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juniorformulamotorsport · 5 years ago

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Wednesday, 17th September 2019 – Illkirchen, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Colmar

Wednesday morning, with even more insect bites decorating both of us, we got ready to check out and move on. I’d been for a run before breakfast and stopped off at the rather odd park near one of the tram stops. For reasons I couldn’t begin to fathom, the park contained a number of “Easter Island” heads. No. I have no idea. Apparently Place Malraux contains an Armenian Oak, which counts as a remarkable tree, but there’s no connection there that I can find. And the really weird thing was that they wouldn’t be the only Easter Island head style sculptures we would encounter, we would find more on the penultimate day of our holiday.

Anyway, they amused me. By 10:30 we’d got the car packed and were ready to go. Our landlady turned up on time, despite us not having done so on check-in and we were soon on our way to Robert Blanck to buy the wines we’d decided on. That was easily achieved, and the lovely lady serving us insisted on slipping a few extra goodies in (a couple of “top hat” Champagne bottle stoppers), especially after we bought a creme de peche as well (made from vineyard peaches) and we wended our way onwards to Famille Hauller, but could find no one around, despite Ludovic having suggested he would be there between 11 and 12. We decided to save Domain Sylvie Spielmann for later in the afternoon and thus headed for Chateau Haut-Koenigsbourg. We’d heard more about it on our wine tour, when Olivier asked if anyone on the tour was a “Lord of the Rings” fan, because if so we needed to visit the castle. Apparently “some guy” had used it as inspiration for some of the set design. Given our proximity to Switzerland, Lynne and I put two and two together and figured he was probably talking about John Howe, the Canadian artist who lives in Switzerland and who was one of the two artists deeply involved in the look of Peter Jackson’s films. A minimal amount of research later and I’d confirmed this was indeed the case, and that there’d even been an exhibition there last year. We had to go. There was no choice, not when the information I’d found said: “Several decades later, John Howe, the famous illustrator of Heroic Fantasy publications, fell in love with the château’s mysterious atmosphere on his first visit here during the 1980s. He used it as the inspiration for the design of the Citadel of Minas Tirith after he was appointed to the post of Conceptual Designer for Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy”. Just for good measure it also appears in its real form in Jean Renoir’s 1930s masterpiece, “La Grande Illusion”, and the considerably less famous “Les aventures d’Arsène Lupin” in 1956, but to keep the masterpiece theme going, it can also been seen in the animated classic “Howl’s Moving Castle”. 3 out of 4 then!

We drove up a winding and slightly white-knuckled road and eventually found ourselves on the loop in the road that leads up to the castle and then back down again. It was very, very busy and we decided that we’d try and get a good parking space rather than having to flog up the hill on what was another hot day. As we passed the apex and started to drop back down again we found a space that was actually big enough for my car (and it’s not a big car). And then we looked up! The castle is a monster of a structure, and looks just like you think a medieval castle should, looming massively against the skyline.

Its history, however, is slightly different to what you might expect, as with so many things in this part of the world. There’s mention of the Buntsandstein rock as Stophanberch (Staufenberg) in a 774 deed issued by Charlemagne, and it crops up again in 854, by which time it belonged to the Basilica of St Denis and may have been the site of a monastery. It all goes quiet again until 1147, when there is a record of a castle built by the Duke Frederick II of Swabia, one of the Hohenstaufens and called Castrum Estuphin, something the monks were not happy about as the record is a complaint to King Louis VII of France about it. The offending builder’s younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138, and was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick’s son, Frederick Barbarossa in 1152 and it wasn’t long before the name of this commanding fortress changed to Koenigsburg (king’s castle) or Kinzburg.

Eventually it passed to the Dukes of Lorraine, who entrusted it to the local Rathsamhausen knightly family and the Lords of Hohenstein, but the behaviour of a gang of robber barons who used the castle as a hideout so enraged the neighbours that it was occupied by the Elector Palatine in 1454, and less than a decade later it was set ablaze by the unified forces of the cities of Colmar, Strasbourg, and Basel. The Habsburgs handed the ruins over to the Tiersteins who rebuilt and enlarged the castle, supposedly in a way that meant it would be able to withstand modern artillery fire. No one told the Swedish artillery forces who broke through and overran the castle during the Thirty Years War and it was finally burnt to the ground in 1633 and left to fall into ruin for a couple of centuries. You wouldn’t know it though.

It was classified as an historical monument in 1862, and in 1865 it was bought by the town of Sélestat. There were plans to restore the place, but there were no funds to complete the work. Alsace was in one of its phases of being part of Germany, so the ruins of the castle were offered to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899. Having abandoned his plan to restore Schloss Rheinfels, he must have pretty much snapped their hands off. What followed was a remarkable 8-year long building project, where money was no object, and the most modern techniques were used. The castle would be completely restored, with the emphasis on as much historical accuracy as possible. To that end, a young architect, Bodo Ebhardt was put in charge. It helped that he was also an architectural historian, a castle explorer, and the founder and longtime president of the German Castles Association (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung). He was very thorough and after he had analysed the remaining ruins and façades, he read up as much as he could in old documents and records, and looked at other castles to draw comparisons.

He even made sure that those who came after would be able to easily identify the new parts of the walls, creating a new set of ‘mason’s marks’ to be used on any replacement stones, and gave different marks to different years. You can still see the marks if you know what to look for. It’s a fabulous place with some startling detail and although much of it is not authentic, you can completely forget that as you go round.

After an 8-year build, on May 13th 1908 the château was unveiled to the public with a parade and pageant involving five hundred performers in period dress. Of course after World War I it reverted back to being French, and became a tourist attraction, though apparently the French visitors would regularly criticise the restoration work because it had been carried out by the enemy. Surviving both World Wars undamaged the building was classified as a Monument historique (listed building) in 1993 and is now owned by the Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin.

As we wandered around, the views were staggering. You could see just why anyone with an ounce of strategic sense would want to build a fortress on just this spot. No one is going to be able to sneak up on you, that’s for sure.

After a couple of hours poking into all the nooks and crannies, we reckoned we needed a refreshment stop. The Library restaurant offered all sorts of options including some and cake. We were booked for dinner at our hotel that night and really didn’t need any more than a light snack. As there weren’t any of those on offer (Alsacian cuisine really does lean towards German sized portions, or at least ravenous vineyard worker sized portions alongside French refinement) I had a slice of mirabelle cake, and a bottle of cold water.

We had a look around the medieval garden that had been set up outside, but it had somewhat gone over due to the extremely hot weather and a general lack of care. Afterwards, we sauntered back to the car and headed over to Sylvie Spielmann, where we made a massive dent in our wine buying budget. We also made a massive dent in the bottom of my car when we collected a piece of ironwork that was sticking up out of the sandy base level that a road under reconstruction had been reduced to. It got stuck, dragged along for several feet, and I was only able to get off it by reversing and then rocking forward a couple of time. I’ve yet to figure out what damage has been done precisely, but it is going to need looking at.

From there we reloaded the car again, shuffling everything round as best we could to keep the next night’s bags at the top of the luggage pile, and headed to Colmar and the our hotel for the next three nights, the Hostellerie Le Maréchal. We arrived in good time, and unloaded. I then had to drive the car to the nearby underground car park, because a hotel built in 1595 isn’t going to have built in car parking! It was a hot walk back and I annoyed myself by leaving my handbag in the car and having to walk back again almost immediately. Once in though, we were able to get ourselves organised and cleaned up and then investigate the possibility of an aperitif in the hotel bar prior to dinner in their restaurant a l’Echevin.

We had a lovely view from our window of the canal and some of the typical local barques which were the only vessels shallow enough to navigate from the market garden areas to the market hall back in the day, and which now carry tourists up and down.

Colmar looked lovely, the hotel was glorious, we had one of the suites with a “Little Venice” view, and we looked to be in for a lovely stay. As we had dinner at the hotel twice, I shall write about that elsewhere.

Travel 2019 – Alsace and Baden, Day 6, Illkirchen, Orschwiller, Colmar Wednesday, 17th September 2019 - Illkirchen, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Colmar Wednesday morning, with even more insect bites decorating both of us, we got ready to check out and move on.

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expressandadmirable · 6 years ago

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Good Luck Out There (Wilhelm)

The sun hung low over the steeples and chimneys of Aelfheim, the sky a brilliant tapestry of pink and gold and deep blue at the corners. On the still-warm tile of the manor’s roof, Aviva pushed herself up to sitting, pulling the leather cord from her hair and letting the long braid slowly release itself. It had been some time since she had enjoyed a rooftop sunset.

“I think I’m going to build a tower,” Wil offered, apropos of nothing.

“A tower?” Aviva considered that for a moment. “Like your father’s?”

Wil chuckled humourlessly, reaching for the half-empty bottle of wine sitting between them. “No-one could build a tower quite like my father’s. His was connected to dark energies I couldn’t even begin to work with. I’m honestly not even sure those energies exist in the world now, given how we remade things.” A pause. “Plus, nobody’s that extra,” he added, taking a large gulp of wine to punctuate his point.

Aviva snorted. “That’s certainly true.” She accepted the offered bottle, taking a considerably smaller sip as she thought. “Where would you build it?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Wil’s tone was casual, as if discussing the weather. “So far, my first choice is out in the Blacksand Desert. Less of a chance I’ll be interrupted.”

“Yes, can’t have innocent bystanders walking in on your weirdness,” Aviva teased, but the truth of it nagged at her. Wil had become less and less social over the years since they had restored the world. Though always willing to visit with Aviva and her immediate family, he had withdrawn almost completely from public life, politely declining any official invitations and avoiding what he considered “prying eyes”. She passed the bottle back to him, her smile fading. “If you could still access those energies, would you?”

Wil kept his gaze focused on the vanishing sun, putting the bottle to his lips in a convenient moment of silence. “I don’t know. Alphinaud wasn’t my stone’s guardian, so I suspect it’s a moot point. But I’m starting to wonder if we might have greater access to our own elemental powers. I’m Shadow, after all; there’s probably a lot I could do. I could certainly make one hell of a tower.”

“You could, at that.” As the last of the sun melted into the horizon, a cold breeze whipped across the roof, tugging at Aviva’s hair and making her shiver. “Let’s head inside,” she suggested. “We can find Halei, or we can go out into the city and get into trouble.”

Taking another swig of wine, Wil nodded. “Let’s go find your wife. I’m all for staying in, though. Last time Sol and I went out in this nice city together, we started a bar fight.”

Aviva huffed a soft laugh. “I’m sure they’ve forgiven you since then.”

“I’m not gonna take any chances.”

II.

“Wil?” Aviva called as the dimly-lit antechamber of the tower materialised around her. “You called? I came as quickly as I could. Wil?”

“Hey, V.” Wil leaned against the doorframe, his sleepless face pulled into a wry half-smile. “Thanks for coming. I, uh… I guess I wanted to… talk? To someone?”

“Of course.” Aviva offered him her most reassuring smile. “What’s up?”

For a few moments, Wil fiddled uncomfortably with the wide sleeves of his robe, unable to meet her eyes. Then, finally: “My mum died.”

The Tiefling’s shoulders sank. “Oh, Wil…” With one fluid step, she crossed the antechamber and spread her arms, wrapping Wil in a tight hug. The Half-Elf stiffened, then changed his mind and softened into the embrace. It had been some time since he had touched anyone. When they finally separated, Aviva held him gently by the shoulders. “What happened?”

“Oh, heart failure. Human old age. Not unexpected.” He reconsidered his statement. “Well, not by her doctors. It wasn’t something I’d really thought about in… a long time.”

Aviva nodded. “Did you ever go see her again?”

“Absolutely not,” Wil answered sharply, taking an almost involuntary step backward into the tower’s main hall as he slipped free of Aviva’s hands. “I understood her words.”

With a twist of her stomach, Aviva realised she did not have anything to say to that. She had never understood Evangelina Stonewood’s instructions that, for both her safety and his, her son should never return. After the defeat of his father and the restoration of the world, Aviva had expected mother and son to reunite, sooner or later. The thought of sending her own daughter away, even to guarantee her safety, brought a tightness to her throat. “How did you find out?”

“Dr. Unne.” Wil’s old mentor. “He’s out the door soon himself, but I still keep in contact with him from time to time.” With a deep sigh, Wil turned and began to descend a rounded flight of stone steps, gesturing for Aviva to follow. “You want some coffee?”

“Yeah.” The bottom of the steps opened into a surprisingly homey kitchen, the fireplace burning cheerily even as it cast deep shadows about the room. The skeletons going about their chores had long since ceased to surprise Aviva, and she accepted a steaming mug from what had likely once been a goblin with a nod of thanks. “Got any bourbon to put in it?”

Wil clucked his tongue. “Of course. What kind of man do you take me for?”

Settling at the small kitchen table, they sat in silence for a while. The quiet seemed to comfort Wil, as did the presence of his Tiefling friend. Eventually, he spoke again. “I’m not going to die.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not going to die,” he repeated. “I’ve been studying my father’s old papers. He was foolish, turning to the path of the vampire. But there are other ways, ones that are less damaging to the mind. I haven’t figured out the best one yet, but… I’m on my way.”

Aviva chewed her lip. “Wil… Following in your father’s footsteps. You saw what he became. Corrupted, mad. Are you sure that’s a good idea? How do you know you’ll avoid the same pitfalls?”

“Because I have all his failures to build on.” Wil swirled the dark liquid in his mug. “I have a map of his mistakes. I know how to avoid them.”

“There are nearly infinite mistakes when it comes to magic of this magnitude--”

“I was in a guy’s head when he died, Aviva. I felt what it was like.” Wil looked her in the eye. “I’m not going to do that again.”

For a time, neither spoke. Then Aviva sighed. “Just be careful, okay?”

Wil scoffed, smoothing the folds of his robe with pointed overconfidence. “When am I not?”

III.

“Aviva?” Halei called from the doorway to their quarters. “V? You’re… You’re going to need to see this.”

“Yes, sunshine?” Aviva poked her head into the sitting room, her fingers tangled in the hair she was attempting to sweep into an elaborate updo. The sight of Halei stopped her cold. “Are those… bones?”

Halei stepped inside, pushing the door closed with her foot. “Yes,” she said simply, making her way carefully around the sofa and depositing an astonishingly large collection of sun-bleached bones onto the table. “It showed up at the front gate and apparently spooked the guards, so they took it down.”

Hesitantly, Aviva approached, freeing her hands and letting her hair tumble down her back. “Alright… So… Why is it on our dining table?”

“Because,” Halei answered, producing a folded parchment from the folds of her tunic, “it was delivering a letter. To us.”

All at once, understanding clicked like a key in a lock. “Wilhelm.”

“Looks like.”

“Of course, because delivering a letter by animated skeleton’s not dramatic at all,” Aviva muttered, taking the parchment from her wife and breaking the ornate wax seal. The handwriting was the same looped, elegant script she remembered from Wil’s previous letters, though somewhat rougher, as if he had not written with a quill in some time. Her confused frown deepened as she scanned down the page. “...Huh.”

Halei tilted her head. “What does it say?”

Clearing her throat, Aviva affected her best Wilhelm impression. “‘Hey Aviva and Sol, sorry I won’t be able to make it to your daughter’s birthday. Please tell her Uncle Wil is bone tired. I’m not just being a lazy bones, I promise. I hope you won’t have a bone to pick with me. Insert additional bone jokes here.’”

“Oh gods,” Halei groaned. “Does it actually say that?”

“‘Anyway,’” Aviva continued, “‘I wanted to let you both know I’ll be taking a leave of absence from our regular get-togethers. I’m close to a breakthrough in my research and I can’t leave my laboratory even for a moment. In addition, I’m not exactly my most attractive right now, and I don’t want to startle any innocent waitstaff or guards.’” Aviva sighed and met Halei’s eyes. “Do you think he’s finally done it?”

Halei pursed her lips, then shrugged one shoulder. “Could be. Either that or he’s close.”

Sharing a look of unspoken concern, Aviva returned to the letter. “‘Before I excuse myself completely from polite society, I want you to know this: you’ve always considered me family, which has meant more to me than I can say, especially as my own blood family and I drifted further and further apart. I want you to know that I think of you as my family as well. Whatever it takes, I will ensure that you and your daughter live your lives in peace, safety and happiness. No harm will come to you -- not if I have anything to say about it. I love you. Never forget that. Yours, Dr. Wilhelm Husk.’”

Stunned silence settled in the room. Aviva stared at the parchment, reading the words a second time, then a third. Halei humphed and folded her arms. “That boy’s turning himself into a lich, isn’t he.”

“Yes, I rather suspect he is. He said he never wanted to die, so…” Delicately folding the parchment closed, Aviva placed it atop the table of bones. “I don’t… know what to make of this.”

“That’s Wil in a nutshell, my love.” Halei smiled gently. “Always has been. He’s a neurotic mystery wrapped in a socially awkward enigma.”

“Do we do anything? Try and stop him? Talk him out of it?” Aviva huffed in frustration. “Would he even listen?”

“I don’t know,” Halei answered with another shrug. “If he’s not hurting anyone… If he is, yes. We will have to stop him. We will stop him. If not… We’ll see what happens.”

Aviva let out a slow, measured breath. “I don’t like it.”

“I know.” Sliding her arms around the Tiefling’s waist, Halei rested her head against Aviva’s shoulder, soothing her worries away, at least for the time being. “We knew this was coming, in a way. It’s a very Wil decision to make.”

“You’re right about that.”

“And it is his to make. At least he let us know. We’ll just have to keep an eye on him and take it one step at a time.” Halei gave the Tiefling a squeeze. “In the meantime, our girl has a birthday coming up. Let’s focus on that.” She glanced at the table. “…And we have to figure out what to do with all these bones.”

(Art by @biasanduntrue)

#Dungeons and Dragons #Original Characters #Canon #Aviva Lux #Epilogue #Title: The Flashbulb #Half-Elf #Draconic

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lorettadelluci-blog · 6 years ago

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TASK IV: THE EXTRAS.

summary: when loretta calls, you always pick up. there’s never any other choice. word count: 1.9k trigger warning: ptsd mention, illness mention

i. what’s worse, do you think: falling out of love with someone quick enough that it’s like it never happened, or falling out of love so slowly you wish you’d never met?

ada wilhelm can answer that question with ease. she stares at her call log, mouth pressed into a tight line. it’d been hard enough to hear it over the low roar of the private jet, but she’d gotten the voicemail.

ada, loretta had said, like she does every time she’s going to break ada’s heart, her voice emotionless, listen to me.

listen to her? for what? but ada --- stupidly, recklessly, knowing she’d have four board meetings waiting for her once the wheels hit the ground --- sat there and listened as loretta made it clear.

i don’t --- i’m not sure when i’m coming back. and i know it’s not fair to you, but i think it’s best if we... called this done.

she cycles through the emotions rapidly: anger, sadness, joy, grief, pure and unfiltered rage and envy. it’s not fair. but loretta’s never been fair. she’d thought for so long that maybe they could make it work. that if ada worked hard enough, kept up with the phone calls and text messages and spoke when loretta needed to listen that maybe things would be different this go around. she’s not sure what it is, exactly, keeping them together, but it hurts more than an open wound.

they’d met when they were barely kids, just out of college, and ada... she’s not stupid. she’d been in love with loretta since the day they’d met. and she’d never been selfish. not exactly. WILHELM was rightfully hers. her position at the top of the ladder is still hers. everything she’s clawed out of flesh, every minute she’s spent pouring over code and emails and texts and videos --- it’s all still hers. loretta wouldn’t take that from her. her wealth, her home, her newfound family --- they’d all be safe.

but this sacrifice doesn’t feel fair. not to ada. her phone shakes in her hands so she sets it down and smooths her skirt out, attempting to regain some semblance of poise. restraint. she thinks of the wedding ring, still in its velvet box, sitting on her mantelpiece. her fingers twitch. it’d been a nice dream, at least, for a little while. a happy one.

she orders a drink and lets it be. loretta’s been a ghost in ada’s head for too long. maybe it’s time to stop mourning.

ii. the phone rings at three in the morning, when the party is still raging. they’re celebrating a good closing to the fiscal year: more wealth, more power, more room to grow. she’s not sure when someone gave her another mimosa, but what the fuck is franchesca gonna do? not drink it? she pulls her phone out and stumbles upstairs, laughing in the same pitch as hannah in accounting past a slew of guests.

they’re happy. why shouldn’t she be happy? this is --- this is her fucking company. she did this.

she stares at her screen, squints. the letters eventually blur together to form a name: ‘etta.

the joy drains out of her chest like water in a sink. oh shit. oh, shit. oh, shit. oh shit. she fumbles with her hands to slide the button on the screen, pulls the phone to her ear. “loretta! hey!” does she sound drunk? fuck, she better not sound drunk. she sets down the mimosa near the bed, where hopefully the cat won’t decide to swipe it over.

“franchesca,” loretta says. there’s a long pause. franchesca can picture her now: reading glasses on, the weariness of hours without sleep on her face, looking the picture of medusa. beautiful, tempting, deadly if you stare at her too long. her heart skips a beat.

“what time is it in italy? shouldn’t, uh --- shouldn’t you be asleep?” is she slurring her words? she swallows.

“it’s nine in the morning, and i’m currently enjoying a cup of tea. it’s three am in new york, though, franchesca. should you be awake? i know you have an interview with entrepreneur at ten.” oh, she sounds pissed. she sounds so fucking pissed. franchesca’s known loretta long enough to know when she’s pissed.

franchesca’s not going to question how she knows about the interview, either. best not to beat around the bush if this is how it’s going to play out. “’m not... you just woke me up. what is this about? is everything okay?”

“listen to me, franchesca.”

two things about loretta delluci franchesca has learned in her best efforts to imitate her: she likes to use names, because it grabs attention. it’s not uncommon to hear your name three times in five sentences around her. when she says listen to me, you fucking listen. she straightens her spine and gets ready for the lecture.

it’ll be short and sweet. “i’m listening.”

“franchesca, if you fuck up this interview tomorrow like you did with bloomberg, i’m going to take a red eye back to rhode island and ruin things so badly for you that you’ll be in debt for the rest of your goddamn life. you have a job to do, and i’m paying you to do it for a reason. get it together. no more slip ups. i won’t ask twice. am i clear?”

there’s a clatter, sharp and sudden, from right beneath her. orange mimosa is spilling across her floor, beneath her prada pumps, and there sits garfield, staring up at her with relative innocence. franchesca swallows. “i hear you.”

the line goes dead. party’s over.

iii. each day in verona has henri asking himself why, exactly, he decided that verona was the city to get away from the mob in.

you leave chicago to get away from the mancini-sullivan bullshit and you end up in capulet-montague bullshit instead. great job, morrol. real smart, dean might have said. but dean’s dead and buried somewhere in the desert outside vegas.

dean, as it happens, also looks so much like faron vasiliev that henri’s having some feelings right now he’s not particularly comfortable addressing. he pops his nicorette --- sourced in from the states en masse, because jesus christ, quitting is hard and nothing else really works --- and lifts the binoculars back up.

even from almost a mile away, it’s still easy to see that faron vasiliev looks at calina sokolova like she’s the sun. legs kicked out in front of him, tilted back in his chair, henri watches them cross the street and disappear into some antiquated tea house often frequented by capulets and montagues both. it’s a miracle the little place hasn’t been set on fire yet by either group.

he’s not sure why he does this shit for loretta. not really. sure he’d owed her a favor, but this is different from a favor. this is putting his life on the line for someone who otherwise doesn’t give too much of a shit about him.

the sound of dean’s body hitting the dirt rings out in his head, just before the shot of the gun, and the guilt. the immense, incapacitating guilt that had henri running from chicago in the first place. he knows, idly, that dean had deserved to die for what he’d done to the sullivan family. he’d fucked them over. he’d known that then, and he knows now.

when cristopher mancini tells you to kill a man, you just do it. you don’t ask why.

but dean had wanted nothing more than to just... get away from everything. disappear just like henri had asked him to, over, and over, and over again.

let’s get married. let’s just fuckin’ do it, dean. we can go, he’d said. we’ve got the money.

just a little while longer, dean would insist, every single fucking time. what bullshit. absolute bullshit. he wishes, maybe just a little, that he’d died with him. it’d be easier this way.

his phone vibrates in his pocket, and he answers without checking to see who it is. who gives a fuck anymore?

“henri, how are you?” loretta asks. she sounds... chirpy. criminy.

“peachy keen,” he lies. “what do you know about a faron vasiliev?”

iv. three things happen to freya when she returns to los angeles after her second year abroad in italy: she gets the internship she asked for. her mother’s medical bills are magically paid. both her brothers listen to her when she talks, now, and that’s almost enough to make her want to be honest with them.

she goes back to st. louis in august to finish her degree, finally, and then after that it’s off to work with whatever tech-based company will take her. twenty-two years of hard work and determination and a little bit of lying, and her dreams are coming true.

loretta calls every friday at seven o’clock, and freya’s not dumb. she knows to pick up the phone. the nail polish on her hands is still drying when she fumbles with her new iPhone, using her foot to clumsily crank down the volume on the radio she’d been using in her bedroom. “loretta! hi! hey!”

“hey, kiddo, how are you doing?” loretta’s voice is warm, and it fills freya with unexpected affection. the things she’d done in verona had been awful, and she’s still not sure that those ghosts won’t follow her home, but they’d been worth it.

worth it for the free tuition and worth it because her mother’s chances of survival over the next twenty years are so much better than they’d been three months ago. “good. how’s verona?”

“boring without you here. i miss our morning reviews and you ranting to me about ancient architecture and history.”

she snorts. “not the cool, fun, spying stuff? just the history?”

loretta quiets for a second or two, and she’s wondering if she maybe put her foot in her mouth. “i almost wish i’d never dragged you into any of that. but you’re safer in america than over here, at least. i’ve got your back.”

it’s a relief to hear something she wasn’t really listening for anyways, but freya feels a sudden tightening in her chest. “i don’t regret any of it. it was --- what the capulets and montagues are doing? they’re ruining verona. i’m not even from there and i saw it. the bridge...”

loretta sighs. “yeah, i know. but hopefully this whole thing will be done. i’m working on it, and you and i can both go to bed resting easy.” she sounds tired. really, really tired.

“will you call me next week?” she asks, voice soft, like she always does. maybe it’s stupid, but she worries, and loretta delluci isn’t a woman you just forget. she can almost picture her face: the way the lines around her eyes soften, the curve of her smile, the warmth of her arms when they’d hugged one last time in loretta’s apartment before freya’d had to go to the airport.

“of course i will. you keep me updated, okay?”

“sure thing. i’ll let you know if --- if anything happens.”

loretta never says goodbye, over the phone. she always just ends the call. with the promise she’d apparently needed, loretta leaves freya with bad punk rock on the radio and a smear of blue polish on her index finger.

she still scrubs at her suddenly wet eyes anyways.

#diveronatask #illness tw #ptsd tw #fellas is it valid to get absorbed in unimportant side characters you'll never really think about again and proceed to cry a lot about them #is it valid to pour your entire afternoon into finishing graphics for each individual character #mmmmmmm i went a LITTLE overboard but it's. it's fine #character study.#graphics.

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imx-doomer · 7 years ago

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HERE'S HOW TO FIX THE FINAL SEGMENT OF WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS:

(I talked about this previously in a post of mine, but back then it was just a single sentence. This is a (much) more fleshed out post about that subject.)

(This is a semi-long post, but it won't be hindered behind a Read More because of reasons).

(Click here for full image)

Okay so, we all know by now that the way Engel died at the hands of B.J. Blazkowicz sucked major cow ass. Not only compared to the previous game of the franchise (The New Order), but also compared to other games of the franchise and many other similar games of the genre.

I am willing to admit that I'm not that much of a fan of Wolfenstein as I'm a fan of DOOM (as you can definitely perceive by my username and the name of this blog), but as far as my knowledge about the franchise goes, I believe The New Colossus was the very first game of the franchise ever since the original game from 1991 to not have a proper final boss fight.

Actually, let me double-check before continuing any further...

Okay, I'm done.

Now, let me list all the Wolfenstein games so far with their respective final bosses:

Wolfenstein 3D - General Fettgesicht Spear of Destiny - Angel of Death (a literal demon from Hell) Wolfenstein 3D: Original Encounter - Hitler (this was more of a compilation/rearrangement of the original game) Return to Castle Wolfenstein - Heinrich I Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory - A multiplayer game, originally intended to be an expansion pack of RtCW Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War & Operation Resurrection - Console ports of RtCW Wolfenstein (2009) - Hans Grosse Wolfenstein RPG - Cyberd --- I mean, Harbinger of Doom Wolfenstein 3D Classic (iOS) - A port of the classic Wolf3D game Wolfenstein: The New Order - General Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse (MechaDeathshead) Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - The Monstrosity (literally a freaking golem) Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - Frau Engel

So...yep.

Ignoring the console/mobile ports and the multiplayer-only game, The New Colossus is indeed the first game of the franchise where you don't engage in a final boss fight of sorts.

And no, no matter how hard you pretend and try to say otherwise, the fight with the Zerstörer(s) does not count as a "final" boss fight.

"But it happens near the end of the game!". You know damn well what I'm talking about.

Are people afraid of boss fights now , or what?

Are people afraid of the challenge of a final boss fight?

Do you realize Wolfenstein is a first-person shooter game, right? And not only that: along with DOOM, Wolfenstein established the damn genre. Boss fights in FPS games are a must, and final boss fights are more than welcome.

So what the hell happened with The New Colossus? What made MachineGames go "nah, you don't need a legendary encounter against Engel to remember"?

I can't answer that question myself, but with this situation in mind, this is my small suggestion/proposal about how the final segment of the game could've (or should've) went:

The game tries to sell us the idea that Engel is a sadist, much like Deathshead was. I mean, of course it's a given considering that she's a damn nazi, but you get the idea. She treats her own daughter like shit, and she might as well won't give a damn about anyone else other than herself.

Now let's look back at how they initially planned the infiltration and assault to the Ausmerzer (the big ass flying nazi fortress) and how they planned the attack against her life.

- First they deactivated the system that enabled the nazis to locate and terminate any group of people trying to revolt. - Then they traveled to Los Angeles, California to the Jimmy Carver Show where she was invited.

Here’s when things change.

Once inside the studio, they attempt to kill Engel, but oh surprise! She manages to escape, not before she gets her forearm chopped by Blazkowicz. She manages to reach the rooftop of the building, and with her surviving hand, pulls a remote control and presses a button.

The Ausmerzer then proceeds to activate the BRÜNNHILDE protocol, a well hidden and fully autonomous defense system that only Engel knew of its existence, and drops a gigantic metallic box from the very inside of the Ausmerzer to the rooftop, almost causing the building to fall down.

Blazkowicz barely manages to stretch himself to the top, where the final fight will take place. It is then revealed that inside that metallic box there was an upgraded mecha/power armor of the original mecha that Deathshead used to fight you a long time ago.

And on top of that, the motherfucker can actually lift off and fly effortlessly!

Engel is now inside a goddamn flying mecha. Eat fucking shit Deathshead, they appropriated your plans and improved your own invention.

Engel yells: "Die, allied schweinehund!", and the final boss fight begins.

There's a good bunch of ammo in the rooftop of the building where you start, but you'll definitely need more, that's why in order to continue you must jump from one building to another to collect more ammo and weapons to fight her. And she's not alone, a good bunch of nazi helicopters start showing up and they start attacking you too!

Once you progress, the game will tell you that Grace, Horton, Fergus/Wyatt and Anya will help you fight her and the remaining nazis. And here's the fun part: excluding Anya, there is a chance that either one or all of them will die during the fight. Depending on which one survives, the final cutscene will change accordingly.

Anya cannot die because dammit, Blazkowicz has suffered enough, and I won't have her die in The New Colossus after all the previous mid-game shitshow.

In the first face you manage to fuck up her flying system, but in the second face she will activate an emergency backup which consists of kangaroo-like jumps from building to building, hoping to crush you like a cockroach.

After an intense battle, you deal a severe, lethal damage to the mecha, and it starts exploding with Engel still inside! She yells in extreme agony, and you stop shooting entirely.

Tired, Blazkowicz falls on his back, and during a small “flashback”, he's seen in a beautiful green field filled with flowers while a grown up Billie (the African-American girl from the early days of Blazko) and B.J.’s mother Zofia (visibly old) approach him and extend their hand to him. Blazkowicz does the same, but then he realizes it's Anya herself which is actually the one helping him stand up.

"It's over", Anya says, while embracing him. "It's done".

"No. It's not over yet". Blazkowicz mutters, as Anya stops hugging him, not knowing what he's talking about. Then she turns her back and sees what Blazkowicz was seeing this time.

A fatally damaged Engel, barely trying to get outside the mecha, dragging herself out of it.

"I hate you, William Joseph Blazkowicz!", she screeches. Anya hands Blazkowicz a double barreled shotgun.

"Take this. It's a gift that I forgot to give you on your birthday", she says. Blazkowicz nods.

Cutscene ends, and you're brought back to land the finishing blow on Engel, but all out of a sudden, she pulls a grenade out of fucking nowhere, pulls the safe.

"Oh...you are so gull---ghhhhhkkk!"

A cutscene plays. And you can't help but watch a flash of light while Anya jumps on top of Blazko, trying to protect him.

He opens his eyes, but the first thing he sees is not the aftermath of a grenade blast, but Sigrun brandishing your hatchet in one hand, and Engel's lifeless head on the other, chopped from her charred body, with a visible blow in the middle of Engel's face.

A tape starts rolling back (just like the one from the infamous mid-game scene), and you're shown how Sigrun was waiting for her mother to attack, as she lands a perfect hatchet throw on her face, while the grenade starts flying near Blazkowicz and Anya.

"Nazi scum", Sigrun mutters. Then she starts crying.

Back to reality, Blazkowicz and Anya are astonished by the scene, and approach Sigrun to comfort her. The surviving members of the Resistance do the same, and help her get back up.

"A dud", Sigrun says. "A what?" "It was a dud. The grenade was a dud that she always had on her to scare me."

(If Grace survived, she'll look at Sigrun, and then she'll hug her in the verge of tears).

Blazkowicz turns his back, and looks at the dud. He grabs it, and throws it near Engel's remains.

And then as he turns his back again, it explodes.

The team can't help but chuckle and laugh, as they start leaving the rooftop. Then the final cutscene of the original ending where they look at the main camera of the Jimmy Carver show starts playing with all the surviving members of the final fight...

The End.

I mean, you might say that my idea sucks ass, and fighting a "MechaAntagonist" again is a cheap and rehashed idea from the previous game, but you must admit that it's waaay better than what we got, which is basically pressing a button to win.

That was genuinely some God of War bullshit.

My decision of having Sigrun land the final blow on her own mother is to serve as the climax of her complete turnaround from her roots as a daughter of a nazi general to an ally of the Resistance, in all the proper goddamn sense of the word.

And also, rooftop fights will always rule no matter what. We need more rooftop fights in videogames dammit.

Thoughts? Comments? My inbox is open! As always, thanks for reading!

#gaming #wolfenstein #Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus #machinegames #bethesda #videogames #video games #offt #b.j. blazkowicz #anya oliwa #sigrun #grace walker #horton boone #irene engel #fergus reid #Probst Wyatt

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soggywarmbooks · 8 years ago

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According to Goodreads, I read 106 books in 2016, which is a lot. Instead of having you scroll endlessly through my Goodreads to find my reviews, I thought I would make a nice little wrap-up post of my favorites and recommendations.

NOT PICTURED (because I only own in ebook format thus far): Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and the Jem and the Holograms graphic novels by Kelly Thompson.

More on these titles and why I chose them below the cut!

An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir:

The first two books in what will be a four book series written by former Washington Post author and editor (who is here on tumblr @sabaatahir!). These books are exceptionally good, featuring a diverse cast with a good amount of social commentary and good world building. The first book (Ember) focuses on Laia, a girl who goes undercover as a slave in a prestigious military academy as part of a deal to free her brother from prison. There she meets Elias, a specialized soldier known as a mask, who happens to be the son of the very woman Laia was sent to spy on, and who wants nothing more than to be out of the school and free of the Martial empire. I can’t say much more without giving anything away, but these books pulled me in and had me absolutely captivated from page one and I cannot wait for the rest of the series:

Some things to be aware of: Yes, slavery is a theme in this book, but it is never glorified or romanticized. Rape is mentioned and threatened, but never occurs or is used as a plot device, and is presented in only an absolutely negative light. There is a lot of violence in this series, and it gets a tad graphic at times, so be careful of that. This series falls victim to a few common YA tropes (the “chosen one” and a love triangle or two) but I personally found they didn’t detract from the story too much.

A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab:

Let me start by saying that this is hands-down the best series I have read in a long time and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The books follow Kell, a magician with the power to travel through worlds using his blood, who gets himself into a bit of a bind through his love of smuggling artifacts from other worlds into his own, and Delilah, a skilled thief who dresses as a man to avoid detection, and who happens to steal a dangerous artifact from Kell when she meets him in the street one night. nearly destroying his world and draining hers of the little power it has left. This series has the most interesting characters I have encountered in a long time, with amazing personalities, and great representation all across the board (disability, sexuality, and race all represented well and in a positive light). And with the release of A Conjuring of Light in February, the series is blissfully complete! No months of waiting for the next book, not that you’ll be in any hurry for the series to end. Author on Tumblr as @veschwab.

Things to be aware of: Seeing as the series deals with blood magic, there is a fair amount of violence and bloodshed.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken:

I never thought I’d be into a book about time-travel, but this one proved me dead wrong. This book reads like historical fiction mixed with modern young adult romance. Henrietta Spencer is a talented violinist, who hopes to make her professional debut soon, but her plans get derailed when she is literally thrust into the past and soon finds herself in a race to find a valuable artifact hidden by her mother somewhere in the past before her mother is killed by the family seeking it. On her adventures she meets Nicholas, a freed slave turned privateer who has just narrowly escaped the clutches of the same family holding Etta’s mother hostage. He makes a deal with the family to accompany Etta and bring the artifact to them in exchange for a share of their fortune and the promise of his true freedom, but will he be able to keep his promise when he starts to fall for his travelling companion?

Things to be aware of: Slavery and racism are definitely themes in this one, but both are handled delicately and not glorified or celebrated. One of the few interracial pairings I’ve seen in YA and it was done amazingly well. Book 2, Wayfarer introduces some more characters with diverse backgrounds and sexualities, so this series gets good marks for diversity.

Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys:

Two excellent historical fiction books set during World War II. I listed them together because not only do they have overlapping timelines, but they also have related characters. Between Shades of Gray focuses on a young girl and her family who were rounded up and sent to various labor camps because of their anti-Stalin stance, while Salt to the Sea follows the journeys of four young men and women who ended up on the doomed Wilhelm Gustloff, a massive ship that went down in the Baltic Sea on January 30th 1945 while attempting to evacuate German citizens, refugees from other war-torn areas, Nazi officials, and military personnel.

Things to be aware of: There is an instance of rape in Salt to the Sea, and one of the characters in Salt to the Sea subscribes to Nazi rhetoric, however neither are romanticized and both are shown in an incredibly negative light.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson:

A wonderful graphic novel which collects and updates the pages of the webcomic of the same name. The story here is complex, dark at times, funny at others, and utterly satisfying to read.

Illuminae and Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff:

Two extremely good young adult sci-fi novels, told in one of the most unique formats I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Rather than being told in prose, the events of these novels unfold through a series of confiscated emails, chats, interview transcripts, and detailed descriptions of surveillance videos. The events of these books kick off when a major corporation launches an attack on a small planet which is home to an illegal mining operation by their rivals. Thousands are killed, but a few ships manage to escape with refugees, including Kady Grant and Ezra Mason, two teenagers who just happened to break up hours before the attack and now find themselves on the run from a destroyer intent on blowing up their escaping fleet to ensure that word of the attack never reaches the light of day. The first book, Illuminae, contains the only plot twist that has ever made me scream out loud, and Gemina continues the story by bringing in two new teenage characters to kick ass and take names.

Things to be aware of: One co-author; Jay Kristoff, has come under fire for serious butchering and appropriation of Japanese culture and language in another series he has written. While I myself did not notice anything of the sort in Illuminae or Gemina, as a white woman, I wholly admit that I am not the best judge of such things and can understand why some people may not wish to read anything he is involved with. As for warnings applying to these books specifically: there’s some violence and gore in both and some drug use and organized crime in Gemina that some may want to avoid.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer:

A wonderful fairytale spin-off that tells the tale of how the Queen of Hearts became the way she is, and how she got her instantly recognizable catchphrase. This was one of those rare books that I simply could not tear myself away from. I read the entire thing in just over 24 hours and have not stopped thinking about it since. If you like fairy tale retellings, give this one a read.

The Valor Anthology:

This collection of comics and short stories all feature fearless women stepping up and being their own knights in shining armor. Brought to life on Kickstarter and featuring numerous Tumblr artists and content creators, this book is a treasure trove of badass heroines, LGBT representation, and characters of diverse backgrounds and cultures. I love how many of the stories draw on folklore and mythology from around the world, and how many are completely original as well. The anthology can be purchased here. The ebook option is just $5!

Jem and The Holograms Comics/Graphic Novels:

If ever there was a perfect example of rebooting something and making it modern while still keeping the charm of the original, this is it. Kelly Thompson and Jen Bartel took our favorite pastel and punk ladies and brought them into today’s day and age with more diversity than you can shake a stick at. This comic series has so many different body types, cultures, and sexualities represented that I don’t even know where to begin. Just read it! Need more convincing? Digital editions are on sale up to half-off through Comixology until 3/20/2017!

#best books of 2016 #favorite books read in 2016 #book recommendations #book recs

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thirtysixsavefiles · 8 years ago

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Knight AU, conclusion under the cut.

Part I: Country Boy Part II: Country Boy Prince Part III: Jack Part IV: Training Yard Part V: Long Live the King

Tim doesn’t see much of Jack in the weeks leading up to the preparations for the wedding. There are a lot of details, apparently, that require his personal attention, so it’s a surprise to Tim when he come back to his room one afternoon and finds Jack waiting for him.

“Got something for you,” Jack tosses a packet at him and Tim catches it awkwardly. “Some light bedtime reading, if you’re into that kind of thing.”

Tim opens it and frowns at the stack of papers inside. “Is this more etiquette pamphlets, because -”

Jack waves a hand. “Nah, I don’t give a shit about that stuff. This isn’t etiquette - it’s evidence.”

“Evidence of...” Tim trails off as he pulls the first papers out.

“Treason.” Jack’s smile is vicious and ugly. “Tassiter tried to cover his tracks but it’s all there if you know where to look. He arranged for the convoy “accident” that killed our parents and left you stranded out in that backwater excuse for a village. It’s a good thing you showed up when you did,” Jack says while Tim is still trying to comprehend what he’s seeing. “Once I knew where to look, it was easy to pick up the trail, even after all these years.”

“What are you going to do?” Tim asks quietly, replacing the papers, because he knows Jack well enough by now to know that Jack has a plan.

“Wait for my fiance,” is the answer, and Tim blinks because that’s not at all what he expected. “I am getting married, after all. Wear something nice to the wedding, won’t you?” Jack rests his hand on Tim’s shoulder on the way out. “Something in yellow.”

Tim likes Rhys, when he arrives at court. He’s nice, easy to talk to; makes Tim feel at ease in a way that Jack doesn’t always. He has also arrived with quite a large complement of soldiers accompanying him.

“Honor Guard,” Rhys says easily when Tim asks him about it. “It’s not every day you have a royal wedding, you know?” Tim doesn’t, of course, but he nods anyway, glancing back out the window at the camps being set up in the courtyards and outside the city. It’s really quite a lot of soldiers.

But what does Tim know about honor guards, anyway? What does Tim know about honor, when you get right down to it?

He asks Wilhelm about it, one night when Wilhelm is checking his room over before Timothy goes to sleep. Wilhelm’s been doing that a lot lately, and Tim is beginning to suspect that he might know why.

“I’ve been thinking about what Jack said,” Tim starts, and Wilhelm makes a half-listening noise as he secures the shutters. “About laying hands on the prince.”

Wilhelm stills, his back to Timothy.

“And it seems to me that you’ve already done that, and I’m pretty sure that Jack knows, so I don’t see why we can’t keep doing it. Unless,” Tim draws in a breath because this is the part he’s not sure about. “Unless I was just convenient.”

Wilhelm barks out a laugh. “You are a lot of things, Timothy, but convenient is not one of them.”

“Then why can’t we -”

“Look.” Wilhelm turns and stalks over the bed. “I’m your Captain of the Guard. It’s my job to protect your person and your honor.”

There’s that word again. Tim frowns. “Weren’t you the one who told me, and I’m quoting here, ‘fuck honor?’”

Wilhelm inhales sharply. “That’s different.”

“How is different, exactly?” Tim’s heart is pounding in his chest. “Is it because it’s me?” Wilhelm’s answering silence stretches out, but Timothy’s not going to be the one to break it.

“Yes,” Wilhelm finally says softly, and Timothy’s stomach drops. “It’s different because it’s you.”

Tim looks away, because he hadn’t really wanted to know this - that Wilhelm didn’t want him back. But Wilhelm’s large hand is on his chin, turning his face back. Wilhelm sits on the bed next to Timothy and holds his chin while he says:

“It’s different because you deserve better.” No I don’t, Tim wants to scream, but he holds his breath instead. “It’s different because every time I put my hands on you I don’t want to stop.” Wilhelm cups Tim’s cheek in his hand and Tim leans into it.

“Then don’t,” Tim says, and if the press of Wilhelm’s lips on his is treason then so be it; Timothy will give up everything he is, everything he might be, to have this. To keep this.

Later that night, Tim wakes up from what feels like the best sleep he’s had since he arrived in the city to a strange noise from the hallway. He’s not the only one who hears it, apparently; next to him Wilhelm is already awake, and as Tim sits up Wilhelm gets out of bed and pads to the door in bare feet.

“What is it?” Tim asks, yawning, as Wilhelm opens the door and checks the hallway.

“Nothing,” Wilhelm says, but his voice is strange, and suddenly Tim is a lot more awake. “Go back to bed.”

Tim considers it, but he also thinks about the soldiers surrounding the city and Jack’s strange moods lately and instead he gets out of bed and pulls on pants and a shirt. Wilhelm does the same, and he doesn’t stop Timothy but he does shadow him very closely when Tim opens the door and steps into the hallway.

The hall is scattered with dead men, all of them wearing red and black livery. Whatever happened here, it doesn’t look like there was much of a fight, although that changes the farther down the hall Tim travels; there’s blood on the floor, on the walls, as if there was more resistance further in. Tim follows the trail of blood and death until he finds Jack, kneeling astride Tassiter with his hands wrapped about the Regent’s throat. There’s blood dripping from an ugly gash on Jack’s face, and his eyes are feral, wild. Rhys is standing by, watching approvingly, backed by a contingent of armed men.

When Jack sees Tim he pauses, fingers loosening slightly. “Is there something you want to say, Timothy?”

Timothy thinks about the packet Jack had handed him, the packet of incontrovertible proof that Tim had pored over late into the night. Tim thinks about the parents he doesn’t remember, the hell his life had been growing up, the life he might have had. It might have been better, it might have been worse, but it would have been his.

And Tim says, “No.”

The next morning the Great Hall is draped in yellow and black and gold and the new King and Prince-Consort are crowned. There’s a fresh scar on Jack’s face, and a serene look on Rhys’ as he stands next to his new husband. Rhys doesn’t look any different, Tim thinks as he watches them wave to the crowd. Tim wonders why he himself doesn’t feel any different.

Tim stands next to his brother the king, Wilhelm at his back, and wonders what kind of era this will be.

End

#timhelm #timothy lawrence #wilhelm #rhys #handsome jack #rhack #in the background #bltps #tftbl #borderlands #my fic #kinda #knight au

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talietikasero · 4 years ago

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I went in aware of the (possible) retcons and shit but I watched the whole thing anyway. It’s some ungodly hour way past when I should’ve slept and here’s what I thought. I’m trying to be fair here when I give GG Strive’s story a 6.8/10

Visuals: This game is beautiful. 12/10

Voice cast: I enjoyed the dub. Not as much of a corny anime dub like Sign was, but the returning cast improved from that game -- or at least I thought so. 8.75/10

Soundtrack: One word: Incredible. The duo of Naoki and Aisha on vocals for all character themes -- ok they're only a duet on Ramlethal's [Necessary Discrepancy] but you know what I meant -- was a perfect choice. My favorite themes from when I played the second open beta back in mid-May were Giovanna's [Trigger] and Potemkin's [Armor-Clad Faith], but Leo's [Hellfire] really grew on me the most. 15/10

Game itself: Arcade mode was a fun challenge because I’m an idiot who did all 15 but I got really tired of fighting Nago over and over again. I’m not that great so I’m not worrying about getting the “Messiah Will Not Come” trophy where you fight him but he’s got an infinite blood gauge. Survival gives a good chunk of the lifebar back without making it too easy -- and the “mysterious challenger” at stage 10 being a shadowy Sol with neon red was an okay way to signal a checkpoint. 9/10 I’m not doing online any time soon because I don’t have a wired connection but I hear it’s ass and the tower placement is a complete lie.

Anywho, now on to the real post:

For a finale, the story was... slightly below average. But I’ll be honest here, I kinda had high expectations because of the hype from the past two (?) years, five if you count the total time between Rev2 and Strive's release dates.

The last time I was this critical of a sequel’s story was the gap between Borderlands 2 and 3, which was seven years. I'm going off on a tangent here but I'll sum it up so if you're not familiar with Borderlands you'll have an idea of what I'm taking about. In Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel, the Watcher (Eridian? that saved Athena from execution after telling Lilith and company of her adventures on Elpis with Nisha, Wilhelm, Timothy, Aurelia, and Claptrap) warned "Now's not the time for bickering, Vault Hunters. War is coming, and you will need all the Vault Hunters you can get". BL3 rolls around and there was no big war. Instead, we got a poorly delivered dumpster fire of a main campaign that spanned five planets and the main villains were some bratty livestreamer Sirens that run a planet wide cult. Seriously? The cast was poorly handled there too but I'll stop here.

In the case of comparison to another fighting game’s story, the game that comes to mind is Tekken 7 because if they aren’t a Mishima or Kazama or someone else in that fucked up family that’s plot relevant, they were given a shitty one-fight episode. Sure Nina and Claudio were in the main story mode but that's the thing: they were just there. The returning (dlc) series veterans, such as Anna, Lei, Marduk, and all the way to Zafina plus the newcomers Leroy, Lidia, Fahkumram, and Kunimitsu II weren't given much aside from a brief story snippet. Dare I say it but SFV did their new seasons newcomers and returning fighters justice as they all got episodes of their own. You read that right. Street Fighter V was better to its cast than Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

Unlike the Xrd games, watching the story does not get you any money. The only difference I saw right after was that the Strive correlation chart updated. For what it’s worth, they could’ve done something like DBFZ’s story clearance unlocking a new character, or do an alternate costume where the outfit Frederick wears in the ending (and upon further inspection is the very same one he wore in the flashback) is useable in fights (it’d be hilarious but a good detail added in if you were to select that option but the name plate doesn’t display “Sol” lmao). If Ky has a palette that puts him in an open button white shirt, jeans, and what look like work boots, then let me play in the ending's lab coat, tanktop, and jeans dammit.

I kept track of how many of the playable cast showed up and played some part. Everyone except Ramlethal, May, and Faust appeared in the story -- these three were reduced to credit image cameos >:( Ram’s seen with Elphelt and Sin, while Ky and Dizzy are in the background. May’s with her crew, and Faust is in the desert somewhere or some shit with Chronus.

But even if they did show up, nobody else except like five people did jack shit. Giovanna, bless her heart, was absent for a long period then showed up to fight Nagoriyuki (who eventually sided with the good guys) but got her ass beat after he faked surrender. Potemkin helped but spent most of his time cruising at high speed trying to get to the White House. Ky and Jack-O didn’t arrive until the end either. Axl -- or should I say Will -- finally got to see Megumi again at the cost of I-No’s defeat. The dude got his girlfriend back at the loss of someone he considered a friend but the delivery felt forced as it was confirmed as she was dying -- wasn't part of her character that she has no recollection of a past? Her suddenly remembering a past boyfriend and being able to describe his appearance didn't really make much sense.

Chipp and Anji were in that comical highway chase scene, but then Anji's just wherever while Chipp's in the Pentagon control room. I get that someone had to stay behind and watch from the other side -- this role landing with Leo as he, Millia, and Zato were overseeing commentating on events from the castle’s war room like Brock and Misty during Ash's battles in the OG season of the Pokemon anime, while Daryl was at the G4 conference and Ky was on his way to the fight -- but the pacing and usage of the cast in this story was a mess. Yeah sure it has most of the GG cast in this installment's playable roster present but it didn't feel like a GG story -- really it felt like the live action Resident Evil movies where the source material's characters are sprinkled in, acting more as a "here ya go they're here don't expect much!" type thing.

Honestly, a step down from Rev because at least everyone in that arc were somewhat present with maybe one or two exceptions? Hell, even though they were added as dlc or in Rev2, Dizzy, Haehyun, Baiken, and Answer were in the main story. Being hopeful here when I say that I hope we see more of Goldlewis or get to play as him because his design is badass and so is his coffin flail weapon. On the side of fairness though, I have a feeling this isn’t exactly what Ishiwatari intended (this is unlikely but it's probably Katano's directing? Whatever in any case)? The general reaction I saw from others who’ve watched the story was that the subplots were half baked and the plot as a whole was pretty rushed. Happy Chaos / the Original as the main villain was Calypso Twins from Borderlands 3 level cringe and every time HC appeared on screen I wanted to mute it. There is the bonus story coming later this year, along with the dlc slots, so ehh? The interactions between Colin and Frederick were one of my personal favorite points even if this did turn into “Neon Genesis White House Down”.

“Brown bears don’t give birth to pandas.“

I’m sure like the others who actually paid attention to the story from the end of Xrd to Strive, my main question was this:

After the Justice / Jack-O fusion -- recall the “newly revived” Aria had purely red hair and Jack-O’s halo disappeared. During the mid-credits of Revelator, former friends turned sworn enemies turned frenemies Asuka and Frederick pretty much have one last declaration of war against each other, with Sin, I-No, and Raven as their witnesses -- Asuka even said “take good care of Aria”. Naturally from all of that, she’s not Jack-O anymore, right? Wrong. According to the game, what's inside of Jack-O is only a fragment / shard of Aria mixed in with Jack-O's projected personality (I think). How did they go from "let's do the fusion and guaranteed she'll return" to "yeah nah she ain't comin' back bro"

Xrd Revelator: "Pull this off successfully and Aria will fully revive as a human."

Strive: "Nah bruh. We lied. It just turned Jack-O human and what's inside her is only an unstable shard of Aria -- not the whole thing."

Back to the “final battle”, they don’t fight, rather Asuka removed the Flame of Corruption from Frederick's body (and somehow he got a haircut too). So really what was the fight in Rev2′s [After Story - A] for? Did he get nearly the life beaten out of him from Ky fighting dirty and left that crater in the park for nothing? Seems that way. Asuka lives on the moon and he's got a radio show now because (*bong rip*) that makes sense.

I’ll admit it’s a little cute that the feelings are mutual between Jack-O and Frederick -- he sees her as herself and not just a genetic copy but they expect us to think in the three weeks they've known each other that "oh shit I'm in love with this person" is believable -- and they live in the woods near a presumably 200+ year old space shuttle complete with the launchpad but come on now. That's some Russo Brothers level writing right there -- y'all remember Avengers: Endgame and how when he went across space and time to return the Infinity Stones, Steve Rogers threw everything away just so he could go back to his original era? The now depowered-so-he's-human-again Frederick Bulsara (the ex-gear and world's savior x times over formerly known as Sol Badguy) living in isolation away from his newfound family and friends gives off the same vibe. Especially after that one and only flashback where it's Aria's birthday and he was going to propose but the ring wasn't ready in time so he had that "error" to show instead.

#guilty gear strive #gg strive #don't mind me i'm just being really nitpicky #this isn't the first time i've been down about a sequel's story #and it won't be the last #hell even if it's dated because two seasons worth of cast have been released since then sfv's story was more enjoyable! imagine that #i was writing a fic that i set before strive but now i'm gonna go back and add in some stuff #mostly that flashback because it was cute yet sad

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goldcoastdreams · 6 years ago

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Remembrance Day: How Australia celebrated the first Armistice Day 100 years ago

Posted November 11, 2018 05:00:00

Photo: Military figures addressed the crowd in Sydney from a replica sailing ship set up like a stage. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial, P04370.003) As gunfire ceased on the Western Front on the morning of November 11, 1918, Australia's first war correspondent Charles Bean observed "the gates to the future silently opened". The armistice which secured the end of World War I had been signed at dawn, marking the conclusion of a four-year conflict that had claimed more than 60,000 Australian lives. Confirmation would take several hours to reach Australia, where crowds were gathering in the streets at the first whispers of the news. In every town and city, people rejoiced at the end of 'the war to end all wars' and the beginning of a new chapter in Australia's history. 'Wild' antics in Sydney and Melbourne Sydney had celebrated the end of the war prematurely thanks to a false alarm on November 9. "There was big outpouring of emotion and excitement," said Ashley Ekins, head of military history at the Australian War Memorial. "And then again, just a couple of days later on the 11th, the news came that it was true. "It was a wild day. And when a public holiday was declared for the 14th of November, it meant that they actually got two.

Photo: News of the signing of the armistice lead to wild celebrations in Sydney's Martin Place. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial, H11563) "They kept the pubs and the liquor stores closed during that period so things didn't really get out of hand." It was a different story in Melbourne, where the exuberant crowds could not be contained. "The news was received and church bells began to ring out along with factory hooters," Mr Ekins said. "The crowds ran wildly out of control in the city. They derailed tram cars and crashed one through the front window of an office building. "A lot of people [were] breaking into barricaded stores and stealing fireworks. "There was even an appeal for people not to explode fireworks in the interests of invalided soldiers, and particularly those suffering shell shock." Theatre performances stopped in Adelaide

Photo: News of the armistice reached Adelaide around 10:30pm on November 11, where revellers celebrated on the corner of King William Street and North Terrace all night and into the next day. (Supplied: State Library of South Australia, B-5510) In Adelaide, people had been gathered outside newspaper and post offices waiting for news since the early evening of November 11. Pauline Cockrill from the History Trust of South Australia said it was around 7:30pm when the first newspaper reported the fighting had stopped. "By 10:30 that night, the whole of Adelaide's streets were milling with people just waiting for the news to be announced," she said. "The premier gave an unofficial announcement outside Parliament House. "As soon as the news came out they were singing patriotic songs, going up and down [the streets] with flags. There was a band that had been practising outside the railway station so they joined in as well."

Photo: Spectators lined Flinders Street in Townsville for an Armistice Day procession. (Supplied: CityLibraries Townsville, Local History Collection) Cinema and theatre performances were stopped as the news broke. "There was just jubilation," Ms Cockrill said. "Everyone was very excited and singing and dancing just having a good time. They were relieved after over four years of war." The celebrations were followed by a public holiday on November 14 that included church services, victory parades and the sounding of The Last Post. News travelled down railway line Parties continued in rural towns as news of the armistice reached them from the cities. "The news went down to the post office or down the railway lines," Ms Cockrill said. "People had gone to bed but as soon as they heard the news they got out of bed and had these impromptu tin can bands people just banging kerosene tins and walking up and down the streets singing patriotic songs."

Photo: News took longer to reach some country areas. Crowds gathered in Mount Gambier's main street to hear the official announcement from their mayor on November 12. (Supplied: Mount Gambier History Group) In Mount Gambier, the official announcement came on November 12. Local historian Graham Roulstone wrote in 2016 that a crowd had gathered in the main street on the evening of the 11th as rumours started to reach the regional city by bush telegram. "The mayor, Mr Renfrey instructed the Town Hall bell to be rung but cautioned those gathered there to approach the news with caution, in case it turned out to be false," he wrote. "The crowd began to disperse about 11:00pm, though others arrived later and so the town remained active until about 4:00am the following morning." At midday on November 12, Mayor Renfrey read a formal announcement to 4,000 people gathered in front of the Town Hall that the war had ended.

Photo: School children in Canungra dressed in costumes of different countries for the town's Armistice Day procession. Its celebrations didn't take place until November 30. (Supplied: State Library of Queensland) The rural town of Canungra, in south-east Queensland, did not hold its official celebrations until November 30. But impromptu celebrations started as soon as locals heard the news, according to Canungra resident Muriel Curtis who published a book on the district's history in 1975. "The news was telephoned to Canungra and such was the relief that people celebrated then and there," Ms Curtis wrote. "The mill hands stopped work and the whole head of steam was blown off by tying down the whistles, startling the countryside for miles around." 'Funeral' for the Kaiser

Photo: The celebrations in Kaniva included a mock funeral for Kaiser Wilhem II, who was blamed by many for World War I's beginning. The sign on the cart reads 'Off to bury Kaiser Bill'. (Supplied: Museums Victoria) The rural Victorian town of Kaniva chose to delay their formal celebrations until 1919 when most of their troops had come home. Resident Bruce Meyer said the small community had been hit hard by the deaths of locals. "There are hardly any families that didn't have somebody that went overseas," he said. "I can look at four relatives that were killed in the First World War and that's pretty common. "Probably those 20-odd families that had people die in it, they still had to get themselves together."

Photo: Kempsey Hospital nurses in NSW celebrate Armistice Day in 1918. More than 3,000 Australian nurses volunteered for service in WWI. (Supplied: State Library of New South Wales) On July 19, 1919, the town held a huge party which included the staging of a mock funeral for Kaiser Wilhelm II. The day was celebrated throughout the British empire as Peace Day, in recognition of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that had officially ended the war the month before. Parties weren't the end of troubles The celebrations, no matter how joyful, could not make up for the devastating impact of the war, according to Ashley Ekins. "The losses, of course, were extreme 60,000 men that really couldn't be easily replaced," he said. "In many ways, Australia in the interim years was a nation in mourning."

Photo: Children of the Duntroon public school in Canberra, established in 1915 to serve families of the nearby Royal Military College, lined up for an Armistice Day parade. (Supplied: Museums Victoria) Still left to arrange was the huge task of bringing troops home an exercise that would take nearly a year. Once home, they would be faced with the challenge of readjusting to civilian life. "The fact was these men came home, mostly, completely changed by the experience," Mr Ekins said. "They had been out of sight never out of mind on the other side of the world, fighting a war that was probably inconceivable to most Australians. "The people at home had never really known what those men had done." Topics:history,community-and-society,world-war-1,adelaide-5000,canungra-4275,qld,duntroon-2600,act,kempsey-2440,mount-gambier-5290,nsw,north-sydney-2060,sa,townsville-4810,kaniva-3419,vic http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/how-australia-celebrated-the-first-armistice-day-100-years-ago/10454904

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mapowrites · 6 years ago

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Misericórdiae (Erwin Smith/OC)

Chapter 8: Seed

[ I ] [ II ] [ III ] [ IV ] [ V ] [ VI ] [ VII ]

The sharp sound of a small explosion cracked through the air, interrupting the concentrated silence of the work space. Hanji, Moblit, Nifa, Rashad and Lyor practically jumped out of their stools at the sudden blast, and they peered across the squad’s laboratory, in the direction of the sound. Rick emerged from underneath an engine, his face covered in black soot, to stare back at his coworkers.

“… and that’s lunch.” Rick declared, wiping his face with his work apron. Nifa laughed at him, closing up her books to bring him a clean rag. Hanji looked at her watch.

“It’s already 1:30?” She commented. Hanji stretched out her limbs, groaning, as the rest of her squad began to pack up their workstations. “Time to eat.”

“Oh, thank god. I’m starving.” Rashad rolled out his shoulders and winced at the foul sounds of his joints popping.

The squad cleaned up their work space before gathering outside in the hallway, Hanji locking the door behind them. As a group, the six of them made their way to the mess hall, pleasantly engaged in casual conversation. They each retrieved a tray and were served their meals: mashed potatoes, carrots, and fish.

Lyor took a seat beside Nifa, who sat beside Rashad, at one of the mess hall tables, while the other three sat across from them. They ate and conversed, laughing at another one of Hanji’s anecdotes.

“Where are Keiji and Abel? I haven’t seen them since last week.” Rick finally asked, downing his glass of water.

“Abel’s stuck training the new recruits this week and next. Keiji got caught past curfew so he’s been pulling stable duty.” Moblit explained as he pulled apart his bread.

“Idiot.” Rashad grunted.

“It’s not like we’ve seen much of your tribe either. Wilhelm and Heinrich haven’t been around much.” Nifa added, raising an eyebrow at Rick.

“Oh, come on, we’re all a tribe now, Nifa.” Hanji interjected. The smaller girl grinned in response.

“My father can only work on his days off, which have been getting rarer and rarer, and I heard Heinrich’s granddaughter is in town. Isn’t that right, Rick?” Dipping her bread into her gravy, Lyor answered Hanji. Rick nodded.

“Well, it’s nice of you to finally join us full time now that you’re out of school,” The brunette smirked at Lyor. Hanji whispered, covering her mouth from the man sitting beside her. “Rick was starting to miss you.”

The dark haired man scoffed, and before he could comment, Lyor spoke, laughing.

“Actually, that reminds me. My graduation ceremony is this weekend,” She rummaged through her bag that she had placed on the empty chair beside her, and pulled out a piece of paper. She slid it across the table to her friends. Upon showing them the flyer for the ceremony, Lyor suddenly felt a bit embarrassed; though she had grown quite close to her teammates these past few months, she wasn’t sure if they were close enough to invite them to a celebration quite yet. “You’re, uhm, all welcome to come. If you have the day off, that is.”

Their reactions brought her instant relief. “Yes! I have Saturday off!” Hanji chimed.

Moblit offered her an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid I have to miss it — I’ve got horse training all day.” Lyor dismissed his apology, letting him know it wasn’t a big deal.

“Me, too, Lyor,” Nifa expressed with remorse, but she seemed to perk up as a thought entered her head. “But why don’t we go out that evening to celebrate? We’ve all got extended curfew that night. We could also celebrate Hanji’s promotion to squad leader while we’re at it!”

“Hey, that’s right! How come none of you have taken me out yet? Ungrateful subordinates!” Hanji huffed, pounding her fist on the table.

“Because you refuse to be taken out anywhere but to Bricks.” Moblit muttered, disgruntled. This placed a look of resolution on Hanji’s face.

“Brix’s Bricks!” Hanji proudly shot her glass of water in the air, spilling some on Moblit, who repressed a grumble.

“Why’re you saying it twice?” Nifa scoffed.

“That’s the full name of the bar!” Replied Hanji.

“Brix’s Bricks? I never knew that.”

“It’s repetitive.” Lyor added, taking the last bite of her meal.

Rashad replied. “And redundant.”

“It’s repetitive.”

“And redundant.”

“We certainly are entertaining, sir.” Lyor spoke in a haughty accent.

“Indubitably, madam.” Rashad punctuated, mirroring her accent.

“Come on, you guys! It’ll be fun!” Hanji whined, a pleading look in her eyes.

“Hey, I’d never pass up an opportunity to drink.” Rick spoke, and Rashad nodded in agreement. Lyor, being finished with her meal, packed up her belongings as Rashad and Nifa bickered, the younger girl having accused him of being an alcoholic.

Lyor stood and tucked her chair into the table. “Great. I’ll see you all on Saturday, then. I have to run — I have to finish moving my stuff back to my father’s house today.”

“Oh, since his office is on your way out, can you drop this off to Erwin for me?” Hanji asked her, pulling out a multi-paged report from the inside of her uniform coat. She flashed the engineer a guilty smile. “I have to go straight to Schoenberg’s project inspection after lunch, and I promised I’d have it to him by three o’clock.”

Lyor took the report from her and smirked. “I can’t exactly say no, now that you’re my boss, can I?”

Hanji blinked at her before her face broke out into a huge grin, and Lyor heard her exclaim as she walked out of the mess hall. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how to be a proper underling!”

As she made her way down the hallways, Lyor found herself happy to have an excuse to see Erwin. The pair’s friendship had blossomed over the several months she had worked there; they often spent time catching up when they saw each other, and now that Hanji held the same rank as he, it wasn’t completely abnormal for him to sit with them in the mess hall now and again during meals. In fact, Lyor didn’t even mind the strange looks they got when she had lunch with him alone — although those instances were rare. However, with some sort of recruiting ordeal unfolding, she hadn’t seen Erwin in several days. She had meant to return his first edition Voltaire to him, which she pulled out of her bag during her walk. She was still oblivious to the fact that Erwin had bought it for her.

This visit also gave her the perfect excuse to invite him to her graduation, and her heart fluttered excitedly as she pictured his handsome smile. She made her way up the last flight of stairs that led to the hallway of Erwin’s office, and her heart’s fluttering was quickly silenced when she spotted Markus’ well-built silhouette, and his aid, exiting said office.

She thought about turning around before he saw her to avoid any interaction with him, as she usually tried to do. For the past several weeks, the brigadier general had insistently asked her to accompany him on outings — dinners, strolls, theatre performances, you name it — to which she had always politely declined. For the life of her, Lyor couldn’t figure out why the officer refused to give up. Not only was she not interested in him, being twenty-five and he in his late thirties or early forties, she also wasn’t ready to be the object of a scandal.

Before she could make a decision, his eyes fell on her, and Lyor steeled herself for the walk down the hallway to face him, clutching Erwin’s book to her chest. She threw on her best fabricated smile and strolled towards him as he carefully watched her, a bewitching grin scrawled on his face while he advanced.

“Ms. Reichart! A pleasure to see you, as always,” Markus greeted brightly, his aid offering a small nod behind him as a greeting. “Here to see Smith?”

Lyor looked up at him with a diplomatic smile, meeting his piercing green eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“Perfect timing — I was just with him to discuss your research’s progress. He’s quite proud of you folks, you know,” Markus commented before his eyes fell on the book she held, the title of the book turned outwards for him to see. “Well, well, aren’t we a fan of the phonics?”

Lyor had trouble swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, and she gripped the book tighter and avoided his gaze. “Yes, sir.”

“Also a fan of the monosyllable, I see,” His grin never faltered. “No matter. You’ll have to let me borrow it one day; I’d love to get my nose into a book I know you’ve read.”

Her eyes snapped to meet his, sending a shiver of pleasure down Markus’ spine. The flame of her effrontery thrilled him. “I’m sorry, brigadier general. This book doesn’t belong to me.”

Markus repressed a chuckle as he saw the perfect opening to toy with her. She must’ve been returning Erwin’s book; he had seen them together quite a bit these past few months. Markus had suspected Lyor was enamoured with the blond; from the way she carried herself around him, to the way her eyes drank in every detail of his person when they interacted. Markus knew he had no chance, unless he planted his seed.

“I see. It’s Erwin’s, isn’t it? I should’ve guessed; it looks just like the books Marie used to give him.”

Lyor felt her stomach lurch. “Marie?”

“His old sweetheart,” Markus stroked his short beard with his gloved hand, recalling his memories. “Ah, the poor fellow, I believe she went on to marry his best friend at the time. Nile Dawk — he works with me now. Dawk told me all about how it ruptured their friendship. Love can be such a horrible thing, can’t it?”

The tall man watched her face fall for a split second before she iced over her features.

“I suppose.” She replied, her voice not betraying her cool and calm facade. However, Markus knew the damage was done. He smirked to himself.

“Speaking of, when are you going to let me treat you to dinner?” He flashed her a toothy smile.

With as much calmness and poise as she could muster, Lyor retorted with a half-hearted smile. “If only I hadn’t just joined a convent, sir…”

Markus let out a deep laugh. “Wicked girl…” He answered with a smirk, walking past her as his aid and long coat trailed behind him. “Give my best to your father.”

Lyor stood in the hallway, her shoulders heavy with disappointment as the officer walked away. The blow Markus had indirectly dealt her was one of the worst she had received in years. Forget hearing about Erwin pining for another woman, how could he give her one of his ex’s gifts? Lyor wasn’t foolish enough to hope Erwin had any feelings for her, but she found it completely unacceptable for him to present her with such an item — even as a simple platonic gift. You don’t do that to a friend.

Dejection now turned into irritation, Lyor knocked on Erwin’s door. Lyor opened the door to find him sitting at his desk, after he allowed her to enter. His striking eyes rose to meet hers, and she buried the impulse to simply toss the book and report on his desk and leave without a word. Instead, she disguised any emotion in her face with diplomacy, and calmly walked over to his desk.

She watched him part his full lips to speak, but she interrupted him. “Hanji sent me to give you this.” She reached across his desk and handed him the report, her voice and face stoic. He took the report from her and placed it on his desk, thanking her. She then presented the red and gold book she held in her arms. “I also want to return your book.”

Erwin watched her motionlessly, trying to dissect her demeanour. He knew something was bothering her. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his powerful chest, and spoke. “No, keep it. I told you; I want you to have it.”

Lyor fought the urge to knit her brows. “It’s a first edition book, and it belongs to you. I can’t accept it.”

“I won’t take it back.” The blond retorted, his eyes — his most defining feature — holding no sign of emotion. He noticed the irritated twitch that pulled at the corner of her mouth.

“Why not?”

Not wanting to admit to her that he had bought that book for her, it was a difficult question to answer. He decided to offer a simple answer. “I don’t want it.”

This only fuelled Lyor’s resentment — he didn’t want to take back something that reminded him of the woman he loved, she interpreted. With a prideful glare and all previous thoughts of inviting him to her graduation gone, the brunette exhaled. “Fine. If you’ll excuse me, sir.”

Lyor bowed her head, squared her shoulders, tucked the book under her arm, and turned on her heels. She left the room without another word, briskly walking through the hallway, feeling misled and fooled. She brushed her hair out of her face and made her way down the stairs with dignity — she wasn’t the type to fall apart because a man didn’t want her. Finally, she crossed the courtyard outside, on her way to the headquarters’ exit, and spotted her favourite brigadier general speaking with a scout — the man’s posture impeccable and his hands folded behind his back. Her interaction with Erwin hadn’t been very long, and it had permitted her to involuntarily catch up to Markus.

With an air of resolution, she marched over to the seductive man, who turned at the sound of her steps. He smiled and began to articulate whatever asinine comment came to him before she shoved the book he had seen her with into his chest.

“Here.” She spat, and he scrambled to keep the book from dropping to the ground. She was already several feet away from him by the time he could answer. Markus looked at the book in his hands, then watched her walk away for a few moments. He felt a sneer pull at his lips.

That evening, Erwin walked into his commander’s meeting room. He was early for his meeting, so he was a bit surprised to find the room occupied when he opened the door. Markus sat at the table, his feet lazily kicked up, his coat draped on the back of his chair, and a book balanced in his hands. Lyor’s book. Erwin nearly choked, but the soldier never let his mask fall, and when Markus’ emerald eyes lifted to meet his, Erwin was making his way to his seat. He pulled out a chair and set his reports and documents in a neat pile in front of him. He sat across from the higher ranking officer, and the two men seemed to glare at each other for a split second, their heights identical and their eyesight level.

“Hello, Smith! Bring any coffee?” He exclaimed, breaking the tension and placing the book down on the table as he draped his arm over the back of the chair beside him.

Erwin watched him placidly. Tactful and poised, and his presence imposing, he replied. “There’s coffee in the kitchen across the hall. Please, help yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Markus swung his feet off the table and stood, groaning loudly as he stretched. “Man, I didn’t see the time fly! I guess that’s what happens when you get sucked into an excellent book,” The man walked himself to the door after patting said volume on the table. He opened the door, and before exiting, he sneered at Erwin over his shoulder. “I’ll let you borrow it sometime.”

Notes: Comments, questions, concerns?

#erwin smith #erwin smith x oc #erwin smith/oc #oc #aot #snk #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #fanfiction

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jackpot807 · 7 years ago

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Stories from Atlas: Aboard the Vesta Pt. 1

This is a small side story from the universe that Wander takes place in. Wander is the “main” story, but there will be many more side stories to add depth to the universe.

WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS TO THE MAIN STORYLINE IN THIS. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO KEEP WANDER A MYSTERY

Aboard the Vesta Pt. 1

The USS Vesta is a family-owned ship, funded by the Aurelia family and built by Othoren Industries. It is 850 feet In length and 100 feet in width, with most of its movable space on the first story and the foundation equipment on the second. Its engines are two Hermes-II Iono-Nuclear hybrid engines that generate enough force over a period of a week to propel the Vesta several times faster than the speed of light. At the current speed, Silver determined the Vesta would arrive at Atlas within the hour.

Silver, the onboard AI, constructed by Google in their central lab in California, had spent the past twenty years on the Vesta, quietly calculating over and over again the expenditure of fuel (not that the Thorium would ever run out) and communicating with other nearby AI’s, as they were all traveling at exactly the same speed, no less than a mile apart from each other.

The colonization fleet, colloquially referred to as “The Giant Leap” is the largest civilian flotilla ever made by humanity. Its goal was the colonization of Atlas, a planet several times larger than Earth. It has oxygen. It has water. It has life. And it is magnificent.

Silver had woken up the family she had been charged with looking over for the last twenty years. Willhelm, the father of the family of five, was the first out of his cryo-pod. He ran his hand through what hair he had left to try and get the frost off. Looking forward at nothing in particular, he asked, “Sil are you here?”

“I am here, Will.” Silver replied.

Will looked down the hall. He could see the pods with the rest of his family depressurizing. Air rushed out of the sides, and they opened slowly. He saw William, his oldest, lackadaisy leaning out of the pod and took a step out, arching his back and standing on his toes stretching. Thomas, the younger brother, screamed out “WOW!” in amazement at the awesomeness of finally going through a proper cryo-cycle.

And from the pod next to him, a hand wrapped around the edge, and out leaned the very pregnant Ivonne, his loving wife. She had wanted to have the baby on Atlas, so she could have bragging rights about having the first alien-born child. The Aurelia family was all awake and ready for the long day ahead.

“Sil can you make some breakfast please?” Ivonne asked. To which Silver replied in her oddly human tone, “I have hot plates of bacon and eggs already on the table, Misses Aurelia. Along with a can of coffee to warm you up.”

Silver took a moment to recheck a parameter or stored data, then continued, “The fleet has begun a holding pattern around Atlas. The Fleet Leader has given the order to enter the atmosphere within the hour. I left an agenda for Mister Aurelia on the table for you to go over, but to keep things simple, you are to report to Captain Andell when we land.”

Will and Thomas were already in the kitchen, face deep in breakfast. He helped Ivonne out of the pod and the were walking out of the hall and into the kitchen as well. “Thank you, Sil. Let the Fleet Leader know that we are awake and getting ready.”

“I will.” Silver replied.

He turned to Ivonne, “How was it?” He asked.

“Well I feel a little sick, but the book said that’s good. I think I just gotta get some food in me and I’ll be all set.” She said happily. The prestige and honor that being part of the Giant Leap gave fulfilled a personal milestone for her. She liked knowing she was part of, well, a giant leap for mankind. It was named after Neil Armstrong’s quote when they first landed on the moon back when space travel was in its infancy. “One giant leap for mankind.” It held a sort of wonder for her that is normally reserved only for children. But even now, she’d look up at the sky and marvel at the enormity and possibility of it all. And she finally had the privilege to realize the potential. With her family, no less.

Wilhelm was a man of ambition. Working only directly underneath Chief Engineer Hardman, he wanted to take his place one day, and be the man who built Atlas up from the foundation. But how could he ever compete with Hardman, the genius? Hard work, that’s how. He knew in his heart of hearts that one day, the mile-high buildings will all have the name Aurelia on them somewhere.

As for the kids? Well, what young boy didn’t want to be an astronaut?

They all sat down for breakfast and got right to it. Will was seventeen, and the doctor said he was probably going to grow to be really tall. Actually, he’s tall now. 6’2 to be exact. And he eats like a horse.

“Will slow down or you’ll get sick.” Ivonne told him. He didn’t respond, but he did slow down a bit.

Thomas was ten. He wanted to be like his dad and build space stations and stuff. He didn’t know it at the time, but he wasn’t aware that it wasn’t as simple as ‘putting together legos’ like he’d always compare it to. There are wires that need to be connected, radio frequencies that need to be tuned, nuclear reactors that need coolant, etcetera etcetera.

Indeed, getting onto this prestigious group was no small feat. Wilhelm needed a hail mary to get onto this project. And he had one, in the form of the ISS. He turned that thing from a decaying husk, into a megacity floating above Earth. Almost all of the industry is done in space, now, thanks to him. His oxygen compression and modular foundry techniques are written in books, now. And that is what got him onto this project as a commanding figure. And man was it good.

Good times. Good times.

“I have a transmission from the Ambition.” Silver said, breaking Wilhelm from his reminiscing.

These moments were always super exciting for the family. A message from the flagship, the USS Ambition, were usually messages from either the Fleet Commander or a Supreme Governor back at Earth. This one, though. This is going to be an important message. Maybe even from the Emperor himself. The thought of it made Thomas both excited and nervous. He was in a world of wonder that most kids could only imagine. A world of fairytales and adventure.

“Put them through, Sil.” Wilhelm said.

On the table, the hologram of Admiral Emerson appeared. Tall, broad and commanding, Admiral Emerson was the highest authority of the fleet. Wilhelm had only seen him once, since most of the time he relays information through Hardman, who talks to Emerson. In a fleet of five hundred million people, people of Emerson’s stature gain a sort of mythical bearing. Like a King or Emperor. All those days of talking to lowly supervisors and technicians set the mood to make a visit from someone of such a high position extraordinary. Of course, it wasn’t a transmission to the Vesta exclusively. Rather, the whole fleet.

“Men and women of this fleet. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Admiral Hugh Emerson. You all already know this, but you are all a part of something big. Something monumental. Within the next thirty minutes, you will enter the atmosphere of the planet Atlas, where we will set a foundation and build up the next epoch of human history.”

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. He spoke firmly and deliberately. Each word held a significant gravitas to them, as did his character, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a significant moment in human history. From the discovery of fire, to the industrial revolution, the first steps on the moon and the creation of AI. This is the next step in our story. And it is you who will be telling it. You are the bringers of prosperity and plenty. You are the architects of ambition. You are the creators of happiness and life. Each and every one of you are the best and brightest humanity has to offer. And I know we will create a perfect, clean and magnificent society that everyone back home will admire and envy.”

“This moment will define humanity for centuries to come.”

The words vibrated through the air, exciting everyone. An entire world of wonder was making promises of happiness and good lives to all. Wilhelm smiled and held Ivonne’s hand.

“Everyone move to your positions and await orders. This is Admiral Emerson of the USS Ambition, wishing all of you a good day. Ambition out.” And with that, the hologram flicked away.

Everybody, not just the Aurelia’s, everybody got goosebumps. Everybody in the fleet, and everybody back home had heard that broadcast. It was a message of hope - a message of wonder and a message that promised that everything will be okay.

“I am receiving a request for a system takeover by the Ambition central AI. This is per the request of Admiral Emerson and part of stage 1. Should I relinquish control to them?” Silver asked.

“Yes, please. They’ll guide us to our zone.” Wilhelm replied.

All around the planet, millions and millions of ships were over their designated landing zones, carefully selected because of their unique advantages. Some were over mineral deposits, some were by the water. Some were on especially fertile land and some were in exotic forests. The Vesta was assigned to a location near the North Pole. Wilhelm will lead a group of a few thousand engineers to place the foundation for a space elevator that would connect the planet to a space station which has yet been built. This was mainly a civilian fleet, and the few military vessels that were there, were to remain in orbit unless something required them to entire the atmosphere.

The Aurelia’s all gathered at the flight deck and watched outward. Before them was beauty so great that words cannot do it justice. Deep green mixed with the blue and white in a wonderful painting of creation. Even from up here, they could see the wide rivers and the deep oceans. The white sands of the deserts and the green of the fields and the forests.

There were auroras all over the planet. They could see them now that they were close. Velvet waves of green, blue and pink waving through the atmosphere, adding to the mystery and allure of Atlas. The placement of the planet from the star it orbited meant that such cosmological activity couldn’t have been possible. One of the big questions that scientists wanted to answer was “How are these auroras forming?” Where the Vesta is landing, aurora activity will be near the maximum level, providing a great show for the kids at all times.

“Here we go…” Ivonne said, putting her arms around her kids as the Vesta began descending along with all of the other ships. Atlas was getting closer and closer, along with all of their hopes and dreams. A new beginning was approaching.

Suddenly, the Vesta violently lurched and shook, knocking everyone off balance. This can’t be turbulence.

“Sil, what was that?” Wilhelm asked.

There was a long silence from the AI.

“Silver!” Wilhelm asked again. Thomas got close to Ivonne and she held him tight.

“...Something is happening, Mister Aurel-” Was all she could say before an arch of blue lightning rippled along the ceiling and along the flight panel, deafening them all. A fire sparked in the instruments, they could smell it. The ship began to jolt and vibrate.

Wilhelm turned to Ivonne and looked at her. She was clearly worried. “Get the kids into the escape pod.”

“What’s happening, Will?” She asked, trying her best to keep the kids calm.

“I don’t think it’s anything, maybe just-” He was interrupted by a cacophony of roars as the circuits and wires of the ship began to crackle and fizz.

“Coooooooooode 1106” Silver said, her now wobbling voice overlayed with static said. Wilhelm knew that Code 1106 meant Silver was on her way out. Something critical to her just blew up. And if she’s getting torn apart, so is the ship.

“Code 110-” Silver’s voice was suddenly replaced by a high-pitched screech as her language center melted from a fire deep within the bowels of the ship. Thomas cried out in fear and clutched onto Ivonne for dear life.

“Dad we gottta-” Will said to his father before his father interrupted,

“Everyone get to the escape pod!” He bellowed over the shaking hull and sparking electronics. They all ran out of the flight deck and to the back of the ship where the escape pod was. They got in and Wilhelm locked the door behind them. Sometime in the rush to get there, Thomas had started crying and Will was asking too many questions that Wilhelm didn’t have the answers to. He could feel the Vesta starting to dive.

“All that fucking equipment we got up in the cargo…” He cursed.

He pressed the launch button. Nothing happened. He pressed it again. Nothing happened. Now he was starting to panic. The escape pod was fried, too, even though it was a closed circuit system. This is bad. He had to think quick. He knew the Vesta would not burn up in the atmosphere. The crash is what will kill them. But if he could slowly ease down onto the flat arctic…

He decided he had no other choice. He got up.

“I have to go guide us onto the surface.” He said. Ivonne knew what that meant. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened.

“Will, don’t do-”

“It’s the only hope we got, Ivonne! Everything is fried and if I don’t try, we’re dead!” He yelled over the roar of the vibration. Thomas was too scared to listen, but Will shot up, “No, dad, you’ll fucking die!” He said.

Wilhelm was breathing quickly. He knew he had to act fast. This might be the last chance he ever sees his family. He put his hand on Will’s shoulder.

“William I have to!”

Will’s eyes began to flood with tears, “No, dad! Don’t!”

Wilhelm gripped onto Will’s shoulder tight, “Listen, Will. I need you to step up and be strong for Tom and your mother! If I don’t make it, you need to be strong! You need to be strong for me, Will! Can you do that?!”

Will doesn’t know what made him say yes, but he nodded his head and sniffed back a tear. Wilhelm smiled, “I love you Will.”

“I love you Dad.” He replied.

Wilhelm turned to Ivonne, who held Thomas close. She yelled over the chaos, “You better come back! Don’t you dare leave me with these two!”

Wilhelm tried to smile at the horribly-timed joke, but all he could do was lean down and kiss her.

“I love you!” He said.

“I love you too, Will! Forever and always!”

Thomas was too scared to really acknowledge what was going on. He was crying into his mother’s shoulder and wasn’t listening. Wilhelm leaned down and turned Thomas to face him, saying, “I love you, Thomas!”

All Thomas could do was cry in his face, screaming, “DON’T GOOOOOOO!!!”

“I’m sorry rocket man, I gotta!” He replied.

Thomas kicked and screamed. He wasn’t going to make this better. Wilhelm said, “Thomas, remember the moon? Remember the moon Thomas?”

Between sniffles, Thomas muttered, “Yeah…”

“Well whenever you don’t think I’m here with you, just look up at the moon. Alright Thomas?” He asked desperately, trying to calm him down.

After a pause, Thomas said, “Okay…”

Wilhelm shed a tear. “I love you!”

He took a step back and looked at his scared family. His life. His reason to get up in the morning. His light. His happiness. Everything. He knew he had to do this. For them. He popped open the door, yelled a final “I love you!” to them, and closed the door.

He ran down the corridor back up to the front of the ship as quickly as he could. The ceiling was on fire, as was most of the flight panel. But he knew that, when the electricity goes on a ship like this, the massive pneumatic backup pumps could still control the wings. He could do this. He has to do this.

All of a sudden his vision shook and he couldn’t think. The world became a maddening blur of grey and black, melting into each other. What’s happening? He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t talk and he couldn’t see. He could feel himself slipping away as if his mind were sinking into an ocean of darkness.

Focus.

He didn’t know what was happening, but the visions of Thomas and Will and Ivonne flashed into his head. Somewhere in the symphony of chaos, a single, determined resolve was made to pilot this ship to safety even if it kills him.

He grabbed the stick.

Flames were spilling over the Vesta, flowing over the cockpit window. The colors were melding with the green of the land and the grey of the ceilings and walls, adding to the confusion. All of his energy was devoted to pulling the stick up and concentrating on remaining lucid. In a moment, the ship was a mile above ground and he could see it approaching too fast. This is it. A final effort. For his family.

He pulled back on the stick as hard as he possibly could. He couldn’t see anymore. The memory of his wife and two sons and unborn daughter were…

They were melting away.

What’s happening to me? He thought.

The ground is approaching. He is nearly level, now. He doesn’t know how low to the ground he is, but he knows he is seconds away from impact. The white expanse of snow was all he saw. A perfect calm suddenly flooded over him and the ship and the turbulence subsided, as did the assault on his mind.

That final moment of calmness allowed him to try to recollect his thoughts but he found there were no thoughts to recollect.

The ground is close.

He closes his eyes.

#wander

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almostdiplomatic · 7 years ago

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As far as hotels in Berlin go, the Adlon has got to be the most popular. Aside from being historical, the hotel has succeeded in earning its deserved place in pop culture throughout the years. It’s a frequent filming location for movies set in Berlin and it’s also the place where the King of Pop famously dangled his baby.

Wilkommen in Berlin (WIB), Germany’s diplomatic spouse club, recently had an event at the Adlon which helped us get to know the hotel better. It started with breakfast at The Library. It’s a private room where an intimate group can share a meal. True to its name, The Library’s walls are lined with beautifully-bound books that adds to the room’s luxe ambiance.

Looking up, you’ll also be treated to a view of a bright fresco. Breakfast, or Frühstück as Germans call it, was a blast. The ambiance, the company, and the anticipation of what the rest of the morning had in store for us, all adding to the great mood in the air.

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I’m such a fan of this gorgeous set up. Who says tiered treats are only for afternoon tea? The hotel’s pain au chocolat was, for me, that morning’s scene stealer. Something so simple is often overlooked. To me, however, the pain au chocolat is one of the true tests of a pastry chef’s skill. Someone who’s able to perfect the complicated textures of both the crust and the filling is sure to leave me impressed.

Mmm. Frühstück! 😜 One of the first words in Deutsch that stuck. No surprise there. 🐷 Taken at a recent event hosted by #WilkommenInBerlin and The Adlon. ☺️ . . . . . . . . #Adlon #AdlonKempinski #berlin #Germany #Brunch #Breakfast #foodporn #foodstagram #berlinfood #hoteladlon

A post shared by Carol Ramoran Hamilton-Malasig (@carolific) on Jul 4, 2017 at 1:43pm PDT

Tour of the hotel

After that glorious meal and some chit chat, we went on a guided tour of the hotel. This was something I was really looking forward to as the Adlon has really intrigued me for a while. When we first arrived in Berlin, our embassy’s cultural attaché and her husband took us for coffee at the hotel’s beautiful lobby lounge. I instantly fell in love with its interiors.

The Adlon’s ballrooms were something our tour guide was very eager to show us. I love the colours of their Palaisaal. The mint and pastel hues along with the grand chandeliers were reminiscent of the Schloss Charlottenburg’s ballroom, don’t you think?

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The grand ballroom is not one to be overlooked. During our visit, it was set up for a conference and what really got to me was all the dark wood, tapestries, and classy interior, giving it an authentic old world feel.

It’s in the details

I love the hotel’s attention to detail. Black and white photos of some of their famous guests adorned one the shelves in its many hallways. It’s where Hollywood sleeps – from the Marlene Dietrich to Angelina Jolie. World leaders like former US President Barack Obama also prefer the hotel.

When Lorenz Adlon was convincing Kaiser Wilhelm II to let him build a hotel just a stone’s throw from the Brandenburg Gate, he probably talked about the location’s potential and all the great things coming its way. Needless to say, this was probably his best career move.

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Don’t you just love the mix of vintage with modern accents? It’s done so beautifully that I always look forward to attending events hosted here. Always so Instagram-worthy. Not that I’ve been uploading much these days. Been going through a bit of a rut – but that’s for a different post.

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Staying at The Adlon

Staying at a hotel this pretty doesn’t come cheap. But it does pay for itself with the convenience you get with its location. That photo of the Brandenurg Gate was taken from one of the rooms. Now that is a view.

If you’re looking into a luxurious stay and can afford the hefty price tag (rooms start at about EUR300 and suites can go up to the thousands), then there is really no reason why you shouldn’t go for it.

Rooms come with luxe furnishings, your own iPad and a control panel on your bedside that lets you control the lights and temperature. This ensures that there won’t be any discussion (or in the case of my husband and I, intense negotiation) who has to get up – and that’s always a plus.

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I spend hours in the bathroom whenever I have the chance. Baths and the sweet smelling things that come with it are definitely my favourite luxury. As someone who has such a passion for bubble baths, let me tell you that the tubs inside these rooms are where you’d want to spend three hours in while drinking some wine.

If you wish to book a room, I suggest doing it via this link. Booking.com usually has some great deals for hotel stays. 🙂

Napkin Folding

We ended the day with a lesson from the hotel’s expert on napkin folding. Always a handy skill to learn when you’re married to a diplomat and expected to host formal dinners every now and then.

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I ended up sitting and having so much fun with Alexandra who’s from Romania. While we did learn a thing or two, that did not stop me from goofing off.

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And there you have it. One educational morning thanks to WIB and Hotel Adlon. 🙂 Have you been? What did you think of it? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments section below.

More later.

Love,

Carol

One Fine Morning at the Hotel Adlon, Berlin As far as hotels in Berlin go, the Adlon has got to be the most popular. Aside from being historical, the hotel has succeeded in earning its deserved place in pop culture throughout the years.

#Berlin #Germany #Hotel Adlon #Hotels #Review #Tour #Travel

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goldcoastdreams · 6 years ago

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Remembrance Day: How Australia celebrated the first Armistice Day 100 years ago

Posted November 11, 2018 05:00:00

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mapowrites · 6 years ago

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Misericórdiae (Erwin Smith/OC)

Chapter 7: Rain Check

[ I ] [ II ] [ III ] [ IV ] [ V ] [ VI ]

Two weeks passed before Lyor first received the news of Faye’s safe return. She had been at her father’s house for the winter break, and she had nearly fallen over when they opened the letter.

Wilhelm and his daughter sat across from each other in the carriage on their way to Faye’s hospital. With a bouquet of yellow crocuses in her lap, Lyor quietly peered from the carriage’s window as the bumpy road rocked her. She watched the hospital building approach expectantly. This was their fourth visit so far. Each visit had proved more fruitful than the last with Faye’s quasi skeletal appearance dwindling each time they saw her. Lyor’s guilt never lessened though. The young girl seemed so vulnerable and troubled in her hospital bed. Faye would never admit it, but Lyor knew she was traumatised. After being left alone outside the walls for nearly six weeks, who wouldn’t?

When Faye was well enough to accept visitors, she had told her group mates how she survived: a hollowed out tree trunk, plantain leaves, and a near-by stream for drinking water. For those long, lonely weeks, Faye had eaten only plantain leaves, and remained glued inside the shelter of the hollowed out tree. Occasionally, she was able to spear a fish in the stream if she was feeling particularly courageous. She had admitted to herself early on that there was no way she could make it back to the walls alone, so she waited patiently for help to arrive, away from the titans’ eyes. In the moment, Lyor had been taken aback by the girl’s wisdom, but after some time she realised it wasn’t so surprising coming from the child prodigy that was Faye.

The teen had described her rescue to the best of her recollection — she had been so relieved to be rescued that exhaustion and malnutrition had finally imposed themselves on her, and she had soon found herself unconscious. But what she did remember was witnessing the deaths of several scouts on their way back to the walls — a titan had chased them home. Lyor had refrained from asking if a blond man had been amongst those soldiers.

“You look perplexed.”

Lyor’s eyes moved from the window to her father. She shrugged.

“I’m anxious to see Faye.” Lyor replied, her eyes dropping to the flowers on her lap as she played with the white ribbon keeping the stems together.

Her father watched her mutely. He knew his daughter well enough to see through her mask. “It’s not your fault she got left behind.”

Lyor inhaled deeply. “I convinced her to work with us. It may be indirect, but it’s still my fault that she was out there.”

“So what? I bought the last loaf of bread the other day at the bakery, which means a starving child wasn’t able to steal bread that day. Maybe he’s dead now, and it’s indirectly my fault,” Wilhelm’s reply made Lyor look up from her hands, her face pulled into a frown. Wilhelm held her gaze steadily. “That kind of thinking is destructive — don’t sabotage your decisions based on guilt. Faye made her decision when she accepted to work with us, and when she insisted on accompanying us outside the walls. Accept what is out of your control.”

Lyor chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes acquiescently returning to her lap. She grumbled. “You sound just like mom.”

Wilhelm’s lips pulled into a smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Wilhelm squared his shoulders before he continued, his smile fading. “Now, we haven’t talked about the Scouting Legion since Faye’s return. I’ve talked to Rick and Heinrich, and they’ve agreed to sign the contract. I want to know if you still think it’s the right call.”

Lyor blinked, surprised that her father placed so much importance on her approval. After some thought, Lyor nodded. “It’s the only way to keep our cause alive.”

The two of them spent the rest of the carriage ride chit-chatting; from the future of their group to Faye’s recovery. When they arrived, they both stepped out of the carriage and walked into the hospital. Wilhelm was speaking to the nurse at the front desk, who gave them permission to make their way to Faye’s room, when Lyor spotted a familiar face round the corner of the hallway. He looked irritated, to say the least.

Upon his blue eyes meeting hers, the man marched over. She noticed the teddy bear in his hands and raised an eyebrow. Once he reached the woman and her father, he ran a hand through his brown hair, seemingly to calm himself down.

Lyor pointed to the stuffed animal in his hand sarcastically. “Hi, Rick. Nice teddy bear. What’re you going to name it?”

Rick rolled his eyes, his jaw twitching in irritation under his beard. “Faye’s parents are here… They all but decapitated me when they saw me knocking at the door.”

“So a full grown man ran away from a teenager’s scorned parents?” Wilhelm sneered.

“I didn’t come here to be screamed at,” Rick pushed the stuffed animal into Wilhelm’s chest, his voice coated in annoyance. The older man took it into his hands. “In order to come with us, the little brat snuck out without them knowing. If you manage to get past the door, tell her this is from me. I’m done.”

With a huff and a wave, the broad man bid the two goodbye. Lyor and Wilhelm shared an uncertain look between them.

“Well, if anyone has to face them, it’s me.” Wilhelm commented, tucking the bear under his arm as they steeled themselves for the walk to Faye’s room.

They walked in silence through the marble-floored corridors, the heel of Lyor’s boots clicking and echoing off the pristine walls. They found themselves before the wooden door within minutes, and Lyor took a deep breath as her father knocked before opening the door. Inside was a middle-aged woman — her eyes sunken and framed by dark bags. She bore a slight resemblance to Faye. A man of similar age sat beside her at Faye’s bedside while the young girl slept, a hand on his daughter’s arm and his face riddled with worry. His wife’s brows instantly knit as her eyes set on the pair.

“How many of you are there?! You shouldn’t have come here! Get out!” Her face twisted in anger, and she stood from her seat to approach Wilhelm at a frightening pace. “It’s not enough to send my daughter to her death but you also have to come here to pester her?!”

Lyor opened her mouth to respond, her eyes apologetic and heartfelt, but her father held out his arm and spoke to her over his shoulder. “It’s best if you wait outside.”

Before she could say anything, Wilhelm stepped into the room and closed the door gently behind him. Albeit muffled, she heard him murmur something softly to the woman through the door only to be replied to with a roar of wrath. Lyor sighed to herself in the hallway as their conversations continued in the same pattern.

She brought Faye’s bouquet to her chest, holding it close to her as she looked around the hallway to spot a bench across the way. She walked over to it and took a seat, quietly trying to translate the muffled argument coming from Faye’s room. A few minutes passed this way as she idly twirled the bouquet of flowers in her hands. What made her look up from her hands was the sound of footsteps clicking down the hallway.

Her heart skipped a beat upon recognising the man who strolled down the hall, a brown haired woman to his right. He was wearing civilian clothes: a white button up tucked into his black trousers underneath a casual jacket. She would never admit to herself that she was relieved to see Erwin safe.

She took the time to curiously eye the woman he was with before she was spotted. She was around his age, her unruly hair pulled into a ponytail, and a pair of oval spectacles upon her nose. Her brown eyes met Lyor’s before Erwin followed the woman’s gaze. Lyor stood from her bench, a small, polite smile on her lips as the two approached her. Both the woman and Erwin returned her smile.

“Hi there,” Lyor greeted them, standing before the two taller adults.

Erwin’s gaze seemed to soften for half a second. “Hello, Lyor. It’s nice to see you.” He expressed.

Her eyes poured into his and she replied, her voice as soft as his gaze. “It’s nice to see you, too.” He broke their eye contact as if breaking from a trance in order to turn to the woman beside him.

“This is my colleague, Hanji Zoë. She is one of the Recon Corps’ lead researchers, and also one of the soldiers who rescued Faye,” The blond stated. Lyor smiled and held out her free hand. “Hanji, this is Lyor Reichart; Wilhelm’s daughter.”

“You’re Lyor?!” Hanji took her hand enthusiastically with both of hers, her eyes sparkling as a wide grin spread on her face. Lyor blinked in confusion. “Wow, I didn’t picture you like this at all! Erwin told me all about your codex on the flight of birds… I have so many questions! I tried to ask Faye, but she said she hasn’t even read it yet! You have to let me borrow it!”

“Hanji…” Erwin warned.

Pleasantly surprised by her intensity and warmth, Lyor returned her grin and squeezed the woman’s hand, ignoring Erwin’s disapproval. The world wouldn’t be an interesting place without people like Hanji.

“It’s not quite finished, but I promise you’ll be the first person to read it when it is. Consider it a gift for bringing Faye back.” Lyor responded, and Hanji laughed heartily before letting go. She spoke before Hanji could twitter about anything else. “Are you two here to see Faye?”

“Yes, we try to bring her some real food on our day off. I wouldn’t even feed this hospital's food to a titan!” The woman remarked as she gestured to the package in Erwin’s hand. Erwin chuckled, and Lyor savoured the sound after not hearing it for several weeks.

“How sweet of you.” Lyor commented, smiling at her, but her smile didn’t last long when she heard the muffled sound of something smashing from inside Faye’s room followed by more screaming. Automatically, Hanji and Erwin, both being military officers, twitched in response, their shoulders now square and defensive. Lyor could tell by their movements that they had both received the same military training. She held her hand up in appeasement, a hesitant smile on her face.

“Now may not be the best time to visit. We just learned that Faye had snuck out of her house to come outside the walls with us. We had no idea her parents didn’t know… And now that she barely made it home alive, they’re blaming my father. He’s trying to defuse the situation.”

“Sounds like he’s doing a good job.” Hanji replied sarcastically.

“Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned, Hanji.” Lyor offered, earning a laugh from Hanji and another chuckle from Erwin. She turned her attention to the eventful door beside them, hiding her giddy smile. She liked making him laugh.

Before their conversation could progress any further, Faye’s door swung open, her mother on the other side. “You’re just a monster! Exploiting a teenage girl! I’m going to report you to the King, and then we’ll see how sorry you really are, you scum! Now, get out!”

The mother violently motioned Wilhelm, who was still inside the room, towards the hallway. After opening the door, Lyor must’ve caught her attention for she turned savagely towards the young woman.

“And you!” Faye’s mother pointed at the brunette, stepping out of the room to shove her index in Lyor’s face. Lyor tried to back away defensively, but the woman followed her. “You abused your influence as Faye’s upperclassman to get her to join! I’m going to denounce you to the university and have you stripped of your degree! You’re nothing but a depraved trollop! Go back to your rat hole, you damned bit-”

Lyor watched as Erwin seized the woman’s defamatory finger in his imposing hand, and lowered it from Lyor’s face. “That’s quite enough, ma’am.” His voice was firm and domineering; it made Lyor’s skin prickle.

The woman seemed to blanch at Erwin’s demand, but she quickly snapped her hand away and regained her composure — although she refrained from raising her voice to her previous decibel level. “Just what my daughter needs: humanity’s greatest tax money waste visiting her. Just leave her alone!”

The mother stomped back to her daughter’s room, and after confirming she had successfully kicked Wilhelm out, she slammed the door behind her with a furious glare.

“Well,” Hanji cooly broke the awkward silence that filled the hallway between the four of them. “I guess Faye won’t be joining the Scouting Legion anytime soon.”

They exchanged a disarming laugh, and Wilhelm introduced himself to Hanji. Erwin turned to Lyor when she spoke to him over Hanji’s squeaks of excitement. “Let me take that for you.”

He watched her take the bundled package of food that was in his hands, and he revelled in how calm she was after just being vituperated by a stranger. She gathered Erwin and Hanji’s package, Rick’s stuffed animal, and her bouquet into a pile as Hanji and her father conversed, and neatly placed it beside Faye’s door.

“Shall we?” Lyor turned to Erwin, and he nodded.

The foursome made their way down the halls and to the hospital’s main entrance, Hanji and Lyor’s father deeply engaged in a discussion about something regarding a chemical oxidation process. Outside the hospital, Lyor and Erwin listened quietly, both amused by the strange friendship blooming before them.

“Well, why don’t we go out for an afternoon drink to finalise our contract?” Wilhelm proposed, the four of them facing each other. Hanji and Erwin exchanged a glance before nodding, Hanji more enthusiastically than the blond.

“That sounds great! I know a great bar in this area!” Hanji exclaimed, dragging the older scientist along with her before diving right back into their previous debate about something Lyor could only guess was chemistry. Erwin began to follow them until he realised Lyor didn’t move from her spot.

“You’re not coming?” He asked, stopping to turn and face her inquisitively.

Lyor offered him a humble smile. “No, I have to go home — my final semester starts tomorrow. I have to pack and return to Sina tonight. But, please, go enjoy yourself.”

“Allow me to walk you home; it’ll be hard for you to get a carriage at this busy hour. Do you live in the area?”

Lyor hesitated, suppressing a bashful grin. “I’d hate to separate you from them.”

“Nonsense. I know exactly where Hanji’s taking him; she’s got a go-to bar to talk people’s ears off.” He argued with a smirk. Lyor pondered for a few moments before she nodded and began to lead the way with a small smile.

They fell in step together, a comfortable silence falling between them as they walked through the cobblestone streets. The two of them maintained a chaste distance from one another. The sky was basked in pink and purple from of the setting autumn sun, being that it was nearly sundown, and it gave a peaceful quality to the bustling area of Wall Rose. Merchants were packing up their markets for the day, mothers beckoned their children to set the dinner table, and men were returning home from their long day of work. Lyor enjoyed this time of day; all felt tranquil for those few hours.

She eyed Erwin in her peripheral vision as they walked, and she finally mustered the strength to finally blurt what had been floating in her head.

“Faye told me about the four soldiers who died rescuing her,” Erwin looked at her. “I’m sorry about your comrades. I also want to apologise for behaving the way I did when you brought me back to the walls. I was a perfect ass.” Lyor attempted a remorseful glance to the tall man to her left. He was smiling calmly, but the smile never quite reached his enigmatic eyes.

“Apology accepted.” He responded, his voice deep and as smooth as always. He caught the sound of Lyor releasing a relieved breath. “How was the book?”

Lyor looked at him again but this time she wore an amused expression. “You think I finished that monster of a book in three weeks?”

“Of course not,” He then smirked. “Six days?” Lyor held his gaze challengingly, her devious smile only making him smile wider and vice versa. “Five?”

“Four. Nearly failed my final exams.”

Erwin feigned exasperation, and Lyor couldn’t repress a giggle. “I seem to constantly underestimate you.”

“I found the passage on whether or not humility is a virtue fascinating. I never thought of it as being the ‘antidote to pride’,” Lyor continued to answer his previous question, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “And then he goes on to describe Descartes’ different types of humility… What were they again?” She mumbled to herself, not expecting an answer from Erwin.

“Virtuous and vicious humility.” He completed her thought, and she gawked at him in excitement.

“Who the hell writes a single line about it and moves on to the next topic without citing anything?! I wasted an entire eight hours looking for Descartes’ book at the library! The librarians thought I was crazy.” Lyor exclaimed, and the way her tone of voice expressed her annoyance made Erwin laugh heartily. The image in his head of her slumped at a desk, appearance bedraggled, and grumbling incoherently to herself didn’t help either.

“It’s not funny! I thought I was losing my mind.” Lyor defended herself but Erwin’s laughter was contagious.

“Ah, then I’m sure Voltaire would be very proud of himself,” He commented, and the two of them exchanged a smile before focusing on the busy street before them. “What did you think of his passage on instincts?”

The two adults continued their walk absorbed in conversation. Subject after subject, they traded perspectives and bartered arguments — all amidst laughs. It was the fastest half hour walk of Lyor’s life. Though they didn’t necessarily agree on everything, she had to admit that his arguments were based on solid foundations, and she quickly found herself respecting him and his intellect. Not knowing whether or not he would agree with her, or what he would say, excited her. But when they did agree, they both felt an indefinable growth of camaraderie between them. And in those moments, she didn’t notice him watching her; not as a man who looks at a friend, but as a man who looks at a woman.

They found themselves in front of the main door of her father’s house, and Lyor paused as she eyed the doorknob, having left the front door unlocked.

“I’d invite you in for a cup of coffee, but I’m afraid I won’t make very good company. I have to start packing now or I’ll miss my ferry.” Lyor turned to face Erwin, unable to suppress a disappointed smile.

“I’ll take a rain check.” Erwin replied simply, returning her smile but hiding any sign of disappointment. He offered her another smile to bid her goodbye and began walking away.

“Wait,” She stood at her door, and he watched her hands fidget, deep in thought, before she lifted her eyes to meet his unflinchingly. The depth of her eyes swallowed him whole, and he refused to acknowledge the skip in his heartbeat. “I haven’t thanked you for finding Faye. I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you.”

He chuckled. “Come work for us.”

Lyor blinked before she breathed out a scoff. “That’s already a given. All that’s left for us to do is dot the i’s and cross the t’s.”

“And have that cup of coffee with me some day.”

She returned his chuckle. “You saved someone’s life, and for your bravery, I offer you coffee. That seems fair to me, too.”

With a chortle and a wave goodbye, he turned on his heel and began walking in the direction they had come from. “Good luck with your classes.”

Lyor, with a leftover smile, let herself watch the blond man walk for a bit before she let herself in. Closing the door behind her, she leaned her weight on it with her back and let her eyes go out of focus as she stared at the floor. Her heart fluttered happily. She wondered if there had been any double meaning behind his words. She flushed at the idea, but deemed it impossible before she shook it out of her mind and went on with her day.

Erwin smiled to himself the whole way back.

“You’re fifteen minutes late!” Rick hollered from the wagon as he watched the brunette skitter down the stairs of the hospital. She hurdled into the carriage, slamming the door behind her inelegantly, and the immediately man ordered the driver to step on it. She collapsed in the carriage bench across from Rick and wheezed out a sigh.

“Sorry; I had to wait for Faye’s parents to leave before I could visit her.” Lyor barely had enough oxygen in her lungs to speak.

Rick rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath as she fixed herself up; smoothing down her dress shirt and pulling up her pants that had almost fallen down her ass from sprinting through hallways without a belt. “That’s what you’re wearing to meet the commander of the Survey Corps?”

Lyor frowned. “And what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“I don’t know,” Rick ambiguously gestured to her clothes, a grimace on his features. “Shouldn’t you be wearing a dress or something?”

The younger woman guffawed. “I don’t know, Rick. Shouldn’t you be jumping off a cliff or something?”

As the carriage took them across the district, the two ended their bickering in a truce and quietly watched the scenery from the windows. They were on their way to the Scouting Legion’s headquarters deep within the countryside of Wall Rose. Lyor had already visited the grounds when she and her father had dropped off their signed contracts a few weeks ago, but she had yet to meet commander Shadis and the military police brigadier general who was in charge of their project supervision.

As stipulated in their contracts, the group of engineers had been permitted to carry out their research but only under specific conditions. One, the engineers must complete and store all their work at the scouts’ headquarters. Two, all experiments must be escorted and documented by military personnel, then immediately relayed to the MP. Three, a weekly project inspection must be completed by military police officers, supervised and directly reporting to one brigadier general of the interior police, Markus Schoenberg. No one in their group had ever heard of or met the officer, and being drowned in midterm projects, Lyor hadn’t had the time to ask about him.

Lyor recognised the surroundings as they pulled onto the path leading to the Survey Corps’ castle headquarters. The carriage stopped, and the two engineers stepped out of the wagon to find themselves past the castle gates and near the stables. A Scouting Legion officer waited for them as they exited, and he asked them to follow him to Shadis’ offices after pointing out that they were late. A few recruits stole glances at the two civilians as they made their way through the intimidating halls, but Lyor tried to copy Rick’s nonchalance and pretended not to notice.

After climbing two sets of stairs and walking down a long hallway, the soldier stopped in front of a wooden door and knocked. Feeling a little bit insecure after seeing Rick — who normally couldn’t care less about his appearance — tidy himself up, Lyor took the opportunity to take out the hairpin from her bun and quickly brushed through her wavy locks with her fingers, letting her hair loose.

“Come in.”

The soldier opened the door to reveal a large room with several people gathered around a coffee table; some on chairs, some on couches. She recognised Heinrich and her father who sat on the couch with a cup of coffee in front of them, but a few unfamiliar faces scrutinised her and Rick. She was surprised at Erwin’s absence. The soldier saluted who Lyor could only assume was Shadis, and motioned for the two engineers to enter the room. The door was closed behind them as the soldier exited. Wilhelm shot Lyor and Rick a disgruntled look.

An intimidating military man with sunken eyes and a head of short brown hair eyed the two heavily, standing behind his desk with both of his hands strictly folded behind his back. “Did you misunderstand when I said we would be meeting at 1500 hours?”

Lyor swallowed when Rick didn’t seem phased by the man’s words. “E-erm, no, sir. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“That’s right, for your sake, it will not happen again,” Shadis warned. “I do not and will not tolerate such disrespect in my— ”

“Keith, Keith! Give them a break!”

Everyone’s attention turned to the military man who spoke out, sitting on the couch across from Heinrich and Wilhelm, his deep voice booming. Lyor watched the tall man, in his late thirties, unfold from his seat and stand to his full height; shoulders broad, chocolate locks slicked back, and a chiseled jaw powdered by a trimmed beard. He wore a long, leather uniform coat with the Military Police’s insignia on the breast pocket. His green eyes fell on Rick, and he walked over to him, holding out his hand. “They’re not soldiers! Greet them properly, for God’s sake.”

Rick — being reluctant to this whole partnership with the military ordeal — gingerly took the man’s hand and shook it.

“Markus Schoenberg, at your service.” The military man flashed a charming smile, his canines sharper than any Lyor had ever seen.

“Rick.” He replied bluntly, purposefully omitting his last name to show his dissatisfaction.

“I don’t care if they’re not soldiers. By extension, they are part of the Scouts and they need to learn to act like it.” The commander snarled, taking a seat at his desk.

Markus’ stare moved from Rick to Lyor, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as his eyes pierced through hers, a sharp smile on his face. Nobody but her had noticed that the look in his eyes was not at all the same. Nervously, but diplomatically, she held out her hand to shake his as he walked over to her, but instead, Markus took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. Whether he kissed her hand out of chivalry or not, she couldn’t tell.

“You must be Wilhelm’s daughter,” he spoke, his lips brushing against her skin as he spoke. “Lyor Reichart.”

She cleared her throat and retracted her hand from his rather peeved, but she bowed her head respectfully. She grit her teeth into what could pass as a smile, and spoke through her teeth, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, brigadier general.”

She witnessed an emotion unbeknownst to her flicker in his eyes at her defiance.

“Alright, that’s enough. I don’t have all day. Take a seat,” Shadis interrupted, and Markus smiled airily at her before regaining his seat, completely dissipating any of his previous aggressiveness. Rick and Lyor sat on the closest chairs, facing the commander across the room over the coffee table. “I’ve gathered you here today to go over the expectations of this partnership.”

Shadis then went on to reiterate what Lyor had read in her contract, but he ad libbed a few rules: mandatory participation in physical training four times a week, abiding by military rules if chosen to stay in the barracks — AKA mandatory 0500 hours wake up and 2200 hours curfew — and some adjustment to their compensation method. Otherwise, they were considered civilians and were expected to “act accordingly”.

They were to directly report to the fourth squad leader, Augie Hills, who was in charge of their assigned squad, and to Markus Schoenberg, brigadier general of the interior police, when required and during weekly inspections. Augie, who sat beside Markus, was a middle-aged woman with tight traits from stress, but otherwise she looked quite pleasant to Lyor — an honest face and bright hazel eyes. After Augie shook hands with the new additions to her squad, Shadis ended his articulation.

“I will ignore any weak first impressions,” Shadis punctuated by staring at Rick and Lyor across the way. Lyor stared at her feet. “And I welcome you to the Scouting Legion. I’ve called an assembly in the courtyard to introduce you to your colleagues.”

With this, Shadis stood and everyone followed suit, the engineers falling back a bit as Wilhelm scorned Rick and Lyor for their tardiness, away from the commander’s ears. The commander led the way down the hall and a flight of stairs, his walk brisk and aggressive, and the squad leader opened a set of doors that led to a raised wooden platform. The group stepped onto the scaffold as Shadis barked at his men to stand at attention. Lyor couldn’t help but laugh to herself at the way she jumped at his command, but her smile soon vanished when she realised that they stood before the entire regiment.

“Men, before you are the newest additions of engineers to squad four. For better or for worse, they are to be treated as your colleagues and nothing less. Our partnership has been finalised and is effective immediately. Salute!” Shadis bellowed, and Lyor watched 150 soldiers salute, the sound of their fists colliding over their hearts sounding in unison. She spotted Erwin in the front row — his hair neater than the last time she had seen him, and his traits solemn. She admired how noble and tall he looked saluting; like the perfect knight.

Before she knew it, Shadis ended his speech and dismissed his soldiers. Each engineer shook his hand before parting ways, and Augie led the group to her squad before excusing herself to a meeting. To Lyor’s surprise, she found Hanji waiting for them with seven other soldiers. The brunette happily greeted Lyor and her father after they had stepped off the scaffold, and introduced herself to Heinrich and Rick.

“Meet the guys! You’ve got Rashad, Moblit, Nifa, Keiji, and Abel.” Hanji spoke, and each member acknowledged the group in their own ways; some smiled, waved, or grunted. They started chatting easily amongst themselves before Hanji proposed to show the group the squad’s workstations. Being the research and development squad, Lyor was excited to see what kind of equipment they had.

But her excitement was interrupted when she was cut off by someone towering over her; his build athletic and tall. She watched her group walk away, too busy making acquaintances to notice that she wasn’t following. Finally, she looked up to meet brigadier Schoenberg’s scrutinising eyes.

“I’m sorry to isolate you from your group like this, Ms. Reichart,” Markus spoke, his vixenish voice contradicting the innocent smile that stretched across his face. “I just felt the need to apologise to you for flustering you earlier.”

Lyor blinked before she held back a scoff, out of respect for his high rank. She didn’t want to start trouble this early on. “You didn’t fluster me.” She simply replied, matter of factly.

“Well, then, you seemed displeased by my greeting,” he offered, his eyes drinking in her every expression. She suddenly felt suffocated by his presence. Her malaise only fed his smirk. “I only meant to greet a lady like a proper gentleman.”

Lyor offered a disarming smile in order to alleviate her discomfort, and to trick him into thinking she wasn’t phased by him. “You mistook my reaction. I assure you I was not displeased. Now, I’m sorry, but my squad has nearly disappeared, and I don’t know my way around here.”

“Oh, please,” The officer cooed and offered her his arm. “Let me escort you. I know the grounds like the back of my hand.”

Lyor swallowed the uneasiness in her throat and eyed his leather coated arm. If she declined, she wasn’t sure how her immediate superior would take it. With an artificial smile and a disconcerted inhale, she timidly took his arm and he began to walk her towards her squad’s station, striking a conversation as they made their way down the dirt path.

From a few feet away, Erwin stood with Mike and another squad member. The latter was occupied with a document, discussing its content with Mike, their backs turned to the walking couple, but Erwin had a clear view of Lyor over Mike’s shoulder. His icy blue eyes glared daggers into Markus’ back as he watched the couple disappear from his sight as they rounded a corner. He noticed how Lyor had tried to hide her distress. Despite his perfect mask of indifference, he felt his eyebrow twitch.

For the first time in a long time, Erwin felt — in the truest sense of the word — uneasy.

Notes: LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS BROS

Sorry this chapter was so uneventful, but I needed an entire chapter to set the foundations for the rollercoaster that awaits y'all. 3-3 Thoughts on Schoenberg?

#erwin smith #erwin smith x oc #erwin smith/oc #oc #aot #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk #fanfiction

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