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thewanderer-000 · 10 months ago

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The Ginger Snapped

Minors DNI

TW: Violence, gore, horror, adult content, seggual themes and scenes

(Note: Inspired by the werewolf attack scene in the Ginger Snaps movie, but not the werewolf-ication like the movie)

A nice cool breeze hit Penelope and Cheeseburger had a bit of relief from being out in the sun after that morning fire fight at the apple orchard. They had apples, had, Cheeseburger ate all of them and Penelope wasn't going to tell him no. She treated him like a giant puppy and he stuck by her because of it, and today he was also hunting. Penelope understood why, a creature was around and smelt odd that one day. And they were tracking it as Peaches followed behind 'em as stealthy back but lost interest as Cheeseburger found a fresh scent and chased it into Jacob Seeds territory.

'Whatever this thing was, it could run. Luckily my boy could run too, but maybe I should have 'im give up. I hate to be somewhere we could be out of contact with anyone' I follow Cheeseburger to the mountains after a few miles it got scary quiet, I feel my body fear sweat but as I quickly walk past a tree am pushed in its shadow. A hand on my mouth, and a rasp telling me to

"Shut up, something's out here and it chased away your bear". I am nervous and keep quiet, I look up at the one attached to the hand, and see it's Jacob. If Jacob is on edge this must be bad, I push his hand away and keep steady and quiet. And like that something comes running and whoosh Jacob and I are knocked to the ground, Cheeseburger runs away whimpering. No injuries from what I could see, Jacob helps me up, I looked him up and down see he got clawed a little. Of all the people to run into out here, I get Jacob Seed. My evening is getting weirder and weirder.

___________________

"You got clawed a little, sorry" I say to Jacob as he winced, he looked at the wound then stood up straight after a moment.

"Fuck, you'd think he would have stayed to maul me or somethi-" he teased but was cut off and screamed as a beast attacked, it ran off with Jacob in its teeth. He dropped his rifle as the beast ran close by me sending me to the ground. I scrambled to pick up Jacob's rifle, and am in a panic listening out for which direction of Jacob's screaming and wailing. Then quiet, and it panicked me more, I start running in the direction I was more than sure he was screaming in earlier.

"Jacob!? Jacob!!? Jacob!!!" I run and I look all over and am unbelievably scared at the moment hoping he'll answer my calls. And I run and run then we run into each other, he falls on top of me yelling incoherently before being whipped into a tree. I lay there for a moment then the beast is bitting into Jacob practically shaking him like a chew toy. He's screaming and groaning, I immediately jam the rifle barrel into its side and squeeze the trigger. It dropped down releasing Jacob, I pulled him away enough to help him up then we ran. He lead the way to a cabin but from slight blood loss he began to slow down as we got closer. I support his weight and helped him to the bed once we got in, Iocked the door and started to look at his injuries. He pushed my hands away obviously in shock and pain.

"Stop, don't-, quit, don't" I kinda fought with Jacob trying to look at him better, he breathed ragged holding my hands tightly that it hurt.

"Ow, Jacob please we have to- stop, let me stop the bleeding-, Jacob just let me look" I whimpered, he's reluctant but let's me see, I touch as he squeezes his eyes shut. And nothing, it was healing that almost hardly any blood came out, I was in awe and just glad a shower was in this cabin, we're lucky. I think.

"Fuck, you're practically healed, how can that be, the wounds were deep. Hmm. You think it's still alive, I guess not if we're alive. I'll look around then I'll get you cleaned up" I find clothes and sigh relieved they had all different sizes and I checked the water faucet. It didn't run but it was fine after a moment, running water, lucky the pipes didn't freeze yet. We were covered in so much blood, but Jacob more so, even the injury on his leg from earlier. I stripped down to nothing and put my hair up so I could get Jacob undressed and cleaned up. He tries to put his hand up higher than his shoulder but is struggling, I pretend to not notice and toss my stuff in a trash bag and drag it to the bathroom for Jacob's clothes.

"Alright, let's get you to the bathroom and stripped down, we can wash up and I can clean them injuries" I say to him and he follows orders luckily but if he wanted to fight I would have obliged. I get his boots off then his bloodied clothes, but Jacob isn't paying attention to that as he stares at my exposed tits. I turned to drop his stuff in with mine and feel a pinch on my butt, I yelp, jumped then turn to scowl at Jacob.

"I don't think you can wash the dirty thoughts from my brain right now, darlin'" Jacob said smirking a sly smile, 'men' is all I can think.

"Get in that shower, nows not the time for hanky panky" I say, but he chuckled and stood up I followed him in, Jacob stumbled and grabbed on, I hold on to him and he moved his hand lower to cup my ass.

"Jacob, hand." Jacob squeezed giving me a confused look, I shake my head.

"Get your hand off my butt" he moved it lower, so I turn the water hot, not to me but I knew it'd be hot to him. Or so I thought.

"Ah, that feels good" Jacob moaned, I just grabbed a couple wash clothes that I found in the bathroom cupboard and soap up his cloth.

"Here wash yourself, have any trouble I can help" I tell Jacob as I get my wash cloth ready to wash myself. I tackle the blood that dried on to my skin and scrub away, he nudges me to get his back and unfortunately he's covered in dried blood there too. We're cleaned up after awhile, we got dried and clothed, I wasn't expecting to get stranded out here but we're at a truce for now. We lay on the double bed, but I'm too scared to sleep, yet my eyes feel so heavy.

"Hey, you asleep Jacob?" I ask hesitantly, I feel Jacob turn to me then he reached for me through the darkness. His hand grazed over between my legs but he grabbed my side to pull me against his chest, he made a grumble and held me. I was still scared but a little warmer and soon I drift off to sleep.

___________________

"Mm-good morning" I say and feel a hand on a chest, I look at Deputy Penelope Thompson, so I don't have to relive yesterday evening. But she's clothed and I realize we're enemies again or she hasn't had my same thought. I touch her hand on my chest and noticed she was just covering me before she left.

"Oh morning, Jacob. I uh- I was just going to go see about the creature that attacked you" she said as she sat down on the bed, I noticed her eyes went down cast looking at my bandaged chest, her hand lingered on my non injured shoulder and her gaze turned soft looking at it.

"Let me come with you, Pen-" I say getting up feeling little to no sting, almost no issues, a bit weak but nothing I can't handle. Penelope massaged my shoulder then got up to go grab me the clothes she put aside.

"OK, before you get dressed I wanna clean your wounds first and we can go scope out the area" Penelope had first aid in her other hand when she arrived back at my side, she dropped the clothes and aid on the bed as she sat to peel away the blood stained bandaging. She wiped away the dried blood and we were shocked to see the healing was pretty much done. But the hair growing from it was unnerving, Penelope got up and took the kettle off and poured it into a small basin and cleaned away the dried blood, the first aid had few cleaning pads. I eyed her and felt hazy or it was just soothing how she took care of me.

#Penelope Thompson #Jacob Seed #werewolf #bitten #writing #fanfiction #fanfic #inspired by Ginger Snaps movie #FarCry5 #Far Cry 5 #FC5 #Ginger Snaps #inspired

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scary-movies-on-netflix · 9 months ago

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OUT OF DARKNESS (2022)

When horror movies makers try to set some horror in the past, they usually go to the 1990’s or 1980’s, maybe even the 1970’s. Rarely do they go back 40,000 years into prehistory. Were our distant ancestors prone to being spooked?

This is about a band of wandering humans. We have, for lack of better names, Chief-dude, Pregnant Woman (with Chief’s child), Chief’s Young Son, Chief’s Brother, Old Dude, and Stray Woman. They’ve apparently sailed to a new area, but there’s not much food so they’re slowly starving to death. Chief decides to lead them to a distant mountain, where they will surely find a cave to live in. On the way there, the Chief and Brother find a dead mastodon, which has already been stripped of its flesh! Chief says they will avoid the forest on their path to the mountain, because forests are scary.

That night they hear screams and moans from the darkness (and the dark is really dark). Something snatches the boy away from the fire. Chief tries to run after him, but his brother convinces him that would be folly. The next day they’re tracking the boy, and they head straight into the spooky forest! They are suddenly surrounded by spooky screams and moans, and someone tells Chief, “You’ve led us into a trap.” Night is falling, but Stray Woman manages to light a fire. Chief runs into the forest to battle the monsters, but Brother has to go out and drag him back. Thing is, Chief’s jaw has been ripped off. Stray Woman mercy kills him (after his brother declines), and they eat some of Chief for strength (but Brother declines).

Next morning, Brother tries to lead them out of the forest, but they end up back where they started! Mediocre! Old Dude and Pregnant Woman decide to sacrifice Stray Woman to the monsters. Brother is knocked over and hits his head on a rock. The duo drag Stray Woman to a pile of refuse, but Stray Woman escapes. Old Dude stabs Pregnant Woman, to sacrifice her instead, but Pregnant Woman knocks him over so that he impales his leg on a tree, and then she dies. Night eventually falls, and something drags away the Pregnant Woman’s body. Stray Woman is lit up by a greenish aurora borealis, and she stares at the Old Dude for a bit.

After yet another morning, Brother is finally up and about. A heavy mist lays upon the land, and he and Stray Woman watch a figure looming over the Old Dude. Stray Woman suddenly whistles, drawing its attention, and as it approaches Stray Woman circles around it and tackles it! She rips off its reed mask, and it’s just a woman! She flees, and Brother and Stray chase after her, out of the forest. Brother stops the chase. Stray says, “She’s a monster!” He says, “She’s just like us.”

They track the woman all the way to the mountain they were heading to in the first place. They each enter a different cave entrance. Stray eventually encounters a big dude with a heavy brow, much like the woman, and so I assume that they are Neanderthals. He chokes her out, but she’s only pretending to be dead and she stabs him with a little stone knife she carries. She then stabs him with a spear. She heads deeper into the cave and discovers a sleeping area, where she finds Chief’s Son! The Neanderthal Woman appears, and there is much yelling and shouting. Boy seems to think that she is a friend. Brother appears, and Neanderthal Woman caves in his head with a leg bone. A fire has started, and Stray and Boy climb up a tunnel to the surface. Neanderthal woman follows them. Boy tries to help her, but Stray kills her instead. “She was a monster,” Stray says. “They were just like us,” Boy says.

Boy repeats that Neanderthal couple were nice. They were trying to save him from starvation. Stray and Boy return to the cave, where they find that the couple had performed some funerary rites for Pregnant Woman. They had food stored. They had painted their handprints on the walls. Stray Woman feels bad, but she claims the cave anyway and says, “we’ll try again.”

This was fine. There were some decent spooks, with dark nights and spooky forests. The “monsters,” such as they were, were more or less effective, but there was a distinct disconnect from their earlier superhuman speed and strength, and then the final third, where they were just people. For the ending, I was sort of hoping that the monsters would be real monsters, but I wasn’t that surprised when they were just misunderstood Neanderthals. Also, the Neanderthals’ motivations were a bit weird. I mean, they kidnapped the child of another tribe. Even if their motivations were kind, what did they expect the rest of the homo sapiens tribe to do? Perhaps…the Neanderthals just viewed the world differently than us.

So, I have seen some consistent complaints from the internet about this movie. First, “the cavepeople are too well-groomed! Their haircuts are too nice and they have good teeth! GRR!” My response: who cares. Maybe they carved some super-sharp rocks to shave? We don’t know, and we probably can’t know. Also, they used a completely fabricated language for this movie. Are you bitching about that, too? When you sit down for a movie, you have to accept a certain level of ahistoricity. Turn off that part of your brain saying, “THIS ISN’T HISTORICALLY ACCURATE! GRR!” You’ll have a better time. Second, “this movie is shoving contemporary issues down my throat! I hate it! GRR!” To this: shut up. Just shut up. We live in world where, if someone has a slightly different skin color than you and worships a different imaginary sky-spirit, you hate them and want them to stay away from you because they’ll “pollute the blood of the nation.” People now are nasty and xenophobic. It’s highly likely that there were violent interactions with other hominids. This is just a tale about human nature. Finally, “Stray is just a FINAL GIRL GRR!” Ok, maybe that’s valid, but the point is just tired and irksome when it veers into incel-speak “I HATE WOKE MOVIES.” Dude, calm down. This isn’t about you. It’s just a movie.

#out of darkness #horror movie #survival horror #movie review #2022 #ok

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zealoptics · 1 year ago

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Chasing Winter Adventures in the Great White North: A Vanlife Tale Beyond the Clichés

By Alex Arseneault

When we hear about Vanlife most people see the classic cliché of someone laying on his bed rear doors open with a view on the ocean, right? For me, it’s anything but that.

My name is Alex Arseneault, I live in Quebec City (Qc), Canada and I consider myself as a ‘’weekender adventurer’’. Experienced Kitesurfer / mountain biker / Snowboarder, I try to make the most of what my region has to offer while still have a normal job. The best tool I have found to make all those outdoors sports so much easy to handle is a Van. I often say to people that our van is our ‘’Mobile Chalet’’ ; it allow us to chase the best (Or worst) conditions, bring all the gear, be home everywhere and be selective on the destination.

This winter I wanted to go explore further and experience what the alpine backcountry skiing has to offer in our region and because life is better when you are in good company, I wanted to do this trip with my girlfriend & our dog. Meet Cynthia & Gustav! The spot on the radar: The Chic-chocs mountains in Gaspesie. We prepared ourselves with an AST1 Course early in the season and analysis of the approach & terrain of each mountain in the Gaspesie National Park. Thank to the APP Ski Haute-Gaspésie that give so much information’s and you can also use it in GPS mode to find the official skintrails & descent hallway.

There we go. It’s early February, it recently dumped 25 to 40 cm in the mountains, the conditions are at their best. We checked the Avalanches & Weather Forecast, loaded the Van of food, water, gear and hit the road for a 6-hour road trip. The route become quite scenic when we left the Trans-Canadian highway and reach the route 132 along the Saint-Lawrence River. This road is famous during the summer but let’s say it can be quite hazardous during winter. We get excited when we reach the small village of Saint-Anne-des-Monts, which is the entrance of the Gaspesie National Park. The view is insane while we drive on the sinuous road between the mountains. At this point, we have no more signal. No cellphones, no internet, nada. Just us, our small house on wheels and the white mountains.

We spent two days at a mountain called Mount Lyall. Well parked at the entrance of the skin track, we made our basecamp in the parking thanks to SEPAQ that allows autonomous Camper to stay in the parking for 25$/day. A dry toilet Cabin is at our disposal if required. We had amazing conditions, beautiful weather and even manage to bring Gustav with us for a descent in the treeline. What a nice experience, we felt so grateful to be out there together and enjoy winter at his best. Let’s be honest, winter in the east can somehow be challenging. Trip like this, certainly reconciles us with those ‘’Quebec winters’’. Oh... and speaking of ''challenging'' did I mention that it announces extreme cold during our journey? Well, Environment Canada has issued extreme cold warnings that covers most of the province with wind chills expected to be between -38 and -42 degrees Celcius. Not worried, we build our van for it, but we knew we were not going to go snowboarding in the backcountry in that temperature, let’s say that it would not be safe or even fun.

So, before this major polar vortex hit us, we spend another day in a mountain called Hog’s back. Same basecamp setup, different terrain. We did two laps on this mountain, but the conditions were a bit more challenging when we reach the Alpine terrain. A crust of ice covered the entire alpine territory which made the terrain unstable and difficult to cross. We then decided to stay in the treeline limit and managed to find some powder again. The highlight of the day was the encounter with a Caribou, a first for us! We were extremely lucky since this species is endangered. What a beautiful creature!

The next stop of our trip is a small village called Murdochville. This old mining town reborn from its ashes and has become the hub for backcountry skiing and snowmobiling in East Canada. We wanted to see this place, somehow sticked in the 80’s by its architecture and see what it has to offer. We parked the Van at the Chic-Chac resort wich has a ‘’Vanlife’’ space and offers access to showers and more... After a well-deserved shower, we spoiled ourselves with dinner at the Chic-Chac headquarter. This place is famous for parties and hosting events!

The next day we walked the town and finally went for a lap on Mont Porphyre. Being located just outside the northern limit of Murdochville, this mountain allows residents and town visitors to ski directly from town. As the day progresses, temperature drop every hour and strong Northwest wind is picking up. We checked the forecast and there were no chances of doing any outdoors activities for the next two days in this ridiculously cold weather. We ended up driving in a polar vortex blizzard for 6 hours at 25 mph but managed to reach my friend’s house and spend the coldest night still comfortably installed in our van. Let’s just say that the webasto heater has run like never before.

We spend the cold weather playing card games and drink hot chocolate next to the fireplace at my friend’s house.

I conclude on this quote: ‘’Winter forms our character and brings out our best.’’ Better enjoy it? #Exploremore

#exploremore #zealoptics #throughourlenses

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newmusickarl · 2 years ago

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Top 50 Albums of 2022: #40-31

40. Present Tense by Yumi Zouma

As ever the Music Twitter community have handed me some incredible recommendations over the last 12 months, and one strong favourite came earlier this year from Twitter pal Kiley Larsen (@kilarzleesen) and his Check This Out! blog. 2022 was flush with great dream pop records with the likes of Cannons and Beach House narrowly missing out on a spot in this list, but my pick of the bunch was the mesmerising fourth album from New Zealand’s Yumi Zouma.

The sound of a band hitting their stride, this is gorgeous, string-tinged dream-pop that will frequently move you and whisk you away to some place magical. Front-to-back this is just a blissful 34-minute listen, with a special shout out to Haunt, Of Me And You, If I Had A Heart For Chasing, Mona Lisa and Astral Projection, which are probably my five favourites from the sub-genre all year.

Best tracks: Haunt, Of Me and You, Astral Projection

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39. Sing With Abandon by VLMV

Every year there are multiple albums that fly under the radar and don’t get the attention they deserve. One of the big ones for me this year was this absolutely spellbinding album from London-based ambient post-rock outfit, VLMV.

If you are partial to soaring instrumentals from the likes of Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, then do not sleep on this album. Boasting haunting, beautifully atmospheric, string-drenched soundscapes, it makes for a constantly enchanting and spine-tingling listen. With the album almost a 50/50 split between complete instrumentals and some vocal-led pieces, the moments when the soft ethereal harmonies come in really take the record to another level. On tracks like There Are Mountains Underneath Us, For Empire and The Navigator, it adds just another dimension to the melancholic beauty that seeps out of every pore of this record.

Also perfect winter listening!

Best tracks: For Empire, There Are Mountains Underneath Us, The Navigator

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38. Radiate Like This by Warpaint

There were more than a few welcome comebacks in 2022, with one of the top ones being the re-emergence of American indie rockers Warpaint, who returned with their first new album in six long years.

Whilst Radiate Like This mostly sticks to Warpaint’s usual winning formula of understated, wonderfully chilled-out guitar grooves, the big difference this time is the emotional heartbeat of the record. It’s the same four women that first captivated the world with their dreamy shoegaze sound over a decade ago, but their perspective has changed as they’ve grown and that shines through in the writing here. Across this collection of songs, they explore motherhood, relationships, and their own lasting friendship with one another, as only they can - in a shimmering haze of desert rock that indeed radiates.

Welcome back Warpaint, please don’t leave it so long next time!

Best tracks: Champion, Melting, Trouble

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37. Fear Fear by Working Men’s Club

With their first album placing 13th in my final Albums of 2020 list, whilst also being my highest rated debut of that year, Yorkshire industrial synth-pop outfit Working Men’s Club had given themselves a tough act to follow. However just two years on, Fear Fear arrived packed with songs troubled by loss, panic, isolation and trepidation – perfect for the times.

Just like their debut, the album’s dark underbelly is glossily sheened over thanks to the neon-soaked drench of pulsating, nostalgia-laced electronica. Addictive lead single Widow is my personal highlight, carrying shades of New Order and the spirit of the 90s Madchester rave scene, with a wonderfully hypnotic central synth groove.

With a dark, moody aura, lots of fun sonic exploration and plenty of replay ability, Working Men’s Club continue to ride their wave of momentum on this very solid second outing that is just as fun as their brilliant debut.

Best tracks: Widow, Ploys, Cut

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36. Every Moment, Everything You Need by Deserta

Another album recommended to me earlier this year by Kiley and then duly reminded of its greatness recently by Twitter Shoegaze guru Stevy (@StevyK1973), this majestic second album from Matthew Doty is something quite special to behold.

Bringing together those atmospheric walls of sound synonymous with shoegaze alongside some welcome synth and dream-pop stylings, Matthew’s second Deserta album is an utterly awe-inspiring listen from beginning to end. The fact that Every Moment… was recorded at home during the pandemic while Doty was continuing his day job as a nurse makes it even more impressive.

There’s plenty of highlights here too courtesy of some dreamy melancholic soundscapes, with Far From Over my personal favourite, standing out as the album’s glistening six-minute centrepiece. Elsewhere, I’m So Tired is the record’s most pure pop moment with its scintillating melody, It’s All A Memory hits you like a gentle breeze amidst a siren of synths, and Goodbye Vista is just a gorgeous glide across some towering guitar weaves towards the end.

Overall, this is an incredibly enchanting record and I’m so grateful to have had this one sent my way several times this year, as it’s turned into a really big favourite – so huge thanks to both Kiley and Stevy for the recommendation!

Best tracks: Far From Over, Goodbye Vista, I’m So Tired

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35. Hugo by Loyle Carner

Hip-hop as a genre has had an absolutely massive 2022 and I think I could’ve easily made a separate list just for all the great rap records this year. Although I couldn’t find space for them all here with heavyweight records from the likes of Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, Nas and Billy Woods all just missing out, there’s still several that have made the final cut. The first to feature in my year-end list is the dazzling third album from young British wordsmith, Loyle Carner.

Hugo finds the rapper back on top form, as he eloquently explores racial identity and fatherhood across the album’s brilliant 10 tracks. Usually friendly, calm and collected, opener Hate finds Carner in an angry and defiant mood, as he puts the world to rights over racial inequality and injustice against an infectious piano-driven beat. Recent single Nobody Knows is then a soulful exploration of his heritage whilst Georgetown is a Madlib produced track that is interspersed with spoken word poetry from Afro-Guyanese playwright, John Agard.

As great as the singles are though its arguably the album tracks that hit the hardest here, as Speed of Plight sees Loyle let loose his frustrations over a brilliant electronic beat, whilst Polyfilla and A Lasting Place show off his softer side with a pair of beautifully written, piano-backed pieces.

As a huge fan of his Mercury Prize-nominated debut Yesterday’s Gone, it’s been great to hear Loyle back to his best in 2022 and producing one of my favourite hip-hop releases of the year.

Best tracks: Hate, A Lasting Place, Speed of Plight

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34. Stellar Drifting by George Fitzgerald

Speaking of genres that have had an amazing 2022, there has been a real abundance of fantastic electronic records this year. Again whilst I sadly couldn’t include them all, a shout out to the likes of Bonobo, Brothertiger, Daniel Avery, Hot Chip, Lane 8, Kavinsky, Moderat, HAAi and Mall Grab, who are just some of the artists who have helped make this year a hallmark one for synth-soaked, mind-bending sonic whirlpools. However, representing the genre is my personal favourite from this brilliant bunch, the imaginative latest outing from Mr George Fitzgerald.

Titled Stellar Drifting, this third album from George began life with him using pictures of stars and galaxies and turning them into audio wavelengths. From there he would build the sounds out, until they eventually became the 10 tracks found on Stellar Drifting. Cosmonaut Alley takes the listener on a journey across Jupiter whilst The Last Transmission imagines a spaceman’s final message to Earth. Therapeutic and uplifting, this collection of ambient tracks will charm, soothe and relax in equal measure. Amidst all the celestial wonder, there’s some great collaborations to be found too with George teaming up with the likes of Panda Bear (Passed Tense), SOAK (Rainbows and Dreams), Ellie Goulding (Cold) and London Grammar (The Last Transmission).

As a huge fan of George’s last album All That Must Be – which also finished in my Top 20 Albums of the Year back in 2018 - I’m pleased that this latest effort is as equally spellbinding. Magically constructed from cosmic patterns, it’s an interstellar trip that you’ll want to take again and again.

Best tracks: Cold, Passed Tense, Setting Sun

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33. Cub by Wunderhorse

One of 2022’s biggest surprise packages and another one of the year’s top debuts. Having seen that Wunderhorse (the solo project from Jacob Slater, the former frontman of now-split London outfit The Dead Pretties) were due to support Fontaines D.C. on their UK tour, I dived into this record back in October to get a heads up on what I could expect to hear and see. With no expectation going in, I was quite frankly blown away with what I found.

On this brilliant solo debut, Slater serves up a blistering collection of country-infused rock songs with plenty of replay value. Leader of the Pack draws big shades to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama but without the cringe, whilst Purple is a heartfelt track reminiscent of some of Idlewild’s more melodic cuts. After Teal’s bluesy guitar slides, Poppy then offers up big Stone Roses vibes with plenty of added haze. All that said, Slater arguably saves the best moment for last as the aptly-titled Epilogue delivers a raw, coming-of-age track, drawing comparisons to Nirvana as the pained acoustic-backed vocals steadily build into a big, grungy finale.

If you are a fan of rock music or any of the bands mentioned above and ended up having this album bypass you during the year, then definitely give Cub a spin. It really is an excellent introduction to Wunderhorse’s chameleonic sound and chances are, like me, you’ll find plenty to enjoy.

Best tracks: Leader of the Pack, Purple, Epilogue

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32. Where Myth Becomes Memory by Rolo Tomassi

There wasn’t too many metal records that captured my imagination in 2022 (although further recommendations always welcome!), however one early year highlight did leave a lasting impression to make it onto this countdown – this majestic sixth album from Sheffield metalcore outfit, Rolo Tomassi.

The charm of Rolo Tomassi’s music has always been how they manage to seamlessly marry the beautiful with the ugly. This is characterised in their music by effortless switches between frontwoman Eva Korman’s gentle clean vocals to her loud screams, as well as jumps from melodic electronica over to brutal, pummelling metal riffs. This is again what they lead with on Where Myth Becomes Memory, however now with years of songcraft under their belt, it has become second nature to them. The compositions are masterfully constructed and more refined, with various pieces from across their musical spectrum intricately sewn together.

Almost Always is the perfect scene-setter, a glorious six-and-a-half-minute opener of hazy noise, spine-tingling vocals and ambient piano. Mesmeric 2021 single Cloaked is then propelled initially by a mind-melting heavy central riff and Eva’s aggressive vocals, however towards the back end it morphs into a twinkly pop song contrasted against some crushing drums and thrashing guitars.

From there, Tomassi pretty much spend the album swaying between divine beauty and ferocious anger, with gorgeous piano-driven pieces like Closer and Stumbling sandwiched between more high-octane cuts like Labyrinthine, Drip and Prescience. It all plays out like a captivating trapeze act, with not a single dull moment to be found.

The isolation of lockdown has clearly given them the time to fine-tune these songs and their flawless waltz between the angelic and the punishing has never been more enthralling. This album set the bar for other metal albums early on in 2022 and in the end, for me at least, nothing toppled it.

Best tracks: Closer, Prescience, The End of Eternity

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31. The Family / TM by Brockhampton

It is never fun when a band you love decide to call it a day, however when they go out on such a high and with a sense of finality to their work, it can really help soften the blow. Thankfully that closure is what rap troupe Brockhampton gave to their fans as a parting gift when they finally split up in 2022, delivering not one but two great albums to round off their tumultuous but rewarding decade together.

Taking inspiration from Frank Ocean’s Endless/Blonde release a few years back, the two albums were delivered back-to-back on consecutive days in November, with The Family emerging first and feeling more like the band’s definitive final album. On that record, group leader Kevin Abstract takes centre stage and essentially presents a whirlwind tour of Brockhampton’s entire journey – from their initial meetings on a Kanye West Fan Forum, through to their supersonic rise to stardom, as well as the reasons behind their eventual split. Each chapter is short and snappy, with most of the tracks either well under or just over two minutes long.

As a project to close the book on Brockhampton, they really couldn’t have asked for a better swan song – not only is it one of their finest albums to date but also one of the very best hip-hop records all year. Lyrically it is sharply written, the mix of hard electronic-driven beats and soul samples is dazzling, and the performance from Abstract is also both frequently impressive and heartfelt. There’s a bucketload of highlights and eclectic sonic treats throughout, but the eponymous closer is the one that ends up hitting the hardest. A string-soaked, real gut-punch of a finale, it sees Kevin bidding a touching final farewell to the band and all its members.

Before fans could even fully process The Family, a day later TM arrived featuring a collection of songs that were started by the group during a two-week stint in California last year but were never originally completed during those sessions. Now finally released, this may be more of a full band project compared to The Family but it feels more like just an extra treat for fans than anything else. That said though, there’s some great trap-style thumpers to be found such as ANIMAL, NEW SHOES and MAN ON THE MOON.

If The Family is the emotional goodbye, then TM is the jubilant celebration of everything that made the band so great. Together, it’s a triumphant final send-off for a group that have put their stamp firmly on the hip-hop scene over the last few years and leave behind an impressive legacy. Farewell Brockhampton and really, thanks for everything.

Best tracks The Family: Brockhampton, All That, My American Life

Best tracks TM: MAN ON THE MOON,GOODBYE, ANIMAL

Listen to The Family here

Listen to TM here

The countdown continues on Thursday with #30-21!

#new music #best new music #albums of the year #album recommendation #album of the year #best of 2022 #best albums of 2022 #brockhampton #rolo tomassi #wunderhorse #loyle carner #deserta #working men's club #warpaint #yumi zouma #vlmv #george fitzgerald #aoty #aoty 2022

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rae-sunn · 2 years ago

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We begin on a dark night

yes, it’s cliche I know but I’m only telling the story.

it was a dark night, the sky was clear, but a storm hung in the air, suffocating any who so much as breathed within the wood.

A girl ran through the forest. Bellowing past the fallen trees, past rocks and boulders, past animals who saw her and quickly fled.

Breathing heavily, panting, but she couldn’t stop running. She couldn’t stop. It would catch her.

Her foot caught on a branch.

And she tripped

And she fell

She tried to get up but her legs wouldn’t move. She was frozen. Stuck. Dead

everyone heard the scream erupt from the wood. It wasn’t the first time, but it echoed, through the woods, through the village, through the mountains and the hills, chilling everyone to the bone.

No one expected the second scream.

it was shrill, monstrous. The beast was afraid, it was in pain.

Running again, not prey this time. This time it was a hunt.

Dark again, the moon the only light, illuminated the monsters tracks.

It must be caught. It must be killed. This cycle must end. The beast must end.

What happened next. I don’t remember, it’s fuzzy.

Something about falling, stabbing pain, a net, fear.

Then darkness, no more moon, no stars, no sky at all.

Then a light, warm, fuzzy, golden, dim.

like a lantern floating in the dark. Maybe whoever has it remembers what happened to me.

I walk over to the lantern bobbing in the darkness. No one is here. Maybe if I-

I reach out for the lantern.

Falling

I hit solid ground, dirt, walking forward, grass. Sharp rocks cut into my feet, I don’t care. I’m alive.

I run, through the grass, over the rocks. I run out of joy, joy to be alive. I stop. We’ve caught up to each other now.

“wait”

what

“who are you, why are you in my head”

I’m you

“no, you’re not”

Yes I am, I’m different, but I’m still you

“I am me, you are a beast”

We are a beast

I look down at my hands, slightly different than before, too sharp, barely noticeable, but still different.

“ what happened”

They were chasing me, chasing us, they caught us both in their net. The beast. And the witch.

“I’m no witch, that boy lied”

who would they believe, really

We exist together now, we died together, now together we live again. We can take our revenge, or we can live.

“I don’t want this, I want to go home”

as do I

But we cannot return to our homes, either of us. You will be killed again, and I will die with you. Please we were given a chance to live once more. Don’t make me give it up.

“Okay, but I will find a way to separate us, one day”

One day, you will, I will help you. I promise.

“I know”

I know

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haywire-cebus · 2 years ago

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Twenty-One Days

We Could Have Been Anywhere, chapter 4 (link to other parts in reblog)

Wind pieces together some well-kept secrets, and everyone finds out what happened during Four's first adventure.

Wind has seen a lot on his adventures. Ghosts, undead, giant squid, dragons, two-headed elemental dragons, man-eating plants— and all that was only the first adventure. Okay, the two-headed dragon was on his second adventure. But his second adventure also had a ton of the stuff from the first adventure too, so it basically counts.

Being shrunk down to the size of a mouse and chased by a now mountain-sized octorok is new.

Kinda exciting though.

He isn’t happy to hear the call to run, but when Four (who apparently has done this before!) made the call, everyone else followed. Wind is brave, sure, but not stupid.

Dodging rocks and potholes is an interesting challenge that causes him to stumble like he’s been on deck for months and forgot his land-legs. Four yells quickly, “under here!” and points towards a large dusty crack in the ground, large enough for them to slip into.

As he scampers down, pushed ahead of the group by Warriors hand (something he doesn’t need, thank you very much), he turns to count as everyone follows.

He knows everyone else does the same, as a quick gasp echoes the room after the count comes two short.

Legend and Twilight aren’t here.

And-

Oh, that’s weird. And fucking cool.

Hyrule has little wings. Shimmering pink fairy wings. He’s glancing around, seemingly unaware of the new additions.

Wind likes to think himself good at prioritizing, so he calls out, “did anyone see when we lost the other two? Four?”

The hero’s face is pinched, and Wind traces his glances at Wild and Time. Okay, so those three are in on something.

Sky, however, is the one who sighs and steps forwards, “I don’t want to let his secret out, but this transformation magic that hit us- Legend has experience with his own brand of it, and so it could have affected him differently.”

Wind walks towards him, “what do you mean?”

Four speaks up now, “it’s the same with Twilight.”

Wild hisses out a short, “Four!” but he ignores him, “I don’t want to tell his secret either, but if this magic affected him in anyway similar- it shouldn’t because it’s not the same, but if his body reacted differently as a self-protection method or something-”

He starts as Time places a hand on his shoulder, “we have to run with the assumption those two are either fine or hiding- they’re both more than competent. However, Four, do you have a way to track them easily? Or somewhere we could wait for them to find us?”

Warriors snorts, “if only we had a tiny Wolfie with us. He’d sniff them out easily.”

Wind watches Wild stifle a laugh, and pieces start to fall into place. “No fucking way.”

“Language, please, kid.” Time turns to him.

He steps towards Time with an accusing pointed finger, smushing his face into a glower, “you knew, didn’t you?” He whips his finger over to the other two offenders, “you knew that Twilight was Wolfie, didn’t you?” He spins on his heel to Sky, “and you know something too, don’t you.”

The shuffling of Wild’s feet is quickly overshadowed by Warrior’s shouting, “Twilight is who?” Hyrule lets out a soft, “ooh,” and he watches as Sky pieces something of his own together.

The Chosen Hero huffs out a small laugh, “okay, I guess I’ll keep it even. If Twilight is Wolfie, then you can all know that Legend can-“

He’s interrupted by a large snout pressing its way into the craggy opening, loud sniffling filling the room. A low whine is heard, and before anyone can react or draw their weapons, Legend’s voice calls out.

“Good job, you big beast. You found a rock. That’s not Sky.”

Sky mutters out a short curse revolving something that Wind can only assume relates to birds and walks forwards in the space the snout has left. “Legend?” He shouts.

“Oh shit, Sky? Was that you?”

Warriors steps up to Sky’s side, “all of us are here. Was that Wolfie- or Twilight with you?”

“Wolfie, yeah. Can- uh. Are you all stuck in a hole or something?”

“No, Four still has some explaining to do but we’re all. Well.”

Four huffs, “something happened and everyone is the size of Minish- tiny people. Is that octorok still around?”

“No, Wolfie took care of it.” Legend snorts, “you guys scared of an octorok?”

“Okay, first of all-“

Time places a hand on Four's shoulder silencing him. “Since it’s safe out there, let’s head out.”

Wind is already moving, barely registering Legend calling out, “wait- Sky- fuck-“

He easily scrambles out of the hole, years of climbing ropes in freezing storms make things like this a sinch. He see’s Wolfie first, he’s hard to miss especially at this size, and his gaze shifts to the right-

A huge pink bunny. Well, huge in comparison to him. It has a little red vest and big floppy ears and-

And it’s yelling and shouting just like Legend.

There is no way anything could stop Wind from releasing the laughter that escapes him as he pieces it all together.

Legends ire is quickly aimed towards him, but as he hears Warriors and Wolfie (Twilight? What’s the easier way of thinking about him like this-) begin to laugh (which is especially weird to see how a wolf laughs but Wind is getting really off topic. He deserves it. There’s a lot going on- they haven’t even begun to unpack Hyrule having WINGS), Legend focuses his rant on them.

If Wind is being honest, he starts to tune everything out. He picks up enough- Legend’s huffy explanation on why he’s a rabbit, Wild trying to explain what’s up with Twilight while Legend interrupts to bitch more, Sky trying the Master Sword only for it not to work. There’s just a lot going on and he can’t really bring himself to focus on it all- especially as Hyrule’s wings shimmer in the light. No one has even begun to talk about them, and the excitement over Wolfie and Legend being a little bunny is basically over (it’s over for Wind, at least).

He likes Hyrule though, at least enough to want to be polite in asking him about his wings.

Four is trying to speak up over the chaos, “I can get us somewhere safe for the night, I’m fairly certain I know where we are.” Most of the group isn’t listening, or maybe can’t hear. Time, however, goes over to Warriors and places a hand on his shoulder.

It stops his raucous shouts, and is enough to get Legend’s returning snark into more of a murmur.

Four repeats himself, adding, “if I’m right, there should be a Minish town nearby.”

“Is it safe for any of us to go into any town right now?” Wild asks, “I don’t feel like dodging getting crushed all night.”

Four snorts, “the Minish are a race of small, mice-like people. They helped me on my first journey countless times; they’ll shelter us until we can… well, figure out what’s going on. I haven’t seen a transformation rock around, so we can still test that-“

Wind gets up from the ground, dusting his pants off and walking over to Wolfie. The huge wolf looks down at him and sniffs. “Good doggie,” he laughs.

He stops laughing when Wolfie leans down with his tongue out to lick him.

Wind loves the Minish.

They remind him of his Korok, playful and small and so interested in everything he has going on.

Everything. He’s shown off his sword, his shield (which one mentioned looks like an old one of Four’s, which, weird), his hat, his shirt, some of his magic and non-magic items- everything.

He can’t even hate it; they’re so excitable and it makes him feel a little like he felt back when he first got the items.

He can hear the metallic clanging of something behind him, Minish working tirelessly down on the lower levels, and it’s no wonder that Four couldn’t stop smiling even as the solution to the problem escaped their grasp.

He’s having fun, and even listening to Legend groan and bitch across the mining town (for a tiny bunny stuck outside, his voice sure does carry) can’t dampen his mood.

Once he’s shown off all the items he’s comfortable with, he turns to the short Minish that first approached, “you told me you were the first to talk to Fo- Link when he got here right?”

“Yes! I helped him find Melari so he could fix the Picori Blade.” The Minish looks very proud of this, and Wind grins.

“So you must be, like, his best friend, right?”

The Minish smiles back, “I wouldn’t say I am his closest companion, after all, he is human first and spends much more time as such, but I do know him quite well.”

“So I’m sure you have some embarrassing stories, right?”

The Minish’s grin falls, “oh, I’m not so sure I should tell you those. After all, Link is our hero! He’s helped us a ton and-”

“I’ll show you my secret magic baton.”

Another Minish, who was listening in, pipes up, “oh! I watched him try and climb onto a bird and fly around, but the bird didn’t like it, and instead spun upside down until he fell into the hotspring and threw up!”

Wind really, really loves the Minish.

He is getting a little bored, though. The mine is cool and all, but he’s been in plenty of mines and caves. He craves the open air. So he waves his baton around, the Minish ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ and clap for him, and he makes up the excuse of being tired to wander off.

They point him off to where the rest of the chain have set up camp for the night, and he meanders over, listening to Time and Four discuss how they can stop being tiny. It all sounds like weird magic stuff, and when Time tells Four to turn in for the night, he ignores how he mutters something about now having the proper tools to make Wild a good sword (Four does this every time they’re anywhere with a forge), and slips past towards one of the exits.

The Minish watching the exit lets him through easily, all Wind had to do was say “yes, Melari said I could come through here, I am a hero after all,” and they trusted him.

He really doesn’t get why people don’t lie more often. It makes things so much easier.

The outside is beautiful, really. They’re high, high up on Mt. Crenel, and he can make out the beginnings of a swamp in the distance. Well, he can make out the tree’s covering the swamp. But it’s the same difference.

The sun is almost fully set, and he uses the last of its fading light to scramble up a boulder (yes, it’s probably really just a pebble but it feels like a boulder and he’s rethinking making fun of Four’s height so much) and look out and down the mountain.

He can hear tektites scrambling around further down the path, but he figures he’s small enough they won’t try to get at him.

It’s peaceful for all of a minute, when he hears grumbling behind him.

“Too small for normal towns, but oh! Now I’m too big and I have to sleep outside with the mutt and- Wind?”

“Did you just call Twilight a mutt?”

Legend stares at him, and Wind is very proud of how he doesn’t laugh at the serious expression on a little bunny’s face.

“If you don’t tell Twilight, I won’t tell the others you’re out here.”

“Deal.” Wind says, keeping his out-of-sight fingers crossed. Blackmail is blackmail, and if the others didn’t expect Wind to sneak off, that’s on them. He also didn’t see Wild or Hyrule when he left, so the others probably have bigger worries right now.

Wind slowly gets bored of the silence, kicking his feet and beginning to hum. Eventually, curiosity gets to him, “so, I know you said it was a “Dark World curse” that made you a rabbit,” see, he’s even diplomatic saying rabbit and not bunny! “But what’s the full story there? I mean, I know a thing or two about curses,” mostly curses about turning people into stone, “so I know there has gotta be more to it.”

Legend snorts and adjusts his back against the rock, and Wind is obsessed with how the breeze ruffles his pink fur. He wants to pet Legend so bad- once he’s bigger Legend needs to fucking watch out, he looks so cuddly-

“What, you think a little sunset is all it takes for you to unlock more lore about me?”

“Sure? Is it working?”

“It is not.”

Wind huffs, “Fine.” The silence has barely settled in before he grins sharply. He’s already considered his path down the rock, and it’ll take Legend a second to get up and turn around, so he says, “I guess it doesn’t matter how. That curse still turned you into an adorable little bunny,” and starts running for his life.

#linked universe #lu wind #lu legend #the next chapter is one of my favs im so excited #my fics

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thevoidbreather · 1 year ago

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ORBIT CULTURE: DESCENT (2023, Seek & Strike)

Written by: Antonio Jovanović.

I remember it like it was yesterday: it was one of these weekend curfews during the Covid-19 pandemic I had nothing better to do than to drink and roam through Youtube and Bandcamp for some cool new tunes.

Just when a video of Shadow of Intent’s Gravesinger ended, I saw a thumbnail for Saw by Orbit Culture. I clicked on it and the first moments were ecstatic. By the time I reached the chorus I had to pause the song, put down my headphones, call my wife and tell her to drop whatever she was doing and listen to the song with me from the start.

By the end of the track our jaws have already hit our neighbor’s floor – we were stunned by what we have heard…

To cut the chase: Orbit Culture became my favorite band at the dayspring of my forties. Besides that, their music (especially album Nija) have helped me to deal with some demons that have been around for some time.

Now, you must guess that writing about this album is not an easy task, not to mention that it’s goddamn hard not to be biased. So I will be as honest as a devoted fan can be.

I actually really don’t like going through each song separately and I’ve never wrote about any album that way, but since it’s Eksjö crew‘ latest long-playing release I will make an exception.

Nija is my favorite album, period. Because of that I (shame on me) hoped that Descent is not going to be better, haha. I mean, of course I wished for it to be mere than amazing (and it was), but I also wanted it to be a “good old Orbit Culture, yet somewhat different”. Guess what – it was. Thanks, guys.

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Vultures of North single gave us not that many clues about the whole deal at the time it was released. Sure, it was kicking asses all the way and had that catchy “...beware of the antlers” part which reminded me of Cannibal Corpse’s “...you got to kill or become” verses – anyone could repeat it endlessly under the shower or while waiting in the cash register cue at the mall. Oh, and the video was amazing, giving me some Leshen goosebumps at the moment.

Bootleg clips of Alienated were a hit under the belt – fans were starving for the new stuff and they needed it as soon as possible. The song sounded really good, but not as good as it was during the album listening. The shortest song on the whole record (excluding intro) and because of that it is perfect for performing live – the crowd will always go crazy after it. While the chorus has mostly clean vocals, harshly growls hit at the perfect point, so the auditorium can shift into the frantic mode.

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Even before the first verse of From the Inside started I knew that not only the song itself is going to be outstanding, but the whole album. Nick and the gang really know the business, they know when is the perfect time to release appropriate single, they are well aware how their always growing fan-base is breathing.

So, when you combine melancholic, yet powerful tunes with a grimy frost-covered landscapes, you know that it is what the crowd wants. Yeah, some of us may have somewhat good lives, but deep inside we all fell the ruthless coldness of this decayed world.

The first thing I liked about about the Black Mountain is the rhythmical spelling growls during “I feel lost, but so home” part – things like that I simply adore. Oh, and the drumming is the top tier, by all means! Chorus with clean vocals? Yeap, that fits my vision of a perfect blend of melancholic melodeath with a touch of melodic groove metal that went through existential crisis.

Sorrower is a sort of a bridge between two tracks. It is definitely not a filler nor it sounds bad – on the contrary! But it doesn’t have the same powerful feel as it predecessor, although it is one of these songs that can always make the crowd go nuts, especially when the solo hits up.

Jump to the Aisle of Fire, the song that explains the album’s premise. It is definitely my favorite track since it is (at the same time) typical OC tune, but it also has some Amorphis’ Tuonela vibes (can’t really explain why it reminds me of it).

Verses like "You just wait till you're older" brought me a quarter of century back, to the point when these “well-intended” creatures tried to mold me in their own shape (and failed miserably). And after all of these years of struggle, after all the shitstorms I went through to keep my true self, the reality is that “there's something I lost through time, and it's me”.

Yeap, ladies and gentlemen – me and a dozens and dozens and dozens of people out there have lost (at least a portion of) ourselves. It is not a repentless crime: it is a modern life itself. We all have done some things that we are not proud of, things that are not a core of our beings. But, we all have to go through the “social blizzard” every single day, to fight all of these not-so-small fights. And as honorable anyone of us can be, sometimes we have to bite the bullet and to go down with the corporate world's stream, which is a true shame. Things shouldn’t be like that, but they still are and they’re going to be that way for a long, long time

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So, here comes a Descent of a being, this madness that is all around it. We have failed as a race. We have failed in every way possible. A tragedy of an individual is a tragedy of the whole collective.

Have you ever felt that you’re losing your mind? Burden of everything that you carry every single day; the pressure at your working place, family issues, constant fighting, alcohol abuse… It looks like there are no tools to fix anything and the only thing each of us can do is to embrace the fall into the void.

“I stand alone, on the hill that's reaching tall!“

To feel this way is not necessarily a bad thing: some battles are truly just your own. And even if they are harder than hell itself they must be fought. In the end you are not going through the ordeal only for your own sake, but also for the people you care about.

Through Time came as an outstanding outro to the complete descending saga. It sounded like a Heavenwood rip-off (and I cherish it completely): depressive, without the slightest bit of hope. Forthcoming end is near and making peace with the eternal nothingness seems like the next best thing in the world.

“I know there is nothing decided, but I know you'll believe in what I say, You don't belong in this darkness I'll take us down…”

And once again in the Orbit Culture’s lyrics I have found my own thoughts that I am afraid to speak out loud.

It is another reason why so many people like the band: they are shrinks we need, professionals that are not going to lie to us that things are going to be better. No! Everything is already screwed-up beyond repair, therefore we can only accept it, deal with it and to go through it any way possible.

Can you guess what have I done when I finally listened to the whole album? I played it again. And again. It was a proof that showed that Orbit Culture have a feel, knowledge, resource and (above everything else) a talent to create an album that is (at the same time) going to be a leech that will stay with its host for an eternity and is also going to generate new fan-base.

Descent is a long term product. When Shaman EP was announced, I was pretty sceptical whether it was a good move to release new material that soon after the groundbreaking album. And I was so, so wrong – those songs put the band even higher on the metal world’ ladder. Four new songs, four different approaches.

Pre-Nija fans already knew that OC is amazing, but the rest of the scene had yet to see it. Sure, it is easy to say: “Go and listen to the band’s complete opus,” but it’s not that simple. Music business works differently these days: you need to to show versatility with each song you publish and (above everything) you have to make the crowd beg for more.

That is why I think that Undercity is a hidden gem – it sounds like a leftover from Nija, but at the same time it has a strength of its own.

And that is why I said that this album is a long term product: Orbit Culture is currently touring with a lot of really big names for the last two years. But, they actually deserve to be the ones who are the headliners. Why, you might ask. Well, it is because they really act different – their whole persona is completely opposite of the bands that are in the headlines of Metal Injection or Blabbermouth and that is fucking awesome.

Since I had a chance to meet them, I can say that Niklas, Richard, Fredrik and Christopher are polite, well-mannered guys who respect everyone who reach to them, they don’t mind to do some (not that) small talks and to simply hang out (and catch a couple of photos) with people who appreciate their effort.

While we can appreciate Rasen, Redfog and Nija as works of art, people who made them have a mouth to feed. While metal can be (and still is) rebellious, there are some fees that any outcast has to pay. And I am not condemning – I am supporting it (since I am also a sort of an artist). And from the standpoint of Orbit Culture I am all for it!

Sure, it is quite likely that a band that gets into a situation where they have to fulfill a contract with the label can make some generic tunes, but not in this case. Every track on Descent has already passed the test of time.

Transition between songs is really good: the pacing is outstanding and the flow is almost flawless. There are no “filler” songs – tracks that are made to just buy some time between two “bangers”. On the other hand, there are no tracks as North Star of Nija, Strangler of I, the Wolf and that is (somewhat) a deal-breaker.

I must repeat that this Descent is really good release. It suits both the hardcore fans, as same as the new ones. It is a lighthouse that will gather admirers of the modern melogroove and melodeath in one grandiose haven. On top of all of that, the individual quality of each track is going to help the pack become bigger and bigger in the future.

Links: https://www.orbitculture.com/ https://www.facebook.com/OrbitCulture https://www.instagram.com/orbitculture/ https://twitter.com/orbitculture https://www.youtube.com/user/OrbitCultureOfficial https://orbitculture.bandcamp.com/music https://open.spotify.com/artist/7k29FbDq69ju2fe6zTskxY https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/6199896

#orbit culture #seek & strike records #antonio jovanovic

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zachsgamejournal · 2 years ago

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PLAYING: Kena: Bridge of Spirits

I'm still really enjoying the game. It's beautiful and smooth. The story, while well presented, lacks a sort of focus or clarity. Still--having a blast!

So gonna start with the story. Without much build up, you've been dropped in a forest with the unexplained goal of reaching a mountain temple--or something like that. Meet two children (that turn out to be spirits) looking for their brother, who is also a spirit. As a matter of fact, everyone I seem to meet is a spirit. There's a grumpy spirit that seems attached to the corruption of the forest, but he doesn't really want to chat all that much. So the early quests around about tracking the path of the Taro (big brother spirit).

The process of tracking down Taro is such a major chunk of the game, that I thought it was the whole game. That is, till I found Taro's spirit and put him to rest. A plague hit the village and he took his brothers into the forest. One day the mountain "cracked" and released a big explosion, sonic boom, like thing. Then he couldn't find his brothers and everyone died.

It's kinda weird...if the little brothers were also spirits why couldn't they go find their brother spirit? Instead of trying to reconnect, they just plopped around the forest chasing rots. I thought, maybe for a moment, that the game would be about putting several spirits to rest. While that seems to be kinda true--the fact that Taro and the twins takes up about 3/5 of the game--it's not really matching the pacing I expected.

The game is almost open world. They really keep you on series of maze like paths with natural barriers that wouldn't really stop anyone, but using Uncharted logic--ok sure, I can't go that way. I'm constantly reminded of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter as I play--which is a good thing for me. Anyways--if we thought of Kena like those classic 3D adventures (throwing in Mario 64), then having this open world would be great. And then you could have various spirits as quest givers. And they could send on you various tasks:

"I'm not ready to pass on without family crest" or something like that.

Then, as you helped spirits, you shattered spirit barriers giving you access to new areas. I think this would have allowed for many more stories, with a diversity of tone and sentiment--while giving you different perspectives on what happened to the village. I think that would have been better than spending SO MUCH time on a single storyline that didn't land very hard for me.

Why didn't it land? Cause everyone's dead. When the spirit twins first wanted me to find their brother, I expected their brother to still be alive, to still be looking. And then learning the fate of his brothers would have been sad, but also brought him closure. A bittersweet conclusion of yes they're dead, but they don't blame you and they're in a place with no pain or fear. Instead, everyone is dead and I don't know why they couldn't find each other.

I'm still not sure how the "antagonist" plays into this or if there's a real overarching story. It's like they wrote a halfway decent Disney movie, and combined it with a good action-adventure, but didn't find a way to meld-them.

The game is still fun and beautiful. It basically all takes place in a forest (which I love hiking in forests, so that's great). This means there's not a whole lot more than trees and rocks. BUT it doesn't look like they repeated assets and designs very much. Every area of the game looks uniquely designed and organic. It's not just prettily dressed corridors, but a conscious attempt to make each area look interesting and different.

The fighting is starting to feel a little tedious. It's not bad, but much of the game is just exploring (love it!), which doesn't leave me very prepared for the combat sections. Zelda spreads enemies through out, allowing the player to be in constant practice before taking on the more challenging fights. In Kena, by the time I get to a boss fight I've forgotten half my moves or what buttons to push.

This isn't really a complaint. I'm thankful for the combatless exploration--but sometimes the battles are so challenging that I feel like the pace suffers--as I'm not prepared for the battle. Plus, I hate the limited shield blocking and the parrying. Though I do appreciate how they've pulled a Zelda and made the weapons for battle double as puzzle solvers, like LocoRoco Cocorecho. What if they could stake on top of each other to be used as a rope: so the more you have, the higher you can reach. Or maybe use them to "fish" things out of holes and water. Stuff like that.

Finally, my favorite thing is the Rots. I love their cute hats and how they help about in different scenarios. I kinda wish more of the game was just based around collecting them and using them to solve puzzles. Kinda like

I've just unlocked a new area and met some new folks. I'm excited to see what comes next.

#Zach's Game Journal #PLAYING #Ken: Bridge of Spirits #Video Games #Gaming #PC Gaming

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disgracedvessel · 1 year ago

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starter for @arcaeda Small hunting parties regularly venture beyond monastery walls to hunt for additional food to pad out supplies. On one of your patrols, your arrow manages to sink deep between the ribs of a young buck. He flees, alive, but leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Tracking him down will take all night, which is bad news when there’s snow already falling. Even so, you can’t just return empty-handed. [Grants Bow +1]

The crunch of boots through snow took the place of conversation in the silent forest. That had died some hours ago when the party split, each part chasing a different target. Julius had broken off in pursuit of what he had been certain was a ten-pointed buck (though his hunting experience, at least for big game, was limited, he knew what a trophy was, and he knew he’d never bring home anything less). Blood, a tight trail at first, now little more than a drop or two every few feet, had led him this far, and he knew that Caeda - a former ally in Rusalka - kept pace with him so that he would not get lost alone out in these conditions, but he had insisted from the start that they not speak. A rule that was killing him more than it was her, most likely.

By the grey of the cloud-heavy sky, it was impossible to determine what time it was, but Julius stopped to try nonetheless. He felt like they’d been trekking for hours so far, and his legs were getting tired from the strain of each high step. He wasn’t sure how far they were from Garreg Mach now either, and how long it would take to get back, but he wasn’t about to return empty handed. He stopped with a hand against the trunk of an ancient tree to rest. White wisps billowed from his lips as he pulled his scarf away from his mouth to finally break the frigid silence.

“How much farther can a wounded beast flee?” He sighed, glancing toward the dwindling trail. It was a rhetorical question, and as it turned out, a buck could run quite far, especially when the arrow hadn’t hit anything vital. Grumbling wordlessly, he pulled his cloak back up over his nose and tramped some feet deeper, toward where the trees seemed to be thinning. There was a cave behind them, barely rising up from the earth and blanketed in snow like all the rest of the mountain. A thicker streak of blood marked its entrance and disappeared. Julius stopped and folded his arms, every angle of his body writing his irritation. If something else had gotten the buck before they did, then they’d come all this way for nothing.

Siren Song [Julius & Caeda]

#arcaeda #thread : siren song #mission season: snowglobe #// julius can and will talk to himself if given the opportunity #// turning whoever he's with into an accessory #// anyway let me know if you need me to adjust anything!

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sor-vette · 3 years ago

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It could be a wolf, you reckoned, but it was too big. It sprang in and out of the tree line, seemingly chasing the train. Though before you could inspect it further, its gaze met yours, peculiarly silver eyes boring into yours, widening for a moment in disbelief, and then it disappeared.

• type: Namjoon x f! reader • genre: hybrid! au, angst & fluff • w/c: 2.4k

• note! the reader has glasses and it’s for plot reasons • c/w: flood, being buried in the debris

•series’ masterlist• other works • tagging: @ilsan-seoul; @alpacaparkaseok; @introlxv, @pinkcherrybombs; @mayla548; @juju-227592;

• a/n: You can now support me on kofi, thank you if you do :)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 | 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧

The visits persisted though the wolf had grown significantly less brazen. Trying to arguably be helpful. More than once you found yourself in the surreal happenstance of having an animal the size of a Christmas tree carry your shopping or waking up to a neater garden, with weeds pulled out. Though, he never appeared in his human form. Perhaps he did not fully learn fluent shifting between either state. Much like language that sort of thing required a proverbial teacher and frequent practice. From the looks of it, this particular hybrid had been alone for a very long time and could very well have only scattered skill of shifting. Or maybe he simply did not want to. Either way, you did not question and left him be. He remained playful, purposefully diving in your way so you’d trip or push you over in some wolfish play fight. It was annoying, but it also helped to ease the world away. The city with its problems - recession and economic crisis felt so incredibly far away, like a different planet. You didn’t know what exactly the hybrid saw in you to keep sticking around, maybe it wasn’t anything special. Just his own need for companionship. You could understand that.

As another evening of a day you did not remember drew past, it wasn’t unusual to find the unnamed hybrid in your bed. He’d taken a liking to sleeping on your bed, and as old as its springs were, it probably was superior to sleeping on a rock. The rule of not tracking any more mud was upheld with near religious conviction. You didn’t know how exactly he managed that, partially venturing a guess that he must be taking sneaky quick showers, but regardless the wolf hybrid was cleaner than ever before. And thanks to the steady diet of good, fulfilling meals, his fur became shinier. Where he got them from you grew no wiser though it should be from someone local. It didn’t bother you, it kept the hybrid fed and clearly whoever they were, he trusted them enough to keep going back.

You sat on the bed, reading aloud as he liked to listen along, feeling content until a harsh thunder ripped through the sky. It echoed in the mountains with such awful grandeur that for as split second you thought a bomb had gone off. The wolf immediately sprang up in fright and jumped atop of you, trembling. It took you a while to realise, but he was protecting you, fallen to the same assumption as you - something far worse than a storm was taking place.

“It’s okay, it’s just a thunder,” you try to placate him, gently and with shaking fingers running them through his fur. It was the first time you ever touched him and the wolf jerked in surprise, examining you with soulful, dumbfounded eyes. He was panting slightly. As the following thunder shook the earth, his panic only increased.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” you could only repeat, tentatively reaching out. Slowly, the wolf leaned into it, and you caressed behind his ear.

“It’s just a storm.”

It wasn’t just a storm.

“Evacuation is expected immediately from the following areas: Sarset, Andon, Odulin.”

The rain bounced like bullets from the windows and both you and the wolf sat in the attic with a blanket bunched around you. The downpour promised for weeks had finally hit, splitting the sky in half and with it causing enormous, destructive flooding. Having no car, taking public transportation and more importantly waiting for it, could result in catastrophe. Andon was just next to Takastur and half of it was currently being swept away. There was no telling how far the over flooded rivers would reach. You were now facing a chance of fifty versus fifty that it should stretch all the way to Onsilvaekst. You did the best you could - settling on waiting and hoping that it would not escalate further than three villages but the rain did not cease and the wind that had picked speed was unearthly. You could hear the trees falling deep into the forest.

An hour passed with no sight of the horror stopping its tracks when the hybrid’s ears perked. He jumped up, frantically poking his nose against the windowpane, whimpering and scratching his claws against the floor. No matter how hard you tried, he could not be calmed down, and before you knew it, he was crashing through the front door. You rushed after him, immediately being pelted by a freezing wave of rain once outside. Your legs sunk into the ground, rain creating it into a muddy abyss. As you fought your way through the ravaged neighbourhood, you realised this was not a mere freak out, the wolf was jogging ahead but kept a similar pace to yours, and frequently he tossed an urgent look backwards. He was guiding you somewhere.

That place as it turned out was a large wooden house lying on the edge of your area. The massive tree growing on their property had fallen onto the roof, splitting it and the house in two. After a lingering moment, you could make out faint cries of help, barely, barely breaking through the cacophonous rain.

The hybrid was first to run in, barraging through the still intact door like it was cotton candy. A horrible sight greeted you. Both the father and the mother were buried underneath the collapsed roof. Upstairs there was more high-pitched screaming, indicating a child. Without saying anything you exchanged glances and the wolf began to push away the debris while you advanced up the stairs. They were incredibly old and stood near the chasm left by the tree. Your heart was leaping out of your chest, still, you pushed forward and rushed to the room where the crying sounds came from. At the very corner of the room stood a boy and in front of him a two-story gaping hole. There was nothing to use to cross the empty space. The few planks that lay around him had severe termite damage and the ones that the boy stood on would not hold your combined weight should you jump towards him.

“You’ll have to leap over,” you called out, feigning as much calm and confidence as possible. The hole was big and if you attempted that jump at that age - you would not make it.

“Come on, you can do it” regardless, your voice was weak. Nevertheless, the little boy, approximately six of age, made his meek way backwards, taking as much running ground he could and dared to jump across. He landed by the soles of his feet, and quickly you caught him by the jumper, pushing him out and down the stairs. The hybrid had managed to get the mother out from the debris who was gradually coming back to consciousness. The floor creaks were growing increasingly louder as though it was giving it all not to tear asunder.

“Get them to safety! I’ll stay here to help him!” you shoved the kid towards him and his ears flattened to the skull, desperate whines breaking out of his mouth.

“There’s no time to argue,” you snapped. “Help them first and then return for me!”

After one last lingering look he did as he was told and, supporting the woman’s weight, whilst simultaneously biting on the boy’s jumper to get him to move, led the confused pair out. You hurried to the man who was slowly blinking awake.

“My leg,” he panted weakly. “My leg…is broken.”

Oh, wonderful. Just what you needed. Trying your best to not be swayed by the painful screeching of the wooden floor, you gripped the largest part of the support beam and, fueled by a dose of adrenaline you were not aware you possessed, pushed it away. It was not an easy task to manage - to wrangle the man free enough to allow some movement. Broken or not, his leg indeed was visibly damaged, though admirably for his age, the man was determined enough to get out of the house on his own. Wincing and dragging the injured limb behind, he clambered through the pandemonium, and you followed him quickly suit, but as your foot caught against a part of a stray roof tile, causing you to step a tad harder on the already frail boards, you found yourself free-falling, immediately being slammed into something hard. The pain from the fall was obliterating. For a while, you laid on the ground trying not to scream your lungs out at the pulsating ache ripping through your backside, but the worst enlightenment came later on - your glasses were completely cracked. You felt around its metal frame, now blind, and the lens was entirely smashed away. Without them, you could see even less than your own hand. Despite your mother’s best efforts, the results had proven fruitless, and you could not escape the family tree’s genetic lottery.

As you stood up all you could grasp were just spots of blurred colours - brown, dark grey, some black. Rain fell upon your face as you looked up and when you moved you could hear a rock grinding underneath your feet. This must be some sort of basement space the family never bothered to properly build upon. Abruptly something large fell besides you with a hollow thud, and you yelped at it. Only by palming against its edges you surmised it was a wooden plank, probably falling from the crumbling upper floor. Because of your nearsightedness, you wouldn’t know anything was falling until the moment it would crack your skull open. Avoiding any debris, you pushed yourself against the dirt and stone wall, helplessly trying to feel for any ridges or something to aid you in scaling it into freedom once more. It was largely just soil, and it seeped through your finger the second you scratched harder at it.

A whine came from beside the hole.

“I can’t see,” you exclaimed, slightly shaky and breathless. The abrupt burst of adrenaline had as expected run its brief course and was now replaced with fear. More whining followed along with the scraping of the nails. More and more of the roof was caving in by the second, dropping its parts like projectiles all around you. The whining turned to cries of pain and then into horrifying silence.

“Hello?! Are you there?!” you called out into the haze, terrified he’d left you alone.

“It’s…it’s not as f-far as it-it seems,” the voice that spoke back was incredibly raspy, breaking up like a poor radio signal. “Jump and I-I’ll catch you.”

The second you gingerly stepped away from the side of the hole, a tile smashed against the rocky ground.

“J-Jump there’s no- not much time.”

You desperately wanted to retort that you did not see where to jump, but you also knew he was right. You were living on borrowed time.

Squinting to the point where your eyes almost closed, from the foggy mass of colours you made out a significantly lighter spot, like your beacon amidst the raging sea. It swayed back and forth, and cautiously you made your way forth. Forth to your hybrid.

“I’m reaching out for you,” he said, trying to calm you down. “Come on, you can do it!”

He was unintentionally or perhaps intentionally echoing the same words you had said to the small boy not twenty minutes ago. Was he just as scared as you had been?

You sprang upwards, pressing your muscles to act more than they had ever in their existence and a large palm wrapped itself around your forearm. You dangled above the ground like a piece of dead meat, listening to the sounds of him straining to pull you up. Miraculously and to your never-ending relief, you soon were kicking against the same dreaded wooden floor, attempting to make the faintest details of your savior's face.

He was gasping for air but wasted no time in dragging you out of the door, seconds before the whole building collapsed in on itself. Both of you immediately came out into a dirty mass of water, already knee-high and rapidly rising. The family was nowhere in sight, not that of course you would know. Whilst trying to cough his voice out of disuse, the hybrid yelled over the rain.

“There’s…the people…gathering in the town hall. You sh-should go.”

“Would you go with me?”

You couldn’t see the expression he made, but the hand that previously was grasped around your waist like a vice, now flinched away.

“You don’t have to if you’re scared of humans,” you amended, urgently, feeling the water now drench your shins. “But do you know of anywhere safe to go?”

He fell quiet but that stilted silence was an answer enough. He didn’t.

“Just come with me…until we get you with the evacuation. Then you can shift back and go away.”

The strength in his grip returned once more.

“I can’t go…” he muttered, tugging you along the thorny forest floor. “I go where you go.”

When you crashed through the doors of the city council which was conveniently placed uphill, some people shrieked but most were too scared to give a shit that the hybrid was naked. Mrs Paskew was in any way there and greeted you with great relief, providing him with some clothes she pressured nearby folks to give up. As you weathered the flood, surrounded by masses of frightened neighbours, his hand found yours and for the first time, you were close enough to actually see him. His eyes were dark, but warm in a way though they were clouded with a heavy layer of fear, flickering between the people, notably lingering on the burliest men, assessing their threat. He must be one of the latest hybrid strains before they were stopped altogether, as he had no tail or ears to show his hybrid nature. If you kept quiet, and he did not involuntary shift, no one in their distraught state should abruptly gain knowledge of what he was. You squeezed his fingers in return and his shoulders after a while eased.

“N-Namjoon,” he suddenly spoke, unprompted.

“What?”

“My name. It’s Namjoon.”

“Nice to meet you,” you replied more so out of instinct, immediately growing embarrassed over the wording. You had met already. He’d been sleeping in your bed for give or take three weeks already. But the hybrid, Namjoon, wasn’t offended by it. Instead, his face bloomed into a brief smile, dipping into a dimple for a blissful second before Mrs Paskew walked past too close for his comfort.

Once she was out of the earshot, he rasped back.

“Nice to meet you as well.”

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#namjoon x y/n #namjoon x you #namjoon x reader #namjoon fic #namjoon angst #namjoon fanfic #bts hybrid au #namjoon hybrid au #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts fluff #namjoon fluff #bts fic

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archersxartxblog · 3 years ago

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Chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter six be up.

Young Ingo tries his hand at catching a Teddiursa, Melli gets mad, there's some drama cats, and a new character shows up

----

It had been an honest accident.

He’d swear to the dragons that it was.

Yet Warden Melli refused to believe him, as the man chased him across the Coronet highlands; hurling unfinished threats towards him.

Ingo could see a large red Pokeball shaped mark on the Warden’s face as he looked back over his shoulder; making sure the man wasn’t gaining on him.

He hadn’t been trying to hit Warden Melli, in fact he was aiming for the Teddiursa he’d been tracking for most of the day. It had been the first time he’d gotten to see one outside of books and he’d wanted to try his hand at raising one.

Catching pokemon was so much different here than it was back home, he’d been tracking it slowly through the mountains; moving slowly crouched through tall grass. Normally he could have engaged it in battle, but with its normal typing Litwick’s ghost moves would have no effect and he didn’t want to overwhelm it with fire type moves and risk it fainting. With the risk of it running away or attacking him, his only choice had been to be patients and wait for the perfect moment.

That moment came, but unfortunately the pokeballs here in Hisui were fairly different then the ones he was used to. Smaller, and slightly heavier then the ones back in Unova. Causing him to over shoot his mark and Warden Melli’s face had gotten hit with the pokeball instead.

Warden Melli didn’t really like them that much, something about them pretending to be ghosts in Wayward cave (which was something Ingo didn’t remember ever doing), combined with the fact that they lit the torches back up much quicker then he could put them out.

Ingo honestly wondered if he could have thrown a leaf and ended up with the same result.

So not only had he accidentally hit the Diamond clan Warden causing the man to relentlessly chase him but he was pretty sure that the pokeball broke when it hit the ground, and the Teddiursa had fled.

He just hoped Emmet was having a better time helping his dad with Lady Sneasler’s eggs.

“You little ball throwing Pearl clan freak! When I get my hands on you!” Another open ended threat was thrown his way as the man continued to give chase. Ingo wasn’t about to slow down and give the man the chance to fill in those gaps.

“I’m Sorry! I’m Sorry!” The boy chanted, trying to project his voice as much as possible as he ran; a failed hope that the man would finally believe him and stop trailing him. Sadly it worked about as well as all the other times.

Ingo quickly rounded a corner, an attempt to buy himself a few extra feet so he could try and remember the path to Lady Sneasler’s den. If he could just get there then the diamond clan warden would have to stop.

Once more he dared another look behind him.

Melli had fallen back quite a ways, a few more turns and Ingo was sure he’d be able to shake off the Warden if it wasn’t for his Skunky who was right on his heels. He pushed himself harder trying to make himself just a little bit fast, closing his eyes as he put all his focus on pushing his engines to full speed.

He saw stars first, before pain quickly spread throughout his entire face as the ground seemed to fall away from under his feet; only for his back to collide with the dirt.

“Ah!” Ingo hissed, his hands quickly going up to his, as he opened his eyes which were quickly filling up with tears of pain. His whole face hurt at this point. “Wha-” he blinked a few times, staring up at the blue sky now above him.

There was a moment of vertigo as he sat back, feeling gravity suddenly pull at all the blood in his face, and he winced at the pain it brought. Slowly he pulled his hands away from his face, feeling them come back wet and slightly sticky. He was having a hard time breathing through his nose and there was a taste of copper on his tongue.

Ingo was getting really tired of that taste.

Blinking a few more times to try and clear the blur from his eyes, Ingo looked up at the thing he had run into. A large piece of chiseled white stone standing just slightly taller than himself, a pedestal of a statue maybe? There were lots of different Statues of Pokemon within the Coronet highlands that he had seen while traveling with his father, but what this one could have been he couldn’t tell with the way it had been clearly destroyed; leaving only the legs behind.

“Child!”

Ingo looked around quickly as he just barely made out the sound of a voice hissing somewhat loudly, ignoring the pound in his head the movement was causing him.

Oh Dragons! Warden Melli must have caught up to him after he ran into the Statue.

“Child!” the voice hissed once more and Ingo quickly flipped himself around to face the source, the movement making him slightly dizzy.

Warden Melli stood on the other side of the clearing, his index finger pressed to his mouth, while his other hand motioned for the boy to come towards him; a look of panic written on his face. And Ingo could see the reason for that…

All around him was a large pride of Luxray and Luxio all snoozing in the arm midday sun, with the biggest Luxray Ingo had ever seen a good ten feet from him off to the side. An Alpha as his Dad and Akari liked to call them.

Quickly Ingo slapped his own hand over his mouth, suddenly hyper aware of just how loud he could be as he stared at the sleeping electric types.

He’d been attacked by Pokemon before, both here and back home in Unova. Anyone who would call themselves a trainer had been attacked at some point. But back home it was less of a life or death situation unless you managed to really tick off a grumpy Hydreigon. Here though? Sometimes it felt like some of these pokemon were honestly out for blood.

Once more Warden Melli motioned for Ingo to make his way towards him.

Boy glanced once more at the sleeping Luxray all around him, before carefully taking a step towards the Warden. Whatever the man had planned to do to him it could not be worse than what the sleeping Pokemon would do to him if he woke them.

He moved at a slow crawl, crouched down to the ground and using one hand to help push himself along; while the other remained over his mouth. His eyes darted about quickly, looking around for any signs of anything waking up as he moved towards the Warden in blue.

His face hurt, it was hard to breath through his nose and his eyes were still blurry but still he pushed on. He was so close, he just had to sneak past the Alpha now.

His eyes shifted over to the large black and blue pokemon, noticing the large round objects that leaned against its side; causing dread to creep into his veins. Even with his eyes still blurry he knew what those were.

That was great, as if this day couldn’t get any worse.

The Giant Luxray had eggs. Even back home disturbing a wild pokemon with eggs was a bad idea; here he had a feeling it would be so much worse.

He glanced at Warden Melli and then back at the Luxray and her eggs, trying to decide if he should just start booking it now; maybe putting a good few feet and the Warden between himself and the Alpha.

There was a quiet clacking sound, causing Ingo to halt his movements completely as his breath caught in his chest; watching as one of the eggs rolled out into his path.

It didn’t look quite right.

“Child. Why. Are. You. Stopping?” Warden Melli hissed once more, causing several of the sleeping Luxio to stir.

But Ingo ignored him as he watched the egg roll around on the ground before suddenly sitting up, revealing a checked shell and a crown of cream coloured spikes unfolding on its head.

“Brrrie!”

A Togepi?

What was a Togepi doing all the way out here? With a bunch of Luxray eggs no less?

“Brrie! Brrrie!” The little fairy chanted loudly as it seemed to dance around in place, and Ingo watched in horror as he could see the eyes of several very sleepy looking Luxio start to open.

He quickly pulled his hand from his face only to replace it with a finger to try and signal the little pokemon to be quiet, his eyes darting towards the still sleeping alpha.

Please for the Love of Arcues be quiet.

But know if anything the little Spike ball pokemon just got louder, causing the Luxio now awake to start looking around for what awoke them. It spun in place and snatched a stick from the ground holding it out between its stumpy arms.

Ingo quickly shook his head, praying to the dragons that the little pokemon wasn’t about to do what he thought it was about to do.

The thing looked him in the eyes, that smile etched onto its face.

SNAP!

There was a moment of silence as all heads snapped in his direction, the little pokemon looking very pleased with itself.

His eyes darted from the pokemon to the Warden…who was gone.

Great.

He looked back towards the Togepi only to find it gone as well.

As strange as that was, Ingo didn't really have much time to think about it; as the pride of Luxio was now very much awake and had seemed to all decide that he was to blame for that.

He took a slow step backwards, and another one. A hand reaching out for Litwick’s pokeball. There was no way his little ghost type would be able to fight off all of these electric types but she might be able to take out enough for them to get away.

His back suddenly connected with something solid. His mind first went to the broken statue, but it was quickly tossed away as he realized that there was a curtain softness to it.

The Luxio stopped approaching and there was a deep growling coming from behind him.

Slowly Ingo looked behind him, already feeling the hot breath of the alpha on his neck as he turned to meet its glowing red eyes.

—

He wasn’t running away!

That was not what he was doing!

He was not leaving that Pearl Clan brat behind to be ripped apart by an Alpha Luxray.

He was simply trying to lure the Luxio away to give the boy a better chance of escape.

That’s what he was doing.

Totally not trying to save his own hide.

He came to a stop a fair distance away, back at his Lords domain; and looked back, taking a shuddering breath.

There was no pack of Luxio behind him.

And the Kid wasn’t behind him either.

He’d left the boy behind.

But that was fine.

He was Ingo’s kid after all so the brat had to have some kind of fight in him. Plus he had those cursed little pokeballs right, the ones team Galaxy used. And if the Bruise on his face was anything to go by, the kid had a good arm. He just had to toss a few of those and it should be enough to buy him time to escape.

Right.

Once more Melli tried to push down the doubt in his heart, that threatened to boil over.

He was not a coward.

He looked around the area he was in, the galaxy camp not too far away from his normal posting. A pokeball laying on the ground where it had landed after it hit his face.

It had been a bit of an over reaction to chase the poor boy across the highlands the way he did.

Slowly he walked over and picked up the ball that had started all of this, and looked it over. He didn’t know much about Pokeballs but he was pretty sure they broke on impact with the ground if they didn’t have anything in them. It was why that Galaxy team noodle was always crafting them.

There was another tug at his heart.

He could have faced those Luxio no problem, in fact that Luxray would have been trembling in fear if he had approached. Clearly it had been for the benefit of those Pokemon he left.

He had tried to get the boy out, but the kid had just stopped moving and stared at something.

And the kid didn’t look scared. So maybe he was fine after all.

Then again the boy hadn’t looked scared of him and yet he still ran.

“Warden Melli!”

Melli nearly jumped a foot in the air as someone loudly called out to him.

He only knew one person who was that loud.

“Warden Ingo.” Melli turned quickly to see the Pearl clan warden making his way towards him, Lady Sneasler, the Galaxy team Noodle and his other son following behind him. “Wha-um-” he cleared his throat. “What brings you up here?” it was probably a bit more pleasant then he’d ever been to the man but all things considered he was the least he could do.

“Pfffff- What happened to your face?” the Galaxy team brat laughed, clearly spotting the large mark on his face. “And since when do you use pokeballs?”

“Since None of your business.” he snapped back not wanting to take anymore lip from the girl.

“Really cause it looks like you got beamed in the face by a pokeball!”

He quickly turned his attention back to Ingo. “What do you want?” the words came out much harsher then he meant them too. Was the old man’s nose always that crooked?

“Apologies, Warden. But I’m searching for my other son.” Ingo explained, not seeming the least bit bothered by the other man’s tone. “He had been insistent on trying to catch one of the pokemon in the highlands, that was some time ago though. Have you seen him?”

“He looks like me.” the other boy spoke up, that mocking smile seeming to never leave his face. “You know. Like a ghost kid.”

“I um…”

Lady Sneasler was very quickly starting to approach him, towering over rather easily.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The scream echoed throughout the highlands, and all heads turned towards the ruins.

—

If a person or Pokemon has ever has you cornered or pinned down, Scream.

That’s what his Uncle had told them, though he had looked at Ingo the whole time when sawing it.

It could shock your attacker enough to give you a fighting chance to escape. It could also alert someone to your distress.

The Large Luxray pulled back slightly, reeling from getting an earful of the boy’s full volume. Shaking its head slightly as its large sensitive ears rung. Ingo used this to his advantage to back up as far as he could away from the Alpha, but the large beast recovered faster than he expected and pounced on him; knocking him back to the ground.

The Alpha growled, teeth bared with bolts of electricity dancing around its fangs mere inches from his face.

Once more Ingo tried to reach for Litwick’s pokeball, but he had no room to throw it.

He was trapped.

No one was coming.

He could feel the hot breath of the Luxray on his face. The cat’s maw is more than big enough to take his whole head off.

He wanted his dad, Akari, his brother, his uncle. Anyone really.

“Dad.” he pleaded, his voice barely more than a squeak after he strange his voice mere moments ago.

The Luxray reared back with one last roar, before lunging its open maw towards him.

Ingo squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain to come.

But it didn’t.

“Now this seems like a bit of an overreaction.”

Everything stopped for a moment, and the Luxray suddenly pulled its head back as Ingo heard footsteps slowly approaching.

“Common now. Get off the poor boy. Go on.” the voice loud but not nearly as loud as his father’s with an almost amused tone.

Ingo could feel the large cat slowly get off of him, giving a slight growl as the boy heard it walking away.

“Heh, yeah yeah.” whoever was speaking was now right next to him and Ingo dared to open his eyes. The person who seemed able to call off the Alpha, was bent down looking down at him with a slightly confused smile on their face. “You're not supposed to be here.” there was no score or malice in their voice, in fact the person almost seemed to laugh a bit as they brushed a strand of long white hair out of their face. “What brings you all the way out here?”

They kind of reminded Ingo of his Uncle just a little bit, or even the Unova Champion.

“S-s-sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” Ingo quickly sat up, making himself slightly dizzy in the process. His voice sounded scratchy and cloggy from both projecting his voice, and the fact that he was pretty sure he broke his own nose when he ran into the statue.

The stranger placed a hand on his head and smiled at him, the green marks on their cheeks meeting their red eyes. “Hey now, I’m not mad. I’m just curious as to how you got here.”

“I-I was running from Warden Melli.”

“Why were you running from Warden Melli?”

“Cause he was mad that I hit him in the face with a pokeball.” the boy admitted but quickly tried to explain himself. “It wasn’t aiming for him, honest, I was trying to catch a Teddiursa.”

“You tried to catch a Teddiursa?!” The stranger seemed very excited about this. “Did you catch it?”

That was another blow. “No, I think it broke when it hit the ground.” He'd have to make a new pokeball.

“Aw.'' The stranger’s smile fell away slightly as if he was just as disappointed in the failed catch as Ingo was, but his smile returned soon after. “well between you and me, accidentally hitting Warden Meeli in the face is…as one of my two favorite trainers would say…Verrrry funny. Besides, I'm sure you’ll be able to find another one.” The stranger’s smile got a bit brighter as he noticed the boy seemed to laugh slightly at that. “So Warden Melli chased you here. But what about your face? Don’t tell me that was Melli too, cause I don’t think the Luxray did that; unless they somehow learned thunder punch.”

“No, it wasn’t them.” Ingo sighed, this was embarrassing and just seemed to sum up the whole day. “I did.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I overclocked my engines trying to get away and may have…crashed my cab into that statue at full speed.” Ingo pointed awkwardly at what was left of the statue behind him, not sure if his face was burning from the swelling or from the fact he was sure his face was beat red from embarrassment.

To Ingo’s surprise the Stranger didn’t laugh, but their smile fell as they turned to look at the statue; their gaze lingering on it for several minutes before they looked back at him with a smile.” Well we can’t have that. Can we?”

The Stranger placed their large hand over his nose, causing Ingo to hiss in pain slightly. “This is going to hurt a little.” was the only warning he got before there was a ‘click’ and pain flashed before his eyes; but he could breathe through his nose once more. “Sorry but we can’t have you going around with a broken nose.”

“I…guess not.”

The Stranger gave a nod, letting go of his face and standing up. “Now let's get you back to…your family. Where are you staying In…ah, Little guy?”

“Normally, Opelucid City with my Uncle but me and my brother have been staying with our dad since we came to Hisui. He goes by Warden Ingo here, I think.” Ingo explained, rubbing at his still watering eyes and completely missing the look of confusion, concern and surprise on the stranger’s face.

“Your dad…Warden Ingo…right…” Ingo glanced up, when he heard the slight hesitation in the stranger’s voice, but it was quickly replaced with a grin. “I think I can point you in the right direction.”

—

The Warden as fast as his legs could carry him towards the ruins, towards that scream. Emmet right on his heels and Akari not too far behind. Even Warden Melli was with them, though the other man lagged behind himself and Akari.

Lady Sneasler had tore off ahead.

The Ruins were full of Luxio and Luxray all itching for a fight, and worse it was the time of year they were normally nesting as well. They would not hesitate to rip a child apart if he was caught. He just hoped it didn't come to that.

There was no doubt in Ingo's mind that it had belonged to his eldest, causing panic to rise up in his chest. Emmet seemed to react much in the same way.

Why would young Ingo have even gone to the ruins in the first place? The boy had claimed to be searchers for Teddieursa, which were nowhere near the ruins.

So why was he there? Had something chased him?

Perhaps he should have kept both boys back at Lady Sneasler's den, then let them both go out after they were done.

He shook his head. Doubts wouldn't help any of them now.

Quickly the ruins came into view, and Ingo was able spot Lady Sneasler crouched down in front of something, seeming to frantically look over it.

Ingo slowed his run down to a light jog as he came up next to his Noble, prompting the others to do the same.

He placed a hand over his chest as he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his son in Lady Sneasler's grasp, a hand coming to rest on his chest.

The boy was safe.

"Ingo." He called out and the boy quickly looked up and over to him.

Breaking free of Sneasler's grasp, young Ingo bolted towards him. "Dad!"

Now that the boy was closer, and not blocked by light gray fur, Ingo was able to see a bit of bruising around the boy's eyes, and slight swelling around his nose, as if it had been broken. Dried blood clung to the boy's face and there was a clear slit in his lip.

The Warden's hand reached up to his own nose, a vague memory of his own nose being broken at one point. But feeling nothing but smooth cartilage under fingers.

"We heard you yell, What happened?" He asked as gently as he could, feeling Emmet next to him starting to fidget.

"I ran head first into one of the Statues running away from an Alpha Luxray." His son explained, there was very little emotion in the boy's scratchy voice as he spoke. This seemed to earn a laugh out of his brother.But Ingo was very aware of the fact his son was not looking at him as he spoke, but rather the man behind him.

Young Ingo was a horrible liar. Not that he was much better himself.

Warden Melli had looked rather winded when he'd seen the man.

"Ptfff. you ran head first into a statue?" Emmet laughed, finally seeming to calm down a bit and finding humor in his twin's situation. "This is why you need me, Big Brother. You are verrrrry clumsy."

"Shut up!"

"Alright." Ingo quickly stepped in, keeping a flight from breaking out between two. Though he had to take Emmet's side on this, as young Ingo tended to get distracted enough to forget his safety checks.

Carefully Ingo ran his fingers along the boy's face as he searched for any signs of anything being broken, earning a pained groan as he touched the darkened skin. Checking his eyes for a sign of a concussion. "Nothing seems broken, so no harm done I suppose." He smiled down at the boy. "But Emmet does have a point. this is the second time this week you've gotten distracted and failed your safety checks, getting yourself hurt yourself." Ingo decided to give Emmet the win, the bit of teasing the boy got from this might just be enough to correct himself. not that the younger twin wasn't just as bad. "Please, always remember to conduct your safety checks."

The boy nodded, and Ingo released both of the brothers back into the care of his Lady, so she could fuse over them; before turning around.

There was one last thing he needed to deal with.

Warden Melli stood with his back to Ingo, the path back to Lord Electrode's area blocked by Akari, who had seemed to pick up on the same thing Ingo had as well.

While he had no proof as to what exactly went down, it wasn't too hard to fit pieces together.

"Warden Melli." He watched the man jump at the sound of his voice. "I'm sure my son didn't mean to hit you with that pokeball. Accidents happen."

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Melli replied, holding his head up high as if he didn't have a large pokeball shaped black eye. This earned a mocking laugh from Akari.

"Hm. Well either way, I would like to request the return of that pokeball. They are a bit of a hassle to make." Ingo held out his hand expectantly. The ball hadn't broken on impact with the ground, which meant that there was possible a pokemon inside. He had a feeling Melli knew this too, possibly planning to release it back into the wild.

His son deserved to know he at least got something for his trouble.

Melli held the ball tightly in his hand, pulling away from the pearl clan warden as he insulted him. "And if I don't?"

Akari let out growl, looking like she was ready to make a grab for the ball herself but Ingo spoke up before she could.

"My son is lying not for his own benefit." Ingo kept his volume as even as he could, but made the warning in his tone ring clear. " While I would hate to encourage lying in my children, it would do you no good if the truth got out. I'd hate to have to take this to Lord Adaman, and tell him one of his Warden put a member of the Pearl clan In danger."

Without another word the ball was thrust into his hand rather rough.

"Fine! I didn't want the cursed thing anyway." The Warden turned swiftly on his heels and marched away, only stopping to look back at Ingo's eldest when he thought no one was looking.

With a sigh, Ingo looked back at the group, just happy everyone was okay. "Common, let us make tracks back towards camp. To get something to eat. It's been a busy day for everyone it seems."

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