#playing Burial in the background surely will help a bit

[lovecanbesostrange]

Welcome to another installment of random RRCAU fic, from the big, big universe that lives on the Ruby Lucas Harem Discord, because konako got that one random ask that time. (ask us about the insane College AU now, I dare you, we have answers you don’t even want)

So, if you follow that, have another scene. But this one is, heavy, because it’s all about the big dramatic death around the end of the second year. konako made me cry with the short snippet, so I will now repay that favor with the aftermath in a bit of a long form.

(this is towards the end of Ruby’s sophomore year at college, Granny has just died)

Ruby felt numb. If she could even call it feeling. But it’s either this or crying. And this is more helpful to get through tasks on auto-pilot. Sometimes there was the anger, now like an old friend. But it’s snapping at her friends, pounding the sandbag at the gym, running like mad on the field (Coach is a human after all, didn’t even make her do laps after clearly running the wrong plays). The last few days were a hazy blur. Food, hugging, a bit of sport, people, asking for an assignment extension.

And the phone call with Anita.

She was numb during that, too. And it was for the best. They both knew Granny wanted to be cremated. Just like her husband. But Ruby knew that she also wanted her ashes to be scattered like his. And Anita had said no. She had made arrangements for the urn to be buried. A small service and a burial. Ruby had said she’d be there.

“Whatever.”

A response Ruby knew well.

Regina and Mary Margaret had brought her to the airport. She was using up Regina’s miles again. But she didn’t argue. When she landed she thought she’d get herself to the trailer park somehow, maybe a car rental. Ruby hadn’t thought about that. There was something though. And yes, there was, Mary Margaret had told her - Eva was already waiting at the exit.

Another hug. Long. Warm. Welcoming. It brought Ruby out of the haze a bit, so new tears fell. Tears for Granny. Dead. The last bit of happy memories tied to that place her mind kept insisting on calling home.

“... you can sleep in Mary’s room and I’ll take you to the airport day after tomorrow of course.” Eva already had it planned out, telling her in the car. “Ruby? Is that all okay with you?” Ruby tore off her gaze from the scenery outside, pulling her head away from the glass of the passenger’s window.

“Can we go to the Terrace?” Suddenly the name sounded hollow. “I’d like to get a couple of things.” Maybe she would be too late. Maybe Anita had thrown everything out already.

“Right away?”

“If you don’t mind, please.”

“Of course not, honey.” Eva held the steering wheel with her left hand and put her right on Ruby’s knee, squeezing. Comfort. Reassurance. “Tell me what I can do and consider it done.”

The hint of a smile pulled on the corners of Ruby’s mouth. This was Eva. This had always been Eva, even when she didn’t understand it. She got things done for her.

Pulling up at the trailer park felt strange. For one it was because Ruby was sitting in a nice car. Not rushing through the side entrance on her bike. It was also because Ruby could count the times she’d been here in the almost past two years and every time she got away from it, the place seemed smaller and further away. But mostly, without Granny this was just a glorified parking lot with a bit of green.

Eva parked and waited. Ruby unfastened her seat-belt, but she couldn’t get out. She looked over. Ruby didn’t know if she wanted to go in alone. If she could. Was it better to have Eva there as back-up? Or was that disrespectful?

“I… would you… can you maybe come with me? I don’t know if…” She didn’t know if she could even step a foot inside or would crumble at the front door the way she had days ago in front of her dorm.

“I’m right behind you.” Eva smiled. The warm mom-smile.

Ruby didn’t know if Anita would be here now. She didn’t bother knocking though and didn’t need a key. Nobody needed a key to get in, when you knew the lock wasn’t working properly and all you needed to do was lift the front door at the right angle and push hard.

Ruby opened her mouth, but closed it immediately to not say hallo into the void. Everything looked mostly as expected. There were a few empty alcohol bottles stacked next to the kitchen sink, Anita had been digging in. But she still got herself together to not let them lie around. Maybe that was good. Maybe that was something to care about.

Suddenly her home - the trailer - looked depressing. More than usual. Granny wasn’t sitting outside or lying in bed. The tiny tv was not running. That specific background noise missing was a big deal. Sure, Granny had been in and out of the hospital, but the finality was felt.

Ruby breathed in, the hitch alerted Eva and she touched her on her back, steadied her. The smell. Oh the smell was home. The mix of the cheap laundry detergent, the sharp air freshener, the lingering scent of Granny mixed with Anita’s aggressive perfume. It smelt a bit different than she remembered, but that was probably herself missing from this equation for a long time now.

Slowly Ruby stepped towards the bedroom. The smell of Granny got stronger. Without thinking about it she sat down on the bed. The linens crisp and clean, waiting for someone to sleep here again. There were pills on the nightstand. The little tub with daily doses already in order. Ruby picked it up. Monday and Tuesday were empty, she looked at Wednesday and the morning was missing. Right, after that Granny had called an ambulance. Thursday’s pills were untouched. Thursday had been the last time she had seen her. Ever.

Anita hadn’t touched anything in here as far as Ruby could tell. It was a surprise. Maybe she didn’t know what to do with all the stuff. And maybe, just maybe, there was more emotional baggage inside of her and she couldn’t let go of her mother. She had never left either. She could have. She could have let Granny rot alone in here and not just disappear a few days at a time, but forever. And yet Anita had always come back. Despite everything.

Ruby put the pill box back down and grabbed the framed photo. It was Granny’s wedding picture. She had never stopped loving that man that barely had time to get to know his own daughter and who never knew that his memory lived in a granddaughter he never met at all. They were a handsome couple. This was one of three pictures she knew she wanted above all else.

Her hand was already under the bed, searching the shoe box stashed there. Yes. She opened it and was greeted with all the letters she had sent home the last two years. It felt like so little, but she knew it had meant much. Granny had taken the photos from some of these out and put them on the wall next to the tv. But the pictures Ruby was searching were underneath it all.

An old black and white photograph. More brownish actually, genuine sepia, grainy, worn on the edges. It was Granny as a child with her three older brothers. It was the only thing Ruby knew of, that even proved they once had been alive. Before that fateful accident. Three brothers and their father, all gone in one go.

This family was cursed. Mothers and daughters left. And Granny’s mother hadn’t made it much longer on her own. Maybe Granny and Ruby got along, because they skipped a generation between. Mothers and daughters gave each other plenty of resentment.

And then there was the third picture. Granny with her dear husband and a fancy new car. The red Camaro had been out of their price range, but on their anniversary they had gone to the dealership, got a long test drive out of it and made that a date. Granny had talked about that day a lot. Grandfather promised them a brighter future where they would be able to afford a car like that. Not just stealing fake moments, but creating happy ones for real.

That had never happened.

Granny had deserved more and yet life had rejected her. But she had held on. Despite her heart condition, the many losses of family members around her, the slipping into poverty. Granny had always held on. For over 80 years. Nobody had thought that would even be possible. So maybe it was okay to say goodbye now. Now that Ruby understood how Granny could look at a picture of her dead husband for hours and feel nothing but love.

Ruby put the frame into the shoe box, then her gaze fell onto the chair. Granny’s knitted cardigan hung over the back. She’d always worn that grey monstrosity, though it was unflattering even on her. Ruby got to her feet and picked it up. She buried her face in the fabric. Granny. Yes, she wanted this. The pictures, her own letters, the cardigan. It meant something.

Tears began to fall again. Ruby wasn’t numb at all. Breathing in all the memories came rushing back. Sitting on Granny’s lap during Christmas story time; teaching her the sacred lasagna recipe; listening to unimportant happenings at school; the encouraging words when Anita’s indifference turned into vile insults; daydreaming of long trips with fingers on the maps of an old atlas; sitting in front of Granny’s bed, eating something from the microwave and letting Granny catch her up on her soaps. There had been love.

Eva had been silent all this time and given Ruby space. Now she stepped closer and wrapped her up in her arms. Ruby hugged the cardigan and felt Eva kissing her on the head. This was goodbye. But she wouldn’t be alone.

The service was lovely, but what really got to Ruby was seeing people attending. She had thought she’d be there alone with Anita, maybe Eva in the back. But there were a few neighbors. Mrs. Johnson even gave her a quick hug, she had come by like once a month to do Granny’s hair for free, but really it was about the conversation. Nurse Wilcox had retired herself three years ago, but before she had worked at the doctor’s office Granny got her subscriptions from. She had seen the tiny ad in the paper and wanted to pay her respects, remembering one of her favourite patients.

A part of Ruby wanted to scream, because she knew burying the urn in the dirt was wrong. Even though Anita had picked a nice little headstone. Ruby knew this was money she couldn’t really afford to spend. But causing a scene in the cemetery was the last thing she would do. She’d rather run away and not attend at all, while more than a dozen people paid their respects.

There wasn’t much said between Ruby and Anita. Who cared about one more argument and hollow questions about their current living situations? Ruby would remember the way Eva kept holding her hand, let her ramble through incoherent memories and tugged her into Mary’s bed. (Something Ruby rejected by getting up at night to sleep in the treehouse, the cardigan close to her chest.)

And when summer came around, Ruby would clean a whole week out of her schedule. No summer class, no work, not anybody around. Maybe it was irresponsible to blow through a portion of her savings, but she found a car rental that could get her that red 1975 Chevrolet Camaro. And maybe it was called grave robbing, but she dug up Granny’s urn and put her on the passenger’s seat. A week on the road right up to the beach where Granny had scattered her husband’s ashes.

That would be Ruby’s last goodbye. When she finally could let go of the woman, who had mostly raised her. The road trip they had talked about in giggling voices.

Turning into the parking lot was hard. And just when Ruby doubted she could scatter these ashes alone, she spotted Regina waiting for her. She had send so many texts to her friends and called to let them know she was okay, that Regina knew when she would arrive at her destination. Regina, who had been there when Ruby had last spoken to Granny. Fitting. Granny’s final blessing.

[ksuew]

The Rookie 2x11 Day of Death

Here is a crazy, sleep-deprived stream of conscious recap of the episode with a few predictions.

Opening scene, Lucy regains consciousness on a table, Caleb is giving her a DOD tatoo. I was so hoping this wouldn’t happen, but it does give the opportunity for a good healing story line and an awesome cover tatoo.

Next, Jackson goes to bring Lucy coffee and she isn’t home.

Lopez and Wesley are talking after she’s found him nearly dead because he’s mixed booze and pills.

There is a news brief from Rosalind

“5 years ago Detective nick armstrong looked into my eyes and Fulfilled his darkest fantasy and arrested me for Playing at slaughter” weird wording. I think Armstrong must have slept with Rosalind...

Nolan and Jackson are discussing the missing Lucy. Thankfully, Harper immediately sounds the alarm. When asked if Lucy just went home with the guy, Nolan says, “Lucy doesn’t do one night stands”. I could tell what Jackson said.

Next we see Lucy taped to a chair.

She’s trying to get into Caleb’s head, but it isn’t really getting her free yet.

Harper and Nolan visit his last victim but get no usable info other than timeline. It would be nice if she and Lucy meet up at some point. They could be a good support for one another.

They talk to Grace about How long it would take to suffocate in a barrel.

Surveillance footage

As soon as they say she’s been taken they cut to Tim. He immediately calls Lopez. She’s on her way. Love that friendship.

Harper knows Lucy is a fighter

Lucy proves that when she gets free, hits Caleb and runs for it. Wish She had beaten him until she saw brain matter, but I get the instinct to run.

I really hated watching Caleb kick her. That was hard to watch.

Armstrong’s pissed, I get it. I think it was right to send Nolan to talk to Rosalind (and he is the star of the show, so he has to play a big part).

Poor Tim, he talks with Lopez. He blames himself for pushing Lucy to go out . He was nearly in tears. “She hesitated and I pushed her right at him.”

Nolan visits Rosalind. I still don’t trust the prison guy, Hernandez, i think he’s in on things. May come up in later episodes. Nolan doesn’t get much, but tries the contraband angle.

Love that Wesley gets to help by finding the contraband smuggler.

Now it’s Lucy being marched to the burial site. He makes her climb into the barrel, has it wired to record. The ring!! Lucy you beautiful genius! She throws her ring onto the ground as she climbs into the barrel. I loved her parting quote, “you’re gonna be dead long before i am”. Gotta say, I’d have ripped those camera wires apart out of spite. No way I would have let him have the satisfaction of watching me die.

The next scene was one of my favorites. Tim and Jackson pull over the smuggler. Tim goes all the fuck out from second one. Jackson looks kinda scared. One of my favorite linesof the whole episode: “I am responsible for a life that is in jeopardy and I will do whatever I have to to save her, do you understand?” The guy doesn’t want to give the info, Tim’s reply, “Because if you don’t I will pull you inside out”. Swoon

Tim takes down the guy he thinks is Caleb and demands “Where’s Lucy?” But it’s not Caleb. Poor guy’s disabled and gets tackled because Caleb stole his identity. So back to Nolan and Rosalind. He really doesn’t get anywhere, honestly, other than finding out she’s after Armstrong

Armstrong is a dummy and lets Caleb take him. Caleb was never gonna help or let her go. Sweet that he would sacrifice his life for hers. Lots of guilt there.

Lopez and sergeant grey find the photo of Lucy and presumably her phone. BUT WE DON’T GET TO SEE HER TIM LOCK SCREEN which had me seriously pouting.

Lucy’s in the barrel. This is so hard to watch. Cut to Tim looking devastated because he thinks they’re out of options but It’s Jackson and Tim who realize credit card statements could lead to Caleb. Then Wesley for the win, figuring out that Caleb will probably take Lucy to a place connected to Rosalind.

So Caleb and Armstrong get to the farmhouse. Caleb is jealous of Armstrong, “there’s so much you don’t know about her. I know everything “. He also told Lucy earlier that he didn’t understand Rosalind’s obsession with Armstrong. Again, I’m Pretty sure they had an affair before he realized she was the killer.

Okay, finally Tim and Lopez use the data Wesley has gathered and find the address.

Now the scene of Lucy singing dream a little dream of me. All we hear is her as everyone rushes to find her. We see Nolan and Harper get re-routed toward the farmhouse and Tim, Jackson, Lopez, and Sergeant Grey getting in a helicopter, but all we hear is her singing until her voice trails off and she presumably passes out from lack of oxygen. I can no longer sit at this point.

Nolan and Harper get there first and Harper shoots Caleb. They try to keep him alive even calling Grace to help, but he was never going to tell them anything anyway. He dies.

Loads of people finally start to show up. Nolan shows Lopez the live stream of Lucy in the barrel. Tim doesn’t really look. Honestly he looks so upset and worried that he might throw up. They decide to just start searching and hope for the best.

Tim pulls it together and starts to search with Jackson, but tells Jackson to go left so they can cover more ground.

Everybody is searching. At this point I’m nearly screaming at the TV, “Come on Tim!!”. (And I’m pacing and getting really close to the tv) My dog gets so spooked she starts barking 😂. I NEED for Tim to be the one to find her. The scene keeps cutting to all the people looking for her...

And then, it all comes together..

He sees the ring catching the sun. Lucy has saved herself that badass queen. He starts digging with his bare hands and calling for help “I’ve got her!”. I am literally dying. PS. Lucy doesn’t wear that ring to work, so he’s noticed it from other occasions. I would so love if that ring comes into play in the future...

So, he’s digging, everyone joins in with hands and shovels.

Tim is the one to open the barrel.

Tim is the first one to touch her and asks for help getting her out (I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen him touch her)

Tim is the one to check if she’s breathing

Tim is the one to give her mouth to mouth and start compressions

Thankfully they don’t leave us in suspense for too long before she starts to breathe again. As soon as she realizes she is out of the barrel and alive, she starts to sob

Tim is the one to gather her in his arms and rock her and tell her it’s okay.

God, I was a mess! They could have let that scene go on for just a touch longer, but I won’t complain. It was so touching. I love how everyone deferred to Tim. No one tried to take over or move in. They all knew it needed to be him.

Cut to the hospital. Lucy is waking up and Tim is by her side reading a ridiculous teen magazine. Tim looks a little embarrassed/unsure (will she want me here? Is she mad at me?). Lucy starts with some playful banter and Tim makes her laugh right away. He looks a little unsure again. Lucy asks him if he’s been there all night. Embarrassed puppy denies it 3 times, which of course tells us he has, but doesn’t want her to know. Her little “um hm” tells me she knows he’s lying.

Grace comes in, says Lucy will be in the hospital for one more day. Mentions that Rachel just came by and will be back later 🙄🙄. Sorry, but can we be done with Rachel now?

Lucy looks to Tim and asks, “How did you find me?”. Just when I think he’ll get to mention the ring, Nolan comes in to claim credit and says it was his policing skills. (I’ll give it to you, Nathan, this show wouldn’t exist without you, so we gotta stroke your ego a bit 😂)

He gives her a big teddy bear, then Jackson comes in with flowers. It’s very cute and sweet. Lucy says the bear will stay in her bed because she’s never going on another date again. Grace tries to object but all 3 guys are fine with that scenario. As am I. The only dates she needs to go on are with Tim after she’s no longer a rookie for at least 6 months. Then he can evict the pink bear.

Tim totally sets up his own gift to her by asking Lucy if she’s hungry. She says yes, and as she’s about to say what she’d really like to eat, he’s pulling out a bag with her favorite veggie burger, extra pickles and French fries (as a romantic song plays in the background. I can’t find it yet, but the lyrics were “I’ll come and find you, come rain, come shine) Who won the gift name now, suckers? Better than a bear or flowers any day 😉.

She says, “you know me so well”, he smirks, goes full heart eyes, and says, “Too well”.

And that’s some endgame set-up awesomeness right there!

I would have been fine if the episode had ended there, but there was a bit more.

Wesley has gotten some perspective because of Lucy’s ordeal and is ready to go back to work. I think there are more setbacks to come for him, but it is a good first step.

Cut to Armstrong and Sergeant Grey. He invites Armstrong to his house to watch a game. He hopes Armstrong can cast out his demons and move on... foreshadowing!

Nolan goes back to speak with Rosalind to tell her she (and Caleb) failed and now all she has is her cell. She tries to barter a secret about Armstrong. I’m sure that will come back to haunt us. Like I said before, I’m pretty sure Armstrong slept with her at some point, but there is something else. Season finale kinda something else.

Overall, this was such an excellent episode of television. It literally had me out of my seat on several occasions. I feel like Tim knows he’s got serious feelings for Lucy but will try his hardest to suppress them because she is his rookie, and a fellow cop, and he feels like her abduction was his fault. I think that will become a bigger and bigger issue as the rest of this season progresses.

I think (and hope) that Lucy working with Harper will be a one-episode thing, but they will probably pull pretty far back on The Lucy and Tim relationship for a few episodes. The scenario was very similar to A Bones episode from season 2. Brennan was buried alive, Booth moved heaven and earth to find her, she did something brilliant that caught his eye when it seemed like finding her would be impossible. He dug her out and held her, but it was still a good 4 more seasons or more before they got together. I hope we won’t have to wait THAT long, but I don’t think they’ll be together by the end of this season. I do think that this episode is signaling that the show runners are definitely going to put Tim and Lucy together eventually, which makes me very happy.

For now, I just hope they’re back as partners in the same shop soon. I need to see them together because they’re the best part of the whole show. I want them to allow Lucy to process her trauma. I want a conversation between Lucy and Tim about it not being his fault. I would hope Tim would end things with Rachel. I want the ring to come back into play at some point. First because i want Lucy to know that what she did was a big part of what saved her, and I want a pining Tim to hang onto it like a talisman.

[trensu]

Episode 22: The One with ANOTHER Other Moonlit Rooftop Scene

WE’RE ON A ROOF, GREAT START! 

THERE’S MOONLIGHT, GREAT START!

BC WE ALL KNOW THAT THE BEST THINGS HAPPEN ON MOONLIT ROOFTOPS (except for that one time that we’re not gonna talk about rn bc it’ll give me the Sads)

OUR BOYS ARE SITTING TOGETHER ON A ROOF IN QINGHE

TOGETHER!! ON A ROOF!! IN THE MOONLIGHT!!!

WE LOVE ROOFS AND MOONLIGHT IN THIS FANDOM

Wwx: does this seem familiar to you? Weren’t we chilling on a roof like this together back in the cloud recesses during Ancient Fantasy China summer school?

And lwj is like, no, we were fighting with swords and stuff

Wwx: right, right, you caught me breaking curfew!

HE LAUGHS, REMINISCING. HE LAUGHS!!

Wwx: too bad there’s no emperor’s smile

Get help wwx, problems are not solved with copious amounts of wine

Oh god, and he just slouches back on the roof, leaning on his elbows and SPREADING HIS LEGS LIKE A SCARLET WOMAN

WWX WHAT ARE YOU DOING

MAKING YOURSELF LOOK ALL ENTICING LIKE THAT

And lwj has an iron will apparently bc he’s still sitting upright in a meditation pose

Oooh, now they’re going to have a Serious conversation

Lwj: things change. How could it be the same as before?

And wwx gives him this sad little smile

Wwx: lan zhan, thank you

Lwj: for what?

Wwx: thank you for not telling shijie

And then HE SMILES AT LWJ

SINCERELY. THAT’S A SINCERE SMILE ON HIS FACE

Like, okay, it’s not as big and bright as his usual sunshine smile BUT IT’S STILL THE HAPPIEST SMILE HE’S DIRECTED AT LWJ SINCE THE BURIAL MOUNDS

Ofc lwj goes and ruins the mood (why does he keep doing this)

Lwj: these tricks harm your body and mind as well

Wwx: i know, but i’m not using wicked tricks, i learned CRAFTY tricks

Lwj: crafty tricks?

Lwj’s tone changes here! It has a hopeful edge to it rather than the solemn note it carried before. THINGS ARE LOOKING UP, GUYS

Wwx: that’s what i learned in that sunless dingy place for three months

ah, guess i spoke too soon...wwx gets this faraway look on his face like he’s back in that awful place anD IT MAKES ME SO SAD

Wwx: anyway, i have to thank you for Lan clan’s Temperament Technique bc my crafty tricks require

HE USED LAN CLAN TEACHINGS TO DEVELOP HIS NEW CULTIVATION

LAN CLAN!!

LAN!!!!

EVEN AT HIS LOWEST, HE STILL CLUNG TO LAN WANGJI. LAN WANGJI STILL WAS ABLE TO HELP HIM EVEN THO HE WASN’T THERE

AHHHHHHHHH

And lwj is just watching him here, yearningly like always

Wwx: with my bamboo flute, everything can be controlled~! *twirls the demon flute*

But lwj is not gonna be distracted by his fancy flute twirling here

Lwj: do crafty tricks rely on the spirit?

Wwx nods in response

~Their Song~ starts playing in the background (the flute version of it, even!!)

Lwj: mastering it by mind is like taking a grain of rice from a fire. If not done carefully you risk falling into demonic cultivation. The consequences will be unimaginable

Okay, 1) pretty sure that’s the longest string of sentences lwj has made in the entire show so far, so kudos to you lwj. You used your words!! I’m so proud!!

And 2) THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE UNIMAGINABLE?? LWJ DOES NOT WANT TO IMAGINE THOSE CONSEQUENCES FOR WEI YING. HE DOESN’T WANT TO THINK OF HIM SUFFERING THAT WAY. BC HE LOVES HIM

Wwx: i know. Lan zhan, i understand your concern.

OUR BOYS OUR COMMUNICATING. 

LOOK AT THEM!! 

COMMUNICATING ALL OVER EACH OTHER!!!! 

THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER

And here wwx does HIS LITTLE SCOUT’S HONOR THING AND HIS VOICE PICKS UP A CHIPPER TONE AND IT’S SO CUTE AND SO REMINISCENT OF BEFORE

Wwx: i, wei ying, promise you that i will never degenerate into demonic cultivation

STOP MAKING PROMISES YOU WON’T KEEP WWX

Wwx: do you believe me?

Lwj nods

AND OH, THE SMILE WWX HAS IN RESPONSE

IT’S ALMOST LIKE BEFORE

ALL OF THIS IS ALMOST LIKE BEFORE

Now wwx does a little floaty jump thing off of the roof (it doesn’t look ridiculous for once!! It actually looks pretty neat here!!) and starts to walk away

Lwj elegantly stands up (still on the roof!!) and says “Let me help you.”

Wwx freezes in his steps for a moment, not quite turning back, and says “okay.”

He says that AND HE SMILES AGAIN

Lwj is left standing alone on the roof

ALL THIS AND WE’RE ONLY 5MIN INTO THE EPISODE

MY HEART, MY HEART

GOD I MISSED MY WANGXIANTICS.

IT’S BEEN SO LONG, MY LOVE, I’VE MISSED YOU SO!!

Oh, and now it’s daytime

Plot Things are happening

Nmj is giving a rousing speech to the troops, very imposing, very stern, very soldier-y

AND TOTALLY DOES NOT MATTER SO WE’RE MOVING ON

Everyone’s leaving Qinghe for plot reasons. Jc and jzx go ahead on their swords but lwj and wwx are traveling by horse

They’re on horses!! Idk why that makes me happy but it does!! I don’t even like horses that much??? 

Wwx is twirling his flute!!

Lwj: why didn’t you go ahead with them?

Wwx: i don’t want to join in the fun with jc and that colorful peacock

Lwj: aren’t you the one who prefers to join in the fun?

GUYS, GUYS LWJ SAYS THIS WITH A TEASING TONE (well, teasing for him; it’s a very subtle change BUT IT’S THERE, I SWEAR!!)

HE’S TRYING TO BE PLAYFUL WITH WWX!! IT’S SO CUTE!!

OMG, OMG we get a brief moment of Jealous!LWJ. Courtesy of NHS, of course.

Nhs is at the top of a tower in qinghe waving goodbye, right? (he’s adorable, i love him)

BUT HE CALLS SPECIFICALLY TO WWX

Nhs: wwx, wwx, take care!

and lwj lets his eyes drift a little towards the voice but HE DOESN’T EVEN DEIGN TO LOOK AT NHS DIRECTLY before his eyes flicker to face forward

it’s such a disdainful little movement; IT HAPPENS SO FAST

BUT THE JEALOUSY IS SO POTENT HERE, OMG OMG

chill out lwj, nhs is just a friend!!

Ugh, evil wen lair time

WE DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PLOT DEVICE OR WEN RUOHAN

Oh, now we’re in the middle of a battlefield but no lwj or wwx in sight, how boring

Battle battle battle

Fight fight fighting

Ooooh demon transformation. That was interesting for like, two seconds

Gotta say, the makeup/costuming they use for those demon things actually looks pretty decent, all things considered

Actually, most of their group fight scenes are pretty good

UGH MORE EVIL WEN LAIR TIME?? Plot plot Meng Yao is revealed to be a wen flunkie suddenly plot plot 

Back with the good guys now! At soldier camp!! (or whatever those are called, listen, i’m not a war general, terms escape me)

Plot plot nmj, jzx, jc are inspecting puppets blah blah don’t care don’t care

OH WAIT, LWJ AND WWX SHOWED UP

THEY LOOK VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PUPPETS. I SUDDENLY CARE ABOUT THE PUPPETS

Nvm, we’re back at a boring strategy meeting blegh

Blah blah invinceable puppets blah blah kill wen ruohan blah blah

Nmj: I WILL SNEAK INTO NIGHTLESS CITY AND KILL WEN RUOHAN

I’m sorry nmj but you don’t have a sneaky bone in your entire body

That is a terrible plan. Jzx agrees with me.

Nmj: if i die, lxc can just take charge nbd

Suddenly lxc shows up with a Sneaky Map

Everybody’s excited about the Sneaky Map

I AM NOT

I AM NOT EXCITED ABOUT THE SNEAKY MAP

THIS IS BORING

LET’S MOVE ON NOW PLZ

Ah, we’re back with wwx and lwj who are inspecting the Suddenly Interesting Puppets

They’re being all clever together!! I love it

OH NO, SOME RANDO JUST INTERRUPTED SAYING JYL NEEDS HELP

WWX TAKES OFF IN A FLASH, OBVS

We’re at jzx’s tent!! WHERE JZX MADE HER CRY

I DEMAND BLOOD IN RECOMPENSE

Wwx: what happened? Don’t cry!

Wwx: was there someone who bullied you??

Omg his words are like, dripping with venom as he says this and turns to glare at jzx

POOR JYL IS SOBBING, OUTRIGHT SOBBING

Jyl: i’m fine! Let’s go, come on, come on

SHE SAYS THIS THROUGH HER TEARS. SHE’S HEARTBROKEN

I DEMAND BLOODSHED

Mianmian shows up to explain the situation

Details don’t matter

What matters is that we see Lwj about to join them in the tent

Like, he’s one step in and everything

But once mianmian starts talking, he steps back out? And just loiters in front of their tent thing?

HE DOESN’T WANT TO INTRUDE ON A FAMILY MATTER

BC LAST TIME HE DID, WWX SNAPPED AT HIM AND PUSHED HIM AWAY

AND THAT SHIT HURTED

WE DON’T WANT THAT AGAIN

We find out that jzx was a total utter DOUCHEBAG to jyl and HUMILIATED her in public BECAUSE HE’S A DICK AND DOESN’T DESERVE HER

YOU’RE LUCKY I’M NOT THERE RN JZX BC I’M READY TO MURDER

Oh look, wwx is ready to murder too

he punches jzx right in the chest AND SENDS HIM FLYING, HELL YEAH

then uses his demon flute TO SMACK DOWN THE JIN DISCIPLES with resentful energy

then goes and DECKS JZX RIGHT IN THE FACE

YESSS!!!!!!

HIT HIM HARDER WWX

But nooo, mianmian and jyl have to be decent people and try to hold wwx back

Lwj hears them cry out and rushes into the room!!

He grabs wwx’s arm, which was already poised for another punch

Lwj: wei ying, calm down

DON’T TELL HIM TO CALM DOWN LWJ

JZX DESERVES WHAT’S COMING TO HIM

DON’T YOU SEE YOUR SISTER IN LAW CRYING???

But it seems that lwj’s words cut through wwx’s rage (even tho he didn’t raise his voice at all!!) bc wwx lets his arm be lowered by lwj’s grip

He looks at lwj’s concerned face and turns to walk out of the tent

We cut to some Sect Leader Time featuring NMJ and LXC

Nmj: soooo, how’d you get the Sneaky Map

Lxc: ...I know a guy

Then they go on for awhile and i get the impression that they’re trying to Flirt but are doing it Badly

HA, losers! (they say, even tho their OTP consistently fails to communicate their Emotions well)

We’re on a battlefield again!

Kinda sucks how our guys get possessed and turned against us.

What a bummer

MORE BORING PLOT STUFF

Blah blah, nmj disappeared, blah blah our guys are forced into a trap blah blah

Oh wait, there’s a bit here

Wwx asks lxc who gave him the Sneaky Map and lxc is all “a good friend” and wwx is like oh okay and walks off

As he walks away, lwj turns to ~gaze longingly~ at him

It was kinda weird, bc contextually it doesn’t make sense for there to be a longing gaze here

BUT WHO CARES!

SINCE WHEN DO WE NEED A REASON FOR GAY YEARNING??

IT JUST IS, MY FRIENDS, AND WE LOVE IT

More evil wen lair time (at some point we watch nmj be a badass at this lair, but we’re not here for him. Sorry nmj, still love ya tho!)

MoVInG alONg

Battlefield has moved to the Nightless City

For real for real, these group battle scenes are pretty cool. I like them.

AHHHH!! AHHHHHHH!!! WWX NEARLY GETS A SWORD TO THE THROAT

BUT LWJ NOTICES IT AND IS BLOCKING THE HIT IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

THE WAY IT’S FRAMED MAKES IT LOOK EVEN MORE AWESOME!!

Bc he just swooshes into the frame from the right, all fluid movement and elegance

BLOCKS THE HIT LIKE NOTHING

And ends up on the opposite side of the frame, not even looking at the baddie he just blocked; he’s all straight-backed and regal

I am Shocked wwx didn’t swoon right there and then

WWX AND LWJ ARE NOW BACK TO BACK

FIGHTING TOGETHER

I AM IN LOVE

Ugh, we’re back at the evil wen lair

Gross

Can we not? Nobody cares.

BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!

Everything stops suddenly, and lwj and wwx are side by side

Bc ofc they are

They’re soulmates!!

Uh oh, some of their guys get Literally pulverized

Aaaaand, here come the massive amounts of puppets

Wen ruohan - creator of the world’s worst puppet show

Omg, we just keep getting shots of lwj and wwx standing next to each other, or standing back to back

They’re not even doing anything AND IT’S STILL AMAZING TO WATCH

UGH, JUST HAVING THEM BE NEAR EACH OTHER ON SCREEN MAKES ME SO HAPPY

Wwx: lan zhan, what method can we take now to escape?

Lwj: Fight.

Wwx: *smirk*

GOD I LOVE MY BOYS

And the cameras give us close-up shots of their faces in that exchange and it’s amazing

THE EXPRESSIONS, MAN

GRIM DETERMINATION

LIKE, WE’RE PROBABLY DEAD, MIGHT AS WELL GO DOWN FIGHTING

THAT’S WHAT THEIR FACES SAY

I! LOVE!! MY!!! BOYS!!!!

They just look so awesome fighting here!!

Lol wwx is just whacking people with his flute

Very intimidating, wwx, very scary

One of the demon things just tried attacking wwx aND GOT BICHEN THROUGH THE CHEST FOR THEIR TROUBLES

THAT’S WHAT YOU GET, DEMON THING!!

And then lwj goes and blocks another blow meant for wwx

Lwj is so awesome in battle??

I feel like shang from mulan trying to compliment lwj

“YOU...YOU FIGHT GOOD”

i mean, come on, he literally just now took out a demon thing with a BLAST from bichen

BICHEN DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH IT? 

AND THE DEMON THING WAS COMING FROM BEHIND HIM??

HE DIDN’T EVEN TURN AROUND TO LOOK!!

HE JUST HAD BICHEN BLAST SOME SPIRITUAL ENERGY BEHIND HIM TO KNOCK OUT THE DEMON THING

WHAT A BAMF

Uh oh

Wwx just did his floaty jump thing and perched on a winged creature statue overlooking the battlefield

Lwj has his eyes on him

He’s watching him all worriedly

WWX STARTS TO PLAY HIS DEMON FLUTE

listen

listen

i know the demon flute and resentful energy is bad for you or whatever

BUT HE LOOKS SO DAMN COOL HERE

ENSHROUDED IN BLACK SMOKE

HIS FACE A PICTURE OF CONCENTRATION

Meanwhile lwj is cutting down enemies left and right AND STILL MAKING TIME TO THROW WORRIED LOOKS AT WWX

WAIT A MINUTE, wwx has just TAKEN CONTROL of the demon things

Bc he’s BADASS

And the music gets INTENSE here

THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!

LWJ still looks so concerned even tho the demon things start fighting for them rather than against them

Bc he doesn’t care about the demon things or the battle

He cares about how this will affect his wei ying!!

And the episode ends with wen ruohan throwing a hissy fit bc his demon things aren’t under his control anymore

WE DID IT GUYS, WE FINALLY MADE IT TO AN EPISODE WITH QUALITY NOT-COMPLETELY-HEARTBREAKING WANGXIANTICS

OUR BOYS WERE NICE TO EACH OTHER!!!

ON A MOONLIT ROOFTOP!!!

AND THEY FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE!!

IT WAS ALL SO BEAUTIFUL

Return to Masterpost

[lotus-mirage]

episode 43 liveblog

so I accidentally procrastinated on some things. but they’re all done now and I can get back to this, huzzah!

Okay I’m actually grateful for this exposition/monologue because it is clearing some things up

Oh! Have we heard this music before?

Yeah Lan Xichen’s loyalty kind of continues to be readable as romantic feelings honestly

This is pretty rough on him huh

Big conversation coming up?

Right, the scars... yeesh, likely to be a touchy subject

the Wens :,(

Why is everything on fire

Wait I thought this guy was dead. Is this not Jin Zixun?

‘You are not qualified to talk to me.’ AAHHHHHHHHHHH HOLY CRUD GET HIM

Right, right, Su She. I see now.

... What is Jin Guangyao implying here? That Lan Wangji would aid him in bunkering down here?

I think I’m a little unclear on the timeline here - after the Wens turned themselves in but before the big confrontation? Why would LWJ’s uncle be displeased with him, then? Didn’t he only fight against the others during that last battle?

Nope, I guess he fought them at the burial mounds! What was he doing??

What

300

300 lashes. And 3 years of house arrest, essentially!!?

Wait doesn’t a ‘lash’ imply flexibility? This looks like a stick. Maybe a sharp stick, but... is this separate? Additional? I hope not.

D:

D,:

He has the nerve to say that he’s disappointed. Not enough to force a conversation like this, or reprimand him.

D,:<

He believed in him. D,:

With the implication of background lore on the location ‘silence room’ is now a bit worrying

...those are some really bad implications for parenting capabilities. Or even their ability to do so.

Their dad was isolating himself for years!? Their mother lived in a house like it was a prison!?

She didn’t love him back. That’s. Not good for a married couple, unless that changed before the marriage.

She killed one of his teachers!?

I. How did this marriage happen? It sounds like only one person wanted it, and maybe not even enough to stick around for it.

He locked her up??? It wasn’t a stipulation or anything?????

And what was he repenting for? Possibly marrying someone against their will? Or going against the rules?

I can’t tell who the child is but :,(

Oh that’s a parallel with the pre-Jin Zixuan’s death punishment scene, isn’t it. D,:

He fell asleep there

Oh, she died? D,:

He kept going!! And waiting there!!

Okay first of all, ouch, LWJ really loves him so much. Second of all, I was taken very much off guard when Lan Xichen just started playing his flute all of a sudden. Seemed a bit abrupt.

That’s true, but a kind of an melancholic outlook on identity/self versus perception. :,(

He. He brought alcohol with him. :,)

Awwwww

This scene is so sweet

LWJ looks so tired without his hair up

Wait, the second flautist was there at the pass? When Jin Zixuan was killed? Yikes.

Wait, when did he talk to Wen Ning????

This music is so interesting! There’s the easily recognizable leitmotif kind thing, but there also some weird undercurrent electric guitar sort of thing? For a moment, at least, now it sounds more like piano???Vaguely synth-y. It’s such a cool mix.

Oh that’s an interesting shot right there. WWX is out in the snow with his back to LWJ, who’s facing him from under the overhang.

This viewpoint that WWX is taking is also very melancholic, but true enough.

And now LWJ is playing the song, and I didn’t even notice when it shifted. Very nice.

Also very sweet in the face of what WWX just was saying.

Two-person internal monologue set to the ending song. Wow.

Awwwwwww

Awwww, it’s Wen Qing’s words!!

AND THE VOCALS KICK IN

please, you can’t do this to me mid-episode.

Waiiiit a second whose hems are those.

Shoot it is Jin Guangyao.

Is this part of a plan, or??

Okay, again with the blend of electric guitar and more traditional instruments

Puppets heading towards the Burial Mounds - that’s certainly not good. The other flautist, maybe?

I feel like the screens set up aren’t very effective.

Okay, so the burial of Nie Mingjue seems like a trap.

That is a lot of rabbits.

Awwww

AWWWWWWW

They’re really just playing their in-universe romance song non-stop, aren’t they.

Oh! He got recognized through the song, then? Makes sense.

MIANMIAN!!!!!!

She’s got a family now!

Oh she’s still defending him, too. :’D

Wait, so did LWJ help her out then? Since she’s living so close by.

Okay that’s a fun thing to end on.

End notes:

I was not expecting to see Mianmian again! I’m so happy!

Although I did think about this for a bit longer and I think she may be the only named female character alive right now, aside from WWX’s mother’s teacher. Which: not great. But !! I’m glad to see her.

I’m a little confused on the timeline right now - when did all of the stuff with LWJ happen? When was he defending the Burial Mounds and why? I’d he was taken back after that and beaten, then where in the timeline did it fall?????

Pretty sure both the current situation with the Burial Mounds and the funeral thing for Nie Mingjue are traps.

I want to know what everybody else is doing!! Where’s Jiang Cheng? Wen Ning??

I’m hoping we get a little more elaboration on the Lan brother’s backstory, because I am fervently hoping that the situation wasn’t as bad as it sounds right now. Also because I just want to know more about it in general, frankly.

Also wondering if there are any more scenes with the baby Lans - seems weird to only have a couple (especially considering they had to make kid-sized clothes and cast actors for the part).

[yiling]

Untamed rewatch Episode 20

Wei Wuxian is back, and would like Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan to know that he’s completely, totally fine, and not torturing people to death to cope or something

-my mom says wen chao is really good at looking crazy lmao

-I GASPED WHEN WWX SHOWED UP WITH THE FLUTE HE’S SO HOT

-god I love this music it’s so eerie and evocative

-the way it’s shown that jiaojiao and wen chao are being tormented by the spirits of people whose deaths they were responsible for...that’s so spicy. shout out to wei wuxian and his deeply twisted, horrific, but powerful sense of justice lmao.

-the scene where lwj and jc investigate all the dead wen cultivators is nice and spooky. I love the horror aspects of this show

-my sister pointed out that when someone tells jc that a woman hanged herself inside the office, he might’ve reacted as he did because he thought it was wen qing :(

-my mom complained about Netflix not translating the seal script on the talismans but my understanding is that it’s not language, as such

-oh I forgot about jiang cheng’s conversation with wen qing here. this is gonna hurt.

-“you have saved me after all” she has more than you know, jiang cheng

-hearing her very deliberately call him sect leader jiang is such a punch in the gut, both cause it’s a reminder of the fact that this man’s whole family is dead now, and because she’s drawing attention to the political situation that means he can’t reasonably help her. I think at this time in his life, jiang cheng really might’ve done everything in his power to protect her and her family, but that’s a narrow window of time, defined by the unstable situation of sunshot, his inexperience as sect leader, and the fact that he’s lost so much. once wei wuxian comes back, I think jiang cheng steps more fully into his role as sect leader, until the idea of protecting the wens is unthinkable.

-“you can save me but you can’t save them all” fuck this hurts so bad looking forward. another way jiang cheng is shown up by his brother - wei wuxian did manage to save wen qing’s family. but it didn’t and couldn’t last, just as she predicted. 

-“he bled from all the holes of his head” is such a cool and gross thing to say lol

-okay again wen zhuliu is funnier on a rewatch. he hates this so much.

-the problem with the soundtrack here is that you sometimes can’t tell whether the flute is meant to be diegetic or not

-god the slowly ratcheting tension of wwx’s entrance... *chef’s kiss*

-when he starts playing, the background fades into the burial mounds for a few moments, and wei wuxian just smiiiiiles...fucking superb you funky little necromancer.

-love this random ghost lady we never see again

-oh boy. oh man. the first time I watched this show I spent episodes 14-19 yelling variations on HUG YOUR SIBLING GODDAMN IT, so when we got The Hug I broke. I think I may have actually cried.

-oh god, an arrangement of the lotus pier theme plays during The Hug

-just as wwx reaches up (slowly, uncertainly) to return the embrace, jiang cheng pulls away

-“how could I have been in the burial mounds? no one can survive that place” that’s as close as you’re going to get to a cry for help huh

-wei wuxian is so much...stiffer, less relaxed. his movements are more controlled, his gestures less expansive than they were pre-burial mounds. he does a little bit of the brat act when lwj talks to him but it looks artificial. he smiles earnestly when jiang cheng talks to him, but it doesn’t last long.

-“as for my temperament, I’m in control of my own mind” famous last words, my dude

-this argument is. oof.

-I’m not clear that it would’ve helped, I don’t think wwx trusted him enough, but if lwj could have just said “I care about you and I want you to be okay, I don’t think you’re in a good place” in so many words...Mm. But he would have to be a very different character. lan zhan is so defined by what he can’t say, what he doesn’t know how to say, and what he does say that gets misinterpreted because he’s expressing himself through the prism of the inflexible rules he was taught. concern on lan wangji looks too much like disapproval for poor neurotic wei wuxian to take it gracefully, and they both suffer for it!

-like, what’s happening here is that to lan zhan, wei wuxian is visibly Not Okay and is using resentful energy, which is fucked up, and jiang cheng is too thrilled over having his shixiong back to really notice. so he points out that resentful energy is really dangerous for the person who uses it, because he’s afraid for wei wuxian. and wei wuxian, on a hair trigger because he just barely survived three months of torture and sensitized to anything that even looks like disapproval by his shitty adoptive parents, interprets this as an insult - how dare you think I can’t handle this? how dare you see I can’t handle this, how dare you see that I’m suffering? and so he gets nasty and cutting, and lan zhan, who i’m absolutely sure doesn’t understand why wei wuxian is angry with him, gets angry right back. and wei wuxian says the most cruel thing he can: “this is an internal measure of yunmeng jiang, it’s none of your concern.” or, the way he’s intending it: i don’t care about your opinion and i don’t care about you. 

-and lan zhan, unable to deal with it anymore, walks out, which we know he does when he’s angry, to go turn the words over in his head. this...honestly gives me autistic lwj feels. he’s trying so, so hard to reach out to wwx when that’s a really hard thing for him to do! he has a hard time relating to people! and he gets rebuffed in a way that makes it clear he’s failed to be a friend like he was trying to be and he doesn’t even know why. (which is not just on him, wwx is Not being forthcoming) and that sure is..an experience. which i have had.

-(i’m also imagining he picked up this method of handling his anger from xichen, personally. just walk away, wangji. don’t fight, no matter how much someone hurts you, no matter how wrong it feels :’)

-lwj’s expression when he listens to them killing wen chao reminds me of the rain scene ._. 

-yanli as a medic feels kind of stereotypical but she’d be good at it

-the way yanli’s face changes when she hears wwx’s voice...i kind of haven’t liked her performance (mostly, i think, because she’s been given so little to do) but this little moment...wow

-my mom really wants to know what happened in the burial mounds! we had a conversation about dizi (wwx’s flute) vs xiao (lxc’s flute) also because. i looked it up lol. I might make a meta post since there’s some interesting details

[kaolinite91]

About Jiang Cheng

Okay I think this rambling gonna be long...

I started watching Untamed because I love seeing hanfu and I just finished playing Mulan VN which was also sets on ancient china.

What fascinating me was, that since the first time I've taken a great note on Jiang Cheng (the first scene when he throws WWX from the cliff). I was like.."wow, his costume looks so good, love the purple colors and details. Also his face is somehow look quite similar to my good-looking friend..hahaha". Maybe this sense of familiarity made me started to taken interest on him.

Then, the flashback on 2nd episode starting...his hair was loosen up a bit with a bang hanging on his right side of his face and I was like~ okay, I've decide. He is indeed my bias for this series..hahah (this is also how I usually choose a bias from boybands).

When I was still on 4th episodes, I was not sure how his character actually is, but I already like him so much. And then we showed on how he needs to make sure everything perfect while wwx just being free and loose and being loved by their sister, Yinli.

As I saw how his parents talks to him, I can definitely understand why he becoming that kind of character..a big Tsundere, always angry, feel great jealousy & inferiority to Wwx. However he is very filial too...which he never want to openly admit it, because he is a very Tsundere person, yet unfortunately this characteristic leading to his downfall too...

Actually if only he did what his mother ask him to do before the lotus pier massacre.. which was to make sure to stop the annoying Wen woman (I forgot her name) to light up the signal...they probably has much better chance to win. But he failed because he was too distracted and wanted to help his mother (although I think everyone there won't blame him too..).

It just revealed that the reason on why he lost his golden core was because he tried to helps WWX who almost get caught during that raining scenes. And this actions later leads to many tragic destinies of Yunmeng bros.

He was being pushed to be a Jiang leader ASAP by Jin leader and the others just some short times after the Lotus Pier massacre. He was also bring pushed to decide his sister wedding asap. He needs to decides on a lot of difficult situation ALONE. He was still young, griefing and inexperienced yet other people in the real live don't care (Basically I hate Jin clan leader as much as I hate Wen clan leaders). He had high hopes that WWX will be what his parents wants him to be, a loyal subordinate that will helps him to overcome all troubles as a clan leader.

But nope..

WWX becoming Yilling Patriarch. Which not only means left him alone on all the stiff and tiring bureaucracy meeting between clan leaders. But also, in a way cornered him. Everytime wwx doing something, Jiang clan was being mentioned and blamed by the other clans. So as a young clan leader who tried to be responsible for LIVES of a lot of people..of course he had no other options other than sever the ties between both of them (and as you can see in EP 28, it was Wwx idea who said if you can't defend me, then leave me...ugh why this bros cannot listen to each other and do a normal talks).

I think you can always see in the drama (which I honestly think has a very good acting and details), on how JC always looks jealous to Lan Zhan. Which is very reasonable. I mean, although both JC and LZ are responsible figures, but the weight of their titles are different. LZ is NOT a clan leader. He is kinda fortunate because it means, if he wanted it, he could become a free person just like WWX. Well his clan maybe gonna brand him as a traitor, but his older brother still there as Lan clan leader. So in term of ancestral legacy, its nothing to lose.

While JC, is not so fortunate, he is the only one who can be a Jiang leader. If he chose Wwx, his clan is either being claimed by other clan...or destroyed. Because when you're not in the same side of the history..then you're the villain of the story and needed to be estinguished. And he knows what Jin clan capable of that's why he's got really torned between responsibility and personal interest.

In the end he repressed his personal interest and fillial loves and chose a cold path of leadership responsibility. Thus why, he always angry to wwx.. he got jealous on wwx free will. and also JC still trying to grasped on the 'unattainable future', from wwx's past promises which was to stays alongside him and becoming a loyal subordinate of Jiang clan.

When he visited Burial Mount to fight and banished wwx, you can saw clearly that his heart was actually shattered. It was really difficult for him to comprehend wwx wish and dream to live selflessly for sake of justice.. to the extreme extend to even abandoned his own family and becoming that one public enemy. As already mentioned above, JC really cornered by the 'old clan members' because of what Wwx did. So when he said that he can't forever defend wwx...and wwx said 'then leaves me'.. it was really difficult for him (thus the tears from both of them).

Even the girl he likes, Wen Qing, choose wwx..lol. On Ep 20, JC want to help Wen Qing but he won't be able to save all of her family. Or else the other clans will brand Jiang clan as a traitor, right? While Wwx can save them all (he can be selfless because...he has nothing to lose except his own live). Since she knows how selfless wwx from what he has done to JC, I think she trust wwx more..-> this leads another blow to JC.

JC didn't know about the Golden core at that time. He only knew that.. he tried to save Wwx, lost his golden core, somehow got his core back then met Wwx again 3 months later with very different attitudes..and he realized the sadness and loneliness in Wwx eyes. He knew something was wrong but somehow cannot get the answer. I think both Yanli and JC really worried on the new Wwx. But because both of brothers just to stubborn on each others..the truth just then being concealed and buried before even appeared? No wonder this lack of information made him (unconsciously) starting to hates himself and blamed wwx for every misery happened in his life... (Although we knows that he was still super worried about him, deep inside his tofu heart).

When he finally got bombed by the 'surprise about his golden core' truth (thanks Wen Ning..lol). He was actually got no reason to hates wwx anymore. Those defense mechanisms finally broken, thus why in Guanyin temple he can finally cries ....ask for forgiveness and forgives him.

Then in the end of episode 50, when JC said 'take cares' to wwx who already gone far away..the background ost is from Yinli theme song 'discontent'. I believe the tunes from parts where it says ' no goodbyes, no separations, no worries and no griefs...can you still hear the call of A-Xian..(this theme song is so sad but also calming). He smiles and finally, let wwx go...

So I think after this, if someday WWX somehow come to visit Lotus Pier, JC would still welcome him as an old friend and family (in his usual tsundere manners) and hopefully this two brothers can finally gives each other warm hugs. They deserved it okay...;A;

Do you think JC would ever told wwx about that 'one raining day'? I don't think so..but I kinda believe this action gives him a good karma...in a way. :)

Btw I think it is also very sad that he named his beautiful purple sword: Sandu. Because it was representing his live episodes and memories?

Ps: I really want to gives ultimate salutation to Wang ZhouCheng because I think he was doing a really good job in bringing JC as a character to real life. It still impressed me on how he could transformed from a young friendly boy to a stern, sassy uncle..hahaha. and also he said that everytime he rolled eyes to wwx, that was natural. And that means he indeed understood a sibling feeling very well (Is he has sibling?). Because that's what every siblings done when not agreeing their other siblings or family members..right? hahaha.

So in conclusion, Jiang Cheng in CQL was a big tsundere who torned between people he loves and responsibility. Needs to blamed others for defense mechanism just to finally let it go and started to move on.

And final thought from me...to be an anti mainstream like WWX is indeed very difficult. You will fight a lot of people when you want to change a system. And in the end you are either ends up as a public enemy or hero.

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 2

SPOILER CAUTION APPLIES.

Alright buds we are going to get right into it - no time to waste!

[WWX hangs out by a river/well with XPG (Little Apple aka Xiao Ping Guo aka XPG from now on), cultivator scene with the demon compass argument happens (cute), A-Yan gives WWX an apple and she’s clearly not mentally all there, mountain top A-Yan dance scene with her mom disclosing her tragic story and father’s death to WWX.]

Differences from the novel:

There’s some minor choronological and setting differences between here and Chapter 6. A-Yan was not the person who gave WWX the apple, it was a random girl. There were two separate scenes with cultivators trying to use the compass in the novel, but it was condensed into one in the drama.

WWX bumps into A-Yan in the town at the foot of DFS and hears of her story from townspeople. A-Yan’s story is essentially the same in both versions, but the novel also includes an additional story about how a slovenly/good-for-nothing oaf became seemingly wealthy and suddenly wanted to get married and settle down, except he died on the night of the wedding. This would later be used by WWX to further support his narrative of what’s behind the ‘soulless people’ cases when he explains it to the Gusu disciples.

[Cut to WWX in a forest, A WILD JIN LING APPEARS! Man, I forgot what a little shit he was when he first arrived <3. WWX and JL runs into each other, except JL thinks he is MXY, banter ensues, WWX traps JL with his paper man and drops that awful YOUR MOM line to JL.

Banter continues until JC brings his posse and incredibly sharp jawline to the scene. Seriously, damn. Things are about to get physical before LWJ arrives. Shade is thrown between JC and Gusu & Co., JC literally looks like he is in pain and why oh why does nothing ever work out for him as his subordinate reports that all the spirit nets have been destroyed. JC decides against picking a fight and tells JL he better BRING HIS A GAME TO THE HUNT before dismissing him. LWJ dismisses the rest of the disciples and walks away, leaving WWX alone. Cut to WWX remembering JC + JYL by the river and then he overhears JL’s true parentage and feels baaaaaaad man.]

In the novel, there is further discussion of the LLJ sect and especially JGS in Chapter 7. Seeing JL’s reaction to him as MXY, WWX then correctly deduces that MXY is actually the illegitimate son of none other than JGS, who was known for his philandering ways.

It was also clarified in the novel that locked within the ‘paper man’ WWX sic-ed on JL was the ghost of a man who had died from gluttony, hence why JL could not get up. He was basically being sat on by a really fat man.

A bigger deal is made in the novel of how LWJ is someone who “appears where there is trouble” – JL says this to him in a sarcastic way, but it’s a common theme that runs throughout the novel, that although he can be considered an extremely prominent figure, he takes the time to help or show up no matter how ‘low level’ the situation is. It’s a sign of his strong moral character that nothing is too beneath his attention.

The situation of the night hunt itself is also explained a little bit more in detail – JL is turning sixteen this year, and this night hunt at DFS is basically a debutante ball for him as you have to be past a certain age to participate in hunts. So, in order to make sure he claims the top prize, JC made sure to come with him and also set up the spirit nets. Aww, they ruined his present!

Fun fact: JC very nearly came to blows with LWJ in the novel but chose not to do so because a) he had to consider sect relations between Gusu and Yunmeng and b) he wasn’t sure he would win since they’ve never fought before. HA.

[Gusu disciples run into old man grave caretaker, these are Wen graves! He asks them to go visit the Tiannu Temple and they move on before he can tell them that the goddess statue moooves. Spoopy. WWX also happens upon the Wen graves. Scene between him and WQ and he realizes it’s the statue stirring shit and JL is about to step in the shit that has been stirred.

Scene in the temple with Gusu disciples and JL, shit starts going down, WWX and Gusu disciples gather outside. Gusu disciples realize they ran out of flares and WWX is all like haha prepare to be punished! WWX clarifies the difference between soul-eaters and the goddess status, links it to the ongoing issues with A-Yan. LJY calls him out – he’s only pretending to be CRAZY! ]

There’s no old grave caretaker in the novel and there’s no Wen graves scene. There are ancient tombs around the area that the Gusu disciples explored, but it was only mentioned in passing as part of the larger conversation around what exactly was plaguing the mountain. What happens in the novel is – WWX encounters a spirit dressed in fancy burial clothes, realizes something is wrong because that kind of spirit (the spirit of a corpse) should not be on DFS, puts two and two together and goes off to find JL.

The scenario of WWX explaining what exactly ‘it’ is to the Gusu disciples closely follows that of the novel, except he also adds the explanation around the slovenly oaf’s story. Basically, oaf prays to the goddess statue to be wealthy, the goddess granted him his wish but took away his soul on the night of the marriage. Hence why WWX encountered the wealthy corpse spirit - essentially the goddess split open his grave and gave the oaf the funeral/afterlife offerings that were buried within it, displacing the spirit in the process.

 Also the goddess statue ate some humans in the novel but this was probably too graphic for the drama lol.

[JL shows up with the statue hot on his heels, WWX is like but wait we sealed the statue off before! WWX then builds and plays a makeshift bamboo flute. LJY changes his mind – MXY is still crazy after all, and on top of that he’s also a garbage flute player, ha. WN shows up and WWX is all ???, illusion is revealed, WWX posits whoever did this wanted lure out WN, a mysterious man in black scuttles off in the background.

Men rush WN, WN is like, uhm, y’all ain’t shit. WWX then plays WangXian to suppress WN’s rage, draws him towards himself and then we have THE REUNION – eyes meet, lovey-dovey wrist-gripping scene ensues.]

Interestingly, the drama shows JL being thrown to the ground and trying to scurry away/flinching as the statue advanced on him. In the novel, he actually stood right within reach and thought, “If I can’t kill her right here and now, I’ll die – but so what?!” Basically, he was 100% ready to kill the statue or die trying before WN showed up.

In the drama, we weren’t specifically clued in to the fact that WN is currently unconscious due to the nails in his head. In the novel, WWX realizes this instantly because Wen Ning was not capable of sentient thought and had to rely on WWX’s orders.

The drama hints that the whole thing was staged by the mysterious man in black caught scampering away – in the novel, this is not the case. There was no other person ‘operating behind the scenes’, this whole incident with the statue was not an illusion.

The reunion scene is as it happens in the novel, gripping of wrists and all. Ha. I love you directors.

[WWX is outed as the person who summoned WN and JC is like well well well, Shady’s back. LWJ tries to protect WWX, WWX tries to run away but gets whipped and decides to play crazy as JC wonders why Zidian didn’t work.

WWX appears to faint and wishes to go back to the time to 16 years ago, when he was at Lotus Pier and we start our flashback arc. Cute scene where he gets a sugar rabbit (HA I see you) for JYL. They decide to rest in a tavern. JC bickers with WWX and grouses that JYL and JFM always defends him and is reminded that being free-spirited is considered a virtue by the YMJ sect.]

The confrontation between JC, WWX and LWJ follows the novel partly (the whipping, the face-off between JC and LWJ), but the novel goes into more detail.

For one, LJY is like, ‘wait didn’t YOU kill WWX? Why are you saying he’s back?’ to JC in the drama. In the novel, no one claims that JC was the one who killed WWX in the novel – only that he was present at the battle at Nightless City along with the Yunmeng Jiang sect.

Also, in the novel, someone in JC’s sect basically tells says that there’s no way MXY is WWX because WWX would have chosen someone cooler. WWX was flirtatious with girls and a good-looking dude and MXY is a gay lunatic riding a donkey. And also, his flute skills are so, so subpar compared to WWX. Ha. WWX secretly grouses that he would kneel to anyone who’s able to play a nice melody on a dollar-store flute after not having practiced for 13 years. Touché.

In an attempt to get both JC and LWJ off his case, WWX tries to disgust the both of them by going, “JC is NOT my type but you know who is my type? LWJ uwu he’s so attractive” but it totally fails because LWJ does not take the bait. Instead, he says “Well then, I’m taking this man back to the Lan sect with me.” And that’s the end of Chapter 10. See comments on the flashback/timeskip in the summary section below.

The last conversation JC and JYL shares is very interesting. It’s not in the novel, but it really plays into the narrative that “WWX embodies more of Yunmeng Jiang’s values than JC even though he is not a Jiang”, which is also a theme in the novel and kind of a sticking point for JC obviously. One can say that JC takes after his mom, and WWX takes more after JFM.

Overall Thoughts

This is where the divergence from the novel plot line begins to get a little more serious. The novel employs a series of flashbacks scattered throughout the book whereas the drama is essentially one long flashback from Episode 2 through Episode 33. It obviously makes more narrative sense to arrange it that way in a drama series in order to make it less confusing, especially since they’re using the same actors for past and present WWX/LWJ, but just keep that in mind.

With that said, I will stop at Chapter 10 for the purpose of comparing it to Episode 2. Chapter 11 and 12 have essentially both been removed from the drama besides for the cold springs scene, which was also modified. I will discuss these two chapters when we get to Episode 33 (wow, will we ever get there??). Episode 3 picks up at Chapter 13, which is the beginning of the Gusu arc. Chapters will start jumping around (in the novel, the Gusu arc is only Chapters 13-18, and then the Wen Sect/Tortoise of Slaughter is a separate flashback from Chapters 51-59)  so I am going to try my best to match them up lol.

Ending the summary on another cute note, in the novel LWJ’s presence is often described as being accompanied by the light scent of sandalwood, which is what WWX smelled before bumping into him in the novel.

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 25: 1x16 The Galileo Seven

I took a half day off today and had a three hour nap in the afternoon. Now I’m feeling, I think, better?? Perhaps?

Anyway, today’s ep is The Galileo Seven, aka capitalizing on Spock’s popularity time.

Hmm, a vague and undefined phenomenon perfect for scientific study--Spock will love this. (Aka Kirk’s real reason for investigating the quasar. Just a little gift for the bf.)

Yeah Shuttlecraft Galileo! I love the shuttlecrafts; I think they’re adorable.

New Paris Colony.

The Commissioner isn’t wrong, though, like this probably isn’t the time to go on a random exploratory mission. Ah, yes, this weird space anomaly full of unknown dangers--let’s launch our most important officers right into the center of it while we have time sensitive supplies onboard. I mean come on, there’s a plague going on!

Love the shaky movements of the shuttle as it flies through space.

Hmm they’re exploring an unknown weird space thing and something goes wrong? Who could have predicted that? Other than Boma, who’s like ‘this is actually really normal though?’

Kirk’s sigh right before the credits lol.

Uhura taking over for Spock.

Those doors looked awfully, um... not metal when they opened. But I still like the design.

This is a good episode for understanding what ‘logic’ means to Spock. Like people, including people in this ep, talk about it as if it were just being emotionless and not caring about others but it’s a whole philosophy/value system and he adheres to it pretty well.

Shuttlecraft Columbus.

Kirk has such a big headache right now. He hates having someone step on his command toes.

I love this Bones and Spock conversation. “This is your chance for command.” “I am a logical man.”

Those pants really are terrible. Everyone always on about the skirts but no one ever talks shit about those horrendous pants.

Spock gets to show off his legs standing in a V like that though lol.

Philosophy 101: The Trolley Problem.

“My choice [of who to leave behind] will be a logical one.” Stop bullshitting, Spock lol. “Idk man... logic?”

Well his decision just got easier by about 1/3.

It’s Pauna! Oh wait wrong show. Thank God.

Spock is talking about how this spear looks like something Native American but lbr it looks like a Vulcan spear and he should know. He’s the bitch with the ancient weaponry hanging on the walls of his quarters.

Spock could move the body way more efficiently, I mean he’s 3x stronger than these other fools. Look at the way he throws the spear as if it were made of cardboard. Which it is definitely, definitely not lol.

That quadrant name would make a good wifi password.

The commissioner truly has NO purpose here other than to be a human clock.

I understand Spock not wanting to waste time with the ceremonial duties of command or with burying a person while he could be working to save the people who are still alive...but I don’t believe for one moment he doesn’t know elaborate funeral services. The Vulcans love their rituals.

“We have no fuel! What alternatives?” Yeah lol that is pretty bad.

“Sensitive Vulcan ears.”

He literally just said they’re not tribal, Boma, are you not listening at all?

“I’m frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.”

Like Kirk always says, this isn’t a democracy.

Honestly this insubordination kinda seems like xenophobia to me in that I feel like everyone thinks it’s okay to be disrespectful to Spock because he’s an alien, because their human morality and philosophy is inherently right and Spock not following it is deserving of ire, even though he’s in command.

They’re on Spock’s back when he doesn’t seem to respect life enough and when he respects life too much like he cannot win.

Our duties to other life forms.

At least the reboots got Spock’s sass right.

I feel like Spock’s logical and emotionless responses are helpful though because I would be a straight up anxious mess. It just seems so clear to me, all the places where being unemotional is allowing him to act and keep control where a scared and confused person ruled by emotions would not be. I mean they’re all Officers and it’s not like McCoy and Boma are wandering around weeping or anything but still. Not all of Spock’s decisions are right but I’d be soothed by his attitude.

“Luck may be the only tool we have that works” reminds me of “Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.”

Kirk also makes a lot of command decisions here and it’s interesting to compare his style with Spock’s.

Loving the creature design and this is not a sarcastic comment.

“Certain scientific curiosity” about whether the crewman is dead. Sure okay.

See, I was right, he can lift and carry a grown man by himself.

That spear very much hit him lol.

Spock is upset. He lost a crewman. And logic isn’t working like it’s supposed to. I love that “They should have respected us” bit. He is a little arrogant, and for someone who’s spent most of his adult life around aliens, rather set in his idea that rational responses are the only responses.

He’s really having some revelations here. I bet he can’t wait to discuss all this with Jim.

I’ve seen that shot of Scotty just shoving a wrench in the wall and making sparks fly used in memes. Out of context it is quite hilarious.

Ugh, this is such a tightly constructed narrative. Love it.

Yeah, Boma, back off. This is just crossing a line.

“You will have your burial, provided the creatures permit it.”

Poor creatures honestly. These weird aliens keep showing up and bothering them.

This Captain’s chair is pretty wide too but Kirk manages to sit in it and look cool @ cpine.

Noooo you can’t leave them behind!

Uhura posing behind the Captain’s chair and looking at the screen like google earth always taking pictures.

Lol, space normal speed. (You’d think the Commissioner would show up at this point to be like bUt ThE pLaGuE but actually we never see him again.)

Those creatures aren’t even AIMING the spears they’re literally just throwing them parallel.

“Get us off, Scott.”

“Yes.... my first command.” Oh, Spock. I love him.

Love that Scotty’s really, genuinely proud of him. Scotty’s so Unproblematic. He really is just here to do his job and he’s never mean or causing trouble of any sort.

Jim will see the flares because he loves you!!

This poor actress playing the Yeoman has nothing to do. “Oh, it’s hot!”

Really living for Kirk’s face journey as he thinks all hope is lost and then realizes they’re (mostly) okay.

I want to hear what Kirk and McCoy are saying at the beginning of the last scene. I bet they’re talking about Spock.

Everyone gently making fun of Spock but in a ‘we love you buddy way.’ And Kirk using this, their one scene together all ep, to lay on the flirting extra thick. “Mr. Spock, you’re a stubborn man” is really pushing the flirtation meter off the charts.

They’re mocking him for making an impulsive decision but he was totally right AND he was totally logical imo? Like “you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst” is certainly one way to put it but another way is “the only possible chance we have of being detected AT ALL is to make a big scene and if it doesn’t work we’ll just die faster than we would have anyway” which is logical, and in fact, I think someone too caught up in their emotions might hesitate to do it. I mean, I’d probably hesitate--I think the emotional response to the situation is to want to stay alive as long as possible, even if you know--logically--that the difference between living another 6 minutes and another 26 minutes is nothing. You’d be better off giving away the chance for 20 extra minutes in exchange for a better chance of not dying at all. That’s logic bitches!

Kirk sees some hope for himself here. “Oh, Spock can follow his heart??? Perhaps... to me??”

I am not a fan of these fake laughter endings. They are so overdone lol. Uhura is literally pointing and laughing in the background. It’s not THAT funny guys.

That said if Beyond had ended with some fake laughter it probably would have improved the film substantially.

And that’s it! An excellently plotted episode, really well done on the level of craft. I really get off on that kind of thing. I know a lot of shows that can write entertaining episodes/seasons/multi-season plots but don’t have any, well, real logic to them and that’s not necessarily the worst but then when you see something that’s really just well made, it... well for me it triggers a very certain satisfaction.

Also this is easily a top 3 Spock episode. Great character stuff.

Next up is the Squire of Gothos, which I think is one of the weaker S1 episodes. Not bad, just not Classic level like almost every other ep.

[lanwangji-was-here]

Music of The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling)

I love music, and I love soundtracks. If a thing I watch or play doesn’t have a nice soundtrack I will not be able to love it completely because it would lack on a important dimension... 

The Untamed managed to charm me by everything it does and is and the music- ah the music. Below is some overanalyzing of my fave tracks of The Untamed Soundtrack on a less technical basis. Would love someone else to dabble into that :3

I have some background with orchestra, studied classical music, am enthusiastic into traditional music (chinese, japanese, arabic, hindu...) and I overanalyze music a lot (read overanalyzations of music even more tho) and I listen to music on repeat a lot. Would love to play erhu and gunzheng (or guqin of course)

★ 2. Unrestrained, 无羁, both versions

Because music is so important to me, when I first heard Wangxian (or Wuji) in the drama I knew I was sold completely and that I would adore the show (I was repeating to my girlfriend while we watched it “please don’t mess up and don’t pull a forced hetero relationship” I didn’t know YET back then that they would not disappoint me)

For me this is a beautiful piece that I can imagine Lan Zhan composing at that point of his life and perfecting at the other. It conveys how Wei Ying changed his life, how energetic and problematic he is compared to Lan Zhan and how special he is to him. It is a love song for a soulmate, love for the person and his mind and character. There is passion and it is coloured white and light blue, it is a passion of the soft “Wei Ying” Lan Zhan says.  It is also the passion of the soft “I love you”s deep in the night said in secret and then also not in secret. 

7.  Lie Bing, 裂冰

Sad sad sad. 

The flute here is so beautiful, the melody is just that you had in your first “sad chinese traditional music” playlist over a recording of falling rain. Beautiful, strong melody conveying so many emotions.

★ 8.  Drunken Dream, 醉梦

One of my complete favest songs! First one I played on my violin and the first one that comes to my mind when I am in the mood to sing some Untamed melodies. 

Because... it is so wangxian? The qin and flute are complimenting each other thoughout the whole song, it is happy, playful then a bit melancholic, maybe reflecting on those years they lost and the pain they went through... but then builds up and the hopefullness fills me with so much sad joy, I am so sorry english ins’t my first language I hope I make sense... 

Anyway for me this is wangxian on travels theme song post credits.

SO. Damn. Beautiful.

9.  Burial Mound, 乱葬岗

Similarly to Lie Bing, the flute here is priceless, editing gives off exactly the horror-y vibe, where I am not sure if it fits better a ghost-story or a mad bad guy  or both. 

★ 11.  If Life Was Just Like When We First Met, 人生若只如初见

This is a song that doesn’t fail to make me emotional the most... makes me go back to Yiling to depressed!Wuxian drunk on fruit wine saying he’s useless... makes me go back to Lan Zhan’s leg being hugged by A’Yuan and Wei Ying looking at them adoringly... makes me go back to Lan Zhan, so deeply in love with his Yiling laozu, when he hears him calling his name on the street... back to the part Wei Ying calls “the worst part of their lives” ... and all the way back to Cloud Recesses to the wind blowing in the trees behind the window. 

Plays also during Lan Xichen’s flasbacks about his and Lan Zhan’s parents. 

It’s sad piano tune that continues throughout the whole song, together with the violins and little bells chiming... ugh. Beautiful.

★ 12.  Won't Regret, 不悔

Maybe the best track of the soundtrack,.. starts of with gentle and even playful flute to then be backed by orchestra, building courage... to then continue in a very melancholy way... to destroy me completely starting at 1:45...

NO seriously. I listened to this more than a hundred times since the soundtrack was released. The moment at around 2 minutes when the drum sounds gives me chills to this day and makes my heart skip a beat. 

14.  Day and Night, 寤寐

What is it with this soundtrack and sad piano tunes that make me cry? 

★ 16.  Rest, 安息

One of my absolute favest. Translated as “Rest in peace” in the drama, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan play it once for the murdered Wens and second for the tiger seal shard and both moments left one of the biggest impacts on me from the drama... first is their first duet, just after Lan Zhan asked Wei Ying to let him help... second is the long eye contact and smirking at each other in their room at the inn... 

Gives me the “I am scared and horny feels.” You’re welcome. 

[boogaloomagoo]

Burial Rites || Solo

Date: April 6th

Tagging: Solo

Notes: While going through the remainder of her father’s belongings, Margot receives an unexpected call.

Triggers: Parental Death mention, Anxiety attack

She had been sifting through the bulk of his documents for a better part of the day. Most of the papers were receipts for larger purchases, a few rental agreement papers, half-filled out job applications or new hire packets... Nothing of particular interest. Even after finding his will, she would have thought there might be an end to the piles of paper. But unfortunately, her father had never been too keen on the idea of going digital. Too many chances of the information winding up in the wrong hands, he used to say. Well, he had been partially right. Nobody, not even a group of hunters would spend over three hours pouring through so much paperwork that all seemed so insignificant now. And yet, Margot couldn't stop herself from smiling every now and again, when her fingers would turn up a scribbled, crumpled up to-do or grocery store list. He had a bad habit of never sticking to either of those; there home... or, what was once theirs, was filled with so many half-finished repairs, projects, various wood works. Testaments to August's difficulties with committing after so many years of living a life that hinged on being able to pack up and go at a moment's notice. Margot had watched as every year seemed to fluctuate - moments where he would feel at ease, allowing himself to finally experience a respite and enjoy the pockets of peace they managed to steal away. And in equal measure, those times when a frantic, hushed voice roused her from sleep upon a bumpy mattress or stained couch, insisting that she grab only what was necessary before they disappeared into the haze of an early morning. She had become accustomed to all of it, though it was marginally harder to let go of the places that held even short-lived, but pleasant memories, as she'd watch their temporary homes fade out of view through water-stained glass of August's Chevy. Though it didn't seem fair in her adolescence, she had grown to eventually accept their routine as the norm. Now, though... Now, Margot wished she had been more persistent. About making a life somewhere. About helping him to settle down and enjoy the rest of his life. No more running, no more hiding. Despite how close they were, joined at the hip practically, there were still so many things that felt left unsaid. So much she yearned to tell him... So caught up in her thoughts, the blonde almost breezed past a larger, slightly lumpy envelope in-between two stacks of car repair receipts and a bank account packet. Curious, she lifted it out, back set against the couch as she turned the worn paper over in her hands. It wasn't glued shut, so she thumbed open the top and reached inside, fingers clasped around the object and slowly pulled it out. Immediately, her heart clenched, and a wave of familiarity washed over her, lips cautiously forming a stunned smile. It was a beaded necklace. Probably the most gaudy, mis-matched kind of necklace, beads of varying size, shape and color adorning the frayed string, but she remembered it well. Could practically feel her mother's hands atop hers as they strung the 'jewels' one after one, then delicately tied around her neck. After so many years, so many moves and temporary homes, she never would have imagined it survived. And yet here it was. Setting it onto the couch, her attention turned back to the envelope, where a piece of notebook paper lay folded inside. It was yellowed and dog-eared, not crumpling but definitely had a few years on it. Squinting at the writing, Margot's initial surprise came in the fact that it wasn't written in English; the scrawl was faded, but not unfamiliar. No, she could spot the hasty, slightly wobbly handwriting from just the first word. Margot, There are so many things I wanted to-- The blonde gave a start as the silence was broken by the familiar ringing of a phone. Out of habit, she checked her cell, only to roll her eyes as she realized it was the landline. Setting the letter back into place, she hurriedly jumped up and made for the kitchen, where the phone was set against the wall. She didn't hesitate to pick it up, attempting not to sound as rattled as she felt. Maybe it was Officer Hills with an update? That didn't settle well in her stomach, but she swallowed down the anxiety before it could bubble up any further. "Hello?" Initially, there was mainly silence, a slight crackle of static the only other sound in her ear. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Gradually, the crackling became louder, shifting a bit until it sounded as though someone was using an old payphone, or an even older landline. Maybe it was a wrong number? Just as she had decided to hang up, a voice finally broke through the uneven sound; a woman's voice. She only said one word, but it was enough to send a shiver down Margot's spine. "August?" Her throat tightened, and she immediately squeezed her eyes shut. The entire night seemed to play out like a video on fast-forward. She could hear her own voice, hoarse as she continued to wail and scream, ignoring the others as they tried to calm her down. Margot released a breath she hadn't been aware was held, turning away for a moment before speaking into the receiver. "No, this... He isn't here right now. Whose looking for him?" More silence. The anxiety rolled in her gut, frothing as it churned and shuddered inside of her. She didn't recognize the voice. She doubted it would be anyone she or her father knew - everyone at the garage was aware of the investigation, and her dad didn't have many other friends in town. August didn't make a habit of forming connections with people after they moved. Too risky. Who would have been calling for him? The line crackled again, and she caught the faint sound of rustling fabric. "... Margot? Is that really you?" She frowned, immediately on guard and clutching the plastic tight against her ear. "I asked who was calling. Who are you? What do you want?" The voice - the woman - seemed to breathe out a sigh, and Margot could hear a muffled 'fuck' in the background. It felt like ages before she finally spoke again. 

"Is your dad there? Is August there? I'd like to speak with him," "I told you, he isn't here right now," Though she tried to steady her voice, it still trembled. Still, she persisted. "If you don't tell me who you are, I'm hanging up," "Don't," A pause; Margot strained to hear over the constant static, listening for any other noise. Rushing cars, or a television, another voice - some indication of where the woman might be or who she was, but came up with nothing. All she could do was wait a few more seconds, until the voice finally returned. She sounded reluctant, exhausted if possible, as if the words were being pried out of her. But Margot could barely focus on the tone, because when she finally answered her question, everything else faded to the background. "I'm his sister. I'm your Aunt, Margot," She blinked. Lips parted soundlessly, quivering. Her fingers, white-knuckled from lack of blood flow, shook violently. She could barely hear when the woman spoke again. "I know you must have a lot of questions. But, it's just... it's so nice to finally talk to y--" The plastic nearly cracked as she slammed the phone back into place, her hand still clasped onto it, afraid if she let go the machine would somehow come to life and tangle her throat in wires until she suffocated. Her chest heaved, harsh pants that bordered on hyperventilating, gaze dancing over the floor as the wooden curves swirled and circled in her blurring vision. It was a prank. It had to be. Some sick, fucked up prank from someone who knew about the investigation. It couldn't be anything else. With a thick swallow, Margot finally released her grip on the phone, staggering back until her hip hit the counter and she slid down to the floor, still looking dazed and fearful, still shaking like a leaf. It was a prank. Nothing more. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, a child curled into a ball, but when the phone rang again about two minutes later, she didn't answer it. After the fourth call, she disconnected the mount from the wall and threw it into the trash.

[pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow]

Aight, so I know it’s been like 10 days since Seis Manos came out, and I know I just finished watching this thing 2 hours ago, but I propose a different, slightly happier ending.

----

Lo makes his offer, and it’s damn tempting, but Silencio already knows his choice before he speaks.

“Never,” and even though he yells it out, it’s deadly calm.

He’s not quite sure how it happens, but Lo smirks, tells him he’ll regret his decision, wishes him good luck surviving, and then he’s gone, and it’s just him in this place, whatever it is, the void spanning forever.

----

On the outside Isabella and Jesus rise from their unconsciousness state just in time to see Lo jump into a helicopter, their brother’s body slumping on the ground just a few feet from it.

Isabella drags herself over to him, and grabs his hand so they can’t take him, but this doesn’t seem to be the goal as the helicopter flies up and away while Jesus pulls himself up the same way Isabella did to get to the body.

They’re both barely concious and right now the biggest priority is just catching their breath and checking if their bother is still alive. 

They underestimate how deep their training runs, and the calming breaths they try to take slip them into meditational trances, the ones that lead to a never-ending void of darkness.

----

His eyes snap open as there’s sudden new presences in the void, two awfully familiar figures appearing. He can call out to them in here, so he does.

“Isabella! Jesus!” and they both scream his name and tackle him in a double hug, one that feels almost like he’s being crushed between two stones.

They stay like this for only a moment before he knows what he has to say.

“If-If I go to the police station to be arrested,” and he feels more than sees both of them stop breathing for a moment, “will you help me go there?”

“Of course,” Isabella squeezes him harder, enough that he almost can feel his ribs cracking.

“A-and, And if I’m in jail, you guys’ll visit me, right?”

“No way in hell we wouldn’t,” He feels Jesus’s hand running through his curly hair, taking comfort in feeling the calloused hands on his scalp.

“And, a-and,” his voice is cracking, breaking as he chokes back tears, “when I come out, even if it takes years, decades, or even a century, will you, ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” and by now he knows he’s crying, he can feel the hot tears running down his face. And then somehow the feeling of his body rather than the void returns, and along with the pain, the voicelessness, and the blood there are Isabella and Jesus, still holding him tightly, both crying just as openly as he is.

“We already forgave you, little brother,” Isabella sobs out before she loses control completely, “We love you.”

They huddle together, crying and pulling each other closer and closer together. There are sirens in the background, people yelling and shouting, but he doesn’t know who or why and he doesn’t care.

When Jesus and Isabella’s embraces are suddenly gone and he’s being carried he panics, right up until he sees them, carrying him despite how injured both of them must be. Isabella carrying his right side with a strength he didn’t know she had in her skinny body, Jesus supporting his left with a slight lean in. They’re here, all of three of them, now and always.

He doesn’t have his voice, but his hands and arms aren’t broken, so he can at least sign to them. He doesn’t like to normally, but today is anything but normal.

Will we have dinner together when we can?

Yes, Isabella signs back, crying still.

And can we play staring games and cards?

Yes, Jesus replies with his hands too, tears dripping from his face in a steady stream.

And we’ll put Chiu to a proper rest?

Yes.

And Lina too?

Yes.

And still stay family?

Yes.

Go to restaurants, if we can?

Yes.

Talk?

Yes.

Go shopping, skating, stick together?

Yes.

Yes, yes,  and he keeps signing questions and both of them have switched to saying yes instead of signing it, but they say it to every question even when he starts blurring them, going from one to the next without a pause.

There’s people near them now, medical officials apparently, but they don’t lie down on the stretchers in the ambulance, the three of them sit down together on the bench beside them.

He’s still signing something, even if he isn’t sure of what it is anymore other than pleas for reassurance and love. They’re still whispering “yes”s and “I love you”s, pressing as close together as their bodies will allow. 

----

When he wakes up in the hospital bed there’s a strange pressure on his less-injured side, and he sees the two asleep net to him, falling over onto him. Well that explains the numbness on his ribs and leg. There’s a small puddle of drool on his hospital gown’s torso part thanks to Isabella. After all these years she ends up drooling in her sleep. And right now he’s pretty sleepy too, so he closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep, but not before taking one of each of their hands in his. The last thing he feels before he’s fully out is them squeezing back.

----

Lina’s burial, their time at the hospital, and his court case all blur together. He doesn’t remember any of it very clearly.

He gets a light sentence, all things considered.

Three months in jail, no parole but plenty of visits, as long as he goes to a therapist for three years, minimum.

It’s a damn good deal, and what makes it even better are Officer Garcia and Brisket.

They’re the ones who got his sentence cut down from what could have been life to just this, arguing that most of the killings were acts of self-defense, protecting his family, or justified with that they were inhuman and therefore he cannot be charged for killing a monster who was killing everyone around him. Garcia is also the one who argues that since she knows him best, they can trust her to guard him, put him in a special jail that connects to the police station.

It’s a lot of paperwork.

It gets done.

Garcia gets enough thank you drinks from all three of them that she might’ve just beat Jesus’s daily alcohol consumption if she’d taken even half of them.

----

They visit him every single day, talking through the bars. Although Garcia doesn't let them give him as much stuff as they wanted (protocol is still protocol), she allows some new clothing, a few candies, and somehow the one and only prisoner of the police station of San Simon is now in possession of his favorite soft blanket and some books.

They play card games through the bars, and all of them cheat in different ways.

They have staring contests, and he always beats Jesus, even though it’s roughly 50-50 on him versus Isabella. She’ll always be the scariest of them all. 

Once he’s out of jail Jesus and Isabella go in for a month. That was one of the things that negotiated his stay down from a year to three months. They weren’t entirely clean-handed either, but he was against them offering to be in jail at the same time as him. So that was the deal. He serves for three months, they serve a month each starting the day he gets out.

There’s recovery. Therapy. Threapy with and without his siblings. Coming to terms with how many people he’s killed, the feelings rushing back, trying to work through Lina and Chiu’s deaths, all of it. There’s crying. Rivers and steams flow from all three of them.

So much pain.

It takes a long time to get past it.

There are nights when Isabella wakes up screaming, hands trying to hit and hurt an opponent that isn’t there anymore. Alejandra broke her head more than a little bit.

There are days where Jesus is crying and begging for his little brother to just back away, put the knife down, please he’s scary like this, and on those days Jesus looks at the booze with more than a little longing. 

He has nightmares, just like the other two. Sometimes in his dreams he’s the one who kills Chiu. Sometimes he wakes up knowing that moments ago he thought he was holding the heads of his siblings in one hand, slaughtering mercilessly.

It takes a long time for any of them to be alright.

But slowly it’s there.

Slowly Isabella sleeps deeper and longer, slowly Jesus drinks less and learns to cope more healthily, and slowly he learns to open up a little more, more than he would before all of it happened.

----

When they first go back to the hill and see the destruction the pain and anger wash over him again. He wants to kill, he wants to break things, he wants to hurt, and it’s hard, and his brother and sister are here, and-

Breathe in.

Pause.

Breathe out.

He knows after the first second that he doesn’t actually want any of those, and it’s really just the impulse rather than his actual feelings telling him all of this.

He feels really tired all of a sudden, just wanting to go home and rest.

And this is home, so that’s not exactly a long journey.

“What are you thinking about?” Isabella’s question pulls him out of his thoughts. He can hear the worried tone in her voice, but he’s okay now.

“Nothing, really,” and that’s a comforting truth to tell someone.

----

They build back their school in the same spot, with the same everything, right down to the four bedrooms. And yet for over half a year after they’re released they sleep in one room, huddling together every time one of them has a nightmare or hurts.

But they’re together.

They’re okay.

They’re getting better.

And that’s what matters most.

----

They visit Lena’s grave. Jesus and Isabella place two candles on the grave and hug the headstone. When it’s his turn, he kneels down to place her favorite flowers next to the candles before grabbing the guitar. It wasn’t the original, but it looked damn like it, and Lena would have loved it. He plays Lena’s favorite song for her, still kneeling in front of the stone. When he’s done he kisses the ground to say goodbye fully, and then he hugs the headstone too before standing up.

Her death still hurts, but he’ll heal.

They visit her grave every other week on Sundays, after they stop by Domingo and Chiu’s graves. Chiu’s remains aren’t where the stone is, but it’s the thought that keeps them caring about the stone.

He thinks it might never stop hurting completely, but it hurts less after a year than it did the first time.

----

A year after everything is behind them they visit Chiu’s stone with some of his favorite food and drink to leave on the grave. Isabella puts down the candles, Jesus places the journal against the stone, and then it’s his turn. He’s walking with the tray when he trips two steps away from the stone, landing face-down on the ground. The feeling of humiliation triples when a second later the bowl lands straight on his head, the drinking splashing over him in a peak ending to the idiocy.

And then Isabella snorts. And then Jesus cackles. And suddenly all three of them are laughing loudly at the absurdity of this. He’s laughing silently as he sits up, bowls still on his head, prompting yet another round of laughter. isabella falls to her knees and Jesus doesn’t stop giggling even as he takes the bowl off of his head and they start trying to get the gunk out of his hair.

When they finally stop laughing they realize quite how long it’s been since they could all laugh so openly, so freely.

It feels good.

He’s happy.

They go home, get a new bowl of food and a new glass, and this time he doesn’t trip as he places the offerings down.

When they fall asleep that night, it feels a little less empty, a little less alone, a little less broken and hurt than before.

----

He’s still alive, still doing his best to stay strong.

It’s kinda hard to be all there sometimes, but he’s doing his best.

Chiu’s death still hurts, Lina’s death hurts, and the deaths of the all of the people he killed haunt him.

He'll never really be completely free of those nightmares.

But that’s alright.

He’ll get better.

He just needs to figure himself out a little more. Like who he really is. 

His old name is the name of the boy that he used to be, not exactly him now, and Silencio is the name of the murderer, the name of the angry and hurt man he’d been up until a year or so ago. 

He’ll need to figure out his name. 

Maybe he’ll use the one he had had originally, but he’ll be a different person than he’d been back then. 

He’ll have to choose at some point, probably soon, but for now he doesn’t need to.

He knows who he is.

And right now, that’s enough for him.

[mantrabay]

Ballroom In The Sky

Short Story

Gazing with his mouth wide open towards a sullen evening sky dotted with jet black clouds

Geoff Wild shakes, weeps and sighs.

He was on his knees on this grass-strewn, unkempt graveyard on the outskirts of his native town.

Two years later and her memory still intrudes in unexpected moments.

“Still so vivid. Is this a nightmare…..some trick of the light or just another passing dream?

The Passing Of A Velvet Heart.”

Geoff's thoughts almost choking him. Streams of emotion flowed down his face like someone who had just seen a tragic film.

Violet or Velvet heart, his pet name for his wife, had died and was still having difficulty coming to terms with it.

The sudden passing of his loved one had left this middle-aged man gaunt, ashen faced and skeletal. Wild’s troubled expression had become a haunted house of uncanny notions and strange secrets waiting to flow from his water-logged eyes. Those circumstances surrounding Violet’s death were never clear.

Was it a death wish or an accidental fall from the edge of the flat roof on their elegant townhouse?

Why would this lady of such excellent balance lose her footing in such a manner?

Death through misadventure was a colourful term used to describe what happens when there is no clear cause or explanation.

“Cherish all those wonderful experiences we had. Whichever one of us dies first.”

Violet once said. Almost as if she had some premonition.

This was six months before she passed away.

A creepy dawning sneaks its way into Geoff’s thoughts.

An endless see-saw of conflicting doubts convulsed him as he dwelt in the cemetery.

Yet Wild fondly recalled that night they first met at the Skyline Ballroom.

The Skyline was a battered tumbledown barn cum venue whose allure was based firmly on its availability.

The interior of this ballroom was hardly more enticing.

The chipped hardwood floor and the dusty pale cream walls with paint flakes that peeled off only confirmed its tenement status. It was known locally as the “Creaking Beam”” due to its ghostly acoustics and flickering lights. Here in this spooky venue Geoff and Violet had their earliest encounter. Wild remembered her radiant smiles and looping glances which he hoped were being cast at him. The ripples of long dark hair, those apple blossom cheeks and of course her angelic aura stood out.

On that night she wore a polka dot ruche dress, amethyst ear pendants and satin moccasins.

An opal choker completes the picture. “Have I the gumption? The courage.

A faint heart etc.” Geoff could hear his heart flutter as he did his tightrope walk toward her. Within seconds he was standing in front of Violet unable to control the tremble in his knees.

“May I dance with you?” Geoff asked.

Velvet heart’s hands formed a lazy arch and her dainty fingers curled inwards while she thought of a response.

“Of course. I would be delighted.” Violet spoke in that pear drop tone which beguiled everybody who met her.

Geoff, the local journalist and writer was in seventh heaven.

They never forgot that enchanting song they first danced to, “Ballroom In The Sky.”

The song was performed by Valerie And The Blue Skies, a rock and jazz band whose name was partially influenced by the venue that gave them their initial break.

They weren’t very big but had a cult following.

Something magical and unearthly happened every time they played that song on stage.

Geoff could see how similar Violet and Valerie were in appearance.

They were mirror images of each other.

It was frightening how easy it was to confuse the two of them in speech, mannerisms and appearance.

The drole, quaint, humour.

Age even.

Valerie was based in a remote enigmatic area outside town when not on tour.

She used to refer to songs as role plays in that banter between numbers.

“You feel as though you are a different person.

Maybe a member of the audience betimes.”

Valerie remarked.

Other than that they, Violet and Valerie, were virtually indistinguishable.

Violet did admit to meeting Valerie casually and for autograph purposes but other than that they had very few interactions with each other or so it appeared on the surface at any rate.

It seemed amazing how “ Ballroom In The Sky” with its airy ascending rock chords and jaunty jazz lines could draw Violet, Valerie and Geoff into a peculiar triangle.

The sudden moody breaks and abrupt silences built a momentary cocoon around the three of them which the rest of the patrons were unaware of.

For the most part or at least superficially.

They, the three characters, weren’t always aware that they were being sucked into a surreal threesome.

As for Valerie’s top sideman....well, he was known as Silent Sam.

He was the only member of this group that had any kind of track record or reputation.

Sam’s blue attire was in keeping with the band’s name. He wore a large trilby hat tipped over his forehead sheltering his pointed face and pencil slim physique.

Basking in the background one saw very little of him.

He, Sam, was short-sighted when it suited and though taciturn was also eccentric.

Practical jokes were his forte and the trademark impish grin was always an afterthought.

Then the usual quiet man mystery.

“Yep ..Yup....or Sure.“

These were the only asides from this oddball sidemen by and large.

He was prone to stumble and fall. Valerie had to indicate where things were to Sam in case he injured himself.

They would have words with each other which no one could quite figure out. Theirs was a sign language of its own complete with slanted squirms and facial signposts.

One often wondered if there was a deeper relationship between Valerie and Sam that others had yet to pick up on.

Leaving that aside, those Blue Skies airs would have been mere fillers without Sam. This lonely freak seemed aloof but by the same token these songs were peculiarly his.

“LOVERS TAKE THE FLOOR

FANCY DANCING WITH THE ONE THAT YOU ADORE

WARM EMBRACES AS YOU HEAR EACH OTHER SIGH

LOVERS TIL WE DIE

WE’LL BE DANCING IN THAT BALLROOM IN THE SKY.”

Every time that song was played Valerie, Violet and Geoff were sharing unwittingly a secret that would baffle even the most senior detective.

The startled looks, embarrassed smiles, were all part of this outlandish ritual.

Wild did try to piece all these recollections together.

“Valerie sure could croon those songs. In a real hypnotic fashion. Everyone in the dancehall was enthralled. People would sway like ice skaters one moment, waltz in a swan-like manner the next and just as often rave in the isles like end of term teenagers. The classics then came thick and fast.”

Geoff whispers to himself in this solitary graveyard.

“JUST A PASSING DREAM...........STILL SO VIVID.......DANCING IN HEAVEN...... KISSES ALL AROUND....MAGIC HAND........A LITTLE BIT BLIND, and of course “BALLROOM IN THE SKY”. Other favourites included “ LET YOUR LOVED ONE KNOW “ ( BEFORE SHE PASSES AWAY ) AND “ IN TWO MINDS.” Geoff and Violet would date and swing religiously to those fantasy songs every Sunday as their courtship blossomed.

“Ballroom In The Sky “ was always the highpoint of the dance with its mesmerising rhythms and choral mantras.

Like magic it weaved its way through every aspect of their relationship. Its spell was like an invisible hand shadowing their each and every move.

This constellation of events occurred in a scenic nineteen seventies spot.

Despite its haunting vistas and backdrop of panoramic hills it resembled a ghost town. Openings were few against an infinite spiral of closing factories, bookstores with half-empty shelves and shopkeepers peering out of doors.

A crushing gloom weighed heavily on this once vibrant resort.

Ten years earlier it was a beacon. “I shudder to think…...A jigsaw puzzle of past events.”

Geoff surveying the cemetery as if he were a stargazing prophet.

He didn’t want to be heard talking to himself.

Such memories could have been taken directly from some movie script. “Yes .. it was a hub that Skyline. Like homeless drifters, the folk who attended lapping up and revelling in the bonhomie of gemstone tunes and spritely pulse rate beats.”

The man Geoff communing with himself.

They were fugitives all of them. Be they fantasists, love seekers or escapees from that heavy-handed void called the dole queue. Suddenly an unusual presence descended without warning.

“What the heavens is? Snap…..ah it's a branch.” Momentary jitters engulfing Wild.

He shook in concert with the overarching colonnade of brown edge green leaf trees astride this burial ground.

An eerie rustling dewdrop tiptoe now caressing Geoff’s ears.

”Up there somewhere Velvet Heart?

Dancing in the heavens? You know that “Ballroom In The Sky.”

Nervous laughter now relief road to that traffic jam of sentiment just about to speed off.

Glued to the spot that macabre sixth sense of Violet hovering above evaporates due to an illusory shaft of late evening sun.

Warm misty comas presently forming a shroud over Wild but he was immune to them.

Geoff’s mental state shifts from doze to daze. Clouds of recall floated past his eyes with the odd fact jolting him out of his stupor.

Wild could no longer hide from the rather bizarre identities Valerie and Velvet Heart possessed. “Oh those comic jibes and piercing glances that they cast at any distance. Some ethereal intrigues were passing through the air in a game of bow and arrows that never missed their target.”

Geoff recalls with forensic clarity.

Poor Silent Sam who was also at a loss would do his usual u-turn into the shadow. He then shook his head in dismay.

Two months before Geoff's and Violet’s parting, an unforgettable incident occurred.

Quite often memory is a lodger which steadfastly refuses to surrender its keys. It was one of those Sunday’s that typified the area Geoff lived in.

Valerie and the Blue Skies were in flying form as the tunes morphed and segued into each other. Valerie and Velvet Heart who were magnets for men knew the music would amplify their appeal.

This tuneful genre helped both aforementioned ladies ooze black magic.

Violet's knowing stare caught Geoff off guard. “Guilty conscience, there Geoff?”

Having fantasies about Valerie.

Focus all those erotic thoughts on me.

As for that eternity ring remember?” Violet’s eyes twinkled as she seized Geoff up and down. Those penetrating peepers knew how to vet a body in a flash.

“Oh no .....not at all.” Geoff with a loop of a smirk.

“Just those mystical melodies working their spell.” He said.

“You came into my life like the early morning sun.... a new dawn.” Wild in poetic mode.

“You honey tongue you. Wait, Geoff our song. Yes, Ballroom.” Violet mutters gingerly.

Valerie nodded towards Sam.

Her expression was a hard to decipher veil and deep code command.

“Get those fingers flying, Sam.”

In a tone identical to Velvet Heart leaving no room for misunderstanding.

Sam didn’t always act immediately on Valerie’s cues.

“Yep.. Yup ...Sure.” Sam’s usual retort.

Eventually.

“Ballroom In The Sky” now strong as ever as it cast its bewitching spell to all sections of this venue.

A medley was now included tonight for the first time.

“SOMEONE FOR EVERYONE” ( Sam looked at Valerie), “A LITTLE BIT BLIND” ( Sam staring vacantly at both Valerie and Violet), “MIND YOUR STEP( Sam winking at Geoff while scrunching the mouth at Violet).

Violet edged toward the stage whilst tenderly clasping Geof. There was a dim-lit silence.

Ballroom started again. Valerie and Violet now singing this tune. An eerie vacuum filled the hall as they sang unaccompanied with Geoff simply awestruck.

A triangular crush of people occurred near the stage.

Valerie handed Violet a letter which Geoff could only peer at. What was in it?

Sam was now talking to Valerie with the usual economy.

In the confusion of memory images are both mist and blur.

“Pst...Pst. It's me. Your Velvet Heart is back to haunt you so I am.“ Violet’s lofty twang.

“What in the name….I can't phantom…..fathom.” Geoff nearly froze. Violet’s voice sounded like a wet whisper stretching over twigs that simultaneously tap against windows.

She pulled back an orchard pattern duvet which was covering Geoff.

“Fell asleep at your favourite film, The Passing Of A Velvet Heart. All those graveyard scenes shot in our small town remember?

Actually Silent Sam wrote the soundtrack for the film and Ballroom. He sings on that one.” Said Violet objectively.

“Incredibly you chose Velvet Heart as your courtship name for me based on the film.

The film was never a huge success at all but did get our area some limited publicity for a while.

Sam earned some extra royalties, though not a king’s ransom from the soundtrack sales.

Valerie and Sam tying the knot next Sunday of all days.

As for that love letter you mumbled about in your sleep.

It’s an invite to their secret wedding.

Very private. As Sam is.

What a time and place he chose for the invitation.

During that ethereal love song which brought us together.” Once more Violet observes.

“Poor Sam’s a little bit blind and confused on occasions.

You know next Sunday and all. Or is he?

I was upstairs on the flat roof today.

Six months ago I fell off it.

You’ve never liked me being up there since.”

Violet continuing.

“Guilty secret must confess. I used to be onstage instead of Valerie.

Well, sometimes.

She was dating you pretending to be me.

We never knew each other that well but it was a dare worked out between us.“

Geoff shouted. “Hoodwinked.”

An incredulous look ripples over Wild’s pale face.

Violet’s eyes now ablaze.

“You never noticed did you? Deep down.”

This dry playful tease surfacing from Violet again.

Geoff was thunderstruck. Violet strolled towards their CD player on the mahogany table near the drawing room corner.

“Think you’ll like this one. Our song with Sam on vocals.” A tranquil Violet stated.

“This is one tune you’ll definitely know.

May I dance with you?”

Geoff smiled. “Of course. I would be delighted.

And relieved!”

Silent Sam’s voice wafts and weaves in his own inimitable shy way a song usually sung by Valerie, his wife to be.

And sometimes Violet, or Velvet Heart.

A number that united three people in the most curious and otherworldly manner!

“Yep….Yup ….Sure.”

As Sam was in the habit of saying!

mantrabay Copyright Protected

All My Own Work

.

[thecardsimagine]

Of shipwrecks and seafoam

Summary: Let me tell you a story about a pirate and a merman, finding a love that goes beyond insecurities and death. Let yourself be taken away onto a journey about doubt and secrets, understanding and a bond that even goes beyond the deep blue of the ocean.

Pairing: Merman!Julian Devorak x Pirate!Reader (Nonbinary) Rating: Mature because of swearing and suggestive content Warning: Blood, Death, Killing Genre: Romance, Drama, Alternate Universe

a/n: Hey, this is my mermaid fic with finally some mermaids! Amazing, really great, what a big surprise! Tired after editing this chapter, but I look forward to your comments and thoughts to the chapter! Let me know ^-^

Chapter 2 - Ideas and Encounters

You didn't know how long the wreck of a dream occurred to you. It must have been many hours until your body had enough of it and changed the thought to something more pleasant. It was a simple, daylight sky. One you had often seen on the ship, with seagulls flying overhead and croaking. There was a soft melody playing in the background, like a lullaby. It sounded like something your mother would have hummed to you when you were a child, calming and pleasant. You liked it a lot, and yet, something about it made you feel uneasy.

In this dream-like state, your body was present, but you couldn't move it. Something would carefully touch you, but you didn't know if it were your own hands. Maybe, but it didn't feel bad. It would touch your closed eyelids, the side of your face. You couldn't feel your own hands, but you felt how it crossed your arms over your chest. You must have looked like a dead body at its burial, that's how you thought you were laying. A scary thought, but you weren't as much scared as you were comfortable. At least for a while, your wound wasn't hurting, your body was seemingly weightless. To say you were pleased with it, was an understatement.

And then, your dream world started to crumble.

It would all just turn to blue, then black, leaving nothing behind but your awakening state. Your eyes fluttered open, the sound of birds chirping reaching you. It was still early, but the sun was already on its way to the top, and the fire next to you had long gone out, leaving only ash behind. You hoped to be able to relight it latest at night - either that or being off the island and back in civilization by that time.

Your sleep had been… bad. There was no lying about it. Outdoors, on the sand, having terrible dreams and there was also the encounter midway through it. Your head spun lightly as you sat up, letting out a small groan and bringing your hands up to rub your temples. Though it was supposed to be a sunny day, currently clouds hung over the sky, and you felt a little chilly as a gust of wind hit your face.

Admittedly, you hadn't put on your trousers after trying to go for a swim yesterday, and your skin resented you for it now. You decided the best you could do was relight the fire and wait until you were warmer again. Turning your torso a little to grab for your pants that rested nearby, you felt something coming off the side of your body, exactly where your wound was.

Though you didn't feel any pain, you panicked, hoping that you hadn't opened the wound up if it had healed or worse than that. Pulling up the hem of your shirt, you squealed lightly as gross, green seaweed fell off your side and stomach, landing on your legs where you brushed it off quickly. It had left gooey slime where it touched, and you could barely form a coherent thought about it over your disgust.

Whatever was going on, you were sick of it.

With your hand you tried to carefully wipe away the goo, flinching whenever you felt pain from touching your wound. Now you really had no other option but go into the water. Calming yourself, you took a few deep breaths, trying to think back to the night. You had woken up to seaweed already covering your body before, and though you were sure you had taken it off then and there, maybe you had missed some of it?

Looking at the pile of underwater green next to you, you decided this was impossible. You could have not missed at least two big hands of it, no doubt. Your thoughts went out to the creature again and the more you wanted to believe it didn't exist, the more you had to admit that only something remotely human could have done that. And as much as you loved your species, if a real human had found you laying in the sand, they would have either woken you up or presumed you were dead and let you lay there for the seagulls to pick. There was no in between, and there was no wrapping a wound in freaking seaweed!

Sighing you shook your head. Whatever it was, you presumed it wasn't bad. As in, wanting to kill and eat you bad. Another deep breath went through your lungs, and you decided to gather yourself. There was no use in pondering about it now anyway. You needed to make a fire, gather more materials, food, water, and also find out what the deal with the beach you were at was. And most importantly, a bath. Aside from the goo sticking to you, you felt stinky from all the days without a conscious dipping into the water.

So you reached for your stick to help you get up. A little wonky on your legs still, you managed it much faster than yesterday and with less pain from your side. Maybe the seaweed did help with cooling the wound, though it was far from being healed. But you were working on it, you told yourself. Pulling off your shirt, you took the two pieces of clothes that you had with you as you made your way down to the water.

It was less scary now than the night before. You could clearly see your steps and the small fish swimming in it, scurrying away when your foot came down on the ground next to them. You didn't plan to go in very far, and you could faintly make out a drop, where the beach seemed to mostly end and give away to the ocean. Not a strange concept to you, but it didn't go well with your theory that this wasn't just a beach next to the mainland you were stranded on.

But you brushed off this thought, it was to be cleared later. Standing in the water up to your knees, you bent down to wash the fabric in your hand. It would be impossible to get out the stains anyway, but if they at least were a bit cleaned, you would feel better wearing them. When you were happy with their washing process, you threw them over your shoulder, taking a deep breath.

Now it was your time.

Sitting down into the water you tried to take more deep breaths, though you failed miserably right with the first one. You were not sure what you had expected, in fact, this was precisely what you had expected yesterday already. The burn was so deep going, you let out a suffocated scream, tears blubbering up in your eyes, dampening your view. It was so bad, you felt like fainting, and yet, you knew you had to get the goo off, or it had all been for nothing.

So against the better judgment of your pain, you went ahead to wash the slime off with your hands, finding it even harder to feel it against your fingers underwater than on land. Nauseous and desperate, you tried to get it off the wound, on some point even thinking it might not be too bad to leave on if only you could get up and out of the water. By now, it was hard to distinguish if it was the goo that hurt or your fingers brushing over your wound, but much to your horror you had to instead watch the water turn red to your side.

Immediately - or at least as fast as possible - you got up. The burning stayed, though from what you could see, there was no green slime remaining. At least something to be glad off, the only problem was the blood now that had been set free because of your intervention. You didn't even know anymore where your head was. Dazed, you took your pants, placing the hip part over your wound before wrapping the legs around your body once and tying a knot. It wouldn't have been enough fabric to wrap it around more, which you resented but complied to.

By now, you had no idea what to do or even, what you were doing. You just feared the pain to get worse and worse no matter what you did. It was so bad, you would have done anything you could just to get rid of this wound. Even death seemed so much more appealing than having to live with this. Stumbling out of the water and back to the shore, you pulled your shirt over your head, sinking down to your knees when you reached the land.

"No…" you muttered to yourself. "I'm not gonna die here, I can do this."

Taking some more deep breaths, you let the tears out that you had held back. You'd feel better after letting out your emotions, you knew. There was no one to judge you for crying in the situation you were in, and no one could see you anyway. After a few minutes of bailing, you finally felt the sweet salvation of relief wash over you. Yes, you did feel much better all of a sudden, and it wasn't hard for you to get a grip on your situation again. Washing, checked!

Next was the fire. With your trustworthy stick at hand, you stood up again, taking your first few steps back into the forest. Even though your body hurt still, you felt a lot better now. Your fever had gone down, and so had your general uncomfortableness. Even though your movements were still a little stiff, you could walk more freely now, and you gathered some more wooden sticks and leaves in no time.

Everything seemed to go smoothly, even the fire was starting up nicely, washing a wave of warmth over you. For a while, you sat there, feeling the heat and drying your wet skin and clothes. You hadn't had the chance or the nerves to actually wash your hair too, and running your hand through it only showed it was sandy from your night at the beach. But it was okay, you'd eventually get to do that too, you were sure.

A sudden rumble in your stomach gained your attention. Truth be told, you had dismissed the feeling of hunger for the last day, but it was starting to wear you off. Looking out at the calm ocean, you thought about the possibilities. You could go and look for fruits or berries deeper in the forest, maybe also reaching the other end of it if you were diligent today. It was less of a question of your willpower though and more of your physical condition.

Staring out into the ocean brought up another idea in you. You had seen fish in the waters before. Though the small ones seemed less suitable to eat, there might be bigger ones too if only you stepped out far enough. You could dry them or try baking them next to the fire. Not the greatest idea you ever had but probably the most useful so far, next to starting a fire.

Looking around, you tried to find something sharp, maybe a stone or a shell. You were lucky, finding a small, grey stone with a broken edge that seemed like it could work. Taking your long stick into your other hand, you turned and twisted it to find the most suitable end, deciding on one. Sure, you could have hunted fish with your hands, but you were a pirate, not a magician. Nevertheless, you had a massive wound at your side, there was no way you were going to catch one with bare hands.

Rubbing the sharp edge against the end of the stick your cut off excess wood until it formed into a sharper version of itself. A spear was exactly what you needed. Wiping some sweat from your forehead, you examined your doings. Admittedly, it was far from perfect. But it was pointy, seemed sharp and was your only reasonable hope to some food. Happy with your creation, you got up again, finding you could still use the stick perfectly fine as a walking aid when you turned the pointy end up.

Stepping back into the water you were glad you didn't wear your trousers like a normal human being. The fabric would have been soaked by the time you got to the far end, where the beach seemed to make a visible drop, and restricted your movement. Lurking over the gap, you saw nothing but black behind the edge of the sand. It was deeper than you had imagined, and you as a pirate especially, knew better than to go somewhere humans probably shouldn't go.

Instead, you tried to find a good spot, steadying yourself on the ground. Shifting with the water you supposed would seem natural to fish, that much movement you gave yourself. Otherwise, you persevered and waited for something to pass you. Luckily, you didn't have to be patient for too long, a few groups of fish coming up, inspecting your skin before slowly moving. You waited, and waited some more, trying to find the perfect spot and angle to hit the fish.

Even if it was 'just a fish', you felt bad about maybe just grazing it and punishing it to keep on living in pain… Like you. Your eyes fell at a beautiful shimmering one, the water reflecting its scales. For a moment you were awestruck by its beauty, but then you remembered your purpose. "Survival of the fittest," you mouthed to yourself, before bringing down your spear, hoping to catch it.

It needed a second until you could see through the splash again, tugging at your spear, only to find resistance. You pulled a little harder, only for you to lose your footing, tumbling to keep standing. You did absolutely not want to take another bath. Once you had rammed your heels into the ground, you obtained your stand again, quickly holding up the spear to look at it.

There was nothing. A miss.

You couldn't help but groan, feeling disappointed in yourself for losing the opportunity, but you gave yourself some motivational talk, retaking your pose from before and trying again. You had come far, you couldn't possibly give up now.

But it happened again.

And again.

And every time you lost a little bit of hope in yourself.

"Shit!" you hissed, throwing the spear into the direction of the beach in your frustration. "Damnit, why can't I hit a stupid fish?!" Though your yelling was futile, it felt good letting out the anger that had built up in you. "Nothing I do works! What am I supposed to do, huh?!" you screamed at the sky as if someone was listening in on you from there. "FUCK!"

Huffing, you finally calmed down, leaning forward slowly. Though it hurt your wound, you had to reach down, shoveling some water in your face. Standing right above the edge now, you splashed the cold wet over your cheeks and arms, even running it through your hair. You couldn't have cared less about your looks, but when you were finished and looked into your reflection on the water, you deemed yourself pathetic.

You were nothing of your former self. You looked dirty and unkempt. There were deep wrinkles on your forehead, your clothes were stained, and you didn't even need to see it to know that your body was dehydrated. Even your eyes looked like they had lost their color, changing into a dark grey tone, unlike their usual brighter color.

They almost looked unreal.

Since when did you have red hair.

Where those… fins?

You could barely stumble back as the creature emerged, it's head popping up right above the water that you had just stared down. Hardly, you made any progress in taking a step back in the thigh-high water, while it seemed to come closer and closer quickly. "Stay away…" you muttered, eyes wide opened and staring in shock at the almost human-like features. All color had left your face, and only now you realized your mistake in throwing away the spear.

It was real, you had not imagined it. Though its eyes didn't seem to glitter without the sunlight - the sun still covered by clouds - they were the same that had stared at you when you had woken up after the shipwreck. Its hair still seemed like red velvet, though now that you were so much closer and sure you weren't hallucinating you figured it was just the water that gave them their consistency.

Before you really knew what was going on, it had caught up to you. It was not the creature's fault that you slipped on a rock while trying to pace backwards, ultimately falling back into the water. Luckily it wasn't the really deep spot where you landed, so your head was still out of the water, but you let out a pained cry as your wound got soaked again too. You pinched your eyes together for a second, partly out of pain, partly just because you couldn't possibly look if the creature was going to do anything to you.

And you were right, it was doing something to you, though not what you expected.

Two hands slipped under your arms, tugging and pushing you out of the water and up towards the shore. Admittedly, it wasn't a graceful coming down, as you were technically thrown into the sand. In shock you looked up again, seeing the creature wiggling closer still, dragging an enormous, scaled tail behind it. Now that the water thinned out, it seemed to have a harder time moving than before.

Maybe you shouldn't have, but your eyes twitched nervously to its hands. Where its other features were relatively close to that of a human male - except for the missing half below his loins - its hands were elongated claws. And for human measurements it was big. You thought yourself to be average for your species, but it was not only long, it was just so much bigger than the average human male. Or maybe you had just not seen another human in a while, and your mind was playing tricks on you, who knew.

"Oh god…" you whispered as it finally reached you, its body hovering over you, with its arms on both of your sides. Your gaze was met with its, strong and steady reciprocating the eye contact. Deep gray orbs that seemed to pierce right through you, putting your whole body into a state of motionlessness.

"What are you?"

[bookwyrmling]

All I’m saying is an AU where Wei Ying was picked up by Baoshan Sanren instead of Jiang Fenmiang as an orphan in Yiling would be an interesting read.

Raised where people actually knew his mom and while she left and probably shouldn’t even be spoken of anymore, when her very offspring is running around just as wildly as she did, others can’t help but remember and speak.

There’s probably a fair bit of dislike towards the child of someone who left with the understanding that they could never return, but he gets to grow up with Xiao Xingchen and they end up fast friends even though Wei Ying’s high energy and Xiao Xingchen’s calmness made others think they’d clash, they were of an age and somehow found the difference in temperaments a good thing.

But Wei Ying is curious, just like his mother always was. And as some of the others on the mountain always told him as he grew up, he’d end up following her steps because the apple never falls far from the tree. And there’s so much world outside of the mountain where his mother was willing to leave everything she knew for. Where she met his father. So Wei Ying leaves the mountain under the same understanding as his mother: that he will never return.

Maybe he makes his way to Yunmeng because he heard that’s where his father was from. Or maybe he starts off as a rogue cultivator in Yiling because that’s where he was found. Maybe he grabs the attention of the Lan clan as he starts to join night hunts as a rogue cultivator and gets invited to become a visiting disciple the same time as everyone else was there in the story. Maybe that’s how he finds out about his father, when Jiang Fenmiang is visiting because Jiang Cheng is the one who got in trouble for being unable to control his temper and happes to hear the name Wei and see a child that looks just enough like two people he hasn’t seen in over 15 years. Either way, Wei Wuxian finds himself inexorably dragged into the war with the Wen clan all the same.

After Yunmeng is razed, does he drag Jiang Cheng to the actual mountain, like Xiao Xingchen does Song Lan? Or does he still lie about it and make use of Wen Qing’s skills? Either way, that unwavering kindness and self-sacrifice is something he is willing to do for a friend, so his core ends up with Jiang Cheng anyway.

And back up the mountain, while everyone expected things to calm down, no one expected yet another disciple to choose to leave. They should have, really. Xiao Xingchen and Wei Wuxian were inseparable brothers until the first went down the mountain. It only makes sense the other would follow. Xiao Xingchen meets Song Lan while searching for his brother. Is this CQL-verse where they meet up and both see they’ve found something to fight for and someone to fight with and wish each other all the best and hope to meet up many times only for everything to go to shit? Or is this novel-verse where Xiao Xingchen comes down the mountain only after the Burial Mound siege to learn of what tragedies befell his brother through rumors and stories? Does he meet up with a man dressed in funereal garb and playing a guqin who seems to be the one person in this world who does not hate the brother he loved and misses? Does he get to hear another side of the story that isn’t used to frighten others into behaving? Or just plain fright for fright’s sake?

And after Xiao XingChen’s own tragedy with Song Lan, he wanders blind and meets a rambunctious, prankster of a child named A-Qin who reminds him so much of his brother and as much as he shouldn’t be bringing a blind non-cultivating girl around with him, she offers him a sense of home he wasn’t sure he’d ever find again after leaving the mountain for the second time and losing Song Lan. The injured man they pick up has a similar personality, if more twisted, and Xiao XingChen thinks of the stories he’s heard about that lost brother and wonders if he can prevent someone else from going the same way as Wei Wuxian.

And when a resurrected Wei Wuxian comes across Yi City, does he notice the impostor earlier? Or has it been so long and Xue Yan have him down so well that he blames himself after for not realizing a fake when he saw one? And after seeing A-Qin’s memories, he’d feel even more-so that Xue Yan had to do die. For doing what he did to others, for doing what he did to his brother. For daring to ask him to put back together the soul of someone Wei Wuxian loved but whom Xue Yan destroyed so utterly. How much more does his heart go out to Song Lan?

But also, aside from all the tragedy, just imagine Lan Qiren trying to deal with a Wei Wuxian who knew all these stories about his mother. He was enough of a troublemaker like her without having that background knowledge and now an Qiren has to deal with Cangse Sanren’s child who has been raised with her in his memory. Would he survive the whole story without a qi deviation? XD

And what of Baoshan Sanren? Watching three disciples leave in such a short timespan (especially for how long she’s lived) and all suffer so much. Does she hear their stories? Does she pay attention even after they leave? Hoping against hope things will be better for this one? As each one suffers, does she become more sincere in her affirmation to remain disconnected from the world? Or does a part of her want to step in for the children she raised and those she continues to raise, picked up because they were abandoned, left wholly on their own in a cruel world.

And also, Baoshan Sanren goes around picking up abandoned children and raising them.

Xiao Xingchen picks up and watches after a young, abandoned girl and a half-dead injured young man.

Wei Wuxian runs around caring after any child or young person he meets ever (Wen Ning, A-Yuan, Sizhui (even before he knows who he is), Jingyi, Zizhen, etc etc - not including Jin Ling on this list for the simple fact that he is family, but just try telling me he wouldn’t care about him were he not).

ANYWAY, I really just wanted to shoot this out into the world cuz it’s been sitting in my brain for a fair bit. One of those things I’d love to see but not quite up for writing.

[chungledown-bimothy]

Trust Me: Chapter 9

I cannot thank y’all enough for your patience. Hopefully the fact that it’s a relatively big chapter a little bit kinda makes up for the wait? Either way, thank you so much for reading, and I love you <3

Chapter 1 Chapter 8 AO3 Chapter 10

Warnings: A brief mention of the wounds from previous chapters’ violence, very briefly implied nsfw/daddy kink (to skip it, just don’t read the text messages after “Aww, you’re so sweet!”

Author’s Note: Again, the cipher is crackable with the information you have. (I’d argue that this one might be a bit harder, because I gave you fewer/subtler clues, but if you get how it’s encrypted, decoding it is a lot easier.) Shoutout to y’all who got last chapter’s! <3

Word Count: 3,660

Tag List: @ccecode​ @emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn​ @ren-allen​ @ilovemygaydad​ @bloodropsblog​ @funsizedgremlin​ @raygelkitty​ @roxiefox23​ @thomasthesandersengine​ @spookyingarbageisland​ @band-be-boss-blog​

"The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it," Virgil muttered. Running his hand through his hair, he looked up to see that it was 8:30. He'd been at his desk staring at a copy of the note for over two hours. There was something familiar about the phrase; the feeling that he'd heard it before played in the back of his mind, just out of reach. He was sure that it was the key to solving the entire thing.

God, I wish I remembered more from that cryptology class I took in college. Okay, time for a new approach. Clean slate, let's go through what we know about him, Virgil thought.

He's a man in his late twenties or early thirties. He's highly intelligent and well-educated, likely with a medical background of some sort. He's a mission-based killer, set on punishing people he feels got away with things, things the system should have punished them fore. Before Jason Dean, it seems. That change in victimology must be connected to why he sent this note, so I'll put a pin in that for now; I'll talk to Vincent about the autopsy report when he's done with it. 

He seems divided; some of the torture is methodical, but some of it seems more motivated by rage than purpose. And then there's how he treats them. Mission-oriented killers don't often torture their victims; the payoff is from the kill itself. But he's feeding them, keeping them alive for a while so he can torture them.

Does he want them to know what he's done? That's it. He wants them to recognize their 'sins', perhaps even repent for them. He needs the validation that comes from them acknowledging his power and that he is correct.

Everything he does has a literal meaning and a symbolic one, he continued. Nothing has only one meaning. On the surface, he's saying that he knows that what he's doing is wrong, legally at least, but he finds it beautiful. Interesting choice of wording. Not right, not just. Beautiful. It feels like he cares more about the torture than the mission. But then why the remorse with the pseudo-burial? He's so full of contradictions. And then there's the bit at the end. "Publish me", he said, not "publish this". Which goes back to the fact that he's got one hell of an ego; he wants the focus on him. Which directly flies in the face of most mission oriented killers- they want the focus on their message. 

I would almost think that there might be two unsubs, but two people being this organized and methodical is extremely unlikely. He's way too egotistical to cooperate with a partner, however submissive said partner might be. 

So, we've got an incredibly smart unsub who knows it and feels like he isn't getting the attention he deserves. A younger child, maybe? Not that that would help us find him. Round up every smart, egotistical younger son in the city. We'd get the founders of every tech start-up in the city; it'd be Gentrifiers-R-Us. Virgil shook his head to clear out the unhelpful thoughts. Focus, Virge. You're on a clock. So, what kind of encryption does someone like that send? What kind of encryption has each word represented by three numbers? It's not a trifid cipher; none of the numbers would be bigger than three, and these numbers range from 1 to 192. Most number ciphers assign a number to each letter; no way in hell all of the words are three letters, and 192 and 26 do not play well together mathematically. Think, Virgil.

Fuck. Okay, let's try another new angle. The series of numbers at the end. Clearly not part of the message. 10 digits, but clearly not a phone number. 055 certainly isn't a US area code, and the number isn't long enough for a foreign dialing code plus the rest of the phone number. Wait. Maybe it's backwards? 310 is Los Angeles. 

Virgil took out his phone and dialed 310-053-3550, heart in his throat. It rang twice before an automated voice informed him that "the number you have dialed is no longer in service". Damn. His heart started beating in an entirely different way when he saw that he had some new texts.

6:22 [Patton]- Hi cutie! Are you free, by any chance? It's been a really bad day, and seeing you always makes me feel so much better. <3

6:50 [Patton]- I was thinking we could get some dinner and then watch a movie or something at my place

7:48 [Patton]- Virge?

Virgil's stomach dropped. Oh god do they think I'm ignoring them? Oh shit. He quickly typed out a reply.

8:53[Virgil<3]- Hey, Pat, I'm here. I'm so, so sorry you're having a bad day. I can't hang out tonight, though. :'( I'd be with you if I could, though. It's been a rough one for me, too. Wanna talk about what's been bringing you down?

Their reply was almost instant.

[Patton]- Virgil! :D Aww, stormcloud, it's okay. Life happens; it wouldn't be healthy for either of us if you dropped everything when I'm just a little down. Besides, it was nothing, really. Just me being dramatic lol

Virgil felt himself blush at the endearment, but his brow furrowed reading the rest of the message.

[Virgil<3]- You sure? It also isn't healthy to bottle up your emotions. I care a lot about you and am always here if you want to talk about anything.

[Patton]- God, you're the sweetest! <3 I care a lot about you too. I promise, though, I really am fine. Do you wanna talk about what's bumming you out?

[Virgil<3]- I really wish I could, but I actually have to get back to it. I'll message you later <3

[Patton]- okie dokie. Don't work too late, okay?

He chuckled as he put his phone away and looked back at the note on his desk. Heather and Kurt are obviously people, Ram probably is too. Who are they, and what do they mean to him? The phone on his desk started to ring; Virgil jumped.

"H- hello? Detective Mason here." Virgil cursed himself for the shaky greeting.

"Virgil! I'm glad you're still here. It's Vincent. You said you wanted to know as soon as the autopsy was done; I'm waiting for a couple of particulates to come back, but the bulk of it is ready for you." 

"Vincent, you are a lifesaver. I'll be down in a minute."

"Did you know that the candy Life Savers was invented in 1912 as a summer confectionary alternative to chocolate, which has a melting point of approximately 86 degrees?"

"I definitely did not know that, but I did know that they started as mints and didn't become the fruity candy we associate most with the brand now until the mid-1920s."

"Fruit flavors were introduced in 1921, to be exact, but they did not have holes in them like the mints did until 1925, which is probably the date to which you were referring."

Virgil laughed. "Damn, I thought I had you. I'll be right down." He hung up the phone and left for the morgue. 

Three minutes later, he found himself being hugged by Dr. Nigel-Murray.

"I'm as touch-starved as the next gay, but why the hug? We just saw each other, like, five hours ago." Virgil looked slightly down at Vincent with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to curb my workplace-inappropriate tendencies, but, barring once during a time of great stress, people in general don't respond in kind to my facts." Virgil's heart broke for the vulnerability and pain in his voice, and he made a mental note to learn as much trivia as possible.

"That's a damn shame. You're a great guy, Vince- let's get coffee or something once I've cracked this damn code."

"That sounds quite lovely, actually. What code, if I may ask?" Vincent's smile was appropriate for the fact that they were at work, but Virgil could tell that he was practically bouncing with excitement internally.

"Our killer sent a reporter a coded message. I've got about 21 hours to crack it if I want to get this guy to come to me."

"Not to overstep, but I've dabbled a bit in cryptography; perhaps I could be of some assistance?" 

"I'd love another set of eyes on this, actually. Thank you! Here, give me your number, and I'll text you a picture of it once we've wrapped up here." Virgil pulled out his phone and unlocked it to find that his messages with Patton were still pulled up. He tried to stop himself from smiling, but he couldn't.

Vincent chuckled. "He must be pretty special, to get a smile like that out of you." Virgil blushed.

"Uh, yeah, they are. At least, I think so. I hope so." Virgil fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, refusing to make eye contact.

"Sorry about the pronoun flub. So, tell me about them!"

Virgil hesitated; opening up about his feelings certainly wasn't one of his strong suits, but he liked Vincent and wanted to be his friend.

“They’re incredible. Their name is Patton, and they run We Hart Coffee just a few blocks from here. They’re so funny and kind, and I’ve never seen a smile like theirs. It’s so genuine and infectious. The world genuinely is a brighter and happier place around them.”

“You really love them, huh?” 

“I- What? No. No way. That’s way too cliche. We meet in a coffee shop and are in love within a couple of weeks? This is real life, and stuff like that only happens in movies and fanfiction. And completely unrealistic. What?" Virgil snapped, seeing the grin on Vincent's face.

"Trust me, Virgil. My first doctorate advisor, Doctor Brennan, was in deep denial of her love for her partner, Agent Booth. They're now happily married with two kids. I know what repressed love looks like, and you, my friend, have it in proverbial spades."

"I'm not sure that that's the right use for that cliche, and besides…" Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So what if you're right? Even if I did love them, which I don't, they don't love me back."

"Not yet, perhaps, but you're a great guy, Virgil. Smart, funny, caring, and quite handsome. If I were into men, I'm certain I would be half in love with you, myself. Just give them time."

"Christ, Vince, I'm gonna cry at work and ruin the tough-guy aesthetic I work so hard to maintain."

Vincent hummed his disbelief. "As much as I love chatting with you, I believe you're here about a murder. Follow me, if you will."

"Right. Murder." Virgil muttered before following him into the lab.

"So, you know who he is. 18 year old Mission High student Jason Dean. You saw the burns, frostbite, and acid damage. We were able to determine that the frostbite was caused by liquid nitrogen, and the killer used hydrochloric acid. We also found that while he was less dehydrated than the part victims, likely due to being held for only about a week, as opposed to two or three like previous victims, he was far more malnourished than the others."

"God, why is he changing so much? A kid, a shortened timetable, not feeding him. What was the cause of death?"

"Strychnine poisoning."

"See, that's a huge departure, too. All of the previous torture was from knives and hands. Why the sudden change to substances? Did he get injured, or is something else limiting his manual dexterity?"

"I don't know about any of that, but strychnine is a fairly popular poison in popular culture; Agatha Christie used it three times- in Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Coming of Mr. Quin, and How Does Your Garden Grow?, and Arthur Conan Doyle used it in-"

"Oh. OH. Vincent, I love you, you know-it-all." Virgil started pacing, running his fingers through his hair.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

"What? Strychnine wasn't used in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; Ackroyd was stabbed."

"Yes, I know. The note the killer sent. At the bottom of the code, he wrote 'the truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it'. It seemed so familiar, but I couldn't place it until you just brought up Agatha Christie. Poirot said it in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The number. I'm an idiot."

"Breathe, Virgil. I assume that you just cracked the code?"

"Not quite. But I cracked our unsub. I knew it. I knew he'd hand me the answer. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out."

"Okay, so how does The Murder of Roger Ackroyd help you?"

"Under the quote is a thirteen digit number. I'd bet my life that it's an ISBN for a specific printing of the book. It's an Arnold Cipher. Each series of three numbers is a page, line, and word. It was staring me in the face. I truly am Boo-Boo the Fool." Vincent was puzzled by Virgil's last sentence, but Virgil was far too agitated for questioning it to be prudent.

Virgil took a deep breath. "Okay, sorry about that. So, back to Jason?"

"Oh, right. Jason. Um, the only other thing of note that we have found at this point are fibers from a 1950s Volkswagen Beetle."

"That's gonna help a ton, as well. Vincent, you are my hero!" Virgil scooped him up into a big hug before leaving the morgue, leaving Vincent speechless for the first time in his life.

Virgil ran back up to his desk, furiously typing in his password. It took him three tries to correctly enter the number into the San Francisco Public Library website's search bar. He eventually got it, and there it was. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. And two copies were available. The library didn't open until 12 pm the next day, however, so he went home after setting an alarm on his phone and sending a quick text to Patton.

9:52 [To:Patton]- Hey, wanna get dinner tomorrow night?

He was ecstatic to see a message from them when he got home.

9:55 [Patton]- Absolutely! You got the problem worked out? :D

10:10 [Virgil <3]- I found the solution, and will get it resolved by the end of the week. I'll pick you up on Friday at 7? We'll take a walk in the park and then House of Prime Rib, on me?

[Patton]- Are we celebrating something? Or are you trying to tell me you want to be my sugar daddy? ;P

[Virgil <3]- Trust me, Pat, if I had sugar daddy money, I'd love nothing more than to spoil you rotten. But nah, it's a combination of a small celebration and an apology for being unavailable today and for the next few days until Friday. (and i may or may not be buttering you up in hopes you'll share what's bringing you down)

[Patton]- Aww, you're so sweet! <3 (Can I call you daddy anyway?)

[Virgil <3]- Only if you want to be rewarded, baby. ;)

[Patton]- I'll be a good boy for you, daddy, I promise. 

Virgil noted their preferred appellation and responded in kind with a wicked smile.

--------

The next morning, Virgil woke up half an hour before his alarm was set to go off, feeling more relaxed than he had in months. I'm finally going to get this guy.

Figuring there was no point in just waiting around, he got ready and went right to work. He knew Captain Sanders would want a breakdown of the previous night's findings before he could start following the leads he had gotten from Vincent the previous night.

He got to the station and immediately started looking into Jason Dean and the possible claim that he was a murderer. It didn't take him long to find that three Mission High students committed suicide 2 months prior named Heather, Kurt, and Ram. Virgil tracked down the police reports for the deaths. By all accounts, they appeared to be through-and-through suicides. If Jason did kill them, the killer would need to be quite close to either one of the victims or Jason himself. Linking the suicides would imply that he's close to all of them. Maybe through school? Science classes are more than likely to have liquid nitrogen and hydrochloric acid. Any teacher would have access, but I'll look more into science teachers in particular. He's displayed some anatomical knowledge as well. 

Captain Sanders walked into the precinct, calling for Virgil to follow him into his office.

"So, what do you have?" he asked, after they'd arrived and shut the door.

"The note is a book cipher based on Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The library has a copy of the specific edition I need to crack it, so I'm going to pick that up at noon, as soon as the library opens. Looking into the 'murderer' thing, there were three suicides at Mission High 5 months ago, whose names match the three not-coded words in the note- Heather, Kurt, and Ram. If they were murdered by Jason, that means the killer is close to one of them, most likely Jason himself. I think that's what the killer is alluding to in the note, but we'll see once I've decoded it. Add in the liquid nitrogen, and it points to a teacher, likely a science teacher. So I'm going to crack the code and look for other insights into him and look into Mission High science teachers. I have an updated profile, and I'll email that to you right away."

"That sounds wonderful, Mason. You've been doing excellent work; we're glad to have you."

Virgil shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'm just doing my best, sir. If you'll excuse me, the library is about to open, and I'd like to get the book as soon as possible."

"Sounds great to me! Just send me that profile before you go."

"Will do, sir. Thank you." Virgil turned and left the room, hurrying to his computer before rushing to the library.

--

A short while later, he was back at his desk with a battered copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It wasn't difficult to decode the message, but it did take a bit of time and a lot of counting and re-counting. Word by word, the message became clear: He killed Heather, Kurt, and Ram. Find the weapon; I know he had it. It is your evidence.

Virgil sat back in his chair once he'd finished, puzzled by what the note revealed that he hadn't already deduced. 'He' has to be referring to Jason. He knew we'd find out the reasons for him choosing the previous victims, but he needed to be sure we'd know why he thinks Jason deserved to die. I looked at the police reports for those deaths; the gun used to kill Ram and Sweeney was recovered on-site and is in police custody. He's obsessed with his mission, though. He wouldn't make this claim if he wasn't sure. I'll look into that once we've caught our killer. For my peace of mind, at least. Virgil cracked his knuckles and picked up his phone.

"Roman Prince, SFGate, how can I help you?"

"Roman, it's Detective Mason. Can you come down to the station right away?" The responding scream was so loud, Virgil had to move his phone away from his ear. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Absolutely, Detective. I will be there as soon as physically possible."

"Don't break any traffic l-" The line went dead, cutting Virgil off.

--

Far sooner than could have been legal, Roman skidded to a stop in front of Virgil's desk.

"HelloVirgildidyoucrackthecode?DoIgettowritearesponse?CanI-"

"BREATHE, Roman." Virgil stood, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Yes, I cracked the code. Yes, you will publish a response tonight. But I'm writing it. I assume your laptop is in your bag?" Roman simply nodded- he knew that if he tried to speak, he'd start rambling again. "Fantastic. Let's get going."

45 minutes (and one call from Captain Sanders to Dan Humphrey about how not allowing it to be posted immediately would be obstruction of justice) later, a new post was live on SFGate's website. It was 4:02 pm, two hours before the deadline.

An Open Letter to U N Owen

It was a pleasure hearing from you. While I obviously cannot condone your methods, you are correct that our justice system is imperfect, and those imperfections need addressing. You gave me quite a puzzle, and I enjoyed solving it. It was clever, but not clever enough. I hope you'll forgive me for not following your directions; please let me know if this is inadequate.

Vq rwv kv dnwpvna, aqw'tg ytqpi. Jg fqgup'v jcxg kv, yg fq. Yg'xg jcf kv htqo vjg xgta dgikppkpi. Dwv aqw cntgcfa mpqy vjcv. Aqw'tg hct vqq engxgt vq jcxg pqv mpqyp vjcv. Wpnguu K'o qxgtguvkocvkpi aqw, yjkej ku c fghkpkvg rquukdknkva. Aqwt qvjgt cuugtvkqp jcu dggp pqvgf, cpf K uygct vq aqw vjcv K yknn rwtuwg vjcv qpeg yg ugvvng vjku ocvvgt dgvyggp wu.

Hqt pqy, vjqwij, aqw ujqwnf mpqy vjcv aqw'xg iqvvgp unqrra, cpf vjcv kv'u qpna c ocvvgt qh vkog dghqtg K hkpf aqw cpf tgrca aqw kp vjg ngicn hqto qh vjg eqkp aqw icxg vjgo. Aqw yknn (ogvcrjqtkecnna) jcpi hqt vjku.

Sincerely,

Det. Mason Poirot II

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

Logan refreshed SFGate.com for the thirteenth time that day and was finally rewarded for his tenacity; the post was less than five minutes old. He read it twice, rage simmering in his chest and a smile on his face. "Detective Mason," he said to his empty apartment, "a worthy adversary indeed. The game is on."

[inidio-xrwmatinis-blog]

Top Games to Play on Android in 2019

PUBG Mobile

It’s really unbelievable that the way PUBG Mobile game works on the Android device. This game is turned to be the all-time top action shooter game for mobile phones which was the continuation of 100-player combat royal game that emerged finally. Drip into the enormous maps filled with ammo, vehicles, tactical gear and weapons in typical battle royale modes. We enter into the game as one of the team members or as a single-player and utilize our entire skills to bring the opponents down to earth until we stand as the last man. It is not hard to hear that any particular games playing with the console or PC and followed by Android whereas we all will be really astonished that how good the game called PUBG plays on a smartphone. This is the best game obtained in the android even though there are few annoying aspects along with the coolest wealth concealed in oppressive loot boxes which should not be available. However, this game is free for playing and can be accessed by many gamers. Even though we are playing in the old devices, the game will allow us to balance the background graphical specification so as to make us enjoy the game without any hesitations so we like to play with the Maxed-out graphics. So in case, we have a new mobile, then make use of those settings to the max and start enjoying the most beautiful mobile game we have ever played. Somehow PUBG Mobile has provided us with all the heroic moments which we have expected from the PC game ascended down faultlessly for the mobile phones and they have really embraced the victory of adding a robot mode which has deposited already with a consequence mode. So form the group together and begin the battle in the ground. Stardew Valley

Those who by no means heard about or never played the game called Stardew Valley earlier, it is generally a farming game where we need to build over the tough 16-bit open-ended Role-playing game that allows us to create a character and farm as per our wish. The story begins when our character enters in the Pelican Town, Where the character will decide to take over the family farm of your gramps’s property. The freedom provided to the player to convert the game as per their wish is the reason behind making the Stardew Valley joyful to play. The game is all about resource management and growing crops, which will surely score a particular itch for all the gamers of mobile given by making them know how famous this classification of RPG is on the mobile. Whereas there is nothing more than this to discover by the player. While harvesting and planting your farmlands, simultaneously we have the ability to upgrade our standard skills with the help of various tools by foraging in the woods, fishing, building relationship with the local peoples, getting married, visiting the town for mingling with people or even go through a customary battle based Role Playing Game which will be adventure consisting of many events to finish and monster-diseased mines to discover. Reigns: Her Majesty

One of the games called Reigns is considered to be the top games of 2016 and it also gained the first-ever Google Play Indie Games contest. So, without a doubt, we are driven to check the development. Here in this game Reigns, we play the role of emperor of the land where we need to make the judgments that will disturb the 4 aspects of the territory: The people, the army, the royal and the church. Our responsibility is to maintain all four aspects equally. In case if any of the 4 aspects fills to the maximum or it is completely exhausted then our Reigns is done and new Reign starts. The outcome of this game is likely to be the same as the first game, except that we need to play as a Queen instead of the King. We have to compete with new roles to communicate with many splitting storylines to explore. This game is very easy as swiping from right to left on cards and one thing similar to the first game is there are loads of countless Easter eggs to be found throughout the way. We are here to say that those who have already tried playing the first game and feeling scared of thinking that this game too will be similar, then we will assure you that lots of new mechanisms are available here to make this game best on Google Play for the year 2019. Tesla vs Lovecraft

The hottest game from Finnish developers 10tons Ltd is Tesla vs Lovecraft which is considered to be a great treat for all. This game rock bottoms Nikola Tesla along with his hi-technology inventions towards a revengeful H.P. Lovecraft who set free the never-ending waves of terrifying monsters that will rapidly horde around us till we combat in return. This is considered to be an unbelievable refined game in which twin-stick takes control over shooting and moving. The operation slowly raises to the difficult level with over 200 foes producing on the screen at a time if we were not much faster with our start finger. When we murder the monsters we will be able to gather XP and receive a new incentive whenever we raise to a higher level. Weapons and power-ups will appear on the map casually and we need to gather the 6 pieces needed to construct Tesla’s mech which will cut down any crowd in short order. The feel of the touchscreen will be relaxed and the game also suits the Bluetooth controllers which are considered to be awesome in this first-class game. Lots of content is created in the game, together with few DLC which is available will provide new weapons, monsters and many other. We can be away from worries because the game is refined without requiring to spend more currency, but if we have done it finally through the whole thing that Tesla vs Lovecraft has to provide us which will be eager with a little bit more to discover.

Death Road to Canada

We are going to look into a game called Death Road to Canada is costing $10, we want to begin with the price to avoid getting shocked before we discuss how overwhelming this game is. Currently, this game is on sale for one dollar which is a better price for purchasing. We need to guide a fragmented squad of some fascinating characters on this fatal mission to the virtual safety of Canada for fronting the zombie disaster. Through the journey, we need to discover and loot places for provisions, along with handling our teams’ morale and health. The whole thing in this game Death Road to Canada is aimlessly produced, creating each and every play-through as a different experience in this active road trip action role-playing game. We can randomly produce our character and playmate or design our characters for beginning with different characteristics to assist us to stay active, but perhaps it is not necessary to get linked if you are not a good shot. Few controls are certainly getting used to, also there is an attractive sharp learning curve through which we will be able to examine which are the most active weapons and what is the correct time to run or fight. And here we will die, often and early which is the portion of fun included in this zombie disaster game. One thing which seems to be silly here is there are 10 various types of modes to reveal. This game costs little more but those who are a follower of games related to a rogue-like zombie, then this price will be the worth for investment. Graveyard Keeper

This game called Graveyard keeper is all about burial ground management which will easily make us immerse in the game for hours and hours by enjoying the dark funniness regarding ugly subjects. Here many will hesitate a little that we need to play as a town’s burial digger’s role which may be quite dull and depressing, but the grave digger’s colorful and cheering art style combined with the deep constructing mechanics and open-world things will make the game more exciting. We will be awarded for attaining creativeness and cutting crooks. For instance, we can start marketing the ground-up lifeless bodies to the local murdered, provide to the witch-burning troops, or make effort to poison a few of the local town people to get in the business. So these are the main differences between the free games and mobile games like Graveyard Keeper- gathering information is not time-constrained for hours and here we have the ability to create anything we require in the game just by finishing the tasks, foraging and preserving the burial ground. Also, we will have the chance to enjoy further play through discovering dungeons, finishing the events to find out the treasures and occasional supplies. As we see from the promo, this game is really stunning with a short and thorough art style and impressive animations effects. Because this game is straight from the port of console/PC game, we should be ready to spend more hours in this game, which may comprise just guessing out the various controls and menus as we work out for achieving to be a top Graveyard Keeper we can be. Stranger Things: The Game

A game that is targeted by other companies for shaking out is Stranger things: The game, this game is a tie-in mobile-based game. This is completely an action-adventure game consists of fully playable characters, lots of porcelains and old fashioned graphical panache that suits the setting and show concept. Towns of Hawkins, Indiana together with the neighboring Mirkwood Forest are presented by this game for exploring them. This game runs like a typical Zelda-Style exploration game, which has the capability of swapping among the characters affording itself to generate critical puzzles. The marketing squad of Credit Netflix took effort to spend the time especially for assuring that the developers at BonusXP Inc. convey some special series for their followers. A real champion is created here and a true competitor for this game of the year- but we are not a very big follower for this foundation. Mobile is optimized from a few control options and finally, a better design of the game is appearing on the screen. Overall the world is wide and filled with undisclosed areas to discover and accustomed things from the show which is dispersed entirely as collectibles. Here we have much more to appreciate. It is not only famous for its authentic edition, but this is available for free of cost without any kind of in-app purchase nor advertisements. While we can consider this game itself as an advertisement for the next season of Stranger Things game. Therefore we are hoping that this guide in a new way of considerable mobile games which are related to films and TV shows. Brawl Stars

Supercell developed a game called Brawl stars which is based on the fast-paced brawler which is not like other types of the game available on the Play Store. It was originated from another game called Clash of Clans universe which made supercell an everyday name and allowed the players to club together in a MOBA game which separates itself from various other classification with its comic and colorful appearance which was assisted by the top gameplay variations. Here for every twosome of hours, players will be able to experience something new to play on every occasion of logging into the application because there are several game modes present in this game. These modes are as below:

Showdown: Up to 10 players which is present for single players or duos, this is one of the Battle Royale modes.

Robo Rumble: Here groups of 3 yield on the wave immediately after the wave of robot opponents which consists of boss robots having damages and higher hit points. This is considered to be a time-based special event.

Gem Grab: Here group of members gather gems which broods in the middle of the map where the first group has to grasp 10 or more gems for about 15 seconds win.

Heist: In this mode, the members of the team need to protect their gems instead of need to attack other group’s security deliberately.

Bounty: Members of the battle team has to gather stars which were received by the opposite teams. You will receive plenty of rewards on your head upon making more kills without failing.

Brawl Ball: This is a soccer type of match including the Brawl Stars cast. This is the first team to win by scoring two goals.

Seige: Like Heist, groups have to gather the maximum screws which releases a barrier robot that assaults the foe tower.

Every mode is special as per its features and these can be standalone app easily, however among all six modes on a revolving base, Supercell has raised Brawl Stars to another stage. This game is considered to be the well-created game that received a major upgrade that renovated the graphics with a new 3D-style design which appears to be better than others. The only disadvantage is the wreck unlocking and collecting the cards features of the game. But these are all the performance-based awards and need not require to wait for hours to unlock each wreck randomly. Oddmar

In 2019 among all the mobile games we have played so far, Oddmar was the outstanding one and turned to be our favorite because it was unconditionally superb right from the opening series through its stunningly animated levels which showed the deepness of details which we used to see them rarely among the mobile-based games. I was even a little partial because we admire the well-designed indie platformers although Oddmar was standing out for perceiving an excellent story and a superb hero to tell us. We need to perform the role of Oddmar who was an emigrant Viking who never stayed with his ancestor soldiers who provided him the special powers through magic. The duration was quite good, Oddmar had the chance to utilize himself by making a journey of recovery. In total, the design level was quite straight but it was not slate, we need to thank for the variety of good enemies for bouncing off and the distinctive complications along with some simple riddles to resolve for progressing further. In spite of all, Oddmar came across the hallucination such as Valhalla experiments which are blended in most of the levels. These experiments will allow us for a short scrolling reward level which adds up a few superb gameplay variabilities. Games with Touchscreen accessing on mobile will be generally disreputably difficult, but the game Oddmar showed the industry how to be done with this type. With the left side of the screen, controlling the movements based on the horizontal direction is done and on the right side, it is devoted to attacking, jumping, dash attacks and ground-pounding. Here the initial section of the game can be played for free whereas the rest of the game is not free we need to make a payment of $5, which is quite worth for this type of games which can be played on the phone. BattleChasers: NightWar

In 2019 one of the best mobile-based game which provides us the great RPG experience is BattleChasers: NightWar which is also an award-winning JRPG game. And the good thing about this game is this game can be downloaded free of cost there is no need to worry about paid DLC or in-app purchases. The game is all about elegant and ample, it begins with a strong overworld that is filled with unseen dungeons to discover, many surprises through the way and the classic boss to bring down. This battle is related based on turn-based which is the inspiration by all the preferences from the JRPG classification and this is the actual pleasure for a fan like us. Together with the rambling and dense world to discover which is teeming with foes to make a fight with, even there are deep creating elements as well as for improving our team’s armors, guns, and magic jewelry. A game that is RPG is good only if the character and story are best and the name provided is based on the vivid novel of the alike name, here we have provided the completely advanced characters and a convincing story. The chief character in this game is a small girl named Gully who is on a task to find her dad Aramus who was a well-known hero, who went disappearing mysteriously had some influential gauntlets in which his daughter is making use of it for her classic adventure. Knowlan an intelligent old mage joined Gully for her aid, he used to travel always along with Calibretto who was an olden war golem constructed for the battle which developed his own emotions and sentience but he still can kick the ass in the combat to protect his friends. Another character, friend of Aramus named Garrison who was a paladin was forced to guard the Gully throughout her expedition and finally Red Monika who is a rascal outlaw makes effort to succeed in the toe line among the evil and good. This game is considered to be worth for those who are a real fan follower of either BattleChasers game or just searching for a fresh JRPG to jump into. Holedown

It is really difficult to discover a fun based puzzle game that does not make an effort to sell us on power-ups or additional lives or something else. And this is the reason behind the Holedown game standing out among other games in this 2018. Holedown will tactically attack us through the core of cosmic bodies- opening with asteroids and working through our path to the sun- utilizing the gaming theory of bouncy balls off the blocks. Every brick has a numeral which signifies the number of smashes required to demolish it, or maybe you can destroy the associate block clear out the whole thing beyond them. This is a very simple pick up and plays a type of game which has a simple concept but rapidly we will come to know that we require a certain amount of tactics and talents in this game. The entire bricks are curved in shape, permitting us to fix dedicate bank shots to clear off enormous blocks in one time. This will turn more useful because the screen will go up one row after each shot. Through the process, we will gather crystals that will be spent over the upgrades which offer us more balls per shot and extra shots per round. These improvements are difficult to complete the far ahead planets whereas the earlier stages will turn more of a tedious distraction for our underpass travel. Almost all said that it will not take us long to max off all our stats in Holedown, it is due to the reason that we will not be able to stop playing this game after starting it once. This is the game for those who are looking for a puzzle based on physics game and trying for a new fascination, then holedown is the best game for your payment.

Chameleon Run

Chameleon run was the game distributed by Fine folks at Noodlecake Games, this is an auto-runner which checks our reaction in such a way that it will harm our brain slightly. Another name for this game is speed because it has many dashes and jumps throughout the colorful platforms. Lots of options especially for changing color and unique jumping skills which we need to work it out during every course but the only thing is we are permitted to only touch the objects which suit our color. It looks like simple but ruminates again. It looks awesome when the entire game appears in full-frame performing well, but the real excitement arrives from the detailed input on the dual touch controls. If we need to change a color we need to just swap by touching the platform and we receive a quick rush boost. All the jump options are detailed correspondingly and permit us to perform tricky dual jumps without any difficulty. Every stage of the game is created to be non-linear which means we have got many paths to proceed to finish the level some-how, on the other hand, we have 3 special characteristics to finish every level which will make us come back further. In general, this game is quite short, but it is created differently that it stands out for the fast running- even though there exist many other firm competition available there. We feel that this game is lacking one knock out characteristic, which is an editor option that permits the players to upload their own created levels. Or just many levels possibly with platforms of different colors for switching between. This game is really fun worth for just $2. Still, for $2 it's one hell of a fun game. JYDGE

Another game called JYDGE is a persistent and violent top-down dual shooter which is a perfect treat to play. We need to perform the role of cybernetic enforcement officer who is none other than JYDGE who makes use of Gavel( large freaking riffle) to push out RoboCop-style integrity. We should never think of this game as routine trekking because all the levels featuring unique challenges which need us to upgrade. Seizing the illegal currency through the way will enable us to upgrade JYDGE and his large rifle with a wide range of accessories. In this way, the JYDGE seems to hold the rascal like an element from its previous Neon Chrome through inspiration to replay the levels with various types of advancing blenders until we finish all the experiments. Through a game that can show us the replay stages, again and again, it is domineering for a game to notice the great gameplay along with the attractive audio which is not repetitive or annoying us and JYDGE delivers unconditionally. The Room: Old Sins

One of the classic puzzle games from Fireproof Games is The Room: Old sins and it is also 4th among the award-winning “The Room” puzzle games sequence. We are going to discover the house of an ambitious engineer will be missing during we notice a unique dollhouse in the loft. Through a highly luxury eyepiece, we will be able to discover the various rooms available in that dollhouse which are filled with unbelievably sophisticated riddle boxes and devices. Here something strange is happening inside so if we were able to solve all the puzzles then we will be able to find out what would have happened to the engineer and his spouse who are missing suddenly. Those who have never tried playing any of the games from “The Room” sequences than just make effort to try this game for one or more interesting games which you have not played on the mobile phone ever in your life. The audio and the graphics present in the game together make a perfect scary atmosphere where we need to be cautious in studying the tiny objects and reveal the secrets which aid us during our journey. Along with this game, it is possible to catch up with a few more games like the Room, The Room 3 and The Room Two at promotional charges. Pokémon Go

In 2016 when Pokemon Go was initially launched, we dived immediately into the crazy track together with many other crores of people. Later subsequently many other brands imitated the format for earning huge cash on hand among the AR-based mobile gaming craze, but none of them can achieve closer to the culture of Pokemon Go’s influence or power. Even now we often come across players of Pokemon Go, in gathering and grating to raise the level and progress their Pokemon which seems to be exciting. Although we have ended plying this game personally, this game community looks strong as before even still with the game creators continuously adding fresh content and the features of the gameplay are reinforced by real-life tasks and in-game for the players to partake in. For instance, Niantic at last added PvP battling structure during last December, which finally added the skills to struggle towards friends like teasing in the initial promos of the game. The last and popular in-game which is for summer included Team rocket Grunts bursting out throughout the place and stimulating us to fight with their Shadow Pokemon. Which can never be caught using Raid balls. It is happy to see the game is growing as well as expanding unbelievably. This is the reason why we have added this game again into our best games for Android. This game Pokemon Go is one such game which is entirely free to play till we are wishing to include our physical work, through in-app payment when we require a little enhancement through the path. In spite of standing out among other brands, challengers make effort to cash in on this particular type of mobile gaming series, It makes us think it is reliable to its core material and carry on with the competitions with the positions of different gameplay scope, popularity, and variety. For top Pokemon go reporting on the internet hit up or friends to recollect the recent tips, tricks and news also other guides to aid us through the Pokemon Go journey. Source website - thegreatwar.net