#Does she wear armor? Her legs still feel kinda naked

[atamascolily]

lily watches fma:b, eps. 62-64

Okay, when we last left off, the Big Bad was running around half-naked in a bathroom smiting people in a knockoff young!Hohenheim body, and 50 million people in Amestris had a really shitty day being devoured alive for their life energy before being miraculously restored to their still-breathing bodies by a not-quite-deus ex machina.

hohenheim challenges father to create something and he spits out humans from Xerxes--including the asshole king whose greed destroyed his entire country and people who RECOGNIZE HOHENHEIM.

[like, the trauma here!!!]

[I also like JUST NOW REALIZED that Greedling is the same character archetype as Grimmjow from Bleach - an aggressive, hyper-macho asshole who is a surprisingly fun character to watch break things?]

[FURTHERMORE both 03!Greed and Grimmjow had the same Japanese voice actor, LOLOLLOL]

greed and olivier have a pissing contest, lol

al's body is destroyed protecting may - good thing he's got another one waiting in the wings!

and then it's everyone takes a turn at father - first the briggs soldiers, then roy with hawkeye guiding him, armstrong, lan fan,the chimeras, etc,etc,

roy is so weirded out by being able to cast without a circle, LOL.

father tries to eat greed for more stones

ed swooping in in to defend greed is GREAT

so is watching izumi fight!!

anyway, they finally wear father down to the point where God can fight back and Father vomits him back up again.

... which makes him literally a zombie staggering around for "stones"

ed's automail is shattered, and he's pinned down - al, realizing his armor is cracked and his blood seal is about to break, gets May to make a circle so he can swap out his body for Ed's arm.

it works and ed goes absolutely feral on father.

(the fact that he still looks like hohenheim probably helps ed, tbh)

everyone cheers him on and greed is like "oh, yeah, all I really wanted was FRIENDS,"sob

greed sacrifices himself to keep ling yao from being eaten by father and it's so heartbreaking, everyone loves u greed

greed is like, yeah, kid, lan fan has a stone, take 'em and go home and be emperor of xing like a boss

greed: so epic he gets to die TWICE in this show. AND WE'RE SAD BOTH TIMES BUT THIS ONE IS WORSE.

greed transforms father's body into graphite (using his Ultimate Shield ability) but gets crushed by father.

ed slams a hole in father's chest and all the philosopher's stones leach out of him and then... the black grabby shadow hands emerge from the same hole and pull him back wherever he came from...?

[ngl: I don't get WHY that works, but okay.]

and of course, he gets to monologue about how he just wanted to be free without any constraints, which gets hohenheim all emotional.

Father is back to his flash form in the Gate World and he calls Truth "God" and asks why he didn't like him... and truth's like "because you're a greedy little asshole, that's why"

father is sucked back into the open gate by more grabby shadow hands and says "no, I don't want to go back" implying that this is, in fact, where he came from because the Xerxes alchemists were fucking around with stuff they shouldn't have been.

father is screaming and truth's like, "why? this is TOTES what you wanted, isn't it?being one with god?"

meanwhile, hohenheim offers his own life in exchange for al on the grounds that he was  a crappy dad.

true, sir, but also ed is having none of it

anyway, ed offers his own gate and ability to do alchemy as trade for al's body and truth's like "Sure, yeah,why not"

turns out that even once they've won, hohenheim is still brooding and depressed over father - he blames himself because it came from his blood? Like, dude, there are a lot of things to blame yourself for and you pick the one that REALLY ISN'T YOUR FAULT?

armstrong thanks him for ed and al saving the day and hohenheim bursts into tears and walks off... and goes to resembool to die on tricia's grave?

like, did he even say good-bye to his kids? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, HOHENHEIM?

pinako finds him dead at the grave, and tbh, i'm disappointed she doesn't punch him out anyway like she promised

"goodbye, my weird immortal friend"

Anyway, umm... that's basically the end, but let's wrap up with the "where are they now?" final episode!

somehow ling is emperor because he has magic people juice to give the current emperor, which just... seems like it might lead to problems, given what happened in xerxes? Just sayin’. But he’s going to take care of May and her clan, so I guess the show’s just going to sweep that under a rug and pretend it’s fine!

[ling definitely got the best character development of anybody along with Greed]

marcoh shows up with a philosopher's stone, which Roy agrees to use to rebuild his eyesight and also Havoc's legs, which just feels a little too deus ex machina for me, and also kinda shaky ethics here. but roy's okay with it because he's going to rebuild ishval, so...

and apparently scar is gonna be there, too? still forever grumpy, though.

grumman is fuhrer now (??!!) because roy and company are rebuilding ishval, so I guess all that talk about war crime trials was just for show because that sure isn't happening now that they won.

[I'm still bitter because it should have been Olivier!!]

Mrs. Bradley is raising Pride/Selim, who seems perfectly normal, even though Grumman says they'll have to kill him if he does anything evil. Mrs. Bradley says, "I'll make sure he doesn't show anything," which is kinda ominous to me? Like this woman would do anything for her kid. If Pride DOES get out of hand, she's not going to tell anyone.

[also I'm bitter that Pride gets to live and Greed DOESN'T, sob]

Ed and Al hang out in Resembool with Winry for two years until they get restless and go off on adventures again--but separately. Al goes to Xing with Jerso and Zampano (who have suddenly decided they want their original bodies back after being fine with it for the entirety of the series).

That's fine, since Al and May are very definitely a thing, but Ed goes west--which we've never heard from in the entire series--by himself, to research alchemy after sacrificing his ability to DO alchemy. I CALL BULLSHIT.

Winry goes with him to the train station and Ed is so fucking tsundere, I cringed just watching him.

(but also it was refreshing to see a male example of this trope and it was super-cute when he started blushing)

BUT ALSO his proposal is based on "equivalent exchange" - "I'll trade half of my life for half of yours!" - which is simultaneously the nerdiest thing ever and also YOU'RE NOT AN ALCHEMIST ANYMORE, ED, STOP.

Winry says that's stupid, she'll give him all of it,and then starts negotiating to 85%.

but given that Ed is LITERALLY RIDING OFF here, I gotta wonder how the math works out.

A random woman asks why Ed's leaving if he's in love with Winry, and Winry says something about how men left at home cause trouble (which implies she's fine with a long-distance relationship). THIS FROM THE GIRL WHO GOT MAD ABOUT BEING LEFT BEHIND ON *SEVERAL* OCCASIONS IN THE SERIES.okay.

In the credits, we see Ed and Winry have two kids, so... Ed has LITERALLY BECOME HIS FATHER, wandering the earth while his wife raises two kids alone. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

I just have... questions.

Like... no. Just no. Ed stayed home and he was a great father to his kids, full stop. He did NOT repeat the cycle; he was a much better person than Hohenheim and he proved it by actually BEING THERE FOR HIS FAMILY WHEN THEY NEEDED HIM.

people say fma03 has a downer ending, but this one bums me out WAY more because it feels so ooc and contradicts a lot of stuff that the show has spent so much time building up to.

i am just left feeling very “meh” and also “what was the point of it all?” which is probably not a great place to be after finishing a story.

[lyonrhodes]

One Bad Day #10: Sober

Red Hood x OC, Batman/DC Fan Fic

Summary: Dora has lived in Gotham her whole life and is accustomed to the rampant crime and corruption. Her life gets worse when Black Mask takes over the city. She thinks all hope is lost but a new vigilante appears, calling himself the Red Hood. However, he’s not your typical knight in shining armor. Dora must decide: does she dare fall in love with a revenge-driven killer? (Romance, Crime, Action)

Chapter 10: Sober

“What the hell?” Dora untangled herself from Red Hood. She tumbled off the bed and looked around for her bra—her shirt, a pillow, a blanket... anything at all to cover her naked chest. “You don’t knock? What’s wrong with you?”

“The door was open!” Holly tried to contain the smile on her face, but couldn’t. She looked at Red Hood. “Who’s the cutie, Dee?”

“Um...” She couldn’t answer. Her mind was racing, trying to think of an excuse, trying to find something to wear. She gave up and just covered her breasts with her arms. “Just... get out of here, Holly!” But Holly just stood there, basking in her embarrassment with a stupid grin on her face.

“Don’t worry, she can stay. I have to go anyway,” Red Hood said. He found Dora’s top and handed it to her.

“Wait, no...” Dora said, slipping it on quickly. She realized it was sheer and on backwards, but she didn’t care. Where could he possibly have to be? A minute ago he had enough free time for sex, but now that Holly had cock-blocked him, he didn’t? “Hey, you don’t have to go... I can make her leave.” She held his hand tightly, trying to show him how much she wanted him to stay.

“Can’t be sure she wasn’t followed here.” He pulled his hand away.

A lame excuse. Dora feared she knew the truth. The interruption had sobered him up and made him reconsider revealing his identity to a desperate girl from the ghetto, with daddy issues. Not to mention she also had both an illegal immigrant and a hooker for best friends, as well as a drug runner for a sister.

Pissed off but not wanting to show it, Dora glared at Holly behind Red Hood’s back and gestured aggressively that she had to leave. Holly either didn’t notice or just ignored Dora’s signals. She stood there and ogled Hood, unabashed, as he slipped his jacket over his bare back. He reached into the collar and pulled out a detachable red hood large enough to conceal most of his face in shadow.

“It’s okay, Dora,” he said. “I’ll see you around.” He bent down and kissed her lips. It was surprisingly soft and tender, in contrast to their previous kisses. He lingered for a long moment, caressing her cheek with his thumb... then he placed her glasses back into her hands.

When their lips lost contact, Dora felt a magnetic pull. She wondered if he felt it too, and if it meant he would come back. He had to; he couldn’t leave her hanging like this.

He grabbed his gear and on the way out the door; he whispered something to Holly. She smirked, not looking him in the face, but down at his taut torso. “Sure thing, boss. Your secret is safe with me.”

Red Hood scoffed and left, zipping up his jacket without looking back. Dora ran across the room, and sealed the door. “What the fuck, Holly?” she shouted. “What the hell was that? Can’t you take a hint? Why didn’t you just leave?”

“And pass up the chance to check out my boss while he’s shirtless ? He’s a babe, isn’t he? And hey... you are too.” Her eyes lowered. “You’ve got nice tits, Dee. You should show them off more often. What’s your size? I’ve got some tops you can borrow if you’re ever in the mood.”

Dora crossed her arms, annoyingly reminded of Holly’s job. She stomped over to the sofa and fell into it, groaning. She was frustrated. Very frustrated.

“Blue tubes?” Holly asked, sitting down and putting Dora’s feet in her lap.

“Holly, just... Grrr!” Dora really hated her right now. “What the hell are you even doing here?”

“Carla was worried about you. You weren’t picking up your phone, so she called and asked me to check if you were still at the bar. She said you promised you’d be home hours ago.”

Groaning, Dora slapped her forehead. “Damn it, that’s right. I kinda lost track of time.”

Holly giggled, looking at the half empty bottle of whiskey. “Yeah, I see why. Can’t blame you. ... So are you and Red Hood, like, together now?”

“No.”

“Do you know his name?” Holly prodded.

“No.”

“Have you seen his face yet? I mean without that little mask on?”

“No.”

Holly smiled. “Oh, so it’s just casual?”

“No! I mean I don’t know!” Dora said, aggravated. “We were kinda figuring that out when you barged in.”

“Hey, I didn’t barge in.”

“You might as well have. Why didn’t you leave when I told you to?”

Holly shrugged. “C’mon, he was practically halfway out the door once he realized I was there. Sorry, but not sorry, Dee.”

“Oh, fuck off, Holly.” She was actually annoyed and angry with her.

“Hey, I’m game if you are. Seeing you two together kinda got my motor running.” She traced circles on Dora’s knee, and a mischievous smile spread on her face.

Dora slapped her hand away and blushed, embarrassed. “Stop!”

“Fine, fine!” Holly said, laughing. “So are you going home tonight?”

“No. I’m too fucking tired to walk five blocks.” Dora swung her legs off Holly’s lap and dragged herself to the bed. She kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans, glad for once her bra was already off.

“Mind if I crash here tonight too?” Holly said while typing up a text to Carla.

Dora didn’t say anything for a moment, considering it. “Fine,” she groaned. “Take the couch.”

Sprawling out, Holly smiled. “If I had left... you were going to rub one out, huh?”

Dora threw a pillow at her.

#

$3,000 for flooring. $6,000 for the new pool tables. $4,000 for the new bar counter and the shelf behind it. $3,000 for all the new booths, tables, and chairs. $4,500 more to renew the liquor license. $6,000 to restock all the liquor the LU had destroyed. Plus another dozen odds and ends eating away her funds. All of it was covered by the loan she had gotten for mortgaging the Montgomery building, but every invoice still cut deep. $8,000 monthly, for the foreseeable future, to pay it all back.

Dora brooded in one of those newly upholstered booths, with invoices and receipts spread out on the table in front of her, silently trying to keep her composure. The bar averaged about $20,000 in revenue a month—on a good month. With all the usual expenses coupled with her debt, she would barely break even every month, and probably not see a decent profit for years. She needed an accountant to be sure, to help trim the fat off her expenses and work out more efficient payment plans for all her loans. Her mother had kept books for the bar and the flats in the building for almost 20 years, but she was far and away from qualified despite the experience. Even if a CPA was willing to overlook all the extortion and laundering in the books, Dora didn’t think she could afford one.

What she really needed was her father. He would know what to do.

“Oye, mija, que vamos hacer? Estas segura con sus opciones?”

Dora snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality. The foreman of the contractors her mother had hired stood by the table, looking at her with an impatient expression.  “I’m sorry, what?” Dora asked.

The foreman rolled his eyes and spoke to her in heavily accented English. “I want to ask you, are you sure you do not want marble? Looks better than wood.”

It was Dora’s turn to be annoyed. She had already told this guy she didn’t want marble countertops for the bar, she wanted wood. Marble was too expensive. “El madera, por cierto.”

“And for sinks? My men have the porcelain packed in the truck.”

Dora groaned. “Steel. I want the steel sinks.”

“Sorry, but is not whole point of remodel to make bar look better? You had wood counters before, had steel sinks before.”

“Listen, dude, I’m not made of money. If you want this job, then just do what I say and don’t argue with me. I could always find some Americans with licenses to do it.”

The man gave her a nasty look for a fraction of a second, but wiped it away just as quick. It still left Dora feeling ashamed. “Of course,” he said, and turned back to his men with a nod.

She hated to pull that card, not just because it was a complete bluff (she couldn’t afford licensed contractors), but more because it was undermining these immigrant workers who were as much Santa Priscan as her mother. She felt a bad taste in her mouth just having said those words.

She looked again at the papers strewn across the table. She had lost her train of thought, not that she had made any progress working out how to dig herself out all this debt. Right now the only plan was to just carry on, earn as much as she could, and chip away at the balance. Perhaps small, but regular payments would keep the debt collectors off their asses. The overhead left just enough for her family to get by, not as well off as before, but good enough—assuming her tenants upstairs didn’t keep moving out. With an exhausted sigh, Dora stacked up the papers. Her desk in the office hadn’t been big enough for her to work on, but at least it had provided her some privacy from the contractors. Maybe she could sneak in a nap while she was in there.

“Is there any room in all that left for me?”

“Rochelle!” Dora lit up at the sight of Rochelle’s bright green eyes and even brighter smile. She pulled her into a fervently tight hug. Dora hadn’t seen her since the night the LU trashed the bar, and in the wake of all that had happened, she forgot how much she missed her best friend. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you back, things have been crazy busy around here.”

Rochelle looked around at some of the unfinished parts of the bar—the bullet holes in the barshelf, the hole in the wall leading to restrooms—she seemed amused. “Yeah, I can see that. I leave you alone and everything goes to shit.”

Dora suppressed a laugh. “Why are you here?”

Rochelle’s forehead puckered but there was a smirk on her lips. “What the hell do you mean, ‘why am I here?’ I’m here to make certain I still have a job! The Alibi’s hosted three crime scenes within the last fucking year, two of those within the last bloody month—and I really mean bloody now, Dee. It’s been totally trashed. I heard from Holly that you sold the fucking place.”

“I didn’t sell it. I mortgaged it.”

“Dee, I don’t know what difference that makes here in the states... I don’t even know what to think. You haven’t called, you haven’t texted.”

“I’m so sorry, Rochelle. And of course you still have a job. Honestly, I just couldn’t find a minute...” Just thinking of all the distractions lately made her head spin. Applying for the loans, dealing with vendors and licensing, looking for cheap contractors, then all the renovation work, both what I have to oversee and what I have to do myself. And to top it all, Red Hood stopping by and causing a swirling wake of... feelings... and disappearing. Now that she thought of it, Dora realized what she really needed all this time was a friend, a confidante. She needed Rochelle.

“Wow, Dora,” Rochelle said, concern etching on her face as she studied her. “You really look like you need to relax.”

A bitter laugh broke out of Dora. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Rochelle hugged her tightly, and it took all of Dora’s self-control not to break out crying.

“Do you need help with anything?” Rochelle asked, rubbing her shoulder.

“Not really...” Dora looked around the barroom—at the floors, the furniture, the fixings—the hole still in the wall. There wasn’t much left that she or anyone else unskilled could do that the contractors couldn’t do better or quicker. She and Red Hood had taken care of all the small stuff last night.

“Well, the place is going to look better. Nevermind the shit that happened in here, it was due for an update anyway,” Rochelle said looking around. “You got new pool tables, I see.”

“Yeah, they cost me $3,000. Each.” Dora walked over to the nearby wall and flicked a switch, turning on the lamps hanging over the tables. Those were $75 each.

“Red felt?” Rochelle touched the fabric on top of one of the tables, her eyebrow arched.

“Figured it was a refreshing change from the usual green.”

“Is that all?” she asked with a knowing smirk. “Why not black or blue or purple?”

It didn’t occur to Dora why she had picked red felt over the other colors until just now. “It... matches the bricks.” She gestured at the walls. She didn’t feel too badly about the pool tables, knowing that they were a safe investment. Having two new and balanced pool tables with fresh untorn felt and a full set of balls would certainly attract customers. Especially here in Crime Alley, where the denizens liked to wager on everything. Her brain then began to whir thinking of the possibilities—if she struck a deal with a bookie and got two or three flat screens, maybe they could bring in a bit more customers... The cellar was a perfect place to host poker games... but she was getting ahead of herself. Would her father have approved of the Alibi becoming an underground casino?

“Yikes,” Rochelle eyeing Dora’s brain blast with concern. “It’s obvious you need to unwind a bit, so why don’t we play a game of 8-ball?” She didn’t wait for an answer and racked up. A game of rock-paper-scissors let Dora break. She made a solid in, so she lined up another shot. While she did that, Rochelle asked, “So this Red Hood guy...”

Dora’s cue hit the felt. She cursed. This game was meant to calm her down. “What about him? He’s the reason we’re in this mess, isn’t he?” She shot again but didn’t score.

“Oh, cut the act,” Rochelle said. “Holly told me everything.”

Dora pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. “Then there’s no point in me telling you.”

Rochelle took her shot. It went wide, but she didn’t seem to care. “I know what happened, Dee, but not how you felt about it.”

Being honest with herself, Dora felt like she was dying to see Red Hood again. She was anxious to hear his voice, to talk to him. Red Hood had hinted that he had grown up on Park Row like her, so she wanted to know who he was—his name, if they had met before—she was almost certain she had. But just as much... she wanted to see his face and his body again, and run her hands all over him—and she wanted his hands, his lips, and whatever else all over her body too. However, she was wary because she had been drunk at the time... and horny. It had been years since she was last intimate with a man and Red Hood stirred something within her that she was having trouble holding back.

She told as much to Rochelle, in less direct words.

“Wow, you’re really smitten, aren’t you?” Rochelle said.

“Smitten?” Dora wasn’t sure what she meant.

“I think you might be falling for this guy.”

Dora couldn’t deny that she was physically attracted to him, and interested in his identity, but... was she attracted to him emotionally? “How can I be? I don’t even know his name. I haven’t really seen his face. We’ve spent no time together.”

“There’s more behind the mask, behind the guns, and behind all the killing, Dee, and I think you know that,” Rochelle led Dora over to the window, careful not to let the contractors overhear. “There’s a who and a why under that red bucket, and it’s vibing with your who and why—name and face be damned.”

“You think so?”

“I ship it. I’m on board SS Red Hood x Dora,” Rochelle said with a smile. “When are you going to see him again?”

“I have no idea. We didn’t really get a chance to swap phone numbers or anything like that. I don’t have a bat-signal or anything like that to summon him. He just kinda... drops by whenever I need help.”

“Note to self, find a red searchlight.” Rochelle laughed. “Oh, and speaking of dropping by.”

The front door chimed as a tall old woman walked into the Alibi. Leslie Thompkins. There was a hard expression on her face that Dora was not used to seeing.

“Leslie? What are you doing here?” Dora went to greet her.

“I was passing by on my way to the clinic and I saw the construction. I was afraid you had sold the place until I heard you talking. Did I hear that right, Dora? Are you involved with the Red Hood?”

For a second, Dora was incredulous that she had been overheard, then she noticed that the window she and Rochelle were standing by had no panes on it. “I, uh...” Leslie’s glare of disapproval was scorching. It was precisely why Dora hadn’t told her mother, to avoid the same judgement.

“I’ll go tell the guys about this window,” Rochelle said, walking off. Dora looked at her desperately, urging her to stay with just the expression on her face, but Rochelle just mouthed, “Sorry.”

“Dora, what are you thinking? He’s a criminal. A murderer!”

“Leslie, listen, he’s not like that. He helped me out a few times—”

“Helped? How? By killing people?”

“It was self-defense,” Dora pointed out.

“Then why does he avoid the police? Why does he wear a mask? Would your bar be this demolished if it weren’t for him?!”

“I nearly died. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” she said, trying not to raise her voice. “He didn’t trash the bar, the the cartel did. Red Hood’s done nothing but help me.”

Leslie gripped the strap of her bag tightly. “At what cost, Dora?”

“What do you mean, it cost me nothing!” But as soon as she said that, a jolt of realization struck her.

Red Hood originally wanted 15% off her total revenue, but after he sold the cocaine Carla had been running, she was off the hook. How come she never thought of it before? The “cost” had literally been flooding Gotham with drugs, even if it was to bougie brats on the Upper West Side. As much as Leslie had a soft spot for low-income minorities, Dora wasn’t about to tell her that.

“Dora, think about what you’re doing,” Leslie urged. “Is the survival of this bar really worth getting in bed with a crime lord? Think of your family.”

With that last remark suspended in the air, Leslie left the bar, leaving Dora with a sinking feeling in her chest that was getting heavier by the second. Leslie couldn’t possibly know the truth, but her choice of words caused a thought to occur to Dora. What did Red Hood really want from her? Did he really care about her, or was his affection just a front? Was he seducing her so she would comply with his racket? With men, he had no choice but to use force and bribery to get his way, but with women... all he really needed was his charisma. Was she the only female business owner in Park Row he had wooed?

[v0.3.15.1]

[dalsethel]

Hybrid: first bit

So... figured i’d post this here. I’m an amateur writer, and i honestly wasn’t sure where else to put it. @probablyhybridrpgideas, HERE IT IS!

All was quiet in my room. The predawn darkness was comforting, as were the sheets wrapped around my body. Then, my alarm clock went off. No matter how low I turned the damn things volume it always made my ears feel like they were on fire. Blessings of being an elf. I glared at the red numbers for a second before slamming my hand on the off button. Something looked off about my arm, but I couldn't quite place it. I dragged myself out of bed slowly, reluctant to leave the warm covers. It was winter, and i’d made the dumbass choice to not put on pjs after my evening shower. The cold air gave me goosebumps everywhere. I walked over to my dresser, pulling out a set of undies, not caring if the pieces matched. No one would see anyways. I noticed the dim light catching strangely all the way down my outer thigh and shin. Quickly fastening my bra in place, I walked over and turned my rooms light on. Darkvision can only do so much. It took a painful second for my eyes to adjust, and when they did… I was expecting that maybe i’d somehow gotten soap dried on to my leg, or that i was just imagining things. I was not expecting to have grown a thin coating of blueish-silver scales on my legs. I gasped and stumbled back, no idea what i was hoping to accomplish. Then I saw my arms. The scales covered the back of my hands and my forearms like a pair of gloves, continuing up to my shoulders, leaving the flesh closest to my torso exposed. I slowly turned and looked at my full body mirror. The scales covered about as much as video game female armor. I could have walked around buck naked and just looked like I was wearing a skimpy jumpsuit. Scales traced my brow, the ridge of my nose, my eyelids, thinner, more translucent ones coating my cheeks and forehead. My eyes were the same silver they’d always been, but the pupils were like triangles pointing down. I couldn't help it. “MOOOOOOOM!?”

A few minutes later I was downstairs, sitting across the table from my mom, holding a mug of hot chocolate. “Oh Brei… where do I begin? I mean, i'm sure you might have figured bits of it out but… Corellon, I never thought this would happen.” My mom sighed. I had actually figured a bit out. I’d never known my dad. Mom had always said he’d been stronger than any elf, and that wanderlust had taken him from us. “Argentum was… he was a dragon. Not the kind you tend to read about in stories, the ones that always hurt and hoard and burn. He was a metallic. A silver. His kind protect us from the chromatics.” I could feel my stomach churn just a little bit. It was one thing with a human, but how would you… I mean, the size… and they were like, animals…

“How…?’’ I gestured helplessly.

“When we met he was in a different form. He looked just like any other elf. He remained that way until he left.” That… sorta explained it. “Brei, I know you’re confused. Anyone with unusual heritage is when they find out. I wasn’t expecting this to happen either. You showed no signs for so long… but that doesnt mean I wasn't prepared. How do you feel about getting your ears pierced?” I stared at her. Where did that come from?

“Uh… sure? I mean, i’m good with it but… why?” I internally facepalmed. I can talk just fine upstairs, but everything that comes out of my mouth… just... grr. Speaking of my mouth… something felt off there too.

My mom chose that moment to start talking again. “I had an earring made to hide any potential… beauty marks. I figured if they happened you would like to keep them hidden until you got adjusted.” The words didn't really register. I was too busy feeling out my mouth with my tongue. The tongue itself felt thinner, rougher, more maneuverable. I was also fairly certain my teeth were sharper. All of them, not just my canines. I stuck out my tongue, cringing a little bit at the long, forked sliver of flesh that came out. More came out than I intended and I quickly retracted it. Some deep part of me wondered what Val would think. “Brei, hello? Anyone home?” I quickly looked up at my mom. She looked extra concerned. “I saw that look. You’re worried about something.” She stared into my eyes, the emerald green seeming to expand slightly. “Anything or anyONE you want to tell me about?” I winced. Val and I had been dating three months and I had yet to tell mom we were anything more than friends. Damn mom radar.

“Well… you know Val, the drow i’ve brought over a couple of times? We’re… sorta…” She looked at me with slight disapproval. “Dating.” She stared at me witheringly and I shrunk back in my seat.

“Brei… you know our kinds relationship with drow. They slaughtered us by the THOUSANDS! Being friends is one thing but DATING!?” I shrunk back further. Suddenly her expression softened, the anger slipping away to reveal a slight smile. “Well, if that doesn't testify changing times, I don't know what does.” Waves of confusion washed over me. She was ok with it? But what was the…? Oh.

“Mom… you really need to stop messing with me like that. No-one finds it funny but you.” She smiled unrepentantly. I glared at her, feeling my eyes adjust in ways they hadn't before. She refused to back down, instead casually looking at the clock.

“Well, if you don't want to be any later to school, you best get dressed and let me take care of your ear.” She moved her hand through the motions of a conjuration and a slim needle of energy appeared. I stood and walked over. She stood and turned my head sideways before gently slipping the needle through my earlobe. I felt her slip the stud in, felt the slight tingle of illusion magic wash over me. It felt cold and vaguely wet. Mom smiled at me. “I decided to leave the eyes. Now, go get dressed, unless you want to make a major fashion statement at school.” I looked down at the mismatched graphic shirt and sweatpants i’d put on. Val had bought me the shirt as a joke. “My girlfriend worships Lolth” was emblazoned in red paint over the black cloth, replete with a graphic of an elven profile.  I cringed internally. That probably tipped off the relationship to mom. I needed somewhere different to put that. I ran upstairs and pulled out some jeans. I looked in the mirror. The shirt fit nicely. It would probably look good with my leather jacket.... I decided to keep it on, quickly changing into the jeans and grabbing said jacket. What a rebel I was. I looked over at the mirror, making sure the earring worked fully. Just as mom said, it left the eyes untouched. I quickly grabbed a comb and straightened out my hair- which, now that I knew about my heritage, the blue color made a little more sense- put on some socks and my boots and raced downstairs.

There was a slight uneasiness in the car as we drove to my school. I could tell mom was worried, probably thinking about how I might be judging her life choices. She worries about stuff like that despite being a couple centuries old. Last month was her 250th birthday, a big thing for us elves. 150 years of being considered a full adult isn't anything to sniff at. Granted, legally we’re adults at 18, same as everyone else, but the old traditions still apply in most circles. As we pulled up to the drop off point, she sighed. “Be careful Brei. We don't know what else has changed. Worst comes to worst… try not to land yourself a murder or assault charge.” I looked at her. She was genuinely worried about me accidentally killing someone? No matter how strong you are, it’s hard to kill someone accidentally without the use of a weapon or magic, and both of those were hard to use accidentally. Granted, in the case of the latter, sorcerers were a thing that happened every now and then. Was she implying i might be a sorcerer? “Brei, it’s not getting any earlier.” Oh shit.

“Oh, right, byemomiloveyou!” I practically flew out the car door and up to the school doors. Ooh… flying… I was part dragon, maybe i’d develop wings. Wait a minute, since when was I getting used to this? And wouldn't having wings make getting dressed and stuff kinda hard? I pushed the door open and went into the front office. A human teen with dusky skin was manning the time stamp. He looked over at me, clearly bored.

“Third period.” he stamped a pass and handed it to me. I nodded to him and ran towards the F- section of the school. The school is pretty well organized. Each section was a letter of the alphabet, A on the east side of the school through F on the west side, 100’s on bottom, 200’s on top. Third period was an elective for me, Gods in our Time. It mostly went over the ways all the ancient gods like Lolth and Corellon had changed since the middle ages. Today we were supposed to cover the circumstances of the treaty drow had made with everyone else- which happened recently enough that there were black and white photographs of all three of the gods involved. I made it to the end of the hall, made a right turn, and flung open the door, just as the start of class bell rang. Val was sitting in her usual spot at the back of the class, keeping a spot open. I quickly took it. She looked at me oddly.

“Why’re you in such a rush? More importantly, where were ya this morning? I didn’ see ya in the library.” She had the oddest drawl, probably from watching too many westerns. I personally found it cute, but some of the teachers found it annoying. I looked at her.

“I uh… had some family stuff to take care of. Sorry I missed our usual meetup.” She narrowed her eyes at me- quite a vibrant shade of purple- before relaxing.

“Jus’ don't do it again, ‘less it’s important stuff.” She smiled warmly- not easy for a drow to pull off.

[batmanvillainswithcircularheads]

Hey do you wanna know what I thought of Batman: The Telltale Series? No? Well here it is.

Season 1

Not a huge fan of this Bat symbol. It’s not awful though. And Batman’s ears are a liiiiiiiiiiittle too short.

I’ve heard some people say they don’t like Troy Baker as Batman, but I think he does a perfectly fine job.

It’s neat that the game lets you choose the color of Batman’s equipment, though I think blue is really the only color that works for it. Also it seems a little weird that everything Batman owns glows. There’s a moment where he grapples up a stairwell and the levels of the building light up as he passes through them. Doesn’t seem very stealthy for what’s supposed to be a method of escape.

The visuals in this game are good. The animation can be a little stiff at times, but nothing too bad. The cell shading’s cool.

Batman calling Alfred “Al” is weird. Why does he do this? I do not like this.

Catwoman is really good in this. I like her involvement in the story. I like her and Batman. I like her voice. I like her costume, though the material seems kinda bland; I like it when Catwoman’s costume is a bit shinier. That gadget she has that lets her slide up walls is cool, I’ll be damned if I know how it works though.

Not a huge fan of Batman scrambling his voice. It’s not huge, and I get why it makes sense for him to do it, but I just don’t like it. There are a lot of times Batman has more personal conversations with people and having him talk through a machine in situations like that makes it feel kind of distant, like he’s hiding behind it. I prefer it when Batman just speaks in two different voices as Bruce and as Batman. Hell, Troy Baker’s surely got the vocal range for that; He’s Troy Baker.

It took me forever to realize what it was I didn’t like about Gordon’s design, and that’s that his mustache is too thin.

Harvey Dent is good in this. Would have preferred his hair be black though. And why is he so tall? Bruce looks like a dwarf standing next to him. I do really like how they build up Harvey and Bruce’s friendship in this. Seeing him try to fight his own transformation, and regret what he does as “Two-Face” immediately after he does it, is genuinely saddening.

Vicki Vale could have been a good character if they hadn’t wasted her on a twist. Having to choose between giving the evidence on Falcone to her or to Gordon was interesting. It would have been nice to see that carry out through the whole game. Also when are we gonna get redhead Vicki Vale?

The design for Oswald Cobblepot is... different. I guess it’s fine since he’s supposed to be him when he’s younger. Still, he’s pretty much gonna have to change every single thing about his appearance in order to actually end up looking like his old self. The bird-beak gas mask is clever. I kind of like that the “Penguin” persona starting off as a way for Oswald to commit crimes while keeping his own name clean. Personality-wise he’s good. By the end of the game he’s an absolute bastard and all you want to do is beat the shit out of him, which is about what the Penguin should be. Him being childhood friends with Bruce Wayne seemed a little weird and didn’t really add much to his character or the story. It’s a little Roman Sionis-y.

Actually hold on a second here the Penguin in this game is actually just Black Mask  - childhood friend of Bruce Wayne’s  - hates the Waynes because of what they stand for  - “legitimate businessman” who creates a masked alter-ego to commit crimes I’m not even complaining about that it’s just kind of weird.

Batman having white lenses in his cowl is interesting and it makes sense. I don’t really like it or dislike it.

The Waynes murder twist is what really kills this thing. It’s such a huge change to Batman’s origin just for the sake of a twist. The whole time through I was hoping they’d reveal that all of the evidence was fabricated, and when they introduced Falcone’s drugs I was holding out on the hope that they were somehow influencing Bruce’s memory, as contrived as that would be. Bruce revisiting his parents’ murder seems forced. I get that people block out memories sometimes, but apparently all Bruce had to do to remember the entire conversation that happened while his parents were being repeatedly shot was to think real hard about it. Has he never thought real hard about it before? Didn’t Bruce try to investigate his parents’ murder after it happened?

Bruce’s car turning into the Batmobile is dope. Wouldn’t work for most versions of the Batmobile, but since this is early in Batman’s career and the Batmobile is pretty close to a regular car, it works. The color-changing is great too. 10/10 Batmobile would like to see again.

I’m not really fond of Batman using such advanced technology like drones, a forensic scanner built into his glove, and lenses that let him plan out his moves in advance, so early on in his career. Like I get that Bruce is gonna have a lot of technology at his disposal, and it’d be stupid of him not to use it, but when it’s early in his career I prefer seeing him not have everything built up so much and having to rely more on what he can make on his own. Like it’d be one thing if he were just occasionally re-purposing some Waynetech inventions but these things look like they’ve been specifically made for Batman. The damned things are even shaped like bats.

I like the idea of Martha Wayne organizing special screenings of The Mark of Zorro whenever Bruce wanted to see it. That’s sweet.

The choice of whether or not to save Harvey is a pretty obvious one to include, but having it be a choice brings up some weird questions. If you save Harvey, he still ends up becoming “Two-Face,” so it’s not like you’re actually saving him from a life of crime. It seems like he was doomed from the start. Does Harvey’s face ever become disfigured in that timeline then? Does he just go on to have a lengthy criminal career as Two-Face, without actually having two faces?

Hey Blockbuster sure is a character who is in this and sure does look the way he does in this and that’s just about all that can be said about him

So if you save Selina, she’ll show up to the hospital with flowers, then change her mind, give you the flowers, and you walk into the hospital with flowers for Harvey. If you save Harvey, Selina doesn’t show up at the hospital at all, and you visit Harvey... with the flowers. Where did you get the flowers from, if not Selina? If Bruce bought the flowers himself, then why didn’t he also buy them in the timeline where he saved Selina? He didn’t know Selina was going to be there to give him flowers, so why did he show up without flowers? I feel like this would have been a good opportunity for the game to go, “hey look at that, your choices really do change things!” by having him not have the flowers if you save Harvey.

Where did Selina get that tank top from? She wasn’t wearing it when she took off her suit. It’s not like they’re opposed to showing partial nudity in this game; we saw Selina without a shirt earlier on, and we got a whole walking simulator of a half-naked Bruce. If they really wanted to have Selina be more covered up they could have had her put on the tank top after she woke up. Did she have sex with Bruce, put the tank top on when they were done, then fall asleep?

Meeting Joker in Arkham and seeing a glimpse of who he would become was cool.

I don’t really like Zsasz’s voice.

Batman comforting the Vale kid was a good moment.

Penguin’s monocle looks kind of silly. It’s a nice nod to his regular monocle, I guess.

Harvey’s arm catching on fire when you jam his gun is kind of overkill. The flames really burned through that much clothing and did that much damage to his arm and leg in that short an amount of time? Like give it a rest he already has two faces.

Why do grapple guns need to be connected to a computer?

The flashback to Bruce and Oz as kids is kind of weird. Didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know. Didn’t make me feel anything for Bruce and Oz’s friendship since I didn’t really care in the first place.

Oh no Commissioner Grogan doesn’t like me I wonder if this is gonna cause any tension going forward oh wait he’s dead now and we made up how sad

Y’know, Harvey’s “Two-Face” voice sounds real silly when his face isn’t disfigured.

“Cobblepot” slapped over the ”Wayne” in Wayne Enterprises in Comic Sans is golden.

heheh, Fal-Coney Island

I had forgotten Selina was in the game until that last part with her. It was a good sendoff though.

Using the reflection in Alfred’s glasses to find clues about the room he’s being kept in is clever. I like it.

The armored Batsuit is dope. The classic Batsuit is also dope.

“Blue... the same color as my tech. It can’t be a coincidence.” Yes Bruce it absolutely goddamn could.

Vicki already had a perfectly sound motivation for doing what she did, did we really have to learn her adoptive parents were abusive too?

I keep forgetting Vicki can levitate. Probably because she only does it twice in the whole game. You’d think she’d do it a little bit more given how useful it is. It’s kind of over-powered honestly. How does it work? Is it the same technology as her staff? Where did she get that from? What does it have to do with her character? Why doesn’t Batman start using stuff like this?

So if you choose the option that gets Alfred’s eye blown out of his head, he has an eyepatch. So throughout the rest of Batman’s career Alfred’s gonna be a guy with an eyepatch. Having an eyepatch is now Alfred’s thing in this world. Either that or Bruce gets a little bit of his ear blown off, which is less egregious but still kind of weird... still that shit’s gonna heal up the second he meets Ra’s al Ghul.

So if you go as Bruce Wayne, Bruce makes a speech, and if you go as Batman, Batman talks to Jim for a hot minute before the speech happens... so Bruce could have still made his speech. You didn’t have to choose between going as Bruce and going as Batman. Sure, Batman swoops in to save Jim once Random Attacker with No Motivation #389 drives a truck into Jim, but Batman had no idea that was going to happen, and he would have saved the day even if he went as Bruce.

“Oh boy, it’s gonna be tough to top that!” John he pushed someone out of the way of a truck it’s the least impressive thing that’s happened in this entire game.

The real shame about this game is that it didn’t need to have all of these twists to be “new” and “different.” There have been plenty of stories that focus on Batman’s early days, but this one was different in that it was a video game that had you go through his early days step-by-step, instead of just having it be the backdrop for a regular Batman adventure. Splitting things up pretty much 50/50 between your life as Batman and your life as Bruce Wayne is also pretty rare for a video game. Hell, the simple fact that this is a Batman game done in the Telltale style sets it apart from other Batman games in and of itself. They didn’t need to make Thomas Wayne a criminal, make Vicki Vale a terrorist who’s actually an Arkham, or even make Penguin Bruce’s childhood friend. This game was good enough without those, and would have been better off if they weren’t there.

Season 2 Episode 1

Haha what the fuck they made a sequel?

The Riddler in this looks baaaad. The hood just doesn’t work. I feel like it’s an attempt to make him look more “realistic,” but isn’t it more realistic for someone to wear a bowler hat with a suit than to have a suit where the jacket has a hood? When he first shows up at the casino he looks so out of place with his hood up. Bowler hats may be kind of flashy, but real people do wear them. It’s not like it’s to hide his identity, since he doesn’t seem concerned with hiding who he is, and the game goes out of its way to have his hood get knocked off in every encounter anyway. The hook on his cane is clever, but hacking and slashing at people doesn’t seem very Riddler. Him being a villain from back in Thomas Wayne’s days bothers me too. It means his career reached its peak before Batman was even around. He’s hardly a Batman villain then, just a Gotham City villain whose last fight happened to be against Batman. And then he dies.

New Batsuit looks good. I didn’t dislike the old one but I like this one a lot more.

Riddler tells Batman “you’re supposed to be the world’s greatest detective.” Would Batman really have already gained that reputation at this point?

Gordon’s mustache is bigger. I like it.

Seeing Bruce doing Batman work at rich people events is fun, though the “I’m looking for new thrills” excuse can only work so many times.

Hey, Amanda Waller’s in this.

Interested to see where Alfred’s condition is gonna go. I hope he’s okay. I hope they don’t kill him for shock value like everyone else in this series

Tiffany is annoying. She’s every “young genius” character.

Killing Lucius was stupid and needless.

“Please tell me you didn’t put him in danger.” “We didn’t know there was any danger.” “How dare you!” Well fine then Tiffany I’ll choose the Lie option then. The fact that you can do everything else right but telling Tiffany the truth will cause her to hate you is dumb.

So does no one else notices that Joke- John Doe’s skin is white and hair is green?

All of Riddler’s puzzles and the way Batman solves them are pretty clever.

Seems weird that the game gives you the option to let the other three agents die to save Avesta. Even if Avesta were to die, ti’d still be one death as opposed to three, and if you want to save Avesta it’d still be objectively better to let her take the first two sonic blasts, then choose her over the other agent for the third riddle since either way one person would die (not that the third riddle matters in the end, since Batman ends up breaking out before that). Yeah that causes Avesta to go deaf, but going deaf is still better than dying. It seems like an obvious choice given Batman’s morals.

So we get to fuck Agent Avesta, right?

Season 2 Episode 2

Bane’s tattoos look bad. And when his veins turn green they overlap with the tattoos, so it looks even worse. His goatee sticking out of his mask looks stupid too. The rest of him’s fine. I like his voice.

i’m getting tired of every introduction to Bane having him do the back-break pose, then not breaking Batman’s back. I get that you can’t do the whole Knightfall arc when you’ve got your own story to tell, but if Bane’s not gonna break Batman’s back then don’t bother teasing it.

That one purple button on John Doe’s vest is annoying and out of place. i hate it.

They’re kind of pushing this whole “John is obsessed with Bruce” thing a little too hard. It was fine having them interact in Arkham but now it seems like they’re using John’s fixation on Bruce as a stand-in for Joker’s fixation on Batman, instead of just having him be fixated on Batman in the first place. Really Bruce’s involvement with the villains in general is getting to be a little too much. Bruce interacting with white collar criminals in a sort of shady-business setting is one thing, but now he’s hanging around with full-on supervillains.

The “LOL WOULDN’T IT BE CRAZY IF BRUCE AND JOHN WERE GAAAAY” jokes are cringey please stop forever.

It seems like in this Joker is the one trying to impress Harley and Harley is the one who’s pushing Joker around. And instead of Joker turning Harley into what she is, she just decided to dress up like the biker version of a court jester and commit crimes using a sledgehammer because her dad died... as you do. So why then am I supposed to feel bad for Harley? Normally it’s because she was in an abusive relationship, but now she’s the abuser. If anything I should feel bad for Joker... who apparently is becoming the Joker... because of Harley? God this is like a fanfiction. And if Joker ever does end up being the one who manipulates Harley, why the hell should I care? If anything she deserves it since she was the one who started manipulating him. There are plenty of stories where Harley manages to pull one over on Joker, and they work because Harley’s getting payback for what Joker did to her. In this, she’s the one who started this whole thing. All of this is her fault. Honestly, fuck her.

Outside of that, Harley’s kind of annoying but she’s not awful. She’s got a few “Wouldn’t it be just QUIRKY if I did something really inconveniencing right now?” moments.

Bruce letting John and Harley into Wayne Enterprises is just reckless. It’s bad enough on its own, but when Harley starts physically threatening and putting her hands on his employees then good god he shouldn’t be letting this happen anymore. The whole thing is just irritating to watch.

Y’know, Bruce really oughta change up all of the secrets in his office if Penguin knows about them and is telling other criminals.

At this point Tiffany is just here to be an inconvenience.

I feel like they could have worked Matches Malone into this story, instead of having Bruce pretty much become a criminal.

Fries’ suit is pretty good. It’s missing the dome though, you can’t have Fries without his dome. His glove that can freeze things by touching them is neat, but I still prefer the gun. I also don’t really like his voice. His characterization’s good though.

Fries sounds like he’s voiced by the guy who voices Skullface. He isn’t.

I like Harley a lot more when she’s being more sincere instead of trying to be the most annoying person in the room.

Do... do we get to fuck Harley? I don’t know if I wanna fuck Harley. Or rather, I don’t know if I want Bruce to fuck Harley.

I don’t really like all the villains already being in full-on “villain mode” already. It seems like they just popped up out of nowhere, already established and organized. I wanna see how these people become supervillains, not just have them pop onto the scene in full costume, ready to start their life of crime. The only one who seems like he’s still in a sort of early stage is Joker, the one who would make the most sense to already be a full-on villain.

What’s the point in Bruce hiding his face during the heist if they’re going to call him by his name anyway?

Seeing Bruce try to reduce the deaths by beating up agents himself was cool.

Bruce seeing the Batsignal go up as he drives away with the villains, not able to do anything about it, is a good scene.

Interested to see what they do with Riddler’s dead body.

Hey look, Catwoman’s back.

Might add more when future episodes come out

[jolienjoyswriting]

Mortem In Contumeliam FFVI, Prelude

The prologue chapter of "Mortem In Contumeliam Final Fantasy VI," a Final Fantasy VI fan fiction story (duh). (Formerly "Nova Fabula Final Fantasy VI")

Welcome to something I've been diligently working on for a little over half a month!

I've been in a Final Fantasy kind of mood, lately.  It started when I played-and-beat Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII at the end of June.  I couldn't stop thinking about it and even started a New Game Plus session at the start of July… only to get distracted with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.  Shortly after, I looked into Final Fantasy Record Keeper and found that to be a lot of fun!  Revisiting scenarios from the games in a Final Fantasy VI style was pretty cool!  However, when I got into the Record Dungeon with actual Final Fantasy VI content… I got drawn back into the world of the game I abandoned way back in May. (Don't worry, I've beaten VI at least three times in my life.) Anyway, as the Imperial Mission to Narshe played out, I got a whimsical idea for a story that showed some interactions between the mind-controlled girl and the Imperial soldiers.  After getting that out of my system, I ended up liking the soldiers' personalities so much that I ended up with a new idea: "What if Wedge and Biggs hadn't been erased by Valigarmanda?  And, what if they, somehow, became involved in the journey of The Returners?"

That idea… is this story.  And, what a story it is!  You're gonna see quite a few updates for this one, before it's conclusion!

It's also worth mentioning that the in-production title for this story was simply "The Adventures of Wedge and Biggs." But, that sounded kinda lame. Also, just before September 1st of this year, I found out that Square-Enix already used the second title of this story, "Nova Fabula," in something of theirs – specifically, Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, the compilation of Final Fantasy XIII.  How.  Why.  If I thought, for a moment, that they had, I would've checked.  Now, I know better!! (I ain't mad…  I'm not.  I'm… jes' full'a surprise.)

Word count: 1,562 – Character count: 9,345 Originally written: July 15, 2019

Soldiers of the Gestahlian Empire invade Narshe in search of a frozen Eidolon… and, get more than they bargained for.

Final Fantasy VI, Wedge, Biggs, and related characters, scenarios, and properties created by Square Soft, Inc. and © Square Enix Co, Ltd.

[ ← Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter → ]

    “What the hell happened…?  Why does my head hurt…?  Biggs…?”     “Ugh… I don’t– I don’t know…  The last thing I remember was… was… a bright light?”

    In the deep recesses of a dank, cold cavern, two men were stirring.  They’d had a fairly rough encounter with an Eidolon which was supposed to be frozen and inert.  But, as the two found out… that just wasn’t the case.

    “Hey, Biggs…”     “Yes, Wedge?”     “Can… can you move?”     “Uh…  No, actually.”

    Eidolons – otherwise known as “phantom beasts” – were magical creatures of unfathomable power.  As the stories go, these creatures once co-existed with humanity over a thousand years prior.  But, man’s lust for power brought that to a screeching halt…

    “Biggs?”     “What?”     “I… think we’re tied up.”     “Y… yeah…”

    The Great Magic War, also known as “The War of the Magi,” brought chaos to the planet.  Many creatures, both-man-and-beast, perished during the wars and the planet was almost brought to a point of irreversible destruction.  But, in the end… the beasts were beaten back and hid away in a pocket dimension accessible only through one specific location…  Sealing themselves away, life went on the separate species and, after a few hundred years… the planet recovered.

    “Wh-why are we tied up…?  Do you remember?”     “I told you… the last thing I remember was–”     “Partner…?”     “What, now?”     “Where’s… our armor?”     “Our what– wait.  Where is our Magitek Powered Anti-Personnel Armor?”

    One day, many years later… a human woman had lost her way during an unnaturally-violent storm.  Displaced, confused, and fatigued, she collapsed within a cave to hide from the weather.  When she awoke… she saw herself surrounded by creatures of folklore!  As it happened, she’d managed to stumble her way into the Eidolons’ World!

    “No, Biggs.  No.  I mean, where’s our armor-armor?”     “What…?  H-hey…  Wedge?”     “Yeah, partner?”     “Why are we only wearing our shorts…?”     “That’s what I’m sayin’!!  What the hell?!”

    There, the woman known as Madeline told her story to whoever would listen.  None seemed interested… except for one particular being.  Madin, the creature who had found her, listened with great interest.

    “Hey, move your arm.”     “What?  Uh… alright?”     “Yeah, yeah– no-no-no, not that way!”     “I’m not deaf, Wedge.  You don’t have to yell.”     “L-look, just… kind of shimmy.  Yeah, like that.”     “I don’t understand, but–”     “Aaand… there!”

    Madeline explained that she was disgusted by the greed and selfishness of mankind.  She tried running as far as her legs would take her, desperate to separate herself the worst of humanity.  By the end of her story, Madin had become infatuated with her… and, before long, the feeling was mutual.  Not long after, the two defied the very tales that both man and beast had told over the ages…  They brought unto the world a child of mixed heritage.

    “I’ll… be damned.”     “Pretty cool, huh?  I learned that one from a book!”     “Huh.  I guess you’re not as incompetent as I thought.”     “Yeah, heh heh– heeey…”     “Now, get the rest of these ropes untied.  We need to find someplace warmer…”     “You’re getting all chicken-skinned, too, huh?  Heh.”     “Just… untie us, already.”

    Half-Eidolon, half-human, the child was unlike anything anyone had seen, before…  By simply existing, the mixed child proved the legends wrong – humans and Eidolons could co-exist!  And, as the days passed, even the most skeptical of Eidolon had to admit… maybe, they were wrong about the girl.  But, one day, two years after the child’s birth… tragedy struck.

    “Um… uh… partner?”     “W-what…?”     “Remember how I said I learned that trick from a book?”     “Yeah…?”     “Weeell… I… never actually finished reading that book.     “W… what.”     “Yeeaaah… I’m not really sure what to do next?  So, uh…”     “Gods damn it, Wedge, you’re useless.”

    On a stormy day, not unlike the day when Madeline was found, human invaders had located the entrance to the Eidolons’ World… and, they had a mission: capture all of the magical creatures and bring them back to the human world for experimentation!

    “Okay, okay, I think I… yeah– yeah, there we go!”     “Wedge…”     “I’m free, Biggs!  Uh, Biggs…?  Where’d you–”     “Behind you.”     “Whoa!  Wait.  Where?”     “Behind you, still.”     “What?  Biggs, now’s not the time for games, partner!  Where are you?!”     “Behind.  You.  Somehow, you tied me to your back.”     “I… oh.  I thought I was just weak from hunger, hah!  Welp… let’s get goin’!”

    As a regiment of soldiers led by Emperor Gestahl, himself, took prisoners and killed those who wouldn’t submit, the elder of the village decided that desperate actions became necessary.  Using all of his energy, he cast a powerful incantation, expelling the invaders!

    “Do you even know where we’re going…?”     “Nope!  I just figure… if I head toward the light, we’ll get outta here, eventually!”     “That’s… not entirely unsound.  Are you sure you wouldn’t rather let me down, though?”     “Nah, this is great for my leg muscles!  Girls love a guy with huge calves!”     “You’re an idiot…”     “But, I’m your idiot.  Heh.”     “For-better-or-worse… I wouldn’t have it any other way, Wedge.”

    Every last human had been expelled from the magical realm and impenetrable doors had sealed them away from further intrusion from the outside world!  But, in casting his conjuration… the child of mixed heritage managed to get swept up in the enchanted wind.  Madeline chased after the babe, then Madin after Madeline.  By the time they realized what had happened… they were trapped in the human world.  But, to make matters worse… the person who had invaded was holding their child in his arms.

    “G-g-geez��!  It’s even colder, out here!  H-how do p-p-people live like this…?!”     “B… by staying inside a-and wearing more than a pair of boxer sh-shorts… obviously…”     “Never mind that… I found the trail down to th-the city…  Man, I hope n-no one recognizes us…”     “W-worst-case-scenario… they’ll just think w-we’re a traveling circus a-act.”     “Ya… haa… think so?  Man, you’re heavy…”     “Well, what would y-you think if you saw two nearly-naked, strong-looking men tied together with some rope?”     “Heh heh.  Heh-heh-heh…  Heh heh.”     “Get that thought o-out of your head.”     “Sorry.  Heh.”     “Just… go.  We’ll find help, then be on our way back to Vector.  Hopefully…”

    Madeline begged and pleaded with the Emperor to return the child… but, Emperor Gestahl would not be moved.  In the end, he murdered the crying woman in cold blood and took the child, raising her as a weapon of war.  It was this very “living weapon” which was forced into a mission to find a frozen Eidolon, sixteen years later.

    “Hey, excuse me.  We seem t-to be lost…”     “My word!  What are you two?”     “W-we’re a traveling circus act, of course!  B-but, see…”     “You look half-frozen!  Goodness… come with me!  Quickly!”     “Th-thanks, lady…!  Y-you’re a real life-saver!”

  �� Narshe.  A city of cold steel and warm steam.  Built into the mountain range far to the north of the Kingdom of Figaro, the city was a technological marvel of the world.  Known for its heavy mining industry and weapon-smithing, the Empire tried, time-and-time-again, to pull it into its claws and use its resources in the bid for global supremacy.  But, each time it came up… the elder refused, preferring to stay neutral and help no one.  Needless to say, he was extremely shocked when a pair of troops showed up, wearing Magitek Powered Anti-Personnel Armor.  Even more surprising was the third member of their party, an innocent-looking girl wearing a crown of brass and controlling the element of fire… with her bare hands.

    “There you go.  This clothing should serve you well until you can get to South Figaro.”     “Thank you, ma’am.  If there is anything we can do for you–”     “Oh, think nothing of it!  After all, we at the House of New Beginnings believe in helping those who help themselves!  In doing so, we also hope to spread the message to others!”     “Indeed.  Your generosity is quite inspiring.  Isn’t that right, partner?”     “Can’t talk.  Eating.”     “Goodness, your friend certainly has an appetite!”     “The… uh, ‘circus…’ doesn’t exactly provide us with five-star food.”     “Hee!  Well, you’re always welcome, here!  Do take care!”     “Thank you.  Come on…”     “N-nooo, come back, soooup…”

    After slaughtering a small detachment of town militia and trained creatures, the soldiers – along with what people were calling a “witch” – made their way into the mines.  It was there that they slew the lightning-eating whelk called “Ymir,” then found the treasure the town had been hiding from the Empire: an Eidolon from ages past, fully-preserved and encased in ice!

    “So, we’re going back to Vector… just like that?”     “What other choice do we have, Wedge?  We failed in our mission.”     “Yeeaaah, about that…  What was our mission, again?  My head’s still fuzzy…”     “We were sent to Narshe, by the Empire, to locate and claim a… a… um…”     “Weapons cache?  Gems and gold?  Uh… five Gil for coffee?”     “Don’t be absurd!  We were sent to Narshe for… I… don’t remember what.”     “Well, whatever the case, it couldn’t have been too important if you can’t remember it!”     “Y… yeah… I guess so.”

    Just when it looked like the Empire was going to have its magical creature… the girl, who was supposed to be completely-and-totally under the mind-locking effects of the Puppeteer’s Wheel she wore… stepped forward.  Not long after, something happened – something that changed the course of everyone involved.     It is after those mysterious happenings… our tale begins.

[thegeminisage]

hella spoilery zeldablogging from earlier tonight

feel kind of bad cause i had to look up the gerudo maze desert thing but i was SOOO close on my own

oh my god there's a lady over here by this shrine failing at cooking and all the recipes she teaches me give me dubious food

there are PILES of rotting garbage that have flies around them and the thing in the pot is sending up this black cloud of smoke lmao

wow the blood moon came in the middle of me clearing out an enemy camp :/

good god there's a stable out here in all this deep snow? how?? would the horses not, like, die?

aww beedle's here but he's cold ):

WOW you can upgrade the boy gerudo clothes but not the GIRL ones? that is SEXIST

oh noooo shield surfing DOES damage your shield i hate this i love my current shield what if i can't find another!!!!!

lol the ridge tower si surrounded by water and electric enemies. Great

omg i found the royal lab ruins ):

ok, i gotta begin prioritizing here

while i'd LIKE to complete all 120 shrines before i beat the game just for the armor, i don't think that's going to be possible - i haven't even unlocked some of them yet bc i don't have the snowballs or the quest takes so long

but the most important thing to me is memories

so after i check out all the ridge shrines on this map i'm gonna get the hyrule field map as well and get those memories

and i'll just save a lot and if i fuck something up and trigger endgame stuff i'll reload

god idk how to do this trial on the thunderplanes so like...im gonna let it be

see? i could never do all 120 before tmrw night

PLEASE this memory i just got was so cute zelda was being a nerd over plants and caught a frog she wanted link to eat :')

i love this zelda like i'm super not crazy about her voice actress sounding much older than i think of her as, and the fantasy british accent, but she has so much more personality than many of the others

ah, and i see now why she loved the silent proncess so...can't be grown domestically, only thrives in the wild

much like herself if you watch some of the other memories haha she feels trapped by her own destiny that's easy to see

i think it's super clever how even with a map you still have to look around for shrines bc they are hidden semi-underground

and i wish i had more time to stop and enjoy the little things like that, but i CAN come back and explore later, i can't unlearn a plot point

this spoiler fear might be a little baseless...tbh i also want to finish the main story tho bc like

i want it to be something i play in my free time, not something i obsess over 24/7 and HAVE to play and think about all the time

it's been a beautiful fun and absolutely life-changing experience but also it's been two weeks and i gotta get back to my actual life, i can't be Like This indefinitely

i'm kinda stunned that it took me this ling tbh? like, even skyyward sword was like a week and a half the first time iirc and i did that at like, a pace where i could stop and explore, i remember thinking how huge skyward sword was

omg im so glad i decided to ride epona down to where i need to go next rather than fast travel + walk bc 1. faster maybe? and 2. THE MAIN THEME PLAYS WHEN YOU'RE ON EPONA OVER THE NORMAL HORSE THEME i could weep

KASS IS BY THIS BRIDGE HI BUDDY I LOVE YOU

i solved the puzzle! this time im talking to him BEFORE i go in

he told me it was stupendous ;_; thanks pal

aw dude another memeory and it played the trailer music but

is zelda really only SIXTEEN about to turn seventeen? how old is link?? i guess under 21/18 if they wouldn't let him drink...

jesus, they're just babies ;_;

also, she quoted link's horse advice so like

this + the dialogue options gives the feeling that he does actually speak, you know? so as much as i love mute link i also like these glimpses into his personality as well, bc he's always been such a blank slate

he's empathetic, playful, sometimes downright goofy, and very tenacious - confident, but not in a cocky way, and obviously always a bit shaken when he gets a memory back

it's nice getting to know him a bit, even if you have to patch most of it together - kinda like narrachara lol

;w; it's so nice to have epona gallop over when i call her again

omg i think i found kass's house! i see his journal :3

haha i got this song "when the blood moon rises stand naked on that platform" ok nintendo

i wonder if you get all the puzzles do you get to tell him who you are ):

im tempted to unlock this one now lol

like, it takes a long time to get here and it's almost the blood moon

SIGH this is gonna take awhile but it'll save me time later

oh lmao it was JUST the blood moon so i'd actually have to wait a SUPER long time nvm tbh

well. welp. welly well well

i guess.......its time for hyrule field tower

Im Scared

wow. holy shit. i can see the great plateau from here...and it looks so small. i can see the temple of time, i can see the tower from which i first saw hyrule castle. i can even see the little path i nearly followed, when catching sight of my first moblin and becoming curious, before i got myself back on track. damn. Damn. i have come FULL CIRCLE, holy shit

and like, it's just the way i played it. hyrule castle for last. but you know? i love that shit. journeys ending the way they began. gets me in the feels every time

i'll be honest, THIS i could really stop and explore. forget those awful snowy mountains. this is where the #history is

oh god. i see a guardian down near that tower. please god don't let it be a mobile one

FUCK

i saw two still ones and relaxed and a mobile one snuck up RIGHT FUCKING BEHIND ME

[wheezing]

i don't wanna stop and grind but i worry i might HAVE to get some guardian armor before i can do this, even just one piece...!

i have a diamond circlet so all i'd need from the prof is the chest and/or legs........oh god. jesus fuck

motherFUCKER the range on those still ones, i wish i had been able to take them out...!

oh jesus i made it

this is it. final tower. thank fuck

there'll be more guardians, way more. i gotta at least check and see if i can afford some arrows without setting myself back further for the armor

i think i had all the mats i needed actually i just needed cash...maybe i can cook to earn some since i sold my monster parts

k, i only have enough gears for the chest OR legs, and i don't have enough rupees for either... :/

i COULD buy some arrows and still have enough mats for the armor but then i'd be setting myself back HUGELY re: rupees

ok, i FINALLY got the chest, jesus, now i can go back to hyrule field

altho it doesnt have any def and without even going to the fountain i know i cant upgrade it so rly is it worth it at all, but w/e

also, i read online that if you can learn the timing of parrying their lasers they go down REALLY easily but i suck so much at combat

i guess i'll just wear my anti-guardian stuff, i have daruk and mipha's abilities and fairies AND FAST TRAVEL if anything goes wrong

YES i did it holy FUCK

oh my god! three-shotted!

oh

i just climbed a small hill and got my first look at the rolling green plains...i missed you

no, no, i gotta go get epona to make this perfect, there's a stable i can warp us both to

omg it's the very first people i ever encountered outside the great plateau again

NOOO i hit epona when i was aiming for a monster baby i'm sorry!!!

i gave her an apple and some pats to say sorry ;w;

"legend says that an ancient voice resonates inside that sword...can you hear it yet, hero?"

frankly i'm glad they finally got their timeline shit together bc even tho the games are SO far apart im LOVING these continuity nods

yeesh, only two memories left but they're both RIGHT at the castle...im scared LOL

): i wouldn't feel right taking epona any further

reasons i never have money: cannot physically stop myself from buying arrows

oh, hyrule field is just beautiful ;___;

ohh god im scared

its fine its fine they wouldnt put a memory that close to the castle and then make you go back to impa if hat wasnt POSSIBLE its gonna be ok

awww no zelda sees link as a living reminder of her own failures?? whyyy

ha i love fighting guardians for the first time in ages im like COME TO ME LET US BATTLE

im uh. still working on the timing, but

oh JESUS

my mouth fell open in horror i climbed over a wall to get to the outsideish of the castle (castle town ruins, so says my map) and

the music was already creepy but jesus CHRIST

there's no color except for that blight evil goop stuff...no life...it's awful

poor hyrule, oh god

it's a lot like finding hyrule castle town devastated in oot when you first wake up, except of course this time we've nothing to compare it to visually, only emotionally...

i see a fuckton of guardians too so its a good thing i learned not to be scared of them

ok, god, i can do it, just one memory, i know RIGHT where it is

apparently the hylian shield is in here too and i am sooo sorely tempted

i mean if i have to get that fucking close anyway...

lord i googled it and apparently this memory is super hard to get you gotta Activate some shit but they did it this way they made it so you have to go back out i know i'll be able to come back out i WILL

ah, apparently you need to fight a stalnox for the hylian shield.ok. ok. good, great, Nice, Perfect

haha im soooo scared ;_;

ok, apparently the two paths are COMPLETELY different, so One Thing At A Time

we'll start with the memory, it's more important

tbh, i can't even bring myself to go in. i gotta go around anyway to get to the starting point of this path so i will

lmao i am almost PHYSICALLY ILL with dread this is SO stressful

JESUS

the music went all scary and the map is in 3D like a beast!! which i knew but it's so Much

and i got a cutscene of the calamity screaming with the Classic ganondorf theme i'm Dying how the fuck does anyone just get this memory and LEAVE holy shit

oh my god the main theme comes in!!! jesus

even ballad of the windfish a little?!?!

oh FUCK and ofc with the lightning

haha aww there's a "leave area" button on the map i can bail whenever i guess tat's reassuring

not yet!! i'm gonna have Courage

ohhh i dipped into a doorway just to wait for revali's thing to recharge and the music changed!! so i got scared and went back outside lol

oh god the higher you go the oranger the sky turns it looks like the blood moon jesus fuck

I MADE IT INSIDE

oh god, zelda's STUDY, the rooms all have names bc ofc they do

holder of the triforce of wisdom of COURSE she had a study she's such a nerd im crying i bet she loved it here and it's totally decimated

a silent princess sprouted in her study too ;_;

HER LULLABY IS PLAYING IN HERE IM GONNA CRY

oh good there's the memory!!

ohhh this picture of how it used to be is hurting my heart it was BEAUTIFUL

holy FUCK dude

ok old man is struck from my heart forever he was such a DICK to zelda no wonder he called himself a fool

link knelt right away but god damn i would have interjected on her behalf

you can't expect a person to pray 24/7!!!!

and deny her her passions, which are obviously machines and learning!

omg she has a journal in here and i almost missed it jesus

TODAY SHE MET WITH IMPA im cryin

omg this is her finding the sheikah slate!!!

jesus, and she found the shrine of ressurection too and hoped she'd never have to use it, and Yet...

oh GOD i hit leave area and it plucked me down in the middle of castle town nope nope nope fast travel outta there

ok to impa and then last memory i can do it and then do stream

and for once not play again afterwards bc to be quite frank i could never stress myself out this bad right before bed again, FUCK

hylian shield and all the rest of it tomorrow

h o ly fuck

he DIED protecting her, or he was going to, but she stood in front of him for once and finally unlocked the power, that's how she unlocked it, for HIM

i'm WEEPING and the sword made the fi noise from SS

even the sheikah warriors ran like sheik in smash bros

im gonna cry that was so much!!! there's so much continuity

fi is in TWO GAMES like...that was such direct referencing!!!!

SHE HAS BEEN FIGHTING ALONE FOR 100 YEARS jesus CHRIST she is SEVENTEEN

ok, im gonna watch all the memories in order and then quit for the night

i just realized the ceremony scene is where she mentions embers of twilight and adrift in time - putting us on the mm/tp timeline

aaaah im sad

god and i LOVE her princess dress i wanna see it in her classic pink why is everyone in this game blue??

so like, despite me not being crazy about zelda's voice ACTRESSS and the VOICE she's using, she actually does the best ACTING out of the entire cast

high key loving this zelda who is smart but has trouble with feelings, also

holy SHIT

ok so one of the first memories i got was of zelda coming down mt lanayru

amd it was badass and i enjoyed it

but there's SO much in there once you know more context

mipha was highkey about to spill to zelda that she was in love with link

revali's distain for link

urbosa seems less stern and more caring now that i know her better

now i know what zelda was trying so hard to do

"we have to keep trying until we find the thing that unlocks your sealing power [long shot of link]"

and "i'm not a child anymore" ofc it's bc she just turned 17! like link in oot!

oh man oh man

i love so much link's expressions in these serious moments especially that very last look into zelda's eyes before he "died"

it feels a bit like, with the other stuff i was talking about, i'm getting just a hint of character

and it's kinda close to My Headcanon but even if it wasn't i just like getting to know him

warped back to the temple of time & i'm leaving it there for the night

tomorrow: The End

(and my shield)

[lillaxtrigger]

Faded land: Chapter 15

The waning moon shines down upon the city of Niagara, piercing through a rising pillar of smoke. It’s lunar glow mixes with that of the flames burning along the power plants fresh, smoldering remains. These flames are soon extinguished; onlookers of the disasters aftermath watching as the Canadian forces work to put out the fires While some tempt to quell the blazing wreckage, others tend to the rubble that once made up the plant; moving the heavy chunks of steel and concrete with but their armored hands. Cleanup efforts fail to stop at just picking up rubble however, as the countless corpses that are uncovered from the wreck are swept up all the same. Occasionally, the crew digs up a survivor buried under the mess of metal and stone; the soldiers acting accordingly and quickly rescues and tends to those severely injured.

One of the employees sits along the side wrapped in the weighted comfort of a trauma blanket; his leg refusing to cease trembling within his quaking boots. Standing in front of him be one of the soldiers that tended to his recovery; the worker recounting the attack for the trooper. “It...It all just started like every other day. Wake up, had breakfast, went to work, had lunch. Same deal as usual. I was talking to my friend about something. Bout finding some kind of mutant while walking home last night. Before another word could come out of his mouth, we hear the back door getting kicked down. That’s when this punk looking girl came bursting in with a bunch of masked people with guns and weird purple boxes and started gunning down the others. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the face Marty wore as led pierced through his brains. The dread in his eyes burned into my mind.

Seeing all that was more than enough of a warning to high tail it outta there; my legs carrying me faster than they ever have. Sprinting through those halls, I screamed at the top of my lungs trying to warn as many people as I could about the terrorists as gunfire echoed behind me. Not really sure what got people running more to be honest. Once everybody got themselves scrambling through the halls, I dashed towards wherever I could hide my sorry ass; the supply closet. Hiding among the noxious scent of the cleaning supplies, all that I could hear through the other side of the door was the echoes of firearms and the screams of my coworkers. Occasionally, I could hear the door before me rapidly pound; almost hard enough to straight up break through. Couldn’t hear anything beyond all the chaos, so it was hard to tell whether it was one of my coworkers wanting in, or one of the terrorists. Makes me ashamed to admit that I was too scared to open it either way. Eventually, all the noise just died down; no screams, no bullets, no pounding, not a sound. Made me think the storm finally pass. If only I knew what would come next.

Just when I was about to reach for the door, an overwhelming boom shook the whole place. The shelves of supplies fell right on top of me, just piling all on my back. Pretty soon, the entire roof saw it best to join in the fun and crumbled right on the whole. At time, I thought all of it was a death sentence; trapped within a tomb of cabinets and Clorox. Might as well been a blessing in disguise. All that junk piled on me wound up saving my skin from the explosion outside. I spent what seems like hours stuck under it all, feeling all of its overwhelming on my back. Thought if the pressure snapping my spine wouldn’t kill me, the heavy cleaning chemicals would. Lucky you guys dug me out when you did.”

Finished telling his spiel, the rescued employee lets escape from his lungs a heavy sigh. “Didn’t even to try to do a damn thing to help anybody or stop those terrorists. Thinking about the sound of that pounding door...Still eats me up inside. Can’t help but wonder if it was really someone wanting to hide from the horrors going on outside. Make me think of myself as nothing more than a worthless coward.”

“Quit beating yourself up.” The worker look up towards the Canadian, watching as the soldier detaches the helmet from the suit; bits of concealed air escaping from the bottom. The soldier’s head exposed to the open air, her naked eyes gaze down upon the traumatized survivor. “You were just some panicking rando who wound up getting caught in the madness. Most people like you can’t really make hard decisions like that in the middle of chaos.” Though the soldiers reassurance reaches the rescued employee, it does little to quell the guilt he clearly held. Hoping to reel him out of his depression, the soldier lowers herself to the moping employee, kneeling to down to his level. The worker feels the steel grip of her gauntlets as the Canadian softly grasps his shoulders. “Don’t worry. You living through this will more than help us. We’ve been tempting to thwart these bastards for more than a year now, and every witness that lives through their attacks gives us one step closer to bringing these terrorists to justice.” Hearing this eases the workers worries a bit, a little breath leaving the employees lungs. “You don’t have to answer now. But we need you to tell us about anything distinct about these terrorists. A particular article of clothing, a certain pair of shoes, any visible scars, anything you can think of to tell who they might be. Just let us know, okay?” Having said that, the soldier readies to give the worker time to recover, but halts in her departure when she hears him mention: “Actually, there was someone with them that stood out to me.” The Canadian turns back towards the rescued employee, hearing him continue with: “One of the masked attackers was wearing the weirdest thing. It was some kind of rough looking...Lab coat. Makes me wonder just what kind of sickos those terrorists have working for them.”

Underneath the concrete of the city, Clara sat between the bands of her teammates; who revel and celebrate their successful attack with a gloriously loud feast. Though laughter and merriment surrounded her alongside the sound of chewing food and gargling alcohol, the scientist does nothing but simply stare down upon her hearty meal; reflecting on the act of terrorism she just participated in. The screams of panic, the gazes of dread, the cries of terror; the despair of the employees that were gunned down still fresh in her psyche. What she thought to be a humble resistance group determined to free the American people from the Canadian authority turned out to be a vengeful terrorist cell soaked in the blood of the innocent.

Clara’s eyes venture all throughout the massive table of terrorists, watching as they eat and drink the rest of the night away without a single hint of remorse or regrets. None of them care about all the people they’ve slaughtered, all the lives they’ve taken away, all the hopes, dreams, and families that they’ve carelessly shattered. All that matters to them is the fierce flames of revenge.

Just when she thought that these people held not a bit of sympathy within them, her gaze comes across a pair of members balling their eyes out across the table. Curious of what they have to say, the scientist guides her ear towards the duo, her hearing piercing through the merriment around her. “...feel so bad about them man. It’s been eating me up right in my gullet. I don’t think I can take it.” “I know. I Know. I’m sorry for them too. But there’s nothing we could have done for them.” “I’m just can’t stop seeing the faces they made when they got shot. The blood spurting from their bodies… Can keep a girl up at night.” Huh, maybe a few of these guys aren’t as heartless as initially thought. Maybe a sliver of humanity may hide within the crevices of this terrorist cell after all. “We just gotta keep em in our hearts Jenna. Those two bastards would have wanted it that way.” Wait...Just two? “Yeah. Look on the bright side. At least Ben and Marky got to knock of a couple heads before theirs got knocked. Should’ve seen them frolicking with their gun, shooting up all those Canadians and traitors. Least they had some fun before they bit the dust.” And just like that, her hopes of these assholes having any pity for the innocent is completely shattered. Should’ve figured as much.

Suddenly, the scientist felt the leathery hold of a wayward grip on the back of her shoulder; turning on a dime to find the Dandy right behind her. “Whoa-oh! Easy there lab coat. It’s just me.” Upon site of the Mysterious overcoat, the scientist lets out a ragged breath; adding to her relief with: “Sorry.” “Are you feeling alright? You seem kinda jumpy tonight.” her host asks. “Yeah, something like that. Just didn’t think that the mission would involve so much, uh...” Clara hesitates, wishing not to disclose the regret of her moral mistake. “Stop! Don’t say another word. I know exactly what your going through.” “You...You do?” “Yeah. You still feeling shaken about all the action today. Not used to the fray being that intense, are ya?” “Hnn...” Not really the most accurate statement, but best to just roll with it. “-nnnYeah! Yeah. Didn’t really think I make it outta there on one piece to be honest.” She then hears the Dandy groan aloud, confirming that he: “Knew it. Listen. I am beyond sorry. Should have never set you up on a bombing run on the first day. Wanted to build it up. Lobbed some softball at you before pitching the big league baseball. But wouldn’t you know it. It was the only job available on such short notice. And I knew I needed to get you something under your belt so everybody here wouldn’t try to screw you over.” “Pardon?” “And hey, not only things worked out in the end, you proved to be quite the crafty asset. Heard from Shoa how you took down a Canadian guard with just your brains and couple bullets. Keep up doing stuff like that and you see herself across the border in less than two weeks.” Promising that, the Dandy gives Clara a pat on the shoulder and leaves Clara just as conflicted as they met, perhaps even more so. Without further interruption, the scientist stares back into the meat of her meal; left to ponder with path to take upon metaphorical forked path of life.

Yeah, it be absolutely wonderful to cross into Canada in such a short time, save a ton of time looking where they might have took Arthur. Still, don’t think he’d take to kindly crossing the corpses of countless innocent people to find him. Plus, who knows how many of these missions she can take before she winds up joining them. Fantastic hosts that these guys have been, it might be best to take her leave from their ranks as smoothly and stealthily as she can. Don’t want these maniac to suddenly second guess her and gun her down on the spot.

Hours pass until the passion of the party trickles down to a halt, the safe haven of the sewers are soon shrouded on a vial of darkness. Not a single sound dared echoed through the quiet hours of the resistance base, all but the near silent footsteps of the scientist. Masking her presence among the darkness, Clara glides along the makeshift buildings and shacks that make up their dwellings. Though her stealthy ventures don’t prove to be a breeze, finding some lights cutting through the darkness from the diner; the luminescence stretching across the base. Doesn’t seem like there’s any way through them. Gonna need to crawl right under it all.

This in mind, she lowers herself down onto the grimy concrete floor and begins her crawl across the base of the diner. Creeping below the illuminating windows, her ears catch the noise of clacking dishes and sweeping scrapes of the broom; the sound of idle chatter blending into the muffled echoes. Her sneaking endeavors soon come towards an obvious blockade: the front doors, its glass letting flow forth a stream of light. Near the glow of the door, the scientist takes in a deep breath, understanding that she’ll need to pull this off as smoothly as possible. After letting loose that same breath; she dives straight through the row of luminescence; the guy cleaning the counter taking obvious notice of her sudden bolt through.

Hoping right over the counter of patched up marble and stone, he swiftly open the glass doors of the diner; taking a glance outside to see whatever darted across the door. “Whatcha doing Billy?” someone inside asks. “Thought...Thought I saw something go across the door.”. “Probably was just a rat or something. Hey, come and help me out here. Trying to scrape off a piece of food I found underneath this seat. Kinda looks like its moving.” Hearing his partners plea, he shrugs off the site and retreats back inside; unaware of the scientist he saw ducking along the side of the diner. Having snuck past the prying eyes of the diner, Clara continues forth in her escape.

Her stealthy ventures soon take her towards the corridor leading to the subway; the cooling midnight winds bellowing through the tunnels. Deciding between the enormous open train tunnels and the cramped dank sewers is a choice that even the most ineptly moronic could correctly decide. Ain’t no way in hell that she’s risking going through that trap infested hellhole again. Not really sure what’d kill her in there faster, the traps or the ungodly stench of cadavers drifting through the urine and feces.

Peeking behind the hall leading to the subways however, she soon realizes that she might not have as much of an option as she thought. Gazing ahead, she finds along both sides a couple of armed guards, their flashlights shining down the darkness of the tunnel. Guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise they’d set up some sentries through here. The wide open space of the subway don’t lend themselves well towards setting up roadblocks. Having guards at the ready is practically the only measure of security you could set up. Probably not a wise idea to just waltz over to them and say: “Hey, just going out for a little bit, catch y’all later bitches.” without a feeding them a half decent excuse either. Unfortunately, what the scientist boasts in intellectual prowess, she lacks in social deception. Traveling miles on end though the nuclear wastes hasn’t exactly given her any opportunity to build her charismatic abilities. She couldn’t think of a good lie for them to scarf down even if she had all night.

With the safe option out, the only one left standing be risking her life in the dank tunnels of the Niagara sewers. Not the most elegant form of escape she could take, but situations like this don’t look down kindly to the elegant, they look down upon the scrappy. Let’s just get this over with.

As Clara readies herself to descending into the rank horrors of the sewers, the echoes of her fellow resistance members reaches her ears. “They definitely came from over there.” Hearing their approach, she wastes not another moment to dart into the darkness of the tunnels. “Just now! Someone ran in the sewers! Come on!”

Bolting through the concrete corridors, the scientist hears the voices behind her growing softer. Once far enough from her pursuers, she turns right upon the cross tunnels and darts behind the oncoming corner. Peeking out from behind the brickwork, the scientist witnesses several of the resistance members halting at the intersection; some of them wielding firearms. “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How’d they even find us!?” one of them curses. “You sure you saw somebody run down here? Might have just been a raccoon.” another questions. “Naw, naw. I saw it too. Shadow was definitely too big to be some mangy raccoon.” another clarifies. “Rrnng. Whoever this guy is, they ain’t getting outta here alive. Everyone split up!” Upon that command does the entire squad scatter; a pair of them sprinting in Clara’s direction. The scientist herself frantically wonders how to elude her approaching former teammates, looking ahead to find the tunnel too long to escape from their site. Gotta find someplace to hide.

The duo soon turn onto the corner, racing through the clear concrete pathway. Suddenly, one of them halts in their tracks; his partner slowing down and turning to find him looking back. “What you slow down for? See something?” Her partner stays silent, steadily returning to the other side of the tunnel with the barrel of his gun aimed down the corridor. Upon reaching the other side does the sound of splashing reach his ears; the gunmen swiftly turning back to find the waters beside him rippling. “You see that?” the gun asks. “No. What was it?” his partner wonders. Approaching the river of sewage, he looks into the waters sickly green color; the murky waters giving him very little hint what could be lurking underneath. Though still curious of what could be hiding beneath, he flips the butt of his gun towards the river. “Uh...What are you doing?” his partner cautiously questions. “Don’t wanna waste the ammo checking what could be down there.” Slowly, he begins to dip the back end of his assault rifle down into the stream; the grimy waters rippling as his firearms dive deeper down.

After poking his gun around in the mix of piss and poop, the butt of his firearms is caught in the steel jaws of one of the rivers traps; the pair of rusty teeth tempting to pull the guy into the depths of the river. “Shit!” The man attempts to pull his rifle away from the underwater traps strong draw, his boots scrapping against the concrete underneath his feet. Seeing her partner being pulled towards the deadly trap infested river; she quickly comes to the poor bastards aid; hugging onto his midsection and helping him pull. “Let...go of your gun, you jackass!” “Never!” The guy refusing to let go of his precious firearms, the opposing pull eventually splits the rifle in half; the sudden snap causing the duo to careening into the brick wall.

The two terrorists rise from their blunder; the gun looking upon his weapon to find it snapped in two. Though not a word comes from his mouth on the matter, his partner on the other hand can’t help but add insult to injury with: “Well, guess you wound up wasting more then just a few bullets there, huh.” Hearing this, the former guns face deflates further down to a scowling brood; throwing what’s left of his weapon into the sewers stream. “Lets just keep moving...” he insist.

After that whole fuck up of aquatic endeavors; the two turn the corner in a dripping mess; neither of them aware that the scientist that they seek hanged above them the whole time. Letting go of the piping that she suspended herself on, Clara drops out from the shadows of the corner. As soon as she lands, she starts to check the contents of her bag; counting the number of canned goods she has left. Kind of a huge waste to just throw one of them away like that, especially with how little chances she gets to restock her rations. Still, had to sacrifice something to throw off those maniacs off; wouldn’t exactly be a smart idea for it to be a piece of her equipment, like her compass or can opener. Hope it was at least something disgusting, like those beans or that can of chowder. Shifting through her rations, she unfortunately finds both of them accounted for; noticing one that she had been look forward to tasting missing from the bunch. The can full of deliciously juicy pears, a loss that deeply disappoints the scientist; their sweet flavor forsaken to the trap infested waters of the sewers. Truly, a loss non more tragic among canned goods.

She soon moves on from her shattered hopes of sugary fruit and closes her backpack; glancing down in her sulk to notice the large drips of water trailing around the corner. Jeez. How wet did that asshole get to leave behind puddles this big in his wake. Probably gotten at least 5 liters of disgusting sewer water all over him. Didn’t even take the time to rinse himself off. Bet he reeks of rotting fecal matter and old dry urine by now. Still, kind of lucky that he flippantly disregarded his own hygiene like that; as the water droplet he left behind make the perfect trail for the scientist to follow. This in mind, Clara hesitates not another moment to pursue her pursuers.

Following the drops of grimy water along the brickwork tunnels, the trail of rank sewage leads her safely weaving through the maze. Sure, on the surface, it seems pretty idiotic. Chasing down the guys that wanna gun you down with nothing to fight back against. But when realizing that these guys likely know the twist and turns of these sewers better than an obese loner familiar with the bottom of a chicken bucket, it becomes all the more clear why trailing these guys through these tunnels of horrible death and unruly odor is a better idea than it sounds. No doubt that the risk of stalking these dangerous terrorist might lead her to the way out of this death trap filled horror show.

Though hoping this, the scientist pursuit suddenly comes on an unexpected close. Halting upon the turn of the corner, Clara comes face to face with the resistance members bleeding bodies; both of them having impaled onto a spring loaded spike trap. Witnessing the duo that tempted to search for her fall to the machinations of their mazes own workings urges the scientist to slowly back away. Perhaps these guys aren’t as familiar with the layout of their own maze as she had figured. The pairs corpses making this fact more than clear, she books it back through the safe route that they led her down.

In the midst of her retreat, Clara turn the corner to find a few of the armed resistance members with their backs turned. Instantly, she dart back behind the corner before they have the chance to turn around; not halting a single moment in her sprint away. “I saw something!” she hears one of them scream. Racing away from the pack, the scientist hears the cluster of their footstep from behind; risking every corner she can to evade their line of site. Knowing that taking one of the safe routes would guarantee her being cornered, she finds it best to gamble going down one of the other routes.

As she flees from her firearm toting foes; Clara feels the light tug of a tripwire at her angle and instantly stops. In front of her springs forth a spike covered board of wood; its blood soaked nails stopping just mere centimeters from Clara’s face. Though taking a short breath, the scientist isn’t allowed a moment to relax; hearing the steps of her pursuers close in.

The squad soon turn the corner; their firearms aimed and ready for whoever may be around the tunnel. However, their site beheld nothing but the spring loaded spike trap before them. “Wha-I...I swear someone turned here! I saw them!” one of them claims. “Dammit Windslow! Get some fucking glasses! You’re winding up leading us to our early graves!” “Come on. They couldn’t have gotten far.” With this, all f them set off in the other direction to look for their prey; unaware that who they were gunning for hid right in front of them the whole time. Once the coast was clear, the scientist jumps out from behind the nail covered board of wood; peeking around the corner to see the squad scampering away. Though she saw first hand the ignorance of her pursuers first hand, it would be smart to observe if some of these terrorist fair better in intelligence more than others and lead her toward the freedom she seeks. If nothing else, their cadavers can serve as warnings.

Just as before, the scientist darts of towards those that chased her before in an act of strategic irony; carefully tailing the resistance members in the safety of the sewers dark corners. The squad leads Clara safely all around the brick tunnels, swerving through corner after corner; weaving left and right. She peeks behind every corner she sees then turn and waits for them to turn before resuming her pursuit.

Soon her trailing comes to an abrupt snag, seeing a set of growing shadows on the approach. Figuring them to be the searchers that she had been tailing; Clara quickly turns the opposite way and bolts outta there. Fleeing from the pack of terrorists, the scientist hears one of them mention: “I definitely saw somebody this time, I know it!”

Hoping to shake off these gun wielding maniacs, the scientist start to randomly turn at every corner she comes across, regardless be them clear of traps or not. This attitude eventually lands her into trouble, when she feels the faint tug of another tripwire snapping upon her chest. A trap that she more than predicted, as she stops completely in her tracks; waiting in anticipation at whatever makeshift contraption from the twisted minds of these terrorists would pop out next. And as such, the scientist sees a pair of uzi’s drop down from the sewers ceiling; a pretty obvious sign for her to get down. Right before they begin to unload their clips, Clara hits the deck, ducking right underneath the storm of led. Though the barrage of bullets continue, the scientist knows there no time to wait for the storm to pass and crawls right underneath the hanging automatic guns.

Moving on from that bullet spewing trap, Clara continues her race through the sewers. No doubt that everyone in these tunnels heard that storm of led fire off; their echo’s surely drawing the whole terrorist cell to her as she sprints. A fact that shows true, as the scientist sees a shadow coming along the upcoming corner; prompting her to make a swift U-turn. Though tempting to scamper back where she came, Clara finds another cluster of shadows threatening to emerge from the other direction. Pinched between the pavement pathway, the scientist frantically looks around for whatever escape she could take before the pair of resistance groups wedge her on their approach. There ain’t no way in hell she’s taking her chances with the river at her side. Never mind the ungodly stench irradiating from those waters; who knows what kind of horribly constructed machinations of maniacal madmen may lurk underneath the surface. Not even the shadowy corners of the tunnel could conceal her; the spaces of darkness far too small to camouflage her whole body. Her whole situation seemed utterly hopeless; not one place she could find cover among the approaching terrorist forces. Taking a glance towards the roof of the tunnel, however, a small smile stretches across her face. Finally.

Coming together in the middle of the brick tunnel, the pair of packs find nothing but themselves among their sites. “Huh? The hell are you guys doing?” one of them from the left asks. “Though we saw something come this way. You?” another responds from the opposing side. “Heard one of the uzi traps go off and came rushing to see what it caught. Wound up being nothing but a waste of led.” “Think we might have just been chasing each other this whole time?” “Dammit! Knew it was a bad idea splitting up. Wound up wasting time and men just tailing our own asses!” “Come on. We have better luck staying alive in this shit hole if we stick together.”

Having said that, the two resistance group form into one and shove off deeper into the depths of their own stank ass maze. Though their ignorant proves their downfall once more; the woman that they had been seeking be right above their head, quietly hanging onto the ladder above. Once she was certain that her pursuers were out of earshot, Clara looks overhead; her escape from these nightmarish underground sewage lines right above her head. Wasting not another moment within its filth driven air; the scientist eagerly climbs up towards the manhole.

Peeking out from the depths of the underground, her eyes beheld the welcoming site of the moonlit surface of the city. From beyond the manhole, she found herself within a mildly populated area of Niagara; seeing the legs of the occasional passerby walk along the street. A situation that proves all the more troublesome for the scientist; knowing how bizarre a site it be for some random woman to crawl out from the sewers. No doubt seeing such a scene play out in the dead of night would make anybody crap themselves and scramble for the authorities. A scenario that Clara knows would certainly play out if she was in their shoes. Still, can’t just wait all night for the streets to clear out; someone from below could spot her lab coated ass any moment and fill her behind full of led. Gotta bide time just long enough for when nobody’s lookin.

A plan that sends the scientist in an anxious sweat, the potential risk of mistiming her escape all too clear. Threading the eye of this needle proves to be quite the taxing, the tense air thickening every moment she spent under that iron manhole. Soon though, the chance to surface from the sewers comes; not one pair of eyes aimed her way. With not a soul peeking in her direction, she swiftly rises out from the manhole; carefully sliding the cover back on. Once out from the underground, she breathes in a hearty dose of the surface air; liberated from the sewers ungodly odor of pissed soaked cadavers and crap covered waters. Such a welcomed relief to take in the scent of the urban jungle once more. Finished basking in the fresh air of the surface, the scientist scuttles off into the depths of the city.

Further and further she flees from the manhole that she popped out of,  putting as much distance as she can from those underground maniacs as possible. Clara soon takes cover within the darkness of a nearby alley; glancing back to see if any of those freaks followed her. Luckily, she saw not a single sign of the resistance that pursued her. Pretty safe bet to think that they wouldn’t risk coming up here and exposing their rank behinds to the public eye. Knowing this, her nerves finally start to unwind; causally strolling into the street as she ponders upon her next move.

Obviously, the underground proved more than enough to not be a viably safe option anymore; shame too. If there was any truth to their words, then that secret entrance across the border would have been wonders to cross. Might have to stunk to high hell and back, but at least there wasn’t the looming threat of lasers to worry about. Only the potential risk of contracting some kind of abomination of biology that most doctors would prescribe as a disease. Something that modern medicine couldn’t dream of fighting against.

Haven’t even come across a single hint of Angelo anywhere in this city either. Still can’t fathom what urged the bear spider to up and leave the way she did. Shame too, could have easily got into the land of maple leaves one way or another with her at her side.

Her mind then wonders back to that bridge that she’d spotted while strolling through the park. It probably wouldn’t hurt to observe how these Canadians handle immigration control. Perhaps it might not be as bad as the countless horror stories she’s heard made them out to be.

Breaking from her brainstorming session, she soon realizes the street goers around her glaring oddly at the scientist as they pass by. From glances of fear to scorns of rage, it seemed that the entire street was itching to turn on her at any moment; catching the fret of the city’s citizens within her ears. “Is that really her?” “Yeah, she was definitely with them.” “Oh god, what’s she doing here!?” “Do the guards know she’s here?” Hearing all this coming from the crowd urges Clara to hurry in her urban trek; fearing that her mere presence may draw some unwanted attention. An eventuality that soon comes to pass, as she looks to her back to find a pair of the Canadian troop right on her tail; pushing right through the crowded streets with their rifles at the ready. And just when Clara thought she crossed the finish line in her deadly marathon too.

Swimming through the bustling streets of the city in her attempt to abscond from the pursuing soldiers, the scientist squeezes herself through the thick stream of people. Tempting as it is to take her chase to the open roads, she find it best to gamble on these Canadians moral grounds; betting that they wouldn’t dare fire a signal round of plasma near any of the nearby pedestrians. Seeing if her theory held any ground, she takes a glance back towards the troops; finding one of them aiming the barrel of their weapon in her direction. Just when Clara thought that her little moral test would be spurned; the other soldier shoves their partners weapon aside, shaking their head and pointing towards the crowd frightened gazes. Their cowering stares prompts the maple trooper to lower his firearms, instead the armored duo opting to pick up the pace on their pursuit.

Though relieved that her little plan worked; it shows itself to be but a waning strategy; the crowd beginning to move away from the scientist in her escape. With the mob around dispersing, she knows that the troops behind her would soon have a clear shot. Best find a way to distract them and find a place to hide before her cranium winds up with a freshly burnt hole. To that end, she looks towards the nearest civilian and reaches out towards their side. Hate to do this to just any rando out and taking a calm, nightly stroll, but you gotta take any avenue you can to escape. Clara grabs hold of the citizens arm and shoves them towards her pursuers; the mounties stumbling back upon the civil intrusion. Seeing her diversion effectively obstruct her foes; she sprints off towards the nearest corner and away from the soldiers site.

After helping the shoved citizen up, the Canadian troops continue their hunt; the concrete path before them devoid of any civil hindrance. Coming around the corner, the two pass a shadowy alleyway; one halts upon its entrance while the other continues through the streets. Staring down into the alleys seemingly endless darkness, the soldier spots a hint of white heading deeper down.

The armored trooper decides to investigate, prowling deeper into the urban sleeves depths. With the fuchsia glow of his armor piercing through the veil of darkness, the Canadian soldier carefully inches through the alleyway with their rifle aimed ahead. Coming towards a corner, the trooper puts their back against the fresh brick wall; charging their firearms for what that piece of scum has planned. The Canadian then jumps out from beyond the wall with their rifle primed and ready down the dead end, though with their light shining down upon nothing but overflowing garbage cans and rusty dumpsters. The rats and raccoon scurrying past as the trooper approaches the collection of trash; the glow of their armor reflecting against the tin and iron of the trash cans and fire escape.

The armor directs their gaze towards the collection of cans; an obvious hiding place for the scum of the city to dwell. Might risk letting the fugitive slip away if they checked one at a time, best just get them all at once. Thinking this, the trooper aims the barrel of their laser rifle down upon the cluster of cans; firing a barrage of beams down the dead end. The rounds of plasma pierce right through the dumpsters iron, the assault leaving the container resembling a block of Swiss cheese. Through this bombardment does the soldier finally hit their mark; scarlet leaking out from one of the tin cans. Halting their gunfire, the trooper nears the bleeding can and uncovers to find a hand sticking out among the bags. Digging through the garbage, the soldier soon uncovers the corpse of a man; its decayed skin suggesting that it long since died. Though the question arising of what sicko would shove a dead body in the garbage; the cadaver before him clearly isn’t the woman that they’re looking for.

Their search coming to a literal dead end, the trooper begins to depart from the collection of shot up cans, the sharp clang of crashing metal stopping the soldier in their tracks. Swiftly turning back, the barrel of his rifle aims down the remains of a rusty fire escape; the ladder split in half among the wreckage. Gazing up, they found not a single sign of life to be had; just the loose metal hinges that once suspended the escape. Probably just a case of corrosion and decay. Hope the restoration team reach that building soon.

The soldier soon starts to retreat from the alley, unaware of their target being right above their heads. Watching atop the roof as the trooper departs, Clara slumps over as she lets out a heavy sigh. Lucky that the same strategy has been working all night, though its recent execution could’ve held a lot less risk. Despite her escape from the armored authorities, this does little to ease her trouble mind; with a couple questions starting to surface. How did those people recognize her? What urged the locals to give the scientist such scornful glares, causing enough of an upset to get the cops involved? Were their any witnesses that survived power plant bombing?

Breaking her out from her thoughts do the echoes of a nearby conversation bait her attention; Clara glancing down the opposite end of the roof to find several of the citizens discussing her appearance. “You sure it was her?” “I’m positive it was one of them. Not a doubt about it.” “One of the survivors said that one of the terrorists wore a dirty lab coat.” “Who else in this city walks around wearing a dirty ass white coat?” “Saw the Canadian cops chasing her down a streets a couple minutes ago.” “Dude, screw those guys! If I ever come across her, I’m gonna skip calling them and just beat that bitch senseless!” “Make all of those terrorists pay for killing all those poor people!”

Upon mention of her beloved lab coat does she look to the article of clothing in question; noting its worn and torn silk stained with the dirt, blood, and sweat of the wastelands. Guess this ragged old thing doesn’t bode well with camouflaging her within the urban jungle, don’t it? Ain’t exactly gonna blend in with something as distinguishable as this. No use denying the obvious, gonna have to ditch it. A real shame to. This coat’s been with her since the beginning of this whole mess, one of the few reminiscence of her life that she had carried over from her past. Its helped her sleep during those long cold nights in the waste, shielded her olive skin from the beating skin during those endless treks. Gonna be kind of hard to part with it after all this time. Feels like cutting off a part of herself. Still, if it helps her get closer to Arthur, closer to undoing all the horrors that she’s seen, then she’ll be more than willing to part with it.

With this in mind, she digs into the contents of her coat pockets, just to be on the safe side. Don’t wanna wind up kicking herself in the shins for ditching anything important. A lucky precaution that she took, as she pulls out the picture of her and Arthur from depths of her lab coat pocket. Gazing upon Arthur's enthusiastic smile in the photo makes her eyes wonder towards the giant wall bordering the country in the distance.; her mind wondering what fate might have befell him on the other side of its steel.

Placing the picture in her backpack, she slips the silk of her lab coat right off, revealing her undershirt to the open night air. Gazing down upon her coat, her eyes wonder towards a nearby shadow, following the darkness to find a tall antenna set onto the rooftop; its lanky steel casting forth a long string of darkness along the roof.

Standing along the edge of the rooftop, she takes one last look at her coat tide to the antenna. With nothing else left on the matter, she jumps away from the white silk as it flows in the wind; leaving a crucial piece of her past behind.

Among the musty shadows of a nearby alleyway, a door set along the side opens wide; the light from the inside illuminating the darkness. Out from the inside ambles out a hooded man dragging behind him a ridiculously heavy garbage bag; its heavy duty plastic scrapping against the concrete. “Stupid parents, making me throw out the trash... Don’t help how they have the can across the house...Filling it up all the way with heavy shit...” It takes the guy a couple seconds to hoist the bag onto his shoulder, audibly grunting as he lifts the heavy load. Once above himself, the hood lobs the bag over with all his might, hurling the garbage towards the dumpster; though landing right on its iron edge. Witnessing the bag teeter between the dumpsters side; the guy simply just shrugs off the matter with a: “Whatever. Pick ups problem now...”

Apathetic about where his waste landed, the hooded dude starts to head back inside, but halts in his tracks upon hearing the sound of nearby footsteps. From his pants, the guys pulls out a switchblade; gazing ahead to find nothing but the light pouring out from the door. “Someone here? Warning ya, ain’t no pussy.” After his warning, his ears pick up the faint taps of footsteps at his back; swiftly turning as he slashes toward whatever could be creeping up behind him. Though lashing out, the man finds not a single soul at his back. “The hell?...” Wondering what could have been behind him, the hood fails to notice a figure creeping right behind him; lifting above the hood before her a hefty brick. A single strike to his head is all it takes for the figure to knock the guy out cold, the hood flopping down onto the concrete. Gazing down upon the guys unconscious body, his attackers eyes trail from his hood towards his pocket knife laying at his side.

Some time later, a woman steps out from the building; her shadow engulfing the opposing wall. “Henry! What is taking you so long out here?” Upon his name does the man in question rise from the pavement; a painful groan escaping from his lips. “Agh...My head...” Rubbing the back of his head; the guy steps into the light; the woman letting out a sudden yelp upon laying eyes on him. “Jesus! What happened to your cloth!?” she questions. Upon the woman’s question does the guy take a look at himself; finding her claim to be on point. Aside from his undergarment, the poor bastard found himself nearly in the nude; stripped down from head to toe. This discover makes the man jump, letting out a similar scream. “Ahhg! W-what happened to my cloths!?” “Just get inside!” the woman demands. Hearing this does the guy eagerly comply; shutting the door behind him as they both rush back inside.

Neither of them notice the scientist that assaulted him hiding within the alleys vial of darkness; cloaked in the very hood that she had pilfered from his unconscious body. Heading out if the alleyway, Clara stashes her freshly picked pocket knife into her pants pocket, adjusting her pack to her newly acquired garbs. More of a loose fit than she thought, but a hood this bland should be perfect for concealing her from the unwanted eyes of the armored mounties in the streets. Emerging out from the darkness, the hooded scientist blends into the midnight crowd.

Venturing through the city, she studies the passing people at her sides, finding not a single one alarmed by her very presence. Seems that this piece of fleece passes the pedestrian test. Doesn’t seem not a soul around is pissing themselves. But soon, the scientist true experiment arises, a pair of Canadian troops on the approach. Clara merges with the parting crowd before them, hoping that her disguise would fool the trained troopers. The scientist keeps her breath held as the pair of armors pass her; watching as they stare straight ahead without so much as a passing glance. As soon as the authorities were out of site, Clara lets loose a heavy sigh; relieved that her hood has fooled even the elite of eyes. Guys were literally right next to her and they didn’t even bother peeking. Realizing how effective her simple disguise was against the prying eyes, the scientist continues through the streets with a little ease of mind.

Thanks to the mundane facade that her new hood granted her with, the rest of her midnight stroll through Niagara stays safely tame; her venture through the city streets eventually taking her toward the bridge set through the borders. Though with the bridge in plain site, one more obstruction dares to stand between the scientist and the land of leaves and maple. Before her stood a wide building with overhead letters reading: “Canadian registry”.

Kind of shocking that these maple leaved megalomaniacs would even have a registry at all. Course, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. If they actually bothered to install a bridge between the country, then of course they’d have the most basic of immigration security. But basic might be kind of a stretch, the building being nearly half the size as a parking lot. Ain’t no way someone sneaking around all that without getting shot by the mounties.

Though the registry’s sheer width pales in comparison to the size of the line beside it. The row of people leading in stretching beyond the entire block, all leading straight into the buildings side. Set along the opposing side be another set of doors; a steady stream of people flowing out from the inside. Upon their faces be a range of upset expressions; all differing from disheartening to depressing, from sadness to fury. Seemed like a whole spectrum of negative emotions was spilling out from within, none of which held any kind of promise.

Wondering about the stream of disappointment, Clara opts to take a peek of the registration process; curious to know how the land of the north deals with immigration control. A glance through the window shows the scientist a steady stream of Americans marching through the egregiously long line, all leading towards a counter smack dab in the middle of the room. From their, she witnessed someone handing the receptionist a sort of card, which the man behind the counter inspects and scan. Probably some kind of ID or passport that they check. Standard stuff really. After the card is scanned, Clara sees the man handing it back and points the women towards the back of the room; noticing the woman sporting an overjoyed smile as she proceeds. Unfortunately, the next guy doesn’t bode as lucky though; as right after inspecting his ID, is sent straight towards the exit.

Guess their won’t be a chance in hell of passing through this place without one of those card. Could always just steal one like she did her hood, but weather it’d be a viable one would be pretty much a one shot gamble. If she showed up again with an entirely different card, it’d likely raise of eyebrows. Perhaps simply forging one would yield swifter results.

Right on that thought does she hears an alarm blaring from within, glancing towards the desk to find a man at the front swept up in a panic. He attempts to make a break for the exit, but a stationed guard quickly seizes the guy before he could reach for the doors. Captured within the Canadians armored grasp, the poor guy is dragged across the room through another door; all the while his muffled pleading echoes throughout the room. He attempts to fight back against his captors, wiggling and punching against their arms. Though his resistance is swiftly quashed; the armored guard knocking the guy out cold with a heavy punch to the head. The people in line attempt to look away from the scene, others forming tears that flow from their eyes. Once the guy is dragged through the door, the receptionist rips his card in half; prompting some of those in line to head for the exit. Watching all of this unfold before her makes the scientist shove off; rethinking her plans of illegal counterfeiting.

Witnessing firsthand the brutally unapologetic immigration control on full display, she soon starts to realize that her options are running dry. There isn’t really much she can do on her own to get over that wall fast enough. There is that secret entrance that the Dandy hinted at, though it’s doubtful that she could come back without as little as an explanation. Still, after what she’s seen those guys do, ain’t no way in hell she’s crawling back to them. Maybe she could try and get one of them to spill the beans. Gonna need to work out how though.

In the midst of her thoughts, Clara takes notice of the peoples fright; their gazes aimed towards the night sky. “What the hell is that?” “I don’t know.” “Oh god, is it another attack!?” “Seems like something’s crawling up there.” Looking in their direction, she found the masses staring towards one of the bigger buildings of the city towering into the night sky. Along one of its faces, the scientist finds something big and black crawling up towards the towers roof. From where she stood, she could make out the fuzzy blotches eight legs scuttling along the building; dragging along its bloated lower body. Witnessing these features rings familiarity within her, realizing that the mass crawling up that tower be her runaway steed; Angelo.

Hard to believe the old girl’s still kicking it. Thought for sure she would have wound up getting herself caught or shot by the mounties. Though something tells the scientist that she won’t evade the Canadian authority for much longer, as the ursa arachnids public appearance will no doubt spark their attention. Gotta get to her before the maple leaved cops close in. With this in mind, she sprints down towards the decaying tower; her bear spider nearly reaching the top.

[monochromatic-stardust]

for the OC ask meme: microscope, wardrobe, and parachute. (doesn't have to be just Ariya that you answer for but i wanna know more abt her too!)

Oh my Viktor(ia), you shall get you some Ariya answers.OKAY KIDS, TIME TO LEARN ABOUT MY NAUGHTY DAUGHTER.Microscope: I have no idea if they mean physical or psychological so you get both! Well more personality than psych.Ariya's eyes are such a warm brown because of the multitude of gold flecks in her eyes, her hair curls when it's damp, in the sun you can actually see shadows cast by her eyelashes and under her bottom lip which annoys her. She has a birthmark in the dip of her hip bone. She can wiggle each toe independently of the others. One summer she scandalized her mother and all of Highever cause she wanted to see if all of her body would freckle (she was young, and yes it does. One of her guilty pleasures now is finding a secluded area and laying naked in the sun.) Personality time! Ariya is a mess. She picks at and chews at her bottom lip, runs her hands through her hair when she's thinking, stressed, distracted so it gets hella tangled. Stretching is best done naked or very close to, and no, she doesn't actually have a good reason as far as most people are concerned, she just claims clothes get in the way (she likes to get things right so when she'd practice late at night she'd check her form in any reflective surface but clothes got in the way.) Ariya has always been a light sleeper and it gave her the upper hand in prank wars with Fergus. She's a soft type of morning person, she's not unduly bubbly but the lingering sleepiness kinda stalls most of her bad coping habits and she's quiet and soft and smiles a real, sweet smile. Then she wakes up fully and goes back to being my Naughty Child. Wardrobe: in classic Thedas it's all function over fashion. She's all about being able to do what she needs to do. Soft leather is a good friend, allowing her movement, though she does understand the need for heavier armor. Her girlhood dresses would find themselves cut up the length of the skirt (she hemmed the edges so they wouldn't fray) so she had better movement. All of Highever are very familiar with her legs. Her mother eventually just started ordering her dresses that way. She's barefoot when she can be and would rather use a blanket than warmer clothes when she gets cold in castles, or in general. Her color palettes are jewel tones, which suit her complexion, and a lot of black and dark gray. She likes purple and red, but has grown very fond of blue. Simple and delicate embellishments over large displays of what she finds gaudy choices. Same goes for jewelry.In a modern Thedas Ariya wears ripped leggings, skirts, and tops with cut outs when it's warm. Cooler days find her in well worn jeans, sweaters or hoodies. She basically lives in hoodies. She's a little punkish, little gothish, little just casual comfy. And on rare occasions she's downright adorable and her wardrobe sometimes makes it look like she's still in high school. If she's not in chucks she's in combat styled boots. If it's warm she's probably barefoot, or in little ballet flats if she's trying to look nice. She will throw high heels right back into the face of whoever tried to give them to her. If you give her cause, she gets real elegant real fast. Her tastes are simple, elegant, delicate.  She's very not concerned with her level of dress so to see her sans shirt or pants or just wandering around in her bra and panties is not uncommon. Parachute: Okay so I did two different Ariya play throughs. A for Alistair (where she was in the headset to tease and flirt when they met) and Z for, you guessed it, Zev (where she didn't handle her trauma as well and needed more time before flirting was an okay thing). But mostly they overlap in this area. Also, her Mabari. Because, well, he's her Mabari!!! Cu Sidth is her ride or die for life. Ariya will do most anything for her little band of misfits. She's that kind of fiercely loyal. Once you're hers, she will live, die or kill for you. And she's a big stupid softy who even went out of her way to befriend all of them. Did their quests, found all their preferred gifts. She did it all. That being said, Zev and Alistair were both her most trusted companions. In A playthrough, Alistair is her everything. She'd lost her world and he was the first really good person to step into that hole. So she was just. Protective and loving and there is no one she trusted more. After gathering all her companions together she knew she could trust all of them to have her back but Alistair isn't just her love, best friend and fellow Warden. He's the type of person she trained to fight with. Now in Z, while Alistair is for sure one of her best friends for LIFE, Zev was the one who made her feel secure. One, because he knew what was what and had no shame (she blushed, a lot. He found it charming), but also because he always, always let her know she set the pace. She was in control. And after how much control she had lost in her own life, to have someone much more experienced give her the control, it helped to make her feel safe again. And he makes it very clear that she's earned his loyalty, and he's earned hers. That is a unique bond. She also has a very big, big soft spot for her two stoic idiots. (Looking at you, Sten and Shale.) And her ladies are either sisters or basically that weird Aunt who you don't ever really wanna see drunk because hot damn, yo, she's already all up in your affairs when she's sober.And the dwarf is... well, she likes him well enough in small doses.

[parttime-creative]

Hey there Locked-Tomb-Fandom, what little detail do you imagine on your personal headcanon-Gideon (GtN)?

Steelcap-shoes? Embroidered robe? Skeleton rapier? Giant Metal Key? Kevlar-Bracers? Bone Prayer-Beats? Black Nail Polish? Piercings?

Reblog or reply with your personal Gideon-Detail(s) please!

I am looking for some inspiration for my cosplay. I'm done with the basics, and wanna ad some flimsy.