. “And we didn’t even have to call Jungkook! Now, you can keep struggling, (Y/N), or I can call Jungkook to sit on you, but we know either way I’m going to get my way.”

++

Taehyung finds you decked out in a bathrobe, with a face mask half-peeling off your face. You stand on the back of your couch brandishing a pair of metal tongs before you like a sword while Jimin, similarly attired although his face mask is more adherent than yours, dodges your frantic swipes. He waves what Taehyung thinks may be a dress frantically at you like a white surrender flag.

Beside the chaos, Chaeyoung is also sporting the bathrobe/facemask combination, but she is significantly more calm, flipping through one of your textbooks while you and Jimin duke it out.

She glances up as Taehyung deposits the bags of snacks he was carrying onto the kitchen countertop.

“They’ve been like that for like, ten minutes,” She informs him. “I think they’re at a stalemate.”

Jimin makes a dive for you with the dress.

“It’s cute!” He yells, while you dodge his dive, still waving the tongs around like a madman.

“It’s slutty!” Is your answering screech, and Taehyung, not for the first time that week, promises to murder his brother. Painfully. Sighing, his digs his fingers into the bridge of his nose.

“Have you been like this all morning?” He questions, and Chaeyoung nods, flipping another page of your textbook. Taehyung doubts she’s actually reading it because they’re bone dry and boring as and he’s really not sure how you spend as much time studying as you do.

“Most of the morning, at least. There was a little interlude where she let us put a facemask on, but when I pulled out the dress she jumped onto the back of the couch with the tongs and hasn’t come down since.” She explains. She flicks another page idly, like she is thumbing through a magazine.

“What are you even trying to do?” Taehyung asks, and Chaeyoung shrugs.

“Well, Jin called in a favour in exchange for paying for our honeymoon, and said he wanted us to give (Y/N) a makeover.” Chaeyoung says, giving another distasteful glance at how Jimin grabs for the tongs and you whack him with them. “I believe his exact words were ‘Make her look hot but bitchy’.”

“And why aren’t you helping?” Taehyung asks.

“I’m the brains- Jimin’s the brawns. I make her pretty but he does all the manhandling. That’s how we roll.” She answers. Taehyung gives her an incredulous look.

“How often do you force makeovers on people that you have a system?” He asks, horrified, and she merely smiles mysteriously.

“Often enough. Anyway, if you’re here, please make yourself useful and hold her down or something, she has a ‘date’ tonight and I haven’t even started waxing!” Chaeyoung says. Taehyung stiffens, feeling for some reason like a stone has dropped into his stomach. The thought that you are going on a date is horrifying enough on its own, but just the fact that it is his brother that has him in this situation… grimly, Taehyung yet again promises himself that Jin is going to pay for this.

In the meantime, however, you have agreed to this, and Jin is pretty desperate, so he supposes that as your best friend and Jin’s only brother, it is his job to ensure you do the best you can do. With a sigh, he rolls up his sleeves in preparation.

“The things I do for you guys.”

++

It takes a lot of fighting and struggle, but once Taehyung joins the fight, you really don’t stand much chance. He holds down your arms while Jimin sits on your legs, scrolling through his phone with a bored expression on his face. You have pretty much had the fight drained out of you, and so you settle for glaring at Taehyung with defiant eyes while Jimin’s fiancé turns from whatever she had been preparing on your kitchen counter. Taehyung winces when he sees her brandish a stick dripping in hot wax before her. He even considers letting you go, but then they would have wasted all that time subduing you for nothing.

“Now hold still,” Chaeyoung says with a half-smile. “Or I can’t guarantee the safety of your eyebrows.”

You go eerily still after that- you must truly love your eyebrows to put up with the treatment that follows. Taehyung watches with a morbid kind of fascination, and you silently plead with eyes so pathetic he would have caved at multiple times were it not for the look Jimin gives him. Jimin is as sweet as honey, but boy can he give death glares.

“Please take better care of yourself.” Chaeyoung pleads as you pat moisturiser onto your skin, looking violated. “You have such a nice face, if you’d just put some effort in!”

Oddly, you flick a glance to Taehyung, before dropping your gaze. You mutter something under your breath. He doesn’t catch what you say, because the next thing he knows, Chaeyoung is shooing both him and Jimin out of the room, declaring that she wants your final look to be a surprise.

Taehyung spends the next little while engaged in a boardgame marathon with Jimin- your roommate eventually comes home and joins in, along with her boyfriend, determined to get her revenge for losing so brutally the night before. He has forgotten his initial intention in coming over, and he is so focussed on winning the current game of codenames that he is wholly unprepared for when you step out, hair and makeup done and wearing the dress Jimin had been waving at you earlier like a lunatic.

Oh. All the air wooshes from his chest at once and he drops the card he was holding. Is he paralysed? Why can’t he move? Why can’t he breathe?

The dress on its own it stunning- white and form-fitting and off the shoulder, but coupled with the way your hair is carefully curled and falls gently around your face instead of piled haphazardly on the top of your head to hide the fact that you haven’t washed it like it usually is, and how your face is carefully done up to accentuate the shape of your eyes and your long lashes, overall the look is devastating.

Beside him, Jimin lets out a low whistle and Taehyung silently agrees, and probably would have mimicked the sound were his lungs not stubbornly refusing to expand.

“Wow,” Your roommate exclaims. “What’s the occasion, (Y/N)?”

“A date.” Is your awkward, clipped response as you lean forward to slip on heels that are so high, Taehyung fears you may break your ankle. Then your words register and he feels an odd, near painful sensation right where his stomach sits, like indigestion only sharper and worse.

A date. You have a date. With his brother. Yes, it is a fake date, carefully orchestrated so that the two of you will run into Sooyoung on the way home from a dinner with colleagues that Jin was actually invited to but blew off for the sake of his idiotic plan. But he’s watched enough romcoms to know how this plays out- a makeover, a romantic setting, two people out together and suddenly seeing each other in a new light… He feels sick. Like he may throw up. This is bad for his health. What’s wrong with him? Why does he feel like this?

His phone buzzes, lighting up with a notification, and he glances down at it. Suddenly he experiences a sinking sensation- he had forgotten he had agreed to a third date with a girl in one of his classes, one that, up until that actual moment, he had actually been looking forward to. Yet all of a sudden, with the knowledge that you’re going to be sitting out in a nice restaurant with Jin instead of marathoning Netflix in the background while you scan through that absurdly thick textbook of yours like you usually do when he has a date, the prospect of a date doesn’t seem that exciting. He’s not sure why- he just knows that it is.

“Is it too late for me to read out that essay of why you shouldn’t do this?” Taehyung says slowly, resisting the urge to press his palm into his chest and make sure his heart is still functioning as normal. You shoot him a look. One that had sent many a lesser person scrambling away, the one you had perfected over the years to let people know you thought they were beneath you and one that was rarely directed at him and frequently directed at his brother.

“I shredded it.” You say simply. Taehyung’s jaw drops in offence- he had spent time on that! He had even gone into uni just to deliver it to you (and have a makeshift coffee date with aforementioned girl from class but that’s beside the point)! Before he can protest, however, you are all interrupted by a ring on your doorbell. You all turn towards it, and then all eyes on the room turn expectantly towards you. You blink, unaccustomed to the sudden attention, before groaning.

“I’ll get it.” You announce.

++

Flowers. He brought you flowers. You blink stupidly at the no-doubt absurdly expensive bouquet of roses before you lift your gaze to Jin. He is dressed to the nines, looking proud of himself, but as he registers your expression, his face falls.

“Are they too much?” He questions. You look at him with a frown, but the more pathetic he looks the more you find yourself caving to the urge to be just a little nicer.

“A little.” You finally say. “We aren’t actually dating, and it’s not like Sooyoung’s going to see these, so…” You trail away. Jin brightens.

“Ah, but it’s the thought that counts! Besides, these also double as a thank you for giving up your evening for me.” He explains. “I know my idea is stupid, but I really am desperate, and I’m so thankful that you’re doing this for me.”

Embarrassed at the sincerity in his voice, you merely duck your head.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll just pop these in a vase and we can get going.” You say. You pause. “But I thought dinner was meant to be the thank you? Does this mean we aren’t actually eating?” You question. Jin shakes his head with a laugh.

“No, don’t be silly, dear future sister-in-law. When you’re as rich as I am, you don’t need to be stingy with your gratitude.” Jin says. You glare at him, telling him exactly what you think of him flaunting his wealth, before ducking away to put your roses in a vase, ignoring the curious eyes that watch you.

Dinner is a pleasant enough affair, though Jin is understandably nervous and subdued. He really spares no expense, and the restaurant is definitely the nicest you’ve been to in your short life. You remember when you were in school, how jealous you had been that your friends got to go to restaurants like this on the regular while you were the only attendee in the school who had to work a part-time job and maintain your scholarship. High school you would be jumping in glee right now, and so you indulge her and enjoy the expensive meal without guilt.

Finally, the long-awaited moment arrives- Jin checks his clock and informs you that Sooyoung had been planning to head home around this time. He grabs his coat and helps you into yours, before offering his arm for support. You are grateful for it because while you can most certainly handle the heels you are wearing, you still feel a touch unsteady.

Jin texts his driver to come pick you up as you wonder down the street, vaguely in the direction of the restaurant you had been invited to. You glance around- you have never actually met Sooyoung, and so will be clueless if she walks past you.

“Thanks for dinner.” You say as you walk. He shakes his head.

“It was nothing! Taehyung told me you always wanted to go there and it’s close by where we had to be.” He informs you. He has calmed down a lot as you stroll along, and even begins whistling cheerfully as he leads you in an aimless wander. You wish you could say the same, but your nerves pick up, particularly with the mention of Taehyung adding an inescapable weight to the light-hearted conversation you tried to keep up.

Just when you are beginning to think that maybe Jin messed up, you hear a tentative voice behind you.

“Seokjin?” Her voice is gentle, and to your surprise, laced with hurt. Jin stiffens, and you see him take a deep, calming breath, before he faces her, an awkward smile on his face.

“Sooyoung?” He answers. His smile is horrifically fake and fabricated, and you feel mildly uncomfortable. You also feel not yourself- like the skin you’re wearing isn’t yours. It’s an odd, out of body experience like you’re watching the scene unfold as a spectator. “What a coincidence! What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t respond, her gaze instead flickering hesitantly to you. Jin smiles and tightens his grip on your arm.

“This is (Y/N), my date, I might have mentioned her- I’ve known her since highschool.” He says as an explanation. You do not say anything, still gripped by the strange sensation that you are a spectator in this conversation and not a participant.

You don’t know what expression you expected Sooyoung to have when the deception finally occurred. You didn’t have a face to picture in the first place, but you had imagined maybe you would see relief, or confusion, or curiosity. From the way Jin made it sound, Sooyoung had been completely uninterested in him and probably hoping he would meet some other girl and move on. If you were in her shoes, you probably would have wanted Jin to leave you alone.

Which is why the heartbroken expression on her face completely throws you. You know the look- you wear it well, and heartbreak is written in every line on her face, in the stiffness of her posture, in the unshed tears that glimmer in her eyes.

She turns tail and flees without a word.

For a moment, there is silence, awkwardness. You doubt Jin had thought through how this would actually play out, so you are unsurprised that he is gobsmacked. He flinches, as if to run after her, but then remembers he is holding your hand. He releases, glancing down at his hand as if it doesn’t belong to him. Then determination fills his eyes.

“(Y/N), the driver’s on his way if you just wait here. I’m so sorry, but I have to go after her.”

And just like that, Jin is sprinting away, leaving you standing on the pavement alone, like an idiot.

You just watch him go.

++

When the driver finally pulls up, you are not expecting to see Taehyung sitting inside as well. He too, looks surprised, as he scans the area around you.

“Where’s Jin?” He asks, clearly confused. You shrug, trying to conceal you surprise at his presence.

“He ran off after Sooyoung. Guess the fake-date did its job.” You slide in beside him, and miss the sharp intake of breath as his gaze once more takes in your carefully made up appearance. He shakes himself out of it quickly, and ponders your words.

“You mean he just left you on the side of the road?” He questions incredulously. You nod, tucking your jacket more tightly around you body and fixing your attention on a ladder that has appeared on your stockings. Better that then focus on how close Taehyung is, and how you can smell him at this proximity, and if you turned your head just the slightest bit you’d be gazing straight into his warm brown eyes.

“Yeah. I mean I don’t think either of us planned what would happen after we ran into Sooyoung, but hey, it could be worse. He could have made me catch a bus in these heels.” You say. A muscle in Taehyung’s jaw tightens as he grits his teeth in annoyance.

“He could have at least waited.” He says sourly. You shrug, unaffected. Taehyung whirls on you, then. “Are you ok?” He demands. You blink, confused.

“Yeah? I’m fine.” Is your response. He scans your face and you pray that the meagre lighting of the car conceals the way heat rises to your cheeks under his gaze. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Aren’t you disappointed?” Taehyung questions. “That he chose Sooyoung over you?”

“Not really.” You say with a yawn, suddenly registering how exhausted you are. “That was kind of the point, wasn’t it?”

“But like… are you sure a part of you wasn’t hoping that that wouldn’t happen? That maybe he would fall for you with all these fake-dating shenanigans?” Taehyung presses. You shoot him an odd look, puzzled.

“No. Why would you even think that- have you been joining in on his romcom sprees again?” You demand, irritated. Honestly, you were going to burn your collection, it had caused you too much trouble this week. Taehyung shakes his head, and chews his lip pensively.

“So… you don’t feel anything for my brother at all? Not even a little bit?” He says. You snort, and shake your head.

“I do feel something for him.” You say. Taehyung’s eyes flash with panic. “Relief when he leaves the room.” You snort at your little joke, but Taehyung doesn’t look amused.

Annoyed, you change the subject.

“What about you? How are things going with your lady love?” You say, trying to feign nonchalance when really you are burning with curiosity. Taehyung sighs and slumps back against the car seat.

“Awful. I got dumped- again.” He admits. He turns his head so that he is staring at you out of one eye, his cheek pressed against the sleek leather car seat. “I have such rotten luck when it comes to my love life. I really liked her too- that was our third date. That’s why I’m here- I texted our driver to pick me up on the way to get you guys since it was on the way.”

You try really hard to hide your delight at the revelation that Taehyung was dumped, you really do, but you cannot keep the elation from your voice.

“It’s ok- you can join the spinsters’ club with me.” You offer. Taehyung snorts.

“Try not to sound so thrilled to see me knocked down a few pegs.” He responds. He pauses then, carefully deliberating his next words. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” You say, turning your attention to the window because his gaze is too heavy and overwhelming.

“Why did you agree to Jin’s plan?” He asks. You stiffen. He can see you’re going to refuse to answer, so he presses a little further. “Please. I have to know.”

You sigh, resigned, knowing you can never refuse him anyway.

“I sympathised with him. I knew how desperate he felt.” You say, turning your gaze back to Taehyung. He watches you almost sleepily.

“So it’s not because you like him?” He asks. You shake your head.

“Of course not.”

[ CHRISTIAN SERRATOS ] • [ SHE/HER ] | is that [ MARY MACDONALD ] , the [ NINETEEN ] year/s old [ GRYFFINDOR ] alumnus , walking down diagon alley ? I heard that the last time they had their fortune read, they drew the [ HIEROPHANT REVERSED ] , which seems [ UNLUCKY ] . hopefully they won’t come to any harm, considering their recent choice to ally themselves with [ THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX ] . they’ll probably be fine - I know they’re [ PERSISTENT ] , though apparently they can also be [ RUTHLESS ] . what’s the worst that could happen ? | 

LINKS: stats, pinboard, playlist PARALLELS: johanna mason ( the hunger games ), jessica jones ( jessica jones ), raven reyes ( the 100 ), ellie ( the last of us ), rosa diaz ( brooklyn 99 ), nancy wheeler ( stranger things ), kat edison ( the bold type ), sarah manning ( orphan black ) HELLO and welcome to the mess that is this intro!! on the bottom are some plot ideas & besides that its a big old mess! but we love disorganisation! hit this up with a like if u want me to hit u up for plots and i sure as hell will <333

history

mary had a little lamb? WRONG. mary had a little calf. because she was born on a dairy farm in the highlands of scotland ( laugh at my joke pls i worked hard on it ). she was born third to two muggles – a scottish father and a mexican mother, who loved each other deeply – and would eventually become their middle child. she could have become overlooked, but mary never felt discounted at home: while her parents were very often busy with the cows, their love ran deep.

her youth consisted of this: running through fields of grass, attending a muggle elementary where people sang songs at her ( old macdonald had a farm and mary had a little lamb ), playing with the animals, building tree houses with her brothers and sister and playing football every spare moment she got. it was good and simple and wholesome.

of course, strange things happened, as they tend to with muggleborns: she’d explode her brother’s toy when she got angry, or let things fly around the room when she was laughing. when she found out she was a witch at age eleven, things fell in its place. and the macdonalds, while traditional catholics, accepted mary, which is the most important thing of it all. her parents were shocked, yes, but they squeezed her shoulder and promised to discover this all together.

which?? very much influenced mary greatly? because it went against a lot of things they – and she, too – believed in? this has allowed her to have a faith in people, and while she may be cynical and bitter at times, that faith is still there.

hogwarts was as chaotic as home, and mary settled in quite nicely. sorted into gryffindor ( she guessed it was for her rambunctious nature, but who knew ), she found herself a second home and loved it. as it turned out, she was rather good with a wand as well – she didn’t do so good at essays, though – and genuinely liked learning ( except for history of magic. fuck that. ).

being a muggleborn had its downsides, of course, but mary never really allowed herself to feel discouraged. hurt? yes, definitely, but never discouraged. she wasn’t going to let it get to her, she told herself, but it did, especially when the harsh words turned into something more. it was during her confrontation with mulciber that mary felt true, harsh fear for the first time. she felt shut down, paralysed, depressed —– but then, after a while, she got up and took some important steps. she reported mulciber, which led to nothing, which caused her to feel angry, which in turn caused her to feel determination. if the system wasn’t going to be on her side, she’d just have to fucking change it, right? mary started throwing herself in her schoolwork, determined to join the dmle – hopefully as an auror, but any position would do. she suppressed her fear and the trauma that was there, and kept her chin up.

the entire mulciber situation is up for change, should we get a mulciber, or if it doesn’t correspondent with the plot/rp canon! 

graduation rolled around and mary got the five required NEWTs to even apply. it was a nervewracking process, but once she got into auror training, she cried. like. for a year. she was so proud of herself and she felt so determined and !! man. it was such a good, defining moment. around the same time, mary joined the order; she knew the ministry was corrupt, and that it’d not allow her to do everything she wanted to, when the order DID. mary had too much anger, too much determination to fight this bullshit to just stick with the ministry, and so the order seemed like the right place.

right now, she’s fighting. she’s gritting her teeth and keeping her goals in the back in her mind and is focusing. and she does not always feel brave or confident or self assured, but that does not matter: mary macdonald always gets the fuck back up, and that’s what she will keep doing until she’s completely knocked down.

personality & tidbits

mary is a human espresso. she’s so. damn. bitter?? despite the fact that she keeps on going and that she’s fighting her ass off, she’s tired and angry that things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction, she’s feeling bitter about the fact that this kind of discrimination is happening right in front of her eyes and that she does not have enough power to stop it. she feels powerless, which makes her feel bitter, which makes her cynical.

still! mary is not necessarily a debbie downer to be around. she keeps her bitterness ( and hopelessness, even ) carefully hidden in boxes in her mind. on the outside, she’s filled with quips and smiles and quick comments! just a sociable bean, but just a bitter one.

is a dog person and will fight anyone who prefers cats. has a cairn terrier called bowie. she loves him more than anyone.

obsessed with tea, tbh. her ma always said that ‘there’s nothing a cuppa can’t fix’ and mary definitely agrees with this statement.

though is also a ‘whiskey in a teacup’ kinda gal

can be spotted wearing either a rly nice ass blazer or a jean jacket, no inbetween. either office-fancy or farmer-chique

fucking loves muggle culture and loves fellow muggleborns and !!!!!! she loves it!!!

very much in a take-no-prisoners mindset at this point re: death eaters. it kind of scares her, tbh, but mary is very much capable of murdering a death eater, even if she could stun them — she’s just done. she’s very. done. with them. and this whole shbang? will only feed into this.

mary is ruthless, that’s what it boils down to. she’s a lot more than that, of course, but i chose that trait for her app because she is --- in small things ( football matches & boardgames ) but also in bigger ones, and of course the war is the main way it shows. mary is so angry. she’s so angry and scared and tired of feeling that way and tired of being scared to lose people and herself and of death and she’s so angry that people really are this way and that they really do these things --- she wants it to stop. she wants the world to be right. and sometimes she thinks the ends do justify the means. 

this is why she’s chaotic neutral and not chaotic good.

like ive had her turned to dark arts before just bc she’s so desperate to. fucking win.

and she’s also like --- mary doesnt care if she ruins herself? if she becomes a bad person who’s unable to live with the shit she’s done? as long as the world is better for it, as long as kids can go to hogwarts and feel safe and the world is a safe place for everyone. what does her soul matter in the grand scheme of things? she’d burn in hell forever if it meant the rest of the world changed for the better.

emotionally driven mess of a being

is catholic but struggles a lot with religion and feeling faithful, but she does still identify is a catholic, it’s just? complicated. it’s rly complicated and she hates it.

is a bit flighty when it comes to romance, def has a lot of one night stands/fwb situations though??? she’s just like??? i dont have time for romance its a WAR

has been trying to stop smoking for five years, but alas

mary also works part time at quality quidditch supplies because the girl loves quidditch ---- though not as much as she loves football.

a proud scot. probably lives in scotland, but i’m ... going to keep her living situaiton open and segue into Wanted Plots!

plot ideas

roomies ----- so mary is not Earning A Whole Lot Right Now but does not want to live at home any more because 1. its in the middle of nowhere and 2. most importantly, she’s afraid of endangering her family. she needs roomies! i’d love for her to live in glasgow/edinburgh/london/idk a city!!!

hook ups/fwb’s/etc ----- mary is what the old ppl call promiscuous and she sleeps around. so ! let’s talk! former hook ups! booty calls! friends with benefits! etc etc etc! 

party pals ---- mary likes going to pubs and clubs in the muggle part of town bc it is a LIT way to escape the reality of the wizarding world and also, muggle clubs have better music. come party w her!!!!

in the dragon’s den together ---- fellow ministry employees who side eye the ministry and whom mary can sip tea and judge their colleagues with

mudbloods club ---- mary loves her fellow muggleborns and i would love some muggleborn friends that she can be buds with. ranting about dumb pureblood names and traditions and the fact that wizards dont have movies

general friendship ideas ---- im just going to a bunch of ideas here: hogwarts friends, ride or dies, order pals, friendly exes, fellow tea drinkers that she can go on coffee/tea dates with, friends who are growing apart bc of the war (my fave), etc.

etc ---- some other ideas i want to spitball: purists who h8 on mary’s life, fellow diagon alley employees, fellow order members, Annoyances, there is solidarity in being scottish, ministry connections, etc etc etc HIT ME UP

Top 8 Grab & Go Games...

When it comes to packing for anything it's safe to say I'm atrocious. I overpack for even a simple evening away (sorry, for those still following the 20th C, 'evening away's are something we used to do before we took up as permanent residents of our soft furnishings). I've often had this discussion with friends and colleagues - the simplest one is "how many pairs of pants do you need for x-time away"?  The obvious formula here is xdays + 1 for emergencies, but this thinking is waay too simplistic and covers a pitiful array of contingencies. I would argue that a sudden and catastrophic change of weather to downpour conditions needs to be considered, as does an unexpected drive-by of a large lorry thru an adjacent puddle, fall in a stream/burn or river, being unexpectedly caught in a fountain based celebration etc etc etc. This immediately doubles or even triples the amount of basic layers - pants, socks, trousers, tees etc. And then, we can relax into actual choices for formal vs casual, sudden wedding invitations whilst away and national or academic award ceremonies. It's a minefield. Unfortunately, this approach to covering the bases has translated thru to my boardgaming. I blame Ikea. Frankly their big blue bags allow the simple transportation of many, many titles, including some decent sized heavyweights. Never tried it, but I'd reckon you'd have a reasonable shot at getting TI4, Gloomhaven and possibly 7th Continent in just one of Ikea's capacious holdalls. As a result, I used to turn up to games evenings at work with at least 2 Ikea holdalls of big box games (for an evening that in honesty, we'll only really have time for 1 or 2 games), but with the added bonus bag now which includes what I call my 'grab shelf'. Games that are my usual suspects, these are usually my filler or party games designed to give us warm-up plays or while we're waiting for others to arrive at 7. (We did say 7 didn't we: I'm sure we said 7... was it definitely today?) So here's my round up of the games that we rarely leave home without - we actually do keep them on the top of a bookshelf in the games room and sort of 'scoop' them into a bag if we're in a hurry! These are in no particular order of favour, and most probably just what I can recall from the shelf next door, there will also be some crossover with a list I wrote a while ago on 'little' games...... 1) POINT SALAD - AEG Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Shawn Stankewich apx £16 This deceptively simple card game has become a house favourite since we were invited to play it at Airecon one night in the hotel. It's a simple set collection game with a little twist. The vegetable cards to collect have scoring criteria on the other side. A scoring card may be flipped and converted to a veg card once in your hand but not back to a scoring card. The scoring cards are achievements like 'lowest number of lettuces =10pts', 'pepper+lettuce+onion = 5pts per set' etc. The 'market' starts with 3 rows of cards, scoring side up and 2 cards are flipped to veg side next to each. Players will take either one scoring card or 2 veg. The game is tricky enough in terms of optimising your own tableau, but factor into that if you start paying attention to what your opponent is trying to do, the game soon gets highly strategic and gratifyingly dirty. 2) DEEP SEA ADVENTURE - Oink Games Jun Sasaki, Goro Sasaki apx £15 Oink Games produce some of my favourite small box games. They are usually simple, bright, fun and challenging. Though I would put in a good word for other titles in their range like: Moneybags, Fake Artist, Troika and Nine Tiles Panic, it is Deep Sea Adventure that stands out. Players are all treasure hunting divers departing a submarine, diving as far as they dare before their joint oxygen runs out. As a push-your-luck game, DSA is genius. It's that joint oxygen that is the real trick here, as your greed may end up costing other players the chance to get back to the ship safely. The deeper you dive, the more oxygen you use, and your treasure is collected blind for its value, so all your risk may have been for very little eventual reward. If the oxygen does run out, any unrecovered treasure you are carrying goes in a pile right at the bottom of the sea, adding to the temptation even more. DSA is a brilliant joint screw each other over game, and may be best avoided with very intense and serious players, but with an easy-going fun group, it's a true gem. 3) LOST EXPEDITION - Osprey Games Peer Sylvester apx £18 I'm a big fan of co-op games, and finding a small box filler co-op is always interesting. We bought the game for its artwork as 'er across the table was a fan of the Blake & Mortimer graphic novels which share a design ethic and The Rainbow Orchid which is by the same artist here, Garen Ewing. This game is beautiful to look at, but savage to play. Players must chop their way thru an Edgar Rice Burroughs style jungle to reach the lost city. Along the way they must face a relentless series of challenges that will demand careful management of very limited resources. The players are aided by explorers with useful skills, but limited health, and by the end of the journey it is entirely possible you will have had to have sacrificed at least one of your explorers to meet the demands of the jungle. It became even more horrifying to discover that these explorers are based on actual historical characters, so that choice to sacrifice the lovely little old lady Ines, is actually choosing to leave a real life character to the fate of leeches, tigers, swamps or quicksand! Another group favourite and a great pub game due to its fairly small footprint. This is also available as Judge Dredd - Cursed Earth which also features some very neat solo play rules. 4) DINOSAUR TEA PARTY - Restoration Games Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, Justin Jacobson apx £16 Restoration Games have been doing an amazing job the last few years refreshing classic older games and turning them into great new games. They are probably best known for the highly successful Kickstarter for Fireball Island, and their great new version of Downforce. Dinosaur Tea Party id probably their smallest game, but it's big on fun. At its core, it's basically an elaborate bonneted dinosaur version of Guess Who. The utter joy of this game comes when a really cool group goes for it and roll plays the social interactions of these wannabe socialite reptiles. There's a couple of extra little twist rules thrown in like dinosaurs who might always lie, always give the wrong answer etc, and these do spice up an otherwise straightforward deduction game, but honestly, when you are looking for a very light, simple, bright, and funny filler or end of evening game, you can't go wrong with this adorably drawn game. 5) CROSSING - Asmodee Yoshiteru Shinohara apx £9 Known fondly to our group as 'The Pointing Game', The Crossing is a brilliant yet almost painfully simple push-your-luck game with no downtime at all. Players vie for gem treasure on several mushrooms in the centre of the table by pointing at them. If only one player is pointing to a pile, they win it and place it in front of them. If two or more players point at the same pile, nobody wins any gems and the pile grows bigger next round. On the second round, players can either point at a new mushroom or point at the pile of won gems in front of another player. Players may also cover their won gems instead of pointing and thereby convert won gems to stored gems where they're safe. Not impossible with smaller player counts, but the game becomes utter chaos at higher player counts and games rarely end without collapse into hilarity all round. Each round plays in about 2 minutes and the game ends when the gems in the bag run out. Points are awarded for sets of colours, rare white gems and single points for any other gems. Crossing is tense, full of 'dagnammit' moments and gets played to death when it hits the table. Highly recommend though I understand it can be a little tricky to get hold of at the mo. 6) MONIKERS - Palm Court Alex Hague, Justin Vickers apx £20 It takes a lot to take an eye-rolling party game and transform it into something a bit special. Monikers basically takes the game of Charades and treats it to a much more anarchic edge. Starting with the topics to be guessed, Monikers is shamelessly nerdy and often needs a little more of a deep nerd-dive into net and popular culture, citing popular memes, channels, phenomena and personalities. Nyan cat, lightsaber kid, and Bob Ross all make appearances in the card decks. Monikers is a team game, and starts with a simple description round where players are not allowed to use the title on the card or any words in the description. Round 2 moves this to a single word, and round 3, merely a gesture (there are some hilarious community suggestions for other rounds eg glove puppets and shadow fingers). Again, with the right group, this game is brilliant, but I accept with the wrong group, could fall flat as a pancake. There are a couple of expansions which effectively play as stand-alone games, but I can highly recommend the completely insane Shut Up & Sit Down Nonsense Box as a good starting point. 7) CELESTIA - BLAM Games Aaron Weissblum apx £21 Sometimes a good filler game comes in a slightly larger box, especially if it features and adorable 3D skyboat! Celestia is a beautiful game to look at, and a brilliant semi co-op push-your-luck game. Each round, a new captain tries to convince the passengers on their ship to stay aboard and venture to lands anew. The further the ship goes, the higher the reward but the much greater the risk. Passengers have to decide if the de facto captain for that round has the resources in their hand to meet the challenges rolled on the dice for that journey.  Passengers can decide to leap off if things look too dodgy and gain lower rewards, but there's also betrayal and nefarious shenanigans to be had with skyhooks, rocket packs etc which may allow passengers to throw other players off the boat, or even the Captain using a jetpack to abandon ship. Celestia is a classic game, and though the rulebook can take a little interpretation at first, the game is fun, solid and a great filler game. 8) RAILROAD INK - Horrible Guild Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva apx £16 We play a lot of roll/flip/draw and write/build/draw games in our house and this slot could be filled by quite a large number of them which I might save for another list, but some notables are Welcome To, Roland Wright, Rolling Ranch, Dino World and Cartographers. However, despite all these great games, we keep coming back to one nose ahead title, Railroad Ink. We have the Blazing Red edition, but honestly, they are all great including the two new KS versions that recently funded: Forest Green and Desert Yellow. Each set has its own little foibles and unique mechanisms, but the core of these games are the same. What I love about Railroad Ink is that it constantly feels like you have a little more control in this game than some others, which is a 2 edged sword as therefore goofs also have a greater sense of ownership too. Scoring can be a little tricky to decipher the first couple of games, but the production of the game, wipe clean boards, and unique usage make this a stand out favourite. 8.5) An honorable mention.... I didn’t include this one in the list as it probably belongs better in the Roll & Write list, and it’s also more of a ‘big box’ game, but we nearly always take SUSHI ROLL everywhere with us now. It’s the R&W version of the Sushi series and is genuinely brilliant. The dice for a start look almost edible themselves, and it features some really smart little dice drafting that mimics the mini conveyor belt that caused so much hilarity in ‘that’ episode of Miranda. It’s a great theme, it’s immediately engaging, has great player aids and is one of those rare games you immediately want to play the minute you finish as you’s sure you can do better next time. I hope there's some games here to poke your interest glands and become your next favourite filler or "dinner's a-cookin" game. Happy gaming y'all

(Apologies - no idea why Tumblr suddenly won’t let me add images after posting, but if anyone knows, please get in touch!)

Thursday, January 2nd 2020

First day of work in the new year. Got up at 6:30 AM. Good thing that traffic is still light in the mornings so I can sleep in a bit. Made coffee. Packed a banana and PB&J snack. Remembered to bring the dairy free ice cream for the coworkers. Enjoyed my commute to work. And right after I put the ice cream away, the fire alarm went off. I was so confused as to what to do lol. Followed Czar and Erica. Erica said it might be an actual fire. Only 4 of us from the department were present for the fire alarm. Seerit, Quang, Steve, and Helen came in afterwards. Told Erica my goal was to sleep more, and told her what high school I went to, the overcrowding and lotto system, living with all the family members, and reconnecting with my middle school friend. She told me she went on a hike with her daughter (she like carried her on her back the whole way!) and that she’s making a lot of changes this year, like staying sober, losing weight. She says she has no time to take care of herself these days. Understandably, since she’s a busy working mom. Walked back. Was on a productive streak trying to scan through 224 pages of documents. Aida started playing music but had to tell her it to lower it lol. Took a break, and then got a stroke of inspiration to start a comic. Spent more time than I should brainstorming ideas for it. Grabbed lunch with Seerit, Helen, and Quang at Sweet Tomato. Had some salad, corn bread, pizza bread, and clam chowder.

Quang mentioned something about this being his first stable job out of college, and I confessed I've been crying tears of happiness the past few weeks LOL. Maybe thats too much to divulge to a coworker. Told him I totally fucked up my cover letter since it was a rush job and I applied on the last day - I typed the date wrong rofl. Seerit mentioned wanting to visist the Hoover Dam and we were all down. Briefly mentioned senior project. Told them about my allergies (so sad yo). Also asked when I wanted to go on AWS - the consensus appears to start right after probation. Helen joked about me using the excuse of “I’m pregnant” to explain why I can’t drink rooooofffl.

Got back at 2PM... and was not so productive. Oh, Brandon got back to me asking if Saturday night was okay for boardgames. I said I was down. Need to reach out to David to confirm when we’re grabbing lunch.

Left around 5:30PM. Traffic is starting to get bad as more people are coming back to work I guess. Got home, went straight to shower. Ate dinner. Did dishes. Reached out to David, he said next Sunday for dim sum works best. Looks like next weekend will be packed - lunch with Kavi on Saturday and lunch with David on Sunday. Hanging out with Brandon this weekend, and I also plan on starting my shoujo blog and getting my work safety shoes. We’ll see how much I get done. Set up my budget planner. And now its 10PM. Should really get ready for bed. I slept waaaaay too late last night. And I really need to squeeze in a productive day tomorrow.

AD theory. Toby is AD and Spencer's twin is black Widow!

Toby A.D. Theory & Spencer Twin Twist …………….I have a lot more to add to this to make even more sense.. but this is it for now. This theory will only include, aside from a couple, clues from the Timejump (6B on) and after. It will explain why I believe Toby is the Big Bad as well as a Spencer Twin reveal as the twist. *The number 5 will play a big role in this theory! Marlene King likes numbers and I think that after the time jump the new number 5 and multiples of 5 (10,15,20…) reappeared often! Clues! ⦁ In ep. 6.11 spencer visits Toby and there is a large 5 on one of the work bench. ⦁ Next we see a car with the license plate 55555 ⦁ When the liars are watching the camera of Aria leaving the Radley the time is 3:11:55 which added equals 15 (multiple of 5). ⦁ Toby was out of town when Hannah received the breakfast saying, “Poor Jordy”. ⦁ In Ep. 6.13 we seen that AD is wearing a hunter green jacket in the closing scene while cleaning off the electrical levers in Radley. Toby is wearing this exact later on in episode 7.07! Emily and Caleb both are seen wearing a green jacket in the series but these are different colors and both have fitted sleeves around the wrist, Tobys is exactly the same. ⦁ The hole in Sarahs closet was sealed off by someone with extensive carpentry skills ⦁ PREGNANCY CLUE: When Spencer has a flashback of her pregnancy scare it makes a point to show us the clock… it is 3:12 which = 5!! Toby is sitting beside the clock. There is also a “Deer Crossing Sign” on her wall which is odd; this refers to Tobys accident later on. ⦁ In the episode Caleb sends a virus to AD’s Computer there is a carpenter/workman vest laying in AD’s car seat. ⦁ In Ep. 6.18 hannah sends the message to AD that she killed Charlotte. The closing scene shows AD building the BOARDGAME in the background. We can see the beginning of the BG and the tools all around. There is red electrical wire, a white foldable tape measure, a bright red thing with two handles on the end and a lot more. The wire, tape measure, and red thing are ALL at tobys house in 6.13 when Caleb tells him about spencer; same color same everything! BAD Toby! Also, in the AD closing scene is the Hastings campaign background; Toby is also tied to the election. This and the jacket are HUGE clues! ⦁ Toby is well rehearsed in FRENCH and so is AD. Also Toby has glasses now and AD pretty much always wear glasses. ⦁ In Ep 6.20 a lady calls Toby pretty eyes, which is something that all A’s have been called. ⦁ When the cop in the mask attacks hannah, you can see he has green eyes if you pause it at the right time. Also cop cars are not easy to come by, but Toby has one. ⦁ OOhhh.. remember when TOBY could draw very well. In the first ever episode Toby was drawing and was good it. AD can draw which relates to the comic book. ⦁ When they find DOLL hannah at the Bell tower, caleb looks at his phone it says 4:01 which equals 5!! If you notice toby is being odd when they are talking about who killed charlotte, he knows a lot of details and is seriously invested in this convo I believe this is bc he is AD and wants to know who killed Charlotte of course. He doesnt have a whole lot on interest in helping the girls after this. ⦁ MARY DRAKE CONNECTION- When toby and Spencer break into Marys room at the Lost Woods it Focuses on her room number which is non other than 5! In Marys room we also see a book that says MASK MAKING. She is tied to AD. ⦁ Also Toby has learned to many new skills such as using dibblers to break into places and also keeps one on him all the time. ⦁ When Toby is getting engaged we also see a large number 5 again right next to the Red thing that AD had while building the GAMEBOARD. ⦁ The address to Rollins burner apartment is 23 Wexford st apartment 109. The first number =5 and the second set =10. her they are again. ⦁ When Toby shows up the the burner apartment he has a KEY! This is odd, cops do not get access to these things, not to mention the girls already bribed the apartment manager for his key. Toby unlocks the door without saying anything and then realizes the chain is locked. After that is only when he announces himself as a cop because he knew rollins wouldnt change the door. Remember when the girls used rollins phone to text the mystery # to meet at the usual spot? Jenna showed up to alisons house which was not the usual spot; not at alisons thats to open. Who shows up to the usual spot… TOBY! Also this season when cops show up its more than one or at least the detective, they would not send Toby by himself then call in for backup. This story was all Tobys cover. Also the address is a direct link to TOBY. ⦁ SPENCER TWIN Connection- When Aria and Jason are at family services aria says that they are number 5 in line. They are looking for Mary Drakes other child. The number 5 is here again. I will ADD more clues later, but these are also some observations I want to point out. 1. Hannah, Aria, and Alision were the girls that were injured by AD. Alision was beat by the cop and had a spill down the stairs, aria and the fire, and hannah was tortured. Emily eggs were stolen and spencer has been hurt in regards to family matters. AD is much easier on Emily and Spencer physically; the eggs thing with Emily is a awful situation, but I do believe AD thinks he is being easier on her. He dont want to harm her (even though he is, but his twisted mind dont see it this way). 2. Hannahs career was wrecked, Aria has been torn from her friends, alision is carrying a baby and has lost all of her money not to mention the set up marriage, yet AD helped emily with a test and helped Spencer find her birthmother and has given her answers she has wanted since though started (even though it has caused a lot of problems). AD is Definitely trying to be better to them. Toby has always been close to Emily and Spencer. Motive: I believe Toby has a connection to Bethany Young and has been A from the beginning. I am not a fan of bethany being alive, but these are the clues that she is. ⦁ Marlene King Wrote on a blackboard the PLL ride is over soon. BY BY. Obviously this isnt how you spell Bye so I think this means Bethany Young. ⦁ Bethany is tied to horses and we see horses throughout 6B on. ⦁ Alsion wears a horse shirt through an entire episode, even when all the girls change she comes to her dinner party in this shirt. ⦁ There is a Horse drawing in Lucas’ apartment. ⦁ We see wooden horses at the Amish Furniture Place. ⦁ Patsy Cline Clue- Patsy loved horse; there is also a farm called Black Widow Farm/Walkin in the Moonlight Farm; you can adopt horses from this place…. remember when Bethany had the adopted horse name Custard?? ⦁ Melissa buried Bethany… who is the only person aside from that liars circle that is being messed with… Melissa. ⦁ Bethany is being brought up a lot this season. ⦁ Major Clue!!! Remember how Bethany was supposedly 17?? When the girls find Mary Drakes file Spencer makes the comment, “Charles was actually almost the same age is Jason. They changed his age so his connection couldnt be discovered.” Charlotte is already dead therefore this comment has nothing to do with her, it is talking about Bethany and giving us a clue that she can actually be same age as the girls. SPENCER HAS A TWIN CLUES ⦁ Hannahs Dream… Im sure everyone has read about it by now lol ⦁ The weird Spencer at the airport ⦁ Spencer in the last episode… no apple watch, changed four times, and yes she had a scar but it doesnt exactly look like a gunshot wound. ⦁ We know that veronica took spencer straight from Radley, well one child has been presumably been placed in family services; hence the redacted info Jason got. ⦁ Spencer was in a PINK blanket, yet one baby was seen being carried out in a white blanket. ⦁ The file that the girls find in the storm celler that Mrs. D used was Mary Drakes. When the girls discover that Mary has another child and they are reading about them it says, “BOTH STABLE”! Both as in two!!! ⦁ Dr. Cochran said he delivered two of Marys babies as there could be another one. ⦁ Tyler Blackburn the actor that plays Caleb said we have kind of seen AD, but not really, and that when we see it we will understand what he means. Sounds like a look a like to me. ⦁ Mary Drake once said the families even have hidden people…. we have already seen her so I believe this is foreshadowing something deeper. Okay so now my motive… I believe Toby is tied to Bethany Young somehow.. Remember his tattoo 9.01 FREE at LAST? Well this is the same night Bethany also ran away from RADLEY and if she is alive she is also FREE! What else, if you add 901 together it = 10! Which is another multiple of 5. Rollins burner apartment also has the numbers 901 in them as did a couple others. These numbers are significant. Above I have shows how Toby is tied to AD, Mary Drake, a pregnancy, and Bethany Young. The girls was the reason Toby was sent away at one point and they also blinded Jenna… but I think it is much deeper than that. I think it all comes back to Bethany. I think parts of Charlottes story was real, but not the part about Tobys mother. Bethany Young is the twin of Spencer Hastings. In the finale I believe that Toby will be revealed as AD, and then the twist will be that Spencer has a twin which is none other than Bethany Young and she is the black widow. Above I have connected Bethany to the Black Widow horse farm. Bethany has all the motive in the world to be a part of this. Falsely led out that night, she dont know who killed her, she was buried alive, was gave up for adoption while spencer had a great life; she would definitely want to hurt the Hastings and this has been happening a lot since 6B on. Also a fun note AD is the initials for LOST LOVE in FRENCH and could also been abandoned daughter. I truly believe this is the meaning of Tobys tattoo and the Jenna thing was always a cover. Im sure Toby didn’t really want to explain that his tattoo meant it was the day his step sister stopped sexually abusing him to everyone that asks; this would brand his body with a memory of a horrific experience.