#She delivers the true message of the game which is that TIME TRAVEL IS THE ENEMY

[ninadove]

BEE YOU GET IT I LOVE YOU 💙🩵🧡

Clive is closer to Circe indeed, but this part of the song is really Claire-coded!

Or maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer more.

— There Are Other Ways, from EPIC: The Circe Saga

Part 1 🕊️

Part 2 ⬆️

Meta 🧩

[vampire-wizard-solidarity]

im thinking abt totk and skyward sword… in both games u have a beloved female character trapped in the past who needs to deliver a message to our hero in the future and so she makes a dire sacrifice in order to see this through… only when impa did it i actually felt something… AND they had the stones to make her sacrifice permanent (ie impa not only grows into an old woman but straight up dies at the end. or turns into dust at least. potato-potahto). there r just so many moments in totk that echo those in previous games without understanding why those story beats work. anyways the cringefail totk vs the chad skyward sword

so true!!

also part of the reason skyward sword works is it’s a much tighter story. it’s focused thematically and in terms of character, unlike totk which is all over the place with a ton of characters none of whom get any development despite supposedly playing large roles in the story and taking up enough screen time for you to be annoyed with the fact that you’re sitting through the same exact cutscene four times.

and on the topic of impa and zelda as parallel story beats in terms of time travel – impa’s sacrifice has something to say. she could technically just tell link everything he needs to know in the future, she could just time travel to said future and orchestrate events from there as her younger self (as she does), she could explain things to link directly – but she doesn’t, and that’s because of characterization. firstly, the reason she stays at the temple until she’s an old lady instead of just using time travel again is because she’s a devoted servant of the goddess: she’s not just there to wait for link (or zelda), she’s there to watch over the temple, too, she’s a religious servant not just for this one time, she doesn’t just serve link and zelda, she serves the goddess in all her forms.

secondly, the reason she doesn’t tell link everything is because she believes he needs to prove himself. this is another layered part of her characterization: we see her different relationships to other characters, with added complexity of the fact that we see two versions of her react to link: young impa at first regards him with derision, a distaste and harsh judgement of the fact that he’s not ready, he hasn’t proved himself as someone with enough power and skill to protect zelda. old impa similarly believes he isn’t ready yet, however her attitude in this belief is much more that of a wise old lady who kindly wants to see him mature, out of a belief in fate and worthiness coming with time. she won’t give him answers, however she will help him find them.

so, when these characterizations combine in her death it’s tragic but also beautiful: the reason she ultimately dies is because her duty has been fulfilled, and she believes that she is not fated to continue existing in this time, as her prime has passed and her jobs are done, she goes with the dignity of a wise servant.

zelda’s sacrifice, however. firstly it completely disregards one of her defining traits: her curiosity and love of research. rauru literally says that becoming a dragon is a last ditch effort and he believes that before that they must research and understand her power, at which zelda lights up, and yet we never actually see her attempt any of this research or mastering of her power. she seemingly becomes more powerful between cutscenes, yes, however there’s never a scene of her actually training, or trying to do any sort of research or brainstorming solutions. we were simply not shown that she’s exhausted every other option, we were not shown her use one of her strengths (her curiosity and intelligence) to solve the problem, she went with the first solution provided to her.

what does this do to her characterization? shows she’s devoted to link? she’s willing to sacrifice herself to save everyone? cool, nice. ignore all her complex characterization from botw to make her a typical perfect female character defined by her dedication to the male hero. thanks.

this kind of sacrifice could’ve worked hypothetically - if we were shown, for example, her trying and exhausting every other option it would’ve given this story beat a sense of desperation, tragedy (botw hits a similar beat). instead it’s just. underbaked.

it’s only made worse by the fact that the sacrifice is pointless in the grander scheme of things. you literally do not need the master sword to defeat ganon. skyward sword never had to encounter difficulties marrying its gameplay to its story because of its staunch linearity, and botw just? wasn’t stupid? like idk making zelda’s sacrifice be actually vital to the story and defeating the villain is such an easy task the only way i can explain this is the devs were dumb as rocks in trying to marry a more classic epic story with botw’s non-linear structure. like. the fact that you can just ignore all of that and defeat the villain anyway really undermines the story beat doesn’t it. in botw ignoring the main story and gunning it straight for the villain doesn’t really undermine the story, it just makes you see it through a different lens: zelda asks “do you really remember me?” and your genuine answer is “no”. isn’t that cool? isn’t that impactful in its own right?

totk just couldn’t reconcile any of its multitude of elements in a coherent manner. it’s just bad. it’s so shit i’m sorry i cannot write totk posts without devolving into a blubbering mess of “fuck shit fuck”

[brineffxiv]

Understanding hurts. He was just a little guy, and was doing his best to save his people, even though he could barely remember them.

Is that enough? I don't know that it's enough...

That does seem the most likely explanation. I've thought about it quite a bit, why would Emet-Selch make a plan to assist me in taking down Elidibus? And the best answer I can come up with, was that it was an act of compassion for his friend. He knew how fraught and lonely their struggle was, and he knew both who and what Elidibus was now and who he used to be. And he would have known how impossible that struggle would have been for Elidibus on his own. Emet-Selch was the ancients' last true hope for restoration; without him the fight would be an exercise in cruelty, for both sides. And so, knowing there was a legitimate chance I could kill him, he put contingencies into place for the constellation crystals to make their way into my hands.

The big outstanding question I have is, was that really him, or was it a shade he had constructed of himself? I lean towards it being a shade, just on the gut-feeling that it would be easier to attach a synthetic entity to the crystal than it would be to summon his soul from the aetherial sea. Also, if his soul could be called so easily, one would think it would be prudent to plan to restore himself to life. But then, there's quite a lot I don't yet understand about life, death, and rebirth in the world of this game... so perhaps there is still a chance it was actually him.

Oh, hi Beq Lugg. Sorry if I don't seem too excited: I've just been through the emotional wringer.

You don't know how big a relief that is to hear.

That is significantly less of a relief. I'd thank you all to stop talking before you give me an ulcer from the stress.

...I will not cry again... I will not cry....

My friends all have business to tie up and goodbyes to say before I take them back to the Source, so off they go. Alisaie invites the Exarch and I to accompany her to see Halric one last time. From there I travel to Eulmore to see Alphinaud and the Chais and continue the Exarch's tour of the realm.

Next stop is Il Mheg, and Urianger, who has found Ardbert's soul crystal, and bids me deliver it to Seto...

Where this beautiful interaction takes place. When he closes his eyes, Seto can sense Ardbert within me. And somehow, Ardbert is able to speak to him, one last time.

And I cry. Again. The crying just won't stop.

In Slitherbough, Runar begs Y'shtola to stay, which isn't possible. But he thanks her for everything, and Y'shtola swears that she will find a way to travel between the worlds and come back again. Because there are too many mysteries here yet unsolved.

On to Amh Areng, where I catch up with Ryne and Thancred on their way back from saying their goodbyes. And hey, a mention of Gaia outside of the Eden raids!

Finally we head back to the Crystarium, where Ryne gives us a truly touching goodbye. And Thancred finally tells her just how proud of her he is. Good man, Thancred.

And then the whole of the Crystarium is there to see us off!

And to give me a final message for the Exarch. They have learned what happened to him, and what is about to be attempted, and they are sending all their love and confidence that he will be fine. I promise to give it to him when he wakes.

And then we are off... to the Source!

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Ah. This is probably a good place to stop this post.

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Okay maybe not just yet.

Yes. That is the perfect image. It will live in my heart as a beautiful memory of Shadowbringers.

*cries some more*

[starlightshore]

Wait wait wait, can we go back to what you said in that one ask about Chara's hometown and it leading the other children to their deaths? Implying some sort of horrible practice? I wanna hear your thoughts on that.

/cw discussion of canon typical violence and suicide and death.

also preferably i want this to be my last post on the topic because talking about child death this much and esp of suicide is draining and painful for me, thanks.

basically, it's something we can reason with logic and also the rule of simplicity.

there is only one child’s chair in toriel’s home. one twin bed. the house is only set up and accommodates children.

* (A box of kids' shoes in a disparity of sizes.)

the other fallen humans’ items fit frisk and are children themed for the most part.

* Where oh where could that  child be...?* I've been looking all over  for them...* ... * Hee hee hee.* THAT'S not true.* She'll find another kid, and  instantly forget about you.* You'll NEVER see her again.  -Flowey though the echo flowers (a rare event that sometimes happens in waterfall if you backtrack in a certain way?) outright has flowey suggest all the previous humans were children.

thematically it makes the most sense for toriel to adopt other children as that’s kinda her whole thing she’s got going on.

you could still technically argue that flowey wasn’t around for the other children and toriel could rearrange the house to suit the needs of the current fallen human but like. i feel that's pure speculation and missing the point ain’t it?

With how Undertale is written, things are hardly ever directly stated -you have to go by what works with the limited amount of words and time you have to deliver the feelings of the story -and not get caught up in the details of delivering it as facts.

Asriel’s dialogue:

* Everyone knows the legend, right...? * "Travellers who climb Mt. Ebott are said  to disappear." * Frisk. * Why would you ever climb a mountain  like that? * Was it foolishness? * Was it fate? * Or was it... * Because you...? * Well. * Only you know the answer, don't you...? * I know why Chara climbed the mountain. * It wasn't for a very happy reason. * Frisk. * I'll be honest with  you. *Chara hated humanity. * Why they did, they  never talked about  it. * But they felt very  strongly about  that.

Asriel’s words imply three main reasons: foolishness, fate and suicide. we can infer that these are likely reasons for all the fallen children but we can never know as they’re dead and can’t be asked.

Chara hated humanity, and with how Asriel is bringing up after revealing Chara did it to die implies that’s a strong reason for why. Their village was so irredeemable to their eyes that it led them to both suicide and the want of revenge. for a child to go to extreme measures -well, that shit doesn’t just happen because of a slap on the wrist.

Out of all 8 children, I’d imagine at least a good amount of them left for a similar reason. That’s such a big focus of this game, with both alphys, asgore and chara canonically being suicidal i don’t think it’s an accident that Asriel implies the darker reason here. it’s a fundamental part of the messaging, it’s a tale of abuse and suffering. Of the cycles repeating -of you further or cutting off that cycle.

so like, its semi-canon. heavily implied i feel, that this town sucks. to give them a little credit, they were upset at seeing chara’s corpse. That they do care for children -once they’re dead it seems. :/

(And heck you could interpret the reason chara took their body to the town in the first place was to show off what the town did to them, which is a theory i like since it matches chara’s suicidal mindset and judgement of humanity. but yeah this is just character interpretation, not strictly fact)

[phoenixglacier]

Archon Quest Chapter I: Rewritten

(Part of my Genshin Impact Headcanons (things that blatantly go against canon but I’m pretending at true) series.)

Hi guys I really hated the Liyue Archon quest, but I don’t want to because Liyue really doesn’t deserve that. So I mixed it up a little to fix the main problems I had with it.

In this post:

Ningguang is the Geo Archon and Liyue’s Archon. She is “Morax”, with “Ningguang” as her modern name. Details such as Morax being of the original Seven and writing contracts with all adepti applies to Ningguang.

Zhongli is only an adeptus, not the archon, at any point. His original and official name is “Rex Lapis”, with “Zhongli” as the name that he’s using as a mortal.

Mainly, I wanted to remove Zhongli from the position of Liyue’s Archon entirely, because I his character is much more likeable that way (to me).

I’ll be marking parts that are the same as the original version with a *.

So, here’s how I would have the storyline play out in the game with my version of the Liyue Archon quest:

Traveller goes to Liyue Harbour as instructed by Venti*. They aren’t told that there’s any time limit, Morax simply governs the people directly rather than descending once a year. However, few ever get the honour of seeing Lord Morax (Ningguang), and her decrees are mainly spread by her direct underlings and the Qixing (Keqing and others).

When Traveller arrives, they set to work asking the ordinary citizens about Lord Morax and how to meet her. The citizens tell her the same spiel* about how the Qixing control Liyue. Here, the conversation/argument between the citizens is brought up about whether the Qixing should be given any credit compared to the Adepti. They eventually direct Traveller to Yujin Terrace*, because they can pray to the Adepti there.

At Yujing Terrace, there are people milling about, but they have not gathered for a specific event. They walk around and pray and act like normal NPCs.

Traveller makes wishes at the altars as per in-game and talks to some people which gives her insight on what the Liyue people tend to wish for. As she heads to the last altar, the cutscene triggers.

In the cutscene, we see the body of the Dragon Rex Lapis fall from the sky*, but the crowd isn’t originally crowded around the body, rather they move towards the body after they see it fall.

(For this part, basically Rex Lapis is declared dead*, and I’ve chosen to introduce Ganyu here arbitrarily) Ganyu appears suddenly from the sky, attracting the camera view and the attention. She jumps towards the body, and declares that this is the Mighty Adeptus Rex Lapis, and that he has been murdered. She declares that “Lady Ningguang will not forgive the culprit.”

The millelith begin securing the area accordingly, and Paimon panics*. We could have the sneaking quest again, but alternatively we could just skip straight to the next cutscene: while Traveller tries to escape, Childe grabs their hand and tells them “Come with me.”

(Childe had been in the area of Yujing Terrace earlier, but Traveller didn’t have the chance to talk to him yet because he was near the last altar, where the cutscene would trigger when they got close.)

Once they’ve escaped, the same conversation* happens where Childe tells them he’s a Fatui, Traveller prepares to fight him, Childe convinces them that they need his help, gives them the Sigil of Permission for Jueyan Karst, etc. Childe has to convince them that they’re a suspect a little more compared to the original, and amps up the blame on the Qixing*.

Traveller’s Jueyan Karst journey is the same*. However, the dialogue is a little different: the Adepti question why Ningguang sent a mortal to deliver the message to them, then they ask why she didn’t send a message at all. They are more enraged than ever over the death of Rex Lapis, whom they consider to be a friend and ally rather than the one they owe loyalty to.

After that’s done, Traveller returns and Childe introduces them to Zhongli*. It’s similar, but Zhongli explains that he has been instructed with the honour of carrying out the funeral for Rex Lapis, and as such will get to meet Lady Ningguang. If Traveller helps him out, he’ll bring them with him to meet her. Traveller agrees*. Childe is still funding*.

While the whole shopping fiasco with Zhongli could go exactly the same*, I think it’s more fun to merge Yanfei’s quest into it. Yanfei offers her services after Zhongli has trouble obtaining specific materials, and throughout the quest they can run into similar legal/scammy/bargaining scenarios. When Yanfei parts ways with us, she admits that she’s an adeptus but points out that the city needs legal advisors like her more than they need adepti*.

(Adding Yanfei’s quest here would be great because we would be introduced to Liyue’s culture of contracts early on, helping us understand Liyue better and hitting all the significant people anyway. It would also make a nice contrast with Zhongli’s cluelessness, and show the difference between adepti who are stuck in traditional ways vs adepti who were able to adapt.)

Zhongli brings Traveller to dinner, where they’re finally personally approached by Ganyu and invited to the Jade Chamber*. Zhongli says that it seems we don’t need his help after all since we’ve gotten the invitation by ourselves, but asks us to come to the funeral later anyway. Paimon assumes we won’t see Zhongli again until the funeral.

We meet Keqing on our way to the Jade Chamber*. She doesn’t ask us not to side with the Adepti exactly, but instead scold us a little for getting the Adepti involed at all. She says that “The Adepti live so far away from Liyue Harbour that they would never have known if you hadn’t told them.” Traveller also asks her how she knows that the adepti know, since we haven’t seen them since, and Keqing responds that Ningguang must trust the Qixing with this information, since they run Liyue with her.

In the Jade Chamber: (I can’t actually remember much of the dialogue from the original version...) but it should be similar-ish. The scene would probably be extra flashy to emphasise that she’s an Archon at first, then as she insists on being casual the filtering gets casual too. Ningguang tells her how much she trusts her, some of the history of Liyue (them coming together to protect Liyue during the war), and how the Adepti are angry with her about Rex Lapis’ death. She talks about the Fatui and how they’ve been trying to get a foothold here. She notes that she admires how Mondstadt has prevented them from having a hand in their running, but having a Harbringer in their city makes it difficult to push back against them. Ningguang asks Traveller what they think about Keqing, then sighs and says that she is very capable but very young. She mentions Yanfei, and explains that she is unique because she is half-adeptus and also very young. Traveller asks whether she thinks there’s no way for the rest of the Adepti to adapt to modern Liyue, and about Rex Lapis, and Ningguang skirts around those topics.

Traveller gets the information of the second Fatui base from Ningguang’s wall*. After that, actually going to the location is probably in Part 4.

When Part 4 starts, Traveller goes to the base, raids it, and finds the Sigils of Permission*. They are then caught by Childe. In the dialogue that follows, Paimon and Traveller accuse Childe of several things, including goading him that his plan of using Zhongli didn’t work. Childe laughs and reveals what we think is his whole plan: summon an Ancient God to attack all of Liyue Harbour. He says that leaving Traveller to babysit Zhongli was just to distract them, since he knew they would meddle with him otherwise. He also says that Morax, the Qixing and the Adepti are fighting each other now, and don’t have time to do anything except argue.

Traveller fights him*. The fight is pretty much the same, with him triggering his delusion and using Foul Legacy and being introduced as Tartaglia*. After he finishes fighting Traveller in Foul Legacy, he regrets it a little and says that he got carried away, but since Traveller is on the ground (conscious but) he begins the summoning for Osial.

(All of that can still take place in the Golden House with just an extra “Follow Childe” quest or by placing the Fatui base nearby and having Traveller follow a trail to there. I did think it would be cool if the base was in the Guyun Stone Forest instead, exactly where Osial was summoned. So after the summoning, Paimon yells at Traveller to teleport a distance away)

Cutscene where Traveller meets up with Ningguang, the Qixing, and the Adepti*. Paimon expresses surprise that they’re not fighting each other, they say that they’ve put aside their argument until Osial has been stopped, so on*. The fight and strategy would be almost identical, with Ningguang creating the platform and ballistas, and Traveller fighting the Fatui with the blessings of the Adepti.

This next cutscene is crucial. Instead of one of Osial’s attacks destroying the platform, one of the Fatui’s portals opens up behind Ningguang. Childe launches out from it and takes her Gnosis out of her body the same as with Venti. Ningguang’s concentration is broken and she nearly faints, which causes the whole platform to start breaking. Then Zhongli crashes in, catching Ningguang from her fall and immediately attempting to fight Childe. Childe is confused (“Zhongli-xiansheng..?”) and shocked, but Zhongli doesn’t try reasoning with him or saying anything at all, instead trying to fight him immediately. Childe is excited to engage in the fight, while Zhongli gets hurt immediately and is confused at why he’s so weak. However, the fight doesn’t last more than a few seconds, as Childe starts to run and Ningguang (weak and collapsing) tells Zhongli that they have to focus on protecting Liyue first, and the other Adepti go “This aura... Rex Lapis?”

They drop the Jade Chamber on Osial to defeat him*. Now comes the part where they explain everything that has been going on. The Adepti and the Qixing alike demand answers, the Adepti especially expressing that Zhongli has to be Rex Lapis. Ningguang explains most of it:

Some time back, Rex Lapis came to her saying that he wants to die. He’s tired from losing all of his old friends and working endlessly. “While I understand that it is the terms of my contract to serve you and Liyue, is there any way for this contract to end?”

(Zhongli notes that his experience with Yanfei showed him that contracts are much more complicated than they used to be)

Ningguang had agreed, because she thinks that Liyue is much safer than it was when she had signed those contracts with them, and if that was what Rex Lapis wished then so be it. However, she also thought it was too big of a decision to just not make use of.

The plan was that Rex Lapis would fake a very public death. After doing so (killing his original body) the rest of him would go into a human body where he will die at whatever human lifespan he made it to. This would allow Rex Lapis to live as a mortal under the name Zhongli for what to him was a very short amount of time. But because most of him was killed, he lost almost all of his power, reducing him to really just a mortal (still really strong, just weak in comparison to how he used to be as a Dragon and an Adeptus), which he unfortunately only realised the implications of when he couldn’t protect Ningguang from Childe.

The Adepti get angry and teary at Zhongli, saying that they really thought he was dead and scolding both of them for keeping it a secret. We get a few more emotional lines.

The plan was that Rex Lapis would fake a very public death. Ningguang would use this to stir up the people and sow distrust towards the Fatui, using it to drive them out. From her reports of Zhongli, she eventually guessed that Childe was planning to attack her at some point of the funeral shenanigans, which she was prepared for and planning to make use of. In short, she was hoping to get rid of the Fatui by using Rex Lapis’ death as a cover/excuse/catalyst.

But the Osial situation was beyond her expectations, and she wasn’t prepared for that. She doesn’t explain exactly what the Gnosis is to the people present, merely saying that it is important, and Keqing quips that Ningguang looks like hell right now. This launches into the Adepti vs Qixing conversation*.

The Adepti accuse Ningguang of not trusting them and trying to cut them out in favour of these mortals. The Qixing retort that the Adepti were only useful today because they needed to fight, even arguing that Cloud Retainer’s technology could only be put to use in the form of weaponry and nothing else. Madame Ping mediates the most*. Ningguang tells the Adepti that it wasn’t that she doesn’t trust them, but that she didn’t want them to have to get involved when they had already distanced themselves and were living peaceful lives in seclusion. She takes the Qixing’s side, but tries to explain to the Adepti why. The scene ends similarly to the original*. As they leave, the Adepti tell the Qixing and other humans to call them whenever Liyue needs their help.

That’s the end of the dramatic scene. At the funeral, things go pretty much the same*. Traveller hears people talking about the Fatui being the cause of everything* (Ningguang milked the Osial situation completely*). The Fatui are also blamed for Rex Lapis’ death. If the millelith still does make a speech, it would be that Lady Ningguang is cracking down on getting the Fatui out, which is met with positive reactions. Ningguang gives a speech at the funeral which honours Rex Lapis and reminds the people to work together for a new future of Liyue, but it would be less dramatic than the original.

When we talk to Zhongli, he explains some things: When he turned human, Ningguang gave him some money and a job and asked him to practice being human because she intended to give him an allowance to live on in the future. With the limited knowledge he had from never being a human before and the intense studying from a few books on funerals, Zhongli did his best. (He’d also accidentally fallen in love with a Fatui Harbringer oops). Traveller asks him what he’ll do now since he has some years left before his human body dies and he replies that he has absolutely no idea. After some thought, he mentions “I wonder whether Childe will forgive me...”

Traveller probably talks to Ganyu instead of Ningguang for the final ending (the part where they tell them about Inazuma*).

End.

Okay um so some notes about why I made Zhongli not-the-archon:

I was really frustrated that he seemed to not care about the mess he was making in Liyue at all. By making him a normal adeptus, it’s much more acceptable for him to walk away from all his duties because the responsibility doesn’t fall solely to him. Not only is Liyue not falling apart because their main Archon is still there, but he doesn’t bear the actual main responsibility at all.

Zhongli’s cluelessness when it comes to mora doesn’t make any sense if he was supposedly managing the whole country until last year. Plus, Liyue even trades with all other countries, so it’s not like he’s never had to be worried about losing money. By making this the first time he’s really experienced human society, his unbalanced knowledge and behaviour can seem more cute than incompetant. Even his rigidness towards his contracts and the details of the funeral can be explained because he’s probably also been living in seclusion like everyone else.

In the original story, Zhongli stood by while everyone else fought Osial, even though he still had his Gnosis, even though Liyue and all his Adepti’s lives were on the line. In this version, it was possible for Zhongli to interfere in the fight while still losing, because he was already a mortal. It makes him far more compelling because he actually tried to help.

The contract with Signora. We don’t know (yet) what the terms are, so for the the contract is just very annoying. It only serves to convince me that the Gnoses can’t actually be that important. Anyway, dramatic gnosis-stealing scene is what I prefer. At least we can have sympathy for the character - I can’t admire Zhongli for whatever smart decision he made because I don’t know what it is.

Overall, if you change Zhongli to a normal Adeptus, almost all of his existing dialogue reads much better without needing any changes, because the explanation is satisfactory.

Why make Ningguang Morax, then?

Ningguang is already introduced as if she is a god. People tell folktales of her, she displays complex high-level magic that we haven’t even seen Zhongli do (that platform and ballistas), she lives in a literal floating island in the sky that she built, etc. She’s also already running Liyue and doing well at it and has a strong sense of responsibility towards it. It makes sense for her to be the Archon.

Why not Keqing? First of all, Keqing’s elemental and physical abilities aren’t portrayed as particularly special (all of this is based on story bits, not the game mechanics). While she seems capable, the game doesn’t originally give her enough buildup and credit, and she’s portrayed as younger and more stubborn. But most importantly, Keqing is the key person on the Qixing side of the argument, so she needs to remain a Qixing.

Why add Yanfei’s quest in the middle:

The Liyue Archon quest went way too fast without getting us close to Liyue itself. Zhongli’s quest is meant to get us close to them, but he only brings us to people and spouts trivia. Yanfei’s quest embodies the “Contracts” aspect of Liyue so well and it would be really useful to go through that quest before we had to fight to defend Liyue.

If you compare Liyue to Mondstadt and Inazuma, you’ll see that you automatically get close to Mondstadt because it takes a long time to level in the early days of playing. Meanwhile, Inazuma requires you to complete Yoimiya’s quest (which shows the culture of “Eternity” in Inazuma) and Ayaka’s quest (which shows the people whp want to escape the “Eternity” in Inazuma, although Yoimiya’s quest is more important). Liyue doesn’t require any quests in between at all, yet players don’t neccessarily spend time there idly, so it’s hard to get to know Liyue.

Alternatively, Yanfei’s quest could just be a required quest between the parts instead of being integrated into the main Archon Quest itself.

Thanks for reading the Geo Archon Ningguang version of the Liyue Archon Quest.

[c-is-for-circinate]

Man, I liked this episode.

Such great character moments!  Really exciting lore.  Plans for the future!  That ending, though!  Yay!

In no particular order, some moments I really appreciated:

Literally everything at the tavern, oh MAN.  Every single one of those conversations was SO GOOD, you know what I actually need to break this down further:

CADUCEUS AND YASHA, holy cow, right?  (it is late enough at night that ‘holy cow’ is doubly amusing, because Caduceus is, in fact, actually a...anyway, never mind.)  But HER HAIR!!!  Caduceus trying to be supportive, trying to Give Advice (Caduceus always thinks it’s his job to Give Advice, but usually it helps), but also falling just enough into actually admitting some of his own feelings.  Hope and worry.  I love them so much.

Beau and Caleb admitting/reminiscing about the early days when they didn’t like each other at all (except that even then, even when Caleb was being driven up a wall and Beau was angry and annoyed and kind of hated the guy, even then, they always liked each other at least a little bit, they never would’ve gotten so angry otherwise).  You know, sometimes it fades away for a while, but every so often I remember just how much I love Beau and Caleb as friends, because it is such a complicated, layered, hard-won friendship.  They both worked so hard for this relationship!  We call them the empire siblings, and it’s true, sometimes, but also it’s not true at all, because they worked so hard to get here, without any blood or parents or shared childhood joys telling them they should.  They built this friendship all on their own.  (And how often do you see such utterly platonic male-female friendships that are this hard-won and this concrete, in fiction?)

Okay I admit it, I made a NOISE at the unicorn thing.  It was just so utterly sweet, so deliberately ‘I know this little thing will make the person I care about smile,’ with no pretense or requirements after that, just because.  It felt like a little bit of Travis and Laura bleeding through, not in an out-of-character way, but in this bright reflection of all the little moments we’ve seen them just be honestly in love on screen.  It reminds me of the time Travis ordered an entire box of doughnuts via PostMates mid-episode delivered to the studio and didn’t say anything until they showed up.  And yes, obviously Travis and Laura’s characters can do and romance whoever they want--but if the honest emotion is there, it’s there, and it’s adorable.

Likewise: Beau and Jester both giggling and a little bit giddy about their respective potential love interests, both genuinely happy for each other.  Is there a sense of loss there?  Maybe, maybe not, who knows--but that mutual happiness is so genuine, and the “Agh, you know I’m scared of my future!” is so real in every direction, I love it.   

All of the shopping this episode made me really happy.  There’s something really special about a party hitting the level where they no longer have to care about money, and get to run kid-in-a-candy-store wild.  Buy ALL the diamonds!  Buy every piece of wizard-grade paper in Nicodranas.  Buy an entire wheelbarrow of fireworks, why not, just fucking do it, we’ve got the cash.  (Side note: as someone from Illinois, ‘going to Indiana to buy fireworks’ is such a familiar and obvious thing to me that I had a whole disorientation moment of ‘wait, Marisha isn’t from--oh my god people do that from the other side of Indiana too?’  I had not realized Indiana was such a national hub for fireworks, although I probably should have, given Indiana.)  Seriously though, the M9 do not care about money-- ‘here, take some of mine to pay for that thing, I’ve got so much I won’t use, just get it, it’s fine.’  But they get so much joy out of buying hundreds of gold worth of joke shop supplies, it’s so delightful, the entire two-city shopping trip was so delightful and I love them all.   

I covered all of my ‘oh man Beau’s imposter syndrome and self-esteem issues’ feelings in an earlier post, but I’m just going to reiterate: fuck, my feelings.   

I love the Eiselcross hook, and I cannot wait for what they find up there.  For one thing, I love me a good fictional deicide.  (I have some THOUGHTS about any potential god-killing weapons, and their potential uses against, say, life-devouring cities or angry sea serpents with a more than conventional number of eyes.  Also man that would’ve been useful for Vox Machina circa their own episode 109 or so.)  I am deeply curious to see what traveling with Vess de Rogna will be like--especially knowing that she was one of the people dealing with Yeza, and now I’m thinking about the fact that Veth was the only person NOT there to meet her today, which, hmmmmm.  I want to see so many things up there.  

There’s an almost-unfamiliar increasing seriousness and maturity to the Mighty Nein lately, and it’s so fascinating to me to watch.  They named their ship the Nein Heroes.  After the Mistake and the Ball-Eater, they went with a name that, beyond just not being a self-deprecating pun, almost sounds like they’re proud of themselves.  And yes, tonight they bought out an entire joke shop’s worth of magical novelties--but they also Sending’ed ahead to two teleportation circles in a row.  Yes, Jester set off a magical stink bomb in a tavern at lunch--but there were multiple healthy and emotionally honest conversations going on during that scene, too.  They thought ahead about their clothes.  They’re not just respected at the Cobalt Soul, they’re respectable. At first glance it just seems like they’ve learned to plan ahead, but it’s not that, or it’s not just that.  Rather, the M9 are doing things, sending messages, picking names, changing clothes, that affect the way they present themselves to others.  They’re not playing games of respectability politics, it’s not like they’re deliberately trying to convince other people that they’re any better than they are--but I wonder if, maybe, they’re doing just a little bit less self-sabotaging in the opposite direction.  If maybe they’re starting to suspect that they can be respected, and it’s not just a lost cause from the beginning. I really want to see where this goes in the coming weeks, whether they go back to chaos crew fuck-it again or this continues to build.  I’ll be curious to see where (and for whom!) it seems to apply, and where it slips.

[arigatouiris]

zenosyne // m. atsumu x reader

Author’s Note: I like breaking cocky anime men that I find attractive and giving them a lot of angst because I’m evil and how much I love Miya Atsumu is beyond comparison uwu Hope ya’ll like this angst fest~

Also I understand that cheating is a bit of an iffy topic, and I’m sorry if this material offends anyone here. I can picture this scenario and I’m sorry if some of you don’t agree. Feel free to let me know what you think. 

Word count: 5649 words

Pairing: Miya Atsumu x Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, trigger warnings, abusive households, alcoholic parent, fluff at the end

The average human being took 21 days to break a habit; but if that average human was Miya Atsumu, breaking the habit was as sporadic as the weather in Tokyo. He never liked Tokyo as much, and found home within Hyogo, but his games had him move so much that it sometimes made him yearn for a place that no longer existed.

Miya Atsumu did not have habits that he wanted to forget. Unless that habit included staring into the stands, searching for you, it was harmless.

After their penultimate win for that season, the MSBY Black Jackals celebrated; the crowd was loud, the cheers were everywhere—Atsumu always hated the loud that came with the audience, but he tolerated it because you would stand among them, waving at him, a large grin on your face, all directed at him. He’d raise his hand and hold it in the air for a couple of seconds, for you to see, and you would—before your grin only got wider. Atsumu would never admit what that sight made him feel, a sight that he believed he’d see for the rest of his life; but there he was, during their penultimate win that season, and you were not there.

It wasn’t even a force of habit, because his eyes never landed on the stands before. Or had they? Did Atsumu always do this? It had been over three weeks since permanently severing ties with you, and yet, his eyes kept travelling back there.

Three weeks—as long as it took to break a habit.

It was no breakup, Atsumu remembered very clearly how the phone conversation went. There was no verbal acceptance of the relationship ending, it was just one fact over another, and a misplaced goodbye from your end. You’d always managed to bag the good person card, and he didn’t mind giving it to you, either way. 

     “Miya-san!”

Shoyo’s form created a disturbance in the blond’s mind—the shorter male’s hands were raised to give him a high-five, which Atsumu absentmindedly delivered. But his mind was elsewhere. They say absence was also a presence, on a metaphysical level, the absence of scorpions falling from the sky itself contains the absence. The moment the mind comprehends the absence of something, that something is perpetually present. It was inevitable to miss you, because your absence screamed your presence louder. And he hated himself and hated you, too, for the ruin you’d made of each other. 

But, you would be there. During every single game.

Starting from high school to how his career passed in the Black Jackals, Miya Atsumu’s sassy girlfriend would be present in the stands, cheering quietly, chuckling at his misses, nervous at his slips, and ecstatic at his victories.

Miya Atsumu wouldn’t call you perfect, but he knew in all angles that you were. Once you let someone in, you were impossible to forget. There was something about you that crawled inside a person and built a nice comfy home there, your goodness expanding until it filled every limb. You were strangely relatable to an M&M, he thought. A reverse M&M, all sweet and smooth on the outside with a tough shell inside.

It went without saying that back in high school, he was a bit of a jerk; not just anyone would catch his eye. And if Miya Atsumu was dating just one girl from his third year till he finished university and entered a sports contract with the MSBY Black Jackals, you were truly something else. In high school, you were in a non-canon school band, you sang, played the guitar, and you were part of the track team. You scored well in studies, you wrote papers based on some research findings that he barely had any idea about—you were practically all over the place and it was hard to miss you.

Miya Atsumu wouldn’t call you perfect, but he knew he’d be an idiot if he used any other word to describe you. 

He loved every second of being with you because you wouldn’t make it easy for him. The second Atsumu felt like things were becoming stagnant, you’d either go missing or you’d throw at him a new challenge—you’d even fucking beat him at volleyball if you had to (thankfully, this never happened). You were constantly moving, leading the way, the complete opposite of what Atsumu thought most relationships would entitle with him around. it wasn’t that you tried hard to please him, no; it was that you were this way all this while, and Atsumu was just lucky.

You confessed to him first, serenading him in front of the entire volleyball team—throwing him for a toss and then laughing at his reaction of absolute surprise. It was as if he wasn’t allowed to be surprised at all, because there you were, pointing at his face and gawking, laughing till you had tears in your eyes.

     “What’s with that face, ‘Tsumu-Tsumu?”

Oh, how you got on his nerves. 

After that incident, when the school walked around talking of how you’d humiliated Miya Atsumu by throwing a pretend confession, he’d known the truth. You’d never pull something like that without a base; he knew that your words and feelings were true, but he also knew that you’d not just stop there. So what if you liked him? That did not mean you were under his beck and call—and god, that drove him crazy.

     “Go be someone first, pretty boy,” you’d said and he had no idea what the fuck you meant. 

As much as Atsumu loved back and forth flirting, with you, it just got frustrating because he knew that he was the one being thrown under a bus more than you were.

Two weeks went by with air flirting and tension filled winks in the corridor, which thus forced the blond to physically drag you into the broom closet in Inarizaki’s volleyball club gym, and seduce you using the mere power of his lips, tongue and hands. His words were a demand and that made you chuckle, that chuckle that made him want to simultaneously end your life or scream into the skies—he had no idea. But, you would never admit that the way he kissed you right then had stolen your words and the laugh was merely a shy response to maintain the cool demeanor you had so flawlessly carried out till then.

     “Miya-san, is everything okay?” Shoyo’s voice alerted Atsumu when they were heading out of the stadium.

Atsumu ruffled the boy’s orange head before chuckling, “Ya just caught me a bit off guard there.”

It had nothing to do with Shoyo. He walked out with his team toward where the bus was, and a slight ringing sounded in the blond’s ear. He was aware that hearing a C minor in your ear constantly when no noise surrounded them was an indication of deafness, but right then, only your face kept flashing in his mind because you were the one who told him that.

You would tell him a lot of things, starting from random facts about volleyball players in Russia, to the way dolphins communicated, or even about the first man who climbed the tallest peak in the world.

But, Miya Atsumu never realized that you would never, ever speak about yourself. The attention was always directed either at him or the world, and it hurt Atsumu to even think of how he never even noticed that she remained invisible all throughout this time. it was as if she didn’t want to speak about herself, like she was living a double life but there was no way Atsumu would know about it because he just never asked.

Dating Miya Atsumu, he realized, was like dating a narcissist; the only difference being, he genuinely cared for you but he wasn’t accustomed to think of others before himself. 

No one had told him it was a problem until Osamu had pointed it out, just days after breaking up with you. He was a walking box of angst waiting to spill onto the person who tried to help him, and there wasn’t anyway Atsumu could change unless the person came equipped. 

It was unfair, and strangely, close to impossible.

     “You were looking at the stands.” Shoyo pointed out, when they got into the bus.

Atsumu blinked before humming, wanting nothing more than to ignore this boy’s curious claims. But, Shoyo’s eyes were nothing like yours—your curiosity was directed at him at all times, but it was never demanding. 

Even if you weren’t the sort to direct any attention toward yourself, Atsumu didn’t want to think he was so bad that he wouldn’t have listened if you had just asked. If you had just told him, about anything at all that was bothering you, he’d downright throw everything aside and listen to you; but saying that now, after everything was broken, was rather easy and convenient, even his mind was telling him that these excuses were privileged.

You came with a stubbornness he hated in others, but somehow grew to love in you. And that trait of yours prevented you from telling Atsumu anything about your life at all.

*

The first time Miya Atsumu tried to break up with you, he wasn’t really thinking straight.

The relationship was moving in a steady pace, something he wasn’t used to with girls. You were busy with track, he was busy with volleyball—what he didn’t know back then was that you were busy with academics, track, your band, and a whole lot of other things he’d only learn of years later. But, the reason Atsumu chose to break up with you for the first time was because you were just never around.

You’d come to his every game; this went without saying, but you’d disappear right after. You’d reply to his messages hours after he’d sent them. You’d come to school earlier than anyone he knew, and he’d see you leave when his practice was about to end.

Communicating you became a task and Atsumu didn’t need to be responsible for that, and while this remained a good, solid reason to break up with you, he still never asked you if you were okay. If Atsumu could go back in time, he’d slap some sense into himself, but things passed in a way only to make him regret in the future—he had no say in it now.

He approached you one evening just before practice, noticed how your winter uniform clung to your skin, your face a bit red from the biting cold, your hands buried in your pockets. Atsumu wouldn’t miss the way his stomach flipped at your eyes sparkling to meet his.

     “What’s up, Tsumu?”

     “Ya know... This ain’t workin’ out.”

It was the first time he had seen you cry. While 17-year old Atsumu believed it was mainly because he tried breaking up with you, 23-year old Atsumu recalled the way your eyes were already red before he told you, of how there was a mild bruise under your left eye, how your hair was disheveled—and he remembered faintly hearing you tell him that you don’t get cold too easily, so the fact that your hands were shoved in your pockets meant that you were hiding something.

If only Atsumu had known back then.

     “H-Hey, (y/n)?”

Just before you were about to tell him it’s alright and it was stupid of you to burst out crying like that, Atsumu’s arms wrapped around your considerably smaller frame and pulled you close.

     “We’ll work it out, yeah?”

He was a tad bit annoyed that it didn’t go according to plan, but if he knew how much of a dick he was being back then, Miya Atsumu could have saved himself a great deal of hurt.

Pulling away, he noticed you’d already wiped your tears away. You smile at him, apologetically, invariably throwing his heart to the side, and take his hand in yours.

     “I’ll make it up to you.”

And you did. You delivered each time and Miya Atsumu was always thrown for a toss. But, there was a gnawing feeling at the back of his throat, which Atsumu would only realize was guilt years later.

*

The first time he finds out that your father was a drunk was when you make a dark joke about it. 

I’d say that my dad is an alcohol enthusiast, not alcoholic, per say.

The way you said it, it sounded hilarious to him right then. You were laughing, the boys around him were laughing—he should have judged from Osamu’s expression that one of your habits was to turn trauma into humor, but Atsumu ignored his twin brother’s expression and just focused on how intoxicatingly hilarious you were.

As he sat in the bus that was taking the MSB Black Jackals home, Miya Atsumu regretted laughing at that joke. 

If only. 

Those must be the saddest two words in the world, Miya Atsumu thought.

On some nights, he wonders if his heart would be filled with anything but this regret that was blinding him day in and day out. He had a bad case of the 3:00 am guilts; the ones when he’d simply just lie in bed awake and replay all those things he didn't do right. Because, as he knew, nothing solved insomnia like a nice warm glass of regret, depression and self-loathing.

     “Yer a cool girl, aren’t ya?”

     “Is that what you see me as, Tsumu-Tsumu?”

He remembers chuckling, ignoring the fact that your eyes looked puffy.

     “Yer the coolest girl in the world to me, (y/n)-chan.”

It was then, drowning in regret, while the bus moved him back to his hotel room, did Miya Astumu realize that living with heartbreak was easy if only it weren’t accompanied by regret.

He hates thinking of how you’d been so supportive, and how you’d still visit each of his games being a grad student, and yet—he was the one who went ahead and threw it all away. The itch in the back of his throat, the one that he felt for the first time back when he was trying to break up with you for the first time, was starting to grow. The itch was getting a bit difficult, Shoyo had to give him a bit of water, slap his back—and yet the itch didn’t subside.

     Tsumu-Tsumu, did you try breathing?

Why was it so difficult to breathe with you absent? How dare you take his breath away and never, ever return it?

Some part of him wondered how hard you’d laugh at him if you saw him right then. He was the one who hurt you, he was the one that wronged you, yet, he was the one who broke up with you. If there was a class for disgusting people, Miya Atsumu topped that list effortlessly. It’s true, he never really cared about people disliking him but the thought of you greeting him with anything but a smile twisted his heart in painful ways.

When he was signed with the Black Jackals, Miya Atsumu thinks of breaking up with you for the second time.

He’d have to keep moving, which meant most of your relationship would be long-distance. He wasn’t sure if balancing a volleyball career and a relationship would get him where he wanted to be—so he decided he’d just end things with you before it got too serious. 

If only he’d understood back then that a three-year relationship was serious enough, Miya Atsumu would not have gotten drunk and would not have made out rather provocatively with a strange woman whose name or face he did not remember the next day.

The love he felt for you was a borderline comfort that he had drawn out during his high school days. Miya Atsumu pictured it to be the sort of love that is mostly evident when you’re around, supporting him, cheering for him in that quiet, endearing way that you do—but thinking that way was giving you way little credit for what it actually was. Loving you was building a time bomb for himself the second you were not there. Loving you was building the anticipation for your exit, which then brought in the tragic, dark, bone-crunching pain that only came because he had hurt you in so many ways that you’re now forced to push yourself away because he is clearly not good for you, and you clearly deserved better.

The first time he saw you ever since kissing someone else, Miya Atsumu took nearly three seconds to come clean. But it was after spilling the words ‘I cheated on you’ did he notice something that inevitably shattered his soul.

You had a bruise on your chin, your eyes are red, your skin dry, your hair looked terrible—you clearly were not having a good time. 

How could he have been so blind?

     “(y/n), what happened—”

     “Atsumu, you what?”

Heh, he thought before his mind reminded him of his narcisism. How many times had he even asked you how you were doing? What you were doing? How many times had he bothered to ask you if you were doing alright?

The answer devastated him.

     “So, this is it then,” You said, and it was when you looked away did he find a splotch of red in the white of your eye.

His heart was rummaging in his chest. The gnawing feeling was back at the edge of his throat. He’s standing there, knowing something was clearly wrong with you, yet all he was acting out on was his own selfish desire of breaking up with you because the thought of continuing this and getting hurt later on was scaring him more.

Miya Atsumu was festering his own demise and he had no idea that he was doing it.

The expression in your eyes was as bitter as nightshade. Atsumu could feel his fingers shaking at how your lips were quivering right then, but you were doing everything you could to hold on. He could see now so clearly how your eyes were welling up with tears, but you chose fortitude over displaying emotions in front of him so you shoot him a smile and tilt your head the way you’d always done before—one of the reasons why he chose you in the first place.

     “Tsumu, I hope you’re happy wherever you are,” All he wanted was to scream her name out loud, “That’s all I want.”

How much he hated you right then because every word you said you meant it.

*

The night three weeks ago, he remembered getting back to his apartment and vomiting his guts out. Miya Atsumu released everything out into his commode, the contents of the food he ate the day before and perhaps that morning—tears stinging the corners of his eyes as he sat there, haphazardly, breathless and tired; hair disheveled but eyes constantly bringing your image to him again and again and again.

What’s done is done, he keeps telling himself, but fuck, why does it feel like he just killed someone?

He was so blinded by your apparent perfection that he didn't recognize the tremendous pain behind your work. You gave him hundreds of images, so many chances to see that you were in trouble. He had failed you.

Atsumu shut his eyes and felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning to his right, he noticed Shoyo, looking at him curiously.

     “We’re reached, Miya-san. You look ill.”

The gnawing feeling at the back of his throat was growing. 

     “Oh! And,” Shoyo grabbed something from the back of his pocket. Taking out his new cellphone, he displayed something to the blond, “Today’s the reunion!”

Fuck, Atsumu thought before running a hand through his hair. It was too late to cancel, Osamu was already going. A part of his heart hoped you’d be there, but he knew that it was wishful thinking. 

     “Did you have a highschool girlfriend, Miya-san?”

     “Hm, yeah—”

Her name was (y/n).

Suddenly, Atsumu grabbed his bottle and chugged the water down, hoping the gagging feeling would subside. 

     “Miya-san?”

     “Yanno, I’ll see ya later, squirt.”

The reunion was placed in a dingy looking bar, only because it was the closest to the university. Atsumu chuckled when he saw Osamu sitting at the corner, looking annoyed. Waving at his brother, Atsumu walked over to sit beside him, in absolute silence, before hearing Osamu click his tongue.

     “You smell disgustin’.”

     “Nice to see ya too, Samu. I just had a game—”

     “Couldn’tya shower?” Osamu sighed, running a hand through his hair.

It didn’t take long for Atsumu to bring you up.

     “She ain’t here,” Osamu said, rolling his eyes, “Head from ‘er friend, Sakura something, that ‘er life is practically shit.”

Atsumu wasn’t too surprised to hear this, but there it was again, the gagging feeling at the back of his throat.

     “Didja even know ‘er father used to drink, Tsumu?”

He did. He knew. 

     “So fuckin’ self-centered,” He heard his twin whisper to himself. “Tis a surprise to me that she was even with ya for so long.”

He knew. Yet, he never once addressed it. Never once asked you how you were. Never once bothered to allow himself to know; it was as if he was comfortable being praised within the bubble you had created for him, sheltering him from your nasty background. Only now when he thought about it did he realize how terrible he was, as a friend, as a boyfriend, as a lover—he had failed to be a decent human being to you.

     “O’er there’s Sakura something,” Osamu said, pointing to a girl Atsumu remembered would always stick by your side. “She was in the track team with (y/n).”

Atsumu normally would have stayed away; maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the deep mourning he had been feeling from the past few weeks, but in actuality, it was the gnawing feeling that was threatening to spill, it was killing him.

     “Sakura-chan, it’s been a while.”

The way this girl sent a glare to Atsumu’s direction almost made him laugh.

     “Let me guess, you want to know about (y/n).”

     “Was it that obvious?” Atsumu rubbed the back of his head.

Sakura sighed, “Listen, I ain’t tellin’ you shit because you asked. I’m tellin’ you because it’ll do her good to see someone right now and it might as well be you because it clearly won’t be anyone else.”

What the hell does that mean? 

     “A month ago, (y/n)’s father left them,” Atsumu’s eyes widen, “She had to almost quit college, but her mum found a job at a convenience store. But, (y/n) moved out of her dorm and lives at home now, saving up on the grad school money and helping out.”

     “Her father... He...” 

     “Listen,” Sakura snapped, clicking her tongue, “I ain’t tellin’ you no more of this. Go see her or don’t, she doesn’t need you. God knows you ain’t good for her.”

Atsumu almost nodded at the girl’s statement. 

     “She told you nothin’ because well, did ya ever ask?”

He goes back to his room after that shit-fest of a reunion, Osamu patting his shoulder a couple of times before making a move. Once he was back, Atsumu instantly broke down—the tears stinging his eyes as they fell, it was as if his tears were made of acid because it had been that long since he had cried for anything.

His hands were shaking, and he needed to do something to stop them from shaking—the feeling was intense and he hated every second of it. Throwing a nasty punch to the wall, Atsumu’s hands were bruised instantly before he realized he was a pro-volleyball player. Heading to the sink, he placed his hands under the running water and breathed, noting that his breath was hitching. He looked out into the water and just stared. Closing his eyes, Atsumu’s legs found themselves dragging him to every corner of his hotel room—finding an inch that could comfort him that night. He settled for the balcony, under the stars, where he found himself begging the sparkling lanterns of light to cure him of himself—his past and the kaleidoscope of mistakes, failures and wrong turns that have stacked unbearable regret upon his shoulders.

*

The loss of their final game of the season did not him him as hard as it would otherwise have. In the dressing room, he felt his phone buzz and his heart jumped out of his ribcage at the name that had popped up on his phone. 

(y/n): Jump set, back set, one set, two set, if setting were easy, they might let you set!

It takes Miya Atsumu less than a few seconds to call you. 

     “Tsumu? Is everything okay?”

     “Where are you?” It was eerie that you were whispering, but it was even eerier that he didn’t know where you were.

He always knew; it felt so strange.

     “I’m at work, actually—”

At work? Aren’t you a grad student? He wanted to ask, but words refused to slip out of him right then. The silence stretched out, heartbeat after heartbeat – taut, excruciating. And then, finally, came the first sound: 

     “I want to see you.”

His voice betrayed him; he didn’t sound like himself, but here he was, stretching out far and thin by a person who made zero effort in ruining him but had invariably managed to do so.

It takes Atsumu even less time to book a cab and head to your location. What surprises him is that it’s the very same convenience store that your mother supposedly works at, but why did you say you were working there? Atsumu’s sudden curiosity over your wellbeing, over your life threw him for a toss. This was not how things were, but this was how things were supposed to be.

And there you were, standing outside the door, hands in your pockets, the green uniform of the convenience store over your clothes.

You stood there, in all your candid glory, confident, yet shy, and angel-like. Your (h/c) hair always seemed to capture whatever available light there was, and your skin, much to Atsumu’s annoyance, was flawless. Today you were wearing a black turtleneck that accentuated every curve and your jeans were structured in a way that they made sure they highlighted the best part of your legs. You had a thick aura of battle around you, and your face was almost doll-like, it was so pleasant to look at.

     “Ya work here?” Atsumu wasn’t grinning, you felt odd.

Blinking, “Mum’s a bit tired so I’m covering her shift. Are you—”

     “Why didn’t ya come to the reunion?”

     “I had to submit a paper earlier today. Sorry, I’d have loved to see everyone!”

Your cheerfulness kills him, and he only hopes it doesn’t show. But, he takes a good long look at you. Yes, you’re just as beautiful—but you have dark circles around your eyes now. You’ve lost a bit of weight. You’ve lost that spark in your eye.

Clearly, you were having a difficult time. Miya Atsumu finds that his heart is breaking at the revelation.

     “Tsumu, are you okay?”

Fucking hell.

     “Stop.”

Your eyes widen, “Eh?”

     “How am I? How are you?! Tell me what’s wrong, (y/n)! Tell me what’s happenin’ with you, I never... I never asked ya so ya never tell me? Am I really that fucked up of a guy? That ya can’t... I loved ya, (y/n), I still... Damn it! I fucked up, okay? I fucked up big time! (y/n)—”

You walk over to him and pat his head, but Atsumu instantly slaps your hand away. You shoot him a glare before patting his head once more and pulling him down forcefully, his head on your shoulder, breathing into it. 

     “Dad left us,” Atsumu freezes at your words. “He used to drink. He’d throw things sometimes. He didn’t really hit anyone until we’d go over to stop him—”

     “That’s fuckin’ horrible—”

     “He had his own issues.”

Atsumu pulls away before cursing, “Stop bein’ so fuckin’ understandin’ all the damn time!”

You find yourself giggling at his actions. 

     “It’s okay now.” You said, giving him a kind smile.

Atsumu shakes his head, “It’s not. It’s not okay, (y/n). What the fuck—Why... Why were you even with someone like me? What the hell is wrong with ya?”

He could see how the anger built up in your eyes, but he wasn’t finished.

     “You’re so fucking... perfect,” He rubs a hand over his face in frustration, “Grad student, supporting yer mom, you... you came to every single game o’ mine. Every single game, damn it... I never knew ‘cause you barely showed any signs, but why... Why the fuck were ya with someone like me—”

     “Tsumu... You kept me alive, you know?” He refused to believe it. “When I was with you, I could forget things from my life that would have otherwise destroyed me. I grew to love you because of how passionate you were and that passion blinded me,” You went ahead and held his hands in yours, not ignoring the freshly formed bruise on his knuckles. 

     “I was with you as a choice, Tsumu, and I’d choose you every single fucking time. I wasn’t with you because i had nowhere to go. Don’t ever think that, okay? Because I can very well live fine by myself! I chose to be with you because I love you and I’ll do anything for the people I love,” 

He had never seen this face of yours. It was enchanting.

     “And I get it, people say choose yourself over boys, but maybe, choosing you was what kept me healthy, because look at me, Tsumu,” You point to yourself, tears leaking out of your eyes, “Take a good long look!”

Miya Atsumu’s eyes widen. You’re so tired, it’s as bright as day now. The spark in your eye almost gone.

     “Loving you helped me, and I’m not saying that your self-centered assholery is toxic, no. Yeah, sure, it can be toxic, but I needed it at the time. I... I am not perfect, Tsumu. I’m so far from perfect that it’ll knock your socks off!”

You were rambling now and he remembered that trait of yours—a rare aspect from his past; you’d ramble when you got nervous, your hands flailing cutely in front of you, tracing invisible lines in the air as you tried to narrow down your words. Atsumu’s gaze softens, as he lets you.

     “P-Perfection doesn’t come from someone hiding their pain well, it’s... it’s dark and gritty and bloody and sweaty, because it’s so fucking hard—” Your voice breaks in the end.

Atsumu doesn’t waste time in pulling you to his chest, shushing you and kissing your cheeks in the next minute; he holds your face like you are the most precious thing ever. 

He takes a breath before asking you something he was afraid to, “I cheated on you, didn’t you get mad?”

You nod, “I got hella mad, I’m still a bit mad, of course! Hey, just because I’m madly in love with you doesn’t make me a doormat, yanno?” You fumble.

Atsumu notices how red your face is now, and he smiles. A genuine smile—one that you hadn’t seen on Atsumu in so, so long. Your hand is in his and he bends to your level, his forehead on your shoulder, and it first comes out as a whisper,

     “I’m so sorry, (y/n).”

Your eyes widen slowly.

     “I’m so sorry, I love you so much. I’m sorry—”

A second later, you wind your hands around him, hugging him, and it shushes him. 

You don’t hesitate, “You gotta make it up to me, you know?”

Atsumu smiles so warmly as he wipes the tears off your eyes, nodding. His hand glides down your arm, folds over your hand. His fingers lace with yours, palms kissing. You could feel the fast thud of his heart through this single touch.

     “I’ll do that for the rest of my life, (y/n).”

You make a disgusted face a second later, “Stop being so sappy, Tsumu, ewwww.”

Your hands grasp his collar and bring him down to your level, as you plant a kiss him on his lips. Atsumu kisses back but you could feel the hesitation in his bones, and it annoys you. You pull away, and say the one thing Atsumu has been dying to prove to you.

     “Kiss me like you missed me, Atsumu.”

They say a kiss is a secret which takes the lips for the ear. When Atsumu kisses you right then, he could have been whispering the secrets of the universe to you, but you didn’t care. His mouth came down on yours. And that was it. All the self-control he’d exerted over the past weeks went, like water crashing through a broken dam. Your arms came up around his neck and he pulled you against him. His hands flattened against your back, and you were up on the tips of your toes, kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing you. He clung to you more tightly, knotting his hands in your hair, trying to tell you, with the press of his mouth on yours, all the things he could never say out loud. 

     “I love you so much, Miya Atsumu,” You say, your hands on his cheek, “I’m sorry for not opening up to you.”

With a shake of his head, “I’ll never let ya go, (y/n).” 

At that second, neither of you realize that Miya Atsumu would never look at another; the gagging in his throat was gone, replaced with the need to constantly wonder about you—a need to have you by his side permanently. Perhaps, this was growth. One would never know. But, whatever it was, Miya Atsumu was glad that he had found a habit he didn’t ever have to break anymore.

[theotherjourney7]

“The Week In Tory returns for the second time in 4 days.

The weeks grow shorter, but the days last forever...

1. The consultant who advised the government to look for "alternative arrangements" on the Irish Border is in line for a £200m contract if alternative arrangements go ahead.

But to facilitate this, the government has to break international law with the Internal Market Bill (IMB)

Nobody can tell us what the "alternative arrangements" are, but the IMB passed through parliament anyway.

2. The UK’s highest-ranking law officer in Scotland resigned over the IMB

& The UK’s special envoy on media freedom, Amal Clooney (yes, that one) quit over IMB

3. The former (Tory appointed) ambassador to USA said the IMB was "hugely damaging to our international reputation"

4. Those snowflake liberal Remoaners Toby Young, Peter Hitchens and Tim Montgomerie turned on the govt over IMB. As did every living former-Prime Minister.

5. Joe Biden said there would be no UK/US Trade Deal if the IMB went ahead

But, Iain Duncan Smith said "we don’t need lectures" from Joe Biden

Trump’s special envoy to Northern Ireland also said there would be no Trade Deal

Apparently, Iain Duncan Smith does need lectures. Who knew?

6. Oh, and IMB also includes a provision allowing the government to break absolutely any law, absolutely any time!!!!!

7. Unrelated, I’m sure, but the number of "problem drinkers" in England doubled this year

So the government cut funding to alcohol addiction services

8. Dominic Raab, whose job it is to understand the Good Friday Agreement, admitted he hasn’t read the Good Friday Agreement

His excuse is: "it’s not a novel". True. Novels tend to be longer than 35 pages, aren't vital to solving conflicts that killed 3600 people

9. The Prime Minister, who literally voted to break a deal he signed with the EU, said the EU was "not negotiating in good faith"

The next morning, Northern Ireland minister and arch memo-misser Brandon Lewis went on TV and said "I believe the EU is negotiating in good faith"

10. It was revealed the Smart Freight System to handle post-Brexit trade won’t be ready until at least April 2021.

That’s at least 4 months without a freight handling system, during the time of year we rely on food imports the most

11. The Road Haulage Association said a meeting with Michael Gove to discuss border checks provided "no clarity" and was "a washout"

12. An official report says 2-day queues at Dover in January are "a certainty"

So the government closed a Covid test site in Kent, to convert it into a lorry park, in what experts (well, me) are calling "the world’s shittest game of whack-a-mole"

13. The government said people would be fined £1000 if they don’t self-isolate after getting a positive test

And then all tests ran out in the 10 worst-hit Covid hotspots

And then all home testing kits ran out, nationally

And then the website for booking tests broke, and just showed a series of error messages.

And then the government said the system was under strain because people were asking for tests when they didn’t know they were infected

So [deep breath] you must self-isolate after getting a test that doesn’t exist, and you can only get a test if you already know the result

14. Naturally, honesty no-fly-zone Home Office Secretary Priti Patel went on Radio 4 and announced tests were available everywhere and there were "no problems getting tests"

Same day - same hour, in fact - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the testing system "has huge problems"

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who simply cannot shut up about fish, said we should stop the "endless carping" about not being tested for a fatal infection

15.Prime Minister Boris Johnson went on national TV and announced a "£100bn moonshot" approach to Covid, which would test "10m people per day"

Three days later, in front of a Parliamentary Committee, said he "didn’t recognise" the figure of 10m a day

And it was reported his half-brother is on the board of the business that would get most of the £100bn budget, which I’m sure is just a massive coincidence

Officials branded the moonshot as "Moonfuck"

16. And then Health Secretary Matt Hancock had to ask other cabinet ministers to stop referring to him as "Matt WankCock"

Despite appearances, these are not 7 year old boys

17. Food news, and Tory MP Douglas Ross said "I have seen the difference free school meals can make, and I want to make sure nobody falls through the cracks"

Douglas Ross voted against free school meals

18. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said we cannot put punitive restrictions on food imports from the EU (to force them to give up on Ireland), or we will starve

And then, minutes later, he agreed with a Brexiter MP who said we SHOULD put punitive restrictions on food imports from the EU

19. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "I venerate our civil service" after sacking the innocent heads of multiple departments to protect friends including Gavin Williamson and Dominic Cummings. And as a result, people leaving the civil service rose 14% in a year

20. Planning-ahead news: an international conglomerate pulled out of a ��16bn power project because the government hasn’t performed its part of the deal for the last 20 months

21. Funding cuts since 2010 meant the government had to inject £700m to prevent further education going bankrupt

22. This week it was found the government– which last week voted not to implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry – has also failed to deliver its promise to remove the same dangerous cladding from at least 2000 tower blocks. Sleep well.

And then the government said files on Grenfell were "lost forever", after a laptop was wiped. Because everything is always stored on a single laptop. We all know this.

The government runs G-Cloud, its own dedicated cloud backup service, which has been active since 2012. So... yeah.

23. At a committee in parliament, an MP read out the Covid test figures. Dido Harding, in charge of testing, said “I’m sorry, that’s just not true, I don’t know where that number is from”

It was from her own report. Page 8. In bold type.

Dido Harding said "nobody could predict" a rise in demand for testing

Government scientists predicted it, and in a July report sent to Dido Harding – maybe it was a different one? - said "July and Aug must be a period of intense preparation for a September resurgence in Covid"

Oh, and standard advice says the NHS must always prepare for cold and respiratory infections to spike immediately after the return to school in September

Dido Harding wasted £13m on a "world-beating" testing app that cost £12.3m more than the German app, and didn’t work

She is now in charge of the test-and-trace service which has collapsed completely

So naturally, it was reported the government wants to sack the head of NHS England and install Dido Harding instead. Let's make the most of that successful record, eh?

24. In June the government tweeted "grab a drink and raise a glass, pubs are reopening"

The Prime Minister said "it is your patriotic duty to go out and enjoy yourselves"

This week they said the public is responsible, and "people going to the pub fuelled the rise in Covid"

So the government closed pubs at 10pm, because it’s well-known viruses only pop out for last orders.

25. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government "threw a protective ring around care homes"

A leaked document said care homes are now being asked to accept patients who are known to have Covid

26. Hospitals were banned from launching their own testing regime for staff and patience because… nope, nobody knows why. Just because.

27. There hasn’t been a meeting of COBRA (the government’s committee for national emergencies, headed by the Prime Minister) since 10th May

28. As Covid infections surged, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said restrictions are increasing, and pointed to a chart showing the government has "moved to alert level 3". Level 3 is "a gradual relaxing of restrictions". Not only can't he remember his own alert system, he can't even read it.

29. Despite travel restrictions, it was reported the Prime Minister flew off for a long weekend in Perugia, where his friend the Russian billionaire Evgeny Lebedev lives. He denies it, but the airport has his landing documents. So either he’s lying or... no, that’s the end of that sentence

30. In June the government spent £500m on a GPS satellite system to replace the one we lose due to Brexit

In July it was reported "we bought the wrong satellites"

This week the government cancelled the programme and began asking the EU if we can keep on using their GPS system

31. A cross-party committee of MPs found nurse-Ratched cosplayer Home Office Secretary Priti Patel "bases immigration policies on anecdotes and prejudice"

It found her dept has "no idea" what its annual spending achieves, and referred to "the wreckage that [Patel’s department’s] ignorance caused"

She is one of the favourites to replace Prime Minister Johnson

32. This is because it was reported the Prime Minister is thinking of quitting because he’s worried about his personal finances: the poor man has to "pay tax", "buy his own food" and "support 4 of his 6 children". Oh, the humanity!

33. And Jonathan Aitken – look him up – continues to get privileged access to parliament despite a ban on MPs who have served more than a year in prison. Which he did. And it was hilarious.

34. And finally, because he always needs a guest appearance, Chris Grayling, the man who awarded a ferry contract to a company with no ships, has got a £100k appointment to advise ports”-Russ

[zrtranscripts]

Season 9, Mission 5: Sandstorm

Summer Holiday

~

[ship horn honks, waves crash on shore]

PETER LYNNE: Listen, all I'm saying is he could have dropped us off a little bit nearer.

JANINE DE LUCA: Our captain was clear from the outset, Peter. Our information on Tunisia is limited. He did not wish to deliver us to a port which might present unknown dangers. Or docking fees. Hence the empty stretch of coast we've landed on.

SAM YAO: Oh, it's nice though, isn't it? The sandy cliffs, the crystal blue sea, the rocky beach. Way better than that tiny ship's hold. Not that I didn't enjoy helping Janine tick “win 1,000 consecutive games of chess” off her bucket list. Oh, oh hey, careful how you carry the briefcase, Five. Remember, it's got Veronica inside. [shouts] You okay in there, Veronica?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Sam, for the last time, this case contains hardware running a full copy of my personality connected to a full suite of sensor systems, including auditory. You do not need to shout. Janine, Amelia gave me a message to play upon our arrival in Tunisia. Stand by.

AMELIA SPENS: Hello, Tunisia team. Let's make this super clear: you are not over there sightseeing. You're infiltrating a secret base codenamed Red Scorpion at the behest of General Bakari. He's directed you to a city near Red Scorpion called New Agadir. Until you reach New Agadir, where you must impersonate the mercenary group Death's Hand, you should pretend to be independent UK traders.

This is a covert mission, so if things go badly, I can't help you. Remember, the red fungus endangers the whole world. If it's in Red Scorpion, we need to know. Don't mess this up. Amelia out.

PETER LYNNE: Right, right, right. So just-just to make sure I've got this right, we're in another country with no support and we left our only doctor on the boat. Fantastic!

VERONICA MCSHELL: It's fortunate Maxine was present to identify the measles outbreak on the ship. If we hadn't left her to take care of it, it might have become a pandemic, Maintaining herd immunity via vaccination has proven almost impossible since the apocalypse.

JANINE DE LUCA: I see a road atop the hill heading west. Miss Spens’ preliminary scouting identified settlements on the Tunisian coast. That road leads to an outpost called Kalaat El-Amal. From there, we can arrange transport south towards New Agadir. Miss Spens also provided me details of a contact she's established in New Agadir who can assist us, a man by the name of Mohammed Boujettif. We must find him there.

Aside from anything else, we may need him to take Dr. Myers’s place in Death's Hand, although if he has no medical experience, that could prove difficult. The alias of the team member Dr. Myers was to impersonate is Doctor Death.

International subterfuge... it has been some time. Remember people, we do not know how the apocalypse landed here or what dangers await. Watch out for each other and keep your wits. Up the hill to the road, run!

~

SAM YAO: Oh, I thought the going would get easier once we reached the top of the hill, but now the road's covered in sand!

PETER LYNNE: Well, there's not much to stop it blowing in from the desert. As far as local scenery goes, you've got potholed roads and sand dunes and that's basically all you're going to get.

SAM YAO: So I get that we're pretending to be traders for now, then when we reach New Agadir we'll be impersonating Death's Hand, but what do we do if the actual Death’s Hand show up? I mean, my briefing said my cover is someone called Sven “Psycho” Mountback, who I don't exactly want to meet.

PETER LYNNE: Well, Amelia is recruiting the mercenaries now for a job in the UK. That's a trap that'll keep them out of our way. And they mostly work in the shadows, so their faces aren't well-known. So in theory at least, we should be able to pass for them. And Bakari swears he can get them - by which I mean us - onto the base.

JANINE DE LUCA: Gamma 1 insertion protocols, as Tom would have said.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: (in the distance) Guys, it's me!

SAM YAO: Does anyone hear that? Look, behind us. There's someone coming up the road dressed like a deckhand from the ship, waving.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guys, it's Frances!

PETER LYNNE: Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, what are you doing here?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I, uh, stowed away on the ship. Hid in a storage crate, swam to shore when I'd heard you'd landed. Bribed a sailor to tell me when you did. A bit wet from the swim. I know you didn't want me to come, but I swear I'll be useful.

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, this is unacceptable! You were expressly forbidden...

SAM YAO: Uh, Janine? Usually you don't drift off when you're berating people.

JANINE DE LUCA: The sky, it's turned white. Winds are rising. If my memories of Algeria hold true, this indicates an incoming dust storm. We must get to cover quickly.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Does that mean I can come?

JANINE DE LUCA: It means, Miss Dempsey, that since there is no way to get you back to the UK, you are unfortunately in danger with the rest of us. There, gleaming structures on the horizon. Kalaat El-Amal. All of you, in that direction. Run!

~

[wind blows]

SAM YAO: The outpost is ahead. Yeah, I think I see an outer wall. It's hard to make out in this sand. [spits] It really gets in your teeth, doesn't it, Five?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Changing global weather patterns, likely brought on by a large increase in methane emissions from decaying flesh, have left this region more prone to dust storms. My sensors should have alerted us to the stormfront. And I failed to predict Frances's arrival.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Um, quick question. Why is the suitcase talking?

PETER LYNNE: That's our... computer expert, Veronica. She's our expert... who is also a computer.

SAM YAO: Guys, look behind you. There's-there's like a solid wall of sand looping towards us.

JANINE DE LUCA: We're on the storm's periphery, but the eye is approaching fast and the dust already feels cutting in these winds. Everybody switch to comms, cover your mouths. You should have desert goggles and masks in your packs. Miss Dempsey, take mine. I will use my shirt.

PETER LYNNE: Wait, wait, wait. Janine, that's ridiculous. She can have my mask.

JANINE DE LUCA: It is done, Peter, there is no time to argue. I see no rocks large enough for shelter. Our only hope is reaching Kalaat El-Amal before we're subsumed. Run!

~

[wind whistles]

FRANCES DEMSPEY: God, it's like being in a blender full of dust! Getting hard to balance in the wind. Five, grab my arm so we don't get separated.

JANINE DE LUCA: I do not see the road! Does anyone have a visual?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Janine, I have run estimates on the wind speed and density of the storm. There is less than a 3% chance of our surviving.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, fantastic! Thank you, Veronica. Helpful as always.

VERONICA MCSHELL: If I'd warned you of the storm sooner, you might have been able to shelter near the cliffs. I'm sorry.

PETER LYNNE: Janine, not to seem overprotective, but obviously you should take my mask. I'm literally indestructible!

JANINE DE LUCA: You have an anti-P-type bomb in your body, Peter. Inhaling sand might damage it. We cannot risk that. I appreciate you're afraid of losing me after the Hebrides. I let you join this mission because I trust you, but I'm as worried for you as you are for me. Do not disobey my orders!

[zombie shrieks]

SAM YAO: What was that?

PETER LYNNE: Look, those are human shapes being whirled about in the wall of sand behind us. Some are missing limbs or torn in half. They're all thrashing about. Yep, they're zombies.

JANINE DE LUCA: We cannot let them catch us. We have no idea if the zombie virus has variants here. Even if we survive the storm with our cure stocks intact, they might not be effective. Likewise Mr. Yao's immunity. We can't let them catch us. Go!

~

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: Five! Five, is that you? If you can see me, I'm waving.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Sam, we see you! Five and I are to your left. Keep moving through the dust.

SAM YAO: Oh, thank God. I can barely make out your outlines. I was worried you were zoms. Have you seen the others? We were trying to keep hold of each other, but the winds kept knocking us down. Storm's interfering with comms beyond point blank range.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Everyone's been scattered, visibility's practically zero.

VERONICA MCSHELL: I'm trying to calculate everyone's probable vectors, but there are too many variables. At home, I would have more processing power, but this portable me can only handle so much.

During our voyage, I heard Peter talk about Frances's desire to join the mission, but my limited resources did not allow me to model her probable behavior. I was also unable to perceive the worsening weather because my capacity was devoted to reviewing mission files. My limitations have undermined my usefulness.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Not as much as this sand will if any of it gets in your circuits. We've got to get you inside, Veronica. Janine shouldn't have given me her mask. What if she chokes? She's the most important person to the mission.

SAM YAO: Don't think like that, Frances. We just got here. We're not losing people already, not like the Hebrides. I promised Sara we'd come home safe, that we'd bring her fun travel stories.

JANINE DE LUCA: [static] Repeat. [garbled audio] Repeat.

SAM YAO: Janine!

VERONICA MCSHELL: I am detecting faint electromagnetic activity. It may be the outpost.

[zombie growls]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Sam, behind you!

SAM YAO: Oh God, that whirling wall of zoms is almost on us. Five, speed up! They're just gristle and bone, the flesh is torn right off them. The wind’s tossing zoms straight at us. Run, everyone! Head south... gah! That way, I think. Just run!

~

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, keep holding my hand. I've got Frances, we're in a chain.

[zombies growl]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Everybody duck! Oh God, did you see that? A flayed zombie torso, ripped to shreds by the sand. It flew right over our heads in the wind. I'm sorry, Sam, I shouldn't have come.

SAM YAO: Frances, it's okay.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Peter warned me it was dangerous. I just, I really thought I could help. But I know you're all scared of losing people after the Hebrides, but you're all at risk here and I'm making it worse.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, Runner Five, this is Colonel De Luca. Mr. Lynne and I have made it into Kalaat El-Amal. Can you hear? They have equipment monitoring your approach. They're boosting our comms. They're sealing the entrance against the weather and activating a signal beacon on the outer wall.

SAM YAO: There! Hard to tell in this suit, but those look like... yes, flashing yellow lights ahead.

JANINE DE LUCA: The gate is in front of you, but it is closing fast. If you don't hurry, you'll be trapped outside. Sensors indicate torn zombie flesh has made that swirling storm wall infectious. You cannot risk being engulfed. You must get inside. Run!

~

[alarm blares, gate creaks and slams shut]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, we're in. Made it through that gate by inches. Don't see anyone around, just a big metal room with big metal doors. Gate must be automatic. First bit of wider world we've seen since Z-Day, Five, give or take Finland. I wonder how people here are doing.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guess we're about to find out. We're okay, everyone's okay. We all made it.

VERONICA MCSHELL: And my estimations of Kalaat El-Amal's location were accurate. It will take me time to get used to operating at this capacity, but I will persevere. I am confident I can keep the team safe. After analyzing the Hebrides files, I know how much difficulty you all have without me.

[door rattles open]

SAM YAO: Janine, Peter!

JANINE DE LUCA: It's good to see you all intact, including you, Miss Dempsey. It seems you've left me no choice now but to consider you one of the team. The locals were rather shocked to see us approaching through the storm.

SAM YAO: But they let you in, so they're friendly, right?

PETER LYNNE: Oh, they are very friendly, and very worried. You see, apparently the last few foreign traders to visit Kalaat El-Amal carried serious diseases. Measles, flu, multiple poxes. So they're putting us under quarantine until we're vetted, for a period of no less than three months. That means if we can't find another way out of here, the whole mission is over.

~

[foreficfandom]

Mystic Messenger - Wedding Headcanons (Bride! MC)

--- Zen ---

Zen's a surprisingly down-to-earth man, and he wanted the wedding to be a modest, but gorgeous affair. It’s a rooftop wedding, where everyone gets to see the two most beautiful people in the world get married amidst a bright, morning cityscape. Zen creates an amazing set of custom vows that make him cry, and it ruins his makeup but he doesn’t care. 

It’s all paid with his and your own money, which isn’t a whole lot but enough to afford a very put-together package. Zen insisted on catering from a famous brewery, and there’s a very nice open beer-on-tap bar.

There’s also a very important scheduled evening dance, of course. Your new husband asks for your hand like you’re royalty, and the two of you begin a very romantic slow-dance with a specific playlist in the background. When that ends, the music picks up and everybody starts getting a little wild. That delicious beer must have kicked in.

Zen’s arm rarely ever leaves your waist for the rest of the evening. He begins to refer to you as ‘my SPOUSE’ to everyone you have a conversation with. His face is literally glowing with pride.

By the time the two of you get married, Zen’s a very established actor, so its a celebrity wedding that attracts reporters and curious starwatchers. The two of you graciously (you more than Zen) accept Jumin’s gift of security guards to keep them off the venue.

The honeymoon is a beautiful week spent in the Maldives, enjoying the therapeutic beach life. Paparazzi end up hounding the two of you a little bit, but nothing can truly ruin this bliss. This perfect love.

--- Yoosung ---

He’s been dreaming of this day and its finally here!! He almost can’t believe it, and spends a lot of the planning just kinda fanboying himself. He can’t decide between themes and packages ‘cause it all seems wonderful to him. His parents end up helping quite a bit, especially on the parts he finds particularly confusing, like booking a venue and managing costs.

The two of you eventually settle on a garden-like wedding, taking place in a beautiful park. He loves the vintage lace look of your dress, and matches with an old-hollywood-style suit. Thanks to the advice from his family, the two of you avoided purchasing entire wedding packages and instead sourced everything from different retailers, which required a lot more research but saved money. 

The two of you said your vows underneath a gazebo lined with flowers, and then walked back down the park to the reception area while everyone tossed bucketfuls of petals upon the two of you. Yoosung was tearing up pretty badly from happiness, and almost tripped twice. By the time you guys made it to the dining tables, Yoosung’s glasses were fogged and he couldn’t stop smiling. 

The reception lasted longer than planned ‘cause everyone was having so much fun. You two had hired a pizza truck that carted their wood-burning oven on-site, along with a massive snack table and colorful cocktail dispensers. Yoosung asked to dance once, twice, and maybe five more times. You had to take off your heels to keep up with him, which just made the moment that much more beautiful.

The honeymoon had to be short, but it was a peaceful five days spent in Shanghai. 

--- Jaehee ---

One of the first things planned was going to local fashion shows and shopping for dresses, since according to Jaehee, it was this season that designers begin to shell out the good stuff. Jaehee settled on a cream-colored silk trumpet dress with an embroidered veil. You chose a dress embroidered with gold-colored thread to match hers. 

And that set the tone for rest of the wedding. Gold decor, pearly-white chiffon, and dots of warm red embellishing the tablecloths, bouquets, and plate settings. Jaehee was always the one on the phone with the planners, since she had That Business Voice which made everything go so much more smoothly.

You married in a temple, an hour away from the city. Jaehee and you met at the altar simultaneously, and held hands over vows. You could see her tearing up for the first time ever. 

The reception was held in a small park nearby, where a light catering was offered underneath a large tent, along with several chocolate fountains and bottles of expensive champagne. Jaehee really wanted to avoid a huge social event, since her past job at C&R required a lot of boring business events. So after speeches were delivered and everyone had their fill of chocolate and wine, you all barreled into your cars and zoomed back home for the afterparty, which was a lot more casual and involved blaring Zen’s musicals on the flatscreen while everyone played drinking games.

The two of you had a long and indulgent honeymoon spent traveling between Greece and Italy, doing everything from spa hotels to skydiving. You ended up with two album’s worth of pictures to remember it by.

--- Jumin ---

You might have thought he’d be pulling out all stops when it comes to the wedding, but the man’s a devoted Christian - even if he doesn’t show his religious side often, it was important to him that his holy union wasn’t too ostentatious. 

But he’s still Jumin, so everything’s designer. The outfits, the catering, the decorations, the transportation, even the invitations sent out were on luxury emboss paper lined with real gold leaf. So your wedding actually begins a few days before it even starts, with a visit to a celebrity spa for a red-carpet all-over treatment, and then you spend hours getting your hair, makeup, and nails done. 

Both the ceremony and the reception are held in a large, lavish hall. There’s a huge crowd of guests for business reasons, along with reporters and other representatives from the press, plus even some politicians. When Jumin takes your hand at the altar, there’s a literal spotlight shining on the two of you while the room grows dramatically dark.

So your wedding is kinda a publicized business event, which isn’t super ideal but Jumin tried his best to keep it as special as possible. He deferred to you when it came to almost all the decisions, such as the color scheme of the decor, and what kind of menu you wanted. Almost everything was based off of your preferences, which is what Jumin wanted. He desired nothing but you as his spouse, and that’s what he was getting. 

Jumin rarely ever gets overly emotional, including at his own wedding, but for the rest of the evening he couldn’t keep his eyes off you, and whenever you turned your head your new husband was smiling, absolute adoration in his eyes.

The honeymoon is a worldwide tour, of course. With cruises, five-star hotels, attending operas, and dining at the most famous places.

--- Saeyoung ---

He’s free from the agency and Mint Eye both, and he has you with him. He never been be happier, or feel more free than he ever did. So the wedding reflects it; it’s held outside, by the sea, lightly managed so there’s almost no schedule to adhere to. 

It’s super important that he makes his vows to you under god. So it takes some digging until he finds an actual church that’s within a short distance from a gorgeous beach. The two of you marry under brightly lit stained glass windows before hopping into one of his sports cars and race to the reception area. The other guests have to catch up.

He cries at the ceremony, of course. He eventually leaves his glasses off because his eyes keep welling up. He recites from the bible. You can feel his hands shaking. 

And at the reception, it’s p a r ty time. There’s music playing and a very important playlist is playing that the two of you made beforehand. The catering is seafood and barbecue. There’s very little alcohol, and lots of dessert. 

It’s a smaller crowd of guests, but that’s what made it so special. You all played at the beach with spontaneous games of badminton, or dunked yourselves into the beach then running off laughing, and joked amongst yourselves for hours, long after night came around and the area was lit up with Saeyoung’s jacked lighting system.

The honeymoon is spent in South Korea, in Jeju-do where the two of you go on sunny car rides along the cliffs, go spelunking in gorgeous caves that light up like the universe, and stay in a traditional bathhouse. 

--- Saeran ---

Saeran will always and forever adore the ‘princess’ aesthetic on you. When you two first met, his Ray alter embodied and obsessed over it, but nowadays he simply enjoys the magical romance of a fairytale love story. It reminds him of his longing daydreams when he was younger, and how it all eventually came true.

It’s an evening wedding, held in a hotel banquet hall, planned and catered by an expensive company he and his brother both shelled enthusiastically to purchase. He didn’t really know anybody aside from the RFA and you, and only made like one or two other friends since beginning recovery. So you invited all your friends and family you knew would support the two of you, and it turned out to be an intimate but loving crowd.

SOOO many flowers. Bouquets dot the walls, sit at every table, and line the isle. And Saeran beforehand prepared your bridal bouquet himself. It was a very carefully crafted arrangement that masterfully relayed a thorough message of love, commitment, and family.

Saeran’s quiet but surprisingly calm. It’s just ... pure happiness. He’s every bit a prince when he takes your hand at the altar. This wedding marked more than the beginning of your union, it was evidence that his life was good.

He wasn’t super enthused about traveling anywhere for the honeymoon, and wanted to spend the time alone with you at home, where its safe and familiar. But you convinced him that an extreme change of scenery can do wonders for his depression and anxiety. So the two of you spent an amazing twelve days in Canada, where he got to experience a world he’d never seen before. He took really well to hiking, which turned out to be a great low impact exercise option for his frail physical health. 

--- Jihyun ---

The reception’s held outside, by the Suncheon Bay area - a beautiful national wetland park with amazingly unique scenery and wildlife. The ceremony beforehand is held inside, and its short and sweet with custom vows.

He’d want a Catholic wedding if it’s okay with you, or if not, a fusion wedding where the vows aren’t religious but its overseen by a pastor, or something like that. 

As a photographer, he’s surprisingly anal about the timing of the event. There has to be the perfect amount of natural sunlight during the wedding. So the ceremony is held in the late morning, then he quickly urges you outside where beautiful pictures are taken of the two of you standing amidst gorgeous nature. 

There’s a surprisingly big crowd. Jihyun is a popular man, so aside from the RFA there’s his various art friends, his other friends, his older friends, not to mention your own friends and family. His father does show up, but it’s sadly stilted.

He’s worldly and artsy, so the banquet is multicultural, with lots of his personal favorites he’s experienced from around the world. You notice a lot of french bread.

And don’t forget, he’s a rich boy! So everything’s quality stuff. You don’t have to worry about expenses with him. He’s not ostentatious to the level of Jumin, but he’s still got a packing wallet.

The honeymoon is spent touring Central America, which he particularly loves for its blazing sun and colorful culture. You split the trip between luxury all-inclusive resorts, and countryside roughing it.

[virlath]

environmental lore ~ Dirthamen and Falon’Din

Part 1 - origins and the four armed statues Part 2 - their alliances Part 3 - the origins of humans

===

Part 2  - their alliances

There is a lot of environmental foreshadowing surrounding Dirthamen and Falon’Din in DAI, which is interesting considering they were extremely mysterious in previous games. Among these are many hints they worked closely with Fen’Harel, Mythal, and Andruil at some point in time.

The most solid evidence for this are the mosaics within the elven ruins in Trespasser, which is only safely accessible using Mythal’s passphrase.

The mosaics are clearly old, but you can definitely see they represent Dirthamen, Mythal, Fen’Harel, and Falon’Din in that order.

A double raven standard is also clearly seen within the weaponry used by the freed slaves, indicating Dirthamen actually helped the rebels either in secret or even as a leader in battle.

Two archer statues surrounding the eluvian leading out of the ruins also suggest Andruil was similarly involved in their alliance. 

Evidence for this alliance is further strengthened through Falon’Din and Andruil’s shared symbolism of the owl, which is also seen as a terrible omen of loss by the Dalish.

Andruil would send her messenger, the owl, to show the People the way, and they would follow him to where the land was blessed.

Always keep an eye out for the noble owl. You never know: Andruil might have a message for you.

Falon'Din sought someone to be his messenger and companion. The wind was swift, but Falon'Din refused to chain it. The People were loyal, but could not live where Falon'Din walked. Then the owl came to him and said, "I am not cowed by darkness. Let me serve you who also has no fear of night." Falon'Din accepted gladly, and took the owl as his servant, who thereafter helped Falon'Din guide the People through the passage of the Veil.

I theorise the symbol of the owl was in fact Falon’Din himself, flying between the Void and the real world to pass Mythal’s verdicts on to Andruil so she could deliver judgements in the form of her hunts.

Falon’Din’s mastery of the dark and shapeless worlds and airless skies also fits in line with Andruil’s hunts in the Void, which is otherwise known as the place of nothing. I believe Andruil and Falon’Din’s journeys both inevitably led to the Void, simply because that was the only place judged culprits could hide from Mythal’s justice. 

This also brings to mind the puzzle we find at the Darvaarad in Trespasser.

“One sees the hunter, one flees from it, one hunts it in turn, one outwits them all.”

Or in other words...

“The owl(Falon’Din) sees the hunter(Andruil), the halla (Ghilan’nain) flees from it, the dragon(Mythal) hunts it in turn, the wolf (Fen’Harel) outwits them all.”

Personally, I think the riddle strongly hints at a fallout between Andruil and Ghilan’nain, either due to conflicts of interest in their duty to Mythal, or on a more personal level as Ghilan’nain was once considered “beloved” by Andruil. 

My current theory is that Ghilan’nain hid in the Void after the event with the Sinner in an attempt to raise a coup against Mythal. Mythal sought Falon’Din and Andruil to bring her to justice, and so they hunted her while Dirthamen tried in vain to stall them/protect her, either out of love for her or because she held a secret he didn’t want getting out (perhaps their relationship was the secret, and Ghilan’nain was cheating on Andruil with Dirthamen).

This results in Dirthamen getting neutralised by Fen’Harel to resolve the situation which was spiralling out of control, but this is all a distraction by Ghilan’nain to lead Mythal’s allies away from her so she can be cornered and “killed”. We don’t yet know the movements of June, Sylaise, and Elgar’nan, so it’s unknown if they also had something to do with orchestrating Mythal’s death.

Whatever the case may be, I think it’s likely Dirthamen was backstabbed by Fen’Harel because Dirthamen’s pose in the fade mimics Solas’ unfinished fresco- both he and Mythal feature a sword sticking out from their back. However I don’t think Solas acted out of malice in both cases, but rather out of regret and perceived necessity.

Consequently, my current theory is that the owl statue in DAI solely represents Falon’Din and Andruil is represented by the archer statues.

The owl statues are also always seen carrying a circular object, of which I believe to be an eluvian/elven artifact to transport or imprison criminals hunted down by Andruil. 

Owl statues can also be found at Skyhold, which is interesting in itself because it is strongly hinted at that Skyhold is where Solas created the veil. 

The owl can be seen in the Great Hall, as well as in your own quarters which I think is kinda creepy considering the underlying symbolism.

What’s even more interesting to me is the painting above these owls. It clearly shows the Inquisition logo, but the art style is similar to many other artworks we find around Ferelden, meaning it is likely older than the Inquisition itself, and possibly even painted by the Avvar. The mountain in the artwork seems to be a reference to Belenas, a mountain that may have been the original location of Arlathan before it became the Black City.

The art is similar in style to the artwork in the stables mysteriously depicting Dirthamen and Ghilan’nain.

Another notable example of this art style can be found on the mayor of Crestwood’s house.

The symbolism of this artwork is peculiar, because it shows lightness and darkness divided, encircled, and guarded by a raven and a wolf- animal symbols representing Dirthamen and Fen’Harel respectively. The circle comprises of twelve equal divisions with a weeping sun in the centre. Solas’ tarot cards also features twelve stars, three of which are disintegrated. A very peculiar coincidence...

The owl statues also feature prominently at Suledin Keep, which I think was once Falon’Din’s stronghold based on the statues and symbolism found there.

The red lyrium mist emanating from the entrance is particularly foreboding, especially since Falon’Din is the master of darkness and shadow- themes also associated with the Void and the blight.

The People swore their lives to Falon'Din Who mastered the dark that lies. Whose shadows hunger Whose faithful sing Whose wings of death surround him Thick as night. Lethanavir, master-scryer, be our guide, Through shapeless worlds and airless skies.

──Song to Falon'Din, found in the Temple of Mythal, author unknown

In fact in most areas where the owl statue is seen, death is also often associated with it. The best example of this can be seen at the Knight’s Tomb, where they flank a beheaded Mythal statue with a skull in place of it’s regular head.

While it’s clear the owl is strongly linked to Falon’Din, Dirthamen is a lot more mysterious. Dirthamen’s most beloved animal is the bear, however he doesn’t seem to have any clear statue depicting himself in the main game. In fact, at the Temple of Mythal his mosaic is flanked by two owl statues. 

If you do the rituals, Falon’Din’s mosaic can also be seen next to Fen’Harel and Mythal next to the owl puzzle, however no depiction of Dirthamen can be found.

Similarly at Dirthamen’s lost temple, no mosaic or depiction of Dirthamen can be seen, however there are green mosaics of Falon’Din and one red mosaic of Ghilan’nain. And most interestingly of all, the locked inner sanctum shows two gilded statues of Fen’Harel, which is not something you would expect at a temple dedicated to Dirthamen.

This is further evidence to me Dirthamen and Fen’Harel were once close allies, and this is compounded by the fact the imprisoned high keeper in the temple awakens from an elven artifact. This is the same artifact Solas uses to measure the veil, and also an item he constantly describes as an “artifact of his people”.

But to sum it all up, I think the Vir Dirthara in Trespasser best displays these web of alliances because it is also one of the few places Dirthamen is represented in the form of a raven.

Mythal was the adjudicator in the center, and Fen’Harel was her wingman ensuring her day to day ran smoothly. Falon’Din was the messenger who travelled between worlds, passing Mythal’s judgements to Andruil who in turn hunted judged culprits. Dirthamen represents the ravens at the edge of the scene, monitoring events in the background and keeping tabs on everyone in the shadows, much like Leliana’s role as spymaster.

It is interesting to me that Dirthamen is portrayed as a raven instead of a bear though, because his ravens are described in current known lore as his bound minions, not as true allies.

Nevertheless, raven statues can be found in the Fade in the main game, as well as seemingly random locations such as Redcliffe.

Raven statues can also be seen in the Crossroads, right before these magical red eggs that trigger the visibility of new pathways to different floating islands.

Considering the fact Dirthamen/Falon’Din are considered twins that walked the shifting paths beyond the veil, I think this is further evidence these raven statues do in fact represent Dirthamen.

===

Part 1 - origins and the four armed statues Part 2 - their alliances Part 3 - the origins of humans

[hecohansen31]

A True Brat:

Billy Hargrove+Bratty! Reader.

(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!

A few days ago, I received an ask about a Billy fic, but I eneded up canceling the original answer because tumblr was acting crazy and not uploading it and formatting it the way I liked, so I ended up reuploading the answer today, with also a pretty moodboard for it!

I am very sorry for the mess and the fact that I am extremely late with this answr and the ones for the following piece you’ll find!

Also this is the first time that I actually have written something Billy Hargrove themes, so please be kind with me and don’t kill me if this suck!

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

WARNINGS: Spanking, Oral Sex (Male Receiving), Fingering ( a bit also of Billy being a jealous asshole)

You had been a true brat that day.

Which was strange since you were always Billy’s little perfect girl.

He couldn’t help but feel like you were his complete opposite with that little black pleated skirt and the perfect unwrinkled shirt, showing nothing of the perfect body it hid underneath.

You never cheated, never skipped school and most importantly never smoked, something which had immediately bothered you of Billy and you had firstly spoken to him for that.

That cute voice telling him that he couldn’t smoke on school grounds clearly had an effect on him and his reply on her.

From that day on it was a constant battle of power with her gently advocating for his health and Billy replying that it was a fruitless job.

“We all die, babydoll, I will... just a bit quicker”

“Maybe I don’t want you to die” you had mumbled softly and for once you had stolen away Billy’s breath (and smoke).

From them on... you were Billy’s girlfriend, which meant you were his blessing and problem.

That day you had sided with his annoying step-sister, suggesting that you two should have given her a lift to Sinclair’s house for their “date” (this had made Billy want to gag) and then had mumbled about how much you also wished to go to a date... but “somebody” wouldn’t let you.

“All we are going to do is make-up, so what matters if we do it in the back of the Camaro or in a movie theatre” and you had had the actual audacity to roll your eyes at him.

He had warned you before dropping off to your work, a nice coffee shop, about stopping this behavior before it got too far, you had just strutted off, with that perky butt standing at attention and he had been tempted to smack it right there and then.

But he was running late for work, so...

He couldn’t help still but feel a bit bad for what had happened, about how it was true you hadn’t been on a date night together (it was mostly because he wanted to keep you a secret from asshole Neil) so he had thought about bringing you to the carnival in the city, just to see you flirting with a co-worker.

Hadn’t Billy been such a jealous lover he would have noticed you were just reassuring a new employee, but he was already a bit annoyed by the entire situation and the fact that you meet him late made him literally growl with anger as soon as you opened the Camaro.

“Well, good evening, to you too” you offered no explanation of your lateness and Billy immediately drove off, fast, as you hated so so much.

You screeched, plunging your manicured nails into the skin of his leather jacket, screaming to slow down, a bit scared.

But he had plan.

The parking lot of the 

little place he had chosen was isolated and empty and you looked at him confusedly, clearly not grasping the entity of the situation.

“Get in the back, (Y/N)” he mumbled, rage clear in his tone and she complied, knowing it always mean trouble whenever Billy would be using that tone, and her full name.

She twirled in the back, meanwhile he followed her suit, exiting and re-entering the car, meanwhile she sat down comfortably in the adorable uniform of her work: a black skirt and a black blouse with a graceful and frilly apron.

He had joked more and more time about the attractiveness of that assemble for him, but he also didn’t want to break it knowing she would be pissed.

“Strip” he ordered, meanwhile he started doing the same to his clothes, coming off quickly from his torso, meanwhile she unbuttoned softly and teasingly her blouse, getting a growl out of him “.. don’t make me think about another reason to punish you, doll”.

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes becoming naive as she stared at him again with confusion.

“Punish me? Why?” he couldn’t help but see through all her play and see the game and teasing tone her voice held “... am I not your good girl, anymore, Sir?”.

The “sir” at the end made him breath loudly meanwhile her hands travelled from the leather sits to his leg, or better what was between them, obliging him to grab her roughly (there would be marks later) and pin them down on his thighs.

“You know why, (Y/N)” he hugged but also not wanting to play along her game he grabbed her face gently in order for her to get the message clear “... but let me refresh your memory: you made fun of in front of my annoying sister, you even agreed on my part on something I have no intention to do, but now I am forced to... but worst of all, you let somebody taint something which is mine”.

“Taint?” you retorted back, almost annoyed by the entire situation “I didn’t think you owned such an extensive vocabulary, Hargrove”.

That was the drop that made the case of his anger overpass its limit and overflow against her.

She was still in her gown, but he just roughly bended her over his laps and, swiftly lifting the annoying black fabric and dragging down her panties he delivered the first slap.

Which startled her, letting her express a little pained moan, but as Billy’s hand slipped, he found her waiting wet for him.

He took a moment more to analyze how long you had been this wet for...

... and he then delivered a sound slap to your ass, again.

And again you yelped, trashing fruitlessly against him, meanwhile he simply smiled at her pain.

“I might not have a deep vocabulary, but I hope that you know how to count” he smirked heavily, before delivering another one, and another one and another one... “I won’t stop till it’s at least fifteen slaps, so you either start counting or...”.

And strangely for the first time that night you actually counted.

—

After the fifteen slaps had been soundly delivered to your “precious asset” now red and hurt, Billy had had no qualms into letting himself in your mouth, knowing that your arousal spoke louder than your tears.

Which made you damnably pretty, he swore, under his breath, meanwhile he gagged you without any tenderness, just roughly fucking your mouth.

You tried screaming that you learned your lesson, but a quick check to your panties had proved that Billy wasn’t hurting you in the slightest.

It was totally the opposite,

He finished on your face, a clear mark of both not misbehaving for him and about the fact that, she belonged to him.

The cocky bastard swiftly left place to the worried boyfriend, taking in the absolute mess of his girlfriend with mascara all over her face and cum dribbling from between her pretty rosy lips.

You and him had an understatement between each other that made him able to be rough with you, something for which you occasionally asked, it was as if you sometime would need your mind to be taken away, alongside the fact that it spiced up greatly your sex life.

But he couldn’t help but hate himself for being a bit too rough, although you, the little lady with the pleading deer eyes, had been a category A brat!

He gently pushed his fingers on her pulsing core, it deliberately flaming up and pushing out liquid pleasure on his big fingers, even more when he dared pushing more inside, teasing her entrance till it finally got a reaction out of her.

Her little mewls accompanied the gentle process of him getting off her with his fingers, just teasing and expert touches, nothing too hard, mostly because she almost yelped when his hand accidentally brushed her bruised ass.

She came with a please on her lips, a confirmation that his lesson had been successful but he didn’t gloat over it, instead he gently encased her in his arm, holding her till he felt the shaking due to riding the orgasm’s waves ceased and he could clean her with tissues he found in her bag.

She protested, a bit hypersensitive due to all the pleasure and the wanting of more, the craving of knowing him more carnally, but she had to satisfy herself with his tongue, cleaning her gently and with experience.

He then adjusted her skirt, gently, attentively avoiding touching her ass, since he couldn’t help but notice they way she winced meanwhile she shifted in the front seat.

He had to change his plans, knowing that a date would be the last of your thoughts and softly hugged you as soon as you were in front of each other, pushing yourself in the crook of his shoulder, gently caressing her hair and shushing her low whimpers.

“What about I accompany you home and then I sneak in so we can cuddle?” be expected you fo be retorting something bad at him but instead you just mumbled a simple “ok”, your eyes half-closing due to the tiredness, they held.

“... I am sorry if I was too rough, sweetheart” he apologized setting gently an hand on her thigh.

“I am a big girl, I can handle a little bit of pain” you retorted and be saw shining embers under your weak lids “... and the fact that you are a big teddy bear makes it all so so much better”

“Just for you, doll” he looked onto the road, to hide his idiot smile “... just for you”

[gold-and-rubies]

In It For The Long Haul - Chapter 2

I’m going to be posting these twice a day until I catch up. This is in MacCready’s POV. Warnings for violence and language.

MacCready sighed inwardly. Winlock and Barnes had tracked him down in an attempt to harass him out of the Commonwealth… again. He would not give in to them; he had too much on the line. He was just getting really tired of this.

“Can’t say I’m surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready,” Winlock said far too smugly for MacCready’s liking. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl slip into the room behind them. Great, he thought, I’m gonna lose another fucking job to these assholes.

“I was wonderin’ how long it would take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock. It’s been almost three months… don’t tell me you're getting rusty,” MacCready said nonchalantly, “Should we take this outside?”

“It ain’t like that I’m just here to deliver a message,” Winlock said. MacCready narrowed his eyes at that.

“In case you forgot I left the Gunners for good.”

“Yeah, I heard, but you’re still taking jobs in the Commonwealth. That isn’t going to work for us.”

MacCready was quickly losing his patience. They were getting on his last nerves, so he tried to get on theirs, “In case you forgot, I don’t take orders from you… not anymore. So why don’t you take your girlfriend, and walk out of here while you still can.”

That managed to rile Barnes up, who had otherwise been silent the whole time. “What?! Winlock, tell me we don’t have to listen to this shit,” he said angrily.

Winlock’s attitude changed from smug to pissed. “Listen up, MacCready,” he said threateningly, “the only reason we haven’t filled your body full of bullets is that we don’t want a war with Goodneighbor. See, we respect other people’s boundaries… we know how to play the game. It’s something you never learned.”

“Glad to have disappointed you,” MacCready said sarcastically.

Winlock scoffed, “You can play the tough guy all you want. But if we hear you’re still operating in Gunner territory all bets are off.”

“You finished?”

“Yeah… we’re finished. Come on, Barnes.”

As they left the room the girl, who MacCready had almost forgotten about, watched them warily. MacCready eyed her. Although she was not wearing the trademark jumpsuit, everything about her screamed vault dweller. From the nervous look on her face to the pip-boy strapped to her arm. From what he could see she lacked any real scars, and the damage she had was recent. She was also paler than almost anyone he had ever seen showing a lack of sun exposure. Her chin length red hair was neater than the average wastelander. Although her short height did not help her look older, she had to be somewhere around his own age, making her lack of scars all the more telling. He wondered what could drive her from her vault to look for help in a bar. The only one he heard of in the Commonwealth that still had people in it was 81. The vault that apparently had no experiment.

“Look lady,” he said, bringing her attention to him, “if you’re preachin’ about the Atom, or lookin’ for a friend, you’ve got the wrong guy. If you need a hired gun… then maybe we can talk.”

“It’s a good thing I do then… but who were they?”

Her voice caught him off guard. It was far lower and slightly raspier than he had been expecting, and even more shocking to him, it practically oozed confidence.

“Just some moron Gunners. Idiots couldn’t hit a squirrel with a rocket launcher. Nothin’ you need to worry about. What about you? How do I know takin’ your offer won’t come back to bite me?”

She did not answer his question. Instead she asked, “Do you take long term jobs?”

The longer she stood there the more intrigued he became. What the hell is she planning? He replied, “Depends. How long the job is, compensation, and what the job is all matter.” He tried to not be too picky about jobs, but some were not worth it. Especially the longer ones.

She nodded, “I… I lead a rather dangerous life. I need someone who can watch my back, and is willing to go take down raiders, Gunners, and anything else I’m sent to take care of. I’m also… I guess you could say new to the area, so I don’t really know my way around.”

Although it was nice to know what he was going to have to do, her description of the job just raised more questions. Was she also a mercenary? Who was sending her to do this stuff? Who was she?

She continued, “As for compensation… I’ll pay for all your ammo, food, water, alcohol when clean water isn’t available, and medical supplies. Any loot we find and payment we receive will be split equally. Along with any initial payment you request.”

The more she talked the more confused he became. So far it was a hell of an offer, but he wanted to know why she wanted his help so badly. The way she spoke also confused him. The way she worded things made her sound like some pre-war holotapes he had found once.

“As for time… I don’t know how long the job will last, just that it will be a long time. You can leave whenever you want though,” she finished.

This was probably the best offer he had ever gotten. He normally did not try to care about the boss’s personal life or who they were, as long as they were not a raider boss. He had some standards. This girl though was just so damn enigmatic, too much for his liking.

“That’s a heck of an offer, but I’ve gotta make sure it’s not too good to be true, so I’ve gotta ask. Who are you exactly?”

Her back straightened, shoulders went back, and she held her a head a little higher. A pose of confidence. “Claudia Flynn. General of the Minutemen… and survivor of Vault 111.”

He had assumed she was a vault dweller from the get go, so that did not surprise him. He did not recognize the number, though, which concerned him a little if he was being honest. Dwellers could be down right insane at times. He decided not to ask about it. Instead he focused on the fact that she claimed to be the general of the Minutemen.

“Minutemen? I thought you guys were destroyed in Quincy.”

“We’re rebuilding,” she said simply.

“But what’s the general doin’ hiring a merc?”

“There aren’t very many of us right now, and I want to help as much as possible, but I’m sure you know it isn’t exactly safe to travel alone. I will also have to… deal with more… personal matters. I don’t want to use Minutemen resources where they aren’t needed. Especially now,” she explained.

That was the first time she had said something that actually answered more questions than created them, although the "personal matters" were cause for some. He mulled over all the information or a moment. He'd taken far, far worse jobs. He’d be crazy to not act on the offer, even if it meant being more altruistic than he was used to. If she wanted to spend all her caps on him, who was he to say no? Besides if she really was the general of the Minutemen it would be a great way to get back at the Gunners for harassing him so damn much. And maybe, just maybe he could get her to…. He cleared the thought from his head before it gave him too much hope.

“Alright, hotshot. Sounds like a good deal, so if you pay the hiring price, you’ve got a new gun on your side.”

“How much?”

“Two-hundred fifty caps. No room for bargainin’.”

“Fair enough,” she said before setting her pack down on one of the ratty couches. She produced three leather pouches, two larger and one smaller. As she handed them over she said, “One hundred each in the bigger ones. Fifty in the smaller one.”

He held the bags in his hands for a moment, and looked at her before saying, “You just bought yourself an extra gun. Where to first boss?”

She started fiddling with her pip-boy before she said anything. He had always wondered just how useful those things were. She held out her arm when she was done, so he could see the map depicted on the small screen.

“We need to get to here,” she said, indicating the marker on the coast, “Can you get us there?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Alright,” she said. A look of determination and confidence took over her face. “Is there a hotel or something here? We should rest before we head out.”

He was taken aback by her liberal uses of "we" and "us." Usually there was a strict dichotomy of "you" and "me." Maybe it was just the Minuteman in her.

“There’s the Hotel Rexford. Not great, but it beats sleeping on the street by a long shot.”

“Then we’ll stay there for the night, and head out in the morning.”

“Whatever you say boss,” he said. He tried to hide his excitement, but it had been a while since he had slept somewhere other than the back room of the Third Rail for a while. He was eager to see his new boss act on her promise of free boarding.

***

The next morning he met his boss in the lobby of the hotel. She had paid for two separate rooms, allowing him to have more privacy than he had had in a while. He used it to sleep as peacefully as one could in Goodneighbor.

He walked up to her as she messed with her pip-boy. Now that he could see her in proper lighting, instead of the neon red at the bar, it was even more apparent she was not some random wastelander. Her face, neck and hands had minimal grime on them. She had a few blemishes here and there, but they were hardly noticeable. She lacked the gauntness and weariness that everyone seemed to have. She was so focused on what she was doing that she did not seem to notice him until he said something.

“Boss,” he greeted.

“Hm? Oh MacCready!” she said, finally looking up from her arm.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about me,” he joked. Well, he hoped it came across a joke. When it came down to it he did not care whether his bosses liked him or not, but it certainly did not hurt if they did.

Luckily for him, she smiled. He tried not to stare, but he could not help it. They were not perfect by any means, but she had the straightest, whitest teeth he had ever seen.

He knew that vaults could be some of the most terrifying places in the world. Having grown up just outside of Vault 87 solidified that knowledge. But he wondered what could have driven her away from her own. She looked healthier than anyone he had seen, so there must have been some sort of luxury there.

Her voice shook him from his thoughts, “Ready to go?”

“Whenever you are, boss.”

As they made their way through Goodneighbor she asked, “Do you want to stock up on anything before we leave?”

He did not hesitate to take her up on her offer. "Could always use more ammo."

"Anything else?" she asked, friendlier than he was used to and that he liked.

Must be the first time she's ever hired a merc, he thought to himself. Her friendliness was better than the way he has been treated by other people, but he had found that when people you did not know well were this nice to you they were up to no good. Then again who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Nothing else that I can get here," he said.

"What kind of ammo do you use?"

".308."

He watched her as she walked up to trade with KL-E-0. The boss had a funny look on her face when she introduced herself. When she was done with the trade she handed him one of the boxes of ammo. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"How many caps do you have?" he half whispered. Bullets were not cheap.

"Doesn't matter. Besides I didn't just pay with caps. Threw some .38s in there too."

He decided not to press the matter further. If she was loaded and knew how to barter, he was not going to complain.

When they finally left Goodneighbor he took point, remembering part of his job was guiding her through the ruins. It felt odd taking point, since he was a sniper. He was used to hanging back, not leading the charge.

It was not long before they encountered a small pack of mongrels. Normally he would just try to skirt around them, not wanting to waste his ammunition on them, but that was not the case this time. His strong suit was long range, but he was still decent in close quarters. The boss on the other hand seemed to have no issue fighting so close. She took them down quickly and easily, despite the frown she wore as she did so. MacCready was not an easy person to impress, but she got pretty damn close.

He led them to the docks. He hated the ocean, but it was safer to travel along the water than to try to navigate the city.

They were quiet as they walked. Realization struck him. He had no idea what they were up to.

“So, why exactly are we heading to South Boston?” he asked. It was common knowledge that there was nothing but trouble there. It did not help that the only settlement that was there had been rumored to be wiped out by institute synths. When it came to threats, he took them very seriously, no matter how far fetched it seemed. He had learned that the hard way.

“I… I didn’t tell you, did I?” She sighed in frustration, seemingly towards herself, “We’re heading to what… my second in command called The Castle. Apparently it used to be the old headquarters. We’re going to take it back.”

He simply nodded. He noticed how her voice kept trailing off, like she was unsure or lost in thought. He tried to not put too much thought into it. It was best to not to get too invested in who the boss was. No matter how interesting a person they seemed to be. All he needed was the basic information to make sure he was not risking too much.

When they got to the end of the dock she stopped, and stared into the distance. She checked her pip-boy, then turned to MacCready, and asked, “Can I borrow your binoculars?”

“Sure, boss,” he said, handing them over.

When she was done she handed them back and pointed towards a squat, grey building, barely visible in the mist. She said, “You see that, in the distance?”

“Yeah,” he said, holding the binoculars up to his own eyes.

“Pretty sure that’s where we need to go,” she said.

They weaved their way through the buildings. Here following the water line would take too much time, and he had heard rumors of ferals infesting the factories in the area. They managed to avoid the raider camps. Their spotlights acted more like beacons, signaling to stay away.

He stopped in his tracks when a horrendous smell hit his nose. It was the smell of decaying flesh that had been sitting in the sun. He signaled to the boss to stop. She gave him a quizzical look as he brought up his rifle. He looked through the scope, and found the source of the smell. Super mutants, and their disgusting bags of meat.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in a low voice.

“Super mutants.”

“What’s a super mutant?”

He turned to look at her like she had just insisted the sky was neon pink. “What the fu- what do you mean, ‘what’s a super mutant?’” he asked. He knew vault dwellers were sheltered, literally, but surely they knew a super mutant was.

“I mean that I don’t know what it is,” she explained.

“How do you not know what they are?”

"No one's told me," she shrugged.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Her friendliness had been one thing, not knowing basic knowledge was another. He began to wonder just how naive she was. He reminded himself of all the benefits of the job before he said anything else.

“They’re big, green, dumb, and ugly. And very dangerous,” he explained he sounded harsher than he had intended, but he did not care at the moment.

“That’s what they’re called?” she gasped.

Ok, so she isn’t totally fucking clueless, he thought. MacCready could be surprisingly patient, he was a sniper after all. The majority of his time spent sniping was waiting. But he had very little patience when it came to a lack of basic knowledge. For adults anyhow. He could understand a five-year-old not knowing everything about the wastes, children required patience, but an adult? Even if she was a vault dweller he felt like she should know the very basics. Fuck, am I in for a long ride, he thought.

He looked around them for a route that would not bring them too close to the mutants. He spotted a path that strayed away from them, but would wind up bringing them awfully close to a raider camp. He would rather deal with raiders than mutants any day.

“Follow me,” he whispered, “we’re gonna have to deal with some raiders, but it’ll be an easier fight.”

“Don’t need to convince me,” she said.

Together they quietly made their way closer and closer to the raider camp. It was still early in the day, but the raiders were already drunk and high off their asses. Better for them.

Just as he had suspected they noticed them, but before they could do anything the boss reacted like lightning.

“Cover me!” she ordered over her shoulder. She shot down one raider before she slammed the butt of her gun into the next one’s face. She ducked and dodged the one with a switchblade. The two of them took down the camp in no time. The fight against the mongrels had been one thing, the way she handled the raiders was something else.

He watched her as she patted down their bodies looking for loot. She handed him exactly half of the caps, stimpaks, and radiation medications she found.

“You weren’t fu-kidding about splitting everything equally,” he laughed.

“I mean what I say,” she shrugged, “let’s get going if there’s nothing you want.”

“Let’s get goin’ then, boss,” he said, leading the way.

When they got to the road that led right up to The Castle a man standing outside an old diner on the side called to the boss.

“General Flynn! Over here!” he called.

“Hey, Garvey!” she called back as she walked toward the diner.

Inside they were greeted by three more people. The man who had greeted the boss, Garvey, said, “Everyone’s here, General.”

He fought himself to keep his mouth shut. They were only going to attack this place with six people? Were they joking?

”This is Scott McNiall, Serena Martinelli, and Leon Whittle,” Garvey said introducing them, “Everyone this is General Claudia Flynn, and…”

“This is MacCready, he’s a mercenary I hired along the way. I don’t want to spread resources too thin,” she said.

“I see,” he responded, clearly not particularly happy about the decision, but he did not say anything more about it. Instead he turned around towards the stone building.

“Impressive isn’t it? It’s real name is Fort Independence, but the Minutemen always just called it the Castle. Now you can see why I wanted to take it back.”

“Definitely. For a six hundred year old, Revolutionary era fort, it’s in pretty good shape.”

How does she know what this place is? MacCready thought. He tuned back into the conversation just in time for him to hear the boss decide on a plan.

“Let’s split up and flank them.”

“Alright then. Let’s go. Try not to draw their attention until we’re in position.”

As they took their positions the boss turned to him. She asked, “So, what do you think?”

MacCready raised an eyebrow at her. A boss had never asked what his thoughts were on the job. He usually had to interject if he wanted them to know what he thought. The most anyone ever really asked was if he could do the job.

“Why do you care?”

“Uhh… because you’re a person? A person I’m asking to fight with me?” she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You aren’t asking me to fight, you’re paying me to fight,” he corrected.

“Still a person. And given that we’re going to be traveling together, I need to make sure you’re doing alright. Can’t do your job if you aren’t focused.”

He sighed, “Fine. Even though this place could use some work, it’s a pretty good lookin’ stronghold. Better in the hands of the Minutemen, than raiders or Gunners. Anything else you wanted?”

He winced internally. He had not meant to sound that harsh.

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head with an incredulous smile. He was surprised that she took it so well.

They settled into their positions. MacCready, the boss, and Garvey took the main gate, while the other three waited for a signal. Once the fighting began, it did not take very long. Mirelurks had tough shells, but with good enough aim and some distance they were ridiculously easy to take care of. When all that was left in the courtyard was their eggs, the group headed in.

“Ya know, it would have been nice to know how big those things are,” the boss said.

“Crabs weren’t that big?” Garvey asked, a little shocked.

She shook her head no.

Before he could ask what that meant, he changed the subject, “Damn. Looks like they’ve been nesting.”

McNiall chimed in, “‘Lurks like to hide in old buildings. Walls are probably full of ‘em.”

The boss nodded thoughtfully. She looked at the group before turning to MacCready, and asking, “You any good with a pistol?”

“Better with my rifle, but yeah. Why?”

“MacCready, Major Garvey, and I will clear out the walls. The rest of you take care of the nests and any remaining Mirelurks,” she said handing him her pistol. Her orders were met with a chorus of ‘yes ma'ams’.

She took her shotgun from it’s handmade holster on her back, and headed towards the building. The two men followed closely behind. Lucky for them it was mostly softshells and hatchlings inside the walls. They were easier to take down than the average mirelurk. When they reached the old general’s quarters they were not only met with what ended up being a face full of mirelurk slime, but also a missile launcher.

MacCready let out a low wolf whistle as she picked it up.

“Now look at this beauty,” he said.

She looked at Garvey with confusion. “How did they lose this place when they had this thing, and all these missiles?”

“Beats me. Like I said. They lost this place before my time.”

Just then the ground shook with a loud rumbling. The Minutemen outside started yelling.

“The hell…” she wondered out loud.

One of the Minutemen yelled for them to come see whatever was causing the chaos, and the boss took off like a rocket, missile launcher in hand. He and Garvey quickly followed suit. MacCready grabbed some extra missiles before leaving, just to be safe.

Outside they were met by what could only be a mirelurk queen rising out of the water and over the rubble. He had never seen one before, but he had heard about them. It was one of the most terrifying things he had ever seen, and that was saying something. It was only slightly shorter than the intact walls of the fort. It made a god awful clicking noise as acid spewed from its mouth. He was almost completely paralyzed with fear, though he would never admit it.

The boss on the other hand had more resolve. She shouted at everyone to get out of the way as she took aim with the launcher. The first missile did decent damage, it only caused the monster of a creature to recoil. The second missile caused it to go careening back into the water where it came from.

He looked at her in amazement as the others whooped and hollered around them. She stood there with a fire in her eyes as she spoke to them. It took a lot to impress him, but this certainly did the trick. After a show like that he was more willing to put up with her lack of knowledge of the world. Not many people could hold their own in a fight like that, and traveling with someone like that was worth most downsides, even if that downside meant there was a long road ahead.

Chapter 1 Read it on ao3

[rockislandadultreads]

Mysteries & Detective Fiction: recommendations 

Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little

Marissa Dahl, a shy but successful film editor, travels to a small island off the coast of Delaware to work with the legendary--and legendarily demanding--director Tony Rees on a feature film with a familiar logline. Some girl dies. It's not much to go on, but the specifics don't concern Marissa. Whatever the script is, her job is the same. She'll spend her days in the editing room, doing what she does best: turning pictures into stories. But she soon discovers that on this set, nothing is as it's supposed to be--or as it seems. There are rumors of accidents and indiscretions, of burgeoning scandals and perilous schemes. Half the crew has been fired. The other half wants to quit. Even the actors have figured out something is wrong. And no one seems to know what happened to the editor she was hired to replace. Then she meets the intrepid and incorrigible teenage girls who are determined to solve the real-life murder that is the movie's central subject, and before long, Marissa is drawn into the investigation herself. The only problem is, the killer may still be on the loose. And he might not be finished.

The Holdout by Graham Moore

In this twisty tale from Moore (The Sherlockian), the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, young juror Maya Seale is convinced that African American high school teacher Bobby Nock is innocent of killing the wealthy white female student with whom he appears to have been involved and persuades her fellow jurors likewise. Ten years later, a true-crime docuseries reassembles the jurors, and Maya, now a defense attorney, must prove her own innocence when one of them is found dead in Maya's room.

Death in Focus by Anne Perry

In the start of an all-new mystery series set in pre-World War II Europe, an intrepid young photographer carries her dead lover's final, world-shattering message into the heart of Berlin as Hitler ascends to power. On vacation from London on the beautiful Italian coast, twenty-eight-year-old Elena Standish and her older sister, Margot, have finally been able to move on from the lasting trauma of the Great War, in which the newly married Margot lost her husband and the sisters their beloved brother. Touring with her camera in hand, Elena has found new inspiration in the striking Italian landscape, and she's met an equally striking man named Ian. When Ian has to leave unexpectedly, Elena--usually the more practical of the sisters--finds she's not ready to part from him, and the two share a spontaneous train trip home to England. But a shocking sequence of events disrupts their itinerary, forcing Elena to personally deliver a message to Berlin on Ian's behalf, one that could change the fate of Europe. Back home, Elena's diplomat father and her secretive grandfather--once head of MI6, unbeknownst to his family--are involved in their own international machinations. Worried when Elena still hasn't returned from Italy, her grandfather starts to connect the dots between her change in plans and an incident in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich are on the rise. It seems the message Elena delivered has forced her into a dangerous predicament, and her grandfather's old contacts from MI6 may be the only people who can get her out alive--if Elena can tell the difference between her allies and her enemies.

Village of the Lost Girls by Agustín Martínez

A breath-taking missing persons thriller set under the menacing peaks of the Pyrenees

Five years after their disappearance, the village of Monteperdido still mourns the loss of Ana and Lucia, two eleven-year-old friends who left school one afternoon and were never seen again. Now, Ana reappears unexpectedly inside a crashed car, wounded but alive.

The case reopens and a race against time begins to discover who was behind the girls' kidnapping. Most importantly, where is Lucia and is she still alive?

Inspector Sara Campos and her boss Santiago Bain, from Madrid's head office, are forced to work with the local police. Five years ago fatal mistakes were made in the investigation conducted after the girls first vanished, and this mustn't happen again. But Monteperdido has rules of its own.

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

A novel of haunting metaphysical suspense about an elderly widow whose life is upturned when she finds a cryptic note on a walk in the woods that ultimately makes her question everything about her new home. While on her normal daily walk with her dog in the forest woods, our protagonist comes across a note, handwritten and carefully pinned to the ground with a frame of stones. "Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn't me. Here is her dead body". Our narrator is deeply shaken; she has no idea what to make of this. She is new to area, having moved her from her longtime home after the death of her husband, and she knows very few people. And she's a little shaky even on best days. Her brooding about this note quickly grows into a full-blown obsession, and she begins to devote herself to exploring the possibilities of her conjectures about who this woman was and how she met her fate. Her suppositions begin to find echoes in the real world, and with mounting excitement and dread, the fog of mystery starts to form into a concrete and menacing shape. But as we follow her in her investigation, strange dissonances start to accrue, and our faith in her grip on reality weakens, until finally, just as she seems be facing some of the darkness in her own past with her late husband, we are forced to face the prospect that there is either a more innocent explanation for all this or a much more sinister one - one that strikes closer to home.

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

A murder mystery set against the backdrop of an exclusive prep school on Long Island. In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems. Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on. Now, it's Jill's senior year and she's determined to make it her best yet. After all, she's a senior and a Player--a member of Gold Coast Prep's exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. Senior Players have the best parties, highest grades and the admiration of the entire school. This is going to be Jill's year. She's sure of it. But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham's innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn't kill Shaila, who did? Jill is vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

[mysmashplaythroughs]

Earthbound Playthrough

Fighter: Ness

Game: Earthbound, Wii U virtual console (SNES). First Released on August 27th 1994.

Fighter Bio.

A young boy living in Onett, a town in Eagleland, Ness is awoken one night following a meteorite crashing into a hilltop near his home. Ness and his neighbours eventually go to see the meteorite and it is there they meet Buzz Buzz, a small insect-like being who tells Ness that he is from 10 years in the future and has seen what will happen if he does not stop Giygas, an alien being. Buzz Buzz tells Ness that he is one of four destined to defeat Giygas and that they are the only ones who can. Following this Ness sets off on an adventure, meeting other members of the chosen four who help him to take on Giygas’s forces. Ness is a fairly strong physical fighter, with his weapons of choice being various baseball bats and sometimes Yo-yos. He also however has abilities he uses with PSI, although unlike his two other friends who also use PSI, his tend to be more focused on healing and lowering enemies defence and attack as well as raising those of his party.

Ness is once again a silent protagonist similar to many other Nintendo series protagonists and as such there isn’t much revealed of his personality. He seems to be a fan of baseball given his propensity to use bats as well as him wearing a Baseball Cap. Ness also has Steak as his favourite food which his Mother cooks for him when he visits home whilst on his adventure. Ness along with the other party members in the game can be named whatever the player wishes, however his default and therefore often considered ‘canon’ name is Ness. Similarly the player can choose his favourite food which by default is steak. Ness looks very similar to the player character of the first game in the series, Mother (localised many years later as Earthbound Beginnings) who’s default name is Ninten which was intentional as the creator Shigesato Itoi wished to allow the player to decide on whether they were the same character or not. For this blog and my own personal playthroughs, I will interpret them as separate characters, however there is no set canon regarding this.

Ness’s family consists of his Mother, Sister, Father and pet dog. Ness is close with his Mother, to the point that if he travels for too long without speaking to her he will get homesick, a condition that makes him sometimes miss turns in battle because he’s busy thinking of home and his favourite food. Homesickness is cured by either speaking to his Mother in person, or speaking to her over the phone. Ness’s Sister, Tracy can also be spoken to on the phone and during Earthbound she gets a job working for Excargo Express, a company that provides storage for items. By phoning his Sister, Ness can ask for someone from the company to be sent to him so he can give them items to store or to deliver items to him. Ness can also use this service when speaking to Tracy in person, with her giving and accepting items from Ness directly. Tracy and Ness’s Mother both can be found at Ness’s home in Onett, however his Father is constantly working and therefore never home. He can be called as well as call Ness on the phone however with him saving the game for the player when called and telling the party how much Exp they need to reach their next level. Ness’s Father will call Ness if the player has not saved for a long time in order to remind them to do so. Ness’s Father is never seen in person throughout the game, to the point that his representation in the credits role call is simply Ness’s home phone. The final member of Ness’s family is his dog King, who is the only non-playable character who can be named by the player, with King being the default. King is an optional party member at the start of the game who will reluctantly travel with the player to the meteor, helping out in battle with the occasional attack. When approaching the meteor however, he will get scared and run home. Following this King will remain at home for the rest of the game refusing to move.

Friends: On his journey, Ness meets with many characters, with the other three members of the chosen four being his closest companions, Paula, Jeff and Poo. Ness first meets Paula helping her escape from the Happy Happyism Cult who under the influence of Giygas have kidnapped her. Paula is much better at offensive PSI than Ness with his moves in Super Smash Bros actually mostly being ones Paula uses in Earthbound. Jeff, the only member of the group unable to use PSI is at a boarding school when he receives a psychic message from Paula asking him to help her and Ness who are trapped. Jeff sets off and eventually meets Ness and Paula when he arrives to help them escape from a dungeon. Finally, Poo is the prince of Dalaam who has trained for many years to strengthen his PSI. With his training complete Poo learns how to teleport and travels to meet the others knowing he is destined to fight alongside them. Poo later leaves the party for some time to learn a new attack, PSI Starstorm which is another attack Ness later uses in Super Smash Bros before returning to them after being successful.

There are many other characters Ness and his friends help during his journey and many who help them in return. Of those closest to Ness specifically, Buzz Buzz is a character only met by Ness and his neighbours Pokey and Picky Minch before he reaches his unfortunate end. The Runaway Five meet with Ness and his friends a couple of times through the game, and thanks to Ness helping them settle their debts they help out with their van and later on in a difficult battle. Apple Kid is an inventor who will provide Ness with inventions provided he funds his research. These inventions are vital to proceeding and later on Apple Kid assists in the final part of the game along with another important character, Dr. Andonuts. Dr. Andonuts is Jeff’s Father whom he has a strained relationship with, he provides Jeff and later his friends help with various inventions during the game. Finally of note is that when Ness visits Magicant he can gain temporary party members known as Flying Man. There are five of these who will join Ness when asked and when defeated will be lost for the rest of the game, with gravestones representing them outside of their home. The gravestones refer to the Flying Men as Ness’s Courage, although with each one the Tombstone’s become more and more vague until the last one chastises Ness and by extension the player for taking them for granted calling it “The Final Flying Man”.

Enemies/Rivals: Pokey Minch is Ness’s next-door Neighbour, known for being a bratty troublemaker, he doesn’t really have many friends only really having Ness to play with growing up as they’re neighbours. As the game goes on Pokey seems to get more and more corrupted by Giygas, although it is arguable that in fact Pokey’s true colours simply start to shine through once he manages to get Giygas’s power. Due to Ness’s status as a mostly silent protagonist and Pokey being quite erratic in his actions it’s debatable how much they are true enemies and how much Pokey has simply been twisted, with him often showing hints of still wishing to be friends with Ness, but showing it in twisted ways such as having to one-up him constantly. The rest of Pokey’s family aren’t on very good terms with Ness’s family, with Pokey’s Father constantly insisting Ness’s Father borrowed a large sum of money from him, although he then admits it might not have been as much as he said it is. He later assists Pokey in a scheme in the city of Fourside, however he ends up being more of a bit player and after Pokey’s plans in Fourside fail he leaves his Father washed up and wallowing in a bar. There are other characters Ness fights with some either testing him such as Captain Strong and others such as Frank being a gang leader who surrenders once Ness beats him.

Every other enemy pretty much is influenced by Ness’s true enemy Giygas, an invader from another world. Giygas was once a physical being, but eventually he gained such power he seemed to lose his physical form as well as his mind becoming bent purely on ending all existence. He still seems to be aware enough that when he learns during his invasion of earth 10 years in the future from the apple of enlightenment that Ness was destined to defeat him he goes back in time to defeat Ness knowing he could stop him, which shows he at least has enough thought to put a plan in motion. Beyond that, simply his presence is enough to cause all sorts of creatures and some people to seek to destroy Ness and his friends. Various agents of his such as the Starmen as well as objects such as the Mani Mani statue are his most direct forms of influence, with the Mani Mani statue managing to influence various figures such as the leader of the Happy Happy Cult into doing their will or just acting dangerously.

Crossovers with other Smash characters: Earthbound tends to fairly rarely actually make easter egg appearances or cameos in other games and as such Ness has had very little crossover with other characters outside of Super Smash Bros. One notable one is he makes a cameo in the sequel to his game, Mother 3 which stars Lucas, however I will detail that more in the post for Lucas. Beyond this, the only other real crossover for Ness is that Kirby has a power in Kirby Planet Robobot called ESP where he has a similar (although blue rather than red) baseball cap to Ness, and the description in-game mentions the powers being “just like a certain boy with PSI” being a clear reference to Ness. Ness himself does not appear however.

Why this game?

This is a very very simple one, it’s the only game Ness is in. There are other games in the Mother series, one of which stars a character who will have a post further down the line, however this is the only game in the Mother series that stars Ness, so it’s the obvious choice.

My past with this game.

So, my history with Earthbound is quite different to a lot of accounts I tend to read and that’s down to one big reason, Earthbound wasn’t released in Europe. Due to this, my first exposure to Earthbound, or rather Ness specifically was in Super Smash Bros on the N64. Back when I was in school, I remember another kid who would often make up the usual ‘rumours’ regarding games at the time, such as how to find Mew under the truck or how he had 50 Charizard cards at home, or how to get Luigi in Super Mario 64. One day, he told me about a secret character in Super Smash Bros. He said this character was a weird one as it was like Baby Mario. He told me I think how to unlock him and being naïve I gave it a shot, only this time it turned out to be somewhat real. I got this character with a red cap who was a kid, so I was completely confused as to who this was. I thought it must have been Kid Mario, an older Baby Mario for some reason. I forget now how long it was following this I started looking more into Ness and realising he wasn’t related to Mario but was from another game entirely with the most obvious sign being when I read his bio in-game. Although it was rather vague, it stated Ness had Psychic powers. At the time, my first time really hearing of Psychic powers was from Pokemon, so because of that I started associating Ness with Pokemon since he was somewhat similar to a typical Pokemon Trainer, with a cap and bag. Yeah, back then I’d muddle all sorts of different things into being connected in my head.

It was probably in Super Smash Bros Melee where I first started to learn a lot more about Ness, partially thanks to all the info contained in the various trophies, but also due to other factors such as being older and able to comprehend more, and the biggest factor, the internet. Super Smash Bros Melee was when I was able to first start looking for information on games from something other than Magazines. There were not many websites at the time I knew to look at however, Wikipedia wasn’t really that well known, at least to me back then and so most of the time I would learn information from fansites. Probably one of the biggest influences to me when it comes to a lot of my interest in Super Smash Bros was a site known as Detstar, which is only really viewable through the wayback machine now. It covered a lot of aspects of Melee, from the more basic things such as characters, moves, items and stages, to the parts that I had more interest in, “Cool Stuff” and “Misc”. “Cool Stuff” covered all sorts of things, from Trophies to Easter Eggs in the game whilst “Misc” is the more important section to this article. Under this section were various things, from the fake Sonic & Tails as well as the Toad Rumours, to Beta elements, and then a few things covering some of the more obscure games represented in Melee, Dr. Mario, Ice Climber and finally “Ness & Earthbound.” (No Fire Emblem however, which I’ll cover more in detail when I get to them.) This was probably where I first really learnt about Earthbound, seeing screenshots of the game as well as some information on the very basic plot outline. Needless to say, at the time, as someone who at most had played Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario and Pokemon when it came to RPGs, my imagination ran wild about this game. These few images looked so unique to other games I’d played then and there was so little info really looking back at it that I really wanted to know more, it helped that I was really into Pokemon at the time, regarding which the site itself said “So if you’re looking for someone or something to blame for Pokemon, blame Earthbound” (Sidenote: It’s funny how for a fair amount of time in my childhood, Pokemon was seen a lot in the same way Fortnite and FNAF tend to be, with a lot of ‘true gamers’ then seeing it as a plague on gaming. Detstar I don’t think really went that way so much, more he was just acknowledging it being a common view at the time, although I could be wrong.) So the appeal for the game was more there for me than it might have been earlier in my life. I would advise if anyone does want to look into the site, remember it’s an old internet fansite written by someone who I think pretty much dropped out of the gaming scene years ago, so it definitely has a lot of quirks typical of fansites at that time, just so you know what you’re getting into.

Next up for my exposure to Earthbound was another old internet site I spent a lot of time on back then (and another probably best not viewed by kids) Newgrounds. On there, there were a lot of parody videos, with a lot of my favourites being pixel animations. Naturally, there were plenty of Earthbound ones, with probably the one that sticks out most in my mind being one of the ever popular “outtakes/bloopers” videos, something practically every gaming franchise on there probably has had by this point. Still, with this outtake video I got a look at other scenarios that were in the game, although often pretty different to how they were in the actual game and without context for me, someone who hasn’t played the game, still it was probably another way I learnt more of the game and got to see the sprites in motion rather than just screenshots. Following this my memory is somewhat messy, Super Smash Bros Brawl was announced and I really started following online speculation at this time, learning of Mother 3 and most importantly getting a lot more info on the game. Youtube was starting to get popular providing me with a fair few videos of the game itself. Gradually, I came across Lets Plays watching a few of other games, and finally watching Chuggaaconroy’s Lets Play of Earthbound. It was through this I admittedly saw the game all the way through for the first time so yes, I never played it blind. Following this, I did get a chance to play the game, although not in a method I particularly liked and I was hoping that one day it would finally come to the Wii Virtual Console. In this playthrough, as with a lot of RPGs I’d tried at this point, I made it to a certain boss (the rematch with Master Belch) and got stuck, eventually just playing other games instead.

Now, before I get onto the final part of my history with the franchise, there is a fairly notable omission here when it comes to websites with information. Starmen.net is the biggest and most influential English language website when it comes to the Mother series to my knowledge. It is a fantastic resource and has a very devoted community who have been involved in covering a lot of the series for those outside of Japan, compiling a lot of information and very vocally campaigning for the series to see releases outside of Japan. Many people who are longtime Mother series fans tend to have links to the site such as the aforementioned Chuggaaconroy and as such I feel it is important I mention it. Whilst I did read a lot of things on the site, and for a time I remember religiously checking out the fanart on there, I’ll admit I didn’t personally get that involved with the site, however I feel it is too important to not mention. This links nicely into the final part really of my history with Earthbound, in 2013 after so long waiting it was finally announced that Earthbound would see a worldwide release on the Wii U Virtual Console, finally coming to Europe. Satoru Iwata stated this was down to the many requests on Miiverse I believe, however I’m sure that the vocal fanbases such as Starmen.net were a very big part of this too. Sadly, the same hasn’t happened for Mother 3 yet, we can only hope for that one day, but for me, I was glad I was finally getting to officially own Earthbound after so long. So, I excitedly started, played through and beat the game, right? No… I got stuck at a boss and started playing other games again. I know, I’m a failure of a gamer.

My Smash Playthrough.

When it comes to big games on my list, this really was probably the biggest game I knew I needed to beat. When it comes to replaying these games, and they’re ones where I specifically have started them multiple times, I like to where possible pick up my old save file and continue on rather than start from scratch again. With the long list I have with many RPGs and other long games, restarting every single one from scratch can admittedly hit my motivation somewhat. Earthbound is an amazing game and a lot of fun, however I wanted to finally get to new parts I hadn’t played before. Luckily, my save file actually had everything I wanted in my playthrough, as in the correct names for the characters and the items I wanted, so this was one of the easier games to simply continue from where I’d left off. The screenshot above is from a Miiverse post I made at the time, in it I said that I was finally “Further than I've got before.” I don’t necessarily remember most moments of my playthroughs now, but this one was very important to me. Super Metroid was a big game sure, but it was one I’d had easy access to really whenever I wanted. Earthbound however, this was a game I’d managed to have a lot of history with despite not being able to play it for the majority of my life, so to finally be at this moment, knowing I’d made it past where I was stuck and was going to beat the game was a huge deal to me. Honestly, thinking on it now, it might be one of my biggest gaming memories. Still, I don’t want to go too overboard here, needless to say though, I’m glad I was able to get that screenshot of seeing for myself in-game a moment I’d only seen in screenshots and other people’s playthroughs beforehand.

There were a fair few difficult spots for me following this however, areas where I found enemies tough and a few bosses gave me trouble. Earthbound definitely isn’t a hard game, but I’ve never been great at RPGs and this was at the start of my Smash Playthroughs, the idea of playing a Dragon Quest game for example would have been a pretty out there concept to me then. Areas that stand out in my mind include Stonehenge base, and an occurrence in an earlier area which takes place towards the end of the game involving very difficult enemies appearing there (which happens to be a point of no return I wasn’t prepared for, meaning a very important area was lost to me somewhat on this save file) Funnily enough, Master Belch’s rematch which had stopped me in my tracks both times I’d played before, was one of the boss fights I probably had the least trouble with, partially as I was aware of a trick with him, but even without that I’d managed to get to a level where he wasn’t really a problem, which was very satisfying. Many of the bosses could be challenging, but I don’t remember any of them being very large roadblocks to me, it helps that at this point I had gained somewhat more experience with RPGs and learnt a lot more about how Earthbound’s battle system worked than I had before, meaning I had more of an understanding of what I was doing.

The final boss is an experience I honestly don’t want to spoil. I know I’ve spoilt a lot here, but this final boss is one of the most notable in Nintendo and perhaps RPG history, one which I think it’s really best to experience yourself. I will however, spoil something unique in the ending of this game, so I guess skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to hear it. This game has an epilogue where essentially you can walk around the whole world of the game with all the enemies gone and practically every single NPC will have a new line of dialogue. All sorts of NPCs, even the most minor will somewhat conclude various small events from the game, really there’s far too many to mention, but every location is open to you to revisit at your own pace in order to see what’s changed now the world is saved. It’s something I don’t think many other games have really done, granted there are those with a post-game, but it’s a pretty unique experience overall and is just another reason this game is so beloved in my opinion. Of course, you’re entirely free to just go to the ending and ignore what anyone else has to say, it’s all up to you.

The music is great, with quite a variety of themes and some very psychedelic sounding songs, especially for the battles which matches up with the swirling backgrounds very well. The dialogue is easily one of the strongest points of the game, with almost every NPC being worth talking to as there’s often so many funny things to be heard, with many wacky scenarios such as a club where philosophical patrons gather to essentially stare at a rock and drink overpriced water. The setting of the game being in a modern world also helps it stand out from a lot of RPGs at the time. Returning to Dragon Quest which I mentioned earlier, I didn’t know back then but a lot of influence was drawn from that series when it comes to how the Mother series plays, with a menu being used to choose which options to do such as check what’s in front of you or talk to what’s in front of you. There is a button which will also do the job without having to bring up the menu however, which means Earthbound isn’t as closely linked to the style as its predecessor was, but it’s still there at any rate. Finally, and this is just a personal note, but I love a lot of the little features in the game that add to it’s charm, things like being able to order a pizza and the pizza being an item that can heal the whole party (since they share it) and being able to get a delivery guy to come out and take items from you to store them, or getting on the bus to travel from one town to the next. This is definitely a personal preference thing, but I still wanted to include it.

Overall, even today I would say Earthbound is a game worth checking out. Its uniqueness manages to let it remain an experience that still holds up and isn’t necessarily hampered by any huge aspects of gaming back then that would perhaps make me feel the need to warn about when recommending, with only a few minor things such as inventory management really sticking out in my mind. If you want any further evidence, Earthbound’s legacy really speaks for itself, with it’s influence definitely being present in a fair few notable series following it, probably the biggest of which being Pokemon (I believe having a crossover of some staff but I’m really not sure of specifics there) and a fair few games in the indie scene, most notably Undertale. Honestly, I keep thinking of pretty big aspects of the game that I haven’t even mentioned, like Mr. Saturns, but I feel at this point I’ve gone over most of what I really should, and Mr. Saturn will be mentioned again much further down the line.

Specific aspects about the game relating to Ness in Smash.

So, when it comes to Ness in Super Smash Bros, this is the first example on my list of something that’s really optional and just me going somewhat obsessively overboard really. Before I get onto that point however, regarding Ness’s attacks, as stated earlier, PK Fire, PK Thunder, PSI Magnet and PK Starstorm are not attacks Ness learns in the game, with them instead being used by either Paula or Poo. In Super Smash Bros Brawl I believe this is explained in a trophy as Ness being taught how to use these moves by Paula and Poo, but that’s really all that can be said regarding those attacks. PK Flash is the only PSI attack that Ness can use in the game but its function is somewhat different than in Super Smash Bros. It can cause various status effects on the enemy (depending on which version of it is used) such as causing them to cry (lowering their accuracy) feel strange, get paralysed or the most notable effect, being defeated instantly. This last effect is perhaps the closest to its use in Super Smash Bros, as it is a fairly difficult to pull off move but when it does connect can cause a lot of knockback making it pretty close to an instant KO providing some damage has been done to an opponent. The final of Ness’s PSI abilities is one that’s not really used in battle, but is part of his entrance in Super Smash Bros, being Teleport. In Earthbound, one form of Teleport requires Ness and his friends to run forwards gathering speed until they warp away, arriving at another location. If they collide with any solid objects whilst building speed, Ness and his friends will stop in their tracks and be completely covered in soot from the resulting energy backfire. In Super Smash Bros, Ness will arrive to a battle in a similar way to having just arrived in a new location through Teleport, however he will also briefly be covered in soot, similar to if he crashes into something whilst trying to build up speed.

Ness also fights with a baseball bat and a Yo-yo in Super Smash Bros. The baseball bat is not specifically based on any bat from Earthbound with the only notable thing about it being “Nett Sports” written on it. Ness’s Yo-yo similarly is not based on a specific one from the game with the main notable aspect of it being the word “Mother” on it when zoomed in close. Weapons are not physically seen in Earthbound, with battles being from a first person perspective. Similarly various clothes do not change characters appearances, with Ness always looking the same throughout the game barring specific events such as the start of the game where he wears Pyjamas. Where my obsessive methods come in are that in cases like this, I tend to like to try to work out what would be the closest equipment in my opinion to how it looks in the character’s portrayal in Super Smash Bros. So really, for this next part you can completely ignore this as it’s not anything concrete and purely my speculation. For the baseball bat I feel there are two candidates. The Ultimate Bat is the most straightforward, since what little artwork there is of the bats shows it as looking still like a fairly standard wooden baseball bat, similar to the one used in Smash. The only other candidate however, is the Tee ball bat, the reason being that this bat is sold in Onett, and the “Nett Sports” written on the bat would imply that specific bat has a connection to Onett. Still, I went with the Ultimate Bat mostly as the Tee Ball bat is the second weakest in the game. Of the Yo-yos, my first choice simply because Ness fights with it and it looks flashy was the Combat Yo-yo, the strongest yo-yo in the game. However, based on what little artwork there is, it seems this yo-yo actually has spikes on it, a feature not on the one in Smash, so therefore probably the other best choice would be the Trick yo-yo, again because it looks fairly flashy with the yellow lightning looking patterns in Smash. Finally, when it comes to equipment, probably the only real choice I felt for Ness is the Mr. Baseball Cap. This hat is a gift to Ness from a character in Onett, and the other choices such as the Holmes hat and Hard Hat definitely don’t fit the way Ness’s hat in artwork and Smash looks. There is a standard Baseball Cap available in the store in Onett, however the Mr. Baseball Cap still feels more fitting and specific to Ness overall in my opinion.

Credits.

For information on this game including dates of releases I must give credit to Wikibound Wiki.

The screenshots in this post are taken by me using Miiverse before it shut down.

[wistfulcynic]

Drink the Wild Air

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to @thisonesatellite​!!!!!!!

The other half of my brain, yin to my yang, Wash to my Mal, chili to my chocolate. Milkman who delivers my spiritual milk (TOO MUCH???? TOO BAD). I wish I had better words to express how much you mean to me, but on the other hand I don’t need them because YOU ALREADY KNOW ❤️❤️❤️❤️

(Are you blaughing yet??)

ANYWAY in honour of this MOMENTOUS occasion, I have written you a little story. In which princesses are kidnapped (OR ARE THEY), sea battles are fought, SWASH is BUCKLED and CASTLES are STORMED. 

(of course, when I say “have written” I mean there are four-ish chapters. Out of nine. Maximum. SHUT UP YOU KNOW WHAT I’M LIKE)

Many thanks to the brilliant @ohmightydevviepuu​ and the wonderful @katie-dub​ for helping me knock this into something readable.  Also: @darkcolinodonorgasm​ @kmomof4​ @teamhook​ @stahlop​ @mariakov81​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @shireness-says​ @snidgetsafan​

(please do say if you would like a tag or if you would like not a tag)

(Also on AO3) 

TO START OFF we have THE MEETING. 

PART THE FIRST: THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE

Once upon a time there was a princess. 

A beautiful one, to be sure, as princesses in stories such as this are wont to be, but beautiful was far from the only thing that might be said of her. Born of a union of fabled True Love and raised by parents who valued her far too highly to spoil her, she grew up to be daring and kind, brave and witty, and curious to a fault.

She was also stubborn, and stubbornly independent, insisting on leading her own life in her own way and choosing for herself the partner to accompany her along the path of it. She would not, she declared, accept a political marriage; she would have a love like her parents’ or none at all. Suitor after suitor tried to woo her, princes and dukes and sultans from far-off lands, and suitor after suitor she rejected. None could tempt her, for all wished to put her on display and indulge her like a pretty pet, and the restless princess would quite sincerely choose death over such a life. In desperation the king and queen sent her far into the north, to the frozen kingdom of Arendelle, their ancient ally, in hopes it might appease her longing for adventure and return her home in a different frame of mind. 

The princess greatly enjoyed her trip; she liked the queen of Arendelle and its princess, and the magnificence of their icy land. In the six months of her stay she had many enjoyable adventures and met many interesting people. She did not, much to her parents’ dismay, fall in love. 

On the day she was set to embark upon her return to her own kingdom, a man presented himself at the gates of the palace. A remarkably handsome man, with dark hair made carefully untidy and bright blue eyes lined in black. His speech and dress were perfectly proper and his manner charming but the princess was not easily deceived, and she saw as the others did not a hardness in the twinkle of his eyes and a cunning beneath his charm. 

He had come to deliver a message to the queen, the man informed them, placing a wax-sealed envelope on the footman’s silver tray with a flourish and an elegant bow. As he turned to take his leave his gaze caught the princess’s and held it, brazenly, for a brief and endless moment broken only when he shot her a wink that brought a scowl to her face and sealed her decision. He was not to be trusted, and she intended to uncover his game. 

She trailed him with ease as he strolled casually, almost ostentatiously through the broad and snowy streets, until she blinked for a heartbeat too long and he was gone. The princess was thunderstruck, cursing under her breath as she spun in a circle, eyes darting about, seeking any glimpse of him. 

“Looking for someone, Your Highness?” murmured a deep voice in her ear, and she turned to see him smirking at her in a much less charming way than he had in the throne room. 

“You!” she gasped, and cursed herself for inanity.

“Aye.” His smirk deepened. “I suspect you may have been seeking me.” 

“I wasn’t! I just—” 

“Didn’t trust me,” he interjected, with a hint of bitterness that took her by surprise. “Very wise, Princess. I am not a trustworthy man.” 

“And why would you admit that to me?” 

“Because I have no quarrel with this kingdom and I don’t wish for any trouble. It’s true I have been known to lie and cheat and even plunder when circumstances demand it, but I have no nefarious intentions here. I merely wish to board my ship and be on my way.” He indicated a vessel docked in the nearby harbour, a tall and distinguished one, adorned with stripes of yellow and flying a crimson flag. 

“A pirate ship!” she gasped. 

“Privateer, darling, in this land at least. And I prefer to keep it that way, if you don’t mind.” 

“But if you’re a pi— a privateer, then why were you delivering a message to the queen?” 

“Because I was paid well to do so.” 

“By whom?” 

“I find it’s best not to inquire. Now is your curiosity satisfied or do you intend to follow me aboard my ship as well? A beautiful woman such as yourself would be most welcome.” He cocked an eyebrow, licking his lower lip as his heavy-lidded gaze travelled slowly down her face, landing on the open neckline of her gown with such blatantly lecherous intent that the princess could not suppress a burst of laughter. 

“Are you trying to intimidate me?” she chuckled. 

His thick brows snapped together and he sputtered in indignation, but her bright laugh proved infectious and he was a man with a keen eye for irony. “Aye,” he replied, chuckling himself. “Without success, it would seem.” 

He looked at her as he spoke the words, truly looked at her as he hadn’t before, his blue eyes alight with a genuine interest and a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and the princess felt a fluttering in her belly that was wholly new to her. “You’re a tough lass,” he observed, and his voice held only admiration.  

The princess felt off-balance, unsteady, as though her blood were moving too quickly through her veins, and she did not care for it. She stepped back, gesturing at the street that led to his ship. “Take your leave, then, sir,” she said.  

“Captain,” he informed her, closing the distance she’d put between them and taking her hand. “Captain Killian Jones, of the Jolly Roger.” 

“Emma,” replied the princess, before she could stop herself. “Princess Emma of Misthaven.” 

“Misthaven,” murmured Captain Jones. “Lovely.” He performed a gracious bow over Emma’s hand, brushing his lips across the back of it. They were warm and soft and Emma gasped as the flutter in her belly grew stronger. He looked up at the soft sound and their gazes collided over the top of her hand with a crackle like lighting though a summer sky. Every emotion thrumming through her in that moment she saw reflected in his eyes: attraction, excitement, confusion, apprehension, just a hint of fear. The cheeky pirate and the haughty princess were gone and they lay bare to each other’s sight, just for the space of a heartbeat. 

Then he released her hand and turned away, disappearing into the crowd. Moments later she saw him boarding his ship, pausing just at the top of the gangplank as though he might turn back to look at her… she held her breath… he squared his shoulders and strode onto the deck and she could see him no more. Emma turned away herself and walked slowly back to the palace, feeling shaken and oddly empty. Of course, she thought, of course it would happen that after five years and dozens of suitors she had finally met the man whose touch made her heart beat faster, and he was a pirate she would never see again. 

~

Because once upon a time there was a pirate. A good man with a bad temper, who had done things in the heat of his anger that could not be undone once it had cooled, and allowed their consequences to embitter and harden him. A resourceful man and a clever one, he worked his way up from nothing only to throw his life away for love of his brother, squandering his talents in revenge and rum until the day a pair of green eyes looked at him as none had ever done before and set his feet upon a different path. 

A great one for brooding, he took to his cabin with his flask and his thoughts, golden hair and silken skin prominent among them. The most intriguing woman he’d ever met, he thought with a scowl, and she was a bloody princess, as untouchable as the stars themselves and surely someone he would never see again.  

He sailed his ship into open waters looking for a fight, an enemy vessel he might plunder to relieve his feelings. His first mate —whose time in Arendelle had been spent gathering information from the harbourmaster there— apprised him of two likely targets: a barge travelling to Glowerhaven from Agrabah which they could intercept in a day or so, and a royal passenger ship set to sail from Arendelle that very evening, bearing the standard of Misthaven. 

The captain’s heart leapt in his chest but he kept his face expressionless as he instructed his first mate to target the barge. Agrabah was rich in spices and jewels; a slow-moving barge loaded with its cargo made a far more tempting prospect than an agile and well-armed royal yacht that may or may not be transporting a certain green-eyed princess. 

As the sun set that evening the Jolly Roger drifted as they waited for the wind that would carry them towards Glowerhaven, the men in the crow’s nest keeping their watchful eyes upon the open seas while the captain kept his on the Misthaven vessel coming up swiftly on their starboard stern. As it passed by he saw her, leaning against the ship’s rail, her hair trailing in the breeze and her  posture thoughtful. She straightened when she caught sight of him and he could swear their gazes locked even across that surging stretch of water, with an intensity surpassing even what they had shared in Arendelle and broken only when he dropped into an elaborate bow and —though he doubted she could really see it— winked at her. 

She inclined her head and gave him a mocking curtsey, and as her ship sailed away into the setting sun the captain scratched behind his ear, a nervous gesture he thought he’d left well in his past. 

Misthaven, he mused. To his knowledge he had never taken any of their ships. Perhaps his crew might care to dock there for a day or two, and enjoy their Agrabahti spoils. The wind picked up and as the crew leapt into action the captain smiled, imagining piles of exotic jewels and green eyes that put them all to shame. 

A week later they made their port and if the princess, whose tower bedroom boasted a fine view of the harbour from its wide window, felt a stuttering in her heartbeat and a quickening in her blood at the sight of the brightly painted ship, she did not speak of it. Rather, she donned her oldest gown and covered her hair, and slipped away from the palace and into the only tavern in all her land where a pirate might feel welcome. 

The delight on the captain’s face when she sat down next to him did nothing to dispel either the quickening or the heartbeat. 

“Princess,” he said. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“What, here in my kingdom?” 

His eyebrows danced at the snap in her tone. “Here in this tavern, love, where if you’ll forgive me for saying so you do appear rather out of place.”   

A twinkle of mischief glinted in her eye as she gazed up at him from beneath thick lashes. “Would it surprise you to learn this isn’t the first time I’ve been here?” 

His own gaze was intense, solemn, though his face wore the same small smile as it had in the streets of Arendelle. “No,” he said softly. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all.” 

She grinned in delight at that, unaccountably flattered by the approval in his voice. 

“And now, Your Highness,” he said, his voice dropping lower as he leaned in close. “May I buy you a drink?” 

She leaned in herself, thrilling at the hitch in his breath and the heat in his eyes, her heart pounding faster than ever. 

“Call me Emma.” 

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AND OF COURSE to top it off there is  BRILLIANT ART from @mariakov81​!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️