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sooibian · 4 years ago

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Wherever You Are

Pairing: Kai x You as Lys ft. Baekhyun, Minseok, Yixing

Description: When you least expect it, love, quite literally, sweeps you off your feet

Themes: Romani AU, magical realism, romance, angst, drama ™ (i grew up on a healthy dose of Bollywood and it! shows!), secret relationship, heavily influenced by Mmmh Kai

Warnings: Blood, weapons, violence

Word Count: +9.5k (i’m sorry i haven’t had the time to proof-read this at all)

Tagging: @changshapatrol @rosetvler @bbyunz @is-that-baekhyuns-shirt @royal-aeris @bbhmystar @his-mochi-cheeks @littleflowercrown13

Part of the Steampunk Romani AU collab with @leewalberg @vampwrrr @xui-n-soowillbethedeathofme

Pre-reading notes:

1. This is a spin-off for Lys from Star-Crossed but it can be read as a standalone oneshot. I’ve tried my best to translate the events of that fic into Lys’ POV but feel free to shoot me a message if something still confuses you.

2. Lys is a mind-reader, Baekhyun has the ability to influence physical objects with his mind, Yixing is a dragon and he’s the leader of the clan (Bulibasha), and Kai - as we all know - can teleport!!

3. Glossary: bulibasha - clan leader, dado - father, dya - mother, gadjo - someone of non-romani descent / origin, dragă - darling, iubirea mea - my love, lautari - a group of romani musicians, zakono - a key institution for enforcing the Romani Code.

“Dado, can I go along with Minseok?”

“Where to, dragă?”

“To the horse fair....the one in the village?”

“That’s no place for a pretty princess such as yourself -”

“But..but.. dado!”

“The camp has everything you’ll ever need, dragă.”

You woke up to the same old chirping of crickets, the same old crimson, black, and gold panels draping your tent, the same old wine stained goblet on your nightstand, the same old aroma of steamed xaimoko and hearty cornbread, and... the same old stinging in your heart.

Lips stretched into a habitual wide grin, you greeted the lass who brought you dinner with a drawn out “Morning”.

“It’s seven in the evening, Lys. You know how your father feels about you sleeping during sunset!” Vera exclaimed and gathered her skirts to sit on the edge of your bed, her gentle fingers combing through to untangle knots in her mistress’ long, dark hair.

Having mastered the art of repressing the emotions that threatened to colour your expression at the mere mention of your father, feigning excitement, you took her hand in yours and coyly quizzed her on the topic she was dying to discuss, “Tell me more about the whitesmith boy, Vera? Did he prove to be,” you cleared your throat and said in a hushed whisper, “worth his mettle?” and drew the question out with a roaring laughter.

“Hush, Lys!” Said Vera bashfully, biting on her lower lip to suppress the smile that was beginning to form on her mellow, innocent face. The whitesmith boy, better known as Kris, was the clan’s most eligible bachelor until yesterday.

Young girls, in pairs or trios, would hide behind the shrubbery by the river to catch a glimpse of him shirtless, bring him bent out of shape wares to fix and polish - even the ones whose weights their delicate hands couldn’t bear - and watch him at his job for hours at an end as sweat would drip down his neck, making his light, cotton shirt cling onto his well defined back.

As any young man his age would, Kris surely enjoyed the attention but he didn’t thrive on it. His heart belonged solely to his beloved. He settled for the most simple woman, some would say for the want of a better word, but you were convinced that none of them had experienced the sweetness that was love.

You had - but only vicariously. Love, trust, anticipation, joy - all vicariously. The only emotions you truly understood, first-hand, were longing, anger, and sadness.

“Lys?” A finger poking into your side broke you out of your reverie.

“Hmm?”

“I said, yes.”

“What for?” You asked, an innocent eyebrow raised in question.

She only giggled in response and darted out of your tent. Grinning wide, you turned to your meal and just then the aggressive tramp of horses’ hooves and sharp, piercing cries of pain and fear from men, women, and children reached your ears. Before you could make sense of the situation, your shell-shocked eyes followed Vera’s body as it fell inside your tent with a dull thud, an arrow pierced through her chest.

Your dinner tray toppled over as you ran to her aid and struggled with the bitter truth that you could do nothing to breathe life into the one person out of the very few that truly cared for you. With your hand on her teared stained cheek, you listened to her conscience ferociously chant, dya...dya...take care of dya!

“I will, Vera. I promise to take care of your mother.”

Only when she was reassured did Vera allow life to drain out of her eyes while tears started to line yours and grief clawed at your throat. You began to drag her limp body towards the bed and it wasn’t long before a familiar face barged into your tent. Throwing his crossbow to the side, your brother helped you hoist Vera’s body up onto your bed.

“What’s going on -”

“We’ve been attacked by a group of dacoits. Stay inside. Whatever happens, do not leave your tent! You understand me?” Minseok commanded, his dark eyes piercing yours while blood trickled down the side of his face.

“You’re hurt -”

He shook his head and repeated, panic betraying his voice, “Just... stay safe, Lys. Will you?”

Breaking down into sobs you nodded frantically as the ugly realisation of loss washed over you. Minseok pulled you into a tight embrace, praying fervently, “It could’ve been you. It could’ve been you instead of - of Vera! Thank God! Thank God, it wasn’t you!”

His every word felt like a punch in the gut.

He then marched out with his crossbow in hand, vengeance in his eyes and your heart clenched with fear for your brother’s life. Hiding behind the entrance panels, you watched the scene outside.

The settlement was barren except for the dacoits and a handful of men from the clan out on the field; the rest had scurried into the safe confines of their caravans and tents. Men on horseback, dressed in black robes, had their faces covered in black scarves. They spoke a different tongue but you understood that they sought revenge. A life for a life, they repeated over and over in broken Romani. They menacingly circled Baekhyun with arrows and daggers pointed to his heart. Baekhyun’s stance was alert with his jamdhar in his hand as a majestic black and gold dragon hovered over them, a tattered body dangling from his spine chilling, bloody mouth.

It happened within a matter of seconds - the dacoits lay slain - some with arrows pierced through their chests, some eviscerated into smithereens and the rest crumbled to black dust - the doing of Minseok, Baekhyun, and Yixing respectively.

With one flap of his massive wings, Yixing descended, gracefully landing on his human feet as a man-servant trotted to his aid with a black robe to cover his modesty yet, very little was left to imagination.

“They really thought -”

Before Yixing could complete his sentence, an unconscious Baekhyun collapsed - right in the centre of the bloody chaos. That jamdhar is going to be his undoing, you said to yourself. A girl with dark unruly hair rushed to his side - your fiancé’s side - the sight turning your limbs to ice.

Your heart sank to your stomach but the edges of your mouth curled up in a smile as you met her eyes from a distance with sheer contempt in your own.

A man you didn't recognise, supported by two others on either side, was being ushered into Yixing's private chamber.

You felt a hand against the small of your back. Minseok whispered into your ear, "Dado wants to see you."

***

In the centre of the room slouched a man on a wooden chair, his hands roped together at the back, face bruised and bloodied - evidently the doing of your own brother.

“What’s all this?” You asked the three men surrounding him.

“The bandits left their dog behind,” spat Yixing.

“So? What am I supposed to do?” You directed the question to your father.

“We need to know who he is, where he’s from, and...why we were attacked.” Replied your father, eyes forcefully trained on the unconscious man on the chair.

“You should’ve probably left him with some life in his body to answer your questions.” You said to Minseok indignantly.

“Lys!” Your father was prepared to reprimand you at your insolence in front of Bulibasha.

“Dado - ”

“Lys, just hold his hand and tell us what he’s thinking.” Minseok tried to lighten the tense atmosphere with his calm voice.

“I have better things to do than hold a gadjo’s hand and listen to the filth of his mind. I’ll leave you big and strong men to it.” You sauntered over to your father, the corner of your mouth raised in a smirk. Dusting the lint off of his magnificent black and red woollen cloak that was embroidered along the edges with the finest gold thread, you sang, “I’m nothing more than just a pretty princess, anway.”

“Lys, please!” Cried Minseok.

“What would you have me do, Minseok? Stay here with you all while my fiancé is canoodling with the Bladerunner by the pond?” You retorted.

Yixing shot you a puzzled glance while Minseok and your father averted their eyes.

"It’s known to be their usual hideout.” You half-shrugged at Yixing, your casual tone not doing much to ease the frown lines on his handsome face.

While you were busy squabbling with your family, the man on the chair lifted his head up, rope evidently cut loose with a push dagger, and immediately all four pairs of eyes turned to him. Underneath the caked blood and grime on his face, he flaunted golden skin, luscious lips, and sharp, distinct features. His eyes met yours and crinkled into crescents as his lips curved into a disrespectful smirk.

He gave you a casual two-finger salute goodbye and….vanished.

Breaking into an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the three men caught unawares, you turned on your heels and merrily skipped out of Yixing’s private chamber.

The next morning found you by the river, still trying to wrap your head around the events of yesterday. ‘Thank God it wasn’t you!’ Your brother’s gentle voice rang ominously in your ears. ‘But what if it was?’ you reasoned with yourself, ‘Would it have meant being finally free or trapped in a permanent state of oblivion?’ In tune with your mind, your feet wandered, taking you deeper into the viridian forest.

You stumbled upon something stock-still and landed on your back causing that something to stir and wince in pain as it slowly regained consciousness. You crawled as far away from it as you could only to recognize him by the pleated black cummerband around his waist. The gadjo struggled to hold himself up and flattened to the ground again.

His agony brought you some solace as Vera’s ashen face flashed before your eyes. Laughing, you exclaimed, "So this is how far you managed to get! A stone's throw from Bulibasha's tent."

The man winced again but a smile began to form on his lips. "Wa-water," he breathed but you leisurely rested your back against the trunk of a nearby tree and denied his request with a little shake of your head, “A life for a life, gadjo. Repay your debt. Your people killed my friend.”

“Not- not my doing,” he said throatily and began dragging himself towards the river. He was sculpted like the dancers of a lăutari - long and lean, elegantly broader along the shoulders and chest and enviably slim around the waist.

You offered him no help. Instead, waited with a bated breath for his soul to escape him. But his snail’s pace had started to exasperate you. So you begrudgingly volunteered to bring him water as his dying wish.

“Here you go, gadjo. Seeing the way my brother beat you up, a sip or two of water won’t be of much help, anyway.” You sneered, holding the edge of the cupped leaf to his bruised lips.

As he drank, colour slowly returned to his ghost-white, bloodied face. “Kai,” he said in a voice that was husky and deep.

“What?”

“It’s my name. You’d do well to remember it.” His face lit up with a smile and his eyes found your thick golden anklet bejeweled with iridescent beads. He flicked the bead trinkets with his finger and squeezed his eyes shut as if in admiration of a great symphony.

Before you could even make sense of the situation...of him...he vanished again.

Kai, you mouthed, curled up in bed at midnight.

“Kai,” you said the gadjo’s name out loud, the tips of your fingers tracing the movement of your lips and despite yourself, blood began to warm your face. It had been a week since you met him in the forest but the man had capsized your mind. You inwardly admonished yourself for not killing him when you had the chance - it was the least you could’ve done for Vera - but you couldn’t bring yourself to hurt him.

You saw truth in his innocent yet compelling eyes.

A whirlpool of emotions rose in your chest as you tossed and turned in bed causing a bead of your anklet to tangle with a loose silk thread from your quilt. Groaning, you sat up to undo it, and heard a sudden, loud crack.

Kai had unexpectedly appeared, standing at the foot of your bed. Arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side, he smiled down at you.

Returning his smile, you said, “If I scream, there’ll be at least ten men here, in no time, with sharp objects pointed at your throat.”

Gaze intertwined with yours, Kai knelt before you as his deft fingers found the troublesome bead. Smirking, he slowly pushed the quilt out of the way, and you instinctively pulled your skirts down below your knees. His mouth found the loose thread and he bit on it to free you from the restraint as his warm breath fanned your ankle and his soft lips brushed ever so slightly against your skin. As delicate as the touch was, it felt like being imprinted with a blazing hot cast-iron.

“If you truly wanted me dead, you wouldn’t have saved my life. And I’m here to thank you for that,” he smiled, and took the bold step of sitting next to you, on your bed. He then clicked his tongue, fingers ghosting along the curve of your ankle, and piped cockily, “Besides, you know I’d vanish before your sluggish men even manage to get here.”

“You think you’re very brave, gadjo?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just a fool for walking into the lioness’ den.”

His expression suddenly turned solemn. Studying your face intently, he whispered, “I’m sorry about your friend. I didn’t -”

“You didn’t what?” Your heart thumped wildly in your chest in a rather desperate anticipation of his innocence. So you immediately placed your clammy hand upon his trembling, cold one.

His voice grew thick with anguish as he explained, “I didn’t know those men were going to storm your clan. I’d only met them that morning. They said they were traveling south and I - I really had nowhere to go so I joined them without giving it much thought. I was desperate for company.”

His words were very much in line with his thoughts and memories. Images of the dacoits just as you’d seen them that evening, their boisterous banter, their journey towards the settlement, the food and wine and spoils they shared along the way, all flashed before your eyes.

You knew a liar when you saw one - their features were drawn out a bit differently, you’d believed. Baekhyun was a liar. He’d lied when you had asked him if he loved you. But Kai on the other hand…

“At the time you didn’t realize that they were plunderers?” You asked delicately.

“All I understood was that they weren’t men of strong character. But I didn’t care for their morality. I knew I could protect myself if worse came to worst.”

“Why didn’t you simply run...vanish when they besieged my clan?” As hard as you tried, you failed to keep the edge off of your voice.

The pitch of Kai’s voice rose as he continued to explain, “I grew numb...my hands and legs and...mind...I’ve seen war and suffering and I didn’t expect to cross paths with tragedy again so soon. So I - nobody noticed this at the time because of the chaos - but I fought on your side. I tried to save as many as I could.”

You contemplated on his words for a moment without realizing that his fingers were now laced with yours.

“- when my brother found you, you just -”

“I thought I - ,” his voice dropped and lower lip quivered slightly, “ - deserved the punishment.”

Fighting back your tears, you asked, “Why didn’t you explain this to them?”

“Did you see the look on your brother’s face? And the dragon’s? He was breathing fire even in his human form. They were ready to bring me to justice for the crimes I didn’t commit.”

You gave Kai a quick once-over. His face still bore bruises from the beating but his clothes were impeccable. Rich, even. He was dressed in a blue cashmere smock, red velvet pants, and his fingernails were coated in a deep teal. He wore a beaded bracelet on his right wrist that sparkled in the dim lighting of your tent - as did the platinum ring laced with exquisite tiny diamonds on his right hand index finger.

Had the dacoits looted him, they would’ve comfortably lived on the gains from the ring alone for a good part of the year. What was the need for them to tread such a great distance to loot your clan, you wondered.

Yet again, you grew wary of the man before you.

“Why are you telling me all this?” You asked.

“Because I don’t want you to resent me for the death of your friend.”

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you asked defensively, “Why do you care what I think, gadjo?”

“Kai,” he corrected you and placed a chaste kiss on your forehead. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear, he disappeared again.

The scattered morning light filtered through the thicket and descended in brilliant pearls in the unshackled stream of water amidst the medley of the trinkets on your anklet, the ballads of songbirds, and gushing water hitting rubbled mass as you tiptoed deeper into the forest.

A firm grasp balanced you by your arm as you hopped over rocks to cross the stream.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re tailing me, gadjo.” You teased him.

“Here,” he thrust some peeled almonds in your hand as soon as you got to the other side. Smiling, he said, “eat up. These extraordinary tiny things will help with your poor memory.”

He walked ahead of you, guiding, as you both slipped further into the capricious forest.

“You leave only to come crawling back so soon, Kai?” Although you uttered his name almost derisively, you felt heat rising up your cheeks as it fell from your lips.

“You see? The almonds help.” He stated matter-of-factly.

You merely scoffed in response.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” He asked, retaining a casual tone.

Letting out a deep sigh, you bombarded him with your well thought out mental list of questions in response. The questions that had plagued your mind since your very first encounter with him.

“Where are you from, gadjo? Don’t you have a home? A... girl waiting for you?” You deliberately held on to his arm on the pretext of steadying yourself ...and his mind drew a blank.

I can’t remember anything before you.

You were about to say something more but then stopped short, retreating until your back hit the trunk of a tree. He followed and halted only at a hair breadth’s distance from you, towering over, as sunlight danced on his skin.

He breathed, “You tell me. Do I?”

“Hmm?” Brows quirked, you stared right back into his eyes as his head continued to lower slowly and you, despite yourself, started going up on the tip of your toes, his hand around your waist holding you steady.

“Do I have a girl,” he whispered, his index finger lifting your chin up, his warm breath tickling your face and his lips ghosting over yours, “waiting for me?”

Your eyelids drooped almost instinctively as the back of his fingers gently caressed the side of your face.

“Kai -”

He chuckled, swiftly scooping you up in his arms. You felt your whole body squint and your ears popped rather painfully. It wasn’t long before Kai’s feet found firm ground in a meadow full of beautiful plume thistles while you stayed burying your face in the crook of his neck, eyes firmly squeezed shut.

He gently put you down but your legs gave out. Feeling squeamish, you berated him, “Warn me the next time, yes?”

He pulled you in a tight embrace, panic betraying his voice, he asked, “Are- are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize!”

“How do you survive this at all? It’s- it feels terrible! I feel horribly queasy and my spine is trying to claw its way out of my back!” You argued aimlessly.

“One gets used to it.” He said softly as you lay on your back and he lied down next to you.

“Where are we?”

“We’re very close to Cluj-Napoca. Prince Jongin’s would-have-been kingdom.” His vague and casual tone was starting to vex you a little.

“Prince Jongin?” You enquired rather haughtily.

He answered, “Yours truly,” and bent his neck down in a bow.

“You - you’re a prince?”

He turned to face you and you excitedly followed suit. Tracing your jawline with his finger he whispered, “Not anymore. I mean - forget it, it’s a long story.” He sighed and turned his face to the clear blue skies again.

Propping yourself up on your elbows, you urged him to continue, “I have all the time in the world.”

He took a moment to contemplate on your words and then his own before indulging you with a wistful smile on his face, “I turned out to be someone..something nobody expected out of me. More capable than the rightful heir, more popular with the people, more popular within the court, and more popular with the King himself.”

“Hmm...I’ll need a little more than that.”

Kai chuckled, his eyes crinkling into half moons again. “Three months ago, Cluj-Napoca was attacked by the Kingdom of Bucharest. My father - the King - was recovering from an affliction of the nerves at the time. Although I am not much of a fighter myself...well, I wasn’t trained to be one but what I lack in strength, I make up for in agility.. I led the army into battle and we managed to protect our territorial integrity and independence.”

Kai had been continuously fidgeting with the lace on his black tunic while narrating the story of his bravado, leaving you utterly astonished at the duplexity of his personality.

“So what went wrong?” You asked, studying him closely.

“The thing is I am not the King’s legitimate son,” he laughed and continued the story in a slightly higher pitch as if imitating someone, “I was born out of love, says my mother. I’m the son of a concubine.”

“But, if after everything, the King was in your favour then why did you leave?”

“He was toying with the idea of making my half-brother renounce his title. So before matters could get any worse for her son, the Queen asked me to ‘disappear into the night’ as compensation for not driving me to the streets when I was a mere boy.”

Aghast, you enquired, “So you just left?”

He simply shrugged and replied, “I am not built for a life of frivolity and merely keeping up appearances.”

“But what of your mother?”

“She’s not built for a life otherwise than of frivolity and keeping up appearances. Besides, she’s been offered an elevated position within the court by the Queen after my disappearance and she intends on keeping it. And as for my father...well, he thinks I’m a traitor who abandoned his own people. That’s why on the day that your clan was raided...I couldn’t think straight. The war with Bucharest has clearly taken a heavy toll on me...suffering of others is far beyond the level of my tolerance.”

“But what about your subjects? Tell me, how are you so casual about this?”

“You’re the daughter of the richest man in the clan. Why do you want to leave?”

“It’s not the same. Also, how do you know what I want? And- and don’t answer a question with a question. It’s annoying.”

He huddled closer to you and bragged, “It’s all in your eyes.”

“Enough, gadjo, this is not about me.” Your face flamed and your stomach was in knots in anticipation of his answer.

He let out a heavy sigh and replied, “Life is an adventure that is best lived boldly. I can go wherever I want, whenever I like. Why should someone like me bear the stifling burden of a crown when I can be...free.”

True to his character, Kai yet again appeared out of nowhere, took the heavy jute tote out of your hand and asked, “Don’t you have a handmaiden for these things?”

He was dressed entirely in black - dress shirt tucked into fitted trousers - and his face was covered with a sequined veil mask, leaving only his alluring eyes exposed. To say that you were not used to his abrupt appearances would be a gross understatement.

“I’m picking up some specific things for Vera’s mother...also, we’re in the middle of a bazaar, gadjo! You’re growing bolder by the day.”

“Lys, did you forget to take your almonds this morning?”

You scorned, “Do you have a death wish? If my brother sees you here... or the dragon... or..”

“Your precious fiancé?” He teased. “The one who’s..what was it again? Yes, the one who’s busy canoodling with the Bladerunner by the pond?”

Suppressing a grin, you gave him the side-eye and asked, “So you’re different, then? Better than Baekhyun?”

“Vastly! Tremendously! Immensely! Extremely!”

Shaking your head, you shot him an offhanded remark, “I don’t believe you.”

He immediately grabbed you by your wrist and dragged you inside what seemed like a dingy storage room for grains and pulses. Setting the bag down on the floor, he looked you in the eyes and roughly placed your hand on his chest.

”Don’t you think I’m different? Don’t you believe that I’m better? Don’t you understand I can make you happy? Truly happy?” He asked, his heart pulsing against your fingertips.

The overwhelming words you want to say...talk to me comfortably...I’ll listen to you...loosen the boundaries...I’m like you, too.

Eyes glistening, he pleaded, “Fly away with me.”

“No.” You stated plainly while your head and heart hammered wildly at the words he so bravely uttered and the ones he didn’t.

Brows knit together, his face scrunched in comprehension of your answer. “Why not?”

“It makes me squeamish.” You shrugged.

“Stop being funny.”

“You’re being funny. Whatever happened to you wanting to be free?”

“I don’t understand.”

Arms defensively crossed over your chest, you looked away from him and muttered, “You know what I mean -”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t mean I wanted to be free from you!” Kai’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he continued to argue, “Please don’t tell me you’re in love with the idiot you’re engaged to.”

“Of course not! It was just an arrangement to keep his loyalties with the family.”

“Then what is it?” He asked in his softest voice.

“I can hear the words you don't say, gadjo.” You bellowed, nearly throwing him back.

He shushed you before asking in a whisper, “So?”

“Isn’t it terrifying?” You struggled to keep your voice low at his very tempting yet terrifying proposition.

“On the contrary, in fact. I’ve never been good at putting my feelings into words. I say the things I don’t mean and freeze when I’m expected to say something. I’m easily misunderstood, Lys.”

“But everyone has secrets that they’d like to keep...secret. And from where I stand, you’re a man of too many secrets, gadjo.”

“And you’re the woman capable of unveiling them all. Look, I have nothing to hide and I don’t even want to keep anything from you. The rest,” he gulped hard before continuing, “is up to you. Think about it, would you rather be trapped in a loveless marriage? You’re the bravest woman I know, Lys. Don’t try to run away from truth.”

Ever since you’d met Kai, he was all you could think of. With him you felt safe and happy - the two emotions that had eluded you for the longest time. You wouldn’t dare to admit this to yourself but as frightening as it was, you also felt loved. All these years caught in an airless vortex, you felt like you could finally breathe - finally someone wanted you for who you were and not what you pretended to be - but something was still holding you back.

***

Kai’s words kept you up all night.

Eloping with him was a solution to all of your problems but it meant bringing shame to your family. You knew for a fact that you’d never be happy at the cost of their happiness. Sleep and answers eluding you, you scraped your hair up in a bun and threw a shawl over your shoulders to go see your father.

The fragrance of sandalwood mixed with liquor pervaded the air as you knelt beside his sleeping form. Age had started to prominently line his skin yet he looked a lot youthful without a scowl painted across his features. You planted a soft kiss on his forehead and the back of his hand, perennially struggling with your feelings towards him. He was your father, after all, and you couldn’t say that he never loved you. You only wished that he tried to understand you better.

“Dado,” you whispered against his hand, “I love you.” and broke down, sobbing quietly.

Suddenly, his disturbing thoughts came unravelled to you, filling you with unbridled rage and fear.

Fear for Kai’s life.

“You ice-veined monster...” You whispered against his hand before storming out of the tent.

“We have to stop seeing each other, gadjo.” Avoiding Kai’s eyes, you broke it to him as coolly as you could, caging a maelstrom of emotions within you.

“Would you stop calling me that? It’s cold and impersonal.” He took your hand in his as you both continued to trod lightly into the forest.

“And you’d like me to be warm...and personal..with a gadjo.. Because?”

Hurt flashed in his eyes at your remark but at this point you wanted nothing more than to save his life. When you grew to be so protective of Kai, you couldn’t tell but you knew you would do anything to save him from your vicious father. And to be able to do that, you needed him gone for good.

“Because I’m not just anyone. I am...” Breathing heavily, he pinned you to a tree.

Yours, roared his conscience. Unambiguously.

A welcome warmth seeped into your veins but you maintained a stoic demeanour. If he could hear your thoughts he’d take you away...far, far away from this stockade you called home. Tears you’d been trying so hard to hold back, spilled from your eyes as he lowered his mouth to meet yours in a deep kiss.

“We can’t be together, Kai.” Breaking the kiss, you pushed him away and sank to the ground, weeping.

Despite your protests, he carried you in his arms. Smiling, he nodded to gain your attention and trust before yelling, “Three…,” You engaged your core at “Two” and at “One” you felt a familiar uncomfortable knot in the pit of your stomach.

“It’s dark here.” You remarked, while still in the protective comfort of his arms.

“It’s night time in this part of the world, dragă.” He explained putting you down on your feet.

“Oh..you just called me -”

“I’ve been learning your tongue, iubirea mea.”

You were grateful for the darkness as it concealed just how smitten you were. Swiftly changing the subject, you asked, “Where are we?”

“Somewhere far, far away,” said Kai and you heard the smile in his voice, “at the edge of a crater of a volcano. But not to worry, it’s an inactive one.”

“How boring!” You teased, as he carefully sat you down.

A blanket of stars glimmered above as you and Kai cuddled closer to each other, enveloped in a cool breeze.

“Lys,” Kai’s eyes shone brighter than the stars as he turned to face you, “whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ll work it out. My father once said that there is no problem so complex, nor crisis so grave that cannot be satisfactorily resolved within twenty minutes. And twenty minutes is all we have. Right?”

“I have to be back in time for -”

“For lunch, yes.”

“Let me tell you a story,” you said, and Kai lay down, resting his head in your lap.

“Go on,” he urged you, the tip of his index finger meeting your nose in a little pat.

With your hand on his forehead, you narrated, “There was once a couple who married for love, much against the wishes of the Elders of their village. Because of this, the newlyweds were driven out. They wandered for weeks without food and water, travelling far and wide, seeking shelter...and acceptance. One day they found,” you swallowed hard and Kai’s expression turned solemn. He gently caressed your face with his fingers, calming you down to help you continue, “they found us. Our clan, I mean and my father was Clan Leader at the time. The woman had grown fragile and sick and was in an urgent need of care but my father denied them shelter. ‘They’ve been expelled for a good reason,’ he maintained. He lacked the basic human decency to even offer them some food for sustenance. They camped outside the settlement, pleading with anyone and everyone who crossed paths with them...until...until the woman could take it no longer. She died in her sleep and the man vowed to annihilate all those who were responsible for her death - our clan included. The leader of the dacoits who brought you to the clan that day is the man in the story, Kai.”

Brows furrowed, Kai opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

“My father - he - he recognized the man the day they stormed our settlement. And after everything, when he found you, it was like he’d struck gold. He was all set to incriminate you because our clan won’t rest until someone’s been punished. But truly - it’s all his fault. Had he not denied them refuge, the man wouldn’t have harboured resentment against us. Now he knows about us. He knows that you come to see me...he’s been keeping a close eye on us to be able to capture you at the right time. It won’t be long before he succeeds, Kai. So you must- I mean, we can’t -,” you huffed, “after all, I’m engaged to be married. Minseok and Yixing are going to pay Baekhyun a visit tomorrow to fix a date for the wedding.”

Biting on his lower lip, Kai contemplated on your words for a while before speaking again. “Seventeen minutes. I have a plan. Do you trust me?” He looked at you with mischief twinking in his deep, dark eyes and a smile teasing the edges of his lips. You replied with a hesitant nod.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” You said.

“Anything,” Kai said with a smile. He closed his eyes and placing your hand on his chest.

“You can be anywhere, everywhere and with anyone, yet-”

“Yet?”

“You know what I mean,” your voice trailed off.

“I can be anywhere and everywhere,” said Kai, cupping your face in his hands, “but I want to be by your side. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Don’t you see why it makes me upset when you say that we can’t see each other anymore? Don’t you see the irony? You can’t tell me that I can ‘port anywhere, except where I actually want to be. I love you, Lys.”

Looking straight into his eyes you said softly, “Love is a strong word.”

Brows quirked, he enquired, “Does it scare you?”

Your eyes glistened with tears as you responded, “As selfish as it may sound, I don’t want to bring dishonour to my family.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

“But what if your plan fails?”

“It won’t. And if at all it does, I’ll make sure you’re safe and sound. As for me, it’d be an honour to die for love.”

He loosened your fist open and placed a small china jar in your palm. You opened to find almonds in it. He grinned wide, and said, “Fresh ones.. in case you’d run out.”

If you loved Baekhyun you would’ve, without a doubt, stabbed the woman with the same knife that she sat polishing.

For the longest time you’d tried to hate her for being the object of your fiancé’s affections, admire her for her bravery, admonish her for her recklessness for if anyone were to ever find out… but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel anything for or against her.

Pivoting your attention to Kai’s best laid plan, chin up and voice firm, you said to her, “Show me your best blade.”

“What do you need it for?” She asked nonchalantly, entirely focused on the task at hand. Sure you’d grown softer since you’d met Kai but for her to not acknowledge a former Clan Leader’s presence fueled your anger.

You walked over to her and rested your hands on her shoulders, squeezing a little too harshly than you’d intended to. You wished she were thinking about anything other than Baekhyun but you weren’t surprised to find that she wasn’t.

“Lys!” She exclaimed, almost falling out of the little worn out wooden stool. She met your eyes, albeit with great difficulty.

Deliberately curling your lips into your best feature - a sinister smile, you whispered in her ear, “One that is good enough for carving a man’s heart out of his chest,” before tossing a piece of silver in her direction and strutting out with a navaja, a fighting knife.

***

“Do you have it?”

Kai appeared in your tent as you sat leisurely, snacking on peeled almonds.

“Solve a mystery for me. How do you always find me because I’ve never seen you wander in through the entrance panels. You just pop up out of nowhere.”

“We have an important task at hand.” He said, sitting down next to you, bearing the mannerism of an army general.

“No, I need to know. Now.”

Kai groaned at your unpredictable temperament and slapped his thighs.

“Alright, if you must know,” he said in a seductively low voice, leering at you as his nimble fingers drew circles along your foot. He slowly drew your skirts up with his other hand and you immediately smacked it down in protest.

“Fine,” he chimed. Letting out a sigh, he tugged at your anklet, “The sound of this has been burned into my memory. It’s how I find you everytime.”

“How very romantic. What if I were to take it off?” You asked playfully.

He tilted his head to the side, a hint of annoyance on his face. Firmly, he said, “Please, don’t.”

“Alright, alright!” You exclaimed at the sudden shift in his mood. “So what’s next?” You asked.

He removed an unassuming little vial from the pocket of his buckskin waistcoat and said, “This.”

You recognized the design of the vial - the opaque green glass bottle and its mouth closed with a black cork, “A spell?”

“The dragon’s wife is too trusting!” He exclaimed cockily.

“You went to see Bulibasha’s wife -”

“Assuming a disguise, of course!”

“Are you insane?!”

“Does it come as a surprise?”

“What did you tell her?!”

“I told her that this spell is the only way I can be with the one I love. And I wasn’t lying.”

“You really have a death wish, gadjo!”

“Kai!”

It took you a little while to calculate the risks of his audacity. Gaping at him, you finally spoke again, “Tell me what’s next. I have the blade.”

“Excellent.” He held the bottle up to your eye level and explained, “I’m going to sprinkle this on the Bladerunner when she’s on her way back home in the evening and her worst fears will come alive and start gnawing at her. And what do you think is her worst fear?”

“Losing Baekhyun.” You answered in a haughty disdain.

Kai chuckled. “Perfect. You said your brother and the dragon are going to visit your pretty little fiancé tonight? This spell will get the better of the Bladerunner and against her best judgement, she’s bound to go to see Baekhyun around the same time. The two men already have their suspicions about her and to catch her visiting Baekhyun at an ungodly hour will only reinforce their worst fears and this time they’ll not be able to wriggle out of it. Baekhyun and the Bladerunner will definitely be called into the dragon’s spine-chilling, morbid private chamber after that and a decision will be made.”

“What does that mean for us?” You asked, adrenaline making your blood quicken.

“Leave that to me. All you have to do is be there before they pronounce a decision and request a private audience with the dragon and your brother. And remember to,” he grabbed the navaja from your nightstand, its cutting edge reflecting the glint in Kai’s eyes. The corners of his mouth curled up, he quipped innocently, “use this well.”

The day unfolded exactly the way Kai had predicted.

Baekhyun and the Bladerunner had been called into Yixing’s private chamber at dawn. It was too early for the clan to start it’s day so you waited outside the tent just as Kai had instructed, listening closely for the right time to make an entrance. A loud and intense argument ensued between Minseok, Yixing, and Baekhyun - the three men who might as well be sworn brothers.

If you’d never met Kai, you would’ve thought that Baekhyun was being dramatic - fighting tooth and nail to save himself from heartbreak. It was a little selfish, you thought. Hearts mend, your father said to you when you had begged him not to put down your pet goat when she’d injured herself.

“But not without leaving a deep scar,” you muttered to yourself before barging into Bulibasha’s private chamber.

Seeing your father’s arrogant portrait next to the dragon’s in Yixing’s private chamber bolstered your bitterness towards him. Without another thought, you struck the portrait in its right eye with the navaja. That wasn’t what the knife was intended for but it was akin to killing two birds with one stone. As it went flying towards the portrait, it nicked the Bladerunner’s ear since she heroically pushed her lover out of harm’s way.

“Lys! You’ve ruined Father’s portrait!” Your dutiful big brother lambasted you.

Having dressed for the occasion in a red, black, and gold robes, and lips painted in a delicious scarlet, you walked with a deliberate swing in your hips, your dark, waist length hair emulating the movement. You allowed your fingernails to brush the Bladerunner’s arm as you sauntered over for the navaja under eagle-eyed stares.

With the knife in your hand, you came and stood before the Bladerunner, placed a hand on her cheek and whispered, “You have beautiful skin, Bladerunner. I’d hate to ruin it,” as you ran the edge of the navaja along her neck, pressing it just enough to leave her with a superficial cut. You were sure Baekhyun was bound to overreact, and he did.

He pulled you out of the way, standing like a barrier between the woman he loved and the one he tolerated. His firm grasp around your wrist was starting to hurt you but you maintained an unwavering demeanour. Your eyes landed on Baekhyun’s exposed sternum. It had been a while since you saw him without the basil necklace. The necklace was a testament of the promise you made to love and cherish each other forever but it was obviously no more than an accessory to him.

“Hand it over. It never looked good on you, anyway.” You whispered and extended your hand toward him. Without a word, he slapped the necklace into your palm. Your heart hammered widely against your ribs because things were going exactly the way they were supposed to but in your experience it was never a good sign.

You knew what Baekhyun was going to do next. The look in your eyes taunted and teased him until he finally snapped. Baekhyun grabbed the dagger from your hand amidst loud gasps from everyone present.

He’d done it.

One prevalent belief still held by the clan was that taking a knife straight from someone’s hand meant that the relationship between the giver and the recipient had been severed.

Baekhyun had finally severed his relationship with you. Despite the anxiety bubbling in your stomach, you smiled inwardly at Kai’s genius.

“Baekhyun! What have you done?” Yixing’s voice thundered, echoing loudly in everyone’s ears but the enormity of his action was clearly lost on the Baekhyun. He continued to plead, “If the Bladerunner is to be punished, Bulibasha, I deserve a harsher punishment. I don’t care what the Zakono says. You can’t go on acting like she was alone in this!”

Minseok seemed firmly rooted to his place as he shot daggers at Baekhyun, his cat-like eyes disapproving Baekhyun’s out-of-character rebelliousness.

Now’s the time, you thought to yourself before being the one to break the uncomfortable silence. “He seeks her when he’s upset. And even when he’s not.” You turned to bow before Yixing and appealed, “Bulibasha, I would like to request a private audience.”

***

An exhausted Yixing slumped to the floor with his back against his spectacular dragon portrait. Face buried in hands, he groaned, “You young people really know how to complicate matters.”

“I agree,” Minseok joined in the whining while pouring wine into three goblets.

“Yixing, you have to stop acting like we have decades between us. And Minseok, put that down! It’s too early in the day for wine! Tell me what you’d rather have me do. He’s been in love with the Bladerunner forever.” You tried reasoning with them but Minseok only shook his head indignantly at your words.

“Baekhyun can’t do this to us after everything our family’s done for him. We took him in, fed him, clothed him. This is not how he repays us!” Minseok exclaimed.

You couldn’t help but draw parallels between Kai and Baekhyun’s journey so far. While they didn’t have a lot in common, one thing was for sure. They’d forever been treated like outsiders in their own homes.

“Bulibasha -” You turned to plead with Yixing.

“This is a nice switch from Yixing for when you want to reprimand me to Bulibasha for when you need something from me.” Chastised Yixing, tilting his head to the side, expression blank.

Eyes downcast, you mumbled, “I don’t want to go ahead with the wedding.”

“The Lys I know would want revenge. The Lys I know would’ve asked for his head on a spike. And hers, too!” Yixing exclaimed.

“I’m just not the same Lys anymore. The both of you really need to stop trying to control everything and everyone around you. Minseok, you know we have better fighters now and we don’t really need Baekhyun anymore. And you can’t use me to keep him by your side forever. Besides,” you got up to fetch a goblet of wine for yourself, “forgive me but… i need some liquid courage before I -”

“Please don’t tell me you’re serious about the gadjo.” Minseok muttered nonchalantly, with blatant disregard for the surprise his statement had taken you with.

Steadying yourself by tightly gripping the goblet, you asked, “You know about him?!”

“Of course, I do!” Minseok exclaimed, “I mean, we do, Yixing and I both. You thought you’d disappear randomly and nobody would ever find out? The gadjo even procured a spell from the Clan Leader’s wife! It was foolish, if you ask me.”

You offered no further explanation and said instead, “Kai. It’s his name. You’d do well to remember.”

Fuming, Yixing bellowed, “Have you no shame, Lys? His people stormed our clan. We lost no fewer than eight lives that day! You lost Vera! Have you forgotten already?”

With no care in the world, you started to defend Kai, “I haven’t forgotten and I never will. But the monsters who raided us weren’t his people. He was just as surprised by it as we were. Whatever happened is Dado’s fault.”

It was Minseok’s turn to rebuke you, “Lys, I know you love to blame him for everything but this is a serious matter. You’re taking things too far.”

“No, Minseok, it honestly is!”

Minseok and Yixing listened carefully as you revealed to them the secrets your father had been harbouring and how it was his ruse to pin the blame of the raid on Kai. Neither of them spoke for quite some time, trying to assimilate the information you’d just shared with them.

“Lys,” said Yixing calmly, as Minseok sat with his hand over his head, “even if what you say is true, you know the Zakono does not permit you to marry a gadjo.”

“Bulibasha, say that I was snatched...taken...it’s better than saying that I ran away. I can’t bear to be here any longer.” You walked over to where your brother sat, shaken and furious. You took his hands in yours, looked into his eyes and cried, “Minseok, someone like me is not meant to be confined… I want to be out in the world, moving constantly, exploring, unearthing its marvels and wonders, its deepest ...the most well kept secrets, just- just living. I am begging you to let me live!”

“Lys, that’s enough!” Interrupted a new voice, bringing you a sudden surge of relief.

You turned around to find Kai in light-toned pink fitted trousers and a broad cummerbund around his slim waist that accentuated the elegant lines of his body. A relaxed chiffon and lace tunic in the same pale pink shade with flared sleeves that closed around his wrists was tucked into the cummerbund and his ebony hair fell in silken locks over his forehead.

He took confident strides towards Yixing, and stated with a sense of surety in his eyes, “If we wanted, we could’ve disappeared without a trace.”

“Get out, gadjo,” said Minseok in a dangerously low voice, “nobody needs you here.”

“The woman I love does,” answered Kai coldly, “so I will stay until she asks me to leave.”

Anger igniting his momentum, Minseok lunged forward and punched Kai in the chest with all the strength he could muster causing Kai to stumble several feet back.

“Look at him!” Spat Minseok as you rushed to Kai’s aid while he struggled to gain his bearings. “What a weakling! I cannot trust him to protect my little sister.”

Regaining your composure, you said to your brother in a threateningly calm voice, “Minseok...don’t make me say it.”

Minseok turned to you, face scarlet and eyes bloodshot. He demanded, “What is left to be said, Lys?”

Brows furrowed you looked him in the eyes as your heart threatened to leap out of your chest. “Father doesn’t have a lot of years left and... you know how bad it’ll be if word got out we were raided because of his misdeeds...the wrong decisions he made as Clan Leader.”

Minseok laughed darkly and shot you a disgusted look. “You’re right, Lys. You’re clearly not a child anymore. But what would you rather have me do, huh? Disrespect the Zakono? Give you away to a man who abandoned his own people? One who doesn’t have a place to call home?”

“Minseok, that’s enough,” commanded Yixing, causing Minseok to stop at once. Hands on hips, he continued, “Everyone has the right to choose their own destiny. And I’m sure you understand this better than I do, you can’t expect our headstrong Lys to change her mind easily especially when it’s set on something. We’ll let you have your way, Lys. But -” Yixing’s scrutinizing gaze met Kai’s kind eyes.

Yixing reached for the leather coffer which sat in an inconspicuous corner of the tent. You’d been to the private chamber multiple times for various reasons before but you’d never noticed the coffer. He crouched over it, rummaging for something specific. It was a few minutes before he rose to his full height again, a talisman in his hand, his face saying nothing in particular.

He split the talisman in two, fastened one half of it to a black thread and quietly tied it around your neck and gave the other piece to Minseok. The talisman was similar to the one he wore around his wrist. It was very much like a jade stone, flickering in various shades of green as if alive and breathing.

“The talisman will tell us where you are - at all times. It’ll turn red to signal us when you’re in mortal danger. If that is to ever happen, no matter where you are, you know I’ll find to you in no time. And when the light goes out - ” before the mood could turn somber, Yixing continued with a voice heavily laced with pride, “Don’t ever think about taking the talisman off. Well, the truth is, you couldn’t even if you tried. This thread has been strengthened by a number of powerful charms and spells..fashioned by my own wife.”

You responded only with an understanding nod, the realization that you were finally going to have it your way had not sunk in yet. Yixing and Kai shared a look before Kai walked over to him with a grave expression on his face. Yixing drew a dagger out the bandoleer strapped around his thigh and Kai placed his hand on the teakwood desk in the room.

“Make it quick, Bulibasha,” said Kai.

“What’s going on?” You whispered into Minseok’s ear.

Minseok sighed before responding in a clipped tone, “Proof that we fought for you when the gadjo was taking you away as revenge for the death of his dacoit friends. But the gadjo just.. vanished with you and all we managed to get was -”

Your conversation was interrupted by Kai’s muffled cry of pain as he collapsed at Yixing’s feet.

“- a little finger.”

In a state of blind panic, you rushed to be by Kai’s side, struggling to form words. You were aware that Yixing wouldn’t let you go without proof of Kai’s commitment towards you but you never imagined it would come to this.

“Take this,” Yixing held the mouth of a vial to Kai’s lips as he grappled with consciousness. Kai hurriedly gulped down the milk of the poppy which knocked him out almost immediately. While he was asleep, Yixing called for his woman to clean and bandage him.

***

You spent that time sitting next to a sulking Minseok.

Setting aside his pride, Minseok finally asked, “Will you atleast come visit?”

You rested your head on your brother’s shoulder and he instinctively huddled closer to pat it affectionately. “Every full moon, I promise,” you replied softly as a silent tear rolled down your cheek.

He pulled out a heavy drawstring pouch from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to you saying, “Keep this.”

You shook the purse in your hand until the coins jingled and then reprimanded Minseok, “Kai’s father is King for god’s sake! He can take care of me.”

“But I still want you to have it. I had so many dreams.. the wedding I’d planned for you..” said Minseok as tears sparkled like diamonds in his eyes, “please...keep it.”

You pulled your brother into a tight hug and sobbed, “Take care of yourself, always.”

“You’re a fine one to talk...eloping with a gadjo. Can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. Unconventional to the end, Lys.” He twisted your ear playfully while crying and laughing simultaneously.

“Let those idiots get married, Minseok, and set the fool who broke my heart free.”

“Lys -”

Pouting, you asked, “Won’t you do it for your darling sister?”

“Fine!” Minseok agreed begrudgingly, “Anything else, your highness?”

“Take care of Vera’s mother.”

“You know I already do,” said Minseok, flicking your forehead. “Promise me you’ll come visit? And you’ll always, always take care of yourself?”

You took Minseok’s hand in yours and pressed your lips to his knuckles, as his heart continued to weep.

***

It was nearly noon when Kai finally awoke.

You stood up as he walked over to you with a marked confidence in his demeanour like his little finger wasn’t carved out of his body just a few hours ago. He wrapped his arms around your waist, while Yixing and Minseok watched uncomfortably, and rested his forehead against yours.

With your hand on his chest you asked Kai, “Are you alright?”

“Never been better. You look like a bride, iubirea mea,” he said, holding you closer, tighter as his hands travelled the length of your back.

“Shall we?” He asked, lowering his head to press his lips against yours. He deepened the kiss and you responded with equal fervour as he lifted you off your feet, twirling you in his arms until you felt a familiar, intense drop in your stomach, one you’d soon have to get used to.

‘Cause I’m too wicked I want to take all of your heart Don’t you worry So soon, you have my world

You make me feel so Mm-mhm..

**********************

hello @diveinthebluewithyou this one’s for you...welcome to Romaniverse!! hope you enjoy <3

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randomoranges · 3 years ago

Text

it is never too early for the xmas fics.

i started this one last year and lost the mojo for it. i obviously always remembered that there was an unfinished fic lurking in my folder.

i do not remember where i was going with this fic, but it turned into this. it is a cute silly little teacher au xmas fic that is now complete.

listen, the radio station from the states i always listen to over the holidays started with the xmas songs. it is good enough for me haha.

Step Into Christmas

For a man who detests the cold, Étienne loves – no, adores Christmas quite a lot. From the decorating to the crafts and wrapping gifts for loved ones, Étienne goes absolutely crazy the moment November rolls around. Edward knew that his boyfriend enjoyed the holiday, but he didn’t fully realise how much he did until he saw just how overboard the other went with his decorating and gift giving.

It makes him happy, Étienne said, and Edward is not one to argue or question that.

The only drawback to this, when it comes to work, is that Étienne, being a specialist teacher, sees a large amount of students’ day in and day out. He does decorate the art classroom, but he doesn’t get to revel in the other things the homeroom teachers get to do that are more personal, such as gift exchanges, or personalised little gifts for their students and such. For as much as Étienne is motivated, he isn’t about to handcraft 400 different items.

He still makes it a point to make it special for his own students with special projects and they do enjoy the decorations he puts up in the classroom, but he never really gets to do the special activities on the last day of school before the holidays with his own group, since he has so many.

Luckily, he has Edward and Edward’s classroom to live through vicariously.

Edward likes the holidays and he enjoys putting up decorations in the classroom for the kids, but when he started dating Étienne, his boyfriend decided to take matters into his own hands and helped him out. Therefore, every year, around the second week of November, Étienne comes up to Edward’s classroom and starts putting up strings of lights, decorations in the windows, a small Christmas village in the back of the room, giant 3D paper snowflakes, and such. Étienne then makes a tiny Christmas stocking for each of Edward’s students that hang on the door. Edward is relegated to making paper snowflakes with his students and hangs those up as well and honestly, it is more than enough for him. The students’ like it, Étienne is happy and Edward doesn’t have to think of anything else. It’s win-win.

On top of that, every year, without fault, Étienne prints him a stack of thank-you cards to send home to the kids who give him a present and he even makes personalised little cards for the students. All Edward has to do is sign them and stuff them in the envelopes. He istruly spoiled.

“D’you think mistletoe is a bit much?” Étienne asks as he rummages through his box of decorations.

Edward looks up from the pile of exams he’d been grading and gives his boyfriend a look. “Did you forget we work in an elementary school, or?”

Étienne pouts, “No, I didn’t. But – you could change it for signs of friendship and it would totally give me an excuse to kiss you every time I happen to be pop by and you answer the door,” He grins, ever so pleased with himself. Even though they both know he’d never do such a thing, considering they haven’t even told the staff they’re together, and Edward rolls his eyes, fond, before going back to his grading. Still, it’s nice to dream.

“You do enough of that at home,” He teases, circling an incorrect answer and marking the right one.

“And yet, I have never heard you complain.” Étienne settles on a garland instead and continues humming Christmas songs to himself.

“Ah, but home is where the heart is,” Edward rebukes and leans back on his chair, taking a break from the grading. He’d get to it later. He enjoys watching Étienne putter around his class as he decorates. He has an eye for it. The best is when he has a free period and Edward has him come to his class to decorate with the kids. They absolutely love it. By the end of November, his class looks like a winter wonderland and both students and boyfriend are delighted by it. He likes it as well – likes how it makes everyone he cares about happy. Plus, he gets to do it all over again at home, where he lets Étienne run amuck and follows his master plan.

He’s put in charge of putting the lights outside, while Étienne takes care of the inside and his Christmas village. (Really, it should be a city on itself, considering its size). And – they always do the tree together. It’s probably his favourite part of the holidays; opening up their boxes of ornaments, finding old favourites and sharing anecdotes of them. He likes the way both his and Étienne’s ornaments complement each other – how each one is unique and different, yet has a spot on their tree. He also likes the ones they got together – on trips, or while visiting a Christmas market together. Most of all, he likes the utter look of joy on his boyfriend’s face and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Yoohoo – earth calling M Édouard, come in M Édouard, do you read me, over?”

Edward blinks and realises he’s been caught daydreaming again. He shakes his head, amused and gets up from his seat, “Loud and clear, over,” He says as he walks over to Étienne, who’s now at the far back of the class, away from the door where he’d been before.

Edward snags up the mistletoe from the box, without Étienne seeing him and stops by his side.

“So, what do you think so far?” Étienne asks.

“I think you’ve outdone yourself,” He says, taking in the decorations on the windows, door, and corkboard. “The kids will love it.” It seems each section has its own theme, yet the colours don’t clash and everything has room to breathe. He has no idea how Étienne does it, but it’s a work of art.

Étienne beams, pleased as punch.

“Excellent; I’d stay longer, but I have to prep a few things, sadly. I’ll see you at the end of the day?” He asks, even though they live together and Edward drives them both home nearly every day after classes.

“Of course, but before you go,” He starts and brings out the mistletoe to place it above their heads, “Mistletoe,” He says, placing the briefest, yet softest of kisses to his boyfriend’s cheek. It’s over before Étienne has much of a chance to react, and he grins to himself, pleased, when Étienne’s cheeks colour ever so.

“Not fair!” Étienne stammers, delighted however by the action.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Edward asks, teasing grin in place as he places the mistletoe in Étienne’s hair.

“Yes, but I’m usually the one who gets you underneath it.”

Étienne does have a point. He’s the one to come up with clever schemes to surprise him with mistletoe, all to get a kiss or two from him. Edward secretly thinks it’s adorable – not that he’d ever say anything; Étienne’s ego is healthy enough as it is.

“Maybe, but this was a nice change, eh?”

Étienne recognises the teasing edge to him and matches his grin as he gathers his things and heads to the door, “Maybe – does that mean I should watch out for any more surprise mistletoe?”

“Absolutely.”

He laughs, and after making sure there’s no one around, pecks Edward’s lips quickly, “It’s on then – Murphy. The mistletoe wars are on,” With that, he waves at him and heads off to his own classroom, Edward quietly laughing to himself, returning to his desk to get ready for the afternoon.

FIN

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #fic #au #teacher au

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moody-bloosh · 4 years ago

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Give me some Fugo kiSses

when they cry (Pannacotta Fugo)

content warning! yandere stuff sacrificial lamb au

yandere starter prompts (closed) - kisses + pannacotta fugo

Pannacotta Fugo is the only son of the most influential family of your village. Your family has served his for generations and it is only because of that fact that you have the privilege to know him. For the village and even his family had scorned him as a monster for his strange white hair and piercing red eyes.

But to you, he was simply beautiful.

It was the case when you were first introduced to him as a child, and it remains still to this day now that you have both grown. Your mother was his wet nurse and you were raised together as milk siblings. You were his only friend, his only companion, the only person who did not revile him for his appearance. You would take to combing his hair, telling him all about your day that he might in turn try to live vicariously through you. Fugo would secretly teach you how to read, how to write, things that you were not allowed to learn ordinarily but skills that Fugo seemed eager to pass onto you, just so that he had someone to talk to him about his books, about the things he learned.

As you continued to grow, it quickly became apparent that his intellect was nothing short of just amazing. It was an insult not to call him anything but brilliant. Though people still disliked his appearance, he learned not to pay heed to any of their statements. Because the important thing was that you stayed by his side even though all the years that had passed by the two of you.

And then suddenly, you were ripped away from him.

You.

The only light in his bleak existence. His only friend. The only person he had ever loved.

There was a tradition in your village, one that was centuries old. It was said that there was a monster that dwelled within the forest that seemed to ensnare and wrap around the village. The monster had never outright harmed your people for it only demanded one thing in exchange for keeping your little village safe.

Human sacrifice.

Through an unknown selection process that was privy only to the elders of your town, a single person was selected. In exchange for one human life, the village would be guaranteed safety, security - even a bountiful harvest. Your life would be snuffed out, all for the sake of all those horrible villagers who had only ever scorned him, who had been disgusted by him. When they come to take you away, he fights tooth and nail to keep them from taking you. At least until he’s wrestled into the ground and you beg for leniency for his take.

Before they take you away, you comfort him, one last time. You hold him tight and you press a kiss against his forehead. Sure you were terrified. But you supposed maybe that … if it was for his sake, you wouldn’t mind. Because you would have done anything to protect him, to keep him safe.

“I’m doing this … because I love you,” you said gently, a little serene smile on your face, even as the elders dragged you away. Like a lamb to the slaughter, to be ‘prepared’ until you were set to be devoured by the ancient, unknowable evil that demanded blood from your village. .

The night before you are to be sacrificed, right after they had dragged you away, he sneaks into the ceremonial hut you are to be kept in. You are a vision, dressed in a white gauzy fabric. Your eyes are a little red from crying, as is natural with someone about to be killed the next day. And then you hear him. His voice coming in through the little window that lit up the hut.

You try to ease your tearful hiccups and you turn to look at him smiling, “y-yeah, Fugo?”

Even in the face of death, you thought of him. Of how you didn’t want to see him off with a frightened or sad look in your eyes. Though your resolve quickly crumbles when he reaches his hand out to you. You carefully walk over to the window and gently clasp his hand, pressing it against your face as you looked up at him.

“I wish we had more time together,” you say sadly, your eyes bright with the beginnings of more tears and your lips formed in a sad smile.

“And we will,” he reassures you, his tone fraught with heartache. “We’ll have all the time in the world.”

Fugo purses his lips for a moment as he looks at you, trying to memorize every last bit of your face. He trembles. This … this couldn’t be it for the two of you, right? His voice is shaky as he speaks again.

“Do you want to die together?” His voice is heartbreaking to say the least, his eyes are bright with unshed tears as he clutches onto you, looking at you desperately, “just as we’ve been together as children for so long. We’ll be together even in death.”

“No,” you hiss out desperately, clutching onto his hand tightly. “Y-you have to live for my sake! Don’t throw your life away for me.”

“It’s the only thing I can do, a world without you … maybe it’s not a world worth living in. If the village wants to sacrifice you, maybe it’s not worth saving!”

As he says those words, something flickers in his mind. A dark idea, whispered by the devil himself. He smiles as he looks up at you, a terrible smile on his face.

“I know,” he says happily. “I know how to keep you safe now.”

You blink at him, surprised, not really understanding the deeper meaning of his words

Cupping your face through the window, he wipes your tears away. “I promise, I’ll save you and if I can’t - at the very least we’ll be together.”

Your eyes widen in horror - what was he going to do?!

“N-no!” You gasp out as he pulls away from you, reaching out for him, “F-Fugo! Don’t! I swear it’s okay, y-you don’t have to do anything that puts your life at risk!”

But he doesn’t hear you. All he can think about … is a life with you. A future with you.

It was so close, he could taste it.

He makes his way to the deepest part of the forest, the cave the monster called its home - the site of your murder for tomorrow. He doesn’t quite know what he expects to see, for he certainly did not believe in the existence of a monster. But lo and behold, he had found one. The creature is strange - taller than most men, checkered with white and purple and it’s inhuman eyes bore right into him. Copious amounts of drool drips from the monster’s strange lips. The creature slinks out of the dark cavern and stops, facing him. Everything is quiet for a long moment as he regards the creature.

“You’re not the sacrifice, are you?” It’s voice is ragged, a dangerous edge to its tone dripping of its words but it sounds bored.

“I’ve come to cut you a deal,” Fugo says carefully, emboldened. How curious that he, reviled as a monster, was now speaking to a true monster so casually.

“Oh? And what mind that be, little human,” the monster croons, slithering closer and closer to Fugo.

“You can forgo this ritual sacrifice nonsense and just do as you wish,” he says coldly. “Take the whole village for yourself but let the sacrifice and I escape.”

“And what should keep me from devouring you two, hm?”

“Simple,” he says easily, in such a matter of fact way that anyone who was listening would have no choice but to obey. “While you enjoy your meal of the whole village we escape, and tell me, what would two forgettable morsels be when you’re already gorging on the whole village hm?”

“And what’s stopping me from eating you and the next sacrifice, hm?”

Fugo stares back at the monster, unblinking.

“Because you would be foolish not to take my offer. The greatest meal of your life, a never ending banquet, and you want to give up all that for two little morsels? Perhaps you’re even more of a fool than I thought.”

The monster seems to consider his words getting terrifyingly close to him. But Fugo barely even blinks. No matter what happened… he would be with you regardless. The monster seems to smile and then it slowly heads back into its cave.

“If I find you two still around by daybreak, I’ll devour you both, regardless.”

All you remember is being led through the forest. Your eyes red and swollen from the crying and your heart heavy with anxiety, worry over what Fugo could have possibly done. Thankfully you see him at the procession. The one that all the adult villagers took as they led you to the monster. Your heart lightens considerably though you can’t help but have a bit of suspicion for how … how Fugo smiled as he looked at you. As if … he knew something the others didn’t.

You’re pushed to the front of the cave and everyone waits with bated breath for the monster to arrive. But instead, the forest comes to be bathed in a heavy fog. One that Fugo happily takes advantage of as he grabs you by the hand and whisks you away. You have no idea what is happening, only hissing at Fugo quietly not to mess up the ritual. But of course he doesn’t stop.

And then the screaming starts. And you don’t have to hear the words come from his lips because you just know. You’ve been with him since you were children, you were his closest friend, his only confidant…

He’s sacrificed the whole village for your sake.

When he leads you through the dark forest, amidst the fires and the screaming. His hold on you is tight enough to bruise. Your breathing is ragged, your cheeks soaked from your crying. All around you can hear dying gasps, fearful screaming as the monster tears through the adults. Fugo leads you away from all that.

You’re terrified more than anything.

Because you know now that the true monster is taking you by the hand, and leading you away from the slaughter - the slaughter he had concocted.

All for you.

#yandere #yandere jjba #pannacotta fugo #pannacotta fugo x reader #vento aureo #golden wind #Anonymous

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thatringboy · 3 years ago

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Aaaaaaaand here’s Maei’s wife: Yangyue!

Generational Warrior

”My father was a fool for living life so vicariously. However, there is some beauty in living every day like it’s your last.”

A captain of the Millelith stationed in Liyue Harbor who’s family has a long history of service.

General Information

Name: Fa Yangyue

Age: 25

Affiliation: Millelith

Birthdate: February 23

Starsign: Pisces

Constellation: Fulgur Anguis

Weapon: Polearm

Vision: Electro

Voice Claims

CVA: Su Lin

JVA: Sayaka Ohara

EVA: Erin Ebers

Voice Lines

Good Morning: Ah, good day, Traveler

Good Afternoon: Have you seen Maei? I need to know if she ate lunch or not

Good Evening: Evening, Traveler, where do we set off to tomorrow?

Good Night: *Yawn* Goodnight, shall we reconvene in the morning?

When It Rains: Stay away from me, I don’t want to accidentally shock you

When It Snows: Someone once told me that we could eat the snow if it becomes thick enough. I don’t see the appeal, do you?

When It’s Sunny: Ah, feeling the sun on my face rejuvenates my spirit!

Favorite Food: I am always in the mood for some herbal tea and some sugar candies. Maei may have told you this, but I have a giant sweet tooth

Least Favorite Food: My food must have a certain level of spice. I will throw up any bland food I consume

About: Vision: Mine belonged to my father before it came to me. One day at work, my squad was pulled to help a caravan of travelers who were under attack. I only found out that my father was among them when I arrived to see him be impaled on the sword of a Treasure Hoarder… we only had a few minutes to whisper our apologies to each other before he passed and his Vision awoke for me in his wake. For my service during that fight, I was promoted to Captain. The title is a reminder of how I failed as a daughter to support my father’s dream

About: Interests: My interests? Uh… I… *Sigh* this is embarrassing but all of my free time is spent taking care of my mother and spending time with Maei. I don’t have any hobbies… well, I guess I enjoy singing from time to time. I also like traveling to foreign nations for work purposes as the Millelith’s foreign affairs captain

About Childe: Childe, the eleventh Fatui Harbinger. I have no personal quarrel with him - we even work together unofficially for some… recon missions. However, given Maei’s history with his organization, I keep my distance even when we work unprofessionally

About Hu Tao: Little Miss Hu, the Millelith has mixed feelings about her. I find her to be quite exciting to be around. You never know what she will say next

About Xingqiu: *Sigh* If I get another complaint from his father about the Millelith letting that boy run around the harbor without an escort, I’m quitting my job and becoming an adventurer full time with Maei. He’s a young man with a Vision, he doesn’t need a bodyguard. I am also a fan of a book series he recommended to me: A Legend of Sword. Sadly, I haven’t had the time to tell him my thoughts on the series

About Xiao: I met him while I was stationed in the Stone Gate a few years ago. I thought he was a regular adventurer who bit off more than he could chew, so I slew the monsters pursuing him and administered first aid. Only afterwards did he reveal his name to me and told me that if I was ever in need of assistance, to call out his name. That was seven years ago, before I met Maei�� I wonder what he’s doing now…

About Diluc: He works with Maei, or did a few years ago. I’ve only met him through letters we’ve exchanged, but he seems completely different than his reputation among my peers. At first I thought he was a bloodthirsty monster who’s only goal was to purge the world of evil. Turns out he just has daddy issues like me

About Keqing: She’s nice outside of work. When I received my Vision, she’s the one that gave me pointers on how to control my new powers. I hold a lot of respect for her and her position

About Ningguang: I feel bad about the loss of the Jade Chamber, but she is remarkably resilient. I know Liyue is in good hands with her

About Ganyu: Keqing and Maei often compare me to Miss Ganyu. I don’t see it, but maybe she would know more?

About: Family: My mother currently lives in Qingce Village even though she is still on the younger side. I try to visit her with Maei whenever I can to keep her from being lonely. I have a few cousins in service as well, Kun and Fugui. I’ve even introduced Maei to the entire extended Fa Family! M-My father? … he was my hero. He was the only Fa who never joined the Millelith and instead was an adventurer. He would bring back stories of adventures he went on all across Teyvat and I wanted to be just like him! Until I turned sixteen and my eyes opened to how hard and unproviding that lifestyle was. I joined the ranks of the Millelith with my family and like them, ostracized my own father because I was too stubborn to see how much he loved his job. We had an argument that night and didn’t speak for five years until the night he died. I never got to show him my favorite posts or sing to him… I never introduced him to my wife… I never got to truly forgive him and myself… *sniff* sorry, Traveler, let me compose myself.

About: The Adepti: You know, I was a participant in the battle against Osial. It WAS supposed to be my day off, so I used my free time to explore the Jade Chamber as I had an invitation from Madam Keqing, but SOMEONE decided to raise an ancient god of the sea! I had to grab the nearest weapon and start fighting off the Fatui right there! To be honest, it was rather cathartic. Maei later asked me how many of the enemy I took out and her eyes lit up like I had never seen before. When the chamber went down, I simply hopped onto Cloud Retainer’s back and flew to safety. While I was on her back, she actually spoke to me. She thanked me for saving Alatus’ life that one time and then congratulated me on my anniversary with Maei… how did she know that?

About: The Qixing: It is my duty as a Millelith captain to serve the Qixing. I would gladly lay down my life for my government and my people… don’t tell Maei that. She gets uneasy when I make that vow

About: The Millelith: While the Millelith stands guard, evil shall never prevail!

About: Her Scar: My scar? It’s an embarrassing story to be completely honest… it was the one and only time I ever tried fishing. I tried to throw my line into the water and the wind picked up, snapping the hook back in my face. I was lucky to not lose my eye!

About: Timeline: Well, I joined the Millelith when I was sixteen, met Maei at nineteen, married her at twenty, got my Vision at twenty-one and now I’m twenty-five. Yeah… early adulthood for me was a bumpy ride…

About: Hair: I’m actually a pretty good hairstylist. I do Maei and I’s hair myself. Her hair is hard to brush and her scalp is sensitive, so I wake up early to do her hair before heading to work. If you couldn’t tell, my love language is acts of service. Before Maei, I had long hair I put into a top knot, but I cut it short so that I can spend all my time with her… that’s a little cheesy, huh?

About: Electro: Electro is the element of eternity. I suppose that fits me, coming from a family that has served Liyue for dozens of generations. Yet this Vision belonged to my father; the black sheep of my family. Perhaps his eternity was more living every day like it was his last than continuing a legacy. I wonder what my personal eternity will reveal itself to be…

#Yangyue the hopeless romantic I love her #And BOOM that’s the last of my OCs #genshin impact #genshin impact oc #Fa Yangyue #electro OC

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natesfm · 4 years ago

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❛ ✶ ( DYLAN O'BRIEN , CIS MALE , HE / HIM ) . who the hell is blasting SUNFLOWER by POST MALONE & SWAE LEE at one in the morning ? nevermind , that’s just NATHAN “NATE” CARPENTER from 1515 . apparently , they are a TWENTY - FOUR year old LITTLE LEAGUE COACH from QUEENS, NEW YORK , and they’ve been living at the complex for FIVE YEARS . i heard they can be a bit - FIXATING , but they make up for it by being so + STALWART — which makes sense , considering that they are a ARIES ! when i think of them , i imagine WELL - WORN BASEBALL EQUIPMENT , SHELVES OVERFLOWING WITH FIRST PLACE TROPHIES , & NIKE SWEATPANTS WITH LOOSE HANDFULS OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS SPILLING OUT OF THE POCKETS . and of course , don’t forget to follow them at ( @TWENTYNATE ) ! ooc . sam , 23 , est , she / her .

hello everyone! i’m sam and i’m super excited to introduce my muse! he’s a temporarily sidelined baseball player who’s currently coaching his childhood little league team. cue the 🥺 emojis there’s some info about him under the cut. if you choose to read, then please enjoy and feel free to message me if you would like to plot!

STATS

FULL NAME: nathan gage carpenter. NICKNAMES: nate, penny. GENDER + PRONOUNS: cis male + he / him DOB + AGE: march 31st, 1996 + twenty - four ZODIAC: aries HOMETOWN: queens, new york ( queens village ) OCCUPATION: mlb player ( shortstop for the new york yankees, #28 ) little league coach FUN FACTS: he’s ambidextrous and has a pet cat named benny

HISTORY

nathan gage “nate” carpenter was born and raised in queens, new york. his mother is an nyu - educated botanist who runs a popular gardening blog and his father owns and operates a sports bar in their neighborhood. he’s the eldest of two children as he has one younger sister who was adopted.

he’s the paternal grandson of drillin’ duvall carpenter, a notable power hitter and hall of fame inductee who won three consecutive world series titles while playing for the oakland a's in the 70s, and the son of joziah “joe” carpenter, who played for the new york yankees and won four world series titles with the team — the most notable of these being his first in 1996, as it was also the year that his eldest child and only son was born. ( nate was just a few days shy of seven months old when he witnessed the game 6 victory at yankee stadium. )

his father officially retired from baseball in the year 2000. with most of his final earnings put into purchasing the family home and funding his new business venture ( opening up a sports bar in their queens village neighborhood ), it was a comfortable, but modest life from then on. nate was five years old when his parents adopted his sister, who would be the fourth and final addition to the family.

he was being taught how to swing a bat before he could even walk, but nate officially started playing baseball when his father signed him up for little league at the age of four, and he took to it immediately. he was good at it, his natural talent soon enhanced by skills achieved through lots of practice. as he grew up, baseball would go from a beloved hobby to his main focus, as well as his favorite thing in the world.

nate’s dad is the quintessential overbearing sports parent, except for the fact that he was never necessarily trying to live vicariously through his child. four - time world series champion joe carpenter didn’t feel unfulfilled ; he was training his son to carry on the family legacy just as his father had done with him. he meant well. he wanted to see nate succeed, but as a child on the receiving end of the relentless and often harsh criticism, nate couldn’t see that. their relationship would grow more and more strained with each passing year.

from winning the little league world series to the 18u baseball world cup with the united states national team, his impeccable record + stats were garnering a lot of attention before he was even in high school. he received several scholarship offers and wound up at a posh private school in the area where he made the varsity baseball team as a freshman and became team captain as a junior. ( fun fact : he was also running back on his high school football team but he wasn’t as good at that. ) credited with leading the team to two championship wins during his captaincy, rumors were swirling as his graduation approached : talk of him being drafted by the mlb right out of high school and he was.

he was chosen as the first round draft pick of the new york yankees in the 2014 mlb draft. he chose to sign with the team right away instead of accepting one of the many offers he had received from universities all over the country, entering the minor leagues where he would be named an all - american athlete and continue adding big numbers to his record.

he was called up to the yankees in 2018 and he was doing great ( although he could do without the constant comparisons to the other carpenter men of baseball ) … until about six months ago, aka when he tore his right ucl ( his elbow ) during spring training. with the injury, surgery, and healing time he would require, it was predicted that he would have to miss most of the season, which has rung true so far. the last six months have been the longest he’s gone without playing baseball since the age of four. he was crushed when he first received the diagnosis, but recently he’s become a lot more impatient and, most prominently, bored.

he needed something that would keep him occupied, but where he wouldn’t be risking undoing any of his healing, so he’s currently coaching his childhood little league team! he should be cleared to return to training soon, and he’s really looking forward to that, but he’s also worried that he’s really gonna miss coaching. :/

nate is married to desirae “dizzy” kim, who lives in his apartment with him. they’ve known each other their entire lives, starting out as best friends who literally lived right next door to each other and then later on developing into high school sweethearts. they’ve been exclusively dating since they were teenagers and finally got married right before moving to astoria, so a about five years ago. despite all of the time that they’ve known each other and been together, most people still think of the pair as being stuck in the honeymoon phase because they’re just so mushy and in love. their friends probably roll their eyes at them all the time, but then they’re also the go - to couple for relationship advice even though they’re not even really good at it.

PERSONALITY

do no harm but take no shit

he’s the go - to call when one of his friends needs help moving furniture or a ride home at two in the morning because he’s the kind of person who’s happy to help and who always follows through when he says that he’s going to do something.

HOWEVER, mistaking his kindness for weakness would be a huge error. he’s a little bit of a pushover, but take it too far and he’ll notice and he won’t just accept it.

the type of person to wake up at 5am to go for a run and just pop a dislocated bone back into place all by himself. he’s tougher than he seems and tougher than he thinks, so this injury situation has been really difficult for him.

kiiiinda socially awkward : baseball is his entire life so it’s basically all he knows how to talk about. he’s naturally shy and doesn’t tend to initiate conversations anyway, although when he is approached he’s always polite.

once he befriends someone, he tends to instinctively take on a slightly playful, protective older brother role with them.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

his adoptive sister * wc on the main!

cousins ( most likely from nyc / the east coast, but otherwise anything goes for this! )

friends ( from childhood, unlikely, protective, drifted apart, etc )

someone he’s a good influence on

someone who tries to be a bad influence on him

fans

frenemies / former friends / enemies

these are just some base ideas and i’m definitely open to brainstorming!

#astoria.intro #injury tw

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the-omni-princess · 5 years ago

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Frozen Heart [Epilogue]

Author: @the-omni-princess

Summary: After the war against Hydra, King Bucky comes home to take what has been promised to him since he was young, you. But he is not the same person as the young boy that you grew up with. Can she break through his tough shell and bring back the young man she once fell in love with? Or will she be forced to marry the monster everyone thinks he’s become?

Word Count: 1.7K

Pairing: King!Bucky x Fem!Reader (Royalty Au!)

Warnings: teeth rotting fluff!

A/N:

My beta @annaloveloki is literally the best and that's the t

working on a honeymoon drabble rn, but other than that, it’s the end of this series. My babies <3 lookout for another series, coming out eventually

[Series Masterlist] [Series Playlist] [My Masterlist]

----

Growing up, summer was always one of your favorite times of the year. Waking up early to search for seashells with Steve and Bucky or sneaking ice cream into your rooms as you made pillow forts were some of your fondest childhood memories. Now, you spent the summers running the Kingdom, listening to the people, helping as many people as you could, and taking a few weeks off vacation in the South when possible. In the five years since you’ve come to the North, the kingdom has prospered. A good harvest led to a great harvest, and despite a few hiccups and arguments, Bucky was right, you were a great leader for the people. He also did an absolutely wonderful job, listening to the people to build more schools, lowering crime rates, and taxing the nobles more heavily than the lower classes. Some scholars theorized that the kingdom was in the beginning of a new golden age.

So today, like every first Monday of the month for the past few years, you sit on your throne, listening to every person who made the trek to ask for help or thank you. Some days were easy, such as the days where most residents thanked you for the new marketplace that brought jobs to their town. However, some days felt darker, like the day a mother begged for help for her dying son, help she didn’t have the funds to pay for back in her village. Not sparing a second thought, Bucky watched as you helped the boy into Dr. Cho’s arms. The boy miraculously lived, and in response, you had immediately put into place a new health policy in the kingdom. Tax revenues were split, and the extra funds made it possible for the lower class to have health services for a much lower rate, and in some cases free.

The particular woman who was speaking to you, was bringing up an argument between her and her neighbor. A petty fight, really, but you listened nonetheless, giving your opinion. Bucky was the one who answered the next inhabitant's problem.

Usually the kingdom didn’t give you too much trouble, it was mostly the advisors who defied you, never liking your ideas. Bucky, bless his heart, tended to shut them down pretty quickly, his warm voice turning into ice, the protective wolf in him lashing out. Such as the time you shot down an advisor’s idea, one that would only hurt the lower class. His anger exploded, criticizing Bucky when he tried to come to your defense. “Do you allow her to speak that way for you?” the advisor, one you truly didn’t care enough to even know his name had spoken to his king in a harsh way.

Bucky merely snarled back, “Yes, I do, this as well as in many other things, you’d be wise to remember that.” His voice was cold, the first words in his head being growled out at the man. You had placed your hand on top of Bucky’s calming him. You could practically see the steam rolling off his head, something you definitely teased him about later.

You had kept your voice calm, though the advisors that knew you better than that could hear the venom in your words. “Thank you for your concern, sir,” you emphasized his lower title, “but I do believe your King and Queen can handle the problems of the people, and I do not believe I asked for your opinion on this matter.” You quickly dismissed the rest of the meeting, before adding, “And sir, do remember, I am your Queen. You are not my equal, and you will address me as such.” Eyes wide he quickly bowed and rushed off before you could change your mind.

A small squeal from your right pulled you from your thoughts of the past, two small children rushed into the throne room, followed by two blurs of white and grey fur. You son made it to you first, scrambling to hide behind you just as you stood from the throne. You held him close, just out of reach from Aurora and Raine who yipped happily. Your daughter, however, jumped straight into Bucky’s arms, curling up into her clearly favorite parent.

“Brooklyn, what have we said about chasing your brother down the halls?” You chastised softly, still trying to calm the shaking boy wrapped around your leg.

“To plway in the garden instead,” the five-year-old responded dutifully. Bucky tucked her hair behind her ear, just as Natasha rushed in, cradling a small baby in her hands.

“Grant! Brooklyn! There you two are! You shouldn’t run away from me like that!” Brooklyn just buried herself deeper into her father’s protective arms, pouting. Natasha was most likely regretting telling Wanda it was alright to leave all three children in her care, so she could spend time with her new fiancé, the Head Chef, Vision.

“I’m sowwy auntie,” the little girl sniffled, looking up towards the two of you with tears already brimming her eyes. You knew it was just to gain your attention, so you simply did just that. You gently took the babe from Natasha’s arms, cradling the four-month-old into your chest as your son still buried his face into your long white gown.

Bucky sighed softly, gently prying his daughter’s face from his chest. “What do we say, little princess?” he encouraged, making sure she knew he wasn’t mad at her as both you and him gave her the attention she wanted.

Brooklyn sulked again but carefully pushed herself out of her father’s arms, standing in front of her twin brother. “I’m sowwy, bwutha.” She sniffled again, her tiara tilted vicariously in her hair, and Grant pouted as well. You always loved how they wore matching pouts and eyes to their father, as it reminded you of when you were a child. Brooklyn was a ball of energy, and many of her tutors said her main issue was how she could never sit still. You secretly encouraged it, knowing how much energy your future little queen would need. Grant was always the quieter one, reminding you of when Bucky first came back to you. Calculating, quiet, but eyes wide and always taking in new information. The twins knew each other perfectly, and with one sad ‘I’m sorry’ look from Brooklyn, Grant pushed forward and the two hugged each other. They curled up into each other, even when they were babies they always found a way to be close together. Two matching blue eyes looked up at you for approval, wondering silently if it was safe for them to go back to their games. You nodded, and both scrambled to the gardens to play, two adult wolves and one Natasha rushing after them.

You turned to the crowd, holding the baby closer just as she woke up from the noise. “If there aren’t any more life or death situations, I do think it is time to wrap up for today. Food will be served down the hall for anyone who did not bring their own, follow the guards if you have any trouble finding it.”

Bucky stepped closer to you, wrapping his arm around you. “And thank you all for coming,” he smiled warmly before turning his attention to you, pulling you into his arms. “And how is my little princess doing?” he coed at the babe in your arms, who simply squealed and squirmed in your arms.

“I’m doing fine, thanks for asking,” you teased, grinning up at him.

“Ha, ha, very funny, but you are my Queen, this little cutie is my little princess!” he went back to cooing at the babe, thoroughly enjoying her little shrieks of enjoyment. “My beautiful Celeste,” he kissed her nose, grinning at her responding wiggle, “And My Northern Star,” he whispered before kissing you decisively on the lips. Tender lips against yours, and not a care in the world as you held your baby close, and Bucky held you even closer.

Slowly pulling away as Celeste squirmed for attention, you both couldn’t stop the smiles on your faces. A sudden spark in your mind made you smile even brighter. “Did you hear what Steve and Peggy are naming their child?” The two had gotten married not two years after your own marriage, and now (finally) were expecting their first child together.

“I suppose you’re bringing that up since you’re going to tell me, right?” He teased you back, his hands pressed against your hips, rubbing gentle circles into the fabric of your dress.

You nodded, biting back a smile, “Steve joked and said maybe they should name the baby James since you never have used the name anyway,” you paused, giggling as you saw Bucky’s face scrunch up, positively offended. “But, instead they wanted to name their child after Sam, since he says you stole his close friend and captain of the guard from him.”

Bucky gave you a small gasp, feigning a surprised look, ever the drama queen. “Me? Never!” He dropped the act in favor of smiling again. “Besides, he was the one who sent Sam in the first place, not my fault we became friends.” He shrugged, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“You absolute dorks,” you kissed his nose playfully.

“But I’m your dork, y/n/n,” he whispered softly.

You nodded solemnly, like it was a big burden to bare. “That you are. Now, let’s go, My Love, we still have to pack for our trip to the beach house in the South.” You tried tugging yourself from his arms, but with a baby in your arms it was pretty hard to do that.

“I know, I know, our yearly vacation. Maybe this time we can give Brooklyn and Grant a baby brother?” he teased, smirking at the implications despite the obvious joke.

“Oh no, mister, that’s how last year’s conversation started. I just had Celeste, I am not doing that again so soon.” You gave him a look and he simply chuckled, pulling you closer as the two of you walked side by side through the halls.

“I’m kidding, My Love. Besides, we can have plenty of practice,” you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped your lips.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too,” you nuzzled closer into his warm embrace.

“I love you even more, My Queen.” He kissed your head lightly and you realized how truly at peace you were. No more waiting, no more war. Simply two people in utterly in love, surrounded by their ever-growing family, having the time of your lives. Baby steps had become a literal phrase as the children grew up, and everything felt right in the world. Peaceful, content, full of happiness, your children’s laughter in the distance. You finally did it. The Northern Castle was finally a home again.

---

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liuglobal · 7 years ago

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Yunnan and Sichuan Dreams

I was sitting in a noodle restaurant in Shanghai, one Saturday before we were set to leave for this legendary trip when I started coughing. It’s no big deal, I reasoned, these peanut butter noodles are spicy and there’s pollen in the air and plenty of smog, so surely the tickle in my throat is only that, nothing sinister. We live in a fair world, so there’s no way I could get a cold right before the amazing trip to the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces I’ve heard so much about.

It was a nasty cold, and I was banished from the trip.

I spend a week and a half alone, healing slowly, drinking buckets of water, and dreaming of the adventures my classmates were having. I was healed when they returned, and I eagerly cornered them and demanded stories. I began with Kate and Emma, shoving my phone in their face as we waited for our noodles.

Kate Yachuk: We talked to Professor Wang, I think, and he told us about the last living hieroglyphic language in the world, which is spoken by thirty people, of which he is one. He was one of the Yi people, he was super friendly and very knowledgeable. And he brought us to his house and gave us lots of candy!

Now, ask any Tom, Dick, or Harry, they’ll tell you how much I love candy, but what I love even more is linguistics. It drives my friends insane, but I’m proud of how truly nerdy I am. One of the main, nerdiest reasons I was so gung-ho for this particular field trip was to personally observe the culture of the Mosuo people, one of the last matriarchal society in the world, with whom I have been fascinated since I was ten years old. The Mosuo live around Lugu Lake, and Emma gave me the briefest of fill-ins on the matter.

Emma Barker: So, since we had to turn around and not go to the Tibetan village, we had to pull some strings, I think. We were going to the Lugu Lake anyway, but we had extra time from the change of plans, and Liu Wei said he had a friend nearby. We went and visited her house and talked about her culture and then we visited a monastery. We walked around there and were shown around by some monks and a living Buddha. Then we went back to this lady’s house and she wanted to dress us up in some traditional clothing; first we dressed up Zack and Samudra, then we roped Lyric and Liu Wei into doing it too. Everybody looked really good!

Jealous as I was hearing of Emma’s adventures, I continued to seek stories of the trip. I knew, from years of Global College field trips, that the programming frequently outshone the way it was described on our itinerary, like the way the performance in Taiwan was explained to us as mere children’s theater. Sophie confirmed my beliefs.

Sophie Gagnaire: So, on the trip we met this Naxi woman and she took us to a monastery where her brother works, where we met the living Buddha. I was really blown away by how decadent and extravagant it was. The monastery was in this compound that also had a four-hundred-year-old building, so we got to see these original wall paintings from four hundred years ago, and this massive, thirty- or forty-foot Buddha statue. It was amazing!

One of these things that most clearly marks a Global College field trip is the last-minute adjustments. It is not that Global is unprepared; quite the opposite, in fact. It is rather than a field trip of this nature, twenty foreign students attempting to experience something meaningful in the same place, year to year, lends itself to mishaps and unexpected schedule adjustments, and Global is admirable in the way in which it adapts to such itinerary shifts, and the way in which its students learn to adapt and participate.

Santiago Sanchez y Lucero: So, we drove seven hours into the mountains to make it to the Tibetan region [of Yunnan province], and about six hours in, we ran into police officers who told us that we had to turn back because we were arriving on the tenth anniversary of an uprising that was orchestrated by American student. We seemed like a suspicious group, which I guess is fair.

I caught up with Nicole after I spoke to Santi, asking if they ever did come into contact with Tibetan culture. We were all, at least in our late-night pre-trip debates, keen to engage with Tibetan culture, given that this may be our only chance. We are, after all, a crew of liberal arts students from the United States filled with radical ideas and a truly American inability to censor ourselves when it is appropriate.

Nicole Price: I forget which day in the trip this was, but it was a few days into our trip, and we visited a university where they have an entire portion dedicated to Tibetan language and culture. We got to see their archives of Tibetan language and culture, and also other minority languages that have almost died out, like the Yi language. It was really cool because we got to enjoy a perspective, through these archives, that not a lot of people would have access to. It was exciting to see in practice the things we had been learning about all semester.

Now, Global field trips are, first and foremost, about learning; after all, we wouldn’t be going into this much debt for a degree if we weren’t being provided an excellent education. Still, I spent most of my childhood at summer camp, and I have noticed some close similarities between a day at camp and a day on a Global field trip. Many similarities are superficial, such as the odd sleep schedule, unusual group activities, and the way you seem to fit more into one day that you would fit outside of camp/field trip in a week. What stands out the most, though, are the ability you develop to adapt, at lightning speed, to adversity, and the degree to which you bond at dinner time. At camp, social life revolves around the dining hall, and in the mountains with your Global classmates, you feel the most like a wonderful family when you’re swapping food and stories and recounting your day over more food that you could ever finish. Courtney-Lynn agreed wholeheartedly.

Courtney-Lynn Mellina: My favorite group dinner from the Yunnan trip was the Tibetan-style dinner we had with the living Buddha and the rest of the class. It was, by far, one of my favorite dinners in all of Global, and the food was spectacular! I made some new Tibetan friends, we had great conversation and I tried foods I had never tried before It was a real sense of community that I’m so glad I was a part of.

Now, in spite of certain commonalities, every trip is different. I love taking the things we learned in the classroom out into the field, and I know many of my classmates feel the same. It’s always exciting to find a new way of learning, exploring areas made accessible to you only by the luck of going on the trip; I hope my jealousy isn’t coming through in my writing, I’m not bitter, I’m fine, everything is fine. Sophia and I caught up over dumplings.

Sophia Cox-Wright: One of the highlights, definitely for me, going on this trip would be that, because of scheduling matters and some things, logistically, that just ended up not working out, which kind of just happens sometimes on Global trips, we got a bit more time to just hang out and be alone. It gives you a chance to just learn from the place that you’re in. For example, one of the things that I really enjoyed was going in to the town square in one of the villages and just sitting there and watching the tourist trade and Chinese tourists. It was interesting seeing the effects of it, if that makes sense, and seeing it for myself instead of just reading, trying to integrate myself into that space. That experience is definitely something I’m going to be thinking about for a while.

As I gathered these stories, both for the purposes of writing and personal gratification, I couldn’t help but compare them to the looks on my classmates’ faces when they returned and my own past experiences. This trip to Yunnan and Sichuan provinces was as intense an experience as promised, and like any field trip, the best and the worst part was coming home. After all that you learn, you just want to be somewhere comfortable to process it, even if that means leaving beautiful new places you have become attached to. By taking part in the post-trip emotional processes of my friends, I enjoyed the trip in my own way: vicariously. Until I have time to visit on my own, that will have to be enough.

by Julia McCoy.

#liuglobal #yunnan #china #college abroad #global college

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yukithesnowman314 · 5 years ago

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In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem series (with the release of the first game of the series, “Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon and Sword of Light released on April 20th, 1990), I will be doing a bit of a low-brow, personal “retrospective” of the games I played from the series. Join me as I talk about my first experience with the series through my first and second favorite Fire Emblem game: “Genealogy of the Holy War”.

[Warning: Foul language, low-brow commentary, and crude remarks on the characters of Fire Emblem. Go watch some boring elitist cornballs with no real talent who think talking about video games on YouTube is a real, viable job on YouTube if you want a serious retrospective on the series]

As with many of my peers who grew up playing video games throughout the 90s, I played such classics from that era such as Super Mario World., Street Fighter II, Sonic, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy, and Pokemon to name a few. It was thanks to the 1996 capsule monster catching RPG that I would find love within the RPG genre. As my first RPG, I loved the idea of capturing and raising monsters to dominate the world of Pokemon Blue. Later, around the early 2000s, I was introduced to two of my top favorite RPGs of all time: Paper Mario and the original Final Fantasy 3 on the Famicom; which happened to be my first Final Fantasy game.

(For those wondering how and why Final Fantasy 3 was my first FF game: grew up in Nintendo dominate household and my Pentecostal mother thought RPGs were the devil because Christians, especially Black old-school Baby Boomer Christians, live in fear of thinking for themselves and questing religion; so emulation was the way for me.)

I loved the idea of taking a traditional 2D-platformer Mario game and reimagine it as a turned- based RPG spanning across the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario, once again, must save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. As for FF3, the 8-bit charm of four young orphaned youths being the chosen ones of legend to save the world from darkness. While both games’ story could be consider “basic” to some (which, to a degree, they’re sort of right especially on FF3’s front), I enjoyed and loved them.

I would continue my RPG journey as the early 2000s progressed with classics such as Chrono Trigger, Shin Megami Tensei II, Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, and finally VII (mostly 16-bit emulation because, again, scared Pentecostal Christian mother). They told such amazing stories of their worlds. Time travel. Nuclear holocaust. Tales of hope, life, and death. Yet, despite all of that, there was something missing from those games. Something that I could say in confidence would impact me for life.

Don’t get me wrong: it was a shock to see teen pregnancy used as a narrative theme in Final Fantasy VI with realism as Katarin struggles with the fact of becoming a teen mother in an world of ruin. Katarin, along with her lover and baby’s fathers Duane, the oldest member of the destroyed village of Mobliz in the World of Ruin. Chrono Trigger made me thought about my own existence in the universe as I watched Crono and crew ponder about how the universe and its inhibitors became to be during the campfire scene.

Chrono Trigger campfire scene

Yet – those things didn’t fulfill a certain need of true, down-to-earth realism. I needed something more grounded. Something that would make such sense to me as a young man. Something that I could relate to with absolute:

Super Smash Bros. Melee. for the Nintendo GameCube!

2001:

Through a summer school event, I managed to get my hands on a copy of a Nintendo GameCube demo disc for the PC. Featured on the disc were video demos of upcoming launch titles for the GameCube: including Luigi Mansion, Star Fox Adventures, NBA Courtside 2002, and of course, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Super Smash Bros. 64, the game prior to Melee, felt dwarfed compared to the raw graphical power and scale of Melee. I was aware of and hyped for Melee being created by Nintendo through elementary schoolyard conversations and magazines. Seeing a demo of the preceded flawless game’s action and mass scale drove my desire to get a GameCube and Super Smash Bros. Melee for the 2001 holidays season.

So, did I eventually get Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube and the GameCube for Christmas of 2001 like every other good little boy and good little girl?

Of course fucking not! My parents went bankrupt after buying a new house, having to bury my mother’s parents who both died a month apart from each other, and finally — said new house’s kitchen catching on fire; thus, causing us to living in a downtown hotel then a temporary luxury apartment because we all have shit lungs (asthma). I was lucky to get a DVD/VCR combo for Christmas with a few DVDs.

2004:

For three years, I had to live the Melee (and by proxy, the early 2000s gaming) life vicariously. One day, while working on a paper on the history of video games in 8th grade (2004), I discovered the MIDI (Musical Insturmental Digital Interface) video game vgmusic.com. Musically inclined fans could upload their recreation, remixes, and close-to-the-original MIDI files for the nerdy gaming massive to indulge in. Being curious about how the music of Melee sounded, I led myself to the Super Smash Bros. Melee section which had an impressed library of fan made songs from the game.

Scrolling through, there was one track that caught my eye: Hyrule Temple: Fire Emblem. “I don’t remember a Fire Emblem in Majora’s Mask, OOT, nor Zelda II. Maybe I missed something like a secret item named ‘Fire Emblem’ when I had played those games.” I ponder to myself.

Curious, I clicked the link to the song.

Four taps on the artificial hi-hats rang out followed by Latin-like horns, a heavy bassline, and drawn out bass strings and horns building up to the meat of the song.

“Okay, did Link went to Mexico and fight Zorro in a Zelda game because this song sounds super Mexican as hell.”. Rather than do the incredibly smart and not racist thing and Google search Fire Emblem (because I was too busy googling Princess Daisy, Terra Branford , Ayeka Jurai, and Sailor Pluto hentai images and doujins) I just assumed that it was some a weird Zelda thing.

Months later, after my parents recovered from their bankruptcy, they gifted me a Nintendo GameCube for Christmas (they couldn’t find Melee in any store sadly). No worries. I was given a Blockbuster gift card by a family member for Christmas, so I decided to rent Melee the day after Christmas. Wanting to know how to unlock everything, I went online for answers when I came across two Nintendo characters whom which I’ve never heard of: Roy and Marth.

Again, rather than doing the smart thing and Google search “Roy and Marth” (I was googling how to torrent anime illegally this time instead), I decided to play Melee for my answers. After defeating the original 13 fighters, I was alerted with the “Challenger Approach” alarm. A shadowy figured appeared with a male wielding a sword. We’re transported to Kirby’s stage with me wondering who I was going to face off against.

Then, that familiar Mexican sounding melody starts to play.

“Okay, this song sounds ever more Mexican than before now I’m hearing it how it meant to be heard. Why is this white boy speaking Japanese to some Mexican sword fighting music? Is this Zorro’s cousin? Kirby’s friend?”

After defeating Zorro’s half Japanese/Half Mexican cousin from Kirby (I assumed) I’m greeted with the following message:

“Direct from Fire Emblem, it’s Marth, the swordsman supreme!”

“Okay, what’s Fire Emblem, who’s this Marth dude, and why he’s a white boy speaking Japanese to Mexican music?”

Upon unlocking Marth, I ran him through his Classic Mode route to unlock Roy. Fought Roy. Figured out why I thought Fire Emblem was Zelda related after a year (you fight Roy in Hyrule’s Ruins because I guess Roy was sleeping with Zelda behind Link’s back after she slept with Gannondorf). Whoop Roy’s ass and got Marth’s trophy. Wanting to learn more about Marth, I deiced to check out his trophy.

“MARTH

The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth’s veins. He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea. Then, wielding his divine Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.

Fire Emblem JAPAN ONLY”

“Wait, he saved his kingdom only to have it annihilated by another king? So, a Nintendo hero failed at saving the day for once? That’s interesting.” Reading Marth’s bio deepened my curiosity towards Fire Emblem. “Why was Marth forced into exile? Who betrayed him? How did he escape it? Who’s Medeus and Hardin and how did they manage to destroy his kingdom?”

There was only one way to find out: download Fire Emblem through emulation. But, which one? Visiting my preferred emulation site at the time, Emuparadise, I sought answers through the form of three Fire Emblem games: Mystery of the Crest (FE3), Genealogy of the Holy War (FE4), and Thrica 776 (FE5).

First Try: Mystery of the Emblem

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The game boots up with a shield with five circular groves and a flame crested embedded in the middle while a trumpet and French horn fanfare plays for a few seconds. Next, I’m treated to a tapestry with scrambled text. However, the imagery of men burned alive by dragons, sages praying to the heavens, a god armed with a mighty sword and shield descending to earth from the heavens to slay a dragon, and humans giving praise to their savior to a medieval musical motif told the tale for me.

Following, the intro ends with three strikes of lighting; causing the screen to flash. A known fanfare plays as the words “FIRE EMBLEM: MYSTERY OF THE EMBLEM” fades into the foreground as the Falchion pieces through the text. Finally, I’m introduced to the playable classes and their stats through the game’s attract mode.

Due to the state of the game’s translation, the pre-chapter’s screens were an unreadable mess (a most common issue of Fire Emblem early fan translations days). For all I could had known, this could had been Roy’s game, which I would had been cool with, but I wanted to know Marth’s story.

Skipping past the mess of the “translation”, the game starts.

Axe-men swarming a lone island: pilaving and killing. A young woman on a Pegasus flies away from the carnage to a castle. It is here I’m introduced to Fire Emblem’s first ever characters: Jeigan/Jagan, Ceada/Shiida, and the poster boy of the series: The legendary Prince Mars!

“Yo, who the FUCK is Mars? Where’s Marth?” I asked myself in confusion. I mean, he had blue hair like Marth. Wears a tiara like Marth. Look like a chick like Marth. But, he was clearly Mars. Not Marth. Disappointed (and utterly unaware that Mars is Marth and the translator took the Marusu name too literal), I stopped playing I FE3 and booted up FE4.

But MAAAAAAARRRRRRSSSSS!

Second Try: FE4 (or, my true first Fire Emblem experience)

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Immediately, I’m blown away by audio/visual presentation. While the opening text aren’t a jumbled mess unlike the “translation patch” of Mystery of the Emblem, they were in Japanese; a language which (at the time), I lacked understanding of. Regardless, I could understand the story though the art and sound.

Dreadful music plays as the red and black hellfire serves as the background while mighty warriors and fearsome dragons engage each other in brutal combat. Twelve flames, representing the twelve holy gods of Jugdral surrounding a lone tower. As the music reaches a peak and fades out, A dragon of darkness and a dragon of light entangled in a fierce battle and the screen goes black. Silence. Then, a golden wheel fades in with slow strings building up. The wheel is surrounded by glistering weapons in a celestial blue shade before flying off.

Finally, this specular ends with the Japanese Fire Emblem logo proudly appearing as the theme of the series plays in vigorous pride: as if it was an anthem for a militaristic nation.

Even if this wasn’t Marth’s game and even if I lacked the knowledge to understand the Japanese language, the ominous scene displayed for me alongside with the introduction of the actors and players of the world of FE4, I wanted to dive deep into the blood soaked tale of Jugdral.

After the marvelous introduction, I created a new file, got hip to the story of Jugdral thus far, and proceeded to play.

“Finally! That’s Mart- no, who’s the hell is Sigurd and why does he looks like he could be Marth’s older cousin? If that’s Marth’s cousin maybe Marth will show up in this game.” I proceed to play FE4; impressed by the scale of the map compared to FE3’s Book 1 first’s map. FE4’s first map felt like a long-standing war was about to take place while FE3’s first book seemed like a meek, short skirmish. In a way, this set the tone of the overarching theme of FE4’s maps: large armies clashing with one another non-stop.

Needless to say, this was going to be a long, uphill battle –and I was going to love it. By that detail alone at was then that I knew that not only Genealogy of the Holy War was going to be something special for me, but the Fire Emblem series in general.

*****

Three turns passed. The blue hair axe dude, Lex, wasn’t Marth. The other blue hair guy, Finn, wasn’t Marth neither. At this point, I realized two things:

1. I’m racist against blue hair mid-90s anime-inspired fantasy characters. 2. This wasn’t Marth’s game.

In any case, the first few minutes of gameplay impressed me. How should I move my units? Which weapon is best against the enemy’s? Should I keep Arden guarding the castle or should I be bold and reckless by leaving the castle defenseless? Midir wasn’t a girl? Azel have a thing for cute young nuns and so do I.

Hooked, I spent an entire weekend getting through the first three chapters of the game (Birth of the Holy Knight, Maiden of the Spirit Forest¸ and Disturbance in Augstira). By the time I reached Chapter 2, I realized something: I suck. Ethlyn (Sigurd’s sister) got wounded, so these left the game alongside her husband, Quan: causing me to lose two units at once.

I accidently killed Ayra with Alec and my dumbass saved my game after the fact. I also got Jamke killed because Adean, the priestess whom was supposed to talk to him so he could join your cause, was at the other side of the map. I made Azel kill him. But, it didn’t matter. All it matter was that I was having fun with the game and I kept at it.

Why?

Well first, I simply fell in love with the game’s story. Who would had known that Sigurd recusing his friend Aidean from the savages of Verdane was actually a part of a much more diabolical plot orchestrated by the underground cult, The Loptr Church and their leader, Manfory to control the world.

Manfory was the man running the show behind the scenes in an attempt to find the last two surviving decedents of a twisted, dark, demonic dragon god (Lopotsu) in order to revive said dark dragon to plunge the world into disarray, death, destruction, and darkness. Using his pull and promise of power to politicians throughout the land, Manfory was able to install his plan of bringing the world into darkness.

Second, as a teenager, I wasn’t one for politics. It was a topic that bored me to no end. Yet, Genealogy of the Holy War opened my eyes to how brutal and ruthless politics can be. No. Inferior words such as brutal and ruthless are understatements. Cutthroat fits better. I was filled with disgust with Chagall killing his own father, King Imuka, to gain power in Agustria. I took note at how one set of dukes and lords of Agustira bid their time as Sigurd cross blade against the other dukes and lords of their land. Levin’s uncle was willing to kill him and his mother if it meant controlling their nation.

(As Leptor told Sigurd: “Politics is all about power!)

Now, let it be known that politics alone wasn’t the sole reason why I fell in love with Genealogy of the Holy War despite it being the driving force behind why I loved the game. The countless tragedies after tragedies that transpired throughout Sigurd’s tale got me as well. To understand where I’m coming from, let’s go deeper into what I mean by this.

Towards the end of Chapter 1 (Maiden of the Spirit Forest) we’re treated with a touch of “love at first sight” story narrative. Upon conquering Marpha Castle, Sigurd encounters the beautiful and alluring maiden, Deidre, being harassed by a brigand. After running the thug off, Sigurd and Deidre exchange a few words; with Sigurd being shocked that Deidre knows his name (through Aiden) and admitting that he’s everything she imagine him to be. Sigurd ask for her name, which Deidre asks for his pardon for not revealing it before running off loves struck.

Curious about her (and not being able to shake off the feelings of love) , Sigurd asks a local elder about her. The elder informs Sigurd of Deidre’s name, background, and warns Sigurd not to engage in any sort of relationship with Deidre; least disaster shall befall upon the world if she left the forest and found love. Not wanting to believe in such superstitions, Sigurd sets out to find Deidre. They encounter one another and admit that they had fallen for each other…

…And like any good woman and man who fall for each other upon a chance, first meeting, they both fucked later that night. This isn’t me being lowbrow (for once): that scene is in the official Fire Emblem 4 manga written and drawn by Mitsuki Oosawa. Deidre totally fucks on the first date (must be due to of all those years of living a sheltered life).

Without context, this scene can be taken completely wrong…

Anyway, after conquering the Kingdom and Verdane, Sigurd and Deidre got married. From their marriage, Sigurd started to change. His sister, Ethlyn, notes how much Sigurd changed thanks to Deidre. He’s no longer a slob. His hot-headed attitude has all but disappeared. He became more upbeat. From their love and marriage came their first and only son, Celice, whom they both loved dearly.

Sigurd was happy. Deirdre was happy.

And then, Chapter 3 hits – hard.

After receiving news of Sigurd subduing Madino Castle, Deidre decides to leave their army’s home castle to check on her husband. Despite pleas from Shanan (Prince of Issac, his backstory on why he’s in Sigurd’s army is a tad long for this post for me to explain) to ensure that Deidre do not leave the castle as per Sigurd’s request, Deidre leaves; assuring Shanan that she’ll only be but just a second. As Deidre walks outside, she is attacked by Manfory, brainwashed, and taken away by the dastardly villain.

(Keep in mind: Sigurd is prepping to engage in combat against his own best friend, Eldigan)

After subduing Evans Castle, Sigurd is alerted by Shanan that Deidre went missing (in the manga version, Shanan engage in combat against Manfory and fails to rescue Deidre). Sigurd, still stressed out due to discovering the beheaded body of Eldigan in Silvali Castle, sets out to find Deidre.

To worsen matters, Sigurd hears that he and his father Vylon are accused of murdering Prince Kurth of Grannvale (in truth, Vylon’s rivals, Lombard and Leptor, murdered the prince as an attempt to frame Vylon and take Castle Chaply from him).

Sigurd and company are forced to flee to the faraway frigid mountain lands of Silesse. Despite his justified anger/desires to storm Grannvale and expose Lombard and Leptor for their crimes, Sigurd is forced to resolve the civil conflict of Sileese while living as a refugee.

Once the civil conflict in Sileese subsides, Sigurd sets off to Granvale to combat against Leptor and Lombard. He revives his family heirloom, the Holy Tyfring from his father, who has been morality wounded by Lombard’s squad. Sigurd is helpless as his dad dies in his arms and promises to rain wrath and revenge upon Lombard and Reptor for their crimes against the Chaply family and the land of Grannvall. Keeping to his promise, Sigurd successfully slew Lombard and set his sights against Reptor and his unit.

During this time, Quan and his Ethlyn, along with Leonster Lance units, are to aid Sigurd and his army. However, King Tribant (introduced in Chapter 3) ambushes their squad: killing them and leaving behind no survivors sans Cuan and his Ethlyn’s 3 year old child, Altena. Sigurd hears of this news and is devastated by yet another tragic event in his life.

Following, Sigurd eventually take the battle to Leptor, effortlessly defeating him with the help of his army. Sigurd is greeted by Arvis’ aide, Aida, who tells him that Arvis and Kurth’s father knew Sigurd and his father weren’t involved in Prince Kurth’s death. This relives Sigurd, a man who for the past two years dealt with soul-crushing pain. For once, Sigurd is able to take a break and repay his allies for their work.

Yet, all isn’t what they may seem.

While Sigurd and company are welcomed to Belhalla by Arvis in a faux celebration party, Arvis reveals to Sigurd that everything that has transpired within the past three years of Arvis’s doing. He doesn’t pardon neither nor his father for crimes to conspiracy to usurp the Grannvall throne by murdering Prince Kurth. Sigurd is sentence to death. Sigurd, now in absolute disbelief and believing that Arvis is joking, asks if this is a cruel joke, to which Arvis replies that he is not. Before killing Sigurd, Arvis reveals something that Sigurd has been looking for the past year:

Deidre – now recognized as the wife of Arvis.

Arvis insists that Sigurd must be confronted by the daughter of his victim. Deidre, lacking any sort of recollections of her (true) marriage with Sigurd, questions if Sigurd murdered her father. The man snaps, yelling at his wife that he’s married to him, not Arvis, and that he did not do such a horrible thing to his wife who, he loves dearly by killing her father. Deidre is confused. She ponders why Sigurd, the man who supposedly murdered her father, is speaking to her as if he was her familiar. She requests to Arvis that she is given more time to speak with Sigurd to clear things, only to have that requet deny by her new husband.

As Deidre is courted away by Arvis’s royal guards, Arvis believes that Sigurd has said more than enough and orders the execution of Sigurd and his army.

My jaw dropped as I helplessly watched the army whom I raised and the characters I grew to love lives come to a brutal end.

“Nintendo a company for kids and family…Did they just really let one of their main characters die so violently like that?” My teenage mind couldn’t compheren that Nintendo allowed the death of a main character (among many other controversial things) in one of their games.

Continued in Part II.

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15 years ago, I learned that Sigurd is not Marth's cousin and that I might a racist towards and against any Fire Emblem with Blue Hair (they all look alike to me -- i am not sorry). In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem series (with the release of the first game of the series, “Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon and Sword of Light released on April 20th, 1990), I will be doing a bit of a low-brow, personal “retrospective” of the games I played from the series.

#arvis did nothing wrong #fe4 #Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem 30th #fire emblem 4 #Fire Emblem retrospect #genealogy of the holy war #JRPGs #nintendo #RPGs #seisen no keifu #super famicom #Super NES

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morgantakestinder · 7 years ago

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The Best Date Ever.

The bar has officially been raised. No longer will I stand for lackluster coffee chats or reasonably engaging dinner conversations. With complete conviction I can say that I went on the best date ever this weekend (and due to concussion I was 100% sober the entire time so I can confirm that it was not just alcohol induced bliss.) I’m not saying that Tinder is perfect, but if you read through this entry and don’t have at least one “Aww” moment you’re likely dead inside.

So it’s been a few weeks but Prost is back in New York, at least for a little while... We kept in contact while he was gone and I got to live vicariously through stunning images of the American Southwest’s iconic national parks. To say I was envious would be an understatement. (Side note: really gotta travel more of the States soon.) We made plans to get together upon his return for Halloweekend and I, through pure coincidence, had a fun and unique date idea. I figured since he had taken the lead last time, it was only fair that I return the favour. Searching through the various promotional emails that flood my inbox, I found what I was looking for: Sleep-in Cinema at The Standard! To sum it up, it’s a movie night with mattresses instead of seats and they were showing classic Halloween flicks all weekend long. Prost said it sounded fantastic so I quickly booked us a bed for Friday night.

We met on the corner outside the Standard a bit early in hopes of grabbing a pre show drink. I unfortunately couldn’t indulge in any libations but did enjoy a coke and catching up about Prost’s travels over the past few weeks. When we finally went into the cinema things got even better. Each bed was incredible, real pillows and sheets and a duvet and a tray of yummy snacks and drinks. It didn't take us long to get cozy in bed and I introduced Prost to Sour Patch Kids and while we watched cult classic, The Craft. (I am actually not good at horror films but I sucked it up for a good date and I'd already seen this one so I figured I wouldn't gasp too loud...) As one can imagine with any movie date, there was more than a handful of kisses and, given that we were in bed, some excellent cuddling but I promise we kept it PG. So I guess that's another check on the list: this boy is a grade A cuddler but also one classy bloke. After the movie ended and we finally willed ourselves out of the bed, Prost and I went and grabbed dinner. I feel like most people go to dinner before going to bed with someone but we're keeping it interesting haha. Anyway, we went to a pizza place in the village that I had originally been introduced to by Pushup's sister (#flashback?) and does awesome white pizzas. Turns out Prost is a pretty adventurous/open eater and he also ordered a white pizza. First step of initiation into the no tomatoes club! Just like over drinks and the movie, at dinner I found that conversation flowed so easily between us and that I found myself genuinely laughing all evening. Honestly at this point, I became a little skeptical that all this chivalrous and charismatic behaviour was just a ruse to get into my pants. But when Prost took me all the way back to the train platform again like last time, AI knew that he was the real deal: a true gentleman. Luckily, I knew I'd get to see him again less than 24 hours later for an evening of Halloween debauchery - but I'll save that for another post. Most importantly just know that if you're scouring Manhattan for cool date ideas, The Standard has got you covered!

#Morgantakestinder #morgan takes tinder #tinder #dating #halloween #the standard #nyc #best date

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poisonbooknerd · 6 years ago

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FALLEN STAR by Susannah Nix is available now! Get your hands on this sexy Hollywood contemporary romance today.

About FALLEN STAR

The second he walked through the door, she could tell he was trouble.

Grace knows better than to fall for a Hollywood bad boy like Scott Deacon. An arrogant movie star with a troubled past and a big honking chip on his shoulder? No, thank you. He may be sex on wheels, but beneath the charming facade he’s just another cocky jackass destined to make her job more difficult.

Except...

The more time they spend together, the hotter the fire between them burns. With every flirtatious smile and brush of his hand, she feels her defenses crumbling.

She wants to hate him, but instead she’s in danger of losing all control.

Get your hands on FALLEN STAR now!

✦Amazon https://amzn.to/2tI4l07 ✦Apple Books https://apple.co/2sUEguf ✦B&N http://bit.ly/2sRkmQV ✦Google Play http://bit.ly/2sQKECQ ✦Kobo http://bit.ly/2sS1HEJ

Add FALLEN STAR to Goodreads now: http://bit.ly/2sRkm3n

Read an Excerpt from FALLEN STAR:

Tuesday they were shooting on location in Jackson Square all day. The call time was two hours before dawn, so they could wring every second of sunlight out of the day, and Grace could not stop yawning on the transport van to the location.

“Wakey, wakey,” Scott said, leaning over the back of his seat to shake a plastic tumbler filled with something thick and green and disgusting-looking in front of her face.

“Ugh,” Grace grumbled. “Get that away from me.” She couldn’t help but smile a little though, even through her sleep-deprived crankiness.

An hour later, as the first streaks of light were glimmering in the sky above the river, Scott showed up at the pop-up tent where video village had been set up, and presented Grace with a white paper bag and a tall styrofoam cup from Café du Monde.

“For me?” she asked, perking up considerably. “Did you seriously walk over there and buy me coffee?” He didn’t seem to have gotten anything for anyone else. Just her. Her brain filed this information away to obsess over and analyze later, when he wasn’t standing two feet away grinning at her.

“Café au lait,” Scott said smugly. “And beignets.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “Did you make one of the PAs do it?”

“As a matter of fact, I did it all by myself. And I had to take a picture with the employees, so I hope you appreciate it.”

“I do!” she said, beaming at him. “You’re officially my favorite person today.”

He blinked at her, his smirk fading into something else entirely. Whatever that expression on his face was, it sent Grace’s stomach tumbling into a free fall. Rather than examine it more closely, she focused her attention on the bag in her hand. Inside was a mountain of powdered sugar, and buried beneath it were three pillowy squares of fried dough. “Don’t inhale while you’re eating those,” Scott warned her.

“Not my first rodeo,” Grace told him, excavating a beignet. “Want one?”

“Noooo.” He held up his hands in a warding gesture. “I’m doing a water cut for that fight scene on Thursday.”

Right. He’d be shirtless, which meant the Abs of Glory would be on full display. Grace found herself looking forward to Thursday with a little more enthusiasm.

“Sucks for you,” she said, giving him a taunting grin as she bit into a beignet.

His eyes homed in on her mouth with laser beam focus. “That’s fine. I’ll just enjoy them vicariously by watching you eat.”

“Does this get you off?” she asked archly and took another bite. Scott licked his lips. “Not gonna lie, it kind of does.” Grace couldn’t help laughing at his retriever-staring-down-a-dog-treat expression, which led her to make the fatal mistake of inhaling with the beignet in front of her mouth. Coughing sugar out of her lungs, she clapped a hand over her mouth as a cloud of fine white powder billowed out in front of her.

Scott sidestepped the powdered sugar typhoon and patted her on the back, chuckling. “Told you not to inhale.”

About Susannah Nix

Susannah Nix is the author of quirky contemporary romances about smart women and swoony men, including the Chemistry Lessons series of romcoms featuring STEM heroines and the Starstruck series of movie star romances. She lives in Texas with her husband, two ornery cats, and a flatulent pit bull. When she’s not writing, Susannah enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, watching too much television, and getting distracted by Tumblr. She is also a powerlifter who can deadlift as much as Captain America weighs.

#book release #fallen star #susannah nix #release day #excerpt

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viswas · 7 years ago

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Shattered Illusion

Dear Aunt,

You were born in Gangapur, Bihar, the fifth child in a schedule caste family. You had three elder brothers and an elder sister. Your don't recall your father, he died of tuberculosis shortly after you were born. Your mother was the sole breadwinner, earning daily wages through labor in construction sites. Your brothers squandered their lives and times smoking marijuana and playing cards. Your sister was married off at a barely legal age.

In a place where getting children to go to school was an ordeal, you were the first person in a long time to clear secondary and high school examinations. I have heard mom tell stories of you studying under the street light, just like Ambedkar. You got admitted into a science college and completed your B.Sc Physics. You then found a job at the motor company in Samastipur and became one of the first literate wage earners in our village.

When you had some work experience in the motor company, you felt the need to study further. So you applied and got admitted to an M.Sc Nuclear Physics program in Calcutta, West Bengal. I vaguely recall our family's excitement when we had come to see you off at the Samastipur station. You were the first person from the village who was going to do a master's degree. You were going to be alone by yourself in a different state, hundreds of kilometers away from us. I didn't realize then what a momentous yet scary occasion it was for our family. I recall mom asking me to study and become like you.

One of my fondest memories from childhood is at the Samastipur railway station. While we waited for the train to Calcutta to arrive, you would play Snake and Ladders and Ludo with me. I was so happy once when the train was 12 hours late. You asked me to study English well, you said it was important. You bought me English comic books from the bookstore in the Samastipur station. I was hooked. There was nothing I looked forward to more than being at the railway station, first to receive you and then to send you off just so I could read English comics and play games with you.

I recall the orange pen-pencil with the metal clip that you gifted me when you visited us one vacation. I was in the fourth standard then. All I wanted to do was write until the lead was exhausted. And so I came back from school and started writing, though I don't think I learned anything from the process. I finished half the pencil leads you had given in two days. When the pen-pencil was stolen the next day, I was shattered. Not for the beating that mom would give, but because I loved the pen-pencil, especially because it came from you.

After your post-graduation, you went on to do your Ph.D. By then you had become a legend in our village. Later, you found a job with the department of atomic energy in the role of a junior scientist. That was the first time I heard the word 'scientist'. Science became my favorite subject and I started paying more attention to it in school. I remember you talk to me about rockets and satellites launched by India. I was blown away by the idea of going to the moon and distant stars. Any time after that, whenever I was asked what I wanted to become in life, there was only once answer. For the first time, I became consciously aware of the importance of studying. I wanted to study well and grow up to be like you, a scientist.

When they diagnosed the defective valve in your heart, I was shattered along with the rest of our family. I recall borrowing a biology book from my senior and reading about the anatomy of the heart. I didn't understand much. The doctors were going to perform a surgery to save you. The whole family left for Calcutta together for the first time for your surgery. I was excited and sad at the same time. Sad because I was afraid you might die on the operating table. Excited because I was going to a city I had always heard about but never visited. It was my first time traveling beyond Samastipur. Thankfully, the surgery went well. You came out healthy. You went back to work, became a scientist and then a senior scientist. You were a tour de force.

Then you got married. Your husband was a scientist too. You were my favorite couple. I wanted to live with you. You told me to study well and you promised to take me to Calcutta if I did well in my secondary school exams. So I studied hard and tried to follow in your footsteps. I topped my class in every exam. Mom was proud of me. You said you were too.

You then visited us on a long break. You had a baby boy, my first brother. He was so adorable. I took care of him like he was my own child. I looked forward to waking up in the morning just to cuddle with him while he was sleeping. I looked forward to playing with him when I got back from school. He was going to be my best friend. Then one day, you both were back in Calcutta and life became less than ordinary.

Eventually, all my uncles got married, and they all had their sons. But your son held a special place for me. Years flew past quickly. I never came to Calcutta for an education. Instead, I ended up in Jamshedpur for my high school. I stayed in the school hostel. I still wanted to become a scientist.

And then I heard you were a mother again. This time you had a daughter. I came to visit you during my vacation. Your daughter was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. One day, I hoped I would also have a daughter like yours. She was so cute, I wanted to steal her for myself and take her back to Jamshedpur. Silly me. I was very happy. She was my first sister, the first daughter of the generation in our family. She was going to be like her mother and make us all proud. I couldn't wait to see what life had in store for her. I didn't want to go back to Jamshedpur at the end of the vacation.

Life went by quickly. I completed my high school and went on to do my engineering, again in Jamshedpur. Another vacation I visited you in Calcutta, you had arranged an internship for me in your office. You were writing C++ code that operated medical imaging instruments. I finally got to see you at your best. I had so much to learn from you. Meanwhile, at home, your daughter and I were forming a special bond. She doted on me. She was young and she was already wise beyond her years. I saw you in her. When the internship ended, once again, I didn't want to go back to Jamshedpur.

Unlike you, my achievements were nothing to write home about. I had much more to do. After graduation, I got a job in IT in Bangalore, Karnataka. I couldn't become a scientist. But I loved computers, so no regret there. Mom wasn't too happy about me going that far and working. It was hard for me to convince her but I did. She couldn't believe the salary I was being offered. As long as I wrote to her often and visited her every six months, she was happy.

You continued to scale greater heights. You went on to become a chief scientist, divisional manager and finally the managing director. You reached the pinnacle of your career. I would talk proudly to my friends and colleagues about my scientist aunt. They too were impressed with your story. No one I knew had met a scientist in real life.

Years went by and I got busy at work. I enjoyed every moment of it. I loved solving problems using computers. I was being paid well. I got to travel a lot as a part of my job, so I went to the US, Europe, and Japan. Here I met different kinds of people and got exposure to different cultures. I fell in love with travel. I made it a point to travel every year for at least a month. My manager was a very agreeable person. So long as I met my deliverables, he was happy to let me take a month off every year. One time, I spent an entire month backpacking Rajasthan, Punjab, and Kashmir. Another month I split between Ladakh and Andaman. Another year, I took an unpaid vacation with paid leaves altogether for three months and backpacked seven countries in South East Asia. I was now experiencing a life more than ordinary, one conceived improbable for someone from Gangapur.

Meanwhile, I had graduated from comic books to fiction and non-fiction. I read biographies of historical figures, scientists, musicians and social activists. I read about social issues and dystopian societies. I read philosophy and religion. I read world history and Indian history. I even got back into comic books. They call it graphic novels these days. When I wasn't traveling the world, I was living vicariously through books. I read for that exhilarating feeling of magically being transported to another place and time, into the shoes of someone I would never be, to earn an experience I could never feel otherwise. Reading exposed me to the realities of the world we live in. I traveled the world through books. It was a replacement for real experiences, yet it drove me to travel more and seek new adventures. I was quenching my thirst for knowledge.

Through travel and books, I became more aware. I learned about women's rights and LGBT rights. I thought we were poor, then I got to know about Sudan. I learned about environmental exploitation and destruction, yet I found beauty in this world. I learned of oligarchies, dictatorships, and failed political constructs, but I also learned about panchayats and grass root development. I joined anti-corruption and cleanliness campaigns wherever I could. I wanted to deeply connect with this world. I wanted to make a difference.

From you, I learned the importance of education. From education, I learned about protecting humanity and the world we live in. I managed to gather moss from the stone that you had set rolling.

Then you changed.

When you shifted your daughter to a convent, you told me it was because you wanted her to have a better education. She said she hated the idea of losing all her friends from school.

A few years later, when she created a second Facebook account and sent me a friend request, I asked her why. She said she wanted a platform where she could express herself freely and wouldn't be judged by you. She said you were going through her Facebook Friends List and asking about every boy in it.

Once when she visited me on a vacation, I took her out shopping. She only bought slightly less than knee-length skirts and shorts. She said you would never buy such clothes for her, nor permit her to wear them. She asked me not to tell you. She would stock them at her friend's house so she could wear them when going out, without your oversight.

Meanwhile, your son completed his high school and wanted to do automobile engineering. He relocated to Delhi for this. You bought him a bike and supported his stay in a rented house with his classmates. You asked him to prepare for his GRE so he could do his masters in the US.

By now you had become the go-to person for advice for everyone in the village. When one of my distant cousins was about to complete her engineering with top honors, you advised her mother to get her married. You even selected a Bihari boy from the same caste for her to be married to. While she was waiting for her final results, she was fighting with her parents to be left alone so she could make a career. She hated you for it.

Two years later, when you daughter completed her high school, she wanted to study fashion design in Bombay. You were dead set against it. You didn't permit her to leave Calcutta. Your reason was the increasing prevalence of rape in society.

She called me yesterday. She cried to me about her fate.

Once a symbol of woman's emancipation, you are now the symbol of your daughter's oppression. I feel like I don't know you anymore. What have you become, a metaphor for the difference between literacy and education?

Sincerely,

your once loving nephew

#short story #short #story #woman #emancipation #oppression #equality #freedom #patriachal #short-story

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goldlink44 · 8 years ago

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Top 10 Games of 2016

Wow, what a great year for games (and not much else…). Seriously, though, 2016 produced some of the most fun gaming experiences that I’ve ever had. There was emotional wrenching, arcadey shooters, and games that put a smile on my face throughout their duration. I didn’t think that I was going to compile a list of my top ten games, as I wasn’t sure that there were 10 games that I could expound upon. But upon reflection, I found quite a few that I remember very fondly.

That said, there were also a bunch of games that won’t make the list for various reasons. Her Story and Until Dawn came out last year, but are both very very good for what they seek to accomplish.

I don’t own Hyper Light Drifter or Thumper, but they both look amazing and I can’t wait to play them in 2017.

I bought Inside, Oxenfree, Dishonored 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, but haven’t put much time into any of them for me to have any strong feelings that I could back up.

Rimworld is still in early access, but shows some of the most promise I’ve seen in an indie game in years.

Orwell narrowly missed the list, but it is amazing in its own right. It’s a lot like one of my other favourite games from recent years, Papers, Please! but uses social media as its interface, and makes it fun to investigate potential law breakers. You can see my full review of it here.

And so, without further adieu, here’s my Top Ten Games of 2016!

10. Battlefield 1

I learned all about the atrocities that occurred from 1914-1918 when I travelled with my family to The Netherlands and Belgium on a cycling trip that literally took us through the Western Front. It was humbling to see how, 100 years later, the land and the people never forget the seemingly pointless orders sending millions of men to their graves. I gained an appreciation, not only for the soldiers and support personnel that occupied that area of Europe during WWI, but also for the beauty of the land that was torn asunder from the battles.

Returning home weeks before BF1’s release, I was anticipating reviews, knowing that DICE can render fantastic environments and realistic war scenery. Most people were positive on the game pre-release, so I picked up a copy, and was not disappointed. The game is gorgeous, nailing the scenery of what I had seen first-hand, and depicting other fronts of the war in stunning detail. The campaign is incredibly well handled, showcasing the human stories behind the war, never glorifying or over exaggerating the heroics of the soldiers, but insisting that there was a great loss of humanity in The Great War. It’s emotionally on-point, and much better than I ever expected.

In any other year, I most likely would have passed over Battlefield 1, but given my trip to Europe, and the care with which DICE handles the story telling, it definitely makes my list of recommended games this year.

9. Overcooked!

While I may not have played hours upon hours of this co-op cooking game, the time I have spent with it has been incredibly entertaining. Anyone who has played Space Team in the past knows the mayhem that happens while trying to coordinate yourself and three other friends into executing on multiple goals at the same time. Throw this framework into a “too many cooks in the kitchen” premise, and it becomes a fun, delicious adventure that never gets stale.

Made by the team behind the Worms games, Overcooked! has a delightful art style and charming sense of humour that reduces the chance of getting bored with it. That, and each level has different mechanics that keep players on their toes, never letting them rest on their laurels and keep learning and moving to progress.

If I had 3 other friends always at the ready, I would definitely play Overcooked! every chance I got. Alas, I have enjoyed my extended bursts with the game, and can’t wait to get back in their and make some delicious soups.

8. Stardew Valley

While some people may spend their down time trying to relax by reading a book or watching a TV show, I found myself diving into Stardew Valley to destress. In its simplest terms, Stardew is a farming simulator that lets players crawl through dungeons and interact with fellow villagers, to almost simulate a second life (not in that creepy way though…). While this may not sound like everyone’s version of fun, Stardew Valley has such a delicate craft to it that everything feels good and rewarding to do. The kicker: it was made entirely by one person.

The premise revolves around you, the player character (customized any way you want, of course), inheriting your grandfather’s farm in Stardew Valley when you’ve grown tired of the hustle and bustle of working in the city. You hop on a bus and learn the basics of farming and slowly get acquainted with everyone in town.

From there, there’s not too much else to say, as there are so many different options available that it’s nearly impossible for two players to have the same experience. It’s surprisingly relaxing to plant and harvest, fight monsters, and woo potential dates. Checking off tasks feels great, and the music provides a soothing tone to everything. While it may not be for everyone, and I haven’t spent the hundreds of hours playing it that others have, I can’t wait to dive back in on chill weekends and vicariously put my digital life in order to help me deal with my IRL problems.

7. Hitman

Another game that I wish I had spent more time playing this year was IO interactive’s episodic Hitman. I watched a LOT of people playing Hitman, most notably Giant Bomb’s various escapdes with it, but only recently purchased it myself. From what I have played, I really, really like it. So far, I’ve only gotten to two of the available six missions, but I’ve replayed them both several times, trying to master each assassination mission.

The set up isn’t very complex: you are an expert hitman, contracted out to assassinate dangerous targets. The gameplay itself though has a ridiculous comedy to it, that allows players to do nearly anything imaginable to accomplish their tasks. Beat them over the head with a golf club? Sure. Two-hand toss a fire extinguisher into their head? You got it. Sneak up behind, choke them out, and toss them off a bridge? Child’s play.

It may sound like incredibly poor taste to casually mention such gruesome methods of killing, but given the vast amount of murder simulators that inhabit the video game space, Hitman holds a special place for its use of comedy. While many games try to evoke a serious tone, or real repercussions for killing, Hitman knows exactly what it is, and accounts for the uncanny valley aspects inherent in video games. It leans into the silly ways of killing, and rewards players for their creativity. Again, it’s hard to get a handle on why this game works just by reading words, or even by watching it. The magic is only truly woven over those who play it themselves, and even as I type, I’m trying to allocate my upcoming Hitman time. If none of this has convinced you, perhaps this might.

6. SUPERHOT

When I first heard about this game several years ago, it pretty much consisted of one mechanic: time moves when you move. I watched the demo, chuckled to myself, and hoped that the developers didn’t take their neat trick too seriously. Cut to this year, when SUPERHOT was finally released. I had almost forgotten about it, but the distinctive glass-like art style brought back memories of the cool mechanic, and again, I hoped that the game was able to improve on this simple-but-brilliant idea.

They did not disappoint.

I only played through all of SUPERHOT near the very end of 2016, but it was well worth the wait. The level design and player controls all lent to the feeling of playing like some sort of god. The narrative wrapper is also perfectly messed-up and suits this god-like feeling quite well. To fully immerse yourself in the game is to intuit where and when to shoot, throw your weapons, and move so that all of your split-second planning pays off. In total, the game took me about 3 hours, with an insanely difficult final level that outs all of your skills to the test, and succeeds on the initial promise in a way that I never imagined possible. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and rewards those who stay with it all the way. I loved it. It’s the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years.

5. The Witness

How do I sum up my thoughts on The Witness? For starters, I haven’t finished it yet, and feel like if I were to go back to it, I’d have to start all over again. That said, my time with it felt like school, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Playing Jonathan Blow’s previous game, Braid, hurt my head, but had a touching story that kept me going. With The Witness, there’s not much of a “story” but what fuelled my need to play it was the satisfaction of playing the game. Which is ridiculous when the game is basically just made up of hundreds or thousands of line puzzles. The puzzles start out simple enough, asking players to snake their way through mazes, creating lines in certain patterns that can’t cross over each other. Progressively, the game adds more and more elements to the puzzles, slowly training the player to think in different ways. It never prompts or looks down on you, but instead has an attitude of, “You can do it, just keep going.” There is no praise other than progression, but let me tell you, solving some of the more challenging puzzles makes you feel like the smartest motherfucker on the planet.

I should also mention that I played this with my girlfriend, Rosalie, passing the controller back and forth when we conquered a section, or got stumped by a puzzle. This definitely reduced the frustration, as getting a fresh pair of eyes didn’t let us bash our heads against a wall for too long. It’s hard to describe The Witness as “fun”, but it is beautiful and engaging, and never makes it too easy. The puzzles all build off of each other in such intricate ways, that there are too many “Eureka!” moments to count, all of which feel better than the last. There was definitely a lot of frustration with it too, but when I think back on it, all I can remember is the feeling of solving a puzzle, and feeling like I could conquer the whole damn island. It’s a different kind of pleasure than I normally experience in games, and in some ways, more potent than any other I’ve felt. Overall, it’s great.

4. Destiny: Rise of Iron

This is the third year that I’ve been playing Destiny, and I must admit, I think I’m a lifer. After being disappointed with its original release in 2014 (as seen in my Top Ten of 2014 list), The Taken King expansion from 2015 changed a lot of what I didn’t like about the game, and made it incredibly addictive. Combine that with a group of friends that I can consistently play with, and Destiny was the game I would usually fire up in 2016. To date, I’ve played 444 hours of Destiny since its release. It’s a fantastic game, made better with teammates.

2016’s expansion Rise of Iron was conceived as a way to tide fans over while Destiny 2 got delayed, and unfortunately, it shows. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a lot about getting more content for Destiny, but I feel like I went through it fairly quickly, and didn’t feel the need to keep going the way I did with The Taken King.

That all said, I still loved my time with it. The raid, Wrath of the Machine, is excellent, and the new crucible mode, supremacy, is a ton of fun for my main class and weapon load out - Shotgun Titan. The story was a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed it. While this particular expansion wasn’t my favourite, Destiny solidified itself in my heart as a game that I will always return to. The shooting feels incredible, and the thrill of raiding is unlike any other experience I’ve had in games. I can’t wait for more content, and to see what else I can do with an already solid base. Here’s hoping Destiny 2 is 2017’s GOTY!

3. Overwatch

I was very late to the party on this game, and never played the betas. I’ve never been great at online multiplayer shooters. I even thought that I had my all-time-shooter in Destiny, but when I finally got my hands on Overwatch during a free weekend in October, I pulled the trigger (nice) and have loved every second that I’ve spent with it so far. Like Destiny, Overwatch is better with friends, as you casually shoot the shit while you shoot the shit (read: opposing team). Each character is unique, and I can play a variety of different ways that I never thought I would enjoy.

There’s been a lot said and hyperbolized about Overwatch, but I honestly think it deserves it. Like a lot of Blizzard’s past games, it perfects a formula, and adds a level of polish that makes everything feel accessible. I could go on and on about specific things to love, but it won’t make sense until you get your own hands on it. It’s fun, fast, and rewarding in the best ways - literally. It only shows positive accomplishments at the end of every match. The K/D ratio isn’t displayed, as killing n00bs isn’t the point. It’s about working together and having fun. To prove my point, I usually play as Reinhardt and don’t get many kills in each game, but I always feel valuable.

For changing my perception of competitive shooters, and for providing so many ways to play, Overwatch has earned a spot in my top 3, despite only playing it for 2 months of the year.

2. Firewatch

When I first heard about Firewatch, I knew that some of the guys behind the Idle Thumbs Podcast and The Walking Dead Season 1 were working on it. As I had been working my way through the Giant Bombcast, Idle Thumbs seemed like the obvious next choice for gaming podcasts. I resolved myself to try and listen to as much of it as I could before Firewatch’s release, so that I could better understand its creators (I guess). I was also a big fan of Olly Moss’s art for movie and game posters, and after listening to hours and hours of Idle Thumbs, I was brimming with anticipation for the release of the game.

When it finally came out on February 9th, 2016, I got home from my closing shift at Starbucks around 11pm. I waited for my girlfriend to fall asleep, and dove in around midnight. From there, i played through the whole thing in one sitting, finishing around 4:30am. My drive to do this was fueled by many things: 1) I loved the atmosphere and the music 2) I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly anticipating what would come next and 3) I was afraid that if I waited to finish it, I would miss something, or the tension would be lost.

My experience with Firewatch is very personal and unique, and I understand people’s resistance to its ending, or some of the tension that is built up throughout the game. For me, it is a fantastic story, full of relatable themes and story beats that pulls on my heart strings in so many ways. By the end, I was an emotional wreck, and I couldn’t have asked for more from such a tight, beautiful experience. I’m grateful to have learned about Idle Thumbs in the process, and will always recommend this game to people who enjoy a good story.

I also ended up playing through this with my friend Alex as part of my 24 hour live stream benefitting pancreas cancer research in November. You can watch it here: Part 1 Part 2

1. DOOM

Video games are supposed to be fun, right? If I had to picture myself as a third party, observing Chris Townley playing video games in 2016, I would have to definitively say that he had the most fun playing DOOM this year. Why? Because the majority of my time with it was spent with a big dumb grin on my face, giggling to myself as I bounced around and plowed through monsters. From the opening 5 minutes of DOOM, I knew that it was going to be an experience that I would treasure forever.

Growing up, we always had Apple computers with very few games on them. It was always a treat when my dad would bring home his laptop with a copy of Doom on it that I could mess around with. I might not have spent a large part of my childhood gaming time with Doom, but it is seared into my heart as a treasured memory. For example, my ringtone for the past 3 years has been the theme for 1-1.

Hearing that a new Doom game was coming out, I dove into nostalgia, and eagerly anticipated playing it, even if I thought it would be bad. Prodded by this interest, I picked up a copy of Masters of Doom by Dave Kushner, a book about the early days of id Software. It’s an incredible book, and one that I think most gamers should read. It also pumped me up for a new Doom. Just to swim around in familiar demonic territory would be good enough for me.

When it was announced that no review outlets had gotten a copy of it before release, I was skeptical but still hopeful. I didn’t play the multiplayer beta, because I knew that wasn’t where I was going to spend my time with it. When the reviews finally started flooding in, everyone raved about the single player. Shortly after, I spent the full price of $80 CAD to play it. I don’t regret it one bit, even though the game has had dozens of sale offerings since then.

Why do I like it so much? It’s dumb and it’s fun and it knows what it is. The original premise for Doom was along the lines of, you shoot demons, and you’re badass. DOOM (2016) keeps this theme alive, along with the speed and ridiculous humour that made the first game so fun. This is especially amazing considering only one person from the original team worked on the new one. It looks gorgeous, the music is perfect, and the mechanics urge you forward, punching and shooting through demons in sprays of blood and guts.

I could go on and on about how much there is to love about DOOM, but perhaps I will sum it up this way: after 11 hours of gameplay, and nearing the final mission, my save was corrupted and I lost everything. I’m not even mad, because I know I get to play through it all over again. Maybe this hyperbole will colour your version of DOOM, but for me, it was the best game I played in 2016.

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