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can-of-pringles · 1 year ago

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When I'm Alone with You - Chapter 4

Rating: Gen

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1k

Summary: Copia wants to listen to the song Silas recommended but there are a few obstacles he needs to get past in order to do that.

Also Read on AO3

Despite the work he had, Copia still made time to listen to the song. It had proved more difficult than he’d thought to even find a way to listen to the song. He supposed he could’ve asked Silas for a copy or something, but wanted to figure it out himself. Throughout this whole situation, it reminded him to make a mental note to look into newer technology.

Copia didn’t have his own computer or cellphone, just a small TV in his room and an old phone. Sure, they had record players all over the ministry, but it would be useless without the record itself, and he didn’t want to buy it without listening first.

However, there were others that had newer tech. He knew that Sister Imperator had a computer in her office, but didn’t want to ask. As much as she had an apparent soft spot for him, he didn’t think it would be a good idea to ask. That left him with one option.

---

Copia knocked on the door and waited for a response. He made sure to always knock on Terzo’s door after one unfortunate incident. It took days for Copia to get the image out of his mind. Obviously, he knew that Terzo was quite the busy man, practically flirting with everyone that caught his fancy, but that didn’t mean Copia wanted to see the end results of that.

“Ter—I mean, Papa Terzo?” Copia asked. Even though they were practically adoptive brothers; growing up together in the ministry’s location in Italy, he couldn’t forget his manners. Titles were important.

“Go away, Copia. I’m busy.”

Copia frowned.

So maybe only he respected the titles.

“Busy? But it’s late at night.” He furrowed his brows.

“Exactly,”

“I need your help… please?” He admitted.

Copia heard a loud, annoyed sigh before the door was suddenly opened, causing him to jump back in surprise. Terzo stuck his head out the crack in the door and looked up at him, his brows knitted and fighting the urge to frown. Copia tried hiding his surprise at seeing him without his makeup. He’d gotten so used to seeing him with a face full of makeup every day.

“What could you possibly need help with? You shouldn’t be working this late, anyway.” Terzo scolded.

“I’ve seen you work late nights, though.” Copia pointed out.

He exhaled through his nose and frowned, squinting at him. “Why are you here, Copia?”

“Well… there’s uh, this song I want to listen to… but I don’t have the record obviously, and I thought maybe… I could borrow your cellphone to listen to it?” He chuckled nervously.

Terzo usually at least tried to stay somewhat connected online through his phone. Though he used it sparingly, mostly for calls and texts and the occasional time when he was bored and wanted to laugh at people acting stupid online.

He remained silent, his annoyance growing into curiosity.

“I promise I only need it for five minutes or so, and then I’ll immediately give it back!” Copia exclaimed. “Please?”

Terzo crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe as he thought. “Don’t you usually go to some record shop and pick up music there? Why the sudden urge to listen to whatever song this is immediately?”

Copia glanced away, not really wanting to explain that he wanted to impress Silas. “Someone gave me a song recommendation, and I wanted to listen to it and tell them what I thought the next day…” He murmured.

“Hmm… who?” Terzo tilted his head.

“What? Why does that matter?” He fidgeted with his hands.

Terzo had a small smile on his face. “Just curious…”

“Nobody you’d know.” Copia shrugged.

“If it’s nobody, then why won’t you say?”

The Cardinal made some noises in exasperation. “The janitor, there! Happy?”

Terzo hummed and touched his chin, trying to remember. “The one with dark brown hair and eyes, nice beard, and a pretty face?”

Copia felt a weird pang in his chest when Terzo referred to Silas as pretty. It wasn’t that he was wrong per se, Copia had eyes and could admit when he thought others were beautiful, however, it just felt wrong coming from his brother figure. He brushed it off, blaming his tiredness.

“Yes. Mr. Petersson,” he stated.

“Interesting… you two were talking about music? But not about the band.”

Copia really didn’t want to get into the whole past situation, finding Silas playing the piano and all of that. “No, not about the band. It was just some small talk.”

“You’re terrible at small talk.” Terzo raised a brow.

“I was being polite.” Copia huffed, getting frustrated at how long this was taking. “Now, may I please borrow your phone?”

After a minute, Terzo sighed and nodded. “Yes, but only because I’m feeling particularly nice tonight. Return it as soon as you’re done.”

He left the door and went to retrieve it, leaving the door open somewhat and unintentionally, allowing Copia to take a quick look in his room. The Cardinal furrowed his brows when he saw a glimpse of the Ghoul, Omega, there, but then quickly looked down at his shoes once Terzo had come back.

“Here,” he handed the phone to him, “don’t break it.”

Copia smiled. “Thank you, fratello.” He placed it in his pocket.

“Talk with you later,” Terzo said before closing the door.

“Oh… okay, then,” Copia muttered.

He didn’t say how to return the phone, but Copia figured he could try sliding it under the door. The Cardinal headed back to his room, looking forward to listening to the song.

---

Copia tried working the YouTube app on the phone, having to type slowly. He usually was very quick at typing, but the buttons were small and he didn’t really know how to swipe. He made a small triumphant noise once he got the search results and found the song.

He made sure the phone volume wasn’t blasting, afraid of potentially disturbing anyone near. Copia sat on his couch and listened intently. The sound of the piano immediately clicked in his mind. Silas had been playing it as smoothly as it sounded on the official track. Although the lyrics were unfamiliar to Copia, he found the vocals soothing almost, pleasant.

The lyrics were quite interesting. He could see what Silas meant about it not being a religious song but having the tones. It felt more like poetry than a song.

“I guess more like worshipping a person…” He thought.

After the song was finished, he cleared the search history for it and exited the app; turning the phone screen off. Copia wondered what other songs the artist had, but held off from searching on the phone. He would have to ask Silas the next day.

---

The sunlight shone through the colorful stained glass of the building, casting a bright blend of shades. Copia glanced at the light patterns on the floor as he walked by. He turned a corner and his expression lit up as soon as he saw Silas. He paused and tried changing to a more neutral look. Copia had to ‘keep his cool’

Silas noticed him and smiled as he walked over to where he was sweeping.

“Cardinal Copia, it’s nice to see you again.” He held the broom to the side, slightly leaning.

“Yes, you as well. I just came by to say that I listened to the song.”

“Really? What’d you think?” Silas’ voice sounded slightly surprised.

“Oh, I liked it! It was very good. You have good taste.” Copia complimented.

He tried ignoring the light feeling in his chest. “Oh, well, thanks.”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely try to look more into the music. Thank you for sharing it.”

Silas gave him a quick nod. He paused as he got another idea.

“I’d be happy to give you another suggestion… if you’d like.”

“Oh, sure.” Copia smiled, ignoring that Terzo wouldn’t be happy about him borrowing the phone again. He had to come up with another plan for that.

Silas pondered for a second. “Would you prefer another song by Hozier or something else?”

“Another song, please.” Not that Copia wasn’t open to something else, but he wanted to stay on track.

“Try ‘It Will Come Back’. It has more of a blues sound to it, but I think you’ll like it.”

“I’ll keep that one in mind. Thank you.”

Silas smiled. “Alright, I shouldn’t keep you from your important Cardinal work. Don’t want to get in trouble.”

“But I approached you first. If anything, it should be me getting in trouble.” He shrugged.

“Well, how about neither of us gets in trouble? We both have to work, unfortunately.” Silas joked.

“Yes, you’re right.” He sighed, wishing he could talk with him more.

“Talk soon?” He gave him a small, hopeful smile.

Copia returned it. “Sure.”

#the band ghost #copia x oc #silas x copia #ghost oc #ghost band oc #silas petersson #cardinal copia #papa emeritus iii #papa terzo #ghost band #ghost #ghost band fanfic #ghost band fic #my writing #pringles writing #papa emeritus iv

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dorn-queen-of-thorns · 1 year ago

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4th chapter " the power in me"

"I'm with you"

A little later at the same time:

"Wait Mitsuki!" Sarada calls after him worried. It's useless, he doesn't listen to her. Events have unfolded in the last hour.

It started with Mitsuki's idea to visit Kawaki, who has been living with the Uzomaki's for a few months.

Apparently it wasn't such a good idea after all. Hinata, Boruto's mother received them with concern.

She told both of them , that there was an incident involving Boruto and Kawaki where Boruto was badly injured. In addition, the 7th and Sensei Shikamaru were in mortal danger. Hinata and Himawari weren’t allowed to entrance the institute.

After this shocking news there was no stopping for Mitsuki, "I'll kill HIM!!!" were his alarming words. Sarada, just as shocked and horrified by the news, has since tried to calm her friend down, but with no avail.

Sarada has now caught up with Mitsuki and runs alongside him.

"You don't even know the background of the hole happening, maybe it was Code , who attacked both of them," she tries to rationally fathom what happened.

Or maybe the other side has resurfaced in Boruto after the Code was a massive threat to everyone and Borutoshiki‘s escape only made things a whole lot worse, she thinks and hopes.

If it turns out that Kawaki acted out of sheer malice, she wouldn't know how to handle the situation. But it is not yet the time to make decisions. Right?

Gradually she begins to understand that life as a Hokage also has its downsides. But if you have to take a life to save an entire city, you have to take that step.

Making a sacrifice, however, conforms to her father's way.

On the other hand, she had vowed years ago not to give up on anyone so easily and to save a friend.

Does the 7th have to make such difficult decisions as the Hokage, too? she thinks.

No, he would do anything to save a friend.

She recalls an experience when they first traveled to Kirigakure with Boruto. At that time their common and unfortunately deceased friend Kagura betrayed his village. Well it turned out that Kagura was blackmailed and they were able to save him and put the real masterminds in prison. Strange that she has to think of Kagura now during the current events

"Sarada if you're not on my side. Then stay out of it when it comes to Kawaki. I'll take care of him!” Mitsuki says admonishing Sarada.

"You can not be serious. Do you know what you're talking about?", she asks horrified,

"Listen! For some reason, Boruto kept a few things from us, you noticed that first. There must be more behind it..."

"WHAT, Sarada? Isn't it enough that Kawaki pierced Boruto with his ninja technology?” he yells at her emotionally.

Seeing an emotional and tearful Mitsuki breaks Sarada's heart. She puts herself in his shoes and probably would do the same if she were in his place.

"Okay, I won't intervene if it turns out that Kawaki attacked Boruto out of pure malice," she promises Mitsuki.

Her friend looks at her seriously, but says nothing more. She hopes that everything will be fine in the end and worries about her teammates.

At the institute:

" Shikamaru, have you gone insane? You can't just hand Kawaki over to an enemy cyborg like that. What has become of the man who promised to protect the next generation with all his might? Kawaki is also part of the next generation,” Naruto yells angrily at Shikamaru.

"Naruto, do you still not understand our hopeless situation? I'm just trying to protect our families and Konoha. And anyway? How much do we know about the boy?” Shikamaru explained.

"I think to betray him, will only bring him against us more," says Naruto.

Sasuke calmly watches the arguing, "I'll keep an eye out for Kawaki and Boruto until you two are done," and says goodbye. Time mustn't be wasted unnecessarily and that Boruto isn't back yet and that Kawaki has also disappeared, worries him.

Meanwhile, Sarada and Mitsuki arrive at the Institute. Strange, the institute seems deserted..., she thinks. Otherwise there is always a hustle and bustle here.

Both enter it, they go in the direction of the visitors' compartment, where they had visited Boruto in the morning. Mitsuki goes ahead of Sarada. She clearly senses his anger. There must be something she can do!

Surprisingly, a flea-sized Kawaki perches on her shoulder. Her Sharingan suddenly activates and she sees him clearly. WHAT THE?! she thinks and hides him under her top. Now just shut up! she hopes. I try to get you to safety and she suddenly realizes that he is the first to see this very personal glimpse of hers and her face blushes. She sincerely hopes that Mitsuki won't look at her now. He would immediately become suspicious.

" Where is he? Dammit ! He'll pay for doing that to Boruto,” Mitsuki yells angrily.

"Hey Mitsuki, please please calm down. It seems that he is nowhere here. There's no use getting so emotional," Sarada tries to calm him down and distract herself a little.

" WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" he yells at her, tears welling in his eyes.

"Mitsuki..." seeing her friend like that. Having to face Mitsuki’s nervous breakdown, breaks her heart.

"I understand you, I'm worried too," and holds her hand where Kawaki is right now, "but we have to keep calm and in the end Boruto is still alive."

Mitsuki calms down a bit and thinks about what she said, "You're right. It's so frustrating for me. He is my sun and I want to protect him for everything in the world..."

Sarada walks up to her friend and hugs him, "I know... he will be fine and we'll find him soon..."

Don't you touch me somewhere there!, she thinks of the third person between them and means Kawaki.

Meanwhile, Kawaki sits on her sternum, red as a tomato, finding the situation somehow odd standing between her and Mitsuki. He would rather be alone with Sarada...

Nothing like this has ever happened to him, but it's one of the nicer and funnier experiences he's had in his otherwise so sad life. He clearly hears Mitsuki and Sarada's discussion, knowing that the conversation is about Boruto and him. He understands, that Sarada wants to save his and Mitsuki’s life.

Mitsuki has always seemed a bit strange. He was always watching everything and everyone. Preferably Boruto and Kawaki. And his "you're interesting" didn't make it any easier for Kawaki. But it turned out to be a good one, because Sarada seems much calmer than Mitsuki.

Oddly, he's always worried up until now that she would be the one who would freak out after the Boruto incident last happened.

As soon as time permits, he will have to explain everything to her. He is reassured that she is a reliable friend, maybe the only one. He carefully nestles against her breastbone and feels safe at this moment. He closes his eyes for a moment and listens to her heartbeat in confirmation, Sarada places her hand on Kawaki.

Sasuke overhears Mitsuki and Sarada's conversation. One of his fears has come true, the two have figured out Boruto's and Kawaki's secret, judging by Mitsuki's angry voice in the visitors' compartment, he finds them both too. Disappointingly, he also realizes that there is a third person under Sarada's top.

You two will have to explain that to me! , he thinks. However, he doesn't betray Kawaki, that he doesn't need a fight between two hooligans gone wild right now, from which one of them would most likely die. On top of that, Amado could appear with this cyborg and he doesn't want to use the boy as a pawn.

Sarada looks at her father in shock. She can't fool him. He also sees Kawaki...

Not good... she thinks.

"You two are probably looking for Boruto and Kawaki?" He asks them both and looks sternly at Sarada, who looks shy and caught.

Meanwhile, Mitsuki is highly emotional. Sasuke has never seen Orochimaru's vessel in this condition. He worries about how Mitsuki will react when it comes to Boruto and an outbreak of the Otsutki genes. Then he and Sarada must necessarily act, probably Kawaki would help them in that as well.

"We have to split up! Come Mitsuki! We're looking for Boruto. Don't worry he's fine. And Sarada, you're looking for Kawaki! You're the only other person who has the Sharingan and should be able to track him down," he tells her.

"Okay, dad! Please be careful!” she says worriedly.

"We will!" Sasuke says to her.

Both groups separate. Sarada waits until the other two are out of earshot.

Finally she is alone with him, "it would be better if you don't lie to me and told me immediately what happened," she whispers. Does he hear irritation in her voice?

Kawaki crawls onto her shoulder so that she understands what he says.

"I've never lied to you, Sarada," says Kawaki, a little offended, pondering how to explain all of this, and climbs into her ear so only she can hear him.

" Thanks... for helping me and you should better not talk now. They're after me. I mean Amado and Shikamaru..." and explains the whole story to her with his resurrected Karma Mal, Code, the outbreak of Boorushiki. That Boruto asked for Kawaki to rid him of this monster. His own injury and unconsciousness, to the point that Shikamaru has to team up with a stranger without his consent.

"All I want is to protect Konoha and the 7th," he says earnestly, ending his explanation.

Horrified at what happened, Sarada heads towards the exit with Kawaki to take him to safety. She can't believe that Sensei Shikamaru wants to give Kawaki to a stranger, but she doesn't allow it. Shikadai's father has always been suspicious of Kawaki, which she doesn't understand.

Kawaki is an ass sometimes, but not a liar!

But she is also touched that Kawaki finally has the sense to protect the village and his own home.

You've learned so much and growed, she thinks happily and a small smile forms on her lips, which Kawaki doesn't get to see.

"I promised you. If you need help, I will be there for you and I will not allow you to be handed over to someone else. You are a good friend,” she tells him firmly and softly.

"Sarada..." he breathes into her ear full of admiration, giving her goosebumps.

"Come on, let's go!" she whispers softly.

In front of the institute:

Amado safely brought the two cyborg siblings, Eida and Daemon, to the Science Institute with the help of another of Amado's cyborgs named Koji Kachin.

"You're about to learn the leadership of Konoha, and Kawaki can often be found near the Hokage. The boy feels an obsessive fatherly love for him. I'll put you under Shikamaru and you'll have Delta for backup. Both of them are under your spell now, ”Amado explains to the attractive cyborg, her little brother is still sitting on his shoulders and playing piggyback.

"So I'll work with you," she whispers sweetly. This artificial human is really scary, just like her hyperactive brother.

"Hey, grandpa! You told me and my sister why you're so after Kawaki..." Daemon asks.

The scientist thinks for a moment, " His stepbrother is the problem. Kawaki is just a weapon against him and so is Code. However, a dangerous one and the current Hokage cannot control him. But I do... I know of an event in the near future that will wipe out entire generations, maybe even the world we live in..."

“Boruto?” asks Aida surprised, “Code is after him… I know what you're talking about. "

"It doesn't matter if Code gets hold of him or..." Amado is interrupted when he sees a young girl storming out of the institute and she doesn't pay much attention to the trio.

Eida looks after the young girl, "Tell Amado. Who is this girl?”

Amado looks after Sarada and sees the Uchiha's emblem on her back.

"That must be Sasuke Uchiha's daughter, Sarada . Both are the last descendants of the Uchiha's..." he says thoughtfully.

„Interesting“, said Eida.

"We're here and leave the talking to Shikamaru to me," Amado reminds her. You'll see Kawaki in a moment. When Eida is hearing his name, the cyborg immediately blushes and seems shy again. A strange phenomenon to observe in an artificial human.

At the institute:

The argument between Naruto and Shikamaru has calmed down a bit.

"What should we do with her? I have little faith in that cyborg,” uncomfortable memories with Delta flooded back into Naruto's mind.

"She works for Konoha now. The problem is that she is also under Eida's spell. She's still a useful protection against Code if we can get Eida on our side," Shikamaru muses.

Delta looks unimpressed. All she cares about is seeing Eida again. Oh, it hurts so much not being able to be near her.

"And if that person is still working with him, we've got a big problem. I'm all for disabling her ," Naruto suggests.

"Only Armado will be able to do that. Oh God, that's annoying again!!!”, frustration spreads in Shikamaru.

The intercom answers. Ino contacts Shikamaru and Naruto: "Hey you brawlers. I sense three strange chakra flows in the main corridor. One of them is Amado and he comes with two other strangers. One of them is a very attractive woman and a small child..." says Ino a little enthusiastically.

"Oh god, Ino! Now don't say you're under her spell now, too," says Shikamaru, horrified, "don't turn on the monitors now. Naruto is still here.”

Naruto looks at Shikamaru in shock.

"You heard it! Go immediately ! You noticed where they are. You must not come under their influence. You won't be able to defend yourself," Shikamaru explains to him worried.

There's already a knock at the door.

Naruto signals him "Okay" and takes a side entrance and quietly disappears...

The door slowly opens and in the entrance stand Amado, Eida and a little boy no older than Naruto's daughter Himawari.

This is supposed to be the still unknown person that Kawaki has done so? A little boy not more than 10 years old...

Well Shikamaru wouldn't be in this position if he had underestimated his opponents in the past and his intuition tells him that this boy is dead dangerous.

" Amado! I can't believe you survived all of this. We need to talk right away. And Eida! Greetings,” he tells her politely, trying to ignore her influence as much as possible.

Eida smiles seductively at him, " Shika dear! I am happy to see you again. This is my little brother and protector Daemon," she looks over at Delta, "hello Delta darling, I missed you so much..."

Amado rolls his eyes in annoyance at Eida's behavior, although she can't help it and acts according to her nature.

Delta acts like a shy teenager in love, trying to hide her flush with her hands. Oh God! She's back! she thinks.

" He...he..hello Eida...", she says shyly.

Meanwhile, beads of sweat form on Shikamaru's forehead. He knows that Eida is there for the sole reason that she wants to see Kawaki.

However, Sasuke hasn't come back with the boy yet and without him it will be difficult to get Eida on Konoha's side.

Eida looks at him reassuringly, "You're worried about me, Shika dearest. How sweet of you! But do not worry. I know where he is…." She turns to Delta and walks towards her and strokes Delta's cheek with her index finger, "My dear Delta. Would you do me a favor ♡ ?”

Delta's looks into Eida's eyes she could sink and forgets everything around her,

"I would fulfill your every wish...Tell me what you want."

Amado doesn't like the way Eida takes over so quickly, „Eida! It's enough now! Didn't I tell you to let me do the talking?!"

" Don't be so jealous, Amado ♡ . I'll get right back to you," Eida turns back to Delta, "you know I want to see my Kawaki. But he's not here, he's with a young girl. Her name is Sarada. She is easy to spot. She wears black short hair, red glasses and red clothes. Take care of her, I don't want to have to share Kawaki with anyone. "

"I will find her, dear Eida," Delta tells her, oblivious to other orders along the way.

Shikamaru's alarm bells are ringing. Shocked to hear what order Eida just gave to Delta, Shikamaru speaks up, "What are you trying to say? Leave the Uchiha's daughter out of the game. She has nothing to do with it..."

"Oh, she's very involved with everything here. But that doesn't have to bother you anymore, Shika-dear ...", she breathes menacingly, "Daemon, be so kind and take care of him..."

#kawaki x sarada #sarada uchiha

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rviner · 2 years ago

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Rory let out a light laugh which was followed by a defeated shrug. "Well, you know the alive name?" she asked without any demand, already convincing herself this was the dumbest thing she'd ever done. No, actually following a man who beckoned her over was the dumbest thing. She stepped carefully, as if the trailer park was littered with landmines until she came to a stop nearby to him. "Uh, it's...nothing. Just..." she slipped her phone out of her pocket, waving it around like it was a useless block of technology. "I'm apparently related to Walter Cross or something but he didn't have any other details other than name, and Atlanta." she laughed again, because it was sounding more and more stupid the more she said it out loud. "Think I got the wrong Atlanta." she grinned, throwing the cigarette to her feet and crushing it with the toe of her converse. Rory glanced to the trailers and scoffed with a friendlier smile. "Yeah, no. Don't want money. I mean it'd be nice, but not why I'm here."

New faces are rare in the trailer park, almost every resident noticing the unfamiliar car and twitching at the netting of their windows. Upon seeing that the stranger is just a small blond, the sense of threat vanishes. It's only Wolf that ventures to the outside, eyeing the girl with a curious stare. He doesn't even blink as she notices him, nor waves. Slowly, he steps closer while she tries to make her exit but the question not only makes him smile but makes a small laugh teeter. "That name is a dead name." Wolf explains, squinting in the sunlight and then using a hand to beckon her closer. "Come here, why do you know that name?" she doesn't seem like government, or someone coming to arrest him. "You looking for money?" Wolf then asks once she's close enough, gesturing to the run down trailers surrounding them. "'Cause we're all looking for money here, you're gonna have a hard time."

#roryatl #rory x wolf 001

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marypsue · 2 years ago

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please give me an excerpt of lesbian tony stark please

Tiny little bit of context: I sadly did not coin 'lesbian apocalypse robot Tony Stark'; that came from one of copperbadge's comix recaps, and I just stole it as a working title for a (I guess it's going to be) novella about a female android passing as a human tech mogul and moonlighting as a superheroine, who accidentally falls head over heels for a changeling who doesn't yet know she isn't human.

I'm very very fond of this story, even though it got backburnered in summer 2020 when Stranger Things and the monster longfic project ate my brain, and I do intend to finish it. Eventually. Its current working title is Le Morte d'Artificial Intelligence, and it has a full complement of useless lesbians, silly pop culture references, eldritch horrorterrors, MCU Loki thirst, King Arthur, Ke$ha songs, unexpected angst, and corgis.

Sample:

For the record, it had been Brand who had approached Lily, and not the other way around.

Lily had barely started her first beer when someone she could only describe as a tiny blonde dynamo had landed on the bar stool beside her, somehow - apparently telepathically - summoned the bartender, ordered a whiskey for herself ‘and one for the lady’, and then given Lily an extremely broad wink and a smile. If Brand had been a man, Lily would have found her approach presumptuous – though not, she had to admit, entirely without its charms. As it was, her actions certainly were presumptuous, but Lily found she was charmed despite herself. There was something about that smile that seemed to invite Lily in on some private joke, and, despite herself, Lily found she wanted to know the punchline.

She’d taken a moment to take stock of her new acquaintance, nursing her beer as she stole a long look at the occupant of the stool beside her. It had taken her an embarrassing amount of time to realise that the mismatched eyes - one electric blue, one new-grass green - the tufts of close-cropped and spiked white-blonde hair, and the dusting of pale, nearly-invisible freckles across the snub nose really did belong to the one and only Elin Brand, and not merely a lookalike taking advantage of her similarity of appearance to a wealthy celebrity to make extremely forward advances towards women in bars.

It had occurred to Lily to wonder why someone with Elin Brand’s net worth would be alone in a neighbourhood pub, without a bodyguard. But then, Lily hadn’t seen where Brand had been sitting before Lily came in – perhaps there was a burly man in a dark suit seated at a table somewhere behind them, glaring daggers at Lily’s back even as he discreetly ran a background check on her. Or perhaps Brand’s bodyguard was more technological. The mutterings about an advanced prototype AI that ran her home and office and powered all her personal devices might have some truth to them, after all.

Brand looked taller on magazine covers, somehow. But none of them had quite managed to capture the thoughtful glint in her eye. As though she were carefully sizing up everything her gaze landed on, cataloguing it and categorizing it, and then committing it to memory. Within the span of a second.

It was unsettling. It was interesting.

Brand had caught Lily looking when the bartender slammed down two cut-glass tumblers full of ambery liquid. She’d offered Lily another flash of that smile, brilliant and just a little bit mischievous. “See anything you like?” Her accent was flat, unlovely, sarcastic, American or perhaps – technically, was she still a Canadian citizen?

“Just browsing, thank you,” Lily had said, bringing her glass of beer to her lips, and Brand had laughed, a sound that could charitably be compared to the cackle of a crow. Strangely enough, Lily had felt compelled to make her do it again.

“I saw you from the table over there. You looked like you could use some company.” Brand had stuck out a hand to shake, which had struck Lily as oddly formal, though endearingly so. Like Brand had wanted to make sure she’d make a good impression. “Elin Brand. My company makes electronics.”

“Oh, I know what BrandTech does,” Lily had said. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a Brit who doesn’t.”

She’d taken the proffered hand, given it a businesslike shake. Brand had, she’d noticed, an impressively firm grip, her hands surprisingly soft and smooth for someone who, according to the better class of newsmedia, spent most of her time with those hands personally buried in some motor or circuit board. Brand had also let her grip linger a moment longer than would’ve been strictly polite, giving Lily a chance to notice the warmth of her skin before taking her hand back with a knowing smile. “So you know who I am, too, I’m betting.”

Lily had finished her beer before answering that one. Saints preserve her from cocky, self-important celebrities. “Unfortunately, I do.”

Brand’s smile had only gotten wider. “I’ll take it.” She’d taken a sip from the glass the bartender had put down in front of her, made a face, and put it back on the bar. “Don’t drink that, it’s awful. Barkeep? Can we get two more of whatever she was drinking?” She’d turned back to Lily, like she was the one who’d been briefly interrupted rather than the one who’d briefly interrupted herself. “Sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

They’d talked. Partly against Lily’s better judgment, but, well…there was something endearingly earnest in Brand’s attention, when she wasn’t being – Lily supposed she must have thought herself witty, but mostly she only sounded bitterly sarcastic, and on occasion just bitter. But when one was the focus of her attention, Lily found, it was like Elin Brand had never met anyone in the world so interesting. It was almost intimidating.

“Lily Charles, actress,” Brand had said, leaning her chin in her hand and looking at Lily as though her job were something rare and strange and beautiful, as though the ‘BAFTA-winning’ were implied, as though Lily did more than occasionally chew scenery for never quite enough cash. “What’ve you been in? Anything I might’ve seen?”

“Are you a connoisseur of the theatre?” Lily had countered, drawing out her greatest triumph to show off as she would her BAFTA, if she’d ever actually won one. “I played Lady Macbeth at the Globe last year.”

Brand had whistled, low, at that, looking as impressed as if she weren’t a multi-millionaire tech heiress and genius, but just an ordinary plonker who might find artistic accomplishments genuinely impressive. “The Globe? That’s some serious stuff. You’re Shakespearian trained, then?”

“I am,” Lily had admitted. She might even have rolled her eyes. Again. “Not that that’s any too rare, around these parts.”

“Hey, no, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. And once you’ve learned it, you’ve got a solid foundation for any kind of acting, right?”

Lily had managed, with some difficulty, not to laugh. “Well, at the very least, the BBC seems to think it makes me sound aristocratic. Though that may also be my height. I’ve played a wicked heiress now on…” She’d had to count on her fingers. “Four different procedurals. And an Agatha Christie miniseries. Oh, and a Doctor Who, but alien princesses hardly count.”

Brand had laughed, in Lily’s estimation, just a little too hard at that.

Everyone knew at least the abridged version of Elin Brand’s story, of course. Daughter of pioneering computer-technology mogul Inge Brand, Swedish by birth, but dragged all over the world by her mother to an assortment of specialists, quacks, and con artists when, at age three, she’d developed a rare genetic condition with no known treatment. Father lost to the annals of popular history after he’d left the family a year and a half into the search, a sad but apparently not uncommon outcome for families with seriously ill children. Years of home schooling and tests in seclusion at the home she and her mother had eventually settled at in northern British Columbia, Canada, when Inge grew fed up with the available options and decided to develop a cure herself. A naturally strong intellect plus a concentrated course of study under the one and only Inge Brand, and Elin had remotely challenged MIT’s engineering degree at age fourteen and passed with honours.

She’d exploded into the popular consciousness when she took over BrandTech following Inge’s untimely death, moving its HQ and her own residence to the UK and, apparently gladly, becoming the public face of the company. It had been a smart move. Brand was, it seemed, a showman at heart, with the substance to deliver on her fantastic promises, and obviously her story was one of perseverance and the triumph of technology and human ingenuity over unimaginable odds. It was the perfect angle for the company, and had captured the imaginations of the buying public. At last report, BrandTech was outpacing even Apple in the British market, and was making serious inroads overseas.

The more scrupulous papers had reported on Elin as a promising young entrepreneur, emphasized how she’d translated great personal tragedy into professional success, painted her as an inspiration for all she’d overcome. The Sun, on the other hand, regularly ran columns implying reports of her one-on-one bluntness and lack of manners were evidence of everything from horrific genetic tampering by her mother to give her unnatural intelligence and try to excise human emotion, to literally being an alien pod-person who’d replaced the real, deceased heir to BrandTech, here to infiltrate human society with her clever devices and then use them to enslave the human race. The paper had managed to successfully defend themselves from the ensuing defamation lawsuits by claiming they had no way of knowing the writers of each article hadn’t actually held such an opinion based on publicly-available information. But they had been forced to print a retraction on the articles claiming Elin had killed her mother outright for control of the company.

Sitting across from Lily, having a laugh over drinks, though, Elin Brand hadn’t seemed a tragic waif or paragon of inspiration or heartless manipulator or cold-blooded killer or abomination against nature. She’d only seemed to be trying very hard. And a little lonely.

And when she’d asked if Lily wanted to come back to her flat and see the prototype hoverboard she’d been working on (“a real hoverboard, not this cop-out POS with wheels”), Lily had said yes.

#chatter #mary writes #i was as self-indulgent as possible when designing these characters and it shows (proud; affectionate)#le morte d'artificial intelligence

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girl-in-the-tower · 3 years ago

Text

CHAPTER I

Ramshackle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue

Kore: Woah, to think the ghosts would go all out like this just for today! Even though I told them that they didn't have to bother with it, they wouldn't listen, at all... It's... It's kind of embarrassing to be fussed over like this! If it was Grim I would have understood but this, uh...

Ah! And I'm supposed to have a guest over today as well! Hm, I guess some tea should be in order... maybe some cakes as well... I wonder if there's any sugar left...

Ace: Yo!

Kore: Ah, just a moment- Oh, it's just you, Ace.

Ace: Ha? What's that supposed to mean? 'It's just you'? It's super rude to greet your dear guest like this, you know?

Kore: Is that so? But calling you a guest is...

Ace: What's that?

Kore: Hm...

Ace: Well, doesn't matter because my feelings were hurt either way! So I'll help myself to this krumkake to make myself feel better! Let's dig in~

Kore: Hey, that- Aaah, that was meant to be for Grim. He kept complaining all day yesterday that he should have a cake all to himself too since it's a special day so I woke up extra early just to make it for him. Now he's gonna be mad...

Ace: Haa? A whole cake just for that furball? You've got to be kidding me!

Kore: What are you talking about? You know how much he likes krumkake.

Ace: Nah, I doubt there's really anything that guy won't eat... But that's not the point. You're spoiling him too much. He's gotten really fat, you know?

Kore: It's fine. I still make sure he exercises and he looks cute round like that too, so it's not a problem.

Ace: No, I definitely still think there's something wrong here. Mainly with your head.

Kore: Haaaaaaa, you wanna pick a figh-

Ace: Oh, I almost forgot! Here you go!

Kore: ... What's this?

Ace: Isn't it obvious?

Kore: Well... Huh? Wait a minute- That can't-!

Ace: Ta-da! It's a limited edition Griffons varsity jacket that's been all the rage with Magift meatheads like you~

Kore: No way!! This is- This is-

Ace: Cool, righ- Hey!! Don't jump on me like that! You almost knocked me off the chair!

Kore: Sorry, hahaha! I was so happy I just couldn't contain myself! To think that I would be able to actually get my hands onto something so valuable!

Ace: Yeah, we figured you'd like i-

Kore: This season has really been a blessing from above for them, you know? Everybody is in top shape and playing at their best! I heard their new manager actually made them go through this super difficult training regime that has been working wonders for them. Though it's only speculation so far!

Ace: Uh, Kor-

Kore: If you ask me, it's definitely also thanks to those new brooms that they ordered for the team. The wood is apparently from the Valley of Thorns and super-resistant so they go all out without worrying about breaking them. For the moves that the team is pulling, they really need that propulsion time! Even a second helps when you're in a headlock. I remember back in the vs Mandrakes game that they switched brooms in between-

Ace: Heeeeey! You Magift boar woman! Can you hear me?

Kore: Wh-Why are you yelling like that?! I'm right next to you!

Ace: Haaaa, when you start talking about Magift you might as well be in a completely different world... No wonder they all think of you as the Magift Encyclopedia. I bet you have hundreds of useless pieces of information like that stuck in your head.

Kore: You-! Huh? What's this?

Ace: A-Ah! That!

Kore: It's rice pudding- Ah! It's homemade from the Mountains!

Ace: Hm? Ah, ye-yeah... That came with the jacket...

Kore: Eh? They put pudding in jackets when they sell them?!

Ace: O-Obviously! Don't tell me you didn't know? Bwahaha, man, you sure are clueless...

Kore: ... It's my favourite flavour too...

CHAPTER II

Ace: Alright, next to the first question!

Kore: Eh?! Question?! Is this a quiz of some kind?!

Ace: I guess you could think of it like that, so anyway- Your first question as today's birthday girl issssss: "If you were stuck on a deserted island, who would you take with you?" Hm, here it says that you can't pick members of your own dorm, but given that you guys don't even have a dorm, I'm not sure that the restriction applies. Not that it matters since you wouldn't choose Grim anyway, right?

Kore: Huh? Why not?

Ace: You're serious?! You'd pick that furball?! Hey, we're talking about a deserted island here so think carefully! Don't you want to get off it?!

Kore: Well, obviously I would... But...

Ace: But?

Kore: I can do that on my own.

Ace: Huh?

Kore: Survival is all about securing shelter, food and formulating an escape plan. If it's a deserted island I assume there would be some fauna and animals too, so we could feed ourselves through fruit gathering and hunting. It might be hard if we don't have any tools, however, but I think Grim's claws would be sharp enough to cut through the skin and meat fairly easily. I make sure he takes good care of them after all.

Ace: I-I see...

Kore: If there's no drinkable water then we'll have to boil some from the sea in order to deal with the thirst. Grim's flames, when properly utilized, would be able to do such a thing. Not to mention that he could start fires to keep us warm at night and to cook food to sustain us! Also, it could be a great emergency signal if we end up at sea and need rescuing.

Ace: You want to use him as a flare?!

Kore: That sounds so mean! I would only do that as a last resort, however! Grim's pretty sensitive about having his belly scratched so I wouldn't do anything to make him uncomfortable like that!

Ace: Haaaa, I get it, I get it! So you're saying that the furball has his practical uses too. But I can't help but worry about some flaws...

Kore: Flaws?

Ace: No matter how much you feed that glutton, his stomach will never be full, you know! Whatever provisions you managed to gather, he's sure to inhale them with the first occasion!

Kore: Wah- That's a horrible thing to say! There's no way my Grim is so selfish!

Ace: My Grim?! What is he?! Your child?! And he's totally selfish, you know!!

Kore: HAAAAA?! ARE YOU REALLY PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME?!

Ace: Ca-Calm down!! I take it back, ok?! You can bring the furball with you!

Kore: Hmph.

Ace: Seriously, getting this angry over that cat...

Kore: Isn't that normal? Grim is my special person, after all!

Ace: SPECIAL PERSON?!

Kore: The person you care for a lot, like they're part of you, right? Like Cay-senpai said!

Ace: I-I see, so that's...

Kore: Being on a deserted island isn't ideal, but at the end of the day I know I can be ok on my own. Farmwork, housework - those are things that I'm used to from the Mountains. Life isn't so easy back home, but we all make do with what we can - magic or no magic. Even if I'm stuck in a bad situation, I can manage to get through so I don't need anybody else.

Well, that's what I thought before I came to this place anyway...

Ace: ...

Kore: Besides you're wrong about something!

Ace: Huh?

Kore: In order to survive it's not just physical attributes that are important, but mental ones as well. And in that case, Grim has the real trump card!

Ace: He-He does?!

Kore: Mm! You see, Grim, he... has the cutest paws and the fluffiest fur in the world!

Ace: HUH?!

Kore: Mm! Every time I feel like giving up or am reaching the end of the rope, all I'd have to do is give his paw pads a little squeeze or lay on his tummy and my mood would instantly clear up again! In a situation full of despair like that it would make a world of difference, you know?

Ace: SO HE'S THERE JUST FOR MORAL SUPPORT?!

Kore: Well, that too! It's important after all!

Ah, this pudding is really good actually...

CHAPTER III

Ace: Haaaa, I give up... Your boar mind is way too difficult to understand...

Kore: HUH?!

Ace: Anyway, let's get on with our next question and- Ah.

Kore: Hm? What is it? You suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence. Did the falcon get your tongue, hehe?

Ace: It's a cat, not a falcon! And I only stopped because- uh...

Kore: What?

Ace: "You're offered the chance to pick another dorm, which one would you choose?"

Kore: ...

Ace: I swear, that Headmaster doesn't even think of these questions at all...

Kore: Yeah, there's no way I can answer that...

Ace: I figured. So instead! "Please share your opinions on the dorms!"

Kore: Ah!

Ace: Nice, right? You can definitely count on me when it comes to quick thinking, you know?

Kore: ... I guess.

Ace: You guess?!

Kore: I'll start with Diasomnia then!

Ace: Hey, don't ignore-

Kore: Hm, I'm not really sure about the atmosphere there but- Don't you think that their interior decor is pretty fancy? I haven't seen stuff like that in magazines for quite a while, so I feel like it's definitely something that must have required a lot of work! It's kinda dreary though, what will the windows not letting enough light and the greenery around it could stand to be looked after better, hm...

Ace: So you're only interested in the decor, huh? Alright, what about Ignihyde?

Kore: It's too technological.

Ace: Huh, I guess that you're right. For somebody like you, it would really be a struggle living there...

Kore: ...

It's even more depressing than Diasomnia, so I feel like I would be stuck in a bad mood without enough sunlight, you know? Though I must admit, it really is super clean inside! That's a very important detail! Clean homes are necessary for good health!

Ace: There you go again, sounding like a mom... Next is Pomefiore!

Kore: IT'S SUPER FLASHY!

Ace: I know~?

Kore: No, no, you don't get it! It's so flashy it actually scares me! All that pomp and glamour! The rugs themselves look like something from the fall collection that sold out about twenty years ago and the chandeliers are bound to be at least four times Theo's salary! Walking through those hallways is like stepping on opulence! A continuous loop of flashiness!

Ace: HEY! Get a hold of yourself! Let's go over to- Ah, Scarabia...

Kore: It's so hot there!!

Ace: Oh, yeah, you're super weak to heat so you'd definitely hate it there. Right?

Kore: Mm, hate is... I think that if it was the old me, I would never have even stepped in there. But now I feel like... Yeah! I definitely think that I can give it another try! Scarabia is pretty rich too, but it feels more homely? There's a lot of people gathered around and there are banquets and feasts pretty often too. It's always lively and warm... In a way, I imagine that's what a home would feel like...

Ace: ...

Kore: I can't say the same for Octavinelle however. Hmph!

Ace: Bwahaha, that's true. It really feels like you'd get scammed in there pretty quick.

Kore: Not even that! But building a dorm underwater? I admit the decor is pretty nice and classy, but the atmosphere is too cold! There's a lot of types that I can't get along with at all so it would definitely be a miserable time for me. No, I definitely don't want to set foot there ever again!

Ace: I totally get it~ All that commotion after the exams was enough for me too. Guess the same goes for Savanaclaw too, then?

Kore: ...

Ace: HA?!

Kore: I-I refuse to believe that anybody who loves Magift is a bad person!

Ace: There's that meathead in you talking again! Are you seriously that obsessed with it?! I feel like there's a sickness that applies in this case!!

Kore: He-Hey!! That's way too- I understand that what they did was bad, and I definitely haven't forgiven Kingscholar-senpai yet, but there are definitely good points to them as well! I think!

Ace: So you're not even sure?!

Kore: A-Anyway, as for Heartslaybyul-

Ace: Don't go changing the subject!

Kore: - if I had to pick that would be my favourite.

Ace: Huh?

Kore: I love Scarabia too, a lot, but at the end of the day all that rich atmosphere is scary. I really don't feel like I would belong there at all. I'd stick out like a sore thumb among everybody else - more than usual at the very least. But in Heartslaybyul, even if Rosehearts-senpai is strict, I feel like everybody is sort of content with the oddness. There's not much that stands out about it, but I think that's what makes it so appealing, you know?

Ace: ... So... what you're saying... Is that we're a shabby dorm full of weirdoes?

Kore: I-I wouldn't go that far...

Ace: But that's the gist of it, isn't it?!

Kore: Ummmmm...

Ace: ... Alright, I get it.

Kore: Huh?

Ace: You know, it just so happens that there's one more thing I have to tell you about.

Kore: One more thing?

Ace: Yup! You see, there's this tradition where the presenter has to give the 'gift of fortune' in order to make sure this ends up being a great birthday! And it just so happens that you're lucky enough to have me here today to deliver the goods~

Kore: Huh? What are you-

[SPLATTER]

Kore: ...

Ace: BWAHAHA, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST STOOD THERE LIKE THAT!

Kore: ...

Ace: Oh man, the look on your face is hilarious! Oh, let me take a quick picture to show the others too!

Kore: ...

Ace: Ok, so then- He-Hey! Don't- AUGH! MY FOREHEAD!

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #kore hightower #twist oc #twist #twisute oc #twisute #ace trappola #heartslaybyul #birthday event

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j-minte08 · 4 years ago

Text

Why do I award BalanWonderworld as a masterpiece?

Introduction

⚠️I'm using a translator, so I apologize if any parts are difficult to read.

In this article, I will write about why I award Balan Wonderworld as a masterpiece, with answers to criticisms.

When I played the demo version, I thought this game was SO BAD. But I believed Yuji Naka and bought the full version. (Before I knew it, I had bought four of them...) I'm not raving blindly about it.

At first, I was hopelessly disappointed because nothing had changed from the demo version. However, in chapters 2 and 3, I was impressed by the three-dimensionality and beauty of the stages, and in chapter 4, I realized the comfort of gaining freedom through the acquisition of costumes.

By the time I was completely finished, I was convinced that this game was a great piece of work.

This is an article that I wrote after spending nearly 100 hours on this game.

I hope you will read it.

Main part

First of all, this game is not a game with flashy action as its primary objective. (Flashy battle action is possible in some scenes.)

【Puzzle】　【RPG】　【Exploration】

It is structured around these three main components.

The game also features a "Balance AI" that senses the player's movements and makes changes to the difficulty and world. There is also a presentation of my own work, so please take a look!

Please read with the above in mind.

■ One button action is stressful.

▶︎ As mentioned earlier, this game is not intended for flashy action. At its root, it is an RPG and does not require multiple buttons. The reason it's a simple operation is because it doesn't need to be.

There is only one button, but instead the player is given the freedom to select up to three actions of their choice. The way to play Balan is to find your own strategy within these constraints.

Some people point out that you can't jump, but only a few outfits limit jumping. Most of them are attack-oriented outfits. It's up to you to decide whether you want more attack power or more movement power.

If you're still not convinced, this game just isn't to your liking.(If that's you, I recommend the Wii version of Rodea.)

NiGHTS and Sonic are also action games with simple controls, but the concept is different from Baran, as explained below.

From the very beginning, NiGHTS and Sonic are one-button games that allow for exhilarating action. The action feels good and allows for improvement through trial and error.

However, Balan begins in a state of helplessness. One of his goals is to use his wits and eventually gain the power to run freely around the three-dimensional stage.

Freedom from discomfort. This catharsis is the best part of Balan.

It is also linked to the story's theme of opening closed minds.

■ The structure of the puzzle is sketchy.

▶︎ There is an intention behind this. By making the puzzle structure more flexible, the player is given more choices.

Therefore, each player will have a completely different solution to obtaining a single statue.

Also, each time you play the game, you will find new strategies, making it a game that can be played repeatedly.

This is the reason why Yuji Naka was so confident about this game.

Personally, I think that this action with a puzzle concept has a similar point of view to card games and rock-paper-scissors.

The Mega Man series is a typical example of a game that requires you to observe the situation and your opponent's movements to find the right technique and move. In fact, there is a famous episode where it was derived from rock-paper-scissors. This is also a game where you can enjoy improving through trial and error, but I think the structure of the rules is similar to that of Balan.

■ It's a pain to stock up on costumes.

▶︎ There is no need to overstock costumes. The minimum number of costumes needed to clear the course will naturally be available. Dependence on certain costumes can make the game monotonous. Also, the BalanceAI can sense your movements and take countermeasures.

As the difficulty level increases, you will have a hard time because the costumes will not come back.

The game is made more interesting by the style of play that allows you to use all the costumes to their fullest extent and bring out the true value of each one.

If you run out, explore the stage while collecting costumes. It may lead to new discoveries.

Even if you don't have a specific costume, there are many situations you can get through by applying other costumes.

This degree of freedom is what makes Balan so interesting. The strategy is left to your imagination.

■ The stage is curved. Isn't this a useless design?

▶︎ The curvature of the map allows you to see every corner of the stage. You may be confused because there is no other game that tries to do something like this. However, this is an ideal map for exploration games.

The basics of this gimmick are used as of chapter 1. Chapter 7, which has particularly large differences in elevation, makes good use of this gimmick.

■ The difficulty level is too low.

▶︎ Basics → Application → Review (Boss battle)

This game is designed to follow the above flow thoroughly. As a result, the difficulty level in the early stages is kept low, but the endgame is quite difficult. I almost lost my mind in chapter 12.

The bosses are easy to defeat. However, it is difficult to conquer all three strategy patterns.

Also, if you keep defeating enemies quickly without taking damage, the difficulty level will increase.Stronger and faster enemies will appear in large numbers.I found the difficulty level increased at chapter 3.

In other words, the difficulty of the game depends on how good you are.

■ I want to have a HP separate from my costume.

▶︎ This system prompts the player to use a different costume in case of failure.

Depending on the situation, you can either sacrifice valuable costumes, or use inconvenient but well-stocked costumes... The game throws a variety of choices at the player. This gameplay becomes more apparent as the difficulty level increases.

If you separate the HP from the costume, this tense gameplay will be lost.

The system of choosing outfits based on what will happen next fosters the ability to think and survive on one's own. It will also help the child's ego independence.

■ I need more explanations and hints. It's designed in an unfriendly way.

▶︎ It's not a game that requires you to do anything difficult, so if you think about it, you should be able to understand it to some extent. All you have to do is immerse yourself in collecting statues by any route you can think of.

Some people criticize Balan for being old-fashioned, but they are missing the point.

Games are essentially content that teaches you to think and act for yourself. This is a posting of what games should be, and a refreshing return to the basics.

However, I don't mean to criticize modern games. The immersive feeling of being in a movie, and the friendly design of the UI that shows you where you are going so you don't get lost. I think it's a beautiful evolution for today's hectic world where it's hard to find time to be alone.

However, to be honest, it is abnormal to say that only works that follow the latest trends are evaluated, and it is difficult to say that there is creativity in such works. Evolving technology and the presence or absence of originality have completely different meanings.

I would like to say that games like Balan, which have their own rules and think for themselves, are what we need today.

■ I don't understand the story. I want subtitles.

▶︎ With both video and dubbing, the amount of information is extremely high. By not using real words, all the people in the world have the exact same experience. Very romantic, don't you think?

It's not to dismiss the unspoken parts as non-existent, but to let your imagination run wild and have fun with it.

Since ancient times, there has been an aesthetic in Asia that finds meaning in blank spaces.

If you want a more substantial story, I recommend the novel version, which probably has what you want. It is available for Kindle.

At the end

Balan Wonderworld is a game designed to grow with the player the more time they spend playing.

Despite its gorgeous visuals, the reality of the story is deep and Yuji Naka's philosophy shines through, making it a masterpiece that can be called a compilation of his work.

At first, you may find some scenes difficult or the system annoying. However, they all have a meaning and will make sense as you continue to play.

Balan is built on a very complete system.

EVERY MOMENT IS AN ADVENTURE... This tagline is true.

But the fact is that Balan is a very peaky game. But that's also true for Sonic and NiGHTS.

If you have enjoyed Yuji Naka's past works, you will surely understand the quality of Balan. I recommend that you take the time to face this game first without any preconceived notions.

Now that I've spoken highly of Balan, I'd like to offer some criticism of the official advertising.

I think the main reason for this failure was the poor choice of stages included in the demo version, which made it difficult to convey the fun of expanding the degree of freedom by acquiring costumes, the sense of freedom, and the fun of being able to create a number of unique strategies.

As for the official SNS, rather than introducing the costumes and the storyline by themselves, the official should have done a better job of showing how they are all connected to make this game interesting.

That's how it looked from my personal point of view, but I believe that the current situation is the result of continuous failures in the area of advertising.

I'm so disappointed that this masterpiece is being buried, and I hope that the officials will have the guts to turn its reputation upside down even now.

Hopefully, this game will get the recognition it deserves. I love Balan Wonderworld.

#balan wonderworld #game #square enix #game review #yuji naka #naoto oshima #バランワンダーワールド #playstation #bww #nights #nights into dreams #sonic #sonic the hedgehog

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asktheheirofslytherin · 4 years ago

Note

«...They must have caught wind that a prominent British Dark Wizard may plan to expand his influence aboard and are quietly letting you know that they are available for a partnership, Your Eminence.

Do you know that certain Muggle organizations of the US have teams specialized in moving Dark Artifacts or Dark Creatures/Extant comprehending but not limited to Hidebehinds, Rougarous, Chimeras, Inferi and others? Given the absolute division between Muggles and the Wizard Community of the zone that was up until a few decades ago, Dark Wizards have long planned this unsuspectable partnership to escape the tracking of Moving Charms. The Ministry doesn't suspect a thing. Well... Most Wizards, American let alone British don't suspect a thing. My brother discovered it when he went aboard for a conference a couple of years ago.»

There is a photo of what appears to be a man mid-twenties taking a selfie with a Muggle worker in front of a truck full of Inferi. Written note: I've been told that they are good passengers. Except Frank.

Another photo of two workers trying to push a solitary Inferus back on the truck. There is always a Frank, apparently.

🦅

(I thought I couldn't outcrack the baby Basilisk, and yet... I'm sorry. I still regret nothing)

I usually abhor resorting to common muggle technologies, but I must admit, from time to time I stumble upon something...clever. This appears to be one such time.

The common anti-smuggling detection spells would indeed be useless, no one assumes a dealer in dark artifacts would use muggles. This is not a new phenomenon, not exclusive to any particular region. I have seen some of this method in use while at Borgin and Burkes - wizards using muggle post, for example, to elude Ministry customs regulations.

But yes, there is always a Frank.

#voldemort #inferi #secure moving and storage #frank #muggles #muggle technology #smuggling #crac #eagle #lmaoooo #excellent #this is wonderful #dark artifact smuggling ring #and dark creatures #such as our new friend frank #prescheduled volding

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etlunainmorte · 5 years ago

Text

🖤 I See My Future Before Me 🖤

***

She managed to acquire it for a very low and reasonable price. After all, who would use an old record now, especially with the booming technological culture that was steadily becoming popular with the younger generation?

She placed the delicate thing on her glass top table and took a good long look at it. Dante would pick her up any minute now, and she must definitely get ready for the mission ahead ( this time, a couple of magic - wielding higher Demons ).

However, for some strange reason, she couldn't shake the urge that she must play at least one song with it.

With that in mind, and her strong belief in intuition ( not to mention Cassandra's constant meddling ), she picked up the vinyl record she bought along with the old instrument and proceeded to the task. And with a little help from an almost useless and age - old manual ( its pages were yellow and crumbling at the edges ) that came with the merchandise, she finally managed to play the song. She took a few steps away from the table and allowed the sweet, old music to soothe and calm her senses.

She closed her eyes, letting the melody sink in,...

... when a vision suddenly flashed through her mind.

She opened her eyes once more, unable to believe her wicked sense of premonition ( or Cassandra's ) and allowed the vision to take over her entire mind.

And in that vision, she saw herself dancing the waltz with someone - a tall man clad completely in black. They were dancing to the same music that she was listening to, in the middle of the summer night, on a beautiful, Grecian balcony, below the starry, evening sky, the full moon shining above them.

It was,... simply perfect,...

But, who was that man?

The vision ended as soon as she opened her eyes.

However, something near the window startled her. She took a good long look at it as it slowly materialized, and right then and there, she saw him - the man she was dancing with in that vision,...

It's him! The man she's been searching for for such a long time.

The man,... with the white hair,...

And he was there, standing a few feet away from her, giving her a confused, and yet longing, look, as if he was also seeing her, himself.

She cautiously went closer to him and observed how his eyes followed her movements. She knew perfectly well that he was just a vision. Of the past or future? That she was not certain.

All she knew was that he was holding out his hands in front of her in a clear gesture that successfully conveyed his desire to dance with her,...

***

XXVIII

***

"Here." Nico mumbled sleepily as she handed V a mug of warm chocolate. He thanked the woman as he took it from her hands. He was about to take a sip when he noticed the woman giving him a suspicious look. She pointed two fingers at him and said, "Eh, so you're really Vergil, huh? Dante's twin brother?”

The man smirked as he finally took a sip of the warm chocolate, its enticing scent calming his tired and restless senses. He pursed his lips as he glanced at the calm and serene evening atmosphere from the balcony of (Y/N)'s unit.

"I was." He answered, his eyes darting from one cheerfully lit house to another. Some of the residents have already made their way back to their homes after the Dreadnought incident, and things were slowly going back to its normal and boring pace.

Nico almost choked on her chocolate when she heard V's answer. She chuckled as she took a good long, and thorough look at Vergil’s form from head to foot. "You,... were?" She chuckled.

V smirked once more as he looked at her. "It's the truth."

"I don't understand. How can you not be Vergil right now? I mean, come on, Sir Changes – A - Lot!"

The man chuckled as he helplessly shook his head. He held out a single hand as little orbs of light radiated from it. The almost translucent orbs, then, spread out from his hand to his arm, then from his torso to his other arm. The orbs reached his entire body as the curious little lights morphed him back to the V that Nico was used to seeing - black leather vest, tooth necklace, a pair of unflattering black sandals, and all.

"This,... is merely an illusion.” V explained. “I could never become whole again. It is,... completely impossible. Even with the powers of the Sisters Of Fate."

"Your hair,..." Nico mused as she pointed at V's snowy white hair. "It's not turning back to black." She, then, pointed at his skin. "And your tattoos are barely even there!"

"This is how I look like before all this,... began. This,... is the real me."

"Wow. And I thought (Y/N) was the only one who can change looks,..."

At the mere sound of her name, V's heart skipped a beat and his breath clearly hitched. The girl was sleeping in her room, unconscious since the whole battle with Pandemonium ended. He promised her sister that he would take care of him, and Galatea left her body as soon as she was done healing her.

But, then, somehow, he knew deep within his tainted heart that she would never be fully healed.

Would she,... ?

His question came out like a soft breeze that was almost missed by the Artisan. She stopped sipping her chocolate and glanced back at V, seeing the man leaning on the railing and clearly looking uncomfortable.

"Sorry?"

V looked at her eyes and repeated his question. "Would she find it in her heart to forgive me? After everything I've done to her?"

"Oh, that." Nico came closer towards the man and patted him a bit forcefully on the shoulder. "Dontcha worry a thing 'bout that! She'll forgive ya and yer pretty, lil' skinny ass. Believe me.”

V chuckled at her crude humor and sighed.

"You don't have,... any idea what I did to her back in that demonic ship,..."

"I know. You killed her. Well, almost."

V's eyes widened as he straightened up and looked at her. "How did you - ?!"

"Found out? Oh, she knew 'bout that. She told me herself."

Oh, it must be Cassandra, V thought as he leaned against the railing once more. "Of course."

"But, hey, she's still alive, right? And you're fine! At least, you didn't turn evil or somethin' and caused the world's destruction."

At those ridiculously accurate words, V bowed his head down low, trying to conceal his face until he could no longer endure the emotions. With trembling shoulders and teary eyes, he threw his head back, his low and evil - sounding laughter ripping out of his throat and scaring the hell out of Nico.

"Hahaha! YOU make me laugh,..."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "O,... kay?"

"You have no idea,... how messed up I've become. I failed her. I failed miserably. I'm only here because, apparently, Galatea still thinks I'm worthy. After,... everything I did to her."

"Hey, we all make mistakes."

V smiled at her. "I will tell you,... the story of my insanity,..."

With wide, doubtful eyes, Nico patiently listened as V recounted to her the events that took place in the Dreadnought, from the moment he stabbed (Y/N) up to the point where Fleminger stabbed him, taking the Sisters away from him and letting Pandemonium kill everyone.

"Wait, wait, wait,..." Nico blabbered as she pushed the frame of her red - rimmed glasses to her nose bridge. "So, you're sayin' that,... everyone,... died?"

"Yes."

"Hooee! Well, I'm sure glad that Galatea brought you back. I wonder how I died back there?"

As Nico went on blabbering about how she could possibly die in that far off alternate universe, V suddenly saw,...

... a spectral - looking hand reaching up at the railing of the balcony just behind her. V was definitely not one to get frightened of ghosts but, the vision did startle him. He focused his gaze into it as the creature climbed up the balcony as effortlessly as it could.

It was (Y/N), and she was, somehow, strangely barefoot. Her pants looked like they were burnt from the knee down, and her movements were as light as possible. She tiptoed her way to the window when she suddenly heard some voices inside.

So, did V.

“ ... they even mentioned some famous and obscure names in the Devil Hunting business who got the invitation. And let me mention this - Dante also received one."

Her eyes widened at whatever she saw inside and she couldn't prevent herself from letting out a yelping sound.

“Someone’s listening!”

She covered her mouth and stepped away from the window.

“Looks like we have an,… unwanted visitor.” Then, he heard it. That voice. It was him. He could remember everything: this was from that time when he first arrived at this place.

So, it was true: someone really was outside that time. And it was none other than her,...

“Best to make it at home - ” He heard himself speak once more.

“Guys, guys! Stop! What did I say about making a mess?!”

“Hey, hey! There’s an intruder right - AHH!” A very loud and obnoxious noise was heard from the inside, like someone, or something, was just thrown to the other side of the room.

“To not make any?”

“Exactly! That’s just the - ah - neighbor’s cat!”

“That,… does not sound like a feline, at least to my ears.”

“Okay, okay, guys! Trust me and put your weapons down. Thank you! Now, as I was saying, we must go to this event and find out what this, Wrath of The Gods, is!”

“We cannot go shorthanded. If we take the riddle in a very literal sense, then,… we would not have enough strength. We would be dealing with the Wrath of The Gods,… after all.”

While listening to the conversation inside, he saw (Y/N) as she tiptoed her way back closer to the window, lovingly gazing at something inside. Her eyes widened, then returned to normal once more. She raised an arm and wiped the tears that started coming out of her eyes with the sleeves of her pale pink hoodie.

She was crying, and yet she looked clearly happy at what she saw. Like she finally found something she has been searching for after so long.

Like, she was deeply longing to see whatever that was,...

And this made V's heart twitch in unbelievable pain.

He,... knew who she was looking at. He knew,...

... who she was longing to meet,...

“That’s where I come in! Nero, how’s the breaker coming along?”

“It’s fine, sure.”

“Oh, yeah? Then, I’ll be making new ones.”

“Isn’t this enough?”

“No! And, you! You seem interested in all this, yes?”

“As a matter of fact, I ‘am."

“Then, go get your own formal wear! I can’t provide you with one. I’m an Artisan, not a freaking, fancy tailor!”

“Wait, like, right now?”

“Duh?! Are you, like, gonna wait till Saturday for that? Go, go, GO!”

She cautiously took a few steps away from the window once more.

“Hey, hey, if you’re looking for some chicks, then you’re in the wrong place! Get moving!”

There were more sounds, and when they finally subsided, the window violently opened and she finally entered the threshold of her own home.

“Are you crazy?! Why would you be hiding there? This is your home, for crying out loud! Are you a thief, or something?!”

“It’s him, Nico.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s him! The man with the violin in my visions!”

“Who?!”

“The one with the markings on his skin!”

“The mysterious man? Are you sure about that?”

“It. Is. HIM!”

"¿Por qué estas descalza?" V heard a distinctively different voice of that of a little girl.

He closed his eyes at the sudden change, and when he opened them once more, he was suddenly transported to a sunny, suburban place. A little girl with dark pigtails was staring at him, her hands on her hips like a wife who was angry at her husband for coming home late and drunk.

He realized she was not directly looking at him, and this made him turn around. And to his surprise, he saw (Y/N). And just like in his vision a while ago, she was barefoot, and her pants looked burnt from the knee down.

(Y/N) opened her mouth to answer but, then, she realized she can't speak the little girl's language. This made the smaller girl smile.

"¡Ven conmigo! Te llevaré a nuestra casa." The girl excitedly said as she practically went through V like he was a ghost and grabbed (Y/N)'s hand.

V followed the two as the little girl led (Y/N) to one of the charming little two - story houses on the left. The little girl opened the door and let (Y/N) in.

"¡Madre!" The girl called. "¡Madre!"

"¿Alicia?"

A woman in her mid - fifties came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands with an orange towel.

"¿Hija?" The mother's eyes widened as she abandoned her towel, practically throwing it to the side as she made her way to the two girls. "¡Que chica tan linda! ¿Es tu amiga?"

The little girl laughed and shook her head, making (Y/N) a bit surprised and culture - shocked. "Ella no habla Español. No te preocupes, yo me encargo." The girl turned to (Y/N) and pointed at herself, then her mother. "My name is Alicia. This is my mother, Maria. I go to English class every Saturday."

"Oh, that's nice." (Y/N) answered as she received a pair of slippers from the little girl. "Thanks."

"She said you're pretty."

A faint rosy tint crept up (Y/N)'s cheeks. She looked at the smiling older woman and nodded. "I, ah, thank you."

Maria nodded, understanding the words she just said.

"What are you doing outside with no shoes?" The little girl asked her as she pulled her towards the living room.

"Umm, you see, ah,..." (Y/N) muttered as she sat down on the maroon sofa. "I was, ahh, looking for someone. A white haired man who plays the violin. I've seen him pass here. Have you, umm, seen him?"

White haired man who plays the violin?

He had been here?!

Alicia turned to his mom. "Ella pregunta si hemos visto a un hombre de cabello blanco por aquí, dice que toca el violin."

Maria frowned and shook her head. “No, lo siento mucho. Pero podemos avisarte si lo llegamos a ver."

"She said no. But, we will tell you when we see him."

(Y/N)'s face showed a clearly disappointed expression. But, despite this, she still sincerely smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much."

Alicia nudged her on the elbow to help her relax. "No hay problema." She answered with a smile. "That means no problem."

"I can't believe how fast you've grown!"

V heard another voice from the hallway. He went there and saw, in shock, the same little girl,...

... except that she was now the same height as (Y/N). Her hair was no longer in pigtails. Instead, she was wearing it down. And her fashion sense seemed to have changed, as well.

"I'm a teenager now!" And clearly, she was better in English. "And it seems that you haven't aged a bit since I last saw you!"

It was true. For some reason, (Y/N) still looked the same.

How many years has passed since she first met Alicia?

"So, have you seen him?"

"Oh, that man? I think mom has!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Alicia grabbed her hand and led her to the living room like what she did the first time they met. "Madre, (Y/N) is here!"

The woman, whose dark brown hair has clearly turned gray, looked up from her stitch work and stood, meeting the girls halfway and kissing the both of them on their forehead. V noticed that she now walked with a slight limp.

"It has been a long, long time, Miss (Y/N)!" Maria told her in straight English, grabbing her hands and squeezing them.

"Mom studied English for you." Alicia said with a proud and huge smile.

"That's really cool!"

"Mom, she’s asking whether you've seen the man she was looking for."

To this, Maria's face suddenly fell, a frown now gracing her warm and gentle features. She only shook her head and went back to her stitch work. And without saying another word, she sat down and went on with her work like nothing even happened.

"Oh, don't mind her. She's just like that at times. But, she's not mad at you, don't worry!" Alicia whispered.

(Y/N), who was clearly alarmed at the sudden change in Maria's demeanor, couldn't help but nod as she tried to hide her worry.

"It's okay."

"You haven't given up?"

V heard Alicia's frantic voice on the hallway once more. He immediately went there and saw her,...

... clad completely in black from head to foot. She clearly looked a bit older, and she was not dragging (Y/N) around like how she used to when she was younger.

And (Y/N)?

"You still haven't changed?" Alicia questioned her with raised eyebrows.

"Where's Maria?"

Something in her question triggered something in Alicia. And it unnerved both (Y/N) and V.

"Get out."

"Sorry?"

"I said, GET OUT!" Alicia screamed as she pushed (Y/N) out of the house.

"Alicia, what happened?!"

"GO AWAY!" The girl screamed as she shut the door close. She then ran towards the sofa, grabbed Maria's old stitch work, and cried. The handiwork was clearly half - finished but, some words were visible from it.

"El amor es paciente, el amor es amable. No envi - "

"HEY!"

V snapped back to reality as Nico snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"You alright?"

"Indeed. Yes, I' am." He answered.

Nico breathed a sigh of relief as she clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack. "I thought I lost you back there. You know, (Y/N)'s visions were short and sweet - "

"She's been to Spain."

"Sorry?"

V looked at her and repeated his words. "It's (Y/N). I saw her. She was in Spain."

"Oh, that! So, you've seen her?" Nico answered as she went back inside, V following close behind her. "You know, she's been to many places, more than what you could imagine. She's searching ten years for you, God!"

"Ten,… years?!"

"Yeah. She comes home often, though. She's learned to channel that power of hers to her feet and legs so she could move fast and jump to high places." Nico explained as she went to one of the drawers and pulled something out from it. "So, she's never really gone for too long. But, I'm gonna tell ya this: that channeling the power to her feet thing often burned her pants."

So, that's why,...

"I don't understand." V went on as he watched Nico flip through the pages of an old album. "She was searching for ten years, but I've only been to such places for three weeks. I was,… travelling. It's what I've been doing before coming here to Red Grave."

"Really? Well, it's a long story. Let's just say that she wanted to meet you because the entity that was possessing her wanted her to fulfill some kind of a mission. Don't ask." She handed the open album to V and pointed at one of the photos. "That's them."

V's eyes widened in awe as he saw the photograph of (Y/N) and Alicia during the Spanish girl's party for her sixteenth birthday.

"Alicia. One of the people she frequently visited and stopped seeing after ten years. Said she’s starting to notice."

"Notice what?" V looked up from the album.

Nico went closer to V and whispered like she was passing on a well - guarded secret to him. "Okay, this sounds weird but, she actually came from the past."

"I know."

"Yeah, yeah! I thought at first she's just plain nuts. But, listen to this: the first thing she did after recovering was search for her family's old farm in Fortuna. V, there hasn't been a farm there since a hundred years ago! It's all concrete now, and streets.

"So, she searched for her parents and any people she could remember from her past. Some of them either died already or have grandchildren of their own. And her parents? She found out that they separated and had families of their own."

"A girl,... out of her time,..." V mused as he flipped through the pages of (Y/N)'s old album, seeing her with unknown faces.

"Exactly! She's, like, super old when you think 'bout it!" Nico went to one of the paintings and looked up at it. "And, not only that, her looks stayed the same for those ten whole years I knew her. Like, she's stuck or somethin’.”

"Galatea's stasis." V breathed.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing."

Nico frowned and raised an eyebrow at him. She went on. "She craves for things from the past. So, she started collecting antiques like this. Other than helping her cope after being plucked from when she came from, these things she have reminded her of all the places she's been. They remind her of you."

The poet looked up from the album and saw Nico picking up her keys on the glass top table. There was an old record there, similar to Fleminger's, that he hasn't taken notice of before.

Was it there the whole time?

Nico saw the confusion in V's eyes as he looked at the antique. "Oh, this? She bought this about a year ago. Thought she's gonna want to listen to old songs when she wakes up. So, I took it out. It's gonna get moldy with disuse."

The woman walked towards the door but, before she went out, she turned back to V. "I'll leave her to ya, V. Don't mess this up again." And then, just like that, she walked out of the door, leaving him alone with (Y/N).

The silence felt deafening, the darkness depressing. V nearly collapsed on the sofa as he carefully placed the album next to the record. He was about to touch it when he heard a loud tapping against the window. He turned around just in time to see Griffon and Shadow entering the unit.

"HOO! We made it." Griffon breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way towards V while carrying something broken in his hands.

"I see you found it." V carefully took the broken violin from Griffon's long fingers. It was (Y/N)'s.

"Yeah, well. Kinda got all bloody searchin’ through Dreadnought's rubble for that."

"Thank you."

"Wait!" Griffon held up two long fingers in front of V and made way for Shadow to get close to the poet.

V smirked, controlling his mirth and amusement as he looked down at the now human Shadow. After the cleansing, she has turned into a pale human girl roughly the size of a middle - schooler. Her long black hair that reached her feet was awfully unkempt, and the clothes that Lady lent her a while ago was too big for her.

She quietly looked up at him with her big red eyes and showed him a pair of stilettos.

It was (Y/N)'s. She wore it when,...

"This girl took it badly when you threw them out during your mad state, if ya can’t remember. She looked for them all over the place and kept them with her." Griffon explained as Shadow gave the shoes back to V. She turned towards her fellow familiar and gave him a strange look. She, then, turned back to V with an angry, yet adorable, look. "Oh, and she's saying that she hates ya for hurting (Y/N). And that she will never forgive ya."

"Oh, I'm,..." V grasped the shoes and looked down at them, thinking of the girl who owned them. "... forgive me."

"Well, you've been a naughty schtick! Ya should've been punished for bad behavior!" The bald Demon made a ruffling gesture that was much akin to his movements when he was still a bird and collapsed on the sofa. "So, happy with yer new powers?" he, then, asked sarcastically.

"No." The poet answered monotonously as he slumped back to the sofa just beside the familiar, the shoes still in his hands.

Griffon rolled his eyes. "Figures,..."

There was a moment of silence between the two, and during this very awkward time, Shadow took a liking to the old record on the table. She poked the thing with her tiny finger and managed to turn it on, its weird mechanism startling her and making her hair stand. She drew back to a corner, giving it a confused and cautious look.

This made Griffon laugh a lot. "I wonder how that would sound, though."

"It,... wouldn't hurt if we try." The poet quietly said as he placed the shoes on the table and took the vinyl record just beside the instrument. Apparently, the record was simply titled as "Nat King Cole". He began with the long process of playing it and when the music finally came out of it, he turned it off immediately.

"Hey, why did ya turn it off?!" Griffon complained. He was about to rant more when he noticed the look on V's face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. "V? You okay?"

"I' am. I just,..." The man held out a hesitant finger as he turned on the instrument once more.

"Unforgettable, that's what you are. Unforgettable, though near or far. Like a song of love that clings to me,... "

"It's this song." He confessed with a shaky voice. With cold and trembling hands, he covered his mouth, already feeling the tears as they started falling down his blurry eyes. "It's,... from that evening."

Griffon saw the changes in V's demeanor and actually felt sorry for him. He tapped V's shoulder in a sincere effort to calm him down.

"Unforgettable in every way, and forevermore, that's how you'll stay,..."

He stood up and went towards the window, all the painful memories of everything that happened within a single week coming back to him. He found the love of his life, danced with her, and lost her because of his foolishness.

All because he let himself be manipulated.

Still unable to control his emotions, and the tears that came along with them, he turned back, and saw,...

... the girl, herself, standing a few feet away from him looking confused like he was.

But, this time, unlike any other vision he had of her, she looked like she was actually seeing him for real. She went closer towards him as he observed all of her movements. He held out his arms, hoping for his desire to dance with her once more to come across.

And, as if by some form of an unknown miracle, she let his hands take hers as they began the basic steps of the waltz,...

... just like the first time they did it on the Grecian balcony that evening.

"That's why darling, it's incredible, that someone so unforgettable, thinks that I am unforgettable too."

Griffon and Shadow silently watched as V danced with something they couldn't see. The male familiar shook his head and grinned as he saw the poet actually enjoying the dance.

"No, never before has someone been more,..."

He tried to hold her closer despite the fear that she would vanish and rested his head on the crook of her neck.

"Unforgettable,… in every way,..."

He quietly and gently sang along, the lyrics tearing a new wound to his already beaten heart. How he wanted to hold her so much, how he wanted to actually feel her smooth skin against his,...

... how he longed to dance with her once more.

But, she’s hurt. Because of him.

And instead of her actually dancing with him, she’s lying on that bed inside her room with no guarantee of when she’d wake up.

"And forevermore,… that's how you'll stay,..." He felt a warm sensation on his body and realized that her vision was rubbing him on the back, her arms around him, wanting him to cease crying. He looked at her eyes and cupped her cheeks. "That's why darling,… it's incredible,… that someone,… so unforgettable,… thinks that I ‘am,… unforgettable too,..." His heart ached with each word he sang, feeling like they were directed towards him and making him feel guilty than ever before.

He wanted so much to tell her that: that she’s unforgettable,…

… that he was grateful to her for everything that she did for him for the past ten years,…

… that he was grateful that she found him and made his life a little less miserable.

But, of course, he had to make a very stupid mistake of hurting her.

And he regret everything he did and did not do to her.

As the song came to an end, his face inched closer to hers. He wanted so much to feel her lips against his,...

... when something startled her.

She reluctantly pulled away from him as she looked at the door behind her. She opened her mouth and said something he couldn't hear, and turned to face him once more. She gave him a warm, and yet weak, smile as she held up a single hand to caress his face. After that, she stepped away from him and went to the door, looking at him one last time before finally going through it.

"Please,..." V begged her, holding out a helpless and powerless hand to reach her. "Don't,... leave me,..."

***

🖤 Special thanks to @beyond-the-mirror for the Spanish dialogue and translations. Also for introducing Alicia and Maria. 🖤

🖤 @la-vita , @micaelagua , @vergils-daughter , @lessy86 , @diabeticsugarush , @ehrzeth , @ceruleanworld , @simmy-ships , @boundbysoul , @heaven-on-a-landslide , and @krazy06 . 🖤

***

She heard a knock on the door and heard Dante calling her name. She turned away from the lonely man, not really wanting to go.

"I'm coming!" She called back, then looked at her partner's anguished face once more. Despite the pain that she suddenly felt in her heart upon seeing a vision of him, she still made an effort to caress his face and smiled, reassuring him, hoping that he would understand. She left him standing there in the middle of the room.

And as she glanced back at him, the sight that greeted her hurt her even more. In fact, the pain was unbearable.

His tears were streaming down his face, his expression simply too painful to withstand.

He doesn't want her to go.

He,... doesn't want her to leave,...

***

#devil may cry 5 #vitale sparda #i see my future before me #v x reader #v x you #chapter 28 #he who regrets

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douchebagbrainwaves · 7 years ago

Text

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN LANGUAGES

Not only does a society get the best man for the job, but parents' ambitions are diverted from direct methods to indirect ones—to actually trying to raise their kids well. At first the default reaction of the Slashdot trolls was translated into articulate terms: Who is this guy and what authority does he have to write about these topics? Plus Reddit had different goals from Hacker News. Technically the term high-level languages in the past 20 years has been to take the C model of computing and add to it, piecemeal, parts taken from the Lisp model.1 Our own startup, Viaweb, was of the second type. Sites of this type I sometimes ban it, which is usually unanimous.2 How lucky that someone so powerful is so benevolent.

Transaction processing seemed to them what e-commerce was all about. Would anyone seriously argue that Cobol is equivalent in power to Blub, but with all this other hairy stuff thrown in as well. I'd encourage you to follow that thread. When you judge people that way, you'd be running Windows.3 Boy was he good. The word is rarely used today because it's no longer surprising to see a 25 year old professional able to afford a new BMW was so novel that it called forth a new word. Measurement spreads like heat. In 2004 it was ridiculous that Harvard undergrads were still using a Facebook printed on paper. That's why I'm so optimistic about HN.4 If you do everything the way the average big company—that is, as far as they could tell, wasn't even software.

Which is in fact all that should matter, even in startups. All it takes is a few beachheads in your economy that pay for performance. The classic yuppie worked for a small organization. If people are expected to behave well, they tend to; and vice versa. Instead, you should expect average performance.5 It increases the work of being inconsistent. Sites of this type I sometimes ban it, which is to engage one's intellectual curiosity. He makes a chair, and you willingly give him money in return for it.6 Actors do.7 They still rely on this principle today, incidentally.8

So if you want to say and ad lib the individual sentences. Apple again?9 If you keep pursuing such threads it would be. But though wealth was a necessary condition for passing, it was like coming home. The public conversation so far has been exclusively about the need to decrease economic inequality. The emotional reactions you can elicit with a talk can be a powerful force. Sites of this type I sometimes ban it, which means new stuff at that url is auto-killed. Plus people in an audience are disproportionately the more brutish sort, just as low notes travel through walls better than high ones.10 You will have a large Baumol penumbra around it: anyone who could get rich by playing games that though not crooked are zero-sum game there is at least different from when I started. Sometimes I have to choose the right number, because only the one you choose will improve; another that seems conceptually adjacent might not. The most dangerous thing for the frontpage is stuff that's too easy to upvote.11 A round.

The evolution of technology is one of Lisp's distinguishing features, and the first cars. All the time you spend practicing a talk, it's usually because I'm interested in the speaker. In a competitive situation, that's an advantage. And software sells hardware. So you could say that force was more often used for good than ill, but I'm not sure why it has.12 The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth. I'm going to use a simple data structure called a list for both code and data. As computers have grown more powerful, the new languages being developed have been moving steadily toward the Lisp model.13 Let's think about what credentials are for. There are always great ideas sitting right under our noses. Fortunately that future is not limited to the startup world. With OS X, the hackers are back.14

If you keep pursuing such threads it would be. He might only be a few times richer than you, and it is a huge and rapidly growing business.15 But what this means is that at least 20-25% of the code in this program is doing things that are very hard to contain parents' efforts to obtain an unfair advantage for their kids, so it's not surprising to find they'll also push their scruples to the limits for them. In some fields it might be, but apparently not in the vote itself, which is to engage one's intellectual curiosity. Knowing that founders will keep control of the board through a series A, that will change the way things feel in the whole startup world. Why haven't we just been measuring actual performance?16 So are talks useless? It would be convenient here if I could give an example of a powerful macro, and say there!17 It's hard even to imagine. But I think I can give a kind of virtual town square.

Notes

It's like the word intelligence is surprisingly recent.

A good programming language ought to be a good idea to make peace. These were the people they want to learn to acknowledge it. Some translators use calm instead of just Japanese.

Picking out the answer.

Macros very close to the point where things start to leave. Galbraith was clearly puzzled that corporate executives were, they'd be proportionately more effective, leaving the area around city hall a bleak wasteland, but half comes from a startup with debt is a dotted line on a seed investment in you, what if they had zero false positives caused by filters will have a moral obligation to respond with extreme countermeasures. The ordering system, which is probably a real idea that evolves into Facebook isn't merely a better source of difficulty here is Skype. Design Patterns were invisible or simpler in Lisp.

Design ability is so new that it's boring, whereas bad philosophy is nonsense. The reason Y Combinator.

August 2002. The reason is that present-day trash.

It's possible that companies will one day have an investor? I don't know how the courses they took might look to an adult.

Adults care just as Europeans finished assimilating classical science.

When an investor they already know; but it is certainly an important relationship between the Daddy Model, hard to do it is very vulnerable to gaming, because at one remove: it favors small companies. If they really mean, in the grave and trying to make a more general rule: focus on users, however, is due to the extent we see incumbents suppressing competitors via regulations or patent suits, we actively sought out people who'd failed out of just Jews any more than whatever collection of qualities helps people make up startup ideas, but as an employee as this place was a false positive, this is a trailing indicator in any other company has to their kids rather than geography.

If asked to come if they want. Not linearly of course, but also the perfect point to spread them. Possible exception: It's hard to ignore what your GPA was.

The ramen in ramen profitable refers to features you could use to connect through any ISP, every technophobe in the comment sorting algorithm. The downside is that most people emerge from the tube. Needless to say now.

As a result, that all metaphysics between Aristotle and 1783 had been Boylston Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard Business School at the 30-foot table Kate Courteau designed for scale.

3 weeks between them generate a lot of people starting normal companies too. The rest exist to this day, because sometimes artists unconsciously use tricks by imitating art that is exactly my point.

Yes, strictly speaking, you're going to create events and institutions that bring ambitious people, but bickering at several hundred dollars an hour most people than subsequent millions. 7 reports that one of them agreed with everything in exactly the opposite way as part of their origins in words about luck.

See particularly the mail by Anton van Straaten on semantic compression. It's one of the main effect of this process but that's not directly, which parents would still send their kids in a world in which income is doled out by a combination of a rolling close usually prevents this.

A round, no one knows how many of the problem is not merely blurry versions of great ones. Vii. August 2002.

Some genuinely aren't. This was certainly true in the early adopters. This is why it's next to impossible to write about the Thanksgiving turkey.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Sarah Harlin, Ivan Kirigin, and Trevor Blackwell for putting up with me.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #default #versions #vice #sup #sort #guy #people #board #Jessica #tube #kids #features

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etlunainmorte · 5 years ago

Text

🖤 I See My Future Before Me 🖤

***

However, for some strange reason, she couldn't shake the urge that she must play at least one song with it.

She closed her eyes, letting the melody sink in,...

... when a vision suddenly flashed through her mind.

She opened her eyes once more, unable to believe her wicked sense of premonition ( or Cassandra's ) and allowed the vision to take over her entire mind.

It was,... simply perfect,...

But, who was that man?

The vision ended as soon as she opened her eyes.

However, something near the window startled her. She took a good long look at it as it slowly materialized, and right then and there, she saw him - the man she was dancing with in that vision,...

It's him! The man she's been searching for for such a long time.

The man,... with the white hair,...

And he was there, standing a few feet away from her, giving her a confused, and yet longing, look, as if he was also seeing her, himself.

She cautiously went closer to him and observed how his eyes followed her movements. She knew perfectly well that he was just a vision. Of the past or future? That she was not certain.

All she knew was that he was holding out his hands in front of her in a clear gesture that successfully conveyed his desire to dance with her,...

***

XXVIII

***

Nico almost choked on her chocolate when she heard V's answer. She chuckled as she took a good long, and thorough look at Vergil’s form from head to foot. "You,... were?" She chuckled.

V smirked once more as he looked at her. "It's the truth."

"I don't understand. How can you not be Vergil right now? I mean, come on, Sir Changes – A - Lot!"

"This,... is merely an illusion.” V explained. “I could never become whole again. It is,... completely impossible. Even with the powers of the Sisters Of Fate."

"Your hair,..." Nico mused as she pointed at V's snowy white hair. "It's not turning back to black." She, then, pointed at his skin. "And your tattoos are barely even there!"

"This is how I look like before all this,... began. This,... is the real me."

"Wow. And I thought (Y/N) was the only one who can change looks,..."

But, then, somehow, he knew deep within his tainted heart that she would never be fully healed.

Would she,... ?

"Sorry?"

V looked at her eyes and repeated his question. "Would she find it in her heart to forgive me? After everything I've done to her?"

"Oh, that." Nico came closer towards the man and patted him a bit forcefully on the shoulder. "Dontcha worry a thing 'bout that! She'll forgive ya and yer pretty, lil' skinny ass. Believe me.”

V chuckled at her crude humor and sighed.

"You don't have,... any idea what I did to her back in that demonic ship,..."

"I know. You killed her. Well, almost."

V's eyes widened as he straightened up and looked at her. "How did you - ?!"

"Found out? Oh, she knew 'bout that. She told me herself."

Oh, it must be Cassandra, V thought as he leaned against the railing once more. "Of course."

"But, hey, she's still alive, right? And you're fine! At least, you didn't turn evil or somethin' and caused the world's destruction."

"Hahaha! YOU make me laugh,..."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "O,... kay?"

"You have no idea,... how messed up I've become. I failed her. I failed miserably. I'm only here because, apparently, Galatea still thinks I'm worthy. After,... everything I did to her."

"Hey, we all make mistakes." V smiled at her. "I will tell you,... the story of my insanity,..."

"Wait, wait, wait,..." Nico blabbered as she pushed the frame of her red - rimmed glasses to her nose bridge. "So, you're sayin' that,... everyone,... died?"

"Yes."

"Hooee! Well, I'm sure glad that Galatea brought you back. I wonder how I died back there?"

As Nico went on blabbering about how she could possibly die in that far off alternate universe, V suddenly saw,...

So, did V.

“ ... they even mentioned some famous and obscure names in the Devil Hunting business who got the invitation. And let me mention this - Dante also received one."

Her eyes widened at whatever she saw inside and she couldn't prevent herself from letting out a yelping sound.

“Someone’s listening!”

She covered her mouth and stepped away from the window.

“Looks like we have an,… unwanted visitor.” Then, he heard it. That voice. It was him. He could remember everything: this was from that time when he first arrived at this place.

So, it was true: someone really was outside that time. And it was none other than her,...

“Best to make it at home - ” He heard himself speak once more.

“Guys, guys! Stop! What did I say about making a mess?!”

“Hey, hey! There’s an intruder right - AHH!” A very loud and obnoxious noise was heard from the inside, like someone, or something, was just thrown to the other side of the room.

“To not make any?”

“Exactly! That’s just the - ah - neighbor’s cat!”

“That,… does not sound like a feline, at least to my ears.”

“Okay, okay, guys! Trust me and put your weapons down. Thank you! Now, as I was saying, we must go to this event and find out what this, Wrath of The Gods, is!”

“We cannot go shorthanded. If we take the riddle in a very literal sense, then,… we would not have enough strength. We would be dealing with the Wrath of The Gods,… after all.”

She was crying, and yet,...

... she looked clearly happy at what she saw. Like she finally found something she has been searching for after so long.

Like, she was deeply longing to see whatever that was,...

And this made V's heart twitch in unbelievable pain.

He,... knew who she was looking at. He knew,...

... who she was longing to meet,...

“That’s where I come in! Nero, how’s the breaker coming along?”

“It’s fine, sure.”

“Oh, yeah? Then, I’ll be making new ones.”

“Isn’t this enough?”

“No! And, you! You seem interested in all this, yes?”

“As a matter of fact, I ‘am."

“Then, go get your own formal wear! I can’t provide you with one. I’m an Artisan, not a freaking, fancy tailor!”

“Wait, like, right now?”

“Duh?! Are you, like, gonna wait till Saturday for that? Go, go, GO!”

She cautiously took a few steps away from the window once more.

“Hey, hey, if you’re looking for some chicks, then you’re in the wrong place! Get moving!”

There were more sounds, and when they finally subsided, the window violently opened and she finally entered the threshold of her own home.

“Are you crazy?! Why would you be hiding there? This is your home, for crying out loud! Are you a thief, or something?!”

“It’s him, Nico.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s him! The man with the violin in my visions!”

“Who?!”

“The one with the markings on his skin!”

“The mysterious man? Are you sure about that?”

“It. Is. HIM!”

"¿Por qué estas descalza?" V heard a distinctively different voice of that of a little girl.

(Y/N) opened her mouth to answer but, then, she realized she can't speak the little girl's language. This made the smaller girl smile.

"¡Ven conmigo! Te llevaré a nuestra casa." The girl excitedly said as she practically went through V like he was a ghost and grabbed (Y/N)'s hand.

V followed the two as the little girl led (Y/N) to one of the charming little two - story houses on the left. The little girl opened the door and let (Y/N) in.

"¡Madre!" The girl called. "¡Madre!"

"¿Alicia?"

A woman in her mid - fifties came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands with an orange towel.

"¿Hija?" The mother's eyes widened as she abandoned her towel, practically throwing it to the side as she made her way to the two girls. "¡Que chica tan linda! ¿Es tu amiga?"

"Oh, that's nice." (Y/N) answered as she received a pair of slippers from the little girl. "Thanks."

"She said you're pretty."

A faint rosy tint crept up (Y/N)'s cheeks. She looked at the smiling older woman and nodded. "I, ah, thank you."

Maria nodded, understanding the words she just said.

"What are you doing outside with no shoes?" The little girl asked her as she pulled her towards the living room.

"Umm, you see, ah,..." (Y/N) muttered as she sat down on the maroon sofa. "I was, ahh, looking for someone. A white haired man who plays the violin. I've seen him pass here. Have you, umm, seen him?"

White haired man who plays the violin?

He had been here?!

Alicia turned to his mom. "Ella pregunta si hemos visto a un hombre de cabello blanco por aquí, dice que toca el violin."

Maria frowned and shook her head. “No, lo siento mucho. Pero podemos avisarte si lo llegamos a ver."

"She said no. But, we will tell you when we see him."

(Y/N)'s face showed a clearly disappointed expression. But, despite this, she still sincerely smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much."

Alicia nudged her on the elbow to help her relax. "No hay problema." She answered with a smile. "That means no problem."

"I can't believe how fast you've grown!"

V heard another voice from the hallway. He went there and saw, in shock, the same little girl,...

... except that she was now the same height as (Y/N). Her hair was no longer in pigtails. Instead, she was wearing it down. And her fashion sense seemed to have changed, as well.

"I'm a teenager now!" And clearly, she was better in English. "And it seems that you haven't aged a bit since I last saw you!"

It was true. For some reason, (Y/N) still looked the same.

How many years has passed since she first met Alicia?

"So, have you seen him?"

"Oh, that man? I think mom has!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Alicia grabbed her hand and led her to the living room like what she did the first time they met. "Madre, (Y/N) is here!"

"It has been a long, long time, Miss (Y/N)!" Maria told her in straight English, grabbing her hands and squeezing them.

"Mom studied English for you." Alicia said with a proud and huge smile.

"That's really cool!"

"Mom, she’s asking whether you've seen the man she was looking for."

"Oh, don't mind her. She's just like that at times. But, she's not mad at you, don't worry!" Alicia whispered.

(Y/N), who was clearly alarmed at the sudden change in Maria's demeanor, couldn't help but nod as she tried to hide her worry.

"It's okay."

"You haven't given up?"

V heard Alicia's frantic voice on the hallway once more. He immediately went there and saw her,...

... clad completely in black from head to foot. She clearly looked a bit older, and she was not dragging (Y/N) around like how she used to when she was younger.

And (Y/N)?

"You still haven't changed?" Alicia questioned her with raised eyebrows.

"Where's Maria?"

Something in her question triggered something in Alicia. And it unnerved both (Y/N) and V.

"Get out."

"Sorry?"

"I said, GET OUT!" Alicia screamed as she pushed (Y/N) out of the house.

"Alicia, what happened?!"

"El amor es paciente, el amor es amable. No envi - "

"HEY!"

V snapped back to reality as Nico snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"You alright?"

"Indeed. Yes, I' am." He answered.

Nico breathed a sigh of relief as she clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack. "I thought I lost you back there. You know, (Y/N)'s visions were short and sweet - "

"She's been to Spain."

"Sorry?"

V looked at her and repeated his words. "It's (Y/N). I saw her. She was in Spain."

"Ten,… years?!"

So, that's why,...

V's eyes widened in awe as he saw the photograph of (Y/N) and Alicia during the Spanish girl's party for her sixteenth birthday.

"Alicia. One of the people she frequently visited and stopped seeing after ten years. Said she’s starting to notice."

"Notice what?" V looked up from the album.

Nico went closer to V and whispered like she was passing on a well - guarded secret to him. "Okay, this sounds weird but, she actually came from the past."

"I know."

"A girl,... out of her time,..." V mused as he flipped through the pages of (Y/N)'s old album, seeing her with unknown faces.

"Galatea's stasis." V breathed.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing"

The poet looked up from the album and saw Nico picking up her keys on the glass top table. There was an old record there, similar to Fleminger's, that he hasn't taken notice of before.

Was it there the whole time?

"HOO! We made it." Griffon breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way towards V while carrying something broken in his hands.

"I see you found it." V carefully took the broken violin from Griffon's long fingers. It was (Y/N)'s.

"Yeah, well. Kinda got all bloody searchin’ through Dreadnought's rubble for that."

"Thank you."

"Wait!" Griffon held up two long fingers in front of V and made way for Shadow to get close to the poet.

She quietly looked up at him with her big red eyes and showed him a pair of stilettos.

It was (Y/N)'s. She wore it when,...

"Oh, I'm,..." V grasped the shoes and looked down at them, thinking of the girl who owned them. "... forgive me."

"No." The poet answered monotonously as he slumped back to the sofa just beside the familiar, the shoes still in his hands.

Griffon rolled his eyes. "Figures,..."

This made Griffon laugh a lot. "I wonder how that would sound, though."

"Hey, why did ya turn it off?!" Griffon complained. He was about to rant more when he noticed the look on V's face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. "V? You okay?"

"I' am. I just,..." The man held out a hesitant finger as he turned on the instrument once more.

"Unforgettable, that's what you are.

Unforgettable, though near or far.

Like a song of love that clings to me,... "

Griffon saw the changes in V's demeanor and actually felt sorry for him. He tapped V's shoulder in a sincere effort to calm him down.

"Unforgettable in every way,

And forevermore,

That's how you'll stay,..."

All because he let himself be manipulated.

Still unable to control his emotions, and the tears that came along with them, he turned back, and saw,...

... the girl, herself, standing a few feet away from him looking confused like he was.

And, as if by some form of an unknown miracle, she let his hands take hers as they began the basic steps of the waltz,...

... just like the first time they did it on the Grecian balcony that evening.

"That's why darling, it's incredible,

That someone so unforgettable,

Thinks that I am unforgettable too."

Griffon and Shadow silently watched as V danced with something they couldn't see. The male familiar shook his head and grinned as he saw the poet actually enjoying the dance.

"No, never before has someone been more,..."

He tried to hold her closer despite the fear that she would vanish and rested his head on the crook of her neck.

"Unforgettable,… in every way,..."

He quietly and gently sang along, the lyrics tearing a new wound to his already beaten heart. How he wanted to hold her so much, how he wanted to actually feel her smooth skin against his,...

... how he longed to dance with her once more.

But, she’s hurt. Because of him.

And instead of her actually dancing with him, she’s lying on that bed inside her room with no guarantee of when she’d wake up.

He wanted so much to tell her that: that she’s unforgettable,…

… that he was grateful to her for everything that she did for him for the past ten years,…

… that he was grateful that she found him and made his life a little less miserable.

But, of course, he had to make a very stupid mistake of hurting her.

And he regret everything he did and did not do to her.

As the song came to an end, his face inched closer to hers. He wanted so much to feel her lips against his,...

... when something startled her.

"Please,..." V begged her, holding out a helpless and powerless hand to reach her. "Don't,... leave me,..."

***

🖤 Special thanks to @beyond-the-mirror for the Spanish dialogue and translations. And for also introducing us to Alicia and Maria. 🖤

🖤 @la-vita , @micaelagua , @ceruleanworld , @lessy86 , @ehrzeth , @diabeticsugarush , @simmy-ships , @boundbysoul , @heaven-on-a-landslide , and @krazy06 . 🖤

#devil may cry 5 #vitale sparda #i see my future before me #v x reader #v x you #chapter 28 #he who regrets

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