#i have known metro for like. an entire year man. if not a little bit longer

[butchdykekondraki]

is it hard dating another system? /genq

nah, if anything it's wonderful. it's nice to be understood and not have to shy away from how it is being a system. :-)

[centralperkchenford]

chenford + drunk Tim comes home and suddenly wants to spend the entire night apologizing to Lucy about his treatment to her during her rookie year + the ashley prank and the move on comment. Really it was just generally asking for forgiveness for everything kind of night for him.

I hope you like this anon!

chenford + drunk Tim comes home and suddenly wants to spend the entire night apologizing to Lucy about his treatment to her during her rookie year + the ashley prank and the move on comment. Really it was just generally asking for forgiveness for everything kind of night for him.

When the bones are good, the rest don't matter

Lucy is just turning off the TV for the night when there is a loud bang at the door. She frowns as Kojo starts barking. She shushes him, and goes to answer the door unlocking all the locks Tim insists on having. She opens the door to reveal her fiancé hanging onto the doorframe to hold himself up.

“Hi.” She says ushering him in. He stumbles a bit but she her arm around his waist so he doesn’t fall.

“Hi.” He mutters back. Lucy tilts her head at him as she leads him to the sofa. “You’re cute.”

Lucy huffs out a laugh as he plops down on the sofa and leans his head back. “Thank you.” She says even though she knows he doesn’t understand what she’s saying. He went out with his metro team after closing a case they had been working on for two weeks. It kept him at work late and she missed him terribly when he was away. And then they closed the case and his team insisted on going out for a bit. Lucy had encouraged him to go and he did. And apparently got a little drunk.

“I’m sorry.” He says suddenly and he’s not looking at her instead he’s looking at his lap. “I’m sorry.”

“For what babe?” Lucy asks and she moves away to get him some water. But he grabs onto her pant leg and tugs her towards him. She goes and then he tugs on her hand and loops it through his.

“Everything.” He says and he still isn’t looking at her despite the fact that he’s holding her hand. “I was such a jackass.”

“Well you—” Lucy starts but Tim squeezes her hand.

“I was. And you didn’t deserve that. I wasn’t in the best place but that’s not an excuse.” He says. “I know I was suppose to be tough but you were like a ray of sunshine and it was kind of annoying.”

“Tim…”

“And then Caleb kidnapped you and I felt bad like it was my fault for pushing you towards him. I should have known. And when you were missing I-I did everything to make sure I found you.”

“Tim, Caleb wasn’t your fault. Okay? I made the choice to go out with him.” Lucy says softly. “You were being.. you. It wasn’t your fault.”

“And I treated you so bad. I guess I wanted you to wash out. But I didn’t really. You cracked the top five.” He says slurring his words a little. He’s still holding her hand but now he’s looking up at her.

“Tim, you were just—” She pauses not sure where she is going with that sentence. She complained about Tim a lot but he also became the most important person and relationship in her life. And once they started dating he became her favorite person. She knew beneath the hard exterior that was Tim Bradford was a sweet caring man who would do anything for her and the people he loves.

“I’m just sorry.” He says his eyes back on her hands. Lucy leans down and kisses him gently on the lips.

“Its okay.” She assures him. “I’m going to go get you some water okay?” He nods and let’s go his hand, she keeps her eyes on him as she gets a cup of water and some Advil for the headache she knows he will have in the morning. She goes back over and presses the medicine into his hand and hands him the water. He takes it and then puts the cup aside before reaching for her again.

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I’m so broken. How do you put up with me?” He asks but before she can answer he continues.

“I have done so many things that you shouldn’t forgive me for. But I’m going to ask for forgiveness anyway.”

He pulls her so she’s sitting next to him and she can smell the beer but he also smells like him.

“Tim you don’t have to—”

“The fake proposal prank. That was stupid.” He says mournfully. And Lucy can’t argue with him there whether she realized it or not, her heart was broken that night.

“Tim. You were trying to be—I don’t know funny. It’s fine.”

But Tim doesn’t seem to hear her as he lays his head on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He says. “The only person I want to marry is you.”

“Well it’s a good thing we are engaged huh.” She teases him. “And I said yes!” Tim raises his head to look at her.

“I don’t deserve you.” He says. “You are what keeps my world spinning. And I don’t deserve you.”

Lucy let’s put a small breath and puts her fingers under his chin. “You deserve the world Tim. And I want to give that to you. ” She says. “And you are kind of stuck with me.”

Tim is frowning and she kisses him again, she likes when he smiles. “I love you Tim. I love everything about you. You make my life better. I know we had a rocky start but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. We had to go through all that to get here.” She pokes at his chest, “Sometimes the good things take time. And we are good Tim.”

She doesn’t know if he will remember this or not in the morning but it doesn’t matter she will tell him this again and again. Whether he’s drunk or sober. He deserves to know he’s worth it.

Tim blinks at her. “I told you to move on.” He mutters. “How do you still want me.”

Lucy let’s out another breath. “I wanted you for a long time Tim. That doesn’t just go away. You said you were looking out for me and deep down I knew you were. It didn’t feel like it at the time but.. we were in a difficult place.” She says reaching out to cup his face. “You aren’t going to remember any of this huh?”

He looks at his eyes slightly glazed over. “I missed you.” He says. “When you were at UC school.”

“Yeah?” She asks. “I missed you too. I missed you so much that Noah thought you were my boyfriend.”

“I am your boyfriend.” He says and he’s slurring his words again.

“My fiancé.” She corrects showing him her engagement ring.

He smiles slightly and takes her hand kissing each finger. “Yeah.” He says.

“I forgive you Tim.” She says patting his face. “And when you mess up again. I will forgive you. You are worth it.”

“I think I love you.” He mutters.

Lucy laughs and kisses him and then pulls him up. “Come on baby. Time for bed. I love you too.”

He stands up and wobbles a little bit. She holds him steady and then leads him to their bedroom. She helps him into bed and climbs in behind him wrapping herself around him. “Sleep babe.” She whispers. She hears his breathing even out and then he’s sleep with her hand pressed to his chest feeling his heartbeat against her hand.

***

Lucy wakes up the next morning and Tim isn’t beside her. She feels for him but she only feels cold sheets. She groans wishing his warmth was next to her, but rolls out of bed and slips on one of his shirts before making her way to the kitchen. Tim is sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in front of him. He looks up when she comes into the room and grimaces a little.

She smiles at him giving him a small kiss. “How do you feel?”

“Like a truck ran over me. Who said I could drink that much.”

Lucy laughs a little and gives him another kiss. “You were chatty Kathy last night.” She tells him and grins at the expression on his face.

“What did I say?” He asks sounding nervous.

“You said sorry for how you treated me when I was your rookie, for the fake proposal and for the “move on comment.” She says. He opens his mouth to reply but she beats him to it.

“I forgave you. I forgive you.” She says. “Everything that has happened led us here so I’m okay with that.”

“Lucy…” He says softly. He reaches out brushing some hair from her face. “You are amazing.”

“Yeah. I try.” She tells him grinning and then she leans forward and kisses him. He reciprocates and she sighs happily playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

She gets Tim for the rest of her life.

“Thank you.” He mutters.

She gives him a curious look. “For what?”

“For forgiving me. For loving me.” He says his lips inches from hers.

“Haven’t I told you Tim.. you are worth it. You always will be.”

He smiles and kisses her nose and then her lips. “You will always be worth it too.”

[m3frosh]

scarcity

i've been throwing around an idea for a chenford fic. hopefully to be fully complete + posted sometime!

chapter 1 

"Come on, come on. Please pick up," Lucy tapped her nails against her phone, closing her legs near to her body.

"Hey Lucy, what's up?"

She shifted, willing her mind to ignore the very large part of her wanting to run and hide, the part of her that didn't want Lopez to pick up.

"Lucy, are you okay?" She could hear Lopez moving around in her bed, the ruffling of her sheets and comfy blankets giving it away.

"Uh-uhm yeah. I'm okay but I was wondering if I could ask you a favor? I know we aren't close or anything, but I didn't really know who else to go to," she paused. "Considering the situation I'm in."

"Yeah of course. What type of situation are you in?"

She paused again, taking a breath. What exactly was she going to say? The words were clogged in her throat. This was a calculated risk she was taking. She knew Lopez wasn't the backstabbing type, she was loyal, but Lopez owed her no loyalty. They were friends, yes, but more closely defined as colleagues; Tim was Lopez's best friend and she felt like she was trampling all over it, behind his back too. This was evil. She was evil. 

"Lucy?"

"Oh, sorry," Here it goes. “I was actually hoping we could talk about Tim?” The words dripped off her tongue like honey, leaving a sickly sweet and heavy weight. 

“Oh no. What did he do this time?” 

Lucy almost laughed, only a small giggle coming through. Of course, she would expect Tim to have done something.

“Do I have to hurt him for you? You know I will.” 

She smiled. “That’s sweet but no.” 

“Okay, then what is it?”  She could practically see Lopez shift, the way her eyebrows would knit together, 

“Okay, so uh,” She wiped her sweaty palm against her leg. “As you know, Tim and I have really only barely started to date. I mean yeah we’ve known each other for years now, but we’ve only started to fully explore each other romantically in these past few months, so we never really talked about anything serious. Like moving in together, marriage, or kids. Wh-which I didn’t expect at all because again, we only began romantically in these past few months, and with Tim in Metro, me barely clawing my way into becoming a detective with the whole Prim - five-player trade thing- it’s not like we would really focus on that type of stuff anyways.”  

“And your UC work.” 

“Yeah, and my UC work.” 

“So, what exactly is the issue? Are you unsure about how Tim is feeling about something specific? Because I’m sure if you talk to him, he’ll listen. Tim acts like a hard ass but we both know he’s just a big softie. And he might be annoying, but he does listen.” 

She’s right. 

“You’re right. But I just don’t,” she hated how her voice cracked. “I just don’t know how he would feel about this. Tim is amazing but it would be too much. You know Tim, he loves his work and it would be cruel for me to do this to him.” 

“Lucy, look,” Lopez’s voice dropped to a sympathetic tone and a small part of her couldn’t stand that. It’s almost as if she knew. Of course, she would; she wasn’t any dummy, but still, it was nerve-wracking. “I’m not entirely sure what we’re talking about here, but Tim would never hate you. For anything. That man is crazy over you. Honestly, I’m not even sure how you deal with him sometimes - or how I do either - but what I do know is that if you talk to Tim, about whatever it is, he’ll listen. He’s a dummy,” she giggled. “So it might take a little bit for him to fully grasp the situation, but he’ll pull through. And if he doesn’t, then I’ll beat him up. I’m not above that y’know?” 

She didn’t say anything because Lopez was right. As she knew she would already be. Yay.

“Lucy.” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m here for you too, okay?” 

“Thank you, Angela,” She wiped her wet cheek on the back of her hand, sniffing. “I really appreciate it.” 

“Of course, anytime.” 

*:･ﾟꔫ *:･ﾟ

Knock. Knock. “Lucy? Are you in there?” 

Lucy shifted on the couch, her hands moving from beneath her head to grab her phone. 5:01 am. “Yeah. Just gimme a sec please.” 

She groaned, the material of the leather couch leaving a heavy spot on her neck. She stood, twisting her body to crack her neck and stretch her back. That was the best she felt in the last few hours. 

She crouched closer to the mirror hanging on the door, examining herself. Her mascara was smeared beneath her eyes from all the times she wiped her salty tears, her light blush barely intact. 

“Lucy, are you all right?” Another knock. 

“Yeah,” She rose, trying to wipe whatever she could away. “Yeah, I’m all right. Did you need something?”

“No, I’m okay. I was just checking to make sure you’re okay?” How the question hung from Nolan’s tongue made her feel guilty. Of course, he was worried. 

“I’m fine. How about I catch up with you later?” 

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need.”  

The breath she held fell when she heard his footsteps fade away. Her eyes glanced over her figure, glad that she no longer had to wear her uniform as a detective. Her nimble fingers went to her belly, brushing the fabric of her shirt smoothly over it, wondering what it would look like when her belly would be swollen with their child. Their child.

It honestly felt like a dream. A sort of horribly terrifying yet sweet dream. How would it feel? To feel full with their child growing inside of her. To be carrying the heavy weight of growing life inside of her at all times - like Angela and Harper. She remembered how they would ache and moan with the movements they made. Angela’s bladder was full all the time and her cravings. Oh, the cravings. 

What would her cravings be like? Would they be some deliciously difficult food to attain, like Harper’s food truck bulgogi tacos? Or would they be a quick, almost disgusting mix of anti-acids, cherry soda, and canned meat? 

She didn’t realize there was another person behind the door until the mirror gently jiggled against the door’s movement. Quickly, she turned, knowing who had opened it, trying to hide her ruined makeup and overall disheveled state. 

“Lucy?” 

Crap. “Y-yeah?” 

“What are you doing here? Are you all right?” She heard him move forward, dropping down whatever heavy duffle bag he had with him. His rough hands reached out for hers, trying to pull her toward him. 

She pulled her hands away, still facing away from him, bringing it to her lip in some condemned act to make it seem natural. “I’m fine. What about you?” 

“No, you’re not. So stop lying.” He moved his grip to her upper arm, snaking it up to her shoulder, gently turning her around to face him. Her eyes searched his, as his did hers, his sharp inhale doing nothing to soothe either of them. 

This moment felt like a cliche. She was hiding a secret, a huge secret, that refused to spill from her lips. Her whole body trembled at the mere thought of how he would possibly react. Tim wasn’t evil, she knew he’d do the right thing, but she didn’t want him to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. She wanted him to want it.

“Lucy,” Tim brought her close to him, his hands wrapping tightly against her waist. She froze. She had felt this feeling a million times, and each time she loved it more than the last, this time though, felt almost suffocating. “Lucy,” he called her name again, in a soft sing-song tone that pushed her to relax in his arms. Her hands felt the muscles of his back through his black Metro shirt, the smell of the day’s sweat and old spice filling her nose. 

“Please just talk to me. I want to help you.” 

He softly swayed them back and forth, as if they were dancing to music, only stopping to move back slightly, the tips of his aged fingers gripping her chin. “Luce, please.” 

She held his gaze, the heavy frowning lines above his brown eyes torturing her heartstrings.  “I-I-I- just,” she gasped, trying to force herself to breathe. “I just-just can’t,” she backed away from his trembling grip, a sob breaking loose from her lips.

[true-blue-megamind]

FAN THEORY... UM... SATURDAY – Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City

Okay, yes, I know, I’m keeping the tradition of being late with these posts. So sue me. Go ahead. The joke’s on you because I’m pursuing a graduate degree and I’m perpetually scrapped! HA!

And yes, in case you’re wondering, there will still be some information concerning the 2010 Megamind film. SPOILER WARNING!

This week we’re changing things up a bit. In celebration of the upcoming series Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City, I’ve asked fellow fans what they expect or hope to see, as well as researching some of the previous projects of the producers involved. Very little is known for certain, but the program is scheduled to appear on the Peacock streaming service and rumored to have a release date sometime in 2023 or 2024. (Those are, however, only rumors.) Everything in this post is, of course, all entirely unofficial, and is intended only to outline a few of the fandom’s dearest wishes along with some reasonable possibilities. If nothing else, it should be interesting.

Before we begin, however, it might be best to lay a little groundwork. In case there’s anyone who hasn’t been leaping off the walls and scream-singing anthems of celebration since DreamWorks’ announcement last month, let me review what little solid information we do have. According to Deadline, Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City will follow our favorite blue alien’s transformation from supervillain to Defender of Metro City, and will likely be formatted, at least in part, like a vlog. (Am I the only one feeling slight Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog vibes? Although I trust there will be fewer musical numbers and a far happier ending.) This is because, while his brainbots film, Megamind will be “training on the job” as he learns to be a hero, thus becoming “the world’s first superhero influencer.”

Some fans are less than thrilled by the premise, but others are strongly in favor of it. Personally, I feel the concept has significant merit—it certainly seems like something the blue man would do—as well as great possibilities for comedic moments. It’s easy to imagine a scene similar to the unused post-credits storyboard—in which Megamind rescues a woman from muggers with the help of Roxanne piloting a giant mech that, unfortunately, accidentally takes out power lines and a water tower—immediately cutting to a vlog entry featuring the alien genius making some remark such as: “Aaaand that did not go well.” But I digress. The point is that, other than the aforementioned release information, that’s all we know for certain about the series thus far. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the fan theories!

The MegaRox Ship Had Better Not Sink!

This is a big one, and perhaps the most obvious. People adore the blue hero’s relationship with Roxanne Ritchi, and many fans fully expect her to appear in the new streaming show as Megamind’s girlfriend. (ThatFilthyAnimalmentioned on Tumblr that he expects we may see Roxanne knowingly kissing her blue boyfriend.) It’s not an unfounded supposition. The two have obviously formed a romantic bond by the end of the movie. Near the beginning of the film, we see the then-supervillain worrying over his appearance and clearly trying to impress his abductee. What’s more, this has the feeling of an ongoing situation. Obviously, Megamind loved Roxanne from afar for a prolonged time; probably years given that he’s estimated to have been a Bad Guy for around two decades and that the whole kidnapping routine has become commonplace for Miss Ritchi. After steadfastly adoring the reporter for so long while refusing to pressure her, then risking his life to save her from Titan, it is highly unlikely that Megamindwould ever wish to end their relationship.

Then there are the Bad Blue Brilliant comics to consider. Although generally viewed as only pseudo-canonical, they do possess some relevance. For the most part, these short graphic narratives take place after the alien super-genius’ switch to heroism, and it appears that his relationship with KMCP’s top female reporter is very much en force. In “Mega-Mutt” Roxanne mentions that she and Megamind had a date at the library planned, so clearly they are a couple. The episode entitled “A Sidekick’s Sidekick” takes it one step further, with Megamind and his girlfriend announcing a shared shopping trip for some décor to “spruce up the Lair,” something the blue hero refers to as a “time-honored tradition.” There is only one common reason, in US culture at least, that might prompt a man to invite his lover to help him redecorate. It’s likely that these two are not only dating but also living together—a fact that, in turn, indicates a serious romantic attachment.

However you look at it, Megamind and Roxanne’s relationship is firmly established, and nearly all fans agree it would be tragic to see them separate. After all, the blue man not only called his love interest his “reason to win,” but was also clearly prompted by her to become a hero in the first place. This is hardly surprising as she seems to have been the first human, with the possible exception of a few inmates during his childhood, to accept Megamind as a person rather than “other.” Roxanne is the catalyst that made Megamind a better man, and losing her would almost certainly devastate him. Seriously, DreamWorks, don’t go breaking our hearts!

The Doom Syndicate Might Just Show Up

While discussing what might appear in the new series with other Megamind aficionados on The Evil Lair Discord, Ejga-Ostjamentioned a couple of good points. The first is that it seems reasonable to expect the Doom Syndicate might appear in Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City. After all, why invent new adversaries when perfectly serviceable ones already exist?

What am I talking about? Those familiar with the unused movie storyboards or the Megamind video games will already be aware that the blue man wasn’t the only supervillain in Metro City, although he does appear to have been the top-ranked. The others are roughly united in a conglomeration called the Doom Syndicate which was originally intended to appear in the 2010 film but was eventually cut out as the side narratives would have rendered the existing plot too long and complex. The Villains Fandom Wiki states that they appear to be a parody of other evil cabals appearing in comic books, especially DC’s Legion of Doom.

According to Fandom.com, several known characters from this group did, however, show up in the video games. Megamind: Ultimate Showdown featuredPsycho-Delic, a villain who produces drugged or poisoned vapors with various effects, Hot Flash, an aging vixen with fire-based abilities, and Destruction Worker, who is essentially part man and part machine. Megamind: Mega Team Unite included more villains from the organization: Conductor, who gathers and controls electrical charges much like DC’s Livewire, and Judge Sludge, who appears to have been a corrupt judicial bureaucrat before somehow transforming into a toxic blob man. Many also wonder if we might see Lady Doppler, a fan favorite from The Art of Megamind who boasts the ability to control weather. It seems likely that some or all of these characters may make appearances in the new series, but it’s equally plausible that we could see some new Bad Guys as well. It should also be noted that Richard von Busack’s book The Art of Megamindfeatures a range of other supervillains as well, ranging from interesting to frankly absurd, so there are additional existing ideas that the new program’s creators could draw from.

Villain concepts from The Art of Megamind

Please, Please Do It Right!

The other aforementioned point that Ejga-Ostja offered was discussed in various ways by a number of fans as well, and that is, quite simply, that we all hope every possible aspect of this series is given the love and effort a Megamind sequel richly deserves. This includes everything from the content and quality to the treatment of animators. Yes, I know that sounds like a lot, but this is important to so many people who have waited eagerly for Megamind to finally appear on screen again.

To begin with, LiterallyZia expressed a desire that, despite their work being intended as children’s programming, the creators will also keep their existing fans in mind.

“I hope they realize that the main audience who saw the movie twelve years ago are all twelve years older; it can still definitely be a family show with deeper themes and discussions.”

They’re not wrong, and presenting child-friendly entertainment that nonetheless deals with serious concepts and social issues would be on-brand for Megamind. (Feel free to read previous posts such as Megamind and Masculinity, What’s Hidden in the Animation, The Warden, and Megamind and Identity if you’d like to learn more about that.) The simple fact is that many audience members who watched the original film back in 2010 were between ten and fifteen years old at the time, making them adults in their twenties now. Indeed, some fans are even older, having taken younger family members to the cinema or chosen to watch an animated feature on a lark only to find themselves unexpectedly impressed with the film. Even someone who first became enthused with the blue villain-turned-hero at an earlier age, say five or six, will be in their late teens or even early twenties by the time the series premier.

If the talent involved in producing Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City is any indication, Zia and other fans may get their wish. The writers of the original movie screenplay, Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, will work as the executive producers on the series. They’ll be joined by Eric Fogel, who created Celebrity Death Match as well as directing several episodes of Daria, and J.D. Ryznar, who has been involved with productions like Drunk History and Hot Streets. A good balance between the deeper contexts and adult humor found in these productions with the child-friendly standards of DreamWorks Animation should, theoretically, result in excellent entertainment. And that balance seems likely. Of the four mentioned above, three have worked with DreamWorks in the past.

Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons at the Megamind movie premier

That’s a good thing because balancing family entertainment with somewhat more mature topics is important to many Megamind fans. Ejga-Ostja seconded this view, stating that many of the series’ new viewers are likely to be older children who “will roll with things made for an older audience even if they don't entirely follow heavier themes.” She also expressed her interest in the overall quality of the series as well as the fair treatment of those involved, however.

According to Game Rant, there is a recent movement, #NewDeal4Animation, which seeks to gain public understanding and support for the issues faced by animators under New Media contracts. Because streaming services aren’t legally bound by the same rules as more traditional media, they can (and too often do) pay their talent less. Furthermore, there are no bonuses for programs being renewed for multiple seasons as they are often created all at once and then broken up. Ejga-Ostja said that she hopes “DreamWorks is taking this to heart” and that they and Peacock will ensure fair treatment and wages. Several other members of the aforementioned Discord were quick to agree.

Of course, like many others, Ejga-Ostjaalso hopes there will be a lot of care and attention lavished on this new series. After all, Megamind fans have been actively campaigning, not to mention practically begging, for this sequel for over a decade. This is something very many of us are extremely passionate—and excited—about, and we’re happy to be patient if it results in the highest possible quality of content.

“We've waited eleven years, we can wait longer if it means the employees are treated better, not being rushed, and the show gets more love and effort put into it.”

Mega Mysteries Could Be a Thing

Another fan theory concerning Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City is that, along with fighting crime and battling supervillains, we may see the blue man solving a few mysteries. This is based not only on his enormous intellect—Sherlock Holmes, eat your heart out—but also on some of those involved in the upcoming show. Although far from certain, and of course only supposition, the idea is not entirely without foundation.

As I’ve said, J.D. Ryznar previously worked on Hot Streets, an Adult Swim animated program that featured an FBI agent investigating supernatural occurrences and misdeeds along with his rather eclectic companions. It’s important to note that Ryznar was a voice actor on that project, but even so, some fans wonder if he might not bring that experience to the new series. And it’s possible that’s not the only reason to speculate on the possibility of Megamind’s Guideinvolving some elements of detection. Eric Fogel created the late-nineties animated series The Head, in which an average human inadvertently forms a symbiotic bond with an alien who is “on the trail of an enemy from his planet.” Although not exactly a mystery, the narrative features this pair, along with a secretive group of others possessing unusual abilities, trying to discover the dangerous extraterrestrial’s whereabouts and plots before they can destroy Earth, imbuing this production with elements of both the detective and superhero genres.

It’s not that much of a stretch to imagine some elements of mystery in the upcoming show. Many agree that it would, after all, make sense for the Blue Defender to use his massive intellect in solving cases. (If you’ve read How Smart is Megamind, you already know that his IQ may be around 350.) Our favorite alien hero may not have superpowers, but he is a super-genius, and some fans speculate that we may see him playing to those strengths by solving crimes as well as engineering brilliant heroic inventions.

What Else Do Fans Think We Might See?

There’s some debate about how competent Megamind will be portrayed in his earliest days as a hero. A Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City Bingo sheet on ThatFilthyAnimal’s Tumblr page suggests that the blue man may initially be fairly bad at his new position, but at the same time evidence from the Metro City scene of Trollhunters: Rise of the Guardians—which shows clean streets, people comfortably walking around at night without fear of crime, and copious new technology including a state-of-the-art public transportation system—indicates that he may actually be an excellent Defender. Time will tell, but personally, I believe it’s most probable we’ll see a combination of both.

Beyond that, a large number of fans hope that Megamind will still be wearing blue and black. This seems likely as he returned to his old uniform, thus embracing his own brand of heroism, at the end of Button of Doom. Furthermore, in the previously mentioned Trollhunters movie, Metro City is covered in the alien super-genius’ signature colors. That’s not the only part of his old villainous attire that fans hope he keeps, however. Filthy mentioned on Twitter that he’d like to see Megamind wearing eyeliner once more, and I have to agree. The Goth style looks good on him.

Then, of course, there is the widespread fan theory that Megamind—possibly Roxanne as well—is bisexual. Naturally, being a family program, there are definite limits to how much sexuality of any kind we can expect to see in the show. However, the same-sex parents recently featured in Toy Story 4 and DreamWorks’ positive response to a particular piece of fanart make this seem much more plausible. At any rate, it would certainly please a great many fans to see this aspect of the blue man’s character made official.

There are a great many other suppositions concerning possible elements of this upcoming production, of course, but those are a few of the prevalent ones being discussed. One thing is absolutely certain, however: after eleven years of waiting, the Megamind fandom is completely thrilled that some kind of sequel is finally in the works. We are all looking forward to this new program with bated breath.

[writers-blogck]

Creeper in the Snow ( Karasuno x Manager!Reader )

Warning(s): Weird old man lol. Is this good, probably not. This is more of a crackfic than anything in my head. But here it is! Title: Creeper in the Snow Pairing: Karasuno x Manager!Reader Fandom: Haikyuu! Word Count: 2.047

        The cold cloud escaped your lips with every breath you took. Snow still lay on the ground from that night's storm. The roads were cleared though the sidewalks still had the inch or so of snow that hadn't melted at all with the rising sun. Your shoes would be soaked by the time you got to the gym but by then you could switch into your indoor shoes. All you had to do was get there and open up the gym before any of the team got there. 

        You were in charge of getting the gym set up before the team got there, or at least starting the process. It was normal for one of the boys to arrive at six-thirty to see the doors already open, net material brought out (you were too small to set it up by yourself without one of he poles falling on you), and freshly cleaned balls. On certain occasions, you went even earlier to set everything up for the boys. You were a second-year, though you got mistaken for a first-year often. Screw you chubby face! 

        This meant that it was your second year managing for the team and it would be a lie to say you hadn't gotten attached to your little family. So, what was the harm in doing something special every now and again? On Valentine's Day, you had made everyone chocolates and put cute hearts everywhere in the gym. Christmas, you went all out. Lights, a tiny tree (with gifts included), and anything you thought could make practice a bit more special. You would only be in high school together for so long, you wanted to make the most of it! 

        Today wasn't a special day, perhaps, but you were still out in the chilly weather at the ungodly hour of six a.m. on a Saturday. Why you may ask? Well, thank you for asking disembodied voice! You decided to be nice and get to the gym before the others to turn the heat on. This way, when they finally did arrive, they would enter a warm gym instead of what would feel like the icecream fridge at Ukai's store. Weren't you just an amazing manager?  Kiyoko had early lessons on the weekends and Yachi lived farther away than you. 

        It took one small metro ride and a twenty-minute walk to get to the school, but you didn't mind. You normally liked the time by yourself, it gave you time to think. Most days you would have one of your earbuds in to listen to music or some podcast but today, your phone and headphones were tucked away in your schoolbag. Today was not going to be a relaxing trip, not in the slightest. 

        Everything had been fine until you stepped off ar your stop, one you normally left alone. All of the other passengers had other stops to get to, you were the only regular passenger that got off this stop. It was hard to keep your stomach was sinking when you noticed a man in his late thirties get off at the same station. At first, you didn't think anything of it but when you noticed the man had his phone out, your anxiety began to swell. Was he following you? Perhaps he worked in the same area. You were just being ridiculous.

        As you went over the practice plans for the day, you noticed that even after five minutes of leaving the station, the man was still following you. You thought about the phone stuffed deep in your bag, hidden by your binders and pens that you had casually tossed in that morning. Should you call someone? Who would be up this early? You didn't want to wake someone up just because you were scared. You often worried over Hinata when he got hit by one of the volleyballs and ended up being called a worrywart. You overreacted to the tiniest little thing, this was just something like that. 

        Or so you wanted to believe. 

        As you saw the gym approaching, you shoved your numb fingers in to fish out the keys. The man had slowed down his pace but you still saw glimpses of him when you turned corners. You were ready to just be inside the gym and be able to lock yourself inside. The others could knock when they arrived, they would understand if you told them what happened, right? You were so close to your paradise when a loud cough startled you enough to drop the keys in the soft snow beneath. 

        "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." It was the man with a friendly look on his face. Everything about him screamed of a normal man. He probably was a father or some upstanding businessman. He wasn't like the creeps the metros warned girls about. 

        "It's okay..."

        "I didn't know you were going to Karasuno or I might have walked with you. I'm here for a teacher's meeting? I've come from out of state and I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go. You go here, right? I was hoping that you could help me find my way to the library." 

        See, you were overreacting. He was just some lost teacher, that wasn't so bad. You could almost hear Tanaka and Nishinoya's voices teasing you about you being a scardey cat. You spent most of your time with the chaotic boys due to being in the same grade as them which led the three of you to form a strong connection. They always made fun of you for being so jumpy like Asahi. Maybe they were right, you were too skittish. 

        "Oh, well, all you have to do is-"        

        "I was hoping you could show me where the library was, I'm not good at remembering things. I used to be able to when I was a youngin but I can't seem to remember things as well anymore." He joked, taking a small step in your direction. Instinctively you took a step back of your own, hitting the locked doors of the gym. You could feel the hint of cold metal even through your clothes. 

        "My team will be arriving soon so I don't know if I have time-" 

        "Here, let me get that for you!" The older man kept interrupting you anytime you tried to object to his 'friendliness'. He bent down to grab the keys you dropped and just as you heard the click of him phone taking a photo, everything bubbled over. It all happened so fast! You could hardly tell what had even happened until it was all over and you could look back once everything calmed down. 

        The first thing that happened was the sound of a collective cacophony of male yelling. The creep had been shoved face-first into the cold snow with a foot pushing into his left hand with no care of how much force they were using. The phone he had been holding lay a few inches away before being picked up by someone else. You blinked owlishly as you finally looked up, taking in the entire chaotic situation around you. 

        Five boys were standing there, each with a unique expression on their face. Tanaka stood out the most as he had been the culprit who pushed the man into the snow. His foot didn't leave the creep's hand as he stared down at him with a snarl. There was that well-known Tanaka glare. He was one of the team members that was the most (outwardly) protective. If Noya had been there, they would be a deadly duo. No one could win against the two guard dogs of Karasuno! Still, your red-headed kouhai seemed to be taking the place of the rolling thunder warrior. He was just as bouncy, though he was staying a few inches behind Tanaka.

        Daichi had been the one to grab the phone, the terrifying dad look on his face. Suga's arms wrapped around you, pulling you away from the mass of bodies that were piling up and the chaos that was growing. The last one who had stayed silent from the sidelines was Asahi, a worried look in his eyes. Of course, all of the upperclassmen would be some of the first ones to arrive, that was normal. It was surprising to see Tanaka and Hinata so early and so awake. How many times had Tanaka stumbled in three minutes before practice started, jacket on backward, and a wild look in his eyes? 

        "You think you can get away with being a pervert to our precious manager, huh?! Delete those picture, you creep!" Tanaka's voice echoed across the empty schoolyard, the only other witnesses of the event being the birds high in the trees. All you could do was stand in confusion as the boys figured everything out. Tanaka was one to overreact but Daichi always had a level head. Seeing him with such a rage-filled look in his eyes was scary. Sure, the guy had made you feel uncomfortable but Tanaka didn't have to be so aggressive. 

        "I-Please..." The older man's cheek was becoming a bright red as the snow from his fall was sliding off slowly. His hand had to be going numb since he wasn't wearing any type of glove and Tanaka refused to move his foot. They had spoke about pictures....what had he taken a picture of? It was too early for you to put two and two together but the boys had seen it with their own eyes. The guy had been taking a photo of under your skirt as he 'helped you' with the keys. 

        "Don't try it!" Hinata bounced up, head peeking over Tanaka's shoulder as if the upperclassmen was a shield for him. It would have been funny if you weren't so confused about what was going on. 

        "He was just trying to get directions," You murmured to Sugawara, watching Asahi grab the keys and begin to open up the gym. It felt as if the boys were split into two different groups: the ones that were dealing with you and then the ones dealing with the old man. Sugawara and Asahi ushered you inside, leaving the other three to finish up what they were doing. Before the steel door shut you off from the outside, you heard the distinct sound of shattering glass as something was tossed to the ground. 

        Then they were gone, the door blocking out any noises that may come from outside. 

        How had that all happened in less than ten minutes? The clock read 6:45, fifteen minutes until the practice was supposed to start. You would have normally been here for nearly a half-an-hour before any of the boys showed up. You were thankful for whatever reason brought the boys here earlier than normal. What would have happened if they hadn't shown up? What had even happened to begin with?!

        "Are you alright?" Sugawara's hands were hovering over you like a worried mother as he brushed off any stray snow that may have gotten on you. They were right to call Suga the team's mom, he was the best at making sure everyone was okay. He knew exactly what to say at the right moment and always was there to lend a shoulder to lean on when you needed some help. 

        "Yeah...He was just asking for some directions, he said that he had a meeting in the library today."

        "There isn't a meeting today, is there?" Asahi spoke up, more to himself than anything. Suga shot a glare in his direction causing Asahi to quickly change his tone. 

        "Don't worry about it. Let's get it warmed up in here!" Asahi offered his kind smile, his hand resting on your smaller shoulder. 

        "I was planning on getting here early to do that but then that guy distracted me..."        

        "No worries, they say the cold can do the body some good." Suga glanced over his shoulder to flash a comforting look before going back to turning on the heat. Even though the room was filled with the chill of winter, you felt warm with the knowledge that you would always have your team to keep you safe.

[halfway-happyyy]

Sleep on the Floor

AN: I’ve thought about this concept on and off for a while now, and finally decided to write it down. Alexander and a rather unfriendly acquaintance cross paths again at a music festival, and end up handcuffed together for the day. Under the cut because it’s lengthy 💖

tw: nothing but fluff, friends.

As always, feedback is encouraged and appreciated.

It was the bright glare of the sunlight glinting off the metal object in the back pocket of her best friend’s denim shorts that initially caught Daisy’s attention. After an hour of scouring multiple maps of Montreal’s many metro lines- (“Well do we need to take the orange line or the green one?” and “Can’t you just google maps it?” and perhaps Daisy’s personal favourite- “We should have just spent the sixty dollars on an uber.”) The trio of friends had finally made it to Parc Jean-Drapeau, where the three-day Osheaga music festival was being held. “Bea, what’ve you got in your pocket there?” Daisy reached toward her without an answer or invitation, and produced a pair of weighted, silver handcuffs. 

Bea lunged for the cuffs back, a smirk in place on her features.

“What on earth could you possibly need handcuffs for at a music festival?” Daisy asked, eyebrows raised in genuine confusion.

Returning the cuffs to her pocket, Bea shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, the smirk from moment’s ago still tugged the edge of her lip upward. “It’s been my experience that you just never know when you’ll need ‘em. Be good Daze, or I’ll use them on you.” And Daisy supposed that after a couple of choice alcoholic beverages that could start to sound like one hell of a fun proposition.

“I literally don’t see him anywhere Bea,” Hannah sighed heavily.

Daisy glanced at Bea’s better half; a hand shielded her gaze from the onslaught of the sun’s rays as she stood on tiptoes to scan the expansive park around her. “Who are you looking for?”

Hannah dropped back onto the balls of her feet; her bottom lip wedged between her teeth like she was anxious about something. “Did Bea not tell you?” She peered over at her girlfriend, expectantly. “Did you not tell her?”

Bea rolled her hazel eyes and murmured “shit.”

Daisy’s vision narrowed. “What’s going on?”

Hannah squinted over at Daisy, kicking aside a stray pebble with the toe of her pink platform sneaker. “We uh… We invited Alex and some of his friends to join us for the weekend.”

Her mouth suddenly devoid of all moisture, Daisy wished that she had a bottle of beer in her hand, or some other ice-cold alcoholic beverage to distract her from the heat rising steadily to her cheeks. Tongue thick in her throat, she turned to her friends. “You invited Alex Skarsgård to our Osheaga weekend?” Shifting from side to side uncomfortably, Bea eventually nodded her head in the affirmative. Daisy took a deep breath. “I just think that might have been good information to know before now.”

“You wouldn’t have come…” Hannah interjected.

A humorless laugh bubbled up from the base of Daisy's throat. “You’re probably right.” Hives of people from all over the country milled about the green hillsides, a myriad of accents and languages- mostly French, echoed throughout the vast park. Daisy raised her face to the heavens, reveling in the feeling of the late July sun on her skin and sighed heavily.

“What is it about him?” Bea asked quietly.

Daisy's eyes fell shut. “Where would I even begin?”

“Alright, here they come.” Hannah murmured.

Bea offered her dearest friend a sympathetic look but knew better than to touch her just then. “He wants to make it up to you, Daze.”

Daisy swallowed hard and followed Hannah’s gaze to the quartet of men currently striding towards them. He bore a striking resemblance to the man she had known a year ago, though his dark blonde hair was longer now, and stubble shadowed the underside of his chiseled jaw. Clad in a pair of dark jeans, a grey t shirt and a pair of black converse high-tops, a round pair of yellow tortoise-shell sunglasses sat perched atop his head. “I don’t need him to,” Daisy murmured. “Just try and help me keep my distance from him today, alright?”

Bea was apprehensive, but nodded her head in agreement. “Alright.”

“Good afternoon ladies!” Alexander exclaimed jubilantly once he had caught up to them. He greeted both Hannah and Bea with bear hugs like he’d known them his whole life, and not a mere couple of years. When he got to Daisy, she was surprised to see that his grin hadn’t faltered at all. “Hello Daisy. It’s nice to see you again.”  

She offered him a wilted smile. “Hi, Alex.”

He faltered a beat before turning to the three men next to him. Daisy knew by the sight of them that they had to be related to Alexander in some way, each one a wide-eyed and giraffe-like carbon copy of the other. “Ladies, this here is my good pal Oskar, my kid brother Valter, and my other brother Bill.”

And God said, “Let there be Skarsgård’s,” and there were Skarsgårds.

Bea cleared her throat. “Alright, gang. Shall we check out the rest of the park? Find a watering hole?”

Alexander held out an arm before him. “Lead the way, friend.”

“How long are you guys here for?” Hannah asked as they made their way into a beer tent on the platinum grounds.

“Just for the weekend. Then I'm back to New York for a couple of meetings and then uh… these guys and I,” He winked at the three men next to him. “Are supposed to be in Stockholm for a wedding next week.” Alexander reached into his back pocket for his wallet and approached the bartender behind the counter. “Hey there. How are you?”

"Fantastic." A miniscule fan in the corner of the tent did little to blow any actual cool air around, and a slick sheen of perspiration bloomed over her neck and forehead.

“You must be pumped to be able to hear all the music from here!” Bill beamed at her.

She smacked the wad of pink bubblegum in her mouth, her expression deadpan. “Absolutely ecstatic.”

Valter cleared his throat to keep from laughing.

“Alright then. Uh,” Alexander squinted at the black chalkboard drink menu above him. “What have you got in the way of alcohol for shots?”

“Vodka. Gin. Tequila.”

He turned to the group, gaze expectant. “What are we all in the mood for?”

“Vodka!” Had been the resounding answer, and Daisy didn’t think she’d ever been more ready to shoot straight liquor in her entire life. The alcohol was rough, and it stoked the fire already roaring in the pit of her belly, causing beads of sweat to bloom on her forehead. They milled about for another fifteen minutes, and Daisy was awed by how much alcohol the seven of them had been able to consume in such a short amount of time. Some drinks came in the form of grotesque shooters- “We drink these all the time back home!”, others had taken the shape of ice-cold beers beneath the salvation of another tent. It occurred to her that the breakfast she had consumed a couple of hours ago was insufficient for the poison now in her system, and that down the line, it might pose a bit of a problem. For now, Daisy was simply content to sip whatever she was given, and to enjoy the first full day of her vacation.

Their first set of the weekend was the Foo Fighters- and by some stretch of a miracle, the festival gods had blessed her with a spot in the crowd that made for a fantastic vantage point of the stage. She was naive to assume that it would happen again, so she watched Dave Grohl dominate the crowd in unbridled awe, and without a care in the world. And when they played My Hero- she joined along with the sea of people around her and sang her heart out to every single word.

After the set ended, the seven of them managed to touch base again beneath a patch of glorious shade. “It’s come to my attention that you and I have some unfinished business, Daisy.” Alexander had to yell to be heard above the roar of the white noise around them.

Even surrounded by hundreds of strangers, Daisy felt inexplicably naked beneath his gaze and she shifted uncomfortably on the spot. “You don’t owe me anything, Alex.”

“I owe you an apology, Daisy.”

A sigh exited her mouth in the form of a puff of air, and she eyed the people walking past her with mild contempt. “Just for one day, just one, I want to know what it feels like to be tall at a concert.”

“I know how you feel, Daze.” Hannah fanned a hand in front of her face in a useless attempt to keep the sweltering heat at bay.

Valter laughed and traded sheepish expressions with Bill. “Unfortunately, we don’t.”

Alexander clicked his tongue and glanced down at her, azure eyes glittering mischievously. “View from down there not so great, huh?”

His tone brimmed with mirth and Daisy’s skin prickled under the heat of it; the urge to smack the smirk from his face was all-consuming. She stared up at him, pointedly. “As someone who probably shares- at least most- of their genetic makeup with that of the Brachiosaurus, I wouldn’t expect you to understand what it’s like.”

His guffaw was loud and booming, and it caused Daisy’s heightened blood pressure to soar beneath the scorching Montreal weather. “Yeah, well, every woman in your maternal bloodline for the past one hundred years was probably four foot eleven, tops. You take what you’re given, kid.” Silence hung between them and Daisy shot Bea a look that simply said, ‘you did this to me, and eventually you will pay for it’. Alexander cleared his throat, oblivious to the mounting tension. “Look, if you want I can hoist you onto my shoulders for the next set and then you’ll know exactly what it’s like to be tall at a concert.”

Daisy took a deep sip of her beer, her defiant gaze trained on something unseen before her. “Your concern for my experience here is heartwarming, really it is, but believe me when I say that I’d rather suffer down here.”

Alexander shrugged and shook his head in mild amusement. “Suit yourself then, half-pint.” Venomous words threatened to erupt from her throat, but they stayed lodged where they were, because just then and with the expertise of someone who was inexplicably well-versed in the act, Bea had managed to clasp a silver handcuff around Daisy’s left wrist. She stared at it in alcohol-induced amusement, and suddenly everyone around them was laughing. She lifted her arm to try and shake her wrist out of it, but a heavy weight dropped it back down to her side, and the realization that the other half of her cuff was bound to Alexander’s right wrist, was sudden and all-consuming. She swallowed hard. 

“While admittedly funny for the first few milliseconds, I’m going to have to insist that you unlock us now.”

Bea levelled her honeyed gaze with Daisy’s and smiled sweetly. “Relax Daze. You’ll be free of each other by nightfall.”

All Alexander could do was howl. “Nightfall? Good luck-" He managed in between fits of laughter. “Getting the kid to last half an hour!” When his laughter had subsided, he cleared his throat and glanced down at Bea, his blue gaze twinkled roguishly. “C’mon Bea. Let us out, hm?”

Bea shook her head and patted the miniscule outline of the key in her pocket. “Last set of the day. Nightfall. I promise.”

There had been protests from both sides, but for as strong-willed as Daisy knew her best friend to be, she also knew that she wasn’t in the business of giving in easily and the pair of them gave up trying while they were ahead. While mind-numbingly irritating for the first few hours, the all-consuming heat eventually zapped Daisy of her ability to care about anything except for cold drinks and air conditioning, and she supposed, begrudgingly, that there were worse people to be chained to for a day. It was only after their lunch of tacos and beer from a local food truck- Daisy and Alexander sat atop a bed of grass, knee-to-knee, that they realized they had managed to get split up from the rest of the crew. But if either of them had been worried about it, they didn’t let it show. “Who are you most excited to see play here?” Daisy asked for no reason, other than she could think of nothing else to say.

Alexander tipped the neck of the beer bottle to his lips with his free hand and took a hearty gulp. “Who am I most excited to see? Who are you most excited to see?”

She rolled her eyes. “You can’t answer a question with a question. Besides, I asked you first.”

He pursed his lips together as if he were thinking hard about it. “The person I am most excited to see, have been waiting all year for… has to be Cardi B.”

She stared at him, deadpan. “You’re kidding.”

“Actually, I’m not. I’d tell you to confirm with Valter but he is, very conveniently, missing in action.”

Daisy laughed suddenly, and it was a laughter that came in waves and spurred on his own, each of them nearly doubled over as they gave in to their fits. “Gonna to do the WAP?” She breathed out when she could manage it, wiping away traces of saltwater with the pad of her thumb.

Alexander feigned solemnity. “Listen, I would do the WAP dance right this very minute if it weren’t for these cuffs.”

“I believe you.” She giggled.

"I'm glad." His face broke into a beam that put sunshine to shame. Draining the rest of the bottle, he set it back onto the grass and cocked his head to the side. “And you? Who are you most excited to see?”

Daisy stared up at him, the answer had been ready on the tip of her tongue, but something in his eyes stopped her dead in her tracks. “You have the loveliest flecks of gold in your eyes, did you know that?”

Alexander’s gaze fell to the grass beneath him, his smile painfully shy. “Let’s find us some more beer then, hey? Up on three.”

“Good plan. But we have an issue to resolve first,” Daisy murmured.

Alexander faltered; his head cocked to the side in question. “You mean- apart from the one where we are currently joined at the hip until Bea decides to take mercy on us?”

Daisy nodded. “Right. Besides that one. I have to pee… really bad.” He opened his mouth to say something, but a chuckle roared from the base of his throat instead, and Daisy swore it was like hearing laughter for the very first time. There was an infectious joy to it that made her want to make him laugh like that for that for the rest of her days.

“Alright. Let’s find you a washroom.”

It hadn’t been a difficult venture; platinum tickets holders benefited from the use of private on-site washrooms, and it occurred to Daisy that the astronomical price for the ticket was worth it, solely based on that luxury itself. “I’m sorry that this a thing you are being privy to.” Daisy muttered as they squeezed into a stall together.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, I’ve been privy to worse things, kid. I’ll turn away.”

As Daisy hiked her sundress up her frame and squatted above the toilet, she reminded herself that revenge was a dish best served cold, and that one way or another, Bea would pay.

Alexander and Daisy’s afternoon continued in the same fashion; they attended whatever sets piqued their interests, lost track of how many people commented on their unusual predicament, and satiated their parched throats with lots of cold alcoholic beverages. Finally, the golden sun began to sink low over the Montreal skyline, and the temperature drop that came with it was a welcome reprieve to the day's stifling heat. They found themselves amidst a healthy crowd of people, all breathless and ready for one of the final sets of the evening. As she waited for the band to take the stage, Daisy suddenly felt exhausted beyond all measure, but also satisfied in a way that she hadn't been accustomed to in years. She could pin it on the alcohol, or the heat, or that she had finally allowed herself a couple of days off to do whatever she pleased. Deep down, she knew it had nearly everything to do with her current company.

“Where did you go just now?” Alexander asked.

Daisy glanced up at him, confused. “What do you mean? I’m right here.”

He seemed unconvinced. “You were a million miles away.”

A shiver wracked her body that had nothing to do with the current weather, and she gestured to the stage. “The Lumineers. These are the guys I'm most excited to see.”

Alexander beamed down at her. “Well then how lucky am I that I get to see them with you.”

Two men entered the stage just then, one stepped up to the microphone, and the other took a seat behind a drum set. Daisy didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until the opening beats of Sleep on the Floor rang out into the humid air before her. A cacophony of cheers erupted from the concertgoers around them, and goosebumps bloomed in patterns over her arms when the bearded man began to sing.

Pack yourself a toothbrush dear

Pack yourself a favorite blouse

Take a withdrawal slip

Take all of your savings out

‘Cause if we don’t ever leave this town

We might never make it out

I was not born to drown

Baby come on

~

“The key is gone.”

The day’s final concert had done Daisy in, and she was inexplicably tired now; her legs heavy like lead, eyelids threatening to shut on their own at any second.

“What do you mean the key is gone, Bea?” She heard Alexander ask. His voice was level, but there was an underlying tinge of frustration to it that made Daisy’s stomach sink.

“It’s… it’s gone. I had it in my pocket earlier and now it’s gone.”

Daisy yawned wide, the urge to lay down on the patch of grass beneath her was almost too tempting to bear. “I’m tired, Alex.”

“I know, kid.” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Where did you last have it?”

Bea tugged the edge of her lip into her mouth and shrugged her shoulders, helplessly. “I last had it in my pocket.” Dozens of people pushed past the group on their way out of the park; on their way home to waiting bathtubs and beds and Daisy was unbelievably envious of them.

“Alright. This is what we’re going to do,” He sighed. “The four of us are going to get into a cab, we’re going to head back to the hotel, and Daisy and I will meet up with you guys right here tomorrow morning. If the key still hasn’t turned up, we’ll have to figure something else out.”

“I’m really sorry about this, guys.” Bea muttered lowly.

You absolutely should be, Daisy thought.

Hannah cleared her throat, her arms crossed tight across her chest. “Are you alright with this Daze?”

She nodded, wordlessly.

Their uber ride back to the hotel only spanned the entirety of fifteen minutes, but it seemed like a lifetime to Daisy. She drifted off on Alexander’s shoulder to the lulling sound of muted Swedish between the three men, and when she was gently tapped awake by Alexander, the car was parked outside of the Four Seasons. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you into bed, hm?”

“This is fancy…” She murmured, as she slid out of the open car door and into the humid evening air.

Valter laughed heartily. “Just wait til you see where you’re staying, Daisy.”

The boys bid themselves goodnight, with Alexander slinging his free arm around each of their shoulders in a half-embrace. He waited until he knew Bill and Valter had made it into their elevator safely, and then led Daisy to a discreet elevator off the lobby, which they rode to the top floor wordlessly. She wasn’t sure what she had expected when the doors opened, but her breath hitched in her throat as she drank in the room in which Alexander was calling home for the next three days. “This is-

“A lot, I know.” He murmured. They wandered past the single king bed, into the next room, whose expansive bay windows offered a breathtaking view of Montreal’s twinkling downtown lights. Daisy gazed down at their entwined wrists, at the small metal chain that bound them together, and marveled at how a mere twelve hours had the power to change everything. “Daisy, I’m sorry.” Alexander spoke above a whisper now. “I’m sorry for leaving you behind last year.”

She took a deep breath, the words thick at the back of her throat. “I never should have put you in a position where you felt that you had to choose between your career, and me.”

Alexander’s fingers found hers, and he squeezed them thrice. “You waltzed into my life when I least expected it, Daisy,” An incredulous sigh pushed past his lips and he shook his head. “A breathtaking hurricane of a woman. I made the decision to ask you to dinner, I should have showed up.”

She smiled tiredly. “You showed up today, Alex.”

He leaned towards her, pressing his lips to her temple, and his laughter rumbled through her and warmed her in ways sunshine never could. “And look where we are now.”

She gazed up at him, at the deepened creases next to his eyes, and the subtle flecks of gold among a sea of blue, and in that moment, she hardly cared if they ever found the key at all. There was an effortlessness to that truth that felt akin to breathing. “Nowhere else I’d rather be, Alex.”

When Daisy's eyes opened in the morning, the weight of Alexander's impossibly warm arm hung snug around her clothed stomach, the cool metal of his cuff a stark contrast to her warm inner arm. The Montreal sunlight pouring in through their bay window glinted off a miniscule key-shaped object on the rug a few feet away from where they lay, and a small smile tugged her lips skyward.

[aion-rsa]

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Why Are Squid Game’s English-Language Actors So Bad?

By Kayti Burt

TV

Squid Game’s Most Heartbreaking Hour is Also Its Best

By Kayti Burt

Netflix has played a major role in this expansion of Korean TV into the global market. The streamer has not only scooped up an impressive backlog of Korean originals as a global distributor, but, since 2016, has been investing in the Korean TV industry at the production level. At the beginning of 2021, Netflix released an official statement announcing the leasing of two production facilities outside of Seoul, citing the move as “another important example of our continued commitment to investing in Korea’s creative ecosystem.” According to the release, from 2015 to 2020, Netflix invested over 700 million dollars in Korean content. The company also has multi-year content partnerships with CJ ENM/Studio Dragon and JTBC.

Suffice to say, Netflix has a solid Korean TV section, filled with some of the best K-dramas around, both new and old. If you’re new to the world of Korean TV or if you’re simply looking for your next watch, why not try out one of the following…

Crash Landing On You (2019)

The absolute top secret love story of a chaebol heiress who made an emergency landing in North Korea because of a paragliding accident and a North Korean special officer who falls in love with her and who is hiding and protecting her.

If you’re at all tapped into the K-drama scene, then you have at least heard of Crash Landing on You if not binged it multiple times. An original production from Netflix, Crash Landing On You pairs rom-com and character drama elements with an exploration of the cultural pain inherent in the separation between North and South Korea. With charismatic and vulnerable performances from veteran K-drama leads Son Ye-jin as South Korean heiress Yoon Se-ri and Hyun Bin as North Korean soldier Ri Jeong-hyeok; some gorgeous production values; and a memorably melodramatic soundtrack, Crash Landing On You is a whirlwind action-romance that was one of the best shows of 2020, full stop.

Kingdom (2019-present)

In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious plague spreads to turn the infected into monsters. The crown prince, framed for treason and desperate to save his people, sets out on a journey to unveil what evil lurks in the dark.

If you prefer your TV more horror-driven, Korean TV has some notable shows for you. One of the most internationally popular is Kingdom, a historical zombie drama about a 17th century crown prince who has to fight against a mysterious plague of flesh-eating zombies that threatens to overtake his kingdom. Most K-dramas are structured to tell their entire story in one season, but Kingdom has already had two seasons with a third predicted to be on the way, as well as a one-off special that just premiered on Netflix called Kingdom: Ashin of the North. If you’re looking to get into a longer-running K-drama that favors horror over romance, this could be the one for you.

Squid Game (2021)

45.6 billion won. 456 contestants stake their lives on childhood games.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably already heard of Squid Game, which is on track to become Netflix’s most popular series ever. The Korean social thriller tells the story of a group of 456 desperate contestants who agree to compete in a deadly competition for the chance to win the kind of money that could change their lives forever. Socially relevant and compulsively watchable, Squid Game takes a familiar premise and makes it new again with compelling characters, exquisite visual style, and cultural specificity.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (2021)

When things go awry in the city, a dentist decides to go back to her quiet seaside hometown for a fresh start. There, she finds herself at odds with the village go-to handyman who’s always up to help and fix what’s broken—perhaps even matters of the heart.

If you’re looking for something a little chiller after the horrors of Squid Game, try Hometown Cha Cha Cha, which is basically a Hallmark Christmas movie in series form (which is to say a cozy romance). The series, which is currently “airing” weekly on Netflix, sees a big city dentist named Hye-jin decide to open an office in the small seaside town of Gongjin, where she once visited with her family as a child. It all happens on a bit of a whim, with Hye-jin not fully prepared for the transition to rural life in a town where everyone knows everyone’s business. Enter Du-sik, the town’s darling jack-of-all-trades, who helps the townspeople by doing any and every job they might need. The two couldn’t be more different, but fate seems to have brought them together. You probably have an idea of what happens next…

When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

Dong-baek (Kong Hyo-jin) is the owner of a small-town bar called Camellia. Her ordinary life turns topsy-turvy when three men enter her life — a good guy, a bad guy, and a miserly guy. What kind of stories will unfold in this sleepy town full of colorful characters? 

If you’re looking for another K-drama set outside of Seoul, When the Camellia Blooms is the story of a single mom Dong-baek, who moves to the fictional town of Ongsan where she opens a bar called Camellia. When local police officer Yong-sik declares his love for Dong-baek, she is initially not interested, but the two become closer the more time they spend together. Thrown in a solid supporting cast and a serial killer subplot and you’ve got yourself one of the most popular K-dramas in recent years.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

Desperate to escape from his emotional baggage and the heavy responsibility he’s had all his life, a psychiatric ward worker begins to heal with help from the unexpected—a woman who writes fairy tales but doesn’t believe in them.

There’s still a taboo around addressing mental illness in Korea, which is one of the many reasons why this 2020 drama about Gang-tae, a young man who is a caregiver at a psychiatric hospital, and Moon-young, a children’s author living with antisocial personality disorder, made such a splash. While the romance at its center is great, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay really shines in its exploration of Gang-tae’s relationship with his brother, Sang-tae, who is on the autism spectrum. In a press conference promoting the show (via Metro Style), Sang-tae actor Oh Jung-se said of the character: “If you meet someone like Sang-tae, who is on the autism spectrum, on the street, I think it would be nice if people could think ‘I would like to be with that person’ instead of ‘I would like to help that person.’”

Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Unassuming high school girl Jan-di stands up to — and eventually falls for — a spoiled rich kid who belongs to the school’s most powerful clique.

A K-drama classic, Boys Over Flowers follows working class student Geum Jan-di as she arrives at the elite Shinhwa High School on scholarship, only to meet and be unimpressed by a group of privileged boys known collectively as F4 who rule the school. The drama follows Jan-di as she goes from bullying target of F4 leader Jun-pyo to the object of his obsession. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers set-up, and one that while cliche, is still worth a watch over a decade later, especially if you’re interested in checking out one of the most iconic K-dramas of all time.

Itaewon Class (2020)

On the vibrant streets of Itaewon, something is about to shake up the local food scene. Going up against the most powerful conglomerate in the industry, underdog Park Sae-ro-yi and his band of determined misfits seek to take over Itaewon and turn their ambitious dreams into reality.

Korean TV knows how to melodrama, and this story of revenge and romance set in Seoul’s popular Itaewon area leans into intense catharsis. Itaewon Class follows Park Sae-Ro-Yi, the owner of an up-and-coming Itaewon restaurant called DanBam that becomes a refuge for a group of social outcasts. Together, they work to take down the same business mogul responsible for the death of Sae-Ro-Yi’s father years earlier. Itaewon Class was extremely popular both in South Korea and internationally, and featured the first transgender character in a mainstream K-drama. Added bonus: the Itaewon Class soundtrack includes an original song from BTS’ V.

Mr Sunshine (2018)

In 1905, a Korean American U.S. marine officer returns to his homeland on a diplomatic assignment. Coping with his painful past in Korea as an orphaned servant boy, he finds himself in a complicated relationship with an aristocrat’s daughter.

If you’re into historically-driven period drama, then check out the beautifully-shot Mr. Sunshine. The K-drama is set in the late 19th and early 20th century in Hanseong, the city that would become Seoul and follows activists fighting for Korea’s independence. The story follows Go Ae-shin, an orphaned noblewoman who trains to be a sniper in the Righteous Army, the civilian militia that fought against the occupying Japanese forces, and Eugene Choi, a man who escaped slavery in Korea to become a U.S. marine, only to return to his homeland where he falls in love with Ae-shin. The series uses real-life history, including Shinmiyangyo, the Spanish-American War, the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, the Russo-Japanese War, Gojong’s forced abdication, and the Battle of Namdaemun as a backdrop for its epic story.

Signal (2016)

A cold-case profiler in 2015 and a detective in 1989 work together to solve a series of related murders spanning three decades using a special walkie-talkie to communicate with each other.

This premise has been used a lot—from 2000 Dennis Quaid/Jim Caviezel thriller Frequency to the 2016 CW TV adaptation of the same name—and for good reason. An analog device allows two people to communicate across time, and they must work to solve a murder together. It not only makes for compelling character drama, as two people become closer but are separated by years, but also is a fresh twist on the serial killer narrative. In K-drama Signal, the analog device is a walkie-talkie, and the characters on either temporal side of it are contemporary criminal profiler Park Hae-young and 1989-based Detective Cha Soo-hyun. If you’re looking for a good crime thriller, Signal could be it.

Hospital Playlist (2020-present)

Friends since undergrad school, five doctors remain close and share a love for music while working at the same hospital.

Like Kingdom, Hospital Playlist is the rare K-drama that tells its story across multiple seasons. The hospital drama just finished airing its second season weekly on Netflix, continuing its story about a group of doctors in their 40s who have been best friends since medical school. A true ensemble drama, Hospital Playlist is perfect for fans of Grey’s Anatomy but feels unique in its centering of a friend-group with a such a long history.

Vincenzo (2021)

Bringing his mafia past back with him to South Korea, Song Joong-ki stars as notorious Italian lawyer Vincenzo who isn’t afraid to lend his bloodstained hands to beat the untouchable conglomerates in their own game.

If you just watched the dramatic opening of Vincenzo, set in Italy days after the death of a mafia boss, you might think you’re in for a self-serious organized crime drama. But the Netflix K-drama quickly shifts into a story much more tonally complex. Part romance, part drama, part action thriller, Vincenzo has something for everyone. It follows Vincenzo (Space Sweepers‘ Song Joong-ki), a Korean lawyer raised by an Italian mafia family who must flee the country following his father’s death. As part of his plan of escape, Vincenzo travels to Korea to recover a stash of hidden gold under an old apartment building set for demolition by a corrupt corporation called the Babel Group. Because of this dilemma, Vincenzo becomes unlikely allies with the group of eccentric citizens who live in the building, as well as with a passionate and moral lawyer who has a vendetta against the Babel Group for his own reasons.

The “Reply” Series (2012-2016)

Take a nostalgic trip back to the late 1980s through the lives of five families and their five teenage kids living in a small neighborhood in Seoul.

The Reply series is one of the most popular cable dramas in Korean TV history. It launched in 2012 with Reply 1997 before continuing with Reply 1994 in 2013 and Reply 1988 in 2015. The ambitiously-structured series follows a group of friends and their kids, telling the story in present-day in addition to flashbacks. Featuring a fun soundtrack, as well as some incredibly performances, the Reply series is well worth a watch for anyone who loves character drama with a nostalgic twist.

Prison Playbook (2017)

With only days before his major league baseball debut, pitcher Kim Je-hyeok unexpectedly lands himself behind bars. He must learn to navigate his new world with its own rules if he wants to survive.

Prison Playbook is much more slow-paced than many of the selections on the list, but this character drama is worth the dedication. Though it’s often touted as a “black comedy,” it’s much more tonally light than that suggests, despite the subject matter. The story follows baseball pitcher Kim Je Hyeok, who is incarcerated days before his major league debut for assaulting the attempted rapist of his sister. It follows his life within prison, along with the lives of some of the other inmates and guards, including his old best friend, Lt. Lee Joon Ho, who is a correctors officer. Created by Lee Woo-jung, who also made the aforementioned Reply series, Prison Playbook is one of the most popular K-dramas in Korean cable history ever.

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Sweet Home (2020)

As humans turn into savage monsters, one troubled teenager and his neighbors fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity.

It’s been well-documented that Song Kang is a K-drama darling. The actor has appeared in many a romantic K-drama, including Netflix’s Nevertheless and Love Alarm. Sweet Home, however, is his rare horror appearance, and it’s well worth a watch just to see Song in a completely different context. Of course, this apocalyptic horror story has other qualities too, and holds the honor of being the first Korean series to enter the U.S. Netflix Top Ten. Based on a Naver (aka Korean Google) webcomic of the same name, Sweet Home follows Cha Hyun-soo (Song), a high school student who moves into an apartment building after the deaths of his parents, only to discover that the building also happens to be the home of a species of monsters set on world domination.

Nevertheless (2021)

Like a butterfly hopelessly attracted to a flower, this art student can’t seem to resist the mysterious young man who captures her attention. But the more they get romantically involved, the sooner she will have to decide—will getting close be worth it, when he doesn’t believe in relationships?

Speaking of Song Kang… Nevertheless is the latest K-drama to star the 27-year-old actor. The romantic drama stars Han So-hee as Yoo Na-bi, university art student who no longer believes in love following discovering her boyfriend has been cheating on her. When she meets Song’s Park Jae-eon, she is immediately intrigued. Though the two share an immediate attraction, they resist entering into a relationship due to their respective uncertainties about love. Based on a popular webcomic of the same name, Nevertheless feels unique in its treatment of modern dating life in Korea, depicting some of the more realistic, often internal struggles of what its like to date in your 20s.

My Mister (2018)

In a world that is less than kind, a young woman and a middle-aged man develop a sense of kinship as they find warmth and comfort in one another.

If you’re in the mood to cry, try My Mister, a drama about a financially-disadvantaged young woman just trying to stay afloat as she takes care of her sick grandmother amid mounting debt and a much more financially-privileged middle-aged man who is also being crushed by the weight of his life. The two work together, and form a (mostly) platonic relationship that helps both of them heal. Understated and deeply emotional at the same time, My Mister will subvert so many K-drama expectations in clever ways.

Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

While looking for the cryptic creator of an innovative augmented-reality game, an investment firm executive meets a woman who runs a hostel in Spain.

If you’re looking for another K-drama starring Crash Landing on You‘s Hyun Bin (and of course you are), then look no further than Memories of the Alhambra, a 2018 K-drama with an absolutely batshit (read: amazing) premise. Hyun stars as Yoo Jin-woo, a CEO who travels to Spain in search of the creator of an AR game set in the Spanish medieval fortress Alhambra. Once there, Jin-woo is pulled into a reality-bending mystery with life-or-death stakes and some unpredictable twists that I don’t want to spoil for you.

Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)

A gifted writer who’s the youngest editor-in-chief ever at his publishing company gets enmeshed in the life of a former copywriter desperate for a job.

Ostensibly based on the TV series Younger, Romance is a Bonus Book is a rom-com set in the publishing industry world. It follows single mom Kang Dan Yi as she struggles to reenter the workforce following her divorce. When he lies about her background to get a job, her life becomes tangled up with childhood friend and publishing phenom Cha Eun Ho.

I began watching this series to see how it compared to the U.S. version of the show, of which I am a fan. Honestly, these two series have only the most superficial details of their plots in common, which is par for the course in many adaptations. Romance is a Bonus Book is much more romance-centric than Younger, which balances the love life of its central protagonist with the many other relationships and concerns she has in her life. But that isn’t a bad thing. They are two very different shows with their own interests and strengths, but if you’re a fan of both rom-coms and the publishing industry, then both Romance is a Bonus Book and Younger are worth a watch.

Black (2017)

A man possessed by death. A woman who can see death. The earthly and the afterworld collide dangerously.

One character is possessed by the Grim Reaper. The other can see deadly spirits. Only Korean can turn this premise into a heartbreaking romance, as the two work together to save people marked for death. If you’re looking for a spooky season watch, you can’t go wrong with Black, which is a delightful (and, honestly, pretty complex) hodgepodge of Korean horror all wrapped up in a rom-com package.

What is your favorite K-drama on Netflix? And what upcoming Netflix K-dramas are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below?

The post The Best Korean Dramas on Netflix to Watch Right Now appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[pixelgrotto]

Night City, I barely remember ya

I beat Cyberpunk 2077 last month, and honestly, I haven’t thought about Cyberpunk 2077 that much since.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. CD Projekt Red’s follow-up to The Witcher 3 was meant to be the sort of game that would stick in your mind after completion. It was promoted over eight years of hype stemming from its initial 2013 reveal as a example of CD Projekt’s infamous “vodka and Slavic magic” - a behemoth destined to change open world RPGs forever. But in the roughly 12 weeks since its release, the stuff that’s happened to Cyberpunk 2077, including its delisting from the Playstation store for being chock full of bugs and the theft of its source code by hackers, has been more cyberpunk than the actual game.

I was one of those people super hyped for this game when it was first announced. I mean, the Witcher franchise left an indelible impression on me; how could I not be psyched to see its devs tackle one of my favorite sci-fi genres? But my hype deflated over the years, largely due to tales of terrible crunch emerging from CD Projekt’s studios and social media marketing that was ill-advised at best and transphobic at worst. Everything seemed to slowly hint that the game’s vision of “cyberpunk” - a genre that can tell incredible futuristic tales of social upheaval and marginalized peoples - would be mostly style with not so much substance.

Despite me keeping my fingers crossed, the end product is pretty much what I feared - and I guess I should’ve known, since the official sourcebook for Cyberpunk 2020, the tabletop RPG that CD Projekt Red used as inspiration, actually lists “style over substance” as one of its rules.

Cyberpunk 2077’s main story revolves around a merc who dreams of big time heists in Night City named V. After a heist goes south, V ends up absorbing a biochip made by big bad corporation Arasaka that features the captured personality of rockstar-turned-terrorist Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves - who, to be fair, does a good job with the material he’s given. Cue a bunch of quests that revolve around V and Johnny coming to terms with each other, taking down Arasaka and figuring out how to separate the chip from V’s brain.

In theory, this sounds like a cool way to explore the very cyberpunk themes of identity and what it means to have a corrupt company preserve a human soul beyond its organic shell. In reality, though, the story’s a surface level examination of these concepts, and Johnny Silverhand remains a massive dick throughout most of the game, only becoming relatable if players give him the benefit of the doubt - which they’re expected to do because he’s played by Keanu Reeves.

Johnny’s animosity towards Arasaka is also never completely outlined. He - and most other characters in Night City - keep telling V that corporations are awful because they disregard human rights and destroy the environment, but we never get many chances to see for ourselves how Arasaka and similar companies, like Militech or Kang Tao, actually do this. Arasaka does kidnap Johnny’s ex-girlfriend and is behind the tech that transfers his soul to a biochip, yes, but Johnny also threatens to destroy them at all of his shows and eventually sets off a bomb in their headquarters. Not that I’m siding with the corporation, but for much of the game we’re expected to treat them as the number one enemy simply because other characters say so, which is very much a “show, don’t tell” missed opportunity. If anything, Arasaka’s portrayal feels more like a vestige of the cyberpunk genre’s unfortunate maturation during the 1980s, where the fear of Japanese conglomerates taking over the world was common and a future where Asian companies were all-powerful instead of Western ones seemed like a dystopia.

Cyberpunk 2077 is very much caught in that yesteryear mold, featuring elements that might have been progressive in the 1980s but seem passé now. For a game that relied on questionable representation of trans people in its marketing, there were no notable trans NPCs that I came across, and even though there’s a robust character creation system where you actually can make a trans person, the game makes the troubling decision to only offer binary pronouns tied to V’s voice. Despite the fact that many of the best modern cyperbunk works deal with body augmentation and the line between man and machine, most of the physical modifications you can pay for at Night City’s “ripperdoc” facilities are niche features that only offer minimal stat boosts, with only two major ones that I know of - the mantis blades and gorilla arms - actually causing extensive changes to V’s looks. And finally, while there are tons of characters of color in the game, ranging from the Haitian Voodoo Boys gang to V’s “friendly ethnic friend™” Jackie Welles, most of them are varying degrees of stereotypical. For instance, Goro Takemura, an ex-Arasaka employee, sends you text messages reminiscent of haiku at one point because he’s Japanese and has to talk like a formal, honorable samurai or something.

If you’re able to look past these issues - along with the myriad of bugs that Cyberpunk 2077 shipped with - there’s still the niggling feeling that this game could have been so much more. The signs of a troubled development process are numerous, and there are Reddit threads packed with still-visible remnants - like useless combat skill perks and an entire metro system - that were part of gameplay elements gutted at some point in order for those overworked CD Projekt Red programmers to make a long-delayed release date. Even mainstay stuff in the open world genre - like the police chases common in the Grand Theft Autos - are absent, and Cyberpunk 2077’s 2018 demo, chock full of promised features that never made it into the final product, has to be one of the most notorious bits of smoke ‘n mirrors “gameplay” in recent memory.

Perhaps most bothersome is the feeling that a lot of your choices don’t seem to matter all that much in Cyberpunk 2077, which once touted itself as “a full-fledged RPG, not a shooter with RPG elements,” but ends up feeling more like the latter than the former. The game’s three different lifepaths - nomad, streetkid and corpo - only amount to about thirty minutes of unique playtime at the start and a few different dialogue options. The vehicle combat sequences that punctuate key missions are largely scripted, looking cool but offering little consequences depending on what V aims at. The side quests I encountered had minimal branching paths, and the only time the main story opened up to offer some real choice was in the game’s final chapter. Considering that CD Projekt once developed The Witcher 2 - a 2011 game that branches dramatically at its halfway mark to the point where a lot of folks insist that you need to play it twice in order to feel satisfied - Cyberpunk 2077 feels like a step back.

And yet, despite all of these criticisms, I still put nearly 80 hours into the game over the course of December, January and February. You don’t do that for something that’s patently unfun, so let me be clear - there is an entertaining experience buried beneath an avalanche of unfulfilled potential here. Driving on my Akira-esque bike through Night City’s slums as the game’s best song bumped on the radio, taking out legions of baddies with my mantis blades and relishing in the game’s extensive photo mode (as you can probably tell by my screenshots above) was a good time. In spite of his assholery, I did feel something akin to attachment for that bastard Johnny Silverhand by the finale, and there were a few key moments - like when I was scuba diving in the ocean with my girlfriend Judy, looking at the remains of a town destroyed by the land seizing machinations of corporations - that felt like this game had something to say beyond “bang bang gunplay and neon aesthetic.”

But at the end of the day, while I do feel moderately interested in someday checking out Cyberpunk Red (the newest iteration of this franchise’s tabletop RPG), CD Projekt’s seven-year-hyped-up behemoth has largely faded from my brain one month after beating it. On Twitter, I’ve seen Cyberpunk 2077 described as something akin to a flashy Netflix series with lots of fanfare and flair but not much else - and I can’t really argue with that statement.

Night City was supposed to be the stuff of a long-term relationship. Instead, it feels more like a fling.

[commorsicoclub]

The First Beat (When Red met Penny)

Prequel to The Good Chase.  

(G/T soft vore. M/F. Human Prey, Giant Pred. Fearplay. Mouthplay. Belly rubs. Magic tricks. Snarky prey. Non-fatal. )

“You’ll be on your own starting tomorrow,” said the portly fellow in the driver seat. Maynard was thirty something years Red’s senior and was mere days away from his retirement. He’d been shoved onto the man last minute with vague orders to show the newbie his beat and aquatint him with the idiosyncrasies of the department. “I’ve got a few things still to wrap up before the end of it. It’s not a hard assignment. Boring really. You’ll be glad of it at first, but believe me. It gets old fast.”  

Eldridge Park was a middle class neighborhood on the west end of the city metro with its white marble apartment buildings and brownstone townhouses and tree lines streets. It was a nice place and crime was shockingly low so Red was more than a little disappointed to learn he’d been assigned to this particular precinct. He had hoped to be placed somewhere closer to the city center where they had actual crimes. Murders, arson, and armed robbery. Not petty larceny and littering. But he supposed it would look good on his record to have a year or two before jumping to another precinct.

“So, all I do is walk around the park in the middle of the night?” he asked flatly, looking out the window and then to Maynard.

“Not just the park, but that’s the better part of it,” Maynard replied. “It’s a big place, but don’t expect much real action. Worst I ever came across was a homeless fucker feeling up a girl on her way home from a late shift. Other then that, it’s just you and the humans.”

That got Red’s attention. “Humans?”

Maynard’s expression for the entirety of their shift thus far had been a placid neutrality leaning into boredom. But with this exchange, he looked at Red and grinned wickedly. “Oh yeah. Eldridge park is a hot spot.”

Red was no less enlightened. “So I’m going to be keeping hobos in check and arresting vermin.”

“You don’t arrest humans, kid,” Maynard said with a laugh. “Well, on the books we do. But there’s a lot of paperwork that goes with it, so none of us on this beat ever bother.”

“So, what do you do then?”

Maynard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal case. He flicked it open with one fat finger and pulled a cigarette out. Holding it between his teeth, he struck a match and lit it. Only after taking a long draw from it did he looked back at Red to answer him. “You eat them.”

………………………………………….

The night was cool and crisp against his face as Red followed Maynard through the traipsing paths of the park. It was dark, but the moon was full and they had no difficulty seeing their way. He watched Maynard’s movements, noting the way the older officer walked and where his head turned to look at certain areas of the park. Old habits he’d developed over an entire career and he as eager to know them.

“They’re not too dissimilar to dwarf, but not as sweet tastin’ as elves,” he was saying. “And not as fast either.”

“And the Chief's okay with us just...eatin’ up suspects like that?”

“Humans are an invasive species, kid,” he said. “They pop through these…cripes, what the hell are they called again. Black hole kind of things. The just pop out of nowhere from some other dimension or something. Rivers can explain the science to you if you really want, but for my purposes tonight, we just gotta catch one.”

“How many do you normally find?”

“As little as one a week to as much as eight. You probably won’t see more than two a shift at most. And you better be real hungry if you get three in one night or you’ll have to file the paperwork for the one when the other two are in your belly. And they make a racket too.”

Red wasn’t unfamiliar with eating creatures smaller than himself whole and alive. He was quite partial to Elf, but the wild ones were so expensive and the farm raised just didn’t taste as good. Dwarf was all well and good, but they tended to give him indigestion. Goblins were tolerable, but they always needed a good wash before being anywhere near edible and their skin was an odd texture. They were a bit of an acquired taste and one he never really developed, even if they were the cheapest of all live prey available on the market. But he would treat himself to wild Elf on his birthday or special occasions when he could justify the hit to his wallet.  

He normally just stuck to sandwiches.

“If they’re so delicious, I wonder why no one’s tried to farm them,” Red wondered.

“Oh they’ve tried,” Maynard replied. “But they don’t reproduce as quick as other prey so the price of them once they reached eating size would be three times the price of top shelf wild Elf. That and most folks just see them as rats on two legs.”

Rev grinned. “More for us then.”

Maynard laughed and slapped the junior officer on the back. “That’s the spirit! Now, let’s see if we’ve got any biters.”

Red obligingly followed his senior officer as he left the main path walked towards a cloister of bushes. Settled inside the thicker portions of the shrubbery, he saw a metal cage. It was empty and had not been tripped. The metal was dark and blended amazingly well within the bushes. He’d only seen it when Maynard pushed aside the leaves and the metal had caught the moonlight.

“I’ve got a good many of these all set up in the park. I’ve got a map in the car of where each of them are. Most human pop through confused and disorientated and try to find small hidey-holes to rest in. Most mistake these cages for a safe little place to stow away.” He looked up and grinned at Red. “Easy lunch.”

Red only nodded, feeling rather curious now. He’d had a good breakfast and he wasn’t particularly hungry, he wouldn’t refuse a little treat. The checked seventeen more traps over the course of the next five hours and none of them had been tripped. Maynard was begging to get a little impatient.

“It’s the perfect night for one to pop through,” he was muttering bitterly. “Cold clear nights are a good sign you’re gonna find one. I still have three more traps to check. Come one, rookie.”

They hit pay-dirt at second to the last trap. Even from a good distance away. Maynard spotted the his trap had caught something and he gave a gleeful hoot and waddled excitedly over. Red jogged to keep pace and could not help but privately ponder to himself that if Maynard hadn’t spent so much of his shifts stuffing himself full of humans, maybe he would be so darn fat.

His attention was abruptly pulled back when there came a shrill cry. There was a small creature inside the metal contraption and he tried to get a good look at it, but Maynard’s fat hand was pawing at it as he tried to open it up. Red was about to offer his assistance when the fat officer let out a “Ha ha!” and he wretched the little metal door open and drew out the prize from inside. The human was a pale pink color and was wearing clothing that looked much the same as an ordinary person would and it looked almost silly to behold it. But he didn’t get much of a chance to study it before Maynard held it up to him.

“Consider it a ‘welcome to the team’ treat,” he said with an oily smile. “She’s a fighter, so probably best to get her down as quick as you can.”

“Let me go, fucking piece of shit, giant ass fuck!” The human was very unhappy and was thrashing against Maynard militant hold on her, but Red was able to smell the distinct scent of fear and her and despite his curiosity to look at her more, to study her, he was all at once rather peckish. Maynard chuckled and pressed the little body into Red’s hands. “Down the hatch, rookie.”

Red laughed, swallowing the excess saliva and tipped his head back as he brought the little human up in the same gesture.

“You can’t be fucking serious right now, dude. No way. No! Holy shit, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...don’t you fucking dare!”

He ignore the panicking mantra from his lunch and slipped her feet onto his tongue. There was a sweet burst of flavor very reminiscent of elf, but it quickly faded into the more deep savory flavor more along the lines of dwarf. Oh, humans were delicious! Complex in their taste and her skin was so smooth. No where near the leathery lumpy affair that was goblin. He hummed in pleasure as he fed her upper thighs into his mouth and gave his first swallow.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, PLEASE DON’T!” Her shrill voice brought him back to reality and his eyes focused in on her face. She trembled in abject terror and struggled as much as she could given her lower half was in his gullet and her top half was firmly being held by his large fingers. He found himself smiling. It was a cruel gesture, but it was instinctual and he relished in the letting the true predator side of himself lose. He wasn’t in a fancy restaurant or a cafe where he needed to mind his manners. This was wild and free and without rules. The true manifestation of what it meant to be the top of the food chain. And Gods did he love the feeling...

He swallowed again and brought the girl’s torso into his mouth. He closed his lips around her neck and let go of her, letting her hang inside him and wiggle as much as she might. She was thicker bodied than an elf, but taller than a dwarf. A perfect middle ground of the two. He felt her little hands pressing against his lips and he almost laughed when one of her hands slipped and ended up slapping his gums. He supposed he’d tortured her enough and gulped hard twice in quick succession, sucking her down into his gullet and sending her on her way down to his belly. 

He breathed deeply now that his airways weren’t blocked and he looked to Maynard with an almost fanatical grin.

“Told you,” he said simply. “Tasty little fuckers, huh?”

“Fuck,” was all Red could manage. The human had spilled out into his belly and was now making all her complaints and protestations known by kicking and punching his insides. Such treatment was usually why he did not often partake in dwarf, but the human was no where near as strong and her strikes tickled more than anything. They were actually rather pleasant and he found himself licking his lips, trying to get one last taste of her.

Maynard laughed loudly, watching his junior partner’s sagging belly bounce and wiggle with his lunch’s frantic movements. He reached out and slapped it playfully. “How’d you like your first human, Red?”

“I think I’m a convert,” he replied, wiping the drool off the corners of his mouth.

………………………..

The human did not stop her squirming for the remainder of his shift. But by the time he slipped through his apartment door, roughly an hour later, she had gone quite and he figured she had finally succumbed to his stomach and would soon digest away like his other live meals. Though, he had to admit she had lasted a good while in there. He was almost impressed.

He pulled off his coat and shirt and sat down on his bed to pull off his boots. The maneuver required him to lean down over his own bulging belly and as he pulled off his first boot he heard it. A soft whimpering. And a voice. “..fucking stupid way to die...so fucking hot in here...can’t breathe for shit...smells like ass...”

Red started to laugh and that seemed to offend his lunch enough to spur her into one last kicking fit accompanied by a cry of, “YOU’RE A FAT FUCKING ASS HAT!”

He sat back up and looked down at his belly. “Well if I’m fat, you’re to blame.”

He wasn’t sure if her abrupt silence meant she had passed out or was too surprised to that he spoke to her to reply back. But then she did answer him.

“COUGH ME UP YOU FUCKER! YOU CAN’T GO AROUND EATING PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE YOU FUCKING FEEL LIKE IT!”

Red patted his belly, amused. “Funny you say that. Because I’m pretty sure I just did.”

She kicked him, lower than before and he winced. She’s struck a kidney or something.

“Dude!” she yelled again, but her voice had lost the volume. “Please, just...please let me out...”

“Why?” he asked, rubbing his gut in an almost affectionate manner.

“Because I don’t want to be your fucking food!”

“And yet, you are in my belly. Where food normally goes.”

“That was your mistake, not mine!” He was grinning. He’d never even spoken to his food before. More so because he didn’t speak elvish and the dwarf accents were so hard to understand that he just never bothered. And he wasn’t even sure Goblins had a real language. It was a pleasant change of pace.

“Tell you what, morsel,” he said, his voice low and almost growling. “If you can give me one reason why I should swap you out for the cold sandwich in my fridge, I’ll let you out.”

The human was silent for a moment. “...you promise?”

“Sure. I promise.”

“Like...pinkie swear and shit?”

“Well, I can’t exactly do a pinkie swear with you in there so...”

“Symbolic pinkie swear then!”  

“Okay. Symbolic pinkie swear. You just have to convince me you’re worth more alive then as lunch.”

After several moments, he felt the human suddenly shift. “Magic!” she said. “I can do magic!”

That got Red’s attention and eyed his belly dubiously. “Really now?”

“Yup! I can do magic.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I can’t show you from inside your fucking stomach now can I?!”  

Red stood up and walked to the kitchen. He flicked the light on and went to the sink. “OK. I’ll bring you out and you can do your magic, but I warn you now morsel. If you’re lying, I’m gobbling you back up and this time...” he paused. “I might just bite a little.”

It was surprisingly difficult to push his food back up once he’d swallowed it. Putting his fingers down his throat didn’t really do much other than make him wretch and his stomach clench. Which the human really did not appreciate. After the fourth failed attempt, he was ready to say fuck it and just go sit and watch TV until his belly finished her off. But he was genuinely curious now and he was spurred on more by annoyance and stubbornness than anything.

“Should...should I...like...help?” the human asked tentatively.

Red growled. “Might be nice.”

He tried one more time was shocked when he felt the warm lump push up into his esophagus. Once it had a good hold on the human, the rest went much more smoothly and after only a few moments, he felt her push up from the back of his throat and her little hands were grabbing onto his tongue and trying to pry herself out. He opened his mouth and plucked her from inside, pulling her from his jaws and setting her down onto the counter. She wobbled on her feet before falling hard onto her knees, too weak and disorientated to remain standing. Her skin was flushed and red from where his stomach acids had began to burn her and he felt a soft pang of guilt. It looked like it hurt. But he steeled himself and looked down at her with a frown.

“Alright, human. Let’s see this amazing magic of yours.” He knew some Elves could do magic and most fairies, but he had never seen any of it. Maynard hadn’t said anything about humans being able to perform magic, so maybe only some could?

The human held up both her hands, showing him the back and her palms as though to prove she held nothing. She presented the back of one hand, the thumb bent inward and used her other hand to place the tip of her other thumb so it aligned with the profile of its fellow, index finger and middle finger bent over to hide the gap. She slid the hand with the tip of her thumb visible back and forth as though she meant it as an impressive deed and the clapped her hands together and presented them both. Each hand still in possession of their thumbs.  

It was a parlor trick. A silly hand illusion to trick simple minded children that one could sever the tip of the thumb and magically reattach it with a simple wave of their hands. And almost as though to add insult to injury, the human finished their performance with a tired sounding, “Ta da.”

Red starred, expecting more and when the little human only starred back, he realized that he had been had. There was no magic. Just a magic trick, an illusion and it should have angered him. It should have made him furious and he should have devoured the wretched little liar right then and there…

...but instead he started to laugh. Loudly. He leaned back against the opposite counter and covered his face as the laughter turned into a fit of giggles and when he peeked between his fingers at the human, who was now looking at him with a fearful uneasiness, his laughter was renewed. It an absurd bargain she had made with him, betting her very life on the idea he might be impressed by such a paltry little showing. It was stupid and reckless and oddly...brave.

“S-so...” her shivering voice brought him back. “So...are you going to...let me go?”

He composed himself and regarded the little creature for a long moment and then said, “No.”

She scowled at him. “I knew it! You’re a fucking liar!”

He scoffed. “Me? What about you? That wasn’t magic.”

“It was a magic trick,” she replied firmly. “I just omitted a word. I didn’t lie.”

“Well, in any case I didn’t say I’d let you go,” he replied with a smug grin. “I said I would let you out. Never mentioned anything about releasing you or even that I wouldn’t be putting you back in later.”

The human’s scowl was gone and she bite her lip. As she began to scoot back across the counter, she started shaking in fear again. “Fucking liar...”

Red watched her shake and tremble, easily imagining she thought he meant to eat her then and there and he wasn’t in too much of a hurry to assure her of the contrary. He was having fun.

“I didn’t lie,” he purred as he loomed over her.

“You said all I needed to do was convince you I was worth more alive,” she spat, tears falling down her face now.

“And do you feel like you sufficiently did that?”

“I made you laugh,” she retorted. “Like...a lot. That should count for something, right?”

She was bargaining again, Red mused. “It was amusing, but if that’s all...”

“I didn’t say it was all,” the human snapped back. “I have more.”

Red regarded her with a flat, unimpressed look. “Oh do tell...”

“I can stick my tongue out and touch my forehead.”

Red blinked and his confused silence seemed to give the human the impression he was waiting for her display the odd quirk. But all she did was stick her tongue out at him and...touch her forehead with the index finger of her right hand.

Almost involuntarily, Red smiled and started to laugh again. He paced around the kitchen for a moment and then out into the hall before doubling back into the kitchen, laughing all the while. The human had taken his momentary absence as a chance to hide, but his kitchen countered were sparse and there were only two places to hide. Behind the toaster or inside the bread box. He could see the toaster well enough to know she was not there so he flipped open the box to see the human trying to hide under the remaining half loaf of bread. He chuckled at her and reach inside to pull her out.

She fought, but had grown very weak and could not do much of anything but smack his hand and kick her feet. “Please...please don’t kill me...”

He looked at the human and found that he didn’t want to eat her again. Not because she was not appetizing or that he wasn’t hungry, but she had succeeded in her original task; To convince him she was worth more than being his lunch. She was far too amusing a creature to sacrifice to his belly.

“I’m not going to eat you,” he said and watched her study him as though trying to figure out if she should believe him. “You’ve won your bargain, human. Congratulations.”

She sucked in a breath and shuddered, fat tears rolling down her face. “You’re not lying?”

“Nah,” he replied. “You’re a funny little thing. Might be worth keeping you around for a laugh.”

She held out her hand, little pinkie extended. “Pinkie promise.”

He eyed her. “We already did.”

“Real pinkie promise,” she said. “Promise that you aren’t lying and you won’t eat me ever again.”

He rolled his eyes, but obligingly offered his own pinkie of his free hand to her. “Fine, I promise I am not lying to you and I will not eat you ever again.” Their different sizes made it an awkward exchange, but the little human seemed satisfied enough. He sat back down on the counter and once she was standing under her own power, he grinned at her and licked his lips. “I make no such promises about eating any other humans though.”

She gaped at him, horrified. “Dude!”

He laughed and then asked, “Have a name, human? Or should I keep calling your morsel?”

“My name’s Penny,” she replied.

“Okay, Penny. I’m Red.” 

[redlance]

This might seem a little out of left field as I guess you’re more known for your bechloe stuff but I can’t get over that dexter/wh13 fusion fic you did once and I was just wondering if you’d share the backstory as you put you had most of it fleshed out?

Hey! Oh man, this was a blast from the past haha. Thanks for making me revisit it! Now, let’s see what I can remember...

I’m not sure what I all explained in the fic itself (so things might differ from it and this), but the idea was that H.G. wasn’t saved at the end of season 2. Myka was trying to talk her down when Artie got a shot off that avoided the Corsican Vest (I took liberties with how the vest worked for this and decided it would only inflict the would-be wound on the attacker if the vest itself was directly hit) and hit H.G. in the neck. Myka screams and runs to her, H.G. falls and bleeds out in Myka’s arms. This is made all the more tragic by us knowing that Myka and H.G. were already falling in love a little bit prior to this - so Myka’s dealing with betrayal and two different kinds of losses - and that, as viewers, we know that H.G. would have broken down and not gone through with her plan, unable to kill Myka.(More beneath the cut, this gets long. Sorry anon! You asked!)

After this, Myka leaves the Warehouse. She can’t look Artie in the eye anymore, can’t forgive him for not trusting her with Helena, and she can’t stand being in a place that reminds her so much of H.G.

Can’t stand the smell of apples.

So, she packs up and heads towards the very antithesis of Univille, South Dakota - Miami, Florida.

It isn’t just a random decision either. From my notes;

Because once upon a time Myka had been someone who hunted down artifacts for a secret government organisation, a job that took her all over the world and had landed her in Miami a few short years ago. People had been turning up dead all over the city, burnt from the inside out. It had taken about a week, a few more dead bodies, and a run in with the very same team from Miami Metro that she now worked alongside, but they'd recovered Nero's Fiddle. Snagged, bagged, and tagged. But not before Myka and the then Detective had almost come to blows over territory encroachment. Pete had never let her live it down. Which was precisely why she hadn't told him, or anyone for that matter, who exactly she was working under now.

Because of that connection - and because Debra Morgan knows dedication when she sees it - she lands a job at Miami Metro. It’s not long before Myka realises that she and her Lieutenant are similar in many ways and a friendship forms. 

Meanwhile, for some reason I haven’t noted down, Myka ends up at a boat auction. Maybe it’s for a case. She happens upon a modest sized boat bearing the name ‘Slice of Life’ and feels inexplicably drawn to it. Her father had taken her out on a boat a little smaller than it back when she was a kid and so Myka has some experience with sailing. She ends up bidding on and winning it, and it’s eventually delivered to the marina. 

She starts spending a lot of time on the boat. Every day after work, she goes out to the marina and does some cleaning, adds her own little touches, makes it feel homey. 

And that’s when she starts seeing Helena. 

That’s when the criminals getting off on technicalities really start to get under her skin. 

That’s when she buys her first knife.

Unbeknownst to Myka, the Slice of Life is, of course, an artifact. Feeding on her grief and, basically, turning her into Dexter 2.0. She even has her own Harry for company. 

The first time she kills a man, she doesn’t feel sick or upset. She feels calm and at peace. Like she’s righted a wrong that had been plaguing this world. And Helena is there, beautiful as ever, telling Myka what a wonderful job she’s doing. They talk, sometimes sit in silence.

And it’s easy for Myka to forget that Helena isn’t real. 

So, Myka goes on policing by day and killing by night. Using the boat to dump the bodies much like Dexter did before her. She doesn’t keep souvenirs, though. The people she kills aren’t worthy of being remembered. 

There’s a holy shit moment when Myka invites Deb down to the marina and Deb realises that, “Holy fucking fuck, you bought my brother’s boat.” 

Things take a turn when Lila - who is not dead but keeps having dreams about Dexter killing her - shows up at the marina looking for Dex and finds Myka there instead. Lila, who looks so much like a modern H.G. it’s startling, and Myka can’t help it. She’s drawn to Lila the same way she was drawn to the boat. They spend time together, grow closer, more intimate. Then there’s this conversation:

"Who is it?" Lila asked and Myka spun, startled, to face her. She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, eyeing Myka curiously, suspiciously almost, and Myka would swear she saw jealousy flash in oddly familiar brown eyes. She stared back, unable for the moment to feign the ignorance required to ask the obvious question. The one she could feel inching along her spine like a hundred spiders, tickling and agitating her skin until the need the scratch at it became overwhelming. "The person I remind you of. There is someone, isn't there?" Lila had her pinned with her gaze and Myka found that she could only nod, even as Lila took a step into the room and she felt every muscle in her body tense. "Was she a friend of yours?" The question was an empty one, she could hear it in Lila's voice that she already knew that wasn't the case. Myka watched as the other woman lifted her hand to trail her fingers over the marble countertop, gaze dropping and then returning to Myka as she asked the real question. "Was she a lover?" Myka's heart lurched and then seized, stealing away a beat or two as Lila continued to move closer. "I see it in your eyes, the way you look at me." She passed. "The way you CAN'T look at me sometimes. It's written all over your face, you know." Panic rose on Myka, unbidden and unexplainable, as Lola finally rounded the counter and leaned against it, her body now parallel to Myka's. "It just gets so dark sometimes." She made it sound like something to wonder over. Marvell at. "She must a been a very passionate-"

"We weren't lovers." Myka blurted, suddenly desperate for Lila to stop and she did, stunned into momentary silence by the apparently unexpected revelation. Her eyes were wide with something close to fear, something Lila seemed to take in stride.

"But you wanted to be." It wasn't a question. Myka's eyes drooped and she crossed her arms over her chest, looking away. "Well," And it was strange how much Lila could press into one word, how her looks could burn into you in less than a second. It was another thing that made Myka remember. "I can't imagine that she wasn't interested." But the way Lila leered, all unabashed obviousness, that was different. "What was it then? Was she married? Afraid? Or were you two some kind of Shakespearian star crossed lovers?" Myka's posture stiffened and then sagged dramatically the longer Lila stared at her, knowingly. As if she already knew the answer and was waiting to see if Myka would provide the correct one or not. As if she was testing her.

"A bit of all three, I think." Myka said through a sigh and Lila's lips turned upward briefly, as if Myka's answer had pleased her in some way. "It just... It wasn't..." She swallowed hard and then turned away, opening one of the kitchen cupboards and reaching for a mug, only to pause as her fingers brushed smoother porcelain. "I can't talk about this." She left the mug where it was and closed the cupboard, turning instead to the fridge and opening it to retrieve a bottle. She offered it to Lila without looking and then grabbed another for herself.

"Can't or won't?" She threw a glare at the other woman as she closed the heavy silver door with her hip and reached for the draw that housed a bottle opened amid various other odds and ends.

"Both." She said, a stern edge to her voice as she snapped the cap off and then handed the opener to Lila. The woman took it, deliberately brushing her fingers against Myka's in the exchange, and Myka yanked her hand back as though she'd accidentally slipped it into a fire. Lila caught her gaze and smirked before turning her attention to the beer in her hand.

“You know,” she started slowly, after taking a long draw from the bottle, “the man I came here looking for, he was the thing I wouldn't talk about for the longest time.” Myka thumbed the neck of her bottle and watched as Lila's attention drifted around the room. “I thought about him a lot, every day, but I never spoke about him out loud. I kept him close like a secret, until one day the silence almost broke me. I’d lost him, or at least I thought I had, and I don't think I’ve experienced pain that profound before. I loved him, but he...” she sighed, taking another swig of amber liquid turned green by the thick glass. “He had other priorities. Ones he put before me. I guess I loved him more than he loved me.” She smiled then, though Myka could tell it was forced. “He's my one that got away.” Silence then, empty and stretching as the seconds ticked by.

“She didn't get away.” Myka said at length. “She was taken from me.” And there was so much sour distaste to her tone, so much venom and contempt. She could feel it swimming in her veins, being pumped through her body by a heart that beat now only because it thought it should. Lila's expression changed at the sound of it, morphed into a mask of pity and sorrow that was headed by a frown.

“How did it happen?” The question didn't hurt, surprisingly, and neither did the memory of the moment as it flickered to life like a piece of video playback embedded in her brain. But there was a dull, numb ache. One that permeated her entire being.

Helena is always there, lingering in the shadows. Even while Lila is in her bed. 

Eventually, long story short, Myka ends up somewhat naturally neutralizing the artifact that is the Slice of Life. She, like Dexter, had found something worth more than killing. With the boat no longer in need of gooing, Myka won’t have to deal with feeling the repercussions of her otherwise OOC actions, and she’s left to live her life with Lila.

Or something like that. ;)

[let-it-raines]

Catch Me If You Can (27/40)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I’m the slightest bit overwhelmed by how kind a lot of you are and how many people have become invested in this story. It’s the coolest thing seeing the happiness it brings some of you, even if I am stressing you out right now. Whenever I get a message about how a story has made someone’s bad day better, I get a little smile on my face. You are all awesome ☺️

Thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for being my beta! Don’t fret. She yelled at me a lot about this part of the story too, so it’s not just you guys and it does get better. 

AO3: Beginning | Current

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Tag list: @stunningswan​ @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury​ @superchocovian​ @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog@cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings​ 

-/-

Emma has never once complained about having off from work before.

Not once.

She has four days off right now. It’s four days of no baseball and no responsibility, and she has been looking forward to it for months ever since she first saw the time off on the calendar and marked it in a huge red circle. There’s nothing quite like having the ability to sleep in, not brush your hair, and lounge around in pajamas all day as you watch professional athletes hit tennis balls back and forth at each other at one hundred miles per hour as they play the US Open.

But there’s a bit of a sting to it all when two tickets to the semi-finals tomorrow are saved in her phone, and she hasn’t spoken to the person who bought them for her in three days.

(They’re in the nosebleed section so no one would notice them, and Emma remembers laughing out loud when Killian showed her the seats because she has no idea how they would even see the ball.)

Okay, there’s more than a bit of a sting.

It fucking hurts.

There’s always been a reason why she didn’t make plans so far ahead of time, not ones that require monetary and emotional commitments from her, but she’s been breaking all of her rules over the past five and half months. All of them. She’s made plans to go to Portland, to go to a wedding, to go to this idiotic set of matches that she would actually really love to go to.

All of them with Killian.

Emma should have known better. She honestly should have. Every time she ever made plans with Neal or Walsh or any other man that she was dating, they always fell through. They never held up. Either the relationship would endend, or the guy would fade away at the last minute. It didn’t matter. Every time she got her hopes up, they fell back to the ground and were crushed under the weight of her own disappointment.

Neal was the definition of flaky. He was always making these big plans with big dreams and promising her so damn much before ripping the rug out from under her so quickly that she barely even had time to brace herself before she fell flat on her ass. And the really shitty thing is that she didn’t even realize how awful it was that he was doing that to her because that’s what people had been doing her entire life – foster parents, social workers, childhood friends, her birth parents. That little seed of hope would be planted, roots would start to grow, and then it’d all be torn out of the ground. She was in a relationship like that for years and then fell into the same exact trap two years later.

Why would Killian be any different?

(Of course he is different.)

A laugh escapes her lips at that, one she didn’t give permission to, and all it does is make Emma curl into her bed a little bit more, wrapping her arms around her pillow and yanking the blankets further up her body so that the outside world can’t get to her. It’s just Emma, her laptop, and a bag of salt and vinegar chips that are most likely going to break her tongue out.

As it should be.

This is not how her day was supposed to go.

Not at all.

Killian was supposed to come over after his morning training, and he was going to spend time with her and probably Ruby, debating television shows and movies and eating whatever takeout he decided to bring on his way here. But Killian isn’t here. She doesn’t even know where he is. Probably not training considering he’s out for the rest of the regular season.

It’s what he told her, but it’s also what she’s read in about fifteen different articles online.

And what she had to post on her Twitter account as part of her job. Life is funny that way. You think you can avoid your boyfriend and all information about him, but she can’t. It’s part of her freaking job.

She couldn’t have kept herself from reading the articles online if she’d tried.

(She didn’t.)

There’s a knock on her door, a sound that Emma has been ignoring for most of the past few days, but she didn’t turn the lock when she went to get her chips two hours ago, so Ruby easily opens the door and walks into her bedroom. She’s got her hair pulled back into a ponytail and is wearing leggings and a sports bra like she just went to the Pilates class that Emma skipped out on.

She shouldn’t have done that.

Fueling her emotions into that would probably have been a much healthier way to cope. No, it definitely would have been. Exercise is better than stuffing her mouth with junk food even if junk food feels so much better at first.

Shit. She’s pathetic. But honestly, she doesn’t even care.

“Hey,” Ruby says quietly as she shuts the door behind her. “How are you feeling?”

Emma doesn’t respond, just curls herself further into her pillow like the pathetic person she is as a tennis ball is thwacked across the court and bounces up into the bottom level of the stands. But Ruby, never one to be deterred by anything, walks across the room and settles down on the bed behind Emma, wrapping her arms around her stomach and pulling her closer while Ruby’s chin rests on her shoulder.

It’s the most considerate touch she’s felt in days, and it’s the only time that someone hasn’t shown her pity or tried to tell her that everything was going to be okay. After she left the hospital, leaving Killian behind with her mind reeling and falling down a hole with no escape, Emma immediately went to her apartment and changed into running clothes before running until her legs wouldn’t work anymore. It was fifteen miles, something she’s done before, something that’s not even her personal best, and she thought that she could keep going.

She had to keep going.

But the adrenaline died out on her, all of her anger and rage and, frankly, sadness dissipated into barely being able to breathe, and she’d swiped her metro card and walked through the gates to get on the train that would take her to David’s house because she needed him like she hadn’t needed him in years. David is always the reasonable one, is always the one who makes her see things that she can’t see, but he wasn’t there. It was only Leo and Mary Margaret, and as much as Emma loves Mary Margaret, she couldn’t understand why Emma was so hurt by Killian lying to her.

It’s not what the lie was, though that is a pretty big deal. It’s the fact that the lie happened.

Over and over again.

She gave him her heart in all of the shattered and glued back together pieces, and as careful as he is with it, he still managed to add a crack or two.

How could she have ever expected otherwise?

Why did she?

Why does she still want him to be the one to help her keep holding it together?

David had eventually come home and seen her talking to Mary Margaret, and somehow, he just knew that she needed him to hold her for a little while. He did, cupping the back of her head with his hand and not placating her by telling her that everything was okay or that she shouldn’t be angry or anything else that she wasn’t quite ready to hear yet.

There were a lot of things she wasn’t ready to hear that day.

“Do you want to go for a walk with me sometime today?” Ruby asks, and Emma breathes out on a sigh, her stomach swirling in a messy cloud of anxiousness over the fact that Ruby has finally decided that Emma has to talk. She’s been waiting for it. She’s also been expecting a much more abrasive conversation. “I know that your legs probably still feel like shit from that crazed run you went on, but I feel like a walk would be good. Fresh air, exercise, maybe I will even stop and buy two dozen donuts. You know, really splurge and keep them to ourselves and not let Graham have any.”

Emma chuckles, and this time she’s kind of glad for it. It’s not a big belly laugh, but it’s something.

Baby steps are better than nothing.

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a walk?

“Nope. It’s good to get our legs moving, work some of this laziness out of you. Plus, I fully plan on making us walk the full perimeter of Central Park, so we’ll have earned those donuts. If we haven’t died first because that’s a huge ass park.”

“You do realize that Bryant park is closer?”

“And that’s exactly why we’re not going there.” Ruby squeezes her again, pretty much hugging her, and it may actually make Emma’s heart swell. “C’mon, Ems. Indulge me for an afternoon, okay? It’s not like you to lay in bed like this. I don’t like it.”

It’s not. She’s already thought that. This isn’t her. She’s not the type of girl who lays around in bed because she’s upset that she and her boyfriend got into a fight, if that’s even what this can be called. There wasn’t exactly any fighting, even if her mind has managed to create the illusion that there was. Honestly, she barely let him get any words in besides his explanation of what happened. And she’s not the type of girl who cries and eats ice cream and wonders how life will ever go on.

There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but it’s not her.

And she hasn’t cried. That’s beside the point, though.

“It’s really comfortable in here, okay?”

“You’re moping.”

“Then let me mope.”

Ruby sighs and hugs her a little closer.

“Emma, I know that I might not seem like the most emotionally mature person at times, but I’ve been in a steady relationship for a long time. I know that things like this happen, and I know that after lying in bed for nearly three days now, you need to get your ass up. You’re not going to find any solutions at the bottom of that chip bag.”

“I hate Graham for helping you be so emotionally stable. You used to hate love.”

“It’s all the good fucking. I’m telling you. Knocked some sense right into me.”

Emma barks out a laugh and completely rolls over on her stomach, letting Ruby’s arms release her as she snorts into the pillow. “You are the worst,” she mumbles, her voice muffled by the material.

“I am the best.” There’s a slap against her ass that has Emma jumping and rolling over again so that she nearly knocks over her laptop. “Now, go brush your teeth, put on some deodorant, and change clothes so we can take over the city with our powerwalk like the rich old ladies we’ve always aspired to be.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

It’s an actual blazing inferno outside, the heat curling up from the concrete to practically burn through Emma’s sneakers, and it makes her really not want to be out on this walk. But she knows that the faster she walks, the faster she can go back home and retreat back to her room. All she really wants is to go back to her room.

And get under the shades of the trees in the park. September needs to end and allow October to roll in so that she won’t sweat every time she steps outside. This is ridiculous.

It’s probably all of the salt and vinegar leaving her pores. What a thought to have.

If only eating strawberries or kale or something was a good emotional comfort food.

It’s a little over a mile to the park, and as awful as the entrance is all full of tourists and street vendors and people trying to sell her a guide to the city like she doesn’t know it’s on a grid system, Emma is thankful just to have the slight breeze and be away from the masses of people. She won’t admit it, not out loud, but Ruby was right to get her to get up and get moving. When she’s lounging around, her mind wanders to things that it shouldn’t wander to, and at least now she’s able to put all of her focus on putting one foot in front of the other and watching all of the people around her.

Why pay for Broadway tickets when you can watch people in Central Park?

The air-conditioning. Yep. The air-conditioning.

They walk for an hour, just a casual stroll that Emma keeps thinking should be a run, but the heat of the day becomes too much for her, her heartbeat going wild, and as soon as she sees an unoccupied bench in the shade, she makes a run for it, leaving Ruby to catch up from behind. It’s a bit ridiculous, but this is a golden opportunity to allow herself to sit down and breathe without anyone bothering her since most people in the area are concentrated around the boathouse and not the little beaten path to the side of it.

“I hate summer,” Ruby groans when she reaches the bench. “It’s the worst. I don’t care that it’s when all of the good sports happen. It’s too damn hot.”

Emma bends down to rest her elbows on her knees and cradle her head in her palms. “It was your idea to come out here.”

“Yeah, well, you were depressing me.”

She doesn’t say anything back, taking a moment to breathe and stare down at the laces on her shoes. One of them is about to come untied, but she can’t bother to fix it. There’s no point if she plans on never moving from this spot. The sweat that’s trickling down her back is going to keep her glued here anyways.

How the hell did she run fifteen miles the other day? What kind of rage-fueled adrenaline was that?

“Killian lied to me about his shoulder.”

The words come out without her permission. She doesn’t even remember thinking them. Her mind was blank and then all of the sudden they were there, escaping from her tongue and her lips and becoming part of the air that’s surrounding she and Ruby.

Emma is still staring at the ground. Her hand has also unconsciously found the chain around her neck, the one with Killian’s mom ring that he gave her as a good luck charm. She hasn’t been able to take it off. She wanted to, wanted to take away that reminder of him, but she couldn’t do it.

Killian wanted her to have one of his most prized possessions, and as mad as she is at him right now, she can’t take it off.  It means too much to her to have been given something like this.

“He lied to me,” she continues, taking a deep breath, though she’s not sure if it’s from the exercise or the emotions running a race in her mind and wearing down her nerves. “And I get it. He was scared. He – ”

“He didn’t want you to think less of him for being broken.”

“How do you know that?”

“Mary Margaret told me. You know she can’t keep a secret.”

Emma chuckles, but it’s a weak one, before lifting her head back up so that all of her blood can return to its rightful place. She was starting to get worried it wouldn’t. All she can really focus on is how cool the metal of the ring is against her stomach.

“Unlike you have apparently become, I am not the best with my emotions,” Emma continues. All of the words she’s been holding up are bubbling up to the surface and ready to spill over and run rampant. “I’m pretty shitty with them, but Killian made me feel comfortable, you know? When we’re together, I do pretty okay sharing all of the broken parts of me. He knows a lot of stuff that not even you know, and I thought we were in the kind of relationship where we trusted each other enough to share the brokenness. And trust me, we have a lot of it. We’ve had…we’ve had pretty shitty lives at some points, and I am so mad at him for repeatedly not telling me that he was hurt and for not being smart enough to stop playing and get some help. It’s not that big of an injury, but it could have been. He loves that stupid game, and he’s going to lose it if he keeps doing things like this.”

Ruby reaches down and grabs Emma’s hand and wraps her fingers around her palm and squeezes so that Emma has to look up at the sky to stop the tears from finally falling. This is dumb. This is all so dumb, and every bit of it could have been avoided.

“I think though,” Emma continues, still blinking away the tears, “past the lying and this gut-wrenching fear that he’s going to lie to me about other things too, I’m mostly hurt that he didn’t feel comfortable talking to me. I love him so much, Rubes. He probably has no idea how much I love him because I barely know how to express it, and, but I don’t know how to fully trust him if this is going to be a pattern.”

Ruby’s sighs, and Emma swears that she feels it in her own bones. Her heartrate has calmed down, something next to normal, and she no longer feels like she’s going to throw up. She was kind of feeling like that for a little while, and the guy sitting in the grass fifteen feet away from them reading a book in peace probably wouldn’t appreciate that.

“You’ve got to talk to him.”

“I don’t – ”

“You don’t want to right now,” Ruby finishes for her, and Emma twists her head to the side to look over at the lake instead of at Ruby. “I know. I got that. You have every right to be pissed off at him. You have every right to kick and scream and feel anger so deep in your belly that it aches when you breathe. It doesn’t matter what he lied to you about. If it hurt you, it hurt you. Case closed.”

“I know but – ”

“Nope, nope, you’re going to let me finish. I am on a roll, and you’re going to crush my momentum.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Ruby squeezes her hand again before letting go. “Killian should not have lied to you. That’s just…I know we all tell little white lies, but this is obviously different. He shouldn’t have lied to you or to anyone. He should have trusted the people who he loves with the things he’s struggling with, but I don’t think this was about him not trusting you. He didn’t tell his family about any of it either.”

“They knew about the accident.”

“To be fair, Liam was there, and I think there’s no way Elsa couldn’t find out.”

“Semantics.”

“Very important ones,” Ruby points out. “I don’t – I’m not trying to tell you how to feel. I’m just saying that Killian didn’t do this out of malicious intent. He’s not Walsh, and he’s certainly not Neal. He is not spending his time trying to bring you down because he can’t handle being with a successful woman. I honestly think he’s scared of losing you and of losing the game, and that can make people do things that they wouldn’t usually do. You may not realize it, but I think you have become just as important to Killian as baseball is – if not more so. I know all about that ring you keep messing with and how big of a deal it is. Honey, he wouldn’t have given that to you if he didn’t love you. I’m not saying that fixes everything because it doesn’t. You have to talk to him and let yourself trust him if you think he’s worth trusting.”

Ruby echoes the words Killian said to her in Elsa’s office, the words that she repeated to Mary Margaret when she was trying to explain what was going on. They’re right. They’re all right, and she hates it. She doesn’t even know why. She should be thrilled that everyone seems to think that Killian didn’t set out to hurt her.

She thinks that too.

But Ruby is right in the fact that he did hurt her and right in the fact that she should be allowed to feel how she feels. How could she not with everything that’s happened to her in her life?

But she’s not thrilled.

And it’s dumb. Really, really dumb. Because she should want to get up from this bench and run to Killian’s apartment. It’s not far, maybe another mile walk, but she has absolutely emotionally exhausted herself to the point that talking about this more would be too much for her.

Talking everything out is still new to her, and when the stakes are this high, that pestering feeling that it’s all going to go wrong is continually building. Because what if Killian realizes that she’s more broken than he thinks too she is, and it’s all too much to deal with? Their relationship seems so simple on the surface and yet underneath it all…

Oh fuck.

Emma loves Killian so damn much, more than anything as he would say, but being together has never been simple. It’s always been a series of guesses and choices and an underlying hope that things would work out. She allowed herself to have that hope from the beginning, when she barely knew anything about him and when he’d fucked up with her already, and she should allow herself to have that same faith now that she genuinely knows so much of what makes up the ever-evolving person who is Killian Jones.

Tomorrow. She’ll talk to him tomorrow. Her stomach is still in too many knots for her to even think about seeing his face today and seeing the smile that always makes everything inside of her feel like it is floating on cloud nine.

Tomorrow. It has to be tomorrow because then she’s got to leave for Boston and Detroit, and she’s not waiting a week.

And she almost desperately needs to know how he’s doing. He’s got to be hurting, and she knows that she added to that.

“Can we go get those donuts now, Rubes?”

“Absolutely.”

The walk home seems swifter than the walk there, and it’s likely because Emma isn’t weighed down by the heaviness of a lot of things that are on her heart. Or maybe it’s because she does have donuts to look forward to. Today is going to be her last day of self-indulgence where she allows herself to mope and eat like all of the junk food in the world is going to disappear tomorrow. Because tomorrow she’s going to start eating actually balanced meals with things like vitamins and nutrients – most of the time – and she’ll hopefully stop feeling so sorry for herself.

That’s a bit of a gamble.

Ruby still makes a point of distracting her for the afternoon, obviously sensing that Emma is two seconds away from running away to her room and never emerging again, and while she contemplates that a few times throughout the day, especially when Graham comes home and kisses Ruby hello, she doesn’t.

In fact, she’s the last one awake and the only one to stay out in the living room. The only light that’s on comes from the TV, a tennis match still going on late in the night, and maybe it’s the lack of sleep she’s gotten or maybe it’s that feeling that happens when you’re alone at night and your mind starts playing tricks on you, but something gives her the courage to pull out her phone and text the person she’s been thinking about all day.

Emma: How’s your arm?

The bubble pops up immediately.

Killian: It hurts, mostly in the mornings, but not too bad. Lots of Ibuprofen and ice.

Emma: That’s good.

Emma: Not that it hurts. That it’s not too bad.

Killian: Yeah, I’m glad it’s not as bad as it has been.

Her heart may actually break a bit more at the thought of him being hurt all of this time. She’s been so mad at him, so frustrated with him for not sharing it with her, and she’s barely had any time to think about all of the pain that he’s been going through. Shitty move on her part.

It’s one thing to get injured and still be able to go about your daily life. It’s another when your livelihood depends on your body.

Killian: You should still use the tickets tomorrow. Take Ruby or David. I can get you an upgrade to sit closer since I’m not going with you now.

I don’t want to use them with anyone but you, she types, a little pathetically.

She doesn’t actually send that message. She can’t muster up the courage no matter how much truth is in the statement. Wine or whiskey or, hell, tequila are really tempting at this point to make herself feel a little less – upset, conflicted, hopeful even. But drowning sorrows in alcohol is no way to solve a problem, even if she’s done it before. It’ll only make her feel worse.

Emma: Can we talk tomorrow?

That text is riskier, means more, and is far scarier, and yet it’s the one she sends.

Killian: I’d like that.

Emma: Me too.

[perditaalottachocolate-blog]

Spring Fever (17)

@adrinetteapril 2019 story

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | art | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | art |  art  | 18 | 19 | 20 |

AO3 / fanfiction.net

A huge thank you to @goblin-alchemist for betareading this story! And thank you all for reading, liking, reblogging and for the comments. You make me very happy! <3

***

Chapter 17. Nightmare

In which Adrien is amazed

If Adrien had known her plan was to confront Nemesis and get attacked, he would never have agreed. This was by far the bravest and most reckless thing he’d seen Marinette attempt. Without batting an eyelash, with her chin high up, she faced the villain. The scene would feed Adrien's nightmares for years. His blood ran cold as he watched the love of his life challenging Nemesis.

'If you’re so sure I’m trying to use Adrien, why don’t you check it yourself?’ Marinette inquired. 'Is that because you’re afraid I’m telling the truth?’

'You’re not telling the truth,’ the villain shrugged, malicious grin on her marble face. 'See, I’ve been in this business all my life. I’ve seen it happening tens of times, I’ve heard of hundreds more. I know how it works.’

'You don’t know me.’

'Please, have you looked at yourself?’ Nemesis snorted out a laugh. 'What do you have that I don’t? What a girl like you could possibly offer to someone like Adrien?’

Marinette seemed to consider this for a moment. 'Talent?’ She offered. 'Honest friendship? Genuine affection? Baked goods? A killer partner in video games?’

Adrien saw a shadow of a smirk dancing on her lips. He couldn’t help but to think he liked this side of her very much and he wished he’d see it more often. Or maybe he just had a thing for strong women? She was playing with fire, demonstrating iron-clad confidence, a devil-may-care attitude and sass he had no idea she was capable of, clearly trying to vex Nemesis into making a mistake. And it looked as if her plan was working.

The akuma cackled. 'Baked goods?’ She parotted. 'Genuine affection? I think I’m going to give you what you’ve asked for, girl,’ she brandished the whip.

That was his cue. Adrien tensed, ready to intercept the weapon. He thought Marinette wanted to focus Nemesis’ attention so that he could sneak his way to her. He was wrong.

‘Show me what you got,’ the love of his life called out. She opened her arms, waiting for the crack. 

She didn’t have to wait long. With a banshee scream the akuma tugged at the whip. Marinette stared at her challengingly, not budging even one bit. The whip made contact with her skin. The crack was deafening in the narrow space of the underpass, masking Adrien’s frantic steps as he launched himself in their direction. Terrified he cast a look at his friend.

Marinette was still standing in her place, perfectly fine and unmarbleized. She raised a brow. ‘Your turn,’ she murmured.

Nemesis sent her a confused look. It only took a tiny fraction of a second and Adrien ripped the weapon out of her unresisting hand. Not thinking twice he threw it to Marinette, who caught it expertly and brandished it as if she’d been dealing with ropes her whole life.

‘Let’s see what you’re made of,’ she said.

Another crack thundered over the passage accompanied by Nemesis' cry of protest, both leaving an unpleasant ringing in Adrien’s ears. 

The space was suddenly short of villains. A stone statue appeared where Nemesis had been standing mere seconds ago. An outstretched hand, reaching for the whip. Lips opened in a silent shriek. Eyes blown wide and hair thrown back. Adrien was sure this was the least flattering image of Giselle he'd ever seen. 

Marinette limped to her. She weighed the weapon in her palm. 

'It's still dangerous, but if I break it and set the butterfly free while Ladybug is not here to purify it…,' she said.

Adrien shivered. 'The last thing this city needs is an army of Nemeses.'

'Despair not, civilians, who I see for the first time in my eternal life,' a familiar voice sounded from somewhere near the statue’s head. 'The cavalry has arrived! Well, metaphorically speaking.' 

Plagg's head popped from behind Nemesis' stone cold shoulder. Adrien suppressed a groan, while Marinette squeaked adorably in surprise.

'Sorry,' the kwami's ears dropped apologetically. 'I didn't mean to startle you.'

'What- who are you?'

Plagg tapped his nose. 'I'm Chat Noir's boss,' he announced with a toothy grin.

'Don't you mean "assistant"?' Adrien drawled. He had no idea why his kwami decided to show up to a civilian. Two civilians technically.

Marinette actually giggled at that, trying in vain to hide a smile.

The sprite sent him a flat look. 'I may be small in size, but I'm not some Santa's little helper,' he replied acidly. 'Anyway I'm here to offer my services as Chat Noir and Ladybug can't show up now,' he paid Marinette a deep bow.

'Your services?' The girl tilted her head, knitting her brows.

'I can relieve you of this cursed cargo,' he pointed at the whip, 'and take it to Ladybug for purification.'

'What are you going to do with it?' Adrien crossed his arms in front of his chest, his voice dripping with suspicion. First time he witnessed Plagg actually volunteering for anything.

The sprite looked between the two teens, then down at his belly and up at the ceiling. 

'You don't want to know,' he finally replied. 

'So you’ll get this to Ladybug?’ Marinette made sure. She passed him the whip.

'You bet,’ Plagg grinned. 'Cataclysm,’ he whispered and touched the weapon with a tip of his paw. The item turned to dust as the ground shook. A few cracks appeared where the whip lay on the ground, a few specks of dust fell from the ceiling. 

The akuma broke free. It fluttered its wings and took flight to sunlight. 

Plagg sighed. ‘Just think it tastes like camembert,’ he muttered barely audibly and leaped after the butterfly. Before Adrien could even ask what he wanted to do, the kwami swallowed the insect. He burped with an echo that should not be possible in such a small creature.

'Hey, since when can you-,’ Adrien started. 

Plagg sent him a warning look. 'I trust you two to keep quiet about this, okay? Now excuse me, but I have a Ladybug to catch.’ With one last grin he turned around and flew back into the metro.

Adrien watched until the kwami disappeared from sight. Marinette’s hiss of pain interrupted his plan to follow Plagg. 

‘Come on, I’ll help you,’ he offered, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulders and taking her weight. Once again he was stunned by her scent. He tried to ignore his spinning head and blood drumming in his ears. Ignoring the heat that ignited his skin proved to be more difficult.

‘Adrien, wait.’ Marinette stopped him. 

She put a hand on his chest. He wondered if she could feel the frantic beating of his heart.

‘F-for what?’ he stuttered, her proximity threatening to render him speechless. He squeezed his eyes shut and resolved to keeping his intakes of air in short, shallow breaths, not to get drunk on her essence. ‘Your leg is n-not going to get better until Ladybug finally arrives.’

‘The kiss,’ she simply said. ‘Before something or someone interrupts us again.’

‘The kiss,’ he echoed, the finality of it suddenly crashing on him. 

Adrien looked at her, for the first time in days seeing Marinette in an entirely new light. Not only was she a great classmate and a thoughtful friend. She was kind and accepting, loyal, sensitive and respectful. But also strong, determined, creative and resourceful. She was brave, fearless maybe, definitely selfless. 

And she loved him.

‘No, I- I can’t ask you to do that,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t want- Oh, this is a nightmare!’

‘A nightmare? Why?’ She frowned. ‘Don’t you want to break the curse?’

If she’d asked him that question the day before, he’d undoubtedly said yes. But now he was hesitant. Why didn’t he want her to kiss him? Why hadn’t he confessed the true nature of the curse earlier?

Because I don’t want this to end, he realized. I don’t want to stop loving her. Because I feel it in my bones I belong with her. Because she’s my soulmate. 

Was this the curse talking? Adrien no longer knew how he felt. Where did his original feelings end and the miraculous magic begin?

‘Adrien?’ 

‘Loving you… it’s not-,’ he murmured. ‘It’s the best thing that happened to me since-...,’ his hand went into his hair. He caught a fistful and tugged, hoping for the pain to give his mind back to him. ‘I love loving you,’ he ended lamely.

‘But you’re cursed,’ Marinette looked at him from under her long lashes, her gaze worried and kind. 

He could drown in her eyes. He wanted to be able to look into them every day. He wanted to worship her every day. The nausea and panic rose from the depths of his stomach.

‘That isn’t fair,’ she continued, unaware of his internal turmoil. ‘You need to - as you said - be your own man. You need to make your own choices, not have magic make those choices for you.’

‘I know.’

‘We need to do this,’ Marinette turned to face him. Adrien failed to remove the hand that rested on her shoulder. She blushed and smiled sweetly. ‘And I’m not saying that because I want a kiss from a cute boy.’

‘I know,’ he chuckled, despite his unease, blushing even more. ‘Just… let me have this…’ he ducked his head and pressed his forehead to hers. He wouldn’t have dared attempt such an intimate gesture, but he desperately wanted to savor those last moments. He wasn’t sure what he’d remember once the curse was removed. 

Marinette didn’t shy away, just like she hadn’t when they had been talking in her room. She leaned into him instead, wrapping her hands around his middle. ‘Whatever happens, you won’t lose me, Adrien. I promise.’

Each time Adrien thought she couldn’t be more perfect, she proved him wrong. How could she read him like an open book? How could she know him like this?

‘You’re wonderful, Marinette,’ he whispered, his voice cracking. ‘Thank you. For everything.’

She climbed to her toes and reached to his lips. The world fell still.

***

Author’s Note: If you like this story, please let me know!

[icannotreadcursive]

Avengers PSAs: On the COVID-19 Pandemic 7: A Word From Dr. Strange

The camera came on showing the back seat of a moving car, then adjusted itself to focus on a very tired-looking Stephen Strange buckled in and leaning against the door as much as the seatback, red cloak on over his scrubs, hair flattened, hands clasped tightly in his lap, angry red lines dug into his face under his eyes and across the bridge of his nose.

“Hello,” he began with a sigh, “I'm Dr. Stephen Strange—at this point I'm genuinely not sure whether I'm better known as the former world's top neurosurgeon, or as the weird magic man who sometimes works with Avengers. In any case, I'm both, um….”

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath while the corner of his cloak brushed a bit of hair away from his forehead of its own accord. He batted the cloak away with a frown, reclasped his hands quickly, and continued. “It's been a while since I've actually practiced medicine because lasting damage from a car crash a few years ago means I am no longer able to perform surgery, among other things, and then, of course I got a little busy becoming a sorcerer,” He shook his head, smirking a little bemusedly, “but I still have a valid medical license, and this pandemic is an all-hands-on-deck situation, even if those hands are less than steady.”

With another sigh, he held up his hands, palms out, both shaking with uncontrolled tremor, fingers jerking intermittently, the right ring finger in particular inclined to curl in and twitch as though it were repeatedly tapping a keyboard key that wasn't there.

“It's worse when I'm tired or stressed,” Dr. Strange observed to his own hands, turning them over, “and I've just come off a sixteen-hour shift so this is about as bad as it gets.” He rubbed them together then resettled them in his lap. “Of course, by the end of a sixteen-hour shift, I'm far from the only one whose hands are shaking, even if I'm the only one with nerve damage. All medical staff—doctors, nurses, technicians, orderlies, the bureaucratic and janitorial staffs that support us—are going through hell right now. We're at war. We're all running on not enough sleep, not enough food, pretty much relying on adrenalin and stubbornness to get us through the day, hoping that we have the equipment and resources we need.

“I think everyone knows about the PPE shortages we're dealing with, but,” he looked to the ceiling, “I don't think most people understand what that really means, in practical terms.  Yes, it does mean that some frontline workers are simply having to go without the equipment they need to protect themselves, but a lot of the problem is subtler than that. Here at Metro-General we have masks and gloves, we're all wearing them, but none of us are sure that we have enough or how long what we have will last—especially since we don't know how long this crisis will last—so we're trying to make each pair of gloves, each mask last as long as we can. That means we avoid having to take them off. You can see,” he shifted to lean toward the camera, “the lines on my face from having a mask on for hours. The only reason I'm not rubbed raw behind the ears is we've been getting donations from crafters of cloth headbands with buttons sewn to the sides to hold the mask loops.”

He leaned back in his seat. “The cloth masks that people are donating don't replace the disposable masks; we wear them as covers over the N95s to protect them, so if something splashes we can change out the cloth cover—which can be washed and reused indefinitely—and keep using the same N95. Not taking the masks off means we don't stop to eat or even drink water as often as we should. And we know that's a bad idea, we know that we have to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others,” he shrugged, “but it's a very difficult balance to strike right now. We're all doing as much as we can. As people, we're at our limits. As a system, we're at our limit. For our sakes, and the sakes of our patients, we need all of you to do what you can, too. Even if you feel like you can't do much, can't do enough, it's okay. We all have our limitations—I physically cannot safely intubate a patient to get them on a ventilator to keep them alive. I'm not a respiratory specialist and never was, I don't have the expertise some of my colleagues have. But I'm a set of eyes, I'm a brain full of knowledge and experience, I'm one more person to spread the workload to so we all have just a little less on us. And that is what we really need—a little less on us

“So please, stay home, even if your state is re-opening and you're technically allowed to go out—listen to Natasha Romanoff.” He grinned a little, but it barely touched his eyes, dead as they were with fatigue. “Natasha, if you're seeing this, you should know that I think the entire nursing staff here has sent your little admonition to everyone they know. In all seriousness, though, until a vaccine is developed, staying home is the best way to reduce the spread of this disease, which is the only way we in the medical field on the front lines can get this situation under control. And, in the meantime, while you're stuck at home and bored, don't do anything reckless and dangerous in the name of keeping yourselves entertained.

“We just had a kid through the ER today with his skull cracked open because he and his roommate thought it would be fun to bounce yoga balls off each other. Well, he bounced right into the wall. A couple days ago, a teenaged girl came in with a botched attempt at an at-home nose piercing. By all means, color your hair and shave stars into the side of your head, but don't do anything that involves sticking yourself with needles. Last week, there was a woman who'd gotten her finger with her pruning shears while she was gardening. Just, be careful. That includes being especially careful driving, when and if you have to go out or go to work. You do not want to have to go to the hospital right now. Hospitals are, by their nature, full of infected people. You don't want to be here, and, frankly, we don't want to have to expend the time, energy, and resources on you. Obviously, if you need medical attention, please get it, we do want to provide help if you need it, but do me a favor, and try to avoid needing it in the first place.”

He glanced out the window. “I am almost home, so I'm going to wrap this up and go get some sleep. Might slightly abuse some temporal magic to get more sleep than I actually have time for.” He shook his head. “Don't clap for us, don't give us empty thanks—stay safe, stay home, flatten the curve, lighten the load on those of us on the front line. Thank you to all of you who are social distancing, thank you to all of you who are donating money and masks and other supplies, thank you to everyone at HHS and DOD who are working on getting us the PPE and ventilators we need to keep doing our jobs, and thank you to all of my colleagues across the country and around the world. This is hard, and we're tired, but we'll get through this, one way or another.”

The video went black.

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 10 Handheld Games of 2019

With the Switch in full gear and the debut of Apple Arcade, 2019 was another solid year for handheld games. Sequels to many of my favorite games were plentiful, but very few absolutely blew me away. And a few games I really loved (Slay The Spire, Return Of The Obra Dinn, Super Mega Baseball 2) were handheld ports of previous games I didn’t feel super great about adding to my list. So instead, I left this final year of the decade feeling content, and that’s perfectly OK too. So here are 10 games I liked this year, even if I didn’t love them.

10. Tetris 99 (Switch)

I love pretty much all iterations of Tetris. From the iconic Game Boy release I would play in the car, to the Facebook-based Tetris Friends that kept me company through many boring lectures in college, to last year’s gorgeous and powerful Tetris Effect, Tetris is A-OK with me.

Battle royale games on the other hand? Not so much. Despite enjoying shooters in general, I’ve yet to play a single match of PUBG, Fortnite or Apex Legends, and I’m not itching to change that anytime soon. But I found the mechanics of the battle royale genre to translate rather brilliantly to Tetris. It’s a thin experience (even with the expansions made to the game), but it’s an addictive one. And the fact I never quite crested the mountaintop – even if I did get a second place finish to video game Santa himself, Wario64 – is one of my biggest 2019 gaming regrets.

9. Mini Motorways (Apple Arcade)

Dinosaur Polo Club’s previous game, Mini Metro, made my top games of 2016 list, so it’s not surprising to see their latest game show up on this year’s list. What is a little surprising is how much of what could be said about Mini Metro can be echoed here on Mini Motorways. From my 2016 write-up:

Mini Metro wins my heart for its amazing ability to be serenely relaxing and nail-bitingly stressful simultaneously. Watching the train cars move back and forth around the sharp, minimalistic map brings a calming sense of satisfaction, but when the ever-growing amount of train stations hits critical mass, there were few experiences more harrowing this year. The basic strategy is smart and layered, preferring to let you experiment rather than tutorializing you to death up front.

You could remove the word “train” and get yourself a pretty accurate Mini Motorways review. But unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. While I love a lot of what’s new in Mini Motorways – being able to create partial roads to better plan out cities from the start, colorful and sprightly graphics – the strategy and variety on display here actually pales to the previous game. One Mini Motorways upgrade, the traffic light, doesn’t even seem to function correctly. And the fun modifiers in Mini Metro’s different locations like Tokyo’s shinkasen are nowhere to be found here. Every city has a body of water to deal with, it’s just that some are slightly more of a pain than others. That’s not variety.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Mini Motorways and have put a lot of time into it. It’s my #9 after all. But if I had to pick just one to take up space on my phone, Mini Metro is getting that spot every time.

8. Risk Of Rain 2 (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The first Risk of Rain also appeared on my games of 2016 list, and like Mini Motorways, the sequel is good, just not quite as good…and also feels a bit unfinished. But unlike Mini Motorways, Risk of Rain 2 made a bold change, ditching the two-dimensional world and sprite-based graphics for 3D polygons.

Bringing the z-axis to the tried and true roguelike mechanics of the original Risk of Rain makes for a new experience, for better and worse.

The worlds of RoR2 are bigger and more awe-inspiring. The 3D nature makes some classes and items feel more viable (like the melee Mercenary class) and it’s much easier to dodge incoming enemy attacks.

But the shift in perspective is anything but perfect. Just as enemies miss you more, so too will you often miss your own targets. The camera is both too close and yet also too far away, depending on the situation. The levels, after your inspired awe has left you, are barren, and the main objective of hunting for a teleporter to take you to the next area can be a frustrating venture as they are much more easily camouflaged in the polygonal zones.

It’s also just…not done. As of this writing, there’s no final boss fight, just a shrine that lets you sacrifice yourself to say you’ve “won.” There are missing classes on the menu and the artifact modifiers tab says “coming soon.” Last time I checked, the Switch was not an early access machine, and the fact that this version also gets a “Switch tax” makes it go down even more bitterly.

So why would a deeply flawed game like this make my list? Because the core loop of Risk of Rain is still better than most experiences out there. Stacking power-ups to near omnipotence is a blast, and running around with a friend or three in co-op is more fun than ever. Risk of Rain 2 may eventually become a great game someday, but for now, it’s a good game. And despite its issues, it’s still good enough for me.

7. Baba Is You (Switch, PC)

Sokoban meets coding logic; Baba Is You layers these puzzling elements to create something that feels familiar, yet fresh. It’s a simple concept: You push physical words around the self-contained areas to manipulate the level’s rules and collect a flag…or a different win condition if you’re clever enough.

Take the screenshot above for instance. “Baba is You” means you control Baba. “Flag is Win” means you need to touch the flag to win. But say you push the words “is Win” to vertically align with “Baba.” Now Baba is both you, the player and also the win condition, so you can forget the flag. You win automatically!

The puzzles continue in that fashion, ramping up the challenge very quickly (or maybe I’m just not very good at it.) I’m nowhere near mastering it, but for its highly inventive mix of environmental and logic problems, I’ve got an incredible amount of respect for it.

6. Assemble With Care (Apple Arcade)

I’m kind of down on Apple Arcade as a concept (I’d rather just pay for the few games I want and be done with it), but if games like Assemble With Care keep coming out, I might have to soften my stance. Assemble sees you repairing broken objects like rotary phones, cassette players and watches by using the touchscreen to pull objects apart, replace their busted components and piece them back together. It’s wonderfully serene: There’s no time limit, no logic-defying puzzle box qualities, no Operation-style buzzer if and when you make a mistake. It’s just nice.

A lesser game would leave it at that, but Assemble goes a step further, wrapping the repair mechanics with a short, satisfying story with solid writing and voice acting. It’s this year’s Florence, and while it may not be as impactful as that game, it’s a must play for anyone with an Apple Arcade subscription (or a good reason to burn your free trial if you’re not a subscriber).

5. Untitled Goose Game (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Like Assemble With Care, Untitled Goose Game does not hang its hat so much on its mechanics as what it chooses to do with them. There are no fail conditions to Goose Game and what challenge it holds is relatively minimal. But it’s a true sandbox game in that it’s loaded the small town you inhabit with lots of little things to play with and discover. It’s Grand Theft Auto, except they’ve replaced carjacking and shooting with taking an old man’s stool or honking at a kid until he hides inside a phone booth. You’re an asshole, you’re just not a malicious asshole.

A list of tasks helps to keep you focused, but it’s more of a nudge in the right direction so you can discover something else to mess with or people to bother. And once the game is “over,” you get a new, more inventive list of tasks, all with the benefit of the entire sandbox available to you. It might not be the most complex game, but when it comes to the enjoyment of play, it’s one of the best this year.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch)

I’m well known for my aversion to finishing Zelda games. I’ve played almost all of them and have finished exactly two of them (Oracle of Seasons and A Link Between Worlds, probably not the two you’d expect). And despite enjoying it, even the original Link’s Awakening eluded me, so seeing it get an overhaul in the form of a Switch version excited me. Not only was this a second chance for me to play a classic, but it was also another opportunity for the world to see how great handheld games have always been.

Outside of the really well done tilt-shifted graphics, the remake is mostly made up of small quality of life improvements. The overworld isn’t as rigidly screen-based anymore, allowing the player a little more finesse in dealing with enemies. Some equipment, that on the original Game Boy version must be switched in and out ad nauseam, now has dedicated buttons on the controller (never again must you be without your sword). All these decisions allow for the charm of the design to shine through even easier than its original version.

Would it be nice if the frame rate were more consistent? Sure. Is the Chamber Dungeon a completely extraneous and half-baked idea? Totally. Does it tarnish the fun that’s there to be had here? Not in the slightest.

I’m proud to say Link’s Awakening has joined the pantheon of Zelda games I’ve actually finished. Now maybe someday I’ll finish that “Link to the Past” that everyone keeps talking about…

3. Super Robot Wars T (Switch, PS4)

Super Robot Wars X made my list last year despite me having only played the PS4 version. So it feels a little more legitimate to have played the Switch version of Super Robot Wars T this year. It’s still not available in the US (you have to import a copy of the Asia version that comes with English subtitles,) and it’s still an extremely flawed game with its repetitive and uninspired level design and overly complicated systems, but man, I love this bad game so much.

I love tinkering in T’s dense mechanics, upgrading my anime mechs for perfect turn-based strategy synergy. I love jumping through hoops to find the right way to recruit new units. And I still love the over the top battle animations – seriously, if you’re bitching about Pokemon’s weak animations, the video above will show you Super Robot Wars has your back.

Plus they’ve added Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop this time around, so there’s at least one recognizable character from a non-Gundam anime you’ve probably seen in here. That’s…progress.

Look, this game probably isn’t for you, but it is totally for me. And Christmas came early this year in that Super Robot Wars V (which came before last year’s X – the naming conventions are not here to make sense) got ported to the Switch, and last year’s Super Robot Wars X will get ported soon too. That’s a lot of anime turn-based strategy to play, and I couldn’t be happier.

2. Pokemon Sword/Shield (Switch)

After much Internet handwringing from an extremely vocal minority, the new Pokemon games came out. And, what do you know, they’re good. Really good. They continue the slow evolution (I’m so sorry) of the franchise with small quality of life enhancements, a few new features and a little trimming of the vestiges. I appreciate the renewed focus on gyms and gym leaders and the single connected world, even if it basically two circles with a straight bit in the middle.

The new Pokemon are…fine. Very few that I detest, but also very few that I’d be willing to write home about. The new Max Raid Battles are generally pretty cool, but they all take advantage of the gimmick I’m least thrilled about: Dynamaxing. Making a Pokemon bigger for three turns is not all that compelling to me. And the Gigantamax variants with their special appearances are neat, but it’s basically just a worse form of Mega Evolution.  

So yeah, it’s a good entry in the series. And a good Pokemon game is pretty hard to top in my book.

1. Fire Emblem Three Houses (Switch)

Hard to top, that is, unless you’re Fire Emblem. But despite being a new game in my favorite franchise, I was actually dreading Three Houses. The pre-release coverage did not leave me optimistic. Old features I hated were making a comeback (cough, weapon durability, cough). The art style couldn’t hold a candle to the jaw-droppingly gorgeous previous entry, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. And whether Intelligent Systems was admitting it or not, there was a strong Persona-fication at play here (don’t get me wrong, I love Persona, but if you’re going to get your Persona chocolate in my Fire Emblem peanut butter, I’d rather you just make a sequel to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.)

So the hopes, they were not high. But Three Houses exceeded my expectations with a cast of characters I really grew to love. My loveable loser Golden Deer crew went from zeroes to heroes, and the ability to recruit students from other classes meant I got to make my dream team (Hilda, Petra, and Lysithea were my undisputed MVPs) when saving the world.

The story was deep and complex, and hearing how it changes based on which house you align with is pretty cool. I enjoyed the control I had in molding my students, and appreciated seeing them have a breakthrough in something they used to struggle with, and it becoming one of their best qualities. Turning a lazy, valley girl like Hilda into a front line tank and hearing her bitching about it every step of the way was especially enjoyable.

It’s not my favorite in the series, but I’m glad it’s seen pretty universal appeal and sales from the community at large, cementing its status as one of Nintendo’s premier franchises. Someday I will play through all four of its routes, but for now, I’m content with it comfortably sitting as my favorite handheld game of 2019.

[aoibaratraveler]

A Look Back At My Time In Japan Part 1!

Time for some Japan nostalgia!

I was hoping to write this much sooner than now but between settling back after our road trip, finding a job and then finding time to organize my life during my days off has been difficult!

This will be part of a three semi-detailed/summarised blog looking back at what I can remember from living in Japan three years ago; since I was too much of a fool to document it back then but then again I was having the time of my life so that can be a good enough excuse I guess, right?

Part One will be my first month in Japan where I was living in Tokyo with a friend who graciously let me stay in her apartment. Part Two (and maybe three) will be my four months living, studying, and working in Nagasaki and Part Three (or 4) will be my hitch-hiking back-packing trip around Japan in what was my final month of my six months living there!

Pre-arrival/Arrival in Japan and First Impressions:

I was excited beyond belief that I was finally going to go live and explore Japan and be away from home for the first time. I was also super nervous, the preparation to study abroad was pretty intense for someone who had never done it before and for someone who had never gone through the paperwork of visa application, passport renewal and getting all the documents together for the study abroad application itself. Once that was settled though it was just the wait to be able to go (maybe I should write a simple how-to of my experience with the study abroad application and why I think every university student should do it?).  I purchased my departure ticket to be on 29th February 2016 which I thought was pretty cool since it’s not every day you get to fly on a leap year. About six months prior to this I had met up with a close friend of mine who was about to leave for a year to participate in the JET programme and she, we’ll call her L, invited me to stay with her for the month of March in Tokyo to sightsee and hang out before my study program would start in April and of course I took her up on it!

In the days leading up to my departure, I really went all out and planned my own going away party with all my friends and had the best time with an escape game, archery tag and a poutine party. The bf, who at that time was just a friend, met up with me beforehand and helped me pick out a bunch of Canadian souvenir type things to bring with me to Japan so I could give to my homestay family. It was a fantastic day and very special so I had no idea that on the day I was set to leave that one of my other close friends, A and the bf planned to sing me a going away song at the airport (to be clear, the bf didn’t actually sing, A did and he provided the music on his laptop and speakers). This tidbit may a bit unnecessary in my nostalgic walk down memory lane but it is just part of what made those six months some of the best times in my life.

Anyway, enveloped in jitters and excitement I boarded my plane to Japan to start my journey, or as the Japanese say “tabi” (旅). I flew into Haneda airport which is quite central to Tokyo and I then found myself squeezed into a sea of evening commuters on the metro. Unfortunately, when I got off the metro and proceeded to take the escalator out of the station…I dropped my suitcase down it and one of the wheels broke which made walking around Tokyo a tad difficult. At that time I hadn’t realized that there was free wifi pretty much everywhere in Tokyo and while trying to find my friend’s apartment…I got lost for about an hour. It was pretty funny and I wasn’t too worried, to be honest, but I did feel bad to be keeping my friend waiting. I found a payphone to try and call her to tell her what was happening but I ran out of change while on the call (had a bit of leftover change with me from when I had first vacationed in Japan two years prior). After a while of walking around and trying to follow google map’s offline directions, I found a koban (a small police station) and gave the police officer the address that I was trying to find. The police officer was very kind and accommodating and pulled out a map to show me where I was and where I was trying to go (which actually wasn’t too far away…I was walking in circles). He then copied down the address on a big piece of paper with some instructions and hailed a taxi for me since he figured it was late and I should just take a taxi which I didn’t mind. I got to my friend’s place in no time at all and settled myself in.

First Two Weeks in Tokyo:

In my first few days, I took out my Japanese textbooks so I could prepare myself and brush up on things to be ready for classes at my university in Nagasaki and because I was planning to be staying with a homestay family that could speak no English…..well, being that I am pretty much the queen of procrastination, those collected dust pretty fast. Since it was a small apartment and I had a suitcase and big travel rook sack with me, L’s sister advised me to just send it to my homestay to be stored there in the meantime. The Japanese postal service is amazing and although my suitcase was pretty big and heavy they had no problems with shipping it to my homestay in Nagasaki the same day.

L’s neighborhood was quite cute and quiet and super pleasant to explore. It was pretty suburban and away from the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo which I greatly appreciated. Since L had work, I often explored on my own and was able to borrow her sister’s bike to further acquaint myself with the area. One of the days I borrowed her sister’s bike, I rode to Arakawa river which is a huge river just outside central Tokyo. I brought my textbooks along and thought I would spend a quiet afternoon just revising next to the river. I didn’t. Instead I rode the bike along the river and took everything in. There were other people there on runs, some guys practicing skateboarding and an old man playing the saxophone. When I finally got around to sitting down and opening up my textbook, a friendly old man walked up to me and with a big smile on his face asked me what I was doing there and why I was in Japan. I told him and we had a pleasant conversation at the end of which he handed me a bag of something from his garden–I think basil? And then told me to enjoy Japan. I didn’t exactly know what to do with this bag so I just gave it to L’s sister who had been doing most of the cooking in L’s place to include in whatever dish she was next going to make.

In the following days, I did all the typical touristy stuff in that I spent an entire day at one point just walking to and around central Tokyo and taking as many artsy photos as I could manage with my old phone. I explored around the Tokyo Sky Tree, perused Sunshine city—definitely made sure to check out all the Ghibli and Sailor Moon items I could find and get a spectacular view from the 59th floor (the place has 60 floors but you have to pay from the 60th and I ain’t about that life).

At the end of my first week in Japan, I made my way to an Airbnb hostel where I would be spending the next 4 days. This place was pretty interesting and my first real hostel experience. Everyone there was really friendly and I became quite close with my roomie who was the embodiment of a stereotypical German woman in that she was tall, pretty, had long blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She was in Tokyo for a mini-vacation from where she had been staying in Hokkaido and basically just wanted a change of pace. We exchanged stories, shared a few laughs and went sightseeing together. We are both fans of anime so we decided to check out Akihabara and since neither of us wanted to go to one alone, we decided to go to a maid cafe…and boy was that an experience. Firstly, it was super expensive so props to the girls who work there because they probably make a ton of money but it was also just very awkward. The maids put on a performance and called us “master” and refused to take any orders for food from us unless we put our hands up to our faces like cat paws and said “nyaa nyaa” first. Afterward, we did the very cliche anime couple thing and went to ride a pedal boat at Ueno park; it was a very silly but funny day. In the following days at the hostel, the roomie and I explored Shibuya crossing, the Hachiko statue, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno on a rainy day and went to a Pokemon center where I purchased a little Charmander souvenir for the bf (who was then just a friend). It was definitely a very cool little pocket of my time in Tokyo. I ended off my first two weeks in Tokyo by visiting the imperial palace and exploring the royal gardens and…..go to the Ghibli Museum! The Ghibli Museum was beyond impressive and I definitely teared up a bit to be there. It was so cool, we weren’t allowed to take any photos from inside but it was like being transported to another world. On top of the museum was a life-size statue of the robot from Castle in the Sky and inside the museum were all these cute little bits from the movie and a mini theatre where you could watch original Ghibli film shorts. There was also a lovely gift shop with so many beautiful items like illustrated postcards; I purchased a lovely illustrated postcard of the Ghibli museum during the day…which I inevitably misplaced (I’m terrible, I lose everything).

Second Two Weeks:

I met up with a Japanese friend who I had met in Vancouver and we went for a day trip to explore Kawagoe also known as “Little Edo”. I say day trip but really it wasn’t until I got there that I realized that Google had lied to me when I searched best day trips from Tokyo because as lovely as Kawagoe was, it wasn’t worth a “day trip” because it was so small that it could be done in an hour or two! It was really quite funny, to be honest. It was very pretty and had loads of old-style architecture from the Edo period, hence where it got its nickname but there wasn’t all that much to do and a bit expensive to get to so after a couple of hours of walking around and trying to make our money’s worth of the train ticket to get there we decided to head to the next biggest spot to explore; Yokohama. Yokohama was definitely very fun and vibrant and the Chinatown there was great. We snacked on a bunch of samples and enjoyed the pretty night lights of the area. It was certainly a day with a lot of contrast.

The next day was great because the next day L and I headed to Taiwan! L managed to get a week off and so we thought why not explore Taipei during that time and get a little break from Tokyo. I, unfortunately, did not know the geography of the city too well and when I booked the Airbnb it ended up being too far from the centre of Taipei city and hence too far from any convenient connections to explore outside of Taipei PLUS we went right in the middle of the rainy season so it was a bit difficult to do any fun outdoorsy things. We still made the most of our time there and had a lot of fun. We ate at a few night markets and tried a lot of food, explored the area near our Airbnb, visited a cafe that was owned by a family friend of L’s and went to the National Palace Museum which housed tons of historical artifacts from China, it was pretty grand. Even though we spent the last two days of our trip sick in bed I’d still go back to Taiwan again to explore more of what the country has to offer and try more of the food!

Last Week in Tokyo + Night in Fukuoka:

I spent the majority of my last week in Tokyo just chillin’ really and preparing for my departure to Nagasaki, although I did go with L and her sister to do some lesser-known sightseeing in parts of Ginza and did the obligatory visit to the Tsukiji fish market to taste a delicious array of food. As well as some egg on a stick. Good stuff. The last bit of sightseeing that I can remember for that week was in two really interesting parts of Tokyo that not many people think to visit when they explore the city (well this was back then, it seems to have gotten a lot more popular now) known as Yanaka and Nezu.  These two neighborhoods make up what used to be Tokyo old downtown and have really kept their old-timey style. Walking through these neighborhoods felt like taking a trip back to the Show era of Japan and walking through the Yanaka cemetery felt very mysterious and cool. I gotta be honest though, as pretty as these places were, I mostly remember them because of the delicious beef korokke and taiyaki that I had there. 10/10. I’m only in part one of my nostalgia blogs but I’m telling you now that I basically ate my way through Japan.

So it was my final night before heading to Narita airport for my flight to Fukuoka and what did I decide to do? Laundry. Except L didn’t have a dryer and the weather wasn’t warm enough for my clothes to be dried fast enough to pack them up and I’m not sure what exactly happened but I think I broke the washer or something because for some reason the water didn’t drain so it wouldn’t have mattered if she had a dryer because my clothes were soaked. With only an hour to go before I had to be out of her apartment (L was asleep and I had decided to just not sleep that night since my flight was so early and I had to leave her apartment at 5 am), I wrung the clothes out as best I could, packed them in the new suitcase that I purchased in Taiwan to replace the one that I sent to Nagasaki with the wheel I had broken on my first day in Tokyo and was off. L’s place wasn’t far from the train station and I arrived 20 minutes before the first train of the day so I decided to go grab some breakfast and use the toilet at the nearby 7/11. Many convenience stores in Japan have two floors and a seating area so it’s a really nice place to just chill for a bit if you’re waiting for a train. A bit dramatic but I’ll never forget this day for the sheer amount that happened in a single morning. So I said before that I thought I’d use the toilet before heading off for the train and I guess for the first and only time in my life, I left the door unlocked…well a construction worker walked in on me on the toilet because of course. I screamed, he screamed and then he awkwardly and for some reason, slowly, closed the door while I died of humiliation. Anyway, I finally hopped on the train to Narita with tears of humiliation still in my eyes and also simultaneously laughing at myself. There weren’t many people on the train thankfully but I’m sure I was still dubbed a crazy foreigner in the minds of the people that were on the train. Oh, by the way, I may not have kept a journal at the time in a technical manner of speaking but I did have a daily journal in the form of me texting the bf every day (again, he was just a good friend at this point) and sending him long messages of what I did every day. Having him to confide in all the time definitely helped me to not go insane, especially that day and especially since Japan is ahead of Canada so he was still awake at that point. Once I arrived at the airport, I was to be greeted by the news that my suitcase was too heavy to be checked in without having to pay an extra exuberant amount, why you may ask? Because my clothes were still frigging wet. Well, partially owing to that and the fact that I accidentally purchased a heavyweight suitcase in Taipei…oops. After some reorganization of my suitcase and bag and *ahem* throwing out some things that I no longer deemed necessary to my life, I was finally able to be checked in..rather late (everyone was waiting for me, what can I say? I was a mess). Pretty sure I cried in my sleep when I finally arrived at my seat on the plane and passed out.

It was a relief to finally arrive in Fukuoka and the airport was so close to the main train station! It only took about 7 minutes to get there. I obviously got there really early in the day so I walked around Hakata station and explored the area before meeting up with the rest of the people who were part of my exchange program for the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies at the hotel that they were to be staying at and signing in to show that I had arrived. Now I said they were staying at that hotel because of course, I wouldn’t be. But don’t worry, this was by choice, why spend the equivalent of $80 somewhere when the true shoestring traveler way is to rough it up somewhere for little to nothing? It took a bit of searching but I managed to find a family restaurant that was open 24/7 and not too far from the hotel (although sadly had no wifi), left my big ol’ suitcase outside (yay for safe Japan) and headed inside for the night where I did my best to study for the whole night, order some food every now and then and eventually pass out for a couple of hours. The next day I met back up with the exchange group, boarded the bus to Nagasaki and headed to the university to meet my homestay family who I would be staying with for the next four months! (spoiler alert: my homestay mother was about an hour or two late to pick me up and I was, in fact, the last person to be picked up at the university…so yea the first of many reasons why my homestay experience was certainly an interesting one).

[180abroad]

Days 161-162: Munich

Two days after our brief dip into Germany, we dove in for good. Or for a couple weeks, at least.

Once again, we made it to our train with time to spare, but we had to split up anyway because almost all of the seats were reserved. Luckily it wasn’t a very long ride (less than two hours), but we vowed--not for the first or last time--to definitely get reserved seats for all of our long-haul rides in the future (spoiler: we didn't).

Our arrival in Munich went perfectly. We weren’t in any hurry, the weather was nice, we got some tasty sandwiches from one of the many appetizing eateries in the station, and when we found a ticket machine to buy our local transit passes, a couple stopped us and gave us their day pass that they didn’t need anymore. It was only good for the rest of that day, but definitely added to the day’s positive vibes.

We found our tram right where it was supposed to be, and half an hour later we were checked into our flat. It isn’t huge, but it’s much bigger than in Prague or Salzburg, and it’s below ground level. Meaning that it stays nice and cool during the daytime.

Not that we’ll be staying home all that much. We have a lot planned for our week in Munich, and we’re looking forward to all of it.

With most of the afternoon still ahead of us--and a free transit pass in our pockets--we decided to head back into town and wander about. We would need to head that way anyway if we wanted anything for dinner, since all the supermarkets in our suburb were closed for Sunday.

Munich suffered horribly during World War II. Almost all of the city center was damaged or destroyed by Allied bombing. But afterwards, the city worked hard to rebuild itself as closely as possible to what it had been before the bombs fell.

Jessica of course noticed the Bayern Munich FC store, and we found a display window full of cuckoo clocks. (I should clarify that Jessica is not a Bayern Munich fan; she roots for Dortmund in the Bundesliga.)

After stopping for some rest and refreshment at a street-side café, we continued on to Marienplaz, the square that has served as the historic heart of Munich for the past thousand years. It is named for the Virgin Mary, and a brilliantly polished gold statue of Mary stands at its center. Along the entire north side of the square is the spectacular Neo-Gothic New Town Hall, which was built in the late 1800s.

In one corner of the square is a fountain with a giant fish on it. We learned later that although this fountain was made after WWII, there has been a fountain in this spot since the 1300s, and the local fishmongers would actually keep their fish in it during market days.

By pure chance, we arrived just before 5:00 pm, when the New Town Hall’s bell tower glockenspiel show performs every afternoon. The performance lasts around ten minutes and includes bell chimes and dozens of revolving figures. They dance, joust, and feast in celebration of a real-life wedding that took place in Marienplaz in the 1500s.

(Also, Jessica and I still can’t help but be amused that the German word for town hall is Rathaus.)

Once the show was over, we simply walked around the old town for a little while longer. We saw some charming window displays in closed shops, the closed up food market, and the Old Town Hall. Even though pretty much everything was closed for Sunday, there was an intoxicatingly pleasant atmosphere about the place. And it wasn't just the beer everyone was drinking, or even that it was the coolest afternoon we’ve experienced since leaving Scotland.

Our wanderings eventually took us to the Munich National Theatre and Royal Residence, which gets to be called a royal residence because Bavaria was technically a kingdom for about a hundred years out of its much longer history as a German duchy and principality.

Between the Residence and the impressively yellow Theatrine Church is the Odeonsplatz, which was easy for us to remember because Odeon is also the name of major chain of movie theaters in the UK. The square also held a massive, statue-filled arcade--similar to the loggia in Florence. We would learn the next day that this was very much intentional and that Munich has even been called the Florence of the north.

As we wound our way back toward the train station to catch a tram home, we discovered a stark stone column topped with an eternal flame. After translating the inscriptions, we learned that it is a monument to the victims of Nazi tyranny.

We also found an interesting-looking Mexican restaurant, but for some reason Jessica wasn't interested. We were tired, hungry, and in need of a bathroom, so we pressed on in search of a grocery store

After way too long of a search in and around the central train station, we found the grocery store in the underground level connecting it to the city metro. It might have been the only one in the entire area that was open on Sunday afternoons, because it seemed like the entire city was standing in the checkout line. Seriously, the queue wrapped almost the entire way around the store and back to the entrance.

But the line moved surprisingly fast, and soon enough we were back home for a nice relaxing evening. Tomorrow, we would enjoy a guided walk through the city so that we could learn what everything we saw actually was. And we’d get to actually go into all the cool-looking shops that had been closed that day.

The next morning, we met up with our walking tour at the train station--again after a bit of slightly lost wandering. This was the first of several tours we'd booked with Radius Tours, one of two similar groups that Rick Steves recommends. We had a great time and would recommend them to anyone interested in good walking tours of Munich and nearby transit-accessible destinations like Dachau and Nuremberg.

Our tour guide was an Irish man with a golden tongue. It may just be selection bias, but almost every Irish guide we met in Europe was a natural storyteller and crowd-wrangler. There was another American woman in out tour group, and she and Jessica were instant friends.

Just outside the train station, our guide pointed out a courthouse known as the Justice Palace. It still functions as a German district court, but it is most famous as the location of the White Rose trials during WWII, in which anti-Nazi student protestors were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment or death. The trials were conducted by "People's Courts," which Hitler had empowered to condemn enemies of the regime outside the normal judicial process and without regard for constitutional rights.

The execution of peacefully protesting German students without a fair trial sent shockwaves throughout Germany and the rest of Europe. It didn't lead to any open revolts within Germany, but it was noted that people were much less inclined to report student protestors to the Gestapo after the White Rose trials took place.

Before heading into the Old Town, we stopped for a few minutes to admire the Karlstor, one of the city's original medieval gates. Back in the day, this was the edge of a walled city surrounded by a moat. A shiny plaque proudly dates the gate to 1302, but the current structure is far younger than that. Much of the gate was destroyed in an accidental gunpowder explosion in 1857, and the subsequently restored gate has been heavily modified in the years since to accommodate increasing levels of street and pedestrian traffic.

Thanks to the 1972 Olympics, however, Munich's Old Town is now almost entirely pedestrianized.

As we walked down the bustling Neuhauser Strasse from the gate to the central square, our guide pointed out the beautiful Baroque church façade we'd seen yesterday and identified it as St. Michael's, a Jesuit church. It was an important and influential church during the Counter Reformation, but today it seems mainly known for being under perpetual renovation since it was badly damaged during WWII.

We reached Marienplatz just in time to catch the morning performance of the Glockenspiel. Our guide explained that the moving figures are actually references to two different stories in Munich's history. The top level shows a joust that took place at the wedding of Duke William V of Bavaria--the man who founded the Hofbrau as the official court brewery--to Renata of Lorraine. One of the knights is wearing Bavarian colors, and the other is wearing the colors of Lorraine (or Lothringen, as it's called in Germany). The Bavarian knight always wins.

The lower tier of the display tells another story that takes place a few decades earlier during a plague year. When the city was gripped by fear and discontent, the coopers' guild got together and danced through the city to raise people's spirits and show their support for the duke. The "Coopers' Dance" has since become a symbol of perseverance and loyalty.

And as small as all of these figures look from from down in the square, all of the figures are actually life-sized.

We also learned that the New Town Hall was one of the few buildings that wasn't destroyed by the WWII bombings. Ironically, this means that the New Town Hall is actually far older than the Old Town Hall, which had to be rebuilt after the war.

We saw Munich Cathedral, also known as the Frauenkirche, which is visible from around the city with its distinctive bronze-domed bell towers. We learned that when the cathedral was constructed in the Middle Ages, Munich was just a small market town in the shadow of its much older and wealthier neighbor Freising. Over time--and thanks to some political shenanigans--Freising gradually fell under Munich's growing shadow, and today it is chiefly known as the home of Munich International Airport.

But in the 15th century, that was all still to come. Munich wasn't wealthy, so the cathedral had to be built out of bricks instead of stone. The cathedral's one extravagance was to be a pair of massive bell towers topped with sky-scrapping spires. But even that proved too much, and the builders ran out of money. So instead, they capped the bell towers with simple bronze domes to keep out the rain, and they have stood thus ever since.

As an aside, the name Frauenkirche literally translates as “Church of Our Lady,” exactly the same as the many Notre Dames scattered across France.

It was around this time that I noticed I'd somehow put my shirt on backwards that morning, and for the rest of the tour my mind was half-occupied with looking for an opportunity to fix it.

Retracing our steps from the previous day, we saw the Munich National Theater and Royal Residence. We also learned one of our favorite facts of the entire trip--right up there with Col. Shrapnel in Gibraltar.

A long section of the Residence's outer walls are flat with paintings of intricate architectural embellishments. Jessica and I had seen similar designs throughout Europe and had just assumed the day before that this was done out of a similar aesthetic style. But that's not it at all.

After the almost total destruction of central Munich during the WWII, the people of Munich were largely left to rebuild their city on their own. I had always assumed that this had been covered by Marshall Plan--an American program that lent billions of dollars to rebuild Germany and the rest of Western Europe after the war. But the Marshall Plan funds were earmarked for rebuilding Germany's industry and commerce, not its heritage. The rebuilding of all the historic structures in Munich was done with what little money the locals could put together themselves.

They did a fantastic job, but there was only so much they could do. And the Residence, with its extraordinarily ornamented architecture, was simply beyond their means. So the people of Munich did the next best thing: they painted the walls to show what the building would have looked like if they had been able to rebuild it the way it actually was.

Our guide also pointed out the statue-filled loggia and confirmed that it was inspired by the one in Florence. He also pointed out the two lion statues flanking the stairs leading into it. The loggia is directly between the Residence and the Theatrine Church, and the two lions were meant to represent the co-equal powers of church and state in Bavaria.

Turning back into the Old Town, we headed over to the Hofbrauhaus, the largest and most famous beer hall in Munich--as well as one of the oldest. It can seat 1,300 people at once, but for the first 250 years of its existence it was the private property of the Bavarian nobility and closed to the general public. Since 1828, however, locals and tourists alike have been filling its benches and drinking beer by the liter.

When Jessica mentioned that the main beers she enjoyed were wheat beers (hefeweizen or weissbier in Germany), our guide made sure to point out the nearby Schneider Weisse beer hall, where an unparalleled variety of weissebiers are on tap. There are seven different weissbiers in their main line, labelled "Tap 1" through "Tap 7," plus a further selection of seasonal and special-release weissebiers on tap at any given time. All are made by the family-owned Schneider & Son brewery in the nearby city of Kelheim.

Jessica's interest was thoroughly piqued. I had never particularly enjoyed wheat beers before, but I was willing to give it a try. We eventually did try it, and it was fantastic, but that's a story for a future post.

Our last stop was the Viktualienmarkt, a huge open-air food market centered around a massive beer garden. We learned that the beer garden is co-owned by the six Munich breweries, and they take turns so that all six make the same amount of profit. The current brand on tap was Spaten, which is generally considered to be the least-best of the bunch.

We also learned about Bavaria's beer garden culture. Before refrigeration was invented, beer kegs were stored in underground cellars to keep them cool, and trees were planted above the cellars for even more insulation. People soon realized that cool beer and shady trees make a perfect combination in the summer, so they started showing up at the breweries to drink beer and eat packed lunches.

When you visit the Viktualienmarkt or any other traditional beer garden, you will notice a mixture of tables with and without tablecloths. The tables with tablecloths are for traditional table service. You sit down and wait to be given a menu. But the tables without tablecloths are for the traditional picnic experience. You can get a group of friends, wander the market picking out tasty things to eat, then sit down at an unoccupied table and order a cool beer to wash it all down.

After the tour was over, went back to the Hofbrauhaus and had an excellent lunch at the nearby Augustiner restaurant. While Hofbrau is the most internationally famous Munich brewery, Augustiner is the oldest and most popular among native Münchners. While we never had a bad beer in Munich, we'll go along with the consensus that Augustiner is probably the best of the bunch. Which is sad, because they don't export their beer. It's hard to find it even in other parts of Germany.

I had their helles pale lager, and Jessica had their weissbeir. Both were top-notch.

For the food portion of our lunch, we each enjoyed the beer garden staple of liberkäse--a mixed-meat sausage similar to bologna, baked into a loaf and cut into thick slices--pan fried and served under a fried egg. It also came with Bavarian potato salad, which is very different from American potato salad. It is thin and a little vinegary, but light and refreshing on a warm day.

We struck up a nice long conversation with an American guy at the next table who was doing his own extended European trip. I also took the opportunity to run to the bathroom and fix my shirt.

After lunch, we strolled around the shopping area and found a lot of stores selling cute if touristy Bavarian souvenirs. I found a nice stoneware mug that I really liked, but I decided to hold off and think about it for a bit. There was also a nice stationery store where I was severely tempted to buy a bottle of limited-edition Mont Blanc fountain pen ink that was on sale for half the price it is in the US. I didn't need it, though, and I wasn't eager to add a heavy glass bottle to my pack. Plus, I already had my sights set on some bottled inks that were waiting for me down the road in the Netherlands.

Jessica had fun too. She found a new friend at one of the aforementioned Bavarian souvenir shops, and we also found a whisky store specializing in fine Scotch. It seems almost heretical to sell Scotch in this mecca of beer, but we couldn’t resist. Jessica ended up buying a bottle of the Little Bay she’d enjoyed so much in Oban.

Don't worry, though--we never drank Scotch instead of German beer or wine, just in addition to it.

Yes, there was quite a lot of drinking that got done during this week, and we may have gone to bed toasted more times than not. But that didn't stop us from seeing and enjoying a ton of what Bavaria had to offer--including some sites that were truly sobering.

Next Post: Neuschwanstein (and the story of Mad King Ludwig)

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