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smurphyse · 2 years ago

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The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me | Spencer Reid

Smurph's Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Part 4 of Routine Maintenance

Warnings: blood, PTSD memories, mentions of child abuse, hospitals, drug addiction,

Summary: You struggle to get Spencer help, and it sends you back into your memories. Later, when he wakes up, Spencer seeks you out for reasons he's unsure of

I stopped making deals with God three days after Ernie died. Three days in the ocean, hungry and exhausted and so thirsty I thought I was drier than a husk, I made deals over his dead body. I swore if He would just make him wake up, make the blood flow again and the sharks stop nipping my feet under the waves that I would start believing again. It was the only thing that kept me alive.

It was a deal I'd made so many times over the years. I'll be a better believer if You make my dad stop hurting us. I'll be a better daughter if You just make the pain go away. If you bring my sister home I'll do anything.

That rat bastard never did anything. I guess He knew it was bullshit, as I'd never kept up my end of that deal anyway. I still got into trouble, still couldn't help my sister, still couldn't be a daughter my father didn't want to backhand across a room.

The nicotine stained walls of my father's house closed in on me a little more each day, so I ran to what I knew… the ocean. Unlike Thunderbird, it was cold almost all year round. It grew hands to hold me. I numbed my lungs in the salt air. I thought the current would take me out to sea, swallow me whole, and I'd be free of this agony.

It all came to a head, and my sister Madeline passed. I couldn't help her, and looking back I shouldn't have placed the blame on myself for what happened. I did what I could, and at sixteen it wasn't admittedly much when she first started going down a road that terrified me. I made deals with God that if he just brought her home… I would bring her to church with me… we'd be saved together.

She died in an old shack on the beach. Needle in her arm, glassy eyes staring up at me while her fellow drug users hardly acknowledged my screeching as I held her. They lit out before the police got there. My father refused to claim her body, citing her 'Godlessness,' as though it wasn't his fault she ended up there and dead at eighteen. I looked to the ocean for help, but it was calm in the distance.

I spent two years working and saving money. I told my father it was for college, but the day I turned eighteen I left a note telling him all the things I never had the courage to. I took Madeline's ashes with me. I made it as far as Nevada before I ran out of my meager savings. Minimum wage was even more minimum thirteen years ago.

I met Mattie May while shivering in the rain at a truck stop, eyeing the men and women equally. My lack of trust was all-consuming, took a toll on my body and mind. I don't know how she convinced me to get in that car with her, but I have this image in my mind of a mutt being led on with the promise of a treat and a blanket.

Oh, the magic happened after that. I've never felt closer to God than I did with Ernie. His smile was from Heaven, glittering and wide like the sea herself. His lust for adventure matched mine, his painful memory of the war understood mine. He was my soul mate. He saw all my broken pieces and fit into the cracks. Without forcing it, they were made to be together.

But holding his body by that chain… mangling him even further, the only thing that kept me going was the thought that maybe…maybe I could wake him up. He was gone soon after we hit the water, but I couldn't let myself believe that. I spread both his and my sister’s ashes in the bay, praying once more for a miracle.

I think God wanted me to live so I would suffer. And suffer I have. Almost ten years of constant agony and numbness has become my life again, and I blame Him.

But the ocean grew hands to hold me, I tell myself in this horrifying moment. It's ten years later, and I'm holding Spencer Reid. He's covered in blood, and I want to drown in it first so I can't watch him die too.

When I was in shambles. When I got too weak, the ocean grew hands to hold me.

"Maeve?"

Spencer's hand was slick with blood as he held my face in his palm, trapping my hair between it and my neck. The hot sticky liquid smeared across my skin, cooling quickly in the open air. I look out the windows to the sea for help, but I haven't been with her for so long she watches back. I abandoned her long ago when Ernie died, too scared to go back in the water.

My fingers dug into his flannel as I held him back. The world shifted beneath me as I knelt on the concrete, blurring and too sharp all at the same time. I miss the ocean. I want to choke under the waves to escape.

I want to be with Ernie.

His face was cracked and bleeding from the bat Lloyd hit him with, nose gushing crimson and pooling over his cheeks onto the floor beneath him. It was too much, Ernie's face flashing before me like he was dying in front of me again.

Memories swirled in my mind. I could still feel it. The wind whipped my hair, stray strands sticking to my cheeks and neck as wave after wave crashed down on us. A blast of light, the explosion that ripped my hand from his…

Ernie's gone, I told myself achingly, you're not lost in the waves any more.

I tore myself from him, getting shakily to my knees, and went for the landline on the wall. My hands vibrated from the power of the shotgun, fingers numb and sharp as a livewire as I typed in a number I knew by heart.

"No, come back," Spencer coughed wetly. "Please don't go again."

"It's okay, Spencer," I told him. The phone rang slowly as I watched him lie there, out of his mind and drunk off his ass. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Altman Clinic," a familiar southern twang came through, making me sigh in relief.

"Obediah, it's Honey-."

"Well, howdy, Honey. What's shakin'?"

"I'm at Tooky's." I had to rush before he jumped into more small talk. "Lonnie and Lloyd Evarts just beat the shit out of this guy-."

"Heard there was a fight tonight. Thought nobody was hurt though," Obie drawled. "You had a good scare, huh?"

"Goddammit, Obie!" I yelled into the receiver. I didn't have the time to gab. "They came back. He's hurt really bad. I need help."

Obie went right into doctor mode, "I'm on my way. I'll have Barbie call Micah."

I hung up without replying, twisting and falling back to my knees over Spencer. His eyes were glassy, gazing in wonder at the EXIT sign. I cupped his face in my hands, angling him to look at me.

"You're gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."

"Maeve?" he asked again, his voice pathetically hopeful and full of tears.

"Who is she? Is that your wife?" I asked frantically. "I'll call her and she'll come."

Spencer shook his head, lip twisting down to a shaking frown under the crimson light. "She's not coming back."

My heart sank. I didn't know enough about him to provide any comfort. I only had my own grief and bruises and they weren't helpful to anyone. I looked out at the ocean again, and the waves calmly danced in the distance.

"Can you stand?" I licked my lips. They were already wet, sticky and copper tasting. I tried to ignore it and the sharp pain in my wrist.

"Just gonna sleep here tonight, okay?" he whispered. "Just don't tell JJ. She'll be so disappointed."

I didn't know what the hell he was talking about anymore. I just had to get him out of this locked box in case Lonnie and Lloyd decided to come back again.

Rounding him, I decided to drag him through the kitchen and into the alley so Obie could put him in the van. I locked the kitchen door just to be safe, then looped my hands under his shoulders. As I began to lift his dead weight with my bruised fingers he let out a sharp yelp.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Spencer called out, twisting away and out of my grip. He hit the floor hard, groaning and trying to curl up. His voice shook, "Fuck…"

"Okay, it's okay," I tried to soothe, but I was struggling not to panic. My heart beat through my ears, my veins pounding along in time.

I had to get him out of here. It's all I could think about. Get him out, get him out…out of the water. We weren't in the water, though. At least there was that. We were on solid land, safe from the violent storms that ripped my life away from me.

I went to his feet, gripping his boots at his ankles. My wrist screamed with a sharp tear up my forearm, the makeshift brace Mattie May had given me not doing much but holding it together. With a harsh tug, I pulled Spencer toward the alley door.

I kicked open the heavy metal, letting it hit my back as I inched him out into the open air. Blood smeared across the concrete. Whether it was from Lonnie or Spencer I couldn't be sure, I just needed to get him out of here.

Cherries and blueberries illuminated across the brick, reflecting along the dumpster and nearly blinding me. I managed to pull Spencer along the sand, the door swinging shut behind us. I waved toward the lights.

Obie seemed to have spotted me. He turned the van and backed it down the alley to us, stopping just in time. He hopped out and hustled through the sand, the spurs on his boots clinking.

Obediah Altman was lanky and tall, his cowboy hat shining in the harsh light. His clinic was only a few blocks away, as was everything else in tiny Thunderbird. The turquoise of his bolo tie flickered against the red and blue lights on his makeshift ambulance, and a whistle rang out as he approached.

"Good lord, Honey Bee," he drawled with his deep voice, "They fucked you up, huh?"

"Help me get him in the van," I snapped. "He weighs a ton."

"'S what happens when you drink yerself silly," he told me, bending down to grab Spencer's shoulder. "Turn yerself into dead weight!"

I didn't respond, gripping Spencer by his boots once more. We lifted him at the same time, but Spencer yelped sharply and twisted himself out of our grasps. I narrowly missed his foot hitting me square in the chest, but Obie kept a good hold on him.

"Shoulder's dislocated," was all he said. He scooped Spencer up with more strength than I would have thought this stick of a man could muster, picking him up like a baby and setting him in the back of the van.

I climbed through the double doors after him, putting his head in my lap. Unable to explain my sudden protectiveness over this man who just hours ago made me so angry I could've kicked him in the chest, I pushed back his hair and held back tears. He looked back up at me with those glassy eyes, and for too many times tonight I was plunged back into a world of memories I’d sooner forget.

In a daze, I existed in limbo as Barbie came running out with a stretcher and a kit. Ten years ago we did this same thing, but Ernie was already dead so it had just been an early funeral procession. I’d refused to get on the stretcher, and Mattie May held me up as we followed his inside. I haven’t stepped foot in here since.

I existed through a fog, following blindly as Ernie/Spencer was taken from me once more. Obie and Barbie ran around me in a flurry of machines and gauze. I think I just followed them around with a glazed look on my face, suffering through a haze of PTSD I thought I had gotten past when Barbie slid something in my hand. Her mouth moved, but it took a few times to pierce through the ringing in my ears.

I've been running for a decade now. Running first from my father and now from Ernie. I want him here but I also just want to forget him and this town that saved me. I don't belong here anymore, just like Spencer doesn't, and now like me he might die here.

“...contacts,” she said again. I cocked my head as I finally noticed her, and she set a heavy blood-coated hand on my shoulder. It seeped through my shirt and slid the fabric over my skin. “Find his emergency contacts, Honey.”

I managed to nod. She turned back toward the mess that was now Spencer Reid. I wish the current would carry me home. I wish Ernie were here with me now to tell me I was going to be okay. I wish he were here to tell me the ocean wasn't God, and that she would grow hands to hold me once again. I wish my sister were here, that Rico was. I wish I wasn't as alone as I feel every goddamn day.

His phone screen lights up in my palm. I don't remember clicking the button. I don't even remember putting his bloody thumbprint on the screen to open it, or calling the first number in his ICE list or picking up the landline behind the desk until a voice answered on the other end.

"This is Prentiss," a lovely voice said, commanding and yet somehow still open.

I couldn't answer. The acrid scent of blood and sterilized equipment surrounded me. The bright lights streaked across my vision, and I was sure the linoleum would swallow me whole until she spoke again.

"Hello?" she asked, her voice rising an octave. "Spencer?"

I seemed to kick into gear, but my own voice betrayed my panic. "I'm here. Sorry, I-."

"What happened to Spencer?" She cut me off as I stared at his immobile body. He was limp as Obie and Barbie worked on him. "Tell me."

"I'm, uhm. I'm at the Altman Clinic in Thunderbird-."

"I know where he is. What. The. Hell. Happened?"

"A… a, uhm, bar fight," I managed to stammer. "He stopped some guy who hit me and… they came back."

"He's gonna be fine. Dislocated shoulder, broken nose, coupla bruised ribs," Obie drawled to Barbie, who nodded and glanced over at me. "Probably has a concussion, but he's okay."

I reiterated the words with a monotone back to Emily, whose name I suddenly remembered from Spencer's contact list. "Doc says he's gonna be fine. I'm so sorry."

She was quiet for a moment, and I heard a door click shut somewhere near her. She took a deep breath and asked, "Is this Honey?"

It took me back, my brows furrowing in confusion. "Uhm, yes. I own the Thunderbird Inn where he's staying."

“I need to talk to the doctor.”

I called over Obie, who introduced himself to Emily. He nodded and jotted a few things down on a notepad, his eyebrows raising, “How many bullet wounds?”

My own shot up as I looked over at Spencer. He didn’t seem the type to get shot up, but then it hit me. Maybe he and Maeve were just victims of something as simple as a driveby. Maybe that was how he lost her.

“...concussions from an explosion… scars on his forearm and leg from a what?” Obie asked, wide eyed. Who the hell was this guy? He nodded, “What was the drug?”

He nodded again, then handed the phone back to me. I could hear the slight tremble in Emily’s voice as Obie showed his list to Barbie, but I couldn’t see it. They shared a knowing glance, but went back to work anyway.

"How old are you?" Emily asked after a moment.

I bit my bottom lip and glanced over at Spencer. What the hell? I adjusted the receiver against my cheek and answered, "Thirty one, ma'am."

Emily chuckled to herself, then sighed. "Have Spencer call me when he gets back to the hotel."

"But, you're his emergency contact," I stuttered, my face mangling up in confusion. "Aren't you going to come see him? Make sure he's okay?"

"Spencer doesn't want me there. If I show up it'll do more harm than good."

I didn't know what the hell that meant, and I didn't want to know more about Spencer than I needed to. I was already way out of my comfort zone with a customer. "What about Maeve?"

Emily made a shocked noise, and there was more shuffling wherever she was. I heard her swallow thickly and take a steadying breath. "She's not available."

"He asked for her," I pressed. I didn't want this man to be alone, not when he was hurt. I also wanted to get the hell out of this clinic. "He thought I was her for a moment. I'm sure if you explained what was going on, she would come see him."

"She's dead," Emily told me flatly. "He was confused. He doesn't want me there, and I promise you if I show up he's just going to be angry. Spencer's a grown man who can take care of himself, and he'll call me if he needs me."

She hung up without another word, leaving me scoffing at the phone. No wonder he left home to wander around the country. My heart reached out to him, though. I was sure that if I were in the same spot as him, I'd ask for Ernie too.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. They took him away for a bit, patched me up as I glared at the floor, and before I knew it Mattie May and Rose were sitting beside me in a room. They held my hands as I stared at Spencer's bruised face, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.

At least he was breathing. At least I wasn't watching Ernie's dead body like I had almost ten years ago. I wasn't holding Mattie May as she broke down in tears or listening to Rose wail himself to sleep.

"I gotta get out of here," I announced after a while. The sun was beginning to peek through the blinds, and I needed a drink. I stood to make my way toward the door when Mattie May put a soft hand over my new cast.

"You should be here when he wakes up."

I looked back at her with a hard glare, then glanced over at Spencer. My mind was too muddled with memory to stay, exhausted and wired at the same time.

"I'm gonna go work on the boat."

She and Rose shared a knowing look, but I pulled away from them before they could hug me like I knew they wanted to. Rose cleared his throat and nodded, "We'll send Rico down when Spencer's awake."

"Don't," I told him bitterly. The last person I wanted to talk to right now was the idiot who started the brawl in the first place. I still had the napkin in my pocket.

"Honey-."

I turned on my heel and walked out. I stopped making deals with God when the light of my life finally died. I wanted to guard what was left of the good in me and Ernie, our life in this town. If ash blocked out the sky, I would hold the town safely with my left hand, and ball up my right. I’ll always owe something to this place, but the closer I get to the ten year anniversary of my husband’s death I realize how I’ve made this place my own tomb.

When I was in shambles, when I got too weak, the ocean grew hands to hold me. It’s time I stopped blaming God and the ocean. It’s not their fault that they can’t help me. I’m the problem, and I hurt everyone around me. Even a stranger like Spencer was hurt just because I was around, and Ernie died because he always loved my adventurous spirit. He wasn’t even supposed to go on that last trip with me… I have to get away before I hurt anyone else.

I’ll miss everyone at once, everything about this place. I miss it and I’m still here, living in a future memory. But most of all, I miss the ocean. I’ve been running for a decade now in place, never going anywhere.

I think I’m ready to go.

Spencer's head pounded as he struggled to open his eyes. A sharp yipping sound permeated his fuzzy brain, accentuating what was already one of the worst headaches he'd had in years.

"There he is," a deep twang came from his left. "How ya feelin', son?"

Spencer managed to open one eye only to see a tall Asian man in a cowboy hat and lab coat smirking at him over a clipboard. A bolo tie peeked out from his plaid shirt under the coat, glittering turquoise shining under the sunlight from the window to his right.

"Honey," he managed to croak out. Spencer tried to get his hands underneath him to sit up, but his right one wouldn't move from his chest.

"Hold on, boy," a familiar voice came from somewhere near. There was a loud click and he was being sat up on whatever hard surface he was on.

"You're okay, baby," a soft one came next, and when Spencer managed to blink away the fizzles from his vision he spotted Mattie May and her warm hand on his shoulder.

"Where's Honey?" Spencer rasped. He couldn't see her, and his body wracked with aches and pains. "Did they hurt her?"

"She's fine," the cowboy said in a much too cheerful voice. "Sprained wrist and a few bruises, but that girl's been through worse."

"Lonnie and Lloyd?" he gritted out through a pained hiss as he got himself comfortable.

"Micah picked ‘em up this morning, trying to pull shotgun pellets out of Lloyd’s arm and Lonnie's ass."

Spencer grunted in acknowledgement, taking in the room around him. Someone had changed him into a t-shirt and sweatpants, and his right arm was cinched tightly to his chest. He figured he’d dislocated it with Lloyd curb stomping him into the concrete. Metal bars surrounded him, and for a moment Spencer worried he'd landed himself in jail… but then the smell hit him.

"Am I in a fucking dog kennel?" he asked, his confusion and irritation knocking him upside the head.

“Only place long enough to fit you and the stretcher,” the doctor shrugged, looking down at his clipboard once more. “You’re gonna be fine. Just take it easy for a few days, keep the brace on for three. Folks, if I could have the room with my patient.”

“I was a trauma surgeon up in L.A. back in the day,” the doctor muttered as Rose and Mattie May left. “Small town like this can’t afford a doctor and a vet, so I went to veterinary school to do both. If it’s really bad, we’ll airlift them to the hospital in Wild Creek.”

“Where’s Honey?” Spencer asked, ignoring him. He didn’t care about all these random people in this town and their ridiculous lives before coming here. He didn’t even really care about Honey, but he’d gotten his ass kicked trying to keep her safe, and he was a bit disappointed she wasn’t sitting here.

Doctor Altman pointed behind him, “She’s at the dock, working on her boat.”

“When can I leave?”

“Right now, but I wanna talk to you about your liver,” he replied nonchalantly. He fixed Spencer with a pointed stare as his lip curled down into a frown. “Keep goin’ like this and yer fixin’ for a transplant.”

“I’ll be long gone before I need one,” Spencer shot back.

The doctor nodded, “But before you kill yourself you’re gonna stimulate the local economy with all the bourbon you can buy.”

“At least I’ll be doing someone a solid,” he replied.

“I talked to your former supervisor at the BAU,” Altman sighed, glancing down at his clipboard. Spencer’s blood chilled in his veins. “She explained that you didn't want pain medication due to addiction, so I withheld. You're not really in enough pain to need it anyways."

"Yeah, you're a real Saint," Spencer muttered, but then his face flushed with shame. "Did anyone el-?"

"Nobody knows but me and Barbie, my fellow doctor," Altman cut him off with a dismissive wave. "Or about explosions, torture, or gun shot wounds. Half my clients might be animals but I still have doctor-patient confidentiality."

Altman glanced up at him, "Honey was pretty worried about you. I think she could do with finding someone who makes her happy, but I'll let you know everyone in town is mighty protective of her. She’s done a lot for this place, y’know?"

"I'm not sleeping with her," Spencer said defensively, even though he wouldn't mind doing so. "She doesn't even like me, and I don't like her."

“Shame,” Altman grinned, turning to talk away. He threw over his shoulder as he made his way out the door, "Funny how you took a bat to the face and she shot two men, then, huh?"

A few moments later, a young woman named Barbie came in and helped him sit up and stand from the bed. He was wobbly, but Spencer knew from experience he’d be just fine after a few shitty days of pain and irritation. She had bright blue hair and beautiful dark skin, and those spacers in her ears that Spencer couldn't help but look through every time she wasn’t paying him much attention. She told him without him asking that they call her that because of her playful wigs and matching scrubs, and when he said they should have called her Polly Pocket she laughed.

At his request, Mattie May drove him down to the dock to find Honey. Spencer watched the small town go by in the side mirror, eyeing his bruises and pinched eyebrows and hating every moment of it. The arm brace itched and his shoulder ached, and all he wanted was a drink.

“I know you want to check on her, but she’s not in the best mood,” Mattie May drawled as she avoided the pothole that landed him here in the first place. “She doesn’t like hospitals, and she was pretty tired when we got to the clinic last night.”

“Nobody likes hospitals,” he muttered, not really thinking, just glaring at his mottled nose and its purple blotches.

“She hasn’t been there since Ernie died. It’s where we stored his body after the accident,” Mattie May said quietly. Spencer tore his gaze from himself to see her eyes glistening with tears. She cleared her throat and nodded to herself as she drove along the beach. “Doc Altman did the autopsy, but you could look at him and know it was that lightning strike that killed him. Honey took it the hardest of all of us, but instead of hiding she started working. She did everything for everyone in town, just like Ernie used to.

"She did shifts at the diner for Michelle, helped Rose in the shop when Rico was too much of a mess to leave the house. She even fixed Bernie for Nell one time." Mattie May's eyes were far away but she drove steadily down the winding road. "The whole town came to a standstill, we just couldn't believe what happened. They were so young and in love and… she just never stopped moving. I think it's killing her."

The ocean shone brightly on her side of the car, the sun reflecting off her high cheekbones and full lips. Despite her grief, Mattie May smiled at Spencer. She reached over and patted his knee. “Time doesn’t make things much easier, but folks sure like to say it does. I’m sure you know a bit about that.”

“Distance doesn’t help like I thought it would, either,” Spencer replied softly. He liked Mattie May. Hell, if he let himself admit it he liked Collie and Michelle too. That was about it, though. Everyone else was crazy. Spencer swallowed thickly and put his hand over hers, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

She flashed him a megawatt smile and pointed at her chest, “He’s still here with me. I didn't lose anything but the ability to see and talk directly to him. That boy’s with me every single day and just like when he was alive, every day I’m better for it.”

Mattie May sighed happily as they pulled down onto the beachway. “Calling it a loss makes it seem like they’re nothing now, like they just disappeared. It feels that way sometimes, but love doesn’t just evaporate, baby. It turns into something else and finds its way back to you. You just have to look for it in all of its forms. You have to let it in again.”

Spencer didn't have a good reply, so he said nothing. Mattie May parked in the same lot he had his first day and pointed down the beach, "The boats beached down there a way. It's on stilts, you can't miss it."

Spencer thanked her and pulled himself slowly from the car. His body felt like a bruise being poked by a curious child, and the hot sun did little to alleviate it. He felt like an idiot in sweats and his converse. He still didn't know who gave him the clothes, or put them on him, but his red shirt read 'Thunderbird Soccer League.' At least it wasn't scratchy like most t-shirts.

Sweat pooled beneath the arm brace, his hair sticking to the back of his neck. He really needed to cut it, but he liked the slight rebelliousness of growing it out. Twenty years of the FBI's strict rules made it seem taboo, and despite the year Hotch let him grow it out until Strauss complained, he hadn't had it long in a while.

He spotted the boat, and just like Mattie May said it was on stilts. The dock was only a few hundred feet away, why didn't she just put it in the water?

Isle of Honey was scrawled across the side in white script. Three masts stood tall against the oceanic backdrop, the bright blue of the hull glimmering under the sunlight. He vaguely recalled this type of vessel was called a schooner. Spencer found his hand reaching out on its own to touch the shiny surface. Smooth fiberglass welcomed his touch, and before he knew it he was smiling.

A deep crack was sealed and patched through the middle. The image of that fateful night crashed through his mind without permission. He could see the storm in his mind's eye, see Honey with the same fear in her eyes as she had last night before Lonnie's fist connected with her cheek. He could even imagine Ernesto and his locs, the lightning strike on the deck that must have blown the ship apart.

"So you're alive," a voice came from above. Spencer looked up to see Honey, her body in silhouette as she eclipsed the sun. Her hair shone brightly, her beautiful figure cutting just the right curves as he stared dumbfounded at her. "Glad I didn't do all that work for nothing."

A bottle hung limply in her fingers, and she swayed a bit on her feet, dressed in a tight wife beater and shorts. Spencer let his fingers drag down the side of the hull and flashed her a smile, "Permission to come aboard, captain?"

She scoffed and waved a hand, "Permission granted, dickhead."

A few cinder blocks were attached as haphazard stairs that led to the ladder. It took him a few minutes to make his way up, and Honey reached out a hand and gripped him under the armpit to pull him the rest of the way.

He couldn't help himself as he finally saw her up close, and his free hand reached out to touch her cheek. The first bruise was as big as he'd thought it would be, covering most of the left side of her face and nose, but a newer one blossomed in a flat line across her chest and now she had a black eye.

She flinched but didn't pull away, and a hand wrapped in a thick brace came up to rest over his wrist. Spencer's rage from the night before bubbled up like acid, his voice low, "What did they do to you?"

"Relax, I was fine White Knight," she replied dismissively, but she shook before him. Her breath smelled like tequila, and her watery smile betrayed her false confidence. "Lonnie…twisted my hand behind my back and shoved me into the bar. He hit my face on it by gripping my hair."

Honey made a face and shrugged, "You came in before it went further, so I'm fine. I should've locked the front door."

Spencer let his hand slide from her, and he took the bottle from her fingers. Tequila wasn't his favorite, and it was barely seven in the morning, so he winced as he took a long swig from it.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he told her after a hard swallow. "I told Rose I'd get you home safe and I was too drunk. Probably should've stopped after those idiots left."

Honey shook her head, "I'm not your responsibility. I barely know you."

Spencer nodded, but she couldn't understand. The way he was trained, she was his responsibility. Someone was in trouble and he was too wasted to help her like he should've. A few years ago he would have marched the Evarts twins down to the station himself.

She side eyed him, frowning. Her bruised hand reached out and gripped the hem of his mystery shirt, "Did Mattie May give you this?"

Spencer looked down, a bit self-conscious. Getting his first real look at it, he saw that it was well worn. The letters were etched and faded from years of use, sweat stains under the armpits and at the collar line.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I woke up in it."

"Hmm," she hummed. Honey's eyes went glassy for a moment, but then she flashed him a smile that hurt his chest, because he'd given it so many times himself. "Just don't ruin it. She loves that thing."

Honey took the bottle from his hand and went to the front of the boat, taking a swig and fiddling with something. Spencer realized at that moment that the shirt probably belonged to Ernesto. Calling him Ernie, even in his mind, felt too familiar. He didn't know the man well enough to call him by a nickname said with as much love as the people in this town.

It felt wrong to wear it after being so pathetic at protecting this dead man's wife. He didn't deserve the comfort, and wished it was at least scratchy so he could take it off.

He cleared his throat to get her attention, but she didn't look up. For some reason he waved to the distance and asked, "Why don't you park this at the dock?"

Honey shrugged as she pulled on some rope and tied a knot. "I don't like the water."

He nodded to himself. Unsure why, he didn't want to go back to the room just yet. He chalked it up to not wanting to walk all the way there. Spencer's feet moved on their own until he ended up sitting next to her on the deck, passing the bottle back and forth.

The ocean glimmered like a gemstone, soft waves dancing out in the distance. Kids laughed as they ran around wildly, enjoying firecrackers that were thankfully just far enough away to not be a bother to him. Boats zipped about in the bay along with jet skis and people on water skates.

"You know about Ernie, don't you?" Honey asked after a while.

"Why are you asking me that?" he asked back quietly.

"Most people would've asked why I was building a boat if I didn't want to take it on the water," she whispered bitterly. "You might be an asshole but you're not an idiot."

"Not as big of an asshole as you thought, though."

"I suppose not. You're more of an idiot than I originally took you for, but something had to give."

He chuckled at that. Spencer couldn't really help himself, and he bumped his shoulder against hers, "So why are you building a boat if you don't want to take it on the water?"

Honey scoffed, but a smile broke out across her bruised face. "I hate seeing it beached."

Her shoulders sank and she fiddled with her fingers. "We lived on it for so long, it doesn't seem right for it to just sit here collecting dust. Ernie really loved it, so did I."

"What are you going to do with it when you're done?"

Honey laughed, a bit maniacally. She settled down and pointed out at the water. "I'm gonna set it on fire."

"That's a good plan," Spencer replied, making a face.

"Yeah, I thought so too."

They sat there for a little longer, just watching the water. The sun beat down on them, making them sweat, but neither really noticed. It was comforting to just sit there with her. Her hair blazed in the sunlight, brightening up what started as a shit day in a dog kennel.

Spencer couldn't really explain it, but it comforted him to know what she'd been through. It obviously destroyed her, and like him she had long since given up on putting the pieces back together. He knew instinctively that Honey wasn't going to try to fix him, and he had no interest in fixing her.

Sometimes it was nice to just be broken, and make no apology for it.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" Honey asked suddenly, breaking him out of his reverie.

"For what?" he asked sharply, a bit suspicious.

"To go to the Falls with the boys."

"What boys?"

She held out her hand and ticked them off as she rattled off names, "Rose, Holly, Rico, and Lionel."

Spencer glared at her, "What makes you think I'm going anywhere with four strange men?"

"Rose said you don't like the fireworks. They all served so on the fourth of July they all go to the Falls and camp out for the night," Honey explained with a smirk. "You can't hear them from there. They cook out and drink, and I know you like doing one of those things."

She shook the bottle at him with a shit eating grin, and Spencer took it from her. Taking a long pull, he squinted at her. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glowered, "They're not gonna kill me, are they?"

She shook her head and laughed, "Only if you have a drinking contest with a bunch of Rangers. Then you might die. Those guys are professionals."

"Good to know," he huffed, shaking his head.

"So, you're gonna go?" Honey's eyes were wide, syrupy sweet as she lit. Spencer's heart clenched tightly in his chest at the sight, and he found himself nodding. "It'll make the guys happy, whether they'll admit it or not."

"I don't have anywhere else to go anyways," Spencer shrugged it off, but her happy giggle made him smile back. "Might as well die in the California wilderness with a bunch of random dudes."

"See, they'll love that especially. Bravery goes a long way with these guys."

"So they're only inviting me out because I got my ass kicked defending you?"

Honey leaned her shoulder against his and nodded. "Won you a few points in my book, too. Aaaaanndd, they're not really asking. I was informed that you would not be sleeping in my hotel tonight."

"Mmm," he muttered. He hated looking at her bruises, but he couldn't make himself look away. There was something about her that kept his eyes on her, something stirring deep in his gut. Spencer set the bottle on the deck and waved a hand at her brace. "Thanks… for getting me out of there."

Honey's eyes meet his, glittering in the rising sun. Saltwater and citrus emanated from her skin with the light breeze, her entire being seeming to come from the sea. He had the image of a mermaid pop up in his mind, free of the land and all the pain that comes with it. He wished she could escape to the sea like Rose said she used to, but after what happened to her husband a fear of the ocean was only natural.

"Thank you for protecting me from those jackasses." Her voice was small, embarrassed even. Her eyes went glossy and her chin wobbled a moment before she spoke again, "I don't know what they would have done if you hadn't been there."

"Doesn't matter now. If something happened to you, I'm sure Rose would've killed me anyways."

She laughed lightly, and that clenching came back to his chest. "Let's just say we're even."

She stuck out her good hand, so he put out his. They didn't match up as it was his left and her right, but after a moment of twisting they got them clasped. She shook his once, but didn't let go.

Their fingers lingered, hanging loosely with each other. Even with the heat of the day it was comforting, and Spencer's mind made a note of how long it had been since he had a hug. Fourteen months and seven days, to be exact.

He cleared his throat and let his hand fall back to his side. He had to look down at his lap to avoid her sharp gaze.

He had no business being here, on the personification of this girl's grief. He had no right to be a part of her story or this town's. He shouldn't even be wearing the hero's shirt, finding comfort in its softness and memory.

Spencer wasn't a hero. He was hardly even a man anymore. He hadn't been for a long time.

"You ready to go?" Honey asked softly, and when Spencer turned to look at her she was smiling at him with more kindness than he deserved.

She stood and held a hand out for him. He ignored it and managed to get his wobbly legs to work to stand by himself. Honey watched him curiously but said nothing. He waved a hand toward the ladder.

"After you, captain."

Smurph's Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Notes: How do you think Spencer will fare with the boys? Do you think their tragic backstories will clash or help them get closer?

@thedancingcostumeyoungadult @muffin-cup @simplyparker @spencerreidsmommy @hotchandspencearedilfs @gspenc @kbakery @nomajdetective @givemeth @hoshihiime @halloween-is-my-nationality @reidselle @thisiscalmanditsdoctorreid @dreatine @thebloomingeagle @fortheloveofwonderland @theforgottenwinter @parkerreidnorth @reidselle @randomhoex @scargarcia-magshotchner @stitchwrites @pygmygoat-bicyclehelmet @cle13 @aysixdy @elhotchner @directioner5life @elhotchner @loveeee2134 @preciousbabypeter @la-stuffs @stories-you-wont-hear @hotchlover @fortheloveofwonderland @lokiandhisdagger @bellanutellababyyy @dark-night-sky-99 @straightforbuckybutgayfornatasha @maltamurdock @charelletjee @kansas-reid @zephyrmonkey @spencer-reid-wonderland @spencersprettyslut @im-sure-its-fine @tvdstelenaforever @teddylupintonks @lilibet261 @kneelforloki @dirtytissuebox @almostgenerallyalways @whovian378 @cl0udyqu33n @thegettingbyp2 @averagestudent03 @the-sun-died-out @squishycalumxo @sebastiansstanswhore

@louderfortheback @pandabiiissh @calebye

@dottirose @lfaewrites @padsfirewhisky @wheels-upin-thirty @f-me-reid @justanothercmblog

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twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat · 1 year ago

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Heavy breathing i keep getting stsg content + poetry content on my fyp i think they go hand in hand… and eurheuh i just NEED to share this with u I’m sorry I can’t resist I see the silly boys everywhere I go I simply cannot escape them ☹️

IN MY MIND THESE ARE A MIX OF SATORU AND SUGURU BUT ALSO MAYBE A LITTLE MIX OF READER……

“I’m willing to be whatever you want me to be, whether it’s friends, lovers, or both. I just know that I want to be in your life, exist in your orbit, as long as you’ll have me.” // “love is attainted by through embarrassing yourself by asking for it” GOJO CODED!!!!!! I SAW THOSE AND IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF MY OCEAN EYED PRINCESS SOBSSS… especially the second one hrrrrrrggggghhgg my pretty princess and his fear of vulnerability. His desperation and overwhelming need to be loved and to have a meaningful relationship with someone <//333 I know you’ve said it before but I think what he needs more than anything is a friend or a family or literally just anyone to keep him company. He’s soooo alone and while he might kind of just simmer in his own loneliness on occasion I don’t think it makes him crave someone to be close to any less :( I think he fears being alone in a way but also finds a sort of depressing comfort in it YKK??? Maybe that’s just my take on it though lol

“I'd cut my soul into a million different pieces just to form a constellation to light your way home. I'd write love poems to the parts of yourself you can't stand. I'd stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you I'm not afraid of your dark.”

^^^ Do I even have to explain how sugu this is. “I’d write love poems to the parts of yourself you can’t stand” THATS HIM!!! HE SAID THAT ONCE HE DID HE REALLY DID TRUST MEEEE. Poetry that really focuses on devotion and unwavering loyalty has such a special place in my heart because whenever I see it I think of my wife my lover my angel suguru geto…. Starts screaming through the tears.. but that specific line is so important to me because I think being close to suguru whether platonically or romantically means he genuinely adores you entirely. I feel like the “my partner can do no wrong 😇” mindset that’s more associated with cult leader!geto kind of blossoms from the fact he firmly believes even the “imperfect” parts of you are beautiful simply because they’re you. LIKE LOOK AT THE WAY HE LOOKS AT SATORU??? he’s got his eyes locked on him at all times and he just looks at him so fondly,.. with so much adoration!!! Satoru “my love language is physical touch” gojo and suguru “my love language is my eyes boring into your soul” geto 🙁

“Did I live with you in a past life? Was I your lifelong partner? Is that why the idea of losing you torments me so much? How long have I been without you?”

sighhhh I feel like not only is that one specifically very sugu but… also very satosugu. I KNOW YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT STSG REINCARNATION AU AND IT MADE ME SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW THAT PARTICULAR SLIDE BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT FIT SOO WELL :( THEY R THE SOULMATES EVER. “How long have I been without you?” me personally I dropped to my knees and started choking on my own sobs it’s SO THEM. Also… “You’ve always been like breathing.” <<< thiS. IS. SUGURU. That line very specifically makes me think of the ask I sent about the aroace/traumatised!reader where reader and suguru have a bond where they truly understand each other and how having a connection like that would do sugu so much good BECAUSEEEE suguru is such a caretaker. He’s so focused on protecting and loving the people around him so him having such an understanding friendship with reader that brings about a mutual sense of safety and security makes me think of that quote so much,.. the one person in the world that he knows wholly and truly understands him, the one person that’s his own little breath of fresh air to the world around him.. :33 does that make sense….. maybe it doesn’t and maybe it’s just how I interpret the quote + reader n sugus bond maybe I’m crazy…… 💔💔

ANYWAYS I HOPE UR DOING WELL N TAKING CARE OF URSELF <333 !!!! AHDHSHS APOLOGIES FOR WALTZING INTO UR INBOX BUT I SAW THE QUOTES AND JUST NEEDED TO SHARE THEM CAUSE IK YOU’LL UNDERSTAND HOW INSANE I AM ABOUT THE SILLIES 💔💔💔 shhh shhh don’t tell the doctors I escaped the ward,,, they’re gonna put me back in the crazy hospital where all I do is sit on the floor and mutter incoherent sentences about suguru…. quick they’re coming hide me hide me….

ollie……………. you’re gonna fry my brain

THIS MADE ME LOSE IT????? HELLO?????? FREE MOODBOARD??????? THANK U MY LIEGE okay but this did actually make me insane these quotes are SO stsg 😭😭😭……… i sniffled.

I AGREE W ALL UR THOUGHTS BTW all the quotes you pointed out fit so well for them…. just know that i’m sitting here nodding and taking notes while u speak. everything u say is so real so true….. i don’t have many things to add bc i just Agree entirely tbh 😭😭 I DO HAVE THINGS TO SAY THOUGH THIS JUST KINDA FRIED MY BRAIN??? stsg makes me lose all sense of coherency wbk ….

I think he fears being alone in a way but also finds a sort of depressing comfort in it YKK??? Maybe that’s just my take on it though lol

NONONO I AGREE U GET IT I’M CHEERING WILDLY i think satoru finds comfort in how isolated he is. i think his loneliness is his best friend. he doesn’t like being alone but there’s definitely a sense of satisfaction that he gains from being alone, knowing that’s how it should be.. :((( i think he’s resigned to his isolation. even though deep down he wants companionship. and ofc i agree entirely w the quote u picked out, i really don’t see satoru as someone who cares about labelling his love — if he loves you then that’s all he needs to know, whether it’s platonic or romantic or whatever. he just wants a friend :(((

but that specific line is so important to me because I think being close to suguru whether platonically or romantically means he genuinely adores you entirely. I feel like the “my partner can do no wrong 😇” mindset that’s more associated with cult leader!geto kind of blossoms from the fact he firmly believes even the “imperfect” parts of you are beautiful simply because they’re you.

OLLIEEEEE OUR BRAINS ARE HOLDING HANDS THIS MADE ME GO FERAL……. i don’t think there are enough words in the english language to express how much i agree with this so we’re gonna have to settle for a good ol U GET IT!!!!!! aaaa i agree so much!!!!!! T—T he adores you entirely…… he just loves who you are as a person. even your flaws are a part of you and he loves them just the same. because they’re you!!! so true!!!! and gosh he’s for sure a “my partner can do no wrong 😇” bf……. it’s kind of ridiculous actually. he just loves you so wholeheartedly that there’s nothing you could do that would make me think badly of you…. absolutely nothing. “i’d stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you i’m not afraid of your dark”…….. he loves every single piece of you, even the ones that are broken T—T he’ll just do his best to mend them!!! sighhhh he’s so perfect it hurts..,..

AND THE REINCARNATION AU WAAHHHH SO TRUE THEY’RE THE SOULMATES EVER EVER EVER ❤️❤️❤️❤️ no but any kind of quote that mentions a past life makes me think of them tbh 😭😭 and that particular quote always makes me so emotional…. how long have i been without you…. i just feel like no matter the universe they’ll find each other. whether it’s as friends or lovers or enemies they’re Together. always.

AND THEN!!! AND THEN??!!!! OLLIE????? I DIED? THIS QUOTE??????

inhale. exhale. you’ve always been like breathing.

ollie i need u to know that this ruined my life i’ve never seen this quote before and now i’m just?????? i’m being so serious there’s a hole in my chest . i’m struggling to find the words. it’s just so beautiful i’m genuinely speechless AND IT’S SOOOO SUGU YOU’RE SO RIGHT i think it’s very satoru too though….. i picture this for jjk 0 satoru specifically like…. the fact that geto assumed satoru stopped loving him…… but he never did. loving sugu always came easy to him. :(( BUT BACK TO SUGU u alr know i adore ur sugu/reader ideas….. and i agree wholeheartedly i think sugu finds so much comfort in that sense of understanding between u… a love that’s as easy as breathing bc u understand one another even without words!! even if he doesn’t make a sound you know that suguru loves you and even if you don’t make a sound suguru knows that you love him. it’s so easy. (they do in fact make me insane)…….

#OLLIE I LOVED ALL THESE QUOTES TYSM FOR THE FOOD <333333 #our stsg talks will never not make me insane 😞😞 they’re our sillies !!#ALSOOOO DW IM HIDING U….. they wont get u while im here trust 🫂🫂#I HOPE YOU’RE DOING SUPER WELL TOO!! drinking water and eating and resting etc etc!#spring is technically here now…. i’m just waiting for it to get a lil warmer T—T #i wanna go outside in tshirts…… sighhhh #ask tag ✩#ollie !! ✩

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jellicle-chants · 1 year ago

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@ride-a-dromedary Since you asked, here's my beef with Hugh Jackman Meredith Willson's The Music Man Sutton Foster. (No really, that's what the soundtrack album cover looks like.) Basically, I think the revival did a terrible job of capturing the soul and energy of the original show. If you want to read my protracted rant about it, then by all means, continue below.

(Note: I'm mostly going off of the movie adaptation to count for the "original" since it's the version I'm used to, but I also listened to the OBC recording occasionally to see what was shortened for the movie.)

I think the first big thing I should mention is that Hugh Jackman is simply a terrible choice to play Harold Hill. No offense to him, but in my eyes he's always been better at playing a character who seems very charismatic but is actually a bumbling fool (i.e. PT Barnum). Harold Hill might be a conman, but his whole livelihood revolves around getting people to believe that he means what he says and then believe that, too. You need an actor with an incredible amount of charisma and presence to be able to pull that off, and IMO, Jackman is not that actor.

He's also (again IMO) really just snoozing his way through this recording, especially on 76 Trombones! He's dropping R's left and right (to the point where it almost sounds like he's making the effort to sound Southern) and they had to add in a trombone sound behind his mimicking one because it sounds SO dull. Then he mispronounces "Creatore" somehow?? I know that's the littlest thing to get upset over but it also just shows how little this show's creatives know or care about what this musical is all about (more on that later).

And then: they do the MMM thing from Cats 2019. AKA, where they drop out all of the orchestra and sing the biggest song, probably the song that the most people in the audience will know, in a really annoying, slow build-up that entirely kills the flow of the piece. Speaking of killing the mood, the dance break in the middle of the song really does that as well. "76 Trombones" is about the farthest you can get from broke, so I have no clue why they tried to "fix" it in this way.

My least favorite Hugh Jackman song from this soundtrack, however, is not 76 Trombones, but Marian the Librarian. Just from the off, this is one of my favorite musical theatre vamps ever and they absolutely ruined it by playing it at like twice the normal speed. It also starts in the wrong key and then keys up again (???) before he starts singing, and from there it only gets worse. He basically gets every single vowel he possibly could wrong (my favorite being the classic Brit-as-American "Watt can I do") and just trips and falls through the entire song extremely uncharismatically. He says "li-berry" at one point, for goodness' sake! Please, if you haven't listened to the original Robert Preston version of this song (either from the movie or the show), go do it now and then listen to the mockery Hugh Jackman makes of it. It's so obvious that Preston has such a better command over his voice and sound that it makes Jackman sound like he has no clue what he's doing.

Sutton Foster is not nearly as bad as her co-star, although I think she's also miscast. Obviously a Shirley Jones-style voice is really hard to recreate these days, but she's just got such a bright singing and speaking voice that if you had told me in 2021 that she was going to be playing Marian I would've thought you were bad at fancasting. I think she still does a fine job with the poor directing choices she was given — a true professional.

OK, some quick things before I get to the most infuriating part of this revival.

It was also very bold of the creatives to not only keep My White Knight, which is one of my always-skips of the original, but to also add another one in in "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean".

Why the hell is Pick-A-Little so slow??? It's a patter song, folks, it's supposed to be peppy.

I guess they directed the poor kid playing Winthrop to exaggerate the lisp as much as possible (could they have considered maybe just hiring an actor with a lisp instead?) because it straight up sounds like he's putting it on as a joke most of the time. 😬

I think the new lyrics to "Shipoopi" are cringe. Is it that hard to suspend your disbelief that people in 1912 had antiquated views on relationships? Is "hussy" really even that bad of an insult anymore? This song also gets the slowed down + long-ass dance break treatment, God save me.

So, if you're familiar with The Music Man, you might have noticed that I haven't yet mentioned a few key songs/moments. This is genuinely the part of the story of this revival that makes my blood boil. If you're unaware, 4 side characters in The Music Man make up a barbershop quartet, played in the original Broadway production and movie by the Buffalo Bills, a pre-existing quartet who Willson had become friends with even before writing the show. The Bills get multiple songs in the show, all sung in the barbershop style, and they all show off the iconic barbershop effect known as ringing chords, created from the quartet's just tuning. (I don't know enough about music theory to get into the weeds about this, but suffice it to say that barbershop singing and musical theatre singing are not interchangeable).

Apparently, when the revival was first being produced before the pandemic, a barbershop quartet called Category 4 was approached to play the quartet members. Great! Then, allegedly, post-pandemic, it was, to quote a spokesperson for the revival, "in the best interest of the show" for them to suddenly cut ties with Category 4, which would have broken contracts Category 4 said they signed. Less great. Instead, the 4 men credited as playing the quartet are Phillip Boykin, Eddie Korbich, Daniel Torres, and Nicholas Ward. I say "credited," but keep in mind that the OFFICIAL cast recording on Spotify does not credit Nicholas for "Sincere" AND "Lida Rose" (where Phillip's name is also misspelled), and on the two songs he is credited for, Spotify seems to have him confused with a violinist/conductor of the same name.

I bring this up to say that I don't blame these men for the situation Category 4 was put in — it seems the producers or someone else behind this production is extremely sloppy and willing to cut corners, including casting four musical theatre singers as a barbershop quartet. Because of this mindset, the songs are distinctly missing those ringing tones that are present in the Bills' versions, replaced with what I can only describe as "tricks" to make it seem like the harmonies are ringing, like a heavy overuse of dynamic changes, especially sforzandos. There's also at least one moment where one member (I think it's the tenor?) straight up sings the wrong note and completely changes the chord. Obviously I don't blame him for not being good at a singing style he literally isn't a professional at, but if there were at least one person in the booth familiar with barbershop or the original song, it hopefully would've been re-recorded.

And that's what hurts me the most — Meredith Willson was a huge fan of barbershop music and the Buffalo Bills especially, and now the music he wrote for them is being butchered by people 60 years later who want to make a quick buck. This revival has "cash-in" written all over it, from stunt casting the leads regardless of how well they fit the roles to not bothering to get actual professional barbershop singers to play a barbershop quartet. It's a soulless attempt to resurrect a great musical that didn't need to and shouldn't have happened.

#the music man #ok i lied. this is long lol #i could go on and on about the barbershop thing it bothers me SO MUCH #however last anyone heard category 4 is suing the producers for breach of contract so i hope it goes well for them <3 #i guess if there's a bright side to this i had no idea until now that there was an obc-only buffalo bills song #so i'm listening to that now #(even though i really need to sleep lmao)

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aria-i-adagio · 1 year ago

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WIP Ask Meme

Bold of you to think I'm organized enough to have a WIP folder @hoochieblues.

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I'm adapting these to brief descriptions. If there are any ongoing files in my GDrive I'll include the title/first line, but those are temp then everything moves to Scrivener.

Tagging: @atypicalacademic @motherofqups @niffty24, @ankoku-jin and @hollyand-writes

Here's what we have going on right now:

(In addition to the super fun work of writing my own bloody geometry textbook because the major publishers can't be bothered to do it decently/even vaguely in line with the current academic standards.)

Thrift Shop Vikings continues. It is cringe, it is dark, it is... hopefully actually decent. It has also grown from, "eh, think I can make the Nanowrimo draft into a decent short novel" to "yeah... this is going to be three genre length novels." I want to say I'm 80% of the way to beta-reader ready draft of Act 1, but I'm scared of jinxing myself. (That said, if anyone is interested in not quite Game of Thrones level dark fantasy, with yours truly treating crack [omegaverse] seriously, HMU. This is... not for everyone, and much darker than the fic I've written.)

Once Sindre had recovered enough to not feel that he needed to sleep until the end of days and the final battle, he began waking with the sun. Misery barely described... There's an idiom: as useless as nipples on a man

Where the Elfroot Grows is not dead. It is just percolating. In fact, recently Jeanne has been very loud about being the POV character for the arrival back at Skyhold. Also, the fish out of water appeal of forcing Rhys though Halamshiral is just too damn much. Also, I feel entirely empowered to make up my own canon now.

Jeanne became one of Rhys's primary minders Scene: Getting Hawke moving Rhys wakes to a kiss pressed to the back of his neck Adrian's arm remains extended R&D Ocean

On that note, I'm not really filing the serial numbers off WTEG per se, because I think I've backed far enough up to basic fantasy tropes. Or maybe I'm filing the serial numbers off, IDK and IDC. Either way, I'm at the world-building, occasional scene writing, creating lore, boning up on history and anarchist theory stage of taking the elements I particularly like and running with them, while paying more attention to consistent characterization and general coherence in terms of theory and theology. Currently has more of a steampunk vibe, as I can't quite pull off the level of 'sweeping social change more than mage rebellion' with a thoroughly medieval world-build. I would get into my Xnity, but to the left, meanderings here, but it would turn into a thesis. Anyway, both this and Thrift Shop Vikings are engaged with the idea that anyone who believes god is on their side is as dangerous as hell, just in very different directions.

And @hollyand-writes I really do have enough of an outline for Gatsby meets Kirkwall to get somewhere with it. Just maybe not until the school year is over. Every time I drive past the road named for the local moonshiners I'm reminded/start thinking on it.

#my writing #ask memes #thrift shop vikings #wteg

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amanitaoneday · 2 years ago

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One day I reminisced about the past

S A T U R N

"I don't get you alright?" She walked away from me, clearly frustrated. I should care more but I couldn’t. "I know you're a good person and I know you mean well but I can't keep waiting for you to come back late at night. What are you even doing when you're gone?" I couldn't answer. I felt like this had happened before.

'What are you even doing?'

"I'm sorry. I just need to get air sometimes."

'You always come back smelling like a bar.'

"Saturn I've given you the benefit of the doubt and trusted you but you can't keep leaving me." She stood there crying. I wanted to comfort her but it felt like my feet were glued to the floor.

'Why are you getting mad at me? I asked you a simple question!'

"I'm sorry." She sighed.

'Then just leave me alone if you wanna be like that!'

"So am I."

His words echoed in my head as if these moments were similar but I didn’t want them to be.

"Mr? Mr!" I groaned.

"Mia leave him alone." That voice.

"Why’s he sleeping on your bed? Is he your-"

"Miss Mia thank you for reminding me to walk you to the bus!" I smiled.

I heard feet shuffle then a door open and close. I slowly sat up and looked out the window.

"It's snowing?" Will he be okay? He doesn’t even like the snow.

I sat on the couch and grabbed my computer dragging it to my lap already feeling unwilling to work. I stared at the empty page trying to think but honestly my brain is empty.

"You're still here? I'm shocked honestly." I sighed. I felt something weigh my shoulder down slightly. “What are you doing?" I turned slightly and saw him lift his head up. “Are you writing again?”

"I don't write." He smirked. “I’m serious." He patted my shoulder then walked away.

"You don’t need to hide it from me." I heard him say under his breath. "Don’t be an ass." I put my laptop to the side and turned back to see him flipping me off.

He rounded the couch and sat next to me. "Why don't you take a nap?" He yawned. "It'll help you be nicer." He closed his eyes.

"Don't you have a painting due today?" He opened his eyes. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Shit yeah I'm surprised Tessa’s not blowing up my phone." He got up quickly and walked to the door.

"Coat!" He’s so forgetful.

He stammered, "I-i know I was just grabbing my keys!" He wasn't. He made an annoyed face towards me before grabbing his coat. "Don't bother me and go back to whatever you were doing." Then he walked out.

Sometimes I like to write in this blog where other people vent and share things they were thinking about that day. I used to write in high school but I don’t write as much lately since-

I sighed and rubbed my face in frustration.

'Have you ever felt useless like a paper crane-'

‘Stupid.’ I repeatedly pressed the backspace.

'Growing up always felt like an ocean. Empty but full of things that are unknown even to us-'

It’s definitely been a few years since I've written all deep and poetic. That’s how it was in high school at least.

I groaned and pushed my laptop to the side again. It’s no point I haven't written in years and all my ideas are something a middle schooler would write. Taking a nap might help?

"It's nice to finally meet you! Saturn was it?" This lady seemed cheerful.

"Yes it's great to meet you-"

"Lily! I'm Sock's mother. It's nice to finally meet one of his friends. I was starting to believe he made you up." She wore a big smile. She seemed super nice and outgoing, very different from Sock. Almost makes me wonder how she’s his mother.

"Mom who was at the door?" This girl peeked her head out of the corner.

"Your brother's friend. Laurie, can you show him to Sock?" She furrowed her brows like she was mad to see me then walked away.

It seemed like she didn't want me here.

"Sorry about her, she doesn't like people. Socks' room is upstairs down the hall on the right." I nodded and noted to myself to follow the instructions so I wouldn’t get lost. Their house was bigger than mine.

"Thank you." I walked by her and up the stairs. I stood at the top looking around.

It was dark and empty.

Do they always keep their house this dark? My sister always leaves the lights on so this is kind of scary compared to the constant light I see. I sighed and made it to the room Lily told me. I opened the door but no one was in there. I turned to the side hearing voices in the door next to his.

"-don't! Just leave!" Out came Sock then the door slammed shut. When he turned and made eye contact with me his eyes widened and he gave a shy smile.

"Let's go to my room! I have to-" he started coughing. "I have to show you my dinosaurs!" He continued saying. He started talking really fast like he wanted to change the conversation.

"Are you sick?" He turned and furrowed his brows.

"No I don't think so." Maybe he's never gotten sick before?

His cheeks were flushed and he would cough slightly every once in a while. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room.

"Come come! This is my desk! And my rug! And my dino-" He started coughing. I was concerned but he said he wasn't sick.

I'm not sure he knows what it means. Surely he's gotten sick before. How could he have gone this long without getting sick?

I pulled him to his bed and told him to lay down and that I'd take care of him.

"You don't feel good right?" He shrugged. I sighed then got in the bed and snuggled under the covers with him. "Don't move or it'll make it worse. My dad says nothing good comes with getting sick. I'm not sure what that technically means but I assume it's not great." He turned and smiled. That's when I noticed he had a bandaid on his cheek.

"I don't get what it means either but if you think it's bad then I think it's bad too." He said with so much confidence.

"What happened to your cheek?" He furrowed his brows then widened his eyes.

"My cat scratched me!" He said all worried. "He’s big and scary but he's very nice." But he told me he doesn't like cats. I don't think he even has a cat. "You're making a weird face." I gave him a soft smile.

"Next time it scratches you then tell me and I'll protect you." I wanted to protect him. I don't believe he got scratched by a cat but if he's telling me it was a cat then I'll believe him for now.

"Hehe big brave Saturn coming to m-" He started dozing off. "Hero-" He fell asleep.

I looked around and just noticed how dark the room was too. The curtains were closed except for the little bit of sun shining through.

"-ket? Hello?" I quickly opened my eyes. "I asked if you needed a blanket. You looked cold sitting here, your eyebrows looking angry with your crossed arms." I was greeted with grey eyes staring back at me.

"What? No, I'm not cold." I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Did you finish your painting?" He groaned then sat down next to me slumped in the seat.

"I got halfway through then Tessa just had to call me and tell me to hurry up and now I don't wanna finish it." He hates being told what to do.

I could tell he was reluctant to talk to me about me being gone and why I left. I could tell by his mannerisms and how he made small talk with me. It's like he's here but in his mind he's distancing himself from me.

He used to never do this but I guess this is what I get for being gone for two years.

"How was your nap?” I made eye contact with him but he looked away quickly. “It's been a couple hours." He rested his chin on his knees and started messing with the bandages on his arm.

It's not like I couldn't tell he was sad with me. I've known him for years obviously it's natural I would know something was wrong. He probably thinks I’m going to leave again; maybe that's why he's been on edge around me? He never fully looks at me just like if I was a ghost that maybe if he ignored my gaze I would go away

"Tiring." I looked away and started messing with my fingers. Maybe whatever I was thinking was useless like all the other thoughts. I might just give up on writing after all.

"You're making a weird face." I turned and saw his grey eyes staring back at me.

"No sorry I was just thinking." He squinted at me before turning away. He hunched over his knees again.

"You don’t need to tell me everything, I don’t expect you to.” He turned to the side where I couldn’t see him. “I know things have been awkward but I know no matter how hard I hope for us to go back to the way we were before you left I just can’t.” He spoke softly as if he was hoping I wouldn’t hear him but how could I not? "I should get back to my painting.” He groaned and changed the subject. “I don't wanna do this." And now he's complaining.

I decided to not say anything about it.

"You had two weeks to finish one painting. You're just now doing the painting." He flopped on the couch being dramatic.

Maybe he really didn’t want me to hear and if I said something he would push himself further away and I don’t think I could handle that right now.

"Fine, I'll finish it. This is the last you'll hear of me. I'm done talking." After that he didn't say anything. He grabbed his coat and walked out leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"They want you to write for their old blog?” She smiled at me. “I remember reading your stuff in high school! I really loved the very detailed piece you wrote when you were-" I shook my head.

"Don’t say what I think it is." She rolled her eyes and smiled. “I haven’t written in years. It was just a hobby back then and I’ve been busy lately with modeling and-.” She sighed. I could tell she really wanted me to do this. I know it wouldn’t turn out well but I knew she thought differently.

"The parties?” I looked away not wanting to admit that. “Your pieces when you were in high school were beautiful.” She was still hopeful. “Look it doesn't matter what you write as long as it's good and from your heart. They remember you, that has to count for something?” I rolled my eyes at my manager. “Even if it was just a hobby it was something people looked forward to. It’s up to you to write for their blog but I know it would turn out great."

I have a hard time believing people would actually like my writing. Part of me thinks they don’t actually want a piece from me and they’re just doing this because they haven’t heard of me in forever. Maybe I should just push it to the side and focus on writing?

I sighed then grabbed my laptop yet again today.

"I said not to open them!" He hid under the blanket.

"Boys, what is going on?" I turned and saw Lily.

"Curtains! Saturn opened the curtains!"

"Well Sock is a crybaby." He came out from under the blanket and gave me an angry look.

"Well you're a jerk!"

"Okay stop calling each other names! Saturn we're going to close the curtains. Sock you're going to apologize for yelling." After that we reluctantly made up and laid in his dark room. He kept his back turned on me.

"Why don't you wanna see the snow?" He didn't say anything. "You can trust me, you know? I thought I was your friend?" He turned around and looked at me as if he was about to cry.

"You are my friend." He hugged my arm. "I'll tell you but it's silly so don't laugh!" I nodded.

I wouldn't make fun of my friends.

'When it snowed you could see the smiling children, the cold and tired ones, and the playful ones but they never tell you about the sad ones.'

"You don't wanna play outside? A lot of kids our age would kill to play outside." I peeked outside to see kids throwing snowballs at each other.

"I don't like the snow. I get sick easily, remember?" But that wasn't the reason why.

'The ones that lock themselves away when they see a glimpse of the white freckles outside, the ones that hide in fear. Maybe returning memories that were once forgotten or ones that were never forgotten to begin with.'

"One day I'll make you go out and play in the snow with me." He looked up from his food with this look in his eye.

"That'll be the day I forget." I furrowed my brows. "And when I'm happy again."

"I thought you were always happy. We're you lying to me?" His cheeks flushed red. He put his head down and continued to eat.

"I am when I'm with you so maybe if I went out with you it wouldn't be so bad."

'The ones that locked themselves away wouldn't forget though, that feeling of fear and sadness whenever they saw the first drop of snow.'

"Peeking through the curtains isn't going to make it stop snowing just cause you wished it would." He turned to look at me with wide eyes.

"N-no I was just double checking." He walked away from the window and came back to the bed. He sniffled and coughed lightly.

"You're already getting sick?" He turned away from me.

"I don't wanna get you sick." He always gets me sick.

'They would be the hopeful ones but just hoping it would end.'

I walked in his room to see him lying in bed staring at the blank wall.

"Bad day?" He moved just his eyes up to see me then looked back at the wall. "Wanna cuddle?" He nodded slightly. He turned and moved towards the wall making room for me to get in.

"Was it 'the cat'?" He didn't say anything but I knew he knew what I was talking about. His silence always spoke louder than any words he's said. His silence was scary sometimes. If he wasn’t yelling at me then I knew something was wrong. It scared me.

He gripped my arm. He brought it closer to himself. All I heard were the soft hums from the heater and his sobs he tried to silence.

"It's okay. You can let it out." He turned to face me and hugged me so tight I thought I’d stop breathing. I didn’t mind though if it meant I was with him.

'It would eventually end but never when they wanted. The sad never win. There will always be the stories about the happy kids but never the sad ones.’

"Tessa didn't call and I finished the painting on time so she should be pretty happy with m-" I closed the laptop and turned to face him.

"You look nice." He furrowed his brows. His cheeks flushed red and he turned away from me.

"You're weird." He quickly went to the kitchen to avoid me.

“What are you looking for?” He sighed and took his shoes off. He slowly made his way towards me and sat next to me.

We sat in silence like we had done so many times. At this point it was getting frustrating.

I don’t know why he is the way he is or why our brains are hard to understand. I want to know him better even though I’ve had so much time to get to know him already. I wish things were different.

“You look nice too.” He nudged me. “Jerk.” Any doubts I had were gone and I felt like part of me was okay with him like when we were kids.

“I want to tell you things and I want to go back the way we were but-” He stared at me like I said something wrong. “-but I know-”

"No.” He got up and started walking to his room. “Now isn’t a good time to talk.” Then he left me by myself again.

Suddenly my doubts returned and I remembered we were not kids anymore and he's still mad at me.

“It never is.”

#writing #my story #oc #short story #angst #ocs #own character #original story #my writing #one day #chapter 3 #lgbtq

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lifesver · 2 years ago

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URL SONG CHALLENGE .

make a playlist using the letters of your url !

L . LANDSLIDE — fleetwood mac.

i took my love, i took it down, i climbed a mountain and i turned around / and i saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills, 'til the landslide brought me down / oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? can the child within my heart rise above? can i sail through the changin' ocean tides? can i handle the seasons of my life? / well i've been afraid of changin', 'cause i've built my life around you / but time makes you bolder, even children get older, and i'm getting older too.

I . I'M A BELIEVER — the monkees.

i thought love was more or less a giving thing / seems the more i gave the less i got / what's the use in tryin', all you get is pain / when i needed sunshine, i got rain / then i saw her face, now i'm a believer.

F . FREE BIRD — lynyrd skynyrd.

if i leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? / but please don't take it so badly, 'cause lord knows, i'm to blame / lord help me, i can't change / won't you fly high, free bird.

E . EASY WAY — for the foxes.

all the things we've done, it's like we're living on the run, we never took the easy way, we're moving like a hurricane / i don't know where the birds have flown, but i think we'll stay here, we'll call you out on the radio, so clear / the only place that i'll ever want to be is here.

S . STAND BY ME — ben e. king.

when the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see / no, i won't be afraid, oh, i won't be afraid / just as long as you stand, stand by me.

V . (GOOD) VIBRATIONS — the beach boys.

i'm cheating for this one. it's about the beach boy vibes there are no meaningful lyrics here <3 we're picking up good vibrations

E . EARTH ANGEL — the four seasons.

earth angel, earth angel, will you be mine? my darling dear, love you all the time / i'm just a fool, a fool in love with you.

R . RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM — maxine nightingale.

love is good, love can be strong, we gotta get right back to where we started from / do you remember the day (that sunny day), when you first came my way, i said, no one could take your place.

tagged by. thank u @fuselit mwah mwah

tagging. any besties who have yet to do it

#yeah (:#stand by me and seasons in the sun were highly contested for me #me trying to keep the songs oldies or oldies adjacent. fighting for mine life #( ☆ ) ⸻ MIDNIGHT / study.

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tealursa · 4 months ago

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Going to rant in this post because I don't care about being "low-key" anymore and no one will read this anyway but to preamble I agree with all the points in this post but I also feel like the underlying unasked question in this post is "why aren't we using nuclear energy" and. It's a good question. But I don't like the reply that just seems to be "because capitalism and no other reason."

Because, honestly, nuclear is maybe our best nonrenewable option. But there are a lot of cons to that option that have already been Explored and no I'm not talking about "but what if it goes boom?!?!?!"

Nuclear energy facilities take a lot of money to build. Specifically a lot of tax dollars. "I'd rather my tax dollars go toward nuclear energy than fossil fuels" yes I'm with you. But consider just how much nuclear energy it would take to power modern grid systems and suddenly we're looking at a lot of facilities and a lot of tax dollars.

But okay, budgets are reallocated and we start building nuclear power facilities. Yay! We are providing as many construction jobs for blue collar and white collar civil engineering as coal plants! Yay!

The lifespan of a nuclear power plant is roughly 30 years. 20-40 specifically. This is a greater lifespan of a coal mine (30 avg. maximum) and shorter than a coal power plant (avg. 50), for comparison. So now we have to get into decommission and reclamation the same way we do in mining. Once the site is decommissioned, everyone packs up and moves onto some other area, or rebuilds something somewhere else, right?

Well... sure. But it's a bit more complicated with uranium than it is with tailings. See, mine tailings (the byproduct/waste of mineral processing) can almost always go through their own environmental rehabilitation process. Sulfur oxidizes, lead and arsenic leach over time into water in non-toxic amounts... it's all just of the earth after all, and to the earth it all returns. A mine, over time, can be reclaimed by the land surrounding it.

Uranium cannot, at least not over a reasonable amount of time. Look at the Marshall Islands, Yucca Mountain, and the uranium mine tailings issues studied in Kazakhstan. Even small amounts of radioactive leaching has turned these places to ecological no-go zones, especially the Marshall Islands where radiation has been leaching into the ocean since the waste facility's inception. It's no Chernobyl, but it's still bad news bears.

"But 1 cylinder of uranium produces as much electricity as 1 ton of coal!" True!! Coal plants also burn ~9000 tonnes of coal per day. So say we replaced all fossil fuel energy with nuclear energy with a thanos-snap today. We would have to use 9000 uranium cylinders per day. Where do we then store the depleted, but still harmfully radioactive, uranium? Our track record isn't great. There isn't a good answer and there isn't a good option. It will bring the same tragic ecological disasters as coal does, the only difference is that we won't see it, because some poor exploited nation's shores will be the ones to suffer and not our ozone layer.

"Nuclear energy is safer for workers!" Is it? If nuclear energy produced as much capital gain as fossil fuel industries, would that not make the industry more dangerous due to worker exploitation? Statistics never tell the full story.

I've gotten to know miners. Coal and copper and gold, specifically. And those who work oil fields and pipelines, boiler builders and surveyors. From one province to another, death rates are vastly different. Drive 10 hours east and work there and suddenly your life expectancy is cut in half.

And I guess my TL;DR is that energy will always cost us, because that is the nature of things. What and how much it costs isn't determined by the industry, it's determined by those who control it. The nuclear energy fear-mongering is stupid, but so is believing it costs us less than fossil fuels and the belief that there is an objective "less" to begin with.

And we should not lose sight of renewable energy. RENEWABLE ENERGY. Of which nuclear energy is NOT.

I wish all environmentalists a very suck cocks in hell

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felikatze · 2 months ago

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it has been A Full Year and i finally finished DR season 1. so that's right fuckers. it's time for the grant return of Feli's Season Review

the short of it: i like it!

the long:

Okay it's been a bit since i watched the first episode (a year.) but i remember that I really liked the opening. The set design is gorgeous, the character designs are extremely varied by ninjago standards, i love including more of the weird and wacky species across ninjago that only get their one off appearance.

love seeing serpentine again, and skulkin, and those underwater snake guys, and all sorts of new creatures brought in. it really opens pandora's box to potentially bring in any setting that was usually only reserved for special appearances.

like the realm of madness. the administration as an extension of it is so fucking funny. passierschein A58 bitte. it's just that asterix and obelix skit. it's FUN that they can just pull as many places out of a hat as they want without having to justify it at all. also chima is canon and i think that's where raz is from.

arin and sora are also just a great first duo. i have mentioned it before (a year ago.) that having arin as the fanboy and sora knowing fuckall is a great setup for some natural exposition, AND YET it doesn't overstay it's welcome, with arin (and later, the ninja) only ever giving as much info as is required to understand something and not a single bit more. no we are not going to explain in depth what the geckle and munce are you can understand enough to interpret this as an allergory for a mixed race bastard unwanted by either of his cultures god bless

sora is so trans coded i love it. generally a lot of really good rep going on! it's down low, but i do think a lot of ppl r gonna see themselves in this show. again, sora trans real, arin being black coded (his VA is also black, i believe), it's good!

and cole is gay godspeed. (alive, but gay.)

I LIKED THEIR ARCS AS WELL... i think it was very hamfisted when cole just went "wow the power was in me all along and geo just helped me believe in myself!" and sora was standing Right Next To Him and internalized none of it. girl. girrrrl. mädel.

but generally harkening back to the s1 arc of sora having to find her true potential and then making nya her mentor figure in that, pretty great. the entire story seems to revolve around sora and her potential as she also gets to be the one to dismantle beatrix' weapon right at the end. lloyd gets to do the final bit but sora got the big moment ysee.

and from discussion floating about arin not having powers and being mildly sidelined in the big moments in favor of sora will actually be relevant to his arc?? i'm so excited for that?? especially since it was revealed that beatrix, our big bad, hates elemental powers because her older sister had them and she was jealous. (reminds me of pre s5 nya a little bit??? why does my big brother get to save the world and i just have to sit around when i'm also capable of doing shit). if all that gets paralleled against arin's increasing feelings of uselessness, that'll be fucking fantastic.

arin's so charming. it's a bit sad to watch that he starts out starry eyed and enthusastic, yet his fanboy-isms wane as he trains with lloyd because he sees himself as a burden, no matter how often lloyd reiterates that what arin did, teaching himself spinjitzu, is Fucking Incredible.

in that way, putting arin in a duo w lloyd was also great, because lloyd is once again, The Plot's Special Boy, being the dragon conduit and all. i like all the new dragon lore.

love how more and more it seems like the first spinjitzu master was a hack, lol.

oh he created ninjago? well, um, the world already existed before he came there. it was just a big ocean. he created the elements? wellllll, the source dragon did that, actually? it's really funny, considering he's canonically a neglectful father and the plot probably could've been prevented if he told garmadon "i'm proud of you" just once, he can take the L.

but again like, Lloyd, Grandson of God, up with Arin. And Arin at first doesn't know all the previous adventures, just what's shown to the public, so seeing the actual day to day of his heroes AND how much more they did than he thought, tis sobering. AND YET, HE TRIES HIS BEST. ending the season with arin making pies to cheer everyone up was cute.

as you might notice, i really like the duo structure set up with the cast. first, we meet our new Main Characters and then we're reintroduced to the ogs one by one. It keeps up suspense, obviously, to see what's become of the ogs, but it also stops them from stealing the spotlight and lets the new faces find their footing first.

I also just, kinda, appreciate that not all the og ninja have to be main characters. Zane is pretty clearly a side character, and Cole has other shit to worry about. And Jay has less than a minute of screentime that is SO fucking funny because a new viewer isn:t even going to know he's important.

Anyways yeah, the focus is on Lloyd, Kai, and Nya, for the old characters, and they get much stronger scenes as a result. Narrowing the focus, yknow.

wyldfire is fucking hilarious and her and Kai are probably my favorite duo. Again, great to make duos of one new one old (even with Cole & Geo, and Zane & Frohicky) (i dont know how his name is spelled). Allows the new character to find their footing while also giving old viewers the characters they're familiar with. By connecting the cast so thoroughly across generations, you prevent old cliques from forming, stop the plot from separating the new and the old out. It's more transformative and cohesive that way, it's interesting new character constellations.

I guess my main complaints are the pacing in the middle kinda dragged. Splitting the plot three ways during the search for the dragon cores REALLY stalled progress to a standstill. That's what I loved about wildbrain era of the original - every 10minutes, every episode, you Accomplished Something. The plot moved forward in blocks. With it split three way, you'd have moments where all three duos eat shit at the same time. As much as I love the dynamic between Kai and Wyldfire, their segment was definitely the weakest outside of that.

And also the fight scenes are kinda boring. Really doesn't take advantage of elemental powers in any cool or interesting ways. They're all just lobbing around recolored fireballs. (Or just regular fireballs). Those then plink of the enemy, and they get smacked around. The fight choreography was overall just Lame. The fights were never my favorite part anyways.

yeah so like, i think i talked myself outta words. I could talk more how all the duos parallel each other, but I kinda don't want to atm. ninjago says trans rights

#feli speaks #ninjago posting

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dragonmasterhiccup · 4 months ago

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"It's fine, just hurry up. The storm passed and we can start going home." Her tone remained dry as Freya had her back facing Hiccup, fixing her hair to make it appear as it did before they got stuck in the cave. She threw her bag over her shoulder, gently rubbing Blaze's head as she spoke, "For the record, when we get back to Berk, we're still not 'buddy-buddy'."

The sand wraith grumbled at her statement, glancing at Hiccup with an exasperated sigh. "I just want to go home and lay in my nice, warm, cozy bed. Away from all of.. this." She took a step forward outside of the cave, inhaling the smell that the rain had left in the air. "I'm pretty sure it's the next day already.. Ayla is going to freak.." Freya shook her head, sighing as she went back next to Blaze. "Stoick won't be too happy with you either, so let's go."

She whistled at the sand wraith, a communication memorized between them as he allowed her to mount him. "You should, uh.." She hesitated, debating whether or not to actually tell him that she had seen his drawing, ".. you should look out for your notebook a little better, y'know. It.. nearly got burned by the, uh, fire."

Freya tapped another pattern on Blaze's neck, mumbling to him, "Let's go." He was quick to comply as he leapt out of the cave, running to the edge of the island to wait for Hiccup and Toothless. "I can't believe you're making me sit here for longer than I have to.." She groaned, massaging her forehead with an impatient sigh.

Perking up, he looked out the mouth of the cave. She was right, the rain stopped, and there were blue skies. "That's great news!"

Picking up the pace, he finished, standing up stiffly.

"Come on, bud, let's go home."

Hiccup tilted his head. "Were we ever buddy buddy?" There was a tinge of disappointment to his voice. He thought they'd made at least some progress.

When Freya mentioned Stoick, Hiccup winced. "Thor, you're right. Oh, that is not going to be a fun conversation..."

Confused, he looked at where his notebook had been. It was nowhere near the fire...

Wait. Did she see? She couldn't have, it was right where he'd left it.

He really shouldn't be panicking, even if she did see, it wasn't anything bad, just Blaze, sleeping...and Freya...also sleeping...

Face red from embarrassment, he just gave a shaky nod. "R-right, I'll be more mindful of that, t-thanks..."

But she'd already left, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone in the cave.

Toothless rumbled, teasing Hiccup. "Oh, stop, it's nothing like that! Come on, let's go."

They left the cave, flying back to the island's edge. Landing next to Freya and Blaze, Hiccup raised his brows at her. "I'm a little surprised, I thought you'd be halfway across the ocean by now. We weren't even that long, but you seemed to be itching to get away from me."

#asks #threads #justpeaxchy

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toestalucia · 6 months ago

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can i talk about sr joel's fate eps again cuz they make me lose my mind. fate eps i went into like hihi joel but was immediately hit with 1) ebisu & echidna talk 2) dealing with captain making assumptions about him leaving the crew and being upset about that all on their own. been dying for them to discuss that more and then they gave me it in JOELS fate eps.....

ive been over this in the past too, but stuff like the crew succeeded with its initial goal/get-together reason in erste & crew members who has finished the reason why they joined the crew (such as joel realizing there very likely isnt a sea to swim in in the crimson horizon -> the topic of 'joel has no reason to stay' comes up) & then decided to keep travelling..........................luna's 'i dont like bad end movies' or whatever the title is..............oughhhhh i looovvvvvvvv when characters say they intend to stay with the grandcypher/join for estalucia it makes me so emotional

Joel: So in Auguste, the mother of the Crimson Horizon became the Mother of Life. That's why we believe an ocean waits at the bottom of the sky.

Joel: The same thing happened with Ebisu, the primal beast of blessings. In Auguste, that name's no more than a good luck charm—something to name your hammer or saw after.

like out of all primals to namesdrop in some sr's fate eps

Lyria has only half-understood the captain's mood. (Captain) is indeed worried about Joel's dampened spirits. But heavier still is the knowledge that he no longer has a reason to stay with the crew. The thought of parting with a treasured friend does not sit well with the captain.

do u get why i lose my fkng mind. guy who assumes things all on their own. also captain who is so bothered by the entire thing joel asks if theyre sick when he sees their face like help....

Before Joel can fret any further, (Captain) takes a deep breath and speaks. Choose: Are you going home? Joel: What? Oh... 'Cause we're heading to Auguste, right? Yeah. Thought I'd swing by. I already made it to the bottom of the sky... And I haven't seen my family in a while. Realizing Joel really does intend to leave, (Captain)'s shoulders sag. Joel: Captain, you're not looking too good. Go figure. We've been stuck in Pandemonium this whole time.

CONVOS THAT HAUNTS ME. 'i thought id swing by' Captain who was alrdy worried joels leaving is now Convinced. unreal

(Captain) manages a slow nod at what might be the last lecture Joel gives on the Grandcypher.

BHADBADBBADBJADBJKADBJKBJKADAD THEYRE SO DRAMATIC....but also joels whole lecture truly does feel like a goodbye thing like my dude...u r 19......imagine being told by a 19yo that u should sleep early..... but also in general how a lot of the dialogue starts leaning into the 'joel is leaving' narrative captain deluded themself into LOL

Diving forward, (Captain) yanks Lyria back, but the momentum carries the captain overboard instead.

doing this when ebisu&echidna alrdy was mentioned is so funny. golden knight....

Joel's voice is cold. With a shock, the captain realizes how cruel it was to believe Joel would just disappear.

this. this line. this exact one. joel who's upset because captain assumed he was leaving for good (lyria too is like, if he did he would tell us tho...) like its ssooooooooo goooooood this is what ive wanted im so glad still they gave this to me

Joel: You really think I'm the sort of guy that would abandon the crew? Without a word? I can't believe you...

Anna: Well... It's hard to ask about something if you're afraid of the answer, right? I know what that's like...

anna desperately trying to vouch for captain i lov her sm. either way the rest of the fate ep is also unreal. 'my grandmother did this thing with my grandfather' you cannot be serious...... hold on i forgot he said some of this stuff what the hell.................give joel a vday unit alrdy..........

Now the captain knows that though their dreams and wishes may change with time, their bond will always remain strong.

also makes me so emotional tho....

#stardust speaking !#main story adjecent joel is unreal to me still #(joel voice) do u rmbr what io said. about echidna & bestia island #wrote one thing and then went to talk about this for hrs instead. ill stop bringing up sr joel now but the double main story & captain stuf #was for ME #uhhh ill proofread stuff + move some things from phone to drafts here properly tmrw. im pacing back and forth negatively regarding some #writing things but whatever..............................ill just get it done...........#that said. my open tag & meme tag r always there (cagli teehee)

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r0s4lin4 · 7 months ago

Text

Lurking in the shadows

Rosalina found herself in a dimly lit room with a two doorless doorways leading to extremely dark rooms, and an extremely dark hallway on her right.

Rosalina attempted to speak to herself, but to her surprise, no sound came out. "What the hell happened to my voice?!" she thought to herself. She would pull out her flashlight and flick it on in an attempt to turn it on, but nothing happened.. the flashlight was for some reason just unable to work.. Panicked she'd hyperventilate, she couldn't even hear herself breathe. It was quite disorienting. Rosalina in her fear she decided to walk through one of the doorways, the darkness was overwhelming, she carefully raised her arm moving it around in order for her to feel her surroundings, but the room was completely empty. She would try and find her way to a wall and stick to it, by placing her hand on the wall she could feel her way through the room. She would slowly make her advance, feeling her way through winding hallways and rooms with no light source in sight. . . . It's been about 2 hours of walking non-stop, the absence of light and sound was getting to her head, she could've sworn she saw a shadowy figure run past one of the doorways she encountered, but it was too dark to clearly see it. tap.. tap... tap.. Rosalina would turn around quickly to look behind her. Was that... tapping noises? it sounded like it came from right behind her!

Rosalina would immediately face the other direction, her walking pace has increased. "M...maybe I'm just imagining things for being in the dark so long, r..right?" she thought to herself, the pacing of her steps increased even further . . . The fourth hour has now rolled by, and the voices and figures have not went away. The encounters rate have only ever increased, and have not shown any signs of stopping. "Oohhh boy, I think I'm going insane here!" Rosalina exclaimed in her thoughts. "I wish he was here with me right now.. I'd feel so much safer" Rosalina held back tears.. However, her thoughts were interrupted with what felt like a hand grabbing onto her arm. She'd inaudibly scream and start to sprint, however she'd hit a wall shortly after "Ow!" ". . ." Rosalina felt around the wall and started to walk in a quick pace going around the corner, hoping to lose whatever just grabbed her. . . . Hour 6 rolled by, she had no way to tell for how long she has been stuck in this godforsaken maze. "God, where the hell am I going?? I want out!!" Rosalina wanted to scream out, but the unnatural properties of this room were stopping her from creating any noise. But after a while she could hear a distant sound.. are those.. waves crashing? She was rather confused, but decided to follow the faint wave sounds but was interrupted by a screaming voice ???: "GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Was that.. a human? Rosalina froze in place but was tackled into the ground, she felt a surge of pain all over her body and face as if she was being hit and beaten. She yelped and whined inaudibly as she was being mercilessly attacked. The smell of iron was faint but apparent, was she.. bleeding? She'd attempt to plead her way into being left alone, but all attempts were in vain. This damn level's ability is cutting her voice out! Panicked, she'd feel her way through her backpack. Pulling out her knife, she'd stab where she believed her attacker was. Which seemed to be effective as the beating stopped and the person screamed in pain. "I.. I am so sorry mister, Bu.. but you wouldn't stop hurting me!" Rosalina would limp away with tears in her eyes towards the sound of the waves leaving the screaming man behind. Eventually, his voice was drowned out by the increasing sounds of the ocean. Soon enough, she'd find a set of stairs leading down where the source of the waves comes from.

"Finally!! a way out!" She thought to herself, limping her way down the stairs.. finding herself in an overflown room..

#the backrooms #backrooms rp #backrooms ask blog #liminalcore #liminal spaces

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plumblossomcafe · 8 months ago

Text

Ch.35: A Path Through the Storm

Outside the ruins and near Liyue Harbor

Paimon: Um, are you okay? Paimon never imagined your sister would have sided with the Abyss...

Aether: I'm feeling a bit better. But, I still can't accept it...

Y/n: Well, keep your chin up, Aether! I believe in both of you. And when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Right?

Paimon: Paimon also believes in both of you!!!

Aether: Yeah. You're right. There must be more to this than meets the eye.

Paimon: She said we needed to "reach the end of our journey..." Paimon bets she still has lots more to tell us! And we won't find out what this "journey" is or where it will end unless we keep going!

Aether: *nods* Also, Y/n are you okay? Dain hit you

Y/n: Oh, I'm fine!!! Don't worry, I used my vision to heal myself, so I'm fine

Aether: *smiles* Thank you, Paimon, Y/n...

Paimon: Don't mention it, partner! Travel buddies are supposed to look out for one another. Although... where should we go next? If we want to continue with the journey... hmm...

Aether: I still need to find that god...

Paimon: Oh! You mean the god that took your sister away in the first place......You're right. After all, everything that followed... all this confusion... it all started with her.

Aether: I need answers from her.

Paimon: Yeah, Paimon bets she's the key to understanding this whole mystery. Well, we've ruled out two gods so far — the Anemo and Geo Archons. So, next...

Y/n: Let's find the Electro Archon.

Paimon: Hmm... Paimon doesn't think we can simply walk into Inazuma. Zhongli said it was a closed nation. We'll have to find some other way in... Why don't we ask someone from Inazuma how to gain entrance?

Aether: Let me try and think of someone... I'm sure there's someone we've met...

Paimon: Oh, Paimon's thought of someone already — Atsuko, in Liyue Harbor! She's from Inazuma. Let's see what she has to say.

At Liyue Harbor

Y/n: Hey, Atsuko!!!

Atsuko: Hello... Oh! I—I mean, good fortune... right? *sigh* I'm still learning to talk like a local, haha... Is there anything I can help you with?

Paimon: We wanted to ask... how do we get into Inazuma?

Atsuko: Ohh, so that's why you're here... Well, there is a way...

Paimon: Great! We came to the right person!

Atsuko: But the chance of success is... incredibly small.

Paimon: Huh? Incredibly small? Then how did you get out of Inazuma in the first place?

Atsuko: It was in leaving Inazuma that I found out just how dangerous this method truly was... All I had to rely on was a little wooden raft that I'd put together myself. There was a storm raging ahead of me, and my pursuers were close on my tail. After I'd escaped their clutches, I floated on the ocean for... I don't know how many days. My rations and fresh water supply soon ran out, and I remember getting to the point where I was sure I'd reached the end. Then, I blacked out. But, to my surprise, my journey didn't end there... or to put it in another way, a new beginning found me.

Aether: Did someone from Liyue save you?

Atsuko: That's right! I escaped by the skin of my teeth. The fact that I'm even alive to tell the tale must be a sign that the gods were watching over me.

Paimon: What a horrible journey! And you set off knowing how dangerous it was? Why?

Atsuko: Well... because everything is just too restrictive over there. The atmosphere is so stifling... The Kanjou Commission subjects everyone leaving or entering the nation to a protracted approval process, and... I felt like I didn't belong there.

Y/n: Kanjou Commission? What's that?

Atsuko: Along with the other two commissions, they oversee anything in Inazuma. We usually collectively refer to them as the Tri-Commission — I suppose they're equivalent to the Eight Trades under the Liyue Qixing. One of the obligations of the Kanjou Commission is to conduct rigorous identity checks on all individuals leaving or entering Inazuma. All non-nationals are processed centrally on Ritou upon arrival... Meanwhile, the Tenryou Commission is responsible for implementing the recently promulgated Vision Hunt Decree. They act like the executive arm of the Raiden Shogun's rule, loyal yet unfeeling. It doesn't feel good to speak ill of my home like this... but after spending so long under that oppressive atmosphere, I began to lose all hope for the future. What I mean to say is... unless you have an extremely compelling reason to go to Inazuma, you should abandon your plans of trying to get there.

Y/n: We have a compelling reason. There are answers to questions we must know there.

Atsuko: *sigh* You should know that the sea around Inazuma is engulfed in a perpetual tempest of wind and rain. Supposing you survived that, you would still need to get past the samurai guards that enforce the Sakoku Decree — the closed nation policy of Inazuma. And even if you did manage to find a way, you'd still have to produce the necessary documentation at the Ritou center for processing outlanders. Otherwise, you'd be kicked out immediately...

Paimon: Seems like they really don't want anyone setting foot in Inazuma, huh...

Y/n: Hmmm, but there's a place for outlanders to go, right?

Atsuko: They only set that up as a port to guarantee a supply of goods and information to the island. Most outlanders would be unable to acquire the documentation needed. But if you really are on set going, there is one thing you can try...

Paimon: Uh... The raft idea sounds a little on the dangerous side... plus Paimon would definitely get seasick.

Atsuko: That's not what I meant. You could ask someone from The Crux Fleet if they have some way of getting you to Inazuma. They're well-known in Liyue. Voyaging far and wide has made them a well-traveled group with a wide range of experiences. They may just know how to break through the storm.

Paimon: But... it's an armed fleet, right? Why would they agree to a request like this?

Atsuko: That part is up to you! If you're able to persuade their captain, Beidou, then the hardest part would be out of the way.

Y/n: Let's give it a try. Since it seems like it's our only option. Do you know where the Alcor is Miss Atsuko?

Atsuko: The Alcor is the flagship of The Crux Fleet. I heard that it's currently anchored by Guyun Stone Forest on a supply run. This might be your best chance.

Paimon: Then there's no time to lose! Let's go find Captain Beidou!

Beidou: Hmm? Who've we got here... Wait, I know you guys. You're those travelers, Aether and Y/n, right? The ones who fought against the Fatui and Osial, right?

Aether: Have we met?

Beidou: Haha, Ningguang told me about you both. "Two travelers of great insight and remarkable skills have saved Liyue," she said. She's a hard one, to please... so praise from her is high praise indeed. I remember thinking at the time that it'd be good to meet you both in person. Judging by the clothes on both of your backs and this floating thing, I guess that time has come.

Paimon: Hey! The name's not "floating thing," it's PAIMON!

???: Paimon... hmm... What a fascinating being. You two *refers to Aether and Paimon* give off not only the essence of wind and earth, but also of... yes... the stars... and you *refers to Y/n* give off the essence of purity, innocence, and flowers

Paimon: Eh? The fragrance of what now? That's the weirdest compliment Paimon's ever heard...

Y/n: *confused*

???: Pay it no heed... I mean only to say I am certain... that it is by fate, not chance alone, that we should meet... and that gives our encounter meaning.

Aether: Is this guy a bard, by any chance?

Beidou: You're not far off, but they go by a different name in Inazuma. This young man is Kaedehara Kazuha. he and his friend are temporary additions to my crew for reasons I won't bore you guys with. Occasionally, he opens his mouth, and flowers come out instead of words. As for where his friend is, I don't know where he ran off to

Kaedehara Kazuha: *has his arms crossed* With this fine ship and the soft breeze... would it not be romantically irresponsible of me not to acknowledge it with a line or two of poetry?

Beidou: Haha, can't argue with that... Okay then, once The Clash is underway, I'll give you a chance to perform.

Kaedehara Kazuha: Only if the mood takes me, of course. Poetry for poetry's sake tends to lack meaning.

Beidou: Hey, you guys don't wanna pass this opportunity up too easily, especially seeing as our great heroes might be in attendance.

Paimon: Wait a minute, what's The Clash? Also, just to clarify, by "great heroes"... do you mean...

Beidou: Huh? I thought you guys might be here to sign up... You're telling me you've never even heard of it? The Crux Clash is a martial arts tournament that I hold. There'll be a whole bunch of folks taking part to showcase their talents. There are two important rules. One — competitors must be renowned fighters. We want those with real martial arts ability, not just people taking part for the fun of it. So, you've both got nothing to worry about there. I don't think there's anyone out there who hasn't heard of you two. Two — you can't take part if you've got a Vision. Otherwise, things get a little... one-sided.

Aether: I don't have a Vision, but—

Beidou: Haha, you must be feeling confident, but you might wanna watch out — there are a few crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurking around in Liyue. And with Liyue's savior taking part in the tournament... now that's gonna turn a few heads. I think we can expect a healthy turnout this time...

Paimon: But... we didn't come here to take part in a martial arts tournament.

Beidou: Well, before you dismiss the idea completely, you might be interested to hear that the prize this time 'round is particularly sought after... Get this — it's a Masterless Vision!

Kazuha: Supplied by me and my friend ourselves, as a matter of fact. If the tournament champion can reawaken the Vision... it belongs to them.

Paimon: Is there really such thing as a masterless Vision!?

Aether: Why doesn't it have a master?

Kazuha: When a Vision bearer dies, the light in their Vision will fade away. But the shell that housed that light remains. As for whether this shell has any practical application, well, this remains to be seen. But my intuition tells me that while it remains in the world, it may just be possible for someone else to inherit it.

Beidou: Yep, and the way I see it, a Vision is a badge of recognition from the gods — so if anyone's able to rekindle it, it's got to be an individual of exceptional strength and talent. Organizing The Clash is my way of uncovering hidden talents... and hopefully, this time, of getting a Vision to glow again. So, if you don't have a Vision, this is the perfect opportunity to get your hands on one of your very own.

Aether: To be honest, I'm not interested.

Y/n: Same, plus, even if I wanted to join, I can't since I have a Vision....

Paimon: Yeah, we're interested in getting to Inazuma, not fighting in some tournament!

Kazuha: Inazuma? You... want to go there?

Beidou: Well, why didn't you say so! Inazuma? No sweat. In that case, if you win the tournament, I'll give you a choice: Masterless Vision, or a ticket to Inazuma aboard The Alcor. Up to you.

Aether: That was easy!

Paimon: You just want them to take part in your tournament!

Beidou: Hahaha, what's wrong with that? The more talent we have, the better the tournament will be. I couldn't let competitors like you guys fall through the net.

Paimon: What're we gonna do, Aether, Y/n? *sigh* Looks like we pretty much have to do this tournament if we want to get to Inazuma, huh?

Y/n: Well, do remember that I can fight without a vision

???: *laughs* Well what's happening here? I just decided to talk a walk and I comeback to see the famous travelers that saved Liyue from that ancient god?

Kazuha: Seems like you finally decided to show up, Tomo

Tomo: *laughs* Hello, I'm Tomo, Kazuha's friend. It's nice to finally meet the famous travelers

Aether: I'm Aether

Paimon: Paimon's name is Paimon!!!

Y/n: I'm Y/n *feels something rub on her leg* Huh? *looks down and sees a small white cat*

Tomo: Ah!!! There you are, Yuki. I was looking for you.

Kazuha: It seems like she likes you, strange. She isn't that affectionate when it comes to meeting new people *picks her up*

Y/n: That's good. Anyways, let's get back to what we're talking about, the Crux Clash, Should we enter the competition Aether?

Aether: I'm not worried. So let's give this a shot.

Beidou: Great, then, let's get you signed up! Head to the tournament arena in Guyun Stone Forest. Kazuha, Tomo, and I will be over soon. Oh, Y/n, you could leave your vision with the person who is accepting the sign-ups

Kazuha: It seems like it will only be a matter of time before the answer is revealed...

Tomo: I'm excited to see how this turns out

After talking to the res of the contestants

Paimon: So to recap... we're up against an inflated ego that Y/n wants to punch, some gullible guys paying way too much for their kung fu classes, and another guy who's just... really average. Hmm.... Seems like you guys got a pretty good chance of winning this thing, Aether and Y/n! C'mon, let's go sign up!

At the registration table

Zhuhan: Qingce Village Armwrestling Champion, huh... *sigh* Alright, you're signed up... Next please... what's your name?

Aether: I'm Aether

Y/n: I'm Y/n

Zhuhan: Aether and Y/n... Wait! A—Aren't you guys...!?

Clash Competitor 1: Did I hear that right? Aether and Y/n?

Clash Competitor 2: Is it really them?

Clash Competitor 3: ...Huh? Aren't they a Vision bearers, though? Why are they trying to enter the Clash?

Zhuhan: Uh... I—I have to ask... aren't you guys the travelers that helped Liyue fight off that ancient god...?

Aether: Correct.

Clash Competitor 1: It's really them!

Clash Competitor 2: The one that spoke with Lady Keqing at the Rite of Parting!

Clash Competitor 3: Oh! Oh! I wonder if I can get their autographs later?

Zhuhan: I—I trust you are aware that... only those without Visions can enter the tournament?

Y/n: Beidou said that I could leave my vision with you since I'm capable of fighting without a vision

Aether: I don't have a Vision.

Zhuhan: Really? B—But from what I've heard, the things the both of you capable of in combat are... nothing short of extraordinary... You walk into the most dangerous situations imaginable, face off against all sorts of monsters — even the Fatui — and always come out on top!

Paimon: Yup! Unlike Y/n, Aether still doesn't have a vision, though. See for yourself!

Zhuhan: My apologies, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm sure a great hero like yourselves would have no reason to lie. Now, could I ask you guys to provide a few claims to fame? It's just a formality for you both, of course, but I have to make a record of competitors' achievements as part of the sign-up process... So far, I've got "Defeated the ancient god, Osial," so that's one. Do you... have any others?

Y/n: We defeated a Fatui Harbinger.

Paimon: Yeah, and also a dragon, too! Put down "Battle with Stormterror"!

Aether: *smirking*

Clash Competitor 1: Whoa...

Clash Competitor 2: Might as well declare them the champions already.

Clash Competitor 3: I wonder if it's too late to withdraw?

Zhuhan: Okay, um... that's plenty... Actually, this is the most dazzling track record I've ever seen, by a long shot... Right, your registrations are complete. Now, a brief word about the prize. Great heroes such as yourselves can surely only be here for one thing — to win the tournament and claim the grand prize, namely, a Vision. Though it may be useless to Y/n, it would be useful for Aether.

Paimon: Oh, we're not here for that. We're here because Captain Beidou promised to take us to Inazuma if we win the tournament.

Clash Competitor 3: There's another prize too? First I've heard of it!

Clash Competitor 4: Beidou must have upped the stakes this time to attract top talent!

Clash Competitor 5: But why would anyone want to go somewhere as dangerous as Inazuma?

Zhuhan: ...I see, so... I take it you both discussed the terms with Beidou in advance, then.

Y/n: Everyone's misunderstanding the situation.

Zhuhan: Well, nobody expected you guys to sign up for a tournament like this... I can hardly believe it myself, to be honest... Anyway, the qualifying rounds are about to begin. I'll leave you both to your preparations.

Y/n: I'll leave my vision next to the prize, is that alright?

Zhuhan: Certainly, I'll make sure to take good care of it

Y/n: Thanks

Paimon: Hey, so, Paimon's thinking about that whole "no vision bearers" rule in this tournament. Even though Aether doesn't have a vision, most people in Teyvat think that you can't manipulate the elements without one. So Paimon thinks you probably shouldn't use your elemental abilities during the tournament. Y'know, just to avoid any misunderstandings. In any case, looking at the competition, it should still be pretty easy for you to win even without using any elements, right? Plus, I bet Y/n will be fine. She managed to take down Childe while injuring him badly

Aether: Makes sense.

Y/n: True

Paimon: Alright, it's showtime! You guys got this!

Zhuhan: You both seem like you're raring to go. Are you guys ready to compete?

Aether: Yes, we're ready.

#yandere genshin impact #calamity: yandere genshin impact x reader

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vintyvanora · 6 years ago

Note

☁ = being caught in the middle a storm with them . (legit tho, there are SEVERAL i wanted to send)

It felt like years had passed since Vanora had left Skyhold with Maretus. She knew the journey would be long, but time seemed to move strangely now that the day to day routine she had established was thrown out the window. With time, however, they developed a new routine. They woke up, usually before the sun, and tended to the horses. Both Titus and the chestnut mare Vanora had convinced the stable master to part with got along well, which made traveling much easier.

Once they’d handled the horses they had their morning meal. Their food was standard fare for travelers: cured meats, hard cheeses, and bread. Sometimes they could find something to supplement their meals with, fresh meat that Maretus had hunted or fresh fruit that they came across. Mostly it was just plain and boring, particularly with Maretus’ spice box nearly empty, but it was food that kept them alive and would simply have to do. There would be plenty of good food to eat once they were back home.

From Skyhold they had gone North to the shore of the Waking Sea, then chartered a boat across. Vanora didn’t particularly want to go to the Free Marches, but it was a more practical route than going West to circumnavigate the Waking Sea entirely. Alas, Kirkwall was about as charming as she had expected it to be. Although they had rebuilt much of the city that had been destroyed when the rebellion began, it was clear that the people of Kirkwall were not yet healed. Then again, who had fully moved on after the rebellion? The Civil War? The hole in the sky? It took time for such wounds to heal.

When they finally landed in Kirkwall they found a place near the docks to stable the horses before entering the city proper.

“I heard about this place,” Maretus muttered as they slowed to a stop, “The Gallows.”

Staring up at the statues of chained slaves Vanora frowned. It was horrifying, a testament to the darker side of Tevinter.

“How disgusting, to celebrate the atrocities endured by slaves.”

Of course, Tevinter still had slaves, Vanora was no fool. Her family owned several to staff and tend to the manor and its inhabitants. All their slaves were treated well. They lived comfortably in the manor and had nothing more severe than stern words from the heads of the household to fear. Not all families were so generous with their slaves, and while Vanora had every conclusively that any of her family’s acquaintances and friends did so, she knew that there were some families who still used slaves for blood magic. Returning her attention to the area around them, she set a hand on Maretus’ upper arm to get his attention.

“Come. Let us find a place to stay and rest for the night.”

She was eager to leave the Gallows and all its ghosts behind. If Maretus had any inclination to stay, he says nothing, glancing down at her hand on his arm with an almost distant look before nodding his assent.

“We should keep to Lowtown. We’ll draw no attention there.”

Vanora nodded, removing her hand from his arm, and followed at his side as he wove through the people of Kirkwall. The inn they settled on is slightly less repulsive than the two they passed initially, but the room they ended up with was nearly bare and the squalid common area they had passed through left Vanora yearning for her little room back in Skyhold.

Biting her tongue to keep from complaining, Vanora set her bags down on one of the beds, pushing on the mattress experimentally with her hand. At least there weren’t bugs crawling out from it.

“Would you like me to get some food from downstairs?”

Maretus watched her carefully, setting his own things down as he spoke, but the only reply he received was a noncommittal noise from Vanora.

“I’ve lost my appetite. I think I would rather not risk food poisoning.”

Nodding solemnly, Maretus took to unpacking some of the cured meats and cheese from their journey to eat instead.

“It is a lucky thing we still have food from our travels.”

“A lucky thing indeed,” she agreed.

The pair only spent a night in Kirkwall, only staying long enough to restock their supplies. From there they traveled West, circumnavigating the Vinmark Mountains rather than crossing them. It only took a few days for the two to arrive at the edge of the Planasene Forest, but Vanora knew that forests could be tricky to navigate. She knew for a fact that in his travels Maretus himself had gotten lost in the Emerald Graves, though she had luckily had no such trouble. With any luck, they would navigate the forest easily enough, and the brush wouldn’t be dense enough to hinder the horses.

They made camp at the edge of the treelike that night, in far enough to be out of sight without delving too far into the forest. Once the horses were settled, Vanora gathered wood and started a fire while Maretus put up the tent. By the time everything was set up it was too late to go hunting, so dinner was their basic long-distance travel fare. They ate in comfortable silence, both of them tired from a long day of travel.

Checking once more on the horses, Vanora changed quickly into her sleeping attire before joining Maretus in the tent. He had already removed his boots and leather jerkin, setting them aside until the next morning dawned. Stifling a yawn, Vanora sat down on one of the bedrolls, slipping on an extra pair of socks to keep her feet from freezing overnight. Even now that they were back at sea level it still got chilly at night. Maretus, who had already checked over and reorganized his bag, had already settled into his own bedroll, waited patiently for Vanora to extinguish the small lamp they carried with them. Pulling her hair down from its usual bun, she finger-combed it before braiding it quickly.

Maretus, who had watched her from the corner of his eye as she finished her nighttime routine, faced her, “Ready for bed?”

“Mhmm,” she responded, laying down and pulling the blankets tight around her, “Sleep well, Maretus.”

“Likewise, Vanora.”

As per usual, the sun woke the pair of travelers from their slumber. Reluctant to leave the warmth of her bedroll, Vanora buried her face in her pillow and tried to ignore the sun. It didn’t sound as though Maretus was awake yet, though he was nearly silent when he got ready if she was still asleep. It took a few moments, her mind still groggy from sleep, to realize that she could feel the ground beneath her, cold and hard and very much not cushioned by her bedroll. Mumbling incoherently she rolled towards her pillow, assuming that she had turned over too far in her sleep. Her pillow, however, didn’t budge, only shifting slightly against her side.

“If you push me anymore I’ll end up knocking the tent over.”

Vanora’s eyes shot open, immediately recognizing Maretus’ voice, still gravelly from sleep. Sure enough, she had rolled over too far in her sleep. Far enough that she had ended up on Maretus’ bedroll, snuggled tightly against his side, her arm slung over his chest to keep herself in place. Ever the gentleman, whether he was conscious of it or not, he had moved over to give her more room, the two barely fitting onto the cushioned mat. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, Vanora somehow managing to take over the entire tent in a subconscious quest for warmth, and the embarrassment it caused, at least on her part, had subsided greatly since the first morning it happened. It wasn’t as though she meant to cling to him all night, it simply happened.

Burying her face against his chest to stifle a laugh, Vanora shook her head, “Five more minutes? I slept so well, and it’s still cold out,” she mumbled, words muffled against his shirt. He seemed to have heard her well enough, grunting quietly and shifting his weight.

“We ought to get up and check on the horses. The sooner we get on the road the better,” he replied, ever the practical person, “…but I don’t think five more minutes will ruin the day.”

Humming contentedly, she yawned once more, shifting to get comfortable again, and dozing off. When she opened her eyes next, Maretus was still there, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I think you slept more than five minutes,” he commented when her breathing changed, indicating she’d woken up again.

“You should have woken me up, then. I don’t want to…what did you say? Ruin our day.”

He didn’t respond immediately, Vanora drawing her arm back and rubbing her eyes, rolling onto her back with another yawn.

“…you looked peaceful. A little more sleep couldn’t hurt. We’ve been making good progress, after all.”

Glancing over to Maretus, who was staring, somewhat unfocused, at the top of the tent, Vanora smiled, “Well, it was kind of you nonetheless. I suppose we better get moving, though. I’m sure Titus is hungry.”

Sitting up, she stretched her arms over her head, back popping satisfactorily, she pushed at the pieces of hair that had escaped her braid overnight. Beside her, Maretus sat up as well, rubbing a hand over his face as though to wake himself up. She scooted over, back to her own bedroll to unbraid her hair, watching Maretus from the corner of her eye as he stretched out and started to redress for the day. He was always ready first, perhaps intentionally, so that Vanora had the tent to change inside of before they packed up camp.

By the time she was dressed and ready for the day, Maretus had already tended to his mare and was retrieving breakfast from one of the saddlebags. Vanora made a beeline for Titus, the black Friesian huffing as she approached. It didn’t take her long to feed him, talking to him as she finger-combed through his mane. Maretus and Vanora ate and packed up camp quickly, back on the road West within the hour.

Their days were a mixture of intermittent conversation punctuated by comfortable silences. The sun was out, a good portion of it filtering through the dense canopy of the forest to light their way. To their great relief, the road they followed was well traveled and easy to navigate. Rarely did they need to consult a map. By midday, they found a nice place to stop and eat and let the horses have a break.

“I think I see berries over there,” Vanora commented, pointing to the edge of the clearing they had discovered, “let’s hope they aren’t poisonous.”

Satisfied that they were, indeed, not poisonous, Vanora picked as many as she could before returning to Maretus who, as usual, had already retrieved their food. The weather turned suddenly, halfway through their meal, and the sun disappeared behind clouds. Before they could manage to pack up, the heavens opened and it began to pour. It was no gentle rain, no drizzle or small droplets, but a veritable deluge. As they scrambled to pick up their things and get them into the saddlebags, Maretus nearly slipped in the mud, Vanora reaching out to steady him and succeedingly only to send them both into the mud. Blinking in surprise, her dress now coated in mud, Vanora broke out into a fit of laughter. Maretus had gotten splashes of mud all the way up to his face, a few spots on his cheeks and beard. He looked shocked, as though he couldn’t believe they’d actually managed to fall over and that Vanora was laughing about it, and made no attempt to get up right away. Vanora reached over, glad that they hadn’t fallen directly on top of one another, to wipe some of the mud off his face.

“We shall make quite a sight on the road like this, all caked in mud. You’ve got it in your beard!”

Although he didn’t laugh out loud, Vanora could see the amusement in Maretus’ eyes, his lips curling up in a smile as he gave in and chuckled, reaching over to wipe some mud off of her cheek.

“You look as messy as I do,” he replied, running a hand over the pieces of hair that had fallen out of her bun, “and your hair is muddy too.”

His commentary only caused Vanora to start laughing again, imagining what a pair they made all covered in mud.

“I suppose,” she said, gradually composing herself, “that it is a good thing we are so far from civilization.”

Shaking his head, a smirk still on his lips, Maretus managed to get to his feet, reaching down to help Vanora up. Once they were both steady, they headed back to the horses, salvaging what was left of their lunch and glad that the rest was safely stashed in the saddlebags. They returned to the road only after Vanora had done her best to clean them off, managing at least to get the mud out of Maretus’ beard and hair. She had abandoned trying to remove the mud from her hair, unbraiding it and letting the rain do its work to wash the mud out. Satisfied that everything was safely away, they set out again, resigned to an uncomfortable day of travel and an impending evening of trying to clean up before bed. Despite the discomfort of being wet and muddy, Vanora was in high spirits and certain that the day would be an amusing tale to tell friends back home, smiling already in anticipation of the horrified looks she was sure to receive. In the end, all the travel and discomfort would be worth it, she reminded herself, glancing over to Maretus as they rode. Yes, it would certainly be worth it.

#{5000000 years later.}#{I present to you a novel with 2 paragraphs that actually relate to the ask.}#r;;i'm starting to believe the ocean's just like you #molioanimatra #v;;reclaimed glory

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