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decks-writing-blog · 3 months ago

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More Comfortable

Summary: Auri realizes it's been a long time since they last properly touched anyone.

[A/N] Mild content warning: they discuss dying, specifically via drowning and later in the fic they non-graphically discuss sex.

“Hey time buddy,” Gabbro said, lowering the flute as Auri reached their hammock. “Rough loop last time?”

“What makes you think that?” Was Auri really that obvious?

“Well, first off, you only get here this early in the loop if you’re in a rush which you only do when you had a rough time last loop. Also, you drag your feet when you’re upset.”

Okay, so Auri was indeed that obvious. They had indeed rushed to get here, eager for Gabbro’s comforting confidence. The dragging their feet was news to them though. Maybe they should try to stop… Or probably it didn’t matter because who cared? “Yeah, uh… you got me. I had a rough loop last time.”

Gabbro pushed themself to the side, making room on the hammock next to them. “C’mon on then.” They patted it.

Having come here for this exact purpose a few times now, Auri hadn’t bothered putting any of their equipment other than the space suit on. Meaning they didn’t have to bother taking anything off and could just roll into the hammock.

The silence held for a few seconds as they settled in before Gabbro broke it. “Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

“Uh… remember the dam in the Stranger and how it breaks and makes a big tidal wave or whatever? I wasn’t as careful about it as I should’ve been and ended up falling in when my raft got hit. The current wedged me between some underwater rocks and what was left of one of the buildings, I think. The impact busted up the jet pack so I was stuck. I took off the helmet to die faster. Drowning isn’t the worst way to die but it’s… not fun.”

“Yeah, drowning sucks.” Gabbro spoke as if they knew what they were talking about.

“You’ve drowned before?”

“Once, yeah. Hard not to when stuck on a water planet for however long the loops have been going on for by now, right? It indeed wasn’t fun.”

If not for Gabbro remembering the loops and thus understanding what it was like to some extent at least, Auri would’ve lost their mind long ago. Relative to their sense of time, how long had they been living like this? Well, the loops lasted three day and they’d been through a lot of them so… a long time. Too long.

Auri sighed. “What about you? You do anything interesting last loop?” Probably not but it didn’t hurt to change the topic to something that wasn’t drowning.

“Hmm, sorta. I spent most of it on the radio with Chert. I managed to distract them enough that they didn’t figure out that the universe was ending. I couldn’t exactly keep the sun’s impending demise from them for obvious reasons but, you know, one can only do so much.”

“We should probably do that more often.” Auri did that occasionally too. But alas, being enough of a bother to keep Chert from their observations took so much work. Chert didn’t ever want to be distracted, always fighting the whole way. And preventing their despair spiral never stuck because the next loop was always just around the corner, ready to reset them back into the start of it.

Gabbro hummed an affirmative before lifting the flute to resume playing. It was their new song, the one they’d been working on last time Auri had been here, meaning perhaps that it was done. How they kept the notes straight in their head when they couldn’t write them down for long was a mystery. Like most of their music, it had a haunting melody. How much that was them preferring that vibe versus just the flute being good for that type of music was hard to say. Probably a little bit of both.

Auri lay there for a while, not thinking, just listening. With Gabbro’s help they’d gotten good at that. Something always intruded eventually though. This time it was the press of Gabbro’s shoulder against their own. It was comforting, lying with them like this always was. But well… they weren’t actually touching, were they? It was their suits pressed against each other. Designed to protect against the void of space, they were thick and bulky, making them a barrier.

When was the last time Auri had had scale to scale contact with another person? … They wore the suit for most of every loop. Did they ever even take it all the way off once they had it on? Not that they could remember. Had they touched anyone during their loop spent entirely on Timber Hearth? That had been a while ago so their memory of it wasn’t entirely clear but they didn’t think so. Meaning they probably hadn’t had real proper contact since before the loop started.

For a while, the suit to suit contact with Gabbro had been enough. Thinking about it though made the barrier their suits created between them too thick. They weren’t really touching. Instead, they were both trapped in their own tiny space, unable to truly touch the world around them let alone each other.

Auri had long since grown used to the suit, for what it was it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Suddenly though it was like the first time they’d put it on for practice; heavy and claustrophobic. They could feel every inch of it encasing their entire body.

Trying to keep their breathing even, they shifted and reached up for the helmet, fumbling for the release. … They shouldn’t though, not yet. A cyclone would be here soon to toss the whole island up. They’d suffocate without the helmet. Forcing their hands back down, they folded them over their abdomen and focused on their breathing and the sound of Gabbro’s flute.

As if summoned by the remembrance of it, a cyclone’s roar grew louder as it approached. Soon it drowned out Gabbro’s playing. Ready for it, Auri grasped the side of the hammock with one hand and hooked their other arm through Gabbro’s. Just because Gabbro was chill with freely floating and just trusting they’d land safely back in the hammock didn’t mean Auri was. Gabbro let them, lowering the flute right before the island spun and tossed them up.

Up here, there wasn’t enough atmosphere to carry sound. The only thing Auri could hear was their own breathing, still too close to panicky for comfort. What was wrong with them? Freaking out because they hadn’t touched anything with their bare hands in a while? … More like anyone. Even so, it was a stupid thing to get upset about when they were touching Gabbro right now even if it was through two layers of space suit and padding material. They were emotionally fragile though so… maybe it made sense. The dying over and over again thing was fucking them up so they were getting upset over dumb stuff.

Luckily being annoyed with themself for being dumb was enough to push away the rest of the near panic by the time they were falling back towards Giant’s Deep. The fall didn’t help but they were used to it by now and were able to remain calm enough to let go of the hammock a handful of seconds before the heavy landing would’ve likely broken their arm for the trouble.

Despite having gotten past their near panic, as soon as the island was settled back in the ocean, Auri still sat up. No longer as desperate for it, finding the latch to release their helmet was much easier. They twisted it off, freeing their head at least.

The air was wet and heavy with the smell of salt. Almost as if there wasn’t any difference between the ocean and the air above it. After having drowned last loop, the flood of water into their lungs still a vivid memory, it was almost too much. It was just humid air though, not water. Thanks to the trees planted here for this exact purpose, they could breath. They weren’t drowning. Everything was fine.

“Auri, pal, you with me?” Gabbro had sat up next to them. Their tone indicated that that wasn’t the first thing they’d said to Auri.

“Yeah, yeah, just… sorry. I’m dumb.” First they’d freaked out about the suit and then the damn humidity. They were pathetic.

“Don’t say that about yourself.”

Auri would rather not argue and reveal what they were being dumb about, it was too embarrassing so they let it go. Instead they took deep soothing breaths like Gabbro had taught them to. The salt in the air burned the back of their throat and made their eyes sting but it was still a soothing practice that chased away the tremor in their hands.

“What’s wrong?” Gabbro’s tone didn’t demand an answer. If Auri remained silent, they wouldn’t press, they never did. They were great like that.

Averting their gaze, Auri locked onto one of the trees instead. They needed off this planet and to able to touch Gabbro for real. Or no, not ‘need’ they were just being dumb and pathetic. But doing it just once should help, right? Make their newfound realization about how long it had been feel less daunting. “Have you ever um… thought about packing up the hammock and going somewhere else with it?”

“Hmm… a few times, yeah. Never bothered though, it’d be too much trouble to locate my ship and drag the hammock all way to it.”

“We could use my ship.”

“Guess we could, yeah. Where would we take it?”

“Uh… home maybe? Somewhere we could set it up and then uh… lie in it after taking off the suits. Since you know, here, the whole cyclone thing means we gotta wear them or we’ll die when we get tossed up.” Also, even if the air was breathable thanks to the trees, it wasn’t pleasant. Case in point being the fact that were already ready to put the helmet back on to escape the salty burn of it. “I think that that would be uh… more comfortable, right?”

Gabbro was silent for a few seconds during which Auri didn’t dare look at them. “Ah, I see. Okay, sure, sounds fun. Let’s do it.” Not even asking ‘why’. Just ‘let’s do it’. It really was that easy. … Maybe Gabbro was missing real physical contact too. Nah, probably not; they were too cool for that.

Auri stood. They still couldn’t bring themself to look at Gabbro though, not with their helmet off, revealing whatever kind of expression they were making. “I’ll go uh… make sure my ship wasn’t too damaged in the fall.”

“Cool. I’ll pull down the hammock then.”

***

“Do you really have to turn off the gravity crystal every time I take you anywhere?” Auri’s awkwardness was gone, wiped away by the fact that their ship was their domain. They were called the shots here… most of them anyway.

“It’s more fun to float around back here.” That was the perk of being a passenger. Gabbro could just float in the back while Auri did all the hard work of piloting the ship.

“Sure but it’s more dangerous.”

True. While the ship was moving, not being buckled in was a risk, freely floating even more so. “It’ll be fine. Your Outer Wilds Ventures’ best pilot. I trust you to keep me safe.” And even if they failed, it would be fine because of the time loop. Mentioning that would upset Auri though and they were having a hard enough time already.

This wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, they had some version of it almost every time Auri convinced Gabbro to get into the ship to go somewhere with them. Despite that Auri still hesitated before answering. “Feldspar’s still probably better than me.”

Gabbro wasn’t sure about that. The loop was giving Auri a lot of practice while Feldspar stayed at the same level. “You should try to manually land on the Sun Station sometime. I bet you could do it.”

“Uh… huh? Hmm… maybe I could try that sometime.” Auri actually sounded like they were considering it. Gabbro had meant it as a way to fully shift the conversation away from turning the power to the gravity crystal back on. Mission successful but if Auri could manage that, it would indeed prove them to be the best pilot in the solar system. Gabbro would root for them if they really did go for it.

Argument about the gravity crystal won this round, Gabbro lifted the flute to their helmet’s aperture to start playing. Cutting off further chance of argument and giving Auri some nice background music. They chose a spacey tune to honor the fact that they were hurtling through the empty void of space between Giant’s Deep and home.

Their helmet had been altered, inside and out, to allow them to play the flute without compromising the helmet’s seal. At first it had been awkward, requiring them to learn new breathing techniques for it because they weren’t blowing into the instrument anymore but a device that translated their input to tell the outside part of the device how to blow air. Now though… did they even remember how to play normally?

They’d been on Timber Hearth a few days before the loop started. Their memory of it was foggy at best but they’d almost certainly spent at least some of their pre-launch time at the Quantum Grove, relaxing with the flute. That would’ve been the last time, right? Last time playing the flute normally. Last time on their home planet. Last time not at least partially wrapped up in the space suit.

The mission to Giant’s Deep was supposed to last a couple weeks. They’d been prepared for a long mission, had looked forward to it in fact. That was within the range of how long hearthians could bear solitude before going crazy. But relative to their sense of time, it had been much, much longer than that. If Auri hadn’t come along early on with news that they experienced the loops too, they’d have had a much worse time of it. They’d still have had the radio in that scenario but how much would it have helped when no one else remembered?

Luckily that hadn’t happened and dwelling on ‘what if’s, past or future never did anyone any good. On the other hand though, even if it was far from as bad as it could’ve been, it had been a long time for a lot of things.

“You okay?” Auri asked from the front, trying and failing to twist in buckles to look back at them. Gabbro’s music had faltered to silence at some point, drawing their attention and concern. Oops.

“Yeah, just thinking thoughts. Let me know when we’re close, huh? Also, if I could make a request, land us in or at least near the Quantum Grove. It’s been a while since I last saw it.” Gabbro needed this maybe almost as much as Auri did. How had they not noticed that within themself before? … Maybe they weren’t quite as in tune with their emotions as they’d thought. In their defense, the psychological effects of being stuck in a three day time loop that ended with the sun going supernova weren’t well studied. The two of them were test subjects in that regard and so far the results weren’t looking like time loops made for a good form of therapy.

“Sure thing.”

Gabbro lifted the flute back to their helmet’s mouth piece to resume playing. No more thinking. Just music and floating until they were home.

Stepping out from under Auri’s ship and into the Quantum Grove felt almost like walking into a dream. The pine trees extended much higher than the trees of Giant’s Deep. Seemingly taller than Gabbro remembered but that couldn’t be the case, it had just been too long. The canopy they created, coupled with the cliff’s shadow blanketed the grove in a lovely shade. The sun was visible overhead, still big and bright. It looked different than it did when viewing it from space or the upper limits of Giant’s Deep’s atmosphere. How had Gabbro never noticed that before? Or had they and had just forgotten it?

A relieved sigh drew Gabbro’s gaze back down. Auri had freed themself of their space suit, leaving it puddled around their feet. That was fast. It had seemed to have been bothering them though and was what they were here for. Gabbro should follow suit.

First the helmet. They popped the seal and pulled it off, intending to place it to the side immediately but instead froze as soon as it was clear of here head. Timber Hearth’s air was fresh and light, suffused with the scent of pine trees. Not even a hint of salt or dampness. It really had been way, way too long since Gabbro had last been here. Not that Giant’s Deep was bad, it had its own charms, but there really was no place like home, huh?

Shaking off the shock of the fresh air, they lowered their helmet to the ground by its antennae before setting to removing the rest of the suit. Unlike Auri, they started the loop in the suit and taking it all the way off wasn’t really an option on Giant’s Deep. It was harder to take off than they remembered it being. With a bit of work though, they managed to free themself of it.

Stepping back, they put a hand against the ship’s nose to steady themself. They were so light, almost as if they were about to float off. It was just a perceptual illusion based off their being accustomed to only experiencing Giant’s Deep’s stronger gravity or the weightlessness of space, with nothing in between, but it was still a strange sensation.

Looking back up, their gaze locked with Auri’s. They were staring, very blatantly too. Caught in the act, they flinched and looked away. Cute.

“Enjoy the show?” Gabbro was almost surprised by the sound of their own voice. After Giant’s Deep’s endless storm this place, with only the soft susurrus of the pine trees and gentle stream creating its soundscape, seemed almost as strikingly quiet as space. “Not that it was much of one, huh? I don’t think it’s possible to look sexy taking off a space suit.”

“Oh I um, uh… I just I think this is the first time I’ve seen you without the suit on.”

“Nah, back when you were still in training I was ‘round occasionally, remember?” Not often but they had seen each other and even lightly conversed several times. Upon learning they were finally no longer going to be the newest member, Gabbro had gone out of their way to meet Auri.

“Yeah, I guess so, huh? That was a long time ago though.” True, they were hardly the new recruit anymore even if everyone else was still stuck thinking of them that way. “Sometimes the stuff that happened before doesn’t feel… real, you know? Or not as real, at least.”

It was a unique kind of stagnation they were experiencing. Normally the perception that things would remain the same and thus had always been one way was an illusion brought on by being stuck in the rut of routine. For them though it was fact; no matter what they changed it all reset eventually. The only things that stayed different were the two of them.

“Let’s find a good spot to hang up the hammock. Or we could switch tactics and lie on the grass instead.” Gabbro would be fine with either.

“Uh…” Auri finally looked at them again before averting their gaze to where they’d left the hammock bundled up on the ground under the ship. “Let’s go with the hammock for now.”

That would be the more comfortable option. And so they set to finding a good spot for it. An easy task because even if relatively speaking it had been a long time, Gabbro had been here enough to know of several spots they’d be safe from quantum shenanigans in.

Once it was up, Gabbro got in first. Treated to be able to withstand the storms of Giant’s Deep, it was dry. The scent of salt clinging to it was faint enough to merely be a pleasant reminder of that majestic ocean.

Auri hesitated, standing besides the hammock for several long seconds before finally climbing in. With both of them stripped down to the minimal clothing they normally were under the suit and its protective padding, the hammock felt bigger. Perhaps enough that they could’ve lain side by side without touching if they’d tried. Auri didn’t try though, pressing just as close as always.

Their scales were pleasantly rough where their arms touched. Auri fumbled a bit before successfully taking Gabbro’s hand, entwining their fingers. They clung tight to it, making their slight tremble impossible to miss. Gabbro turned to their head to look at them. They lay stiff on their back, very intentionally keeping their gaze pointed towards the sky.

“Relax,” Gabbro whispered in their ear, earning a sharp intake of breath. “We’re okay. Everything’s fine.” Touching was a lot different without the suits between them. Real scale to scale contact was a lot more intense than Gabbro remembered it being. Not in a bad way though. It had them appreciating how tightly Auri held their hand.

“I know just… Sorry, I’m being…”

“Don’t,” Gabbro cut them off before they could say they were being dumb again or whatever other self-deprecating thing had been in their tone. “It’s okay to be nervous. I haven’t done this in a while either.”

“Oh uh… I guess that makes sense with the time loop and all.”

Gabbro hummed an affirmative that seemed to ease the tension in Auri’s body even further. A few minutes of peaceful silence and they relaxed even further, their tremble fading, their grip loosening a little. Still though, they didn’t turn to initiate going further. Gabbro was in no rush and didn’t want to push them but well, as nice as hand holding and arm touching was, now that they’d finally had a taste of physical contact, it wasn’t enough. It was actually starting to get a little awkward just lying here like this.

Maybe Auri was waiting for them to make the next move. Relationships were hard to navigate sometimes. If they were going to do this though, might as well just go for it. At least one of them pretending to know what they were doing here should make it easier for both of them.

Gabbro freed their hand from Auri’s, giving themself room to press in closer, pulling Auri’s arm around themself before kissing them on the cheek. With gasp, Auri turned their head to look at them, their eyes wide with surprise.

“You okay?” Gabbro asked, ready to pull away. Maybe they had jumped to it too fast.

“Uh… yeah, yeah. I think… I’m okay. I’m good.” They spoke in a whisper, the tension melting from their body.

“Good.” Gabbro leaned in to kiss them again, this time on the mouth. Auri reciprocated after only a beat or two. They clearly didn’t have much kissing experience, not that Gabbro had a whole lot more. And it didn’t matter much. Gabbro had agreed to this because it had sounded like a fun distraction and they wanted to be there for their time buddy. But now that they were here, it felt like so much more. They needed to touch and be touched. It had been a long time for so many things after all. Like the shock of the fresh air and scent of pine trees, they hadn’t realized how much how much they needed this.

Clearly, just as desperate, Auri grasped at them, their shyness finally melted away under their shared need for a loving touch. Gabbro lowered a hand to their side, lifting their shirt to caress up their side and chest. Auri shuddered under their touch, breaking the kiss as their gasped for breath. Gabbro was breathing hard too. It was a lot all at once.

“You okay?” They asked again because it was hard to tell sometimes, especially the first time with someone new.

Auri nodded. “Yeah… yeah. I didn’t expect… any of this but it’s… it’s good.”

Now it was finally Gabbro’s turn to tense up and pull back, taking their hand out from under Auri’s shirt. “You… didn’t expect this?” Had they really misread what Auri had been asking for that badly?

“Uh, no. Should I have?”

“When you asking if we could come here and lie in the hammock without our suits on, I thought you were asking to have sex.” They’d just been so awkward about it, unable to even look at Gabbro.

The mortified look that came over their face was answer enough. “What? No! I… I just realized it’s been a long time since I really touched anyone without the suit on. It’s like a barrier, you know? And since we were both wearing one it was like two barriers. I felt weird about that, a bad weird, so I just wanted to lie next to you with our arms touching or something. I didn’t think about… Anything more than that never occurred to me.”

The adorable innocence of that was impossible not to laugh at. Gabbro quickly reigned it in though lest it come across as being at Auri’s expense. “I guess that’s what we get for not communicating clearly, huh? But,” banishing the rest of their mirth from their voice, they lowered their volume to a whisper, “you said it’s good?” They leaned back in to give Auri another kiss, swift and chaste on their cheek. “You like this?”

Blessedly Auri relaxed. “Yeah, it’s good. I like it. So um, if you really want to we could… I’ve never done it before, always too busy and stuff, but there’s a first time for everything, right?”

“Do you want to?”

“Um… maybe?”

“This isn’t something you say ‘maybe’ to.” Gabbro wasn’t about to repeat the mistake of assuming what they wanted unless Auri clearly communicated it. They never should’ve jumped to such conclusions in the first place. “Especially not your first time.”

“Um… I… uh…”

“It doesn’t have to be ‘no’ forever, just for right now. We got plenty of time today and tomorrow or in future loop perhaps. No need to rush anything. Or it could be a ‘no’ forever, that would be fine with me too.” Gabbro would prefer a partner that enjoyed sex but it wasn’t a requirement by any means. Not that they were even officially partners just because they’d made out one time, especially since it had been due to a misunderstanding. That was a conversation for later though.

“In that case… no for now but maybe yes later.”

“Understood. Let me know when you’re ready, huh? If you ever get there anyway.” This outcome was a bit disappointing but probably the alternative would’ve been a bit too fast even for Gabbro. They had a friends with benefits relationship with Rieback but thanks to the loop as well as general work stuff getting in the way even before it had started, it had been a long time since they last experienced the benefits part of that relationship. Jumping straight in sex right after realizing how touch starved being stuck in their space suit all loop, every loop had made them would’ve been a pretty intense jump.

“Even if we’re not gonna… have sex, could we still maybe uh… go back to the kissing thing? That was nice.”

That had indeed been quite nice. So, in answer, Gabbro shifted close to kiss Auri on the mouth again. This was more than enough for now.

#outer wilds #outer wilds fanfiction #outer wilds spoilers #outer wilds hatchling #gabbro #time buddies

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tinydefector · 9 months ago

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My favourite thing while writing the Marine Centre fic is they fact its Based in Australia. Not a lot of fics are based over here, so I take the opportunity every time. Plus, it's fun for me to think about people in other countries willingly coming over here to work.

Holding my hand over my heart In honour of Priminister Harold Holt. He'd be cheering MC on from the depths of the sea. Bet he disappeared chasing Oceanide pussy. That's a Priminister I can appreciate. For those who don't know who Harold Holt is enjoy his wiki page.

But all I can think is MC gets carted off by the Pods and ends up in a somewhat underwater city and this mother fucker is just living it up after finding the fountain of youth. " They got you too huh?"

"'Yea accidentally adopted one of their pups and it imprinted on me. Now I have a harem you?"

" buff Mermaid woman"

" we named a swimming pool after you"

In December 1967, Holt disappeared while swimming in rough conditions at Cheviot Beach, Victoria. He was presumed dead, although his body was never recovered; his disappearance spawned a number of conspiracy theories. Holt was the third Australian prime minister to die in office. He was succeeded by Country Party leader John McEwen on an interim basis and then by John Gorton. His death was commemorated in a number of ways, among them by the establishment of the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne.

#tiny rambles #tiny talks #mermaid au #mermen #merman #mermaid #merformers #mermaid transformers #transformers #transformers idw #mtmte #transformers x human #transformers x reader

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xxspringmelodyxx · 1 year ago

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The legend~

Childe x reader (angst)

Part 2/?? For part I, here

A/n: here it is! Part two of The Legend! Please enjoy my lovelies and thank you all again for the support🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

It had been a few, but long, good years… well, for you at least. You had already mastered five out of the seven elements, with only Electro and Hydro left to finally obtain the final element. The journey had been the most fun you’d had in years, and it made you stronger both mentally and physically. There was still much to work on, but with the progress you were making, you felt confident that you’d be ready to fight the darkness in no time.

“No, not like that. You must be graceful as you move. The stiffer you are when trying to move the water, the harder it will be. Remember, work with the water, not against it. Now, do it again, this time with more fluidity,” Eleanor instructed.

You nodded, closing your eyes as you stood in the deep waters. The sensation of nothingness surrounded you, making you feel like you were flying. Slowly, you lifted your hands and placed them together. You relaxed your body, allowing the water to fully envelop you, listening to the deep, bassy sounds of the liquid.

You began to drag your left leg in a half-circle around you, lifting your knee, your hands following the same motion. The water started to vibrate around you, mirroring your movements. You then pushed your hands down softly, as did your leg, and suddenly, a huge part of the water was pushed down all the way to the ground. For about three seconds, the waters were separated. You looked down and smiled widely as you saw your favorite ring.

Why was it down there, you might ask? Well, the answer is simple… Eleanor threw it down there to help you with your training. You had not been improving much in mastering the art of the Hydro element, so she decided to push you a bit by sacrificing something meaningful to you.

Seeing the ring, you reached to grab it… but lost control due to your focus on the ring. The waters caved in, trapping you underneath. You were too deep underwater to swim out alive. Panic struck as you tried to figure out what to do… but the more you thought, the more precious air you lost!

Desperation set in, and you tried to calm yourself, but it was just too hard… especially knowing there was a chance you could die! You placed your hands together and pushed upwards, hoping the water would lift you to the surface… but nothing happened.

Time was running out and you couldn’t do anything, but keep trying. You kept doing different motions forcefully, your emotions getting the better of you.

Slowly, your vision started to fade, and that's when something unusual appeared. Glancing to your right, you saw a small tornado forming from the ground. Your eyes widened in surprise. The mini tornado grew larger with each passing second, moving directly toward you.

It enveloped you, lifting you back to the surface. You gasped for air, coughing as you tried to fill your lungs. Before you, a pair of feet stood firm, making you look up.

“You must learn to focus,” Eleanor said sternly.

“I-I was! Or… at least I was trying to,” you stammered.

“If you were truly focused, the water wouldn’t have almost drowned you. You were too fixated on the ring and lost your connection with the water. Imagine fighting someone who holds someone you love hostage. You’re doing well, but then you spot the hostage and become distracted. Blam! The opponent strikes, catching you off guard. It could be a fatal blow,” she said, helping you to your feet.

“I’m sorry… but that ring is special—” you began.

“If it’s special, then you must do everything to protect it. To do that, you need to eliminate the threats. Steady your mind, and you'll find it easier to control your surroundings. Had you not been distracted by the ring, you could have easily retrieved it while keeping the waters separate.”

“So… what should I do? I can’t just ignore something important to me. What if someone I care about is in danger? How can I not think about them?” you asked, frustration evident in your voice.

“This is a difficult lesson, but you must learn to set aside those feelings in the moment. Block out distractions and focus solely on your primary objective. That way, your chances of success are much higher. Once you succeed, you can then devote your attention to the person you care about,” she explained.

You nodded, taking in her advice.

“How about we take a break? I need to buy more herbs for tea. We’re running low. I should be gone for about two hours. Please, don’t cause any trouble, alright?” she said, making you smile.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. E! I won’t even make a sound,” you replied, eliciting a chuckle from her.

“Good. I better get going now. The sun will set in a few hours, and I want to return before then. I’ll be back!” she said, heading toward the city.

As she disappeared from view, you sat by the water’s edge, reflecting on her words. The training was more challenging than you had anticipated, but you knew it was necessary. You picked up the ring, holding it tightly, vowing to master your focus and control. The path ahead was still long and arduous, but you were determined to overcome every obstacle and harness the power of all seven elements.

*****

About an hour passed by, and still, there was no sign of Eleanor. I sighed, feeling the weight of boredom pressing down on me. My feet dangled in the cool, refreshing water as I sat perched atop a rock, my mind wandering aimlessly in search of something to do. The stillness of the surroundings only heightened my restlessness, and I found myself wishing for some kind of distraction.

As time crept by, a spark of inspiration ignited in my mind. Perhaps I could try to retrieve the ring while Eleanor was gone! Surely, she would be impressed by my initiative and progress. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? Well, aside from the fact that I almost drowned the last time I attempted it. Pushing that thought aside, I exhaled deeply to calm my racing thoughts. If I wanted to master the elements, I needed to keep practicing.

With newfound determination, I placed my hands together in front of my chest, then gracefully pulled them apart, swaying them to the side and up toward the sky. Suddenly, a small ball of water plopped out of the sea, shimmering in the sunlight. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight—it was adorable!

“I think I’ll call you… Blob!” I said, giggling at my own whimsy.

Keeping my left palm facing the blob of water suspended in the air, I began making spiral motions with my right hand. Gradually, strands of water rose up and started to spiral around the blob, forming intricate patterns like double helixes encircling a small nucleus. It was mesmerizing to watch.

As I maintained the motion, the strands of water grew longer and thicker, causing the water level in that specific area to lower. After about thirty seconds, I finally reached the bottom, where the sunlight glinted off my ring, making it sparkle. Excitement bubbled up inside me as I saw it. I hopped off the rock and waded through the water to retrieve my prized possession.

“Remember to focus on your main target…” Eleanor’s voice echoed in my mind, reminding me of her wisdom.

I took her advice to heart, concentrating on the water around me to ensure I maintained control. Slowly, I picked up the ring, careful not to lose focus. With the ring securely in my hand, a sense of triumph washed over me. I had accomplished my goal.

“Haha! I did it! Take that water!” I announced proudly.

However, my celebration was cut short as the water began to tumble around me. I glanced up in alarm and quickly raised my hand, focusing intently on the impending wave.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me…”

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to relax and reconnect with the water’s essence. I placed my hands up above me, shielding me from the incoming water. Inhaling and exhaling steadily, I felt the water touch my hand but not engulf my body.

Opening my eyes, I was met with the sight of a massive body of water hovering above me, emitting deep, resonant sounds. The sheer size and power of it made me shiver, but I couldn’t help but smile. I had managed to control the water and prevent it from harming me. Slowly but surely, I was becoming one with the element, inching closer to mastering it.

I slipped my ring on, feeling its familiar weight, and placed my hand down, spiraling it once more. The water responded, circling around me and lifting me gently to the surface. I cheered as I made it to land, elated by my success.

I ran back to our old little cottage, catching my reflection in the mirror. I noticed that I looked more fit than I used to, my muscles more defined. A few scars adorned my arms and stomach, reminders of my journey. I smiled as I recalled my transformation and how challenging it had been to master even a single element.

**Flashback**

"Come on. You cannot give up so quickly!" Eleanor urged, her voice firm but encouraging.

"But it’s been five weeks since we started, and I’m getting nowhere!" I complained, frustration evident in my voice.

"Patience is key, my dear. You must remember that you cannot force the element to obey until you learn to become—"

"Become one with it, yeah, I know. You've only said that like a hundred times," I interrupted, my tone tinged with impatience.

"Again," she insisted, pointing to my hand where a small pebble rested. "We are not going to stop until you at least move that pebble from one hand to the other without physically touching it."

After a few seconds of futile effort, I became frustrated and dropped the rock. "Okay, I’m done. Obviously, I’m not supposed to master this, which means I’m definitely not going to master the other six. I am not going to be the next host of this light element, so it’s better to just stop now before we waste more time."

"Y/N—"

"No, maybe you made a mistake in choosing me. You should find someone who can actually handle this. Maybe someone who has already mastered one of the elements. I can’t do this," I said, turning to walk away. However, a huge pile of rocks formed in front of me, creating an impassable wall.

I clenched my fists, my frustration mounting at her persistence. Eleanor appeared in front of me, her expression calm yet resolute.

"At least allow me to speak before you leave," she said, making me sigh in resignation.

"Fine. But you won’t be able to say anything that will help me."

"Fine, but let me try," she insisted. I nodded reluctantly, and we both sat down to talk.

"When I was your age, I too struggled. I almost gave up because I thought there was no way I could achieve something as monumental as mastering an element," she began, her eyes distant as she recalled her past. "I was impatient and frustrated, just like you. But then, I realized that every great achievement starts with small steps. The process requires patience, dedication, and most importantly, belief in oneself."

Her words struck a chord with me, and I felt a glimmer of hope reignite within. "How did you keep going?" I asked softly.

“Atlas.” She spoke with a smile.

”He never gave up on me,” Eleanor continued, her voice tinged with nostalgia. “Every day, he would greet me with a smile, ready to impart new lessons. Months passed, and I still wasn’t making much progress… until one fateful day.”

“There was a deadly battle between us and another group, specifically one person. A boy chosen as the host for the dark element,” she said.

Your eyes widened as you listened intently.

“His name was Micah. He was a truly terrifying being—large, muscular, covered in scars, and bloodstains all over his clothes. He was ruthless.”

Eleanor paused, her expression darkening as she recalled the memory. “On that day, Atlas and Micah were locked in combat. Atlas was fighting to protect me, but he was struggling because the darkness had grown more powerful. I remember seeing Atlas get stabbed in the stomach with a sword, and I screamed in pure terror.”

“Did he die?” you asked, unable to hide your concern.

“No, but he couldn’t move due to the severe blood loss. Micah placed his hand over Atlas’ mouth, and I saw purple lines spreading all over both of their bodies.”

“Why? What did he do to Atlas?” you pressed, leaning forward.

“He was draining Atlas’ power, trying to extinguish the light… but I couldn’t just stand there and watch him die. I had to help. And suddenly, I felt an immense surge of power from within.”

**Eleanor’s Flashback**( A flashback within a flashback. Flashbackception)

“Master Atlas!” Eleanor screamed, her voice filled with desperation.

“Run, Eleanor! Save yourself!” Atlas shouted, struggling to free himself.

Overwhelmed by fear, Eleanor began to run, tears streaming down her face. But she stopped in her tracks when she heard Atlas scream in agony. Turning back, she saw him from afar.

“Atlas!” she yelled, sprinting back toward him.

Micah turned and shot a beam of dark energy at her, striking her in the back. She groaned in pain, her vision swimming with spots.

“Now, you will die… and I will take over the world,” Micah declared.

Atlas let out a bloodcurdling scream, and Eleanor, driven by sheer will, forced herself to stand. She focused intently on Micah, her breathing steadying. Ignoring the chaos around her, she raised her hands and brought them together. Slowly, flames began to surround her body, lifting her into the air.

Both Atlas and Micah stared in shock. Micah released Atlas, who collapsed, coughing up black residue and struggling to breathe.

“You never know when to give up, do you?” Micah sneered.

Eleanor remained silent, channeling her energy inward. “I will not allow you to hurt Master Atlas! If I have to sacrifice myself, I will!” she proclaimed, thrusting her hands forward.

A massive fireball shot toward Micah, hitting him squarely. She continued her fiery assault, each blast pushing him back. Seizing the moment, Atlas rose behind Micah and launched shards of light at him, eliciting a screech of pain. Working together seamlessly, Eleanor and Atlas overwhelmed Micah, who eventually realized he was no match for them. He fled the scene, leaving them alone.

Eleanor rushed to Atlas’ side, helping him to his feet.

“You did well, my child. I knew you could do it,” he said, his voice weak but filled with pride.

“Thank you for always believing in me… but enough of that. We need to get you help. Let’s go,” Eleanor replied, determined to save her mentor.

***End of her flashback***

Eleanor’s eyes met yours, a soft smile on her lips. “It was that day I realized the true extent of my power and the importance of never giving up. You have that same potential, Y/N. Remember, every great journey begins with a single step. Stay determined, and you will master the elements, one by one.” She started

“That moment was pivotal—I knew I was destined to become the next host for the light element. From then on, I trained harder and grew stronger. Within five years, I became the new host. But you, you have the potential to achieve this in even less time if you learn to clear your mind."

"Clear my mind?" you asked, intrigued.

Eleanor nodded and brought her hands together, forming a sphere of water between them. As she slowly separated her hands, the water expanded and swirled in various directions.

"Look at this water as a representation of your mind. Right now, it is agitated, frustrated, angry, and sad. You can't see through it clearly, can you?" she asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, if you allow it to settle and calm down…” She said, causing the water to still, “Soon, you'll be able to see through it clearly," she explained.

"This is your mind. When you become angry or frustrated, you'll find it difficult to accomplish many things. But if you calm down, relax, and focus on your main goal, you'll see that it becomes much easier to achieve."

Eleanor placed a small pebble in your hand. "You haven't been able to move the pebble because you're too focused on your frustration at not being able to move it. If you forget about that frustration and instead focus solely on moving the pebble, you'll have a better chance of succeeding. So, let's try it one more time. This time, think about nothing but the pebble. Learn from your past mistakes and use that knowledge to help you now."

You sighed, taking a deep breath to calm yourself. Fixing your gaze on the pebble, you focused your mind entirely on it.

"Remember, do not worry about your surroundings, and do not let your anger or frustrations get to you. Put your mind at ease. Be determined to move the rock," Eleanor advised.

You relaxed, clearing your mind of all distractions. Slowly, you felt the pebble begin to shift, and you gasped in surprise. As you moved your head up, the pebble followed your movements, floating in the air.

"I did it!" you shouted, letting the pebble fall in excitement.

Eleanor smiled warmly. "I told you, once you calm your mind and have determination, it's much easier to do things you once thought impossible."

You couldn't believe it—you had finally done it. Suddenly, my smile turned into a frown as I looked up at her.

“Do you really think I can do it? Do you really think I am destined to be the holder of the light element?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," she replied confidently. "And I will be here to guide you every step of the way. But you have to promise me one thing: never give up on yourself."

I nodded, feeling a renewed sense of determination. "I promise."

**End of Your Flashback**

The memory of that moment filled you with renewed confidence. Now look at me. I’ve mastered five, almost six, of the seven elements. It’s something that has been unheard of… but not anymore. I am the new standard, the new example. I will prove those who doubted me wrong. My achievements aren’t just for me but for everyone who ever believed in me, and those who didn’t. They will all see what I am capable of.

Suddenly, my thoughts drifted to Ajax, and a frown crept onto my face. I wondered how he was doing these days, how he and Lumine were faring together. Despite everything, a part of me still longed to be with him, even after the awful things he said. Maybe it was because I missed him—the old him. The boy who brought joy with his smile, who lulled me to sleep with his warm voice, who made me feel like a princess. All of that was gone now… because of another girl. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I knew I had to move on.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes, trying to push the thoughts away. “Stop thinking about him, Y/N. It’s over,” I muttered to myself, hoping that speaking the words aloud would make them more real.

Barely a moment later, I heard a cry for help—a little girl’s voice piercing through the quiet. My eyes widened as I rushed outside to see what was happening. I followed the noise, my heart pounding in my chest, and saw a tiny girl… flying? She was hiding behind a boy who looked to be my height, if not a bit taller, with blond hair tied in a braid at the end. I’d never seen him before, but then again, I’d been gone for three long years, and much could have changed in that time.

Ahead of them were two figures. A girl with a red blindfold, brown hair tied in high pigtails, and wielding small hand blades stood poised for a fight. Beside her was a man with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a black mask. My eyes widened as more figures appeared behind them—at least fifteen in total. They looked menacing and ready for battle.

The boy with the little girl, who was still crying for help, held a sword and was trying to fend them off. He looked determined but outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Should I help him? It might make things easier for them… Eh, why not. It wasn’t like I had anything better to do, and it seemed like the right thing to do.

I quickly circled around the group, ensuring I stayed out of sight. Positioning myself behind the enemies, I raised my hands, ready to intervene.

-Aether’s POV-

Paimon and I were sprinting, a horde of people hot on our heels, intent on delivering us to their “leader” for some twisted reward. We found ourselves in an unfamiliar locale, a breathtaking vista of azure seas stretching out before us. It was a scene straight out of a vacation brochure, but there was no time to admire the view. I had to focus on evading our pursuers.

As Paimon’s cries for help echoed, I made a split-second decision to halt our flight. There was no way help could reach us in this remote spot. Turning to face our aggressors, I drew my sword, bracing myself for the confrontation.

Just as our adversaries closed in, a sudden gust of wind erupted, sending them sprawling in all directions. Shocked expressions mirrored my own confusion. Was it Venti’s doing? But no, there was no sign of him. A second onslaught, this time a combination of wind and fire, sent the attackers reeling.

“Are you doing that?” Paimon’s query hung in the air, but neither of us claimed responsibility for the elemental barrage.

Caught off guard, I found myself momentarily distracted, my attention diverted elsewhere. In that fleeting moment, a menacing figure charged toward me, sword raised high, poised for a deadly strike. But before his blade could find its mark, a verdant tendril burst forth from the earth, coiling around his leg with formidable strength, hoisting him into the air.

My gaze shifted ahead, drawn to the source of this unexpected intervention. Standing before me was a young woman, her presence commanding and her demeanor resolute. My eyes widened as she addressed our assailant, her words carrying an air of authority that brooked no defiance.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, her presence commanding attention. Was she friend or foe? Her actions seemed to be in our favor, but appearances could be deceiving.

"Who are you?" The man bellowed, his voice laced with both pain and defiance.

"That's none of your business," she retorted, her tone unwavering as she clenched her fist.

The man's laughter mingled with his anguish. "Is that all you can do, pretty girl? You’re just gonna use your green little plants to stop us? There’s no chance, bunny!" he taunted, but the girl remained unperturbed, a smirk playing at her lips.

"Oh, I can test the fires if you’d like," she countered, her hand igniting with a brilliant orange and red glow. With a swift motion, she slammed her palm onto the ground, unleashing a ring of fire that engulfed her and the man in a fiery barrier.

My eyes widened in astonishment at the display before me. "She has…two visions!?" Paimon gasped in disbelief.

"I don’t think she has just two…" I murmured, realization dawning upon me. Three elements wielded with finesse and power, yet only one young woman stood before us, a testament to her extraordinary abilities.

The man’s pleas dissolved into the charged atmosphere as the girl advanced, her presence commanding respect. “You insult me, I demonstrate my capabilities… and now you recoil in fear?” she remarked, her tone tinged with authority, causing the man to falter.

With a firm grip, she grasped his face, his whimper echoing in the stillness. “I will grant you clemency this time… but further transgressions will not be met with such leniency,” she warned, her words resonating with consequence as the man nodded solemnly. “Y-Yes, ma’am! We will depart! I give you my word!” he pledged, his fear palpable.

However, danger lurked in the shadows, as a sword dancer crept toward her, poised to strike. Without hesitation, I sprang into action, intercepting the blow meant for her.

“Thank you," she whispered softly, her gratitude conveyed with sincerity.

Before I could fully process her words, another assailant lunged towards me, but the girl swiftly intervened, conjuring a fiery sword to intercept the attack.

"I suppose you're all itching for a fight, aren't you?" she remarked coolly, her gaze steady as she addressed our adversaries.

"Very well... hey," she called out to me, her tone steady and determined. I met her gaze, observing the faint smile that graced her lips.

"Are you ready?" she inquired, her voice carrying a quiet resolve. I nodded in response.

"Always," I affirmed, my commitment unwavering.

With a soft hum of acknowledgment, she lifted her sword, swiftly disarming our assailant with a precise strike. Following her lead, I mirrored her actions, swiftly rendering another opponent weaponless.

Together, we fought with valor and unity, our movements synchronized as we defended ourselves against our adversaries.

As I glanced over at her, I witnessed her engaging four opponents with a grace and skill that left me in awe. With a swift and precise motion, she hurled her sword at one of them, piercing their stomach and incapacitating them instantly. Without missing a beat, she retrieved her weapon and swiftly dispatched another assailant with a forceful strike to the chest, eliciting a cry of pain.

Meanwhile, the remaining two assailants closed in on her before she could retrieve her sword, prompting her to unleash a torrent of flames from her hands. In a dazzling display of power and control, she summoned forth blazing infernos that engulfed her attackers, leaving them writhing in agony.

I stood transfixed, marveling at her prowess as she effortlessly held her own against multiple adversaries. However, my momentary distraction proved costly as I failed to notice the incoming threat before it was too late. With a sharp impact to my stomach, I felt a surge of pain and the warmth of blood seeping from the wound.

-Back with you-

Amidst the chaos of the skirmish, a groan of pain caught my attention, drawing my gaze towards the wounded boy lying on the ground, his stomach grievously injured and blood staining the earth beneath him. My heart clenched at the sight, a surge of urgency propelling me into action as I realized the severity of his condition. He needed help, and he needed it urgently.

But before I could reach him, I was accosted by four assailants, their grasp firm and unyielding as they sought to restrain me. Frustration boiled within me, mingling with a fierce determination to break free and aid the wounded boy. Ignoring their demands to cease, I pleaded for release, my voice echoing with urgency and desperation.

The boy’s pained expression spoke volumes, his silent plea for assistance driving home the gravity of the situation. With every passing moment, his life hung in the balance, his need for aid growing more dire by the second. In the midst of the tumult, I knew that I couldn’t stand idly by while he suffered.

“I said. Let. GO!” I yelled.

Suddenly, as if conjured by the urgency of the moment, a towering wave surged forth from the depths of the sea, its colossal presence commanding the attention of all who bore witness to its awe-inspiring might. In an instant, the assailants' grip on me faltered, their fear palpable as they realized the magnitude of the force arrayed against them.

Panicked cries filled the air, a chorus of voices clamoring for escape as the relentless tide bore down upon them with unrelenting ferocity. Frantic shouts echoed amidst the chaos, urging retreat and flight as the looming wave threatened to engulf everything in its path.

"We gotta get out of here!"

"Everyone flee! Flee!"

"Let's go! I don't wanna die like this!"

The urgency in their voices was unmistakable, their terror mirroring my own as we stood on the brink of disaster. In the tumult of the moment, there was no time for hesitation or second-guessing—only the instinctual drive for survival and escape.

Amidst the chaos and confusion, the wave crashed upon the shore with a deafening roar, its relentless force driving the assailants to scatter in a desperate bid for safety. With each passing moment, their cries grew fainter, swallowed up by the tumultuous roar of the sea as they fled the scene, leaving behind a trail of chaos and destruction in their wake.

Relief flooded through me as the tumultuous wave subsided, my attention immediately drawn to the boy writhing in pain on the ground. With each wince and gasp, his suffering became palpable, igniting a fierce determination within me to ensure his safety.

Without hesitation, I rushed to his side, my eyes softening with concern as I took in the extent of his injuries. "You're hurt! We have to get you somewhere safe," I insisted, my voice laced with urgency and determination.

"No, I-it's okay. I think... ngh... I can manage," he protested weakly, his words punctuated by the strain of his labored breaths. "Are you kidding me? You are losing way too much blood. Come on. Let me help you and tend to your wound," I countered firmly, wrapping his arm around me with gentle yet firm resolve.

"Paimon will help as well!" the little girl piped up, her voice infused with a sense of determination and solidarity.

With their support bolstering my resolve, I guided the injured boy toward safety, each step a testament to our shared determination to overcome adversity. "Come on, my place is right over there," I reassured him, leading the way with unwavering resolve and determination.

*****

I gently lowered him onto our dining table, wincing at the sound of his groans of pain. "Sorry!" I apologized, feeling a pang of guilt for his suffering.

Hurrying to gather the necessary supplies, I retrieved disinfectant, cloth, and bandages, my heart racing with urgency as I returned to his side. As I approached, I noticed his condition worsening, prompting a surge of determination to alleviate his pain.

"Okay, I'm just going to apply some pressure to stop the bleeding. This might hurt a bit, so grab onto my arm if you need to. Okay?" I explained, meeting his gaze with reassurance as he nodded in understanding. Gently, I placed my hand with the cloth onto his wound, his sharp intake of breath accompanied by a tight grip on my arm, the pressure of his hold sending a twinge of pain through me.

Persisting through his discomfort, I maintained the pressure until the bleeding finally ceased. With cautious precision, I dabbed disinfectant across the cut, his grip on my wrist tightening further, the strain threatening to overwhelm me.

"Ah... you're doing... really good! Just keep breathing. I'm almost done," I offered words of encouragement, my voice strained with effort as I worked to ease his suffering.

With the last few dabs of disinfectant, I sensed his tension beginning to ease. Carefully, I helped him sit up, preparing to wrap his wound with bandages, each movement infused with a sense of relief and gratitude for his resilience in the face of adversity.

"Okay, I'm gonna need you to sit up a bit for me, alright? I need to get this wrapped around you tightly," I instructed, receiving a nod of understanding from him.

"Could you help me a bit, Paimon?" I requested, and she quickly obliged, assisting in maneuvering him into a sitting position.

As I wrapped my arms around his chest and Paimon pushed his back, he groaned in pain, his discomfort weighing heavily on my conscience. "We're almost there. Keep breathing," I urged, offering whatever comfort I could.

After what felt like an eternity of careful wrapping, we finally got him situated against the wall. I began to work on securing the bandage around his waist, ensuring it was snug but not constricting. Gradually, his breathing steadied, and his grip on me loosened.

"Thank you," he breathed out, his gaze meeting mine. I offered a slightly awkward smile in return, nodding in acknowledgment. "No problem. I wouldn't want to just leave you out there," I replied, my voice tinged with sincerity.

Just as I was finishing up, I pulled the last strip of bandage a bit too tightly, eliciting a hiss of pain from him. "Sorry! I guess I did it a bit too tight. Here, let me loos-"

"No, it's okay. I need it to be that tight," he interjected, mustering a small, tired smile. Despite my inclination to adjust it, his reassurance quelled my concerns. "But I can-"

"Trust me, I'll be fine," he assured me, his words carrying a sense of resolve that I couldn't help but admireI looked up at him and nodded, slowly backing away from him.

I held my arm where he had grasped it, noticing it beginning to bruise. The boy observed it too and promptly got off the table.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, no. It's fine, really. I've been through much worse than this. I'll manage," I reassured him with a chuckle. He took a step back, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Okay... just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said.

"I appreciate that," I replied warmly.

He continued to stare at you, something about your features reminding him of something. It's like he has seen you before…but he's not sure where? Maybe it's just in his head?

A few moments of awkward silence passed by... so you decided to break the ice.

"Uhm… so if you don't mind me asking… what's your name?" you asked the boy.

"Oh… I guess that is something you should know now… especially after helping me," he said, holding his hand out.

"I'm Aether. And you are?"

You took his hand and shook it.

"Y/n. Nice to meet you, Aether. I don't think I've seen you around anywhere before... but... for some reason… you look oddly familiar now that I think of it."

He smiled.

“That’s a nice name. And yeah, I just ‘arrived’ here about two years ago. I’ve been traveling all around the place to find my sister…” he said, his voice trailing off as if lost in memories.

“Ah…I see. And your sister, what is her name?” you asked, your curiosity piqued.

“Her name is-“

“I’m back! Oh y/n, the nice men at the market gave me three brand new things of tea for free! Isn’t that-oh…whose this?” Eleanor burst into the room with her usual energy.

“Oh! Eleanor! This is…a friend of mine.”

“Friend? Y/n…don’t treat me as a fool. I know exactly who this boy is. It’s nice to see you again, Aether.” Eleanor greeted him warmly.

“It’s nice to see you again too, Lady Eleanor.” Aether smiled politely.

“What!? If you knew who he was, why’d you ask?” you inquired, curious about Eleanor's playful charade.

“Just something to do, I guess—Ah!” She cut herself off as she noticed the ring on your finger. Hurriedly, she came closer to inspect it.

“You did it! Without me watching you?! Y/n, you could have been seriously hurt!” Eleanor exclaimed, her initial joy turning to concern.

“Hey, I still did it! That’s all that matters! In fact, I accomplished even more,” you announced proudly.

“What?”

“Well, you see, Aether is only here because there were a bunch of people chasing him and Paimon over there,” you explained, gesturing to the little floating companion beside him.

“Haiii again!” Paimon chirped, earning a smile from Eleanor.

“So, I decided to help and fight with Aether! Needless to say, we kicked their butts!” you said with enthusiasm.

“No, it was more like you kicked their butts. I mean, especially with that huge wave you caused—” Aether interjected.

“Wave? You made a wave?” Eleanor asked, her excitement evident.

“Yeah. It was gigantic! Paimon thought it was bigger than a giant!” Paimon added.

Eleanor looked down at you, pleased. “Well, my dear. This is certainly wonderful news. It sounds like you are one step closer to your goal,” she said, patting your head.

“She also helped bandage me up. I have a lot to owe her,” Aether added, his gaze fixed on you. You smiled, thanking him.

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you both are safe. No need to repay me,” you reassured them.

“Well, I think it’s getting a little late, don’t you kiddos think so? Let’s all head to bed, shall we?” Eleanor suggested, prompting nods from all of you.

Taking Aether's hand, you carefully guided him to your room.

“I know we just met and all, but if Eleanor trusts and likes you, then I think it’s safe to say you are a good guy,” you said with a light laugh.

“So, here,” you continued, pointing at your bed. “You can sleep here tonight. You need a good night's rest, especially after today.”

“But…what about you? Where will you sleep?” Aether asked, concern evident in his voice.

“Oh, we have a pretty decent-sized couch out there. I’ll sleep there tonight—”

“No! You need your rest just as much as I do…maybe even more,” Aether insisted.

“No, Aether, it’s fine! You take my bed,” you insisted in return.

“No, I wouldn’t feel right if you had to go sleep on the couch. I’ll go sleep there—”

“Hold it!” you interrupted, grabbing his wrist.

"I know this might sound a bit unusual, but considering the circumstances, I do have a fairly large bed. How about we both just sleep on it tonight? We’re both adamant that the other should rest here, so why not? We’ll be far enough apart that it won’t even be noticeable," you suggested thoughtfully. Aether's cheeks flushed slightly at the proposition.

“Aether! You’re turning red! Are you feeling unwell? Now I’m certain you need to sleep here tonight—”

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s not that... I mean, I agree with your idea. It’s just two friends sharing a bed,” he stammered awkwardly, eliciting a chuckle from you.

“Let’s not make it any more awkward than it needs to be. Just relax and get comfortable. With a good night’s sleep, we'll be better prepared for whatever tomorrow brings,” you reassured him, easing under the covers.

“Yeah, exactly,” he responded, settling onto his side of the bed. You extinguished the lights, bidding each other goodnight.

“Thanks, y/n... and to you too,” he murmured gratefully, quickly succumbing to sleep, with you following suit not long after.

—With Childe—

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and soon months turned to years, yet Childe couldn't shake the haunting absence of your presence. It had been precisely 3 years, 10 months, and 27 days since you disappeared, and not a day went by without him feeling the weight of your absence. He was consumed by regret, tormented by memories of his own mistreatment towards you.

Each passing day without you felt like an eternity of remorse, as he replayed the moments he took your laughter and smile for granted. Your infectious joy lingered in his mind, a bittersweet reminder of what he had lost. He longed to turn back time, to undo the hurt he caused and hold you close once more.

“Something troubling you, Childe?” Pantalone's voice broke through his reverie, pulling him back to the present.

Childe's expression remained distant as he replied, "Just lost in thought."

Pantalone raised an eyebrow, a knowing look in his eyes. "Ah, it seems you're reminiscing about that girl again. What was her name…?"

Before Pantalone could finish his sentence, Childe interjected with a hint of urgency, "Y/n. Her name is y/n."

“Ah, y/n…such a beautiful name…and from what I’ve seen of her…very beautiful. I should’ve shot my shot when I heard you chose someone else over her~”

Childe’s jaw tensed as he resisted the urge to lash out at Pantalone’s taunts. His grip tightened around his weapon, the threat of violence simmering just beneath the surface.

“She would never go for someone as heartless as you,” Childe retorted, his voice strained with barely contained anger.

Pantalone’s laughter only fueled the fire within Childe, but he maintained his composure, refusing to let his emotions get the better of him.

“Me? Heartless? What about you? Surely if I had someone like y/n, I would never treat her how you treated her. Oh how cold and hurtful you were to her. I bet she ran far away from you and has found somebody else to be with~” Pantalone continued, making Childe clench his fists.

“Even I wouldn’t stoop that low.” Pantalone finished

Childe’s restraint snapped. With lightning speed, his sword whizzed past Pantalone’s head, a warning of the consequences if he continued his cruel taunts.

“Keep talking and I’ll cut your head off,” Childe threatened, his tone dripping with venom.

“My, you are getting impacted by this whole situation, aren’t you?”

Pantalone chuckled.

Before the tension could escalate further, another voice intervened, bringing a temporary reprieve from the heated confrontation.

“What’s going on here?” Another masculine voice asked.

“Ah, Dottore! Just in time,” Pantalone chimed in, eager to share the drama unfolding before them. “Childe here is feeling regret for his actions. You know, the one where he completely broke that poor girl, Y/n.”

Dottore’s laughter filled the room, a sinister sound that sent shivers down Childe’s spine. The mockery in his voice only deepened the wounds of Childe’s remorse, twisting the knife of guilt even further.

“You? You’re feeling remorse for something you caused? Hahaha!” He laughed maniacally.

“What about that Lumine girl? Weren’t you and her together-oh wait…” Dottore’s voice trailed off, his malicious grin widening as he relished in Childe’s discomfort.

“She betrayed you didn’t she? After all you did for her. After all you gave up for her? Especially the girl who has been by your side for years? You threw her away like she was plastic…just so you could get the all mighty traveler…”

Childe’s heart plummeted as Dottore’s words cut through him like a knife. The weight of his betrayal bore down on him, each accusation piercing deeper than the last. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, a painful reminder of his own shortcomings.

The memories flooded back, each one more agonizing than the last. He remembered the day he found out about Lumine’s betrayal, the shock and disbelief etched into his every fiber.

In a flashback, Childe recalled the moment vividly.

***Flashback***

He had been on his way back to their shared home, a bouquet of flowers in hand, when he heard the desperate cries for help. Intrigued, he followed the sound until he stumbled upon a scene that would forever haunt him.

There, lying on the ground, was a man in dire need of assistance. But what struck Childe to the core was the figure kneeling beside him—Lumine.

“Lumine?” Childe’s voice wavered with disbelief as he took in the sight before him. The man on the ground pleaded for aid, his eyes filled with fear and desperation.

“Please! Help me!” the man implored, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Lumine!? What the hell are you doing?” Childe’s voice cracked with desperation as he rushed to intervene, only to be met with a forceful kick that sent him sprawling to the ground. Pain seared through him as he looked up at her, his eyes wide with shock.

”Stay away. I need to-have to do this. It is the only way~” She spoke, walking towards him.

With each step she took, Lumine’s aura grew more menacing, her intentions shrouded in darkness. Childe’s heart clenched as he pleaded for answers, but his words fell on deaf ears.

”And I will not allow someone like you to get in my way.”

Childe's heart sank as Lumine's chilling words echoed in his ears, the finality of her betrayal piercing through him like a knife. He struggled to comprehend the darkness that had consumed the person he once thought he knew, his mind reeling with disbelief and anguish.

"Lumine… W-What are you talking about!? Why are you doing this!?" Childe's voice wavered with a mixture of desperation and confusion, his eyes pleading for answers. But Lumine's response was swift and cold, her actions speaking louder than words.

Before he could react, Childe was met with a brutal kick to the face, the force of the blow sending him sprawling to the ground once more. Pain radiated through him, but it paled in comparison to the agony of witnessing Lumine's descent into darkness.

As Lumine approached the injured man, she placed her hand over his mouth. A sense of dread washed over Childe. He watched in horror as dark purple lines began to snake across her hand, a sinister energy emanating from her touch. The man's agonized screams filled the air, sending shivers down Childe's spine.

Unable to stand by and watch any longer, Childe forced himself to his feet, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. With trembling hands, he reached for his sword, his gaze never leaving Lumine's twisted form.

“Shh. This will all be over soon.” She said.

“Lumine, stop!” Childe yelled, bringing his sword out. He threw it towards her hand, but she dodged it, glaring at him.

“You just never know when to stop, dO yOU?” She said as her voice became distorted.

Childe looked at her, terrified. What the hell was going on. Suddenly, a snap was heard from the man, and all went silent. Lumine sighed with satisfaction, lifting her hand from the poor man’s mouth, a trail of black smoke being left behind.

Childe stared at her as she got up, purple lines forming across her body.

“Sorry you had to find out this way, Childe.” She said

“What is this?! What did you do!?” Childe’s voice quivered with a mixture of fear and outrage, his sword hand shaking uncontrollably. But Lumine’s response was chillingly casual, her smirk sending a shiver down his spine.

“Relax. I only took his power and strength away so I could use it.” Lumine’s words sent a cold wave of realization crashing over Childe. He had been blind to her true intentions, deceived by the facade of the person she played out for him.

“Why? How?”

“Can’t you see, Childe?” Her voice echoed through the area, carrying an ominous weight. “This world is teeming with power, with those who claim dominion over others. The Archons, the Harbingers, those gifted with visions… They wield their strength without consequence, ruling over the masses with impunity.”

“And now,” she continued, “I am here to cleanse this world of its corruption. I will rise to claim my rightful place as its leader, to usher in a new era of justice”

Childe stared at her with concern. She walked up to him and lowered to his level.

“And I won’t let you get in my way.” She whispered in my ear.

She then touched his temples and knocked him out as her fingers pressed against his nerves.

-end of flashback-

“Honestly, you would be the one who falls for a traitor.” Dottore said

Childe glared at them, slamming his fist

“Shut up! Both of you!”

“Awe, is someone getting sensitive?” Another voice pitched in

Arlecchino appeared from the dark, with a smirk.

“Come now, let’s not make the child cry.” She teased.

Childe was beyond pissed at this point. He walked over to Pantalone, grabbed his sword and left, needing to get some steam released.

—

Childe’s training sessions became a battleground of conflicting emotions, his mind torn between honing his skills and grappling with the void left by your absence. With each swing of his sword and every surge of his elemental power, he found himself haunted by memories of you—your laughter, your warmth, the way your eyes lit up when you were together.

But these fleeting visions of you only served to deepen his despair, reminding him of the irreversible mistake he had made. The weight of his regret pressed down on him like a leaden cloak, suffocating him with the knowledge that he had driven away the one person who had always stood by his side.

As he sparred tirelessly, his movements grew erratic, his focus shattered by the specter of your absence. The image of you, tears glistening in your eyes, seared itself into his mind, a constant reminder of the pain he had inflicted upon you.

And then, as he collapsed to the ground, exhausted and defeated, the floodgates of his grief burst open. Tears streamed down his cheeks unchecked, his sobs echoing in the empty training grounds as he surrendered to the overwhelming anguish of your loss.

In that moment of raw vulnerability, Childe realized the depth of his need for you. You being gone left a horrible wound on his heart that refused to go away. He longed to turn back the hands of time, to undo the choices that had driven you away, to reclaim the happiness he had foolishly cast aside.

When he came back from a mission, you’d always be the first to help aid him. You’d always cook him something to eat as well since it’s probably been a while since he ate.

When he was in need of comforting, especially after a hard mission, he would always come to you to hear your soft, yet kind hearted voice. It was soothing to him and made him relax every time he heard it. But most of all, he missed your touch. The way you would hug him, rub his arm, play with his hair, all of it.

Now all of that is gone…you are gone. The thought of you out there, alone and vulnerable, haunted him day and night. Was he too late to save you? Was there any hope of finding you alive? The questions tormented him, gnawing away at his sanity with each passing moment.

Childe’s mind raced with a thousand possibilities, each one more terrifying than the last. Was someone hurting you? Were you suffering in silence, your cries for help going unheard? The thought of you in pain, or worse, dead, filled him with a sense of dread that threatened to consume him whole.

Childe refused to entertain the notion of your demise. The mere thought of such a tragic outcome was too much for him to bear. To accept that something terrible had befallen you would be the ultimate blow, shattering the fragile remnants of hope that still clung to his heart. The prospect of losing you, of never seeing your smile again or feeling your touch, was a nightmare he couldn’t bear to face.

He pulled out the picture you had in your room from out of his pocket. He looked at the neatly folded picture of you and him. You both were so little and full of joy…you two were like two peas in a pod. No one could separate you both.

But he, himself, did. He managed to do the unthinkable. He broke you two apart.

Tears fell down his face as he stared silently at the photo, clenching it in his hands as if he could go back to that time.

He let out a shaky sigh as he held it close to him.

“I’m so sorry, y/n…I’m so so sorry.” He whispered.

————

Part three up soon!

taglist:

@esthelily

@moloteco-real

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dioslesbianwife · 5 months ago

Note

It's meeeee again :) Hii

So, I'm not sure how many times I can request the same reader so feel free to just ignore this.

Could I request hcs with bloodthirsty pillarman reader with the other pillarmen (Including Santana pls) Platonic or romantic I don't really mind, please and thank you ♥️

hii, it’s no problem i don’t mind writing for the same reader- hope you enjoy and ty for requesting!

Esidisi

Finally! Someone else who enjoys the thrill of the hunt as much as he does! Esidisi loves your ferocity, your love of tearing into prey and basking in the violence.

The two of you could destroy entire villages together, laughing while drenched in blood.

He adores your unpredictability, he thinks it makes fights way more fun. Unlike Kars, he doesn’t mind your recklessness, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the grand plan.

You bring out his more unhinged side, and the other Pillar Men find it grating when the two of you start cackling in sync.

"We should race to see who can kill the most humans first," he suggests.

He’s dramatic like you, so the two of you constantly hype each other up in battle, screaming about how beautiful the carnage is.

One time, Kars caught you bathing in the blood of your victims while Esidisi cheered. He was not amused.

Wamuu

Wamuu respects power and battle prowess, so he immediately acknowledges your strength. But… he has one major problem with you.

"You have no discipline."

You drive him insane with how recklessly you throw yourself into fights, tearing people apart without any strategy or restraint.

He keeps trying to train you, but you ignore all his lessons and just attack however you feel like in the moment.

"Your strength is great, but you fight like a mindless beast."

"And? My enemies still die, don’t they?"

Deep sigh. Wamuu is fighting for his life trying to teach you patience.

He hates that you toy with your prey. While he believes in giving opponents a fair fight, you drag them underwater, let them surface just to see the panic in their eyes, then drown them again.

Despite his frustration, he deeply respects you as a warrior. You fight with unrelenting passion, and even if it’s messy, it’s undeniably effective.

If you ever defeat him in a spar, he actually enjoys it. He might think you need control, but he won’t deny the thrill of fighting someone as wild and powerful as you.

Santana

Santana is the most indifferent toward you at first. You’re loud, chaotic, and unpredictable, and he just stares at you blankly while you wreak havoc.

He’s more of a watcher than a talker, so at first, he just silently studies your fighting style.

You’re a puzzle to him. While the other Pillar Men fight with purpose, you fight for fun, for hunger, for the thrill of it. It’s fascinating, in a way.

He’s not bothered by your bloodthirst- he just finds it curious that you enjoy it so much.

You try to mess with him, pushing him, trying to get a reaction. He just blinks at you, unimpressed.

"Hmph. You’re no fun."

"I don’t care."

That said, when you do fight together, he adapts to your style quickly. You’re unpredictable, and he uses that to his advantage. If he lets you go wild, the enemy is too focused on you to realize he’s flanking them.

Lowkey enjoys watching you fight. You may be chaotic, but your skill is undeniable.

#jojo's bizarre adventure #santana x reader #santana #esidisi #esidisi x reader #wamuu x reader #wamuu #pillar men #pillar men x reader

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cckaisen · 2 months ago

Text

CAIN: Twist of Fate

Chapter 1 of Cain: a TWDG fanfiction cross-posted on AO3 (see link at end).

Summary: When estranged siblings are plunged into an apocalypse, odds are a lot of people will die along the way. Or; why stop at Cain and Abel?

This isn’t the first time she’s been held at gunpoint.

Clementine shivers. Blood thrums in her ears. Her knees hit the floor, bruising. The cold threat of a bullet keeps her still, her pupils shrunken to dots.

This isn’t the first time. She’s survived this before.

Calm. She needs to stay calm.

Someone kneels behind her. Bright orange hair—like her old neighbor’s cat. They bind her hands. The zip tie bites at her skin.

Everything had happened so fast.

One second, she had been decking out the Christmas tree with fat gleaming ornaments and ribbons of tinsel. Sarah griped that her arms were too short to reach the middle. Clementine devoured her first hot meal in months, her tongue thumping in the aftermath, tastebuds thanking her. The ski lodge was a hearth. A warm, zealous embrace. Kenny had been there. They’d even hugged.

And now she is one wrong move away from certain death.

While her group was distracted by an onslaught of walkers, they had emerged from the forest. Swarming like flies to a mulching corpse as panic ensued. Barking orders. Shots. Everyone scattered.

Then came the name.

Carver. Fucking Carver. That name. She’d heard it over and over again. No one ever told her why. And now she’s face-to-face with him; the one they talk about like he’s the devil incarnate.

Her ears ring with noise. A bluster of sound, or silence–she can’t tell.

The whole house balks: Sarita. Nick. Alvin. Carlos. Sarah. Walter.

He touches Rebecca. Her face scruples like it burns, wrath simmering in the curve of her brow as more soldiers filter in, collapsing the illusion of safety Clementine is sure she will never hold in her hands.

Boots thump against the ground. A girl walks in, her chin caked with blood and no wound site. Not hers. A rifle hangs comfortably across her body, like a satchel. Clementine’s skin erupts in goosebumps.

There is nothing in her face. No anger, no drive. No malice. She’s all paved over.

Dragging Luke.

Carver huffs out a laugh, making way for her.

She shoves him hard into the pit of hostages. He lands face-first. Winded, Luke wheezes, his ribs battered by the floorboards.

Adrenaline gets him back up on his knees, bloodied, at this girl’s mercy, the first tendrils of a bruise curling around his eye. There’s a hauntingly furious gleam in her eye as she stalks towards him, the rest of her face inhumanely vapid.

Clementine’s heart beats so fast she thinks she might puke. That feeling—rage—sucks the air from the room. She’s going to kill him.

Luke scrambles, recognition bursting out from him.

“June—”

The back end of the shotgun comes down before he can finish. Hard. His body collapses at Clementine’s feet.

Mortified and convinced she’s next, Sarah gags with the effort of a sob, nearly sending her face first into the ground. Carlos hushes her gently, though his head lolls from the pain, his mangled fingers twitching behind his back. The house gyres–a fucked-up ferris wheel, heaving and sputtering with the effort of staying upright.

The girl stares down at him, an errant twitch in her lip. “I should kill you.”

Carver appears behind her, patting her back. He chuckles. “Easy, tiger.”

Clementine stares at Luke’s crumpled body until her eyes sting, vision blurring. Everything sounds underwater, conversation swishing and slurrying together. At the right angle, gunshots look like bubbles popping. She likes aquariums. Mom used to take her to the pet shop on weekends. She could stare at the fish all day long. They swam so fast. Blinked at her through the glass. Why can’t I open my eyes like that underwater, Mom? It was fun. She likes water creatures. She wants to go again one day. Can we, Mom? Can we look at the fish together?

Walter lies limp on the floor by Carver’s feet.

Where his forehead was, a hole has been dug out into his brain. A piggish, meaty color.

Her eyes burn. Her nose runs. There’s no space for grief—just the next trigger. The next life. For them, it’s all routine.

Clementine pales, her throat squeezing.

Alvin is next to be gathered up off the floor.

His captor presses the cold metal of his gun into the side of his head–she feels the imprint on her own skin. Knows it, like an old friend.

Rebecca objects through tears, choking on protests. “Bill, please don’t do this!”

She knows she has to think fast. Do something, she has to do something.

“Kenny! Don’t shoot!”

Her voice cracks, betraying something fatal.

A pause.

Then, in a manner fit for a music box, Carver’s head turns, his eyes wild, defiant.

Clementine shudders as he takes her in. She knows he sees something valuable. Something worth exploiting.

Alvin is useless to him. Discarded. Instead, Carver withdraws to grab up the little girl. The one he recalls so vividly from that little house. The one he invaded, parasitic from the moment he pushed through the door.

Clementine resists like a cat—wriggling, kicking at everything she can. It’s pointless. He overpowers her tenfold.

Dragging her to the window, Carver manages to present her like a shield.

Amidst the snow, Kenny crouches, Rifle frozen in his grip. His body nearly blurs, but the way he wavers is hardly lost on Clementine. Nor is it lost on Carver, who makes a damn good show of the circumstances, dragging his weapon along her face.

Kenny falters, like someone kicked out one of his legs from under him. Every brutal instinct he clings to subsides, takes a backseat, giving way to something more lucid as his gun slides from his palms and thuds against the white terrain.

He steps into the lodge, hands raised. Another for the lineup; fresh, dangling meat.

The room stoops, the air too thick to swallow. There’s no one left to save them. All that remains are short, panicked breaths, darting eyes, and wrists chafing from restraints.

With all the sheep rounded up, Carver draws a breath before launching into a sermon. It’s less a speech and more a punishment, each word loaded with false nostalgia.

“Why am I not surprised?” He paces around, sudden gesticulations setting everyone on edge. “I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. And look where he’s led you.”

Luke splinters with the force of a kick to his gut, grunting. Alive. Conscious.

Dazed with relief, Clementine blurts out his name.

Luke barely moves but to roll onto his back, his breath whistling, likely from pain.

He’s okay, and yet—

Clementine stops. She feels the pricking of eyes on her neck, craning her head.

Behind her, it’s the girl–the one who carries a gun like she was born with it in her hands.

She just stares. Not curious. Not angry. Just blank. Like Clementine’s not even there.

Like she’s already gone.

It ruffles the kid enough that she lowers her head again, ducking beneath the rim of her cap.

Carver’s smile sticks to his lips like syrup, slimy, sickly, churning Rebecca’s stomach as he makes promises of playing house, his hand lingering too long on her belly.

“We’re going home,” he says, “Me, you, and our baby.”

That word sticks out to Clementine. Our. Our baby. Carver’s.

She feels sick. Somewhere beside her, Sarah’s cries mellow out into wet, bleating hiccups. Carlos nearly dies with the urge to coddle her. Eyes. Eyes on her neck, nettling under her skin. She can’t shake them.

“Alright, round ‘em up. We’re heading back to camp,” Carver announces. A picture of self-satisfaction, chin raised as he turns and waves at his troops to take it from here.

One by one, her friends are plucked from the floor. Pulpy red berries, ripe for the picking. Some fight, some don’t.

Clementine feels a fracture in her psyche. It’s as though she’s wandered somewhere far away. Somewhere distinctly outside of her own body, watching it star in something her mind doesn’t agree to.

“–up, or so help me God I will throw you over my fuckin’ shoulder!”

The soldier’s voice rings painfully in her ears, his large, armed frame swallowing hers whole. He waves his rifle in her face. Clementine stares, unblinking.

“Troy.”

Cold fingers grasp at the back of her collar. Clementine’s jerked onto her feet as her head whips around, the threat of hands summoning a knee-jerk vitality.

A thick swoop of ponytail perches on hard shoulders, her body set in a line–a thin, withering command. That clinical distance unsettles Clementine in a way she can’t explain.

“Start up the truck.”

Troy hardens before he relents, scoffing redundantly before backing out of what was starting to feel like a standoff. As he trudges outside, Clementine feels white lights popping all over her body, like an entire town blinking in the aftershocks of a sudden loss of power.

Glass from windows shattered in gunfire glistens like sugar on the floorboards. Through them, the wind howls, perverse, determined. A resounding promise.

Despite the way her body trembles, Clementine finds it within herself to look again at the woman. June stares back, hollowed-out. Rigor-mortis. A moment passes, protests burbling outside. Yelling, bodies thrashing, the morbid pop of skin as someone's hit. Then, without any further comment, she’s shoved outside.

June glances at the snow, quick and strange, like she expected something to be there. Then she moves on.

Her hands find Clementine’s collar again. She pages the hearse.

The truck rocks with the force of metal doors slamming shut, locking the group inside. Reality sets in. The mental fog departs, airing out new wounds. Aside from Sarah’s soft crying, silence hangs heavy between them, nestling under their skin.

Her knees hurt. Clementine looks around, unsure what she’s even searching for. The restraints gnaw at her wrists, demanding she keep still.

Everyone is quiet.

No arguing, no protests–just, quiet.

Sarah flinches when the vehicle rolls over a bump, a wet squelch pervading the air. The soft, pulpy mashing of flesh. Clementine finds Luke, but he hasn’t reacted.

Instead, he’s keeled over. Elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. He thumbs the bruise on his chin.

The gleam of a tear undoes her. Her brow knits. Lips part.

“Luke?”

No response.

She scans the rest of the space for help. A look, a nod, any scrap of sense she can wrestle into an answer. All she’s afforded are stooped heads and grating abstinence as the truck rumbles over gravel. It’s like they’re avoiding it–still lit up by the warm fire and tranquility of the lodge. Something white-hot scrabbles up her chest–panic, or anger, or both.

“Who was that?”

Luke doesn’t lift his gaze. Something moves across his face—shame or heat or memory. It knots him up.

“His sister.”

Rebecca’s voice is cut, but tender. She shakes her head at Clementine—an instinctive hush, a quiet warning not to ask more.

But Clemetine isn’t done.

“Why did she hit him?”

No one leaps to answer that one. She thinks it might be left to dangle in the air, until Sarah warbles.

“June gets mad sometimes. That’s… that’s why she left,” she says, her throat bobbing. Her eyes flick over to her dad.

That’s when Carlos steps in, gentle but firm. “That’s enough, Sarah.”

Luke still hasn’t moved. Still hasn’t looked up. His silence says everything.

She wants to ask more. Doesn’t.

Instead, Clementine tucks her feet close, allowing silence to dawn once again. Closes her eyes. And, if she focuses hard enough, finds that there is peace, somewhere inside her. Somewhere dark. Somewhere quiet.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65680225?view_full_work=true

#cckaisen #twdg #telltale games #telltale the walking dead #twdg season 2 #kenny twdg #luke twdg #twdg clementine #clementine #twdg oc #twdg s2 #the walking dead game #twdg fanfic #twdg fanart #twdg kenny #twdg nick #fanfiction

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panosatthemovies · 1 month ago

Text

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is, most probably, the last in the series of spy films that began with the excellent De Palma-directed first installment in 1996—reviving a TV series from the ’80s, which itself was reviving a series from the ’60s, originally inspired by the James Bond films and Bondmania.

But although the first film was a tight thriller, the series lost its way and became a bit silly in the second and third installments. It finally found its stride with Ghost Protocol—which, for me, was a masterpiece of popular entertainment—and continued from strength to strength with parts 5, 6, and 7: fun, humorous, extravagant adventures for the whole family, reminiscent of the Bond films of the Roger Moore era—films that are sorely missed in today’s cinema.

So what happened with the last one?

Well, the problem, I think, lies in the fact that they broke the story into two parts. Then COVID and the Hollywood strikes forced them to delay part two, which eventually got a new title and a 15-minute prologue full of exposition just to bring audiences up to speed with what happened and what’s at stake.

And that’s the second bad thing about this film: it takes itself too seriously, repeating again and again that unless Ethan Hunt succeeds, it’s “the end of the world as we know it.” And because of that tone and soberness, we lost all the fun—and apart from a few exceptions, no one in the audience laughed during the entire 3-hour movie.

That was sin number three: exhausting the audience not with action scenes but with at least an hour’s worth of exposition just to raise the stakes.

Were the stakes raised? Yes.

Did it work? Eventually, it does.

The whole film becomes a matter of life and death for the entire world, and yes, that pays off in excitement. The filmmakers bring everything they’ve learned from the previous films and mix it with elements from WarGames and The Hunt for Red October, perhaps some underwater sequences from Thunderball, as well as concepts from Spectre and No Time to Die, and finally deliver an incredible biplane sequence partially inspired by Octopussy. That scene alone, at the end, is worth the price of admission—Tom Cruise once again brings stunts to another level, even at the age of 61.

I admit, even with the problems mentioned above, I had the most fun I’ve had in a cinema in quite a while. And this is the kind of movie I mostly miss these days.

So go see it.

Save cinemas while watching Tom Cruise save the world.

And have some fun watching the impossible—Cruise escaping death while filming the craziest stunts, once again!

B+

Trailer: https://youtu.be/fsQgc9pCyDU

#mission impossible #Tom Cruise #film review #movie review #James bond #roger moore #final reckoning

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phightingaus · 6 months ago

Note

Pirate/mer au.

Based on the skins from the Mermaid Vs Pirate Pheatival.

Here's what I got so far:

Medkit and Subspace used to be a part of the same crew before the incident .

The crystals work differently, Medkit's crystals allow mer's to shift into a more "human" form (idk what else to call it, all characters are still inphernals/demons just some of them be fish), they get legs but still keep the fins and stuff, and Subspace's poison water sources.

Medkit joined Scythe's crew after the incident along with Broker and the other true eye dudes, he doesn't really wanna be there but at least it's not Subspace.

Subspace's crew is a little funny, Biografts in this au would be more like reanimated skeletons with little to no emotion so there's just a bunch of them, along with Hyperlaser who is still a mercenary that Subspace hires.

Vinesplash and Shurifin are mer's that Subspace's crew are hunting as Shuri got hold of one of med's crystals and Sub wants it.

Skateboard, Coil, Boombox, Slingshot and two OCs of mine are their own crew that end up meeting Vine and Shuri and they decide to help them out. Partially because Coil also has a crystal like Shuri but he stole it from Subspace so they're being hunted too, Coil is a mer too but he likes his funky pirate friends so he usually stays in "human" form (also he is shark mer because yes).

More about the OCs, Rainbow is a thief and vandal that knew Coil and Skateboard before they became pirates, she is usually on look out because her gear allows her to fly. She ends up getting really close with Vinesplash and talks with her a lot when they aren't dealing with Subspace or supernatural stuff.

Hook is a Biograft made from discarded bones that got mashed together like some kind of Frankenstein's monster but a skeleton. Unlike most Biografts they are sentient and capable of empathy.

The SFOTH are still deities, some of them are mer's but some are kinda just the same. They will sometimes intervene with mortals either for fun or for their own benefit. Though sometimes they will help mortals out of kindness (it's usually Icedagger, he's probably the most chill with mortals).

Darkheart stays at the bottom of the ocean most of the time but will sometimes surface to scare mortals.

Firebrand lives on an island with an active volcano, sometimes he gives directions to lost ships.

Illumina lives in the clouds and watches mortals, he doesn't really like getting involved much.

Windforce causes storms for fun, if she likes a crew she'll make the journey quicker for them with stronger winds and promises not to send a storm their way in the future.

Venomshank lives in an underwater cave, he still trains Sword in this au (who is also a mer). The water around his cave is toxic so only he can enter and exit, he trains Sword elsewhere so he doesn't get sick or die from the poison.

Ghostwalker is still a Grim reaper type, not much changes for him. Though I like the idea that he runs an underworld similar to the one in greek mythology. Hades codes dude.

Icedagger lives in frozen waters, he makes sure that icebergs don't sink any ships passing by.

Valk, Dom and Banhammer are demi-deities that will also get involved with mortals from time to time. Ban usually hunts pirates and sinks their ships while Valk and Dom would bestow blessings on crews they like, usually so that Ban doesn't drown them.

That's all I got so far, sorry it's long as hell lol.

aaaaaaaa cybertana and nepo, help please i have no clue how to answer this

oh wait! WHERE IS ROCKET?

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opossum-writes · 3 months ago

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The Lonely Ranger: Pt. 7

“A Late Night Swim”

A/N: honestly more of a filler chapter ig. Sorry if all the romance scenes seem rushed, I wanted to establish some kind of relationships between the romances. Minthara is yet to join the party, so Adonis is kinda chillin for now. Alekzarr has a love interest, but he’s a bit of a last minute OC, plus that’s way more of a slow burn than everyone else’s. Anyways, it’s a bit shorter than I usually like, but I hope everyone enjoys.

WC: 1700

It’s the afternoon, everyone is still tired. They all stayed up late. Adonis is somehow the only one not severely hungover, when he is the one who drinks the most. Well, Alekzarr didn’t drink. Alekzarr hasn’t spoken since last night. He’s currently in his tent. He clearly wants to be alone.

Adrien and Shadowheart aren’t anywhere to be seen. Gale is angrily cooking breakfast, and Ellios and Karlach are taking turns dunking their faces into the pond. Grommash is throwing up into a bush, and Lae’zel is holding his hair so it won’t fall over his face. Astarion seems the most normal, even though he is also hungover. He’s laying near the pond, trying to get a tan while sipping from a cup that has what looks to be blood in it. Wyll is sat on a rock massaging his forehead.

Adonis walks over to Karlach and Ellios. “Oi! Have you seen Adrien anywhere? I haven’t seen him since last night.” Adonis asks, concerned. Ellios pulls his head out from under the water and turns around to look at Adonis. “I haven’t seen him. However, last night, I heard him LOUD and clear. Gods, I wish I could erase that from my memory…” Ellios replies, and Karlach laughs, then immediately holds her head in pain. “Gods, even laughing hurts…” Karlach groans. “Dunk your head back in, it’ll help.” Ellios says, and immediately puts his head back underwater, and Karlach does the same. “Alright then. I guess i’ll just look for him myself…” Adonis mumbles, and walks away.

Right as he’s about to leave camp to look for Adrien, Adrien and Shadowheart walk back into camp, side by side. Shadowheart is walking a little funny, and Adrien is lacking a shirt and his neck and shoulders are covered in dark purple bruises. “Good morning…” Adrien groans. “It’s the afternoon, Adrien. Where were you? I was just about to search for you!” Adonis says, and Shadowheart chuckles and smirks at Adrien. “I was with Shadowheart. Quit your worryin’, you sound like my mum.” Adrien smiles.

Ellios walks up to the three of them, and as soon as he sees Adrien he laughs. “HAH! Thats why I heard you groanin’! You two finally shagged! I gotta go tell Astarion!” Ellios laughs, and runs over to Astarion and tells him. Astarion immediately stands up. “Oh dear gods, finally!” Astarion says. Adrien turns a bright red and walks over to his tent. Adonis has now joined in on the laughing.

It’s the evening now, and someone else has joined the camp. Halsin, the archdruid from the emerald grove is visiting. He told everyone that he needs help getting to moonrise towers, and that he thinks there might be a cure there. However, the road to moonrise towers is going to be… tricky. Halsin said they’d have to travel through the shadow cursed lands. There are two options to get there, through the mountain pass, or; the underdark.

The party is split. Adrien, Lae’zel, Adonis, Ellios, and Karlach all want to go through the mountain pass. Shadowheart, Alekzarr, Halsin, Grommash, and Gale want to travel through the underdark. Wyll is undecided, and Astarion doesn’t care either way. Ellios is currently trying to convince Astarion that the mountain pass is the best way to go, and Gale is trying to convince Wyll to travel through the underdark.

“The underdark is a death wish! You don’t want to die, right?” Ellios says, looking at Astarion. The two of them get along well, since they’re both rogues and have similar personalities. “That is a fair point, I suppose. But where’s the fun in that? The underdark is exciting. Sure, I could get killed by anything that breathes down there, but it would be fun.” Astarion replies. “You know, I actually think i’d like to go into the underdark.” Astarion says, and Ellios groans. Eventually, after a few arguments and heated discussion, a coin flip or two, and a rock paper scissors match, everyone has agreed to go through the underdark, albeit some did so begrudgingly.

They all will make their way to the goblin camp, where there is supposedly an entrance to the underdark, tomorrow. They’ll be separated in groups of four. Group A is Adrien, Adonis, Shadowheart, and Astarion. Group B is Halsin, Karlach, Ellios, and Lae’zel. Group C is Alekzarr, Grommash, Gale, and Wyll.

The sun has started setting, and Karlach and Ellios are sitting on the shore. Theres a comfortable silence surrounding the two of them. They’ve become quite close, and it’s obvious to everyone. But, there is also an undeniable amount of… tension, between the two of them. It’s a constant “will they won’t they” with them.

“So… how’d you get that burn on your face, El?” Karlach interrupts the silence, both still facing the setting sun. Ellios is about to answer the question, but as he opens his mouth to say something, he realizes what Karlach called him. He’s not used to having nicknames, most people don’t care enough to ask him for his name, and he usually gives a fake one when trying to get somebody alone so he can rob them in private.

But, something about how it effortlessly rolled off the tiefling’s tongue made Ellios feel warm inside. It felt right. “El?” Ellios asks, smiling slightly, moving his gaze from the sky to the barbarian next to him. “Well, it’s about time I gave you a nickname. Unless you don’t like it…” Karlach chuckles. “No! Not at all. I like it.” Ellios assures her, his smile growing wider. Karlach smiles back at him. “Alright then, El.” Karlach replies. The two look back at the sun.

“You never answered my question.” Karlach says. “Oh, yeah. I, uh… ran into some… pretty bad people. They decided to mess with me a bit. They seemed to get a real kick out of burning my face with magic.” Ellios explains, and Karlach frowns slightly at the story. “I really wish I could hug you.” Karlach sighs. “A hug would be nice.” Ellios chuckles.

Suddenly, Karlach gets an idea. “Oh! Do you know how to swim, El?” Karlach asks, smiling. “Of course I do. Who doesn’t?” Ellios replies. “Maybe if we’re in the water, I might be cool enough to touch!” Karlach says. “Huh. That might work. I know a spot we could swim in that’s a bit more private. Might as well go there now, since we leave tomorrow.” Ellios suggests, and Karlach immediately stands up. “I’m so excited! Lead the way, soldier!” Karlach says, giggling and jumping up and down excitedly. Ellios laughs, and stands up, and starts walking to the spot, Karlach following closely behind.

The two get there in less than ten minutes, and Ellios was definitely right. It’s a small lake, with clear water, hidden behind various trees and bushes. “Well, what do you think?” Ellios asks, and Karlach looks down at him, smiling even wider. “It’s perfect. You are the best.” Karlach says, and Ellios’ cheeks turn a slight pink. Karlach doesn’t notice, though. “Well, what’re you waitin’ for! Take those clothes off and hop in.” Karlach laughs, and begins to undress.

“Eager to see me in my underwear, huh?” Ellios teases. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Karlach chuckles. She’s now in her underwear, waiting on Ellios to undress as well.

Ellios unbuttons his shirt slowly, and Karlach turns away. Ellios drops his shirt on the ground and takes off his shoes, and then his trousers. “I’m surprised you didn’t try takin’ a peek at me.” Ellios chuckles, and Karlach turns around, immediately blushing a very deep red as soon as she sees him. “I can see why you’ve got a big ego.” Karlach teases, and Ellios snorts. “Good one.” Ellios chuckles.

The two slowly step into the water, and Ellios starts shivering. “Gods, it’s cold.” He says. “It’s nice for me. Probably because i’m in a constant state of heat.” Karlach replies. Ellios and Karlach both dunk their heads in and out of the water. “Well, moment of truth…” Ellios says, and hesitantly places a hand on Karlach’s shoulder. And… he’s fine. “Huh…” Ellios mumbles, and Karlach immediately grabs him and pulls him to her in a tight hug. Ellios laughs, and hugs her back. “Gods, i’ve needed a hug for so long…” Karlach says, smiling and burying her head into the rogue’s shoulder. Ellios gently caresses the back of her head, while his other arm is wrapped firmly around her waist.

The two pull away and look into each other’s eyes. “You know, I think I might have a bit of a crush on you, El.” Karlach says. Ellios smiles at her. “Just a bit?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Maybe a little more…” Karlach replies, leaning in slightly. “Well, the feeling is very mutual.” Ellios smirks, and starts leaning in as well.

Right before their lips connect, they stop. “You have no idea how long i’ve wanted to kiss you.” Karlach says. “Well, now’s your chance. Don’t be a tease.” Ellios flirts, and Karlach smiles and immediately closes the gap. Her lips are chapped, and Ellios’ are soft and smooth. Their lips move in sync. Ellios is a much better kisser than Karlach. He’s not the one to say no to a hook up or three, so he has experience. To be fair, Karlach hasn’t been able to touch anyone in ten years. However, it doesn’t make Ellios enjoy her any less. Ellios’ hands move to her cheeks to pull her closer to him, and Karlach wraps her arms around his waist, pressing her body to his. Ellios moves his hands to her hair and grabs it, and Karlach lets out a slight hum, and Ellios smiles into the kiss.

After a few more minutes of making out, of course with breaks for air every now and then, the two separate. “I think we should head back, now. It’s pretty dark.” Karlach says, frowning slightly. “Yeah, I guess so… i’ll walk you to your tent.” Ellios says. “Quite the gentleman, huh?” Karlach teases. “Maybe chivalry isn’t dead, after all.” Ellios replies, smirking. The two walk back in a comfortable silence, content with just being around each other…

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skuntank · 8 months ago

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i think a fun thing to play with would be j, having been at the top of her game and highly successful, finding herself at the bottom and with nothing left at all. most of her crew likely died at lake valor, and those who didnt? i think would be extremely unlikely to stick with her. there was probably some feeling of invincibility in being with her. i am sure it was clear to anyone who worked with her that she was ruthless and cutthroat, but at the end of the day, she always won, and for many that would be enough to stick around.

and then, she didnt win, and a lot of people died, and she almost died. if anything, it probably would make her look like a blundering idiot in the eyes of many in the criminal world. and i really really really dont think her ego would be able to handle that.

also i dont see her coming away from lake valor unscathed physically. you dont come away from an underwater explosion without some sort of disability, traumatic brain injury, or at the very least a lot of ptsd.

and furthermore, i dont see her being the type to handle everything that has happened to her very well (meaning. this woman needs therapy big time but she'd sooner die than go) and just . i dunno. becoming a no-name mess for a while.

but in j fashion, at the end of the day she is resilient and she is really, really fucking smart. and i dont at all see her being the type to sit in a pity party for herself. as is the nature with major traumatic events, she wouldnt be handling much of anything very well for a while after lake valor, but i do think she would make a concerted effort to regain some of her former glory. and perhaps even surpass it in some ways?

#headcanons #hunter j #pokemon hunter j

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lostsometime · 10 months ago

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WHAT IS THE FIGHT SCENE CONVEYING? (part 3 of 3)

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Episode 6 - Arlong & Company vs. Luffy, Sanji, and Zeff: We need to establish how scary-strong fishmen are before we really get into Arlong Park. Also important to set up that they’re invulnerable to bullets!

Since they’ve cut the whole Don Krieg bit, it’s also important to get in here Sanji being willing to die for Zeff - this is a fairly vital aspect of his character, so they stick it in here.

Episode 8 - Fishmen Crew vs. Strawhats: One of the smartest things I think they do in adapting this sequence is that they don't do the typical shonen manga thing of "everybody gets a miniboss.” It’s unnecessary, and it REALLY doesn't fit in a format that's as condensed as this (EIGHT! EPISODES! I mean come ON!) but they DO keep the important character development that happens in everybody's miniboss fights from the manga! It's very clever.

We get to keep Usopp vs. Chu, which is excellent because it gives us our first actual look at Usopp in a fight! We knew, abstractly, that he was a good shot, but he was just messing around before. And we knew, abstractly, that he was creative, since we saw him making smoke bombs in the previous episode. But this finally lets us see him using that creativity on the fly, figuring out how to close the gap between his own (normal human being) strength and that of his opponent (fishman) or his crewmates (crazy fucking human beings capable of fighting fishmen on equal footing). We also see that even when nobody's watching, when he has no one to impress, he really is much braver than he gives himself credit for.

Then the rest of the fishmen pirates can be handled by Zoro and Sanji working in tandem, which lets them bond in the only way they really know how, which is by having each other's backs in a fight (while also ragging on each other because of course).

We keep the handicap Zoro's operating with, being a) Mihawk'ed almost in half very recently and b) down 2 of his swords, but we cut the whole underwater subplot which is objectively the correct choice for this adaptation (even though it is one of very very few scenes i actually remember watching in the anime when i was a kid and would have had fun seeing it adapted.)

Importantly, we do get the element that, like, Sanji's whole Chivalry thing isn't for show. He's genuinely angry at this guy for talking shit about Nami. This isn't an act he puts on, it's a genuine and deeply held value for him - and that can be annoying, frankly, but it's still a relevant piece of his character to get across.

Also, like i said in a previous reblog, we get the moment at the end where Sanji (who also had a pirate for a mentor lmao) says the same thing that Luffy did in the first episode, and you can see Zoro begrudgingly accept that they're gonna have to be friends now. Zoro likes Luffy so fucking much. Luffy has fundamentally altered Zoro's sense of identity, he has changed the genre of story Zoro lives in, and he cannot continue to treat Sanji as an outsider when Sanji reminds him even a little bit of Luffy. It's really cute.

#meta #my meta #opla #opla meta #one piece #one piece live action #op meta #opla episode 6 #opla episode 8 #fight scene narrative breakdown

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stonegearstudios · 2 years ago

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Creating a MegaDungeon pt 2 Islands

René Magritte The Castle of the Pyrenees

While in terms of volume, most of the Eye is taken up by the titanic storm walls that surround it and (try) to keep people out, in terms of adventure, it's all about the floating islands.

Now, in a fantasy RPG, you really don't need a reason to have wildly different enviroments next to each other. IT'S MAGIC, just suspend your disbelief and fight some orcs, but I did think of the bare minimum for why this might work in the internal logic of The Eye.

The Eye is created and maintained by magical winds, and all sorts of winds rush through the spaces between the islands (which is also why you can't easily fly between them, it's very dangerous).

These winds can be hot, cold, wet, dry, and even stranger still, which creates the myriad environments of the floating islands, and endless possibilities for adventure.

Here are just some of the idea's I've had so far

Karstic Plateaus

When water cuts through limestone in a very specific way you get formations like the above, in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, Madagascar. The spires aren't just beautiful but deadly as well, they are often razor sharp and the name of the park itself roughly translates to "where one cannot walk barefoot". Great inspiration for an island, I think.

Lake of Thunder

There is a lake in Venezuela, Lake Maracaibo, where for a large portion of the year, for up to 10 hours a day, lightning continuously strikes it. This is, in my opinion, perhaps the most fantasy thing ever. You put something like this in your game you have so many fun questions you get to answer. Why is the lake continuously bombarded by the heavens? How has life changed and adapted to live in this environment? What might be hidden here? Has the constant lightning affected the geography? So many possibilities.

Underwater Caves

Underwater caves are terrifying, underwater cave diving is one of the most horrifying ways to die I can imagine and some people do that for fun. Now, you might be wondering, how would you have underwater caves in a land of floating islands? Simple, you come to one island that seems to have a small lake or even a cave entrance on it's surface, and as you go down you realize this thing is mostly hollow. Hell, could even have some sneaky portals to other planes if you wanna make a proper huge maze

Anyway, this is just a few of the ideas I've had so far

Now I just need to actually figure out the best way to write and depict them, and also figure out a system to use, and finish the overarching story, and...

#rpg #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #dungeon #megadungeon #fantasy #flying island #floating island #ttrpg community #adventure #adventure creation #underwater cave

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bestworstcase · 1 year ago

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…so THAT's why there was so much lingering whale left after the magenuke. Grimmcromancy. Though if Monstra was that hefty (and toothy) before Salem started renovating, I figure those kaiju grimm often wind up on the food chain's other end. And no goddamn wonder the kingdoms stick with airfleets.

i am a normal fan with normal headcanons come closer

aside from the relative lack of biomechanical constraints on body mass underwater compared to terrestrial organisms one of variables correlated with massive size in marine animals is temperature, suggesting that there may be thermoregulatory advantages to getting REALLY LARGE in the ocean or else (with filter-feeding cetaceans specifically) it may be that colder oceans yield indirect benefits e.g. a greater abundance of plankton. with TOOTHED WHALES like our dear friend the cachalot the hard upper limit on size is a function of availability of food; deep-diving whales like the cachalot must exist in a sweet spot between “huge enough to efficiently dive down to where the squid are” and “small enough to not starve to death.” your average adult cachalot needs to eat about 1.3 tons every day. for example.

FUN FACT #1: vale has snowy winters. vale sits ever so slightly north of the equator. it SNOWS in the TROPICS–

FUN FACT #2: argus—the northern province of mistral whose cold climate stymied the empire’s advance into the region until mantle extended a helping hand—is, eyeballing it, somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-40N. cold san francisco. (literally. sanfran is 37N.)

bangs gavel. the first rule of headcanon is no doylist answers to watsonian questions! how come people living in the city-state north of the polar circle dress like this:

not huntsmen/huntresses whose auras protect them from the cold, but ordinary people. no aura training. no hat no gloves that reporter is wearing a PEA COAT.

remnant is cold! a lot colder than our own world. i imagine dust deposits interact with local climates in myriad ways that are well out of scope for This Post Which Is About Monster Whales but on average global temperatures on remnant are Cold. and people run around the polar north with their Bare Hands out because if you plonked them down in a balmy mediterranean summer they would overheat and die

(i am heroically restraining myself here but if you want the really HINGES OFF climate headcanon ask me about tdt!remnant <3)

anyway whales.

abyssal gigantism—invertebrate organisms such as crustaceans and cephalopods that live in very deep water tending to be VERY LARGE in comparison to shallower-water relatives—is thought to be influenced by a combination of factors of which the one that interests us for the purpose of MONSTER WHALES is, of course, colder temperature. remnant is very cold—much colder than earth—and while this would have only a small impact in the very deepest parts of the ocean (the abyssal zone is 2-3 °C), the upper layers will be significantly colder. so we can imagine that marine lifeforms in the bathyal and middle pelagic zones in remnant’s oceans are subject to much harsher conditions than their equivalents in the real world, and extrapolate from this a phenomenon of pelagic gigantism.

with that in mind. the average adult male cachalot is about 16 meters long. they are known to eat colossal squid, which are estimated to grow between 10-14 meters in length, but the bulk of their diet is squid of more reasonable size, such as the clubhook squid (2m). and while this has never been observed, cachalots often have extensive scarring on their heads thought to be inflicted by colossal squids fighting to not be eaten.

consider a very cold ocean with a fairly low vertical temperature gradient—thus weak thermohaline circulation—and thus nutrient-poor and deoxygenated waters in the middle and upper layers—and thus marine lifeforms are sparser than in our world but tend to be VERY LARGE. in such an ocean, we can imagine that the colossal squid would not be an elusive deep-sea giant but rather a squid of normal size; the evolutionary pressures that exist in our abyssal zone to produce gigantism in this ocean extend into the pelagic zone.

in the real world, the colossal squid is difficult prey: living in deep waters, nearly as long as its hunter, armed with hooks all over its arms and tentacles. its great size makes it an important pillar of the cachalot’s diet, but data suggest these whales prefer to gorge themselves on much smaller animals.

what does a cachalot look like in a world without an abundance of 1-2 meter long squid to feast on? plausibly… bigger. a lot bigger

perhaps even SO BIG that the colossal squid is as defenseless against the whale as the clubhook squid is to the cachalot. in fact for the sake of simplicity let’s say there’s a linear relationship between the size of the whale and the size of the squid such that the whale is always about eight times longer than its staple prey. and for maximum MONSTER WHALE let’s take the upper bound estimate for the colossal squid, 14m, and say that’s the average size of a squid in remnant’s oceans. the result is a whale 112 meters long.

which is a little bit less than FOUR TIMES the size of a blue whale

in war we can see that monstra’s teeth are about as long as salem. for simplicity let’s say that salem is exactly 180cm tall (5'11"). the teeth of a real cachalot is about 20cm long, and an adult male of average size is 16m; a single tooth is 1.25% the length of the body. 1.25% of 112m is 140cm, and 180cm is 1.25% of 144m. the largest adult males can grow as long as 19m, with the longest (verifiably) recorded specimen ever found measuring 20.7m. for our MONSTER WHALE, with an average length of 112m, that is equivalent to large male specimens in the neighborhood of 133m being fairly common and the largest known specimen in history being… 144.9 meters long :)

(rest in FUCKING pieces captain ahab)

now if monstra is 144 meters long that does

imply that atlas is pretty gods damned small, way smaller than makes sense in relation to the size of these buildings. but the scale of atlas is just sort of weird in general—like the urbanized area bisecting the farmland, those buildings are shown to be skyscrapers in closer shots and that should make the shield-generator pylons like kilometers tall but they

clearly aren’t because centinels are not That Big. meanwhile the size difference between monstra and a megoliath looks about right for “four times the size of a blue whale” so i’m inclined to just think atlas is supposed to be itty bitty and the proportional size of the buildings is off in the artwork in the long shots as a stylistic choice. because based on her proportions and interior scale i simply refuse to believe monstra is several kilometers long

about the grimm—their WOR episode implies that grimm Are In Fact obligate predators who will die if deprived of their prey: grimm are known to eat their kills and, contra popular belief that they “are not obligated to feed” but “choose to,” they cannot be kept in captivity for study because if they do not break free and slaughter their captors, they… die…

(this is my favorite fact about grimm and my favorite thing about that WOR; here’s the grimm lady outlining the modern-day scientific consensus about grimm with irony so thick you could cut it with a knife. here is a grimm eating! it lunges at a scavenger to drive the animal away from its kill! salem, deeply sarcastic: the common belief is that grimm don’t need to eat, they’re just evil and violent, also they die when you keep them in cages and don’t feed them, if you even CARE)

and in ‘before the dawn’ the characters make observations that lead them to theorize that grimm are actually after aura, not “negative emotions;” given a huge mass of people of whom a minority have supernaturally elevated aura, grimm swarm the ones with juiced aura and completely ignore everyone else.

so they need to consume aura to sustain themselves, and their (supposedly) exclusive preference for human prey is probably driven by humans having a lot more aura proportionate to their size than plants or animals. but aura isn’t restricted to humans and faunus; it’s a life force that flows through all living things on remnant, including animals. aura is a kind of spiritual energy rising from the soul and seems to be (based on what pyrrha tells jaune in v1) correlated to knowledge, both of the self and of the world.

so it makes a certain amount of sense to conclude that intelligence and social complexity are positively correlated with aura levels; cetaceans are both of those things. i also imagine that a creature nearly four times the size of a blue whale would need aura to maintain the structural integrity of its body, even suspended in water. also whales can get the bends! so i imagine deep-diving animals on remnant like our MONSTER WHALES tend to have proportionally much higher levels of aura compared to most marine lifeforms, because the long-term damage done by repeated dives (<- osteonecrosis) would be offset by aura’s healing factor and thus there is selective pressure favoring whales with whatever combination of physical and cognitive traits strengthen aura.

which means i think really large marine grimm like the leviathan would hunt the MONSTER WHALES :)—maybe with hunting strategies akin to orcas preying on cachalots, i.e. in pods targeting calves and injured adults, but also i think grimm are immune to pressure on the grounds that the liquid core of the planet is grimm and i like to imagine grimm crawling out of mid-ocean ridges. so even a lone grimm could probably kill a MONSTER WHALE by forcing it to surface from a dive fast enough. OR HAGFISH-STYLE–

anyway. on the one hand, who is going to get onto a boat to hunt something That Big. but on the other, think of the spermaceti! the blubber! the ambergris! the bones! and the MEAT! you kill one whale and you can feed an entire city for months. and really all you need is a big natural deposit of gravity dust—something like the floating islands of lake matsu would do—that you can carve up to make drogues. few dozen boats, each armed with a couple harpoons roped to huge chunks of gravity dust. you harpoon the whale, fire the dust, the drogues lift it partially out of the water and prevent it from diving, you let it exhaust itself struggling and move in to kill it once it stops moving. salem’s flying battleship whale is just a modification of the technique traditionally used to hunt these things. or if you live on the coast but don’t have grav dust, you harvest drift whales and eat like kings.

in conclusion argus is a whaling town thanks for coming to my tedtalk

#normal headcanons.#please know that every time i make silly jokes like ‘wouldn’t it be funny if salem had just found a whale’#it’s something i am Like This about. brgfgdfk #i also just think its funny for the popular conception to be that grimm only attack humans but people are #blissfully unaware that the ocean is just swarming with whole like PODS of leviathans. because Those grimm eat whales

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