#why in heck did i check everything i could think of to confirm or deny this
Text
Through Rocks and Snow Ch. 18 - Epilogue
FFN: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14146784/18/Through-Rocks-and-Snow
AO3: Through Rocks and Snow - Chapter 18
18. Epilogue
Prompt: Driving
Once Madeline returned from the mountain, Granny and Theo were already waiting for Badeline and her to throw an improvised party with what Granny had on her cabin.
“Hey Mads,” Theo said.” You I take you for a special girl and all that stuff, but…”
The cheerful, happy environment got snuffed out like a fragile snowflake floating in the air. Madeline’s heartbeat became heavier and gulped down just as heavy.
“But...?”
“Why in the trending heck you have strawberries in your backpack?!” He exclaimed opening her backpack and showing dozens of them.
“Oh, that.”
“Yes! ’Oh that’ is what I said in my way down. I thought I was carrying rocks here, man! How did you even managed to climb this wacky mountain with these in the first place?”
“I had already felt I carried more weight than what my body could bare my whole life. Having a backpack barely made a difference and I didn’t want some small extra weight to stop me. Like…Like if I had this drive inside me, unwilling to give up. Clinging myself to that drive felt relieving. More relieving than what I have been in the last year.”
Silence filled the room afterwards. That awkward silence when there was nothing to say, or a lot instead; Madeline didn’t know which one was appropriate right now.
“Also they felt lonely and I did too.” She added with the slightest hint of hurry.
“Yeah that makes sense!” Theo went back to his carefree attitude.
“You don’t plan to take them home with you, do you?” Badeline asked.
“If you do, you can say you made new friends. Ha! Ha! Ha!”
A small drop of sweat fell through Theo’s face. “I’m standing right here, you know.”
“You could bake,” Badeline suggested.
“B-bake?”
“Come on, it’s been so long since you last baked.”
“Because last time I did, I almost burned mom’s kitchen.” The shame in Madeline’s face soon turned into suspicion. “You didn’t have something to do with that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Badeline turned away trying to look natural. “On your defense, Mom shouldn’t have left you unsupervised. That’s on her.”
“It would be nice if you play…well, nice with people.”
Badeline rolled her eyes. “I don’t have to play nice with anyone if I don’t want to, including you.”
“Oh, so it was you last time I baked?”
“I can’t confirm or deny it.”
Person and reflection chased each other with words in the following minutes until Badeline walked off busted, leaving Madeline alone in the kitchen.
Not wanting to think about it, Madeline got herself to work on a pie using the strawberries, but sooner than later, her mind wandered. She just didn’t understand!
After everything they’ve been through…after everything she’s been through! Why she insisted on staying in their old ways? Weren’t they supposed to be past that? Why couldn’t she put up with herself? Literally! Or keep her under control? She was so-!
“Breath, Madeline. Willing reminders. Not intrusive thoughts.” Madeline knew it. She was slipping once more.
She imagined in her mind the feather-breathing tecnic Theo taught her.
Dark clouds and purple tentacles invaded her mind. The walls fell over her. Imagination and memories started to blend with one another.
“No! Focus. She…I…can…don’t…”
“Need help, kid?”
Madeline opened her eyes wide and lifted her head like she had woke up from a bad dream and turned around abruptly. She found Granny standing behind her with that perpetual smile of hers like she knew a secret about her.
“N-no. I’m fine, I just-”
“You’ve cut yourself.”
“What?” Madeline checked her body in a rush with her hands, finding at once the source of Granny’s intervention. Madeline had a cut in her index finger. When had this happened?
“I’m gonna get something for you.” Granny walked to the bathroom and pulled an old small first kit. From inside she pulled some bands and handed them to Madeline once she returned.
“Take it. Last thing I need is you bleeding all over my kitchen.”
“Sorry,” Madeline muttered as she took the bands and avoided Granny’s stare.
“Stop saying sorry for everything.”
“So-I…it was an accident.”
“Accidents happens. Like little unplanned kids. Little brothers, little sisters.” Granny half-closed her eyes and raised her eyebrows in amusement.
“Are you saying Badeline was an accident?”
“You’re an only child, aren’t you?”
Madeline blinked a few times confused. “Er, yes, but what-?
“That means you have a sister all of a sudden, like any other only kid.”
“Okay…but, what am I supposed to do with that?”
“Deal with it.” Granny did not laugh, but her smile hinted she had every intention to do so.
Madeline waited Granny continued rambling about…whatever she was talking about, but they stood in a questionable silence until Madeline spoke again.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“But…what does it mean?”
“It means what it means.”
“I don’t understand what to do with that. Or wi-with her at all!”
Granny threw a few chuckles. “Welcome to sisterhood. Eventually you’ll learn to play nice between the two of you for good.”
“Even though we started with the wrong foot?”
“Especially because you with the wrong foot!” Granny burst out a loud laugh—Madeline was not sure could stand it much lunger—Eventually Granny stopped and recomposed herself. “Stop taking yourself so seriously, you’ve come a long way to keep doing it. That’s what sisters do.”
Only wordless grunts and stutters came out from Madeline’s mouth before Granny cut her again.
“No one is supposed to know what to do when a sibling enters your life, and you find yourself with the fact you just have to accept it.”
“Does everyone else has also had to accept the fact this sibling is a doppelgänger that came out of a mountain and is essentially your shadow self?”
“That’s a good one! Shadow self! Amusing what you young people invent nowadays!
“We did n-“
“And before you keep asking me stuff,” Granny added, in a more collected tone. “You don’t have to have all the answers at night. You’ll figure it out yourself. Don’t you dare stop, the alternatives are much more undesirable.”
Hours passed by between chattery and pie. As the night grew older, a shored dreading thought grew on Madeline. Due to Granny, the farewell wishes between all of them were short and straight to the point.
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?”
“Nah,” Theo said nonchalantly. “I’m good as new, Mads. Alex will come pick me up. She won’t believe it when I tell her everything that happened!”
“Don’t forget to write us from the asylum when they lock you up,” Badeline jested.
Person and reflection got in their way shortly after. Despite Badeline turned away with a genuine smile, her eyes were empty as their walk was silent. At some point her smile withered away.
Nothing stood in their way once at Madeline’s car. Nothing but nothingness and quietness ahead for miles on end. Badeline sat on the co-pilot seat. Eyes lost in the trees, she rested her chin between her ashen fingers.
“So, I guess this is goodbye.” Badeline addressed the elephant in the room with no intention to sugarcoat it.”
“You-we, don’t know if you’ll disappear after we drive away from the mountain.”
“You don’t know either I won’t. Then what?”
“Then…you’ll always be a part of me.”
Badeline turned her head with unenthusiasm to Madeline. “You already said that.”
“And I meant it. Even if I don’t actually hear you. I know you will be there to help me when I need you. Like you always wanted to do. And if I return to the mountain-“
“WHEN you return to the mountain!” Badeline’s eyes widened for a moment when she realized she had shouted. She turned away back to the window.
“You want me to return? Eventually?”
“Wha-of course I want you to return! What if I lose my body?! What little we have gained? You wanted to throw it all away?!”
“No!” She assured. “No…is just, I’ve been thinking on doing this for so long, I never thought what I’d do after.”
“Then?”
“There are some areas on the mountain we didn’t explore. Granny told me about this cave that goes directly to the heart of the mountain.”
“Mountains don’t have hearts, darling.”
“And people don’t talk to literal parts of themselves,” Madeline’s tone grew irritated.
The person waited for the reflection to snark back, but instead, Badeline whispered something only Madeline could have heard, since it was her own voice.
“If I disappeared and you never heard from me again…you promise me you’d never forget me?”
“I promise.” Madeline smiled at her as she ignited the car’s engine, she stirred herself to that part of her until they could meet again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One step less.
You thought this was over? Hell no we still got a long way to go.
Originally there was going to be a chapter before this one, based mostly on a discarded idea about Mads and Bads on their way down the mountain, as shown in the credits.
At the end I couldn't get nothing good enough out of that idea, however I never deleted it, since I thought it could still be useful in the future.
The idea was to re-use that concept and adapt it to this series and finish it. The chapter's prompt would be "searching", as that was the story's main concept and what was built on. Not exactly randomly generated, but as I said, rules were meant to be broken.
Since I was using an old document, techincally the majority of the chapter was already written.
This is called "recicling your writing".
Still, again, I could not get anything of use out of it. Not only because it was too redundant. but because, once I made some progress with the following chapters what I wrote there did not fit with the over all theme I wanted to get aboard on in the next chapters.
Is possible I publish that unfinished chapter once this series is finished. I dunno.
Speaking of, you have no idea how much I complicated myself with the next chapter's order. I'm confident there was no need to trouble myself that much over that, as it was easier to figure out than I initially thought.
I think that's all for now.
If you liked it, leave a comment, it'd make my day.
See ya.
#celeste game#celeste game fanfiction#celeste madeline#celeste badeline#celeste theo#celeste granny#fanfiction writing#fanfiction#do not talk to me or my sister ever again vibes?
1 note
·
View note
Text
Warning: this post is long. If you are interested on my theories on DST lore you can click on “Keep reading” below. If you don’t you can skip it. This whole post is the ultimate evidence that studying Foreign Literature at university was a really bad idea as now I see hidden subtexts everywhere! And having had some years to work on this theory didn't help either... I will be happy to see it crushed by Klei guys themselves with the release of the actual lore in a few weeks, because they are up to something big and I'm ready to have my mind blown!
I think it's time for me to confess a little Don't Starve Together headcanon of mine I never really revealed to anyone until now: I seriously think that Wilson might be Charlie and Winona's younger brother, or at least a younger half-brother. I am not saying this just because their haircuts bear some similarities. There are some serious clues in game leading to that direction, and I found basically no counterarguments strong enough to deny the theory. I don’t know if these are funny coincidences or not, but they were enough to fill more than four Words pages and I am not one to believe in coincidences.
So the evidences I gathered could be summed up like this:
Charlie and Wilson act like they know each other in A New Reign Cinematic; she is the Night Monster, so of course they know each other! However, why did she choose to set him free revealing her true form despite her wanting to hide it and why did she let Wilson live to tell the tale?
It is confirmed that Charlie has one sister, but there might be other siblings or family members no one mentioned yet. And thanks to the information released by Klei it is possible to confirm that Wilson is young enough to possibly be Charlie and Winona's brother;
There are clues that Winona might be born into a rich family she estranged herself from because of her lifestyle (and possibly guilt for Charlie's supposed demise); the same applies to Wilson too, though the reasons of his estrangement are not clear;
We still have no way to know exactly where all these characters are from exactly, but it is implied that Winona traveled through all the USA and that Wilson at least completed his education in the USA.
It is confirmed that Wilson is a European immigrant; if we take Charlie’s Rose species name in account, her and Winona could possibly be of Anglo-Irish descent.
Wilson and Shadow Charlie share a similar haircut (and so does Winona to a lesser extend); Winona and Charlie's face structure is similar and it looks totally different from Wilson's, but there is an example in game that blood relatives could not look like each other at all (Maxwell and Wendy).
Wilson's new darkness quote is very similar to one of Maxwell's quotes about Abigail.
Wilson seems to have personality traits and interests in common with both Charlie and Winona;
We were told that Winona went to the Constant to save someone: despite their relationships being known, Charlie and Robert Wagstaff might not be the person she was looking for, at least according to her original character quotes.
The explanations and the results of some researches I made to confirm or deny my theory are better expressed below divided in four parts.
1) A New Reign Cinematic
This less than two minutes cinematic is mute like almost every Don't Starve related animation, but it's so full of emotion it's simply beautiful. And it is the only time we can see Charlie being herself before becoming the Shadow Queen, so I watched it again and again, even slowed down so I could fully enjoy every seconds of it (and a lot of DST fellow fans out there probably did too).
I have to admit that I always had the impression that Charlie booped Wilson's nose before setting him free, and that was for sure a factor in developing this theory as you boop your boyfriend or your little brother's nose, not a unknown person you just met. But Wilson being Charlie's brother would explain why she chose to set him free in the first place: before Wilson there was Maxwell, and despite all the powers he gained by being the Shadow King him being trapped on the Throne was still a torture. Wilson did not want to become the new King and so he was desperately fighting against Them and their corruption. Charlie hates to be seen, yet she chose to reveal herself to Wilson and she became the new Queen to prevent him to become like herself and Maxwell and this is a thing that every good big sister would do for their little brother. Furthermore, Charlie had to muster some serious self-control before doing that stunt because I am seriously convinced that any other character in Wilson's place would have died there and then. Charlie was smiling at the beginning of the cinematic, but her eyebrows betrayed her being extremely worried too. When Wilson is not in the Throne Room anymore she is much more relaxed, because she did what she came for and Wilson survived: it doesn't matter what will become of her from then on, and maybe that factor made the fusion with her Shadow self possible.
And about Maxwell, I think that dragging her theoretical little brother in that hellish world where Charlie herself could be the cause of his death would be a more than valid reason for Charlie to hate Maxwell's guts even more than she did before. That could be the reason why Maxwell’s death caused by Darkness is listed as "Charlie" instead. I checked it, despite Winona is canonically able to recognize Charlie as the Darkness like Maxwell, her death cause is still listed as "Darkness". But it is impossible to tell if it is a developers' oversight.
2) What we know about their backgrounds
Digging into the William Carter Puzzles Charlie's ad requisition caught my curiosity. It says "should have a curious demeanor and a keen interest in the mysteries of the universe." This description could fit Wilson too. We know next to nothing about who Charlie used to be before she became the Night Monster, aside that she was William Carter's assistant and she cared a lot about him. In her letters Charlie mentions only one sister, Winona, because she frequently visited her (or, more likely, they lived together when she was not working with Maxwell). But frequent visits to her sister don't exclude the possibility of other relatives or siblings existing somewhere else. This happened in 1905 and Charlie disappeared the following year, exactly fifteen years before the events of Don't Starve in 1921. Charlie and Winona were young adults and they probably moved away from their family. According to Charlie's last letter her family owned a cabin used as holiday house in BC, implying that Charlie and Winona's birth family was been rich enough to afford a holiday house in the first place.
BC commonly stands for "British Columbia" in Canada, a popular place for a family to have a holiday cabin nowadays. But it can also stand for Bay City, Michigan. Bay City is located near Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, so it could be a possible place to locate a holiday cabin for the family. For some bonus points, Bay City merged with West Bay City in 1905; West Bay City was created in 1877 from the union of the villages of Banks, Salzburgh and Wenona. Wenona is an alternative spelling of the name "Winona": if the Bay City theory is correct she might have been born during a time where the old name of the area could have been still used by population and her parents might have liked it enough to name their first daughter like the old village. I wanted to see if BC could have another meaning and that was the result. But it might be just a funny coincidence.
Back to the job question, Charlie actually replied for an application that actually has not a great paycheck (during that time most performers were barely able to sustain themselves and Maxwell himself got some debts during his first years) and that required a cultured person who knew how to appear in front of an audience: during that time having an education was still a luxury for wealthy families and same goes with clothes dapper enough to look good by Maxwell's side. Her Shadow Queen's form fancy dress seems to confirm this theory. So the only real reason she could need to work is her living really far away from her family and that required her to look for any kind of job to be able to survive for the long run.
What do we know about Wilson? As he is in his 30s in 1921, he was a likely teenager in 1906, and as Klei recently said, "maybe a European USA Immigrant? We never really picked a home land for him." Thinking about this last statement, we can say that during that time that description could fit basically most of the American population back in the 1920s. They actually said nothing. BUT, in 2014, a fan posted on Tumblr another message from Klei that gives us some interesting information: these are the evidences that despite it all it might be legit:
I checked on DS and DST credits, there really is a Jan Hatchings.
The first thing Jan says is that Klei prefers to be the fan finding out about the past of the characters exploring the game: a nice way to say they are not allowed to spill too many beans. (I want the character updates and the new characters! I want to know what they are hiding!)
He confirmed some information we already knew (Wilson being in his 30s, the game being set in early 1920s) adding that he was living in New England at the time of the trailer: New England is the Northeastern area of the United States, it is bordered with Canada, three of the most important colleges of the United States are there (Yale, Harvard and the MIT) and there are a lot of woods. The perfect area for a lonesome scientist to live in.
He mentions his family not wanting to talk to him;
Jan invites the person who originally shared the message to join the official forum.
So Wilson most likely completed his instruction in the United States or he sought affiliation with American colleges, and that would be weird for a person who grew up in the United Kingdom, as he would be already close to some of the most prestigious and oldest colleges and academic associations in the world. That's why I think the "immigration" part might mean that he was born into a British family immigrated in the US and he actually grew up in the United States (and maybe not even Klei knows if Wilson's family moved in before or after he was born). As he had a nanny as a kid and, as already pointed out, college education was something that only wealthy families could afford back then, we can assume Wilson was born into a rich family that for some reason moved to America.
Like BC, New England area is pretty popular for its holiday cabins so it makes sense for Wilson to have lived into one of them. He was isolated, yet possibly close to a scientific center of interest like a university. Even if he bought the house or someone else did it for him, for sure Wilson needed some money to live in there and being a Gentleman Scientist is a risky profession for a safe paycheck. Quoting Wikipedia:
"An independent scientist (modern gender-neutral term historically also known as gentleman scientist) is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and development body. [...] Most independent scientists have at some point in their career been affiliated with some academic institution, such as Charles Darwin, who was affiliated with the Geological Society of London. [...] Self-funding has the disadvantage that funds may be more restricted; [...] It also permits the scientist to have greater control over research directions, as funding bodies direct grants towards interests that may not coincide with that of the scientist. [...] Scientists may choose to work on unusual projects with high risk of failure also when the grant system does not fund them. A scientist could be attributed the status of independent scientist if they work on such projects during a gap between two academic positions, for example."
So Wilson being a Gentleman Scientist means that he was the one and only person who worked on his own projects with no external funds from government and scientific institutions. If his research failed he could have ended in some serious economic trouble. He might have had some help from universities, but that could have not be enough. But it makes sense for Wilson being a Gentleman Scientist if his parents died and he inherited their money or a part of it. That would make him economically independent enough to perform his experiments with no considerable help.
But then, if his parents are presumably dead, who is the family who doesn't want to speak to him? It would be easy to say that his extended family thinks him to be a mad scientist and decided they don't want to have nothing to do with him. But this doesn't deny the theory "Wilson is Charlie's brother": if we take this theory in account, his only currently known immediate family members are Charlie and Winona. Charlie was presumed dead in 1906, while Winona probably got estranged from her parents because of her lifestyle and maybe even accused to have caused her sister's death. Even if their parents are dead, why Winona should think that her brother would be different? To her he is just a spoiled child who attended a fancy university and that probably spends all the day talking nonsense with other eggheads. Also her constant moving through the country will make keep contacts really difficult, so she simply didn't. Sadly a lot of people do it for even pettier reasons.
And, for some bonus point, Wickerbottom recognizes Charlie's Rose as a "Rosa Macdub", or a "Dublin Bay climbing rose". A rich Irish family immigrating from a country where uprisings were a Tuesday for at least one century would make sense. And it would not even directly conflict with the theory as the richest families residing in Ireland were of English descent and all Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom until 1919. So despite Wilson being a perfect "British gentleman" kind of character, the possibility of Charlie and Winona being Irish or Anglo-Irish descent doesn't deny the theory. But I don't know if this could count as a clue about Charlie's family origin as the Dublin Bay climbing rose was actually bred for the first time in 1975 in New Zealand, with peculiar characteristics and resistance that make me think that they might be the reason for it to be chosen as Charlie’s symbol despite its anachronism. And just because of this the thing that concerns me more about this rose is not the possible reference to Charlie's birthplace, but an explanation of how Wickerbottom is able to recognize a flower from 1975 without knowing what is a license plate!
3) The similarities between the characters in game
One of the things most evident in the cinematic was that Wilson and Charlie shared a similar haircut and hairline. Haircuts are not hereditary, but unmodified hairlines and hair textures are. Winona looks a lot like Charlie, but she doesn't resemble Wilson at all except their being two light skinned people with dark hair and solid black eyes in game. Also, Winona seems to have a different hairline than Wilson and Charlie when uncovered (except in the Gorge's vignette where she sports a small widow's peak), but the hairstyle is still similar to theirs, with only one "point" out of three. However, there are even deeper similarities between these characters: Charlie is the "bookworm" sister, interested in the "mysteries of the universe"; Winona hates books and prefers to work on her mechanical creations with a trial-and-error approach. And then there is Wilson, who sits perfectly in between these mindsets. That was one of the reasons why at first I was shocked by Winona when she was released: when I already suspected that Wilson and Charlie might be related it is revealed that Charlie's sister is a work-alcoholic engineer with a weird haircut and basically a female Wilson with a tape and the ability to dodge. (Piccolo approves.) Their similarities could be attributed to lazy developers, but what if that was actually a clue of them being actually related? Also, it is implied that Winona was grown up in a estranged wealthy family and it is confirmed that she dislikes fancy things and formalities: the same could be said about Wilson! Seriously, there are too many coincidences to be a random chance. (And that, ladies and gentlemen was the point where the theory became a full fledged headcanon. But I am not related to Klei in any way, so this is still the theory of a deluded fan that loves to make theories and Klei will destroy it in a few days with the new lore.)
And what about avoiding Charlie? Well, this could have a pretty simple explanation, reflected by their body shapes: Winona spent the last fifteen years of her life enduring all the kinds of manual jobs, so she actually gained some muscle mass and speed movement that she uses in game to avoid the attacks of her beloved sister. Not to mention that she seems to be closer to Charlie's age than Wilson is, so probably they spent some time playing together as kids (and probably back then Winona was the one winning the fight game). Wilson is more of a couch potato and according to the official timeline he is some years younger than Charlie and Winona. In case we take the theory "Wilson is Charlie's brother" in account, it means Wilson could not play with his older sisters like they used to do when they were younger and this causes him to be unable to dodge Charlie's attacks even if now he knows who is attacking him.
Another interesting possible clue is the new sentence Wilson says in DST when he is attacked by Charlie: "That presence... it's familiar! Hello?". Sure, he finally met her so he can recognize her presence... but the choice of words bears some uncanny resemblance to another quote from another character: "Hm? What a familiar presence." But maybe it's just another coincidence that this is almost the inversion of the words order of the sentence of a certain uncle recognizing the flower of his dead niece. Or I'm so into this theory that I'm seeing clues everywhere.
And for some more bonus point, look at Maxwell and Wendy in game: unless you know Don't Starve lore all you could say about them after looking at their designs and reading their quotes is "are these two guys in the same Shakespeare emo fanclub?" Their quotes have a similar dramatic tone, but there is almost nothing that suggests an actual family relationship between them. They don't even look anything alike!
4) The identity of the person Winona was trying to save
We were told from the beginning that Winona went into the Constant on her own because she wanted to save someone. We were also informed that she is Charlie's sister and she used to work for the Voxola Radio Company, so Charlie and Robert Wagstaff seem to be the only possible options as the person she was trying to save. Or aren't they?
As for Charlie, she disappeared in 1906 during a huge disaster that caused a lot of victims (the event overlaps with San Francisco's earthquake in 1906), and Winona came into the Constant fifteen years later. Probably on Earth Charlie was presumed dead and Winona went with it, as her quote of the Tragedy Marble Statue suggests ("We thought she was gone"). She grieved her but then she went on with her life. In 1919 she started to work for Wagstaff's Voxola until it burned down. However, unusually for a character who is supposed to be canonically playable only in the multiplayer version of the game, Winona has Adventure Mode related quotes that even got modified at some point. According to her original Adventure Mode quotes we can understand that she was actually shocked to find out that Maxwell's plots were behind Voxola's fire and Wagstaff's disappearance. Then Robert Wagstaff might not be the person Winona was looking for. Two years or more pass by and Winona joins the fun in the Constant, yet she never mentions her looking for someone, meaning that she already found the one person she was looking for. If this person is not Charlie or Wagstaff, who could they be? Wilson not only could be a valid answer, but if she knew where he lived and she found the Maxwell's Door inside his house she even had the mean to reach the Constant with no help at all!
But if they are estranged how did she know Wilson went missing? Well, some newspapers or radio transmissions might have announced his sudden disappearance, or the police went look for Winona because she might be the only family he has left. And the news did not leave her indifferent, so she went to his place looking for clues and found out about the Maxwell's Door. And for some bonus points, if Wilson left some notes behind (and he probably did as he used the typewriter when he was creating the portal during the cinematic!) she might have recognized something Charlie could have told her about fifteen years before that convinced her that Wilson was in trouble. So she activated the door. We know how it went.
#dont starve#dont starve wilson#dont starve charlie#dont starve winona#lore#headcanon#i need help#i need lore#why in heck did i check everything i could think of to confirm or deny this#because i need another hobby#I don't even know if it is intelligible#this is not canon#but includes real canon information
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Doctor’s Doctor (Spencer Reid x Reader)
Request: Could you do a Reid x reader where he has a secret significant other who is a surgeon or doctor?
Pairing: Spencer x Neutral Reader
Length: 4,568
Contains: Fluff, angst if you squint
Warnings: None
A/N: I have exactly no knowledge of medical procedures or the actual inner workings of a hospital. All of my knowledge for this was based off of my Scrubs obsession from like 2005 and harassing my CNA sister. Do not hold me to accuracy on any of it.
Masterlist
--
Spencer was a notorious worrier. There was no denying that, no matter how much he tried to do so. From the amount of germs gathered during his commute to and from work, to the reliability of your alarm system that had gone out on more than one occasion, he always had something nagging at the back of his conscience.
After almost six months with your boyfriend, you’d grown used to his constant concerns. Overall, they didn’t bother you, despite his predictable worry that it did. Honestly, you found it endearing. You’d never really had anyone take an interest on your wellbeing the way he did, and it was just another reason to love him.
Though he wouldn’t admit it, you knew it stemmed from what he saw on the cases he faced. He’d tell you about the better cases, the ones they’d closed with minimal loss or the ones that hadn’t ended as badly as it could’ve, but he never spoke about the ones that didn’t have a reasonably decent ending. The ones that put the heavy, unyielding sadness on his shoulders that took his smile for days. The ones that woke him screaming in the middle of the night, leaving his bright golden eyes dull and haunted until you finally managed to lull him back to sleep.
He wouldn’t speak of them, but you could put the pieces together with the measures he started to implement into your life. When you’d first started dating, your own safety wasn’t something you ever really took into consideration, most evident by your old garage door.
Your house was pretty old – which is how you’d gotten such a good deal on it – and as you weren’t much of a do-it-yourself kind of person, you’d never put much effort into updating or remodeling the more outdated parts of your home. Most notably, your garage door was still the original one installed in the late 60’s. It was so old it wasn’t even automated; heck, it didn’t even actually lock. Since you had to manually open and close it, if you were in a hurry you’d just leave it open when you went to work.
Spencer nearly had a heart attack when he’d first found out.
He’d then hired a company to install a brand new door – complete with securing locks and an entry keypad – and spent an entire weekend testing and re-testing, ensuring you were safe. Ensuring you wouldn’t meet the same fate you guessed others had met on his last case.
“Double-check that it shuts all the way, and doesn’t go back up before you leave,” he’d told you numerous times, demonstrating exactly how to do it over and over again. “Always watch when it shuts to make sure no one slips inside.”
Two months ago he’d replaced the GPS in your car, explaining the model you’d had was susceptible to being hacked. That one you hadn’t fully understood – so what if someone hacked it? All they’d get are some addresses you’d gone to.
“What are they going to do with that, Spence? Figure out I spend way too much time at Target?”
You’d asked it to joke with him, trying to get a smile on his face for the first time that day. Though he tried to turn away before it showed, you caught the ache of regret in his gaze before he dropped it to the ground.
“Yes,” was all he had managed to force out, but it was all you needed to hear to understand why he was so worried. Since then, you didn’t question him. Though he couldn’t take back what had happened to the victims his team couldn’t save, he could keep it from happening to you. Worrying over your safety helped alleviate some of the guilt and sorrow that had taken up permanent residence inside him, you knew that much.
If it eased Spencer’s mind, it was worth the constant concern he showered you with. That’s what you repeated to yourself as, for the third time that week, you set off your own alarm trying to get into your house at just a little past two in the morning.
Cursing under your breath, you finally got the damn door open and rushed to the keypad on the wall, punching in the code Spencer had set up for you. Unsurprisingly, you got it wrong. He’d picked a completely random string of numbers, reminding you how easy it was to guess someone’s password or code because they made it personal.
There was only about fifteen seconds left before the system would alert the company, and that was the last thing you needed right now. Dropping everything in your arms to the floor, you jammed in the next six numbers you thought it was .
ERROR – WRONG CODE
“For the absolute love of fuck,” you snarled, going for another attempt. Your phone was ringing before you’d even hit the third number. With a tired sigh you propped the phone on your ear and muttered out a weary, “hello again.”
“Hi, this is Macy from ADT. We see your alarm was triggered and we were calling to ensure you were alright.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” you assured, still jamming numbers. Your phone beeped, and a quick glance confirmed Spencer was trying to reach you. “My boyfriend set up my passcode so well that even I can’t crack it.”
Macy chuckled on the other end and quickly ran through the security questions (that thankfully you’d set up) and in a few minutes the alarm silenced. Spencer had already attempted calling another two times, and if you didn’t hurry he’d show up there himself. Not that you didn’t want to see him, but you both were in desperate need of sleep with how hectic your work had been lately.
“Would you like to change your passcode?” Macy offered, and though it was tempting, you knew Spencer would be upset.
“No, it’s fine. Thanks so much,” you rushed, as Spencer called for the fifth time. You quickly accepted the call and said instantly, “I’m fine, Spence. I’m perfectly fine.”
On the other end of the phone you heard him give a sigh of relief, and you smiled just a bit. His care always touched you and settled the irritation. You’d never been in a relationship with someone who cared about you as much as you did them, and despite the annoyance you really did love how much he cared.
“I’m sorry,” he told you instantly, his voice sounding rough with sleep. “I know this happens a lot –“
“It’s fine, sweetheart,” you promised, scooping up your discarded things from the floor and shuffling yourself into the kitchen, dumping them all onto the counter now. “I’m sorry I woke you up again.”
It was a real pain, having the company call your emergency contact every time this happened. But, just like all the other occasions, Spencer assured immediately, “don’t be. I’d rather be woken by a false alarm than by hearing you were hurt.”
The smile toying on your face couldn’t be helped, and you both sat in warm silence for a few moments. As much as you’d like to talk with your boyfriend – especially after the chaotic night at the hospital you’d just had – you knew how exhausted he had to be.
“You should be sleeping,” you murmured after a few more moments. When he didn’t respond at first, you thought he’d actually fallen asleep. And then, in the background, you heard the sound of someone crying. “Spencer?”
“It’s – that’s Henry,” he mumbled as you heard him get up. You could just picture him rubbing at his eyes as he yawned and explained, “Will and JJ wanted some time alone so I took him for the night. I… think he might be getting sick.”
Your eyes narrowed as you leaned back against the counter. Sure, you weren’t a profiler, but you knew your boyfriend, and you knew that tone of voice. That was his ‘knee-deep in the pit of worry’ voice. The only person he was more protective of than you was his godson.
“You were already awake when ADT called, weren’t you?” He didn’t answer immediately and that confirmed your suspicion. You let out a heavy sigh as you chastised, “Spencer. You just got back from a case and you’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours –”
“He had a fever when I put him to bed,” he defended as you heard him open the door.
“It’s common for children’s temperatures to rise a bit at night,” you reminded him. “And kids his age are prone to colds, which is nothing some sleep can’t help.”
“It wasn’t there this afternoon, though,” he persisted; you could hear the beep of the thermometer, and instead of arguing with him (which you’d learned was a fruitless edeaver not even an hour into your first date) you stayed quiet until you heard it beep again.
“What’s his temp?” you prompted; there was no reply. “Spencer.”
“99.9,” he mumbled. “But that’s higher than it was an hour ago –“
“Does he have any other symptoms?” Again, there was silence. If you could’ve reached through the phone to smack him you would’ve. “Spencer –“
“He didn’t eat as much at dinner,” he finally replied, and you heard him put a hand over the phone as he asked softly, “Henry, does anything hurt?”
There was a tearfully mumbled no and you stifled a sigh, dropping your head back to stare at the ceiling. This man was gonna worry himself to death before he even reached forty. “Okay, Spence. Give him some Tylenol and get him to drink some water. If there are no other symptoms present, he probably just has a cold. It could even be allergies, and he’s just uncomfortable.”
He was quiet at first; you heard him walking down the hall, and then the snap of a light. A moment later he was rifling through what you assumed to be a medicine cabinet as he finally said meekly, “I’m sorry. I know I’m overreacting –“
“Hey. It’s fine. You’re just concerned,” you reminded him gently. “But between the almost back-to-back cases you’ve been working and now me setting off my alarm every other night, you’re wearing yourself out.”
Spencer was quiet again, and you knew him well enough to know he was trying to think of a way to refute what you’d just said. Thankfully though, whether it was the exhaustion or a hint of rationality surfacing, he finally gave a sigh and just mumbled, “I know. You’re right.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” you teased, playful smile taking over. “I didn’t quite catch that.”
Finally, you got a laugh out of your boyfriend. He chuckled into the phone, and you easily pictured the bright, toothy grin he was flashing as he huffed, “I know you heard me.”
“Huh, did I? You’ll have to remind me what I heard…”
“I’m not repeating it,” he giggled. You heard Henry’s door opening again and he said a little softer, “I’ve kept you up long enough. I’ll get Henry to sleep and I’ll lay down. I promise.”
“Good. I want you to try and get at least a couple hours of sleep, alright? Doctor’s orders.”
Spencer gave another soft chuckle as he assured, “I’ll give it my best shot, given Henry stays asleep.”
“Alright, baby. I’m gonna go shower and lay down,” you told him, making the executive decision to leave all your crap on the kitchen counter until after you’d slept. “I’ll text you when I’m up. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Spencer murmured, the smile clear in his voice. It was still a relatively new thing to say, and you both got a little giddy every time. “Goodnight, Y/N.”
“’Night, Spence.”
Smiling to yourself as you finally hung up, you checked the time and groaned. It was just a few minutes shy of 3am now, and you had to be up in four hours for your next shift. The hospital was ridiculously understaffed; you’d been working overtime just to make sure there was coverage.
Honestly, it was a miracle you’d even gotten to leave tonight. You were pretty sure that if one of the nurses had caught you before you reached the door, you’d still be at work. As much as you wanted to pass out right away, you forced yourself to shower. Finally, ten minutes later you were collapsing into your bed, falling asleep almost the second your head hit the pillow.
Your phone was ringing what felt like only minutes later. Groaning, terrified it was the hospital calling you back in already, you blindly pulled your phone off the charger and dropped it onto the mattress, laying your head on top of it, too tired to hold it up.
“This is Dr. Y/L/N –“
“Y/N,” Spencer’s panicked voice interrupted. “I’m so sorry to wake you, but Henry’s gotten worse.”
It took every shred of self-restraint to hold back the groan of pure frustration. Wearily, you peeled an eye open and peeked at the clock on your nightstand. 3:58am stared back at you. “Spencer it hasn’t even been an hour –“
“He threw up twice, and he says his stomach really hurts,” he rushed, his voice pinched and at least two octaves higher than normal. “His fever’s at 100.8, it’s going up quickly –“
“Hey, okay, okay,” you said quickly, forcing yourself to sit up so you didn’t doze off, the symptoms starting to float around in your groggy head. Escalating fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain… those weren’t a good combination. “Alright. Spence, take a breath.”
“Y/N, I’m worried about –“
“I know. But I need you to calm yourself down,” you insisted. Spencer huffed at you – and you rolled your eyes at his stubbornness – but you heard him take in a deep breath and blow it out. “Alright. One more.”
He did as he was told, and when he started speaking again his voice was at least a little less panicked. “I – should I take him to the ER? He’s gotten a lot worse and he’s crying, but I don’t want to worry Will and JJ if I’m just overreacting –“
This time, you were worried he wasn’t, and it’d be quicker to diagnose him instead of having them hole up in the ER. You were already slipping on your sneakers and tugging a sweater out of your closet to throw on over your pajama top. The sweats you had would have to do; you didn’t have the energy to put real pants on.
“Text me their address,” you cut in as you jogged down the steps, swinging through the kitchen to snag your pile of necessities from the counter. At least the laziness paid off; you didn’t have to go hunting for your crap.
You heard the ping of a text as you got into the car, and Spencer’s voice was back a moment later. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry. I know you’re so tired –“
“Spence, really. It’s okay,” you said gently, glancing at the address and typing it in. “My GPS says I’ll be there in about ten minutes. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
“Drive safe,” he told you instantly, and then before hanging up he reminded you, “be sure your garage door shuts all the way.”
The little bit of irritation that had risen up was put out instantly, smile tugging your lips up as you watched the door shut all the way. Despite the exhaustion, you knew this was how Spencer expressed his love. Making sure he and Henry were alright was the least you could do to show him you loved him just as much.
--
Spencer had the door open before you even finished knocking, pulling you into a hug you both really needed. He clung to you, face burying into your neck for several moments before he mumbled,
“I really am sorry, Y/N. You’re so tired and if this is nothing –“
You pulled back and wordlessly cupped his face, pulling him in for a hard kiss. He relaxed under your touch almost instantly, his hand flitting up to wrap around your wrists, keeping your hold on him.
You broke from the kiss just enough to murmur, “Spencer, I don’t know how else to say it, but I’m being completely honest when I say it’s okay. You’re not overreacting. Henry’s worsened and it’s a legitimate cause for concern. You have every right to worry.”
Spencer nodded, his nose brushing yours, thankfully not picking up on the undertones of genuine concern in your voice. You didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily, but you’d seen these symptoms so frequently you were almost certain this was well-deserving of his panic.
You didn’t pull out of Spencer’s hold; you never did. It was an unspoken rule that it was never you that cut off contact. He wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy, but when he was, you never wanted to be the one to push him away or shut him down when he needed you. When he finally did release your wrists to step back, you swept your thumbs over his cheekbones, comforting him before motioning for him to lead the way.
Henry was curled up on the corner of a dark blue couch, clinging to a stuffed Spider-Man toy as he whimpered into the cushion. Kneeling in front of him, you gave a warm smile as you reached out and swept his hair back, feeling his forehead.
Way too warm, you noted; before you could even ask, Spencer was holding out the thermometer. He sat beside Henry at his legs, and despite the pain he was clearly in, Henry instantly shuffled himself around to lay his head on Spencer’s lap, one of his hands coming to tangle into his pajama pants.
Your entire heart melted instantly, seeing the two of them together. You’d never seen Spencer with kids, but it had instantly become one of the top five most beautiful views in the world.
“This is my friend, Dr. Y/N,” he introduced, his large hand settling on Henry’s side, rubbing soothingly. “We need to take your temperature again, okay?”
Henry sniffled and nodded, opening his mouth. As you started the thermometer, you shifted a little closer and said, “Hi Henry. I hear your tummy hurts.”
He gave a small nod, and when the thermometer beeped he reached up and held it out to you as he whimpered, “it hurts real bad.”
“I’m sorry you don’t feel good,” you apologized as you took a quick look at his temperature. 101.2. That wasn’t good. “Henry, can I take a look at your tummy really quick?”
With another small nod, you and Spencer helped him roll onto his back. Even just that small movement had more tears flowing, his little face screwed up as he turned and buried it against Spencer’s thigh.
There was no doubt in your mind now, but just to be thorough, you pressed lightly against the right side of his stomach. He let out a yelp of pain, and that was all you needed. Spencer caught the look on your face as you got to your feet.
“Spence, can you set up Henry’s car seat in my car?” you asked, keeping your voice calm so you didn’t panic the tearful little boy staring up at you with wide, worried eyes. Picking up on your demeanor, Spencer said gently,
“Of course. Henry, I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay Uncle Spencer,” he mumbled, allowing himself to be settled back on the couch. The moment he grabbed the car seat, Spencer all but sprinted outside. You tugged out your phone, moving to stand in the hall while keeping an eye on Henry as you dialed the nurse on call.
“Hey, Ashley, it’s Dr. Y/L/N. I know I’m not scheduled until seven, but there’s an emergency and I’ll be bringing in a patient,” you explained hastily. With the hospital so understaffed, even with priority it might take a while for Henry to be taken care of. You’d be his surgeon today.
“Is everything alright?” she asked hastily; you heard her already assembling the paperwork you needed.
“I’ll need an operating room and a team ready to perform an appendectomy.”
--
The sun was just coming through the window of the post-op room, illuminating Henry’s sleeping figure in a soft orange glow. You’d stopped in on your way to the waiting room, just to make sure he was okay.
Ashley held his chart out to you and you gave her a smile of thanks as she said, “I know it’s usually me talking to the family, but since this is personal I figured you’d want to do it. I’ll stay here with him for now, he should be up pretty soon.”
“You’re the best,” you said, giving her arm a thankful squeeze before you made your way to find Spencer and a couple of very concerned parents.
This wasn’t how you and Spencer had planned to introduce you to his team; he’d wanted you to come to one of their dinner parties in a few weeks to meet everyone at once. Though it was sudden and unexpected, you’d be lying to say you weren’t eager to meet JJ and Will. She was his best friend and after all you’d heard about both of them you were more than ready to make introductions.
The first waiting room only held a sleeping couple and a frantic woman pacing around the chairs. As you got closer to the second room, though, several different voices could be heard. When you stepped into the room, though, you hadn’t been prepared to see every member of Spencer’s team gathered inside.
He’d shown you dozens of pictures, and it wasn’t hard to match the faces to names. Penelope had to be the extremely colorful woman in a seat against the far wall, leaning on a painfully attractive man you instantly recognized as Morgan. Two older gentleman – Hotch on the left and Rossi on the right – were standing aside, talking casually with one another, their eyes on the panicked couple across from them.
Will and JJ were on the edge of their seats, hands clasped together as they talked quietly with a women who was unmistakably Emily. She was the first to spot you, brows raising in question. You cleared your throat and asked,
“Henry LaMontagne?”
All seven heads snapped to you instantly, catching you off-guard. You met each stare briefly before an eighth head popped out from behind Hotch and Rossi. Spencer looked exhausted, but his soft brown eyes lit up seeing you.
“Y/N, how is he?” he asked, hurrying out of his chair and coming around to you. JJ and Will got up as well, and though they were focused on you, you didn’t miss the way the rest of the team was looking between you and your boyfriend.
“He’s just fine,” you assured, and everyone visibly relaxed. “Thanks to Spencer, we got him here before his appendix burst and the surgery went through without a hitch. We’ll have to keep him overnight – it’s just normal procedure after an emergency surgery – but he’ll be good to go home tomorrow morning.”
Spencer moved unexpectedly, his arms instantly encircling you and pulling you into a tight hug. For a quiet, blissful moment the chaos of the morning came to a halt. Instead of panic and exhaustion and worry, it was just the two of you, caught up in your own world, both relaxing into one another after the last few grueling hours.
“Thank you so much for all you did,” he murmured against your neck, pressing a swift kiss against it as he reluctantly pulled back, smiling up at you with nothing short of love in his eyes. “You’re really amazing, you know that?”
You went to answer when a throat cleared from behind Spencer. Your boyfriend’s eyes slowly widened in realization, as if he’d just remembered the other people around you two. When he turned and stepped aside, you saw the rest of his team watching you both with grins.
Spencer’s ears and cheeks were flushed a dark pink, and you knew your own face wasn’t any different. Morgan was the first to move, stepping up and clapping your boyfriend on the shoulder as he looked between the two of you.
“Well, well, well. Look’s like the doctor’s got himself a doctor.”
Spencer, bless his adorable heart, was still at a loss for words. Whether it was the lack of sleep, the adrenaline of the last few hours finally wearing off, or the buzz of what you guessed was probably way too much caffeine (because you knew he’d been abusing the free coffee down the hall), you really couldn’t say. All he managed was a quick nod, and then a feeble attempt of,
“This – um, Y/N is my doctor – no, wait. So, we’ve been dating, um –“
With a laugh, you reached out and squeezed Spencer’s hand and then held your other out to Morgan. “I’m Y/F/N Y/L/N.” After a brief moment of deliberation, you grinned and added, “I’m the doctor’s doctor.”
The others laughed as you shook their hands briefly before turning to Will and JJ.
“I’m sure Henry’s awake by now. If you’d like, we can go check on him and I’ll have my nurse bring your entourage to meet us in his room.”
“That’d be fantastic,” JJ sighed, looping you into a hug of your own as Will rubbed her back soothingly, smiling in thanks at you. “Really, we’re so glad you dropped everything to help Henry.”
Giving her a hug of reassurance, you motioned for her and Will to start down the hall. Before you got more than a step and a half, Spencer’s hand had caught your own. When you turned to him, you were surprised to see the characteristic frown of worry on his face.
“What’s wrong?” you asked quickly, looking between his soft hazel eyes, concern of your own starting to spark.
“I just – is this okay? This was all so sudden, you just got thrown into the middle of everything, I didn’t give you any warning to meet everyone and –“
“And you know what?” you cut in gently, and he tipped his head a hint in question. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“Really?” he asked softly, a small smile peeking through his frown. “I just… I didn’t want to overwhelm you or… or scare you off.”
“You don’t need to worry, Spence. Really.” He raised his brows and gave a pointed glance around us, and I let out a laugh. “Okay, okay. Garage doors and sick kids are one thing, but me leaving you? Never. You’re sort of stuck with me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he teased, and to your surprise, he leaned down and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to your lips before stepping back. “For the record, though, I now have proof that I don’t always worry too much.”
Well, shit. He had a point. Rolling your eyes, you made down the hall after JJ and Will, shaking your head at Spencer as he started down the hall for the coffee machine. Alright, if his constant anxieties didn’t send him to an early grave, the ungodly amount of caffeine he consumed certainly would.
You’d save that to worry about for another day.
#criminal minds#Spencer Reid x reader#Spencer Reid x you#Spencer Reid x y/n#Spencer Reid imagine#Spencer reid#reid#fluff#rea writes#requests
174 notes
·
View notes
Text
PART 24 {Did I scare you from the previous part? 😌 sorry~🙈 It won’t be the ending though until you’ll see the word Fin. So yeah😉}
“Hide.”
“Hide, princess. Hide.”
“But appa----“
“Just run away now, Sung Eunyoung. Hide!”
A dawning nights of thunderous rains clattering through every roofs of homes, deafening silent dreams of solemnness. But not for the Sung Mansion. A panicking patriarch silently waking up a clueless young daughter who is just peacefully sleeping. Rubbing an eye from its sleepy mien.
“Appa?”
Her soft voice which only responded by a hush. Confused, yet just enough to get terrified after hearing the sturdy banging behind her bedroom door. Sleepiness instantly vanished. “W-what’s happening, appa?”
Fear came upon the young self. For there she is, being obliged to go down a secret basement of the bedroom her architect father built just for her. A secret passage through their gates exit. Then again she pushed to peek and witness everything and she did for there it is, men in black surrounding his blooded father and the merciless leader she can never forget.
~
“Hide.”
“Hide, Jang Taeyoung!!”
But it was him. It was his name she keeps on uttering now. She on the dirt of soil and scratches, pouring tears of fear. It became a routine of her consciousness. The day she witnessed her father’s death and how it changed into seeing Jang Taeyoung’s blooded one. 3 years. Three years had passed but she can still remember it clearly. Dreams that was once occupied by her father is with his added. The once revenge she aimed is her today’s anguished.
Afraid that someone might see her with a shattering state, she quickly went inside the bathroom and approach the nearest sink. Washing out the remarks of her endless tears. She dreamt of him again. It was a nap but it always feels like forever.
She cannot forget how she left him even after being saved. Neither did she ask about him ever if he could have been alive or not? She wouldn’t know for she felt guilty all of a sudden that leaving is the only thing she can think of to repent her faults.
She blamed herself and she is still now. Her name was on run back then anyway so fleeing is the most sensible reason to escape. She shamelessly saved her own in the end. A total bitch she agrees.
“There you ar----“
“Hey!”
She was startled. A person who has no decency for privacy opens the door. “Do you really can’t control that attitude of yours? Dios mío.” She hated it. She hated when even just a small gesture from others, she can remember him. Massaging her temple, she asked. “What is this time?”
“My bad, amiga but I haven’t seen you around your desk. So I suppose you’re here, I can’t never be wrong indeed. You cried again? Jeez. What’s really in that nightmares of yours that it keeps haunting you. Are you a runaway bride or something?”
And yes, they’re talking in Spanish. The nosy questions coming from the nosy mouth of the other that she needed to butt in, facing the latter with irritation. A hand resting on the sink while the free one on the waist. “Judy, if you’re running out of stories to tell, will you please exclude my private ones and shut up? Cut the chase por favor.”
Judy who’s racing her arms to surrender, defended herself. “Okay, okay. Relax, will you? As I was saying, I came to your desk to put the files you requested about the incoming book fair this week.”
Instantly, her mood brightens up as she had been reminded about the program which proceeds will be a much help for the orphanage they are rendering. Checking each files with anticipation. “You like that?”
“Very.”
She’s all smiles from ear to ear that Judy can’t help but wonder. “Know what? If you really love kids, then make your own. I feel pity for your genes. Heck, if only I’ve been blessed with that kind of face I think I’m already sleeping with tons of Michael Angelo now.”
Rolling her eyes, she countered. “You, and your mouth, Judy. Did I ever say, I won’t? Spare me, please!”
“Oh yeah? Like how you intentionally dump all your admirers? What a great excuse from you, amiga.”
“Shut up, will you? Tss.”
“Whatever. Anyway, speaking of. The kids just arrive, waiting for your presence already.”
Judy reminds as it was also enough for her to be left on her own as Sung Eunyoung hurriedly went out without further ado. Sighing for being betrayed, she followed instead.
“Profesora!!”
The harmonic chimes of the children as they surrounded her with hugs and kisses as she bent over them. Stroking their hair with tender greetings. “How are you, mi estudiantes?”
“Great! Very great! Yes, we are. We miss you.”
For she has been bombarded with various answers she cannot dare to ignore.
Gone the business venturer her as she is only an ordinary lecturer now. Simply sitting by a tree as she tells tales to what she considered her children. Filling the empty space in her. “Hey, have you heard?”
Judy bringing back its nosiness once again right after she ask her students for a drawing class. Frowning, she faced her co-worker. “Again, Judy? Can you at least zip that blabber mouth of yours just for a day?”
“Hey! That’s too harsh of you.”
“Why? Isn’t it true?”
“Jeez. Your frankness in its finest. Well, let me tell you amiga. It’s a fact this time. Try me.”
She can only shake her head as the former continues her gathered information anyway. Little she knew a piece of it will rise a hidden hopefulness in her. “Russian.”
“I heard a Russian clan takes a big part of sponsoring our book fair. The Oblonsky even donated a number for the orphanage. Books, shelter, name it all. It was said that a Korean man will actually turn as their representative. A Russian elite entrusting an Asian man? How peculiar, right?”
She can only respond a stutter. “W-who’s clan did you say it is?”
“The Oblonsky. And you know what’s more enthralling?” She stilled. As she turned to her unbothered companion who’s still delighted by its own story. Right then, Judy leans for a whisper as if afraid to share it to anyone but her. “A dear acquaintance of mine said this damn representative has a figure of a perfect hottie, amiga. Oh my, how I can picture and meet this mysterious man of my dreams.”
The robust daydreaming of it which just left unheard on her for the only thought running through her mind was the information bestowed upon that she needed to leave the off-guard Judy who’s continuously calling her name from afar. She has to confirm it and if meeting him is the only answer, then be it. Pulling out her phone before stepping in her car, she decided.
“Where are you?”
~
Fidgeting her nails for waiting, she can’t attain anymore. The Russian Oblonsky clan or better well said the elite mafia gang who saved her foster parents from being hostage back then. The one she just knew he sought for help. Plus, that Korean man. “Dammit.”
She can only curse as everything just gets worse for her to absorb. Brushing her face as she didn’t notice the arrival of the person she contacted who’s now sitting across her. “What’s with that low face that makes you grumpy s---“
“Tell me what happened to him.”
Left confused, the person answers her anyway. “What? Who are you talking about?”
“The f*cking info you knew about him. Tell me all, now!”
Finally interpreted what she meant. He can only bulge his eyes from crunching. “Are you talking about brother? Finally, sis?”
She can only be silent for admitting. “J-just… just give it to me, Zilo.”
Zilo. Yes, she’s indeed meeting the Zilo Alcaziar who killed his own father. The unexpected savior they didn’t saw coming. Thus the seriousness between them came as the introduction of their subject reopened. “Will you believe me if I say he’s dead?”
A sting inside her broke as her skin shivered with disbelief.
“D-don’t… Don’t play with me, Zilo…”
But Zilo just led his head to look down. “Right... How can you trust a person who once harmed you?” He really means it, she can tell. “He vanished.”
“W-what?”
“That’s what I assumed at first when I went back to the scene as the authorities keeps searching for his body. I thought some of his men may have manage to escape their boss. To be honest, I do not actually know the real thing happened to brother but seeing how they found evidences of his death, I can’t help but realize the possibility sis. Believe me, I trie---“
“Stop.”
She needed to stop him before her heart will explode from hurting further. She had foreseen it, she just tried to ignore that it’s not. Hearing it makes her regret asking even as the sorrowful face of Zilo takes in. “I’m sorry…”
Seeing his downgrade stance, she can only sigh from its remorse. She can’t deny, she felt sorry for him as well. “As much as I thank you, I still hate you though.”
“I know. If only I reach in time, I could have save you both sis. Fath—could haven’t got the chance to slip and pull the trigger. I’m really sorry, I really do.” It was as if an unspoken secret from a box revealed its bits for the last time as his whispering apologies continues. Suppressing a drop of tear on her eye, she chooses to glance the shore by the window glass beside them.
“Forget it. It’s all in the past anyway. It’s not like we can bring back the time and change it.”
She thought three years could have been enough to heal her wounded soul but just a simple brought out, the facades breaking so easily. Silence visited once again. “You know what, Zil?” before she initiated to break it, turning to face him who’s as well looking by the shore like she does. “Hm?”
“I still wonder why you shot your own father. I do learn that you’re somehow fighting against him, but to save us? I can’t seem to search for a reason.”
His eyes never left the shore as he speaks. “It’s because it reminded me of how he killed my own mother.”
All she could do then, is listen. “I almost forgot about it, you know. The warmth. The warmth he stole from me when I was a kid. And brother… A younger brother he never had. Just like that, a mere phrase he simply pulled back for me. I thank him for that, and for the nth time, I’m really sorry. For everything. For you. For being a dimwit, for being too late. I really am, sis.”
Sincerity. For the first time she felt it from him. She may have not known what happened between him and Jang Taeyoung before the incident. Yet one thing’s for sure. Her loco, did a good job. “And I have forgiven you for that. Remember it now, Zilo.”
Giving him a small smile, she intended to light their atmosphere and she did as she was reciprocated by its own smile when finally turning to her. “Alright! So much for the drama. Shall we just order our food now?”
~
Clatters from the utensils can only be heard as they chew their own food when Zilo happens to thought of something. “Sis?”
“Yes?”
“I know this is too much for me to ask, but have you…uhm--- nah, it’s nothing.”
Sensing his hesitation, she obliged him. “Just say it, Zilo.”
Clearing a throat, he had no choice but to push. “Well, w-what I mean was that… perhaps, are you waiting for him? Brother?”
She was halt from her actions then as she was staring to her food, keeping to tap the spoon’s tip on her plate. “What makes you think I am?”
“Because I do think you are. You have been a transparent lioness easy to read ever since you lost him, sis that before you knew your once intricacy became your vulnerability. That what you are today. You just failed to notice it.”
She can never be as silent as she is right now indeed.
Leaning by the backrest of his seat, Zilo can see right through her. “So you’re really waiting for him, huh?”
‘Am I?’
She thought for herself.
#kim soo hyun#kimsoohyun#seo ye ji#seo yea ji#seoyeaji#seoyeji#psycho but it's okay#it's okay not to be okay#psycho but its okay#itsokaynottobeokay#its okay not to be okay#ko mun yeong#realkoreanmovie#korean actor#korean actress#moon gang tae#jang tae young#jangtaeyeong#sung eun young#sungeunyoung#by quantum physics#nightlife ventures#quantum physics#slow burn#au#alternate universe#real
28 notes
·
View notes
Text
lavender thoughts
pairing: kuroo x f!reader
words: 3714
rating: t
summary: kuroo tetsurou, your boyfriend with one braincell, decided to ruin your planned date week during golden week by getting admitted to the hospital.
note: i haven’t written something this long for such a while SO thanks to @tamcitrus and @writeiolite for proofreading/betareading!
note2: this is for the hq writer’s net may prompt!! i’m using two of the prompts: Golden Week prompt |&| A spent weeks putting together the perfect outing for their date. Then, B is put out of commission one way or another, and A has to find a way to bring the flowers to them.
| mlist |
This is not the way you had planned it to go. Not at all.
You have everything planned out. Step by step and you made sure over a hundred times that everything would work out.
And it should have gone exactly like that!
You check your phone again to know it wasn’t a lie. However the texts are still there. Still the last ones he sent to you.
tetsu <3: babe, i’m in the hospital right now.
tetsu <3: i’m sorry.
tetsu <3: i won’t be able to make it to our date
Of course he won’t be able to make it to our date if he’s in the hospital. And if he’s still able to text that means he isn’t that terribly hurt, you think at first.
You start to bite your nails. But today, out of all days, right on the start of Golden Week… You can’t deny that it is stinging you a little. Although, it also gets you thinking a little bit more.
You know he probably can’t do something about it, but then again, you’re talking about Tetsurou.
He might have been smart as the captain of the volleyball team, As your boyfriend however, you know he probably fell because of some dumb fall from either a tree or a couple of stairs.
You also don’t really know if you should be happy and relieved or angry and sad about the fact that he has only sent you those three messages. It does mean that he can still text, so it’s not that severe, but also there’s no explanation whatsoever given to you.
And out of all damn times, he decides to get into an accident during Golden Week. The week you’ve been looking forward to. to finally spend it with your boyfriend. Since last year he had to spend it with his family and there was no free space for you left.
You huff shortly. Okay, he can’t always make sure if it is happening or not, but still. His clumsy ass did go out of his way and do whatever he did.
But day one and he gets into an accident.
You look at the cute picnic set you have…had prepared for today, and you huff again, a little louder now. Now what do you do? Having Tetsurou and his crazy ass as your boyfriend is already insane enough most of the times.
Looking at your phone, you’re wondering if you should call him. You know, just to check up on him and to hear his voice. But the moment you take your phone into your hand, it feels heavy like a cross. His crypticness makes you anxious,
He would’ve let you known if he was alright, wouldn’t he? And why was he so cryptic? It’s not like him to speak like that. That’s usually on Kenma—and it freaks Tetsurou out whenever his best friend does that.
There has got to be a way to make your week’s worth of planning not go to waste. You just have to figure it out how.
You sit down behind your laptop. A quick search for the hospital details makes you figure out their phone number. Bingo.
Before calling, you quickly click on Tetsurou’s contact information and send him a text back. You need to make it sound as unsuspicious as possible. Tetsurou has got to have no clue at all about what you will be planning. It will also be weird for you not to reply ever. You usually reply to him quickly.
you: oh no babes!
you: how come??
you: is it bad??
You type the three messages in the hope of any possible response that contain his reason why and how. But knowing him he probably won’t text back any time soon, and you don’t really need the response anyways.
You decide against telling him that you’re sad about the week you had planned out. It will probably give away your plan a little too much.
After you click back to your homescreen, you press the phone button. Time to make a call.
The phone rings three times before it’s picked up on the other side.
“This is Tokyo University Hospital speaking. How may I help you?”
“Hello, this is [l/n, f/n]. My boyfriend Kuroo Tetsurou texted me that he’s just been admitted to the hospital, and I was wondering what his room number would be.”
“Your boyfriend, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, and what is his name again?”
You repeat his name and quickly tell the lady on the phone his date of birth to confirm you closely know him, and take out a piece of paper and a pen to get ready to write down the details as the service desk names each number.
When she has finished speaking, you repeat the number to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes.
“Is that right?” you ask to confirm.
“That’s correct. I want you to mind the visiting hours which are between two and five every day. Make sure to check yourself in when you get here so we can confirm your identity.”
“I will. Thank you for the information.”
“No problem. Thank you for calling.”
You bid her goodbye and press the red button on your phone. You breath out. That’s done.
But! You’ve fished the room details from the hospital, and you might have a clue which wing he’s situated in as well.
You carefully put the piece of paper to the side. You need to make sure you won’t lose it, or you’ll have to make another call.
And now it’s time to plan this all out very carefully.
You start by making a list of the things you can still use from your previous made plans.
Flowers.
…
You sigh.
Alright, so that’s barely nothing. You make a ‘tch’ sound at the shrines you had to tick off. It would’ve been so cool to visit those wearing your favorite yukata, seeing Tetsurou in his yukata…
But now you have to live off a memory of New Year’s shrine visit. One without yukatas.
You take a glance at the pretty yukata hanging out on a hanger. It will be sad if it won’t be used for its purpose… But what if you… That might be it!
Your phone pings and you jump up a little. You were so engulfed in your thoughts that you didn’t expect it to go off.
A quick glance tells you you’ve got a text from Tetsurou.
tetsu<3: don’t be sad
tetsu<3: you can come visit if you want to
tetsu<3: i’ll text you my room number if you want?
While it’s an interesting offer, it could form a potential threat to ruin your plans. You won’t reply to it for now, but you keep it in your might as a possible option to still go for it.
So now you still have to decide on the flowers… You know the hospital has got flowers as well, but you don’t know if those are the ones Tetsurou will like.
It’s becoming a bit harder and harder for you to figure out what works well enough for your boyfriend, but you have to make do with it for it to work just right.
And that’s when you know what to do.
Laying in his hospital bed, Tetsurou stares outside, wondering what you might be doing at this moment. You haven’t responded to his texts yet and he wonders if you’re really down from his accident.
The nurse comes in to check on him and he asks her if she might know whether or not you have called for you or anything. But the nurse doesn’t and she quickly leaves after she’s done giving him pain killers.
He didn’t tell you why he had been admitted to the hospital, but knowing you, you might have figured it out already.
Tetsurou laughs as he thinks about the plenty of times you’ve figured him out in five seconds, while he at least takes an hour to really know what is even on your mind.
“You’re just an open book,” you tell him every time. And he knows it’s true. For you, at least. His teammates were never able to figure him and his thoughts out. But you just… had it—had him.
He feels bad, though. It’s a special week and he went and ruined by climbing into a tree because that damned Yaku Morisuke had dared him to. He would’ve said no had he known that he would be falling out of said tree in the next five minutes.
But yeah, only if he had known.
Nevertheless, he doesn’t think that he should sit around and wonder about the what ifs and whatnot. Then again, his pain killers are kicking in big time and he’s suddenly feeling a little drowsy.
His eyes are slowly closing, his mind wandering off, and he’s really struggling to try and stay awake. One last yawn before he finally closes his eyes to dive into that deep slumber.
Dressed in your yukata, you step inside the hospital. You can feel all the eyes set on you, since it’s not exactly an every day sight: a girl dressed in a yukata, hair all donned up, one hand holding the yukata and the other wrapped around a bunch of flowers.
The flowers… you hope he’ll like that. And he better! You put all of your attention to that bouquet and this whole get together, so he better not be disappointed! The way you fixed all of this so quick can’t be taken lightly as well. Tetsurou better appreciate the heck out of it.
You walk up to the service desk and the employee greets you kindly.
“I’m here for Kuroo Tetsurou,” you mention, trying not to feel super embarrassed about your whole get together. You also mention the room number Tetsurou is supposed to be in.
The miss looks at you warily. But you guess worse things happen at a hospital, since she lets it go quickly. She signs you in and tells you you can go on.
You make your way through the halls. Your heart rate is picking up. It’s not the walk that’s making your breathing unstable. As you reach the end of the hallway, you inhale, trying to calm down, but your breathing remains unsteady. The rolling numbers of the elevator indicate it going down, reaching your floor. You exhale. You step inside, wanting to press the button to the second floor—or was it the first one… No, it’s definitely the second one. Leaving the elevator you take a right, following the numbers to his room.
And then you suddenly get nervous. Sweat starts breaking out—out of your palms, your back, your forehead… Gross.
Slowly but surely you’re approaching Tetsurou’s room. Right outside the door you make sure to wipe your hands clean and to straighten your back. You clench your fist around the bouquet of flowers, still hoping dearly that he will like them.
And he better!
He better… since you’ve put all that work into today on such a short notice as well.
You straighten your yukata and breathe in one last time. You just have to go for it right now. One step forward that’s all it takes for you to walk around that corner. Your breath quivers a little—but it’s now or never. Well, never… what’s the point in turning around.
Blowing a soft raspberry, you mentally slap yourself on your forehead.
What’s even the point of getting so worked up about this? Tetsurou has been your boyfriend of over two years for god’s sake.
And the fact that your boyfriend is the one stuck in the hospital right now is the worst thing that could happen. You want to make sure he’s okay and this is the best and only way you could do that.
With one last heavy inhale, you step forward, step around the corner.
“Tetsu!” you lovingly sing as you enter the room.
But instead of Tetsurou, four other pairs of eyes are staring back at you, furrowing their brows. You don’t know these people, but you can’t see the person they’re there for. Did they come for Tetsurou..?
A loud snore makes you look over at the other side of the room. A small pile of pitch black hair is all you currently see. It clicks. That’s Tetsurou laying in his bed over there, and the four persons that are sitting around that other bed are just there for someone else.
You apologize by mouthing a short “Sorry,” and bowing your head slightly. They return to their whispering conversation, not caring about the girl that just stepped inside, completely dressed in her yukata.
Scurrying over to Tetsurou’s bed, he snores again. You laugh; he’s fallen asleep. It must have been such a long day for him. He’s probably drained to the core.
You sit down on the chair that’s seated next to his bed. You put the bouquet of flowers down on the little side table, together with the clump of balloons.
Full of love and longing you look at your boyfriend. His face is pulling together; he must be having a bad dream of some sorts. He will always pull his lips and create a deep frown when he has one. You reach your hand towards his face. Tetsurou’s face flinches at the sudden warmth of your hand to his apparently cold cheek.
“Tetsu,” you whisper, “it’s okay. No need to be having scary dreams right now.” You lean in a little. “I’m here with you right now, after all.”
You try to soothe him, and it seems to be working. His frown is disappearing and his lips are stopping to pout. That cute pout of him… you miss it already, but you rather have his nightmares be gone.
With your hand lingering on his face a little longer, you lean back into the chair. On the other side of the room, you see that the four persons are getting ready to leave. Their patient has fallen asleep as well, you notice.
It’s rude to stare, and you also feel in the air had you stared a second longer, you would again have felt their eyes burning in your head.
You stare at Tetsurou’s face. You would rather just violently shake him awake, however, that might not be the brightest idea to practice on a sick person.
There’s something about his face and the light of the sun reflecting off his cheeks that make him nearly look angelic. His soft breathing reverberates throughout the room and it’s silent aside from that. The person on the other wise of the room is asleep, too.
Maybe there is something in the air—and maybe not—but you’re starting to feel drowsy. There is something slowing you down, soothing you. You sink further back into the chair, and while your yukata is starting to become uncomfortable for you, Tetsurou’s breathing is the only thing you can listen to. And it’s so calming to you that you feel drowsier and drowsier.
And you close your eyes, your mind drifting away.
Tetsurou blinks as he opens his eyes. He can feel something weighing him down but his eyes aren’t that concentrated yet. He has to blink a couple more times before he can focus again, and then he notices you.
Your head has fallen down on his bed, your hand in his. He makes notice of the clump of balloons that are tied to a rock first and then the bouquet of flowers.
“Aw babe,” he whispers, trying his hardest not to wake you. “How sweet of you.”
He can’t really form the right type of words to describe how he’s feeling right now. He’s amazed and touched by the effort you seem to have put in to the thought behind the flowers and the balloons.
And then he notices the yukata. And the flowers in your hair.
His heart skips a beat.
“Babe,” he whispers again and he is unsure of how to feel. He feels the tears dwelling in his eyes, he is so touched by the loving effort that his emotions are overflowing right now.
He glances at the time and it tells him you’ve got a little over half an hour remaining. Visiting hours will be over soon.
Tetsurou bites his lip as his mind is beating itself up over the fact if he should wake you up.
He decides to go for it. He wants to see you and talk to you and hug and kiss you. All of those in only half an hour remaining.
Carefully, he places a hand on your shoulder and shakes you a little.
“Hmm,” you whimper. “Five more minutes.”
“Five more minutes my ass,” Tetsurou huffs. “Y/n, wake up~”
The voice that belongs to your boyfriend makes you sit up straight, eyes open wide. “Tetsu!” you exclaim, before quickly slamming your hand against your mouth.
Tetsurou frowns at your actions, so you slowly point at the patient on the other side of the room. He makes a face of recognition; now he understands.
“What brings you here?” he asks.
You huff. “What brings me here? My boyfriend is laying in a hospital bed during Golden Week and our date week, that brings me here!” you say, a little irritated.
He holds his hands up in defeat. “Oops, you’re right, sorry. You didn’t respond to my texts so I didn’t know if you were actually going to show up today.”
“Why wouldn’t I show up?”
“Because I ruined our date week…”
The two of you are silent for a while. He looks at you, staring deeply into your eyes. The stare is making you nervous and you ask him what’s wrong. Tetsurou doesn’t reply. His stare softens a little as he is reaching for your hand.
“I’m really, really glad you came,” he mentions.
The words shouldn’t mean too much, but they’re bringing a smile to your face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I would’ve been so sad had I missed you for an entire week.”
“Well,” you start, “that’s totally on you and you know it. What did you even do?!” you exclaim softly, not trying to wake the other patient.
Tetsurou sheepishly scratches the back of his head, flinches at the movements. They must be hurting him.
“Don’t yell at me,” he takes a deep breath, “but Yaku dared me to climb one of the bigger trees in the park—you know that park near my house? That one.” Before you can react he continues enthusiastically telling his story. “It was sooo high, and I really thought I’d have it in the bag, you know, climbing it that high.”
He isn’t even looking at you anymore, but he is too engulfed in his story. You smile at his wide expression, telling you how big the tree was and how small he felt. How can you not enjoy it. Your boyfriends smile is the best smile there is.
You should be angry, but… how can you. He probably felt like a little kid again and was reliving his high school funs with one of his best friends and former teammates. He probably just wanted to have a good time again.
And he does—he tells you about the feeling of being in a little kid’s body when climbing that tree, even though his limbs were too long and wonky to take control of all the breaches. And that was when he slipped and fell to the ground.
You laugh at the story. His eyes become wide, realizing he was telling his story with so much power that he forgot you were supposed to be mad at him. He probably secretly hopes you forgot, too, but of course you didn’t.
But how can you be angry with that beautiful face of his, even though beaten up by a few scratches, that’s always making sure you forget about anything else in the room. There is no way anyone could beat that.
You’re suddenly tearing up. Tetsurou doesn’t notice at first and continues on with the story, still in high hopes you forgot the ‘being mad’ part, and talks about Yaku’s frantic facial expressions and his attempts to dial an ambulance (he failed the first time).
It’s not until you bring a hand to your eye, to wipe away that teardrop before it could roll down your cheek, that he notices how you’re feeling.
“Y/n?” he asks. “Are you okay?”
You laugh again, making the tears roll down. “I am,” you say, voice breaking a little. “I’m just so happy that you’re my boyfriend,” you whisper.
Tetsurou looks up. “Wh…what? That came out of nothing…”
“I know,” you whisper, as you reach for both his hands. “I’m just happy that you’re here with just a few scratches and a broken bone, and that you still manage to be outgoing. That’s the Kuroo Tetsurou I know.”
“Aw, babe,” he tugs on your arms for you to stand up and to sit on his bedside. “Don’t cry. That’s so sweet of you.”
He rubs his thumb over your hand, and it soothes you. You dry your cheeks for the last time. No more crying.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” you smile at him.
“Good,” he returns the smile. “So!” he exclaims, startling you. “What did you prepare for me? Explain it all!”
You smack him on his arm—his good arm!—as you scold him: “Prepare for you? Dude if you hadn’t gotten sick we definitely would’ve been preparing for this week together, you asshole.” You break into a laugh again and you can see on Tetsurou’s face that he likes that very much.
It’s silent for a few seconds between you two.
“Why are you so dumb,” you whisper, scolding him more.
He now is the one to break into laughter. “What is that for?” He pulls you closer into his embrace.
“Why the heck did you even decide to climb a big ass tree on Golden Week—you ain’t that agile in climbing trees anymore and that one experience when we got to know each other should have been a bigger warning for you.”
#haikyuuwritersnet#haikyuuwriters 0520#kuroo x reader#kuroo tetsurou x reader#kuroo tetsurou#kuroo#kuroo tetsurou imagines#kuroo imagines#kuroo fic#kuroo fanfic#kuroo x reader imagines#haikyuu fic#haikyuu imagines#haikyuu x reader#fluff#loneveenas#dyo's fic
106 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Once & Future Queen Pt.20
Camelot. Valley. Continued.
(Queen Annis heads toward her niece as Morgana turns with a scowl and disappears into Caerleon’s army.)
Merida: "What in heaven's name have you done?"
Queen Annis: "Hello, Merida. What a pleasant surprise to see you."
Merida: "You cannot trust Morgana, she's-"
Queen Annis: (Interrupting:) "Allowed me to do what you could not? The once mighty Arthur Pendragon lies dead at my command, not yours. I should always have been the one to claim Dun Broch's throne after Fergus' death."
Merida: "I am his daughter and rightful Queen of Dun Broch."
Queen Annis: (Scoffs:) "Your people are welcome to you. I have just claimed half of all Camelot in Caerleon's name. You can barely control the members of your own clan."
Merida: (When Annis turns to leave:) “Don’t be taken in by Morgana’s fine words. She is consumed by bitterness, it spreads within her like a disease.”
Queen Annis: “Have you forgotten how Arthur killed your father? Do you not deny that you sought revenge?”
Merida: “Yes, I sought revenge. But that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.”
Queen Annis: (Laughs with derision:) “You are weak, Merida, as I always thought you were.” (Annis walks away. Hidden in the crowd, Morgana sees Xena and Gabrielle searching for someone. Suspecting that they mean her harm, Morgana turns her attention to Darian and, her eyes glowing, uses her powers on him. Grimacing momentarily, Darian shakes his head. Looking beside him, Darian pulls his long sword from Arthur’s chest and stalks toward his new targets. Spotting Morgana before she disappears further into the crowd, Anastasia turns to see the giant about to split Xena in two with an overhead swing. Thinking quickly, Anastasia uses her powers and Darian's sword disappears mid-swing. Turning to face their attacker, both Xena and Gabrielle draw their weapons.)
Gabrielle: "By the gods, he's almost as big as-"
Xena: "Grinhilda, I know!"
(Ducking a fist from Darian, Xena rolls out of the way. Gabrielle fearlessly jumps onto the behemoth's back but is flung to the ground for her trouble.)
(Xena runs up behind Darian and slashes him across the back. The giant falls to his knees and Gabrielle kicks him down. Xena is poised to strike when soldiers surround them, aiming their crossbows while Agravaine looks on from above. Seeing Xena and Gabrielle stand back to back before being restrained and shackled, Merida surges forward, but is held back by Anastasia.)
Merida: (Struggling against her:) “Let me go! We have to help them!”
Anastasia: “No! No! We can't help them now. But we can help each other!"
(Anastasia waves her hand and they disappear in a cloud of smoke.)
Storybrooke. Swan-Mills House.
(Returning from the station, Regina walks along the pathway to admire Emma's handiwork.)
Regina: "Hey."
Emma: (Turns:) "Hey. Be careful not to trip over any branches."
Regina: (Smiles, looking around:) "I'm very impressed."
Emma: "Thanks. It's been needing a good going over for awhile now."
Regina: "Haven't we all."
Emma: (Chuckles:) "You're insatiable."
Regina: "Only for you."
(They kiss.)
Emma: "I've raked the leaves, mowed the lawn and now I'm just finishing up with the hedges."
Regina: "Well don't work too hard, you can always just do all this magically."
Emma: (Wipes the sweat from her brow with her arm:) "Yeah, I know, but sometimes it's nice to do things the old fashioned way, get a good sweat going."
Regina: "I can see that."
Emma: (Smiles:) "Don't worry, now that you’re home, I'll use my magic to clear the rest up once I'm done."
Regina: "Okay, good. Is Maria sleeping?"
Emma: "No, I've got her picking apples from your tree. (When Regina raises an eyebrow:) Relax. (Leans down and picks up the baby monitor:) She went down about half an hour ago." (Tosses it to Regina.)
Regina: (Catching it:) "All right well I'll leave you to it. But you know... (Curling her finger into one of Emma's belt loops and pulling her close:) if this is the kind of thing I'm going to be coming home to, I think our retirement is going to be pretty sweet."
Emma: "Oh, you have no idea."
(They kiss once more, pulling each other close with their free hands as Emma holds the chainsaw in one and Regina cradles Maria's baby monitor in the other.)
Forest. Stream.
(Lancelot and Guinevere walk along the forest path beside a stream.)
Lancelot: “We’re not far now. This stream leads to the lake.”
Guinevere: “How did you know?”
Lancelot: “I’ve been here many times.”
Guinevere: “No, not about the lake. How did you know my feelings for Arthur weren’t real?”
Lancelot: “Well... because he’d only been back a day and there was no way you could have possibly forgiven him for those years he kept you by his side against your will.”
Guinevere: “Did you suspect, even back then?”
Lancelot: “I suppose I always held out hope that you would one day leave him, but I couldn’t have imagined Arthur capable of such an evil act.”
Guinevere: “Well, they do say love makes you do strange things. Despite everything that came after, I believe Arthur truly did love me in the beginning.”
Lancelot: “What he did to keep you was not an act of love. It was cowardly and unforgivable. Love is about finding someone and thinking about them all the time. It’s about caring about them more than anyone or anything. The Arthur I knew was only ever concerned about his destiny. He never deserved you, Guin.” (Their conversation is cut short at the sound of a rider approaching. Morgana rides through the woods and pulls her horse to a halt at the sight of them.)
Morgana: (Smiles:) “My my. What a delicious coincidence?”
Lancelot: “Run Guin! I’ll hold her off.”
Morgana: “Aw. How sweet.”
(Guinevere begins to run as Lancelot pulls his sword and charges at Morgana. Urging her horse into a gallop, Morgana rides straight at Lancelot. Conjuring a lance into her hand at the last moment, Morgana almost decapitates Lancelot with it, knocking him down to land hard on the forest floor, unconscious. Laughing, Morgana drops the lance and turns her attention towards Guinevere.)
A Short Distance Away.
(Guinevere dashes through the forest, passing a tree and inadvertently snaps one of its branches in her rush. Morgana continues her pursuit and stops to look for any signs. Spotting the snapped branch, Morgana smiles and heads off in that direction.)
Storybrooke. Granny's Diner.
(Snow White and Henry sit together in a booth while Henry wears a stunned expression on his face.)
Henry: "You're not serious?"
Snow White: "Well why not? I'd say you'd be uniquely qualified for the position."
Henry: "How did you come to that conclusion?"
Snow White: "Henry, you've literally written the book on everyone in this town. Plus, growing up with Regina, you must have sat in on your fair share of Town Hall meetings?"
Henry: "Yeah and I was bored out of my mind through all of them. I'm sorry, Grandma, but I'm not the guy you want to run as mayor." (Henry stands.)
Snow White: "Promise me you'll at least think about it. It would mean working shorter hours and a heck of a lot less time spent in your car."
Henry: "Hey, the taxi service might be a dead end job but at least it has the possibility of excitement. Listening to people complain all day and then going blind doing paperwork is about as far from where I wanna be as I can think of."
Snow White: (Slides out of the booth:) "All right, so where do you want to be?"
Henry: "I don't know... off on an adventure with my fiancee somewhere. As a matter of fact, I'm only back driving because Ella and I couldn't decide on where we should start looking for one."
Merlin: "I might be able to point you in the right direction."
(Snow White and Henry both turn to look at the Sorcerer who sits alone at a table.)
Henry: "You know where Ella and I can find ourselves an adventure?"
Merlin: "Yes. I believe I know just the place."
Henry: "That's great. Where is it?"
Merlin: "Ah. Before I tell you, you must first do something for me."
Henry: (Looks to Snow White who is unsure about this:) "All right, what is it?"
Merlin: "You must promise me that you won't tell your mothers I had anything to do with aiding you on your quest."
Henry: (Smiles:) "Deal."
Swan-Mills House.
(Regina checks in on Maria who's still sleeping soundly, laying on her back with her arms up over her head. Smiling, Regina wonders just what her child could be dreaming about. Although not prone to crying like her big brother was at this age, Maria would nevertheless refuse to sleep alone during Emma's prolonged absence. Indeed, Regina would often find herself watching Maria drift off on those sleepless nights they shared a bed. The fact that on the night of Emma's return, Maria resumed sleeping in her cot without fussing once, only helped confirm Regina's theory that her daughter didn't much like the idea of her mother spending her nights alone. Backing out of the room, Regina leaves the door ajar and heads towards the staircase. Stopping at the large window that overlooks the garden, Regina notices that Emma is still hard at work. Captivated at the sight of the muscles in her wife's arms flexing, accentuated by the perspiration glistening in the sunlight, Regina sinks down onto the window seat to continue watching the show.)
Forest. Continued.
(Guinevere runs at full speed now as Morgana gallops through the woods. Guinevere falls, but gets up quickly and keeps going only for Morgana to catch up and cut her off.)
Morgana: “Guin. Nice to see you again. Oh, you’ve forgotten. I’ve hunted these woods since I was a child.”
Guinevere: “Morgana, please, we were friends once, were we not?”
Morgana: “You misunderstand me. I only wish to help. The path to Camelot is that way.” (Morgana points.)
Guinevere: “It’s you who has forgotten it seems. I know these woods, too.”
Forest Road. Past.
(Morgana and Guinevere ride through the woods with an escort.)
Morgana: “You look troubled, Guin.”
Gunivere: “I’m fine.”
Morgana: “You’re very secretive these days. I’m beginning to think there’s a man involved.”
Guinevere: (Scoffs:) “When do I get to meet any decent men?”
(Suddenly, their party is attacked.)
Sir Robert: “My ladies, you must follow me!”
(The knight is shot in the back. Guin and Morgana are pulled off their horses. A knight kills the men holding them.)
Morgana: “Guin! Head for the path! Go! (Guinevere and Morgana run up the hill, but Kendrick is waiting for them:) I warn you. I am the daughter of Uther Pendragon. He’ll have your heads if any harm comes to me.”
Kendrick: “I have no intention of harming you. At least not yet. You’re much more valuable to me alive, Lady Morgana.”
Bandit’s Camp.
(Morgana and Guinevere observe the bandits from inside a tent.)
Morgana: “He’s coming. You know what you must do?”
(Guinevere nods.)
Kendrick: “I trust you are comfortable?”
Morgana: “I demand to know where you’re taking us.”
Kendrick: “You’ll find out soon enough. We’ve a long journey ahead of us. Get some rest.”
(Kendrick turns to leave, but Morgana walks out of the tent after him.)
Morgana: “I wish to bathe.”
Kendrick: “You wish to bathe?”
Morgana: “I am the King’s daughter and accustomed to certain standards. I am sure you are quite contented to stink like a pig, but I am not.”
Kendrick: (Speaks loudly so his men can hear:) “The Lady Morgana wishes to bathe! Who wants to help me guard her?” (Coarse laughter rises from the men.)
A Short Time Later.
(Morgana begins to undress by a stream, two men guarding her and Guinevere.)
Kendrick: “You may find the water a little icy.”
Morgana: “I’m sure I’ll manage. (Glances over to see one of the men holding on to Guinevere’s arm. To Kendrick:) If you were any kind of gentleman, you’d give me some privacy.”
Kendrick: “Well, unfortunately for you I am no kind of gentleman. Now get on with it.” (Kendrick chuckles and moves closer to her. Morgana removes her outer garment and the second bandit lets go of Guinevere to get a closer look himself.)
Morgana: “You can at least turn your backs.”
Kendrick: “So you can make a run for it. Do you think I’m that stupid?”
Morgana: “I think you’re very stupid. (Guinevere pulls Kendrick’s sword and Morgana hits him, Guinevere tosses her the sword and Morgana slashes both men. To Guinevere:) Run! (The men pursue them through the woods:) No, no, this way!” (Guinevere stumbles and twists her ankle, Morgana stops and goes back to her.)
Guinevere: “Run!”
Morgana: “Put your arm around my shoulder, come on!”
Guinevere: “No, no, no. We’ll never outrun them, you must go on without me!”
Morgana: “I’m not leaving you behind!”
Forest. Present.
(Morgana smiles at the memory.)
Morgana: “I remember very well. Truth is, it doesn’t matter which way you go. As long as you’re around, the people will always love you more.”
Guinevere: “Morgana, please...”
Morgana: “I can’t say I blame them really. You are far too delicate a soul to be mixed up in all this, Guin. I think it’s time to take you off the chessboard and release you from your burdens. (Not sticking around to find out what Morgana means by that, Guinevere starts running. Morgana’s eyes glow and Guinevere screams as she is thrown against a tree. Guinevere falls to the ground, unconscious. Moving her horse to stand over Guinevere:) Nu bebiede ic þe þæt þu lætest þine flæsc sclice gelic nysse. Wyrþ deor!”
(Morgana’s eyes glow and a golden shimmer glows over Guinevere’s body. Morgana leaves with a smirk.)
Storybrooke. Swan-Mills House.
(Pleased at a job well done, Emma waves her arms in all directions, magically sending all the garden debris into the recycling bin. Brushing her hands together, Emma starts whistling a familiar tune while she gathers up her gardening tools. Her arms now fully laden, Emma turns around to walk back up the path when she catches sight of a vision sitting in the upstairs window. Emitting a long appreciative whistle, Emma drops the tools noisily to the ground as she stares up at Regina, who is clad only in her underwear where any passerby could see her.)
Window.
(Smiling at Emma's reaction, Regina crooks her finger at her, indicating that she should come inside.)
Outside.
(Smiling at her wife's brazenness and not needing to be invited twice, Emma walks towards the house.)
Forest.
(Merida walks several paces ahead of Anastasia, clearly agitated.)
Anastasia: (Stops walking:) "So you're pissed at me, is that it?"
Merida: (Rounding on her:) "I am furious at you. How could we just leave them there?!"
Anastasia: "If we had stayed, we'd be prisoners too."
Merida: "Not necessarily. We could have fought. You could've used your magic to-"
Anastasia: "To what? Blast the soldiers out of our way?"
Merida: "Well it would've been something!"
Anastasia: "I understand full well that you only invited me into this little gang of yours because I have magic. But if I used it as callously as you think I should, wouldn't that make me just as bad as Morgana? (Merida says nothing:) You know I'm right."
Merida: "Yeah, but I don't have to like it."
Anastasia: (Smiles:) "Come on, it'll be getting dark soon and I'm starving. What say you catch and I cook?"
Merida: (Softening:) "I wouldn't hold your breath, there doesn't look to be any signs of life out here."
Anastasia: "Well, I could always give you a five minute head start, Merida."
Merida: "Funny."
Anastasia: (Spots movement in the bushes:) "Deer!"
(They chase after a doe running through the woods. Splitting up, Anastasia slows to a walk while Merida carries on ahead. She spots the doe and it looks at her. Anastasia senses something and hears Guinevere’s weeping. Anastasia
realises what’s happened when she sees Guinevere’s running reflection as the doe passes by a small puddle. Merida arrives and passes Anastasia before taking aim.)
Merida: “Well aren’t you a beauty?” (Coming to her senses too slowly to react, Anastasia watches in horror as Merida fires.)
Anastasia: “No!”
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
Co-written with @hedwigstalons in answer to the challenge set by @darkestwolfx. It's set as part of my "Isolation on Tracy Island" series which you can read here on Ao3. We think we did a pretty good job with this collab, TAG teaming back and forth, which was so much fun to do.
Day 40 of isolation on Tracy Island and Gordon is grumpy because his heirloom is not as special as he thought.
It started with Jeff deciding that maybe now was the time to take up gardening. Apparently one of his friends had suggested it as a way of calming the mind and being more Zen (my words, not his) and he was now wielding a pair of hedge trimmers like the bush had offended his ancestors. Virgil was cringing and muttering about this being the reason he hadn't brought his new love of Topiary to the island.
The bushes and shrubs put up a valiant defence but it was no match for a Tracy on the warpath. The ornamental border soon looked like it had been run over with an industrial lawnmower. So much for a little light pruning. I was quite glad Jeff hadn’t been part of the working party at my flat and vowed never to let him anywhere near my herb tubs.
The herbaceous massacre, as it came to be known, did answer one of life’s mysteries though. It revealed just what had become of Gordon’s bell. Of course now he is lording it over us all again and trying to use it to summon drinks and snacks. Virgil helpfully volunteered to break both of Gordon’s legs again so he would be deserving of waitress service which shows just how annoying the little tinkly sound could be in the hands of the squid.
I groaned when the little jingling nightmare made its presence known for the tenth time that morning.
“Where the hell did that thing even come from?” I demanded to know, I’d only seen it once before and wasn’t about to admit to it.
Everyone looked at it, their heads swivelling as one, like cats tracking a mouse, it was both fascinating and disturbing in equal measure.
“Parker gave it to me,” Gordon told me, “when I broke my leg. It’s very valuable you know, it belonged to his great-great-great-a few-more- greats-grandfather who was the butler to the Prince of somewhere. The Prince used it every day to call for his attendees to dress him for the day. He said that it had been in his family ever since the Prince had gifted it to his great-whatever on his retirement. That’s why I was so surprised when he threw it away, you’d think he’d be a little more careful with his family heirlooms.”
Alan snorted. “That's not even the slightest bit true.”
“Oh yeah, how would you know?” Gordon demanded.
“I know because I found it in the kitchen cupboard and gave it to him to give to you.”
“You did not!”
“I totally did!”
“Well where did it come from then? Why was it in the kitchen?”
“I put it away when I found MAX with it,” Brains chimed in.
“Where the heck did MAX get it from?” Scott wanted to know. “I hid that thing in the drinks cabinet.”
“Why were you hiding it in the drinks cabinet?” I had to ask. My head was spinning, my simple question leading to something I could barely follow.
“I can answer that one. ”
My head swivelled round and I nearly spilled my drink. Just when had Kayo arrived? I never knew whether she was on the island or not. Heck, sometimes I didn’t even know when she was in the same room as me. I swear that woman has a cat lurking somewhere in her ancestry.
“Scott here was probably embarrassed after one of our training sessions. I found the bell in the gym cupboard and set him a challenge. It bruised his ego that he was no match for me on stealth. I expect he was hiding it to avoid a rematch.”
OK, no surprise that Kayo could best Scott on stealth but, as if pulled on by an inescapable force, I just had to ask. “So where does the bell come in?”
We all proceeded to watch open-mouthed as Kayo picked up the bell and vaulted three chairs without a single chime sounding out. Definitely part cat.
“OK, OK, ” Scott threw his hands up in resignation. “Busted. But how did it end up in the gym cupboard?”
There were various shrugs around the room as everyone denied knowledge of how it ended up there. I subjected each of them to my patented stare. I knew as well as they did that the bell hardly classed as sporting goods. Having been forced into captivity with these untidy animals and their habit of leaving objects lying around for someone else to pick up I knew one of them was guilty.
Slowly a hand lifted into the air.
“John?” Alan goggled. “Why were you in the gym?”
“Hey! I work out! Probably more than you do.”
“But the gym?" Alan ignored the slur on his work out schedule. “You don’t use the gym.”
“It was when-” he paused, interrupting himself to cough sheepishly.
The power of a million eyes looked my way. I whistled innocently, the clouds in the sky suddenly very fascinating.
“Is this going to be gross?” Alan whined, making a face that only a teenager could make. “Did you disinfect after?”
He didn't see the book coming until it was too late.
“There is nothing gross about a sit up competition. A couple that works out together...well, that has nothing to do with staying together but it helps.”
“How does a bell have anything to do with sit ups?” Gordon asked.
“If you can’t use your imagination then I’m not telling you.”
“You do need pretty strong legs though,” John added.
“And a trust that you won't get dropped on your head.”
“You said it wasn’t gross!”
“That still doesn’t explain where the bell came from before you took it to the gym for some weird stuff we don’t need to know about,” Gordon grumbled, still quite put out that his precious was now a little less special and a lot more tainted.
“I found it on the unit with Grandma’s ornament collection.”
“Grandma has an ornament collection?”
“Yes, by the book cases. You might know about it if you actually bothered to read. You know, have a go at improving that chlorine soaked brain of yours.”
Honestly, it was like living with a load of children. Put them in a room together for five minutes and if it wasn’t books being thrown it was insults.
“So you stole one of Grandma’s ornaments?”
“Not stole, borrowed. Tracys don’t steal.”
“OK, you borrowed one of Grandma’s ornaments and then didn’t put it back. You are so going to be on dish duty for a month now she knows. It’s probably one of her favourites.”
I was feeling a little guilty at this point because to be fair I hadn't worried about where the bell ended up after our gym session either. It’s only because John is a tidy soul at heart that it made it into the gym cupboard at all rather than being left out on the mats. I had been a little...distracted to worry about such niceties. I promised myself that whatever fate befell John for his misdemeanour I would shoulder my share of the punishment.
Grandma picked up the bell and gave it a closer look.
“This thing, ” she mused, turning it over in her hands. “Oh yes, I remember where I got it from. It’s nothing special really. I found it when I was doing the laundry so put it with my knick-knacks. You boys never do remember to check your pockets before putting your uniforms in to wash. I’ve found all sorts over the years.”
“Us boys?” Accusatory looks were exchanged once again. I have no idea how they get any work done being so damn suspicious all the time. They are constantly questioning each other's motives and believing the worst of each other. Though honestly, they could be little buggers to each other whenever they indulged in one of their prank wars, which was quite often. And since they had stopped announcing the start of said wars, I guess they had a reason to constantly suspect each other of wrongdoing.
“Well if I don't know where it came from,” Scott started.
“And I found it in the kitchen,” Alan continued.
“After M...MAX found it in the drinks cabinet when he was mixing me a Cosmopolitan,” Brains admitted. My eyes widened, I was soooo not touching that bit of information with a ten foot pole.
“And Parker didn’t inherit it from a Prince,” Gordon added.
“And I found it already in the Gym cupboard,” Kayo threw in.
“And I got it from the shelf,” John confirmed.
“Where I put it after I found it clunking around in the dryer,” Grandma finished off.
“And I had never seen it before I fished it out from the shrubbery,” Jeff chimed in. “That leaves…”
Virgil hung his head.
“Virgil, where did you get that bell?” Grandma demanded to know.
His eyes were darting here and there, looking anywhere but at her.
“Speak up, young man.”
“Yeah, Virg, where did you get the bell?” Gordon grinned evilly, obviously enjoying watching Grandma’s golden boy squirm.
“Did you buy it in a pretty little antique store somewhere?” I offered helpfully.
“Was it a gift from a lady friend?”
“Did you get it as a thank you from a star struck rescuee?”
“Did you just like the sound it made?”
“Will you all shut up!” he roared, exploding from his chair.
Alan looked as if he’d die of shock. Virgil never shouted.
“Virgil, I’m waiting,” Grandma never backed down. “Where did the bell come from?”
Virgil took a deep breath and then straightened his shoulders, lifting his head defiantly.
“You know when Professor Questa called us with his yearly demand for help?”
Brains, Grandma, Scott and John all nodded.
“And then the volcano actually started to erupt?”
More nods.
“Everything got a little out of hand, the guy at the desk wasn't listening and then Brains was riding MAX and…”
“And?” seven voices demanded in unison. How had we gone from a volcano to Brains treating MAX like a fairground ride?
“I was just trying to get his attention and...well...I kinda, accidentally...”
A collective holding of breath…
“I stole it.”
Poor Virgil, he’s never going to live this one down.
#The story of the bell#collaboration#thunderbirds#thunderbirds are go#thunderbirds fanfiction#social isolation#self isolating
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
rumors.
summary ⟶ Rumors can form into an argument.
timeline ⟶ September 2019
characters : The Bloody Roses, Got7
❝ So that means we are being framed? ❞
"Hyung, have you heard anything from Eunhee?"
“No, Jinyoung. I'm sorry, ”Jaebeom apologized towards the younger one as he could be seen frowning, as he looked away.
“How about Ahrin noona, hyung? Have you heard anything from her? ” Jinyoung turned towards Mark again, his face showing confidence hoping that he could hear any news regarding Eunhee.
“Ahrin just said that she has some issues with their agency. Also, it's been 4 weeks that they haven't seen each other, ”explained Mark, and both Jaebeom's eyes and Jinyoung's eyes turned wide.
"4 weeks !?" Jinyoung repeated as he started to pout while crossing his arms.
"Did she do something wrong that she had to hide from everyone?" Jinyoung commented, and the other members started to crowd around with the other 3.
“I don't think so, hyung. Their job is quite complicated. Just a reminder, they are not working in the entertainment industry. ” reminded Youngjae and the other 2 maknaes nodded.
“Yeah. Youngjae hyung is right, ”added Yugyeom and Jinyoung sighed.
“Why hyung? Are you finally going to confess to Eunhee noona? ” teased Bambam and all of the members turned towards Jinyoung.
“What? Stop giving me that look- I'm just worried for her okay, ”
“It's called ' love ', Jinyoungie,” Mark added and Jinyoung turned towards him, seeing the older giving him a grin. Knowing that he was caught, Jinyoung just kept quiet.
“So it's true?! You like Eunhee noona?! ” Bambam exclaimed and Jinyoung looked downwards, hiding his blushing face.
“Your ears are red, Jinyoung-ah,” commented Jackson, earning a few giggles here and there from the other boys.
“Stop it, you guys are embarrassing him. It's okay, Jinyoung-ah. I know how you feel, ”Mark comforted the shy Jinyoung, wrapping his arms onto the younger one's shoulder.
It's been a month and Jinyoung was denying reality.
For how much he tried to keep himself busy with his drama filming and the upcoming preparation for his comeback with Got7, Eunhee was still stuck on his mind.
The more he tries to forget her, the more she keeps appearing on his mind. He knew it was impossible, she was her personal bodyguard.
Even when he is filming dramas, Eunhee would always there, waiting for him while holding two ice americano on her hands, every single filming he had.
She was always there with an ice-americano and a blanket, knowing he would film the whole day and filming will end at night which always had Jinyoung shivering.
Jinyoung was taken aback to see how attentive Eunhee is.
Just then, the door of the room opens abruptly to their manager, looking pretty worried. Jinyoung couldn't express how thankful he is towards his manager. He has been helping the boys', helping to find out what Jinyoung's bodyguard was doing.
Got7's manager was also close to the Bloody Roses, as the girls were pretty open towards him and he quickly approved of Mark's, Jackson's, and Bambam's relationship since he knew and trusted the girls.
“Hyung, what happened? Were you chased by the fans? ” teased Bambam, but soon the atmosphere grew cold seeing their manager looking serious.
“I think you guys should look at this,” said their manager as he gave his phone towards Jinyoung.
Jinyoung saw the screen, as it looked it was a text message from the representative from the executives of JYP.
JYP Representative
Please be inform that someone from MMG Agency has released a statement regarding us working with them, and they have also released a statement that they will cut off ties with JYP entertainment due to them going against the contract they made with us , and due to the girls being transferred to LA. Hence the girls will be cut off from JYP which means they will not be assigned to be Got7 nor any artists bodyguards anymore. Final confirmation will be held through meetings.
“Wait what? Yugyeom-ah, what is that supposed to mean? ” Jackson questioned Yugyeom who was frowning so deeply, it was as if he had an argument with someone.
“Hyung- I don't know--
“ The girls' company went against the contract they made with JYP, and MMG has decided to cut off ties with JYP. Nara didn't mention this to me but, the girls are being transferred to LA . ” Bambam cuts off Yugyeom as he explains in English towards Jackson.
“Which means they are not our bodyguard anymore!?! Mark! Is that true? Please tell me it's not true! ”Jackson switches to English whenever he panics, as he went towards Mark who just stood there with eyes downcast.
Youngjae on the other hand was trying to process everything, finally realizing what's going on. He immediately reaches out for his phone, seeing a few missed calls from Yeonji.
“I'm gonna call PDnim,” muttered Jaebeom as he exited the room.
“What in the world…” Haejin muttered as her movements stopped as she was about to step into the main building of her agency.
Her eyes went towards the screen on her phone, seeing a few missed calls from Jaebeom and from some of the members of Got7.
♡ Jaebeommie ♡
Haejin-ah, what’s going on? Aside from MMG going against the contract with JYP, why are there articles saying you and the girls will be transferred to L.A? I don’t understand. Have you lost trust in me? We have been through everything for the past few months together that you didn’t even inform me that you are moving to L.A? We need to talk.
What the heck is he talking about?
Haejin was about to reply as her feet automatically step into the building when someone grabbed her arms, making Haejin frown deeply towards whoever was grabbing her arm tightly.
“Nara?” Haejin muttered and she was being grabbed roughly towards the familiar car, shoving her into the back seat. Nara quickly went into the backseat, closing the car door abruptly.
"Yah--
“If you went inside the building, look,'' Nara gestured and Haejin’s eyes widened to see a few reporters and lots of people with huge cameras huddling in front of the MMG Agency building.
“Nara, what’s going on?” Haejin muttered, as she turned towards Nara who looked like she wasn’t scared - Haejin was honestly terrified.
“Our agency has somehow released a statement between the discussion Eunhee had with the executives. I know you might not get what I am saying but Eunhee will explain everything soon. But, someone from the agency released a statement saying our agency is working with one of the entertainment agency--
“What!? Yah! We went against the contract with JYP!” screeched Haejin, earning a huge sigh from Nara.
“We all know that. But the problem is it’s not from the executives. You and I both know how strict and attentive the executives are. Bear in mind that our executives never released statements through articles, before confirming with us. They never let out statements without having meetings with us first,” explained Nara and Haejin began to process everything.
“So that means we are being framed?”
“Well... I guess you can say that” muttered Nara and Haejin looked at her phone, wondering what she should reply to Jaebeom.
Eunhee followed the older one’s gaze.
“Jb oppa texted you?” questioned Nara, earning a nod from Haejin.
Nara could see the sad expression that the older one had, but she tried to mask it with a small smile.
“Ahrin and the others are inside the building,” informed Nara as she looked towards the building, still seeing so-called ‘paparazzi’ huddling in front of the building.
“I already told Ahrin the situation we are facing right now, and she told us to lay-low or go home,” said Nara as she checked her phone to see a few missed calls from Bambam and a text message from him.
Nara cursed to herself as she accidentally opened the messages, knowing she can’t just unsee it or blue-ticking him.
Baby Bamie ❤️
Babe, I saw the articles. I’m not mad but the other hyungs are pissed, mainly with MMG, but I think they are more pissed with the fact that the noonas including you and Hyunji are transferred to LA. I wanna know what’s going on, so please call me immediately after you saw this message baby.
“Urm, I think we are not going home,” said Nara as she puts away her phone, smirking towards Haejin who was somehow on her phone.
“Nara can we even-
“Our contracts are not terminated yet,” mumbled Nara as they quickly went passed the main counter of JYP lobby.
“How did you know the boys’ schedules anyway?” questioned Haejin as they quickly went inside the elevator, quickly pressing the level of where the boys were.
“I know all of us are really close to their manager, but I am particularly very close to him. He’s a nice dude.” Nara shrugged and Haejin looked at her in amazement.
The elevator stopped with a sound as it opens to already see a few staff just hanging outside a certain room.
Some of the staff could already notice the 2 of them, with their boot heels clicking as they fasten their face as they speed walk, as their eyes were gazing on each door, looking for a paper that was printed Got7.
They finally find the door and both of the girls finally found the room, they didn’t even hesitate to go in. Nara decided to close the door, locking the door.
“Nara?! Haejin!?”
As soon as Nara turned behind, she quickly fastens her pace towards the boys who were at the side of the room, with confused faces.
She quickly went towards Bambam, embracing him with a tight hug, and a quick peck on his cheeks.
“Baby girl, what’s going on?” Bambam questioned as he frowns towards her.
Her eyes turned towards Haejin who was somehow in the corner talking to Jaebeom.
“Baby--
"The articles were fake, Jaebeom! Why can’t you just-
“Baby girl, hey. Look at me, not them.”
Bambam gently shifting her chin towards him, as she was being forced to look at him.
Nara’s eyes moved towards Yugyeom who was somehow looking awkward, and Nara gently pushes Bambam’s hand away, kind of embarrassed with Bambam’s gesture since they were in front of the other Got7 members.
Nara clears her throat.
“I don't know how to begin,” Nara muttered and in the corner of her eyes, Jaebeom was already dragging Haejin outside, making Nara be more frustrated with the current situation she is facing.
"Nara-ah, where are the other girls?" Jinyoung asked weakly and Nara sighed.
“In the company building. Don't worry, oppa . Eunhee is with them too, ”Nara said and she could see Jinyoung's face lighten up.
"Nara-ah, can you explain to us what's going on?" Mark questioned softly.
“First thing first, please don't be mad with what I'm going to say after this but ... I can't disagree with what the articles are saying,”
There were a few shocked faces coming from the boys.
"So you're really going to be transferred to LA?" Bambam questioned with a frown.
“That was the initial discussion that Eunhee had with the executives but, she turned their offer down,” added Nara and the boys' ears perked up.
“Wait what? Then why did they stated in the article as if you girls are really going to be transferred? ” Jackson questioned, as he was now getting a little annoyed.
“That because it wasn't the real representative from our executives who released those articles. Our agency policies are they never released statements via articles, what having our permission first - if you realized by now. They only released a statement after getting permission from JYP and us. So far your manager only gets instructions from JYP through text messages that were forwarded by MMG, ”explained Nara slowly but in detail.
The foreign members understood what she was saying as Jackson's eyes widen.
“Oh no! That means you are being framed! ” Jackson exclaimed and Nara nodded slightly.
The boys looked so furious that Bambam and Mark suddenly stood up, at the same time, the door of the room opens to see Jaebeom and Haejin going into the room.
Nara's eyes landed towards Haejin, seeing her eyes were blood-shot red.
“Haejin--
“Nara, let's go,” said Haejin with a whimper, earning a slight frown from Nara.
"What-
"I said let's go!" Haejin repeated this time she sounded a little aggressive.
Nara finally saw her face, as her eyes widen a little.
She looked like she just cried.
“ Noona, but you just--
"We have nothing to do with you guys anymore, so don't bother calling." Haejin hissed, looking at each one of the members, lastly giving a glare towards Jaebeom, before grabbing Nara on the wrist roughly.
Bambam frowns as he immediately turned towards their leader.
"Hyung, what did you say towards Haejin?" Jinyoung questioned, seeing their leader's eyes becoming a little teary.
"I told her not to contact us any more."
masterlist: Got7 Bodyguard Au
#got7 bodyguard au#lim jaebeom#got7 jaebeom#got7 jb#got7 mark#got7 jackson#got7 jinyoung#got7 youngjae#got7 imagines#got7 scenarios#got7 au#lee haejin#bang nara
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
SECOND CHAPTER NOW UP!
For AO3 - Click Here
For FanFiction - Click Here
SUMMARY: UA Hero Course - Third Year. Shigaraki Tomura and Dabi have been classmates and rivals since their very first day at UA. But with new feelings developing how will they cope given their history of fragile and often violent encounters? Their dance begins after a partnered training exam goes wrong, leaving Shigaraki wounded and Dabi feeling guilty. AU.
=========================
CHAPTER TWO - AFTER CARE
It turns out, there is not a whole lot anyone can do for a broken rib and Shigaraki was destined to suffer through any related discomfort. For a few days anyway. Recovery Girl was the only soul who could instantly repair Shigaraki’s more serious injuries and she had been called away for an emergency. Pro Hero’s were a priority. Obviously.
After a careful and thorough examination, to which Dabi paid very close attention to, the nurse had cleaned Shigaraki’s wounds and patched him up as best she could. Rest was what he needed now, and healing would come with time. That was all she could do, she released him from her care.
Dabi was not so satisfied with the nurse’s final prescription though. Rest and two aspirin? That was almost laughable. The poor kid had broken bones! Of course, she could neither confirm or deny that, because she wasn’t a doctor, and suggested that only an x-ray would make it certain. But being who he was, Shigaraki stubbornly declined going to a Hospital for an actual physical citing that it was “a waste of his time,” especially if there wasn’t anything they could do for him.
Dabi, on the other hand didn’t think a hospital was a bad idea, he was one-hundred percent sure Shigaraki had broken something. Not only did his friend look exceptionally sour, more so than usual, but Dabi could also see pain reflected in his eyes - he was doing an extremely good job at hiding it but Dabi could tell that he was uncomfortable. Heck, even the surface wounds looked… ugly; long red scratches ran across his midsection, and darkening purple bruises framed them, spreading outwards like storm clouds rolling in.
Dabi cringed every time he thought about the accident, and his stomach immediately knotted up with guilt. Seeing the injuries only made him feel more nauseous. It could have been him. Yet, Shigaraki had selflessly sacrificed his own body to save him from that very fate - pushing Dabi away from the threat and into the clear just as the combat robot stomped its enormous metal foot down.
It was Dabi’s fault. Shigaraki had been injured because of his own selfishness. He had screwed up, veering from a plan that guaranteed success just so he could prove to everyone that his quirk was strong in its own right, that he didn’t need to live in Shigaraki’s shadow to win. He wanted everyone to see what he was capable of and it had backfired terribly. If anything, it cemented the fact that Shigaraki was a superior hero because even in the midst of a disaster, and with the threat of death literally bearing down onto him, Shigaraki had still managed to fight back and win.
Dabi scrubbed his hands roughly over his face before pushing his fingers through his hair. He felt something akin to regret and shame stab him directly in the heart. Shigaraki, who never gave Dabi the time of the day, had acted heroically and saved him!
Did he care about Dabi? Or was it just instinctual?
Dabi knew he cared about Shigaraki, oh how he did he care! Despite how it may have come across or what anyone thought for that matter, he had a major soft spot for the boy with the bluish grey locks. He would even go as far as saying he had a crush on Shigaraki and maybe, just maybe, he had broken ranks and acted on his own simply to show off to Shigaraki and to gain the boys attention.
Of course, none of this he would admit to it out loud. He had a pretense to maintain - one that everyone seemed to be attracted too… except for Shigaraki that was.
Even right after the incident, he tried to move on - cool, calm, collected - and pretend that the accident was just a little accident, no big deal. A couple of hours would pass and then everything would return to ordinary life at UA. But when Shigaraki didn’t return for any of the following morning classes, Dabi knew this was bigger than just a little mistake.
It nagged him all morning, until the guilt forced him to the infirmary instead of the cafeteria for lunch. Yeah, it had been his choice to check in Shigaraki - not a teacher, not another student - not anyone or anything else but his own berating self-conscious. He needed to… make things right with Shigaraki. Or at least help in any way he could.
A sharp grunt of pain caught Dabi’s attention, bringing him out of his own head and away from his remorseful thoughts.
Shigaraki was now standing and attempting to get his shirt back on without jostling his body too much. The nurse had released him from her care.
“No, that would not do.” Dabi thought silently, narrowing his eyes.
“Don’t move.” He pointed at Shigaraki as he hopped off the adjacent bed he had been lounging on and crossed the short distance to approach the nurse. The stare he earned in return from the boy was nastier than death.
“Aren’t you going to give him something for the pain?” Dabi questioned, getting right into the lady’s personal space.
She shrunk away, hugging the clipboard she had been scribbling on to her chest, “I’m not really auth…”
Dabi immediately cut her off, interrupting her train of thought, though the routine was done with a grin, “You can’t let him go like this.”
“Yes, she can. And I’m going,” Shigaraki interjected, his patience had worn thin. Dabi understood why, he wanted to get out of there after being cooped up for so many hours, but this wasn’t right.
“I said don’t move.” Dabi reiterated, firmly.
After some additional smooth and charismatic badgering from Dabi, the nurse eventually agreed to prescribe her patient something a little stronger than aspirin. Though it was with a certain amount of reluctance.
With pink flushed cheeks, she disappeared and then reappeared, a syringe in one hand and a small pill bottle in the other. She didn’t say anything as she carefully sat Shigaraki back down on the edge of the cot and prepared his arm for an injection. She repeatedly glanced at Dabi from the corner of her eye while she worked.
“Ow.” Shigaraki snapped when he was stabbed in the arm with the needle.
Dabi smirked. “You’re welcome.”
“Shut up!” Shigaraki barked back.
“Are you also injured?” The nurse inquired, searching Dabi’s face openly now. It was hard to tell with all the scars and the stitching, or maybe she was just enjoying the view, an excuse to admire his unconventional good looks. It seemed to be the case, and Dabi was eating up the reverence.
“Not a scratch.” He replied, smug.
“Asshole,” Shigaraki muttered under his breath, frantically scratching at his arm where the needle had pierced his skin.
“You have blood on your mouth.” The nurse added, ignoring the boys childish banter, still focusing on Dabi.
“It’s not mine,” Dabi assured, shifting his gaze, and being absolutely delighted when Shigaraki’s face inflamed with heat. The sloppy kiss they had shared earlier was still fresh in both of their minds.
She raised a curious brow and then snapped off her latex gloves, tossing them in a nearby garbage can. “I’m done here. Your friend will probably need some help getting back to the dorms. I administered a pretty strong painkiller.”
“We’re not friends,” Shigaraki immediately put in, his words slurring suddenly. He blinked. And blinked again. His eyes were not focusing properly, and the world around him was becoming a blurry haze. He frowned and pressed the palm of his hand to his temple attempting to rub away the fog that was settling over mind.
Dabi eyed Shigaraki with curiosity, picking up on his classmates’ abrupt change in disposition. “I’ll get him back to his room. Don’t worry.” The corner of his mouth kicked up into an amused grin. Those drugs worked fast...
The nurse thrust a bottle of pills into Dabi’s hand, “These are for later. They’re not as strong as what I just gave him, but they’ll help manage the pain. And ah, you didn’t get these from me.”
“Get what?” Dabi grinned. He offered the nurse a wink and then stuffed the pills in his pocket out of sight.
More blushing ensued, she coughed to clear her throat and added, “Just make sure he gets some rest. That’s what he needs right now.”
“Got it,” Dabi nodded.
The nurse bowed her head in return, flicked her gaze over to Shigaraki then back to Dabi before exiting the room, leaving the two boys alone.
“Okay, Mop head, let’s go. I’ll tuck you in.”
Silence.
Dabi swore he heard crickets.
“Shigaraki?” Again, nothing.
Now, this was highly unusual. Usually Dabi would have been met with a snappy response from Shigaraki - he was the king of the smart mouths after all - but this time, nothing. Dabi was almost concerned, though, it did appear Shigaraki was not all completely there any longer. He seemed to be having a hard time processing where he was and what he was doing.
Dabi touched his friends forearm, before drawing his hand back immediately, encouraging Shigaraki to start walking with him, “Let’s go.”
Shigaraki managed a nod, but remained silent, and followed Dabi’s lead whilst anxiously scratching at his neck. He felt… off. Groggy and unbalanced, yet the pain in his side was decreasing and becoming duller.
They slowly made their way back to the dorms, Shigaraki moving at a much slower pace then normal as he tried to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Dabi kept glancing over at his classmate, biting back a grin as he watched the internal struggle of walking while buzzed.
“You okay, Mop Head?” Dabi asked.
Shigaraki was not at all pleased, and he flipped Dabi off, scowling, before he stumbled over his own two feet… on a flat surface.
Dabi reacted immediately, reaching out to Shigaraki to save him falling flat on his face. “Careful,” Dabi cautioned, his arm tentatively sliding around Shigaraki’s waist. Dabi braced himself for retaliation, Shigaraki didn’t like to be touched and usually made it quite clear vocally and physically, but surprisingly, there were no angry outbursts or protests of threats of death. Instead, the other boy leaned into Dabi for support.
To say Dabi was thrilled by this new development was an understatement. He was actually holding Shigaraki! Whatever painkiller that nurse had injected into Shigaraki had pacified his usual contentiousness and softened out his perpetually annoyed expression and furrowed brow. Dabi knew that this wasn’t the most appropriate to be celebrating, considering Shigaraki was still injured, but he couldn’t stop smiling.
His crush, who was normally this angry, kind of feral, gremlin boy who didn’t like to be touched was now putty in his hands. Placid even. A model student who had no objections when Dabi laid him down onto his bed - instead of returning Shigaraki to his own dorm room.
“Hmph.” Shigaraki grunted as he hit the mattress, “Ouch.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Dabi apologized, more careful now as he removed Shigaraki’s dirty sneakers. They dropped to the floor, each one with a loud thud. “You know, I never in a million years thought I'd ever get you into my bed,” Dabi admitted, and then carefully maneuvered his friend higher up on the mattress until his head hit the pillow.
“Go away,” Shigaraki mumbled angrily in return, curling up and trying to nestle his face into the pillow.
“Shhh,” Dabi whispered, brushing thick locks of blue-grey hair away from Shigaraki’s forehead. He didn’t get much in return from the other boy, but his brow did furrow, and he tipped his head further away from Dabi’s hand.
This wasn’t exactly how Dabi imagined their first time in bed together was going to be like, but he would take it.
“Mop Head,” Dabi snapped his fingers in front of Shigaraki’s face, earning him a scowl in return. Shigaraki twisted his head, staring back at him. His eyes were glassy and half-lidded with large dilated pupils. They almost sparkled under the light of the room. “How high are you?”
“Get out of my room!” Shigaraki barked back, and then sunk his face back into the pillow.
Dabi snickered. “Okay.” Shigaraki was well and truly tanked. He had absolutely no idea where he was, and his voice, though Dabi could tell he was agitated it just didn’t have the same threatening bite that it usually did. And the retort was there, on the tip of his tongue. Unfortunately, Dabi was staring at the angry line of Shigaraki’s mouth, finding it very appealing even then, and he forgot his snappy reply.
Instead, Dabi leaned over, swooping in on his friend and claiming his mouth in a hard kiss. He grabbed at Shigaraki’s messy hair, curling his fingers around the thick locks near the roots to make sure Shigaraki wasn’t going to pull away.
Shigaraki responded with a gasp, pushing at Dabi, trying to dislodge him. But there wasn’t much force behind the gesture at all. Dabi tolerated the shoving hands for a few seconds, before Shigaraki’s fingers twitched, like he was going to defend himself from Dabi’s advances but instead his hands curled in on his shirt in resignation, unconsciously tugging him closer.
A deep groan rumbled within the chasm of Dabi’s broad chest until he was leaning his body closer to Shigaraki’s. His tongue slipped inside the other boys’ mouth, and Shigaraki matched Dabi’s sounds of pleasure.
When they broke off ten seconds later, gasping for breath, Shigaraki held a shaky hand up. He was not thinking clearly, his head full of confusion.
“Stop.”
“Why? Don’t you want this?” Dabi moved in for another kiss.
Shigaraki’s cheeks flushed, he refused to answer, stopping Dabi’s downward descent.
“You can do whatever you want to me. I don’t care. Scratch me, dig your nails in, bite me.” Dabi explained in a low, appealing voice - assuming Shigaraki might have some anger he wanted to work through. “Just as long as you kiss me.”
“What?” Shigaraki scowled, his brow knitting tight together. The way Dabi was talking… this was making him feel more than uneasy.
Dabi lifted a hand to cup Shigaraki’s cheek, and he brushed the pad of his thumb slowly back and forth. Shigaraki blinked and Dabi raised his free hand, swiping the light hair away from Shigaraki’s eyes.
What was this?
“I don’t want to hurt you, idiot.” Shigaraki finally admitted. Maybe it was just the drugs talking but it felt genuine.
“Okay,” Dabi said with a faint smile, fingertips sliding down Shigaraki’s cheek, enjoying the soft skin - the absence of stubble along his jawline.
Shigaraki shivered, and his eyes fluttered closed.
Curling his fingers beneath the boys’ chin, Dabi slowly lowered his head, reclaiming Shigaraki’s full lips again. He kissed the other boy tenderly; raw with emotion and need. Words could not accurately describe just how intoxicating a kiss like that could be. It was filled with fear and excitement, it was a kiss that could break everything, it was a kiss that could mend. But there was a volatility to the sweetness of that kiss. A threat.
This time, Shigaraki didn’t fight it. He softened beneath Dabi’s mouth with a sound that started out like a sigh, and then turned into a strangled moan. There was a dip in the mattress, Dabi set his knee on the bed right next to Shigaraki’s thigh, a bold move to get even closer as they kissed.
For a moment, at least, any animosity between them was forgotten.
But for how long?
#shigadabi#shigaraki x dabi#shigaraki#shigaraki tomura#dabi#my hero academia#my hero academia fanfiction#mha#boku no hero academia#bnha#fanfiction#mha fanfiction#angst#kissing#crushing#hate#comfort#au#alternate universe#archive of our own#ao3 fanfic#ao3
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Flustered
Summary: It’s easy to see when Bucky is flustered. His mannerism are beyond adorable but they might be hiding something more.
A/N: I have missed getting to write so much and am so happy to be finally able to write something again! I have a few challenges I'm a part of and a few requests that I have neglected for far too long. I have started all of them, basically, but the idea for this story just wouldn't leave me alone. I really hope you guys enjoy and want to thank you so very much for all your patience and love! Thanks so much as always for reading!!
MY STORIES
A flustered Bucky was a sight to behold. His cheeks would be dusted in the most adorable shade of pink and he would immediately begin fussing with his long locks. It wouldn’t happen often, but when it did, your mind would quickly try to capture a mental picture of it.
Most outsiders saw him as a brooding soldier with a troubled past. And yes, that was part of him, but little by little a more complex and truer Bucky emerged from the remnants of the machine Hydra had created. This Bucky was sweet, full of compassion, witty, and a total flirt.
But now, he sat in front of you at the breakfast table, blushing and messing with his loose hair. What had brought on his bashfulness didn’t matter when all you could think of was how gorgeously adorable the man in front of you was.
“You can’t do that to me, Y/N,” he said through a smile, cheeks still pink.
“Do what?” you feigned innocence.
“Reduce me to a puddle.”
“Is that what I did?” you asked, a smile slowly spreading across your lips.
His gaze held yours, a soft gaze that would make anybody lose their minds. You tried your best to remain calm and collected, though, very much enjoying the current situation.
“Don’t give me that,” he laughed, eyes focused on yours with a new flare in the beautiful shade of blue that swam in his eyes. “You know very well what you’re doing. I’ll have you know, it isn’t very fair.”
You raised your eyebrows at that new flare. Maybe this would be the day this little dynamic of yours changed into something you had been wishing for a while now.
Maybe this quiet morning, under the harsh lighting of the compound’s kitchen, would see the both of you become something more than just good friends. Because this little dance had been going on for a few months now. The flirty comments, the attempts at making the other flustered, and it was fun and sweet, but your heart was longing for something more.
It had been quietly hoping for something more solid. Something that would still be full of flirty moments, but that rested on a more defined foundation. But as soon as that thought would appear once more in your mind, the question of whether Bucky was ready for that immediately followed it. Because yes, he seemed happier than he had been before, seemed much more confident and stronger, but nobody would be able to deny the damage that had been done to him. And nobody could blame him for guarding himself as he rediscovered who he was. So, you always played it safe, always hoped your friendship would continue even though deep down inside you hoped it would flourish into something else.
“I’m not being fair?” you asked, almost laughing at yourself for the way your voice sounded much softer than it did a few moments ago when you were blatantly teasing Bucky.
“No, you’re not,” he confirmed. Eyes still holding that new flare you were suddenly becoming obsessed with.
“How come?” you almost whispered.
Hearing your whisper made Bucky’s eyebrows furrow, a look of confusion replacing that new looked fascinating you.
“Do you really not know?” he asked leaning across the table.
You answered his question by silently shaking your head.
He fussed with his long locks again. Trying his best to tuck a particularly stubborn strand behind his ear. After a few seconds of fighting with it, he brought his hand down and rested it beside his other hand on the table, gaze now suddenly fixed on his hands instead of your eyes.
“It’s harder for me to shake off your comments,” he replied with his own whisper.
It was your turn to furrow your brows. Your thoughts raced as they tried to understand what he was saying. But they were hopeless as they couldn’t seem to find an answer.
“What do you mean?” you chose to ask him instead.
He looked up from his hands, his gaze vulnerable.
“You say things to me,” he began, “and then you move on finding another thing to say. But I’m still trying my best not to read too much into the first thing you said to me.”
He tried not to read too much into the things you said? What did that mean?
“I’m your friend, doll,” he continued, and you would be lying if you said that didn’t sting. “And it’s something I have to remind myself of, because I respond to your comments with a few of my own, but you can shake them off easily and I can’t. I’ll think about them for hours, trying to remind myself that I’m just your friend.”
You felt your heart speed up in your chest at his confession. And despite the speed in which your heart raced, your mind fell behind trying to make sure you were understanding him correctly. It slowly pieced everything he said, double checking you weren’t misinterpreting anything he was saying.
You saw as his gaze drop to his hands, fingers fidgeting as he waited for any response.
“You think about my comments for hours?” you found yourself asking.
Without looking up from his hands, you saw him give you a slow nod.
“Bucky?” you said gently. “Can you look at me, please.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, he looked up to you, but he spoke up before you managed to say what you had been wanting to say for so long.
“I don’t want to ruin this,” he said as he pointed at you and at him. “That wasn’t my intention. I like when you compliment my hair or when you notice I’m wearing a new shirt. I really do. I even like when you say something about my eyes or what you did just now where you leave me a puddle at your feet. This isn’t a problem with you, it’s me. And that was the most cliché thing I could’ve said, but it’s true. I don’t want your sweet comments to stop, I appreciate them, and I didn’t mean to call you unfair, I just, why don’t we just forget this happened and we can go on about our day like normal? I promise I’ll find a way to deal with all of this.”
“All of what?” you asked after a beat of silence. “You’ll figure out to deal with all of what?”
He stared back as if surprised at himself for letting that slip and at you for pointing it out.
“All of,” he began, cautiously navigating his way to an answer. “All of the feelings I have for you,” he whispered.
You looked as he almost deflated back into his chair and your heart broke. For months, you figured he wasn’t ready for anything more than a friendship, all the while he was convincing himself of the same thing thinking it was you that couldn’t see him as more than a friend. But now was your time to make sure he knew just how many feelings you had for him too.
“Last week,” you said, smiling as you thought back to the moment you were talking about, “you came over to me in the living room, doubling over as you laughed at Sam and the mess he was making while trying to beat your famous waffles. Do you remember?”
He nodded, brows furrowed again.
“And you told me all about what was happening in the kitchen. It was hard to follow,” you chuckled, “since you kept having to stop your story to laugh. But you finally got it out and eventually left to go back to the kitchen. Meanwhile I stayed in the living room, replaying that moment in my mind, because nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy and hearing your laugh.”
You paused a second, feeling his gaze shift as he began understanding where you were heading with this.
“You mean so much to me, Buck” you shyly shared your own confession. “Much more than you seem to think. You don’t even have to make a flirty comment, to have me thinking about you for hours.”
“You mean it?” you barely heard him ask.
“With all I’ve got,’ you replied, feeling your cheeks heat up.
“Then that date I keep telling myself I shouldn’t ask you on wouldn’t be too farfetched of an idea?”
“All you gotta do is ask, Buck,” you said, smiling along with him as he heard your response.
“Darling,” he began, his cheeks once again dusted in pink, his hands playing with his hair, “can I take you out to dinner tonight?”
“A thousand times yes,” you replied cheerfully.
That flare you had noticed returned to his eyes making them brighter, bluer, even more beautiful than you thought possible.
“I should’ve called you unfair months ago,” he laughed as he jumped out of his chair and leaned down to press a sweet kiss to your cheek.
You looked up into his eyes, knowing very well you would be falling even harder for the adorable man that had now shown you he was more than ready to take your friendship to the next level. Sure, he was adorable when he was flustered, but in all honesty, he was adorable no matter what he was doing. And now you would see just how adorable he could be as your date.
-----
Bucky Tags
@camillechan @just-add-butter @buckyisthepuresthuman @carry-on-my-fandom @creideamhgradochas @sixweekcure4dreams @verycoolveryunique @dugan365 @jitterbuck @buckysmusculararm @headinthe-fridge @buckybarnesappreciationsociety @hedwigthelegend @sappybarnes @coal000 @the-whitewolfie @natcad @winters-beauty @dixonsbugaboo @sawdustandsugar @silverbvcky @whyugottabsorude @theoutlinez @killjoynotes @agentpegcxrter @demonspawn2468 @books-movies-eternal @buckysbeech @thefridgeismybestie @lionheo04 @pinkfairyfluff @imaginecrushes @cauraphernelia @angieptt @fridolf-arach @nerdgirljen @bucky-is-a-hero-fightme @consttantina @titty-teetee @bfuckjames @crowleysqueenofhell @sebtrashcan-stan @jaamesbbarnes @heartssick @losemymemory @redstarstan @dracris33 @fuckthatfeeling @tamed-chaos @bringmetoawonderland @mlehbleh @mawimey @delicatelyherdreams @buckyswinterchildren @jaysaku @stanclub @your-pixels-are-showing @thisismysecrethappyplace @who-the-heck-knows @starfisharchives @plumsforbuckxx @until-theend-oftheline @hello-lucifer-here @sold-my-soul-in-2016 @ifyousayyouloveme @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen @bambamwolf87
#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#bucky x you#bucky x reader#bucky barnes fluff#bucky fluff#bucky barnes fanfic#burcky barnes fanfiction#bucky fanfic#bucky fanfiction#stories by notimetoblog
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
If you don't want to read this whole thing, I've provided the audio reading of it. I suggest giving it a listen, it adds a whole different and more unsettling mood
youtube
I’d like to share with you all an incident that actually happened in my little home town. When it first happened, I was pretty young, so I just picked up bits and pieces from hearing adults talk. But that was rare. It’s like they thought, whatever happened, there was something in it that had to be shameful. It always scared the heck out of me when they did whisper about it. Now, after what happened here and knowing more, it’s even scarier.
For me, it started when I was nearly ending my shift at the clinic one night. It was a gloomy evening. We’d had a hunting accident earlier, but otherwise it was quiet. Mitch Lemieux, this guy who owns a garage on Cartier Blvd, five-time arm-wrestling champ down at the Caribou bar, comes in panicking, looks spooked out of his mind. Never seen him so much as flinch before that. So I’m expecting some serious carnage.
He’s shouting for help, so I call two EMTs to go out with him. They come back with a half-naked girl. Her clothes are torn to ribbons and what’s left of them is soiled. She has cuts, bruises, and like pond scum or something over her. She has this deadness in her eyes like nothing I’ve ever seen.
They get her in a blanket, a stretcher and take her away. Everyone in the waiting room is standing now and the only sound is Mitch panting. Because everyone knew that girl was Chantal Norman. The same Chantal who’s been missing for twelve years.
Since then, I’ve found out a lot more details about her disappearance. I had to. I got specifics wherever possible. I’m going to lay them out here.
The Girls Who Went Away
I may have heard more talk than some as a kid because my big sister, Virginia, was friends with Chantal and the other two, Jenna and Lise. She was supposed to hang out with them one weekend. I remember she was talking about it all week. I guess Chantal’s parents were out of town, so she was excited.
When Thursday came around, she starts saying she doesn’t feel like going anymore. My Mom questions her, asks if she’s had a fight with the girls, that sort of thing. Even if she’s pregnant. Virginia got upset and left the table, saying, “You don’t understand.”
By Saturday, she was starting to cry all the time for no good reason. She finally told my parents she knew something bad was going to happen that weekend. “They’re going to die, Mom!” she said. That sticks in my memory like it was yesterday. She was so certain it gave me chills. But nobody believed her.
On Monday, Virginia came home from school hyperventilating. My Mom could hardly get a word out of her. When she did, it was, “They’re gone!”
Soon the story was all the town could talk about. The three girls disappeared that Saturday night. Had Virginia gone, she would’ve been the fourth.
The night of the disappearance, Maestro’s Pizza had a call from Chantal’s phone at 8:47pm for pizza. The driver recorded the delivery at 9:20pm. He said the girls looked ok when he delivered the pizza. All three were at the door. He said it seemed like one of them kept looking behind her, like someone else was there. He couldn’t see anyone.
A receipt from a nearby liquor store was timestamped 9:39pm. The clerk recalls only seeing Jenna and Lise. (Chantal was not yet 18, so that may have been why.) They did not seem distressed to him, although one kept checking her watch.
At 10:14pm and 10:17pm, two calls were found in Chantal’s phone records. Neither call was local. One was to a law office three-hundred miles away. The recorded voicemail was one minute and sixteen seconds of breathing. The second call was to a residence on Prince Edward Island. The woman who answered the phone said the caller asked, “Is he there?” and hung up before she could get clarification. She’d never heard of Chantal and had no idea why Chantal would be calling her. The law office said the same.
That was the last confirmed time anyone heard from Chantal, Jenna, and Lise.
At 11:29pm a 911 call was placed from an unknown phone. A woman is heard whispering, “Send someone, please.” And when the dispatcher asks where, she says, “We don’t know” and the call drops. None of the girls’ parents could say it was their daughter. It may have been a coincidence.
The next day, after not being able to reach her daughter or Chantal, Lise’s mother calls for a wellness check. At 5:45pm on Sunday, police arrive. Chantal’s home is locked up. No signs of a break-in or a struggle. The alarm system was in ‘Home’ mode. The cars were still parked outside. The girls’ phones had been left on the table, one was even left charging. Nothing had been stolen. Slices of pizza were out on the coffee table, partially eaten. Half-drunk drinks were beside the plates.
It’s like they’d just been in the middle of having a good time, drinking, listening to music, when they suddenly dropped everything and ran off. It’s not even clear how they locked up, because the house keys were found on the kitchen counter.
Nobody could understand it. But there was a bad feeling about the whole thing. Even the cops say they felt “dread” when they approached the home. They felt what Virginia had felt before: that something terrible happened.
The usual events that surround missing girls followed. Much of the community helped search surrounding wooded areas. Signs were put up everywhere, all the way to Montreal. It must’ve cost a ton. The bay was searched and a body was found. It turned out to be someone else. In fact, I believe that body was never positively identified.
Police questioned everyone who knew the girls. Family, friends, neighbors. Nobody saw anything, heard anything particularly suspicious. They questioned Virginia a few times about why she didn’t spend the weekend with them as planned and why she wasn’t helping with the searches. To the latter, she said, “It’s too late.”
The Case Gets Stranger
That’s when the weird stuff started to come out. I think every case that’s low on leads like this is going to have some degree of strange tips that go nowhere. But these strange tips went somewhere. This is the stuff that made people not so keen to talk about it.
The first strange report was from an old man, an ex-cop, in a town an hour away. The night the girls disappeared, he was having trouble sleeping. This was around 1 am, he says. While he’s taking a leak, he thinks he hears someone in his yard. It sounded like it might’ve been giggling. Figuring it was kids, he ran out with a bat just to scare them. When he got to his backyard, which backs up to the tree line, he saw three girls holding hands and running single file into the woods.
He ran after them, because there’s a lot of woods back there. He was afraid they’d get lost or hurt. When he got to the woods, he couldn’t find them. They were just gone. He felt stupid about the whole thing, so he kept it to himself. Until he heard three girls had gone missing.
A search was conducted in the area, dogs brought in, but nothing was ever found to say the girls were actually there. It creeps me out thinking about it, because, if it was them, why would they be there? It’s a long walk from Chantal’s home to this town. Why would they walk all that way to wander into the woods?
Chantal’s parents were questioned repeatedly if they’d received demands. Someone said they’d seen Chantal’s father meeting with some men in black suits the week before the girls disappeared. They were getting into a black car when he’d been spotted. Chantal’s dad was a roofing contractor, so top secret meetings wouldn’t have been his thing. He denied it at first. Later he said they were hardware salesmen. So why’d he start by lying? What hardware salesmen act like that?
It didn’t help their case that Chantal’s mother believed the girls were dead. She said it was because of something that happened while she was out of town. At the hotel where she was staying, three birds got into the lobby the same night the girls disappeared. Staff got a 40 foot ladder to get the birds down, but when they got up there, the birds were nowhere to be seen. “Why exactly three birds? That was their spirits. They’re with God now.” That’s what she used to tell people.
I guess that brought her comfort. Someone told Virginia about it once and she said, “They’re nowhere near God…”
Some people shared that opinion because, when police went through their search history, there was a lot of odd stuff you wouldn’t expect popular, cheerleader types to be into. There was a lot of occulty stuff and conspiracy theories. One weird search phrase stood out on the report, “can a TV signal make you do things” and variants on it. The last item in Chantal’s history, at 10:01pm, was for a mountain cottage in Arkansas.
They were in contact with someone with the handle ThePrince. Not many details of those interactions came out. I heard from someone in the police department that he was telling them to do things. There was only one of those he felt he could tell me: this guy had asked them to do something to Virginia. He wanted them to bring her out to this old woodshed back behind the yellow house on Nelson Rd. That was supposed to happen the night they disappeared. “Think about it,” he told me. “What do you think would’ve happened to your sister if she went that night? What would’ve happened?” His look told me this was something that kept him up at night thinking about it. I know the feeling.
They were never able to track down who this ThePrince was, from what I understand. Efforts to contact him online failed.
One of their mutual friends heard Chantal talking about some guy named ‘Vincenzo.’ How Vincenzo knew everything and told them things nobody’s supposed to know. She said Chantal told her Vincenzo took them out to a secret place. Another friend said while sitting with some other friends he saw Chantal talking on her phone at school. She was talking for five minutes or so. She came back and said it was Vincenzo. But everyone at the table swore she didn’t even have a phone in her hand. She was just facing the wall, talking. Whether real or made up, Vincenzo was another dead end.
And there were sightings of the girls everywhere. Sometimes locally, but some claims came from as far as Vancouver and even Australia. Sometimes in the woods, sometimes walking along the street, at the beach. Someone said he was sure it was Chantal who begged him for money in Toronto. Someone else said they saw the girls along the street on a vacation to Mexico. She said the girls retreated into the crowd when she called to them. “Why would they run away like that?” she asked.
Maybe the strangest was a guy who could point to some photos he and his wife had taken at a party. In the background, two girls and part of a third that looked just like them. The thing is, the photos were at a watch party for the fall of the Berlin Wall. The girls were infants at the time those pictures had been taken.
There was a lot mysterious about this case. Why’d they disappear? How’d they get where they were going? Was someone else involved? Where’d they go? Were they dead? The odds of them still being alive were extremely low. Nobody believed we’d ever see them again. With the reappearance of Chantal, the question now was: Where have they been for the past twelve years? And where are the others?
Chantal
Mitch told me, officers, everyone who’d listen, how he found her. He’d been out on his own land—his father’s land, technically, acres and acres of it going way back into the woods—hunting deer. He was up in his stand, way back there, having a few beers. He saw some movement far off in the trees. He was ready to take a shot, but something made him hold on. Just the way it’s moving. Too slow and unsteady for a deer, even a wounded one. It’s a sickly walk. He keeps watching as it comes closer. It’s a person, he’s sure. He’d normally be furious someone was trespassing. But this is too weird. She’s slowly walking straight toward the tree where his stand is and he can now see it’s this half-naked, beaten girl.
“Wherever she’s been, I don’t ever wanna go there,” he told me that night. Sent a shudder right through me. He reeked of something, like a scorched tar smell. And all I could think was that she’d been to hell and back.
The ER docs concluded she was physically ok. She needed food and warmth, but otherwise just bruised up. What she needed was psychological evaluation.
Whatever peace and quiet she had in her room ended quick. Police arrived to question her, her parents (now divorced) were called, and they all wanted to know where she’d been, if she was ok. She still had that dazed, mindless look, even with her mother caressing her.
When she finally spoke, she gave an address. They tried to get her to say more, but that’s all she’d tell them. Just the address. It was a local one, on the other side of town past the old drive-in. Not many people live out that way anymore.
Police sent someone to the address immediately, hoping the other girls would be there. I found out from a friend that they had trouble finding it because the yard was so overgrown that the house number was covered. The house itself was sagging, a rotten old house with busted out windows.
Two cops were checking it out and even with two of them, both armed, the place made them nervous. They go inside and find an old mattress and a bunch of dolls on the floor. They heard a thudding sound from upstairs. One of them went up to check it out, while the other looked around downstairs.
The one upstairs went room to room looking for the source of the noise. He comes to one room where he sees the window shutters are open. He thinks he’s seen this in the movies before: it’s just the wind. What next, a cat jumps out? So he goes and closes the shutters. Then it occurs to him. There isn’t any wind.
He searches the upstairs and finds no-one there. He runs downstairs and asks his partner if he’s seen anyone. He hasn’t. He’s been flipping through a book he found. It’s a book about the Nazis with polaroids of children between the pages. They decide to get out of the creepy place and come back in daylight. On the way out, they both notice the back door’s been opened. They were sure it was shut when they’d arrived.
Investigators looked all over the property the next few days. One of the upstairs rooms has a lot of bloodstains. They’re tested and come back inconclusive. The polaroids are reviewed, but no-one recognizes the children. There wasn’t even a hint that Chantal or the others had been in that house. They can’t figure out why Chantal was so fixated on that address.
The owner of the house, according to records, made the purchase in 1974. Nobody in town had ever seen or heard of this person. More, as far as police could determine, this person didn’t exist. Others still living in the area say they’ve seen vehicles at the home before, years back. Never the same vehicle twice. But they never met anyone.
Hospital staff left Chantal’s mother stay with her the rest of the night. She didn’t want to leave her side. She was afraid of losing her again, perhaps. One of the nurses heard her mother asking her, “Where were you all that time, Chantal?” and saying things like, “You don’t look a day older.” And Chantal said, “I wasn’t anywhere.”
Technically my shift was over, but with what happened, I stayed on to help. And I was nosey. I didn’t try to go visit Chantal. I never really knew my sister’s friends. So I was surprised when I heard Chantal wanted to see me. I figured it would have to do with Virginia and I was right. She asked me if Virginia could come see her.
I just imagined how much she missed her friends and family after all this time, so I was quick to promise I’d try my best. Virginia had left town eleven years ago. She rarely even called. Something about the incident changed her. But I had her number, of course, so I called and told her everything that happened.
Up to, “She’s been asking to see you, V. Maybe she’ll tell you more.”
I was sure she would say she’s hopping on a plane. Instead, she said, “Chantal is dead. They’re all dead. They’ve been dead all this time.”
I said, “V, I was looking right at her. She spoke to me. She’s on an IV drip. She’s alive.”
“I don’t know who or what that is. All I know is if I come home, I’ll never be seen again.”
And she hung up. I called back a few times. She wouldn’t answer. My parents couldn’t believe it. She wouldn’t answer for them either. I couldn’t go face Chantal with that news, so I just went home.
I spent the night beating myself up about it. I could hardly sleep. Around 3am I heard faint knocking on my front door. All sorts of ideas went through my mind. What if Virginia decided to fly in after all?
Before I could go to the door to look, my phone rang. It was Virginia. I answered and asked right away if that was her at the front door. She told me she had a bad feeling and woke up in tears, sure something had happened to me.
“Don’t answer the door,” she said. “Please.”
I didn’t. I heard the knock again and I didn’t answer. V and I weren’t close. But I trusted her. I spent the rest of the night hiding in my own home, because she really freaked the shit out of me.
I found out the next day that Chantal had gotten out of her bed during the night, around 2:45am, while her mother slept. Hospital cameras show her walking out calmly, nobody notices. And just like that, she disappeared again. Nobody’s seen her since. No idea where she went after leaving the hospital, and still no idea where she’d been for the past twelve years. There’ve been searches, but I’m sure it’ll be all dead ends again.
#scary stories#reddit#this literally scared the shit oit of me the first time I heard it#its so good
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
DC UNIVERSE’S FIRST TV SERIES ‘TITANS’ IS GETTING POSITIVE REVIEWS AND HERE’S WHY!
Everything DC got right in its new series.
As a fan of all things DC and superheroes, my heart is happy with how Titans is faring so far. Admittedly, there was a little bit of worry on my part upon seeing the trailer for the first time. While I was excited to see it, I was also hoping I didn’t get disappointed with it. I’ve been waiting for this show to come out even when it wasn’t a sure thing yet. But now, I gotta say, waiting one week just for another episode is even harder.
With a positive 93% rating from Google users and 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I think I’m not the only one impressed. If you ask me, here are the reasons why we love it and keep coming back for more!
(As always, warning for the spoilers ahead!)
1. THE BOY WONDER
Two words: Dick Grayson.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one here who is very motivated to watch because finally, finally! We get to see the Richard John Grayson portrayed as he was meant to be portrayed (no offense Chris O’ Donell). They really did give him an apt nickname as the Boy Wonder. Because boyyyy he is wonderful.
Although I’ve never imagined Dick as this dark and brooding character, I guess it only makes sense seeing as he recently called it quits with his sort- of adoptive father slash partner in superheroing. Plus, I’m guessing growing up around Batman isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows, and it’ obvious from the flashbacks and from his reaction when Raven mentions the circus that the death of his parents still weighs very heavily on him. Again just like Bruce.
And that’s not where the similarities end. Even the way Dick fights clearly shows his training from Batman. We see him blending in with the shadows, grabbing enemies and whisking them away screaming. That use of the gas while covering half his face with the cape maneuver. This are all classic Batman techniques!
Also can we talk about how well he’s trained as a fighter? Because Hawk and Dove were about to be roasted birds before he swooped in to save them. They couldn’t handle the bad guys when there was two of them, but Dick made quick work of them without even breaking a sweat. Of course, since I’m talking about his awesome fighting skills, I need to mention that retractable bo staff. When he first brought it out, my heart literally leapt with joy because it looked so much like an eskrima stick which is his weapon of choice (as I’ve mentioned before). After it extended into a bo staff, I was a little disappointed. But only a little, because the way it happened was pretty cool. Well played Greg Berlanti and Akiva Goldsman. Well played.
We also need to give credit to Dick for his discipline. The way he cleans up his suit after every fight and checks all of his equipment really shows you the kind of training he received from Bruce (or maybe Alfred). As I was telling my dad, who is also a major fan by the way, “he seems to be the Batman we’ve always wanted, but never gotten.”
Of course, there are some bad sides. He needs to get rid of all that broodiness and darkness. Jason Todd could use some of it, though. Cause from what I’ve seen in the trailers, Jason seems to be a bit too preppy. I think somebody mistakenly switched their personalities. Also, no one appreciates a girlfriend stealer Dick! What the heck you doing cozying up to Dove? I would prefer it if he and Donna were together instead. I honestly ship them more than I do him and Starfire. I hope this is explored in the series.
On an ending note (because I could write about Dick Grayson all day), can we just thank whoever decided to cast Brenton Thwaites as Nightwing? Bless your soul. Who wouldn’t mind looking at him all day? *swoon*
(Our first time seeing Dick as he stalks a child abuser and contemplates on putting on his mask)
(Hello to you too Detective Grayson)
2. EDGINESS WITH A PINCH OF HUMOR
I’ve always loved DC’s dark tone. While I do appreciate the humor in Marvel, the dark tone of DC just gives it a much more realistic vibe. These are real people facing real dilemmas. They do get bruised (as seen in Dick’s shirtless scenes) and bloody and broken (as also seen from Hank’s shirtless scene). I like that the series is exploring that and showing us, that yes, these characters are far from perfect. That yes, they walk a fine line between being a hero and a villain, and one wrong decision could put them on the wrong side. They go through pain and heartbreak and betrayal. It’s very raw. Very dark. But I love it.
I also love that the attempt to inject humor here is just right. It’s not overly done or pathetic- looking like Shazam (sorry for those who are excited to see it, but really, I think they tried too hard to be funny with that one and just died). The humor here is much more muted, just perfect to give a little lightness from all the torn up feelings the characters are experiencing. Like I said, it’s just a pinch, but it’s there. And I think the writers have found a perfect balance.
3. PERFECT CAST
I’ve already thanked whoever cast Brenton Thwaites, but really I’m amazed by the entire ensemble. Even to the people behind the scenes for making a successful show to launch the DC Universe streaming platform. This can really be a good start for the other upcoming series like Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn.
Aside from Dick, I’d have to say Raven is also beautifully portrayed by Teagan Croft (and apparently she’s only fourteen?! Dude, what? Can I adopt her?!).
I’m also warming up to Starfire. From the first episode I’ve seen, she can be a badass, but her fun and cavalier personality also shines through as she tried to remember who she is. I’m hoping to see more of the free- spirited, fun- loving Starfire like in the comics and old animated series. Anna Diop is great with giving us the strong yet blasé personality, even that naivety, which Starfire seems to have.
And of course, let’s not forget Hawk and Dove (aka Hank and Dawn). Although I’m not a fan of their somewhat toxic relationship, I did fall in love with Dove’s calm and calming presence. On the other hand, I also like how Ritchson contrasts that with the douchebag that is Hank/ Hawk. Apparently, opposites still attract. Can’t wait to see Donna and Beast Boy incorporated more into the story.
4. ACTION (AND VIOLENCE?)
Welllllllll I’m not really a fan of the violence, but I guess it’s a part of what makes the show interesting. The fight scenes are very well choreographed. I love that there are some tumblings done by Dick (maybe a stunt double) that show his acrobatic roots. I also love the teamwork shown in the scene where he’s fighting alongside Hawk and Dove. There seems to be large amounts of blood spilled, whether it be the bad guys or the good guys. It’s not entirely necessary and reminds me too much of Netflix’s The Punisher, but I guess some people like that. Kudos to the fight choreographers though! Because of them (and not the blood) the fight scenes have become my favourite part of the show. I could watch those scenes a ton of times.
youtube
OTHER NOTEWORTHY THINGS:
· Donna Troy (Wonder Girl) is set to make an appearance and you don’t know how happy this makes me! She’s Dick’s best friend in the comics and I ship them so hard. Can’t wait to see what their chemistry will be like on screen and what Wonder Girl will bring to the table. Since Wonder Woman was a big hit, I’m expecting something good from her as well.
· People die in this universe and, although it makes me sad, it is something unavoidable in a superhero movie. I always kind of disliked the fact that no one ever stays dead in a superhero movie or story. Tragedy is a great part of what makes a hero. However, if they kill off Dove, I’m starting a protest.
· Starfire and Raven get costumes. Although it hasn’t been shown in the series per se, it’s been confirmed with some BTS pictures, and that’s nearly as good. My girl Donna should also get her own clothes otherwise-
· Grayson’s soft side when it comes to Rachel. Honestly, Dick being a dad to Rachel and totally denying that he’s good with family is the cutest thing ever (Also can we talk about him calling her Rache?! Too cute!)
And that’s about it! What are you most looking forward to seeing from Titans? Who do you want to be on the team? And are you liking it so far? Sound off with a comment!
#DC#dcuniverse#Teen Titans#Titans2018#dick grayson#robin#nightwing#jason todd#starfire#koriand'r#donna troy#wonder girl#hawk#dove#raven#rachel roth#beast boy#tv series#shows#action#superhero#comics#brenton thwaites#teagan croft#minka kelly#greg berlanti#akiva goldsman
80 notes
·
View notes
Text
Heart Vs The Forces of Mind
Star, Marco, and Tom (and Starco) in Season 3
Mobile Friendly PDF version here
I’m going to keep the introduction short, since the post is already going to be huge enough as it is. The third season of Star Vs The Forces Of Evil hit us with unprecedented levels of romance drama, unexpected events, and kids not knowing how to handle the full extent of their feelings. In the next several thousands words I’m going to try to put some order through what went through the minds (and hearts) of the characters, episode by episode, what motivations and feelings drove them, and what recurring themes relate to the way the show handles relationships. The point of this work is absolutely not to try and praise or condemn Star, Marco, or Tom’s as morally good or bad, as many character decisions were squarely in a grey area, but rather to take an even-handed approach to things from the perspectives of each character, to better understand them, and from the point of view of the narrative, to see where the show is leading us, beyond the temporary detours along the way. Some assumptions are going to be made, since the show is heavy on its “show don’t tell” approach and rarely spells us out everything for us, especially when it comes to the characters’ inner machinations, but I feel confident in saying that the show itself is more biased in favor of Starco than most shippers are: it’s not evident in almost any individual episode, and it’s far from being the only thing the series cares about, but it’s still the ultimate direction and goal most events seem to lead to, and the last episodes in this season confirmed it. Also I’m going to repeat the same concepts over and over and over, to drive home the point of how important or recurrent some of them are.
Huge thanks to @ngame989, who proofread and corrected this post, gave me tons of useful suggestions and prompts, and wasted several hours chatting about a dumb cartoon with me throughout the months, generating enough material, ideas and interpretations to fill three other analyses like this on.
HUGE POST BELOW THE READ MORE
The whole post is going to be heavily based on a concept introduced by Sleepover. Said episode is the one that truly kickstarted all the romance plots, and fittingly enough it also told us what would have influenced all the actions of the characters for seasons to come - in their relationships with each other as much as in their individual lives - a disagreement between Heart and Mind. Between what a character wants, and what they think they want.
STARCRUSHED
(not a S3 episode, but it effectively is the prologue to everything that happens afterward)
The episode opens, following the events of Just Friends and Face The Music, with a Star who can’t completely ignore her feelings for Marco anymore: she can definitely feel the pull he has on her heart. But she’s still scared that admitting such a huge thing both to herself and to Marco could completely change their relationship, and potentially ruin their friendship (a legit concern, since following Song Day Marco had been avoiding her as much as she avoided him, showing that he wasn’t comfortable with the situation either).
Luckily for us, the episode’s goal, among others, is to put some order in Star’s feelings: she tries to run away from her problems until the very last second, her meeting with Oskar showing with no room for doubt that she’s completely over him and that Marco has the monopoly on her interests, but Star still tries to run away from reality. She tells Marco that he’s just a friend to her (this is an important theme: we are so close to getting real Starco now, because with Booth Buddies the dorks finally began understanding, if not completely consciously yet, that their friendship and their love are inextricably connected and that they can’t be “just friends”, nor “just lovers”),
and then tries to use Mind to override Heart, by telling herself that she can still force herself to like Oskar; she was just looking for a way to keep herself too busy to think about heartbreak over the summer while still being able to enjoy it with her romantically unavailable best friend.
Obviously this doesn’t work, and one last push - the perspective of suddenly having to abandon Marco and everything she loved - finally puts both her Mind and Heart in the same place, leading to the confession.
Meanwhile Marco clearly didn’t think the same: there is no doubt that his Heart has always been largely focused on Star, even if not romantically at the time - heck, he left Jackie hanging like four times in three episodes to check on Star because he was worried about her - but his Mind was far from being ready. Not only did he clearly hope for Star not to have a crush on him - which would have just made everything more complicated, a wrench on what he thought was the perfect little life he yearned for for so long, with good friends and Jackie as his girlfriend - but he was also trying to convince himself, maybe feeling that was something expected from a couple, that Jackie was “his partner in crime”.
Obviously his actions always screamed the opposite, no one could deny that him and Jackie were never really close friends. This is referenced again in Sophomore Slump, when Marco’s Mind tries, for one last time, to convince him - and Jackie - that their relationship can still work, that he can put all of his Heart in it as well. Thankfully Jackie has the same insight an “omniscient narrator” would have, and knows that things would never work, not for long at least.
So by the end of S2 Star’s Heart and Mind agreed on liking Marco Diaz.
Meanwhile Marco was too stunned by the sudden change to react, his Mind and Heart being in incredible disagreement and the former overriding the latter.
THE BATTLE FOR MEWNI
(Disclaimer: I’m talking about this as if it was a single episode)
The first episode, Return To Mewni, immediately opens up on a peek on the current emotional situations:
Star is “spying” on Marco, looking at what she lost, calling him cute and sniffing his hoodie, and she calls him “cute” again in Toffee: if in Starcrushed events kinda forced her Mind and Heart to agree, now it’s something she does completely willingly, and at this point Star romantically likes Marco. She knows it, and she's ok with it.
Meanwhile Marco is in a weird situation. As it’s going to be made clear by the following episodes he’s in no way thinking about Star’s confession and is not ready to consider and address it. But at the same time, while in his inconsolable sadness, he doesn’t seem to be driven by Heart alone: clearly once he gets to Mewni and sees what kind of danger Star is in, and when they later meet again and hug, he’s not thinking much and is acting out of pure feelings and emotions. Interestingly, however, his initial reason slash excuse to check on Star was to give her some cereal, and that happened at least some days after Starcrushed. Clearly there was no romance from Marco’s side at the time, but his actions seem to suggest that even some days after Star’s departure, when he probably had regained at the very least a semblance of lucidity, and before the life or death situation kicked in, both his Heart and Mind could focus only on Star.
The hug in Toffee was a first taste of a situation similar to the one in Booth Buddies, with both characters simply enjoying the moment. Obviously in this case Star’s Mind would have agreed on the attraction she felt for Marco as well, but it’d have been irrelevant anyway for those handful of seconds. Still, it was a “HEART TAKE THE WHEEL!” moment for both: pure relief, forgetting for a moment about the danger and the potential awkwardness that could have been (and still, technically, was) between the two of them.
SCENT OF A HOODIE
With the imminent danger over, Marco is back to his usual Heart VS Mind conflict: there’s no doubt that he still feels very much for Star, but he still resolves to go back to Earth and, most importantly, he never addresses Star’s confession. As Booth Buddies told us (not that it was hard to imagine), he was scared of things being different, and he did a rather unfortunate thing by completely ignoring the matter. Star never brought it up again either, probably feeling dead inside: being ignored like that must have been worse than a rejection to her, never knowing what Marco felt. Poor Star.
Why does Marco want to go back to Earth? That’s a good question. Clearly he did enjoy the kind of life Star brought him well before getting obsessed with the cape. He has family there, there’s Jackie, sure, but the problem has never really been physical, since with the scissors distances aren’t an issue (as noted by Angie in Marco Jr., an episode that tackles the same concept from the other side), but emotional.
Marco never seemed conflicted, until Sophomore Slump, about leaving, Star because he was still focused on what I referenced earlier, the perfect little life he yearned for for so long.
And Jackie was the symbol of this ‘ideal normal life’ - as absurd as it is, since Marco’s life stopped being normal when he met Star! Which is, not so coincidentally, why he moves to Mewni only after having broke up with her (and more specifically, immediately after). So Marco is not emotionally ready yet to accept that what he fixated on for most of his life is… not the right thing anymore, not what he really wants, and this stops him from taking a huge, scary decision such as changing his life all over and moving on Mewni.
[Note: this is not to say that his parents and other friends mean nothing to Marco, in universe, but from the point of narrative they clearly had little to no relevance to Marco’s development, compared to Jackie/Jarco]
This doesn’t mean he didn’t care for Star anymore, it’s just that, in this moment, Mind was exceedingly winning over Heart, and lead him to do things that, as he said in Booth Buddies, “stunk” (from Star’s perspective, at least, at the time).
This doesn’t make Marco an a-hole, though. He understandably got scared. it looked especially weird to us viewers because throughout the show he had always “championed” honesty and talking about things, but this was true as long as it was about easy decisions. When faced with something as big as his best friend liking him, as big as having to choose if he wanted to change his life all over, he saw that he wasn’t ready for it. For all of S2 Marco was a good influence on Star and her tendency to ignore problems, but when it was Marco’s turn to be faced with a huge, emotional problem, he ran away. And that’s fine, because Marco was lacking development as a character ever since Naysaya, while Star had a whole season for it. He didn’t do the right thing (note: the right thing would have been talking it through with Star, not necessarily choosing Star - liking Jackie wasn’t a mistake, the mistake was never trying to truly think about the whole situation), but grew from it.
Again: they can meet anytime they want, then why is the goodbye so painful and heavy? Because it’s an emotional one, more than a physical one. Consciously or unconsciously, Marco choose Earth over Star. Not just by leaving, but by not talking to her about her confession. Obviously this doesn’t mean they ‘stopped being friends’, nor that they’d have never seen each other ever again, probably, hadn’t Marco been back, but it was an extremely important point of (no) return for both of them.
Thankfully the show is literally built on people learning from their mistakes, and people forgiving mistakes, so the situation changed again, improved, and eventually lead to the current one.
When Marco leaves, we are left with a dejected Star who, despite having had her heart stomped on, still crushes hard on the dork. “Best friends makes best lovers” (and, by extension, a couple can work only when there is a friendship at its base as well) is a theme throughout the season (explicitly referenced in Lava Lake Beach, even). And it’s demonstrated here: Star’s attraction toward Marco is shown through her reminiscing about ordinary moments they shared as friends, not by looking at a picture and fawning over how cute he is or by remembering things like their dance in Blood Moon Ball.
But then, lo, the GETTING OVER HIM™ process begins. By the end of the episode (even more clear in the following ones) Star clearly still remembers Marco fondly,
but she’s ready to stop moping over him all the time, ready to work on her feelings, ready to have her head be thrown into a spiral of pure confusion and emptiness (that she’s hastily going to fill with Tom, as we’re going to see soon). Symbolically she gives the hoodie back to Marco, “letting go” of the overbearing grip he had on her Heart and Mind. Meanwhile Marco is interestingly seen, for the first time from the beginning of the episode up to Lint Catcher, not wearing his cape. Clearly this might be just because the scene required him to wear his hoodie, and it’d have been difficult to draw it with the cape already on, but it might also be a symbol: Marco, once home, was ready to focus completely on adapting again to his old life (remember: a life that stopped being a good fit for him about 40 episodes earlier), until a star hit him in the face, and on the nose.
[see a better post about this by Reddit user 650_dollars]
Marco clearly won’t realize what his reaction to Star’s smell meant for some more episodes, but from this point onward he’s always seen wearing the cape (even in his quick cameo in Rest In Pudding), a reminder of what his Heart really wanted. Aaaand we’re back, Mind and Heart disagreeing.
So by the end of the episode Star’s Mind and Heart are moderately ready to get over Marco (obviously this doesn’t have to mean that she was ready to completely forget about him), while Marco gets thrown into a spiral of confused feelings that he avoided up to this point thanks to his tunnel vision. Blinders don’t protect from smells, Marco.
REST IN PUDDING
Another episode about letting things go. Clearly not as strongly connected to shipping as Scent Of A Hoodie, but still probably relevant. Especially this one line:
As I’m going to say about three hundred times throughout the post Star is in dire need of a “companion”, someone who can help her through big and small things in life, because her life is a mess and she is a mess. Marco fit this role more or less all the time throughout the show… until feelings happened. First by spending more time with Jackie, then by going back to Earth, he was less present in Star’s life; furthermore, he’s currently absent right when she needs someone’s support the most, busy as she was trying to change her life and way to be a princess. This doesn’t mean that Star feels entitled, she’s not saying “Damn Marco, not choosing me over anything else!”, but it’s still easy to see how this line might be related to the current situation and to how much it hurt her to see Marco go away without ever talking about what she felt for him, what she confessed to him.
Also, while I’m not sure if this is meant to have any relevance to Star and Marco, or if I’m just over-reading into things… Star spends the whole episode reluctantly learning to let go of things, and then said thing is back by the end. I guess the same happens with Marco...
CLUB SNUBBED
As this episode was the introduction of Tom to S3, this section will be our true introduction to Tom in this post. Our fiery friend rose to much greater prominence this season than in the past, and there is absolutely no doubt that his character experiences massive growth by the final time we see Star looking out over Mewni as an anime outro song plays. I want to take an early moment to bring up the central theme of this growth: his insecure need for external validation, and specifically validation from (or involving) Star. This insecurity, this lack of inherent self-worth that compels him to seek out affirmation of his value from outside sources, leads him to have a worldview very focused on the self (which isn’t inherently a bad thing, and certainly not always a negative “selfishness”, as I’ll cover more in-depth at the end of Is Another Mystery). And this concept isn’t new for Tom in S3, either! Even in his first appearance in Blood Moon Ball, he brings his life coach along (who is already a source of external validation, awarding badges as tokens of growth) to try and tell Star “Hey, look at me, don’t you see how much I’ve changed?”; Mr. Candle Cares focuses less on the insecurity and more on the self-centered worldview (which, at this point, is most certainly selfish with all the negative connotations the word carries), but it comes roaring back in Friendenemies where Tom almost throws away an entire fun day and potential budding friendship for a Good Boy Badge from Brian. It’s important to note that even as early as his first appearance, Tom does grasp his faults and is sincerely looking to make strides to overcome them. But at each and every turn, these deep-seated issues make it much harder for him or outright steer him away from the path he knows he should be on, and season 3 is no exception.
And that’s what happens in Club Snubbed: by the beginning of the episode I think Tom truly is trying to move over from Star, at least romantically speaking. But he’s still relating his efforts to her, even if in an indirect way, and this is a recipe for easy relapsing and failure: “Star is completely over me and she is with Marco now, so the best way to prove that I am a good, improving person is… completely ignore her, to show her how good I am at giving her space!”. I think that’s what the meaning of this shot in the episode is; Tom wasn’t trying to club-snub Star to make her “jealous”, he was just... showing off how good he is at ignoring her.
Which brings us to a recurring theme for the first week of the S3A bomb: characters saying what they think they want, what they think is right, but for their actions to then contradict it. Yet another declination of the good ol’ Heart VS Mind disagreement.
Tom says that he got over Star, realizing she’s not into him, and that he decided to give her space for that,
but as soon as he hears that her and Marco are not dating, he perks up and looks relieved, and then is more than ready to go back to dating her. This might easily be an aftereffect of what I said before: by indirectly relating all his efforts to Star (even the well-intentioned ones), the moment he feels like he still has a chance to get the “trophy” he associates the most with being validated as a good person, he goes back to directly relating his efforts to Star. To be fair, in Demoncism he’s going to try to improve himself for his own sake, but he’s going to throw himself at it blindly, because after having spent so long trying to improve for others that’s all he can do, and from that moment until right before the season finale, all of his actions are going to be strictly motivated by a feeling of “I have to do what a boyfriend is expected to do so that Star is going to like me”. And he’s even going to half-ass it, at times (Monster Bash and Is Another Mystery until the closing scenes), because it’s understandably hard to put all your heart in efforts in something that’s almost an imposition he put on himself out of fear of failure and further relapsing.
Star says that who she really needs is a friend (theme of companionship), but then she goes back to dating Tom.
And this is going to happen a bunch of other times in the following episodes.
Also something that is going to be more relevant with the season finale, but that gets “foreshadowed” here: while it’s still just a speculation, and we won’t know for sure until S4, I think that being a friend, not a boyfriend, as Star initially (thought she) wanted is going to be the next step in Tom’s growth as a character. It’s what is going to allow him to improve himself and to do nice things, not to get praises or to feel like he’s doing what he’s expected to, but because he genuinely wants to and because he cares about the people in his life.
Continuing with the episode, after having said that what she needed was a friend, after having pointed out that her and Marco not being a thing was not the point, Star seemingly falls head over heels for Tom in the span of a dance.
And here come the two Big Questions: Was Tom a rebound? And was Star truly over Marco?
Personally I’d say that by the end of Club Snubbed, Tom is a rebound. Following Marco’s departure Star has probably not been in the best of moods for a while. Feeling rejected, even ignored, and left alone by the one person she used to trust with just about anything right when she needs support the most, she gets thrown into a dreamy dance with someone she is physically attracted to and with whom she had history. It’s easy to suppose that this was the first moment she could take her mind off her stress and suffering in days/weeks, and everyone likes not feeling like poop all the time, so Star was automatically into that - she wanted more of that. See the following Face Analysis™:
So at this point we could say (with the tiniest bit of salt that characterized us Starco shippers for a significant portion of the season) that more or less any person who could have gave Star a moment of happiness could have replaced Tom at this point in time (always remembering that Star is canonically and evidently physically attracted to Tom though, and that obviously plays a big role in romance). BUT by the end of Demoncism her and Tom bond over emotions, over their current situation and experiences, and Star begins getting attracted to Tom The Person, not Tom The Experience. Ultimately I think Tomstar should be analyzed in its two parts, as Tom and Star getting closer again, and as a relationship. The romantic part is - no offense to anyone - rushed. There’s no doubt about it. The theme of Star rushing things is central to the first half of the season and gets explicitly addressed in The Bogbeast Of Boggabah, and it’s clear that the romantic aspect of the relationship happened so suddenly because Star's heart was still sorely craving something to help her feel better and fill the "ROMANCE" slot in her life (which was just vacated when she forcibly moved on). But Star and Tom getting closer as two people who had a troubled past together, and who understood both had changed? That wasn’t a rebound, nor a mistake, nor something that didn’t have real bases for both of them.
Also, one interesting point about something that’s going to be more relevant later with Booth Buddies: the show doesn’t force feelings. Even when things are “rushed”, such as Star and Tom hooking up again, events and episodes just bring a payoff to what was already there. Compare Blood Moon Ball and Club Snubbed:
in the first case a fancy dance wasn’t enough to magically solve the “trust issue” that was created between Star and Marco. They had to talk together for that. Because neither of them was ready for “romance” at the time, and that was not the focus of the episode.
Meanwhile in the second case the dance is enough, after months of not having seen each other and an overall stormy relationship, to initiate the events that are soon going to lead to a romantic relationship because both characters were primed for that, regardless of how misguided the decision might have been. Two seasons spent by Tom yearning for Star, and two episodes of “feeling alone” for the princess were the bases that allowed this. The individual events that trigger changes might be arbitrary, but the feelings of the characters are never forced out of nowhere; they just develop and change on top of something that already existed.
Second question, was Star over Marco? Strictly romantically speaking, in that moment, probably yes. But all the underlying factors that led to the romance in the first place (which can be summed up with “best friends make best lovers”, to reference the show, or with “Star fell for Marco because he was the ideal companion who gave her what she needed as a life partner through thick and thin”) never stopped being there, and they never stopped being for Marco. That’s why as soon as he came back, Star largely began ignoring Tom and never really involved him in anything, and that’s why Tom felt the need to compare himself to Marco and be reassured that he was doing better than him.
DEMONCISM
The episode opens up with the direct consequences of Club Snubbed: Star calls Tom, eager to meet up with him again, looking almost nervous about it. It’s a foil to the scene in Bon Bon The Birthday Clown. In both cases Star is following her Heart without knowing why or what it means; at the time she acted like that because she couldn’t put her finger on why Marco being alone with Jackie while she was at the cemetery made her feel so uneasy, and now she is in... full rebound mode. Not out of “spite” for Marco or anything; rather, after days/weeks of feeling bad, she stopped hurting when she danced with Tom, and now wants to feel like that again. At this point it’s little more than a Pavlovian reaction to happiness, but during this episode her and Tom are going to develop a real connection that’s going to give a much firmer basis to their relationship. The romance part, for both of them, is still going to be a rushed and misguided attempt to fill specific roles in their lives. But getting closer as individuals? There’s going to be a positive and sympathetic reason behind that.
"Why would Tom ever tell Pony Head something if she didn’t want Star to know?” That’s a very legit question, but I truly don’t think Tom had any intention to manipulate Star, in this case, and that he really didn’t want her to know about the demoncism. The absurdity of his decision to trust Pony is easily explained by plot needs.
As soon as she meets him Star shares the same suspicions several viewers had, but I trust Tom when he says that he’s doing that for himself.
Or, better, I trust that’s what he believed. Let’s try to map Tom’s recent train of thoughts and decisions:
At some point after Face The Music he thinks that Star and Marco are dating, and he genuinely accepts that Star is over him. After all, there are very good chances that his infatuation with Star was always rooted in her being the ultimate source of validation he knew, way more than any of Brian’s badges could have ever been. But the only way he knows to improve himself is by relating all his efforts to Star, directly or indirectly. So he decides to prove that he’s a better person by giving Star and Marco space, “They’re going to see how considerate and accepting I am!”.
Then during Club Snubbed he learns that Star and Marco are not dating, and suddenly Plan A (getting Star back and have her be his constant source of validation) seems viable again. They dance together, and she seems to have fun, so he proposes that they could hang out sometime.
But Tom feels like this is the one chance he has to truly prove to himself that he has changed, that he can become a better person instead of forever being a broody teen dominated by all his inner demons, and he decides to undergo a Demoncism (roll credits). While Star herself, and potentially the possibility of a budding relationship, was certainly the spark that inspired him to do it, for the first time Tom tried to improve himself for himself. Not to be praised by Star, nor by Brian. But he doesn’t know how to do it “in a vacuum”, and blindly jumps into something he doesn’t fully understand, thinking that it’s going to be a “miracle cure”.
So Tom is not lying, he genuinely wanted it... but he was still doing it for the wrong reasons because he felt like that was his last chance, and that’s clearly not the case. He learns that the process is not going to be as efficient as he thought and feels hopeless, as if nothing is ever going to help him change. But Star comforts him, assuring him that he can still become a better person day by day, by slowly working on himself even with all his flaws and anger.
And this is genuinely great advice and what Tom actually needs in this moment! He’s put on the right track and gains renewed hope… but there’s a catch. Gaining the validation and encouragement from Star is a fantastic push in Tom’s motivation to improve, but the rekindling of their relationship steers his efforts in a direction that yields suboptimal results. It’s much like the aforementioned Pavlovian reaction Star had: he has a moment where Star’s encouragement makes him happy, so he takes all his motivation and applies it towards getting more of that (make no mistake, he still sincerely desires to improve more than he ever has, and this will only grow over time). He’s going to swerve in this direction until Is Another Mystery, thinking that the primary metric of improving himself is doing what his renewed Boyfriend role entails. But his drive is admirable and continues pushing him forward, as evidenced by the incredible growth he managed to undergo in the span of 40 minutes during the season finale - as soon as he realized that feeling loved by his friends is a much better source of motivation than being patted on the back for being an “acceptable boyfriend”.
And Star too, shows that she’s ready to give Tom what he truly needs - some trust and genuine care - even when everyone else (in this case the people in charge of the demoncism, but it’s probably a symbol for all the people in Tom’s life in general) is either scared by him, or treats him just as a “patient”.
After this episode both Star and Tom are going to screw things up until the end of the season, but that’s just because they’re dumb teens who make dumb mistakes because they’re scared to face unpleasant facts and question what they think are unchangeable truths. Star’s going to largely ignore him despite his supposed role in her life and the motivations they share, and Tom is going to dump all that hope for self-improvement into wanting Good Boyfriend Points, but below Tom got on the right track (even if it’s going to take him a dozen more episodes to actually start the car).
As for the “rebound or not?” question that I introduced the previous episode, this scene specifically tells us why Star felt like Tom was a kindred spirit in that moment: both struggled with wanting to change while being scared of doing that alone.
If we add to this the state of mind Star was left in after Marco left, the moment they share at the end of the episode, her tendency to rush things thinking she can find easy solutions to them, her past history together, and the evidence that she is physically attracted to him, it makes sense for them to have hooked up again - and not because Star was just looking for an “after Marco” rebound.
Obviously getting things romantic again was a mistake, as we’re going to see in the following episodes, because both of them lacked the right kind of mindset and mostly just act out of what they think they wanted based on their preconceptions and fears, but the two of them getting emotionally closer? Makes completely sense. Star in Club Snubbed and Tom in Demoncism respectively had a huge “I NEED A FRIEND” sign on their heads, and Demoncism shows us why they’re each a good fit for the role.
SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Some clarifications about the meaning of the cape, before I get into the details: it’s clearly a symbol. Everyone knows it. But the symbolism gets deeper than “Marco misses Mewni and wants to be a knight”, it’s directly connected to what I said about Scent Of A Hoodie: the cape is a symbol of an emotional separation, not a physical one. I’ve seen a looot of posts complaining about how Marco could have easily used his scissors to “commute” from Earth to Mewni and have both worlds: adventures with his friend Star while still living on Earth, dating Jackie. Sadly things weren’t that simple; Marco couldn’t have done that because he’d have never been able to make up his Mind that way, and his Heart (that, by then, was already mostly on Mewni and with Star) would have never allowed him to keep both things going at the same time. Eventually a breaking point would have been reached, and Jackie would have lost - she knew it, and she wanted to avoid useless pain to both of them.
In this context the cape isn’t the only symbol, Jackie is one too: the former represented the new exciting life that Star brought with her, a life that helped Marco come out of his shell (and this has always been the core of Marco’s growth as a person, something referenced by Daron in the earliest interviews about the show, and that’s still true to this day). The latter is a symbol of the life Marco wanted from when he was a toddler, until something began to change thanks to Star. Things changed for Marco, and there was no way to go back to how they were (another recurring theme in the show, addressed by Marco himself in Booth Buddies). That’s why Jackie knew she had “no chance”: it wasn’t a Jackie Vs Star competition for Marco’s heart (lowercase, the normal romantic connotation), it was Marco’s Old Comfortably Familiar Life Vs Marco’s New Formative Life. Star wasn’t there to drag Marco out of his shell anymore, and it was time for him to take initiative and burst out of it on his own, to have a “French Summer” and find the famous red balloon (a metaphor for a goal in life) from his nightmare in Red Belt.
And that’s why comments like “Marco couldn’t even give up the cape for one single day for Jackie’s sake, he’s a terrible boyfriend!” don’t make much sense, because the cape had so much more meaning than Marco’s latest obsession, than the object of his pride (it was also that, but that’s extremely secondary right now).
Now, going in order with the episode: throughout the show Marco has been less than a stellar boyfriend to Jackie. Leaving her hanging multiple times when Star took priority (Just Friends, Starcrushed), never really getting to know her despite his speech in Sleepover (DING! Third point for “characters say what they think they want or is true, but their actions spell the opposite, because Mind and Heart disagree”), apparently barely seeing her for most of the Summer, busy on Mewni as he was (Jackie mentions that half of their three months together have essentially been long distance). That’s because Marco’s Heart has never really been with Jackie; she has always been his “goal” as far as romance goes, and he never questioned it, even when his priorities changed. But in this scene we see that Marco’s Mind is still focused on Jackie, leading him to recognize his mistakes and wanting to make up for them. He never willingly intended to ignore her, and genuinely wants to spend time together (interesting comparison with Tom and Star, since the latter seems definitely not that invested in spending time with Tom, never involving him in her life unless he’s physically already present. And even in that case, as seen in Monster Bash and Is Another Mystery, he’s still not her first choice or focus). This is consistent with Marco’s personality: determined to make up for his shortcomings, going at it headfirst before even questioning why or even if he really wants to do that. It’s both Marco’s greatest quality and fatal flaw (tunnel vision).
In Bon Bon The Birthday Clown Jackie praised Marco’s determination, his will to try and try, despite the failures. Jackie knows what Marco is like, she knows that he’d have tried for who knows how long to make their relationship work, regardless of what he might have REALLY wanted, and decided to break up with him before he could hurt both of them. Again, Marco’s greatest quality and flaw. His Mind would have kept on silencing his Heart for a looong time, and no one would have liked that. Thank you, Jackie, most emotionally mature character in the show.
Marco’s Mind takes one last crack at overriding his Heart (and, DING! Fourth time for “words of a character don’t match their actions at all”), one last attempt at convincing himself (the line was for him, not for Jackie) that this life he yearned for years was still what he wanted. A reprise of “I guess we are pretty good partners” from Starcrushed, taken to its extreme. From this moment his Mind starts going in the same direction as his Heart, but it’s not going to get quite there until Lava Lake Beach (still attributing his sadness to the breakup with Jackie, when Star was the problem). This is Marco’s Starcrushed: seasons’ worth of build up that were held back by a “dam” of conflicting emotions finally begin flowing, with the eventual realization about his feelings for Star being the goal. Because (with no disrespect meant to Jackie) it’s not like Marco began liking Star after the breakup, nor after her confession. He liked her for a long time, just like Star liked Marco for a long time (I mean, relatively long, at this point they have known eachother for less than a year in universe…), but they couldn’t see or accept it until they were mature enough to challenge what they thought was a fundamental truth in their lives: FRIEND = PLATONIC, CRUSH = LOVE.
But that supposed notion is completely wrong, as this scene indirectly implies, and many other scenes in the season imply way more directly: friendship is an indispensable component of a relationship. Purely romantic attraction is the stuff of crushes, and it leads to what happened to Jackie and Marco, or to what’s most likely going to happen to Tom and Star (although those two are closer as individuals, especially the end of the season, and are infinitely more likely to stay good friends afterwards).
I want to believe that Marco understood why Jackie broke up with him, since he’s dense but not stupid (and since she spelled it out quite clearly for him), and that in Lava Lake Beach he blamed his sadness on it with Tad just because he was trying to find any explanation to his feelings that wasn’t “I like Star”. Had he not understood, I don’t think he’d have been so ready to move to Mewni immediately, to get to that new life I talked about multiple times. We know how stubborn he is, if he hadn’t at least partially understood what happened he wouldn’t have given up so easily (this doesn’t mean he’d have stalked Jackie!).
LINT CATCHER
Star gives Marco quite the cold shoulder in this episode. It’s evident, and unprecedented. Was it because he dropped in her life again without as much as a head up? Nah, Star never paid attention to things like that, and it’d be nothing short of hypocritical for her. Is it because she feared he’d have distracted her from her new life as a better princess? Nonsense: Marco has never been a bad influence to Star, if anything he has often helped her grow as a person. It was probably because a mix of feeling like Marco abandoned her, Tom “replacing” him in her life and time that warped her views on the whole matter (note: I don’t think she passed the time ruminating on how Marco never addressed her confession, I see it more as something unconscious). Star associated her old, messed up life and weeks/months of suffering with Marco, when it was Marco’s “absence” (first emotional, then physical) that caused it in the first place.
This is directly connected to Star’s state of mind: by the beginning of the episode, both her Heart and Mind were focused on Tom. Strictly romantically speaking she was probably completely over Marco. But, as I’m going to expand on later, her ideal of love was still someone who could help her through thick and thin, a dependable companion, and that’s the role Marco filled in her life. Even during Demoncism and Lint Catcher I’m ready to assume (since, after all, it’s not something that we are told explicitly) that Star on some fundamental, subconscious level still “compared” Tom to Marco, and got closer to him because she saw in him someone who could “replace” Marco’s role. She got over Marco, but is still looking for someone like Marco.
[Note that this is not inconsistent with my previous claim that her relationship with Tom is not purely a rebound, because the reasons that lead her to believe Tom could fit such a role were genuine, just... rushed, based on an incomplete view of the situation.]
Star was living a “honeymoon phase” with Tom: nothing big clearly happened offscreen, and the episode opens on them playing board games and eating burritos. It’s safe to assume that during the span of time going from Demoncism to this episode Star felt happy and fulfilled with Tom, not constantly heartbroken. But I think it’s also safe to assume that it wouldn’t have lasted. As soon as Star’s life started getting more complicated again - trying to reunite monsters and mewmans, her sleep portalling, etc - she’d have noticed that Tom is not up to the task, if she even got him involved much in the first place, and that he can’t replace Marco (Monster Bash, Is Another Mystery, and her overall reluctance to involve him are proof enough from both sides). Also, if we want to get technical, Star would have still been called to the Realm of Magic eventually no matter how specifically the events played out, and if Marco hadn’t returned, Star would have been forever stuck, magically lobotomized, in the realm of magic. So Marco’s return understandably shook the comfortable equilibrium Star built for herself, and she understandably reacted to it as expressed above, but he just sped up something that would have still happened soon enough. The honeymoon phase with Tom was doomed not to last, just like what happened to Marco and Jackie’s relationship.
This is (quite literally) the lowest point to Star and Marco’s relationship, the most strained and out of tune they have ever been: Star venting all the pent up frustration on Marco, and Marco trying to downplay the situation as much as possible as if his choice to leave didn’t mean anything. Neither is doing it on purpose, they never wanted to hurt each other, as evidenced by how fast, by the end of the episode, they turn back on their initial behaviors.
From this moment on their relationship is going to move to a slightly different track to eventually catch up with how things were before, and get well beyond that, with Booth Buddies. We could say that between S2 and S3 Marco and Star, who had been driving down Just Friendship Lane, found a dead end; they had to backtrack for a while to eventually start taking a new road that will go way farther than the first one.
Metaphor for Star and Marco being reunited, or simple gag about Lavabo’s excessive efficiency and dedication? We’ll never know.
This scene shows us an entitled Marco, but also a Marco who is worried about not being able to spend time with Star, and a Star who is still worried about Marco’s presence somehow making her relapse, and who gets deeply hurt when he doesn’t show trust and appreciation in what she does. Nothing new here, we already knew that Marco sometimes sins in “pride”, and that Star is particularly sensitive to lack of trust (think The Banagic Incident…). Important parts of their characters, but nothing too specific as far as shipping goes .
The scene with Eclipsa, other than showing us once again why Star (partially wrongly) was conflicted about Marco’s return, also introduced another round of Heart Vs Mind in the most subtle and television-like of ways: panicked denial. She was so convinced that she actually was over Marco, but the seed of doubt has been planted. No relation to the seeds Eclipsa was throwing .
And we finally get to the theme of companionship that I already mentioned several times before. Best friends, partners in crime, two people who watch each other’s backs: that’s what Star and Marco have been since more or less day one, and this has always been true (especially for Marco toward Star) both in life-or-death situations and in everyday life, from cheering up Star when a boy wouldn’t call her to helping her deal with a shattered opossum statue. The fight against the lint monster dissipates all the friction between Star and Marco (it clearly didn’t cancel past events, though; their relationship became different the moment Star confessed her crush on Marco, and even if we didn’t get a payoff until Booth Buddies, gears were already turning under the surface) and reminded them of how things used to be.
Something clicks for Star: just seven minutes earlier both her Mind and Heart were so sure that Tom could give her all what she needed, and now she makes Marco her squire. Officially the reason is giving him a reason to stay on Mewni, and yet the “dubbing ceremony” mysteriously encapsulates everything that Star is looking for in a partner, everything that originally lead her to develop a crush on Marco (DING! Fifth time!). This is going to become increasingly clear as the season goes on, with Star needing Marco more and more, choosing him more and more over Tom, up to the kiss and all the blushing in the finale.
A companion in big and dangerous situations
And in everyday’s life
This moment marks the beginning of a lot of things: Star’s Heart starts disagreeing with her Mind once again, Star and Marco’s relationship starts growing on a new, different track (that’s eventually going to lead to smooching), Star unconsciously puts Marco once again in the “TYPE OF PERSON I LOVE” slot (leaving Tom in the “BOYFRIEND” one without enough bases to support it), and it marks the official birth of the box. I wrote a long post about this concept here, but essentially from now through the rest of the season both Star and, after Lava Lake Beach, Marco are going to classify their feelings using clearly labelled boxes, hoping to protect themselves and to keep things clear and manageable this way: Star experienced heartbreak when Marco left her, and even if just unconsciously she wants to avoid it. Making Marco her squire looked like the best way to have some control over the situation. Just some minutes earlier Star tried to put some physical distance between herself and Marco, but that was hardly the ideal solution, and definitely not something she truly wanted (because she DOES enjoy Marco’s company),
so now she’s creating a different kind of separation between the two of them. A professional Knight (princess) - Squire relationship is one that allows her to spend time with her best friend while strictly defining who he is to her, such that it won’t get tangled up in those messy other feelings again... or at least that’s what her Mind lead her to believe - it obviously won’t work out as intended. Star was (subconsciously) essentially using this to say “My Mind is telling me loud and clear that he’s my squire, so my Heart must think the same as well! No confused feelings here!” See Booth Buddies: immediately after the kiss she remarks that Marco is her squire, as if that should have, somehow, magically stopped her feelings from happening.
Marco, after Lava Lake Beach, is going to realize that he can’t be Star’s best friend (or at least, be emotionally intimate with her as their best-friendship usually implies) without his heart bleeding (friendship and love being inextricably connected). So he goes for the next best thing: being her squire. This way he can be close to her and have fun with her, but as a “man of action” - almost a professional kind of relationship (he’s eager to adventure with her in Is Another Mystery, when actions is called for, but is reticent to stay with Star and wants to go away when the “adventure” involves being blocked in a photo booth with your crush who wants to be feely touchy while taking best friends photos).
[Note that this is just the “infancy” of said boxes, and they’re not going to be fully operational until Night Life / Deep Dive. We’re going to get into the episode by episode details later, this was just a general overview of their meaning throughout the season]
TRIAL BY SQUIRE
This is a sneaky episode, because on a first watch it looked like it wanted to establish how things were more or less back to normal, if a “work in progress”, for the dorks: Marco having been brought down a couple of pegs from compared to his cape wearing self and being super serious in his new role as a squire, with Star ready to accept and admit that she missed Marco and wants to have fun with him like they used to. There’s so much more to this, as it became clear further along in the season.
From the first scenes we get to see Marco’s dorky slash neurotic side, as from the good ol’ S1 days: always prepared, trying to do the best job possible, but a bit of a control freak (Pony wasn’t completely wrong in Stump Day...).
This is good for his growth as a character, making up for his entitlement in previous episodes, putting effort into being useful without expecting anything from it.
The bad part is that in a handful of episodes, as referenced before, Marco is going to sink too deep into the squire box, putting in it all of his self-worth and identity because as the song from Lava Lake Beach says “all his plans fell apart”. The comfortable cardboard walls of the box are going to be his only way to protect his feelings while still being able to more or less enjoy his time with Star - similar to what she did in S2, but in her case delusion and self-deceit were enough to keep the roaring feelings at bay for a long while. It’s a new exciting chapter in Marco’s life, sure, and something he honestly enjoys doing, but also something that is going to turn into an unhealthy coping method soon enough (until Booth Buddies, at least. Divide showed us a completely different picture, with a Marco who is not scared to be both a Squire and a Best Friend, but that’s for later).
Sinks into the squire box quite literally.
As for Star, we have the mother of all dissonances in this first part of S3A: she claims that the only reason she made Marco her squire was to have an excuse to have silly fun together. “I don’t really need someone to help me, I can manage just like I was managing before Marco came back! I have my new outlook on how to be a princess, and Tom!” Then, as the season progresses, we have Star begging her squire to help because her life is too complicated to be handled alone in Night Life, putting her life in her squire’s hands in Deep Dive, having her squire help with the Monster party, (initially) with finding Buff Frog, and so on. As I said before, Star was still in a “honeymoon phase”: following her resolutions to change she still hasn’t met any real obstacles, nothing that forcibly and unconsciously reminded her who is (and who she wants most as) the dependable person par excellence in her life - something that, incidentally, overlaps with her ideal of love .
So DING, we get the sixth, biggest example of characters saying one thing, what they thought they wanted, only for their actions to completely contradict it. And in hindsight it was an obvious outcome! Just look at what Star said when she made Marco her squire, those were certainly not words implying just “silly fun”; she was giving him a huge role in her life, as the kind of person she needs in her life.
The most deceptive shot in the show. Trying to make us believe that everything was back to normal with things ready to grow, when after Lava Lake Beach nothing would have been the same for a long while; the full extent of their friendship was impossible, or littered by conflicting feelings, until Ruberiot’s fateful wedding (truly the patron of Starco, even when just tangentially involved).
Also this doesn’t mean much, but it’s the second time (first being Camping Trip) that we see Marco hastily confuting the notion that he is Star’s boyfriend. I wonder if we’re ever going to see a third time, with a positive answer for a change...
PRINCESS TURDINA
After having been kind of a jerk for the cape - a “source of pride” that he didn’t fully earn - Marco is forced to renounce, for the sake of what’s right to do, his crowning achievement: Princess Turdina, the symbol of a rebellion he guided (probably Marco’s “standalone” highest point). This is important to Marco’s development, and it all plays in favor of him reaching the emotional maturity needed for Starco to happen that he lacked by the end of S2, but the important part of the episode, as far as Star and Marco’s relationship go, is the concept of honesty. During most of the series Marco has always been the honest and rule-abiding one, while Star always had the tendency to ignore the issues and to “bend reality” a bit - especially to herself! She lied a lot to herself.Then why does it look like roles are swapped here?
Because, once again, Marco is out of his usual comfort zone, and is facing things bigger than what he was used to. And his usual values fail, initially. He’s conflicted and doesn’t know what to do. Obviously by the end of the episode, thanks to Star’s puppy eyes and to Marco being anything but not self aware, despite how “tone-deaf” he might be at times, the right choice gets made.
This is relevant to Starco because being honest and true to oneself is a fundamental step to go from their current relationship to something more.
Star ran away from the truth for all of S2, until it was almost too late, and now she’s saying things like
This doesn’t mean that both Star and Marco suddenly became completely aware of their true feelings; after all, the whole post is based on the concept of Heart and Mind disagreeing, but it’s still an important progress, and it shows. Compare Starcrushed and Scent Of A Hoodie, with the characters literally running away in the face of a confession they couldn’t handle, to Divide, where following a kiss Star and Marco don’t shy away (but blush shyly) from opening up to each other in a moment of need, staying true to what they always wanted and was always important to them.
So Princess Turdina doesn’t represent a clear-cut turning point as far as honesty goes, and the following avalanche of drama is proof enough, but it still shows the effect of the constant growth of the characters and pits them against formative decisions that are eventually all going to contribute to their interactions. After all, Starco would have happened seasons ago, if Star and Marco had been ready for the get-go.
SWEET DREAMS
While we still don’t know why Star was being called to the Realm Of Magic by the “Firstborn”, and why she started developing these new powers, it’s easy to imagine how the trigger to those dreams might have been the increased amount of stress in her life following Starfari and her resolutions to deeply change the way her kingdom - the whole land, actually - work. There’s a very marked theme of escapism in Star’s nightly adventures, from flying around freely to going to the goblin dogs dimension, doing the fun things she probably doesn’t have much time for during waking hours anymore.
This is relevant to Star’s development as a character, but also to the way her dynamics with Marco are going to change in this episode compared to what the first week of the S3A bomb’s episodes attempted to establish. Early on I mentioned that, when Marco returned to Mewni, Star was in a honeymoon phase of her life: content being with Tom and with considering Marco nothing more than a source of silly friendship fun. She set her mind to becoming a better princess, sure, but until her experience in the field she didn’t actually clash with anything that posed an actual obstacle to it. And now she’s suddenly stressed about having to change centuries of racism, and about her powers going haywire without her control.
And she asks for Marco’s help, remarking that it’s his duty as a squire.
Just one episode earlier she said that having silly fun with him was all making him a squire was about, as if she never intended to take the role seriously (= her Mind telling her “if you never let him get too involved with your life again, you won’t have issues with feelings for him again!”), and now she trusts him - and, explicitly, only him - with something that’s dangerous and scary to her. Now, obviously Star doesn’t want to involve her parents in this because what they tell her during breakfast scares her, and her comment about not letting Tom know is treated, on the spot, more as a gag (”Ok let’s not tell Tom that you spent the whole night in my room, Marco”). That’s the balanced, unbiased interpretation that I gave the scene at the time.
But then Night Life and Deep Dive came, and it became apparent that even weeks later Star kept trusting only Marco with this (and Janna, but she’s so irrelevant to the bigger picture that she didn’t risk anything by telling her). Then Conquer came, and Tom remarked that Star never told him about her new form and powers, and at this point I honestly don’t feel biased in the slightest in saying that Star doesn’t see Tom as a suitable replacement to Marco as her life companion. She doesn’t see anyone else as up to that role, either, but it’s particularly important for Tom because she initially thought he could fill that role, but as soon as Marco came back and things started changing for real, her opinion changed as well. Obviously Star has a big fault in all of this, as she simply refuses to involve Tom in her life and barely gives him a chance. But it’d be disingenuous to ignore episodes like Monster Bash or Is Another Mystery showing us that helping Star doesn’t come as naturally to Tom as it does to Marco. He does own up to his bad behavior after the monster party, but initially scoffs at Star’s priorities. He does defend and comfort her with a speech when Buff Frog is about to leave, but only after having spent an episode complaining and acting annoyed by the task after having insisted to accompany Star just because he felt he was expected to do that.
No one should question how much Tom improved this season just as no one should question how good of a friend and ally he was during the season finale when he acted as he did because he felt it was the right thing to do (and not out of expectations nor obligations). At the same time, though, no one should ignore that both the actions of the characters and the events of the season themselves show us that Tom, right now, is not able to properly be the kind of partner Star needs. He was the kind of partner she needed during her state of mind pre-Starfari, and before Marco’s return, but that couldn’t have lasted. And even if someone wasn’t convinced by this, and felt like Tom could replace Marco in the kind of “ideal of a companion” Star has, it doesn’t change Star’s actions and who she prioritizes. Because most of the season showed what Star wants: the way she ignores Tom stinks and makes her a kind of a bad girlfriend, there’s no doubt about it, but it doesn’t change what the priorities of her Heart (and Mind) are. We can disagree on something from an audience perspective, but ultimately the subjectivity of the characters in-universe is what makes the story go forward.
Over-reading into things: the episode that re-establishes that Marco is the go-to person for Star both for everyday and life-changing problems opens up with him having scoured Mewni to find someone who sold the cereal that the princess likes so much,
and closes with him being worried about Star’s well being, and resolving to do something to help her even if she didn’t want him to (as seen in Night Life). Honestly I’m reaching with this, it might be completely coincidental, but it definitely fits the narrative.
Now to conclude this part: while Star and Marco’s relationship changed a lot during this season, for the many reasons already referenced before, Trial By Squire and then Sweet Dreams still bring back their dynamics (at least on a surface level) to what they used to be, showing both the “in time of peace” and “in time of danger” complicity. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this happens right before Lava Lake Beach: obviously seeing Star and Tom smooching and being a couple was the biggest push (just like what happened to Star in Just Friends), but I also think that what made it that effective was his relationship with Star having once again reached acceptable levels of depth. He saw everything get back to normal, and that makes it all the more alarming when all he could think and feel was “Something is off. Why do I feel like I want more?”.
LAVA LAKE BEACH
I said multiple times that the “honeymoon phase” for Tomstar ended the moment Star actually started having to clash with obstacles in her new life, but this episode is an exception, in a way, because it shows us things from Marco’s perspective. And Marco had to feel miserable in this episode, as if what he never realized he really wanted was out of his grasp, and as if he felt like a stranger in the new life he chose for himself (”♪ All my plans are falling apart ♪”). So it makes sense for this episode to be the only one, after Star and Tom hooked up, to portray their relationship in nothing but a positive way (even then we could argue that it still leads Star to be distracted and ignore Kelly’s plight, but that’s beside the point right now, and honestly I’d attribute it more to plot needs than to anything else). They’re having fun together, nothing relevant comes up, and we are even shown Star and Tom having fun in a kind of way that Marco couldn’t really provide, because he has a different personality. We see what their relationship would be in a vacuum, with the current Tom being more than a fine match to Star when she is given time to be carefree and reckless rebel princess, where nothing but mindless fun was on the plate. And while that’s obviously not possible in real life (I mean, fictional life, they’re cartoons, but real to them), and it’s absolutely not consistent with how things are going to be for the rest of the season, in that moment it all adds up to Marco being pushed over the edge. But at the same time Sweet Dreams and Lava Lake Beach show the two extremes of Star’s life in this moment of the show, and we have just seen that when more serious stuff is on the table she automatically chooses Marco (even literally saying that he’s the only one she can trust!), and she’s going to drift toward him more and more as the episodes go, even in moments of downtime such as Marco Jr. or Booth Buddies. The date on the beach is not the standard for Tom and Star’s relationship, but an idealization of what it would have been if everything always stayed the way things were at the beginning of Lint Catcher, when the two of them were eating burritos and playing battleships without a worry in the world.
A lot has been said about the hoodie scene: personally I think that it was mostly there to contribute to making Marco feel bad, rather than to convey the idea that Star was trying to change Tom into a Marco. But, just like many other moments in the season, it might still be a symbol to the audience (while also probably having some deeply subconscious implications in-universe for Star herself) about who is her ideal companion - something that we saw being applied by Star herself just one segment ago.
Similarly I wouldn’t read too much into Star not noticing that Kelly was feeling off: the whole episode is focused on Marco and his perspective of things, and having Star be completely absorbed by the fun she was having with Tom was part of it. It doesn’t tell us anything about Star; it’s not a statement about, I don’t know, Tom making her a worse person and friend. Just a context that can justify the plot of the episode taking place.
By the beginning of the episode, having spent some time with Star and having rekindled their relationship in a way that’s different from how things used to be, Marco’s Mind is getting closer and closer to agreeing with his Heart, but it’s still trying to rationalize the way he felt: just like Star tried to tell herself, in Bon Bon The Birthday Clown, that she felt weird because she was worried about not having heard Marco for a while, and then because of the loss of Glossaryck and the Book (something that was a huge blow on her morale for sure, but her stormy feelings played a role in making her feel so hopeless by the end of the episode as well), Marco is now telling himself (and Tad) that he feels miserable because Jackie broke up with him.
Now, we all know that Marco can be kinda dense, and that being honest with themselves is not these characters’ strong points overall, but as I’ve already said while talking about Sophomore Slump, I doubt that Marco would have been so quick to move to Mewni if he truly didn’t understand the reasons behind the breakup, so this is very clearly an excuse that he’s telling himself (and a partially conscious one at that). And we’re back to a theme already present in Club Snubbed: feelings never get forced, in this show. The events triggering them might be arbitrary - like Tad, out of all the characters, being the one who helps Marco see the truth - but it’s always just a small, external push, on top of a mountain of feelings and developments that were already there. Marco had an incredibly strong relationship with Star for months, he did learn to question his certainties about life when Jackie broke up with him and he decided to change life, this is not “Wow one second Marco thinks that he’s sad about Jackie and one moment later Tad makes him suddenly understand that he loves Star!”. The only thing that happened in this scene and the following ones was his Mind finally agreeing with his Heart, suddenly making him notice a valley of feelings that were already there. Marco simply went from “Star is my best friend, I’d do anything for her, and she’s an irreplaceable part of my life” to “Star is my best friend, I’d do anything for her, and she’s an irreplaceable part of my life, and I want to smooch her face”. The step from platonic to romantic love was that fast because everything had already been primed before the “trigger event” happened (something that’s going to happen again in Booth Buddies, and that’s actually the way the show decided to handle romance throughout the season, I’ll expand on this later). Finally Marco’s Mind and Heart fully agree.
Well, technically they don’t fully agree until he goes through the equivalent of Star’s Just Friends and sees Tom and Star kissing and realizes that he’d like to be in Tom’s place.
Super subtle song that punches us in the guts with all the weight of Marco’s realization,
All my plans are falling apart
Now that I know, you all can see right through me
And I don’t wanna know the things that I know
And I don’t wanna see the things that I’ve been shown
But I can’t shut my eyes so I’ll walk away alone
Tonight…
His plans fell apart because his life on Mewni is nothing like what he expected it to be - not only is he not a knight, but now he just realizes he can’t go back to the kind of relationship he had with Star before all the mess, and that not being able to have the kind of relationship that lies beyond that brings him worlds of pain. “Things are different”, following Star’s confession Marco: first, and then Star, are going to spend almost the whole season trying to pretend that things could go back to the way they were, and their relationship isn’t going to be able to fully heal AND evolve until they are going to understand, in that blessed photo booth, that all they can do is keep going forward and see where it’s going to lead them, because the alternatives are for the relationship to die, or to grow. There’s no middle ground, no going back.
The other lines in the song are a reference to the escapism, the “running away from the truth” that Marco can’t embrace anymore. Because he’s too deep into his feelings, and because that’s not what his personality is like. Star might have been able to ignore her feelings for a long time even when they became apparent to her, but “Obsess Over Something Until He Manages To Do It” Marco can’t afford the same luxury. Tunnel vision protected him for a while, but now that he blinders are off there’s no way to get them back on.
And this leads to his talk with Kelly, who suggests to him a better solution than moping or physically running away like Tad recommended (obviously something Marco wouldn’t have ever done regardless, he’s not the same person he was in Scent Of A Hoodie). Kelly essentially tells him not to let one bad thing ruin everything it’s associated with. In her case it means not to let the breakup with Tad ruin the Soulrise, in Marco’s case not to let the pain coming from his one-sided crush ruin... well, all his plans, his stay on Mewni. He shouldn’t let his current sentimental situation define his whole identity - just like Kelly was sick of being just “Tad’s girlfriend”. Marco can’t change what his Heart and Mind want anymore, and he can’t ignore it, but he can reframe it in a way that allows him to appreciate what he has, rather than just agonizing over what’s not possible.
Hell, the episode itself edges incredibly close to the terminology of Heart and Mind (in the dialogue and via the name of the tune that plays during Kelly and Marco’s moments, The Best Thing To Do Is Rewrite It) - quite literally an action of changing the Mind’s perspective. In past instances of heartbreak, every reaction has always involved trying to ignore, displace, or outright replace the true feelings of the Heart. For the first time, we have a reaction that doesn’t deny what the Heart is longing for whatsoever; rather, Kelly’s advice is to find some mental framework (hint: it rhymes with esquire) that allows Marco to find satisfaction in life while never having to forget or abandon what he truly, deeply wants in his Heart.
Granted, unrequited feelings hurt, and while he never stops finding satisfaction in his role as a squire (after a super brief trial period, as I’m going to reference in the following segment, in Night Life that still has Star always at the center of his Heart), he defensively digs himself deeper and deeper into that attitude of only being her squire, aka The Box (in an almost linear correlation to how much closer and closer Star’s Heart drifted toward him over the season): not outright escapism, but still a way to “settle” for what he thought was the best solution at the time, even if he was fully aware of its limitations. In Booth Buddies he’s clearly conscious of why some kind of adventures with Star are ok, while others - those that involve emotional and physical intimacy - are like knives between the shoulderblades. Knives that have “You want so much more but the situation prevents you from having it” engraved in the metal.
Oh, and this is also the episode where the show sheds for a moment any semblance of subtlety and outright tells us what Sophomore Slump already introduced, and that Booth Buddies is going to directly relate and apply to Star and Marco:
Best friends make best lovers.
DEATH PECK
Keeping things short here since I’m going to better address this theme in Monster Bash, but the fact that Tom signed the petition but is nowhere to be seen during the episode is a twofold sign of what doesn’t work in his relationship with Star. He’s aware of the issue, but doesn’t try to actively involve himself (and is going to say that he’s not interested in politics next episode), and Star knows that she could need some help but always chooses Marco - or even Pony, in this case - over him (Is Another Mystery is going to imply that’s the standard even for events that happen offscreen). Neither are putting any particular effort into the relationship, and Star especially seems to not be particularly interested when Tom is not physically present already.
Hey, it’s your friendly neighborhood Ngame taking over the narration for just a moment. See this face that Star makes at Rich Pigeon when he’s giving an inspiring speech about the future of Mewni? Store it in your memory banks for a few sections. Back to you, Seddm.
NIGHT LIFE
Getting this out of the way before it comes up in the episode: Star is not using Marco’s squirehood as an excuse to order him around. It’s just the new shape their relationship took (effectively starting with Sweet Dreams), the effect of “the boxes”. During S2, were she to have such constant, pressing, and tedious obligations as those in 3A, Star would have been saying “Marco, please, I really need my best friend to help me now, I’m overwhelmed, I can’t do this alone”, not “I really need my squire”.
But right now Star’s mind is screaming at her that not having a “protection wall” between herself and Marco is a terrible idea; the last time Marco was her dependable best friend, she started liking him, so she uses the Squire-box as a way to listen to her Heart - which tells her “Marco is the one you can trust with anything he’s your best friend and you need him in your life” - while still feeling like she’s in control of the situation. Star doesn’t call Marco her squire because she doesn’t see him as a peer anymore, but because it was the one compromise she found to manage a Heart and a Mind that were once again disagreeing about her feelings.
And Marco embraces this solution as well, because following his realization in Lava Lake Beach it’s his only way not to run away from the absurd situation he’s in: the closest person to Star physically, but they can’t cuddle and do couple stuff, and the closest person to Star emotionally, but they can’t talk about their feelings as they used to because they both got burned by what happened. I’ll point this out again, but it’s extremely telling that in Divide, after Booth Buddies’ events, for the first time in the season Marco calls Star his best friend and invites her to open up to him emotionally.
The episode tells us that Marco has been working with Hekapoo for an unspecified amount of time (days for sure, at least) closing Star’s portals and, at the same time, “distracting” the fiery lady enough not to let her realize that Star was the one opening them, since as she said in Sweet Dreams she wanted to figure her powers out on her own. At the same time the whole episode plays around with the concept of “married life”, with Star playing the part of the mother who is busy with a baby (Glossaryck) and home life, Marco as the husband who has nightly escapades, and Hekapoo as the husband’s hot fling with no strings or responsibilities attached. “But if Marco was doing all of this for Star’s sake, then was she unfair toward Marco? Was she playing the part of a nagging wife who chains down the husband’s freedom?” Haha nothing is ever that simple.
Obviously Marco was trying to help Star without her knowing, and this lead to all the lies and secrets. There’s nothing wrong about this, and he was in no easy position, wanting to help Hekapoo and her bestie at the same time. But that’s what his Heart, his friendship for Star, was telling him to do. Meanwhile his Mind, still trying to adjust to the new situation, urged him to find a way to unwind and find some solace in a Mewni experience that was nothing like what he imagined, so he “relapsed” a bit to his old Running With Scissors days. He combined business with pleasure, there’s no doubt about that, but it wasn’t a completely selfless behavior, as evidenced by him feeling guilty under Glossaryck’s inquisitive (?) eyes.
I know that it doesn’t make much sense at first, because they’re absolutely nothing wrong in Marco trying to have some fun, a life outside Star, and no one - not even Star, despite what might have seemed from this episode - would want to deprive him of that. Imagine it like this: Star has always been the focus of Marco’s Heart, we already established that. Whenever he has acted out of “instinct”, or whenever the situation didn’t call for his Mind to actively try to override him (like in Scent Of A Hoodie), he put Star as first priority. Now, following Lava Lake Beach, his Mind as well realized how important Star is to him, but the presence of Tom created an apparently insurmountable obstacle that brought feelings he didn’t know how to deal with. Reaching rock bottom, he embraces the escapades with Hekapoo as a way to unwind (and even then he still tried to use part of that time to help Star). By the end of the episode he realizes that he can’t do both things, he can’t "love” Star and want to help her, while also trying to avoid her as much as possible. This scene here doesn’t mean “I, Marco Diaz, give up adventures for the sake of Star, sacrificing my own happiness for her”; not only would that be grossly inconsistent with the rest of the season (Marco does have adventures with Star, Star does want to have adventures with Marco, even if they’re going to be busy with serious stuff until the monster party), but it’d be absolutely horrible for the characters and the situation. What it means is that Marco is fully embracing Kelly’s advice from Lava Lake Beach (and, by extension, the Squire Box) by finding the only way he could think of to do what he really wants to do: be with Star and help her (Heart) while not feeling the need to have fun in another dimension to stop the screams inside (Mind).
From this moment (up to Booth Buddies) Marco is more or less entirely going to put away his identity as Star’s best friend, replacing it with the one as squire.
Hekapoo’s line is extremely important because it not only validates Marco’s efforts from the point of view of someone who has no reason to lie to Marco, thus washing away his entitlement at the beginning of the season and “concluding” the first arc of his growth in the season, but it also overlaps the idea of “squire” and “best friend”, when it comes to Marco and Star, exactly what they’re going to do until the last episodes in the season.
And one last thing: yes, the episode does have heavy “Marcapoo” undertones - even if not necessarily romantic ones - and yes, Marco did “break her heart” by ultimately putting Star first. But I and Ngame both will personally slap whoever is going to ask “Then is Starco toxic if it ruins other relationships?!”. Sadly choices need to be made in life; nowhere did the show do anything to objectively tell us “Jackie/Tom/Hekapoo are terrible horrible people and Marco/Star did the good thing ditching them!”. What ultimately matters are the personal choices and decisions of the characters, what they want and like the most. That’s... extremely realistic! In real life it’s not like the ONLY reason all relationships end or outright never happen in the first place is because “he/she was actually an evil killer of puppies!”. That would be absurd; sometimes it’s as simple as “I like you, but I like that other person more”, and that’s essentially what this all boils down. It’s what happened with Jarco, it’s what’s going to happen with Tomstar. Now, what the show does to validate these subjective choices is giving us plenty of scenes, moments, and reasons to know why Marco would ultimately choose Star over others, and vice versa.
Also nothing should be seen “in a vacuum”: this episode took place in the context of an extremely busy Star and a Marco who resolved to help her of his own volition. “So then if Marco stays with Star, he’s never going to have time to do anything else, to have fun with anyone else?!” No, but in that specific moment, and in other moments throughout the season, he had to put his priorities straight, and he ultimately chose what he wanted the most. The “married life” metaphor the episode uses is particularly fitting. Imagine a couple who only recently had a kid; they won’t have time for just about anything else for a long while afterwards, and some relationships or activities may fall by the wayside, but it’s usually rewarding and worthwhile to them.
DEEP DIVE
Deep Dive has been one of the most important and surprising episodes in the season, but going over it in this post is going to be rather fast, since when it comes to Star and Marco’s relationship all it does is make themes I already plentifully talked about before painfully clear. One stands tall above all others: the idea of companionship. The season began with Star feeling dejected and alone, finding some solace in Tom, then apparently giving Marco a more “marginal” role in her life following his return. Then when things get serious, Tom essentially disappears and Star keeps involving Marco more and more in her Mewni life (Death Peck, Sweet Dreams), and Deep Dive hits us with this.
If this doesn’t tell us what kind of role Star feels Marco fills in her life, and what kind of role Marco wants to have in Star’s life, nothing ever will. By this point Star has involved Marco in her life more than ever before; if possible her Heart is focused on him more than in Starcrushed (or at least in a different, more mature way), while her Mind is still adamantly telling her “Tom is your boyfriend, you like Tom”. If in Night Life Marco realized that he can’t not see Star through the lenses of romance, fully embracing the Squire role as a way to protect himself, then Deep Dive is the pinnacle of their “working relationship”: from this moment her Mind is going to slooowly move more and more toward her Heart, toward Marco. The Boxes are still going to be there, but slowly break down, reduced to their most fundamental elements only (Tom = boyfriend, Marco = squire friend). This is going to be evident in the next two episodes featuring one-on-one Star-Marco interactions, Marco Jr. and Booth Buddies, where the princess, compared to all the previous episodes in the season, is going to behave around her squire the same way she’d have done in early S2: cheerful, happy, very heavy on physical contact, commenting on how attractive he is (Marco Jr.).
“But Star looks silly while saying that Marco is her lifeline, it doesn’t look like she put much thought in it, we shouldn’t consider it such an important line!” Irrelevant: Marco still repeats it to himself in an emotional tone, so it’s important to him anyway, and the following scene still has Star essentially telling Marco “We have always had each other backs, that’s important enough to me to make me confident about the success of this extremely dangerous operation”. The episode is thick with this theme, even in the case the lifeline scene hadn’t been meant to be particularly iconic by the boarders and writers.
Trashiest moment in the season: in Running With Scissors Marco ultimately renounces a life of mindless adventures and lack of stress for Star’s sake, because he doesn’t want to lose her (yes obviously his other friends parents and all that played a role as well, but it’s when Star mentions herself that he truly changes his mind - and let’s not forget the reflection on the scissors). Now Star snaps back from a land of “magical bliss” (and, remember, Star is super stressed right now, so a land without worries had to have a particularly strong appeal to her, even without the magic brainwashing) thanks to Marco calling her. They have both rejected easy but “empty” happiness for the sake of the other.
First hug since Marco left. Obviously there hadn’t been many reasons for Star and Marco to hug in previous episodes, but I think it’s still indicative of what I said before: this episode marks a complete return, for Star, to the same kind of relationship she had with Marco in the past - albeit with the walls of the boxes still acting as a filter, blocking out the kind of emotional intimacy that once experienced again in Booth Buddies (and Divide/Conquer) is going to immediately sync her Mind more and more with her Heart. Perhaps not yet to the point of agreeing completely, but enough to make Star conscious of what she feels - just, apparently, not sure enough about what she feels yet.
First time Marco blushes during a hug us well (and second time he blushes throughout the whole show in a non humorous context following his kiss with Jackie in Bon Bon The Birthday Clown): while this has obviously been surpassed in importance by recent episodes, at the time it proved us that Marco didn’t reject his feelings for Star, despite everything. He uses his role as a Squire as a form of protection (and he’s going to embrace it even more after this episode), but both his Heart and Mind still agree, he does like Star romantically. He knows it, and he never once tries to fight it.
Janna’s line is just a magical spin on a super classic gag, and nothing that comes out of her mouth should be taken too seriously, but it still gives a romantic connotation to a (relatively common type of) moment of Starco friendship, consistent with the core concept of friendship and love being indivisible in the dorks’ current relationship. Just like with the hoodie in Lava Lake Beach, I don’t think it should be given any significant weight as a standalone moment, but in the context of the incessant march of allusions to this concept it absolutely shouldn’t be written off entirely.
MONSTER BASH
The episode doesn’t tell us much about Star and Marco’s relationship, being more focused (other than on plot, obviously) on Tom. It mostly shows us once again - notably, this time with Tom being present - that Star greatly values the help Marco is in her life (companionship), that he helps her around both in small matters,
and high risk/stakes situations. Nothing new, but always nice to see it.
As for Tom, there’s much more to be said. Last time we saw Tom and Star together (and essentially the first time ever since they hooked up, excluding the quick cameos in Lint Catcher and Starfari) was in Lava Lake Beach, an episode that symbolized what would work in their relationship in a vacuum with a focus on Marco’s perspective on it. But said vacuum of easy life began to fade starting with Starfari (and is completely gone now) and we are seeing the effects: Monster Bash shows the bad sides of their relationship, and both Star’s and Tom’s flaws.
Star barely noticed that Tom was there, helping set up, and she clearly didn’t involve him as directly as she did Marco, and apparently outright didn’t see him for quite a while (weeks? Marco mentions that Star has been preparing this party for months).
And we also get to see something that’s going to be relevant again in Is Another Mystery, and that ties directly to Tom’s misguided attempts at self improvement: he thinks of himself strictly as “Star’s boyfriend”, and she acts according to it. In this episode he’s mostly concerned about kissing, dancing and cuddling, and later in Is Another Mystery he’s going to be like “A boyfriend should spend time with her girlfriend, right?”, thus begging Marco to go on the adventure with Star... without then being actually concerned about the adventure itself. "HELP STAR” was never his focus, but rather he just felt that his role required him to “SPEND TIME WITH STAR”. This is a crucial point of his character, because Divide and Conquer showed us that Tom is not selfish nor unable to do things for other people’s sake; he acts like that in his relationship with Star because his priorities and focus are all skewed by a need for validation. As of this point in canon, he’s invested in the relationship, not the person.
And this is even made worse by Star, who isn’t that invested in either of them. She clearly doesn’t look forward to cuddling and kissing as much as Tom does, not taking his attempts at flirting seriously, and she doesn’t involve him in her life at all. She originally saw him as someone who could hold her hand in the scary new life she saw in front of herself at the beginning of the season, but as soon as Marco was back and said life actually hit, she... lost interest in Tom, because what he was left with was just a BOYFRIEND label with little to none of the emotional weight that should be attached to it.
As I said Tom never got a chance to prove himself as a worthy companion, but at the same time this episode (along with Is Another Mystery) gives us glimpses of why it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway, even if Marco hadn’t returned from Earth, even if Star had involved Tom more. This scene kinda pits Marco and Tom against one another, showing that the first cares for what Star is doing, while the latter (who should be far more personally interested into it) has apparently kinda regressed from his good resolutions from Demoncism: if he felt inspired by Star trying to be a better princess, shouldn’t he be inspired by her attempts at improving Mewni as well? Especially since he signed the proposition as well... but then wasn’t involved by Star (like, she didn’t ask him to come to the Pigeon Kingdom in Death Peck). Long story short, the first five minutes of the episode show us Tom and Star at their worst (when it comes to how they behave with each other), and why their relationship can’t work: neither of them are proactive. Both aren't concerned enough to put forth genuine efforts to reach out to the other unless they're physically looking at each other already.
Everything was good as long as all they expected from each other was “be there, have fun” like during their date on the beach, but the moment things got a bit more serious the lack of solid basis to their relationship became glaring - similarly to Jackie and Marco, even if in that case the faults were a bit more one-sided.
We also get a preview of what Divide and Conquer are going to show in its full glory: the contrast between a Tom who is solely focused on “I am a boyfriend I do boyfriend things”, thus not caring about anything that lies outside his jurisdiction,
and a Tom who doesn’t think like a boyfriend, but just like a decent human (demon) being and a friend, and does his best to help. Focusing on his role as a boyfriend is poison to Tom’s growth, and I’m quite confident in assuming that’s going to be a point next season, that becoming just a friend is going to be great for him.
This moment of clarity also allows him to make up for his behavior during the first part of the episode. It’s shown that he has some more work to do, because it’s clear that he still doesn’t fully understand where he was at fault or what he should have done to avoid upsetting Star (you are at fault too Star though, you ignored him for who knows how long...): he outright says it at first,
and by the end of the episode he understands that he shouldn’t have underestimated the importance and value of what Star was trying to do, but his efforts are still “unpolished”, especially compared to the “comforting moment scenes” we are used to see between Star and Marco. He tells Star that it’s not her fault, but he has nothing to back it up, he can only... awkwardly pat her on the back.
This is where the difference with Is Another Mystery lies: in both episodes Tom acts in kind of a jerky way and as someone who is not very appreciative of Star’s efforts, but in the second case Tom’s speech does manage to come through to Star, actually comforting her by telling her something she didn’t already know and by helping her see things in a different way, as opposed to just going “there there, not your fault”. Tom is improving, just like all the characters; it’s just that he started from a waaay lower level and isn’t a main character, so his improvements are both faster and more apparent compared to those of Marco and Star.
To conclude the part about this episode I just want to make it clear that I don’t have anything against Tom, and that I’m constantly comparing him to Marco just because the show itself does it! And there’s nothing inherently bad in that, because the show knows how to differentiate what’s subjective and objective to the characters themselves and how to convey ideas and concepts that aren’t just black and white. There’s no contradiction in saying that S3 helped Tom grow a lot, becoming a way better person who was a genuinely amazing friend during the season finale, while showing at the same time that he’s not fit to be Star’s “partner in life”/companion and that Star is not fit to be his girlfriend. It’s what I said in Night Life talking about Marco and Hekapoo: if the series wants to convey the idea that Star and Marco are the best match for each other it doesn’t mean that other characters are bad, or even that other relationships are objectively bad, just that those others aren’t what Star and Marco ultimately want AND need (Mind AND Heart). Jackie was a perfect character and potentially a perfect girlfriend, and Marco’s Mind knew that and valued their relationship. But his Heart wasn’t into it, and this prevented it from really working out. This inner conflict is the source of all romance drama starting from S2 onward, and when Star and Marco’s Heart and Mind fully agree we know who becomes the object of their affections.
Also “jealous” Marco bothered by Tom’s flirting. It doesn’t mean anything, just an added bonus.
STUMP DAY
Not much to say about this episode; it’s a classic “holiday special” that can fit loosely in a span of episodes and doesn’t particularly influence canon or tell us much new. It’s almost like a display of the state of the characters as of midseason, at their worst (since, after all, the episode plays out a lot like a classic “family argues at Christmas dinner, the magic of the holiday fixes everything and they remember why they love each other):
Marco is a control freak and his feelings for Star are hard to deal with, and he calls Tom out in an incredibly forward manner which is definitely indicative of Marco’s own inner turmoil. I’d like to point out that the only other instance of “jealousy” throughout the season is the squinting in Monster Bash just above, so his remark to Tom in this episode is several tiers above anything “more canon Marco” ever did - considering it a standard, for either Marco or Tom, would be a disservice to the characters in my opinion.
Tom is worried about looking like a good boyfriend more than being one (especially since he doesn’t know how to be one). He’s ready to throw Marco under the bus as soon as he sees that he’s now on the losing side of the argument (regardless of what he may or may not have told Marco that morning, he was on board with the party until it became clear that Star didn’t want it).
He even wants Marco to say that he is a good boyfriend, as if such a thing held any real valued: need for validation.
Star rushes things headfirst, destroying half the room before ever explaining what was going on, and shows lack of investment in Tom, not even caring about what he might or might have not done for her (even though in this specific case she was also more worried about the Stump than anything else, and might have said it just to make them stop fighting. Still, it’d be just another instance in a long list throughout the season).
Pony is self centered, Janna is mischievous and enjoys seeing others suffer - at this point I’m going to assume that her “Kellco” line was nothing but ship teasing, and that even if Kelly was to feel something more than simple friendship for Marco it’d never be relevant, just like Janna’s supposed crush/gratuitous teasing on Marco in S2.
Tad was Tad and Kelly... was the only good person in the room.
Anyway, an almost entirely unimportant episode that still reminded us that Marco likes Star and has a hard time dealing with it, and that Tom is more worried about the validation coming from his relationship than about Star.
And we got this line that (unintentionally?) encompasses all the reasons that prevented Starco from being canon already by this point. Terrible timing. Always.
THE BOGBEAST OF BOGGABAH
Most direct episode to date, tells us in bold glowing letters both that Star rushes into things
and that this leads to decisions that don’t match with what she really needs (Heart and Mind disagreeing). Once again, getting closer to Tom wasn’t a rushed decision on Star’s side, nor a bad one. Getting involved with him romantically once again was, because it stemmed from a need to fill the void left by Marco in her life, but without her ever stopping wanting a marco (lowercase M, as in the idea of Marco rather than the person) in her life.
IS ANOTHER MYSTERY
The episode opens up with Star reminding us that she currently can’t open up emotionally to Marco as she’d have done once because The Squire Box is still there to filter her relationship with Marco (by now when it comes to silly stuff or practical issues things are about the same they were in S2, it’s when it comes to emotions that there are still barriers up, from both sides, for different reasons). Furthermore, she doesn’t even begin to consider that she might talk about these things to Tom or that he might be the one to help and comfort her and provide some of the help (be it practical or not) that she desperately needs.
Conversely it’s not like Tom is exactly eager to become the recipient of Star’s uneasiness. He doesn’t like seeing Star like that, no doubt about it, because he does care about her as a person. When it comes to the relationship itself, however... this scene makes clear what was already hinted at in Monster Bash: he just does what he thinks a boyfriend is expected to do.
Please note that this doesn’t mean he has no genuine concern for Star. Even though his annoyed behavior throughout the episode might suggest the contrary (at least in this specific case), seeing how ready he was to do unpleasant, dangerous things during the finale makes me believe that the issue is with the perspective and motives and not with his personality itself. Simply put, Tom is not selfish, he’s self-centered. Everything he does until the season finale (where, as a matter of fact, he seems a way better person than he has ever been) is filtered through a lens of his insecurity. This hampers his overall attitude most of the time (first part of Monster Bash, Stump Day), and even when that improves it still makes being a genuinely supportive person unnatural to him (his less than stellar attempt at comforting Star in Monster Bash, him still worrying about having performed better than Marco at the end of this episode). His current relationship with Star had some real bases at first in Demoncism but they were soon undermined by their Heart and Minds disagreeing after a first, brief moment of “resonance”:
Tom’s Mind tried to tell him that he loves Star and that he should show that by doing what his naive, hormonal teenagey brain associates with “relationship”, but what his Heart really craves are friends who make him feel good with himself with no strings attached, and whom he wants to help for no other reason than because he cares for them.
Star’s Mind tried to tell her that Tom could have fit into the marco-shaped hole in her heart (with lowercase M again because as of Demoncism Star was probably over Marco as a person, romantically speaking, but still held who and what Marco was to her as her ideal of love, and this never changed), but her Heart could tell the difference as soon as Marco was back.
This scene tells us two things. First, Marco has been sinking deeper and deeper into his role as a Squire, identifying himself as a man of action who enjoys helping Star as long as the roles are clear and defined and the “adventure of the day” doesn’t require emotional intimacy to happen (and that’s why he’s so eager to go here, but is going to be so reticent during Booth Buddies). Second, Star and Marco likely had offscreen adventures, and Star always defaulted to Marco, never involving Tom, probably barely telling him about what she was doing. She was ready to ditch her boyfriend with whom she was about to have a deeply emotional talk at a moment’s notice. Obviously she was worried about Buff Frog, but it's still... telling.
By this point Star is at her deepest into her boxes and labels: the moment duty calls she immediately goes “Welp, BOYFRIEND MOMENT is over, since I actually have to do something important it’s SQUIRE MOMENT!” Kinda ironic, and sad, given how in Trial By Squire she essentially said that Marco’s role would have been source of silly fun and nothing more, and look how things turned out there. Her seemingly annoyed reaction at Marco telling her that he wouldn’t have been able to go certainly has to be attributed in great part to the urgency of the situation, but it might also tell us that she is annoyed by things not going the way she’s used to, that Marco is not the one going with her. And yet she’s ok with Tom accompanying her, and appreciates his help (when he’s not being an ass). This tells us that Star is never actively avoiding Tom, nor that she doesn’t trust him; it’s just that she always goes for Marco whenever anything that’s not holding hands and smooching comes up. Her Mind is on autopilot and keeps chanting “Marco is your squire Tom is your boyfriend” (she quite literally tells this to herself after the kiss in Booth Buddies), but the Heart does what it wants, and Tom’s role as a boyfriend ends up being painfully limited and as deep as a puddle.
Similarly to his interactions with Star and Marco at the beginning of Monster Bash, Tom is definitely not at his best during the first half of the episode. In case anyone doubted the last three hundred times I said it, it becomes clear that he offered to help Star not because he actually cared about Buff Frog - or about how much Star cares about Buff Frog - but because he felt like as a boyfriend he was expected to do that. “Ok I did my job now, can you give me my Good Boyfriend Points already so we can go do couple stuff?”
And, in case you doubted the last two hundred times I said it, we also get a clear indication about how Tom compares himself to Marco, worried about not being better than him. Because he’s not blind and he can see that Star spends way more time with him, and that she involves him much more in her life (it’s a dog biting its own tail situation: Star doesn’t involve Tom in her life, but Tom doesn’t have the drive to truly involve himself in what’s important to Star). Also it wouldn’t be weird at all if things like the Blood Moon dance and Song Day constantly kept gnawing at the back of his mind, a suspicion that there might be something between Star and Marco (whether already in progress or lying in wait). As usual Tom is not a bad person, and most of his mistakes come from deep-seated issues and “bad habits” that he picked up through the years which keep steering him in questionable directions, like putting all of his current self-worth in the success of the relationship (just the relationship, it comes before the person he’s supposed to be in said relationship with herself!).
But then comes Tom’s time to shine: the moment he stops worrying about “I wonder if I’m getting enough Good Boyfriend Points for a kissing session today”, he enters a preview of the Very Good Boi™ state we’re going to see during the finale. He actually tries to help Star and “defend” her and her efforts - something very similar to how he’s going to praise Marco’s leadership skills in Conquer.
Sure, his speech still betrays his self-centered worldviews - it’s all based on his own identity of being a monster, even if he clearly barely suffers any kind of discrimination, and he still tries to relate it to his relationship with Star. But it’s a huge step in the right direction and shows what Tom can achieve when he does something because he feels like that’s the right thing to do, not because he feels like he’s expected to do that (last time it happened, in Demoncism, it brought Star and him close enough again to get back together!).
Special focus on this scene: Star’s expression is almost the exact same one she had during Death Peck (Ngame told you not to forget!), and in both cases a character (Rich Pigeon in that case, Tom here) was talking about the future for Monster and Mewmans, and Mewni, and was showing interest and support in what she wants to do. Obviously Tom is not Rich (with a capital R - he is definitely quite rich, as he points out during his speech); it’s clear that in this episode Star’s sparkly eyes mean something more than a generic “Aw, so inspiring, so cool!”. In this moment she’s truly appreciating what Tom did for her and feels closer to him. But I’m going to go out on a limb here (since this is something we can’t be completely sure until S4 hits, although Conquer elevates my confidence to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Certainty®) and say that this is not a “Star falls even more in love with Tom moment”, because there was never love between the two of them. Tom sees his relationship with Star as a source of smooching and validation, Star sees her relationship with Tom as a source of smooching and (unconsciously) a way to delude herself into thinking the important people in her life have clearly defined roles. This doesn’t stop either of them from honestly enjoying the other’s presence, from helping each other, from truly appreciating what the other does. But that’s friendship, not love.
No one with a pair of eyes can deny that Star was impressed by Tom’s speech and appreciated it,
but at the same time no one with eyes should be able to deny that their relationship isn’t exactly a functional one; if anything, Booth Buddies and beyond are going to show that not only has nothing changed for Tomstar (thus debunking the interpretations that the ending of Is Another Mystery was turning over a new leaf for their romantic relationship), but that Star’s Mind started drifting more and more toward where her Heart already is. And that’s going to keep happening during the season finale, while Tom is going to keep being more and more useful for Star. What a crazy concept, Star and Tom getting closer as people without their relationship getting any stronger romantically. It’s almost like these kids barely know what they need and want, and that they would have been better off as friends just like Star initially said in Club Snubbed. Because Boyfriend Tom is more concerned about dancing and smooching than Star’s crowning moment as a princess, and Girlfriend Star forgets that Tom is even in the room, but then Friend Tom risks his life to help Marco, Star and her kingdom and is understanding of something like a kiss, and Friend Star is super happy about being able to hug it out with the two most important people in her life.
I honestly don’t feel bad or biased when I say that romance was never what they needed from each other..
MARCO JR.
At face value the episode shows us some of Marco’s flaws that we were already familiar with: tunnel vision, obsessing excessively over one thing at a time, and a tendency to brag about things that are rather minor. This might seem a regression for the character at first glance, and more relevant to his relationship with his parents than to his with Star or Mewni, but it’s actually an “update” on the current state of Marco’s Box. In Is Another Mystery, the first episode where Marco had lines that effectively told us something new about the character since Deep Dive (since in Monster Bash he was mostly there to help Star, and I’m not counting Stump Day), we got to see how eager he is to do squirely things: adventures with Star, try new weapons. In this episode we are indirectly shown even more how obsessed he seems to have grown with his role as a squire, to the point of overlapping it with his own identity. As already said several times, embracing the label Star slapped on him was the only way Marco could find to reconcile his desire to be at Star’s side and help her with the pain his one-sided crush brought him, and that’s brought to its extreme in this episode - and the whole system is finally going to blow in the following episode, Booth Buddies.
Not only are we told that Marco barely had contact with Earth during his stay on Mewni, but it also seems like he’s worried that he might not visit often in the future either.
“But it’s so easy to move around with the scissors, Angie even points it out herself at the end of the episode!” it’s the same situation as the one seen at the beginning of the season: the real separation is emotional, not physical. Marco’s expectations of fun and grandeur for Mewni, and his heart, were shattered soon after his departure: first he tried to partially put them together by having some fun adventures in Night Life, then he understood that he couldn’t force his Mind to drift away from what his Heart wanted anymore and made being Star’s squire his new identity as a self-imposed way to keep his role in her life clear and simple. Marco’s determination allowed him to make such an improbable situation work without having him go (too) mad with grief or run away like Star would have done, but the other side to this coin was, once again, crippling tunnel vision. He can’t even imagine himself being something other than a Squire right now, not even a brother, not even a son visiting his parents: anything else could have shattered the thin walls of the box that was keeping him sane.
Clearly by the end of the episode, thanks to some Family Love™ (and a good dose of nightmare fuel) he learns a lesson. By realizing and accepting that there can be more than one thing at a time in his life he shows how much he changed compared to the beginning of the season - one of the main sources of grief has been his incapability, in Scent Of A Hoodie, to consider the nuance that Earth might have held some things that were important to him without necessarily being all he truly wanted, that the kind of life Star let him know was what he needed the most. Marco’s entire tenure in S3 has had his Mind telling him it was all-or-nothing, even when the two sides flipped partway into 3A.
It’s only at this point that the commuting from Earth to Mewni so many fans talked about when Sophomore Slump aired could have been an actual possibility.
As for Star, as already mentioned earlier, following Deep Dive she fully got into the kind of relationship she had with Marco before S3 as far as the Heart goes (Mind-wise, no. Most definitely not yet). She gets involved in his life, is very feely-touchy, is happy to spend some time with him, and calls him beautiful without questioning it or without considering it weird. Note that the last time Star complimented someone’s appearance was in Demoncism (she says that Tom looks nice in his suit and shirt), and in that case both her Heart and Mind were drifting toward Tom, readying themselves for a relationship and to change what she once thought about the person. It might not be a coincidence that this episode is right before Booth Buddies (excluding Skooled!, but Star and Marco are not in it). Everything is primed to “explode”: Marco sank deeper than ever into the Box but saw what’s outside it (family, Star calling him beautiful) while Star once again enjoys spending time with Marco during casual and relaxed moments, as well as (unconsciously, mostly) considering him The Standard Choice as a companion and partner in anything that’s not strictly boyfriend-only stuff (e.g. hand-holding in Booth Buddies’ opening minutes).
Also she was able to answer to 200 detailed questions about Marco, showing how well she knows her, when just one segment before she didn’t know that Tom was a half monster, or that he had a tail.
Also interesting to note that Marco doesn’t fully hug Star back, nor did he in Stump Day or Deep Dive: while it’s hardly the only time in the show and might be due to stylistic choice/poses fitting the shot, the number of instances suggest that it might be done on purpose. A general reluctance that’s going to be a buildup to him trying to run away from any display of intimacy from Star in Booth Buddies, which itself builds up to the to extreme contrast in Divide, in which he’s going to literally be the one moving into Star’s open arms to hug her.
BOOTH BUDDIES
Since this episode marks a point of no return for the series and for the characters, effectively having Marco make up for what his lack of maturity lead him to do almost one season ago, I’d like to make a quick point about his growth as a character throughout the episodes (some of which I already referenced earlier). This is especially important since his developments haven’t been as central or as linear as Star’s in S2, leading a looot of fans to feel like he hasn’t grown at all. Luckily that’s far from being the truth.
As of the end of last season, Marco is living a pretty normal, safe Earth life and thinks that he has everything he wants. A girlfriend to go on dates with and Star to spend basically all his time with - what more could he ask for? Then the confession and the Battle For Mewni happen; he initially thinks the only rational decision is going back to the aforementioned pretty little life (the one that, after all, he essentially yearned for ever since kindergarten), but he soon realizes that was not what he wanted anymore - that deep down, beyond his Jackie-shaped blinders, Star changed what he looked for from life. But when he arrives on Mewni, he's immediately torn down in EVERY single way. First he’s laughed at by the knights, then River's gift turns out to be a farce, then Star herself shunts him to the sub-basement. And throughout the season he builds himself anew, slowly earning legitimacy as a squire (Night Life plus information given in 3B) and making things right with Star (by helping her with all of her princess duties originally, then apologizing for his ignoring the confession and opening up about his own feelings in Booth Buddies, and even confessing the kiss to Tom). Marco has always been someone who could give excellent suggestions to others (Star and Tom, mostly), but then struggled to apply them to his own life because little to nothing forced him to question his own feelings and actions. Exhibit A: Sleepover. During his speech, he talked about wanting to get to know Jackie, but then barely did that (which was painfully obvious as their relationship went on). He spoke out what he honestly thought he wanted, but when it came time to act, his Heart was not into it because that wasn’t what he truly wanted to begin with.
Now, during S3, he went from someone who just coasted by on Earth to someone taking ownership of his own life and his own feelings, trying to be there for his best friend when she needed him most. His biggest hangup was his Mind and Heart odds, for a large part of S2, and him never being confronted with it. He got confronted, he stunk at dealing with it, and then most of season was his journey coming to terms with it. And given that basically every instance of unreliability he's had was a result of his Mind and Heart conflicting, him actually pulling the two together should be one of the biggest things to celebrate about his character progression yet! He hasn't regressed from it ever since, and he's probably never going to - because what Marco lacks in introspection he makes up for in determination.
One common criticism I want to address right now, before we start truly witnessing the beginnings of Star and Marco’s feelings aligning (and before I start gushing over why that’s such a good thing for the characters): “But Star and Marco hurt each other a lot over their feelings and did a lot of wrong things!” That ignores the core of the matter (which itself is a generalization of the last paragraph): virtually all the major, long-lasting problems within the teenage relationships so far are exclusively because of Heart and Mind disagreeing. This doesn’t mean that everything they’ve done to hurt each other or other people gets handwaved away morally, nor does it mean every other character should just step aside to let Star and Marco be together. What it does mean, however, is that none of the characters will be ready to make consistently good decisions about what is best for themselves or others until they have this fundamental self-understanding, this synchronization of Heart and Mind. In Starco’s case what they should agree in, for both of them, is that they like each other (let’s not use the Big L word already, even if after Conquer I think we might be able to start throwing it around). Not being able to admit and accept it is what caused almost all of these issues and rifts between each other, first for Star in S2, then for Marco, and then for Star again (even if with a completely different scope and context). Meanwhile in both Jarco’s and Tomstar’s cases, the issue came from the Mind and Heart disagreement leading the protagonists to get into relationship that didn’t match what they needed at first, then later not even what they wanted. Too long didn’t read version: it isn’t being in love with each other that brings the worst out of Star and Marco, it’s the inability to accept that they are in love. It’s not Starco that brings never-ending feelings drama, it’s the lack of Starco.
And this doesn’t mean that Starco would be completely perfect or issue-free when it happened; no relationship ever is, but those issues take fundamentally different forms when the Heart and Mind aren’t waging war underneath. This would mean there would no longer be any long-term romantic angst arcs anymore, at least not involving main characters, but it’s not as though those are any sort of fundamental cornerstones of the show that it can’t live without. Seasons 1 and 2A went almost entirely free of them, after all, and I know I speak for many people on all sides of shipping debates when I say the show could definitely do without more of this type of drama (even if the ways we’d like to see it resolved once and for all may differ immensely).
So what might take its place? Well, there’s obviously all kinds of other sources of drama not related to teenage relationships, but that’s a bit of a cop-out response, so let’s look at relationships themselves. A key trait of healthy committed relationships is that the underlying devotion is unquestionable, that both parties truly have the best interests of each other, or of themselves as a pair, as a foundation of their lives. Starco has had this platonically since almost the very beginning, but this still doesn’t mean it’s bland, perfect, or free of any problems. If you want evidence of this, look no further than the classic Starco moments in S1 and early S2. Cheer Up Star, Sleep Spells, Blood Moon Ball, Storm the Castle, Star on Wheels, Gift of the Card… the list goes on and on and on, and I’m leaving tons out here, but a shared trait of all of these episodes is that Star and/or Marco screw something up in a way that causes strife, with moments of growth after. And since the foundation is so firm, that growth builds up into a veritable fortress, whereas in situations or relationships without that foundation, attempting to pile new things on can simply contribute to the inevitable collapse, even if those new things are positive (Jackie and Marco broke up during one of the strongest moments in the relationship, after all!). In the case of Starco, a dedicated growth arc of their relationship blossoming (with all the hurdles along the way) would be a change of pace from the prior seasons while still providing character/relationship-centric arcs which are rather important to the show - they just don’t have to be unrequited feelings angst.
Getting to the episode, one of the first scenes reminds us both that Star does enjoy being with Tom-
-and that she seems to lack object permanence when it comes to him, essentially ignoring his existence whenever he’s not physically present and the object of her attention. Obviously I’m exaggerating here, as the scene itself has little to no importance to the episode - Star and Marco were required to be alone inside the booth, Tom was required to be there to make everything even awkward by having him there at the end of the episode, and even in the best of relationships someone might not like what their partner likes. Still, it should be seen along with several other moments throughout the season, and in an episode that has such a strong focus on friendship it’s hard not to make comparisons between Tomstar and Starco and see that the former lacks this fundamental basis (which, among other elements, already doomed Jarco.
Star wants to take pictures specifically with Marco and reminisces about all the memories that the photo booth holds; this episode confirms that “friendship” and “love” are one and the same by now to for dorks, so having Star be so focused on her friendship with Marco holds a huge meaning. It tells us what I’ve been saying ever since Deep Dive: by now her Heart is completely focused on Marco, and her Mind consciously knows how important he is to her as well. The only thing that’s stopping her are The Boxes. They’re a completely new way of ignoring an issue compared to her S2 self: Star’s relationship with Marco slowly grew to be once again as strong (maybe stronger, on account of how much more involved in her life he is now) than it ever was, but with any strictly romantic feelings displaced to Tom. We could say that right now Star feels for Marco the same way she felt at the beginning of S3, post confession and pre-Scent Of A Hoodie, while displacing anything even slightly reminiscent of romantic affection on Tom - and only that. “Marco is my best friend, and my squire, and he helps me with everything, and I like spending time with him, and he’s cute and handsome, he’s an amazing friend. And Tom is my boyfriend”. Needless to say that by the end of the episode this is going to change, because things are so ready to explode, both for Star and Marco, that a small push is going to be enough to take them over the edge.
With the exception of the dubbing vows in Lint Catcher, this is the first time in the season that Star talks about being best friends with Marco. It tells us how much she wanted this, how ready things were, and how much it must hurt Marco. Because Squire Marco can stay at Star’s side without constantly thinking about how much he loves her. Bestie Marco can’t.
This also explains why Marco is so eager to leave, so “annoyed” by this adventure that shoves everything he has been trying to ignore for months into his face.
Marco always liked their adventures, and he does still like them - look how eager he was to look for Buff Frog just one episode earlier - as long as they they don’t involve feelings. As long as they don’t require Marco to remember just how special Star is to him. Star thinks that nothing has changed, or at least she's deluded herself into that: her Mind essentially completely regressed the progresses she made in S2, but her Heart has only grown so much closer to Marco since then. And, it shouldn’t be underestimated, she has matured a lot. She might still be easily blind to the truth, but once it gets revealed to her she’s more ready to accept it now, doesn’t run away as much as she used to anymore (and that’s why their relationship remains changed after this episode, the effects carrying over to the season finale).
But NOPE, things have changed, things are different. They are different for Marco, but they are different for Star as well: Star’s concept of love has been molded around Marco (who replaced Oskar, who himself was just a silly crush with absolutely no basis that wasn’t physical or hormonal), she more or less realized it in Starcrushed, and - even if she honestly moved on, romantically speaking, for a couple of episodes - she could never erase the meaning Marco holds in her life. Things couldn’t go back to the way they were; no matter if she had another boyfriend, no matter if she truly didn’t even romantically like Marco anymore for a time.
There’s a parallel between Star in Starcrushed, saying that pretending her feelings weren’t there didn’t make them go away, and Marco, saying that pretending that things aren’t different is getting harder and harder. But the mindset was vastly different: Star was actively trying to ignore everything because she didn’t want to deal with it, Marco fully accepted it and was just trying to work with the kind of situation he found himself in.
The moment Star understands that Marco likes her.
By not addressing Star’s confession, Marco threw a wrench in their relationship, and even if things got way, way better again, that specific gear was still stuck until this moment. By acknowledging his faults, the situation could finally evolve, and their relationship along with it. Marco says that he acted “like a Marco”, showing that he’s aware of what his flaws are/were. Star confirms that it hurt her, a lot, but at the same time that she is not angry and understands that the situation was far from being easy for both of them (after all, it’s not as though her confession was the most well-timed thing either). This is a genuine bona-fide heart-melting moment of emotional intimacy, two kids talking their hearts out like they haven’t done ever since Blood Moon Ball.
And Star is in complete sync with Marco (even if they’re not saying the same things, this time): she already went through this and understands how hard it must have been for Marco, and as such she tries to make him comfortable.
Why do I keep saying that this episode confirmed that FRIENDSHIP and LOVE are one thing only as far as Starco is considered? Because of this scene. No one ever told them that they had to kiss to get out the booth, all they knew is that they had to take the right photo. And they had been trying to take BEST FRIEND photos all this time. And that’s what Marco set his mind to, in that moment. And as soon as he gets out from his box for a moment and focuses on how Star is his very best friend, he kisses her. And when Star gets out from her box for a moment and realizes that things between her and Marco are different and have always been different (no matter how much she tries to displace her feelings), she kisses him.
The moment both of them accepted all the weight of their relationship, their Minds and Hearts fully agreed on each other - even if for a fleeting moment - and they kiss.
Who kissed who? Marco is probably the one who initiated the kiss; he turned toward Star first, and he’s the one who has a better idea of where his feelings lie. But it was reciprocal, completely reciprocal. Star leans in more than Marco does, she closes her eyes, she doesn’t try to shy away, and she even looks for more physical contact by moving her arms on Marco’s ones. For a couple of seconds Marco didn’t try to box away what he felt anymore, and Star forgot to repeat to herself that Tom is the object of her romantic feelings, even if Marco is the object of almost literally any other kind of feelings.
An interesting detail: while it’s fully possible that the photo strip printed by the booth is different because props and animations are handled by different teams, there’s also the possibility that the pictures show us what happened during the flashes (when the screen turns white) preventing us from seeing the moments themselves, with the frames we see in the booth itself being between the photos. If this was intentional, it would mean that Star’s arms weren’t on Marco originally and that she moved them only a moment later as she got more into the kiss. I have no way of knowing for sure what is the case, but there are no doubts that it was reciprocal even without this extra evidence. It doesn’t really matter if it’s just a mistake and nothing more, but it would still be sign of a certain level of passion.
Immediately after the kiss Star and Marco try to dive inside their boxes again: Star says that Marco is her squire, as if that should have magically stopped them from kissing, and Marco remarks that he takes the job very seriously, as if re-reaffirming his identity could have stopped the feelings from overflowing and tearing down all the protective walls he built himself over the months. Star doesn’t even immediately say that she has a boyfriend (that comes second), and she puts “boyfriend” and “Tom” in two separate lines. If this is not indicative of the nature of The Boxes I talked about so much, of how they both used clear labels to manage unwanted feelings, nothing can ever be.
Luckily their behavior in Divide is going to show us that said boxes have been irreparably damaged, and even if I’m sure it’s still going to take a bit of time and a non-zero number of pushes in S4 for Starco to happen, there’s no going back now. Their Hearts already knew that things were different, and knew their Minds had to come to terms with it as well; there might still be some conflict left caused by the situation (Tom, dating a princess, huge step from friends to couple), but they are not disagreeing actively anymore, the Mind is not actively trying to filter, sidestep, or silence the Heart anymore.
Brief digression that’s connected to the episode, but to the whole show as well: both us viewers and the characters were lead to believe that the booth was magical. Marco even attributes his actions to this belief, saying he was just trying to get themselves out.
Ben could even look like a stand-in for rabid shippers, “You were so cute while standing next to each other, I knew you had to kiss!”. Does this mean that Starco was forced? BEGONE, THO(UGH)T. I already mentioned this before: the show is extremely good at not forcing anything when feelings and relationships are involved. Blood Moon Ball? The romantic fancy magic dance did NOTHING; Star and Marco had to talk things out to settle the incomprehensive rifts that arose during the episode. Face The Music? Context makes it likely that Star never explicitly told Ruberiot about her feelings, but some combination of the hug he saw and whatever she told him about Marco gave him a clue. When the entire point of the song is Star coming clean with a ton of things she’s been trying to run from, it’s completely fitting for those feelings to be included in the mix. Club Snubbed? It’s perhaps the most “arbitrary” relationship moment in the season, since Tom came into Star’s life out of the blue, and yet even in that case everything that happened was based on events we already knew and on state of minds for both characters we were already familiar with.
Booth Buddies is no exception: Star wasn’t gonna let Marco go away well before Ben actually sealed the door, as she could feel something was off and wanted to get to the bottom of the matter. The characters were already more than primed for this to happen; there was already a mountain of feelings ready to explode because several episodes before this had slowly tugged each aspect of the situation to the brink of its breaking point. At that point, the specifics of the triggering situation aren’t that important. This is a TV show for kids with magical elements, and the trigger events obviously have to be a bit over the top, weird, unusual. The same events that took place in this episode could have easily happened on Star’s couch, had she suddenly decided that she wanted to watch Fiesta De La Noche with Marco, their friendship blanket being the “closed space” that blocked them together.
Event that triggers a change ≠ All the buildup that allows the event to actually have effects
Also, as a further evidence to back this up, the situation felt as weird to the characters as it felt to us throughout the season; Star could feel that something was wrong and different in their relationship, even if we got supposedly normal episodes such as Trial By Squire, Deep Dive and Marco Jr.
Honesty has been an important theme to the show since S2 - from Star telling the truth about Glossaryck to her parents (and then to the whole kingdom), to Moon having to be honest with the Magic High Commission, to Marco having to tell the truth as Princess Turdina, to the truth about Meteora... this time we can only hope that the characters are going to be honest not only with each other, but with themselves. That’s the key to having Mind and Heart agree, the key to them getting over the dissonance that has plagued them for dozens of episodes now, the key to having their own heads screwed on straight enough to stop getting into situations where they unwittingly hurt themselves and the ones they care about. Simply put, it’s the key to Starco and all the good that comes with it.
Tom’s lines are shamefully unsubtle in how much they seem to mirror what was happening to Star in that moment, while her thousand-yard stare tells us that the night had quite the effect on her.
To conclude this episode: does Star know that Marco likes her now? Yes. Her reactions throughout the episode make it clear enough, even if she might still not know to what extent, or might be trying not to think too hard about it.
Does Marco knows that Star likes him as well, if with what little remains of the Boxes is still filtering her feelings (we still went from Plexiglass wall to wire fence with big holes)? Harder to tell. I’d go with “no”: during the kiss they both had their eyes closed, and he’s likely the one who initiated it, so he wouldn’t be able to think of Star reciprocating as a conclusive enough evidence (her immediately talking about his role as a squire and Tom being her boyfriend after the kiss might have further contributed). His panicked reaction, trying to “shift the blame” of his action to what he thought about the booth, would also be consistent with it - and a very understandable panicked reaction.
Note that in Conquer he tells Tom “I kissed Star”: regardless of his immediate reaction he then never pretends to be blameless, and owns up to his actions.
DIVIDE / CONQUER
Star has a hard time handling everything alone, and feels like she needs help, someone who can think for themselves and with who she can share some of the overbearing load of her life. I wonder who that might be.
And no, it’s not Lavabo.
I spent most of the post pointing out how Star always defaults to Marco when she needs a hand with something, so it might seem weird that he has to remind her that she can use him this time. But given the context it’s understandable - as Star’s on-edge reactions are. After all, they needed a reason to give us such a fanservice-like scene as Marco fighting Star’s spells. Furthermore, considering how the extreme relief she feels when she thinks he’s safe near the beginning of Conquer, and her similarly charged reaction to finding out he’s “gone”, it’s quite possible she’s reluctant to send him into the fray now because she’s fully cognizant of how important he is to her, of how much she values his mere presence by her side, and doesn’t want to risk that. It’s also nice to see the kind of devotion and serious commitment to his role Marco has, ready to risk his life to help Star - and to prove himself. Remember that Marco has always had kind of a “cocky” streak going, in this case a more positive side-effect of a low self-esteem and a strong desire to take on whatever task he currently put his mind onto to its fullest.
The abs scene is probably mostly a gag, but it also is indicative of how much more Star is letting her Heart take the wheel: indelicate toward Tom being her boyfriend, probably, but so was kissing Marco, and so too will to her almost exclusive focus on Marco for most of Conquer be. There’s plenty of other factors for the last one - most notably Marco being “dead” for most of it - but it still shows where Star’s interests are when she’s too busy to listen to the (now fainter) voice in her Mind repeating “Tom = boyfriend”
This scene here might be the strongest indication of romantic feelings throughout the whole show, even more than any kiss: not only are blushes super rare (in serious contexts), making them important and meaningful, but Star turning around to hide her cheeks confirms to us that she’s aware of what she is feeling and of what it means. I don’t mean to imply that Star’s Mind has kicked Tom to the curb or is calmly and consciously thinking “Boy howdy, I sure do fully romantically love Marco and feel no romantic attraction towards Tom anymore!” In a less heated moment, in S4, it’s going to take her some thinking and some sort of push(es) to put once and for all an end to her internal disagreement, but this moment still tells us that Star, right now, knows that she likes Marco.
Also, why is she blushing? Because right now Marco is being everything that Star looks for from a partner, the “ideal” image of a companion that she created during the months spent with him. He’s being considerate, worried about her wellbeing and safety, proactive and dependable. And the fact that he was just done looking cool and is now glistening with sweat and determination probably helped.
This line is huge. Marco talks about “best friends” for the first time in the season, after having spent a dozen episodes trying to repress the concept of “I’m Star’s bestie” as much as possible, replacing it with his role as a squire. This tells us that Booth Buddies had huge consequences for both of them: this time, when they were faced with the evidence that things are different, they didn’t try to uselessly pretend they could go back to what they were. Marco still knows that he can’t be with Star right now, that she and Tom are still a thing (and his confession to Tom later confirms he respects that Tom is her boyfriend), and as I said before I don’t think he’s even all that aware that Star still reciprocates his feelings. But this doesn’t stop him anymore, this doesn’t hurt him as much as it used to because now there are no more emotional barriers between him and Star. The situation is not perfect yet, and there are still things they have to work out, but now he truly feels like their relationship is not as one-sided anymore.
For those familiar with Pokémon, imagine this: Star and Marco’s relationship has been consistently leveling up for the whole show, and could have evolved a while ago, but following Scent Of A Hoodie they kept pressing “B” every time. Their relationship was much stronger than a pre-evolution had any right to be during that time, but was still held back compared to its potential. They made a resolution in Booth Buddies to not press “B” again, but they haven’t quite gotten enough EXP to level up again after that. Once they do, once they have that final push over the edge, it will finally evolve - and as a consequence of their actions, the evolved form will start out at a much higher level, and will be much stronger, than other freshly-evolved ones .
It’s also the first time in the season Marco comforts Star; he asks her to open up emotionally, something that happened often during S1 and S2, and that stopped when he decided that being her Squire meant setting for himself boundaries he shouldn’t overstep. I think it’s fair to make a comparison with Tom in Is Another Mystery here: Marco is more than eager to listen to what concerns Star has, and he asks her not to hide it before she says anything - compared to how Tom felt like he was expected to listen to his girlfriend’s griefs only after she complained about not having anyone to talk with about it. I’m not making this comparison out of spite, I just want to point out the differences between the characters: they are certainly explainable by several elements and by different contexts, I’m not holding it against Tom, but it still speaks volumes about what (who) Star wants and needs, and who she expected Tom to be, essentially. Marco ruined other boys for Star.
This is hardly the first time Star and Marco hugged when other people were present, why did they blush this time? Because Friendship and Love are completely woven together now. Obviously this doesn’t mean that they’re going to blush every time, that they can’t share platonic moments anymore, but there is always going to be a base of romantic feelings - dare I say, of love - accompanying them. They managed to get their relationship to “stagnate” for the longest time, but following Booth Buddies and the realizations it brought, there were only two roads left for it: to die, or to grow and evolve. It’s clear what they chose (THANK GOD).
While it might have not been addressed simply for the sake of the episode’s flow, it seems like Star never involved Tom in all of this, again, and Marco is the one who got him involved. Sadly nothing new.
Tom is extremely sincere here while apologizing to Marco’s for what he did in the past, and doesn’t feel like he needs to be in “competition” with him anymore. Being brutally honest for a moment here: Marco appreciates his presence more than Star ever did! Not that Star doesn’t like spending time with Tom, we have seen that, but when has she ever said she was glad Tom was there? Sure Star is not present in this specific moment, but even during Conquer he’s not once going to worry about Star focusing all of her attention on Marco. It seems like he has genuinely grown from his experience in Is Another Mystery, from having seen how it feels to do something because you care about the thing or the person, and not because you feel obligated to do it because of a label.
And this is even more true in Conquer: Tom characterizes himself not as Star’s boyfriend, but as Marco’s friend. And from that moment he’s the chillest, most altruistic self he has ever been. He risks his life, sure, but that doesn’t mean much because life and death situations are almost always handled in a selfless way in cartoons - even Pony Head was ready to risk her life. What really matters is the way he behaves in the second half of the episode, when he meets up with Star and doesn’t care if she doesn’t pay attention to him - he keeps trying to help her and Marco.
He doesn’t want to protect Star because “that’s- that’s something boyfriends do, right?”, but because he promised his friend Marco he would have done it, and because he cares about Star.
I truly think (while always being humble enough to say that we can’t know for sure what the future of the show holds) that this is what Tom’s growth is going to be all about from now on: becoming just a friend. Back in Club Snubbed I said that Tom does grasp his faults and main flaws, and is sincerely looking to make strides to overcome them, but that his deep-seated issues kept steering him toward the only thing he was familiar with and that made him feel a little better as a person (i.e. his relationship with Star). With Is Another Mystery and Divide/Conquer he finally seemed to be able to do things for the sake of people - both himself and others, and not for the sake of “symbols” like Brian and his badges or his relationship with Star and its “good boyfriend points”. Yes, he actually kinda did that in Demoncism as well, but at that time he jumped into it without really knowing why he was doing it and still looked at things from the wrong perspective. Back in Conquer again, he even takes Marco’s side and fully accepts that he’s the one in the spotlight now, the one making the plans, and that right now the best thing he can do is be one of his “pawns”; this is a big improvement compared to Is Another Mystery when he was compelled to think he had to be the protagonist, even if he didn’t really feel like it and evidently didn’t really know what he had to do to help Star (also it continues the streak of the second part of the season of Marco’s personality traits being portrayed as positive qualities rather than flaws).
In case the panic and regret that followed the kiss in Booth Buddies weren’t enough to prove that it was seen as a bad action by the characters, something they shouldn’t have done regardless of how useful it was to their relationship and how much they might have wanted it in that instant, we have this scene with Marco confessing to Tom that he kissed Star. Note that he says “I kissed Star”, not “We kissed”: right now Marco is overwhelmed by guilt, and he doesn’t think about how reciprocal or not it might have been, he just feels like he has to tell Tom (who just called him his “best friend”) what a monster he has been behind his back. And Tom, the same guy who once threatened to kill him because he merely thought he was dating Star when they weren’t even together (Mr. Candle Cares), now accepts the fact and endangers his life for Marco’s sake, for his “commander” who he trusts with planning something to make things better.
A lot has been said about Star’s utter desperation at Marco becoming a balloon. Obviously that’s to be expected - who wouldn’t be shocked by seeing their best friend be mostly-dead? But we can still make some assumptions, based on the way Star behaved, that tell us where her Heart is beyond the absolutely non-standard context of the moment. As soon as she hears that Marco is back Star goes from sad and dejected from not having been able to get her mom back,
to smiling and being anxious to meet with him. Obviously she was happy to know that he was still alive - or so she thought - but I think it’s also because in that moment Star felt more alone than ever, having realized that her mom wouldn’t have been back to help with Meteora, and that Marco was the last person she had she could fully trust, her “lifeline”. Tom was there too, he was helping her and her kingdom too, but he didn’t have the same effect on her.
This explains why Star ignores Meteora destroying her kingdom behind her back to focus solely on Marco: without him she feels lost, not only because she’s worried about her friend, but because she lost the last major symbol of her hope that allowed her to think that they might make it through this after all.
And this is why she immediately decides to drop everything and “abandon her kingdom” to go heal Marco at the Sanctuary. A strong parallel with Moon at the beginning of the season: the Queen decided to abandon her kingdom for the sake of her daughter, but Star disapproved of her decision and went to take on Toffee head-on, showing a strong sense of duty when it came to defending her family and people. Now it’s Star’s turn to see what/who she cares about the most be endangered. And she, too, puts it before the sake of everything else (temporarily, though: we see the difference between Moon and Star here, when she decides to still go back and face Meteora). Star being shocked and distraught by Marco’s fate doesn’t tell us much, it’s a rather expected reaction. But the way she drops everything for his sake, retracing her mother’s actions at the beginning of the season? That’s what tells us that right now Marco is the most important person in the world to Star.
Marco > Kingdom (until she realizes what kind of duties she has, obviously). Kinda expected, most cartoons and TV shows have characters putting the lives of their loved ones before that of a lot of other people, but it’s still meaningful.
Once again, it’s not like Star doesn’t appreciate Tom or doesn’t like spending time with him or can’t find comfort in him as well. But the sheer amount of moments that showed Star putting Marco over Tom whenever she wasn’t solely focused on boyfriend stuff can’t be ignored, and has to be intentional.
As I anticipated earlier, we get confirmation that Star never told Tom about her new powers. If taken individually both this scene and her “Don’t tell Tom” one in Sweet Dreams can be seen mostly as gags, but when considered together, along with all the other similar instances, they paint a clear picture of a Star who is not proactive in involving Tom in her life, who doesn’t feel like that’s a priority or something that could truly make the difference and be necessary to her. I have no doubts that Star would have still been distraught had Tom been the festive party balloon instead of Marco, but with Marco still at her side she probably wouldn’t have felt as hopeless, she wouldn’t have dropped everything immediately. This is where the bulk of the difference between Marco and Tom is: only the former is seen by Star, consciously or not, as a completely fundamental part of her life.
Since this is a relationship analysis, we’ll jump ahead to after the epic anime fight and the defeat of Meteora. The moment people start turning back, Star immediately scans the room to look for Marco, and runs toward him: nothing weird, as far as the reactions of the character go, but consider that we just got the climax of the episode with Eclipsa ultra-murdering her own daughter. The show still decides to break the tension by showing us that Star is utterly focused on Marco, and only on Marco, even when the immediate dangers seems to be over, even when things are getting better, even when she saw Tom get brutally knocked out minutes earlier and knows he’s still out cold in the corner. Compare it to Toffee; in that case we got people being happy for Star’s “resurrection”, but the scene was much shorter, the focus got moved away from Toffee for just two shots and a handful of seconds, while in this case the focus is completely on Star and Marco (and then Tom).
I love the “I got you” line here, as I think it’s a very Star-like way to express how important Marco is in her life and how much happiness it brings her when he truly feeling his presence, that she “has him”. The pose is also kind of reminiscent of the hug in Demoncism, and while the context and amount of buildup was completely different it might still tell us where Star’s Heart is in this moment - since in the aforementioned case it was about three minutes away from making her hook up with Tom. Meanwhile the Mind is too busy being happy to worry about boxes, labels, and Tom. This hug is similar to the one in Toffee, but while in that case the relief was a “silent” one, because both Star and Marco hadn’t really questioned the nature of their relationship yet (Star kinda did, by accepting her feelings, but she was still rather passive on it following the moment in Starcrushed), this one speaks volumes about what’s important to them. Something something you don’t know how much you care about someone until you lose them. And in this case the loss wasn’t Star leaving or Marco “dying”, but the walls that separated them from most of the season.
It’s also the first time we get tears of happiness in a serious context since the hug in Gift Of The Card (and even in that case the scene, while serious to the characters, was comically charged to us viewers, with Marco talking about them becoming charred skeletons and all that). I don’t know if it’s intentional, but the shot shares resemblances with the one from Starcrushed: in that case Star was crying because she was about to lose Marco (and Earth and her friends and all that, sure), in this case she’s happy because she “got” Marco once again.
While we are going to have to wait for S4 to be completely sure, Tom’s line here seems to be incredibly important. He’s clearly aware that he’s being a “third wheel” in this immediate, intimate moment between them, and (given the context of all of his recent developments) may very well understand on a deeper level what’s going on, what’s best not only for Star and Marco but for himself as well. (Who knows how long Star and Marco would have kept staring at each other if he stayed unconscious against the wall?).
Jackie in Sophomore Slump broke up with Marco not only for his sake, but also because she understood that she would have been hurt in the process as well and that she deserved someone who truly considered her his best friend. Similarly, I think that what we saw in these two episodes has been a Tom who - hard to tell how consciously - experienced a kind of bond with others that he barely ever scratched in the past (mostly in Friendenemies), and he liked it enough not to make him worry about Star not paying attention to him, about Marco having kissed her. All three characters fully prioritize the bonds they have over the labels that were affixed to them (with the result resembling Starco as a deep, emotionally intimate relationship bordering on romantic, with Tom as a fantastic friend to the pair), and all three seem more emotionally fulfilled because of it than they’ve ever been.
I see it like this: while it’s clear that Tom likes kissing and smooching and intimacy and all that, the main drive behind his relationship with Star is the usual, misguided need for validation I talked about so much. “Being with Star and the relationship work is proof that I’m improving as a person, a sign of my success”. At the end of Is Another Mystery, in a misguided and still partial way, and much more during the season finale, Tom experienced fulfillment and satisfaction through other means. Marco appreciated his friendship and help,
he had the chance to save the day - even if it didn’t work,
and Star found comfort in him and and was happy to see him be alive and well and to hug him, even if he technically interrupted her moment with Marco
All of this without ever bringing up his role as a boyfriend. Star didn’t do it either, the episode didn’t do it (if we exclude Meteora mocking her). I don’t think that Tom will necessarily immediately say “Yeah Star go to Marco we cool” in S4, and I wouldn’t like it either, and it’s also possible that it’s going to take him some time, after the inevitable breakup, to be fine with Star and Marco kissing and going hand in hand, but this scene here, in the context of everything that happened during the episodes, makes me think that he has a deeper understanding of what has to happen and of how things would be better for everyone, regardless of what he feels like at a surface level. This doesn’t mean sacrificing his own happiness for Marco and Star, it means that he saw for himself that he was happier and more fulfilled when he was Star and Marco’s friend during a life and death situation than he was while being Star’s boyfriend during a party.
(Well, I asked earlier how long they would have kept staring at each other if he didn’t show up. And the fact that they didn’t stop even when he did gives us a pretty clear answer.)
CONCLUSIONS
Where does this leave us moving forward into Season 4? In a good place for Star, Marco, and Tom as characters, as friends, and most importantly as people who care about each other. It’s impossible to predict what is exactly going to happen next season, and even more so when, since plot and episodes not focused on the main cast are often used to pace the development of relationships and romance, but we can be sure that something is going to happen sooner rather than later. After all, it’s worth remembering that Starcrushed and Battle for Mewni pushed them past the “points of no return” (arguably LESS intensely than Booth Buddies or Divide/Conquer did), and all the major, required aftershocks happened within 4 episodes! As for the “what”, Star and Tom have both been put in a situation that absolutely requires them to have a meaningful talk about their relationship; while they might initially try to avoid it I can’t imagine an episode where they interact (in a more than ten seconds long cameo way, at least) without big changes taking place. And right now a breakup is the only real option left, because anything else, any flavor of “getting over their mistakes and learning from them” would characterize their relationship as something that it’s not, and that we have been shown it’s never going to be. The core issue in Tomstar as a committed romantic relationship is not the lack of effort itself, but the lack of fundamental bases that can justify some kind of real effort and investment.
It’s trickier to imagine what might be in store for Star and Marco, since the nature of their relationship and personalities (along with TV shows usually wanting to keep pacing the biggest changes throughout the season) could very easily make for a delayed official hookup. But, at the same time, as of the season finale they both stopped trying to limit the way they enjoy their relationship and emotional intimacy. Unless things relapse a bit once the immediate danger is over and their lives get a little bit less stressful, I can easily imagine their relationship be a mix of platonic and romantic well before a hookup, with their dynamics evolving until they’re both ready to make it official and completely conscious. It’s also quite easily possible that these semi-conscious realizations they’ve been having about how much they value each other and their relationship fully erupt on the surface rather quickly, leading to a committed romantic relationship that they can begin tackling as a team.
Regardless, the show has proven to me over and over again that it consistently drives along arcs in preparation for payoff, and that it neither delivers it before the characters are ready nor arbitrarily holds it back for artificial suspense. Whatever happens is incredibly likely to be fitting for the characters’ developments at the time
And to truly conclude, a consideration for all those fans who might have felt alienated by this latest chapter in the show’s history (that includes me!), or disappointed by the apparent lack of real, committed changes to the status quo of the relationship during the finale. This season certainly had more “drama” than we have been used to in the past, and this lead several events that could have happened earlier, had things been slightly different, to be significantly delayed. But at the same time it allowed for all the situations to evolve and get close to the peak of their potential payoff before the actual change even happened: Marco chose Mewni as the place he might want to spend the rest of his life in, Star experienced the full extent of how indispensable Marco is to her and what kind of importance he has in her life, Tom experienced on his skin the difference in fulfillment and positivity about himself that being a boyfriend and being a friend bring him, Star and Marco experienced the pain separation brings them and the alienation/dissatisfaction not being able to experience their relationship to its fullest bring them. All of this before Starco happened, before Tomstar ended. Both the situation and the characters are already incredibly primed up for the changes that are surely going to take place next season, and the moment the relationships change they’re all going to have a three mile headstart compared to what could have been had things been sped up. Compared to what Starco might have been had it happened as soon as the situation barely allowed for it, instead of waiting for both dorks to WANT and NEED it.
332 notes
·
View notes
Text
Weighing One’s Worth (1/2)
Rating: T
Warnings: Depression, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt.
Characters: Tim Drake, Damian Wayne.
Preview: There was a beat of tense silence, during which Tim could feel the youngest Wayne's gaze boring into him, taking in the scene before him. He lowered the gun, an admittedly useless gesture: Damian had already seen him.
Then, "What are you doing?"
Cross posted: FFN and AO3 (1-15-16). (A/N found on both sites)
Prequel: Of Milkshakes and Marathons. (Not necessary to understand story.)
Second Chapter: Here
Sequel: Focus on the Fallout
So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do so we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up are just glass on the outside
~"Healing Begins" by Tenth Avenue North
There were good nights. There were bad nights. There were somewhere in between nights. There were great nights. There were horrible nights. And then there were nights when you really began to wonder if it was really even worth the fight at all.
Tonight was one of those nights.
Everyone copes with things differently. Tim? Well, he typically ended up curled up in the tiny space between his bed and the wall, cynically considering his options. One of which included a handgun tucked away in a shoebox under the floorboards.
A handgun that now found itself hanging heavy in his hand.
There were definitely other, less violent ways to end it all. Downing a couple pills, braining himself on the bedside table, slitting his wrists and bleeding out on the bathroom floor... But Tim didn't need any more time to think. Nothing was faster or more efficient than a bullet to the head. It was also less painful, though he tried not to think about the selfishness of that.
Not to mention the irony of using a gun, the start of Batman's career and, in essence, the beginning of Red Robin's.
Tim had thought it through. He had never been one to rush into something, especially such a life-changing—he held back a snort—decision as the one he was about to make.
The best part? No one even knew what Tim really felt.
Because Tim was an expert liar. Actually, better than expert. It came as naturally to him as breathing. He supposed that should probably disturb him, but it didn't. It happened to be a very useful skill in the face of nosy coworkers, friends, and relatives. Lies were nearly always easier to face than the truth.
Hiding his true feelings was one such lie. Facades and masks defined him, his true emotions corked tightly within a bottle inside, never ever to see the light of day; only the waning moonlight filtering through the curtains of his apartment, or, at the moment, his Wayne Manor bedroom. This practice of falsehood had extended to himself, almost so he was convinced he was okay; that he could handle the horrible stress and pain that was life.
He remembered the time when he'd hated the lying involved with the mask: to his father, to his friends, wanting nothing more than to give them a straight answer for once. But now...
Well. There comes a time when even the best liars start to crack.
And if Tim was being honest (haha), he lied to himself as often, if not more frequently than he did to his friends and...family.
Could he even call them his family? Sure, it was all down on paper, but just like blood, ink wasn't what made a family family.
His fingers ghosted over the safety mechanism, hesitating before flicking it off.
Replacement. Pretender.
At least Jason knew what Tim really was.
Tim had practically forced his way into this secret life in his desperation to be Robin after Jason's death. He had never been Robin; not really. He had been (still was) unwanted and unchosen. The outsider in Bruce's hand-picked family. Why should he even bother sticking around if no one had ever really wanted him in the first place?
A harsh laugh escaped his throat. After all the pain, all the danger, all the narrow escapes brought on by patrolling the streets of Gotham, the mighty Red Robin was going to go down via a handgun by his own volition. The irony.
Rock steady, he raised the gun barrel to his temple, the cold tip pressing against his scalp. He couldn't fight this feeling anymore. It was better for everyone this way. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his finger around the trigger.
"Drake!" called a familiar voice, shattering the previous silence as Tim's room door flew open (hadn't Tim locked it?) and slammed into the opposite wall. Before Tim could overcome his shock and slide the gun under the bed, footsteps echoed across the room.
"Grayson is..." The pompous voice trailed off, a tiny shadow stretching along the wall pausing at the foot of the bed as its owner halted his footsteps.
There was a beat of tense silence, during which Tim could feel the youngest Wayne's gaze boring into him, taking in the scene before him. He lowered the gun, an admittedly useless gesture: Damian had already seen him.
Then, "What are you doing?" Damian asked carefully, cynically—uncaringly.
"It's...it's not what it looks like," Tim managed, cheeks flushing at being caught by the brat, of all people. Well...the brat was better than Bruce or Dick. At least Damian wouldn't try to stop him. "Go away."
"It looks like you're about to do something either profoundly smart, or ridiculously stupid," Damian said, completely ignoring Tim's last statement.
"And why would you care?" Tim countered, finally glaring up at the smaller boy.
Crystal blue eyes stared down at him, not a single emotion crossing the 10-year-old's face. He didn't respond.
The minutes ticked by, Tim's initial discomfort being overcome by anger at Damian's lack of response. "Look," he snapped, "my business is my business. You can stay or go away, I don't care. But staring at me won't get you anywhere."
No reply. Well, he'd given him a chance.
Damian watched him in continued silence, eyes narrowed as Tim double-checked the safety was off, raising the barrel to his head.
Briefly, Tim wondered if this was really appropriate to be doing in front of a 10-year-old. He immediately dismissed the thought. This was a baby assassin who'd been killing since birth and who'd been not-so-secretly wishing Tim's demise since the day they'd met. To him, this would be a show.
Why not go out entertaining the brat? If he couldn't satisfy his peers, why not the son?
His finger tensed on the trigger.
"Stop."
Tim flinched at the sound. It wasn't quite an order. Damian almost sounded...young. Like his age, for once.
"If you're insistent upon doing this," Damian said, tone deceptively flat, "you'd better have a good reason, Drake."
Tim blinked. "It's not that simple."
Damian folded his arms over his chest. "I've got time."
Surprised, Tim hesitated. The truth pressed up against the lies, squeezing under his skin and begging to be set free. But after all these years, could he really just let them go? "No one would notice if I was gone anyway," he murmured, bidding for time.
Raising an eyebrow, Damian said, "Care to elaborate?"
Before Tim could make up his mind whether to actually answer the brat or not, his mouth decided for him: "From the beginning, Bruce never chose me as his Robin. I had to force him to take me on, to give me a chance. Heck, even Dick didn't want me to be Robin. I had to earn the right to the role."
Tim ran a hand through his hair, taking a shaky breath. "In a way, I was proud. Dick and Jason became Robin because Batman picked them, trained them, taught them everything he knew because he wanted to. I proved myself to him, showed him I could do everything...well, nearly everything that Dick and Jason could do and live to tell the tale. But that came at a price: Bruce refused to accept me completely as his partner.
"To him, I was—am—just an expendable asset, another soldier in his endless, self-driven crusade. I don't think I ever made the rank of equal in his eyes. Not like Dick and Jason did."
Impassive blue eyes stared down at him. Tim imagined he heard the brat mutter under his breath, "That's not true," but Tim was already launching into his next justification, unable to stop the flow of words now that he'd finally loosened the cork on his pent up emotions.
"I'm just a packhorse. The one in charge of all the projects nobody wants to do. Even as I sit here, the work keeps piling up. I just can't deal with all this anymore. Patrol, Wayne Enterprises, the Teen Titans, Bruce's cases..." He closed his eyes, pressing the palm of his free hand into his eye, fighting back the overwhelming pressure of panic squeezing his heart. "Too much. Nothing I do is enough, never satisfy anyone, never good enough. I can't..." He huffs, breath hitching slightly on the intake. "As you've kindly pointed out on multiple occasions, no one will even notice when my incompetency is gone."
Out of breath, he glared at the 10-year-old mulishly. "And why am I telling you all this? You never wanted me to exist in the first place."
Damian made no move to either confirm or deny that fact. Not that it mattered. Tim could practically see the gears turning in his little head as the demon attempted to drop the blame on someone else.
"Nobody will miss me much," Tim said matter-of-factly, hammering the final nail in his own coffin. "I mean, they might be sad for awhile, but they'll get over it."
There was a tense silence, two pairs of blue eyes glaring stoically into each other.
"Father will mourn you till the day he dies," Damian stated flatly, startling Tim at the sudden interruption from the formerly impassive boy. "Grayson will go crazy with guilt and grief, berating himself for not being a better big brother before he falls apart completely. Todd will blow a gasket and murder every criminal in Arkham. Cain would distance herself and spend years trying to figure out where she went wrong. Pennyworth's heart would break into a million pieces—again." The young hero fixed Tim with a glare worthy of the Bat. "And I would hate you for destroying our family with your selfishness."
Tim swallowed thickly, hesitating. "You already hate me," he offered weakly.
Damian tutted. "What does my opinion matter? You have won the affections of Grayson, my father, and a whole team of young superheroes. Not to mention Cain and Todd. What do you think the latter two would do if they caught you like this?"
Tim winced at the mental picture.
"Especially Superboy," Damian added. Then, not quite an afterthought: "Even I don't actually hate you."
At that, Tim shot him an incredulous look.
"That much," the baby assassin corrected.
Their eyes locked, blue on blue; one pair challenging, the other stubbornly stoic.
Tim huffed. "Fine." He allowed the barrel of the gun to drop, swinging it to face the wall. "Funk over. You can go now."
"Give me the gun, Drake."
Tim blinked. "Why?"
Damian snorted. "If you're truly not planning on blowing your idiotic brains out the moment I step out of this room, then give. Me. The gun."
Tim hesitated. It couldn't be that simple...could it?
No. It was too late. Damian already knew, so if Tim didn't go through with this he'd run the very high risk of the rest of the Bats finding out. Tim didn't think he could stand that; he could practically see the disappointment in Bruce's eyes as yet another of his soldiers failed his mission...
Almost absently, he buried the gun barrel back into his hair. His finger tensed on the trigger.
Missing nothing, Damian's eyes flared. "Very well, Drake," he announced imperiously. "If you're going, you're going to have to take me with you." Before Tim could blink, a knife was in the child's hand, the gleaming tip pressed against Damian's jugular.
"If you refuse to believe everyone—and I mean everyone—will miss you, think of what my father and Grayson would do if they saw me dead," Damian challenged. "And don't think for one second I won't go through with it if you dare pull that trigger, Drake."
Of all the ways this could have gone down from the moment Damian walked through the door, Tim would never have thought of this outcome in a million years.
Tim blinked slowly.
But no. Damian still stood before him, the razor sharp knife pressing dangerously into his own neck, an almost wild glint in his eyes.
"Because people will miss you, Drake," Damian continued in a strange, almost choked tone. "I only have Grayson and father. But you...you've got actual friends and family who love you not because of what you can do, but just because you're you. And that's good enough for them."
Blinking rapidly, Damian's eyes seemed to be shining a little brighter in the lowlight.
"They accept you for who you are, and when you make a mistake, they forgive you," he continued with a barely noticeable sniff. "They cry with you when you are sad, and laugh along when you are happy. If that's not love, then my interpretations of the concept are inaccurate. And I am never wrong."
"Damian," Tim sighed shakily. "You don't know what you're doing. Put the knife down."
"No, it's you who doesn't know what you're doing, Drake," Damian growled. "If you die, everyone is going to shatter with you. And if the only way to make you see sense is to threaten my own life, then so be it."
Tim stared. And then it clicked. "You're trying to guilt trip me," he realized.
Damian smirked savagely, a sick, twisted little smile that had no place on such a young face. "I refuse to let you break this family," he said levelly. "It's the only family I have left. So you remove your fingers from that gun, and I'll drop the knife. It's that simple."
Tim hesitated. The gun suddenly seemed very there in his hand; the solid weight of the warming barrel pressed against his head and tickling his scalp, the pad of his finger wrapped around the trigger. He became aware of every breath in his lungs hissing through his larynx to his nose, of his heart beating slightly faster in his chest. All of his body parts functioning as one in a beautiful creation for the sole purpose of keeping Tim alive.
Doubt crept in at the edges for the first time since he'd made his life-changing—ha, still funny the second time 'round—decision. Maybe...maybe this wasn't the answer he was looking for.
Staring up at Damian, Tim could swear the demon's lower lip was trembling slightly. "Go ahead," the boy challenged, steel blue eyes sending him a silent challenge over the glistening edge of the knife digging into his skin. "Prove how much of a coward you are, Drake. Do it."
Blood pumping through his veins, hairs on the back of his neck bristling at a phantom chill, sweat trickling down his forehead, sweater rubbing irritatingly along his collar bone...
The family would be devastated at another death, especially if it was at Tim's own hands rather than an actual Gotham villain. After all, yourself wasn't supposed to be included as a "flight risk."
Damian was right. Tim was a selfish coward. Selfish to believe that his death would affect no one, that his work would take care of itself if he were gone. A coward because he was desperate enough to try and take the easy way out rather than suck it up and face his mountain of problems.
Maybe...maybe he didn't have to go through life alone.
If Damian, of all people—the one who'd tried to kill him when they'd first met, the one who threatened to murder him on a weekly basis, the one who daily insulted Tim's very existence—was trying to talk him out of it...
He cared. To some degree, the one Tim was sure hated his guts cared whether Tim lived or died.
And at that moment, Tim had never felt more alive.
Almost numb, his grip loosened on the weapon, fingers shaking as his muscles mushed into jelly.
Before he'd dropped it hardly an inch, the gun was snatched from his hands, the former assassin snapping open the cartridge and emptying the bullets onto the floor with one quick motion. With a look of utter distaste, Damian tossed the weapon into the corner, along with the knife that had somehow slipped past both Bruce's and Alfred's scrutiny.
Silently, Damian dropped to the floor at Tim's side. What he did next took Tim a moment to process: the Bat's son scooted closer, leaning forward and pressing his cheek against Tim's chest, even as one arm snaked around Tim's middle to grasp firmly at the fabric of Tim's sweater.
Tim stared. Damian...was cuddling?
The bundle of assassin huddled at his side radiated heat, slowly warming against Tim's side. He hadn't realized how cold he was until the little furnace decided to crawl up next to him.
It was...nice.
"Don't kill yourself," Damian whispered, so low Tim could barely hear him. "I would never forgive myself."
Not Dick. Not Bruce. Damian would never forgive himself.
"You've been spending too much time with Dick," Tim managed weakly.
"Tt. Just shut up and go to sleep, Drake."
#Tim Drake#Damian Wayne#Batfic#My fic#old fic#Batman (comics)#Angst#Hurt/Comfort#sort of#Depression#Suicidal Thoughts#Suicide Attempt#r1fics#RascalJoy#rascalsoldfics#Where the Healing Begins (Fix You)
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
PART 17 { A little spoiler; This part involves phone calls so I intentionally highlighted it as bold ones. Anyways, happy reading y’all~}
When did things became awry with their plans really? When did it started from the first place? Because for her it was that night surely. She was bound to travel for a prior business that time when she received an overseas call from her foster mother that even her supposed to be exhausting expression change into jovial in a split of time. Thus she accepts the call after coming out from her premise.
“Mamá!”
“Mi hija…”
“You called. You missed me, aren’t you?”
She can already read her mother’s heart indeed for she heard its defeating chuckle from the other line while much curve smile came into her than before. “I knew it! I miss you too mamá. How was home?”
She may not see its reaction yet she knew that a mocking scolding will come upon her after. “Miss? Ah, really?... If you miss me then why you have to wait for me to call you than calling me first? Tu niña, really. And home? Well except that its spelling consistently stands as M.A.D.R.I.D. We’re still alive, yes.”
For it was her turn now then to laugh. She’s used to it anyway for she usually been given an earful and of course, the quirky jokes of her mamá that will never get old every time it calls nor surprised from its not so timely timing of bothering choosing a right time in calling. Whether late nights or dawns in Spain just like today, she doesn’t care. Its decision of hearing her hija’s voice when she misses it, is a must. Even she’s always against it.
“Perdon mamá, It’s just that things been busy for me these days that I hardly had a chance to call. But believe me, I really am missing you too though.”
Sigh has been heard from her foster parent then. “Hija, please take care of yourself. Don’t get me worried for you when we’re so far away por favor. Hm?”
“No te preocupes mamá. I’m taking care of myself, okay. Speaking of we, how was papá? I missed him too... And mamá, did I told you many times to please not pester yourself in calling me late nights or dawns? You’re not getting any younger, please take care of your health as well oh?”
“Tss. You are just like your sleeping papá, really. Can’t you two stop bullying me for once?”
That a chuckle came after her realizing its defeating banters once again. “So papá is sleeping? Mamá, you can’t blame us okay… Calling for missing me isn’t an excuse. It can wait, you know I can always answer you right away even when I’m busy. Right?”
“Okay, okay. I lose. As if I can win over you. But hey, it’s your fault anyway why I can’t really sleep this time. Did I also told you that I’ll never welcoming your idea of hiring men around our home? Then what am I watching right now huh?”
And it was enough for her to stiff by her carseat the moment she steps in the driver side. “Come again, mamá?” urging her mamá to repeat what seems to be deaf in her. “I said, your men were so diligent guarding 24/7 that It feels uncomfortable already. Four sedans, for real Amilia dear? That’s too much for a protection mi hija.”
She was already dumbfounded by what she was hearing. She did admit that she suggested it once for her to monitor their safety, considering their health worried her that if something may go wrong while she wasn’t around taking care of them. She loved them as much as her biological parents, and if being overprotective is the only choice to do then she must. But she long trash the idea for she respected her mamá’s decision of not pursuing it, she’s just too private liking it.
So whoever is behind this thing, she surely needs to know for she can’t risk the danger her foster parents might face when it happens. They shouldn’t be involved as they do not even know about anything. ‘Mierda!’
A curse she had to thought for once before covering a safe response that will not worry her mamá. “O-oh. Is that so mamá? Uhm, when did they started? Perhaps, can you send me a picture of the them as well? You know, just want to make sure how they good they were with their job.” Followed by her fake chuckle then.
“Three days up to now I think. Psh, you didn’t even deny it. You and your business tactics really. Okay, I will.”
“Thank you mamá.”
Thus the latter send the picture she wanted after few more how are yous there and then. “Mi hija?”
“Hm, mamá.”
Her foster mother’s last catch of her name before quite silence did. “Mamá?” for it was her turn to get its attention. “Be safe for us, please.” as guilt came after that she had to silently clear a throat to hide it. “Si, mamá.”
Thus that’s how they end their call then as she hastily checks the picture after. There she saw what how it basically described. Four sedans indeed park on their front gate while two or more were outside. She even tried to zoom it in but it was just too blur for her to clearly see a possible clue she may get. She was about to give up either if not for the video it intentionally records for her. Thanking fully to her foster mother for more as it was a zoom in vid then. Good thing her mamá is somehow a detailed person that every bit of it were clearly shoot.
Till she finally found it. A clue that was so familiar for her. The initial logo on its car hood she can always see. She saw it, right in front of her eyes. The word Ziar, carved in a metallic steel. The last four letters of her enemy’s last name. “Veeros Alcaziar.”
Her mere utter with its name from the outside, but a trembling cold dumbfounded on the inside. She feared for her parents’ safety. Her foster parents who have loved her with all their might. One wrong move and it will be the end. If she needs to sacrifice something, she will as long as she can assure the safety of her parents. “No...” she starts pouring droplets of tears then. “No. No, not them please.” She didn’t see this coming, she admits.
She wasn’t even aware of her phone falling from her hold. Driving her energy through her office instead of fleeing to her original agenda. Rummaging to every possible evidence that could counter the son of a bitch. Only to hear Jang Taeyoung and Zilo Alcaziar’s conversation from her voice recorder instead.
Beep!!! ----
For she ends up beeping her car horn when stepping once again to her car after the confirming vague talk from Jang Taeyoung. She can even sense the uproar she did from the way she can hear the nosy mouths of the passerby as even him saw it himself from above. The continuous horning of her car which still stayed from the entrance way of the Casino Hotel.
But the heck will she care either. Her mind was already messed up for her to include them. “Mierda, mierda, mierda! Don’t make me choose please!” Brushing her face from the frustration she needed to outburst.
She thought to choose wisely just a while ago yet here is him, stirring her own decision-making for a crazy plan he planted. He was supposed to help her but here he is. “F*ck, Jang Taeyoung. You’re not helping!” as another beep from her car horn was heard.
It was then indeed. The misconception of their tangled thoughts.
~
That for some time she starts to notice a cryptic car following her every travel that even her own apartment isn’t exemption. That’s when she knew, she has been supervised by the old Alcaziar. Days passed, she received a proposal from an industrial corporation she’s too familiar with. She may be involved with corrupt officials but she has never been approached by illegal scheme when it comes to business unless she’ll do it but now.
Strange it is so she begins to dig in then. Reading every details of its investors and shareholders that might possibly connected from the old geezer. Even used her connections to monitor their every move, including the former till she found one. The image of the bulldog prosecutor in the enemy’s den. “What a loyalty you have Mr. Kim.” For she decided right then to might as well get use of him.
That’s when she became aware of everything. The hidden backstabs, the conspiracies, the possible framing. And she played with it. That even all the information she had gathered she still act naïve. Before she realized, she’s tending through the fire already for she purposely accepted its offer to erase suspicions, to divert the risk of her parents. All for them even if sacrificing him is the only thing needed.
Yet throughout her silent journey of fighting she can’t still guess its motive on doing that. She even thought that it could just be an assurance for its business not being sabotage or anything. Or rather searching a flaw he’s planning to keep in hand. As none of it came close till Jang Taeyoung confirmed it himself. That all along, it was her who the geezer is after with.
Sinking each details, she had consumed. The obsession she hasn’t seen coming. As today isn’t different either. Those guarding hidden eyes around her, she will not mind any of it from this day on. She’s screwed anyway.
Freely visiting her biological mother even after Jang Taeyoung’s reminder of leaving it for now. Still she managed to come. On this columbarium, in front of her mother’s spot, rains heavily pouring over the umbrella she is holding. She could not much be surprised if something happened on her after this for she long accepted her consequence.
“We’ve finally met mom.”
Her first word after a long time. “I’ve missed you.” Followed by her longing how are you.
“We’ve missed you. Dad is, so please meet each other up there as well. You don’t have to worry about me here, I’m doing fine.”
Before silence did for her. “But mom…” as she’s starting to get unaware of her words. Letting out the struggle she wanted to fade away. “Can I ask you to take care of me first? Just this time. Guide me please, mom.” for an incoming tear planning to drop into her eyes, turning her head to the side as if not wanting her mom to see it to herself. “I-… I’m scared, mom. And it fears me, so please be there when it happens, oh?”
With the last wipe of her tears and a caress to her mom, she left. As so it did…
Her consequence.
#kim soo hyun#kimsoohyun#seo ye ji#seo yea ji#seoyeaji#seoyeji#psycho but it's okay#psycho but its okay#it's okay not to be okay#itsokaynottobeokay#its okay not to be okay#ko mun yeong#korean actor#realkoreanmovie#korean actress#moon gang tae#jang tae young#jangtaeyeong#sung eun young#sungeunyoung#by quantum physics#quantum physics#nightlife ventures#hyunji#hyunjicouple#slow burn#real
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ch. 5
The following storyline is one big roller coaster ride of emotions. It will have its ups and it will have its downs. It will have its OMG moments and cliffhangers. Lots of cliffhangers (how else do you expect me to keep ya coming back?) there will be angst, drama, action, mystery, and possible love. Not sure on that yet, we’ll see where it goes.
I will do my best to keep the language down. I’m not fond of using the F’ bomb, but words like bitch and asses may be tossed around. That’s about the most of it, but nothing too profane. I know that some of ya’s are under 18. So as to not get myself or you in too much trouble, I’ll do my best to keep the language in check. Just know that this story is all over the place and you read at your own risk. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
After a long weekend at Remy’s house, Monday morning finally arrived. Remy walked out and go into the driver’s seat of his dad’s 1950’s Lincoln Continental.
“Shotgun!” Called out Roman. The other three squeezed into the backseat. Logan pulled out his phone and started looking something up. Patton turned to Virgil “Hey Virge... what are you gonna do at the courthouse?”
“Honestly? I don't know. I mean I know what I'd like to do, but seeing how he’s spent all weekend in jail, I'm sure that in itself was punishment enough. I mean, he has been punished, yes, but what the county wants to do to him I think is going a bit too far. I mean, I... I don't know what I mean.” He laid his head against the window and let out a sigh.
Patton laid his head on Virgil’s shoulder. “I know kiddo. I'm torn too...” Patton glanced over towards Logan for some added support but saw him flipping through his phone. “Everything ok there Logan? You’ve been either on your phone or a computer all weekend.”
Logan furrowed his eyebrow and pursed his lips in thought, after a moment he spoke: “Don't worry about me, I'm just reviewing the laws for attempted murder and such.”
Virgil sat forward and leaned to look around Patton a bit better. “Like seeing if there's a loophole?” he asked.
“Not quite. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the laws so that no matter what you want to do I can confirm or deny if that’s something that could help him.”
Virgil sat back and leaned into Patton “What I want to do is get Dev out of there. Rem pull over will ya. This will only take a moment.” Remy pulled over as asked. He unbuckled and started to get out of the car “I think I know where this convo is heading. So, I'm a go grab a coffee.”
Once Remy was gone Virgil took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he spoke “The reason I want to get Dev out of Jail so bad is that I know something you all don't know. Dev is the main breadwinner in his family. His mom's health hasn't been great these past few years after his dad ditched them. So, he's been working to keep his lil sis and mom taken care of. I think he pulled this stunt to get us out of winning that $20,000 prize money. That money could have helped feed them for a few months.”
Patton lowered his head “I-I had no idea.”
“You weren't supposed to know Patton. See, back in high school I ran into Dev, while I was doing some community service at the food bank, he was there as a patron. Well after I got off work, he followed me home and pinned me to my fence and told me to swear that I would never tell anyone, what I had seen and until now I’ve kept that promise.”
“I wonder if that’s what he was referring to.” Muttered Roman. Virgil cocked his head at him and asked, “What do you mean?”
“When I was with him at the holding cell, I asked why he’d been bullying you since high school and he replied with ‘Virgil hasn’t said anything?’ When I asked him to clarify, he said it was nothing. So, I’m wondering if this is what he was referring too.” The four sat in silence.
Remy startled them as he got back in the car “Alright Ladies, time is of the essence. The courthouse doors open in twenty minutes.”
“Then put the pedal to the metal!” quipped Roman. Remy dropped his shades over his eyes and peeled out of his spot singing “Like a four fifty-four, with the four on the floor….”
It was just as the friends had perceived when they arrived at the courthouse. There were reporters all over the place. Virgil's eyes widened as they drove by them as Remy pulled as close to the front door as he could. The four friends had decided to be as casual as possible and walk into the building. To their surprise (and Virgil’s relief) the reporters didn't even bat an eye their way.
As they climbed the steps to go inside, Logan leaned in and whispered into Roman’s ear “I hate to admit it, but I think your disguises worked. Good Plan.”
Roman smiled at him and whispered, “Why thank you Specs.” Virgil turned and faced his friends at the top of the steps “Alright everyone, it seems we fooled them for now, but we're not in the clear yet.” He turned and opened the door and they filed in.
An officer greeted them, handing them each a small tray “Please put your pocket contents, belts, and any other metallic items in these bowls, and coats in a bin and put them on the conveyer belt to be scanned. The four did as they were instructed to. Virgil, went first, then Patton, Roman, then BEEP Logan stopped on the other side. An officer walked up to him holding a wand.
“That would be my right knee sir. I have a metal pin it.” The officer nodded their head “Hands out to your side please.” and he did the routine sweep with the wand. Just as Logan mentioned the wand would let out a squelching sound when it passed over his right knee.
The officer smiled at him. “Ok, your clear. Go ahead and gather your things.”
“Thank you and uhm do you know where the Public Defense Attorney's Offices are?” The officer used his wand to direct them “Go down this hall and you’ll find an elevator on your right. You’ll want to use it and go up to the third floor.” Logan smiled at him “Much appreciated, have a nice day.”
The others followed Logan and soon found themselves at the Defense Attorney Office. “What are we going to do here Logan? Wouldn’t we want to go visit Devleon?”
“I thought about that, then I learned that since we're of no relation to Devleon, we wouldn’t be allowed to as that’s all they’ll allow to visit him right now. That’s when I looked into talking to his lawyer and see what we can do to help him with his guidance.”
Patton and the others look at him amazed “Wow, you’ve really been doing your research.” Complimented Patton. “Well you heard him, let's head on in then!” They walked inside and found a lady with her hair up in a tight bun, wearing a suit sitting behind a desk. Logan asked if they could see Devleon��s lawyer, and to ensure they would be seen, he told her that they had news about his case that may be of use. The secretary eyed the four over and asked them to take a seat. She stood and headed towards a door to her left.
A few moments passed, and she returned “Mr. Cambridge will see you.” They stood and each thanked her as they entered. Inside was a man standing behind his desk in a black suit, Logan walked up to him with his hand out. The man received it and gave him a tightly gripped handshake. “Nice to meet you, my name is Logan Sanders, to my right is Roman Trancy.” The lawyer shook Roman’s hand. Logan continued, “To his right is Patton Henderson and to his right is…”
The Lawyer cut Logan off and grabbed Virgil by the hand and it shook it a little bit longer than the others. “Virgil Marxs, I’ve heard a lot about you from the reports I got. It’s nice to meet you and your friends.” He saw Virgil was becoming uneasy with the prolonged handshake. He let go and walked over to the door and straightened his tie.
“My name is Jon Cambridge. I'm a bit surprised that you are wanting to defend Devleon Mr. Marxs, especially after what he did. Unfortunately, I'm actually not at liberty to discuss his case with you without my client’s approval. So, if you'll have a seat I'll see if I can arrange a group meeting.”
He made a motion the couch and seats in his office. “Please take a seat, I’ll be right back.” The four friends sat and waited in silence. While they waited, Virgil fidgeted with the hat he wore, Logan scanned his phone for more information, Patton admired the family photos Mr. Cambridge had hanging on his wall and Roman started doodling on a piece of paper he'd found in the pocket of his pants. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was no surprise that they jumped when Mr. Cambridge returned with Devleon and an armed guard behind him.
The guard guided Devleon to a soft chair to sit on, he wore an orange jumpsuit and his wrists and ankles were chained to one long chain that the guard held in his hand like a dog. Just the sight of it made the four friends very uncomfortable.
“Before you begin your meeting, there are some rules that I need to go over with you.” Announced the guard, all eyes focused on him as everyone listened. “There is to be no touching of each other and you are to remain seated at all times is that understood. When it comes time for the prisoner to leave, you will remain seated till we are gone.” Everyone nodded in understanding.
Jon smiled at the guard. “Thank you for allowing us this audience.” He then turned his attention toward Virgil and his friends. “So, my client has informed me he would like any help you can give him.”
Virgil placed his hat on the couch and took a deep breath “Ok, first off I gotta know. What the heck were you trying to accomplish by kidnapping me?” Devleon looked at his lawyer who just nodded as a sign of approval that he could answer the question. He took a nervous gulp and started to speak, but as he did so his words came out fast.
“I just wanted to claim your castle for myself, so I could win the contest. I didn't mean for you to fall in the water the way you did it was just a joke, my friends an I do it to each other all the time and…”
Virgil held up his hand, “You confirmed my suspicions. Thank you. Next, how has your time in here been? Have you reflected at all over what you and your friends have done?” Devleon didn’t even look at his lawyer for this question. “Yes, a thousand times over. Especially with how this may affect my mom and sis.” His eyes went wide “Oh god, I nearly forgot. My mom has an Oncologist appointment Thursday.” He started to cry. Patton gripped the edge of the couch, fighting back the urge to rush over and hug Devleon. Roman spoke up “I’ll take her for you if that will be ok.” Devleon looked at him “Will you? I mean.” Roman held up his hand. “Your mom is an innocent in all this. Even though she too is being punished by your absence, her health shouldn’t be.” Patton looked at Roman with a smile on his face “And I’ll help.” Said Patton.
Logan held up his hands “We’ll all help.” He turned to the lawyer “Mr. Cambridge, it seems that we’ve all made it clear on how we want to help out your client.” Virgil nodded his head “Yes, whatever you need me to do to make this go away, just say the word.” Mr. Cambridge’s eyes widened at Virgil's words.
“This is new to me. He exclaimed “I've never had a case quite like this before, but I can get the documents together to get his sentence reduced. Mind you my client will still have to do some time for the kidnapping charge, but we may get him out of the attempted murder.”
Virgil smiled “That's fine and Devleon’s friends?” Mr. Cambridge coughed “Well his (he used air quotes) ‘friends’ had some warrants it seems, so they’re undergoing different charges besides this one.” Everyone’s eyes widened and they all just nodded their heads.
Devleon turned in his seat and focused on Virgil “ Virge, again I’m really sorry and thank you for being so lenient towards me. I’m also sorry for bullying you all those years as well. I was blinded by my pride.” Virgil held up his hand “Speak no more. Is there anything else we need to know before we leave?”
“Yes, tell my mom I love her.”
“Depending on how long your stay is. I’ll be your pen pal.” Offered Patton.
“And visit, provided you put us on your family list.” Continued Logan. Devleon looked at his lawyer “Jon?”
“Consider it done. Thank you again Virgil for coming in as early as you did. You’ve really helped my clients case a lot. I have the documents here for you to fill out, also I will need you to stand before the judge and give a statement as well.” Virgil’s eyes widened, and he started to feel a panic attack coming on, but he took a deep breath to control himself.
“Very well, if it helps.”
The guard stepped forward “I’m sorry, but it’s time I take him back.” He gently tugged on the chain “Let’s go.” Devleon stood up and smiled at everyone and thanked them all again. He then turned and followed the guard out the door.
After the two left everyone stood up and Mr. Cambridge shook their hands once more and thanked them all again. He then ushered them out into the hall “The hearing is in half an hour. It will be in room three sixteen, I’ll greet you at the doors.”
After Mr. Cambridge walked back into his office, Roman let out an awkward laugh “Well that got heavy in there.”
“You can say that again.” Remarked Virgil. “Now I have to go in front of a Judge? That alone in there was nerve-racking.” He gave a small shudder. Patton placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok kiddo. We’re here with ya, every step of the way.” Virgil smiled, this helped calm him down.
“Thanks”
@thatsthat24 @thejoanglebook @tallykat3 @oresamawesome @immacrazyfangirl @anxietystatement @bunny222 @wooflesthatwoof @wicked-rosie @tsfanart @anxiousangelvirgil @iris-sanders-athena @randomslasher @youtuberswithalex @just-an-anxious-mess @ts-storytime @lilkrazykat
3 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
invertiontakenhold
desperation
nex7level
Welcome to the NEX7 level
bandarsbobet10-blog
Bandar Sbobet Online
luckylittlelana
jaded & joyless
agensubarashiwonogiri
Pusat Agen SOP Subarashi Wonogiri Jawa Tengah