#this game promises so much in its opening hours but fails to deliver once you actually play the whole thing

[silent-partner-412]

there are so many youtube videos that are like “tears of the kingdom is a disappointing masterpiece” or “tears of the kingdom is a flawed 10/10” like can we all just be honest with ourselves and say the game was fucking mid because everything cool about it was underdeveloped

[xsamsharons]

come here often? - n. lantsov

pairing: nikolai lantsov x healer!reader.

genre/warning: fluff. mentions of injuries.

words: 1.6k

summary: in which nikolai and you aren't really close, until he falls on his face and you fall in love.

It was a rather slow night considering you were working as the main healer aboard a ship that had the prince of Ravka as its captain and also counted the three leaders of the grisha triumvirate as part of the crew. Night after night, people would come in though the makeshift hospital David had built into your room for you, injured by the weirdest things you would ever imagine, and go back out to no doubt keep endangering their lives on behalf of their country. Now, you were not saying that fighting for your country was an dishonorable thing to do, the opposite actually, but for the life of you, you just couldn’t seem to understand how someone could possibly willingly jump off a ship and into an ocean filled with monsters and mythical creatures, and not expect any injuries.

Speaking of, as of right now you found yourself attending the injuries of none other but the captain himself, he looked like he hadn’t slept in ages, and reeked of sea water and sweat. The first time you had met him you had been extremely nervous about actually using your powers on him, after all, you didn’t wanna be known as the healer who had permanently injured the future king. That day you had learned that Nikolai became pretty delirious every time he was suffering from physical pain given as he had had a broken nose and damaged rib, but he had claimed that ‘the other guy had it worse’. This would’ve be a normal enough to say, except in this case, the ‘other guy’ was an ancient mythical being that has been believed to only exist in Ravkan’s passed down stories. Ever since then, he has been ending up in your room almost every night, and with your unfortunate luck, he always seemed to arrive right in your shifts.

His face was framed by messy strands that had fallen from his red tailored hair, and on his chest were displayed a couple of gold necklaces that matched the buttons of his red coat. He had been talking to you and distracting you from your work ever since he arrived, and to make matters worse, he had to rest on one of the beds in your room all night just in case the fall he had taken on his face somehow caused more damage than you had originally thought.

“So, you come here often?” he asked with a crooked smirk and wandering eyes.

“You mean my room? Where I work?” you answered, rolling your eyes when he nodded his head and raised his eyebrows, implying it was a totally logical question. “Yes, I come here often. Not as often as you it would seem. Quite prone to hurting yourself, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I just like to visit my favorite healer.”

Ah yes, the flirting. It seemed it wasn’t enough for him to already bother you with his presence, but he also made it his mission to flirt with you as much as possible during his stay.

“Firstly, I’m the only specialized healer you know, so that line isn’t as smooth as you think it is.” you started, continuing to work on his nose. “Secondly, I would appreciate it if you could keep your advances to the minimum. We don’t want you to damage your brain trying to come up with more pick up lines, seeing as it requires a lot of effort for you to even get coherent sentences out.” you said sarcastically and watched his smirk grow.

“What is it going to take for you to finally admit you actually really like me?” he asked, and for the life of you, you could not understand how he’d come to that conclusion when all you’ve ever done is turn him down. Nonetheless, you figured you’d follow his game. If you were going to spend your whole night by his side, you could use some fun.

“Well, for one, I have never seen you not beaten up, or showered for that matter, so that would be a great start.” you said, tailoring his nose to look like Sturmhond’s crooked one after you finished tending to it.

“It’s not my fault I always end up here in the nights when we get ambushed.” he said in a voice that could almost be considered as a whine, and you found yourself smiling at how cute he sounded when he wasn’t being an asshole. Still, you furrowed your brows in response to something he’d hinted at.

“Ambushed? What, like by other crews?” you asked and he nodded. “So, you tailor yourself to not get ambushed for being a royal, but we still are ambushed even when you look like Sturmhond? What’s the point then?”

“It may be kind of useless now that everyone in Ravka knows us, but I like pretending to be someone else sometimes.” he shrugged, a look that you’d never seen on his face appearing. “It’s stupid, i know” he snorted, trying to shake off the weight of his sentence after you remained quiet for a few seconds.

“It’s not stupid.” you were quick to deny. “I get it, believe me. Growing up as a grisha in Fjerda, I wished every night before bed to have the ability to simply be reborn as someone else.” you admitted, missing the shocked look on his face.

“You are Fjerdan?” he asked.

“What? That’s not in my file?” you answered with a question of your own and he rolled his green eyes.

After you accused him of violating your privacy for reading your file and he defensively said that it was his job to know his crew, you spent a few minutes teaching him Fjerdan words and took advantage of the little knowledge he had about your native language by making fun of his tailored face, knowing he couldn’t understand what you were saying.

“So, how come you praise yourself so much about your aim but seem to get beaten up every night?” you asked.

“Hey! I am actually an incredible shot, thank you very much.” he replied, offense clear on his voice, making you snort.

“Can’t be any good if the only times I ever see you is when you are injured.” you said sarcastically, and he made a face that seemed a bit dramatic in your opinion.

“Not my fault you are trapped between these four walls every night.” he replied, and now it was your turn to act defensively.

“Excuse you! I have a life outside of the hospital.” you said in a light tone, to let him know you weren’t truly offended.

“People who have lives don’t need to remind other people that they do.”

“People who are great in battle don’t need to remind other people that they are.”

“Touché.” he said with a smirk.

You spent the next couple of hours talking to Nikolai about random topics, him not failing to deliver a pick up line from time to time, and the night was slowly but surely starting to slip out of your hands. Right now, you were back to him being the topic of conversation after you had ranted for a couple of minutes about how hard it was to have to grow up in Fjerda hiding who you were. As you teased him telling him he had to settle for captain of a ship because he wasn’t a good enough royal (a claim he denied thoroughly), he looked like he wanted to say something else, before Genya entered the room with a smirk on her face.

“If you two lovebirds are done flirting, you are needed up on the main deck. Sparring session gone wrong - again.” she informed you, rolling her eyes at the usual recklessness of the crew.

“Yes, ma’am.” you saluted sarcastically, before turning back around to face Nikolai again and check his injuries one more time.

“You should actually stay upstairs with us sometime, that way I can prove to you that I'm actually good.” he suggested once Genya was out of the room again. “Plus, the day should be sunny today so we’ll probably spar a lot.”

“You’ve flirted with me every night you’ve been here and the answer’s always been the same, what makes you think tonight is going to be different?”

“Oh, come on. I promise I'll shower and I will try to not get punched in the face. That way you get to see me showered and not injured, it’s a package deal you can’t just ignore.” he pleaded, in reference to your words from earlier.

“All right, maybe I'll stay upstairs after I finish fixing the crew up, and if I catch sight of a certain arrogant royal I know, I might stick around to watch a sparring session or two.” you gave in with a smirk, leading him to the door so he could leave you alone to fix your room up a bit before you went upstairs.

“I’ll see you when I see you then.” he said while bowing his invisible pirate hat, and walked away with a wink.

He left you standing at your desk watching as, just like every other night, he slipped past your door and out onto the main deck again. You watched as he caught up with Genya and said something to her with a smirk, though you couldn’t quite catch the words the spoke, and turned back around to tidy up your room with a stupid smile on your face.

bonus:

“Did it work?” Genya asked him with raised eyebrows and a smile, her question in reference to the plan they had come up with to get Nikolai to spend more time with you. It consisted of Genya tailoring his face to look like he had fallen on his face and busted his nose open.

“Like a charm.” Nikolai nodded, a smile similar to the one you were wearing back in your room appearing on his face.

a/n: making fun of sturmhond's nose is a personality trait and it's mine (and alina's)

[draconic-ichor]

In the Steel Steeds Heart

Chapter 20: Final: Till the Bitter End

Warnings: strong language, sexual themes, blood/gore, body horror, angst, violence, major character death, trauma

Summary: Juniper is delivered back to Heisenberg…

Feedback appreciated. 18+

This is the end my lovelies…this end can fit into cannon, without plot holes for the game. Stay tuned for the family Au later in the week. Will start a whole new (happier) fic, picking up at the end of chapter 19

The hours bled into days, then the days bled into weeks. Heisenberg thrust himself into his work, trying and failing to keep his mind off of what happened.

He couldn’t sleep in the bed anymore, and slowly he even stopped entering the apartment outside the occasional shower or meal.

He carried her compass in his pocket, finding his thumb worried over its surface more times than he’d like to admit.

Feelings of anger and sadness plagued him constantly, filling even his sleep with nightmares. He replayed the day she was taken over and over in his mind, loathing every stupid decision he’d made. The radio and alcohol did little to drown out these thoughts.

Until one day the cameras alerted him to someone at the gates. Heisenberg pushed away from his desk, flipping a switch to see who had tripped his alarm.

It was the Duke’s cart. Heisenberg groaned, his order wasn’t due for another week out. He pressed a button to buzz him in. Walking towards the elevator to meet him.

By the time he was on the surface Duke had pulled his cart up much closer than usual, damn near at the front doors.

“Didn’t expect my shipment so fucking soon.” Heisenberg pointed out.

The Duke’s voice was less jovial than normal as he spoke, “My apologies, Lord Heisenberg, but I bring a different delivery to you today.”

Heisenberg’s brows knitted together in confusion.

“It’s Lady Heisenberg…but I must warn you she is most unwell.” His smile fell, “I found her on the steps of the stone church, and thought her place was much more suited here.”

It took his words a moment to register, Heisenberg’s eyes scanned over the merchant, his lips a thin line.

A mixture of relief, worry, and anger swirled around his head. He swallowed, his throat dry, “Can I see her?”

“Lord Heisenberg…she’s just hanging on.” The Duke warned.

“Let me see her.” Heisenberg’s voice rose, desperation tinged his tone.

The Duke nodded, the small door at the side of the cart slowly swung open. Heisenberg quickly came to the opening, peering inside.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, the cart’s interior a menagerie of all matters of goods. In the center of it all, upon an owl rug, was a mass covered by a blanket.

Heisenberg crawled into the cart, a shaking hand reached out to pull the covering away.

There was Juniper, curled in on herself along the cart’s floor. Her skin was deathly pale, her side hardly rising with breath. Heisenberg tentatively touched her, skin cold under his fingers. He shuttered, dismay ripping through him.

The sound roused her.

Juniper blinked her eyes against the pale sunlight filtering in. Her eyes were dull, all the spark they once held, gone.

“Karl?” She asked, voice almost cracking.

“It’s me.” He came closer, cupping her face.

He saw a smile try to grace her lips, as her eyes closed weakly into his embrace, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Doll.” His eyes flicked down her body. She was thin, her skin covered in blotches of pooled blood below the surface. But the thing that almost turned his stomach was the deep incision from navel to pelvis. It was red and weeping, angry tendrils snaking through her skin from it.

“Fuck.” He cursed, “What did she do to you?”

Juniper winced, a weak hand delicately touching the stitching, “S-She said I was a failure…”

Heisenberg’s eyes stung and he gathered her up, careful to wrap her in the blanket to Shield her from the cold the best he could.

He could be angry later, he had to get Juniper safe first.

“I’m going to take you home, and fix you right up, ok Doll?” He tried to soothe, his voice wavering.

Heisenberg’s stomach clenched, seeing the redness of her abdomen slowly turning an ash grey.

She’ll be fine…she’ll be fine…she’ll be fine…

The words echoed in his head as he exited the cart. He gave a brief thanks to the Duke before retreating back into the factory.

He went straight to the apartment, pausing to ponder what to do next.

Hope waned as he felt her weaken in his grasp. He went to the bed, placing her down gently and making sure she had enough blankets.

“Thank…you.” Juniper gave a sigh, eyes closing. Heisenberg gulped, crawling into the bed beside her. He lay on his side, silently looking her over.

His heartbeat hammered in his chest, fear and worry spinning around his head.

He wanted to do something, anything, to help her. To make the pain go away. He wanted to see her bright and happy again, like a flower. His flower, his buttercup.

Juniper looked up at him the best she could, swallowing as she tried to find her voice. Her skin was slowly taking on an ashy hue, small cracks forming along her arms.

Heisenberg felt his chest clench in iron knots, touching her cheek.

“I’m sorry.” She rasped, her once bright eyes now milky, “I won’t be able…to see the world with you.”

“Don’t say that.” He choked, “Don’t fucking say that.”

Juniper’s breaths were shallow, her eyes unseeing.

“We’ll get out of here.” He almost pleaded.

He gently pulled her head closer until their forehead touched. Juniper closed her eyes into the contact. He could feel her life slipping away ever so slowly under his fingers.

She felt so frail, every breath ragged though her rib cage.

Heisenberg held her close, trying to choke back tears.

“I love you.” He whispered, words broken and wavering. Juniper’s delicate fingers covered his own. Her skin was cold as she smiled the best she could.

“I love you too.” She cooed, her voice sweet and like honey on his ears. He could feel her grasp wavering as he clenched his eyes shut.

He didn’t know how long he laid there. How long he held her, trying to memorize every detail of her form: her smell, her hair, every freckle on her sweet face.

Eventually, in the wake of exhaustion, sleep overtook him. It was fitful and quick. But as he blinked his eyes open all his fears came crashing into him like a speeding car.

The space in the bed beside him was covered in sparkling, iridescent crystal, and crumbling ash.

He sat up, eyes almost unseeing.

He could make out the outline of Juniper’s form, from her jaw to the sway or her hips, forever encased in beautiful stone. The place where her abdomen once was now was hollow with intricate swirling patterns.

He reached out a trembling hand, his fingertips touching the smooth surface of the crystal. The world seemed to slow, a distance ringing filling his ears.

A humming filled the room, all metal rose and began to swirl. It all picked up speed, becoming a cyclone. The metal desks and chairs buckled in on themselves, the walls shuttering.

He balled his hands into fists, bringing them up to cover his face.

A horrid sound joined the choir of destruction. Only when his throat ached did he realize it was his own voice, crying out the grief that ate his core.

The bed shook, the frame bending.

A sound met his ears, almost lost in the havoc. The cracking of stone, hollow like glass.

Everything stopped, metal falling to the floor as he looked forward. The bed frame had buckled enough to start to crack the crystal it held, stopping short only when the humming died.

He felt numb as he stood from the bed. Shattered glass and metal scattering the floor.

Days bled into weeks. He’s not sure how long he left the crystal untouched in the ruined bed. He rarely slept and even more rarely ate. Many family meetings were missed, calls going unanswered. Eventually he wrapped the crystal that was once Juniper in her coat; placing it somewhere safe, deep in the factory.

His grief and loss turned his hunger for freedom into an all consuming desire. His disdain for Mother Miranda forged into a dagger of loathing, cutting ribbons into his soul daily.

Distractions were no longer permitted. Every waking moment was dedicated to his obsession for revenge.

~Epilogue:

Heisenberg sat before the small tv monitor, smoke creating a haze around him. He watched the man on the other end of the screen with interest, a stranger in their village. A stranger with promise.

He bite the cigar between his teeth, pondering the opportunity presenting itself. His army was big, and time was running short. With this stranger’s help, freedom was within his grasp.

He sat back in his chair, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled a small, ornate compass free. He turned it over on his gloved hand, it’s surface scratched and worn with time. His thumb brushed over the etching across the back, a word branded not only onto its metal but also on his mind.

His eyes narrowed, watching the screen. The man was breaching the stronghold, holding his own against the Lycans like no other before had.

He felt the word over again.

“We’ll see the world together, buttercup.” His tone was thick, “I promise.”

~Thank you~

[cheelduh]

A Liar’s Bait

Pairing: Kaeya x fem!reader

Warnings: Idk fatui abuse? Also Aether gets his braid pulled don’t hate me. Also unedited asf.

Synopsis: There’s a hiccup in the elaborate plan you’ve concocted to rescue your friends, and said hiccup comes in the form of a handsome Cavalry Captain that doesn’t have the foggiest of clues as to what personal space is.

"Ah darling, I didn't know you'd be wondering about this late in the night." The charming cavalry captain, Kaeya, sang from behind you.

For a brief second, you froze in place, but not long enough for him to see through your motives. "Kaeya," You turned to him naturally, and spoke your next words like an actor revising a memorized script. "Have to return a book. You know how Lisa gets."

"At these ungodly hours?" He raised a brow, and you blinked away any remnants of sleep in your eyes at the mention of time.

Barely skipping a beat, you gave him an acknowledging smile. "I have some tasks to do tomorrow. It's better if I return it now." The book that is supposedly due tomorrow is waved hurriedly in the air, as if to exaggerate your point.

"Though it seems like Lisa has went home." He pointed out, cornering you against the brick wall, a knowing look in the deep pools of his eyes.

Of course you knew Lisa wasn't in. That was the entire base of your plan. There were a total of four knights on rotation at the headquarters. It was simple really, sneak into the library with your authority as trusted aide, and if push came to shove, an easy knockout would do.

However, Kaeya's sudden appearance put a hiccup through your plans. It would take more than a sock to the face to put him out of commission.

"Oh really?" You tilted your head in confusion, eyes widening, as you eyed him. "I probably should have came by earlier. Well then, I'll just have to put it on her desk with a note."

"You could trust it with me, and I'll return it tomorrow. Captain's word." He replied innocently, snatching the book from your fingers.

Archons, you absolutely did not have the time for this.

Aether and Paimon were waiting after all.

You decided not to shove a stick up his ass, and instead let your anger blow over silently.

"Your hands are clammy darling," Kaeya went on, flipping through the text just for show. "I can feel it on the book."

'Ew that's gross' You wanted to say, but decided to play his game instead.

"Guess I'm nervous." A forced a blush made its way onto your face. Okay maybe it wasn't forced, but you couldn't blame yourself for letting his subtle teasing get to you.

"Oh?" He feigned curiosity, letting the book close with a soft thud. "My presence often does that to people." The cocky undertone in his voice made you fantasize smacking his face a hundred times over.

"Of course," It was a struggle to not speak in a dry tone. "You are truly..." A small cough escaped your lips, and you tried to stumble upon the words, wishing upon barbatos that the flattering would work. "charming."

Kaeya's grin widened, all cat like, and for a brief moment you felt your heart stutter. He swooped in to cage you against the wall. "I didn't know you were so bold dear."

Before he could utter another flirtatious remark, you pushed yourself close to him, distracting him for a mere moment just to strategically slip the book into the safety of your arms. "Thanks but no thanks. I'll return the book myself."

With a swift duck under his arm, you made your way to HQ before a cold hand grabbed your shoulder. You ceased any movement and glanced over your shoulder, a frown made clear.

Kaeya narrowed his eyes at you, clearly not liking how you weren't becoming a bumbling idiot at his flirty behaviour like you usually did. You'd love to—but you just didn't have the time to deal with him, not when the fatui were breathing down your neck.

"I'll go with you." He said slowly, testing you for any reactions. Shit. He's on to you. "I can't let a pretty lady wander all alone. You might get lost."

Like hell you would. You knew everything about the damn base as if it were the back of your hand. Kaeya understood this as well, but instead, he opted to wake up every morning and choose to be a dickwad.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. "Lead the way."

Kaeya seemed satisfied at your reply, and slid his grip down from your shoulder, straight to your free hand. He walked in front of you, pulling you behind him like you were a clumsy toddler.

His gaze wasn't on you, so you took the chance to examine your surroundings, trying to find the presence that was tailing you.

Kaeya being this close to you wasn't looking good for you at all. The walls had eyes and ears, and the only way to apprehend the risk was by doing as they said. Only then would you get your opening.

Paimon...Aether...hold on a bit longer.

With a nod to the guards, Kaeya and you made your way in, stopping right in front of the library. With a puzzled expression on your face, you were about to question his intentions, until he readjusted his grip so that your fingers were intertwined.

You were sure your face was flushed in all kinds of colours by now.

"Shall we enter?" He asked you, mirth clear in his eyes.

The only signal you managed to give him was a quick nod.

The library smelled of dark oak and silk flowers. You briefly remembered Aether giving her the plant from his adventures back in Liyue. The bookshelves were decorated with intricate designs, filled with countless of books that had all earned their rightful place.

And you were about to steal one, summoning chaos into Lisa's beloved library. It would be you who might deliver an archived book straight into the hands of the very people who sought out violence in order to achieve power.

"I'll check it in for you," Kaeya let go of your hand after dragging you all the way to the front desk, only to outstretch it for the text you were gripping too hard.

"Oh yeah," You handed it to him—willingly this time. "thank you. I'll be looking around."

It was understood what you had to do. Easily finding the locked case from which you would slip the book into your clothes only to make a run for it wouldn't cut it.

The captain would make too much noise and track you down himself before you could get the chance to shove the book up the Fatui's ass, get Aether and Paimon their freedom back. Then once you'd ensure their safety, you'd beat the living shit out of the Fatui agents right after. It's not like you'd have a choice.

The whole reason you were in this whole mess was because you decided to help Aether out with his latest commission, which happened to be clearing out a hilichurl camp smack dab in the middle of a road. The camp blocked all imports and exports, proving to be a stick in the butt for the merchants of Monstadt.

You, oh helpful and kind you, assisted him with the task, seeing as you were walking back from a fishing trip.

Turned out that the hilichurl camp was a cover for a bunch of Knights of Favonious hungry Fatui agents who were hellbent on getting the one and only copy of a book Lisa had tucked away in the library.

While you two could've easily ended every single one of those shady bastards, enemy reinforcements came out of nowhere and dug their claws right into Aether.

At least that was the cover story.

Violà, a hostage situation was born.

They promised to let Aether go on one condition. If you obtained a book they had their eyes on for quite some time. But their promise had as much worth as Venti's word did when he told you that the drinks were on him.

They couldn't risk the Knights finding out. You were just another loose string that would be cut off along your two friends.

Locating the book and hiding it in your outfit undetected was as effortless as it could get. What was coming would not be.

"Darling," Kaeya called out to you, but his voice is different. More darker than usual. You didn't summon your spear just yet.

"I've finished up. Let's get going yeah?" His footsteps are light on the wooden planks of the floor, but his words are solid. Frozen even.

You breathed out, but refused to turn around.

"You know," He continued, halting next to your shoulder, leaning his sweet mouth down to your ear. His hot breath fanned against your neck, but you paid no heed. "A liar is no stranger to a liar."

You lunged to the side, spinning on your heel as your back hit the railing in the middle of the library. The captain reacted quickly by swiping the air, but ultimately failed to grab you as you gracefully tipped yourself over, landing right on your feet.

There was now a floor that separated the two of you. Just as you had intended.

The reflexes you showcased earned you a smooth-voiced chuckle, an amused smirk gracing his lips. He leaned against the ledge with both hands, bending down his upper body.

"Oh my. We've got ourselves a thief. You didn't think I wouldn't notice, right?" He contemplated, weapon materializing right then and there, ready to put on a good show. You could read him like a book just as he could you. "Can't believe you're such a naughty girl."

Despite his teasing tone, his eyes remained cold and calculating.

"Don't flatter yourself." You spoke monotonously, brushing a hand in the air. "The date stamp didn't match up right? Tight time frame, couldn't really think about the logistics."

Kaeya narrowed his eye shrewdly, offended. "I can't let you go you know."

"I don't need you to." You quipped, but then placed a finger on your chin. "On second thought I kind of do. How about a friendly transaction? I really don't want to fight you."

"And I do not wish to fight you, darling." Kaeya's face split into a viscous smile, a far less forgiving gaze meeting you halfway. This was your chance to tell him, he was giving you a generous opening to explain yourself.

You bit your lip, feeling the unknown presence yet again. The walls had eyes and ears. The walls had vengeful teeth that would dig into you the minute you'd let it slip.

"I need you to let me go." You clutched the leather of your gloves desperately, your prior confidence flickering. Begging was the only card you had left.

His hardened gaze on your form softened slightly, but disappeared almost instantly.

You didn't have to wait for him to voice his answer. It was as clear as day.

The captain didn't waste any more time when jumping over the ledge.

By the time Kaeya's feet made impact, your pole arm was already aimed and ready to strike.

"Let's dance."

-

After a tactical withdrawal, you found yourself taking tentative steps on the outskirts of Springvale. It wouldn't have been possible if Kaeya didn't let his guard down momentarily.

The cuts on your shoulder still stung, but it was difficult to spare any time towards the throbbing.

Why were you walking so slow? Did your plan not work? No, it should have. You calculated every risk. But why the hell were you prolonging the inevitable end?

It didn't matter. Either way, you'd get to sink your teeth into some unfortunate fatui agents, injecting them with centuries worth of pain.

The opening was nearby, you noted, the pathway familiar. You always were good with maps, oftentimes lending a hand to the certain young outrider with a bright smile and kind heart.

You allowed yourself to calm your erratic heartbeat, and slow your breathing as to get a clearer sense around you. There were two, but before there had been three. The third one revealed himself when you deployed your "return the book" scheme, flipping through the guidebook carefully to see if you left potential breadcrumbs.

Gnawing at your lip, you followed the trail, the world behind you quieting down to a silent whisper.

It seemed like forever when you reached the destination, halting your movements.

Your ears perked up at their footsteps before you could catch a glimpse of them, but made no sudden movements except for dropping the book on the ground as they had instructed.

It was odd that you felt as calm as you did. It could've been because of your confidence in your abilities, or perhaps, something else entirely.

The pyro agent appeared from one of the bushes, right after shoving a bruised and gagged Aether. Paimon came next, in a cage controlled by a fatui cicin mage who wore a wicked smile on her stupid face.

They managed to shut Paimon up real quick. You wondered what it took, but not for too long.

"Hey now," You grinned, but your fingernails were digging crescents in your palm. "I thought we agreed that no one gets hurt?"

"The traveller here is a real handful." The fatui agent hissed from under his mask, harshly yanking Aether by his braid.

Aether, immobile, scowled in discomfort and continued to struggle through his bounds.

You didn't acknowledge the blond nor the agent's words, alternatively choosing to nod your head to the book instead. "Here as promised."

The agent motioned to the Cicin mage, who walked forward in order to obtain the book safely. She handed it back to him, and he briefly flipped through it, seemingly satisfied.

Just like that, Aether was knocked down on his knees next to your feet, Paimon thrown like a sack of potatoes atop him. They were out of the red. Your signal to strike.

"Unfortunately, promises are beneath our pay grade." The agent placed a finger on his chin, as if in thought. "However, you prove to be a valuable asset."

"Oh really?" You piped, eyes crinkling in mock excitement. "I'm really glad a lowly fatui scum thinks so highly of me. It's truly an honour."

Said fatui agent glared knives straight through his mask.

"Kill them." He ordered, and the Cicin mage hummed a sound of delight, summoning her electro-flies or whatever the hell those things were called.

Your polearm took shape in the clutches of your left hand, a twisted grin plastered on your face.

"I'm gonna have so much fun tearing you apart." The bloodlust you emanated was enough to choke the air out of both the mage and agent.

Pouncing on your prey, you didn't give the mage a chance to scream before you landed a roundhouse kick straight to her ribs. She made a guttural choking sound, moving to clutch herself. You ended the move by twisting your weapon into the air to send a shattering hit straight to her temple.

Your blow successfully knocked her out, the kick back proving to be enough to send the pyro agent flying into a nearby tree.

"I really expected something more challenging." A pout formed on your lips, eyebrows furrowed. "Hopefully you can make up for what your mage lacked. If not, I'll be disappointed."

The agent chuckled painfully. "You won't get the chance. You can't take on all of us."

"All of you?" You questioned, tilting your head, eyes widening innocently. "Oh you mean those pesks that were tailing me? So sorry, but they're gone now."

"W-what?!" He sputtered, quick on his feet as he pulled out his knife, charging it with elemental energy. "How could you have—"

"How unfair," A low tone whistled, and Kaeya finally made an appearance, smiles and everything. "Don't give her all the credit. You're making me feel left out."

The pyro agent scattered around his flames, preparing to shake up the battle—

You lost your patience and picked up a decent sized rock, aimed for his nose, and sent a plunging attack.

The agent lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

"Oh come on!" Kaeya's dejected groan rang in your ears. "Could've let me have a turn."

"You already had your turn." You sent a pointed stare at him, bending down near the mage to wipe the blood of your pole arm with her clothes. "Two times if I recall."

He rolled his eyes playfully, forgetting the banter to go and free the traveller of his bounds.

—

"Let's me get this straight." Jean said with fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "You two roughed up some fatui agents without informing the knights, and put the traveller at risk." There's this look of disappointment in her face, but you're used to it by now.

Hanging around Kaeya sure had its ups and downs.

"Precisely. The folder on your desk has all the details. Enough proof to have them in our custody.” The cavalry captain nodded along, and it somehow made you feel like you were a kid being scolded after getting caught stealing cookies from the jar.

"It was an operation that the traveller agreed to," You declared so her brewing anger didn't overflow. "The perfect plan to catch them in the act. It was my idea. The captain didn’t really know until later.”

"Although I’m quite hurt you didn’t fill me in any sooner, I must say, watching those ignorant fatui diplomats scramble to try and find an explanation is going to be worth the wait.” He spoke with a hint of a smile.

The both of you fist bumped. Jean wasn't amused.

The acting grand master produced a stern glare. "Y/N, assist Lisa with anything she needs for the rest of the week. And the Cavalry Captain here won't be going out on patrols any time soon."

That was a clear lie, but Jean had to keep up appearances after all. What kind of acting grand master would she be if she didn't at least pretend to have some sort of authority over her two trouble-making subordinates.

With a dramatic sigh, you spun on your heel to leave.

“Hey Y/N,” Jean called out, and you tilted your head, wanting to know if she changed her mind and decided to make your punishment worse. “Good work today. That will be all.” She avoided eye contact, feigning deeper interest in the pileup on her desk.

After the "briefing”, as Kaeya liked to call it, you found yourself outside of HQ with him right on your tail.

"Not too shabby for a day's work." He winked, smoothing out his words. "I must say, I'm quite impressed with how this went. Didn't expect you to put so much faith in me.”

"How did you get my signal anyways?" You snorted. "The entire scheme was off the bat. I had to wink at the traveller like five times to get him to showcase a crappy fight stance and become my fake hostage. Dense little guy.”

There was a momentary pause before Kaeya enlightened you with an answer.

"You hate reading, and you're irresponsible." He pointed out cheekily, poking at your nose. You scrunched your nose and turned away, cheeks warming. "The abyss would freeze over before you ever read a book, let alone steal one. That’s several red flags for me.”

He kept going, finding the topic of this to be quite interesting. “Not to mention returning the “Code of Conduct” handbook.” The relentless teasing was one of the reasons why you dreaded work,

"Gee thanks." You remarked unceremoniously. “I didn’t need your help at all. You just love sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

"Aww don't be so low spirited." He suspended your movements by curling an arm around your waist. "Let me treat you for a job well done darling." His hot breath fanned your ear, lips teasingly close.

Dammit dammit...why does he have to be so close!

"That's unfair." Paimon screeched from thin air, scaring the living daylights out of you. "After all the traveller and I have been through, don't we deserve a treat as well?!"

Kaeya laughed apologetically, cold hand never leaving your hips. "Of course. The honorary knight has been quite the help. Now let’s get moving, we're not frozen in place, after—"

A smack on the arm shut him up real quick.

[astaralys]

A Frozen modern AU oneshot

Oneshot collection can be read on: FFN | AO3

[Backstory chapter, direct continuation of oneshot #3, Searching] In which Anna officially moves in with Elsa.

-----

Anna sifts through the stranger and collects details like flecks of gold buried in the sands of time.

When she follows her sister through the airport and realises she still has to look up even though Elsa is only wearing flats: Wow, she's taller than me.

When Elsa tries to help her with the luggage and nearly drops it on her own foot: … But not exactly stronger. Got it.

When they get into a small white car: Oh, she does drive.

When Elsa struggles so badly to merge lanes she misses their exit on the freeway: Oh my God. She can't drive.

Anna tries so hard not to grip the door handle for security that she can't remember what she spends the ride rambling about. Her sister is mostly silent, all hums, terse nods and white-knuckled hands on the steering wheel. Anna tells herself it's because all of Elsa's focus is going into keeping them on the road, and not because Elsa, like, hates her or anything. That's absurd.

Right?

When they reach the city, Elsa's driving suddenly improves; Anna suspects it's because there's so much traffic they're barely moving. Sitting at a red light (Elsa slammed on the brakes when it turned yellow), Anna is so captivated by the bustle beyond her window that she nearly misses her sister tentatively asking, "Do you have your license yet?"

Anna snaps her head around too keenly, and winces when she sees Elsa flinch. Is she scared of me? "Sorry? Oh—my license? Ah, no, I kinda, um, failed the test. Twice. But I know how to drive!"

Elsa blinks, and Anna panics—crap, she thinks I'm a total dunce for failing twice—but then the lights go green. Almost immediately, the car behind them honks impatiently and startles them both.

Seeing her sister's shoulders tense up again ignites something inside Anna. She twists in her seat, stares straight through the rear window, and glares at the other driver. She can't tell if they can see her, but she likes to think it was the heat of her wrath that sent them scurrying into the nearest side street.

"What a stinker," Anna huffs as she turns back around. Then she remembers that it's not Kai in the seat beside her, and flushes as she glances towards Elsa. "Am I embarrassing? I'm embarrassing, aren't I? Hans always says so—i-in a nice way, of course. Like, you know, 'you adorable dork' or—"

"You're not embarrassing," Elsa says quietly. There's a pause as she carefully navigates an intersection. Then, "Hans is a friend?"

Oh, Anna realises. I'm not the only one playing detective.

"He's, um, a little more than that."

Elsa's surprise manifests as an especially jerky stop at a pedestrian crossing. "You're dating someone?"

The urge to defend him rises from nowhere. "You'll like Hans! He's a perfect gentleman with the sweetest sense of justice. He just graduated from law school. And he likes chocolate and sandwiches, just like me."

He didn't like you moving across the country, a niggling voice reminds her. Anna purses her lips and pushes the thought to the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry. That question came out strange." Elsa glances at Anna, adding softly, "Sometimes I forget that you're not five years old anymore."

"Well, we're lucky you remembered today, or you never would have found me in the airport. Waaait a minute… why didn't we just go to the information desk and tell them to make an announcement?"

To her surprise, Elsa laughs. "Haven't you had enough of that for a lifetime? You used to get lost every time we went shopping with Mom and Dad."

The memories come flooding in like a storm carving up a forgotten river. "Hey, you got lost all the time, too!"

"You got us both lost all the time."

The warm glow fills Anna's chest and remains there as Elsa turns into a long driveway leading down into the basement of one of the tallest apartments. Elsa takes a full five minutes to park, and then they're zipping up in the elevator.

Following Elsa down the plushly carpeted hallway, Anna discreetly pinches herself. Ow. It's actually happening. It doesn't matter that Hans planted that horrible question in her head ("You haven't lived with your sister in over thirteen years, Anna. How do you know she even loves you anymore?")—she's here. Elsa's here. They'll be coming home together from now on.

Then they reach the door at the very end of the hallway, fitted with one of those fancy keyless locks, and as Elsa reaches for it, she seems to remember something and says rather awkwardly, "It's your birthday."

She forgot.

It shouldn't be so surprising—Elsa hasn't been there for thirteen years of birthdays. Their parents would always give Anna 'a present from Elsa', but Anna knows how hard it is to pick out something for a sister she sees once a year at Christmas ("She likes books," Grandpa replied every time Anna called for research). And Elsa's presents are always a little too perfect, as if she still sleeps on the top bunk and can't escape twelve-year-old Anna gushing about skateboards. And after Anna noticed that, it became harder to ignore the voice that kept wondering if those presents were really from Elsa—a voice that is now smugly saying: I told you so.

"Y-Yeah! It was actually two months ago but time sure does fly. It was a super fun day—Hans and I went to an amusement park. I spent, like, two hours at the bottle toss trying to win this cute Baymax plushie. I've got it in my suitcase; I'll show you later. It's the best cuddle buddy ever."

This gets her an odd look from Elsa, but a beep from the lock distracts them both. Elsa opens the door. She steps back, gesturing shyly for Anna to enter first.

"There had better not be a trapdoor in there," Anna jokes. She doesn't know why she's nervous about this moment. It's a door. It's open.

She steps through.

Her first thought is that everything is minimalistic and very white. An open kitchen with an oak splashback against pale tiles. Cream carpet visible through a glass coffee table sitting in front of a light grey leather couch that looks more like a recliner for one than a place to watch Netflix with friends or sisters.

Even the bookshelves standing sentry on either side of the wall-mounted television contain neat rows of books with the stark pages facing outward. Anna opens her mouth to make a quip about finding any books—but then her curious gaze falls on the small dining table with its single placemat and chair.

Why does this detail hurt so much?

"This place is amazing! I bet myself ten bucks that you had great taste." Even Anna can tell she sounds too loud, too bright. "Remind me to treat myself. I'm craving chocolate fondue right now. Actually, scratch that. I'm always craving chocolate fondue. Any good places around here? Please say yes."

She hopes Elsa still likes chocolate and building snowmen.

Elsa hovers by the shoe cabinet, her left hand loosely gripping her right elbow. "Yes. I'll take you someday. Would you like to see your room?"

Anna catches herself on the verge of saying something stupid like 'Of course! It's the whole reason I'm here.'

"That's the bathroom." Elsa points to a door at the end of a short corridor, then gestures to two other doors on either side. "My room. Your room. I was only using it as a study, so it's very empty after I moved the desk to my room. We can—"

"Relax, sis! I'm so easy. All I need is a—" Anna throws open the door. "—bed."

It's literally the only piece of furniture in the room.

"Woooow. You really weren't kidding about empty, huh?"

Behind her, Elsa sounds apologetic. "I wasn't sure how you wanted to set it up, so I only got a bed. If the mattress is too hard or too soft for you, we can exchange it tomorrow. Or if you don't like the view, you can take my room instead. It really doesn't—"

"I love it." Anna spins around with a grin. "This means we get to go shopping together! But let's get IKEA to deliver to us, yeah? Your Mini Cooper can only fit, like, two-thirds of a flatpack. Ooh, I've seen apps that let you drag furniture onto photos to see how the room looks with—" She's interrupted by a shockingly huge yawn. "Goodness, 'scuse me. Where was I? Right—apps… Elsa? Where are you going?"

Her sister returns with the suitcase. "You just got off a plane; change into something comfortable and get some rest. Dessert and furniture can wait until tomorrow."

"But I'm not—" Another yawn swallows up the rest of Anna's sentence. "—sleepy… Okay, fine. But promise you'll wake me up for dinner, or my rumbling tummy will wake you in the middle of the night."

Elsa promises, and then the door closes with the softest of clicks.

Anna listens, but there's carpet and her sister moves so quietly that it feels like she's back in the big house. Alone. Except she's not.

She checks her phone. Nothing from Hans. She sends him a quick message to say she's arrived at Elsa's place, then looks around at her new room, and decides not to add a photo.

Her suitcase springs open as soon as she unlocks it, spilling her life across the floor. Gerda helped her pack, but none of her neat folding survives the trial of Anna digging for something to sleep in. Anna changes into pyjama bottoms and one of Hans' shirts.

Then her gaze catches on a grey, threadbare sweater.

There's a cartoon graphic of a single slice of pizza. The rest of the pizza is on her father's sweater; a matching Father's Day gift that immediately became a game of chicken. If one of them wore their sweater in the house, the other had to wear theirs, no matter how sweltering the day. It drove her mother crazy. "Can you two please stop wearing those long enough for me to wash them?" she used to sigh.

Now, pulling the sweater over her head, Anna realises in the darkness that it's the little details. It's the fact that their sweater streak was still unbroken when she answered the door to find two police officers solemnly waiting. It's electricity and phone bills that continue to pay themselves, because direct debits don't care that Anna's parents are gone. It's not being able to send videos of Elsa's horrible driving to the group chat because no one else will see them.

A knock on the door startles her. She whirls around with her head still stuck in the sweater and—oh no, bad idea.

"Anna? I forgot to give you… are you okay? I heard a loud noise."

Lying winded on her back, Anna wheezes, "Nothing! My shirt just fell."

"That was very loud for a shirt."

"Yeah, um, that's because I was kind of in it."

The door opens as she sits up. "Did you break anything?" Elsa asks as she helps Anna get her head through the sweater.

"God, I hope not. Keep all your favourite mugs away from me. Actually, keep all your expensive stuff away because I'm ridiculously uncoordinated. As you can see."

"I meant bones, Anna. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh." Anna lets out a laugh, rubbing an elbow. "Totally fine. Super thick skull. What did you forget?"

Elsa gestures towards the bed, where she's placed a stack of bath towels. "To give you towels in case you want to take a shower first."

"Thanks. Wow. That's… a lot of colours."

"I wasn't sure which ones you liked."

Anna blinks at her sister. Who might have given her a spare room with nothing but a bed, yet bought towels in literally every colour of the rainbow, just for Anna.

"Oh, and this." Elsa holds out a silver key. "In case the keyless lock fails for any reason. There's a panel you can slide down to open the door normally with this key."

The key feels both light and heavy in Anna's hands. She flashes Elsa a grateful grin. "I'm going to use this every day because that pin code looked so long, I'd forget it every day."

"I don't think you will."

"Hah. You don't know how bad my memory is." And Elsa really doesn't know, does she? There are so many things they don't know about each other.

But then Elsa cocks her head to one side and says, "You can't forget it. I told you: it's your birthday. Month, date, year."

When Anna stares speechlessly for too long, Elsa hurriedly adds, "When I moved in, I was told not to use my own birthday because it's too obvious, so the first thing I thought of was yours—b-but we can change it to your phone number if that's easier for you. Or maybe… Anna? Are you okay?"

The details Anna has collected scatter as she throws her arms around Elsa for the second time that day. Except this time, it doesn't feel like she's hugging a stranger.

When Elsa awkwardly rubs her back, Anna wipes her eyes on her favourite sweater and thinks: That's my sister.

[five-miles-over]

‘Aftermath’ Part 7: Wait for It

Summary: Disdain of the emperor is now rising again in the streets of Rome. Meanwhile, Commodus’s first day of the games brings back triggering memories and dark thoughts.

Warning: Violence, angst

Word Count: 2,631

Read Part 1: The Impossible Dream here

Read Part 2: Proud of Your Boy here

Read Part 3: Point of No Return here

Read Part 4: Look Down here

Read Part 5: Beneath a Moonless Sky here

Read Part 6: These Palace Walls here

“That’s the problem with young men like you. No restraint upon your tongues…or on your swords for that matter.”

Senator Julius smirked at his colleague Senator Gaius’s remark. Gaius had never been one to appreciate a jest with a vulgar double-meaning, but still did it to seem like a man in public.

General Petronius shook his head. “He’s going to do it - he’s made plans to announce it at the games and no one seems to be doing anything about it.”

“The Senate has done much to gain the support of the people. Especially after the death of Senator and late Consul Gracchus, may he rest in peace.” Gaius lectured, “We hammered the letter addressed to the Caesar in the public square. With our collective pleas, we begged him to show us mercy and bestow kindness upon the Senate of Rome.”

“Keep making your jests, Senators,” Petronius answered, disgusted with the two elder men. “The people do not understand the value of elocution as well as we do. All they know is…fear and wonder. Wasn’t it your friend Gracchus who said that the heart of Rome lies not in the marble of the Senate, but in the heart of the Colosseum? That is what his Highness takes advantage of. It is how he whisks the common man from under our noses.”

“And the army, too,” Julius chuckled. “What have you to complain about, General? Does Caesar not pay you handsomely enough?” The general was beyond offended by this.

“He pays me well, but in not the way I would desire” He spat, not caring in that moment about the repercussions of his tone. “I am complaining because I do not wish to tarnish the legacy that the great Caesar Marcus Aurelius has brought to Rome.”

“And the General who became a slave…who rose from his ashes into a gladiator who could defy an emperor, Maximus Decimus Meridus,” Petronius added with a theatric flair. “The two of them gave their lives for Rome, and now that very Rome is to pay for the life of this man sitting on the throne now!”

“And I suppose you wish to follow in his footsteps,” Gaius sneered. “Or do you wish to survive? Last I recall, you have an unwed sister and two small children at home. I shudder to think what may happen if their breadwinner goes gallivanting behind a metaphysical quest for a Republic.”

Petronius continued to assert himself. “If not us, who will? Our venerated Lady Lucilla was once there to stop him from carrying out such a dastardly action. And now…the duties fall upon us to bring back the Rome that once was.”

Senator Gaius clicked his tongue. “With your way of words, you could have been extremely political. What a pity you had to follow in your father’s footsteps.”

“I prefer to fight my battles in a straightforward manner. A general talks with his weapons more than with his tongue, Senators.”

“Yes, but anyone can be killed with weapons,” Julius retorted. “Only a fool can be killed by his own tongue.”

“I should say so, coming from a man who may soon find himself out of a livelihood very soon and is still making jokes like a street jester.”

Just as the angry young general was about to leave, Gaius grabbed Petronius’s arm. “It does not bode well for a man like you to behave like this in public,” he whispered hotly. “For our own safety, we must remain quiet until we have the power to act. You must trust Fate for the time being, General”

The young man hissed, “I have no faith in the same fate that brought such an emperor back to life from the realm of Tartarus.”

“Meet us tonight in the Forum, and I will guide you to my house. There, we shall set our next move.”

—————————————————————————————————————

The golden sun gleamed upon the city of Rome. In the early hours of morning, it was truly a heavenly sight to behold - it was as if the entire city was bathed in an ethereal light, with the warm glow emanating from every marble structure.

A divine Father…that is what the sun truly is, Emperor Commodus mused to himself, standing from his balcony. For the first day of the reinstated games, he wore a brand new set of dark grey and black armor coupled with golden ornamentation.

It shows light equally upon the buildings as well as upon the grass and the flowers. Regardless of the obstacles it faces, the Sun continues to illuminate the world and shower light, just like a father showering unconditional love upon his children.

And so I shall be like the Sun - brilliant, courageous, and devoted to his children. I shall rise every morning and shower love upon all of my people as the Sun bestows light.

“Uncle?” Lucius called meekly. “Yes, Lucius?”

“Is all of this violence necessary in the name of entertainment?” Commodus was taken aback by the boy’s query. “Lucius, it does not serve you well to question such a tradition. Ever since the reign of Emperor Augustus, gladiatorial games have been held to entertain the masses. They will make you courageous in the face of battle.”

Lowering his tone to a whisper, the emperor knelt down to the boy’s level. “Many Caesars, including those from our ancestor Emperor Claudius have used the games as a way of keeping the people of Rome happy. And these games…these games are being held to honor the legacy of your grandfather. He was a great emperor whom I swore to honor when he named me his successor.”

“I see, Uncle.” Lucius replied, not wishing to ask more about the late Caesar. His mother had told him many things before she was sent away from Rome, including the conspiracy that his uncle, of all people, killed his grandfather through suffocation. Lucius was intelligent enough not to directly ask the emperor about this, but it lingered in the back of his mind. His uncle could kill for the throne, granted his last battle nearly cost the emperor his life, but it would be logical to suspect the emperor was capable of committing another such heinous act.

“Now, finish your breakfast,” Commodus instructed, smoothing the boy’s dusky, golden hair. “Our chariot will take us to the Colosseum at noon, and I expect that you will be prompt.”

Lucius nodded, and Commodus watched as his nephew ran off. He loved the boy dearly, but there was something…strange about the dear prince. Whenever Commodus wanted to approach him, he always flinched like a sparrow being approached by a hawk. In the place of love, there was fear in Lucius’s eyes. It reminded Commodus too much of his own sister. The more he ruminated about it, he could even see Lucilla’s face in Lucius.

He loved the boy dearly, but…the betrayal by his own sister was unforgettable, to say the least. It stung him more than the most sharpest of daggers. Even before his duel with Maximus, he’d already felt as if he’d lost his greatest weapon. In a blind fit of rage, he threatened the life of the very boy whom he hoped to shower with paternal affection. Commodus never failed to regret bringing his nephew into the stakes of politics. Though it was Lucilla who’d committed the mistake of revealing confidential information to Lucius, Commodus took it upon himself to blame for putting Lucius’s life in danger. From the moment he first stood up from his bed, barely recovered from his injuries, Commodus swore to protect his dear nephew - even at the cost of his own life.

And, the emperor promised himself that he would do the same, should the gods bless him with sons and daughters of his own.

———————————————————————————————————-

“Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!”

With the majestic stride of a lion, Emperor Commodus felt as powerful as the feline king of the jungle when he entered the Colosseum and waved to the citizens. His triumph over Maximus had appeared to have reaped its fruit. The crowd loved him, and even embraced him. He watched as his servants threw loaves of bread into the crowd. Perhaps it was not him who was fighting in the arena this time, but Commodus felt the victory he never had a chance to feel on that fateful day.  

The announcer, wearing a blonde wig, ascended the steps to the podium. He declared, “On the first day of the reinstated games, his Highness is pleased to present yet another piece of history. Honoring the great triumphs of the Commander Publius Cornelius Dolabella during the Roman-Gallic wars, the Battle of Lake Vadimo will be re-enacted before you today. But before the emperor can let the battle commence, there is a special announcement he would be delighted to deliver.”

“Thank you, Cassius,” Commodus politely acknowledged the announcer. “People of Rome, it brings me immense pleasure to be in the presence of you all. As your emperor, I consider it my foremost duty above all else to make sure that my citizens are satisfied with my reign.

In the name of satisfying my subjects, it is my executive decision to formally announce the dissolution of the Roman Senate. From tomorrow, the citizens will be encouraged to take their grievances to my palace directly. My doors shall remain open for each and every citizen, and I shall give each and every concern of theirs due attention.

’Tis time for Rome to enter a New Age. One in which power is out of the hands of dry, old men who inadequately represent the people whom they are supposed to give a voice to, and an age in which an empire is ruled by an emperor. I thank you all for your love and support, and it is my ardent wish that you enjoy the games today.”

For a moment, it was as if the gods made time stop for Commodus’s words to echo through the Colosseum. Silence prevailed through the arena before scattered applause morphed into furious claps, mainly from the commoners. Despite the acclamation from the plebeians, it was the artificial smiles of the Senators that instantly attracted the attention of Emperor Commodus. It baffled him how not a single one of them protested their dissolution. And then it came to him - they were already plotting against him. He had been too transparent with his disdain for them, and now they were already planning to take revenge.

This was not his first time fighting this particular battle. When Commodus told the Senate he was using the grain reserves to pay for those very games, they reacted with silence. They reacted with deadly, lethal silence that only paved the way for a grand scheme to depose him. Granted it failed ultimately, but it still cost him everything he knew and cherished.

Not wishing to repeat his mistake, the emperor forced himself to maintain his jovial manner and suppress his resurfacing paranoia. Casting an affectionate glance towards Lucius and the empty throne that used to seat Lucilla, Commodus gestured for the games to begin.

The bloodshed, as always, managed to take Commodus’s mind off of the political trauma he’d endured for too long. Bloodied chariots, fallen hounds, and even spears to the chest elicited laughter and childlike glee from the emperor. Many of the intellectuals would scorn an emperor who took so much pleasure in the games, citing his father’s stoic ideals, but in Commodus’s mind it was his way of honoring the traditions of Rome. Moreover, it was a rare feeling of multifaceted control that Commodus never seemed to feel often. Seated above all in the Imperial Box with the ability to grant life or death with the mere movement of his thumb, it was a powerful sensation indeed.

And to add to his good mood, there were no rude surprises today. Just as history had written, the Romans won the Battle of Lake Vadimo, while the Gallics were brutally defeated.

——————————————————————————————————————-

The moment the large doors closed behind the emperor, the laurel crown announced its place on the floor with a loud clang.  

“Wine,” the emperor ordered, immediately being delivered an urn of dark scarlet liquid and a goblet. Commodus poured himself a drink and gulped it down. Closing his eyes, he let out a painful sigh from both the gravity of the day’s events and the alcohol taking its toll. It was for Rome, he told himself. I needed to save Rome from the politicians.

“Commodus, the Senate has its uses.”

Could he be hallucinating again? “L-Lucilla?” He stammered, looking up to her with wide, naive eyes.

“Brother,” Lucilla narrowed her eyes. “We both know father would not have wanted this for Rome.”

“Father is dead, Lucilla,” Commodus dismissed, pouring another serving of wine.

“Come now, Commodus. We both know you feel otherwise.”

“Why should it bother you what I feel? You and Father were the experts at putting up facades, pretending to care for me. I was the one so foolish as to believe your love for me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Commodus. There’s always been a Senate.”

“Rome has changed since the days of the Republic, dear sister. An empire needs an emperor, nothing less.”

Lucilla’s nostrils flared at his impudence. “Even Death has been unable to teach you a lesson. All your life, you’ve been stubborn, clinging to those dreams you fabricated as a boy. You turned every one of your friends and allies against you because you refused to accept things.”

Enraged with her, he threw his goblet onto the floor, staining the marble with red droplets. His upper lip quivered while his eyelids struggled to hold back hot tears. “YOU LEFT ME! You left me when I needed you the most and I paid for it with my life!”

“No one left you, Commodus,” she harshly reprimanded him. You sent them away to satisfy your insatiable ego. Soon you’ll be left with no one but your own mind for company. It will do you good to remember me then.”

Growling like a wounded animal, he furiously lunged towards her only to fall from his chair. When his eyes rose from the floor, she disappeared. It was only his mind playing tricks; Lucilla was truly gone.

A young, startled slave rushed in, holding a tray of food. “Sire, is there something you need?”

“No, go away,” the emperor dismissed him, trying to stand up. He had given in to a hallucination, and now he was caught in a rather compromising position by a servant.

“Are you sure, Highness? I heard- “ the servant rambled, only to be cut off suddenly.

“Actually…I’d like you to fight me.” Commodus demanded the slave.

“I-I-I don’t have a weapon, Your Highness.”

“There’s a knife on your platter, near the cheese. Use it.”

“Sire, it is no-”

“That was not a request, slave. Pick up your knife and fight me.”

Obedient to his master, the slave put down his platter and grasped the kitchen knife tightly. Commodus held a naked sword and led the slave into the hall, launching the first attack. For a servant, he was surprisingly good at stalling the emperor, blocking and dodging many of Commodus’s blows. Alas, it was only a matter of fatigue and timing before the servant was unable to maintain his momentum. The emperor backed the servant into a wall, swiftly letting his blade enter the servant’s stomach again…and again…and again.

Tiny droplets of blood from the crumpled corpse blemishing his face, Commodus looked around slowly as he sheathed his dirtied sword. The halls were empty, except for a pair of emotionless blue eyes that had seen too much.

[theroninknight]

Cyberpunk 2077 criticism

I’m not a reviewer. Just a guy that has played video games the better part of 25+ years. Expectations are a strong factor in how well a game will be received. CDPR had built up a strong reputation with well made games in the pass and Cyberpunk WAS supposed to be an easy homerun for them.

  Bugs, glitches, crashes placed aside, the game just feels half done. It was promised as a deep RPG set in an open world and what we got was an action game with RPG elements. Many of the promises made were left on the cutting room floor. Lifepaths don’t matter beyond the intro and a select few dialogue choices. I played a Streetkid and honestly the game felt like it was designed with V being a streetkid from jump. I’ve heard that folks playing Nomad or Corpo were severely disappointed with the opening and I don’t blame them. Originally, I wanted to have a separate playthrough with each lifepath to better experience the game but with what little choices streetkid offered, I don’t see any point to it.

The world, while fascinating at first, is only knee deep. Giant ads ala Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner play on repeat and if you actually sit there for more than 20 mins, you’ll realize you’ve seen them all. Quest givers and story NPCs aside, the everyday npc of NightCity feels like a shell designed to give the illusion of a sprawling city. On the surface it works so long as you don’t look too close at their behavior. In fact, I could say that about so much of the game and how it feels. Sex is overexaggerated, and that’s coming from a guy who has modded his Skyrim to be a succubus play den. Everywhere you go, there is an ad with some form of sexual innuendo or just plain dicks. It’s a prominent enough for you to notice but stays just long enough as to not overstay its welcome. There was one time I was doing an investigation mission Corpo woman whose penthouse had been broken in.  mood all serious, I’m doing my best Private eye work and then I hear this moaning coming from the walls. I rush over, thinking I found a clue and it was the ad for the Orgasmic drink playing from the TV. It’s a bit of cyberpunk flavor that I’m not sure needed to be in the game at least to this extent.

The gameplay is your typical open world go here and kill or fetch this affair with a sprinkle of real gems in some side missions. This is where the game shines the most in that its not always so cut and dry. One minute you think you’re on a standard assassination mission and the next your going on a joy ride with a reborn Christian looking to change the world. The quests and the world are the saving grace of this game and I can’t think of anything specific about this game I would have to point out.

The story is…unique. There’s a lot to like about it but two things didn’t sit with me well after completing the game. The beginning has you meet with a merc named Jackie and you two become best friends almost instantly. From there, the game does a time skip montage showing all the fun you have with your new bestie until something like a year pass. WHY? The game could have easily took its time to have Jackie show us around the city, get familiar with the place and build a real relationship with the guy. Instead we’re treated to this montage like we were given a relationship skip option and didn’t remember accepting it. It makes your relationship feel forced and rushed and that’s never good.

Keanu Reeves is in the game.

Speaking of Johnny Silverhand. One of the “best” endings in the game is tied to dialogue options you have with Johnny without really knowing about it. This may sound nitpicky but any game that asks you to play for 60+ hours but ties you to dialogue choices without a better understanding of the consequences. True some endings are more organic but as far as I’m concerned, there should never be an ending that requires knowledge prior to starting the game.

Then theres the Roleplay aspect. From a character building standpoint, it leaves a lot to be desired. This game was based on a table top game of the same name and you would think they would give it the same treatment when it came to creating your character or toon as some serious RPers call em. Nope. As I mention before, lifepaths are a shell of a good idea and the perk/skill tree system is a mess. There are two prominent schools of roleplaying, play-as-you-go-jack-of-all-trades and dedicated class builds ala tank, dps, healer, etc. Cyberpunk forgoes the class build system in favor of the more common jack of all trades but with a twist. While you’re not locked into a particular build initially, as you level up, your given two points. One for attributes and another for skills. Your skill tree unlocks as your attributes go up. Once you have an understanding of what playstyle you like, raise your attributes to the required levels and unlock your skills. If you make a mistake, you can go to a ripperdoc and respect your skill points for the hefty price of 100k. At first that may not seem like a bad trade until you realize that your still limited to your attribute point selections from previously. It’s a small oversight and one that can be patched down the line or corrected with mods on the pc but it’s an oversight nonetheless. I’ve played for over a hundred hours and the idea that I have to start a character from scratch for any reason other than to replay the story is atrocious.

All in all, the game is a huge let down for anyone that was expecting to actually roleplay their character beyond surface level shooter. There are a lot of nice components that make the game enjoyable for the most part but it also fails to deliver on what was promised. For me, that’s a bigger deal breaker than bugs and crashes.  Despite how pretty the game can be when it works, its still only a part of the experience as a whole.

There is way more I could complain about but this is already lengthy as it stands.

For fans of Cyberpunk genre I can give this an 8/10. There isn’t anything like it at the time of writing this and hopefully it won’t be the last.

For none fans, I can see this closer to a 6/10. It’s a half decent GTA clone with more steps but a clone none the less. Replay GTA V if you crave a open world city.

[tinygamertris]

Cat’s Top and Bottom 5 Video Games of 2020

As with last year, I count only games that I played for the first time this year, regardless of the year they were released. All opinions are personal and all flames will be met with a hearty ‘fuck you’ and used to roast marshmallows.

5th Best: Outer Worlds

Goddamn this was a beautiful game. Bright and colourful, filled with character, dripping with sarcasm and incredibly insightful satire, Parvarti... There was almost nothing about this game that I didn’t love. It’s what Fallout could be again if only Bethesda had the balls, pretty much the diametric opposite of the bland yearly release FPSes like CoD, and every inch of it screams of a dev team filled with passion and creativity. The only reason it’s not higher on the list is because it was locked to first person when I played it and first person inevitably makes me sick sooner or later. 

5th Worst: Seer’s Isle

This game isn’t bad as such. It’s very pretty and intensely mystical, with a plot that could have been remarkable. It’s what it promises but doesn’t deliver that killed it for me. I was promised a game with interactivity, where every choice I made impacted the ending, where my actions would determine who lives or dies. NOPE. What I got was a game that only holds up for one playthrough, because the moment you try to make good on the supposed varying plot you discover that it’s going to be the same thing over and over again with only two endings. At least it’s short.

4th Best: Ghost of Tsushima

Another ridiculously pretty game! It’s typical that in a year when the new consoles were released (oh what a clusterfuck that was) that the most graphically impressive game was on the PS4. The gameplay loop is a delight, allowing you to customise your approach to many situations, and the ability to challenge enemies to a duel to start a fight is buttery smooth and viscerally enjoyable. It’s only let down by the predictability of the main plot, to the point where I only did story quests when I ran out of other things to do and wanted to open a new area. Absolutely worth your time and money regardless, it’s a game that will make you feel like a badass samurai from the comfort of your own room.

4th Worst: South Park - The Fractured But Whole

This is a game where its strength is also its weakness: It’s like playing an episode of South Park. Much like the show, when it’s good it’s absolutely on FIRE, and when it’s bad it’s the most profoundly uncomfortable cringe I’ve ever experienced. In the end, all this game did was remind me why I stopped watching the series years ago.

3rd Best: Monster Keeper

A very recent Switch release, Monster Keeper earned it’s place with its simple but lovely graphics, its delightful Metroidvania gameplay, and the almost Pokemon-like pleasure of fielding a team of badass monsters to kick the asses of other badass monsters. When I’m not playing 1 or 2 on this list, I’m playing this game. 

3rd Worst: The Last of Us 2

In almost any other year this would absolutely top my worst of list. This game takes everything that I thought was worthwhile about the first game (Joel and Ellie’s relationship, complicated morality, and fuck all else) and shoves it down the toilet and takes a great steaming dump on it. The fact that this game swept the game awards in a year with Ghost of Tsushima, Hades and the Final Fantasy VII Remake is disgusting and final proof that the awards are as corrupt as the industry they celebrate.

2nd Best: Elder Scrolls Online

I’ve never been much of an MMO player. I find the presence of other humans in my games to normally be a nightmare. But this long drawn out dumpster fire of a year got me watching a LOT of videos on YouTube, and when my favourite channels did a few challenges in the new Greymoor chapter, I decided to give it a go as a birthday present to myself. And good lord did it pay off! Elder Scrolls Online is bloody huge, bloody beautiful, allows you to choose the level of interaction you have with other people, and has some of the best NPCs I’ve ever met in any video game. Not to mention the wonderful friends I’ve made both inside and outside the game, who have made this year of lockdowns and crises worth living through. Love you guys.

2nd Worst: Deadly Premonition 2 - A Blessing In Disguise

Holy transphobia, Batman! Swery really made an idiot of himself with this game and his reaction to the backlash, and yet again in any other year it would absolutely top the list. Sadly, it’s 2020, and it gets worse.

Honorable Mentions: Best

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (For having the wonderful combination of Dragon Quest’s ridiculous sense of humour and Minecraft’s dedication to building cool shit), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (for being the pure and gentle escape that I needed during the first few weeks of total isolation), Portal Knights (Another game with Minecraft’s addictive building mechanics and delightfully ridiculous characters), Final Fantasy VII Remake (honestly it earns this through the Honeybee Inn scene alone).

Honorable Mentions: Worst

Astral Chain (apparently it gets good a couple of hours in but I can’t fucking get that far so screw it), Death Stranding (what did I even?), Sin Eaters (utterly incomprehensible to the point I couldn’t figure out how to get out of the first room).

Best Game of 2020: Hades

How could any other game top this list? Hades is truly the best game Supergiant has created yet, and considering how incredibly good their games are as a rule, that’s saying a LOT. The art is just *chef’s kiss* perfect, the characters are all filled with personality and voice acted with incredible talent and dedication, the gameplay is a delightfully chaotic rampage through the various levels of the Greek Underworld, Zagreus is possibly my favourite protagonist of all time, and every single aspect of this game is sheer delighful perfection. Thank you, Supergiant Games, for a truly transcendent gaming experience that will stay with me for years to come.

Worst Game of 2020: Cyberpunk 2077

This game should have had it all. It was made by darling publisher CD Projekt Red, it starred Keanu ‘Most Perfect Human Being’ Reeves, it had years and years of hard work behind it... And it somehow managed to be an absolute shit-show the likes of which I’ve never seen before in a lifetime of gaming. From the lighting that gave people migranes and actual seizures (thanks a lot you assholes it took me three days to recover from that migrane), to the disgusting crunch forced upon the dev team by shitty management, to the plague of bugs, to the returns controversy, to the patches not arriving until some time in January... Not even Fallout 76 failed this hard. This proves once and for all that when Jim Sterling speaks, the industry needs to FUCKING LISTEN.

[hamiltalian-creates]

Brothers Will Be Brothers 3

Summary: Remus wants to spend more time with his little brother. What better way to do so was there than a completely platonic, not-a-date outing?

Pairings: Mentioned Prinxiety, Mentioned Queerplatonic Dukeceit, Creativitwins

Words: 2,639

Warnings: None

"You know what I've realized?" Remus began as he dropped himself on the couch beside his brother. 

"That you don't live here and have better things to do than bother me?" Remus's visits to their moms' house were frequent, but Roman was the only one complaining. 

"I have nothing better to do than to bother my baby brother!" Remus argued, pinching said brother's cheeks. 

Roman swatted his hand away. "What is it, then?" 

"Neither of us have ever been on a date." 

Roman paused and glanced at his brother, wondering if he was serious. 

Remus nodded, assuring his brother that he was. 

Roman sighed and paused his movie before turning to face him. "Remus. You are aromantic. I am a gay theater kid. We aren't exactly big players in the dating scene." 

"Yeah, but you've got Virgil and I've got Dee! Not exactly our boyfriends, but he could be yours and this is about the closest I'd be willing to get. We need to take them on a real date!" 

Roman thought for a second. It wasn't the worst line of logic he'd been presented with. "So, what are you suggesting?" 

Remus grinned and pulled a green necklace out from beneath his collar. "I think its time I take you on your second fake date." 

Roman fought back a dorky smile, failing miserably, and scoffed. "Wow, you.. You think I'd want to do that? I was, like, 9 and scared from coming out, you're such a weirdo." 

Remus raised an eyebrow, not buying Roman's terrible attempts at fooling him. "Oh, really? Then why do you still wear this around?" He reached over and pulled a matching red necklace from beneath Roman's onesie. 

Roman's face quickly matched the metal as he snatched it back. "I just like the color!" 

Remus rolled his eyes. "Right, well, we promised each other that as long as we had these, we'd be there for each other. Are you going to let your teenage pride force you into breaking a promise like that, Prince?" 

Roman bit the inside of his cheek and ran his fingers over the red chain. "You're right... Fine, but don't say I wanted to do this." 

Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't say that you wanted to spend some quality time with your big brother, learning to be a better boyfriend?" 

"And especially never repeat that sentence again."  

Half an hour and an outfit change later, Roman was in his brother's pickup truck, sitting in the driver's seat for once. 

"I mean, I assume you are going to be the one leading your date," Remus explained as he planted his feet on the dashboard. “You have to be ready to drive him without giving him a panic attack.” 

“I’m not that bad at driving!” Roman pulled out of the parking lot and began driving down the street. “Where am I taking you, anyways?”

Remus shrugged. “That’s for you to figure out, isn’t it?”

Roman sighed and just drove where the road took him, trying to figure something out. 

As he did, Remus smiled and watched him, remembering their first fake date, or “bro date” as Roman dubbed it afterwards. 

Poor little Roman had tears in his eyes as he told his family that he liked a boy in his class. He wouldn’t have been as upset as he was, but he’d already heard the stupid “boys shouldn’t date boys” talk from the so-called “cool” guys in his class. His mothers had tried to explain to him that they were wrong and that it was more than okay, but he just wasn’t believing it. Thankfully, big brother Remus was living with them at the time and he was more than glad to help his baby brother feel better, with the condition that their mom would drive him around, of course. Obviously, they had to get Roman to stop crying somehow, so the first place Remus wanted to go was an ice cream shop. Chocolate with gummy bears for himself and strawberry with sprinkles and cookies for Roman. 

“Are you feeling better?” Remus had asked about halfway through. 

Roman was still sniffling a bit, but he still nodded. 

“Good. Next we’re going to the arcade!” 

Remus was snapped out of his memories as Roman parked the truck in front of a skating rink. 

“Obviously, I wouldn’t take Virgil here, but I figured you’d like it.” 

Remus smiled and hopped out of the truck, waiting for Roman to join him before walking in with him. “And you’d be right. Don't worry, I'm paying, since I did drag you out here." 

"Drag sure is a nice way to put it," Roman replied with a joking tone. 

Remus just smiled, letting his brother get away with that one. "So, where are you taking Virgil?"

Roman shrugged a bit. "Uh, I'm not exactly sure yet.. I'm thinking maybe mini golf? I saw this indoor glow in the dark mini golf place." 

"Oh, I know that place! Dee and I go there all the time, it's pretty empty and security is pretty weak, so it's pretty private." 

"That's disgusting! People go there with their families." 

Remus laughed and held open the door for both of them. "I meant it's a nice, quiet date spot. Get your head out of the gutters, Princey." 

"I-" Roman cut himself off with a sigh. There was never any winning with a weirdo like Remus, was there? 

"Any other ideas?" 

"A picnic in the park is always a safe bet. Maybe movies, too." 

Remus nodded and paid for both of them to go inside. "Makes sense. I think he'll appreciate whatever you decide to do, but for now, I'm your date." 

"We agreed that you wouldn't say that." 

Remus shook his head. "You agreed that I wouldn't say that. I agreed to nothing." 

Roman groaned and went with him to get their skates, Remus opting for roller blades while Roman got regular skates. 

"You know, for a picture of grace, you always have been kind of clumsy, haven't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Roman shot back as he put his skates on. "I am incredibly graceful and I can't believe that you'd imply otherwise." 

Remus rolled his eyes and smiled. Roman may have been princely in every other sense of the word, but he had little to no athletic ability. It made for a pretty unfortunate time whenever they went to the arcade that time... 

"This game is rigged," Roman pouted after his fifth absolute fail at skee ball. 

Remus chuckled and gave it a try himself, easily five times as many points as his little brother. "Maybe this game just isn't for you.." 

And the same went for just about any game that required any skill. Poor Roman would try his best, but still only managed to get a fraction of the tickets that Remus managed to rack up. 

"It's no fair.. It's because you're older.. I thought this was supposed to be fun!" 

"It is! We just need to find a game that suits you." 

Roman pouted and looked around, his attention caught by the flashing lights from the dance game nearby. "Hey, what about that one?" 

"Uh..." Remus was a bit hesitant to put Roman on something so showy, but... "Sure." If anyone wanted to say anything about his clumsy brother, they'd have to go through Remus first. They were out to help cheer Roman up, anyways. 

Roman smiled and ran over to the end of the short line for the game, jumping in place as Remus joined him. "I'm going to beat you at this one, for sure."

"I'm sure you will," Remus hummed, but he was not mentally prepared for the possibility of Roman's prediction coming true. And boy, did Roman deliver. 

"Hah! Perfect score! See? I can beat you at games, too." 

"Uh..." Remus just put his hands on Roman's shoulders and lead him off. "What the fuck?" he whispered to himself. 

"How can you be so good at dance and so bad at something like skating?" Remus asked as he and Roman stood against the guard rails, the latter holding on for dear life. 

"Shut up! Wheels do not belong on feet, I'm entitled to some level of struggle here." 

"We used to go skating all the time and you managed to stay bad at it." Remus chuckled and turned to skate backwards, holding his hands out for Roman's. "Come on, there's a bunch of little kids skating around you, this is embarrassing." 

Roman grumbled, but took his brother's hands. "Fine, only because those kids needs the help more than I do." 

"That's debatable. Come on, you can't be that bad at skating." 

Roman huffed and tried to control the wobbling in his legs as best as he could. "And you shouldn't be able to be this weird, but here we are." 

Remus laughed. "Is that the only insult you have? That I'm weird? Because I know that already." 

"You're immune to all other insults because you're so weird!" Roman shot back, letting go of Remus's hands and immediately falling on his butt. 

Remus chuckled and knelt down. "Older brothers are just more annoying. I've got a few years on you." He held his hands out again and helped Roman up as he took them. "Why don't we call it a day? You can take me to the next part of our not-a-date." 

"It's not a date," Roman grumbled. "But fine." He let Remus pull him out of the rink and to the benches in front of the lockers where their shoes were. He changed out of his skates and waited as Remus turned their skates in, thinking about where they could go next. Preferably somewhere where he wouldn't be on the ground the whole time. 

The two got back into the truck and Roman began driving once again. 

"So, why do you still wear that necklace, if you hate me so much?" Remus asked. 

Roman sighed, an embarrassed blush rising into his cheeks. "If you must know, it's because I... I feel safe wearing it. It's stupid, but you gave it to me for that when I still believed in magic," because now was not the time to admit he did still believe in magic and get made fun of for it, "and I guess part of me still believes in it..." 

Remus smiled and put a hand over his heart, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "Aw, how sweet. Well, it's good to know that you know I'm always here for you." 

"Yeah, whatever," Roman grumbled. 

Contrary to popular belief, Roman's insistence on acting aggressively towards his brother didn't bother the oldest at all. After all, Remus knew that deep down, Roman didn't hate him. The two were just so different, it was nearly impossible for them to not bump heads, though Remus didn't care about their differences so much that he just didn't fight back. What was the point? Everyone was unique, there was no point in arguing back with Roman about it, even if Roman always threw his attitude at him. 

"Alright.. How about we get lunch, then we can head home?" 

Remus shrugged. "Always so eager to leave me, aren't you?" he teased as Roman pulled up at a pizza shop. 

"Maybe I wouldn't be if you weren't-"

"A weirdo?" Remus finished for him, laughing through his words. "You're not very creative when it comes to insults." 

"There's so much weirdness about you that it makes it hard to think of anything that makes sense! I'm usually really good at this, ask literally any of the rest of my friends and they'll tell you." 

"Nah, I'll believe you." Remus hopped out of the truck and walked inside with Roman, both of their stomachs rumbling as they caught the scent of pizza in the air. "Alright, food is on me, go nuts." 

Roman nodded and stepped into the line with his brother, thinking about how their last fake date ended. He was too emotional the rest of the day to remember it as clearly as Remus probably did, but those few moments would probably stick with him for a long time. 

Remus had won quite a few more tickets than Roman, sure, but Roman's pride made him hog most of the game tokens, so Remus couldn't win enough to get them anything truly decent. 

"Sorry about that.." Roman muttered, letting Remus look thought the prizes first, despite how much he'd protested against it. 

"It's fine, we can just load up on candy, no problem. Why don't you go get our moms, I know what you like." 

Roman nodded and did that, getting them and coming back to find Remus with a small bag full of candy in one hand and the other hand hidden behind his back. 

"Whatcha got there?" Roman asked, trying to move fast enough to look behind him. 

"You have to close your eyes first." 

"Don't be such a dork!" Roman whined. "I'm ten years old, I'm not a baby or anything." 

"I never said you were, I just said you have to close your eyes before I can show you what I've got." 

Roman groaned dramatically, but closed his eyes, knowing that stubbornness was a trait that they shared. He felt something cold around his neck and opened his eyes when he was told to do so, furrowing his eyebrows. "A plastic necklace?" 

Remus put a hand on his chest and scoffed. "Uh, not just any plastic necklace." He showed him the matching green one that was around his own neck. "We're matching! Now, anytime you think that everyone's going to be mad at you or you're wrong for doing something or being something you want to be, here's a reminder that you're wrong. I'm your big brother. I don't care what people think about me and I sure as he- er, heck, don't care what people think about you." 

Roman smiled and clutched the plastic in his hands. "Thanks, I really love it.. Thank you for being so nice today." 

Remus smiled and nudged him. "Hey, what are brothers for?" 

The two of them were so close when they were younger. It was when Remus moved out that they grew apart and only because it happened to coincide with Roman transitioning from an dramatic kid into a moody, over dramatic teenager. He claimed that he grew a sense of class and realized just how disturbing his brother's constant stream of weirdness could be, but really, he didn't hate him at all. He was just a little upset that he wasn't around as often. He knew better than to blame Remus or be mad at him for having his own life, but... He did miss him pretty badly. No matter how annoying he could be at times. 

"We should do this more often. I don't know about you, but I've had a pretty fun day," Remus hummed as they sat and waited for their food. 

"Actually..." Roman paused for a few seconds before nodding. "I did have a good day. I enjoyed spending time with you, believe it or not." 

Remus snorted a bit. "Oh, I'm great company. I completely believe it." 

Roman chuckled. "I'll let you believe that." 

Remus smiled and enjoyed a quiet lunch with his brother. Quiet usually wasn't his thing, but if it gave him the chance to be a good brother without Roman complaining about his presence every two seconds, he'd take it. Sure, the complaining didn't particularly bother him, Roman was just a teenager being a teenager, but sometimes, it was nice to just be brothers. Or, rather, friends. Obviously, they'd be brothers forever, but for them to actually get along and not just begin arguing on sight? To actually be brothers and friends? That relationship was worth everything.  

[min-meowmeow]

Somewhere in the Crowd

Yoongi x Reader

Fluff

Word count: 3,000

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Yoongi finds himself missing you while he's on tour, but one phone call gives him the surprise of his life.

----

Yoongi was two seconds away from losing his mind. Around him, the room spun in a cacophony of noises with Jungkook and Taehyung lip syncing to an overplayed pop song blaring from Jungkook’s phone speakers while the other members laughed at the stupid facial expressions they were making. Usually, Yoongi would be joining his other members in bewildered amusement at the younger men’s actions, or maybe even join in on the bad lip syncing by adding overly dramatic arm movements, but tonight, of all nights, Yoongi felt nothing but overwhelmed. 

Tonight, instead of joining in, he settled himself into the corner of the room flicking through social media feeds that were failing to hold his attention for longer than a few minutes. There was just a lack of something special across them all, something that he desperately sought out at this moment, but also desperately tried to avoid. He felt restless anxiety course through the bloodstream under his skin. 

Another half a second, he couldn’t take it. 

Plucking himself out of the chair that he had been perched in for the better part of the last two hours, Yoongi took languid steps towards the exit on the other side of the room. He hoped nobody would notice him or ask where he was going because he didn’t have a clear excuse in mind. He just knew that he had to get out and calm down before he allowed his mood to impact the other members. An hour before the first show of their European tour, Yoongi didn’t want to bring down the mood by making them worry about him. 

Especially because he knew exactly what he needed. 

He shouldered his way through the door with a hand already pulling his phone out of his pocket. The only eyes he had caught were Namjoon’s, who had given him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up that Yoongi half-heartedly attempted to return before disappearing around the door frame. 

He felt instant relief once he was outside the room, despite the chaos of the preshow preparation. A number of people brushed past him with equipment being rolled around in a frenzy of last minute stage checks. He knew everyone on his team that passed, but they thankfully mentioned nothing, not even his name. This made him feel a sense of privacy, an aloneness he only felt when he was on the fringes of a crowd that didn’t care about him. An aloneness that provided him the comforting courage to find your number in his contacts list and press “dial.” 

God, how much he missed you. Your delicate smile in the early mornings when you both had days off and were allowed to sleep late, your familiar hands brushing through his hair on quiet evenings while he rested his head just above the sound of your soft heartbeat, the slow kisses you would share when you both knew the world was slowing down just for you. He hadn't seen you in two months. 

It was killing him. 

He listened to the staccato of the call tone with bated breaths. He hadn’t an idea of what he would say when you picked up the line. Of course, he would apologize profusely for waking you up as it was, no doubt, the very early hours of the morning back home, but beyond that he wasn’t sure. He didn’t even know if he wanted to say anything or just sit on the line with you while you mumbled sleepily about your day or about how much you missed him. He just wanted to feel close with you somehow while he was a thousand worlds away. He just wanted to hear you say that you loved him. 

Your voicemail caught him off guard; the anxious movements of his mouth sloping down into a pout at the automated message informing him that you were not available. He cursed the device before removing the phone from his ear pushing the “end” button with a vicious stab of his finger before he left evidence of his annoyance in the form of a disgruntled message delivered from a noisy hallway in a Glasgow arena.

It is late, he justified, checking the time back home to try and rationalize why you didn’t answer. He didn’t like the rotting feeling in his chest at the denied contact. It wasn’t your fault, yet his sour mood worsened the longer he stared at the digital clock that read Seoul’s time. 4:15 am. At least you’d probably be awake after the show. 

He paused a breath in his throat for a single heartbeat, allowing it release when he turned his gaze downward to the tiled floor. The only hope that remained for him came in the solace that he’d get to see you again after the final leg of his tour. Just four more stops. One more month. He only hoped he could make it that long. 

Quietly, he turned to face the closed door of the waiting room with careful dread and a game plan already set. He’d sit back down in his chair, pop in his headphones and listen to the loudest track he knew of. He promised himself that he wouldn’t go through your social media feed or stare longingly at the couple pictures you were both so fond of taking. He promised he wouldn’t make it worse by making himself miss you more. 

Steps stalled just as he was about to push open the door to the dressing room when the device in his palm vibrated with a flash of your name scrawled out on the screen. Elation and relief washed over his body immediately. 

“Hey, babe. You called?” you sounded so sweetly nonchalant that Yoongi had to stop himself from ranting about how much he loved the beautiful timbre of your voice. 

He took several weighted breaths before responding, “Yeah, just wanted to talk.” 

“Oh?” the uptick in your tone made him smile. 

“Nothing bad,” he explained, “just missed you.”

The tremble in his voice at the confession was something Yoongi hoped you didn’t catch through the tiny speakers of your phone.

“Yoon, baby, I miss you too,” you returned knowingly indicating that you had, indeed, heard the tremor. 

Your words made his throat close around any other words he could possibly say in response leaving you both sitting on the line for a few beats without a thing passing between the two of you. Instead, he listened carefully to the noises around you that he could hear through the phone until the sound of your breaths began lulling him in a trance of warm familiarity making him wish he was by your side so much more. It tore his heart in half until you spoke again.

“How’s the show going?” You asked. 

Yoongi fell back into his existing body within the space of the concert stadium with a lousy pout. 

“Hasn’t started yet. We’re waiting another hour,” he sighed, propping his head against the wall when he heard a loud clamboring noise filter in through the speaker pressed firmly against his ear. Confusion etched its way into the crease of his brow only to further deepen when he realized that he could hear the same noise coming from down the busy hallway he was stood in. “Wait, why are you awake? Where are you?” 

You hummed into the receiver, “Give me a few more steps and you’ll find out.” 

Spiking trepidation warred with diligent hope as Yoongi took your words in. There was no way they were intended to mean what he thought they’d meant. There was no way. He swallowed the anxiety. “Babe, what do you mean?” 

“Turn to the left, Yoon.” 

His slow gaze wandered in the direction of your instructions already bracing himself to find no one there, but when his eyes caught yours, a feeling beyond happiness consumed his veins in an electric fire. 

There you were standing in the same hallway he had entered from hours earlier, your beautifully warm smile greeting his starved gaze. You were like a myth come to life from the pages of an archaic tome he had been desperate to decipher. Only now that you were standing in front of him did it all make sense. 

Yoongi didn’t even think to hang up the phone before launching his exhausted body towards your awaiting figure. Arms laced around your waist when he reached you, head pressed into the crook of your neck while your own arms encircled his hunched shoulders in a python hold. Your rose scented perfume engulfed his senses in such a strong feeling of belonging that Yoongi promised he’d never let you go again. 

“How are you here?” his reverent whisper blew across the dip of your collarbones. 

You cupped the back of his head to press him just a little closer to you. 

“Took some time off so I could surprise you. Joon helped me plan the best day,” you muttered into the expanse of his shoulder. 

Yoongi ever so gently untangled himself from your limbs to provide you with an unobstructed view of his exquisite features. It was then that you noticed the thin layer of shimmering tears sprinkling along his eyelashes. He turned his face down to avoid your scrutinizing gaze. 

“That sneaky asshole,” he grumbled with a quick swipe of his thumb across his eyes, “he could have said something.” 

Small fingers brushed against Yoongi's cheeks to swipe away the remaining residue of his spent tears, your smile sympathetic and warm, wholly understanding. “Babe, that's not how surprises work.” 

His hand cradled yours along his cheek. “Dont care.”

The twinkling lightness of your laugh soon became Yoongi's favorite sound. He admired the happy creasing of your eyelids around the curve of your smile with a reverent stare appreciating every little intricate quirk that made you so undoubtedly you. Hungry eyes devoured your features from the slope of your nose to the shimmering apple of your cheeks and when he couldn't take any more, he lowered his petal lips onto yours. 

He kissed roses onto your lips while his hands found purchase around the curve of your hips holding you so desperately close he felt as if  he might disappear if he let go. Your own hands wound into the neckline of his pressed button up more than likely wrinkling the fabric but the glide of Yoongi's cherry lips made it very hard to care. You were lost in each other so deeply it seemed the universe took a pause. 

“Have I told you how much I’ve missed you?” he whispered against the press of your lips. 

“Hmm,” you hummed, “Not in the last five seconds.” 

“Well,” he kissed you again. “I have.” His lips trekked across your cheek. “A lot.” They pressed against your forehead. “Just in case you didn’t know.” 

Your face broke out into a delighted giggle with each individual flutter of his puckered mouth finding purchase on the features of your face. He didn’t stop, not even when multiple people of the stage crew chuckled endearingly at his affection towards you as they passed. Your cheeks flushed, the red hue muddled under the length of his digits, but still visible to those wandering by.  

“Yoongi,” you whined, fighting back the urge to bury your face into the slippery fabric of his shirt. “People are watching.” 

He pressed a deliberate kiss onto the slope of your nose then along the edge of your jaw while repeated muttered words of “don’t care” slipped between each peck. Your own hands had to physically hold his face between two pressed palms inches away from you just to get him to focus, and when he did you could see the longing swirling in his eyes being devoured by uncontrollable happiness. 

Your heart thrummed in your chest, each vibrating beat finding a home with him. 

“Hyung!” an elated voice broke the silence between the two of you with your eyes searching to find the source while Yoongi’s remained trained on you, his hold ever tighter on your hips. To your excitement and Yoongi’s dismay, Jungkook stood with his head popped through the door, expression reflecting his surprise at seeing you there. “Oh! Noona? What’re you doing here?” 

“I quit my job to follow you guys on tours,” you joked. 

Jungkook’s eyes grew in surprise. “Noona! You wouldn’t.” 

“Of course she wouldn’t. She’s too proud to be a trophy wife,” Yoongi chimed in, removing his hands from around your waist only to have one tuck your own tiny palm securely into his. “Let’s go back inside.” 

Re-entering the room felt less troublesome for Yoongi with you by his side. No longer were the noises from the other people too loud and obnoxious, but instead just a part of the comforting atmosphere of pre-show jitters. 

Everyone was idling around. Hoseok and Jimin were practicing the choreo for the intro song while Taehyung mirrored them jokingly in the back. Jin sat with his eyes trained on the screen of his phone, but his movements gave away that he was not so secretly checking himself out with the camera. Then there was Namjoon, the clever man whom Yoongi admired, conversing with one of the make up artists as she touched up his foundation, a secretive smirk layered on his face when he spotted the three of you walk in. 

“Hey! Look who’s here!” Jungkook cheered with happily raised arms angled at the elbows to point behind him where you and Yoongi trailed. 

The majority of the movement ceased when the attention of the people in the room fell on you. The first to react was Hoseok, Yoongi’s best friend and your notorious partner in crime. 

“Dude! What’re you doing here?” he asked, feet automatically carrying him over to where you stood where he then wrapped you up in his welcomingly warm hug. You returned the sentiment as best you could, but found it difficult with Yoongi’s grip anchoring you to his side. 

“I came to visit you guys. It felt lonely back home,” you pouted. 

Hoseok patted your head affectionately when he finally released you, his gaze catching on Yoongi for a second to appreciate the subtle upturn of Yoongi’s expression.  

“Aw!” Jin’s derisive tone seeped into the sugar sweet pull of his lips. “Thank you for including us even though we all know you only came for Yoongi.” 

“Who else would she come for?” Yoongi asked, appalled. 

“Me, obviously,” Jin returned. 

To Yoongi’s surprise, you couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped passed your grinning lips. He didn’t think it was as funny, even though he knew Jin didn’t actually mean it. He assumed that he was still a bit emotional, a little bit too selfish, wanting your laugh only for himself. 

“You planned it perfectly, Noona,” Taehyung said with his boxy smile, “Yoongi’s been quieter than usual.” 

You flicked your gaze towards the man stood beside you. His own gaze was locked on the tiled floor that seemed so much more appealing to him than the conversation happening around him. You nudged his side with your joined hands, your warm smile pulling him into your incandescent light.  

“I have special girlfriend senses,” Yoongi’s heart nearly exploded in his chest with your adorable response to the red haired man. 

“Yeah, right.” Namjoon laughed, “She had help.” 

“Hyung, you knew?” Jungkook’s signature startled expression returned. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

Namjoon only delivered a shrug, but Yoongi knew the true answer before the snide comment left your sweet lips, confirming his assumptions.. “That’s because none of you can keep a secret.” 

The remaining five men each called their own offended remark. Yoongi could tell that Hoseok, being the loudest and the closest, made you feel just a smidgen bad about not letting him know. But, overall, you could only find yourself laughing at their reactions because, no matter how hard they denied it, it was the truth.

“Twenty minute call,” the stage manager abruptly notified from the now fully open entrance to the dressing room, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. 

Yoongi’s eyes immediately fell to you where he found an encouraging smile devastating his heart. The thought of leaving so soon after barely being able to hold you in his arms gave Yoongi a mild panic. “Watch from backstage?” Yoongi’s hopeful gaze begged. 

“Actually, because of my super special connections,” You smiled while reaching into your back pocket for a little slip of barcoded paper, “I got front row tickets.”

The grin he wore at the reveal only conveyed a fraction of what he was feeling. For Yoongi, it was already special just having you in the same city let alone the same arena, but the knowledge that you would be amidst the glowing light sticks screaming your lungs out for him made this Yoongi’s new favorite experience. 

“I’ll see you after the show.” Yoongi’s digits held tightly onto yours until the very last second before he had to leave you standing in the room with a member of the security team ready to escort you out into the main floor of the stadium. Without a care in the world, he pressed one last kiss against the plump of your lips before grinning. “I love you.” 

Then he pulled farther away, eyes still on you until he turned the corner at the doorframe of the dressing room entrance. His heart was settled neatly in your hand while he walked the corridor that led to the backstage area where he could already hear the millions of fans cheering for the show to begin. He promised himself he would be listening for one specific cheer, no matter how impossible it was. With that in mind, Yoongi took his position in line waiting for the final call, an ecstatic thrum flowing in his veins with the knowledge that out there, somewhere in the crowd, was you.  

[graceelizabeth2]

Killer Queen Part Twelve

I updated this morning! Go me! I’ll be in the car all day so hopefully, I’ll get some writing done. Enjoy, my loves. Also, let me know if you want to be on the tag list! The song below helped me write the first half so it is a good companion song.  Masterpost

https://open.spotify.com/track/4z1O25cq9g2kuJemmUxc21?si=beE_jHQ8SzOde_rmg3UsfQ

@moveimbi @allieburakovsky @rain-must-fall

No one tells you how hard it is to deliver a child you won’t get to hear cry or see grow up. No one tells you that the hardest part of miscarrying is missing the movement in your belly or that after you deliver a stillborn, they give you time to bond with your baby. And then, when they take your child away, it feels like part of you is missing. Roger barely left my side for the next four days, only leaving to go to the show. My parents came and sat with me while he was at the shows. I don’t even think he’s been home since the night it happened.

I could tell it hurt Rog to see me like this. It hurt me to see him like this too. It hurt to know that I had failed.

Brian came and sat with me for a few hours one day and we talked about physics and the solar system and what if we truly were alone out there. That made me feel a little bit better. It was nice to not think about everything else that was going on in my world. One day, John and I were playing scrabble when Roger burst into the room, freshly showered with snow in his hair.

“They know.” He says breathlessly.

“Who knows? What are you talking about?” I ask, sitting up properly. He comes to sit next to me on the bed and kisses my forehead.

“Someone told the press you were in the hospital and now there are hoards of paparazzi outside. I’m so sorry love.” I could feel my eyes fill up with tears.

“Do they know what happened?” John asked, standing and Roger shook his head. “Well, the doctor came in while you were gone and cleared Amy to go home.”

“Thanks, John.” Roger got off the bed and pulled his best friend into a hug. John left soon after, taking our scrabble game and promising to resume it soon.

“Amy,” I looked over at Roger who had resumed his position on the bed. “I want you to come on the rest of the tour with us.” I started to shake my head.

“Rog-”

“Amy, love, it would make me feel better. I hate the thought of leaving you alone in our flat after what just happened.”

“I just don’t want to be a burden.” I looked down and picked at a hangnail.

“You wouldn’t be a burden, angel. The boys are in agreement on this. The roadies love you, in fact, I think our lighting designer thinks you’re a goddess after you helped her tape lines the other night.”

“Are you sure?”

“Course I’m sure. I love you and frankly, just the thought of leaving you in that flat, even if it is for a few days makes me want to scream. Please, my love.”

“Ok, but just until Christmas.” He smiles at me and tucks me into his side, laying the both of us back.

“I love you, angel.” He whispers.

“I love you too.”

________________________________________________________________

The next day, I was getting ready to leave the hospital. Roger had gone home to get me some clothes and I was just waiting to get the release papers. Roger was talking to the doctor about what he could do to help me and I was just finished signing the last document when his hands gripped my hips gently.

“Hello, my love. Is your bag still in your room?” I nod and I feel him leave and I give the last sheet to the nurse and give her a kind smile.

“Thank you, please, don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions or need anything.”

“I will, thank you.”

“Ready to go?” Roger reappears beside me, bag in hand. I nod and he takes my hand. “There were still a lot of photographers outside when I came in so just stay behind me, ok baby?”

“Ok,” I reply meekly, a hand falling to my empty stomach. He pushes the door open and there were so many camera flashes and questions.

“Amy! Why have you been in the hospital so long? Is something wrong with the baby?”

“Roger, why hasn’t Amy been on tour with you?”

“Is there something you want to tell us?”

I gripped Roger’s hand tighter, trying to blink away tears. The car was just a few feet away and I clung to him as he opened the door and allowed me to get in first. I slid in and curled into a ball, letting a few tears. Roger slipped in beside me and pulled me into his side, pulling my legs over his lap and allowing my tears to soak his shirt.

The car pulled away from the curb and I cried into his chest.

“I’m so sorry Roger.”

“Why are you sorry?” He sounded alarmed.

“I failed.” I sputtered and he drew in a breath.

“Amy, you did not fail. That was out of our control. This doesn’t change the way that I love you or the fact that you are the one person I want to see every day. I’ve always known that you were going to have my kids, it will just be further down the line. Maybe once I get a ring on that finger.” He plays with my ring finger and I wipe my tears away with my fingers.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, angel.”

________________________________________________________________

“Hello dearest,” Freddie hugs me, followed by the other boys.

“Hi boys.” I smile weakly. “Are you ready for your show tonight?” I ask, settling onto the couch on the bus.

“Always are,” Brian confirms, placing tiles onto the scrabble board. Roger hands me a few pills and a bottle of water.

“The doctor said to hydrate and those are for the pain.” I nodded, swallowing the pills and capping the bottle.

“Thank you, my love.”

“How are you feeling, Amy?” John asked, his forehead wrinkled in concentration, staring at the board.

“Mate,” Roger warned.

“No, its ok,” I smiled at Roger. “I’m alright. Some days are worse than others but I’m learning to deal with it. I prefer not to talk about it, though. I’m just thankful there were no complications. The doctor said I could probably resume all my normal activities in something like 6 weeks. But yeah, some days are really hard,” I swallowed thickly. Roger pulled me into his lap and pressed a kiss to my head, murmuring his ‘I love you’s’ into my hair.

“Well, have you any interest in resuming our game of Scrabble?” John asked me, clearing the board after beating both Freddie and Brian.

“Bring it on Deacon.”

________________________________________________________________

There was something different about Roger now. It wasn’t just that he was protective, he had always been protective. He was much more gentle with me and I was with him. We were both still healing. Being on the road with the boys was helping, at least that's what I thought. It was a distraction. But every once and a while, I just would walk away from them during the after party and come back, four shots later and smelling like cigarette smoke.

“Amy?” Roger caught me as I stumbled.

“Thank you, dearest.” I patted his arm, smiling drunkenly at him.

“I think its time to stop, love.” I pouted.

“I’m trying to stop feeling,” I tell him and spin away, heading back to the bar but someone caught my arm. “When you lose your baby, you can tell me to stop,” I hissed at Roger, my arm still in his grasp.

His hands came up to hold my face. “That was my baby too, Amy. It hurts me just as much that we aren’t at home, preparing for our son to come home. But drinking this away will not help.”

Due to our position, I was looking in his eyes. They were sad, just as sad as mine. I nodded and he pulled me into his chest.

“I love you, Amy.”

“I love you too, Roger.”

[princessesofauradon]

Lana: Isle vs Auradon

a/n yes it is I, Bianca, aka @darlingsteveharrington , back from the dead and ready to write for Descendants again. So I posted these a while back and I have since revamped them and I am so much happier with these. My babies have been reborn!!!! I’m so happy to be writing for them again I missed them so much anywho (also requests anyone?)

also shoutout to @askhaylieooc I saw your ask and I have no clue what happened but it’s not there anymore :( I did see it though and thank you 1000 times over for showing interest in my OC's and inadvertently helping me start writing for them again <3

Lana on the Isle

All through her childhood Lana never once stepped foot on the Isle. She was raised in the Underworld by her father. The closest she ever got to it was her father’s restaurant and even that place was nothing compared to what was outside its walls. Her mother died on the Isle of the Lost and, despite what most people thought about him, Hades was almost overprotective of Lana.

She has on occasion visited Mount Olympus though. It was always when there was a meeting of the Gods. Her father, being the God of the Underworld, was invited to them (albeit a little reluctantly). The Gods were different than the people down on Auradon. Staging a failed coup wasn’t the worst thing one of them had done and so they always greeted Lana with open arms. It was during one of those visits when she met Kellan wandering around the gardens.

That was the first time Lana had had a living friend. A few days later Yen Sid delivered a letter to the restaurant. Kellan had sent it to her from Auradon. They exchanged letters back and forth and Yen Sid soon became her designated messenger, not that he minded much.

Hades was quite possibly the only parent on the Isle who genuinely cared about his kid. He had a temper, for sure. More times than one he banished people’s souls but still, that was tame compared to some of the more…spirited villains. It was part of the reason why Hades had avoided sending her to both Dragon Hall and Serpent Prep. Instead, he sent her to Elysium three times a week to be taught by some of the better ancient philosophers. “C’mon Lana, who doesn’t want to be taught by some dead guy who everyone thinks is so great”

Hades actually tried to talk Lana out of finally heading up to the Isle. “Lana, those people are crazy. Trust me, you don’t want to be around them” “Can’t be any crazier than the ones down here” After a lot of arguing Lana finally convinced him to let her see the Isle. They compromised and he armed her with a dagger that was said to be able to rip the soul straight out of your body.

Lana was a bit of an urban legend around the Isle so there was a lot of talk when she finally left the Underworld. Mal and Jay were the first ones to approach her. “It’d be in your best interest to fall in line with us. I’ll even teach you everything you have to know about his place personally” “Sorry, I don’t fall in line very well”

That day she went to Yen Sid to pick up her letter and that was when she was approached again. “Your Hades’ kid?” “Who’s asking?” “He came to the Chip Shop a few days ago and told us you’d be heading up soon. Recommended we take you under our wing” “Did he? And who might you be?” “Uma”

Uma and her pirate crew adopted Lana almost immediately. They called her ‘the purest thing on the Isle’. Lana hadn’t been exposed to enough of the chaos to become as corrupted as the rest of them and it had made her more than a little naive. She was trained to defend herself by Uma’s best, Harry and Gil.

It wasn’t long before she ran into Evie in the markets. Lana caught her trying to take some fabric from one of the little shops. “You really should get better at that, you know” They talked for hours and eventually somehow ended up in Evie’s castle looking at all her designs. They exchange some scraps they had gotten ahold of and at the end of the night they’ve successfully made each other a new outfit. Lana becomes almost as close with Evie as she was with Uma and the crew.

Lana told Evie about her single encounter with Mal and she laughed. Ultimately she did convince Lana to talk to her one more time to try and fix things. Reluctantly, Lana followed Evie to Mal’s loft and although she didn’t think she was the best, at least they were on speaking terms. Jay she thinks is pretty okay. Besides Evie, Carlos is her favorite.

She watches him tinker with whatever objects he can find. Eventually, she develops a habit of stealing items from the pile of things that had been confiscated from the new souls. She takes whatever she thinks Carlos will like and gives them to him. They have a lot of surprisingly meaningful talks late at night as he’s messing with whatever object she’s brought him.

The more time Lana spent up on the Isle, the more she realized why everybody, didn’t matter where they were from, looked towards Auradon with longing. It was just out of arms reach, taunting them every single day and she too grew tired of it quickly.

Two guards, each with the symbol of the palace, found Lana one day and handed her two letters. She recognized the one from Kellan and opened it immediately. You’re going to love it here, Lana. I convinced Ben to let you come along and I’m already making a list of everything you have to see first. Lana protested going to Auradon all the way back to the Chip Shop.

“There’s no way I’m going off to Auradon while all of you stay here” “You’re going Lana” “No I’m not. Good luck making me” “You can’t just turn down the prince of Auradon” “I can and I will” “No you won’t” “I’m not leaving you all behind. You’re all more deserving of that place than I am” “Then go and you can help get us there next”

It took hours of convincing before Lana agreed to consider going. She went back to the Underworld to talk to her dad about it. She was more than a little surprised by his answer. “Take the chance to leave while they’re giving it to you” “But what about you?” “I’m gonna be fine, Lana. Besides I got Cerberus to keep me company”

Lana watched the Isle disappear from the back window, almost melancholy.

Lana in Auradon

Lana’s foul mood disappeared quickly once she saw Auradon up close for the first time. She stepped out of the limo that was sent to pick them up and immediately more whispers started. Everybody had a good feeling about who she was for two reasons. One, she was obviously not completely human: the children of the Gods were always exceptionally radiant in a way no one could quite put their finger on. Two, Kellan hadn’t stopped talking about her.

Kellan wasted no time in rushing through everybody, running past Ben and Audrey (almost knocking over Fairy Godmother in the process) and practically tackling Lana as he shouted her name repeatedly. The two of them talk animatedly back and forth for a few minutes, not paying any attention at all to what Ben is saying. It’s not until he clears his throat, telling them he’s about to start the tour that they pay him any attention. Kellan literally begs Ben to let him take Lana. “Come on, babe! I promise I’ll bring her to you in one piece later. (Ben agrees, mostly because he is almost incapable of saying no to him)

Lana takes to Auradon immediately. By the end of the day, she’s caught on to plenty of things and talking to dozens of people. She even talked to Chad for a while, whether it was completely civil is up for debate. As promised, Kellan takes Lana to Ben and needless to say she had a lot of things to say to him. Ben had never been so intrigued by somebody the way he was with Lana at that moment.

It doesn’t take very long for Fairy Godmother to realize that Lana is way ahead of the others academically. “Please, the schools on the Isle are a joke. Maybe if you spent more time trying to educate people other than the royal kids we would have genuinely reformed villains kids” Her constant remarks are what land her in Remedial Goodness 101 with Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Mal.

Lana spends a lot of time learning the politics of everything and what the best way to get her friends off the Isle would be. She asks Ben a lot of questions, after all, who better to ask than the future king? More than a few times she’s been found sitting where ever faces the Isle, a guilt-ridden look on her face.

Lana quickly becomes a huge fan of tourney. Kellan drags her to practice one day and she gets probably way too into it. After one practice Kellan offers to show her the ropes and she quickly finds out she’s terrible at it. Nonetheless, she still enjoys watching and a couple Friday nights later she starts getting way too into the games.

After Jay, Carlos, Evie, and Mal get a call with their parents Lana gets one with her dad. They spend a good hour or two talking and only stop when Kellan joins them. “Oh hey Uncle Hades” “Kid, I’m not your uncle” “You kind of are though”

The longer she spends in Auradon, the better Lana gets at hiding how mischievous she really is. She’s able to talk her way out of whatever trouble she gets into. Usually anyway. Ben is the only one she just can’t seem to convince and it drives her insane.

Speaking of, she hates the fact that Mal opted to use a love potion on him. True love is a big concept on Auradon and although Lana didn’t quite believe in it herself it wasn’t fair to be manipulating it. It causes a huge rift in her already rocky friendship with Mal. “Oh come on, your dad is a villain just like our parents. Don’t act like you don’t want what we do” “Of course I do but manipulating somebody into thinking they love you just to use them to do your bidding is terrible on a whole other level!”

She may not agree with Mal’s method but she still takes her side after the whole incident on family day. Lana was easily the one who had fit in on Auradon the fastest and easiest. Her father had been declared a villain and so that made her a villain’s kid, despite people’s opinions that she ‘didn’t count’.

Later that day is the first time Lana’s hair turns to flames. Some snide comments from more than a few people set her off. She starts screaming profanities, her eyes go dark, and her hair turns to blue flames. She ends up being dragged away from the scene by Jay. It takes close to four hours for the flames to die down.

She has to be carefully guarded until everything dies down. It means Kellan gets into a lot of fights that week. At one point it’s the about the twelfth time he’s late to class and Lana has had enough. “What do you think you’re doing?” “I’m defending you” “I can handle myself, thank you very much” “Yeah well it’s been proven that you’re scary when you’re angry so trust me, getting punched by me is the better option”

Evie requests Lana’s help in getting their coronation outfits ready and the two of them have the time of their lives. One conversation leads to another and somehow they decide to create their own label if all goes well.

Lana’s thrown off by the entire coronation. She quickly comes to the realization that she doesn’t like the spotlight. A lot of her time is spent beside her family who all came down just for Ben’s coronation. She spends it mainly with Persephone, who reminds her of a lot of home and her father.

She’s a little bit surprised after the whole fiasco that happened at the coronation. But she can’t deny that the second Maleficent shows up she begins plotting how to get her friends off of the Isle. Her attention is taken, however, by Mal insisting that she wants to change. If she’s honest, she had no idea that was going to happen. But still, she helps defeat Maleficent and watches as everybody comes to again. “What was that?” “That was me taking into account what you said. Turns out you were right, Lana”

Lana and Evie offer to make Adelaide and Eva outfits for some event they both have to go to and they love them. Soon the two of them are getting commissions from most of the girls in school. They send Kellan and Jay on runs to get more materials for them and they quickly establish a system that works near perfectly.

Two months after the coronation Lana starts spending a suspicious amount of time with Ben. Suspicious in the sense that he always seems to be around, whether it’s while she’s hiding in Kellan’s room or running into him in the most random of places.

It works to her advantage eventually. Even as time passes she doesn’t forget about trying to get her friends off of the Isle of the Lost. She has her fair share of arguments with Ben about laws and proclamations and such. “It’s not as simple as you make it seem” “Isn’t it though? I’ve been through countless pages of documents and there’s not much standing in your way. You’re the King of Auradon, Ben!” “You are insufferable you know that?” “Likewise”

There is so much tension between the two of them and everybody starts noticing it. It isn’t until a conversation Lana has with Mal one day that she realizes it herself though. “You know even while under that love spell, which is one of the most powerful, mind you, Ben always found a way to bring you up” “No he didn’t” “Oh I can assure you, he did”

Lana is the most stubborn person and so the next day she very begrudgingly asks Ben if he wants to go to some postseason party Kellan is throwing with her because “everyone says we have tension and I kind of think they’re right so here I am embarrassing myself and I get-” “It took you long enough” They’re officially dating the next morning.

Lana finally draws up a proposal that both Ben and his committee agree on and not even a week later Uma, Harry, Gil, and the rest of the crew are on Auradon. She is so excited and literally will not leave them alone. It’s then that she understands Kellan’s enthusiasm when she first arrived. “Lana that’s the fourth bathroom you’ve shown us, I think we’re okay for now”

Exactly a day later she’s causing trouble with them again and it’s like she never left them. Lana also may or may not have gotten a little emotional. “You said you’d get us here and you did” “How could I possibly leave you guys behind?”

[enziroth]

No Future (Part 15)

It’s a long chapter this time! Sorry it’s a bit late, hope you guys enjoy!

The door opened before he’d even raised his hand to knock, but to be fair, he was kind of expecting it.

Katakuri was standing behind it, clad only in a loose pair of black sweatpants and that massive scarf. When he spoke, his voice echoed through the empty house, but his tone was indifferent. “Was she an adequate aid? She came highly recommended.”

Sanji was in no mood to deal with his games. Arms crossed and eyes narrowed, he pointed his cigarette straight up at Katakuri’s face. “Why the fuck did you do this?”

Katakuri’s facial expressions were difficult to make out when he was directly above him, but Sanji thought he saw an eyebrow go up. “The children requested that you make them dinner. I thought the task too much for one person. Was that not obvious?”

“Cut the shit. Why her?” In the past few hours spent with Cosette, that had been the only thing on his mind, even through the vigorous meal planning and preparation. The chances of her presence being a sheer coincidence were ridiculous, unthinkable even, but Sanji knew he wouldn’t be able to rest unless he knew for certain.

“I told you. She came highly recommended.” Again, that bland, indifferent tone.

This was normally the part where Sanji realized he was at a dead end, Katakuri clearly unwilling to give him a straight answer. He could pick and prod all he wanted, but the man would be a brick wall, refusing to budge.

But not tonight. Tonight, it wasn’t just Sanji’s curiosity on the line; it was Cosette’s life. “Oh, yeah? Not gonna be honest with me, rice ball? Then I’m willing to trade.”

Finally, a shift in expression, Katakuri leaning forward a little with a decidedly interested glint in his gaze. “What, exactly, are you expecting to trade for?”

Sanji glared up at him, having to crane his neck far back to do so. They really were too close together for the angle to work, but Sanji sure as hell wasn’t about to back up. “How about some fucking honesty, to start with? I’m sick of being pulled around. We’re gonna sit down, man to man, and you’re gonna tell me just what the fuck you’re trying to do here.”

Katakuri’s gaze sharpened, and his aura was suddenly heavy on Sanji’s chest, but he didn’t outright dismiss him. “And what are you offering in return?”

Sanji had a few cards he could play, some more powerful than others, but if his suspicions were correct then he’d need the strongest he could get. “I’ll tell you how we figured out your plan. The one to kill me at the wedding.”

Katakuri’s face shifted into what Sanji recognized was a frown. “Bege was aware of it. He had ample time to pass the knowledge on to you. What are you attempting to gain by telling me what I already know?”

But that wasn’t all he had. “Did you wonder why I wasn’t surprised when Pudding showed me her face? That was supposed to surprise me, wasn’t it? To scare me? Disgust me? I was supposed to freeze in my tracks and just sit there while you shot me, right? But Bege never knew that part.”

Katakuri was silent for a moment, his features unreadable. Sanji watched him, his hopes riding on the man’s acceptance but ever wary of the danger in dealing with a Yonko commander. This was a new game they were playing, with Cosette in the mix, and Sanji was determined to not let it throw him off.

After what seemed like ages, but was probably only a moment or so, Katakuri took a step back, pushing the door back until it was wide open. “I think such matters are better discussed in private. Come inside.”

Sanji was confused by Katakuri’s wording until he saw the walls of the man’s room. They were the same material all the others in the house were made of, tall and wide, but there was one simple detail that sent icy shivers down the back of Sanji’s spine.

The walls were bare. No mirrors.

No one else watching.

Though Katakuri’s room was right next to his own, Sanji had never been inside of it. The setup looked quite similar to his own, with a bed, a wardrobe, a table and a few chairs, but everything was massively scaled up to fit Katakuri’s size. The result was that the room felt far more cozy, a comfortable space as opposed to the mostly unused emptiness that characterized Sanji’s room.

Katakuri settled into one of the chairs at the huge table, neatly folding himself into his seat. Sanji, cursing his already aching neck, decided to jump up on the table so he could meet Katakuri eye-to-eye. Normally, the height difference wasn’t too hard to handle, but now the last thing he wanted was to feel disadvantaged.

A few kicks and he was up, landing deftly on the far corner of the table. It was the only clear space on there, the rest covered with a giant, sprawling map that depicted the whole of Totland. There were marks on it, red scribbles and black crosses, but Katakuri rolled it up and set it aside before Sanji could make out anything else.

A few assorted den den mushis were pushed to the side, and Sanji scowled as he recognized one with a bright white labcoat and a stethoscope. He knew Katakuri always had one on him, but to see them scattered around the house as well was particularly insulting. To think the man really saw him as that weak…as if he was some kind of child that needed to be constantly watched-

Cosette.

Sanji swept the thought out of his mind, focusing himself on the task at hand. He needed to know that she would be safe, that everything he promised her would be true. Anything else could come later.

Katakuri was directly across from him, one arm resting on the table as the other raised a steaming cup of tea he’d somehow pulled out of thin air. He didn’t seem at all bothered by the chill in the air, bare chest exposed and tattoos reflecting a dull pink against the buttery yellow candlelight. From above him, Sanji could make out twin scars carved into his cheeks, mangled skin stitched back together with thick black cord. It was an unsettling sight, the symmetry of the lines speaking more of torture than battle, but Sanji wasn’t exactly in the mood to ask for the story behind them.

Even though Sanji was far taller than normal with his place on the table, Katakuri seemed even larger up close. His scarf was easily the size of Sanji’s entire body, and his eyes were large and expressive, the slight shifts in his features much more noticeable. Right now, he looked expectant, leaning slightly backwards to recline against his chair.

I’m supposed to go first, then. It had always been that way, and Katakuri had never failed to deliver on his promises, but with so much on the line Sanji couldn’t help being a little uneasy.

He wasn’t quite sure where to start, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before deciding to just get to the point. “I saw her the night she shot Reiju in her room. She taunted her by explaining what would happen at the wedding, how the bullets would tear right through her. I heard everything.”

Katakuri’s features shifted into a frown, the expression much easier to identify when it was right in front of him. “The door was locked. The guard reported that you never left your room. Mont d’Or confirmed it.”

Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, welcoming the cool nicotine that washed through his body. These weren’t exactly easy memories to relive, especially in the middle of the night with an enemy as his only company. “I snuck out to bring her dinner. The guard knew I was gone, but he knew that if he told anybody, they’d punish him for losing me. He agreed to pretend I’d never left.”

Katakuri’s fingers tightened around his teacup, and Sanji briefly rethought his words, struggling to find anything that might have set the man off. But his senses told him there was no danger, and when Katakuri spoke again, his voice was calm. “Why would you have brought her food? The palace provided meals.”

“I was worried about her. She hadn’t eaten much earlier…I thought she might have been nervous about the wedding. I wanted to bring her something simple, maybe help calm her down a little. It was the least I could do.” Sanji’s mouth twisted in a rueful smile as he remembered, before flattening out into a bitter line. “Never would’ve guessed she was just upset about having to deal with my stupid confession.”

“A confession?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

Katakuri’s massive shoulders lifted, an approximation of a shrug. “My responsibility was security. Mama trusted Pudding to handle you at her discretion.”

‘Handle’ me, huh? Well, she’d done a pretty damn good job of it; he’d never even thought of doubting her, right up until that moment outside of her window. “Whatever. I obviously didn’t go through with it. Hearing her shoot my sister kinda put a wrench in that, you know?”

Katakuri cocked his head, studying him for a moment. The pressure of his gaze was so familiar now that Sanji didn’t even feel disturbed by it, and Katakuri settled back soon after. “So you were aware of our plan. I suppose you saw her face uncovered, as well?”

“I didn’t, actually,” Sanji admitted. “I was on the ledge outside her room. Just heard, never saw.”

Another frown, the scars on his face stretching with the movement. “But you weren’t surprised when she revealed herself?”

Sanji wouldn’t say that. “I was surprised. Brook told me she planned to shock me, but I didn’t know what she’d look like. I had no idea what to expect…she took me off-guard.”

“And what did you say to her?” Katakuri demanded, the sudden force in his voice making Sanji take an involuntary step back. All at once, he was far too close, his teacup clattering to the table as he planted his hands on its surface and leaned forward. “I saw her fall to her knees. I saw her crying. What did you do?”

“I don’t know. I just said the first thing that came to mind, that’s it.” Sanji was caught between fear and anger, sensing the aggressive shift in the man’s aura but also recognizing the intimidation attempt. Hey, this wasn’t part of the deal-

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know about the Germa girl. Everything.” Katakuri’s voice was cold when he spoke of Cosette, the offer made before Sanji even made his complaint. Harsh. Dismissive. “Now, tell me what you said to her.”

Sanji bit back his retort, weighing options in his head before forcing himself to calm down. Pudding was safe, out of the Charlotte’s reach, but Cosette was still in danger; he needed to do whatever he could to secure her safety.

Everything about the wedding was a jumbled mess inside his head, a rush of imminent danger and changing plans and the mad dash to escape. He had to think back to what he’d seen on top of the cake, what he’d felt in the very moment Pudding had raised her veil and revealed her true self to him for the first time. Her façade had been completely wiped away, victorious pride present in every inch of her face, absolute hatred in her deep, deep eyes…

She’d been honest, genuine, real, and so much more of a person than her sugary sweet persona. He’d seen true emotion in her, purpose and drive and everything he’d never known she’d been missing before.

She’d been glorious.

“I told her the truth,” Sanji said softly, quietly, Katakuri almost forgotten as he replayed that vision of a fiery, vengeful goddess over and over in his mind. “I told her she was beautiful.”

Katakuri might have said something in reply, but Sanji’s eyes were on the table beneath him, his head lost in memory. He’d known that she was better than him before, a princess to a lowly sea-cook, but seeing her as herself had cemented it in his mind. In the hours later, she had turned to his side, soaking up his presence like she was starved for it, but Sanji knew it was really the acceptance she needed.

He was so familiar with it himself, after all. The desire to latch onto anything that gave kindness, the all-consuming gratitude that came only from being gifted a smile after having nothing for so long.

She deserves better. And she was with his crew, far away from the woman that had abused her, and free to bask in all the acceptance she’d been robbed of for her entire life.

When Sanji finally looked up again, it was to see Katakuri sitting back in his chair, arms crossed and fingers cinched tight around his biceps though his expression was unreadable. His eyes were on Sanji, but the look in them was something odd…something lighter than normal. A memory tugged at his mind, of a day so long ago when Katakuri had just started firing back to Sanji’s snide remarks-

“She was screaming for you in the cells. Not for any of the other Germa. Just you.”

Sanji wasn’t expecting Katakuri to speak, so it took him a moment to realize the man had jumped straight into fulfilling his part of the deal. When he did, however, the panic returned in full force. “She asked for me? What was she saying? Was she okay?”

Katakuri uncrossed his arms, reaching for his teacup. Somehow, the thing was half-empty, even though Sanji hadn’t seen the man take so much as a sip. “She wasn’t so much ‘asking for you’ as she was begging us not to hurt you. She insisted on your innocence, though I doubt she knew what we found you guilty of in the first place. And she was injured when we took her from the cell, as far as I know. All the Germa were together in the same cell block, and we didn’t see fit to regulate them. It’s possible one of the soldiers attacked her.”

His heart stuttered in his chest, cold pains lancing through him. He knew exactly who’d done it; it was hardly a question.

And it’s my fault. I left her with them. Niji would have had all the time in the world to get revenge.

There was nothing he could do about it now, but there was everything he could do to make sure it never happened again. “And you’ve accepted her, right? She’s one of your chefs now?”

“Smoothie claimed her as soon as she revealed her knowledge of sauces. She’s on her personal team, if you must know.” Katakuri set his teacup down on the table once more, this time leaning forward to clasp it with both hands as he narrowed his eyes at Sanji. “I don’t see why you care so much for her. She’s here as an assistant, nothing more.”

If Katakuri didn’t know about his connection to her before, he was sure as hell suspicious of it now, but Sanji damn well wasn’t about to give it away. “She’s just a kid, she doesn’t know what she’s getting into. Didn’t you see how much you fucking terrified her? Why didn’t you get an adult?”

Katakuri’s focus on him didn’t lessen in the slightest, gaze narrowing even further “I assumed you’d be more comfortable with someone you were familiar with. Was I mistaken?”

It had been good to see her, but Sanji would much rather have her as far away from this thing between him and Katakuri as possible. “Yeah, actually. She’s too young for this shit.”

Katakuri considered his words for a moment, then nodded. “My apologies, then. I’ll inform my sister of your judgement and have her sent back to the cell-”

“No!”

It was out of him before he could stop it, a single, panicked shout that he’d never be able to take back. The full force of Katakuri’s aura was on him in an instant, and trapped alone with the man in his room, Sanji knew there was nowhere he could run to escape what he’d just done. He should play it off, should pretend he’d misheard or misspoken or was simply too tired to think straight.

But I know what they’ll do to her.

Sanji couldn’t restrain himself any longer. The fear was too much. “No, don’t. You can’t. They’ll hurt her in there…they’ll kill her in there!”

Katakuri was speaking to him, saying something in a tone he vaguely recognized as a question, but Sanji was too far gone to hear him.

“They’ll fucking kill her, and they won’t even fucking think about it, because it’s a game, it’s just a stupid fucking game to them, they’ll fucking kill her-”

Then there was a shadow above him, Katakuri standing fully upright to tower over his smaller form. Hands came down around him, catching him tight in their grasp despite his wild attempts to push them away, and suddenly the ground was gone beneath his feet.

In the next instant, Katakuri’s yellow gaze filled his view, the man lifting him up to face height. Sanji kicked out against the cool air around his feet, struggling to push with enough force to propel himself out of the man’s grip, but in his frenzied state he failed to gather the strength.

“Sanji,” Katakuri breathed, all deep rumbling voice and warm solid presence all around him. “You need to calm down.”

It was all too much. The half-conscious haze of the past few days, this new change in his situation, the rush to protect Cosette…it was all catching up to him, and Sanji found that he had no energy left to pretend any longer. It always seemed to end like this, with Katakuri; the man outlasted him in sanity, outmaneuvered him in strategy, and seemed to be able to reduce him to this state at will.

“Talk to me, Sanji,” Katakuri murmured. “You said they’ll hurt her. Who are ‘they’?”

My brothers. But if he said that, Katakuri would ask why, and Sanji didn’t have it in him to deal with that right now.

So he just remained silent, arms clasped tight around the hands that held him suspended, breathing in and out and in and out until the panic subsided.

Katakuri gave him another moment, watching him as he settled back into his skin, before seeming to accept the lack of a response. “You don’t have to explain, Sanji. Not now. Just tell me what you want.”

That he could do. The words were falling out of him before he even thought to stop them. “Forget about Cosette. Forget that I knew her before. Forget that she ever had anything to do with me or Germa or the wedding. She’s a good chef, she’ll adapt to wherever you put her. Just…treat her like she’s been here all along.”

Silence. Katakuri’s hands were hot around his middle, and being held in the air for so long was starting to get to him. He felt light-headed, dizzy, unbalanced.

I need to make sure she’s safe. After all he had done to her, after all she’d been put through because of him, he wouldn’t let himself rest until he knew she’d be free of him.

“Please,” Sanji whispered, head down, ready to accept whatever Katakuri demanded in return. “I’ll trade for it. Whatever you want. Just…please.”

He waited for an answer, for the inevitable price he’d have to pay to fill such a tall order. He was ready, no matter the cost.

A sigh was all that greeted him, as well as the feeling of wind brushing against him as he was gently lowered back to the table and released.

“You should sleep, Sanji,” came Katakuri’s voice, normal, calm. It was as if he’d just finished reciting this week’s dessert requests instead of talking him down from a panic attack. “It’s late. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Sanji said, the sound echoing dully in his own ears. “Okay.”

A few taps on the mirror, a quick word to Brulee, and he was stepping through the glass and into what had become their temporary command room while Whole Cake Chateau still lay in ruin.

Smoothie was already there, sitting at the table and waiting patiently. Her eyes were on the mirror across from her, watching her territory’s shores, but she acknowledged him with a nod.

He took a seat across from her. “A fine idea, sister.”

He could sense his sister’s jolt of confusion though her features remained even, his haki oddly sensitive in a way he was unfamiliar with. It had been that way ever since his battle with the rookie, slowly branching out until he had a vague, hazy sense of what the people around him were feeling.

It was…exciting, to explore this new branch of his ability. It came so easily now that it had been awakened, and he recognized that his sister was surprised by what he said, clearly unused to the praise and unsure what to do in response to it.

Only for a moment, though. She adapted; it was what she was good at. “So it worked?”

“Yes. Quite well, in fact.”

“Did you find what caused it?”

For a person so unafraid to speak his mind, Sanji was far too good at hiding things. He’d spent three days tirelessly working, using his foresight to predict how Sanji would react to a thousand different tactics as the cook went about his life. He’d ended up sitting in silence most of the time, trapped in the frustrating cycle of observing Sanji, planning a move, then looking to the future only to see it fail.

But for all Sanji’s defenses, he’d finally let something slip through. Something interesting…something vital.

And Katakuri knew he had a certain visit to make that was long overdue.

[kieren-fucking-walker]

To Give Meaning (Brotzly Christmas Fic)

In which sometimes the meaning behind the gift is the most important thing of all, and sometimes Todd gets it all right (for a change.)

Here’s the fluffy Christmas Brotzly I promised! Heed the notes, my fluff writing is… really not that great compared to my angst and I have had quite a few glasses of wine but I promised and have delivered.

Happy Holidays you lovely lot <3

(AO3)

Todd collapses down onto the sofa after the goodbyes have finished and the door has finally closed behind Farah. It’s close to midnight now, Christmas is almost over and he can hear Dirk rattling around the kitchen doing something Todd can only hope isn’t going to end in disaster. They’ve somehow gotten through the day without it so far, he’d like to keep it that way just for once.

It’s the best Christmas he’s had in a long time. If he’s being honest Todd had never much cared for the holiday, not after Amanda had stopped believing in Santa and it had lost that last spark of magic, even less so when he was juggling all the lies he’d been telling to his family. For the last few years he hadn’t even gone home, just dropped in on Amanda and spent the day watching movies and drinking together which had been fine, good actually, but none of those days had anything on today.

Dirk had woken him up at the ungodly hour of 7am by sneaking around and trying to hide presents under the tree he’d insisted on putting up on the first of December. He’d knocked the tree over in the process and Todd had caught him, wide-eyed with tinsel in his hair denying all involvement. He’d let Dirk get as far as blaming Santa before accepting his fate as being awake for the day and going to make coffee, he needed three cups before the sound of Christmas songs stop making him want to bash his head through the wall. An hour later Dirk had forced him into a horrendously garish Christmas jumper and nearly burned the kitchen down making bacon pancakes. Todd had forgiven him almost immediately because he’d been too distracted by the fact that Dirk could sing, even more distracted by the smile he’d gotten when he’d joined in, to notice the bacon was starting to smoke.

Farah had turned up just as they’d finished airing out the kitchen and righting the Christmas tree and under her supervision they’d managed to put together something resembling a Christmas dinner while Dirk tried and failed to hide his excitement. It turned out to be contagious, Farah’s smile came easier than usual and Todd didn’t even complain when Dirk held mistletoe over his head and demanded he kiss him, he’d just rolled his eyes and leaned in.

Hobbs and Tina had called after dinner had passed without incident, giving them a slightly drunken rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Tina had reminded Farah that she still needed someone to kiss on New Years Eve to which Farah had blushed and downed her glass of wine in lieu of giving an answer. Hobbs and Dirk complemented each other on their jumper choices and Todd watched the way Dirk lit up when Sherlock had picked out the smaller details and he’d babbled on about the knit pattern as soon as he had a willing ear.

Presents had been… an experience. Todd didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone as excited as Dirk to open presents, even Amanda who had woken him up for eight years by screaming and jumping on his bed hadn’t possessed the level of sheer delight that Dirk manages, grin reaching all the way to his eyes and shining under the Christmas lights. Todd can’t think of anything that could make him enjoy Christmas more and immediately berated himself for being so sappy. Still though, they’d sat around the tree and opened presents in an order that Dirk insisted they stick to but only he seemed to understand and by the time they’d finished Dirk had layered a new purple jacket over his jumper, Farah was balancing the weight of a set of throwing knives and Todd was trying very hard not to keep staring at the collection of Ramones original vinyl pressings that his teenage self would have thought was the coolest thing ever, and his significantly older self still did. Amanda had a present under the tree still but she hadn’t been very specific about when she’d be dropping by, sending a Merry Christmas text with a picture of Vogel wrapped in Christmas lights and promising it would be soon. Oddly enough he didn’t find himself missing her that much, not sat here laughing with Dirk and Farah, knowing she was out enjoying herself with her own found family.

The day had continued with one disastrous game of charades, but mostly with films. Farah pointing out the continuity errors and complaining about the realism of the fight scenes, Dirk providing commentary that became less and less accurate as the hours wore on, and Todd sat between them on the sofa watching them both fondly when they weren’t looking. At some point Dirk wraps an arm around him and Todd leans into his side, their relationship isn’t exactly new, but being close around other people is and even though it’s only Farah that’s with them Todd is surprised by just how much it doesn’t bother him.

There’s still something that’s been hanging over him all day though, and as the hours creep closer towards midnight he feels himself growing more nervous with it. It hits its peak when Farah announces she’s leaving for the night, bundling up her gifts and wrapping them both in warm hugs at the door and as soon as it closes behind her Todd feels his heart rate pick up, glancing at Dirk’s back as he makes his way through to the kitchen.

When Dirk comes back he’s holding two mugs, one which he holds out to Todd full of coffee, and one Todd knows is full of tea with more sugar than the numerous candy canes Dirk had been eating that morning. He smiles, but it doesn’t quite meet his eyes and Dirk tilts his head thoughtfully.

“Are you alright?” he asks, sinking down next to him and sipping at his tea. For a moment Todd just watches him, trying to work out if he should go through with it or not but the decision is already made really and he sets his coffee down on the table.

“I have something for you, actually. Something else, I mean. I don’t know if…” he trails off with a sigh, shaking his head in the face of Dirk’s confused look and reaching down the back of the sofa to pull out an envelope. Dirk’s frown deepens at the sight of it.

“I don’t- Isn’t that one of our files?” he asks, placing his tea down as well when Todd holds it out to him.

“I couldn’t find another envelope to put it in,” he shrugs, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. “I just- I might have- I don’t want to-” his stuttering through reasoning isn’t making the situation any better and he just waves his hand as a go ahead to open it, unable to make eye contact and wondering if he’s made a huge mistake.

Dirk can’t work out what would have Todd so worried, and it’s making him a little nervous himself. More than that though he’s curious, and he flips the envelope over to open it with more care than he’s opened anything, even the parcel he’d thought may have been a bomb. Somehow this seems to carry more weight.

It’s just sheets of paper at first sight, and he’s even more confused until he pulls them out a little and sees the bold type stamped across the top of the page. There’s nothing he can do for a moment but stare, reading the words but not quite registering them.

Probate and Family Court Department - Change of Name Petition.

“Oh,” is what comes out when he finally opens his mouth to speak. There are tears stinging at his eyes and when he manages to tear his gaze away from the page Todd is watching him with wide eyes, chewing on his lip and fidgeting with his fingers.

“I just thought, you know, after everything… and you never legally got it changed so if you ever had to give a legal name it wouldn’t be your name and I know you hate the other one and-” he’s rambling too much but Dirk is still just staring at him and he hasn’t actually said anything but he looks like he’s going to cry. Todd wonders if he’s hugely miscalculated and panics. “Sorry. Fuck, this was a stupid idea I’ll just-” he doesn’t get chance to finish his sentence because Dirk has pulled him into a hug that’s far too tight and there’s a wetness where he’s hidden his face against his neck. It’s instinct to hug him back, heart still racing but feeling like maybe it’s not as bad as he’d thought.

“I…” Dirk trails off, finally easing off a bit and pulling back to look at him, eyes flickering over Todd’s face as he works out what to say. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” and Todd would laugh if it wasn’t for the gravity with which he says it, like he’s never been more sure of anything in his life. Todd has never known what to do when faced with Dirk’s unfailing certainty.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s not like… I didn’t have to pay for it or anything. I mean, it will have to be paid for if you want to do it, that is. I just…” voicing his emotions has never been his strong suit, he doesn’t know how to tell Dirk he deserves everything Todd can give him and ten times more. Doesn’t know how to say he just wants him to be happy, that he wants them both to have a chance at a new start. “I love you,” it may be the easiest way to say it but that doesn’t take away from the meaning behind the words. Dirk smiles, it’s watery but still reaches his eyes and he reaches out to cup Todd’s jaw with his hand.

“I love you too,” and maybe Dirk has always found it easier to say but that doesn’t mean he means it any less. Todd knows that, he feels it when Dirk pulls him into a kiss that’s hardly any more than chaste but conveys everything neither of them have the words for right now.

When they pull apart they don’t go far, Dirk rests their heads together and Todd watches his eyes sparkle in the colours of the fairy lights strewn around the apartment. It’s gentle, soft, the kind of moment he wishes he could bottle up and pull out when either of them have bad days so they can remember what it feels like to be so completely loved by another. He can’t though, and he’s more than happy to settle for taking the moment as it is and storing it away to keep for himself.

“I’ll need to find a pen,” is what breaks the silence between them. “I’ve never filled out any real forms before, there’s a lot of pages.” He sounds almost nervous at the prospect and Todd smiles.

“We can do it together. It can’t be harder than a tax return, those things are evil. Not that you’d know,” it’s teasing, Dirk never fills out any paperwork he knows he can get someone else to do. It feels important that he does this one though, Todd wants him to do it.

“Shall we make copies just in case?” it’s an oddly sensible suggestion from Dirk that gives away how important it is to him, Todd just steals another kiss.

“Tomorrow. We’ll make copies tomorrow,” he promises, linking their fingers together and Dirk smiles, bright and happy this time.

“Tomorrow,” he agrees, pulling him back into a hug that’s gentler than the last one but no less warm. “Thank you.”

Todd just closes his eyes and leans into him, thinks that this might just be his favourite place in the world. How about that. “Merry Christmas, Dirk.”

[casualarsonist]

Assassin’s Creed: Origins first impressions

Yes, once again it’s time for me to play 20 hours of a game and only be able to give a ‘first impressions’ review, because in this day and age if you’re not able to play a game like a full-time job then are you even playing at all?

I must admit though, for all their flaws as a developer and as a publisher, Ubisoft have, for the last few months at least, given me some of the most consistent gaming enjoyment that I’ve experienced in a while, and it’s due in no small part to the marked increase in quality in their recent releases. It started with Far Cry 5, which I will talk about once I’ve finished it, and continues with Assassin’s Creed: Origins, which is easily one of the top three games in the series. 

However, (and we’re talking about Ubisoft here, so of course there’s a ‘however’) there’s something I want to talk about first, and that’s a little thing I call the ‘Ubisoft Enjoyment Curve’. 

If the title isn’t self-explanatory enough, the UEC is a visual representation of my enjoyment when playing a Ubisoft game, and it’s a pattern that is consistent among most of their games in most of their franchises. If one were to do a shitty MSPaint drawing of it, it would look a little like this:

This particular mock-up pertains specifically to AC games, but generally speaking, the UEC tracks a boring tutorial followed by a sharp increase in enjoyment as the world opens up, followed by a plateau when one starts getting into the repetitive gameplay loop. This is followed by a sharp decrease in enjoyment as the loop gets tedious, ending on a low as the final battle underwhelms. My experiences with Ubisoft games tend to follow this exact same pattern every time because the company consistently manage to do certain specific things very well, and certain specific things very poorly. For example, no-one designs an open-world like Ubisoft. While the world of, say, The Witcher 3 is a stunning place filled with gorgeous visual detail, it’s still a collection of discrete zones that can only be travelled between via loading screens. Origins, however, is one enormous, stunning, and SEAMLESS representation of Hellenistic Egypt, and somehow it performs like a dream. When the game first offered me a mission to leave the starting village of Siwa and travel to a different city, I finished everything there was to be done because I was convinced that, like Assassin’s Creed 2, for example, I’d be transported to another self-contained city sandbox, cut off from the rest of the world. So imagine my surprise where I realised you could just ride from one end of the country to the other on horseback, and as soon as I was loaded into Alexandria, I could turn right around and walk straight back to Siwa if I wanted to. You can gaze across the deserts surrounding Giza and see the glorious lighthouse at Alexandria towering on the horizon miles  in the distance, and if you want, you can make a beeline for it and rarely encounter stuttering and pop-in, with nary a loading screen at all. This technical sorcery is one of Ubi’s greatest strengths as a developer, and although, for example, Black Flag had attempted something like this in their open world, the fact remains that that world is a collection of islands, lacking even half the detail and landmass featured here. Even the most recent game before Origins - Syndicate - took place in the city of London alone. A large city, but much less a ‘world’ and more a ‘zone’. So once one slogs through the grind of the mandated Ubisoft tutorial (as if you’re not just playing practically the same game as you were ten years ago), the enjoyment spike that comes along with exploring the expanding world is dramatic. 

But then, after a few hours of running round on an exotic virtual holiday, they hit you with the god-awful present-day missions. Now it’s not that I object to the meta-narrative - failing to adequately follow-up Desmond Miles’ storyline is actually one of the series’ greatest mistakes, in my opinion. The promise of that story, and in particular (SPOILERS) the stunning and fantastic anti-climax for Ezio Auditore at the end of his life’s search for the secrets of Eden, as the Ancients delivered their message through him and over hundreds of years of time to Desmond, was one of the main reasons I was so excited for the follow-up entries following Ezio’s retirement as a character. But it’s specifically because they’ve failed to give the player any reasonable incentive to care about the meta-narrative that these missions are so unbearable. I mean, there’s also next-to-nothing to do in them, but it’s unsurprising that a lack of compelling storytelling begets a lack of compelling gameplay. I genuinely think that they could have thrown that shit out entirely with this entry - I would have been more relieved than anything if they had - and while I can’t comment on how this particular story develops, there seems to be little, if anything, going on as far as I’ve played. It’s more engaging than the confusing, entirely cutscene-based meta-story of Syndicate, but still, the present-day portions of Origins that I’ve played so far take place in a tiny, relatively featureless environment that offer little more than an annoying distraction from the true wonders of the game. 

After leaping back into the past, however, it isn’t long before the comfortable familiarity of the AC formula and the wonder of the game world begins to offer diminishing returns. Because once one has explored enough of the map, it becomes pretty clear that whatever changes Ubisoft have made for this entry are ultimately pretty superficial - Egypt may be beautiful to look at, but in many ways it’s like the pre-rendered backgrounds of old in that there’s little by way of interactivity here. At its core, this Assassin’s Creed game is fundamentally the same as that Assassin’s Creed game, and you’ve probably got another 50 hours ahead of you before you’ve finished with it. And while this plateau in enjoyment can hold out for 5, maybe 10 hours, eventually, always, the repetition of the gameplay and the lack of true content always gets the better of me, and rather than investing in what I’m doing, I start enjoying my time less and less. I stop listening to what the characters have to say and just perform side missions by rote, and I’ve noticed that, for all the talk of Origin’s side-missions being more developed than in other AC games, this is only superficially true, and it still falls into the old trap of cut-and-paste content. On the surface, it would like you to think that the old dog has learnt new tricks, but when you find yourself unlocking a cage and carrying a captive out of an enemy camp for the twelfth time you’ll see that Origins still embodies some of the longest-standing flaws of the series as a whole. And it’s all the more annoying because the repetition in the side content doesn’t necessarily have to be such an issue, but as always, the busywork still ends up taking up an enormous amount of your time in-game, vastly outweighing the time spent engaging in any kind of story-related content, and it saps away a lot of the life the game might otherwise have.  

So, with that said, what does the game do right?

The story begins in media res, and it does a fairly good job of catching the player up on the history of the main character - Bayek - and why he has you doing the things you’re doing. While it might initially felt like I’d skipped past interesting parts of a bigger story, I can’t help but feel like there is so much more to be revealed that I don’t know about yet, and this parallels the journey of Bayek himself, who begins the game equally ignorant as to how deep the conspiracy he has found himself embroiled in goes. For what I’ve seen, the game takes a rather hands-off approach to telling its story, as opposed to, say AC2, which leans into its historical figures and has a lot of fun with its fictionalised version of history. Origins opts instead to spend as little time as possible explaining its story via cutscenes, and throws the player into the doing rather than holding them up with the telling, and in my opinion it could have afforded to play with its history more. But again, I’m not sure how much of the story I’ve played so I can’t comment on how this changes later on. 

The time period of the setting is absolutely inspired as well, and depicts Egypt when it was the point of intersection of three diverse cultures - the Greek, Egyptian, and Romans all meeting as civil war stirs between the armies of Cleopatra and her brother/husband (yeah) Ptolemy XIII. This incredible time in history lends the game an immense diversity of both architecture and people, and the player gets to experience the joy of interacting with these, and playing the lynchpin of the political machinations of some of the most fascinating figures ever to have lived. 

Another area in which Origins excels over its previous games is the interaction between its various gameplay systems, and while it isn’t anywhere as detailed as say, something like Far Cry 2 in terms of emergent gameplay, it’s still a step up over previous entries. For example, I’ve seen soldiers affected by beserk darts crack open cages holding rebel prisoners, who have then gone on to cause extended chaos amongst the soldiers protecting a stronghold, leaving me free to slip in and out unnoticed. Sleep darts thrown into fires will explode in a cloud of sedative gas and knock out handfuls of people at a time. Poisoning corpses and wandering away can result in you returning to a dozen dead bodies strewn over the place as guards investigating dead comrades have carried disease back to their living counterparts. Tense battles can and will be interrupted by crocodiles or hippos racing in and devouring your enemies. Punt boats can be set on fire and sunk from under the people standing on top of them, or rammed and tipped, leaving their pilots swimming for their lives. Oil jars can be thrown into water, broken, and the spreading oil slick ignited. On multiple occasions I’ve avoided danger because the person who spotted me dropped dead on the spot with disease, or was attacked by a predator in the process of attacking me. I wish the game had gone farther with its fire mechanics, and I suppose in the grand scheme of things it feels a little half-hearted in terms of its implementation of some of these ideas, but still, it’s better than it has ever been. 

Origins also has the tidiest implementation of its climbing mechanics of any AC game yet. There’s a far more definitive use of  ‘press X to climb, press O to drop’ that leaves little room for you to be unsure as to whether you need to hit one or the other to scale that small ledge. The game is also much more forgiving in terms of which surface it will let you climb and where - as a result, Origins is much less a puzzle-climber than other games in the series, and it’s rare that you’ll end up getting stuck on something because the designers have simply decided that you’re not allowed to cling to that particular thing above your head. They also removed the infuriating restriction on jumping that was a particularly frustrating part of Syndicate - the one that completely stops you from leaping from ledges above a certain height - meaning that you’re free to leap to your death if you CHOOSE to, because this is 2018 and I should be able to make my characters commit suicide if I damn well want to. These movement tweaks open the way for more free-flowing experience, and allow for instinctive and reactive control by the player: if you’re chasing someone transporting resources and they disappear inside a stronghold, you don’t have to spend the next five minutes wandering around the perimeter looking for an entry point only to find that you can’t get down from the wall you just climbed - now you can just just take it in your stride and continue hunting your prey. 

These small quality-of-life improvements make a big difference to the overall feeling of ‘tracking and attacking’ (trademark, me, 2018), particularly when combined with the overhauled combat. No-longer is the combat system a poor-man’s knockoff of the Arkham series; instead you have direct control over blocking, light and heavy attacks, dodging and parrying, and characters are free-moving with the ability to lock on. It’s a bit more button-mashy, but you don’t have to spend your time waiting for the enemy to attack; instead it encourages movement and pressing the initiative. You’re even able to equip up to four weapons, including two bows that operate as a stealthy and fully-featured replacement for the pistols/throwing knives that appeared in the previous games. In response to this, enemy awareness has been ramped up, meaning that even the quietest assassinations will alert any guard close enough to you, and you can and will be spotted fairly quickly if you creep without care. That said, even on hard, the game becomes easy as soon as you level up higher than the enemies around you, but you’re offered a menu option to make enemies level up with you, and for those that want the game to keep pushing them (and I’d say it’s necessary to hold off some of the tedium of the gameplay routine) I’d recommend it.   

Lastly, I’d like to go into greater detail about the world design. From the gorgeous Mediterranean waters of Alexandria, through the verdant Nile Delta areas, to the desolate sands of the southern deserts, and the immense and haunting Giza pyramids, the game’s visuals are every bit the pinnacle of Ubisoft’s efforts. It can’t be overstated how amazing Origins looks, and there’s so much joy to be taken from simply standing and looking around, or touring the backstreets and bazaars and temples and cobbled carriageways. In a game like this it’s easy to get buried by the repetition and fail to see the forest for the trees, so it’s certainly a joy to snap out of that every now and then and just go for a walk and admire the level of detail on display. More than Syndicate with it’s rows and rows of similar buildings, or Black Flag and Rogue with their giant stretches of water, Origins feels like a world designed by hand and with care. Every surface and texture feels like it was placed with intention, and it gives you that very ‘Assassin’s Creed’ feeling in which you wonder just how close to the design the reality of the place actually was. 

Collectively, my first impressions are skewed quite positive, although even now I’m finding myself falling prey to a fatigue common to my experience with these games. Taking the extra year for development has certainly done it some good - it’s clear that the ambition and quality in its presentation has increased with the increase in development time, and that a few fresh ideas have managed to penetrate the wall of executives that make all the decisions for this type of thing. But one shouldn’t be misled - Assassin’s Creed: Origins is still the same old Assassin’s Creed, and if there’s any core feature of the series that you despise, chances are you’re going to run into it here. That said, it still remains one of the best games they’ve made. It’s huge, detailed, gorgeous, open-ended, with visceral and bloody combat, a number of entertaining systems that interact to hilarious effect. When it works, it works really well - it’s fun. But it does suffer from the fact that the size and scale of the game means more faffing about with relatively meaningless busywork, and it’s this repetition that dulls the shine of the world around you. In some ways it feels more of a throwback to older AC games whilst still having some new ideas of its own, but when it comes down to it, it’s the latest AC game. So...get it if you like AC games, I guess? Because it’s the latest one. 

[magzoso-tech]

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/samsung-galaxy-s20-review/

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review

Samsung’s bouquet of premium Android smartphones this year looks promising. We have the S20 series for photography enthusiasts, and the Galaxy Z Flip for those looking for the bleeding edge of smartphone technology. We haven’t even counted the next Galaxy Note smartphone, which should come later in the year, and will no doubt have unique features to brag about too.

The big focus for the new Galaxy S20 series this year are the cameras. Samsung is making a lot of noise about its new ‘Space Zoom’ feature and the fact that the S20 models are the first to offer 8K video recording at a useful framerate. The phones looked quite impressive when we first saw them at Samsung’s Unpacked event last month, and now it’s time to take a closer and more in-depth look, starting with the Galaxy S20+.

This is the direct successor to the Galaxy S10+ and like with every iteration, we should expect a sleeker design, better battery life, improved camera performance, and of course, a more powerful processor.

Priced at Rs. 73,999 in India for the sole 128GB version, is the Galaxy S20+ worth it? Let’s have a look.

  Samsung Galaxy S20+ design

The Galaxy S20+ is instantly recognisable as a Samsung smartphone. Compared to the Galaxy S10+, Samsung has refined the design. The upper and lower bezels of the display are narrower, and the glass back has a wider curve at the sides, covering more of the aluminium frame. This phone is still very comfortable to hold but the glossy finish does make it quite slippery. It’s not too thick at 7.8mm, but it’s slightly heavier than its predecessor at 186g.

The narrow display borders and slightly taller body have allowed Samsung to use a much larger display. The Galaxy S20+ features a 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, with support for HDR 10+ and, for the first time, a 120Hz refresh rate. You can set the display to run at 60Hz at its full resolution, or 120Hz at or a lower, full-HD+ resolution (which is the default setting) if you like. However, you can’t have the 120Hz refresh rate at the full resolution, at least not yet. There have been rumours about Samsung planning on allowing this with a software update in the future.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ has a gorgeous display with a 120Hz refresh rate

The Galaxy S20+ loses the secondary selfie camera that the Galaxy S10+ had, and instead there’s a single, centre-mounted hole-punch cutout. It’s not obtrusive in any way, and apps generally block out that area, so the cutout doesn’t interfere with menus or other UI elements from fullscreen apps. The volume and power buttons are on the right, and Samsung has done away with the dedicated Bixby button. Instead, you can customise the long-press function of the power button to either wake Bixby or launch the power menu. A double-press action can also be set to launch the camera, open Bixby, or any other app.

The SIM tray is on the top of the phone and can either house two Nano-SIMs or a single SIM and a microSD card. At the bottom of the phone, Samsung has gotten rid of the headphone socket for its flagships since the Galaxy Note 10, and so here, we just have the microphone, USB Type-C port, and a speaker. There is an earpiece just above the camera hole, cleverly camouflaged between the outer frame and display, making it virtually impossible to see.

We have the Cosmic Gray colour variant of the Galaxy S20+, but it’s also available in Could Blue and Cosmic Black trims in India. There is a rectangular camera bump on the rear, which houses four camera sensors, a microphone, and the LED flash.

The design of the camera cluster reminds us a lot of some of the recent Galaxy A-series offerings we’ve seen, which we feel dilutes the Galaxy S20 series’ street presence a little. We would have liked a more distinctive design for the rear of this phone, much like what Apple did with the iPhone 11 (Review) series, just to give its flagships better flaunt value.

The back of the Samsung Galaxy S20+ looks a bit bland in our opinion

Having said that, the Galaxy S20+ feels a lot more premium than any of Samsung’s mid-range phones, once you actually hold it. It’s extremely well built, has a higher screen-to-body ratio, and is still fairly light. In the box, you can expect to find a 25W fast charger, a Type-C to Type-C charging cable, an AKG-branded headset, a silicone case, and the usual leaflets. The Galaxy S20+ ships with a screen guard which for once is well applied and not intrusive when performing gestures.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ specifications and software

Globally, Samsung is marketing the S20 series as 5G smartphones, however in India, the entire S20 series will only support 4G. The 5G version of the Galaxy S20+ comes in multiple storage variants but the LTE-only version, which we have, is sold in just one configuration with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The latter is expandable, which is something we don’t see too often these days on flagship phones. Samsung has also used LPDDR5 memory here, which promises higher data rates and lower power consumption.

Like all previous Galaxy S flagships sold in India, the Galaxy S20+ is powered by an Exynos chip rather than a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, and the one used here is the Exynos 990. You can read more about it here, but essentially it’s a 7nm octa-core SoC with two custom Samsung cores for heavy-duty tasks, two Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores for lighter workloads. Graphics is handled by the Mali-G77 GPU, which claims to offer a 20 percent boost in performance over the previous generation. Overall, we should expect performance along the lines of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 SoC.

The in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the Samsung Galaxy S20+ is quick and never fails

You also get all the other flagship connectivity features you would expect such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, stereo speakers tuned by AKG, Hi-Res audio support for wired headphones, IP68 dust and water resistance, fast wireless charging, NFC, and MST support for Samsung Pay.

The Galaxy S20+ runs One UI 2.1 which is based on Android 10, and our unit originally shipped with the February security patch. However, we received a software update, during our review with the March security patch. The latest version of Samsung’s Android skin feels extremely refined, and even though there are a tonne of features to explore, it doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.

Features such as Samsung Dex and Link to Windows are present, and you also get the usual Samsung staples such as a built-in screen recorder, a screenshot editor, Edge screen, and a highly customisable always-on-display. Augmented reality (AR) features are all grouped together in an app called AR Zone, so you don’t have to launch the camera app just to use features such as AR Doodle.

One UI will show you promotional messages as notifications but this can be fixed by simply disabling a few toggles in the Privacy menu of the Settings app.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ performance and battery life

The Galaxy S20+ delivered rock-solid performance in the time we used it, and we expected nothing less. One UI has really grown on us, and today it’s easily one of our favourite Android skins. The 120Hz display makes scrolling through menus feel snappy and gives the overall usage experience a more fluid feel. However, we preferred using the Galaxy S20+ at the QHD+ resolution just for that extra bit of sharpness in the UI, but that’s just us. It’s a little surprising that 120Hz is not enabled by default (which should have been the case), as we suspect many users might not discover that this option even exists.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ offers very good app and gaming performance

The Exynos 990 is a solid performer, and the benchmarks solidify our experience. In AnTuTu, we got a score of 5,17,291 points, while the 3DMark Slingshot Extreme graphics test returned 6,721 points. These numbers were slightly lower than the scores we got from the Realme X50 Pro 5G (5,69,618 in AnTuTu and 7,202 in 3DMark). In any case, you’d be hard-pressed to notice any difference in real-world performance and even games. The usual heavy-hitters such as PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade ran absolutely smoothly at the highest settings. The Galaxy S20+ got quite hot after about 20 minutes of gaming, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.

The display is easily one of the best we’ve come across. Colours are rich with very good saturation, and brightness is more than adequate. The ambient light sensor can be a little sluggish at times, when it comes to adjusting brightness to match ambient light, but this isn’t a big complaint. HDR content looks very good, and thanks to the slimmer bezels, watching videos felt very immersive.

Audio quality from the stereo speakers was quite impressive too. The earpiece and the bottom-firing speaker sounded well balanced, and with Dolby Atmos enabled, the spatial separation was audibly better. Bass is still a little weak but there’s enough warmth in the sound to prevent it from seeming tinny. The bundled AKG provides equally good audio as well as passive isolation from ambient noise.

We should touch upon the phone’s biometric authentication systems. There’s the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, which is fast and didn’t fail us during the review period. Face recognition is also an option, and it works well but isn’t as fast as we would have liked. It also tends to struggle in very low light, in which case, we had to resort to our fingerprint for authentication.

The hole-punch cutout is small and not too intrusive

All of this does take a toll on battery life, which is why Samsung has bumped up the capacity to 4,500mAh for the Galaxy S20+. It’s safe to say that battery life is pretty solid, but not exceptional. We were able to get a 24-hour runtime on most days, when our usage wasn’t very heavy. However, on days when we used the camera a lot or played games for a long time, we did have to charge the phone a little sooner.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to charge the Galaxy S20+. With the bundled 25W adapter, we managed to charge the battery up to 55 percent in half an hour and up to 93 percent in an hour. It also supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, if you have a compatible 10W or higher wireless charger. Like before, the Galaxy S20+ also supports Wireless PowerShare or reverse wireless charging, which can be used to charge accessories such as the Galaxy Buds+.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ has a brand new camera setup with two of the highlight features being 8K video recording and up to 30x hybrid zoom. The primary sensor still has a 12-megapixel resolution with Dual Pixel autofocus, an f/1.8 aperture, and OIS, but the pixel size is now 1.8 microns compared to 1.4 microns on the previous model.

The ultra wide-angle camera also uses a 12-megapixel sensor, but with smaller 1.4 micron pixels, a narrower f/2.2 aperture, and no autofocus. The telephoto camera gets the biggest change, with a 64-megapixel sensor but no optical stabilisation. The ‘Plus’ model that we have has a depth vision camera which is absent in the standard Galaxy S20. Another change, which you’ve probably noticed, is that Samsung has ditched its variable aperture system with the Galaxy S20 series, for better or worse.

The camera interface feels familiar if you’ve used any recent Samsung phone. We have a customisable row of shooting modes just above the shutter button, while the rest of the settings such as the aspect ratio, timer and toggle for ‘Motion photo’ sit on the far side of the viewfinder. The app offers toggles to enable the Scene Optimiser, which detects objects or a scene in the frame. Shot Suggestion will offer tips to better your framing, and there are experimental features such as HDR 10+ video, which can be enabled.

Initial reviews of the Galaxy S20 Ultra highlighted some big issues with the autofocus system, which Samsung has promised to fix. While we didn’t face any such issues with the Galaxy S20+ while we were testing it, we received a software update which promised improvements for the cameras. We re-tested the cameras and didn’t find anything new or different about the usage experience, but we did note that low light selfies seemed to have gotten better.

Landscape shot taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

Wide-angle shot taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

Close-up shot taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

When shooting with the main camera under good light, the Galaxy S20+ captured very good details with pleasing colours and no visible noise in the shadow areas. HDR is handled very well, even when shooting subjects directly against the light. With the wide-angle camera, there’s a lot more of any scene to capture, but you do get some barrel distortion. Close-up shots also turned out great, with excellent detail, sharpness and good natural bokeh.

The really fun part is the phone’s new zoom system. The telephoto camera offers 2x optical zoom, and beyond that, it uses a mix of AI-assisted hybrid zoom and digital zoom. You can directly jump to certain zoom levels with dedicated buttons that appear once you tap the telephoto icon in the viewfinder. You can manually zoom in to a precise point as well, using the traditional pinch gesture.

Zoom samples of the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for larger image)

Photos taken with the telephoto camera were good, given ample light. During our initial testing, we found image quality inconsistent, but following the software update, things seem to have gotten better. After the 10x zoom level, textures on objects look visibly smoothened as grain and noise are removed. At the full 30x zoom, the Galaxy S20+ is able to resolve a decent amount of detail. Compared to cropping a native 64-megapixel sample, the same image with a 30x zoom offers better clarity. Beyond 20x, you get a little preview window in the upper left corner of the viewfinder to help you frame your shot.

Low light zoom sample taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for larger image)

Low light close-up taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

Low light shot taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

In low light, using high levels of zoom doesn’t yield very favourable results. However, using Night mode with 10x zoom can offer vastly better results than a standard shot with the same zoom level. Speaking of Night mode, this works across all three main sensors and helps get rid of grain and improves exposures. Low-light performance in general is very good too. We managed to get some good details and colours with the primary camera, and noise was handled well too.

Portrait sample taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

Live Focus mode works well, and we had a good success rate with people, but objects were a bit of a hit or miss. The background depth effect can be adjusted before or after you take a shot, and you can even apply different bokeh effects. Edge detection was also handled well.

A new shooting mode in the Galaxy S20+ is called Single Take. With this, the camera captures a 10-second video along with stills at various intervals, and based on what’s being shot, it will automatically apply filters to some of the shots. This is most effective when you’re capturing an activity, rather than a still scene.

The Galaxy S20+ is a very capable smartphone for video too. The highlight of course is 8K video, which works well, but you’ll need an 8K display or TV to really take advantage of such footage. It’s great that we have a phone that can record at this resolution, but since the frame rate is limited to 24fps, we found it better to simply stick with 4K video. Image quality is very good in daylight, with excellent stabilisation and details. In low light, the stabilisation causes a bit of a wobble effect in video, but other than this, the quality is good.

You can switch between all the cameras, including the selfie camera, when shooting up at to 4K resolution at 30fps. Video quality understandably isn’t very good when shooting with the wide-angle or telephoto cameras in low light. There’s the Super Steady video mode too, which is supposed to offer gimbal-level smoothness. While it does work to an extent, we preferred the quality when using the primary camera for a couple of reasons. In Super Steady mode, only the wide-angle or telephoto cameras (depending on the perspective you select) are used, and the resolution is restricted to 1080p.

Other shooting modes include Live Focus for videos, and there’s even a manual video mode now, just like you have for stills. Super slow-motion mode is present too, but at 960fps, you’re still limited to a 720p resolution.

Selfie taken with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (tap for full-sized image)

Coming to the selfie camera, we have a 10-megapixel sensor with Dual Pixel AF and an f/2.2 aperture. During the day, the beautification filter that’s on by default smoothens skin textures quite heavily, making photos look unnatural. Switching it off improves results considerably. Live Focus is also a bit of a hit or miss, with incorrect edge detection. Before the software update, we had terrible results with the selfie camera in low light, but things have improved a bit post the update.

Verdict

The Galaxy S20+ might seem very expensive, but Samsung has actually priced it the same as the Galaxy S10+, when it launched a year ago. From that perspective, the Galaxy S20+ offers improved design and performance across the board, which makes it a worthy upgrade. Some of its stand-out features include the new zoom system for the rear cameras, the excellent display, solid battery life, and a sleeker design. Other things such as reverse wireless charging, the stereo speakers, and the lean software make this a very good package to consider.

However this phone does have its share of weakness, such as the fact that it gets quite warm when playing heavy games for extended periods of time, and face recognition doesn’t work very well in low light. The design of the back is also a bit bland for a flagship phone in 2020. Battery life, while good, could have been better, and fast charging isn’t as quick as some of the solutions we’ve seen from other manufacturers.

Another sore point for some buyers might be the lack of 5G support in the Indian models. While it’s not a big loss if you’re only going to be using your phone in India, it could be a deal-breaker for people who travel a lot or who intend to hold on to their expensive purchases for several years. Both Realme and iQoo have launched 5G devices in India for a lot less, making the Indian Galaxy S20+ seem less future-proof.

Overall, the Galaxy S20+ is still a great flagship that offers excellent all-round performance, top-of-the-line features, and of course, brand value.