#but I’d love a regional chain to get it if anyone does

[arcade-conspiracy]

I think we as a fandom need to talk about the Sally Corp dark ride concept again.

It could be the theme park special interest in me, but I can’t help but think about it a lot. The idea of walking up to that facade, going through some cool themed queue (maybe with an animatronic tease, like Phantom Theater at Kings Island had), and jumping in that rather unique ride vehicle. I wouldn’t even care about scoring or anything, I’d genuinely just cry the whole time. We need more animatronics in theme parks that aren’t Disney or Universal, even if they’re a lil haunted LMAO.

Look at this stupid guy how couldn’t you want him in your theme park, come on.

[kousagi7hikari]

An Enigmatic Blessing

(A TGCFxPokemon Masters EX AU)

One day, on the island of Pasio, a new trainer arrived-as they often did. This trainer was a bit unlike any other on the artificial island, however, though one wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at him. There was something about this trainer, as though he exuded an air of royalty, or perhaps wisdom. It was as though he was a prince from a kingdom long past. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself that gave off this impression, or the way he spoke. Maybe it was his partner pokemon, a Liligant with long legs that hadn’t been seen in many, many years.

“So this is the island of Pasio!” The man, named Xie Lian, said, adjusting his well-loved bamboo hat so it cast shade over his eyes. “It’s amazing that people can build islands nowadays! Don’t you think so Lilligant?”

The pokemon beside him spun around delightedly and let out a coo of agreement.

“The invitation said to find Trista at the pokemon center once we arrived here. Let’s go.”

Liligant nodded and followed her trainer.

Once the two arrived at the center, they found Trista quite easily. “Welcome!” She said warmly. “Is this your first day on Pasio?”

“It is.” Xie Lian replied, removing his hat respectfully. “My name is Xie Lian, and this is my partner pokemon Lilligant.”

Liligant curtsied.

“It’s nice to meet you both!” Trista smiled kindly before turning to her computer and entering the name. “Here you are! And here you go!” She reached under the desk and pulled out a rectangular device that looked similar to a Porygon. “Your Poryphone with a sync stone!”

Xie Lian stared at the device awkwardly for a moment before saying. “Ah… Thank you, but I'm not very good with technology…”

“I’m sorry, but it is required for anyone participating in the PML.” Trista explained. “It’s both a safety feature, and the sync stone is important for battles conducted here.”

“What is a sync stone?” Xie Lian had heard of Mega stones and even Z crystals, but this was new to him.

“It’s a special stone that allows your partner pokemon to unleash a new kind of power!” Trista said, delightedly. “They’re only used here on Pasio. With a sync stone, the power of your bond with your partner pokemon can allow you to use a sync move! They’re really quite a sight to behold!”

Xie Lian smiled at this. “Well, that’s something I’d very much like to see!” He took the device and looked it over.

“I can teach you how to use it if you like.” Trista whispered.

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Yes please. Thank you.”

Later that day, elsewhere on Pasio…

Lear grimaced, holding back the urge to growl. “Who does he think he is?”

“Yeah, he’s like, soooo rude!” Rachel pouted.

“Especially to the young Master!” Sawyer agreed.

The man they spoke of was already in the midst of a battle, having all but ignored Lear’s issue for a challenge.

The man was quite enigmatic, nobody could tell which region he came from, though the Beautifly he was partnered with suggested Hoenn. His crimson clothing, adorned with silver chains, and eyepatch only added to his air of mystery.

“I did look up his PML profile like you asked.” Sawyer said. “It says his name is Hua Cheng.”

“Tres Bien! He must have come from quite far away!”

The trio turned to see Professor Bellis arriving beside them. “Do you know where he comes from?” Lear asked.

“Nein.” She shook her head. “There are many places that use a language similar to his name, so pinning it down would be quite a challenge.”

“Laaame.” Rachel said. “And he didn’t even wanna battle Master Lear? Like, does he think he’s too good or something?”

The group watched the battle progress in silence as “Hua Cheng” stood against a collector and his Hitmontop.

“Hmm… This battle is getting boring.” Hua Cheng sighed, a slight smirk grazing his lips. “Let's finish this with our sync move, Beautifly. Soul Rending Silver Wind.”

Beautifly fluttered eagerly releasing the full power of their sync move, knocking out the opposing Hitmontop in one hit.

The collector flinched in surprise. “I-I hadn’t even gotten started!”

Hua Cheng examined a fingernail as Beautifly fluttered back to his side. “Oh really? All of these battles have felt the same to me.”

The collector sneered and backed off into the crowd, carrying his pokeball back to the center.

“I mean really.” Hua Cheng practically yawned. “Isn’t there anyone here who can give me a proper challenge?”

“I’d be up to the task.”

The gathered crowd turned to see who had spoken, but Hua Cheng reacted much more quickly, his head snapping around to the sound of the voice.

Xie Lian simply smiled politely, but it widened upon making eye contact with Hua Cheng. “Hello again, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng looked surprised, but he quickly fixed his face, though some could tell he seemed to be trying to hide his true emotions. “I’m glad to see you again, Gege.”

“Gege?” Lear asked.

“San Lang?” Sawyer followed up.

“Gege is a form of familiar address to an older male.” Professor Bellis explained. “It, as well as the nickname imply that they know each other and are at least good friends.”

“Who is that guy?” Rachel added.

“It looks like he just arrived on the island today.” Sawyer said, looking up the information on his poryphone. “His name is Xie Lian.”

Xie Lian took up his spot across from Hua Cheng, his Liligant stepping out before him. “I’m looking forward to seeing how much stronger you’ve gotten, San Lang!”

Hua Cheng smiled, his Beautifly gliding out to face Lilligant. “I certainly hope I can meet Gege’s expectations.”

“As long as you don’t hold back!”

With that, the battle began. The two beautiful pokemon engaged in combat that looked more like an intricate dance than fighting. It seemed as though the two were evenly matched. For the longest time, it seemed the battle could go on forever, until Xie Lian announced. “Lilligant! Let's try our sync move!”

Lilligant crooned in response and backflipped over to her trainer, absorbing the power of their sync stone.

“Flower Crowned Petal Dance!”

The blizzard of pink petals obscured most of the area for just a few moments. When it cleared, Hua Cheng’s Beautifly lay on the ground, defeated.

However, Hua Cheng did not look angry or upset, but rather accepting of his loss. “As expected of Gege. It seems we lost.”

The crowd chattered amongst themselves. The trainer who had been defeating sync pairs left and right had been taken down by this new arrival??

Xie Lian crossed his arms, casting a look at Hua Cheng. “San Lang, I told you not to hold back!”

“I swear, I gave it my all, Gege!” He said, recalling Beautifly to its pokeball. “...Well… perhaps I did want to see your sync move with Lilligant.”

Xie Lain crossed the battlefield to Hua Cheng and gave him a light poke to the chest. “So you did hold back!”

Hua Cheng chuckled slightly. “Apologies. I promise that the next time we battle, I will give you everything I have.”

“Well, until that time comes, how about we team up?” Xie Lian’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “I’ve been told most battles here are done in teams of three.”

Hua Cheng chuckled. “It will be difficult finding someone who can keep up with us.”

“You mean someone you get along with besides me.”

“That too.”

The duo headed off, leaving Lear and his retinue very confused.

Professor Bellis, however, smiled knowingly to herself.

Once the two had gone off a significant way, to an area of town where nobody would see them, Hua Cheng leaned down and gently kissed Xie Lian on the cheek. “I missed you, Gege.”

Xie Lian smiled, touching the spot on his cheek. “I missed you too, San Lang. Perhaps… we should stay together, from now on?”

“It would be my honor.”

Xie Lian leaned up and placed a matching kiss on Hua Cheng’s cheek. “And mine as well.”

[lorelylantana]

Savageries of the Heart Chapter 6; Heritage

First -Previous -Next

Chapter rating: T Overall Rating: E

Noodle turned out to be quite the escape artist, if the flickering of a forked tongue against her chin was any indication. Zelda’s giggle swiftly turned into a yawn. Noodle wriggled into her hair until Zelda lifted her head so the serpent could take her usual space coiled around her neck.

“Good morning, Dove,” Link cooed softly, kissing her shoulder as she sat up. 

“Good morning,” she said with a stretch. She leaned on Link’s shoulder to look down at the slate in his hands. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just looking through some of the messages that piled up over our honeymoon,” he said, tapping out a reply to his latest missive. Zelda’s brow wrinkled.

“Don’t you do that in your office?”

“I could do it in our office,” he admitted, and Zelda felt him smile against her cheek, “but that would mean leaving you here to wake up alone, and that wouldn’t be very hospitable, would it?”

She grinned and shook her head.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” she asked, booping Noodle’s nose. Link clicked out of his messages and brought up a schedule. 

“I don’t have many appointments today, so I thought I’d give you a tour.”

Walking through her new home felt like walking through a dream. Her breath steamed in front of her, even though Zelda fel perfectly comfortable, if not warm. Her bare feet walked across frozen stone floors as Link led her through chambers carved into the mountain. It was a surreal feeling, walking next to walls of solid ice, light filtering through in tendrils onto the floor. On her other side was a line of doors. Curious, she opened one, and was surprised to find a bedroom.

“For guests?” she asked, though she couldn’t imagine that many would willingly stay in a frozen abode such as theirs. Link shook his head.

“Children,” he clarified, then caught himself, “Not that we need them! I mean-” he sighed, “I didn’t marry you to pump out heirs. That’s not how we do things.”

“It’s how my family does things,” Zelda said. She wouldn’t say that she was a natural born mother, but there was this vengeful feeling that had grown over the years that was determined to continue her line, even if it was just to prove she could. Zelda ran her eyes down her husband’s figure. At the very least she had a strong set of genes to work with.

“In any case, It’s the one thing I can do to honor my family, making sure the weakest link doesn’t break the chain.”

Link paused then, turning to look her in the eyes. There was a tragic look in his eyes that would make Zelda bristle were it not for the rage burning quietly behind the melancholy.

“Is that how you see yourself?”

Zelda looked down, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze.

“It’s how my people see me.”

“I wouldn’t count on that.”

She looked up at him, a question on her lips, before he cleared his throat. “I think breakfast should be ready by now. Let’s go eat.”

An moment later, Zelda was seated at the table for breakfast, which gave Link an opportunity to help her settle into her new home and give her a brief explanation of what would be expected of her as a Warden’s wife. As a Mother of the Zonai she would be expected to handle domestic affairs. This included holding audiences and coordinating joint efforts between regions among other housekeeping tasks, handling the finances and presiding over festivals and rituals and whatnot. The Dragonlands were the political center of the Zonai, and marrying its Warden meant that she had an additional responsibility of leading an organization based on the Temple Mesa.

“Wait a moment,” Zelda held up a hand, “You mean to tell me the Hands of Hylia is a Zonai organization?”

The Hands of Hylia was a renowned charity that gathered resources from across Hyrule to redistribute them when needed. Their quick response to epidemics, famines, and other such disasters quickly earned them the reputation of the kingdom’s greatest first responders. Her uncle had poured a generous amount of money to the administration, if only to claim a portion of the glory and saving the castle embarrassment for it’s slow response time. 

“I don’t understand. What’s the point in helping a nation that looks down on you so?”

Link leaned back, considering before putting his thoughts to words.

“You know the Sheikah once served the Hyrulean royal family,”

“I did,” Zelda nodded, “Because of Hylia’s blood.”

“Yes, but that’s not all. The Sheikah value knowledge, and so they served Hylia’s daughters, paragons of wisdom before they were usurped by their fathers.”

“What does this have to do with the Zonai?”

“Because the Zonai follow the Hero. At least, we follow his example.”

“I’m sorry, what ‘Hero’?”

Link gave her a quizzical look, “The Hero, the one in all of the stories.”

Zelda shook her head, drawing a blank.

“You really don’t know? No one told you? What about the history books?”

“My uncle had all the history books burned shortly after he took the throne,” Zelda said, in a trance, “Anything that referenced Hyrule’s matrilineal line was disposed of.”

Link cursed before getting up and taking her hand, pulling Zelda as he walked to the same alcove they materialized in the night before. He pressed a button, and they were gone in a flash of light,

Zelda expected her feet to form on top of the sandy beach, not the stone worn smooth by eons pressing against her skin like a well trodden path. Her gasp echoed over towering walls etched with a procession of men and women making their way towards the biggest statue of Hylia she had ever seen.

Zelda felt all at once so small yet nostalgic in a way that drove her forward, paying no thought to her bare feet and the casual slip hanging from her shoulders. 

She had a place here, and she felt secure in this undeniable, instinctive sense of unity that swelled in her chest and seeped into her bones.

“What is this place?” she whispered.

“They call the Temple of Time the birthplace of Hyrule, but this,” Link gestured to the massive statue “Is where your bloodline began, when the Goddess Hylia came down to earth and brought her light to the land.”

Zelda walked with him as he led her over the uneven stone, wrapping her arms around his right. After years of precious little physical touch, going to be with her husband had been the release of a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, and found herself gravitating towards Link, who seemed more than receptive to her advances, holding her hand tightly in his while they walked upon the stone. They walked in revered silence until they finally reached the statue. Link took her hand and pressed it against the smooth folds of the Goddess’ robe. 

A gasp fell from her lips, there was a hum that resonated in her chest, causing her heart to flutter. Link’s skin burned against hers, and she felt this surge of affection for him that felt much older than their marriage. 

“Hylia’s line has survived for thousands, if not millions of years, surviving famine, disease, and several wars. Do you really think it can be extinguished so easily?”

Zelda shook her head.

“No.”

“Then we agreed,” he said, hooking an arm around her and bringing his slate around, “Now let’s go home.

Zelda had been sitting at her new desk when her translator began to chime. She glanced at her slate to see who it was.

Owlan (Resting Father of the Dragonlands)

“Owlan?” she said when the call connected. Was there anyone in Hyrule that wasn’t a Zonai in disguise?

“Hello Mother Zelda. I thought I’d see how you were settling in, and I wanted to say that you can call me anytime if you need some pointers for your new position. I was in your shoes quite some time ago.”

“Thank you, that means a lot,” she said, before clearing her throat, “How are things in the castle?”

“As you likely expected, Prince Nohansen wasted no time in commanding your old room to be refurbished for his occupancy.”

“What was wrong with his old one?” she asked. Owlan chuckled.

“It wasn’t yours, of course,” was his snide reply, “You should know the Commissioner returned from his sabbatical, he kicked up quite a fuss when he heard of your nuptials.”

“Really?” there was no love lost between Zelda and the Commissioner. Her uncle’s right hand man was adamant that she spend her days in the castle’s shadow rather than lend her talents to worthier pursuits. “You’d think he’d be glad to get rid of me.”

Owlan hummed thoughtfully, “I’m concerned he may know more about the Zonai than he’s letting on.”

“I could say the same of you,” Zelda quipped, she got a chuckle for her efforts.

“Fair enough. How are you adjusting to your new position?”

“I’m still a bit overwhelmed, but well enough considering the Zonai’s true nature,” she admitted, dragging her finger over her desk’s surface. A list of ingredients she’d ordered scrolled at her touch. Zelda had made her order hours ago, but still fiddled with the giant screen. The novelty of it all hadn’t quite worn off yet. “I must admit, the bath was divine. I’ve never seen such a lovely room.”

“I wouldn’t know, so I’ll take your word for it.”

That gave Zelda pause.

“But weren’t you Father of the Dragonlands?”

“The requirement for being a Zonai Caretaker is a family tie with the region’s Warden, what kind doesn’t really matter. It could be a parent and child, cousins, even best friends, if they sign an oath to one another. I’ve never had much interest in romantic relationships myself, but I was more than willing to support my sister as she watched over the land. In fact, I think you’re actually the first Mother who married in for quite some time.”

“Is that right?” Zelda asked. It seemed the older her marriage grew, the stranger it became. And then, before her eyes, strings of light condensed in front of her. 

“What is it?” Owlan asked when he heard her gasp. Zelda shook her head.

“Just more Zonai wonders I have to get used to.”

Owlan blew out a laugh, “I can imagine. I’ll let you get back to the intricacies of Zonai culture. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I’m at your service, Mother of the Dragonlands.”

The call disconnected. Zelda shook her head ruefully, looking at the piles of fruit and herbs within her reach. With a swipe of her hand, the recipe for the Zonai body paint was on screen. She reached for the nearest Armoranth. 

It was time she got to work.

[bundleofyarrow]

Chapter 10 of A Bundle of Yarrow is now up over on AO3! or you can read the latest chapter below the cut. thanks to all of you who follow me on here and let me know you’re still craving some Milo time, it helped motivate me to write some more. maybe it’s not obvious but, knowing there are people out there who appreciate my writing makes me want to write! either way, this is a shorter transition chapter, building up for some drama come Turffield. as always, i love all the feedback <3

Galar Mine

“I want this one!”

“And I get this one over here!”

Leon and Milo stood crossing their arms of their chests as you and Sonia hovered around shining crystals emerging from the cave walls. The mines glittered reflecting the light of lanterns, immediately mesmerizing you.

“Everything here is the property of Marco Cosmos.” Leon says stiffly, as if practiced. “Just one of those jewels costs my entire year of pay.”

“But look at this!” You point to a green one and aim puppy eyes at Milo while Sonia bats her eyelashes at Leon. “Wouldn’t this be beautiful on a ring?”

Milo looks strangely nervous. “We got little influence in this stuff! The League is just one part of Marco Cosmos, ‘n we’re employees of it. I’d be shocked if they even gave us a discount.”

The both of you pout and follow the boys and Charizard walking further into the cave. The air was dry and cool, every little sound echoing in the rocky tunnels. It was surprisingly well-lit for a cave, but as you all started to encounter miners at work, you had your answer as to why. Clangs of steel hitting rock and the low rumble of minecarts soon overtook the glistening sparkles of the crystals. Every once in a while you stop for Leon to take selfies with fans.

“Galar is a very industrial region.” You muse out loud, poking at a piece of coal at the top of a large stack. “You all are really into machines here.”

“Energy is our main business and export.” Leon’s eyes scan the various activities of the miners, as if he’s looking for something in particular. “The Chairman is trying to find a sustainable source of energy, because mining won’t last forever. And if our energy dwindles, so does the health of all Galar.”

You sit with this for a bit. Alola is a lot more laidback, and not as populated as here. While everyone adopts new technology as it comes out, there isn’t a rush towards anything in particular. One might say many parts are in decline, but you begin to miss the small villages among lush greenery.

“Champion Leon!”

Out from a side tunnel pops out a kid, probably a bit older than Gloria and Hop, in a full magenta coat and mop of platinum hair.

“There you are, you must be Bede.” Leon rests his sunglasses on his cap and he offers to shake hands.

The boy, Bede, ignores the gesture. “I hope you’re ready for me to beat you in the Champion Cup.” The arrogance on his face is insufferable as his eyes move over your group. “And that none of you plan on getting in my way.” Running a hand through his hair, he holds out a bag to Leon. “Here’s all the Wishing Stars I’ve found so far, make sure they get to Chairman Rose.”

And with a nonchalant gesture, he departs. Charizard lets out a brief but low growl. You couldn’t help but feel like Bede just saw you as bit extras in the play of his life.

“Charming.” Sonia rolls her eyes at his departing silhouette. “Make sure to beat him good, Milo.”

The curt nod from the usually soft Milo surprises you.

“Well folks, that’s it for me.” Leon stretches like he’s going on a run. “I have to get myself back to Hammerlocke to deliver these to the energy plant there. If I take too long I’m definitely going to have Oleana chaining me to a desk.” He turns to give a quick hug to Sonia, fist bump Milo, and then wraps his arms around your shoulders. “Keep in touch, okay?”

“Promise.”

With a final squeeze, Leon takes a few steps back and waves to you all before departing. Charizard leads him back the way you came, and soon the warm glow from his tail fades from sight.

“We should be on our way too.” Sonia looks to her phone. “Not only because there’s no service here, but Milo needs to open up the gym challenge. Turffield is going to be swamped.”

Milo begins walking in a different direction. “I know the mines pretty well, I can lead you through ‘em.”

The path through the mines are pretty uneventful, mostly winding tunnel after tunnel of miners and various extracted resources. Sonia and your conversation about when she did the gym challenge fills the air as Milo seems lost in his thoughts. The Pokemon in the mines are mostly peaceful and keep to themselves, doing their own digging or resting in dark corners. Every once in a while, Milo looks up to the cavern ceilings, searching for something.

“The exit should be gettin’ close.” He announces after checking the ceiling again.

You were about to ask him why he was doing that when you hear a fluttering from behind you, causing you to jump, scaring Sonia in the process. “S-sorry! I thought something was behind me-”

That’s when you notice something’s on your arm. And not just a little thing but a Pokemon.

You’re about to let out a scream when Milo makes a hushing noise as he walks over to you.

“It’s okay, fella ain’t gonna harm ya.” It was a ball of fur with wings, and what you think is its nose is suctioned to your arm. You’ve never seen such a Pokemon before, and if Milo wasn’t there you’d think it was trying to suck your blood. “It’s a Woobat, they are actually quite friendly, if a bit odd.” Milo lightly places his hands on the Pokemon, reminding you how he so easily calms creatures down. “Hey now, you have to ask permission before you give someone a kiss.”

Eventually you feel the snout of the Woobat peel off your skin, which thankfully isn’t painful just a little weird. But it left behind the impression of a heart on your arm. “A heart? That’s kind of cute.” You look to the Pokemon, who doesn’t have visible eyes but a cheerful smile with a single fang.

“That’s actually major good luck! Woobat don’t give that to just anyone.” When Milo lets go, the Pokemon hovered in the air next to you, and chirps happily.

You chance a look at the cave ceiling, and in the dim light you can see a bunch of heart-shaped impressions. “Were you looking up to see where the Woobat gathered?”

Milo’s gaze joins yours. “Sorta, I was checkin’ the time and how close we were to the exit. They tend to hang out near the entrances of caves, and that we don’t see Woobat means dusk hasn’t completely fallen yet.” His hand lightly touches your shoulder. “So we’re makin’ good time!”

Before the moment can sink in, he gives you a small smile and squeeze on the shoulder before moving back to the front of the group to continue leading. Not only do you and Sonia follow, but so does the Woobat. He hovers around you, sometimes visiting Sonia and Milo, but something about you has caught his interest. So you take out a few berries, and begin tossing them into the air, giggling as the Woobat swoops in skillfully to catch each in his mouth.

“Careful, you’re going to spoil him.” Sonia nudges you playfully. “But I’m glad to see you in good spirits. It’s been a wild few days for you, hasn’t it?”

You try not to think too much about it, but you nod. “I’m still trying to understand it all, but all I can do is move forward, right? To think I’m going to be battling Milo tomorrow is… strange.”

The peach-haired man in question turns to face you. “Just do it to have fun, that’s my perspective. If you’re having a good time, then win or lose, you’ve accomplished what you set out for!”

Woobat chirps in agreeance, and though you still find him a little strange, his presence is a positive one.

So you choose to believe them, that no matter what happens, it will be for the best. You’ve spent so much time in Galar worrying about your future. And as light from the outside begins to peek into view, you’re determined to better cherish the moment, for what was coming around the corner, you never would have guessed.

[beecherdrysdale]

Haha krebs saying “fuck you, little bitch” was the funniest thing ever. They probs swear so much on the ice lol .

Yess I would need a floatie! I want Jamie to live hehe. Somebody would definitely flip the floatie. Please teach us! I need to practice a bit. Also why do I get the feeling that the boys would give you the nickname “mermaid” just me ??. Yes you and dylan are elite! But would you win a fight tho?? Against me and Braden? I choose him as my partner cuz he’s solid. The photos in the water would be amazing because everybody looks real hot in water yk? With like the hair slicked back and everything.

Wait we totally forgot about jet skiing w them! Racing would be so fun

Ooo damn you are the aggressive girl, I’d be scared lol. I can guarantee that a chain reaction would happen lol, at least you can fall on dyl.

Yesss we wanna be d1 athletes! I’m not sure yetttt but I’m going to be apply to the states and in Canada to be safe. Wbu?

The tennis fits would be amazing, us in high ponytails 🥵. Yes ! I can finally have a person to take photos with lol. Pffff maybe, honestly if I was teaching I would probably get hit in the face w a racquet lmaoo.

Our log ride team would be 🤌. I know! I feel like the guys would have high pitched screams? Or would loudly swear and the moms would just look at us! The photos do not do us justice. Ooo yes, I would probably sit behind you or behind Dylan because I want him to hold you lol.

Fun story : I went to Disney land w my bro years ago and over went on California screamin at the time and when we saw the photo, my seat is empty ! Like my brother is there but next him the seat is just empty. How does that even happen?.

Please send me your hoodie collection I am lacking lol . Tennis tourneys never give out hoodies lol . Only hockey apparently so I stole my guy friends hoodie lol.

Dressing cute for the club is a musttt. Are you more of a dress type of girl or a skirt type of girl. Like what’s your style?. We need to slay the photos 😜

Me too! I get those vibes from him as well. Can he just spin me !! Apparently our assigned dance partners are you +Jamie, me and bo, me and Ryan and you and Braden! I’m also dancing the Macarena w quinner hehe.

Have you ever had a drink? Just asking for the next thing I’m going to write lol .

I love chipotle but only have it when I’m in the states, we have mucho burrito hehe .

I just want this to happen sm that it gives me ideas ! We are connecting 💕

lmao saying “fuck you, little bitch” has become my thing when i’m mad after hearing krebs say it at wjc. and yeah i’m sure they swear all the time on the ice and we just don’t hear it lol

hahha yes i’ll teach all of you so no one drowns lol. if any of the guys tried to call me mermaid i would probably punch them lmao, idk why i just can’t stand having cutsie nicknames like that. ig i just feel like they don’t fit my personality idk? and yes me and dylan would definitely win bc i’m the aggressive one lol. also bc i’m way to fucking competitive for my own good. and yesss water pics are the hottest

omg yes that would be so fun to go jet skiing with them! and then racing them and then chirping them when we beat them

oooh yeah that’s smart to apply both places. rn i’m looking mostly at cornell, bc, bu, and maybe umich but i still have to get my times down a bit for all of those schools

whenever i wear high ponytails i kind of look like ariana grande lmao. but yes our fits would be amazing and we could take such cute pics so i could finally post on my insta lol. hahha i would probably laugh if you got hit in the face, no offense i just laugh whenever anyone else gets injured bc i get injured so often i’m used to it

lmaooooo if any of the guys screamed high pitched i would die laughing. or they would just be swearing and we would make all the parents in the park hate us lol. hahha yes the pictures do us so dirty, like how tf did you not even show up in it? lol you making dylan sit behind me so he can hold me, i love that

hehe yeah my hoodie collection is huge bc it’s all from different regional meets, so i’m sure i could spare a couple for you lol. but i wear my hoodies all the time lol. ma’am you’re so lucky, i wish i could have someone’s hockey hoodie even if we were just friends

yess we would slay in our clubbing pics. i’m not really much of a dress of skirt girl, i’m more of like ripped jeans with one of those sheer shirts and a cute bralette under it, but if i see like a really cute skirt or dress i’ll cave and wear it. 

ok i’m down with those partners, i would love to dance with jamie that would be so cute 🥺 but also braden is so underrated so i would love to dance with him too! and yes you would be so cute with bo or ryan. hehe teaching quinner the macarena. whenever we have to do wallsits for dryland me and the guys will start doing the macarena lol

lol yeah, i get nicer stuff with my parents, but they barely let me drink any like maybe half a drink. and then with my friends white claws bc that’s the easiest for us to get lol

omggg yes i’m so happy you love chipotle too, some of my irls hate it and i’m just like how? but if we were in canada i would definitely try mucho burrito

[coolnerdgardener]

Sony Sound Forge For Mac Os

The 3.0 version of Sound Forge for Mac is provided as a free download on our website. The software relates to Audio & Video Tools. This software for Mac OS X was originally developed by Sony Creative Software Inc. Our antivirus analysis shows that this Mac download is clean. Sound Forge Pro Mac is the second-generation audio editing application designed exclusively for OS x, with expanded editing features incorporated by popular demand. Configurable viewing panels allow you to toggle to any project view you need in seconds-see everything at once or toggle your view to see only the features you want, when you want. Sony has now officially announced Sound Forge Pro Mac, noting that it will launch this month at a price of $299. “People who work on audio editing platforms recognize the need for a fresh option in the marketplace, one that’s built for OS X as opposed to something that’s simply been ported over.

Sony Sound Forge For Mac Os X 10 5 8

Sony have finally stepped up and introduced a completely new, native Mac OS X version of their popular audio editor, Sound Forge Pro. Sure, we hoped for it... but how does the Mac version measure up?

The Mac OS has always has its fair share of industry-leading DAWs and music applications. Many consider it the platform for us audio types. However, until recently, it was missing one of the most highly acclaimed audio editors: Sound Forge. In truth, when I was first given a tour of Sony's flagship audio editor back in the days of Windows XP, I was green with envy. As much as I enjoyed using Soundtrack Pro (now unavailable), and tinkering in BIAS Peak (also gone the way of the dodo), I recognized that Sony had created something special.

So, there was with much waving of arms and general cheering within the Mac community when Sony recently announced the arrival of Sound Forge Pro for Mac. I was initially tentative as many apps ported from Windows just don't behave in the same way as native Mac apps. Fortunately, Sony has created Sound Forge for Mac from scratch, and not only does this give it an integrated Mac OS X GUI, the speed and feel of the app makes it a pleasure to use.

8/10 (6 votes) - Download Sound Forge Mac Free. Sound Forge is the most complete professional suite for digital audio production. Download Sound Forge and get everything you need to process audio. Regarding the great amount of tools on the market to produce and edit audio, few can be compared to.

Installation & Interface

A simple and fairly speedy download was pretty much all that was required. The complete app weighs in at under 200 MB, and once downloaded you're instructed to simply drop it into your Applications folder, and enter the serial number once you've launched it. All in all a painless process.

Sound Forge Pro for Mac sports a clean and uncluttered interface.

The interface is clean, uncluttered and split into re-sizable panes, perfect for editing audio without extra distractions, or bells and whistles (yes, I'm pointing an accusing finger at a number of DAWs). Over on the left is the Media Browser which can be hidden away using the disclosure arrow. Of note is a favorites section. Simply right-click on an audio file and choose to add to your favorites to find it quickly in the future. The search field makes finding audio files a simple task... and of course you can preview any files in the browser by clicking on the play button next to its name.

Effects & Info

The central area is taken up by the wave editor. This can be set up to display multiple editors either along the horizontal or vertical axis as desired. A nice touch! The right pane contains usefully colored level meters, plug-in chain and chooser, where you can choose from a number of effect plug-ins, including the included iZotope Mastering and Repair Suite. You can access all your own AUs and VSTs very easily too. Plug-in interfaces can be opened by clicking the gear icon, and you can also choose to view an envelope for each parameter of your plug-in. More on that later.

Using effect plug-ins is very intuitive.

The bottom central pane can be customized to display a host of info as well as a nice large recording level meter. It's simple enough to select your input audio device from here too. The Transport and Tools selection areas are fairly self-explanatory for anyone who has used any audio application before. Don't be fooled by the clean and tidy interface, as there are a number of useful panels and options neatly stored within a click or two, but hidden away to help you concentrate on the most important tasks, namely recording and editing!

Sound Forge for Mac comes with excellent plug-ins by iZotope!

Recording & Editing

When it gets down to the nitty gritty, Sound Forge Pro is a very capable editor. You can quickly record single or multiple tracks, and of course edit them quickly. I particularly enjoyed having quick access to sections of an audio file by inserting Regions by hitting 'R' on the keyboard. This essentially creates two markers either side of a selection. Then clicking on the Region number in the Regions list will engage that selection. A great way of being able to quickly define and navigate to important sections of dialogue.

Sound Forge for PC users will likely be familiar with the Envelope mode. It's straightforward to adjust plug-in parameters over time (e.g. lower gain) by selecting the parameter in the right-hand pane, enabling the envelope, and then drawing directly in the waveform editor. Each level of automation can also be bypassed with a single click in the same area. Very neat. Right-clicking on an envelope segment allows you to change the fade type, flip the automation envelope and more. It's also possible to cut, copy and paste envelopes too.

Sony Sound Forge 10 Support

Try right-clicking on an envelope segment to choose alternative fade properties.

What's Missing?

Considering that Sound Forge Pro has been completely re-written for Mac and is less expensive than its Windows counterpart, Sound Forge Pro 10, it may come as no surprise there are some differences. I was hoping to be able to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to menu commands, but as yet this is not possible. Importing video is not yet supported, and batch editing is also not possible, yet. The later is something I'd love to see Sony introduce soon. Being able to batch edit multiple files would surely be welcomed by many Mac-based musicians and audio editors. I also missed the 'Repeat' command, which is very handy to repeat the last process via a shortcut key.

Sony Sound Forge 10 Pro

Of course, this is just the beginning for Sound Forge for Mac and, considering there have already been a couple of updates with bug fixes and new features added, I am quite confident that the above features will be added in future updates.

Conclusion

Sound Forge Pro is likely to comfortably fill the void of audio editing apps in the Mac community. That it is less expensive than its Windows cousin is an unusual bonus, and that there are some features not yet implemented might put off some users. But there's plenty to like here. Overall, Sound Forge Pro is a very capable and quick multi-track audio editor. It's complimented by a clean and easy to navigate interface which can be easily customised to suit whatever task you wish to perform. If you're in the market for an audio editor Sony's Sound Forge Pro for Mac deserves a closer look.

Find out more on the Sony Sound Forge Pro for Mac website.

[zadien]

I saw that you updated SLTS and I was wondering how it’s been writing an fic for 17 years. Do you ever read the early chapters? It is strange to write for characters/storyline you created that long ago?

Oh, wow, hi Anon! Yes, so 17 years of writing one fanfic is honestly, kind of embarrassing?? I feel like I’m that fandom joke of ‘she’s still writing that, hasn’t she finished already?’. SLTS was not supposed to take 17 years, at this rate it’ll probably be twenty to get it fully finished. And it’s sort of a ball and chain kind of deal. BUT I also love the story so it’s also weirdly nice to not have the pressure of thinking up a new story, I can just keep going with the one I’m doing. 

But real talk, I should have finished it years ago, back when I wasn’t such a perfectionist about my writing and when reviews were a lot more abundant. I update now reluctantly with a great deal of anxiety and need to turn my phone off over night because waiting for reviews is an exercise in frustration - but I know why that is and that’s a me problem, not anyone else’s issues. Back when I started writing SLTS people only had a few fandoms based on their country, what was shown in their region and their internet access (mine was awful because an electric fence on a nearby farm made it unuseable but for one day a month and that was the day I’d update). So people reviewed more back then and it’s very easy to be motivated and excited in your story when others are too. 

HOWEVER, I’m now more motivated by myself and the characters and the story so I’m my own cheerleaders and that’s a huge bonus writing this fanfic for this long has given me.

My chapters these days take months to compose and then edit and rewrite before I get that feeling that they’re ready to post and go out into the world. The pro of that is from chapter 30 on, I have a good story to read when I’m old and crotchety and have finally posted that last chapter! The con is that it’s been 17 years and the early chapters make me cringe. There’s problematic shit there and scenes that are redundant, very wordy etc, BUT the core of the story is still good. I’d like to go back and rewrite but if I don’t have time to write new chapters, I definitely don’t for a rewrite. Back burner.

I love these characters, I love this story, the relationships etc and I’m constantly giddy thinking about upcoming scenes. And finishing SLTS is my life’s mission right now. These characters have grown with me, so they’ve changed since the earlier chapters and people must read it and think, um...does this make sense? But I try to keep everything consistent. I have a notebook of summaries for chapters and little tidbits to make sure I resolve things in a satisfying manner. Because in the end, I want to create a good story and that’s why it’s taking so long to write. I’m a virgo, I have perfectionist tendencies.

But also, life got in the way, either through external means (uni, work, mum’s cancer) or internal means (I joined other fandoms, writing slts got too hard I started a new fanfic instead of trying to figure out the block). I’m a different kind of writer now. I’ve learned a lot out of these seventeen years of near constant writing - you wouldn’t think so because I haven’t finished a fanfic in 17 years - but I’ve written the equivalent of a novel for every chapter of SLTS for the past 8 chapters or so, maybe more and I edit them a lot now until they’re a bit more polished. Not perfect, but I know I can do that so when I do finish and turn my attention to original stuff, I have those skills.

td;lr - I love SLTS, but yes it’s very weird to be writing about characters I started working with 17 years ago and it’s a bit embarrassing, and I know I lost readers because I took too long, but I can’t not finish this story because I owe the characters a happy ending.

[ton-e]

Ooo small worldbuilding detail But!! On earth 513, on Asgard, it's not an uncommon reacurance for royalborns to be illiterate while the normal class receives mandatory education;

They, specifically princesses or general female personel, are thought general politics and basic history, yet the male population isn't educated in forms of writing and reading as they're just not seen as important. At best, they're thought at least high vocabulary but that's about it, because most of them end up involved or ruling over a heavily warfare influenced field.

"Our boys are going on a battlefield," Borr huffs mockingly as he drowns perhaps his 5th goblet of wine. The purple rain drips down from his frizzy beard and sticks long after he slams the gold down. "What are they going to do? Stab the enemy with a quill?"

Bestla sighs, resigned a close familiarity on her tongue, knowing it's a battle lost. Her eyes send a mute apology to three heads watching longingly from the tall windows of their chambers down at the chain of little feet thumping happily towards the schooling grounds, laughter walking closely in their step.

She teaches them in private, secretly away from cunning eyes and ears with more love for money than for their life. Bestla knows her husband well, better than he knows her, or else he'd know she doesn't leave any battle on her knees.

Hel and Allfather harbour a love for books and pretty words, pudgy little fingers following every line of charchol ink as if to gobble the world hiding in every letter, making her heart warm. Balder interests himself in academics, everything from the history of the titans to Njords first touch of water, he's knowledge about, and Bestla bursts with a pride as big as the staff for seeing them starving for a knowledge young and innocent.

Its a nice escape from a harsh reality.

Then, Balder finds his Godhood, and Borr ceases to care what he does.

The distaste is not spoken directly, but the angry screams bleeding from the marital chambers tell him enough. He's not permitted on any battleground touching even the tightest corner of their Kingdom and no one feels brave enough to point his absence out.

'It's because he cares, ' Allfather tries to convince himself, ignoring the presence of a hand, heavy and cruel, squeezing his heart when no celebration is in order for his brother. Balder was devious, harsh, and fickle, but he was his brother all the same. ' Father would hate for him to get hurt.' Even if he knows Balder doesn't hurt easily.

There was a knowledge of what Hel was, when he was born, the nothingness of sound as the cold body of a cryless infant was carried ringing like a death bell above everyone. Hel is born more ghost than boy. Many thought him death. Many think he still is

. But when the proof of his Godhood manifested in the form of a crow dusting in the wind for stealing Bestlas necklace, rumors become information. He holds his baby brother during the long cry of a sleepless bed like a man going to beheading for a terrible cry.

Borr, like countless others, lacks the courage to deny him anything after that.

The poetry slowly stops. What's the meaning of beauty if you can't share it with anyone?

Allfather and Bestla keep them the stash still.

Allfather dreads the day he will have to stop being a mortal, praying to the Norns to grant him as much time as possible. Blessings are granted to the needy, however, and without much surprise soon he presents too.

The greatest feast of all 9 Kingdoms is raised for his Godsake day, and all he wants is to hide. Hide from the tales of old soldiers wishing him good fortune, for the weaponsmaster pushing swords, daggers, axes and spears into his arms, from the young lords, too young and too naive for what awaits them, boosting about the terror they'll unleash in battle, and from his father's mead flavored breath .

" You're my last hope, my one true son," the King slurs, hand cradling Allfathers face in his gloved hand with an affection the blonde lad knows not what to do with it. "Your mother, she thinks I don't know those two aren't my blood. She doesn't know me, just as much as I don't her. But I trust that you will become the King this country needs, won't you? You'll be strong, and true, and worthy. "

He gulps his uncertinity as much as his fear. "... Yes."

"Good lad," Borr beams, eyes hunting for the maiden behind him. "I love you most, Odin."

Allfather locks his books away. He learns to handle a sword sooner than a pencil.

With times, his beloved stories lose their shine to the grime of battle, of war, of what he can't forget, can't give back. His mothers soft lullaby fades to the the screams of widowed women, mothers without husabnds or sons. He wonders, would the knights in his books look at him a hero, or slay him with the sharpest sword? Both possibilities make his chest ache.

But not every region is like that!! Nidavellier prizes wisdom best, tailored their legacy onto paper rather than in battleground; Therefore education is extremely important to them, knowledge crowned the true King among them. It makes no difference to them weather they teach a Prince or princess, stable boy or lord, squire or knight; Everyone is seen the same.

In Jotunheim, they can be considered brightest as they're the main providers if that makes sense! Even if they prefer the shred of reclusiceness in their own territory, a cinsierdable present of the country is seen as a merchant state; They supply almost all of Asgard with plenty of materials, foods, fabrics, you name it they got it, which indicates most of their educational system is a blend of everything.

But it's really important to keep in mind what regions values as "Education" to them! On Asgard it's politics, teaching them their roles as leaders and how to twist the coin so it lands in your favor; On Nidavellier, they encourage each person to aim for blacksmithing, therefore chemistry, physics, mathematics and the such is the most prominent pattern!

Jotunheim, in the same as many Northern regions that differentiate the North and South, possesses a knitclose kinship with spirituality and the unknown old practices, therefore their knowledge holds very close to nature and it's branches; Animals, biology, travelling, everything is an ecosisyetm of subjects but it boils down to being able to shape expert craftiness in wildlife!! Not only do their raise scholars, but also survivors.

The idea came from imagining Allfather being embarssed and feeling unworthy of being in the presence of two of the brightest minds in this generation; Frigg is a ball of energy with a mouth and brain that spills the most interesting sounding things. He doesn't understand them, but she could make floor scrubbing seem captivating if she really tried.

Farbauti has an elegant way with his words, carefully hand picked, complex sentences hosting even more complex thoughts that he can't feel are dumped down for him. They can hold lengthy conversations between the two of them, until the sun raises and falls, trading ideas that sound brilliant. He can't bear the humiliation when they turn to him for his piece and he stays silent, so most of the time, he just agrees without his own addition.

But it's not only that, it's him being very eager to listen to them reading, content to let his hair be played and caressed while resting On a comfortable lap of either harsh leather or soft silk. But he never reads with them. Everytime he tries letter blend into the other or mangle themselves to take form of either other dialect or even numbers.

They take note, because unlike him, they use their heads for something other than holding the rest of his body together.

Farbauti is a gentle man, mirroring the fierce beast in so many ballads and whispers about him. " If you... If you'd fancy some aid with reading, I'd be happy to help you. I know the hardness of being introduced to concepts that, perhaps, you weren't made familiar with. Really, I thought Shaggy dog would skin me for always forgetting a certain sign, he's been looking for a motive for a time, and,-" He stops, words halted and eyes wide when Allfather refuses to meet his gaze, hand wiping away shameful tears.

He's pulled to a strong chest, having to lean down due to their considerable size imbalance. "There is no shame in not knowing," he hums, lips moving gentle and loving in the crown of gold hair. "There is no shame around me, understand?"

The same story happens with Frigg, who brings him great comfort when her small figure sits on his knees and her autumn burned hair tickles the bridge of his nose as they read a book together, out loud, one gentle voice coaxing the other to say every line.

He didn't use to write much, not as much as he read, before. He was content with only drowning in a world far away from the one he couldn't escape, that he didn't dare to create something else.

He writes their names first and the envelope securing well wishes is salted with tears of happiness.

[liam-93-productions]

Liam Payne is on the cover of Esquire Middle East's June 2019 issue

The One Direction star was photographed on a rainy day in London

During the shoot, Payne opens up about the media's obsession with romance rumours

"Most of what you read online about me is straight BS" says Payne

It’s raining in West London. Every weather man, woman, and app had forecast that sunshine would be on the agenda for the day. But no. It’s raining. So, we’re stuck inside instead.

Alternating between balancing on a set of dumbbells (...) Liam Payne doesn’t seem to mind all that much about the weather. He’s used to plans changing pretty quickly.

“I’ve found in my life at the moment, because of the way things have happened, that everything’s kind of fast-forwarded,” says Payne, his dark eyes lighting up like those of a prospector that’s just panned a nugget of gold, “everything has fast-forwarded.”

Payne’s lived pretty much his entire life on fast-forward. He had his first X-Factortelevision appearance at the age of fourteen. He embarked on his first world tour with a little band named One Direction—you might have heard of them—only four years later. The band sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and had four albums debut at number one in the US charts. (...)

As Payne ambles about the studio, it’s hard not to notice that even the tattoo on his forearm bears a striking resemblance to the fast-forward button on a television remote. Or a Spotify skip button.

Having recently performed alongside Rita Ora at the Global Teacher Prize concert in Dubai, Payne looks healthy and tanned, kissed by the sun even though his visit to the region was greeted by weather not dissimilar to today’s overcast conditions. “I think the weather’s just following me around at the minute,” he says with a laugh as abrupt as the first half of a hiccup. “There’s an air of something almost Vegas-y about Dubai,” adds Payne, “everything’s a little bit of a show there.”

Payne is no stranger to bit of a show. As well as having spent the better part of a decade touring the world with One Direction (the band is currently on a definitely indefinite hiatus) Payne helped break a concert attendance record in the Middle East last year by performing in front of 110,000 people. “I didn’t eat anything at dinner beforehand because I was thinking no-one’s going to turn up,” he admits.

To make Liam Payne nervous certainly takes some doing. Back in 2009—when ambitions of winning X-Factor as a solo performer were still very much at the forefront of his mind—Payne sang in front of over 29,000 fans as part of the pre-match entertainment of a game between his local football team Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United. A pretty heady experience for a boy not yet old enough to drive a car.

Now 25, Payne knew from an early age that he could “hold a tune”. What it took him longer to realise was that others couldn’t. “I think I thought it was just a normal thing that people could get on with,” he says with a shrug. That may well have been the case when it came to his local theatre group, but when considering most of the “normal things”that people “get on with”, we’d hazard a guess that the majority don’t involve amassing over two billion streams on Spotify.

But that’s Liam Payne for you: unassuming, self-effacing, and—for the most part—a guy who seems just genuinely happy to be here. It’s easy to forget when deliberating the merits of Linkin Park’s nu-metal masterpiece ‘Meteora’ with Payne that his face was once plastered on the bedroom walls of millions of tweens the world over.

Payne’s achieved extraordinary success in the quarter of a century he’s exhausted so far. So much so that you’d expect the moment that sparked off his passion for music to be equally spectacular. A real spontaneous Kevin Bacon dancing-in-an-abandoned-warehouse sort of epiphany. The reality is that it wasn’t romantic or sexy in the slightest. It was karaoke. “I used to go out to Cornwall and see my grandad and we’d always go to this karaoke bar and we’d sing a load of different stuff,” says Payne.

What sort of “stuff” does a future pop-star sing in a karaoke bar in a small town on the west coast of the UK? Well, the same oeuvre that you or I are have probably crooned into a microphone at midnight at Lucky Voice: ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams.

While Payne isn’t ashamed to admit that he was listening to Williams pretty much 24/7 as a youngster (“No, I really was”), one of the first CDs he bought with his own money was an Eminem record. Growing up with both Robbie Williams and Marshall Mathers as his idols, he places his own sound as “somewhere in-between the two”.

A little bit Slim Shady and a little bit Rock DJ, that intersection of pop and rap is reflected in Payne’s solo career so far. His debut single, the catchy-as-the-plague earworm ‘Strip That Down’, featured Migos alum Quavo and went on to be certified platinum in both the US and the UK. The title track of his First Time EP also saw Payne join forces with rapper French Montana. Payne’s certainly not the first popstar to align themselves with a more urban sound in an attempt to appeal to an older demographic. Nor will he be the last. The transition from squeaky-clean boyband member to fullyfledged solo artist is, after all, anything but easy. To use a Take That comparison: for every one Robbie Williams, there are a hundred Mark Owens.

When it comes to One Direction, it’s still a bit too soon to tell who the Robbies and the Marks of the bunch are going to be. “When we did the band stuff it was very—not exactly scripted—but let’s just say you kind of knew your audience very well,” says Payne. “We’d usually sell a tour out before we’d even done an album. And then they [the record producers] would go: ‘Right, you’re doing stadiums’. And then you’d go: ‘Okay, so we need longer choruses—the kind of songs that people can chant in a stadium’. You had to kind of write around the tour.”

If that process sounds a bit paint-by-numbers, that’s because—by Payne’s own admission—it was. “It’s a very backwards way to do it,” he admits, “obviously people don’t really tend to write like that. But we just had no time, so it was like: ‘Quick! We need another hit and another and another!’ It was actually easier to write in that scenario because there were so many hoops you had to jump through. It wouldn’t necessarily be my choice of music now—it wasn’t something that I would listen to—but I just knew how to make it, if that makes sense?”

Going from such a canned bop formula to a world of complete creative freedom is a daunting prospect for anyone looking to make it as a solo act. But that was far from the only challenge Payne faced. Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have drastically altered the music industry since the phone-to-vote days that launched One Direction. “The way that the industry kind of works now is kind of a difficult one because of the way albums are and the introduction of Spotify,” says Payne. “When I was in the band, Spotify wasn’t really a thing for us, we didn’t really care. We used to sell a lot of albums and physical copies, so it was different for us. As I got more into the solo stuff it was a kind of, like, a bit f**king confusing.”

All you need to do is look at the chains that Payne draped around his neck during the releases of a series of sophomore singles to see a man adopting a kabuki mask that didn’t quite fit. A man who was, in his words, a bit f**king confused. “‘Strip That Down’ was amazing and I was really happy with the success of it—but it didn’t necessarily paint the right picture of me and who I actually am,” he says, “I always found, to start off with, that with a lot of the chains and the clothes and the fashion, I was kind of hiding behind something. We did a billion streams for ‘Strip That Down’ but it still all gets a bit heady and at a certain point you’re like: ‘what the f**k am I doing here?’ It’s a bit like being stuck out in deep water and you’re just going ‘well, it would be really nice to get back now.’”

Payne might still be far from the shore, but he seems to be treading water at a more comfortable pace nowadays. “It took me a long to get my head around it,” he says (...)

And where is Liam Payne now? Well, he’s sat in front of me looking comparatively anxiety-free: comfortable and relaxed in a plain black tee and pair of tailored HUGO trousers. “My style and my fashion sense are all quite laid back now because that’s kind of the way I am as well. I don’t feel the need to hide behind the clothes anymore. I feel I can finally be who I am and enjoy myself.”

The last few years have witnessed a real boy-to-man transition for the ex-boy band squaddie. A coming-of-age moment came when he arrived at Frank Sinatra’s house in Palm Springs to record his part of ‘For You’ with Rita Ora. A crooning, finger-snapping, rather embarrassingly-waist-coated rendition of ‘Fly Me to The Moon’ was what Payne sang to get through his first ever X-Factor audition. Walking into Old Blue Eyes’ home, for Payne, came with the realisation that he’d “made that complete full-circle journey”.

Suffice it to say there’s no turning around for Payne in that journey when it comes to the fame front; he’s well in the thickets of the tabloid jungle. Headlines about who’s “breaking silence on romance rumours” with the popstar are a daily occurrence in the British papers. So too are accompanying photographs of his face. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Payne has, after all, got a rather nice face. The latest use of which has seen it become the face of Hugo Boss’s latest HUGO menswear line.

“To be honest, they called me and it just seemed to make a lot of sense at the time. It was a direction that I knew I’d love to go down,” says Payne on how his partnership with the brand first came about. “It’s very rare that a big company like Hugo Bosscomes around asking for you to be the face of it. It’s a bit of a dream come true actually.”

Previous Hugo Boss ambassadors include the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Jamie Dornan and Gerard Butler. Handsome faces. Familiar faces. Faces that are now forever immortalised in the public conscience. A fact that Payne is all-too conscious of himself. “I was looking through the different people that they’ve had on their roster over the years and they’re all people that I look up to,” says Payne, “So, I’m obviously quite excited but it’s also a bit daunting because these things,” he spreads his arms in a gesture that aptly sums up the rigmarole of press junkets and interviews, “are literally around for forever now.”

Moving from location to location and outfit to outfit, it becomes evident that dressing to hide who he is, is no longer on Payne’s agenda. As he’s grown (both figuratively and literally) in the public eye, and Payne’s now come to accept the lane he’s in. “I’ve become more in tune with things now,” he says, “as the years go by, I think you gain a different level of confidence and find out what works for you and what doesn’t, rather than constantly trying to be something that you’re not. If that makes sense?” It does.

What makes less sense is why Payne decided to go with chains in the first place “It was quite funny at the time when everyone used to get really mad about it,” he says referencing outraged headlines like: Sleepy Liam Payne leaves a London studio wearing a HUGE gold chain. “It just didn’t really matter to me.”

What matters to Payne is when those stories affect the lives of those around him. One particular article published in the British newspaper, The Daily Mail, last year that attempted to insinuate he was romantically linked with a member of his team irked Payne so much that the usually apolitical Twitterer took to social media to criticising the newspaper.

“The difference with that story was that the people that they were putting me with have families, boyfriends, girlfriends,” explains Payne, “I go home every night and know that people write horses**t about me daily. I won’t worry about it because I know it’s f**king bulls**t. But for someone who’s never had a story written about them before? If they go home and their partner’s reading the paper going like: ‘what the f**k is this?’ It’s difficult for them to be able to explain that.” Payne’s voice ratchets up a few decibels when he says this. He uses more than a few words we’re not legally allowed to print. I can tell that he cares about this. That it needles him. That it’s not something he has to say, but rather something that he needs to say. So, I let him.“I asked for this, I get paid very handsomely to be here and it’s part of my life and I get it. It’s alright. You can write what the f**k you want about me but when it comes to other people who work with me? That is not on.”

The only way for Payne to cut through that noise is by doing the thing he knows best: making music. “Everything I do is very, very public a lot of the time. I get reported on a lot for different things. I just think there’s a certain line where I have to have my say. And that there’s only one way for me to do that—which is through my music.”

(...)

Communicating as a public figure becomes increasingly difficult when navigating the glut of information that exists online. Do a quick Google search for ‘Liam Payne’ and you’ll be greeted by countless fan sites with a never-ending litany of “facts” about the man. Facts like:

“Liam Payne prefers showers over baths” “Liam Payne sleeps naked” “Liam Payne has a phobia of spoons”

While Payne is quick to assure me that most of what you’ll read online is straight B.S., one fact did keep cropping up again and again. And I mean, c’mon, I couldn’t not ask him about the spoons, could I?

“Yeah, I did have a fear of spoons,” he groans with the weariness of a man who’s been pelted with countless pieces of cutlery, “but it wasn’t so much a fear as something that’s now turned into a thing because of the internet. I was forced in detention once to wash up dirty plates and spoons and I think it just put me off looking at how dirty some of these spoons came back. But people used to throw spoons at me in concerts! I should have said I had a fear of pillows—that would have been comfier.”

All things considered, a fear of spoons is a fairly harmless rumour to spread. But rumours rarely ever are. Most are vicious; spreading like wildfire and burning all of those they touch. “I’ve been dead,” says Payne abruptly. “People I love have been dead.”

The non-stop 24-hour nature of the news cycles can be overwhelming to read, let alone to be involved in via the announcement of your own death. “You have to learn fast and we [One Direction] had to grow up pretty quick in the circumstances that we were under or else you kind of f**k it a little bit,” he says. If you’ve ever seen clips of The Beatles or BTS getting mobbed on the streets, you know the kind of hysteria that can ensue when boyband members are seen out in public.

“I don’t think I struggle in the sense of what you would naturally think of when I’m walking down the street with every person stopping me,” says Payne, “I mean, it happens sometimes but it’s mainly mentally where you struggle with it. It’s the getting ready and always knowing that you might be photographed.” From elaborate airport fits to the loungewear he puts on to pick up a pint of semiskimmed milk from the shop down the road, there’s never a moment where Payne and his clothing aren’t in danger of becoming front page news.

One of the ways that Payne combats that simmering anxiety is by going for a run at 5am every morning. It’s probably why he’s been able to maintain his sanity so far. And probably why he’s in—as evidenced by his numerous topless Instagram photos—such great nick.

“I love it. I get myself outside and into the day and get past that fear of ‘what if this happens?’ or ‘what if that happens?’. Because, for a long time, I became—what’s the word?” says Payne, gesticulating wildly as if he’ll catch the phrase careening around his head like a runaway wasp, “there’s a word for this condition where you stay inside and never leave, it’s in Ocean’s Twelve…”

I saw Ocean’s Twelve last week. The word he’s looking for is agoraphobia.

“Yeah, that’s it. I developed a bit of agoraphobia. I would never leave the house. And I do sometimes suffer with it a bit in the sense that I’ll get days where I just don’t want to leave my house. Even if it’s just going to the shop. I’d be going i to order a coffee at Starbucks and I would sweat because I wouldn’t know whether I was doing the right thing or not. I would be thinking: ‘f**k, I don’t want to be here’.”

I worry for a moment whether Payne is feeling that same feeling today but decide instead to take likely misplaced solace that my innate knowledge of the Ocean’s film franchise has won him over.  “I even used to have a really bad problem with going to petrol stations and paying for petrol. I can feel it now—it was like this horrible anxiety where I’d be sweating buckets in the car thinking ‘I don’t want to do this’.”

Many people suffer from moments of panic and instances where we feel crushed by the weight of  the world’s expectations and Payne is all-too aware that his specific anxieties stem from a position of privilege. “Unfortunately, it does happen to everybody in this industry,” he says, “I think at a certain point you just have to get over it as quickly as you can.”

There we are once again: back to doing things quickly. Back to being on fast-forward. Back to doing countless interviews in specifically allotted time slots. Back to that constant pressure where “everything happens a little bit quicker in my world than it does in everyone else’s”.

Everything might be happening a hell of a lot quicker for Liam Payne than me, but I’m still interested to know: what’s next for the man? What does he want to achieve in the not-yet fast-forwarded future? “I’m hoping for something a lot more than what I’ve done so far, if that makes sense?” Having listened to Payne’s solo discography in preparation for this interview, it really does.

Sure, Payne’s produced a spate of bonafide bangers—songs that will have you singing along as you whip down Emirates Road—but they’re also songs that are, for the most part, still formulaic. They’re catchy, glossily well-produced, yet contain something of an air of inauthenticity about them.

And, having met Payne, I can’t help but feel they seem at odds with his unabashedly authentic self. As he tells me: “People can see right through that s**t and it’s difficult for you to then go and say ‘buy this record!’ if you don’t really believe in what’s going on.”

So, what does a man who’s (sort of) afraid of spoons actually believe in? Moreover, what does a man who eats ice cream with a fork want to be remembered as having believed in? “I’m obviously really happy with some of the stuff I’ve done. Like breaking world records with the band and all sorts of amazing stuff. But in the recent years, it’s been a bit topsy-turvy with me kind of finding my way. And I’d rather not be remembered for a lot of those things. I want to make a really amazing album that’s not, like,” and he air-quotes here, “important, but something that people really get into. Something that makes certain people feel a couple things. I think that would be the best thing for me. I just want to make people move, if that makes sense?”

In case you haven’t already noticed, that question (‘if that makes sense?”) is practically punctuation to Payne. It’s a caveat that ends many of his statements; an interrogation of his own beliefs and a moment where his PR armour reveals its chinks and offers a glimpse of the man beneath the surface. A man that is equal parts cocksure and uncertain—a man who’s very rarely both and almost never neither.

While he might be living on fast-forward—and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon—Liam Payne, for the moment at least, might just be in the midst of the most interesting time of his life. His legacy is currently being written, awaiting the day we’ll eventually look back with a clearer idea of whether he’s a Robbie Williams or a Mark Owen. As for me, I’m just hoping that the next evolution of Liam Payne’s career is a lot more Liam Payne than the last. If that makes sense?

[asryakino]

I know it’s probably not very interesting to a lot of people out there. But I used to have a set of very vivid, and I mean VERY vivid dreams about an island I lived on... It wasn’t very big, a little bigger than my own city I suppose, so about ten-15 miles wide but it was one in a small chain of islands, and beneath our feet was a rather intricate set of solid caves. The buildings were a bit squarish with interesting carved shapes and pillars, and they came in an array of coloured stones. I later found matching stones in the forms of various granites I discovered in Minerology and Geology classes. But the most interesting thing about the city was that in the middle of it, in a large town square sort of place was a set of very tall pillars.

I tried describing them to everyone I knew in the metaphysical areas, because they were made of some kind of blackish stone that -glowed- and shone. They were hexagonal, but not equalitiral. And I had a hell of a time trying to describe what “they’re black but not -black- they’re like.. black and the colours seem to shift and change, but they DON’T”

everyone told me I was nuts, that it was nothing but fantasy stone and that there was no way I was describing anything that even remotely resembled a real stone.

The pillars were probably about twelve feet high, and topped with massive clear disks made of poured crystal (I now know lead crystal lenses are made this way) that were made to focus  a beam on light onto a central pillar. Which heated water and ran what equated a steam engine.... I never knew what the engine DID but I knew how it worked. The pillars were made of this strange black-not-black-glowing-colour-changing-stone-that-couldn’t-exist and I KNEW that the stone was part of how the engine worked, because it got HOT like... REAL hot... but it didn’t destabilize or melt. But...if you held a hand against it in full daylight you’d get a pretty bad burn.

These dreams were a constant thing, I talked about them, I drew the pillars, I described them to past life ladies and spirit guide ladies.. I tried finding answers everywhere. The only answer I EVER got as to what they were was when I found exactly one person from the other side of the fucking WORLD who had drawn the EXACT SAME set of pillars, and described the stone as a weird black stone that glowed and was hot lal the time...

I never could TALK to that person because it was internet 2.0 and she had made a website but the contact information was old... but I knew I couldn’t be entirely insane...

The drawings she made even included the same kind of clothing I had seen, loose linen/cotton/wool blend in brilliant jewel colours and intricate patterns sewn into them.

By this time the dreams I’d been having had sorta changed and the last ones I had were when I was around 22 and the dreams ended with there being panic and fire and not being able to breathe. The sky had turned red and the big pillars I’d always been around had cracked, broken, and everything was just generally turning into hell. I drew/wrote about those in the journals I’d been keeping... But I stopped having the dreams.

I talked to another person about an incense that I had been looking for for forever, and what it was called... and he mused, sort of off handedly, that it was interesting that I liked that incense, because the recipe it was based on was supposedly burned in the temples on ancient islands, I asked what islands, and that was how I learned about Lemuria.

There’s almost no information on Lemuria at that time. So I find out exactly ZILTCH until I stumble across a metaphysical crystal store run by a crazy angel spirit lady who, upon my arriving to do tarot readings, happily announces she FINALLY got some -rare- crystals in. Mind, this was like... ten years since I’d heard a damn thing about the island. I asked what, because I love rocks... and she says “I got some Lemurian SEED CRYSTALS!” and she’s super excited... I’m like ‘uh... I’m sorry... yousaid WHAT now?”

She explains what lemurian seed crystals are, and how they supposedly store information from the way past but we can’t read it. That you can tell it’s a lemurian seed crystal of knowledge becaus eof the barcodes on the side...

I tell her that’s just where quartz grows in layers but okay... and those other lines are form the saw they used to cut the crystal cluster apart but what do you mean Lemuria?

She tells me about how Lemuria BLEW THE FUCK UP when a goddamn volcano under it erupted.

Okay... now it’s weird. Now it’s REALLY weird... I stop going to that store because when I mentioned my dreams she got REAL interested in them and me and it was awkward....

Every now and then Lemuria pops back up (there was a video game that nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw it called ‘child of light’ because it took place in Lemuria)

Now, there’s a lot more metaphysical followers of it, they call it Mu, and none of them describe what I saw, what that other girl saw... and no one mentions the pillars.

My friend saw a special on tv just a couple of years ago that was detailing how there had been this big mystery island mentioned in ancient texts (it was on History Channel, ,and featured Aliens guy and a bunch of other people) but it had JUST enough science to make it believable. It described that this ancient civilization, little known thing called Lemuria... (which is what caught HER attention because I had told her about the pillars, and all the weird connections ot Lemuria) and it went on to say how Lemuria could very likely be an ancient city island off of Minos... and detailed about how Minos is on the edge of an old volcano... and the area’s active and how there’s geologic proof that there HAD been an island in the are that kinda... blew up in an eruption and sank, but the people moved ot Minos, and how some of the old myths about Minos might’ve actually been about Lemuria, and how there’s this odd kind of genetic marker in the Minotian people that indicates there was a different population of people there... And that people with the genetic marker have this birth defect.... that I have... My great grandmother and her family are from the region they were talking about, but my friend didn’t know that part when she mentioned it...

Well... today I went to a metaphysical faire I go to a couple of times a year to buy rocks from... and they had a new rock. A rock I’ve never heard of before. Not ENTIRELY unrealistic. I’m not a full fledged geologist, I was a student for three years in college and I’ve been a rockhound for most of my life. And people keep assigning new names to old rocks to make them sound new and exciting...

except.... this guy that I’ve visited a LOT every year.. I get lots of rocks from him every time he comes to the faire... had a legit new rock I never heard of; arfvedsonite.

Weird name, right? Well... it’s the rock the pillars were made out of. And the pieces he had... are carved into pillar points. Called Generators. I think I went kinda white at the sight and then I found one in the same shape as the pillars had been. It was the same. It’s the black/blue colour that has shifting pieces that look like they’re GLOWING and if the light hits them they glow and shine... and I just kept staring at it...

We bought me one point of it, and I decided to look it up. Becuase geologically speaking, WHAT THE HELL why does this rock exist, why would anyone build with it. and COULD it be built with...

It’s a granite. It’s an alkaline granite.

It’s formed in alkaline rich.... volcanic.... regions.... like... caulderas....

Caulderas... like the one Minos is on... that there used to be another island in the same area....

So yeah... that’s been running through my head a lot today!

[nyxabird]

What I want from Pokemon Sword/Shield

What I hope for in Pokemon Sword/Shield. I thought about making this a video, and I might still, but it’s so long that I thought a list here would be better to start with at least.

I know a lot of people are doing videos like this, where they're saying "this is what I'd love to see or not see in Pokemon Sword/Shield", but I'd honestly like to throw my opinion out there, too. There's so much we're hoping from in these games, and some of the points I think of I haven't seen other people address at all. And of course, I just have my own things that would make the games more fun for me, so. In no real order, here's what I hope for in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

1. No Fire/Fighting Starter.

Don't make Scorbunny fighting. Don't make Scorbunny fighting. For the love of god, DON'T MAKE SCORBUNNY FIGHTING.

Look. I like most of the starters overall, and both Chimchar and Torchic are some I think are really good, personally. But unlike the other two, Fire has just gotten this habit of dropping into fighting as its sub-type, and quite frankly that's just boring at this point. Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar, all one after another, were just too much. They did REALLY good subverting this with the Fire/Psychic starter of Delphox, and while I don't personally care for it, I like the fact that Incineroar was Fire/Dark, even though its theme could have so easily been dropped into fighting.

Make it anything else. Literally anything else. No one cares what its other type is, or if it'll even have another type, as long as it ISN'T. FIGHTING. The little bandage on its face is making us worried, but with Inceniroar you proved you could have a fighting-styled theme without actually being fighting type. Please, do that again.

I, too, will accept literally any type match but Fire/Fighting. Though if I could personally choose, I'd ask for Fairy or Dark again. It'd be nice to have a Fire/Dark I actually really like.

2. No shiny locking.

Nintendo has picked up this habit of making legendaries, especially the cover Pokemon, impossible to roll as shiny.  Basically, they're hard-coded so that when you encounter them, they cannot be shiny. That needs to stop. Just... yeah. Don't do that. Stop doing that. That's really all there is to it. It's a bad thing you're doing and you need to quit. It's literally MORE work to do for no reason. Just stop it.

3. Keep easier ways to find shinies.

Easy is a bit of a misnomer, because there's no way to easily get a shiny, no matter what anyone says. But there are ways to make it easIER, and I think that needs to be kept. Whether it's chain-catching like in Pokemon Let's Go or something else, give us a way that's actually possible to do to get shinies. Do not bring back that stupid "pick the right shaking grass when all of them are two pixels different" minigame. That's a BAD WAY to do it. Give us a way, and give us a way that actually can work, not make us lose our progress because we don't have eyes like eagles.

4. No motion controls.

Now, I don't think Pokemon Let's Go had a bad catching mechanic... IF the game was in handheld mode. The idea of being able to catch Pokemon without wearing down my team was actually really good, and it was something I liked a lot. I did miss being able to battle wild Pokemon and make them easier to catch, but if the Let's Go catching mechanic comes back I won't mind...

IF it works like it does in handheld mode. Docked mode was AWFUL. There's no ifs, ands, or buts, it was just badly. Programmed. No one liked it. No one enjoyed it. It was never consistent and often times was completely opposite to whatever you wanted to do.

5. Pokemon that follow you.

Like in the Johto remakes or Pokemon Let's Go, let your Pokemon follow you. We know you can do it. You actually DID do it in the Alola games, because there's data of every single Pokemon model with walk and run cycles on the cartritage that you just never actually let us access, so don't try to claim this isn't something you can't do. On top of that, the Switch is way bigger than the 3DS' carts. You have room. You have the skill. Give it to us.

6. New Eeveelutions.

Please, please, PLEASE. Give us new 'eons. It's been way too long without getting new Eevee forms, and you have so many types you can still make it from. Give us SOMETHING. ANYTHING. You're creative, you can come up with various ways to do stuff. What about a Steel-type that evolves when you level it up holding a Metal Coat? Or a Fighting-type that evolves if you get it to a certain level? Just give us SOMETHING.

Me, personally, I'd love to see a Dragon-type, Poison-type, or Ground-type Eeveelution, because I'm always short on those types and I think they'd be awesome.

7. Bring back Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves.

They're cool, they're fun, and they make things more interesting. I've heard people complain about how it ruins competitive battling because it's unpredictable, to which I say "Why is your competitive battling completely predictable? That sounds boring and not actually competitive if you can plug in a formula and have it work." Some people say that it makes the game too easy, to which I say "Then stop using them." It's the same as people complaining there's difficulty levels in games; you think the easy mode is too easy for you, then just don't play on the easy mode. If you think Z-Moves or Mega Evolution make the game too easy for you, then just don't use them. No one's forcing you to, and taking away something other people enjoy because you have no self-control over not using them is just really rude. I mean, no one says the magic system in Dark Souls makes the game too easy, so that needs to be removed!

...actually, there probably are people who say that, depressingly enough.

Anyway. For me, I love that I can make my Pokemon feel super powerful for a moment, or just use Z-Move to skip over a specific trainer or specific Pokemon that I just don't want to deal with. It gives you options on how to handle your own game and lets you balance your own difficulty for it, which is what all the best games do. And let's not forget the core, most basic reason: they're just FUN.

8. Skippable cutscenes.

It's 2019. How do you not have this yet? Some people want to replay the game. Some people don't care about the story. Some people just want to get to a certain part. It doesn't matter. What matters is that every single cutscene in your game that doesn't require a vital decision -- and don't try to be dishonest, nothing but the opening cutscene has any actual decisions, they're all fake ones to make you feel like you're actually having an effect -- should be skippable. Straight out, out of the box. No ifs, ands, or buts.

9. No forced tutorial.

I've played Pokemon since Red and Blue. I know how Pokemon works. I know how to catch Pokemon. You're trying to teach a fish to swim.

I'm not against these tutorials. There are plenty of new people getting into Pokemon games every release, and they need it. No one doubts that. But there is absolutely no reason that these tutorials are MANDATORY. If the new people skip the tutorials, that's their own fault, not yours, and they can't complain about the bed they made for themselves. So please, for the love of god, don't torture the rest of us because some idiot might skip the tutorial and then get mad.

10. The Regional Pokedex is what matters.

Sun and Moon did this fantastically. Basically, this means that for things that require you to complete the Pokedex, like the Shiny Charm? Only the Pokemon that can be caught in the actual region count. You can still catch and register Pokemon that aren't in your Regional Pokedex, but you aren't required to in order to "complete" the Pokedex. That was something that was amazing in Sun/Moon and made the game NOT a painful, daunting slog to actually get things like the Shiny Charm in. Please do that again.

11. No HMs.

I sincerely doubt this'll be a problem, since none of the latest generation games had HMs, but this is still something that bears repeating. HMs are not fun. No one likes HMs. They're just irritating, pointless moves that get in your way and force you to either devote a slot or two in your party to a Pokemon you don't care for or trash the combat ability of the Pokemon you actually have. Whether it's Ride Pokemon or Secret Techniques or whatever... make it happen.

I, and I'm sure many other people, literally do not care if you just put a piece of plastic tape over a plot hole. If it means that we don't have to use HMs, every single one of us will ignore the giant gaping hole in space with nary a single comment.

12. Wild Pokemon that walk in the overworld.

This was, to me, the absolute best part of Pokemon Let's Go. Being able to see the Pokemon in the overworld not only makes it feel far more alive, but it makes actually hunting around a lot more enjoyable, too. This mechanic made caves FUN AGAIN. I literally HAD FUN in Mt. Moon and Rock Tunnel because of this. Those weren't fun when they were first released and every other cave after that has never been fun unless you packed hundreds of repels. Now? Caves are enjoyable because you can fight or dodge however you want, because you can SEE where things are.

13. Human Rivals.

Now I know this is a very controversial opinion, and if you don’t like that’s perfectly fine, but don’t try to insult me over it.

I hate rivals with nasty personalities that treat you like shit.

I want a rival that is actually tolerable and acts like a real person, not some entitled whiny manbaby bitch who's high on his own ego.

I will never understand how people seriously enjoyed people like Blue, who were just complete insufferable pricks. They often made me roll my eyes and ruined the experience because they were just so unrepentantly rude and assholeish, no matter what you did, and they never changed. Some people "love to hate" insufferable, intolerable assholes, I guess, and love to beat them down over and over. And if you do? Awesome! I’m glad to hear it.

But for me, they just detract from a game because they constantly have to go "Oh hey, you're that useless shitwad no one likes, hahaha let me treat you like piss on my shoe". Beating them gives you satisfaction, sure, but no matter what you do or how you win, all your interactions with them are negative. That satisfaction comes from "Hah hah, I beat up the dude who's rude to me", and that's just... to me, that doesn't stay satisfying. Eventually I just start getting angry that this shitheel won’t go away and leave me alone, because them being around isn’t fun anymore.

I don't necessarily want the rival to be your best friend or the nicest person in the world. I really liked people like Silver and Gladion, but that was because while they were assholes at the start, you saw them grow and change and become better and happier people as the game went on. Was Silver ever super chummy with you? Pft, hell no! Not even close! But that was okay, because you still saw him change into a dude who was actually tolerable and not stay as the prick with his head so far up his ass he was tasting breakfast. And that was awesome!

My favorite rivals, honestly? Are ones like Hau, who were your rivals but also your friends, so your interactions with them were positive and fun. My mood always skyrocketing whenever I talked to Hau because he was just so friendly and cute, and that’s what I found far, far more satisfying than some prick who’d come around to call me a worthless shithead.

Pokemon Rivals aren't like the big bad in games like Final Fantasy. You're stuck with them, you can't get away from them, and you're not solving some big super evil by getting rid of them and making yourself feel satisfied. You’re just having this asshole who’s being rude to you for literally no reason stalk you and refuse to let you get away.

That’s insanely creepy and nasty. You're just being BULLIED with rivals like that, and I genuinely cannot understand why people seem to love being bullied in their own game by an insufferable prick who's so drunk on their own ego they think they're Arceus' gift to the world. The satisfaction of beating them feels outweighed by the negative feelings you have of them constantly berating and putting you down.

Maybe it's just because I'm from a home life where I was constantly bullied and ridiculed by all of my cousins, but I just can't find that sort of thing enjoyable. It's part of why I don't replay the Kanto games anywhere near as much as I replay the other ones, despite Kanto being my home region. (I honestly thought PLG was better than the original because Blue wasn’t there to be an insufferable, entitled manbaby egotist)

If it were up to me, honestly, I'd let you pick your rival like you could pick your gender. One rival's the Hau-type, one rival's the Blue-type, and the one you don't pick doesn't show up in game. That way, everyone could have what they want. Barring that, I really, really don't want to see another rival that's completely inhuman because all they are is an entitled prick there to bully you. I don't care if it's like Silver or Gladion, where they're rude at first but become genuinely likeable later, or if it's like Hau where they're always nice. Just... give me an actual rival, not some guy's fragile and inflated ego wrapped in a human suit.

I genuinely have no idea how so many people think having a person who doesn’t treat you like you’re a piece of shit unworthy of life is so bad it can be considered a plague and something that needs rectifying.

14. Side games! But make them optional.

Give us more side stuff to do! Pokemon Contests, Pokeathelon, the Festival Plaza... The Battle Tower. These were all fun things to do. When they were OPTIONAL. I think we need stuff like the casino and Voltorb Flip, or an area like the Festival Plaza we can design, because those are actually fun things to do. But I also think they need to be completely skippable for people who don't want them. Forcing people into doing side-games is a sure-fire way to get that side-game hated, but making it available gives us so much more we can do. It'd sure make the post game more fun.

15. Character Customization.

Hair, eyes, skin. These should all be default customization options, either able to change very early on or able to pick at the start. Alola was pretty good at this. Do it again.

16. CLOTHES.

Clothes, clothes, clothes. For the love of god, give us clothes again. Not your shitty Pokemon Let's Go no-effort recolors your artist did while on his way home from work. Not the "two shirt models, two skirt models, and a pants model with recolors" thing you did Alola. Actual clothing. Dresses, different skirts, different pants. What about that big black coat-dress I got from Kalos? Or the boots? The hose? We know you can make these designs. Actually make them.

17. Pokeball Conversion.

Let us put caught Pokemon in a Pokeball different from what we caught in it. If we want to put our starter in a Luxury Ball, just let us spend one Luxury Ball and bam, do it! Overwrite the ball it's in now. It shouldn't really be that hard since you can outright edit IVs.

18. Secret Bases or the Underground!

Give us Secret Bases back! They were amazing and fun, and being able to make your own base -- especially a base your friend could download so they could fight you on your own time! Being able to buy and decorate, or place it randomly, was also amazing. Failing Secret Bases, give us back the Underground from Sinnoh where we could dig and find items and... well, yeah, make a base down there too.

Just give us some way to make our mark on the game world. Even better if we can set a fly-point there and put our own heal station in. That way, if there's a place we want to grind, well. We can just grind there, or if we needed a break because our Pokemon were getting battered. You don't have the make the furniture easy to get, but give us some way to make our own little spot we can get cozy in, rather than the house we'll never revisit because there's no reason to ever go back there.

19. A final area where the game doesn't cheat.

I breed Pokemon competitively. I breed until a Pokemon has the extact right IVs, the exact right nature, the exact right ability. I breed Egg Moves and everything else that would cover their types. And still, things like the Battle Tree are just an unfun, messy slogy for me. The main issue I have with it is that so many times, it seems like the game outright cheats. I can't tell you how many different teams I went in, only to find that a trainer early on had hard counters for every single member of my team. Once is circumstance, twice is happenstance, but three times is a pattern... and I had no less than ten. Different Pokemon, different team comps, different days, and still, I very regularly got hard-countered.

I don't care that these options are hard. By all means, keep them hard! They're meant to be. But stop cheating and making the AI pick out a hard-counter team to yours just because you're "doing too well". I've seen it in so many post-game Pokemons, and it really needs to stop.

[welcometothepenumbra]

ORIGINAL: JUNO STEEL AND THE CASE OF THE MURDEROUS MASK (PART TWO)

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, BELL RINGS, RAIN.

MUSIC: STARTS.

CONCIERGE: Ah, good evening, Traveler! Welcome to the Penumbra. May I take your coat?

You’ve picked an excellent place to spend the night, dear Traveler. The Penumbra is the grandest hotel this side of nowhere. Countless rooms and countless halls. Just look ahead of you. See the doors go on and on… even we aren’t sure how many there are, or what lies behind them.

Will you be staying long? Many of our guests do. You’re in good company, Traveler. The Penumbra draws guests from everywhere and everywhen, and all of them have stories to tell. Stories that will excite you, delight you, and maybe even terrify you.

Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLING.

This guest has been a fixture in The Penumbra for as long as anyone can recall. He’s a detective by the name of Steel, and he’s been called in on a murder millions of years in the making.

SOUND: THREE KNOCKS. BLASTER SHOT.

What luck! It sounds like he’s in. Come, Traveler. Come with me into room J-12.

SOUND: DOOR CREAKING OPEN.

Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

JUNO (NARRATOR): The smell of french fries and Pad Thai stuck to the air like a hangover. It was the kind of smell so thick you can taste it. Hell of a meal, they serve over at the Empire’s Dragon: cut lips and busted ribs, all before they even bring out the appetizer.

My name’s Juno Steel, and this was the nicest meal I’d had in weeks.

GLASS: Juno! Oh, you delicate little flower, that punch didn’t knock you out, did it?

JUNO (NARRATOR): The only real difference between then and any other meal was that guy. Rex Glass, agent with the Dark Matters Initiative. We were chained back-to-back in an unfinished basement after getting the hors d’oeuvres beaten out of us, so things were lookin’ up. Usually you have to pay top dollar for that kind of treatment.

JUNO: Mind keeping it down back there, Glass? I’ve got a hell of a headache.

GLASS: You’re intolerable.

JUNO: Glad you noticed.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

VOICE 7: Ah, Detective Steel! And his… guest! It’s a pleasure to see you again, detective.

JUNO: Wish I could say the same, but we’ve never met.

VOICE 7: Please, gentlemen… have a seat. (LAUGHS)

JUNO (NARRATOR): Fang was a big man with little eyes and a little brain. He was maybe three hundred pounds soaking wet, and he was always soaking wet. Sweatiest man I’ve ever seen.

VOICE 7: My name is Zhu Fang, and I am the regional manager for this branch of the Triad. May I get you two anything? Water, green tea, milkshake?

GLASS: I, for one, would love some water; if you could see your way to releasing—

VOICE 7 [ZHU FANG]: Nothing? What a shame. We’ve been watching you for a long time now, Juno Steel. You have a tab with the Triad.

JUNO: I took Cecil off the Triad’s hands six years ago, Fang. It’s a long time to hold a grudge.

FANG: Your debt accrues interest every day. Each day Cecil Kanagawa remains living is a day viewers across the galaxy tune in to his shows, his feeds, his streams. And if they’re watching those, Mr. Steel, they aren’t watching ours. The Triad cannot allow that.

GLASS: This is just a thought, but… have you tried improving your own programming? It seems just slightly less drastic than espionage, kidnapping, and murder.

FANG: Improve?! (LAUGHING) Hardly! Cecil’s programs are exquisite. I especially liked his feature the other night on recent improvements in ritual execution. The demonstrations were breathtaking!

No, no, I’m afraid we’ll never beat that. And that leaves only one option: we’ll just have to beat… him. (LAUGHING) But even Cecil is pocket change compared to our specific topic for the evening. Tell me, Juno, do you read the tabloids?

JUNO: Not really.

FANG: Well, I am surprised.

For every hundred entries in any rumors column, one always tells the truth; and there is no business more lucrative than the business of truth, is there? You must know that, as a detective.

JUNO: I don’t know, Fang. I deal in truth every day and I’ve barely got enough to feed my bookie.

FANG: (LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY)

GLASS: I think he might have liked that one, Juno.

FANG: No, no, no. The money isn’t in speaking the truth. It’s in owning it. Sitting on it, like a dragon on his gold. You’d do well to remember that.

I heard an interesting rumor just the other day, Mr. Steel. One worth very much indeed.

JUNO: If it’s true.

FANG: Of course.

SOUND: SWITCHBLADE OPENING.

GLASS: Juno!

FANG: You were at the Kanagawas’ this morning. I want to hear about Croesus.

JUNO: Never heard of the guy.

REX: Juno, you idiot!

FANG: You’re a funny man, Juno Steel. But the time for jokes has passed.

JUNO: I agree. So why don’t you put down that toy and bring in a real knife?

SOUND: BLADE SWISH. GRUNT.

FANG: What do you know?

JUNO: (PAINED) I know you don’t know the first damn thing about Croesus, or else you would’ve aimed somewhere a little more vital than my thigh.

FANG: I was being generous. There are plenty of places even less vital than that, and much, much more painful.

GLASS: No! No! Don’t you dare! We’ll tell you anything you want to know!

FANG: Well, it seems we’ve gotten somewhere after all! So… Agent Glass, was it? Will you be more cooperative?

GLASS: Immediately so. Croesus Kanagawa—

JUNO: Shut up!

GLASS: —has recently obtained the Death Mask of Grimpotheuthis, an incredible archaeological find, and he’s installed an entire wing of his mansion just for storing it in.

JUNO: You…!

You shouldn’t’ve told them, Glass. The Kanagawas aren’t gonna like it.

FANG: Grim’s Mask? (LAUGHS) Gentlemen, I’ve no interest in any masks. Whether Croesus collects ancient treasures or model spaceships makes no difference to me.

I’ll be more direct. The Kanagawas’ contracts go up at the end of the month; for weeks the entertainment world has been awash with theories and speculation as to what their next slate of programs will be.

I’ve heard – from a very reputable source – that their already-extensive line will be expanding significantly.

JUNO: Interesting theory. What’s the source on this rumor?

FANG: A house that large generates a lot of trash, Mr. Steel. And I’m not just talking about the Kanagawas.

GLASS: (LAUGHING) Ehem. Well, now. I really liked that one.

JUNO: Someone found it digging through the dumpster. Not exactly rock-solid.

FANG: That may be true, Mr. Steel – but thankfully, I’ve managed to locate two experts to deliver to us firsthand testimony of Croesus’s plan. They – that’s you – will give me the details I desire.

JUNO: And then?

FANG: Then you die.

JUNO: That’s a bad deal.

GLASS: Yes, I would expect a businessman to have a better grasp on the basic tenets of selling.

FANG: I’ll remind you I have an edge in these negotiations.

GLASS: I believe he means his knife, Juno.

JUNO: Sounds about right.

GLASS: He’s being creative with his language, you see.

JUNO: Yep.

GLASS: How very clever.

FANG: What did Kanagawa send you for? What’s he planning?

GLASS: They say the truth will set you free, Juno.

JUNO: Kanagawa isn’t planning anything.

SOUND: PUNCH.

So much for that.

FANG: I’ll kill you both.

JUNO: You do, and there goes your payday. Any middle-manager who’d throw out his profits won’t stay a middle manager long. How do you think Shenlong would feel about that?

FANG: (LAUGHS) You’re behind the times, Mr. Steel. The Triad of a year ago might have left you alive. But tonight, you will die.

So what will it be, gentlemen? A quick death… or a slow one?

JUNO: (SIGHING) Alright, Fang. You win.

FANG: Of course I do. Now—

JUNO: We don’t know what the shows are. But we can get you the person who does.

FANG: You don't mean…

GLASS: Juno, do you think this is wise?

JUNO: Get us a secure line, Fang. We’ll get you a meeting with Croesus.

FANG: The man himself…! I’ll get you that line. But you’d better not try anything cute, or you’ll die on the spot.

GLASS: Nothing cute? We couldn’t possibly promise that—

JUNO: Nothing tricky. Got it.

FANG: Good. Well, gentlemen. Think about what you’ll say. It had better be a very convincing phone call – or you will have a long, long time to wish you had rehearsed.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

GLASS: Well, I have to say, Juno, that the political situation on Mars seems… unnecessarily complicated.

JUNO: Try living in it.

GLASS: Do you have any idea of how to get out of here?

JUNO: Just don’t move.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Listen, when you get tied up as often as I do, you eventually learn to prepare. My prep was cheaper than most: didn’t cost any more than a spool of thread, a needle, and a ten-cred plasma-blade box cutter. I untied the threads in my sleeve and pulled the cutter out.

GLASS: Stay still? That seems entirely contrary—

JUNO: Stay still.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I twisted it in my fingers slowly. A single twitch and that thing’d be down by our feet, and then we’d be six feet under that.

I turned the blade toward the chain, held my breath, and clicked the switch. The first chain snapped.

SOUND: LOW ELECTRIC HUM. CHAINS CLINKING.

Our hands loosened just a bit.

GLASS: Careful where you put that, Juno.

JUNO: Careful as I can be.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I didn’t mention that I couldn’t look at the cutter, the chains, or either of our hands. Maybe I should’ve. He might’ve been more ready.

GLASS: (GASPS) Ah!

SOUND: METALLIC CLATTER.

JUNO (NARRATOR): He pulled away his hand… and my plasma cutter along with it.

JUNO: Damn.

GLASS: You don’t… happen to have another one of those, do you?

JUNO: Of course I do. Just get a cab back to my place and I’ll show you a drawer full of them.

GLASS: Well? Do you have anything else?

JUNO: Can’t… quite… reach…

GLASS: Stop pulling! You’re an unbearable bunkmate, Juno. First the burning, then you hog all the chain!

JUNO: Got any better ideas?

GLASS: Somewhere in here, I’m sure. Check my back pockets. They’re too far from my hands for me to reach, but… you’re back there. Just be careful; who knows what you’ll find?

JUNO (NARRATOR): Glass wasn’t kidding. He kept more per pound in those pockets than most kangaroos. Pens, keys, cards, tablets, something that felt like a compass, a toothbrush, a phone. I found it between half a sandwich and the other half of the sandwich: a heavy-duty plasma cutter. Not exactly the kind they hand out to civilians.

JUNO: Would’ve been nice to know about this before.

GLASS: You said you had it under control.

SOUND: ELECTRIC HUM, SIZZLING.

Were you an only child, Juno? You don’t play well with others.

JUNO: Remember how I said my mother never killed me?

GLASS: Yes.

JUNO: …My brother wasn’t so lucky.

GLASS: I…

I’m… so sorry, Juno.

SOUND: CHAIN FALLS.

JUNO: Fang’s gonna be back any second. Chances are he’s bringing some goons with him. Any ideas?

GLASS: Millions. Cut the other hand free, and I’ll—

SOUND: DOOR OPENS.

Nevermind.

FANG: Well, well. So this is how the Kanagawas do business.

JUNO: Any ideas now?

GLASS: Would you like to live?

JUNO: Don’t go out of your way.

FANG: Shun! Wei! Show them what happens when you cross the Triad!

GLASS: I hope you’re good with a knife, Juno.

JUNO: Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of practice; with… my other hand.

SOUND: BLADE UNSHEATHING.

SHUN & WEI: (GROWLING)

JUNO (NARRATOR): They came at us, roaring like Sasquatch and Sasquatch’s football coach. With my good hand still chained to Glass’s and a hole in my leg deep enough to hold my keys, I wasn’t exactly in fighting form. So I dropped the knife and kicked one of the gorillas off his feet—

SOUND: GRUNT.

JUNO (NARRATOR): —and before the guy hit the ground Rex had carved him a clean set of gills.

SOUND: THUD, CHOKING.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I don’t like to look at blood, so I didn’t. Unfortunately, neither did the other ape – and that left the two of us looking at each other.

SHUN OR WEI (DOESN’T REALLY MATTER): For Zhulong!

JUNO (NARRATOR): The Neanderthal threw a mean left hook, which caught me in the chin and didn’t let go. I fell over, and Glass fell, too.

GLASS: Juno, you— oof!

JUNO (NARRATOR): But there was no time: Ursa Major’s left was spent, but his right was aiming for Glass’s head. He’d accessorized that one: a line of nasty-looking steel spikes jutted from his knuckles.

I pushed Glass out of the way and raised my arm. I always was a good catch.

SOUND: THUD. PAINED YELL.

The claws dug into my forearm deep enough that the bastard couldn’t yank ‘em out. Worked just as well for me. If he couldn’t pull ‘em, he couldn’t hit back.

I reared back with my free hand and punched him, and punched him again. After about half a dozen auditions as my speed bag, the big guy finally passed out on the floor – and his claw passed out of my arm.

JUNO: You son of a—!

GLASS: Juno! He’s getting away!

JUNO (NARRATOR): Fang was halfway out the door already, and he was dialing the phone.

JUNO: He left his gun on the desk. Put it in my good hand.

Now don’t move a muscle.

JUNO (NARRATOR): In ten seconds he’d be on the line with Triad HQ; in twenty we’d be up to our asses in gangsters.

I gave him five.

SOUND: BLASTER SHOT, THUMP.

FANG: You…

GLASS: How… unpleasant. It appears he’s still alive.

FANG: (PANTING) You… you’ve made… a grave mistake, Juno… Steel! The Triad… doesn’t forget!

JUNO: I make a lot of grave mistakes, Fang. It’s the only way to get anywhere.

Enjoy your meeting with Croesus.

SOUND: BLASTER SHOT.

GLASS: Well. All in all, that was one of the least successful dinner meetings I’ve ever had. Three bodies, one injured detective, a big boo-boo on my hand, and no clues at all.

JUNO: I wouldn’t say none. Take a look at the ID on the number he was calling.

GLASS: He was calling Triad Headquarters, so it should be…

Zhulong? But wasn’t the Triad boss named—

JUNO: Shenlong. They don’t line up. There’s been a change in management in the Triad.

GLASS: I don’t understand how that affects our case, Juno.

JUNO: The Triad wouldn’t write the wrong name. And even if Shenlong bit it after they killed Croesus, it takes time to pick a new boss.

GLASS: Then… whoever wrote that name didn’t know about the change in management.

JUNO: Whoever killed Croesus wasn’t Triad. Just looking for a convenient stooge.

Come on. We’re headed back to Kanagawa’s.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We would’ve gone straight back to Kanagawa’s if Glass hadn’t gotten in a twist over nothing. So we wasted a few hours in the local emergency room.

GLASS: Juno, I’m no doctor, but I think you might actually have more blood outside your body than inside it at the moment.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Rex was a good babysitter. It wasn’t so bad being petted for a change. Most of the human contact I get wears titanium knuckles and comes in a few hundred miles an hour. I was almost sorry when the doctor came in.

The guy bandaged my leg, put a cast on my arm, and told me I’d be bedridden for the next four days. Glass and I waited four minutes and then snuck out the back door.

GLASS: So, back to the Kanagawas’, then?

JUNO: Only place left to go.

SOUND: PAGE TURNING.

GLASS: So… you think you know who killed Croesus?

JUNO: Never said that.

But… I think I know enough to get into some trouble.

GLASS: That does seem to be your method, doesn’t it.

What’s that?

JUNO: Tabloid. I was reading it in the waiting room.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Had to hand it to Fang: he wasn’t wrong about the rumors page. Rumors about Kanagawa’s contracts, a colony of surviving Martians, a treasure thief in Hyperion City, a woman who gave birth to android twins, back-door deals and front-door lies. Figuring out what was true and what wasn’t was worth a hell of a lot of money, if you knew who to tell.

JUNO: Hey, Glass. You work this sector, right?

GLASS: Mostly. Why?

JUNO: Lot of interesting stuff in here. Lot of money to be made.

Thought you might want to look into it together.

GLASS: Why, Juno! Is that an invitation?

JUNO: Don’t read too much into it.

GLASS: I hate to break your heart, detective, but we Dark Matters agents don’t stay in any one place too long – as soon as we’ve settled this matter with Grim’s Mask I’ll be riding the cosmic breeze to the next planet.

JUNO: I’m sorry to hear that.

GLASS: As am I. But that’s the future, Juno: here we are in a beautiful present, and I’m more than willing to look into whatever you’d like. Now, where would you like to talk about these rumors? Your place or mine?

JUNO: Just land the damn car, already.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, FUNHOUSE MUSIC STARTS. FOOTSTEPS.

CECIL: Juno! You’re… oh, my. What happened to you?

JUNO: Dog bit me.

CECIL: That’s a hell of a cast for—

JUNO: It was a big dog.

GLASS: With all due respect, Cecil, I think Juno would either like to get right to business or right to a liquor cabinet.

JUNO: Both of which, I’m guessing, we could find in your dad’s office.

CECIL: (LAUGH-COUGHING) Father’s office? Well, Juno, there are just so many things in there that it wouldn’t be wise to show to the public…

JUNO: Public? I though we were brothers, Cecil. I thought that’s why you wanted me here in the first place.

CECIL: Ah, ha ha, well… I wouldn’t know what I could… (NERVOUS CHUCKLING) I’ll admit it: you caught me on my words, Junebug. Of course we trust you. But, see, it– it’s kind of crazy around here, and—

JUNO: People seem pretty calm, actually.

GLASS: That man’s been picking his nose for the last five minutes.

CECIL: (FORCED LAUGHING) Well! We’re not all busy, of course. But I am. Very, very busy. So…

VOICE 8: Now, Cecil! Is that any way to treat family?

JUNO (NARRATOR): And in she came through the door: Min Kanagawa, the shadow behind the Kanagawa family. The other three had TV shows, video streams, perfume lines. Cecil had all three. But the public almost never saw Min – even though there wasn’t a decision the family made that she did not touch.

VOICE 8 [MIN]: Juno, darling! It’s been so long!

JUNO: Min.

CECIL: Mi– M-mother! But– but you told me th—

MIN: Oh, hush, Cecil. I heard the way you talked to Mr. Steel. I could hear it from down the hall!

CECIL: But– but I—!

MIN: No buts! It’s inexcusable! And… and what’s more inexcusable is your tardiness. Your talk show is set to air in ten minutes, and where are you?

CECIL: But I– but—!

MIN: Berating the guests! Now out, you, out! Mr. Steel and his friend had a perfectly simple request, and you’ve turned it into an inquisition!

CECIL: Min!

MIN: Out!

CECIL: So sorry, friends. I’ll be on my way.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

MIN: (SIGHS) Children! I’m so sorry for Cecil’s behavior, Juno. We’ve been turned upside-down since last evening. It’s Croesus’s office you want, isn’t it?

JUNO: If you don’t mind.

MIN: Not at all. Follow me, gentlemen.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

GLASS: (QUIETLY) Well, that was easy.

JUNO: (QUIETLY) Don’t count on it.

MIN: I’m sure Cecil told you what the situation has been like on our end – just horrible. At the pace we live, we haven’t even had a moment to mourn poor Croesus yet – there are some moments when I call him to ask a question, only to remember… (SNIFFS) horrible, horrible.

GLASS: We’re so very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Kanagawa.

MIN: I assume Cecil told you not to say a word about this.

JUNO: Had us sign about a dozen forms to that effect, too.

MIN: Good. Oh, I know it seems heartless. This is business, I think to myself. Where has the soul gone from business? But we’ve shareholders to consider, viewers to appease. This just isn’t the end to Croesus Kanagawa that will satisfy them. We’ll have to keep it quiet until such an end is written.

VOICE 9: Um, excuse me, Mrs. Kanagawa? The writing team put together these posts for the boss’s feed, but they need signatures.

MIN: Of course they do. I’ll be just a moment, gentlemen.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

GLASS: She seems nice.

JUNO: Seems that way.

GLASS: Pretty, too.

JUNO: Mm-hm.

GLASS: I don’t like the way you’re looking at that woman, Juno.

JUNO: Woman like Min Kanagawa, taking your eye off her is a good way to end up dead.

GLASS: Do you think she killed him?

JUNO: No. She’s Croesus’s second wife, and there’s good money on the fact that she opened that position herself.

GLASS: You don’t mean…

JUNO: That job was so clean it took five experts just to prove that a woman was dead. Killing Kanagawa with the mask… too messy. Not her style.

MIN: Oh, boys! What are you two whispering about back there?

JUNO: Ancient history.

MIN: How delightful. So sorry to interrupt you with business matters, but…

SOUND: PEN SCRIBBLING.

…there. The world keeps turning, even when the master is away.

JUNO: That was a hell of a signature, Min. Didn’t see your name anywhere in it.

MIN: I’m sure you two can keep that little legal indiscretion to yourselves, can’t you? So many papers flow by… Croesus just didn’t have time to look at them all. You know how it is.

JUNO: I’ll take your word for it.

MIN: Good. Now, Croesus’s office is just around the corner.

SOUND: DISTANT YELL.

GLASS: What in the hell was that?

MIN: I don’t know. You don’t think… anyone is hurt, do you?

SOUND: ANOTHER YELL.

JUNO: It’s coming from the office!

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We ran down the hall together, and the screaming just got louder.

I already knew who it was, and I knew Min did, too. There wasn’t a single person in Hyperion City who didn’t recognize that roar – it had played on the Kanagawa stream between the hours of 8 and 9 every Thursday since she was fifteen years old.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS.

JUNO: Cassandra!

CASSANDRA: Juno! (PANTING) You took it, didn’t you? You always do this!

JUNO: Don’t remember. Help me out. What did I take?

CASSANDRA: Yesterday! Give it back, Juno, or I swear I’m gonna ki—

JUNO: You don’t mean the mask, do you?

CASSANDRA: The mask? I don’t care about the mask!

GLASS: Nobody seems to.

CASSANDRA: I knew it! I knew I couldn’t trust you!

GLASS: I’m Special Agent Rex Glass, with the Dark Matters Initiative.

CASSANDRA: Get out!

JUNO: Settle down. Agent Glass is here to help me figure this whole thing out.

GLASS: I’ve been sent to investigate this curse, and any claims toward its existence I am charged to examine. Ms. Kanagawa, my only interest is the mask. Truly.

MIN: Talk to them, Cassandra. It will be alright.

CASSANDRA: You’re going to tell me that? Seriously?

You wanna know what I’m looking for, Juno? My papers. I’m sick of waiting for you, and I’m getting out of here.

GLASS: As is your right as a Martian citizen, Ms. Kanagawa. Once the matter of your father’s death is settled, you’ll be free to go.

CASSANDRA: (LAUGHS) I’m leaving now.

GLASS: Let the detective and me clear you, then, and you may go. Isn’t that right, detective?

JUNO: Yeah, Cass. Just answer a few questions. If it all lines up, you can go.

CASSANDRA: You’ll show me where to go? She can’t stop me, right?

JUNO: She doesn’t have the right.

MIN: Hmm.

GLASS: This shouldn’t take five minutes of your time, Ms. Kanagawa.

CASSANDRA: You’re on the clock.

GLASS: After you, Juno.

JUNO: (SIGHS) Alright. What’re you looking for?

CASSANDRA: I already told you. My papers.

JUNO: I don’t think so. Earlier today, Cassie, you told me Croesus was going to let you go. That he wasn’t gonna renew your contract. That right?

CASSANDRA: …Sure.

GLASS: We heard a rumor to a slightly different effect. Is it at all possible that you were mistaken?

CASSANDRA: I heard him just fine.

GLASS: Well, another perspective, then. Is it possible that he… deceived you?

Don’t tell me your father never lied to anyone, Cassandra. Nobody ever made it in show business telling only little white lies.

CASSANDRA: Just a few questions, huh? Some questions, when you already know the answers. That contract was a secret, and you took it just to mess with my head, didn’t you!

GLASS: Your father told a lot of lies, I gather. A man like that is bound to meet a violent end eventually.

CASSANDRA: Better late than never.

JUNO: What’d he do? What was so bad that he had to die?

GLASS: Just what was it about that contract that made you kill Croesus Kanagawa?

CASSANDRA: It was right here! Another ten seasons for all of us, twice as many shows… on camera every second of the day, Juno!

JUNO: I thought you said he was going to let your contract lapse?

CASSANDRA: That’s what he promised! That’s what was supposed to happen. And then he– then he stole that stupid mask, and the ratings went up. Everyone’s did, and then… I was so worried… there was so much money. He was gonna sign me away again. I just– I couldn’t just let him get away with it!

GLASS: Is this a confession?

CASSANDRA: I saw that contract in here about a week ago, when I was looking for him. I brought it into my room to read the thing over, but… I had to put it down for a while. I couldn’t believe it. He promised me, he promised me so many times, and then, when I was finally going to tell him off, the contract was gone. I couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere.

JUNO: It was…

Hang on.

CASSANDRA: So. He lied to me. And when he found out I knew about it, he snuck into my room and took his contract back. So two nights ago, I finally decided… decided that I’d talk to him about it. One-on-one. Without anybody watching.

GLASS: Without witnesses, you mean.

JUNO: Just a second, Glass—

CASSANDRA: I didn’t have anything planned! I was just gonna talk to him.

I found him in that room – the one with the mask. He was pissed off the second he saw me, screaming about… I asked him about the contract. He told me he didn’t know what I was talking about, and he just kept screaming about his stupid mask and that stupid glass case he’d spent all that money on. He wouldn’t admit it! He lied to me about my freedom, and he lied to me about the contract, and I couldn’t take it anymore! I just got so mad, I…

I pushed him. I didn’t think I pushed him hard enough to break the glass, but… it was enough, I guess. He fell into the case. The mask covered his face, and then… it ripped him apart.

JUNO (NARRATOR): She wouldn’t look at me when she said it. For a minute I thought it was because she was ashamed. Should’ve known better. I followed her eyes to the door, and there stood Min – a cameraman pointing his all-seeing eye over her shoulder. Delivering lines to the camera, her tears sent out in high definition over every stream across Mars.

I wasn’t mad at her. You can’t blame a puppet for moving when the strings get pulled.

CASSANDRA: Juno… what did I do?

JUNO: It’s showbiz, Cass. It’s in your blood.

MIN: Gentlemen, I think it’s time to take my daughter away now.

SOUND: HEAVY FOOTSTEPS. DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

GLASS: Well. I suppose… come to think of it, that doesn’t answer any of my questions about Grim’s Curse at all.

JUNO: No curse here, Glass. Just business.

GLASS: A curse of its own stripe entirely. …Juno?

JUNO: Y’know, there are just two things bugging me about this case, and the curse ain’t one of ‘em. First one’s about that contract. Not like an important doc like that to just go missing. Is it, Min?

MIN: Surely a sign of a fractured mind. Our psychiatric evaluators will get right on it.

JUNO: Your shrinks. Huh. That must be where she’s headed, then.

GLASS: I’m not sure I follow—

JUNO: Hoosegow. Local lock-up owned and operated by Croesus— sorry, by Min Kanagawa.

Y’know what’s funny about Hoosegow, Glass? Cameras everywhere. They cover every inch of the damn place. It’s for security, they say. But… hey, who owns that footage, Min?

MIN: Cecil, technically. It’s for his shows.

JUNO: Cecil owns the footage. So if someone owns Cecil…

It is funny about the contract. Funny how a paper with Croesus’s signature on it just goes missing. And it must be hard for you, Min, but if you take the long view of it, you’re doin’ alright, aren’t you? Croesus’s show was on the decline anyway—

GLASS: Juno!

JUNO: —Cassandra was going to leave; once people forgot about the mask, you were gonna have two duds on your hands again. But now… now you’ve got a special on the starlet who killed her father, you’ve got a show about her rotting away in jail, and you still have her brother to milk for all he’s got.

Sound about right, Min? Theoretically, I mean.

MIN: Theoretically, of course. If only you had the paper to prove it.

JUNO: It’s a real shame I don’t. I don’t mean much, Min, but I do mean that.

Come on, Rex.

MIN: Oh, Juno! Speaking as one who cares about you, dear, you might want to stay clear of dark alleys for a while. The Kanagawa family doesn’t take well to brothers who harm their own.

JUNO: Never put much stock in family, Min. Thanks for reminding me why.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

GLASS: Well. All’s well that ends well, eh, Juno?

Admittedly we’ll need to broaden our definition of ‘well,’ but…

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

Juno, you aren’t going to be silent all evening, are you? Your overbearing misanthropy is part of your charm, but this is a bit much.

JUNO: Not in the mood to celebrate, Glass.

GLASS: Oh, come now, Juno, I’ve only one evening left on Mars. You aren’t going to spend it sobbing into your drink, are you?

JUNO: Never been much of a sobber. I’m more of a “catch your reflection at the bottom of a glass and feel sick” kind of guy.

GLASS: Juno…

You’ve done nothing wrong, you know. She did still kill her father.

JUNO: That’s true.

GLASS: It’s over. We all survived, if you don’t count my poor hand. My wound still throbs when it rains, you brute.

Only… I was wondering. In Kanagawa’s office, you said there were two things bothering you, but you only mentioned one. What was the other?

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

JUNO: Refill?

GLASS: (LAUGHING) So that’s how it is, is it?

You know… you’re very handsome when you’re like this.

JUNO: Getting drunker by the second?

GLASS: Morally outraged.

Look at him… standing up against the big, mean world… It’s so… futile, and foolish, and…

Sexy.

JUNO: You…

You don’t have to go, Rex.

GLASS: (GIGGLING) See? This is exactly what I mean.

JUNO: Listen. You don’t have to do this. You know that, right?

GLASS: Oh, but of course I do. I’m needed by something larger than we are. I’ve given my life to it.

But life can wait one night, Juno. Come here.

SOUND: KISSING.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Lips like silk. Strong hands, pulling on my coat. It was the kind of kiss that feels like it’s going to last the rest of your life… until it’s over, and then you know you got as much as you deserved.

I wanted to get to know this man. And that’s why I had to say it – even if it was the last thing I wanted to say.

JUNO: Rex…

GLASS: Juno.

JUNO: Has anyone ever told you…

SOUND: HANDCUFFS CLICKING.

…that you’re under arrest?

GLASS: Oh, Juno! Usually not until the second date, but—

JUNO: I mean it, Glass. Or… whoever the hell you are.

GLASS: I… I take it from your tone that this is not another layer to the roleplay. (SIGHING) Fine, I’ll play along. Under arrest for what?

JUNO: The attempted theft of the Mask of Grimpotheuthis.

GLASS: I haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.

JUNO: And for stealing the keys to my safe right out of my pocket.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLING.

GLASS: Ha ha… yes, well, that does sound more familiar.

JUNO: You want to know what the second thing was? It was the mask’s case. A perfectly circular cut – the kind of cut that compass in your pocket might be able to make.

GLASS: Very perceptive! I knew I’d regret letting you root around in there. But I couldn’t resist.

JUNO: I had it figured out before then. You called the case “smashed.” It wasn’t smashed – it was broken into cleanly. A burglary, not a struggle. Why the hell would Croesus Kanagawa’s killer take the mask out so quietly, and then leave it behind like that?

You must have been interrupted. You cut that circle in the glass, but didn’t have time to pull it out – and then Croesus came along.

GLASS: I had to make good my escape, and quickly – you have no idea about the security in that mansion, Juno. There ought to be a law!

JUNO: Who are you really?

GLASS: Oh, what’s in a name, Juno? We’re all but shapes, moving through this void of ours; it so great, and we so small.

JUNO: I need to know.

GLASS: You may want to know, love, but you don’t need to. A signifier to these senses you feel – it might make things simpler. But life is hardly simple, Juno, and neither am I.

I don’t tell anyone my name. It would take someone very special for me to tell it now.

JUNO: I knew it was you. But I thought you’d…

So is Wire in on it too, then? You two working together?

GLASS: Who? Oh, you mean Dark Matters? No, no, Juno. They told you the truth. The truth as they knew it, at any rate. I do answer to the name Rex Glass – for the moment.

JUNO: You got into Dark Matters on your own?

GLASS: (LAUGHING) Not alone. It pays to have powerful friends, Juno, when one makes powerful enemies. You’ve demonstrated as much with the Kanagawas.

Allow me to shift the focus of our conversation, will you?

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO: You’ve got about two minutes before the cops get here. You can say whatever you want until then.

GLASS: Hyperion City isn’t the safest place for you at the moment, is it? In one day you’ve made enemies with two of the largest crime families in town – hardly wise. It sounds to me like you need to… disappear.

And I happen to be an expert in disappearance.

JUNO: Taking off takes a lot of things I don’t have. Money. Self-respect.

GLASS: Oh, but you do have those things, Juno! You can leave Hyperion City behind; I’ll leave my powerful friends behind. We’ll sell the mask and live a life of thrills and decadence across the galaxy, always running, never looking back. We could have quite a time together, Juno. Who knows what kind of trouble we could cause?

SOUND: KNOCKING. DOOR OPENS.

JUNO: Officers.

VOICE 10: This our guy?

GLASS: I could be, officer. Just give me a chance.

JUNO: Be careful with him. He’s slippery.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

GLASS: It could be quite an adventure, Juno.

JUNO: I’m sure it will be. I wish I could come along.

I’ll be down at the station in a minute.

GLASS: You’re so cute like this, Juno. Until we meet again.

SOUND: DOOR CLOSES.

JUNO (NARRATOR): He was gone. His smell still lingered in the air – that cologne I never could place. A scent from some other planet, like nothing I’d ever smelled before. It’d take weeks to get that stink out.

I needed to clear my head a minute before I drove over. I poured myself another drink…

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

…and that’s when I saw it. A little slip of paper, sticking up between the cushions. He must’ve written it behind his back. I’d believe he could do anything.

GLASS (NARRATOR): Juno,

If you wish for one last glimpse of me, watch the public access feed for Route 742. Somewhere around Mercury Drive, I suspect… but no farther than Vulcanis Way. Get a good look, detective: it may be your last.

I do hope it isn’t, though. I meant every word I said, Juno. It will be quite an adventure. I’ll be waiting for you to join me.

Signed, Your Better Half, Peter Nureyev

JUNO: Damn!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO: Rita!

RITA (FROM COMMS): (YAWNING, GROGGY) M-Mista Steel…? Whatta you doin’, callin’ me—

JUNO: Rita, I need you to get me a call with Sasha Wire. Now.

RITA (FROM COMMS): Who…?

JUNO: Agent W. The Dark Matters woman who called this morning.

RITA (FROM COMMS): She said it was con-fi-dent—

JUNO: Just call her, damn it!

RITA (FROM COMMS): Alright! Testy, testy…

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I couldn’t wait. I had to know.

SOUND: STATIC BLIP. TV CHANNELS CHANGING.

JUNO: Come on, come on, god damn it, Nureyev, where are you?

SOUND: DISTANT SIREN.

JUNO: Damn it!

MUSIC: STARTS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): It was exactly where he said it would be. Route 742. Mercury Drive. The cop car was parked on the sidewalk. Sitting on the ground beside it, in nothing but their skin and their skivvies, were the two cops who’d picked him up earlier. They were hog-tied, their mouths gagged. And Nureyev was nowhere in sight.

I checked my pocket. The key to my safe was gone.

JUNO: No!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

WIRE (FROM COMMS): Juno! This line is confidential! If you needed me so badly, you should have had Agent Glass call!

Where is he?

JUNO: Wish I knew, Sasha. Come on down sometime and I’ll tell you the whole story.

WIRE (FROM COMMS): You’ll tell me the story now, Juno. Juno!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO (NARRATOR): That’s how things go, in Hyperion City. One day, she’s your daughter; next day, she’s your killer. One minute, he’s your partner; next minute… he’s gone.

I drank until I couldn’t think anymore and then I passed out on the couch. Sasha might have called a few times, but I didn’t answer. Couldn’t trust her. I couldn’t trust anyone just then.

But when you get hurt by the big mean world, you lick your wounds, and you start over. The world gets a little bigger, a little meaner. Maybe you do, too.

And in the meantime, sleep; sleep, and the smell of Peter Nureyev in the air. It would take weeks for that smell to fade. I’ve missed it ever since.

MUSIC: ENDS.

***

SOUND: RAIN & MUSIC.

CONCIERGE: The tale you’ve just heard, Part Two of Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask, was told by the following people: Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel, Noah Simes as Peter Nureyev, Dan Squizzero as Zhu Fang, Sophie Kaner as Agent Sasha Wire, Cecil Kanagawa, and Cassandra Kanagawa, Kate Jones as Rita and Min Kanagawa, and Kevin Vibert and Ryan Meyer as the ensemble.

On staff at The Penumbra: Ryan Meyer is our recording engineer. Kevin Vibert is our lead writer and sound effects designer. Sophie Kaner is our director, lead editor, and sound designer. Juno’s theme was written by Ryan Vibert.

The Penumbra was created by Sophie Kaner and Kevin Vibert.

I’m so sorry you’ve been called away, dear Traveler. We eagerly await your return.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

[mistbornhero]

I would love to hear about Mexican restaurants, Mexican food, regions of food, and Mexico's chain restaurant! :D I'm always interested in learning more. Take your time though, no need to rush with explaining~

Okay, so this will rely a lot on personal experience and discussions with my parents. Important context things:

I’m from Queretaro, Queretaro

lived there about half of my life? I’d have to count

Central-ish mexico, close to mexico city

 I also lived in Linares, Nuevo Leon 

lived there two years, I was like 9

Buuut food is one of those things that sticks with you

Linares is a tiny, tiny town with like 5 restaurants

Seriously, want a burger? Drive to Monterrey

Or wait for that Carls’ Jr bus to drop by lmao

North of mexico, close to Texas

My parents are both from Mexico City

I’ve visited a lot of other states/cities. Not enough to know everything, but enough to know that everywhere is different.

Gonna put emphasis on this: I don’t know everything want to tell me I’m wrong? Go ahead. I’ll be happy to know more about my own country, I miss it so much sometimes.

The easiest difference to point out is that when in Mexico, it’s a pretty safe bet that everything in a flour tortilla is from the North. It’s a thing.

Hard shell tacos are absolutely not a thing anywhere I know of and google tells me Taco Bell invented it or something.

Let’s start with the easy thing: burritos, pictured above are the kind I’ve had (1,3) and picture 2 is Moes, because there’s this guy who’s been saying it’s the best place ever and I guess it’s on my mind for a quick example lmao

In Queretaro, you hardly ever see burritos being sold anywhere, and if you do it is buried under everything else you know is good, so you hardly ever ask for it. Ask someone in Queretaro who hasn’t really gone to the north and they’ll probably tell you that burritos are most likely this weird American invention they’ve never seen in a restaurant until their rise to popularity on TV, because that does kinda affect things.

However, go to Nuevo Leon, and burritos are everywhere. Go to someone’s house? They’ll probably offer you one to eat. By that I mean a flour tortilla with fried beans with maybe a side of salsa, but that’s optional because it’s a burrito. Go to a taco place and they sell fancier burritos, usually keeping the beans because they’re essential to the burrito and add different meats. Go to an actual restaurant and you get it with a side of rice and more beans, or guacamole. (See the pictures on either side)

I never in my time there saw one with rice on it. Rice is usually a side dish, and when I say taco place you can be sure I mean a place that pretty much only does tacos lmao. But I also know, like I pointed out before, I don’t know everything. Could be a thing in like Chihuahua for all I know. They probably sell them at Chillis now, but Chillis is american so like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mooooooooooooving on.

Reminder: we use mostly corn tortillas in central/south mexico. So when I say tacos are about what is inside them I really, really mean it. Almost every taco stand will be making their own tortillas on the spot, most of them so quickly that it’s pretty amazing. And you can also get them in color! Not everywhere, tbh, that’s mostly in fancier places, or if you’re lucky, because they’re awesome. Dropping this here so you can see the pretty variety:

Tacos.

Oh, god, tacos. There’s so many different kinds. So many places. I cannot narrow this down. This is where we really get into what I said about things being from places and regions. Right here I’m just gonna focus on Queretaro and pick 4 types/places because fuck vague 9 year old me memories, ok? Also see the thing about there being like 5 restaurants there lmao (one might get a honorary mention tho)

If you’re by some miracle going there, you may take this as a rec list lmao

Okay, back to tacos. I don’t know where to start. Figured it out, images in order of paragraph, tried to link the places, too. These are just Taco Places, specializing in tacos

Say you want to go to the taco cart in front of the shopping center (for anyone Fabi Jana, they’re soooo good) They have tacos de guisos (stew tacos, I guess), they’ve got amazing  chicharron, moronga, tbh smol me really liked their potatoes and cheese one and they can make anything into a quesadilla. They’ve got a stand off to the side with fresh orange juice and a cooler with sodas. There’s like two places to sit. I think when I was little they had the salsas and the beans out on the table with lemons and napkins but they don’t anymore. There’s still a choice of like 4 different salsas.

Single corn tortilla

Stews

Possible quesadillas

Great beans

4+ salsas

Fresh orange juice

Would I put rice here? No (I don’t think they even sell it?)

Beans? Depends on which type, but no, it’s a side

Cheese? Yes, note it’s not cheddar/american, idk what it is

Lettuce? No

It’s completely different than if you want tacos de basura (which does, in fact translate to trash tacos) where the cool thing is that you don’t actually know what you’re getting. There’s beef and bacon and sausage and who even knows tbh. It’s a bit like Durangos discada but not quite. (no site or facebook for them lol)

corn tortilla, you can ask for double

who really knows???

lots of salsas, i don’t really remember

Would I put rice here? No (I don’t think they even sell it?)

Beans? Nah

Cheese? Not really the kind?

Lettuce? Why not

Or maybe what you want is a smoothie and tacos de canasta. And for these, you would go to La Capilla (they’ve got an actual website and more stores than I remember lmao) and these were so good, and they’re kinda like the stew tacos in that you get to pick the thing, but also v different

single corn tortilla

kinda greasy tbh

squisheeeeed

I remember like three salsas?

Smothies :D

Would I put rice here? No

Beans

Cheese? Sure (the cheese one is already really good tho)

Lettuce? Maybe?

Want something that feels more like a generalized restaurant maybe try El Pata, there’s mixed opinions, some people say it’s too commercial and it kinda sucks. But I like it lmao (holy shit they’ve grown so much more???? wtf I still remember when they were a tiny stand) So for them I’d go to get a gringa which I was able to get while I lived in tennessee, but it’s basically a flour tortilla with cheese, al pastor, and depending on where you are pineapple. (okay, uh, it;s not on their menu now, I give up on this place) THEy have amazing agua de Horchata though, so maybe go for that lmao

Double tortilla

Trompo

Pretty much any meat tbh they’ve also got stews

They have this thing with like ten mini cups of different salsas on it

Agua de Horchata

Would I put rice here? Nah

Beans? Depends on which type, but not really

Cheese? Yes, note it’s not cheddar/american, (they have this chicharron de queso very good)

Lettuce? maybe

!Pineapple? yeah

Jumping cities to Linares the thing I remember the most was this Taco Pirata (Pirate Taco :D yes) and I don;t think i’d find it in google, but I used to swear it was the Biggest Taco ever and then went back like 5 years later and they were just regular big. It was flour tortilla and meat and avocado and beans and a lot of cheese lol so yes, a burrito. North of Mexico. No bullet points due to vague memories

And let’s jump again for my favorite place in Mexico City because it deserves to be mentioned. El Borrego Viudo is amazing, okay? It’s open all day every day ever since my mom was a kid. You get these packages with like 5 tacos and they are hella smol and soooo goood that once I ate like 5 of the packages and didn’t even notice. They’ve also got this really good drink called Tepache and it deserves

double tortilla

smol

I don’t think I ever knew

bistec probably

basics? so a few

plus cilantro and cebolla, forgot to add those in all the others

Tepache!!

Would I put rice here? No thanks

Beans? No.

Cheese? Nah

Lettuce? maybe

.............................

It’s now past 3am, i’ve been at this on and off for like two hours lmao

Didn’t get to more food than tacos, which is where Smaller Regional variety comes in, or the chains (basically Sanborns and mayyyyybe, just mayyyybe VIPS, but they’re only in big cities) I’ll do a post some other day.

[sierrabinondo]

summer tour 2018 - days 1 - 4

welp tumblr i am back again with a new tour recap!!! people liked this last time so here i am i guess

this tour recap is mostly for my own reasons. there’s something different about documenting something life-changing and important to yourself on a social media site you’ll probably be subject to visiting again without trying, as opposed to writing it by hand which hurts after a while or in a word document that you’ll never open.

my band with sails ahead just embarked on our longest tour ever. 11 shows, no off days. we somehow still got sleep, ate well (and went broke for it), and didn’t get sick. it wasn’t perfect every night, but it was still rewarding even in the smallest possible ways. 

i decided to recap this across several posts as an easier way to read everything instead of one long one that would serve as a painful, arduous read. so here are days 1-4.

day 1 - asbury

our tour kicked off in asbury, so we were home for our first day. it was sort of difficult to get in the mindset for tour but once destination dimension arrived i was good.  

in asbury i always passed this storage trailer-looking building with palm trees all around it. it turns out it’s called outpost city, and it’s an oasis for touring musicians to come hang out while on the road. it’s invite-only (i think?? PLEASE check me), and we were contacted a week before tour started to go check it out. i already promised work i was going to work a full day my last day but hooooly we could not turn this down. this place had a lounge area, a small demo studio, free wifi, and a general store with product placed in there by brands that you could grab FOR FREE. as long as we tagged the brands on all of our social media the stuff was ours. we spent a few hours there before the brewery show and it was really fun. i had to do work the whole time as a result of leaving work early haha, but i still enjoyed it a lot.

Photo: Julie Yi Photography

the brewery show was awesome. i didn’t play the greatest set so i was super bummed haha, at least i don’t think, but we had a great turnout. the line-up was awesome and we got to see a lot of friends.  sound was amazing and as always the brewery is just the coolest venue.  really grateful we could finally play here. i was so glad people showed up early to see destination dimension so that they at least had a crowd. a lot of my friends cared about making it in time for them which was nice of them. it was incredibly weird to have ryan watch us while another drummer was playing with us, we all felt so bad. we were so distraught leading up to this tour about him not joining us due to his carpal tunnel, but we had no choice. our friend and fill-in drummer matt shindle killed it and the show made us excited for the rest of the run. i think i said a cool and inspiring thing that made everyone yell very excitedly but then i followed it up with some lame shit so it ruined the moment lmao. 

Photo: Julie Yi Photography

i returned back to my house in brick with destination dimension and jeremiah came with so that we had one more night together before i left. i was feeling a little better about leaving but i wouldn’t actually be excited until we were finally in the van. 

day 2 - falls church, va

after waking up mad early on like 5 hours of sleep only, i got ready to leave as julie was dropped off at my house to drive up to bandago together. i cried as jeremiah said goodbye to me because i’m a big dumb baby and never ever spend time apart from him haha.

the drive to virginia took forever. i was so exhausted but for some reason it was impossible to sleep in the van. and then i led us to the wrong holiday inn; our actual hotel was so far that we just had to check in late and go straight to the show. the vfw was actually a pretty cool spot. it was nice to be in falls church again; the last time i was there was when i was a kid and my aunt and uncle lived in an apartment way before they had my cousins. 

Photo: Julie Yi Photography - us with pulses, destination dimension and a couple members of timberbrooke!

turnout wasn’t huge at all (a pattern that would repeat itself lmao) but all of the bands were super nice. of course, we were extremely stoked to play with pulses. i felt bad because i kept screwing up faces, names and bands at first but it ended up being fine.  our friends said i played more confidently this show than the night before but it didn't feel like that. i felt like i sounded like shit and i looked like an idiot lmao. on stage, there’s actually a million things going through my head while i'm singing. i almost wanted to throw the microphone at one point but can’t do that!!! i also apparently sounded better but i still have issues believing people when they say i sang well, because people lie to other musicians all the time and tell them they're great just to be polite. i warm up before every show and do diaphragm exercises but if my throat fucking feels like shit from my allergies and tight and dry there's nothing i can do. the humidifier doesn't help. there's not a day where i don't practice. i wish my body wasn't so unforgiving haha.

well the korean BBQ spot next door was cool lmao and there was a dog at the show. our hotel room was nice but the furniture was so oddly arranged. it was difficult to make room for the air mattresses but we made it work. i shouldn’t talk though because hotel rooms on tour are a luxury haha.

day 3 - greensboro, nc

the drive to greensboro was just a little stressful because of the torrential downpour, and a car accident happened right in front of us at one point lmao. but mostly, the drive was so serene and beautiful. we drove through the blue ridge mountains and listened to the new anthony green album. this is what i love about touring, getting to see these beautiful sights. i think i almost cried hahaha.

we arrived to greensboro and the block we were on for the gig had some sick spots. we got vegetarian food at this place called boba house. the food was incredible. and then the venue, new york pizza, had $3 craft beer!!! insane. i didn't drink the last tour and i said i wouldn't this time but i remembered we were going to be in a position to try some region-specific foods and beers, so i let myself have a sunshine gose from birdsong brewery after our set. it was soooo good. yeah funny thing was, i actually drank A LOT this tour. last tour i was super sheepish about it, but this time i was going to be in too many new places to not try local beers. it didn’t affect me as much as i thought it would but i believe it still did to *some*extent. i also couldn't resist the touch tunes juke box and helped myself to playing santana again like the last tour hahaha.

the turnout was decent but everyone the headlining band brought (and the band themselves) stood outside for every band. at one point joe went outside as we were about to go on and yelled at everyone saying “hey guys we drove a long way to play the show come inside” i was mortified lmao. sadly, you cannot make people care about you, they have to show interest on their own. BUT, obviously he was saying what we were all thinking. listening to a band play from outside the venue does not always mean you are paying attention to the bands. they didn't even come inside for one single song for any band. if you can’t make the people you bring stay for the bands, fine, but why play the show at all if you don’t care about the touring bands? 

Photo: Julie Yi Photography

chris, the vocalist of destination dimension, was a huge huge help to me on tour. he gave me really great honest criticism and it helped me work on some bad habits i have while performing. i know i’m a big baby and all but i can take critique and i wish more of my musician friends were more honest with me. it shows they care because they don’t let me blindly wander around just repeating the same awful habits. for the first time i also wore both earplugs in while singing but it only lasted two songs. i know it’s foolish to not wear them, but i cannot stand how i sound with earplugs in, it fucks me up just as bad. i used to use earasers but i was sick of pissing away $40 everytime i lost them. and i'm not capable of not misplacing something, i know i'll lose them again. i wasn’t too happy with my performance this show either but the people watching us were cool and attentive. wes was so kind to hook the show up for us, and we loved the dudes in impersona. really fantastic band.

later that night shindle realized he left his laptop charger at the venue. we were using his laptop for interludes and his click tracks. it was too late to go back so we decided we’d go back in the morning before leaving to go back to charleston. but sadly the venue didn’t have it and we absolutely had to move on to the next city. i felt so bad. however we were able to make our tracks still work on my personal laptop that i brought. 

day 4 - charleston, sc

charleston was a little rough lmao, but still fun. as always we arrived just in time to check in to our hotel, get food and pull up to the venue for load in. we stayed at a holiday inn, and we were hoping since it was a hotel that the room would be nice and big but it wasn't. the beds were huge though. after checking in we noted that a counter service-type grits restaurant was across the parking lot. i was going to try to only buy one meal per show day but it looked like the next day i'd be buying grits for breakfast haha.

it was an insanely hot day. in fact, the hottest day on tour. it was bad. it was at least 90 degrees or more out especially with the humidity but whatever, we were heading to the venue soon so we would hopefully find relief there. something i was ABSOLUTELY adamant about was that we ate cookout. for anyone who doesn't know, cookout is a chain based in the south that serves southern food and super cheap, filling meals. you can get a “tray” which is like one main meat or dish, two sides and a drink for $5.29. the tour package met there to eat before load in. stopping made us late, but there was no way in hell we weren't going and i was making sure of that lmao. and it was worth being a lil late i think, i think everyone liked it. santino bought twice the amount of the tray he ordered hahaha.

so we finally get to the venue, which is tua lingua - and

there's no

air

conditioning

we had zero idea this place had no central air. i had no idea the place didn't have it!!! but otherwise the venue was a very sick spot. like out of the blue in cambridge (rip), but much much bigger. they had numerous amazing art pieces, a dark room and an interactive bubble exhibit. the staff was very nice. we did our best to play the best set we could with the heat. at certain points it was even cooler outside the building because the hot air just wasn’t moving out. we almost cut our set short out of fear of not being able to handle the heat but we made it through. we also had to play without our tracks but that was fine. a couple people named jesse and fianna came to the show because they heard about it from the hemisphere facebook group!! so awesome. zacoma also made us a custom copy of their CD based off our tour marketing it was so fucking sweet of them!! i don’t have the photo of it otherwise i would have shared it but when i get it i’ll post it. them and hollow notes made the show a great one, i highly recommend both bands. i bet tua lingua is sooo sick to play in cooler weather just not in the summer haha.

photo credit: julie yi photography LOOK AT HOW SWEATY I AM. 

because the show ended massively early (THE DREAM), i suggested going to the charleston waterfront since we had time to explore! santino was wary because the poor guy was starving, but he agreed to spending 30 minutes of walking around. so the tour package drove out to the waterfront/rainbow row and we walked around for a while. it was sooooo beautiful out, i was so happy to see the town again. a guy jumped in the pineapple fountain as we were dipping our feet in to dig for change and he was in there for an hour HAHA. we also ended up staying an hour because we were having so much fun. there was another fountain nearby you could actually walk through. maybe it wasn't actually allowed but there were no signs so whoops!! we went from just sticking our hands in the jets to santino and jaime sticking their whole fucking heads in i was screaming laughing hahaha. it was a very happy and pure moment.

on this tour i learned a lot of new things about santino, one of which is that he apparently really likes milk LMFAO. and we had to like run around to try to find somewhere open that would have milk and cookies but everyone settled for taco bell. we went back to the hotel to watch aggretsuko but netflix kept glitching and the screen would black out whenever subs were on the screen i was so pissed. but we enjoyed a very wonderful night of going to bed early.

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names”- Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 31

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 31 - The T.V.

~29 December 2005~ 

In an extremely rare moment of peace, Rex decided to take a stroll through downtown Domino City with all his… friends, for lack of a better word. If anything, he felt bad that everyone was doing so many nice things for him, and he had no appropriate way to return the favour. The weather during their stroll was as nice as it was shortly before regionals. After all I’ve done to everyone since then… am I really deserving?

It was Espa, of all people, who snapped him out of his thoughts. “FREAKING OW! ”

“Espa?” Mako turned around to see his boyfriend trying to bend over to pick up a maternity shirt that fell out of his handbag. “See, this is why I told you not to bite more than you can chew. Because you’re not-”

“Yeah, I know, I’m not a shark. Or a shifter like you.”

Mako smiled as he gently stroked Espa’s baby bump. “Maybe one of our babies might be. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

“So, that’s why I’ve been in pain all the time. Ugh.” Espa groaned, then looked to Rex.

“What, have the twins been giving you trouble?”

“Yeah… They’re growing so fast. Not helped, of course, by how they always want spicy food. If they don’t get it, they’re kicking me like crazy…” Espa rubbed his temples. “I haven’t been getting much sleep. I don’t know how you do it, Rex.”

“Heh, what an odd way to bond. Well, just think of how happy you’ll be when you finally get to look into their eyes. And believe me, it hasn’t been much easier for me, either.” Rex’s smile quickly faded. “At least you have the father of your babies at your side.”

The party, now feeling like they were done for the day, decided to make one last stop before going home. Rex’s beloved park was badly damaged from the monster attacks, and even with landscapers working hard to restore it, he knew it would take forever to regrow the roses that were once there.

“This is the park where we had the baby shower…” Rex couldn’t bear to look at the brambles all over the park benches. 

“Come on, Papa, chin up!” Amber hugged her mother from the front. “The Earthbound Gods are almost all gone, and after they are, you and Daddy can duel your hearts out here!”

“And me?” Joey pointed to himself.

“Yes, Joey, and you.” 

“But what about you , Amber?” Rex asked. 

“I… I don’t know…” Amber trembled. “After the Earthbound Gods are all vanquished, I will have served my purpose. So I’ll probably return to my own time.”

“You know what, fuck that noise.” Rex wrapped an arm around his daughter. “You’re one of us now, and nothing’s going to change that.”

“And I know better than anyone that time paradoxes really aren’t a thing when my cousin is involved.” Mokuba laughed.

“Too bad he couldn’t use those mysterious powers of his in Battle City.” Espa chuckled.

“Ah, shaddup,” Rex scoffed. “You weren’t even there in our ancient Egyptian time travel.”

“Papa… Okay, I think I’ll stay after all and attend my own birth, if only to make sure that Daddy isn’t late.”

“I hope he’s there at all… Ggh!” As Rex chanced upon the central tower of Domino City and the T.V. on it, another contraction hit him - so he called Dr. Balls for advice. “Doc, I’m having more regular and painful contractions now. And I’m feeling them everywhere, not just in my belly anymore. I know I should have told you this yesterday, but... this all started yesterday.”

“Then you need to get your butt over here right now, because you’re experiencing true labour. Your mucus plug came out a while ago, so it’s only a matter of time before your water breaks too.”

“Yes, Doc… I’ll be there in a minute.” Rex hung up.

“I’ll push you on the wheelchair to the delivery room, if you want,” Joey offered.

“And I’ll hold your hand throughout the birth if Weevil isn’t there,” Mokuba chimed in.

“We might as well all be there,” spoke Atem. “You’ll need all the support you can get.” 

“...” Rex said nothing, and merely looked at the giant T.V. that displayed the news.

“I thought you said that the park was your final pit stop for the day? You sure don’t have a sense of urgency for someone who’s about to give birth,” Espa noted. “What’s wrong?”

“This T.V…. It’s where Weeves and I watched the finals of that K.C. Grand Tournament we almost crashed.”

“I still think you guys should have won that duel,” Kaiba remarked. “Zigfried just got a super lucky starting hand.”

“We’ve been through so much together ever since I fell for him after regionals…” Rex subconsciously started crying; he hugged his baby bump with one arm and stroked it with the other. “And yet… he’s not going to be present for his daughter’s birth, all because of the Earthbound Gods.”

“Papa, I-” Before Amber could say her piece, she saw a familiar face out of nowhere. “Daddy!”

“Weeves?” Rex turned around. Sure enough, Weevil stood only a few meters away, staring longingly at the same T.V. He ran up to him and starting kissing and hugging him immediately. “I knew you’d come back to me! Baby, I missed you so much.”

“...” Weevil remained silent for a spell before he hugged Rex back. 

“You…” Rex’s tears turned to tears of joy. “You really are back…”

“No he isn’t!” spoke a demonic voice from above, whose source was invisible.

“A-Arrrrrgh!” Weevil knelt to the ground in pain. “My… My head…”

“Weeves!” Rex began to panic.

“Show yourself at once!” Atem demanded. “Or else you will know the power of ancient Egyptian magic!”

“Now now, Uru…” Watda appeared behind Weevil in the form of a crimson devil, with several snakes in place of legs. “Have you forgotten what your real goal is?"

“'Real goal...?'" Rex's fleeting good mood faded. "Weeves, explain yourself!"

"And why should I have to?" Weevil's voice hardly sounded like his own now. "Actually, scratch that. I'll explain myself... through battle!"

"You... You can't be serious?!" Rex wanted to collapse to his knees right then and there. "Grr! Watda, get out of my boyfriend's head if you know what's good for you!"

“You cannot unwrite what is already written!” Watda cackled as red-and-purple shadows emitted from Weevil’s heart. 

“Weeves!” The temperate weather gradually began to foul up, to the point where even Rex noticed. But that didn’t make him want to go to the hospital room any faster, his quickening contractions be damned.

“...Yes, my love.” Weevil’s clothes slowly peeled off, thanks to the flames that Watda created. “Your wish is my command. Say the word, and I will kill anyone who gets in our way.”

“Weeves?” Rex’s heart broke seeing his beloved get intimate with someone else. “You can’t mean that!”

“Oh, I think he does.” Watda caressed Weevil’s face. “Once I am through with you, I will bear Uru’s children. Then, this world will belong to the Earthbound Gods!”

“Weeves…” Rex patted his baby bump. “Does the love we share mean nothing to you now?”

“Whatever are you talking about? Ha!” Weevil cackled.

“Weeves…” Rex stepped back as his contractions gradually got worse.

“Papa!” Amber angrily turned to Watda. “Stop filling my mom’s head with shit!”

“Uru! It’s time!” Watda’s snakes delved deeper into Weevil’s body. “Receive untold powers!”

“Yes!” Weevil’s laugh became more sinister as his form began to change.

“Arise! Earthbound God Sanpedro!” So were Watda’s last words before he completely fused with Weevil. He was now not only half-shifted, but he also had red eyes, four dragon’s wings, and a maroon chain whip.

“Ha…” Weevil felt no need to say anything yet, hoping that the power coursing through him and his intimidating presence would speak for themselves.

“That’s…” Amber shook. “That’s the creature… that killed everyone…”

“Oh… my… gods…” Atem looked up in slight fear; even though it was midday, Weevil’s new transformation enshrouded Domino City in dark clouds. 

“Instead of gawking at him, why don’t we do something about it, pharaoh?” Kaiba shifted.

“You said it, Kaiba!” Joey summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon and mounted it. “So bug boy has wings now. How hard could he be to defeat?”

“You really think so?” Anita and Weenus, as Aslla Piscu and Cusillu, showed themselves.

“I killed your buddy the whale like it was nothing!” Kaiba scoffed. “And you’ll soon learn that messing with Seto Kaiba will be your first - and last - mistake.”

“I’m right behind you, Kaiba.” Dip revealed herself.

“Ccarayhua… You’ll fucking pay, traitor! Hyaaaaa!” Anita thrust her beak at Dip, who counterattacked with her lizard tail.

“You go ahead and kill the damned rabbit’s other allies…” Weevil ordered. “Leave the damned rabbit and his daughter to me. ”

Amber had to think fast as Weevil approached, with his chain whip at the ready. “I never thought I’d have to do it again…”

“Amber?” Rex was about to mount Red-Eyes Slash Dragon.

“But if transforming into Rabidragon is the only way to bring Daddy back to his senses, so be it.” Amber lowered to the ground, hovering only slightly about it, as pink flames erupted from the ground. The flames changed her body into that of a dragon with rabbit ears, cottonball-like fur, and red spikes all over her body and tail.

“Beautiful…” Rex admired his daughter’s true form.

“Papa, get on,” Amber insisted. “We have a better chance of fighting the monster from the air.”

“Oh?” Weevil raised an eyebrow as Rex and Amber flew up to his level. “I’m a monster now? Whatever happened to ‘Daddy?’”

“You’re not my Daddy!” Amber glowered at Weevil. “You’re a disgusting monster that has driven Daddy mad!”

“Hah! Well, good luck trying to kill me without also killing your Daddy!”

Just then, Rex could hear a voice call from below, “Rex!”

“Mom?” Rex looked to see Ptera, Spinos, Camellia, and Adelaide running to him, 

“Get down from that butt-ugly dragon… rabbit… thing this instant, mister!” Ptera demanded. “You should be in the delivery room!”

“Harsh, Grandma… By the way, I’m Amber. Or Rabidragon, whatever you want to call me.”

“Oh my… S-Sorry.”

“And who is that? ” Camellia squinted at her son. “Weevil?”

“Ah, yes…” Weevil didn’t bother to descend, as Watda’s henchmen surrounded Rex’s family. “If it isn’t the Earthbound God Uru’s mother herself. You’ve served your purpose, as have the rest of you lot.” Weevil nodded, giving his monsters the go-ahead to attack.

“Oh, no you don’t! Go, Jurrac Tyrannus!” Spinos summoned his ace monster that barely protected Ptera in time.

“Spinos… Heh! I’m not some damsel in distress you need to save! Watch this! ” Ptera summoned Dark Driceratops and Black Ptera in attack mode. 

The Dark Driceratops fell an enemy close to Anita. “You lot are strong, for nonshifters.”

“And it’s too bad you’ll never get a taste of their power!” Kaiba blocked Anita from proceeding further. “But you’ll get a taste of the queen of Egypt.”

“And its awesome crown prince!” Heka did a funky dance before generating a ball of light from his hands.

“Heka, for gods’ sake, we’re in a battle!” Kaiba chided. “Be thankful to Ra that you haven’t gotten your head chopped off yet!”

“But I haven’t, Papa! Look what I can do!” Heka released a storm of light balls at several enemies around Weenus - and even one at Weenus himself.

“Ggh…” Weenus winced as the light ball took off a good chunk of his monkey tail. “I can’t believe I let this nimrod injure me!”

“Looks can be deceiving!” Heka stuck his tongue out.

“Aww, you’re so amazing, my love!” Amber squealed. 

“How dare you flirt on the battlefield instead of fighting me! ” Weevil charged, nicking Amber’s shoulder with the chain whip and nearly knocking Rex off.

“Aaaaaah!” Amber cried.

“Babe!” Heka violently pushed aside the enemies that swarmed him, killing most of them. “Get out of the fucking way!”

“Like hell I will!” Weenus slapped Heka with what little tail he had left.

“You… son of a bitch…” Heka held the gash in his arm, but still charged forward. “Nobody comes between my girlfriend and I, ya hear me?”

“Huh?”

Heka began to sing, “Ireruruy iraruy…”

“What? Heka, you idiot!” Atem exclaimed as his Millennium Puzzle glowed. “Your body can’t handle the Pharaoh’s Incantation! You’re not mature enough-”

“Irakah urugem iomo atakatu, ijusanim uatust…”

“You…” Weenus could hardly remain in monkey form.

“You die!” Heka’s arm became enveloped in a blue, sword-like beam of light. “Now!”

“Gah…” Weenus reverted forms mid-air and fell to his death.

“You’ll pay!” Anita tried to slash Heka with her wings, that was until Kaiba took the hit instead.

“Leave my son alone, cur!” With his teeth, Kaiba seized Anita by the wings and kicked her hard enough to rip them off one by one.

“Hmm?” Weevil looked to the two Earthbound Gods who had just died. “Tch! Useless bastards. But no matter… Rex, I will kill you on this day, just like I did in Amber’s future. Do you remember, oh dear daughter of mine?”

“No…” Amber’s body started to blink like a car light. “No, leave me alone!”

“Amber…” Rex stroked Amber’s ears. “I’m here, and we’ll free Weevil from this evil. Together.”

“Hahaha! Come try me, rabbit stew!” Weevil unleashed the chain whip upon a weakened Amber.

“Weevil! Ugh!” Rex’s Tyrant Dragon barely managed to get a hold of the chain whip. “Please! You’re better than this! Even under that disgusting disguise, I know my bug duelist is still there. I know that the man whom I’ve literally been to hell in back with many times is still there.”

Weevil’s attack faltered for a spell. “D-Do you honestly think that you can sweet talk your way to defeating the most powerful Earthbound God of all? What a joke! I’m not weak-minded like Ccarayhua! And I’ll prove it to you right now!”

“If…” Rex closed his eyes in resignation as his last strong monster fell to Weevil’s chain whip. “If that’s how you really think, then-”

“Aaaaaaaaargh!” 

Rex opened his eyes again to see that Kaiba had taken the hit for him, and took a rapid nosedive in human form. “Kaiba! Gods, no!”

“Big Brother!” Mokuba led the “Dweeb Patrol” to where Kaiba had fallen.

“Hahahahaha!” Even though he was several thousand feet in the air, and Kaiba’s intervention knocked him back a bit, Weevil found it prudent to spit upon Kaiba’s body. “So much for the ‘God-Shattering Star,’ huh? That's what he gets for ruining my childhood! Fuck you, Seto Kaiba! I curse your name! I despise you!”

“Our God-Shattering Star…” Phuckdis couldn’t transform, as his flight feathers had been cut during the battle. “He has fallen!”

“P-Papa…” Heka was still fatigued from his battle with Weenus, as well as using the Incantation. He couldn’t even crawl to Kaiba, and passed out before he could try.

“Heka… My love, not again…”

“And to think, your cousin died for nothing, because you’re going to die anyway!” After brushing himself off, Weevil started his attacks anew, which Amber struggled to block.

“Amber…” Rex let his Duel Disk fall from the sky. “This is hopeless… If the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon can’t defeat Weeves, then what am I supposed to do?”

[clevernewdimension]

New World Part Two

Part One, Part Two, Part Three (Coming soon)

A/N: LOOK WHAT I’M POSTING EARLY! Yay! This was only suppose to be two parts, so it’ll probably be three now. However, I’m loving this world I made, so I’ll probably come back to it from time to time! If anyone else wants to write something in this world, feel free! Just send it my way!

Word Count: 7.5K

I wasn’t entirely aware how much blood was all over me. Small spots on my hands, drying as I try to find the words to answer the question. I looked up at Junmyeon, who was looking at me with a tough look. It wasn’t like the angry looks Sehun and Baekhyun were giving me. Junmyeon looked like he just wanted to help his friend, his brown hair in his eyes. He just wanted answers and to know if his friend is still in danger.

I was hyper aware at the moment. I could hear coins jingling in Sehun’s pockets as he nervously moves his leg. Baekhyun was picking at his fingernails without even realizing it. Junmyeon hasn’t really blinked much. Like if he loses sight of me I’d disappear. I could hear the sounds of the city, loud and unavoidable from the cracked window. The humming of the mass of people talking to each other. The clock ticking away, steady and unrelenting. It all sounds so loud in the silence between the four of us it almost hurt.

“I… He was caught, and they… they were going to kill him so I broke him out, but my brother he stabbed him and tried to stop us from escaping. So I took the machete and I… oh god, I… I killed him. I killed my brother,” I mutter, my eyes filling with tears as I look at the blood covering my hands. It was a mixture of Jongin’s and my brothers. I looked past Junmyeon, seeing my reflection in an award past him. Speckles and sprayed of blood on my face, my eyes red from my crying. I looked like my father did after some time down there. I looked like a monster.

“Why was he trying to hurt him,” Baekhyun asked, glaring from his place beside Junmyeon’s desk. He was dressed in bright colors, colors around his eyes and still wore tons of jewelry. The only thing not bright about him is his attitude. He was glaring daggers at me, which I can’t blame him for.

“They,” I start, feeling that choking feeling as my mouth won’t move. I shake my head, reaching for my throat, “I… My family, they…”

I could hear feet move as I looked over, just in time to see Baekhyun taking a close look at my throat. Baekhyun’s look changed, from furious to angry but curious. “Secret spell? Interesting… Jongin was looking into that yesterday.”

“Now we know why,” Sehun says, looking out the window, not even bothering to look at me. From his body language, what he was feeling was hidden. His reflection as he looked out to the dark sky was blank, the perfect mask to hide away thoughts. I’ve known that look, I’ve had it too from time to time.

“Well, we’re lucky that I was the one studying it with him,” Baekhyun says, his hands glowing a dark blue. He reached forward from his position, my throat now glowing the same color along with his hand. He starts to try to turn his hand, but it looks like he can’t move it. “Fuck,” Baekhyun says, moving the other hand to try and help. It was barely moving, until a flash of dark, black light came from my throat and sent Baekhyun flying back into the bookcases behind him.

Junmyeon stood, moving to him, only to be waved off by Baekhyun. Baekhyun looked at me, his face no longer angry. “That… that’s not just a secret spell. That’s dark magic. The very essence of evil.”

Sehun turned, a look of worry on his face, though I could tell it wasn’t for me. “That’s bad. That’s really bad.”

Junmyeon looked confused, as the only person who doesn’t do magic. He was just as confused as I am. “What does that mean,” He asks, looking from Baekhyun to Sehun.

Sehun looks at him, “Well, Baekhyun specializes in dealing with dark magic, and if he says it’s bad, it’s very bad. You saw what he tried, it didn’t move at all. If he can’t break through it, then we’ll have to find a high warlock who can.”

“It could be tied to an object,” Baekhyun says, looking at his hand. Dark, black tendrils mar his skin like an electric shock, climbing all the way up his elbow. “Can’t be dispelled until the object is destroyed.”

“Then we go to her house,” Sehun says, looking at me.

I shake my head, “No! You can’t, he’ll-” I grab at my throat, feeling the tightness stopping me again. It was like someone held my throat tightly.

“Who,” Baekhyun asked, “You said you killed the person who hurt Jongin, so it’s not like he will be there.”

“He could imply father, since it’s her family,” Junmyeon says, looking at me.

I nod, tears still spilling from my eyes, as I finally get a gulp of air. The second I stopped trying to say, I could breathe again.

“So there’s more, huh,” Baekhyun mutters, signing. “One of them has to be the person who did the dark magic.”

“If that’s the case then we might want to take a high warlock with us to search for the object,” Sehun says, “You’re not strong enough for this type of magic, Baekhyun.”

“Wow, thanks,” Baekhyun mutters, rolling his eyes. “We don’t even know if it is connected to an object. Besides, what do you mean ‘we’? You haven’t graduated yet.”

Sehun glares at Baekhyun, standing up straight now. “If you think I’m just going to sit here and wait-”

“Minseok is a high Warlock, right,” Junmyeon asks, cutting him off. “And Sehun and Jongin are prodigies. You’ll going to be one pretty much right out of magic college, right?”

“No one calls it magic college, Jun,” Sehun mutters, shaking his head. “We’re going to have to study light magic and how to right off dark magic before we go anywhere near that place. But first…”

A light flashes as he flicks his hand. Bright lights touch my temples as bright white tendrils snake around my body, holding me still. It felt warm and peaceful at first, until the magic around my neck started to get hot.

“This is a truth spell,” Sehun explains to me. “What you can’t answer, you’ll just say you can’t. What you can, you will forcibly say the truth. Did you lure Jongin to be hurt?”

“No! I would never,” I says, my heart picking up speed. “He’s the only reason why I’m alive!”

“So he took the hit for you,” Sehun asks, turning to me. His eyes glowing the brightest white I’ve ever seen.

“No,” I say, “He’s the only friend I have. I would have... killed myself a long time ago if he wasn’t there for me.”

Baekhyun looked shocked at that confession. Frowning, he looked a bit guilty for being mean. Not that I blamed him. If it wasn’t for me, Jongin wouldn’t be hurt. He would be perfectly fine, alive and probably hanging out with them.

“Will you help us stop this,” Sehun asks, his tone still hard and a bit cold. He and Jongin are close. I was told a lot of stories about Sehun. Closest in age, always helping one another. He saw Sehun like a brother to him, and undoubtedly Sehun also deeply cared for Jongin. I can understand the coldness and the mean words from him. His best friend could have died, after all. “Even if it means facing what we can assume is your family?”

“Yes,” I say, the bright magic burning at my throat, where the dark magic made it’s home. “I’d die to stop them if I have to. I’ve let this gone on too long. I should have stopped it before now.”

“Sehun,” Baekhyun yells, sending a flash of pink magic to him. There was a loud crack, deep and low. It sounded like the river, when the thick ice gives way. Sehun’s spell fizzles out, his eyes returning to their normal color, golden honey hue.

I gasp, reaching for my throat, the burning still there. The dark magic fighting, like a vine of thorns wrapped around my neck being pulled.

Baekhyun gave Sehun a look as he walked to me. My confession changed Baekhun’s mind, I could see it. He looked guilty, and angry at Sehun. “Now, you know dark magic would react that way when light magic came into play!” He reached for the chain around his neck, multitude of stone and crystals on it, all different colors and shining different lights. He picks out one shining green, holding it close to my neck. The pain going away as the cool, relaxed feeling came back. “If you let it go on any longer, she could have been killed!”

“Thank you,” I mutter quietly, as I see the glow fade from the crystal. Jongin mentioned to me that some crystals and stones can be used to store spells. Must have been what Baekhyun has done.

He smiles, though it was small. “No problem. I’ll just have to ask Yixing to put another healing spell in it.”

“Can’t you just cast it,” I ask, confused.

“He’s awful at healing magic,” Sehun says, looking at him. He didn’t look guilty at all. He doesn’t even look like he felt bad for the pain from his spell. “It’s the reason why his request to become a higher ranking warlock has been denied.”

“Fuck you,” Baekhyun says, rolling his eyes. I could tell the subject was a very tender one for the charming man.

“However, he’s the best at illusions and dispelling other magic there is,” Sehun says with a smile. “Not even Grand Warlock Kim Heechul can beat Baekhyun at illusionary magic.”

“Now you’re just kissing ass,” Baekhyun says, sulking. A second later, he smirks, “Keep going, though. You know I love it.”

“Grand Warlock,” I ask, confused.

“This country's magic users are divided into sections,” Junmyeon says, calming the bit of tension there is in the room. “Three. So three grand warlocks. They oversee all magic here. Heechul, the Grand Warlock here, runs the west. The other two are Kwon Jiyong who runs the east, and Lee Ji Eun who runs the South. The South is the biggest region, but with less population than the West and East.”

I just stare at him, confused by all this new information. I barely understand how nonmagical politics work, or technology, much less any of this.

“We’ll explain more later,” Junmyeon says, looking at his phone. “Now, however, we can go and talk to Jongin.”

“Already,” I ask, shocked. “But he lost so much blood!”

“Magic is wonderful,” Baekhyun says while walking past, showering me in pink glitter lights that dissipate in a matter of seconds. “Power is a burden but it is amazing what can be done with it.”

I follow behind them, walking where they walk. I was quiet, not wanting to upset Sehun more than I already have. I can’t blame him for his ill views of me. I’d be the exact same if the roles were reversed. A few minutes and a ride in something called an ‘elevator’ later, were in a room as Jongin was sitting up, his eyes wide in fear as he was arguing with the person there.

“Yixing, listen, I have to go find Eden,” Jongin says, shifting in the pants and open shirt the hospital provided.

With a wave of his hand, the other man send silver light flashing to Jongin, forcing him back into bed with a bit of a push. It was gentle, but enough to make Jongin lay back without worry. Yixing’s hair was black, in a mess as he frowned. “No, YOU are going to stay there. Just because you’re healed doesn’t mean the pain will go away, you know that.”

“She’s here, anyways,” Sehun says as he walks in, moving over to sit by Jongin’s feet. He softly sits there, looking at his friend, his eyes surveying his torso for any wounds.

“What the hell is going on,” Yixing asks, looking at everyone, and then at me. His stare was intimidating, almost as sharp as a knife. His eyes were a light purple, as light energy flowed around him.

“Dark magic shit,” Baekhyun says, moving in and sitting in the visitor chair. He plopped down, leaning back and quickly made himself at home.

“And you couldn’t get rid of it,” Yixing asked, moving and looking at a clipboard. “Don’t you specialize in that sort of stuff?”

“Too powerful,” Baekhyun mutters, “Also, it’s old as hell. Unrefined magic that is centuries old. Maybe even Ancient, as old as Minseok even.”

“Minseok is going to hurt you if he knows you said that,” Junmyeon mutters, rolling his eyes.

I could see Sehun roll his eyes, looking at Junmyeon, “You’d know, wouldn’t you.”

Junmyeon looks curious, “What’s that suppose to mean?”

Yixing laughs, “Nothing Junmyeon. Ask Minseok if you want to know so badly, right Sehun?”

I could see just as Yixing placed his hand on Sehun’s shoulder, the youngest tensed. He didn’t answer, instead looking a bit bitter to the ground before composing himself. It wasn’t hate or contempt like he’s been looking at me, but there was something there.

I finally got the nerve to look up at Jongin. He was looking at me, his eyes scanning me to see if I’m ok. He looked tired. His hair a mess, but the bruises are gone already. There were some bandages on him, but overall everything has been healed. I couldn’t describe my relief when I saw he was ok. The look of worry faded when he saw that I was perfectly fine. “Eden,” Jongin says, letting out a long exhale, “I’m so happy you’re alright.”

I take a step to him, not able to stop myself. Sehun pushes me back with more silver magic. It felt like a vibration all over, moving me back a foot. It wasn’t strong. I could tell Sehun didn’t want it to hurt, just to get his point across. He glared, “Not until we can be sure you won’t hurt him.” For the first time since this whole thing started, Sehun looked at me with pure hatred. “Dark magic is only used by people who are evil. Everytime you cast dark spells, a piece of your soul leaves you until you’re nothing left. How are we supposed to know you didn’t do this to yourself?”

Jongin pulled on Sehun’s arm, glaring at him. “She saved me!”

“It could be a plan to get us to trust her,” Sehun says, not able to even look Jongin in the eyes. “I know you think I’m just being an asshole, but this is no small matter. We have to be careful!”

“The truth spell you did on her,” Baekhyun says, reminding him as he kicked out at his leg. “Idiot.”

“You know as well as I do that the truth spell doesn’t work if a person is too far gone,” Sehun says, glaring daggers at me. “They’d have to be locked into a sacred place, have the ground blessed and doused in holy oil for the truth spell to work on dark cultists who have lost too much of their soul. This kind of magic, this strong of magic, suggests that.”

Junmyeon gave Sehun a look, “Sehun! Stop, you don’t know th-”

“And you don’t know if she has us all fooled,” Sehun says, looking at me with fury.  His entire body was tense, as if he hated being in the same room with me. “A pretty face and dark magic can do a lot of damage. One of us has been burned by that trick once, I won’t let it happen again.”

“I suppose it’s good I’m here, then,” The doctor mutters, setting the clipboard down. Yixing waves his hand at me, his eyes flashing green with swirls of white. I could feel a sense of calm come over me that I couldn’t control. There was a small pain in my chest, as I reach up and gasp. It’s odd, a feeling I was blind to is now very apparent. It was like I wasn’t whole. Like something was missing.

“Interesting,” Yixing says, his glowing eyes looking where the pain came from. He moves my hand, leaning down and looking.

“It’ll be ok, Eden,” Jongin says from the bed, wanting to move, only to be given a glare from Sehun who practically forced him back down. It felt awkward, but if Jongin trusts him, then I should too.

“Her soul is mostly intact,” Yixing says, tilting his head as he feel looking at my chest. Though, it was likely that he was looking through it.

“Mostly,” Sehun asks, looking at me. His eyes never softening as he glared.

“What’s missing looks like it’s been…” Yixing’s eyes come back to their normal color as he starts to look a bit ill, color draining from his face. I could see as the pieces of whatever he saw started to click in his mind, he looked horrified. “Like it’s been forcibly taken…”

“What the hell,” Sehun says, looking confused. “No magic these days takes soul fragments. The only dark magic I know takes your own soul, not someone else's.”

Baekhyun snapped, “That’s why the secret spell is one we don't recognize, it’s really old, very primitive magic. I was joking about it being ancient, but if it’s taking others soul, then it most certainly is ancient.”

In all the commotion, my eyes constantly sought out Jongin’s for reassurance. He was looking at me, checking me over with his eyes to make sure I was fine. I took a few steps toward him, holding out a hand. “You’re alive,” I mutter, my eyes filling with tears. Sehun lets me, though staying in his place and watching me like a hawk. I could only assume he trusts Yixing’s judgement.

He nods, taking my hand in his. It felt warm, familiar. “Thanks to you. If you didn’t teleport us here, I’d be dead.”

“I couldn’t do it again if I tried,” I say, wanting to come forward and be closer to him, but still keeping my distance, since I was still getting glares from Sehun.

Jongin rolls his eyes, his hand now turning silver as Sehun flies from the bed, managing to catch himself before his face met the wall. With the other hand, silver stands pulled me to him, so that I came to meet him, though much gentler than what he did to Sehun. He sat up, wrapping his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you were hurt,” Jongin mutters, holding me close. He was warm, the comfort of being around him immediately washes over me. He pulls away, looking into my eyes. “Your brother...”

“He’s,” I say, the choking feeling stopping me from speaking once more. “He’s… a very bad… person,” I struggle out, not being able to say more than that. The black magic on the throat was bright as I fought for the words.

His eyes widen as he remembers, looking over to Sehun. “I need to see Heechul!”

“He’s gone to the South,” Sehun says, pouting as he was leaning against the wall. “Annual meeting in a separate void, they can’t be reached. You know the drill.”

Jongin looks at me, frowning. He looks a bit guilty, “I’m sorry, Eden, but your family, they’ve been lying to you.”

“I know that,” I say, “About all this and magic-”

“No,” He says, looking sad. “About everything. He pretends to be against magic, but really he’s been doing dark magic. I don’t even know if he realizes the blood magic he’s gotten himself into. Whatever is making him do this has him wrapped in a sick delusion. Your father thinks it’s God who is calling him to kill sinners, but that’s not it at all!”

“Blood magic is illegal,” Baekhyun says, his eyes wide as he stands up straight.

“He’s sacrificing people,” Jongin says, now looking away from me and to the others. I pull away, shocked by his words. “He’s a religious fanatic, but the thing that’s been talking to him isn’t God. It has him completely fooled.”

“What,” I ask, taking another step back, “I knew he’d do… but how…”

“That secret spell isn't just affecting your mouth. It doesn’t just stop you from speaking about what is going on. It’s making you see illusions too.” He says, “That room, it has magic glyphs everywhere. Directions to summon that thing that’s been talking to him, and he was close.” Jongin says, looking over at Junmyeon. “I don’t have time to sit here and recover. We have to go to Minseok and we have to stop this from happening.”

“Woah,” Junmyeon says, taking a step forward, “Slow down.”

Jongin, moves, starting to get out of bed, “I can’t! All he needed was one more person killed in that room, and that was going to be me, but…”

“I killed my brother. Isaiah…,” I say, shaking my head. The last person that need to be killed was killed by me.

“What else does he need,” Baekhyun asks, “We can stake out places where he has to get the things he needs.”

“He needs the last sacrifice,” Jongin says, tieing the front of his hospital shirt closed. He groaned from the stiffness he felt. Jongin placed a hand on my arm, trying to give me some sort of comfort.

“How are we supposed to watch over literally everyone in Seattle,” Sehun asks, crossing his arms.

“We don’t have to,” Jongin says, finding the bag of spare clothes Junmyeon brought with us as he quickly gets ready to leave. “The instructions say ‘Thy final gift must be the blood of your blood, of your name. A sacrifice to prove loyalty, taken from thy heart. One of thy likeness, slew for my freedom’.” He stands, moving towards the door as we all start to follow him. “It’s obvious, he needs to sacrifice a child. His child.”

“And there’s only one left,” Junmyeon says, putting the pieces together quickly. He looks, keeping a close watch on me as I followed, my heart racing after hearing this. It was like my mind went blank, hearing this.

“But what about her brother,” Baekhyun asks, looking at me, as if doubting what we’ve said.

“Second to last isn’t the last,” Jongin says, pushing the elevator button over and over in a rush. He turns to Baekhyun and Sehun. “I know you, both of you. You two think she’s lying, but she isn’t. I saw her do it, and if using a Truth spell on me will ease your mind, then by all means, do so.”

Sehun shakes his head, grabbing onto Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s shoulders, “Hold on to each other, if this situation is as bad as you say we don’t have time to walk.”

Baekhyun points his fingers at me, a spark of blue energy going around my head before my sight turns ink black. “Sorry,” Baekhyun says, “But we can’t let you see the entrance to the Western Magi Capital.”

When my sight came back, I was sitting in a chair in a room. It looked fairly normal. Glittering images and illustrations were on the wall, along with boards showing the faces and names of people. I rubbed my eyes, the world suddenly seeming brighter than I remember. Screens that were translucent all over. Words, magic things, and news played on them. There was soft, classical music playing. It sounded calming.

“Sorry about that,” A new voice says, a few feet away. I look, seeing a man sitting behind a desk, looking at a metal thing in his hand. He glances up at me, silver hair in a bit of a mess. He wore a tee and some jeans as he stepped around the desk, setting the metal thing on the top. “We keep this place a secret from people.”

“It’s fine,” I mutter in a small voice. “I understand.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He says as he sits down on a chair facing mine. His eyes were a silver hue, looking at me calmly. He also had tattoos, but not as much as Jongin. His ears were pierced, but that was all. He smiled, “My name in Kim Minseok. I’m a high warlock, and, when the Grand Warlock is away, I’m the one left in charge.”

I nod, lacing my fingers together, “I’m-”

“Eden Winters,” He says, nodding. His eyes change, shimmering a bit. It was like drops of neon blue ink in water. Blue shining and flowing in his irises. “Twenty-two years old. Born on the outskirts of Portland, but your family moved here before you were one. Grew up with just your parents and your brother.”

“Um… yes,” I say. “I see they told you all about me.”

“They didn’t,” Minseok says, as his eyes are now completely blue, shimmering with glitter. They shine, brighter than any other light in the room. “When you were four, you broke a finger. Your brother slapped you across the face for questioning him and when you fell, you landed just on your hand a broke your right pinky.”

“But I never… I never told anyone that,” I mutter, looking at Minseok as he just smiled. “I told my Mom and Dad that I just fell…”

He simply just start talking again. “You have a scar on your back from climbing a tree and falling after the branch you were on broke.” He squinted, like he was looking through me, “Your father and brother made you kill someone when you were sixteen, four months, twelve days, twenty hours, fourteen minutes and twenty three seconds old. It gave you nightmares for weeks. Your mother would sneak into your room and when you started to scream in horror, she’d hold your mouth shut to muffle your cries. She didn’t want you to wake your father, or else you’d be punished.”

My blood went cold, as visions of the moment he talked about flash in my mind. The blood and the screams of the man begging for his life. “I.. I never-”

“Told anyone that either,” Minseok says, nodding. His eyes drain their color as the silver came back to view. “I know.”

“You saw that,” I asked, looking at him in shock.

He nods, “Yes. High warlocks gain incredible power when granted the title. We can see things, if we focus on it. The past, things in the present. All we need is to know the person’s name.” Minseok smiles, “But, that’s not why I did that. I did it because I now can tell everyone that you’re not lying or trying to fool anyone. You’re trying to help us, you want this to end.” He sighs, “And, really, it just proves that there is a very powerful illusionary magic places on you. The basement I saw through your eyes is not the same one I saw in Jongin’s.” Minseok shakes his head. “That level of illusion is… unmatched.”

“What,” I ask, leaning back into the chair.

“But we’re going to fix that,” Minseok says, reaching out. His hand glowing with the brightest light I’ve ever seen. Wind blew around us, moving papers all around. “Don’t be scared,” He says, his eyes glowing bright white. “Trust me.”

My throat burned, and I looked down, seeing traces of the darkest magic. Minseok starts to slowly rotate his hand. The more it went, the tighter my throat felt, the more it burned. Countless screams reach my ears and I cover them, trying to stop it. It was useless, as the more he turned his hand, the louder they got. The lights and magic in the room started to flicker. Papers falling off his desk as things around the room were shaking and falling from their places. Tears fell from my eyes, the wind becoming as fast as a tornado. Papers flying around us faster than I could see. I hear things crack and crash against one another, the screams stabbing into my mind like a hot needle until finally, the magic snaps. Minseok’s hand twists, and the magic around my throat cracks, like it was made of glass. Screams came from it, and the magical essence disappeared into thin air.

Silence. The screaming was no more, but my head still ached. I look at Minseok, as he takes a deep breath. Sweat formed on his forehead as he smiled. “There. You’re free.”

“Thank you,” I mutter, nodding. I reach up, holding my head, closing my eyes. It was like everything was brighter, and it burned to look around right now.

“That’s a side effect,” Minseok says, “Unfortunately, no magic can stop that. It’ll pass in a few hours.” He frowns, standing and offering his hand to me. “Here. I’ll take you to where you’re staying so you can rest.”

“But I want to help,” I mutter, “He killed all those people and I just sat by and watched! I let it happen for so long-”

“That dark magic,” Minseok says, calmly as he looks his arm with mine as we’re walking to the door. “Every time you’ve set your mind on telling someone, it would trick you and force you not to tell.”

“But I wanted to tell Jongin,” I say, walking with him. He was a bit taller than me, but there was something about him that just felt comforting and safe.

Minseok nods, his eyes going the inky like blue way again. He’s seeing my mind, but he’s still walking and able to navigate around without focusing on where we’re going. “It’s curious,” He finally mutters, his eyes still cloudy, “Usually, that wouldn’t happen. The spell was powerful, beyond most people’s ability.” He was silent, as we pass by a few doors. All black in color. The floor was black marble, and the walls were a deep green. Pictures hung of past Grand Warlocks, all looking powerful and full of pride.

He hold me tighter, “I’ll have to go deeper.” The ink color in his eyes goes from blue to a deep, dark purple. I felt nothing as he looks into my memories. After a few moments, he smiles. His cheeks blush, as he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they were normal. “What you two have… that kind of bond is powerful, and makes people’s magic more powerful. People have bonds in their life that makes them stronger. Sometimes it’s a friend, sometimes it’s a loved one, sometimes it’s family. But all magic users have that person, even if that person can’t do magic themselves.It’s a special bond that happens through magic. Altibi, the word used for that person.” Minseok smiles, “Ah, but that’s not all. You love him.”

I blush, hearing him talk about my feelings so openly when I can’t do it myself. “What about you,” I ask, “Do you have someone like that?”

Minseok nods, “I do.” The smile on his face was small and a bit sad, “He doesn’t know it, though. It’s a lot to explain… and there’s risk.”

I smile, “That’s great. Perhaps you should tell this person that they makes you stronger. That they’re important to you.”

He just nods, “I should.” Minseok smiles, thinking of a memory. He glances at me, “That’s how you were able to teleport here. Jongin was in need, and you’ve seen and felt the magic before. You’ve probably read about it in the books he’s lends you.”

“You saw that,” I ask, as we get to the elevator. Honestly, it kind of scared me.

Minseok pushes the button, nodding. “And a few… other things,” Minseok says, his face turning pink. “I’m sorry. In my curiosity, I pried and saw some very... intimate moments. I apologize.”

My face gets hot as I realise what he’s saying. He laughs, smiling as he shakes his head.

The elevator dings, and standing there is Jongin. He looks shocked, before smiling. He wore normal clothes, all black as the smile seemed to radiate on his face. “Eden,” He says, walking forward and pulls me into a hug. I smile, hugging him back as Minseok remove his hand from my arm.

Jongin felt warm and safe as he pulls me close. He laughs, “The dark magic is gone, good!”

I nod, as he leans away, before taking my face in his hands and pressing his lips to mine. It was soft and short, but the kiss was comforting. My face went red, remembering Minseok was still here.

“I’ll leave her to you, then,” Minseok says, turning back around. “I’m going to be in my office, if anyone needs me. I’ve got some planning to do on how we’re going to approach this. Thankfully Baekhyun is already sending me all the tomes about old light magic he can find. Go, take her to get some sleep, but keep her close. We don’t know exactly what kind of magic we’re dealing with.”

“Minseok,” I say, turning. My head was still hurting, but I ignore him. “Um… that person. You should tell them.”

Minseok’s silver eyes shine as me smiles. He shakes his head, nodding. “I really should.”

As he leaves, I turn, entering the elevator with Jongin. I hug him again, leaning my head on his chest.

“Are you-”

“Shh,” I mutter. The steady beat of his heart thumping was comforting. He’s still here. He’s still alive. “Sorry, I just have a massive headache and I’ve decided I don’t like elevators.”

“From the spell being broken,” He says, understanding. “I’ll take you somewhere you can rest.” He then just holds me closer, “It’s ok. The elevator won’t hurt you.”

“That sounds lovely,” I mutter, the exhaustion hitting me. My time passed out before did nothing to help how tired I felt. There was a fear within me that I was holding down, keeping secret.

Jongin’s hand rubs my back softly. “We’re going to keep you here for a while. To keep you away from him.”

Him. Meaning my father. Who is planning to sacrifice me to whatever evil thing he’s been talking to and doing the bidding of. Jongin could sense my discomfort as he just sighs. I could tell he wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what. All the talk about me growing up to make him proud, give him grandchildren, all of it was just talk. Lies. Like everything about our family. I wonder if my mother is ok, I knew she cared about me, if only a little.

Jongin wipes his thumbs across my face  as he held it. This action makes me realize I was crying. “I’m sorry,” I mutter. The doors open and Jongin takes my hand, leading me with him.

“Don’t be. It’s a good thing we know about this in time to stop it,” He says, smiling at me.

“You could have died,” I say, “And it would have been all my fault. If we never met, you would have never-”

“Never found out about this dark thing that could kill many more,” Jongin says, his voice full of confidence as he just smiles. “I’m fine. I’m alive because of you. We’re going to stop this because of you.”

“I… I don’t know what I would have done if you would have…” I say, choking up.

He stops in front of a door, unlocking it with a key he had from his pocket. He opens the door, letting me in and closing it behind him. Be pulls me to him, holding my face in his hands. “Don’t think like that, Eden. Please. I’m alive because of you. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been since I met you. I can’t even begin to tell you how you’ve made my life so much better.”

“Even after all this,” I say, on the verge of breaking down.

“Nothing could change how I feel about you,” He says, smiling at me. In the blink of an eye, he presses his lips to mine. It was chaste, as he pulled away, “Eden, please, don’t blame yourself for something you literally couldn’t help. The magic was strong, and the fact that you would even recognise right and wrong is incredible. Fighting that kind of magic could have killed you.”

“You have no idea how much you’ve changed me,” I mutter quietly, “My entire life is better for knowing you.”

“I think I do, because I feel the same about you.” He says with a smile, “Come on.”

Sleep came to me instantaneously. It wasn’t restful, as I wanted to toss and turn. All I could see was blood. Jongin’s blood. My brothers blood. Their blood on me. I vaguely remember Jongin waking me up, saying something. A flash of purple light and I was gone, drawn back to sleep. After waking, it was peaceful. The sleep was now just nothingness and rest.

Sehun  rolled his eyes, sitting on the side of Minseok’s desk as the other one was searching through tome after tome. He was getting a bit chastised for the way he treated Eden.

“I treated her nicer than I would have treated anyone else who would have harmed a friend,” Sehun mutters. “Besides, how about you stay out of my business. Especially since you can’t seem to sort out your own. No need to go sort out my life when you have one all to yourself.”

Minseok sighs, dropping a heavy tome on Sehun’s hand, making the youngest yelp. Completely accidental, of course. Minseok let a tiny smirk out as he watches Sehun look over the hurt fingers, inspecting them of any damage. “What are you talking about,” Minseok asks, not really caring to hear the answer, just really letting Sehun talk out his frustrations.

“You’re the one who hasn’t told Junmyeon that he’s you’re Altibi,” Sehun says, rolling his eyes. “You know what that is, right? You seem to avoid it so much I might as well tell you. Altibi. Which is the magic word given for the latin phrase meaning ‘Per mutua nexis mean’. The person your soul is intertwined with-”

Minseok reaches over, quickly using force magic to shove Sehun to the ground. He feel with a thump and a yelp, but Minseok just keeps his eyes forward, not looking at the younger magic user.

“I see I hit a nerve,” Sehun says, the smirk clear in his voice. He stands, getting up gracefully.

“Junmyeon doesn’t need to be bothered with that,” Minseok says, “Every time a non magical person does the ceremony to bind Altibis, it hasn’t ended well at all.”

Sehunscoffs, shaking his head, “You’re forgetting Krystal and Amber. Worked very well for them. Krystal survived the ceremony.”

“And you’re forgetting that Tiffany literally almost died,” Minseok says, “The only reason she’s safe now is because we had to wipe all her memories of Taeyeon.”

Sehun winced at the mention of that. Everyone remembers that. Taeyeon had to move across country just to get away from it all. She said the pain was just too much to bare, knowing the person who is tied to her soul is someone she’s not allowed to see or speak with anymore.

Minseok looks at the papers in front of him, “I’m not going to risk Junmyeon’s life like that.”

Sehun huffed, “Well, perhaps you sh-”

“No. I shouldn’t,” Minseok hand around the pen tightened, “Perhaps you should focus on finding your Altibi instead! Everyone of us now has except for you!”

The second the words left Minseok’s mouth, he deeply regretted it. Something in the air felt different. He turned, looking at Sehun who just gave him a pained look. He was stood still, looking at Minseok with wide eyes. “Sehun, I-”

“Fuck you,” Sehun says, his eyes getting glassy. “I… you don’t even know…” He shook his head, glaring forward as he walked to the door.

“I’m sorry,” Minseok says, standing and going to follow.

Sehun turned back, tears falling from his eyes. “My Altibi isn’t reciprocated! There, are you happy!”

Minseok pauses mid step, looking at Sehun. His eyes wide. “What?”

Sehun walks to him, standing in front of him. He grabs Minseok’s hands, forcing them to hold his face as he says, “Look. Go ahead. Do it.”

“Sehun, I-” Minseok starts, only to be cut off by Sehun.

“I can’t stand to explain it, so do it,” Sehun says in a pitiful, pained voice. His eyes were shining with pain as he just held Minseok’s hands there. “It’ll be nice having someone finally know the extent of the pain I’m constantly in!”

Minseok sighs, letting the seeing magic flow through him and into Sehun’s mind. It didn’t take long to see the memory, since Sehun knew what he was looking for, it came quickly.

Sehun, sitting in front of Yixing, whose eyes were the white-green as he was looking him over. Yixing looked visibly upset, confused as he look at him. Sehun was younger. Years younger. Yixing just got a job at the hospital.

“This is rare,” Yixing mutters, shaking his head. “Whomever you’re Altibi is… isn’t yours.”

Sehun’s eyes in the memory were flooded with tears that just keep streaming down. Minseok could feel pain explode in his own chest, feeling what Sehun feels in the moment he was looking at. It was like someone sucked all the air out of his lungs. Someone was stabbing directly into his heart. Minseok has never experienced pain as awful as this before. “Can’t you fix it? You’re amazing, you can fix anything!”

The sadness on Yixing’s face was all Minseok needed to see as he pulled out of the memory. “Who,” he asks, looking at the crying face before him as the seeing magic started to fade. “Who is it?”

Sehun close his eyes, shaking his head. “That’s why I was crying so much,” He says, his voice cracking. “Do you know how hard it is to listen to the person who is your Altibi say that you don’t have one?! To have the person who holds half of your soul tell you that they don’t see that you have one at all?”

“Why didn’t you tell Yixing,” Minseok asks, as Sehun pulled away and wipes his eyes.

Sehun just laughs bitterly, “No. That’s not going to happen. You know Yixing will just feel awful and guilty.”

“Sehun, you can’t live like this, with this burden all alone,” Minseok says, stepping to Sehun, who just steps back in response.

“That’s why I want you to tell Junmyeon,” Sehun yells. “I’ve live knowing I was never going to have that person. Years I’ve known this, all the while watching you know you have one, know who it is, and just not do fucking anything about it!”

Before Minseok could open his mouth to say anything else, Sehun teleported away. He couldn’t stop the deep sadness he felt after. The pain in his chest starting to fade. Minseok was too scared to ask Sehun if that pain was something he felt all the time, or when he was just around Yixing.

I was sitting in an expansive library, watching as books and scrolls floated around. Jongin’s face was buried in books, writing notes to what he deemed important. I was reading more about simpler magic, trying not to worry. It’s been a few days, and people around me have been looking through old books and talking to other magical institutes around the world. It was a worry, that little has been achieved, but so long as I’m here, it can’t be completed.

Sehun’s been in an awful mood, casting glares at anyone and everyone. He even had some biting remarks for Jongin before going off into his own corner of the library. Chanyeol and Yixing are in the middle of deciphering a tome that's in some ancient language. Kyungsoo was there, reading his own book but sometimes helping them. Minseok was standing in the middle of the room. He was in the center of a white marble circle, and all around him was different screen like things. Different pictures of books from other places on them as he was quickly getting information.

The door bursts open, Baekhyun running in with Jongdae and Junmyeon on his tail. Baekhyun looked pale, like he was ready to vomit as he quickly calls people to him. Everyone came close, except Sehun, who hung back and looked in a few feet away. He slams a book down in front of Jongin, motioning for everyone to gather around.

“It’s… That thing he’s… It’s referenced as a ‘Dark one’ or ‘Elder God’,” Baekhyun says, opening the book. “People all around the world have been trying to resurrect this… thing. It’s called Arnokros. It’s a monster that can change it’s form. It feeds on people’s minds after it makes them go mad.”

From the name, I see Minseok have the same reaction as Baekhyun. “The last time it was roaming free, many people died. Whole civilizations have collapsed because of it. The Olmecs, the Aksumites, the Mycenaeans…”

“It can also create children,” Baekhyun says, pointing. “‘Though weaker in power, the spawn of Arnokros thrive still, infecting people, trying to summon it’s father.’” Baekhyun looked at me, “Your father was infected by one of it’s children. He can’t be saved, I’m sorry. His mind, his soul has been fed on and devoured. He’s gone. That thing isn’t your father anymore.”

Minseok shakes his head, “How do you kill it?”

Baekhyun shakes his head, “We lock it away and wait for it to die of hunger. Which takes centuries.”

Yixing looks at me, “That explains why a piece of your soul is missing. After it ate your father’s soul, it probably wanted more.”

Baekhyun nods, “Your father is only alive because it inhabits him. If it left him, he’s dead. It couldn’t eat your soul and kill you, but it looks like it let it’s hunger get the best of it for just a moment.”

“We should also destroy the altar and ritual space it made,” Chanyeol mutters, looking at the book.

Minseok cross his arms, “We have a separate void space made that we can put the creature. We just have to make sure no one comes into contact with it for a while.”

I watch as Yixing sighed, shaking his head. He moves, leaning his head against Sehun’s shoulder with a sigh. I couldn’t help the way Sehun reacted. After the awful mood he’s been in, I expected him to shove Yixing away and tell him to get lost. But what happened was curious. No one else noticed it, but a look of deep sadness washed over him. Sehun looks as if he was physically in pain, looking away. I could see tears fill his eyes as he quickly gathers a hold of himself, raising the arm Yixing wasn’t leaning against and wiping his eyes.

“Well, everyone, make sure to wear your enchanted gear tomorrow,” Minseok says, “We’re going to be needing a lot of magician’s flame oil, too.”

“We’re going to burn it? Alright.” Jongin’s hand finds mine, holding it tightly. I look at him, and he smiles, “It’s ok, Eden. It’ll all be over soon.”

I shake my head, trying not to get emotional. That thing… it took over my father. My father wasn’t a monster before this thing came. Mom told me a long time ago that before he was just a simple farmer and mechanic. That something changed him shortly after I was born. Before I could stop them, tears were filling my eyes as I just looked down at my lap.

“Don’t worry,” Yixing says, leaving Sehun’s side and taking a step closer. He smiles at me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to smile back.

Sehun scoffs, rolling his eyes. “He’s a monster. He has to be dealt with. Face the facts.”

I let go of Jongin’s hand, biting my tongue and keeping myself from snapping. I stand, walking calmly to the door.

Minseok looks at Sehun, giving him a glare. “I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be at what you’re going through, but stop acting like a dick.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with what I said,” Sehun says quietly.

I turn back, calmly looking at him as I keep the anger in me. My tears falling freely. “But he wasn’t always. That thing… it change him. Mother told me how he use to be just a farmer. A simple man living off the land when something changed after I was born. Then he started…” I shake my head, glaring at Sehun. “He was a good person and his soul was… When I was young he use to play with me and read to me, but then, slowly those moments became rare until they stopped.” I refused to look away as I could see how embarrassed Sehun was. “It stopped because he’s no longer in there. That thing killed him, and you expect me to be happy about it? My father was killed slowly, he was taken from me and this thing is using what’s left like a puppet and you expect me not to feel sad?!”

Baekhyun took a step to me, “Eden, it’s ok.” I looked over, seeing his hand holding one of the crystals. I took a step back, “No! Don’t use magic to try to stop me! Sehun wanted me to face the facts, so I am!”

He winces, like my words actually hit him. “It’s just a calmin-”

“I don’t care,” I saw, letting my voice remain eerily calm. “You all don’t get it, do you?! It’s bad enough my father had to die having his soul feasted on. Slowly, agonisingly… but then, when you catch what’s felt of him, his body is going to remain doing nothing but slowly starving and dying for centuries.”

Jongin took a step to me, his eyes shining as he opens his mouth. I just turned, “I… I want to be alone right now. I’ll be back in my room.”

My footsteps echoed though the hall. The marble floor, shining and polished was loud as I slowly made my way to the small bedroom I was given here. It didn’t have much, a bed, a dresser, and a small desk, but it was more than enough for me. I still had some spellbook on it, open to the pages where I was learning about counterspells. It all seemed so small now as I try to breathe in, slowly. My shoulders started to shake, tears fell freely as my silent cries turned into loud sobbing. I couldn’t stop crying no matter what I did. I couldn’t stop imagining how my life could have been if my father was actually my father. How different it would be. How my brother would probably still be alive. How my mother would be happy.

It wasn’t until my eyes were falling after what felt like hours of crying did I realize the door opened. I could feel a hand touch my shoulder, quiet muttering of worry filled the air. Before I finally fell asleep, I could see Jongin looking at me, worried, as his hand just rubbed soothing circles on my back.