#au: The Fog; Hier Kommt die Sonne

[crate-of-edges]

Let's get a little bit silly shall we?

Sonne by Rammstein but it's about Germa's four princes. Jesus I feel like Vito, except I am a lot worse

I especially see a lot of Ichiji in there as he would be the leader and his powers match lyrics the best.

Obviously it would take place in 'Sanji is as fucked as his brothers' AU or 'he just never left but earned his place as the third son despite his emotional condition' AU because without him it would not be complete.

Alle warten auf das Licht Fürchtet euch, fürchtet euch nicht Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Augen Sie wird heut Nacht nicht untergeh'n Und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn

We are on some kind of battlefield. It's dark. It's messy. War. Dust is flying everywhere making it difficult to see clearly a couple of meters ahead. Two sides of the conflict are holding their breath.

Something is coming. One side is terrified, the other - hopeful.

Two small points of red light come through the fog. Then electricity cracks in the distance.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind picks up. All the debree flies back and reveals four princes in their raid suits that jump straight into attack.

Eins, hier kommt die Sonne Zwei, hier kommt die Sonne Drei, sie ist der hellste Stern von allen Vier, hier kommt die Sonne

The observer focuses on the princes, one after the other. Number three is the only one with different line because narrator knows that there is something special about Sanji even if he is not the focus. The army that is their target has no chance of retreat.

Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Händen Kann verbrennen, kann euch blenden Wenn sie aus den Fäusten bricht Legt sich heiß auf das Gesicht Sie wird heut Nacht nicht untergeh'n Und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn

Ichiji is a force to be reckoned with. He is the sun. His eyes send deathly laser beams on the enemy. His fists are the same, they emanate light and they burn. Nothing and no one can hide from him. He seems to be unstopable and unbreakable. Nothing can kill his shine and he knows that.

That's mostly it, the rest of the song doesn't change much.

They are powerful, unstoppable forces of science and killing machines, the usual stuff.

But of course it wouldn't be fun if something didn't go awry. So in the part of the song where the female siren voice starts appearing in the background we see flashes to the future to some different place where the main characters of our story are struggling in a fight.

At the end, when the siren is the only voice you can hear, they lay broken in the rain, not able to fight or move anymore. One of them is falling from the sky, maybe Ichiji, looking at the bloody mess below, parts missing from his brothers' bodies as he also falls to his death.

The sun starts to shine through the clouds. The true sun came - someone better and kinder rid the world of the Vinsmokes.

Germa 66 is no more.

The end.

[the-panam-experiment-blog]

THE END

Going along the EuroVelo 6 in Hungary is not too spectacular, many times we can't even see the Dabube. Fields, mostly corn, some grass, some forest. Flat...

Highlight for sure is our visit in Budapest. It's weird - cities usually aren't our big thing, but this time both of us get super excited as we reach the center. It just looks so pretty, nice, cool and hip. For the first time there are many many cyclists cruising around, obviously just for fun, on fancy bikes. Since it's our last stop on the trip, we treat ourselves with a nice, almost fancy, apartment. Long strolls, IPAs in the sun at the river's shore, cafés, restaurants... All good here in Buda and Pest, feels like holiday! One more city which is definitely worth visiting again in the future. Best of all: we meet Nina´s brother! Being in the same city at the same time just by chance, the joy was great, the hugs tight and the chat long after more than 15 months!

As we leave after a few days, we still don't get it that this will be our very last leg. The last stretch until it will be over. A short visit to Slovakia (country nr. 20 on this trip!), where we leave the Danube and cross inland instead, taking a more or less direct way. The weather still is perfectly fine (at least most of the time, besides some strong winds and icy rain - well, it´s just a reminder that it's still touring and not a holiday here). A couple last, pretty chilly, nights in the tent. Some last ups and downs, highs and lows, mixed feelings - happiness, sadness, excitement, exhaustion, nervousness, pleasant and unpleasant anticipation, anxiety, cheer. All together, all at once. It is too hard to describe our emotional state in those days in better words.

Suddenly we reach the last border. Two soldiers wave us through, we take a picture of the sign with our home country's flag. Here we are, day 478, back in Austria. We can read all the signs again, we understand every word people say around us. Sounds weird. Now people understand us as well - better be more cautious what we say now ;) We follow perfectly signed and paved bicycle paths, cycle in an amazing sunset. Once again we totally underestimated this day's route. We find our last camping spot at the shores of the Lafnitz creek when it's already dark. This last day has it all once again - we loiter and dally all day long, "oh it´s a short day, let´s have another coffee", "what a nice place for a break", "we should have a picknick here"... until we find out there is another 60 km left of what we want to do and it is already 4pm. Live the moment, right? ;)

We eventually pitch the tent just a few kilometers away from our final goal. It is super cold but the sky very clear - several shooting stars can be seen! Staring at the night sky, drinking a beer first followed by multiple cups of hot tea. Many times we thought about how the last night could be. Will we be nervous? Excited? Will we be able to sleep at all? But now, none of all those feelings that accompanied us the last days blur this night. We just enjoy being here, the loneliness, the stars, the moment. And the warmth of the tea of course, it really is freaking cold tonight. Soon we fall into our sleeping bags, and just as any other night, we both fall asleep immediately...

On day 479 we get up early, brew coffee, watch the sunrise, take a long walk in the swelling fog. Stare back at the cows who lined up at their fence right next to our camp. Still, everything as normal as every other day. We pack the wet tent, load the bikes, start pedalling. Both of us know whis area very well, so many hours we spent in this valley taking walks, running, biking. We see the summit of the Wechsel, the mountain we walked up to so many times and which can be seen from Martin's parents' home. We can hear the whistle of the train, which can be heard from home as well. We stop at a restaurant where we've been several times before, sit in the sun, eat dark rye bread for the first time in 16 months - and it's heaven.

And there it finally is, the growing nervousness... We told our families we will be there at 2pm. We go slowly - too slow in the end and we are late, as always. One last stop, we pause for the moment, hug each other, take the turn to the house where our awesome families and friends are awaiting us...

Nun, der EuroVelo 6 in Ungarn ist nicht gerade spektakulär. Meistens sehen wir die Donau gar nicht, fahren über Stock und Stein, an Feldern, Wiesen, manchmal Wäldern entlang. Eines der Highlights ist die Pause in Budapest. Schon lustig: die großen Städte sind ja nicht so unser Ding. Dieses Mal sind aber wir beide ganz aus dem Häuschen und aufgeregt als wir das Zentrum erreichen. Alles so hübsch, hip und cool. Erstmals seit Langem gibt´s jede Menge Radfarer, die offensichtlich einfach nur so, zum Spaß, auf schicken Rädern durch die Stadt flitzen. Hier an unserem letzten Halt leisten wir uns ein gemütliches, stylishes Apartment. Wir unternehmen lange Spaziergänge, schlürfen hervorragende IPAs an der Donaupromenade in der Sonne, bewundern die vielen Cafés und Restaurants und die Vielfalt dieser Stadt. Alles wunderbar hier in Buda und Pest, fühlt sich ganz und gar nach Urlaub an! Definitiv eine der Städte, die man ruhig ein zweites Mal besuchen kann. Und das Beste überhaupt: wir treffen Ninas Bruder! Ganz zufällig zur selben Zeit in der selben Stadt - da ist die Freude groß, die Umarmungen fest und die Gespräche lang.

Als wir wieder unterwegs sind, ist es in unseren Köpfen immer noch nicht so ganz angekommen dass dies nun unsere letzte Etappe ist, bevor unsere Reise endgültig zu Ende ist. Einen kurzen Abstecher machen wir noch in die Slowakei (Land Nummer 20!), dann verlassen wie die Donau und damit den Eurovelo 6, biegen ins Landesinnere ab, nehmen die mehr oder weniger direkte Route nach Hause. Das Wetter spielt immer noch wunderbar mit (bis auf ein paar extra kalte und windige Tage mit Eisregen die uns nochmal daran erinnern, dass dies kein Urlaub ist). Ein paar letzte Nächte im Zelt...die Nachttemperaturen bewegen sich inzwischen immer näher in Richtung Gefrierpunkt. Ein paar letzte Hochs und Tiefs, Aufs und Abs - wild gemischte Gefühle: Freude, Nervosität, Aufregung, Erschöpfung, Beklemmung, Vorfreude, Traurigkeit, Aufgedrehtheit, das alles zugleich, alles auf einmal - unser Gemütszustand ist wirr und anstrengend und es ist unmöglich, ihn in Worte zu fassen.

Plötzlich sind wir an unserer letzten Grenze angekommen. Zwei Soldaten winken uns durch, wir machen ein Foto vom Schild, das uns in Österreich willkommen heißt. Tag 478, wir sind zurück! Jetzt können wir plötzlich wieder alle Schilder lesen; verstehen, was die Leute um uns herum so sagen (ob wir wollen oder nicht). Und man versteht auch uns, was einer gewissen Gewöhnung und anfangs auch Vorsicht bedarf... Auf perfekt beschilderten und asphaltierten (Rad-)Wegen geht's weiter, wir kurbeln in einen wunderschönen Sonnenuntergang hinein. Wieder einmal haben wir's geschafft die heutige Etappe komplett zu unterschätzen, somit erreichen wir unser Ziel erst bei Dunkelheit. Dieser Tag spiegelt nochmal unseren Reisestil wider: "Heut ist's ja nicht so weit", "Ein Kaffee geht schon noch", "Oh so ein schöner Platz zum Rasten", "Hier sollten wir ein Picknick machen" - So lange, bis wir um 16 Uhr draufkommen, dass wir noch 60km vor uns haben. Live the moment heißt es doch, oder etwa nicht? ;)

Schließlich finden wir trotz Dunkelheit doch noch einen wunderbaren Platz für die letzte Nacht, schon ganz nahe an unserem Ziel. Es ist empfindlich kalt, doch der Himmel vollkommen klar, viele Sternschnuppen können wir beobachten. Da sitzen wir nun, starren in den faszinierenden Nachthimmel (das wird einfach niemals langweilig), trinken ein teures Bier (gekauft mit unseren letzten Forint in Ungarn und bis hierher transportiert), gefolgt von vielen Tassen heißem Tee. Unzählige Male haben wir versucht uns vorzustellen, wie dieser letzte Abend wohl aussehen würde. Werden wir nervös sein? Aufgeregt? Werden wir überhaupt schlafen können? Aber seltsamerweise macht sich keines dieser Gefühle breit und trübt die Nacht. Alles bleibt klar, wir genießen einfach den Moment, die Sterne, die Einsamkeit, die Stille, die nur ab und zu von den Rufen einer Eule durchbrochen wird. Schließlich verkriechen wir uns müde und glücklich in unsere Schlafsäcke und schlafen sofort tief und fest, so wie immer.

Tag 479 - wir stehen sehr früh auf, kochen Kaffee, schauen der Sonne beim Aufgehen zu, machen einen Spaziergang im sich hebenden Morgennebel. Wir beobachten die Rinder auf der benachbarten Weide beim Aufwachen, die sich in Reih und Glied am Zaun aufstellen um uns Fremdlinge anzustarren. Und immer noch ist alles wie gewohnt: wir packen das nasse Zelt zusammen, beladen die Räder, fahren los. Den Weg kennen wir beide wie unsere Westentasche, waren wir ja schon oft und viel hier unterwegs, zum Spazieren mit dem Hund oder zum Laufen. Wir sehen den Gipfel des Wechsels, den Berg auf den wir schon so oft rauf spaziert sind, und der auch vom Garten von Martins Eltern aus zu sehen ist. Wir hören das Pfeifen des vorbeifahrenden Zuges, das von Zuhause aus ebenfalls hörbar ist. Wir sehen die Windräder am Masenberg, die man vom Küchenfester aus ebenfalls sieht. An einer bereits mehrmals zuvor besuchten Jausenstation machen wir nochmals Halt, sitzen in der Sonne und Essen Suppe mit Roggenbrot. Das erste Roggenbrot seit langer, langer Zeit. Es ist himmlisch.

Und dann kommt sie doch, die Nervosität... Wir haben unseren Familien erzählt wir wären um 14 Uhr da. Langsam treten wir dahin - zu langsam wie sich herausstellt und wir sind spät dran. Ein letztes Innenhalten, wir umarmen uns lange, nehmen die letzte Kurve hin zum Haus wo unsere so großartigen Familien und Freunde auf uns warten..

[viralstars]

@ask-the-boogeyman from [x]

Myers does not sit, and as much as Wesker would like to pretend to be surprised by that, he isn't. The one they call the Shape is cleverer than people give him credit for, and knows that he can intimidate others with his size.

On an ordinary man, it may have worked. But Albert Wesker is anything but ordinary-- as evidenced by the fact that he is here, in this damnable realm, forced to run trial after trial as though he were a plaything. He wonders if the man before him has ever considered the position they are in, wonders if he accepts it... And that is precisely what he has extended this invitation to try to determine.

"Thank you for coming," he says calmly. He himself is seated, tucked into his desk chair in the S.T.A.R.S. office as though this were still an ordinary art-museum-turned-police-station, and nothing were out of the ordinary about this whatsoever. "I hope you didn't have any trouble finding your way here."

He doesn't expect an answer. That is part of the reason he chose to specifically seek out Michael Myers-- he understood what was being said to him, but whether or not he had any true capacity for expressive language was unclear. He doubted the other would ever need to be concerned about the other spilling his precious secrets.

"Do you not grow tired," he asks, watching the other for any shift in body language, "of doing this Entity's bidding, day in and day out? Of killing who you are told to kill, when you are told to do it? Of no longer having a choice?" He pauses, intending to give the other a chance to mull over the words. He does not expect a response-- not yet.

"....What if I could offer you your freedom," he continues after a few moments. "Your agency, returned to you? I would only require your assistance in securing it."

[viralstars]

Quick li'l something-something for one of my three (yes, three, because I have zero self-control) D.ead by D.aylight verses under the cut:

It wasn't as though he'd been given much choice in doing the Entity's bidding. He had been brought here, without warning and against his will, and the terms of his continued survival had been presented to him in a way that garnered no argument. Fortunately, it was at least somewhat agreeable... Far from ideal, but it was better than death, he supposed.

However, it didn't take long for him to grow bored. The Mastermind, as he was now called, needed near-constant mental stimulation. He needed puzzles, needed to learn, needed science and variety in his daily routine... Chasing these survivors and throwing them on meat hooks was scarcely exciting, really, but... They irritated him enough that the Entity didn't seem dissatisfied.

And so he walked a fine line. Forcing himself to remain engaged in the Trials (although, admittedly, he did silently thrill whenever he saw a familiar face), doing what he needed to do to get out of there and back to solitude so he could begin working on a plan.

The Entity would have to be dealt with. He was confident that with Uroboros, he could overthrow it... But he would need to get to it first. Catch it off guard.

He needed allies. Each one would need to be carefully vetted, hand-selected, and unquestioningly loyal. It would be a miserable selection process, figuring out how to motivate each candidate, convince them to help him, but he was confident he could assemble enough for a force to stage a coup and destroy the Entity.

And once he did, the Fog would be his.