#especially Bolero of Fire

[kozidraws]

I was planning to draw today but instead I learned Legend of Zelda songs on my Kalimba.

[kirvirul]

spanish music hcs for the gang because i'm latino and mentally ill:

darry curtis: bro TEARS up corridos. the first time steve showed him los tigres del norte he was nodding slightly, but i'll tell you he ATE UP the whole damn album the moment he left. same with vicente fernández, the moment he hears the grito in volver, volver he's a divorced dad with multiple kids that don't speak with him because they forgot spanish in america (not too far off to reality) his favorite song is hands down pedro y pablo, not that he'd admit it because the lyrics reminds him of himself and ponyboy and he cries every time

two-bit mathews: anything he can shake ass too. jk. but he really like reggaeton, especially daddy yankee. 9/10 times rompe is playing on full volume in his headphones. he's also chill with mexican party music. just. party music in general and he's eating that shit up. el sondito gave him a seizure in the best way possible fr. but rompe just hits different to his brain yknow

dallas winston: the first time he listened to gasolina he had an aneurysm. the second time and he was begging steve to tell him what the hell that genre was because it was fire. probably would tear up bad bunny, ozuna (😶), and a bunch of other reggaeton artists. tití me preguntó would have a special place in his heart, and every time he plays diles steve dies a little inside since it's basically dirty talk the song. but he doesn't have to know that. (and he'd probably play it anyways)

steve randle: ah the half mexican himself. he little bit of everything. to his friends, he's all dance music and bachata and reggaeton, but deep down he cannot get enough of señora music. ana gabriel, rocío dúrcal, yolanda del rio, he eats it up every time. and his love of boleros is genuinely concerning. he's like a 70 year old man with that taste. but he can't help but listen to eydie gormé's gorgeous voice, he just can't.

johnny cade: sad mexican mom/dad music. no se va, tu falta de querer, desvelado, he eats up the sad lyrics and sobbing out lyrics. it just feels powerful to his ears. he always smiling when listening to it too, and steve just watches in horror as he listens to amor eterno while giggling and shit. steve's always in his señora era when he's around him (not that he minds)

sodapop curtis: salsa and bachata (and reggae ofc) bro adolescentes orquestra does things to his brain dude. he is a proud romeo santos stan, he'd kiss that man on the mouth if given the chance. he just loves swaying to latin music, and he unironically loves the yoshi ai cover of la noche más linda. he forces steve to dance with him and steve (not so reluctantly) complies.

ponyboy curtis: indie spanish music. victor internet, cuco, juanpalitoschinos, juan pablo vega, he LOVES it. if he could have the lyrics of el rincón (chachachá) tattooed in his brain he would do it in a heart beat. he listens to shit like "el amor de tu vida tiene derecho encontrar el amor de su vida" and sodapop is already sleeping by the time he's finished the title. basically his music taste from english transfers to spanish.

[tutuandscoot]

Day 25: If you could go back in time to a competition where they didn’t win and be able to this time award them gold, which comp would it be?

The obvious answer may seem to be the 2014 Olympics.. which of course I and many others (from basic-knowledge fans like me to those who actually choreographed the damn steps) believe they should’ve.

But I’m actually gonna say something different..

I’m choosing GPF 2013.

When I first thought to do this answer for this prompt I had this whole long, detailed explanation why in my my head which now I can’t remember.. so I’ll just put down some dot points.

I felt they deserved a more substantial win with those programs- they were lovely dances and they performed them exquisitely- especially at GPF.

Their reactions after each skate. You could tell immediately after they were so happy and proud of themselves. Those post skate reactions are very telling about how they felt about a skate, and how they feel is the most important thing to them.

I don’t think them winning would’ve changed the fate of the Olympics- ie whatever happened there would’ve still happened, but they maybe wouldn’t have gone into the olys feeling so defeated (an underlying feeling of defeat) if they had had a win against DW before hand. Still wouldn’t have changed their relationship with Marina I don’t think

The scores were so close. I think barely a point between them.

I could go on further but I don’t want to ramble on repeating the same point for the sake of it.

I’ll just quickly add a couple of other comps I would very much like to change the result of but not over GPF 2013:

GPF 2017:

The main reason why and has been said by others (including TS) that I agree with in that it happened at exactly the right moment for them to get so fired up to get as close to perfection as possible by Feb 19 2018. For the team that beat them, they were then riding high on confidence and they felt they had the oly win locked up. They hadn’t beat TS in the 3 previous meetings- not even close, so they now felt ok, we’ve figure out how to compete against TS (and imo there was some sneaky business going on with feds and judging etc.. as with other disciplines on many other occasions). But as someone else said around that time: no one would remember GPF.. both casual viewers and hard core fans- in an oly year the GPF is an oly lead up event and the olys is the competition everyone remembers. I love TS performances from GPF even though there were little errors, but the 2nd place wasn’t important there- important to win that one event. It was another step in their plan that they had prepared for and came out of that event stronger and more hungry that ever. They also had the experience of two times before not win the GPF in the Olympic year.

Worlds 2013:

For some reason this is an event I often forget about.. I think there could be a general lack of appreciation and discussion around the events they didn’t win- I’m certainly guilty of it, even though there is always so much to appreciate- especially when almost every time we are talking about them “not winning” they were the very next place- no lower than 2nd in international competition not more than and handful of times- (5 that I can count) that’s an incredibly high standard to hold for so long. But anyway- of course I would’ve wanted them to win this competition - a world champ in not only their home country, but home city! How many times is that gonna happen? And it’s not as though it’s a big city like where most other worlds are held- a large regional city many outside Canada maybe hadn’t heard of. The potential to defend their title, performing (the FD) the most ambitious and groundbreaking piece of art (in ID) since bolero. OF COURSE I wanted that title for them. Same with my initial choice for this prompt- Carmen deserved a more famous victory.. but for some reason- and to be fair I haven’t watched the majority of the other competitors in this particular competition - so I can’t fairly say exactly that they ‘deserved’ to win over anyone else- they are just point blankly so far ahead of what anyone in their era as well as immediallty before and long after had and will accomplish in their sport… I just don’t see Carmen and what they attempted to do with it: the art, the story, the provocative nature of it that made so many people uncomfortable to the point is was forcibly toned down, still the version they ended up with was spine chilling, the athleticism, performance.. all of it.. it’s one of those things that’s beyond being awarded anything, any medal.. I think through that process they gained so much personal satisfaction that by the time worlds came around they were just focused on skating their best- getting the best result possible, but giving themselves and their home town an performance to remember… it was beyond competition. Maybe if it was any of their other FDs I would say yes absolutely competitively they deserved gold and I would give it to them.. but with the dances they did that season it’s hard for me to think of it like that.. and especially in hindsight I can appreciate it in that respect-as art for themselves and the audience, not the judges.

[theloniousbach]

THREE TRIOS AT MEZZROW’S LIVE* AND ARCHIVED, 23-26 AUGUST 2023

DAVID HAZELTINE with David Happy Williams and Billy Drummond, 11 AUGUST 2023, 9 pm

*AARON GOLDBERG with Philip Dizack and Matt Penman, 25 AUGUST 2023, 9 pm

GREG MURPHY with Obasi Akoto and Steve Johns, 10 AUGUST 2023, midnight set

I will claim that I am back in the streaming/writing souvenirs habit with these shows and this comment. There were ample reasons to select these shows but they were not old familiars—Miki Yamanaka, George Cables, Alan Broadbent, and Ari Hoenig. So, I got to stretch my ears.

I’m pretty sure DAVID HAZELTINE was the pianist for a David Happy Williams gig that honored Cedar Walton. That pianist nicely captured Walton’s left hand figures which Hazeltine just didn’t quite have. He soloed well but the bass chords/arpeggios that mark Walton and that he had when he stated the themes faded. Williams danced, literally and with his instrument and Billy Drummond had his deft cymbal work going on, but Hazeltine didn’t quite assert himself sufficiently. It was a fine set and these are all pros, but, despite a fine set including a Horace Silver blues and a fetching Lover Man, it didn’t quite grab me.

It was only as I awaited the stream that I realized that Philip Dizack plays trumpet and not drums. So AARON GOLDBERG’s was a different trio. Dizack isn’t Jeremy Pelt who is a master of this ensemble, but, like Pelt and Giveton Gelin who used to duet with Sean Mason, he was an appealing restrained tone well suited to exploring a nifty selection of tunes. Miles Davis’ Dr Jekyll had quick, intricate unison lines and a little fire. Wayne Shorter’s The Big Push and especially Joe Henderson’s Recorda Me were rich, deliberate, and still exploratory. They also did a Cuban song by Martin Rojas that had the flavor of Miguel Zenon’s bolero and Latin American songs duo projects with Luis Perdomo which are distinctively Latin and certainly rhythmic but without percussion. Well, except for Matt Penman’s lush bass that was, on the Rojas, a big guitar. He was an important touch point all night long.

Obasi Akoto was an even bigger presence with GREG MURPHY. I’d seen him on his on gig and figured, though I didn’t know Murphy, this would be a rhythmic, swinging gig. It was, though, teetering on and sometimes going over the edge of being too much. He cooked though and he, Williams, and Penman were crucial to all three sets. Steve Johns was solid but not spectacular and it is probably true that that’s what Murphy was too. But he was bigger than Hazeltine and could hold his own. I recognized Sam Rivers’ Beatrice which was its beautiful self. I’m betting the following tune was probably Nardis, maybe Solar, but part of that Miles/Bill Evans lineage. It was, like the Goldberg/Dizack Dr Jekyll, energetic. Nice set, all around solid and Akoto is a force.

It has helped to have this habit Re established as I adjust, this past week, to the old rhthym of the school year as I then establish a new rhythm on its/my own terms and not that of the 40 hours a week office. That probably means more music.

[jaumesclub]

Arriba a Youtube, canal JauTV, la versió especial d'un dels millors programes de la saga "Toca-me-la en català"!!! Prepara't per riure, ballar i cantar! En aquesta entrega, Jau Fibla ens sorprèn amb noves versions en català de les cançons més famoses del món. No et perdis les divertides adaptacions d'èxits com "Walking on Sunshine" de Katrina & The Waves o "Heroes" de Bowie! tamb�� clàssics en català de la Trinca i ens catalanitza cançons de Miguel Bosé, Jeanette, Hombres G o Camilo Sesto. Vine i gaudeix amb la música i l'humor en català de Jau Fibla en el nou "Toca-me-la en català" 172! ÍNDEX DEL VÍDEO: 🦝 = Adaptacions d'en Jau. 🌞 = Traduccions fetes per altres persones. 🥖 = Covers de clàssics catalans. 😈 = Paròdies amb lletres inventades per en Jau. 00:00:00 Presentació 00:03:25🦝Becky G; Shower 00:08:13 😈La cançó dels supermercats (Sobre Billie the vision & the dancers: Summercat) 00:11:20 😈La de monstres gegants (Guantanamera) 00:15:35 🦝Katrina & The Waves: Walking on sunshine 00:19:25 🦝La mosca Tsé-Tse: Para no verte más 00:23:00 🦝Lou Reed: Perfect Day 00:27:27 🦝David Bowie: Heroes 00:31:45 🌞Abba: Mamma mia 00:35:55 🦝Depeche Mode: Enjoy the silence 00:39:49 🦝Patti Page: How much is that doggie in the window? 00:43:10 🦝Roy Orbison: Blue Bayou 00:46:20 🦝Elton John: Your song 00:50:50 🦝Billy Joel: Piano man 00:57:15 Comparativa de la lletra de Piano Man amb la versió d'Ana Belén. 01:02:00 🦝Los desgraciaus: Los coches chocones 01:06:53 🦝Camilo Sesto: Vivir así es morir de amor 01:10:30 🦝Los Panchos: Se te olvida 01:15:00 🦝Hombres G: Indiana 01:18:18 🌞Alan Parsons: The eye in the sky 01:23:05 🦝Luis Miguel: Si nos dejan 01:26:20 🦝Alex Casademunt & Bustamante: Dos hombres y un destino 01:30:12 🦝Gloria Gaynor: I will survive 01:33:59 🦝Miguel Bosé: Amante bandido 01:38:40 🦝Frank Sinatra: I've got you under my skin 01:43:15 🦝Louis Armstrong: What a wonderful world 01:45:43 🦝Los Manolos: Amigos para siempre 01:48:30 🦝Jeanette: Porque te vas 01:52:40 🦝Johnny Cash: Ring of fire 01:56:50 🦝The proclaimers: 500 milles 02:01:00 🥖La Trinca: Bolero Vídeos a: Youtube.com/JauTV Directes a: twitch.tv/jaufibla I molt més a: jaumesclub.com (en Barcelona, Spain) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpQIJ6NtTfG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[graywyvern]

( me / via )

Fugitive. (via @hauntedlibr)

    a circle of stones in the shape of a heart - on     the river bottom

they say it'll take up to four years - to put out the fires

Adrian Quesada's Boleros Psicodélicos in KUTX Studio 1A.

"Apprehension was important in messengers especially; it was a key that fit many a door; it was often the only thing common to two worlds." --Not to Mention Camels

Great "Carmilla" illustrations. (via @DirkPuehl)

[celestialmazer]

"Losing Taylor was a jolt to the cosmos." - Stewart Copeland

Everyone did so well in creating an epic, emotional tribute to an incredible musician & man who affected the lives of so many - and whose legacy will live on in countless ways.

6 hrs long, 50 songs, laughs and tears as we streamed the show (beside the tv a now empty Coors Light can performing as a short of Relic, a can that got thrown into the crowd & that we caught at the end of the last show we saw them at 🍻)

Highlights almost feels a weird way to phrase it but was happy to go along for the ride and especially enjoy the unexpected of: Kesha the babe ⭐, Chevy Metal owning the joint, Justin Hawkins' costumes & vibe, glad I've now heard of Josh Freese!, Wolfgang Van Halen shredding even though he doesn't mainly consider himself a guitarist lol, Violet Grohl's incredible singing (performing Jeff Buckley no less), swaggering out some AC/DC (and realising Brian Johnson and Justin Hawkins remind me of Frank Reynolds from IASIP and Klaus from Umbrella Academy 😂, also "if Brian tells you to do something, you fucking do it!" twitter.com/JustinHawkins/status/1566790445220372482?s=20&t=Ls4AkB34klZNMuVkhEbNYA ), Stewart Copeland being a big ham but showing up all presentable and hitting it like this was 40 years ago, Nandi being an absolute legend, Queen handling their second epic tribute at Wembley 30 years after Freddie, and of course Shane Hawkins embodying the most tangible spirit of Taylor in what must have been a very difficult and badass performance.

😭🤘🥁 🦅

www.taylorhawkinstributeconcert.com

Setlist:

Liam Gallagher with Foo Fighters – Rock ‘N’ Roll Star

Liam Gallagher with Foo Fighters – Live Forever

Josh Homme, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, and Nile Rodgers – Let’s Dance (David Bowie)

Gaz Coombes, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, and Nile Rodgers – Modern Love (David Bowie)

Chevy Metal and The Coattail Riders – Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)

Kesha, Chevy Metal, and The Coattail Riders – Children of the Revolution” (T-Rex)

The Coattail Riders with Justin Hawkins – Louise

The Coattail Riders with Justin Hawkins – Range Rover Bitch

The Coattail Riders with Justin Hawkins – It’s Over

Dave Grohl, Wolfgang Van Halen, Justin Hawkins, and Josh Freese – On Fire (Van Halen)

Dave Grohl, Wolfgang Van Halen, Justin Hawkins, and Josh Freese – Hot for Teacher (Van Halen)

Violet Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner, and Dave Grohl – Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley)

Violet Grohl, Greg Kurstin, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner, and Dave Grohl – Grace (Jeff Buckley)

Supergrass – Going Out

Supergrass – Alright

Supergrass – Caught by the Fuzz

Them Crooked Vultures – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)

Them Crooked Vultures – Gunman

Them Crooked Vultures – Long Slow Goodbye (Queens of the Stone Age)

Pretenders with Dave Grohl – Precious

Pretenders with Dave Grohl – Tattooed Love Boys

Pretenders with Dave Grohl – Brass in Pocket

James Gang – Walk Away

James Gang – The Bomber: Closet Queen / Bolero / Cast Your Fate to the Wind

James Gang with Dave Grohl – Funk #49

Violet Grohl, Mark Ronson, Chris Chaney, and Jason Falkner – Valerie (Amy Winehouse)

Brian Johnson, Lars Ulrich, and Foo Fighters – Back in Black (AC/DC)

Brian Johnson, Lars Ulrich, and Foo Fighters – Let There Be Rock (AC/DC)

Stewart Copeland with Foo Fighters – Next to You (The Police)

Stewart Copeland, Gaz Coombes, and Foo Fighters – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (The Police)

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Dave Grohl – 2112 Part I: Overture (RUSH)

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Dave Grohl – Working Man (RUSH)

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Omar Hakim – YYZ (RUSH)

Brian May, Roger Taylor, Foo Fighters, Rufus Taylor, and Luke Spiller – We Will Rock You (Queen)

Brian May, Roger Taylor, Foo Fighters, and Rufus Taylor – I’m in Love With My Car (Queen)

Brian May, Roger Taylor, Foo Fighters, Justin Hawkins, and Rufus Taylor – I’m in Love With My Car (Queen)

Brian May, Roger Taylor, Foo Fighters, Sam Ryder, and Rufus Taylor – Somebody to Love (Queen)

Brian May – Love of My Life (Queen)

Foo Fighters with Josh Freese – Times Like These

Foo Fighters with Josh Freese – All My Life

Foo Fighters with Travis Barker – The Pretender

Foo Fighters with Travis Barker – Monkey Wrench

Foo Fighters with Nandi Bushell – Learn to Fly

Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor – These Days

Foo Fighters with Rufus Taylor – Best of You

Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, Foo Fighters, and Omar Hakim – Oh! Darling (The Beatles)

Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, and Omar Hakim – Helter Skelter (The Beatles)

Foo Fighters with Omar Hakim – Aurora

Foo Fighters with Shane Hawkins – My Hero

Dave Grohl – Everlong

A run through of the show:consequence.net/2022/09/taylor-hawkins-foo-fighters-tribute-concert-memorable-moments/5/

[ganymedesclock]

your thoughts on gorons being frustrated with Hylians has me thinking about the explicit dynamic they invariably develop with link; like even in the games where they have a very stand-offish relationship to Hylians, they vibe VERY quickly with link and hit it off with him really well so i think there's something very nice in how Link could be seen as being a very refreshing personality or similar to them in a way they can relate to.

also its kind of funny that the LOZ fandom as a whole tends to treat Darunia as this big, fun party guy and big brother figure when he's actually kind of a hardass, so you get a bit of an impression that his behavior to Link is the result of some execeptional circumstances, but he's a lot more serious than what he was built up by fan interpretation or nostalgia over the years?

Honestly the impression I got of Darunia was actually sort of a cheeky prankster? Not that he isn't taking things seriously, but like. when you first talk to him and he's in a terrible mood, the list he rattles out is fairly comprehensive and intensive- he comes off believably like a community leader who has a lot to think about.

The scene post-Dodongo's Cavern also has him sneaking up on Link by dropping on him from above, which, considering he had several other gorons ALSO waiting to drop above makes it seem like more than a bit of a setup / deliberate, and when he's rough with Link, it's conveniently in a way that a scrappy hylian child can handle unharmed. The "how about a nice Goron hug, brother? :D" feels like a group of people gently, affectionately hazing their newest 'little brother'.

It's also in contrast to, like. Darunia in just about every other conversation you have with him is shown to be canny and reliable. The Bolero of Fire, which is associated with Darunia's temple, is one Sheik describes in terms of loyalty and solidarity. Loyalty that comes from an idiot who doesn't know better, or a person who's so good-natured they give it away cheaply, is basically meaningless. By default, 'meaningful' loyalty has to come from someone who has standards; it means something that they chose to stand by this.

The gorons... I guess a semi-related side headcanon I tend to have about them is that because they're a bunch of super-strong, long-lived beings, they kind of have to be a given level of, not necessarily formal, but scrupled in how they deal with each other? A goron with a grudge can cause immense damage to the infrastructure, the city, and each other. In a society of supermen, things don't average out to "normal", they become actually pretty dangerous. Especially when you consider the priority many gorons, throughout the continuities, place on martial strength, whether that's more serious (Gor Coron's sumo duel in Twilight Princess) or sillier (GUT CHEEEEEECK)

So like. you've got a society of nearly-needless, nearly-indestructible people living together in an environment where everybody's gonna be stuck with everybody for the next several centuries. Similarly, I've always felt like there's some politics to how and in what ways the gorons use the term 'brother'. It's not just a friendly address; it's certainly, as you say, often a gesture of respect to Link, that gorons who are feeling warmer or more disposed to him start to refer to him with 'brother'- but there's also, a very specific moment in Twilight Princess where an entire room full of gorons are about to attack Link, and Gor Coron stops them immediately, and tells them that all of them do not need to attack him at once, "little brothers."

It immediately verbally places Gor Coron on the pecking order. Likewise, we see younger gorons referring to their fathers, but father-son bonds seem to be the only kind of familial relation the gorons have, and they don't seem to reproduce like hylians. There's not really distinct Men and Women that we can see; gorons are just gorons. Their use of masculine terms may even be an imperfect translation as they're speaking Hylian when we encounter them- I'd imagine gorons speaking the gerudo language would probably use the 'vai' terms since that's considered the standard unit of personhood.

Basically, I think that "brother" is not just a casual term of belonging, but an expression of the ethos of the gorons overall; any particular group of gorons is a pseudofamilial unit to which one is in a system of brothers, younger and older, and- for the most extreme cases of tutelage or superiority- fathers and sons.

I guess I like the idea that the gorons have a superficially simple impression, but, just like stones, their history is deep, vast, and extremely complex. The average rock scooped up off the ground doesn't look like much, but it might be a remnant of a former glacial ice age. To people who don't know much about rocks, we can take them for granted; the more casual geology you know, however, the more you realize this ostensibly simple, stupid, unrefined world glimmers with context.

And, because the gorons are a bit more active about it than 'mere ordinary rocks', we often get glimpses of the sophistication of their society without much elaboration. They're casually insinuated or interpreted as idiots all the time, but I'd love to see a take on Death Mountain that really hammers home besides aesthetic metal-and-mine that the gorons seem to be living in the industrial age compared to the rest of Hyrule's pseudo-medieval nature. Show me a goron city that comes off like, say, Iron Town from Princess Mononoke- entire buildings dedicated to blast furnaces and modern-looking foundries.

Heck, even that threads into the concept of loyalty to the Gorons- and that along with the gerudo, they're heavily associated with Din, goddess of power, as practically elemental spirits of fire and stone. Because by all accounts, with their massive advantages and superior technology... the gorons should have been able to level Hyrule and conquer it for themselves. Yet, despite this and their extremely martial culture, the gorons are remembered peacefully by Hyrule. Death Mountain's eruption is a hypothetical doomsday scenario, even though it's likely previous eruptions of this ancient mountain probably created the 'green fields of Hyrule' by laying volcanic soil in a bygone era.

It's like Hyrule, and its people, forget that the gorons are capable of destroying them- that their mountain earns its name as a pillar of great death. But I don't think the gorons are clueless about this at all- they can't. They regularly, often, live and work alongside Hylians with bodies and muscles that could rip a Hylian to pieces. Darunia can pat Link's head and bully him a little by making his knees give out but the kid still comes out of it harried rather than concussed.

It makes me think about a bit of lore from the game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, where the setting's dwarf-equivalents, the Lilties, are peaceful people in the timeline of the story but live in the shadow of an ancient conquest and empire that they later abandoned, to the point that one level of the game is exploring their great mine, which was abandoned when its supply of iron was exhausted.

Darunia, to me, warms to Link quickly, but it's not really until he sees adult Link in the fire temple, and nods, and says that he means to speak to Link man-to-man, that it feels like he actually 'respects' Link. Before that, it comes off more "haha, look at that plucky squirt go! I like your style, funky little man! here, take this wrist brace so you don't hurt yourself having fun out there."

Which... who knows? The gorons may relish Link's existence as a hylian they don't have to 'go easy on' and can thus trust with matters of slightly more gravity.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap NHK 2021 - Men

As always personal recap means just this completely personal opinions - bias included! Also this is mainly for myself...if you like it fine, if you don't it's also fine. I don't care.

First I am extremely sad that Yuzu wasn't here and that he has to go again through such pain in an Olympic season. Get well soon Yuzu! ❤️ (I was also looking forward to have Yuzu and Shoma in one competition and it didn't happen which made me sad😔) BUT I will refrain from looking at the comp with Yuzu's absence in mind. Yuzu wasn't there, so we don't know how he would have performed or how he would have placed. I can imagine Yuzu is happy his fellow compatriot won as he always wishes the best to all competitors!

NHK Trophy Champion Shoma Uno! 🥇❤️

Shoma just radiates confidence like he didn't for the past two years. Breaking 100 again in the SP internationally after 3 years drought. He is on fire this season! 🔥

The SP Oboe Concerto is just perfection. It highlights all his strengths, his beautuful lines, his deep edges and how he is the music in this. Also the costume is so gorgeous! 😍 Shame about the 2T instead of 3T but it's ok to not be perfect at this point of the season. The most important part is to show progress and confidence imo.

I am not a fan of Ravel's Bolero at all, but Shoma's version doesn't sound much like Bolero so I am ok with it. I still prefer DOMO but his Bolero is well constructed and has some really cool unusual moves for him. The first half of the program was nuts 4Lo, 4S and 4T2T all landed beautifully. Maybe he got a bit too confident and loosened up so he made some couple mistakes after, but I don't think that's too bad. Add that 4F points in and he breaks 300+ points. 290 points is still a new personal best under this scoring system. 😄 I am super happy he is where he is now. Thank you Shoma, thank you Stephane! ❤️

2nd - I am bit devided on this. In the SP I think Vincent Zhou belonged to top 2 but after the free skate I would probably have Junhwan Cha and Vincent reversed. Both of them got calls (which is totally fine imo), but I think Vincent's free program also lost a lot in presentation when mistakes started to add...imo Junhwan Cha is the superior performer on a good and bad day. I see the improvement though that Vincent tries to include more artistry. I think both his programs are actually well constructed. I just think his skating in general is a bit sketchy and not flowing as good.

3rd - Junhwan Cha's SP is a masterpiece. It's sooo good. I loved it so much last week and was so happy he could deliver it again just one week later with jetlag etc. ❤️ Good fight also in the free skate. His ina bauer is to die for! 😍 I think he needs to shorten the time he needs for his big jumps like quads and 3A. Especially the 3A needs a lot of preparation.

I am really happy he got a medal here! 🥉

4th - Makar Ignatov is uhm..interesting....I dunno his jumps look good. His air position especially good, but his landings seldomly have flow...and the rest of his skating is very slow and laboured. He has no glide at all. His SP suited him music wise, in the free the music was overwhelming him completely. He could a have had any music and his program would have the same connection it did have in the free. He doesn't have the projection to put up with such a gigantic classical music, you need aura for it and he doesn't have any.

5th - Matteo Rizzo does have the projection and performance abilities that Makar is lacking. I liked his SP very much, unusual and fitting to him. His jumps are ok but without more content he won't get further ahead. His free was also lovely. Overall steady performance.

6th - Alexander Samarin - Once he was only jumps. Now he did only quad and a clean program which served him well. I never ever liked his skating at all and the Matrix short may still be ok as I think it suits him, but I totally don't get the free skate at all. It's just weird. But I do think he is a friendly guy and I found his surprised face about his free skate score adorably funny. 😄

As for the rest of the places there were some skaters that spring to mind. Sota Yamamoto had a lovely SP (though that version isn't my favorite), but sadly couldn't deliver the same in the free. Kao Miura is definitely an exciting newcomer. A bit chaotic at this point but I am sure with time he could be a top contender. Tomoki Hiwatashi had a good free skate and I always admire his flexibility.

Nam Nguyen is just kind of a shadow of his old self. Even though he is not so old, it will be his last season and looking at what he delivered here it makes sense and he somehow lost all the fire and looks slow. He can be an entertaining guy, so I hope that he gets to perform in shows after his career. It's again a story of someone that was promoted to glory far too early at 12 years old and couldn't keep up with expectations and also puberty hit him hard.

I really do love Camden Pulkinen's skating, but he makes so many mistakes it's just heartbreaking to watch. I fear he will never get to the heights his beautiful skating would deserve...

Congratulations to all medalists! 🥳🥳🥳🥳 It was an interesting event!

Also I will party hard that Shoma won!

[grenade-maid]

@sturmguevara @mystacoceti @nullconvention

1. What's your favorite way to dress?

Crisp, sophisticated monochromes with a preference towards greys (I have strong opinions on the distinction between a rich and textual vs tacky and dull white, black, or grey) or vivid but slightly earthy yellow, green, and blue, in patterns that put heavy emphasis on bold contrasts between tonal elements, lines, and patterns. For my build specifically a few elements that work especially well are a roughly 1-2 inch mock turtleneck with a sleeve that extends to somewhere on the bicep but not to the elbow. In particular I have one nice shirt like this that has shoulder cutouts that I really adore. Stuff like that emphasizes the broadness of my shoulders in a really flattering way that makes me feel both cute and powerful. An at least knee length skirt with a wide sturdy waistband that sits nicely on my waist shows off how long my legs and how tall my hips are, while giving enough support to my midsection such that it maintains a clean stately well defined line along my figure, being neither skintight nor a loose bag. This pairs very well with a bolero that comes just partially down my ribcage. With it, and with my shirt tucked in, the silhouette of my torso is effectively cut in half, running only from my shoulders to my ribs, while my legs and hips extend for miles. With a longer shirt untucked both torso and legs appear long and elegantly flowing. On the other end of the spectrum, I like high waisted broad legged military or postal trousers, paired with a long flannel or cardigan or dramatically oversized sweater. These just feel really really nice lol and I like to billow and have my shape obscured.

7. What song is your aesthetic?

I'm gonna make a playlist for this one cause trying to pick a single one is taking to long lmao but a sneak peak to what's on it includes People and People II by AJJ, Father and Son by Cat Stevens, Jesus and the Thieves by Captain Tractor, God Shuffled his Feet by The Crash Test Dummies, and many more!! Which deal with varying levels of levity and gravity in grappling with contradictory feelings and questions about relationships and the world and God which although they reach poetic highs are most often concerned with questions of fundamental basics. They tell stories that alternate between maudlin and sentimental and very tongue in cheek, etc etc.

8. What color goes with your personality?

This one!

11. Vague about your crushes?

She has the same name as what I named my truck, excellent taste in eyeware, and is so pretty that it's intimidating

30. What instrument do you wish you could master?

I used to play euphonium and loved it dearly and would like to pick it up again someday. I played violin briefly but my fingers aren't fast enough to get very far. Same with piano. I really wish I could play accordion, but finger swiftness is a very big factor in that too. My ideal life involves fighting fire or tending to fields in the summer with a bunch of nice Eastern Europeans and playing accordion for them at the end of the day and they would all dance and one guy would climb onto the roof of the Lada that like six people squeeze into to get to work everyday and do a backflip and we'd all cheer. Harmonica would be cool too.

31. How easy is it for you to be honest?

Too easy! I am, if anything, far too candid about my actual thoughts and feelings, and expound on them in such detail and at such length that people end up misinterpreting my intentions because neurotypicals expect people to play 5 dimensional mind chess about not actually saying what you mean or only saying it at specific times not too soon or not too late, politely refraining from saying anything or not saying it in too many details otherwise it ACTUALLY means something different and it's bullshit. I am prepared to tell basically anyone anything, the only considerations are practical and tactical ones about what kind of conversation it is and what our relationship is and what kind of responses will net what kind of reactions or changes in the above and so on and so forth.

34. What food do you binge when you're lazy?

I get upset stomach really easily which makes it hard to binge on anything really, but typically it'll be mandarins, apples, saltines, rice, peanut butter, Ovaltine, peas, corn. If I eat too many chips I feel like I'm gonna die. Very very occasionally I'll add Oreos or girl scout cookies to this list but again, very strong danger of feeling like warmed over death if I eat more than a few. Not to mention the Protestant shame and guilt of eating anything sweet and pleasurable when I am after all a sinner in a broken world. If I have time to eat cookies I have time to raise a barn or milk a cow.

[ae0nx]

SUPERPOST: DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION (KIZUNA) RECAP/REVIEW SPOILERSSSSSS

SPOILER ALERT I WILL BE GOING INTO DETAIL. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.

I’m not gonna do a blacktober/drawtober today, but I willlll rant about Digimon, because nothing ever really changes. Ok, I’m tipsy and I feel like everyone and their mum has watched Kizuna now so I wanna finally express my feelfeels on it. Let’s goooo

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

Ok, so I love how this movie opens especially as an old school fan.

It’s perfect. I love the solid feeling of ‘finality’ to the series that we never got to see in Tri... (I’ll try not talk shit about Tri in this recap but it’s gonna be difficult, I’m sorry)

- We got that call back to the original soundtrack! The only time in life I will tear up at hearing Bolero.

- I adoreee the animation and designs in this movie. It feels so much more diverse (in terms of facial features) than Tri did without even trying really. The facial expressions are so much characteristic and there’s less awkward spacey moments. It’s nice! (Ooops, mentioned Tri: Count 2 haha)

- While I was a bit disappointed with the digidestined outfits when they were first released as still images, they do look a lot better in action and they fit in well with the world that is built. But Taichi swapping sneakers for sandals? Seems false lol

Taichi’s anxiety about the destruction. Nice to see continuation and character development. We love him~~~

- The Parrotmon vs Greymon + Angemon + Angewomon fight looked dope and was a nice call back/development. The electricity and fire looked amazing and honestly had me hyped. A lot of fight scenes in this movie did.

Haha, of course Yamato had to come in looking unnecessarily cool on his fancy new bike only to talk shit about Taichi. We love him too, goddammit lol

- It totally makes sense that the two pairs of siblings and Koushirou would be the most actively involved out of all of the digidestined tbh

The movie opening theme being set to the original ‘Butterfly’ was great, and in a weird way reminded me a little of the Cowboy Bebop Movie opening theme - except very much in the style and world of Digimon Adventure

- The digidestined are public superheroes now? Makes sense, I don’t hate it~~~

- I love the montage of Taichi and Yamato going about their lives as people in their early 20s. Taichi mostly dealing with the pressures of adulthood. Yamato feeling nostalgic about the things he left behind in childhood (playing harmonica, being in a band)

Ahhh, they can drink now! So weird, yet so fun haha

- It’s also really nice for my shipper heart to see Taichi and Yamato sit down and have a meal together without totally biting each other’s heads off. Shows how much they’ve matured!

- Yolei straight up was like ‘I don’t have time for this shit, Koushirou you deal with it’ 😂Mimi has taught you well, young padawan

I was really hoping these two would be a better addition than Maki and Daigo (RIP) and they were! It’s almost like the writers saw Tri and was like... let’s do better. (Ooops mentioned Tri: Count 3)

- I reallyyyyy really sadistically like the concept of the Digimon and Digidestined’s connection to each other dying slowly the older they get and with the less necessary the Digimon become in the human partner’s life. Yeahhhhh, it doesn’t match up with the 02 ending but I’m personally not too attached to that ending so I don’t mind. A) it’s actually a plot point that makes me give a shit and B) it’s very much a reflection of life which Digimon Adventure has always been and C) it makes sense of the reason as to why Digimon gravitate to children

DAISUKE! We stan a kinggg, with his dope sunglasses. I’m so happy the 02 kids are involved in this, even if it is kinda minimal.

- I love that they included the fact that the digital gates are basically like a free airplane ticket to anywhere in the world with a computer. It’s such a useful and cool concept

- ‘Burger Queen’ ahaha

AHHHHHHHHH HAHAAHHAHA I can’t. It feel so wrong yet so... correct? Hahaha

I’m sorry, my love for Gennai died with Tri. If it was old Gennai from Adventure maybe I would’ve felt a bit more nostalgic and loving. (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 4)

- I love the 02 kids basically being a smaller detective team that Chief Detective Yamato sent forth to do some investigating. It makes so much sense and we shoulda got this in triiiiii (I just wish we got this movie instead of Tri, I’m sorry Oops mentioned Tri: Count 5)

Spy movie? I don’t hate it~~~~

OK, DETECTIVE ISHIDA! (enter theme music which is most likely very dark and edgy and gothic with a hint of pop punk)

- Sora staying at home when Mimi is in the hospital seems... off... very off... but ok... ... ... I hate how they sidelined Sora in this movie. Why does every Digimon writer since Adventure hate Sora?!?!

- The act of Taichi literally shunning his future by switching off his phone to once again reach for his old goggles and old digivice is... poetic cinema

Saw the switch coming but whoa 😳

- You know the whole concept of her creating an eternal Digital world was a cool concept until she called it Neverland

- While I really like Menoa and her being the villain, this isn’t exactly a new motivation. How many times have we seen human partners turn into villains after losing their Digimon, man?!?! Just more motivation into making me think this film is just fixing the mistakes of Tri (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 6)

I really like this design! It might make my top 3 Digimon designs.

- You know... only in the Digimon fandom would a goddamn whistle make us all emotional 😭😂

This movie is so pretty!!!!

- Wait... did Biyomon vanish and that’s why Sora wasn’t involved? 😢

Wow. WOW. That goodbye... between Taichi and Agumon... and Yamato and Gabumon... was... ALL I WANTED/DIDN’T WANT. Seriously. As I said before, I really like the fact that this movie feels... final. Honestly, I don’t want grown up adventures with the Digimon - regardless of how mean that sounds. What’s unique about Digimon is how childlike it is and the separation between the Digimon’s childlike nature and the Digidestined was growing the older the humans got and it wouldn’t make full sense for the relationship between the two to go from friends and almost equals to parent and child. 

I guess I would’ve been more accepting of the Digimon staying a constant in the Digidestined lives if the writers touched on the theme of the Digimon being adult or baby whenever they like (or whenever they eat) and relating it to humans still looking after their inner child of curiosity and creativity as they get older. But that’s a pretty difficult concept, I’m still working my head around that haha

Also, Digimon has always specifically been a metaphor/real example for the joys and hardships of childhood. While it’s super sad, I’m glad we got such a nice send off!

[feverinfeveroutfic]

chapter twenty-eight: “chuck, there’s a worm in your soup”

Sam hung up the phone and ran her fingers through her dark hair. She had waited until five days following the announcement in order to tell her parents about the accident as she had no other means to do so. She knew that they would not react to it well, even if she was thousands of miles away. Add to this, she never liked the idea of one of her parents being in an exorbitant amount of pain.

The tears in Ruben's voice and his telling Esmé what had happened: she bawled off in the background. She had invited them to the funeral over in the Bay Area, but he told her that they had too much to do with themselves.

“It's not really a funeral, though,” she clarified, “we're just scattering his ashes at Maxwell Ranch near Vacaville. But—I'll be out there this weekend, though.”

“Okay,” he had told her with a shuddered sigh, “be safe—I'm so sorry, sweetie.”

She poured herself a cup of coffee and, before she could pour in the cream, a knock on the door caught her attention. She padded into the living room, past the vase of yellow tulips, which still stood strong and high even well after Cliff had picked them out for her.

Aurora stood there before her with a glass square covered with a sheet of tin foil and a deep violet velvety sweater about her body.

“Hey, Aurora,” she greeted her, and she eyed the little square dish cradled in her hands. “Thank you. What's this?”

“Blondies courtesy of Emile,” she said in a low voice. “And I told him I'm going to have to spend a lot more time with you, though.”

“Thank you,” Sam repeated as Aurora handed her the blondies which then allowed her to put her arms around her best friend.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered into her ear. Sam sighed through her nose and then she stepped back for a better look at the blondies: she took off the foil and she revealed the square of that soft yellow top, complete with bits of white chocolate mixed in.

“So when do we go back out to San Francisco?” she asked Aurora, who strode into the apartment.

“Friday, in two days—we leave the day of, too, real early. Jon gave me the week off, though. It's getting kind of stressful, you know?”

“Oh, yeah. I couldn't hardly focus in class this week so far. I'm glad we're leaving on Friday, too—I don't know how much more I can take it. I just want to get it over with.”

“Well, as you know, it's not a technical funeral,” she pointed out.

“Right, they brought him home over the weekend and then they had him cremated,” Sam recalled as she strode into the kitchen and she put the blondies in the fridge. “Ray and Jan said they want him scattered over Maxwell Ranch near Vacaville. I actually had to look that up because I didn't know where that was.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Sam surfaced from the kitchen to find Aurora had stuffed her hands into her sweater pockets. “By the way, what're Metallica gonna do now?”

“Look for a new bassist,” she replied with a shrug. “Even though they're on a different label now, I'm going to oversee it with them. Speaking of which—did you get a copy of their new album?”

“I haven't, no.”

“We'll have to do that when we go out there,” Aurora vowed, and Sam sighed through her nose again and she lowered her gaze to the floor. Aurora padded over to her with her arms wide open and she held her close: she lay her head against Sam's chest.

“I don't like seeing friends in pain,” she said in a muffled voice. “Especially if it's my best friend.” She lifted her head for a better look at her. “My parents endured a lot of it when they were back in Korea.”

“I can imagine,” Sam confessed with a break in her voice. Her eyes burned with tears again.

“They were almost separated at the demilitarized zone—the mines were activated and my father almost lost his legs to an explosion. Had my mother not held his hand and ran away from there with him, he would've been a goner and I wouldn't be here right now.”

Sam brushed away a tear as it burgeoned from her right eye.

“My father had a death wish then, too. He believed there was no way they could run away from Korea, especially the North. But they managed to escape. My mother and the grip of her hand saved him, from the line of fire and from himself.”

“If we were there in Sweden, Cliff would still be here,” Sam recalled those words from that night.

“I have no doubt about it.” Aurora lay the side of her head against her chest again and Sam closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay. She knew it was going to be a difficult weekend, especially when she still couldn't hardly focus in class the next day. She expected Cliff to be there on the sidewalk upon her emergence from the school building, but she took the subway alone, and with that hat rested upon the crown of her head. Every so often, she caught a whiff of the way his hair used to smell once she removed the hat. If only there was a way in which to preserve it for eternity.

She and Aurora left for the airport at four o'clock in the morning: any homework that she had would have to wait a few days because there were more pressing matters to tend to. She thought of Cliff during the whole flight: it didn't help matters that they were seated at the front of coach class as well, two rows behind first class. She sat there for the first hour of the flight with her arms folded across her chest, such that when Aurora woke up from her nap, she peered over at her with her tired eyes in a daze.

“Is everything alright?” she asked her.

“Just thinking,” Sam replied in a soft voice. “When we visited my parents, we sat near first class.”

“Oh, damn,” Aurora muttered and she cleared her throat.

“Yeah. We can't move, though.” She sighed through her nose yet again, and they landed San Francisco before the sun even rose there, right through that thick bank of fog from the Bay itself. They were greeted by Lars, who had showed up to the airport in a long black overcoat and a pair of black leather boots.

“I like this,” Aurora told him with a gesture all about his body. “I like this a lot.”

“Something a little a propos, dare I say,” he told her as he guided them out to his car.

“Thank you for picking us up, by the way,” she continued.

“There was no way I was going to let the two of you stay in a dingy hotel,” he said, but Sam tuned out their words. She gazed out the window to the thick dark fog as it blacked out the inlets: off in the distance, she noticed the dim lights of the Golden Gate Bridge. It almost didn't seem right, that Cliff had died in a place so far away and yet he was so staunch on staying in the Bay Area. He even put a bet on something that felt as far away as Sweden itself in order to be with her, which meant if it didn't happen, there was no way it would last.

And yet she couldn't stay angry at Cliff for that.

This was his home. This was where he needed to be, away from the darkness of Scandinavia and on his own soil. If it was to be long distance until she finished school, then she could make it happen. But that was the belief, and it had vanished into the blackness of the Bay fog as it greeted them outside in the dim parking lot.

Lars drove them to his small house up in Sausalito, and Sam wondered when Marla and Zelda would be there with Anthrax given she didn't see either of them on the plane. She even brought this up to him.

“They got here late last night,” he told her as he served her and Aurora fresh cups of coffee. “Well, Charlie and Marla did, anyways. He called me last night and said they had checked into their hotel at around eleven o'clock last night. No idea about the others, though.”

“Thank you, by the way,” she said to him as she took a sip of the coffee. Like a warm gentle hug from the inside. She thought about what he had told her in that room. Even though she couldn't hardly focus on class, she did however feel an itch to draw something in her journal, something outside of class. That time around, it was a mistake for her to not take her journal or any of her paper along with her. She thought about the ink drawings she had made the last October and she made a mental note to do it again at some point.

But by the time the ceremony came about, she knew there was no way she could focus on anything that needed to be drawn up on paper.

The fog had cleared out to pure blue sky but it straddled the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the inlet there before Maxwell Ranch. A small stretch of land fitted by a handful of lush green trees and a small building that made Sam think of a church given there was a small painting of Jesus next to the front door when they walked inside. Everyone had donned themselves in solid black: she peered across the room to find Legacy had showed up themselves, as did Exodus given she recognized Zetro's head of hair next to Chuck's long black smooth curls. Alex towered next Eric, Greg, and Louie, complete with a yarmulke on his head: that little gray sliver poked out over his forehead.

Meanwhile, five more unfamiliar men congregated at the far end of the room and they looked as though they had just come from a nearby high school.

“Nice to see Death Angel here,” Lars declared right next to her as he took off his sunglasses. “Kind of expected them to be, but it's always nice to see them, though. Armored Saint, too. And Metal Church. And Exodus and Legacy—everyone's here! Well, not everyone, I don't see Dave or Slayer.”

“Brought the whole Bay Area scene here with us,” Zelda's voice crackled from their left: she emerged from the corridor in a fitted black dress with white polka dots and a black silk bolero over her shoulders. Her short bob of black hair had been combed and styled back with a bit of gel.

Sam then felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around only to be met with another head of black curls piled atop a round head and a slender body wrapped in black leather. His face had grown fuller with the extensive touring but she knew it was him by the soft brown tone to his skin alone.

“Hi, Joey,” she greeted him and he put his arms around her and he held her close to his slender little body.

“Remember if you need anything—absolutely anything at all—you can call me,” he told her, and he ran his fingers through his thick inky black curls. “I'll always be there, rain or shine, day or night, on tour or not. Call me regardless of the barrier.”

“Yeah, me and Marla, too,” Charlie joined in behind them, and he greeted her with an embrace as well, so did Frank, Dan, Scott, and of course Marla.

James and Kirk emerged from the corridor on the left, in black shirts and matching pants: the latter had a small black lace band around his upper arm. He gestured for Lars to join them there at the corner of the room. Sam, Aurora, and Zelda gathered on the wall adjacent to the door; Joey and Dan stood right behind them. The latter set a hand on Sam's shoulder to comfort her and she showed him a warm smile in return.

“Thank you, Danny,” she told him.

“We've got each other, you know,” he said with a wink. She returned her attention to that corner of the room, and she noticed a little gray urn in between James and Kirk. The room fell silent, even with Ray, Jan, and Connie not even being there. She wondered about them if they were doing alright with it all.

Joey rested his chin on her shoulder, and she caught a small whiff of his soft soapy cologne on the side of his neck. Oh, the smells. Cliff still riddled in her memory but she knew Joey would never be too far away from that point onward.

“Can't believe we're here right now,” Kirk started with a little break in his voice and his hands clasped together before his toned stomach. “I mean, if anything, we should still be over in Europe right now. But—here we are. Back home.”

“That bus sucked, though,” Lars added. “The beds were hard as a rock and they were uncomfortable. It was why Cliff and Kirk drew cards in the first place.”

“They were small, too,” James continued, “they were even small for you. And—you know, if it's small for Lars—you know it sucks.”

“As everyone might notice, Cliff's family couldn't make it,” Kirk said, “even being his biggest fans and everything. They just—they just couldn't do it. I mean, it's hard on the three of us, but they pretty much broke down, though. So—we have to act as his family.” He flashed Sam a small but sad smile and she could feel her eyes burning with tears yet again. She gazed out the window with Joey's chin still rested upon her shoulder. She tuned out their eulogies as she thought about Cliff's family. She pictured the three of them congregated in their living room together. They didn't have much, but they had each other.

She knew he and his older brother had been reunited somewhere beyond the window, somewhere beyond those low pale yellow hills, somewhere beyond the vast blue.

Somewhere beyond the veil.

She knew she had to pay attention because she was the grieving girlfriend but she couldn't. All she could think about were his parents and his sister.

“He was like 'we should just kill 'em all, man,'” Kirk pressed on and he brushed away a tear from his eye. “And the bunch of us were like, hey, let's make that our album name!”

She had to get her hands on that album that Aurora had told her about. If she had to go to a nearby record shop for a copy, then she could do it for herself.

“Sam?”

Lars' high pitched voice caught her offguard. She glanced over at his holding the urn in both hands.

“Would you like the final word before we release him to the earth?” he asked her, and she nodded her head. Frank set a hand on her shoulder and she could tell that he held back the tears, even as she ambled up to the corner of the room. She held the pale cold urn in her hands, about the size of a coffee mug.

He was in there. She had to set him free. She had to let him go.

Her bottom lip trembled as she brought the stone closer to her face. She closed her eyes.

“I love you,” she whispered into the crack between the urn itself and the lid. Kirk set a hand on her upper back and leaned in closer to her. She then handed James the urn to do the duty.

He led them outside to the cool crisp October afternoon, around the building to a stretch of flat field lined with tall scraggly dark trees. Two evergreens stood near the back door, and she wondered if that was the reception area. She spotted two large black speakers near there and she wondered what was about to happen once James let the ashes fly.

“Alright, Lars,” he called out to his left. They all congregated there under the cold sun and a gentle breeze from the ocean made them all huddle together like a bunch of penguins. Lars knelt down before one of the speakers and he pushed a button. Against the wind, Sam could hear music.

The hard, rising riffs emerged from the speakers from complete silence: it made her think of the depths of space, or the depths of the ocean behind her.

“This was his favorite,” Kirk told her in a low voice, “from our new album. It's called 'Orion'.” She thought of the little indent on Cliff's hip, which made her think of a true belt. And with that, Joey put his arm around her again. Sam watched James hold up the urn, and he turned away from the winds. When the music picked up, he unscrewed the lid and he tilted the urn on its side. Some of Cliff's ashes billowed out in a cloud against the wind and towards the field.

He became part of the earth yet again. Orion's belt.

Sam bowed her head but she couldn't bring herself to cry. Joey rubbed his hand upon her shoulder.

It was a long song, one that included a small section where Cliff's bass stood alone, and another plume of ashes billowed out in light wisps. It made her think of fire flies, or fairy dust, especially when Chuck muttered, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust—until we meet again, Cliff” right behind her.

It faded out as James gave the urn one last shake and the rest of the ashes scattered about the earth before him with the wind. He lowered the urn and screwed the lid back on, and bowed his head. Lars ambled over to him as he brought a hand to his face.

Some soft acoustic guitar played out right then.

“'Fight Fire with Fire'!” Zelda declared from Sam and Aurora's right. “I love this song!”

“This was Cliff's last song,” Kirk told her. “The very last song he played.” She brought a hand to her chest and her face softened. That was the softest Sam ever saw Zelda, given she was always in such a punk rock mood and a mood for trouble.

“Alright, who wants lunch?” Lars called out as he let go of James.

They all doubled back inside, through that back door into a vast rec room that smelled as though it was just cleaned. Sam and Aurora took their seats at a table on the far side of the room, and Lars joined the two of them with a pair of plates absolutely full with potatoes au gratin, baked ham, and steamed vegetables.

“There's a big quiche Lorraine and some pho over there, if you'd like, Aurora,” he said as he took his seat next to Sam and he handed her the plate in his right hand. “Both courtesy of our friends in Death Angel.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Sam. With a little nod, Aurora climbed to her feet right then, and the two of them were left alone. Lars handed Sam a fork.

“So what happens now?” he asked her with a grave look on his round face.

“Don't know,” she confessed as she dug into the potatoes. “I go back to New York and continue being the artist.”

“You know how Joey and Charlie both said to call them if you needed anything?” His green eyes wandered over to the neighboring table, and she spotted Charlie, Frank, and Scott clustered together with their backs to them. Scott burst out laughing about something: Sam spotted a comic book plunked in front of Charlie. Of course!

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Well, I extend that to myself,” Lars told her, “especially if it has to do with art.”

“That's right, you're the art guy.”

“I can perhaps help you out if you wish,” he quipped with a raise of an eyebrow, and he picked up a potato medallion.

“Aw, that's so sweet!” And then she had an idea. “Would you like something from me?”

“Would I like something from you—yes, please!”

“It can be totally on me, too.”

“Oh, no, I don't want to do that to you, Sam,” he said as he brought a forkful of broccoli up to his little lips.

“No, I insist!” she said with her mouth full. She swallowed before she spoke again. “What would you like? What medium would you like?”

“What do you feel most comfortable with?”

“Ink.”

“Ink! Like—black ink?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He paused. “I don't believe I have a photograph of my parents with me, but I do have one at home, though. You might find it interesting when we get back there...” His voice trailed off and the two of them ate in silence, given Aurora had taken a bowl of soup for herself and found herself distracted by the men of Exodus as well as Zelda on the other side of the room. Sam lifted her head at one point and she watched Zelda pick something up from the floor. She turned to her right, away from them, and she raised it over her head, clenched inside of her fist.

Charlie muttered something about the comic book store there in San Francisco being expensive, but he was interrupted by Zelda's strident shout.

“Hey, Louie! Catch!”

Louie's smooth head of hair emerged on the side of the room, about ten feet from Sam and Lars' table, and he extended his hands out before him. Zelda threw the thing at him, a glimmer of silver across the room. The guys from Legacy cheered out when he caught it.

“What even was that?” Lars asked Sam.

“Looked like a spoon.”

“A spoon or a knife. What better place to play 'catch the knife'!” And Sam burst out laughing at that.

She and Lars both helped themselves to seconds, as well as plates full of desserts, a slice of cake, a blondie, and a handful of cookies. She was amazed by how much she had eaten right there, but then again, she had put on a bit of weight over the course of that year and she needed to move on from Cliff. It was time to tend to herself, and to nourish herself, even if it meant eating a great deal.

“Chuck, there's a worm in your soup,” she overheard Zelda say, and it made Scott almost fall out of his chair from laughing so hard. Frank caught him and Louie clapped his hands with laughter; she turned to Lars, who picked at his teeth.

“Have you seen where Joey went?” she asked him.

“I was just gonna ask you that,” he admitted. He turned his attention to the other side of the room. James and Kirk sat with Aurora and Marla and they had their backs towards them. There was something else about that otherwise joyful room. Something else missing, and it didn't help matters that he knitted his eyebrows at it, either.

“I'm going to sit with Alex for a second,” Lars told her.

“Where is he?”

“Right over there.” She followed his point to the door on the other side of the room, and Alex had taken his seat outside on the step. All she could see was that thick blanket of jet black curls at the back of his head: some of them sprawled down his shoulders and his upper back. He had moved the yarmulke more on top of his head but it still stood strong and high like a crown.

“Just going to check on him, you know?” She nodded her head and Lars stood to his feet with his free hand on his stomach. He strode across the floor and slipped his plate into the trash can next to the wall. He then stood next to Alex, who then lifted his head and gazed up at him. Lars said something, but Chuck and Zelda bickering about something drowned him out. Alex nodded his head and Lars took a seat next to him on the step.

Sam peered behind her to another door. Perhaps it was from merely all the food she had eaten, but that room felt so much warmer than when they first arrived there. She slid out of the chair with her empty plate in her left hand. She adjusted the band of her dress slacks and she walked out through the other door, to the clear and crisp afternoon that awaited her. The sun hung high in the school still, despite it being fall. The air was so fresh and the sky was so blue. For a split second, she missed California right there, but she knew her life was back in New York City. She stuck the plate in another trash can next to the door and, careful not to upset her stomach, she walked at a slow pace around the side of the building.

She caught the sound of Lars' laughter on the other side, near those evergreen trees. Alex's big striking voice followed. She rounded the corner and there the two of them were on the step, with the sunshine on their heads.

“Not really how I wanted to celebrate my eighteenth birthday,” Alex was confessing, and he gave Lars a shrug of his slender shoulders. Those loose tendrils near the base of his head brushed against his shirt. He turned his head into her direction and the cold sun shone upon the side of his face: it accentuated his aquiline nose and the round soft shape of his face. Sam thought about one of the dreams she had had about the mysterious man with the streak in his hair, the one with the plane crash and the fire. Maybe it was the way in which his face was shaped, how he looked a little rounder from the last time she saw him over Christmas, but she couldn't help but think of that man.

Those deep eyes wandered into her direction. Deep and cold. Lars followed his gaze in her direction and he grinned at her.

“Samantha!” he called to her with his arm extended out for her, and Alex raised his eyebrows.

“Samantha?”

“Yeah. Cliff's girlfriend.”

Alex hesitated, and then his face lit up.

“Oh, Samantha!” He wagged his finger at that. “I remember now. I made that thing for you by Cliff's request!”

She fetched up a sigh and she ambled closer to them with her arms behind her back; she lingered right next to Lars. He adjusted the yarmulke on the crown of his head. She swore she had seen him a few times in New York City, off in the background, and he seemed like such a shadow to her all the while. But here he sat before her, wrapped in that little black velvet jacket, and with that little yarmulke upon his head as well. He looked as though he needed to attend a bar mitzvah rather than a funeral.

“How do you like that, by the way?” he asked her, and she never realized how soft spoken he was until he spoke to her up close and personal like that.

“I love it to death,” she told him as the tears welled up again. “I put it in a safe place so the graphite doesn't fade away.”

“That's good.” And she brushed a tear away from her eye. Lars caressed her hand and Alex showed her a small smile but it also looked like he wasn't smiling at all. He took the yarmulke off of his head and he shook it about: the little sliver of gray over his forehead shone in the hazy sunlight so it actually resembled to a little pearl. She was so close to that little sliver, such that she couldn't stop looking at it. Lars turned his head in his direction.

“So you were talking to Greg a little bit ago?” he asked Alex. “You guys' Greg?”

“Oh, yeah—I was talking to him and he told me he might audition for Cliff's position.”

“Hope he can get it,” Sam blurted out. “I think he'd kick ass with that position.”

“Yeah, but also understand we'd need a new bassist if he got the part, though,” Alex pointed out with a blank expression on his face.

“He can pull double duties, though,” Lars quipped. “Ronnie James Dio did it. I can envision Greg putting his horns down and going crazy with it.”

“You're just saying that 'cause I do that,” Alex scoffed.

“You're quite the worker bee, Alex,” Lars assured him, and he shrugged in response to that. Sam frowned at his body language. “You are, though!”

“I got out of school by the skin of my teeth, though,” he declared.

“Hey, at least you graduated. I practically dropped out to become a tennis player.”

“Yeah, and I had to take a break for a little bit afterwards,” Sam joined in. Alex stared up at her: those deep eyes swallowed her whole. He seemed so much colder than she had imagined, and so much more distant in comparison to when Cliff got that rice paper from him over Christmas. She figured it was because Cliff himself was gone.

“I still wanna be the best, though,” he told them in a low voice. “I knew from the very second I picked up a guitar when I was eight years old that it was for me. My brother told me to run with it once I got out of school.”

“Playing since you were eight?” Sam was stunned by that.

“Yeah, but my parents were rather reticent towards it, though. My parents are older than that of my friends so—they don't really understand it.”

He never smiled once, such that it made her squirm in that spot next to Lars. She knew it wasn't from the loss; as cool as a cucumber and those deep eyes seemed to stare right into her foggy mind.

“Complete diametric opposite of Cliff's parents,” Lars remarked, and the sound of Cliff's name made the tears well up again.

“Hey, little man!” James called from inside the reception hall, and Alex scoffed at the sound of that. But he turned around and clutched onto the yarmulke as if it was about to get away from him. Sam leaned forward for a look at Kirk and the slice of birthday cake cradled in his hands. Zetro stood next to him with a lighter in hand.

“Oh,” he breathed out with a raise of his eyebrows.

“I see a candle,” Lars told him; Zetro left a tiny flicker of a flame on the little blue candle on top of the layer of white frosting.

“I do, too—happy birthday,” Sam said with a sniffle.

“Thank you.” Alex showed her another small smile. Those deep eyes resembled to the sliver of ocean near there. He was cold, much colder than what she remembered from that show over Christmas break. Maybe it was his being so young and already having a band around him that made him mature with such haste, but the whole feeling made her grimace a bit, especially when he doubled back into the building for the cake. Kirk gazed on at her and gestured to the cake, and she shook her head. He pouted and cocked his head to the side as if she upset him.

“Maybe later,” she mouthed to him as she patted her stomach, and he nodded at that.

“Me, too,” said Lars, “so unlike me, though. I’m like you, I like to eat.” And she watched them all congregate around Alex, the birthday boy, like one big family. Cliff had omitted so much from her. Maybe he really was that out of touch with the rest of them, more so than he had originally told her. And she knew from that point on out that Zelda was right. They needed to act in order to be a bigger part of the whole community.

He would have wanted her to move on. In the brief pocket of time in which they knew each other, she knew that he would have wanted her to. And if it meant she had to be more forth going like with Kirk there, then she would do it for him. She would do it for him in her words, and her art as well.

[popmusicu]

Pop Music in Fire Emblem Fates: Analysis and Theories

Fire Emblem are a series of game of tactical roleplaying, with stories set in magical medieval fantasy lands. The gameplay is like an advanced rock-paper-scissor with medieval weapons and chess, if every piece of chess were an anime warrior with their own backstory.

  The specific game(s) I’m going to talk about is Fire Emblem Fates, a story divided in 3 games (Fire Emblem Birthright, Fire Emblem Conquest and Fire Emblem Revelation) about Corrin (the customizable player avatar), a half dragon and half human anime boy/girl who was a prince/princess of a kingdom, then was kidnaped at a young age and raised in another kingdom, and then both kingdoms declare war against each other and Corrin has to choose which kingdom they are going to ally with. You choose your blood family in Fire Emblem Birthright and the family who raised you in Fire Emblem Conquest, and both in Fire Emblem Revelations but I’m not going to talk much about revelations. In Conquest you are in the side of the bad guy and in Birthright against him, but in both games you want to defeat it.

  In brief, anime protagonist must choose side in a war, but both sides are against the king of one of the sides.

  So, what role does music play in this game, and especially pop? Well in all the games you have a magical singer companion named Azura, who is somehow related to you (but not enough, so you can marry her). Azura sings a magical song that basically only her can sing, and the song does what you expect of a magical song (calm, heal, cheer, and in gameplay gives an extra action to an ally)

  The magical song is called “Lost in thoughts all alone”. This song is the principal and most important song of the game, being singed a lot by Azura, played in the background in parts of the game and in the credits. The genre of the song is a bolero, having a slow rhythm and pure vocals.

  In both Conquest and Birthright Azura sing in front of the evil king a fragment of the song, but in each game she sing a very different version.

(*some people call the fragment of the song “Azura’s dance” instead of “lost in thoughts all alone”, I’m going to call it “lost in thoughts all alone”*)

Link of the song: https://youtu.be/5mHB84WGorA

  The first version of the song is the Hoshido version. This version is the same genre of “lost in thoughts all alone” that is being played throughout the game. This version is a bolero, the instruments are typical western orchestral instruments. The dance of this song is very graceful with little movement but resembling a little to ballet.

The second version of the song is the Nohr version. This version es clearly faster and more actual. This song combines western pop music with middle eastern sounds. The presence of middle easter sound or influence in western pop is nothing new, we can see it in “Toxic” of Britney Spears or in “I’m so good at yoga” of the crew of crazy ex-girlfriend (event though the last is more of a parody). The dance in this scene has a lot of belly dance, urban dance and hip moves, and in my opinion, it reminds a lot of Shakira. Sadly, this version of “Azura’s dance” don’t have a complete version (being “lost in thoughts all alone” the complete version”)

  So why the developers decided to add a pop song in a Medieval themed game?

No one knows. There isn’t an official version.

My theory is in the gameplay. SPOILER ALERT ABOUT BOTH GAMES

In both games you go to the city of Cyrkensia, there lies a grand Opera House.

So, in Conquest you and Azura are against the evil king and you think that he’s a literal monster. When you are in the city you meet the famous songstress Layla but she wants to run away to be with her family, but the evil kings wants to see her sing, so with a little bit of magic Azura is perceived as Layla and sing the song she’s expected to sing. With the magic song she expects to show he’s a monster, but she only causes him discomfort.

On the other hand, in Conquest you and Azura are in the same army of the king, but she still wants to show he is a literal monster, so she put a costume so no one can tell who she is (but being honest, the wig of Hannah Montana is a better deceiver), and sing the opposite of what the king is supposed to hear. That give her the “woah factor” needed to impress him, because she wouldn’t have to be incognito when she leaves the opera, because she’s in his army. But even then the “woah factor” is not really a complete explanation, because that factor would let the king hear the whole song, but even then, the Hoshido version could do the job.

  Or maybe the developers just wanted to do something different.

  And that’s all the analysis and theory!

  Antonio San Miguel

[sally-mun]

(Sorry anon, Tumblr screwed up my draft of your ask, so you’re a screenshot now.)

I hope you realize what you’ve done, because this is going to be a VERY long story. Get a drink and strap in.

Before I can get into this too deeply, we first need to talk about Ocarina of Time. There are a lot of issues I had with OoT that I was VERY excited to see were later addressed by Twilight Princess, whether it was an intentional link or not. There are a handful of things involved here, but for me the biggest one by far is the Temple of Time.

Waaaaay back in the late 90′s/early 2000′s, the internet was still relatively young and, in a way, more simple and innocent. The standard for using it largely boiled down to, “I like [x], so I’ll search for [x]” and just seeing what mess of crap you ended up with. I did this mostly with Sonic and anime stuff, but every now and then I’d do it for things like LoZ as well. One of the sites this brought me to was called The Odyssey of Hyrule, which at the time utterly blew my mind with its content. It was a hotbed of Zelda oddities, glitches (some of which I now see often in speed runs), hoax debunks, and most importantly for this discussion, screenshots from early builds of the game.

We can probably trace the origin of my fixation back to this screenshot:

Those of you that know Ocarina of Time well can probably tell right of the bat that this is not an area that appears in the final game. The website posited that this was perhaps an area behind the Temple of Time, since the setting elements all look the same and the camera appears to be in a fixed location. After all, when you look at the building from the front, there’s a clearly visible path running along the side, and it does appear that the fence has a “gate,” although we can never open it.

See it there, behind the second gossip stone from the left? There’s a gap on either side of that bit of fence, right where the path happens to be. The rest of the fence on the right side doesn’t have gaps like that, suggesting that this bit of fence wasn’t originally there and the path was once traversable; my personal hunch is that the “gate” is actually a copied instance of the smaller bit of fencing on the left to save themselves the headache of redoing the fence entirely. The gossip stones, if they were originally there at all, were probably supposed to start from the far right wall instead of the left, which would also open up access to the path.

The longer this stewed around in my brain, the more it drove me absolutely crazy, because I realized that this could possibly explain a lot of seemingly disparate elements. For example, there’s a peculiarity in the Temple of Time that’s easy to miss if you’re not taking your time and paying close attention. After you remove the Door of Time to gain access to the sword chamber, the initial view of said chamber is actually much smaller. It’s especially easy to see when you switch to first-person, because you can more easily see how close the walls are on the left and right.

(My apologies for the shitty quality of these pictures, I took them back before we had decent digital cameras. I’ll get better ones when I post this as an actual article on my other blog.)

As you run into the chamber, the tight walls abruptly disappear and give way to the massive chamber we’re all familiar with. In fact, if you take your time and walk forward through this hallway, you can easily see the moment when the room changes from small to large before your eyes.

When comparing this oddity with the beta screenshot and the website’s suggestion that the path may have allowed you to go behind the temple, I became convinced that something else was supposed to happen back there, but was cut from the game for one reason or another. My guess is that the sword chamber really was originally very small as it first appears, and the larger chamber was a separate area behind it, which was used for... well, what? It obviously wasn’t something small and simple, like a chest with a heart piece; not for a room that grand. It was clearly for something big, something important, because it had to have a large enough scale of work that the designers looked at it and realized they couldn’t finish in time. After a LOT of mulling it over, I became convinced that it was most likely the entrance to the Light Temple.

You see, something else that always struck me as odd was the fact that you’re just given the Light Medallion as soon as you become an adult. You do absolutely nothing to earn it; it’s all part of the same cut scene that plays after you remove the sword for the first time. You meet Rauru, the Light Sage, pretty abruptly as he infodumps about what’s going on, and then he just forks over the Light Medallion without hesitation.

From a narrative perspective, it sticks out to me because Rauru is the only person you do not interact with at any point in the game. You don’t meet him at all as a child, and as an adult you only see him within the Sacred Realm. All of the other sages are people you have both a child and adult connection with in some way, and it’s up to you to awaken them to their powers by ridding their respective temples of evil. Why would they just skip that process with Rauru?

Perhaps they never meant to; maybe you were supposed to go through that same process, but the Light Temple got cut. When you’re designing a video game, there’s a practice that’s recommended before you start actually building it where you make a list of all the elements you want included, then you organize it by importance, and then you cut it in half. The top half is the one you focus on first, because it’s stuff you absolutely positively have to have in the game in order for it to work. The bottom half is stuff you get to include if you have enough time, and it’s added in the order you listed it because top items are more critical. It could very well be that the Light Temple was either on that second half of the list, or it was never on the second half at all but development time simply ran out and it got bumped.

Either way, at some point in the process I think they realized they weren’t going to be able to complete the Light Temple, so they blocked off the side path and expanded the sword chamber to eat up the extra space. After all, you can see how long the building is from the outside, so it wouldn’t make much sense for it to be a reverse Tardis and be smaller on the inside. Once the back path was removed, I imagine they reworked Rauru to reduce his role; my head canon has always been that he was some kind of high priest who oversaw the Temple of Time, since it IS essentially a church. I mean, just look at that garb. He certainly appears to be some kind of holy man.

Having him as a priest at the Temple of Time that you could actually meet and talk to as a kid would’ve finally made his presence make sense. It would explain who and what he is at all, since he just kind of appears out of nowhere as the game currently stands, and it would’ve aligned with the other sages insofar as meeting them when they don’t realize their powers, then saving them as an adult and awakening them as a sage. In fact, Rauru disappearing from the Temple of Time would’ve been the game’s first big red flag that something has gone terribly wrong in the last seven years, versus having to go outside to see all the decay and the dark energy around Death Mountain. Furthermore, each sage is someone that the game explicitly positions as a person that makes sense TO be each temple’s respective sage, and to me, a priest from the Temple of Time is the obvious choice for the Light Sage when you consider that the Light Temple is probably part of the same building.

Speaking of the Temple of Time, it has a lot of clues of its own that it may have once doubled as the Light Temple. For one thing, consider the songs that warp you around the game: The Minuet of Forest takes you to the Forest Temple, the Bolero of Fire takes you to the Fire Temple, the Serenade of Water takes you to the Water Temple... but what song takes you to the Temple of Time? It’s not a song with time in the name anywhere, it’s the Prelude of Light. This would make perfect sense if the Light Temple was supposed to share space with the Temple of Time, right?

Another clue is the warp points themselves. Each time you warp to one of the temples, you land on a large pedestal bearing the Triforce. However, there’s another image overlayed on them too: That temple’s medallion. If you play the Prelude of Light to warp to the Temple of Time, the pedestal you land on features the the Light Medallion, as though this is where you were supposed to have earned it.

I later discovered that this is even more prominent in another old beta screenshot, which is much more heavy-handed with the symbol on the pedestal.

Something else to consider is the fact that the Temple of Time is actually where you acquire the Light Arrows, the final item that you need before you take on Ganon at the end. Like the medallion before it, the Light Arrows are again just given to you without requiring any work. The other temples all have a critically important item inside that you must obtain to not only finish the temple itself, but that is then needed in other areas in the game. Doesn’t it seem like you’d have to complete the Light Temple to get the Light Arrows, and they’d follow the same pattern of being used to finish the temple and then go on for further use elsewhere (namely, Ganon’s Castle)?

Getting the Light Arrows last also lends credence toward the idea that the Light Temple was in fact lower on the development list, because it would’ve necessarily been the last temple you visited in terms of game progression. They’re not going to give you the ultimate holy weapon early on in the game; they have to save that for the end so you don’t blow through the rest of the temples without a sweat! Additionally, the Light Temple being last would only increase the tension of wondering where Rauru went, since each time you warped between the past and the future you’d have to pass through the Temple of Time and note once again that Rauru is missing.

If it were me making the priority list, the temples would be listed in the same order that you play them in-game, because obviously you need to go through [dungeon 1] before you can go through [dungeon 2] or [dungeon 3].* In this particular instance, chronological order and order of importance happen to be the same thing, and if the development team used the same reasoning, then yes, the Light Temple would be much lower on the list than the others. It’s entirely within reason to think that they had planned for it, but realized they weren’t going to have time to fully implement it, and instead blocked it off and handed over the items you would’ve obtained there so they could focus on getting other, more critical things done.

It’s also worth noting just how much infodumping happens at the Temple  of Time. As the game currently stands, there’s very little to actually do at the ToT, but there are many long conversations that take place there. You talk to Zelda, both as herself and as Sheik, you talk to Rauru (as that technically happens while you’re at the ToT), and even Ganon monologues a bit there at the end. You end up spending a LOT of time spent standing around while other characters pelt you with information in this particular location. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t have been any big conversations here, but rather that I feel like there are more than there probably should’ve been. Some (possibly most) of that information could’ve been obtained more gradually and actively if the Light Temple had managed to be a thing.

And look, I’m not saying that what we ultimately got in the game doesn’t work; there’s nothing specifically wrong with the way Ocarina of Time handles the Temple of Time. I agree that getting the Light Medallion and Light Arrows in the ToT isn’t completely out of nowhere since the ToT is connected to the Sacred Realm. I’m only saying it doesn’t come across as the original  design to me; as far as I’m concerned, it clearly, obviously screams that what we got was a back-up plan. It works just enough to make sense, but it would work so much better if they did it this other way. Everything just clicks together a little more snugly when you consider that there may have been a sixth temple. It’s not that what we got doesn’t make sense, it’s just that I believe these ideas make more sense.

This topic is something I used to go on and on about back in the day, to pretty much anyone who would listen to me. I was met with about as many different kinds of feedback as you can imagine; some people agreed that I was on to something and had maybe solved a mystery, whereas others thought I was reading way too much into details that just don’t have that deep of a meaning. Unfortunately, it’s obviously not something I could take that far in an argument because there was no way to prove my hypothesis. It’s all just a guess, and even though I think there’s some pretty strong evidence to back it up, in the end I have no way to actually verify it. Sure I could contact Nintendo, but I highly doubt they’d tell me anything one way or the other.

SO NEEDLESS TO SAY when Twilight Princess eventually came along and had a Temple of Time that was a for-realsies playable dungeon with monsters and puzzles and items to collect, I went through the fucking roof.

At the EXACT moment that I realized that this is what the game was giving me, I literally screamed and shouted and cheered because I felt so... vindicated, in a way? It felt very strongly like a soft confirmation of what I’d been saying for all these years -- ESPECIALLY since the Twilight!ToT ALSO makes heavy use of the Light Medallion symbol. I feel like that’s about as clear of a connection as you can get.

Like, I know the Temple of Time being playable in Twilight Princess doesn’t absolutely confirm that it was supposed to be that way in Ocarina of Time, but it gives me that vibe because it feels like Twilight makes a point to ‘right’ a lot of ‘wrongs’ present in Ocarina. It gives me the sense that they were making up for some of the things they didn’t (or couldn’t) do the first time around. The fact that they were willing to delay the release of Twilight Princess just to make sure everything was just right also gives me that vibe. They could’ve just cut things again, but this time, they wanted to make sure everything was there, and that it was good.

One other thing I’d like to mention before completely moving on from this topic is something that I admittedly can’t confirm, but it’s another point that’s been on my mind: Back when I was playing Twilight Princess for the first time and I was screaming about the Temple of Time, a guy I knew back then mentioned to me that the ToT that we see in Twilight is, canonically, the same ToT that we see in Ocarina. He said that he’d heard somewhere that the Ocarina world map actually fit perfectly when overlayed against the Twilight world map, and the major world features/locations from Ocarina of Time lined up exactly with landmarks and ruins in the Twilight Princess world. I did attempt to look this up for myself before writing this post, but most of what I found was a big mess; I may attempt to line the maps up myself sometime if just to be able to better wrap my brain around what might (or might not) work here. What I can definitely say, though, is that the idea is at least supported by the theme of the series in general, given that it’s based around the notion of history repeating itself. Zelda games reference other Zelda games all the time, so it’s far from unheard of.

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier the Light Temple isn’t the only thing that makes me feel like Twilight Princess is trying to make amends for things that were missed in Ocarina of Time; it just happens to be the one I was most prominently fixated on. Another big thing that Twilight Princess appears to be rectifying is the City in the Sky. Going back again to my old stomping ground The Odyssey of Hyrule, there was another beta screenshot that got a LOT of attention back in the day, because it 1) was an animated gif, 2) involves the Triforce, and 3) appears to be some kind of ‘Sky Temple,’ as it was known.

(Once upon a time that gif was reasonably sized, but since computers have roided the fuck out since the days of Windows 95, I realize it’s not the biggest or clearest thing in the world and I apologize.)

As I recall there were a couple of other screenshots that appeared to also be from this alleged Sky Temple, but sadly I don’t seem to have any of them myself, and although The Odyssey of Hyrule technically still exists, it looks like its images are all broken. In any case, the question of whether or not Ocarina of Time was supposed to have a sky temple was a HUUUUGE hot topic among Zelda sites for years. So many people spent enormous amounts of time and energy trying to find the so-called Sky Temple, largely because there was a sizable sect of the fanbase convinced that the Triforce HAD to be hidden somewhere in the game. Amazingly enough someone did eventually find the Triforce obscenely hidden in the game files (I wish I still had the pics of that, the amount of glitching needed to get to it was insane), but nothing was ever ultimately discovered about the Sky Temple. It just became one of those bits of gaming folklore that got passed around from person to person over time.

Which, of course, is why the inclusion of the City in the Sky in Twilight Princess, much like the expansion of the Temple of Time, feels a lot like Nintendo is making up for something they may have intended to do but were unable to complete.

Not gonna lie, when I played this area for the first time I couldn’t help thinking that the small glimpse in the gif above feels like it could feasibly fit in here, and it was just the coolest feeling of, “I knew it!”

Another thing that really bugged me about Ocarina of Time (and in fact still does to this day) is the fact that, even after you beat the Water Temple, Zora’s Domain remains frozen. I never understood how this could be, since every other area reverts back to its original, beautiful form after you defeat the evil in the associated temple. Not Zora’s Domain, though! It’s thoroughly unsatisfying to have gone through what is arguably the most hated temple in the game and not have a full reward for your efforts.

This, again, is something it seems Twilight apologizes for; not only does it actually replicate the original problem of the Zoras getting frozen, but IN THIS ONE YOU ACTUALLY THAW THEM OUT!! And not only that, you thaw them BEFORE you even do the temple! That alone feels like Nintendo practically coming out and saying, “Yeah, we messed up, our bad. Here, have the restored Zoras right away as our apology.” It was such a huge mental release to see that ice melt and the Zoras come back to life! My brain was finally able to let go of a frustration I’d had for years!

My last one isn’t so much something that I felt was supposed to be in Ocarina of Time, but rather something I just plain wanted to be there. I was always sad that, even though you do technically get to enter Hyrule Castle, you don’t really get to go in there. You get an extremely limited and very linear track to follow, and at best you just get glimpses of some of the other areas that probably would’ve been really cool to explore had the game been designed that way.

I always felt like the fact that you didn’t get any real exploration of Hyrule Castle upset some of the balance in the game, considering that you do have to fully traverse Ganon’s Castle as a solvable dungeon. Being able to get a thorough sense of what Hyrule Castle was originally like before evil fell would help reinforce just how much things had changed in the seven years that Link was in the Sacred Realm, especially since that contrast is such a strong theme everywhere else in the game.

So, much like my reaction when I realized I was actually entering the Temple of Time as a level, I had a very similar reaction when I realized I was getting Hyrule Castle in the same way.

I may not have freaked out quite as much, but DAMN if that wasn’t another enormous payoff for me! Getting to really look around inside of Hyrule Castle, and furthermore in a version that’s really able to convey the scale and grandness OF a castle, was an absolutely magical moment of overdue gratification.

What’s even better is that Twilight Princess almost gives you a sort of a fake-out in this regard, since at the very beginning you kind of go through Hyrule Castle but, like Ocarina of Time, it’s extremely limited and linear, so it seems at first like they’re going to do the same thing.

I remember playing this for the first time and thinking, “Well, at least I’ve gotten a little closer to seeing inside of Hyrule Castle, but I really wish they’d just friggin’ let us ACTUALLY go in.” IMAGINE MY CHAGRIN when later on that’s exactly what I ended up doing~ I’m sitting there fan-screaming and the game is going “AH HA I GOTCHA!!”

Soooooo yeah... This ended up being an extremely long post and probably way more than you were ever interested in knowing, but, yeah, I think that’s why Twilight Princess felt like such a bookend for me. Even though I did technically have the original LoZ as a child, my life as a Zelda fan really began with Ocarina of Time, and that game left me longing for several very specific things that Twilight Princess later fulfilled. I’ve never had so many large unresolved issues with any other game, and the fact that Ocarina of Time was the Zelda game that I ‘imprinted’ on, those issues left a very deep impression on me. Having Twilight Princess essentially go back and ‘fix’ those things was incredibly psychologically calming for me, and I think it’s a major reason why I haven’t particularly sought out other Zelda games in the last 12 years. Twilight Princess gave me the things I’d been looking for since 1998 -- a decade of hemming and hawing finally resolved.

I honestly feel like playing Zelda games may be different for me in some way now as I move forward, because I won’t have a part of my brain mentally searching for a way to fill those little voids in the back of my head. I have both Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild, which as I said in that other post I’ve actually never tried out, so I guess we’ll find out how I relate to them whenever I finally decide to take that leap!

If you actually made it to the end of this post, THANK YOU SO MUCH and I hope you enjoyed it~

*Fun fact, this isn’t necessarily true when it comes to the Fire and Water Temples. The game wants you to do Fire first, but it’s completely possible to do the Water Temple if you want to!

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Les vêpres siciliennes (ROH, 2013): Reactions, Part III

And now, the denouement.

creepy creepy

my poor child :(

great aria, GREAT tenor

oh no :(

BRAVISSIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

no wait

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd there it is

Hélène: ?????????????????????

yet another awesome duet

that is a committed significant other right there

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

like 80% of grand opéras right here, folks

*wild applause because the audience DIDN’T FUCKING CLAP*

(which yes, I realize that technically this aria is part of a long duet scene but unlike some arias it actually does have a fixed ending that doesn’t flow directly into the next section of the scene so YOU CAN TAKE A PAUSE THERE AND LET THE PEOPLE CLAP especially when it’s this good)

they’re so CUTE omg

seriously omg protect them

Procida, uh, you’ve got a little something on your...

nooooooooooooooooooooooo

“well fml”

this quartet is FIRE

well technically he’s not guilty and you know that because, you know, he’s not among the people about to get executed

nepotism...

and blackmail (of a sort)!

fun times! definitely not dick parenting!

this scene is just so cool

the executioner: *is an 8-year-old*

oh honey

onstage audience: *starts applauding*

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

a fast change of tune...but is it really true???

cueing the conductor and breaking the fourth wall

you may want to remember this opera is called The Sicilian Vespers for a reason

what could possibly go wrong???

dudes be dancing together :)

I hope the two of them getting together was mutually consensual

BOLERO TIME!!!

also I WANT THAT OUTFIT

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah you sing it!!!

aww baby

:)

omg their sheer CUTENESS

DUDE NO ESPECIALLY NOT ON THIS CUTE COUPLE’S WEDDING DAY WHAT THE FUCK

yes QUEEN!

between a rock and a hard place (and I originally said ‘high’ which is why perhaps I should not try to use metaphors so late)

Procida is ROCKING that ballgown

warped mirror image

stunning trio

oh no oh honey :(

hey will both of you guys chill for five seconds

stabby-stab with a flag

‘wait wtf everyone just got stabbed and now they’re alive again”

no STOP

VENGEANCE

yeah I don’t know either

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 10: Heated Discussions

Nami wasn’t sure how long or how far she’d run through the winding backstreets of Grimm, but she didn’t stop until her legs literally gave out from under her, forcing her down onto the hard pavement of a dark alley.

Panic gripped her vital organs like a meaty fist. Her body was on fire, sweat dripped down her spine, and every inhalation was agony as her lungs struggled to draw in the barest amount of oxygen needed to keep up with the blood rushing through her veins. The Heart Pirate jumpsuit was suffocating her, holding in the unbearable heat and chafing her hyper-sensitive skin, but she was too weak and exhausted to take it off, forced to broil alive in the heavy canvas.

For a few minutes she just lay there, her sole thought a silent plea for her heart to stop trying to beating against her ribcage like Luffy’s angry punches. Orange hair darkened with sweat, tears streaked down her face, and the only sounds she could make were ragged sobs.

“Miss? Are you alright?” came a deep, authoritative voice from above her, and she trembled. Was it Arlong? Had he found her? Was he going to beat her for running away? Kill Nojiko and Mr. Genzo? Destroy some innocent villager’s house as a display of his “superior” species’ power?

Please, please don’t hurt them! I’ll be good, I swear! Nami thought, squeezing her eyes closed and drawing her legs against her torso to protect herself. It would hurt, but if she had to choose between getting hit and seeing the people she loved suffer, she’d take the blows every time.

“Miss, speak to me—are you hurt? Were you attacked? Do you need a doctor?”

Did she need a doctor? Dr. Nako had fixed up fevers, scraped knees, and stomach aches since she was a child. But no, Arlong would find out and make an example of him. Nami managed the barest shake of her head, curling even more tightly into a ball, mentally begging the stranger to just leave her alone before he got himself killed. People who tried to help her always died the most horrible deaths. Memories of Bellemere’s final moments, of blood and skull fragments splattering as Arlong shot her point-blank, made Nami start hyperventilating. She couldn’t see that again, not even to a stranger, no no no no nononononononono…

Large, strong hands rested on her back and legs, gently straightening her out. “I know you’re scared, but you need to stop pressing your knees into your stomach—it’s keeping your lungs from expanding fully, so you’re not getting the air you need.”

The voice was steady and knowing, at just the right octave to cut through the heavy pounding of blood in her ears. Unconsciously she obeyed, knees lowering, and her lungs swelled as she took several deep breaths.

“There you go. Just focus on breathing. In. Out. Here.” Nami flinched as she heard fabric rustling, trying to draw into herself again as she imagined her mystery man drawing a weapon, but she immediately relaxed as her nose was greeted by the clean, familiar aroma of oranges and mikans. “Breathe this in. Citrus scents reduce stress and anxiety.”

Like an ocean wave, the thought of Bellemere’s grove washed over her. She remembered the safety of her mother’s arms, how her hands always smelled like mikans no matter how many times she washed them. She remembered Nojiko making mikan shampoo for the first time, giving her a bottle before going off to rob more pirates. She remembered the delicious fruit dishes Sanji would make her, the times she’d find Zoro napping under the trees, the iced tea she’d share with Robin, watching Chopper try a fresh mikan for the first time, and knocking Luffy over the head when she caught him pilfering her fruit.

The smell made her feel safe. Like she was home, with her family and nakama.

After a few minutes her heart rate began to slow, aided by the hand on her back rubbing deliberate, soothing circles between her shoulder blades. “That’s better. Miss, can you sit up? I want to make sure you’re not injured.”

Nodding mutely, she allowed the man to help her sit upright and lean against the hard brick wall. She could breathe again, but she was still miserably hot. Lethargic fingers clumsily tried to unzip the top of her jumpsuit, desperate to vent the heat that had built up inside the thick fabric. Her hands were halted by a larger pair quickly grabbing them, however, as the voice shouted, “Whoa, whoa! Miss! There’s no need to get undressed!”

Her eyes finally opened enough to see a blushing, wide-eyed man around thirty years old staring down at her in shock and embarrassment.

“Please,” she whimpered, struggling weakly against his grip. “I’m burning up.”

His cheeks turned a dangerous shade of scarlet at her needy tone, and he looked away, clearly uncomfortable. “Are you at least wearing something underneath?” he choked out.

A tiny smile lifted the corner of her lips. It seemed her savior was either a gentleman or just incredibly shy. Good thing she’d had the foresight to wear a sports bra and shorts under the jumpsuit. “Uh huh. Please, I just…I need it off.”

“Ok. I’ll…help you undress, then.”

She audibly moaned in relief when the cool air touched her sweaty skin. Invigorated, she managed to peel the whole uniform off, a satisfied smile coming to her face as her temperature finally dropped. It was like jumping into a cool lagoon on the hottest day of the year, banishing the wretched layer of stifling humidity that had trapped her.

No longer panicking or burning up, Nami’s mind at last cleared enough to realize what she’d done. She’d managed to disobey every order Law’d given her—she ran off on her own, ditched her companions, and removed the uniform. She was in so much trouble when he found her.

She didn’t disillusion herself with the idea that he wouldn’t. Law’s abilities could let him scan the whole island and teleport her back to his ship in an instant if he wanted. It’s not like she could escape Grimm, either—she had no boat, no crew, and no real idea where to go, and she was smart enough to know he’d still probably spend his days searching for her, if for no other reason than she’d attacked his crew.

Oh, damn, I hope they’re alright, she thought, burying her face in her hands. Her wind attacks weren’t deadly, but accidents happened, and she really couldn’t remember exactly what she’d done in her panic. What if it had been strong enough to trip Ikkaku and crack her skull open on the street? What if it knocked Shachi over and re-broke his arm? What if it sent Bepo stumbling back into a stray, sharp piece of wood, impaling a vital organ? Nami might have been scared, but she’d never forgive herself if she’d brought any harm to them.

An awkward cough caught her attention, and forcing the dark possibilities that she’d killed her friends from her mind, Nami distracted herself by finally giving her savior a proper look.

Even sitting down, the man was large. About Bepo’s height by her estimate and as muscular as Smoker, he had a hooked nose, X-shaped scar across his chin, and blue eyes that stood out starkly against the black domino mask and the shadow cast by his pointed, plumed hat. His ginger hair was a few shades darker than hers, with thick sideburns framing his chiseled, lantern jaw. Nearly his entire outfit was made of midnight blue leather, from his gloves to his thigh-high boots to his bolero. Clipped to his broad shoulders was a long cape, also blue but lined with burgundy red on the inside. His chest was exposed, showcasing the enormous X tattoo adorning his torso, and at his side were two massive weapons—a saber and what appeared to be the lovechild of a mace and an axe.

That’s “Red Flag” X Drake, Nami realized, the Supernova’s wanted poster instantly popping into her head. He wasn’t quite as notoriously sadistic or infamously violent as Law or Eustass Kid, but it was easy to remember a pirate who’d defected from the Marines. She’d assumed he’d headed off to the New World like the others, but perhaps he was like Law and thought it better to wait things out?

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, deliberately keeping his eyes on her face.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Th-thanks for the h-help,” she replied with a stammer, desperately trying to convince her heart there was no need to panic again. Of course, her instincts knew better; X Drake was a pirate on the Grand Line and a Supernova at that. His bounty was even higher than Law’s, and probably for good reason. She was alone with him in a back alley with no crew to back her up, whether Straw Hat or Heart Pirate. A woman with her limited combat prowess stood a snowball’s chance in hell against him in a fight, and he was big enough to crush her throat with one hand if he wanted to.

Yet…he seemed nervous. The redness had faded from his face, but there was still a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. His posture seemed casual at first glance, but she could see the subtle tension in his neck and shoulders. Most noticeably, he was doing his damnedest not to look anywhere below her chin, even though his greater height gave him an excellent view of her exposed cleavage.

Drake was a rival pirate and former rear-admiral of the Navy, but she got the feeling that if she really needed to, she could easily escape by flashing him.

“Good to hear, though I really don’t think you should be stripping around here, and especially not asking strange men to help you. Most might consider it an…invitation,” he said, awkwardly scratching his jaw as he glanced away, blushing harder at the thought.

A small smile curved her lips. Yup, he was definitely trying not to stare at her half-naked body. Who would have thought a man as infamous as X Drake would be so bashful? “But not you?”

“I prefer my invitations to be enthusiastic and explicit,” was his stiff reply as he leaned against the wall beside her. Nami didn’t miss the brief, almost guilty glances he stole at her from the corner of his eye, though. “And certainly not from a woman in the midst of a panic attack.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a wink. She was feeling much more clear-headed and like her normal self now that her brain wasn’t being cooked, and the knowledge that X Drake had such an easily exploited weakness to her body made her relax. “Why do you carry around mikan perfume, anyway?”

The pink tips of his ears deepened. “It’s not perfume; it’s orange extract. During my time in the Marines, I had many comrades who suffered PTSD or panic attacks, and aromatherapy has been proven to be good for reducing anxiety—particularly citrus scents. I rarely experience them myself anymore, but it’s still useful during periods of extreme stress. Seemed to be rather effective on you,” he said with a raised eyebrow before quickly glancing away.

Taking pity on him, Nami drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them so he wasn’t given such a shameless view of her bountiful chest. “I grew up in a mikan grove. The smell reminds me of home.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, a look of understanding softening his stern features. “Does it? No wonder, then.” He handed her the bottle. “Dab a little under your nose and rub some on your hands—better safe than sorry.”

Gratefully she did so, relishing the refreshing, familiar scent of her favorite fruit. “Thanks. Guess I’m lucky you’re the one who stumbled across me, huh?”

“I’ll say. I was passing by when I saw you running like the Devil himself was after you. Piqued my curiosity, and I suppose not all of my Marine training has left me; simply had to help a damsel in distress.”

She chuckled, though it turned into a soft moan of relief as the bare skin of her back pressed against the cool brick behind her.

Drake’s brow furrowed as he looked her over critically. “You really shouldn’t sit around half-dressed out here, you know.”

“Because of men without invitations?”

“Because it’s far too cold to be walking around in so little, and with the sheen of sweat on your skin, you’re at a high risk of getting hypothermia.”

Nami stubbornly shook her head, though she frowned at the feeling of the damp ends of her hair against her bare shoulders. “Honestly, that damn jumpsuit was so hot, freezing to death sounds like a dream come true right now.”

“Yes, but I’m sure your crew would be quite distraught to find out you’d died in such an ignoble way.”

She stiffened at the mention of her crew. Was he talking about the Heart Pirates or Straw Hats? “Yeah, fair enough. I just really don’t want to get back in that thing,” she replied, toe nudging the boiler suit disdainfully.

Drake scoffed in agreement. “Considering whose emblem is on it, I don’t blame you.” Standing, he hoisted her to her feet as if she weighed nothing. Now Nami could see just how tall he was, completely towering over her. She thought he might get all flustered again as her cleavage was once more on display, but his intense blue eyes were fixed upon the swirling tattoo on her shoulder. “I must say, I’m surprised—I didn’t believe the outlandish rumors that Cat Thief Nami had joined the Heart Pirates, even after Jinzo started babbling about why he didn’t have my money. I figured he was just making excuses. And yet, here you are.”

She stiffened. Well, now she knew who the broker’s next appointment was supposed to have been. “Ah. I’m guessing he was mad?”

A red eyebrow quirked, and his lips twitched upwards in amusement. “He was quite vocal about what he hoped to do to you for costing him so much belli. You’re lucky I found you instead of any of his men. A woman by herself is already taking a great risk wandering around in these back alleys—even more so when she’s made an enemy of the island’s most unscrupulous black market broker.”

She gulped at the implication. Damn, Law really was right, wasn’t he? If someone other than Drake had come across her while she was helpless on the ground…

“Well, I appreciate the rescue,” she squeaked, deciding it was time to head back to the Polar Tang. Glancing up and down the alley, she tried to recall her steps. She’d pretty much run blindly through the alleyways, but she was certain her natural sense of direction could get her back to the docks. Sure, Law would be mad at her for running off, but he was a hell of a lot safer than Jinzo. She shivered at the memory of the man’s hateful stare as Law had led her away, certain she’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble if she ran into him in the grungy alley.

Mistaking her shiver for the cold finally getting to her, Drake unclipped his cape, wrapping it around her shoulders with a flourish, bundling her in tightly. “There. It would be a shame for you to die of exposure before I got you back to the ship.”

A small whine escaped the back of her throat as she was engulfed by the thick fabric, once more feeling stifled and too hot. She struggled to escape the long cloak, but he only wrapped her up tighter.

“Let me go,” so moaned pathetically, face once more flushing as her heart sped up. The material was softer than the boiler suit, but it was still heavy and suffocating, and Drake’s lingering body heat in the fibers made it worse. “It’s too hot!”

“Miss Nami, unless you’ve recently eaten some sort of fire-based Devil Fruit, I can’t imagine how you could be anything but freezing,” he said with a stern frown. “I understand you’re afraid of me, and with good reason, but I won’t hurt you if you come quietly. I’m not in the business of harming hostages unless absolutely necessary.”

“Hostages?”

A hint of a sly smirk tugged at his lips. “I confess, I am a bit miffed at you for causing Jinzo to reschedule on me—he owes me a lot of belli, and I was hoping to be off this damn island by now. Kidnapping you is not only cathartic, but profitable; your bounty’s hardly worth turning you in for, but perhaps Jinzo might make me a better offer. Or I could put your skills to use in exchange for your eventual freedom. After all, your thieving skills are quite notorious, and Trafalgar must have recruited you for a reason.”

Oh no. The last thing she needed was to be the slave of another pirate captain. “Um, how about you ransom me to Law?” she suggested hopefully. “I’m sure he could pay whatever you were going to ask Jinzo, and then some!” Angry as the Surgeon of Death might be about her running off and getting kidnapped, surely he’d be able to rescue her if he knew X Drake had her, right? It’d be easy with his powers, and there’d be no need to buy her back when he could snatch her away with a flick of his fingers.

There was a brief, angry flash of sharp fangs as he growled, “Because the less I have to interact with that smarmy bastard, the happier I’ll be. Don’t think I don’t see through your little scheme; why would he pay when his powers can easily steal you back? Besides that, I’ll be damned if I let that ingrate gain an extra advantage by poaching Straw Hat’s thief.”

“Let me go!” she cried. Drake’s sudden switch from surprisingly helpful to a legitimate threat to her well-being demanded she pull together what little energy she had and escape. The problem was she was running on fumes and in the clutches of an eight-foot-tall former Marine whose bicep was thicker than her waist and could probably crush her skull with one hand like a rotten apple if he desired. Fighting was definitely out, and with the way he’d swaddled her in his cloak, she couldn’t even flash him like she’d planned.

Desperate, Nami attempted to wiggle out of the heavy fabric, but he grabbed the collar and tugged her close, looming over her threateningly.

“Don’t bother trying to run—even if you did somehow get away, you’re covered in both my scent and the citrus oil.” For a moment, his eyes shifted, harsh, reptilian yellow overtaking the blue, and he took a deep breath through his nose. “In a rancid cesspool like this, I’d hunt you down easily. If you come quietly, I promise you will be treated well; perhaps even invited to join my crew, if you play your cards right. If you resist, I’ll have to switch the orange extract for chloroform, and the next time you wake up, you’ll be in Jinzo’s possession.”

Once more, her heart began to race, but thankfully her mind wasn’t overcome yet with memories and panic. “Look, I…I’m sorry if I accidentally caused you trouble, but Jinzo’s a cheapskate who’d rather kill you to get me than actually pay. And if what you’re worried about is my alliance with Law, it’s just a temporary partnership! I don’t even like the guy!”

“Nobody likes Trafalgar; he’s a sadistic asshole.” A massive arm wrapped around her tiny waist and he hoisted her up so her feet dangled above the ground, pressing her against his scorching chest. “And if that’s truly the case, then you have even less reason to resist—think of it as a rescue.”

“From the way things look, the only one she needs to be saved from is you, Drake-ya.”

A blue aura surrounded them, and in an instant Nami was out of Drake’s grasp and firmly in Law’s, one tattooed arm wrapping possessively around her bare midriff while the other leaned Kikoku casually on his shoulder. Hard plains of muscle pressed against her back, and she could feel his sharp chin rest on the top of her head.

Nami’s body was tense, but not as much as it had been with Drake. Some of it had to do with the essential oil keeping her calm and the cool air once more regulating her temperature, but it was mostly because, dangerous as he was, Law was the devil she knew. No matter how pissed he might be at her disobedience, he would protect her; she was his property, right? Arlong had certainly punished her for her misdeeds against him, but he’d never allowed anyone not on his crew lay so much as a hand on her.

Pirates didn’t like other people touching their things, after all.

“Been a while, Drake-ya,” Law’s smooth voice caressed her ears. “Making a move on my Cat Thief, I see. How’s that going so far? Have you told her how many people you’ve killed? I’m sure that always impresses the ladies.”

“Trafalgar,” Drake spat, glaring disdainfully between the empty cape in his hand and the man standing ten feet away. “I’m quite certain the woman belongs to Straw Hat, not you.”

“Hmmm, normally, but since I was nice enough to save his life, I thought it was only fair that he let me borrow her while he trains.” Law chuckled and Nami felt his nose playfully nuzzle her temple as his hand slid up to splay just beneath her breast. “You know I’ve got a thing for feisty gingers.”

The former Marine snorted in response as he donned his cloak. “Well, since she’s apparently the reason Jinzo had to reschedule our appointment, I think it’s only fair that I ‘borrow’ her for a while as recompense.”

“Sorry, she and I have dinner plans tonight. Besides, I did you a favor—he’s not as good as Kimo when it comes to honoring deals. Had the nerve to try and give me less than a third of our agreed-on price. If it hadn’t been for my little kitten here, you’d be trying to negotiate with a corpse.”

Hearing Law call her “kitten” made Nami shudder, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. It felt disturbingly familiar somehow and made the hairs on the back of her neck rise as goosebumps rippled across her skin.

Drake crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Jinzo’s unscrupulous scum, but he owes me money. Money that your ‘little kitten’ managed to swindle from him, the way he tells it.”

“If he’d brought the amount Kimo had agreed to pay me, I wouldn’t have needed her uncanny haggling skills.” Law cocked his head to the side. “Out of curiosity, how much does he owe you?”

“600 million belli.”

“He only had 725 million on him for his four scheduled deals, and he only planned to pay me 200 million. So even if his other clients were working for free, he had no intention of paying your asking price.” He let out a wry chuckle. “The man must have a death wish, looking to cheat two Supernovas in one day.”

Drake swore under his breath. “Fine. If he won’t pay me properly, I’ll just have to wring his neck and take the money from him. But considering how you still ruined my plans to leave this wretched place on schedule, I’m ruining your dinner plans. Now hand the Cat Thief over,” he growled, gripping the hilt of his saber. “I have a greater need for her than you.”

The nodachi on Law’s shoulder shifted in response. “Look, not that I’m opposed to you getting laid—anything to get the stick out of your ass—but Nami-ya’s mine.” The woman in question could practically hear Law’s smirk as he continued, “Why don’t you try the brothel the next street over? I’m sure the lovely ladies there will be happy to service your ‘needs’ for the right price.”

Drake gaped for a moment before sputtering, “I’m not looking to sleep with her!”

“Now don’t be bashful, Drake-ya! Sexual urges are completely healthy and natural, and I certainly don’t blame you for wanting a sexy redhead. Hell, maybe she can finally help you ditch your V-card.”

“You know I’m not a virgin!” he snapped, face flushing dark red in humiliation a second later as he realized precisely what he’d said.

Law’s grin widened, more than happy to take advantage of the slip. “Oh yeah—I do, don’t I? Never imagined I’d get to tame a dinosaur, but anything’s possible on the Grand Line, right?”

Nami’s jaw dropped as her cheeks heated. Holy crap, Law and Drake? Together?! She had so many questions.

“You didn’t ‘tame’ me,” Drake growled as he forced himself to calm down, though his ears still burned to match his ginger hair.

“Oh? So you’d let any man ride you? Slut.”

Maybe it was her imagination, but Nami swore she could feel Law’s erection against her lower back. Was he seriously getting turned on by this? She began to feel warm again as her own arousal spiked, much to her irritation. Could anyone blame her, though? Drake was not an unattractive man, and the mental image of him and Law battling for dominance in the bedroom was certainly titillating.

“Trafalgar,” he snarled, eyes morphing into their yellow, reptilian state, “either you hand over the woman right now or—”

“Or what? You’ll take her from me? Sorry, Drake-ya, but you know what a possessive bastard I am. I found her first, so she’s mine.”

“I don’t see your name on her,” he said petulantly.

Law spared the woman in his arms a small glare. “She’s a crafty kitten that likes to slip her leash sometimes, but I’m happy to stake my claim here and now.” A tattooed hand cupped her breast as her rolled his hips against her ass. There was no mistake what he had in mind. “Feel free to watch—you might learn something.”

There he went calling her “kitten” again, and his shameless groping nearly made Nami choke. She’d grown used to his flirting and suggestive touches, but he’d never been this blatant! Hell, compared to this, he’d been downright chaste when they’d made out in the mansion hall and when he’d given her that hickey! Was it his weird form of punishing her for running off? Or was it just to mess with Drake? Law certainly seemed to enjoy riling the other pirate up, but did he need to go so far as to threaten to fuck her in front of him to scare Drake away?

More importantly, would that even work? Law’d basically been putting her scantily clad figure on display for him throughout the entire conversation, but Drake didn’t seem nearly as flustered as he’d been when it had just been the two of them. Maybe Law’s insults and innuendos had distracted him enough to look past Nami’s full breasts and sensual curves before, but the way he was looking at her now…

It was similar to the hungry gaze Law sometimes gave her, only more feral. Animalistic. And she wasn’t fully sure if it was directed at her, the Surgeon of Death, or both.

Whichever it was, Law was playing a dangerous game of chicken, and if Drake snapped, she was the one caught in the middle.

The idea that the argument might morph into a violent, sexual brawl made Nami renew her struggles. “Will you both quit fucking talking about me like I’m some stupid toy you’re fighting over?!” she snapped, twisting and writhing in Law’s arms. “If you want to measure dicks, go ahead; just leave me out of it!”

Both men seemed momentarily taken aback by her outburst, though Law recovered quickly enough to tighten his arm around her waist. The sheathed nodachi pressed threateningly to her bare throat, saying without words that she was dancing on thin ice, and Nami reluctantly stilled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw gold eyes narrow at her defiance before his expression morphed back into a cocky smirk. “See, Drake-ya? This little kitten’s way too feisty for you to handle.”

“I only hope she scratches your eyes out,” he countered, though he did back off slightly, his eyes returning to normal. Ignoring his rival, he addressed the Cat Thief directly, though it was obvious her bare skin distracted him. “Miss Nami, I’m sure with Straw Hat missing you’re only associating yourself with Trafalgar out of desperation. However, I can assure you that you can do far better than this psychopath.”

Before she could answer, the alley was once more engulfed in blue, and Nami groaned as she found herself redressed in the Heart Pirate uniform. Behind her, Law sneered, “Maybe she can, but she’s paying off Straw Hat’s life debt to me, so she’s mine until her contract is up. I might be willing to lend her to you in exchange for a few favors, but that’s something you negotiate with me—not her.”

The jumpsuit was hot, uncomfortably damp with sweat, and combined with Law’s arms wrapped tightly around her, even more suffocating than before. Nami’s heart was once more beginning to race, chest rising and falling hard as she fought to draw breath. It wasn’t as bad as before due to the essential oil still lingering under her nose, but her body was slowly reverting back into fight or flight mode.

Tension rose as the two pirates glared at each other, neither noticing nor caring about the woman’s distress.

Pulling off a leather glove, Drake’s hand shifted into a reptilian claw before their eyes. Flexing his talons menacingly, he growled, “A debt, huh? Well, if I kill you right now, that should clear any debt away and she’ll be free to do as she pleases. How about it, Miss Nami? Agree to help me strip Jinzo of every last belli he’s ever earned, and I’ll be happy to tear Trafalgar’s head off.”

“You threaten that every time, Drake-ya, and yet the only ‘head’ you’ve ever gotten—”

“Law, please, let me go,” Nami cut in, desperate to gain some breathing space and shed the jumpsuit like a snake would its skin. His body heat made it even worse, managing to seep through the dense canvas into her back, and his hot breath at her ear sizzled the damp skin. Despite the lingering smell of citrus, her pulse fluttered, anxiety strumming her veins like guitar strings.

“Stay right there,” the dark doctor rasped, Kikoku dropping to press against her waist while his free hand slid up to wrap threateningly around her throat, “or I really will put a collar on you.” Glancing back up at the former Marine, Law flashed a dangerous smile. “You know, Drake-ya, there’s no reason we can’t all get along. Hell, why don’t you join my crew? The pay’s good, and I wouldn’t mind my very own pet Allosaurus.”

Drake’s mouth twisted in a deep scowl, though Nami didn’t miss the way his eyes briefly dropped to Law’s hand as it trailed down to trace the Heart Pirate logo on her chest. “I’m no one’s pet, least of all yours.”

“You say that now, but I think you’d enjoy it—I know I would. Two sexy, fiery redheads, naked in my bed is pretty much my ultimate fantasy. I’d even let you help me train Nami-ya—she needs to learn obedience, but I know you’ve got no trouble following orders, eh, Navy-boy?”

For a moment, Drake’s eyes lingered on them, and she swore it looked like he was considering it, especially when Law nipped her ear, making her gasp, her chest expanding upwards as her cheeks deepened to an obscene shade of scarlet. She could imagine she looked like a wet dream; sweaty hair tousled, face flushed, cleavage peeking out of the jumpsuit’s opening, lips parted as she panted lightly. Law probably looked just as tempting, with his inviting golden stare, dexterous fingers, and wicked smirk.

Law was absolutely giving an enthusiastic and explicit invitation, and both pirates had shown that Nami’s opinion on the matter was a mere afterthought.

The man behind her shifted, and this time she was positive she could feel the Dark Doctor’s cock straining against her. “Law, please,” she whimpered, sweat breaking out across her brow.

“Mmm, much as I love hearing you beg, Nami-ya, you’re just going to have to be patient. Unless you want to put on a show for Drake-ya?” Long fingers pinched the tab of her zipper, slowly pulling it down to expose more of her cleavage. “Give him a taste of what he could have if he joins us?”

That seemed to snap Drake out of whatever lustful trance Law had lured him into, as his face went bright red and his scowl returned. “Ugh, you’re a disgusting cretin, Trafalgar. I’m not subjecting myself to your presence any longer.” Tipping his plumed hat, he spun on his heel. “If you ever come to your senses and decide to ditch this sadistic bastard, Miss Nami, feel free to seek me out.”

“Damn. I was hoping he’d try to call my bluff,” Law chuckled as the tall redhead disappeared down an alley. “I’d love to show him how I discipline disobedient kittens when they run off.”

“You’ve got the weirdest kinks!” she snapped, struggling desperately in his arms. The moist jumpsuit rubbed unpleasantly against her bare skin like wet sandpaper. The sensation finally brought to light why Law’s new nickname made her so uncomfortable—Arlong had often referred to her as a kitten. Usually as a term of affection, but also a way to further show how little he thought of her species, that he regarded animals typically kept as pets as more worthy of his respect than humans. “Let me go—I’m not your kitten!”

Law released her long enough to spin her around and start walking her backwards with slow, sure strides, gold eyes drilling into hers. “And yet it’s the most accurate description I can think of—you’re a clueless little kitten who has no self-preservation skills likely to get ripped apart by wild dogs!” With a thump her back hit the rough brick wall, but any relief the cool stone might have provided was short-lived as Law pressed his entire body against her front to trap her. “Ditching the uniform was bad enough, but running off on your own? Making a scene in public and attacking your crew? If you were even half as smart as you claim to be, you never would have taken such a stupid risk.”

“I wasn’t thinking—”

“Damn right you weren’t thinking!” he snapped. “I don’t care if you think the uniform’s ugly or uncomfortable, when I give you an order, you obey it!”

“It’s just clothes!”

“If it were just clothes, you wouldn’t have been the one to make it such a huge fucking deal! The fact that you couldn’t follow such a basic order proves you can’t be trusted.” Without breaking eye contact, he reached down, dragging the zipper up to her neck and buttoning the collar so not an inch of flesh south of her chin was exposed. “Now, unless you want me to make good on my threat to discipline you, you’re going to leave that as it is. You managed to punt any leniency I had for your bratty antics right out the window. We’re going back to the ship, where you will be confined for the foreseeable future. If I have to, I’ll chain you to a desk where you’ll spend the rest of the year drawing maps and sea charts for me.”

Her eyes widened at the threat. It was far too much like her dream; like what she’d gone through with Arlong. Panic made her adrenalin spike, and with ever less ventilation than before, the temperature inside the suit rose further. “Please, Law, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t—”

Furious that she was still trying to argue, his voice was as hard and biting as ice as he said, “I’m not interested in excuses, Nami-ya. You disobeyed me, and even more damning, you attacked my crew. I told you when we first met that I’d make you suffer if you brought any harm to them, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“I didn’t mean to! They were threatening me!” she simpered, trying to pull away, but like the man pressed to her front, the wall at her back wasn’t going to relent for the sake of a small, terrified woman.

“Threatening you? Ikkaku, Bepo, and Shachi? If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable,” he snorted, grabbing her left arm in a bruising grip when she tried to unzip the uniform.

“They wanted to tattoo me! To brand me as your property!” Unconsciously she clutched her shoulder, fingers digging into the scars left by her old tattoo. “I couldn’t let them do that to me. Not again.”

“And why would they want to do that?” he asked sarcastically. “Convince me before I cut out your slanderous tongue.”

“So that I couldn’t escape. So that no matter where I went or how I tried to hide, everyone would see that I’m yours,” she whispered, eyes dulling as she recalled the judgmental glares the villagers would give her every time they saw Arlong’s tattoo. Even if it had all been an act, they had cut deeply at the time, and even now she felt overwhelming shame.

Tsking in irritation, he finally gave her a few inches of space. “You make it sound like I’ve enslaved you—you’re the one who came to me, demanding the I let you settle Mugiwara’s debt. What we have is a deal; join my crew until it’s paid off. But it’s pretty hard to do that if Drake-ya or others make off with you, isn’t it? So if I have to make you wear a uniform or even tattoo my mark onto you, so be it.”

Nami’s mind clouded, fear firmly taking hold. She and Arlong had had a deal, too, and he’d used every dirty trick imaginable to deny his cartographer her freedom. What made Law any different? How did she know he’d keep his word and let her leave at the end of the year? What was stopping him from chaining her up and keeping her as a pet, from basically enslaving her even as he called her a valued shipmate?

It was too hot, her flesh felt like it was melting off her bones, blood was pounding in her ears, her scars throbbed, and her vision grew hazy as she began to hyperventilate. In her mind, Law and Arlong shifted and blended together, and trapped and scared against her monstrous captain, panic finally overwhelmed her.

“I’m not your fucking property!” she screeched, slamming her fists against his chest, nails attempting to claw at his face like a caged animal. Unwilling to let her gouge his eyes out, he grabbed her by the wrists, pinning her to the wall with his full body weight. “Get off of me! I’m not your fucking shipmate, or your kitten, or anything! I’d sooner die than let you use me again! I hate you!”

“Will you calm the fuck down?! What is your problem—” Law snapped, but his anger shifted to concern as he felt just how sweltering her skin had become and how erratic her pulse was. The last dregs of irritation vanished as he finally allowed himself to carefully study her, taking in her flushed and sweaty face, unfocused gaze, and shallow wheezes.

His brow furrowed as he stepped back, surrounding her with his Room and quickly Scanning her.

“Fuck,” her bit out under his breath. “So that’s your problem. Nami-ya, close your eyes.”

“Why the fuck should I do that?!” she screamed, attempting to dart to the side, but her escape route was swiftly blocked.

“Because this’ll be a lot less traumatizing if you don’t watch what I’m about to do.” When her eyes widened further, he smacked his forehead, annoyed at himself for his poor wording. “It’s the birth control medication I injected you with—you’re having a bad reaction to it. The chemical imbalance is giving you a massive panic attack, and the stress is causing you to overheat, which is slowly frying your brain. I need to remove the drug from your system, and considering how squeamish you are, I can promise, you’re not going to want to see how.”

“I…”

His expression turned desperate as he beseeched, “Nami-ya, please, I know it goes against your every instinct right now, but I need you to trust me.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded, forcing herself to close her eyes as tightly as possible and hold still despite her legs trembling with the urge to run. He was right; she needed to trust him. Law wasn’t asking as her captain, but as her doctor. He wouldn’t hurt her any more than Chopper would. He was trying to save her, and she needed to have faith that anything he did was for her own good.

“Room. Shambles.”

A strange sensation overcame her. It was almost like she was floating, and while she could still feel her individual body parts, it was…dull and disjointed, almost numbed, like when your foot falls asleep and you wiggle your toes.

Then came another odd feeling. The closest she could compare it to was what she imagined it would feel like to be a sugar cube slowly dissolving in a glass of water, but the heat and adrenaline slowly vanished, and bit by bit, her heart began to slow to a normal pace.

When she opened her eyes, she was sitting on the ground, the sweaty uniform in a neat pile by her leg. Law knelt before her, studying her face and body intently. His mouth was a hard line and his gold eyes cautious as he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“…cold.”

With a relieved chuckle, he pulled off his hoodie and carefully slipped it over her head. “Well, better than heat stroke and cardiac arrest.” He sighed, giving an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry the drug fucked you up so badly. I must have gotten the ratio off. I can’t even remember if I’d informed you of the potential side effects. At the very least, I shouldn’t have administered it when I was functioning on so little sleep—it was irresponsible of me as a doctor.”

Gratefully, Nami slipped her arms into the long sleeves, soaking in the residual body heat in the soft fabric. The sweatshirt was long enough to be a mini-dress on her, and she very nearly tucked her legs inside to block out the chilly air. Her skin was slick with sweat, and the cold air and stone beneath her was leeching the heat from her body. Now she understood why Drake had been so concerned about her lack of clothes. “It’s my own fault. I should have told you I was feeling weird. I just figured it was my body needing time to adapt and me being stressed about…stuff.”

The skin beneath the DEATH tattoos went white as Law gripped Kikoku harder. “No, it isn’t alright—I should have demanded a follow-up appointment to check how you were doing instead of putting my focus on fucking fertilizer. And I definitely should have noticed there was something wrong with you—you were literally having a panic attack in front of me, but I was too stubborn to acknowledge it.”

“Law, I know my body—I should have realized there was something wrong with me. And you were a little…distracted.”

“So, we’re both idiots, then?”

Nami couldn’t help the wry smile that tugged at her lips. “Guess so.” She glanced over at the jumpsuit. Part of her was nearly tempted to put it on due to how cold she suddenly felt, but one touch of the sweat-sodden fabric quickly changed her mind. “Look, I get that I don’t have much of a right to ask, but do I still have to wear this?”

Law frowned at the damp uniform. “Not until it’s been laundered and properly dried, at least. I’m taking you back to the ship regardless—I want to run some tests to be sure the birth control is completely out of your system, and you’re staying in the infirmary overnight for observation.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” she said sadly as the familiar blue aura overtook them. In a blink they were in the Polar Tang’s infirmary, their sudden appearance making Penguin jump from his place at the desk.

“Law! You found her!”

He tossed Kikoku to the first mate before hoisting Nami onto the examination table. “Yeah, but I’m going to need you to run some blood tests for me and fetch some clothes and toiletries from her room—she’s sleeping in here tonight for observation.”

Penguin nodded before rushing out the door, barely giving the navigator’s lack of uniform a second glance. Meanwhile, Law strode over to the cabinets, pulling out blankets, pillows, and towels. “What other symptoms have you been having?”

Rubbing her arms, Nami replied, “Nightmares and trouble sleeping, but that’s it.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?”

“I should.”

“Good, then I won’t give you a sedative. I’m not risking putting anything else in your bloodstream until I’m 100% sure what caused your reaction.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, “for removing the drug. And…not making me watch how you did it.” Law was sadistic and cruel, but that moment of compassion spoke volumes of how much he cared about a patient’s well-being. It was a fascinating juxtaposition—the doctor and the pirate. One that made her respect for him rise a little.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for trusting me.” He gave a small smirk as he handed her the supplies. “Assuming there are no lingering side effects I should be able to declare you well enough to go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

Her head shot up in surprise. “You still want to do that? Even after I attacked your crew? After I tried to claw your eyes out?” Good God, she expected Luffy to be that forgiving, not the Surgeon of Death!

“You did it under the effects of a drug that I improperly administered—I have no one to blame but myself. Plus, I already made reservations.” At her disbelieving expression, he shrugged. “Honestly, Ikkaku, Shachi, and Bepo weren’t even mad; they were more scared something would happen to you.”  

“Really?”

“Really. I was the one who was pissed.”

Draping a blanket over her cold legs, she snorted. “Clearly. Would you have really made good on your threat?”

“Which one?”

Unconsciously, her hand fisted the blanket. “Chaining me to a desk and forcing me to make maps for you.”

“That’s the one you’re most worried about?” he asked, bewildered.

“Let’s just say it’s something that would have happened to me if Luffy hadn’t intervened.”

Law’s brow furrowed when she didn’t elaborate, and he crossed his arms in irritation. “You’re welcome to your secrets and privacy, Nami-ya, but considering how you very nearly clawed my eyes out over it, you’re going to have to give a better answer than that. I can’t know what will trigger you if you don’t tell me.”

“Maybe I’m not comfortable with someone like you knowing my weaknesses.” She shot him a glare. “You seemed to take a lot of creepy pleasure in threatening to put a collar on me, among other things.”

The brim of his hat cast a shadow across his eyes as he scowled. “I’m a sadistic bastard—I’ve never hidden this. But I was trying to scare you into compliance, not give you a panic attack.”

“Either way, it doesn’t exactly inspire me to trust you.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. In the harsh light of the infirmary, the circles under his eyes seemed even more pronounced. “Nami-ya, I’m sorry I went too far. I was angry and keyed up from dealing with Drake-ya.”

A scoff and a roll of her eyes was Nami’s immediate response. “Yeah, sure, ‘keyed up’. Personally, I would have gone with ‘horny as hell’.” She blushed slightly at the thought. Looking back on it, that moment had felt like something from one of her raunchier novels. And she really needed to not imagine what the two Supernovas would be like together. Who would top? Drake was certainly the larger man, but she had a hard time picturing Law being submissive, control freak that he was….

She shook herself from her musings as Law responded, removing his hat to run a hand through his dark hair, “We have…history. Generally when we meet, we either try to kill each other or fuck. In such close quarters and with you as a liability, I didn’t trust my chances if it came to a fight, so yeah, I fully leaned into the sexual tension.”

After the day she’d had, Nami should have been immune, but she couldn’t help but appreciate how hot he looked when he mussed his hair like that. Her blush deepened as she glanced away. “Well, you should have left me out of it.”

“Drake-ya’s shy with women. I knew he’d turn tail and run if I got you involved.”

Much as she wanted to, she couldn’t quite argue his logic, mostly because it was completely fucked up. “Bullshit; you were totally hoping for a threesome. You are seriously such a freak. Next time, just teleport us out of there.”

“He was talking about kidnapping you,” Law countered, leaning in and resting his hands on either side of her thighs. His breath tickled her face as he continued, “I needed to make sure he knew you were completely off-limits.”

Her eyes narrowed as she leaned back slightly. “I thought we established that I’m not your property?”

“Nami-ya, that’s the way it is—if you’re not strong enough to protect yourself, you’re the property of someone who was strong enough to claim you.” For a brief moment, his eyes softened, getting a faraway look as he lifted his hand to gently brush his knuckles across her jaw. “I know you hate it, but for now, accept that it’s the only way to protect you from the monsters of the world. Because believe me; there are men far worse than me who’d love to get their hands on you. Men who don’t have my limits.”

Her breath caught at his gentle action, and Law seemed to snap out of his reverie, quickly pulling away to grab her chart from the filing cabinet. “Penguin should be back soon to draw some blood and examine you. I need to tell the rest of the crew you’re back, safe and sound. You’re still confined to the ship until dinner tomorrow as punishment for worrying everyone.” Without looking at her, he tossed her chart on the desk and left, all but slamming the door behind him.

Wide, brown eyes stared at the metal barricade in shock. What was that about? Where had that flash of softness come from? Was he seriously running off because of a moment of…what? Kindness? Affection? Concern?

It seemed like every time she thought she had Trafalgar Law figured out, he had to do something to completely throw her.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a brisk knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called hesitantly.

Penguin stuck his head inside, little stuffed bird on his hat bobbing slightly. “You ok?”

Tugging at the black sleeves of Law’s sweatshirt, she sighed. “Fine, I guess. Managed to not get kidnapped by X Drake, thanks to your captain.”

“You ran into Drake? My condolences.”

“He was actually pretty nice up until he decided to take me hostage.”

Penguin chuckled as he tugged on a pair of latex gloves, grabbing her chart and the medical supplies he needed. “No, the condolences are for having to watch him and Law interact. It’s been going on since we were terrorizing the North Blue, back when Drake was tasked with bringing us down. The boss is not subtle when he hits on him, and Drake’s usually a coin flip between trying to kill him and pinning him against a wall. Makes things super uncomfortable for the rest of us.”

His look of exasperation drew an easy laugh from the redhead. “Yeah, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Law all but proposed a threesome.”

“Unfortunately, I believe it,” he groused as he rolled up the sleeve of the hoodie to expose Nami’s arm. Swabbing a patch of skin with a sterilized cotton ball, he continued, “I’m not sure if Drake brings out his kinky side or if he just did it to mess with you two. Probably both. Boss has a thing for gingers.”

“Then why doesn’t he hit on Shachi?”

“Oh, he did, briefly, when we were teens, but once he realized Shachi wasn’t into dudes, he backed off.”

“Dare I ask how Law found out Drake was interested?”

Penguin threw her a teasing wink. “You’re gonna have to get me seriously drunk to tell that story; I’ve worked damn hard to repress it.”

Nami had to laugh. Though he could be an awkward flirt and sometimes a bit too hard on his crewmates, Penguin was an easy guy to like. He was definitely the big brother of the ship, bullying Shachi and Bepo during downtime but quickly stepping up and making sure they were alright when things got serious.

His mouth turned down in a reluctant frown. “Look, I hate to bring down the mood, but as first mate, I have to know; why’d you run off?”

Averting her eyes, she nervously twisted the blanket in her hands. “What, Shachi didn’t tell you?”

Carefully inserting the syringe into her vein, he began drawing blood. “Figured I’d hear your side of the story before I made my judgement. Law gave me a quick run-down on how the medication gave you a panic attack, but something had to trigger it.”

“You mean besides nearly being cooked to death in that hideous jumpsuit?”

As he removed the needle and taped some gauze to her arm, he gave her a serious, but not unsympathetic, look. “Heat stroke can certainly cause a person to be unreasonable, but Bepo said you were yelling about not being ‘that monster’s property’. I know Law’s not the nicest guy around, especially when compared to Straw Hat, but he hasn’t done anything that would warrant that kind of reaction from you, has he?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing with genuine concern.

Blunt white teeth worried her lower lip. Part of her wanted to say he had—killing Harpin, threatening her, all the things he’d done to earn his reputation—but in reality, she’d seen much worse from other pirates, and he’d done enough halfway decent things—giving money to the jewelry seller, saving her from the Baron, his kindness towards his crew—that she couldn’t even bring herself to lie. “Well, no…”

“You don’t have to spill your life story, Nami; everybody has baggage and things that set them off. Everyone on board cares about you enough that we want you to feel happy and safe, but you need to trust us enough to tell us if we’ve done something to make you uncomfortable.”

She sighed. She may have been able to avoid this talk with Law, but it was clear Penguin wouldn’t be distracted by snarky jabs or petty fights. It was hard to argue with him, too, when it came from a genuine place of concern. And someone should know, right? At least a little bit? Enough to set some boundaries between her and the rest of the Heart Pirates. “Look, I admit, I was being a brat about the uniform, and Law’s stupid medication made things a hundred times worse, but when they started talking about tattooing your Jolly Roger on me…I snapped, ok?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not one of you. You guys aren’t bad—better than most pirates, at least—but you’re not my crew.”

“What’s wrong with getting along with your allies?” he asked as he labeled the vial of blood and jotted a few things onto her chart. Most might think he wasn’t really paying attention to her, but Nami knew by now it was his way of giving her a small bit of space; putting her at ease by not making her feel like she was being scrutinized and judged.

Smoothing the blanket over her legs, she replied, “Nothing. The problem is when they refer to Luffy as my ‘old captain’ and act like I defected from the Straw Hats. I’m here for Luffy’s sake, and in two years, I’m going to be his navigator in the New World. Nothing is going to change that.”

“You’re pretty loyal to him, huh?”

She caught his eye, and with a look that left no room for argument, stated, “If it weren’t for him, my entire village would be dead and I’d still be forced to work for my mother’s murderer. I owe him everything, Penguin. He didn’t recruit me—he freed me.”

The first mate nodded in understanding. “Kind of like how Law freed Jean Bart?”

“You could say that.” She rubbed the spot where Arlong’s mark once lay, fingers absently tracing the scars. “Look, I’m sorry I ran off and worried everyone. I’m really sorry I attacked them. But—I was forced to join a pirate crew when I was ten. They pinned me down and branded me with their Jolly Roger so the whole world would know who I belonged to. I can’t…”

He held up his hand to cut her off. “I get it. Even if it was just a joke, they triggered some bad memories. I’ll tell the crew to ease up on calling you a Heart Pirate, and absolutely no talk of tattooing against your will. But it’s still ok to consider you our shipmate, right? At least for now?”

She gave a watery smile, using Law’s sleeve to wipe moisture from her eyes. Funny, she hadn’t even realized tears had formed. “Yeah. I can live with that.”

Jotting a few more things on her chart, he handed her the fresh set of pajamas and one of the towels. “Good. I’ve gotta go run these tests; go grab a shower in the meantime. I’ll be back in an hour with dinner and to take your vitals, and then you’re going to get a good night’s sleep. Those circles under your eyes don’t make you any less hot, but this ship isn’t big enough for two sleep-deprived, stubborn pirates.”

Despite his light tone, Nami frowned. “You’re going to tell everyone about my past, aren’t you?”

A warm, gentle hand rested on her shoulder, covering up Arlong’s scar. “Not if you don’t want me to; it’s not my place. What you went through…I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t want to murder the bastards who did that to you.” Nami could feel the tension in his fingers and heard his teeth grit in anger. It was clear he’d connected the dots between the scars and her story. “I mean, to brand a fucking child…”

“I’m ok,” she said softly, as much to herself as Penguin. “Luffy freed me. It’ll never happen again.”

“Damn right it won’t.” Taking a deep breath, he pulled away, once more composing himself. “I’ll just tell the crew that you’ve been through some shit in your life, and because of it, you wouldn’t leave Straw Hat any more than we’d leave Law, so we should ease up. They’ll understand.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her hand a quick, comforting squeeze. “You really should tell Law all this, though. You’ve seen how intense he gets, but if he knows he’s opening old wounds, he’ll back off. Guy’s got demons even I’m not privy to, so he’ll respect there are certain lines he shouldn’t cross.”

With a smile, Nami returned the gesture. “You’re probably right. You really are everyone’s big brother around here, huh?”

“I’m the first mate; it’s my job to keep things running smoothly and take care of disputes between shipmates.”

“In that case, could you do me a favor?”

XXX

The next morning Nami was rested, physically feeling better than she had all week, but worried about facing the crew. Despite the affirmations that nobody was upset that she had run off, at least not once they learned it was in response to improperly administered medication, she still felt nervous. Penguin had told them to ease up on treating her like she was part of the crew, but was that a good thing? Would they now treat her like an enemy, or hold her at arm’s length? Was the easy camaraderie she’d started to share with them over, sacrificed for the sake of maintaining her status as a Straw Hat?

However, despite her nerves, she had no reason to skip out on breakfast in the galley. Law had stopped by the infirmary long enough to Scan her and give her a clean bill of health (and also steal back his sweatshirt) while Penguin had come through with her request.

“Think these’ll smooth things over?” she asked the first mate, holding up three wrapped gifts.

Penguin shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think you even needed to go this far—none of them were really angry, and you didn’t injure anybody. But it can’t hurt…though I can’t promise Ikkaku won’t still make you suffer just a little bit; in a way, it shows she cares. It’s when she goes completely cold with a person that you know you’ve fucked up.”

“You know this from experience?”

“When we went to Amazon Lily and most of us went gaga over the women there. I think the fact that we acted like we’d never even seen a woman before really hurt her pride. She’s a tomboy, but she’s still a girl, you know? Probably sucks when every guy on board forgets that. Flat-out wouldn’t talk to anyone but Bepo for a week—hell, the silent treatment ended only a day before you got here!”

The mention of Amazon Lily piqued her interest. Hadn’t Law mentioned they’d been there once? And apparently, it hadn’t been too long before she’d arrived. “Wait, Bepo was the only one she’d talk to? Did Law act like a lovesick idiot, too?” It was hard to imagine, but if the women of the island were as beautiful as stories said, anything was possible.

“No, but he made a pretty stupid comment that rubbed salt in the wound.”

Though Nami was curious as to what Law could have possibly said to piss off Ikkaku, she was forced to push that mystery aside as they’d arrived at the galley.

“Ready?” Penguin asked, watching for any sign of distress from the navigator out of the corner of his eye. Though he honestly felt she had no reason to worry about his crew’s reaction, he wouldn’t force her to confront them if she wasn’t ready.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting the packages in her arms, she nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

The door opened to reveal the rest of the crew sitting at the various tables, sipping coffee and chatting quietly, a few catching up on what they’d missed over the past few weeks from the pile of newspapers. Several of them looked up and greeted her with sleepy hellos, and Nami nodded in acknowledgement, though her attention was mostly focused on the fact that, though there was bacon and eggs and a few rolls, breakfast seemed to mostly consist of assorted fruits.

From his spot at the table Law glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled at bemused expression. “Morning, Nami-ya. Care for an apple? Winter melon? Kiwi? Apricot? Pomegranate?”

Her brow furrowed at his casual greeting. After he’d disappeared last night, she’d assumed things would be awkward between them. His brisk visit that morning had only reinforced that belief, but here he was, making cheeky comments with that smug grin of his.

Before she could question him, or the fruit, Penguin lightly nudged her shoulder. “You didn’t hurt anybody, but that gust of yours did upend a few fruit stands, so Ikkaku had to buy it all to keep the vendors from causing a scene. You never know who might be a spy for Jinzo in this town, and from what I heard, you earned yourself a place on his shit list.”

“Which is another reason you’re not to leave the sub until dinner tonight,” Law added as he took a bite of a bright red apple. He met her gaze as he chewed before saying with a smirk, “That’s an order, by the way. One you won’t have a problem following, right?”

Swallowing down her instinct to argue with him, she nodded stiffly. “Right.” Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the table, bowing deeply as she held two of her packages out to Shachi and Bepo. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you yesterday. Please take these as a sign of my sincerity.”

“You didn’t have to, Nami,” the bear said, twiddling his claws. Despite his fur, one could almost see a pink blush on his cheeks. “Penguin explained what we did to set you off, and we weren’t upset at you.”

“Did Law get mad at you for losing me, though?”

His ears drooped. “Well, a little, at least at first—”

“Then I owe you an apology. I promised wouldn’t do anything to get Law mad at you, and I broke that within four hours of making it. You’re getting an apology gift.”

“Well, to be fair, you said you’d never intentionally get me in trouble…”

“Just take it, Bepo,” Law said, taking another bite of his apple. “You managed to get the greediest pirate on the Grand Line to willingly spend money on you; if you keep arguing, she’ll change her mind and charge you double for it.”

Nami glared at him, though it faltered when he threw her a conspiratorial wink.

“Well, ok,” the Mink agreed, taking the parcel at his captain’s encouraging nod. Shachi followed suit, though he appeared more suspicious than apprehensive.

“When exactly did you have time to get these?” he asked, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses, “Because I sure didn’t see you buy anything that could be for us yesterday.”

Nami pointed at the first mate. “I made Penguin do the actual purchasing, but I told him what to get and it was my money he used to buy them. I never left the ship.”

Mollified, Shachi ripped off the wrapping paper, laughing heartily at the orca-shaped hat. “Oh, this is fucking perfect!”

“She asked me to get the ugliest, dumbest hat I could find,” Penguin said with a snort. “The local hat shop practically paid me take it of their hands. It’s like it was made for you.”

“Yup, and now you have to suffer for it!” he crowed, tossing away the green and pink and pink hat and replacing it with the killer whale.

Meanwhile, Bepo happily tucked into the enormous salmon, fresh from the Grimm fish market. He spared a thumbs-up, declaring his approval of the gift, and Nami giggled. He was like Luffy, in a way; buy him lunch, and you were friends for life.

“Take it easy, Bepo; you’ll choke on a bone,” Ikkaku said from behind her. Nami turned to find the older woman shaking her head. “You really don’t have to do this; we’re all just glad that you’re safe. Honestly, I’d settle for an explanation,” she said with a meaningful frown, “but I also get opening up isn’t easy, especially to people who aren’t your crew.”

“Yeah, but given time, I might be willing to open up to a friend.” With a nervous smile, Nami held out a box. “I kind of owe you this anyway, so you’re taking it whether you like it or not.”

Without a word the engineer opened the box, eyes widening at the slinky, silver dress that glimmered back at her.

“Thanks, Nami,” Ikkaku said with a small smile. “This’ll be perfect for when we go out tonight.”

“You still wanna go?” Nami gave Law a sideways glance. “Assuming I’m even allowed.”

Ikkaku scoffed. “You’re my only female friend on this ship; like hell I’m giving that up over a little freak-out. And of course the captain’ll let you join me for Ladies Night,” she said, raising an eyebrow at the Dark Doctor in challenge. “Right, Boss?”

Law held up his hands in surrender. “So long as she stays with you and you’re both on your best behavior, I’ll allow it. After she has dinner with me.”

Beaming in triumph, Ikkaku bumped her hip into Nami’s. “See? We can do each other’s hair, and you can complain about whatever stupid thing Law says or does tonight over drinks.”

A bright grin lit up the redhead’s face. Penguin had been right—they really weren’t mad. “Sounds perfect. And I’ll pay you back for the fruit, too, since that was my fault.” Whatever the cost had been, it was well worth keeping Ikkaku’s friendship.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Just meant we got our produce shopping done a little early. But if you’re that worried,” she said as she strolled over to her table, grabbed a plain white box, and sauntered back, handing it over to Nami with a grin, “here. A peace offering of my own.”

Brow furrowing in confusion, Nami peeked in the box, only to immediately slam the lid back down, face a brilliant scarlet.

“You. Bitch,” she ground out. Ikkaku was so lucky she hadn’t really opened it in front of everyone—what was she thinking? Dear God, what if Law had seen what was inside?!

“Just a little something to help you out when those trashy novels can’t get the job done,” Ikkaku cackled, ducking away as the blushing thief attempted to smack her over the head. “And now we’re even!”

“What’s in it, Nami?” Shachi asked, shit-eating grin telling her he already knew. “What’s in the box?”

“A severed head,” she lied, glaring at him, white-knuckled grip crushing the corners of the package.

“Is it one of mine? I think I misplaced one,” Law chuckled from his seat. He reached for the box, grin stretching his face. “Let me check.”

“Hands off!” she snapped, yanking it away. “It’s none of your damn business!”

“Room.”

“Fuck you, Trafalgar!” she shrieked as the box vanished and reappeared on Law’s lap, replacing the apple he’d been munching on. Her attempt to retrieve the damming parcel was thwarted by Ikkaku grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around, laughing as she shrieked indignantly.

Opening the box, Law pulled out a pair of fuzzy black handcuffs. “Strangest looking head I’ve ever seen,” he said, twirling them around on one long finger. “Though full marks to whoever sculpted the dildo. Even got the veins right.”

The whole galley cackled as the blushing navigator buried her face in her hands, mortified. Part of her wanted to rip their tongues out, but another part accepted that she deserved this. Penguin hadn’t been kidding when he said she’d suffer, but she could also feel the mood lighten significantly.

“So, still up for Ladies Night after your dinner with the captain?” Ikkaku asked as she set her down, grin wide and unrelentingly smug as she threw an arm around her shoulders, playfully mussing her hair. “Or would Miss Straw Hat rather stay in and play with her new toys?”

Despite her humiliation, Nami felt a smile pull at her lips. “You’re an absolute bitch, Miss Heart Pirate, but yeah, I’m in. And for what you just put me through, you’re buying the first round.”