#i need to replay riders i miss them

[rosetintedjello]

I haven't drawn these two in ages </3

[orcelito]

I take back... SOME of my negativity about fe:engage. Now that I'm out of prolog hell I have decided the fun eclipses the annoyances. For now.

[alsartnook]

Fanfic: Moonlighting Walk

Late night to go home.

Harry x Stanley

Ah, tsp people! Hello! Excuse my inexperience for these posts. Wrote a drabble for me and @atalkingcrow-likething's little au of sorts. Could also be taken as a Clock 0ut escape pod AU. Or a modern AU of sorts. No prior knowledge is needed for this. Characters used are from Sad-ist's Clock 0ut Series.

This is a short story esk writing of Harry and Stanley. In this writing, Harry is Stanley's boss. It is fluff, and very cute. Romance movie trope is mentioned of being kissed after walking someone home. Pretty cheesy and corny, but my little heart needed to write. Tags include spoilers.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Not many, but there is a dream sequence trope in this. There is also talk of being alone at night, if that bothers anyone.

Pairing: Harry Bright x Stanley Rider

Word count: 1,598

Est. reading time: 5:55

Language: English

Style: 3rd person Literate

Enjoy!!

“What? Did you really think that I would do such a thing?”

It was dark. The moonlight flooded onto neat glasses, glimmering in yellow eyes and illuminating light skin. He smiled. “Well, hell if I would know, you crazy goon,” He joked, and his chest crackled like a warm campfire as he found thin lips curling. The night smelled fresh of still air, a still that echoed and yet captivated them both in this cocoon of a bubble which kept them together, feeling like the outside world was miles away, despite it lingering under dress shoes and sneakers alike.

Wind drifted between them as the distant buzz of a car whizzing by on a nearby highway or streetlamps that decided to flicker in and out of life rumbled through the night atmosphere. There was a faint sound of someone closing a door in a house somewhere, and he couldn’t help but notice how the air brushed taupe hair and caressed it gently, causing a gentle sway, alike the way oceans capture waves.

It wasn’t long before he realized he was staring. A smile only seemed to grow as he peered upon the soft skin. He’d already forgotten what the previous topic was- some story he’d recited about something happening in the office. Stan found himself licking his lips. Looking away, grasping for something other than the bloom in his chest.

“Like what you see? You were really deep in thought there,” The taller observed, and- “Ah, you’re so full of yourself, old man.” A chuckle found it’s way into a chest that wasn’t his, and yet he felt his own reciting the symphony, begging to be plastered in his mind, engrained in his body for replay sake. When it ended, he missed it already.

A sigh left lips, and he found himself gazing back at the painting of colors, intricate details of one’s face, moonlight dripping purposefully onto his face like being kissed by none other than the sky herself. It felt like his breath was gently guided away, and yet he didn’t feel he needed it any more than he needed to observe and drink in the gorgeous sight of a familiar person in front of him. Oh, the brown haired could go on for hours, about how the light twinkled his eyes and how the shift of his lips reflected in the lines in his cheeks, like chiseled masterpieces created out of the most breath-taking marble and porcelain the earth could ever create, radiating a warmth through him that lingered and wrapped like a loving parent’s hug on a needing child.

For a moment, he was doubtful of the sigh that escaped those lips, the ones he adored, the ones that shaped his name and spoke it with ease, the affectionate name that belonged to him and him alone being spoken by care and dignity and laced in time throughout the years. Threads being connected like woven blankets with intricate designs, patterned in the most pleasing sight one can muster. Stan thought maybe the outtake of breath meant departure, leaving the shorter with his own thoughts to marvel at what had happened moments before, excited for the next day.

Lovely honey soaked eyes drifted over to his own, meeting in a song and dance he could get lost in, turning to face him. “Well, hm. I know it’s late, and, well, I don’t know how I feel about letting you leave by yourself.” His breath seemed to catch up to him, and he blinked, slow, lovingly, at his company. “Are you saying I am incapable of taking care of myself on the short walk to my humble abode?” He teased, and a head tilted, gaze filled with a pleased dusting.

“No, Stan,” The words reverberated through his chest like the buzz of a phone. “I am simply trying to say I’m worried for you.” And oh, if it wasn’t for this dim light, he knew his flush would be more obvious. If electronically replaced eyes noticed, he said naught. “Worried about what?” He doubted, raising an eyebrow.

“You.” The word winded him. “Why?” He found himself breathlessly questioning back. “I care for you, that’s why,” And even though the voice hesitant, timid, more lying beneath the words and tone reflecting more care than imaginable, he choked on a breath.

“Ah.” He said simply, because he wasn’t sure what else to. What could he even say to that?

A coat brushed against his shoulder as a familiar face walked past him, opposite to where the older lived. An invite, more than that even, a confident step of declaration, a footfall in the direction of certainty, of unwillingness to let protest fall upon his ears.

In silence, he turned, cheeks warming as he followed suit, and saw the man fall towards one side of the concrete. A invitation he perused, hands finding their home temporarily in his jacket pockets. It was unlike him to wear such clothes, but Harry had reprimanded him, saying how he could catch a cold and miss work, and well. There wasn’t a more unequivocally inspirational thing to himself then the mock threat of treading a day without his company.

They walked, quietly, comfortably, and Stan listened to the clack of business shoes against the sidewalk as well as the partnered grit of sneakers. Arriving at his doorstep, two found themselves paused, a capture in time, unwilling for this moment to end. In a welcoming breeze, he breathed in and inhaled the scent of floral, honey, mango, and whatever damned cologne the man used, which was just about the best thing he’s ever smelt, akin to a warm pie or oven filled cookie kitchen. It smelled like warmth. It smelled like home.

Turning to his boss, he found the others eyes grazing themselves with whatever it was on Stan that he found so alluring. He peered down, trying to see if there was something on his shirt. “What?” a self conscious voice asked, and he looked up to see Harry had stepped closer. “Well,” He started, and somehow he found himself expectant, lied in wait for something to happen.

A chuckle caressed his ears like a melody, and he felt like there was no place he’d rather be. “It’s like those movies,” He turned. “What?” He once again repeated, trying to make sense of the other’s statement. “You know, those old cheesy ones, where one person walks the other home.” He only found himself in more question. “Um.. Yeah?”

A shake of the head elicited from the response. “Ah, Stanley, you are really dense,” A smile melted his confusion, and he found he didn’t mind being in the dark. “This is the part where you either invite me in, wave goodbye, or end this beautiful night with a kiss.” Harry instructed, and his heart sputtered.

“Wh..What? A kiss?” Heartbeats hammered in his sickly yearning chest, like a fast paced beat to a song well lost on his memory. He found his eyes lied upon the sight of the chiseled man turning away bashfully, looking towards his front door. Was this the invitation he had been craving for years? Was he hearing this right? Despite his surprised question that was shot back, his words sunk into the silence, dissipating like melting cotton candy in your mouth.

Licking his lips, he suddenly really regretted not applying chapstick in the past hour. “Is that even an option?” He held his breath.

“One of three, yes,” A blue tinted profile never wavered. It felt right, in that moment. Like years of all of this dancing around this grey line, littering grey paint across this fine line of terms, platonic and romantic, skewing the perspective and widening that line until it engulfed them, was finally clearer. There was a open door right in front of him, wide spilled, inviting and welcoming without pressure or doubt.

A grey sneaker found it’s way forward, and a rough palm travelled up. A turn, expecting, returning the paler’s entire face to his gaze, an awkward moment where they lingered, flickering between eyes and lips, both leaning in slow enough that neither picked up on it.

Stan seized forward, gentle, putting years on the line, brushing cold fingers against a heated cheek, letting his chapped lips brush against those smooth, thin ones, capturing them fully. Floral scents tangoed in his scent, dragged against flushed lips slowly as they both cascaded over that line like a dam breaking loose. Parting for only a moment, he closed his eyes, recapturing those soft lips, letting the smooth of skin and scented petroleum smother his own.

It was wonderful. It was all he could’ve wished for, and more. His whole body filled with warmth, like he was always meant to do this, return to his lips and find himself lost in them. It felt like there was no place home would ever be without the latter, and yet at the same time, that with, could make home anywhere. Their lips parted sweetly, and a breath washed over his lips, a huff of a smile. Daring to open his eyes, he was lucky enough to catch the half-lidded gaze so full of love he could drown in it. He couldn’t help but lean forward again, like he was worried this was the only chance he’d get, savoring and leaning into the sensation he’d only dreamed of.

Sandy eyes fluttered open, stinging as birds chirped in his ear. Squinting at the light, he felt the warmth of the bed radiate around him. And he lightly brushed fingers across dry lips.

[tomyo]

I know I suddenly posted a lot of backlog adventure stuff back to back haha but just a little lore building here. I felt some energy to actually try games after the rush of playing KH3. At the same time, games are hard alone bleh.

Next week though, I'm briefly staying with a friend who I might try to play through with on Sonic Riders and Nights. Last year when I visited him, I brought my Dreamcast down and we went through Jet Set Radio on it so this is the next playthrough together I guess hahaha.

I would of liked to play more Dreamcast games soon, however a lot of mine don't actually work at the moment. Shenmue and Sonic adventure need to be polished which is big oof anxiety and to a much less extent, Cooking Mama cook off. Might even trade that one in to be real. I think it'd probably be the most fun for us to one day attempt a Dream Cast Binge together. Shenmue will certainly be....a heavy meal of a game and other games like Time Stalkers and Space Channel 5 would just be fun with friends. I might even bring the 360 at some point so I can force him to do Free Riders with me too hahaha.

In general since basically buying every Harvest Moon game out there (as I write this I may or may not be getting grand bazaar and hero of leaf valley 💀) my attention jumped to my Sonic collection. Basically my biggest gap is with Wii era games surprisingly. When I was in elementary to early high school I was pretty big on the games and bought a lot of them for the sub $15 the GameCube ones cost at that time. There is a distinct pain over the fact the copy of Adventure XD I had I had to return for being to scratched given the prices now and for personal reasons, there's someone who I've wanted to be the one to give me their old copy of even though it won't ever happened hahaha. My biggest desires right now are to get my hands on Black Knight but I've also wanted a 360 copy of Unleashed, Generations, Zero Gravity, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Rush adventure and Shuffle also catch my eye but my wallet hurts enough as is. I really need to stop getting into game collecting.

Part of the reason to bring Sonic up is also because I'll probably be playing a replay of Sonic 06 with the friend who leant me his PS4. He apparently never played it but wants to and I love just... Backseat gaming rather than actually playing. Hahahah. Games can be magical but art takes up too much time in my life now. The switch has been helpful for my more on the go lifestyle these days but I often still run short on free time. Even now Ive been wasting work hours to do KH3 this past weekend.

I guess my final little ramble is back to my HM collection. God it's kinda scary how many games I had suddenly bought at once. I keep meaning to play but I know they're the kinda games I have to secretly dedicate a lot of time towards. If I do end up getting the two aforementioned with my recent impulse gets, I've pretty much achieved most major versions of the game. My biggest other missing ones probs come down to the Og Story of Seasons, A version of Back to Nature, and the FoMT remake. Another wonderful life is on there but I'm starting to question my need for that one when I hate all the bachelors which I'm required to marry. Overall though I've reached what feels like a pretty doable conclusion from all of those.

Playing them however.....is a separate case hahaha. I had briefly started a AWLSE run which I might try to pick up, I want to return to Animal Parade as well over the winter, and a Save the Homeland run should??? Be quick??? I just started a my little shop attempt which is a pretty pick up and put down game so I will likely do that daily with Animal Parade when I play that. Overall I think my biggest scare is the handheld games. They should be easier but they feel harder. I want to do A New beginning the most but the game mechanics are daunting. The DS cute Skye playthrough might end up being the better choice from those right now. Which leads me to question how long will I take to go through all those games since I haven't been playing them over the years like they were meant for.

I think if I do go through end of the year as I intend to, recovering from surgery, I will try to go through a bunch of them.

[missvelvetsstuff]

Miss Velvet

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Y/N is a disabled equestrian and therapeutic riding instructor who helps Tony Stark with his PTSD after returning from Titan. When the Avengers bring everyone back he hires her to work with Avengers and SHIELD hires her as therapist and teaching basic riding skills because you never know when a horse will be the best mode of transportation.

Bucky Barnes is a manwhore who is enjoying his freedom for the first time in decades and pays no mind to y/n when she meets the team because he learned to ride from Hydra and too is busy pursuing his next conquest.

Post Endgame but everybody survived, because I said so. And Steve helped get Sharon Carter pardoned so they are together.

Chapter 8

WARNINGS: angst, vague descriptions of pornographic pics, SWEARING always, I think thats all

Velvet took her new assistant, Bobby, for a tour around her stable and Morgans place, showing him everything he needed to know to help her care for the horses and riders. She also had MJ coming in on weekends to help with event coordination for Morgan's place. Tony hoped to host some small shows to give Morgan practice and prepare her for larger events. Everything was, fine, Velvet kept telling herself. It had been 3 weeks since Bucky had left and she had received one text from him letting her know he would be gone for awhile but that's all. Most of the team was on the same mission but Nat was recovering from an injury and Peter still had school so hadn't gone with them. He did come up on the weekends with MJ and helped Velvet with chores and lessons. Velvet tried not to think about Bucky and what he said before he left but failed miserably. His stormy blue eyes haunted her sleep and the memory of that kiss months ago kept replaying in her head.

After the 5th week Velvet received a strange package, in it were some pics from her rough times after her accident. She was in the middle of some crazy drugged sex act with more than one other person, a few guys and a girl all In various stages of undress. Lines with a pile of white powder, a bong with a pile of weed next to it and tequila shots on the table and everyone was licking, sucking, fingering and/or fucking. She closed her eyes, wondering where this came from as there was no return address and the postmark was Manhattan. She didn't see her ex Roger in the pic so he must have taken it. It was a graphic reminder of the lowest time of her life. But why would anyone do this, what's the point? All the important people at the top already knew the basics of her past but this was much more detailed than what she told them. She didn't think Tony or Fury would care, Steve might but hopefully he would understand. Of course if these were leaked to the public it might become difficult for them to defend keeping her on considering the classified nature of most of their work and the inherent risk of an addict spilling something they shouldn't. It could even affect Serenity as many parents wouldn't want their kids around a drug addicted whore.

Bucky didn't know, they talked about a lot and he knew she had an addiction problem in the past and had done some awful things to feed that addiction but she didn't get into the gory details, hoping to keep it in the past. He was willing to accept what he knew about her but what if this was too much? That thought made her realize that she wanted him, wanted to give him, give them a chance. But what if this ruined it? The stress was spiking her pain and making her stomach sick, she worked so hard to move on from those mistakes but apparently someone didn't want that. It had to be Roger but did that mean he was in NYC?

Velvet sat in her office and sighed, dialing Nick Fury's line to see if he was available today. Unfortunately he was also out of town and Maria had meetings all day so she made an appt for tomorrow, hid the package away and tried to find something, anything else to think of.

In Argentina the team was looking into some suspected Hydra/Nazi collaborators but having a hard time gathering intel on their movements or plans. Bucky was antsy, wishing he could at least text or call Velvet but Steve wouldn't hear of it. Too much risk of being traced. Bucky could barely sleep and when he did he never knew if he would have a good and sexy dream about Velvet or one where the Winter Soldier hurts her or Bucky can't stop one of his enemies from hurting her. Either way he woke up drenched and unable to focus for awhile.

"Wanna talk about it, Buck?" Steve finally asked.

"Dunno what to say, nothing I can do but wait it out till we can go home and hope she hasn't given up on me because of our stressful lifestyle. Talking won't change anything." Bucky responded.

"Maybe a little time away is good for both of you. You were together every day for over a month and that can get intense so some time to think about what you both feel and want might bring clarity to you both." Steve advised.

"Steve, I haven't felt this clear about anything since I fell from the train. Never been hit so hard by a woman"

Steve laughed, "I told you she was something. Sounds like you got bit good."

Bucky smiled for the first time in days "That's for sure"

Steve grinned for a moment then spoke up in a sober tone "theres something about her you should know, Buck. Her accident was that day in DC when you and I fought. She was in a tour van on that bridge. I don't think you were directly responsible but there was a big mess on the road that day and she was part of it."

Bucky coughed "WAIT, WHAT? Does she know its my fault? She can't or she wouldn't even talk to me if she did. I ruined her life. God dammit!! How do I face her now?"

"Nat is supposed to tell her but I don't know if she did or how it went" Steve sighed.

The next morning, Velvet headed over to the compound to talk to Maria about the pics. When she arrived at her office, Maria waved her. "Whats going on Y/N, the look on your face says it's pretty serious."

Velvet nodded "is it alright if I close the door, this is very personal."

"Of course, close the door and have a seat." Once Velvet was settled Maria asked softly "what happened? You look pretty spooked."

Velvet took a deep breath to calm herself "Well, you know how I told you about after my accident, how I got addicted to pain meds and did some awful things to get them? Well, someone sent me pics of one of those horrible things. No return address and postmarked in Manhattan. My ex, Roger, is still in California as far as I know. I spoke to his mom after the snap and he was dusted. I didn't even think about him coming back. Or that he could find me." Velvet teared up "I thought I had put all that behind me. He always promised he would get me back if I left but I thought I was safe here. This could ruin everything"

Maria walked around her desk to hug Velvet and rub her back "it's ok, we'll find out whose doing this and bury the whole thing. I'm going to need the envelope and the pictures so we can get started"

Velvet looked at her, wide eyed "We? Please promise that you will lead on this, I don't need everyone here to see them."

Bucky and Velvet were both stressing out to the point of illness over the recent developments. Bucky was drowning in guilt for breaking her and afraid she wouldn't want anything to do with him. Velvet was scared Bucky would find out about the pictures and not want anything to do with her anymore.

A few days later Nat came to the stable, hoping to take Velvet on a ride and break the news about her accident. Once they had Lexi and Romeo ready to go they walked out the gate and into the woods that Velvet had been exploring for this very purpose.

"So, what's up Velvet? I can tell you have something on your mind." Nat grinned.

Velvet sighed "Just a part of my past that I would like to forget rearing its ugly head. Someone sent me some explicit pics of me in compromising positions during my fall after the accident. Maria is looking into it but I'm scared that my ex will come back and fuck up everything I've worked for here."

Nat looks her in the eye "I won't let that happen, we need you here. This is your home and I'll fuck up anyone who wants to hurt you."

Velvet changes the subject "What's on your mind, Nat? You usually have shit to work thru when you schedule a ride. So what's up?"

Nat looks away "It's actually about you, your accident. Barnes was there in Winter Soldier mode, fighting Steve and me. He was the reason for the pile up that you were part of, that changed your life."

Velvet looks at Nat and snorts "I know." Nat pales "You think I didn't know that? I did have access to the internet even if my memory sucked. I knew before I met Tony. It wasn't Bucky, not really. And I think he's been pretty effectively rehabilitated. It really sucked and I was a mess for awhile but I'm a better person now and have a more fulfilling life than I did clawing my way to the Olympics. On another subject, have you heard from Steve or anyone? Its been ages and all I've heard is one text from Bucky the day they left."

Nat grins "is something up between the two of you."

"I don't know. The day before they left he told me he was falling in love with me and I told him why it was a bad idea and he almost convinced me. I told him about some of my experiences and why I'm hesitant. Asked him to give me the night to sleep on it. Then he left."

Nats grin grew "I knew there was something there. Last I heard a couple of days ago, everyone was fine but restless. Hoping to finish up in time for Tony's 4th of July birthday party for Steve."

"July? That's almost another month. Maybe this is the universe showing me why dating Bucky is a bad idea. This wait is torture." Velvet whined.

"It sucks to be sure but the right person is worth all that so don't throw the idea away over that." Nat counseled.

Velvet noticed the sun was starting to go down and figured they better get back and take care of the horses. Nat helped with chores and they decided to order pizza, drink some wine, nosh on some edibles and watch one of Velvet's favorite movies, Paul. Nat didn't get all the jokes because she wasn't a nerd like Velvet but she caught enough to still enjoy the movie. The edibles helped. Velvet rarely got stoned on her meds but once in awhile she needed to let everything go and this was one of those times. Between the pics and missing Bucky she was a mess.

June 28th, Velvet and Nat were shopping for dresses for the July 4th party. Trying to keep with the theme, Nat found a red halter dress that was perfect, showing off her curves beautifully. Velvet found a long, blue, cotton, off the shoulder dress with a slit up the side and pockets. Casual and comfortable.

"It looks great on you, Bucky will love it." Nat teased.

Velvet frowns "If they get back in time. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Have you found anything about the pics?"

Nat sighed "Not really. I did try to find your ex and couldn't but he's not in Southern California. I have Friday searching with facial recognition so will hopefully know something soon. Don't worry, we won't let him hurt you."

"I know you mean that Nat and he's just a guy against the Avengers but he's very smart and will latch onto any opportunity to get paid. Things have been going so well here and I'm scared he will destroy it all. What will Bucky think about being with a woman who did the things I did?"

Nat gave Velvet a hug "Barnes shouldn't have anything to say about a checkered past considering his."

The team returned on July 1st, tired and happy to be home but no major injuries. Velvet received an email from Maria letting her know they were back and asking her to come to the compound to discuss her other matter.

Velvet went after lunch and spoke to Maria "Please tell me you have some good news, like you found Roger and made him disappear or something."

Maria smiled but it didn't reach her eyes "I wish that were the case. We did find him on a surveillance video from the subway in Manhattan but haven't been able to find him physically yet. We did some searching online and he seems to be in contact with someone here but we haven't been able to narrow it down."

Velvet sighed "If someone here has it in for me it's that bitch Janell. She told Bucky she would make him pay for dumping her and might think hurting me would hurt him since she accused him of having a thing for me."

Maria gasped "Thats right, I had forgotten. I'll have a talk with her." Typing into her computer, Maria frowns "She's on leave till the 6th. I'll bring her in as soon as shes back. FRIDAY, can you notify me when Janell Marshall returns to the compound" "Of course Agent Hill".

Someone knocks on Maria's office door and Velvet moves to leave "Thanks Maria, see you on the 4th"

'I'll be there"

Velvet opens the door to come face to face with Steve and Bucky, and gasps "Welcome home guys, glad no one was badly hurt. See you on the 4th"

They both mutter out a hello and Bucky flushes and looks at the ground. Velvet shakes her head and leaves before she says or does something stupid.

Obviously Bucky has some issue, Velvet hopes he didn't get copies of the pictures but his reaction to seeing her convinces her that he must have. She makes it to her car before any tears fall. All the work she did to get clean, get away from Roger and his influence but it just followed her across the country.

Bucky and Steve go into Maria's office to give their reports from the mission.

Bucky asks "Is everything ok with Velvet? Did something happen?"

Maria looks at him "Nothing serious, we were discussing some regular upgrades to her security system."

Bucky nods and let's Steve do most of the talking for the rest of the meeting. When Bucky goes back to his quarters he sees a stack of mail and just tosses it on his desk to deal with later. He still doesn't know how to face Velvet knowing that he was responsible for her disability and has nightmares of the Winter Soldier hurting her. He woke up screaming.

July 4th. After morning chores Velvet takes Lexi for a ride to help her relax and think. She hasn't heard anything from Bucky since he returned. She sent a text asking if he would be coming back to the stable and received an I'm busy but when things calm down reply. She sighed and figured she'd have to wait till the party if he even went.

After her ride she drove to the compound to get ready with Wanda and Nat. They all chatted and helped each other get ready, not needing to get too fancy for a BBQ party.

Wanda doesn't mean to see anything while she's putting Velvet's hair up in a messy bun but the feelings are too intense and she gasps at what she sees.

"Whats wrong, Wanda?" Velvet asks concerned.

Wanda shakes her head "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to see anything but your feelings are so strong. Are you ok Velvet?"

Velvet's eyes go wide "Wanda, what did you see?"

"I'm so sorry Velvet, I didn't mean to. I saw pictures of you. Someone's trying to blackmail or threaten you over them."

Velvet closed her eyes and sighed "It's ok just please don't say anything to anyone. Only Nat and Maria know. I think it's my ex and Maria told me FRIDAY found him on a subway surveillance camera in the city but they still haven't found him."

"Don't worry Velvet we won't let him hurt you." Wanda promised.

Velvet wasn't reassured but kept it to herself, she just hoped Bucky would feel the same way instead of rejecting her for being an addict and whore, like in her nightmares the last few weeks.

Chapter 9

[marisramblings]

Golden Apple Archipelago (2022) is Genshin’s Worst Event

I cannot think of any game in recent history that has frustrated me as much as this year’s Golden Apple Archipelago (GAA). Genshin hasn’t ticked me off this much, except for Sumeru, but that’s a whole separate can of worms. If I could describe GAA in one word, it would be tedious. Every aspect of this event is tedious. Every quest lasts too long. Every domain is an hour longer than it should be. Every new mechanic is frustrating and repetitive. GAA isn’t hard, it’s boring and painful to play through.

The main draw of GAA is the lore dump. I know genshin dumps lore in books and random npcs, but they couldn’t change things a little for this event? We oscillate between domains designed specifically to draw out boring gameplay or walking around listening to exposition. That isn’t interesting. I would trade every aspect of this event for animated cutscenes relaying this information.

I know game design is difficult, and there is a lot of forethought put into GAA, but it’s horrible. I had to plunge every five seconds to get past the wind tunnel in Kazuha’s third domain. It can’t be turned off and you have to turn the room around to complete it. There is no circumnavigating this, the domain is designed to make you do this. Xinyan’s domain is designed to be replayed. You cannot progress in getting Fischl’s new outfit without replaying this shit. What’s worse is that Xinyan’s domain is the only one worth replaying. I had to look up a tutorial on gaze of the deep. I looked up a tutorial to unlock the final chest in Xinyan’s domain and I couldn’t parse through it. “Go to chest #14 then backtrack to door 3 then cross over to door 1…” It is not worth the effort to replay these domains. Trust me, you will not get every chest on your first playthrough. Why? It’s designed that way. There’s also the issues of holes in walkways and unclimbable walls. It always pisses me off when I’m knocked off into a small corner and fall into a loading screen. There are holes in the bridges, there are gaps that you can reasonably climb but end up sliding down waiting for said loading screen, only to hit the last bit of rock and kill Ayato.

All of this fucking tedium for shit rewards. On Mona’s island, there is a timed challenge that is 2+ minutes and requires you to climb up a large mountain. The reward is a basic chest with 2 primo gems. Remember how I said Xinyan’s island and domain are the only ones worth replaying? They’re the only ones with precious chests. I got 100 primos from them. Mona’s island is about to give me 40. I’m missing a chest in Kazhua’s, but 2-10 primos is not worth the hour and a half it will take me to meticulously comb through his domain again.

Game design needs to strike a balance between difficulty and interest. The game can be the most interesting thing ever, but if the gameplay is impossible to beat, your game sucks. *Cough* pathologic *cough*. Difficult doesn’t equal interesting. GAA balances nothing.This event is supposed to be a “vacation,” but it feels like a chore. It’s artifact hunting as an event. Running through Fischl’s library fighting random hilichurls is not interesting. Being forced to walk after a star is not interesting. Fighting two stone hide lawachurls as you replay Xinyan’s domain is a dick move. It’s not fun. None of this is fun!

There is a main fatui quest, because archons forbid the fatui aren’t involved in a fucking event, there are sub-main quests with the mirages, there are sub quests after you beat the mirages, there are sub-sub quests on the islands a la bake-danuki, then there’s the wave rider that talks? Are these quests fun? Fuck no. Switch the island, switch it again, whoops you need geo traveler since you don’t have Zhongli, but the construct blocks the music blast so that chest behind a wind tunnel is just stuck. Not to mention, climbing up that fucking mountain just to get hit by the wind tunnel you didn’t know was there and watch helplessly as Ayato falls to death, again.

I am playing this event because I love lore and I need primos for Klee, but I am at my fucking limit. Genshin’s gameplay has always been repetitive. You have to grind to get any decent artifacts and those domains are designed to be frustrating. Noblesse Oblige is designed to fuck with you, and you don’t even get a good artifact out of it most of the time. Genshin’s gacha system is better than most, but it still sucks. Why am I rolling on Xiao and getting keqing? Why is the standard banner also on limited banners?

Sumeru is a goddam travesty, but since a good chunk of you guys are racist as hell, I know it’s not a strike against the game for you. GAA is a failure on several levels. The game will eventually become computer only because there is no way 7 nations is running on an iPad or galaxy. Hoyo needs to get it together, quickly.

[whimsicallyreading]

Eight Second Ride

Okay, so I did a thing. This is for @charincharge​ who made me think this was a good idea and @wordsxstars​ who convinced me to post it anyways when I reconsidered. XD I hope y’all enjoy. 

CW- An inaccurate portrayal of modern cowboys. They ain’t shit y'all. XD 

The smell of hay and top soil fills the arena and Aelin can feel the anticipation of the crowd rushing through her.

So far, Bulls Night Out had been more epic than she was expecting. When Aedion had showed up at her apartment and presented her with the tickets, she wasn’t impressed. A night in a building filled with dirt, watching men attempt questionable things with animals wasn’t exactly her idea of fun.

Yet, with every near-fatal miss and the difference between victory and failure lying in the milliseconds between competitors- Aelin found she was quickly becoming invested in the bizarre sport.

Lorcan Salvaterre was the name highlighted at the top of the leader board with an impressive nine-point-one second ride. A lot of the men, she noticed, didn’t even make the minimum eight seconds before flying off their bull.

Aelin had watched in morbid fascination as a rider named Vaughn was tossed and narrowly escaped death. A hoof missing his head by a hair. His buddies had helped pull him back over the fence just as a gate at the far end of the arena opened. She watched as two men on horses roped the angry steer and guided it back towards the stalls.

When Vaughn saw the timer which now reads N/A he took off his hat and threw it on the ground, yanking on the ends of his dark hair. A couple of hands reached around to pat his shoulder consolingly.

Aelin’s attention was pulled away as Aedion squeezed his massive thighs through the tiny, crowded stadium seating. A cherry frosty in one hand and the funnel cake she requested in the other.

He set the dessert of fried batter and powdered sugar in her lap, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest. Whether it was from the sight of something so greasy, or the pure joy of the carnival snack she didn’t know.

“It’s about time,” she goads Aedion through a mouthful of dough. The sugar already coating her fingers and a layer of it dirtying her jeans. It was a mess, but so good.

Aedion’s eyes narrow at her as he sips his frosty, “It’s a mad house down there. All of the lines are like a mile long and I’m pretty sure a clown tried to grab my ass.” He snags a bite of her funnel cake and shoves it in his mouth. “I hope your snack was worth it.”

“Keeping me happy is worth it,” she smacks his wrist when his fingers try to swipe another bite.

The crowd roars and Aelin looks back down to see a rider running back towards the fence, a glinting smile on his face. On the big screen, they replay his ride and clock him at nine-seconds even, placing him in second place.

Aedion whistles appreciatively at the footage and Aelin claps when a Fenrys Moonbeam is placed just below Lorcan on the leader board.

“Damn, he’s attractive.” Aedion comments, and Aelin nods enthusiastically.

“I’m not going to lie. I was skeptical about this-“ they watch as another rider is helped onto a bull and they await the go, “but this is way more fun then I thought it was going to be.”

“It helps that all of these people are fine,” he laughs. Aedion pulls out his phone, and videos the next ride. It only lasts five seconds, but makes an excellent boomerang that he swiftly posts to his story. Followed by a selfie of them and their snacks.

Lysandra would be so mad she bailed.

“Shit,” Aedion swears as he drops his frosty and the red ice bursts across the front on his shirt. “Shit. I forgot napkins.”

“I’ll go get some,” Aelin assures, but as she battles her way through the crowd and bumps various limbs against other peoples body parts, she regrets her chivalry.

It takes five minutes alone just to get to the bottom of the stairs. Pulling herself free from the throngs of people, Aelin leans against the bars looking down, directly into the arena. She needed a moment of fresh air, not surrounded by dozens of sweaty people. Aedion could wait an extra damn minute.

But, as she peels her eyes open, they nearly bug out of her head. Directly below her she can see right into the shoot, and the bull rider who was being set up for his next ride.

His eyes are the same pine green as the forests of her homeland, and she can see the white hair coiled into a bun right before his buddy slaps a hat on his head.

He was beautiful. A work of masculine art. Muscles for days and Aelin swore she could gut glass against his cheekbones. Aedion’s napkins are long forgotten as she stares at the man situating himself onto the fidgeting bull.

Rowan Whitethorn- the name is plastered on the big screen alongside his previous states and homeland. He’s from Wendlyn, her mother’s country of origin.

When Aelin looks back down, she startled. His face is locked on hers, green eyes piercing her skin with its inquisitiveness. He’s close enough she can see his pail eyelashes droop, apparently satisfied by what he sees. Aelin forces her expression to stay neutral as his yes flitter back up her face to meet her own gaze.

Their eyes lock, neither of them blink. Aelin can feel the temperature of the building rise by several degrees and she bites her lip.

A man slaps Rowan’s shoulder, telling him the count down has started. He barely pays the person any mind though as the seconds before his ride dwindle down. Just before the horn blows, he winks at her.

Aelin’s whole face burns as the gate is released and Rowan is out of the shoot like a rocket. Her heart is thumping in her chest like a base drum and she’s about ready to lay on the floor and die.

That man. She caught that beautiful man’s attention and got into a veritable starting contest with him like a five year-old. Her horror is only exacerbated when she realizes her hands are still coated in powdered sugar and it was probably on her face as well.

So much for her image as smoldering, goddess.

A roar from the crowd rises like never before. The men above the shoots near her have their hats off and are cheering at the top of their lungs. People are stomping, clapping. Something big just happened.

A replay of Rowan’d ride is playing across several different screens. Below his name, is his time.

Twelve seconds.

Suddenly, a pair of calloused hands are gripping the rails near her face, and a heavily muscled body is pulling itself up and over the edge.

Aelin staggers back as Rowan drops onto the floor in front of her. His eyes are lit with adrenalin and sweat beads his brow, but despite the whirlwind he’d just gone through he looked strangely serene.

He marches in front of her grabs a paper from inside his pocket. It’s a crumpled paper with a bold number on one side and on the back is his name and information.

Information like his phone number.

Her mouth goes dry as he presses it into her hand. Rowan gives her a smile that sends a tingle down her spine and makes her toes curl in her shoes.

“You are good luck, doll. You should give me a call sometime.”

Aelin’s bravado catches up with her and she places a hand on her hip, meeting his gaze full on. “If I’m such good luck then you would take me out for a drink. Tonight.”

Pulling the hat from his head, Rowan combs a hand through the loose strands of silver hair cascading around his face. “I think I can manage that.”

“I’ll be in row ten, seat seven. When you are done.” She pushes the piece of paper back at hum and nods to where Aedion is sitting. He’s be pissed when he realized she would be ditching him.

“I’ll see you in about an hour,” his eyes rake over her one more time before walking away to join his jovial friends.

They clap his shoulders, he’s so tall some of them have to jump to rustle the top of his head. All of them enthused over his almost assured win, before they sweep him away and he disappears into the crowd, he looks back at her one more time.

An hour, she mouthes to him.

A half-grin graces his face and he tilts his chin as Aelin makes her way back to Aedion.

Yeah, the rodeo was definitely more exciting then she was expecting.

[purplestrawberrywerewolf]

Sparring and girlfriends

Chapter 3 of Raya and her brother oneshots. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31347410/chapters/77516774#workskin

3)

Sparring and girlfriends

“I swear, your brother hates me, Raya”  

“My brother does not hate you Namaari. You know how he is, he can be a bit hard to read”

“No, I’m sure he hates me”

Raya rolled her eyes as Namaari listed on about how Quan hated her. “’Maari, I think you need sleep” she excused. Namaari rolled her eyes. “No, Raya-”

“I’m not hearing any of this” Raya walked out the kitchen as Namaari sighed. No, she knew Quan had it out for her since they became Kumandra again. It began when her and Raya were starting to become friends again. Whenever she would hug the princess or even give her a kiss on her cheek, her older brother’s eyes were fixated on her, almost as if he was planning his revenge.  

Even when she wasn’t around Raya and was just in Heart in general, he would send a few glares her way. And when they started dating, it got worse. He would purposely hide her things or when he and Raya were sparring and Namaari wasn’t far from them, he would ‘accidently’ throw his spear at her, barely missing by a hair. “Sorry, Namaari. Didn’t see you there” he would say almost mockingly.  

She knew he hated her. No, DESPISED her. She knew it. But every time she would bring it up, Raya would roll her eyes. “You’re just being dramatic” she says.  

Namaari walked out the kitchen to find Raya when she almost ran into someone. “Sorry, I-” it was him. Quan looked at Namaari with irritation before turning into the kitchen, making sure to shoulder bump her as he did.  

She took a deep breath before going into the kitchen where the prince was. “Why do you hate me?” She demanded. Quan was pouring himself some soup when he heard her.  

“I don’t” he answered simply. Namaari scoffed. “Yeah, okay that’s why you’re always giving me glares right? Or always making sure you make my visits miserable?” She asked irritated.  

She knew Quan was losing his patience. “Fine.” He placed the bowl down and Namaari’s heart skipped a beat in nervousness. What was he going to do? Hit her? Fight her? What?  

“The reason I don’t like you is because of what you did. Yes, I know everyone has forgiven Fang, but I’m having a hard time. Especially because you hurt my little sister in the process of breaking the dragon gem”

Namaari stayed quiet as Quan explained. “And now, not only are you back here, but your dating my sister now. So now, it’s twice the paranoia” he said. Namaari scowled. “What, you don’t trust me?” She asked. Quan glared. “No, not at all. I don’t trust you with Kumandra, and I don’t trust you with my sister. Now that you’re dating her, now I gotta keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t hurt her. Because if you do, so help me Namaari, I will make sure you wish you were never born” he growled the last part before walking out the kitchen, leaving a shocked Namaari.  

*

“He threatened me! Can you believe it? And when I told Raya, she got mad and walked away and hasn’t spoke to me all day. What do I do now?” Namaari ranted as she paced back in forth in the Heart guest room. Her Serlot Mai was lying on the floor in front of the large bed as her rider ranted,  

“I need to do something”

“Do what?”  

Namaari yelped when she heard a voice appear behind her and noticed Sisu. “Sisu” she greeted as she bowed. The dragon laughed. “No need for that. I just wanted to see what was going on. Who are you talking to anyway?” She asked.  

Namaari glanced at her cat. “My...cat” she answered. Sisu nodded. “Okay, so what’s going on?” She asked. Namaari sighed. “Quan hates me” she revealed. She expected a shocked reaction from the dragon but instead she shrugged. “Yeah, everyone knows that” she said.  

Namaari’s eyes widened. “What?” She asked. “Namaari. Everyone knows that he isn’t a big fan of you. But the thing is, I’ll help you” she offered. Namaari raised an eyebrow. “How?” She asked.  

“Look, the thing is, you don’t need Quan to like you, but you need him to respect you” she explained. Namaari nodded in interest. “So, challenge him for Raya’s hand” she said. Namaari’s eyes widened. “What? B-but we’ve only been dating for a year”

“And he’ll be hating you for more. So, do it. Challenge him and make him respect you, and boom.” She explained. Namaari thought for a moment. This was a good way to ask Raya, and to have Quan’s respect. “Okay, let’s do it”

*

Quan fell to his back with an “oof” before a foot set lightly on his chest. “Too short, eh?” Raya stood above him as she pointed her sword to his chin. The older sibling chuckled before he pushed the blade with a gloved finger.  

“Touche, Ray” Raya removed her foot before leaning down and helping the taller up. Raya groaned as he ruffled her hair. “Stop! It took so long to get this look” she complained. “Oh shut up” he laughed.  

“Quan!” Both siblings looked up to see Namaari standing in the middle of the training grounds. Raya raised a brow. “’Maari? What are you doing here?” She asked.  

Namaari swallowed a lump in her throat. “I-I came to see your brother” she answered. “What? Why?” She asked. Namaari drew her swords. “Quan! I challenge you to Raya’s hand!” She yelled. Gasps of bystanders rose.  

Quan glared at the Fang princess. He felt a tug on his arm and looked to see Raya. “Don’t” she pleaded. He shook his head. “I have to” he took a few steps toward the princess. “So be it” he answered. Namaari felt her arms shake in nervousness when she realized everyone’s eyes were on them.  

Soon, they both ran at each other, their swords clashing and creating a spark as they did. Namaari twirled and knocked the prince off his feet and he landed on his behind before looking up at the girl in irritation. Namaari kept herself from flinching as he stood up again, and their swords clashed before she went at him but he jumped and flipped over her, and landing behind her. Gasps lit up at the action.  

Namaari felt sweat on her brow as they fought. She could feel his anger and hatred toward her through their fighting, his blows getting stronger while hers got sloppier by the minute. She dodged a blow before getting up and try to swing at him with one of her swords, but he caught her wrist and snatched the sword out of her hand and kicking her in the chest, making her fall on the ground.  

She landed on her back as the prince of Heart hovered over her. “Give up princess Namaari” he practically spat. He raised his sword when another knocked it out his hand. Both prince and princess looked over to see who had done it and saw Raya holding her father’s sword as a look of shock and anger, along with some sadness painted her features.  

“That’s enough! What is wrong with both of you?!” She demanded, her breathing getting ragged and heavy from emotion. Quan looked at his sister in shock before glancing at the Fang princess. “I just want you guys to at least tolerate each other. Is that so much to ask for? W-why can’t we have a nice dinner without you trying to rip out her throat and you trying to fight my brother?” She asked them both. She then put her sword back in its holder.  

“Talk to me when you’re mature” she finished before she walked out the training grounds, leaving both lover and brother behind.  

*

Namaari sat on the balcony of the palace as the sun set. She replayed the scene in her mind. Her and Quan fighting, and Raya stopping them before storming out the training area. She leaned against it as thoughts raced her mind.  

“Hi” she turned to see Quan standing next to her. Namaari glanced over. “Hi” she answered. Quan sighed. “I’m sorry” he apologized. Namaari looked over in surprise. “W-what?” She asked.  

Quan chewed his bottom lip before repeating it. “I said, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for always glaring at you, and sending you threats. It's just...” he trailed off before he continued with a deep breath.  

“Raya’s my baby sister, and after the Druun hit and we were alone for 6 years, I made it my job to protect her. Especially when you were chasing after us when she stole the Fang scroll” he explained and Namaari listened. “After everything, even though I know she’s 18 and grown, I can’t help but see the little 12-year-old that was always with me growing up. And now that you guys are serious, I know you guys might take the next step and... get married. And I know it’s supposed to be a dad thing, to get worried about their daughter, but I'm making it an older brother thing now. I love Raya, she’s my sister and I only want to protect her” he paused. “But I also want her to be happy. And if being with you, makes her happy, then so be it. You have my blessing to marry her” he finished. Namaari’s eyes widened. “Wow...thank you, I honestly thought you would fight me until the death” she chuckled. He let out a small laugh.  

“Hmph. I would, but I don’t think my sister would be happy with me killing her girlfriend” he joked. Namaari laughed. He stuck out a hand. “Friends?” He asked. Namaari smiled before shaking his hand. “Friends” she said. “Also, my statement still stands. If you hurt my sister, I’ll send Tuk Tuk after you” Namaari giggled. “Okay, I’ll remember. But we should probably talk to Raya” she suggested.  

*

“Are you guys done?” Raya asked while reading a book. Namaari and Quan stopped walking in shock. They found Raya at the royal library when they went to look for her. They were walking towards her, when she had spoken up. “Uh, well yeah. We’re done fighting each other. We realized that your feelings also matter and we’ll do our best to at least tolerate each other” Quan explained. Raya placed the book down and looked at the two. “You better” she said before getting up and pulling both warriors down for a hug.  

“I love you guys” Raya whispered.  

“We love you too”

…...

“Quan stop glaring at Namaari”

“I’m trying!”

[wangxuzhao]

Pick a Deck; Your Person's Feelings & Messages 🍁

choose a deck or crystal to learn about your person's current thoughts and feelings! 🌾

i recommend you take a few moments to breathe to clear your mind and choose with your intuition. please remember that this is a general reading and some messages are simply meant for another people. take what resonates and leave if there's any that doesn't. i would really appreciate feedback~💌

Rider-Waite Tarot and the amethyst:

your person thinks that you are perfect in every aspect. you really are their dream person. they daydream about you, and wish for you. with the six of cups, this person might be an ex, but they don't have to be as this is a general reading. also this card makes me think of puppy love. very innocent, no bad intentions. as of now, they have so much admiration for you, but i feel like it's admiration from far away. they are probably not expressing their feelings, and that is because they think you are way out of their league. you are glowing up, and they might think that you have many suitors. i see many feelings but not much action as of yet. they seem to get anxious when they think about confessing to you. you might want to give them a clue?

Golden Klimt Tarot and clear quartz:

this person is in love with you. this is an ex for most of you, or a partner that you're currently not in communication with. they might've did you wrong recently, but this person sincerely wants to apologize and come back to you because they miss you so much. i see them with earphones in, listening to sad songs and thinking about you. for many of you, this person will come in very soon. others of you, i'm not sure if they will, but they really want to. this seperation phase made them realize how much you actually mean to them, and that you aren't just some fling, they are serious about you. and they really want you to know that.

Wizard Tarot and aquamarine:

even before i pulled the cards i felt this really heavy energy wash over me, like my energy suddenly dropped. there is so much sadness in this person, they're really heartbroken about you. i feel like they stay up all night until the sun comes out. and they might've turned to some bad habits like smoking/drinking just to calm their mind. like, what happened? they keep replaying these beautiful, happy memories with you in their mind, they just want to go back to the good times. but they really can't for some reason. they need to go through this, they need to be alone for now. because even if they want to talk to you, come back to you, i feel like there are other factors in their life that you might not know of yet.

i hope you liked your reading, please feel free to share some feedback or give me a follow~��

[hiro-gari]

Because I've been missed my boi Badd, can I ask for a headcanon/oneshot (whichever do you wanted) about him after Badd was awoken in hospital and decided to pursue Garou? Like, you could write his inner thoughts or his new curiosity about Garou. You could make it shippy or not, it's your choice. I just love Batarou, be it them being romantic or platonic. Thank you so much, I hope you have a good week! 😘💕💖

I’m sorry this took me nearly a week to respond to!! I missed this boi too 💞😭Here’s a little oneshot of Badd’s internal reflections after fighting Garou, a monster like none he’s faced before, during his hospitalization post Super Fight Arc.

It turned out a little more angsty than I wanted it to but I hope you like it still

Gray Areas

“We're so quick to go to make things black and white, and to put things in their box. But everything is this mixture - and that's what this world is - is this blend of different things.” -Matisyahu

Warnings: Injuries, cursing

The sky was a dark, condescending gray. The cool wind brought a welcome rush of fresh air to the man who leaned up against the stairway railing, taking in the sight of the city from the roof.

Though hardly recognizable with his tousled hair and battered body, it was S-Class hero, Metal Bat.

To his relief, he had finally convinced his younger sister, Zenko to go home and get some sleep for school the next day. Though she initially vowed to stay by his side until he was released, she had finally conceded. After ensuring she was well on her way, Badd seized his chance to escape the sterile blandness of his hospital room and tenderly made his way to the roof.

-

None of the other heroes in the hospital had dared to confront him about his fight; not since he had lashed out at one of the injured martial artists from the Stadium that had questioned him.

“You call yourself an S-class hero? Then how is it that you’re here and the hero hunter is reportedly unscathed?”

Badd had sent a cart of empty dishes flying into the wall, causing a crash that hushed the other patients in the cafeteria.

“What kind of guy goes bashing in heads in front of his kid sister?! You expect a hero to kill someone in front of a little girl? You don’t know shit!”

The murmurs began amongst the onlookers as one of the nurses tried to calm him down and escort him back to his room. Some of them reacted in disbelief. Many echoed the speculations of that martial artist; the notorious Hero Hunter just walked away when confronted by child? No, Metal Bat must have been outmatched, or worse, he’d lost his resolve when faced with a human enemy.

Not a human enemy, Badd brooded to himself, he’s a hero hunter, a stinking monster like all the rest.

-

Despite several days passing since the ordeal, he could hear his name being spoken in hushed tones behind closed curtains, almost inevitably followed by “hero hunter”. Hardly any of them would even make eye contact when he saw them.

If Zenko hadn’t shown up before the finishing blow, I would have ended that monster right there, he reminded himself again.

But there had been a moment, just a fraction of a second after he’d frozen mid-swing at the sound of Zenko’s voice, when Garou had stared up at him. The sight of his face in that instant still lingered in Badd’s mind, gnawing at him no matter how hard he tried to forget it.

-

To make matters worse, the press had just announced to the world that the executive’s son he had been guarding had been taken hostage by the Monster Association. Of course, Zenko had been with him when the news broke.

“They’re holding that boy captive to lure in heroes? Why doesn’t he just stand up to them?” She said indignantly, as thought it was the obvious solution.

Badd sighed, remembering how the pampered little brat and his father had shrieked and cowered at the mere sight of a monster.

“Not all kids got guts like you, Zenko. And even if he managed to confront 'em, they’re monsters. They don’t care if it’s a kid, as long as they’re gettin’ what they want.”

“They don’t care if it’s a kid…” She grew strangely silent after that, seeming deep in thought as the news anchor prattled on about the Hero Association’s failures.

Shit, I can’t be talking doom and gloom around her. She might be fearless, but this ain’t somethin’ she should be worrying over. The news channel replayed the clip of Elder Centipede swirling through the air, reducing entire streets to rubble in seconds. I gotta get back out there. For her sake, for everyone’s sake-

Zenko turned to him, interrupting his thoughts.

“Big bro, that guy you were fighting in the street,” she started, with an inquisitive look, “was he really a mon-”

“H-hey look!” Badd exclaimed with false excitement, pointing to the TV. “They brought Amai Mask on!”

“Sweet Mask!!”

-

Badd was snapped out of his reflective trance by a sharp sting.

“Goddamn it,” he grumbled under his breath. He’d been picking idly at a bandage that had started to peel off his arm, tearing at the forming scab underneath.

She’s so damn perceptive for her age. Yes, Garou ended the fight once she stood between us, but there’s no way in hell it was for her safety. Monsters like him don’t think like that, unless...

Unless he’s a damn fake.

Badd was no stranger to fighting villains and monsters. He’d already eradicated hundreds in his few years since joining the Hero Association. He had grown familiar with the crazed ramblings of beasts lacking any sanity, and the delirious grins of the sick maniacs who attacked people for the joy of it. It was part of what made smacking a bat in their face so satisfying.

Why can’t I get the look of that bastard’s face out of my head? If I’d killed him in that instant, wouldn’t it have been for the best? After what he did to the Tanktop brothers, even poor Mumen Rider!

Badd groaned exasperatedly as he felt the first misty droplets of rain hit his face. He slid down to sit on the top step of the staircase, unwilling to resign back to his room. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand and stared into the dimness of the hall.

That look on Garou’s face, it wasn’t like a monster at all. In those gold eyes, there’s the same look I see in the mirror.

Just a human being, risking his life to fight for somethin’ he truly believes in.

The door to the staircase opened unexpectedly, startling Badd into standing at once. He gritted his teeth at the pangs in his leg after the sudden movement. The nurse who had started up the steps was wringing her hands together anxiously.

“Metal Bat! What are you doing up here? It’s going to rain! You need to keep your bandages dry!”

“Tch, don’t get all motherly on me,” he responded sharply, “I was just heading back anyways.” She gave him a wounded look as he rejected her offered arm to help him down the stairs.

Nice goin’, Badd. Very hero-like. He scolded himself.

He grumbled an apology and brushed past her down the stairs. He forced his face to remain stony to ease her concern, ignoring the shooting pain each step sent up his leg.

He got me good, damn bastard, I don’t care what he is! He concluded firmly.

Once we bash that Monster Association into the ground, I’ll make sure I’m the one to teach him a lesson about heroes and monsters.

-

[unstoppableforcce]

a fragile alliance

no request- just something i had, poe with a first order ! reader.

Poe Dameron x reader !

this is something I wrote a very long time ago, so no TROS spoilers but def more to come if y’all want. it’s angst. it’s pure angst. bc I excell at that.

“Black leader, you see that?” A voice came over on the crackling radio in his ear. And he did. How could he miss it?

The small black single rider plane that every resistance member was told to watch out for, the one containing one of the most feared members of the First Order, you, plummeting to the surface of the small jungle planet. If they could take you out, it would be the biggest leg up on the first order they’d have in while. A sense of pride even surged within the Commander, you had a lengthy history with the First Order, leaving a trail of bodies in your wake. But the voice in his ear said differently.

“Commander Dameron, you are to take a unit to the surface of Bluscant, search for the remains of that ship, take any survivors into custody for interrogation.” The orders were orders, but he despised them. 

They deserved to be left to suffer. He shot you down, he thought you deserved to stay there. 

“Yes, sir,” Dameron responded before ordering his men to the surface with him.

They parked outside the jungle, watching as the smoke from the crash raised higher into the sky. Poe order two men to stay at the ship and another two to follow him, all the way until they reached the crash site.

It was a short hike to get there from the clearing where they parked, but soon they saw the crashed plane. The whole thing was on fire and he hoped you were inside. He didn’t normally see such red but he couldn’t escape it now. 

He wasn’t that lucky, however. While the ship burned plumes of smoke, he spotted a stormtrooper body laying just outside the wreck. 

You were laying up against the side of the crater, hand gripping your side to keep your insides where they belonged given the significant wound that sliced you. Another gash about your forehead, spilling blood down your face. Yet you managed to keep a strong grip on your blaster with your free hand, unconscious but holding tight. 

All of the movement around was all it took to wake you, barely shaking you from your blurry consciousness, but enough for you to feebly attempt to lift your blaster in defense. You barely got it a centimeter off the ground before groaning, a violent stream of pain shooting through you. He kicked it from your hand before you had the opportunity to try again. 

“Base wants us to bring back survivors.” His Lieutenant quickly reminded him. And he very clearly needed him to remember. Because all Poe wanted to do was leave you stranded to die.

“Yeah. Patch her up, and cuff her.” He ordered while rubbing over his face.

“Are cuffs really necessary?” The other man questioned as he kneeled next to you, pressing two fingers to your throat for a pulse, faint but there. 

“She’s got a kill count in the thousands. I wouldn’t take my chances.” Poe argued, crossing his arms over his chest. It may have been an overstatement, but it certainly didn’t feel like it.

The number of reports he had read with her name on the cover. 

“283-3” You muttered out groggily, catching his attention briefly. 

“What?” He questioned, stepping closer but not getting in the way of his two counterparts who were patching you up for the trip home.

“Is he dead?” You finally murmured with enough strength to be heard. Poe could only assume you were referring to your stormtrooper, the one nearest the crash. The dead one. 

“Yeah.” 

Your eyes clenched with pain through the entire procedure, but something in your disposition changed as you hear the news. Slightly more distressed, and he couldn't figure out why.

“I tried- I” The lieutenant administered the sedative, trying to avoid the shock of pain killing you before they could get you back. But he knew what you were trying for. You were trying to say that you tried to save him. He couldn't decide whether it was notable or not given the record she had. The pain in his heart ultimately told him it wasn’t.

“Will she make it back to base?” Poe questioned, kneeling next to them as they pressed the bacta patch to your stomach and wiped the blood from your face.

“If she’s lucky.” One responded and Poe had to hold back a staunch laugh in response.

“We should just kill her,” He shook his head and pulled away, leaving them to carry her back. There wasn’t much in the way of bloody vengeance in his soul, just enough for you.

When they landed back on base, you were taken to the med bay much to Poe’s dismay. He knew who you were. A commander, like himself. Specialized in hand to hand combat, a spy, but not lost around a tie fighter. You surely ordered the deaths of thousands of men and probably killed hundreds with your own hands, or at least that was what it felt like from where he was standing. And Poe was ordered to rescue you so they could gain any intelligence from you. It was probably useless, no way you would give anything up but they’d try, keep you alive for months longer than you deserved.

He left his debrief and headed straight to the medical center, knowing you would be in there, and if you were awake, he needed to talk to you, he needed closure. 

Even if Leia ordered him to get some rest, that she’d send someone to interrogate her in a little bit.

The nurse pointed him to your room without him even having to ask, they all knew.

And when he walked into the room, he was prepared to get what he needed and then kill you, no matter the consequences. Leia could demote him, hell, she could kick him out of the resistance, but if he got this closure, it would all be worth it.

It had to be.

Yet you laid there so innocently. The nurses had cleaned the dirt and grime from your face and hair, the cut above your eye had been healed, and you even looked comfortable under the plush blanket. Even if your hands were cuffed to the bed.

His fingers twitched at his side, aching to grab his blaster and just end it all now but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He needed you to admit to it. He wasn’t a killer, but he would do what’s just, it’s what you deserve. So he called a nurse back in and ordered her to wake you up, and without any objections, she did. They all knew, and not a single one disagreed. 

Minutes later, your eyes fluttered open so peacefully and he couldn’t stand to watch it, he had to turn away briefly to compose himself. Until you began groaning. Your breath was caught in your throat, preventing a scream in pain. Hands clenched into tight fists, nails digging into your palms, the pain overtaking you all at once. It seemed like the doctors were just as bitter as he was.

But then something in your disposition shifted, you began to laugh instead of scream, and your hands released. Heavy breathing took over now as your eyes quickly scanned the room, frantic almost, and as they landed on him, you finally began to understand.

“Long time, Captain.” You squeezed out. The chuckle was rough as it escaped your lips, eyes squeezing shut as your head leaned back against the pillow.  

“Its Commander now.” He choked out, hands clenching, heart pounding.

His blaster was right there.

“Congrats.” It was almost a genuine smile, but it distorted to a smirk as you locked your eyes back with his. 

“Don’t congratulate me, I should kill you.” He added, taking a few steps towards closer until his thighs hit the foot of the bed.

“Do it. You won’t.” You scoffed, “you wouldn’t dare disobey an order, and I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be here.”

“After everything you’ve done-“

“I deserve to suffer. I deserve to be tortured. I deserve your worst. I don’t deserve to die and you know that, the resistance wouldn’t let me off that easy.” You argued back easily, even if your chest was still heaving with every breath. He couldn't deny that he was watching it, a part of him hoping it would stop.

Tears brimmed at his eyes no matter how hard he fought to keep them down. “I don’t care about the resistance.” 

“Then what are you here for?”

“You killed Finn.” He choked out, not in control of his emotions any longer. He rounded the bed, took two more steps forward, and began pointing in your face as he seethed, “You killed him.”

But your face didn’t twist to that of a proud First Order Commander who would relish in a successful kill. It twisted into confusion, pure confusion. Brows furrowing and head quirking slightly to the side, only serving to raise the heat in his chest. 

“FN- 2187?” You asked, trying to sit up despite the pain flooding your body and warning you against it. 

“You killed him, I watched it.”

“I didn’t kill him.” It was a plead, genuine concern in your eyes that he couldn't understand. You were fighting against the restraints, leaning into his now shaking finger of accusation. 

“I saw you do it, the whole galaxy saw it.”

“I didn’t kill him. Dameron, I have killed a lot of people, I didn’t kill him.” You shouted back with the same volume he used, defensive, truly defensive. 

“The first order broadcasted his execution across the whole galaxy, do you think I’m an idiot, I watched you kill him.” He shouted but pulled back when he watched you flinch. 

You couldn’t form a sentence fast enough, not by the time the curtains behind him ripped open and two soldiers grabbed him by the arm and pulled him fighting from the room. He needed closure, he needed an answer. He would fight but they only pulled him farther back. 

“He’s alive.” The words left your lips just as the curtains fell shut between the two of you. He wanted to hear more, to see more-

And soon he was tossed to the ground on his knees in front of Leia herself. 

“I told you to go get rest, that I’d send an interrogator in.” She said but he wasn’t there. His body was physically on the floor but his mind was elsewhere, he was replaying Finn’s death over and over again in his head.

He saw the alert go out that the first order had a special broadcast, and when the image flashed up in the command center, he just about collapsed on the floor. Finn, on his knees, surrounded by stormtroopers and officers. In front of him stood Kylo Ren, General Hux and You. Dressed in all black, not completely covered like Ren and Hux were, but somehow just as intimidating. Your hair pulled back so he could see your face painfully clear. An image that haunted him at night.

And then Hux said, “No traitor shall go unpunished...” and continued on into a vehement hate-speech about the First Order’s dominance in the galaxy. But Poe only stared at Finn. He was forced on his knees, hands behind his back, still wearing the jacket he gave him. He tried to stay strong, to not let them win, but he was scared, Poe could see it. And as soon as his speech ended, she was ordered to execute the “bloody traitor.”

Stepping forward, you pulled a large electrically surging sword from your holster, and within seconds, you spun and his head hit the ground.

Poe screamed, a raw, guttural scream as he saw it happen, and none of the officers around him cared because they saw the pain, they felt the pain. And Finn, who they all regarded as a hero, was brutally murdered by you, a nightmare-like extension of the first order.

And now you were saying you didn’t kill him when he saw you do it. And now you were saying he was alive when he saw his head off his body.

“... Poe. She’s messing with you. She knows that she can target your emotions and you’re just giving her power over you.” Leia soothed but Poe hardly heard it. What did you mean he was still alive.

“What if he’s alive?”

“He’s not Poe, we watched it happen.”

“She said he’s alive.”

“She’s a First Order member, she is trained to deceive you, to mess with you, she is the enemy Poe, she just wants to get you off your game,” Leia explained but Poe couldn’t pay attention to her, too lost in his own thoughts.

“If he’s alive, I need to find him.”

“He’s not alive Poe, we both know that,” Leia finalized as he finally rose to his feet. “She’s lying to get a rise out of you.”

“She seemed genuine.”

“She’s a spy.”

“If he’s alive-“

“He can’t be Poe,” Leia said exhaustedly before ordering Poe to be sent to his room, he was too out of it to protest at this point and just complied.

But if it was true, how could he ignore it.

Leia couldn’t keep him away.

Over the next two weeks, you began to heal up and Leia began to send in interrogators but you merely mocked them. They didn’t need to torture you, Leia knew it wouldn’t work, you weren’t going to break like that, so she just tried getting information from you in regular conversation. Still, no avail. 

You wouldn’t give up anything useful, besides who did Hux’s laundry.

A stormtrooper, called AT- 8745. He read it in a report.

Poe knew you weren’t going to give anything useful.

But you had been willing to talk about Finn last time he tried. And no matter what the general said, he needed to try again.

He got a few looks as he snuck into the holding cells but people thought he was meant to be there, so they never said anything about it.

He typed in the code with shaking hands, not nervous but surging with the adrenaline that knowing he was going against orders that the General gave him. The door was heavy but he pushed it open quickly, too eager to hesitate.

You laid out on the bed, well not a bed but a metallic slab with no blanket or pillow, across the room from the door. One knee bent up and both hands beneath your head, staring at the ceiling, you almost looked dead given how you barely moved. A single chair sat in the middle of the room, too close, he thought, to your bed for the council to have allowed Leia to interrogate you from.

But he spotted the glimmer of the forcefield in between the two halves of the room, keeping them separate.

You didn’t look up upon hearing him enter, not moving besides adjusting briefly to lay a hand over your stomach defensively.

“I expected you eventually, figured that Leia had finally run out of options.” You noted from the bed, knowing it was him without seeing him. He didn’t waste any time being impressed. 

“She doesn’t know I’m here.”

That got your attention. You turned towards where he stood by the wall, no different than the last time you saw him, if anything, he only looked more exhausted. 

You groaned, pain rushing through you as you sat up on the bed but he made no move to sit down, he just hovered by the door.

“Why are you here?”

“You know why.”

“He is alive, I have no reason to lie to you about that.” You argued, walking towards the barrier, but stopping right in front of it. He wondered how many times you walked into it before realizing it was there, he could tell it was at least once given the hesitancy you took towards it. 

“Explain why.”

“He could be reprogrammed and valuable, but in order to get you to stop investigating, Hux needed you to think him dead.” It wasn’t curiosity or even a fascination, but you lifted one hand to the barrier and played along the light blue glow that radiated as you got close. It almost felt like boredom, and it pissed him off. “Drop the barrier and I’ll tell you more.”

He considered it for a second longer than he should have. It should have been a quick no but it wasn’t. But it also wasn’t a yes, he just backed away from the panel and to the barrier so that he could stand face to face with you. 

“Where is he now?”

“Drop the barrier.”

“If I do, you’ll escape, and won’t tell me what I need to know.”

“I also won’t tell you what you need to know with it up.”

He walked back over to the control panel on the wall and opened the door, pulling his blaster from the holster and dropping it outside. Then he locked the door shut, using his handprint to secure it. Only after all of that, did he make a move to lower the barrier.

Everything within him told him not to, but he needed to know. You were injured and manipulative and he needed to know. 

You didn’t charge at him like he expected. He didn’t have any weapons on him anymore so he wasn’t too worried about being overtaken and immediately killed, but he couldn’t trust you, not for a second.

“He’s in the reprogramming plant on Plutarch.”

“Plutarch?”

“A moon in the Ghevner circuit. Kylo Ren took control of it for the first order several years ago. Since then, it’s become a brainwashing stormtrooper factory.” You explained, now walking towards him, hesitantly as you passed where the barrier had been, but faster once you cleared it. 

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“Armitage. He made me into a liar when he broadcasted that clip. I’m not a liar.” There was almost a playfulness to your voice, it set him on edge in a way he wasn’t sure he had ever felt before. 

“Just a murderer?” He tipped his chin, but you didn’t seem all that offended. 

“No one’s perfect.” The joke came out deadpan as you stopped just in front of him, your serious face never changing now that it was on. “Look, from what I’ve heard, he’s been resisting reprogramming, if you could get to him, you’d have a good chance of getting him back.”

He didn’t understand, he felt a tug on his heartstring and he didn’t understand. 

“Why are you telling me all this?”

You scoffed, the sensation crackling through your body as you shrugged. “You think so little of me.”

“You’ve given me reasons.”

“They pay me better than you guys would. That’s all it is. I do dirty work, sure, but if you paid more, I’d do that dirty work for you. It’s not about morality for me, sorry.” You sighed, hands folding in front of you. 

“So you’re a murderer in it for the money but a good person?”

“I think the question you should be asking is why would I want the barrier down if I planned to tell you everything anyway?” You added. It was just ominous to push him over the edge, but you were faster. 

One elbow, straight to the face and he was on the ground in a second. Not unconscious, head stinging with pain, but still barely conscious against the cold concrete. 

“Now you’re going to get me out of here.”

[venomlion3]

Pass the happy! 💐 When you get this, reply with 5 things that make you happy and send this to the last 10 people in your notifications

OH MY GOSH EREN HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS??? Idk how long this was in there but thank you for the ask this is so sweet of you ;;;; <333

Ok uhhh,,,5 things that make me happy!

1) Chickens and crabs! Idk why but the past few years something in my brain unlocked and now these creatures are just pure serotonin machines for me. I've got so many lil porcelain AND plush chickens now and they all make me :]

2) Hanging out with my best friend! We've been friends since 1st Grade (so about....15ish years now?) and I really enjoy being with her (or frankly just talking to her on the phone/through text). We just get each other and share similar opinions/like a lot of the same things :]

3) My cats! (btw there's mentions of pet death/cancer here so. y'know) We got Elmer when I was 14 and Salem/Stella in October of 2019 (which was around the time our last dog, Pumba, passed away from hemangiosarcoma, so getting them seemed like a blessing in disguise as they helped distract me from my grief). Elmer is like a snarky old man who will love on you one second and then bite you the next, Salem is a very talkative guy who loves attention AND pets (and I also affectionately call him Spaghetti cause he's long like a noodle), and Stella who used to be more affectionate (at least with my mom and I, she seems to love my dad more) but still has her moments. Regardless she's a pretty cat (she's a Lilac-Point Siamese iirc??) and when she does make noise it's high in pitch and really cute :"]. If I'm feeling down or need some kinda contact with another living being when my parents aren't home (like if I watch/read/listen to something really disturbing and I get paranoid), being around them helps me relax :]

4) Any of my comfort media! I'm talking about things I can rewatch/replay/reread/etc again and again and it still makes me as happy/entertained as I was the first I saw them. This includes Attack on Titan (mostly for the characters, since the story is largely dark/depressing with some comedy/hope/optimism sprinkled in every so often), Bear in the Big Blue House, Power Rangers Mystic Force, Ultimate Spider-Man (PS2), Postal 2, Happy Feet, Ghost Rider, Twitches, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, iCarly, Scooby-Doo (2002), Super Granny 3 (a VERY obscure game that I still adore), Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and ISPY Spooky Mansion Deluxe!

5) Treating myself! I'm mainly talking about occasionally splurging and buying something for myself, but it can also be just taking some time to do something fun, like watching something I've been meaning to watch or playing a game when the urge hits, even if I was planning on doing something else that day! Back in April I bought the remaining SnK pins I was missing from an Etsy shop I like, and even more recently I bought some of those Bohug Pride stickers and that Fuit Gummi charm that I've been eyeing for a while. If I had a job and/or a stable income I would do it more often, but I enjoy buying stuff for myself when I can :3

I'm not one for tagging people but you're free to consider yourself tagged and do it yourself!

[lover-of-midnight]

Broken bones

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Merlin (TV)

Relationships:

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Characters:

Merlin (Merlin)

Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Additional Tags:

mentioning of battle

hurt Arthur

Protective Merlin (Merlin)

Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Boys In Love

FebuWhump2021

febuwhumpday16

Broken Bones

Hurt/Comfort

Emotional Hurt

Short One Shot

Language:English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 16 of the Febuwhump 2021 series

Collections: febuwhump 2021

@febuwhump

Arthur glared up to the ceiling as Merlin puttered around the room. He was seven different levels of angry.

Merlin glanced over, his eyes softened slightly when he saw the tension lines in Arthur’s body.

“Darling.” Merlin walked over to Arthur, he crouched down next to the prince. “Are you okay?” Merlin’s voice was soft.

Arthur's eyes hardened slightly. “No. I need to get up.” Arthur felt the irritation burning at him. And he wished that for a moment he was slightly different.

Merlin pushed Arthur back onto the bed, making sure he kept his touched light. “You have two broken ribs and a broken leg. Don’t even think about it Arthur.” Merlin could see the frustration in Arthur’s eyes.

“How am I meant to do that? When I know my men are still in danger?” Arthur glanced at Merlin.

“By putting your trust in them Arthur. You had trained them well and they are ready for the fight.” Merlin’s voice was firm.

Arthur sank back onto the pillow. “But…” before Arthur could continue, Merlin gently ran his finger over Arthur’s cheek.

“But nothing. You need to rest.” Merlin’s voice was firm. He could still hear the dull thud when Arthur had fallen from the horse. The lance had missed him with just an inch.

“Merls please.” Arthur gave Merlin a pleading look as he forced himself upright. The pain that shot through him made him groan.

Merlin could feel tears burning behind his eyes as he looked at Arthur.

“Lay down. Arthur please.” Merlin’s eyes showed the worry he had felt when he saw it happen.

“It is just the last few people that need to be taken out, you don’t need to be there, so please Arthur.” Merlin bit the inside of his lip when he felt his throat closing up.

Arthur looked at Merlin. “I’m sorry Merls.” Arthur reached out, grabbing Merlin’s hand.

“You almost died Arthur.” The words were wobbled through a sob. “You almost died and there would have been nothing that I could do.” Merlin leaned forward, pulling Arthur into a hug, mindful of the injuries.

Arthur’s arms folded around Merlin, the position was uncomfortable but at the moment Arthur couldn’t even think about relishing his partner.

The salty tears that soaked into Arthur’s tunic made him realise how close it was.

Arthur pulled the lead reins bringing his mare to a stop. All that could be heard was the sound of metal meeting metal.

Men screaming as they were slaughtered on both sides. Arthurs's eyes scanned the clearing. He forced himself to take a breath.

The metallic smell of blood filled his nose and for a moment he wished that this was all a nightmare but he knows that everything needs to come to an end.

Without even thinking about it, he engaged another rider in battle, their swords clashed. The man was slightly stronger than Arthur and he could feel it from the force of the blades.

How his arm shakes a little bit with each blow landing.

A scream from behind him and then the heavy air. The point of contact was dull as he was forced from his horse.

The mare reared up, coming down on his leg. For a moment all that he could see was dark spots dancing in front of his eyes.

A gasp left his lips when the horse bolted, he barely managed to get his feet out of the stirrups. Hands suddenly pulled him up onto a horse.

For a moment the pain managed to overwhelm him, when he finally managed to open his eyes again, was he laying on a cot in the medical tent.

Merlin’s worried face looking at him.

“I love you Merls.” Arthur’s voice was rough as the memory replayed through his head.

“And I, you, dollophead.” Merlin had calmed down enough that he could pull away. The don’t do it again was so quiet that Arthur didn’t hear it.

But Merlin knows that Arthur would stay on the front lines as long as he feels he needs to lead his men.

[magisterlys]

Patience is Not a Virtue

Written Cross the Stars: Chapter 9

Summary: It's been weeks since the commander and Braham parted ways at the Eye of the North, weeks that she'd been avoiding him and focusing on her research at the Priory. Just as she's preparing to set out toward the culmination of months of work, she receives an unexpected visitor. Patience is not one of Braham's virtues.

The mentioned letter can be read here.

I really hope you all enjoy it! More soon.

Lys glanced once again between The Ways of the God-Kings and Thruln: Ages Past, trying to decide which of the two books deserved a place in her bag. The first was more thorough but impractically large for carrying through an ancient dwarven ruin. And yet, was there anything worse than not having access to the source material you needed in the field?  She sighed. Choices were hard. From his perch on the back of her chair, Notti grackled as if offering his opinion, fluffing his feathers up.

As Lys set the heavier book down she noticed that the sleeve of her blouse had crept up, revealing the burn scars that now climbed her forearm like vines. She frowned, tugged it back down and began to gather the scattered notes on the desk she’d commandeered for the last couple weeks, deep in the Priory’s special collections. Some of them were valid thoughts and bits of research but mostly she was distressed to realize how many were covered with a familiar pattern of circles and curved lines. The same pattern, over and over. She didn’t even remember drawing most of them … 

“Magister!” An asura  with bright red hair came scurrying through the stacks toward her, calling out in the raised faux whisper that everyone seemed to adopt in this space, “Sorry to interrupt, I have a message for you.”

That was odd, Lys thought, she hadn’t expected Braham to reply to her last letter yet. She held out her hand, “Give it here then, Klarre. And thank you.”

“No no, sorry.” Klarre was panting, one hand on the corner of the desk, “Whew! Those stairs are something. Why are there so many stairs? I mean you just go up and then right back down. They are completely unnecessary, really."

“Scholar.” Lys gave her a look, knowing from experience that if you didn’t interrupt Klarre she’d go on a meandering verbal walkabout for half an hour before reaching her original point.

“Oh yes! Right. Sorry. Message.” Klarre shook her head, “Nothing to deliver. Just there’s someone here to see you.”

“To … see me?”

“Yup!”

Lys sighed, “Any idea who?”

“Nope!”

“… none at all?”

“None!” Klarre flashed a proud grin, “Magister Makkay just caught me on her way down to get you herself. Said to tell you someone’s waiting at the Heart.”

No one outside of her guild and close associates knew where she was, and all of them would have just raised her on the com as soon as they got close. “Alright, thank you.” She set her notes down and circled around the desk. Notti flapped his wings, made as if to follow her but she shook her head at the bird, “Stay here, I’ll most likely be right back.” 

The light of the Heart of the Priory filtered down from above as Lys ascended the stairs into the public area. As usual, there were plenty of people milling about, but it wouldn’t have mattered if the whole of Lornar’s Pass were standing there, she’d still have instantly known who was waiting for her. And she’d have been no less unprepared to see him. 

Braham was standing with his back to her, looking up at the constantly shifting and rotating column of tablets. He was nervous, she’d known him long enough to read the tension in his shoulders, the way he kept flexing his fingers. The golden light of the Heart cast a shimmering glow to his silhouette and she was keenly thankful that he wasn’t facing her as she admired how the warm light highlighted his hair, how it cast the lines of his face in a gold like tempered sunlight as he somehow sensed she was there and turned to look over his shoulder.  It made her heart clench, to realize how glad she was to see him but also how terrified.   

“Braham?” At her voice, his face lite up with a smile that lasted only a moment before shadow crossed it. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the scar that now marred her cheek and her brow, the lasting reminder of what Bangar had done to her. When they’d last seen each other, weeks ago in the Eye of the North her wounds had been fresh enough to assume that they would heal. That apparently wasn’t the case and it annoyed her how self-conscious she suddenly felt.  She frowned and fiddled with her hair, trying to hide behind it.  “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“Yes. No, I mean. I …” Braham moved toward her and she toward him, magnetically. They both stopped short a few feet apart, the distance between them like a living thing. Why hadn’t she mentioned this? All her letters had assured him that she was fine. That was true, he admitted, but he was unprepared for the spike of anger he felt seeing her like this … how it reignited his desire to break Bangar in half. The commander was shrinking away from him, looking away and he suddenly realized how his reaction might be mistaken so he smiled as he sheepishly continued,  “Bjora has been quiet. I read your last letter and I’m … impatient.” 

Lys swallowed hard, smiled awkwardly.  Why was he looking at her like that?  “Patience has never been your strongest virtue.” 

“Nah. It’s right up there with the ability to follow orders.” He chuckled and narrowed the distance between them  again, taking a step closer.  “I should have told you I was coming, on the com I mean. But I just ...”

“... are bad at following orders?”

“Yeah, that.” He gave her a smirk. 

If he was here because of her letter, that meant that he wanted to talk. She’d expected to have days yet, maybe weeks, to figure out what exactly she was going to say. But here he was, right now. And she still had no idea. “If you’d shown up an hour later you would have missed me. I was just about to set out south, into Timberline Falls.”

Braham raised a brow, leaned into the space between them, “What are you going there for?”

“What you’d expect.” She shifted to the side, “I’ve been searching for the location of a Stone Summit tomb since before the rally in Grothmar. I think I’ve found it.”

“So …” He’d successfully navigated the distance and now there were mere inches between him and the commander,“You were just about to go delving into a dwarven tomb? Dwarves. The ones who entertained themselves with most-horrific-deadly-trap competitions? Alone?”

“... yes? Well, when you say it like that it sounds like something I’d yell at you for doing.” 

“Uh huh.”

While she was caught up considering if she was being a Braham-level of foolish, he’d touched her forearm, slipped his fingers up to wrap around her elbow. And now he was looking down at her, too near for her to hide her scars. His brow was furrowed as his eyes traveled from the scar across her cheek to where it ran down her neck, disappeared under the collar of her blouse. He released her elbow and raised his hand, moved to touch her neck. 

“I’ll go change into my armor.” She stepped backward, away from him. Turned from his touch and his gaze. “Grab my things, and you can come with me?”

Braham let his hand drop, frowned after the already retreating commander. “... I’d like that.” 

A short while later Lys made her way back up the stairs, tugging on the buckles on her new armor as she did. Notti squawked his displeasure from his perch on her shoulder but she gave the raven a gentle tap on the beak to hush him. As she took the last stair she stopped to adjust the top of her boots. New armor was always such a beast to break in, damn Bangar for ruining her old set.  Finally settled she looked up to find Braham staring at her, mouth agape. She arched a brow, feeling uncomfortable again. “... something wrong?”

“No.” Braham blinked, realizing that he’d been gawking and cleared his throat as he watched the commander make her way over to him. He’d counted every moment since he’d last seen her, replayed their night hidden away together in the Keep a hundred times just to avoid remembering how close he’d come to losing her. And now here she was, alive and vibrant and wearing leathers that clung to every curve, that cut several inches above her boots to display a tantalizing flash of thigh. He couldn’t touch her, to ask him not to stare would be too much.

Lys pretended to be oblivious to his staring as she led him up the long hall, “Do you mind if we make the trip a flight? I asked someone to get Morrigna saddled, and assuming that she hasn’t bitten anyone  … “

“I’m fine with that. I think.” Braham begrudged,  “Given it was me she bit last time.”

“Aw, she didn't mean it.” They’d made their way across the open courtyard to where a pair of sylvari stood near the commander’s massive corvid griffon. The sylvari looked nervous, but the griffon churred happily as she spotted her rider and bent to butt her avian head against the commander as they arrived. Lys rubbed the cyan tipped feathers cresting Morrigna’s ears, “You didn’t mean it. Did you, girl?”

“I don’t know, did you mean to bite me?” Braham asked the griffon. Morrigna clacked her beak in response and turned one dark eye to look at Braham directly. 

The norn and griffon staring match was interrupted by a high pitched voice, “Magister! Magister Fiora, you forgot something!” Klarre pattered across the courtyard, waving a stack of papers over her head.

“I didn’t …” Lys attempted to tell the scholar that she hadn’t forgotten her strange sketches and had, in fact, thrown them away on purpose but Klarre had already thrust them into her hands. “... thank you.” She said instead. 

“Sure thing! Are you sure I can’t come with you? You know my interest in the jotun language is second only to yours. You never know when you might need another pair of hands or a sharp set of eyes and by the Alchemy! You are tall.” Klarre seemed to have just noticed Braham. 

Braham barely heard the asura, he was too busy trying to get a better look at the papers Lys was hastily shoving into her bag. He recognized those drawings. They were the same ones he’d had to scold her a dozen times for doodling instead of resting, in the days they stayed together in the Eye of the North. “Yeah, well.” He began a response. Why was she still drawing those things? And why had she been so quick to hide them? Distracted, he continued, “I’m norn. We’re tall.” 

Lys interrupted before Klarre could inevitably try to helpfully inform Braham that she was an asura, and they are short. “I’m certain, Klarre. Braham and I can handle it, and I promise to take detailed notes and organize a proper expedition if it’s required.” 

“I suppose that is adequate.” Klarre waved enthusiastically as she took off across the courtyard again. “See you soon! Have fun!” 

“She’s uh … “ Braham chuckled and looked over at the commander. She was smiling and shaking her head, not hiding behind her hair for once and he met her eyes as she turned toward him.  “Makes me miss Taimi.” 

“Yeah, I think they’d …” Lys realized how intently he was looking at her and quickly turned to secure her bag to Morrigna’s saddle, gestured for Notti to hop up as well.  “I think they’d get along.” 

“Commander.” He caught her arm as she turned away. 

She glanced back toward him, but didn’t turn. “Yes?”

“Look at me?” Braham’s voice was gentle. He didn’t force her to face him, just gave her arm a squeeze.

Reluctantly, she acquiesced, keeping her head down as he turned toward him.  He used his hold on her arm to pull her closer and touched his fingertips to her chin. She looked up at him finally.

“I just wanted to say ….” He touched her hair, brushed it out of her eyes so that he could see her face. All of it. She didn’t know how his voice managed to become even softer, but it did, washed over her like silk as he spoke, “You’re beautiful, Lys.”

“Braham.” How could he say that? She frowned and glanced away from him lest she start weeping like a vain idiot in the middle of the Priory.  

“I mean it.” He gently touched her forehead, traced the jagged lines of her scar until his hand came to rest on her cheek, cupping her face in his palm. As she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze he leaned closer and made a faint growling sound in the back of his throat, “ And I’m not saying that just because you look hot as hell in that skirt and those boots.”

“Braham!” She laughed suddenly, shoved his shoulder playfully as she extracted herself from his dangerous nearness. 

“I mean really, Lys!” It was good to hear her laugh. She clearly didn’t believe him, but that just meant he’d have to tell her again and again until she understood.  “Are you trying to drive a guy crazy?” 

“I promise that wasn’t on my list of goals when I chose it.” Lys gripped the strap along the back of Morrigna’s neck and swung gracefully up onto the griffin’s back. As she settled into the saddle she admitted to herself that catching Braham’s attention had at least been a bonus of this particular armor choice. But he didn’t need to know that. She leaned over and offered her hand to him. 

He took her hand, trusted her to counter his weight as he used her help to climb into the saddle behind her. Morrigna rustled her wings as if in protest to the second rider. “Yeah yeah,” Braham apologized, “I know you don’t like me, but I promise to watch my heels this time.” 

Lys laughed and patted the griffon affectionately on the neck, then turned to look over her shoulder at Braham, “Hold on tight?”

She didn’t need to ask, he’d been aching to do so since the moment he saw her. Braham rested his hands on the commander’s hips then slowly, purposefully slid his arms around her waist, pressing his chest against her back as he quietly responded, “Gladly.” 

She allowed herself to lean back against him a moment, to brush her hands against his arms as she reached for the straps of the saddle. She dared not look over her shoulder again, she could almost sense how he was looking at her. Dangerous man. “... just don’t let go.”

There was no chance for a response as the slightest encouragement from her rider sent the feline form of the griffin bounding toward the edge of the courtyard. With a powerful leap, Morigna cleared the cliffside, spreading her raven black wings to the sky and took off southward. 

[luvneedsnosyt]

My Favorite Albums of 2020 So Far

Here is my list of my favorite albums half-way through 2020

You can find my list of my favorite albums of 2019 here And my list of my favorite EPs of 2019 here

My Monthly top albums lists from 2020: January, February, March, April, May

Keep in mind I didn’t include albums released after June 12th on this list

Honorable Mention:

Blanche - EMPIRE Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: Empire / Till We Collide

Caroline Rose - Superstar Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: Nothing’s Impossible / Someone New

Deante’ Hitchcock - BETTER Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: I Remember / I Got Money Now (Feat. J.I.D.)

dvsn - A Muse In Her Feelings Genre: R&B / neo-Soul

Proof: Dangerous City (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Buju Banton) / A Muse

Grimes - Miss Anthropocene Genre: Synth Pop / Electronic

Proof: Violence (w/ i_o) / idoru // Bonus: We Appreciate Power (BloodPop Remix) Feat. HANA

Halsey - Manic Genre: alt-R&B / Pop

Proof: You should be sad / Without Me // Bonus: Marshmello & Halsey - Be Kind / You should be sad (Tiësto Remix) / Graveyard (Axwell Remix) / Without Me (ILLENIUM Remix)

Illenium - ASCEND (Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Good Things Fall Apart (3LAU Remix) w/ Jon Bellion / In Your Arms (Alan Walker Remix) w/ X Ambassadors

Jason Ross - 1000 Faces //   1000 Faces (Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: One That Got Away (w/ Dabin & Dylan Matthew) / 1000 Faces (w/ Dia Frampton) //  Known You Before (Trivecta Remix) Feat. Emilie Brandt / Shelter (No Mana Remix) Feat. Melanie Fontana

KAYTRANADA - BUBBA Genre: alt-R&B / House

Proof: 10% (Feat. Kali Uchis) / Need It (Feat. Masego)

Lady Gaga - Chromatica Genre: Pop / Dance

Proof: Stupid Love / Replay

Låpsley - Through Water Genre: Indie Pop / Electronic

Proof: Ligne 3 / Womxn

Loote - heart eyes EP Genre: Indie Pop

Proof: This is How U Feel / All The Fucking Time // Bonus: teamwork., Loote & John K - Wasted Summer

Matoma - RYTME EP Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Don’t Stop The Rhythm (Feat. Bryn Christopher) / Beside You (w/ Captain Cuts Feat. Georgia Ku) // Bonus: The Bender (The Him Remix) (w/ Brando) / Time To Go

Seven Lions - Find Another Way EP Genre: Electronic / Dance / Trance

Proof: Only Now (Feat. Tyler Graves) / Another Way (w/ April Bender) // Bonus: 3LAU - Tokyo (Seven Lions Remix) Feat. XIRA / Abaxis , Dimibo & Seven Lions - Half Of It

The Strokes - The New Abnormal Genre: Alternative / Rock

Proof: Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus / Not The Same Anymore

Tchami - Born Again / Buenos Aires EP Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Proof: Buenos Aires / Proud (Feat. Daecolm) // Bonus: Proud (Steffan City Remix) Feat. Daecolm / Ghosts (Vowed Remix) Feat. Hana

We Are The City - RIP Genre: Rock / Alternative

Proof: Killer B-Side Music / Saint Peter

The List:

15. Alina Baraz - It Was Divine Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: Morocco (Feat. 6LACK) / Endlessly / Off The Grid (Feat. Khalid) / More Than Enough

14. Harry Styles - Fine Line Genre: Alternative / Indie Pop

Proof: Watermelon Sugar / Adore You / Lights Up / Fine Line

13. Krewella - zer0 // zer0 (The Remixes Pt. 1) EP // zer0 (The Remixes Pt. 2) EP Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Dance

Proof: Good On You (Feat. Nucleya) / Anxiety (Feat. Arrested Youth) / Ghost / Greenlights // Good On You (MOTi Remix) Feat. Nucleya / Greenlights (MADGRRL Remix) // Anxiety (Prince Fox Remix) Feat. Arrested Youth / Like We (BEAUZ Remix) Feat. Yung Baby & Alaya

12. iamnotshane - iamnotshane EP Genre: alt-R&B / Electronic

Proof: Afterlife / Security / Perfect / Right Now // Bonus: Afterlife (Michael Calfan Remix) / Perfect (Thomas Gold Remix) / Right Now (jackLNDN Remix)

11. Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing Genre: R&B / Pop / Electronic

Proof: Time / Return Them To The One / Better / Circles

10. Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now Genre: Synth Pop / Dance

Proof: forever / enemy / i finally understand / anthems // Bonus: claws (Whethan Remix)

9. Buscabulla - Regresa Genre: Latin / Pop / Dance

Proof: Vàmono / El Aproeto / Mío / NTE

8. Purity Ring - WOMB Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: pink lightening / i like the devil / vehemence / stardew

7. Run The Jewels - RTJ4 Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: yankee and the brave (ep. 4) / JU$T (Feat. Pharrell WIlliams & Zach de la Rocha) / the ground below / a few words from the firing squad (radiation)

6. Shallou - Magical Thinking Genre: Electronic / Future Bass

Proof: Forget / Mutual Love (Feat. Zachary Knowles) / Older (Feat. Daya) / Good Together (Feat. Ashe) // Bonus: Older (Felix Cartel Remix) Feat. Daya / I Leave Again (w/ Petit Biscuit) / Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler - you were good to me (Shallou Remix)

5. The Weeknd - After Hours //  After Hours (Remixes) EP Genre: alt-R&B

Proof: Heartless / Blinding Lights / In Your Eyes / After Hours // Blinding Lights (Chromatics Remix) Feat. Johnny Jewel / After Hours (The Blaze Remix) // Bonus: Blinding Lights (Major Lazer Remix)

4. Jonah Mutono - GERG Genre: alt-R&B / Soul

Proof: Shoulders / If You Mean It / The Low / Circulation

3. Phantogram - Ceremony Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: Dear God / In A Spiral / Pedestal / Let Me Down

2. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 Genre: Hip Hop / alt-R&B

Proof: Alogrhythm / Time (Feat. Ariana Grande) / 19.10 / 42.26

1. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush Genre: Synth-Pop / Alternative

Proof: Borderline / Breathe Deeper / Lost in Yesterday / It Might Be Time // Bonus: It Might Be Time (Louis The Child Bootleg)

Others:

Good: A Boogie wit da Hoodie - Artist 2.0, AceMoMa - A New Dawn [HOA007], Ada Lea - woman, here EP, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaeed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 001, Active Child - In Another Life, Aesop Rock - Freedom Finger [Music from the Game], Agnes Obel - Myopia, Alec Benjamin - These Two Windows, Alexandra Savior - The Archer, Allan Kingdom - Iddtfm EP, Allan Rayman - Christian, Allie X - Cape God, ALMA - Have You Seen Her?, Amber Liu - Rogue Rogue EP, Amber Liu - X EP, Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline, Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming, Anna Calvi - Hunted EP, Ant Saunders - BUBBLE EP, April - New Conditions EP, Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby (Remix EP), Arin Ray - Phases II EP, Atmosphere - Whenever, Audrey Mika - 5 A.M. EP, AWOLNATION - Angel Miners & the Lightning Riders, Bad Bunny - LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR, Baril - One More Rush EP, Baths - Pop Music / False B-Sides II, Banoffee - Look at Us Now Dad, Beach Bunny - Honeymoon, Becca Stevens - Wonderbloom, Best Coast - Always Tomorrow, Big Gigantic - Free Your Mind, Bishop Nehru - Nehruvian Tuesdays: Vol, 1, Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, Bongeziwe Mabandla - iimini, Boniface - Boniface, BOSCO - Some Day This Will All Make Sense EP, Brandon Banks - STATIC EP, Brent Faiyaz - Fuck The World, Bring Me the Horizon - Music to Listen to~Dance to~Blaze to~Pray to~Feed to~Sleep to~Talk to~Grind to~Trip to~Breathe to~Help to~Hurt to~Scroll to~Roll to~Love to~Hate to~Learn Too~Plot to~Play to~Be to~Feel to~Breed to~Sweat to~Dream to~Hide to~Live to~Die to~Go To EP, Buddy & Kent Jamz - Janktape Vol. 1, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 1 EP, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 2 EP, Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator 3 EP, Calvin Harris & Eli Brown - Moving EP, Cam’ron - Purple Haze 2, Caribou - Suddenly, Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B, Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open, Charlotte de Witte - Return to Nowhere EP, Chelsea Cutler - How To Be Human, Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour, Christian Paul - Christian Paul EP, Christine and the Queens - La vita nuova EP, Chromeo - Quarantine Casanova EP, Clap! Clap! - Liquid Portraits, Cleo Sol - Rose in the Dark, Conor Matthews - Balloons EP, D Smoke - Bad Habits, DaBaby - BLAME IT ON BABY, Daecolm - Figur£$, Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar, Day Wave - Crush EP, Delacey - Black Coffee, Delta Heavy - Only in Dreams (Remixes), Denzel Curry - UNLOCKED [Mixtape], Destroyer - How We Met, Diana Gordon - Wasted Youth, Dijon - How Do You Feel About Getting Married? EP, Diplo - Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil, Dirty Projectors - Windows Open EP, Disclosure - Ecstasy EP, DJ BORING - Like Water EP, dj poolboi - it’s good to hear your voice, DJ Snake - Carte Blanche (Deluxe), Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes, DRAMA - Dance Without Me, Dreamville - Revenge of the Dreamers III : Director’s Cut, Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia, Dua Saleh - Rosetta EP, Duke Dumont - Duality, Ebenezer - Bad Romantic II EP, Echosmith - Lonely Generation, EDEN - no future, Ekali - A World Away, Elah Hale - Room 206 EP, Ellie Winter - Yeah, No. EP, Empress Of - I’m Your Empress Of, Eric Bellinger - Hor D’oeuvres, Ethan Gruska - En Garde, Everything Is Recorded - FRIDAY FOREVER, Example - Some Nights Last For Days, Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Flatbush Zombies - now, more than ever EP, flora cash - Baby, It’s Okay, Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans, Fractures - EP III, Fred again.. - Actual Life EP, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo, Free Nationals - Free Nationals, Gabrielle Aplin - Dear Happy, Galantis - Church, Gengahr - Sanctuary, Georgia - Seeking Thrills, Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven - We’re New Again: A Reimagine by Makaya McCraven, Giveon - TAKE TIME, The Glitch Mob - Chemicals EP, GRiZ - bangers[5].zip EP, Grouplove - The Healer, GUM - Out In The World, Half Waif - The Caretaker, Hailee Steinfeld - Half Written Story EP, HAWA - the ONE, Hayley Kiyoko - I’m Too Sensitive For This Shit EP, Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams - Petals For Armor I EP, Hinds - The Prettiest Curse, HMLTD - West of Eden, Icarus - Unfold, Incubus - Trust Falls (Side B) EP, i_o - NRG 444 EP, Isaia Huron - Libbie, iyla - OTHER WAYS TO VENT, J Balvin - Colores, Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 1) EP, Jack Garrett - Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 2) EP,  JACKBOYS & Travis Scott - JACKBOYS EP, Jacob Latimore - C3, Jadakiss - Ignatius, Jade Novah - Stages, James Smith - An EP, Japan, Man - Cautious EP, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Reunions, Jauz - Dangerous Waters EP, Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony, Jeremy Zucker - love is not dying, Jessie Reyez - BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US, Jhené Aiko - Chilombo, Jody Wisteernoff - Story of Light EP, JoJo - good to know, Joyner Lucas - ADHD, JOYRYDE - Brave, JP Saxe - Hold It Together EP, Justin Bieber - Changes, Kali Uchis - TO FEEL ALIVE EP, Kamaiyah - Got It Made, Kaskade - Redux 004 EP, Katie Gately - Loom, K CAMP - Kiss 5, Kehlani - It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Kevin Ross - Audacity, Vol 1 EP, Kiana Ledé - KIKI, Kid Krow - Conan Gray, King Princess - Cheap Queen (Deluxe), Khushi - Strange Seasons, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun EP, KIRBY - Sis. EP, K. Michelle - All Monsters Are Human, Knxwledge - 1998, Kodaline - One Day at a Time, Kygo - Golden Hour, Lane 8 - Brightest Lights, LA Priest - GENE, La Roux - Supervision, Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter, Lauren Auder - two caves in EP, Lauv - ~how i’m feeling~, Lil Wayne - Funeral, Little Dragon - New Me, Same Us, Little Simz - Drop 6 EP, LL Cool J - Authentic, Long Beach Dub Allstars - Long Beach Dub Allstars, Lonr. - Land of Nothing Real, LOONY - JOYRiDE EP, Loud Luxury - Nights Like This EP, Louis Tomlinson - Walls, Lucky Daye - Painted (Deluxe Edition), Luke James - to feel love/d, Lupe Fiasco - Chill Spotlight EP, Mac Miller - Circles, Mahalia - Isolation Tapes EP, MAITA - Best Wishes, Major Lazer - Soca Storm EP, Mala Rodriguez - MALA, Manatee Commune - Crescent Lake EP, Mason Maynard - Lookin’ At Me EP, Medasin - RIPPLS, Megan Thee Stallion - Suga, Mick Jenkins - The Circus EP, Midwife - Forever, Mija - Desert Trash, MILCK - Into Gold EP, Moaning - Uneasy Laughter, Model Man - Beta Songs EP, Moses Sumner - græ, Mourning [A] BLKstar - The Cycle, Mura Masa - R.Y.C., mxmtoon - dawn, Nada Surf - Never Not Together, Naeem - Startisha,  Nap Eyes - Snapshot of a Beginner, Nathaniel Rateliff - And It’s Still Alright, NNAMDÏ - BRAT, Noah Cyrus - THE END OF EVERYTHING EP, No Mana - Secret Level, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Blue Moon Rising EP, Norah Jones - Pick Me Up off the Floor, Ohmme - Fantasize Your Ghost, Oh Wonder - No One Else Can Wear The Crown, Okay Kaya - Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, Omar S - You Want, Orion Sun - Hold Space For Me, The Overcoats - The Fight, PARTYNEXTDOOR - PARTYMOBILE, Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot, Photay - Waking Hours, Pictish Trail - Thumb World, POLIÇA - When We Stay Alive, Poppy - I Disagree, Poolside - Low Season, Porches - Ricky Music, Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey, The Professionals (Madlib & Oh No) - The Professionals, Princess Nokia - Everything Is Beautiful, Princess Nokia - Everything Sucks, Pure X - Pure X, RAC - BOY, Ratboys - Printer’s Devil, Raveena - Moonstone EP, Real Estate - The Main Thing, Recondite - Dwell, renforshort - teenage angst EP, Ric Wilson & Terrace Martin - They Call Me Disco EP, Rileyy Lanez - Beautiful Mistakes EP, Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA, Riz Ahmed - The Long Goodbye, RJD2 - The Fun Ones, Robinson - Watching You EP, Ro James - MANTIC, Royce da 5’9” - The Allegory, Roy Woods - Dem Times EP, rum.gold - aiMless EP, Russ - SHAKE THE SNOW GLOBE, Ryan Beatty - Dreaming of David, Sam Lee - Oh Wow, San Fermin - The Cormorant I & II, SAYGRACE - The Defining Moments of SAYGRACE: Girlhood, Fuckboys & Situationlists, Sea Wolf - Through A Dark Wood, Selena Gomez - Rare, Sérgio Mendez - In the Key of Joy, Shabazz Palaces - The Don of Diamond Dreams, Shakey Graves - Look Alive EP, Ship Wrek - Mirror Mirror EP, Shoffy - Flash, Shopping - All or Nothing, Sleepy Hallow - Sleepy Hallow Presents: Sleepy For President, Slowly Slowly - Race Car Blues, Smino - She Already Decided [Mixtape], Soccer Mommy - Color Theory, Son Little - Aloha, Sorry - 925, Spacey Jane - Sunlight, Spencer Brown - Stream of Consciousness, Steve Aoki - Neon Future IV, Steve Spacek - House, Stormzy - Heavy Is The Head, STRFKR - Future Past Life, Striking Matches - Night EP, Subtronics - Scream Saver EP, Surfaces - Horizons, $uicideboy$ - Stop Staring at the Shadows, Sweaton Klank - Good Days, Sweet Whirl - How Much Works, Swing Ting - 100 Dances, Tank - While You Wait EP, Tate McRae - all the things i never said EP, TOKiMONSTA - Oasis Nocturno, Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music, TOPS - I Feel Alive, TORRES - Silver Tongue, Tory Lanez - The New Toronto 3, TeaMarr - Before I Spill Myself, Tech N9ne - Enterfear, Tech N9ne - ENTERFEAR Level 2 EP, Tennis - Swimmer, Tiësto - The London Sessions, Tink - Hopeless Romantic, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Temple, The-Dream - SXTPA, Theophilus London - Bebay, Thundercat - It Is What It Is, Tokio Myers - BLACK DAWN EP , Tourist - Wild (Remixes) EP, Trivecta - Everyday EP, T.R.U. & 2 Chainz - No Face No Chase, Two Feet - Pink, Tycho - Simulcast, T3 - Mr. Fantastic EP, Various Artists - Bad Boys For Life Soundtrack, Various Artists - Birds is Pray: The Album, Various Artists - Ophelia Presents: Advent Volume 1, Various Artists - The Turning (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Varsity - Fine Forever, Vistas - Everything Changes in the End, Vundabar - Either Light, Vybz Kartel - To Tanesha, Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud, WENS - Lemoncholy EP, William Black - Pages (The Remixes), Wiz Khalifa - The Saga of Wiz Khalifa, Wolf Parade - Thin Mind, X Ambassador - Belong EP, xylø - The Ganglands of My Heart EP, Yaeji - WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던, Yellow Claw - Never Dies, Yo Gotti - Untrapped, Youngr - Memories, Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences, Yves Tumor - Heaven To a Tortured Mind, Zeds Dead - We Are Deadbeats (Vol. 4), Zsela - Ache of Victory EP, 070 Shake - Modus Vivendi, The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form, 5 Seconds of Summer - CALM

Meh: ARTHUR - Hair of the Dog, The Black Lips - Sing in a World That’s Falling Apart,  Bruno Major - To Let A Good Thing Die, Don Toliver - Heaven Or Hell, Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By, Frances Quinlan - Likewise, Future - High On Life, iann dior - I’m Gone, Jaunt - All In One, Jeezy - Twenty/20 Pyrex Vision EP, Lil Baby - My Turn, Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake, Lil Uzi Vert - LUV vs. The World 2, Liquid Stranger - Ascension EP, Masiwei & Higher Brothers - Prince Charming, MHYSA - Navaeh, Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas, Rich The Kid - BOSS MAN, Social Club Misfits - MOOD // DOOM

[gascon-en-exil]

Pushing through my Azure Moon replay, with the deadline to finish it by Friday when I’ll have another game to distract me from Three Houses like I had actually planned. I’m through Chapter 9 now.

I’m sure I’ll be enjoying the extra character bits come Part 2, but the big problem with recruiting everyone is that your calendar gets overloaded with paralogues. That wouldn’t be too big an issue except that there’s no reliable way to boost motivation for lectures while battling unless you use Byleth, which I’m not. Granted that with only five units in play they’re all ending up overleveled regardless, but it’s a nuisance to have some instruction opportunities go almost completely to waste. Dimitri is my dancer (competing against the other house leaders, because I’d taken everyone else except them and Hubert) and finally qualified for bishop at almost the same time. Wyvern rider does patch up Dedue’s SPD somewhat in addition to the movement, so safe to say this is a solid alternative to war master for him. The rest are all coming along nicely, and Sylvain used his first Dark Seal because why not.

Inter-house supports have been a mixed bag, with many of them being not much more than throwing expected gimmicks together. Dimitri/Raphael being one of those, yet another wasted opportunity for bara as it’s not about Dimitri scoping out other beefy guys for his harem but instead about Raphael being an idiot who doesn’t know what muscle cramps are even though training is half of his personality. Felix continues to be horrible in his supports with women, and he supports Bernadetta for some two-sided annoyance. Ashe/Caspar starts off oddly philosophical and I can’t trigger their B yet, which I assume is where the cats will come in. It’s amusing watching Sylvain strike out with all the women he can only support up to B, and then in his only marriage option from another house Dorothea reads him perfectly in their first support and sets up their possible marriage of convenience angle. His Leonie support is a little odd though, as he doesn’t register her as a girl at first and is still stumbling over that point in their terminal B - like he’s still into feminine partners (well, Felix does have long hair...) despite his issues with women. There’s also his Lorenz support, in which they critique each other’s flirting techniques in such a catty way you’d almost forget they’re talking about flirting with women. I still don’t know what to make of Lorenz, honestly.

It’s also been useful to pick up on little moments I missed the first time around. For example, you learn that Dimitri’s uncle is older than Lambert but has no Crest, and he’s an infamous womanizer. That makes me doubly confident that he’s the remnant of the Blaiddyd bloodline mentioned in Crimson Flower, as he can reasonably rule despite the lack of Crest and would almost definitely be more diligent about producing heirs than Dimitri himself, especially on that route where he and Dedue have been joined at the hip (among other body parts) for nine years running. Edelgard and Dimitri spent a little over a year together as preteens, but it was mostly or entirely at Arundel’s residence and not as a family unit with Lambert and Patricia so I’m still not seeing how they qualify as siblings beyond Dimitri’s desperate need to cling to anyone alive he considers family. There’s also a bunch of Dedue fretting over Dimitri that he doesn’t bring up if you’re not with the Lions, and that one line where he uncharacteristically tells Sylvain to quit when he’s teasing Byleth and Dimitri for “getting chummy.” Aww, someone is jealous. And...oh, you get a sword from the Dimitri/Felix B support. I never found much use for the “of Zoltan” weapons, but I can’t think of another C-A/S support line in the series that hands you an item like that. It reminds me of Genealogy’s proto-supports.

Final note: I can confirm that one of the tracks in the music library requires you to be using the Japanese audio when Rhea sings after the ball. How unintuitive.