#will update when 3.5 drops

[pizzapasta23045]

HEY I MADE SOMETHING!

Feel free to use this I suppose!

[kaeyachi]

GENSHIN 3.5 UPDATE SPOILERS

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I'M WARNING YOU. THESE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS. MAJOR KAEYA LORE DROPS

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FINAL WARNING!!!

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Ok here it goes-

Kaeya hopping onto a caravan to get to Sumeru as a kid is simultaneously the funniest and saddest thing ever.

Could you all imagine the chaos once the Ragnvindrs realized child Kaeya is missing? I could just imagine Diluc crying loudly about losing Kaeya while Crepus panics and half yells at his staff and the knights about looking for him.

And the moment Crepus sees Kaeya again, he pulls him by the ear!! Because how dare this child give him the heart attack of the century! The nerve of this child to give him gray hairs!! Absolutely comedic!

But the fact that Kaeya did it because he wants to learn more about his heritage hurts. He barely knows anything (and even if he does know a lot, he feels as if he is missing large amounts of context anyway). No wonder he hid that one piece of paper about information on their clan. He's clinging to what is left over for him.

I don't fully trust the idea that his father left him in Mondstat just to live a better life at all. As sweet as it may be, I actually think that's just Kaeya's hopeful thinking. That's why he "thinks he made a clean break with his past". His mind tells him that he probably has nothing that Khaenri'ah or the abyss order might want. A reasonable conclusion because they haven't contacted him- in fact, he was the one doing the interrogating.

That makes me nervous for him though...

Even if it is to free him from his history who tf leaves a child in one of the strongest storms (where he almost dies in), tells him that he will be a spy for Khaenri'ah, and gives him the pressure of being their "only hope"?! Damn dude, if you really want to give him a better life maybe don't give him a last minute multiple trauma gift.

Dain probably crumpled a bit of Kaeya's said hope by straight up mentioning that Kaeya is a descendant of the Abyss Order's founders (I knew the Alberich last name had a damn purpose! Being the birthright successor to the Abyss Order is a big deal and literally a power move! Names have power!!!)

(((Random thought but I wonder if Kaeya could start his own faction- an alternate Abyss Order where he leads as the birthright heir where they go against the Abyss twin near the end? It would be a major decision to lead the order after all, he would have to leave Mond for it, and I'm sure that Dain would prefer to side with him on this one if it is a faction made to counteract the Abyss twin's actions)))

His heritage being such a big deal that they had to mention it in an Archon quest is very iconic for his 4-star starter character ass. They had to make sure everyone knows about it and now Kaeya's lore is gonna get more speculations and scrutiny. Good. I'd still argue that he has one of the best lore in the game- easily in the top 5.

Final thoughts for now, but Dainkae having that enemies to friends to lovers energy is very funny to me. Kaeya asking Dain to go drinking with him someday is *chefs kiss*. Dain is right to be wary of Kaeya though. The fact that Kaeya felt him watching is definitely telling of how perceptive Kaeya is (reminds me of the cutscene where Diluc is introduced, and when Diluc attacked from behind him, Kaeya didn't even flinch). Dain probably realized that Kaeya also purposely avoided him in Mondstat as well since Kaeya knew of him ( I don't think Dain would avoid someone who is blatantly using "Alberich" as a lastname).

Oh wait! One more thing! But is Kaeya actually immortal? (where they stop aging once they reach a certain age) or is he only half-Khaenriahn? (if so, why wasnt he turned into a hilichurl? Do they get a free pass?...but so far, he is the only regularly aging Khaenri'ahn we've met...)

I knew that the more lore drop he gets the more questions will be added. damn.

[thatonebirdwrites]

So what if my hands hurt and I want to scream at the pain? Dammit, I'm editing my writings because ... because! Take that pain!

Anyway, I finally updated it. Book 3.5 is almost done actually. Then it's on to book 4.

EXCERPT:

Each agonizing step infuriated her. Katara and Asami celebrated, but Korra fumed. She hobbled like a baby. Toppled like a toddler. Bended like a child. None of it was Avatar-worthy. She glared at the bars and the crutches that lay next to her. Today served as a reminder of how aggravating slow this process was. She still needed to master these poles and then came the dreaded stairs.

“You walked its length —” Asami started to say with a smile. 

Korra crossed her arms over her chest. ��I fell. That’s pathetic.” 

Asami leaned back on her heels, and clenched her knees. She ducked her head to try to meet Korra’s gaze, her black hair falling like a sheath around her face. “Not pathetic. You tripped, that’s all. You still reached the—” 

Korra scowled. “That’s not good enough.” 

Asami sighed. “All right. Fine.” She grabbed the bar and leveraged herself to her feet. “Mope. I’ll celebrate with Naga your progress.” Her prosthetic clinked against the floor as she walked over to Naga and ruffled the fur between Naga’s ears. “Isn’t that right, girl?”

Naga barked and tried to lick Asami’s face. She ducked and covered her head with a laugh. Turning, she led Naga away from Korra toward the healing pool area.

Watching them took the breath right out of Korra. Tears stung her eyes. Asami had worked so hard with her prosthetic, to the point she could now walk, and jump out of Naga’s tongue’s range. Sure, she still fell when she attempted a run, but she worked hard to fix that too.

“She’s come far,” Katara said, quietly. She walked around the poles, the thump of her cane a steady beat. She stopped next to Korra.

Korra grimaced. “I haven’t.” 

Katara sighed. “Tell me, what do you see right now?” 

Confused, Korra looked up at her healer. “Uh, Asami playing with Naga?”

“Beyond that? Look deeper. Feel with your senses.” Katara dropped a hand on her shoulder and carefully lowered herself to the ground next to Korra. 

Frowning, Korra looked back at Naga and Asami. She had her arms around Naga, her face in her fur, and Naga curled around Asami as if to shield her. Which with her massive bulk, she’d definitely shield Asami from the brisk, cold winds if they were outside. “Naga’s trying to protect her from the wind. That’s the shielding pose she likes to do.” 

“But there’s no wind in here.” 

“No, they’re safe.” She tilted her head and realized Asami’s shoulders trembled. “Her shoulders only tremble if she’s laughing or crying,” Korra whispered. She slumped, her hands in her lap. Her legs splayed in front of her, like useless logs. “I did that, didn’t I?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Katara spoke softly. She gently bumped her shoulder against Korra’s. “What else do you see?” 

[roo-bastmoon]

Don't be deterred! PUSH!!! UPDATED

The TMA site has reset. You can use your accounts to vote again. If you get a message that looks like this?

Don't be deterred. The site is burdened with high traffic and refreshing doesn't always work, but if you copy and paste this link into your browser's address bar: https://idolplus.com/zs/survey_detail?survey_id=20122

Then you can keep going until it gives you a "participation complete" gray button at the bottom.

Login, select Jimin and No, hit vote, get a confirmation, logout, repeat.

UPDATE Folks are saying the vote resets twice a day. I'm gonna check on that at midnight EST when 3D drops. Please keep your eyes on the prize and check on voting often!

We are only 3% behind, ARMY. We need more than 20,000 votes and we did that yesterday. We have 3.5 days to get it done. Every vote counts. Fighting!!!

PUSH!

PS, if you've got time...

[callsignspark]

Mar[r]y Me | part 3.5

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult and extremely unsupportive family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, eventual smut, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 2.4k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: it’s Bradley’s birthday! to celebrate this is a one shot/continuation of part three! originally this was supposed to be part of part three, but it got cut during editing. however, I really love this and I could let it just sit in a doc. so, I spruced her up some, added some more detail and viola!

part 3.5 - panera bread

The walk through the parking garage goes by too fast for Bradley’s liking. Too soon he’s having to drop Mary’s hand to open the passenger door, making sure she’s settled before closing it and getting in himself. “Alright, next stop Panera.”

“Hopefully, it’s not too busy…” She trails off when his hand brushes her neck, checking behind him as he’s backing up and not even noticing his effect.

He hums, braking so an elderly couple can cross. “It’s a little after seven, so I don’t think it’ll be bad - we should have beat the dinner rush. Clear that way?”

“After this white SUV, you’re good.”

The drive is comfortable, the radio occasionally interrupted by quiet conversation. They run into traffic on the highway, an accident taking four lanes down to one, and when they arrive at the restaurant, Bradley realizes Mary has fallen asleep in his front seat. He goes through the motions of parking and turning the car off, hoping she’ll have woken up from all the noise by the time he gets to her side. She doesn’t.

“Mary?” He gently shakes her shoulder, but she doesn’t budge.

He sighs, feeling bad about waking her up. She hasn’t gotten much sleep the past few days, but he knows she needs to eat more than she needs to sleep right now. From the second the decision was made to go to the hospital, Mary had been on the phone coordinating behind the scenes. Making arrangements for Dani’s parents to fly in from Philadelphia and picking them up when their flight got in at midnight. She had kept the Daggers updated with the latest; news coming into a specially created group chat as soon as she knew it. She watched Annie taking care of the four-year-old as if she were her own child. She had done all of that, and more, so that Danielle and Reuben could fully focus on the arrival of their newest family member without worry.

“Mary? Mary, c’mon, you gotta wake up so we can eat.” He unbuckles her seatbelt, smoothing some hair off her forehead. The touch wakes her up. Bleary eyes meet his, her nose scrunching up in distaste at being awake, and a small whine escapes her throat as the parking lot lights glare in her face. Bradley instantly feels himself soften.

“Okay, honey, you stay here, and I’ll get the food. What do you want?”

He gives her brain a minute to come back online, appreciating how cute she looks as her pretty brown eyes blink at him in confusion. “Uhh… Greek salad with chicken, extra olives, and no tomatoes, please.”

“Greek salad with chicken, extra olives, and no tomatoes. Anything else?”

“No, thank you.” Her eyes are already getting heavy, and she lets out a little yawn.

“Okay, buckle back up, and you hang out here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He hands the seatbelt to her, making sure he hears the click before shutting and locking the car.

His phone is up to his ear and ringing as he walks up to the ordering kiosk, thankful he parked in a space where he’ll be able to keep eyes on the car the entire time he’s inside.

“Rooster, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. What else does she like from Panera? She asked for a salad, but that doesn’t seem like enough if she hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”

“Why aren’t you asking her?”

“She fell asleep on the way here, and I felt bad enough waking her up to ask what she wanted, so she’s sleeping in the car with the doors locked.”

There’s a moment of silence so long that Bradley checks to make sure he didn’t get disconnected. “Payback?”

“She likes the mac and cheese, that wild rice chicken soup, and the turkey avocado sandwich. But what’s most important is that whatever you get doesn’t have tomato on it.”

“Is she allergic?” He pauses his tapping on the menu pad, glancing outside to check on Mary.

“No, she just doesn’t like raw tomato on sandwiches and salads. It’s a texture thing.” There’s murmuring on the line. “Yeah, like Dani said. She likes the iced papaya green tea, so get her one of those. And a cinnamon crunch bagel for breakfast tomorrow since she didn’t get to go grocery shopping like she usually does. And just Venmo me for whatever you get her; we owe her big time.”

“Nah, I got it this time.”

“Oh, Rooster!” Dani’s voice comes through clearer. “Remind her that she needs to get gas in the Jeep before work tomorrow; she’s running low.”

“I’ll just fill it up for her after we get home.” He mutters, trying to decide whether to get two or three lemon drop cookies.

“Damn, you are down bad, aren’t you? Just remember what we talked about earlier, dude.”

“Reuben, trust me, the last thing I want to do is hurt her.” He fumbles to grab his wallet, trying to hold his phone and their cups at the same time. “Alright, man, I gotta go. I’ll text you when I get her home.”

He pays and almost runs over an older man as he moves to fill their cups. “I’m sorry about that, sir. Wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“That’s alright; you were just keeping an eye on your girlfriend. I get it.”

“Oh, I- uh-”

“Your eyes have been glued to her since you walked away from your car - which is a beauty, by the way.” He claps Bradley on the shoulder. “Girl is even prettier; don’t mess that up, son.”

“Yes, sir.” His face hasn’t been this hot since Mav came home from work early and caught him making out with his first girlfriend in the living room.

Bradley finishes grabbing the food in a daze, thinking about what it would be like if the woman sleeping in his car really was his.

Mary shifts when he gets in the car, peeking an eye open to make sure it’s him before she snuggles back under the blanket he keeps in his backseat. His heart soars at how comfortable she is in his space. He wants to make a joke to hear her laugh, wants to tell her how beautiful she is so he can watch her cheeks turn pink, wants to press his lips to hers so he can find out what she tastes like.

He settles for taking a photo and sending it to Reuben, his fellow pilot responding with a crowd of laughing emojis followed by rows of kissy faces.

The drive to Mary’s house goes smoothly, and he feels less bad about waking her up this time. Her key is in her front pocket, and he can’t even think about trying to get it out.

Her hair has fallen from where he pushed it back earlier, and he can’t resist brushing it away again, letting his fingers run through her soft hair. “Mary, wake up; we’re home.”

She groans, pulling the blanket over her face. “No.”

Her petulance makes him laugh; he’s never seen her grumpy. Even at work, when she’s frustrated at schedule delays, she is mildly displeased, at worst.

“C’mon, honey. You gotta eat.” Her hair disappears, and he pulls out his trump card. “I got you mac and cheese.”

An eye appears as the blanket lowers, squinting at him in suspicion. “I didn’t ask for mac and cheese.”

“No, but you haven’t eaten since yesterday. You need more than just salad, even if you did get chicken on it.” He tugs on the edge of the blanket. “Come on, I’m hungry too; let’s go eat.”

Once inside, they move well together. Bradley pulls out food while Mary grabs utensils. She stops at the living room entrance, her mouth dropping open at the food spread across her coffee table. “What is all of this? There’s only two of us!”

“Well, there’s your salad and mac and cheese. I got a sandwich and chips. Plus, our cookies and drinks. And Reuben mentioned you didn’t get a chance to go grocery shopping, so I got you a bagel and sandwich for work tomorrow.”

“Bradley, that is so incredibly sweet of you, but this is too much. How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing, it was my treat.” He pats the couch next to him, “Sit. I wanna watch Parks and Rec.”

“Dinner was your treat. But the other food was not part of our agreement. So how much?”

“Mary, seriously, nothing. Come sit with me and eat.”

She huffs and plops down next to him, her thigh brushing his as she leans into him. “I will pay you back somehow.”

He wraps his arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm as he teases her. “Would it kill you to just let me do something nice for you and say thank you?”

“Thank you, Bradley.”

“You’re welcome.” He unwillingly pulls away, handing her the bowl of mac and cheese, waiting until she has a full mouth to continue. “Also, I’m filling your Jeep up before I leave. And you will not fight me on it. You can pay me back for it later.”

“Yes, sir.” She mocks him, not catching his gulp as she laughs at Pawnee’s latest antics.

Four episodes later, with full bellies and the extra food stored in the fridge, Mary’s head drops onto Bradley’s arm. He peeks down at her, smiling at how her mouth forms a little circle, eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks.

“Mary.” She hums at him, trying to burrow deeper into his side. “I promise this’ll be the last time I wake you up today. But we can’t stay here, sweetheart; you should go sleep in your bed.”

“Don’t wanna move, I need to shower, and that requires too much energy.”

He pauses, forcing himself not to let the visual of her showering take its full form. “Well, I can’t help you with that one. But how about you relax while I get gas, and when I get back, you get in the shower and go to bed?”

“God, I hate when you think logically. Let me grab the keys.” She sighs, dragging herself up and into the kitchen. “Here, this one is obviously the Jeep, and this is the house key, just in case I’ve fallen asleep by the time you get back.”

He laughs, admiring her where she’s lounging on the couch, wiggling her fingers at him as he locks the door behind him. Her car is an overload for his senses; the interior smells like her perfume, subtle and flowery with a hint of orange. He has to push the seat all the way back so he can fit behind the wheel.

He thinks about her the entire time he’s pumping gas. How caring she is, how smart, how beautiful. He’s been working up the courage to ask her out, and it seems like everyone has given him a kick to just do it already. He wants to ask her, to take her out properly - dinner and a movie or something equally cliché for a first date. But every time he suggests coffee or lunch with just the two of them, hinting at it being more than friends, she turns it into a group affair.

Danielle and Reuben had been encouraging, telling him that he would have to be a bit patient, that Mary may not realize what she was doing. But he wasn’t convinced she wasn’t letting him down easily. Trying to brush him off because he wasn’t getting the hint.

On top of that, it felt like a bad time to ask her. With Christmas only a couple weeks away, parties and last-minute shopping and holiday travel is beginning to dominate everyone’s schedule. He didn’t want their first date to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season.

I’ll ask her after the new year. He sets the goal as he re-enters her house.

He calls out for her, seeing the couch empty and the blankets back in their proper spots. Moving further into the house once he hears music playing. “Mary?”

He can hear water running as he moves toward the music. The shower. She's in the shower. He’s stuck in place. He’s trying to keep his imagination from running wild, but it’s hard when he can hear Mary humming along to his favorite Jim Croce song while she washes her hair.

He moves down the hall, awkwardly standing outside her open bedroom door. He croaks her name; she doesn’t hear him. He hesitantly shuffles into her room and parks himself in front of the cracked ensuite door as the water turns off.

Clearing his throat, “Mary?” His voice breaks like a teenager. He smacks himself.

The music lowers, “Bradley? You’re back?”

“Uhh- I- uhh- yeah. Filled the Jeep up and pulled it into the garage for you. I’m gonna take your house key with me so I can lock the front door and give it back to you tomorrow if that works?”

His eyes bounce between the floor and the door, waiting for her answer.

“That’s fine! Thank you so much for everything today, Bradley! I really appreciate you. Let me know what I owe you for the gas!”

“Will do. I’m gonna head out unless you need something else?”

“No, I’m all set. You did a good job taking care of me.” The door opens, and she’s standing there in a baby blue robe, hair wrapped in a towel. Her face is fresh, if tired, and she looks more relaxed than he’s seen her in a week.

“Feel better?”

She hums, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s amazing how showers can make everything better. Seriously, Bradley, thank you for everything you did. It’s going to make tomorrow so much easier.”

“Any time. You just let me know when you need something, Mary.” She smiles up at him, the dimple in her chin pops out, and he feels butterflies erupt. “I’m gonna head out, still taking your key, though. You finish getting ready for bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She leans into the kiss he presses on her forehead, eyes closed for a moment after he pulls away. “Night, Bradley.”

“G’night, honey.”

She stays leaning against the doorframe as she listens to him pull his shoes on and lock the door behind him. She can faintly hear the door of the Bronco closing after he gets in, completely unaware that his thoughts match hers.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck. 

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fic tag | credit for dividers here

[p1x1x]

wrt insight not mentioning lagrange at all alluding to her not knowing who she is, honestly i'm still coping and running on the theory that compassion is a younger insight and her guardian was a younger lagrange, and that she doesn't remember her because, ascending to godhood, abandoning humanity, etc... if she's been watching arc for a while then you'd think she'd recognise tairitsu as one of the last shapers right? but she doesnt... maybe that memory of a past life is clouded to her now. idk i just miss lagrange.......

tbh real huff that copium 🔥🔥🔥 i am always on copium

i’ll still say that i dont particularly see that theory but u know if it happens to be that i’ll eat my metaphorical hat (im partially blindsided by the ideas of past-somewhat-one-sided-but-maybe-she-didnt-know compassion/insight yuri, which means they’re two different people in my mind hahaha) (this is so unlikely tbh but one can dream...)

but yeah i hope lagrange is gonna be in the rotation soon considering how she wants to meet god here (who is unfortunately insight right now…) maybe she’ll get pulled into main story (though i wonder if it is getting a little crowded now esp with a new character just added)... you made me check when she was released... its been 3.5 years...

ik there’s a theory about lagrange being the narrator of vita’s story… which i could agree given the aspects of what it means to “know”, how the narrator is familiar with the Void, how they know that there are others… the style of speaking doesnt quite strike me entirely as lagrange buuuuuut i’d have to check the narration side by side later so take that with a grain of salt... the narrator saying vita had been “blessed” as near all the others waking up in arcaea feels very not lagrange though given her own story fhhdhdhd

(maybe she had found vita's memories after she had left the End, in which she had left some truth of the world behind, but i dont think that’d change her into thinking the light of this world as a blessing…)

i honestly dont know about the whole insight and not knowing tairitsu thing lol... tried to type out some things but im confusing myself more... for sure, i think insight shaper theory is pretty confirmed now (esp with the song lyrics and some talk of how maya is more than what could ever be 'shaped' and other stuff)... but all she did in regards to tairitsu was mention that she was the one with the story of 3 lives here... no other comment on who she is. i may be too dumb to figure this out so 🤣🤣

idk its like... 2 hours before the update drops now? i've lost my mind waiting all day. i'm a little more comfortable with rambling abt character relationships than worldbuilding and all this theorizing events tbh (even if i think arcaea's is very cool with fun potential... honestly really interested in the story ui revamp for the update, since they said they made all the stories in the game have a clear reading order!! im very happy about this hopefully my brain can wrap around the timeline of things better...)

[touchreceptors]

opm 179/224(jp) TL commentary

so, about the Saitama vs Tatsumaki battle in the latest chapter.

Normally, I’m tired enough at the end of the work day that when the JP OPM chapter updates drop, I'm happy to just skim the chapter and wait for the usual fan TL team to do their good work and drop the English translation the next day. Usually, I find them very decent and competent.

This time around, however, Saitama’s lines on this particular page had me sitting up a little straighter.

I thought his word choice was oddly far too chummy given his usual personality and his attitude towards people like Tatsumaki, so I decided to check the original Japanese pages again and sure enough, found that I gleaned a very different idea from the JP lines. I would definitely have translated these differently.

Let’s take a look at the 2 phrases in question.

1. “She’s not in the mood to chat at all” (JP: 全���会話になんねえーな )

The plain form of this (i.e. after you distill it from Saitama’s typical style of speech) is 全然会話にならない which is far more often representative of the sentiment “It’s impossible trying to get through to you/this person”. It literally translates to “This is not becoming a 2-way conversation at all” or "you can't have a 2-way conversation with this person"; Google “会話にならない 英語” and you will see multiple suggestions along the lines of “It’s no use talking to you.”

This phrase is used to indicate that the other party is not willing to listen, usually to something important the speaker has to say. Saitama isn’t looking to have a friendly “chat”, he’s trying to make a point to Tatsumaki about not attacking other heroes and laying off his new home before that gets destroyed too. So, while the use of “chat” may help to preserve the lazy informality of his speaking style, it downplays the severity of the situation and his annoyance at her not getting his point. 

I personally would’ve used “Ugh, she’s not gonna listen at all, is she” or “Ugh, talking isn’t gonna work at all, is it” or a similar variation.

2. “Guess I’ll keep her company for now” (JP: 相手しとくか)

Context is everything. Just because “keep company” is the first option in a whole list of different definitions that pops up when you do a dictionary search doesn’t mean that it’s the right definition to use for a translation/localization. Nor does it mean it’s how the phrase is most commonly used in practice.

I'd wager you don’t even need to have much RL experience in Japan or with Japanese people to know which definition should've been picked. Watch enough shonen and sports anime with the original Japanese audio and you’ll soon learn that any time there is a pair activity, game and most importantly, a fight, 相手 i.e. “aite” refers to “opponent”. In a classroom setting, being asked to “相手して” doesn’t mean to keep a student “company”, it means to take up the opposite role in pair work. I’d add that in the close to 15 years I’ve spent studying and/or speaking Japanese, and the 3.5 years spent living and working in Japan, I’ve never heard this phrase being used to mean “keep somebody company” - but since experience can also be subjective, let’s just look at what we can be certain about: context, and our own knowledge of the target language and all its nuances.

a. Context - What’s happening, and who is saying it: Are they fighting? Yes. As opponents? Yes. Is Saitama referring to their fight and a strategy he's going to take (i.e. letting her tire herself out)? Most certainly, yes. Is this line being said by the same guy who thinks of Fubuki only as an acquaintance who's always dragging him into her business against his will, the same guy who in the last frame of this very chapter is thinking to himself "Man I reeeeeaallly wanna go home"? Yes. Should you have picked a definition more related to fighting and opponents from the dictionary's MANY different options like, idk, "take on a rival" to base your translation on? Yyeeess??? Why wouldn't you have?

b. Decision-making when localizing a text: What does “keep somebody company” imply in English? Is there a better way to phrase this and make the localized script more representative of the situation and the character's intent, and less loaded with English meaning that isn't present anywhere else in the text? I mean, Saitama certainly isn't suddenly thinking about loneliness and company when he mentions the lack of buildings and people - a safer distance away from civilization he deliberately went to the trouble of bringing Tatsumaki to.

I'd take some creative/artistic license here myself to make the language less stiff, but would definitely have gone for something less distorted, like "Guess I'll keep her occupied for now". If unsure, then even a more literal "Guess I'll take her on for now" would do a very decent job of conveying Saitama's intent, staying faithful to the original language without sounding too stiff when inserted into the sentence they came up with.

But well, who'm I to talk, eh? Translators are humans, there's no way to be completely objective in any interpretation, and they still do far more work than I am willing/able to do for this manga every update. I just wonder if they were letting certain biases guide their interpretations rather more than usual this time. Suffice to say, I'll be very curious to see how the guys at Viz choose to frame this bit for the official English TLs.

[starrysnowdrop]

Hali Aloke Fanfiction Masterlist

This masterlist will be periodically updated as I get new installments out, and all entries are listed in chronological order according to the canon timeline, with the exception of the supplementary fics and writing prompts.

Updated: 10/02/2024

-> The Main Ongoing Fic Series

Drops of Jupiter: Story of Hali Aloke

Book 1: Amongst the Stars (Hydaelyn/Zodiark Arc)

((Additional Entries In Progress))

“You’re a good friend, you know?” - 3.0 soon after the events of the Vault; Aymeric wakes up in the infirmary to find an unexpected caretaker at his bedside.

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.” - Immediately follows “You’re a good friend, you know?”; Hali and Aymeric bond over how they have both been friendzoned in the past and their hopes for finding love in the future.

Hold Me Closer - During 3.1, shortly after the attempted assassination of Aymeric de Borel; Hali runs to see Aymeric in the infirmary and she is emotionally overwhelmed at seeing him alive and recovering well.

Friendship and Water - Between 3.3 and 3.4; Hali and Emmanellain bond over their respective crushes and help each other raise their spirits.

A Personal Matter - Immediately follows “Friendship and Water”; Lord Emmanellain goes to Ser Aymeric with questions concerning his friend, but it turns into one of the most awkward conversations either of them has ever had.

Misunderstandings - Between 3.4 and 3.5; When returning to Fortemps Manor, Hali overhears a private conversation between Artoirel and Aymeric that she shouldn’t have heard.

Never Good Enough - Immediately follows “Misunderstandings”; Hali runs away from Fortemps Manor in a panic after hearing Artoirel and Aymeric’s conversation about her, and she is compelled to write her feelings out in her diary.

Snowdrops - During the events of 3.5, a short time after “Misunderstandings” and “Never Good Enough”; Before the two are parted due to war brewing with Garlemald, Aymeric bestows upon Hali a deeply personal gift, and new term of endearment to go along with it.

“Who did this to you?” - During the events of the Ghimlyt Dark in 4.5; When Hali is gravely injured on the battlefield, Estinien informs Aymeric, who in turn runs after her, fearing that he might lose her.

An Ishgardian Lullaby - Immediately following the events of the Ghimlyt Dark in 4.5; Follows shortly after “Who Did This To You?”; Hali awakens to the sound of a man singing to her, and she is happy to see who is at her bedside.

Book 2: Painted Skies (Dawntrail and Beyond)

((Coming Soon!!))

-> Additional Writings

FFXIVWrite 2024 **NEW!!**

Steer - Prompt #1: During the events of patch 4.3, quest “Under the Moonlight”; Hali tries to convince Yume to take a step back from participating in the investigation of Zenos’ death and potential resurrection.

Horizon - Prompt #2: Sometime between the events of patches 5.5 and 6.0; While walking around the Pillars of Ishgard, Lord Edmont observes Lord Aymeric as the latter watches the setting sun.

Reticent - Prompt #4: During the events of patch 7.0, level 97+ quests; Hali cannot seem to trust Queen Sphene of Alexandria, no matter how sweet and kind she seems.

Third-rate - Prompt #16: Sometime after the events of 6.0; Hali oftentimes stares at Aymeric and still can’t believe that he loves her.

Taken - Prompt #19: During the events of 4.0; Lyse tells Hali that she has a potential suitor, but Hali doesn’t give a response that Lyse expects.

Shade - Prompt #21: During the events of 6.0; While the Ilsabard Contingent struggles with helping the surviving Garlean people, a strange woman is seen roaming the city ruins.

FFXIVWrite 2023

Ring - Prompt #6, Set some time before the events of 7.0; Aymeric’s head butler Arnaud carries down a box from the Borel Manor’s attic that brings back precious memories, and conjures up dreams of the future.

Shed - Prompt #8, During 3.0, before the events of the Vault; Hali tries to stop Aymeric from going to confront the Archbishop, but fails in the attempt.

Portentous - Prompt #15, Sometime between the events of 5.55 and 6.0; During one of Hali’s visits to Fortemps Manor, Emmanellain finds the astrologian outside on the roof, staring at the moon through the telescope, hoping her intuition is wrong.

Fulsome - Prompt #22, Set between 5.55 and 6.0; Lord Aymeric is getting increasingly aggravated by the Ishgardian nobles and their empty flattery.

Last - Prompt # 26, In ancient times, before the Final Days and the Sundering; Hermes arrives in Amaurot in order to take over the Seat of Fandaniel, and is given a very warm welcome from Azem herself.

Wolmeric Week 2023

First Meeting - Prompt #1, During the events of 2.4; Hali gushes in her diary over the most gorgeous man she’s ever met, not realizing how important he will be to her in the future.

First Kiss - Prompt #2, During the events of 6.0; Hali reflects on her love confession to Aymeric, and how she is saved from despair by his love for her in turn.

AU Alternate Timeline - Prompt #3, In the 8th Umbral Calamity Timeline revealed during 5.0; Hali’s childhood friend G’raha Tia documents his findings on his friend’s final moments of her life.

Date - Prompt #4, During the events of 3.4; Hali contemplates if the private dinner that she attended at Borel Manor was really a first date or not, and wonders what Aymeric’s intentions are.

Vacation - Prompt #5, Between 6.0 and 6.1; For her nameday, Hali asks to go on a vacation with Aymeric, and she is proud that she finally found a way to get Aymeric out of his office.

Home - Prompt #6, During the ending of 6.0; After saving the star and returning to Etheirys, Hali realizes that home isn’t always a place—it can be a person.

Future - Prompt #7, Between 3.3 and 3.4; Hali awakens from the most wonderful dream… or is it a prophetic vision of the future?

Aymeric Day - Prompt #8, During the events of 6.0; Aymeric struggles with himself as he tries to hide his true feelings for Hali and worries for her wellbeing.

[thecreaturecodex]

Daisy Moonblossom

"Ice Queen" © Xavier Collette. Accessed at his gallery here

[This is going to be the last of the PCs from the Rise of the Runelords game I post; I'm going to move onto other campaigns, like Curse of the Crimson Throne, Legacy of Fire, and Council of Thieves. Daisy Moonblossom was a very fun character, with her quotes like, "you would be happy if you thought less" and "I didn't think it would kill him; I only thought it would torture him forever!". She told me later that she didn't want to play a healer, she wanted to play a fighter, and so decided to be kind of a brat about it when it was decided by the group that it was "her turn". Everyone loved it anyway. So much so that the same player played her surly goth little sister, Belladonna, in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and the Moonblossom clan has been a recurring name drop in my games, and spawned multiple PCs and NPCs in the games run by @canwefixitnoitsfucked. Here's the original art for Daisy, done by one of the other players in that game:

Art © Heather F., accessed here

Because of the whole "don't really want to heal" thing, a warpriest was the perfect choice for converting Daisy from D&D 3.5 to Pathfinder 1e. The Icicle Crown was a personal addition to Rise of the Runelords. The art for Lamatar Bayden was so cool, it seemed a shame that he was just a wight (especially up against a 9th level party). So I gave him an artifact, and then Daisy got it, and she got to go from "magical girl inspired" to "full on transformation sequence". The original version used various spells from Spell Compendium, so has been updated for Pathfinder applicability.]

Daisy Moonblossom CR 14 CN Humanoid (cold, human) This woman is short, muscular and beautiful, her arms bearing delicate Varisian tattoos. She appears to be made of ice, with inhumanly pale skin and hair, with a crown of icicles growing out of her brow. She carries an enormous mace in the shape of a rose, and wears the holy symbol of Desna prominently around her neck and on her clothing.

Daisy Moonblossom was born lucky. Although never very smart and with a penchant for solving her problems with violence, she was both charming and perceptive, and was a natural to enter the priesthood of Desna. There, she received training as a warpriest, a traveling crusader to bring dreams and joy to those who needed them, and a pummeling to those who deserved it. And she was able to do all of those things, joining up with a team of adventurers to defend Sandpoint from first a goblin incursion, and then a ghoulish serial killer. Aldern Foxglove, the Skinsaw Man, became obsessed with Daisy. Perhaps this is because she reminded him of his murdered wife, or perhaps because he detected her bloodthirsty streak. Appropriately, she was the one who freed the revenant of his wife, and then bashed Foxglove’s skull in.

On Hook Mountain, Daisy made two discoveries that would change her life. First was the friendship of the star monarch Roramoru, who happily serves her as a mount and confidante to this day. The second was the Icicle Crown, a lost artifact made by the White Witches of Irrisen in centuries past, sitting on the brow of the wight Lamatar Bayden. Daisy didn’t realize its true magical potential when she put it on, thinking it would just protect her against the cold, but it transformed her into a being of elemental ice. As a divine caster, Daisy can use remove curse to take off the crown and resume her human appearance when she needs to, but does so less and less these days.

Rather than explore the dungeons of Runeforge and take the fight to Runelord Karzoug, Daisy chose to remain behind at Jorgenfist to learn more about her Varisian heritage and to help rally an army of giants against Karzoug’s influence. Daisy is considered by many of the giants of the Kodar Mountains to be somewhere between a guardian angel and a bogey, as she will gladly aid giants who play nice and slay those who don’t. The legends that have built around Ice Princess Daisy vary from clan to clan. Some giants claim she is an unusually beautiful cold rider, or maybe a miniature frost giant, or possibly a divine agent of Desna herself. Daisy is happy to keep them guessing.

Although she is a talented healer, Daisy Moonblossom would rather inflict damage than cure it. She usually spends a round or two casting enhancing spells on herself, then wades into melee. If enemies keep their distance, she pelts them with ranged spells cast from the Icicle Crown, or simply uses air walk to close the gap. Daisy isn’t a very skilled combat rider, so although she does use Roramoru’s support, the star monarch typically drops Daisy off rather than carry her into the fray. 

Icicle Crown (minor artifact) When not worn by a creature (occupying the head slot), this appears to be a delicate silver tiara studded with diamonds and sapphires. When put on, it transforms into ice, and transforms the wearer as well, affecting her as per an ice body spell for as long as the crown is worn. The Icicle Crown allows the wearer to cast the following spells with charges, as if it were a staff: Snowball (1 charge) Frigid Touch (1 charge) Wall of Ice (2 charges) Cone of Cold (2 charges) Icy Prison (2 charges) The Icicle Crown has 10 charges, and regains 1d4 charges a day. If its last charge is expended, the Icicle Crown falls off of the wearer’s head and becomes dormant for 30 days. This is the only way to remove the Icicle Crown without the use of remove curse or a similar effect, or the death of its wearer. CL 13th; Weight 4 lbs.

Daisy Moonblossom    CR 14 XP 38,400 Human warpriest of Desna 14 CN Medium humanoid (cold, human) Init +5; Senses Perception +7 Defense AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20(+1 Dex, +10 armor) hp 136 (14d8+70) Fort +14, Ref +6, Will +13 Immune ability score damage, blindness, critical hits, deafness, disease, drowning, electricity, poison, stunning Defensive Abilities ice body Offense Speed 20 ft. (30 ft. unarmored), burrow 20 ft. (ice only) Melee +1 spell-storing heavy mace +16/+11 (1d10+7) or slam +13 (1d6+3 plus 1 cold) Ranged starknife +11 (1d10+3/x3) Special Attacks channel energy (positive, 5d6, based on fervor), sacred weapon (+3, 14 rounds/day) Spells CL 14th (CL 15th for conjuration), concentration +17 (+21 casting defensively) 5th—flame strike (DC 18), righteous might 4th—air walk, blessing of fervor, divine power, neutralize poison (DC 18) 3rd—communal resist energy, inflict serious wounds (DC 16), magic vestment (cast), prayer, sacred bond 2nd—align weapon, bull’s strength, inflict moderate wounds (DC 15), lesser restoration, owl’s wisdom, spiritual weapon 1st—bless, divine favor (x2), remove fear, shield of faith (x2) 0th—create water, guidance, light, resistance, stabilize Spontaneous casting—cure spells Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +17 (+21 casting defensively) 3/day—acid splash Statistics Str 16, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 16 Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 24 Feats Combat Casting,Dazzling Display (B), Greater Weapon Focus (heavy mace) (B), Improved Initiative, Selective Channel, Shatter Defenses (B), Skill Focus (Intimidate), Spell Focus (conjuration), Trailblazing Channel, Toughness, Varisian Tattoo (conjuration), Weapon Focus (heavy mace) (B), Weapon Specialization (heavy mace) (B) Skills Diplomacy +9, Heal +9, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (religion) +6, Linguistics +1, Perception +7, Ride +6, Sense Motive +9 Languages Celestial, Common, Giant, Varisian SQ blessings (10/day, freedom’s shout, liberation, lucky presence, unlucky enemy),fervor (10/day, 5d6),legendary, no breath, sacred armor (+3, 14 minutes/day) Gear 38,400 gp, +1 spell storing heavy mace, starsong mail, Icicle Crown, belt of physical prowess (Str, Con), rod of extend spell, cloak of resistance +1, scroll of speak with dead, wand of cure light wounds (20 charges), 4 starknives, 500 gp worth of diamond dust, 2 gold bracelets (for sacred bond), 2 flasks holy water,15 gp Special Abilities Legendary (Ex) Daisy is built on 25 point buy. In addition to her NPC equipment, she possesses an artifact, the Icicle Crown. These advantages increase her CR by +1.

[timpaniejewelry]

✨️NEW DESIGN DROP✨️

Introducing the first necklace in the Barbie Collection-- the Sugarplum Princess Necklace🩰

It will be available for preorder on April 21 so go ahead and mark your calendars!

The 3D render and eventually the sample will be posted before the preorder date so make sure to keep updated when we post✨️

The necklace will be gold plated sterling silver and the pendant is 3.5 cm long and will feature tiny pink cz stones. The chain will be 40 cm long. Also, there's a little heart charm that is a replica of Clara's necklace in the movie.

[semper-legens]

45. Sunbringer, by Hannah Kaner

Owned?: No, library Page count: 367 My summary: Kissen, the girl who dedicated her life to killing gods, is dying. But she's not out for the count yet. Her life may be in the hands of the gods she swore to kill, but her choices are still her own. And there's a much bigger, much scarier god on the horizon. Arren; once just a king, now literally hosting a god in his heart, burning from the inside. Elo's former commander. Elo's former love. When Arren marches on his own people, there are precious few who can stop him. But if they don't, the god will burn through the land… My rating: 3.5/5 My commentary:

Sorry for the sporadic updates over here! I've been weirdly busy lately, which translates both to having no time to write up books, and less time to read them. Not helped by the fact that many of the things I am reading are on the longer side. But I hope to be a bit more active over here now! This book is the sequel to one I read a while back, Godkiller - I found it interesting enough at the time to keep an eye out for the sequel when it dropped, and got my hands on a copy after the wait list at the library had died down a tad. I enjoyed Godkiller, on the whole, though I did have a couple of reservations about its storytelling. And by and large, the same holds true here! While I had a few quibbles here and there, this is overall a solid series that held my interest quite well.

The worldbuilding in this book continues to be excellent. I did have a problem acclimating at first, having naturally forgotten a lot of what was established in the first book, but to be fair the narrative caught me up quite well. I was very immersed in the environment after that, fully believing and buying into the world presented here. There's so many little details, and without a huge dump of exposition - the reader picks things up from context clues and from asides by the characters, it's very neatly done. I found myself getting absorbed into the setting very easily.

And our characters remain strong. Kissen's determination, Elo's worldweariness, Inara's search for herself; all of them are strong throughlines. There seems to be an push and pull with Inara where she's finding herself between Kissen and Elo in terms of role models - she ultimately finds herself with Kissen's tenacity, but not necessarily her ruthlessness, and Elo's compassion, but with a harder edge. But she's still her own person, and forging towards her own destiny, which tests her relationship with Skedi, the god of white lies who is attached to her. I really enjoyed their relationship, they're so close but Inara's actions are forcing Skedi to reconsider who she is and how he feels about her, despite him being very dependant on her. Elo becomes a commander once again, in charge of a resistence to Arren this time, and if you know anything about me you know I love male characters that are burdened by their sense of duty. Elo's pain was delicious. And then there's Kissen - angry, alone, isolated, on her one-woman journey to save the realm at all costs. I love how uncompromising she was in the face of the gods, considering each decision she made and deliberating over her choices in terms of her own morality, not the morality that the gods decided for her. Especially when it leads to tragedy.

What else? The other characters that populate this world are very believable. I grew pretty attached to the city and the inkers Elo helps - although the narrative proved a bit clumsy around Naia, a trans woman in that group whose identity just kind of gets announced in her introduction. The effort is appreciated, the execution less so. The battle scenes are really disjointed, but I mean that as a compliment; this kind of guerilla warfare is disjointed and confusing, and I think the narrative portrays it well. I'm fond of this world, and when the inevitable third part of this series shows up, I'll probably read that too.

Next up, puppets and robots and fairies, oh my!

[theoutcastrogue]

Your post reminded me: do you know of any strangulation rules in 3.x or 5e? I'ma rebuild the sphinx.

Dragon Magazine #355 had rules for strangulation (see below the cut), it's like a grapple which prevents the target from breathing for as long as it's maintained. They begin to suffocate when they run out of breath. So it's about as effective and quick as drowning, i.e. not at all unless the target has abysmal CON.

In Song & Silence (3.0) there were rules for garrote attacks and garrotes as exotic weapons, but they only did damage and prevented the target from casting, they didn't really strangle. These rules were updated to 3.5 in Dragon #316.

5e has garrote rules hidden in two monster entries (ettercap in Monster Manual and Ghald the sahuagin assassin in Princes of the Apocalypse) and they do prevent breathing, see here.

For reference, in 3.5 you can hold your breath for (2xCON score) rounds before you start making CON checks (DC 10, increases by 1 every round). If you fail, you begin to drown: you immediately fall unconscious at 0 hp, next round you drop to -1, and on the third round you die.

In 5e you can hold it for (1+CON modifier) minutes, minimum 30 seconds. Then you have (CON modifier, minimum 1) more rounds to find air, and after that you fall to 0 hp and are dying.

So no matter how you go about strangling people, it's gonna take a while, a lot of more than the couple or at most handful of rounds most combats last.

[dandelion-wings]

I have been waiting for a while to have the free time to write up Kaeya's Vision story in the Adventurer Kaeya AU, and also saving it as a treat. Which I am cashing in today! :> Some of the background in here may already be jossed by the 3.5 updates, I have seen some very confusing slivers of spoilers, but I do not care. It's going to be at least a month before I can play through that stuff to take it into account, I wanted to write this today, and any edits that will be required by new lore can be a problem for Future Me if I ever clean any of this up for AO3 (which, if it happens, will not be for A While).

Thanks as always to @theabysscomeshome both for originating this whole AU in the first place, and brainstorming through the details with me. <3

---

ETA: Now available on AO3.

---

The commission is going well, by Bennett's standards. It had been a little risky for them to venture into the freezing environs of Dragonspine, he knows that, even if they were only briefly on the lower slopes. Katheryne had been uncertain about giving him the commission, and Kaeya had been uncertain about taking it, enough so to suggest a handful of others. But there's been plenty of torches along the way, and only two of them had given him any trouble lighting them up.

Now that they've finally located the tunnel entrance they need, which he has to admit *did* take a while, they've descended far enough beneath the snowline underground that they don't even need torches anymore. Which is good, because there aren't any. The ruins buried here really are ancient, and Bennett isn't sure anyone's actually been here since they were buried. Though someone must have been, for the scholar who placed the commission to have known what she was looking for.

"Okay, the commission says that the reliefs we're supposed to take rubbings of are in the fourth chamber, and we're in the third," Bennett says, double-checking his notes. "I don't see a door... but check out this wall! I bet it's hidden in this one."

He bounds up to the wall to the left, where a series of circles are inset, each with a different pattern of indented dots. They're arranged in a square, with one at the center that depresses when he pushes on it, though that gets him nothing but an empty click as it resets. The other four don't depress, but when he puts his fingers in the dots, he finds that they rotate instead.

"I imagine we have to line them up with this," Kaeya says, brushing his fingers over the other dots indented on the wall itself. "Though we'll need to work out what shape they're supposed to make."

"Or we can just try them in different positions until we find one that works! We could use Dad's rule of elimination."

"That's going to take quite a while, if you plan to test them all."

Bennett glances over his shoulder. Kaeya is hunched in on himself a little, arms crossed. Maybe it's colder in here than Bennett had realized, with his Vision keeping his warm. Kaeya doesn't have anything but the fur-lined jacket one of their dads had given him for his last birthday, and while Bennett knows it's warm--Kaeya has dropped it over his shoulders often enough when his own jacket has gotten scorched or torn--it's not quite up to Dragonspine's weather. Kaeya has always hated being cold.

At the same time, when he glances around, he doesn't see anything on the walls or ceiling or floor that would work as a guide. "Why don't I start testing them while you look around for clues?" he suggests. "You're better at finding those anyway, and if there aren't any, that way I've already started trying the combinations."

"Whatever you say, Team Leader Bennett." Kaeya sounds less teasing than he usually does when he calls Bennett that, which probably means he really is cold, but he takes a few steps back, examining the larger pattern on the wall.

Bennett turns back and starts to turn the circles, depressing the central circle after each one. They keep resetting with a series of clicks, right back to their starting points. He's so focused on keeping a mental track of which combinations he's eliminated that he doesn't realize there's an *extra* click from behind him until Kaeya yelps. Bennett spins about just in time to see Kaeya teetering on the edge of a hole that had suddenly appeared in the floor, then topple in.

"Kaeya!" Bennett kneels at the edge of the pit. It's not too deep, thankfully, only about ten feet down, and Kaeya is at the bottom looking more annoyed than stunned. "Are you okay?"

"I will be once you get me out of here."

"I've got you!" Bennett pulls a coil of rope out of his pack and glances around. There's no really good spots to secure it, but there's a broken pillar not far away that will kind of do. He lashes it there, doubtfully eyes the crumbling stone, and then goes back to the edge and ties the rope around his waist, too, before lying down and starting to lower the end to Kaeya. That way there's two anchors.

The rope pulls uncomfortably tight around his waist as Kaeya swarms up it, and then Kaeya has to climb directly over him, but he's very careful not to step on Bennett as he comes. Bennett springs up and starts to unlash the rope while Kaeya brushes himself clean of dirt and straightens his jacket. There's a big gross splotch on the back that he's not going to like when he takes it off.

"I'm sorry," Bennett tells him, looking guiltily at the splotch. "I guess I got unlucky again, finding that combination before the right one...."

"How about you just refrain from touching anything else, hmm?" Despite the lilting tone, there's a frosty edge to Kaeya's voice that makes Bennett shrink back, his guilt redoubled. Kaeya spares him barely a glance before he goes back to examining the wall.

It probably *was* Bennett's bad luck, is the thing. They'd been doing so well that it had to come along sooner or later to mess things up. That's always how it goes. Bennett's used to that, and he's used to people being annoyed about it, but Kaeya usually takes it much more in stride. Is he still unhappy that Bennett picked this commission, instead of one of the easier ones? Or is he just getting tired of tagging along with Bennett's bad luck in general?

That's always been a fear at the back of Bennett's mind, ever since he joined the Guild himself and started up his team. Every other member he manages to recruit quits because of it sooner or later, even if Katheryne's nice enough to tell him that they've put themselves on leave. Kaeya has stuck it out for two years now without any complaints--but he is Bennett's brother, so he probably feels like he has to. He's really good, Bennett knows that; if it wasn't for him, Bennett would have failed a lot more commissions. Any other team would be glad to have him.

"Here," Kaeya says after a minute, and spins the corner circles before reaching out to depress the center one. Instead of the usual clicks, the stone grates as lines appear in the wall, and a triangular door slides open.

"That was awesome!" Bennett darts forward, only for Kaeya to catch him with a hand on his shoulder and push him back. It's more than fair, after the last mishap, but Bennett's stomach still squirms as he falls in behind Kaeya and lets his big brother take the first steps inside. The worst part is that he can't blame Kaeya for not wanting him to mess anything else up.

***

The way Bennett shrinks under Kaeya's cautioning hand sends a pang of guilt through him. He shouldn't have made the comment he did, not if he couldn't pull off the tone. Maybe not even then. It's not Bennett's fault that the mechanism had done exactly what it had supposed to do. Frankly, Kaeya is surprised that it hadn't happened sooner. Any wrong combination was probably supposed to do exactly that, and the floor was just so old and jammed up by dirt and mud from the ruins' collapse that only a few of the floor tiles still worked as intended.

He's just on edge, and has been since Bennett jumped at this commission. It should be a stroke of *good* luck, for him. His handler has long since given him standing orders to take any commissions available that involve Dragonspine, and report back with any information he gathers about the ruins there. Kaeya's sure that, whoever they are, they'll be pleased that one has finally come his way.

But he doesn't know why they're so interested, or what, exactly, he's meant to bring back. And, more to the point, he isn't sure how they'll feel about involving Bennett. Kaeya had tried to sell him on any of several monster-clearing missions, where the worst harm that his bad luck could cause would be injuries during the fight--injuries that would give him a good reason to leave Bennett home to recuperate while he doubled back to take this one on his own. But Bennett had been insistent, and so now Kaeya has to worry about what dark secrets might be lurking down here that might endanger Bennett to be privy to.

There's *something*, though. He can be sure of that, because on the wall in front of them, right across the chamber, is an ancient and familiar seal.

"That must be what we're supposed to take rubbings of!" Bennett says, some of his exuberance rebounding as he spots the reliefs in his Vision's glow. "Let's just light this torch- do you think it's a trap, too?"

His hesitation makes guilt twinge through Kaeya again. Bennett's a good kid, and he'll apologize to anyone caught up in his bad luck, but he's too irrepressible to be kept down by their anger for long. When it's one of their dads or Kaeya, though, he takes it a whole lot harder.

Glancing over, Kaeya confirms in an instant that there's no triggers lurking around the torch. "I'm sure it's not," he tells Bennett, turning further to give him a smile, but Bennett is looking deliberately away from him as he walks up, rather than bounds up, to light it. Kaeya makes an effort to keep the smile as he turns back to the relief, so Bennett doesn't mistake his expression.

Kaeya's memories of his childhood slip further and further away every year, but some of them remain too well-engraved to ever forget. The seal of the kings of Khaenri'ah is one of them. No wonder his handler had wanted him to take any chance he could get to poke around on Dragonspine. There's going to be another door hidden in that wall, behind the seal, and beyond it will be ancient secrets, or treasures, or even weapons preserved against the Cataclysm.

"I'll get the rubbings," Bennett says, scrambling to dig the paper and charcoal out of his pack.

"Whoa," Kaeya says, starting forward before Bennett can do more than pull them out. "Why don't I do that?"

The trigger for the door will be somewhere in the seal, and while it should take careful precision to activate it, Kaeya can envision all too well how Bennett's luck would strike to set it off accidentally. If it's just treasure or books back there, that might not be too much of a disaster, but if it's weapons.... For that matter, even secrets and treasure could be a problem if Bennett sees too much, or Kaeya has to convince him to leave perfectly good treasure alone. He hates squelching Bennett again, but he can't risk any of it.

As he'd feared, Bennett's shoulders slump, and he scowls down at the floor as he hands the paper and charcoal over. "I guess we'd fail the commission if I chipped it, right?"

"And here I figured it was my turn to do something useful, since you did all the hard work getting us here," Kaeya offers, but Bennett still refuses to meet his eyes. Doing his best to shrug that off, Kaeya steps forward and sets the paper against the seal.

Getting the rubbing shouldn't be a problem, as long as he doesn't set the triggers in it off. He's pretty sure he remembers what order they go in, and he knows they start on the left, so he starts the rubbing on the right and works his way gradually across. It won't do any harm to get this--a researcher from Sumeru might know what it is, but she won't have any time to act on it so long as Kaeya doubles back tonight. He'll open the door, he'll grab whatever's behind it, and then he can stash it in a dead-drop for his handler and there won't be anything left for the scholar to find later. Neither she nor Bennett ever have to know.

He's most of the way through, still taking it carefully to avoid setting any security measures off, when he hears Bennett yelp. Spinning around, Kaeya sees Bennett taking several steps back from some metal plates in the floor that seem to be rising out of it, a glow manifesting at their core-

"Look out!" Kaeya drops the paper and flings himself forward, going for his sword, as the Ruin Scout's tentacles whip free of the floor and it tilts sideways to lunge at Bennett in a headbutt.

"Wah!" Bennett has his sword out, too, and he swings wildly at the Ruin Scout in a burst of flame. "What's that?!"

It's a good question. Kaeya has never seen Ruin Sentinels in Mondstadt before. There's *definitely* something important behind that seal. He falls in beside Bennett, moving in unconscious synchronicity to circle around the Ruin Scout and pin it between the two of them. It rotates, trying to chose an opponent, and Kaeya slashes at it from one side while Bennett does the same from the other, making the tentacles flap.

There's something charging between them, though, and Kaeya knows it's going to hit back in a second. He and Bennett could handle it, he's fairly sure, though there's some ominous buzzing and clicking from beyond various cracks and holes in the stone walls that suggest there's going to be more upon them shortly if they stay. It could get rough in a few moments.

But he has a bigger problem. If there's something valuable enough around here to leave Ruin Sentinels to guard it, he can't bring back that seal. There's way too much chance that whatever's behind it is going to be too big or complicated to easily move, and the scholar will no doubt make the same realization about its value as soon as she gets Bennett's report. He can't take that risk.

"Stay on it!" he calls to Bennett, slashing in again as the glow between the Ruin Scout's tentacles intensify. Two strikes, another blaze of flame from Bennett, and then the power discharges, knocking them both back. Kaeya deliberately loosens his grip on his sword as he stumbles, and lets it fly from his hand and go skittering away.

"Kaeya!" Bennett yelps, and comes rushing around the Ruin Scout in worry.

As if on cue, a Ruin Cruiser comes through one of the holes in the wall, and a Ruin Defender bursts up through the cracking floor. Kaeya steps sideways, kicks his sword further out of reach, and grabs Bennett's arm. "We're going to have to give up on this one."

"No way! We can take them!" Bennett protests, trying to pull away and go for Kaeya's sword. "They have to have weak spots, we just have to find them! I can keep us going-"

"Long enough to outlast however many come through the wall?" Kaeya drags Bennett between the Scout and the encroaching Cruiser towards the door.

"But-"

"I'm not hanging around to fight a bunch of mystery monsters because you tripped over the wrong spot on the floor," Kaeya snaps, regretting the venom he has to put into his tone.

Bennett makes a muffled, miserable sound and stops pulling back as Kaeya yanks him through the last hidden door, spinning about and slamming the central circle. The door slams closed, muffling the whine of the Cruiser's laser as it fires at the spot where they just stood.

He doesn't fight all the way up the tunnel, which Kaeya takes faster than necessary--the Ruin Sentinels shouldn't chase them much past the room they're guarding. If he keeps Bennett rushed off his feet, though, he doesn't have time to push back or ask questions. They burst out into the freezing air of Dragonspine and Kaeya gasps at the sudden assault on his lungs, cold air prickling through them. He's suddenly, intensely aware that the whole lower back of his jacket is damp.

"Awww, man," Bennett mumbles, staring dispiritedly back down the tunnel. "Your sword...."

"I can afford a new sword," Kaeya says, and grasps for something to say that will balance out the hasty words below. "I can't afford a new brother, now can I?"

Bennett's shoulders only hunch further. "I bet you could if you wanted," he says, and he sounds on the verge of tears--but there's an unexpected edge of anger beneath them. "*Anyone* would want to team up with you."

Kaeya has no idea what to make of that. He puts a hand on Bennett's shoulder, feels it stiffen, and lifts it away. "Well, too bad for them. I'm on your team already."

"Yeah, until I make it too much work for you!" Bennett's head come up, and there *are* tears in his eyes, glinting and damp even as he glares. "We could've beaten them and still gotten the commission done. I *know* you could've gotten your sword back, and *you* know I could've kept us on our feet. Instead you just gave up!"

Acid roils in Kaeya's stomach, but he makes himself meet Bennett's eyes. "I might have panicked a little," he lies. "It's a little unnerving, dealing with all the strange things on Dragonspine."

"Yeah," Bennett mumbles, looking away again, the burst of anger fading. Kaeya has the itchy, uncomfortable feeling that he's seen through the lie. "I know. You didn't want to come up here in the first place. I'm the one who made you, so.... Let's just go home."

"That sounds good," Kaeya agrees, struggling to keep the light, lying lilt to his voice. "Why don't get Dad to make his famous hot chocolate. We'll both feel better for something warm and sweet."

***

It feels like Bennett is seeing all his worst fears come true right in front of him, and it's only worse that Kaeya is trying to be nice about it. Which of course he is; Kaeya always tries not to let it show when he's mad. Usually he does a better job of it, though, so Bennett knows this commission really must have been a tipping point.

This one wasn't even that bad, compared to how his luck usually goes. Not until the very end, with the weird mechanical monsters. Maybe it hadn't just been the bad luck that upset Kaeya. He'd looked at them like he recognized them for a moment, calculating the same way he does when they run into hilichurls or slimes, something they've both fought hundreds of times.

But then he'd had some kind of thought that made him miss a beat and get caught by the thing's discharge--is it a bad memory, maybe? He never talks much about his old dad or his life before the Guild, but Bennett knows he has nightmares. It could have been some kind of flashback that he didn't want to admit to, and that's why he'd given up on the fight.

Whatever it was, though, Bennett's achingly afraid that it might have been the last straw. If Bennett's bad luck has progressed to making nightmares from Kaeya's childhood appear in Mondstadt, he can't even blame Kaeya for deciding that's just too much.

He sits and drinks hot chocolate and watches Kaeya twitch nervously across the kitchen table, refusing to meet Bennett's eyes. At last Kaeya declares that he's going to go see about a new sword before the shop closes and goes bolting out, leaving his cup behind him. One of their dads glances in as he picks it up and raises an eyebrow.

"Kaeya never leaves food behind. It went that badly?"

"My bad luck struck again," Bennett says, and tries to force a chuckle. It doesn't really come out right. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Then you don't have to," his dad says, ruffling his hair.

He takes Bennett's cup, too, and goes to wash up. Bennett knows better than to offer to help. A few of his dads have taken to carving him wooden mugs and dishware, which at least don't leave sharp shards when he cracks them, but if there's a way to ruin them while cleaning, he'll find it. Especially on a day like today.

They'd gotten so close, too. Kaeya had almost finished the rubbing. Even if they'd had to run, if they could've just grabbed that and taken it back, at least they'd have finished the commission....

"I'm gonna go on a walk," he tells his dad, pushing his chair back and standing up. "Don't wait up, okay? I'm- I'm probably going to go visit Razor."

"Take care," his dad says, glancing over his shoulder to give Bennett a sympathetic smile.

Bennett only feels a little bad for lying. Maybe on the way back he *can* swing by Wolvendom and visit Razor, so that won't even be a lie. But he has to get back to Dragonspine first. The monsters have probably gone back in their holes by now, so he'll have enough time to get the last couple inches of the rubbing, right? If he has to run away after, it's not like it'll be the first time. He just can't give up on the commission when they were so close to finishing it.

Maybe if he does finish it, Kaeya will be impressed enough not to quit the team after all. He knows that isn't likely, but it's a nice thought. An adventurer has to keep his hopes up.

***

Kaeya isn't lying when he leaves, not exactly. He does stop by Wagner's to buy another sword. And then he straps it on and heads back out the city gates with a casual wave to the guards, like he always gives, so they won't think anything of it. If he moves fast enough, maybe he can get in and out of that ruin before the torches Bennett lit burn out.

He's tempted to just send a note to his handler about the location of the stash and let them take it from there. But he doesn't know what resources his handler has in Mondstadt--doesn't know who they are, or who else might work for them, or what magic they may have available. For all he knows, he'll just get a note back telling him to retrieve it. He's been sent to grab other things for his masters before. He might as well cut out the middleman and at least find out what's there before he sends his report.

Besides, this way, if Bennett wants to go back and try again, Kaeya won't have to try and talk him out of it. His gut still clenches at the memory of what he'd said to justify leaving. What hurts more, though, was how quickly Bennett's anger had burned itself out and turned into misery instead. He hates when other people leave Bennett that discouraged. It burns to know that he'd done the exact same thing.

One way or another, he'll make it up to Bennett. He just has to get this out of the way first.

The Ruin Sentinels have gone quiet again by the time he reaches the third chamber, which is a relief. Kaeya hadn't looked forward to having to fight his way through them alone. But he had suspected the door sealing might shut them down, and when it opens up again, they're quiescent; now that he knows where they'd come from, he can see the places where various cubes fit into holes in the floor and walls. He steps very carefully so as not to trigger any of them as he heads back to the seal.

Kaeya still keeps his fingers crossed and one eye on the cubes as he presses the trigger-points spiraling around the seal, one by one, waiting for each to click into place and stay down before he moves on to the next. If he messes this up, there's a good chance that will also wake the Ruin Sentinels again. When he reaches the last one, at the very center of the seal, he holds his breath while he pushes it down. A triangular chunk of the wall slides open.

Beyond it is a treasure trove.

Not the kind of treasure that most people would recognize as such. But Kaeya can see the writing engraved on the stone slates scattered all about the tiny room, an alphabet that he remembers well from his childhood, though he doesn't immediately recognize the words. He steps inside carefully, quietly, glancing back one more time at the dormant cubes in the walls outside, and then turns to deciphering the Khaenri'ahan script.

Once he starts to make out a language he once knew by heart, his breath catches. He won't be able to carry all of this out on his own, not in one trip. But he has to drop a note for his handler as soon as possible, because he *knows* they'll want this. There's slate after slate, each describing other locations, listing where they lie and what they contain, a list of precious artifacts and ancient weapons and scientific research that anyone loyal to the cause would be desperate to get their hands on.

That researcher would be too, if she saw this. Kaeya is going to have to talk Bennett out of coming back here after all.

As he turns back to the doorway, he can hear the sounds of the Ruin Sentinels starting to power up.

For a moment, Kaeya assumes they're reacting to him--that he'd brushed something when he'd crouched to read a slate on the floor, or stepped on a hidden trigger while approaching another. Then he hears a familiar, startled yelp, and his heart seizes in his chest. *Bennett.*

Drawing his sword, Kaeya rushes out of the room. The Ruin Scout of earlier has been joined by two more, and that's two Ruin Defenders bursting up alongside them. He flings himself at them from behind, striking their exposed backsides while Bennett hacks furiously and uselessly at their shields. He drives his blade through one's core, and it shudders and falls apart in a shower of parts.

"Kaeya!" Bennett cries. "What are you doing here? Is that another door?"

Kaeya grits his teeth against a word his dads would be horrified to hear him using and flourishes his blade as the other Defender rotates to present its shield to him. "Is now really the time to worry about that?"

"I've got you!" Bennett hits the Defender from behind with a blazing strike, and it, too, falls to the floor.

That does nothing about the Scouts, or the Destroyers bursting one by one from the floor, or the Cruisers flinging themselves from the walls. There's far more than there had been before. The rest must have activated in waves, in response to the initial activation, maybe powered up by the elemental energy that brief fight had put into the air. Kaeya jumps over the ruin of the Defender to stand by Bennett's side.

"There sure are a lot of them! But I bet we can take them this time," Bennett says, and Kaeya can hear the quiver of nervousness under the bravado. "Benny's Adventure Team can handle anything, right?"

"You've got that right," Kaeya says, adding in some false bravado of his own. He's pretty sure he's selling it better than Bennett is.

"Teamwork is dreamwork!"

Ruin Sentinels swirl around them, and Kaeya and Bennett turn to meet them, back-to-back. If there'd just been a few, this wouldn't be so difficult. But they keep coming; every time they knock one down, another is there to fill in the gap. Bennett's Inspiration Field helps, but it's keeping them on their feet, nothing more. Kaeya isn't sure if they can finish all the Sentinels before they hit a point where Bennett can't keep it up any longer.

"They're coming through the walls," Bennett calls over his shoulder over the sound of a Ruin Cruiser, aflame, shuddering apart. "Are there holes like these in that room there? If we can get in there, they can only come at us from one direction!"

He's right. Despite himself, Kaeya is proud of Bennett's strategic thinking. And there *aren't* holes in those walls; the builders of that cache wouldn't have wanted to risk it being damaged in a fight. Which is exactly why Kaeya should keep Bennett, and the battle, out here.

But from the strain in his voice, Bennett is flagging. Kaeya knows that he is, too. He's not helping Khaenri'ah if he gets killed by a bunch of Ruin Sentinels, right? Grabbing Bennett's arm, he throws himself sideways through a gap between Ruin Defenders, and they both tumble into the small, slope-roofed space of the room.

"What are all these?" Bennett looks around in wonder at the slates. "That scholar's going to be stoked! Maybe we'll get a bonus."

"Let's worry about that once the fight is done," Kaeya says, ruthlessly shoving his own panic at that statement to the back of his mind, and turns towards the door.

A few Defenders fling themselves forward, crab-leaping at them, but Kaeya takes advantage of the momentary vulnerability to stab upward and get one in the core. The other lands and throws up its shield before Bennett can do the same. It can't get at them without dropping the shield, though, so Kaeya turns his attention to a Destroyer trying to burrow up through the floor and lets Bennett catch it at the moment it does bring its shield up to make a strike. A few Cruisers dive for the upper part of the door, hit the edges, and make themselves easy prey for a stab and a flaming strike respectively.

They keep throwing themselves at the door for a few hectic seconds, meeting Kaeya and Bennett's paired blades. Only the Destroyers, with their burrowing ability, have any chance of catching them unawares, and Kaeya is able to turn enough to dispatch the handful that make the attempt. Then the Ruin Sentinels pull back, hesitating a moment in eerie unison as their cores blink in some kind of pattern.

"Uh-oh," Bennett says, echoing Kaeya's wariness. "Do you think they're communicating somehow?"

"Something like that."

The blinking turns to a familiar glow as the Cruisers and Defenders spread themselves wide, their cores charging. Kaeya wishes, briefly and passionately, for a bow. But to rush them while their cores are exposed would just bring him back into the disadvantageous field of the wider room, and the remaining Scouts hover with their heads lowered, clearly waiting for such a move. He glances around the room, looking for some kind of door control, anything at all on this side-

"We've got to dodge forward," Bennett says, elbowing Kaeya in the side. "As soon as they fire!"

"But the slates-" Kaeya bites off the protest, as if he can keep Bennett from realizing that they're important if he just doesn't mention them.

"I'd rather lose out on the commission than lose my brother," Bennett says stoutly, and starts to twitch forward.

Too early. The hum of the Ruin Sentinels has reached a fever pitch, but Kaeya has been timing their bolts and lasers. They won't fire for another second yet, and they'll have time to readjust as Bennett moves. For a single, calculating moment, Kaeya considers letting him do it. He'd draw the fire, the slates would be safe, Kaeya could get past the Sentinels while they were recharging, and-

"Wait!" Kaeya grabs Bennett's arm, holding him back the extra second, and then flings them both forwards, crashing together onto the ground. He hears the shattering of stone behind them and doesn't look back. Instead he grabs Bennett and rolls them both over, sideways, as the Ruin Scouts rush towards where they'd landed and slam into each other and the floor, then hauls Bennett up onto his feet with him and starts for the far door. There's something terrible and cold in his stomach, spreading through his chest, at the thought that he might for even a moment have contemplated anything else.

Just as he reaches the threshold, three more Ruin Destroyers come slamming up through the floor, scattering chips of rock in a spray as they rise up to block their path. One of them slams its head down and sweeps it about. Kaeya jumps back just in time, but Bennett, a bit slower, gets caught by the heavy metal head and yowls in pain as he's slammed into the wall beside the door. He slides down the wall to the floor and doesn't bounce back up again.

Kaeya hisses the word he'd bitten back earlier and slashes out at the writhing trunk of the Destroyer as it comes back upright. One of the others is throwing down a glittering energy field, and he hurls himself right through that, ignoring the pain of the pure energy crawling over his skin and swiping out sideways to lash through its core as he dives for his brother.

Hauling Bennett, limp and pale, up in his free arm, Kaeya turns about to see the third Destroyers head spasm open to fire a small energy orb. He turns himself sideways to put his body between it and Bennett, raising his blade like it's going to help. He sways on his feet as he moves, the room spinning. The cold spreading through him grows stronger. He and Bennett are both about to die down here.

Then the cold flares, the very air around him growing intensely, bitterly chill, and a hard-edged, geometric dome appears just beyond his upraised blade. The Destroyer's energy bolts splash uselessly against it. Kaeya gapes in astonishment, then catches himself when he sees a Cruiser rising up behind the Destroyer. There's no time to worry about what the hell happened. They have to *go*.

Scrambling back over the threshold, Kaeya reaches up and slams the hilt of his sword into the central circle that makes the door slam shut. He can hear energy blasts and lasers striking against the stone on the far side, and once again, this time with real fear pounding through him, and races up the tunnel towards the surface. The sounds of the riled Ruin Sentinels fall into silence behind him as he takes the twists and turns.

When he reaches the exit and stumbles out into Dragonspine's air, beneath the stars shining overhead, somehow his first breath gasping doesn't feel like a blow. The chill of fear is still permeating all through him. Kaeya shivers reflexively, but it's because he feels like he should, not because he's actually that cold. He looks down as Bennett stirs in his arms and sees something glowing, pale and faintly blue-toned, hooked on the left lapel of his winter jacket.

"K'ya?" Bennett mumbles, blinking sleepily. He squints, frowns, and then grabs at Kaeya's shoulder to steady himself as he reaches up with the other hand to touch the gleaming, ice-cold gem. "Oh, *wow*."

"Yeah," Kaeya says, feeling numb. "Wow."

"That's so cool!" Bennett is still pale and obviously shaky, but he wriggles free of Kaeya's grip to lean in and peer at the Vision. "You got that saving me, didn't you? The gods must've been really impressed by whatever you did."

"I'm sure they were." Kaeya still feels cold all through, the chill of the Vision seeping straight down to his bones. "It doesn't make me any more immune to Dragonspine, though, unfortunately. We should get ourselves out of the snow."

"Oh, yeah, we probably should," Bennett says, chuckling ruefully and rubbing at the back of his head. He takes a few steps forward and wobbles on his feet.

Kaeya reaches out and puts his arm around Bennett's shoulders again, offering him some support. Bennett pulls a sheepish face, but loops his arm around Kaeya's neck. He's always been warm, had even before he got his Vision and more so afterwards, but now he feels downright hot. Kaeya resists the urge to flinch from that heat and tugs him closer. As they make their way down the mountain, holding each other up, he feels Bennett's warmth seep into him, driving back the numb chill of his own silent horror.

***

Bennett's legs give out shortly after they reach the foot of the mountain. It's embarrassing to have Kaeya pause and haul him up onto his back, but it's kind of nice, too. Bennett clings close to him, feeling a faint chill rising from him even through his warm jacket, and tries to pour as much heat out of his Vision and through his arms as he can to warm him up. It's probably just his Vision, but Kaeya *has* always hated being cold.

They're halfway down the road to Mondstadt when Bennett dares ask, "What was that room you found?"

He may not know, but Kaeya must. When Bennett had walked into the fourth chamber, before he'd tripped over one of the monsters and woken them all up, he'd seen Kaeya crouched down inside the little room, intensely studying one of the stone tablets in there. He'd been paying it so much attention that he hadn't even noticed Bennett.

"It just opened up behind the seal," Kaeya says, his shoulders going tense under Bennett's hands and his grip tightening on Bennett's thighs. "I thought I'd try to finish the rubbing, and I must have hit some kind of mechanism."

Kaeya is a good liar, but he always tenses up when he does it, just a little. That wasn't what he'd been there for. Had it been the tablets? The markings on them had meant nothing to Bennett, in the brief glance he'd gotten while scrambling into the room, but Kaeya isn't from Mondstadt. He'd barely been able to read Mond when he first arrived. Maybe the tablets were in a language he'd recognized.

"You could read those tablets, couldn't you?" Bennett remembers how Kaeya been scrabbling at the walls while the monsters charged their shots, as if trying to close the doors. He hadn't wanted those tablets damaged. "Were they important?"

"Not as important as you." Kaeya can't turn his head all the way to look at Bennett like this, but he glances back as well as he can, so Bennett can see half of his smile. He *means* this smile. It's too small and soft and fond to be otherwise.

"You're going to stay on my adventuring team, right?"

"Of course I am." Kaeya sounds surprised. "Why wouldn't I? You're my *brother*."

"But my bad luck-"

"Isn't your fault," Kaeya says firmly, almost vehement. "What I said earlier... was cruel, and I didn't truly mean it. I had other concerns on my mind, and I shouldn't have taken them out on you."

The tight, clenched fear in Bennett's chest eases at last. It doesn't matter what Kaeya was doing, or what secret he's trying to keep. All that matters is that he still cares about Bennett.

"It's fine," he tells Kaeya. "Everyone loses their temper now and then! Our dads say so, right? As long as you're staying on my team, I don't mind."

He can feel Kaeya's shoulders relaxing again. Kaeya shifts his grip to tug Bennett in more snugly against his back. "You don't need to worry. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Reassured, Bennett leans forward to rest his chin on Kaeya's shoulder. Mondstadt is rising up in front of them, windmills turning slowly in the evening breeze, the starlight glittering off the lake. Maybe it's not where Kaeya came from, but it's his home now. His Vision proves it. Proves he's Bennett's brother, too, and cares about him just as much as Bennett cares for him. As long as that's true, Bennett isn't going to worry about anything else. Kaeya can keep all the secrets he wants. Bennett trusts his big brother.

[mithrilhearts]

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐌𝐨 - 𝐃𝐚𝐲 22

I'm doing this at the beginning of day 22, but I figured, I hadn't done one of these for a long time so let's see what I've accomplished.

Just to recap my list of goals...

20k word count

Finish both THAUC fics (3.5 chapters to go in total)

Work on my oneshot for @/tolkienpinupcalendar's 2024 calendar

Finish outlining - Kurdu 'abadaz

Finish outlining - Let Only By The Stars (coming 2024)

Editing (there's lots of this to do...)

Post at least (2) fic updates, alongside my 2 Scribbles & Drabbles oneshots

Begin structuring my 2024 writing goals

What I've accomplished so far...

Finished one of my THAUC fics!

I am getting ready to start the last chapter of my SECOND THAUC fic!

I've done a little outlining between things, but that's been a bit few and far between.

I've managed some editing!!

I've started my year in review for 2023, and goal setting for 2024

I finished posting my fic "when darkness shines brightest!" and Scribbles and Drabbles drops on Saturday!

On a non-fandom related note, I've been spending a bunch of my time working on a start-up bakery business, which is why I've not done everything on that list yet, but I couldn't be happier!

The above image is my word count progress so far! Almost three quarters of the way there (hopefully by the end of the day!) and I'm feeling wonderful about this.

[lyricalsakura]

Dangerous Romance| Good. Could have been better

First of all, why is the title Dangerous Romance? Is it because of the social standing of the two leads? Or is it because really violence is involved?

Honestly speaking, the same trope of enemies to lovers and smart boy tutoring the dumb boy and falling in love has been overused, even by GMMTV standards. So, I will just write about a few things only

(Spoilers ahead for those who have not watched the series, so proceed with caution.)

Firstly, nobody is happy with their surroundings.

Sailom is poor but has a living relationship with his caring elder brother. He is a strong and dignified boy.

Kanghan is rich, has everything but feels neglected. Anybody else in Kanghan's place would have been happy but not Kanghan. Boy wants his father to focus on him. Which is absolutely right. There is less drama that is why they had to bring in bullying.

Sailom is poor but possess a spine of steel. He is the top student of his year and is getting a special scholarship to study in the prestigious school. And works when he is not studying to earn money.

Chimon was channeling his inner Wasuthorn when he was answering the math questions written on the whiteboard.

While at first disliking (or not really) Kanghan, he starts to become friends with him. Sailom's friendship changes Kanghan for good. I like how Perth managed to show the slow but gradual growth until he falls in love.

Sailom falls first but Kanghan falls harder. And Kanghan is not a windmill in love but a hurricane.

The upgrade of him from enemy to friend to lover to sugar daddy was pretty quick. And his possessiveness over his love is also immense but his heart is at the right place.

The actual flow of the story starts around episode 10. Kanghan gets mad at his dad and elopes with his boyfriend. But being the dutiful son-in-law and friend Sailom keeps Kanghan's dad updated. In fact, Kanghan's dad and grandma trust Sailom more than Kanghan. I was snorting a lot.

The plot thickens as Kang's father gets shot and Sailom's brother admits his fault. A rift starts between the two. Kanghan's love and possessiveness wins though. Sailom is wind and Kanghan is windmill. Without Sailom Kanghan is nothing.

The rest of the episodes are like Bollywood melodrama. Guns blazing, thugs entering hospital, firings ensued, Kanghan gets shot but no blood comes out. I am glad that they did not extend that shot otherwise I would really drop the series at that point.

The show mentioned teen escort services due to poverty which I was not ready to witness. Interesting addition ngl.

Chimon has always been a very strong actor. He eats up all kinds of roles. Perth too, has played his parts exceptionally well. I liked their dynamic, however stilted due to the script, in Never Let Me Go. And this series is a testament of their acting prowess.

The side couple of Nawa and Guy is much more interesting. Pawin and Marc have been main leads of My Gear, Your Gown series and are an established pair of BL world. They portray the same type of enemies to lovers trope but I enjoyed Nawa more than Pai because of his sassiness. And they are so cute!!!!!

Overall, it's an okay series. Maybe 3.5 out 5 from me.

Also posted on MDL

[xjoonchildx]

listen, I'm too drunk and tired for this, it's 5am where i am and I have class in 3.5 hours and I have no idea how I'm going to get up but I needed to get this update to you-

crushboy knows I like him, he said he's been getting those "vibes" from me all semester, he doesn't like me back but he cherishes me as a friend. Plus he scolded me because i was crying over him, because apparently i "deserve better"??? I was literally crying on his knee though, I think he just wanted me to stop crying, but then he said I deserve better and I started crying again lol

and then we had a cuddle pile on my friend's bed, but we're drunk so it doesn't mean anything. Lmaooooo I'll see what our dynamic is once we're sober

I know you said i have better things coming, and that's what my friends and crushboy told me too, but it doesn't feel that way. But it also doesn't hurt as much as i thought it would

so I'm not okay, but I think I will be. Sometime in the future.

thank you so much for reading my rambling 😭😭😭😭

- crushed anon

crushed anon i hope you have slept off this hangover by now.

it happens to the best of us 😭😭😭

the thing about something that sucks is that when you are in it, you can't see past it. right now this thing with crushboy is too fresh and too real and it's going to take some time for you to be able to see it for what it really is.

and it's not about crushboy being a terrible person or deserving to have a 50 lb iron dropped on his foot or an entire load of his white laundry turned pink by a single red sock (though if any of those things do happen well that's life my man, sucks to be you) but it's just about crushboy not being the hero in your story.

maybe you thought he was and maybe you tried to write him in and maybe you had to trash the whole doc because you realized it's not working. also maybe this has happened to me 🤣

so it's going to take a minute to move past crushboy as the main character. not saying he's not part of your story, but he's not the hero for damned sure. the good news is that whoever is coming down the pike is gonna be 4K and crushboy is gonna be 780p 🤣

merry christmas from me and @icklemissmayhem who are both rooting for you: