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#it went well apparently but I don't get to see my miserable little creature for another five million hours 😭
tea-time-terrier · 3 months
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Incredibly important to go crittering before your vet appointment.
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doublecheekedkinard · 13 days
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Some Sentences Sunday!
Because i've been tagged a couple of times these past few days (sorry i'm shit at being tagged) but @bigassbowlingballhead and @monsterrae1 for definite<3 so have some more cat dad alex!
When he went to shower, Davit was balled up under a blanket, the only sign of life was the steady, subtle, rise and fall of his back. Alex was half way through shampooing his hair when the hollering started. Panic had darted up Alex’s spine, all of the places in his apartment that may not be cat-proof yet flashing behind his eyes all at once, throwing his heart into overdrive. He had almost brained himself on the glass of the shower door, unable to move fast enough on wet feet, leaving small, soapy puddles on the tiles that threatened to ease the traction from under him. "You really don't have a clue about cats, do you?" Alex thinks his ears may be pink, soaking in Henrys amusement, making him squirm. "What? No!” Alex gets a little defensive, voice raising. “My mom never let us have pets, we couldn't even bring a fish home from the fair!" Apparently, Davit senses distress, another miserable wail from behind the door. "Well, if you remember, I told you that Sphynx cats are a little clingy, all cats have a tendency to follow their owners around and they don't like doors being closed on them, they - they worry about you." Henry explains. "That’s ridiculous! Am I supposed to let him come in with me while I pee? Or shower? That’s creepy, he’s got these real big green eyes and-" he pauses looking for something else, slapping his palm against his forehead when he finds it, "-claws! What is this? Bates Motel for cats!? And how is it okay for pets to see you naked? They’re just babies – creatures! It’s weird!" "Just leave the door open a crack so he can check on you." Henry reasons.
Tags? Uh @taste-thewaste @firstprincehornyramblings ??? Maybe, no pressure
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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years
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ARC Review: Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin
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Preorder:
Add to Goodreads:
Publishing Date: December 28, 2021
Synopsis:
Don’t miss this standalone spin-off in Allie Therin's acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe! Their scandalous pasts have left them wounded and unworthy—and hopelessly perfect together. London, 1925 Sebastian de Leon is adjusting to life after three years spent enthralled by blood magic. The atrocities he committed under its control still weigh heavily on his conscience, but when he’s asked to investigate a series of mysterious murders, it feels like an opportunity to make amends. Until he realizes the killer’s next likely target is a man who witnessed Sebastian at his worst—the Viscount Fine. Lord Fine—known as Wesley to his friends, if he had any—is haunted by ghosts of his own after serving as a British army captain during the Great War. Jaded and untrusting, he’s tempted to turn Sebastian in, but there’s something undeniably captivating about the reformed paranormal, and after Sebastian risks his own life to save Wesley’s, they find common ground. Seeking sanctuary together at Wesley’s country estate in Yorkshire, the unlikely pair begins to unravel a mystery steeped in legend and folklore, the close quarters emboldening them to see past the other’s trauma to the person worth loving beneath. But with growing targets on their backs, they’ll have to move quickly if they
My Review:
★★★★★
I was a little apprehensive about this at first because I *loved * the trilogy this spins off from, but I needn't have worried. Now that I've finished it, I love this one too. Possibly even more, as Wesley was a delightfully cynical curmudgeon gone soft for Sebastian alone and I adore that trope.
This was satisfactory as a standalone, though it would also have been lovely if it had been expanded a bit. I hope we get more from this world in the future. And more Wesley because he's possibly more fun than even Rory.
I enjoyed the mystery aspect, but the best part was Wesley the cynical curmudgeon with a deeply buried heart of gold, and Sebastian the "dangerous marshmallow" as they slowly became closer and let one another see what they let no one else see. (They were terribly entertaining together from practically the moment they met. I highlighted SO many passages.)
Also, paranormal art!
This is a book (along with the series it spins off of) that I will most definitely be reading again because it thoroughly stole my heart. Historical paranormal MM is apparently my thing XD.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for providing an e-arc for review.
Favorite Quotes:
...she claimed the ridiculous creature's affections eased her rheumatoid pains. What a load of sentimental rot. Everyone was miserable; it was no excuse to dote on a yappy speck of fluff.
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"Are you all right, Lord Fine?" Wesley had some bruises, some scrapes, and blisters on his arms. But he was alive, and free, and most importantly, not on fucking fire anymore, so what came out was, "Yes."
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"Are you serious right now?" said Lord Fine incredulously. "You're handcuffed to my bed at gunpoint and you're more upset that the English hunt foxes?"
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God, everyone was always so unflatteringly surprised that he was capable of sympathy. He'd be insulted, if he wasn't, well, himself.
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A paranormal earl, yes, that was exactly what Wesley wanted to learn existed.
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There were not enough cups of tea in the world to deal with this morning.
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Was--was Wesley being flirted with? Wesley might have just been flirted with.
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"Some people don't like my accent, or my Spanish."
"Some people don't like opera. The world is full of classless philistines."
Sebastian blinked.
"Xenophobia is a waste of time," Lord Fine went on, like he hadn't just paid Sebastian something of a compliment. "Everyone is a foreigner somewhere. Foreigners are just people and all people are universally terrible, so what's the point of disliking foreigners in particular?"
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"I said, I think you're the witch, because when I'm with you, I remember how to be free."
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Sebastian blinked. "Is everything okay?"
No, it isn't. You've just uttered the most romantic words anyone has ever said to me, in a Yorkshire pub over chips.
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Oh, Christ. Wesley was not equipped to experience feelings, this was completely unacceptable.
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And he did, despite Wesley's pessimism--maybe with magic, obviously that was going to be Wesley's explanation for everything now...
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But I will admit there is one tiny place in this godforsaken world that isn't cold and miserable, and that's the corner you light up."
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"If you stay with me, there might be a lot of magic."
"I'll be thoroughly enchanted either way," said Wesley, and went back in for another kiss.
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araminakilla · 4 years
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Again, almost nobody knows this movie or the franchise, but I found a really intriguing description of the third movie of Tadeo Jones:
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https://letterboxd.com/film/tad-the-lost-explorer-and-the-mummys-curse/
"Tad would love for his archeologist colleagues to accept him as one of their own, but he always messes everything up. Tad accidentally destroys a sarcophagus and unleashes an ancient spell endangering the lives of his friends: Mummy, Jeff and Belzoni. With everyone against him and only helped by Sara, he sets off on an adventure that will take him from Mexico to Chicago and from Paris to Egypt, in order to put an end to the curse of the Mummy."
And before asking if the link is true and not fake, the answer is: I don't know BUT there was a case I remember about all the sinopsis of the second movie saying that Sara was kidnapped by an evil rich guy. That's it, those well known pages said he was a rich guy, but there was this little page I found (sorry I got no link of it) that said the evil rich guy's name was Jack Rackham. At first I didn't believe it until some months later where the new sinopsis said that was indeed his name. In conclusion, I take that plot of the third movie as official until proved wrong.
Today in this post I will analyse the sinopsis and give my opinion of it.
"Tad would love for his archeologist colleagues to accept him as one of their own, but he always messes everything up."
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We start good with this. It's already confirmed that is the problem with Tadeo. I assume that he has graduated and become an archeologist by this point, and the plot makes it sound like the new guy trying to be with the cool kids of the group, but failing miserably because of him being clumsy or him breaking something, which leads us to...
"Tad accidentally destroys a sarcophagus and unleashes an ancient spell..."
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No surprise here, I told you he is clumsy. This is interesting because the Spanish plot says he encounters an egyptian mummy, but this says he breaks her sarcophagus, if I were a mummy I would be pretty angry too, enough to put a curse on anyone who did that. But there's a catch, it says that it was an ancient spell, so it was planned for some poor unfortunate soul who is dumb enough to annoy a female mummy. If nobody knew about this curse until the lady mummy broke free I understand but if not, Tad... WHY WERE YOU EVEN TOUCHING THAT THING!? Ahem, sorry. Then there's this part:
"...endangering the lives of his friends: Mummy, Jeff and Belzoni."
First of all, it seems that the curse works only for the friends of the offender, not the tresspaser himself. Clever move, in my opinion. Some people say friends are your biggest treasure so maybe the egyptians mummies in this movie thought that if humans take away their material tresaures, they will take their emotional ones. But Sara is not affected, maybe because she wasn't there in the moment or because she was the damsel in distress in the second movie so I'm glad that she isn't in danger again.
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As for Tad's friends, Jeff and Belzoni just happen to change heads in the concept art, making many pet shenanigans so they will be fine (unless their lifes are in danger if they don't make it in time and they eventualy die because they don't have their respective heads, but that's too dark for a family movie). I'm more worried about our Mummy, the Inca Mummy who not only he already has a curse imposed into him about 500 years ago, but now he gets ANOTHER ONE all because his best friend made a mistake. Talk about bad luck. But that's not all, he gets transformed into a well known monster in the egyptian pantheon. The creature devourer of souls called Ammit. This Godness (yeah, she's female... so Mummy is going to become one too?) is among the most feared monsters to the egyptians (she doesn't have wings but hey, wings are cool so nevermind that) It's possible that like what happened in the movie "Brave" with Elinor and Mordu, our Mummy will begin to lose his human side/soul (or what little he has) and become a heartless soul eater monster. This will be the life that is in more danger. He could lose the little he has of his humanity, that's just cruel and unfair!
Now we get to the best part:
"With everyone against him and only helped by Sara... "
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Wait Wait WAIT. What is this? According to a concept art, Tad travels with Sara, the pets and both the Inca and Egyptian mummies. So what happened? Is this a spoiler to a part of the movie where Tad only has Sara's help? I mean, it's obvious that the lady mummy doesn't like the explorer but what happened to his friend/brother Mummy? I have many theories but those are the more possible:
1) He was influenced by the egyptian mummy to leave him and Sara: Maybe the lady is a female fatale and one of the antagonists of the movie (not the main one, that title goes to a human woman apparently) and convinces him that the humans will betray them and only they can lift the curse without anyone's help.
2) He begins to show a more animalistic side as the curse grows and decides to leave the group to protect them: Having little control over his body leaves Mummy powerless to stop himself from hurting his only friends and decides to leave them for the best, which only would make more conflict because great not only we have to arrive to Egypt before the third day or whatever, but now we have to add finding a leopard/hippo/cocodrile monster being to the list.
3) The Mummies are captured by the bad guys: And it's the job of Tad and Sara to free them before the curse becomes irreversible.
Or the most possible one:
4) Tad "betrays" Mummy and the monster leaves the explorer to find a way to lift the curse himself:
It's more likely that Tadeo wants to be a famous archeologist. The question is: How far he will go to archive this? What discoveries or secrets will he reveal to have the respect and admiration of his fellow archeologists?
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I didn't think this before, but Tad is basically best friends/brothers with probably the most important and prized discovery of all time. How this fact is going to affect their friendship? Maybe Mummy starts to notice this, or maybe Tad exclaims without thinking "I wish you stayed in Paititi!" in front of the bad guys or other people. This will bring back the promise for the first movie and it's sure Mummy will leave Tadeo for a moment, because I'm sure he will be back somehow (this is Tadeo Jones, not The Fox and the Hound after all)
And the last part of the sinopsis:
"...he sets off on an adventure that will take him from Mexico to Chicago and from Paris to Egypt, in order to put an end to the curse of the Mummy."
Why Mexico if the Mummy in question is an egyptian? I have a theory: Ratings. Latinoamerica is the place where the Tad movies have more reception (good reception) and Mexico is the country that made a lot of money probably because Belinda dubs Sara. Other country is Peru because the first movie was about this place. So I think they want to please the Mexicans by showing their country but... Wasn't a better idea to have the mummy being an Aztecan? That way she would have more common things with the Inca mummy as both cultures ended with the Conquistadors (and Pizarro and Cortés were actually distant cousins, weird but true) but oh well they want to go the Egypt.
After Mexico we have Chicago, where Tad lives. I think they are going to the museum Tad went in the first movie to see his profesor friend.
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So wait... Does that mean Incan Mummy and the lady Mummy are going to see all the frozen mummies in that exhibition? Wow, that's actually dark (but kind of hilarous if they both scream)
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And finally we have Paris. I'm betting they are going there for the Louvre Museum which has the form of a pyramid. And Paris is know as the city of love which... Yeah... I can see this is where both mummies fall in love or something (I don't like this idea, it's very cliche but this is kind of a cliche franchise so... yeah)
About the bad guys and what they want... I have no idea, only that it's probably a woman.
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And that's all I got for this sinopsis. Again, I'm sure everyone will scroll over this but I wanted to get all of this out of my head.
I'm glad that Tad's Mummy is going to become a very, very important character in this third movie according to one of the directors, so that means he's going to become more than just some "comic relief"
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etlunainmorte · 5 years
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đŸ–€ I See My Future Before Me đŸ–€
***
She managed to acquire it for a very low and reasonable price. After all, who would use an old record now, especially with the booming technological culture that was steadily becoming popular with the younger generation?
She placed the delicate thing on her glass top table and took a good long look at it. Dante would pick her up any minute now, and she must definitely get ready for the mission ahead ( this time, a couple of magic - wielding higher Demons ).
However, for some strange reason, she couldn't shake the urge that she must play at least one song with it.
With that in mind, and her strong belief in intuition ( not to mention Cassandra's constant meddling ), she picked up the vinyl record she bought along with the old instrument and proceeded to the task. And with a little help from an almost useless and age - old manual ( its pages were yellow and crumbling at the edges ) that came with the merchandise, she finally managed to play the song. She took a few steps away from the table and allowed the sweet, old music to soothe and calm her senses.
She closed her eyes, letting the melody sink in,...
... when a vision suddenly flashed through her mind.
She opened her eyes once more, unable to believe her wicked sense of premonition ( or Cassandra's ) and allowed the vision to take over her entire mind.
And in that vision, she saw herself dancing the waltz with someone - a tall man clad completely in black. They were dancing to the same music that she was listening to, in the middle of the summer night, on a beautiful, Grecian balcony, below the starry, evening sky, the full moon shining above them.
It was,... simply perfect,...
But, who was that man?
The vision ended as soon as she opened her eyes.
However, something near the window startled her. She took a good long look at it as it slowly materialized, and right then and there, she saw him - the man she was dancing with in that vision,...
It's him! The man she's been searching for for such a long time.
The man,... with the white hair,...
And he was there, standing a few feet away from her, giving her a confused, and yet longing, look, as if he was also seeing her, himself.
She cautiously went closer to him and observed how his eyes followed her movements. She knew perfectly well that he was just a vision. Of the past or future? That she was not certain.
All she knew was that he was holding out his hands in front of her in a clear gesture that successfully conveyed his desire to dance with her,...
***
XXVIII
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***
"Here." Nico mumbled sleepily as she handed V a mug of warm chocolate. He thanked the woman as he took it from her hands. He was about to take a sip when he noticed the woman giving him a suspicious look. She pointed two fingers at him and said, "Eh, so you're really Vergil, huh? Dante's twin brother?”
The man smirked as he finally took a sip of the warm chocolate, its enticing scent calming his tired and restless senses. He pursed his lips as he glanced at the calm and serene evening atmosphere from the balcony of (Y/N)'s unit.
"I was." He answered, his eyes darting from one cheerfully lit house to another. Some of the residents have already made their way back to their homes after the Dreadnought incident, and things were slowly going back to its normal and boring pace.
Nico almost choked on her chocolate when she heard V's answer. She chuckled as she took a good long, and thorough look at Vergil’s form from head to foot. "You,... were?" She chuckled.
V smirked once more as he looked at her. "It's the truth."
"I don't understand. How can you not be Vergil right now? I mean, come on, Sir Changes – A - Lot!"
The man chuckled as he helplessly shook his head. He held out a single hand as little orbs of light radiated from it. The almost translucent orbs, then, spread out from his hand to his arm, then from his torso to his other arm. The orbs reached his entire body as the curious little lights morphed him back to the V that Nico was used to seeing - black leather vest, tooth necklace, a pair of unflattering black sandals, and all.
"This,... is merely an illusion.” V explained. “I could never become whole again. It is,... completely impossible. Even with the powers of the Sisters Of Fate."
"Your hair,..." Nico mused as she pointed at V's snowy white hair. "It's not turning back to black." She, then, pointed at his skin. "And your tattoos are barely even there!"
"This is how I look like before all this,... began. This,... is the real me."
"Wow. And I thought (Y/N) was the only one who can change looks,..."
At the mere sound of her name, V's heart skipped a beat and his breath clearly hitched. The girl was sleeping in her room, unconscious since the whole battle with Pandemonium ended. He promised her sister that he would take care of him, and Galatea left her body as soon as she was done healing her.
But, then, somehow, he knew deep within his tainted heart that she would never be fully healed.
Would she,... ?
His question came out like a soft breeze that was almost missed by the Artisan. She stopped sipping her chocolate and glanced back at V, seeing the man leaning on the railing and clearly looking uncomfortable.
"Sorry?"
V looked at her eyes and repeated his question. "Would she find it in her heart to forgive me? After everything I've done to her?"
"Oh, that." Nico came closer towards the man and patted him a bit forcefully on the shoulder. "Dontcha worry a thing 'bout that! She'll forgive ya and yer pretty, lil' skinny ass. Believe me.”
V chuckled at her crude humor and sighed.
"You don't have,... any idea what I did to her back in that demonic ship,..."
"I know. You killed her. Well, almost."
V's eyes widened as he straightened up and looked at her. "How did you - ?!"
"Found out? Oh, she knew 'bout that. She told me herself."
Oh, it must be Cassandra, V thought as he leaned against the railing once more. "Of course."
"But, hey, she's still alive, right? And you're fine! At least, you didn't turn evil or somethin' and caused the world's destruction."
At those ridiculously accurate words, V bowed his head down low, trying to conceal his face until he could no longer endure the emotions. With trembling shoulders and teary eyes, he threw his head back, his low and evil - sounding laughter ripping out of his throat and scaring the hell out of Nico.
"Hahaha! YOU make me laugh,..."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "O,... kay?"
"You have no idea,... how messed up I've become. I failed her. I failed miserably. I'm only here because, apparently, Galatea still thinks I'm worthy. After,... everything I did to her."
"Hey, we all make mistakes."
V smiled at her. "I will tell you,... the story of my insanity,..."
With wide, doubtful eyes, Nico patiently listened as V recounted to her the events that took place in the Dreadnought, from the moment he stabbed (Y/N) up to the point where Fleminger stabbed him, taking the Sisters away from him and letting Pandemonium kill everyone.
"Wait, wait, wait,..." Nico blabbered as she pushed the frame of her red - rimmed glasses to her nose bridge. "So, you're sayin' that,... everyone,... died?"
"Yes."
"Hooee! Well, I'm sure glad that Galatea brought you back. I wonder how I died back there?"
As Nico went on blabbering about how she could possibly die in that far off alternate universe, V suddenly saw,...
... a spectral - looking hand reaching up at the railing of the balcony just behind her. V was definitely not one to get frightened of ghosts but, the vision did startle him. He focused his gaze into it as the creature climbed up the balcony as effortlessly as it could.
It was (Y/N), and she was, somehow, strangely barefoot. Her pants looked like they were burnt from the knee down, and her movements were as light as possible. She tiptoed her way to the window when she suddenly heard some voices inside.
So, did V.
“ ... they even mentioned some famous and obscure names in the Devil Hunting business who got the invitation. And let me mention this - Dante also received one."
Her eyes widened at whatever she saw inside and she couldn't prevent herself from letting out a yelping sound.
“Someone’s listening!”
She covered her mouth and stepped away from the window.
“Looks like we have an,
 unwanted visitor.” Then, he heard it. That voice. It was him. He could remember everything: this was from that time when he first arrived at this place.
So, it was true: someone really was outside that time. And it was none other than her,...
“Best to make it at home - ” He heard himself speak once more.
“Guys, guys! Stop! What did I say about making a mess?!”
“Hey, hey! There’s an intruder right - AHH!” A very loud and obnoxious noise was heard from the inside, like someone, or something, was just thrown to the other side of the room.
“To not make any?”
“Exactly! That’s just the - ah - neighbor’s cat!”
“That,
 does not sound like a feline, at least to my ears.”
“Okay, okay, guys! Trust me and put your weapons down. Thank you! Now, as I was saying, we must go to this event and find out what this, Wrath of The Gods, is!”
“We cannot go shorthanded. If we take the riddle in a very literal sense, then,
 we would not have enough strength. We would be dealing with the Wrath of The Gods,
 after all.”
While listening to the conversation inside, he saw (Y/N) as she tiptoed her way back closer to the window, lovingly gazing at something inside. Her eyes widened, then returned to normal once more. She raised an arm and wiped the tears that started coming out of her eyes with the sleeves of her pale pink hoodie.
She was crying, and yet she looked clearly happy at what she saw. Like she finally found something she has been searching for after so long.
Like, she was deeply longing to see whatever that was,...
And this made V's heart twitch in unbelievable pain.
He,... knew who she was looking at. He knew,...
... who she was longing to meet,...
“That’s where I come in! Nero, how’s the breaker coming along?”
“It’s fine, sure.”
“Oh, yeah? Then, I’ll be making new ones.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
“No! And, you! You seem interested in all this, yes?”
“As a matter of fact, I ‘am."
“Then, go get your own formal wear! I can’t provide you with one. I’m an Artisan, not a freaking, fancy tailor!”
“Wait, like, right now?”
“Duh?! Are you, like, gonna wait till Saturday for that? Go, go, GO!”
She cautiously took a few steps away from the window once more.
“Hey, hey, if you’re looking for some chicks, then you’re in the wrong place! Get moving!”
There were more sounds, and when they finally subsided, the window violently opened and she finally entered the threshold of her own home.
“Are you crazy?! Why would you be hiding there? This is your home, for crying out loud! Are you a thief, or something?!”
“It’s him, Nico.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s him! The man with the violin in my visions!”
“Who?!”
“The one with the markings on his skin!”
“The mysterious man? Are you sure about that?”
“It. Is. HIM!”
"¿Por qué estas descalza?" V heard a distinctively different voice of that of a little girl.
He closed his eyes at the sudden change, and when he opened them once more, he was suddenly transported to a sunny, suburban place. A little girl with dark pigtails was staring at him, her hands on her hips like a wife who was angry at her husband for coming home late and drunk.
He realized she was not directly looking at him, and this made him turn around. And to his surprise, he saw (Y/N). And just like in his vision a while ago, she was barefoot, and her pants looked burnt from the knee down.
(Y/N) opened her mouth to answer but, then, she realized she can't speak the little girl's language. This made the smaller girl smile.
"¥Ven conmigo! Te llevaré a nuestra casa." The girl excitedly said as she practically went through V like he was a ghost and grabbed (Y/N)'s hand.
V followed the two as the little girl led (Y/N) to one of the charming little two - story houses on the left. The little girl opened the door and let (Y/N) in.
"ÂĄMadre!" The girl called. "ÂĄMadre!"
"ÂżAlicia?"
A woman in her mid - fifties came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands with an orange towel.
"ÂżHija?" The mother's eyes widened as she abandoned her towel, practically throwing it to the side as she made her way to the two girls. "ÂĄQue chica tan linda! ÂżEs tu amiga?"
The little girl laughed and shook her head, making (Y/N) a bit surprised and culture - shocked. "Ella no habla Español. No te preocupes, yo me encargo." The girl turned to (Y/N) and pointed at herself, then her mother. "My name is Alicia. This is my mother, Maria. I go to English class every Saturday."
"Oh, that's nice." (Y/N) answered as she received a pair of slippers from the little girl. "Thanks."
"She said you're pretty."
A faint rosy tint crept up (Y/N)'s cheeks. She looked at the smiling older woman and nodded. "I, ah, thank you."
Maria nodded, understanding the words she just said.
"What are you doing outside with no shoes?" The little girl asked her as she pulled her towards the living room.
"Umm, you see, ah,..." (Y/N) muttered as she sat down on the maroon sofa. "I was, ahh, looking for someone. A white haired man who plays the violin. I've seen him pass here. Have you, umm, seen him?"
White haired man who plays the violin?
He had been here?!
Alicia turned to his mom. "Ella pregunta si hemos visto a un hombre de cabello blanco por aquĂ­, dice que toca el violin."
Maria frowned and shook her head. “No, lo siento mucho. Pero podemos avisarte si lo llegamos a ver."
"She said no. But, we will tell you when we see him."
(Y/N)'s face showed a clearly disappointed expression. But, despite this, she still sincerely smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much."
Alicia nudged her on the elbow to help her relax. "No hay problema." She answered with a smile. "That means no problem."
"I can't believe how fast you've grown!"
V heard another voice from the hallway. He went there and saw, in shock, the same little girl,...
... except that she was now the same height as (Y/N). Her hair was no longer in pigtails. Instead, she was wearing it down. And her fashion sense seemed to have changed, as well.
"I'm a teenager now!" And clearly, she was better in English. "And it seems that you haven't aged a bit since I last saw you!"
It was true. For some reason, (Y/N) still looked the same.
How many years has passed since she first met Alicia?
"So, have you seen him?"
"Oh, that man? I think mom has!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!" Alicia grabbed her hand and led her to the living room like what she did the first time they met. "Madre, (Y/N) is here!"
The woman, whose dark brown hair has clearly turned gray, looked up from her stitch work and stood, meeting the girls halfway and kissing the both of them on their forehead. V noticed that she now walked with a slight limp.
"It has been a long, long time, Miss (Y/N)!" Maria told her in straight English, grabbing her hands and squeezing them.
"Mom studied English for you." Alicia said with a proud and huge smile.
"That's really cool!"
"Mom, she’s asking whether you've seen the man she was looking for."
To this, Maria's face suddenly fell, a frown now gracing her warm and gentle features. She only shook her head and went back to her stitch work. And without saying another word, she sat down and went on with her work like nothing even happened.
"Oh, don't mind her. She's just like that at times. But, she's not mad at you, don't worry!" Alicia whispered.
(Y/N), who was clearly alarmed at the sudden change in Maria's demeanor, couldn't help but nod as she tried to hide her worry.
"It's okay."
"You haven't given up?"
V heard Alicia's frantic voice on the hallway once more. He immediately went there and saw her,...
... clad completely in black from head to foot. She clearly looked a bit older, and she was not dragging (Y/N) around like how she used to when she was younger.
And (Y/N)?
"You still haven't changed?" Alicia questioned her with raised eyebrows.
"Where's Maria?"
Something in her question triggered something in Alicia. And it unnerved both (Y/N) and V.
"Get out."
"Sorry?"
"I said, GET OUT!" Alicia screamed as she pushed (Y/N) out of the house.
"Alicia, what happened?!"
"GO AWAY!" The girl screamed as she shut the door close. She then ran towards the sofa, grabbed Maria's old stitch work, and cried. The handiwork was clearly half - finished but, some words were visible from it.
"El amor es paciente, el amor es amable. No envi - "
"HEY!"
V snapped back to reality as Nico snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"You alright?"
"Indeed. Yes, I' am." He answered.
Nico breathed a sigh of relief as she clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack. "I thought I lost you back there. You know, (Y/N)'s visions were short and sweet - "
"She's been to Spain."
"Sorry?"
V looked at her and repeated his words. "It's (Y/N). I saw her. She was in Spain."
"Oh, that! So, you've seen her?" Nico answered as she went back inside, V following close behind her. "You know, she's been to many places, more than what you could imagine. She's searching ten years for you, God!"
"Ten,
 years?!"
"Yeah. She comes home often, though. She's learned to channel that power of hers to her feet and legs so she could move fast and jump to high places." Nico explained as she went to one of the drawers and pulled something out from it. "So, she's never really gone for too long. But, I'm gonna tell ya this: that channeling the power to her feet thing often burned her pants."
So, that's why,...
"I don't understand." V went on as he watched Nico flip through the pages of an old album. "She was searching for ten years, but I've only been to such places for three weeks. I was,
 travelling. It's what I've been doing before coming here to Red Grave."
"Really? Well, it's a long story. Let's just say that she wanted to meet you because the entity that was possessing her wanted her to fulfill some kind of a mission. Don't ask." She handed the open album to V and pointed at one of the photos. "That's them."
V's eyes widened in awe as he saw the photograph of (Y/N) and Alicia during the Spanish girl's party for her sixteenth birthday.
"Alicia. One of the people she frequently visited and stopped seeing after ten years. Said she’s starting to notice."
"Notice what?" V looked up from the album.
Nico went closer to V and whispered like she was passing on a well - guarded secret to him. "Okay, this sounds weird but, she actually came from the past."
"I know."
"Yeah, yeah! I thought at first she's just plain nuts. But, listen to this: the first thing she did after recovering was search for her family's old farm in Fortuna. V, there hasn't been a farm there since a hundred years ago! It's all concrete now, and streets.
"So, she searched for her parents and any people she could remember from her past. Some of them either died already or have grandchildren of their own. And her parents? She found out that they separated and had families of their own."
"A girl,... out of her time,..." V mused as he flipped through the pages of (Y/N)'s old album, seeing her with unknown faces.
"Exactly! She's, like, super old when you think 'bout it!" Nico went to one of the paintings and looked up at it. "And, not only that, her looks stayed the same for those ten whole years I knew her. Like, she's stuck or somethin’.”
"Galatea's stasis." V breathed.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing."
Nico frowned and raised an eyebrow at him. She went on. "She craves for things from the past. So, she started collecting antiques like this. Other than helping her cope after being plucked from when she came from, these things she have reminded her of all the places she's been. They remind her of you."
The poet looked up from the album and saw Nico picking up her keys on the glass top table. There was an old record there, similar to Fleminger's, that he hasn't taken notice of before.
Was it there the whole time?
Nico saw the confusion in V's eyes as he looked at the antique. "Oh, this? She bought this about a year ago. Thought she's gonna want to listen to old songs when she wakes up. So, I took it out. It's gonna get moldy with disuse."
The woman walked towards the door but, before she went out, she turned back to V. "I'll leave her to ya, V. Don't mess this up again." And then, just like that, she walked out of the door, leaving him alone with (Y/N).
The silence felt deafening, the darkness depressing. V nearly collapsed on the sofa as he carefully placed the album next to the record. He was about to touch it when he heard a loud tapping against the window. He turned around just in time to see Griffon and Shadow entering the unit.
"HOO! We made it." Griffon breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way towards V while carrying something broken in his hands.
"I see you found it." V carefully took the broken violin from Griffon's long fingers. It was (Y/N)'s.
"Yeah, well. Kinda got all bloody searchin’ through Dreadnought's rubble for that."
"Thank you."
"Wait!" Griffon held up two long fingers in front of V and made way for Shadow to get close to the poet.
V smirked, controlling his mirth and amusement as he looked down at the now human Shadow. After the cleansing, she has turned into a pale human girl roughly the size of a middle - schooler. Her long black hair that reached her feet was awfully unkempt, and the clothes that Lady lent her a while ago was too big for her.
She quietly looked up at him with her big red eyes and showed him a pair of stilettos.
It was (Y/N)'s. She wore it when,...
"This girl took it badly when you threw them out during your mad state, if ya can’t remember. She looked for them all over the place and kept them with her." Griffon explained as Shadow gave the shoes back to V. She turned towards her fellow familiar and gave him a strange look. She, then, turned back to V with an angry, yet adorable, look. "Oh, and she's saying that she hates ya for hurting (Y/N). And that she will never forgive ya."
"Oh, I'm,..." V grasped the shoes and looked down at them, thinking of the girl who owned them. "... forgive me."
"Well, you've been a naughty schtick! Ya should've been punished for bad behavior!" The bald Demon made a ruffling gesture that was much akin to his movements when he was still a bird and collapsed on the sofa. "So, happy with yer new powers?" he, then, asked sarcastically.
"No." The poet answered monotonously as he slumped back to the sofa just beside the familiar, the shoes still in his hands.
Griffon rolled his eyes. "Figures,..."
There was a moment of silence between the two, and during this very awkward time, Shadow took a liking to the old record on the table. She poked the thing with her tiny finger and managed to turn it on, its weird mechanism startling her and making her hair stand. She drew back to a corner, giving it a confused and cautious look.
This made Griffon laugh a lot. "I wonder how that would sound, though."
"It,... wouldn't hurt if we try." The poet quietly said as he placed the shoes on the table and took the vinyl record just beside the instrument. Apparently, the record was simply titled as "Nat King Cole". He began with the long process of playing it and when the music finally came out of it, he turned it off immediately.
"Hey, why did ya turn it off?!" Griffon complained. He was about to rant more when he noticed the look on V's face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. "V? You okay?"
"I' am. I just,..." The man held out a hesitant finger as he turned on the instrument once more.
"Unforgettable, that's what you are. Unforgettable, though near or far. Like a song of love that clings to me,... "
"It's this song." He confessed with a shaky voice. With cold and trembling hands, he covered his mouth, already feeling the tears as they started falling down his blurry eyes. "It's,... from that evening."
Griffon saw the changes in V's demeanor and actually felt sorry for him. He tapped V's shoulder in a sincere effort to calm him down.
"Unforgettable in every way, and forevermore, that's how you'll stay,..."
He stood up and went towards the window, all the painful memories of everything that happened within a single week coming back to him. He found the love of his life, danced with her, and lost her because of his foolishness.
All because he let himself be manipulated.
Still unable to control his emotions, and the tears that came along with them, he turned back, and saw,...
... the girl, herself, standing a few feet away from him looking confused like he was.
But, this time, unlike any other vision he had of her, she looked like she was actually seeing him for real. She went closer towards him as he observed all of her movements. He held out his arms, hoping for his desire to dance with her once more to come across.
And, as if by some form of an unknown miracle, she let his hands take hers as they began the basic steps of the waltz,...
... just like the first time they did it on the Grecian balcony that evening.
"That's why darling, it's incredible, that someone so unforgettable, thinks that I am unforgettable too."
Griffon and Shadow silently watched as V danced with something they couldn't see. The male familiar shook his head and grinned as he saw the poet actually enjoying the dance.
"No, never before has someone been more,..."
He tried to hold her closer despite the fear that she would vanish and rested his head on the crook of her neck.
"Unforgettable,
 in every way,..."
He quietly and gently sang along, the lyrics tearing a new wound to his already beaten heart. How he wanted to hold her so much, how he wanted to actually feel her smooth skin against his,...
... how he longed to dance with her once more.
But, she’s hurt. Because of him.
And instead of her actually dancing with him, she’s lying on that bed inside her room with no guarantee of when she’d wake up.
"And forevermore,
 that's how you'll stay,..." He felt a warm sensation on his body and realized that her vision was rubbing him on the back, her arms around him, wanting him to cease crying. He looked at her eyes and cupped her cheeks. "That's why darling,
 it's incredible,
 that someone,
 so unforgettable,
 thinks that I ‘am,
 unforgettable too,..." His heart ached with each word he sang, feeling like they were directed towards him and making him feel guilty than ever before.
He wanted so much to tell her that: that she’s unforgettable,


 that he was grateful to her for everything that she did for him for the past ten years,


 that he was grateful that she found him and made his life a little less miserable.
But, of course, he had to make a very stupid mistake of hurting her.
And he regret everything he did and did not do to her.
As the song came to an end, his face inched closer to hers. He wanted so much to feel her lips against his,...
... when something startled her.
She reluctantly pulled away from him as she looked at the door behind her. She opened her mouth and said something he couldn't hear, and turned to face him once more. She gave him a warm, and yet weak, smile as she held up a single hand to caress his face. After that, she stepped away from him and went to the door, looking at him one last time before finally going through it.
"Please,..." V begged her, holding out a helpless and powerless hand to reach her. "Don't,... leave me,..."
***
đŸ–€ Special thanks to @beyond-the-mirror for the Spanish dialogue and translations. Also for introducing Alicia and Maria. đŸ–€
đŸ–€ @la-vita , @micaelagua , @vergils-daughter , @lessy86 , @diabeticsugarush , @ehrzeth , @ceruleanworld , @simmy-ships , @boundbysoul , @heaven-on-a-landslide , and @krazy06 . đŸ–€
***
She heard a knock on the door and heard Dante calling her name. She turned away from the lonely man, not really wanting to go.
"I'm coming!" She called back, then looked at her partner's anguished face once more. Despite the pain that she suddenly felt in her heart upon seeing a vision of him, she still made an effort to caress his face and smiled, reassuring him, hoping that he would understand. She left him standing there in the middle of the room.
And as she glanced back at him, the sight that greeted her hurt her even more. In fact, the pain was unbearable.
His tears were streaming down his face, his expression simply too painful to withstand.
He doesn't want her to go.
He,... doesn't want her to leave,...
***
23 notes · View notes
isobel-thorm · 6 years
Note
I don't know what has or hasn't been asked for the otp ask so whatevers left answer? Also I love them
1: Whospends almost all their money on the other? John wants to splurge on Nic allthe time. Nic
 is apparently more materialistic than most of the Deps I’ve seenfor this answer because most of the time she’s all “Well alright!” :D unlessthe price tag gets too steep/over like $500 for stupid shit.  She tries to treat him as much as she can tomake up for it. She thinks it’s all in vain because of the differences in justhow much money is spent compared to him, but he loves it.
2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap? Both. John just latches onto her more because he’s a touch starved mess. 
3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells atthem to put on some clothes? If they’re on their own and the kids are with theRyes/Sharky/etc, they’re both A-Ok with it. They figure if they’ve got it,flaunt it for themselves/each other. It’s all fun until Whitehorse comes for avisit, sees them both half naked and is very unimpressed that it was the secondtime it’s happened, at least the first time John was fully clothed and he onlyhad to be embarrassed about seeing his surrogate daughter like that.
4: Whichone tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all nightanyway? More often than not, John is the one pulling all nighters, whether it’swork to look after the Resistance people he likes/ Post-Collapse population, ornightmares from the old days. Nic gets a sixth sense about it after a while andalways tries to goad him into coming to bed or trying to get him back to sleep.
5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns itall by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them bothcookies? John cooks a lot to further prove it was not him who made the waterymac and cheese. Funnily enough, his mac and cheese comes out fine. It’s justeverything else under the sun that he cooks that isn’t. Nic doesn’t mind. Sheand the kids get some quality mac and cheese out of the deal. 
6: Which one reads OTP prompts and says “Oh that’s us!” andwhich one goes “Eh, not really”? John because he’s trying to over-romantize them. Nic’s
 a little more realistic than that unless the prompts are just as realistic. Or involve shit she can take and run with. Like puppies. “Who would buy the other an animal
? (gives him a pointed smile)” “Babe we have tHREE CHILDREN, A FAMILY OF BEARS, A REGULAR MOUNTAIN LION, A BLISSED MOUNTAIN LION, A ROGUE TURKEY, TWENTY DOGS (pulls prepped running list of animals they have at the ranch out of his pocket to continue)”
7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes? Answered here
8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says“You remembered [thing], right?”  Over here 
9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions? Here 
10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws? Johnfor the sake of the Bed Wade/3:10 to Yuma parallel that’s been around since I’vedreamt their relationship up. John’s a surprisingly good artist and sketchesNic any chance that he can get when she’s unaware because he’s still in awethat after all the shit God put him through, He still dropped her into his lifeand he needs to record it in any way he can.
11: Ifthey were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers andwhich one is strolling behind with a bag of chips? Both would be doing the gracefulparkour shit and trying to one-up each other while getting ridiculously turnedon at the same time.
12: Whichone of your OTP overdoes it on the alcohol and which one makes the other stopdrinking? John’s got a lot of shit to work through, and has narrowed hisprimary vice down to alcohol. Nic isn’t happy, but she gets it. She doesn’texactly tell him to stop like she should, but she keeps an eye on it and steps inmore so as a “last call” type thing than anything.
13: Which one likes to surprise the other with a lot of smallrandom gifts? Goes along with the money thing. John’s all about showingaffection via materialistic means. Nic doesn’t need it but doesn’t exactly mindand tries to even things out as much as she can. Him, on the other hand, keepsreminding her that he owes her his life so they’re even no matter what.
14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last nameinstead of their own? Gonna go straight with fic canon here where John full onstops using “Seed” and takes “Raylan” as his last name once they’re common law married so Joseph’s prophecy of himdying could completely come true/ the Seed name can die in the miserable past/Cal and the twins won’t live with that particular shadow following them/havingpeople judging them immediately for it.
15: Which one screams about the spider andwhich one brings the spider outside? Nic’s animal/insect/living creature lovingstops at spiders and mosquitos so very much her. She shrieks about it, Johngoes to kill it to be hero. Nic makes the mistake of making a joke about himbeing the primary torturer/murderer out of the pair of them so that’s why hegets the job. He barely talks to her for a day.
16: Which one gives the other their jacket?  This a way
17: Whokeeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older sibling? Jacob’sdead and Joseph’s still all “Nicolette you’re John’s salvation, everything youdo from here on out is acceptable in my book”, and Nic’s an only child, so doesn’t really apply. Theclosest thing is Whitehorse stepping in as the father figure to give John theshovel talk. And he gives the shovel launcher talk- and takes John with himwhen he’s doing innocent ‘target practice’ to drive the point home. John doesn’t  look at him for a week.
18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for theother? In my own canon, John’s head over heels in love with her the second sheshows up on that other side of the blast door in the Confession scene but hedoesn’t really recognize it. He kind of admits he’s got feelings months lateronce they’re a team, but she doesn’t believe him because they’re still at the begrudgingallies stage. Fast forward months later, she almost dies in the Collapse, outcomes the ‘L’ word from his mouth. It takes her even more months to realizethat oh hey, she actually loves him too.
19: Howgood would your OTP be at parenting? Heeerreee :3
20: Whichone types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters?Both are very proper about it. Aint nobody got time to look stupid when you’retrying to flirt with/impress/threaten your number one frenemy. (cough) New Phone Who Dis on AO3 (cough) 
21: Whogets attacked by a bully and who protects them? Accidental Judas or not, peopleand rogue turkeys are still constantly trying to kill John every so often.Thankfully much less so when the kids are around, but still. Nic’s the one thathas to go to everyone all “look at your life, look at your choices. And I knowI should take my own advice but I kind of love the idiot now and you all loveme so can you fucking not kill the father of my children, thanks”
22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile everytime the other makes a pun? Nic takes after Sharky with the puns for a while.John absolutely hates it and tries to tell her until she reminds him about the  “if these walls could talk, or rather scream” line/joke/whateverthe fuck it was and that he’s got no right to talk.
23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought apuppy? Favorite answer so far is this way
24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’retired? Both.John’s both mortified and a little turned on that she can lift him as easily as he can her. 
25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which onedoes the overzealous cheering? Both, though John takes the “overzealous” to a different level because he is John, after all. 
26: Who takes a selfie when the other onefalls asleep on their shoulder? John, again, same logic as the drawing thing.He needs to record as much of their time together as possible.
27: Which one would give the other amakeover if they asked? John tries to redo her wardrobe several times. Theclosest thing to a makeover Nic gets with John is talking him into letting hertrim his beard enough- mostly for maintenance than anything. She shaves off thesides of his beard a couple of times but they both kinda low key hate it.
28: Whichone owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of? This way
29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when itrains? John. Can’t have his literal savior getting sick from exposure toweather.
30: Ifyour OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Whowould take the pictures? Last but not least
7 notes · View notes
etlunainmorte · 5 years
Text
đŸ–€ I See My Future Before Me đŸ–€
***
She managed to acquire it for a very low and reasonable price. After all, who would use an old record now, especially with the booming technological culture that was steadily becoming popular with the younger generation?
She placed the delicate thing on her glass top table and took a good long look at it. Dante would pick her up any minute now, and she must definitely get ready for the mission ahead ( this time, a couple of magic - wielding higher Demons ).
However, for some strange reason, she couldn't shake the urge that she must play at least one song with it.
With that in mind, and her strong belief in intuition ( not to mention Cassandra's constant meddling ), she picked up the vinyl record she bought along with the old instrument and proceeded to the task. And with a little help from an almost useless and age - old manual ( its pages were yellow and crumbling at the edges ) that came with the merchandise, she finally managed to play the song. She took a few steps away from the table and allowed the sweet, old music to soothe and calm her senses.
She closed her eyes, letting the melody sink in,...
... when a vision suddenly flashed through her mind.
She opened her eyes once more, unable to believe her wicked sense of premonition ( or Cassandra's ) and allowed the vision to take over her entire mind.
And in that vision, she saw herself dancing the waltz with someone - a tall man clad completely in black. They were dancing to the same music that she was listening to, in the middle of the summer night, on a beautiful, Grecian balcony, below the starry, evening sky, the full moon shining above them.
It was,... simply perfect,...
But, who was that man?
The vision ended as soon as she opened her eyes.
However, something near the window startled her. She took a good long look at it as it slowly materialized, and right then and there, she saw him - the man she was dancing with in that vision,...
It's him! The man she's been searching for for such a long time.
The man,... with the white hair,...
And he was there, standing a few feet away from her, giving her a confused, and yet longing, look, as if he was also seeing her, himself.
She cautiously went closer to him and observed how his eyes followed her movements. She knew perfectly well that he was just a vision. Of the past or future? That she was not certain.
All she knew was that he was holding out his hands in front of her in a clear gesture that successfully conveyed his desire to dance with her,...
***
XXVIII
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***
"Here." Nico mumbled sleepily as she handed V a mug of warm chocolate. He thanked the woman as he took it from her hands. He was about to take a sip when he noticed the woman giving him a suspicious look. She pointed two fingers at him and said, "Eh, so you're really Vergil, huh? Dante's twin brother?”
The man smirked as he finally took a sip of the warm chocolate, its enticing scent calming his tired and restless senses. He pursed his lips as he glanced at the calm and serene evening atmosphere from the balcony of (Y/N)'s unit.
"I was." He answered, his eyes darting from one cheerfully lit house to another. Some of the residents have already made their way back to their homes after the Dreadnought incident, and things were slowly going back to its normal and boring pace.
Nico almost choked on her chocolate when she heard V's answer. She chuckled as she took a good long, and thorough look at Vergil’s form from head to foot. "You,... were?" She chuckled.
V smirked once more as he looked at her. "It's the truth."
"I don't understand. How can you not be Vergil right now? I mean, come on, Sir Changes – A - Lot!"
The man chuckled as he helplessly shook his head. He held out a single hand as little orbs of light radiated from it. The almost translucent orbs, then, spread out from his hand to his arm, then from his torso to his other arm. The orbs reached his entire body as the curious little lights morphed him back to the V that Nico was used to seeing - black leather vest, tooth necklace, a pair of unflattering black sandals, and all.
"This,... is merely an illusion.” V explained. “I could never become whole again. It is,... completely impossible. Even with the powers of the Sisters Of Fate."
"Your hair,..." Nico mused as she pointed at V's snowy white hair. "It's not turning back to black." She, then, pointed at his skin. "And your tattoos are barely even there!"
"This is how I look like before all this,... began. This,... is the real me."
"Wow. And I thought (Y/N) was the only one who can change looks,..."
At the mere sound of her name, V's heart skipped a beat and his breath clearly hitched. The girl was sleeping in her room, unconscious since the whole battle with Pandemonium ended. He promised her sister that he would take care of him, and Galatea left her body as soon as she was done healing her.
But, then, somehow, he knew deep within his tainted heart that she would never be fully healed.
Would she,... ?
His question came out like a soft breeze that was almost missed by the Artisan. She stopped sipping her chocolate and glanced back at V, seeing the man leaning on the railing and clearly looking uncomfortable.
"Sorry?"
V looked at her eyes and repeated his question. "Would she find it in her heart to forgive me? After everything I've done to her?"
"Oh, that." Nico came closer towards the man and patted him a bit forcefully on the shoulder. "Dontcha worry a thing 'bout that! She'll forgive ya and yer pretty, lil' skinny ass. Believe me.”
V chuckled at her crude humor and sighed.
"You don't have,... any idea what I did to her back in that demonic ship,..."
"I know. You killed her. Well, almost."
V's eyes widened as he straightened up and looked at her. "How did you - ?!"
"Found out? Oh, she knew 'bout that. She told me herself."
Oh, it must be Cassandra, V thought as he leaned against the railing once more. "Of course."
"But, hey, she's still alive, right? And you're fine! At least, you didn't turn evil or somethin' and caused the world's destruction."
At those ridiculously accurate words, V bowed his head down low, trying to conceal his face until he could no longer endure the emotions. With trembling shoulders and teary eyes, he threw his head back, his low and evil - sounding laughter ripping out of his throat and scaring the hell out of Nico.
"Hahaha! YOU make me laugh,..."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "O,... kay?"
"You have no idea,... how messed up I've become. I failed her. I failed miserably. I'm only here because, apparently, Galatea still thinks I'm worthy. After,... everything I did to her."
"Hey, we all make mistakes." V smiled at her. "I will tell you,... the story of my insanity,..."
With wide, doubtful eyes, Nico patiently listened as V recounted to her the events that took place in the Dreadnought, from the moment he stabbed (Y/N) up to the point where Fleminger stabbed him, taking the Sisters away from him and letting Pandemonium kill everyone.
"Wait, wait, wait,..." Nico blabbered as she pushed the frame of her red - rimmed glasses to her nose bridge. "So, you're sayin' that,... everyone,... died?"
"Yes."
"Hooee! Well, I'm sure glad that Galatea brought you back. I wonder how I died back there?"
As Nico went on blabbering about how she could possibly die in that far off alternate universe, V suddenly saw,...
... a spectral - looking hand reaching up at the railing of the balcony just behind her. V was definitely not one to get frightened of ghosts but, the vision did startle him. He focused his gaze into it as the creature climbed up the balcony as effortlessly as it could.
It was (Y/N), and she was, somehow, strangely barefoot. Her pants looked like they were burnt from the knee down, and her movements were as light as possible. She tiptoed her way to the window when she suddenly heard some voices inside.
So, did V.
“ ... they even mentioned some famous and obscure names in the Devil Hunting business who got the invitation. And let me mention this - Dante also received one."
Her eyes widened at whatever she saw inside and she couldn't prevent herself from letting out a yelping sound.
“Someone’s listening!”
She covered her mouth and stepped away from the window.
“Looks like we have an,
 unwanted visitor.” Then, he heard it. That voice. It was him. He could remember everything: this was from that time when he first arrived at this place.
So, it was true: someone really was outside that time. And it was none other than her,...
“Best to make it at home - ” He heard himself speak once more.
“Guys, guys! Stop! What did I say about making a mess?!”
“Hey, hey! There’s an intruder right - AHH!” A very loud and obnoxious noise was heard from the inside, like someone, or something, was just thrown to the other side of the room.
“To not make any?”
“Exactly! That’s just the - ah - neighbor’s cat!”
“That,
 does not sound like a feline, at least to my ears.”
“Okay, okay, guys! Trust me and put your weapons down. Thank you! Now, as I was saying, we must go to this event and find out what this, Wrath of The Gods, is!”
“We cannot go shorthanded. If we take the riddle in a very literal sense, then,
 we would not have enough strength. We would be dealing with the Wrath of The Gods,
 after all.”
While listening to the conversation inside, he saw (Y/N) as she tiptoed her way back closer to the window, lovingly gazing at something inside. Her eyes widened, then returned to normal once more. She raised an arm and wiped the tears that started coming out of her eyes with the sleeves of her pale pink hoodie.
She was crying, and yet,...
... she looked clearly happy at what she saw. Like she finally found something she has been searching for after so long.
Like, she was deeply longing to see whatever that was,...
And this made V's heart twitch in unbelievable pain.
He,... knew who she was looking at. He knew,...
... who she was longing to meet,...
“That’s where I come in! Nero, how’s the breaker coming along?”
“It’s fine, sure.”
“Oh, yeah? Then, I’ll be making new ones.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
“No! And, you! You seem interested in all this, yes?”
“As a matter of fact, I ‘am."
“Then, go get your own formal wear! I can’t provide you with one. I’m an Artisan, not a freaking, fancy tailor!”
“Wait, like, right now?”
“Duh?! Are you, like, gonna wait till Saturday for that? Go, go, GO!”
She cautiously took a few steps away from the window once more.
“Hey, hey, if you’re looking for some chicks, then you’re in the wrong place! Get moving!”
There were more sounds, and when they finally subsided, the window violently opened and she finally entered the threshold of her own home.
“Are you crazy?! Why would you be hiding there? This is your home, for crying out loud! Are you a thief, or something?!”
“It’s him, Nico.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s him! The man with the violin in my visions!”
“Who?!”
“The one with the markings on his skin!”
“The mysterious man? Are you sure about that?”
“It. Is. HIM!”
"¿Por qué estas descalza?" V heard a distinctively different voice of that of a little girl.
He closed his eyes at the sudden change, and when he opened them once more, he was suddenly transported to a sunny, suburban place. A little girl with dark pigtails was staring at him, her hands on her hips like a wife who was angry at her husband for coming home late and drunk.
He realized she was not directly looking at him, and this made him turn around. And to his surprise, he saw (Y/N). And just like in his vision a while ago, she was barefoot, and her pants looked burnt from the knee down.
(Y/N) opened her mouth to answer but, then, she realized she can't speak the little girl's language. This made the smaller girl smile.
"¥Ven conmigo! Te llevaré a nuestra casa." The girl excitedly said as she practically went through V like he was a ghost and grabbed (Y/N)'s hand.
V followed the two as the little girl led (Y/N) to one of the charming little two - story houses on the left. The little girl opened the door and let (Y/N) in.
"ÂĄMadre!" The girl called. "ÂĄMadre!"
"ÂżAlicia?"
A woman in her mid - fifties came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands with an orange towel.
"ÂżHija?" The mother's eyes widened as she abandoned her towel, practically throwing it to the side as she made her way to the two girls. "ÂĄQue chica tan linda! ÂżEs tu amiga?"
The little girl laughed and shook her head, making (Y/N) a bit surprised and culture - shocked. "Ella no habla Español. No te preocupes, yo me encargo." The girl turned to (Y/N) and pointed at herself, then her mother. "My name is Alicia. This is my mother, Maria. I go to English class every Saturday."
"Oh, that's nice." (Y/N) answered as she received a pair of slippers from the little girl. "Thanks."
"She said you're pretty."
A faint rosy tint crept up (Y/N)'s cheeks. She looked at the smiling older woman and nodded. "I, ah, thank you."
Maria nodded, understanding the words she just said.
"What are you doing outside with no shoes?" The little girl asked her as she pulled her towards the living room.
"Umm, you see, ah,..." (Y/N) muttered as she sat down on the maroon sofa. "I was, ahh, looking for someone. A white haired man who plays the violin. I've seen him pass here. Have you, umm, seen him?"
White haired man who plays the violin?
He had been here?!
Alicia turned to his mom. "Ella pregunta si hemos visto a un hombre de cabello blanco por aquĂ­, dice que toca el violin."
Maria frowned and shook her head. “No, lo siento mucho. Pero podemos avisarte si lo llegamos a ver."
"She said no. But, we will tell you when we see him."
(Y/N)'s face showed a clearly disappointed expression. But, despite this, she still sincerely smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much."
Alicia nudged her on the elbow to help her relax. "No hay problema." She answered with a smile. "That means no problem."
"I can't believe how fast you've grown!"
V heard another voice from the hallway. He went there and saw, in shock, the same little girl,...
... except that she was now the same height as (Y/N). Her hair was no longer in pigtails. Instead, she was wearing it down. And her fashion sense seemed to have changed, as well.
"I'm a teenager now!" And clearly, she was better in English. "And it seems that you haven't aged a bit since I last saw you!"
It was true. For some reason, (Y/N) still looked the same.
How many years has passed since she first met Alicia?
"So, have you seen him?"
"Oh, that man? I think mom has!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!" Alicia grabbed her hand and led her to the living room like what she did the first time they met. "Madre, (Y/N) is here!"
The woman, whose dark brown hair has clearly turned gray, looked up from her stitch work and stood, meeting the girls halfway and kissing the both of them on their forehead. V noticed that she now walked with a slight limp.
"It has been a long, long time, Miss (Y/N)!" Maria told her in straight English, grabbing her hands and squeezing them.
"Mom studied English for you." Alicia said with a proud and huge smile.
"That's really cool!"
"Mom, she’s asking whether you've seen the man she was looking for."
To this, Maria's face suddenly fell, a frown now gracing her warm and gentle features. She only shook her head and went back to her stitch work. And without saying another word, she sat down and went on with her work like nothing even happened.
"Oh, don't mind her. She's just like that at times. But, she's not mad at you, don't worry!" Alicia whispered.
(Y/N), who was clearly alarmed at the sudden change in Maria's demeanor, couldn't help but nod as she tried to hide her worry.
"It's okay."
"You haven't given up?"
V heard Alicia's frantic voice on the hallway once more. He immediately went there and saw her,...
... clad completely in black from head to foot. She clearly looked a bit older, and she was not dragging (Y/N) around like how she used to when she was younger.
And (Y/N)?
"You still haven't changed?" Alicia questioned her with raised eyebrows.
"Where's Maria?"
Something in her question triggered something in Alicia. And it unnerved both (Y/N) and V.
"Get out."
"Sorry?"
"I said, GET OUT!" Alicia screamed as she pushed (Y/N) out of the house.
"Alicia, what happened?!"
"GO AWAY!" The girl screamed as she shut the door close. She then ran towards the sofa, grabbed Maria's old stitch work, and cried. The handiwork was clearly half - finished but, some words were visible from it.
"El amor es paciente, el amor es amable. No envi - "
"HEY!"
V snapped back to reality as Nico snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"You alright?"
"Indeed. Yes, I' am." He answered.
Nico breathed a sigh of relief as she clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack. "I thought I lost you back there. You know, (Y/N)'s visions were short and sweet - "
"She's been to Spain."
"Sorry?"
V looked at her and repeated his words. "It's (Y/N). I saw her. She was in Spain."
"Oh, that! So, you've seen her?" Nico answered as she went back inside, V following close behind her. "You know, she's been to many places, more than what you could imagine. She's searching ten years for you, God!"
"Ten,
 years?!"
"Yeah. She comes home often, though. She's learned to channel that power of hers to her feet and legs so she could move fast and jump to high places." Nico explained as she went to one of the drawers and pulled something out from it. "So, she's never really gone for too long. But, I'm gonna tell ya this: that channeling the power to her feet thing often burned her pants."
So, that's why,...
"I don't understand." V went on as he watched Nico flip through the pages of an old album. "She was searching for ten years, but I've only been to such places for three weeks. I was,
 travelling. It's what I've been doing before coming here to Red Grave."
"Really? Well, it's a long story. Let's just say that she wanted to meet you because the entity that was possessing her wanted her to fulfill some kind of a mission. Don't ask." She handed the open album to V and pointed at one of the photos. "That's them."
V's eyes widened in awe as he saw the photograph of (Y/N) and Alicia during the Spanish girl's party for her sixteenth birthday.
"Alicia. One of the people she frequently visited and stopped seeing after ten years. Said she’s starting to notice."
"Notice what?" V looked up from the album.
Nico went closer to V and whispered like she was passing on a well - guarded secret to him. "Okay, this sounds weird but, she actually came from the past."
"I know."
"Yeah, yeah! I thought at first she's just plain nuts. But, listen to this: the first thing she did after recovering was search for her family's old farm in Fortuna. V, there hasn't been a farm there since a hundred years ago! It's all concrete now, and streets.
"So, she searched for her parents and any people she could remember from her past. Some of them either died already or have grandchildren of their own. And her parents? She found out that they separated and had families of their own."
"A girl,... out of her time,..." V mused as he flipped through the pages of (Y/N)'s old album, seeing her with unknown faces.
"Exactly! She's, like, super old when you think 'bout it!" Nico went to one of the paintings and looked up at it. "And, not only that, her looks stayed the same for those ten whole years I knew her. Like, she's stuck or somethin’.”
"Galatea's stasis." V breathed.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing"
Nico frowned and raised an eyebrow at him. She went on. "She craves for things from the past. So, she started collecting antiques like this. Other than helping her cope after being plucked from when she came from, these things she have reminded her of all the places she's been. They remind her of you."
The poet looked up from the album and saw Nico picking up her keys on the glass top table. There was an old record there, similar to Fleminger's, that he hasn't taken notice of before.
Was it there the whole time?
Nico saw the confusion in V's eyes as he looked at the antique. "Oh, this? She bought this about a year ago. Thought she's gonna want to listen to old songs when she wakes up. So, I took it out. It's gonna get moldy with disuse."
The woman walked towards the door but, before she went out, she turned back to V. "I'll leave her to ya, V. Don't mess this up again." And then, just like that, she walked out of the door, leaving him alone with (Y/N).
The silence felt deafening, the darkness depressing. V nearly collapsed on the sofa as he carefully placed the album next to the record. He was about to touch it when he heard a loud tapping against the window. He turned around just in time to see Griffon and Shadow entering the unit.
"HOO! We made it." Griffon breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way towards V while carrying something broken in his hands.
"I see you found it." V carefully took the broken violin from Griffon's long fingers. It was (Y/N)'s.
"Yeah, well. Kinda got all bloody searchin’ through Dreadnought's rubble for that."
"Thank you."
"Wait!" Griffon held up two long fingers in front of V and made way for Shadow to get close to the poet.
V smirked, controlling his mirth and amusement as he looked down at the now human Shadow. After the cleansing, she has turned into a pale human girl roughly the size of a middle - schooler. Her long black hair that reached her feet was awfully unkempt, and the clothes that Lady lent her a while ago was too big for her.
She quietly looked up at him with her big red eyes and showed him a pair of stilettos.
It was (Y/N)'s. She wore it when,...
"This girl took it badly when you threw them out during your mad state, if ya can’t remember. She looked for them all over the place and kept them with her." Griffon explained as Shadow gave the shoes back to V. She turned towards her fellow familiar and gave him a strange look. She, then, turned back to V with an angry, yet adorable, look. "Oh, and she's saying that she hates ya for hurting (Y/N). And that she will never forgive ya."
"Oh, I'm,..." V grasped the shoes and looked down at them, thinking of the girl who owned them. "... forgive me."
"Well, you've been a naughty schtick! Ya should've been punished for bad behavior!" The bald Demon made a ruffling gesture that was much akin to his movements when he was still a bird and collapsed on the sofa. "So, happy with yer new powers?" he, then, asked sarcastically.
"No." The poet answered monotonously as he slumped back to the sofa just beside the familiar, the shoes still in his hands.
Griffon rolled his eyes. "Figures,..."
There was a moment of silence between the two, and during this very awkward time, Shadow took a liking to the old record on the table. She poked the thing with her tiny finger and managed to turn it on, its weird mechanism startling her and making her hair stand. She drew back to a corner, giving it a confused and cautious look.
This made Griffon laugh a lot. "I wonder how that would sound, though."
"It,... wouldn't hurt if we try." The poet quietly said as he placed the shoes on the table and took the vinyl record just beside the instrument. Apparently, the record was simply titled as "Nat King Cole". He began with the long process of playing it and when the music finally came out of it, he turned it off immediately.
"Hey, why did ya turn it off?!" Griffon complained. He was about to rant more when he noticed the look on V's face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. "V? You okay?"
"I' am. I just,..." The man held out a hesitant finger as he turned on the instrument once more.
"Unforgettable, that's what you are.
Unforgettable, though near or far.
Like a song of love that clings to me,... "
"It's this song." He confessed with a shaky voice. With cold and trembling hands, he covered his mouth, already feeling the tears as they started falling down his blurry eyes. "It's,... from that evening."
Griffon saw the changes in V's demeanor and actually felt sorry for him. He tapped V's shoulder in a sincere effort to calm him down.
"Unforgettable in every way,
And forevermore,
That's how you'll stay,..."
He stood up and went towards the window, all the painful memories of everything that happened within a single week coming back to him. He found the love of his life, danced with her, and lost her because of his foolishness.
All because he let himself be manipulated.
Still unable to control his emotions, and the tears that came along with them, he turned back, and saw,...
... the girl, herself, standing a few feet away from him looking confused like he was.
But, this time, unlike any other vision he had of her, she looked like she was actually seeing him for real. She went closer towards him as he observed all of her movements. He held out his arms, hoping for his desire to dance with her once more to come across.
And, as if by some form of an unknown miracle, she let his hands take hers as they began the basic steps of the waltz,...
... just like the first time they did it on the Grecian balcony that evening.
"That's why darling, it's incredible,
That someone so unforgettable,
Thinks that I am unforgettable too."
Griffon and Shadow silently watched as V danced with something they couldn't see. The male familiar shook his head and grinned as he saw the poet actually enjoying the dance.
"No, never before has someone been more,..."
He tried to hold her closer despite the fear that she would vanish and rested his head on the crook of her neck.
"Unforgettable,
 in every way,..."
He quietly and gently sang along, the lyrics tearing a new wound to his already beaten heart. How he wanted to hold her so much, how he wanted to actually feel her smooth skin against his,...
... how he longed to dance with her once more.
But, she’s hurt. Because of him.
And instead of her actually dancing with him, she’s lying on that bed inside her room with no guarantee of when she’d wake up.
"And forevermore,
 that's how you'll stay,..." He felt a warm sensation on his body and realized that her vision was rubbing him on the back, her arms around him, wanting him to cease crying. He looked at her eyes and cupped her cheeks. "That's why darling,
 it's incredible,
 that someone,
 so unforgettable,
 thinks that I ‘am,
 unforgettable too,..." His heart ached with each word he sang, feeling like they were directed towards him and making him feel guilty than ever before.
He wanted so much to tell her that: that she’s unforgettable,


 that he was grateful to her for everything that she did for him for the past ten years,


 that he was grateful that she found him and made his life a little less miserable.
But, of course, he had to make a very stupid mistake of hurting her.
And he regret everything he did and did not do to her.
As the song came to an end, his face inched closer to hers. He wanted so much to feel her lips against his,...
... when something startled her.
She reluctantly pulled away from him as she looked at the door behind her. She opened her mouth and said something he couldn't hear, and turned to face him once more. She gave him a warm, and yet weak, smile as she held up a single hand to caress his face. After that, she stepped away from him and went to the door, looking at him one last time before finally going through it.
"Please,..." V begged her, holding out a helpless and powerless hand to reach her. "Don't,... leave me,..."
***
đŸ–€ Special thanks to @beyond-the-mirror for the Spanish dialogue and translations. And for also introducing us to Alicia and Maria. đŸ–€
đŸ–€ @la-vita , @micaelagua , @ceruleanworld , @lessy86 , @ehrzeth , @diabeticsugarush , @simmy-ships , @boundbysoul , @heaven-on-a-landslide , and @krazy06 . đŸ–€
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