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kiwi-cake · 6 years

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Mated Part 3

Werewolf!Luke

A/N: Halloween is over but werewolf Luke can hang around a bit longer since he’s so dear to our hearts -megan

Masterlist

Michael walks in to Y/N hanging upside down from her bed. They were supposed to have a movie night, but she had forgotten. There was a lot on her mind lately, which seemed to push out things like movie night, or really anything that didn’t have anything to do with Luke. It was weird how much she popped into her head lately. It started about a week after she went to his house a second time. Of course, she had been thinking about him beforehand, but more in a ‘woah this dude and his friends are werewolves’ sense. Now it was just stupid stuff like how it felt when he was holding waist her to keep her calm. It was manageable at first, but once another week had gone by, she was miserable. It felt like she constantly had an itch, but like in one of those places you can’t reach yourself, like the middle of your back.

“What are you doing?” Michael says, dropping a grocery bag undoubtedly filled with junk food for their movie.

“I’m trying to get the blood to rush to my brain,” she said, sitting up.

“Uh….. why?”

“No reason,” she shrugged. She couldn’t tell Michael, he was infamous for being incapable of keeping a secret.

“Alright, who’s this mystery guy that you’ve been seeing?” he plopped down on the bed next to her.

“Um, what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she was infamous for being a terrible liar.

“Likely story. You came back from your ‘run’ wearing clothes twice your size and smelling like some bloke’s cologne. I was going to let it go, let you have your one night stand and be done with it, but you’re clearly not over it.”

“I told you, it was laundry day and Rebecca’s boyfriend left his clothes at our flat, so I wore that rather than my dirty clothes.”

“That’s bullshit. We both know Rebecca’s boyfriend reeks of axe. You didn’t smell like axe, it was something nicer.”

“Fine! I had a one night stand. Happy?” she surrendered, hoping he would leave it at that.

“Who was it? Must have been something special to have you this worked up over him. I’ve never seen you act like this over a guy. Always staring off into space dreamily and shit.”

“I don’t stare off into space dreamily!” she screeched, “whatever, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s watch a movie.”

Seasonal allergies are the worst. It’s like, you’re just trying to enjoy the pretty leaves and pumpkin flavoured things, then BAM you wake up feeling like a scarecrow shoved it’s hay fingers down your nose and throat. And it’s not like it’s a real illness, so there’s no excuse to not go about your day. That was how Y/N woke up. She had been feeling a little queasy earlier in the week, but now she definitely had a fever and a scratchy throat. But she told herself that she just had to get through her lecture at noon then she could mope around at home. So she bundled up in her warmest pajamas, stocked her backpack with tissues, and headed out the door. It’s ironic to be sitting in a lecture about human consciousness when you’re feeling like someone let a tank of hot air out in her head. Her professor was very strict about attendance, so even when the kid next to her offered to take notes for her if she went home, she refused and waited for roll to be called. She would probably have to get notes from him anyway because for some reason she was seeing double anytime she focused on the board.

“Y/N, you don’t look so good,” said the other kid next to her. She had absolutely no idea what his name was. Y/N had only passed out twice in her life, once during the dissection of a fetal pig (she’s not squeamish, formaldehyde just smells terrible) and again when she forgot to take advil on the first day of her period. It’s hard to miss the signs of fainting. The first sign of dizziness can escalate quickly into blurred vision, ringing ears, and dissociation. It was good that Y/N knew these things because she was able to ball up her blanket as a barrier so her head didn’t hit the hard desk. She didn’t need a concussion on top of all this.

“Young lady in the front, this is not nap time,” said her teacher. It was the last thing she heard before it all went dark and she inevitably conked out on the table. She supposed the teacher felt like shit saying that right before she passed out. She couldn’t remember what happened in the next few minutes, but she was glad her university had a nurses office so they had somewhere to dump her. The nurse was an older lady wearing a fluffy cardigan. She stuck a thermometer in Y/N’s mouth and made a disapproving ‘tsk’ noise when she read the temperature.

“Your fever is much too high for you to be out and about today dear,” she said as she helped Y/N up from her chair, “A good rest and some fluids will fix you right up though. On your way.” The nurse helped her walk to the exit with shaking legs and promptly shut the door as soon as she passed the threshold.

She hobbled down the steps of the main building. The news must have travelled fast since every student she passed veered a good five feet from her. It seemed nice and all that the school insisted she go home to rest, but since they didn’t offer her any other transportation except for walking back herself, she assumed that they just didn’t want a lawsuit on their hands if she passed out in another class. She cupped her hands above her eyes, trying to see where she was going in the bright afternoon sun. To her surprise, there was a familiar jeep parked in front of the school with an even more familiar man leaning up against it.

“Luke?” she approached the car, “what are you doing here?”

“I’m picking you up, god you look terrible,” he stepped closer and put a hand on her forehead, “you have a fever! Why did you even get out of bed today?” He didn’t look so good himself. His usually glowing skin was now rather pallor, accompanied by dark circles around his eyes. He even ditched his typical attire of skinny jeans and expensive boots for joggers and trainers.

“I can’t afford to miss class,” she rasped. He seemed very concerned over the state she was in, and maybe it was her weird sick-brain, but the worried crease in between his eyebrows made tears well up in her eyes.

“Hey, none of that,” his large hands moved to cup her flushed cheeks and wipe at the tears now pouring down her face, “I’m going to take you home and get you feeling better.” This somehow makes her crying even worse, the overwhelming emotions were buzzing through her veins. She sobbed and pressed her face into his chest to hide her crying. Y/N didn’t need a mirror to know that she looked dreadful. This wasn’t the cute sniffling cries you see in the movies. No, she had somehow landed herself in a full on meltdown. Her sinuses that had been congested for days decided this was the perfect moment to let her nose be snotty. She was hiccuping and the lack of oxygen was definitely causing her face to become blotchy. Luke didn’t seem to care though. He pressed his hand against her head and softly stroked her hair. They stood in front of her university for a few minutes, definitely getting weird looks from any passing students. His cologne smelled very nice to her, almost seeming to have a calming effect. She would have to ask him if it had lavender or some other aromatherapy in it.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her. She almost detected guilt in his voice, although she didn’t know why. It’s not like he gave her seasonal allergies.

“Let’s get you home,” he pulled her away from him to wipe at her damp cheeks once more, then opened the passenger door for her.

“How did you know what happened?” she asked once she was buckled and the engine was on.

“Wolves have kind of a sixth sense of their surroundings, we can hear anything happening within a 20 mile radius if we concentrate. It’s like positioning an antenna on one of those old fashioned TV’s to focus on a certain channel.”

“So you just happened to be listening to my channel?” she asked. It sounded unlikely, but then again so do humans that can turn into wolves whenever they please.

“No, uh, I’ve been especially sensitive to your ‘channel’ so to speak lately. I think it’s because of your sudden proximity to our pack,” he didn’t turn his eyes from the road, but even if he were looking at her his probably face wouldn’t give away anything. He was very good at keeping a blank face, which frustrated her because she liked to be able to read people. They swiftly passed the entrance to where her dorm was, which surprised her because she thought he would know where it was since he said he took her sleep-walking ass home a few times.

“Oh, uh you passed the entrance,” she pointed out.

“I know, I’m taking you to my place. I’ve seen the chaos you call your room, and there’s no way your immune system can handle one more night in that environment.”

“Hey!” she hit his arm lightly, “I’ll have you know that just last week I made my bed.”

When they pulled through the gates of the property, she was shocked to not see any wolves roaming the grounds like last time.

“Where is everyone?” she asked, taking a moment to wipe her still-runny nose on her sleeve.

“Probably inside,” he shrugged as he parked in the massive garage, “did you think I lived in this huge house alone and made them all stay outside in their wolf forms?”

“Uh, no, of course not….” she laughed nervously as he led her inside. The kitchen was empty and he instructed her to wait there while he got some cold medicine for her. He was only gone a minute before she heard a door in a nearby hallway open and at least ten people filed into the kitchen. All of them were imposingly tall, even the women. They looked to be around the same age as Luke, if not younger, which makes her wonder what happened to the older generations. Were werewolf lifespans short like dogs?

“Hey Y/N! It’s been awhile, glad you’re back,” said a curly haired guy towards the front.

“Sorry, do I know you?” she peered over the group and can’t recall meeting any of them during either of her visits.

“Oh, right, you don’t know our human forms,” the guy laughed, “I’m Ashton, and that’s Calum.” He gestured over to the guy next to him. Now that she thinks about it, their hair color does exactly match the wolves she met. Calum gives her a shy wave while Ashton lists off the names of everyone else. She tried her best to be polite even though all she wanted to do was eat some chicken noodle soup and sleep for 48 hours.

“Guys, really?” the chatter stopped the moment Luke stepped back into the room, “I said not to bother Y/N. She’s sick and she doesn’t need you lot pestering her with questions.”

“It’s okay Luke,” she put a hand on his arm and his gaze softened a little, “they were just saying hi.”

“C’mon, you need to rest,” he put a hand on the small of her back to lead her upstairs, and threw a warning glance back at his pack. When they arrived in his room, she was overwhelmed with the scent of him. It made her eyes heavy and she practically floated over to the big bed. He handed her a measurement of cold medicine and she was so stuffed up that she didn’t even have to plug her nose when swallowing it. She got cozy under the puffy comforter and looked up at him drowsily.

“Need anything else?” he asked. She shook her head and he started turning to leave before she grabbed his hand.

“Don’t go. I don’t like to wake up in unfamiliar places alone,” she whined. She knew she was being childish and he definitely had better things to do than play nurse for her, but her sick brain was inherently selfish and she couldn’t help it.

“You’ve slept here twice already, it’s not unfamiliar,” he said, but he didn’t seem as firm in his resolve as he usually was about things.

“Please?” she gave him her wide pleading eyes and she knew she had persuaded him. He sighed and crawled onto the other side of the bed, sitting up on top of the covers.

“Happy?” he asked as she frantically turned to face him.

“Yes,” she said contently, shuffling a little closer to him, “You look tired, you should stop giving your bed to strange people.”

“It’s alright, I just want you to get better.”

“You can rest your eyes if you’d like. I won’t tell anyone you took a nap, it’ll be our little secret,” she said, patting his arm reassuringly. He nodded at her with the same sleepy look she probably had and a lazy smile. Feeling she had accomplished her mission, she closed her eyes and quickly drifted off, feeling like she had finally scratched that itch that had been nagging her for weeks.

Waking up in someone’s arms was not a common occurrence for her. Lately her romantic life has consisted of quick hookups at parties, and her last boyfriend, Brad, always said cuddling is for ninnies in romantic comedies. Their relationship obviously didn’t last long. She wasn’t angry that she opened her eyes and had two arms around her and a steady heartbeat resting against her ear. It was a nice change to waking up alone in the twin-size bed in her dorm. She shifted her head up slightly, expecting to see his intense blue eyes looking down at her, but instead saw that they were closed. It was weird to see him sleep. He had always seemed so alert and guarded around her that she was almost surprised he sleeps at all. Since she was feeling worlds better after her nap, she gave herself clearance to take in his features in a way she would be too intimidated to do if he were awake. She sat there for god knows how long, eyes tracing over the freckles she didn’t realize he had and the soft curve of his nose and the way his eyelashes rested on his cheeks and how his mouth was slightly open to let out quiet snores. The sun was setting through the blinds, but she was in no rush to go home. It was only the rumble of her stomach that stirred him from sleep and forced her to think about the reality of the situation. He seemed to do the same for a moment once he opened his eyes, looked at how she was tucked securely into his large frame. Who initiated the cuddle, she didn’t know, but she hoped Luke didn’t have the same negative stance as Brad if she were the one who subconsciously started it. She watched a smile twitch onto his lips and was relieved that she wouldn’t have to move from his warm embrace.

“Hungry?” he asked after a few minutes when her stomach growled angrily again. He had started lightly combing through her hair like he had when she was crying, but this time it seemed to be for his own enjoyment rather than her comfort. She internally scolded her stomach for not shutting up so she could stay like this. It was weird how normal it felt to be so close to a dude she met three weeks ago. Somehow, it was like they already knew each other on a molecular level, like every fiber of her being was trying to be close to his. She knew virtually nothing about him besides what he is, but the way he held her you would think they had been best friends since childhood. It was kind of dizzying to think about because she never felt this way for any guy so quickly, but something about him was the exception to everything she had previously known.

“Don’t want to move,” her voice was muffled by his shirt, and she thought she heard his heartbeat flutter at that.

“C’mon, I can hear your stomach growling. What will the police say if a girl dies of starvation in a house full of food?” his voice was light and carefree like she had never heard it before. He finally got her out of the bed when he mentioned that the others had ordered pizza. She relished in how he looked as they walked downstairs, his clothes rumpled and his hair messy. The kitchen was chaos. There was at least one large box of pizza for each member of the house. Everyone had a slice of pizza in one hand and a beer in the other except for a few guys who (she hoped) were brawling for fun. It was exactly like any college party she had been to if frat houses were unisex and had expensive furniture and appliances.

“Heyyyy feeling better Lukey? Did you get your fix?” one of the guys whose name she didn’t remember shouted from across the kitchen. Luke only gave him a dangerous glance before handing her a plate.

“You can have whatever you like, I think we bought up the entire town’s supply of pizza,” he joked, but he still seemed more guarded now that they weren’t alone, like he was afraid one thing would send her running. She filled her plate with sausage pizza and moaned at the taste. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Someone came and whispered something to Luke and his face changed to completely serious. He told her he had to go take care of a few things, but that he would be right back, leaving her alone in the routy kitchen. She was starting to feel a bit out of place until a girl with pretty braids in her long hair approached her with a smile.

“Hi, Y/N, I’m Claire. I’ll show you somewhere less turbulent to eat,” she pulled her out of the way before the wrestling dudes knocked over the entire kitchen table. She followed Claire down the hall to a living room sort of area with lots of couches. This environment was much more relaxed, she recognized Ashton and a few others who seemed to be a few years older than the less mature wolves fighting in the kitchen. Ashton gave her an encouraging smile and patted the seat beside him for her to sit. Claire sat next to her.

“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Ashton asked. She nodded.

“This place is great, but it’s a little…” she trailed off, not knowing how to get her point across without offending them.

“Reminiscent of a frat house? I know, that’s the disadvantage to being older. All work and no play. Although most of that falls on Luke, poor bloke,” one of them interjected.

“What happened to everyone else? I mean, isn’t there anyone else who could be in charge besides Luke? He’s so young…” her curiosity bubbled up all at once and she couldn’t help asking. A somber pause fell over the group and she realized she had said something wrong.

“A pack is like a family. The wolf gene is hereditary, so we stick together and live as a community. Most packs are much bigger, with hundreds of wolves at one time. But… a few years ago, our enemy pack that lives south of us attacked us in the middle of the night, breaking a centuries’ long truce. They killed everyone they could find, our parents and grandparents. Only 23 of us survived because we hadn’t gone through the change yet and wolf law prohibits any wolf from killing a human. Luke was only 14, but since he had the alpha gene his change came early when our old alpha was killed,” Claire finally explained. Tears welled up in Y/N’s eyes imagining the story unfold.

“He went through the change all by himself, then helped the rest of us through it when we changed. He’s never been able to lean on someone for support, always has to shoulder the entire burden himself. I think that’s why he’s had trouble accepting the situation between you two. But every time he sees you, he’s a little closer to being how he was before the tragedy and---”

“Wait, what situation between us?” she interrupted Ashton. They all turned to her with shocked looks.

“You… you don’t know? He hasn’t told you?” asked one guy, she thinks his name might be Glen.

“Gale, leave it, it’s not our place,” Ashton warned the other guy.

“Ash, we both know he’ll never get around to telling her anytime soon with how cautious he is, and she deserves to know,” Claire added.

“Know what?” Y/N demanded. The suspense of three weeks of confusion was finally building up to something, and they couldn’t leave her hanging now.

“You’re his mate Y/N….” Ashton lowly, as if the words themselves might set off an alarm if said too loudly.

“What? Like his friend or…?”

“No, like a soulmate, a life partner. That’s why you trailed after him like a lost puppy when you were sleepwalking. And why you got sick after not seeing him, and magically got better after a few hours with him. It’s your subconscious reacting to what you didn’t know yet in your logical brain,” Glen explained. She sat stunned for a moment, just trying to process the information. It made sense, in hindsight. Thinking about him nonstop, and being so dependent on his touch when she finally saw him.

“But then why---” her question was interrupted by heavy footsteps coming into the room. Luke was back in his skinny jeans and boots, and the uninterested expression had resumed its hold over his face. The people around her stiffened.

“Ashton, go talk to Kevin and Jenna, they’ll fill you in on the situation. Y/N, I’m taking you home,” Luke said in a stern voice. She noticed the keys in his hand and said a quiet goodbye to everyone before following his imposing figure to the garage.

The car ride back reminded her of the first time he ever took her back to campus. It was silent and his hands were tight on the steering wheel. When they were rounding the corner to her dorm, she finally gathered the courage to speak.

“You really have nothing to say? I know you heard what they told me,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter,” he replied quietly as they pulled in front of her dorm.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

“I mean we’re not going to be together, we can’t,” it was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her, “A girl died in the woods last night, that’s what happens when someone like you is around someone like me. I’m sorry you got mixed up in all of this, but I’m going to fix this and it’ll be like we never even met.” A cold chill ran through her body at his words and what they suggested. She didn’t know what ‘fix’ meant, but she assumed it involved breaking the tie between them.

“Has it occured to you that I might like some say in something that so heavily involves me? I’m not some ragdoll you can toss around whenever you like. You could have at least told me what was going on so I didn’t think I was going insane,” she opened the car door roughly and stepped out, “If this is going to affect my health and god knows what else, I should have just as much say in it as you. Keep that in mind next time you want to keep a secret from me. But since my human-ness is such a bloody nuisance to you, then I’ll leave you to your miserable self from now on.” She slammed the door and stomped into her dorm, not daring to look back at his reaction.

Request for part 4 :)

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musicprincess655 · 6 years

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Jun blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He was thrilled that school had started, thrilled that practice had started, and thrilled that they were both – mostly – going well. He was.

But it didn’t make him less exhausted about the whole thing.

“Do you need a coffee?” Jun could tell without even looking that Matsui had that tiny grin that passed for shit eating on his delicate face.

“Matsui-kun, if I wanted to be dragged, I’d ask for it.”

“Those bags under your eyes are asking for it.”

“Sometimes I wonder what Carlos sees in you.” Matsui was silent for so long that Jun actually opened his eyes. Matsui was faintly blushing. “What?”

“What Carlos sees in me?” Matsui asked, a complete departure from the teasing tone from before. He sounded breathless, and hopeful.

“Did you somehow miss the part where he flirts with you every time he sees you?” Jun asked. He certainly hadn’t.

“Well, yeah, but I thought he was just like that.”

“He doesn’t flirt with me.”

Matsui bit his lip, taking advantage of the lack of customers to turn introspective. Jun gave him five minutes of staring blankly at the espresso machine before he tried again.

“Why don’t you…cover for me!” Jun barely heard Matsui’s huh? before the back room door swung shut behind him. He covered his burning face with his hands.

That had been close. He’d barely seen handsome customer walking in before handsome customer had seen him.

“Can I help you?” Matsui asked, sounding very confused.

“Is your coworker here? A little taller than you, brown hair, really loud?” His voice was just as low and strong as it had been last time. It was a real shame Jun could never show his face in front of him again.

“You know, he just left.” Some days, Jun wasn’t sure whether he wanted to strangle Matsui or hug him.

“Can you give him this note?”

“You aren’t going to report him, are you?”

“No, why would I do that?”

Jun decided he’d had enough of eavesdropping and retreated further into the kitchen. He counted to one hundred three times before he left.

“So this is for you,” Matsui said, pushing the piece of paper into Jun’s hands.

“I don’t want it.”

“Yes you do.” Jun narrowed his eyes. “A hot guy is trying to give you his number. You want this.”

“How did you know this is his number? Did you read it?”

“You left me to deal with him alone. You earned this.”

Jun scowled, but unfolded the note anyway.

I’d like to apologize. Call me. Yuuki Tetsuya.

At least now Jun had a name to call him instead of handsome customer.

***

Jun yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He was pretty sure he was supposed to be getting more sleep. But between work, practice, and trying to keep up with all his classes, it was a miracle he could just get all his work done.

Not that it was helping in practical magic. He couldn’t fake his way through that.

He knew practical magic was going to be a problem before he’d even started. After all, there wasn’t a good way to get through if he couldn’t actually do magic. But he’d thought – hoped – that he’d have something figured out by this point. Not a permanent solution, not so soon, but even just something to hold him over while he found more ways to do magic would help keep his head above the water.

Jun shook his head and went back to considering different instant ramen options.

“Hey!” Jun didn’t even bother looking up. It didn’t sound like Kusunoki, Kadota, or Sakai, and those were the only people that would approach him outside of school or practice. “Hey! You by the ramen.”

Jun looked up, and immediately wished he hadn’t.

The handsome customer – Yuuki, his name was Yuuki – was waving, walking down the aisle with his eyes trained on Jun. It was definitely too late to duck away and run. Jun considered doing it anyway.

“Hey, glad I caught you,” Yuuki said. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Listen…” Jun started, but he trailed off when Yuuki bent slightly.

“I’m sorry for whatever I did to offend you. I promise I didn’t mean it,” Yuuki said.

“It’s not…” Jun sighed. “Listen, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was just the end of a long shift and I was tired. I should actually be thanking you for not telling my manager about that.”

“It’s nothing,” Yuuki said, waving off the thanks as if he hadn’t literally saved Jun’s job. “I still feel bad for upsetting you. Can I buy you a coffee sometime to make up for it?”

“A coffee?” Jun asked. Yuuki nodded. “I work at a coffee shop and you want to buy me a coffee?”

Yuuki’s expression didn’t change, but something about him looked stiffer. Jun turned away, grabbing a few random ramen packs as he went, stuffing them in his basket.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m really busy with work and school, so it probably wouldn’t work out anyway,” Jun said, trying to make a hasty exit.

“School?” Yuuki asked. Jun froze. “You’re in university, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Jun replied. “Seidou, first year.”

“Seidou,” Yuuki repeated, the weight of the name heavy on his word. “So that makes you a witch?”

The absolute last thing Jun wanted was to have Yuuki’s blank expression turn to disgust at finding out he’d been trying so hard to apologize to a werewolf. Or worse, fear. Jun couldn’t see magic circuits like some people on the battle team could, but he could sense that Yuuki wasn’t magic, or if he was, it was buried deep. People without magic tended to fear werewolves more than anything else.

“Yeah,” Jun lied. And then, because he figured he could swallow his lingering embarrassment and spend a few minutes carrying a conversation, “Are you in university too?”

“Meiji,” Yuuki told him, looking pleased enough. “Second year.”

Not only was he pretty, he was also smart if he was going to Meiji. It wasn’t an easy school to get into.

“Well, I’m going to take off,” Jun said. “Thanks for the efforts to apologize, I guess, but I wasn’t mad or anything, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”

“What do you like instead of coffee?” Yuuki asked. Jun put his items on the conveyer belt, flashing the cashier an apologetic smile. She rolled her eyes and started ringing him up.

“I’m telling you, that’s not necessary,” Jun insisted. He scooped up his bags. “I’ll see you around, Yuuki-san.”

Jun had no intention of seeing him around.

***

He really should have expected it when Yuuki came walking into the coffee shop during his next shift.

“Cover!” he hissed at Matsui.

“Absolutely not,” Matsui said, moving subtly to block Jun’s exit. It wasn’t very impressive, considering Matsui barely came up to his shoulder, and Jun could probably send him flying even without werewolf strength.

“But…”

It was already too late. Yuuki was at the register.

“What can I get you?” Jun asked, trying not to sound too much like defeat.

“I never actually caught your name,” Yuuki said, leaning close to inspect Jun’s nametag. Jun tried not to blush. “Isashiki?”

“Yep, that’s me,” Jun said. “What’ll ya have?”

“You’re not going to yell at me if I order something straight from the menu, right?” Yuuki asked. He was so straight faced that if Jun didn’t have such a heightened awareness of body language, he never would have realized Yuuki was messing with him.

“Order what you want, Yuuki-san,” Jun said. “Matsui’s the one that has to make it anyway.”

The ugly look Jun could feel on the back of his neck was worth it.

“Is the white chocolate mocha any good?” Yuuki asked, peering at the menu board.

“I’ve never actually tried it, Matsui?” Jun asked, turning to his coworker.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Matsui offered.

“I’ll try that,” Yuuki said. “Venti. I could use the boost.”

“Wait, it’s…” Jun shook his head to clear it. “This is for you?”

“Who else would it be for?”

Jun had never actually considered who that ridiculous drink Yuuki had ordered last time had been for, but if he had, he probably would have guessed a girlfriend, or at the very least a friend. Yuuki looked like the kind of guy who drank straight black coffee and then chewed on the grounds for sustenance.

Nothing about Yuuki’s expression or body language indicated he was messing around, though.

“One venti white chocolate mocha, coming right up,” Jun said, typing things into the register. “You know, I don’t think that much sugar is good for you.”

“Probably not, but I need something to get me through baseball practice,” Yuuki said.

“You play baseball?” Jun asked. Yuuki nodded. “For Meiji?”

“First base,” Yuuki answered. Jun tried to make it sound less like an innuendo in his head. There was absolutely no way Yuuki had meant for his words to curve sensually around each other like Jun’s brain was insisting they had. “I love it, but it’s a lot of work. So we all survive on coffee.”

Jun figured that was fair. He only made it through coven battle practice with energy drinks some days.

“You’re gearing up for summer, right?” Jun asked, because Matsui was taking his sweet time, and just standing around in silence would feel even more awkward.

“We are,” Yuuki said. “Do you like baseball, Isashiki-kun?”

Jun liked baseball players a lot.

“Yeah, it’s alright,” he said. “It’s kind of a big deal, I guess, but it’s fun to watch.”

“You should come see some of our games,” Yuuki said. “I can probably get you tickets or something.”

“If I can even get the time off,” Jun joked.

“Speaking of, I’d still like to get you lunch or something,” Yuuki said.

“I already said you had nothing to apologize for,” Jun protested.

“Humor me?” Yuuki’s face was just so earnest. Nothing about him was making fun of Jun.

“My next day off is Saturday,” Jun said, a sigh of defeat at the back of his throat.

“I’ll meet you here, then,” Yuuki said, picking up the coffee that Matsui had finally finished, turning and walking briskly away.

Jun put his head on his arms and tried not to groan into the counter.

“I’ve never seen anyone try as hard as you to turn down free food from a hot guy,” Matsui commented. Jun turned his head so he could glare with one eye at Matsui, resisting the urge to bark at him about respecting his senpai. Were high schoolers ruder now? Jun couldn’t remember being this rude in high school.

“A hot guy I embarrassed myself in front of by yelling at him in front of twenty people,” Jun pointed out. “Also, maybe he’s not my type? Have you ever considered that?”

“He is everyone’s type,” Matsui said, not looking impressed. “You can’t tell me you’re not even a little attracted to him.”

Jun actually kind of wanted to wear Yuuki’s thighs as earmuffs, but that was entirely beside the point.

“I just have no clue why he thinks he needs to apologize to me,” Jun said. “I mean. I yelled at him. I’m definitely in the wrong here. Even you have to admit that’s a little weird.”

“He probably just likes you,” Matsui shrugged. “I hear some people are into being yelled at. They get off on people being mean to them.”

Jun almost choked on his own tongue.

“What kinds of things have you been reading?” he demanded, definitely too loud for the quiet store. “You need to protect your innocent mind.”

“I’m only three years younger than you.”

“That’s my point.”

Matsui rolled his eyes, turning his attention to cleaning up his area. Jun turned back to the register, zoning out as he considered. No matter what, it really was strange that Yuuki was trying so hard to apologize, right?

But who was Jun to turn down free food, in the end.

#tetsujun #juntetsu #daiya no a #ace of diamond #dna #my writing #magic au #cosa

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mnm-inc-miles · 4 years

Text

OCTOBER 31, 2020

————

“It’s been 19 years since the last full moon on a Halloween night. What’s more amazing, it will be a blue moon which hasn’t happened on Halloween since 1944, that’s 76 years ago.” A woman with dark hair walked the length of the classroom. Her blue green eyes were sharp, aware of everything around her. Her face was covered by a mask but you could tell by her voice she was smiling. “Tomorrow we will have buckets of fun under the light of the moon.”

There was a small ruckus from the cuckoo clock that marked the end of today’s lessons. A hand went up as most of the kids cleaned their desks. “Ms. Bridget, will we get to dress up and go trick or treating?”

The teacher laughed, “We’ve arranged for a scavenger hunt at a local cabin I was lucky enough to rent out.”

All the children froze, the few who had made it out the door trickled back in. One of the smallest of the children, her voice tiny as a mouse, chirped, “You mean...we get to leave the orphanage?”

A lot of jaws dropped as they stared at their teacher, waiting. She was smiling and her eyes could not hide the truth. Yes, for the first time in a couple years, even before corona, the children would be allowed to leave. Bridget called it a vacation. She nodded and the children screamed with excitement. She had given them hope.

When she left for home that day her boss stopped her with a wave, “I heard the children today,” he smiled warmly. He was in charge of the children at the orphanage. “Bridge, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

“Dean, how are you. Yes, they were very excited to finally get the news. Thank you for allowing it to happen.”

“You’re the one who made it possible,” he smiled. “I try to do right by these kids. They’ve been through enough. But I can’t allow the group to leave unless they’re with someone I trust to care for them. The plan you laid out in my office...” he shook his head and laughed. “I may dress as Satan for Halloween, but I’d have to be the devil himself to say no to that.”

Bridge smiled, “It’s lovely talking Dean, but I must go. I’m headed to the cabin now to get it ready for tomorrow.”

“Bless your heart,” the man nodded and went back into the orphanage.

After decorating the cabin, Bridge settled into an armchair with a cup of tea and a crackling fire. She closed her eyes and took a sip, the warm spreading to all her joints and limbs. Soon she found herself drifting off to sleep.

A nightmare crept into her brain, though perhaps it was better described as a memory.

A young girl called out for her older sister. “Alexa,” she shouted.

The Chung household was stressful, despite the parents affection for their two children, they put enormous amounts of pressure on their success. Bridge was younger, and though she was adopted she only received slightly less slack than her older sister Alexa. What the Chung’s didn’t understand, was their daughter Alexa was fragile, almost broken.

The young girl, a glimpse at her blue green eyes reveal her identity, slowly pushed open the bathroom door. Inside was a scene from the stuff of nightmares. Her sister was floating with her head above the water, on her side, lifeless in a pool of blood. Her eyes, glazed over with a film of white.

Bridget snapped awake. Her breathe was fast and shallow as the image gnawed at the front of her mind. It was ever looming most days, but often tucked into the back of her thoughts. She took herself to bed where she would have a restless night.

She left the cabin and drove to pick up the school bus she would be renting for the day. The driver met her with a gruff voice but friendly eyes. She climbed on board and they proceeded to pick up the children. Bridge was excited to give them a night they wouldn’t soon forget.

—————

“Did you finish your wolfsbane,” Newt questioned, sincerely curious in his statement and not patronizing. Of course Remus remembered, the act of forgetting it was permanently trained out of him. He never wanted Levi to rewind time for his mistake again.

Remus nodded, “Yes, are you leaving soon to see Lucky?” Remus looked at the clock. It was just an hour before sunset.

Newt gave a nod. “Will you be okay? I know Sirius had to leave for a job last minute.”

“It’s okay, yeah...I’ll be fine. Plus you set up that nifty wolf-cam, so if something happens you can come...right?”

“Absolutely.” Newt made brief eye contact and offered an awkward smile. Eddie of course, was the one to set up the camera. He was more familiar with the technology, after all. There was one for Remus and one for Lucky, because Newt promised Dylan a camera to see her father. “Well, I must be going, I’ll keep an eye on you. Goodnight.”

As the sun set Remus began to pace, naturally his nerves worsened the closer to transformation he got. Sometimes tempered by the wolfsbane, though tonight his joints and muscles ached more than usual. He shut the curtains and curled up on the couch in a ball, as if these steps would help eliminate a transformation. It never worked.

His body began to twitch and he felt the terrible pangs of the wolf in him coming to the surface. He cried out in agony because despite growing up with the affliction, the transformation was generally painful, especially without wolfsbane. And as he felt the stretching of his bones and the pulling at his skin, he realized that something was wrong. The wolfsbane must not have been made right...and upon that realization he glanced in horror at his phone, followed by the wolf-cam, and then he was gone. In his place, a full fledged werewolf remained, howling in distress.

——————

This would be the third full moon that Newt would spend with Lucky. They normally started with the endless request for cuts of raw steak, and ended with the clutching of a photograph and sleep. Tonight when Newt came over, Lucky was eagerly awaiting the visit, he was becoming accustomed to their routine. He was also relieved that someone would be there when he changed into this darker version of himself. But the night wouldn’t last long this time.

While Lucky was eating Newt took a moment to check in on Remus but found the room empty. He was worried but didn’t panic until he checked less than an hour later and he was still gone. “Pardon but...I must be going.”

“What?” Lucky growled and reached for him, wrapping a tight hand around the others wrist. His nails were digging into Newt’s skin and he winced.

“Let go,” Newt demanded but Lucky did not. He pulled him closer and demanded he stay, feed him more and keep him company. At this point Newt watched as blood dripped from his arm where the other gripped him insistently. He sighed and pulled out his wand, “Petrificus Totalus,” then glanced at the camera knowing Dylan was likely watching. “Sorry...” and he disapperated and reappeared back in London at the house.

The door was knocked off its hinges and a few belongings in the house were displaced. Casting a spell, he watched swirls of gold materialize and follow traces of recent magical activity, the scene revealing itself. “Episkey,” he whispered as he watched the flecks of gold dance around the room. The small cuts in his arm healed and when the gold stopped Newt grabbed the shirt Remus has been wearing and pointed his wand, “Avenseguim.” The shirt began to float and whisked out the door. Newt quickly followed after.

—————

Bridge and the children sat around the crackling fire pit, roasting marshmallows and giggling about their evening. There were classic games like bobbing for apples and corn hole, plus the candy scavenger hunt. They played twister and wink murder too. As the festivities came to an end, they sat around the fire pit and told spooky stories while eating candy and s’mores.

A howling was heard in the distance and some of the younger kids got scared. “It’s a werewolf,” one little girl said.

“Sure is, and it’s gonna get ya...”

“That’s enough Brett,” Bridge spoke playfully. She glanced at the bus driver and smiled, “It’s getting late, do you mind sitting with the older kids while we tuck the little ones into bed?”

“Sure,” he gave a nod then bit into his s’more.

Nodding at her colleague, Dennis, the two gather up the handful of youngens and ushered them inside. Some were more willing than others, who protested through yawns that they were not tired.

The orphanage was small, that’s how Dean managed to provide such good care for the children. The ages ranged from five to seventeen. At the current time there were twenty kids total. Though Dean had as many as thirty in his care before. Of the twenty, nine of them were under 10, seven of them were between 10 and 13, and the rest were over 14. The four of the oldest got to sit outside with the bus driver while Bridge and Dennis put the little ones to bed.

Another howl was heard, and some of the children jumped. “Ms. Bridget...it sounded closer...are there really werewolves?”

“No darling, no. They’re just stories.”

“Then...what is it?”

“Just normal wolves I imagine,” Dennis spoke matter of factly.

Bridge rolled her eyes, “They live in the woods but don’t worry, they keep their distance.” Another howl and this time it was followed by a scream. “Dennis stay with the kids...” and Bridge bolted back down the stairs and out to the yard.

The bus driver stood in front of the children shouting to seem threatening. He was immensely overshadowed by a tall furry creature. Bridge froze for a moment, wondering if somehow she’d slipped into some nightmare. But another howl brought her back to reality as she watched the creature stalk closer to the children.

“Hey!” She suddenly screamed. “Get away from them...” she picked up a rock and threw it hard at the creatures head. Growling it turned and looked at her. Glancing at the larger crowd it deduced one person was easier to kill unharmed than a multitude of people. “Run, get the children inside, hurry!”

She waved her hands and beckoned the beast toward her. He came at her fast, leaping into the air and tackling her to the ground.

“Ms. Bridget!” some of the children cried out, but the bus driver urged them inside. A couple ran willingly, scared out of their minds, one was frozen in fear, and one wanted to help, picking up a stick and tossing it at the beast.

The werewolf didn’t flinch, instead it lowered its jaws and took a bite at Bridget’s neck, shaking to break it, then ripping free her vocal chords and devoured them. Screams echoed into the night when a loud clap happened and suddenly Newt was there watching the scene unfold.

He shot a jinx at the werewolf and knocked him off his feet, but the beast stood quickly and advanced on the frozen child who stood screaming in horror.

“Remus!” He shouted but the beast didn’t respond. Not even a hint of self awareness. He tried to petrify him but the werewolf was simply too strong. Suddenly a ring of fire wrapped around the child and the werewolf howled in pain from brushing the flames and backed away. The child fainted.

More screams were heard from within the house and the werewolf responded by following their cries. As he approached the window, Newt noticed he stood under a glass awning and begrudgingly had to act fast.

“Finestra,” he spoke and the glass shattered, raining down upon the werewolf’s head. It howled in pain and with every step, it’s feet fell upon more glass. It stumbled backward and turned its attention to the person it had already killed, feeling content to settle. Newt knocked the werewolf back with another charm but he was persistent. “Sorry...” Newt sadly huffed as he hurled one last spell at the beast, aiming for his arm. “Diffindo.” A large gash tore into his arm and the werewolf cried out in anguish. It turned, whimpering, and retreated to the woods.

Desperate to follow and provide him with aid, Newt knew there wasn’t much to be done while he was in his wolf form. So he focused on the dilemma at hand. There were a bunch of muggles who were just terrorized by a werewolf and likely to suffer intense trauma if he didn’t Obliviate them.

He cautiously approached the lifeless body on the ground, knelt down and checked for a pulse. He knew she was gone, but Eddie insisted. Newt noticed humans often insisted on physical proof when the evidence was clear enough already. Then he turned and doused the flames around the fainted child. Walking closer he pointed his wand and whispered the spell to erase the bad memories. Then he stood to address the others and saw once again, the body of the woman the wolf had slain.

‘What about her...’ Eddie asked him, his voice was trembling. ‘Surely the children...’ Newt sighed heavily and returned to the child and erased any memory they had of her too. ‘Newt...you can’t just...’ but the wizard interrupted him. “I’m going to have to ask you to restrain from comments right now, please...I...I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be.”

Then he walked inside and gathered all the frightened muggles into one room. It wasn’t hard since everyone wanted to know what was happening. Questions were hurled at him, and Newt felt very overwhelmed. His heart was racing and he felt himself beginning for freeze. Eddie asked to help and Newt relented.

“Please everyone,” Eddie spoke loudly. “Please just be quiet a moment. I know what happened just now is tragic, but if you’ll just take a moment to breathe...” the room grew quiet. Newt took over immediately and softly whispered, “Obliviate,” directing it at the entire room and erasing the bad memories of the night and taking any and all memories of the woman who was killed.

‘That’s not going to be enough...’ Eddie said to Newt. The wizard sighed. “I will call Albus to help...we will have to implant new memories instead...” Newt walked back outside to look at the slain body. Eddie continued, ‘and...all the other lives shes touched...her family...’ Newt gave a nod, “Albus will handle it...” and he proceeded to clean up the shattered glass, blood, and the body. People disappear, Newt thought, it happens all the time. Upon that note he could hear Eddie start to cry. So he busied himself with searching for Remus.

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preserving-ferretbrain · 5 years

Text

City of Stupid

by Dan H

Monday, 06 October 2008

Dan "reviews" Cassandra Clare's City of Bones

I'd like to start this review (which like most Ferretbrain reviews will actually be more of an extended ramble and will involve strong spoilers from the outset) by citing a quote from the last page of City of Bones (told you there'd be spoilers) which I think perfectly highlights the problem I have with Urban Fantasy:

"And there it was spread out before her like a carelessly opened jewellery box, this city more populous and more amazing than she had ever imagined: There was the emerald square of central park, where the faerie courts met on midsummer evenings; there were the lights of the clubs and bars downtown, where the vampires danced the nights away at Pandemonium; there the alleys of Chinatown down which the Werewolves slunk at night, their coats reflecting the city's lights. There walked warlocks in all their bat-winged, cat-eyed glory; and here, as they swung out over the river, she saw the darting flash of multicoloured tails under the silvery skin of the water, she shimmer of long, pearl-strewn hair and heard the high, rippling laughter of the mermaids."

Now I freely admit that this is a personal bugbear, but it actually kind of pisses me off that in order for the good Miss Clare to find any sense of wonder in the city of New York she has to imagine that it's full of cheap, derivative White Wolf characters. Repeat after me, Urban Fantasy writers: vampires do not make the world more interesting. Werewolves do not make the world more interesting. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. Anyway, onto the book. By the way, this gets kind of incoherent. This is because reading City of Bones has actually caused me to suffer physical brain damage.

First Things First: The Harry Potter Connection I really, honestly, didn't want to do this. I spent the first half of the book saying "no, it's just because you know she was from that fandom, just because the villain's got an agenda of racial purity, a name beginning with V, and a secret society backing him up which he started when he was in high school, that doesn't mean it's not still an original work of fiction." Then it turned out that the scruffy, bookish older character, who had a crush on the heroine's mother and while never popular at school had managed to find his way into a clique of popular kids and was very pleased about it was a fucking werewolf. His name is "Lucian," by the way. In short: it's a Harry Potter AU in which Lily married Voldemort and gave birth to Draco and Hermione, while Remus Lupin hung around looking sad. Okay, it doesn't map exactly: the Voldemort-analogue's Death-eater-analogue seems to have started out as more of a Marauders-analogue, and the Dumbledore-analogue appears to have been part of the group as well. There are enough parallels, however that if you're already aware of where the author started off you just can't stop making comparisons. Although Mr Not-Lupin was my breaking point, it's the villain that really strikes me as being a bit similar to a certain well known figure from a certain well known series. His name is Valentine (that's his first name, by the way, his last name is Morgenstern). Everybody starts the book thinking he's dead. Many years ago he started a war which nearly tore apart the Shadowhunter World, and although he was defeated people still fear his return. His rise to power relied on a sinister organisation which he founded at the age of fucking seventeen. Oh, and of course he's dedicated to an agenda of racial purity, and talks about blood all the time. So, yeah. Bit familiar really. And I never thought I'd say this, but the difference between Valentine and Voldemort is that Voldemort actually works (at least until the point where he gets resurrected and starts acting like a muppet). In a children's series set in a boarding school, you can accept the idea that the path to world domination begins in the sixth form. In a Young Adult series set in actual New York you really can't. But that's enough about Why It's A Bit Like Harry Potter, because it really is too easy. Style, Plot and Pacing: Full Tilt to Nowhere It has been said that Drama is real life with the boring bits taken out. This is almost certainly true, for a reasonably strict definition of the "boring bits". Certainly I wouldn't want to watch a drama that was actually, genuinely shot in real time, with hour long scenes of the characters doing housework or playing World of Warcraft (note that 24 in no way counts as "shot in real time," it's just a 24-episode drama series that happens to give its episodes numbers for titles). However it's important to recognise that there are lots of bits which don't count as boring, and which good drama leaves in. Things like establishing character, laying the groundwork for your plot, and having lines of dialogue that aren't fucking one-liners. City of Bones is real life with all the bits that don't involve people being actively awesome taken out. So the dialogue consists entirely of characters exchanging pithy quips or heated emotional outbursts, the action judders from fight to explosion to exposition without passing through anything in the middle. Our esteemed editor gave up on the book on page 63 when she got to the "Jace on the Piano" scene, I very nearly gave up on the book about a hundred pages later when it was revealed that Clary's mother had been married to Valentine. I'm just going to let that paragraph hang there for a bit. Hopefully you're now thinking "hold on Dan, why did you find that so annoying, are you going to explain to us why we should care about this, or are you just going to leave it there with no context or explanation." Which is exactly how I felt about that scene. Valentine, in case you've already forgotten (and to be honest I wouldn't blame you) is the racially motivated villain of Clare's totally original fantasy world. By page one-hundred-and-whatever we know bugger all about the guy except that he's the Designated Villain of this particular secondary creation. He apparently started a (totally original) war a few years ago in an attempt to purge the world of non-humans, and everybody thought he was dead but maybe he isn't dum dum dummmmm! The problem is that the only thing that Valentine has done so far is maybe not be dead and possibly be implicated in abducting Clary's Mother because he's maybe looking for a thing called the Mortal Cup. It's sort of like having the "I Am Your Father" scene in Star Wars take place before the destruction of Alderaan. We find out that Jocelyn (Clary's mother and before you ask, no, nobody in this entire book has a name that isn't stupid) was married to Valentine before we really find out why we should give a shit about either of them (insofar as we ever do). Incidentally our esteemed editor has pointed out that, tellingly, the moment she gave up on the book was the moment that made it bad romance, while the moment I gave up on it was the moment that made it bad fantasy. Make of that what you will. Anyway, the basic plot is that there's this waste of space called Valentine who started a totally original war about sixteen years ago, and who is now looking for a thing called the Mortal Cup because he wants to create an army of Shadowhunters to wipe out the Downworlders (non humans to you and me) and safeguard the world from demons for all time. There's a couple of things I'd like to say about that. Firstly: Bored. So bored. Secondly: Apart from the fact that he's Designated Evil, what exactly is wrong with this plan? Half the Downworlders we meet actually are horrifically dangerous and actually do kill people. It's not unreasonable to suggest that they should be dealt with, and the idea of making more Shadowhunters is actually a really good one. But Valentine is evil so, whatevs. Anyway, in order to safeguard the Mortal Cup from Valentine they for some unfathomable reason have to go on a long CRPG quest where they talk to people, who send them to talk to other people, who help them to unlock Clary's Super Special Self Insert Memories which apparently contain the Key to Everything. After about five chapters of "now you must go here, now you must go here, now you must go to a party with a gay warlock" they finally find out that actually her memories will come back on their own, she just has to give them time, and also the magic feather isn't really magic and it was just her all along. Sorry, I'm actually boring myself writing this. So then there's a filler chapter where they have to rescue one of the supporting cast from vampires and another filler chapter where the vampires are attacked by werewolves and Jace and Clary go flying on a vampire motorbike. Then there's some angst and drama, then they go get the Mortal Cup because Clary realises that she's known where it was all along, but only she has the power to retrieve it because zomg special. Then there is Betrayal! Then there is Exposition! Then eventually the fucking thing ends and I can go back to doing something more interesting like unblocking our waste disposal unit. The final revelation of the book is that not only was Valentine married to Clary's mother but that he was also her father. The book seems to expect me to be surprised at this, but given that her real father was supposed to have died before she was born leaving no personal effects whatsoever or any evidence that he'd ever existed and since, true to form, Shadowhunters never marry Mundanes (because what would somebody who isn't Teh Speshul possibly have to bring to a relationship) anybody with half a brain has already worked out that Clary's father is probably her mother's husband. But! It also turns out that Valentine is Jace's father, having faked both his and Jace's death, and assumed the identity of Michael Wayland (one of his followers, who he killed) in order to evade detection. Then he faked his death a second time and sent Jace to live at the Institute. The institute which is full of photographs of the real Michael Wayland, and of Valentine, which Jace somehow never recognised. This final whammy ends in a classic exchange that goes something like this:

"But, the Wayland ring-" "Ah yes," said Valentine, looking at Jace's hand, where the ring glittered like snake scales. "The ring. Funny isn't it how an M worn upside down resembles a W."

No. No it fucking doesn't, you moron. For a start it's a ring, and rings are fucking circular. You can't wear it "upside down" because people look at your hand from different angles. And what the hell kind of family crest is it that's just the first letter of your freaking surname with no context or decoration? Where the hell did that come from, My First Heraldry Kit? And why didn't the people at the institute, most of whom were your former allies, recognise your family crest? And why didn't you just have him wear the actual insignia of the family you were pretending to be from you stupid, derivative stock villain? In short the plot is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. The pacing is shot to hell, full of scenes that seemed like a cool idea at the time, or which only exist to showcase some part of the setting. It's full of cheap shortcuts and copouts and unadulterated nonsense. "Characterisation." You Notice I Used Sarcastic Quote Marks There isn't any. I'm really sorry to come back to the fanfic thing again, but the fact is that the only way to get sense of personality from any of the characters in the damned book was to assume that they were their Harry Potter analogues and work from there. That's right guys. This book makes Harry Potter look like a thoughtfully constructed work of character-driven drama. While Voldemort's actions frequently seem at odds with his alleged motivation (if he's so afraid of death, why does he treat his Horcruxes so carelessly, if he cares so little for life, why doesn't he kill the heroes when he gets the chance?) at least I know that he's supposed to have some kind of reason for his actions. Valentine on the other hand just feels like a puppet going through the motions of villainy in order to provide the story with some semblance of direction. Then there's Jace. Who. Never. Says. Anything. That. Isn't. A. One. Liner. And okay, I know that part of the deal is that he's been so terribly hurt that he can't allow himself to have normal feelings which is why his love for Clary is so special but fuck that. "Makes constant wisecracks" is not a psychologically realistic portrayal of an emotionally scarred teenager, it's a cheap bit of sub-Buffy wish fulfilment. Towards the climax of the book they face an honest to god Demon Lord and he actually gives it sass. Look, it really is very simple. Your readers take their cues from your characters. If you show us a scene in which your protagonists fight a Big Scary Demon and they act like it Isn't Scary At All, then we, the readers will assume that the Big Scary Demon is in fact Not Scary At All. If your characters are unimpressed by your world, it doesn't make the character look cool, it makes the world look unimpressive. Those who are following in their textbooks will find this principle outlined in Chapter One under the heading "Show Don't Tell, Dumbass." Let's see, who else is actually in this turd of a novel? There's Alec, who is gay and Isabelle, who is his sister, who wears thigh high boots and carries a whip, and has hair "nearly the precise colour of black ink". Leaving aside the fact that the description makes her sound like the World of Warcraft Succubus her main function in the book is to be theoretically sexy but only enough to make the quiet, unselfconscious beauty of Clary to look special by comparison. Then there's Hodge, who betrays everybody, which would come as more of a shock if I had the slightest grip on his personality beyond "well he's probably a bit like Dumbledore but I don't know really". And that's it. Jesus Christ there are only about eight characters in the entire fucking book, you'd think one of them might have had some semblance of an identity. You would have thought wrong. Unanswered Questions: Who Runs This Idiot World? So, how did Jace not recognise that his father looked like Valentine, and not like the man who was actually supposed to be his father? Why, if the only way to get more Shadowhunters is for them to be born to existing Shadowhunters, or for them to be made with the Mortal Cup (at a terrible risk) why the fuck don't Shadowhunters ever marry Mundanes? Why isn't the Clave doing anything? How did Valentine manage to put together a world-dominating secret conspiracy at the age of seventeen? What's so fucking special about Clary? Why is saving the world being left in the hands of five teenagers? Are there really two more books in this series? Why didn't I do the sensible thing and stop reading on page 114?

Themes: Books, Sci-fi / Fantasy, Young Adult / Children, Cassandra Clare

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Comments (go to latest)

Wardog at 16:24 on 2008-10-09

You make me so damn glad I stopped reading at page 63. So. Damn. Glad.

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Wordless at 07:05 on 2009-11-10

I could've realized something when i noticed that the people who positively reviewed the series were a) Stephenie Mayer and b) Cassandra's close friends. To be honest I was a bit suspicious when Holly Black referred to her as "Cassie". but my main issue is this:

Why, if the only way to get more Shadowhunters is for them to be born to existing Shadowhunters, or for them to be made with the Mortal Cup (at a terrible risk) why the fuck don't Shadowhunters ever marry Mundanes?

Are Shadow Hunters...sterile? Obviously not, since Jocelyn had two children and both are successful shadow hunters....noting one even has "special powers" from them doing the nasty. Sooo what's the issue then? I pondered this for a good fat chunk of the book until i came to: "Sure," Jace said "But we haven't had the cup for years now, and a lot of us die young. So our numbers slowly dwindle." "Aren't you, uh..."Clary searched for the right word."reproducing?"....(skin a bunch of irrelevant ramble)"Sure he said."we love reproducing. It's one of our favourite things." okay heres the thing using the shadow cup 20% success rate, doing the old-fashioned ovaries and sperm route-about the same thing.So whats the point? I mean going after valentine would just kill the few shadow hunters they have and so why bother? Apparently seeing as everyone's doing like they do on the discovery channel let him have the cup. but this issue was left abandoned instead pursuing the predictable Jace heritage. in short i was bored and sickened....and confuzled but much later. After my feet stopped cramping.

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Wordless at 07:52 on 2009-11-12

Also the werewolves....*sigh*the werewolves...These are supposed to be human well at least half human. so I don't understand how sentient beings would kill each other for leadership of the pack. Really...that set evolution back at least a hundred years. Aleast. I mean even in the wild though male wolves fight they don't KILL each other...because that would be stupid. okay sure I'm taking some liberties but seriously when i read that i was like WTF.

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Shim at 13:15 on 2009-11-12

Actually, although I agree it seems kind of sad she can't find wonder in the city as it is - to me the most grating thing is that the "wonder" in America is all European. I'm just about willing to buy werewolves (being basically human) and even vampires, although I don't like the modern twist on vampires anyway. But mermaids in the rivers in ANY city? Easily visible? Not flippin' likely given the pollution, tidal barrages and so on you get. However, I'd like to reserve my major anger for the "faerie courts in Central Park". All fey-based mythology I know of has them inhabiting a kind of overlapping reality, usually underground or in magical hills or whatever, and rarely having any contact with humans. There's no reason for them to up sticks en masse and move to America. Especially given that in a world where this stuff is real, America would be quite full enough of the indigenous fantastic races like Baykok or Ishigaq or Kushtaka (all of which I just looked up; what do I know about Native American mythology? still more than CC, apparently). Or does she imagine the Faerie imitated their mortal cousins and had their own little genocide?

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C J Morgan at 17:03 on 2009-11-12

Or does she imagine the Faerie imitated their mortal cousins and had their own little genocide?

Now there is a story I would read. ...or write. *adds to list of ideas*

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Dan H at 23:58 on 2009-11-12

Hi guys, sorry for the lack of commentage, blame NaNoWriMo

okay heres the thing using the shadow cup 20% success rate, doing the old-fashioned ovaries and sperm route-about the same thing.So whats the point?

To be fair, presumably natural born Shadowhunters have about a thirteen year period where they're just kids, so the cup would be a better way to build an army *fast*. Of course Valentine does not in fact *do* this.

#Ferretbrain #The Mortal Instruments #Cassandra Clare #City of Bones #Urban Fantasy #Dan H

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