#wheel well stowaway

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Code Blue Ch. 53 - Galway Girl

Summary: Josie has another run in with the law which leads to another revelation. She reaches out to a Savior with the new info. Luke plays his violin. A beloved sassy Scotswoman stuns Josephine on her hunt for the innocent Scotsman. An Irish memory rattles Jo. She and Gerry have a HUGE discussion on many subjects. More comes to light about Megan's attack. Emotions go awry when Gerry learns the truth.

*Chapter Warnings* language, angst, mentions of drugs and rape

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Salem, Massachusetts

March 22, 2022

The revelation of your ex-fiance's non-infidelity had your mind spinning as you carelessly sped down the freeway, stiff as a board with a white knuckled grip on the wheel and trying not to puke. Over and over, just as you had done 3 years ago, you began dissecting all the events of that painful day when you had awoke to the life altering text that you believed to have been from Gerry. A fabricated text to incriminate him, making it look like he had accidentally sent it to you instead of your sister which put her diabolical plan of entrapment all into motion of deeming him unfaithful and it had worked like a fucking charm. Still etched in your mind as if it were only yesterday, was the look of horror on Gerry's face when you found him in bed with Megan. A look that you now saw in a whole new light and you were so lost in that image that you did not notice the cop parked on the berm of the road, pegging you at 82 miles per hour.

The startling sirens brought you back to the present which you didn't even know where that was at the time, for you had just experienced one of those blackout moments where you didn't remember driving from point A to point B and wondered how you even did it without causing a wreck. You didn't have your seatbelt on either which you didn't realize until after you pulled over.

In your side mirror, you nervously watched the grumpy looking policeman approach your car, wishing it had been Luke because this time, you knew you couldn't cry your way out of it with being almost thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. Was he seriously unsnapping his gun holster???

"License and registration." the officer robotically requested as you rolled your window down.

You fumbled through your purse, then the glove box and handed him the items without question or argument, just wanting to get the humiliating moment over with and go.

He looked over the documents and then eyed you as he asked the usual rhetorical question. "Do you know why I pulled you over miss March?"

"Speeding I assume."

His reply was cocky as car after car sped by, taking advantage of the situation. "You assumed correct. 82 in a 55. Also I see you aren't wearing your seatbelt which is a law in every state other than New Hampshire which you are not in and your tail light is busted out as well which is a non-moving violation and a ticketable offense."

"Wait, what? How did that happen?? Can I go look?"

"You will need to remain in your vehicle while I go back and write up this ticket."

As soon as he was back in his cruiser, you immediately texted Jeffrey.

"I think u were right! Someone was in that car. My tail light is busted out and it wasn't when I was putting my bags in the trunk!"

About 30 seconds went by and he then replied. "Thx for the 411 darlin. Been thinkin bout it more since you dropped me off. Stowaway POS. Prob followed us to the junk yard too. He's toying with us. Busted the light as a warning. Ballsy fucker bit off more than he could goddamn chew. I'll find him and when I do, well I think you know how that will turn out. In the meantime, your best off to stay close to Craig. Sorry bout your trouble, Trouble😉 When you got time, bring your sweet self and that sweet ride to the shop and I'll get that taken care of for you asap. Least I could do for pissin you off. Talk more then."

"Thank u!! I'll text u later to let u know when I can come."

"You're very welcome doll. You can cum anytime."

You huffed and shook your head at his remark and before you could reply, he texted right back.

"Oh damn! Old habits die fucking hard. Told you I'd piss on the floor every now and then. Sorry for the comment. My bad."

You smiled and softly chuckled. "I'll let it slide. At least you're trying. Talk later."

"You rock girl. Later."

Stay close to Craig. Great. Now you had to haul all your stuff back to your apartment instead of going to your mom's as planned... for the time being anyways. You couldn't bring more trouble to her. Megan would surely remain in the hospital for quite sometime anyways and your mom would most likely take up residency in her room. Would they even be safe there though? Elizabeth sure wasn't. You then anxiously texted Luke.

"Hey. Can u please put a guard at Megan's door??? Just to be safe."

His reply was instant and shocking. "Already working on that Jo. No worries. I'm heading there in a few to speak with her as well since I was informed she is awake. Everything ok? Still pissed at me?"

You wanted to be but you just didn't have the energy anymore. "Thank u Luke. For everything. I'm fine. I just want my mom and sister to be safe right now. Please keep me updated."

You wanted to tell him so bad about the bar thugs since they were after him to begin with but you couldn't now that he was a cop. You just didn't know if you could trust him after knowing the little bit you knew about his agent days with Lee. Your list of loyal peers was growing thin anymore.

"I see you've deflected on my last question. I'm sorry things have to be this way. I really am Jo. I'm just trying to turn my life around but all I seem to be doing is making everyone hate me even more. Maybe it was a mistake to even come back here. I wanted to try to fix things and all I do is fuck them up even more. Suppose there's no reform for someone like me. Who am I to be some judge and jury? I'm a loner. Always have been. Better off that way...for everyone involved."

Luke was doing it again and at the worst possible time. Removing the armor and showing his softer side and that was why it was hard to stay angry with him. Just like Lee, he had a sordid past and had been through some bad shit. Knowing what Luke Sr. did to both Luke and Landy, defiling his own sons, was beyond comprehension to you so you couldn't even begin to imagine how that felt for the two wayward brothers. As you stared at your phone, not knowing how to reply to the heart on Luke's sleeve, you nearly jumped out of your skin when the officer appeared at your window, ticket in hand.

"I see that you're the late detective Brady's sister. Good man. So tragic. I am sorry for your loss."

Thinking he may decide to let you off with a warning, you smiled and hoped for the best. "Yes, I am. Thank you. Our family misses him so much."

"Your family, yes. I also am aware that that makes you Jason Morgan's sister. Not a good man, but you know that. He almost took you to the grave with him and here you are, speeding round town like he did on the bike as if you're something special."

"Ex...cuuuse me??!!"

"No, I won't excuse you like you probably thought I was going to just because of your family ties to the precinct."

Oh how you wanted to go all Betty White on him like she did in Lake Placid and call him Officer fuckmeat and then continuing on with her other snarky line of if I had a dick, this is where I'd tell you to suck it, but you would certainly be arrested this time if you did.

"Yeah well, I'm also detective Butler's ex- finacee and we're still very close. I'll be sure to tell him about this."

"I can see why it's ex. Lady, I don't care who you are. There won't be any preferential treatment here. Don't break the law. It's really not that hard. Here's your ticket. Have a good day Ma'am."

He handed you your expensive ass ticket with a court date for the following week and walked away as you sat with a gaping mouth.

"Asshole!" you grunted after you rolled up your window, then finally you were on your way, but before you drove off, you quickly texted Lee to tell him you would come to the cemetery but that you would be late. You didn't mention why though. It had nothing to do with the traffic stop and everything to do with the whopper of a secret that Megan confessed. As far as a reply to Luke, he would have to wait.

You called Gerry as you pulled up to the gates of the Kiriakis estate, but once again, he did not answer so you punched in the code for entry that only very few had. Those without the free pass would have to go through the whole rigmarole of identity verification and approval to be buzzed through, for Victor's security was understandably high with being a man of his nefarious stature and corresponding life. He may as well have been considered a celebrity. Of course ALL the other crime families of Salem were like that too.

The property was enormous and endless, consisting mostly of forestry, open country-like land and bayside access surrounding the mansion and one that did not know it well could easily get lost. It took you almost 5 minutes just to drive up the pine tree-lined path to the main house and then another minute to get back to the two story guest house where Gerry resided on the bay which was only a fraction in size of the stately manor. Even though Victor's fancy fortress had as many rooms as a 5 star hotel, Gerry cherished his privacy and wanted nothing to do with all servant bullshit and the tiresome walking involved in getting from room to room...and of course, papa Vic's business dealings. If the reserved detective could live like a hermit in a surfing shack on the beach, he would, for he loved the water and he had actually built one not far from the guest house that you were surprised he hadn't moved into already. It was more of a trailer located where all the good waves were for surfing and if he wasn't doing that, he was working on cars, one of his favorite pastimes. Maybe that's where he had been when he wasn't at the hospital visiting his father?

Once you reached the guest home, there were two cars parked in the front and neither were Gerry's.

You deciphered at least one to most likely be the maid or gardener, for Victor was OCD on the cleanliness and beauty of his grounds. As for the other, no clue. Maybe he had a girlfriend now? That could explain why he wasn't answering your calls.

After parking by the garage, you peaked in the window and saw Gerry's truck inside, so you headed up to the porch and rang the doorbell. There was no answer so you rang it once more and then glanced through the small window panel to see the television on, but no one was there.

"Gerry???!!" you shouted and knocked aggressively. "It's me, Jo!"

Another minute went by and no one came to the door. "Alright. " you sarcastically rationalized out loud as you took out the key you still had. "If you can walk right into my mother's home, I can do the same here."

You crept inside and quietly closed the door, then made your way to the TV, turned it off and called to him once more. "Gerry! Are you here??"

In the silence, you heard the toilet flush from the bathroom around the corner and then the door opened.

"Hallo?" a woman's familiar voice loudly questioned and then in walked Gerry's mother, gasping as she covered her mouth.

"Josephine darlin, in the name of the wee man!" the petite Gaelic woman with salt and pepper hair exclaimed in her strong Scottish accent.

Ironically, her name was Margaret just like your mother's and they both shared a son with Victor. She even had fiery hair like your mother once upon a time which was possibly what attracted Victor to her aside from the identical names and similar accents. The only difference was, she went by Margie and your mother went by Maggie. Margie lived in the Scottish Highlands and rarely visited the states. Gerry had usually went to see her instead, for he didn't like her braving the big Scotland airports alone such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, so you were just as stunned to see her as she was you. She probably came to support her son over Victor's heart attack which now made sense as to why Gerry had fallen off the grid, but it still pissed you off that he couldn't have sent you a simple text instead of ignoring you.

"Margie?? Oh my God is right!"

In the shared excitement, you both bee-lined to each other and embraced. You had surely missed her, for she had always made you feel like a part of her family. She was so kind-hearted and compassionate with a side of Scottish sass and she adored you. Needless to say, she was just as heartbroken as you and Gerry were when you and he had went your separate ways.

"I had no idea you were here Margie. Sorry for just walking in. I rang the bell and knocked but..."

"Oh, I tried to hurry but I was in the cludgie doin my jobby. It's a wee bit bowfin in there, so I would wait awhile if ye need to pee. It might make ye greet." she warned with a grin and a wink, for it literally meant she was taking a very smelly shit, one that would make you cry. She was usually quite frank about everything.

"I haven't been able to reach Gerry lately. When did you get here?"

"About tree days ago. I told my boy I was coming and there was nothin he could do about it so he flew all the long way to Glasgow and swooped me up in the sky on that fancy Kiriakis jet so I wouldn't have to fly alone. Ye know my Gerard, stubborn as an ox just like his Da. Oh goodness it is so guid tae see ye! Are ye well my darlin girl? Ye know I will always think of ye as my daughter no matter whit's happened."

You smiled and held her dishpan hands. "Of course I will always see you as a mother figure and I've certainly had better days."

"Ye do look a wee bit peely wally and ye been greetin. Yer een are red. Dinnae fash yersel. I won't tell."

"Dinner...what?" you giggled. "Sorry, my Gaelic sucks."

"It means don't worry. Nothin to be sorry about. Look who ye learned it from! Although Gerry knows the Celtic tongue, he tends to haver in the lowland Scot's language." she snarked with an eye roll. "But I suppose, like yersel, no one would understand him around here. His accent has weakened too. He tries to emphasize it more when I'm around and he thinks I don't notice the change but I suppose if I saw him more, it wouldn't seem so drastic now would it?"

"No, I suppose not. How is Edward? He didn't come?"

Her infamous Scottish sass surfaced about Gerry's stepfather. "Oh that old numpty craw. The eejit is probably sittin on his arse with his tap aff, wearin his baffies and clyping to the neebs while sippin on his uisge. He didn't want to come and be a proper crabbit around Gerry, but we all know it's because he don't take kindly to Victor and wouldn't be caught dead in his home."

"Have you went to see Victor?"

"HA!" she guffawed and rolled her eyes again. "I don't give a radan's arse about the old bawbag either but let's keep that between you and me. I'm only here to use the rich bastard's free amenities and to be here for Gerry because only the good Lord above knows why he loves that menace to society."

There was another difference between your mother and Margie. Your mom loved Victor. Margie despised him because he could never get over your mother. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Well, I would say your secret's safe with me but it's not like Gerry don't know how you feel. Speaking of, where is he? And.... who's cars are out front? Does he have other guests?"

"If yer hinting around to see if Gerry has some manky hen hiding under his bed, that would be a flat out naw. The only hen in his heart will always be the bonnie lass I'm lookin at, his Galway girl. One of the cars is a rental Gerry got for me so I can come and go as I please. Somebody has got to get the messages around here. Wasn't enough scran for a luch to nibble on. The other is Brady's car, ye know, the son who's name is strangely the same as yer mum's maiden name? or maybe it's Phillip's car? I lose track of all Victor's offspring anymore. All I know is one of his half brothers is here. The skinny malinky long legs and a braw lookin fella there in that picture on the stand. Looks like my Gerard when he was a lad."

You picked it up and chuckled. "Ahh, that would be Phillip, the youngest one. They have the same slanted smile and dimples. Is that where Gerry is? With Phil?"

"Aye, sorry, I don't know where my mind went whit all my haverin. Jetlag has me knackered, sticks with ye longer when yer thairis air a 'bheinn."

You tilted your head at her like a confused puppy. She usually used more of the Scot's English for you but would forget when she was rambling and would blurt out her witty words the way she spoke to Gerry because it was simply what she was accustomed to with being from the highlands. You compared it to playing a game of charades on guessing what she meant.

"Oh sorry darlin. I did it again. It means when yer over the hill. Anyways, Phillip's upstairs sleeping off the lagair. He and Gerry were off their trolley last night after visiting their dunderheid da. Phil got the boke. Poor lad. His heid's mince. He hit a pure whitey come morn. I told him not to have so many swallies but he was determined to keep up with Gerry. My son is out on the docks, up to high doh on fixin the boat while suckin down more of the bevvy and still reefin on those clatty baccy fags, so I've been in here, scrannin ma wee pan in on some mince and tatties, which is whit sent me to the cludgie and I was goin to watch my stories when ye popped in."

She very indiscreetly glanced over your shoulder to see the TV. "Ye mak a better door than a windae. Go on now. Get yer bahookie out there and have yersels a blether. That's whit ye came here for now aye? Whit's fur ye'll no go by ye."

Her smile was devious. You knew she wanted you and Gerry to reconcile but you couldn't even think of things like that when you loved Lee the way you did, but you understood what she last said and you certainly believed it. What's for you will not go by you. There were always signs if you paid attention, which you always did.

With your stomach in knots, you slowly headed out down the lengthy dock where you could see the speed boat up on the lift with Gerry inside of it and you could hear his jeers too, swearing like the Scotsman he truly was.

The day had become dreich as Margie would say and it was getting colder too, even more so out on the water. It felt like a reflection of your emotions. The calm before the storm that was about to become a category 5 hurricane when you found the courage to tell Gerry of Megan's betrayal. Knowing him the way you did, he wouldn't believe it at first and you could already predict his words. Yer bum's oot the windae! Blatantly translated....you're full of shit.

Your phone beeped, causing your already shortened steps of rapidly growing cold feet to cease altogether. It was Lee responding to your text that informed him of your late arrival.

"I have already waited a lifetime for you. I can wait longer because you are worth every aching minute of delay. I will wait forever if I must, just to breathe in your presence."

How? How could any human being possess such power over you? To be able to stop and restart your heart all from one simple text? As you stood there, literally holding Lee's bleeding heart in your hands, you began to feel incredibly guilty for making him wait, especially because you had chosen to go to Gerry first and you knew he wouldn't understand. You didn't even understand.

Forcing down the urge to lean over the rail and hurl, you gripped your queasy stomach and continued on. The closer you got, music became audible. You halted your steps once more, gasping as the song flung you back in time to 5 years ago in Galway when your relationship with Gerry was shiny and new. It was all your eyes could see as you gazed at Gerry working in the boat.

You had been wanting to go back to your roots and he had made that happen for you by taking you to Ireland on the same jet he picked his mom up in. It took a lot of coaxing though to get you on the man-made bird, for that was how your father had died when his plane had went down, something you rarely spoke of. Doped up on anxiety meds and tucked in the safety of Gerry's arms like a baby bird had gotten you through the fear and before you knew it, you and he were in Galway, partying it up.

The song was Galway Girl. Gerry said it reminded him of you and one night at one of the local pubs, the dashing detective showed off one of his many other talents. Playing guitar and singing that particular and very popular song with some guys he used to be in a band with back in his youthful days...and he sang it to you as he strummed the acoustic chordophone and strutted his way through the overcrowded room, embarrassing the hell out of you and then to top that off, he grabbed you up in his arms and kissed you madly. But you loved it and you loved him. It was like no one existed that night but you and him. Everything was so different then. You and Gerry were different, right down to his clean shaven baby face and your red hair with bangs.

You could still feel that kiss, taste it even. Guinness Stout mixed with sweet cologne and salty sweat. You were so happy. He was so happy. You could have had it all, rollin in the deep as the song said. He had your heart inside of his hand and he played it to the beat, or so you had believed no thanks to Megan's malevolence. She ruined everything. If she hadn't, would you now be Mrs. Josephine March Butler? You momentarily glanced down at your ring finger where the glowing golden rock used to be that he proposed to you with. He chose it because it was his birthstone and it reminded him of your amber eyes. He said it proved you and he were born for one another and even with Gerry, you had believed in all the signs so you really took that one to heart, along with both of your mothers names being the same. When everything went to shit, you took that as another sign and even went as far as secretly blaming it on the fact that he was a Scorpio. Low compatibility with your sign, a Sagittarius. Water and fire. It was said to be a very challenging relationship which it eventually became even without Megan's interference. You had just needed some fucking reason to understand how Gerry could ever cheat on you and with your slutty sister of all people or even at all. Would you have ever even met Lee? What would have happened if you had? Because your connection with him was instant and extremely intense, like the striking and igniting of a match. Aries and Sagittarius. Fire meets fire. You literally burned for each other.

As the song ended, the silence brought you back to the present, still staring at Gerry who had now locked his widened blue eyes upon you. Watching him hop out of the boat and casually strut his way to you in a dark baggy tee and a pair of khakis, you resumed your steps and your breathing that you swore had also ceased during your involuntary time travel.

He looked back at the boat and then you. "She's being stubborn. Hope you didn't come for a boat ride."

The ridiculous attempt to downplay his ghosting of you was expected and typical of Gerry, as well as the adorably anxious smile he displayed.

Gerry knew damn well you couldn't swim and would never get in a recreational boat but you couldn't even muster up a snarky retort with the way you were feeling and he noticed it. You noticed something too as he laid the rag on the railing and asked you if you wanted a beer. He was wearing his wedding ring.

"N..no. I'm good." you softly and simply declined.

As he opened the mini fridge under the small kitchen island used for bay parties, he looked back at you with concern.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine Gerry."

He popped the cap off the Heineken and took a swig while staring at you. "You're good, you're fine. Ok. Then why do you look like you've been crying?"

"Why do you look like a bottle of whiskey kicked your arse? Where have you been Gerry? I've been trying to reach you and I know damn well you know that. Why couldn't you answer my texts and calls??"

"Not to evade questioning like you're doing or to be a prick but since when do I owe you any explanations about my life? Last time I checked, we were never married."

"Fair enough...but why are you wearing your ring??"

His lips parted as he glanced down at his hand with a baffled expression, for clearly he had forgotten about it.

"Ohhh...that. Yeahhhh. Phil and I got a bit minced on a few wee drams last night and I woke up wearing it and well...now it's kind of stuck. Fingers got fatter I guess."

"A few shots?" you snickered. "I know how liberal you Scots pour those. According to your mom, ya'll were oot yer tree... errrrr was it off yer trollie?"

Gerry face palmed and grinned, then he sighed as he sat down on the rail. "Both terms would be correct. Look Josie, I'm dealin with a lot. You know that. I got my Mum in there hovering over me as you now know. I got Phil's young, dumb and reckless arse in there to look after and Vic over there in the hospital, still not doing well and now there's you."

You both gazed at each other for a moment, knowing he was reading you like a book and you began to feel sick all over again about what you had to tell him. His eyes already held so much stress and exhaustion and you were about to make it ten times worse.

"Josie...why are you here? What's going on with you sweetness? I can see it in those gorgeous eyes that something's wrong."

He was killing you. Gerry always called you sweetness from day one but it's the first time he had used the term of endearment it in a very long time.

"What ISN'T going on? Like you, I'm being hit at every angle with a new fresh hell every 5 minutes."

"And....you came..to me? Why? Don't you have that pretty doctor to bandage all your wounds?"

Your eyes instantly welled up. "You know what? This was obviously a mistake. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

As you spun around to leave, Gerry leaped off the rail and grabbed your hand, pulling you back. "Wait, wait...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I..I'm just not used to you coming to me for anything or even talking to me much at all for that matter and now here you are, out of nowhere and...."

Gerry paused as he intensely peered down into your glistening eyes. He was still clinging to the littlest bit of hope that someday you would want him back and he couldn't help but wonder if that's why you were there.

His thumb softly caressed the top of your hand as he still held it. "Talk to me baby. Did...did he...hurt you in some way?"

There he went, reading you again like a psychic with that annoying intuition of his. Gerry was certainly meant to be a cop.

"Just stop!" you cried, yanking your hand from his and turning away from him as you softly sobbed. "I am NOT going to talk to you about Lee, so just stop Gerry. Please just stop."

"It's very clear that I'm right but I will respect your wishes."

His then laid a gentle hand upon your shoulder. "But you're crying and you know what that does to me. Did my mum say something to you? I know she tends to overstep...."

You turned, eyes closed as you sighed, then forced them up to his. "No, she was actually more subtle about you and me this time. God, I'm just so fucking frazzled right now."

"I can see that. Ok, take in deep breath, hold it for a second and then just let it go. Here, I'll do it with you, come on. 1, 2..."

"Gerryyyy...that doesn't work." you whined with an eye roll.

"No, don't argue with me. Just do it. One more time, 1...2...3."

On his count of three, you just began blurting things out. "First off, there's how many experienced cops at the Salem P.D. with murder cases and you left that egotistical rookie partner of yours in charge of Elizabeth's case. Does no one realize it's a conflict of interest?? Luke and Lee are at each other's throats over their own issues so HOW is this fair to Lee being a person of interest when Luke's the investigating officer??!! And let's not forget a little girl is missing and it's all my fault! This is one of the reason's I have been trying to reach you because you can be objective and get shit done and speaking of cops, I got pulled over on the way here by Officer over the fucking hill for speeding and he was rude and mean and insulted me all because Jason's my brother, oh and someone busted my fucking tail light out and rusty water keeps coming out of the faucets!!!"

Gerry's response was of simple surprise as he stared at you, lips ajar. "Wow."

"That's it? Wow??"

"Well Josie, there's all kinds of bad shit in this county going on and we only have so many cops who are on pre-existing cases, not to mention the huge drug shit going on so I felt Luke could handle this while I got my shit together since he's highly qualified and all and no, I was not aware of the personal conflicts with him, but now I am and I'll look in to it. I'm sorry I've been distant but I really didn't think I was needed in your life anymore. Bring your car out to the trailer tomorrow if you want and I'll fix it but as far as your plumbing problem, isn't that your mobster landlord's responsibility?"

"Hilarious Gerry. Craig is not a bad guy. His daughter is missing so don't start in on him like you always did Jason who also isn't a bad person like that cop called him and I'm not going to ask Craig to fix my shower when it isn't even broken."

"But you just said..."

"It's not the plumbing. Just never mind. You wouldn't believe me if I told you and that doesn't really matter right now so forget I said anything."

Gerry looked at you with skepticism. "Ok. But what did you mean by isn't?"

"Huh?"

"You said Jason isn't a bad person. Don't you mean wasn't?"

Oh god. You DID say that and you needed to do damage control real fucking fast because this wasn't the first time you had almost let it slip that Jason was alive and Gerry was too damn smart. You hated lying to him but Jason would tell the world his secret when he was ready. In the meantime, you hoped he would find Ethan sooner than later and especially Blaise, but you hadn't a single clue what your undead brother was even doing or where he and Britt were. Did Jason even know what happened to Megan?

"Of....course I meant wasn't Gerry. It was an accident. He's only been gone close to 2 months now. Still don't seem real." you sniffled and wiped the corner of your eye for good measure.

"Alright. I get it. Sorry. Guess I'm still in cop mode and speaking of, so this cop that pulled you over. What's his name?"

"I...I don't know?"

"You got the ticket on you?"

You dug into your purse. "Yeah. Here."

Gerry stood looking it over and then his eyes popped as he chuckled. "82 Josie? Really? Where was the fire? All of this was that important to get here? Anyways, I know this prick."

He crumpled the pink paper up without a care and chucked it into the water. "There. No more ticket."

"Gerry...what are you doing??! I need that!"

"Not anymore you don't. I'll make it go away. One problem solved."

You knew he could too. You just didn't want to ask him to. "I..you...you would do that for me? I mean, with you being all by the book and stuff, no matter who it is?"

"I think you know you're an exception to that rule. I would do anything for you, especially if I can in some way make up for all the pain I caused you."

Your stomach twisted. You couldn't put it off much longer. The truth about Megan.

"Can you make everything else go away too? Lee didn't hurt Liz and he certainly didn't kill her. Please tell me you believe that."

"I've done my research on Lee and no, I don't think he attacked or offed his ex. Honestly JoJo, I think it could be someone else who Elizabeth pissed off which according to Luke's reports, was quite a muckle amount of people, even including you but of course I know that's not the case. I'm leaning more towards someone who wants us to believe Lee did it since he does have quite the motive, but again...I don't feel it was him. Things just don't add up. I think someone was more pissed off at Lee than Elizabeth."

Gerry didn't suspect you but someone certainly tried to make it look that way by planting all that stuff in Lee's car, but you couldn't tell Gerry about that and now your thoughts swirled like a twister, sucking in every person with means and motive to hurt the two of you. Someone who knew Lee's routines.

"Well, there's a large list of those people too. Ethan will always be my first guess. He hates me and that Lee chose me and not him and we all know what he's capable of. Then there's Angel, Lee's neighbor. Another jealousy, woman scorned thing and there's that Carpenter guy. I mean, you witnessed his rage at Lee and there's even..."

You paused, feeling guilty for even thinking it, but your priority was to always protect Lee, no matter who you had to throw under the bus. "There's...your new partner...Luke. Something happened years ago between them Gerry and I don't know what that was but I do know it was really bad and the two of them, as I said, are not getting along. I just think you don't know everything about Luke and I know I don't either, but from what I've seen and from what I DO know, he has a violent streak in him, especially if provoked. Just like his brother Ethan and maybe Luke is using this cop thing to his advantage?? I mean, he was WSB for christ's sake and..."

Gerry shook his head. "Stop. Stop."

But you didn't stop. "No Gerry! Is it really that far fetched?? He's smart as hell. He can easily hide things he don't want people to know. Trust me."

So could Lee for that matter, but you were way past ever thinking it was him and would forever regret that the thought had ever crossed your mind just like the guilty person wanted it to.

"Or maybe he's just doing his damn job. So let me get this straight. You think a former WSB agent is now a dirty cop and my partner at that, just to seek some kind of revenge on his once good friend."

"I..I don't know! It's possible yes?? He knows Lee inside and out."

"I'm smart as hell too and would like to think I am damn good at what I do and the fact that you're standing here implying that I wouldn't see right through a conspiracy like that is rather insulting. I'm telling you Josie, it's not Luke. Until you can give me something concrete as to why Luke would want to hurt Lee, you need to drop it."

"Ok fine. Maybe it's not to hurt Lee? Maybe it was FOR Lee. Luke hated Liz too for what she did to Lee."

"You know, you're definitely right about one thing. Luke is too close to this and needs pulled from the case. With that said, I think you're forgetting a few others with motive to kill Nurse Webber. I mean...let's not forget her ex-husband who she kept his own daughter from, or so called daughter I should say since he believes Blaise to be Ethan's and if that turns out to be true, it's really damn good motive on his part to off her and let's also not forget his line of work, so there's that."

"Nope. Stop it Gerry. Craig did not do it. Leave him alone already. He wouldn't do that to his daughter no matter how much he despised Liz."

"You seem so sure of that and oddly protective of him. What's that all about?"

"None of your business. Now who else? You said a few others."

"Ok, but you aren't going to like it."

"WHO!" you snapped.

The name that came out of his mouth made your skin crawl. "Peter. He's been making some noise lately from within that 6 by 6 of his."

"W...w...what?" you softly stammered in fear.

"I wasn't going to tell you this but out of the blue, he's been demanding to get word to you to come see him and he won't say why, which I think we all know is because he knows about you being with Lee. The warden let me know about it and I've made sure any letters he sends out with your name are never sent."

You shuttered inside. "Just like he sent letters to Britt, wanting her to give them to me."

"She didn't did she? I was under the impression she loathed her sadist brother."

"She does and no. I never saw the letters and I don't want to talk about Pe..." you sighed, unable to even say his name. "Why are you bringing him up?? You're in good with this warden. Get him to put him in solitary confinement where he belongs, like he did to me!!"

"I'm sorry. I said you wouldn't like it. I know what he did to you, kidnapping you and locking you in that morgue drawer. I was there and saved you remember? Or you would have suffocated and believe me, if I could shut him up, I would, but I can only do so much. I'm bringing him up because we all know he has extreme jealous tendencies and access to people on the outside. I think you know where I'm going with this. If he wants to get to you or Lee, he can."

You wanted to tell Gerry so bad what you knew about Lee's past with Luke involving Peter aka Sam Colin and how Lee was using that alias because Luke told him to, but you just couldn't. You trusted Gerry with your life but not Lee's.

"Yeah, I do. He could easily set Lee up to get him away from me which is WHY his communication needs to be revoked!! He's not only the son of an infamous terrorist, but he's one himself and he shouldn't have the privileges he has Gerry! Besides that, do you really think it's his style to frame someone?? He's more of the eraser type.''

"Then why isn't Lee dead already? Peter is his father's son yes, but he wasn't raised by him, only that other whack job son of his was, Charles Rane, who got blown up across the pond years ago."

You felt sick again, because it was Lee who caused that explosion, killing the Rane of terror. If you only knew what happened. The entire story. You would bet money Peter knew. So did Spinelli from intercepting those letters from Peter to Britt. And of course, Jason knew. If only you had listened to his and Lee's entire conversation instead of interrupting them, maybe you would know the truth.

"Does that make Peter any less dangerous?" Gerry continued. "No, but I had been after Cesar for so long and the two couldn't be more different. You should know since Faison was going to kill you the night you got shot, which not to defend Peter, but he meant to hit his father, not you, in an attempt to save you. Cesar eliminates his threats. Peter toys with them. The sadistic fuck likes to watch people suffer. Big difference."

"I swear if you say his name one more time!! And yeah, I know the difference. It's the real reason, which you already know, that my anxiety issues arose and why I'm claustrophobic and scared of the dark and storms! You have no idea what thunder sounds like inside a cold metal box. But in shame, I tell everyone, even Lee, it's because Megan locked me in a crawl space during a storm when we were kids, which was true, but that never damaged me the way that monster did. I...I couldn't fucking breathe. I could still smell the chloroform and I can still see the darkness all around me, stealing my breath like the grim fucking reaper and hear the echoes of my own cries as I called out for you."

"I know...and Peter claimed he was hiding you from his father because you were my girlfriend and Faison would kill you if he found you. Maybe I should go visit the piece of shit because now I'm angry all over again and want to rip his minging heid aff!!"

There was the full blown Scottish accent and you hadn't even told him about Megan yet. "Well maybe someone in prison will get to him first, shank him over and over and over or slip some rat poison in his coffee or something. I bet you could arrange that."

"Haud yer wheesht! What's gotten into you Josie? Just because you're Jason's sister doesn't mean you have to act like him."

"Now YOU haud yer wheesht!"

"I will when you stap yer haverin!"

Your lips pursed and you went to riposte, but Gerry's phone rang. "Saved by the bell. Guess Luke's ears were ringing. I gotta take this. He fills me in from time to time."

As Gerry walked away to talk privately, you went to the sink for a glass of water. Your eyes were on him, trying to listen as you turned the faucet on but he was purposely whispering. Your hand became wet as the glass overflowed and when you looked down, your hand was stained with red water.

"Gerry!!!" you screeched and dropped the glass in the sink, shattering it.

"I'll call you later!" Gerry barked and ran to you. "Fuck Josie, did you cut your hand? Here baby, let me see it!"

"It's not blood Gerry. It's the water!! This is what I told you about! First at Dave's, then at my place and now here. I...I don't know what the fuck is happening. It's like some supernatural sign or an omen or something. Gerry, I feel like something bad is going to happen."

His eye dropped from yours and he became silent as he dried your hand off with a towel.

"Gerry? W..what's wrong? What did Luke tell you??"

He threw the towel down and grabbed another beer. "When were you going to tell me about Megan being kidnapped and attacked?"

"I...I was going to. We were just, you know, talking about all this other stuff and I got distracted. That's all."

"Luke's at the hospital now and asked me if I could find a guard and..."

"You need to! Because I don't think she was expected to be found considering where she was at. Did he speak to her? What did she say? Because she told me and mom she couldn't remember anything just before it happened and during, just that she remembered Dave finding her and...Gerry...she said she feels like it wasn't Ethan but...I don't believe that. She's either scared to rat him out or it's just the trauma."

"Or it's the drugs they found in her system compromising her memory. Her blood panel showed traces of Rohypnol in her system. It's a roofie."

"Oh my god...."

"That's...not all Josie. They uh...they did a rape kit on her and..."

"No...just...no. Tell me she wasn't."

"I...I can't. I'm sorry Josie. Luke said she don't remember it but she was so distraught from the results of both tests that they had to sedate her."

Your eyes burned with tears as your heart began to pound. "M..mom...what about my m...mom?"

"Luke's staying with her for awhile. Still think he's a cold blooded killer?"

"I...I don't know what to think anymore. Gerry...there's more...and it involves you. I need to get this out. It's the entire reason I came here."

"Why do I feel like I'm the one who's not going to like this now? What is it Joey? Oot with it."

You drew in a deep breath like he told you to do earlier, then exhaled long and hard. "Ok. Here it goes. After speaking to Megan today, she decided to do some kind of conscience cleanse and...she...she claims that you and she...never slept together. That she set you up to hurt me."

Gerry turned around with an incredulous sigh, placed his palm on his forehead for a moment, then turned back to you with his mouth hanging open.

"What? Yer bum's oot the windae." he exclaimed, exactly as you predicted he would and still in shock, he questioned again. "What?"

"It's not nonsense Gerry. Trust me, I didn't believe it at first either, but...her demeanor and how she cried her eyes out...it's true Gerry. She admitted to drugging you and even wearing my perfume to get you excited, but the drugs and the alcohol only ended up knocking you out, so she sent me that text from your phone, then took your clothes off and hers and climbed into bed with you, waiting for me to show up the next morning. It was all a fucking set up Gerry because she was jealous of me. I...I'm so sorry." you cried. "I..I...should have known better...I should have believed you when you said something didn't feel right...I..."

And here it came. The blow up you dreaded.

"That clatty cunt!!! Are you fucking kidding me??!! Oh karma sure bit her in the arse now didn't it eh??!! JEE-sus Mary and Joseph what the fuck is wrong with that girl??!! She should be in a fucking mental institution. I cannot even comprehend this right now. She..she ruined everything for us and for what?? Just to make you suffer?? And don't you dare stand here and blame yourself. I wouldn't have believed me either! She's going to fucking pay for this, so help me God."

"Well, as you said, she's already getting her karma."

"Ohhh hell no. She's going to get MY karma. Why am I the only one that's losing my shit here??!! She destroyed us Josie!! My god, did it ever cross your mind that we might still be together and even married?? You would be wearing the rings that go with the one I'm wearing right now!"

"That's ALL that has crossed my mind Gerry!! I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now but I came here. It's why I got fucking pulled over. I kept spacing out with the memories. I literally kept seeing the look on your face when I found you with her and it hurts like hell, all of it and then I get here and you're playing that damn song and my mind went back to those memories too and then I see you with that ring on and...and...and...I...god Gerry...I'm so confused!!"

He finally calmed down and started a conversation that you knew he would but were in no way prepared for. "Why? Why are you confused? My god, I'm innocent sweetness. Does this mean anything to you now? Does it...change...anything? Because nothing has ever changed for me except losing you. I still love you as much as I did then, if not more and..."

"Gerry...please don't."

He came up to you, face to face, pleading his case. "Don't what?? I never fucking cheated on you baby. I never could. That's why it never made any sense and you and me, being apart never made any sense. Do you not feel anything at all for me anymore? Is it really all gone? Because we were crazy as hell for each other and I know I'm not wrong about that. I mean, look what we had. We had a beautiful life. I know we had been through shit after you were shot, with the whole children thing, but we made it through that. We worked hard for what we had. Let's put some more gas in the tank."

"Gerry...I...I'm with Lee now, you know that and I..."

"Are you? Because I'm looking right at you standing here in front of me. Is that where you're supposed to be right now? But you're not, are you? You came to me. You could have waited to tell me all this. What was one more day of letting me feel the agony of losing the best damn thing that's ever happened to me? You couldn't. You couldn't do it. You had to come tell me right away and why? Because it fucking matters to you. I...matter to you, even now, after all this time, even after you moved on with someone else."

"Of..of course it matters to me Gerry! And no, I didn't want you to suffer anymore, not even for one more day..."

He stepped right up against you and placed his large hands on your cheeks, his face merely inches from yours, his warm beer breath showering your lips. "I...matter to you. Say it Josie. Tell me I still matter. Tell me you feel nothing for me anymore. Tell me you don't still love me, not even a little bit."

Tears raced out of your eyes and over his hands as your lips began to quiver. "I...I...Gerry please sto..."

His lips took yours with a fierce passion like he did on the dance floor that night in Galway and you found yourself succumbing to him like you did on the dance floor that night in Galway. The familiarity of his taste, the way his lips moved, the way they felt, the way HE felt all came flooding back to you and you couldn't pull yourself away.

@redeemer46

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

part eleven

pairing: (hinted) kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: netural

el's thoughts: this was the hardest part to write... and the shortest haha but it's here and done so there ya go. please remember to comment and reblog :)

masterlist

The wind made Y/N’s hair dance wildly around her as she leaned her hip against the side of the ship. She had heard all about the uprising privateer’s flying ship but had never got the chance to be abroad. Her eyes closed as she relaxed at the feeling of the cold wind around her. She felt free and untethered while in the air, the same feeling she had felt the first time she rode her horse across the palace grounds. 

She circled around to look across the deck of the ship, mentally doing a head count of everyone on board. Nina stood beside Inej listening to whatever the suli spoke of with much interest. Jesper and Wylan were glued to each other's sides while they looked out at the water, pointing every once in a while to a fish they saw. Toyla stood at the wheel while Zoya paced the quarter-deck before waving her hands every so often to push the ship a bit faster. Kaz sat on the steps up to the quarter-deck with his leg stretched out in front of him, they made eye contact for a moment before Y/N smiled gently and looked away.

“Catch me!” The small voice was heard over the strong autumn winds that blew around them as the young child threw themselves into Y/N’s arms. She laughed and spun her brother around the best a ten-year-old could do to a six-year-old. 

“Oooh a stowaway on my ship?” She bounced him onto her hip to keep him up. He shook his head fervently as peels of laughter fell from his small pink lips. “You know what I do to stowaways?” She spoke in a loud voice making it deeper to fit the character she acted out. The little boy laughed louder, “No! No! Please!” 

“I’m sorry, young man, but it must be done!” She giggled as she tossed him into the giant pile of leaves their father gathered that morning. They both laughed louder as she threw herself down next to him.

The familiar clicking of a cane sounded from behind her and dragged her out of her memory. She didn’t need to turn around to feel him stand behind her. 

“You look better.” His voice was clipped but still seemed kind. Kind enough when coming from the bastard of the barrel that is. 

She scoffed, “What did I look bad before?”

Kaz shrugged, and the corner of his lips quirked upward. “You look healthy.”

She turned bashful now knowing the fact that he noticed her lack of strength the last few days. “I feel better… Must’ve been the hallucination, honestly.” 

“What did your toxin trip reveal to you?” He leaned closer on his cane, hardly noticeable but her sharp eyes caught it—the curiosity in his eyes. The same tiny spark of hope that she felt in her chest reflected in his eyes. But before she could give in and tell him what she saw in the hallucinations the Darkling’s voice echoed in her mind again. And instead of sharing and being open, taking the same step he did, the words that tumbled out of her mouth were the words that had been repeated to her all throughout her years at the Little Palace. 

“Hope is dangerous. Clouds your judgment.”

She didn’t tell him what she saw, how could she? She hardly knows this man despite the fact that her brain thought otherwise. She knows more about him than he knows of her. She’s pieced together some of his past and her heart ached for him. Life wasn’t fair and it was obvious in both of their lives. 

Y/N turned to look up at him as he leaned on the railing beside her. The need to tell him had come back and only grew stronger when she noticed the same curiosity across his face. “The Darkling. That’s who I saw.” It wouldn’t hurt to share some of it. “Reminding me of everything I could never have despite my childish wishes and dreams.” 

“From where we stood it looked like he reminded you just how powerful you are as well.”

She shook her head, “He reminded me of the monster he made me.”

“The Phoenix is hardly viewed as a monster. From what I’ve heard you’re just as much a Saint as the sun summoner. The most powerful inferni to walk the earth.” Kaz didn’t look at her as he spoke, only kept his eyes trained on the sea below them, his voice was almost teasing.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be known as powerful because of my gift or- or because of the Darkling, or because of fear. I… I want to be powerful because I moved forward despite the odds. If people were to fear me, I want them to fear the name I built for myself.” She squeezed the rail under her hand. “I envy you for that reason… if I were to speak honestly.”

This caused him to look down at her, confusion swam in his eyes.

“You created a name for yourself, a name that brings people to their knees.” The pair smirked at the memory of the Dime Lions’ gambling den. “Literally.” 

A warm feeling grew in Y/N’s chest at the easiness of the conversation. There was nothing strange or awkward about talking to him, she felt like she could tell him anything even though she knew it was best not to. She wondered if he felt the same ease of the conversation or if it was all just in her head, but from the look in his eyes and his relaxed shoulders, it was safe to assume he felt it. 

“It’s fake.” A dark look flashed over Kaz’s face as the words fell from his lips. “My name, it’s fake.”

Y/N only nodded, moving so her back was against the handrail. “Kaz is a fake name?”

“Brekker.” His eyes met her’s for a moment before looking away. “Brekker is a fake name.”

She hummed, “We all do things for reasons only we know.” Twisting her fingers around each other, she sighed. “There are plenty of things I’ve done that if I had taken the time to actually think it through… I wouldn’t have made those choices, but in the end I’m standing here today and I wouldn’t be if I hadn’t made thoes choices. So, I wouldn’t change anything.”

“I wouldn’t-” Kaz was interrupted by Toyla shouting that they made it. Inej, Nina and Zoya all walked to one side, waiting for Y/N. 

The inferni gave Kaz a tight smile, “Well, I’m off.” She pulled her shoulders back as she walked to where the other girls stood waiting. 

Kaz watched in astonishment as the girl with whom he had just carried an intimate conversation with slipped back into the formal behavior that came with being a soldier. It was as if she had put back on a stoic and formal front, slipping back into her all too familiar mask. It was as if Y/N had only allowed herself a short break from such a pretense for those few private moments with him.

~*~*~*~

taglist:@rachelcarroll1819 @xcharlottemikaelsonx @khaleesihavilliard @simrah1012 @foulkryptonitepeanut @astridyoo15 @queenofshinigamis @peakyispunk @jahayla-parker @maliciousbrekker @brekkershadowsinger @winstonthecow22 @lee-says-things @bunneex @writingmysanity @sleepynightchild @madnessinwrighting @romanticvampire

[britcision]

So this was one of my first ideas for the After Dinner Mints, although I wasn’t exactly sure how it was actually going to work… until about 2am yesterday, of course, when the whole thing came out at once

This is how things usually work for me. I regret nothing

Mithrun’s POV this time, and what might chronologically be the last of the mints… depends how many others I have that go past the resurrection 👀

Warnings! Mithrun’s a little maudlin, self deprecating, mildly contemplates death, and cranky for Very Good Reasons Definitely, but nothing serious

Definitely crack, a little self inflicted angst for flavour

AO3 link, which includes the full series you can subscribe to for updates:

—————

After Dinner Mints - Goodbyes

There was a bag that wasn’t his among the things ready for their ship. Well, that was obvious; Mithrun didn’t actually own enough of anything to fill even one bag, so almost everything ready to be loaded wasn’t his.

But there was also a new, large bag next to his tent, his bedroll, and Cithis’ things that she always put with his stuff so no one would inspect it.

He’d have thought the new bag might have been hers, except there was an entire tallman in it. Cithis wasn’t the type to kidnap anyone in a bag; she’d have them follow her on their own two feet (or sometimes crutches, wheels, or whatever else they used).

This was a mystery, and while Mithrun wasn’t particularly inclined to investigate, Cithis had asked him to stay out of the way while the ships loaded up. So he was out of the way, with the bags, and three suspiciously innocent looking convicts who were all grinning at him.

He didn’t have anything better to do.

How did he know there was a tallman in the bag? It was actually obvious enough that he was mildly surprised no one had mentioned it yet; if even Mithrun had noticed, someone else must have. The Canaries moved enough bodies.

It wasn’t long like a bodybag, of course. It was a standard adventurer’s pack, but larger than normal. There were straps on the back that Lycion had shouldered in his beastman shape, although Flamela had made him change back on her way past.

Lycion wasn’t even sulking about it, so he was probably planning to change again the second he was supposed to be moving anything.

The bag had protested when he’d first put it down, which was the biggest clue to its contents. The second biggest had been Fleki shoving it sharply and telling it to shut up, then stuffing an apple in the top.

Whoever was inside seemed to have eaten the apple, since a core came out not long after and Fleki threw it off the pier.

Mithrun knew it was a tallman for a few reasons; size precluded a halffoot or gnome, weight precluded an elf since Lycion wouldn’t have to change to lift a single elf on the island. Dimensions precluded most dwarves; the bag wasn’t tall enough for one to stand, or wide enough to allow the broader bones while sitting.

Elven hearing may not be as good as a halffoot’s, but he’d heard enough shifting to know whoever it was, was sitting down, probably uncomfortably given the way the bag moved with each shift. It wasn’t a loose fit. And there was something else in the bag, too, so not a large tallman.

Someone else was going to notice at some point that his squad had acquired… a prisoner? A stowaway? You probably had to be on the ship to be a stowaway.

If they actually got the bag on the ship, someone would have to deal with it. Probably Pattadol. It wasn’t going to be him, since he didn’t actually care who got on the ship and would just let anyone who wanted to actually walk on. Pattadol probably wouldn’t.

His gaze shifting from the lumpy bag back to the rest of the docks, a frown pulled at Mithrun’s face.

He hadn’t wanted anything, he still didn’t want much of anything, but… he had expected Kabru to come and see them off.

There was plenty of time yet, of course. The ships were still stocking provisions, the crew’s and the squad’s belongings all still waiting on the dock, so it wasn’t like it was urgent.

Everyone knew the Canaries were sailing today. They always seemed to know, gathered and whispering from the day the ships arrived to the day the ships left.

Mithrun used to care about things like that. He used to enjoy the attention, the mystique and maybe a little the fear that surrounded the squad. He’d liked being known, being acknowledged.

Now it was entirely irrelevant, except that everyone always knew. So Kabru knew. And Kabru hadn’t come to say goodbye.

Tallmen cared about things like that; so did elves, usually. Mithrun definitely didn’t. He never cared who he’d see on a given day (unless it was Senshi. Seeing Senshi was nice. Senshi had come to give him a basket of limes and warn him to eat well at sea. The limes were on top of his folded tent).

But Kabru had come to see him every single other day this week. With the dragon carved, it wasn’t like he actually needed to stay through the night and make sure Mithrun didn’t make himself mana sick finishing the job, but he had.

Until last night.

And now they were leaving.

And Kabru hadn’t come to say goodbye.

It was annoying, Mithrun decided. That was it. Annoying. Kabru had been so intent on Mithrun’s well-fare, insisting that he knew how to take care of him better than Mithrun could himself (accurately, but fuck him anyway). But he hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.

People got sick of taking care of Mithrun sooner or later, and always left to do something more useful or even just to find a more cooperative or grateful patient. Three weeks was a new record, though.

Except for some of the Canary wardens, but they had died before the end of the three weeks. Kabru… probably wasn’t dead.

He’d have heard. Someone would have mentioned it. It wasn’t like there was anything dangerous going on, or a fight was likely. The monsters wouldn’t even come near what had once been the island.

(That was part of why they had to leave today; the country rising from the sea had already cut off a lot of the shipping routes, and if they waited much longer the ships would have to leave for deeper waters and they’d have to travel over land to meet them. They would already be sailing down a valley.)

It wouldn’t be anything so dramatic as a death, Mithrun was sure. Kabru simply… hadn’t come yet. He would, probably. And fuss about having been late, as if Mithrun cared that he hadn’t been there, or would even have noticed.

He wouldn’t have noticed. Except. He’d been put here, out of the way, with nothing to do. And Kabru hadn’t come to say goodbye.

His gaze wandered back over to Fleki. She’d probably enjoy a chance to use her familiar again, to take a look around the island. He didn’t know if she’d already acquired her mushrooms, but she much preferred flying to standing around anyway.

He could ask her to look for Kabru. As an excuse, to let her take a last flight. She’d like not having to carrying anything heavy on board. She’d complain less, which would be good for everyone.

And if anything had happened to Kabru, like he was lost, or dead, or hurt… he could be hurt. Tallmen were resilient and tougher than elves, but much less so than dwarves.

Just days ago Kabru had woken complaining of a stiff back and arm that he hadn’t been able to move properly all day. That could happen to legs too, probably. He wouldn’t be able to walk across the hill to the docks. Mithrun didn’t actually know when tallmen bodies began failing them on a regular basis, but it took hardly any time at all. A matter of decades.

Kabru was… probably still young, but what did Mithrun know?

The tallman in the bag would probably know. If Mithrun had the faintest idea of how old Kabru even was.

Less than fifty, definitely. Old enough to have been at Utaya, so over fifteen. Maybe not much over? Although Milsiril wouldn’t have let him out of her nest until he was at least twenty, probably.

She did have some other short-lived children at the moment though. And Kabru was very persuasive.

Anywhere from fifteen to fifty, then. That was about long enough for an elf to reach puberty, but tallmen were fast that way. Kabru was definitely an adult for his own people, but that didn’t help at all. When were tallmen adults?

How long did it take for a body worn by adventuring and repeated deaths in the dungeon to begin to wear out? Canaries certainly didn’t make the full 500 years of an elven lifespan, not even those who retired in good health.

Mithrun personally doubted he’d see his second century, although now that the demon was gone and only natural dungeons remained technically his odds had gone up. His reason for living was gone though, and he’d yet to make a new one stick.

He didn’t particularly relish the idea of spending centuries being moved in and out of a bed at other peoples’ whims. Especially if those people were going to give up on him in just three weeks.

Maybe Kabru was upset that Mithrun didn’t have any desires yet. Maybe he was disappointed that despite all his hard work, Mithrun had nothing to offer him. Maybe he didn’t want to admit he’d been wrong.

Three weeks was too short to give up, surely. Mithrun hadn’t given up yet, although he hadn’t really found a change. But tallmen lived so little time, three weeks was a lot longer to them.

He probably should have tried harder. He had tried, had tried to mention it any time he felt anything stirring in the hollow well of his chest. Whenever there was anything even like a desire, Kabru had been so keen to encourage him.

And it wasn’t like nothing they’d done was enjoyable. He liked trying new foods with Senshi, and watching Fleki and Otta chase Lycion around with a collar and leash to be his temporary “dog”. Kabru had laughed so hard there had been tears, and Mithrun had been worried until he understood they were happy ones.

They’d had… fun. More fun than he’d had in forty years. More fun than the rush of a good fight, of watching idiots cower and baffle themselves trying to work out what he’d done to their friends.

The bag sneezed. Honestly, it was like whoever was in there wasn’t even trying to hide. But then why would they be in the bag at all?

Fleki swatted at it a couple of times, and Otta swatted at Fleki. They were bickering about nothing, but Mithrun didn’t bother to listen in.

The Canaries were disbanding now. He would lose his squad too. Fleki didn’t even want him to speak to the Queen anymore about keeping her out of prison, since he was coming back to Melini.

Maybe that was why Kabru hadn’t come. Maybe he thought that since Mithrun was coming right back, it wouldn’t be goodbye at all.

If Kabru stayed in Melini. He’d been busy talking to Laios a lot in the days since the dragon was carved, and Mithrun hadn’t listened to any of it. It hadn’t been relevant at the time. Technically it wasn’t relevant now, not to him.

If Kabru did stay in Melini, it would be at the capital. With Laios. Talking to people, which was what he did best.

Mithrun wouldn’t be able to return by this dock, that much was certain. Too much of the land would have risen before they even reached their homeland. He’d have to return by ship, and then overland, all the way back here to see him again.

He’d probably have to come to the capital just to tell Laios what he was going to be doing. Technically it would probably be phrased as a request; it’d be easier to operate with the king’s blessing if Mithrun was going to patrol his lands.

He was going to do it whether Laios gave him permission or not, obviously. The house of Kerensil could afford to buy most of the country, so even on his trust he could afford supplies for what he wanted to do. He didn’t need permission, or a salary. He could make himself useful.

But he would probably see Kabru if he came to the capital, and Kabru would have information on where the monsters had been sighted. Kabru was diligent like that.

Diligent about everything except goodbyes, apparently. That weren’t even goodbyes, really.

Mithrun would be back in a few years at most. That wasn’t long, even for tallmen. Probably. He’d ask the one in the bag, either when they were caught or once they were on the ship.

That would have to be soon. All of the crates and barrels and supplies seemed to have been loaded; the crew were now carrying smaller nets and bushels of things Mithrun did not care about aboard.

A few of the dock workers had clearly noticed something was up with the bag. They kept pausing on their way past, frowning at it and at his squad. None of them stopped to do anything though, so it didn’t matter.

He did another quick scan of the docks.

Still no Kabru. They were running out of time. The Canaries loaded last, once everyone else was settled down, but even so.

If he wanted…

Did he actually want to see Kabru?

The thought tightened his chest, an ache almost like longing at even the concept of having a true desire of his own. It was just the ache of the void, though.

He’d expected to see Kabru. Had prepared himself for it, although he still didn’t really know what was going to happen. What Kabru would say, or want to hear.

How to tell him that Mithrun still didn’t feel anything, but that he wasn’t giving up. That he’d be back soon. That Senshi had written him a guide for noodle making, and had promised to show him more if Mithrun found him when he got back.

That Marcille had offered to lend him some books when he did return, still shy and uncertain in his presence until he’d mentioned needing a purpose to occupy his time. She’d written him a list too, of books he should buy. And promised him the first when he got back, if he wanted to read it to be sure.

It was some elven romantic drama that the old Mithrun would probably have breezed through and chatted about with her as a wedge; using her obvious passion to endear himself to her for his own ends.

He didn’t read much these days. He didn’t worry about endearing himself to anyone.

And while he’d expected Kabru to come, and probably be complicated and have feelings about everything, and while it was definitely annoying that he hadn’t bothered, Mithrun couldn’t move himself to ask Fleki to look for him. Couldn’t stir the desire to go looking for himself.

Which wasn’t a surprise. It was just business as usual. It’d take more than three weeks to kindle a whole new desire.

He definitely wasn’t sulking in any way, shape, or form. He was as apathetic as ever, and his squad were smuggling some stupid tallman in a bag in the most obvious way possible, and he didn’t care about that either.

He didn’t care about anything, and somehow it felt much more hollow than it had just a month ago. Probably the lack of desire to find the demon.

Cithis finally rejoined them on the dock, elegant and regal and it really was nearly time for them to leave if she was back.

Still no Kabru.

Mithrun’s shoulders hunched. It didn’t matter. He didn’t care.

But it should have mattered, and he should care, and even if he still couldn’t Kabru could. Kabru had said he cared. And maybe Mithrun had convinced himself that if Kabru could keep caring about him, then he could find a way to care about Kabru in return.

Even just repaying a debt.

Which didn’t matter if Kabru didn’t care after all.

Cithis swept them all with an impatient look, then sighed and turned to her fellow convicts.

“If you’re all quite satisfied with yourselves?”

She was probably referring to their extremely poorly hidden tallman. Mithrun glanced at the bag, his eye narrowing.

Maybe he did mind if they brought them on board. Maybe he didn’t want any tallmen on the ship. Pattadol would mind anyway, and she’d be annoying about it if they were already at sea.

The other three were all still grinning, entirely unrepentant and probably very satisfied. After all, somehow they were getting away with it so far.

“Oh come on, he’s not worked it out yet,” Otta snickered. Mithrun didn’t bother looking at her to confirm she was talking about him.

He had worked it out. He’d worked it out right away. He just didn’t care.

Fleki was just as loud, all unearned and unnecessary enthusiasm.

“He’s been like this for about three hours now, it’s great.”

Mithrun’s scowl deepened. He didn’t usually care when she was laughing at him; he didn’t usually notice. This was just ridiculous though. He wasn’t “like” anything.

Cithis sighed even more heavily, then gave the bag a sharp kick.

“I assure you it’s far less entertaining than these fools seem to think, now put the captain out of his misery.” She sounded bored, which was far more appropriate for the absolute nothing that was going on.

Mithrun definitely wasn’t miserable though. He was fine. He was about to resolutely turn his eye away from their nonsense and ignore the lot of them when a head popped out of the top of the bag.

Kabru’s head.

Kabru was in the bag.

Mithrun. Had no idea what to think. He just stared, completely taken aback, and Fleki dissolved into cackles so hard she had to sit on the dock.

“It’s been how long? The ship’s going to be leaving soon, I thought there was a plan?” Kabru asked, frowning up at the other Canaries.

Lycion grinned back at him, entirely unapologetic.

“The plan was not to let you out until we were all on the ship,” he explained cheerfully.

“And cast off,” Otta put in helpfully.

Mithrun hadn’t worked out how to stop staring yet.

Kabru scowled up at the rest of the squad, awkwardly trying to disengage himself from the bag.

“Oh come on, I told you I couldn’t actually go! I have duties to fulfil here, and-“ he cut himself off abruptly when he caught sight of Mithrun, blue eyes blowing wide as a flush rose in his brown cheeks, dark and hot.

Mithrun did managed to close his mouth. The staring was not stopping. He didn’t think he could manage a single coherent thought.

Unbalanced and still half in the bag, Kabru grabbed at Otta for balance and hissed, “how long has the captain been there?!”

It was Lycion who answered though, Otta torn between disengaging herself from Kabru or just laughing at the pair of them.

“Oh, he’s been here the whole time.”

To be fair, Mithrun could definitely see the funny side. Kabru looked mortally offended, opening and closing his mouth a few times while he glowered at the other Canaries.

It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened, although that meant nothing.

Somehow, they had persuaded Kabru that he wouldn’t be welcome at the docks to say goodbye, so they hid him in the bag. Kabru, for whatever reason, had believed they would let him out when they found Mithrun.

And they had found Mithrun, put the bag down, and waited for one or both of them to work out what was going on.

And if Mithrun had spared about three seconds of thought to wonder who they might have put in the bag, it would probably have been just as obvious. Because who else would they stuff in a bag if not Kabru? What other tallman would they even talk to?

But Mithrun had spent the entire time ignoring them all, because he was thinking about why Kabru wasn’t here. While Kabru was at most ten feet away, in a bag.

Lips ticking up into a smile of their own accord, a soft chuckle escaped Mithrun.

He’d spent so long wondering where Kabru might be, and hadn’t even stopped to consider that the answer might be “right in front of me”.

Kabru had gotten well into scolding the squad, and most of the way free of the bag, although one foot was resolutely still tangled. None of them looked remotely contrite, not even Cithis.

They all looked over as Mithrun started to laugh. He didn’t care, hand reaching to his eye automatically to check for tears as he laughed and laughed.

If he’d only asked, it would all have come to a head in an instant. Either asking where Kabru was, or who was in their bag. But instead he’d sat brooding in silence, and Kabru hadn’t even known he was here.

If Cithis hadn’t called them on their bullshit, he’d likely not have said a word until they’d boarded. There was no doubt in his mind that Lycion would have happily carried Kabru aboard, and then they’d have kidnapped him.

And for what? Why? The passing entertainment as they travelled? Not having to deal with Mithrun themselves?

No, he knew that much. He might not value his life yet, but he could respect that they did, and they had never objected.

It was just… all so silly.

He couldn’t have remembered the last time he’d laughed, just a week and a half ago. There’d been nothing to laugh about, not that he’d noticed.

Given that he’d just proved he wouldn’t notice one directly in front of him, that wasn’t surprising either.

**

Kabru’s expression softened as he watched Mithrun laugh, light and carefree.

It had not been comfortable in the bag, stuffy and cramped and, frankly, boring. He’d had his misgivings when Otta had suggested it, but the convicts had all been so sure that someone would kick up a fuss if he just went down to the docks.

It all turning out to be a kidnapping attempt wasn’t actually hugely surprising, although he was sure Pattadol would have made them bring him back.

He just… couldn’t have let Captain Mithrun leave without saying goodbye. And now they had almost no time for that, thanks mostly to the rest of his squad.

But Mithrun was laughing. He sounded happy, and Kabru couldn’t help but smile in response.

It wasn’t like Kabru really knew what he could say. The Canaries would be leaving with the tide, and the captain might be back or might not.

Either way, it would be his decision, and nothing Kabru said was likely to factor into it. He’d already made plans to do something with the monsters stalking the kingdom, which sounded like he would come back. Kabru had to hope he would.

It would be nicer to just let it all go and let their last conversation be an enjoyable one. They’d already wasted three whole hours; he didn’t want to waste anything more being annoyed.

Otta had already mentioned that the squad already had a plan in place for as many of them to return with Captain Mithrun as possible. He’d just have however long that took to come up with a prank of his own, as a fitting revenge.

—————

So the key to this was just realising that actually, neither Kabru nor Mithrun had an actual reason or need for Kabru to be smuggled around in a bag. The convicts just needed to think it would be as funny as I did

Also, Mithrun is Thee unreliable narrator and a filthy liar and I love him he was definitely sulking for absolutely no reason

(No one has told him of the cunning plot for Otta, Lycion, Fleki, and Cithis to all get to come back with him to Melini, but you will all learn about it down the line when I get to decide who will present it

It’s a super cunning plot I’m very proud of it)

(Fleki was definitely on the shrooms when she came up with it but it’s dumb enough to be brilliant and they have til they get back to court to come up with a better one)

[usamamoweek]

UsaMamo Week 2023 - Master Post

Thank you to everyone who participated, reblogged, commented, liked and gave kudos. Thank you to everyone who was a beta / cheerleader behind the scenes. This event turned out amazingly well and we are so happy to see both new faces and some old friends participate this year. (And don't forget about our "Meet the Creators" series, to learn a little more about people in this fandom)

To make sure none of the amazing works that have been created for this UsaMamo Week have been missed, we have compiled them all into this master post (in alphabetical order by the creator):

Stories:

@caelenath - UsaMamo Week 2023 - Day 4: Beach

The whole situation was any red-blooded man's dream—nine gorgeous women in swimwear, a dreamy sunset, and a legitimate excuse to ogle them from every angle.

But he had eyes for only one...

@daikon1 :

Moon Sake Bottle Action!

Somehow at a houseparty with Usagi, Mamoru feels totally out of his depth - until Minako suggests they liven things up a bit. But can an unusual talent for carnival games be leveraged into a kiss with his crush??

A Royal Audience

Once upon a time, there was an extremely self-centered mentor...

Ten Ways to Say 'I Love You'

A portrait of Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship over the years, told in letters, poems, and journal entries.

There Was Only One... Stowaway on the School Beach Trip

It was the perfect summer scheme... and then Mamoru had walked into the train compartment.

Mamoru's Anxiety: A Love Letter for Usagi!

Filling in a 'missing scene' from Usagi's Joy: A Love Letter From Tuxedo Mask - What does Mamoru think about Usagi receiving a love letter from his alter-ego?

Keyrings, and Chaos, and Gender Expectations, Oh My!

Galaxia may have been defeated, but the patriarchy is still alive and well. With some help from Sailor Moon, Mamoru has a few things to say about that!!

Fe(e)line

As Tsukino Usagi awoke one morning from pleasant dreams, she found herself transformed in her bed into an adorable kitty.

@goddessalthena :

Dear Mamo-chan

"I'll write. And I'll call," he promised. "So...I expect you to write me all the time."

"...I will," she vowed.

But only one of them kept their word.

Picture Perfect

It was a perfect day. Almost too good to be true.

Usagi & Mamoru share a few firsts as they bask in the first blush of young love.

@kaitoscarlett - The words I couldn't say

After their first night together, Usagi finds herself waking up alone in Mamoru's apartment. While waiting for him, she explores his book shelf and finds something, she probably shouldn't read.

@lilliebellfanfics :

Day 1: Kiss Game

Summary: Usagi and Mamoru are chosen as the next contestants in Minako's pop-up competitions. They expect something weird and zany like the previous ones... not a kissing game. Well, kissing or not, Usagi says bring it on.

Day 4: There was only one...

Usagi's investigating a series of energy bursts at Tokyo Dome City amusement park. With so many unknowns--what was the source of the energy? Was it Zoisite or a new enemy?--the last thing she wants to do is share a ride on the Ferris wheel with Mamoru.

Day 7: Midnight / Fireworks

"One thing I love about prompts is they get me writing for my WIPs! I bring you another scene from DFD, but this is much much later than the current arc. For reasons, Usagi ends up staying at Mamoru's place. Things get hot & steamy, and here's a scene from somewhere in the middle."

Day 5: Free Day

The Tsukino clan are about to hit the slopes as the next part of their winter competition. Usagi is a clear winner and she's excited to beat Shingo on the double black diamond and win points for her team... only Mamoru's never skied before. Shit.

(Also Christmas Markets and kissing)

@master-ray5 - Lips Of An Angel

Mamoru gets a call on his lunch break from his Ex in Japan.

@random-mailbox - Love Letter (Poem)

Poem inspired by the Stars arc in the Anime

@riverlethe - Game Night

Minako organizes (by throwing together at the very last minute) Game Night to help the senshi blow off some steam on a rare night off.

Rei picked a small red box up off the table. “‘Love Letter’?” she grimaced. “This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?”

@sailormoonandme - Year of the Rabbit. UsaMamo Week 2023

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Serenity and Endymion arrange a secret rendezvous on the beach. Manga Canon.

@speak-mnemosyne1 :

Trust

In a dark, cramped space with stifling air, something in the chemistry between two people transformed. The universe fell away and, in those seven minutes, actions had no consequences.

But this.. this felt more like Seven Minutes in Hell.

Magnolias

For the prince of Earth, there was only one girl in the entire Solar System with whom falling in love was forbidden..

Present

“Just for a year… but I may end up staying longer than that.” Mamoru tried to swallow back the words as they left his mouth. He hated lying to Usagi, hated the way her blue eyes looked up at him with oceans of love.

@spei-sidus :

Lucky Bunny

Day 1: Year of the Rabbit / Kiss Game

Forgiven

Sailor Moon is forgiven by Tuxedo Kamen for Serenity's final actions

An Ode to the Rose

Valentine's Day is coming up and the girls decide, since they weren't giving chocolates to anyone, to write love letters to give to their future boyfriends.

The Binoculars

A day at the beach leads Mamoru to ask Usagi out.

Free Day

Neo Queen Serenity goes back in time to go on a date with First Season Mamoru.

Like a Fairy

An injured Usagi leads the nijizuishou to not only replenish her energy, but also form the Ginzuishou.

Moonlight Musings

Some midnight musings for our roaming heroine.

@wishwars - Confessions Left Unsaid

At the end of Season 1, Episode 3 of the 90s anime, Usagi decides to write a love letter to Tuxedo Mask. What if Mamoru reads it?

Art:

@iiyasbssmdoodles - Day 6 - wings

@iamcharlotte88 - Three Levels of Kisses for Mamoru Chiba (artwork for @daikon1 Moon Sake Bottle Action! story)

@lilliebellfanfics - Day 2: Royalty, Day 3: Love Letters / Poetry

@mhanevision - Day 2 Royalty , Day 5 - Free Day "Barbenheimer" , Day 7 - Midnight (Happy Birthday Mamo-Chan , Day 1 - Year of the Rabbit (Happy Birthday Usako)

@mochibuni - Art for Epilogue (story Rocks in Space by @vchanny-og )

Images / Mood boards:

@random-mailbox - Day 1 - Year of the Rabbit , Day 1 - Kiss Game, Week Day 2 - Royalty, Day 2 - Sword, Day 3 - Love Letters / Poetry, Day 4 - Beach, Day 4 - There was only one..., Day 5 - Free Day , Day 6 - Wings , Day 6 - Crystal, Day 7 - Midnight, Day 7 - Fireworks

Podcasts:

@oshiokiyopod - UsaMamo Week 2023 Special Episode!

You can listen to the episode on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Cast, and Podchaser (links to show pages in the platform names).

[ac-liveblogs]

Aventurine Design Breakdown (and why he miiiight come back)

like. not anytime soon. but maybe. eventually.

When I was playing 2.1, I was constantly being hammered with literary references I recognised. HYV does this a lot but damnit, I actually knew these ones!

Anyway, despite my "ehhhhhhh" feelings about 2.1 in general, I was pretty impressed with how much thought was put into designing Aventurine's character. He has an incredibly consistent throughline besides gambling - 'death' and 'rebirth', so while I can't promise that means he's going to come back... based on his outfit and the motifs present around his writing, I wouldn't exactly rule out the possibility.

Obviously, I might have missed something (or several somethings!) but I at least wanted to put the notes from my playthrough and later research into post form.

Spoilers for 2.1 of Penacony, obviously.

Design Elements (Outfit, Associated Objects)

As mentioned, Aventurine has some very persistent theming.

Aventurine - "The Gambler's Stone", associated with luck and prosperity. This colour features prominently on his outfit as well.

The Spade Suit/Ace of Spades - While featuring all four card suits somewhere on him, Aventurine features Spades most prominently. In his splash art, he is holding the Ace of Spades and the Spade is the suit you're going to notice first (his chest). The Ace of Spades is known as the Death Card and is the mostly highly valued card in the deck. The suit is also associated with intellect, swords and bad luck.

Peacocks - his coat features peacock feathers (his coat tail, shoulder patches, hat). The peacock represents luck and vanity, but is also associated with immortality and rebirth/renewal (and has a strong connection to phoenixes).

Aventurine's 'vanity' motif is undercut by the fact that while he's not wearing a collar, the buckle around his collar does somewhat resemble one. His slave brand is also clearly visible, but his 'rebirth/renewal' one is reinforced over the course of the story (see below).

Roulette Wheel - the roulette wheel on Aventurine's coat quite literally puts an 'x' (a target) on his back.

Aventurine's attack and ult names all reference gambling - his skill references his cornerstone and role in the IPC.

Aventurine's Eidolons also almost all references to 'game theory', which may determine the way that you choose to play a game or gamble. The one that doesn't, Droprate Maxing, is still a gambling reference that refers more to videogames (Aventurine plays gachas too).

Chapter Titles and Other Associations:

Danse Macabre ('The Dance of Death')

Aventurine's playable segments.

Danse Macabre is an artistic movement that features the image of the living (often from a range of social classes) dancing with skeletons (death). The message of Danse Macabre means, broadly, 'death comes for us all and it will treat us all equally when it does'.

Despite the claim that no-one can die in the Dreamscape, the concept of Death has begun killing. Ergo, despite, the Family's best efforts, death is inevitable and no-one is safe - not a beloved starlet, the average guest, or a criminal stowaway.

Immediately following Aventurine's first chapter Acheron explicitly reminds you that when the Dreamscape collapses everyone in it will die. She also meditates on the off-screen tragedies she's witnessed in Penacony that are a result of the class differences.

Aventurine's overall goal in Penacony is to prove that death is possible by committing 'the Grandest Death' himself.

Aventurine is tied to the concept of death by his association with the playing card suit 'Spades'/the Ace of Spades.

Aventurine dances with Caelus, the sentient host of a Stellaron/Space Cancer, in the White Night trailer.

Aventurine feigned a plan to make Caelus 'become Death' in his boss fight, though that fight was actually a plan to have Acheron (the Emanator of Nihility/Nothingness) help him prove death's existence.

The Devil in Velvet (John Dickson Carr)

A man makes a deal with the devil to get a new life - he later comes to be known a devil himself.

Aventurine both serves/made a deal with the devil (the IPC) while embodying the devil and offering the same to the Trailblazer.

The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe) & The Statue of the Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)

Both are short stories. The Tell-Tale Heart is a section primarily played as Acheron, while Sparkle directly references the Statue of the Happy Prince when she encounters Aventurine giving away his wealth (to lure her out) in the Dreamscape.

Uma (Sparkle): Wealthy people have fancy ways to enjoy this dream, but to be honest, I've never seen anyone who gives out money to others like you. Uma (Sparkle): So, are you trying to be the prince from the tale, handing out his gold-leaf garment and melting his lead heart in the fire?

The events of both stories play out fairly literally during the course of the 2.1 patch.

Acheron is the 'the protagonist' of The Tell-Tale Heart, who murders a man with unnerving eyes.

Aventurine is the man with the unnerving eyes who is murdered and the generous, gilded statue who gives away his wealth (gems and gold).

Aventurine shatters his own Cornerstone (an object more valuable than Aventurine himself, in which he 'chiselled his own will') for the IPC's benefit and ends up dying for their cause. Jade moves into Penacony to replace him without much fanfare. The wealth that the Statue gives away are the gold leaf and gems from his own body, and once he is no longer beautiful he is destroyed by his owners and replaced with a statue of the Mayor.

In both stories, despite the 'death' of the subject of the work, their heart remains in some form. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the murderer believes he can still hear his victim's heart beating beneath the floorboards. In The Statue of the Happy Prince, despite the statue being melted down for scrap, it's heart survives and remains in one piece.

This ties into the dual themes of 'death' and 'life' Aventurine carries - he's dead, but due to the nature of the Dreamscape he might still survive in some abstract way.

The game hints that despite his death he may return in some capacity, e.g.;

Aventurine's final conversation with Acheron and the message received from Dr. Ratio.

Aventurine's final message to the Trailblazer.

Robin sure seems to be doing okay.

Aventurine's association with peacocks - life/rebirth.

And the next part -

What The Thunder Said - The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot)

Chapter 8, All the Sad Tales, incorporates fragments of Eliot's poem into Aventurine's journey with his visions of his past and future self. Chunks of the referenced stanzas are removed or altered. This chapter primarily makes use of the first half of this poem.

Poetry is not my area of expertise and beyond briefly flipping through his work I mostly knew Eliot for Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, it's associated musical and one extremely cursed movie. Happily, Eliot left us notes on his intentions with the work. Quote;

"In the first part of Part V three themes are employed: the journey to Emmaus, the approach to the Chapel Perilous (see Miss Weston’s book) and the present decay of eastern Europe."

The Journey to Emaus - two travelers, believing Jesus to be dead, unknowingly encounter him post-resurrection.

Chapel Perilous is a consistent aspect of the Grail Quest of Arthurian mythology. Details vary, but it is a place of death. It's a perilous place, with a curse that must be undone by a hero (the Trailblazer, surely - Aventurine is one of those who died before their arrival).

This connects Aventurine to 'decay of [place]' (the situation in Penacony), a place of death (the Dreamscape) and resurrection (copium).

More literally, the parts of the poem sourced describe a place resembling Sigonia-IV, Aventurine's homeworld (e.g. HSR removes the first two lines of the poem - that make reference to a garden, unlikely to be found in Sigonia-IV - and picks up from the third), as well as Aventurine's march towards death and the hallucinations he has of the people accompanying him on his journey (Eliot explicitly states part of his poem refers to Ernest Shackelton's Antarctic expedition, where his party hallucinated a whole extra person being present).

Additionally, there are two achievements available that also relate to the poem in chapters 8 and 9; "Sibyl, What Do You Want?" (see Aventurine's backstory) and "...she replied, 'I want to die'." (defeating Aventurine)

Which is a fractured quote in The Wasteland's epigraph (in turn quoting Petronius' Satyricon) that references The Cumaean Sibyl, a supposedly immortal Apollonian prophetess. In the Satyricon, she has been preserved for eternity within a jar and wants to die. In Virgil's Aeneid, she is a guide between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Aventurine wants to die, and the second achievement is received before he talks to Acheron in the liminal space before his 'death' (though in the second case Acheron plays the role of Sibyl).

Misc. I'm less sure about.

While I can't guarantee that Aventurine is outright going to return, there are a lot of design elements that indicate he may survive in some capacity. It is fairly interesting that Harmony Trailblazer wears the hat from the White Night trailer (Danse Macabre), is associated with dancing and has a skill visually reminiscent of Aventurine's.

There are 3 Aventurines (past!Kakavasha, present!Aventurine and future!Aventurine) that make the journey to Aventurine's eventual 'death'. This might be a reference to the 3 Fates, or the Norns or Morai, that feature prominently in several mythologies including Greek and Norse - three goddesses, one each representing past, present, and future, that rule over the fates of humans from birth until their death and eventual journey to the Underworld. I was less sure of this one until I found the Sibyl connection. I'm still a little unsure, but Aventurine is guiding himself to the underworld...

The Spade on Aventurine's chest is in two parts - an upside down heart and a smaller segment connected to the bottom. It could be doing double duty as a reversed Heart - if this is the case I would interpret the Heart here as referring to home, family, love, contentment and an assortment of other nice things that Aventurine no longer has.

Aventurine's connection to Spades having a connection to wit/intelligence lines up with the final line in the blessing of the Gaithra Triclops - "…and your schemes forever concealed."

It also might allude to Aventurine's connection to Dr. Ratio of the Intelligensia Guild.

FINAL NOTES:

Aventurine's story mapping so literally onto aspects of the literature referenced above does make me think that HSR committed to making a lot of literary references first and then constructed Aventurine's role in the story around the ones that worked for them. The rest of Penacony 2.1 is similar, though to a less effective or consistent degree (e.g. Double Indemnity, Cat Among the Pigeons).

'Weston's Book' is "From Ritual to Romance" by Jessica Weston. The whole thing is available online and it's a great read if you're interested in The Grail Quest.

I can't say too much on The Devil in Velvet, because I haven't read this book. I did try to source it prior to this, but it's pretty expensive.

Because I'm a nerd, I was actually a little annoyed that Aventurine has all four suits on his outfit (though the other three have less prominence than spades) because they muddied how clear cut the life-death reading of his outfit is. Because they're less prominent than his connection to Spades, I chose to interpret them as an extension of the gambler motif started by the roulette wheel on his back.

I mentioned that HSR has edited The Wasteland for Aventurine's segment - it might be more accurate to say they took a hatchet to it and extracted/edited the parts that worked best for them. This is fine, though they did invent a new word in the process. Besiding is not a word! (i think the original poem scans more smoothly than the changes HYV made too)

I'll happily read Weston and Eliot for Aventurine, but I will not read Nietzche for Acheron. Or anyone. Lucky Aventurine (lol)

someone might have already done all this. if they have, i didn't go looking! i took a really long time (procrastinated) and would be curious to see anyone else's breakdowns if there's anything i missed

[the-cryptographer]

I'm maybe 1/3rd of the way through Mass Effect and I guess I'm being normal about it because I'm not emotionally hyped to rip it apart even though it's not very good.

The combat is clunky, but I have a soft spot for third person shooters (though I guess technically this game switches between third and first person shooting). I started out as Vanguard, but then restarted the game as Infiltrator after deciding that fit my style better and absolutely zero regrets on that choice. It's all about pistols and sniper rifles and not having to rely on your companions for decryption and electronics.

The writing could be better, but the characters are likeable enough and the plot serviceable enough and the worldbuilding bad enough I'm not encouraged to take any of it too seriously. Idk, I just can't take any of these fake alien species and their fake politics seriously. Like, the Asari, c'mon? The weird incel breeding obsession they're exploring with the Krogan? Hanar and Elcor being funny speak foreigners? Quarians clearly spoofing China's old one child policy that we were all obsessed with in the aughts? Just the way that male is the default gender for all these aliens unless it's fuckable? Idk, I know that alien species in media are going to be reflections of humanity but... you could have reflected something less transparent than gender existentialism and orientalism, lmao. It's just so fourth wall breaking, it's funny instead of offensive. At least in my opinion.

My favourite part of the game so far is RPing military personnel tbh. I don't feel this fits well with the morality system, but I am absolutely loving playing sole survivor PTSD compassion fatigued Shep - trying her best to be professional and give a good face to humanity and the Alliance. Never failing to be polite to her superiors, but acting out violence and aggression on 'acceptable' targets. Strutting through a world of civilians who have to follow rules that she doesn't, walking into situations and making snap decisions about who are the sheep and who are the wolves - who she is or isn't justified in using force and threats to control. Idk, it's fucking great.

Yeah, but the morality system so far my worst gripe. I think in general the Lawful Good Paragon vs Chaotic Evil Renegade axis is really not in line with the story being told - friend of mine said really the conflict probably more in line with Lawful Evil vs Chaotic Good if you're going to reduce things to this single axis in the first place. And personally I think we need a separate axis for Shep's attitude towards alien races apart from any hastily adapted dnd & star wars morality systems. Ubb- But all of that aside I really don't like having my dialogue choices restricted. I don't mind a pass-fail mechanic where my attempt at intimidation doesn't work if I'm not practiced enough in it, but I feel I should at least be able to say what I want in the situation I want. So yeah, I took advantage of the bug at Noveria to max both scales bc fuck this.

Also annoying DA2 style dialogue wheel where I press an option and watch my character say something wildly different than I would have guessed based on the text I clicked. Doi!

Ashley and Garrus are my current favourites. I appreciate Ash's clear lower class POC military brat background and the way it's influenced her prejudices. (Idk, another thing I like about this game was the super HR approach to dealing with this shit. Like... yeah, rather than 'fixing' everyone involved into having the proper unbiased opinions on these issues, you sort of have to accept that everyone involved has their baggage and convince them its in their best interest to set that aside so we can work together effectively anyhow.) And I appreciate Garrus being a raging hypocrite. Brought him to Noveria and watched him complain about companies moving there to avoid legal and political oversight, like- Bitch. Isn't that what you did when you quit being a cop and decided to stowaway on my ship? So you could shoot people without having to file paperwork about it 🤔

[neko-naruto]

Long Ass Road

Summary: Kennedy wants to go on a road trip, Claire wants to go skating, they both agree Canada is the only logical option.

Warnings: swearing, suggestive themes

Authors Note: I'M SENDING THOSE LESBIANS TO CANADA FOLKS, they aren't actually in Canada though, this is just the road trip portion. crenny fans that are lesbians, come get your juice, if I'm still holding on for the free day I might actually put them in Canada. hope ya'll enjoy

"Are we there yet?"

The inevitable question, and you know what, Claire is proud of Kenny for waiting six hours into their road trip to ask it.

"No, Kennedy, we are not in Canada," Claire answered with as calmly as she could, her grip on the steering wheel tightening a bit.

"You know what would make this trip better?" Kenny asked as she sat up in the passenger seat a bit more. She briefly glanced to the back of their van, stowaway seats stowed away, a mattress lay on the ground with their stuff piled in a corner.

Claire took a turnoff to a stray road, a quieter one, "What?"

"If we had dicks," The abruptness throws Claire from her focus entirely.

"And why would that make this road trip better?" Her words come out with shock laid on thick, and the road is quiet enough she can turn to just stare at Kenny.

The blonde shrugged, "Road head."

"You have playboys, you can hop in the back and hope we don't get pulled over if you're horny," Claire offered, "I don't want you getting off in the front seat."

"I was joking," Kenny said as she leaned forward onto the dashboard, "Unless..." She reaches over to place her hand on Claire's thigh.

The ravenette swats away Kenny's hand, "There will be no fucking until we cross the border."

There's a loud groan, "You are zero fun, can we at least sleep in a skeezy motel and get room service?"

"Dude," Claire said in an exasperated tone, "No, we agreed to sleep in the trunk to save money."

"Why did we decide on that?" Kenny asked as she slumped back against her chair and pressed her feet to the dashboard.

"Cause we're fucking broke," Claire said, "And we want to have enough money to be able to buy something from Canada while we're there."

"How long is the trip anyways?" She pulled out her phone to check the time. A picture of her, Kylie, Cartman, and Stacy was her lock screen. Claire may be the love of her life, but she will always hold room for the homies above all else.

"We're a quarter of the way through," Claire answered with mere moments before laying onto the horn. She swung her head out the window to glare at whoever decided to swing in front of them, "Watch the road jackass!"

Kenny just sighed dreamily, "You're hot when you tell people off."

"Thanks," Claire answered with before simply flooring it, "We should've started the trip sooner."

"Why?" Kenny asked.

"Cause we're gonna be sleeping in our car, in America," Claire said with a groan of annoyance.

Kenny shrugged, "Might be nice."

"I doubt it," Claire said.

-/-/-/-

"You were right Kenny," Claire said as she tossed aside the wrapper for her burger and leaned on the cushions propped against the sliding door.

"About what?" Kenny asked as she nibbled on some fries and pushed herself against Claire, an arm slung around her shoulders.

"Sleeping in the van," Claire said, "Or just, being in the van, with you, it's nice."

Kenny gives a hum as she reaches for the blanket, "Yeah, it is."

"What do you think about the road so far?" Claire asked.

"It's a long ass road," Kenny answered with.

Claire laughs, it's a giggle snort that Kenny knows she's self conscious of, "Well, yeah."

"How long is this trip anyways?" Kenny asked.

"Twenty four hours total, we got eighteen or so left," Claire said as she rubbed Kenny's upper arm.

The blonde whines, "Seriously?"

"That's just part of the fun," Claire said, pressing a kiss to the mussed locks of blonde.

"I can't wait till we get there, play ice hockey, get Tim Hortons, have some fun," Kenny said.

"And not get attacked by geese," Claire tacked on, "That would suck."

-/-/-/-

When Kenny wakes up the car is moving and Claire is already in the drivers seat. Eyes locked on the road and firmly set on her task of inching forward in gridlock traffic.

Kenny gives a long whine as she rolls over to the other side of the van, crashing against their backpacks and curled in a blanket.

"Kenny, you're awake," Claire said as she looked up to the rear view mirror to glance at Kenny.

"Barely," She answered with as she sat up and crawled closer to the front, "Can I have some coffee?"

"Go for it," Claire said, "We won't be moving for a while."

Kenny took a swig of the brew, she furrowed her brows in dismay, no sugar. She dropped back down to the mattress, "This sucks."

Claire shrugged, "It happens," She sat up a bit more, "Oh wow, crash."

"A pile up?" Kenny asked groggily, sitting up as she spoke.

"It's pretty smoky, I'd say at least three cars," Claire answered with, "Couple hours till shit starts moving."

"Then come back here and make love to me," Kenny whined rather playfully.

"No. Traffic could clear up and I do not want someone to look in through the window and see my ass," Claire said as she gave Kenny a gentle glare.

"Fucking, fine, be that way," Kenny huffed out before climbing into the passenger seat, "How long have you been on the road for?"

"Couple hours, glad you slept love," She leaned over to press a kiss to the tip of Kenny's nose.

"Thanks for driving," Kenny answered with as she returned the motion.

[the-final-high-noon-rings]

introduction!! 🎻🕰️

hi!! hello!! i'm kae, formerly located at @send-me-a-kae-via-subspace / @kae-the-minish-bandit! i decided to make a mechanisms-focused sideblog, so as to better organize my blogs.

she/they/it/any neos that sound cool thumbs up

if you want to go to the other fandom blogs i've recently made for organisation,

@waxed-weathered-copper-bulb for minecraft/mcyt

@minish-and-mischief for zelda and linked universe

@too-close-i-cannot-breathe as my magnus archives blog

@aromantic-tom-bombadil for lord of the rings, as well as star wars for some reason

my more personal blogs include:

@anxious-violist for music, both my own as well as covers, reblogs from artists i like, etc

@kaethesilliest for misc reblogs/silly bits about my life!

credits for banners/blinkies:

the nastya one i made :3 you can use it too if you'd like

chaoscouncilcreaturecorner - gear header

blinkies cafe - many of the custom mechs ones !!

organization tags:

for my content !!

#drawn in the light of the tube sun - my art

#verbatim reciting a recording - my fics

#radio turned just write of an evening - textpost

#from the voicebox of another - me singing/speaking

for sorting reblogs !!

#transmission - reblogs

#the stowaways given mortal form - any cosplays

#tales untold - other fics

#artefacts - for photos/ other official band content

#putting the band in a band of immortal pirates - anything to do with the actual music

ouatis tags !!

#brutal and cruel as befitted their despotic foe - ouatis tag

#the genetic base for that unholy horde - og rose tag

#wires through her veins and her tendons - briar rose tag

#the aforementioned unholy horde who i adore - red rose tag

#and as she searched she sang - cinders tag

#mirror mirror let me take this woman's identity - snow/general white tag

#guy who had conquered and stole the wealth of a thousand suns - king cole tag

#12 y/o war criminal - the hood tag

#1003 - tag for miralines/garecc's ouatis 'verse

#dogstar

#red river - tag for my own ouatis au!!!

#the vault - udad tag

#the one who dies at dawn - ulysses

#the blind old motherfucker - oediphs

#the one who turns a big wheel - heracles

#the one who has a dynasty to rebuild - ariadne

#the one with the lyre - orpheys

high noon over camelot tags::

#driving his rotten world into the sun - hnoc

#the fastest draw - gwen !!!!!!!!!!!

#the sharpest aim - lancelot

#the once and future king - arthur

#the one who grew into a sharp young man who chose his name as mordred - mordred! (shocking. i know)

the bifrost incident tags:

#the really fucked up train - bifrost tag

#woman who has at least 5 dissociative disorders - loki

#inspector second class - lyfrassir edda

the mechanisms crew tags!!

#the crew of the starship aurora - what it says on the tin

#microphone eater - jonny dville, humble FIRST MATE

#clockwork murder machine - the toy soldier!!

#icarus kinnie - raphaella!

#neither a baron nor a doctor HOW did you get in here - marius

#ship's archivist - ivy

#the drugbot - brian

#arsonist extrordanaire - ashes oreilly

#shipfucker. princess. engineer. what can't she do - nastya!

#tim comma gunpowder - gptim!!

#flesh moon ship - my beautiful baby girl the aurora

#their esteemed creator - doc carmilla!!!!!!!!!!

#the cello ninja - scuzz :3

these will be updated when i have more tags. also. to look for something i personally have created look through the tags ie #the mechanisms or #cinders ouatis

[haovcrse-a]

🏹, 🕸️, 💋, 🩸, 🥀 for any of your selfships 💕💕💕

oooh ok so i spun a wheel, and we've got kazuscarahao (aka. soldier, poet, king) & zhade !!

🏹 : what is oc’s relationship with the other canon characters?

soldier, poet, king — hmmm now zhaoyi for this dynamic is also a wanderer and doesn't stick around in one place for long. however, he does have good friendships with most from liyue! being from liyue, and also someone with a slight unknown background, it's important to keep strong connections in the case he needs a helping hand. most notably, he's on good terms with the adepti xiao; well, as good as you can get with him; zhongli, beidou, ningguang, and ganyu! his reputation with the other locals isn't too shabby either.

zhade — as an honorary member of the stellaron hunters, zhao's relationship with the gang is quite familial. him and silver wolf are like those judgmental siblings at the extended family dinner lmao. kafka and zhaoyi are blade's worst nightmare due to how they bug him, not to mention the nick names...

K: bladie~

B: ...

Z: oh c'mon, darling, say smth to us, won't you?

B: ... s-shut up.

have not looked much into firefly's character tbh besides what ive read in the story, but the calm duo !! also the deadly duo when in battle like seriously. if you thought blade and zhao were unstoppable, wait until you see firefly and zhao's team work (canon wise. idk about in-game wise)

🕸️ : any song that reminds you of your ship?

S.P.K. — obv soldier, poet, king ( the oh hellos ) but !! a different one would be maybe blood // water ( grandson ) for the sole reason that this is my "angry at the world; holding on for each other" vibes ship.

zhade — omg... pretty please ( dutch melrose, benny mayne ) is so them coded it's unbelievable... the lyrics... also maybe changgwi ( aha ye eun ) or achilles come down ( gang of youths ) !! the lore for this ship isn't fully developed, but it's like. deep-ish.

💋: what motifs/symbols do you associate with your ship?

S.P.K. — burnt sugar // bruised knuckles // the north star // broken compasses // tree roots // paper boats // old books // hands tangled in someone’s hair // convenience stores at night // instant ramen packs // undone ties & wrinkled button ups

zhade — talked about here !

🩸 : what does your oc think of canon character?

did a little thought process of first impressions for both vs now instead of a whole timeline since the spk timeline is a little… hard to map out TwT

S.P.K. — “a stowaway? hmm… if beidou’s alright with him… then i suppose i should be too. as long as he doesn’t get too close.” // “what a bitch.” // “ah… he sent a letter again today. such a poetic sap… i miss him.” // “he hasn’t contacted me in a while… should i… no, going to sumeru would only make him annoyed… but im worried.”

zhade — talked about here !

🥀: favorite thing about your ship?

S.P.K. — genuinely my most chaotic ship in terms of plot and feelings. i love being able to mess up things regarding their stories and to make things hurt. they get their ending, but is it happy? sad? i love messy stuff like that and this is really just my chance to explore it! not to mention when the three of them are together, the dynamics are just too good heh.

zhade — a more comforting ship if i’m being honest. two people who dance around each other, too afraid but not realizing they’re afraid of what could happen. i love thinking about in-game stuff too when it comes to these guys !!

[unown-sanctuary]

Sometimes when my pain flares up too much but I still need to travel, Scribe will push me in a wheelchair. Unfortunately I frequently find a set of stowaways stuck to the side of the seat! Unown O blend in too well with wheels until they start blinking at you!

[rubiesintherough]

okay, i know i've talked about this stuff ad nauseum, but i'm doing replies with her right now and i'm having a ton of feelings, so let a sad bitch cry about her healer birb bby. this is gonna be a tough read, bc, well, her.

Just the fact that Mahia was 12 when everything went down. Just 12. Up until that point, she was a happy child. Had a loving family, if a little strict. Had her whole life laid out for her, was deep into her training to become a healer, just like many of the other Gifted kids in the village. It was what she wanted to do, had her heart set on it. She was having fun, running through the woods, splashing in streams, going to festivals in the village square, causing mischief with her younger brother, Danin. Just being, for all metrics on her world, a normal kid.

And then everything fell apart when her brother was killed by a wild animal, during a hunt gone wrong... his first out with their father, like an initiation. She'd seen him off that morning with the rest of the hunting party... and was the first to spot her father carrying his body home. And she couldn't cry. Wasn't allowed to. In her culture, crying for the dead is a disrespect. It's seen as basically spitting in the face of the Ancestors, their deities... as though implying that the person loved wasn't given enough time. Questioning the will and plans of the higher powers. 12 years old, she'd just lost her only sibling. Her best friend, and partner in childish crime. And she was punished for crying. Couldn't even outwardly mourn him.

And, then, only a few short months later --- while she was still silently grieving Danin --- the attack happened. And she watched friends, and neighbors, and family, get gunned down. Saw her home burning. Was rounded up with all the surviving children of the village and carted away in the dark, to another world. To the Lab. She watched the lifeless bodies of her friends wheeled past her every couple weeks, twisted and changed and only barely recognizable. And all the while, she was being stripped apart, too. Wings grafted on and organs removed, all without any form of anesthesia... she'd just pass out from the pain and wake up back in her holding cell, a little less human than when she'd been dragged from it, hours before. And just wondering, every time she heard those footsteps coming, if she was going to wake up this time. Or if it was her body that was going to be wheeled out, next.

And when she finally, 6 months of torture later, managed to escape the cell and stowaway on a ship... with a crew that were actually good people... she got brought back home, and was hoping against all odds that things would be okay. Maybe some of her family had, somehow survived. And ended up burying the charred remains of her own parents, and all others who died, on the edge of her village. It was a rushed job. She didn't have time to do any kind of required funeral rites for any of them, so she doesn't even know if her loved ones were allowed into the afterlife. Or if that's just another way she failed them.

And then got dropped off on Earth. Still a child. Still 12 years old. And had to fend for herself... nights in the cold, hungry, running from wild animals, learning how to fly with the wings she wanted so badly to cut off, hiding from everyone. Only to find out she was being chased by a group sent specifically after her by the Lab. To bring her back, dead or alive. Ended up killing one of them in a panic. A swing of her dagger --- pulled from the wreckage of her village --- slashing the Hunter's throat and she ran, and could hear him choking to death on blood behind her, and damn, if she can't still hear that awful sound sometimes. So, she took a life. Which was viewed as one of the worst crimes in her culture, self-defense or otherwise.

Truly believes she's been abandoned by the deities she prayed to her whole life, because she's so far from home, no longer fully human, and has taken a life... cut off from them. Cut off from any hope of seeing her family, again, if they were even allowed into the afterlife. But, she has to keep going. Because giving up or dying means letting her home's memory die. And it means letting those who took her apart win.

Mahia Emerga, who cannot allow herself to die, cannot live, cannot exist in the world she's always flying so far above. Hiding in forests, doing her best to heal others who need it, to atone for the damage she's done, and all her failures. She needs to survive, but sometimes she can't even tell if she's alive anymore.

[leonsrightlations]

The Earth is Online Chapter 16.1

The big mole’s fart was truly incomparably strange smelling. It didn’t dispel from the underground cavern for a long time. Everyone was assailed by it nearly to the point of vomiting. The big mole giggled and ran to the corner where it crouched down and proceeded to dig a hole with both its claws.

It didn’t pay any more attention to the five remaining players and the five people didn’t take the initiative to provoke such a monster.

Lin Qiao walked to the little girl’s side and sighed. [1] She took off her windbreaker and covered that pool of blood. Li Bin also walked to the cook’s side, moved him to a corner, and covered the cook’s face with his jacket.

The Black Tower had already announced that everyone had completed the second side mission, but no new side mission had appeared. They only had one main mission, which was just to survive. People can live without water for seven days. Without food, they can continue on for no more than thirty days. If the big mole didn’t interfere anymore, Tang Mo felt that, with his current physique, he could continue on even without water for at least a month. He was just afraid that the Black Tower’s mission of survival would have no end.

Tang Mo tentatively asked, “Uncle Mole, how can we leave this place?”

The Big Mole gave a strange laugh. “You want out? How do you get out? You’re playing idiot mode and the only thing you have to do is survive. You still want to get out?”

Everyone was resentful of the big mole’s words, but no one dared to retort.

In the pitch black cavern, the giant mole made a rustling sound as it dug. The sound was machine-like and ear-piercing.

Li Bin was still holding the flashlight the little girl had made using her ability in his hand.

His expression was strange as he looked at the flashlight. He muttered, “It’s a bit frightening…”

Tang Mo looked at him. “You don’t want it? Can you let me look at it?”

He was extremely interested in this thing that had been created purely by an ability.

Without even thinking about it, Li Bin hastily stuffed the flashlight into Tang Mo’s hand. “Take it away. I don’t want this thing.”

The flashlight was rapidly stuffed into Tang Mo’s hand. He had just opened his mouth, but didn’t speak, his expression suddenly pausing as a bizarre light slid through his eyes.

Luo Fengcheng said, “I also want to take a look.” So saying, he reached out his hand in preparation to accept it.

Tang Mo stared blankly for a moment and unexpectedly didn’t hand the flashlight over. Just as Luo Fengcheng was feeling baffled, suddenly, a peal of clear and cheerful singing sounded. The voice was loud and joyful, the high-pitched childlike voice causing the five people in the cavern, as well as the big mole, to all stop what they were doing.

The big mole’s small eyes widened with disbelief.

“How can this be!?”

When the song was finished, a familiar voice resounded in every person’s ears –

[Ding dong! In the first district of A-Country, the stowaway Fu Wenduo successfully cleared the first floor of the Black Tower.]

The big mole jerked its head up and again said, “How can this be!?”

Tang Mo tightly gripped the flashlight in his hand. When the Black Tower was finished broadcasting this line, he suddenly felt a bit fuzzy. In his line of sight, the big mole was holding its head in its hands in total shock, its figure gradually growing faint. He once more looked to Li Bin, Li Wen, Luo Fengcheng, and Lin Qiao beside him. The figures of the four people were also slowly dissipating.

The second after his line of sight went completely dark, Tang Mo opened both his eyes. Bright and beautiful, brilliant sunshine stung his eyes in a scene of white. Tang Mo was like a person on the verge of drowning, gulping in breaths of fresh air as he struggled to adapt to the strong light. When Tang Mo next looked clearly at the scene in front of him, his expression changed and he abruptly twisted the steering wheel. The car scraped along the curb and his whole person was nearly flung out of the vehicle.

The car sped for more than twenty meters before Tang Mo braked and it stopped at the side of the road.

His heart was still wildly racing. Every single thing that he had experienced in the underground cavern seemed to be happening before his eyes. He quickly calmed down, looked in all directions, and noticed that he was back in that original car. It was the place he’d been before the tower attack game had started. Tang Mo and Li Wen had been in the middle of driving. Now he had returned…

“What about Li Wen?”

Tang Mo had returned to driving, but he couldn’t find Li Wen.

He really couldn’t find the other and there was nothing else he could do. Tang Mo stopped on the side of the road and lowered his head to look at the flashlight in his hand.

It was the flashlight that Li Bin had given to Tang Mo. Because it was the little girl’s flashlight and she had died right before their eyes, Li Bin had felt discomfort in his heart and had eagerly given it to Tang Mo. Tang Mo hadn’t imagined that right at the moment he took the flashlight, he would discover that he’d gained an ability.

Tang Mo raised his hand and pulled a book out of the air, flipping it open to the third page –

[Ability: Draw a circle to curse you. [2]

User: Li Bin (Official Player)

Type: Special Type

Function: Attacks a designated target’s karma [3], causing them to have bad luck.

Level: Level one.

Restriction: Can only curse one target a day and is unable to control what negative effect the target suffers.

Remarks: Tang Mo won’t even pay for a flashlight. This is truly stinky and shameless!] [4]

Tang Mo: “...”

He pinched the book page in his finger until it made a crunching sound, took two deep breaths, and continued reading downward –

[Tang Mo-version usage explanation: Can only be used once a day with a 30% probability of being effective. Choking while eating or drinking water is also considered bad luck. This trash ability and Tang Mo have some compatibility.]

If only this wasn’t his ability. Tang Mo hated that he couldn’t grind its bones and scatter the ashes!

According to Tang Mo’s rough guess, if he wanted to obtain other people’s abilities, the first way was that kind of confrontation he’d had with Qian Sankun in which he had directly killed the other party. This way would certainly allow him to obtain an ability. The second way was to do something that was “eating everything without paying.” For instance, Li Bin had handed over the flashlight to Tang Mo and Tang Mo hadn’t given him money. This was a kind of “eating everything without paying.”

But this method of gaining another person’s ability only needed for him to take a flashlight to count as eating everything without paying…was it so simple?

Tang Mo pondered for a moment, vaguely feeling that this matter wasn’t so simple. There might still be some other restriction. He was about to close the book when, suddenly, a line of light colored words appeared after the remarks. He lowered his head to take a look –

[Remarks: Draw a circle to curse you (User: Li Bin), already successfully used.]

“Already successfully used? When was it used? Who was affected?”

The color of the line of words was extremely light and didn’t have the familiar cheap style of the ability book. Tang Mo looked for a long time but didn’t see any clues. He put his hands in his pockets in bafflement and suddenly touched something smooth and solid. He took it out and looked at it.

“The turkey egg?”

[PREV] [TOC] [NEXT]

Translation Notes:

[1] The original version makes it more clear in the previous chapter that the big mole is a messy eater.

[2] This is a reference to a cartoon from the mid-2000’s called Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. There’s a character who would crouch down in the corner and “draw a circle to curse you.”

(The text says "draw a circle to curse you [all]")

[3] 因果律 - karmic law; law of cause and effect

[4] It actually says ‘stinky and not wanting face’ but this is a bit clunky as a translation, so I decided to go with ‘shameless’ instead. 

[softquietsteadylove]

I really loved the way Gil interacted with a kid in the ice queen/ tyrant king au.

Would you do another one in another AU? You choose wich AU!

"What have we got?"

Gil helps get the stretcher out and wheels down on the ground. "Monkey bar slip, seems like a pretty clean fracture. No blood, no splitting, but the swelling's pretty bad."

Thena nods as she jogs alongside them on their way inside. She examines the arm which has indeed swelled tremendously in the time it took to get them here. "Sweetheart, I need you to look at me, okay?"

The young lady does her best to open her eyes despite her tears. She continues to cry as Thena shines her light into them, testing the reaction of her pupils.

"Good, good," she murmurs. "Can you give my hand a squeeze with your other hand?"

"Ma'am it's okay, just let the doctor work," Gil tries to calm the mother sobbing, trying to keep up with them.

"Get her into an x-ray as soon as you can," Thena announces as soon as the residents and nurses waiting for them are in sight. "It looks like we might have to let some blood out."

"Wha-"

"It's okay," Thena says in her velvety smooth voice to both daughter and mother before the girl is wheeled on. Thena puts her hand on the mother's shoulder as she walks them to follow her more calmly. "If anything, it's a good thing that the bone didn't break the skin. We're just going to relieve some of the pressure in the muscles around it that are causing that extreme swelling in her arm."

Gil looks around him for a second and then back in the direction of the ambulance bay. Something isn't right.

There were two kids when he picked them all up at the park.

He walks back to the ambulance he just parked, jingling the keys on his finger. He starts whistling a tune as he nears the open doors. His methods were correct, he discovers as he hears a definite sniffling coming from the back of the bus. "Hm...I hope there aren't any little stowaways in here."

A quiet hiccup floats out.

Gil pretends to reach for the handles, "I'm headed to the buzz-saw factory next--I hope it isn't too scary-"

"Wait!"

Gil smiles as a head of bouncy pigtails scrambles out from - he assumes - hiding next to one of the bench seats. "Well, what do we have here?"

The poor little girls sniffles, dragging her arm across her snotty little nose. "M'sorry--everyone was yelling, and no one would just talk to me, a-and I wanted to go home but-"

"It's okay," Gil tries to soothe the poor kid. He grasps her under her armpits to help her down from the tall ambulance step. Then he offers her a pack of tissues for the boogers. "Ambulances can be pretty scary, especially when everyone's freaking out."

The girl at least blows her nose and then wipes the snot off her arm. She looks around her but Gil holds out another tissue for her to deposit hers in, throwing them out next to the door. "Is my sister gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Gil chuckles, offering his hand so he can get the poor thing back to her family. The girl takes his it, wrapping her whole palm around just two of his fingers. "My friend is the best doctor ever, and she's fixing up your sister as we speak."

"Really?"

"You bet," he smiles as they make their way inside. He imagines they've done the x-rays already and hopefully have the girl in a bed by now. "Thena is my best friend, and she takes extra good care of all her patients."

"I wanna be a doctor when I grow up. But..." the little girl's eyes water again, "it was so loud in there."

Gil nods, sympathising with the tiny girl and her tiny steps. "The ambulance isn't for everyone. But doctors don't usually ride in ambulances, and not even all doctors work in emergency rooms. You could be the kind of doctor that sees people for appointments when they're sick."

She stares up at him, eyes wide. "You're not a doctor?"

"He's much more important than a any of the doctors here."

Gil smiles as soon as he sees her, standing at the nurse's station and definitely having expected him and their little VIP. "Aw, honey, you flatter me."

Thena gives him a roll of her eyes that he knows really means she's happy to see him. She leans down to the little lady with him, "your mother is looking for you."

The girls shrinks behind Gil slightly, lip wobbling, "I'm sorry."

Gil pulls her out again with her hand attached to his, though. "She's not mad, sweetie. But it's important not to get lost in hospitals. They're very, very big and a lot of people might not notice a lost kid."

Thena offers a softer smile and holds out her hand for the girl, "would you like to see your sister?"

The poor thing looks between Thena, who is a doctor and has promised her sister to her, and Gil, whom she knows is a safe haven in this very scary place.

"Let's go," he whispers to her, promising to join her as they start walking with Thena on her other side. He looks up at her, "I told her all about you."

Thena looks down at the girl, who averts her eyes shyly. "Did he tell you I'm the meanest, scariest doctor here?"

She looks up at Gil, who laughs loudly enough that a few nurses turn to glare at him. He shakes his head, "that's not true. This is my friend, Doctor Thena."

The girl looks up at Thena again, eyes sparkling with interest. "He said you're the best doctor in the whole world!"

Thena gives him that look again but isn't about to argue with a child, let alone such a cute one. "He might be exaggerating a little. He has a very important job here too."

Gil catches Thena's eye again and bounces his eyes down at their passenger, "she wants to be a doctor too, although the ambulance might be a bit much for her."

Thena nods, coming to a stop and kneeling down to the girl. "The emergency room certainly isn't for everyone. And plenty of doctors don't like working down here."

"Why do you like it?" the kid asks blatantly, without the slightest tact.

Thena smiles, though. "People come in here, sometimes for nothing, and sometimes because they're scared, or sometimes because they've had a very, very bad day. Like your sister."

The girl nods.

"And I do what I can to help each and every one of them," Thena says softly, reaching up to slide her stethoscope off her shoulder. "Would you hold onto this for me for a minute?"

She gasps, eyes wide and sparkly as Thena loops the stethoscope around the back of her neck. It's adorably big on her.

"Hm," Thena gives it a little pat before standing again, "you'll grow into it."

Gil looks at her as they round a corner, his hand now bobbing as their visitor skips along in delight. He whispers, "and you say you're not good with kids."

"I'm just biased," she brushes off, but he can see that bright smile in all its glory. They finally arrive at the room assigned to the patient. Thena knocks on the door, "ma'am, I'm here with the paramedic who brought you in. We have your-"

The door whips open and the woman scoops her younger daughter into her arms, crying any mix of joy and relief and stress out.

Thena shares a smile with Gil before going back over to the young lady with the broken ulna (and a fractured radius). Gil closes the door behind him, "we just needed a minute to ourselves in the ambulance. Nothing to worry about."

The woman smiles at him, not only for his retrieval of her daughter for how gently he has handled the situation. "Thank you, Doctor-"

"No, Mama," the girl on her hip corrects her. "He's a paramedic. He brings people in the ambulance. Doctors don't go in ambulances."

"Unless they're super cool trauma doctors," Gil corrects with a wink, pointing at Thena's back with a grin.

"Gilgamesh, whatever you're telling them," Thena murmurs as she tests her patient's pain levels, "stop it."

The girl and her mother share a little giggle over the antics of the pair. The little girl swings her feet to be let down, going back over to Gil. "I still wanna be a doctor when I grow up, I think."

"Maybe you'll work in a cool hospital like this one," he suggests with glee. He can see why hearing that she wanted to be a doctor really did Thena in. It's just so stinking cute.

The kid tugs at Gil's sleeve, asking him to lean down. Not that he needs to; she whispers as loudly as possible, "will I be pretty like her when I'm a doctor?"

Gil chuckles, especially at how Thena glares at him briefly, just daring him to say something. "Sorry kid, but no one is as pretty as she is."

The little girl giggles, and the mother hold a hand to her lips. She catches the doctor's eye as she grasps the foot of the bed. "Your husband certainly is a charmer."

Thena just sighs. "He's a distraction, is what he is."

Gil takes note of the colour in her cheeks she's trying her best to hide from him.

"I think we're all in order here," Thena announces as she finishes making some notes on the necessary charts. "What will happen now is we'll send off her file, and a colleague of mine who specialises in bones will take you from here. He'll get you set up with a plaster cast and how to take care of it."

"Thank you, Doctor," the woman nods and shakes Thena's hand vigorously. She looks at her daughter, "honey, it's time to give the doctor her stethoscope back."

The girl sighs but dutifully slides it from around her neck.

Thena catches Gil's eyes again on her way down to kneeling in front of her. He sees her take the ear tips off before pursing her lips. "Hm."

"What?" the mother asks, already fretful.

Thena smiles at the little girl, "I think it looks better on you, actually."

Gil holds back another chuckle; the woman claims she doesn't even like kids but she meets one (1) little girl who wants to be a doctor and gives her whole-ass stethoscope to her.

"Oh," the mother is already shaking her head, "no-"

"I think you should keep it," Thena whispers to their little visitor, securing the stethoscope around her tiny shoulders again. "Keep it until you get one of your own."

"Can I?!"

Thena stands, cutting off the mother before she can protest. "I insist. If she wants to play with it just stick some cotton balls on the tips. She won't be able to hurt herself with it without proper ear pieces anyway."

Gil offers the flustered mother a shrug, holding the door for Thena who is rushing to make her exit before she can be on the receiving end of any real thanks or praise. He waves at the kid, "see you later, Doc!"

Thena waits until the door has drifted closed to look back at him, "we'll be close to retirement by the time she's a doctor."

"You never know," he shrugs, moving his hands from within his hoodie pockets. "Maybe she'll be a kid genius, like Sprite."

"Could be."

"It was sweet of you to give her your stethoscope," he smiles, and laughs at Thena's visible squirming at the compliment. "Top of the line and everything."

"I'll get eaten alive when I have to put in my reason for ordering yet another one this year," Thena sighs, as if she isn't still smiling just remembering the look on the girl's face. "But maybe she'll become a great doctor--sweet and caring and attentive. It will be well worth it, then."

"Maybe she'll grow up to be the second best doctor in the world," Gil suggests as they end up at the nurse's station.

"I'll be retired, Gilgamesh," Thena takes the liberty of reminding him.

Gil just shrugs, "you'll always be the best to me."

[beardedmrbean]

Charges have been filed against a woman whose actions temporarily caused the shutdown of all air travel Tuesday evening at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Ivori H. Howard, 22, was charged with impairing or interrupting operation of critical infrastructure facility.

According to Houston Airports, Howard breached the secured perimeter of the airport and gained access to the airfield around 8:30 p.m. The runway, 15L, was immediately shut down as Houston police and airport operations crews responded to detain the trespasser.

The runway was back in operation around 8:45 p.m., officials said.

The breach reportedly caused at least 43 delays.

“After investigating, Houston Airports determined the woman gained access to the airfield under a portion of perimeter fence that meets federal regulation,” officials said. “Houston Airports worked with TSA to close the gap in the portion of fencing by welding additional security infrastructure.”

The shutdown caused monetary damage, inconvenience to all travelers who had their flights stopped and a great threat to the safety of all Bush Airport due to the stoppage of planes on the ground on a moment’s notice, according to the DA’s Office.

A bond has not been set at the time of this writing.

This is the second security breach in less than two weeks at IAH.

On May 27, Jehffrey Gutirres was arrested after he was found hiding in a plane’s wheel well.

Aviation expert, Josh Verde says both incidents could have ended much worse.

“This is incredibly dangerous. People have done it over the years, and we are talking about going back decades. And it’s usually fatal to the stowaway,” he said.

Officials from the Houston Airport System said the gap in the fence where Howard entered has been closed and secured.

Mayor Sylvester Turner says he is concerned about both incidents and the city will be looking into what went wrong.

“The airport grounds should be the most secure, and we want them to be the most secure, so we are doing a detailed assessment to address that,” he said.

An airport representative said all airports in the city meet federal security guidelines. The facilities follow a multi-layered security approach that works with the TSA, security contractors, and airport employees.

[cerseiwexler]

It’s been a minute. Gimme all your OCs + their fcs please.

WELL you know myrei, elsei, jamia, joanna, myriah, asherah, and xiomara! though i’m happy to refresh if necessary.

then there’s rohan ruby, faceclaim margot robbie (picture her strawberry blonde, curly haired, and freckly tho), who was overworked at a bank for insufficient wages and harassed by her boss and generally miserable, and then the joker (heath ledger version) robbed her workplace and tl;dr she became his sidekick and lover and they have a pom-chi named giggles and live a really remarkably normal life together all things considered, but don’t get me wrong they are both absolutely The Way That He Is if u feel me

then there’s mae taylor, faceclaim megan hilty (specifically in smash). she’s an aspiring actor-slash-burlesque dancer who tried to work in hollywood for a while, then when she couldn’t afford it anymore she moved to albuquerque to pursue a more regional career. unfortunately she met a creepy producer who assaulted her and blacklisted her name, making it hard for her to get acting work. at this point she meets jimmy mcgill (from better call saul) and they get married while she’s working primarily as a dancer. tl;dr they both achieve success, producer goes to jail, then they get involved in the cartel and everything goes off the rails. luckily there’s one silver lining: they get into a polyamorous relationship with kim wexler and their love is beautiful!

zita “zeet” kenickie has no faceclaim but they’re a neutral presenting agender cowboy with short curly blonde hair, suntanned freckly skin, green-blue eyes, and a fairly lean build with a bit of curve to it. they started life traveling with the circus until their dad died in a gory tiger accident when they were 8, at which point their mom settled them down and started a ranch. they started working there right out of high school. also as a teen, they meet izzy kanzaki who becomes their platonic soulmate. tl;dr the fam eventually expand the ranch and discover that the cartel has been using an abandoned barn on the new property and rather than call the cops or clam up and stay quiet, they offer total use of the property and equipment in exchange for a small cut and protection. so zeet meets lalo salamanca (from better call saul) and the two of them and izzy end up polyamorous and deeply in love and do a lot of violent cartel shenanigans and roll in money.

then zeet’s entire maternal line has been fleshed out into ocs in their own right too! i won’t do a full background for each of them because we’d be here for hours and also my thumbs are starting to hurt 💀 but zeet’s mom is grace, who worked at a weed grow op in the 60s that got busted and then ran away and joined the circus; grace’s mom is beatriz who you know about; beatriz’s mom is pilar who was in a polyamorous relationship and died robbing a bank to provide for the sickly young beatriz; pilar’s mom is magdalena who is the only one who doesn’t have her own story yet; magdalena’s mom is guadalupe who burns down a house with a man inside to protect her family’s business; and guadalupe’s mom is maría who ate her husband.

i have some other ocs who i’m not spending as much time with these days but still love dearly! mayra is a fighter/stowaway in the mandalorian universe; magpie is a detective in the death note universe; and mielle is your friendly local village wench who can shoot fireballs from her hands in the wheel of time universe.

[petnews2day]

Ohio kitten trapped in semi-truck's wheel well: See the 'Mission Im-paw-sible' rescue video

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/wH7uv

Ohio kitten trapped in semi-truck's wheel well: See the 'Mission Im-paw-sible' rescue video

#rendered /rendered A kitten in Ohio was rescued from the wheel well of a semi-truck in May after a driver spotted the petite stowaway during a pre-trip inspection, state authorities said.  “Our trooper from the Hiram Post was happy to be of assistance in rescuing the frightened kitten and was glad that the incident was […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/wH7uv #CatsNews