#this happens with any companion. i'm not sure how it selects which one between the two though

[emmavakarian-theirin]

recently discovered that in the trick ending, the companion in this specific shot has tears in their eyes once they've looked at you

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

KissFM Flashback: Best of Love 1998 R&B / Adult Contemporary / Pop / Soul / Arena Rock / Pop-Rock

Funny thing about this pretty anodyne and somewhat random assortment of love songs from the Warner Elektra Atlantic catalogue that span between the late 70s and late 90s is that, had you not recognized the radio station logo that's on this album's cover, you'd probably have no idea that this was actually a Finnish release. And that seems to be because of two intertwined things: one, naming your radio station Kiss FM is like the equivalent of naming your American town Springfield; like, I'm pretty sure it's the most popular name for a radio station in the entire world, which also makes it the most generic. And because it's the most generic name for a radio station, it also then makes sense that its own tracklist would not provide a single clue as to where this particular Kiss FM station itself was actually located.

Which I guess just also goes to show how generic the market was overall for one of those hit European radio stations that played a mix of 'the hits from yesterday and today' in the late 90s, because not a single song on this release is actually Finnish-made itself, which would definitely lead you to think that it's not actually Finnish when it so totally is! 

But all that said, despite there not being anything to actually individualize this comp from any other similarly-scoped Euro comp out there, this thing nevertheless still manages to kick itself off with a pair of my all-time favorite big hits of 1996: the terrific Todd Terry remix of Everything But the Girl's "Missing," which was not just undoubtedly that year's single biggest commercial house hit, but was one of its biggest radio hits, period, too; and British one-hit wonder Donna Lewis' dreamy and ever-so-soft disco-pop-slow-dance smash, "I Love You Always Forever," which subtly built up all this tension with an unwavering bassline chug that smacked of the stuttering opening seconds from Survivor's own "Eye of the Tiger," and then suddenly released it all with a much louder and very catchy bridge that was outfitted with some handclaps and sharp, rich, and powerful keyboard chords. Sounds like a ballad that Cyndi Lauper might've made had she been born a decade later, and to that same end, a really lovely tune.

And another thing you might be interested in is that if you wanna hear iconic Swedish teen pop producer Max Martin's signature mid-to-late 90s sound applied to something before he managed to launch the Backstreet Boys into the stratosphere himself, there's Papa Dee's euro-reggae-pop cover of P.P. Arnold's "The First Cut Is the Deepest," which has that same smack-clappy backbeat sound that would define much of BSB's own output. Not gonna say that I particularly enjoy this song at all, but it's still intriguing to hear the Martin sound on something else prior to BSB.

And lastly, we have Lutricia McNeal's largely forgotten cover of Barbi Benton's "Ain't That Just the Way." If you dig that softly bouncy, hip hop-laced contemporary R&B sound of the mid-to-late 90s that made the careers of people like Mary J. Blige, Brandy, and Monica, this Oklahoma City native who ended up launching her career in Sweden and scoring this hit there is a good one too. After hitting big in Europe, "Ain't That Just the Way" crossed over here into the States and achieved moderate success as well, and while it never ended up earning itself the Grammy-winning plaudits of something like The Fugees' Lauryn Hill-led cover of Roberta Flack's own Grammy-winning "Killing Me Softly with His Song," I happen to think that the two tunes dovetail pretty perfectly with each other as 1996 R&B companions 👍.

So, a pretty lame Finnish comp of love songs with most of a selection that could fool anyone into thinking that it actually came from any one of a number of stations named Kiss FM in America instead, but nevertheless, some great intercontinentally popular hits from 1996 on here anyway 😌.

Highlights:

Everything But the Girl - "Missing (Todd Terry remix)" Donna Lewis - "I Love You Always Forever" Simply Red - "If You Don't Know Me By Now" Lutricia McNeal - "Ain't That Just the Way" Mr. Big - "To Be With You" Damn Yankees - "High Enough"

[details-and-space-paraphernalia]

Mass Effect Tag Game

I stole this from @onedismay and anyone can now proceed to steal it from me

I am a fan since: The release of Legendary Edition, which came out on my birthday. And--1500+ hours of playtime later--It's the gift that keeps on giving lol

Favourite game of the series?: Mass Effect 2 is definitely my favourite because there just feels like there's so much more at stake and all the new characters introduced are great

MShep or FShep?: Most of my Sheps are women but I do have a few men even though I technically haven't played all of them yet

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: I know a lot of people probably consider this the boring option, but I do prefer Earthborn because, for whatever reason, I have a thing about my OCs never knowing their parents

Biotics or Tech: 100% tech, I don't fuck with biotics

Paragon or Renegade: My main Shep is renegade with a touch of paragon

Favourite Class: Infiltrator is my go-to class, but I'll admit that I don't have a lot of experience with any of the other classes

Favourite Companion: Uhm all the techies are essentially my faves lol so Garrus, Tali, EDI, Legion, Kasumi, and Mordin. I also adore Joker, who I feel like gets accidentally excluded a lot because he's not someone who can tag along on missions. Then I have a bit of a soft spot for Vega. Oh, and Aria is pretty much the only asari character I enjoy lol

Least favourite Companion: I might get hate for this, but Liara. I hate how forced she is on you in the first game, and the fact that that does change for the rest of the series makes me so uncomfortable. I literally don't even both talking to her. Ever. I forget she's there half the time. If it weren't for the couple missions in ME3 where you're forced to take her, she would never leave the ship

My squad selection: Garrus is almost always there. I've forced myself to broaden my selection in recent playthroughs and utilise (almost) everyone, but Garrus is still definitely a top pick. Tali is up there, as well. Frankly, this answer is essentially the same as my fave companion(s) plus Wrex

Favourite In-game romance: Garrus. The only romance I honestly give a shit about

Other pairings I like: Joker and EDI, 100%. I'm also into the Jack/Miranda pairing, and I enjoy the thought of Ash and James ending up together

Favourite NPC: This is probably the proper place to mention Joker and Aria, but I'm not going back to edit my other answer including them lol

Favourite Antagonist: I'm not sure I really have one. Saren had potential and it would've been neat if he had stuck around for at least another game, but obviously that didn't happen. The Illusive Man was kinda lame and just overall a nuance soooo idk Udina? lmao

Favourite Mission: I'm not entirely sure... I don't think I necessarily have a favourite because they're all mandatory, for the most part. Even if they're not mandatory story-wise, they are to level up so it's ike...idk none of them really stick out to me and I dread something about each of them, to be honest lol

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Obligatory Garrus answer, but then I also enjoy Tali's mission, uhm... Kasumi's is fun, Mordin's is good, aaaand that's probably it

Favourite DLC: Citadel, hands down. Just the absolutely campiness and insanity of it. I mean, it was a good way to lighten the mood of what the rest of ME3 is, so the ridiculousness of it was honestly much appreciated. A close second would probably be between Omega and Leviathan

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: I prefer Synthesis. I don't give a shit what people say about it, I'm not going through all that bullshit of ending a 300-year long war between the Quarians and Geth just to fucking destroy the Geth in the end. It's pointless. Plus, I could never do that to EDI

Favourite Weapon: While I usually am the Infiltrator class, I always choose assault rifles as my specialisation (or just use them in general when I can), so in ME2 my go-to is the Mattock while in ME3 it's the Valkyrie or Chakram Launcher. As for sniper rifles, in ME2 it's the Viper and in ME3 it's the Valiant

Favourite Place: I enjoy Omega and Illium the most. I wish we could've explored them more because I feel like there was so much lost potential there.

A quote I like: "I won't let fear compromise who I am." ~Shepard. I would honestly get that tattooed on my body lol Garrus has a lot of good/funny quotes, too, especially in ME3 but that Shepard one is always the first to come to mind

[tuwasduwillst]

Can you not do post titles on mobile? Bizarre. Anyway, this is just more thoughts about Veilguard, now that some time has passed since my first playthrough.

After my first playthrough of Veilguard, I tried to go back and play again. Typically, the different choices and love interests (and world states) can wrangle at least a good four playthroughs out of me before I decide to move on to something else.

This time, I'm almost considering ending it at one.

What changes between Veilguard playthroughs? My world state is virtually the same no matter what I pick in the CC; for the factions, reactivity is minimal and only a select handful of factions even feel like they're worth playing as to see what changes. If you're an elf, you're some amalgamation of a Dalish/city/other elf and have no real clear way of even setting your background to begin with (which is a bit of a problem for every Rook, but it especially stands out for elf!Rook IMO).

And the romances... to say I'm disappointed with what I've seen and heard would be an understatement. I've seen so many people zealously praising and defending the way that Veilguard handles its romance and I can't even begin to fathom how or why, when you compare it to how it was handled in other Dragon Age games. Admittedly, my first romance was Lucanis and I've heard he's worst off, but comparing notes with friends has shown that even for the "best" romances, it just feels like things are missing. BioWare devs were boasting about this being their most romantic game yet; Lucanis in particular was described as a "bisexual disaster" (and I'll get into him more in a bit). But I saw no proof of either of these things in the game.

Every major issue or faction in Veilguard was entirely defanged. The Crows are your friendly neighborhood watchdogs; the Lords of Fortune are "good" pirates who would never ever steal anything culturally significant to anyone else (this is where I stare pointedly at their leader, Isabela. Can I buy that she's more careful after DA2? Maybe, since apparently they canonized her being BFFs with Hawke and returning despite them claiming they wouldn't invalidate world states*. Do I think she bothers checking everything she finds to make sure it's okay to take? Hell no).

They didn't even take full advantage of the hooks their characters naturally had in their backstories! Lucanis is, essentially, heir to the Crows (or at least one of their houses); he brings up his restrictive life once over coffee, and you get some stuff in the mind prison quest I guess, but outside of that he's more well-adjusted than literally any of the DA2 companions despite being possessed by a demon of Spite! Who was horribly underutilized, by the way; his main job seemed to be to sniff and growl at things like a tiny and ineffectual dog. I have no idea why any of the companions were worried about him being a problem in the slightest, because after making that nosebleed happen super early on, he did literally nothing! He didn't even kill Illario or cause any problems at all!

Honestly, I have so much to say and basically none of it is good. I liked how they handled Solas (and his reunion with Lavellan). I liked the Mourn Watch. It was a very pretty game and combat was fun. That's about it and every time I play more of the game it makes me like it less because I notice more things that just don't hold up.

I might talk about it more when I'm not on my phone, but I just wanted some of my thoughts here now. 😔

* this was a lie, by the way, since Harding brings up two Inquisition members that potentially weren't even recruited (and Solas brings up one of them as well potentially); Morrigan drinking from the Well of Sorrows seems to be a canon choice, and the thing with Isabela seems to have had a canon choice made as well because otherwise her line about "learning what family meant" or whatever makes no sense at all.

[alucohc]

for anyone curious:

embracing the shadows is the most straightforward of the bunch but i'd argue that you're actually surviving three rounds of the curse

i ain't afraid of no shadows will not trigger if you or a summon ever receive the moonshielded or pixie blessing conditions, including if it happens during a cutscene and even if you never pick up an actual moonlantern yourself

always a step ahead of the darkness is only obtainable if you never receive the shadow curse condition, not if you don't take damage. which is super fun because the only glitchless* way to get to the nightsong without getting cursed is by using a moonlantern or getting the pixie blessing

*this is called foreshadowing

and of course path least followed stops you from just going straight to moonrise and last light and then getting a moonlantern. it's also bugged to only be obtainable by your player character. i'm pretty sure the trigger is the balthazar dialogue at the top of the shadowfell but i haven't tested what it is if you kill him before entering (or if you do the gauntlet as intended)

alright so then how did i do it? glitches baby

to start you'll want two companions and either a small tav and an elixir of hill giant strength or two elixirs of hill giant strength. you could get away with a small tav and using disguise self on a companion to make them small, but note that you'll be switching the roles of your tav and that companion in the following section

next: enter act two through the mountain pass. kill the goblin for good luck, pick up the nearby barrel, and give a light source to your tav and one of your companions. what we'll be doing is chaining a kidnap with a nodefling. make a safety save here.

kidnap your tav with the companion you did not give a torch to. if you know how to kidnap, you can skip ahead, but for anyone else: they will need at least 16 strength if your tav is small or 20 strength if they're medium. (if your tav has body type 3 or 4, swap in a smaller companion for them). bring you companion as close to you tav as possible. select throw, select your tav, mouse over a valid location, and quickly left click and right click to confirm and cancel the throw.

the timing is a lot faster than you expect: rolling your fingers across your mouse will get you really close to the right rhythm. if you did it right, your tav should be flailing between your companion's knees. if your tav didn't move at all, you were too fast. if your tav teleported to another spot within the throwing range, you were too slow. if your companion picked up your tav and they hovered between the knees for a couple seconds before being thrown, you were way too slow and need to at least double your bpm.

use the second companion to kill the first companion. pick up their body and put it in the barrel. now walk down the slope a little bit until you reach the red grassy bits before the shadow curse boundary. exact position is not super important. put the barrel by your feet.

fling the barrel to the mausoleum entrance. the first step of this is setting your node. again, the positioning is pretty forgiving. adjust the zoom on your camera so that you can see the bubble around last light. now bring your camera as far forward as it will go. you should see a pointy shadow wisp to the left of last light (if you see two, it's the fainter one). you'll be aiming right above that. open your inventory, grab any item, and drag it to that spot. now you'll want to return to your companion and open the barrel. as the opening animation is playing, drag the barrel to a valid location.

the timing is slower than you think. you did it right if the barrel flies away. you were too slow if the barrel opens, but your node is still set. try again. if anything else happens, you were too fast or the position you dragged the barrel to was invalid. either way you have to re-set your node.

once the portrait of your dead companion disappears, quick save and quick load. if your tav becomes shadow cursed on reload, revert to your safety save. otherwise continue through the mausoleum and gauntlet of shar at your leisure.

for your own sanity, you may wish to grab the shadowed battlefield waypoint with your be-torched companion. just make sure to hop around the kar'niss cut scene triggers (aim for the dilapidated shed off to the right of the ambush location and then hop straight down).

otherwise, from here on out, there are no other internal conflicts with the goals.

I FINALLY FUCKING DID IT

[blueteller]

For the WIP game, I literally cannot choose over these ones so handing it over to you, blue! I know I'm asking for too much but can you please let me see at least the idea or an excerpt of 3 WIPs I listed below (all of them sounds so good i wanna see the idea behind them or an excerpt of them 😭)

Selectively mute KRS AU

A Blessed Curse

What Kind of Alternate Universe Setting Is This!?

The Scam Artist

Dump it all on Trash, why don't you!

Who do you think you are (and why you're wrong)

Dragon Ex Machina

Cale Henituse gets (a vacation) kidnapped

Hm... Why don't I give you summaries about each one?

1. Selectively mute KRS AU

Due to his previous experiences, Kim Rok Soo is a very reserved person. He doesn't speak, unless it concerns work. So you can imagine the stress he's under when he suddenly becomes Cale Henituse.... ...Elsewhere, the original Cale curses the God of Death. It would have been nice to have a warning not to talk too much as Kim Rok Soo!! How could he have know that him saying a simple sentence would make people faint from shock!?

2. A Blessed Curse

Is there a god which can offer Cale his much desired slacker life? Actually, there is! The god of memory offers Cale a deal, to which he agrees without any hesitation. He's very pleased with the results... However, all his well-meaning friends see is a terrible curse being put upon Cale. Naturally, they must break it!! (Or, a story where people of the world temporarily get amnesia about Cale being the Hero who saved both continents – except Cale's closest companions, that is. Cue classic TCF shenanigans and misunderstandings.)

3. What Kind of Alternate Universe Setting Is This!?

Kim Rok Soo fell asleep reading a fantasy novel. The next thing he knew, he found himself transmigrated into the body of one of its minor villains, except… …Except everything is completely wrong!!! Why is Cale Henituse a respected Commander? Why does he have multiple Ancient Powers? And why is Choi Han his body guard here instead of the guy who beat him up? Where did all of these Beast People even come from?? And wait a second, is that a f***ing Dragon?! (A Crack Amnesia AU set right after the war against the Indomitable Alliance, where Cale literally trips over a rock and loses his memory for a day – until Eruhaben can come and heal him. Complete chaos and hilarity ensues.)

4. The Scam Artist

A companion piece to a fic called "body hopping for dummies" by thursdays on AO3.

"So what you're telling me is, this guy…" Kim Rok Soo gestures at his newly acquired body with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. "…is super rich? I mean he is in charge of the evil organization and all."

"Oh no," Choi Jung Soo responds dramatically.

"Oh yes." Kim Rok Soo grins widely, making the others shiver in sudden fear. "That bastard stole everything from me, right? So it's only fair that I'll steal it all back."

"…Are you sure we actually kicked out White Star out of that body?" Cage whispers to Choi Jung Soo, doubtful. 'That smile still seems pretty evil.' she thinks.

"Yep," Jung Soo replies with a deadpan. "That's Rok Soo alright."

"I like this weird human!" Raon decides suddenly.

A short story of what happens after the heroes defeat the White Star and ressurect Kim Rok Soo in his original body: Chaos, Destruction, and the Friendship that grows between them.

5. Dump it all on Trash, why don't you!

Cale Henituse was just having a drink and causing trouble, as usual. He did not expect to be approached by someone wearing his own face, supposedly a transmigrator from the future in another dimension. Now he's expected to save the world by himself?! Damn that bastard!!! (Or, the story where KRS!Cale gives 18-year-old OG!Cale exposition before the Birth of a Hero starts, in order for him to change the story on his own. Will OG!Cale be able to manage? Is he ready to become single parent?? And why does he have to adopt people who are older than him??)

6. Who do you think you are (and why you're wrong)

What if Cale had reacted a bit differently to the Message from the God of Death…? After all, he had been okay with losing his old life only because he had been alone before. However, that wasn't the case anymore: now he had friends and children dependant on him. Cale knew the feeling of being left behind and wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy… Except it seemed like the God of Death wouldn't be giving him a choice, just like Kim Rok Soo wasn't given one when he first transmigrated. Die or return to your old world? Either way, his family would lose him. Does that mean the previous owner of this body was going to come back and take what was rightfully his…? Just how was Cale going to explain that to everyone? How could he simply disappear and leave a stranger in his place? (Or, a fic which forces Cale to act slightly out of character and TELL his friends things for a change. He also picks a different "least distressing" part of the God of Death's message.)

7. Dragon Ex Machina

Eruhaben has NOT asked for this. This must be that unlucky bastard's fault – his bad luck seems to be contagious, since breaking through the Sealed God's Temple wall apparently causes the intruder to be termporarily transported into a parallel universe. Now, Eruhaben has absolutely no clue why Cale in this dimension is called Kim Rok Soo, or why his face reminds him very much of the White Star for some reason. Nevertheless, Eruhaben would recognize his wayward child in any form, and there's no way he would let this dimension's version of him die by the hands of some Goddamned Unranked Moster. (Or, the story of how Eruhaben swooped in to save KRS's team and spare him the most heartbreaking moment of his life. Also, Dragons can dispell half-baked curses, because KRS deserves to live a happy life.)

8. Cale Henituse gets (a vacation) kidnapped

The horror! Raon and the cats go on a short shopping trip, but the moment they take their eyes off of Cale their guardian gets kidnapped! Luckily for them, they are well trained and capable of tracking him down with no problem. Unluckily for Cale, this is the most relaxing event he had experienced in months - can't they pick him up a bit later, please…? Meanwhile, the poor unsuspecting kidnappers have no idea what they're getting themselves into. This is what happens when you don't check the identity of your abduction target.

[shiroandblack]

The Autonomy of the Zahard Empire and the 10 Great Families

[SPOILERS (I think?)]

(Disclaimer: this is very subjective as it is based on my personal observations and my interpretation of them. Plus, there is still much we don't know about the Tower and by extension the Zahard Empire in general)

The Zahard family and the 10 Great Families have been likened to a royal family and a bunch of noble families. At a glance, the hierarchy is reminiscent to a feudal society however there have been several instances where it appears that Zahard has granted them several rights which are not common in the usual feudal society.

The first is that the 10 Great Families seem to be allowed to choose whether or not they wish to take part in a conflict. This is seen in the beginnings of the Nest arc where Maschenny notes that besides the Lo Po Bia family, the other families have not remarked/ responded coolly if they would send any aid.

This is very interesting in my opinion, because thus far we have seen that the Zahard Empire's orders are regarded as somewhat absolute. Usually in a society such as this, the nobles are expected to make a move for the monarch as the monarch has declared it so, then they must mobilize because well 'loyalty'. Yet Zahard has allowed his former companions the liberty of choosing whether or not their families shall partake in a conflict and whether or not they will send aid. Which seems to me that the boundaries on what the 10 Great Families are obligated to do is very much in the hands of their respective Family Heads. Don't get me wrong, Zahard has been noted to have 'always been our leader' (Data Eduan, when Baam asked about V I think?) - but he seems to have kind of a laissez-faire mode of operation with regards to his former companions.

Second, the Floors of the Tower are ruled by different families and we can see that full jurisdiction of Tests and laws on that Floor are given to them. This isn't very far from the regular real-life concept that nobles owned lands and governed those lands, but they ultimately defer to the king. I will not deny Zahard's influence on these Floors considering what happened to Baam and Sweet & Sour on Floor 28th (if I got that right, basically when they go into the Zygaena). But still, that's a lot of wiggle room.

Third, the Zahard Princess competition seems to operate on turns and with regards to a princess from the 10 Great Families, the family seems to have a say in who gets to be a princess. I'm basing this on the fact that Khun AA was able to make Maria a princess and originally set his sister up to be one, so it's possible that the family selects a few candidates according to the criteria of the selection process and later on submit their favourite based on well, survival of the fittest. I highly doubt that AA manipulated the selections on the Zahard Family end, so he likely lobbied for Maria within the Khun family itself as he has said that he possesses connections and relationships within them. As for the 'turns', the Zahard Princess system seems to be a very good way to split power between the 10 Great Families - SIU has said that there can only be 2 to 3 active princesses per family or something like that (if I'm not mistaken). But at the same time, while the family may put out a favoured candidate it seems that whether or not a girl becomes a princess is still in the ends of the Zahard Family (*shudders at remembering Snake Charmer*) - since Enne still became a princess despite Eurasia Blossom's misgivings, but of course we still don't know if Blossom actively tried to thwart Enne from becoming one or if it was a case of simply saying that she didn't approve.

So in conclusion, I do think that we still need to learn more on how exactly was the power divided and what can the families do and cannot do. I'm pretty sure that there was a legally binding contract with an Administrator, Zahard doesn't seem like the type to leave things to chance after all.

What are your thoughts on this?

Have a nice day!

[sillyrabbit81]

Her Heavy Cross

Summary: Three years after tragedy hits, Lana she decides to start dating again. She meets Will through a dating app and they begin an online romance. After months of constant requests, Lana relents and agrees to meet and go on an irl date with Will. But is Will who he says he is? Lana is quickly pulled into an intense relationship forcing her to confront her tragic past. Will Lana face it or will she close her heart forever?

Pairing: OMC x OFC

Word Count: approx 2.5k

Warnings: Smut, swearing

Authors Note: The story started as a Henry Cavill fanfiction but I changed it to be an original character, but shades of Henry are still there. Hope you enjoy the story and thanks for reading.

Part 6 Part 8

Part 7

Liam's phone rang. He ignored it and let it go to voicemail. When it rang again, he made a noise of disgust and took his phone out of his pocket to look at it. "It's my publicist. I had better take this."

Liam answered the phone and went outside to talk. I turned the oven on and started to unpack the groceries. Then I got the roast, put it in a baking tray, poured olive oil over the top and seasoned it with salt and some pepper. I got out some onions and garlic and started to cut them up to place around the roast to give it some added flavour.

"That looks great," Liam said when he came back in.

"Thanks," I said, and I gave him a grin. I took the tray and put it in the oven. I got my phone and put an alarm on, giving myself time to cook the veggies before they finished. A thought came to me, and before I could bite my tongue, I said, "They do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Really?" Liam licked his lips, looked down at his pants and said, "I'd say they were aiming too high."

It took me a minute to work out what the joke was. When I finally did, I couldn't help but laugh and hide my face in my hands.

"You've gone so red!" Liam appeared to be having fun with my inability to control my blushes.

"Oh, my God!" I said, still hiding my face and laughing. "Alright, that was funny."

It took me a while to stop laughing. When I did, Liam said sombrely, "Sweetheart, I have to tell you something."

"Uh, oh, it doesn't sound good."

"It's not bad. I don't know how you will feel about it." Liam then told me that his publicist had called to let him know there were pictures put on Instagram and Twitter of the two of us kissing at the pub last night. "Your name hasn't been mentioned, and the photos look to be shot from pretty far away on a mobile, so someone in the pub took the pictures. Sarah says they probably aren't going to tell who you are by the pictures unless someone who knows you well comes forward."

I think if my eyes bulged out of my head any further, they would have fallen out and rolled on the floor. "That quick?" It was all I could think to say.

"Yeah. It's hard to know what will come out and when. A lot of times I go out, and no one notices me, but other times I have paps or members of the public following me for hours."

"Who's Sarah?"

"My publicist." Liam reached across the bench and took my hand in his. "Are you ok?"

"You say they don't know who I am?" Liam nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't happy but what was I going to do about it? I picked at my nails. I needed to paint them; the pale pink polish was starting to chip.

"You ok?" Liam asked again

I shrugged. "Your life is weird."

Liam chucked. "You keep telling me that."

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, usually Sarah would say to private all social media, but she had a look and said she could only find a Facebook profile for you which was already private. Do you have any others? Instagram? Twitter? Snapchat?"

"No. I have a YouTube account that I use to watch videos, but that isn't linked to my real name or email. Also, a Tumblr account, again not associated with my name. And no pictures of me."

"Tumblr?" He raised an eyebrow. His fucking lip twitched.

"I was a confused 22-year-old ok?" I said a bit defensively. "I haven't used it in years," I remembered then the dating site we met on. I quickly logged on and selected the options to hide the account.

"Ok, well, there's not much else right now. A few rags called Sarah for comment. She said the standard no comment and asked for my privacy to be respected. The rest is up to you."

"Up to me?" I asked, confused. "What's up to me?"

"When you want to confirm the relationship and release your name."

"Liam, I met you less than 24 hours ago and have known you only a few months. I'm not ready for that. I like you a lot, but maybe you pick your nose and eat it, and I'll have to dump your arse tomorrow and then it's been a big song and dance over nothing." I joked. The mood had gotten too heavy for me. I wanted to talk about something else.

"Sweetheart, I'd never do that." He smiled sweetly, "I'd make you eat it."

"Ewww!" I screamed.

"Get over here." He chased me around the bench, and after a few evasions and some more squeals, he caught me. Perrin came in through the doggy door and barked at Liam a few times. Our behaviour obviously scandalised him. "Perrin," I called. "Come here, boy."

"You think your dog can save you?"

"Of course, he's very protective of my honour."

"We will see about that." Liam bent over, and I thought he was going to tackle me. Instead of flying backwards, I was hoisted forward and found myself over his shoulder. I screamed as I heard a loud crack, my hands flying to my bum.

"Did you just smack my arse?" I must admit I was finding all the manhandling arousing. I wasn't going to let him know that, though.

"Yes, I did. Want another?" Liam was heading down the hallway, taking me to the bedroom.

I giggled. "No!"

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Liam quoted. Shakespeare sounded good with his accent. I giggled some more, and I got another one. Yes, very arousing.

Liam hummed. "I quite like the view here." He rubbed my bottom and took me into my bedroom.

I was very close to his round bum. "This view is not so bad either," I said and smacked his arse. Unfortunately, it probably hurt me more than it hurt him. His butt was tight!

Liam dropped me onto the bed at that point, and the look on his face was hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing, and tears were rolling down my face. Then I did the most embarrassing thing: I snorted.

That was it. Both of us couldn't stop. Every time I calmed enough to think I could speak, one look at Liam's face, and I'd be off again.

Eventually, we stopped, and I was able to say, "Oh my God, your face! That was so bloody funny." I wiped my eyes.

"I think that may have been the first time someone's done that to me."

"Really? Didn't you go to an all-boys school?"

"Yes, but it wasn't the US." Liam tried suppressing a grin as he said, "we got ball taps."

I tried not to laugh. I really did. "Oh, my God!" I was off again.

We watched the original Mad Max before I had to go and finish dinner. I was horrified when Liam said he hadn't seen it before. I immediately made him watch it. He said it was ok, the concept was great, but he didn't love it. I told him he needed a brain scan.

When I went to make dinner, Liam offered to help, but I told him not to be silly.

Liam sat at the kitchen bench chatting to me while I chopped and blanched the vegetables. After a while, he said he had to call Sarah and his assistant Ryan to make sure he had organised the dog walker to take Cole for a walk and play.

"Any update from Sarah?" I asked Liam when he returned. I feigned disinterest while I finished slicing the roast.

"All the same right now. Some sites have posted the pictures, saying I was spotted drinking with an "unknown female companion." The pictures have circulated a bit on Twitter, but it's mostly just by fans. They haven't hit the mainstream yet. It's all fairly standard, and it will go away by tomorrow by the looks of it."

"Good," I said. A look I couldn't interpret passed over Liam's face. He masked it pretty quickly. I opened my mouth to ask if he was ok but shut it again. I said, instead, "dinner's ready." I passed Liam his plate.

"Thank you," Liam said, leaning over to kiss me before eating. I watched as he cut up some beef and started chewing. "Pretty good. Almost as good as Mum's," he teased with a wink.

I elbowed him, and God bless him; he pretended it hurt.

We ate in silence for a while. I gave a few pieces to Perrin. He was so old, and I couldn't help but spoil him occasionally. He won't be around forever.

After dinner, Liam insisted on helping me clean up, and we stacked the dishwasher. Watching him bend over, his jeans straining as he put the plates in, stirred some feelings. Erotic feelings.

"Want to watch another movie?" He asked.

"Not really," I said. "I'm in the mood for some dessert."

"Ice-cream? I can't have any, but you can."

"Not ice-cream," I said, shaking my head. I looked at him with my very best bedroom eyes.

"What do you want then? Want me to go to the shops?" He said, not catching on. I put my arms around his waist. "If you let me borrow your car, I'll go. I can just go on my own."

"No, you wombat." I met his hips with mine, his eyes widened. "What I want is right here." I wriggled against him. Liam grinned widely, his cheeks creasing in such a sexy way.

"I thought you were shy."

"I am getting used to you," I said. "The real me is coming out." The truth of my words took me by surprise. I looked away, second-guessing myself. Why did I do that?

"I like her," Liam said hoarsely. If he hadn't spoken then, I think I would have stopped. But when his hands went into my hair, and he pulled, stretching my throat, I knew I wasn't going to stop. He kissed me there, and his teeth grazed my skin. My fingers reached under his shirt, and they gripped his back. My nails dug into his skin.

"Bedroom?" I whispered.

"Bedroom," he agreed and walked me backwards to my room.

"You promised me something earlier today," Liam said in between kisses. We were close to my bed.

"What's that?"

He stopped kissing me and cupped my face with his hands. "You said I could undress you."

Liam took hold of my t-shirt and waited. I nodded. He slowly lifted my shirt up and over my head before dropping it to the ground. He tilted his head as if contemplating and gently turned me around.

I felt Liam gather my hair and put it over my shoulder. He caressed my back with his fingertips, making me shiver with pleasure. I heard him give a satisfied hum before undoing my bra. He turned me around again and took hold of my bra straps, pulling them down my arms.

When I dropped my bra beside my shirt, Liam took a step back. He looked me up and down, his eyes hungry. I wanted to cover myself under his intense gaze, my earlier courage wavering under his scrutiny.

My arms started to move, and he gave me a stern look. "You're not thinking of hiding now, are you?"

I shook my head and forced my arms back by my sides. "Good, because I want to look. You're quite the sight." As if to emphasise his point, he adjusted himself through his pants. I felt a thrill of excitement flow through me and felt the familiar throbbing between my legs.

Liam got down on his knees and kissed my belly. His rough stubble tickled. "Your skin is so soft," he said in a low voice. He undid my jeans and kissed a trail down as he unzipped me. His breath was warm, and I felt it through the cotton of my briefs, his last kiss placed just above my slit.

It was almost agony. I moaned at his teasing breath and lips. Then Liam pulled down my underwear and kissed my mound. I felt his tongue part my lips, and when he found what he was looking for, he flattened his tongue and moaned into me.

I didn't know what to do. For a moment, I wanted to stop Liam, but it felt too good. I could feel my resolve waning. I didn't want to wait. Why should we wait? What was I waiting for? I had to stop thinking and go with it, enjoy him, enjoy the experience. I put my fingers in his hair as he licked and sucked at me. He seemed to remember what I liked, and soon I was close to my peak.

One of his fingers played at my entrance. I silently begged for Liam to put it in. My core was desperate to be filled. His finger slowly entered me, and I was lost. I needed him. At that moment, all I wanted was to feel more of him inside me, have him fill me.

I felt like this was the moment. If I don't ask Liam now, I probably never would. If I didn't want him now, why am I even allowing this to happen? I wanted him. He excited me like no one had done since Andy. He had knocked down the defences I'd built to keep myself alone. Keep me in my grief and guilt. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I wanted to feel desired again.

"Fuck me?" I asked. The words just tumbled out. I knew at that moment I would beg if I had to. "Please, Liam, I want you to fuck me."

I wasn't sure if Liam heard me. He increased his attention, and I felt the pressure building. His hand gripped my arse, his fingers digging into my cheeks as he pulled me closer to him. The short rough hair on his cheeks and chin tickled against my thighs. My legs buckled. I couldn't stand up anymore. He held me there while I panted and moaned, seeking release.

I felt my climax arrive like a bolt of lightning. It was sudden and intense. My body contracted as waves of pleasure exploded over me. Short, wordless shouts came from my mouth until it was over. I collapsed onto the bed.

I laid there a while, eyes closed, trying to catch my breath. Liam was shuffling around and heard his belt come undone. I felt the bed dip, and I opened my eyes to find Liam naked, climbing up the bed until his face was above mine.

Liam supported some of his weight with one hand and laid on me, our whole bodies skin to skin. He was warm to touch, and he almost felt hot to my now cooled skin.

"Ask me again," Liam said.

Part 8

[darthlorddiamond]

Everything Will Be Fine

Summary: The First Order located where the rebel base was and undertook a mission to annihilate them. You and Kylo lead the mission, however, at one point in the battlefield one of you gets lost. This story is inspired by the song The Next Right Thing the Frozen 2.

Words: 2,369

Reading Time: 10 min

Category: Angst

Warnings: Death, Blood

Check my Masterlist for more.

______________________

Everything Will Be Fine

Time stopped completely.

The sound of shouts, orders, blaster outbursts, and feet running across the battlefield turned into a mere background that was slowly devoured by a white noise that was beginning to stun her ears.

A piercing scream came through, flooding with terror the blood of those around him.

A lightsaber, a deep wound.

A body falling onto Kijimi's ground, staining the snow with her blood.

I've seen dark before, but not like this This is cold, this is empty, this is numb The life I knew is over, the lights are out Hello, darkness, I'm ready to succumb

The battle had begun a few days before reaching that planet. The First Order had received news that the rebels were in Kijimi making a temporary base, so a consensus was reached to exterminate them there once and for all.

There were rumors that Leia and the scavenger were there too. It was a golden opportunity that neither me nor Kylo could pass up. While Phasma prepared the troops and Hux finished defining the attack plan, we both retired to our quarters to prepare and spend some time alone before leaving to the hangar and heading to our destination.

That afternoon was like any other. While Kylo selected his robe for the battle, I set about polishing my sabers, regardless of having a lightsaber, I cannot leave behind my old swords, life companions throughout my journey on the dark side.

Once the preparations were completed, we consecrated to us, as every time before entering a fight. Our arms became our blanket, our lips our food, our movements our reason for life, and our moans our breath. Our mind became one, we were both one, we had decided that long time ago, this is how we wanted it to be, before we met, we both thought that we didn´t need someone in our lives, however, the Force united us and after that day, we couldn´t think of living a single moment away from the other.

I follow you around, I always have But you've gone to a place I cannot find This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down But a tiny voice whispers in my mind

The night arrives. The ships were starting to line up to leave. The black shadow of the Upsilon-class awaited its owners, who made their presence known with a firm step. The first to appear in the hangar, making everyone turn to look at him, was Kylo, ​​with his huge black robe fluttering and the shrill sounds his boots made on the floor, behind him, a couple of steps away, I followed him closely, wearing a black robe of a lighter material than his, but with the same cut, following the bearing and the presence of my combat partner, my lover, my life.

The journey to our destination gave us a few more moments of privacy, and even though the mission was quite well defined, something inside me began to generate me anxiety, which didn´t go unnoticed by him, who tried to calm my catastrophic thoughts with his lips "Everything will be fine...", his eyes locked on mine as one of his hands caressed my cheek "You have nothing to worry about...". His lips connected again with mine "I´ll always be by your side".

Calm returned to me again, Kylo was my anchor, in the same way, that I was his, I would never doubt his word.

You are lost, hope is gone But you must go on And do the next right thing

A slight movement of the ship indicated that we had passed through Kijimi's atmosphere. All preparations for landing were ready. Once we were ashore and the hatch had opened, Kylo went to me to extend a hand, I could feel that those dire thoughts surrounded my mind once more. Without hesitation, I took his hand to guide me to the exit, once outside, a huge dawn light was present, while Kylo released my hand as we advanced. The ground was so white that it was difficult to see the horizon line.

Another bad omen crossed my mind as he took a few steps in front of me. In the distance, I could see how Hux accompanied by Phasma approached us, sure to inform us of the position of the troops, and the details of the terrain "Kylo..." I took advantage of the fact that our comrades were still at a distance to address him "I think I have never told you before, but…” a little confused by my behavior, he turned to look at me, I could notice how a bit concern manifested itself on his face, it was obvious that he could still perceive that something in my mind didn´t let me calm as a single tear came out of one of my eyes "But I love you...", a huge smile was his only response to my statement, a smile that in the middle of the winter cold warmed my heart and momentarily dispelled all my fears.

The rebels were located. Their base was a few miles from where we had landed and they were still unaware of our presence. According to Hux's reports, they were quite a few men and among them, in effect, were Senator Leia and the scavenger.

Can there be a day beyond this night? I don't know anymore what is true I can't find my direction, I'm all alone The only star that guided me was you

The troops advanced.

The Revelers didn't know we were there, so we had the element of surprise to our advantage. Little by little, the sound of the blasters began, alerting our opponents, who dispersed through the forest and started to respond to our fire.

Kylo and I entered the battlefield, eliminating in our path anyone who crossed us, our objective was clear, to locate the scavenger and Leia, subdue and reign them back to the Finalizer.

Whenever we were both on the battlefield we kept at a close distance from each other, that way we could potentiate our Force while taking care of ourselves, it was an implicit pact that we had agreed without speaking about it.

Even with the advantage on our part, we overestimate the numbers of the reveals. They were quite a few, but they didn´t pose a great problem, since many of them were men and women who had to become warriors out of necessity, while our troops, although smaller in number, were much better prepared.

How to rise from the floor? But it's not you I'm rising for

Between the chaos these bad soldiers caused, Kylo and I separated a little more than normal. I still had him within my field of vision and I knew he could feel that I was in his surroundings, so we didn´t give it much importance. A mistake that we should never have overlooked.

Among the screams close to me, I identified a familiar one, a growl to be exact, it was the Wookiee and wherever that furry beast is, Leia will always be at his side. I turned again to see Kylo, ​​he was still in my vicinity taking care of a group of men who had surrounded him, although they outnumbered him, he would have no problem eliminating them, it never represented a problem that he was surrounded, so I decided to get a little further away from him to go deeper into the forest to locate our target.

A look into the distance.

A lightsaber lighting up the surroundings in red.

When Leia turned to see me, she was still a few meters from me, but our presence was touching. Our eyes didn´t separate, we both followed each of our movements. It wasn´t the first time that we met, on other occasions we had shared the same air, and each time, her words tried to pierce my head. Leia never missed a single opportunity to try to bring me to the light, to talk to me about returning home with her son, to make me believe that there was another way. However, still far from her side, fighting for the dark, her son was already at home, he was with me and there was no other way but ours.

I could feel nothing but a great hatred for this woman, and although the objective was to capture them, every fiber in my body urged me to end her life at that moment. My step was firm and determined to reach it, my hand exploded in need to lift my saber, my blood was flooded with adrenaline, my heart was pounding. I had waited for that moment for a long time and all my surroundings disappeared.

Just do the next right thing Take a step, step again It is all that I can to do The next right thing

An oversight, I never saw her come. I overestimate my opponent. I overestimate the scavenger. In a twist, a second turning my back on her was more than enough for her lightsaber to sink into my chest, piercing me completely.

In the distance, after following me for a few minutes and now positioned a few meters from me, Kylo obtained the worst image of his entire life. Me, standing, holding the hand of the scavenger, who was still holding her lightsaber, and a huge blue light outcoming from my back.

The scavenger switched off her weapon and took a few steps back, incredulous of what she just did, while a scream dull any other sounds present, one of terror, despair, and deep pain that emerged from Kylo's throat.

Everything stopped. Those who were around us stopped their activities to witness what was happening.

Kylo's legs started running automatically to where I was, while my body fell onto my back and hit the snow starting to stain it crimson red.

Time stopped.

Anger and revenge had led me down the wrong path.

I won't look too far ahead It's too much for me to take But break it down to this next breath, this next step This next choice is one that I can make

A few steps from reaching me, Kylo's lightsaber fell to the ground still on, while his body skidded to the ground to hold my body, his knees positioned to my side, a buzz began to present itself in my ears and my eyes momentarily clouded.

I could feel a raucous pain at the height of my sternum, slowly the buzzing began to disappear and I could recognize his voice "No, no, no, no...", the pain was still present, growing. I coughed a few times, a metallic taste flooded my mouth, almost immediately after this, the pain disappeared "Calm down, everything will be fine..." I understood that the pain must have been from the hands of Kylo who was trying to press my wound to stop the bleeding "You're going to be fine...", one of his hands was placed under my head to lift it a little, causing a growl to escape my lips "Damn..." he whispered and the silence continued for a few more seconds.

Nothing moved around us.

No one else spoke.

Everything was starting to go down.

So I'll walk through this night Stumbling blindly toward the light And do the next right thing And, with it done, what comes then?

Kylo took me in his arms to place me on his lap and with one of his hands, he hold my cheek. I began to feel how my limbs became heavy and the cold of the snow began to penetrate every pore of my skin.

I felt tired, very tired, I needed to rest my eyes a little "No, no, no!" he pressed my cheek a little more tightly "Don't close your eyes, don't sleep!" his forehead pressed against mine and I could feel his warm tears falling on my cheeks "I can´t do anything..." he whisper, the only that I could do at that moment was saw him, still a little blur "Please, don't leave me..." in a last effort to make me feel better, he pressed my body to his, his hug grew stronger, but this time, I didn´t felt pain "Not you..." the mist that covered my eyes for an instant was dissipating, I could see a little more his features, turned into a reflection of despair, his eyes were red and covered with tears.

Although I knew what was going to follow, I didn´t feel fear, there was only a huge feeling of sadness to see him like this, I couldn´t allow it, I needed to change that ending "Kylo..." with the little strength I had left, I shakily lift one of my hands to caress his face "No, please..." he told me, and immediately, when I put my hand on his cheek, he covered it with his pressing hard, the breath was escaping from me, a few more coughs with blood came out of my mouth, but I had to do something, I had to say something to him "Calm down, everything will be fine...", his eyes filled with even more tears and his mouth immediately sought mine.

His lips were desperate, as if the last answer to what was happening could be solved with that kiss. Eventually he stopped, his mouth and mine were almost joined, his breath bathed the cold skin of my face with one last feeling of warmth, with the little energy I still had left, I drew a last smile for him "I´ll always be by your side..." his breathing broke into sobs.

His body clung to mine, his arms hugged me tightly, while my body sank into a deep lightness "Please..." he whispered over and over in my ear until I stopped listening to him.

Eventually there I lay. An inert, heavy and cold body in his arms.

A place in the snowy forest painted with blood.

A silent, expectant crowd.

A man holding on to the last hope he had.

A promise of a lost eternity.

A story with no happy ending.

When it's clear that everything will never be the same again Then I'll make the choice to hear that voice And do the next right thing

[forkanna]

Characters, settings, and selected lyrics © L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. This story, original characters and plot elements ©2016-2017 me. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Rated T for Teen. Will contain occasional nigh-NSFW moments, including sensuality and mild gore, but nothing out of place in a PG or PG-13 movie. TRIGGER WARNING: there will be some racism and an attempted sexual assault in later chapters. See below for more notes!

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

Unlimited Together, we're unlimited Together, we'll be the greatest team there's ever been, Glinda - Dreams, the way we planned 'em If we work in tandem There's no fight we cannot win

Just you and I defying gravity With you and I defying gravity They'll never bring us down...

                                                            CHAPTER ONE

"Glinda, come with me. Think of what we could do! Together…"

Time dragged to a standstill as poor, bewildered Glinda-née-Galinda Upland stood somewhere she definitely shouldn't be, riddled with indecision. Never had Elphaba Thropp looked at her with such intensity, such desperation in her eyes. No one in all the land of Oz had! Not Fiyero, nor any other classmate, nor Elphaba herself before today. Even during those classes at the university in which she had spoken so passionately about the mistreatment of sentient Animals, she had not seemed so… fervential? Was that a word?

And here she was, hoping to enlist her help in this cause. Was she out of her tiny verdant mind?!

"Elphaba… I…" Her throat worked to swallow as she glanced between the barricaded attic door and the brilliantly green hand clutching the broom handle. Wind seemed to come from nowhere, swirling around them and blowing the long strands of raven-black hair around her strong jawline. Now she had to turn her eyes away from those of her roommate, which she could no longer meet; too much intensity that made her stomach feel strange. Then again, Elphaba's intensity had always done that to pretty much everyone she met.

"Well?" the newly-awakened wizardess demanded of her. "Are you coming?"

What a crazy notion! How brazen, how reckless! She couldn't simply uproot and follow on Elphaba's heels. How could she? Her entire life was at Shiz University; her classes, hopes for a brilliant future in sorcery. Following that, a modern, Ozmopolitan life, and the prospect of becoming more than just another tittering debutante, beholden to her family name. Friends, admirers…

Fiyero…

"Elphie, you're trembling." Was she coming? Casting around for some kind of distraction, she found a large black cloak discarded upon the floor. At least it matched her hat. "Here, put this around you…"

As Glinda fastened it around her friend's bony shoulders, heart aching from the prospect of losing one of her dearest companions in such a ridiculous way as this, she decided: no, she could not go with her. Of course, she had great respect for the sentient Animals of Oz — the deposed Dr. Dillamond especially. They were every bit as important as the human persons that she attended Shiz with. Why shouldn't they be? They could walk, and talk, and exchange ideas the same as anyone else.

At least, they could. A recent shift in tense from present to past. Catching and caging them was a deplorable idea, and she had been equally sickened by that class in which they were forced to look at the Lion in its prison, presented as a spectacle instead of a person. The Wizard and Madame Morrible should be ashamed!

But Elphaba truly was taking things too far. Some things simply defied her understanding. All of this fuss, over sticking a few pairs of wings on a few monkeys?! Her unsociable roommate could be mistaken, after all; perhaps the Wizard had simply flipped to the wrong page in the Grimmerie before handing it to her. It needn't be his fault, not necessarily. Didn't the great leader of their entire Land of Oz get any benefit of a doubt? And what was so awful about monkeys having wings? Wouldn't that only improve their lives? She herself wouldn't mind having a set, being able to soar above the clouds…

"GLINDA!"

Rousing herself from her introspection, she took a step forward. Perhaps she had taken too long to contemplate; they didn't have the luxury of time on their side. In the end, of course, it was mostly the thought of the lean, masculine Fiyero and his easy charm that prompted her to tell Elphaba what she must tell her. But she needn't be harsh about it; she could break the news to her gently, with the warmth of their friendship and a wish for her future. She deserved that much.

"Oh, Elphie…" A hand laid on the one holding the broom, causing Elphaba to blink at her in surprise. "I hope-"

There came more pounding at the door. Elphaba's emerald eyes flicked toward it, then back to her in a wild panic as a gruff voice on the other side barked, "Break it down! For His Ozness!"

Cursing under her breath, the black-clad girl straddled the broom, the Wizard's spellbook still tucked under her arm as she bade her, "Get on! There isn't time — we can discuss this later!"

"Wh-what?! We can't, surely they wouldn't truly-"

Her words were eclipsed by the sound of wood splintering. Apparently, they surely, truly would.

"Galinda, it's do or die! Get on this broom now!"

Do or die. They wouldn't use deadly force… would they?

The attic door suggested otherwise.

Before she knew what was happening, Glinda was on the back of a broom, arms looped around Elphaba's waist. They were already rising into the air before her mind caught up with her body, and she squeaked, "Wait!"

In vain. The guards were nearly within arm's reach of them when Elphaba rose above their heads, cackling madly at the feeling. Glinda was too terrified to share in her joy at the sensation of flight, but in the back of her mind, she knew it was one of the most exhilarating experiences she'd ever had in her lifetime. With an effort of will, they were shooting toward a large stained glass window on the Western wall.

"ELPHIE, LOOK OUT!"

But she needn't have bothered shouting; making things explode was something at which her green-hued classmate had always excelled, even before classes helped her hone the magic within her. Amid a shower of breaking glass, the two exited the Royal Palace.

Soon, the Emerald City was laid out below them, sparkling and majestic. Glinda caught her breath. Every street and every spire reflected the sunlight, dazzling her eyes as they hung in midair. Had any of her fellow Ozians ever seen this? Had they been so lucky?

"I don't know where to go now," Elphaba confessed, frantic voice intruding on Glinda's reverie. "Back to Shiz? Do we… should we get Nessa, or Fiyer-"

"NO!" When Elphaba twisted around to look at her, strong, severe features mildly surprised underneath the brim of the large black hat, Glinda shrank back from the stare as she added, "We… don't have the right to drag them into our sensationifical mistake! This is something we've done, we…" Her face went completely ashen. "We're criminals. You are, and I'm your accomplice, and…"

Setting her proud jaw, Elphaba turned back around and gazed down at the ground, at the guards amassing in the streets, though they had no hope of catching the two women suspended at such a height. Eventually, her eyes slid closed in shame. This was a deeper look of pain than she had ever seen in her roommate's forestful features, which looked yet greener due to the twinkling emeralds that lit up the cityscape below. But she did not speak on that matter.

Elphie looks so phosphorescent in the sunlight, she suddenly noticed. Though that thought seemed to come from nowhere.

"We'll go to my home, to my father. They won't think to look there right away, and then…"

"And then?"

"And then… I don't know."

Glinda swallowed hard as she tightened her hold on Elphaba, the vertigo finally catching up to her adrenaline-soaked brain. "Th-then maybe we'll drop in on my family? Or… well, we'll just have to think about that later, I suppose. But yes, let's go see your father, and hope that he doesn't… turn us away."

"I'll head West first," Elphaba said, even as the broom tilted in that direction. "To confuse them, and then North until we're past Shiz, and then back East to Munchkinland. Might save us having any unpleasant surprise visits, at least for a while."

"A better plan than I had, which was 'say you're sorry'. Don't think that would work now."

"Probably not, but… oh, let's just be rid of this place!"

And without another word, Elphaba shot off toward the lowering sun, gliding over the tall skyscrapers, the gorgeous palaces and museums. Ones Glinda was terrified she would never see again.

                                                            ~ o ~

The Coven Of Oz

A Canon Divergence in Three Parts By Jessica X

                                                            ~ o ~

Only once they had made good their escape and circled the Emerald City and its environs by a wide berth did either of them speak. It was Elphaba, turning in her seat to make herself more easily heard. Her voice was hoarse from the earlier shouting, and perhaps with grief, but Glinda didn't want to assume anything.

"Before we left, you were going to say something."

"What?" Glinda whispered, then cleared her throat and repeated it louder, so as to be heard over the sounds of rushing wind. "What?"

"You… were going to tell me you didn't want to come."

Her heart seized. "Oh. Well… please, Elphaba, try to understand… it's not that I-"

"No, no. You had every right not to… follow me on this dangerous crusade. I'd think you a coward, but not a fool; I'm the fool." Her body became more and more tense, which was impossible for Glinda not to notice due to their close proximity. "The Wizard, Madame Morrible, and the entirety of the Ozian military… they're all intent on the suppression of Animal rights, and here I am, thinking any good and decent citizen of Oz should want to band together to stop it! They should, if they have a damn conscience, but they…"

Some time went by with the wind whipping at their faces before Glinda prompted in a soft voice, "They?"

"They have something to lose. I do not. I'm just a hideous green bean with a weird trick or two up my sleeve — unlike them, who all have family and reputations to protect."

"Hmm… that is true." Wincing at how that had come across, Glinda hastily added, "About them, not you, obviously! Because you do have a family, right? And… and a couple of friends, at least. And you're not hideous, just perhaps… deciduous!"

The hands tightened on the broom as she growled, "Why was I put in this position? All I've ever wanted was to… work with the Wizard, ask him to guide me, and maybe…" Her voice had grown more and more embarrassed, and she finally fell silent again. "Nevermind. I'm just a romantic idiot. And he's just a charlatan. Maybe we really were made for each other from the beginning. A couple of bumble-brains."

In all of those words, Glinda heard something unsaid, as she was so used to searching for when her roommate spoke. An apology. The antisocial thing had been so opposed to interaction in the first place, and only through steady insistence from her — and from Elphie's sister, Nessarose — did she begin to blossom from her tightly-clenched bud. Of course, she still preferred isolation and study, but at least they had begun to get her to attend various social activities, to travel all the way to Emerald City, even if only for one short day. There had to be some room left for understanding her idiosyncrasies.

"Aww, Elphie…" How could she word this? "It isn't that I didn't want to come with you, alright? I admire your stance, your zeal! You've got a moxieness when it comes to Animals, and I think you have a chance to do some real good in this world! Or did have, anyway… I just… your cause is not my cause, you know? So it wasn't about you, it was… a difference in interests! Does that make sense?"

After a moment to mull that over, she more felt than heard Elphaba sigh. "It does. I'm… you're right, and I should have waited to listen to you instead of pushing you to join me."

"Too late now," she muttered.

"It is."

"Oh, no, I- that isn't how I meant- I don't blame-"

"You should; you have every right. I let my fury at how the Wizard tricked me make me forget that you were there, and that you were with me. That my actions would reflect badly on you, as well. That was selfish." Another sigh, louder, more stunned. "Wow… I've completely ruined your life."

"What?! Come on, Elphie, don't be so dramatical. Nothing's 'ruined', we just have to… okay, I don't know exactly what we 'have to', but there's a thing we have to do to make this right, and we'll figure out what it is! Together!"

"But you shouldn't…" Shaking her head back and forth, she admitted, "Guess it doesn't matter anymore. Let's just figure out where we're going and what we're doing right now, and the rest of it later."

Nodding, Glinda pressed her face into Elphaba's back. Her warmth was becoming more and more necessary, with the chill wind pulling her own body heat away. That was odd; given how cold and standoffish the woman had been during their year at the university, she would never have guessed she had any heat at all. Like the reptiles she resembled with that green skin and those sharp features. A pleasant surprise, especially in such a time of need.

And that's how things will be for a while, she admitted to herself as their speed increased, skimming them over treetops. Until we get this all straightened out, we're going to need to stick together, whether we like it or not. Just hope we don't end up hating each other before it's all said and done. Not two best friends like us. Wouldn't that be an awfully tragic tragedy?

                                                              To Be Continued…

[silyabeeodess]

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 129 Analysis: Gaging the Morality and Possible Lack of Self of R!Ciel

Now that we've got the twins, many recent posts within the Kuro fandom have debated whether or not R!Ciel can be classified as the "evil twin," following the event of Agni's death and in comparison with O!Ciel.  While it is possible to generalize him as such and it is most likely that he was one of the two killers that had attempted to murder Soma and killed Agni, it also opens up a lot of questions in how we might interpret his behavior and why he is the way he is. 

For now, let us start with the most recent chapter and the true introduction to R!Ciel's character.  As O!Ciel and Sebastian enter the manor, we find that R!Ciel is already inside and has already interacted with the other servants: Finnie, Meyrin, and Baldroy.  He greets his brother calmly, and even shows concern regarding O!Ciel possibly suffering from his illness as a result of being out in the rain knowing the latter's weak constitution.  He also tells O!Ciel that, "There is no need to worry anymore.  I will never leave your side again."    

Based on this, if we don't assume he's faking, we can interpret that he truly does care for O!Ciel, his brother.  There's no telling how much he knows as of yet in regards to what Ciel has been doing over the past three years, but he's not surprised and doesn't seem to care if he does know that O!Ciel has been posing as him.  He's acting almost as if everything is perfectly normal.

So what constitutes as 'normal' for R!Ciel?  First off, the obvious: He loves his brother.  If we reflect on R!Ciel's appearances throughout the manga prior to his reveal in this chapter, O!Ciel has always depicted him as this protective, comforting figure that he was always able to turn to.  During the Green Witch Arc when he was suffering and basically trapped within the confines of his own mind, it was his twin--out of all people--that he envisioned being there to console him beyond the guilt O!Ciel carries as a result of the other being sacrificed.  Now, while we can't fully trust those flashbacks due to the possibility of O!Ciel placing his brother in high regard as a result of familial love and as a result of his fragile state of mind, Chapter 129 would also support that R!Ciel is more of the protecting, loving sort where it concerns O!Ciel.     

Now, stepping into the Phantomhive manor, R!Ciel shouldn't have had any idea who Meyrin, Finnie, and Baldroy were as only Tanaka was among the original staff before the attack on the Phantomhives.  However, based on the fact that the three had no idea about the case of their being twins until the very end of the chapter, R!Ciel just accepted the fact that they were there and already knew who he was.  If he knew about O!Ciel posing as him, that just makes it worse, because then that means he purposefully led them to believe he was O!Ciel instead of explaining things to them before O!Ciel's arrival to the manor.  Why is this important?  Because he's the aristocrat: They're the servants.  As Tanaka had said during Book of Murder, "The head of the Phantomhive household should not be shaken by something as trivial as the death of a servant.  I never once saw the master lose his composure due to such trifles."  Now, we're talking about a human life here.  Being called "trivial" and "a trifle."  On top of that, they're servants of a dangerous family--always left at the risk of getting killed and being replaced.  This is how R!Ciel views Finnie, Meyrin, and Baldroy: Another trio of replacements for their last batch of servants.  Their presence is just something he accepts as a grim result of the attack.  This shuffle is normal to him.

Take that note to how the Victorian society placed a strong focus on social class, and it gets worse.  Even well into the Edwardian period following the Victorians, your class dictated your education, your social behavior, the places you were to go, the people you were to spend time with, and everything in-between.  For example, on the Titanic, its maiden voyage was celebrated by allowing 2nd class passengers to get a taste of the luxury of 1st class passengers by allowing them within certain areas of the ship for a short while that would normally have been excluded to them.  3rd class passengers were not allowed in these areas and the differences between the three of them were striking.  There was an African-American family on board that, while having enough money to purchase a 1st class room, was only allowed to purchase a 2nd class room because of their heritage--which leads me to my second point of what I'm about to say later.  Victorians, as a result of international colonization, also strictly differentiated each other by culture and heritage: They actually tried to come up with studies that dictated how human a human being was based on where they came from.  The elites of this era always tended to try to dehumanize others globally and among their own society.  They were elitists. 

R!Ciel shows strong hints of following that elitist mindset--in part, because he's a Phantomhive and then also because he's an aristocrat.  It's strongly hinted that he views himself as being better, or more human, than the Phantomhive servants--as well as with Soma and Agni due to their being from India.  That's why, if that's him from the previous chapter (which it's a guarantee, I just don't want to call it that since we didn't actually see a face) he says to Soma, "Don't you presume to touch me."  Soma may be a prince, Soma might've been living at the townhouse, but Soma's a stranger and is Indian to R!Ciel, and the latter doesn't view him as an equal.  He doesn't seem to be affected and even smiles when he's called out as an imposter, but he glares at Finnie when Finnie speaks up.  Because Finnie is a servant, who in his mind shouldn't have a place to voice himself: He just works there and should know his place. 

O!Ciel is a brat, but even so he treats the servants more like his family.  He tries to help Soma and protected Agni's identity when he could've just thrown him to the Yard.  He spares Sullivan instead of killing her and trusts her enough to be his ally while helping her in London--all while making sure the Queen doesn't get that deadly gas she has the ability to create despite it giving him more work and leaving him to be forced to rely on her faith and good nature.  He let Snake into his house, just the other servants, despite the attempt on his life and the possibility of Snake finding out the truth--because then Snake would really have to die.  He could've had Sebastian kill Doll right as soon as she showed up, but he didn't give the order until she attacked.  He's an Evil Noblemen and will sacrifice innocent people, but more often than not he does what he can to avoid it and he doesn't judge others solely by their origins.  The only time he's ever really killed someone for the sake of destruction was when he killed the children in Book of Circus--and I personally largely blame that on PTSD rather than an actual judgment call of "yeah, they couldn't be saved" made with complete sanity because he wasn't in his right mind at that moment and he himself is a living example of moving forward beyond tragedy, whether he believes it or not.   

"We're strangers, so of course we're different.  What is there to be ashamed of?  In any case, I'm free to choose my companions." --Ciel to Snake, in Chapter 52

R!Ciel though... He might take to the title of an Evil Noble far more than his brother.  He doesn't have to force people away, because it doesn't seem like he cares for them anyway.  He cares for O!Ciel because their aristocrats and their family.  If we take it that R!Ciel was also the one who said "I don't need any fake brothers," in the chapter Yana Toboso created in the second fan doujinshi, we can also assume that he likely even views other aristocrats as being less than him--highly possible considering the Phantomhive family's strong ties to the Queen and the amount of betrayal among the elites. (Who could you trust?)

This elitist mindset, this idea of "I must look after my brother," and the numbness to the deaths of others and the willingness to kill should be perfectly normal for a member of a family of Evil Nobles.  It fits well with R!Ciel's character, because this is what he probably grew up being taught to believe and act upon.  "I'm likely going to take up the work of a dangerous family that is involved in horrible things. Tragedy is going to happen both ways: Better get used to it."   He also fits well for the mantra of advice that the Undertaker claims to have been telling each generation of Phantomhives:

 "Even though I told him to hold each and every soul dear.  Because you hold great power you gradually fail to understand the importance of things that cannot be recovered.  You will realize that once it's too late.  How many times have I told you and others the same warning?" --Undertaker, Chapter 35      

The problem is, R!Ciel clearly has not learned that lesson yet. Granted, Undertaker is a hypocrite, but he basically is saying to cherish life.  R!Ciel shows no signs of doing that beyond a select few.  And that's jarring for multiple reasons: One because it reflects on the kind of person he was prior to his being sacrificed, and two because it can also reflect on the fact that he isn't human anymore.  What would he care about the precious fragility of life if either A.) He doesn't even have a soul to guide him and is truly just another puppet like all of the other Bizarre Dolls, or B.) Undertaker did by some miracle manage to save his soul, but he was revived anyway so what could it matter?  He's alive and so is O!Ciel.  I prefer A, however, because B would allude to him not caring for his parent's deaths either. 

Going off all of that... Let's get back to talking about how R!Ciel greets O!Ciel.  There's no talk of the tragedy or of their loss.  There's no warm, cherishing reunion of "I'm alive!  I'm alive and I'm here for you: I'm so glad you're alive!  Demon, get the heck out before I shoot a harpoon through your face: You're not touching the little cinnabon muffin that is my twin!"  Instead, it's just, "Oh, your back!  Welcome home!  You shouldn't be the rain," as if nothing that they went through happened.  A normal person does not act this way.  There should be emotion.  There should be an acknowledgment of what happened.  There isn't.  R!Ciel treats the situation as business as usual.

This hints very well to the fact that R!Ciel isn't human anymore and likely doesn't have a soul.  He's more like Agares, and is just another mindless doll under Undertaker's command.  You can't fake humanity.  You can try to recreate a person, but once they're gone, that's it.  Even if you cloned them perfectly, or saved the body, with a copy of their memories, it's just as Undertaker said: There's only one immortal soul.  One of them in the entire world.  Without it, everything else is just parts of a machine.  R!Ciel, this doll, remembers how it used to be before his death, and clings to that: It doesn't have the power to learn and change its morals beyond that.  (And I'm calling R!Ciel an 'it' now because of the high chances that 'it' is no longer a person.)  Really, it probably doesn't have any true essence of freewill.  If there's any actions done on its own accord, it's because it knows was the true R!Ciel would do and acts on that, or else what Undertaker--and maybe even O!Ciel--would want for it to do. 

I'm going to bring up the anime just for the sake of comparison: Drocell/Drossel Keinz.  Drocell was the anime equivalent of the Bizarre Dolls before they showed up.  The difference was though was that he didn't need to directly be fed commands as the others need.  Both of the Bizarre Dolls on the Campania and at Weston, while gradually being advanced, had to be basically kept on a leash whenever Undertaker didn't want them to go after a soul.  They knew some part of them was missing.  The first batch were like mindless beasts.  The second batch could talk so long as Undertaker fed them them right words, or they repeated words that their former selves would say and still attacked without otherwise being restrained.  This time, however, R!Ciel is likely a doll like Drocell, convinced that it's human and it's alive.  That it has a soul.    

"To think all this time I thought I was human." --Drocell, Kuroshitsuji anime

Unless Undertaker actually thinks he's giving O!Ciel more than just a walking, empty corpse, unless he's lost his sanity that badly due to his pain, returning R!Ciel like this... I can barely even begin to imagine how tortured and torn a person--O!Ciel--would be over that.  That a doll, a figment of someone you once cherished, could look and act exactly like the person you lost without ever being more than a husk.  Seeing that, knowing that it's a problem, and being faced with a sudden choice: "Do I accept this even though this isn't real or do I kill this lookalike? Do I destroy the one essence left of someone I cared about, or do I let this continue for my emotional benefit?"  People grieve after a loss and then they move on.  They heal.  Bringing R!Ciel back like this does not allow that for O!Ciel, Lizzie, or Undertaker. I don't know what is going through Undertaker's head right now, but this is the beginning of a downhill spiral of pain and misery...