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#( but Noble's really trying to be patient with him as she can see how Zero is from a group that never grasps the concept of )
endexe · 3 years
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Okay, so this is an important, messy note to keep in mind when it comes to interacting with Zero is regardless of how close your muse are with Zero, there is still a high chance that he will end up hurting them one way or another.
Not only Zero have difficulty understanding how his actions and words may impact others exactly because he IS an eldritch monster designed to create chaos and pain to “ help “ others see the warning signs in what appears friendly, one of the things he represent is how being innocent and unaware will usually bring dangerous situations that could’ve been easily avoided if it weren’t for the lack of experiences and knowledge, but also, he is TOO curious to the point he will do harmful things to fulfil his curiosity, wanting to know what hurts them and how much they are provoked by it.
It can be something small like stomping on your muse’s feet out of no where, to stealing and keeping their most valuable item, to even worst such as betraying them. Also, having to be ordered by the World to these things with threats given can also be a reason why he commits them, but he doesn’t understand why would his actions / words hurt someone and how they do because no matter how much he interacts with humanity, more than any other Arcanists, he is still not a human being.
He will still even consider your muse his friend despite what he had done to them and he’d be genuinely confused and hurt if they react to his presence negatively and / or choose to harm him in return, not connecting your muse’s intentions / reactions with what he had done that would prompt them to have them. It’s something Zero needs A LOT of time and space to fully grasp the concept of sympathy and whatnot.
#( oh God do I really need to go over with the subject of murders with Zero???....... )#( I just??? I think. Zero doesn't usually kill unlike most other Arcanists )#( on purpose when he have only really killed people by ACCIDENT )#( unless he did while experiencing extreme emotion like rage which happens rarely )#( he DOES kill out of self defence or to defend those who are close to him )#( BUT it's not exactly because he likes them but mostly because he's just??? so curious and fascinated )#( with how they live change adapt etcetera )#( and he have this mindset that having to continue living is worst than being dead so )#( he's just curious to see how long can they live before life fully breaks them apart )#( but relating to that entire post itself )#( yeah like???? Zero sometimes hurt Noble and Grim in the end and Grim's extremely spiteful and bitter over that )#( but Noble's really trying to be patient with him as she can see how Zero is from a group that never grasps the concept of )#( kindness and sympathy exactly like Grim )#( I just??? I don't know what I'm saying anymore lmfao but just something to keep in mind )#( no matter how much I make him so... uwuwuwuwu he's still an extremely dangerous and unpredictable individual )#tbt#( Zero is still a very new character so I'm not one hundred percent certain with everything that I had thought of him so far )#( but yeah! hopefully I can try to reword this whole thing better )#( once I write with him and think about him more )#( ugh the way Zero gives me a big headache I'm so dsgsdgds... )
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its-chelisey-stuff · 3 years
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My 2020 in dramaland pt 1/4
I’m doing this at the start of december but I’m scheduling it to be posted on Christmas Eve, because that way I can say to everyone Happy holidays! Anyway, these are the Korean dramas I watched this year (listed in the order I saw them, NOT including my favorite dramas, those will have its own post!)
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Love Alarm (2019): I don’t think I need to say what this was about lol if you haven’t seen it, chances are, you’ve heard of it. This is like all those Netflix shows I binge in one day, hate them but still can’t help but want to know what happens next and immediately need a season 2. Btw, this drama has the type of love triangle that I tolerate the most: the men who like the girl are also BFFs and never actually turn against each other, or at least suffer because they don’t really want to hurt the other. Bros before hoes! Kinda.
OTP: Jojo&SunOh. Hate that I love them tbh. But it’s mostly all thanks to him. To me, KimSoHyun’s chemistry with SongKang is the best chemistry she’s ever had with any of her co-stars. Well, maybe it’s a tie with Jisoo. Sorry Jang DongYoon. 
Thing I enjoyed the most: Knowing there’s a second season coming. I NEED CLOSURE! Dramas should never have seasons, it’s cruel.
Do I recommend it? Uhm... Yes. But beware of old tropes like Noble Idiocy super idiotic, a FL that never speaks her mind and a whole lot of nonsense angst and pining. Hey, your average kdrama basically.
Crash Landing on You: You know she actually did crash land on him. Twice. I loved that they were so doomed, it was awesome. A forbidden and beautiful romance, they were all in for each other. He was handsome and cute I mean is HyunBin! but she was my favorite: brave, sassy, bold and a CEO. I hated when they shoot her. A pity they can only be happy in Switzerland, but I liked that about their ending. (I made a sort of review of the finale here)
OTP: Awesome chemistry, have you heard about all those dating rumors? But my favorite couple was actually the second lol. I will never forgive this drama for NOT giving them a happy ending. WTF? And that’s why it’s not in my fave’s list.
Thing I enjoyed the most: Apart from the love stories? North Korean soldiers from Captain Ri’s team. Bless them.
Do I recommend it? Oh, is there someone who hasn’t seen it? For real, go watch it. It’s a romcom for the ages. Lots of nonsense and cliches. Loved it, just *one* little flaw. ALBERTOOOO!
Witch’s Court (2018): A law drama. I never watch these types of dramas. Only did it because I had a crush on Yoon HyunMin at the time, my sister made me watch it (she also had a crush on him) and I thought there was going to be way more romance. Heavy subjects, a great mom’s love and a lot of prosecutor bs.
OTP: They were cute. Wish I’d seen more of them though.
Thing I enjoyed the most:  Yoon HyunMin. But the FL was awesome in her own right.
Do I recommend it? If you like law/criminal dramas and barely a hint of romance, this one is great. And justice is served at the end.
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Hospital Playlist: It was an adorable, peaceful and relaxing watch, not what you’d expect from a hospital themed drama. Very healing (no pun intended lol). And I loved the songs they played! The weird thing is that I kept forgetting about it, and that’s why it took me so long to finish it. 
OTP: I do have one, but not the one everyone ships: Dr Yang SeokHyung and his resident played by one awesome Ahn EunJin. She confessed, he turned her down gently, Buuu!!!. Waiting patiently for S2 and HOPE their love story develops more. Dramas shouldn’t have second seasons!
Thing I enjoyed the most: The friendship of the five besties duh
Do I recommend it? Awww but of course! if you liked the Reply Series and slice of life dramas, you will like this one. Only 12 eps but they were as long as a movie lol
WHY (minidrama) 2019: Two good friends trying to cheer up their bff who just got dumped (without any explanation hence driving him slowly into a mental breakdown and an identity crisis) by going on a Jeju vacation. In the guesthouse they’re staying, they encounter two awesome, chill and fun noonas. What you’ll see here: a moving story about heartbreak and letting go, bromance and noona romance.
OTP: While most of the time the lead was in deep heartbreak thanks to his awful ex, there was a subtle romance developing while he was healing. At the end, there’s a time jump and he’s totally in the right state of mind to completely be with her and give love another try. Lovely ending.
Thing I enjoyed the most: Jung GunJoo! AKA Dohwa from Extraordinary You!!!
Do I recommend it? Of course! It’s an adorable watch. And it only takes like 2 hours of your time, maybe less, I don’t recall. Here, you can watch it on YouTube. Also, not really a fan don’t hate me lol but there’s Hwang In Yeob as the bff of the lead. And he has a very meaningful role.
Where Your Eyes Linger (minidrama): First Korean BL drama I’ve ever watched and I’m so glad that it was a wonderful first. Given the amount of time and resources I was expecting a lot less from this but they all did a very good job. Beyond my expectations, really. Wonderful acting and such an angsty friends to lovers romance that was delightfully done. I don’t usually give out scores to dramas but omg 10/10!
OTP: THEY HAD SUCH GOOD CHEMISTRY! UGH THE ANGST
Thing I enjoyed the most: Oh, everything!
Do I recommend it? Like BL dramas and want to see more of them in kdramaland? Then YES YES YES. A thousand times YES! The reason why it’s not on my favorites’ list is because I wish it was longer.
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It’s Okay to not be Okay: It had been so long since I’ve seen a KSH drama. Since his alien days lol Plus, my sister is a huge fan. Horniest kdrama of the year, for sure. Which is hilarious since the message of the whole thing was more about family. From the first episode I was waiting for the OTP to have a steamy makeout and have sex HAHAHA You know, they actually delivered, so I was happy. My review about the ending HERE
OTP: Queen MoonYoung and her horny but super restrained caretaker, KangTae. Love them.
Thing I enjoyed the most: All hail Queen Ko MoonYoung! And the best hyung, SangTae.
Do I recommend it? Yeah. Let’s be serious for a moment lmao it was a healing drama and the ending was beautiful. A few things here and there didn’t make sense though. The mom’s comeback was crazy, but meh, what are dramas without crazy? lol I guess this is not on my favorite’s list because I wasn’t as obsessed as I wish I’d been.
Was it Love?: Mamma mia, here we go again, my my, I should have resist ya! it was ALL right there but the writer didn’t have the guts to do the story right. It COULD’VE BEEN Mamma Mia, but all the potential went to waste. THE POTENTIAL!! You want to know who the dad of her daughter is? The only dude she ever slept with, her only ex! Big surprise. The writer! There, saved you the trouble. My rant on the ending here
OTP: Well, it wasn’t the leads, that’s for sure. It’s the second leads (or was he the third lead and she the second?)who ended up together, or at least it was hinted at. The female lead had way more chemistry with the one dude she was never romantically linked to, which is hilarious to me. Ugh so much wasted potential...
Thing I enjoyed the most: Gangster dude and his son! Bless them.
Do I recommend it? Jesus, NO. DON’T. Watch Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep, instead. That’s gold and it’s what they wanted to try to do for a moment here. Still wondering how I managed to finish this...
Record of Youth: Another drama I can’t believe I actually finished. A handsome model transitioning into an actor and becoming the main provider for the family that never fully supported him and had to pay for the debt of the dad that always belittled his dreams. Underdeveloped characters, a female lead that was outshined by CAMEOS of other women(in her 1 minute scene, KimHyeYoon had more chemistry with PBG), plots that went nowhere and a terrible pairing that had very little chemistry. A ranting about the finale and my wasted time, HERE
OTP: who? Ah, yeah, I guess there sort of was one... The photographer friend and the sister of the jealous friend. Their ending was ambiguous.
Thing I enjoyed the most: PBG, he carried this mess on his back.
Do I recommend it? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA No. Please, don’t watch it.
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Private Lives: An orphan who was recluted to become a spy and works for a conglomerate that holds the power to decide the next president of Korea AND a con woman who wants revenge because her dad got sent to jail. They meet and fall in love and it’s the cutest thing ever but on their wedding day he misteriously disappears and... that’s it. Everything that happens after that makes zero sense. By the end I was more interested in the second leads.
OTP: TWO (but mostly the second couple) and the reason why I finished this drama at all.
Thing I enjoyed the most: Second leads. BokGi and Eduardo (yeah, I know that wasn’t his real name). I’d watch a drama of those two. Even if it was by the same writer.
Do I recommend it? Well... not really. LOL If you’re interested to know more about it, read my “recaps” of each episode HERE or read about the last ep here. You’ll understand about the same as if you were to actually watch it, but you will not waste your time. I hope? LOL
Start Up: A grandma with good intentions, a FL that lost it all as a kid, letters that weren’t really that genuine, a rich, cocky and petty jerk who wasn’t the ML (I mean by definition he had everything to be the male lead lol) and the actual ML (a genius who suffers from the biggest case of Impostor Syndrome I’ve ever seen). No one except for the FL mostly is honest. A time jump that was there just for the sake of angst and not quite done right. Also, making a business with your friends involves a whole lot of nonsense and drama. And a “love triangle” that drove the fandom to madness. And wait, the sister was the second female lead? She was more secondary than the secondary characters. This drama is seriously not what it seems at first lol
OTP: DalMi&DoSan. Adorable. The oly reason I finished this. From the moment they announced the cast and learned who the leads were, I knew I was gonna ship them. And that’s how I never get SLS lol
Thing I enjoyed the most: The answer to that question is HERE
Do I recommend it? Honestly, yeah. Just turn off your brain and never discuss it on social media. Binge it and move on with life. Not the best drama, but tbh not the worst. Well it is the worst by the writer lol Wow it sounds like I hated it, but it’s just that the fanwars really got to me haha and it’s all so recent, but I actually did love the love story and the grandma was a treasure.
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shannaroochiha · 4 years
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Because of various posts and the absolute inability from keeping myself from sharing my own interpretations, I’m going to offer my own hot take on the situation surrounding Sarada’s birth.  YMMV.
This is long, so it’s under the cut.
Any speculation about just how Sarada’s birth went down is just that.  Kishimoto doesn’t show us.  I really doubt that Kishimoto spent much time thinking about how such an event would really play out.  He sketched out the most soap-opera-like, high drama situation he could so that he could engage with the Karin-Sasuke-Sakura triangle...which isn’t really a triangle anyway...which was the point of the whole thing...but I digress.
All that being said, I’m going to offer my own interpretation because the idea that Sakura would actually create a birth plan to include Karin and Orochimaru’s hideout is just too much for me to buy into.  For the sake of Naruto, I’ve bought into magical child ninjas and chakra aliens, so let me tell you, this is something that really bothers me.  In part, it’s because of my personal perspective.  I’ve given birth (I grew up with Naruto and I am watching as an adult because I still love it), and I am an advocate of women giving birth in a fashion that they choose.  As for the headcanon that SASUKE would choose Karin for Sakura...I respect those that think so, but man, no....just no.  First of all, Sakura is the doctor.  A real trained doctor.  She has medical colleagues.  She is Tsunade’s protégé.  She has friends all over the place and is known all around for her skill.  Why would Sasuke be the one to offer advice on a doctor even if they are far from home?  Wouldn’t Sakura have colleagues in other villages?  Why in the world would Sasuke make that choice?  It should be Sakura’s choice and Sakura’s alone.  If Sakura chose Karin, it makes no sense other than she was giving in to Sasuke’s wishes (if indeed, those were his wishes), and if that is what he wanted, it is nonsensical.
Karin is a medical ninja, but what exactly is her expertise?  We know she’s really good at reviving people and she apparently works in a lab.  Let me tell you, if I had my choice between a lab researcher who had the hots for my husband and committed acts of terrorism with him and the actual trained doctor with decades of experience who trained me and loves ME, I know who I would choose.  Putting all the history aside, who would YOU want to deliver your baby.  A lab researcher who works by herself for the most part or a doctor who has treated thousands of patients? 
Let’s talk about location.  Sakura is a doctor.  She works in a hospital. I would venture to speculate that she is comfortable in the hospital environment, that it would be familiar to her, and if she were giving birth for the first time, that familiar setting would be comforting even if she had never been to that particular hospital before.  Orochimaru’s hideout is a place where atrocities have been committed.  In that place, children (including Sasuke) and babies were kidnapped and experimented upon.  It’s a dangerous place, even Naruto was uneasy about going into the hideout during Gaiden, worried about bringing Sarada and Chocho there -- and they were already kid ninjas.  If Naruto had concerns in that situation, if I were a laboring Sakura, I also would have MAJOR concerns.  If Sasuke has the ability to travel through time and space, why would he not take his wife back to their friends and her family to give birth safely.  Are we really to believe that Sasuke thinks Karin is more trustworthy and better to bring his child into the world than Tsunade or Shizune in a village led by Kakashi?  No, I don’t buy that.  If they could not get back to the village for whatever reason, why would Sakura choose to give birth in a dangerous place where literal atrocities against children (including her husband) have been committed, rather than a random hospital?
We are not told why or how any of these decisions are made by Sasuke and Sakura (because DRAMA!!).  In fact, the only insight we get is from Karin, herself, who I will venture to say may not be what we call a reliable narrator.  I don’t know Japanese.�� I cannot speak to the accuracy of the translation or whatever subtleties that may be inherent in the original.  I can only react to what I read in English.  We have the choice of Karin telling us that Sakura chased after Sasuke or that she refused to leave his side.  Is this accurate?  What does that even mean? Both statements, in English, have a connotation that Sasuke was trying to make Sakura go away.  She’s either chasing or refusing his wishes.  Maybe that is how it went down, but the person saying this is a woman who was desperately and obsessively in love with Sasuke.  She is framing the narrative, and those statements, as they are translated, hint at her disapproval of Sakura.  Those statements paint Sakura in...maybe not a negative light, but definitely not a positive one if other fans’ reactions to those words are anything to go by.  Karin is a much more mature character, that is certain, but that doesn’t mean her defining traits are gone -- just muted a bit.  Karin may not be the obsessive, jealous, lusting girl she once was, but those words about Sakura sound just a little jealous to me.  Again, Karin is saying that Sakura was either chasing Sasuke (not positive.  Indicates a kind of obsession that may not be returned) or refusing to leave his side (noble and loving perhaps, but also foolish given the fact that she is pregnant).  After those statements, we get the sad glance to the side which indicates Karin does indeed still harbor romantic feelings for Sasuke even if she is choosing (wisely, maturely) not to act on them.  Keep in mind this is over a decade after the fact, and Karin still feels this way, still chooses to frame Sakura’s decision to give birth with her husband by her side as something foolish or obsessive.  It’s subtle, but word choice makes a difference.  And yes, I do think it makes a difference that they let Karin explain this.  This is Karin’s interpretation of the events, not Sasuke’s or Sakura’s.  
Giving birth is a frightening and emotionally vulnerable time, particularly if it is the first time you’ve done it.  I personally never felt more feral in my life.  In addition, Sarada’s birth is even more significant because this is the first Uchiha born after the massacre.  Why wouldn’t Sasuke want to be with Sakura.  Why would Sakura need to chase after him so he can see the birth of his first child?  Does his mission at that time really take precedent to the point where he would make Sakura chase him?  That interpretation makes Sasuke look like an asshole, and I don’t think he is an asshole (at least not in regards to this).
I’m not saying that Karin and Sakura could not have formed some sort of bond during the birth.  Oxytocin is a hell of a thing.  I still remember very, very fondly the nurse who went against the doctor’s orders and brought me breakfast after I’d gone 24 hours without eating during labor.  She’s was and is an angel from heaven.  During birth, I fell a little bit in love with my anesthesiologist.  I don’t even know the man’s name, but let me tell you, when I think about him, I still get a little glow.  And the other nurse who hugged me to her chest and rubbed my shoulders while I was getting that epidural, I still remember how good she smelled and how comforting she was.  The nurse who complimented my pedicure during birth, I still think about her sometimes.  So, I can believe there would be some kind of trauma bonding happening during the birth, but that is rather different than them bonding over their love for Sasuke WHILE SAKURA IS BIRTHING HER FIRST CHILD.  No, no, and no.  For Sakura to deliberately put herself in Karin’s care instead of going home to her friends and family?  No.
Clearly Sasuke was with Sakura during the birth.  So, he put his mission on hold long enough to do that much.  He could not have put his mission on hold long enough to be with Sakura in Konoha?  Even for the day or two it would take for Sarada to be born?  No.  That paints him in an awful light. 
Here is my headcanon.  I’ve thought about it enough that I even wrote a one-shot trying to figure out how this would have gone down.  Even that one-shot I wrote was from Karin’s perspective because so much of the narrative about Sarada’s birth is ABOUT KARIN, which I feel does such a disservice to Sakura.  Her birth story is told through Karin’s lips, not her own.  It drives me crazy.  
Why would Sakura and Sasuke not be in Konoha for the birth of their first child?  Here are some ideas:
 Sakura gets pregnant on the road.  She’s young, healthy and a medical professional.  There is no reason to go home right away.  
When did Sakura get pregnant?  A lot of people headcanon that Sarada was Sasuke’s birthday present (July 23rd).  However, that means Sarada was born prematurely (March 31st) and THAT could very well explain why Sakura and Sasuke were caught unawares.  They thought they had longer but for some reason, Sarada decided to come early.
Sakura and Sasuke miscalculated.  (My due dates were NEVER correct -- off by three weeks-- and they were calculated by medical professionals) They thought she got pregnant on his birthday, but actually, they had gone to that Tanabata festival earlier in the month and romance was in the air…
They thought they still had plenty of time, but Sakura’s birthday is on March 28th.  They were almost home, but they stopped to celebrate her birthday.  And they “celebrated.”  Prostaglandins stimulating labor is a thing. Oops.  Sarada is born three days later.
Some women labor for a couple of days, and some women go from zero to baby in a few hours.  With this being a first baby, Sakura would have no way of knowing how long her labor would be.  Maybe they were on their way home and Sakura says, “uh-oh.”  Maybe they have Sarada in a matter of hours.  
Why did Sasuke not just teleport them?  For...reasons.  Plot reasons.  But seriously, he does have times when he just cannot use it.  Think of Gaiden’s plot contrivance when he was just too worn out to use it.  Who knows what went down right before Sarada’s birth.  Maybe he just couldn’t teleport them.  Maybe he was afraid to teleport his pregnant wife because he didn’t know if it would harm the baby.
We have no idea what they were doing before Sarada’s birth.  Did they just happen to be near Orochimaru’s hideout?  Were they in the middle of nowhere and Sasuke panicked?  Did Karin sense them and go to them?  Who knows?  Not us!  Because Kishimoto did not tell us!  
All I’m saying is there are a lot of reasons why they ended up giving birth with Karin, but because of my personal perspective, I cannot get behind the interpretation that it was planned that way. 
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plupatredis · 3 years
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Characters
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Plu Patredis Full name: Plumella Age: 19 Race: Mi'qote - Keeper of the Moon Starting as Adventurer in: Limsa Lominsa Personality: cheerful, impulsive, reckless, helpful, stubborn, meanie Likes: sweets (mostly hot chocolate), cooking, see new places Dislikes: cold, her nose, when people say what she should to do, too difficult aka Urianger speaking, calling Zero “dad”
Between being woman and girl. Current Warrior of Light. Before/Durring 1.0: Daughter of previous Warrior of Light - Zero Patredis and Himeki Ariyoshi knows by people as "Witch". Plumella didn't like her name, so asked everyone around to call her Plu. Usually alone in home with her brother, she used to being independent as child already. Plu as kid was known well from being meanie to everyone but also with hiding her half of face - because of nose - under scarf. Most of time she was meanie against Shiro to “motivate” her to learn how to survive and to not count only on others. Durring attack on her village, she saw how Ascian was killing her mother what made girl move on him and try attack him. Plu thanks young boy help, survived defensive attack from Ascian's side. Plu blamed Zero about her’s mom death, that he wasn’t there when they needed him. After this day, Plu and Ryu lived in Sharlayan as guardians for Leveilleur twins. Plu with her reckless and impulsive behaviour had bad result on same impulsive young Alisaie. Someday they swapped with roles with Ryu and she started to be guardian of Alphinaud. Arr: No knowing about what happened with Zero, Shiro or her another friend, she decided ran from Sharlayan and find out on her own as Adventurer. Because of her impulsive behaviours, Plu rather is always going first into fight...
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Ryu Patredis Full name: Ryuuna Age: 19 Race: Mi'qote - Keeper of the Moon Starting as Adventurer in: Ul'dah Personality: cheerful, calmed, careful, helpful, charming, meanie Likes: books, sweets (in secret), teasing Dislikes: cold, being compared to Plu, Alphinaud's reminds about stolen sweets, calling Zero “dad”
Young fellow with powerful gift of healing Before/Durring 1.0: Twin brother Plu and son of Zero and Himeki. Ryuuna copied his sister with shorter name idea. As this kind side of twins, he was always around Shiro. Already he loved spending time with books. Known well from being meanie to his twin sister and calling her "ugly nose" but also known as very soft and crybaby child. He never was proud of his father as about WoL, more upset that Zero was never around for family. Durring attack on village Ryu’s echo woke up first time - thank echo he survived attack from one of Ascians, After this tragedy, Ryu slowly started changing his behaviour. More brave and confident was getting so many attention around Sharlayan's students while he was focused to take care about Alisaie. Arr: After Plu's escape, Ryu decided to stay with his current family - Leveilleur twins. Soon he left Sharlayan after twins to find them in Ul'dah. Ryu is very loyal and caring for Alisaie...
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Shiro Negai Full name: Shiroichi Age: 23 Race: Hyur Midlander Starting as Adventurer in: New Gridania Personality: quiet, respectful, patient, mature Likes: relax, calm places, yukata Dislikes: loud people, dumb or weird questions, her power
Without no emotion person with unknown dangerous power. Before/Durring 1.0: Daughter of noble family from Far Eastern. Shiroichi was raised as soon wife for other noble man. Being around 14 age, her "simple" life changed when suddenly by accident she used one of her too powerful spell for her human body which put her into coma. Her family asked for help Louisoix who arrived with Zero and Himeki. Himeki's power let bring back Shiroichi from her coma but after this Shiroichi's body started being cold as she didn't feel any cold or warm. Because of how unknown powerful Shiroichi was, Zero and Himeki took her to teach her control her own power. After that accident she was raising in Patredis family as pretend older sister for twins - Plu and Ryu - as Shiro. Pretty quiet, shy and no knowing other life girl, had to deal with new reality and work with her weakness. In that time Shiro very attached to Zero and treated him like true father. 4 years later her family took her back to prepare her to wedding. Soon Shiro's echo first time woke up in her and showed her beloved siblings in danger. Shiro with no word disappeared from Far Eastern to find Zero and tell him about this vision. Both with Scions moved to family village which was already destroyed. They found dead Himeki but alive twins. Thanks Shiro intervention and begins, Plu and Ryu safely ended together in Leveilleur. After this Shiro was helping Scions next to current WoL - Zero. She was on battleground durring Calamity and only she survived Bahamut's megaflare - but for this she used one of her spells which put her in another coma for 5 years. Arr: Current Shiro can't express most of emotions what makes her look like really cold person. She doesn't like waste time and prefer safier methods if there is any. Shiro is known well from her cold "Huh". After wake up again, she came back to Scions to help find Zero who disappeared durring Calamity and Plu who ran from Sharlayan. Can say that Shiro lives to protect her younger siblings and to find out who is she really...
Hope that shows a bit my characters. I’m not good writer and english is not my first language so forgive me for any mistakes or chaos in text. Whole OC’s story is just my fanfiction so please no hates about lil changes around ff story or something.
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kurtty-drabbles · 4 years
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House of M (part 3)
N/A: Is this au still alive? YES.  But I want to try to keep this au alive, nothing grandiose here. BTW, I better introduce the villain right away.
@dannybagpipesarecalling @djinmer4 @tieflingteeth @muninandhugin
When a person has money, lots of money is only natural for people to inquire where the money comes from. Sometimes, the person comes from a privileged background, furthermore is easy to pinpoint why- how many riches families like to send their kids to private institutions? not so many, and that´s another indication of how wealthy they are- and Genosha doesn´t have a higher count of wealthy families. A small law that Magento made is still in vigor to prevent any social conflict.
Sometimes, however, a person appears to have money in unusual ways. Seldom, one can claim to have a winning lottery ticket. The chances of this happening are slim to none-not impossible and the winner certainly prefers anonymity- but it has happened before.
Or the other option is to believe the person got the money thanks to some illicit way. When people see Logan Howlett sailing in his yacht-showing zero characters of a rich man from a prestigious background- people are quick to jump to conclusions.
Logan is far from being a man from a nice background- that is something anyone can see- but, how he got the money is far related to crimes, at least, not ones made by him.
His yacht is sailing in the Mediterranean ocean. The man just wakes up-leaving his new girlfriend sleeping soundly on the bed- and is admiring the view. The ocean is indeed impressive and Logan takes a whiff of the salty scent with a grin on his face. "Goot to be here"
His cellphone rings. Logan has the mind to ignore the call in favor of the view- the ocean is so agreeable now. Logan is almost singing a sailor´s song. Almost- but the phone is still rining and Logan rolls his eyes and tisk too loud. "What?" his tone is a bit barbed and unapologetic about it.
"How is the rich man´s life?" Raven Darkholme´s voice is unique and Logan learns to identify her timbers very well. Logan sighs louder and is threatening to end the call-an empty threat he himself is all aware of - as the woman starts to cackle too loud-loud enough to give a migraine to Logan- and then she speaks again.
"Oh, Logan...I´m not here to bother your rich man´s life...which model are you dating this time? Vanessa?" Raven makes a pondering sound. And Logan wonders if he can toss his cellphone in the ocean. "saw in the magazine ...dating Swedish models, are we?" there´s this chided tone and Logan rolls his eyes.
"What? Will you give me tips on how to date Swedish models or how to break up things with them?" and Logan feels so proud of this line.
"I´m not here to fight, Logan...not to tease you"
"Good, because your sources are wrong...not dating a Swedish woman...I´m with Mariko" Logan feels silly to use her name. In fact, this woman makes him feel so silly. Love is an emotion so new for him. "She´s great....too great for me, but, I´ll try to be the man she needs"
"That´s...noble of you" no sarcasm in her tone. Rare, but, it does happen sometimes. "I´m not here to talk about your love life...Logan, do you remember about Project X?"
Logan can be sarcastic. "The program which makes me this?" and Logan pops his claws. Raven can´t see it. Raven can hear it. "No, Raven...I completely forget about it..."
"Look, a few weeks ago. Juggernaut tried to kidnap the Genoshas princes...it fails for obvious reasons, but, you see my son is convinced that a woman...yes, a woman faced Juggernaut, could be related to this program" and now reality kicks Logan´s face. Hard.
"Look, when we settle that agreement...I was speaking the truth...the only subjects of that program, as far I know, are me, Laura and Gabby" and the man grith his teeth. "That´s why I accept their money...instead of killing them...Laura and Gabby deserve a normal life...when I testify, and just to be clear, I told you I was sure there´s only me, Laura and Gabby....if there´s another subject...I have no clue"
"I see...Look, I don´t want to worry you" Logan´s expression says otherwise. "And I think there´s 99% of chances of my son taking the scene out of context...but, I want to be sure...I´ll say her name and I want to know if you know or if jog your memory"
Logan grunts but accepts.
"Katherine Anne Pryde"
"Never heard of..."
"Are you sure?"
"My memory is a bit fuzzy, I´ll give you that, but...this name rings no bells"
"Ok, thank you, Logan...have a nice trip"
And just like that, the call is ended. Logan chuckles slightly. "Always have to get the last word"
He turns up to see Laura already up and watching the birds flying away. The look on her face really makes Logan never regret accepting this money. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Yana Rasputin has her fair share of bad calls and bad decisions. Making a demon do her chores wasn´t the best decision-the demon has his own unique style and Yana had to bear the consequences- but, in all her life she never expected Piotr to do anything inherently bad.
Yana´s mind peaks at some images in the past and how Piotr didn´t accept Katya breaking up the relationship with him, and while Yana can´t fault Kitty for that, she refuses to think Piotr would hold any grudges.
The phone rings and in a moment Yana´s world is upside down. "My brother is being arrested for attempted murder?" Yana parrot the person´s information in a question. The man has a German accent-oh, must be Nightcrawler. The only German in Genosha and one to make such a call- who is explaining the situation.
"Piotr Rasputing will face charge...and I recommend call a lawyer, young miss, your brother seems to like to assault any men Miss Pryde ever enter in contact"
Yana has a grim image in her mind and needs to know. "Is Kitty alright?"
"Yes, she´s shaken...but, she´s alright..."
"And...and my brother?"
"I didn´t use unnecessary force to stop him, only what´s necessary to make him stop. Right now, he´s sedated, but, is fine...would you like to talk with him?"
"No, I mean, yes but not by phone...Tell him I´m coming" and Yana turns off the cellphone. She has a lawyer just for that and hopes he can help in this case.
"Berto...I need help! my brother did something really stupid" and Sunspot can´t even pretend to be surprised by this revelation.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Mastermind was a man who served Magneto proudly. A man that loves illusions more than reality is not one to be a fatherly type- and less so as the man loves to date younger women- Regan Wyngarde can say how her father was foolish to trust Magneto. And Regan will deny ever missing her father- not a fatherly type, but, he was her only father...- as right now, she looks at the helmet in her hands.
"Don´t worry...you´ll have a Jewish funeral, Erik...and I´ll destroy Genosha" she promises to put the helmet on the table. One of her servants arrives.
"Regan" and stops as the blonde woman give a seething look. "I mean, Lady Mastermind...should we inform the 3 rulers of Genosha what happened to Erik?"
"Erik may have been a bad father...but he was their fathers...they have this right." and is all the information the servant needs.
Now, Regan has to set her next move in action. Regan has to wait and Regan is now a patient woman...so unlike her father.
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razorblade180 · 5 years
Text
Patriarchal Prison Break Finale
[Atlas Bakery]
*Whitley and Ruby sit outside patio. They sit under an umbrella as it lightly snows. It’s a little cold since it’s night, yet strangely they feel pretty warm.*
Ruby:*Quietly eating a sandwich with a small mountain of pastries beside her.*.......
Whitley:*has a cocoa and a sandwich. He’s barely eating though*.......
(Why is it so hard to speak?)
Whitley:(Say something, anything. Is this was Winter was talking about-)
Ruby:You’re freezing.....
Whitley:*jolts up* Huh?
Ruby:You’re food, you’re freezing it. *points to his plate*
*a glyph spins underneath it making ice creep over it His drink frozen solid*
Whitley:*red* Oh....
Ruby:Also..... *taps her now frozen danish on the table* I’m pretty sure this was freshly baked hehehe.
Whitley:(God damnit!) *tries wiping it off* Well this definitely isn’t my finest moment.
Ruby:*intriguied* I’ve never seen Weiss accidentally use her semblance before.
Whitley:She’s had a lot more practice; any little thing used to set it off for her. I guess my mind sort of wondered a bit.
Ruby:*small smile* Gee if I didn’t notice sooner then I really would’ve had cold cuts. (Why did I say that? Only Yang would say something that horrible...)
Whitley:.....I’m sorry.
Ruby:(Now he’s sulking!) Don’t worry about it. It was just a joke and I probably won’t finishing eating all of-
Whitley:Not the food.....I meant for what I said; all of it.
Ruby:Oh....that.....
Whitley:*staring at his reflection in the ice* I let my father get the better of me. Then I ended up making you cry in the process all because I was too scared to speak against him. So, I’m sorry.
Silence falls in between them. Ruby just sits there examining him as he continues to stare at the ice. He’s trying to hide it but he’s shaking; crisp air would be easy to pin the blame on but she knows better than that. Usually it’s her suppressing fear and anxiety; it’s odd seeing it on someone else. Weiss’s description of him was right on the money.
Ruby:....I’m sorry too. About my reaction.
Whitley:Huh? Why would you be sorry about that? I had it coming and-
Ruby:I was being selfish....
Whitley:....... *looking at her*
Ruby:All my life I’ve grown up doing the most noble because that’s how I was raised. It comes natural to me. You and even Weiss when I met her have an entirely different mentality. It’s not that you don’t want to do the noble or most honest thing; both of you raised to follow what your dad said despite the feelings you had. I might have had a right to be upset with you, but I shouldn’t have expected you to so easily overcome something that’s been apart of your upbringing just because of me. So I’m sorry too, I didn’t consider your feelings.
Whitley:......Ruby you’re amazing.
Ruby:*blushing* I’m sorry what?
Whitley:It’s just...most people would just let someone apologize and listen to them admit their mistakes. Not you though, instead you apologize too and decide to find your own faults. Never seen someone do that before.
Ruby:*rubs her head* I’m just being fair is all. Like I said, it was a bit rude of me to think I’m enough to make such a big problem change for you.
Whitley:Well....*looks back at the ice as his face gets red* I think you’re more than enough....
Ruby:.......*heart skips a beat*
It has to be easily below zero at this point. Yet for some reason this moment feels hot enough to thaw all the snow around them.
Ruby:Uhhh Whitley? *grabs his hand, causing him to jump*
Whitley:Y...Yes?
Ruby:I don’t mean to spring this on you so suddenly, but with everything that’s happened I think I got lost with where we stand. Wha...what are we exactly?
*the table freezes over, but the two don’t seems to notice*
Whitley:Oh...that’s uhh, that’s a good question. You see it would be nice if- *shakes his head* What I mean to say is I really want you to be my-
*click*
Instinctively the two whip their head around to spot someone with a very expensive camera. No doubt he got a perfect picture even with the weather they’re in. As quickly as he was spotted, he was gone.
Whitley:Sigh, the paparazzi never rest do they. He picked a good a good moment too *looks at Ruby’s hand still on his*
Ruby:*immediately removes it* Of all of the no good.....! Ugh, I’m so stupid! Here I am getting all emotional in public with you and now I made things worse for you! That stupid reporter is probably gonna have an entire essay about that day photo; your dad is-
Whitley:It’s fine.....
Ruby:What?
Whitley:It’s fine, I sort of expected this to happen. We are outside so it’s not surprising.
Ruby:...Why are you so calm? You know what will happen when you get home.
Whitley:*takes a deep breath* Yeah....it’s unavoidable. Guess we shouldn’t prolong it then huh? *gets up and grabs her hand* shall we?
Ruby:Oh, okay. (He’s strangely confident; I like it.
[Schnee Manor]
Weiss and Winter watching the news and just enjoying each other’s company. Like clockwork, their brother is already back in the miserable limelight.
Ruby:*Walking in* Hey, we’re ba- are you serious!? It’s only been like 40 minutes!
Weiss:Any news about the Schnee’s is breaking news.
Ruby:You people are seriously that important?
Winter:We keep this entire place floating essentially. So yeah, we’re that important. Our money is anyways.
Whitley:*walks in and notices the tv* 40 minutes huh? They’re getting slow; guess the camera guy got stuck in the snow.
Ruby:(This family is just....wow.) I wonder if Jacq-
“WHITLEY! MY OFFICE, NOW!”
.........
Everyone’s face loses a bit of color as the room suddenly feels colder than outside. Winter herself even tenses up for a moment before relaxing. The two sisters unknowingly freeze up the floor a bit.
Ruby:He sounds mad...
“He’s always mad...”
Whitley:*walks off slowly*
Ruby:Is he...gonna be alright?
Winter:That’s up to him honestly. Atlas wasn’t built in a day, but this situation is a bit different.
Ruby:How so?
Weiss:Because he’ll have all the help he wants right here wai-
Ruby:*walks down the hall*
Weiss:Sigh, she just can’t help herself can she?
[Office]
Whitley:*standing in the center*.......
Jacques:*walks up to him* I see you got to be in the news again; unexpectedly, you’re with girl again. So what’s the excuse behind this incident.
Whitley:.....I don’t have one father. I wanted to make amends with her and-
*a swift hand finds itself firmly across the right side of his face, silencing him and leaving a red mark*
Whitley:......
Jacques:Your behavior as of late has been extremely disappointing. It’s clear I’ve been too lenient with you just like your sisters. I now know that-
Whitley:Lenient? Is that what you call micromanaging my life? You talk like you haven’t made every single decision in my life!
Jacques:Young man, watch your tone with me or-
Whitley:OR WHAT!? YOU’ll HIT ME!!? Are you gonna give the title of heir to some secret child no one knows about!?
Jacques:Whitley so help me if you don’t-
Whitley:LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!!!! *shaking with frustration*
Jacques:......
Whitley:I have done everything you’ve ever asked me! From learning countless extra curricular subjects about running a business, to being your personal “yes” man at every ridiculous event you drag me to! Yet it feels like I can’t even breathe without your permission, or see you without it being about my “mistakes.” Do you know you’ve never told me at any point you were proud of me; or any of your kids for that matter? It’s hard to believe Weiss and Winter “just weren’t up to the task of owning the company.” They’re far stronger than I am. You made me heir because you think I’m the weakest; that you can trap me in this prison of a home!
Jacques:You’re acting ridiculous! Having a tantrum all because of some girl!
Whitley:Her name is Ruby, you’d know that if you ever actually payed attention to Weiss or me. I bet you don’t even know where she is right now do you?
Jacques:....
Whitley:*shakes his head* You are unbelievable. It’s not even worth explaining to you. If it doesn’t involve money you might as well be deaf. I can’t believe I used to want to be even be a little bit like you. Could’ve used that time be more like my sisters; or fix the mom you broke. *walking away*
Jacques:*grits teeth* WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING!?
Whitley:I’m going anywhere I want and finally make my own choices. You don’t have to worry about me doing anything stupid or ruin my family name; from here on out you’re an afterthought.
Jacques:So you think you have all the answers now?
Whitley:Not even close. I just know when I need help I have people that actually care about me that I can rely on. From my sisters, Klein, the friends I’ll make, and my girlfriend. So you have the choice to get with the program or get out of my way.
Jacques:......Whitley, get out of my office.
Whitley:See you at the next company meeting. *leaves*
Jacques:.....*hits his desk* Damnit.....
Whitley:*shaking from fear and adrenaline* Sigh......huh?
*Ruby standing in front of him, trying to keep a smile in check in favor for a more calm look*
Whitley:This seems familiar. *smiles*
Ruby:It does, a little more of a happy ending this time around in my opinion.
Whitley:What would’ve happened if it ended up basically the same?
Ruby:*takes his hand* I might have been disappointed for sure but I would’ve been patient. “Atlas wasn’t built in a day.”
Whitley:Hehe honestly it’s still not built . That was emotionally exhausting. I think I need a minute. *leans on the wall* future conversations are going to suck.
Ruby:*leans on the wall too* Soooooo girlfriend? Who’s that? *wiggling eyebrows*
Whitley:*chuckles* Just this girl I really, really like. I might be getting ahead of myself since I don’t know quite how she feels. I’m new to this, anxious, dorky, and completely playing this by ear. For all I know she doesn’t like- *pulled into a quick kiss*......
Ruby:*moves her hair out here face* Ummm she really....really likes you too. *blushing*
Whitley:*blushing*Oh...that’s good to know. Now then, are you two going to come from around the corner?
Weiss:*darts out and hugs him* I’m proud of you....
Whitley:*hugging her tight* I learned from the best.
Winter:*walks up to him* So, you didn’t freeze this time huh?
Whitley:Nope, I had some since slapped into me. *rubbing his face* Also a sister with really good advice.
Winter:*puts him on her back and walks* Let’s go get you patched up. Then maybe we can spend some time....finally knowing each other.
Whitley:That, sounds really nice.
Weiss:We’ll catch up. Ruby now has to learn what I expect from her end of the relationship. Last thing I need is another person addicted to cookies.
Ruby:Sigh.......... see you later?
Whitley:I hope so. *smiles*
Ruby:*blushing* (definitely like the confidence)
Weiss:Ahem!
Ruby:Sorry! I’m paying attention!
Winter:One more thing, we’ve never seen you as weak. You’re just as strong as Weiss and I. Never question that.
Whitley:......Is that right? Hehe *sniff* Geez, this bruise really hurts...
Winter:*smirking*.......I bet it does.
Whitley:Thank you.....*tears run down his face.
Winter:Don’t mention it. That’s what big sisters are for right?
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imaginesnkdorks · 5 years
Text
Thank Goodness for Crazy
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
Part VIII: Bruised Cinderella
Pairing: Erwin/Reader
Summary: That time Erwin and the others attended a fancy party.
           “Today’s the day!” I said to myself the moment my eyes open. It’s the day that Nanaba would humiliate me in front of everyone. Or it’s the day I’ll beat her senseless. I trained so hard this past week.
           Racing to the grounds where we’ll battle it out, I saw a number of people gathering. Damn, it was those bets. Hange was noisily calling out to people to place their bets. They really made a game out of this. My coach was already here, and finding him was quite easy. He was standing beside the betting board.
           “What the hell?” I don’t know what I expected but there are obviously more people expecting Nanaba to win. Those who bet on me would expect a huge payout as I could count them off of my hands.
           “I’m betting on you.” Erwin tried to encourage me.
           “Of course you are.”
           Now that it’s here, I’m finally here, I feel chills. Nanaba is a legit soldier. She’s killed titans, and the only thing I’ve ever killed is a teeny tiny spider and I was screaming my head off the whole time.
           Soon enough, we were called to the middle. Hange is also the referee. As soon as she gave the go signal, Nanaba went in to attack! The bitch tried to punch me! But my training paid off – my reflexes improved a lot I feel like a ninja.
           I successfully dodged, but she immediately followed up with another punch. Raising both my arms, I shielded my face. “Ugh!” Her punch is really something! But it’s nothing compared to Erwin’s.
           Erwin never went easy on me during our sparring sessions, I almost hate him for it. But I can see that it might just be the thing that’ll help me live.
           Since I’ve gone defensive for a good five minutes, Nanaba’s guard isn’t that up. I grabbed the chance and kicked her on the stomach. She caught my foot and won’t let go. With a smug smile, “got you.” She taunted.
           This would’ve have been bad for me, except this is my favorite move. Using her grip on my foot for balance and foundation, I raised my self almost over her head going for another kick. And I hit her hard with my other foot, she flew backward and fell hard on the ground.
           All around me were surprised faces. Everyone was so quiet for a full second before they started cheering.
           “Wow. Looks like you’ve really been training hard.” Nanaba said before she runs off to attack me. I suddenly regret being an asshole who kicked her in the face.
           To sum it up, I took a beating. But she received her fair share of bruises. We’ve been going at this for more than half an hour, and I am really tired. I can feel my lips are swollen now. I need to finish this.
           We began running towards each other and she went in for a punch, which I dodged easily, then I used my ultimate move. I punched her on the throat. I know, dick move. That’s why I love it. She fell flat on the ground, gasping for air, and Hange went in for the countdown.
             “ …. 3 …. 2 …. 1 …. Andi wins!” Hange announced whilst raising my bruised arm. Despite most of these assholes losing their bets, they still cheered for me. Looking at the crowd, I saw Erwin practically glowing with pride. I can’t help but smile.
           Walking towards Nanaba, I fought all temptation to gloat and instead gave her my hand. Good thing she was a good sport. We spent the rest of the day in the hospital wing, wrapped in bandages and smelling like antiseptic.
           Erwin and the rest came to visit. Judging by Mike’s face, Erwin had rubbed my triumph in his creepy face. And probably also because he lost the bet.
           “Andi! Where did all that came from? That throat punch was so awesome!” Hange yelled excitedly. But she wasn’t satisfied with that, she ran towards me and tackled me.
           “Really? Hange I’m injured here!” My screams were muffled as I was unsuccessful in pushing her off of me. Good thing Erwin helped and dragged her off.
            We got out of the hospital wing that same day and went back to training right away. I still follow the strict training routine Erwin prepared, but since an expedition is coming up he’s quite busy. Meaning our private sessions are over.
           I’m scheduled to practice using the 3DM gear today, and I am seriously excited. My teachers for the day are my closest buddies, Hange and Nanaba.
           Turns out, balancing is not so easy. I flipped over a few times and gave my friends another round of a laughing fit, but by sunset, I got the hang of it. I can’t help but love the feel of the wind as I zip past trees and dummy titans.
           I can’t help but imagine being Spider-Man. So geeky, I know.
 It’s been three days since the duel, and I’m looking less bruised now. Also, it’s the day we started our journey to the inner wall. Apparently, traveling between walls could take days if we travel on land. Taking the boat will cut our travel time shorter.
The boat ride was uneventful and painfully boring – I spent the whole time sleeping, eating and reading. My ideal situation, really but since everything’s so new, I would’ve loved to see how different people from these parts are. Too bad I couldn’t.
Also, everyone who came along was shut in the conference room because most of them were Squad and Team leaders. Can you believe that Hange is a team leader? Too bad Nanaba is apparently “not important enough” to come along.
After the long boat ride, we finally arrived at our destination. It took us almost three days so the ball is tomorrow. The moment we land, a few people greeted uncle Keith. I have no idea who they are, but I would say that they’re someone rich, because I can definitely smell money off of them.
We were then escorted to a fancy looking house. Well, to be honest almost every house here is fancy. It’s the habitat of the rich people.
The house that we’re staying at is a regular house, I’d say. It’s almost similar to houses back home, really. Only zero electric appliances. I can see how different the lifestyle of people here compares to those from wall Maria – it’s like the Capitol from Panem!
After touring the plain-but-big house, I have nothing else to do but sleep. So I did just that. Good thing time went by so fast and it was finally Sunday – the day of the Ball.
           Erwin knocked on my door and patiently waited for me to answer. He obviously learned from his past blunder.
           “Here.” He said with no preamble whatsoever, as he handed me a blue gown. It’s a really frilly kind of gown.
           “This? This is what I’m going to wear?”
           “Yes. It is the craze among the ladies in the inner city. You’ll fit in nicely wearing that.”
           “Uhuh.” I said, and he promptly left me so that I could fix myself up.
           I found out that they have a decent amount of makeup, albeit seemingly ancient they do the job. I mean, the brow liners are like charcoal for goodness’ sake. I feel like I’m in that memoirs of a geisha makeover scene, except less graceful.
           The gown was a nice shade of ice blue; it was off-shoulder with frills just about everywhere. Oh, and big ass ribbons.
           Looking at the mirror, I can see that my hair is a mess, and my face is covered with rouge on my cheeks and lips. Despite my best efforts, I just can’t seem to tame my hair, so I just put it up in a messy bun. I know, it doesn’t go well with everything else but I really suck at fixing myself up.
           Leaving my room, I found that Erwin was waiting for me. He looked so good in his black coat, black pants, and blue shirt. Whoa, we’re matching? He offered me his arm, which I took, and we walked side by side to the carriage.
           Only then did I start feeling jittery. What if I slip up? Boy, uncle Keith is such a girl. We’re already in the carriage and he’s still not around. Man, what if I get asked about my life?
           “Where are the others?” I asked, trying to get my mind off of thinking that I’ll mess up.
           “Some went ahead; the others went to the market for supplies. We might as well get two things done during this trip.” Erwin answered calmly. Seriously, is he that used to these balls that he’s not nervous at all?
           “Don’t worry. You’ll do fine.” Erwin said as he covered my hand with his. That’s only when I noticed I was shaking a little. I felt like my voice might crack, so I just nodded.
           Someone is finally getting in the carriage, but the one behind the door was not uncle Keith. It was Hange!
           “Something came up; the commander will be riding with Lord Gregory so it’s just the three of us. Ahh!” Hange was wearing her uniform. Does she even have other clothes? I waited for her to get inside but she just stared at us, then at our hands.
           Crap!
           I pulled my hand back, Erwin did the same. Hange then entered with a suspiciously sly smile. Good thing though she just stayed quiet the whole way. But she kept giving us meaningful looks.
           We soon arrived at a big house – no, a mansion! – and it was brightly lit, you’d think it’s Christmas. Music was playing and you can already hear it from outside, and its only classical music which I assume is being played live. Well, duh? Like they could play Uptown Funk.
           The introductions went smoothly. Erwin introduced me to so many nobles, I didn’t even bother to remember their names. Some creepy old geezers would just be, well, creepy. Offering me all kinds of stuff and asking me to leave the military to be with them. It’s more annoying than creepy, actually.
           “Erwin, Lord Lawrence is over there. He’d love to hear about your formation proposal.” Uncle Keith popped up of nowhere, said this piece and dragged off Erwin to where ever this Lawrence is.
           “I’ll be back, Hange stay with her.” He said before disappearing with the commander. Hange is too absorbed with the buffet that she hardly pays any attention to me. “I’ll just sit over there,” I informed her before running off to sit in a corner. I think I heard her say ok, but her mouth is so full so I really can’t tell.
             Watching the party from where I am made me feel like I’m back home. No matter where you are, there really are people who can be vain. These rich assholes here are just partying and eating till they can’t breathe, while there are people who live on bread and soup in wall Maria. FYI, people like me.
           “Is the party a little too much for you, my lady?” A voice asked. Looking at the source, I found a man sitting beside me. It wasn’t just any man – he is drop dead gorgeous! I guess he could read my thoughts as I think I’m almost drooling, and he gave me a small laugh of amusement. Even though I know he’s laughing at me, I can’t help but smile. He’s that hot.
           He’s got this soft, brown, curls for hair, and he’s not too skinny nor buffed. He’s got green eyes, thick-ish brows, and perfect teeth. He’s just my type of guy, damn!
           “I’m Theodore.”
           “Andi. Uhm, I mean I’m Andi.”
           “Lovely name for a lovely lady.” He said as he scooped up my hand for a kiss. Honestly, I would’ve rolled my eyes at this but he’s just so cute. Turns out, he’s not just all looks. We spent quite some time talking about literature. Good thing that I’m well read on their books. We also talked about random things.
           We enjoyed our chat a little too much because we didn’t notice the crowd was silent until uncle Keith called me and some other man called Theo. Yes, I call him Theo now.
           Looking at uncle Keith, I now noticed that every eye in the room was on us, and most people had amused faces but Erwin’s not one of them. He’s standing right beside the commander, his face serious and his lip a tight line.
           Theo just laughed at the situation and stood up, giving me his hand so I’m standing beside him. The man who called Theo then spoke, “thank you, everyone, for coming to our humble party. My family appreciates your presence in a most wonderful celebration …” yadda yadda yadda.
           I tuned out the speech partly because I couldn’t care less, mostly because Theo wouldn’t stop talking and whispering to me. The crowd started clapping, signaling the end of the man’s speech.
           Looking around, I saw that uncle Keith was approaching with his little entourage, including the man whose speech I ignored.
           “Andi, this is Lord Thomas Van Rumpade. Lord Thomas, this is my niece Andi Frost.”
           “My my, who would’ve thought you would have a niece like her? I see you met my son Theodore.”
           In my shock, I couldn’t stop myself that I turned to Theo and asked him, “this is your party?” Good thing they just laughed. Well, I don’t really know if that’s a good thing.
           “No. It’s more like a party for me.” Theo answered me. A party for him? Shit. Is this like the party in Cinderella were the Prince can just pick whomever he wants for a wife?
           Good thing it wasn’t It was a coming of age party. Apparently, rich people are used to buying military titles, and this is the day he’ll decide to be a Military Police, or a Garrison Soldier or if he’s feeling hardcore, a Survey Corps Soldier.
           Since his family is going to buy the title, the Military branch he chooses will obviously receive the money. That’s where we come in.
           Dragging Erwin to the side, I asked him in the faintest whisper I could manage, “this is why I’m here, isn’t it? He’s almost my age.”
           “I’m afraid so.” He said. Looking at him, I really can’t tell what he’s thinking. It’s like the Erwin I know is on break, and this one is soldier Erwin. But maybe it’s just in my head.
           At the end of the party, Theo and his family ended up choosing the Survey Corps. Uncle Keith was so happy, I think he would actually jump. Theo’s father said they chose us because “this wee little lass is doing her best to protect us. What better way to thank her and her comrades than giving them funds?”
           It was a little too straight to the point, but I don’t care. It’s money and if it will help, then all is well. And since it’s just a title, Theo is free to stay behind, though he wouldn’t have it that way. He ended up tagging along on our way home. Well, not tagging. He’s one of us now.
Copyright © 2019 by imaginesnkdorks. All rights reserved
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radiantseraphina · 5 years
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@command-el  Your post with your OC going to Elise for love advice was so adorable that it inspired me to think about how Elise finally confessed her love to Bikaia, the most oblivious man ever born. I think this also serves as proof that I ought to be writing regency romance or something instead of fantasy YA novels set around colleges.
Elise crouched along the riverbank, half-hidden by trees, and carefully reached for the pile of discarded clothes before her. Her eyes darted towards the lake and—more pertinently—at the place where her lord had disappeared. King Bikaia emerged a few moments later, his skin sparkling with diamond-like drops of lake-water. Most Dreamlanders didn’t swim, and the few who did were poor countrymen and women. Bikaia was the exception. And like most of the few people who swam, Bikaia swam only in his trousers. The first time Elise had stumbled upon him by accident. This was the second time she’d found him swimming.
  It wasn’t an accident.
 Had anyone asked, Elise would have insisted that she appropriately kept her eyes at the back of her king’s head and that she most definitely wasn’t taking in the shapes of his body and the scars he’d patiently and softly explained when Elise, having never seen a royal man’s bare torso—much less one with scars—had gasped. Her face had flushed with embarrassment, and she’d stumbled over her apologies. Her lord had been so gracious.
 He told her about the small scar at the base of his spine, so small and faint that Elise hadn’t seen it even after Bikaia pointed it out. Elise wondered if the scar was even really there or just something that Bikaia felt and imagined was there. After being enslaved by the wizard Necrodeus, Bikaia had tried stabbing his captor, and after his attempt failed to incapacitate the wizard, Necrodeus had taken a dagger and sliced across the base of Bikaia’s spine. The dagger had been cursed or poisoned, leaving a wound that made Bikaia feverish and delirious for a week or more. Bikaia had sounded so ashamed of that scar, as if he were somehow to blame for his own imprisonment and torture. And his soft admission that he’d stopped fighting as hard after that because he’d feared being hurt had broken Elise’s heart.
 And there was the small, clustering of scars near his collarbone, where Dark Matter Swordsman had shattered his clavicle, and Bikaia’s scream of pain had sent Galacta Knight, so calm and even-tempered, into a rage so terrible that the knight had nearly become Galacta Knight Soul. After the swordsman’s defeat, Galacta Knight had swept to Bikaia’s side and held him in her arms and petted his hair. Goddess, Bikaia’s heart ached so badly for Galacta Knight and the tender way she’d always treated him.
  There was the small star-shaped branding over Bikaia’s right hip. It was a wound left by Zero, one that had taken so long to heal and one that might have never healed were it not for Galacta Knight’s knowledge of medicine. And after Zero was defeated, the Kingdom of Traumwald rose from the ashes of her ravaged tribes, and Bikaia became their first ally.
  And there was a tiny scar on Bikaia’s shoulder, left by Zero-Two. It had been a cursed wound, and Bikaia might have bled out if a Patchlandic knight and a Traumwaldian sorceress hadn’t pulled him from the battlefield, sewn the wound closed, and cleansed it before returning Bikaia, exhausted and hungry and thirsty, once more to battle. In the end, Bikaia had emerged victorious as he always did, but his dreams were haunted for years thereafter.
  And Bikaia’s abdominal muscles were still bruised and branded from his battles with Galacta Knight, with Landia, and then, with Dark Nebula. Noble Bikaia, who had fought so hard for Dreamland’s peace and would forever bear the marks of that. Most of Bikaia’s smiles seemed forced after that, and persistent, dark circles had taken up residence beneath his eyes. Although Elise hadn’t mentioned it, she remembered being imprisoned in her own mind, and she remembered Bikaia on his knees begging to take her place as Dark Nebula’s host. Elise remembered, too, all the other degrading things Dark Nebula had considered making Bikaia do, just to see how much he was willing to do to save an innocent person.
 Unlike some, Elise didn’t think Bikaia’s suffering made him some tortured, romantic hero. She didn’t even think that Bikaia’s suffering had made him a better man or even a man in need of being healed. But Elise thought he was very brave to fight for Dreamland like he did, and she thought he must be lonely. And maybe, while she could never cure or fully understand her dear lord’s trauma, she could be someone who could listen.
  When his sad, winter-blue eyes met hers, Elise wondered how it had taken her so long to realize just how handsome her lord was. “Elise!” Bikaia exclaimed, the name barely distinguishable with the force of his laughter.
  He so seldom laughed anymore.
  Elise sat, adjusting the skirts of her pale blue dress to reveal a tiny sliver of her calf over the top of her boots. “Didn’t I warn ya that some lovestruck maiden was gonna steal your clothes if you kept goin’ on these morning swims, Your Majesty?” she asked.
  Bikaia pulled himself up and let his forearms rest on the grassy bank; the rest of him remained in the water. Elise may have given him a rather indecent look, even though she could see very little with him positioned like that. “You did, indeed, warn me,” Bikaia replied.
  “D’you also recall you sayin’ that you’d prolly have to pay that maiden some favor to keep from losin’ all yer dignity and traipsin’ back to the castle in only your trousers?” Elise asked.
  And Elise would definitely derive no enjoyment from watching that. None whatsoever.
  Bikaia offered the merest hint of smile; it didn’t reach his eyes. “I may have also said that, yes,” he conceded.
  “Y’did say it,” Elise assured him.
  “Ah,” Bikaia said, his smile a little more genuine. “I suppose that means I’m at your mercy, then. Please, be gentle with me, Elise. I beg you show restraint with your request.”
  “My papa’s been on me about this marriage business,” Elise said. “Y’know I’m gettin’ to that unsellable age, Your Majesty.”
  Bikaia nodded thoughtfully, never casting any judgment. “You wish for me to arrange a match for you, then?” he asked. “Have you spoken to your father about this?”
  “My father is very indulgent and enlightened, but I think he’s…well, he kinda doubts that the object of my affections is gonna return mine.”
  Bikaia looked almost comically offended. “Really? I can scarcely imagine a man who wouldn’t love you,” he said.
  Elise laughed. “We both know that ain’t true, Your Majesty.”
  “You’re quite right. A cowardly man might be threatened by you,” Bikaia said, “But I doubt you’d ever be interested in such a foul creature.”
  “Yer very kind, Your Majesty,” Elise said.
  “Only because Galacta Knight taught me how to be,” Bikaia said. “She was the noblest woman I’ve ever met. And I would consider myself Goddess-blessed if even a fragment of her many virtues was present in me.”
  “I think—no, I know—we can see more than a fragment of it,” Elise said.
  Bikaia’s eyes seemed to brighten a bit. “Thank you. Who did you have in mind for your engagement?” he asked. “I’ll certainly arrange it if I can.”
  Nova’s grace, had there ever been such a thoughtful, lovely man?
  “Well, I wanna marry someone who’ll let me rule at their side. I ain’t willin’ to just sit back an’ do nothin’. And my papa’s been considering Prince Elden of Seventopia for me,” Elise said, “An’ I told ‘im I’ve got my eyes on a greater prize.”
  Despite Bikaia’s enthusiasm for championing women, his fervor hadn’t quite influenced the monarchy of Seventopia, but Prince Eldin cared enough about his reputation and was politically savvy enough to be kind to a wife, especially if maltreatment risked drawing Bikaia’s ire. Marrying him was a good choice for Elise. He was about her age, handsome, and he could carry a conversation. He just wasn’t the man Elise really wanted.
  “So you need another prince,” Bikaia mused.
  “Yeah. Or maybe a king,” Elise replied.
  “Ah, King Larvara,” Bikaia said, nodding. “I’ve always liked him. I suppose that would make strategic sense, although I was under the impression your sister Lilith was—”
  “I ain’t interested in the king of Floralia, Your Majesty.”
  Bikaia furrowed his brow, clearly trying to puzzle out which monarch Elise desired. It really shouldn’t have been so difficult of a task, as Bikaia and Larvara were the only unmarried kings in all the realms. “You may have to be more explicit, Elise. I’m not—”
  “Dearest, there’s you.”
  She’d never called him an endearment before, and without warning, Bikaia’s mouth was against hers. Bikaia quite clearly had no experience in kissing anyone, and he seemed determined to compensate with zeal. Elise buried her hands in his hair and then trailed her fingers over his shoulders. Elise could feel her balance becoming less sure, and she really hoped she didn’t fall off the bank and into the water with Bikaia. But even that worry wasn’t quite enough to make Elise pull away.
  Eventually, Bikaia broke the kiss. His eyes were bright and his face flushed. “I haven’t even courted you yet,” he said.
  A pleasant, breathless warmth spread through Elise. “I ain’t gonna be happy if we go back an’ you spend months smilin’ at me ‘cross rooms and chastely kissing my hand,” Elise said, “And I ain’t gonna be happy with you runnin’ off and goin’ on quests in my name. I want you to pledge yerself to me now, Bikaia.”
  It was only the second time she’d ever addressed him by his name, and Bikaia blossomed as if caught in some profound spell cast by those three syllables. His face softened and glowed; color rose to his cheeks. “Nothing would make me happier,” Bikaia said. “I promise I’ll be a good, faithful husband, and I’ll treat you well. Very well. Magnificently well. Better than any husband has ever treated his wife!”
  As if Elise would have ever believed otherwise.
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lyouna · 5 years
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Tyler and his love for his fans
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On the Thank You Note of Trench album, he said ” To our fans, thank you for letting me disappear and come back when I need to. You guys mean so much to me on a level that is difficult to explain.”
Tyler is surely one of the most talented and nice people I’ve known. He always seems to care about each one of us and make sure we all doing great.
On May 2013 he posted a picture of him held by tens of fans on Instagram with this description “|My-clique/> yours”
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In February 2014 he thanks his clique if feel local everywhere “Feeling like a løcal band in Europe. Favorite kind of shows. Still missing home. UK up next. Stay løcal.”
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In April he posted a picture of him kneeling in front of little a girl and taking a piece of paper that she was tending him “she drew me a picture.”
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On July, 8 of 2014 he posted of him and the beautiful Jenna Black (at that time) “:.:She said yes:.: I want to share ans celebrate this with all of you right now. How public or private should this be? Well, you guys deserve to see where you have taken me and I like sharing with you who I am. Who we are. We’ve always felt an overwhelming support from all of you and we can’t wait to take this next step together…and yes, that was the most nervous I had never been.”
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On October 2014 he posted a picture of 24 clikkies “:.:mutant•kids:.:
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On December 2014, a photo of a clikkies tag”:.:clique•art:..i seewhatyou create” 
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On April 2015, he tweeted about Blurryface Album telling them to “wait until your hear everything”. Few minutes later, he tweeted ” phone corrected ‘until’ to ‘unlit’ for a second, and now i’ll use that word to describe things that are great. twitter game unlit right now”.
And after that, he starts using his new word in a lot of his tweets.
He started by using that word towards one of the person he loves the most on earth, “josh is unlit“, and after that, he used that word to qualifies a lot of his shows and by it giving love to his fans.
He also posts on Insatagram “clique••art:. stay unlit, keep creating” And he posted a lot of clikkies’ art.
He always seems very thankful for everything and thanking everyone for it. ” thank you, my friends. all of you.” Later he addressed to his fans” couldn’t survive without you, friends. will you still be here on the 19th? need to lean on you that day, friends.”
I try to make everyone sure that they get noticed by him “i see you all; in one fashion or another; so thank you, my friends; my peers;” / “it breaks my heart to see that Not posting would lead some of you to believe that i do not Love and Support you. that is simply not true. any day when love defeat hate, you can know i am celebrating, just maybe not on twitter. as for the silence: through personal experience, i want to create and influence something that might help others navigate through the battlefield that is the brain. and for those who understand that terminology, you know what battle i am talking about. but while at this mental ground zero, i have found that any other influence added on, no matter how noble, becomes to heavy for me to carry. i am not strong enough. be patient with me as i grow, that some day i might be able to carry more weight. but for now, i write what i know. both josh and i mean this, with Love and Support, .tyler”
On July 2015, he said ” you all have become so important to us. thank you. now go on, git. you gon make me cry now.”
On August of that same year, he continued “my frens i appreciate you all so much. i use music. you use music. thank you for letting me be a part of that with you.” On Instagram “:newfrens:__|__:øldfens: cometogethernow”
On September, he said “gangsters don’t let their gangster frens cry but my frens and i cry all the time. bye.”
On November, he thanked his fans for making a video for his anniversary “saw the video some of you guys put together for my day of birth. got me all misty. thank you for making me feel. all you, i like all you.::” ” thank you all for the bday weesh’s my frens. now go create.” On Instagram “the German clique always puts on amazing shows. hate that i can’t be with them these next few nights. we’ll be back very soon, i promise. dang, this photo makes me all emotional roadshow.” / ” love getting clique:art at shows, especially when it creeps me out a little. took a close up of this one on my phone. sorry I didn’t catch who to credit.”
On December he posted a clique art on Instagram “i see what you guys create and it convinces me i should keep creating too. you have no idea.”
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On the last day of 2015, he thanks his fans to made what he hope for possible “2thousand5teen the year i fell asleep and had one long dream. thank you |-/ “
He also said, “i wish i could have a real conversation with all of you individually.“
“and if you or someone near you needs out of the pit for an emergency, hold up your hand and point down at them. i’ll stop the show for you.“
” just drove slowly past the entire line for our show today. i’ve fallen for you guys. each one of you.“
On February 2016, he posted a photo of him “shows in europe:.:can’t wait to see you frens”
On August “i will never forget this tour. the first installment of the emøtiønal røadshow will forever be a part of who i am as an artist, a friend, a performer, a fan. you guys know how to put on a show. so if you watched from a distance, checked in online or helped hold us up in the pit: thank you. because we are “famous” now we have to do all kinds of interviews with random people but the thing that those people always ask us about is you guys. it’s my favorite type of question because i love to brag about you. i know i may have been distant online recently but i can only take that kind of break to focus on doing shows because i know you guys always hold it down, keep the fire burning, keep tending to that flame. if you guys continue to look out for each other, support each other’s art, and stay together you’ll be unstoppable. and the distance is just a season. more shows to come, more songs to write. only for you guys. |-/“
The clikkies did again a video for his birthday in 2016 and he replied” if you hurt any of these people i will hurt you. thank you frens. so much. |-/”
” . you deserve more than a :thank:you: my frens. the ones who hold this thing up. i brace for the fall but you keep on holding. . “
On February,14 of 2017 he posted 3 times, one for Jenna, one for Josh and one for us” and to you. Happy Valentine’s Day. lets all date.“
On October 2018 he said ” ok im out. i should get on here more. first show of the bandito tour tomorrow in nashville. i like you guys.” / “TRENCH ||-// out now:: tell some people you know, if you can. and if you already spread the news, thank you my fren:: josh was up all night calling everyone in his contacts” In November “hit me hard last night, where we came from, how this started. playing last night in phoenix was a perfect representation of that. thank you, frens. |-/ “
On December “you all are so weird” “and i love every bit of it thank you for making this birthday great/weird and, you know what, happy birthday to all of you, whenever that may be. because when that day truly comes around, i won’t really care that much”
“the bandito tour is very special to me, including any of you who made it to the show this year. thank you. things get quiet around this time, and i’m reminded why i write so much about the lack of sound. it’s deafening. all of the questions. is what i’m doing any good. this last album, was it good enough, what’s the point. i hate typing them out, which might be why i refuse to grant them any punctuation. but then i’m reminded of the show and the people who come. this odd theatrical convention we have landed on as a species, a concert, is somehow healing and protecting, boosting the immune system of the psyche. maybe it’s the ethereal sensation of hearing you all singing in unison, or its the natural warmth of the collective body heat from the pit billowing toward me. whatever t is, i’ve learned it can be harnessed and preserved so that the echoes of its effects can be tapped in to when needed. kneeling down in front of you during the show, i’m collecting. and now as i type this out i’m unpacking, to combat those questions that show up in the quietest of places. feels silly just saying”thank you for coming to the show” so i thought i’d explain it a little. see you at the next one |-“
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I hope I made you believe that Tyler loves you because he truly does. He isn’t a singer who doesn’t care about his fans, he does love us. He wants us to stay alive, it’s not some jokes that people told because they think it would make you feel better, it’s the reality. If he learns you didn’t stay alive, it would devastate him.
Stay Alive frens ||-//
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mountphoenixrp · 5 years
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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:
                                     Susanoo, the God of Sea and Storms,                                            whose origins stem from Ancient Japan.                                        He is now a swim instructor at Zero to Hero.
FC NAME/GROUP: lee soohyuk GOD NAME: susanoo PANTHEON: japanese OCCUPATION: swim instructor at zero to hero HEIGHT: 1,84m WEIGHT: 61kg DEFINING FEATURES: tattoo of angry waves from the left side of his chest and shoulder blade to his elbow. when he’s starting to lose his temper and/or using his powers, his eyes turn to a bright sea green.
PERSONALITY: susano-o has definitely calmed down after all these centuries away from his pantheon, especially because he’s trying (the keyword being exactly trying) to be a better brother and therefore a better god in general. he doesn’t go around causing as much havoc as before for the smallest pettiest things but it doesn’t mean that he lost his easily triggered temper. he’s just less destructive when angry now. it’s not perfect and he still has the tendency to act selfishly and only look at things from his own point of view, needing a (very hard push) nudge to understand and empathize with others. it doesn’t help that he’s still as good with words as he was when he was young and wild which is not very much. susano-o is blunt and sounds rude and aggressive even when he’s trying to be gentle. even when he’s quiet, he always has this intense aura around him, always looks annoyed and fully done with this bullshit or angry with something.
he’s very much the type to hold grudges for centuries. actually susano-o still has a lot of hard feelings towards his family, not only his siblings but also his father, for some events on his life that he genuinely thinks were unfair to him. he might’ve grown more patient throughout time but it doesn’t mean that he got any more forgiving. but at least, for believing that he had a shitty dad, susano-o tries to give them what his own father didn’t throughout his life (even though he might be a little too awkward with dealing with his own kids) and he’s very protective over them. he also tries not to play favorites because knows first hand how it sucks.
but it also means that when susano-o cares, he cares. he’s clumsy with his feelings because he always feels too much and he ends up not knowing how to deal with it properly (well, at least not in a healthy and ‘let’s-not-destroy-things-until-these-stupid-feelings-go-away’ way). he’d drown the world for eternity if it meant protecting those he holds dear, would go through the humiliation and have his pride as a god being ripped off of him again and again and again if it meant the happiness of the ones he loves.
susano-o is still a very prideful god however and even if he admits (to himself) his wrongdoings from the past and how some of it could be explained but not justified by his sister and daddy issues, it’s very hard for him to say it out aloud and apologize through words. he’s much better with gestures (albeit usually small ones) than expressing himself verbally in any situation. he also gets very easily defensive when accused or when people call his bullshit out. even if he knows they’re right, susano-o’s knee jerk reaction is to defend himself with claws and teeth and he’ll not give up his ground.
HISTORY:
i. basically susano-o’s problems start with dad.
susano-o is understanding enough to know that it isn’t like his father can choose what kid is born from where, so he doesn’t blame him that his siblings are born from his eyes and then there’s little young susano-o came from his nose. cool. what isn’t cool is how he shamelessly shows how much he prefers his other kids than susano-o. how he gives them greater titles like “the sun goddess, the great deity that lights the day” and “ the moon god, the great deity who lights the night” then the youngest is left with the leftovers. they’re called the three noble children who own the sky, but susano-o is the only one who has no part in that sky. amaterasu is entitled to the day and tsukiyomi to the night.
and then like any child, susano-o wants to see his mother, wants to at least have someone on his side for once, even comes with a plan to try to get her back, something that even father failed to do. but then this is susano-o. he’s not only denied that, but also is kicked out of heaven for it.
ii. then there’s dear older sister.
he and amaterasu go a very long and even more complicated way. susano-o admits that he might’ve had way too much fun teasing her and he might’ve crossed the line once or twice and, yes, he was very vocal about his discontentment of his assigned land but that would never mean he’d try to take something that wasn’t his, that wasn’t given to him. he wanted them to recognize that he was worth of the sky and taking it by force, even if very tempting, would just destroy that whole point. however, they were family and susano-o, in his stupidity, thought that amaterasu and the other gods would remember that, would know that he didn’t have those kind of ill-intentions.
but then susano-o was stupid and wrong because amaterasu showed him nothing but hostility when he came to big her goodbye and he was even more stupid and wrong in proposing what was supposed to be a nice game to prove that he was sincere, and his intentions were pure. the one who managed to give birth to greatest gods would prove they were right. amaterasu uses his sword and gives birth to three goddess and susano-o uses her necklace and from there five gods are born. however, instead of admitting her defeat, amaterasu argued (cheated) that the gods were hers because they came from her necklace and the goddess were his because they came from his sword and when susano-o pointed out the absurdity of it and she should just accept that she lost and therefore wrong, no one took his side.
in a fit of rage and frustration, of well, if you want me to play the bad brother, then that’s what i’ll do, he leaves heaven to never return (at least so soon) with a trail of destruction and chaos that includes a dead sacred horse, another dead handmaid and his sister leaving to hide herself in a cave for heavens know how long.
iii. surprisingly the solution comes in the form of a crying couple, mourning over the death of their seventh daughter and fearing for the eighth.
susano-o has never been any hero, that’s something he was sure from the beginning and he never claimed to be. he had no interest in helping a couple of elders, especially when he was still recovering from his newest and possibly more permanent exile from takamagahara. he had no intentions to kill any monster for people he didn’t know, for mortals he didn’t care for.
but then he sees her.
remembering it now, susano-o is extremely embarrassed about the corny thoughts that crossed his mind back then. he was mesmerized by her beauty, charmed by her eyes, enchanted by her voice. he has always heard about what they talked about amaterasu, endless tales and songs about how her divine beauty and susano-o genuinely thinks that those who wrote about his oldest sister, never laid his eyes on kushinada-hime, because then those would be about her.
(or maybe they’d be starstruck like susano-o, not able to find enough words to do her justice).
he knew from the moment he laid his eyes on her that he’d fight his whole pantheon
POWERS:
storm manipulation: is able to create, shape and manipulate storms which includes strong wind (cyclones and windstorm), heavy precipitation (rainstorm).
earthquake generation: is able to create and manipulate earthquakes, usually but not limited to underwater lands which results in tsunamis and natural disasters.
water manipulation: is able to create, shape and control bodies of water. in his case, it also includes ocean manipulation in which he can control not only seawater, but the oceans’ tides, waves and currents. he’s also able to breath underwater.
STRENGTHS:
surprisingly patient in the sense that he doesn’t rush to get things done
protective and loyal over those he holds dear
always sincere about his intentions and feelings. he’s a lot of bad things but not a liar nor deceiver. he’s also very easy to read.
also surprisingly very open-minded about a lot of things and doesn’t tend to be very judgmental about people unless they’ve done something against him
WEAKNESSES:
still has anger issues and, sure, his self control is better than before but it doesn’t really mean much because it’s been always very shitty. it’s like going from 0 to 0.5
doesn’t listen well to others
gets lethargic (and grumpier) when being away too long from the sea, even in the island, he still needs to go to the coast a couple of times to avoid that.
also hates sunny days but it’s something more related with his bad relationship with amaterasu and even now it’s just something he can easily shrug off.  
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ganymedesclock · 6 years
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Honestly something I think is really interesting about the colony? I’ve called it a vampire story but it really is, down to a lot of the sort of classical hallmarks of the genre.
The Altean colony is set up to look like a beautiful, idyllic pastoral village surrounded by the forest. Everything’s nice there. There’s a local reclusive nobleman, rarely seen by the locals, who keeps to himself but he’s charming and everyone regards him well.
Now and then this noble takes people with him.
They aren’t seen again.
Because Lotor drains the life out of them behind closed doors.
Bandor returns to the colony, in the woods, at night. There’s that scene of Romelle hiding from Lotor- again, in the woods at night. This is one of the only nocturnal shots of the colony we see.
Once again, we have this vampire metaphor with the galra royal family, and it’s just a lot more literal than we’ve been led to believe before. Lotor’s not actively biting these people on the neck and drinking their blood, but, end result? Motives? Exactly the same. He has this population, and he’s feeding on them.
It even furthers what I’ve talked about before, that Lotor and Zarkon effectively represent very different conceptualizations of what a vampire is, with Lotor embodying the “modern” supernatural romance vampire, and Zarkon as the “classical” gothic horror vampire.
Zarkon’s consumption of people is glaringly obvious. His empire is festooned in people in rags, he has a huge cadre of functionally, other vampires. He hides nothing- will walk around with tubes of quintessence hanging out of his back while he’s recovering. Of course people die to feed him- because he’s a completely willing and knowing plague onto the universe. He’s better than them, he’s the immortal here.
He has zero guilt and zero shame. All mortals he contends with are his food, and from that he’ll occasionally promote them to “entertainment” or “assets”. At the end of the day, still livestock.
Lotor? Lotor feels guilty.
As soon as he realizes Romelle is in the room and processes what it means, he’s horrified. He flat-out says “I know what you must think of me” trying to negotiate with them and his counterpoint is basically just, that he genuinely wants to do good and that he meant what he said to Allura before.
And that’s frankly, vampire romance genre at its finest: the tragedy of the revelation that Lotor got this far by, in no uncertain terms, eating people (and over the course of his lifespan, that number’s added up to a pretty high total if we look at the number of names on the memorial and Romelle’s words) is in part framed in what it does for his love life. He and Allura love each other, but Lotor’s a vampire, he’s killed people just like Allura, and she can’t forgive him for that.
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Which is totally understandable. But the heartbreak, the drama, the point of how Lotor’s terrified, outraged by the idea of, becoming like his unrepentantly parasitic father sets this up with very particular conventions.
Allura flat-out had herself a vampire romance. That’s what happened.
Now, I think the use of these conventions shed some interesting light on Lotor’s situation, and his likely motivations. Romelle says the decision to make the colony happened “generations ago” but she still describes it as very separate from the colony’s inception.
It’s very likely Lotor was getting his “food” somewhere else, and never originally conceptualized the colony as a source of energy.
But something happened. Those other sources ran dry. It’s likely Haggar, either directly or through Zarkon, pulled energy away from Lotor.
And Lotor knows the only way he’s ever going to fix the empire’s vampiric problem without going Van Helsing on himself and most of the galra, condemning the survivors- if there are any- to a vulnerable half-existence, is if he basically can get his hands on the quintessence field- the guilt-free, no-predation-necessary, infinite fountain of blood.
He needs energy to get there.
So his options are, die, become something he doesn’t want to, or compromise his morals in a really bad way and turn to the people who would patiently, obligingly follow him anywhere.
The vampire starves, and the neighbors start to look really, really tasty.
But Lotor’s still a moral person. He’s a good enough person to feel revolted and ashamed of what he’s doing. So he does something we never see Zarkon do- he buries it. Everything about it. And he’s horrified of people finding those skeletons. Again, seeing Romelle among his allies while they’re all accusative and doing the scifantasy equivalent of readying the stakes and garlic prompts undiluted terror from Lotor but his response is to try to appeal to Allura.
Again, bumping Lotor to “romance vampire” away from the gothic horror sensibilities of his father (even when the environment and setup of the colony evoke the latter)- he’s less focused on the peril this poses to him on being “outed” as a vampire and vastly more focused on Allura’s either rejection or forgiveness. When she rejects him, that sinks him, twice.
The first time, none of the weapons pointed at the paladins are what take Lotor down- it’s just Allura. Allura tosses Lotor, and Lotor stays down. He doesn’t wake up again except to face Haggar.
The second time, during the standoff, Lotor order the generals to hold their fire and repeatedly tries to appeal to them. It’s Allura’s word that makes or breaks that negotiation, and that’s not because Lotor’s a blameless sheep.
It furthers the dynamic we’ve seen before, that Lotor’s not emptily manipulating Allura, but that his feelings for her cause him to repeatedly make his vulnerability available to Allura. And in the conflict between them, we see this flexed in practice. Lotor’s put a huge amount of power in Allura’s hands, and when, feeling hurt and betrayed herself, she uses it to hurt him right back, that has a colossal destabilizing effect on basically everything Lotor’s standing on.
Lotor’s breakdown is instrumental to his losing the generals’ support, which, since this is Voltron, Hunk’s point about how it’s now four-on-one (and eventually five-on-one) is completely true.
Lotor’s literally a supernatural being- an immortal, a vampire- by the lore of the story. But Allura, not just through her own developing magic, but through her relationship with Lotor, is the one who holds the power here. Her approval or rejection makes or breaks him because he’s fascinated with her, he adores her.
It’s a complete fundamental deconstruction of the predatory way every other incarnation of Lotor went after Allura, where Allura had to, one way or another, fight to retain her autonomy in the presence of a pursuing monster. And again, this is kind of a vampire romance thing- as in, the power fantasy of a woman being able to tame a powerful and dangerous creature.
The colony and Allura’s completely understandable reaction to Lotor are functionally set-pieces in this vampire romance. It paints Lotor as a shade of gray. We’ve seen his values and we understand them. We see what he’s dealing with and we can sympathize. At the end of the day, though, he’s not a proper squeaky clean hero like Allura is.
Lotor felt backed into a corner and the only way out was to compromise his own morals and sate that bloodthirsty appetite. Other alternatives may have been open to him, but they would probably require trust, or otherwise abetting power- things that Lotor can’t believe in because from his perspective the only way things won’t hurt him is if he’s strong enough to hold their teeth away from his throat himself.
And he’s aware of it! Heck, if you look at the substance of his harsh words on Alfor, he’s actively self-conscious about it! We have to remember Lotor’s repeatedly expressed deep admiration for Alfor and that slips through even at his absolute worst- he’s eager to see if Sincline holds up against Alfor’s legacy, so even after he insists he’s better than Alfor he’s using Alfor’s handiwork as a metric.
So Lotor sneering about how if it had been up to Alfor and Alfor’s strategy, all of the Alteans would have died, it’s kind of his furious, hurt thesis that if it weren’t for him, the vampire, who’s yes taken the selfish option and bloodied his own hands, chosen his own preservation over staying true to his values, they wouldn’t have gotten here. 
And again, that frames it back to... there’s this fundamental difference where Zarkon makes cruel choices out of a lack of sympathy. Why should he care what anyone else feels, why should he care who has to suffer to fill his hunger? Zarkon effectively chose to be a vampire. He said “damn my friends, damn the universe, I’ll take my wife to the rift if it kills me” and we never really see Zarkon disappointed in the result.
Lotor didn’t choose. Lotor got handed this stick before he was born by Zarkon’s decisions and that’s the thematic motifs here- that Lotor got saddled against his will with this hunger, so his “fall” isn’t set to the same metrics Zarkon was. He doesn’t have a perfectly good opportunity to put the knife down and walk away and live out his natural mortal life because eating other people is unappealing to him.
Because of the world Zarkon’s created, because of what Zarkon did to him from the cradle, Lotor’s option is to compromise himself or compromise somebody else. And we’ve known from the start Lotor is a scared, vulnerable person. We know that push comes to shove, his own survival is a very powerful motivator because he feels like it’s constantly in peril.
But he made that choice. He made the decision to keep living, keep chasing his ambitions, knowing exactly at what kind of cost it would come, and this fuels a line of guilt that he doesn’t feel worthy of Allura- Allura, whose parents, who the world around her, provided what she needed even when she lost everything else. Allura, who hasn’t faced the prospect of starving or resorting to other people in order to survive. 
Remember how easily he gave up on Oriande because it rejected him once? Remember how he didn’t actually expect to get in there at all, and- according to what he tells Ezor and Zethrid, was sure that he’d need someone of Allura’s purity to get in there at all?
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Believe me, I’m as upset by Lotor’s breakdown here as anybody else, but the colony is something that adds up perfectly with what we know of Lotor as a person, who he is, his relationship with Allura. This is drama you’d absolutely slide off the shelf in the supernatural teen romance section of the library- well, if you found a well-written teen romance.
(The fact that I ship Lotura when I don’t even like a lot of other vampire romance stories should probably tell you something about the writing and my esteem)
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Somos da mesma família
After Ruff's complicated childbirth her family has to help her make a new life. Basically a fluff without plot.
A/N: Sorry for any possible mistakes, as you probably know (or not) English isn't my first language ^.^'
Also the title is in Brasilian-Portuguese and it means "we are the same family". I didn't have any better ideas, okay -.-'
It’s also on ao3.
It's been said that the worst childbirth you can go through is your own. Well, Reena would straight up laugh at the person who would tell her that, especially after this night. Her own pregnancy was hard and exhausting, but the labor was simple and easy, as well as not that painful, due to her trainings and high pain threshold. It surely was a bad experience, but not the worst.
However her sister-in-law... that was a whole different story. Starting with a terrible parent material, ending with a body that had completely zero predispositions to give birth. It was a bad idea for her to get pregnant at all, but no one seemed to care. Well, Reena was too absorbed by her own pregnancy to care about the others and even though Ruff knew she was right, no one else listened to her. Besides, Fishlegs wanted children so bad and they were the only members of the gang who didn't have their own kid. Hiccup and Astrid’s daughter was nearly two years old, Snotlout and Heather's boy wasn't much younger, even Tuff was a father already. No wonder Fishlegs was tired of waiting.
Reena sighed, wiping the sweat off Ruffnut's forehead. She should probably come back to her son, but she couldn't leave her sister. A sister she's never had, even though that was technically her husband's sister. They were so close, almost like real sisters, completely different, but still loved each other.
“How is she?” Fishlegs asked quietly, coming into the bedroom. He was mad and embittered that he was kicked out of his own house, from his own wife's side. Even though the women knew better what they were doing. Reena would even let him stay, but Fishlegs' mother as well as Ruffnut's mother made him leave. Besides of all their friends only Hiccup managed to help with childbirth, because Snotlout passed out and Tuffnut didn't manage to come in time, since as he was told, the first labor is always long. Well, Astrid’s and Heather's were, while Reena had a better shaped body that made it quick, so before Tuff finished his work, their son was already born.
“She'll be fine. They all will be” the woman answered, not looking at her friend. She knew he should be grateful he didn't have to see that, since Ruff went through hell that night. Her labor was far from quick and easy, it was long, complicated and very painful. It'll also be traumatic.
“Why didn't you let me in?” Fishlegs asked, caressing his wife's cheek.
“You know why. You weren't mean to be here” was the only answer he heard for the past few hours.
“Don't say that crap again” he scoffed. “Tell me the truth, Katarina” he demanded. Reena winced, she didn't like being called by her full name and everyone knew that.
“It is the truth” she finally looked at him. Her tired, steel grey eyes were full of worry. “The whole thing that happened tonight” she gestured around “it was terrible, it was just too much. I won't be surprised if I'll have nightmares about it. I helped with labors already, I gave birth myself, but I've never had this much trouble. She could've died tonight. As well as your kids.”
“Kids?” the big man was clearly surprised.
“She was carrying twins. She has a twin brother, does it really surprise you that she had two babies?” Reena was slightly amused.
“N-no... well... you had one baby. I didn't think...”
“I think it's actually pretty good for her. Because that's it. You can't have any more children if you want her to live. The next childbirth will kill her” she said very seriously. The risk was high before, now another pregnancy was a straight up suicide for Ruff.
“Was it this bad?” suddenly Fishlegs stopped being mad. He obviously didn't realize it was this serious.
“It was worse than bad. And I'm so grateful I already have a baby, because I would never want to give birth after experiencing all of this” she confessed. “That’s why we kicked you out. To spare you this trauma.”
“Where are the kids? Can I see them?” he asked unsure.
“They're sleeping now. I fed them myself, I have a lot of milk anyway” she answered. Apparently her body was made to have babies, or maybe her son didn't like to eat a lot? Anyway, the fact was that she had enough milk for two, maybe even three babies. Yay for everyone except for her, heavy breasts aren't comfortable at all. Even though the pain was eased every time she could help some poor mother who had trouble with breastfeeding. Like that time when Heather suddenly lost her milk due to stress and Astrid couldn't help her best friend because she didn't have enough milk for two kids, it was Reena who was able to help until Heather could feed her baby herself again. Now she worried she might have to do the same for Ruff, especially if she'll have trauma after the labor.
“Thanks. Will you let me know when she's up? I need to do some things, besides you probably should eat something.”
“I'm not hungry” she shook her head and started to untie her short raven black hair.
“I'm not saying you are, I just say you should eat. You know you should-”
“Thanks. I know what I should” she cut him off. “I'm not really able to eat right now. I'll eat later” she promised. As the chief's daughter she was stubborn and everyone knew already that it was either her way or no way. Just like Hiccup would act sometimes. A chiefs' children trait.
It took a few hours - with one breastfeeding and one quiet fight - for Ruff to wake up. When she opened her eyes she saw her brother sleeping on the chair with his son on his chest. Reena was nowhere to be seen. Ruffnut looked at her twin and sighed. He was such a wonderful dad to his baby boy, he loved him so much and they already had a unique bond. She didn't feel it, despite being pregnant for nine months, she didn't feel close to her child. She hasn't even seen it and she didn't care. Well, she hoped it's alive, because she didn't go through hell for nothing, but she definitely lacked motherly instinct and that wasn't a nice feeling.
The bedroom door opened and Ruffnut saw her wonderful sister-in-law coming quietly in. She was as beautiful as usual and it didn't matter that she had a sleepless night.
“Hey” Ruff whispered, trying to get the woman's attention.
“How are you?” Reena sat down on the edge of the bed and checked her patient's forehead. Fortunately there was no sign of a fever.
“Everything hurts like hell down there, but aside from that I'm fine” the blonde answered quietly. “How did you even do that? I don't want to experience it ever again.”
“You won't if you want to live. Fishlegs knows everything, I told him about the risk. He's been worried sick” the woman looked at her sister-in-law. She was also worried sick.
“Good. He should be happy now” Ruff sighed, shifting her position slightly.
“What about you?” the other woman was concerned about the important things.
“What about me?”
“Don’t you want to see your babies?”
“Babies?” the twin was as surprised as her husband was before.
“You gave birth to twins. Seriously, you didn't feel that you carry more than one baby?” Reena raised her eyebrows, as far as she knew the mother should be able to feel it.
“I didn't care.” Well, that explained a lot.
“Well, do you now?”
“No. Give those babies to Fishlegs, let him worry about everything” Ruffnut really seemed to be indifferent what would happen to her children.
“What?”
“You heard me. I don't want them.”
“Ruff, please-”
“No. I said I don't want them. I never wanted twins, I know how does it feel like.”
Reena listened to it shocked. How twins can be so similar yet so different? Ruff and Tuff had so much in common, yet apparently they had so different approach to parenthood. Tuffnut loved his son deeply from the very first moment he looked at him, she saw that in his eyes. He took care of the baby, especially when his wife was busy. And he wanted to protect him at all cost. Yet his twin sister completely didn't care about her newborn babies. Tuff was such an amazing father, why was Ruff so different?
“Ruffnut” she spoke softly. “Those twins are your children. And they're the only children you will ever have. Do you understand?”
“I don’t care. I never wanted them, I don’t love them.”
“You can learn if you want. It happens sometimes, not every mother loves her child from the very beginning. It's rare and no one likes to talk about it, but it happens” she knew what she was talking about, she was an experienced midwife and a very empathetic woman. “You can learn to love them and if you don't want to do that for them, do it for Fishlegs. You love him, why can't you love his children?”
“I don’t know. I should've married you, we wouldn'thave to care about any stupid kids” she sighed half jokingly. She never hid her interest in both men and women, as well as her slight jealousy of her brother's girlfriend. No, wait, wife. They were married for a couple of months by now, but Ruff kept forgetting that constantly. Heck, she was married herself and even though she really loved Fishlegs, she couldn't forget her former crush on her sister-in-law. Well, that woman was perfect in every inch, no wonder Tuffnut was head over heels over her.
“Well, I like the way it is now” Reena smiled with amusement. She never thought she might end up like this, her father was a chief, after all. She always expected he would arrange her a marriage with some noble chief's son for alliance. She was strongly against it, but that was how it supposed to look like. She could've been salty about it, but she couldn't change anything. Yet everything changed when Tuffnut Thorston stormed in her life, turning it upside down. She saw new possibilities, she fell in love and now she was here, on Berk, a wife and a mother. Something that she always feared, an unpleasant duty, became her dream. No one force her to anything, it was her decision to be with Tuff, to marry him, to have his child. She was free to do anything, if she wanted to leave, she could leave, no one would lock her up and make her stay. But she didn't want to leave and that was the most beautiful thing to her. That she found a man who made her so happy she wanted to be with him forever while staying as tough and proud she always used to be.
“Who would expect, huh? You're a warrior and yet you are a wonderful mother” Ruff didn't hide the slight envy in her voice.
“So will be you.”
“I won't make a good mother. I know it. Just look at Tuff” she gestured to her brother. “He's so good and natural in it, like he was born to being a father. You look at him and you know he loves your son. And I can't compete with that.”
Reena turned her head to look at her dear boys and her own eyes filled with love. It's not like everything was perfect, but Tuff was certainly doing his best to be perfect. Even though he was far from that.
“You don't have to compete with that” she turned her head back to look at Ruff. “I understand that, sometimes even I think I can't compete.”
“You? But you're the best mom ever, so loving and badass, and you didn't stop being a beautiful woman, unlike many women do.”
“Well, they do, because they forget that they're not only mothers. And because kids are very absorbing” she chuckled. “Anyway, yes, even such a wonderful mom can be worried she's not enough, compared to a perfect dad. But look at our friends. Do you remember how impatient was Snotlout to see his child and how terrified he was when he was supposed to hold the baby for the first time? He couldn't stay near his son for weeks, because he was scared of hurting him accidentally. Or Hiccup, he tried so much to be the perfect chief and the perfect dad, that he overworked himself and he nearly forgot that his daughter has also an amazing mother. They fought a lot about it, remember? He was stressed all the time and so was Astrid, she also didn't think she can make a good mother and look at her now. Every one of your concerns is valid, but not necessary. Even those who seem to be perfect have a lot of fear in them.”
“I bet Tuff doesn't” the twin said with a slight sarcasm.
“Then you're wrong, sis” came the deep, raspy voice from Tuffnut, who was no longer asleep. The baby on his chest also stirred, but fortunately didn't wake up. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just overheard some things.”
“It's okay” Reena smiled, looking at her husband with loving eyes. She adored that voice also she couldn't imagine more beautiful view than the one in front of her.
“Get a room, you two” Ruffnut rolled her eyes, looking at two lovebirds. They were worse than Hiccup and Astrid sometimes.
“We'll get a room when we want” snapped Tuff, he's changed and matured a lot, but not quite, especially when he was around his sister. “But you know what's your problem? You're overthinking it. Sis, you can perfectly take care of dragons and you can't take care of your babies? They're easier than dragons.”
“Easy to say, you didn't make twins.”
“Yet.”
“What was that supposed to mean?” Reena raised an eyebrow. “What if I don't want more kids?”
“I know you do, love. Maybe not now, but in a year or two. Astrid is thinking about it already. Besides, I don’t want to be worse than them and have only one kid while they have two and at the first try.”
“Haven't you heard, brother dearest, that it was the only try?”
“Well then, you should be grateful. For now you're better than me” Tuff admitted, closing his eyes again.
“I'll go tell Fishlegs you're awake. He wants to see you so bad” Reena stood up and left the room.
After a moment of silence, Ruffnut spoke.
“Tuff?”
“Ye?”
“I'm scared.”
The man opened his eyes and looked at his sister. Then he slowly stood up, careful not to wake his son up and moved to the bed.
“Me too. I'm scared all the time that something might happen to Reena or our son. Or that I'll do something terribly wrong and therefore I'll lose them. Last night I was scared I might lose you” his grey eyes looked deeply in the blue ones. “I know we wanted to kill each other more times than we can count, but we can't pretend we don't love each other. We can act as if we never cared, but the truth is that we do care about each other. We just needed to understand that.”
“Why do you tell me that?”
“Because if you try, you'll understand that you already love your babies. Even though you say you don't. You can take care of them, besides, you have Fishlegs. Stop thinking, start feeling. It helped me, it'll help you.”
Ruffnut looked at her twin clearly impressed. When did he change from her irresponsible idiot brother to this grown-up man? Tuff she knew would never do or say something like that, he would only laugh at her. Not that she complained, it was a very good change. Reena seriously did a hella good job, she brought the best out of him, that must've been Tuffnut she's seen all the time whenever someone asked why such a wonderful woman is married to the biggest idiot Hooligans know. She'd seen in him what no one else had seen. Now Ruff could see that too. She didn't have a chance to reply somehow, because the door burst open and Fishlegs stormed inside, holding a small bundle in his arms. Her child.
“I was so worried about you, cutie pie” the big man sat down on the bed when Tuff stood up.
“I'll be fine” his wife answered, forcing a small smile. Reena, like the expert she was, opened the chest that was standing by the bed and took some pillows from inside, then closed it, all with one hand and one foot. Her other hand was occupied by the baby she was holding. Ruff's other child.
“Try to sit up, I'll put these behind your back so you'll be able to sit comfortably” she ordered. With a little help from Fishlegs and only a little pain, they succeeded. “Now you may take your son” she carefully placed the baby she was holding in its mother arms.
“Take also our daughter” Fishlegs put the baby next to her brother.
Ruffnut felt a twitch in her heart as she looked at her twins. She never expected she'd ever seen something like that. Her own babies. She wasn't so sure if she really doesn't care about them.
“I will” she said, looking up at Reena. “I will learn to love them.”
Another A/N: I wasn't really sure if I should even post it, because a) there's no Hiccstrid, they're only mentioned, b) my ships are not your ships, c) my OC is not your OC. In general I was afraid that you might not agree with what I created, but in the end I decided "screw that". Fanfiction is about different points of view, new characters, new ideas. You don't have to agree with it and that's okay. There's only one thing I ask for: don't be salty on my OC, I love her so much and she's so complex character, I tried to show it here. Also don't hate me for ooc Tuff, though with that I can live ^.^'
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In Cold Blood: Chapter 7
Summary: The illustrious Kuran family is thrown into disarray when the crown princess disappears under suspicious circumstances. Will she ever be found?
Zero was bemused. It was usually his say so that any large (and large wasn't particularly big for this colony, he mused) group of people would go out into the cold light of day, and he didn't necessarily need to be involved. There were plenty of capable raiders to choose from in these winding tunnels. And it wasn't like they were in desperate need for supplies. The raid was a failure due to the ambush, but they now had Yuuki's pureblood blood for use. He was doubtful that her blood would have the corrosive qualities that had been present in the mystery pureblood the former leader had drank from. She was just too big-hearted for that. So he was a little confused as to why the two in front of him (one of them Kaito, though Zero had been under the impression that they had fallen out) were so desperately pleading with him to go with them.
"But why do you need me so badly? You can handle a little raid without me." He raised an eyebrow in emphasis. There wouldn't be a surprise party waiting for them when they had decided on this raid all of a sudden.
"Because you're the best for this. Come on! That can wait!"
Zero gave a long suffering sigh, shuffling a pile of papers away from himself. Sometimes, it was like he was running a day care and he was surrounded by children. They did have some odd moments of clinginess that he couldn't fully understand.
"Let's make this quick."
"Yes! Thanks." The female hunter placed a grateful hand on his arm. It was a pain to be so needed, really.
~Z~
Yuuki received the agreed upon signal from Yui, who ducked out of sight as the door opened and Zero's motley crew exited. He almost looked defeated; mild annoyance etched into every corner of his face. She linked her hands behind herself in an attempt to look casual.
"Oh, are you heading out?" She asked sweetly, drawing his irritated stare to her for a moment.
"Apparently so." His words were dripping with weariness. If she hadn't been planning to cheer him up when he returned, she would have called a halt to the plan. He was clearly stressed and had much to be attending to. But, that heavy level of stress warranted a heavier level of relaxation. "Did you need something?"
"It's not important. Enjoy your trip."
He snorted ironically.
"Thanks."
She waited until the trio were out of sight, maintaining her innocent appearance all the way. Luckily, Zero seemed too distracted to notice. Following along in Yui's footsteps, she walked hurriedly to the far hallway where their helpers were patiently waiting.
Liberating them to decorate the main living area set the stage for the unity she witnessed for the next few solid hours. The dull brown setting was quickly transformed by nimble hands into a vibrant, welcoming setting. Old birthday streamers fluttered across the ceiling while the caterers set up various tables for a rare buffet.
As the minor tasks began to make up the majority of the time, Yuuki excused herself to the kitchens. She hadn't had much experience with cooking, but she knew that people preferred home made to store bought. Sure, it was considered a luxury amongst many circles, but making chocolate couldn't be too hard, could it?
She energetically set to work, having had the ingredients set aside for her by the cooks. She had heard from those same cooks that Zero didn't particularly like sweet things, so she had requested further ingredients to make a less sweet flavour.
Yui had also excused himself from the activities to help her, but had been very distracted by the sight of a sugar covered Yuuki. Yuuki should have been annoyed at his lack of help, but she did want this to be from her alone. For some reason, she felt that it would be more special that way.
The rebellious youngster was quick to sneak one of the little chocolate balls from under Yuuki's nose. It was probably for the best that she didn't see his reaction.
"There! Done!" She exclaimed triumphantly, fists clenched in a victorious pose. She wiped a hand across her face, merely smearing the excess sugar over her face instead of clearing it off of her face. Yui grabbed a small cloth to wipe her with, the sense of taste slowly returning to his tongue. "Do we have anything to put them in?"
"Oh… I don't think so." Yui had overseen the collection of various supplies, and he couldn't remember seeing anything that resembled packaging. Yuuki hadn't told him that she was going to be making Zero chocolates, therefore he hadn't prepared for it. Yuuki scanned the room, eyes settling on a freshly washed cloth. It would have to do for now.
"Make sure no one comes here. I'll pick them up when Zero gets back." Yuuki waited for Yui's confirmation before they both headed back to the main hall. During the time that they had been gone, the preparations had been completed and everyone was talking excitedly, a cheery buzz hovering in the air.
It warmed her heart to see the complete transformation. Both the location and the people. She would make sure that the injured who couldn't attend would be included; it would be cruel to allow them to suffer while the others celebrated.
The buzz dulled quickly as their sentry ran into the hallway yelling at everyone to shut up. The excited conversation transformed into an expectant silence, all eyes focused on the entrance through which their leader would appear.
Seeing the familiar silver head triggered the planned response; the one room filled with hundreds of voices all calling out in unison.
"Surprise!"
Zero looked like he had walked into a wall. The metamorphosis from confident stride to a confused stumble was something to behold; Yuuki held back a small giggle. He gazed from the birthday banners, to the tables lining the room full to the brim with food, to the band set up on a makeshift stage at the back.
His voice came out in a cracked squeak, making him sound completely different to his usual calm and collected persona. "Wha—This—"
Yuuki wondered if she had made a mistake, the poor boy looked like he was having an aneurism as they watched. Yui decided to break the awkward silence.
He ran forwards to the older male, holding out a small box to him. "Happy birthday, Zero!"
Zero raised a hand to his mouth as he cleared his throat. He accepted the box with a small "thank you." His eyes flickered up to the banners once more.
"So, this was…?"
"It was Yuuki's idea!" Yui explained happily, loud voice echoing through the silent room. Kaito stepped forward, one hand squeezing Zero's shoulder reassuringly.
"Look, I know that we haven't been seeing eye to eye lately, but you deserve a break."
"You were in on this?" Zero questioned sceptically, "You were working with Yuuki?"
"I was working with Yui, actually."
"The end result is the same."
"Well, she happens to be right this time. It's been a trying few months for all of us. We need a night off. You most of all." Zero appeared to still be processing 'she happens to be right this time.' Yuuki could barely believe that she had heard it also. When he had stopped wondering which alternate dimension he had stepped into, he replied.
"You're right." A cheer arose from the listening crowd. They had finally received the go ahead they had been eagerly waiting for. Hundreds of glasses were raised in a silent toast.
Yuuki breathed in the happy, relaxed air in enjoyment. She almost felt like she was back at home; a much more relaxed soiree, not driven by the need for political gain. His beautiful lilac eyes met her chocolate ones.
"How did you get everyone on board with this?"
"You mean because I'm a hated vampire?"
"Yes."
"It's like I said. They all care about you. When we mentioned how hard you've been working, everyone agreed. The slacking off from work was a secondary reason, I promise."
"I don't know about that. This lot is a group of slackers."
"So you're saying that there are lots of parties? Here I was thinking I was doing something unusual!"
"Yeah, sorry about that."
Zero had his usual stoic expression on his face, but he definitely had a happy aura surrounding him. He could try and hide his own joy all he liked, but (as dulled as she thought they must be) her senses were still of the finely honed vampire kind.
"Go and mingle! Have fun! If you even can." She teased, giving him a gentle push.
"Does this 'fun' really exist? I always thought that it was a myth."
"Go and find out!"
The band had begun their set; a sweet slow song to begin the festivities. She allowed herself to simply listen to it for a moment, before she felt an insistent tugging at her sleeve.
"Dance with me!" Yui demanded, pulling the much taller Yuuki with him to a clear spot somewhere in the middle. Yuuki giggled. She wasn't sure how they would be able to dance together properly; she almost felt like she was a mother teaching her son to dance.
She hoped that he wouldn't step onto her feet; they were well used but delicate, after all. After discovering that Yui couldn't dance after all, she lead him in a waltz. She wasn't a particularly good dancer herself, but this was the favoured dance amongst vampire nobles. She had been taught this one since she was young. Remembering how her teacher had taught her, she imparted the same wisdom to the madly concentrating Yui. She was gratified to see him quickly picking up on the tips and tricks she used.
"I'm going to have to get my chocolates. I can't be the only one who doesn't give Zero anything on his birthday!"
"Aww, but we're having fun!" Yui protested, tightening his grip on her waist. She reached around to loosen his arms.
"I'll come back!" Yui pouted up at her, not allowing her to go free. "Yui!"
The exasperated call had Yui submit to her will. He stepped back, almost knocking into a twirling couple behind him. It seemed that the centre had become the unofficial dancing floor. That was to be expected, she supposed.
She caught a glimpse of silver in her peripheral vision. He seemed to be just chatting with a little group that had gathered around him. She was glad that he seemed to be enjoying himself. With that thought, she hurried to the kitchen.
Still empty. Good. Seeing her make shift package in the same place she had left it in, she scooped it up from the table. Slipping it into a pocket, she made her way back. As she did so, she felt her heart anxiously begin to race. Coming back to the hall, she lost her drive to find Zero.
She nervously hovered at the edge of the room, angry at herself. She had spent hours on making these, so why didn't she want to give them to him now? She didn't understand herself. She wasn't about to be the one guest who didn't give Zero anything either, as she had told Yui. Such an action was unforgivable, especially as it had been her idea to celebrate his birthday in the first place.
As she was talking herself back into seeking out Zero, the silver wolf himself made it unnecessary.
"You're done dancing?"
"Yeah. I had to go get something."
"What was it?" He asked innocently. She felt that heat rising inside her again and hoped that it wasn't showing on her face.
"Well, you see…"
"It's alright if you don't want to tell me."
"No, it's not that." She steeled herself. She had spent hours on this. She could do this. He was looking at her curiously, but he had the sense to stay quiet. "Happy birthday!"
"You're giving me a rag?"
"No! They're inside it!" She pouted, pulling the top layer of cloth off of her creations. "I made them myself."
She was ashamed of the way her voice rose in pitch as she said it. Zero had noticed too, giving her an odd look. She couldn't meet his eyes.
"Chocolate is a delicacy where I come from, so I thought I'd make you some. I know you don't have much time for these things." She mumbled, the tips of her fingers pressing together nervously. He popped one into his mouth. She looked up hopefully.
The look on his face was… not positive.
"No wonder vampires are such killjoys, if this is what they consider a delicacy."
"Hey!" She was about to follow up with a more coherent retort, but the words died in her throat. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. She had never thought that she would be privy to the sight before her; Zero was giving her the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. The sweet look he had given to Yui paled in comparison. That smile was making her feel things she… hadn't felt before. He was gorgeous.
"Thank you, Yuuki." Suddenly, his reaction to her chocolates didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore, as long as he kept smiling. As long as he was happy.
"You're welcome. You've been through more than enough. I hope this day will help you see that life is worth living."
He opted not to respond to that. She felt a little uneasy in his lack of response. She knew that, as a hunter, he would experience many more hardships in his future. But didn't these moments count for anything? Didn't she count for anything?
A firm hand was gingerly extended to her. She became aware of the new song being played; another slow song.
"Shall we dance?" Yuuki flushed. Dancing with Yui was one thing, but dancing with Zero… something was different. Especially with such a romantic sounding song. She couldn't very well refuse him on his birthday, and she reaffirmed to herself that she didn't want to refuse him, either.
"We shall." She placed her hand in his with an excited smile. She wondered when he had had time to learn to dance in the first place. Had he been taught in childhood, like she had?
She heard a few murmured whispers about Zero's choice in dance partner, but she wasn't in a position to care about it. She was wrapped up in the warmth of his body, pressed close to hers. She almost wished that she had been born human; he could choose her as a partner then.
Yuuki! She scolded herself, stop acting like a girl in love! The thought made her cold for a moment. Was she in love? She had been thinking about him more and more, but that wasn't love, right? No, she had been worried about him. He was working himself into the ground. Yui had worried about him too. It didn't mean that Yui was in love with Zero.
She realised that she had been gazing into his eyes in an almost unconscious way. She pulled her gaze from his, the thoughts chasing themselves around in her head leaving her unable to meet his eyes. She instead rested her head on his chest as she had seen female vampires do with their partners at soirees. His heart beat was steady, unlike hers. She was a little disappointed at that.
She allowed her eyes to slide closed, enjoying Zero's secure arm around her waist. This moment was a timeless treasure that she would cherish forever. It felt simultaneously like a lifetime and like no time at all. So when the music stopped, and they parted, she couldn't stop the discontent that flowed through her.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" He was looking at her in concern. She felt warmth pooling in the corners of her eyes. She reached up to wipe the rapidly forming tears from her eyes in shock. She hadn't even realised how overwhelming her emotions had become.
"No, it's fine. I don't know why this is happening."
"Ah. I was a bad dancer."
"The worst." She laughed off her moment of weakness. She was being silly and she knew it. "Um, enjoy the rest of your evening. I have to go."
"Alright. I'll see you later."
"Yeah." She smiled briefly before she turned rapidly on her heel and jogged out of the room to safety, her confusing emotions threatening to control her.
~Z~
Aido scanned the energetic hallway. No one was coming from the left. Good. He turned his head. And the right was empty too. He tried to listen to potential sounds of approach over the sounds of drawers being wrenched open in the door behind him. Kaname had approached him a few days after the public address (the crowd was disturbingly willing to see the kidnapper's blood shed) with some concerns that he was having. Concerns specifically pertaining to his uncle.
Which was why he was now standing guard outside said uncle's office, ensuring that Rido wouldn't catch his unruly nephew in the act of searching for any clues that might confirm or deny his suspicions.
It had been a long, long while since anyone had seen Juuri Kuran. It was a detail that he had noticed, and yet he hadn't. He had believed what he had been told; that she had decided to stay away to grieve after hearing the tragic fate of her husband. The logical side of his brain had kept trying to tell him that even before her husband's death, she had been missing for a few months at least. If he was honest with himself, she had disappeared before Yuuki had been taken by hunters.
There had been supposed letters, which had been read to Kaname from Rido as Aido had been told. Kaname had told him that he found it odd that Juuri would write solely to Rido; he had never received any such letters from her. And those who had been in the manor for any length of time knew that Juuri's relationship with Rido was rocky at best.
He turned to see Kaname stepping out of the office beside him, a worried expression marring his face.
"I found the letters. There's definitely something off with them, but I can't quite put my finger on what."
"So Lord Rido really did something to Lady Juuri?"
"So it seems." He turned his worried gaze to Aido. "This scares me. What if he comes for me next?"
"We don't know if he really did anything to Lady Juuri! It's just speculation, right?" He hurried to reassure his friend. He didn't like that look on him.
"I'm pretty sure. I'll give him the title. Maybe he'll leave me alone, then."
"The title? King?"
"Yes. He's always wanted to be king."
That… seemed fairly accurate from what Aido had seen of the strange man. Kaname was making the smart move, taking away himself as a threat. He puffed out his chest a little.
"I'll protect you, Lord Kaname!"
"I'm sure you will." That sad smile almost broke his heart.
~Z~
Everything seemed to return to normal after Zero's party ended, albeit with a much more positive attitude. Aesthetics wise, it was as though nothing had taken place at all. Zero himself seemed to be acting the same, he'd returned to his stoic, world on his shoulders self.
He still seemed the same around Yuuki, the few times that she allowed him to be in her presence. When she was near him, her heart raced and her breath came in short, painful bursts. She had also begun to fear that she would use her fangs; a craving that she hadn't had before taking over her mind. He made her feel things that she couldn't control, and the party had only made that painfully obvious to her.
So she had some reservations when she was summoned to see Zero by someone who looked fairly official. The nervousness that she had felt before the dance increased tenfold as she knocked on his door.
"Come in." She peeked in before allowing herself to take those difficult steps into his presence.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I would have spoken to you in a less formal setting, but I seem to have offended you."
"No…"
"It doesn't matter." Zero rose to his feet and casually sauntered around his desk, leaning on one corner. "I wanted to tell you that you're free to go."
"Free to go?" She didn't know how to feel about this. Seeing her family after all this time would be amazing, not to mention Yori, but she wanted to learn more about the hunters who had slowly been accepting her. She felt at home here, as odd as that may sound to an outsider.
"Yes. Thanks to your blood, there are no serious injuries left in the medical wing. And you told me yourself that you miss your family. There's no reason for you to stay here."
She felt an unexpected hurt at that statement. Was he kicking her out because she had been avoiding him for a little while? He seemed to see her pained expression.
"I can't keep you locked up here your whole life. Go home, Yuuki. Go and be with the people who care about you."
"Don't you care about me?" She blurted out before she could stop herself, covering her mouth in embarrassment.
"Don't make this personal, Yuuki."
"Alright. If you want me to leave, I'll leave."
"I do."
She felt a hurt anger rising up in her, threatening to set her vampire instincts loose. What had she expected? They were natural enemies. Incompatible. She had been reminding herself of that while avoiding him, hadn't she? Besides, he was just grateful for the effort she had gone to for him. There wasn't anything more.
"Well, what about your mole?"
"Found him. He's gone now. Actually, that's why you need to go. We'll be leaving this area soon. We can't afford for him to bring his masters here."
"What? I wouldn't be able to find you?"
"No." He cleared his throat. "You're too attached, Yuuki. You knew that you wouldn't be here forever."
Her jaw clenched.
"I knew that." She took in a deep breath, calming herself. She had known that this day was coming. She looked up at him as he approached her.
"Take this. Keep it close." He pressed something into her hand. The small dagger that he had given her when they had gone on the supplies trip. She hadn't even realised that it had gone. She held it tightly.
"I'll say goodbye to Yui."
He nodded his approval. "Goodbye, Yuuki."
"Goodbye, Zero…"
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Text
Radio Abel, Season Six
Part 6 of 6 
Parts 5 and 6 take place after S6M24, "Mother's Little Helper"
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Hello, citizens. If you've just tuned in, we're getting ready for our first -
ZOE CRICK: Slightly delayed.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: - our first slightly delayed edition of Recipes on the Run, the cooking show for the post-apocalyptic world.
ZOE CRICK: We've been collecting recipes from our listeners and from our favorite Abel residents. Well, the ones who don't give everyone food poisoning when it's their turn to make the goulash. I'm looking at you, Maxine Myers.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: We won't be telling you to julienne the asparagus or add in a drop or two of truffle oil because we know you've got as much chance of finding a bottle of truffle oil these days as you've got of bumping into Britney Spears, and she went zom so long ago they think she might have been patient zero for the entire continental United States.
ZOE CRICK: [laughs] No, we'll be looking at the everyday, mundane ingredients every cook needs.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Well, not actually those, because you can't find them on the shelves anymore. All the normal stuff's been taken. Packets of nuts, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Those are as rare as hen's teeth these days.
ZOE CRICK: I heard the last tin of baked beans in the entire country got eaten last Wednesday somewhere in Warwickshire. Whoever you were, I hope you enjoyed them.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: So today we've got a recipe for you using an ingredient you can still find on the shelves, a lot.
ZOE CRICK: Yes. We'll be giving your our recipe for tinned swede with bacon-flavored instant baby formula sauce. Stay tuned!
ZOE CRICK: Okay, the first step is to take the package of bacon-flavored instant baby formula, and then wonder why the hell anyone would want bacon-flavored instant baby formula. Seriously! The apocalypse didn't happen a day too soon if you ask me.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Next, you need to get the swedes open. It's a little-known fact that tinned swedes are the national dish of -
[door opens]
AMELIA SPENS: Morning, everyone.
ZOE CRICK: Amelia? We're right in the middle of a broadcast.
AMELIA SPENS: Yes, yes, I do follow the schedule of Fort Canton broadcasts, thank you. And I could hardly fail to notice that you kicked me out of bed so early this morning.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Um...
AMELIA SPENS: You can lose that tone, Philip, unless you also want to lose your weekly ration of... whatever it is that you like. I'll find something.
ZOE CRICK: Amelia, what are you doing here?
AMELIA SPENS: Don't mind me. Just carry on with whatever you were doing.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Okay. Yeah. So tinned swedes and...
ZOE CRICK: Baby formula?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah. I, um... [sighs] It's no good. I can't do it while she's staring at me like that.
AMELIA SPENS: If it helps, I'm staring at you, but I'm thinking about other things.
ZOE CRICK: What might help is if you explain exactly what you're doing in our radio shack. If it's not too much trouble.
AMELIA SPENS: Isn't it about time you played a song? No, no, don't worry. I'll just put one on for you. Here we go.
ZOE CRICK: Right. Listeners, apparently Amelia's here because she has an announcement to make. Apparently, Amelia doesn't believe in warning people first.
AMELIA SPENS: You generally seem to like it when I surprise you, darling.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Please stop.
ZOE CRICK: Yes, please do. You're upsetting Phil, and I like him more than I like you.
AMELIA SPENS: [laughs] Yes, imagine if you started to like me. Doesn't bear thinking about. Anyway, top tip for listeners: over the years, I've found it's much better not to announce your arrival, if possible. It's less likely people will try to stop you doing what you want.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: We still could.
AMELIA SPENS: People find it a lot harder to say no to someone's face. It's a terribly British thing. They find it embarrassing.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: [sighs] Fine. You can make your announcement.
AMELIA SPENS: There you are, you see? You know you shouldn't let me have my way, but you are because it would be too embarrassing to confront me with quite how brazen I've been. It's very interesting, anthropologically speaking. Perhaps we could have someone start a show on this sort of thing. I tell you what, let's add a moment of suspense. Play a song.
ZOE CRICK: Right. And now you're going to tell us why you're here, or I'm going to take you by the scruff of the neck and physically throw you out.
AMELIA SPENS: I thought you didn't want us to do this in front of Phil. Have it your way. The truth is, I'm on a bit of a recruitment drive.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: What for? Your crack team of... of... of really irritating... people?
AMELIA SPENS: No. For Fort Canton. I'm trying to sort out some of the problems I've inherited. Under the previous mismanagement – honestly, it really was quite egregious - the population rather fell away, so I'm looking to expand.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Right. [sighs] And I suppose coming on our show does actually make sense.
AMELIA SPENS: I'm certainly not doing it for my health.
ZOE CRICK: And who exactly are you hoping to recruit?
AMELIA SPENS: Oh, you know. A few good people from around the country. I say good. That may not be the right word. Ambitious? Hard-working?
ZOE CRICK: Conniving? Back-stabbing?
AMELIA SPENS: I don't like to pre-judge. I've always been a woman who takes people as they come. Luckily for you.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: And maybe after this next song, you can tell us why anyone would want to work with the most untrustworthy woman in the country.
ZOE CRICK: Funnily enough, that song always makes me think of you, Amelia.
AMELIA SPENS: I'm not entirely sure you mean that as a compliment.
ZOE CRICK: Good.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Do you two actually even like each other at all?
[speaking simultaneously]
ZOE CRICK: No.
AMELIA SPENS: Don't be ridiculous.
[speaking in turn]
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Right. Uh, so what are the selling points of the New Canton -
AMELIA SPENS: Fort Canton.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: It'll always be New Canton to me.
AMELIA SPENS: But that's precisely the problem. Too many people in Fort Canton and elsewhere have been living in the past. The old world is gone for good. People need to wave it goodbye and move on. And that's what I plan to be doing, and what I'm looking for people to help me achieve. To build a brighter tomorrow on the ruins of yesterday.
ZOE CRICK: You make it sound so noble, which is ironic since you're the most cynical woman in England.
AMELIA SPENS: Whereas you're always such an idealist, of course.
ZOE CRICK: I always forget how loathsome you are
AMELIA SPENS: I always forget how judgemental you are. You're a terrible hypocrite!
ZOE CRICK: And you're a monster.
AMELIA SPENS: I've got half an hour to spare right now.
ZOE CRICK: Me, too. Phil, can you mind the fort?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: What? You're not going to - you just called her a monster!
ZOE CRICK: Needs must. Back soon. Bye!
[door opens and shuts]
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Zo! [sighs] Right. Um. They've gone. They've gone to... mm. Right. Um, uh, here's a little number to get them in the mood! Not that they seem to need it. At all!
BERNARD PRIOR: This is Bernard Prior on Fort Canton Today, keeping it really, really real! Even more real than – oh, I can't get away with that. This is Bernard Prior on Fort Canton Today, with news, views, and how do you do's? Oh, maybe that's too silly? This is Bernie P. on Fort Canton Today, in your ears despite my years! No, that's too weird. This is Bernard Prior on Fort Canton Today with... oh, you know, the usual stuff.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Hello, citizens. This is Radio New Hope, bringing you all the news from all around the country.
ZOE CRICK: First up, there's been some exciting developments in Kidderminster.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Have there?
ZOE CRICK: No, not really. I just like saying Kidderminster. Although apparently, they have opened a zombie petting zoo there.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: They haven't.
ZOE CRICK: No, they have. The zombies are declawed and defanged, obviously. And chained up. I think they might also have had their salivary glands and voiceboxes removed.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: But why?
ZOE CRICK: So kids can see them up close and realize they aren't that frightening.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: But... they are frightening! Kids ought to be frightened of them! Teaching your kids that zombies are harmless is a terrible idea.
ZOE CRICK: Well, that's Kidderminster for you. We'll be back with the latest from London right after this.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: There's been an announcement on Rofflenet from the London council of boroughs. Uh, after weeks of bitter conflict, the Democratic Republic of the Isle of Dogs has agreed to become a London borough. However, it continues to refuse to sign up to the Camden Human Rights Accords and will continue using flogging and the stocks as its primary methods of social control. And in other national news, the Lake District has announced it's opening itself up to tourism again!
ZOE CRICK: Good luck with that one, guys. I hear you've got a thousand zombies per square mile up there.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah, but there's a cure now. People actually could go. Tourism could be a thing again.
ZOE CRICK: Yeah. I suppose they could go without dying. On the other hand, is Scafell Pike quite as scenic when it's covered peak to foot in shambling decayed corpses?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Good point. In other news, Cornwall's barred all visitors whose names begin with W, and experts predict that Liverpool should stop burning sometime in the middle of next year.
ZOE CRICK: We'll be back with something a little more heartwarming right after this.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: This is a story about kittens, isn't it?
ZOE CRICK: It's not a story about kittens.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Is it a story about cats?
ZOE CRICK: Nope, definitely not.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: And by cats, I mean all cats. Lions. Tigers. Cheetahs. The works. Oh, and meerkats, as well.
ZOE CRICK: Meerkats aren't even cats.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: So this is a story about meerkats.
ZOE CRICK: It's not about meerkats, either.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: But it's definitely about animals, and not human beings, isn't it? Because you never describe a story about human beings as heartwarming.
ZOE CRICK: It may be a story about baby bats.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Baby bats?
ZOE CRICK: Yes.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Do bats even have babies?
ZOE CRICK: Yes, obviously. What do you think they do, reproduce by cloning themselves in little bat labs?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I thought they laid eggs.
ZOE CRICK: They're mammals.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Really? I thought they were lizards.
ZOE CRICK: Lizards? At least if you'd said birds, it would make some sort of sense. I've... [sighs] Forgotten what I was going to say now.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: You can't remember the heartwarming story about bats?
ZOE CRICK: You distracted me. Play a song, and maybe it'll come back to me.
ZOE CRICK: What's your least favorite word?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I thought you were going to tell us a story about bats.
ZOE CRICK: I've forgotten it. It was something to do with people feeding tiny bats from tiny bottles and then wrapping them up in tiny blankets.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I think that might just have been a dream you had.
ZOE CRICK: Anyway, what's your least favorite word?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Embourgeoisement.
ZOE CRICK: I've literally no idea what you just said.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Embourgeoisement. It's the process by which working class people join the middle class and assume its values. My sociology professor used to say it all the time.
ZOE CRICK: Of course she did. And of course you had a sociology professor.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I don't know why, but it used to really irritate me. She always used to say it in this incredibly smug way, like she personally invented it. And she used to do it in this stupid fake French accent. Got on my nerves so much, I had to stop going to the lectures eventually.
ZOE CRICK: Please tell me you failed the end of year exam because of how much the word embourgeoisement irritated you.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I did, actually. Had to retake it the next year when I had a different lecturer. He used to talk about the Thatcherite hegemonic project a lot, which was only about 29% as irritating. Anyway, what's your least favorite word?
ZOE CRICK: Oh, I was going to say gusset, but I can't say it now. It'll make me sound like a pleb.
BERNARD PRIOR: Welcome to Fort Canton Today! And now on the program, my occasional cohost and full-time glorious leader, Amelia Spens, is here to discuss issues of the day.
AMELIA SPENS: Hello Bernard, listeners. Lovely to be here. Thanks for having me on the airwaves.
BERNARD PRIOR: Oh, don't mention it. You did invite yourself, after all.
AMELIA SPENS: True. Now, I am delighted to let you know that we have a new trade pact with the Hugger-Muggers, The Wombles, and Archway 12, which means a new supply of tinned food, including spam, kidney beans, and dolphin-friendly tuna. All reasonably priced, but we do expect to sell out today, so run along, chop chop.
BERNARD PRIOR: Oh, that is jolly. It's nice to have some good news for once. And I do love a tuna sandwich. Fresh wholemeal, slice of cucumber, sprinkle of salt. The perfect teatime treat.
AMELIA SPENS: I'll have one sent over. Now -
BERNARD PRIOR: I was just wondering, though. Any news on a trade deal with Chalk Valley?
AMELIA SPENS: Oh, good grief. Every time. I promised you a tuna sandwich!
BERNARD PRIOR: It's hardly the same. One set of papers. One person. After all I've done? You promised you'd look into it.
AMELIA SPENS: And I have, but it's complicated! They don't issue travel papers without coercion. Word is they are just as worried about people leaving as they are about people getting in. [sighs] I can do it, but I'd need intel on Chalk Valley's leader, Big Nigel.
BERNARD PRIOR: Surely you have some. It's you.
AMELIA SPENS: Bernard -
BERNARD PRIOR: I know that face. You do!
AMELIA SPENS: Maybe I do, but I need to use it for the correct -
BERNARD PRIOR: Millie, I sheltered you from the jigsaw mob.
AMELIA SPENS: I don't think that was as serious as people made out.
BERNARD PRIOR: Oh, come on. What would Elle Woods do?
AMELIA SPENS: Play a tune. I need to think.
BERNARD PRIOR: Well? Don't keep old Bernard on tenterhooks. Have a heart, Miss Spens.
AMELIA SPENS: Okay, fine. I have a little information that Big Nigel was part of the Psychoanalysts Enclave's LARPing group.
BERNARD PRIOR: [sighs] Um... wait. What?
BERNARD PRIOR: LARPing, eh? Is that compromising?
AMELIA SPENS: Not on its own, but as you know, Chalk Valley has a strict isolationist policy.
BERNARD PRIOR: Oh, I do know.
AMELIA SPENS: The Psychoanalysts LARP takes place outside the Chalk Valley boundaries. If he's still playing -
BERNARD PRIOR: He's sneaking out! Just like all the citizens of Chalk Valley are banned from doing.
AMELIA SPENS: Quite.
BERNARD PRIOR: Ahoy-hoy to thee, fair listeners. How utterly magnificent it is to have you here. The weather is quite pleasing, isn't it? And I have a tuna sandwich, which is delicious. You would think, sweet listeners, would you not, that old Bernie would be in heaven. What with my sandwich, the perfect amount of fine sea salt, delicious Jaffa Cakes for afters, and of course, all the tea I could drink. But the fact is, as many a man before me has discovered, such riches are not but ash without someone delightful to share them with.
BERNARD PRIOR: One question, Millie. What on earth is LARPing?
AMELIA SPENS: It's essentially running around in a wood pretending to be an elf.
BERNARD PRIOR: Gosh, how rum. Do people do that on purpose?
AMELIA SPENS: Of course. It's not the kind of thing that happens accidentally. Full elf costumes, usually, too.
BERNARD PRIOR: Well really, I'm quite taken aback. Truly there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in my political philosophy radio show.
AMELIA SPENS: It's an entertainment show, but yes. Quite.
AMELIA SPENS: So here we have it, B. A draft agreement that states that in return for not dropping leaflets all over Chalk Valley telling residents about Big Nigel's breaking of state lines, Chalk Valley will begin the process of allowing some free movement between itself and the Common Alliance of Independent Territories. That's what we're calling it now.
BERNARD PRIOR: Not the Free State Coalition? I liked that. Rather punchy.
AMELIA SPENS: No, no. Too punchy. Sigrid didn't like us calling ourselves free states. Implies things about the other side of the wall she didn't appreciate.
BERNARD PRIOR: Like them not being free at all?
AMELIA SPENS: Quite.
BERNARD PRIOR: So what? What can she do about it?
AMELIA SPENS: Oh, Bernie. Sigrid has a lot of weapons. Do you want a drone whizzing in here and flying up your trouser leg?
BERNARD PRIOR: She's capable of that?
AMELIA SPENS: She's capable of anything, B. Anything.
ZOE CRICK: So it's a lovely bright sunny morning. The birds are singing, the clouds are as fluffy as cotton wool, and Phil bloody Cheeseman is nowhere to be seen. Yes, before you ask, I've tried his room. Either he's not there or he's not answering the door. You know what I think? I think he went on an unauthorized date last night. I had a special schedule all lined up for him, hand-picked by me.
I'd even warned them about his excessive love of prog rock. I put a lot of work into it, and admittedly, the first four didn't go brilliantly, but I was refining my parameters. Anyway, we'll see how well the date he picked himself went, won't we? Hopefully after this song when he drags his ass in here.
ZOE CRICK: Nope. Still no sign of him. [sighs] I'm beginning to think the date actually went well, which is good. I mean, it's definitely good. But also, who is this person? And where did he find her? I've literally made a list of every single eligible person of any relevant sexual or romantic orientation in Abel and the seven surrounding statelets. Okay, that's not true. But it's not not true.
How could Phil possibly have found someone to date without my input? He's barely capable of deciding which socks to wear in the morning without asking me. I'm not even joking! He comes in here barefoot with three or four pairs and asks me to choose. Anyway, Cheeseman, this one's for you! Wherever the hell you are.
ZOE CRICK: Well, this is getting ridiculous. I suppose I'll just have to do Recipes on the Run on my own. At least we've had a really good one sent in by a reader involving quail's eggs and - [door opens] Phil. And what kind of time do you call this?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Sorry, Zoe. Sorry, citizens. Sorry, world!
ZOE CRICK: [laughs] Date went well, then?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Oh my God! Zo! It's amazing!
ZOE CRICK: Oh, amazing, was it? This mystery date with this mystery woman?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah. Um... I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, only uh, I wasn't sure how it was going to go and I didn't want to jinx it.
ZOE CRICK: You thought telling me about it might jinx it? Hm, charming.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: No, not all that. Only you've got to admit, every date you've arranged for me so far has been a total disaster.
ZOE CRICK: Just because they didn't turn into long-term relationships doesn't mean they were a disaster.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: One of them walked out after five minutes because I told her I didn't think Pierce Brosnan was that bad as James Bond.
ZOE CRICK: Hmm. To be fair, that is one of your silliest opinions.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Anyway, I just thought I'd try branching out on my own for a bit. And Layla, this one's just for you.
ZOE CRICK: So I suppose you're going to refuse to tell me about it, and I'll have to go around asking everyone in Abel Township until I finally find someone who happened to see you while you were out to tell me all the gory details. Not that that's what I've done for your previous dates, obviously.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Sorry, Zo. Not this one.
ZOE CRICK: I suppose if this one went well, you want to avoid upsetting her by blabbing on air.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: No, that's not it. I asked Layla, and she said she didn't mind me telling you. She said she'd listened to the show, and she knows what you're like, and she knows you'll get it out of me anyway.
ZOE CRICK: Hm. She said that, did she?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah. She also said she knows you're my best friend, so of course you're going to want to know.
ZOE CRICK: Oh.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I'm still not going to tell you, though. Sorry, but I'm not.
ZOE CRICK: Why?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Because it's... it was our first date and it was really special and I like that it was just us.
ZOE CRICK: First date. Implying there'd be more?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: We're seeing each other again on Thursday.
ZOE CRICK: That's... that's really good. I'm glad you met someone nice.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah. Me, too.
ZOE CRICK: Although I'm going to take the mickey out of you about it relentlessly for the next month. Possibly three.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Yeah. I know.
BERNARD PRIOR: Listeners, this is quite an exciting moment for the show! I am patched live to the negotiations between Chalk Valley's Big Nigel and Ms. Amelia Spens of Fort Canton and the CAIT. Let's listen live.
AMELIA SPENS: Yes, but if you could just stop just for a moment. I mean, come down from the tree. And if I could speak to you, the real you, not Cowslip Blossom the elf. [foliage rustles] Well. That costume doesn't leave much to the imagination.
BERNARD PRIOR: It seems things are going slower than I imagined. Let's have some music.
BERNARD PRIOR: Really? No success?
AMELIA SPENS: Sadly, none. Of course, this program only reaches Chalk Valley through covert channels, but he'd intercepted the broadcasts that mentioned his LARPING. However, instead of suppressing them as I'd imagined, he told the people of Chalk Valley that LARPing was essential training and that his participation in such endeavors with the dastardly forces and powers outside the valley was, in fact, an act of extreme bravery. I will say, there is something brave about impersonating Cowslip Blossom the elf. Seriously, that costume was eye-watering.
BERNARD PRIOR: Whose eyes? [laughs] Yours or his?
AMELIA SPENS: Both.
BERNARD PRIOR: Oh. Listeners, some appropriate music for this solemn occasion.
BERNARD PRIOR: Margot, oh Margot. If only we could find a way to be together, rather than so cruelly adrift in the post-apocalypse. Zombie hordes have a lot to answer for. Dear sweet unattainable Margot.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Hello, citizens. We've got our regular guest back today, Jody Marsh, former Commander in Chief of Abel Township. Hello, Jody.
JODY MARSH: Hi.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Jody's back with us to discuss the current nationwide water crisis, and what you as individuals can do about it.
ZOE CRICK: Boring.
JODY MARSH: I know water's not exactly thrilling, but we do sorta need it to live.
ZOE CRICK: Yeah, blah blah. Basis of all life on earth, overconsumption, and draught, blah blah. But wouldn't you rather talk about Phil's new girlfriend?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: No, because she's an actual grown-up with grown-up responsibilities. So Jody, about this water shortage -
JODY MARSH: Hang on, you've got a girlfriend?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Do you have to sound that surprised about it? Anyway, water shortages -
JODY MARSH: Forget about the water! Tell me about this woman. Who is she? What's she like? What's her job? Where does she live? If you know her shoe size, you can tell me that, too.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Give me strength.
ZOE CRICK: I think that might be their song.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: No, it isn't.
ZOE CRICK: Really? You were humming it all day yesterday with a silly grin on your face.
JODY MARSH: Don't tell me you're in love! Oh, Phil!
PHIL CHEESEMAN: We've only been on five dates.
ZOE CRICK: That wasn't actually an answer. Also, the fact you're still calling them dates is adorable. Oh, and talking of... didn't I see you out on a date yesterday, Jody?
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Oh, thank God.
JODY MARSH: Maybe. But I think it's time we got back to the important water shortages currently affecting the country.
ZOE CRICK: Nope. What's sauce for the goose, etc. So you and Tom De Luca, eh?
JODY MARSH: Honestly, there's nothing to tell.
ZOE CRICK: No, of course. Nothing except all the gory details. That's a very handsome man you've got yourself. I want dates, frequency, and durations. Marks for artistic merit would also be appreciated.
JODY MARSH: There's none of that, Zo. I'm asexual.
ZOE CRICK: Really? How did I never know that?
JODY MARSH: It never came up. It's not like Abel has a regular Pride march where you'd see me up there waving the ace flag.
ZOE CRICK: I can see why someone might not be into sex.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Really? You wouldn't think so, from the amount you talk about it.
ZOE CRICK: Oi. To be fair, it is one of my favorite hobbies. But it's also faintly ridiculous and frequently squelchy. I can see why someone might not like it.
JODY MARSH: It's not that I don't like it. I used to do it and it was totally fine!
ZOE CRICK: If it's only fine, you're not doing it right.
JODY MARSH: Believe me, I tried all the variations. One-night stands, people I loved. Men, a couple of women. It was always perfectly okay. Kind of like eating lettuce. Nothing wrong with it, but no one sits there going, God, I'm really craving some lettuce right now. It's just the bit of the salad you eat because it always gets served along with the actual nice bits. That's how I felt about sex in a relationship. If they wanted sex and it made them happy, then it was no skin off my nose.
ZOE CRICK: That's... that's not how you should be feeling about it. You should never feel like you've got to do it because the other person wants it but you don't. Never. Ever.
JODY MARSH: Don't worry. No one put any pressure on me. I just thought that's what you did. But I worked it out eventually. Took me ages, because I used to assume everyone felt about sex the way I did.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Really? But people are always going on about how amazing it is.
JODY MARSH: Exactly. It was so over the top, I thought they must be lying. But now I've found someone who... likes me the way I am! And it's great. Tom, he's a... he's a great guy.
ZOE CRICK: This one's for you, Tom. For treating our Jody the way she deserves.
ZOE CRICK: Oh my God, that's given me an idea.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Oh, there we go.
ZOE CRICK: No, listen. It's sensible, for once. Abel Pride.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Blimey! That actually is a good idea!
ZOE CRICK: Right?
JODY MARSH: It's bloody brilliant! When we win, when we beat Sigrid, that's what we're going to do. We're going to hold a massive great Pride right here in Abel.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: You can march with Amelia, Zo.
ZOE CRICK: [laughs] Can you just imagine? Amelia waving a rainbow flag and chanting, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it."
PHIL CHEESEMAN: I'd pay good money to see that.
ZOE CRICK: [laughs] She'll probably pay someone else to march for her. Anyway, you and Layla can come to support us.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: Oh, that'd be good. It's definitely time you met. I think you two would get on like a house on fire.
JODY MARSH: Maxine and Paula and Sam can bring Sara. They can dress her up in a little rainbow dress!
ZOE CRICK: [laughs] And we'll raise a glass to Jack and Eugene.
PHIL CHEESEMAN: There you have it, citizens. Abel Pride, and everyone's invited. Keep listening to find out more.
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crusherthedoctor · 6 years
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Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 6: KING ARTHUR & MERLINA
There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.
This is a new mini-series of mine, in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>
Anyhow, for today’s installment, we’ll be fighting the knight while living life as we discuss the dark spirit of Sonic and the Black Knight, as well as the schemer behind the scenes: King Arthur & Merlina.
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The Gist: Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a peaceful kingdom was threatened by the rule of a corrupted king. A young wizard named Merlina valiantly defied this monarch, the famous King Arthur, and attempted to escape the clutches of his evil army, but alas, she was cornered like a poor little lamb. In desperation, she called upon a brave and noble hero to help save her kingdom.
She got a blue hedgehog instead.
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He did it guys, he did the thing, we can all go home now.
Eager to fight the villain of the week, Sonic was instead put aside by Merlina, who explained to him that as long as King Arthur had the scabbard of Excalibur in his possession, he was basically Jesus and couldn't be wounded in any meaningful way. She also explained that the king was once a noble soul, until the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, lended Excalibur to him, presumably under the belief that granting an ambitious ruler immortality and the power to pluck monsters from the underworld couldn't possibly be a terrible idea.
It was.
Luckily for Sonic, Merlina guided him to a forest where a poorly guarded sword was held, the one weapon capable of dealing some real damage to the evil king. Sonic even got a chance to make it count when Arthur himself showed up right after, but since this was still early on in the game, he fucked up so badly that Arthur and the sword itself - yes, the sword itself - were both laughing at him for his incompetence.
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By the way, I hope you like desaturated cutscenes.
Nonetheless, the sword - who went by the name of Caliburn - decided to give the cocky teenager a chance in spite of his own reservations, and granted him the honorable title of Knave the Hedgehog. Sonic took issue with this title, because he didn't want to be mistaken for a fancharacter (probably). As they discussed their next course of action, Merlina waxed nihilistic poetry about flowers for some strange reason.
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Because that's how nature works, silly girl.
So after a trip to the Blacksmith to get Caliburn in tip-top shape for regicide, Sonic went off to seek out Nimue in order to get an idea of what to actually do. Upon visiting her, he was asked to locate and gather the sacred swords, though he was forced to detract from his mission for the sake of saving some helpless townspeople from a cruel dragon, because that's just the kind of guy that Sonic the Hedgehog is... Just as well then that it was part of Nimue's test all along! (Just as well also that King Arthur was presumably patient enough to wait for Sonic to pass his tests instead of using that time to destroy the kingdom.)
All the while, he confronted the Knights of the Round Table, who - being the king's most trusted and most capable soldiers - did nothing other than get their asses handed to them.
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Pictured: Useless twats.
Until at last, when everything that had to be done was done, Sonic and Caliburn went to the Faraway Avalon, where King Arthur himself dwelled. The battle was intense to say the least, but with a little help from the sacred swords, the Blue Blur prevailed, and the corrupted monarch who plagued the kingdom... dissipated? Like the Knights of the Underworld before him...? Well at least they got Excalibur back.
Seeking to get to the bottom of this mystery, Sonic brought it to Merlina's attention, who revealed that the King Arthur the hedgehog slayed was a fake, and that there never was a true King Arthur to begin with, as he was an illusion created by Merlina's grandfather, the great Merlin himself.
She also revealed the slightly more important fact that she's an evil bitch who used Sonic for her own gain, and proceeded to use Excalibur to give the hero a very bad time.
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Holding a sword like that with her hair so close? Bitch is mad.
After some reassurance that all was not in vain, Sonic convinced the Knights of the Round Table to stop kissing the now-deceased Arthur's feet and help him save the kingdom for real. Using their sacred swords, the Knights formed a powerful barrier around the kingdom's castle, and then immediately proceeded to go right back to being useless.
Just kidding. The barrier wasn't even strong enough to amount to much. That puts the Knights' usefulness points right back to zero.
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“Why do people call this our last hurrah again...?”
When Sonic finally confronted Merlina in her domain, with the understandable query of why she was such a manipulative witch, she revealed that her motives are less “cackling rapscallion” and more “morally grey”. You see, with the supposed rift between Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and the eventual downfall of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in general, the kingdom was doomed to suffer an undesirable fate no matter what. Seeking to fix her late grandfather's mistakes, she wanted nothing more than to create a world that would never end, for ultimate peace and prosperity... as far as she knew.
Sonic had none of it and promptly called her out on her selfish desire, but the wizard proved too much for him to handle, as evidenced by the surprisingly savage beatdown that he received immediately after. Caliburn got broke in half for his troubles, and the Knights commanded the hedgehog to get the hell out of there, but Sonic remained stubborn, as he never backs down no matter the opponent. This eventually paid off for him, as his heroic nature inexplicably summoned the power that granted him a new form: the knight in shiny gold armor, Excalibur Sonic. This was fortunately just the right amount of power necessary to defeat Merlina's final form of King Arthur 2: This Time It's Personal.
Beaten, but not outright killed, the depowered Merlina was left a broken woman. But Sonic wasn't afraid to show a bit of compassion to the wizard, as he gave her the advice that while the world may not last forever, we must live our lives to the fullest, and make the time that we do have count.
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"Well yeah, that’s easy for an iconic mascot like you to say. As soon as this game is over, my career is finished. Eat shit, rodent.”
Also, Sonic turns out to be the real King Arthur. Because self-inserts are canon. Credits!
The Design: King Arthur's design is a bit on the generic side for Sonic standards, but it's decent enough for the type of villain that he is. Though you do have to wonder how he can stand upright with those gigantic shoulder pads of his.
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This photo was taken moments before his kneecaps crumbled into dust.
Meanwhile, Merlina heavily resembles Shahra from Black Knight’s predecessor, as befitting of her initial role as Shahra's replacement for Black Knight, as well as making her true role all the more surprising.
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“Shahra? No. I'm my own original character... Backstabbhra.”
When the latter becomes the Dark Queen, she initially settles for turning purple and gaining some fashionable feathers, before unleashing her final form which basically amounts to a collection of blue and black tentacles.
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Typical angsty teenage phase.
Arthur and Merlina's designs overall are... okay. Just okay.
The Personality: As someone who is more a force of nature than an actual character, King Arthur's personality amounts to saying a bunch of evil things and not much else. That's alright though, since Merlina is the true villain of this particular story, so it’s her personality that counts here.
But here's the problem... Merlina doesn't have much personality either. She spends the first half of the story taking the role of the typical assistant, and the second half whinging about how her kingdom will be ruined unless she does something about it. That is all you get with her. Yes, there is clearly meant to be more to her, as evidenced with her misguided beliefs and her relationship with her grandfather, but very little is actually done with those aspects beyond giving Sonic more things to lecture her and shout at her for.
The Execution: On paper, Merlina is a character who should be among the greatest of Sonic villains.
On paper.
But you see, while she is unique in the sense of being the rarity of a female villain AND an anti-villain in a Sonic game... there really isn't anything else going for her. Once you get past those two initial brownie points, you don't have much of real interest left. You may get a cool moment like the aforementioned beatdown of Sonic come the endgame, but you're given no reason to actually care about the person doing the deed, despite the game wanting you to do so.
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“I've not been given any particular reason to do so, so no.”
There's a lot of telling with Merlina, rather than showing. She's presented as a well-intentioned extremist, but we're given no reason whatsoever to actually bother trying to see things her way, even if we would still ultimately acknowledge that what she's doing is wrong. Even Sonic himself doesn't bother considering her side of the story for a second, and while that is certainly in-character for the Blue Blur, it makes Merlina's anti-villain status - one of the very aspects that makes her unique among Sonic villains - fall flat all the more. Likewise, the only information we get about why the kingdom is destined to be doomed comes straight from Merlina's mouth, and that's it. We're never shown an example of what exactly she wants to prevent aside from vaguely alluded ruination, therefore we're given less reason to express actual interest in her motivation and goals.
Also, it must be stated: There wasn't nearly enough foreshadowing with her true intentions. Of course you don’t want to beat the player over the head to the point where they can see the twist coming from a mile away, but you still need a decent amount of build up to make a twist work, otherwise it practically comes out of nowhere. And since you don’t even need to count the hints with one hand in Merlina’s case, it does feel out of nowhere.
Overall, Merlina - and King Arthur, for that matter - are just kind of forgettable at the end of the day. Not terrible. Not outright bad. Just forgettable. And it's a huge shame, because Merlina COULD have been amazing. She had all the ingredients to stand out and be in the same tier as the likes of Eggman and Erazor. But she simply can't live up to the likes of them because there wasn't enough sufficient effort to make her truly blossom as the type of antagonist she was intended to be. There was something good going on with her, I can acknowledge and appreciate that there was something good going on with her... it just wasn't enough.
Which is kind of how I feel about Sonic and the Black Knight in general. It doesn’t do an awful lot with the things that it gets praised for. And the story as a whole - while serving as a great character analysis for Sonic himself - is just kind of boring for an actual narrative in a Sonic the Hedgehog game.
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My favourite Sonic game is the one where Sonic made fun of attempted suicide.
Crusher Gives King Arthur & Merlina a: Thumbs Sideways!
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Ghost of you, 14/?
Volume: 1.
Number of parts: 14/?.
Pairings: Human!Nine x Rose; Human!Ten x Jack; Clara Oswald x Olivia Baxter (OC).
Synopsis: "Rose opened the interactive screen and changed the setting for the attached glass wall. It became transparent. Allegro turned around to see Maxence wandering around his cage, a washable felt tip in hand. He had a screen open with all the results his team had entered on their work space and all the other walls were covered with his handwriting."
A/N: I've started writing this fiction last year after I had a particularly weird dream (as usual) and after I wrote the prologue, I've put it aside to work on other stuff. I've gone back to it not so long ago and decided that it would be the fiction I would post next, after not posting anything for a while. I must have watched I am legend and Game of thrones way too much to come out with something like this but I hope you will like it. I am not a scientist, nor did I have a particular knowledge of sciences. I do my researches on the internet like everyone to make sure everything is as close to the reality as possible. I have a literature degree only. Writing is what I do and it makes me explore next fields, and learn new things.
“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” - John Joseph Powell.
CHAPTER 14:
Amy didn’t leave Rose any second while she worked. It was an offer Rose had made to her: observing her as she worked so she could make her own opinion on her. She wouldn’t be biased by anything her patient would have said. Rose was only natural when she was working. She wasn’t pretending to be fine. She wasn’t wearing a mask. She was just herself and being a witness of it would help Amy understand her patient better. The therapist was glad that this idea came from Rose herself and not from her. The woman wasn’t gonna refuse this opportunity and she wasn’t gonna abuse this benefit either. Rose had also offered her to be a friend and that was very unexpected for Amy. Someone asking to be a friend. Rose hadn’t asked questions about why she had had to leave the session for a few minutes. She was giving Amy the time to build a good friendship before opening up to her. The therapist was sat beside Zachary who was keeping his eyes on the screen before him. He was trying to fix the intrusion that had happened a couple days ago. The hacker had left a real mess inside the codes and he had to fix this. Amy’s eyes were focused on Rose though. Standing in front of Allegro’s cage, she was reading the updates on his condition. She was studying the scans from two days ago and the ones Tegan had done in the morning. There was a clear evolution. Being exposed to the UV lights had caused him to develop some symptoms of the virus and react consequently. Now that the lights were off, he had gotten back to normal and was being completely normal again. He was a bit shaken by the situation but he was talking to Liv when he felt the need to. He refused to speak to Amy. He trusted Liv more than the therapist to be honest. The security guard came to the intercom and pressed the button. He was curious about his own situation. Except for Liv and sometimes Zach, no one was speaking to him. And no one was telling him much about how things were evolving for him, for Maxence, for the cure. “How is he going?” he asked. Rose raised her head from the notes she was taking and glanced at Allegro. She tucked her pen in the pocket of her white coat. She pressed the button to answer. “He’s better. Kyle has been brave by going inside unprotected to save his life. I’ve released him today. He hasn’t developed the virus thankfully.” “Antibodies?” “We’re working on that. His body has rejected the noctiagus very fast.” “It’s good. He’s very young. Would have been a really bad thing to lose him too.” “We haven’t lost you, nor Maxence.” “But we’re both in a cage, and he’s infected.” “Both of you are helping us to find the cure.” “How?” Rose opened the interactive screen and changed the setting for the attached glass wall. It became transparent. Allegro turned around to see Maxence wandering around his cage, a washable felt tip in hand. He had a screen open with all the results his team had entered on their work space and all the other walls were covered with his handwriting. “Someone hacked the system and made us believe that his sensors had to be changed. But when we proceeded to the change, the phial wasn’t the right one. Someone has replaced the sensors with a supposed cure that did more damages than anything else.” “Have you found who did this?” “Not yet. But we have a couple of detectives here. Maybe they will find this for us.” Rose chuckled lightly. It was her first joke in a while. She set the wall back to opaque. For a second, Allegro was silent. He put his hands in his pockets. “Who are those detectives?” “Camden McCarson and Donna Noble. Jack has recommended them. Him and Clara think the virus has been created by someone and the detectives are looking for the patient zero.” “Is there any chance to find him or her?” “Very little. But if we don’t try, we’ll never know.” “Indeed.” Their talk was over for now. Allegro walked back to his camp bed and lay back down. His hands behind his head, he looked at the ceiling. Rose finished taking her notes and put them aside. She went to Maxence’s cage and read the new formulas on the walls. He was doing quite a nice work. She was a molecular biologist too and all of this made sense to her… except for one thing. She pulled out her own washable felt pen and wrote down another formula right under the wrong one. She did it backward so he could read it from his cage. Then, she knocked on the glass wall to draw his attention. Maxence raised his head when he heard the knock and walked closer to where Rose was. She pointed to the formula she had written. He took his time to read it and checked his notes. He shook his head and pointed to another formula. He was trying to explain her how he had come to this conclusion and she was trying to tell him where she thought he was wrong. It was a silent communication, all in hand gestures and written formulas on a glass wall. It was fascinating for Amy. Any other couple of scientists wouldn’t have had this alchemy between them. They were working together as if they were the same person. If there was a picture next to the soulmate definition in the dictionary, it had to be them. They were the perfect representation of this word. Even in the darkest times, they remained together, hand in hand. Amy grabbed a pen and a piece of paper to note her observations. Usually, she was recording them but she couldn’t record what was happening here. She could later ask for the videos but they wouldn’t be as convincing as seeing it happen live. She was envious. She had never had this kind of love with someone. Not even with her ex-husband. The thought distracted her and, for a minute, she was unable to focus on Rose without thinking about what she had lost on this terrible night. She could hear it still. The screams, the screeching of the tyres on the road, the gasp of surprise, and that sound. That so terrible sound that was haunting her nightmares. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She needed to push it away quickly, before anyone could see her weakness. Now wasn’t the time but she was vulnerable and had troubles controlling herself. “Are you okay?” Amy jumped when she felt a hand touching her shoulder and turned around. Rose was done with Maxence. They had managed to find a solution to the problem they had found in the formulas obviously and Maxence was using a new colour to distinguish his new notes from the old ones. “He’s a busy bee,” she remarked. She hated how her voice was trembling, how Rose was seeing clear in the poker face she was showing. She hated being this vulnerable. Rose glanced quickly at her husband. “Yeah. We found something. I’m waiting until he’s done to compare our results.” If he happened to have the same as hers, it meant that they were on a good path. They couldn’t be wrong if the two of them were coming to the same conclusions. “He’s almost done.” Rose knew she shouldn’t do what she had in mind but she would do it anyway. She had promised to be a friend for Amy and her mission was to help her to get better. So she was gonna take her to the room she was sharing with Maxence and she was gonna force her to have some rest there instead of going to her office like she always did. The therapist was as exhausted as Rose and a bit of rest was hardly a luxury. Maxence concluded his formulas and Rose checked them. She smiled. They had the same results. They hadn’t used the same way to get there but the result was there. She pressed the intercom button. “Add this on your interface. I’ll transfer it all to Tegan.” Maxence nodded. He would do just that. Rose watched him sadly for a minute. She really wanted to come in there and hug him tight to tell him that everything would be alright. She would find this cure. She murmured an ‘I love you’ and told Amy to follow her. “Where are you taking me?” “To a place that used to be my oasis of calm before.” Amy had to admit that she was intrigued and it didn’t get any better when she recognised the private parts of the building. They passed by the dormitories but didn’t stop before they reached the kitchen. “First, let’s eat something. I’m rather hungry. Aren’t you?” “Sort of.” Amy wasn’t eating much. It had been this way since that night. She was eating just enough to have strengths for the day. This meal was the first real one she was eating in a while. But Rose wasn’t letting her refuse. She was even forcing her to eat a bit more than necessary. After that, she took her to the room she was sharing with Maxence, the room where all their pictures were. A room where she was supposed to find her own peace and have a better night of sleep.
x
Tegan was standing in the middle of his office, his arms folded on his chest, and his foot lightly tapping the ground. He was being impatient and angry all at once. Soon as he was done with the detectives, he had sent them to work. Jack had tried to stay and find out what was annoying him so badly but Tegan had resisted and convinced him that this matter only concerned Martha, Colin and him. He would let him know later maybe. No one else should know about this attempt of sabotage. Martha and Colin were there now. Both were sat on the couch and they were waiting for Tegan to speak. Martha was rather worried about this sudden summoning and Colin… Colin was Colin. He was sat there, impassible. Tegan couldn’t do anything against him. He was the real boss here. So he wasn’t worried. “Are you gonna look daggers at us all day or tell us what has made you summon us?” His words were sweating with sarcasm but he was trying to be as nice as he could be in front of Tegan. There was a witness and he couldn’t be caught bullying him once again. He doubted Martha would intervene between them but she could spread rumours just by talking with her stupid boyfriend, Ricky. Or Mickey. Whatever he was called. Tegan grabbed the report on his desk and threw it on Colin’s lap without a word. He was so furious he wanted to punch him in the face. But that wasn’t the attitude of a leader. So he was containing his rage. “One of you had mixed a new cure without telling me and this cure was given to our patient number one.” “And? What’s the matter? Isn’t that why you’re keeping him downstairs?” Tegan swallowed the anger rising in his chest. Colin was obviously looking for troubles with him. Martha was glancing at them worriedly. She didn’t know the story between the two of them but it didn’t seem to be a nice one. “This cure hasn’t been registered and it has been given without any consent. Everything is supposed to be given to me first for approval before anything.” “I haven’t mixed anything,” admitted Martha. “I’m still waiting for the new results. They haven’t been approved yet since…” She gave a look to Colin. He wasn’t in the elite team so she didn’t know what she could say before him. She didn’t want to make a mistake and be yelled at for it. Tegan was in a murderous mood and she wouldn’t cause him to have a go at her. “Martha, you can go. Not a word about this to anyone.” “What? A couple words and you believe her?” Tegan made a gesture of the hand to signify Martha that she was dismissed. He believed her. He would believe anyone but Colin. Martha hesitantly left the office. This matter was interesting but she wouldn’t know the final word of it obviously. “I have reasons to believe that you’re trying to sabotage our researches. I have no proof but I am convinced you’re still working on this cure, that you’re trying to beat us to it.” “Why would I do that?” “We both know why. You’ve been removed from the noctiagus researches and you’re angry. You hate me and I’m your boss now. To me, there are enough reasons here for you to get on my way.” “You’re being paranoid.” “You’ve created that cure.” “Maybe.” “Don’t try to lie. I know you did. I have access to all the cameras in this building. I’ve seen the videos.” He was bluffing and hoped that it would work because he wasn’t a good liar usually. Lying in his bully’s face was harder too. Colin didn’t let any reaction appear on his face. It was infuriating Tegan so much. “So, how’s good old Maxence? He hasn’t gone mad in that cage of his?” “Maxence hasn’t come back from his last mission.” “Oh, don’t play fool with me. I know he’s down there. Everyone knows. It’s not because you created this special team that keeps secret everything they do that there aren’t leaks.” “If you had good narks in this building, you would know better.” Colin was done with Tegan’s assumptions on him and his hidden threats that would lead nowhere. If the man had had the courage to do anything, he would have done it already since he had full power now. He had admitted himself that he didn’t have proof that he was guilty of what was done to Maxence. It was an attempt of murder. Despite his condition, Maxence was still the head and heart of this department and of this team. Attacking him was attacking the whole team. It had been made to destabilise them. But Colin was too clever to admit that he was guilty. “The same works for you, Smith. If you had good narks in this building, you’d be better informed about what is going on in your department.” Colin was playing it nasty. He was playing on the guilt that was eating out Tegan. He was the one who made that injection who could have killed his so precious mentor. He was the one who made a mistake and that was torturing him. “Shut up, Appleton. My mistake was created by some freaking bastard that messed with our stuff. And that freaking bastard is you, you can’t convince me otherwise.” Colin got up and grabbed Tegan by the throat. He pushed him so hard that the young man had to step backward to keep his balance. Tegan noticed for the first time that he was taller than Colin. The man was more aggressive but he was just like small dogs who kept barking and never really were able to hurt. Tegan was one of the bigger dogs who never hurt anyone in anyway, a dog that could attack and kill at any time. He hated this comparison because that just wasn’t defining him at all. He refused to be mean and evil for free. It just wasn’t in his character. “Careful what you say, Smith. You might be the boss now but there’s no witness at the moment and I can destroy you with a snap of my fingers.” “Go on then. Let’s see if you really have that pair you’re boasting about.” Colin had reached the point of no return this time. His fist collided with Tegan’s beardy jaw. The punch resounded in the silent office and the sudden shock threw Tegan against the wall behind him. For a moment, all he could see was black. He shouldn’t have provoked Colin that way and this punch was more than enough to sack him. It was one more reason added to the long list of why Colin shouldn’t be working here anymore. “There’s nothing you can do against me. I’ve created this cure and made sure you would inject it to him. His reaction to it wasn’t the one expected but I’m not gonna apologise for him almost dying. I should have taken his place when he was infected. But he gave it to you instead.” Tegan just laughed despite the pain of his jaw. Colin was so overwhelmed by his jealousy that he wasn’t doing anything right anymore. He was giving himself away – certainly thinking that Tegan would find no clue to prove this – and beating his superior. As if nothing mattered anymore. “You won’t find that cure, Colin. You’re fired.” “Oh, who’s firing me? You?” “Maxence promoted me to this position. So yeah, I am firing you.” That second punch met his face properly. He would have a black eye for sure but he couldn’t help but laugh. It was infuriating Colin but laughing was relieving him from all the pressure Colin had previously put on his shoulders. Now he wasn’t fearing this man anymore. It was over. Even when Colin threw him to the ground, he kept laughing. He didn’t even try to protect himself. “You’re so done.” “Shut up! SHUT UP!” The door was unlocked and suddenly two security members were surrounding Colin. They grabbed him by the arms and arrested him. They would throw him into a locked room for now. Tegan had pronounced his sentence but he wasn’t cruel enough to force Colin to leave the building and live among the infected. He wasn’t wishing it to his worst enemies. “Liv is on her way,” said one of the security members. “We’ve told her you would need her.” Tegan nodded to thank them. Indeed, he would need Liv. But it was only for the physical part. On the psychological part, he would need Amy. Later. When the adrenaline would have come down. When he would realise what he had done and what it would imply now.
x
Camden and Donna were surrounded by dozens of cardboard boxes full of results of different patients across the world. There even was a list of all the infected people – that was updated every day – and a list of some of dead. No one could keep clear records about the dead because no one was staying outside long enough to keep track of it. Camden wasn’t gonna blame them. Outside was hell and this place was safety. Even if it was too sterilised for his liking. And people were too serious. No sense of humour. Lots of glaring if he was making a remark. Most of them were wondering why they were here. Why would Tegan hire detectives? It was a mystery and Camden wouldn’t tell them about his mission. He was too focused on it. He would go to the end of it and go back to his little life in his manor. Donna was just as focused on their mission as he was. Highlighters in hand, she was adding colours to the documents she was reading. She was also writing down notes. In front of her, there were bottles of water and snacks. They had been brought earlier by Clara so they wouldn’t be starving or become too thirsty if they were working too much. She had also taken that opportunity to speak with Camden that she hadn’t seen in a while and given him some clues for his own researches. She doubted she would be of any help but better try than do nothing. “How have you met her?” Camden raised his head from the documents he was reading and glanced at Donna. She was having a break and drinking water from one of the bottles before her. She picked a snack and opened it. She had been curious about how Camden could know people like Clara Oswald and Jack Harkness. Two people that were very different from each other but also from Camden. Too joyful, too flirty. Not that Donna minded Jack flirting with her. “Who?” “Doctor Oswald.” “She wasn’t a doctor when I’ve met her. She was just a little girl.” “Are you that old?” “Oi!” “Just kidding. Relax.” “Her parents owned a paper shop. They had really good stuff. I used to order my notebooks to them and I was coming to get it when I was around. Clara was always playing in the shop. A girl full of energy and always smiling.” “I didn’t know you liked kids.” “I don’t. But she was different.” “That’s what we say.” Camden sighed and went back to work, ignoring Donna’s chuckle. She had had her answer, now they could go back to work. He was currently reading a report from the early days of the infection. Something dragged his attention. A name. “Wait, isn’t the nickname Missy ringing a bell?” “Nope.” “I’m sure to have seen that name somewhere.” He looked into the files he had already flipped through. This name had appeared somewhere. He remembered it well. He had a very good memory. It wasn’t in a list of names. It was a report. A report from before the infection. Missy or Myrtle Appleton. Sister of Colin Appleton and mad scientist. What was she working on at the moment? He glanced at the different reports he had under his eyes. Xeroderma pigmentosum. Disease of the sun. If you were suffering from this disease, you wouldn’t be able to go out unless it was night and the lights would be a bother. A terrible disease and a very short longevity. “Xeroderma pigmentosum,” he murmured. “Hm.” “There has always been this disease. The disease of the sun. People who can’t stand the ultraviolet lights. They are living a very short life and suffering from multiple complications.” “What’s the link with that Missy?” “Myrtle Appleton was a specialist of this disease. She was leading researches to find a cure.” “Was?” “Her methods weren’t very conventional.” And this was why she had been sacked from the lab she was working in and the reason why she had been forced to continue her researches in the deepest secret. If there was a path to follow for their mission, it was clearly this one…
To be continued...
Ghost of you © | 2017 - 2018 | Tous droits réservés.
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In the next chapter:
However, for Maxence, things were getting complicated. His brain seemed to have switched to a standby mode. A sort of sleep that wasn’t really sleep. He was just laying there with his eyes closed. Zachary was keeping an eye on his vital signs. His brain activity had reduced to the minimum, to the very minimum. If Zach didn’t have the other information under his eyes, he would think that the man was dead or about to be. Maybe he was dying. Zachary wasn’t very qualified on this field but he was clever enough to understand that something was wrong. The vital signs weren’t good at all. He entered an alert on their interactive group work. Someone needed to come and do a check up on him. Just to be sure that the fake cure given to him wasn’t having any effect on him anymore. Just a precaution not to lose him all of a sudden.
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