#Horizon S Max | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

formula-nyoom · 6 months ago

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Stars Racing Past-3

Summary: Max teaches (Y/N) the first lesson every Jedi must learn, which turns into an exploratory trip around Coruscant.

A/N: Did I essentially make Logan my favorite Star Wars Jedi? Yes. Shoutout to anyone that has played Fallen Order and Survivor, you probably get what I'm putting down.

Series Masterlist

~~~

(Y/N) slept the best she had ever had that night in the Temple and she probably would have slept as long as she wanted to if Max hadn’t barged into her room and turned the lights on, interrupting her peaceful slumber.

“Wake up. It’s time to start training.” Max said as he somewhat gently shook her awake. (Y/N) tiredly rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she glanced at the window to try and gauge what time it was.

“The sun's not even out yet.” She whined, letting out a yawn.

“Perfect time to get a jumpstart on the day.” Max said, looking at her. “I expect you to be dressed and ready in 5 minutes.”

He then turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Now a bit angry at being woken up so early, (Y/N) was tempted to lie back down and go back to sleep. But she decided against it, reluctantly getting out of bed and getting dressed.

(Y/N) put on a pair of tunic and pants, this time choosing to wear a robe as well to feel like a proper Jedi. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she smiled. Everything about her appearance made her look like a Jedi, except for one thing. (Y/N)’s mangled attempt of a braid stuck out on one side. She had learned that the braid that she saw Mick, Logan and Oscar wear were to show their status as padawans. Since (Y/N) was now a padawan, she had to have a braid in her hair as well. Except (Y/N) was never taught how to braid hair. She tried her best to weave a couple strands of hair into a bad mimic of a braid and hoped that it was passable.

“You ready?” Max asked as he opened the door once again.

“Yep!” (Y/N) said, following him out of the room.

The Temple was a lot quieter at this hour. Hardly anyone was roaming the halls as (Y/N) followed Max. And the people she did see only gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. (Y/N) expected Max would take her to one of the classrooms that Oscar and Logan had shown her yesterday, so she was a bit confused when they entered an elevator and Max pressed the highest button.

“So, what exactly are you gonna teach me today?” (Y/N) asked as the elevator rose.

“Just some basic stuff. Master Vettel told me that you’ve used The Force to grab objects before. That’s impressive for someone who’s never been trained.”

“Well it came in handy back at the repair shop.” (Y/N) mumbled. The elevator dinged and the doors parted. Stepping out, (Y/N) now saw that they had entered a somewhat rooftop garden at the top of the temple. The whole planet seemed to be laid out before her as (Y/N) looked out at the cityscape.

A planet that seemed so vibrant and busy when she first arrived, now seemed calm and dim as the sun started to peak out over the horizon.

“It’s nice and quiet up here.” (Y/N) said.

“I come up here to meditate.” Max said as he took a seat underneath a decorated awning with vines hanging off it. He motioned for (Y/N) to take a seat next to him and she obliged.

“Meditation is one of the main techniques Jedi use to connect with The Force. You’re allowing The Force to enter your body and make a connection.” Max explained. “Close your eyes and try to quiet your mind.”

(Y/N) watched as Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath, she then mirrored him as she tried to focus and start meditating. But after sitting there for what felt like 20 minutes, (Y/N) didn’t feel like she was in a meditative state. She tried to clear her mind as best as she could, but stray thoughts kept popping up.

“How long is this supposed to take?” (Y/N) asked, trying to keep her eyes closed.

“Could take minutes. Could take hours.” Max said. By this point (Y/N) had opened her eyes and saw that Max was in the same relaxed state when she had first closed her eyes. (Y/N) closed her eyes and tried to focus again on clearing her mind, but she became too focused on trying to stay focused that she just ended up getting frustrated with herself.

“I can’t do it!” (Y/N) exclaimed, letting out a frustrating sigh. Max opened his eyes and looked at his frustrated padawan. Max had already doubted his teaching capabilities, and now he was doubting them even more at (Y/N)’s frustration. Meditation was the first thing a padawan learns and Max thought it was the first thing he was supposed to teach (Y/N). But his current approach obviously wasn’t working.

“Let’s try something different.” He said. Max adjusted his placement to where he was now sitting five feet in front of (Y/N).

“Don’t focus on trying to clear your mind and letting the Force in. Instead, I want you to try to reach out through the Force and try to feel my presence in it.” Max explained “Do you think you can do that?”

(Y/N) nodded her head. It didn’t seem like a big ask, considering she probably did the same thing when trying to find Seb back on Tattoonie. (Y/N) watched Max close his eyes again and resume his meditation. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

(Y/N) tried to mentally reach out through The Force. She instantly felt a connection and tried to hone in on it, feeling a presence in front of her. It was familiar and almost comforting. It was Max. Even though (Y/N) knew there was distance between them, it felt like Max was sitting right in front of her.

“I think…I think I did it.” (Y/N) quietly said. Max smiled, feeling the connection (Y/N) made.

“You did. Now instead of focusing on my presence, try to focus on your own. Do you feel the Force around you?”

(Y/N) nodded her head, but remembered that both of them had their eyes closed.

“Yes.”

“Focus on it.”

(Y/N) shifted her focus from Max to herself. In an instance her whole body seemed more energized as she connected with The Force. She felt it flowing through her hands and fingers, running all the way down to her legs.

Max opened his eyes, just to check to see how (Y/N) was doing, and he saw that the small specks of dirt and pebbles around her were floating a few inches off the ground. A small smile formed on his face at his padawan’s quick progress.

The two of them meditated until the sun had risen high over Courescant. (Y/N) hadn’t felt the time pass at all once she had focused on making a connection with The Force. She had expected the energized feeling to leave once Max called an end to their meditation session. But she was surprised that it had stayed with her after she opened her eyes.

“So are we just going to sit up here the whole day and meditate or are you going to teach me other stuff? Oh! Maybe you can teach me how to use one of those laser swords that I saw Seb and Kimi use.” (Y/N) said as she dusted dirt off her robe.

“You’re no way near prepared to learn how to use a lightsaber.” Max told her, offering a hand to help her stand. (Y/N) pouted but accepted his help up.

“Some stuff I will teach you will seem boring but it is essential.” Max said. “But we’re done with the boring stuff for today.”

“What now?”

Max looked out at the Courscant skyline. His eyes landed on a big building that could rival the Jedi Temple in terms of architecture.

“Well, I’ve been advised that I must keep your training to be inside The Temple. However not everything a Jedi learns or does is within these walls.” Max said, giving a mischievous grin to his padawan “And, what Seb doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

(Y/N)’s face mirrored the mischief on Max’s face.

~~~

“If anyone asks us why we’re here, tell them we’re looking for Master Vettel.” Max whispered to (Y/N) as they walked into a very elaborate building. After boarding a shuttle from The Temple, Max told her that he was going to show her some parts of Coruscant. And the first place he decided to show her was the Senate Building.

“What are we doing here, exactly?” (Y/N) asked as the two of them walked past various people of different races and species. Most were dressed in well designed clothing.

“Sometimes the Jedi are asked to sit in on Senate meetings for either advice or input. Master Vettel is here all the time even though The Senate doesn’t always listen to his advice.” Max told her.

“That still doesn’t answer my question. Why are the two of us here specifically? Is sitting in a Senate meeting going to teach me something about being a Jedi?” (Y/N) asked. Max let out a chuckle.

“No, we won’t sit in on any meetings today. Though there may come a time where you may have to sit in on one or even give input. It depends on the matter. I think the meetings are boring from what little I’ve had to sit in on.” Max said. “I just thought it would be a good idea for you to see where all the big decisions that affect The Republic are made.”

(Y/N) looked around at the elaborate architecture and the fine clothes that people were wearing around her. (Y/N) couldn’t help but scowl a bit.

“All this fancy stuff for a big group of people that don’t seem to do much for the people that actually need help.” (Y/N) mumbled.

“I’m sorry?” Max looked at his padawan confused. (Y/N) was about to respond to him when an older gentleman with brown hair and fine burgundy robes approached the two.

“If it isn’t the famed Jedi Knight, Max Verstappen.” The man said, patting Max’s shoulder like they were old friends.

“Oh, hello Senator Horner. How are matters going?” Max asked, greeting the older man. The man, Senator Horner, smiled.

“It’s been a very eventful morning. As of this moment, I am no longer a Senator but am now the Supreme Chancellor of The Senate.” He said.

“Oh, congratulations! This seems so sudden though.”

“Well considering the previous Chancellor hadn’t been delivering what the people wanted ever since he was elected and issues with the Trade Federation have been mounting up to where there could be a full out war any day now, a vote of no confidence was called and I was elected Chancellor.” Chancellor Horner explained. He then noticed the younger padawan standing next to Max

“And who might you be?” Chancellor Horner asked, kneeling in front of (Y/N) and offering his hand for her to shake.

“I’m (Y/N). Max’s new padawan.” (Y/N) shook his hand and a look of surprise displayed on Chancellor Horner’s face. (Y/N) looked at him a bit confused.

“Forgive the surprise that’s on my face. Max has mentioned multiple times that he wouldn’t take on a padawan, but you seem to be an exception.” Chancellor Horner said. While his face did show a bit of shock, there was something else in his gaze that (Y/N) couldn’t quite name.

“With Max as your teacher, I’m sure you’ll soon make a fine Jedi. I shall watch your career with great interest. But for now I must attend to some matters as the new Supreme Chancellor. Farewell you two.” Chancellor Horner bade Max and (Y/N) goodbye before being swept up in conversation with another passing senator. (Y/N) watched him walk away but Max’s attention was drawn to a beautiful woman dressed in elegant white and purple robes. Her face was put in a nervous expression as she partially bit her lower lip. Max smiled.

“Senator Piquet!” Max called out, practically rushing over to the woman. “How are you?”

“Oh, Max! I’m surprised to see you here.” Senator Piquet smiled and greeted Max as (Y/N) hurried over to him.

“I’m showing my new padawan around Coruscant and thought to show her the Senate building.” Max said, placing a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder and sort of ushering her forward.

“Hello. I’m Senator Kelly Piquet of Naboo. What’s your name?” Senator Piquet asked, holding out a hand for the girl to shake the same way Chancellor Horner did.

“I’m (Y/N).” The girl shook her hand. “Forgive me but you looked a little troubled, Senator.”

“Is it that obvious? My apologies. Matters from the recent meeting have made me question my decisions.” Senator Piquet said.

“What was the meeting about? We just heard from Senator Horner that he was just made Chancellor of the Senate.” Max said.

“That’s the matter that troubles me. I was convinced that calling a vote of no confidence was the right thing but now I feel like I may have doomed the senate. That I’ve failed the people of Naboo. I was only just elected and if my first action is one that causes harm, I don’t know how I could live with myself.” Senator Piquet explained.

“Well you won’t really know until time passes.” (Y/N) said.

“I suppose you're right. Besides, I can’t focus my worries on that decision now when the Trade Federation is still blocking trade to Naboo.”

“Any updates on the negotiations?” Max asked.

“No. I unfortunately received word from the Jedi Council that their attempt at negotiation didn’t go well either. If mine and the Jedi Council’s attempt at negotiations didn’t work, I don’t know what will get the Trade Federation to stop.”

“Why don’t both of you try to approach the Trade Federation to negotiate? If the Trade Federation is just one entity, then two should be better against one.” (Y/N) suggested.

“That is something I haven’t actually thought about.” Senator Piquet said. “You actually have a really good suggestion, (Y/N). I’ll have to meet with the governing body of Naboo first, but I’d like to attempt your idea.”

“If you do, I’d be happy to accompany you to the negotiations. For your protection” Max said. (Y/N) noticed blush start to slowly creep up on Max’s face.

“While I appreciate the offer Max, I can assure you that I can take care of myself.” Senator Piquet said. “I have to inform my fellow delegates about the recent Senate meeting now. But it was nice to chat with you and it was lovely to meet you (Y/N).”

“Have a lovely day, Senator Piquet.” Max said as he waved goodbye to the senator. He had an almost goofy grin on his face that (Y/N) noticed. She narrowed her eyes at him

“You seem to really like Senator Piquet.” She said. Max looked down at (Y/N) and shook his head to try and display disbelief. But it didn’t get rid of the blush on his cheeks.

“I do not.” He said. (Y/N) wore a teasing look.

“The hearts in your eyes tell me otherwise.” (Y/N) said. “That’s why you brought us here. Not to show me anything but so you can talk to Senator Piquet.”

“You’re being delusional.” Max said, ruffling his padawan’s hair before looking back at Senator Piquet. “Besides, the code forbids Jedi from having any romantic attachments."

(Y/N) watched as an older gentleman approached Senator Piquet and greeted her with a kiss. Max’s smile fell and his face hardened.

“She’s also married.” Max said, almost somberly as he stared at the man that now had his arm around the Senator. He turned around, not wanting to look at the scene anymore. (Y/N) looked for a bit longer, at the glowing faces of Senator Piquet and her husband, before she too turned around and looked at Max.

“Do you have a favorite place to go to in Coruscant?” She asked. Max nodded his head but didn’t say anything.

“Why don’t you show it to me.”

Max’s favorite place on Coruscant turned out to be a noodle shop in the middle level of the planet that Max claimed “served the best noodle dishes”. (Y/N) could agree with that statement as the dishes did taste delicious. They also seemed to improve Max’s mood, as he seemed relaxed and somewhat happy when they got back to The Temple.

“Remember, don’t tell anyone I took you out of the Temple.” Max whispered to (Y/N) as they walked through the entrance.

“I won’t say a thing.” (Y/N) promised him, crossing her heart for emphasis.

“Was today a good lesson?” Max asked.

“Yea. I think it was pretty good.” (Y/N) told him. Max smiled.

“Good. Tomorrow I want to assess your ability with using The Force to move objects like Seb told me you could do. Then…maybe I’ll teach you how to use a training saber.”

“Really?” Excitement spread across the girl’s face and she almost started bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“I said maybe. No guarantee.” Max said. “I’ll let you have the rest of the day to yourself. If you need me, I’ll be in the training room.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow Max!” (Y/N) waved and turned to leave, but something caught Max’s attention.

“Wait!” Max kneeled in front of (Y/N) and gently took her attempt of a braid in his hands. He undid it and braided the strands properly before tying it off with a hair band and a small yellow bead he had taken from his pocket.

“Sorry, but it’s been bugging me the whole day.” Max said. “That bead on the end is the same one I wore when I was a padawan.”

(Y/N) held the newly done braid in front of her face to get a good look at it. She stared at the bead and smiled before looking at Max.

“Thank you.” She said before heading back to her quarters.

~~~

KNOCK! KNOCK!

A knock at her door interrupted (Y/N)’s routine of getting ready for bed. She threw on her robe before opening her door to reveal Logan standing in front of her. Behind him, Oscar stood a few feet away.

“Hi Logan. Hi Oscar.” (Y/N) said, greeting the two boys. Oscar waved from behind Logan.

“Hey (Y/N). Me and Oscar are going to sneak up to the roof and watch the ships and speeders fly by. Do you want to join us?” Logan asked. His voice was quiet, almost like he didn’t want anyone nearby to hear what he was proposing.

“You’re talking like that’s not something we’re supposed to do.” (Y/N) whispered, matching Logan’s tone. She smiled. “I’m in!”

Logan and Oscar lead (Y/N) through a different route than the one her and Max took to get to the roof earlier this morning. Going up a set of stairs, the three padawans emerged onto a different part of the temple roof that (Y/N) had not seen before. This part gave a perfect view of the skyway filled with bustling ships and speeders driving past. The various lights from the ships, speeders, and neon billboards lit up the night sky, almost to the point where it was hard to see the stars. At least from this part of the city.

“Think there will be any new ones tonight?” Oscar asked as he leaned over the railing.

“I heard there was a big Senate meeting today so there might be some ships from other planets.” Logan said. He squinted at one of the many skyways before his face lit up.

“Aha! That’s an RE60. You don’t see those types of ships often on Coruescant.” Logan had pointed to a yellow, black, and white speeder ship that seemed to not want to be stuck in the traffic that it was in.

“Oh, there’s an A522. Those ships were always coming for repairs back on Tattoonie.” (Y/N) said as she pointed out a pink and blue freight ship.

“Do you know a bit about ships and speeders?” Oscar asked. (Y/N) couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“I worked at a repair and spare parts shop before I came here. Of course I know a bit about ships and speeders.” (Y/N) told him.

“What’s your favorite model then? I personally like the FW46 speeder.” Logan said.

“Mate that speeder hasn’t been performing well from what I’ve heard. Now the MCL60? That’s where it’s at in terms of good speeders.” Oscar said.

“I think you’re both wrong. The best speeder is the SF24.” (Y/N) said. The three padawans started to argue about the better models of ships and speeders. It almost got pretty heated until the three’s attention was drawn to someone speeding past the various skyways with sentry droids chasing it.

“That person’s driving like a maniac.” (Y/N) mumbled.

“That’s how it is on Coruscant.” Logan told her as he gestured with his hand to the skyways in front of them. (Y/N)’s eyes were drawn to Logan’s gloves. They seemed out of place to the regular garb she, Oscar and others were wearing around the temple.

“Can I ask, what’s with the gloves?” (Y/N) said. Logan looked down at his gloves with a bit of nervousness and (Y/N) thought that she may have crossed a line. “You don’t have to tell me, I’m just a bit curious.”

Logan shook his head and the nervousness went away.

“No, it’s ok. I’ve got a…unique ability where if I touch something, I can see it’s past.” Logan said.

“No way! That’s so cool!” (Y/N) exclaimed.

“Really?” Logan seemed a bit shocked at the girl’s amazement.

“Yea! You can see the history of an object! You could see what it’s been through or how it was made!” (Y/N) said. “Do the gloves help with that?”

“Well the gloves actually help dampen my psychometry. That’s what Master Albon calls it.” Logan said. He watched a speeder fly past before speaking again.

“When I first came to The Order, everything I touched I would get a vision from it, it was very overwhelming. Now, depending on the object, I could still get a vision from it even with the gloves on. But I’m working on trying to choose when I have these visions so that I’m not just hit with a vision on immediate touch.” Logan explained.

“That sounds really interesting.” (Y/N) said before turning to Oscar. “What about you Oscar? Do you have any unique abilities?”

“Nah. Not that I’m aware of anyway. But I’m still just a padawan and I’m still learning so who knows. Maybe I’ll discover something while I’m training under Master Norris.” Oscar said. Then he turned to (Y/N) “How bout you?”

“I don’t think I have any special abilities. I mean…Sebastian, well I guess I need to call him Master Vettel now, he said that he thinks I could be an exceptional Jedi. But when he was talking with The Council, they mentioned that he thinks I’m “The Chosen". Whatever that means.” (Y/N) explained.

“Seems like Master Vettel has high expectations for you. Who did they assign to be your teacher?” Logan asked.

“Max. Uh, Master Vestappen is I guess how he’s known but he wants me to just call him Max because he felt weird being addressed by the title of “Master””(Y/N) said. Both boys looked at her with shock.

“What?!”

“Get out. They gave you Verstappen?”

“Is he a good teacher?” (Y/N) asked them.

“Beats me. He’s never been assigned a padawan but he’s also the youngest padawan to be promoted to a Jedi Knight.” Oscar told her.

“When was he promoted?” (Y/N) asked.

“Two years ago, when he was 14. The Council must have really big expectations for you if they gave you Verstappen.” Logan said. (Y/N)’s happy mood seemed to start to sour a bit. She already knew that Seb had high expectations of her and she already assumed Max was somewhat of a big deal in The Temple. But the fact that he was the youngest padawan to become a Jedi Knight, and he was assigned to be her teacher, what does that say for the expectations The Council had for (Y/N). She tried not to think about it, instead focusing back on trying to name ships with Logan and Oscar. For right now, they were just padawans enjoying the night skyline.

But they weren’t the only ones up late. Back in the temple, Seb was meeting with some of his fellow Jedi Masters.

“I do agree with you that your encounter with a Sith is cause for worry.” Master Webber said as they sat in the council room. Currently the council was discussing Seb and Kimi’s encounter with the Sith back on Tatoonie and how to go about handling the matter.

“I think we should be concerned about the growing dark side activity I’ve encountered on previous missions. None of it seemed to connect to one another, but the amount of it is questionable.” Kimi said. “I think the Sith we encountered was a part of it.”

“If it does seem like the Sith are coming back, I think we should stop this matter for it even has a chance to see the light of day.” Master Hamilton said.

“How do we go about this then?” Master Button asked. “If the Sith have been hiding for this long, they’re not going to be easy to find.”

“Well we know what caused the Sith to appear on Tatoonie.” Master Webber said, looking at Seb. Seb looked at Master Webber with a quizzical look.

“I hope you're not implying what I think you’re implying.” Seb said.

“It seems like our only known option to lure the Sith out.”

“You want to use (Y/N) as bait?” Seb asked, disbelief at the own words that had to come out of his mouth

“If it means we can lure a potential Sith out of hiding and stop whatever they may be planning before it even starts, then yes.” Master Webber said.

“How exactly would you go about that? She just started her training with no real means to defend herself if something were to happen!” Seb exclaimed. “There has to be another way.”

“We wouldn’t have her be by herself, that’s ridiculous. She’d at least have Knight Verstappen with her.” Master Rosberg said. “If we wait any longer, it just gives the Sith and whoever they may be working with to properly plan something, if they haven’t already.”

“I think we may already have a possible plan that could work.” Kimi said. Everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Senator Piquet reached out to us. About the possibility of both the Jedi Order and Naboo jointly trying to negotiate with the Trade Federation. I think this could serve as a possibility for us to also lure out our Phantom.” Kimi proposed.

“What do you mean?”

“I think that the Phantom was a part of the group of ships that chased us down the first time we tried to negotiate. Which means the phantom that was after (Y/N) is working with the Trade Federation.” Kimi said.

“That would put both Senator Piquet and (Y/N) in possible danger.” Seb said.

“Not if we anticipate the danger. Senator Piquet will have her guards and Kimi and Seb, you can go in and be part of the negotiations. We’ll ask Verstappen to come along as extra protection for the Senator and that brings (Y/N) along with him.”

“What you’re proposing is unbelievable.” Seb said, disgust lacing his voice.

“But it can assure peace for both us and the Republic.” Master Webber. “All those in favor of this plan?”

Seven hands with up, including Kimi’s.

“All those opposed.”

Seb’s hand was the only one raised.

“It is decided then on how we will tackle this matter of The Sith.”

Seb left the meeting with disbelief and disgust at the Council’s decision. He knew this was a bad idea. No matter how much he will mediate on the matter later, Seb couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go wrong.

~~~

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its-avalon-08 · 10 months ago

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charles leclerc x reader part6

themes

enemies to lovers redbull v/s ferrari female driver overprotective max and checo spice maybe??

Chapter 6 - Flames and Unsaid scars

It was race day and the drivers were driving better than ever. Y/N in a particularly daring turn was pushing her car to the limits. The desert sun beat down on Las Vegas, but the heat paled in comparison to the inferno raging on the track. Y/N, a comet of silver and blue, was locked in a fierce duel with George Russell for third place. They touched wheels, a sickening screech ripping through the air, before Y/N's car lurched, spun out of control, and slammed into the barrier.

Flames erupted from the sleek car and the track went silent. Whizzing cars were passing by as the fire grew in size.

Panic erupted in the Red Bull garage. Christian Horner's face drained of color as he hammered the radio button. "Y/N, Y/N, respond! Are you okay?" "IS Y/N OKAY? CHRISTIAN IS SHE OKAY?" Max yelled into his radio. Checo whispered a prayer as he tried to contact his race radio.

Static. A chilling, deafening silence. Max and Checo, still in the race, wrestled with their emotions, their focus torn between the track and the unfolding drama.

In the Ferrari garage, the air hung thick with dread. In his own whizzing car at P2, Charles, his heart pounding like a trapped bird, clutched his radio, his voice trembling with desperation. "Is she okay? IS SHE ALIVE DAMN IT SOMEONE ANSWER ME."

Then, from the fiery wreckage, a miracle. A figure, shrouded in flames, emerged. It was Y/N, her helmet cracked and singed, her racing suit smoldering. But she stood, defiant against the inferno, a phoenix rising from the ashes.

For a moment, the entire race froze. Drivers and mechanics alike gaped in stunned disbelief. Then, a collective gasp broke the silence as Y/N, overwhelmed by the smoke and heat, stumbled and fell. Charles stopped his car with sudden brakes and leaped out.

Medical personnel, already on the scene, swarmed her. Charles, was the first to reach her. He knelt beside her, hands shaking as he checked for injuries.

"Y/N, Y/N, can you hear me?" he pleaded, his voice hoarse with fear.

Y/N, her vision blurry through the cracked visor, met his gaze. Her lips, cracked and dry, formed a weak smile. "Charl…es," she rasped, her voice barely audible. "I'm… okay."

Relief flooded Charles' face, washing away the fear that had gripped him. He gently touched her cheek, his fingers tracing the soot and grime. "Don't you ever do that again," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Y/N, her eyelids fluttering, squeezed his hand. "Promise me… you won't… give up… on me," she whispered, her voice fading.

Charles, tears welling up in his eyes, leaned down and kissed her forehead, a silent vow etched in the desert heat. "Never," he murmured, his voice raw. "Never, Y/N."

As the medics loaded her onto the stretcher, Charles remained beside her, his hand clasped in hers. He watched as she disappeared into the ambulance, a silent promise hanging heavy in the air: he would protect her, no matter the cost.

The race resumed, but it was a hollow victory. The cheers of the crowd seemed muted, the energy drained from the air. For everyone, the image of Y/N emerging from the flames, a phoenix rising from the ashes, would forever be etched in their memories. It was a testament to her resilience, a reminder that even in the darkest moments, hope can flicker, defiant and bright.

And as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the desert sky in fiery hues, Charles knew one thing for sure: this wasn't the end. It was just the beginning. The beginning of a new chapter, a journey forged in fire and tempered by a love as fierce as the flames that had almost consumed Y/N, and as unyielding as the woman herself.

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Eight days post-crash, the air in Monaco crackled with unspoken tensions. Max, ever the fierce protector, had transformed into a mother hen, hovering around Y/N like a guardian angel with a clipboard of rules. Charles, on the other hand, had retreated into a shell of silence, haunted by the echoes of his own past and the near-death experience that mirrored his own childhood trauma. They had not spoken since the hospital, too afraid to recognize their feelings.

Y/N, though physically recovering, bore the invisible scars of the incident. A jagged line, a brutal testament to the fire, stretched across her stomach, hidden beneath layers of clothing. This secret weapon, nestled against her inner strength, was the one thing stopping her from rejoining the grid. For Y/N, her scars weren't just marks of a past battle; they were a potential disqualifier, a threat to her dream.

One sun-drenched afternoon, a pool party at Max's villa served as a fragile truce between the Red Bull and Ferrari camps. Laughter rang out, punctuated by the clinking of ice against glass. But beneath the veneer of merriment, Y/N felt isolated, adrift in a sea of carefree faces.

That's when she crossed paths with Charles. He stood by the pool, his eyes shadowed, a stark contrast to the vibrant world around him. Their gazes met, a silent conversation unfolding in the space between them. It was then, as the sun glinted off the water, that Y/N noticed a flicker of recognition in his eyes, a reflection of the shared trauma that bound them.

With a silent plea, Y/N excused herself and led Charles away from the crowd. They settled under a secluded palm tree, the breeze whispering secrets in their ears. The air buzzed with unspoken fears and a mutual understanding that words couldn't quite capture.

As Y/N hesitantly lifted her shirt, revealing the angry red scar to the light, Charles' breath hitched. He saw not just the burn mark, but a warrior's badge, a symbol of the storm she had weathered. His eyes met hers, filled with a mixture of admiration and pain.

"Don't tell anyone," Y/N pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. "Not Max, not Checo, not anyone."

Charles nodded, his heart heavy with empathy. He understood the fear, the desperation to reclaim her life on the track. He, too, bore invisible scars, reminders of a battle fought and won.

He reached for the first-aid kit on the table, his movements gentle, almost reverent. As he applied the cooling ointment, his touch spoke volumes. It was a silent conversation, a language of shared pain and unspoken promises.

"How are you now?" Charles muttered. "Doing alright Charlie boy, you don't have to worry about me" Y/N replied with a weak smile. "Right, I don't have to worry about you when you have a fucking cut across your stomach." He replied, eyes burning with anger and concern.

Y/N's gaze softened as she said "Charles, I just need a few days to recover and if Max or Checo find out, they won't let me practice. I need to win because. I just need to." "I almost lost you cherie. I almost lost you and I don't even know what you are to me. I wont tell Checo or Max anything, but you best believe I'll be around to make sure you dont die again." Charles retorted with a shaky voice.

In that moment, under the dappled shade of the palm tree, their rivalry, their animosity, it all faded away. There was only this, this connection forged in fire, this understanding that transcended words. Y/N, leaning into his touch, found solace in his silent support, a promise of unwavering belief nestled against her wound

And as the shadows stretched long and the sun dipped below the horizon, a new chapter began. It was a chapter written in unspoken fears and quiet promises, a chapter where scars, both visible and invisible, became not reminders of battles lost, but symbols of battles fought together. The storm had passed, leaving behind a fragile trust, a bond forged in the crucible of their shared vulnerability. And on the racetrack of their lives, it was a bond that held the promise of healing, of victory, and ultimately, of love.

#charles leclerc #f1 imagine #formula 1 #formula one #red bull racing #y/n #cl16 one shot #cl16 x you #lando norris #cl16 #cl16 imagine #cl16 x reader #charles leclerc x reader

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fairyrona · 3 months ago

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What's wrong? Rainbow.

Okay this post is a little of a brain vomit, because I've read so many smart posts lately and I have some thoughts that kinda tie into all of them or maybe provide some pieces.

So, let's add some maybe fresh thoughts. If somebody had already said all that, please step forth lmao

First, the Zombie Boy drawing and different/changing timelines. (and project rainbow) For For context, @willbyersabyss 's post.

S1 version mentioning the mind control experiments.

-> completely erasing that timeline/version of events by the said mind control. -> And now Will Byers has become the Zombie Boy

It's almost unbelivable how much timeline-wrongness/loops S2 hides under it's sleeve.

Trapped in an artificially created time loop / timeline.

What's wrong with Mama? Rainbow. Timeline's wrong.

Oh, what you say Nancy-in-Terry's overcoat/costume?

Murray's? But not yours?

Oh, then what if Murray's timeline?

Zombie Boy version. The one that says Will got lost in the woods. Our timeline. And then we get Lucas telling Max the truth. (Events of s1, that represent the Zombie Boy version.) But on this particular timeline-train of thoughts, he literally repeats after Nancy:

Will didn't get lost in the woods. The timeline's wrong.

And then it get's even more messy, because Max thinks this story feels derivative. This is literally us reading the s1 article. But then, why is she reacting to the s2 version like that?

And then she calls him out for lying. We get told multiple times, that Lucas is not telling the true version of events.

Friends don't lie. Never ever. No matter what. Is that right? Then how do you explain this?

Out of order. The timeline is wrong. Out of order.

Friends don't lie. Never ever. No matter what. Is that right? Then how do you explain this?

Now, lets go back a little. And add some MKUltra.

What's wrong with mama? Rainbow. Timeline's wrong. Out of order.

I don't think I've seen anyone mention the fact that we've got not 1, not 2, but at least 3 Rainbow Rooms.

terry ives' mind loop (with different colour-gradings)

Ray's, the lab ward's home in Chicagoproject nina tape-based memories project nina tape-based memories (with different colour-gradings)

While we're at HNL colour grading I wanna quickly add that Terry's sequences are a lot warmer, I'd even say the walls are different paint all together. But it could just visual clue of time passing, renovations and all.

However. It's a cool detail that while Terry's memories are warm-ish-> turn greenish just as it cuts to little Jane and Kali and then the lighting immediately becomes cold - like in Will's scenes. (And Ray's, ''true'' version is warm as well. Outside of the girls nightgowns, that are more cool-toned. and that's another mindfuckery detail, bc Ray's kids are dressed more like lab subjects than the lab subjects.) (out of order)

I wanna talk bout the middle Rainbow Room. And its possible connection to MK Ultra.

First. Light is important. Here are two posts about light's and rainbow's involvement in the experiments'.

For context, go to the two @conflictofthemind 's posts.

breathe. sunflower. rainbow. three to the right, four to the left. four-fifty. breathe.

breathe. (He isn't breathing!)

sunflower. (follows the light. Joyce to find Will, El to talk to Terry etc. Will's house being all lit up in the pilot. AND the shed. And the light bulb thing. followed the light? and went back?)

rainbow.

(electromagnetic spectrum gets separated. different wavelengths reflect at a different angle. but in the end it's still just an optical illusion. it doesn't exist in a specific point in the sky.)

Rainbows are actually full circles. The antisolar point is the center of the circle. Viewers in aircraft can sometimes see these circular rainbows. (The horizon obstructs our view. It's as if the second half was under. In the Upside down.)

three to the right, four to the left. 43. 1943?

four-fifty. (Turning up the dial on the machine. 450° degree angle? it loops.

breathe. it loops.

Also, the safety vault, the rainbow and the dial is all circle shaped, and it ends on the dial being turned, as if we're actually going round on it's axis. (But in Terry's memories, and Ray's flat, we're only seeing one half of the story. S4? we get too many versions. A half circle, the rainbow going around the room, turning upside down etc.)

In that scene they are in Ray's apartament. (another light reference)

And I have a few theories. This is the writers telling us that

there are multiple versions of the event

these memories from another timeline. which i'll touch upon in a different post, to keep things in order

the event is replicating itself in different manners

Okay, now a rundown of the scene:

-> The Kali Gang bursts in. The RAY-guy begs for his life. Says he's gonna help El find Brenner.

-> Nobody believes the guy, neither the audience nor the characters, but the thing is - he was telling the truth! Now, after s4, after being introduced to yet another, COMPLETELY different rainbow room, we know that.

What also interest me is that Ray said Brenner trusts him - thus he knows Brenner is alive. Was that a secret between the bad men as well? Is Brenner being alive something more than not succumbing to injury circa s1?

The things is!! El and Kali never entered Ray's rainbow room.

And Ray telling us the truth feels like a check mark - this! This is the one!

I think either:

a) there are different versions of the event: Where the girls in the room were not El and Kali, but some other two kids, possibly actual siblings.

a.1) this only happened once - and Jane is not El.

b) The original event that keeps weaving itself into the plot his hasn't happened to Terry specifically.

c) Or there was no ''original'' but it keep's repeating to trigger something, or replicate an effect. Somebody finding two ''kids'' in a rainbow room.

This really feels more like a visual and storytelling metafor.

Same with @erikiara80 post about colour green.

Especially with what happened st Ray's place.

El and Kali on different sides of conflict, Kali being the more blood-thirsty, revenge seeking one.

-> Kali and El want to kill Ray. But Kali want it to last, to make him suffer. -> For a moment El listens but then Kali-Gang find the girls in the rainbow room -> El notices a photo frame with Ray and his daughters and doesn't kill him in the end. -> This pisses off Kali, she want to kill him, but El stops her. And they evacuate without killing the guy.

vs. El showing 'empathy'.

But we know that NINA's memories are not entirely trust-worthy... (s4 Owens: how much did you skip?)

This might be a nod to the fact that El doesn't actually relate to the strong emotions Kali is feeling about this. (That El is not Jane, Ray didn't torture her mother.)(Or that they originate from different timelines.)

Oh and, let's not forget about the staring point. The Zombie Boy articles. And how Will-Joyce-Hopper are involved in that scene sequence.

Want it or not, in this color grading, this car looks like Joyce's green pinto.

And this, also, looks like Joyce's green pinto.

Now, why am I suddenly pulling Joyce and Hopper into all of this? Because Hop says a funny line in s2.

"You wanna take him back to Chicago?'' (about Will having episodes. They also mention Boston, where another comic takes place.)

All in all, Hopper discourages Joyce from looking for help anywhere else but HNL.

But take this car parked by Ray's place, take that one line, and take the fact that Ray was not bullshitting El?

And to that let's add that the Zombie Boy event having ''Chief Hopper'' literally written all over the page? Zombie Boy is encircling him for gods sake. (in green) Pointing fingers.

(Which Chief Hopper tho haha)

oh and

I really hope this makes sense. Might not. Hopefully it does.

#stranger things #will byers #st4 #stranger things timelines #stranger things theory #lab subjects hnl #terry ives #stranger things rainbow theory #that should be a tag i thing #for like #the timelines theories lmao #I hope linking other's peoples' post isnt a faux pas or smth #makes more sense than repeating it i hope

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bombsquad9 · 9 months ago

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𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝗼 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞

Hello! I am Ro, and I am 18-21 year old trans man. I write for many fandoms (which shall be listed below). This is indeed my second account, I deleted my last one because I needed to refresh everything (feed, posts, etc). I will try to post frequently, and if I do not then please be patient with me, because it probably means burn out or poor mental health. I also have a new Wattpad account, which the username is also bombsquad09 (it will also be linked below, along with a tag list). Every fandom and character within will be in alphabetical order. Some of the fandoms I do write for will not be listed, and that is due to me not taking requests for those specific fandoms. Thank you!

𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐝𝗼𝗺𝐬:

✞Apex Legends

—> Character(s): Catalyst, Caustic, Fuse, Horizon, Loba, Mirage, Octane, Revenant, Seer, Valkyrie, Wattson.

✞Call of Duty

—> Character(s): John ‘Soap’ MacTavish, John Price, König, Nikto, Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley.

✞Fallout 4

—> Character(s): Cait, Codsworth, Deacon, John Hancock, Nick Valentine, Porter Gage, Preston Garvey, Robert MacCready.

✞House of Ashes

—> Character(s): Eric King, Jason Kolchek, Joey Gomez, Nick Kay, Rachel King, Salim Othman.

✞Just Ignore Them

—> Character(s): Brea, Mark, The Sheriff.

✞Mortal Kombat

—> Character(s): Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Noob Saibot.

✞Outlast

—> Character(s): Chris Walker, Eddie Gluskin, Jeremy Blaire, Miles Upshur, Richard Trager.

✞Resident Evil

—> Character(s): Ada Wong, Alcina Dimitrescu, Albert Wesker, Ashley Graham, Carlos Oliveira, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Ethan Winters, Finn Macauley, Jake Muller, Jill Valentine, Leon Kennedy, Lucas Baker, Luis Sera, Nikolai Zinoviev, Piers Nivans, Sherry Birkin.

✞Subnautica

—> Character(s): AL-AN.

✞The Quarry

—> Character(s): Abigail Blyg, Dylan Lenivy, Emma Mountebank, Jacob Custos, Kaitlyn Ka, Max Brinly, Nick Furcillo, Ryan Erzahler.

✞Tomb Raider

—> Character(s): Lara Croft

✞Until Dawn

—> Character(s): Ashley Brown, Christopher Hartley, Emily Davis, Jessica Riley, Joshua Washington, Matthew Taylor, Michael Monroe, Samantha Giddings.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬:

✞Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Fetishizing, etc will not be tolerated. If you do anything related to any of those topics you will be blocked from my account.

✞Do NOT request things such as pedophilia, rape, zoophilia, etc . If anything you are requesting is like that you will be blocked from my account.

✞If you send hate in my anonymous inbox then you shall be ignored, and your message will be deleted. If you're going to be hatefully, don't be a pussy and hide behind an anon.

✞Minor shall interact with anything that is not labeled 18+/MDNI/smut. I can't stop you, nor am I going to carry out an investigation to find out if you're 18+. If you're a minor and you interact and see something you don't like; THATS NOT MY FAULT.

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝗺:

⚠︎︎Requests are currently open⚠︎︎

✞If you are requesting please be specific about what you want. This includes characters, setting, whether it's ship/xreader/headcanons, and other criteria you want. I can't make it what you want if you don't tell me.

✞I will write smut, fluff, and angst. Headcanons, ships, x readers, preferences, etc are all acceptable within reason.

—> When it comes to smut I will write quite a bit, even somewhat darker themes (Again; I draw the line at things like rape). I may not be good due to having lack of practice from where I didn't write for awhile, my apologies.

—> When it comes to angst, I will write almost anything. I will write (TW) suicide, alcoholism and other addictions, etc. Though, I won't write EDs or self-harm. Similarly to smut, it may not be good due to lack of practice, my apologies.

—> Anything out of reason would be minor x adult in a pedophilic/romantic way, human x animal (no, this does not include monsters) in a zoophilic/romantic way, etc.

✞Be patient, I will want to take my time on requests for various reasons. Sometimes I need breaks, sometimes I don't have any ideas, sometimes I will have writing sprees. It depends on the minute, so again, be patient. If you complain about how long it takes your request will be deleted and ignored.

✞If you want to be tagged for any specific character(s), then put your username in an orderly fashion on the Google doc that I will have linked below.

✞I will mostly write m!reader (AMAB and AFAB), but if you do want f!reader or gn!reader just let me know in your request, and I will do. If you do not specify I will either do m!reader or gn!reader by default. The only exception to this is if it is a lesbian/sapphic character.

✞ Any requested content will be Tumblr exclusives! Anything that is requested on my Wattpad will be Wattpad exclusive. (Excluding alphabets)

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭/𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭/𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐚𝐝:

✞ Wattpad

✞ Masterlists

✞ Tag List

✞ Upcoming Works

⚠︎︎This post was last updated: 10/27/24⚠︎︎

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thxqutee · 5 months ago

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𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐞

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

𝘼/𝙉 : First fic WHOOPWHOOP plz be nice! 😋

First smidge of dialogue is from the actual game, but the rest is from yours truly!!

Story MAINLY starts after Max makes her decision..

Very slow burn.. 😔

I’ll be as active with chapters as I can!!

Fic is on ao3!!

𝘾𝙃 1 : 𝙋𝙊𝙇𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙕��𝘿

Overlooking the cliff on Arcadia Bay, Max and Chloe were witnessing the apocalyptic storm raging around them with terrifying intensity. Dark clouds churned overhead, lightning split the sky, and the wind howled, threatening to tear everything apart. Waves crashed violently against the rocks below, while debris flew through the air like deadly projectiles. The air was thick and almost humid with the smell of rain and burnt electricity, as the ground trembled beneath their feet with each thunderous boom.

Chloe's blue hair whipped wildly around her face, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and disturbance. Her usually defiant posture was tempered by uncertainty, her gaze locked on Max. Max, her expression solemn and determined yet fraught with the weight of her powers. Her eyes glowed with a faint blue light as she struggled to comprehend the chaos around them, scanning for any sign of a way to end the cataclysm.

Max’s eyebrows pinched together in worry and grievance as she took in the destruction that was caused due to her manipulation and abuse of her own power. She looked at the tornado angrily

“This is my storm. I caused this… I caused all of this” Max cried out “I changed fate and destiny so much that… I actually did alter the course of everything. And all I really created was death and destruction!” She took a few steps forward, observing the hurricane as raindrops splashed on her face and her soaked, messy hair. Chloe turned Max around.

“Fuck all of that, okay? You were given a power. You didn’t ask for it… and you saved me! Which had to happen, all of this did… except for what happened to Rachel.” Chloe aggressively assured Max “But without your power, we wouldn’t have found her! Okay so you’re not the goddamn Time Master, but you’re Maxine Caufield. And you’re amazing.” Both locked eye contact and were silent for a brief moment until Max had looked off into the horizon of the storm. “Max, this is the only way.” Chloe handed Max the photograph of a Morpho butterfly on a bucket, shortly before Nathan threatened Chloe with a gun in the girl’s bathroom.

“I-I feel like I took this shot a thousand years ago.” She locked her eyes on picture.

“You…you could use that photo to change everything right back to to when you took the picture” Chloe’s voice cracked “All that would take is for me to.. to..” She began to sob into her hands.

“Fuck that!“ Max quickly cut her off “No…no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me” She comforted. Chloe removed her hands from her face revealing her glossed face and red tinted eyes.

“I know. You proved that over and over again. Even though I don’t deserve it.” Chloe bawled “I’m so selfish…not like my mom. Look what she had to give up and live through. And she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner!” She shouted “Even my s- my step…father deserves her alive. There’s so many people in Arcadia Bay who should live. Way more than me.”

“Don’t say that! I won’t trade you!” Max persisted

“You’re not trading me. Maybe you’ve just been delaying my real destiny” Chloe argued “Look at how many times I’ve almost died or actually died around you. Look what’s happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me. I know I’ve been selfish, but for once I think I should accept my fate… our fate…” She put her hand on her shoulder. Max shook her head in denial.

“Chloe…” She wept

“Max, you finally came back this week and, you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile… and laugh, like I have done in years” Chloe sense that Max was staring at her quite somberly, as if she was starting to sense the outcome “Wherever I end up after this… in whatever reality all those moments between us were real, and they’ll always be ours. No matter what you choose, I know you’ll make the right descision.” She exclaimed.

“Chloe, I can’t make this choice!” Max wailed. Chloe rested both of her hands on Max’s and stared at her determination.

“No Max,” The tone of Chloe’s voiced quickly softened “You’re the only one who can”. As tear on Chloe’s waterline sunk back into her eye, a new one formed on Max’s. She stayed silent as Chloe awaited on her decision. “Max…It’s time.” She lowered her hands and backed away.

“Chloe…I’m so, so sorry… I…” She apologized “I don’t wanna do this!” Chloe wrapped her arms around Max’s neck

“I know, Max. But we have to. We have to save everybody okay?” Chloe released the hug “And you’ll make those fuckers pay for what they did to Rachel. Being together this week… it was the best farewell gift I could have hoped for. You’re my hero Max.”

“Oh Chloe…I’m gonna miss you so much” They went in for another hug in the midst of chaos as pieces from buildings swirled around them. Chloe let go of Max.

“I’ll always love you. Now get out of here, please! Do it before I freak.” Chloe laughed at the end of her cry “And Max Caufield? Don’t you forget about me.”

“Never.” Max shook her head. She pulled the photograph out from her left hand, and focused on the image. Everything blurred into a haze, then went blank. Suddenly, Max found herself transported back to the moment she had taken that photograph. A click of the camera produced an instant photo from it. Max let go of the photo, watching it drift onto the cold tile floor. She peeked over the bathroom stall, awaiting to see Nathan’s break in. The door swung open violently, prompting Max to swiftly turn and press herself against the wall, out of sight. Nathan began frantically muttering to himself in the mirror, only for Chloe to confront him, leading to an argument between them. Max leaned herself up against the wall slowly sliding down, allowing the situation to play out. She knew what to expect next when she heard Chloe order him to put his gun away. The gunshot made Max flinch, sending a ring through her ears. Blood from Chloe’s wound quickly spurted out as Nathan desperately tried to wake her lifeless body up.

David Madsen barged in with an armed gun, his body almost going limp once he saw Chloe on the floor. He looked up to see Nathan with his arms up, begging for mercy.

“Son of a…” David dropped his weapon and lunged himself onto him. Nathan braced himself to soften the impact. David put him in handcuffs promptly, only to see Max sniveling in the corner of the bathroom. His eyes softened with sympathy as he pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt “Principal Wells…” he sucked in his tears “Come to the bathroom. A..And bring some officials. Please.” There was a faint echo from the beep of his device. Max felt as if it was safer to cry as much as she wanted. There was no one to hurt her. Not Nathan, and definitely not Mr. Jefferson. David stood up next to Nathan. “We’re um…we’re gonna let the real cops handle this.” He huffed, nudging Nathan with his foot “And the paramedics, they’ll take care of Chloe”. He wiped his eyes, doing his best to keep his composure in front of Max. “C’mon kiddo, follow me.” He assisted Max to her feet while she used her jacket sleeve to wipe away the tears from her face.

David shielded her as they exited the bathroom. Authorities and students crowded the area, their murmurs and chatter filling the air from all directions. He took them to a more open area, with only a few questionnaires continuing to follow them.

“Max? Hey! Max!” Max recognized that voice. She looked over her shoulder to see Warren’s head poking through at what had seemed to be her peers.

“Warren!?” She weakly called out, still latched on to David

“MAAAAX! HEY! I’m right here!” Warren started hopping up and down making himself visible

“Warren…” Max smiled broadly. Warren squeezed himself through the narrow crowd of students. Max and David both fully turned around together as Warren finally made his way through the maze of students. Max let go of David. “Oh my god..” She clung herself tightly around his torso. Warren then wrapped his left arm around her neck leaving his right hand to hold her head. Warren pulled away with both hands being on Max’s shoulders.

“Max, what happened? Are you okay?” Warren asked worriedly. Max studied Warren's features as they locked eyes. It had then it her that this was the boy she had kissed during chaos. He was the one who had assisted her with science tasks and stood by her side, yet he had no memory of any of those moments. This only made her more upset.

“Oh, Warren!” She blubbered. She buried her head into his shoulder and cried loudly. David awkwardly backed away and cleared his throat.

“Warren, correct?” He raised his eyebrow. Warren nodded patting Max’s back as she cried. “Okay, well uh, I think I’ll let you two go now.” He assertively tipped his hat. Warren gave him a thumbs up and watched him walk away. Warren and Max slowly broke away to see the commotion. Police sirens could be heard coming directly from the entrance of the school. Two police officers were escorting Mr. Jefferson down the stairs. Max found relief in seeing him taken into custody as soon as they could. They turned back to one another.

“You have some serious catching up to do” Warren chuckled softly. Max smiled, resting herself on him.

“I know, Warren.”

#life is strange #life is strange game #after the storm #life is strange fanfiction #max caulfield #warren graham #fanfic #fanfiction #hurt/comfort #grahamfield #lis #double eclipse #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #max and warren

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taanoir · 4 months ago

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Time for a Challenge Check in!

The challenge is beginning it's final throws. In terms of in game years, we are in the future, the 2030's. There will be some future tech on the horizon but for now it really just looks a lot like our current era.

Gen 9 - Modern Age - Complete

Max Programing, Video Games, Mixology - All maxed by Nicole and Jennifer

Hack all available options - Completed by both Nicole and Jennifer

Have a sim play Video Games on the computer from the time they get up until they go to bed. - Completed by Nicole

Have 2 Sims reach the top of their career and complete their aspiration (bonus if it's 4 sims). (1) Nicole - Tech Guru and Computer Wiz, (2) Tiffany - Writer and Prolific Writer Aspiration, (3) Jennifer Computer Engineer and Nerd Brain, (4) Josh Astronaut and Wealthy

Meet your ancestors, bonus if you become friends with them. Nicole became friends with Calisto and Khur.

Gen 10 - Future Tech - In Progress

Max Skills - Robotics, Comedy & Writing - Melody is at levels 4 & 6 for comedy and writing

Complete 5 aspirations between all sims. Melody is in process on the writing aspiration.

Challenge Wide:

50 Gold medal events - Complete

Completed 20+ aspirations, 15 careers, and 30 skills

All potions and traits have been purchased - Complete

Graves/Urns for all family members Gen 9 & 10 left

Portraits for all generations - Generation 10 left

I've also maxed the finances in the game, $9,999,999. After multiple large purchases including a basement section full of the most expensive items I could place, I'm still maxed.

The kids have been BUSY! Melody entered her teen years with a big boost to her skills.

I earned an achievement I didn't realize was a thing.

After a freak out over the mandatory update, I've just been casually strolling through the final generation.

#ts4 gameplay #historychallenge #childrenofcalisto #gen 10

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saturniandragon · 6 months ago

Text

Adra's Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown In-Depth Review (contains spoilers)

(Caution: Extremely long read, please ask for snacks from Long Caster)

Let's start with a little background of me as a player. Before 7, my Ace Combat games were:

Ace Combat 2

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (EU and JP versions)

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

Ace Combat: Joint Assault

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

With the exception of Assault Horizon and the EU version of AC3, I played all of them on emulators. Because I was too poor to afford anything. I haven't played AC6 because I haven't seen the reason to buy an X360 just to play 1 game, so I'm waiting for a fully developed X360 emulator that can run 6 flawlessly.

Yes I used to play AH. Quite a lot. Yes it was a decent enough game. Yes it's strayed ungodly far from the true Ace Combat that we know of. But the soundtracks absolutely make up for it. And frankly, without AH, there won't be Ace Combat Infinity, because it used the same game engine as AH. Also AC7 reuses several sounds from AH.

I'm not saying we should accept AH as a true Ace Combat game, because it's not. But over time, it became a necessary stepping stone towards Ace Combat Infinity and Ace Combat 7 we know today.

Just a note that I have never played Infinity. I was still in mid school when Infinity was up and running. I never even owned a PS3. Any mention of AC Infinity in my following review is based on watching YT videos because the game is dead now (thanks Namco, I guess).

I spent 5 years aggressively avoiding spoilers for Ace Combat 7 because it's more fun that way. As such I had no idea what the story is like, what Strangereal country the protag is affiliated with, or which country we're fighting. About the only thing I know is that the protag goes by the nickname Trigger.

Anyway, Ace Combat 7 now. So my first impression was. Wow. I absolutely loved the menu UI. Minimalistic, yes, but very straightforward. And the splash screen before the main menu. The overall dark blue theme of course is a nod towards the blue skies that every pilot knows, whether real or virtual. And apparently also a reference for the theme of the game plot, "Dark Blue."

(Tumblr voice: do you love the color of the sky-- *forcibly removed from stage*)

The controls again are also familiar, although I have to change the scheme in settings first, because I'm used to using the Select button instead of Square to change SP weapons. Again it's configurable, so a nice feature.

The mission briefing scene was... to put it simply, a little convoluted. Maybe that's just me, seeing Ace Combat 5 and Zero also had similar briefing screens with a buttload of flavor text that mostly doesn't matter to the actual gameplay. I let it slide because it's "the Ace Combat DNA", if you will. And I also love the animations, so good job devs.

First mission, you're a peacekeeping pilot. So I guess like the precursor of Ace Combat 3's UPEO. You get F-16C with 4AAMs. And thank God for that because I'm kinda fed up with starter planes being something ancient like F-4s or F-5s. And I quite like Vipers. Not as much as I like Flank-- sorry, moving on.

Oh shit, we're fighting Erusea now. I think we fought Erusea as well in 04, right? So I was interested if maybe there would be a mention of Yellow 13 (spoiler: there isn't).

The graphics were stunning. I played the game on max graphics. Lighting, shadows, glow/bloom effects, clouds, skies, a couple of shadow staircasing every now and then, but it's not super noticeable. And the game was very well optimized as well because I was getting 120+ fps at all times.

Although to be fair Ace Combat 7 is my first proper "next gen" game. After years and years of playing games on 720p Low, playing something on 1080p Ultra with smooth 60fps+ is mind blowing.

I think the only times I switch to first person/HUD view is during dogfights in thick clouds, just so I can see where my aircraft is pointing and avoid a premature nose-first landing.

Then the soundtracks. My god, this game delivers and goes beyond. Several times I get the chills when the music ramps up during the right moment. And the way the BGM gets muffled when you're in the clouds and becomes clear again when you're out? Such a genius idea. Replayability value increased.

The flight model/physics is... well, quite different from what I'm used to, which is AC5 and AC0's flight model. Your left thumbstick input isn't instantaneous, there's a bit of inertia and momentum in plane's roll, pitch and yaw, but I quickly got used to it. In contrast to PS2 titles, AC7 planes are so easy to accelerate and very hard to decelerate, and I learned that the hard way from overshooting enemy planes and crashing to the ground a couple of times trying to do dive bomb attacks.

And then the flight model for landing on runways or carriers is another level of different. Somehow your air speed doesn't decrease when you fully press the decel button and the air brakes are extended. Even increasing sometimes, during approach. Your plane only actually starts losing speed when you're directly above the runway. And I hear you, Ace Combat isn't known for realistic flight physics. Never was, and never will be. I have fully accepted that since Ace Combat 2. But you can actually decrease your speed during landing, as you should be able to, in all the previous titles, so why not in 7? That means most of the time I was landing my plane in AC7 with nose gear first. Doesn't damage my plane in the game or anything, but still, I loved doing realistic landings in previous games.

During takeoffs your plane also pitches up automatically after surpassing V1 and V2 speeds, like in Assault Horizon. I prefer previous titles where you have to manually pull the stick back to takeoff from the runway/carrier.

I'm slightly disappointed that there isn't any vapor cloud forming on your plane when you breach Mach 1. AC5 and Zero had that small touch of realism (I think 04 also did but I don't remember), so seeing it absent in 7 is a bit sad. But not game breaking.

Harling rescue mission. He's no longer president of Osea but he's still alive, and apparently built the space elevator near Selatapura. Flew my Super Tomcat with 8AAM through the radar network. Reminding me of the Mother Goose One escort mission from 5. Even the rescue chopper is Sea Goblin, the same one from 5. I love it.

My hype was shattered at the end of the mission where apparently one of my missiles hit Harling and killed him??? Oh well, solitary now I guess.

Oh great, first mission apparently with other pilot convicts. Take off and make Erusean bombers think they're attacking a real AFB. While Count and other Spare squadron members keep calling me Harling's murderer.

My true complain so far in my first time playing is that the characters talk SO much during actual gameplay. Way too much. Half the time I don't hear or get the chance to read subtitles because I'm too focused on dogfighting or blowing stuff up with HVAAs and GPBs. So I'm missing quite a lot of what the characters say during flight.

About the only thing I catch in the entire game is just Long Caster talking about food (affectionate). He probably has an entire buffet line for himself in his E-767. Hey I don't blame him, you're not yourself when you're hungry.

Although, Long Caster, did you really just say you were gonna order food from "Italian" bistro near LRSSG base? That's a bit of an oversight from PA.

My only source of the game's storyline is through cutscenes, which, may I add, are rendered extremely nicely. Like, I couldn't tell if the cutscenes were pre-rendered MP4 clips or real-time 3D render. We've gone from AC04's manga slideshow, AC5's 3D anime, AC0's green screen mocaps, to realistic and high fidelity CGI cutscenes in 7. With the exception of the static JPEG dog that appears beside the Princess of Erusea and Mihaly's granddaughters.

Speaking of which. Mihaly. What the hell is with that full name, old man? Even the noble Altmer families in Elder Scrolls Online are jealous of your monarchy name. I don't want to be your commanding officer who will probably have to write your full name everytime I make an official report.

The cutscenes show an interesting story from Avril's point of view. How she went from apparently spending years building an F-104 from scraps to fulfill her dream as a sky drag racer, shot down by an Osean fighter for breaching airspace regulation, held as a prisoner for god knows how long, and finally becoming the Scrap Queen for the OADF/OMDF and making tweaks for Trigger's aircrafts.

(You! Solitary, now!)

Let's move to weapons. SP weapons especially, and my god there's a lot of them now. LAAM, HVAA, HPAA, HCAA, 8AAM, GRKT, SASM, IEWS, PLSL, so many to choose from. I still remember when 4AGMs and 4AAMs were just called XAGMs and XMAAs. And now there's even a goddamn 8AGM for when you really hate tank columns. If the next Ace Combat game were to feature the new F-15EX, they should make 10AAM or 12AAM SP weapon for it.

For area of effect (AOE) weapons like UGBs, GPBs and SFFSs, they now use predicted impact point and blast radius as your aiming guide, previously also seen in AH and Infinity. It's a very good way to aim AOE weapons and decide where you should aim for maximum effect. In AC3 and PS2 titles, they just displayed a hovering on-screen reticle that tells you roughly where your bombs will go, no information about how large the lethal radius is.

You have access to countermeasures now like in ACAH! Gone are the days you have to perform pugachev kulbit 60G shit yourself maneuver to avoid incoming QAAMs. You can still do that, of course, but now at least they give you a second option, for when you're in a pinch, which is nice.

Let's talk about the aircraft tree. And my thoughts? I really like it. Intuitive and easy to understand. All SP weapons for each aircraft are also available to view before you buy. A little weird how the F-16C tree branches out to F-2A, but also the F-14D Super Tomcat. I mean I was expecting the F-16C to branch out to Falcon derivatives like F-16XL and F-16 Block 60, and the F-14D would be unlocked by purchasing F-14A first, like in Ace Combat 5. I mean I get to play with F-14D's 8AAM early in the game. Still, a little weird.

(After writing this I just remembered that F-16XL is a DLC, so disregard that)

I also love the way it incorporates aircraft parts previously seen in Ace Combat X, Infinity and AH (yes that game actually had aircraft parts, although a little different, and only seen in Free Mission and multiplayer). And once you unlock one aircraft upgrade part, you can apply it to any aircraft! 10/10.

From my earlier point of "planes too easy to accel and too hard to decel", maybe there are parts that can make decel easier, but I haven't unlocked it by the time I'm writing this review. I will, however, attempt to unlock everything in the aircraft tree because this game is fun.

My aircraft tree path in my first playthrough was F-16C, F-14D, A-10C, MiG-29, Su-33, Su-30M2, Su-34, Su-30SM, and finally for the last mission I saved up enough MRPs for Su-57 with PLSL. Which is quite effective for boss fights I must say. I haven't used pulse laser since AC3's pulse laser (that was usable on R-103 Delphinus 3 and R-311 Remora). Different in how it works because in AC3 the pulse laser occupies your machine gun slot, and in AC7 it's an SPW, but considering AC3 takes place in 2040 Strangereal, it's fine.

Did you know I clapped Mihaly's X-02S with an Su-34, first try, with standard missiles alone? I played on Normal diff, but I was dogfighting him with 90% damage, so I'm quite proud of that.

In the wise words of Lt. Bradley Bradshaw, "It's not the plane, it's the pilot."

Next the flight controls. God it feels so satisfying and immersive. The way your controller vibrates, the FOV shakes when an explosion happens near you, or when going through a turbulence or wind shear in the clouds, I love it. Although not gonna lie I've crashed my MiG-29 once into a cliffside from extreme wind shear in one of that canyon mission, and I nearly pissed myself when my Fullback was struck by lightning and my HUD was gone.

I do miss the oil splatter effect on your screen when you fly through an explosion, that was last seen in AH and Infinity.

The clouds aren't just decors of the sky now, they can alter the gameplay! From masking radar pings, forming ice layers on your plane which hampers its performance, to disrupting missile tracking ability. And in cockpit view, your glass canopy actually gets wet from the water vapors, and icy when your plane's icing up, so that's an awesome level of detail. A great way to make gameplay less boring and make players rethink their strats. Which I'm guessing will be even more important in multiplayer PvP matches.

(Actually now I want to try if SAAM's guidance is affected by clouds at all. I haven't used SAAM in my first playthrough)

The story is good. I mean I didn't get 30% of it because the characters talk so damn much during missions, but I love Trigger's progression from an IUN-PKF pilot (with a suspiciously furry emblem, but hey, I'm part of furry fandom myself), a convict with three white stripes on his tail, and finally the three stripes turn into three claws like the claws of a predator that hunts down every bird in the sky.

Does that kinda resemble the story of Razgriz? Probably. Probably not. I'm overthinking.

They make a several references from previous games. At some points there were mentions of ISAF (AC04), Razgriz squadron (AC5) although indirectly, and Belka's seven nukes (AC0). I think I saw the name Albert Genette once in one of the cutscenes, the reporter/photographer guy from 5! He's still alive by the time 7 takes place! And a mention of the original Kestrel as well as Captain Andersen. Maybe there was a reference from 6 that I didn't catch because I haven't played it. But still, good stuff.

I'm still bummed that Harling dies in this game. In AC5's ending screen it was mentioned that in 2020 Harling would declassify military records about the Osea-Yuktobania war (was it called Circum Pacific war? The war in AC5) to the public. But AC7 takes place in 2019, so I guess the truth of Razgriz squadron's identity, 8492nd and the Grey Men will likely remain in secrecy in Strangereal universe.

There was one mission that took place near Basset Space Center, the place where the mass driver (the railway space ramp launcher thing) is located, that was used to send stuff up to the Arkbird. And my god that mission gave me bad memories of that one mission in AC5 that also took place there. At least this time I don't have to defend the place from falling tanks or a swarm of cruise missiles.

One of my favorite missions was using targeting pods (TGTP) to guide ordnance from bombers above you in order to destroy missile silos. It's almost like a ground target version of SAAM, and reminds me of the bombing run mission in Top Gun: Maverick. Nice gameplay mechanic. Although the final part of the mission where you have to shoot down IRBMs launched from secret locations has to be inspired by the ICBM chase in Assault Horizon. But thankfully in 7 it's not as annoying as it is in AH. My god you do not want to know how annoying it is in AH.

I do appreciate that mission checkpoints are a thing now. In previous titles, if you die at any point before the mission ends, that's it. You start from the beginning again regardless of progress. Checkpoint system was first implemented in AH (because AH is just Call of Duty with planes). Checkpoints in 7 are not common, but that's a good thing. Don't want to resemble AH too much, while also giving casual (and new) players some cushion for failure.

Now let's talk bosses. Arsenal Bird. Or Birds, because apparently there were 2 of them. Fighting them is fucking annoying because of the massive swarm of MQ-101 drones all around it. One standard missile hit does kill the drones, but there's a lot of them. And hundreds of them flying criss cross applesauce all over my screen just gives me sensory overload. Maybe that's the intent.

The design of the Arsenal Bird is... intriguing. Not because it's a flying wing design, we've seen that with the X-49 Night Raven and XR-900 Geopelia (AC3), Arkbird (AC5) and XB-0 Hresvelgr (AC0), but the fact that's it's propeller driven (turboprop, presumably), with counter-rotating blades, and it's in pusher configuration??

By the way, pusher config just means that for a prop driven aircraft, the propeller(s) is behind the engine. Some examples include Airco DH2, a British WW1 biplane fighter, and Kyushu J7W Shinden, a Japanese WW2-era prototype interceptor (don't ask me where or how I know about those two obscure planes). Literally the propellers push the plane forward, like the massive fan on a hovercraft, instead of the more common pulling action in other prop planes like Mitsubishi A6M Zero and Messerschmitt BF 109.

I don't remember the reason why, but they're rare and ultimately didn't catch on in our real world, probably due to complexity issues and no real performance benefit. So seeing an Ace Combat boss plane/mothership that flies on pusher prop engines, in the game's modern timeline where jet/turbofan propulsion is everywhere and tactical laser weapons are a thing, is... something else. There's probably an in-universe explanation for it. Maybe Project Aces just ran out of ideas.

Although, whoever designed the Arsenal Bird (both in the dev team and canonically in the game's universe) must've taken some reference from the Arkbird, judging by the location of laser pod in the middle section, drone pods underneath, and AAM pods on top. Maybe they even salvaged Arkbird parts from the sea after Razgriz shot it down?

You guys remember that the Arkbird had drones, right? The Vogels, that Belka attached to the Arkbird in AC5? Whatever. Someone else reading this remembers.

Let's talk Mihaly. My god, old man, I want to complain about your obnoxiously long full name again, but I'm not going to. At least it's only mentioned exactly one time in the cutscene. But fighting him is actually fun and challenging, both against his Su-30SM and X-02S Strike Wyvern. Especially in Farbanti when the fight brings you near the sunken parts of the city, dodging ruined buildings left and right.

Although I can't help but notice that the layout of his Erusean black and orange livery is reminiscent of Cipher's F-15C livery just in different colors.

(Mihaly: There are pilots like you in every generation, and I felled every last one of them. | Trigger: Ok boomer.)

At the time of writing this review I don't fully remember why he was the enemy boss in 7. Something along the lines of seeing his former country crumble? But then he exhibits certain traits. His body is failing, he loves the skies like it's his one and only home, and his flight data is used to train drones.

Who else shares those traits? Rena Hirose from AC3.

(At one cutscene he was heard talking about borders being an imaginary line that separates countries, which made me think of Pixy and AWWNB, but I felt that's too minor to point out the similarity, so I will gloss over it)

In this paragraph you don't have to listen to me, because I'm not an Ace Combat lore expert. But the similarity of Mihaly and Rena Hirose makes me suspect that Ace Combat 7 is the start of a bridge, one that heads towards Ace Combat 3 timeline. A bridge where we see the next Ace Combat game showing the turnover of the world of Strangereal into the one seen in AC3. We will probably see, in Ace Combat 8, the events that transpire before the continent of Usea (and possibly the entire Strangereal Earth) is ruled by megacorporations instead of countries.

(I just love that some missions in AC7 take place in locations like Waiapolo mountains and Chopinburg, the same locations in some AC3 missons. It's a nice nostalgia)

We've also already seen what looks like an early attempt of thought-controlled combat aircraft, with the ADF fighter series. And in Ace Combat 3, reportedly all playable aircrafts are controlled by thoughts, through the use of COFFIN technology.

Actually now that I talk about it, I'm still damn surprised that old designs like Typhoon, Fulcrum, Raptor, Falcon, Eagle and Hornet all exist by the time AC3 takes place, retrofitted with COFFINs to make them look futuristic. EF-2000E Typhoon II, MiG-33 Fulcrum SS, F-22C Raptor II, F-16XF Gyrfalcon, F-15SMT Eagle+, F/A-18I Hornet ADV, I mean I get that the game was developed in the 90s and there was no way Namco could've predicted what the real world would use in the future.

(Yes I did just recite the full names of those AC3 planes from memory because I'm that much of a nerd)

Regardless, I personally can't wait to see what actually happens before 2040 Strangereal in the next Ace Combat game.

Another mission I really liked. The night mission after the comm satellites in space are gone and every target appears as unknowns. You have to fly close to ID them (with your plane's IRST cam probably) so you don't mistakenly shoot a friendly.

Finally let's talk the ending of the game. Assault on Erusean rogue forces near the space elevator. A coalition of OADF/OMDF, LRSSG and conservative Eruseans. Even the remaining Sol squadron is also here. Really reminds me of the ACES mission in 5 where Osea and Yuktobania gather their senses and fight together against their true enemy.

Mission was fairly straightforward until the second Arsenal Bird appears, its MQ-101 swarm and protective shielding rendering most attacks useless. Kinda felt this mission is a bit scripted because you have to wait until the Erusean princess destroys the Arsenal Bird modules in the ISEV control room. And even after that, this fight is like AC5 Arkbird fight on steroids. Added with the TLS pod and PLSL pods underneath. Still, I downed it.

And oh my god, the music that massively ramps up when the shield is down. Fuck, man. It's just a plane game. It has no right being absolutely majestic.

Last mission. You and your mates versus 2 ADF-11F drones. Saved up enough for Su-57 with PLSL, but I wasn't expecting to takeoff from a carrier. So the sight of a Felon being raised on the platform, taxiing to the deck and taking off to the skies (without even using the catapult or the launch pad, just sheer power of determination and Belkan witchcraft) is a fun one.

ISEV again, Hugin and Munin. The two birds of Odin that fly around the world and act as his eyes. One by one Sol squadron gets shot down. My Su-57 with PLSL makes relatively quick work of Hugin and Munin. Until the last one where its head broke off into a smaller drone and absolutely peppers my Felon with its MG. And of course it's hyper agile with no human pilot inside and apparently learning from Trigger's style. But challenges are meant to be overcome.

Nope. There's another one, it zooms towards the undersea tunnel, heading towards the ISEV. Of course Trigger is up to the task. Or not, because I underestimated the size of the tunnel and clipped my wing on entry, and I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Thankfully the game respawns me already facing the entrance.

Alright, focus this time, no messing about. But anxiety immediately creeps up my spine because of how narrow the passage is. I've flown the tunnels to the ICBM in AC2, the Geofront tunnels in AC3, the Megalith missile silo tunnel in 04, the SOLG control station in 5, and the V2 launch facility in Zero. This ISEV tunnel is narrower than all of them. But Count believes in me (no I don't have feelings for him shut up).

(What are the odds that the next AC game will have you fly through someone's fireplace chimney)

My hands grip my Xbox controller tight, eyes locked to my monitor and my fingers ready to make throttle and yaw adjustments at any moment's notice. Then the shutters start closing pretty quickly in front of me. Fuck, I can't just idle throttle my way through this. I have to push. And so I push my Felon just slightly above Mach 1.

Finally right underneath the ISEV, with no way to go but turn in circles chasing the ADF drone. I don't remember what Count or AWACS was saying but on my HUD there are target markers on the support beams of the ISEV, which I presume are the computer control units that control the ADF drone. PLSL away again, control units destroyed, the ADF drone slows down and I splashed it. This is reminiscent of the AC3 Geofront mission where you have to destroy the support pillars to trap the X-49 Night Raven inside.

But now what, there's no way out. Count said something about exiting out of the space elevator's pillar. I hesitated for a moment, he shouted me to just fucking go, so I went for it. The narrowest of slits in the base of the ISEV, I went through and pitched my nose up, and start sending it.

Are you fucking kidding me, there are actual cargos being moved through the ISEV on the cables. I mean, no shit Sherlock, it's in the name. Space elevator. I've never felt so tense in an Ace Combat game since I fought Pixy in Zero, because I've come this far and I don't want to start again. I kept going for it until I saw an opening. Cutscene plays. My black Su-57 with PLSL pods and three strikes on the tail, soars through the skies and finally out of the ISEV. I heard something about Count making a belly landing in the base of the ISEV. No damn idea how he does it but I guess I'm glad he's alive.

And then, at the end of the cutscene, a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Kei Nagase. She's become an astronaut, callsign Pilgrim One, up in the skies watching over us all.

I wonder what happened to the rest of Razgriz. Blaze, Archer and Swordsman.

"Hey Trigger, you dumbass, tell me something. What color's the sky up there?"

I've won the game. X-02S Strike Wyvern is available for purchase in the aircraft tree. Credits are rolling, tears are flowing. What a beautiful game. I settled my controller down and took a breather after an adventure full of intense action and engaging storyline. Although, PA, could you uhmm, slow down the credits? They scroll too fast lmao.

(Why do I have a feeling that Avril has a crush on Trigger?)

I wanna go learn how to do PSMs now because I heard it's something you can pull off in 7.

At the aircraft data viewer I ended up using Su-33, Su-30M2 and Su-30SM the most (3 times each). What can I say, man? I love Flonkers. I mean Flankers.

Though one thing is still a bit of mystery for me. What is Trigger's canon aircraft? Mobius 1 (AC04) and Warwolf 1 (ACAH) flew F-22A, Razgriz squadron (AC5) flew F-14As, and Cipher (AC0) flew an F-15C. I haven't played AC6 but I think the main character's canon plane is an F-15E? So what is Trigger's canon aircraft? I'm hoping it is some Russian plane because previous protags all fly American planes. A nice change would be welcome.

Although, remembering that fleet destruction mission where all of Trigger's wingmen fly F-15s, it's probable that Trigger's canon aircraft is also an F-15. And the game cover for Ace Combat 7 depicts an F-22. I guess Trigger's canon aircraft is also an American jet, which will be boring if that's true.

Guessing they have to appear appealing to the American audience.

My final verdict, a solid 9/10 game. I loved every single second of it. And Ace Combat series in general. Its thrill, its charm, its embrace of fantasy science fiction with no care of what's realistic and what's not. Because who fucking cares? It's a video game, and it's fun. That's all that matters. We know we will never be real pilots in the sky, but we can know the thrill of it like it's our childhood dreams as an action hero pilot. And elitists who whine about the unrealism of Ace Combat can suck on a Stonehenge barrel.

That concludes my review of the base game. But rest assured I will not stop here until I find all the secrets and unlockables and all unique named pilots because this game is awesome and has become my new obsession. After 5 years of aggressively avoiding spoilers, I can finally enjoy Ace Combat 7 like it's meant to be.

Now I want to tell my experience with DLC missions! Also DLC planes because I bought quite a lot of them, from CFA-44 to XFA-27 to F-15S/MTD. Not all of them, I didn't purchase the MiG-35D or the Top Gun Maverick set.

I played DLC missions after completing the main story. Which is good because before starting the DLC missions (labeled SP Campaign in the game) the game tells you that it's best to play them after completing the story. Also I did not use DLC planes at all in my first time through the main campaign, for that pure Ace Combat 7 first experience (I literally turned off all the AC7 DLCs in my Steam library until after I finished the main campaign).

But I've finished the main story, so great! I could jump in no problem!

Unexpected Visitor. Simple in the briefing, absolutely and unexpectedly challenging in its gameplay. It feels like your wingmen are absolutely useless and everyone is aiming at Trigger. Seriously it's like the later missions in the game's main story where all the AIs are better and harder to defeat, and make it 50% harder. And I'm playing the DLC missions on Normal diff. I don't remember what plane or SPW I used in my first attempt, but I got my ass absolutely handed to me. I began wondering if the DLC missions are supposed to be played co-op at some point during development. Anyway I switched to CFA-44 with ADMM.

And then those twin Berkuts appear. Scream and Rage. The crazed pilot siblings with no desire but to have Trigger's blood, for some reason. I could not get a single missile hit them. In fact I was shot down by an enemy SAM while I was trying to get them in my sights. Although that's kind of my fault because I forgot I could pop flares. Come on man, back in my day we didn't have flares!

Retried the mission with the same plane and SPW, this time deleting all the ground targets first with my flurry of ADMMs before Scream and Rage showed up. It worked. Landed a few hits on them, Scream and Rage fled the AO, mission completed. Kind of. We failed capturing the Alicorn, and Matias Torres has brought it somewhere underwater.

Next, Anchorhead Raid. Briefing showed a shit load of ground targets in a cluster. Hm, maybe ADMMs wouldn't be the right tool for this. But I have downloaded a Morgan, and it comes with a bunch of MPBMs.

First flight out. Once again did not work as well as I hoped for. Enemy CIWS kept destroying my MPBMs before they could get close, no matter which angle I launched them from. Even trying to drop them directly from above caused almost no damage.

Right, back to the hangar. What else do I have? Ah, a FALKEN and FAEBs. Let's try that. Nope. Still no considerable effect against target clusters that have CIWS in them. Back to the hangar again. Maybe FALKEN-TLS combo will work this time? Eh, sort of, but not really, its firing duration is too short to destroy a lot of targets, even when I'm flying real low and level with the ground targets.

Back to the hangar again. Starting to think I need a goddamn Erusean IRBM to efficiently complete this mission. And then I remember what I flew in AC7's final campaign mission.

Su-57 with PLSL, you're up. I dive low until I'm just a few meters above sea, leveling out with my gunsights pointed directly towards the ground targets. Getting closer and when the PLSL reticle turns red, I begin firing. To my surprise, it works remarkably well. From my experience shooting down Hugin and Munin, I start to learn that PLSL has some splash damage/AOE, and you don't have to be pinpoint accurate with it.

Scream and Rage show up again with more thirst for blood, but I also have equally strong thirst for their blood after harrassing me so much in the previous mission. I still have a few hundred "rounds" of PLSL. With no missile lock warning to make them scurry away, Scream is downed easily. Rage naturally, well, rages (ayy). His moves become faster and tighter. A Berkut and a Felon in a deadly dance in the skies above Anchorhead. After a long tail to tail and a tired left thumb, Rage is downed.

Alicorn apparently resupplied in Anchorhead under our noses, using the chaos in the skies as cover. Now intel suggest it's heading to the seas near Oured.

Ten Million Relief Plan. The final DLC mission. I anticipated that I will fight the Alicorn in this one, but did not know the kind of attacks it would have. I know it has massive railguns but no idea about its true capability. But Su-57 with PLSL has served me well, so I fly out in it again.

First phase of the mission. Wait for the allied planes to drop sonobuoys. This is just like the first time I fight the Scinfaxi in Ace Combat 5, but that mission had Arkbird in the skies above me. No orbital laser to help with this one. A few Rafales appear on the horizon, apparently launched from the Alicorn, but I downed them no problem.

The sonobuoys detected something and displayed a circle on radar that prompts me to go there. With the MAD device (magnetic something something device that I don't remember the name of) I begin searching for the Alicorn. The signal homing indicator on my HUD really just reminds me of White Noise mission in AC5 where you had to find Nagase in the snow.

Signal locked. Alicorn spotted. Nope. It's released jammers to disguise its presence. Sonobuoy planes are also harrassed by drones at the same time. Quickly I destroyed the jammers and the drones.

Trying to detect Alicorn again using sonobuoys. Having to keep speed below 800 kph so the tracker can work, all while trying to avoid missiles from more drones. Alicorn was found again, this time allied ships launch anti sub missiles.

Alicorn surfaced. No visible damage. Allied ships taking damage from Alicorn. Order to attack the Alicorn is a go. Unfortunately this time my PLSLs don't seem to make a dent. By the time the Alicorn gets within PLSL's range, my Felon gets peppered from its guns. 50% damage, 75% damage, 90% damage, I pulled out and quit the mission to choose another plane.

The last time I fought Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi in 5, I used GPBs and LASMs. But those subs were much smaller and weaker than Alicorn, and I don't have any aircraft with high enough performance and durability that can also carry GPBs/LASMs.

I decided to give the Morgan and MPBM another go.

Alicorn surfaces again. This time I already have my MPBM ready, locked to its ballasts on the side. 2 to 3 MPBM hits later, the Alicorn loses the ability to dive, they're...

Surrendering?

No, this is way too convenient. Even the other Striders think this is too easy. AWACS insists to stand down. So we did, but I kept my MPBM ready to launch just in case, flying my Morgan in circles around the Alicorn like a vulture.

And of course it was a bluff. Torres was just simply buying enough time to prepare Alicorn's massive rail guns, aiming for the Osean capital of Oured. Madman thinks he can stop the war and save 10 million lives by sacrificing 1 million in the process. And he plans to start it by killing Trigger first. Order to attack the Alicorn is a go again.

I don't remember who said "they stopped being soldiers the moment they faked their surrender." Probably Count. But I agree with that sentiment.

Now suddenly we're under time constrain of just 1 or 2 minutes to destroy the Alicorn's nuclear core at the base of its massive railgun. But on the radar I can see the Alicorn's railgun predicted trajectory chasing my aircraft. I fly in a tight circle around it and wait for it to fire and miss. This is like the Excalibur onslaught (AC0) but 6 times harder. And when I try to get close to the railgun, the Alicorn yet has another trick up its sleeve. Defensive bubble fields around it, similar that the Arsenal Bird used but on smaller scale.

Time is ticking down. Just less than one minute now. I put max throttle and slip through the defense bubbles, my MPBM is already locked to the base of the Alicorn's railgun. One successful hit but it's not dead yet. I quickly turned around again, pulling dozens of Gs that would probably kill the pilot in real life. I flew in again, less than 30 seconds on the clock, I landed another MPBM in it.

And then the radar clears.

It's done. The Alicorn is destroyed. A massive explosion went off in the middle section, Torres laughing like a maniac on the radio as he dies and the Alicorn splits in half and sinks to the bottom of the sea. Another explosion went off underwater, the force enough to spew a mountain of sea water dozens of meters to the sky, and finally coming down like a pseudo rain that refreshes the atmosphere.

We never captured the Alicorn, but at least this way we prevented another superweapon from being misused.

I completed Ace Combat 7. Again. Such a cool set of DLC missions. Especially with the fact that they have their own storyline adjacent to the main campaign story. It's difficult, yes, but it's challenging enough that makes you want to try and try again until you succeed. Not Dark Souls-level of difficult that makes you want to murder a child with a controller. So, my thoughts on DLC missions? I loved them. Another solid 9/10.

And you know what? I wanna play them again.

And now I can watch Max0r's Incorrect Summary of Ace Combat 7 that I have postponed for so long!

#ace combat #ace combat 7 #ace combat 7: skies unknown

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lighthouseas · 1 year ago

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tysm for the tag spencer @basiltonpitch !!!!!!

when did you post your first ever fanfic?

oh god i had to check my old ffn account for this one. it was july 2021 and it was horrible. but i'd written a lot of fanfic before that that i hadn't posted lol

first character you wrote for: ash ketchum. no i'm not kidding

main character(s) you’re currently writing for: will byers and mike wheeler and some el!!! i do want to expand my horizons though :)

character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan on writing about soon: probably nancy, max, and jonathan. also jargyle. will not be elaborating further though because it's [redacted]

fandom(s) you’re currently writing for: just stranger things because i can only focus on one fandom at once ajjkdgfj

platonic pairing(s) you currently write: ALL of them but i'd love to write some wheelclair <3333333 also elmike and like...idk if this counts because they aren't really friends they're family but. nancy and mike. sorry i really like writing about mike

your top 3 tags on AO3 (if you post your works on AO3): uhhhh. i think "first kiss" is in almost all of them lol...and angst too? i think? idk

your current platform where you post your works: ao3!!!! i'm on there as eggowlss. my fics are locked down to users only though !

snippet of the wip you’re currently working on:

this will not be posted until a WHILE after bylerween lol. your girl is. very slow

no pressure tagging (also if youve already been tagged my apologies): @wayward-sherlock @lucasvenkman @booksandpaperss @qulizalfos + anyone else who'd like to!!

#im soooo lame i can't get any fics published guys #this is horrible i only have 13 st works to my name and about 500 million all written in my HEAD #urgh ugh. sighs.#bee.txt #tag games

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gphoenixsims · 8 months ago

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~ url song game ~🎧Thank you, @blackswan-sims! Glad you tagged me on this one and not my main blog, I still have flashbacks from the last time XD This time I'll be using only songs that I physically have on my laptop, yes I'm one of those people lol

G - Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers P - Principles of Lust - Enigma H - Hazard - Richard Marx O - On The Nature of Daylight - Max Richter E - Everybody Knows - Sigrid N - No Line on the Horizon - U2 I - I Forgot You Existed - Taylor Swift X - XO - Beyoncé S - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics I - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Sting M - Meet Me on the Equinox - Death Cab for Cutie S - Silence - Delirium ft Sarah McLachlan

This has been doing rounds already for a while so don't know who to tag... so you, person seeing this, YOU are tagged now!

#music meme #tag games

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visualtaehyun · 1 year ago

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ทำไมถึงเต็มคิดอะไรลึกซึ้งไม่เป็น = Why are you utterly unable to think profoundly?

me @ myself, trying to order my thoughts about this episode

Disclaimer: I'm still learning Thai so feel free to correct me on anything 🙏

I'll probably make a separate post about the poem since that's pretty far outside of my current Thai abilities lol but I found it was so central to the episode that I wanna take a closer look at it anyway! The book is called ขอบฟ��าขลิบทอง (khawp faa klip tawng) 'gold-trimmed horizon' and this specific poem seems to be named after its first line มิ่งมิตร (ming mit) 'cherished friend(s)'. The author's name is อุชเชนี ประคิณ ชุมสาย ณ อยุธยา (romanizations as shown in the end credits of the episode even though it's not helpful in finding info on her anyway lol). To me, this poem carries the same tone as the entire show, as I think the script/writing emphasizes kindness, empathy, and hope for the future. And มิ่งมิตร (ming mit) also speaks about equality/liberty:

...which brings me all the way to the end of the episode, actually:

This was what stuck with me the most. It's not just that Kawi has no living relatives left, it's that his longterm partner is not legally considered family and thus has no rights concerning Kawi. The implications of not having marriage equality already hit me hard when it came up in Moonlight Chicken but it's truly sad now after the disappointment of the 2023 general elections in Thailand (very briefly: progressive democratic Move Forward party winning the most seats but continuously being blocked from forming a government, their leader Pita Limjaroenrat losing the bid for Prime Minister and even being suspended from being a member of parliament).

I'm not sure what Pisaeng is supposed to have learned or needs to do differently, from what we've been shown. That Pisaeng and Kawi need to join Max in fighting for their rights? That Kawi, like his dad, should see a doctor sooner rather than later? That Kawi can't be giving up everything to be with Pisaeng, considering we never saw him leave the condo for work, friends, hobbies, anything?

We've also got Schrödinger's ace!Kawi, considering Kawi's feelings in that regard didn't get resolved this week plus there being no indication either which way if their relationship in this future had a sexual component or not. Actually, that reminds me- @rocketturtle4 basically predicted this episode in broad strokes last week! I basically spent the entirety of parts 2-4 in a state of slight confusion, waiting for the other shoe to drop or for the clearly-left-out conversation about intimacy we all expected last episode to be shown. Something felt, intentionally, off.

A few last notes:

What were Phong and Daow (aka Pear's dad and Pisaeng's mom) referring to with "messy issue"? The word used was วุ่นวาย (woon waai) which could mean anything from chaotic, to troublesome, to confusing, ... you see my confusion? I'm not sure if we're supposed to take this as the parents knowing about the whole love triangle weirdness or if I simply forgot about an earlier tidbit from Pear and Pisaeng's past as childhood friends. This was a lovely scene btw, the meaning of parenthood and child-parent relationships are portrayed so nicely in this show.

If you've read my post from last week about Pisaeng and Kawi switching to different pronouns and are curious about any changes this week- From the moment we hear the boys talk with each other on Pisaeng's bed after moving in together, they continuously use ผม (pom) / คุณ (khun). Meanwhile the after credit scene (that I'm not sure when to place in this time travel chaos) contained no pronouns at all! In the preview, I heard both of them use them again.

Maybe it's my love for Thai but I felt like "I'm glad you're happy." was a bit of a curt translation for what Pear said to her mom so here's me trying to preserve the sentiment: "แต่ถึงยังไง หนูก็ดีใจนะค่ะ ที่แม่มีความสุข" = But still, I'm happy. Because you're happy./...that you've found happiness. She's my baby angel and I won't hear a single word of criticism about her!!

#be my favorite the series #be my favorite #thai bl #i'm super sleepy so i have a feeling my aimless ramble doesn't say much of anything but at least it's out of my system #gotta wait to read meta until i've had some sleep #local woman harps on about linguistics #ql musings #local woman harps on about bmf

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shyminmin · 1 year ago

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༄𝐁𝐓𝐒 𝐗 𝐟.𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | Fantasy, Mermaid AU | ༄𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 4.4k + ༄𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Slight conflict and course language

It has to be around here somewhere.

Following the directions in his head from mere memory, the young male swiftly navigated through the waters in search of the spot he saw it last.

If he could find it again then it was sure to bring a smile to his weary mother's face, she deserved a little positivity outside of her usual dismal outlook of the present.

Rotating his head to scope out and get a range of all the surrounding scenery, the constant swish of his ruby-red tail drew out and dispersed bubbling ripples from the friction. If he timed everything right he should be able to find it and get back to his post in roughly ten minutes max, it wasn't too much of a stretch to worry. After all, it was either now or wait for another convenient opportunity to arise, but in his current predicament, they were far and few between.

Compared to everyone else in his tribe, he wasn't granted much freedom outside of his line of duty. Him being subjugated to live out his current days within the restrictive boundaries of his home territory, unable to breach beyond those points without facing a stern reprimand. He knew the reasoning behind it, that it was for his own safety and protection, however, that didn't stop him from accumulating feelings of doubt and frustration as the years went by.

He wanted to be able to move about without having a constant feeling of prying eyes on his back, just waiting for him to break the rules. No, he wanted to live and explore the world and experience all the wonders of life, to traverse new horizons.... kind of like what his late brother used to do...that man thrived on adventure and the knowledge that came out of it. But at the moment he was trapped, like a great big fishing net had domed over his home area preventing his escape. He was able to move to a certain point but ultimately that invisible barrier was limiting his life's potential. He craved something well... more.

Tumbling rocky hills surrounded the merman as he glided through the waters. A flash of red popped up suddenly at the limit of his vision, boldly contrasting against the common bluish hues of the ocean, making his eyes light up in relief.

Thank Delphin, he thought. Praying to unseen deities had actually worked for a change.

The corners of his mouth turned up forming a brilliant toothy grin, in the words of his lieutenant, one of a rabbit – not that he'd know what such an animal was in order to make such a comparison. Whether it was an insult or compliment on his superior's part was beyond him. That aside, his smile would've had more than one innocent mermaid back home fawning over him; and he should know since it had happened many times.

As the merman swam closer, the blurred crimson mass slowly took shape, the hues becoming more solid as they wove into one another to coalesce into slender branches that all originated from a central base.

Coral.

Gorgeous red fire coral; a sight that enlightened a bittersweet nostalgia within the young male's chest. It warmed his heart while also weighing on it, the unspoken knowledge that he wouldn't be able to experience any such past occurrences again.

Streams of fond memories flooded his mind. He and his older brother always used to play hide and seek in a reef full of these from way back. Hours upon hours of ducking to blend in with the scarlet branches and the laughter that rang out from chasing one another when the hider was found, bodies weaving between a garden of red till their mother called them in for mealtimes. Oh how he longed for those days once more.

He neared his destination, continuing to ponder as he gazed upon the crimson anomaly.

It was a miracle how he had found such a sight, that life was able to sprout up in this area of the sea to begin with, something that resembled the very corals native to Tritosa at that! All around him was nothing but rocky surfaces and desolate terrain so to come across a single cluster of this vibrant red vegetation holding its ground between two boulders was amazing. Maybe it was a sign, he thought, chuckling to himself.

He was just about to hover down beside it to secure a piece, hands reaching towards one of his broad shoulders to detach the strap of his thatched rucksack, only for him to get slammed in the side by a large, tumbling mass of skin and scales. The unannounced guest knocked him away from his prize, causing the merman to lose balance, body rolling backwards with his tail end facing up.

Instincts and numerous battle skills kicked in at this sudden disturbance. Remaining calm and turning his misplacement into an advantage, he formed his wobbly movements into a swift somersault. When he was just about to complete a full revolution he caught sight of the trunk of his attacker's tail and gripped his hands firmly onto it, digging into the indents of its scales. He then yanked on it, hard, flinging their body away from his own where it proceeded to fly through the waters at a blinding speed, eventually colliding against a large stone mass a good few feet behind them.

The air got knocked out of the oppressor's lungs as he briefly became disoriented. This was all the time the red finned mer needed to instantly shoot up in front of him, trapping his body up against the hard wall with one of his forearms pressing harshly to his throat.

"Hey hey relax!" The attacker choked out, a few bubbles of air leaving his mouth between gasps.

"Urck...Kook it's just me!"

Doing a double take, Jungkook or rather Kook as he went by with his close family and friends, realised that it was in fact his comrade Paio and not the bloodthirsty threat like he had assumed.

He removed his hold on him where the merman sunk downwards as he clutched his damaged throat.

"Gah, shit Kook! What are your arms made of these days, frickin' rock!? You nearly killed me!" Paio spluttered out, glaring at him halfheartedly.

Jungkook proceeded with a snort, not feeling at all guilty of his actions. "Well that's the idea.."

"Wah, don't be like that, I thought we were best bros!"

Sighing, the ruby-tailed mer crossed his arms over his chiseled chest as he waited for his friend to recover.

"If that's the case, why don't you greet me like – I dunno – a normal mer and not go slamming into your so-called best bro like a bloody shark in a frenzy!"

"Heh," his comrade let out sheepishly before he continued, "Us warriors, we need to be on our guard all the time you know. Gotta keep your skills up somehow, you should be thanking me."

Jungkook couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's excuse that was actually plausible, still, he wasn't about to give in and say that he was right.

"Seriously Paio, what are you doing here?"

"Well I should be the one asking you that! We're supposed to be back patrolling the Eastern border and here you are swooning over plants."

"Fire coral," Jungkook quickly interjected, "And I wasn't swooni-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" His friend waved him off nonchalantly.

"It's not like there are any immediate threats around so I'm sure the tribe can handle a few minutes without me."

"Look man, I know how you feel trapped n' stuff but this isn't the way to go about it."

"Then what do you suggest I do, live like a fish in a bowl for the rest of my life."

Paio looked at him quizzically, "Again, I see your reasoning but...do you really want Hoseok to put you on probation again?"

At his comrade's statement the young merman finally lost it, his skin turning as red as his tail from all of his pent up frustration. "What do you mean again!? I've been watched over like a criminal for my whole stinking time here!"

It was true, ever since he and his mother migrated to this distant colony of merfolk, he was kept under high surveillance. Nephtis wasn't his adoptive home, no it was practically a prison. As he grew older he begged his mother for some leeway, so by the gods it was a miracle that she caved a little and allowed him to join the tribe's guard. This allowed him more movement and an excuse to travel around.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his mother to bits; he would do anything just to see her happy. She doted on him like anything, always made sure he was well fed, kept healthy, and had a comfortable home to come back to whenever he was off duty. It was only natural that he would feel inclined to reciprocate those actions. However it was that one bump in the ocean floor that kept everything from being pristine, that of him not being allowed to go anywhere other than within Nephtis. All of this stemming from his very dear mother's wishes.

Not wanting to enrage him further, Paio just hovered there beside him silently waiting for him to cool down.

"I asked Alon to hold down the fort while I followed you," he spoke up after a minute or two when he saw Jungkook's face relax a tad. "It won't be too long till others start realising we're gone and we all know how the poor guy can't lie to save his life."

Oh Alon, he was bound to blow their cover if any of the higher ups came by.

"Tch..fine.."

Too fed up to think of anything else, Jungkook huffed and followed his friend back to their post, all the while forgetting to grab the very thing he came for in the first place. The lone clump of coral helplessly staring off at their retreating forms, wondering if it would ever be graced with someone's presence again.

As per usual the pod of three mer had nothing new to report regarding the sickeningly calm and quiet territory of Nephtis. Jungkook pondered now and again on why the tribe even needed a warrior unit when nothing dangerous or exciting ever happened around these parts to begin with, still though he was thankful for its existence in order to stretch his fins.

Relieved of their assigned duties for the day after relaying their bland findings to their superior, he, Paio and Alon moved at a leisurely pace back towards their respective homes within the colony.

"All I'm saying is you're lucky the Captain was at the southern end for most of the patrol otherwise you would've been screwed." The blue-finned Alon commented for the upteenth time.

"Come on, would you give it a rest already, I get it! Now stop spouting it out for all the oceans to hear or else," Jungkook let out in irritation, giving the merman a hard glare.

Nearing the region where the mer of their tribe dwelled, they gazed upon the natural stone pillar formations that towered at varying heights around a mostly bumpy, rocky terrain. Bits of greenish vegetation poked out amongst the underwater landscape giving the area a pop of colour. At certain levels of each pillar, there were sections carved out of the rock face leading into cave-like rooms that housed individual family units. One such stony tower could have at most three different families living within them.

Compared to other tribes, Nephtis was one of the many lesser known ones, comprising a significantly smaller population. Jungkook's original home Tritosa would have had to have been at least 5 times the size of his current one.

"Yeah, I've experienced his wrath first hand. Dude's built like a beast, you sure you're not eating whole boulders or something for breakfast Kook?"

The merman in question let a chuckle slip before remaining silent, ignoring his friend's bafflement.

"Hmm even so, while our Kook is a fierce contender, in the end, brains will always win over brawn! Why, just look at Lieutenant Hoseok!"

Jungkook's head immediately turned to his side to face Alon.

"Are you saying I'm dumb?"

"Hmm...It's debatable.."

"Wha- are you seriously calling me the brainless one when we've got a perfect replica of a jellyfish right here?" Jungkook motioned to Paio who in turn gave him the stink eye.

"Excuse me, what? Bruh! You wanna go!?"

Before the two could have at it though, Alon spoke up again, defusing the situation.

"All I'm saying is even with his puffer fish muscles, Kook's no match for Lt. Hoseok! The man is insane in combat! He's not insanely jacked like Kook but the guy can knock any big shot on their hind fins without even breaking a sweat. Why is that, because he uses this," the merman tapped his temple, referring to his brain.

"Here we go again.." Paio sighed, as he and Jungkook listened to their blue-tailed friend go on about how great their Lieutenant was. "We get it, you have a thing for him, could you just stop idolizing the guy for one second."

"I do not have a thing!" Alon scoffed out, gritting his teeth. "I don't even like guys in that way to begin with and you know that! I just look up to him is all, I want to be just like him some day and...and you guys should too! Lt. Hoseok is so... ugh he's just-"

"The greatest, we know." The two mer said in unison, shaking their heads at Alon's reasoning. "We've heard it literally a billion times."

"Oh, did I hear my name just now?"

The pod of three halted in their tracks, bodies jolting as the very familiar voice of the newcomer alerted them of his presence. All three of them immediately straightened their postures, shoulders squared and eyes facing forward as they hovered there erect in a row.

The merman that had spoken came up from behind them, rounding over to face the front of their impromptu formation.

"At ease," he voiced, making the warriors detense. He looked between each of them eyeing the men warmly, the hint of a smirk causing the corner of his heart shaped lips to upturn.

"What's this I hear about me? Oh, don't tell me, you're in the process of plotting my demise. Oh no, wait, I got it! Perhaps you're having an exclusive fan club meeting of some sort?"

Alon and Paio stiffened while Kook, naturally more relaxed just gaped at the older male, perplexed at his audacity. Oh he wishes, he thought, trying not to gag. Guy acts like bloody rainbows shine out of his ass.

"Sir no sir, w-we were just saying that-" Alon was cut off by a swift jab to his side, courtesy of Paio. Jungkook who was in the middle of their formation had moved backwards avoiding the strike. Nope he was not getting in the firing line this time.

"Hey, what the hell was that for!?" Alon fired out at Paio, rubbing his side.

"You blab too much, that's what!"

"But I hardly said anything!"

"Oh you would've if I hadn't stopped you. You have no filter once you get going, would've been here till bloody Helios has risen for the new day."

"Why you! I do not-"

"Now now, break it up you two," Hoseok got in between the quarreling duo and pushed them both away from each other, patting their backs. "You don't want to be injured at training tomorrow. Save all that burning energy for then ok?"

Alon lowered his head in shame, letting out a barely audible 'sorry'. Having acted like this in front of his superior, his idol Hoseok at that, made him more than embarrassed. Paio on the other hand cursed under his breath while turning his body away from all of them in silent defeat.

Lieutenant Hoseok flitted between the two, not liking the prolonged tension. He gave Jungkook a questioning look as to what to do seeing as they were his friends, but all he received was a shrug in amusement. This punk, Hoseok mentally sighed, Loves to just sit back and let chaos unfold when there is cause for entertainment. With little to go by, the merman resorted to his fine tuned mediator abilities.

"Aw come on you two, enough with the sulking already, lighten up. I promise I won't ask about whether I can join my own fan club or not, I'll forget about the whole thing I swear, now let's all spread the love and be friends. Now get in there, shake on it, be done with the melodrama!"

Awkwardness filled the space.

"But sir, we weren't...uh..there's um no club-"

"Nuh uh ah, no buts. Get in there and shake on it, your secret is safe with me."

Jungkook who was just back watching everything couldn't help but wheeze, shaking his head at this ridiculous display. They looked like a bunch of guppies getting scolded by their parent who spurted out nothing but the cringiest of lines, this was gold.

Alon turned towards Paio, slowly extending his hand out for their forced truce. The latter though just continued to skulk away, trying to appear like he was too cool for any of that. The next instance though knocked him down a few places, him looking quite pathetic really when Hoseok surged towards him, gripping the mer firmly by the ear, practically dragging the pouting male to be in front of the more accepting of the two.

"You can do it, no more of those frowns, you'll scare away all those admirers of yours."

"Pfft! What admirers?" Jungkook laughed out, making Hoseok's eye twitch before he diverted his attention back to the two mer.

Face flushed a striking pink, the too cool Paio coughed awkwardly while briefly grabbing Alon's hand for a shake. This lasted for half a second at most before he broke away like his hand had been burned and turned up his head.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

"No sir.." Alon the more passive of the two spoke up, wanting to redeem a bit of his reputation, get in his superior's good graces. Paio just let out an inaudible grunt.

"Alrighty.."

Clearly seeing that he wasn't going to get any further, the jolly merman chuckled, waving their childish behaviour off.

"I'll see you boys up bright n' early then for our battle strategy lecture, don't be late." The smug grin Jungkook had was quickly wiped off from Hoseok's statement. He and his comrades groaned in disappointment, theory work to them being drier than washed up sand bathing under Helios' rays for hours.

"But you just said that we'll need our strength, I thought we were doing, you know, real training, not just taking dumb notes," Paio practically whined.

"Oh?" The lieutenant raised a brow, his voice lowering, eyes slightly narrowing. The aura around him became a tad heavy as he gazed at each of them, his usual sunny persona dwindling.

Jungkook and his friends' stomachs dropped at the man's slight change in demeanor. Something along the lines of 'Oh shit,' no doubt running on repeat in their sorry minds. Why you may ask?

Well..

It was no secret that out of everyone, Hoseok was certainly not the mer you wanted to be around when he got angered. To be blunt the man was freaking scary. Piss him off and you're doomed. Even a slight display of discontentment on his part – like he was doing now – rendered the receiver frozen with fear.

The majority of the time the man would be the perfect personified version of the sun or in merfolk terms, a physical rendition of Helios; all bright, warm and cheery. Even his features reflected that; kind amber eyes that filled anyone he gazed upon with a surge of joy, beautiful sun kissed skin that glistened in the light. Skin that led down to striking orange scales, tapering off to form a magnificent golden fluke at the very end. Not to mention, when he broke out into one of his well known bedazzling smiles, the brightness his teeth exuded was enough to blind you and you wouldn't even be angry about it.

This was all fine and dandy, however, going back to the issue at hand, if you ever got on his bad side – oh heaven forbid – your only hope at getting out in one piece was praying to Poseidon himself. Don't be fooled by his easy going nature, the merman could easily put you in your place by his very stare alone. That's probably why he was second to the Captain of the guard, he was capable of being firm and commanding when needed.

Great, now you've done it, Jungkook cursed in his head at Paio. His friend sometimes could be overly bold without thinking of the consequences.

Then again, he and Alon were just as guilty, having expressed their discontent about the subject of listening and taking notes.

He was lifted from his stupor by Hoseok's following words, them being noticeably stilted.

"I can see why you may regard the practical side of being a soldier more highly. For all I care, you could have all the strength and fighting ability in all the seven seas. However, if you're lacking when it comes to judgement in how you execute those assets then you may as well go into the battlefield blind and missing a fin."

There was silence between the three men as they took in their superior's words, his statement leaving them speechless, not knowing whether to reply or not. The chill factor that came off each word only emphasising the importance and seriousness of them. Jungkook couldn't help but see something personal behind them, one which seemed significant to Hoseok.

"If you fail to take this line of work seriously then you don't belong in the ranks of the guard. At the end of the day, conflict of interest in these circumstances will only lead to a massacre."

"Now..." he looked into each of their eyes individually for a moment before evidently stopping to stay on Jungkook's.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Gulping, they all gave him immediate nods. "Yes sir!"

"Good. I'll let you off this time. Be sure to heed this advice, our guard doesn't need good for nothing half asses. Question my methods like that again and I will personally strip you of your positions."

"Now be on your way."

Not wasting another moment, the mermen gave the man respectable bows and practically fled from this uncomfortable scene. That was the three of them until the lieutenant placed an arm out blocking a certain mer with reddish scales.

"Not you bun," he uttered quietly so only the two could hear.

Paio and Alon gave them curious glances over their shoulders, slightly worried for their comrade. Still they left them to their own devices, not wanting to be in the presence of the intense Hoseok any longer.

Wow thanks guys, he thought as he watched them retreat to the safety of their homes, straight out abandoning him. So much for being bros.

"Come on Hobs, did you really have to be that strung up," Jungkook switched to the Lieutenant's nickname when his two comrades left. "I swear you took a good few hundred years off of their lives, they were that scared.

"Ensuring the safety and security of the tribe is not a matter to take lightly on any account. You'll understand my reasons when they present themselves – which I can assure you they will – but for now you just have to take my word for it."

"And now since we have been speaking of following orders, I'm eager to hear why you decided to abandon your post."

Jungkook tensed, tail going ridgid. "What?.."

"You heard me bun."

"What...how? You couldn't have... Y-you were patrolling all the way over in the opposite direction, how the hell did you find out!?"

Hoseok firmly placed a hand on Jungkook's shoulder, gripping the thatched material that occupied it. Shit!

"One doesn't bring along a rucksack to a simple patrol Kook, it's an extra weight a soldier doesn't need, come on I thought you were smarter than that. If you wanna be sneaky like this, at least be more creative, what a giveaway."

He pulled the compartment off of him, opening it up to search the inside. When it appeared empty, the older of the two looked at him.

"Didn't find whatever you were looking for?"

"Tch..." The merman looked down, avoiding his gaze, hands clenched into tight fists.

"What does it matter? You'll just shrug my reasons off anyway. Go on, tell my mother that I snuck out, restrict my non-existent privileges again."

"Bun..."

"Quit calling me that! Hell, I don't even know what a so-called 'bunny' looks like since I'm not allowed to get close enough to land to spot one in the first place!"

"Kook just listen.."

"NO! YOU LISTEN!" Jungkook was all but shaking with rage.

His sudden outburst effectively silenced the mer, Hoseok's lips shutting to form a flat, stoic line, devoid of any happy-go-lucky nature. He was the epitome of seriousness.

"You train me as your most promising soldier yet you don't allow me to use what I've learned out in the open waters!"

"Don't you have any ounce of faith in my abilities? I'm not some small helpless guppy anymore, I can fight! I can protect myself and what is important to me and the tribe! Why do you insist on keeping me hidden away?! Why do you entertain my mother's wishes?!"

He kept on pouring out his frustrations, muscles clenching.

"If anything she's gotten more paranoid about my safety over the years. Why!? Come on, you must see that her worries are irrational! There's no impending doom threatening to take my life or hers around ever fucking corner, she's being ridiculous!"

"Why!?...

"Why can't you see!-"

"JUNGKOOK OF NEPHTIS!"

"...."

"......"

"..."

..Silence..

....

......

.......

The waters practically stilled as Hoseok’s voice erupted through them…

The sheer ferocity and force of those three commanding words sending violent chills up their target's spine.