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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

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Pastime (with good company) (ao3) (aka the NMJ/WWX/LWJ one) - part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, past 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9

There were few enough causes to be grateful for Nie Huaisang’s shopping addiction, Nie Mingjue reflected, but it did mean that they had enough materials available for Wei Wuxian to work out his anxiety over what they were doing by incessantly arguing with Lan Wangji over the exact type of metal to use before finally selecting one and handing it over.

The middle of the night, in the midst of a thunderstorm, was not the most auspicious time to begin the forging of a spiritual weapon, but Nie Mingjue thought it suited Wei Wuxian better than most.

Especially now.

He hadn’t missed the gaps in the story he had heard, the oddity of Wei Wuxian losing his golden core despite Jiang Cheng being the one to bear the marks of torment from being captured by the Wens – perhaps Wei Wuxian did not know that Nie Mingjue knew of those. But then again, he had served a different role in the war than they: his demonic cultivation was a distance weapon, the overseeing general of the troops of fierce corpses he summoned, and so he did not know the dirt and grime and muck of the front line, the feeling of blood and viscera on your blade and splattered over your body and how unlike a simple duel it never seemed to end. The way that the adrenaline that carried you through your first battle eventually failed you, leaving you empty and exhausted; the way you had to keep going anyway, relying on muscle memory and sheer willpower to raise your blade up even when all hope had gone, when all sense of the future was gone, when it wasn’t fighting but merely butchering.

As a general matter, Jiang Cheng was highly sensitive about who saw him undressed, but after a solid week of war at Nie Mingjue’s side, he had thrown himself into the first stream they’d found without reserve, just as Nie Mingjue had, desperate to be clean and uncaring of anything else.

And so Nie Mingjue had seen – he had known. He’d seen similar marks all too much already in this war.

So the gaps in Wei Wuxian’s story didn’t make sense. He might even call it odd and go so far as to say unnerving, but Nie Mingjue wouldn’t press on a wound that was clearly still bleeding. It was already a matter of great trust that had brought Wei Wuxian here, that Lan Wangji had chosen to bring him here, and Nie Mingjue was honored by it.

Shocked by it, even.

Nie Mingjue didn’t know if it was due to the misfortunes in his youth or some deficiency in his nature, but despite his relatively casual views on the subject of who shared his bed, he’d always been very slow to actually warm up to people – to actually like them. He routinely judged people’s characters as part of his duties, of course, whether positively or negatively, and there were plenty of people he approved of, but there was a vast chasm between approval and actual friendship that very few people had ever figured out how to cross, and even he himself didn’t know how they did it.

When he was younger, he’d had cousins that he’d considered to be friends, but that had turned out to be habit and familiarity more than anything else, and the stiff formality of his role as sect leader, taken on too early, severed most of those relationships at the root. There were a few rare exceptions that could pretend otherwise – Nie Zonghui, who liked practicing saber techniques to a degree even Nie Mingjue found excessive, was one – and they were as precious to him as rubies.

There was Lan Xichen, of course, who’d pestered his way into it after Nie Mingjue’s father had died. He’d forced his way into the Unclean Realm, declaring that he had to come, that they were best friends, that Nie Mingjue was expecting him, even though up until that point their relationship had been little more than the vague obligated friendliness of two heirs of allied sects, especially ones with several years between them in age. He’d refused to leave until he was sure Nie Mingjue was all right, and ever since then, Nie Mingjue had taken their friendship as seriously as he’d ever taken anything.

And then there was Meng Yao –

He didn’t want to think about Meng Yao.

Everything that had happened with Meng Yao had made him more cynical, untrusting, less optimistic than before – he had truly liked Meng Yao, beyond merely respecting or valuing him. Nie Mingjue hadn’t thought of him merely as a competent deputy or even as one of his precious Nie sect disciples, but as a true friend, and he had tried to make that as clear as he could given the positions fate had put them in.

He had known, of course, that there would always be the issue of power between them, staining each and every one of their interactions; there were texts aplenty that spoke of the inherent loneliness of authority, the way that no one could ever really forget which one had the power of life and death over the other. And yet he had tried so very hard to give Meng Yao a sense of security despite that inherent imbalance, to give him sufficient funds and personal authority to carve out some autonomy within the sect, the freedom to leave it if that were what he desired, and also space so that he could determine how he wished to present himself to the world.

He’d known, too, of the insults Meng Yao faced, through no fault of his own. How could he not? But he had made clear to Meng Yao early on that he would interfere in his personal affairs only if asked, stressed that Meng Yao was welcome to ask no matter who was on the other side, and then he’d backed off. If he wanted to be a friend, he had to give Meng Yao the right to decide on his action.

And then, he supposed, Meng Yao had decided.

Nie Mingjue had seen Meng Yao’s true colors that day, a chance meeting that ruined everything for them both – Meng Yao’s plans, his dreams. Meng Yao had not been prepared to be caught, and not planned out his excuses ahead of time, and in scrambling to construct one that might serve had accidentally let the curtain drop on the process he used to create them.

That’d been the problem, really. To learn that everything between them had all been a sham designed to cater to his preference – that the very personality that he had allowed into his heart was nothing more than a means of manipulating him for Meng Yao’s advantage – that his Nie sect had been used as if it were nothing more a stepping stone aimed at the Jin sect…

The worst of it was that he thought he probably would have liked Meng Yao anyway.

Nie Mingjue tried to be righteous, but he was only human – he would have promoted Meng Yao if he’d been only competent, competent and selfish, selfish and vicious and ruthless, and might even have befriended him regardless, but it had broken his heart to grow love the kindness and gentleness and righteousness that reminded him so much of Lan Xichen only to learn that it had all been a lie.

The war had been brutal, and there were weeks where the entire army’s morale seemed to depend entirely on Nie Mingjue being some sort of war god, undefeatable and untouched. There had been no room for a man that wanted to shed tears for the men he’d lost in the victories he’d won, that empathized with the war-ravaged innocent lives that he could not afford the time to help more, who was tormented by nightmares filled with blood and memories of still worse – he had needed a friend, someone he could trust and rely upon, and Meng Yao had taken advantage of that weakness.

He’d done it deliberately.

It’d been easy enough to follow his traces now that Nie Mingjue knew to look: the people who had answered questions about him, the inciting incidents that had allowed Meng Yao to accidentally come into his path. Meng Yao had come prepared, as he’d always come prepared, and he’d managed their growing friendship as efficiently as he’d managed his duties as Nie Mingjue’s deputy.

Meng Yao had hurt him, doing that, and he had never apologized, not really, not in any way that mattered. Worse, he’d kept right on with the stupid pretense that Nie Mingjue already knew was a lie, insisting on treating him like an outsider that could be deceived, all smiles filled with daggers instead of finally letting down his guard and showing who he really was at last – he still didn’t respect Nie Mingjue enough to trust him with actual friendship, not even after they’d sworn brotherhood.

Nie Mingjue hadn’t really held out much hope for anyone else, after all that.

Even when Nie Huaisang had asked him what would happen if he fell in love with his husband, when they’d been discussing his marriage to Wei Wuxian, he’d more or less shrugged it off – lust was easy enough, for him. As for love…

Love was love, uncontrollable and untamable and unpredictable. It would happen whether he wanted it or not, so why worry in advance?

Perhaps he should have worried.

Perhaps he should have reflected on Wei Wuxian’s effortless charisma, his causal but often justified arrogance, the smile that always reached his eyes in the way the now-named Jin Guangyao’s never did and perhaps never had, his overwhelming desire to do the right thing no matter how unpopular or how much he would have to sacrifice for it. Or perhaps instead he should have reflected on Lan Wangji’s steadiness and faith, his steel-bright sense of righteousness that reminded Nie Mingjue a little of Baxia, unbending and inexorable, the hints of humor hidden deep within his solemnity, the awkwardness of the youth he remembered disappearing into the elegance and poise of the man.

Perhaps he should have thought about all of that when he offered to marry them, and they him, because now they trusted him.

Not just the trust imposed on him by virtue of his role as Sect Leader Nie, which was his responsibility and his burden to bear, but personal trust. They turned to him first, before all others, sought out Nie Mingjue and not anyone else because he was Nie Mingjue, their future husband, and because they did not want to lie to him even by omission.

Other than Nie Huaisang – who hadn’t had much choice in the matter – no one had ever put him first just because they wanted to. His Nie cousins and disciples were bound to him by duty, Lan Xichen had his sect to consider, and Meng Yao had his ambitions…

He liked how it felt.

He liked to be trusted, and to feel that he could trust in return.

He liked them – he liked the way they unabashedly watched him as he forged the base for Wei Wuxian, a process that was both strenuous and complex, a matter of carefully trained skill and even more carefully deployed spiritual energy. They had been especially delighted to discover that he preferred to do his forging shirtless because of the heat of the flame he was using, relying on his cultivation to guard him against any sparks that might fly.

He liked the way they blushed when he spoke to them, he liked the way that they liked him, he liked –

Nie Huaisang was right. He really was good-for-nothing when it came to romance.

“I haven’t yet told Huaisang the full truth behind the cultivation of the sabers,” he said to them, dismissing all his thoughts as unhelpful. So what if he liked them? He was going to marry them – now would be the stupidest time of all to start pining, especially for something he would very shortly have. “I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing so as well, at least for a time.”

“How can he not know?” Wei Wuxian asked, chin on his hand. “You said he cultivated his golden core using the Nie sect’s traditional technique. Surely comprehension is an invaluable part of mastering a subject?”

Fancy words, coming from someone who had very obviously been devoting the last shichen to comprehending the mysteries of Nie Mingjue’s ass.

Not that Nie Mingjue minded.

“Comprehension aids in mastery, but it is not required,” Lan Wangji noted, logical as always. “Instinct is a different teacher, but no less worthy. Is there a reason you haven’t told him, Mingjue-xiong?”

“It would only cause him pain, and I have no stomach for that,” Nie Mingjue admitted. “And to be frank, it always seemed, well, unnecessary. Huaisang has never learned anything through comprehension – sending him to Gusu was a fool’s errand –”

“Only if the goal was for him to learn something about cultivation, politics, ethics, or etiquette,” Lan Wangji said, his voice a little dry. “As destination for an aspiring painter or poet, however…”

Nie Mingjue’s lips twitched, and he didn’t deny anything.

He’d always spoiled his little brother. He always would.

Instead of answering, he turned his attention back to his forging, letting the voices of his two brides-to-be wash over him as they lightly debated the artistic merits of the Lotus Pier against the Cloud Recesses – Wei Wuxian not even bothering to try to defend the Yiling Burial Mounds beyond a mention of how it was very interesting from a certain aesthetical perspective – as he shaped the metal on the forge.

Forging was a basic skill in Qinghe, with smithing of all sorts being one of their main exports alongside the meat and animal products his sect was still so strongly associated with, but spirit-forging – the creation of a spiritual weapon, a living weapon – was a rare skill, typically reserved for those members of his sect that devoted themselves to it entirely. Nie Mingjue had become enamored of it when he was younger, and it was one of the very few interests that he had managed to preserve after becoming sect leader. He had missed it very much during the war, when it was too dangerous to take his attention away for the time it took to complete a full weapon, and it wasn’t exactly something that could be done out in the open where everyone could see.

This particular type of spirit-forging, creating a channel capable of manipulating a cultivator’s qi, wasn’t generally done for outsiders at all, in fact, though that was a rule Nie Mingjue had a bad tendency to break.

He was still getting dirty looks from any number of his cousins for having gifted Meng Yao with a hairpiece that could filter an opponent’s qi to help him bear or block a blow from a stronger man – that had been before Meng Yao had left for the Jin sect and Langya, a farewell gift of well-wishing. Back then, Nie Mingjue had still had his illusions about Meng Yao’s character, had still foolishly hoped that he might come back one day once he’d seen Jin Guangshan for what he truly was, had not yet realized that Meng Yao knew perfectly well what Jin Guangshan was and still wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything Nie Mingjue could give him.

Still, even Meng Yao hadn’t been allowed to see him actually making it – even Lan Xichen had not, and he had several pieces in his collection that had come from Nie Mingjue’s hand.

But neither of his sworn brothers were marrying into his sect, while his brides were, and he could think of no other way to repay them the trust that they had put in him than by trusting them in turn.

Do you think I’m being a fool again? he thought at Baxia, who he had placed into the stand he had made for her, appropriately placed to watch as he forged.

The saber spirits did not naturally speak as humans did, shaping feelings into words, but after enough time and cultivation, they were capable of the sorts of reactions that might be deciphered into something not unlike a response if one were creative about interpretation.

Finally paying attention to me, Baxia hissed at him, sounding smug, and Nie Mingjue refrained from rolling his eyes only because it might cause his brides to ask questions he wouldn’t be able to answer without sounding like he’d gone mad. The new saber will be good this time.

I’m not making him a saber –

For you it will always be a saber, she said, and a shiver went down his back. She was not talking about the metal beneath his hands. You do not value anything else. All metal contains impurities: last time it was too brittle, shattering at the first blow. This time it will be better.

There are two of them, you know, he told her, feeling a little helpless – everything was so clear-cut to a saber spirit, everything split into black and white, good and evil, and sometimes he thought it would be so much easier to live like that. I’m not just marrying one.

Xingyun and Liushui can be wielded apart, but they are better as one; it was not greed that drove your cousin to pick them both.

Nie Zonghui’s dual sabers, the moving clouds and flowing water – he supposed in the world of sabers that was the closest precedent for what he was doing with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Nie Mingjue wasn’t sure any of the saber spirits actually understood the concept of marriage, or indeed of the notion of sexual reproduction, much less political marriages between pairs that couldn’t reproduce. But then again he wasn’t sure Baxia was wrong in her analysis, either: both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were men that could kill as easily and indifferently as the whistling wind and would if they were badly handled – as vicious against evil as any Nie saber, and as beautiful.

He would have to prove himself worthy of being called their husband.

He would have to –

“What are you doing?!” someone shrieked.

Sect Leader Jiang is here, Baxia helpfully told him far, far later than would be helpful. She’d kept it back from him deliberately, the troublesome little minx, indifferent as ever to all things that did not rise to the level of evil in her mind. When you’re done calming him, maybe we kill something?

Sect Leader Jiang’s appearance during the war had usually heralded a battle; she’d gotten accustomed. He’d have to train her out of the association.

I’m not going to spoil you right after you played a trick on me, he told her.

“Is there something you need, Sect Leader Jiang?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the metal in front of him. The spiritual part of the forging was done, at least, or else he’d be angrier at his sect disciples for allowing an outsider in while he was working.

He suspected Nie Huaisang might have had a hand to play in that.

“Yes!” the man bellowed. “A fucking chaperone! Ever heard of it?! Or does the Nie sect believe that swanning around half-naked is an appropriate measure of preserving your bride’s reputation?!”

Baxia cackled in his ear, and he sighed and put the metal down; it was basically done anyway. It wasn’t much to look at yet – a mere circle of metal small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, but layered many times over with spiritual arrays and qi mixed in with the metal and Wei Wuxian to the point that it all but glowed to his senses with the feeling of him, intimately understood in the way only a creator could.

He’d have to make another one for Lan Wangji, too. He couldn’t wait to compare them.

“There have been guards outside the door at all times,” Lan Wangji said, but he sounded embarrassed, and Wei Wuxian’s little huff of surprise made clear he hadn’t even realized that much. “You have my apologies regarding the impropriety, Sect Leader Jiang. It was my fault.”

“Your fault?”

Nie Mingjue couldn’t fault Jiang Cheng for the surprise in his voice: Lan Wangji was truly the last of them that might be expected to violate the rules. Indeed, Nie Mingjue had known the matter to be urgent merely from the fact that Lan Wangji had brought Wei Wuxian to him in the middle of the night when he ought to have been asleep, and he himself had fallen back into the habits of war, when only dealing with the crisis was important, nothing else, and all social norms could simply be ignored.

If he’d been thinking, it wouldn’t have been an issue to resolve. Really, he should have just called some old lady of his sect with impeccable credentials and absolutely no hearing to sit with them.

Still, they were engaged, the date set and everything signed – the only remedy for impropriety of this sort was marriage, and they’d already agreed on that, so the only thing they’d lost was face.

Assuming that Jiang Cheng would ever let it be known that this meeting had occurred without him being present, of course.

“Come out night-hunting with me,” he said, already sighing internally at how this wasn’t going to help Baxia’s association of Sect Leader Jiang with fun in the slightest, and three eyes turned to stare at him. “Sect Leader Jiang only. You’re right – I was disrespectful in permitting myself their company without appropriate supervision, for all that I vow to you that I did not lay a finger on them. Allow me to make it up to you.”

“Do you know how long I flew to get here,” Jiang Cheng grumbled, but Nie Mingjue had an eye for people: he wasn’t tired at all, full of nervous energy and adrenaline; a hunt would be just the thing to get it out. “Fine. Let’s go. Right now. Because this whole thing? Never happened.”

Nie Mingjue nodded in agreement. “Once it’s cool, it’s yours,” he told Wei Wuxian, nodding at the circle of metal. “Master it as soon as possible, and then we can discuss what form you’d like it to take. I have some ideas.”

In fact, he’d gotten a new one just now, looking at Jiang Cheng. Zidian spent most of its time as a ring, deceptively simple, and only sometimes became a whip. It, too, was a spiritual weapon, an ancestral one – someone had once forged the core of it the way Nie Mingjue had forged this new one, still unnamed.

A ring was the universal symbol, representing the sky and the earth, and it was near to the fingertips, which were tied directly to the heart – one of the main channels of cultivation. There was a reason swords and sabers were held in the dominant hand, and Zidian worked on the same principle; if Nie Mingjue made Wei Wuxian a spiritual weapon that functioned as a channel for the resentful energy he now cultivated and tied it there, he could use the ring as a connection between himself and any other object he might choose.

Chenqing, for instance – or even Suibian.

Nie Mingjue thought Wei Wuxian would like that.

He put back on his robes and swept out the door, Jiang Cheng behind him.

“You’re lucky it was me that found you,” Jiang Cheng told him as they went out to the back mountains to find something worth hunting – and there was always something worth hunting there. The Nie sect made sure of it.

“I am,” Nie Mingjue agreed. “Not everyone can be trusted to keep secrets.”

Jiang Cheng had been about to continue complaining, probably about how he (unlike others) wouldn’t feel the need to stab him or shame him for being alone with his brides for too long, but the unsought-for compliment immediately tripped him up the way Nie Mingjue hoped it would.

After a few stunned moments, Jiang Cheng huffed. “Yes, well,” he said. “Wei Wuxian’s my shixiong; my Jiang sect couldn’t bear to have it said that he was badly raised. I’ll keep your secret.”

“Thank you.”

“I won’t even ask why both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian turned bright red when you said you hadn’t laid a finger on them.”

Nie Mingjue coughed, glad that he wasn’t inclined towards blushing himself, and ignored Baxia’s cackling to incline his head at Jiang Cheng, conceding the point.

“You’d better behave better in the future, though,” Jiang Cheng said, looking pleased with himself for having scored a point. “I should hope that you can hold off a little longer. It’s not even that far away, now!”

“No,” Nie Mingjue said, and his heart felt full. “No, it’s not.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at him, and Nie Mingjue grinned at him – they’d become something like friends during the war, Jiang Cheng seeking him out as the only other person who might understand his situation and be willing to give him advice on all the things his father had not thought to teach him.

Nie Mingjue had shared all the things he’d wished he’d been told back when it had been his turn to take the heavy role of sect leader too young and unprepared, a difficult and unpleasant conversation that had nevertheless felt good when it was over.

Perhaps it had been that connection, however slight, that had given Jiang Cheng the confidence to come to him with his bizarre request that he marry his shixiong – to choose to trust Nie Mingjue once again, and in doing so give him more than he had dared to dream he might have.

Feeling unusually pleased with life, Nie Mingjue reached out as he rarely did and patted Jiang Cheng on the back, feeling as he did the warm spark of his cultivation, passionate and almost – strangely familiar.

As if he’d felt it before, very recently.

“So tell me,” he said, throwing the puzzle to the back of his mind for the moment. He was acting as host, and night-hunting could be dangerous no matter how familiar the environment; he could figure it out later. “I take it that you’ve been the one that’s been providing Wei Wuxian with spring books?”

“There was only one!” Jiang Cheng howled.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #jin guangyao #meng yao #special mention #my fic #my fics #pastime with good company #this chapter is a fifth of the entire fic so far #but NMJ wouldn't stop being introspective #oh well

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meant-to-be-a-hero · 3 years ago

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Ranger Rankings - Power Rangers Samurai + Super Samurai

Premise - 4

The idea of Rangers having trained all their lives for the role, or at the very least knowing that they're going to have to be Rangers at some point, is a good one. The whole Samurai dojo setting is reminiscent of Ninja Storm and Jungle Fury, but it works, and it's fair of Saban to go with what they know works for their first time out after regaining the license. There aren't any glaring holes in the plot, and the dojo doubles as a place for non-Ranger activity without needing unnecessary explanation.

Character Dynamics - 3.5

For a change, if you're NOT the Red Ranger, this actually works out pretty well for you.

Mia, Emily, Mike, and Kevin all get to go through a lot in this season - they each get some good spotlight episodes, and their development as Rangers and as people comes along leaps and bounds in the 40 episode run. I like that they show actually acknowledged Mike & Emily's relationship rather than just pretending it wasn't there like other seasons have done in the past.

And then there's Jayden, who seems to get the short end of the stick. He's very, very stiff for most of the season, and he keeps relearning the same lessons without really progressing along his arc. He gets teamwork, then runs off on his own. He gets trusting his friends, then won't let them help him. And then when Lauren shows up at the end, there's that initial conflict over whether he's necessary any more, which kind of just fizzles out when he comes right back. It's frustrating, but he definitely feels like an unfinished character, even by the end of the season, and especially compared to the others.

Mentor Ji's fine. He has a few shining moments, like trying to help Bulk & Skull during one of the Christmas episodes, or the two times he gets to join in the fight, but he's mostly there to dispense wisdom.

I honestly could have done without the Bulk & Spike plot though. It barely ever actually coincided with the Ranger plot, and neither of them had much in the way of growth all season. Power Rangers realised after Turbo that Bulk & Skull weren't necessary any more, and while bringing them back has a nice nostalgia factor, that fact hasn't changed, and just detracts from time we could have spent with the other characters.

Sixth Ranger Arc - 4.5

Ah, Antonio. The golden light. My boy.

Yes, he has the whole 'turns up and becomes a Ranger in one episode' thing, but there's actually a really good reason for that this time around.

The idea of a self-taught Ranger is totally neat, and it comes up a lot even after he becomes a regular member of the team. He's a tech whiz, and he approaches symbol power and even Ranger training totally differently to everyone else. He really does feel like a different person compared to the others, and he brings some much needed levity to the team as well.

His ties with Jayden come up a lot too, even just in little gestures or glances as the series goes on. And the way he treats his Zords like his friends is adorable.

And the fact that he always has his own deal and isn't just hanging out at Shiba House on his off-days gives him an additional dimension too.

I just really like him, okay?

Plot Development - 3.5

I think because this season's 40 episodes + specials after so long of 30ish, it feels like the main plot drags on a LOT, especially in the early days of Samurai.

I like the idea that the villains can't just attack because of the level of the Sanzu River, and it gives them a reason to keep sending individual monsters rather than attacking right away, but it feels really arbitrary as to how successful they're being - the plot could have ended at any point, if they really wanted it to.

Things look up from the end of Samurai - the Black Box arc, and then the appearance of Serrator keeps things fresh, and the final five episode arc is straight fire through to the end. But there are too many one and done plots, and the holiday specials are pretty terrible given that three of the four are clip shows, and the one that isn't is just all recycled footage.

Villains - 3.5

Let's get the bad out of the way - Master Xandred is pretty crap, especially as a season-long villain. All he does is yell, or get drunk (medicine, my ass). He doesn't add anything to the plot, and he doesn't even feel particularly threatening until his final two episodes.

But then the supporting villains are great. The tragedy of Dayu and Deker, while also a bit overly long (there are like three places it could have ended before the final episodes), is something we haven't seen before. They could have easily had one or both of them face turn, but they stayed if not evil then neutral to the end, and it was actually quite sad seeing how it all turned out for them.

Serrator was a good mini-boss; we could have done with another one of him in Samurai to bridge the gap. He had a decent, if weird, plan, and a good personality - I always love dissension in the villain ranks, and he was more compelling in like three episodes than Xandred was in 40.

And Octoroo was just funny. I loved when he actually got to join in the fights - he looks totally useless, but he's not, and his little vocal tick was just present enough to be endearing without getting on my nerves. Shame he drowned.

Team-Up - 2

Clash Of The Red Rangers suffered so much from behind the scenes issues that I kind of wish they hadn't bothered doing it at all, because the final product was bland. You could literally take Scott out of the story and it'd play out basically the same way. Not having the rest of the RPM Rangers hurts it a lot, as does the entire Samurai team disappearing for half the story. Meanwhile the actual 'clash' lasts all of two minutes and is a ruse. It's watchable sure, but for a team-up episode, it's only one notch above the offensive Trakeena's Revenge.

Overall - 3.50

Hottest Ranger - Antonio. Come on! The boy's cute, he can sing, he's a dork most of the time, and he talks to his Zords like they're friends. I was never going to be able to resist. Also, shout out to Deker because evil!Cole also hits my buttons.

Notable Episodes:

There Go The Brides - The first hint that there's something more going on with Dayu and Deker, plus some decent subterfuge from the Rangers too.

Unexpected Arrival/Room For One More/The Blue And The Gold - Antonio's here and everything's suddenly miles better.

He Ain't Heavy Metal, He's My Brother - Mentioned entirely for Antonio and Mia's song.

A Sticky Situation - Mike & Kevin get stuck together and have to live with their hands tied together for an entire episode. Hilarity ensues.

The Master Returns/A Crack In The World/Stroke Of Fate - Honestly, a few little rewrites could have made this three episode arc the end of the series if they wanted to. The stakes were high, the reveals were there, and it was the end of Serrator.

Fight Fire With Fire/The Great Duel/Evil Reborn/The Sealing Symbol/Samurai Forever - Another excellent finale. The final fights with Xandred had some surprising twists and turns that I really enjoyed, and once this final five episode arc got going, it didn't let up.

#Ranger Rankings #Power Rangers Samurai #Power Ranger Super Samurai

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princessozera · 4 years ago

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Not OM, I just wanted to post here the first ever fic I actually wrote and published

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY AS A DISCLAIMER EVEN THOUGH I PUBLISHED IT LAST YEAR (2 years ago?) I WAS ACTUALLY YOUNGER WHEN I WROTE THIS. I DO NOT SIMP FOR DAMIAN LIKE THAT ANYMORE, HE IS MY SON.

The Only Exception

(Aged up/Older Damian Wayne x OC)

The seats are filled, the air is comforting, music and perfume floating in the air. Today Rosella Anderson is to be wed to Damian Wayne. But, weddings never quite go according to plan. Talia and Ra's Al Ghul have made it clear they don't like her, on multiple occasions. But with no less than 50 trained fighters and investigators on both sides of the aisle, nothing can interrupt or ruin her special day...... Right?

Chapter 1: Getting Married Today

"Come on, suck it in!"

"I HAVEN'T EVEN EATEN TODAY!" I whined as Alice yanked the ribbons on my corset tighter.

"WATCH IT!" Crystal swats away Alice's hands and undoes the ribbons a bit. "Suffocate her and she doesn't make it down the aisle, pack her like a sausage and my hours of makeup will have gone to waste!" She huffed and finish tying the ribbons, satisfied that they weren't too tight.

"I don't think I ever really appreciated the amount of work it takes to make curly hair not be frizzy," Barbra Gordon says between sips of champagne, lounging on the hotel bed.

"That's why I don't do my hair that often," I laugh, sitting on an ottoman so Alice can put my veil on and Crystal can help me put on my garter. My maid of honor, Cassandra Cain, came over and tried to feed me some fruit slices. I tried to argue, but I couldn't hold my own as she stared me down. I let her feed me some cantaloupe slices until she was satisfied and went off to finish getting ready.

"You really are a queen today!" Stephanie laughed as she walked around the room again, holding a video recorder. I tried to hide my face, but she grabbed my hand and swung it around. "A beautiful princess for Gotham's own prince! Tell us, your majesty, how are you feeling, about to be married off to Gotham's richest stone statue?" The girls laughed but I just shook my head at her. "Me, Tim, and Dick are making a documentary for you two. Any words for the lucky man? Anything you want to say to your future self, your family, your future kids? " Whistles and laughs went around the room and I couldn't help but blush.

"Well, let's take this one step at a time," I laughed to hide my own embarrassment. "Damian," I started, looking directly into the camera, "I don't believe in love at first sight, but damn did we square up on first sight. Not many people can say they had a full on MMA fight with their future spouse within minutes of meeting them. Yet, after that whole fiasco was solved, you've never been anything but gentle with me. People always said we wouldn't last; lava and ice. Water and a drought. Incompatible. But you were the first to look past who I had to be, to see who I was trying to be. You brought me a family, and I like to think I've brought you some serenity. I don't believe in destiny, and I'm not too sure about fate, but I believe in us. I believe that I'll fight for you until the end of time because you'd do the same for me. Because you are my home, and there's no place I'd rather be." I get choked up, wanting nothing more than to have him in my arms right now. I missed him like hell, even though it's only been 2 days since I've seen him.

"This isn't the time to start reciting your wedding vows silly," Cass said and I couldn't help but giggle. She wipes away the tears that I hadn't felt form, making sure to not mess with my mascara. Stephanie sighs happily and puts the camcorder down, reaching over to hug me.

"I'm so glad I get to be your sister," she whispered to me, and I hugged back tighter. We both jerked in surprise at the knock at the door. I immediately reached for my bag, looking for my well-worn notebook, but Cass's hand steadied me. Barbra got up, fixed her dress and went over to the door.

"Who is-" She stiffens up immediately, hand pulling back from the handle. "It's Talia." Stephanie immediately got in front of me, and I grabbed Cass's hand as she reached for her own bag, searching for her gun. I'd never told my friends about Talia, but they took the hint found their way to their respective bags, throwing knives and whips at the ready. Truthfully, I was finding it a little hard to breathe and I doubt it was the dress. The knock came again, more insistent, but no one moved.

"It's your call Rose," Barbra said, her eyes never leaving the door.

"Let her in," I tug on Cass's arm and she helps me stand up. "If she wanted me offed, she would have gotten someone else to do it. Or at least she wouldn't have knocked." Crystal and Alice look between all of us in alarm and decide to take the window as Stephanie goes to back up Babs by the door. The door opens, and there stands Talia, as beautiful and regal as ever. She glances over everyone before finally meeting my eyes.

"Lady Al Ghul, please come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I said, fidgeting with my dress. She steps in, nodding to Babs and Stephanie.

"I'd like to have a word with you before the ceremony," She says, running her hand along the wet counter cluttered with makeup. "Alone," She said with a pointed look when no one moved. That harsh edge was enough to get everyone to cover or flank me again. She didn't respond to this, simply staring at me. I put my hand on each girl's back, one by one.

"Go, I'll be fine. We'll be right here," Babs stares me down, but I nod back. She caves and starts to leave; Alice, Crystal and eventually Stephanie following behind, after she grabs something off the bed. Cass refused to move.

"Do I need to remind you that you can barely move your waist in that monstrous dress? She'd get to you before any of us were the wiser," She whispered in my ear, holding my arm pretty tightly. I wormed my way out of her grasp and grabbed the worn notebook from my bag.

"I promise, it'll be fine. Anyways, I forgot there were 2 more things I needed to do," I flipped through the pages quickly, finding what I needed and handing it to her. "If you could please take care of it? You should be done by the time we're done talking and we can head to the venue." Cass read through it quickly, then looked at me again. She gave a curt nod and walked out as well.

"We'll be right outside," Babs says pointedly before closing the door. Talia and I stood in silence for a moment, before she slowly stalked towards me until she was less than 6 feet away.

"Lady Al-"

"Your still not worthy of my son." oop. Right to the point, as always. Can't say it didn't hurt.

"You're a commoner, a nobody. No title, no land, not even superior health to your name. You failed classes in high school, went to college on scholarships, and couldn't land a proper role in your field until a year in. Failure, after pitfall, after failure." JESUS CHRIST THIS LADY DID HER RESEARCH. My face burned in humiliation, but nothing I could say now would justify everything she just listed out. "And yet... Damian loves you."

"I may not like you, but I know how I raised him, and Bruce has done a good job of bringing up a boy worth more than the names he was born into. Wayne. Al Ghul. Damian. I will have faith in his choice, he is not a stupid boy. Foolish and stubborn yes, but not stupid. If he thinks you are worthy, there may be hope for you yet." holy shit, no way, is this actually happening? I'm too stunned to say anything, just grateful that my mouth isn't hanging open.

"When you return from your honeymoon I expect you to face me in a formal duel and undergo training as necessary," she puts her hands on her hips, challenging me to argue with her, but I was so happy I had to restrain myself from hugging her.

"It would be an honor to battle you Lady Al Ghul," I say, finding my tongue, stifling my giddiness with a bow, and a hand over my chest.

"Talia is also acceptable." She says with a nod, taking another step forward and adjusting the skirt of my dress and finally my veil before turning starting to walk back to the door. "My father and I will also be in attendance to this event, but if you ever wish to gain even an ounce of his approval, you'll need to do another more traditional ceremony at a later date." My heart swelled, and for a second, I legitimately thought I was going to break down crying. This was better than anything I could have prepared for. I couldn't just let her walk out like that.

"Damian'll be elated!" I yelled out to keep my voice from cracking. Talia stops, and I gush on. "I know you haven't had the easiest of relationships, with conflicting ideology and all, but he really does love you, and Ra's, even if he doesn't say it. He looks up to you guys and wants to make you proud. You being here will mean the world to him." I force myself to stop talking before I say something weird or bad. Talia turns back to me, walks up swiftly, and hugs me. I'm stiff in surprise, but manage to hug her back before she gives me one last nod and walks out. Everyone runs back in the second Talia is out.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" Babs immediately grabs my arms and starts inspecting me up and down for any sign of injury.

"Don't cry don't cry!" Alice pleads with me, fanning my face to prevent the tears from falling.

"Talia hugged her, check her back and skirt for anything weird," I look over to Stephanie, who was staring down at her camcorder. Had she left that hidden on the bed? I didn't even notice. But it was so sweet. I could show Damian later all the sweet words his mother said about him.

"Jesus, you're so teary today," Cass mumbles as she does her own inspection of my dress. When she's done, she sees my tears are of joy, so she hugs me. "Your journal's impressive," she says handing back my heart covered notebook. I'm still choked up and trying not to bawl in relief so once everyone was satisfied that I wasn't going to drop dead in the middle of the aisle, they sat me down so I could calm down while they finished up. I collected myself, the extremity of these emotions leaving me exhausted. I drifted off with the warm glow of my friend's laughter and love filling the air.

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"No way, you did not fall asleep!"

"Get up get up get up!"

"Cass, I'm fully warning you right now. If she falls asleep at the ceremony like this, I'm throwing my bouquet at her head"

"You might have to beat Stephanie to it," Cass giggles, as she gently shakes me awake. I take a second to reorient myself, blinking the drowsiness out of my eyes, and stretching.

"Ooh, we could coordinate it though!" Stephanie perks up, "if she falls asleep; Alice and Crystal, take your flowers and make it rain, and then Babs, Cass and I hit her in the head. Guaranteed it'll wake her up!" We all laugh and I get up, taking a minute to appreciate my beautiful friends. It was a debated choice, but the deep purple fit everyone perfectly. We did have to make a few adjustments to Stephanie's overall look though, to keep her from looking too similar to her alter ego, Spoiler. Bouquet in every pair of hands, key cards in garter wallets and phones on silent, we made our way down to the venue.

"We're only running 10 minutes behind, it couldn't be helped," Babs tries to calm my nerves as I all but start jumping in the elevator. Cass also had to put a hand on my waist to pull me back when I almost ran to my place. She escorted me around to the side doors; the girls and I were coming in from the right, Damian and his groomsmen were coming in from the left. He had wanted to avoid any issue of who should walk him down the aisle; I thought it was cute how he couldn't choose between Dick and Bruce. Cass and I were slow dancing to calm my nerves when the rest of the girls came back.

"Pianist and minister are ready" -Babs

"Decorations are gorgeous and on point, everyone is in their seat and there are no fussy children" -Alice

"Lights, audio and AC are perfect and photographers are also ready" - Crystal.

I nodded, yes, everything was going smoothly. Of course, I had used everything I had when planning this. I was floating on cloud nine, simply nodding along when Babs spoke up.

"Has anyone seen Stephanie?" she asks, grip tightening on her bouquet. No one knew so we all just waited around for 5 minutes, everyone starting to get fidgety. Stephanie came back, 10 minutes later, looking a little out of breath and a bit pale, even under her makeup.

"Ok so there's a situation,- the guys are running late but it's okay they're o their way, they'll be here in 20 minutes!" Stephanie sped through the second half of her sentence when she saw that I was going to panic. I breathed out in relief and nodded, satisfied.

"I'll make the announcement, Dick probably went overboard trying to do his hair again," Babs snickered and headed into the ceremony hall. We played a light game of ninja as we waited to hear from the guys, but I soon became hyper-aware of time passing. I don't have the best perception of time, I don't even have a good memory, but I caught the looks my bridesmaids were giving each other.

The questioning looks.

The worry.

I let myself get kicked out of the next round and walked a little ways off, pulling my phone out and calling the number I knew by heart, ignoring the time that read that I was now almost 40 minutes late to my own wedding. The phone rang 3 times, and I turned away from my girls who were really getting into this game, rooting for Cass or Alice to win.

"Damian!" I sighed in relief when the line clicked. "hey, how much longer do you think you guys will be in traffic? If it's going to be another while, I can have it arranged so snacks and drinks are handed out so no one gets restless. I could also give the pianist a break, he's been playing the same chorus on repeat for the last half hour-" I let my voice trail off as I was met by a stone wall of silence. Not even a joke from Dick or Tim or Duke. I waited him out, after a minute of silence, Damian spoke up.

"I'm sorry beloved, I can't do this."

"What?" I asked, but my voice was so thin and breathy I doubt he heard me.

"I can't go through with this. This marriage, this wedding. It's all a joke. Who even cares about this mess? It's all so... stupid. Pointless." not a hint of hesitation, voice more ruthless than I had ever heard it. No. No way. was he serious!? I struggled to find my words, I shook with the pure effort of breathing normally even though I felt like I was having an actual heart attack; tight chest, palpitations, the whole 9 yards. Tremors ran through my body and I finally managed to choke out "Damian-"

"Goodbye Rosella" the line clicked off and I take a shuddering breath.

"Rose?" Cass says, gently putting a hand on my shoulder.

"He's not coming."

"What?"

"He's not coming!" I shriek, clutching my waist to stop my stomach from churning but to no avail; at least I didn't have much of lunch to throw up.

"What do you mean he's not coming!" Babs demands, yelling from where she was

"shit"

We all turn and there stands Jason, looking uncomfortable as hell and very much like he didn't want to be here. That confirmed it for everyone. Alice, Crystal, and Babs started yelling questions at Jason. Stephanie pulled out her own phone and started dialing a bunch of numbers but it seemed like no one was answering. Cass tried to speak with me, but my ears were ringing, it all sounded like white noise. And I felt cold. but hot. but freezing. I raise my hand and draw everyone's attention, all becoming deadly silent.

"Alice, Crystal. please go tell the pianist, the minister, and the photographer. Give them my email so I can settle up the charges later. Stephanie and Cass, please go see if we can keep the party reservations for tonight. Everyone else should enjoy them, even if there is no.... Barbra, could you please break the news that I... we..." everything got really blurry for a second and the floor rushed up to meet me, but I caught myself on the table before I could pass out completely.

Not here, not in front of them. Don't put them through a breakdown.

Everyone was fussing, but I couldn't stand here for another second. "Go. I just want to be alone. Please. go. GO!" I yelled and they all dispersed, shooting me worried looks. Cass gave me a long hug before she decided I needed a moment alone.

"Don't move from here." She instructed me. "Go get the guys," she demanded to Jason before going off. Jason looked at me sadly, trying to find the right words to say.

"Rose-"

"Please leave." he walked away without another word. Once I was sure he was out of earshot, I ran with everything I had out of the hallway.

Pardon me is everybody there

because if everybody's there id like to thank you all for coming to the wedding

I appreciate you going even more

I mean you must have had better things to do.

Thank you all for the gifts and the flowers,

Thank you all, now it's back to the showers

but I guess I'm not getting married today

The perfume is suffocating, overly sweet, fake as plastic, thick as sugar. I can't breathe, but I don't need air to run. Don't stop, move. Move. Move. The ribbons are strangling me. The garter is cutting off my circulation. Gloves are hurting me. High heels, weak ankles. My rolls of fat spilling out of the dress. rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls. can't stand. can't wait, I throw open the door to the stairs and take them in 3s.

Listen, everybody,

look, I don't know what you're waiting for.

A wedding. What's a wedding?

It's a prehistoric ritual

Where everybody promises fidelity forever,

Which is maybe the most horrifying word I ever heard of,

Which is followed by a honeymoon, where suddenly he'll realize

He's saddled with a nut, and want to kill me, which he should.

Thanks a bunch, but I'm not getting married

I scream as my veil gets caught in the handrail, yanking my head back, falling down a couple of stairs. No question, I rip it off. It stings, it hurts, bobby pins forcefully ripped out. The shoes go too, heels are stupid, why are they so tall. Tall and tall and make my knees wobbly. The taller they are the harder they fall. Up the stairs, 3 at a time, legs on fire. Don't stop, don't stop, hike the dress up and keep running all the way to the 50th floor.

Go have lunch, 'cause I'm not getting married

You've been grand, but I'm not getting married

Don't just stand there, I'm not getting married

But I'm not getting married today.

I slam open the hotel room door, to hell with neighbors. Suffocating, burning, melting heat. I rip off the gloves, scream as I can't get the ribbons out of my dress. I scream, jump, squirm and throw myself around until it finally comes off.

He didn't come. shut up.

He didn't want to. SHUT THE HELL UP

I felt everything to an extreme degree. Too much. Why am I breathing so heavily? Why am I sweating bullets!? I throw my hair up in a ponytail, yank the garter off, tripping over my own two feet. My phone falls next to my head and the only thing I can think to do is to throw it into the toilet. I grab my honeymoon bag- no, my emergency bag that happened to have cute clothes instead of food, and switch into my leggings and a t-shirt. It's all I had. It's all I could ask for.

Go! Can't you go?

Why is nobody listening?

Goodbye! Go and cry

At another person's wake.

If you're quick, for a kick

You could pick up a christening

But please, on my knees,

There's a human life at stake!

I'm parkouring down the stairs, jumping entire sections, falling on knees, but ignoring the pain to jump again. Emergency phone in one hand, I order the uber, start the bank transaction, even though I have to read everything 10 times for it to make sense. What do? where go? don't know. not here. One bad jump and I collapsed entirely, but as I scrambled to throw everything back in my bag, I see the plane tickets. yes. away. out. not here. leave.

Go! Can't you go?

Look, you know I adore you all

But why watch me die

Like Eliza on the ice?

Look, perhaps I'll collapse

In the apse right before you all

So take back the cake

Burn the shoes, and boil the rice

Out of the stairway, but slammed into a wall. Around the corner, Alice and Babs and Crystal and Jason and Stephanie and Cass and Bruce and Selina and Duke and Tim and Dick and Alfred.

Remember when you first met them? He swore he'd protect you but that they'd love you. please stop! I begged myself, think of anything, anything but him. anything but this. Get out, then we can cry, but not here, not now. I watched them split up, so I hid behind a corner farther back. Steph and Cass took up the stairs. Everyone else was gone so I ran out the back door. Out of the hotel, away from the perfume, away from the flowers, the candles, the dresses. From them. And by some small miracle, the car was already here. I jump in, only taking a second to notice that it was, in fact, an uber.

"Hello, ma'am! How are-"

"Please! Just go!" my voice breaks and the tears start up again. I brush them aside furiously/ doing everything in my power not to start sobbing, but he listens to me and speeds off.

BECAUSE I'M NOT GETTING MARRIED TODAY

(A twist on this song that actually inspired this whole fic)

Chapter 2: On The Run

I'm going to kill him

Why didn't he show up?

How fucking dare he

Was it something I did?

I was nervous too bitch; I drank a shot of tequila and sucked it up!

Was it something HE did? Was Talia lying? Did Ra's kidnap Damian? Why did the boys wait to tell us? Did Stephanie know that something was up? Do any of them even-

"Ughhhh," I groaned audibly as my thoughts and emotions started to run together. It had been a while since anything left me this.... discombobulated. Exhausted. A mess. I'd almost forgotten how awfully I reacted to being overwhelmed and out of control. The uber driver shot me a curious look but didn't say anything. Keep it together Rosella. Just, go home and.. I flinched, chagrined at my own stupidity. "Get somewhere safe" I amended under my breath, "and then you can have as big of a breakdown as you want. Just, be a stone again. Close it all out. Suppress the fire, drown the noise." I rubbed my eyes, the dry burn giving me the weirdest throbbing headache.

The ride to the airport was stiff, to say the least. My driver kept trying to talk to me, but my responses were so dry he gave up. He didn't question the extra stop at the bank, even while he waited outside for half an hour while I verified with tellers inside that I was, in fact, the owner of the account and that I was draining it.

Erase your tracks. You were never here. Are you even alive?

Still, we got to the airport as quickly as I could have hoped for and made sure to give him a large tip for his troubles. I walked through the airport, undoubtedly looking like some pompous bitch with only a stone face and backpack, my actual suitcase left behind in my whirlwind out. I only had some snacks, a Nintendo ds, some stationary things, deodorant, and a toothbrush. I hadn't even remembered to grab my disposable water bottle, toothpaste, or hair brush before leaving. Whatever.

It was almost flawless. I bypassed the checked bag lines, slid right through TSA (bless you TSA Pre-check), although I did get some looks when they checked my bag. I guess overall I looked like I should be getting on a school bus instead. I sat down at a cafe and pulled out the tickets, 2 first class tickets to Malaga, Spain.

I'd set up our honeymoon as a complete surprise to Damian. Bruce and the boys had worked so hard to help me clear out a whole month from his schedule. I'd gone through hell and back to make sure all of my project managers could handle any situation that could happen either in making or transporting our different projects out... We were supposed to be jumping cities for a month in Europe. Cities with small populations, so we could avoid drawing attention, but full of gorgeous architecture and delicious food for me; significant art history and cultural relevance for Damian.

It's going to be a technical nightmare to cancel all of those reservations and getting the tickets switched and sold. Do people even actually do that? But I have to, I don't know where I'm going but I don't want any of them to tra- SHIT. My head snaps up and one quick look around tells me I'm already too late. I spot 5 cameras easily.

I grab my things and head over to a gift shop. I grab bunches of clothes and accessories off of the shelves, hurrying off to pay and doing my best to avoid cameras now as I sneak off into the restroom. I throw on some atrocious sundress, flats, and a baseball cap, flipping my hair twice in an attempt to make it look like a pixie cut. For a second I consider actually finding something sharp to hack my hair off.

I need you to not be a social breakdown cliche for a minute, it took you years to properly grow those curls out. Please don't waste my efforts. Yeah, it's for the better, I look like Dora the Explorer with short hair anyway. Tim wouldn't sell me out to Damian, right? LMAOO he bailed at the wedding you really think he wants to hunt you down?? Or what if Tim wants to find me? Or anyone else? Damian's pretty good at following people. Even then, Babs, Cass, Roy are competent hackers, any of them could find my data and track me down... Are any of them even on my side?... I couldn't help but let out a whimper. I pursed my lips, placing my hands on the cold sink to calm myself. What's my plan anyways? I can't go to any of the cities in Europe where I already have reservations. Too easy. I could go to the Netherlands...

"But Damian knows where I lived there, because of the time we visited my friends," I sigh out loud, facepalming. "But not entirely a bad idea..." I say as I start flipping through the different cities I've lived through. Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Croatia, Portugal, Malta, Romania, Hungary, Austria, are all out. We'd either been there or they were part of the honeymoon plan. I didn't want any reminder of him.

Actually, all of Europe is out. I've raved about it too much. We've been too many places, we both had too many ties scattered throughout Europe. I can't speak Russian, Talia and Ra's have connections all across the middle east, and the north half of Africa. Jason and Cass had some unexplainable ties across north and south america. With every city I named, I hated myself more for talking so much. For trusting him with these memories.

Honeysuckle kisses on cotton candy memories.

shut up.

Isn't there ANYWHERE I've lived and worked that my big mouth hadn't mentioned? As I was starting to get desperate and the headache started acting up again, I found actually ecstatic relief. That would be actually literally perfect. God bless my forgetful memory. The apartment I'd never sold. The country I actively avoided talking about because Damian would get jealous.

I snuck out of the bathrooms and headed over to customer service. I had to work my way past a large group of people. Overhearing snippets of conversation, apparently, their flight is somewhere between delayed or canceled. Inspiration hit me. Give the ticket to someone here. Send them to Spain, let them stay at the hotel. He could follow a cold lead. This would give me enough time to go to one country and get a ticket to where I actually wanted to go.

I look around the group. Too many were in pair or more. Some looked very buisness-y type. There! A girl who looked like a backpacker was chilling, glancing through her phone. You're going to sound absolutely mental. I approach her nevertheless. I pitched her my idea, but she was rightfully skeptical. I swallowed my pride and told her a cold version of the truth.

"My fiancee left me at the altar. I'm going to Mongolia. I don't want his ticket, I don't want the hotel. Either take it or I'll give it to someone else. Or let it go to waste. I don't care. I don't want it. I'll even pay the name change charge." The anger in my voice came out clear, and by another miracle, she accepted it. We walked over to the help desk and I spoke with the dude behind the counter. He seemed hesitant at first, but he gave me a double take when he checked my reservations. With a brighter smile, he got me on the first flight he could to Mongolia.

"Will that be for both tickets Mrs.Wayne?" He asked cheerfully before reeling back, caught off guard by my watering eyes.

"Anderson. And no," I managed to spit out. I signaled for the girl from earlier to come closer. "I'm transferring the other ticket to her, we need to get the name changed." He looked uncertain but went ahead. If he was accommodating before, I could tell he was bending over backwards now to get everything situated. I could see his concentration as he tried to bypass things without having to question me again.

"Umm, your profile says you've actually been to Belgium before, how was it?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Beautiful and quaint. Great place to relax and enjoy nature if that's your thing. I'd recommend Lithuania too, or Leinchestein." I say, trying to keep a light tone. He nodded happily, seeming to take my recommendations seriously before handing the girl the new plane tickets. We thanked him and headed off on our respective paths, the girl taking a minute to hug me.

" I hope you can heal soon, and wish you a bright future" she whispered to me. I hugged back, trying not to cry again. She bought me a bag of peach gummy rings and left me at my terminal. I dropped some calls out to friends, blessed that they all decided to take one or more of the reservations around Europe I'd had. I kept the details to a minimum but they figured out pretty quickly not to mention me to Damian if they happened to see him. Some small part of me, thankfully more aware than the rest had the foresight to call some utility companies and get everything at my apartment working again.

The help desk attendant worked miracles, my nonstop flight boarded less than an hour later and I had managed to keep a first class seat. I sat down and started doodling nonsense in my journal, blasting music in my headphones. But around 6 hours into this 19-hour flight, exhaustion overcame me and I drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Beloved," Damian sighed as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "It's almost 11, we need to get out of bed," he murmured into my hair.

"Nooooooo" I whined, stretching further into the sunlight. The doors were ajar, a nice breeze keeping us cool. I snuggled into him. "We're on a vacation, orders from Bruce. And on vacation, you can stay in bed all day."

"But there might be monsters nearby-" He said mysteriously, catching my attention.

"I didn't get reports of any- AH!" I scream as Damian proceeds to tickle me. "No! Sto-" I try to gasp out between laughing. I manage to fight him, tumbling out of bed. He laughed at me as I tried to untangle myself from the blankets.

"That's a dirty trick Wayne!" I gasp, trying to catch my breath. I grab a pillow and chuck it at him, but he just catches it and throws it back. We have a small impromptu pillow war before he taps out after a good hit knocks him onto the balcony. "BOW TO MY PROWESS!" I jokingly declare, jumping up and down on the ottoman. Damian runs over and sweeps me down.

"Please. Don't. Fall. And. Break. Your. Head" He accentuates every word with a kiss, making me giggle. He lets me go and takes the bathroom to shower first. I head out into the kitchen, humming to myself. I grab some of the fruit we bought yesterday and start making a fruit bowl. I'm halfway through cutting the Jicama when Damian's arms are around my waist again.

"What are you doing?" He asks, resting his chin on my shoulder. Before I could answer, his grip around me tightened. "Be careful!" He whispered harshly, putting his hands over mine. "Your knife skills could use some work, you could have cut your finger off like that!" He scolded me but I scoffed.

"Haven't lost a finger yet"

"No, but you did set your oven on fire. THREE TIMES" He elbowed my side and I pouted.

"Excuse you, that 2nd time wasn't my fault, remember? Dick broke into my place and fell asleep making fish sticks," I retaliated, squirming out of his grip and started making some sandwiches for lunch.

"I really should improve the security at your apartment," Damian says as he finished cutting up the Jicama and strawberries, plating them and dropping them off at the table.

"As if that would stop every vigilante from the northern hemisphere from breaking in," I snorted, bringing over the sandwiches. We ate in peace, letting the soft instrumental music from the radio fill the silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sigh happily, turning in my chair, reaching out for Damian's hand. The second I touched the cold seat next to me, my body freezes too. "Damian?" I muttered drowsily, sitting up straight. His bag isn't under his chair. Why am I wearing a dress? Why are my leggings rolled up? I start to panic, breathing rapidly and trying to blink away the tears in my eyes. It's enough to pull me awake and I remember what happened.

"Oh... oh" I hiccup and bite my lip, looking back out the window into the starry night. The tears start falling, but I'm being quiet so I let them. My skin itches. My neck, my wrists, under my eyes. I start scratching, trying to ignore my memories. The trip to Italy, our joint project to improve the villain resistance of the infrastructure of Gotham, the charity events we attended.

"Ma'am?" I look up, a stewardess in the aisle leaning over. I wipe my eyes, catching the furious red color my wrists had become, before turning to her. "Uh, you missed your meal earlier and I was wondering if there was anything I could get you?" She looked uncomfortable now, glancing between my red eyes, red nose, and now red wrists and presumably red neck. I glanced over the menu she handed me, ordering a full meal. She dropped the food off and scurried away, not meeting my eyes.

The meal was laid out beautifully; tomato soup, grilled cheese and grilled chicken with a slice of cheesecake. Yet, I couldn't seem to muster the strength to eat. It didn't really seem appetizing, and I wasn't hungry.

The last time you ate was over 10 HOURS ago, and that wasn't even a full meal. C'mon, one bite. I picked up the fork, but simply twirled it in my hand, watching the metal catch the light. You'll get a raging headache if you don't eat soon. Might get that deep vein thrombosis. I take a bite of the chicken, tasting nothing despite its obvious layer of seasoning. I swallowed it with half a glass of water. It felt thick, heavy, almost like swallowing a rock. But I had to eat. When I didn't immediately throw up, I set up my phone to play a cache of 65 action movies to distract myself and started eating bit by bit. I could tell I was drinking a ridiculous amount of water, but the stewardess replaced my glass without it ever going entirely empty so I didn't really notice how much I had downed. She cleared my tray when I was done, and I just kept watching movies. Whenever I thought I was going to fall asleep, I'd crank the volume up, scroll forward to fight scenes and take a drink of sprite. I was about 4 movies in when I threw off my headphones, whimpering with how severe my headache had gotten despite eating and drinking water.

"Good morning passengers, it is 10 pm and we're about to start our final descent so if you could all please put up your trays and turn off the wifi in your electronics, we'll be landing shortly." Not gonna lie, the time zone jump threw me for a minute, I had taken a second to figure out how we made the flight in 8 hours instead of 19. I shoved everything into my bag, forcing the zipper closed. I wanted to put on some rock or pop punk songs, “Battle On!” seeming weirdly appealing, even though I hadn't heard it in a while. I felt a vein in my neck twitch, so I settled on music from the swan lake instead.

The second we touched down I was up. I only had my backpack so I was able to squeeze by people, ignoring protests and complaints to get off the plane. Off the plane, past the luggage claim, I was going down the escalator when I spotted them. Advika was talking to Zay, looking mad as hell, but she noticed me first. She ran over and almost tackled me to hug me, Zay taking my bag. "Princessa, baby girl, I'm so sorry." She cries into my hair, "I didn't think he was an asshole, oh god, how could he do that to you!"

"We have the plane ready to go," Zay says, joining in on the hug. I let Advika cling to me as we make our way to the opposite side of the airport. Once we're in a more private area, Advika speaks up again.

"I'm going to kill him. How fucking dare he!" She squeezed my hand, and now started pulling me towards the airplane.

"Isn't that Rosella's line?" Zay prods before looking back at me. "But in all seriousness, we will absolutely end him, just say the word. Don't even say it, blink morse code, ASL, anything." I keep my mouth shut and let Advika continue to rave about the different ways she'll end Damian; financially, socially, whatever I wanted. We went out onto the runway and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"The company jet? Isn't that a bit much?" I say as Zay escorts us in, before heading to the back.

"The boss said it's okay. Nearly bit my head off when I called to ask but said it was ok. You did help establish our company in the foreign market," Advika takes a seat but gestures for me to lay down on the couch. "No offense mi princessa, but you look like a fucking mess. Please take a nap."

"I don't know if I can do that," I say, letting out a long sigh. Zay comes back, handing Advika a small purse and laying a platter of cheese and crackers on the table across from us. He sets up instrumental music, from “Carmen” if I'm not mistaken, as Advika takes my hat off and starts combing my hair. I lay back into her, letting her brush out my hair, counting her impeccable pattern. 2 squirts from a spray bottle to moisten my hair, 10 brush strokes. 2 then 10 then 2 then 10. My eyes started feeling heavy so I forced myself to take a deep breath and sit up. The motion made her accidentally yank my hair and woke me a bit. As she apologized I alternated my breathing patterns to try to stay awake, noticing for the first time that we were already in the air.

"Please, just go to sleep," Advika begged, grabbing my hands and forcing me to look at her. I stared at her for a moment before answering.

"I did... on the plane. I dreamed of him. The disorientation of waking up made me think I was on my way to my honeymoon," I let out a bitter laugh and she flinches, looking over to Zay, unsure what to say.

"You look pale," Zay interjects. He comes over to me, placing a hand on my head and then my neck. He doesn't comment on the marks, but he and Advika share a look. "Change your clothes, drink some water, then these, we don't want you getting sick." He puts 2 pills in my hands before going off to find me some water.

"Yeah, getting sick is the absolute worst thing that can happen to me right now. How silly of me," I roll my eyes and Advika snorts, trying to mask her laughter. I leave the Nyquil pills on the couch and get changed. I come back and take the pills, leaning into Advika again so she can continue to play with my hair. She spoke about anything and everything, filling the silence with her happy chatter. Undoubtedly, she was trying to distract my conscious so if I did dream again, it wouldn't be about him. It worked, her happy banter following me into my dreamless slumber.

-------------------

I awoke to Zay gently shaking me, thankfully a lot less disoriented than last time. I gather up my things, helping myself to the bottles of water they had around. I ignore the bandages wrapped around my wrist, but the one on my throat was quickly starting to freak me out. Advika seemed to sense my discomfort, immediately coming over and cutting the bandages off.

"Sorry, your skin seemed a bit raw so we wrapped it up," she explains calmly, alternating to rubbing her hand up and down my arm to soothe me.

"S'ok," I mumble, taking my bag from Zay.

"We called you a cab -it got here a couple of minutes ago-, but you're more than welcome to stay with either of us back in Mongolia. Neha and Juniper also moved here ya know, I'm sure she'd-" I cut Zay off with a shake of my head, and follow him out of the plane.

"I just really want to be alone for a while, ya know?" As alone as I can be with my differing opinions yelling at me and my endless train of thought that does NOT SHUT UP. Zay nodded but Advika grabbed my arm before I could hail the cab closer to the plane.

"I know you want to be alone- and you absolutely do need some time alone, this is going to be a lot to process- but...." She hesitated, biting her lip. "I know how you can get Ro. don't even try to argue with me on this. Please, take some time, but do not hesitate to call me or anyone else." Would this be a bad time to throw up? That's one way to diverge the conversation. Advika held me but I wouldn't meet her eyes. "You know what? If you don't check in with me in a week I will track you down and drag you to live with me. I'm not joking. Do you understand" I want to protest, but then I remember she didn't even have my phone number. Game on. I agree and they both give me a hug before I board the cab.

"Good morning"

"Good morning, where should I take you?" ah. another thing that I hadn't thought of. Without even bothering to check my bag, I knew I didn't have my keys. But I knew someone who might. I give the cab driver an address and I pull out my phone. But I can't even ask because I don't remember her number. I sigh, hoping things hadn't changed as much as I thought.

We're in downtown Seoul before I can start properly stressing myself with the "what ifs". Had she moved? What if she didn't have the key? Would she yell at me for arriving at... Almost 3 am? I decided to do the math to distract myself, reworking the math on how a 4-hour flight turned into a 5-hour flight for a solid 10 minutes before I realized that I had not taken another time zone into play. Small miracles were on my side today. Yesterday? Tomorrow? Whatever the fuck day it is. Since it was so early, there wasn't much in the way of traffic, and the doorman was the same one that had been here when I lived her for however long it was. I explained to him that I was here to see Hong and after some reluctance, he let me in.

Up the elevator to the fifth door, doors opening to crisp air, reminiscent of fall. Exactly 30 steps forward to a door with 4 pastel sierra sunset decorations on the door. I knock, timidly at first as to not wake the neighbors. In 5 minutes, again, a little louder. I did this for an hour before I gave up and simply stood there with my head on the door.

"Hong. Hooooonnnngggggg" I whined quietly. Wow, thank goodness it's so early, everyone would think you're a creeper. lmaooo just imagine getting arrested your first day back. I whined into the door, contemplating just sleeping out here.

"Rosella?" a soft voice came from behind me. I turn to see Hong with Geo's arm around her. There were 2 more people behind her but I barely had the awareness to nod as a greeting. "What are you doing here? Wasn't yesterday your-" She stops, noticing that my lip had begun to tremble.

"Rosella-" she comes over and wraps her arms around me, hiding my face from view of the others. Someone unlocks the door and she drags me inside. The sequins on her dress start to itch, but I continue to hug her. Once I'm ready to let go, she sits me down and goes to change her outfit while Geo sits with me. in awkward silence for a while.

"Rose, what happened?" He eventually asks, sliding over a glass of ice water. "I thought your wedding was yesterday. Wasn't your honeymoon suppose to be in Europe?" I couldn't seem to muster the strength to answer, simply staring at him and sighing.

"You have no tact," Hong comments, combing back in her usual floral pjs. She flops down next to me, placing her hand on mine. "You don't have to tell us now, but I would like for you to tell us eventually." I can't help but smile, she always has a soothing air to her. It's impossible to be mad or upset near her. " I have some clothes you can borrow; I have friends over today so you'll have to take the couch, but you can have the guest room tomorrow." I shake my head, forcing myself to pull away from her motherly touch.

"I could never impose on you, I was just wondering if you have my spare key? I really want to go home." I let my voice crack at the end, hoping she wouldn't push for me to stay here. Geo looked at me like I was crazy, staring particularly long at my single backpack.

"Okay. Geo, could you get her key? It's in the top dresser with a purple tip," Hong nods to him and he leaves. " I do feel the need to remind you that you pretty much purged the place when you left. I don't remember the last time I visited either, so its probably super dusty too."

"I'll make do for tonight. I'll go to the store tomorrow for food and cleaning supplies, ok?"

"You'd better, you forgetful dip stick," Geo grunts as he hands me the key. "Actually, we could probably find somewhere open rn. We could swing by and-"

"I was actually going to walk home it's a nice night and-"

"Absolutely not." Hong interrupted me, sounding her top tier forceful. "I know you've been through some shit in the last 48 hours but I'm not going to let you commit suicide by stupidity!" I took a minute to process this, for a second I thought I was back in Gotham.

"It's not far... I only have my backpack and the crime rates here aren't even that high Hong. You know I took mi-"

"Yes yes, I know about your MMA history, but I draw the line. I don't know how much the others have let you get away with but you are not walking alone at night!" I don't fight her, letting her drag me to her car, Geo driving. We're at my complex within minutes.

"Take care of yourself Rosie." Hong says, giving me a half hug through the car window, Geo simply putting a hand on my head. "I'll come to check up on you- and if you don't answer the door I'll call the cops" she threatened before letting go.

"Thank you, seriously, this is so great that you had my key, and for dropping me off." I hesitate before heading up. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been dating?" Geo's blush was extremely visible against his skin, even in the shadows.

"It's that obvious huh? We've been together for about 5 months," Hong replied, blushing as well.

"I always thought you two would look cute together," I said, this time with a genuine smile. I wave them off and opt to take the stairs up. I opened the door to my apartment.

It's freezing, dust dancing in the waning moonlight. I set my bag down, pulling out another change of clothing from what I had bought at the airport. I threw it into the bathroom before heading over to my emergency closet. Never though the emergency stash would be used like this. Maybe we shouldn't use it? Earth shattering heartbreak is too an emergency, fuck off. I'll restock it anyways. I pull out some towels and bath supplies. I get in the shower, letting the steaming hot water run over me.

Since when have I not been able to feel my fingers? I ask myself, flexing them one by one. It's like the stakeout in Boston that one winter, Dick brought us hot chocolate-

No. Don't even. Dust! This place is messy and I want to properly disinfect it- unconsciously increasing the pressure with my loofah- I'll need Lysol, tide pods, scrubs, dish rags. Probably should buy more plates too. Damian always had a peculiar adoration for matching cutlery sets, when he bought me some ramen bowls-

OW OW OW OW OW OW OW! I jerk up, my hand immediately going to my upper spine. I breathe in too quickly, taking in some water. I pull open the curtain and lean over the tub, cough and sputtering, trying to catch my breath.

"What- the- fuck-" I manage to gasp out. I was sitting down in the tub, I guess I had fallen asleep???? I shake the drowsiness off, turning off the water and getting out. Despite, or maybe because of, my broken sleep this last day I was still exhausted once I had gotten changed and my heartbeat had slowed down. I looked to my room door, but collapsed on the sofa, letting the musty leather suffocate me to sleep as my bones sunk into the couch.

Chapter 3: Safehouse

I awoke the same way I fell asleep.

Suffocating.

I wanted to get up, find a tissue to blow my nose, but every muscle in me ached a million ways. Did I fall off the empire state building while I was asleep? Did some cannibal beat me with a meat tenderizer for hours and just leave me on this couch? Holy FUCK.

Even twisting my face away from the couch so I could get some fresh air strained my neck. Every joint felt dislocated, limbs lifeless like a broken marionette. The dust. Allergies. I can't breathe...

Can't breathe

Suffocating! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE- I panic, throwing myself off the couch. Landing on the ground actually didn't cause any more pain. I laid there for a minute, mentally trying to put my joints back in their sockets. It isn't a large enough distraction, and I'm soon hyper-aware of everything. My skin was burning where the sunlight touched, the dust in the air was so heavy I could have sworn I lost my vision again. I could hear the meaningless hustle of cars and people outside on the sidewalk, but worst of all was my pounding heartbeat in my ears.

THUMP-THUMP THUMP-THUMP THUMP-THUMP

I forced myself to get up, groaning as all my muscles pinched as they got back into place. I made a lot of unnecessary noise as I cleaned up my mess from last night. Throwing the shower caddy under the sink, flipping my backpack and letting everything fall out, slamming my dirty clothes into a pile in a corner. And I couldn't help but look around every couple of minutes, not entirely understanding where I was. Trying and failing to compensate for the noises that usually find me when I wake up. When I threw open the balcony windows, I realized I was still waiting to hear another window slide open and a soft "I'm home", even though it was well past noon.

How wild would it be if he actually went on parole after all that? Would a fight have broken out? Would it have been like the whole Owls mishap again?

Get your head out of your ass, they're his family; blood is thicker than water.

Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

He's been helping and fighting alongside them much longer than you have you dip. I storm into the kitchen, only grunting as I smash my hip against the counter. I set out 4 pages of stationary in front of me and made lists; food, clothes, furniture, extra. I took my papers and started walking around, jotting notes of what I needed. Talking to fill the void.

"More toilet paper, hand soap, towels," I hum under my breath, not really checking the cabinets. "As for clothes I should-" my voice caught when I walked into the bedroom. It was freezing. I reflexively bit my lip, eyes watering. Instead of goosebumps, this cold sat in my stomach. The same cold in my hands, from the airplane seat, returned- lacing up my arms, down my stomach and legs. Stabbing my heart and restricting my lungs.

I'm alone.

"I should buy like 4 interchangeable outfits," the whimper barely sounded through the silent tears. I shut the door tight, almost running back to the living room. I sat just outside the ring of light, hunching over my paper. "Jeans, underwear, toothpasTE-" I sniffled but my vision only got blurrier.

"BoOKcASes, a bEd, mayBE a BeAr," my heart squeezed every time my voice broke, and in seconds I couldn't write on the soaked paper. The hiccups were my only air, snot streaking my trembling chin.

"What did I do? What. diD. I DOOO?" I sobbed, wailing into my hands. I curled around a leg of the coffee table, letting its corners cut into my stomach. Wailing until I was dry heaving, scratching my eyes to get rid of these acidic tears, blowing my nose with my shirt- moist blotches sticking to my skin. "Day- Damian" I cried to myself until I passed out again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afternoons spent silently reading with each other

Matching outfits for galas, some he designed himself, just for me

Our home downtown- bought to have some peace and quiet from his family. Although half the time they broke in, the other half we ended up back in the manor.

Traveling for work, for fun, for missions he didn't think were dangerous.

Sparring with Jason and Cass.

Jason showing me a hundred new bands when I got him into new music genres, trying to help each other find less aggressive ways to vent. Giving him the cream to completely erase the J from his cheek was different, the first time I saw him cry. He understood that blood family wasn't always loyal, and that I didn't mean it when I'd punch or insult someone to hide softer feelings.

Cass just vibing, understanding me and letting me get close. She was always the first to come help me when I was hurt, I became the person she could cry to. The way her face lit up when we were just able to chill a whole night, singing, watching movies and simply understanding each other on a fundamental level.

Barbra growing aggravated as she tried to teach me how to do more with technology than just googling things. Her forgiving my stupidity after I built her a new computer.

The long talks I had with Dick. Anything and everything. The first time hurt, when I called him out. He was giddy and chipper, dramatic as ever but when he caught me staring and stopped for long enough to look back, the pain in his eyes was clear as day. He had just broken up with Kory after all. He didn't need to lie, he didn't need to lighten the mood, he just needed to be honest. But once he could smile honestly again, I couldn't help but remember that he was the one who found out about me and Damian first. He'd been there to spy on our first date, hiding it from Bruce. He was the first to take me out for ice cream then subtly threaten my life if I harmed Damian, the first to swing by for spontaneous days out. To get to know me, to see if I was right for Damian.

Stephanie, Tim and I bonding over teasing and pranking Damian.

Tim and I being forced into caffeine and sleep interventions. Coffee and Coke. And then the beautiful irony of us falling asleep halfway through, especially after I taught him how to sleep with his eyes open.

Cooking with Alfred, learning his famous cookie recipes. Showing him more authentic Hispanic recipes, and him comforting me and being the first to compliment me after I was duped into cooking for the ENTIRE family.

Philosophical and political discussions with Bruce. Talks about war and power, cultural similarities and their origins. Talks about Damian as a child to mess with him. Opening up about paranoia, fear of losing loved ones, the controversies of being "too much" for some people. He understood, sometimes the ultimate sacrifices had to be made in a second. He understood because he was the same. We'd give up our lives before anyone else.

It's all gone.

So much of my past, and now, my whole future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

it's cold. i stripped off my shirt and blew my nose.

blood. eww, it's hot. i hold my shirt to my nose, crawling under the table, balling up until i could feel all 4 legs pressing into me.

tuneless humming, watching the room light up until my eyes burn.

I have to pee.

I wash my hands, the water making me aware of my bone dry mouth. My tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. I let the water pour through my fingers for another minute before walking away, laying back under the coffee table.

long grains. shades of brown. like dead grass. my fingers run over the million tiny bumps watching the wood fade from a blurry brown to a million tiny wooden grains.

My hair is on fire. The sun reaches it from under the table.

There are people in the hallway. They're as loud as the cars outside.

the ac is running. i start humming to drown it out.

i'm melting. i force my eyes to blink but they continue to burn.

I can't breathe. I stagger to the bathroom and after a few minutes of moving my jaw up and down, my mouth manages to open. I swig some water before throwing some on my face. fever? headache at least. I grab a towel to wipe my face, fumbling back into the hall. fuck was i looking directly at the sun? there is only one place colder than the sun. i walk to my bedroom, the cold imperceptible to me now.

but the second i put my eyes directly onto the empty bed frame, i could almost hear them sizzle. it exhausted me. I hadn't realized how hot my face was until i laid it on the floor. like a refreshing bath, calming. i just focused on my heat being transferred to the floor, unaware that I was falling asleep again.

((The writing for the last chapter is intentionally like that, I was attempting to write Rose being in a type of disassociated kind of state; where you aren't aware of time passing, noting seems real, even things in your immediate vicinity. Knowing that you should be doing something, drinking water, changing clothes, listening to music, ANYTHING-but still not doing it. The capitalization/simple sentences and repetition on the latter part was intentional. ))

#I dont know #i guess i wanted to see how/if my writing's changed #YES THIS IS WHERE I GOT THE THING FOR DIAVOLO'S DADS LETTER I REALLY LIKED IT SO I REUSED IT #I couldnt come up with a nice transitory chapter about Rose's friends coming to check on her/ reminding her that she's her own person/#coming back to gotham #BUT THEY DEF DONT GET BACK TOGETHER #not obey me!#NOT OBEY ME #Not OM!#Ozera nonsense

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edgarbright · 6 years ago

Text

A History of Cradle

A timeline covering the past 500 years of Ikemen Revolution’s Wonderland

Spoilers below, of course!

After realizing I might have made a silly timeline mistake in a fic, I’m making a valiant effort to organize what happens when and to whom! Ideally this will be a fully comprehensive timeline and include all characters and their backstories. Sources will continue to be added, such as which route and part that information comes from.

Events that happen after Alice the Second falls into Cradle will not be included. Backstories only!

This is still a hot mess because the site is fighting me on formatting. Things will look prettier in the future!

If you see an error or have extra info to add, please send me a message! I’ll definitely and happily credit you. <3

Last updated: April 26, 2019

(Clash in Cradle Story Event Included!)

500 years ago

A united Cradle under a single royal family splits into two halves: the Reds and Blacks

Jonah: "Five hundred years ago, the Red and Black were actually part of the same royal family. Until there was a struggle for succession that split the family in two, leaving the old royal castle abandoned." (Jonah's Route, part 23)

Edgar: "They say the war between Red and Black has gone on for centuries, but-- what if the history books are all lying to us?" (Fenrir's route, part 12)

??? years ago

Alice the First falls into Wonderland

??? years ago

The Magic Tower begins its research

A book in Kyle’s clinic: “A public institution tasked with the study of magic for the advancement of our country. It is here that Magic Crystals are refined and managed.” (Lancelot’s route, part 5)

Unknown when they began experimenting on human subjects

Amon to Lancelot: "You know full well how long we've been experimenting on humans. This is just one of the ways I've discovered for stealing away magic power." (Lancelot's route, part 24)

??? years ago

The Magic Tower and the King of Hearts begin colluding

Lancelot: “[It] goes back generations” (Lancelot’s Route, part 18)

Harr: "The King of Hearts and the leaders of the Magic Tower have been colluding in secret for generations. Their goal is to realize certain ambitions they share." (Sirius's route, part 20)

100 years ago (Edgar's route, part 20)

The Jack of Hearts attempts a coup d’etat against the King and Queen of Hearts. The rebellion fails. The Jack is given a trial, a sentencing, and a beheading. All his descendants are further punished and forced into a secret pact with the King and Queen.

Edgar: "It started 100 years ago. One of my ancestors committed a terrible crime. Though he was the Jack of Hearts, he conspired to overthrow the King and Queen of Hearts. But his rebellion ended in failure. He was tried by the king and queen for his crimes and sentenced to beheading."

Edgar: "But that wasn't enough. His entire family had to be punished for what he had done. And so, by order of the king and queen, the next jack was forced into a secret pact with the king and queen. To atone for his sins, the Bright family was ordered [to] take on the dark side of the Red Army's affairs forevermore."

Edgar on being the Jack of Hearts: "His occupation is scheming and assassination."

Edgar: "I was born a sinner. Every Jack of Hearts is doomed to embrace his wife with blood-soaked hands and lead his children down the same, dark path. He becomes a true demon."

??? years ago

Lancelot’s (?) mother dies of illness

Lancelot: "My mother was lost to illness when I was very young. And apparently my father didn't visit her enough during that time." (Say I Do! Story Event, Lancelot's Sweet End)

Lancelot: "Even in my most distant memories, I never saw my parents together. I was under the impression that they hadn't actually wanted to get married, but--" (Say I Do! Story Event, Lancelot's Sweet End)

The Red Army dress worn by the King's Beloved, last worn by Lancelot’s mother at her wedding, goes missing

Jonah: "If I remember correctly, the official story is that it's inherited by whomever the King of Hearts loves.” (Say I Do! Story Event, Lancelot's Route)

Old Woman in the Hearts Quarter and Lancelot's mother's friend: "So far, the dress has only been worn by those from certain families that have been approved by the Red Army." (Say I Do! Story Event, Lancelot's Route)

Unbeknownst to everyone for years, per Lancelot when he later finds it: "This dress was in storage at my mother's family home... It's no wonder I didn't find it-- I only searched the home I was raised in, and places directly related to the army." (Say I Do! Story Event, Lancelot's Sweet End)

19 years ago

Jonah (8) has a birthday party hosted by the Clemence family. No one realizes Luka (6) was not invited until the day of the event. Jonah throws a tantrum and brings Luka along anyway. Luka is allowed to stay but is seated furthest away from him. Jonah is instructed to stop crying and is ordered to keep smiling throughout the party, which he forcefully does. His face hurts so much once it’s over Jonah cries again afterward. (Jonah's Birthday Story Event I, Brotherly Love)

18 years ago

Edgar's father (?), the Jack of Hearts, dies a slow death. It is stated as illness but he was poisoned by his younger brother, Claudius (27).

Claudius regarding his older brother: "He was a coward who was satisfied to bend and scrape before the King of Hearts just because of some old pact. He could have used his strength, position, and riches for so much more. I must have told him that a thousand times, but he just didn't get it. That's why-- I had to eliminate him." (Edgar's route, part 25)

Regarding how Claudius killed his brother. Edgar: "But you told me my father died of an illness--" Claudius: "Making his death look like an illness was the simplest thing in the world. I taught you how to use slow-acting poison to finish off your prey, didn't I?" (Edgar's route, part 25)

Claudius becomes the next Jack of Hearts and takes custody of his nephew, Edgar (7).

Edgar: "When I was seven, my father died of illness and my uncle, then 27, became the next jack. He taught me everything a jack needs to know." (Edgar's Route, part 20)

Claudius teaching Edgar to not hold emotional attachments to others: "The first rule of the Jack of Hearts is to never grow attached to any of your pawns." (Edgar's route, part 21)

Example of how Claudius manipulates Edgar when they are in a disagreement (as seen when Edgar is 25 years old): "Edgar. Have you forgotten who raised you after your father died? You're a good boy, so I know you'll come to see the light. You would never abandon me, would you? You're my beloved son." (Edgar's route, part 21)

Edgar: "Suddenly, memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes. The days he [Claudius] spent 'educating' me in all the special skills I could never learn in school. The time he locked me in a tiny, dark room as punishment for crying when I was scared. No matter how much I shouted and pounded on the door, it wouldn't open. All I could do was hug my knees and sob." (Edgar's route, part 21, His POV)

Edgar: "Before I knew it, I had resigned myself to my fate. Eventually, my uncle's education seemed completely natural to me. And there was nothing I could do. I accepted the fact that I would never be free and got used to the boredom." (Edgar's route, part 21, His POV)

Claudius is Jack at the same time Lancelot’s father is the King of Hearts and the unknown Clemence relative is Queen

Edgar regarding Claudius’s time as Jack of Hearts: "The golden age of the Jack of Hearts's secret dealings was the time of the previous king, queen, and jack." (Edgar's Route, part 20)

(Thinking aloud: Was Claudius working with the King and Queen or was this ��golden age” Claudius’s doing considering he still carries a side business after he steps down as Jack? His motive against his brother was in regards to taking ownership of the role as Jack. Claudius is a slave/servant to no one.)

17 years ago

Jonah (10), accepting abuse from bullies, is rescued by Lancelot (12), who steps in to protect Jonah and give the bullies a “taste of their own medicine.” While they had met before, this was the first time Jonah and Lancelot really talked

Jonah: "King Lancelot was only 12 years old then and had yet to claim his title, but he became my king in that moment. I decided that night to suport King Lancelot as his right-hand for the rest of my life." (Jonah's route, part 20)

14 years ago

On the first day of school, Jonah (13) rages at Sirius (16) over daring to be Lancelot's (15) friend. Harr (13) witnesses this exchange. Days later, Jonah challenges Sirius to a duel on the basis Sirius is not worthy of being Lancelot's friend. Jonah loses, and Lancelot consoles him afterwards. (Clash in Cradle Story Event, Queen Route)

Harr: "It all goes back to when we were all attending the same school together. I assume you've heard that the Queen of Hearts [Jonah] has idolized Lancelot since he was very young. Apparently he was very eager to finally be able to attend the same school as Lancelot. On his very first day at that school, the first thing he did was rush straight to see Lancelot. But when he got there, he saw Lancelot and Sirius standing side-by-side, talking and laughing like old friends."

Jonah to Sirius, per Harr: "'How dare this dolt of a farm-boy pretend to be a friend on equal terms with a man of Lancelot's standing!'"

Harr: "I happened to be passing by, and I saw him [Jonah] standing there, stiff and furious and red-faced, screaming those exact words at Sirius.”

Harr: "A few days later, he challenged Sirius to a duel, with the reason being that Sirius wasn't worthy of being Lancelot's friend. Jonah clearly took a great dislike to Sirius the moment he saw him. Jonah was 13 at the time, and Sirius was 16. When you're teenagers, 3 years is a really big age gap. Sirius defeated Jonah, and I can still remember the effort Lancelot had to put in to properly console him."

Harr (13/14) becomes friends with Lancelot (15/16) and Sirius (16/17) at school. The three of them are together for one year.

Sirius: "Back then, Harr was the younger, super bratty one, and Lance was the super serious honor student. They were my friends. My partners." (Sirius's Route, part 20)

Sirius: "The 3 of us only hung out together like that for about a year..." (Sirius's Route, part 20)

13 years ago

Harr (14) is recruited by the Magic Tower and leaves boarding school

Sirius: "Harr quit school when he was 14. His innate magical powers got him scouted. By the Magic Tower. After he went to the Magic Tower, he suddenly cut off all contact with us." (Sirius's Route, part 20)

12 years ago (Edgar's Route, part 20)

Edgar (13) begins helping Claudius, current Jack of Hearts, in the field

Edgar: "[My uncle] taught me everything a jack needs to know. And had me helping him in the field by the time I was 13."

Edgar on why he is so calm about this when he was 13, as explained at age 25: "...my uncle was only fulfilling his duty as the Jack of Hearts [by training him]. I didn't really care [about the things he was made to do while helping his uncle]. Humans don't get to choose who their parents are, after all. If you teach a child about 'scheming and assassination' from the time they're young, it just becomes a 'normal job' to them. Lying, deceiving, and killing-- I never batted an eye at the thought. I didn't feel anything."

(See 18 years ago for details on the conditioning/abuse involved.)

11 years ago

Harr (16) barely escapes the Magic Tower with his life. He goes to the King of Hearts (Lancelot's father) and is summarily exiled from all of Cradle. He goes into hiding in the Forbidden Forest (Sirius's Route, Part 20)

Sirius: "After he went to the Magic Tower, he suddenly cut off all contact with us. Two years later, we finally got news-- In the form of those wanted posters... they decided to treat him as an enemy of the state." (Sirius's Route, part 20)

Sirius: "After Harr was banished, Lance's determination to end the conflict in Cradle grew stronger. He said he was going to become the King of Hearts so he could get rid of the rivalry between Red and Black. And then he was going to clear Harr's name. He said he was going to bring peace to Cradle, and make it a home that Harr could return to." (Sirius's route, part 20)

Harr: "Lancelot, did you know? Your father was the one who banished me from Cradle. After I learned the Magic Tower's secrets, I barely escaped with my life. I went to your father for help--and he cast me out." (Sirius's Route, part 20)

9 years ago

Ray (15) uses magic against assailants attacking/attempting to kidnap a group of students at his boarding school. After initial attempts to stop them physically, the situation escalates into an explosion of magic that can be heard across campus. Witnesses come upon a corridor full of students lying on the ground with Ray the one left standing. Ray is escorted away by a teacher and all witnesses are told not to talk about the incident. (Ray's route, part 17) (Fenrir’s Route, part 18)

The event is known as 'The Day That Went Dark'

Fenrir, confirming their ages: "But when Ray and I were both fifteen-- our school was attacked by someone, and-- a lot of the students were really badly injured.” (Fenrir’s Route, part 18)

Fenrir about the school: "Our boarding school was in the Central Quarter, and there were kids from both the Red and Black Territories there.” (Fenrir’s Route, part 18) He states this to confirm it is not a Red vs Black event.

Fenrir (15) overslept that morning and arrived to witness the aftermath

Fenrir: "I overslept that day, so I was running late. Right when I got to school I heard this huge explosion. I went rushing to where the sound came from, and I saw all these students lying on the ground. And in the middle of them was Ray. He'd been fighting alone, and he was a complete mess." "He-- it wasn't an injury, it was something worse." (Fenrir’s Route, part 18) The worse being Ray’s eyes had turned red and he had used magic.

Fenrir: "Even to this day, no one knows what happened. Not who the attackers were, or what their purpose was-- nothing. People started calling it 'The Day That Went Dark.'" (Fenrir’s Route, part 18)

The absence of the attackers probably means they weren’t as badly injured if they were at all injured, and were able to escape.

After the event, Fenrir does not see Ray again for an undetermined but notable amount of time. The next time they meet on the school rooftop, Fenrir says, "Hey, pal, Long time no see." (Ray's route, part 17)

Ray is deeply effected by the event and the relationship he has with his own magic: "Even if I try to protect someone, all I end up doing is hurting everyone involved. What am I doing? What the hell am I?" (Ray's route, part 17)

8 years ago

Zero (14) begins boarding school and meets Edgar (16/17), who is assigned to help orient him

Zero, when asked about for how long he's known Edgar: "It's crazy to think about, but it's already been eight years." (Edgar's Route, part 8/9)

Zero: "I first met [Edgar] at the boarding school he attended in the Central Quarter. I entered partway through the year. Actually, it was my first time attending school ever. Before that, I lived in the Magic Tower. It's a long story, but I left. So, at the age of 14, I was put into a boarding school in the Central Quarter. The school assigned Edgar the role of watching me, as well as helping me get used to school." (Edgar's Route, part 9)

Zero: "Edgar got top grades in every subject and all the teachers loved him. He was a total honor student." (Edgar's Route, part 9)

Zero: "Even when we were students, Edgar was already as good with a sword as the fencing instructor." (Edgar's Route, part 9)

Sirius (22) graduates and takes over the family business (flower farm + Canis Major flower shop)

Sirius: "At the time I had zero interest in joining [the Black Army]. When I graduated, I went home and took over the family business right away. But a year after I started working, I got an unexpected letter from Harr, who was still on the run." (Sirius’s route, part 20)

8 - 7 years ago (Loki’s Route, part 21)

Loki (11), during his 11th birthday party at the Genetta home, accidentally unleashes his magic power for the first time while trying to rescue a frightened stray cat that had wandered into the garden.

His magic burst out uncontrollably and destroyed half of his house and injured his friends and family.

His left eye took on a red tint after the incident.

Loki believes this all happened because his magic had been bottled up for so long

(Thought: This insinuates magic is presented much earlier in Cradle children.)

That same day, Loki's parents got in contact with the Magic Tower and agreed to have their son taken in by them.

Later that night, when a cold rain began to fall, his parents packed and abandoned Loki, despite him begging them not to leave him. The Disciples of Magic came and collected him from the ruined house.

The Magic Tower brought him in with the intention of using him in their experiments.

Disciple 1: "His powers are outstanding-- they may even be on par with Harr's."

Disciple 1: "There's no reason for you to ever go home. Your parents don't even want you anymore."

Unknown how long Loki spent in the Magic Tower

(NOTE: I am placing that Loki escaped after a year/less than a year because it matches with one of my earlier theories. Loki is also still noted as being a child by other characters when they first met him.)

After Loki "risked it all to escape, Harr found him."

Harr: "I'll take care of your pursuers from the Magic Tower. I saw them bringing you in. But you'll never have to step foot in that place again. Come with me. I promise I will keep you safe."

And Loki went with Harr and Harr kept his promise.

7 years ago

Kyle (16) and Lancelot (22) join the Red Army

Kyle: "Lance and I joined the army at the same time. So I've seen this [Lancelot passing out from using his magic] plenty of times before." (Lancelot's route, part 9)

Harr (20), in exile, sends letters to Lancelot (22) and Sirius (23). He asks them to meet him at the old ruins in the Forbidden Forest. Lancelot and Sirius are not informed the other will be there. The meeting goes south, Harr is chased back into the forest by Lancelot, and Lancelot and Sirius have a falling out. (Sirius’s route, part 20)

Sirius: "But a year after I started working [at the family flower shop], I got an unexpected letter from Harr, who was still on the run. It said 'I want to meet you, outside Cradle. We need to talk.' I didn't mind what his reasons were. I was just worried about him. So I followed the map he sent, and I ended up here [at the ruins]. But I got a surprise when I arrived. Lance was also here -- and he'd joined the Red Army not long before that." (Sirius's route, part 20)

Further notation that Lancelot is new to the Red Army, per Harr: "Lancelot. You've joined the Red Army now." (Sirius’s route, part 20)

Lancelot on his behavior towards Harr: "I couldn't tell Harr, either [about the collusion between the Red Army and the Magic Tower/Amon]. I didn't want him to get dragged any further into the red darkness that's plagued my family for generations. The Magic Tower was still after him, and I thought the only safe place for him was to stay outside Cradle." (Sirius's route, part 23)

Lancelot on his behavior towards Sirius: "And there's a very simple and obvious reason why I didn't tell you [Sirius] [about the situation with Amon]. You hate war, don't you? I don't care how suited your skills are to being a soldier, an army uniform has never suited you. An apron and a watering can--that's what suits you best." (Sirius's route, part 23)

Not long after this meeting, Sirius gives up on his dream to run the flower shop and joins the Black Army

Sirius either before or after he joins the BA: "I tried to find out what Harr meant by these secrets and ambitions, but-- I was never able to get close to the truth." (Sirius’s route, part 20)

Ray: "You know... Sirius had already been in the Black Army for years by the time Fenrir and I joined. And up until I joined, they'd been begging him non-stop to become the king." "But apparently he just kept turning them down. And the reason he gave was that he wasn't capable of it." (Sirius's route, part 12)

??? years ago (Lancelot’s Route, part 18)

The King of Hearts (Lancelot’s father) has been attempting to end the collusion between the Magic Tower and the Red Army for some time. (Unknown when these attempts began). He makes good progress with Jabberwock Sr. (Amon’s father)

Lancelot: "My father knew that Amon planned to rule this country, and he regarded him as dangerous. He was working to crush those evil ambitions..." (Sirius's route, part 23)

Amon (?) murders his own father and takes control of the Magic Tower. Then--

Amon extracts the King of Hearts’s soul, leaving him little better than a motionless doll

Lancelot: “Though he was technically alive, he was as good as dead.”

Before the day is done, Amon makes a surprise visit to Lancelot (?) at Red HQ, where they meet for the first time. Amon reveals how the relationship between the Red Army and the Magic Tower is going to work. Amon makes it clear Harr and Sirius’s souls will be taken if Lancelot hurts/kills Amon. The lives of Cradle are also being held hostage due to the Magic Tower’s stash of hidden Magic Crystals. Amon offers Lancelot the chance to join him in his work, to which Lancelot has no choice but to agree.

Amon corrects himself at this meeting from calling Lancelot “Lancelot” to “the King of Hearts"

Lancelot claims the throne as the King of Hearts and takes command of the Red Army

Lancelot: "When I succeeded my father, I swore an oath with Amon in my father's place. We'd rule Cradle together-- me publicly, and him behind the scenes. Amon told me that if I didn't swear that oath, he would burn this entire country to ash." (Sirius's route, part 23)

Lancelot: “I pretended to agree to his plan, hoping to get close to him and eventually catch him off guard. I was searching for his hidden cache of Magic Crystals so that I could destroy them all. But to manage that, I also needed him to believe that I was going along with him. That I shared his ambitions." (Sirius's route, part 23)

Amon, expecting Lancelot to betray him, has the Magic Tower make covert skirmishes against the Red Army and Lancelot over the years (Lancelot’s Route, part 24)

Amon: "You see, all those skirmishes I've instigated over the years were meant to drain you of your magical powers." Lancelot: "And you think I didn't realize that?" (Lancelot's route, part 24)

(Theory: these attacks are probably blamed on the Black Army.)

??? years ago

Kyle (?) finds Loki (?), who is passed out on the ground and a mess. Kyle notes that it seemed like Loki was on the run from something. It is their first meeting. (Loki’s route, part 14)

Kyle: "The reason [Loki] buddied up to me in the first place is-- I happened upon him after he had fainted from using too much magic. So I took care of him.”

(Food for thought: does this mean Kyle took Loki to his home to care for him or did he take Loki to the Red Army HQ infirmary?)

A general "years earlier" is given for time frame.

Loki and Kyle’s friendship begins

??? years ago

Luka (?) graduates and goes against Red Territory by joining the Black Army instead

Luka: "After graduation, I decided to join the Black Army. So, Ed and I became enemies." (Edgar’s route, part 19)

Edgar: "The Jack of Spades may be my enemy, but he is also my friend." (Fenrir's route, part 12)

??? years ago

Edgar (?) graduates, and at some point joins the Red Army

The process of replacing Claudius in the Red Army is unknown

Zero regarding Edgar leaving on “family business” from the Red Army: "This happens from time to time. He'll disappear for a day, but he'll be right back to work the next morning." (Edgar's Route, part 8)

Edgar regarding the Jack's pact with the King and Queen: "After those two [Lancelot and Jonah] took on their titles, they haven't issued an order for dark plots or assassinations." (Edgar's route, part 20)

Zero (?) graduates from boarding school and joins the Red Army despite having no lineage to speak of

Zero: "After we [Edgar and Zero] graduated, I had nowhere to go. Until he practically forced me to join the Red Army. I'm the person I am today because of him. Though I'm still not sure if I should be grateful or not." (Edgar's Route, part 9)

??? years ago

Civilians besiege the Red Army Headquarters

This is the event which earns Lancelot (?) the nickname the Beautiful Beast

Edgar: "A band of civilians once stormed the Red barracks trying to kill the soldiers. When the military holds all the power, it's pretty common for civilians to resent them. They took us by surprise, so there were quite a few casualties on our side. Until [Lancelot] showed up, saber in hand. And then the fight was over in mere moments."

Alice: "[Lancelot] took out all the attackers by himself?"

Edgar: "That's right. His swordsmanship was breathtaking -- even I thought so. He's incredibly strong even when he doesn't use magic. Almost seems unfair." (Lancelot's Route, part 12)

(THINKING ALOUD: Was it actually the civilians attacking due to unrest or was this another one of Amon’s traps? Lancelot not using magic would have thwarted Amon’s scheme if so...)

Half a month ago

Lancelot’s (29) father, the prior King of Hearts, is killed and his body is hung on the Black Bridge

Lancelot: “I found his corpse hanging from the Black Bridge, as if it was put there on display.” (Lancelot’s Route, part 18)

Ray: "Half a month ago Lancelot's father--the former King of Hearts--was murdered." (Jonah's Route, part 10)

Perpetrator unknown but Lancelot theorizes it was Amon

The reason for this murder was likely to fabricate a reason for the Red and Black Armies to fight. It works, and Lancelot uses it on Day 0 when declaring war.

Day 0

At a meeting in the Garden, Lancelot and the Red Army declare war on the Black Army

The armies have never gone to war before despite 500 years of conflict

The reason Lancelot gives is due to the murder of his father by the Black Army

Lancelot makes it clear he intends to absorb the Black Army into the Red Army

Later that night, Alice the Second falls into Wonderland, right into the Garden...

Special thanks to

@kashimalin for helping to source the former King of Hearts’s DOD

@tenjouu for spotting Sirius’s-graduation-to-Harr’s-letter time frame

@itsmcdlove27 for highlighting Lancelot’s beautiful beast moment

@myotomespace for source correction! <3

#this is forever a wip #ikerev spoilers #ikemen revolution #ikerev #my ikerev #ikerev cradle #a history of cradle

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daily-rayless · 5 years ago

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20 Years of Art

2000

(OC / Celes from Final Fantasy 6 / OC / OC)

The influence of Final Fantasy 6, off of the Anthology collection, and Yoshitaka Amano caused a significant shift in my art, leading my human figures to be very slender, graceful, and frequently pale. Most of it was of women, some of it was of horses, and by then I was very self-consciously starting to draw men. I mostly worked in pencils and colored pencils. Faces were oval with high hairlines and long, sharp, narrow noses. Also note my evident fear of mouth-seams and lower eyelids. I was pretty terrible at coloring, often feeling that coloring one of my sketches ruined all the nice linework.

2001

(Quistis from Final Fantasy 8 / Rosa from Final Fantasy 4? / Schala from Chrono Trigger / Dark Knight OC from Final Fantasy 4)

This is where more anime influences came in, and I consciously took on a semi-anime, semi-realistic (in my own mind) style. My ideal of beauty was overbig eyes, overlong nose, and oversmall mouth, and I stuck to it pretty relentlessly. Trying to figure out shadows and face structure. Still bad at coloring. I was incredibly proud of that charcoal picture. Was also going through my mandatory Dark 'n Edgy phase, with a big helping of Phantom of the Opera, Sarah Brightman, and my attempts at designing supercool clothes, many of which I wouldn't have actually worn, even given the opportunity.

2002

(Me trying to recreate “Flaming June” / OC, who incidentally looks almost exactly like Sarah Brightman and whose diadem was bodily lifted from a Jodi Lee painting / angsty symbolic wet chain lady / OC)

Deep in the Dark 'n Edgy. Faces are still very heavily made-up, with big lashes, defined upper eyelids, and dark lips. Trying very hard to be a good artist though, have high expectations for the future. I was so proud of that final pose and worked so hard on it. Lined paper? So not a problem. Besides, how else am I supposed to draw during class? A sketchbook would've been even more obvious than the incredibly obvious I already was. I'm able to listen while drawing pretty reliably, and I did manage to take detailed notes while doodling, so at least I had that going for me.

2003

(Celes / OC / OC / Hermes-inspired wing lady)

I was focusing (at least some of the time) on backgrounds and trying to make my work detailed and polished. Coloring is still hopeless. Often when I colored, I would go super light, even when I was using dark or intense colors. It would give my pictures a sort of faint, half-assed hazy look. I remember an art teacher urging me to use more color, but I probably resisted because I knew that way lay total destruction. I'm sorry, well-meaning art teacher. You are unversed in the ways of my pencils. I have killed too many sketches to take those kinds of risks.

2004

(Rosa? / Meliara from Crown Duel / willow-dress lady / Geddoe and Queen from Suikoden 3)

See the Meliara picture? That's supposed to be a night scene in a forest. Front-lit by blazing firelight. I was too afraid to make the colors darker. This is dark enough, okay? Anyway, this year, along with being utterly obsessed with Suikoden 3 and Crown Duel, I was letting my art head in a more realistic direction...

2005

(OC / Queen / Queen / part of Zetta and Salome from Makai Kingdom; I remember deliberately copying those swoopy Ss from one of my friends’ handwriting. Wishes ended up being the first longform fanfic I posted online.)

...that really flourished this year. It's not actually realism, but I made a point to give my characters, especially the women, more realistic bodies. Faces are very round in this period, often with soft features. Noses are prominent. I'm also, finally, using more vibrant colors. I probably got my first Prismacolor pencils around this time. I also got some really cheap markers, but had no idea how to use them so mostly stuck to pencils.

2006

(All OCs)

I look back on this as a good year. I was learning better coloring techniques. (Bold colors! Press that pencil down! Okay, I still had much to learn.) I got an Elfwood gallery while the site was doing its slow mosey into oblivion. But that was an important step, not just looking at other people's art online, but putting my own up as well. There were downsides though. I began to feel more insecure – or maybe more realistic? – about my art, on this site with so many highly talented artists. Still, 2006 is a good year. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot.

2007

(vampire and hunter / Fleur from Harry Potter / OC / Avril from Wild Arms 5)

The year of Fleur Delacour. This is when I was writing Kindred. I think it was because I was trying to depict Fleur as distinctly non-human that my art shifted away from that more realistic style. Fleur, and my other figures, became very tall and slender. The anime DNA is still there though. For a long time, I felt the lying-down picture of Fleur was my best work.

2008

(Revya and Gig from Soul Nomad / my attempts at being “abstract” / OC / OC)

This was the year of Soul Nomad and, towards the end, Tales of the Abyss. Unsurprisingly, the anime influences start moving back to the fore. The eyes are becoming larger again, the features a bit more angular and stylized, mouths are shrinking. I'm still desperately trying to figure out markers and wondering why it's so darn hard (I don't try to educate myself, I just flail), but I was proud of that blue OC picture. It made me feel like I was getting somewhere. 2008 is when I started my deviantART gallery, right when everyone else was moving on to Tumblr.

2009

(teacup lady / Persona 4 noir-style comic / Revya / OC)

Then Persona 4 hit. Shigenori Soejima was a huge influence in this period, especially in eyes and faces. Pupils, chins, and jawlines shrink, eyelashes are sparse and stylized, noses are simplified. 2008 and 2009 are about as pure anime as I've ever gotten. Meanwhile, I'm really exited about my dA gallery and trying lots of different combinations of media. I'm super active on dA and FFN at this point, writing Elysion and then a slew of shorter Persona fics.

2010

(Minako from Persona 3: Portable / concept-art-version Minako / lady with dragon ferret thing / other lady with dragon ferret thing)

I'm still drawing with a lot of Soejima influences. Additionally, bodies are becoming even longer, taller, thinner, and bendier. Some of them look absurd to me now. On the other hand, a lot of pictures from this period have a nice elegance to them. I was still using colored pencils a fair bit, but more clumsy markers are showing up. Persona 3: Portable came out, and this is when I was writing Death and Ker.

2011

(mask lady / hat lady / Archaya, Duphaston, and Iryth from Eternal Poison / symbolic autumn lady and her winter baby)

Midway through this year, I hit a breakthrough when I got my first set of Copics – and skin tones, no less. Even though I was still flailing, I was so thrilled with my results. That Eternal Poison picture left me enormously proud, as did the mother and child one. My style hasn't changed all that much, but it's starting to feel less extreme. The focus on big eyes and tiny little mouths remains.

2012

(Elza from Suikoden 2 / Daryl and Setzer from Final Fantasy 6 / Killey and Lorelai from Suikoden 2 / Lyssa, Greek goddess of madness)

This is the year of Elza. Lots of delicate sketches of this lovely scarred lady, and lots of colored pictures too. I've definitely shifted away from pencils towards markers. The Daryl and Setzer one was an attempt to use both, and I was very happy with it. These pictures show their age, but there's still a lot here I like. Mouths are larger too. However, my online activity was starting to lag.

2013

(Rydia from Final Fantasy 4 / Nia from Infinite Space / the prophet and Schala / Argos and Io from Greek mythology)

The mid-2010s weren't entirely great for me, marked with a lot of frustration and discontent. And that definitely carried over to my art, making me feel very disappointed with myself. There was lots of marker work this year. Probably the standout picture is Argos and Io. This is also when I played through all three routes of Fate/Extra, and my art was suddenly full of Hakuno and Emiya.

2014

(Minako / butterfly lady / Marta and Tenebrae from Tales of Symphonia 2 / Elza)

Looking at it now, this was a good year. Lots of nice marker art. The butterfly one was a big step up for me in terms of coloring. The Marta and Tenebrae has a really cool stylized look to it. But I was becoming less enthusiastic about sharing my art with others. I started to post less and less.

2015

(evil Hakuno and Emiya from the Fate series / Mitsuru from Persona 3 / half moon cookie lady / Hakuno)

I barely posted anything this year, though I was still drawing a ton. As far as making strides, this is one of my better years. Coloring will never be my strong suit, but it's a lot more fun, and it looks a lot better. It's almost entirely marker-work at this point. Despite my, er, angst, a lot of people are smiling this year.

2016

(OC / doodle lady / Luna from Roman mythology / hair bow lady)

At this point, it's feeling too recent for me to really see what's changed. I did a fair bit of eraserless work. One problem I still have – and, yes, it involves coloring my pictures – is losing some of the image's personality after I've inked it and erased the initial pencil work. The picture's still there, but not as nuanced as it originally was. The results often feel stiff to me. Doing the first linework in ink, or not inking at all, allows me to keep that sensitive, spontaneous quality. Luna and the bow and doodle ladies were done without erasers. Another thing I did a lot this year was fill backgrounds with busy shapes and colors, which is a trend I’m still following today.

2017

(flapper and dog / Alcyone and Ceyx from Greek mythology / flower hair lady / Kida from Atlantis)

Not a good year. Not that the art is bad, there just isn't a lot of it, and what there is often isn't very finished. I was still mostly dark online, wondering if I should take down my dA gallery. Drawing and knowing I wasn't going to post something took off some of the pressure of my own expectations, but I was still unhappy.

2018

(Altera from the Fate series / Elizabeth Bathory from the Fate series / OC / Aranea from Final Fantasy 15)

This was a really important year for me. I wrote a novel I'm really proud of, and it's done a lot to give me confidence and a sense of creative direction. I also decided that after New Years, I was going to start a Tumblr gallery...just as everyone who was still on the site was jumping off of it. Much of my 2018 work is still sketchy and unfinished, but I also think it's loosening up some. It feels less stiff than the stuff from the middle of the decade.

2019

(Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn / medievaly lady / Red from Transistor / Red)

The year of Supergiant Games, which led me to focus more on bright saturated colors. It's really hard for me to analyze these objectively. Coloring is better? I worked more on details? I used my metallic gel pens a ton and did shape-cluttered backgrounds? These aren't new things, but I think they paid off okay. I'm more at peace with my level of ability, I've finished more complicated works, and I crawled out of my den and started posting regularly online again. So that's all good. Curious to see what the art looks like in twenty more years.

#art progression #20 years of art #2000-2019 #i'm not tagging all the characters #this is a terribly long post #and shouldn't clutter up too many search results #thank you if you read the whole thing #i apologize for typos #art meme #art summary

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bespokeminutiae · 6 years ago

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2 Phoenix 1325

Trahearne, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me how fun parties are.

I mean, yes, part of it was formal and horrid. Gixx sent all of the novices out and told us to convince people why the priory’s work is important and they should fund us. Everyone I spoke to was most interested in our archives, so I think Gixx made us talk to them to spare them from the actual archons. I saw one of the high-ranking scholars—an asura named Valda, I think—telling some Krytan noble about how many skulls she popped like rotten eggs in order to retrieve an intact set of dwarven runestones. Gixx personally pulled her away by the ear before just before the lady fainted. And that’s preferable to the scholars that stay at the priory and do research—I’ve learned that they’ll do anything for a fresh set of ears, and won’t let go once they’ve got someone. Comparatively, us novices are much safer. We haven’t gotten into anything deeply enough to frighten laypeople with it.

Speaking of the Krytan nobility, I can’t say I got a good impression of them either. Most of them were stiff and easily offended, but there was one lord who wouldn’t stop flirting with all the humans. Farnel, maybe? He dumped his drink down my robes because he assumed I was a waiter and would just take it when he stuck his arm out and walked it into me. He then noticed that I was female and got through half a pick up line before noticing I was sylvari, after which he just trailed off and walked away. It put me in such a sour mood that I decided to hide outside for the remainder of the festivities.

I’m sure I haven’t convinced you that it was fun yet. I will, I promise.

One of the scholars, a charr named Mychyte Steeltome, found me outside. She left before saying anything so I thought she was looking for someone else, but she came back with some food and some furs, and scolded me for hiding from the party somewhere that would make me sick. I told her that not all sylvari handle the cold badly. She started laughing so hard she almost dropped her plate and said that most sylvari aren’t Sieran. She also apparently caught me using my own lava fonts for warmth earlier this week. I thanked her for the furs. I thought she was going to leave after that, but she sat down on the stone next to me to talk instead. She’s from the Blood Legion homelands, but she joined the priory after most of her war band was killed in battle against the branded. I’m still not really sure what you say when someone has died, and I’m fairly certain I got it wrong, but she didn’t seem to mind. I asked her why she didn’t join the vigil, since her story reminded me of Amora Soulkeeper’s, and she said her best friend from her warband, Reeva, did just that! But Mychyte said the priory was more interesting. I’m sure she must miss Reeva terribly though. I certainly miss Arlon and Pellam, and Caithe and Tiachren, and you.

We spent a good couple hours swapping stories. She was very impressed that I’d gotten to work with you, and says she’s actually read a good bit of your writing, and has been trying to apply it to pushing back the brand. I think I was just as shocked that she’s gotten to work with Rytlock Brimstone! I still feel like I’ve barely heard of anyone, but even I know who he is. I suppose I’ve also gotten to work with a member of Destiny’s Edge, but it feels different somehow. Caithe just feels more like family and less like a heroic figure. Odd. Anyway, Mychyte was also a bit jealous that I’m training to be an explorer, as she doesn’t particularly enjoy the archival work, so I invited her to join me and Sieran sometime. I can’t say I’m in much of a position to teach, but if Sieran agrees, it’ll be nice to learn alongside her.

About halfway through the night most of of the guests filed out and took a waypoint back to Lion’s Arch. By that point I was stiff from the cold despite the furs, and would have been more than happy to go to bed, but Mychyte wouldn’t let me, pointing out the members of the Black Lion Trading Company rolling in barrels. “Most of those are expensive mead,” she said, “but at least one is fireworks.” She made me promise to stay up another hour.

I think I went to bed around dawn?

Mychyte somehow got me in the front of the line for the alcohol, but after that I lost track of her fairly quickly, because Sieran found me and pulled me into a dance circle. I’ll be honest with you, Trahearne, I’m a lousy dancer, but most of the dances were just large circles and were easy enough. Then Sieran abandoned me as soon as she felt I had the hang of it, I guess. Don’t feel bad about it— I was having fun! People were very kind when I stumbled. I assumed Sieran had someone else to dance with, but I spotted her in a corner with an archon in a headlock over his “half-baked theorem” because “ley lines don’t work like that, have you read anything written in the last ten years?” I stepped out of the dance to stop her, but when I left the crowd I found that a good half the party was brawling! Apparently academic disagreements are taken very seriously. Valda, the explorer Gixx led away before, was using earth magic to suplex a whole crowd of archons because apparently none of them knew anything about the practical applications of deldrimor runes. Next I saw her, she’d been punted into a snowdrift. Even I ran afoul of an archon named Rhenally, because she apparently felt that a sealing ritual would have been a better way to contain the Sanguinary Blade’s corruption than the original scabbard. I wasn’t sure if there was a customary form of combat, so I took Valda’s fate as an example and punted her into a snowdrift. They’re still rather plentiful, even though it’s already summer.

There must be a conspiracy to get the newest novices drunk, because I lost track of the night shortly after that. I know I spent a lot more time dancing. I almost remember some of the steps! I think I managed to stay out of most of the fighting, but I also remember some norn challenging me to a friendly duel. I think it was friendly? I’m also told that I got dared to set an Asura on fire, and he thanked me for the data afterwards. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you what happened. I feel like it was fun, but I drank too much to be sure.

Gixx says it was a great success: we’re well-funded for the next year and the priory took a minimum of damage.

If you’re not in Orr, you should come next year. Feorylle

P.S. Cleanup is horrible. Hangovers are equally distasteful.

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darkchaosodin · 7 years ago

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Things I’ve Learned from Takumi’s Support Conversations

After reading all of Takumi’s supports, there was a l o t of stuff that made me like him a lot more than I already did. Here are the things that stuck out to me. I decided to put them all together in one post. There’s spoilers(?) because it’s from the dialogue in his supports(?) You’ve been cautioned. Anyways, some of these may be more obvious, but I included them anyways.

Note that some of these support tidbits in Fates are localization only. The peeing thing was a thrown in joke from the localizers. In Japanese, he and Leon are actually huge philsophy buffs, not history buffs focused on battle. The localization also added contraditictions, such as having Takumi claim fishing is something he does all the time on the castle grounds. There's more, so just keep that in mind when using the localization to analyze characters. -Anonymous

he has no problem fighting on the battlefield because he has more confidence in himself, but when it comes to hunting, it’s a challenge because he’s yet to master the art of concealing his presence. (Kagero support)

he pees a little when he is scared. (Kagero support)

he can’t bear standing around waiting for something to happen. (Kagero support)

he’s nowhere near a good fisherman because has little to no patience (Kagero support)

he hates water training because it’s always about staying in the water and doing as little as possible (Kagero support)

it bothers him when people blow him off saying he’s not capable of doing as much as someone else (Kagero support)

he thinks part of his upbringing has left him spoiled (Kagero support)

Ryouma sees Takumi as not only a skilled fighter, but as a smart individual with a sharp mind who would make an excellent advisor to him when Ryouma becomes king. (Ryouma support)

he believes that if he isn’t the strongest warrior on the battlefield, he would be worthless to Ryouma. (Ryouma support)

he finds books on Nohr’s country, culture, weaponry, etc very fascinating. (Elise support)

he feels bad and it eats at him when he know’s he’s wronged someone no matter how small and petty it may be. (Elise support)

he cares too much about what others think. (Elise support)

he goes off deep into the woods to practice so that no people are around to distract him. (Camilla support)

he doesn’t trust anyone he’s just met. (Camilla support)

he fusses pettily and gets flustered often. (Camilla support)

he thinks Camilla must have many suitors because of how warm and beautiful she is. (Camilla support)

Leo and him believe they would never be friends, but they end being very close when they discover how many things they have in common. (Leo support)

he initially thought of Leo as a patronizing jerk (Leo support)

people start calling Leo and Takumi “the twins” because of how similar they are. (Leo support)

his favorite food is miso soup. (Leo support)

he loves to read history books because he loves to study the strategy behind past battles. (Leo support)

his favorite game is shogi and he’s the best shogi player in his family. (Leo support)

it’s hard for him to hate someone who he has so much in common with. (Leo support)

he loves to read and he often stays up way too late reading. (Leo support)

he tried to beat Mozu at farming, but gave up because it was too much work and he didn’t enjoy it. (he did end up trying again and this time he became a natural) (Mozu support)

he is astonished that Mozu will put all of her effort into something that can still fail utterly. (Mozu support)

he often offers to help people with just about anything, especially if he was a hindrance to them. (Mozu, Felicia, etc support)

he wants to be a royal who understands his subjects and the challenges they face. (Mozu support)

whatever is special to the person he loves is special to him as well. (Felicia support)

he prefers for people to only see the result of his work, but not the work itself. (Jakob support)

he is known as one of the best archers ever, but even though he knows people think of him this way, he is not satisfied with his level of skill. He knows he can become even stronger yet and that if he does, others will acknowledge him for it; he seeks approval. (Jakob support)

he is shocked by how much Rinkah eats. (Rinkah support)

his mother passed down a red jewel to him, telling him to hand it over to the woman he fell in love with. The jewel was given to the Hoshidan king as a sign of the friendship between the flame tribe and Hoshido. (Rinkah support)

he dreads going to banquets and parties. (Sakura support)

he doesn’t understand why people have parties when there are wars going on. (Sakura support)

he doesn’t like acting superficial and doesn’t know what to say when trying to hold a formal conversation with someone becaus everyone is so stiff. He wishes that could be left to someone else. (Sakura support)

He ponders faking a fever and hiding in the infirmary or setting all the guests hair on fire to get out of going to a party. (Sakura support)

he doesn’t want to ask Azura for help on surviving the party because he thinks she’ll just tell him to stop acting like a jerk. (Sakura support)

when he ends up attending the party, he panics and starts talking everyone’s head off and everyone loved him. (Sakura support)

he believes it’s important for him and his siblings to be accessible. (Sakura support)

he is suprisingly good with kids. This is because he pretends he’s talking to a younger version of himself. (Azura support)

he was mischievous and stubborn as a child. (Azura support)

he finds it hilarious when Azura tries to calmly reason with a child. (Azura support)

he has nightmares and recently he’s been dreaming of the night his mother died. (Azura support)

he sleepwalks. (Azura support)

he becomes embarrassed when he shows a vulnerable side to someone. (Azura support)

he’s always had a little crush on Azura ever since they first met. (Azura support)

Hana and Takumi used to train together almost every morning until one day he suddenly stopped coming. This is because one day when Sakura stopped by during their training and Hana suddenly proposed a duel with swords. Hana had just become Sakura’s retainer and she was eager to prove herself while Takumi was hesitant because he didn’t wantto beat up his little sister’s best friend in right front of her. Hana beats the daylights out of Takumi, she repeatedly hit him in the head over and over and although he says it no longer bothers him, he remembers it like it happened yesterday. Hana completely forgot about this. (Hana support)

He pretends not to hear people when he’s busy, hoping they’ll pick up on it. (Hana support)

He would feel awkward if hana tried to make it up to him for beating him to a pulp, but he appreciates the sentiment. (Hana support)

He doesn’t smile often and surprises people when he actually does. (Hana support)

Every time he sees Hana, he gets a strange look on his face, then he immediately and quickly heads in the opposite direction. Takumi says this is because he was worried she’d beat him up again and that it was for self preservation. (Hana support)

He enjoys teasing women he likes. (Hana support)

When Takumi was young, he used to snuggle a doll while he slept, although he denies ever doing so. (Orochi support)

Takumi and Sakura used to play with dolls together when they were children. (Orochi support)

He may be prickly on the outside, but he has a soft heart. (Orochi support)

Orochi babysat Takumi when he was a child and changed his diapers. (Orochi support)

He actively conquers his fears. (Orochi support)

He hid under his bed as a child, saying there were monsters in his closet, the cellar, and thetoilet. He came running to Orochi, asking her to hold his hand and he even managed to scare Orochi herself. (Orochi support)

He doesn’t like it when people bring up embarrassing things he did as a child and he tells Orochi if she keeps doing it, he’s going to lose his mind so he avoids her. (Orochi support)

He used to be really short as a kid, but he’s grown to be quite tall. (Orochi support)

He wants to be treated like the man he is. (Orochi support)

He wants someone to care enough about him to want to become close with him. He wants someone to know him well enough to tease him. (Orochi support)

He doesn’t mind having a dominant partner, but he likes to be the one on top every now and then. (Orochi support)

He’s stubborn. (Hinoka support)

He doesn’t want to accept help from others, especially his siblings. He wants to figure things out on his own because he thinks they’re only pretending to care. (Hinoka support)

He thinks his siblings would be better off without him because he believes they see him as useless so he wishes they would just leave him behind. (Hinoka support)

He remembers very well how everyone felt when Corrin was taken away from them. (Hinoka support)

He uses traps when he goes hunting, but Setsuna is who gets caught in them most of the time. He is baffled at first, but then quickly becomes exasperated and angry. (Setsuna support)

He doesn’t understand how his sister puts up with Setsuna. (Setsuna support)

He sees Setsuna as unpredictable. (Setsuna support)

He didn’t realize Setsuna could have romantic feelings towards others. (Setsuna support)

Oboro makes Takumi’s ceremonial outfits and everyone compliments Takumi on his style when she does. (Oboro support)

It’s unlike Takumi to shower praise on others and Takumi is unaware that that is how some people see him. (Oboro support)

He knew almost since she first started working as his retainer that Oboro was interested in him. (Oboro support)

Hinata was in a fighting competition before while Takumi watched because he wasn’t allowed to fight since he was part of the royal family. Hinata completely dominated the event. (Hinata support)

Takumi enjoys watching Hinata fight, he thinks it’s awesome and it takes his mind off the war. (Hinata support)

Kiragi can make shots that even Takumi cannot pull off. (Kiragi support)

His son’s talent will surpass his own in no time. (Kiragi support)

He notes how Kiragi is very different than he was as a child because he is so obedient. (Kiragi support)

He envies his son’s skill. (Kiragi support)

He admits to his son that the only reason he criticized his form was because Kiragi makes archery look easy. Takumi puts himself down, apologizing for being such a petty, terruble father and tells Kiragi he’s failed him. (Kiragi support)

He says that there are many great archers with skills superior to his own. (Kiragi support)

Kiragi says that Takumi is calm and cool no matter the situation, calling him amazing. (Kiragi support)

Takumi puts himself down again saying he;s not the incredible man Kiragi thinks he is because his archery skill is primarily due to Fujin Yumi’s power. His shots may appear to be perfect, but it’s not because of his actual ability. He only tries to be calm so that others will think he is coolheaded, but inside he calls himself a weak, anxious fool who cares too much about what others think of him. He says he’s the type of man who harbors feelings of envy towards his own son and then asks for Kiragi to forgive him while excusing himself to leave. (Kiragi support)

After Kiragi hears his father say so many bad things about himself, Kiragi sets out to prove that Takumi is more skilled than he thinks he is. Kiragi proves that you must be incredibly strong in order to use Fujin Yumi, not to mention strong minded to be able to will the arrows to appear, etc because the arrows will disappear again if your concentration breaks. Kiragi says it’s nearly impossible to hold the bow and concentrate at the same time. (Kiragi support)

Kiragi tries to get Takumi to repeat “I am an amazing person” in order to get Takumi to believe in himself more. (Kiragi support)

To Kiragi, Takumi is the coolest dad ever. (Kiragi support)

#fire emblem #fe #fire emblem fates #takumi #taco meat #fire emblem fates birthright #fire emblem fates conquest #fire emblem fates revelation #fire emblem if #fe fates #fe fates birthright #fe fates conquest #fe fates revelation #support conversation #support conversations #highlights #talk #pineapples are gay

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thealfanator · 7 years ago

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Dandelion’s Tales, Part 2 ~ Chapter 7 (Final Chapter)

“Go on, swing it at me.” Panting like a tired boar, I swung the sword at his right arm, then wiping the sweat from my forehead. The steel bounced right off him harmlessly, and I flung it into a nearby tuft of grass.

“Please, can we just have a break?” Drops of exhaustion slid down my skin, slippery – and even worse in this heat. Dune stared back at me, gazing straight into my weak and feeble eyes as I continued to pant. I pushed my back into a tree stump, uncaring of any bugs that might crawl over me. If I’m lucky, they’ll lick the sweat off me and cool me down quicker.

“You need to learn how to use a sword, Dandelion.” Dune replied. He picked up the fallen weapon and offered it to me like he was offering me his hand, wanting me to grab it and stand once more; another try. I refused, shutting my eyes. The sweet, calming darkness drew me in, sleep at last… “Well, snoring our heads off isn’t going to help us get to civilisation!” Sleep rejected.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, Dune! We’ve just washed up on a beach after a shipwreck, and now we’re a needle in a haystack.” My legs were stiff. I yanked myself from the dirt-riddled ground and rested against the low-hanging branch. “I mean, look around us. Forest here, forest there! Forest as far as the eye can see. We are running out of food, of… of water, and you’re having me do miniature sword duels ‘because I need to learn how to use one’. Is it really the time?! Please tell me you have a plan.” I was shouting. I was shouting at him. I ducked my head, drawing my eyelids once more. “I’m sorry.” I felt his stare protruding through the back of my neck, splitting the skin like a cold dagger. The coldness of this dagger on my skin; a relief from the heat of this weather…

“No, I’m sorry.” He replied, sheathing both his sword and mine into his belt. I wish I could just rip all my clothes off and just let it breathe. Forest life wasn’t for me, I suppose. He was half naked. No wonder he found this exercise easy. He wore no shirt, his skin respiring, and no drops of liquid shining from his back, or his arms, or his breasts, yet it felt like we’d been doing this for hours… “Listen, Dandelion, we’re going to be fine, alright? I got you out of it before, and I’ll help you again.” He pat me on the back, his black beard shimmering amongst the newly-arrived wind, ducking and diving through tree-trunks and tall strands of grass. Heaven to my face. I felt replenished once more, drinking in the breeze… “One more?” He held the sword up. I grasped it.

“Alright, alright. I’m done now.” I dropped the sword. Another hour had passed, probably. The sun was setting, emitting a golden, juicy glow upon us and the wildlife. It was glorious and peaceful, yet even I knew we had to find shelter before it got dark. He sheathed his also, finally agreeing with me. I thought I saw a reflection on his tired brow, but he turned too quickly.

“We’ll keep going for now. We’ll reach something eventually.”

“I hope so. What I would do for some water…”

“Listen, Dandelion,” He has a habit of saying that, “regardless, sword or not, the message I’m trying to get across to you – is to not give up. Fight your side, else you’ll fall. Do you understand?” he turned again, looking at me for a response. I stared back nodding. That was before his once bright and joyous eyes slid into a deafening black, a menacing black liquid flooding his sockets. Like possession. Then I was dragged from my thoughts.

***

The little girl and I stood hopelessly on the gallows, wind smacking the air from our terrified lungs. I wobbled on the unusually small stool; The only thing keeping me alive whilst the rope tugged at my neck. Hunter stood petrified below, almost camouflaged in the crowd of people in front of us, awaiting our execution. Looking through tears, Tugna smirked from a distance, his cocky stride sending his message; crystal clear. I was angry. He wrenched my guts… He smiled in my face from across the crowd, as if saying “That’s right, I’ve finally beaten you.” I hadn’t even known him that long, but his young and simple brain of his still wanted me dead. Shor was there too, and was one of the few who actually looked afraid. As well as Hunter, Shor wanted to get up here and save me from my fate. He peered from his blacksmith area with his short, tiny legs of his dwarf-structured body, and he feared for my life. I cast him a weak smile, more tears returning. I had lost Dune. I had lost everything. I turned. Finally, Cebri.

“For the trespass of village property.” Her words stung like a striking sword, her wrinkles and grey hair moving in the wind. Frankly, she can go fuck herself. “For the assault of a peaceful woman of our community.” The little girl beside me, bless her. She was terrified. She meant no harm. “And for the discovery of a personal enquiry regarding another citizen, and one of our medical staff.” Bullshit, woman. The white-haired woman has left some demonic presence inside his body; God knows what him – or the thing inside him – will do now. She moved on to the girl now, listing her crimes like boxes on a checklist.

“I sentence you to death.” Words stinging, tanging like sour blood. The faceless, masked man kicked her stool, and the little girl choked, body flinging until it stopped once more. Death ushering her to a peaceful place… “Now, the bard.” Her eyes. Her vicious eyes pointed at me, and the brute of the man behind me put his boot on my stool. I closed my eyes…

“Bandits!” Someone screamed, jolting me like lightning. I daren’t open my eyes. Was this a dream? Was I dying? Was this burst or jolt just the noose cracking my neck? No. Looking left: panic. Bashing on the unstable gates were hundreds of bandits. Hundreds. Trying to get through, their faces sharper than their wielded swords, they shattered the ground with their roar. For the first time in a century, people’s spiking glares were off me. Instead, on the havoc at the entrance, before spreading like a plague upon the town, screaming; cracking my eardrums. This was panic like I’ve never seen it before. This was terror. Up to this point, Cebri’s people have been guarded and secure. Now, this was true terror. People whizzed about, not in jolly or passivity, but for their safety. Somehow, my stool had not been pushed, and I was stood here struck to the bone, helpless to the invasion. Bound and noosed.

***

Hunter. Thank fuck. He slipped from his detainer (who had lost interest and ran for the nearest building – honestly, this security has gone tits-up) and grabbed the nearest sword. From the belt of a guard, I think. It was hard to tell amongst the storm of people. He went straight to me. Behind me, in fact. So many around us, yet all of them ignoring us, hidden in plain sight. Did I just cheat death?

“Thank Melitele. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” My profusions of thanks were as frequent as his stabs to the ropes that bound my wrists.

“We need to get out of here.” He replied in panic, “This is not over.” For the first time, I saw him panic. Ever since, he always looked like he had a plan. Currently, the sword he was cutting with was shaking, almost toppling me over the edge into death regardless. He was shaking amidst all of this. My heartbeat matched the thumps of the gate, and the cracking of the wood. We didn’t have enough time…

“What are we going to do?” I stuttered weakly, frozen to the spot, trembling and eyeing the progressive destruction of the enforcements.

“All that we can to get out of this mess.” It was a race. A race on ice in a fog of smoke and mirrors. A race between the cutting of the rope and the gates. Who would be first? My life – everyone’s lives – were at the tip of a shard.

“I do hope so! Sometime soon, please?” I failed to pry a chuckle. Usually I was good at that: making light of a situation. Not now.

“Listen to me,” he was knocked to the floor and off the raised platform and into the blizzard of fear. A guard. Shit. I was powerless. Come on, he was almost through. I felt the strings of the cut rope, but I was still just bound. I swore profusely. A guard tumbled atop Hunter, reaching for his sword to thrust up his throat. Suddenly, the glint of his sword exited the attacker’s back, before the warm corpse slid off the end of it and onto the mud, creating a space for civilian’s to trip over and fall to their demise. Now bloodied, Hunter’s sword continued at my bounds, before that final tug liberated me. As swift as possible, I undid the rope around my neck and toppled down the stool, falling to the wood. My legs floundered, shock paralysing me.

“Oh my goodness, are you alright?” I asked him, face tainted with bruises.

“Yes, yes.” And that’s when the gates collapsed.

There were hundreds of them. I swear there were. Blurs of bandits, multiplied and multiplied again, wielding sharp steel and shields, roaring and sprinting. Straight for the people of the village. Straight for us. Screams were deafened by the thunderous footsteps of leather against hard ground. This was it.

“Run.”

He helped me. He helped me up and I lie on his shoulder, clambering from the platform. After, I let him go, confident on my own two feet and shielding my eyes from the running people. Everything that happened felt like an eternity, yet it was only a few seconds. Civilians melted to oozing corpses as the hostilities spread like water through the village. Horror at its purest. Dry in my mouth, lips cracked and white but not from thirst; from dread. We ran through the downpour. Both of us, I following him.

“Here, Dandelion. Here!” He ushered me to an arch-shaped wooden door, letting me duck inside into the darkness before him, latching the steel bolt behind him. We plunged into the abyss. Down the steps and onto the marble. It took me a few seconds to realise where I was, but my sense of smell noticed before my eyes. The medical lab. The what-should-be a clean hospital of a large, open space quickly became tainted with a shadowy, bloodied, murky basement full of death and absence. How long had it been like this? How long had this whole place turned to shit? Hunter retreated down the steps behind me, and I saw a figure in the room, blocking out the already slim flow of light from a nearby, high window.

“Well, hello there.”

Tugna.

***

“It’s thoroughly nice to see you again.” He croaked calmly, flicking his glinting sword between his palms, warming them for what was to come. Hunter drew his, yet I could see from his eyes that he wasn’t comfortable using a sword.

“I can’t say the same to you.” I replied, trying to cover my fear – the curse of a high-pitched, whiny voice, coming to haunt me again in the most important of times. I stood my ground, legs shaking like a tower about to fall, crumbling under the weight…

“Well, now I have you here… I can have you all to myself. No witnesses.” The sword gleamed again in the darkness. In the suffocating blanket of the darkness. He took a swing at I, to which I darted backwards into a sharp counter, and Hunter deflecting the bow weakly with his own, his stance failing. Looking at my hand, I noticed a shard of blood crawling down my palm. I had nothing. No weapon… Think.

“Wow, Hunter! You really are shite. You can’t even wield a sword.” He swung his cocky atmosphere around the room ten times over, and I could feel my wrenching gut spewing hatred upon him.

“Shut up, Tugna.” Hunter replied through gritted teeth, trying to mirror our enemy’s stance.

“You never belonged here, Hunter, I’m afraid. After your stupid ‘boyfriend’ died, Cebri only kept you ‘cus you were good at gathering food for us. You meant nothing to us; just a blank silhouette. A tool in our thriving village.” His black hair shimmered in the thin light, and I was only just prying myself from the now bloody countertop, groaning silently.

“You take that back, asshole!” Hunter struck. Tugna sprained the archer’s wrist as he came into attack, making a clunking metal sound as he dropped his sword against his will, shrieking in pain. Tugna laughed like the point of a knide, words stabbing the air in a sinister manner.

“Ooh, we got him biting!” he said, teeth glinting. “You know, that’s surprising, actually – isn’t it, Dandelion? He spends so much time in his little ‘quiet state’ that it’s relieving to finally hear him squirm. You know, I think I’ll gut you, myself. It’ll prove much more satisfying!”

“Back off.” I shouted from a few paces from the two of them. Now walking towards the slim figure, I began to smell his tainted breath, hammering my nostrils, bludgeoning my face with gruesome warmth. “I said, back off.” My eyes locked with his until he looked away, balancing the end of his sword on his shoulder.

“Oh, this is fantastic! The mouse has come out to play.”

“I’m not scared of you, Tugna.” I was, but I couldn’t show it. Hopefully, he didn’t see my heart jumping out of my chest, through my crimson apparel.

“Really? Try this.” He shot pain through my stomach. He punched my side with the blunt of his sword before I could blink. Rolling on the floor in agony, my vision blurred. I received another hit in the throat. “Go on, Dandelion, tell us: are you afraid now?” I gurgled at his feet. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. Speak up, lad!” I’m going to kill him.

“Let’s cut to the point, shall we?” Tugna continued, “Dandelion, you cannot even wield a sword. When I saw you with your little friend a few days back, I was fairly disappointed actually. How can one who cannot even defend himself for shit, manage to make it this far in this world?” We both watched him wave his weapon, both defenceless. Finally, he stopped further down the room, blocking the only light perfectly and casting a shadow on us. “Then I realised, you don’t need one. Dandelion, you speak words as squeaky and annoying as a pesky little dormouse, that it feels almost like a dagger in the ears, you know?” He laughed again before glaring at Hunter beside me. “I’ve been thinking of that one all day. Did you like it? He doesn’t even need a sword because his little, barely audible catastrophe of a sound acts as one! Do you… do you get it?” Hunter didn’t reply, only stared at him with eyes of fire, my throat still burning. His smile wiped away. “You don’t get it do you? You don’t get the joke?” His cynical expression morphed from happy to dark. His mocking tone turned to seriousness. His laughter dissolved to growling. “Well then, let’s get started.” Tapping his sword on the ground, he started chanting, flicking from me to Hunter, then back again. He was picking one of us. The finger landed on Hunter.

“Hunter! Now, should I start with the stomach, or the kneecap? What a choice…” I blinked, and when I opened my eyelids, I noticed a steel glint piercing Tugna’s throat. The steel dissolved to a thick red, blood spurting out, gurgling as he tried to speak. Clutching the blade, Hunter and I stared at each other, both surprised. As he fell, another dark figure emerged behind him, plucking the sword from the corpse. This figure was shorter… Much shorter…

“Aye, aye. Let’s shut your wee trap once and for all.” As he emerged from the shadows, Shor’s hand offered to pick me up from the floor, with a big grin on his face.

“What? How? How did you get in? We bolted the door.” I stuttered, throat clearing.

“Oh, there’s a wee side-door, matey. Did you not notice?” He pointed to a smaller door in the far corner of the room. We laughed all we could before we were reminded of the panic above us. We heard smashing from the stairwell. Bandits, coming in. The three of us stared at it. “We need to go, lads.”

Suddenly, there was this loud roar. A roar that deafened us, coming from outside. It felt like it was coming from a mile away. It was a demonic, ear-splitting roar that shook the earth. Then screams. Lots of screams. Howls of men cutting the air, as if ripping their skin apart. The devilish outcry continued, like a spiritual presence had awakened. Like something dormant, which we had all forgotten about, but was now starting to wake up…

Dune.

***

It was too exhausting. I had found out my friend’s fate. I had watched a little, innocent girl die. I had missed death by a few moments. I had wounds and bruises over me. I had watched another gurgle as his blood dripped to the floor. All in a couple hours. Fatigue was weighing me down, yet I knew I could not stop. We still had a long way to go.

Breaching the stale air, we crouched through into the light. The sight… my God, the sight. Panicked civilians dissolved into stench-riddled corpses. The usual, florescent grass morphed from a saturated green to a melted, thick red. Flies in the air made it hard to see, and the sharp taste of the atmosphere blinded us. Instead of woman and children crying, a dark, nightmare-inducing howl of a man plagued the streets. On top of that, bursting doors and shattering windows emitted ear-piercing sounds from further down the paths. Bandits thrusting the points of their swords into the stomachs of men, guarding their family, and woman, protecting their children. It was horror. Still, many people trampled over the existing bodies, escaping the threat, holding little ones who cried and cried, or packages of items, or just their skirt as they hobbled over the uneven ground only to be slaughtered moments later. We stood in the middle of an abundance of running, scared objects, panicked that we’d also fall by a sword any moment. We blended in well, however. It was almost like we were invisible amongst the chaos. Whilst others ran, we had our heads in the sky, trying to locate the sound of the deafening roar. Then I saw it.

In the direction of the small alter-building, a black smoke denied the law of physics, and rose up into the sky, plaguing the blue into a dark, liquid black – and it was spreading. Moving, towards us. Towards the town. Thick, black essence from up to a mile away, moving like Nekkers towards this chaos. It was far, but it was rapid. Too rapid.

“Hunter.” I called. For once, I unlocked my eyes from the event, and darted them around me. A blur of people. Shor and Hunter were nowhere to be seen. I was knocked to the ground by a woman, and as I stared back up at her, her tunic was breached by a thin, spiking dagger thrown from elsewhere. Her body flunked to the ground, the majority of it over myself. I was being buried by bodies, and trampled by panicked feet. I needed to get up.

Wrenching myself from the sticky, grasping ground, I searched once more, calling for Hunter. Nothing. They were lost within the crowds of people.

And that was when I saw Cebri from within her headquarters building, staring out the window, trying to hide. Her door intact, her safe haven untampered with. We met gazes for a moment. I made my move.

***

The door was unlocked, surprisingly. Slowly limping in, and closing the door behind me – muffling the chaos, I stared through the muck and the dust. This tiny office, depressed and empty. Dim, full of unbreathable contents, as if no air had entered in years. In the corner, this poor old woman, held a dagger in my direction. Cebri, who accused me of things I had not committed out of spite, tried to kill me in front of everybody, and now defending herself against a tired bard who can’t wield a sword to save his life, and who only wanted away from this place. The silence stung the air.

“Cebri.” I sighed, moving slowly towards her low body. She leaned on a chair, weak from a leg wound, blood contaminating her clothes. “Let me help you.”

“Get away from me.” She spurted, waving her dagger once more, moving the airy dust. She had blood on her forehead, and in her grey, ancient hair. Her figure a creaking house.

“I can help you.”

“Look at the mess you’ve made here!” Her voice breached the whisper of the room. “If it weren’t for you, everything would’ve been fine! Look… look what you’ve done.” This was an innocent woman who only wanted to do the best for her townsfolk, but I could see it in her eyes; she was afraid of me. I had a sword latched to my belt, given to me from Hunter earlier, but it remained there. My hands were held in the air. Please, Cebri – I mean no harm. “You… you should have died.”

“I know you don’t mean that. Cebri, put the weapon down. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“No!” She screamed.

That was when the door flung off its hinges and into the wall on the other side, leaving a heavy imprint. The muffled sounds of death became vivid once more, and light struck the room. My heart was in my throat. Nobody with normal human strength could do that. Black smoke filled the floor, sliding like a snake into the room. We both stepped back, afraid. Heartbeats in our throats, we watched as Dune walked in, calmly and rhythmically – his steps equally hitting the wood, with no deviation.

Cebri screamed as her ears and eyes and nostrils flooded with the darkness, with the smoke. Her dagger thumped the wood by her feet and she was ripping her hair out, screaming and screaming like bees crawling over her skin. The black smoke covered her facial features, her eyes blackening, tangling her feet and bringing her to the ground. I watched in horror as Dune’s demonic essence plucked her to the ground, death bringing her peace until she screamed no more.

“Oh, my god.” Dune. He stood by the archway where the door used to be, and he glared at me with black, lifeless eyes. He wore the same clothes as the last time I saw him, days ago – as if his corpse was dug out of the ground and revived. I saw the bloodstain where I stabbed him, but this time it wasn’t red. It was a black, thick oily liquid. He was the one who cast the scream. His teeth were black, and the smoke poured from him rapidly. That wasn’t my friend in there. It was something different. Something possessive.

***

“Dune, you need to listen to me.” He didn’t reply. “Dune, please. I know you’re in there. Whatever they’ve done to you, y- you can fight it.” No response. Instead, he took steps closer to me, suffocating me. “Remember when we first met, eh? When you saved me. I was tied up in that bloodied room like an idiot? Like- like a damsel in distress?” I chuckled slightly. His lips were stone. “Please, my friend.” Tears plucked themselves from my eyes, my voice wavering. “What about when I fell down that trap into that Nekker den, and I thought you left me, but then you came back to save me with your friends? That was impressive.” He took more steps towards me, and his face was only a few inches away from mine. His head shaking slightly, his eyes determined, eyelids flickering. Something was fighting within him. “Come on, my friend.”

His strong, rock-solid hand breached my throat. I couldn’t breathe. His arm suffocated my stomach, lifting me off the ground.

“Stab me, Dandelion.” I heard him say- figments from my memory back in the woods. I remember him saying it, and somehow, I felt it was relevant. Like he was talking to me now through memories. “Fight your side, else you’ll fall. Do you understand?”

My vision blurred. I was running out of breath. I squeezed a few words from my thin remainder of my throat. “I’m sorry.”

I inserted my sword into his side. He spat black liquid. He coughed smoke. His eyes dilated until there was nothing but white. He liberated me, and he fell to the ground, leaving an abyss of dark blood on my sword. The smoke around him cleared, and eventually, his body stopped quavering, until it was still once more. I was left with a sword in my hands, struggling for breath, and tremoring with fear. Two corpses lie by my feet, and my face was full of panicked tears. I stood there like a stump, my weapon still pointed at Dune’s body. I had killed it. I had killed him.

***

It was quiet outside. It was like the storm had passed. Bodies covered the floor, but it was only that. Bodies. The bandits were nowhere to be seen. Maybe they left, I’m not sure. No, of course they wouldn’t leave. We had won. With red, upset and tired eyes, I crawled across the ground. I saw Shor finishing off a bandit. Hunter, too. The crowds of people before had thinned, and only a few of the village’s guards remained, battered and bloodied. We had defeated the storm. We did it. Somehow, in my gut, it’d felt like we had lost. Some died via Dune and whatever possessed him – God, Cebri. Poor woman. Some died at the edge of a sword. It was a battlefield. And so many, so many died. It was over. We heard birds, and the sunshine started to char the blood from all the bodies, creating a stench in the air. We heard trees rustling amongst the quiet. We had done it. It was over. The massacre had ended. And was it all my fault?

***

“Wait.” Shor struck the earth with his large, compressed dwarf-feet. Jogging up to us, he panted deeply as if he’d just ran around the continent twice. “I came to say goodbye.” He held out his hand, and I took it gladly.

“Thank you.” I said sincerely. His bears rustled like the leaves off trees. He turned to Hunter.

“And you, stay safe my man!”

“Thanks, Shor.” I never knew how they did it, dwarves. Despite negativity in life, they always managed to quench a joyous feeling about their speech. Hunter and I left the gates, and I stared back at the village once more.

“Wait. There’s somewhere I need to go first.”

***

Opening from pressure, the floor started to rumble. Hunter waited outside the altar-building, and I descended with a thick breath; bracing my fear. Inside the room, it was a mess. Black stains on the cobblestone walls, broken glass from fallen – or thrown – capacity, and a blank table in the centre, with red instead of black marks.

I saw movement in the corner, then a hood, and a tuft of white hair. The sorceress woman lie with a dagger in her chest.

“I’m… sorry.” She spluttered, gasping for air. I said nothing. “He… he wouldn’t have made it otherwise. He was fading, struggling to breathe, and I just did it. I didn’t want to lose him. You know, that’s my biggest fear. When I was younger, I tried to save my Dad after he had some Drowner accident, but I failed. Looks like I failed again.” She trailed off, tears striking her eyes.

“What was he?”

“It was a kind of necromancy for near-death individuals. It was meant to heal parts of his internal organs from the split of the dagger. It, instead, flooded his bloodstream, and that’s when it started. I don’t think I have a name for it; if you want, you can create one. I know your story, Dandelion, the friendly bard from Novigrad.” Her voice darkened despite her puncture in her chest.

“You sent Dune… that thing ravaging across the village. Do you even know what you’ve caused? I don’t even know your name, and I’m afraid I don’t need to. Goodbye.”

“I know it was you.”

“What?” I turned back, halting my retreat.

“Who stabbed Dune. I know it was you. I-“ she struggled again, pressure compressing her lungs, losing air. “A wound that messy… had to be you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hid my guilty face, back turned to her.

“Wait, tell me. Was I right? Did you stab him? I need to know.” I breathed in deeply, guilt filling my conscience. Pressing my forehead against the cold wall, the words were stripped from my lips. I couldn’t say it. Turning back, she had taken her last breath. Her cold eyes stared into nowhere.

***

“There’s a sight I like to see!” I shouted at Hunter just so he could hear me amongst the chimes of bells and the sharp waves of the sea. The ship was closing into the Novigrad ports. I was home.

“I’ve never been to Novigrad myself, believe it or not.” He smiled, adjusting the bow and quiver on his back.

“Well, if you need a guide, you know where to find me!” I responded, unable to waver my eyes from the beautiful red buildings.

“Er, I don’t.”

“Oh, never mind then.”

“I’m afraid this is where I leave you.” We walked on the port, then on the hard stone. People rushed around us, as per usual. He stared at me. “I’m headed to Velen, Dandelion. I have a… loose errand to attend to.” I responded with depressed eyes.

“The first time we crossed paths, you tied me. Tell me, were you planning to slaughter us in the woods, then leave us under some leaves for people to find months to come?” He smiled.

“I’ll leave that for you to decide. Write a poem!” He tapped the lute I held by my hand, carried all the way from Cebri’s grasp across seas. “Farewell, mate.”

And there I was left to carry on about my day, watching him fade among the crowd. Every event that occurred over the last week had been cleansed, and it was like nothing had happened at all. My only scar I had to remember it by was the patchy spot on my right palm. And a connection to a close friend that had been broken too easily.

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years ago

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In the White Light - Prideshipping fanfic Chapter 24

Also on AO3.

Chapter 24 – Second Chance

“‘Hmm… I think I’ll buy some good cards so Grandpa can have better cards to sell at the shop.’”

“Yes, that is what I said after I won Battle City, Joey.”

“You know, I’m sure Pegasus would have given all of those to you for free. I mean, you did save his soul from the Orichalcos. Plus, he’s almost as loaded as rich boy.”

“Still, it would feel like stealing,” spoke Yugi as he and Joey entered the former’s grandfather’s game shop.

“What a goody two-shoes you are, Yug.”

Before Yugi could present his grandfather with the multitude of new cards, he tripped on his own two feet. Unfortunately, in so doing, he opened a tear in the leather suitcase, causing a single card to fall out.

“Yugi!” Grandpa Mutou came out from behind the counter. “Are you all right?”

“Y-Yeah. I should be asking you that question. At any rate, here are some cards to help your business.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to go through all that trouble, grandson.”

“Wait, you dropped a card, Yug.”

“Then I better- Huh? It’s… Enemy Controller!”

“Ugh. Rich boy had one of those, didn’t he? If you hold onto that card, it’s some bad mojo, if you ask me.”

“…No, I think I’ll add this card to my deck. And I don’t mean my other self’s deck, either. I don’t know why, but this card is going to save my skin one of these days.”

_________

“And this… is that day.” Yugi managed a slight smile when he saw the card he just drew. “I’ll first summon Mystical Elf in attack mode, then I’ll tribute her.”

“For what? You can’t Tribute Summon the same turn you Normal Summon, Yug!”

“Who said, I was trying to Tribute Summon? I tribute Mystical Elf… for this card that you said was going to bring me ‘bad mojo.’ Enemy Controller!”

“Huh… Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Me too, Wheeler.”

“I will use the code left, right, AB! Now your Quintet Magician is mine!”

“But only for one turn. After you destroy my Dark Magician, Quintet Magician will come back to my side of the field again.”

“Oh, I don’t plan to destroy your Dark Magician, pharaoh. Quite the contrary, actually. I use Bakura’s Change of Heart to take control of him too!”

Atem smiled, knowing well that this duel was as good as over.

“Magicians, attack the pharaoh directly!”

“So now that makes three guys who defeated Atem – Rafael, Kaiba, and now Yugi.”

“Tristan, we all know that that one with Kaiba was a crock of bullshit. Surely, even you do.”

“Joey, I think we’ve got something even more pressing on our hands…” Téa pointed to both Atem and Kaiba, who after the duel’s conclusion had both passed out.

“Can’t we get a break from death for a day?” Weevil huffed. “Jeezuz leweezus!”

“Can’t you tell the difference when someone’s dead and when someone’s passed out?” Rex poked Kaiba’s cheek to confirm he was alive.

“When will they wake up, then?” Mokuba fretted.

“Ra only knows,” answered Isis.

_______

Kaiba awakened for the second time that day, and the lack of any ground beneath annoyed him. At least this ethereal realm wasn’t as dreary as the last one. “Great, not another near-death experience. I swear, ancient Egypt is all about giant rocks and near-death experiences.”

“You may be right, but-”

“Gaaah!” Kaiba jumped at the sight of Atem. “Good gods, Atem. Wait, are you dead, too?”

“Neither of you are dead,” replied an even louder female voice from a light just up ahead.

“Who are you?”

Kaiba was certainly surprised to hear Atem speaking to this ball of light as if they were old friends. “My lady Horakhty.”

“‘Horakhty?’ I’ve heard her name before… You’re the Creator of Light, aren’t you?”

Horakhty took on a more concrete form. She had the wings of Obelisk, a helmet of Ra, and the shoulders and chest of Slifer. Her body was all gold, save for pearl-white arms and a long skirt. “That is correct, my child.”

“Then if we aren’t dead, have you come to take us to the afterlife?” Kaiba asked.

“Such would be your fate in any ordinary situation. Atem has used up almost all of his power to sing the Pharaoh’s Incantation during your fight with Zorc. Then there is the duel with the young man named Yugi. However…”

“‘However?’” Though he was a little more used to it by this point, Kaiba still had much to learn about ancient Egypt’s magic and lore.

“The two of you have suffered so much in your past lives. Your love ended tragically before it got a chance to really flourish… Thus, I will grant you my blessing to truly live your life together, if you would so take it.”

“You mean… I don’t have to go back to my own time? I can live with Atem forever?”

“The power… is yours…”

_________

“Ugh… I’m tired of the movie and show references.” Kaiba groaned while still technically asleep. “Captain Planet isn’t an Egyptian god.”

“As an Egyptian, I can totally confirm that.”

It was Atem’s voice that woke Kaiba up in the throne room. Seeing his new friends – as well as the surviving priests, including one he hadn’t seen before – really woke him up. “Who’s this goon with the Millennium Eye? Don’t tell me that Pegasus is a High Priest too?”

“This is… Aknadin, Priest Seto’s father.” Atem spoke with reluctance.

“Wh-What?! And you just let him waltz in here?” Kaiba half-shifted at this news. “Let me at ‘im!”

“Peace, peace,” Atem ordered before turning to Aknadin. “Aknadin, this is the reincarnation of your son, Seto. His name is Kaiba.”

“So, my son lives again.” Aknadin couldn’t look Kaiba in the eye.

“Do you know why I haven’t executed you as readily as I did Anubis?”

“Pray tell.”

“It was because I want to give you a second chance, as the Creator of Light gave me a second chance. I remember well your last words to Seto and I before you joined Anubis… ‘You are a disgrace to the royal family and to the High Priests!’ If you want to redeem yourself, then treat this man with respect. Can you do that?”

“I… I’ll try…”

“You.” Kaiba withdrew his wings and tail as he spoke to Aknadin. “When I was but an inch from death, I saw him. I saw your brother and your son. If it wasn’t for their power, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Zorc. You know what Seto’s last words to me were? ‘If you see my father, tell him I wish things didn’t have to end up like this.’ Even after all you did to him, your son still had it in him to forgive you. Your brother did too. They were hurt that their only immediate family betrayed them.”

“Is that so?” Aknadin’s voice shook.

“Yes. So you better believe you’ve got a lot to make up for.”

“So do you, rich boy!” Joey interrupted, much to Kaiba’s annoyance. “We’ve been gone for gods know how long, and that German dude is probably wondering where the heck you are.”

“Joey, we’ve time travelled,” Tristan spoke up. “I’m sure that that German dude hasn’t noticed a thing.”

“You’ve got something smart to say for once! By the way, his name is Roland.” Mokuba chuckled before turning back to his brother. “You are going to come back with us, right, Big Bro?”

“…” Kaiba took Atem’s hand into his own.

“Seto?” Mokuba’s happy expression fell, as did that of everyone else there.

“I’m going to stay here in ancient Egypt with Atem.” Kaiba could already feel the tears coming on.

“What?” Mokuba didn’t want to believe it. “You can do that?”

“The Creator of Light Horakhty has granted him permission to do that, yes,” answered Atem.

“Plus, if you were listening to an iota of what we were talking about just know, you’d know that.”

“No!” Mokuba broke into a sobbing fit as he hugged Kaiba. “I don’t want you to go, Big Bro! I’m never going to see you again! And what about KaibaCorp?”

Kaiba knelt down and patted Mokuba’s head. “KaibaCorp has a new, highly capable president. And his name is Mokuba Kaiba.”

“Oh…” Mokuba cried even harder at this promotion and hugged his brother even more tightly. “Thank you, Seto! I’ll be sure to take very good care of our company!”

“I know you want to say your goodbyes, but we need to get going soon,” Atem finally spoke up after letting the brothers bond one last time. “Let us go outside. I will sing the Incantation to enable all of you back to your time.”

Not a single tear was dry on the entire walk outside. Even Joey, who swore straight up and down he hated Kaiba’s guts, couldn’t keep a stiff upper lip.

“Oh come on, Joey.” Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Then again, you are a sniveling puppy.”

“What was that?” Joey scowled. “Here I am, actually sad that I will never see one of my favourite rivals again, and you have the nerve to call me that?”

“Come on, man.” Tristan patted his friend’s back. “I’ll be sure to keep him on his toes.”

“How, exactly?” Marik eyed Tristan curiously. “You’ve just started to learn how to duel. I, on the other hand, have placed second in Battle City while Joey only placed third!”

“You mean you placed fourth while Joey placed third,” Téa corrected.

“Whatever.” Marik turned his attention to Atem and shook his hand. “Thank you for providing me with a worthy challenge back then, pharaoh. I’ll be sure my gravekeeper family keeps the memory of you two alive for generations to come.”

“Thank you for believing in our friendship for a change,” Téa spoke to Kaiba. “Even though most people tell me they’re tired of my friendship speeches.”

“And to think, I thought you didn’t believe in that ‘friendship bull.’” Yugi laughed.

“You… You better not surrender your title of the King of Games to anyone else, Yugi? You got that?”

“I promise, Kaiba.” Yugi nodded.

While everyone else gathered in a circle in preparation for the ride home, Rex and Weevil stayed behind, still on their knees.

“Hu and Sia…” Atem remembered Rex’s and Weevil’s past incarnations well, as they had raided the palace many times. “I’m sorry, Rex and Weevil. Not just for calling you by the wrong names, but also for causing you much trouble during the-”

“Sniff… Sniff… Pharaooooh!” Weevil cried pathetically as he fished for some cards in a deck box. “Here’s a token of my apology for being such an asshole at Duelist Kingdom, and during the Orichalcos mess, a-and during the KC Grand Tournament, and-”

Rex bopped Weevil on the back of the head. “If you’re gonna list all the times we’ve been assholes to Kaiba and Atem, then we’ll turn into mummies!”

Atem looked at the cards Weevil offered to him. “The five cards of Exodia…”

“And here’s something from me, too!” Rex presented his Red-Eyes Slash Dragon. “A-And take my beanie, too!”

“What’s all this for?” Kaiba eyes Rex peculiarly.

“Since we can’t be at your wedding, I figured we’d give you these sweet wedding gifts!” replied Rex.

Kaiba squatted down to look at Rex with a sincere expression. As Atem returned the “wedding gifts” back to the short duelists, the dragon spoke, “Thank you for the thought, but we’re good. We may not have known each other for very long, but I enjoyed dueling alongside you. You remind me a lot of myself – a fiery duelist who shows his tender side only to a select few. I’m going to miss you a lot, my friend… Rex Raptor.”

“Aaah!” Rex hugged Kaiba so strongly that he knocked the latter onto his bum. “I’ll miss you, too!”

“And I suppose so will I.” Weevil couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Kaiba brought himself and a still-crying Rex back to their feet. “I’m just sad that I can’t attend your guys’ wedding, Weevil.”

“Wh-What?!”

Weevil blushed, and would have had more to say, if Atem hadn’t urged the both of them to join the circle. “Don’t worry, guys. We’ll still be with each other in spirit. Now, then. Etiumaza o etebus o erono… Irawotok ugumust…”

“Then…” Yugi started as the “Dweeb Patrol” floated in the rising water for the last time. “This is goodbye. Pharaoh…”

Yugi’s last sight of Atem before he had been completely submerged was the pharaoh giving him a thumbs up.

#yugioh #ygo #prideshipping #fanfiction

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bonestructureandcontempt · 7 years ago

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Who wants my thoughts on Hamilton even though nobody cares anymore but I just got done watching a bootleg with some buds so I can actually give opinions on like, performances and staging and shit?

Okay, here goes.

How come the cast recording doesn’t have the bit about John Laurens’ death? I feel like that might have been something good to include because it makes Hamilton’s line when he’s staring down his fateful death about “Laurens leads a soldier’s chorus on the other side” make sense. Also it adds extra context to Non-Stop because it shows that the death of his friend and philosophical partner (or just straight up boyfriend if you ship it) motivates him to push himself as a politician. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Because John Laurens ran out of time when he bit it at the Battle of Combahee River and couldn’t live to fight his biggest enemy which was the institution of slavery. Shit man.

Also. Something I really really really liked in the performance I watched was how when Leslie Odom Jr. sings most of his songs, even the ones where Burr is really pouring his heart out (Wait For it, Dear Theodosia, etc.), he is almost perfectly still throughout. He’s not animated and flying across the stage the way Lin-Manuel does and the thematic duality of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is on display with those mannerisms.

UNTIL the duel. When Burr is losing his shit and Leslie is just fucking SHOUTING his lines like “… Hamilton was wearing his glasses. W H Y ? ! ! IF NOT TO TAKE DEADLY AIM?!!!!!!” like holy shit, Burr is so sure in this moment that Hamilton is ready to shoot him dead and this shit is for real and he needs to kill him first. And seeing Leslie be stiff as a rod only to come undone in those final moments was a huge payoff.

I would be so delighted to actually go see this show the way it’s meant to be seen, I really hope I can someday.

Also Schuyler Sisters is the best song (work, work)

And hey, theatre nerds, if there’s a favorite show you’d like me to watch/listen to so you can get my earnest but profane analysis, lemme know.

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autistic-red-jenny · 8 years ago

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Three Mages Walk Into a War Chapter 8: Riding

Pairing: Lanyla Lavellan x Cullen, Tamsyn Amell x Zevran, Aliss Hawke x Fenris Fic Summary: Inquisitor Lanyla Lavellan is doing an admirable job leading the Inquisition, but she cannot do it alone. Fortunately, she has the help of two new advisers: Aliss Hawke and Tamsyn Amell. Chapter Summary: The Inquisitor and her companions set out for the Western Approach. Rating: SFW Warnings: None Author’s Note: Thanks to my favorite beta, @conteur-reveur!

AO3

It wasn’t that Hawke was afraid of horses, exactly.

She’d faced down a dragon and laughed, fought a Qunari warlord in single combat; it wouldn’t make any sense for her to be afraid of some animal.

If she seemed a bit nervous around them, it was only because she had little experience with them. Ferelden apostate families didn’t generally keep a stable, and when she’d lived in Kirkwall everything important was close enough to walk.

So if she was cautious around the beasts, there was every sensible reason for it.

That’s what she told herself, anyway.

Mounting one, however, was proving difficult. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d actually ridden, and most of those were a half-blind nag that belonged to a neighbor in Lothering. Which didn’t really compare to an enormous, purebred warhorse, no matter how docile the horsemaster assured her it was.

“You’re allowed to ask for help, you know,” said Tamsyn. The Warden rode up beside Hawke, calm and collected even in the chaos of Inquisition forces preparing to leave. Her mabari loped along beside the horse, mouth wide and tongue out in a doggy grin.

The Inquisitor’s party was just the head of a caravan that included foot soldiers, scouts, supply wagons, and extra horses; it was a far cry from grabbing a few friends and a dog to walk the alleyways of Kirkwall.

“Most people in armor need a hand mounting up anyway,” continued Tamsyn. “No one will think anything of it.”

“The Inquisitor doesn’t need any help,” Hawke said. She knew she sounded like a petulant child, and she hated herself a bit for it, but she was the Champion of Kirkwall, damn it, she shouldn’t this intimidated by an animal.

“Lanyla is a tiny elf who weighs six pounds soaking wet, even in that little coat she calls armor,” replied Tamsyn, arching a brow. “Not a six foot tall human in leather and metal plate.” She glanced behind where Hawke was standing. “But if you’re determined not to ask anyone for a boost, there’s a mounting block about three feet behind you.”

“Oh.”

Several minutes--and some undignified clambering--later, Hawke was on the horse and at least pretending she was ready to leave.

Fenris joined her near Skyhold’s gates on his own mount, a massive deer. He’d barely left her side in the few days since their reunion; the hovering would be almost irritating if she wasn’t just as eager to have him near.

“Are you ready to get going?” he asked.

“Oh, just thrilled,” Hawke replied. “Grey Wardens, cultists, the middle of the desert? That combination always works out so well for us.”

Fenris chuckled, a half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Next time,” Hawke continued, “if someone needs us to help them save the world, we only say yes if it’s somewhere nice. An ancient magister’s uncle laying siege to a beach, maybe.”

“Don’t even joke, Hawke,” interjected Varric, riding up behind Fenris on a sturdy little pony. “With your luck, jokes like that are just giving fate ideas.” He turned to Fenris. “Would you look at that, Broody’s still all smiles.”

Fenris growled at the jab, but only half-heartedly. And Aliss had to admit, Fenris had been in a good mood ever since he joined her at Skyhold. So had she, for that matter.

Fenris said something in return, but Aliss only half-listened, her attention caught by something across the courtyard.

Tamsyn was bending over in her saddle, leaning in towards where Zevran stood beside her. The assassin rested a hand on her thigh, saying something that Hawke couldn’t hear. Whatever it was, it made Tamsyn laugh and shake her head at her husband. Her smile softened as Zevran pushed back a loose strand of her hair, then grew wider when he tugged himself up by her saddle for a kiss.

Aliss looked away, feeling like she was intruding.

“Hair still soft, eyes still blue, wrinkles there that weren’t before. She’s leaving again, without me. Can’t protect her this time. Please come back, please come back to me, mi alma.”

“Cole,” said Lanyla, leading another horse up to the gates. “We talked about this. Try to stay out of people’s heads when they’re in a group, please.”

“Oh. Sorry,” said the boy--and Hawke really needed to figure out what was going on with him--though he’d apparently walked away by the time she turned to look. Which he seemed to do a lot, now that she thought about it.

“Is everyone ready?” the Inquisitor asked, pulling up and seating herself lightly in the saddle of her own horse.

“Whenever you are, Boss,” answered Iron Bull, as he and Dorian joined the rest of the party.

“I thought your Warden friend was coming?” Hawke asked. “The beardy one?”

Lanyla shrugged. “It seemed unnecessary, with Tamsyn coming. So he offered to stay behind and help train some of the new recruits. Besides,” she added, grinning up at Bull, “I hear there’s a dragon in the area.”

With the Qunari’s booming laugh echoing through Skyhold’s courtyard, they set off across the stone bridge.

Lanyla wasn’t sure whether to laugh at the expression on Hawke’s face or offer her some kind of poultice to help with whatever was causing her so much pain.

Varric had been teasing her ever since they left Skyhold, only increasing it once they’d took a break at noon and had to mount up again. Now that they were nearing evening, Lanyla was fairly certain that Hawke’s concentration on riding was the only thing keeping her from setting Varric’s chest hair on fire. As it was, she’d barely said a word in response in a few hours, focusing instead on her white-knuckled grip on the reins.

On Hawke’s other side was Fenris, apparently much more comfortable in the saddle, but just as quiet. He smirked every so often at one of Varric’s comments, but managed a straight face whenever Hawke looked his way.

Lanyla realized that they’d barely spoken since he’d come to Skyhold beyond the short introduction Aliss had given. She’d meant to ask him more about his time in Kirkwall and about Hawke, but he had an air about him that seemed to discourage casual conversation. Which only made things more awkward now that they’d be traveling and fighting together for the foreseeable future.

“Fenris?” Lanyla said, spurring her horse forward to draw even with him. The other elf nodded in acknowledgement.

“Inquisitor,” he replied, his tone formal and his posture a bit stiff. Hawke, on his other side, was even stiffer, glaring at her mount’s head like she expected it to turn and attack her. Fenris followed Lanyla’s gaze, and his expression softened marginally when he looked at Hawke.

“Is there something you need?” he said, turning back to Lanyla.

“Oh, um…” she said, feeling a blush rise on her cheeks. “Sorry. It’s just… Varric said you speak Qunlat?”

“Yes?” he answered, raising an eyebrow.

“The Qunari have reached out to us recently,” Lanyla continued, growing a bit more confident, “about allying against Corypheus, so I thought I’d learn some of the language to communicate better. Bull’s been helping me, but no one else I work with speaks it. And I’d really like to practice with another person, too, so I can get another opinion on how I’m doing.”

“If you like, Inquisitor,” he replied, nodding in her direction.

“Just don’t let him arrange any duels with the Arishok,” said Hawke, managing a quip even while holding her entire body as stiffly as possible. “He’s really good at doing that.”

“Be fair, Hawke,” said Varric, “that was at least half Rivaini’s fault too.”

Lanyla could hear Tamsyn chuckle on her right, where the Warden kept pace on her massive black charger. “If it helps, Lanyla,” she said. “I think the current Arishok would be a bit easier to deal with without a duel. He’s hard, but reasonable. Or at least he was when I knew him.”

“You know the Arishok?” Lanyla asked.

“Yes. Though he was a Sten of the Beresaad when we met.”

“Ha! Dorian, you owe me ten sovereigns,” Bull said, interrupting from where he and Dorian rode behind them. The mage shook his head and started rummaging in one of the pouches on his belt. “He didn’t believe me when I said you were that Warden,” Bull explained.

Tamsyn laughed again. “Yes, I am that Warden. I suppose it’s no use trying to keep it a secret when we’re going to be working together these next few weeks. Especially not from you, Hissrad.”

Lanyla glanced back to Bull, not sure what his reaction would be. But the Qunari only shook his head, leaning back a bit in his saddle for one of his deep barking laughs. “Should’ve known you’d figure it out, after all that time in Par Vollen. And your Crow seems sharp, too.”

Frowning, Lanyla opened her mouth to ask when Tamsyn had been in Par Vollen, and how Bull knew Zevran was a Crow, when she was interrupted by Barkspawn huffing as one of the Inquisition scouts came trotting up to their party.

“Inquisitor!” he called, reining in his horse. “We’ve marked a spot for a camp, just about a mile ahead. “The forward unit has already started setting up, your tents should be ready by the time you get there.”

“Thank you,” Lanyla replied.

“Fucking finally,” she heard Hawke mutter.

“What’s your name?” Lanyla asked the scout, ignoring Hawke’s grousing.

He straightened a bit in his saddle and squared his shoulders. He couldn’t be more than nineteen, with barely enough goatee to cover his chin. “Bevis, Your Worship.”

“Thank you, Bevis,” Lanyla said. “Good work.”

The lad beamed, saluting with an arm across his chest. He dipped his head quickly and then rode off, presumably to report to one of the leaders further back in the caravan.

“Hear that, Hawke?” Varric asked. “We’ll be able to camp soon.”

“My hearing is fine, Varric, thank you.”

“Just in time to rest up for another three weeks of riding!”

Lanyla had to admire the creativity of Hawke’s profanity. Not to mention the quantity.

Tamsyn took a long drink to finish off her cider, listening to Hawke and Varric bicker on the other side of the fire. She had to laugh a bit, listening to them. She knew they’d been friends for almost as long as she’d known Zevran, and they clearly cared for each other, but once they got going they squabbled like children.

Fenris didn’t talk nearly as much, but he stayed at Hawke’s side, listening to her talk and rarely taking his eyes from her face.

Not that Tamsyn blamed him. She fingered the gold hoop in her right ear and looked down at her hand. The band on her ring finger glinted in the firelight. Maker, she missed Zevran already. And it’d likely be another two months, at least, before she saw him again.

They’d been separated before, had been apart longer, but it never got easier.

Barkspawn whined a bit and laid his head in her lap, looking up at her in that too-smart way he had. She smiled softly and scratched behind his ear until he huffed and closed his eyes.

“So, Warden,” asked Varric. “The Hero of Ferelden must have some stories.”

Tamsyn laughed and set down her drink. “Most of it wasn’t nearly as exciting as everyone seems to think. A lot of walking, a lot of camping, a lot of bad stew. You should know better than anyone how stories get blown out of proportion.”

“Bullshit,” said Hawke. “Even if only a tenth of the stories are true, you still have plenty to tell.”

“She has a point,” Dorian added, speaking up for the first time since they'd started eating. The mage had been uncharacteristically quiet since they'd left Skyhold. If Tamsyn had to guess, it was probably because of the looks Aliss shot him every so often and the long stares Fenris gave him.

“We heard things about you even in Tevinter,” he continued. “And most of my countrymen would rather die than compliment a Ferelden.”

“The Dalish too!” Lanyla interjected. “For months, it seemed like every bit of news we got was about refugees, the Blight, or you. Even out in the Marches.”

Tamsyn held up her hands. “Alright, alright!” she said, laughing. “I surrender.” She leaned back and supported herself with a hand. “Let’s see… Have any of you ever been to the Brecilian Forest?”

The evening went on like that, Tamsyn and the others swapping stories and feeding the dying fire.

After a few hours, Hawke yawned and stood, stretching her arms over her head. “Well, as fun as this has been,” she said, “I need to try and sleep if I’m going to be spending another month riding that creature.” Fenris stood to join her, taking her hand as they walked towards the tent set up for them. “Goodnight!” she called over one shoulder, laughing as Fenris tugged her through the opening in the canvas.

“Who wants to take first watch?” asked Lanyla.

“I’ll do it,” Tamsyn answered. “I’ll be up a while longer anyway.”

“I’ll join you, Warden,” said Varric. “Bianca’s still a bit antsy. She can never sleep the first night on the road.”

Lanyla laughed as the others started getting up. “Wake me in a few hours, I’ll take a turn. You’re sharing a tent with me.”

Barkspawn stood and trotted after Lanyla, then looked back at Tamsyn with a cocked head.

“Go on,” she said. “I’ll come soon.” The mabari stayed where he was, still watching her. Tamsyn raised an eyebrow. “Go. Guard the Inquisitor. I’m fine here.”

Barkspawn turned away, apparently satisfied with his new orders, though he looked back at her twice more before entering the tent. Some days Tamsyn wondered why he didn’t start speaking Common just so he could argue with her outright.

As everyone made their way to their tents and settled in, Tamsyn and Varric moved to a spot out of the fire’s direct light. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and Tamsyn took a deep breath as she looked up at the stars. Eleven years out of the Circle, and it still felt like something special to look up and see sky instead of stone.

“Thirsty?” Varric asked, passing her a flask that he pulled from some hidden pocket.

“Thanks.”

Tamsyn took a swig, handed it back, and they sat in silence for a while, just watching the night. A short ways down a hill she could see the fires of the main Inquisition camp, figures moving in front of the light and between the tents.

“So, Master Tethras,” she said, after a long while without speaking. “I read your book.”

Varric chuckled. “Really?” he replied. “Well, I’m flattered.”

“Mmhmm,” said Tamsyn, reaching for the flask and taking another drink. “And I had a question for you.” She handed it back and turned to stare down the dwarf. “You know that Anders served with me at Vigil’s Keep.”

“Blondie might’ve mentioned it, yeah.”

“And while we worked together, I told Anders a few stories. Places I’ve been, battles I fought, that kind of thing.” She leaned forward and rested her chin in one hand. “And, you know, I couldn’t help but notice a few similarities between one of those stories and a certain scene in your book.”

“Oh?” said Varric, suddenly very interested in polishing the stock of his crossbow.

“Yeah, you tend not to forget fighting a nightmarish monster formed of corpses and blood magic.”

“Hmm?” murmured Varric, brushing an invisible speck of dust off of his sleeve.

“And when Zevran and I were in the Free Marches, we ran into this group of mages. Said they were from Kirkwall.”

“No kidding.”

“And, you know, the mage leading them… he looked an awful lot like how you described Orsino.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. He told us this great story, about how this apostate and her friends helped them escape the city. About how a brilliant author promised to cover for them once they were gone.”

“Sounds like a nice guy.”

“Yeah.”

They both fell silent, watching the quiet hills around them.

“Weird coincidence, isn’t it?” said Tamsyn.

“Yeah. Weird.”

#cullen x inquisitor #zevran x warden #hawke x fenris #dragon age inquisition #dragon age fic #mine #i'm writing #3MWIAW #lanyla fic #aliss fic #tamsyn fic

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survivormarmoreal · 6 years ago

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Episode #4: "I made James quit accidentally because I rigged a random.org" - Brian

So.... BC quit. Don't know why (and I am not gonna enquire, I just know he is hella busy). But ya I don't know what this means going forward but im gonna roll with it. If i'm not flexible, then that is not a good winner. so ya looking forward toi see whatever happens, and if Madigan go to tribal again, all i know is that i will still be safe cause james and I will just get Keaton involved

I’m SHOCKED BC quit because I thought I was going home lmao so now I have no idea what the hell is gonna happen I’m praying we swap tbh so I can meet up with Brian or Bryce who I know sbsbsbs.

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Okay I'm super sad BC quit. They seemed like such a sweetheart. And I always hate to see anybody quit. I'm usually kind of annoyed about quitters but I hope BC is all good and it was just because they were busy... :(

This game has been really good to our tribe. We havent gone to tribal. I have a majority alliance of 4. Everyone is active and does 100% on the challenges. Its been good. Havent had much luck in idol hunt tho so probably someone already found it. Still nervous for the challenge. I want to keep winning but the bad thing in the eyes for the other tribe.

The game is always changing... and someone quitting just shows how quickly everything can change in the game. Plans set forward destroyed... alliances ruined just due to what the game might throw at you at any given time. It’s always scary but you know what... sometimes you gotta look at something bad and say hey let’s test my gameplay a little bit... that is what I’m good at and that is what I plan to do!

So we have swapped. and im not with james. This is hateful huh. first bc quitting today and now this. fuck this. and im with marie and keaton as well. ffs. oh well. time to get socialising and do this shit!

I KNEW A SWAP WAS COMING!!! I felt it deep in my bones. Do sharks have bones? I actually don't think they do. Oh well. I KNEW IT WAS HAPPENING. Obviously I'm super nervous now because I was in a great spot before. But luckily I still have my #1 Brian. And Charlie who is a part of my Four of a Kind alliance and he has an idol. Plus Anna and I hopefully can work together like we have in other games. I just hope she trusts me. Ugh and I freaking hope we win this challenge. Because OG Dinah members definitely have a target as the last intact tribe. SO much is going on in my little gay brain.

Okay my brain is going a mile a minute with this swap. I'm reconnecting with Anna. She seems excited to see me and she told me she isn't super close with Jayden or Nick so that's amazing. I told Brian about Charlie's idol. So this is good. We're surviving.

omg so we swapped and im so sad nathan isnt here but thats about it. happy to be away from jayden since he IGNORES me. when i read these after the game im gonna seem so obsessed huh KJDFSHFAKSJD. but anyway. dennis is here and hes one of my fave ppl ever! hes just so nice. we shared idol guesses and i really wanna go to the end with him. matt is pretty cool and we both stan the good place and naomi smalls so i feel like we'll be good allies. marie is a queen and super nice but maybe not super active but we both love ari so yay. naptime maynor isnt really liking my humor JKASDHF but thats ok. and kirby guy is alright too!! nicole seems nice enough if not a little standoffish but hoping for the best :s love this tribe overrall tho and really hoping to avoid tribal

I got ZType for the duels! Blessed. I can do well in this game and I can't be the reason our tribe loses in the RARE chance we do. So i'm feeling okay.

Too annoyed to write too much right now. But yet another org, and yet another swap fuck! Honestly, this is ridiculous. We have three members on either 7 person tribe, and even if we do manage to succeed in surviving another non-dinah is going to replace the voted out member... you can't make this shit up.

I knew the swap was coming. But im with Dennis which is good. He has some connections with Bryce and Nicole so hopefully they work with us. Keaton is also here like oh Boi. 👀 going to see if he wants to work with me this time. Having him around could help me in this game.

James quits by leaving the server and ignoring everyone.

https://gph.is/1neigCU my mood at my initial alliance members both qutiing time to die?

Ok so Klick quit which is kinda upsetting cuz I was grinding tf outta that challenge and I lowkey played a game with him about a year and a half ago and kinda wanted to reconnect. BUT Nathan is now on the tribe which is like the nest possible scenario. Also we have Anna so hopefully we have an easy majority. Also I assume Dennis has began running the game over on the other tribe because he is great and will probably end up voting me out at f9 or something. But YAY F14 IM NOT OUT YET ANSNSKDKLZLXKC

MY IMPACT? I made James quit accidentally because I rigged a random.org to save Charlie from doing Multitask and then James had a fit because he got it and was sleeping so he couldn't pick... I... can't believe how I'm WINNING this game? Anna, I hope you get my winner's crown READY because I'm doing the damn thing! I am sorry I made him quit because I didn't think he would kjHDAJK... but wow...

Although I am in the minority right now based on tribal lines, Nathan is someone I've wanted to work with for like eons, and I feel so much more comfortable with him on my tribe than James and letting Annabelle hold my fate in her hands. I think I have an upward battle, but I know Charlie has the idol and will warn Sharky in the case I need Charlie to use it on himself. The two from my OG tribe I got stuck with is by far the only two from Dinah that I would go out of my way to protect in this game and knowing Charlie has the idol... ugh... I don't even have to DO anything and tea gets served to me. Love Sharky.. love Charlie.. love Nathan... can't wait to thrive in this game now!

So the swap, i thought would have been really bad for us original dinah people but so far it looks like we might pull through. Nicole told by Dennis to me that she is willing to work with us but im a little sketch because she hasnt really responds to me exept like one message and then it stops. Im trying to get info from keaton and see if he wants to work with me. I have to keep an eye on him cuz he’s messy af. 👀 I think we could be a strong tribe so hopefully we win the next immunity. I rather have my no going to tribal streak going. I need to start talking to our new tribe members as well.

well james left so we got nathan i'm not upset about it i love nathan he's my person this game i think and we swapped with sharky on the tribe and i just played with sharky and we're in majority so things are really looking up here for me tbvh i feel like sharky might want to get rid of one of my OG tribe people but we'll see how it goes.

This game is weird man. I was so ready to play 2048, but Kirby Boi #2 was a quitter, so now I'm not playing 2048, both people I trusted QUIT, and Dennis is on my tribe. I am going to lose really soon. But hopefully I can find an in on my tribe and survive.

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i just want an advantage. but oh so now 4/5 of my tribe is together and im just here.. love that! not sarcastic!! miss nathan tho! so far clicking with dennis still and naptime. hes a true carly rae jepsen fan i asked his fave and he said sour candy which is like (bad) but not well known so he must actually like her!! nicole left me on read.. love that! sarcastic!! and yaa wooh loving the new tribe that guy who quit bc of multitask kind of a flop but go off now im closer to merge!

This morning finding out that James was removed was suprising. It sucks cuz i was enjoying doing the ztype. I got to 7,100 which i think its good but idk if it actually was. But im ready for this challenge and hopefully we could win in it. Definately dont want to go to tribal.

Okay Nathan is AMAZING. I love him. And I'm totally going to work with him for sure. i'm so glad he didn't flop. And Honestly I'm glad James quit so that I could work with Nathan. This lip sync challenge is going to be silly. I offered to do the editing which honestly is a big undertaking but I like to be in control and It's definitely going to paint a target on my back but if we win it'll be so great.

OMG SO FUN CHALLENGE THAT I HATE WOOH. i love this but i hate it. idk. i REALLY dont want to do a queen song so i pretended to not know who they are NNN but all that caused was my tribemates shading me... and its like... matt says beyonce is just "ok" and i need to listen to real music.??? just say u hate women and go. JK. maybe. but ANYWAYS. love dennis still and naptime is so funny love his pins! nicole left me on read some more so i sent her demi lovatos GET BACK music video and she finally responded with two 5 word msgs and ghosted again so um really loving that! kirby guy also doesnt reply a lot but thats ok totally loving only talking to 4 ppl!

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edit: quitters are shitters

Our song is Dont stop me now by queen which is awesome. I just need to find the time to work on it later today or tomorrow morning but have an idea what imma do so thats good. Still talking to keaton but no game talk it. Hopefully soon because im still feeling sketch on this tribe. I dont wanna get voted out pre-merge. *knocks on wood* ✊🌳

Making the video was really fun. Had more fun and felt more comfortable after making the ones before were i wasnt as comfortable. This is one of my fav comps now. Cant wait to see how it turns out.

UM?? I'm CACKLING?? So Sharky showed me the clips he got from Nick and Jayden, and I'm just so confused how straight men get any sort of action when they're as stiff as them? I mean I guess they're not ugly so that probably helps, but neither of them are good at using a camera... So I'm just SO ...

I have nothing else to talk about other than how fucking STIFF the straight men are in their lip sync videos, so whew... love visibility…

worst comp for me ever like i was fine doing 2048 i could have probably helped with that but like a music video? YIKES that's not my thing at all i didn't know what to do or what to help especially since i'm so not gonna get on camera >.< i hate being useless if we lose like ugh lmfao

Okay so this challenge was...a disaster. I asked everyone to just do the song and then I'd make it look good with editing. That didn't work out. And I had more trouble editing than i thought. I feel like I dropped the ball and I'm not sued to being someone holding my tribe back. I tried to hide our bad lipsyncers. Charlie got sick. And something happened in the rush of uploading it that gave me a weird crop and a couple of cuts that I screwed up but I ran out of time. I'm feeling really disappointed in myself.

Okay we lost. This sucks. two of the judges called out the edit/effort specifically so that doesn't feel great. But I'm going to look at this as a positive. Maynor and Dennis stay safe on the other tribe. And Now I can use this to make some real connections and alliances on this tribe. Like Chad Michaels I will rise from the ashes and be the gayest winningest phoenix you have ever seen.

Ok so me Nathan and Nick should really stick with Annabelle. Easy majority makes easy game which makes happy Jayden

So we lost the challenge, but I don't feel too... bad about that. I mean if I go home, clearly I fucked the fuck up and felt too confident... but I think that I feel... good?

Firstly, thank you to the judges for recognizing my SNAP in the lip sync. I wasn't sure they were going to do my rap in the challenge, so I'm glad it was in there hehe... Now... going to tribal is a part of the game and the strategy has been lacking up till now, so I'm excited to jump in and finally explore that part of the game. It'll be a nice start to my resume, following accidentally make James quit LMFAO.

Right now, I think I'm in a solid spot. Nick said he wouldn't vote for me and I mean.. we haven't talked much, but I expect him to not lie for no reason... and I'm going to make sure to increase our conversation and expand on what HE wants to happen to just have that tea under my belt. I think Jayden is who I would like gone, and I think I'd be able to gather the votes to get that to happen. It's not like I have anything against him personally, but I just feel it's hardest to talk to him because him and I are not alike from what I've gathered. I'm the uber gay and for the uber gay and the Travis Scott fanboy to get along? Would be shocking.

I like Annabelle and Nathan a lot and I don't think they'd throw votes for me. I have my little final 2 deal going on with Nathan, but highkey I don't think I'd keep him as my #1 over Marie, if I get to the point where I meet with her, so I have no problem cutting him or Annabelle in the future. I do think it'd be better to work WITH them, especially for now, and I think they feel similar sentiments, but I don't know for sure!

But now we come to the real people I would like to protect going into this vote, Charlie and Sharky. I love my OG Dinah babies so much, and I will make sure their names aren't the targets of this vote. I think Sharky has set himself up well, and since he told me Charlie has the idol, I think we should especially be OK. I also think Annabelle and Nathan seemingly want to work with us, so .... whew...

ALSO, this is a mid-confessional update, but 2 alliances were formed. We have the "Tea Party" alliance with Sharky, me, and Nathan (the gays) and then the "Dinah Dudes" alliance with Charlie, Sharky, and me (OG Dinah's) and then I think another sub-alliance with the "Tea Party" and Annabelle is coming to fruition, so kjHDKAS... ya... I think I'm SET. I can't wait to wreck shit!

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So we swapped tribes and here I am with 3 from my original tribe, 3 from the other tribe and Bryce from the third tribe. Bryce and I know each other, and by that I mean I just blindsided him another org... oops! Hopefully he doesn’t come after me but who knows because I literally did not participate in this challenge at all! We still won though so hopefully I’ll get to redeem myself in the next one

My arms are SORE from pulling all my best Freddie Mercury moves out for this lip sync, I am SO tired. But I honestly am so glad i gave my 100% effort because I truly needed to pull through for this tribe and show them I’m not just a sitting duck. (Is that the term? Idk.)

Either way I’m glad we all got to bond through this and here’s to being safe ANOTHER round (I’ve never gone to tribal so wooooo!)

i want an IDOL or sth. but um dennis is so fun love that man. always asks daily to work with me. like idk how many times i have to tell him that he is literally the only person on this tribe to pm me first without me having to (NOT EXAGGERATION). marie and matt? no reply from marie in like 30 hours and matt hasnt been talking to me since i said idk queen. kirby guy? replies with 1 word answers and taste in music offends me NNN. nicole? who. all she does is ignore me and like somtimes she replies and ill reply in the SAME LIKE 10 SECONDS, and she'll just leave me on read JKADSFHAKSJ. comes back like 9 hours later with no reasoning on why she stopped talking and with just a "hi", and thats if im lucky! idk i hope we swap soon or merge. like the whole preswap i was praying for a swap to find some good allies bc all i had was nathan really, and now i just have dennis. maybe by merge ill have a whole 3 allies??? oh wait theres um maynor hes cool i always have to pm him first but hes at least responsive and can hold a conversation! black bear diner goes off and i WILL be eating there the next time in houston

We lost, which was hardly surprising when I saw the other tribe's video lol. So now it's not looking good for us dinahs... but luckily I have the idol up my sleeve hehe. Gonna tell Brian and Sharky so that we can use it to save us…

I was so happy that we won immunity. Stil feeling a little sketch on this tribe. Injust hope that the vote isnt charlie, brian, or sharky. And especially sharky cuz he’s my duo. Now dennis, nicole, and i are the only 3 to not go to tribal yet. Its pretty awesome amd kinda scary.

https://youtu.be/BfzG9xjtCRw

Down with the straights! I still think Jayden is going, but if Charlie ends up going I'm JUMPING because that means I've been lied to by people that want to claim to be my final 2... I do trust in Jayden going but we shall SEE!

So the tribe lost and I’m a bit nervous because I’ve only heard one name... I would have loved to saved my idol until I needed it but I think it’s very likely my name could be the second one going around... we shall see what happens though.

Ugh okay so I was hoping for a simple easy vote. But as usual there is just a little bit of drama. Nick told Anna/Nathan that he has a legacy advantage to be used at F13/F6 which is trash because that means if we lose next time he'll use that and be safe. But if we vote him out he'll gift it to Jayden and we have the same problem. Plus Charlie is wigging out because he has a bad feeling about the vote, which is totally fair because he isn't talking very much. And Nick told Anna her name got thrown out which is just untrue. This is just kind of messy and not in a cute way.

Jayden is voted out 5-2.

#episode #allmadhere

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