#I like that he has Excalibur just propped up there like maybe he Just got it and that’s why he was excited to show the bakers dozen rgrhrhrr

[bimboviolence]

If u can’t find me this is where I’m at

[blackink-onpaper]

The Descend and the Resurface

Damian Hart (Beyblade) x OC

Summary: oc comes from a complex background, and in the midst of trying to save it all and help her family she enters a strange arrangement, which will change her life forever.

Masterlist 🖤

Tags: Beyblade, Beyblade Metal Masters, Julian Konzern, Jack, Damian, OC, Gingka Hagane, team Starbreaker, team Excalibur, dr. Ziggurat, Hades Inc., the Garcias

A/N: (ambience suggestion) this chapter will go along with the canon storyline, for this chapter watch Beyblade Metal Masters episode 96 if you like, it’s available on youtube! Other than that, this chapter and the previous were the ones I felt the most inspired creating, because I really wanted to provide more depth into this divide.

Hope you enjoy! :D

Chapter 20

After our return from the realm of desolation, I cleaned myself up while Damian changed into some more comfortable clothes. I checked my smart watch and saw the itinerary for tomorrow was, well, blank. This was confusing me because I knew the awards ceremony was tomorrow around noon, and Ziggurat also mentioned some demonstrations. Then again, maybe I was just overthinking it and I simply wasn’t invited to either activity and had the day to myself. I crawled back into bed, craving some affection from Damian and cuddling up to him. Even though he got the hang of sex quite fast, I could tell physical closeness was absent in his upbringing because of the way he handled cuddling.

“Please come visit me” I kissed his cheek: “I would love to show you my world, and I’m sure Ziggurat wouldn’t object”

He caressed my hair, giving me a gentle smile: “I would be happy to” I don’t know how to explain this, nor do I have any specific observations and examples, but since getting to know Damian more and speaking to dr. Carlisle it seemed that in rare moments of the day Damian’s softer, calmer side came out. I also think sex helps him relieve the bottled up stress and rigidity he is so used to, especially as I surrender to him to feed his need of superiority and dominance. Nonetheless, after seeing his reaction to my confession I have come to the realisation that Ziggurat probably did not give him any affection, even in the form of a fond nickname because he just calls him by his name, and probably never told him that he loved him.

“Damian… I told you I loved you, and I mean it.” I looked into his eyes, propping myself up onto my elbow: “I want us to be together.”

He remained silent for a long time, my assumption is because he did not know how to handle someone being loving to him: “And your parents?”

“Honestly, if you’re not broke they’ll like you.” I sighed, there was probably no point in sugar-coating it anyway.

“If the Konzern’s were good enough, then I believe we’ll get along just fine” he scoffed jokingly, putting an mysterious emphasis on the last two words. I didn’t know how much Damian was worth or how much he brought in, but I am pretty convinced Ziggurat was rich enough for my parents to seize any objections. My mind took off into fantasies about us walking along the cozy streets of my hometown, then going to the French Riviera, maybe renting a boat, dinners… I wanted all of it. I wanted him to see the colours the world has to show, and not just artificial lights and laboratories in the middle of a wasteland that neighbours another vast concrete jungle. With these fantasies and the smell of his skin, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up because Damian got out of bed around 5AM, probably for his Arrangement session. I stole a few fleeting kisses from him as he was putting on his uniform: “You guys are going to the ceremony?”

“Yeah” he put on his choker and gloves: “But I need to do a round of arrangement first.” We left together, him to the Arrangement quarters and I to my room to get ready. Hours rolled by, I was mostly resting before I got ready and headed to the cafeteria to have breakfast. Unsurprisingly, the students were giving me glances and whispering among each other, again.

Once I had finished my meal, I decided I would go up to the helicopter and wait for Starbreaker to finish their Arrangements so I could say bye to Damian before they left. When I reached my desired floor, I sat down on the sofa in the waiting room that overlooked the heliport, the same one where Carlisle and I had a conversation yesterday. It was nearing 11AM, and I knew the boys should be done soon. My heart started racing as I saw the numbers on the elevator moving towards the one I was on, and I stood in front of the elevator to surprise them. After all, it is a shitty feeling going to someone else’s victory celebration after such a hard battle. The elevator announced its arrival with a silent ‘bing’ sound, and the door slid open:

My heart dropped: “Julian?!”

“Camila?!?”

“What are you doing here?!?” I gasped, out of anyone I could possibly imagine being at Hades Inc. Julian was the absolutely last person on the list. Hell, if Gingka was here I would be less surprised.

“I should be asking you the same question” he stepped out of the elevator, surrounded with a hateful energy I have never seen him with, his fists clenched: “So it’s all true.”

For the first time in my entire life, I stepped back from Julian out of fear: “What is true? Julian why are you here?”

“Do you know what they call you, Camila? What people are saying about you?”

There was a silence, I didn’t say anything. I feared the unrecognisable emotions he was clearly consumed in, in addition to probably still being burdened by the loss he suffered in front of the global audience.

“No” I whispered. I didn’t want to make him any angrier by not answering him, knowing it was a pet peeve of his.

“ ‘The whore of Starbreaker’, Camila. They call you a golddiger. You’re an absolute disgrace to yourself, your family and everyone that extends to you!”

“Julian, che cazzo?!” I gasped again, this time for lack of air: “We broke up months before this tournament so you can focus on Excalibur - how am I a disgrace for moving on when you ignored me and didn’t want me back? Huh? How am I to blame when you know my parents need the money?”

“Money. It’s always about money.” Julian said, disgusted: “Of course you would join these hyenas if they paid you.”

“Okay then, what are you doing here?”

He paused this time around, battling the boiling embarrassement within himself: “The Konzern enterprise shares have been bought off by Hades Inc.”

My pulse stopped, remembering how huge and important their generational family businesses were; remembering his darling parents, our countless memories - this was his whole life, this was his pride, his plan for the future: “Julian…”

He barely uttered in a low voice, full of bitterness: “My name is now worthless, but I chose to keep our honor by joining dr. Ziggurat.”

Somewhere in the middle of his sentence, two elevators opened up to our left, with Starbreaker in one, and a totally different team that seemed somewhat familiar in the other.

“Good for you” an all-familiar snide comment echoed as Damian stepped out of the elevator: “ ‘Cause you might also snag an Arrangement and finally put up a fight.”

Julian lowered his head out of anger and humiliation, while the girl from the other team - who I now recognised as the Garcias - whistled: “Now that was a low blow!”

“Don’t disrespect me!” Julian growled at the Garcias, as Damian came closer to us, positioning himself closer to me.

“What’s wrong, Julian?” Damian mocked him: “You look upset… again.”

Julian looked at him with boiling, bitter anger that could probably burn a hole in the wall if he pointed his gaze into it, but remained silent. As he now works for dr. Ziggurat, I assume he is powerless agaist Starbreaker members, let alone Damian.

“Besides” Damian grinned at Julian sadistically: “I told you I’d ‘take all of it away from you: your pride, confidence’...”

Julian looked revolted, pale, ill and traumatised, but that didn’t stop Damian from serving the final stab into his heart - wrapping his hand around my waist, adding: “ …‘everything sweet’ ”, quoting himself from his match with Julian.

After a short silent pause - which wasn’t even honoured by complete silence because the girl and younger boy from the Garcias were making mocking ‘oooh’ and ‘burn’ nosises after what Damian said - Ziggurat arrived with two pilots:

“Time to go, everybody” he passed through the Garcia members and halted his stride to the helicopter to address Damian, Julian and myself: “We have a party to crash, we cannot possibly be late.”

Julian walked away towards the helicopter without even looking at me once, followed by Jack and the tallest Garcia boy. Damian grinned at me: “Don’t worry about him. His head feels empty without its crown.”

I looked at him, unsure if I should even be addressing the layers of things that had just happened or just wish him a safe flight and talk about this with him later: “yeah…”

He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss, thematically soundtracked again with noises provided by younger members of the Garcia family. When he pulled away, he grinned at me again - a victor’s smile: “Wish me luck, heads are gonna roll today… hopefully.”

“Good luck, Damian.” I said, before adding a bit more quietly: “I love you.”

“You too” he smirked at me, pulling away and walking into the helicopter which was apparently only waiting for him, his pristine white cape carried by the wind. The doors closed quickly, and the aircraft took off within the next minute.

There was a lot left for me to digest: for starters, Julian’s absolute disgust and hatred towards me was a particularly heartbreaking thing to see, regardless of the nature of our relationship. We are, or used to be, best friends as well as long term boyfriend and girlfriend. He was the only person in this world I knew as well as I knew myself. Then, the horrible thing that happened to him and his family; I don’t know if the shares value had dropped because of some external reasons so Hades bought up the majority, or if they just had an agenda of their own to take Julian and his family down so they bought them regardless? But why would they do that? They already had all the data from him and defeated him?

“But what if they wanted him?” I uttered to myself, waiting for the elevator. What if they wanted a left-rotating Bey in their arsenal, since Ryuga apparently despises them? For a guy like Ziggurat that’s a good enough reason to wreck someone’s entire family and heirloom. In the same line of thought, Damian said last night something about having more money than Julian, could he have possibly been aware of all of this, or even plotted it with Ziggurat, without telling me? It was hard to say if what he said he meant generally or specifically after this event, because both Ziggurat and Hades Inc. have a high revenue, therefore Starbreaker can’t be doing too bad themselves.

Related to Damian, I was having very polar feelings about how he treated Julian. On one hand, it’s Damian and his ever-present condescending, cocky personality, but on the other hand it was a conversation I deeply regretted being a part of even as a subject of conversation, let alone witnessing. What he did was as humiliating to Julian as if Julian knelt down and Damian pissed all over him, but then again Julian attacked me without a reason and called me a disgrace. My mind was racing, I thought about the ‘everything sweet’ quote Damian said: what if there was an agenda I was not aware of when he said it in the match itself? Had this been the plan all along? It’s actually not impossible, because they had to print, sign and deliver that Hades Inc. letter to my room at least an hour before the matches ended in order for it to get to the hotel in time, but in Beyblade you can never be sure how long the match is going to last. Furthermore, Carlisle himself had said he and Ziggurat had different reasons for me being invited to Hades… Or maybe Damian said it for a different reason and quoted himself just to torture Julian? My head began to hurt from the storm of flashbacks, ideas and theories running though my mind. I had to calm down, there was no way this overthinking will be helpful to me before they return.

I sat down in the common room, and turned on the huge flat screen TV that lifted itself from the floor to watch the WBBA ceremony. A comforting thought crept in: Damian had told me he loved me for the first time today. And after their obligations for the tournament end today, we could plan the rest of our time together. I was open to staying here with him, but I would also like my fantasies of him coming to Europe realised. My train of thought was broken by the theme song and opening sequence of the ceremony.

[right-royal-rants]

One of Prince Charles’ closest aids is accused of fixing honours, you would think that would mean everyone is talking about him right? Wrong!

I bet you can guess who was trending this morning and who the ‘Royal Reporters’ are talking about?

Yes, it’s once again Meghan and Harry who have apparently requested a meeting with the Queen. A grandson wants to see his grandmother and apparently that’s worth burning him at the stake for.

If I was to make a guess I would say Harry wants his Nan to maybe meet his daughter? The Queen isn’t exactly a spring chicken.

The ludicrous part it’s the same dickheads who were (and still are) outraged that Harry and Meghan took their kids out of Britain that are now outraged that there is a possibility they will bring them to see the family after all.🤦‍♀️

Nasty creatures such as Angela Levin who makes her living off of talking about Harry every 5 minutes is of course being vile.

She is angry that Harry spoke out about the misinformation on the internet about the COVID Vaccine and how everyone should be entitled to get it.

I mean…. How dare he speak up for equality!! The amusing thing is, Harry isn’t wrong. The amount of misinformation on the internet is rife and it does prevent people from wanting to get it. People still think it’s all a hoax and that the vaccines have microchips in them so we can all be tracked by the government. News flash, if the government want to know where you are and what you’re doing they don’t need microchips. The fact you have a phone tells them all they need to know.

Levin even went as far as to say that ‘One brother does’ and the ‘other is all talk’. Notice how Harry has been labelled as ‘the other’.

Prince William ‘secretly’ helped an officer from Afghanistan and his family escape and flee to London. He ‘secretly’ did this? Well If it’s a bloody secret why do we all know about it?

But the best part is Levin critizes Harry for saying the situation in Afghanistan ‘left him speechless’.

For those of who don’t have short term memory loss and aren’t interested in kissing Prince Williams arse, I should like to point out that only one of those brothers has actually been and served in Afghanistan while a war was going on. The ‘other brother’ would had never served in Afghanistan and would have never been allowed to. But him flying around in a helicopter with the air ambulance for 6 hours a week is almost the same thing right?

Harry is critized for being ‘all talk’ but what exactly did William do? He sure as hell didn’t fly over to Afghanistan in his helicopter and rescue this family himself. The most William did would have been to make a phone call. Oh and he is praised for his nobility and what a future king he will make! Erm…. He got ONE family out and that person was someone he bloody knows. Let’s not assume he ready to pull Excalibur from the stone just yet.

Just be clear though, I don’t hate Prince William. But he isn’t doing anything that other people aren’t doing, nothing that makes him a ‘hero’. Harry isn’t doing anything Heroic either, but the royal mouth pieces will do anything that can to prop up William with the constant stream of ‘he will be king!!

Note how anytime a negative story about the royals come out it is immediately counter acted with a negative story about Harry and Meghan? Where has the talk of Prince Andrew gone? He didn’t suddenly stop being suspected of being a pedophile, but there is silence. Where is the outraged about Prince Charles? I’m certainly not seeing it. What about Williams suspected adulatory? Whether true or not you know if it was Harry it would be all over the front page.

Harry’s statements about the ‘invisible contract’ become more and more apparent the longer this circus continues.

All I’m seeing is the nonsense about Piers Morgan being ‘cleared’ of wrong doing by Offcom. Who FYI for those who didn’t read the released statements wasn’t personally ‘cleared’ of anything. Piers Morgan and the royals arselickers thing they are in a war with Harry and Meghan but they are really at war with themselves. Harry and Meghan are thriving and getting on with their lives and it eats this fools up inside that they didn’t destroy them.

[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

Just thought of another idea for the Punk!AU after seeing that cute video of Joey Batey baking!! How about when it’s Sam’s birthday, and Jaskier and The Reader have a go at making a birthday cake for her, and these hilarious shenanigans happen in kitchen.

Fandom: The Witcher Pairing: Punk!Jaskier x Reader Word Count: 1,694 Rating: G Taglist: @heroics-and-heartbreak​ @whatevermonkey​ @mynamesoundslikesherlock​ @kemmastan​ @magic-multicolored-miracle​ @writingstudent​ @mlleecrivaine​ @coffee-and-stories​ @amirahiddleston​ @ultracolorfulnerdcollection​ @astouract​ @your-not-invisible-to-me​ @mycat-is-mylove a/n: Sheer fluff. Fluffity fluff fluff.

You and Jaskier were determined to keep Sam’s first birthday lowkey. The press was having a field day, trying to take snaps of her while you were out and announcing a happy birthday to her, speculating on whether or not there would be a large star-studded affair. Your parents had visited the week before her birthday and Jaskier’s family would see her when you went to visit on during their UK tour, but for the actual day just the usual gang would be around. You’d turned down Valdo’s suggestions of pony rides (“she’s barely walking, Valdo”) and circus performers (“she’s not a Victorian heiress, Valdo, also Y/N just saw It and there is a very strict no clown policy in the house for the foreseeable future”). You’d bought a few lavender and pale green balloons to decorate where she’d be seated (but not close enough she could put the strings in her mouth) and then you and Jaskier had set to baking the cake.

“Right, this should be pretty easy,” Jaskier said, hunched over the kitchen island with you, looking at the pinterest cake you’d found.

“Funfetti with vanilla buttercream,” you read aloud, looking over the instructions for how to transform the cake(s) into the adorable little fox creation on the screen.

“I will handle the cake and you will decorate and together we will give Sam the most perfect first birthday cake anyone has had in the history of ever,” Jaskier said proudly.

“But no pressure,” you laughed.

“But no pressure,” he added. You pulled out the kitchenaid and began mixing ingredients while he looked through the cupboards for a while, opening and closing drawers.

“Jask? What’re you doing?” you finally asked.

“Eh… mixing bowl?” he asked. You pointed to the one cabinet he hadn’t yet opened and he pulled out a large metal one. Next came his quest for flour and you finally just went through and helped him gather all of the ingredients. With that you continued your frosting, music playing from the living room as loud as you wanted. Geralt and Yennefer had come by early to take Sam out while they got things ready and you were enjoying the chance to play Vicious Mockery’s latest album loud as it was intended. You were lost in your own little world, vaguely aware of some muttered curses behind you but you stayed focused on your frosting which was veering dangerously from orange to red.

“Um, Y/N?” Jaskier called. You looked over and shrieked. It was your honeymoon all over again except this time with more sprinkles and somehow butter in his hair.

“I say this with love and respect,” you said as he nodded miserably, “Were you a cursed by an especially bitter witch with a hatred of baked goods as a child?”

“I followed the recipe!” he bemoaned. You looked down at the batter(?) in the bowl which, ironically, looked like what the croissant dough probably should have.

“Well… hmm. There isn’t enough time to make a new batch. What if we just add some milk?” you suggested, not sure if that would actually help but pretty sure it couldn’t make it worse.

“So… not water then?” he asked.

“That’s how it looks with added water?” you replied incredulously, poking the stiff dough with the wooden spoon that was wedged in it like Excalibur.

“It wasn’t coming together right!” he protested.

“Ok, no, it’s fine babe let’s just… yeah let’s… just pop some milk in there!” you said brightly. He looked so disappointed and miserable you wanted to try and make it work. It looked a bit more like batter and when you poured it into the pan and pushed it in the oven he seemed a bit more hopeful. He offered to help you finish the frosting and you swiftly declined, suggesting he just go check on something else. He sat on the barstool by you with one of Sam’s baby books and the two of you waxed nostalgic about all that had happened in just 12 months. When the timer went off you both breathlessly peeked at the cake. It had an odd charred look around the edges which you reassured him you could just cut away but when you stuck a knife in to make sure it was all the way done you found a bigger problem.

“How is it both burnt and still mostly liquid?” Jaskier asked, in awe of his own creation.

“Jaskier, sweetheart, I think maybe it’s time we buy a cake,” you suggested gently.

“Oh, I’ve been scrolling through the local bakeries online while that thing baked. We are not feeding our child… whatever this is,” he agreed. He showed you the options and left to pick it up while you worked on cleaning and disposing of the would-be cake. By the time the doorbell rang you noted proudly that no one would ever know what had transpired here. Geralt and Yennefer arrived first as they usually did, Sam making excited chattering sounds and pointing at the door from Yen’s arms, and when you looked down at what was in Geralt’s hands Yennefer spoke before you could say anything.

“I know this looks rude but we have our reasons,” she said. You took Sam from her arms and walked them both inside, gesturing to the counter where Geralt could put down the cake they had clearly bought.

“Don’t be mad,” Geralt said. A part of you wanted to be indignant on Jaskier’s behalf but the other, bigger part of you had been cleaning batter off of the oven vent for the better part of an hour. Yen looked around the kitchen, clearly seeing no sign of cake, and she didn’t need to say anything, her look communicating clearly that this was anticipated.

“Jaskier has many strengths. Baking is not one of them,” she said.

“I know it means a lot to you for Sam to have a cake that means something so, if it helps, she picked out this one,” Geralt said. The cake was a lovely violet shade with blackberries on and around it and the little sticker said it had a lemon sponge beneath the lavender infused vanilla buttercream.

“It’s perfect,” you said with a smile. The doorbell rang and Geralt took Sam from your arms, spinning her in a little circle, making her giggle, as you went to answer. The moment you opened the door Aevryn stuck out a hand to stop you from speaking.

“I know you and Jask were going to bake the cake but Y/N please trust me it’s better this way,” she said.

“What are you – oh,” you said as Valdo dramatically unveiled the cake in his hands by removing the jacket he’d clearly taken off just to obscure the cake till the perfect moment. It was three tiered and all chocolate with lovely sculpted truffles in the shape of foxes, a raspberry ganache running through the middle and drizzled on top.

“This is gorgeous,” you said as you walked into the kitchen with them, “It’s a lot of cake though.”

“Don’t be silly, love, it’s three tiers but the sponge is so fluffy it’s – oh, I see what you mean,” Valdo said, interrupted in his speech by the sight of the cake that Geralt and Yennefer had brought. Geralt cocked an eyebrow at the sight of the cake in Valdo’s arms and shot Aevryn a look.

“Well you did the same!” she said.

“Well, two cakes isn’t that crazy. It just means there’ll be plenty of leftovers!” you said. The door opened and you remembered suddenly why Jaskier had left.

“Alright none shall be the wiser I have got a cake that’s pretty close to what we… wan…ted…” Jaskier’s voice trailed off as he walked in, holding aloft a cake shaped like a fox with lovely detailing in frosting, and saw the other two cakes on the counter.

“Oh gods this looks like an intervention,” he said, “Is there a banner hidden somewhere?”

Aevryn stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to look solemn though there she was betrayed by the amused twinkle in her eye.

“Jaskier, we’re all here because your baking has affected our lives,” she intoned.

“Oh sod off,” he said, shrugging off her arm as she laughed. You took the cake from him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Well, how do we do this?” he asked, looking at the three very different cakes.

“I don’t know… this is like wedding cake testing all over again,” you said.

“Well as it is her first birthday she should have the best,” Valdo argued.

“So you agree she should eat the one she picked out,” Yennefer said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hey, we’re her parents and we got her this cake, she should have the Pankratz cake,” Jaskier protested.

“The Swift-Marx cake was crafted by chocolatiers from Belgium,” Valdo insisted. While they fought Geralt propped Sam up on his knee and quietly reached for the cake he and Yennefer had brought. You noticed and shot him a warning look.

“Look,” you said, interrupting the heated discussion which Sam watched with unfettered excitement, “There is an obvious solution.”

A few moments later Sam sat in her high chair surrounded by her family as they sang happy birthday to her, a plate in front of her with three small pieces of cake. Everyone watched as her chubby little fist hovered over the different cakes, growing far too excited when it looked like she may pick theirs, and then she thrust her whole face down onto all three pieces at once. When she pulled her face back there was orange buttercream from the fox, chocolate and raspberry ganache, and lavender frosting smeared all over her face like a little woodland watercolor scene. Aevryn snapped the photo, the quickest to react with her social media managing reflexes.

“Well there you have it,” you said as you removed the candle before she could try and eat that too, “When granted options she simply takes them all.”

Everyone agreed that she was truly a Pankratz. And a Rivia. And a Swift-Marx.

[ryuukia]

[Translation] Tsukihana Kagura Cast Presentation: Botan (ROCK DOWN)

We’re even closer to the last pages of the pamphlet. Good news though, I managed to get all the message coasters, so after infinit0 is posted, I’ll also post the messages. They’re gold

Anyway, here’s Ryota’s Rock Down translation~! Please don’t repost/retranslate/reuse this translation. Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Nation: the affiliated country’s name Flower name: the name as a dancer Dance technique: the name of each person’s characteristic dance Dance props: the name of the tool used while dancing (there are cases when none are used)

Onoda Sho

“Why, hello there. Would you like to dance with me?”

Nation: Botan ※chief

Flower name: Zekka (Exquisite)

Dance technique: Mantenkou (The Best Kind of Happiness)

Dance props: No props

He is a beautiful young man who has a very relaxed smile. He looks like he’s unreliable at first glance, but don’t be fooled by his appearance.

He is a strong man who is able to subdue any sort of fight, dispute, and trouble that occurs in Botan, the City of Pleasure, by just lifting one finger.

His one worry is that his message of peace can’t seem to reach the people who are uneducated, untrained, and ignorant.

He himself doesn’t have any ulterior motives. As long as the other party is capable of understanding, he will show them the utmost kindness. He is brilliant and beautiful, truly someone fitting to be Botan’s face.

Kujikawa Haruto

“Ah, I hurt my finger.”

Nation: Botan

Flower name: Tsuchigumo (Grownded Cloud)

Dance technique: Yakumo (Clouds Overlooking Everything)

Dance props: Sword / Nameless [Excalibur]

He is an orphan who was raised under harsh circumstances in Botan’s red-light district. After some unexpected turn of events, he was saved by Sho and Gaku.

Even now, among Botan’s Great Six (Sho, Haruto, Reiji, Ayumu, Gaku, Ruka) he is adored and loved as their youngest member.

Normally, he doesn’t show much expression on his face and he doesn’t complain. There was a time when the others assumed that his body couldn’t feel pain, but it turns out that he was raised to keep his pain to himself.

Thanks to the guidance of his acting older brothers, his personality has improved considerably. He loves sweets, so if you give him some, he looks expressionless but is very happy deep inside.

Interview with Onoda Sho (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

We do a very romantic dance. The music is really very beautiful. It is sorrowful and delicate and I think that dancing with the long sleeves convey that kind of feeling accordingly. It’s one of the dance’s highlights, I’d say? As for behind-the-scenes stories… Ah, after the lessons were over, Haruto invited me out to eat in a very businessman-like fashion and then we went to go eat some steaks (laughs). We both ate our fill together ♪

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

Steamed buns. 

Because the costumes give off a very Chinese feeling, too.

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

ROCK DOWN’s nation is called 'Botan'. The actual botan flower is said to be the King of Flowers, but it really is just a world filled with very beautiful costumes. I truly wish that you would enjoy this beautiful and magnificent world of Tsukihana Kagura ♪

Interview with Kujikawa Haruto (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

I’m doing my best with the pair dance even though I jammed my finger. I’m joking. I think that the top priority is to watch the performance so please do see us, okay?

As for behind-the-scenes stories, all of the rehearsals have been very fun. We go out to eat regardless of unit divisions. It’s fresh and very fun. We practice and encourage each other, too. I’ll do my best so I can eat delicious food.

Yeah~.

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

THE SWORD [EXCALIBUR].

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

WELCOME!! THIS PERSON HERE WILL GUIDE YOU TO TSUKIHANA KAGURA!! (Yes, please!)

Amaha Reiji

“Reckless guys won’t be popular, y’know?”

Nation: Botan

Flower name: Hayato (Great Falcon)

Dance technique: Sharaku (Unconventional)

Dance props: Sword / Inscription: [Basara] (Unhesitant)

He is the young master of the largest inn in Botan. He is an attractive man who has a reputation of absorbing himself in his indulgent pleasures, but it’s all just a façade.

The truth is that he is the Staff Officer of a Vigilante Group that watches over and stops the troublesome things that happen in Botan.

If the surface beauty of the City of Pleasures is Sho, then Reiji is the hidden leader.

He keeps his job as a secret from his childhood friend Ayumu that he in turn gets scolded for always going out at night.

Tachibana Ayumu

“I love dancing. If it’s possible, I want to dance forever.”

Nation: Botan

Flower name: Adzuma (Dame)

Dance technique: Gyokufuyou (Wild Lilac)

Dance props: No props

He is a popular dancer in Botan. He practices fervently every day so that he can become a Flower Dancer, but his body is actually frail so he ends up being bedridden for some time.

Reiji is his childhood friend. He has complicated feelings towards Reiji whose dance seems more eye-catching compared to his own even though Ayumu is the one who works as a professional dancer.

Seeing him apprehend Reiji in the middle of the city for his nightly escapades (when in truth, Reiji is just serving as the Vigilante Group’s leader) is a famous sight in Botan.

He really loves sweet things and his recent interest is going to tea houses with Haruto, who he treats as a younger brother.

Interview with Amaha Reiji (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

To be honest, I thought that the pair dances we did in general before this was already tough, but this one begs to differ. As you all know, I’m far from being hot-headed when it comes to things like this, but when you have someone who says “You can still go on, can’t you?” right beside you, then of course I’m not gonna lose (bitter smile). Okay~ Ayumu, once more from the start.

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

Takoyaki 

I just feel like eating some today (laughs).

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

I think that people wearing traditional clothes look good, but actually wearing one makes me feel so confident. Is it because I’m Japanese? I’m really excited to wear traditional clothing with a slight fantasy touch to them!

Interview with Tachibana Ayumu (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

It seems like the Tachibana Ayumu in the Tsukihana Kagura world is also struggling with his very awkward self, isn’t he? (bitter smile) Even so, he really loves dancing and it makes the real me want to cheer him on, too. On top of the stage, it is Reiji who dances gracefully and I who dances gallantly. I guess I could say that’s one of its highlights? Please look forward to it.

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

Foot bath.

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

Firstly, my hair is long again, isn’t it? (laughs) We use model wigs for the stage, and it is one transformation to look forward to. I’ll devote myself to make it look as if I’ve become one with the flowers in this traditional costume, too. I will be in your care.

Oguro Gaku

“Hey, you there. It’s dangerous beyond that point, you know? It’s best not to be reckless.”

Nation: Botan

Flower name: Shiragi (Tender Gossamer)

Dance technique: Kokuryuukin (Wild Peony)

Dance props: Hand fans / Inscription: [Kakushu] (Eternal Patience)

He is a young host who takes care of the women in Botan. It’s not rare for him to get involved in skirmishes around the city so he is very strong.

He is gentle and warm towards everyone so he’s very popular. However, he has sworn not to fall in love and cross that line with the women he entertains at night. In a sense, he’s only next to Reiji for being very famous for making women cry.

He is really great at cooking and hopes to have his own shop someday.

Nadumi Ruka

“The only one who can stop me is myself!”

Nation: Botan

Flower name: Himuka (Sunshine)

Dance technique: Hourakumon (Southern Gate)

Dance props: Demon Mask / Inscription: [Ashura]

He looks young but he’s actually one head of the Vigilante Group. He’s actually very strong and manly.

He doesn’t change his attitude towards anyone regardless of gender or age and is always very true to himself. This is the reason why he is praised and called “Aniki!” by his subordinates.

He’s actually very popular with girls too but he’s too dense to notice. Which is why he’s always complaining and saying “I wish I was as popular as Reiji~”

He met Gaku one night after he got into a fight, and ever since then, they’ve become the closest of friends.

Interview with Oguro Gaku (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

There’s one part that’s pretty easy to understand. It’s Ruka and I doing backflips together! I really didn’t imagine that we’d do it, and we’d only talked about maybe doing cartwheels? But the talk somehow ended up with us saying we can do backflips so we ended up doing it for real in the actual performance. I’m not merely saying this to brag, okay? It’s really happening (laughs). I’ll do my best so that people who meet us for the first time will end up wondering who we are.

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

A small restaurant called “Gaku”.

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

It’s a bit unusual, but I have a lot of scenes with SolidS’ Dai-san and Procella’s Kai-san. We still haven’t reached that part in rehearsals, but I’m already excited about. Now then, I wonder how it will turn out~

Interview with Nadumi Ruka (ROCK DOWN)

Q. Please tell us about the highlights of this stage play and your impressions or story behind your partnered dance.

It really burns a lot of calories! The way Gakkun and I make an entrance is so full of action, so we spin around, we do kicks, we do sword tricks, and all that.

It’s a very busy dance! (laughs) But I don’t really dislike it, and I’ll do my best to make it the flashiest scene ever!!

Let’s do thisーーーーー　＝≣(((つ・w・)つ

Q. In Tsukihana, all 12 nations have their own specialties, but if you could come up with a new specialty for your own country, what would it be?

A crepe shop called “Botan” 

I bet that the crepes in Botan will be flowery, too!

Q. Lastly, leave a short message for the fans.

I feel like the new entertainment halls nowadays is similar to Botan? I’ll do my best to protect Botan’s pretty ladies and gentlemen! Everyone, come and play at Botan, too, okay~? ☆

If you want to support Ryota and her work, you can buy her a ko-fi right [here]. I also have my own [ko-fi] page and [commission page] linked here.

[bffhreprise]

Entry 276

 “Dragons?  You’re certain?” I asked, studying James’ face for some sign of mirth.

 “That’s what Vito claimed, and his brothers seemed to agree with him.” replied James solemnly.

  “Wow.  That’s really hard to imagine.  How could we have not… Oh.  Hmm.” I told him, stopping when I realized exactly how humanity could have gone this long without finding evidence.  “I suppose the Slayer family would probably cover up any dragon remains found.”

 “I got the impression that dragons rarely died.” added James.

 Frowning slightly, I said, “That’s scary.  If they could eat as much as they could in legends, which I easily could believe with such large bodies, then they could’ve become a burden to their areas quickly.”

 Nodding in agreement, James suggested “Perhaps, but their magic probably helped sustain them to some degree.  I certainly feel capable of going very extended periods on just magic, and Portentia’s said before that she never has to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe.”

 “But you still experience hunger.  Why wouldn’t they give into theirs?” I questioned, still studying James’ reactions as he responded.  He was far too good at hiding his expressions these days.  Was Alma giving him courses on it?  Probably not.  His mind seemed far faster than it has been only months ago, which would be needed to keep up with his body, but I could imagine that emotions came and left too quick for them to register at times.

 “True, but Portentia goes extended periods without food despite Marco’s protestations.  At least some of the dragons could have been that altruistic.” he claimed.

 “Maybe.  I doubt it.  Portentia’s rare in a great number of ways.” I argued, feeling Portentia’s absolute dedication to good was beyond rare.

 “I know.  Their eating habits might have played a part in why the dragons left the planet back then.” he offered.

 I nodded and said, “Quite possibly.  They were thought of as guardians from what you said, so they might well have been careful not to starve the ones under their protection.  Dragons though… the idea’s crazy, but I love it.”  I couldn’t stop smiling as I thought about the idea of dragons roaming the world.

 James left me to my thoughts for a time.

 Feeling the need to voice some, I said, “The seven wonders are much easier to explain now that I know without a doubt some of what magic can accomplish.  Do you know how easily Ai or Mai could have maintained the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?  I’m sure you could pull it off with your magic pretty quickly as well.  Then there’s Emma… she could keep a garden alive in space.  The world’s changed so much for us in under a year.”

 “I know.  Who would have thought that you’d be married within a year of graduating?” he teased.

 “I am pretty lucky.” I agreed with a grin.

 All too casually, he said, “I’m sure Ai and Mai told you about the challenge…”

 “And about a magical dagger Aaliyah apparently had sitting around.” I replied, surely smirking.  

 “Care to see it?” he inquired, sounding all too serious.

 “Let me think…  Would I like to see an old, magical weapon barely even mentioned in myth.  Come on, James!  Is that really even a question!?” I asked him, grinning ear-to-ear.  

 James pulled the sheathed dagger out from behind his back, probably from the back of his belt, and presented it to me.  Light radiated out from the exposed part of the dagger.

 “Wow.  That’s obviously not normal.” I asserted, wondering if a weapon could look more magical.  “Portentia’s staff can pass for normal at a glance, but this… this is not very subtle.”

 “Oh…” replied James, feigning disappointment.  “I hoped to wear it everywhere I go.”

 I laughed and told him “Sure, James.  I probably would, just to make people wonder.”  Picturing how people might react was great.  Would police even bother to inspect it, or would they assume it’s some sort of prop, given the light?  Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I asked “May I hold it?”

 James shrugged and turned the hilt toward me.  Sadly, the light diminished somewhat as I pulled the dagger out, as if it was dejected to leave James.

 “That’s odd,” he insisted.

 “Nah.  The dagger just likes you better.  No surprise there.” I assured him.

 He rolled his eyes at me, obviously not taking my words to heart.

 “No, really.  From what Ai and Mai have told me, the weapons like this and Midnight actually prefer certain users, doing far more for them than for those they don’t like.” I explained, wishing he would accept his gifts already.

 “You have plenty of friends.” he insisted.  He was always like this, refusing to think that I owed him anything.

 “Thanks to you.  James, I don’t have your magical ‘you must like me’ aura.  I’m fine with this.  You need to accept it.” I insisted.

 He sighed.

 “You put up with it.  You don’t accept it.” I pointed out.  “Hey, Mila.  What sort of readings are you getting from this thing?”

 “The dagger is radiating heat and light, but nothing else that I can detect.  I believe there is magic causing interference with some of my more sensitive equipment.” she explained.

 “Have you tried cutting anything with it?” I questioned, knowing he probably hadn’t.

 Looking surprised, he asked “What?  No.  Why would I?”

 “No curiosity at all?  This is a magic weapon like something out of a fairytale.  You might be able to cut through stone, steel, or even your own hair!  Well, I doubt it’d actually work on your hair.  How do you get a haircut?” I inquired, feeling this was finally the time to bring that up.  Given that his hair was stronger than steel and repelled magic, I didn’t really have even a guess as to how his haircuts worked.

 “Aaliyah’s been cutting it.  I never actually paid attention to what she uses.” he replied, looking somewhat embarrassed.  Typical James.  He probably just accepted without giving Aaliyah’s incredible ingenuity a thought.

 I passed off the dagger to him and went to find something worth cutting.  There should be something in this pile that’d work…  “Magic scissors.” I suggested.  “Really wouldn’t surprise me.  She seems to be able to get her hands on anything.”  Would magic scissors really work?  If they did, how powerful would they have to be?  “The twins told me your dagger was once King Arthur’s.  Can you imagine King Arthur being real?”

 “The world’s getting crazier.” he stated.

 I glanced at him and said, “You mean ‘even more amazing’!  That opens up the possibility for Excalibur, James.  Imagine if that sword is real!” I explained, catching sight of a steel pipe when I turned back to the rubbish pile.  “Ah!  Try to cut this!” I exclaimed, holding the pipe up for him to see.  What had I been working on with this?  Too thick to be an exhaust pipe, so… Oh!  Maybe part of the reinforced coolant system for my suit.  That’d make this stainless steel.  I would have preferred pure steel for this test, but it’ll work.

 When I held out the pipe for James, he casually touched the blade to it between my hands, and a blinding flash of light spilt the pipe in half.  I stared at the two halves, holding them out for James to see as well.  I wanted to analyze the edges, so I might make a better guess at what just happened, but something else was more pressing.

 “I bet you could cut open a tank with that thing!  Let me give it a try.” I insisted, dropping half the pipe and handing the other half to him.

 He accepted and carefully handed the dagger back to me.  Careful not to cut toward either of us, I applied a slight pressure against the pipe with the blade.  There was another intense flash, and part of the pipe fell to the floor.  This dagger was incredible, and I could even use it!

 “Wow.  Didn’t really expect that, not with the dagger liking you better.  This thing’s amazing!” I exclaimed.  If James loaned me this, I could stand with them next time they fought that necromancer, instead of hiding in the car.

 James looked like he was going to respond, but suddenly turned his head inhumanly fast.  He was staring at Aurora, who was grabbing a screwdriver, as if she was someone dangerous.  I supposed that she could be if she were so inclined, considering her skills, but I wasn’t entirely certain what would be necessary to induce the type of anger in her that would be necessary for her to get that dangerous.

 “Jarod… you’re getting married.” stated James.

 “Huh?  What does that have to do with anything?”

 “There’s a girl with no pants on in your lab.” he informed me.

 “She might have shorts under there.  Didn’t check.” I assured him.

 “I suppose I’m glad of that, but who is she?  Why is she here?” he asked, looking perfectly serious.

 “My lab assistant, Aurora.” I replied, wondering if Mila hadn’t mentioned her yet.  Wouldn’t Aaliyah have said something.  James had to sign off on the paperwork, didn’t he?

 “When did you get a lab assistant?” he questioned, confirming that no one had said anything.

  “About a week ago.  Mila, why doesn’t James know about Aurora?”

 “No one told him.” she replied.

 “But why didn’t someone tell me?  Can she use magic?  I hope… I mean… we were just demonstrating a magical dagger in plain view.” he blurted, demonstrating why he hadn’t been told.  “What do your fiancées think of you having a potentially pantless lab assistant?”

 “Haven’t told them.  You know how they can get.” I informed him, guessing that Mila was probably recording all of this for Aaliyah.  Those two had probably planned for this, but they could have let me in on the prank!

 “But… won’t that just make matters worse when they do find out?” he asked, his voice dripping with concern.

 “They don’t come down here that often.  The odds of them running into Aurora anytime soon are pretty slim.” I assured him.  “Besides, Mila’s my witness that this is all very professional.  There’s a contract and everything.  Aaliyah wrote it.”

 “Of course.  She would, wouldn’t she.” muttered James with a hint of annoyance.  “Let’s start over.  How did you meet her?”

 Grinning, I explained “She’s the daughter of a client.  They were trying to find a new tutor for her, since Aurora doesn’t fit into schools very well.  She’s an autistic savant.  Makes me look slow at math, but she has incredible potential as an engineer.  I made a deal with her parents to have her work part time with me in exchange for a top notch education provided by the Institute of Autodidacticism through Best Friend For Hire.”

 “Considering everything that goes on around here, isn’t that a little dangerous?  What if she starts mentioning strange things she sees, like a magical dagger, to her parents?” he questioned.

 “Her parents don’t know how to communicate with her effectively, so that can’t really happen.  Aurora doesn’t speak much.  She prefers… arrangements, you could say.” I replied, wishing he was calmer.  Describing Aurora’s communication wasn’t something that could be done in a few words.

“Arrangements?  What do you mean?” he questioned.

 “She’ll reorganize an entire room to try representing an idea that she doesn’t know how to put into words.  When I first met her, her bedroom was set out to resemble a circuit.  I had to stop her mother from picking up the clothes before I got a good look at it.” I explained, remembering back to how I had been caught off-guard by her room.  The distinct order in the chaos had reminded me of how I kept my room at my parents’ house.  When was the last time I had slept there?

 “Okay, so what was she trying to say?”

 “She wanted someone to complete the circuit, which I did with my shoe.” I replied, reconsidering the pattern in my head.  “I believe she realized she was missing something, but didn’t know what.  She needed help, but didn’t know how to ask.  Mila wrote an interactive program for her that gives her another medium to use for communication.”  I honestly might have missed something, since I couldn’t remember what type of circuit was being used right off.  That could have been relevant.

 James stared as Aurora approached us again, leaning against me and hugging me the moment she arrived.  “Strictly professional… I see.  What does this mean then?” he questioned.

 “No idea.  Still trying to figure things out, honestly.  She’s complicated.” I told him, being perfectly honest.  She hadn’t done this before and couldn’t have more awkward timing.

 “I imagine she’s feeling chilly and doesn’t know where her jeans are.  I’ll fetch them for her.” stated Mila as she maneuvered one of her mechanical arms from the ceiling.

 “Why would she have taken them off in the first place?” asked James, looking as confused as he sounded.

 “She gets hot.” replied Mila.

 Aurora grinned when her pants brushed her arm, immediately letting me go to don them.  James turned away, obviously embarrassed by Aurora’s complete indifference to the presence of us two males.

 Following suit, I said, “We’ll work on that.  I promise.”

 “Don’t worry, Master, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” teased Mila.

 “But you will?” inquired James.

 “Of course.” she promised.

 James nodded.  “Well, I’ll look forward to seeing what you two create.  Unfortunately, I need to be off, but I’ll try to catch up again soon.”

 “Alrighty.  Thanks for stopping by!  I know how busy you are.” I assured him.

 He laughed and said, “Probably not as busy as you, given how close your wedding is.”

 I shrugged, knowing we didn’t have the time for me to explain how little Ai and Mai left for me to do.  Those two wanted my opinions, but they were very particular about certain aspects.  Besides, Mila was in charge of lighting and computerized displays.  Emma had already consulted with the twins and me on various plants to be used for the outdoor part, some of which were incredible on a scientific level.  Then there was Alma… involved as ever.  Things would be fine without me being more involved.

[wrestlezon]

aew rampage 10/21/22 liveblog containment zone

laughing my ass off at excalibur's reference (the attempt of trademarking the word "edge" for video games) he is truly The Gamer's Commentator

the acclaimed vs varsity... guys. tony nese and josh(?) woods. i forgot their title

oh no! billy gunn is ousted from ringside by the ref. golly! im unfocused. sorry acclaimed im trying my best to pay attention to your match its been a while since ive seen daily's place wood's fireman's carry into knee move...? bowens on the offense! they win!

cock and ball destruction ........caster thats obscene. dont fuck the belt on live tv!

backstage with tony schiavone and jade cargill

oh no! penelope ford... injured and out... i heard them mention this earlier but still :( i wanted to watch her fight willow!! wahhhh man jade is super mad! golly i do hope she fights nyla rose i wanna see nyla rose !!!!

watching the show Actually Live for the first time in a while means i can actually keep up with liveblogging it lmao... i need these commercial breaks to put words together

backstage with eddie and ortiz and death triangle

omg lmao ortiz put together an intervention for eddie. "eddie youre out of control" the lucha bros are here with encouraging words and eddie is just like :/? omg pac setting up pac vs eddie??? lmao poor eddie tho ;o; hes so blindsided

hook vs ari devari

those are some crisp printed hundreds i wonder how much it is to get fake film prop money whoa hook's getting beaten up classic threatening chin grab. love to see it whoa another pin break. will they actually make hook lose (no, but theyre not making it look easy!) oh theres redrum lol

haha vsk trying to fan him awake with the money redrum 2!!!! nooo dont put the money in his mouth you dont know where those crisp bills have been

backstage with the firm! ethan page and stokely

theyre bullying matt hardy ............ is he trying to outcringe them "by the time im done, you wont want me on your team"

willow nightingale vs leila gray

yay willow i wish penelope were here but ok... fighting! tackle! big scoop! big slam! theyre giving willow a lot of lore on commentary. which is funny because i know so little about leila gray in comparison ringside shenanigans! this match seems slightly awkward in its flow and pacing...? maybe im just looking too hard. or maybe leila is new? i dont know much about her so thatd check out "she aint no baddie! im the baddie" is that what was said there lol weird... match... maybe that penelope ford thing was a real last minute development. did they do dark matches before this show

OH!!!!!! WILLOW HIRED!!! yay!!!! i just uh... wish it wasnt after such a... weird match... oh... jade hijacking willow's celebration... i mean.. i guess thats heel behavior omg nyla and crew stole her car lol jade cargill killing every security guard

video segment with 10 and rush (and orange cassidy!)

oh lol theyre playing this on tv? nice. it was really good. i do think its funny that all the good segments they put on social media that i end up watching they also play on tv. better not to waste good segments to be lost in the social media oh they cut out the tony khan part of it lol he made a promise he wouldnt become an onscreen character after all

backstage pre-match with 10 and rush and orange

orange why are you with mark henry-- lmao why ARE you getting between these two guys' conflict jose i recognize your threat to orange but. i think punk has the honor of the shortest title run. twice over (😭) lmao orange has his own branded microphone... please tell me this is going to be a recurring thing stealing mark henry's bit again!!

rush vs 10 vs orange cassidy

andrade seamlessly deleted from the storyline i have such bad memory i have to keep reminding myself. *touches the earth* there was a guy here, once. i do this for punk and the elite as well i hope the elite and omega come back soon... yay!!! the best friends are here too!!!!!! :)c i love getting glimpses of my favorite guys in the background. imagine if i got to saw them wrestle :OOOO (theres plenty of non-conspiracy reasons for them to not have bookings. i understand. also they DID just wrestle in a trios match) (but that wasnt about them! it was about oc and pac!) (ok enough of that, its time for the main event!!!) he kept those glasses on for longer than i thought aoughh!! rush throwing beverage around! sticky cable choking! hm. its ok. i like the lime color watching 10 and rush fight, it makes me think that maybe oc turning this into a threeway gives 10 an out to lose but not lose his mask to rush thats a very charitable interpretation of the situation though. he also could just be being a funny little rascal oof!! solid table... unbreaking... 10 is so beefy. beef guy. real ooo i love me a good spear oh! orange is back in the ring the old nelson into pockets bit wow what a smooth beach break lmao why is open in-ring meddling legal in a three way i seriously love danhausen's curse-into-dickpunch manuever very mp100 reigan hypnosis punch energy rush trying to mess with 10's mask! are they going to reveal 10's canonically pretty face no! it will not occur. orange wins!

10 standing in the ring looking at orange... 10 looking at rush... lmao orange looking at rush like hes a weirdo

aww sad in memoriam bit at the end :(

the fite feed kept going but is glitched frozen. im missing out on the best friends being in the ring "theyre probably hugging right now" my friend does nothing but directly wound me

[drakorn]

I love Artus - Excalibur but it also feels like a First Draft

Why I love it

-It has some of Frank Wildhorn’s absolute best songs (”The Field of Honour”, “Sins of the Fathers” “Tomorrow, you meet Death”)

-”Sins of the Fathers” is not only one of the best villain songs written by Frank Wildhorn, it is one of the best villain songs in general.

-It offers a lot of freedom in directions, as shown by the extreme differences between all three productions so far.

-For once, Morgana is the legitimate heir to the throne but Arthur just happens to be the better choice and also the indirect reason why her life was ruined.

-Lancelot and Arthur know each other since childhood in this version, which, I think, makes their friendship and the later betrayal even more emotional.

-If done right, the battle sequences look AMAZING as seen in Tecklenburg.

But it feels like a first draft

-Remember the first time Dracula aired and wasn’t received so well? And a majority of the fleshing out and rewriting was done in subsequent productions, most notably the Graz version? This is how this musical feels like to me, the only difference being the audience response.

-Everyone is stuck with one or two character traits and doesn’t really develop: Morgana always wants revenge, Guinevere is always naive and vulnerable, Merlin is always stoic and cryptic. The characters with most development are Arthur and Lancelot but their changes come out of nowhere pretty much.

-The dialogue is so so so so SO cheesy at times. “I may not have been born to be a queen, but I was born to love you!” WHO would say that? XD “The darkness of wrath clouds your judgment.” I mean, he’s a king fighting a war, is it really that hard to comprehend that he has to concentrate on battle strategy? “If our love is the first sacrifice this war claims, it is truly unjust.” What does that even mean? How is ANY war just? And how selfish is that remark? Two characters were killed and entire battles fought before this line was said. And don’t even get me started on Arthur’s love letter to Guinevere, that was a cringefest in the worst possible way. I wouldn’t be so harsh if the play wouldn’t take itself so seriously, but it does!

-At many points, this show alludes to much cooler plot points than the things we get to see on stage. Here are a few examples:

1. Morgana calls upon the dark powers to feed her magic, but we never see that happen! Also, what is this “Darkness” she talks about? Is she contacting the Devil or an ancient Celtic being? This could have been so cool! Maybe we could have seen another powerful entity from Arthurian mythology, like Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, fulfil this role and be Morgana’s version of Merlin. And since Excalibur belonged to Nimue in the legends before Arthur, this could have been interesting as well. Maybe Merlin got it from Nimue, or stole it even? She could have been a nice background antagonist.

2. Merlin calls out Morgana on trying to summon spirits, but we never ever see that happen. In fact, why was this line even in the show? It didn’t contribute to anything. Or does that tie in with this mysterious “Darkness” that Morgana called upon in her villain song? Could it be that one of the coolest plot points of this show happened off-stage?

-What’s the deal with Excalibur? Merlin always mentions how amazing this sword is but we never actually see it do anything that amazing. It is just a prop that is not even visible that much. Now, I know how amazing this sword is in the legends, but we never see this happen in the show.

-Also, speaking of Merlin, what was that line of him being  A Merlin, not THE Merlin but A Merlin? I mean, it was fixed in the Tecklenburg version because it really doesn’t make any sense, especially since the St. Gallen version can’t seem to make up its mind whether “Merlin” is a name or a title. But are you saying that there is an international Merlin community or what? That’s what the original version apparently was going for.

-What’s the deal with Morgana’s powers? She has them since birth, okay, but how powerful is she exactly? She wants Merlin to teach her but at the same time, she is capable of seducing him, something that takes Merlin’s magic away. She clearly has that much power, so why does she need Merlin? The show really doesn’t do a good job of explaining the power scales of magical things.

There is so much more I could list here but you get my point. I feel like, if they took the time to give this musical the same revision treatment they gave Dracula for the Graz version, it could really become one of Frank Wildhorn’s best pieces.

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [66]

“Kore, stop,” Judge says, “You dragged me across the sol-chart for that warframe. You could at least try.”

“I did try and I got snatched by Zanuka. I was rescued by Punk and Chic,” Kore snaps as she tries shoving her Vauban into a garbage compactor, “I’m never living it down.”

“Kore, that was ages ago. And technically it was just Chic and me doing the rescuing. Punk was there to be rescued too.”

“Even worse,” Kore replies darkly.

“You don’t mind that Chic and I had to rescue you.”

“Why would I?” Kore asks, honestly confused as she stops trying to cram her Vauban into the garbage disposal. Her Vauban cautiously unfolds and stands up before returning to stillness. “Chic is an impressive shooter and your tactical knowledge has grown in leaps and bounds since when you were the fool I picked up on Earth.”

“And Punk is a very good crowd control and honestly one of the best distractions from getting launched off a ship dock by a grenade,” Judge says.

Kore makes a face before turning around and pushing her Vauban back into the square chute.

“Kore, you know you’re going to regret this. Come on, calibration just takes time with some frames. Didn’t you say that you couldn’t really get Hydroid for a few months? And now you’re just fine with that frame.”

“No, what happened was Hydroid’s abilities didn’t synch well with mine and then we figure out fishing and then I figured out how to use him for fishing. Specifically for fishing. Nothing else,” Kore says, crossing her arms and scowling.

“And maybe you’ll find a very specific situation to use Vauban for too,” Judge replies, looping a finger through one of the bands on Kore’s sleeves and lightly pulling at it, “Give it time. I mean, you gave me time and I turned out fine.”

“I can’t flush you out a garbage chute,” Kore says but jerks her head and her Vauban starts walking back towards storage. “I hate it when you’re the reasonable one.”

Judge wants to point out that he usually is the reasonable one, but he has a feeling that if he says it now she really will try and push him out a garbage chute.

“Go back to talking about Norg conspiracies,” Kore says.

Judge frowns at her, “It’s real and it’s coming, Kore. You’re going to thank me when it happens and I have plans ready for it.”

Kore rolls her eyes, pulling her sleeve free from his finger, and walks back towards the guts of her ship to continue her cleaning. Judge doesn’t know how Kore gets rid of stuff so easily. He keeps wanting to tell her not to throw things out. Like - you never know when you’ll need used bullet shells, right? Those can be recycled for something cool.

Handsome uses them as toys all the time, for one thing.

-

There’s an Excalibur lounging on top of an outcropping of rocks jutting out of a hill. Its black and golden details glimmer in the morning light as it watches him back with its head propped up on a fist.

It lazily raises a hand and waves. Judge feels a tap in his mind, as if someone was tapping on glass in his head.

He recognizes the person on the other side and cautiously opens his mind.

“Fishing?” the Empress asks, “It’s poor in this spot. The fish have moved to the other side of the coat. I watched another Tenno in that exact same spot for the better part of the morning since dawn. Not a single catch.”

“Oh, thank you,” Judge says. “You’ve saved me a lure.”

She shrugs a shoulder and yawns through the connection, “Persephone?”

“Mars, I think,” Judge answers, “Or Ceres? I’m not sure. She’s trying to train her Dethcube to not be so aggressive.”

“It’s a Dethcube,” Empress says, then she points a finger up and snaps. A Dethcube - styled in white and gold - comes immediately darts out from the bushes nearby, its golden optic flickering. Empress has attachments on it, giving it sharp wings that irritatedly shutter as it whirrs in the air.

“She’s Persephone,” Judge says as his Helios goes to scan Empress’ sentinel. The Dethcube holds still for it before flying to hover over the Empress’ warframe.

The Empress doesn’t reply but he feels the ripple of her void energy shift over his like a laugh.

Judge freezes as his sensors pick up rapid moving heat signatures converging on the area - too fast for Grineer foot soldiers, possible Ghouls? Infested? - but then he sees the kubrow cresting the hill and he relaxes a little.

It can’t be anyone other than -

An Oberon appears over the hill and calmly slides down on slender hooves until he’s standing on the rock ridge just above where the Excalibur is lounging.

Alpha is holding up several fish tied together by their tails and he tilts his head at Judge before nodding silently.

The Empress slowly stands up, stretching Excalibur’s arms over her head and then casually kicks back at the rocks behind her causing a small cave in.

Alpha clicks through his speakers a few small kubrow come up to him, tongues happily sticking out of the sides of their mouths as Alpha hands them fish.

They squeeze into the hole one after the other.

“Is that where you’ve been hiding the fish? The ones for…uh. The cousins?”

Alpha nods, scratching one of the larger kubrow behind the ears as it presses against his side. Empress leans against the slope as she watches the kubrow go in and out, some of the dogs occasionally pausing to nose at her or butt against her legs.

Actually the dogs haven’t stopped coming, there must be more fish elsewhere aside from what Alpha was carrying because they keep going in with fish.

Judge wonders how long Alpha spends every day fishing and how often he does it. He can’t imagine it because Alpha’s also busy doing tons of reconnaissance for the Tenno and the Steel Meridian.

Alpha descends the slopes towards him and says, “Poor fish.”

“Empress told me,” Judge says, “She told me to try the other bank.”

Alpha points behind him, from where he came from, “Mortus lungfish.”

“Thank you,” Judge says and Alpha turns towards the North, slowly walking away.

The dogs follow after and Empress turns to put the rocks back before nodding at Judge and following.

It is possibly the least intense interaction he’s ever had with them and Judge is incredibly grateful for it.

Except the Empress says, “See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

Empress’ Excalibur turns to look at him over its shoulder and she says, “Kuva hunting. You, punk, Alpha, me. Time to see what you can do.”

[typhonbaalhammon]

Let’s talk about that scene

A certain scene in the latest Game of Thrones episode has generated quite a lot of comments. I have mostly seen people angrily defending it, although I must imagine that there has been some heated criticism of the scene before that.

Here’s a preliminary summary of what I’m going to say : Although I don’t object to it in theory, I think this scene was very poorly executed.

From now on here be spoilers.

I am referring of course to the scene where Arya decides to have sex with Gendry, and then has sex with him.

Now the conceit that Arya Stark would have sex with anyone seems to have shocked people so much that card-carrying feminists (such as Amanda Marcotte) have come to the defense of the scene saying that, in effect that she’s a grown woman who can have sex with anyone she pleases, and that there had been less criticism of all rapiness in GoT (though indeed there has been pointed feminist criticism of the way GoT has used nude women as props, and rape as a narrative detail, the sexual violence of the series culminating in Sansa’s rape by Ramsay Bolton).

Now of course Arya Stark is a grown woman. She is played by Maisie Williams who’s an adult at this point.

It must be remarked however that the chronology of the show is not very clear (it is in fact glaringly inconsistent, what with Gilly’s baby still being a toddler when he should be the age Arya was at the start of the series), and also that it’s not just the viewers who clung to Arya being a child : Maisie Williams was made to wear a strap to hide her chest as her character grew more slowly and experienced puberty later than she did.

But this is a detail. I think the real problem, as usual in Game of Thrones, lies in the writing.

In this case, the fact of the matter is that Arya has never expressed romantic interest towards anyone (neither man, nor woman) at any point in the series before. Maybe she was shown to have a crush on Gendry already in season 2 ? I don’t recall it being very apparent.

Then of course we stopped seeing Gendry for literal years and Arya went to the tiresome House of Pointlessness where she learned to become a Ninjassassin by cleaning corpses all day long and then getting abused and stabbed repeatedly by a sadist (a sadist who may or may not be impersonating the Arya that we now see on the show, might I add).

But ok, let’s admit that it’s not too far-fetched that Arya Stark would suddenly want to know what it’s like to do the thing, since it’s the first time in forever since she’s had time and opportunity for that, since it’s her maybe-old crush Gendry, and since she’s afraid she might die without having tried it.  Why not.

My main problem with the scene as written and played in the episode is that it just sounds  so hollow.

Why does Arya care about the women Gendry slept might’ve slept with ? Is this supposed to be a joke ?

Is Arya meant to be like some jealous girlfriend from a sitcom where characters are depicted as so horribly jealous that they can’t even acknowledge their exes’ existence in front of their current significant others ? (thinking of you How I Met Your Mother, you miserable failure of a TV show).

One way it could work would be if Arya was meant to be insecure. And it would be normal. She has spent years with only survival and revenge on her mind, she’s become a confident and self-reliant killer, but she remains inexperienced in other areas. To paraphrase a quote from Excalibur : having learned to kill, she must now learn to love.

Having her be insecure would have added some depth to her character which is becoming dangerously monodimensional.

But she doesn’t display any insecurity at all.

She angrily questions Gendry about his sex life, then she starts undressing. We don’t learn anything new about her character (except that she’s neither a lesbian nor an asexual, I guess, god forbid we would leave it up to the viewer to speculate about that).

And we certainly don’t learn anything about Gendry except that he claims not very convincingly not to be a virgin. In fact, Gendry is very passive in this scene, he says nothing substantial except when recounting what Melissandre did to him, which we don’t care about because we already know.

Oh and yeah, he sees Arya’s scars. Except we don’t care about his reaction (not that we see him react all that much) because we haven’t seem him in years and even before that he was a very secondary character (also he doesn’t seem to care that he’s Robert’s bastard. He’s very unconcerned).

And it’s not about revealing the scars to us the viewers : we know what kind of trauma she has endured, we saw it happen. I guess it’s not a bad reminder, but there might have been other, better ways to show them onscreen (if indeed we needed to be shown them).

In conclusion, if the purpose of this scene was only to show that Arya is a confident girl who has decided to experience sex before a battle when she might die, then the scene was about twice as long as it needed to be. Cut the whole awkward dialogue, just have him show up, her try the weapon, then she kisses him, they make out, and you can cut to an after-the-fact shot where they’re both cuddling.

I mean, as it is she doesn’t even tell him she likes him (which she would if she’d had a crush on him, wouldn’t she) nor does she ask him if he wants her. It’s all so cold and awkward. Doesn’t her character deserve to let herself be more romantic ?

Because if she’s so indifferent about it herself, why should we even care whether Arya fucks at all ?

Will the show explore the consequences of her having lost her virginity ? I doubt it. Was this just a way to prepare us for Gendry’s death so that she might have a sad over it ? Maybe but if that’s the case, that’s preparing us for a pretty cheap shot.

Honestly I’m kind of hoping that Arya is the waif in disguise, at least it would be a pretty fun twist.

[cloud-maan-og-blog]

DARK TOWER REVIEW

So I went to see The Dark Tower recently. The Dark Tower, of course, is a movie based on the books by Stephen King. I haven't read the books myself, but after seeing this movie I am preparing to belt out some of my hard earned money for a few hardcovers and that ain't no small order. It's ignited my interest in a subject that before I was totally indifferent to and that, to me, is a massive plus point for any movie.

Without going too deep into spoiler territory, this is the premise (specifically of the movie): There's a DARK TOWER at the center of all existence, which is comprised of many different worlds, all within a massive circle representing a barrier of sorts and if the tower falls that circle is broken and if that circle is broken all realities will basically be overrun by demons from beyond the circle.

A character called The Man In Black wants to topple the tower and the ominous phrase at the beginning states that "it is said that the mind of a child can bring down the tower." So the Man In Black has been harnessing the minds of children into a beam weapon to attack the tower. He's been taking pot shots at it for a while and every time the tower gets hit it causes a ripple throughout the worlds resulting in earthquakes and other such phenomenon, as well as touching the minds of certain folks with a gift called The Shine.

Enter our main character, Jake. He's been drawing all of this crazy stuff that I've just described to you because he sees them in his dreams. He's quiet, unsociable, and, as you see early in the movie, he's not unwilling to throw a punch or two. His parents think he's nuts and try to have him sent away to what they think is a preteen mental ward but is actually the Man In Black's all-too-scary method of kidnapping children (further reinforcing my fear of white vans and psychiatrists). So he runs away and, through a series of events that I am unwilling to describe for your viewing sake and the length of this review, meets Roland, the last of an order of what were essentially knights called The Gunslingers. Wielding two six-shooters forged from the steel of Excalibur, Jake and Roland embark on an emotionally compelling and beautifully presented journey to save the tower, and all of reality, and stop the Man in Black.

The cinematography is top notch, the characters are easily recognizable and have clear names and motives, and concepts are presented and implemented so smoothly that one might mistake it for butter. You can grasp everything easily as it comes. It's a fun movie with good acting, good directing, and good delivery. It presented a complex story (that would have been stretched out into an asinine wannabe trilogy in other hands) tactfully and punctually without dragging or rushing. It spends the right amount of time on the right moments and only touches on the moments that only need to be touched on when they need to be touched on when they need to be touched on. It's an emotional roller coaster that left me feeling grateful for what I have. It was balanced and far better than I thought it would be, and I haven't even read a review (at the time of writing this).

Is it perfect? Of course not, what movie is? The Dark Tower has it's share of issues just like any other movie. Some of the shot composition in the third act could have been better and there was another child character that probably wasn't necessary, unless I missed something. I think the movie is a great watch as is and may be even better upon re-watching, but it could benefit from some very minor re-cutting down the road. A "Director's Cut, you might say. But whether that would actually be good for it in the long run is iffy. I am more than willing to accept the cut we got. Especially since it feels like the more I watch it the more cool stuff I'll find packed in there due to it's overflowing fountain of material (Thanks, Stephen King).

And let's talk about audio for a minute; it was top notch. The characters were audible and legible and the soundtrack was implemented so perfectly that it accented what was going on without overpowering it and has several cool sound effects that are just so cool to hear. So major props to the sound department.

Should you go see this movie? That depends. Are you a fan of Stephen King? Do you like easter eggs? Do you enjoy emotionally driven character dramas played out seamlessly within an environment that promotes curiosity and reading with a dose of action and adventure? Heck yes! Go see this movie. Seriously, it's got enough easter eggs to be a drinking game for the world's drinkiest book club. But if you're super uptight about source material or bow at the alter of Rotten Tomatos, this might not be the best choice. But I say, go see it anyway. Develop your own opinions and comment below so we can chat about it. It might take a while to finish the conversation considering how often I am online at any given point, but we can talk about it and I highly recommend it.

P.S. The movie does lack what some might refer to as "objectionable material." So if you absolutely have to see a boob every time you go to the movies, this is not for you. I'd take my kids (late teens) to see it... if I had any.

UPdaTE (SPOILERS)

I read some reviews not but moments before I posted this, and I have to disagree with the New York Times on some of their negative criticisms on this one. Matthew McConaughey played The Man In Black very nicely. He wasn't overpowering or underwhelming and he maintains himself as a force to be reckoned with (as a character, not the actor) and is reasonably cruel in his actions and concept. The story isn't a young-adult film about a boy getting special powers, it's about a boy losing everything and finding solidarity with with someone with similar experiences. Maybe he does take the spotlight a bit, but he is the catalyst that makes the story as we see it happen in the first place and the eyes through which we see it all happen. This movie isn't just for adults, it's also for young people. And if a young person becomes interested in literature because of it, then it's all the better.

In their positives they seem to miss the point of Roland's character, saying that he's good because he looks cool, is played by Idris Elba, and was apparently based on a Clint Eastwood character. Lazy.

And as for the ending; it wasn't confusing. It was a nicely tied up and left enough open endedness that someone could easily imagine all of the adventures that Jake and Roland could go on together without actually needing to see them played out by someone else's hand. It's almost literally them riding off into the sunset and it's beautiful. And surely there are other bad guys out there in this universe (or multiverse) that they can fight and learn from. Roland takes Jake under his wing to restart the Gunslingers together, that's it. There is nothing else to it. It was a simple happy ending and we need more like it.

They also seem to have a problem with how the tower wasn't super present in the movie and that the locations may seem disjointed, but I don't think any of that actually matters. This story isn't about the Dark Tower or the world(s) it takes place in. It's about Jake and Roland. The super fan of this series that I've talked to states that this is a reboot/sequel and I'm willing to take his word at that and not hold this to the books as others apparently are, especially since I haven't read them. But this movie made me want to read them and I don't read enough these days. As far as I'm concerned, that's a win.

There is also mention of talks of a television series, which I was aware of previously, oddly enough considering how out of the loop I am at any given time. That would be really cool, there are plenty of cool stories that they could tell with a series like that and lot's of potential new characters, concepts, and settings to explore. Maybe even different genres. You don't even need to have Jake and Roland on screen at all. It could be about the other characters that live in these worlds, maybe an anthology series like The Outer Limits. But I don't think it needs to become a big cinematic universe like Marvel. The movie is fine as is and I think that a sequel would remove it's poignancy.

Someone on Rotten Tomatoes comments that the lighting could have been better. There were some instances where that is true, but it's nothing to be too upset about. The movie works. Don't be lazy in your viewing and don't go looking for things to  shoot down, just let it take you, pay attention, and you will probably get it; unless, of course, you don't want to. But that's on you.

That's all I have to say about this movie. It's a review and a rebuttal to someone else's opinion. That's what this is when you get down to it: opinion. Now I want to hear yours, or read them, I guess. Comments below. You know what to do.

[myst-knight]

Final Fantasy Tactics Fanfic: A Knight and His Lady (Ramza/Alma, implied Agrias/Ovelia)

WARNING: This story is rated T for Ideologically sensitive material (forbidden sibling romance), violence, and some sexuality. For OLDER TEEN AND UP. No offense intended by the controversial content (and as always, don’t try this at home!)

FF.Net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11740330/1/A-Knight-and-His-Lady

AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6779044/chapters/15490972REVIEWS APPRECIATED! :)

REVIEWS APPRECIATED! :)

"Don't you think that sword's...oddly engraved for a knightess such as you, Agrias?"

"Ramza, it's a standard broadsword. A skull adornment means nothing to a true practitioner of the blade, whether Dark or Holy."

"I would've thought this rapier would be more to your liking. You picked it up at least twice."

"Perhaps one day, you'll appreciate the skill of the Holy Knight, rather than merely the weapon."

Alma harrumphed, turning away from the weapons stall with a swish of her skirt. Ramza and Agrias had been going at it since noon, engaged in pointless conflict about the nature of war and weapons. It was like seeing an old married couple bicker...if that old married couple were a pair of sword-fighters capable of slaying a Goddess. As it stood, however, the argument was going completely over the young woman's head, save for the odd reference to the origin of Excalibur, which she had studied about in history class.

Just as Alma was about to start pacing, Ramza and Agrias returned with their supplies, the latter sporting a sly smirk on her face. "Your brother feels my sword doesn't match my countenance," she tossed out offhandedly, propping her new blade on her shoulders. "My eternal squire, hard at work for his knight."

Ramza slumped his shoulders in a rare gesture of defeat. "I wish you wouldn't call me 'your' squire," he mumbled, the Chaos Blade on his back in stark contrast to his meek posture.

Despite her earlier ire. Alma could not help laughing at this. "Brother's a little slow with women today," she teased, halfheartedly trying to hide the smile on her face. It was a rare treat to see her brother with a case of wounded dignity. Usually, it was only Alma herself who could get past Ramza's defenses, but it seems Agrias Oaks had also learned the ins and outs of catching her brother off-guard.

Ramza coughed into his fist, as a means of redirecting the conversation. "And have you procured a weapon for yourself, Alma?" Ramza huffed, patting the hilt of his own sword.

She grinned, twirling around to flaunt the staff on her back. "It's a genuine wizard's staff," she said, pulling her ponytail back away from the weapon's long haft. "It can even hold up to a fourth level fire spell cast with it."

The young man choked a bit. "A-Alma, you're following the Black Mage's path now?" he gasped, his jaw dropped slightly. "Will you forget about all your training as a healer?"

"I'm just learning the basics, Ramza!" she protested, putting her fists on her hips in a disgruntled display. "Is a simple attack spell really so dark?"

"Only if my little sister uses it..." Ramza muttered, as Agrias chuckled at the both of them.

After going through their purchases one more time, the three travelers left the weapons stall and proceeded down the main street of the podunk town they were currently resting at. Soon, they would meet up with the rest of their unit at their lodgings, including Mustadio, Rafa, Malak, and the rest of the veterans of the Lion War. Conversation was abound everyday about their battles in Murond Death City, a conflict that saw Alma as a bargaining chip in ancient wars dating back to the Zodiac Braves themselves. It was all she could do to cast her best protection spell on Ramza, then hide behind him before the battle got underway; she knew that war had changed Ramza and his army in a much different way than it had changed her.

As Ramza blushed from a cutting comment courtesy of Agrias, Alma frowned down at her lap, her fingers gripping her dress absently. It was tough being the little sister of a war hero, especially one with as many strong allies as he. There was none she admired more than Ramza Beoulve, but these days it seemed like her beloved brother was like a mountain, larger and grander than she had ever known. And only the Valkyrie could stay amongst the mountains, warriors that had been through death and rebirth, only to soar the heavens higher than ever before.

(No wonder Ramza talks so much with Agrias these days,) she thought to herself, reluctantly acknowledging how the two young warriors had grown closer in those times of strife.

"So maybe Miss Alma should begin with a ranged weapon," Agrias was saying, and Alma brought her attention back to the conversation. "Mustadio could teach her to handle a pistol, if nothing else."

"A Holy Knight suggesting a pistol?" Ramza intoned with a touch of incredulity, though a smirk was already forming on his face. "You've never had a taste for firearms, Agrias."

"Mustadio warmed me to the idea," the woman admitted, rolling her eyes towards the looming clouds above. "Only he insists that I pick up his engineering books as well. I think he wants to convert me to a life of science rather than swordsmanship."

"You can find out new things about yourself by reading," Alma interjected, looking past Ramza to focus on Agrias. "That was how us girls passed time at Igros Academy."

"Though I doubt they gave you weapon schematics in grammar school," Ramza chuckled, smirking at the in-congruent imagery.

"Oh, Ramza!" Alma huffed, turning away from her brother in exasperation.

The afternoon winds was picking up now, and the trio were buffeted against a harsh gale as they soldiered on. A stiff breeze rose like a phoenix reborn, and Alma shrieked as her dress flew up, exposing her petticoats and bare legs. Regretting that she hadn't worn tights today, the girl struggled mightily with her skirt, her pace becoming rigid as she continued to press forward with Ramza and Agrias. For their part, the two warriors just stared at her, stymied by their companion's unique misfortune, a happenstance that definitely didn't affect armored knights.

As Alma locked eyes with Ramza, she blushed, and continued to hold down her skirt with both hands. "Ramza, don't look!" she cried, trying to avoid flashing her brother as her dress flapped all around her.

That same brother was about as flush-faced as Alma was, his eyes darting about in an attempt to look at her while respecting her modesty, though the cornucopia of pink skirt and white petticoats made that nigh impossible. Nevertheless, the elder Beoulve soon came to her rescue, and he quickly grabbed his sister's skirt to keep it under control. Alma gasped at Ramza's straightforward demeanor, but soon turned her attentions back to her predicament, thankful for the help. Together the two siblings held down her dress until the wind subsided, the hem of the skirt drifting to mid-calf like a receding shoreline.

Alma peered nervously through her tousled-bangs at Ramza, finding his face very close to hers. "I'm sorry about that, Brother," she apologized, straightened up and smoothing her dress out in a show of regaining decency.

Ramza straightened up as well, trying to bring some dignity to the compromising situation. "It's no problem, Alma," he replied, the telltale remnants of his blush alluding to a wavering resolve. "Only I wish there was someone else to help you sometimes. It's...er, these silly things are a bit uncomfortable for me."

"The eternal struggles of a lady and her modesty," Agrias waxed poetically, shaking her head at the two.

Alma resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at Agrias Oaks. The Holy Knight got to walk alongside Ramza as a warrior, and had probably never had to wear even formal attire. How would she know how to handle an uncooperative dress? Once again, the green-eyed Chocobo had grasped Alma within its talons, and was dragging her off to a forest of frustration.

Clearly sensing the younger girl's frustration, Agrias offered her a gentle smile. "It's a noble thing, Alma," she told her, her voice exuding a warmth that almost seemed foreign to the rugged knight. "What Ramza does for you."

"Lady Agrias?" Alma blinked a few times, tilting her head like a curious kitten.

"The devotion of a knight to his lady," Agrias explained, stopping at a small hill overlooking the inn their party was currently staying at. "It is the greatest duty a knight can undertake. To commit our bodies and souls to the one closest to us, to serve them before any other. We protect our princesses with our lives, and with our swords."

Alma's eyes widened as she caught the hidden meaning in her words. "You're talking about Ovelia, right?" she said, walking over to face the other woman.

And Agrias' expression became twinged with the sweet nectar of melancholy. "I would've done anything for my princess," she spoke into the air, looking past Alma to some distant memory off towards the horizon. "And one day, I must return as her knight once again."

Alma took in a deep breath, her heart fluttered up to meet the air rushing down her throat. "But brother, do you truly feel that way for me?" she asked, turning to Ramza with her hands clasped before her chest.

The young man hesitated for a brief moment, as if suddenly unsure of how to approach his own sister. "Well, of course, Alma," he finally said, settling for levity and mock-irritability. "You're the most important woman in my life, and always have been."

"He's no squire," Agrias said, reversing her earlier jest with a solemn nod. "The blood of the Heavenly Knight flow through his veins, and he has chosen you as his princess."

"Well, in a matter of speaking..." Ramza argued, grimacing off to the side.

Alma was not fooled by his stoic front, and burst out with an ear-to-ear smile. "Brother Ramza..." she sighed, crushing her body happily against his chest. Ramza flushed for a moment at the intimate contact, but soon responded in kind, pulling her close with an arm around her slender waist. In the gentle afternoon sun, the sibling melted together like Zeltennian confectionery delicacies, with Alma's dress wafting like a flag in the wind. Staring back at her skirt, she giggled, and smoothed it down once more, feeling every inch the lady in her brother's life.

And Agrias just stared off into the murky East, towards the borders of their former land of Ivalice. "Princess Ovelia..."

-

-

*****

-

-

The evening passed without incident, and as the sun rose over the sleepy frontier town, Ramza's party was preparing to leave for parts unknown. Alma's eyes wandered over to Rafa and Malak, who were arguing over a trivial matter, something about whether or not the Truth or Untruth spell was more unreliable than the other. Alma sighed wistfully, marveling at the bonds of brothers and sisters, holding fast amid a country gone wrong. And as for her own family bonds...

"Alma, hurry it up," Ramza chided her, bringing his bag over his shoulders and placing it upon his trusty steed, Boco. "We setting off for the Western lands, and we need to stay ahead of the weather."

"I'd packed up two hours ago, brother," she argued, though she did as he asked, and headed over to the waiting Chocobos. Searching for her own mount, she was surprised to find a vacancy in the monster ranks. "Ramza, where's Heppoko?" she asked, walking back to his side.

"Agrias is taking him," Ramza replied, readjusting the saddle upon Boco's back to make it more comfortable for the bipedal bird. "She's leaving us for a time to settle a few matters back in Ivalice."

Alma grew pensive, looking down at her feet as she recalled the conversation from yesterday. (Ovelia...)

"You'll be riding with me for now," he continued, walking back over to fetch the girl. Alma nodded without complaint; she and her brother had shared a bed the night before, and she wasn't too perturbed about any close contact.

At least, until Ramza brought up another facet of their relationship. "You can ride sidesaddle, and it'll be more modest for you with the afternoon winds," he suggested, his face curiously free of any shame. "We don't want a repeat of yesterday."

"Oh Ramza, don't talk about things like that!" Alma protested, shaking her head and sending her ponytail flopping back and forth. "It's embarrassing!"

"Alma, are you still upset over it?" he asked. looking genuinely surprised by the outburst. "It's just me, your brother."

"You're still a man, though..." she murmured, unable to fight the flush flooding her face. The mere idea of regarding her brother in such a fashion made Alma's skin prickle up, as did the idea that Ramza had seen her knickers that day she was fighting with her dress in the wind.

And it was evident that Ramza was thinking along those same lines as well, for soon his complexion matched Alma's. Somehow, though, he came to a resolution faster than her, and swallowed briefly before facing his sister once more. "But I'm your knight," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "And you can trust me with all matters."

Alma gazed into the young man's eyes, so full of heart and passion, an entire lineage of chivalry in the guise of a twenty-year-old squire. And finally, she smiled at him. "I suppose...I'll just have to get used to that," she decided, her face glowing with unconditional love. "What we are now."

Ramza nodded, returning her smile wholeheartedly.

"Hey lovebirds, get a move on!" Mustadio shouted out from ahead of the group. "You can pick this up after we've gotten to the next town!"

Ramza and Alma blushed, shooting a furious look at the tactless engineer. Even after facing down the untold horrors of Hell, Mustadio was never at a loss for words.

Together, the two prepared to set out on their journey once more. From atop Boco, Ramza pulled his sister onto the saddle, making sure she was steady before tending to his steed. Alma readjusted her dress as it rode up from the quick motion. and wrapped her arms around the boy's torso, wiry and tight from his many battles. Boco let out a wark from the extra weight, but made no further protest as Ramza held the reins and gave a sharp tug.

With a furious cloud of dust, the Chobocos carried the party down the dirt road towards their next adventure in the Western lands. And with that, Alma faced the future alongside her brother, her knight, and whatever else he might become.

'Fin'

[goldbergjonblog]

Crapping At The Waldorf

At some point in time everyone has "the worst job ever". It could be based on the person you work for, the conditions of the job, pure boredom, the lack of compensation, the city in which that job is located or any number of things. The criteria of what makes that job the worst is substantial and completely subjective. But I will tell you with utmost respect to everyone else, I had the worst job ever. No question about it. Screw you toll booth attendants. You get to sit in a heated/air-conditioned room - radio, tv, computer, books at your disposal. That's like a Caribbean vacation every day compared to being an apprentice for a hard ass film editor.

I really wanted to be an editor. It seemed sensible. Something I'd potentially be good at. Who was I kidding? It was an interesting job. Oh screw it. It was a job. I got home from college on a Friday and started work the next Monday. Not bad for a C+ student. I was hired as an apprentice editor at a reputable editing house in New York. Horn Eisenberg was known for editing classics like the original Little Caesars "Pizza Pizza" campaign and who could forget the award winning Oil of Olay ads that introduced the idea of nutrition for your skin. It was a well respected place in the industry and seemed like a good idea. I was the apprentice. Apprentice. Me. Apprentice seems like they recruited me. Hand picked as the future of the company. As if some Shaman or Wizard looked at me, studied my aura, waved a magic wand around me and noticed that the wand started to glow, shimmer or make some high-pitched noise. “He's The One. The Golden Child. We have found him." Or maybe they sought me out amongst hundreds of applicants? Like a college football coach recruiting, having to sell my parents on them as a worthy master for their apprentice:

"Mr. Goldberg, your son is the kind of kid Horn Eisenberg is   looking for. His career at Tulane, ha ha ha, like I need to re-  mind you. The average academic record, the consistent pot   smoking and the mediocrity of his daily pickup basketball   performance are a perfect fit for our program. (He's suddenly  interrupted by the celebration of his taste buds after dipping   his pita and taking a bite) Mmmm....mmmm, Mrs. Goldberg,   this is the most delicious tapenade...no wonder you have   such a strapping young man." (He would never insult me by   calling me fat).    

The truth? There was a phone call with my mom. She contacted them over the winter break to set up an interview through friends in the business. Apprentice was a kind way to say "messenger" or errand boy. They should have just called me The Favor.

“Who's that kid? Is he The Apprentice?”

“Oh no. We haven't found The Apprentice yet. He's just the favor.”

A messenger in Manhattan doesn't do the humiliation justice, because being a messenger in New York has a long and distinguished history of hipness, rudeness and tragic accidentness. These of course were bike messengers, the pinnacle of messenger status. They even made a Kevin Bacon movie about it. But this apprentice was no bike messenger. I was a foot messenger. I could already hear the bike messengers taunting me. I imagine they had nicknames like Wheels, Gypsy and Flyer. "Hey footer" or "out of the way Sherpa" they would yell at me as they whizzed by, making sure that I stayed at the bottom of the messenger totem pole, a couple of carvings below the droolers who talk to themselves as they looked down at crumpled pieces of paper searching for the right address.

The reason why there was no bike was twofold. First, the company probably wasn't too excited about paying insurance for their apprentice to ride around the city and face one passenger car door away from a lawsuit or an expensive hospital bill. I was their golden child but there was a limit. The second reason made the idea of using a bike a non-issue as the items I was delivering weighed about forty pounds each and there were times that I was carrying four at a time. This was right on the cusp of the digital age. In fact the new machines were just installed and everyone was training to learn how to cut with a computer. Horn Eisenberg were traditionalists and they cut on film, by hand. Eventually the film was transferred to a digital format, but not the digital we know. There were no files or links to send, as the film was transferred to thick, heavy digital tape and a messenger had to physically deliver the giant three quarter inch (the width of the actual strip) tapes to clients and post-production companies. The digital tape was protected and stored in hermetically sealed green plastic cases, the size of a large briefcase and each one contained one commercial. Now I really admire those Filipino circus performers who ride unicycles while carrying three other freaks on their nose but I don't think they could carry four D-2 cases on a bike in New York City. So on foot it was. These cases were put in plastic Horn Eisenberg bags with a string handle that tightened the closure of the bag. I would wrap the strings around my fingers as if tying up a roast, eventually turning them purple, toss the bags over my shoulders and headed out, like the most uninspired Santa who gave everyone the same present.

I always asked when I could learn how to edit or at least watch someone edit, because I was an apprentice after all. Excalibur had to be passed on. I liked the idea of editing by hand. It seemed like a skill I was capable of. But I was a schlepper. And when I wasn't schlepping a hundred and fifty pounds through the Manhattan elements I would do odds and ends around the office: stocking the kitchen (this was a fancy schmancy place with a cook. Lunch was served in the kitchen, apprentices welcome, if he wasn't breaking his arms trying to get to Backer, Spielvogel, Bates by 1:30.), moving equipment, and then there was the bane of my existence, changing out the water bottles, an apprentice’s task akin to a chef cooking an egg. I imagined them saying, "if he can change a water bottle he can cut a great spot someday." I had never done it before and I was too embarrassed to ask how because it seemed by the way the request was made that it was on par with changing a light bulb. On my second day someone said that the water needed to be changed. I stepped up to the cooler and took the empty off, easy enough. I studied the big hole where the jug goes and it made perfect sense. I saw that the empty was upside down so I understood the physics involved but I didn't know how to get it there. I assumed you poured some in and then just gradually tipped it over. I took the plastic cap off and looked around to make sure no one was looking, as I knew this wouldn't look good, being the apprentice and all. I tipped the bottle over and started to fill the container, already feeling a loss of control I used my leg to prop the bottle up and started to go for it. The container was filling to the brim but the bottle was not upright. It wasn't looking good. As I'm getting the bottle over the top I feel a shooting pain in my upper thigh area but I have to push through. Was it muscle? Bone? What was stabbing my leg? Was that blood I felt on my pants? Usually this amount of pain resulted in blood because I was young and had yet to deal with back, neck or knee stuff. So it had to be blood. I finally got the bottle up and over with minimal splashing, but the pain was still there. After the bottle rocked into place I looked down and saw a huge wet stain across my thighs. I put my mediocre education to work and figured out that while trying to get leverage my knee was pressing against the hot water button, releasing scalding hot water. Hot enough to make a quick cup of Chamomile tea and hot enough to create second degree burns on my thighs. Ahh…the golden boy. Ahh…the favor.

The demands put on the delivery of the film were extreme, involving physical and mental prowess. Sometimes I had to deliver very fragile negatives so I couldn't bring it to the typical mailroom. Those animals couldn't handle our precious piece of art. Imagine a world without the Kix cereal commercial where Mom gives a nervous kid a bowl of Kix the morning of his first day of school? (It all works out in the end. His "healthy breakfast" helped him get through the day and meet a new friend.) We would all be different people, worse people without it. I was told that I had to get the film directly into the hands of the client or the post-production house. Each delivery was a mission that had to be carefully plotted out based on entrance - doorman, security guard, buzzer, gate, elevator bank and location of the messenger room - and my clothes. I already had things going against me as I was carrying plastic bags filled with film cases and I was dealing with the elements - freezing cold, boiling hot, driving rain, slippery snow. So sometimes I'd be wearing shorts, sometimes sweatshirts and most of the time I wore work boots. This is not the attire of an executive going to the 48th floor for a huge presentation. This was the attire of a messenger who belonged in the messenger center with "Wheels" and "Gypsy". So I got to know each place in order to avoid the messenger center, as I would get the wrath of Mr. Eisenberg if the package got stuck in the bowels of a building.

Here's a sample of my breakdown:

McCann Erickson - security desk, no ID needed, messenger center on 21, no shorts, boots ok. Easy.

Backer - security at a desk and at elevators, messenger center on 2, no shorts, no boots. Need a wardrobe change. Very hard.

Wells, Rich, Greene - security desk, messenger center on 36th floor, no attire issues, very easy.

Failure was not an option so I would bring different clothes to change into depending on where I was going. I also had to change my personality, pretend like I belonged and knew where I was going, which meant little eye contact. A bit of method acting was required, so my thought process was to prepare for questioning. "What? Oh these bags? These are just some very important advertising materials for my very important advertising meeting with some very important advertising people to discuss...well...very important advertising of course." Occasionally I would get caught by security - I even got to the point where I knew how to play each security guard - and that would lead to conversations like "I have a meeting with Ray Johnson" or "this has to get to him right now!". Sometimes my plan wouldn't work and I would have to go to the dreaded mailroom, and if Eisenberg got wind of it I would hear about it, loudly.

But to be honest, the real reason why this was the worst job in the world really had nothing to do with the job itself. It was a personal one. They had coed bathrooms in the office. Coed bathrooms, to me, was so anxiety inducing that I couldn't even fathom it. It shook my world to its core. Who would make that decision? A very, very comfortable person would make that decision. I understand that they were going for this homey kind of feel with the kitchen and everything but come on. I have to take a crap right before the hot assistant editor had to powder her exquisite nose. That's just how it would work out. This was close to being a deal breaker. If they had only mentioned in the interview, "Oh, we hope it's not a problem but we have coed bathrooms." Click (that's me hanging up the phone). My entire plan from when I woke up to when I got home was to try to avoid taking a dump in that office, a new twist on the not taking work home with you conflict. This was not a newfound dilemma for me. In high school I would only use the library for a big job and once at Tufts summer school I went nine days without crapping, almost causing organ failure or a potential call from The Guinness Book of World Records. I am a "regular" guy, as regular as they come. That was not the issue. The issue was where and when. There are few greater anxieties than being on the subway halfway through a forty-five minute commute and getting "that sense of urgency" when you still have twenty minutes left underground and five minutes left of clean underpants. There are moments when you say "Its gonna happen. Will it make the news? Will this be my legacy? Is there a Gap or American Apparel nearby to get a new outfit? And a dumpster to get rid of the old one?” But that anxiety is counterbalanced by the euphoric feeling of relief when you find a place to eliminate. I mean a place where you can remove layers and take your time. To enjoy the moment and say "I made it" and laugh a bit. You go over the "what would I have done if..." scenario and then you shake it off and say thank God I didn't.

If only New York Sports Club existed back then. There wouldn't have been an issue. One of the greatest perks that comes with belonging to that gym is you have a bathroom anywhere in the city. Look at it this way, if someone offered you a deal where you paid seventy dollars a month and you'd get access to decent bathrooms within any ten block area of the city, and by the way every one of those bathrooms had exercise equipment as a bonus in case you want to get a workout in after a nice dump, there's no way you'd turn that down. But back in the old days there weren't five hundred gyms in the city. But there were hotels. Hotels that had bathrooms. Luxurious, sprawling bathrooms that were clearly labeled - Ladies and Gentlemen, Dames et Messieurs, Boys and Girls. And the cream of the crop just happened to be at the center of my messengering world. The Waldorf. Every day I would walk by, and on very hot or very cold days I would stroll through the lobby, a small reprieve from the elements between Park and Lex. I treated it like a civilized time machine. And that's how I stumbled on my solution.

I noticed there was construction going on in and around The Waldorf. I also noticed that they had a lot of guys walking around the lobby wearing work boots. I was wearing work boots. They were sweaty and exhausted. I was sweaty and exhausted. They needed a place to poop. I needed a place to poop. So one day I got the idea (and when I say I got the idea I mean I had to take a crap) and wandered into the bathroom. It was beautiful. I passed through two doors to get in and was greeted by a gentleman in uniform, who showed me the way to a stall. He asked me how the construction was going and I said "great, we're gettin' there." Why I was comfortable with him in the room I have no idea? It was like a glitch in my anxiety. I went into the stall and I knew I was home. As I left the stall my man was there with a turned on faucet and a towel. As you can imagine being the apprentice of a film editor doesn't pay so well but if I was going to have a permanent throne at the Waldorf I had to pay Waldorf prices. So I dropped a dollar bill in the dish and moved on to "the construction site." I spent five bucks a week there and used it as a changing room when I went to Backer. I chatted up the guy, talked sports and, of course, the progress of the construction.

My opportunity to be an assistant came after about a year of humiliation and great body control. They asked me to spend the weekend splicing negative together. They trusted me with actually handling the film. Maybe it was due to my ninety percent success rate in avoiding the messenger room or maybe it was just that it was time to shit or get off the pot. Did I still want to be an editor? Immediately I realized I was out of my league, trying to take splices of film and taping them together was a lot more difficult than it looked. The splices were hung, lined up like sausages hanging in a butcher shop. Each was numbered and aligned by scene. The biggest trick, and my eventual downfall, was just making sure that you spliced the correct side, the shiny side, together. So you just needed to concentrate. Again, easy enough, but in a thirty second commercial there could be twenty pieces of film and the monotony can make you spacey. One slip up and the whole thing is shot. It was slightly mindless but I got to play with film and splice, actually edit. So of course I spliced a shiny side down instead of up, which had a crazy domino effect that someone else had to fix. That was the weekend I learned that I didn't want to be an editor. Or I should say I didn't want to take the steps it took to be an editor. I lasted another few months there, even trained another apprentice on how to change the water amongst other things, and pretended to try to learn how to edit, but I didn't have the patience. Not sure if I would have made a good editor but I was a hell of an apprentice and I haven't taken a crap at the Waldorf since.

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [36]

“So is your girl okay?” Chic says as he settles into the stands next to her. He can tell that part of her attention is on her ticket slips for all of her wagers. Judge didn’t know that there were Tenno who made their living on gambling and market trades instead of - actual Tenno stuff. He thinks it’s pretty neat. You’ve got to have a head for numbers and trends and calculations of risk and reward and stuff. Judge is self aware enough to know he’d never make it if he tried doing what Chic does, he’d probably be broke by the end of an Earth week.

“Yeah,” Judge says, though he’s not so sure himself. After the whole thing in the Derelict Kore went off grid for about two weeks, the only sign of her left was a single signal from the Void where apparently, according to her Cephalon, she spent the entire week doing extermination and sabotage and bounty capture drops.

Kore came back after those two weeks looking absolutely fresh and well rested and glowing in ways that you probably shouldn’t be looking after two weeks of isolation and one-way killing sprees.

“Self-care,” Kore had said, “Is retreating into the Void to kill the corrupted with your cat or dog or non-mammalian based companion.”

Kore had apparently been in such a good mood after, that she kissed his cheek - Kissed! Him! Judge! On the cheek! With her mouth! And everything! Judge still hasn’t gotten over it and he’s accidentally smacked his head on low-hanging ship parts about two dozen times whenever he remembers it. He knows that number because Scylla has been keeping count. - when she came back on her way to saying hello to his Kubrow and Kavats - minus Handsome, who Kore just kicked out of her way.

“She’s just really shy?” Judge says, voice tilting upwards at the end because he’s not exactly sure what to call Kore’s absolute loathing of having to interact with new people, more than one new person at one time, unfamiliarity with any situation or person, and complete and total near-black-out-violence disgust at being seen in less than perfect form by someone who isn’t Judge.

Judge is of the opinion that Kore - regardless of whether she’s in an incredibly un-tried warframe with less her usual load out of weaponry, or whether she’s gleaming white, devouring black, and brazen red in her Saryn Prime unit with the Stalker’s broken sword on her back, her sinister and sleek Rubico lazily held in her hands - is always in top form and he would honestly have the same reaction to meeting or seeing her for the first time regardless of whether she’s in a weak uncalibrated Vauban frame or her well worn and well balanced Excalibur frame. Though he admits he’s incredibly biased.

After all, Judge got to love her by the color of her - as Kore would say it - soul than the frame it was housed in. Judge loved her before he even had a voice to ask for her name.

His chest squirms like Kore’s favorite fizz-cola.

“Right, shy,” Chic says, leaning back in her seat and propping Trinity’s feet up on the seat in front of them. Lucky that there isn’t anyone sitting there, Judge things. Trinity’s feet are a little pointy. “Is that what you call it? Whatever it is, it’s cute and I’m sorry Punk and I over stepped. He’s like a really dumb Kubrow that doesn’t realize it isn’t a puppy and that maybe some people are allergic to Kubrow.”

That sounds about right, except for how Kore adores anything that isn’t people-shaped and bipedal. Actually, now that he thinks about it, that might be why Kore doesn’t like Punk to start with.

Judge imagines it must be very difficult for her to handle what is essentially a really enthusiastic puppy in person-shape.

“Do you and Punk come here often?” Judge asks, looking around the Conclave arena, “I’m not much of a fan. I dabble a bit, but I’m not so good.”

“Punk’s actually a really good fighter,” Chic says, “Not against, you know, actual threats, but in an arena fight like this he knows what he’s doing. He’s making me money. What about Persephone? She seems like she’d be amazing at this.”

“Ah, no, as Persephone says - the sports disagree with her,” Judge laughs. “Also she has a profound distaste for being the focus of more than two people’s attention at once, unless they’re trying to kill her and she’s good to kill them back.”

“Huh, that explains things,” Chic muses and the general murmuring of the crowd quiets as a new frame ports into the arena.

Punk is still shaking hands with the other one, good natured and familiar in a way that Judge thinks means that both of them are regulars who fight often in Conclave.

The new warframe in the arena seems to freeze, locking up and then slowly turning to look around.

Judge realizes it just as the new frame tries to hail Teshin - based on the way it waves its warms -

“Teshin!” Judge stands up, waving his arms also to try and catch the man’s attention, “Teshin stop the match! Stop the match!”

After Judge gets up, Chic must realize too because she joins him in trying to get Teshin to notice them.

Because that’s Kore in the arena and Judge can hear her now, she’s using a voice synthesizer but he knows it’s her. He just didn’t recognize her at first because she wasn’t in one of her usual frames. Judge knows that Kore has a Mirage frame, she just rarely uses it.

“This is a mistake,” Kore says, “I ported in by accident, let me out.”

And then the worst possible thing happens.

Punk recognizes Kore. Judge doesn’t know how he does it, but he does.

“Oh!” Punk says, clapping his hands together, “Hey! Hey! Persephone! Hi! I haven’t seen you in forever, what’s up girl?”

And then Kore’s arms stop waving in the air and she slowly turns to look at the other Tenno in the arena.

Kore doesn’t say anything through the synthesizer, but Judge knows her well enough to know exactly what she’s doing back on her ship.

Kore is re-evaluating the entire situation, weighing the pros and cons of it. Kore is currently picking Punk apart with her eyes, like the Ballas trained elite fighter she is. Kore is currently smiling with all of her teeth and making a sound like oho? Ohoho. Ohohoho.

“Never mind,” Kore says, eerily calmly - and knowing her as Judge knows her, she’s trapped all of her glee inside and is pulling on full spiteful vengeful professional assassin mode on to cover it -, “Proceed.”

“Wait!” Chic says, still waving her arms, “Hold on!”

“Yes! No! Stop!” Judge agrees, because this can only end very badly and they need to stop this match right now.

“I need to change my bets, hold on!” Chic yells and Judge turns to gape at her. Never mind that she can’t see it since Nova doesn’t have a mouth.

“Chic.”

“She doesn’t do Conclave right, so this is her first time?” Chic says, frantic as she starts changing her ticket, “Alright. First fight she loses, second is a draw, third she wins, fourth she loses - based on her personality? She’s going to draw this out. Alternating to crush Punk into the ground for maximum catharsis on her part. I’m going to make so many credits off of your girl, you have no idea. I love this.”

“Aren’t you concerned that they’re going to get seriously hurt?”

“It’s Conclave, Hades,” Chic shrugs, “Besides. Punk? At all times he could always use a beat down. Trust me on this.”

“Void,” Judge groans, “They’re going to pound each other into the ground and it won’t even be for the same reasons.”

“I know, it’s wonderful. Punk will think he’s just teaching Persephone Conclave. And Persephone is going to like - wipe the arena clean with his blood, I love it.”