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manonblaqkbeak · 3 years

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Motel Living

this idea would not leave me alone, despite me having like three other fics barely done. it is very random. i dont even know what to say lol.

2554 words

enjoy!

Today was officially the one month anniversary of Aelin moving into a three-star motel. She did not think she'd be here for long, a couple of weeks at most, but here she was a month later, and on a Friday night no less. She should have been out with her friends, but she opted to stay inside.

She had to tell herself that she shouldn't complain. That there were people that were worse off than her. Living in a motel was fine.

But it still didn't change the fact that Aelin wished she wasn't living in a motel room. Especially one that was popular with long haul truckers whose snores sounded like chain saws and blenders on the highest level. That right now, down in the restaurant/pub that was only six doors down, an important football game was playing and the patrons inside were cheering wildly.

Aelin missed the house that she had been renting the last three years. Last year she had decided to start saving so that she could purchase the house itself, since it was still on the market since the day she moved in. It was hard, but Aelin was a determined woman and she set her sights on purchasing the house—she felt like she practically owned it anyway—up until the day she received a call from the real estate agency telling her that the house had been purchased and she had to move out.

Aelin disliked crying, but the waterworks started the minute she hung up. She really did love that house. Had created a small vegetable and herb garden to make it feel more homely. Made it hers in the three years she had occupied it.

There was a tiny silver-lining, however, since the new owners were coming from the other side of the continent, she had plenty of time to pack and move out.

But that silver-lining quickly disappeared once she started her search for a new home in-between packing and work. Every apartment, every house, every unit she looked out at was taken by the time she handed in her application. Every inspection starting to become fruitless when she knew that she wouldn't be the one to live in it.

Aelin hadn't realised that the market had become so cut-throat. She knew she was the perfect applicant because in all her years renting she never missed a single day, never received a complaint. Even when the landlord dragged his ass to fix something, Aelin kept her temper in its leash and did not throttle him the way she wanted too.

And as her luck ran out and Aelin had started to truly worry about where she was going to live because while she had multiple people in her life, she quickly realised that she couldn't ask any of them if she could move in for multiple reasons:

Aedion and Lysandra were recently married, and Aelin hadn't wanted to burst their newlywed bubble.

Chaol and Yrene were brand new parents, their baby girl born the day Aelin moved out, and she knew the last thing they wanted was someone else in the way.

Nehemia was in the same position as her, but her parents had invited her back home while Nehemia looked for somewhere else. Aelin's parents were dead, and her childhood home had been destroyed in a wildfire a five years ago, and Aelin had used the insurance money to pay off her debts. She cursed herself now for doing that, but Aelin hated being in debt and she did what she had too.

Fenrys lived in a one bedroom unit and had the worlds most uncomfortable couch, so he was out. And while Fenrys was one of her best friends, she didn't really talk with Connall, his twin. Nor did she often talk with Vaughn.

Dorian and Manon were travelling all over Erilea and Dorian's younger brother Hollin was house-sitting. Aelin couldn't stand Hollin for more than a few minutes at a time and she would rather live in the motel for a year than live in with him.

And then there was Rowan. He had been a close friend for years, until five months ago they decided that they had liked each other too much to keep being friends and officially started dating (at Lysandra and Aedion's wedding, of all places). If they had been together for longer, she would have asked him—but she didn't want to rush anything, because Aelin could so clearly see a future with him and she didn't want to hurt that future by moving in far too early in their relationship.

So that left Elide, her lifelong friend that was more like a sister. Elide was purely on the bottom of the list since she knew her friend cherished living alone after living in a shit-hole with her even shittier uncle—but Aelin knew Elide and if Aelin needed a place to stay, then Elide's door would be wide open. The two had gone to lunch and Aelin had been just moments away from telling Elide everything and asking for a world changing favour.

Until Elide had excitedly announced that Lorcan was going to move in.

And Aelin's plan had deflated. Again, Aelin knew that if Elide was aware of how desperate she was, Elide would invite Aelin to stay, but since Lorcan and Aelin didn't particularly get along, Aelin kept her mouth shut and congratulated her friend for the new milestone in their relationship.

So, all her options completely exhausted, Aelin looked for vacant motels, found that this was the best out of all the options and became a long-standing tenant.

Aelin had managed to keep everyone away from her new apartment by claiming that it wasn't ready for visitors. Most knew that Aelin was house-proud, a trait that she had inherited from her late mother, so they knew that when Aelin was ready, she would invite them.

It was getting hard, however, to keep Rowan away. Each date night and hang out ended up at his apartment and Rowan was becoming curious as to how her new place was looking.

Rowan wasn't judgemental, and he wouldn't look down at her for living in a motel room, but Aelin was the problem; she was too proud to show him her new place. Even when she was at her lunch with Elide, she had to beat down her pride at just the mere thought of asking Elide if she could move in.

Tonight, however, Aelin knew in her bones that Rowan would ask to come over. He had a completely shitty day at work—one that ended up in the hospital because for the first time in his career as a carpenter, Rowan had somehow gotten his hand in the way of his nail gun and shot right through the middle of his palm and was off work until it healed, which Rowan hated the most out of the whole ordeal, since Rowan was the type of person that always had to be doing something.

So when his face finally popped up on her phone screen, Aelin muffled a groan into her pillow (because there was no way in hell she was using the standard sheets the motel provided, she needed her bedding or she wouldn't get any sleep), took a deep breath and plastered a smile onto her face.

“How's the hand?” she asked by way of greeting.

“It'd be a lot better if there wasn't a hole in it,” was his groggy reply. “I just woke up from the longest nap and thought of you.”

“That's sweet of you to say,” Aelin said, “do you want me to come over? I could cook you my world famous grilled cheese.” Please say yes, she thought, please.

“As much as I love the sound of that, I just need to get out of my house,” Rowan said, “I know that you're house-proud and if you don't want me to see it, I understand, I'll even wear a blind fold if that'll make you happy, but I just...” he trailed off and Aelin could see his pained expression even though they were miles apart.

“Seeing all your work tools is making you miserable,” she supplied. Rowan grunted in confirmation. Taking a deep breath, Aelin said, “You can come over, I don't mind. I'd be happy to see you.” And she would be. She'd just have to kick her pride in the corner. “There's a pub right around the corner from mine and the cheeseburgers they have are really fucking good, and I mean that sincerely. Do you want me to get you one? Because I only have snacks and canned food at the moment.”

“A burger sounds good, with extra tomato, please.”

Aelin smiled. “Of course, I'll text you the address, and I'll see you soon.”

After ordering their dinner, Aelin tidied up (even though the space was immaculate) and waited, and waited. When a gentle knock sounded at her door, Aelin took the food from the restaurant worker and was just about to go back in when Rowan's truck pulled up.

Even ten car spots away, Aelin could see his puzzled expression from where she stood. Placing the food on the small, round dining table, Aelin waited by the door and gave Rowan her best smile when he stood in front of her.

His puzzled expression melted away momentarily when she kissed him hello, but it was back in full force when they pulled away.

“Fireheart,” was all he said, and it said everything that he didn't say.

“I know.”

“You're living in a motel room.” There was no judgement in his voice, like she knew there wouldn't be, but it was clear that he was confused about the whole thing. She should have just told him. She loved her late mother, but really hated the fact that she had passed her pride to Aelin. She hated the fact that, deep down, she was embarrassed, even if Aelin told herself that she had no reason to. The housing market was insane, there was no where else for her to go, and that she hated herself for not saving more money to buy her home of three years.

“I am,” Aelin said, “but it's not so bad. It's affordable and clean.” Aelin invited him inside and sat him down the small dining table.

From his spot, he took in the space. Saw the bar fridge that could barely hold a bags worth of cold food, her toaster oven and the dual butane stove she had to purchase because she didn't want to have to use the toaster oven all the time. The tiny closet that held a decent amount of clothes, but didn't make a dent in her considerable mountain of clothes that she had put away in the storage unit she was renting.

None of her candles were in sight and no books either. Aelin was taking full advantage of her library apps, but it wasn't the same. Aelin loved the feeling of a book in her hands, but there was no space and it would have been silly to bring in her bookcases.

“Where's all your stuff?”

“In a storage unit. I considered living in there, but it doesn't have an air-conditioner and this place does.”

Before Rowan could say anything, Aelin turned on the TV, put on whatever movie sounded dumb enough and ate her dinner.

Aelin could see the question burning in his eyes as she stuffed her mouth to avoid answering that very question.

Why didn't Aelin ask if she could stay with him?

Aelin wanted to tell him, she really did, but was afraid that if she showed how serious she was, Rowan might admit that he wasn't as serious as her.

But Aelin knew herself, knew that she was going to tell him at one point or another. She could tell Rowan anything and he wouldn't flinch. It was her own doubt stopping her.

“That really is the best burger I've ever had,” Rowan said when he was finished.

“It really is,” was all Aelin could think of to say. Gods, she felt so damned awkward. The question was still in Rowan's eyes, even as he laughed at the movie and its stupidity. So to avoid it for a bit longer, Aelin took the take-away boxes into the dumpster outback and immediately went for a shower afterwards.

When she came out, Rowan was lounging on her bed, his injured hand laying across his chest, the other arm fiddling with her comforter. Aelin dressed in a shirt that she may have borrowed without asking from Rowan and a pair of sleep shorts.

Borrowing underneath her comforter, Aelin rested her head on Rowan's chest and the awkwardness she felt deflated a bit as he pressed a kiss on her head.

Aelin told him how she ended up here. Including her embarrassment and annoyance at herself. Rowan listened attentively, as he always did. That was one of the biggest things she loved about him, that he listened. And Aelin was in love with him, she knew without a doubt. She was certain she fell in love with him when he danced with her at Aedion and Lysandra's wedding.

When the credits started to roll, Aelin took a deep breath and decided to plunge into uncharted territories. She kept her eyes glued onto the screen.

Aelin decided to bite the bullet. If it all went to hell, she would beat herself up later.

“I don't want to fuck things up with you.” Well, that wasn't how she wanted to start this conversation, but she supposed it was the best way to start off. “I wanted to ask you if I could move in, but our relationship is just so new, and I didn't want to ruin our future, because I can see a future with you, Rowan.” Moving so that she could look Rowan in the eye, Aelin took the deepest plunge imaginable and told him, “I love you, Rowan. I'm in love with you.”

The smile he gave her was the most beautiful she'd ever seen. “I love you, too, Aelin.” Reaching down to kiss her, all of Aelin's doubts melted away. When he pulled back, Rowan said softly, “If you wish to ask, I'll say yes. Because I see a future with you too. You're the one for me.”

“Rowan, can I move in with you?”

He kissed her again. “Yes, you can.”

Aelin's cheeks were started to become sore from all her smiling. Maybe it was a good thing after all that she ended up living here.

Hours later, after another bad movie and celebrating the new milestone in their relationship (which was mainly Aelin laughing as she rode Rowan because he kept forgetting about his injured hand), Aelin and Rowan got ready for bed, and as Aelin rested her head on his chest again, she said, “Just to let you know, I'm going to replace your mattress for mine, because yours is hard as stone.”

“That's exactly why I'm letting you move in, I'm in the market for a new mattress.”

Aelin playfully whacked his chest and muttered what a buzzard he was, but soon fell asleep with a smile on her face, ready for her future with Rowan.

#srsly what is this lol #rowaelin #rowaelin fanfiction

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nevermindirah · 3 years

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Non-Jewish friends, y’all might be wondering right now: Israel is doing clearly unacceptable shit to Palestinians. So, why are some Jews ardent Zionists, and why do some Jews seem to feel personally attacked by criticism of Israel?

A lot of (non-Palestinian) non-Jews have asked me where I stand on Israel/Palestine over the years, apropos of nothing, just because I’m Jewish. For the longest time I felt so stuck because I just didn’t know much about Israel/Palestine and what little I did know turned out to be largely misinformation and I felt so much pressure to say The Correct Thing That All Jews Should Say About This Issue. Obviously the violence Israel is committing against Palestinians is horrific and the interpersonal weirdness individual Jews might experience as people discuss Israel’s horrific violence doesn’t compare. I’m making this post as a small supplement to the important conversations going on about what Israel is doing to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank, as well as Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinian refugees and their descendants living outside land Israel controls. I’m making this post because non-Jews might be feeling confused by conflicting messages about Zionism as either settler colonialism or Jewish self-determination. It sucks feeling like you have to choose only one oppressed group or another. It’s possible to support Palestinian liberation and Jewish liberation at the same time! Here’s some context that might help.

Palestinian friends will probably want to ignore this post, y’all shouldn’t have to deal with your oppressors’ feelings, and especially not right now.

Zionism is the ideology behind the devastating violence Israel is committing against Palestinians right now and has been committing against Palestinians since 1947-48. It’s heartbreaking and messy to talk about this reality, because Zionism originated as a strategy to protect Jews from antisemitism.

Any oppressed group can turn into oppressors under enough pressure, because humans are flawed. Jews fleeing antisemitism turning into Israelis ethnically cleansing Palestinians happened because Zionism is profoundly influenced by its time and place of origin: 19th century Europe.

Europe invented antisemitism, and basically every European country has done at least one very very bad structural antisemitism, like expelling all the country's Jews (the monarch and/or the church then stole all the wealth the expelled people had to leave behind), looking the other way when peasants murdered a bunch of Jews as an outlet for their frustration with the actual (non-Jewish) ruling class, banning Jews from owning property or holding certain jobs or being members of guilds etc, and of course the big horrific state-sponsored mass-murder operations the Inquisition and the Holocaust. From the 1790s through the 19th century different European governments emancipated their Jews, ie removed legal barriers to full citizenship and economic participation. But this didn't end antisemitism. Just like the legal improvements of the 19th and 20th centuries didn't end antiblackness in the United States.

Also happening in this time: nationalism swept Europe. From the French Revolution through the end of World War I, Europe’s predominant form of government transformed from multiethnic empires to nation-states, countries led by and for a particular ethnic group.

So this Austro-Hungarian dude Theodor Herzl came up with this idea for Jewish nationalism. Every other European ethnic group is getting their own country, so why not Jews? Maybe this is the solution to antisemitism! Maybe we’ll finally be safe if we just all move en masse out of Europe to a place that will take all of us and never expel us!

But also also happening in Europe and around the world in this time: European imperialism and white supremacist settler colonialism. Chattel slavery saw its height and then its end (legally, at least) during this era, but white supremacy entrenched itself across the planet in post-slavery economic practices and cultural imperialism as well as national and international laws.

I believe countries have a moral obligation to take in as many refugees as they can squeeze in. International law protecting refugees has evolved a lot over the past century, but we’re still devastatingly far from every refugee getting a safe place to call home, and the main reason for that is white supremacy. The Biden administration didn’t undo the Trump administration’s horrifically low cap on refugees until like last week and it’s because Democratic party leaders treat centrist white people as more valuable voters than the huge and growing numbers of people of color, immigrants, LGBT people, unmarried women, and working class people who want to vote for elected leaders who get that nobody’s free until we’re all free. Ahem. Back to the topic at hand, the US and many other countries turned away untold numbers of refugees fleeing the fucking Holocaust, so odds are slim they’d be more welcoming in less desperate times. Moving from places where Jews are an unwanted minority to places where Jews are still a minority and either still unwanted or little understood and unlikely to win revolutionary levels of support from a largely non-Jewish public seems like a bad plan.

In the mid to late 19th century, lots of Jews took the kernel of Zionism and ran with it in different directions. Maybe this ideology could mean Jewish cultural flourishing alongside stronger political/economic integration into the societies where we’re already living! Maybe it could mean a particular kind of socialism that advocates for the liberation of Jews both as Jews and as workers! Maybe it could mean a revitalization of Jewish religious practice both in Jerusalem where we have important heritage sites and everywhere we live across the world!

Eventually Herzl’s vision of Zionism won out over the others: Jewish nationalism in the sense of a Jewish nation-state, a country that has a Jewish demographic majority and/or that legally privileges Jews over non-Jews.

Problem is, if you want to do that, you have to find a piece of land on which to do it, and Earth was already a pretty crowded place a hundred years ago. Many locations were considered, and the one that ended up winning that debate was Palestine. Where a shit ton of people, mostly non-Jews, were already living. They were forming their own nationalist movement at the time: in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire they began to organize for local self-determination in Palestine.

The Herzl types who developed Zionism as an ideology and built institutions to advocate for and create a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine were a small subset of European Jews, mostly men, mostly with significant economic privilege within what Jews were able to achieve in their particular societies at the time. They were just as Orientalist as the non-Jews around them, just as antiblack, just as racist generally for all that Jews were (and sometimes still are) considered non-white in much of Europe. They had a cool idea (put a lot of effort into something that could protect Jews from antisemitism) floating in a bathtub full of shit, and they did practically nothing to protect the cool idea from absorbing that shit. Results of this include thinking about the millions of people already living in Palestine as if they were either like the rocks and the trees that will go with the flow and accept a new ruling class, or indistinct Arabs who would just leave for other Arab countries because what could be the difference — in the staggeringly small amount of time they considered the existing residents of Palestine at all.

This racist hand-waving extended to Zionist leaders’ attitudes about Jews outside Europe as well. White Jews in settler colonies like the US were largely anti-Zionist at the time (not wanting their own countries to accuse them of dual loyalty was a common reason) but European Zionist leaders took what help they could get from Jews in the US, South Africa, Australia, etc. Jews across the Middle East and North Africa, however, barely heard from Zionist leaders about any of this until Zionist militias had removed enough Palestinians from the land and it was time to repopulate it with whichever Jewish bodies were convenient. You might have heard "all the Arab countries expelled their Jews in 1948" but lots of first-person accounts tell a different story of Israel coercing Jews who’d lived securely for a long time in places like Morocco to immigrate to Israel and then confiscating their passports and forcing them to live on less-fertile land with fewer resources while serving as a buffer between Palestinians and European Jewish immigrants. Ella Shohat is the best-known writer on Israeli racism against non-European Jews and I strongly recommend Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Perspective of Its Jewish Victims as a starting point to learn more about this.

Which brings us to today. We still haven’t eradicated antisemitism, several European governments that did a lot of structural antisemitism they still haven’t made meaningful reparations for get to feel good about themselves for “giving the Jews a state” as if carving up the former Ottoman Empire was up to them and not the people who lived there, and millions of people across the world who previously either lived peacefully enough alongside Jews or hadn’t really thought about us much at all now have very valid reasons to be pissed at this country that claims it represents all of us.

Zionism was supposed to protect Jews from antisemitism. And Israel has saved Jewish lives! But if we hadn’t sunk the past 70+ years into an ethnostate we could’ve been putting that energy into other political and economic activity to create adequate international support for refugees while we work on ending root causes of refugee crises, like antisemitism, racism, climate change, and capitalism. Meanwhile Zionism has killed, maimed, incarcerated, stolen from, traumatized, and erased the history of millions of Palestinians just because they happened to be living on land that some dudes who had a lot more in common with Thomas Jefferson and Donald Trump than with you or me decided needed to be cleansed for a Jewish ethnostate.

White nationalists in the US love Israel because they want American Jews to go away. Fascist leaders across Europe love Israel for the same reason, so much so that Israel’s prime minister is buddy-buddy with Trump and the equivalent shitstains of several European far-right parties. And I don’t know what it’s like in other white supremacist countries that are close allies of Israel, but the overwhelming majority of Zionist lobbying that pushes the US to give so much aid to Israel comes from Evangelical Christians, because they believe all the Jews have to be in the Holy Land for Jesus to come back. No thanks.

This whole thing fucking sucks. Jews and Palestinians, like all human beings, deserve to be free. Many Jews are understandably afraid of what might happen next if Israel decided to give up on ethnonationalism, allow Palestinian refugees to return, make reparations, and establish a pluralistic democracy that represents and protects all its residents — will some Palestinians murder Jews in revenge? That’s genuinely fucking scary. And it’s genuinely fucking scary to be a Palestinian in Israel/Palestine, and has been for over 70 years. We’ve gotta do something different. I say that as a white person sitting on land stolen from Piscataway people who has thought in detail about what portion of my income would be reasonable for my government to tax in order to fund reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.

Ok. One final piece of context before I wrap this up.

Most Jewish institutions in the US are explicitly Zionist, teach children that Zionism is THE way to ensure Jewish safety, and increasingly tell non-Zionist Jews that we're unwelcome or even that we’re not “real” Jews. This comes in a context where it’s only been 76 years since the latest and most gruesome of several attempts to wipe our entire people off the face of the planet. If you grew up in that environment, you, too, might be jumpy about even hearing the words Zionism or Israel, let alone considering the devastation this ideology and country have caused Palestinians.

Jews have a right to exist. Jews have a millennia-old connection to this scrap of land in the Levant, and we have a right to access religiously and culturally important geographic landmarks. What we don't have a right to is murdering or expelling other people in order to make an ethnostate, on that land or any other. Zionism is settler colonialism, but it’s settler colonialism by and for people who have a valid need for protection from structural antisemitism, which means that it’s going to take a lot of messy empathy to undo. The members of my extended family who voted for Trump (non-Jews in my case, though Jared Kushner isn’t the only Jewish Trumpite) are afraid that ending white supremacy will demote them from a privileged class to equal footing with everyone else — that’s the kind of fear individuals work on in therapy, not the kind that’s reasonable for a whole society to prevent from happening. I and millions of Jews do deserve for whole societies to work hard to end antisemitism.

I would never and will never ask a Palestinian to gently request their liberation. But if you’re not Palestinian, and you’ve got a little extra empathy to spare this week, I ask you to remember what I’ve shared here when interacting with Jews about Israel/Palestine.

If you’re a fellow Jew reading this and you feel like Israel is the only way to guarantee our safety, all I ask of you is to sit with the idea that what Israel is doing to Palestinians is too high a cost for safety that’s still not guaranteed, and start to imagine real-world ways we can protect our people from antisemitism without an ethnostate.

I made this post for people who know me (or know of me I guess?) in Old Guard and Cap fandom, despite my better judgment, because talking about Jewish Booker and Jewish Bucky and Jewish Natasha makes me so happy and I think some of the people I love on these characters with might appreciate this perspective. I didn’t provide any links in this post on purpose (to decrease its usefulness, so fewer people will reblog it) because the risk of anon hate when talking about Zionism outside my immediate fandom circles is so high. You’re welcome to reblog this post if you find it helpful! Unless you’re not within a few concentric circles of me, in which case, maybe don’t? If seeing this post makes you want to send me anon hate, no need: many people who share your perspective have already done so on Twitter.

Reliable sources on all this info are a few googles away, and I apologize for the things I know I oversimplified as well as any things I might have misremembered. I’m an American who’s never lived in Israel/Palestine who is posting this on my fandom blog.

TL;DR: This is a short ‘n pithy post about the same idea.

TL;DR, fandom edition: The shortest distillation of this anti-Zionist Jew’s feelings on the matter can be found in segment 4 of Five Times Booker Got Wasted on Purim and One Time He Didn’t.

#palestinian liberation #hi i'm an antizionist jew no i don't really want to talk about it #and yet #here we are #long post #mine #antisemitism #settler colonialism #racism #european imperialism #genocide cw

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winterscaptain · 4 years

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focused.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral!Reader a joyful future fic

a/n: thanks to kira for helping me through the last dregs of this!! you’re amazing!! As promised, here’s lo-fi/mayhem in our ajf world. as (usually) usual, no context required to enjoy, but it’s pretty fun over here!

words: 6.4k warnings: language, canon-typical injury/violence, everyone’s mad and everyone’s worried!

summary: “knowing when to fight is just as important as knowing how.” terry goodkind, faith of the fallen. au!may 2008

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | taglist | what do you want to see next? updated: february 1st, 2021

“Don’t get comfortable. There will be time to debrief on the plane.” Hotch’s eyes are trained on the monitor, where grainy security footage plays and replays an exceedingly casual murder in an underground subway station.

Reid, entering behind you, squints at the monitor. “Where are we headed?”

“New York.”

Rossi advances on the monitor. “Five shootings in two weeks. It’s about time we got the call.”

You watch as Hotch replays the tape again. “Why the delay?”

Aaron doesn’t answer you, but rather addresses Derek. “I want to take Garcia with us. Hopefully they’ll give us access to their surveillance systems.”

He’s distracted, almost absent-minded. It’s odd.

“What do we know?” You try again with another question, and Emily dips her chin - she had the same one.

Hotch pauses the video, turning toward the rest of you - loosely circled around the table. “All the killings are mid-day. Single gunshot to the head with a .22.”

“Any witnesses?” As always, JJ looks for somewhere to go as soon as wheels are down.

She really doesn’t get paid enough.

There’s something odd in her voice and temperament this morning, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Now that you’re really awake and looking around, everyone's a little jumpy this morning. It doesn't help that the two most grounded people on the team are the most absent-minded of you all.

“No.”

Spencer pipes up. “.22-caliber pistol’s only 152 decibels. New York streets and subways are routinely well over a hundred.”

“So,” you ask, “could it be such that possible witnesses don’t even clock it before the unsub’s already on their way?”

Spencer nods.

Derek shifts beside you. “They sound like mob hits.”

Aaron dips his chin, but says, “Except none of them have ties to organized crime.”

The rest of the facts and questions fly past you - no connection between victims, no communication or contact, surveillance footage that shows next to nothing, an establishment that the unsub is bold and well-trained.

Seems completely random.

Spencer voices your next thought. “Son of Sam all over again.”

The grim look on Aaron’s face tells you all you need to know.

+++

Derek, Penelope, and Emily shoot the shit as they get on the plane, but you notice JJ staring forlornly out the window. You resolve to discover what that’s about as soon as possible. Having her down was odd…

But she has been acting strange lately, not just today.

You sit beside Hotch, across from Reid as Rossi flips through photos of the victims.

Spencer makes astute observations about the continued pattern of, well, no pattern at all, while Hotch provides some remarks here and there.

One of them catches your attention. “It’s a joint FBI-NYPD taskforce?”

Yeah, because those always go over so well.

“Kate Joyner heads up the New York field office. She’s running point on the case and called me directly.” He calls out to JJ, who then informs the pilot you’re all ready to get wheels up. “Kate’s starting to butt heads with the local detectives and wanted a fresh set of eyes.”

There’s something in his voice you can’t place. History, maybe?

“Joyner, I know her,” Derek says. “She’s a Brit, right?”

Hotch shrugs. “Well, dual citizenship. Her father’s British, her mother’s American. She was a big deal at Scotland Yard before coming to the Bureau.”

You look over at him.

That’s a ridiculous amount of knowledge for someone who doesn’t work in the same state, Aaron.

“I heard she can be a little bit of a pain in the ass.” It’s a test. The defiant tip of Derek’s chin tells you as much.

Hotch takes the bait. “I didn’t think so.”

You can’t help it. “You know her?”

“We liaised when she was still at Scotland Yard.”

You look at Emily, who shrugs.

“And she’s good?” You wouldn’t call Dave’s tone skeptical, but if you didn’t know any better, you’d say it was another test. He’s a lot subtler than Morgan.

Hotch looks back at Dave. “I think we’re lucky to have her.”

+++

You all step out of the elevator, and you stay closest to JJ. Her absent-mindedness had yet to leave her, and as the person closest to her age, you were doing your best to support her with your presence alone.

JJ leans toward you as you approach the center of the office. “Is it just me or does she look -”

“- exactly like Haley?” You finish JJ’s thought. “Yeah.”

There’s a little smile you can see on Aaron’s face, just touching his profile. Agent Joyner has one too, and it makes you feel...something.

Whatever it is, it isn’t comfortable.

“Kate.”

“Aaron. How’ve you been?”

You take another glance at JJ. She seems to have the same thought as you.

First name basis? How close are they?

“Well, thank you. This is my team.” He introduces you all one by one, and you attempt to plaster a polite smile on your face, just like everyone else. Derek’s the only one who doesn’t make an effort, and you tap the side of his shoe with your foot.

Penelope gets settled right away, and the NYPD detectives approach shortly after that. Of course, they start with a snide remark at Spencer. Your hackles rise, and you take a little huff of a breath.

Calm down.

Kate introduces Detectives Brustin and Cooper. Dave gets right to the point, doing his best to establish baseline rapport.

It doesn’t work.

You don’t notice that you’ve crept closer to Aaron throughout the proceedings, now standing just off his shoulder, next to Emily, until Kate leans into him. “Can I have a word with you in private?”

The crumpling of your brow is quick, and you hope nobody noticed. Emily’s head, whirling around to look at Derek, is far less subtle.

“Sure.”

Emily tracks back to JJ, who looks confused. In a hushed and suggestive tone, she tells her, “They...liaised when she was at Scotland Yard.”

You hide your laugh in your shoulder, covering your movement with an attempt to adjust your backpack.

Derek steps up behind you. “Let me get that for you, kiddo.”

You look up at him, hard-pressed to keep your mirth to yourself. A little smile plays at the edge of his lips as well. He turns you around when he’s done pretending to be helpful, holding you in the little huddle that develops between the rest of you and the NYPD detectives.

Derek’s eyes keep flickering to Kate’s office, where she and Hotch chat informally and perhaps even fondly, to an extent. Heat rises in your cheeks.

Get over yourself.

+++

You attempt to ignore the sheer amount of time Aaron spends looking over Kate’s shoulder behind her desk. Tearing your eyes from her office window, you return to your task.

The whiteboard marker in your hand is seeing lots of use as you follow Spencer’s instructions, tracing lines between key points, making notes, etc. Cooper’s banter with Emily puts a little smile on your face.

“Anti-geographical profiling? Now you wonder why we’re so skeptical?” Cooper’s voice is full of play, but there’s a very real concern behind it.

Emily laughs, but then explains, “This unsub’s organized. He strikes at the same time of day, he knows where the cameras are placed. That means he’s doing his own surveillance.”

You offer your two cents in support of Spencer, who outlines the difference between need-motivated killers and organized killers. Cooper looks a little impressed by the time you add, “So, essentially, we need to look everywhere this unsub isn’t to find where he lives. He has a comfort zone, and we just have to find it.”

“What are we finding?” Hotch and Kate roll out of her office, and he settles beside you, peering at the map.

You look over your shoulder at him. “He’s organized, so we’ve redirected to an anti-geographical profile.”

“Keep looking.” He turns on his heel and walks out the door, Kate trailing behind him with a confidence that tightens your jaw.

Maybe Derek was right. Maybe she is a pain in the ass.

+++

You keep your eyes up as Rossi and Hotch inspect the body on the busy New York street. Your mind wanders to a lecture at the academy, the voice of the late Jennifer Shepard echoing through your head.

“Always watch the watchers.”

But then again, she’d always backed it up with another story about “the man with all the rules” to undermine the rules in question. The stories did more than make you laugh - they helped you remember.

“See anything?” Hotch looks up, not at you, but you know you have his attention.

You shake your head, your eyes still on the crowd. “Nothing obvious.”

He hums, and tunes back in as Derek says, “From the placement of that camera, odds are the only view they’re gonna get is the back of his head.”

“Let’s not be too quick to decide what we do or don’t have.” Kate meets Derek’s eyes and stares him down. You bristle, but Hotch turns just the smallest bit toward you, reminding you to behave.

The detective makes another snide remark as Kate brushes past the rest of you.

Derek turns toward Hotch, and you step back, giving them the illusion of privacy. “You mind telling me why I’m catching attitude from her?”

Because you’re better at your job? Because you don’t have a chip on your shoulder the size of the Atlantic? Because you probably haven’t maybe slept with our unit chief, maybe?

“FBI brass has made it clear to her that if she doesn’t bring this case home, she’s gonna be reassigned. And you are at the top of the list to replace her.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Aaron squints a little, but his words are deeply genuine. “Why should you be surprised? You’re good at your job. People notice that.”

He’s right.

“What happened to the Bureau patting itself on the back from stealing her away from Scotland Yard?”

Hotch shakes his head and sighs. “I don’t know. Politics here are different. And you can see she doesn’t pull punches.” He walks away, and Derek looks over his shoulder at you.

With a little smile, you say, “He’s right, you know.”

“You’re a terrible ass-kisser, kid.”

Nevertheless, he taps your shoulder with his knuckle and you both make your way to Rossi, examining a tarot card.

+++

“We’ve got more than one unsub.” Hotch’s tone is more than defeated, and you peer further over his shoulder, your fingers pressing lightly into the back of his arm for balance.

Rossi circles the desk. “So, we have more than one unsub. What does that tell us?”

“Most teams stick together,” Spencer says. “Ng and Lake. The Krays. Bittaker and Norris. They don’t usually kill separately.”

Derek is next, offering, “Could be some kind of gang initiation.”

Emily and JJ volley about gang operations and local task forces for a moment before Kate asks. “Do you think we have enough for a working profile?”

You startle a little. She’s closer than you thought, on the other side of Hotch. You lean around him, the soft wool of his suit sleeve still under your fingers. “Broad strokes, maybe. Nothing specific, yet.”

Hotch makes a few assignments, but you’re focused on Derek. As you suspected, he has an idea. “I think we should get out on the streets.”

Also unsurprising, Kate has an immediate rebuttal. “I brought you here to create a profile.”

“Which we can give in the morning, and they can share it with the afternoon shift.”

She huffs. “We’ve allocated every extra man we have.” You don’t miss the warning glance Hotch shoots Derek or the way Derek ignores it. “This is New York City. It’s not like adding a few more people is gonna blanket the city.”

“I understand it’s a long shot. But these guys, they hit at mid-day. We could target ingress and egress to particular neighborhoods. Position us near express stops - 14th, 42nd, 59th -”

“Morgan. It’s not your call.” Hotch’s rebuke is harsh, surprising.

You inhale sharply and tuck your lip between your teeth, retracting your hand.

This is gonna be a long case.

+++

Thankfully, you’re all headed back to the hotel in fairly short order. Hotch has all but ordered Kate to bed, and you try not to let your thoughts stray too far in response.

Spencer’s eyes wander up, and you follow them. “JJ -”

Will?

You’d only met him once but like him well enough. He was polite, pleasant, and even funny. Seeing as you hadn’t heard much about him in the last few months, you assumed JJ had broken it off.

Guess not.

She turns. “Will.”

“Hey,” he says, “took a shot and flew to D.C. but it didn’t work. I figured I’d train up to New York - only a few more hours.”

Hotch looks a little surprised, which probably means you do too. He extends his hand. “Detective.”

Will takes it. “I’m sorry for showing up like this. I know you’re working. But, um…” He drops his voice. “I can’t stand you being on this case and me not being here - not with what’s going on.”

You look at JJ, who looks a little uncomfortable, and then Hotch, who looks a little confused. Aaron’s the first one to speak, and you’re more than a little touched by the concern in his voice as he addresses JJ and JJ alone. “Is there a problem?”

Will dips his head, and you know he’s disappointed.

What the hell is going on?

She turns toward the team. With a little laugh, she says, “I’m pregnant.”

Hotch freezes, and you step close to him as Emily congratulates her. Will extends his hand and Hotch shakes it again. “I’ve asked JJ to marry me.”

JJ whirls around, and there’s a warning in her voice. “Will.”

“We’re, ah, working out some kinks.”

“We’ll, um” Aaron says, coming back to himself, “give you both some privacy.” He nods and steps away. You follow close behind him, but you fall back as JJ hops after him.

“Hotch -”

There’s something in his voice you’ve never heard before when he replies. “JJ, you could have told me.” He almost sounds...hurt? Your brow crumples, and you try to stay out of his eye line as they chat.

Pin that for later...

“I know.”

“I understand if you need to take some time.”

“No, I want to be here.” She’s firm in her conviction, and you can’t say you’d be any different if you were in any similar situation - injury, illness, otherwise.

“Okay. Seven AM.”

She nods and turns back to Will while Hotch continues toward the elevators. The rest of the team passes ahead of you, leaping into the open lift. Aaron hangs back and you follow his lead, letting the doors close.

“Are you okay?”

He sighs. “Yeah. Just unexpected.”

Taking a little leap, you step close to him in a show of camaraderie. He’d never let on, but he needs contact sometimes. You might even go so far as to say the poor man is touch-starved.

He wraps his arm around you, and you bite back a pleased smile, feeling more than a little chuffed. You examine his profile. “What’s on your mind?”

His shrug says many things. His sigh says more.

“Yeah,” you say. “I know.”

+++

“We’re not having that discussion, right now.” Hotch’s cutoff is flat, and it shoots irritation through you.

Your brow furrows, and you sputter for a second before turning on him. “What’s with you? That’s like the sixth time you’ve shut me down today.”

Hotch opens his mouth to reply, but before he can, Kate’s voice chirps from behind you.

“Are all your younger agents this insubordinate, Aaron, or is it limited to this one?”

You grit your teeth, and blatantly ignore the apology blossoming in Hotch’s eyes as you say, “Excuse me, sir.” You turn your head, not quite looking at Kate. “Agent Joyner.” You brush past Hotch, almost shoulder-checking him, and leave the room. The door shuts loudly behind you.

Derek looks up, and you wave him off as he rises to follow.

Throwing the stairway door open, you fly down two flights of stairs before sitting heavily upon the landing. You throw your blazer off, the heat under the fabric only fueling your anger.

Your hands cover your face and you manage three deep breaths before tears press in at your eyes. Molten humiliation courses through you, your face hot and hands shaking.

It’s not fair to expect Kate to understand the rapport you have with Hotch, why you can push him inexplicably further than the rest of your team. It’s not fair, but you still feel betrayed by Hotch’s accommodation of her insecurity and Kate’s own ridiculousness.

The lack of sleep doesn’t help.

A few relevant thoughts regarding the profile float through your head and you pin them for later.

The door opens two floors above, and you hear Aaron’s familiar footsteps hesitate before they slowly descend to your level. You keep your face pressed into your hands as he sits beside you, resting his arms on his knees.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you today.”

You sniff, but don’t answer. He waits for you, a few minutes passing in silence, but you don’t have anything to say.

“I’ve done my best to make Kate feel supported, but I -” he huffs, and you know he’s working hard to properly articulate his feelings. You appreciate it. “I’ve failed both you and Morgan in the process. I’ve explained the situation to him, but I didn’t speak to you before I…” He trails off. “For that, I’m sorry.”

You drop your hands from your face, wiping at the evidence of your anger. “Just...remember who’s on your team, would you?”

“I do.”

“Then -” You throw your arms up and huff at him, his response inspiring a new wave of irritation in your chest. “Then why the fuck are you riding my ass about this shit today? You haven’t taken a single one of my ideas, and all but one has been really good.”

He sighs. “I know. I also know that you can take it. I trust you to be resilient in difficult political situations such as this one. I don’t have that same trust in Kate right now.” He pauses and you watch his left thumb worry a track back and forth over the knuckle of his middle finger. Your eyes wander to the barely-noticeable tan line where his wedding ring used to sit. With a start, you realize you didn’t notice its absence and you don’t know when he took it off. When he speaks again, your eyes snap back to your feet. “Your ability to step away instead of rightfully lashing out at Kate speaks to your excellence and professionalism in your role, and shows me my faith is not misplaced.”

You look at him, finding his brown eyes soft and apologetic. “Thanks.”

He grabs your blazer off the ground and stands. He straightens his suit jacket, offering you a hand. You take it and rise, using the back of your other hand to rid yourself entirely of tears.

With gentle hands, he slips your blazer over your shoulders, fixing the collar and brushing debris off the back. You let him fuss, knowing all the while his concern is another apology.

“It’s far too organized to be just organized crime, by the way,” you inform him casually, as if remarking on the weather.

He looks almost startled. “What?”

You tug on his arm and take the stairs two at a time back up to Kate’s floor. “Look.” He follows you as you burst back through both sets of doors into the conference room, stepping in front of Kate for access to the map. “We have more than one unsub. They’ve attacked different neighborhoods across Manhattan - all different demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. They’re trying to send a message, and each attack is a play to build their audience. If anything, our presence tells them that it’s working.”

A look of realization crosses Hotch’s face, and he presses a hand to your shoulder, his fingertips squeezing just a little before he lets go. “Well done.” He turns to Kate. “We’re ready to update the working profile.”

You keep your eyes trained on Aaron, but Kate’s clenched jaw doesn’t escape your notice.

+++

“Focused? From where I’m standing, your focus is on her.”

It’s finally come to a head. Derek has absolutely lost it, rightfully so, in the middle of the federal building, while Hotch tries to keep the peace, and Kate looks appropriately chastised.

You reach for Derek’s elbow with gentle fingers, but he shakes you off.

“Take a walk. Now.” Aaron’s tone is nothing to trifle with, and it sends a shiver down your spine.

Fuck.

“Derek. C’mon.” You yank once on his sleeve and lead him out the doors. He’s pissed, almost vibrating with energy.

You look over your shoulder exactly once to check on Aaron, who leans heavily over a desk. When he looks up, you turn your head before he can meet your gaze.

Yes, it’s a punishment. Yes, he knows it. He'll get your attention once he’s earned it again.

Derek cools off a little once you get outside, and he leads the way to the hotel bar. You’re sure you'd be better off returning to your post upstairs, but he needs you more than anyone else right now.

You also don’t trust yourself to be in the same room as Aaron - the likelihood of losing your usually-endless patience with him is dangerously high. At this rate, you’d get yourself a first-class ticket to Suspension City - at worst ending with your removal from the unit.

There was no way on this green earth that you’d end up off the unit of Hotch had any say, but your exhausted brain was only giving you the worst-case scenario at the moment.

He sits heavily on a barstool and orders a Stella. You don’t comment on his choice to drink while on the clock. You take a water, and wait for him to speak. He doesn’t touch his beer.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“Of course.”

“You should go back.”

Looking up, you see Rossi walking through the doors. “Alright, but you’re not getting out of anything.” By the time you’ve finished, Dave is at Derek’s other side, getting comfortable. You press a hand to Derek’s shoulder, leaving them alone.

You take a few deep breaths before returning to the proper floor. Kate is in her office with Hotch over her shoulder.

He looks up when you walk in. How’s Morgan?

“He’ll be back.”

+++

You reach Emily with Derek and JJ, and she looks flustered.

“Are you okay?” Derek takes stock of Emily, but you figure out there’s nothing to know about Cooper.

Emily walks through the moments before and during the shooting, growing increasingly intense. You watch her as Derek digs and digs - finding the right questions for the answers she wants to share.

“Wait,” you ask. “You think he deliberately shot someone where he could be caught?”

“What if he did?” Her eyes are wild, angry. “What if they chose this spot because we were here?”

“What are you thinking?” Derek leans forward, searching her face for answers.

She enumerates her points. “He had no ID on him. He waited until we caught up to him. He was strangely calm- it’s almost like suicide by cop.”

“Why?” You hear yourself ask. “Why would he do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe to make us think everything was finished.”

You look at Derek. He looks back at you.

“We need to walk back through this profile.”

Just then, Aaron and Kate dip under the police tape and make a beeline for Rossi and Reid. Dave looks grim and you can’t hear what they’re saying, but you’re sure they’ve come to the same conclusion as you.

Terrorism.

+++

“So much for theory.” Dave uncrosses his arms and the room leaps into action.

Kate grabs her blazer and looks at Aaron. “We need to hit the ground running.”

“I'm gonna head to the hospital,” Emily says, already headed for the door. “I'll check on Cooper and brief detective Brustin.”

“Good.” Aaron makes the rest of the assignments. “Dave, will you go talk to the commissioner?” He assigns you and Derek to Homeland Security for a briefing, and you grab your things. You will be Derek’s shadow for the duration, and you’re more than happy you’re with him.

So why does something feel...wrong?

You look at Aaron, and his brow is furrowed. He meets your eyes. What’s wrong?

I don’t know.

His mouth presses into a thin line. This first, then that.

You nod and he starts talking again. “Kate and I will go talk to the mayor and we'll meet back here as soon as possible.”

“One advantage that we have right now is that they don't know we know they're watching.”

For once, you agree with Kate. It’s about damn time.

+++

You get into the car with Derek and head toward the DHS field office.

“I’m proud of you, kid. You’ve done well.”

Smiling a little, you thank him. “Though I do think we’ve pushed Hotch to the absolute limit this week, between the two of us.”

He rolls his eyes, speeding down the shockingly barren New York streets. “If one of us isn’t, who is?”

“Rossi.”

You both freeze as an explosion goes off. You don’t know where it is, but Derek turns around with a spectacular screech of tires.

“Derek...What -”

“We’re going back. That’s not good. Let’s go.” He guns the engine, and you’re on your way back to the federal building with sirens blaring.

His phone rings and he checks the caller ID as he answers. “Yeah. I'm still here.” He looks at you. “We’re still here.”

“Yes, you are. Thank God.”

Garcia.

“I'm almost back at the federal building. What the hell's going on?”

“Alright, we're going over the closed-circuit footage right now.” You can hear her faintly through the phone, and he puts her on speaker.

“Who else have you checked on?”

“You're the first. Rossi and Reid called me.”

“All right. Keep me on the line while you check on everyone else.”

Emily picks up next. “Is everyone ok?”

Garcia tells her she’s got the both of you on the line, and she’s already spoken to Rossi and Reid.

Your body is almost completely bowed toward Derek, twisted in the passenger seat. “Emily, where are you?”

“I'm following detective Brustin to one of the NYPD’s Critical Incident Command Posts.”

“One of them?” Garcia’s confusion is only a little frantic, and you more than sympathize with her tangent. Anything is a better thought than the one you’re all sharing at this very moment.

Derek explains the decentralization of the CICP’s following 9/11 - too many eggs in one basket.

Garcia cuts him off, getting back on track. “Has anyone talked to JJ?”

Emily answers her. “She was headed back to the hotel.”

“In an SUV?

“I think so. Stay with me a minute. I'll dial her mobile.”

JJ’s voicemail rings through Derek’s phone, and your heart sinks. “This is Agent Jareau, Communications Director for the FBI’s Behavioral--” It cuts off.

You lean over the center console. “What was that? What happened?”

Garcia’s voice is flustered when she answers, “It went dead mid-message.”

“Try her again. She's probably back at--” You lose Emily.

You lost all of them in the middle of a sentence, and all the blood drains out of your face. Derek drops his phone into one of the cupholders and reaches out. You grab his hand, holding it in both of yours.

This is a nightmare.

Derek keeps driving, and you find a police barricade on your way back to the federal building. Derek throws the car into park and you both leap out of the car, flashing your badges at anyone who will look. You find the man in charge, but he tells you to get back to the federal building.

Hot anger flies through you.

Who does he think he is?

You stick close to Derek, but startle when you hear Hotch cry out. Pressing along the barricade, you call across the block. “Aaron! Aaron! We’re here!”

You get leave to go, and you and Derek sprint toward Aaron and Kate. He’s covered in blood, both his and Kate’s and you get on one side of him while Derek crouches on the other side of Kate. Your hands flutter over him for a moment, one of them landing on the nape of his neck. The softness of his hair is the same as it’s always been, and it grounds you.

“Aaron -”

He’s not looking at you. “Morgan, we've got to get her out of here.”

Derek throws his arm out of the side, outlining the situation. “They're not letting any ambulances down here ‘til they clear the scene.” He turns to the young man hovering behind Aaron. “Kid, you gotta get behind the barricades. Let's go. Go!”

Hotch nods at him. “Go, Sam.”

“Good luck.” The kid sprints off, and Derek draws Hotch’s focus again.

“Talk to me. Can we carry her?” He leans further over Kate, into Aaron’s eye line. “Hotch, can we carry her?”

“No, I tried. Morgan, she's gonna bleed to death if we don't get her out of here. We gotta do something.” The ache in his voice is horrible. You reach out, brushing some hair off Kate’s forehead. She’s cold to the touch, and you press your hand to the side of her face, willing your warmth into her.

“C’mon Kate.” You whisper to yourself. She’s still not your favorite person, but Aaron’s agony as he literally holds her body together tears your heart in two.

Derek’s phone rings, and it’s Penelope. “Garcia, I got Hotch. But listen to me. You gotta get somebody down here right away, you hear me? Right now. What? You're absolutely sure?” Derek looks up, finding the kid standing by the shelled remains of the car. “Hotch. The kid. He's the bomber.”

“Go.” Aaron’s voice is defeated, and you hesitate as your body coils to chase after Derek. Aaron looks at you. “Please. Stay.”

You nod, and tuck in close to him, keeping one hand on his arm and another on Kate’s cheek. An ambulance pulls up, and you’re more than relieved.

Hotch briefs the paramedic. “She's got an arterial bleed in her back and I'm doing my best to hold it closed.

“You ok?”

Isn’t that the question of the hour.

“I just want to get her out of here.”

That’s not a fucking answer, Aaron.

You let it go, for now. He’s a mess, but he’s alive and he’s conscious. That’s what’s important right now. You tune back in.

“You were calling for help and I couldn't listen anymore. My partner was too afraid to come in here with me.”

Aaron leans into Kate, and your heart pulls again. “Kate, we're gonna get you out of here. We're on our way out of here.”

You help as much as you can, following instructions and making sure Kate’s stable.

+++

When you’re all finished, you get into the passenger seat of the ambulance. Hotch is on autopilot and he shouldn’t be driving, but you’re ready to take over at a moment’s notice.

When you’re stopped at the emergency room entrance, you flash your credentials as Hotch explains the situation as clearly as he can. The Secret Service agent reluctantly waves you through. Kate’s crashing in the back, and Aaron’s agitation flies through the roof.

It’s a blur, but you finally end up in the hospital, shadowing Aaron. He collapses, and you cry out for help, holding his hands as he hits the ground.

Everything's happening so fast.

When will it end?

+++

“Kiddo, where’s Hotch?” Derek comes flying through the doors of the ER, and you throw yourself into him.

“He’s fine. Massive trauma to his right ear and a shrapnel wound. Kate’s in surgery.”

There’s a commotion from behind the open door, and you both rush in when you hear Hotch’s voice.

You get in between Hotch and the attending, doing your best to calm him down. “Aaron, Hotch. Calm down. Slow down. You’re really hurt.”

“Where’s Kate?”

You press your hands into his wrists, and he twists his arms, surprising you by gripping your forearms. “She’s in surgery. Your go-bag is on its way. Nothing’s happened since the first blast.”

He looks somewhat placated but looks over at Derek. “Sam?”

“He’s dead.”

Hotch releases you. “Morgan, the profile's wrong. Call JJ.”

+++

“Are you ok?” Emily takes full stock of him, and isn’t happy with what she finds.

“Yeah. I just want to understand why I'm still alive.” You help him with his vest, minding his shoulder. You’re not sure what’s wrong with it, but he’s favoring one over the other. He looks at you, and there are thanks in his brown eyes. You offer him a quick, soft smile but continue with your task, gently tightening the vest around his tender ribs, smoothing over the velcro with even pressure.

You’re listening as they go along, talking signatures and bomb-making and all manner of horrific precedent. You pass two pieces of fresh cotton to Hotch, who immediately replaces the bloodied cotton in his right ear. He shakes his head with two deep blinks.

His ears are ringing something stupid right now, I bet.

I wish I could do more.

Just be here. Do your job. That’s what you can do.

All at once, you figure out that the ambulance is the bomb. You spot Hotch as he moves (way too fast) down the hallway.

Goddamn it, Aaron.

+++

The bastard slit his throat.

Fuck.

The look on Aaron’s face is nothing short of disgust, and you’re sure yours matches.

+++

You’re waiting for him when he walks out of the operating room. His eyes are hollow and they seem to look through you rather than at you.

“Hotch - Aaron - I’m so sorry.”

You didn’t particularly like Kate, but you know how much he cared for her. His pain often feels like yours - even more frequently, you can't parse his from yours. While you didn’t expect to mourn her, you find that weight in your belly anyway. Your eyes mist up against your will, your breath hitching in your throat.

He doesn’t say anything, and your voice is almost desperate when you ask, “What can I do?”

Brown eyes flicker around the room. He looks more like a caged animal in this moment than in any other you’ve ever seen. You approach him slowly, and you’re not sure if he heard you. There’s still blood on his neck from his ear, and you’re terrified he’s lost his hearing for good.

“Aaron?”

He finally acknowledges you when you’re close enough to him to take his hand. You catch him as he wilts, pressing a hand to the back of his head as he tucks his head into your neck.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Aaron.”

He mumbles something into your shoulder, and you lean back, holding him up with your hands on his biceps.

“What?”

“Call Haley. Tell her, please. They got along really well. She’d want to know.”

You nod and guide him to a chair. He sits heavily, tilting his head against the wall. Pulling your phone from your belt, you ask, “Do you want me to stay here?”

He nods, his eyes closed.

You dial the familiar number and hold the phone to your ear, settling down on his left so he can hear.

Haley answers the phone, a question at the end of your name.

“Yeah, Haley, it’s me. Hi.”

“Hi. Is everything okay?”

You look at Aaron, who’s still and quiet beside you. “Not really.”

“I heard about the bombing in New York, the murders...Is everyone alright?”

“We’re alright. Aaron’s fine - some mild injuries but nothing serious.”

“Okay?” You hear the unspoken question. Then why are you calling?

“I was told you’d - um.” You take a deep breath, and it catches. Aaron flips his hand palm-up on his knee, and you take it. “I was told you were close with Kate Joyner, from the New York field office. She used to be at Scotland Yard?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Her voice falters. “Wait. Oh, God…”

“Haley I’m so sorry.” You swallow some tears. “I’m so sorry, but she was killed in the bombing.”

You hear a shaky breath on the other side of the line. “Oh.” There’s a pause, and you suspect she has more to say. You’re right. “Aaron told you to call, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

She sighs. “Can I talk to him?”

You look over and he nods, releasing your hand and holding it out for the phone. “Yeah, he’s right here.” She says something else, and you put the phone back to your ear. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for telling me.”

You nod to yourself. “Of course. Here’s Aaron.”

He takes the phone from you. An exhausted, “Hi,” leaves him.

“Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re alright.”

A little smile pulls at his lips. “I’m alright. How’re you?”

Her bright laugh echoes faintly through the phone, but there’s a solemn edge to it. “You’re asking me how I am?”

His eyebrows rise, his eyes still closed. “Isn’t that polite?”

You can almost see her suppressed smile. “It is. I’m fine. Jessica and I just finished dinner and put Jack down for the night.”

“How’s Jack?”

You tune out, the exhaustion taking over. Aaron pats the seat on his other side and you shuffle around, tucking yourself under his open arm. Leaning against his shoulder, you close your eyes, letting the voices of two divorced people who love each other very much lull you into something that feels a little like sleep.

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @dcvidrossi @angelsbabey @gublergirls @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @hotchsflower @micaiahmoonheart @ogmilkis @marvels-agents100 @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @joemazzello-imagines @pinkdiamond1016 @pan-pride-12 @hotchlinebling @lee-rin-ah @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @nohalohoseok @giveusbackourbucky @writerxinthedark @bauslut @yourlovelynewsbian @sparklingkeylimepie @aili28 @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @a-dorky-book-keeper @hotchnersgoddess @buckybau @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @dontkissthewriter @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @ahopelessromantic @violentvulgarvolatile @andreasworlsboring101 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @bwbatta @roses-and-grasses @lcvischmitt @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @mandylove1000 @garcia-reid-lovechild @cevanswhre @colbyskoalas @qvid-pro-qvo @jeor @spencers-hoodrat @infinity1321 @zizzlekwum @katiejuliana @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @sapphicstars

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner #hotch x reader #hotch #aaron hotchner imagine #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds #tali writes fanfiction #tali talks cm #a joyful future #a joyful future fanfic

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amiramorozova · 3 years

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Dual Summoner x The Darkling pt. 44

pairing: Dual Summoner Amira Silina x Darkling General Kirigan/ Aleksander Morozova

word count: 2196

I wasn't sure how long I slept that night, or what time it was before I even woke up but I could feel the shift in the bed as I yawned covering my mouth. I felt a kiss on my cheek as he got near my ear "Well, Mrs. Morozova good morning." He whispered in my ear as I laughed a bit and I adjusted to look at him kissing him. "Good morning Aleksander." I said

I got up from the bed as I started to get my undergarments back on and then I chose to wrap myself in my kefta to cover up in case we had company. I knew our meals would soon be arriving and that was important to be decent. I heard the sound of him getting his pants on as his buckle was clear as I looked out the window. I knew things were different now, they would never be the same. As I felt his arms go around me as he looked out the window with me.

"From now on, we are in this together. Morozova's amplifiers are to be united as soon as we can get the other two." Aleksander said as I sighed. "When do we set out to get the next one?" I asked knowing that this was my life now. I was doing this willingly as a knock could be heard on the door and we both looked over. "Enter." Aleksander said as Genya opened the door to see us. Bowing she had a bag "An outfit was prepared for her to wear under her Kefta." Genya said as Aleksander nod. "Prepare my wife for her day." Aleksander said as he walked away in his general attire to do things.

Genya walked over to me as I took the bag seeing the attire as I took it to his bathroom and changed while I walked out with my Kefta in my arms. Genya nod as I put the kefta on soon afterward and I looked in his mirror seeing the Kefta that Genya had presented last time with the darkling symbol over my heart. "It's fitting." I said as I took a seat and she started to take her things from her kit and she smiled. "I hope your wedding night wasn't too bad." Genya said

I thought about last night and knew it was exactly as it should be, things were going to go well. "It was perfect, I just.." I said as I knew the desire to be pregnant was there but it did not mean such things. "What?" Genya asked as I looked at her with a smile. "I just want to have a family and try not to feel such pressure of the fold." I admitted. Genya seemed surprised but I guess that was to be expected as I laughed a bit. "Don't look so surprised, don't we all want a family someda-..." I realized I was crossing a line with this, Genya had endured a lot from the King. I wanted to free her from the Queen but that wasn't in my power yet.

"I will find a way to free you Genya." I said as she continued to work, I noticed she wasn't in the white but red. I wondered if the King was putting an attack on her, I knew there was going to be a movement but I needed to go. "You seem to be in a lot of thought." Genya said, "It's almost time to go after the 2nd amplifier soon, I don't need all this power when I've worked for what I've had." I said, "Well, he is taking you back by the fold soon. He wants to wait till the next Winter Fete before we all go." Genya said

I hadn't even been paying attention but I just shrugged a bit before getting up just after she was done. I turned and looked at her Kefta seeing it was the corporaleki red. "You were given the Red Kefta." I said, "I never liked this shade of red, it clashes with my hair." Genya said, but I knew what this meant to her. She led me to an area where she showed me a box and I looked at it seeing letters as I saw they were opened and she showed me as I picked it up seeing they were Alina's letters. "Why do you have Alina's letters to someone named Mal?" I asked her as she sighed. "General Kirigan thinks it would be best to help her let go of her old life." Genya said

No wonder Baghra told me to give my letters to her. He might have done that with me. I thought

"What if this Mal is her soulmate?" I asked as Genya sighed, "She won't know who her soulmate is, if she can't even use her power." Genya said. I knew that if Alina couldn't even use her power that was true but she was holding back. I had to accept that this might be the best plan but I went back as I looked for a bit seeing letters as I found they were opened seeing Mal had written to her.

Tracker, Corporal of the 36th division. Nico was a tracker, corporal of the 35th division how weird that two trackers with the same unique gift. I thought

I left walking away as I knew there wasn't a lot I had to do at the moment going about my day as I would any other day. Never alone, now that I was his wife Marie and Nadia were full guardians graduated with the roles. We were not to split up and Nico was to be the tracker who could track my movements if we needed to be.

The few days that passed were boring but the nights were entertaining in other ways. One day Aleksander had to leave for a bit as we walked down and I wondered if this was a joke but then as we walked I saw his carriage. I sighed a bit as he turned and kissed me "I will be gone a week, you are in charge of the Grisha in my absence Amira." Aleksander said

I knew this was what he had to do but I still hated it, but I nod knowing that there wasn't much I could say. I knew as the General's wife I could go with him bu the 2nd army needed me here with everything going on. My family was here within the little palace and the 2nd army needed a leader. As I watched him go in the carriage as I knew he was even having a hard time walking away from me as I watched the carriage soon leave. Alina came out as she noticed me and I looked at her.

"Hi Alina." I said to her as she looked at me probably seeing I wasn't in the best mood as I looked at my wrist watching as his initials were fading with the distance he was getting from the little palace. I kept watching until they completely disappeared from my wrist but I knew there was always my dreams. "Are you ok Amira?" Alina asked as I put on a smile and nod. "Come on, let's see what your progress has been you've been here a few weeks now." I said

I led her to where the other summoners were and we walked down the path that grass had grown since I last walked down it. It felt odd but the girl who would walk down this path was a lonely girl who had to practice the sun alone. "You came down this path before?" Alina asked, "I was a lonely girl who had to hide her sun powers. I found being alone more comforting sometimes and lonely at the same time." I said as we made it seeing it hadn't changed. I put my hands together as I formed the sun and circled it around me as Alina saw how vibrant my sun powers were and I watched as she put her hands together and formed a ball as she separated into two but then she tried to circle it around herself as I did but it wasn't very strong. "How do you do it?" Alina asked as I let mine go.

We both sat down in the grass as I sighed, "As Baghra told you, I've had ten years to master my powers. In fact the day that marks eleven years will be coming up and I'll be nineteen by then but my father worried the risk of the Dual Summoner being found out so he thought I was safest here." I said as I knew Aleksander would be back before my birthday. "It was lonely but over time Baghra took me under her training, she didn't treat me the same as others. She treated me as family but she reminded me if she was going to train her own son when he was my age that she would treat him the same way."

Alina remembered that General Kirigan was Baghra's son, something we'd told her when she admitted I was going to be her daughter-in-law. I slid my finger across my collarbone as it glowed slightly from where I absorbed the stag's necklace. "You really do have the amplifier." Alina said, "Yes, but we can get you an amplifier. It can't be Morozova's amplifiers though, the three from what I've learned are supposed to be together but there are other amplifiers." I said

Alina seemed hesitant but we went to the library where we started to look over the amplifiers. "Interested in the amplifiers?" A familiar voice said as I looked over seeing the apparat, "Sol Koroleva, you seem surprised to see me back around the little palace." The apparat said approaching noticing "We are still friends, Sankta Amira?"

Alina must have noticed my hesitation as she felt it too but he noticed the book we were looking at over other amplifiers. "Looking for an amplifier?" The apparat asked. "My friend Alina is interested in one." I said as he seemed to look and notice we didn't pull out the book of Morozova's amplifiers. "Not interested in the mythical stag?" The apparat asked as I looked down at the book. "The Stag was found, it's been killed so it's not an option for my friend." I said though this man had creeped me out, I had been in here since I was a kid reading up on the lore of the stag for years and I still felt it even with the amplifier within me it felt like the stag was still alive in a way. I knew the apparat had wanted to be friends, it was how he approached me when I had first come in here one day.

"You wear black now Sol Koroleva, the general's color." The apparat said as I rubbed my thumb over my wedding ring. It was the only way I felt a sense of peace now that Aleksander was gone for a week but we kept looking. "Did you kill the stag to get the amplifier?" The apparat asked as I knew he probably suspected I had it. "No, I sparred it's life. It turns out that there was something in the books that they didn't know. It's not the Grisha who kills the animal gets it's power, it's also given to the Grisha they choose to weild that power." I said without looking at the apparat.

We found a few that Alina decided were good enough for her, but I knew we needed a tracker to find it. When we were leaving the library the apparat stopped us as he offered a book to Alina. "A present to mark the start of friendship. Maybe they will be calling for Sankta Alina and Sankta Amira together to destroy the fold." The apparat said. We were able to leave but I had to wait a few days before sending out the request to find the amplifier.

Hopefully, Aleksander is doing ok. I thought

I wasn't sleeping as well as I could have, Aleksander would show up in my dreams and he knew of my request to send out the request to others to look for that amplifier but not kill it. With his approval, I was only able to send it that way. Still, I felt so useless at the moment as all I wanted was him. I knew that was fair being we hadn't been married long and duty called but still, it upset me.

Waiting for this week to be over was the worst part, I kept to myself most of the time but watched Alina as she improved. News of Prince Nikolai going away temporarily was heard of and I didn't mind knowing he was trying to persuade me but I had made my choice. I was also very careful with the apparat back which I had informed Aleksander with the connection we had with our dreams. He was not happy to hear about that but it didn't seem to bother him.

we'll get through this. I thought

Taglist: @lifeisingrey

#alina starvok #aleksander morovoza #general kirigan #dual summoner #Amira Silina #darkling x reader #darkling #the darkling #team darkling #shadow and bone #grishaverse #shadow and bone fanfiction #ben barnes #sunsummoner #tidemaker #fanfic

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satoshi-mochida · 3 years

Link

Gematsu recently spoke to Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of the Wonder Boy series and co-founder of Westone Bit Entertainment, to discuss his upcoming arcade game revival Clockwork Aquario, which was originally planned for release in 1994 before the fighting game-dominated arcade game market caused its cancellation. Now, with ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games, the side-scrolling action game is being completed and released for modern consoles.

In the email interview, Nishizawa discussed how the revival came to be, how it feels to revisit and complete the project, how it differs from the 1994 version, the game concept, its staff, and even shares what game he hopes to bring back next—albeit not one that was cancelled.

Get the full interview below.

Gematsu: Before its cancellation, Clockwork Aquario was originally planned to be released as Westone’s final arcade game. What was the ultimate nail in the coffin?

Ryuichi Nishizawa, Game Creator: “After we decided to cancel the release of Aquario, we discussed the plan for the next arcade game. At that time, we had not yet decided to withdraw from arcade games. We spent several months considering our plans, but the arcade game market at that time was split between fighting games and casual games such as puzzles and mahjong, neither of which were games we wanted to make. Arcade games were the star of the game industry, but we decided to withdraw from arcade games and concentrate on console games.”

So what led to its revival?

Nishizawa: “With the spread of social networking sites, the existence of Aquario became widely known to overseas enthusiasts, and the number of requests from fans who wanted to see it increased. And fortunately, we were able to restore the source code of Aquario because it was still in our company.”

Now that you’re back at it, how does it feel to revisit the project?

Nishizawa: “It’s a strange feeling. Experiences like this are hard to come by, so I am grateful for the twist of fate. During the development process, as the restoration of the game progressed, I was reminded of many things from the development days 27 years ago. I wanted to reward myself for not giving up and completing the game until the end.”

Clockwork Aquario was mostly complete back in 1993. How much of that has been salvaged for its revival, and how much of it is all-new?

Nishizawa: “When we started restoring the game, we thought we had all the programs and data needed to do so, but while the development proceeded, we found out that there were several pieces of missing image data. The title screen and part of the ending background were missing. We had no choice but to make new ones for those parts. It was a very difficult task to make them fit the pixel design of the time. It was similar to the work of a craftsman restoring a work of art.”

Clockwork Aquario wasn’t very well received during its initial location tests. What were the main issues and how are they being addressed this time around?

Nishizawa: “At that time, fighting games were booming at the video game arcades. This was a time when games in genres other than fighting games were all struggling. The management of video game arcades focuses on sales per unit area. The sales of fighting games were very high because they had a short playing time. They earned three to five times more than other games. Aquario was a traditional type of game where the better you play, the longer you can play, so it was not comparable to fighting games.”

Have any quality-of-life or accessibility features been implemented, such as a rewind option? Or is the game being kept as close to the original vision as possible?

Nishizawa: “Since this is a game that no one has ever seen before, we are focusing on recreating the original. However, since the platforms on which the game is running are different, we have optimized the controller and screen display for today’s consoles.”

Who are the main characters of Clockwork Aquario, and what are they setting out to do?

Nishizawa: “The player can choose one of the three main characters to play as. They are Huck, a boy; Elle, a girl; and Gush, a robot. They fight to destroy the ambitions of Dr. Hangyo, who plans to take over the world. And they only use their bare hands.”

Each character has their own moveset. Can you tell us a little bit about their actions?

Nishizawa: “Each character has slightly different controls and animations. I’d like to properly explain the differences, but since there are no remaining written specifications, I don’t know exactly how it works either. (Laughs.)”

OK, so what would you say are the defining gameplay traits of Clockwork Aquario? What separates it from other side-scrolling action games?

Nishizawa: “The concept of the game is simultaneous dual-player action. It is characterized by the feature of holding and throwing enemies. You can also throw allied characters. On the other hand, it also means that you can also be thrown.”

Which Westone Bit Entertainment game would you say Clockwork Aquario most resembles?

Nishizawa: “I think Monster Lair is the closest in terms of side-scrolling two-player simultaneous play. It’s also similar in that the boss battles are flashy.”

How much of the original staff is working on the revival?

Nishizawa: “There were four original members who participated in this work. Mr. Kurihara, who was the main programmer for Aquario, took the lead in supporting the project. United Games Entertainment was in charge of the actual development of the restoration, but whenever we encountered something we didn’t understand during the development, we contacted the development staff and solved the problem through consultations.”

Are there any plans to release the game on additional platforms, such as Xbox One or PC?

Dennis Mendel, Co-Founder of ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games: “As we have more projects to be announced later this year, we need to be careful with our resources—this is why we decided to focus on Switch and PlayStation 4. If we see demand from the Xbox and PC community, then we will definitely look into porting the game to other platforms as well.”

Do you expect we’ll see more of Clockwork Aquario‘s world and characters in the future—be it in additional games or media?

Nishizawa: “The main game is 27 years old, so it is indeed old-fashioned, but I have the impression that the enemy characters and the world are still suitable for today. The boss characters in particular have great designs, and I would love to see them modeled and animated in 3D. I’m waiting for fan art. (Laughs.)”

Are there any other Westone Bit Entertainment games you hope to bring back in the future?

Nishizawa: “I would love to remake the arcade version of the robot shoot ’em up AURAIL. It’s a personal favorite of mine, as I took hard work to create this title. The world was created with a lot of effort, but it’s not fully expressed on the game screen, so I’d like to use modern technology to express it to the fullest.

“Also, the other day I was watching a gameplay video and I thought it would be interesting to remake it. The first game that was released only in Japan was Milano no Arbeit Collection. It’s a game for the original PlayStation that was only released in Japan. It is the ultimate 2D game for pixel-art lovers, and the quality of the animation is outstanding. I’d like to remake this game with the original pixel art, but I’d have to find about five professional pixel artists to do it. It’s quite difficult.”

Clockwork Aquario is still without a concrete release date. Is there a narrower release window you can share other than simply “2021”?

Mendel: “As development on the game itself is basically finished, I think it is safe to say that the game will see a release in the fall. All missing graphics and sounds have already been implemented and some extra features have been added, so if we don’t encounter unforeseen problems during testing, the game should reach gold status soon.”

Is there anything else you would like readers to know about Clockwork Aquario?

Nishizawa: “This game is truly a ‘discovered’ visionary game. It is something close to a miracle that a game that was cancelled is now being released after 27 years. I would like to thank Dennis and everyone involved for their hard work in making this project happen. Thank you so much. I look forward to sharing this miracle with you, all readers.”

Thank you for your time, Nishizawa-san and Dennis!

Clockwork Aquario is due out for PlayStation 4 and Switch this fall. Limited print physical editions are currently available for pre-order.

View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

#Clockwork Aquario #Westone Bit Entertainment #PS4 #Nintendo Switch #ININ Games #Gematsu

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otterknowbynow · 4 years

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T’as de la place sur le canapé

Sometimes the others need a nap; Hunk is more than happy to provide comfort for his paladin family.

Written as part of Gentron Week 2020 for the prompt Cuddle Pile | Literal Sleeping Together. Also on ao3

Keith falls asleep on him first. Hunk wouldn’t normally expect it, but the guy’s been up for three days straight at this point, probably, between all they’ve been doing for alliance-building since Shiro’s been back and zipping off on Blades missions left and right. He’s focused on going over the notes from his last few sourdough biscuit attempts -- it seems like the space yeast, or whatever it is, is more sensitive to temperature than the Earth variety -- when Keith slumps over sideways against his shoulder. He tenses for a brief moment, worried something is very wrong, and looks over carefully without moving anything apart from his eyes. Keith’s mouth is slack, but his eyes are still open and as they focus on Hunk’s face, they widen, and Keith sits back up again quickly.

“Sorry,” he mutters, looking away. His shoulders tense quickly and resettle as he leans against the back of the couch, as if he’s felt a chill. “Didn’t mean to…” he trails off, one hand waving vaguely in front of himself.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Hunk says with a shrug. And it is, of course, now that he knows nothing’s wrong. “We’re all family here.” Keith looks back over at him and blinks.

“...we are?” He doesn’t sound upset, just bewildered.

“Aren’t we?” Hunk asks, and thinks he’s probably just as confused as Keith is. He’s pretty sure there isn’t a better word for the five of them -- seven really -- than family at this point, considering.

“I…” Keith trails off and picks up his tablet again, and Hunk shrugs as he goes back to his notes. He’s just worked out what he thinks would be an ideal ending point of temperature for the yalmor fat in the biscuits and has started to factor in the ambient temperature of the kitchen to know where it needs to start when Keith speaks again, so quietly he’s not sure he’s supposed to hear. “I guess we are.” Hunk nods without adding anything to that, still mostly focused on the numbers in front of him. Keith shrugs and leans to the side again, tentatively resting his head against Hunk’s shoulder.

“This okay?” That question he knows is meant for him to hear, and Hunk nods again without really looking up.

“‘Course,” he says.

As he finishes writing out the new procedure for his biscuits, Hunk slowly becomes aware that Keith’s body is vibrating softly against him. He frowns, almost opening his mouth to speak, and then closes it as he looks down and realizes the vibrating is accompanied by a quiet rumbling sound, and Keith is out like a light.

“He’s purring,” says a voice, and Hunk looks up to see Pidge leaning against the doorway to the lounge, carrying her tablet in one hand and a shoebox-sized container under her other arm.

“He can do that?” Hunk asks. “That’s…”

“Something he’s done for a long time,” Pidge says with a shrug. “He makes a lot of noises, if you listen for them -- extraverbal communication and all that. I noticed the trend a while ago -- that his tends to be cat-adjacent.” Hunk thinks back over the past several months and nods slowly.

“Yeah, I guess he does. I never really thought about them being cat noises...thought they were just, I don’t know --” it’s Hunk’s turn to wave his hand vaguely in front of himself, carefully avoiding moving the side Keith’s leaning on “-- him noises.” Pidge shrugs again and crosses to sit on the couch on his other side, the shoebox thing between them. “What is that, anyway?”

“Couple of broken communicators. I’m pretty sure they’re just old Altean walkie-talkies,” she says, lifting the lid so he can see two sleek white things that look like exactly that. “The thing that’s cool is they don’t use the same long-range frequencies as our suit communicators or the intercom. As far as I can tell, they’re just run-of-the-mill handheld two-way radios -- maximum communication distance should be something like five miles, but it seems like they might come in handy if I can figure out how to reload their power source..”

“Nice,” Hunk says, looking them over and taking in the dual antennae and impossibly delicate-looking speakers. "Do they not just run on quintessence…?"

"Oh, they do," she says, nodding rapidly, Hunk assumes to offset how low they're still keeping their voices. "It’s just not in a form I’ve seen before, and I’m not sure how to recharge them, or really how they discharge." She flips one of the units over as she's speaking to show him a little catch on the back, which she slides open to reveal what looks like a small bag full of translucent blue gel -- it reminds Hunk more than anything of those little packs of dishwasher soap, but nearly drained.

"Oh, wild," he breathes, careful not to let his shoulders move and jostle Keith. "Is that like...quintessence goop?"

"Looks like it! How they got it in this form is still a mystery, though, and I think I'm well past having the level of focus I'd need to figure it out -- nearly fell asleep in the lab. I thought the change of scenery might help, or you might have some ideas, but..." She glances over at Keith -- head still resting on Hunk's shoulder, arms folded in front of his chest, and soundly asleep -- almost longingly. Hunk grins.

"Tell you what -- why don't you get some rest and let me think on it?"

"You sure?" She asks, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, I’m sure. You deserve a break, kid.” She grumbles a bit at that, but when he moves the box to the floor and picks up his tablet again, she doesn’t object. Instead, she faces the door and curls up against the back of the couch, resting her head on top of it. It doesn’t look like an entirely comfortable position, but Hunk shrugs and pulls up the data they’ve collected about the different matter forms of quintessence so far.

Halfway through reading about its liquid form, however, he’s interrupted by a highly irritated-sounding Lance, who’s standing in front of him having apparently just come from the pool, if the combination of the smell of chlorine and his wet hair is any indication.

“Oh, sure, no one bother telling me we’re taking a group nap, just don’t try --” he breaks off into a yawn, and Hunk takes the opportunity to shush him as emphatically as he can considering the sleeping forms on either side of him, but Lance continues just as indignantly as soon as he can draw a normal breath. “Don’t try to include Lance; he doesn’t need to know about local comfy gathering, more at 11!” His hands are on his hips, glare so sharp it could probably cut glass.

“Shush,” Hunk stage whispers, holding up his one free arm and trying not to laugh and disturb the others by shaking. “This wasn’t exactly a plan.” Lance narrows his eyes even further, looking down at the shoebox-y container on the floor.

“Then why did you guys move things off the couch, hmm?” he asks, and Hunk is just glad he’s brought his voice down a bit. “Checkmate!” Apparently it’s not quiet enough, though, since Pidge stirs, mumbling something about a crick in her neck. And resettles facing toward Hunk instead, all without opening her eyes or taking her glasses off.

“Lance, buddy, you are welcome to join us,” he says, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Lance’s mouth is already half-open to continue his tirade, but he stops and closes it, blinking.

“Yeah, that’s...probably better,” he says slowly. “I’m pretty beat.” He plops down onto the couch between Hunk and Pidge, where there’s barely enough space even for him. Pidge grumbles half into Lance’s shoulder and shoves him slightly toward Hunk, who lifts his arm to wrap it around him so he can still get to his tablet. Lance settles against Hunk’s side and yawns once, eyes already closed.

“Wake me if there’s breakfast.”

“I can do that,” Hunk says, fumbling a bit as he gets his screen back in front of him. He didn’t notice exactly when Pidge decided that his bicep made a better pillow than the back of the couch, but she’s wrapped onto his arm now, her glasses balanced somewhat precariously where her head was resting before. “I can do that.”

#gentronweek #gentron 2020 #voltron #vld #vld fic #hunk (voltron)#keith kogane #pidge (voltron)#lance (voltron #I don't know what character tags people use RIP #anyway have some really cute cuddle pile times with the kiddos #scribbles #the title is from a french pop song bc I'm a nostalgic sentimental disaster

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religioused · 3 years

Text

Where Did My Plowshares Go?

Holy Saturday

by Gary Simpson

Scriptures:

Psalm 31:1-4 The Message

I run to you, GOD; I run for dear life. Don’t let me down! Take me seriously this time! Get down on my level and listen, and please—no procrastination! Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff nest a place of safety.

3-5 You’re my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I’ve put my life in your hands. You won’t drop me, you’ll never let me down.

John 19:38-42 The Message

After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.

39-42 Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.

1 Peter 4:1 and 6 (ESV)

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Reflection:

Holy Saturday is the link between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Today is a vigil pause between the cross and the resurrection.(1) Holy Saturday is that "in between time." (2) As much as we may wish that we could ignore the fact that we are caught in-between, we cannot ignore the in-between periods of our lives. We are not given the privilege of skipping Holy Saturday in our lives.(3) Our province and our country are stuck in Holy Saturday. The Coronavirus pandemic struck. Many businesses closed temporarily, some to never open again. At times early in the pandemic, things felt unnatural – just way too quiet. And the price of oil plummeted. We are still waiting for the normal to return. Spiritually, we caught in a holding zone. The crucifixion is passed, but the full glory of the resurrection is not here yet.(4) Holy Saturday 2021, for some of us, feels like over a year of Holy Saturdays. The Coronavirus lockdown is a brutally long, anxious, and vulnerable time.

Even children have Holy Saturday moments. When I was a kid, there were times when my punishment was to sit quietly on a kitchen chair. No talking was allowed. I could sit in the chair, okay, but no talking was rough. The three to five minutes timeouts felt like an eternity. I think my silent timeouts might have been more challenging for my mother than they were for me because I just could not keep quiet.

Canada is still sitting on the kitchen chair - over a year later. McDougall United Church is sitting on the chair for a second Easter. The Holy Saturday moments in life feel like they are an eternity long. During the pandemic, the Holy Saturday moments for children are especially challenging. Many children had to take courses online and were cut off from their friends and classmates for weeks, even months. Children learning at home have to try to navigate a dual relationship with their parents, where their parents might be functioning both in both a teacher's role and in a parent's role. And a special place dedicated to learning, school, no longer exists. Learning takes place in the home, the same place where children live and play. As with my time-out moments, the shift to learning at home can be difficult for parents too. Being plunged into a quasi-teaching role with almost no time to shift gears is difficult.

Jesus is gone – dead and buried. The disciples lost their teacher and friend, Jesus' family lost a son and a brother. The region of Palestine lost a dynamic itinerant rabbi. Jesus was executed for being a potential source of discontent against the government and the religious leadership, which were closely related. Jesus' disciples and family were deep in shock, possibly dealing with anger and fear. They may feel very vulnerable. What if someone falsely accuses them, just like they falsely accused Jesus? When you are hiding, hoping nobody is thinking of you or coming for you, time is painfully slow. Some people are experiencing are feeling afraid and vulnerable with our COVID Holy Saturday.

Hans Steiner, of Stanford University indicates that the social isolation caused by the pandemic Conflicts with our need to "social interventions" that help us "resolve anger" when we believe that we are "at the mercy of injustice and uncertainty." (5) Tensions seem to be high during the pandemic. There are many possible reasons – uncertainty, danger, children's education bouncing between school and home, work bouncing back and forth between office and home, job uncertainty, business closures, and extreme incidents of injustice. We are experiencing loss of loved ones, loss of lifestyle, loss of routines, loss of dreams, and financial loss. David Rosemarie, assistant professor in the Harvard Medical School's Department of Psychiatry, says he is seeing an increase in levels of anger in his practice.(6) There are times when anxiety and depression can look like anger.(7) David Rosemarie believes the anger over masks is related to fear over civil rights being taken away. He believes that fear is due to fear of the virus. Rosemarie observes, "When we're aggressive, we don't have to show our vulnerability to other people." (8)

You might be thinking, "Are there any scientific studies about COVID restrictions contributing to anger. In the United Kingdom, a study was conducted of over 2,200 participants aged 16–75 years. The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, found that 56% of the participants reported "having had arguments, feeling angry or fallen out with others because of COVID- 19." The researchers concluded that COVID-19 restrictions cause "considerable strain." (9) If you are feeling anxious and angry, and you think COVID restrictions might be impacting your behavior, you are not alone.

There are many explanations as to what 1 Peter Chapter 4 means. I am not going to discuss the complex range of opinions. There might not be a highly definitive meaning for 1 Peter Chapter 4.(10) A few commentators consider the passage to be a mysterious encounter Jesus had with the dead, after Jesus' death.(11) 1 Peter Chapter 4 can be seen as a symbolic representation of the depth of God's love and grace. Holy Saturday could be the time when Jesus brought the Gospel of saving grace to all of the dead from the preceding ages. Verses 5-6 could refer to the Gospel going to "all the dead." The epistle of 1 Peter seems to be about Christ descending to the "place of the dead" to preach to the dead.(12) I tend to believe that descending into the depth of hell symbolizes the fact that there is no mistake, no sin that God cannot forgive, that nobody is left out of the realm of God's grace. The key takeaway is that God is just. Judgment is fair, because even those who died before Jesus' ministry on the cross hear the good news.(13)

Jonathan Turtle, an Anglican priest, describes Jesus as descending into the grave and "taking Adam and Eve by the hand," and leading them out of the grave, "pulling them up out of the grave." Rowan Williams, when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, observes that this was not the youthful Adam and Eve.(14) Like Rowan Williams, I invite you to picture the old Adam and Eve. I am going to give you a moment to picture Adam and Eve. I see them as frail, with thin gray hair, arthritic hands, stooped shoulders, and eyes grown dim with age. I can almost picture them weighed down with a lifetime of guilt and shame. Then, I can visualize a change, as the fear of meeting God, and as a lifetime of guilt and shame, melts away in the presence of the Christ.

Middle Church tweeted, "Too many Christians act as if the Bible asks us to beat plowshares into swords." (15) Sadly, it is not just Christians who act like the Bible says we should beat our plowshares into swords. At a time fear is causing some tense, anxious, and fearful people to beat their emotional plowshares into swords, and they are living out an angry, grace challenged form of religion.

Prayer:

Companion God, in our Holy Saturday season, we give you our offering – the broken dreams, uncertainty, sense of oppression, anger, anxiety, fear, and depression. These things are too much for us. Beat the swords of those emotions into plowshares and use the plowshares to help plant a garden of healing. Amen.

Notes

(1)Jonathan Turtle. “A Sermon for Holy Saturday.” 26 March 2016, 18 March 2021. The Church of St, Mary and St. Martha. <https://stmaryandstmartha.org/a-sermon-for-holy-saturday/>.

(2)Michael K. Marsh. “A Sermon for Holy Saturday, Matthew 27:57-66.” Interrupting the Silence. <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(3)Marsh <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(4)Marsh <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(5)Hans Steiner. “COVID-19 Q&A: Dr. Hans Steiner on Anger and Aggression.” Sanford University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. n.d., 23 March 2021. <https:med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/about/covid19/anger.html>.

(6)Alvin Powell. “Soothing Advice for a Mad America.” The Harvard Gazette. 14 August 2020, 23 March 2021. <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(7)Powell (2020) <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(8)Powell (2020) <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(9)Louise E Smith, et. al. “Anger and Confrontation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a National Cross-Sectional Survey in the UK.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine; 2021, Vol. 114(2) 77. <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0141076820962068>.

(10)William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible: The Letters of James and Peter. Revised Ed. (Burlington, Ontario: G.R. Welch, 1976), 248.

(11)Christian Community Bible. (Madrid: San Pablo International, 1988), N.T., 463.

(12)Barclay (1976), 248.

(13)Bruce B. Barton, et. al., eds. Life Application Study Bible. Second Ed. (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Pub., 2004), 2134.

(14)Turtle (2016) <https://stmaryandstmartha.org/a-sermon-for-holy-saturday/>.

(15)“Middle Church.” Twitter @middlechurch. 23 March 2021, 23 March 2021.

<https://twitter.com/middlechurch/status/1374343151805169667?s=21>.

#Easter #Holy Saturday #Sermon #Reflection #Christian #Progressive Christian #Progressive Christianity #Good Friday

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syncogon · 4 years

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[QZGS meta] what’s in an OP? dawning glory (pt 2)

(a continuation of part 1 here) (part 3 here)

{The King’s Avatar Season 2 premieres in less than 12 hours!}

Last time we covered just up to around the halfway point of this OP. We’re picking up again right at the start of the second verse, where a new singing voice kicks in.

After reminiscing on the past, we come to Ye Xiu again as he puts on his headphones - he’s smiling, he’s doing what he loves, he’s ready to go forward. His smile here is an act of defiance against those who tell him that he should be stopping in his tracks.

The change of singer here is very noticeable, as they have very different-sounding voices. However, this is something we’ll talk about more later.

In this section, we cut smoothly between the real and the virtual worlds. Lord Grim, too, faces forward resolutely, despite the naysayers referenced in the lyrics - “they say I shouldn’t go forward, they say I should just say goodbye, they say there’s no tomorrow, only night.”

Again, we focus on his hands - his left hand positioning on the keyboard in the real world, his right hand in the game world hoisting his weapon. They both extend from the upper left side of the screen, which allows our brains to follow the visual connection easily without being too overt about the parallel. Ye Xiu’s preparations for his comeback help to build our anticipation for the action that’s to come.

The red palette used for these in-game shots in this segment is an interesting stylistic choice. It’s a more nuanced version of the red-palette style used for the entirety of the OVA OP. Red is the color most commonly associated with Ye Xiu, it’s the color of both Team Happy and Team Excellent Era, it’s Lord Grim’s main color due to his scarf, and of course it’s associated with things like passion, fire, blood, etc. The red is also a nice contrast to the darkened, navy-blue setting of the real-world internet cafe - the lighting makes it seem like it’s nighttime again - and the red of Ye Xiu’s hoodie serves as a nice visual bridge between worlds.

Because this segment of the OP cuts between the game and real worlds so quickly, I think it’s good that they distinguish the game world here with these colors, as it makes the jumps easier to follow and understand.

“They say there is no tomorrow, only night,” as reflected light flashes across the umbrella. Maybe it’s night in the internet cafe right now, but certainly not for long. And even if it’s night for Su Muqiu, his creation will see the light of day.

“Crossing the frozen finish line” - Lord Grim steps out in a wide, battle-ready stance, emphasizing the sense of motion inherent to the word “crossing.” In the background of the music, you can hear the growing sound of what sounds like rushing wind, in time with the wind whipping Lord Grim’s scarf about, and it continues to build up the energy of this scene.

The “frozen finish line” here refers to his unwilling retirement on that snowy night; it’s an ending that he was forced into, not the goal that he was striving for. But the point that the lyrics make here is that this unwilling end merely becomes the new starting point for his dream.

The animators are really milking his windswept bangs, but honestly the animation looks good, so I can’t complain.

As Lord Grim narrows his (vibrantly red) eyes and tenses in preparation, we fade to Ye Xiu making the same motion, once again emphasizing the real-virtual parallel. Just this small motion is enough to make us, too, brace ourselves in anticipation. And as we mentioned earlier, you can really see here how the red hood of his sweatshirt is a nice connection to Lord Grim’s scarf, standing out against the colors of the rest of the image.

The music feels like it’s going to crest at its peak here, but it’s actually a fakeout - accompanied by a key change in the music, the intensity suddenly backs off. Instead of the climax we’re expecting, we’re instead shown a montage of mostly-still images.

This is actually a good demonstration of how this OP follows the effective “interest curve” fairly well. You can’t continuously build hype throughout a piece, because that quickly becomes exhausting and boring for the audience. Instead, you have to have your peaks and valleys. At the very beginning of the OP, we started off with a crescendo to the first peak where the beat kicks in. We had a fairly upbeat instrumental section, then we dropped off as we entered verse 1. The Happy player segment is relatively chill overall, with its own small ebbs and flows. Then when we enter verse 2 with the second voice, the excitement level is a step up from what it was before. The second half of this segment gradually builds up in intensity until suddenly, here, we drop off. We’ll come back to this curve later to see the fuller picture.

So we have this montage of the major pros, Ye Xiu’s closest friends and toughest opponents (note the first half of the lyric here is “even if it’s dangerous”). Although these are just still images, they still efficiently reveal information about the characters and teams in question - both when you consider them individually, and when you look at the patterns as a whole. Let’s take a look.

In all of these shots, the captain is the largest figure, and always on the center-right side of the screen. Even the last shot of Ye Xiu’s face before this montage places him at the center-right, giving us the exact starting-off point we need. This means that our eyes don’t have to do much work - we naturally trace a path to follow the most prominent figure in every image.

Tyranny’s Han Wenqing, of course, strikes the most intimidating pose. Just from how they’re positioned, you can get a sense of how the two of them work together as partners - Han Wenqing in front, aggressive, Zhang Xinjie only a step behind, more defensive. They appear to be the pair that’s second-closest to each other in terms of physical distance, as they have a fairly balanced partnership. They’re angled toward each other, implicitly acknowledging each other without actually overlapping.

Blue Rain is famed for their dual-core, and this image makes it abundantly clear, with captain and vice-captain featured equally prominently, standing right next to each other, back to back, almost the same size on screen. Looking closely, you can see that the two of them are moving together in the same direction as a unit. This is in contrast to the other teams’ characters, who are all sliding across the screen at slightly different speeds and directions from each other. Yu Wenzhou holds his clipboard, an instant clue toward his tactician style. Huang Shaotian is at a side profile, reflecting his unconventional, opportunistic, assassin-like style. And with his casual gesture and a wide grin, you can immediately get a sense of his personality.

In Tiny Herb, Wang Jiexi is king (pun intended). Out of all the team pictures, he is the largest figure. This reflects how he is the sole pillar of Tiny Herb as of now, and it hints at just how (unsustainably) deep the team’s reliance upon him runs. Behind Wang Jiexi, we see his successor Gao Yingjie. Although Gao Yingjie is smaller for now, the angle of the shot makes it seem as though he is rising above Wang Jiexi - and this, of course, is exactly what the captain is trying to make happen.

Behind these two is a third figure. At first I’d assumed it was Liu Xiaobie, but he doesn’t have the trademark headphones, so I think it makes more sense that this is actually Qiao Yifan, still in the team. With how he’s half-hidden in Gao Yingjie’s shadow and not even looking at the camera, you get the sense that even in this little picture, he doesn’t quite have a place here.

Samsara features Zhou Zekai and Jiang Botao. When these images were initially previewed during the live ED performance, there was a lot of backlash because a) Jiang Botao’s design had changed, b) their jackets spelled “samsaea”, and c) there was a coloring error on the collar of Zhou Zekai’s shirt. Fortunately, it seems all of these flaws were addressed.

Zhou Zekai is the second-largest out of all the featured characters, reflecting how Glory’s number one player always dominates the battlefield. Jiang Botao’s design here sweeps more hair out of his eyes, which suits his character well by giving him a more open, friendly, approachable appearance. Although he’s positioned far back from the camera relative to Zhou Zekai, he seems content where he is - he has a perfectly fine view of the camera and surroundings, and here he can serve as the tether connecting the powerful Zhou Zekai to the unseen rest of the team.

Next we see Thunderclap - I was actually somewhat surprised to see them featured now, but I suppose we need to establish Xiao Shiqin early on. I’m also surprised that they have four members here… I don’t think I could name four Season 8 Thunderclap members off the top of my head, I’m sorry ahaha. We have Xiao Shiqin and Dai Yanqi obviously, I assume the third is Fang Xuecai, but I don’t know who the player with his back turned is supposed to be. Maybe they included a lot of team members to emphasize how, more so than any other team, Thunderclap’s strength is when they’re playing together as a team. You can also see this in how, unlike all the other teams except Blue Rain, all four of the characters are sliding across the screen in the same direction (right), although the parallax makes their speeds appear slightly different.

That being said, with the hand adjusting his glasses and his thoughtful look to the side, Xiao Shiqin very much gives off the studious tactician vibe. Still, his smile is warm, not cold and calculating. Behind him, Dai Yanqi is just adorable.

Finally, we have Hundred Blossoms. Coming off of Xiao Shiqin’s smile, Zhang Jiale’s shadowed half-frown stands in sharp contrast, even though the viewer has only a fraction of a second to take it in. Angled at a full 90 degrees from the camera, Zhang Jiale stares at his right hand, a sort of frozen sadness on his face. What could he be thinking about? Reflecting on his continued inability to take the final step to the championship? Reflecting on the hand injury that tore his closest friend and partner away from him, leaving him to shoulder the burden alone? In this image, it seems as though it’s the Hundred Blossoms’ shining logo itself that is casting his face into shadow. He undoubtedly has many conflicted feelings about the team he gave six years of his life to, and ultimately abandoned.

Visually, Zhang Jiale appears to be facing a deep blackness; the design places no decorative accents on that corner of the screen. Perhaps he sees no way forward. Perhaps he sees the way forward, through to the team with black as its color, and the betrayal that choice would mean.

Behind him is Sun Zheping. Interestingly, he’s fully illuminated by the light of the Hundred Blossoms logo. In Zhang Jiale’s mind, perhaps he still is that light, a light now lost to him. Although Sun Zheping is also looking away, his body is angled more forward toward the camera, reflecting how he has a better sense than Zhang Jiale does of what it means to cast off doubts and charge forward into the future.

In a sharp contrast to every other team picture, note that neither person in this image is looking at the camera. Whereas the other teams are unified and focused in their pursuit of the championship, both Zhang Jiale and Sun Zheping are lost. In fact, neither is even currently a member of this team that they founded together. And, of course, there’s a distance between them, as they look off in opposite directions, and this distance only grows as Zhang Jiale slides toward the right and Sun Zheping toward the left. Overall, the mood this final team image conveys is drastically different from the rest.

I also found it interesting to note here that, although all of the teams’ uniforms got redesigned in the donghua (for instance, official novel art always portrayed them with collared polos, not t-shirts), the Hundred Blossoms uniform here appears to be unchanged from the original.

As a final thought, I do love the background designs in each of these shots, working in the team colors and the motifs of the logos. I wish they’d release these as desktop wallpapers, they’re really nice.

So that’s enough words about these three seconds of the opening. Let’s (finally) keep going.

This is a good place in the OP to insert a reminder of the final goal we’re working toward - the championship. “As always we charge forward, we’ll ultimately be crowned,” here at the summit of glory.

Something about the faded filter over these two shots gives it an almost mystical, imaginative quality. Or maybe it’s the feeling of a memory long past. This stage, this place of legends, it’s still a ways off for our protagonists for now. But they’ll find their way here in the end.

Team Happy! When it comes to illustrating Happy’s in-game characters in an action group picture, this sort of composition - side view, all of them leaping into action toward one direction - is fairly common, even just in official art. Still, it never gets old, and it’s nice to see it here, especially as the music crests. The lyric “we’ll be crowned,” which bridges us from verse 2 to the chorus, is timed with the very first large group picture we get in this OP. It’s a proud and triumphant declaration as we see our protagonists finally united for the first time, arrayed for battle.

With that, just before we enter the chorus section, we’ll pause here for now. Part 3, which will cover the last 20 seconds or so, will probably go up after the episode premieres. I’m also interested to see how they’ll work the credits into this OP; hopefully they do something interesting, or at least make it look nice.

Thanks for reading!

(part 1) (part 3)

#quan zhi gao shou #qzgs #the king's avatar #tka #全职高手 #qzgs commentary #mine #synco talks

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frozenartscapes · 4 years

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Near-Death Experience Part 2 - FE3H Fic

[Part One]

---

“I didn’t think I’d see you back so soon.”

Once again, she found herself gaining consciousness on a stone floor, in a room lit with an ethereal green glow. This time, she happened to notice the throne - the same one she had seen in the Holy Tomb. And there was Sothis, seated casually upon it.

“It’s good to see you again,” she greeted, pushing herself up to her feet. But then she frowned. “Ah... So this must mean...”

“Your sleepy friend did say there would be some risk to the procedure,” Sothis pointed out, though her usual sass was toned down somewhat given the revelation.

Edelgard closed her eyes tight, bring her hands up to rest again a chest that had gone silent. “Oh Byleth...” she breathed, tears forming in her eyes, “I’m so sorry.”

“You really loved her, didn’t you?”

Sothis’ question caused her to look up. She hastily wiped away the tears. “Of course I did. I still do,” she replied, stepping forward as she was swept away by her conviction, “I’ve never loved anyone more than I love her.”

The Goddess smiled. “You know she loved you from so early on,” she said with a small chuckle, “She was too dense to realize it was love, though. But I think she had a thing for you from the moment she took an axe to the back for you.”

Edelgard frowned in confusion, head tilting slightly as she regarded the child on the throne. “She never... Oh. Your doing, I presume?”

“Guilty as charged. I saved her hide more times than I can count,” Sothis replied with a tired sigh, “For someone who eventually became known for her tactical skills, she sure spent a lot of time running into a fight before thinking first.”

Edelgard found herself chuckling at that. “That’s Byleth,” she said as a fond grin spread across her face.

Sothis took in the sight of the woman standing before her. The last time they had spoken, she had been nothing more than a child living through the worst hell imaginable. The Goddess always felt terrible thinking it, but when she saw the final Hresvelg child appear before her that day, she was relieved. Because their pain was finally over. But then the poor thing had been dragged back into the world of the living before Sothis could lead her away to safety.

And now here she stood: proud, strong, happy. There was a warmth in her lilac eyes that hadn’t been there before. It hadn't been there when she was a student, either. When Sothis had lost contact with the outside world when she merged with Byleth, she found herself worrying to no end for this lost child. She liked Edelgard, after all. It was easy to see how Byleth fell for her.

“I’m proud of you, my Child,” she said softly, watching as the Emperor who turned her back on the Church blushed softly at the praise.

“I suppose... I should apologize,” Edelgard said slowly, going from standing tall from the praise the shrinking in shame, “I did destroy your religion.”

Sothis merely scoffed. “It was never my religion,” she returned with a casual wave of her hand, “Goddess or no, the idea of people worshiping me like the way Rhea had them doing...”

A panicked look flashed across Edelgard’s face. “Is she... Would she be here?” she asked carefully, “Rhea?”

“In a sense. The afterlife is a little different for everyone,” Sothis told her, “Rhea, or Seiros... She’s at peace now. I forgive you for that, too.”

“Right.” A nervous chuckle escaped the Emperor’s lips. “So... Is it time?”

Sothis tilted her head, a curious look upon her face. “That depends,” she said simply, “Is it?” She got up from the throne and slowly descended the stairs. Edelgard watched her the entire time, her gaze intense with intrigue. When Sothis stood before her, she offered out her hand.

Edelgard began to reach for it, but stopped before she made contact. She levelled Sothis a skeptical look, and asked, “What happens if I don’t take your hand?”

Sothis smiled. “That’s why I like you, Edelgard. You always seek to walk a different path from everyone else.”

Something tugged against Edelgard’s arm, like an invisible spectre was trying to pull her back. She felt something clamp down around her hand.

“There she goes again,” Sothis said with a happy sigh, “Barreling in without thinking.”

Another tug, like something tried to pry the spectre off her arm only to have it clamp down even tighter. Now it shook at her shoulder. There was a weight pressed against her chest.

Drops of water on her cheeks. Rain? It’s not raining...

Edelgard stared down at the extended hand of the Goddess. “My...siblings,” she wondered, “Are they... How are they?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know much about what lies beyond. I am only a guide,” Sothis told her apologetically, “I do think they miss you. But...” Genuine warmth now, in her smile. “I think they’ll understand if you want to keep them waiting a bit longer.”

The weight was getting heavier, and the shaking more desperate. Edelgard felt her vision growing dark around the edges. “I will see you again, won’t I?”

“Of course, my Child. I’ll be waiting.”

Edelgard nodded. “Thank you, Sothis.”

“Oh, and Edelgard? Keep an eye on Byleth for me, will you? She’s hopeless without proper guidance.”

The throne room was dissolving rapidly, but Edelgard still managed a small laugh, and a promise: “I will. You have my word.”

---

The procedure was incredibly dangerous, they all knew that. The chances of survival were small, they knew that too. But it was better than doing nothing.

Essentially, they had to stop her heart.

Whether or not Linhardt and Hanneman could get it going again was the main problem, and in most animal trials, they were never able to. But the effects of her dual Crests were starting to rear their ugly head, and for Lysithea it was even worse. Edelgard agreed to do this because they needed proof of concept, and she would rather die than allow Lysithea to be the lab rat for her once again.

Byleth was under strict orders that she could stay in the room, but she had to stay in a chair on the other side, and not disturb them. And she tried. Bless her, she really tried.

But it was the hardest thing in the world for her to watch. Her beloved El, once more under the knife on a surgical table. She wasn’t strapped down, at least, and Hanneman had created a potion that would slip her under so she wouldn’t be awake for it. But it came as little comfort when they still had to cut her open just like they had, exposing her heart so they could directly extract and infuse magic into it.

Linhardt had to take a breather more than once.

But then the procedure was over, El was stitched back up, and it was time to restart her heart. And nothing happened.

The two Crest scholars kept trying, growing increasingly desperate, but nothing seemed to make the Emperor’s heart beat again.

And that’s when Byleth shoved them both aside, taking her wife’s body in her arms, hugging and holding and shaking and trying to get her to wake up. She held her ear against Edelgard’s chest, hoping beyond hope to hear a sound coming from it, but there was nothing. It was quiet as the grave, and Byleth couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

She stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, pleading with whoever might be listening to please, please don’t take her just yet. There was still so much she wanted to do, so much they wanted to do. The united continent was almost to a point where it could be left in capable hands, and then they were going to leave royal life for good. Settle down. Get a small cottage with a garden, and a fish pond. And a cat. Or a couple cats. A few cats.

They were supposed to live unburdened until they were both old and grey. Goddess knew Edelgard deserved it.

But then, she heard it. A soft thump in Edelgard’s chest. Then another, and another. A quiet gasp for air escaped her lips, followed by a quiet groan as consciousness returned. Byleth looked up to her beautiful wife’s face, only to meet those amazing eyes and a soft smile.

Pure relief and joy spilled over in Byleth’s heart, turning sobs into laughter. She pulled Edelgard in close, never wishing to let go, and felt her beloved wife nestle up against her.

Edelgard, though delirious and exhausted beyond belief, had never felt more exuberant. She could no longer feel the Crest of Flames eating away at her like a fire consuming a forest. The strange additional magic that had once kept her alive on a dungeon floor was gone, quieted forever when it was pulled out of her heart.

But she no longer needed it. She had something far stronger that would keep her going for years to come.

‘Don’t worry, Sothis,’ she thought as she weakly wrapped her arms around Byleth’s sobbing, laughing form, ‘I promise I’ll keep my word.’

#now with less angst #still a sad concept #but a happy ending #edelgard #byleth #sothis #fanfic

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cybushin · 3 years

Text

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄. ---

𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋. The walking definition of a YOUNG GOD, Genji Shimada was untouchable. Or so he believed, arrogant, aloof, and petty. He walked the streets like every step he took paved the road in gold. Known for a reputation of ALWAYS GETTING WHAT HE WANTED, a playboy with a neon smile wasting his youth away dripping in diamonds. While he excelled in his training, he figured that would carry him with enough favor. He cast his weight on the reputation of his FAMILY NAME, knowing that no other family could do anything about his arrogance, he suspected he would be a KING ‘till responsibility caught up with him.

Of course, that wasn’t the case behind the scenes. The elders of the Shimada clan were none too pleased with the head’s youngest. And Sojiro could only protect him for so long, hoping that Genji would temper with time. BUT HIS PATIENCE COULD ONLY LAST SO LONG. And eventually Sojiro’s love and protection ran out. The duty to remove Genji as a liability fell to his brother, a task that ended in a BLOODY FEUD.

Genji was FURIOUS when Hanzo turned on him, never having anticipated that his own family would be the ones to cut him down, and refusing to die kneeling, Genji fought back against the inevitable, unarmed and outmatched, he would go to the grave having said he fought for his survival with TOOTH AND NAIL. The ensuing struggle severely disfigured the younger brother as his regard for the condition of his body was out-favored for the likelihood of survival. In the end, he failed, and was struck down.

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋. His body was cold by the time OVERWATCH, a program that had been keeping an eye on the Shimada’s illicit business for some time, saw it as a fitting investment to SAVE Genji. Believing his skills to be worth the cost of bringing a man back from the other side.

Due to the status of his injuries and the time he’d already spent as a corpse, much of his body was unsalvageable. The entire right arm, a portion of his right jaw, his right leg above the knee, his left leg mid thigh, his ring and pinkie fingers on his left hand, and several if not most of his organs, a lung and his kidneys included as well as a majority of his stomach wall. IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE FAVOR, A MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH, to make the man live again. He was mostly paralyzed, hooked up to more machines then any human rightfully should be, but he was ALIVE.

At least enough to be offered an opportunity. In exchange for his cooperation and his skills, Overwatch would provide him with a new body, a second chance at a new life. And Genji, not wanting to remain bedridden for the remainder of the life he wasn’t supposed to have, agreed to their terms. THUS THE LONG AND PAINFUL PROCEEDURE BEGAN. Months in the making, his will to live was outmatched by a persistent fury. LIVING? WAS AGONY. The emotional and physical toll of his betrayal and the growing detachment to his body as limbs and organs were replaced with nanobites, tech and wiring, was more then he had anticipated.

𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇. By the time he was ready for field testing, he was assigned to the covert ops unit of the organization, BLACKWATCH. His skills seeming useful to their operations, and a place they could monitor his status for upgrades. PHYSICALLY HE WAS ALIVE, but that rage burned strong in Genji, stoked by an increasing feeling of being a prisoner in his own body. IT WOULD BE A LONG AND ARDUOUS STRUGGLE to recognize the man in the mirror.

HE WAS THE PERFECT WEAPON. So a weapon he became. Quiet and prone to outbursts of anger, he was a difficult agent to deal with. Effective in the field, but nigh unreachable personally. Much of Genji’s dysmorphia and anger towards his betrayal was centered on himself, but he projected it outwards like a shield. He felt like an outcast. Soon, however, he realized that Blackwatch seemed ripe for outcasts, a mixed bag of the unfavored by society, building something like unity between themselves. Genji remained prickly, but the unconventional companionship of Blackwatch’s core members often bypassed his unruly nature, and before long the jaded, bitter cyborg felt a KINSHIP with his coworkers.

This kinship would continue to grow as time went on, a bond like family forged through the strife they all shared and the difficulty of their job. Genji saw more of a family in Blackwatch then he ever had in his clan, something that only strengthened his distaste for all things SHIMADA. His loyalty to his team began to mellow out his rage, though still rather impersonal, he began to settle, more agreeable to be around for anyone unused to his aggressive personality.

It was this more subdued temperament that allowed Genji to begin being deployed with other branches of Overwatch alongside his duties to Blackwatch. Filling in for strike team operations when needed. He was given a new look, something more befitting of a man finding his place in the world. Though he still far preferred working with his usual team in Blackwatch, he made new friends and his social circle expanded. THINGS WERE BEGINNING TO LOOK UP FOR HIM.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇. He was deployed to Nepal when Overwatch fell. The mission was meant to be simple, but he found himself stranded now, headquarters was a crater, he had no idea what status any other agents were in, and nowhere else to go. HE WAS ALONE. But compassion wasn’t scarce, offered refuge by an omnic monastery in the Nepalese mountains, he remained, uncertain of his future. AN ANGER THAT HAD DIMMED BEGAN TO SPARK ANEW. Genji remained at the monastery in exchange for helping around the compound, finding an unexpected tutelage in one of the omnics there, Tekartha Zenyatta.

His life with the Shambli became a dual position of learning the meaning of inner peace from his newfound master, and trying to track down what Overwatch agents he could. With what few connections he still had, Genji eventually managed to get in contact with several, finding out about the death of both Jack Morrison, and more devastatingly, Gabriel Reyes. A man who Genji saw befittingly as family. But through his teachings with Zenyatta and a mourning that rang through him, Genji vowed to let his anger go to the grave with the organization that gave him a FAMILY again.

Genji began to write letters, correspondence so his friends knew he was still alive, and to keep tabs on their status. And his dedication to his studentship under Zenyatta increased, a responsibility he’d ran from a lifetime ago finally catching up to him. He found the PEACE he’d long since needed, and made amends with the body he lives in now. Though the feelings of detachment are etched through him like old ghosts, Genji is much better at reconciling with them now.

But his life at the monastery wasn’t meant to be permanent. The news was alight with word of Null Sector activity, a war teetering on the brink. Genji knew his place was out there, doing what he can for the world. Both a desire to act in the heroic image of the family that gave him renewed purpose, and a desire to reconnect with the very same people, pushed him to greater lengths.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄. Leaving the Shambali behind, Genji became a Ronin, travelling across the world and protecting the innocent from Null Sector where he could. Being unaffiliated to any organization allowed him the ability to interfere in the coming war without restrictions. Any government that might protest can’t stop a man who’s files state he is deceased in them.

It’s this vigilantism that landed him in London, though he had received word of Overwatch’s reforming, he was radio silent on his choice to return. In fact, it was happenstance that brought him to rediscovering a group of Overwatch agents there. Able to save them and help hold back the tide, he was still undecided on whether to return to the organization. Genji knew his skills were more effective when he couldn’t be leashed by regulations and restrictions, something that lingered from his Blackwatch days. A STRONG DISTASTE for the rules that kept them from being their most effective.

Though, for now, he has agreed to partner with Overwatch and share what information and resources he has in exchange for their own. Not yet an agent again, but not a ghost to them either. Genji’s journey has been a long one, but he is grateful for what kindnesses he’s been offered in life, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do everything in his power to make sure those hands that helped him aren’t wasted. THE WORLD IS CHANGING, AND FINALLY, GENJI IS READY FOR IT.

#(HEADCANON) Learning to feel real again #Sorry for the long post guys but #HERE'S A WHOLE TIMELINE FOR GENJI'S LORE / STORY #because I needed to get it out of my head #so enjoy this #you get a cookie if you read it all #long post //

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unicyclehippo · 4 years

Note

Prompt idea? Jester talking to Yasha about "realizing things", as a young/newly queer person wanting advice/acceptance from an older wlw ("whats it like- having a wife?"), and maybe conflicted feelings re beau bc on one hand jes doesnt want to get between beau and yasha if they'd make each other happy but on the other hand she is jealous and isnt her own happiness worth fighting for too??

‘what’s it like - having a wife?’ jester asks. nearly immediately regrets it when the other woman jerks, eyes darting to hers, wide and surprised. ‘i’m sorry,’ she’s quick to say, shaking her head quickly, enough to make her jewellery jangle as the movement tosses them against her curling horns. ‘that’s not - it’s probably the worst thing to ask you right now, and, i mean, you look busy—‘

yasha looks down at her empty hands, around at the largely empty room, and back to jester, eyebrows raised. ‘i am not busy.’

‘oh.’

‘would you,’ yasha swallows hard. gestures toward the other piece of furniture in her room beside the bed, a solid chair. ‘do you want...to sit?’

‘um.’ jester glances behind her, down the empty hallway to the closed door of the room she shares with beau. ‘yes. sure, yes.’

‘you don’t have to if -‘

‘i want to!’

yasha seems to recoil a little at the very forceful show of what was supposed to be casual. she nods. arranges herself awkwardly as though they are about to have an interview, and jester wonders if maybe she’s afraid. just afraid would be bad enough but afraid of what jester might ask, might do because of her answers? that feels bad.

jester forces herself to relax. she closes the door and takes the seat, folds her legs criss-cross and plays for a minute with her skirts, getting the pleats to sit just so.

‘have you been sleeping better?’ jester asks, voice breaking the silence. yasha doesn’t flinch this time, but jester thinks that might be because she’s holding herself too tight and still. like a perfect alabaster statue.

‘ah. yes. caduceus came by with some tea,’ yasha says. ‘he...says some very strange things,’ she adds a little hesitantly, unsure if she’s allowed to comment on his strangeness when she—has done what she has done.

‘oh yeah, he’s great, isn’t he?’

yasha nods.

it’s a bit dizzying, actually, to be watched so intently by yasha. her gaze hasn’t fallen since jester entered the room, and she watches each small motion of jester—the way she brushes her hair behind her ears, the way her tail curls, the way she fiddles awkwardly with the rings on her fingers—but jester isn’t sure how much of it is the other woman understanding that she feels incredibly deeply nervous or, or off-kilter or strange, and how much is yasha watching out for an attack. the intensity is one thing. yasha’s dual coloured eyes are another. jester finds her own attention split between them.

‘we weren’t married for long.’ yasha jerks when jester does. ‘i’m sorry—did you, still want to know?’

‘only if you want to talk about it!’ jester insists.

‘i—don’t mind.’

‘i don’t ever want to make you do something you don’t want to do!’ jester says that forcefully, entirely on purpose. yasha needs to know, she needs to know, jester would never—

‘jester,’ yasha says, her voice low and soothing. her accent breaks jester’s name in two, each spoken with infinite fondness, gentleness. ‘everything is okay.’

for once, jester doesn’t reply to that. sometimes she denies it sadly, other times agrees fervently, but now she just sits in it. yasha is right, more or less. they got her back. killed the Hand. killed obann. things are better than they have been for a long time.

‘we were married at dawn,’ yasha tells her. ‘it was...not romantic. except that it was her, and we were getting married.’ jester can’t sit alone on her chair; she hurries across the room to sit next to yasha on the bed, brings her knees up to her chest, chin resting on them as she listens, bright eyed. ‘okay,’ yasha says, and shifts accordingly. turning her body toward jester and crossing her legs. ‘when you are married in the tribe, you, ah, you make offerings to distract evil spirits from you, so they are not watching, will not curse your union. i delivered a great sacrifice,’ yasha says, almost sounding like she’s trying to convince jester or herself of it. ‘but it mustn’t have worked.’

‘i’m sorry, yasha.’

the woman shrugs. ‘i don’t—there are some things that are missing still. from my memory. but if you have questions...’

‘i don’t know,’ jester admits. maybe she should have written some down. maybe she should figure out why she’s so interested in the first place. probably because if she knows how marriage is supposed to work, why it works, why it is good, she can get the gentleman and her mama back together and they can live happily ever after. or maybe—

‘is this—‘ yasha looks like she has bitten her tongue but she continues very carefully, very quietly. ‘about beau?’

jester plays it very very cool. ‘what? no? why would - did she - why would this be about beau? that’s totally ridiculous and not at all something i am thinking about.’ as she rambles, super convincingly, she starts to wonder herself if maybe she isn’t being entirely...truthful. ‘is it?’

‘i don’t know,’ yasha shrugs. ‘is it?’

jester frowns down at the blanket on yasha’s bed. plucks at It where it is frayed and works for a few minutes at mending those small rips. ‘she—‘ nearly died, jester thinks but doesn’t say, because that, despite the mind control, that was yasha. jester wants to cry all of a sudden. when had things become so difficult? when had she started to think seven steps ahead in a conversation to make sure she didn’t upset, didn’t offend, didn’t hurt her friends? it feels like a cage pressing in around her and she sucks in a shaky breath.

‘jester?’

‘i’m okay.’

‘no.’ yasha—so carefully that jester wonders if the woman thinks she is fragile, about to crack into shards at a too-heavy touch—sets her hand on jester’s. the little mending magic fizzles out with the jolt of surprise, fibres and threads of blanket untwisting and snapping apart once more. ‘you can talk to me, jester. i am—not weak.’ there’s a charge that flickers, over her fingers and behind yasha’s eyes. ‘you are my friend. whatever you say, we can...figure it out.’

it isn’t a question but it almost feels like one. like with the gesture yasha has reached out on two levels, both with hands extended, and is asking for her trust. and jester’s trust is small now and bruised and scratched but she hands it over regardless.

‘she died,’ jester says, flat and pained. ‘or nearly did. and i was so scared.’

yasha nods. ‘you are scared when any of them—us,’ she corrects after a moment, ‘falls. is she...different?’

‘yes,’ jester says, no need to think. ‘she’s my best, my first best friend.’

yasha hums. her expression is blank of judgement but there is a faint air to her like she remains...unconvinced.

jester falters. ‘she’s my best friend, isn’t she?’

‘yes.’ yasha squeezes her hand. ‘tell me, jester, do you think of her first in the morning?’

‘well...yeah. we’re roommates, she’s the first person i see.’

yasha shakes her head. ‘before that. before you even open your eyes.’

jester frowns. yasha seems to be hinting at something, the meaning of which slides sneakily away each time jester tries to grasp it, to find what it looks like, what it feels like, what it is.

‘she snores, so i hear her.’

yasha nods. ‘okay. well. when you are doing, mm, fun things like—‘ she blanks for a moment and then says, hesitantly, ‘dancing?’

‘i love to dance!’

‘okay, when you are dancing, who do you want to be dancing with you?’

jester squints suspiciously. yasha seems to be hinting that she thinks jester’s answer will be beau. and the thing is, of course it is beau! beau would make an amazing dance partner? that’s just natural? she’s taller than jester and strong and lean, with the build of a dancer and when she fights she has the grace of one too. she’s also great at leading and not leading, so that wouldn’t be a problem if jester got carried away and jumped into lead when maybe she shouldn’t. jester explains all of this very matter of factly to yasha, who just nods again.

‘and when you are bored?’

‘nott is very funny,’ jester is quick to point out. ‘and fjord has the best stories of sailing, and caduceus knows so much about so much, and you of course,’ she adds, just to see yasha smile.

it works. yasha smiles very fondly down at her and says, ‘and beau?’

‘beau, no, she isn’t good for boredom.’

‘why not?’

‘because she—‘ because i’m not bored with her, jester thinks. and just shrugs instead. if she thinks the small concession will halt the questions yasha asks, these big seemingly easy but oddly confusing questions, she is wrong.

‘what is your favourite colour? what do you give beau when she is hurt? does she make you laugh? do you want to make her laugh? has sh ever given you a gift? who do you want to be with when you are sad?’

‘that’s too much!’ jester cuts her off, oddly anxious. she jumps off the bed, hurries to put a few yards between them.

yasha doesn’t move to follow, but she watches jester go with a soft expression jester doesn’t recognise.

‘i...thank you for talking to me, yasha,’

‘it was like being more than myself,’ she says before jester makes it to the door. her voice is louder, warmer, richer, and when jester glances back at her, she sees that soft expression has morphed to something...peaceful. deeply sad, but peaceful. ‘i always heard it was two halves of a soul—the man and the woman, joined together. united, a match. but when i met zuala, when we met again and again and spoke, and laughed, and danced,’ yasha’s breath catches and she begins to cry. her eyes close. ‘it was more than myself, what we had. perhaps it was two halves joining, but it never felt like that.’

‘what did it feel like?’ jester whispers when yasha is silent for a short while.

‘terrifying. wonderful.’

‘terrifyingly wonderful?’ jester suggests.

yasha opens her eyes. the tears have leaked a little, spilling down her cheeks, and her eyes—watery, washed out—are clear and bright. ‘she made me very happy, in a time where that was very difficult,’ is all yasha says, and though she doesn’t send jester away, jester can hear that she needs some time.

she steps out with a quiet ‘thank you’ and closes the door behind her. leans back against it. lets out a long, slow breath.

she is still there when beau climbs the stairs, hair slicked with sweat and skin glistening, mottled with purpling bruises. beau grins, lifts a hand.

‘hey.’ her eyes flicker to the door behind jester. ‘everything alright?’

jester stares for a moment. beau is handsome and beautiful—hot, she thinks beau would insist upon—and so much more, and some of yasha’s questions make a lot of sense all of a sudden in a big, important, kinda scary way.

‘jes?’

‘yes. yes, everything is great. just a little chat.’

beau doesn’t look convinced, but she nods anyway. ‘okay.’

#cr tag #tagging my stories #prompt fill

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics pt 17 THE END

Endgame lets gooooooooooooooo

Mission: Call of the Glaive - Stonewood Ruins

"The heroes search for the second half of the Dual Glaive. It has been hidden somewhere in Stone-in-the-Wood."

Good god. Lvl 40. My party ranges from 38 to 34. Do I have to level grind some more more more?

Well, lets find out.

I don't remember the forest around Stone-in-the-Wood having so many misty chasms. Damn, global darkening.

SO I see a lot of Darkened beasts. I see a glowy exit square next to the the Crucible. Hmmmmm I wonder WHERE the 1/2 Dual Glaive could possibly be hidden.

Okay so the party this time has to be Rian, Brea, Deet, and Gurjin. If only I could have a few more to get the rest of the mains in here. But this is endgame time and its time for Rian to get the Good Sword.

Rian: "Stone-in-the-Wood. Since its fall, the place has been overrun with darkened creatures."

I mean, that makes a lot of sense, actually. I'd like some more emotion about it, though. This was your home, Rian.

Deet: "We need to find the Dual Glaive. It's here... somewhere."

Rian: "There, the forge! After a battle, the Stonewood place all their weapons in the forge. The Dual Glaive has to be there."

Holy crap I've never seen Nurlocs get the first turn what the heck.

But all I have to do is get to the glowy square. Preferably with Rian, for plot reasons.

There's two paths around from where you start. One side path. One low path thats only one square wide and blocked by a boulder. Some of the enemies are going down that path anyway so I'm just going to be shooting Firemoss Bundles at them like fish in a barrel.

After three bundles, they ded.

Also Gurjin is being my front line on the other path and I finally got to use Rian's Even the Odds! Between Pursuit, Hold Position, Retribution and best friends like Rian, Gurjin is amazing at standing in one place and absorbing damage!

Anyway I killed all of the enemies. I wonder if more will spawn in or what.

welp. None spawn ins. Just me moving my units closer to the glowy square turn by turn.

That was a design decision that was made.

Rian: "This is it, the Dual Glaive!"

Deet: "Something is happening. Look at the Forge! The flames... They're turning blue!"

VICTORY!

Arrrre we going to do the fire skype thing? I already united all of the clans.

LEVELS UP! Rian leveled and learned Aim for the Gaps (100% critical chance on a marked enemy)! Brea leveled and learned Convalesce 2! Deet leveled twice and learned nothing. Gurjin leveled and learned Heroic Leap!

Brea maxed out on Mendering. But since we're in the endgame and I like her loadout, I'll leave her where she is.

I got the Glaive of a Fallen Hero! Wooooooooooo! Weird that its not just called Dual Glaive but I don't mind this name either.

Glaive of a Fallen Hero is the Sword of the Stonewood Clan. Gots some good attack and critical chance. This is going right on Rian, for plot reasons.

---

Yeah. We're doing the Fire Skype.

Rian: "Gelfling, the Skeksis have deceived you; turned clan against clan."

I FEEL like we've gone over this pretty thoroughly in the various clan specific mission chains!

I guess giving the clans a place to rally around is a good reason to still do the Fire Skype. I'm just a bit perplexed at what gets brought over from the show 1 to 1 and what gets added.

The Emperor: "Enough! Your rebellion will end in ruin!"

Rian: "Bring your weapons. Bring your Skeksis, and meet your destiny!"

'Come on if you're hard enough'

Huh! Two more missions opened up. One at the castle and another one at the Stonewood Ruins. I feeeel like the one at the castle happens first, most likely? It says requires Seladon and Tavra, people I don't have in my party. Buuuuut might as well see if I can do it?

---

Mission: Broken Bargains - Castle Hallways

"Seladon and Tavra must now escape the Castle of the Crystal after freeing the Stonewood Gelfling."

Sweet, its Seladon and Spider-Tavra! I finally get that closure I've been wanting!

Party: Brea, obviously. This is the big sisters moment! Naia, because I've been reading Shadows of the Dark Crystal and she and Tavra have a funny dynamic. And Rek'yr. How is he here? Brea called in a favor? Look, we can't question the location of people in this game. It started in the flashback zone and had people wildly out of time!

Okay so we have a bunch of Darkened beasties and a couple of Nurloc experiments which are even beefier. We have a locked door and a lever to open it. We have the General.

Time to kick his ass again.

Spider-Tavra: "We had a deal. You were supposed to let us go free!"

The General: 'I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.'

Where's SkekLach, tho?

The General: "And what's this, Arathim working with Gelfling?"

Spider-Tavra: "Our deal has changed as well."

The Arathim Ascendency: "If you need help, use the etchings. Arathim will come to your aid."

YO WHAT?? I get to summon spiders??

Amazing. This game never stops giving.

Also, we're in the crystal chamber, I think? There's the symbol on the floor. No crystal though.

Okay, the mission objective is to get Seladon and Tavra both to the glowy exit square. Hypothetically feasible.

There's three glowy runes which increase evasion and apparently summon spiders. Lets gooo.

Seladon has Even the Odds, Firemoss, Landslide 2, Shockwave, and Flow of Battle.

Spider-Tavra still has Double Strike, Shove, Adrenaline, Retribution, and Spot Weakness.

HAH SUMMONED SOME SPIDERS ON THE GENERAL

Also, I've almost taken out all of his darkened minions although its taken its toll. Damn Thrash. Damn Wound status.

The spiders are allied but they're not controlled by me. So its fine for them to just do their own thing. I need to heal. Everyone.

Well, poor Rek'yr gave his life but I successfully surrounded SkekVar and slowly beat him to death. And that took me right to the in-engine cutscene which is probably what should have happened in the last level.

Brea: "What are you doing, Tavra? I won't leave without you."

The General: "No, stop! I beg of you!"

Spider-Tavra: "This is for the Arathim, for the All-Maudra!"

-Chamberlain comes out of basically nowhere and kills Tavra, threader spawns onto the field and runs off-

In-engine cutscenes are amazing.

Chamberlain: "Leave friend alone!"

Brea: "Tavra! Sister, no!"

-upbeat victory music-

But I already made fun of that when Ordon died so.

Brea leveled. Naia leveled twice! Rek'yr did not!

I got Heartseeker (the dagger of the Stonewood clan)! I got the General's Cuirass! Stealing clothes from knocked out Skeksis never gets old.

The Cuirass is going right on Gurjin. Its going to slow him down even further but it gives him a matched set of Skeksis gear. The General's Hand Axe and the General's Cuirass.

"Heavy metal plates seated on tough leather and trimmed with fur... How inelegant!" -skekEkt

---

Two more levels, I reckon. Just the final battle left, in two parts.

Mission: Seven Clans United - Stonewood Ruins

"With the clans united, the heroes stand against the Skeksis. The General approaches to challenge them."

Yeah, sure. I don't mind kicking his butt again. He's got more clothes I can steal, probably.

Geez, this is an excessively cozy map. Its not very big and one of the starting squares is right up in the General's face.

He's got two hollerbats called General's Pet which grant him buffs. Gotta kill those guys.

Party: Rian, Brea, Deet, Gurjin, Rek'yr.

The main squad, plus Rek'yr. I need someone to be applying marks for the other people to hit.

Rian: "The reign of the Skeksis is over. All Gelfling rise against you!"

General: "Fools! You will all die, here and now! If it's a fight you want, I'll give you one! Haaaa! Let's have some fun!"

AHHH HE GOES FIRST! AAAAAH HES RIGHT IN RANGE OF BREA! HE SILENCED HER!

This map is too small...

Killed his pets tho.

General: "This fight isn't over yet! I'm just getting started!"

Geez, if he stuns someone on his next turn he can do Killing Blow which does a ludicrous amount of damage. Very ludicrous. RIP Rek'yr.

HE SUMMONED MORE BATS

uncool

I killed his bats. HE SUMMONED MORE BATS. I think maybe its not worth killing the bats...

Also he stuns people for like three turns. I think I'm gonna have to spend some of my money on stun-proof trinkets.

Whats also uncool is that the summon more bats thing the first time? Erased Rek'yr's body from the map. I had Awaken on Brea. I could have brought him back. Boo. Boo on this game mechanic.

Ok this battle is going downhill.

The General has 4000 HPees which is a lot. And he can lock people down with stun for a while. So I'm going to have to spend some cash. I might even have to.... level =(

Yup everyone died.

Lets try that again.

So soiled Podling socks all around. The best way to prevent stun, donchaknow.

And lets spend some more money.

Upgrading Deet and Brea to Ceremonial Vestments. Upgrading Rian to Paladin's Full Plate. Upgrading Rek'yr to Etched Lorica and giving him the Heartseeker.

Gurjin didn't do a lot of damage so I'm guessing that the General is resistant to axes? Is that a thing in this game? But I'll hit him with Naia instead. And I kind of want to use Kylan who can mark and heal but I don't know who I'd replace. Hm. Maybe next time.

TAKE 2

Party: Rian, Deet, Brea, Naia, Rek'yr!

Hm. I forgot that the Intimidate move also lowers attack. My guys are hitting for shit with these debuffs. Maybe I should bring a party member who can remove debuffs. Well, live and learn. And attempt to chip away at his health bar anyway.

So its not very entertaining but I'm just slowly ganging up on him and slowly beating the crap out of him. Annoyingly his bat can heal him. And I can't kill it or he'll summon more bat.

Chipping away chipping away I guess I got it low~

Because: dialogue.

Rian: "You are bested, General. It's over."

General: "Well, what are you waiting for? Finish me!"

Rian: "No, I am no killer! Begone!"

I still don't know how the hell Rian thought this would shake out favorably.

How did he see the war ending in his head? The Skeksis would just agree to stop drinking Gelfling? Would they vacate the castle and let Aughra take over the crystal again? As long as he never tried to kill any of them in a war situation?

Or is it just he won’t kill an unarmed opponent?

I dunno.

And my party just. Runs off screen. So Chamberlain can run on-screen. And kill SkekVar. Despite their rivalry not really being established. In the game plot.

Chamberlain: "Emperor will listen to ME now."

Then again, fair enough. This is in character for him.

VICTORY.

Rian leveled twice and learned Shockwave (stun enemies in a line)! Rek'yr leveled twice! Naia leveled and learned Aimed Strike 2! Deet leveled and learned Awaken 2! Brea leveled and didn't learn anything because she's max on her job.

Naia maxed out on Soldier! Don't want to start her on a new job on the last level so I'm going to flip her back to Paladin for the good, good stats.

I found the General's War Flag! Starts battle with five turns of Attack Up, Haste, and Beserk! Uh. Not sure how that's helpful. I like deciding what my guy is going to do. Stupid Var and his stupid flag.

---

Mission: Seven Clans United: Part 2 - Stonewood Ruins

"The Hunter has returned once more, to the surprise of the hereos. But help comes from an unexpected place."

... How are they going to represent Aughra exploding out of him though?

I think I want to bring Kylan. Didn't the Hunter kill his parents? So I'm going to upgrade him to Ceremonial Vestments.

And I'm buying Armalig Scales for everyone since I think Wounding was the Hunter's thing and I don't want to deal with that biz.

Geez, this dongus starts the level on a big hill ready to jump down and squish people. The rudeity of people.

Party: Rian, he's the hero guy. Kylan, he's here for the revenge. Rek'yr, he's here to say goodbye to an old friend. Brea, she's mad that he kidnapped her between levels or something, I'm not sure when it happened. Gurjin, he's here to be a supportive best friend. And plus, offer hugs.

Rian: "The Hunter! But... how?"

The Hunter: "Quiet, puny Gelfling! I have conquered death! I am more powerful than ever... more powerful than Thra itself!"

Oh, this hubris is going to end really well for him.

Ok. So this dingus has 4000 HPees. He's got Carve which hurts and inflicts Wound. He's got Carve 2 which hurts and inflicts Wound and shoves. He's got Stab, which stabs. He's got Cleave. We know that one. Gotta keep my guys not adjacent. He's got Pelt. I think that means he's gonna throw stuff. And he's got Target Wound. Which I just bet does massive damage. But joke's on him. He's got Savage Counter which means he 100% of the time counters. And he's got Surefooted which means he's a hoppy boy.

-one turn later where he hits Gurjin not very hard, gets critted by Rek'yr and counters-

Brea: "He's too strong!"

Mmmm. I could take him.

Rian: "We have to try! We must keep fighting!"

urVa, the Archer, somewhere: "No more. The hunt must end."

The Hunter, back in the Stonewood Ruins, somehow hearing that: "No! Nothing can stop the hunt!"

-I beat the shit out of the Hunter some more-

-flash over to the Archer taking one step-

Hunter: "Archer! What are you doing!"

These interludes are killing the pacing. Just to say. Maybe they should have been saved for the end. Or something.

-more violence-

Archer: "Now, we shall see what lies at the dream's end." -another baby step-

Hunter: "No, stop!"

Archer: -jumps-

This isn't conveyed well in in-game cutscene, I have to say.

Then the Hunter dies.

VICTORY.

Uh. That was. Something. I think that's a time where the plot butted too much into the gameplay. I only got him down to half life before he died and it didn't take much time at all. Ah well.

Gurjin levels twice! Rek'yr leveled and learned Opening Act 2! Since I still don't get how Opening Act 1 works, I'm probably never going to use this! Kylan leveled three times and learned Grand Concert and Motivating Chord 2! Wow! Brea levels! Rian levels and learns Unfailing Blow 2!

I also find the Hunter's Helmet in the gross ash pile that used to be him!

"A trophy from some avian beast? Or the skull of another Skeksis...?"

It gives you reduced recovery time, increased crit chance but reduced magic and normal defense. Dammit, Mal!

Kylan did get the last blow in the fight. That's something.

---

Anyway, I was wrong. There's at least one more mission.

Mission: Seven Clans United: Part 3 - Stonewood Ruins

"The heroes have bested the Skeksis' mightiest warriors. Only one challenge remains: The Emperor"

oof, I bet this is going to be hard.

Ooooof this is going to go badly. Three Skeksis. The Scientist, the Emperor, the Chamberlain... WAIT THE SCIENTIST WASN'T ALLOWED TO COME BECAUSE HE WAS TOO BIG A NERD! Dammit, game!

Anyway, the Emperor has Darkening Decay - attack and inflict random status effects. Focus Darkness - mark random tiles for the next move. Unleash Darkness - deal damage to anyone on a Darkened tile.

The Scientist and the Chamberlain have their usual abilities. So I think I should have kept the anti-poison gear and anti-stun gear on my guys.

Ah well. At least the non-Emperors only have 2000 HP.

Party: Rian, Brea, Deet, Naia, Rek'yr.

The Chamberlain: "Emperor, Skeksis should retreat. There are too many!"

Emperawr: "I will not lose, no matter the cost! Gelfling, you now face the true power of the Darkening!"

Oof that focus darkness does some damage. But hah, the Scientist only has 1500hp. He really is the nerd of the group.

Oops. Rian died. He was on a darkened tile and he didn't get a turn in time to move. Thank goondess I put Guardian's Blessing on him and he got to revive instantly.

Ok Rian died again, for real.

I just noticed that the Unleash Darkness hurts the non-Emperor Skeksis too if they're standing in it. Hahah

Between getting bombed a few time by his own boss, the Scientist was low enough health for Rek'yr to wander over and bop him.

One down.

Chamberlain is at low health but he's hiding in a corner casting stun and confuse on anyone that tries to bop him in the head. Which I'd very much like to do.

Crap, Brea and Rek'yr died in the same focus/unleash darkness.

Crap, Deet died.

Crap, Naia died.

Crap, Rian died.

The Emperor can just whip out the Focus Darkness too fast and it deals too much damage. And I think I needed to focus more on knocking Chamberlain senseless before he can split my party too much.

So anti-stun for everyone.

Or, actually, I'm going to try the Glowmoss Poultice which gives everyone ten turns of HP regen.

And even though Rian was there, I think I'm swapping out Gurjin. Having another person available that's immune to poison and can kick some serious butt. Well... Strategist hasn't really paid out much yet.

Okay on take 2, Scientist is down. Halfway through kicking Chamberlain's ass. Focus Darkness is getting really alarming.

Oops, Deet died. Haha Chamberlain died.

Now I just have the Emperawr and his full health.

I've got him down to half health but he killed AND THEN STEPPED ON Rek'yr.

Deet died in some darkening explosion but I got Brea to raise her. Just got to keep her alive now. Because plot. I mean, its not a level requirement. I just want to.

God, I'm glad I put so much Stone Warden into Gurjin. He's damn beefy.

Now he's down to less than a thousand.

AND HE TOOK TWO TURNS IN A ROW.

This man is corrupt to his core.

I have him under 100 hp and he uses focus darkness. And its covering a pretty generous area so I don't know if I can move everyone out of the way. Especially because he gets to go before half of my party.

But I have Brea up and she has a pocket full of fire moss with this guy's name on it.

It says SkekSo.

-blam, plop-

Emperor: "Impossible... I cannot be defeated."

Chamberlain: "Retreat! To the castle!"

Deet: "They're running away!"

VICTORY!

Never before has the fanfare been so sweet.

Naia leveled twice! Reky're leveled! Gurjin leveled THREE TIMES and learned Double Strike 2! Brea leveled twice! Deet leveled twice and learned Healing Touch 2!

Also I found some Crystal Fragment! Weird that random crystals just fell out of this boss birdlizarddragon as I was hitting him.

It lets you steal MP when you attack. Pretty cool.

---

Oh a cutscene.

Its the lost crystal shard, maybe.

Oh and Deet wanders off into the wilderness, all Darkened. Despite that not being very well established in the game.

Is sad.

But she wanders back to pose in a group shot.

Yup. The main characters. Aughra, Rian, Brea, and Deet.

When will Gurjin get respect?

Oh and Aughra tells me that there are more missions or I can do a new game plus which is harder.

I don't see any new missions on the map. Just some encounters to test my mettle.

And I'm not going to do the new game + just now. Not when I'm still riding high on winning while slightly under leveled.

---

But that was the game!

I loved the gameplay when it wasn't frustrating me. The moves are mostly all cool. I wish you could use more of them than three from primary job and two from secondary but you can still get a cool load out. The environments and characters look great.

Its the storytelling that lets it down, a little. Its trying to be a supplement to the show and that really hampers it at various points. The weird setup where we start in the flashback zone. Plot beats from the show being introduced because they're in the show but weren't properly set up in the game.

It either needed a bit more rewriting to tell the story of the show in a satisfying way or it needed to use the show as a jumping off point while it did its own thing.

The stuff that they invented to fill the gaps work pretty decently. The writing isn't particularly deep but its decent enough. The forbidden archeology quest with the Sifa. Discovering the fate of the guards. That stuff.

And this is hindsight, of course, but with the show being cancelled, there's so much ground left uncovered! If they were more willing to diverge from the show, they could have done some battles set afterwards and used the Garthim. I'm pretty curious how they would have been represented!

I also wish we could have gotten one or two more Skeksis. Chamberlain, Hunter, General, Scientist, and Emperor is decent but you know what could have been decenter? The Collector.

But overall. A good time was had by all, wherein all was me.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal age of resistance tactics #THE GAME #liveblog #THE END #i beat up every skeksis basically in a row #plot stubbornly happens #i stubbornly refuse to level grind

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aweebwrites · 4 years

Text

A Mistake

“Why do I have to switch him out?” Griffin mumbled to himself as he waited impatiently for the big cat to fall asleep from the tranq he received.

“Because Karlof is out sick and Neuro told you to.” Tox reminded him, her tranquilizer gun at her side. “That and you’re the fastest one here. You can outrun him if he decides to take a bite out of you.” She grinned and Griffin looked at her insulted.

“Relax. This guy is pretty tame.” Tox says, seeing the snow leopard begin to waver on his feet. “Zane isn’t prone to violence. Now if it were Cole or heaven forbid Kai, then you’d have your work cut out for you. He’s down now. Just get in, put him on the moving crate, strap him down, get him to the other habitat so we can do maintenance on the air conditioning on his unit and bring him back after. That’s all.” She says, patting his shoulder before walking off.

“Not even a helping hand yo?” Griffin asked and Tox scoffed.

“I’m a doctor, not an animal mover.” Tox told him with a grin, chuckling as she went on her merry way.

“The abandonment yo.” Griffin says, placing his hand over his chest before peering into the freezing cold habitat.

There lay the disoriented snow leopard the Elemental Alliance Wildlife Rehabilitation Center was alarmed but thankful to receive and care for. Snow leopards were endangered after all but this kind of snow leopard was even more endangered. Almost nonexistent. Griffin sighed once he noticed the leopard’s eyes finally closed. He gave himself a light mental pep talk before opening the doors with the carrying crate, shivering immediately at just how cold this place was. He wheeled it over to the out cold creature then knelt to take a better look at him, despite his mind screaming this was a bad idea. He was one of a huge population of human beings to take on animal characteristics hundreds of years back after some phenomenon blah, blah, blah. When Neuro started getting into his science-y talk, he starts zoning out. He had a lot of human features though. White hair with sparse black spots to match his white and black spotted fur that covered most of his body, his ears that stuck out through his hair on the top of his head that were definitely leopard-like, his odd legs that were crossed between a human and a leopard’s that allowed him to walk on all fours and twos, his ridiculously long but quite fluffy tail, his white, retractable claws on his padded half human hands… Griffin was curious now. He hesitates, catching a glimpse of his fangs from his mostly closed mouth. He went for it, opening his human shaped mouth careful not to block his pink tipped nose as he looked inside. Wow teeth. Sharp, pointy teeth. Those canines are something else! These guys are actually pretty cool! He startles back, landing on his ass once Zane gave a sudden huff. Griffin looked at him with eyes wide and heart pounding before he relaxed, seeing that he hasn’t woken up.

Fuck that would have been bad. While Zane is pretty tame from what he’s seen in passing, he can still be riled up and he is fucking scary mad. He got to his feet again, deciding to stop messing around. Any more of this cold and he’ll start getting frostbite too. He slipped his arms under the limp body of the demi human then lifted, his eyes bulging on just how heavy this guy is. Well, considering that he is bigger than him, he shouldn’t be surprised. He hoisted him up with a grunt then crab walked over to the crate and carefully set him down, panting heavily once he did. Holy shit. Maybe they should cut him back on the mutton, yeah? He strapped him tightly but not enough to damage their most prized animal. Zane was a special case. He wasn’t a catch and release kind of patient.

He was a ‘keep away from the other demi human snow leopards because he hated socializing and will attack pushy females in heat’ kind of case. And given that there are only 2 entire wildlife preservation and rehabilitation centers for demi humans in the entire world, they got to keep him, what with their location in the temperate zone to the south where there was a major snow covered mountain range that ran into the Elemental Alliance’s Wildlife Preservation area as well. He was just being kept in the rehabilitation area to help him adjust to different plants and animals here. That and they aren’t sure on how well he’d survive out there on his own as the only one of his kind. They wanted him to make friends but they had no clue where to begin as they had no other demi human that are situated to cold temperatures like he is yet.

Griffin carried him out- then found himself at a loss. Where was he supposed to put him again?

“Fuck me.” Griffin groaned to the ceiling. “If I ask Neuro again, he’ll give me a lecture for sure yo.” He sighed, then considered the rehab center.

He was definitely sure that he was supposed to go into one of the habitats inside. But there were a fuck load of them on the inside.

“Griffin, my office.” Griffin jolted then, hearing Neuro over the intercom and he did not sound happy.

Griffin looked around quickly before perking up at the sight of spots through another viewing window in the large hall.

“They both have spots so they should get along, right?” Griffin reasoned then rushed over, beaming even more to see a dual way entry. He put in his code, going into the first set of doors then quickly unstrapping the snow leopard and opening the second door.

He heaved Zane in, leaving him to lay on the ground before the second door and quickly headed back out, hearing Neuro calling him again with even more impatience in his tone.

“Sit still for a while! I’ll be back! I promise!” Griffin told the unconscious demi human through the door then rushed off to Neuro’s office.

Here’s to hoping he didn’t find out about him giving the avian type demi humans extra snacks…

Meanwhile, golden orange eyes glowed from the thick brush of plants in the habitat before the creature possessing them walked out, curious to what was left in his area. He could have used the human as a means to escape but then he caught a glimpse of what he was carrying… He was intrigued. The jaguar demi human with a fresh scar over his left eye approached the limp figure at the door, tilting his head to the side as he inspected them. He leaned his head down and sniffed at him- only for his pupils to blow wide as his whiskers tingled at the unknown but very pleasant smell that filled his nose, but they weren’t moving. They must have put them to sleep. He nudged them over on their back and his breath caught at their pale, pretty face. He was the prettiest male he’s come across. White fur too… His spots are different that his though. And his tail is really long. Cole hesitates then reached out to touch it. Soft! He kneaded at it, seating himself to do so with both paw like hands. He didn’t know how long he sat there, batting around and kneading at his tail before a low sound came from him.

Cole looked to his face then blinked to find the spots where he had no fur all shiny. Sweat, he remembers. He rarely does that but when he does, it’s because he’s really hot. Cole blinked at that. He’s really hot! That wasn’t good! He almost blacked out the last times he sweat like that! He scooped him in his arms before carefully standing on his back paws and looked around quickly. His eyes zoned in on his artificial pond before he quickly trots over, walking in with the odd creature and sunk him in. The water was colder than he was used to out in the jungle but it was perfect in this case. It wasn’t very deep, about thigh high in the middle. He sat in the pond, lowering him with him, holding his head up and the rest of him under so he doesn’t float. He sat there in the pool of water that now reached his upper shoulders, wondering when was he going to wake up. A long time was the answer. Cole had sat there in the shallow pond until he had even started to drift off, the only thing waking him was his body just starting to float when his arms went lax.

What felt like an eternity later, a low groan caught his ears. He looked down at him as he scrunched his face up, blinking his eyes open slowly. Cole openly stared, awed by the intense blue of his eyes. They were blue like the sky and beautiful. He focused a bit more and Cole blinked once he found his hand on his face. He gave a curious sound, struggling to focus and Cole only gave a low growl, urging him to rest more since he was clearly out of it. Zane was confused as to why he felt wet or who the person holding him was but he was too disoriented to ignore the lull of sleep to escape the fuzzy mess of his mind. Cole sat there still, looking at him still. He was like nothing he’s never seen before… He wanted to see more…

__________

Zane woke up with a languid stretch, turning over to knead his pawed hands into the snow- only for him to have a face full of water. He jolted back, landing on his hands and feet as he coughed and sneezed from the water that rushed up in his mouth and nose. He blinked once he heard laughter immediately follow then looked up to see an… He blinked at the odd leopard before him. He wasn’t white… He had golden brown skin and yellow brown fur with black spots. He was much bigger than he was too. He was… Different to say the least. Zane tilted his head to the side, the tip his long tail flicking back and forth with his peaked interest. He padded over as the strange leopard continued to laugh, pushing off his hands once the water got too deep. Cole’s laughter stopped abruptly once he came face to face with those pretty blue eyes that were filled with curiosity. Cole remained still once he leaned in and scented him, not wanting to chase the strange creature away. Zane took a quick sniff close to his neck- before his eyes blew wide at the scent that filled his nose. It was something he hadn’t smelled often, living where he had all his life.

It was earthy like soil when rain fell on it. He… He liked it. He placed both hands on his shoulders, sniffing at him more before rubbing his head against him with a purr, rubbing his scent on himself. Cole’s pupils blew wide as he did, curious at the strange rumbly sound he was making but gladly rubbing against him too, his hands coming to his waist where he was half in his lap. Cole slid his tongue out, licking at his ear and Zane gasped, a spine tingling shiver running through him, down to the very tip of his tail. He purrs louder, melting against him as the other Leopard licked at his ears with his rough tongue, hand firm around his waist, his thick claws pressing lightly into his fur. Zane licked at his neck distractedly, his tail curling around his leg as the air got hot and heady… Hot… Zane pulled back though reluctantly, panting from the heat. He looked around, blinking at the jungle themed enclosure, a sight he’s never seen before. How did he get here? He thought back for a bit. He was taken to a strange place three days ago and then he was hit with another one of their weapons… And now he was here. He gave a low moan of distress, feeling as if he was melting. Cole tensed at the distressed scent and sound the pretty creature made before shifting forward, urging him to sink deeper into the water. Blue eyes looked at him confused but he complied and sunk deeper until just his nose up was out of the water. It felt good against his fur so he was more than happy to stay there. Cole got out, knowing ponds were quick to heat up the more warm bodied animals inside it. He instead sat at the water’s banks, his tail flickering anxiously as he watched the beautiful creature to make sure he wasn’t getting worse.

Meanwhile, Neuro had chewed Griffin out to the bone three hours ago for feeding the avians corn on the cob and warned him if he messed up again, he’d fire him, boyfriend or not. Tox, Shade and Ash laughed at the glum Griffin at their place in the cafeteria eating lunch as he pouted, knowing he’ll be on the couch for a week for this.

“This is a new level of stupidity, even for you Griff.” Ash chuckled, wiping away tears from his eyes.

“Shut up.” Griffin huffed, shooting him a glare.

“But for real.” Shade says more serious now. “They might be part human and have the capacity to digest most foods we can, but they’ll eventually be released into the wild where they won’t get butter covered corn on the cob. If they get addicted to that kind of food, they’ll be in big trouble in the wild. You better watch yourself or else I’ll personally kick your ass too.” He threatened.

“Believe me yo, I’ve learned my lesson.” Griffin says, wincing as he remembered how much Neuro had yelled at him until he had a headache immediately. “This reserve stuff is harder than I thought yo.” He sighs, knowing he really has to watch what he does from now on.

“You only need common sense Griffin.” Tox says dryly and he shot her a glare.

“Griffin!” Said man lifted his head, looking to where Chamille was walking towards him, looking perplexed.

“Cham? What’s-”

“Where’s Zane? He’s not in the empty tiger demi-human habitat.” Chamille asked, cutting him off and Griffin went pale quick.

“... Griffin. Tell me you didn’t lose the ultra rare, ultra endangered snow leopard demi human.” Ash says serious now, ready to bodily slam him if he did.

“Uh. No. I know where he is.” Griffin says and they relaxed some. “The problem is… Where he is…” He adds and they tensed all over again.

“Griffin. Griffin where the fuck did you put him?!” Shade asked with a growl, reaching across to grab him by the front of his shirt.

“In uh…” Griffin gulped. “In… Cole’s… Habitat…” He says sheepishly and there was a moment of silence before Griffin was tossed aside in favor of them all rushing off to the habitat, praying to whoever’s out there that Zane hadn’t passed due to overheating or worse, Cole, the aggressive, ready to be released Jaguar male hadn’t mauled him.

Ash got there first, peering in through the observation window. Immediately, he spotted the Jaguar gnawing on a bone then paled as his stomach dropped.

“Oh no.” Tox says, seeing the same scene.

“He actually ate him? But… I don’t see any blood…” Shade says looking around for any signs of it.

“Oh he’s alive. Thank fuck.” Griffin panted as he looked in and they looked at him puzzled. “There he is.” He pointed out the head in the pond Cole was gnawing his bone next to.

True to his word, there Zane was, lapping at the water he was in, most likely to keep cool. The group gave a collective sigh of relief.

“Alright. He’s alive and ok. But how do we get him from out there? Cole is passive to him but not so much us.” Shade pointed out.

“Yeah? Well I think the one who got him in there should be the one to take him out.” Tox says, throwing a glare at Griffin before heading off for her tranq gun.

“Tox is right. We’ll take Cole out first then Zane. You have to go in there before the sedatives fully set in though. Zane’s in the water. He’ll drown if we don’t at least keep his head above the surface.” Chamille says and Griffin scrubbed his face with both hands.

Fuck all.

Cole watched the other creature as he lapped at the water he was in, looking bored as he crouched there. He idly gnawed at the bone from his breakfast, feeling as bored as he looked. If he didn’t need to stay in the water, he would gladly groom is pretty fur and mark him all over with his scent so everyone knew he claimed him as his. He was also curious at what other new sounds he could get out of him. He tensed once a familiar sound caught his ear, just as a dart lodged into his thigh. He was immediately on all fours, looking towards the high platform where the green haired human had shot him from. He growled, thick fangs on display as he rushed over to where she was but she had already closed the reinforced window out of his reach. Zane watched him curiously as he showed aggression for the first time. He looked more primal, more terrifying. Here was a male in his prime, snarling defensively at where the human once was. It was…

A low purr had the water around him rippling steadily. Attractive. But he understood the humans were encroaching again and rose up out of the water the heat that hit him, especially with the sun reaching him through the trees of the outside enclosure, was almost too much. Cole’s huff has him focusing on him and he mewed, gesturing with his head for him to get back in. Zane frowned but does so, his tail swishing underwater anxiously. Cole walked around the pond, pacing the length of the bank between Zane and the humans watching them through the strange cave he would have long dug out if there wasn’t super strong shiny vines keeping him just out of its reach. He paced, throwing them an occasional snarl once they moved unexpectedly. He had a feeling in his gut that they wanted his creature but he had already claimed the beauty as his own and he wasn't going to give it up, their sleeping spell or not. He could feel the concoction trying to pull him under but he declined to go down. He won’t. He refused.

“He’s not going down.” Tox says with a frown, watching him as he kept stalking back and forth.

“Give him another shot.” Shade told her.

“His dosage was already high. I don’t want to overdose him.” Tox pointed out and Shade frowned as he considered this.

“We’ll need to get him down to get Zane out of there. Give him another half dosage.” He told her and she looked him over before nodding then heading towards the platform.

“What if he doesn’t go down?”Griffin asked them.

“Then Zane would eventually succumb to overheating. That pond isn’t enough to keep him cool for long.” Shade says with a frown.

Cole snarled as he saw her again up there again, getting on his hind legs so he could swipe deadly claws in her direction. She retaliated by hitting him with another dart, the small needle sticking in his arm. He swatted it away but it had already done its part. Moments later, Cole was stumbling, the world spinning around him. Zane gave a yowl of of distressing concern and Cole turned to him, only to immediately collapse just before the water, barely able to keep his eyes opened. He saw the moment Zane was also shot in his neck now exposed from where he was raising up out of the water. He weakly reached out to where the white blur of Zane was, seeing him moving through the water before him. Zane ignored the heat of being outside the pond and nuzzled the other leopard, giving a low mew of concern as he did, looking around warily. He then licked at Cole’s face and ears as he struggled not to drift off, surprising the team watching them.

“No way…” Ash says in awe, watching the two interact. “Do you think then… That he might have made friends with Zane?” He asked Chamille who was the specialist in demi human behaviors.

“It looks like it.” She says in awe. “That’s a feat on its own. Neither of them are social creatures. This proves that they both have the capacity to socialize.” Chamille says then smirked as she crossed her arms.

“They’re just fucking picky.” She huffed.

“Then do we have to send him back?” Ash asked, disappointed.

“Not without seeing how he interacts with others of his kind which isn’t going to happen soon and they’ve already scrubbed their hands of him.” Chamille says as Zane also began to stumble before laying down next to Cole, panting heavily as his eyes began to fall shut.

Zane gave a soft, pitiful mew, his paw on Cole’s who was losing the struggle to stay awake. Cole only managed a comforting grunt, watching as his beautiful creature’s eyes slowly shut. He heard as the door opened, heard the crate being rolled over. He managed a growl at the human with strange red eye coverings and he tensed but realised that he couldn’t move. Griffin looked down at them, at Zane’s hand on Cole’s, at how close they seemed in these past few hours. Friends, huh… He lifted Zane up, lifting him over to the crate and set him down heavily before strapping him in. With that, he gave Cole one more look, his heart clenching at the almost heart broken look he gave Zane before he succumbed to the trans shots. He feels as if he's committing a crime.

"Hurry up Griffin! He'll overheat!" Shade yelled and Griffin only nods, pushing Zane put and away from Cole.

Chamille on the other hand took the time to draw a blood sample, curious as to how he managed to hold up from that much tranq dosage for as long as he has.

_____

"Griffin." Neuro sighed as he rubbed his aching temple.

"Look, I really am sorry Oreo. I'm trying my best, honest I am." Griffin says, reaching across the desk to take his free hand. "I know I messed up- again but I'll do better. I’ll do things right. I swear!" He promises and Neuro looked at him with unimpressed gray eyes before he sighed again.

"The only reason you haven't been fired just now is because of the information we've gotten off of the incident. The hormone levels Cole had then was impressive. Chamille is still running tests.” Neuro says, interested on the results himself before fixing a glare at Griffin again. “Karlof will be back tomorrow and you’ll take on sanitary duties until further notice.” He says and Griffin bit back a protest to nod.

He rather scoop poop than be jobless and boyfriendless.

__________

The day that followed was met with a lot of commotion.

Cole wanted his creature back, roaring up a storm and scratching at the door, looking for any way out to get to him, wherever he was. It was making feeding him very difficult. They had no choice but to throw the slabs of meat over the top of his enclosure but he didn’t so much as sniff in the direction of where the bloody slabs lay. Usually, he’d tear right into his meals but he has more important things to tend to. Zane had woken up without the other leopard in sight. It almost seemed like a dream if it hadn’t been for his scent clinging to him still. Now, he could hear Cole clearly not that far away and paced the length of his icy enclosure for some way out to get to him. Unlike most of his kind, he was far more clever, having a father like he had. The only way in and out was through the door on the far right. He walked over, inspecting the odd construct then at the small hole in the door.

He’ll have to keep an eye to see just what that is for. He blinked once the scent of raw meat wafted through. Looks like he doesn’t have to wait for long. He sat patiently, hearing a jingle then blinked once the door pushed open, seeing the source of the jingle there.

“Hey bud. You won’t eat me today either, right?” A pale man with strange eye covers asked him and Zane just sat there before he began grooming the fur on the back of his pawed hand. “Good.” He sighed in relief then headed over to the built in bowl in the ground, knowing Zane wasn’t the type to lick the blood off the ground like the others.

It made cleaning way easier. Zane took his chance while his back was turned, padding over to the door left open. He flexed his paw before carefully wrapping it around the hanging set of keys to silence the noise it was sure to make then- with a bit of difficulty- tugged it out. He padded over to where the human had just turned around after carefully emptying the contents of raw meat, watching as he jolted in alarm at his proximity before mumbling about ‘too close’. He crouched before his meal instead, sniffing at it as he listened to the human make a sound of confusion at his missing tool.

“Where is it? I could have sworn-” He gave a sigh of relief as he pulled out his keys from his pocket then locked the door on the way out. “But where did I put Gravis’ keys?...” He asked himself as he moved on to another habitat.

Zane turned his paw over, looking at the set of tools in his hand, seeing the specific one used for his area and purred low, his tail flicking back and forth. He’ll go to him soon. When the humans are inactive at night… He turned away from his meal, too anxious for the long wait for nightfall to pass to end to stomach anything. He gave a low call to Cole, hoping he could hear it and understand. Soon. Cole on the other hand did catch the sound, knowing immediately that it was his pretty creature but not understanding what it meant. It only made him more anxious. Where was he? Where did they take him? How could he get to him? Cole gave a low sound of desperation as his tail and posture drooped.

… Will he ever see him again?

______

“Neither of them have even touched their food. And it’s not the meat. I always make sure the both of them specifically have the highest grade of deer and sheep, freshly killed each day.” Shade told Neuro and Chamille as they, Tox and Ash had a short meeting about Zane and Cole’s behavior.

“I’m surprised. It looks like they’ve really kicked it off in that past hour or two they were stuck together.” Chamille says lightly, fiddling with the end of her purple hair as she thought.

“... I’m curious to see how they’ll interact together.” Neuro says, lacing his fingers before his mouth. “It could help open up the mystery behind Cole’s sudden hormone spike and identify these new ones we’ve never seen before. We could see how it affects Zane too. I doubt Cole is the only one displaying strange blood results.” He says and Chamille nodded at that, wishing she had enough foresight back then to draw a sample from Zane too.

“So? How do we do this?” Tox asked him. “Cole’s habitat is too hot for Zane to go back to and Zane’s might be too cold for him.” She pointed out.

“Not necessarily.” Ash says as he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Cole’s fur is on the thicker end of the Jaguar’s cold scale and we did rescue him after Pororoca when he was all the way on the lower ranges of the Andes. It’s significantly cooler up there than on the Amazon Basin and the terrain is much rougher. I think he can handle it, just like I think Zane can handle a slightly warmer habitat.” He says and Neuro nodded his agreement.

“Then tomorrow, we take Cole to Zane’s habitat and document what we find.” Neuro declared and they agreed, taking their leave to prepare for then.

Neuro looked at the door as it closed then looked at a picture of he and Griffin together on his desk. Looks like that massive mistake is leading to an even more massive discovery. He could feel it just around the corner…

___________________

Zane laid curled up on his favorite slab of artificial rock, looking to be asleep from the outside eye but that wasn’t the case at all. The lights had gone out some time ago and he was waiting still, just in case a human was around before making his move. After another few minutes, he got up reflective blue eyes darting around the area before he padded over to the floor, getting up on his hind legs so he could use his pawed hands. He struggled for a bit, the keys jingling lightly as he adjusted and readjusted his hold, until he had gotten muscle memory back into his thumb. He slid the key in and turned, hearing the door click before coming loose. The sight of another door irritated him since he didn’t know which of these would open that one but if he was anything, it was determined.

Cole on the other hand laid by the pond, his gold reflective eyes staring sadly at the water’s surface, remembering his beautiful creature. He never even got his name… Did he even have one? Not all of their kind could speak like humans, and even less had names. He reached a paw out, dipping it in the water and watching it ripple. His ear twitched however once he heard a door open from somewhere but he dismissed it, too put out to work himself up. He wonders if he was alright… His head lifted however once he heard jingling really close by. Right at his door actually. He got to all fours warily. He wasn’t normally fed or visited this late before. Humans sleep in the night after all. He tensed once he heard that door swing open before the jingling continued. He flicked his tail anxiously, his body coiled tight and ready to pounce- But then, a scent caught his nose. His pupils blew wide at the familiar scent of his creature before he was rushing over to the door, pawed hands holding onto the bars on it before he gasped softly at the familiar blue eyes looking up at him.

He gripped the bars tighter, a low, desperate sound escaping him as he pressed himself closer against the door. Zane leaned up against the door, a low purr slipping out as he rubbed against the door but frowning. It wasn’t the same. He returned back to his struggle against keys and tried more of them as Cole scratched at the door with his claws. Finally, finally the door clicked and Zane pushed it open, not at all bothered when he was enveloped in a tight embrace, earth surrounding him as happy mews filled his ears. Zane purred, pressing himself closer to Cole, rubbing against him eagerly as Cole reciprocated. Cole butted his forehead against Zane’s lightly, his tail flicking back and forth happily as he closed his eyes and took him all in. Zane relished in his affection, ready to roll over and show him his belly at any second.

Zane could spend forever here in this moment- Actually, no. He couldn’t. Even though the night was significantly cooler than the day, he was getting uncomfortably hot. He pulled back and Cole let him go, though reluctantly. Zane took him by the hand and tugged him in the narrow walkway between the doors and he follows, letting him lead him into the long hallway Cole’s never seen before.

“Come.” Zane told him, pulling him along to where his habitat was while Cole tried to process that his pretty creature just spoke and his voice sounded amazing.

“Where?” Cole asked and Zane gasped softly, looking back at him with wide blue eyes.

He then smiled, pulling Cole along still.

“Here.” Zane says, leading him inside his opened area, the cool air hitting him like a breath of fresh air.

Cole understood then. Zane’s area was cooler because he couldn’t stay in the heat, like before. It was colder than he was used to but he was sure he could handle it. He let his pretty creature tug him over to a flat slab of rock and Cole pulled him down into his arms as he sat, content to wrap around him like this and never let go.

“Do you... Have a name?” Cole asked Zane, finding speaking strange and a little hard to remember after not doing so in so long.

He should have listened to his mother when she warned him to keep practice speaking. It was a critical skill passed down from those first turned.

“Yes. Zane.” He answers and Cole pondered on the name before giving it a try.

“Zane…” He says then smiled. “I’m Cole.” He murmured, nuzzling into his hair.

“Cole…” Zane says softly then shivered as he licked at his ear. “Cole…” He said again, just because he could as his tail coiled around the larger male, wrapping around his broad back, leaving the tip of it to flick against his shoulder.

“Mine.” Cole rumbled low in his ear and Zane blinked then turned around so he could look at him directly, now straddling his lap.

“Yours?” He asked, with a curious tilt of his head, knowing what the term meant.

Cole wanted to possess him as one would possess territory. The idea… Was appealing. Very appealing. But he wanted to make sure Cole himself knew what it meant.

Cole looked him over, at his vivid blue eyes framed by white lashes, at his pink tipped nose and soft pink lips, both framed by long white whiskers and spotted fur at the far corners of his face. He… Zane… Was really beautiful.

“Yeah…” He told Zane quietly, cupping his cheek with a rough, padded hand, brushing his thumb against his cheek. “Mine.” He sealed his declaration with a gentle nudge of his forehead against Zane’s.

“Then…” Zane says, just as quiet. “You’re mine too.” He purred quietly with a soft smile Cole returned.

He flicked his tongue out, licking the tip of his black tipped nose and Cole huffed out a chuckle, pulling him closer by the waist as the tip of his tail tapped at Zane’s arm from where it had coiled around him on its own. This place isn’t so bad now. As long as he got to stay by Zane’s side then he’ll make due.

_____________________

“You lot sure are early.” Neuro says as he arrived to the main building for the rehab from the onsite apartment complex.

Their team was too small with too many demi humans to risk traveling hours away to the nearest town after all.

“You’re one to talk.” Chamille says with a smirk as she glanced up at the sky where the sun wouldn’t rise for another two hours.

“Oh? You too Griffin? Did Neuro drag you out of bed?” Ash asked, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Not at all, yo.” Griffin says around a yawn. “I wanna see em together, you know? They got a kind of vibe that reminds me of when Oreo and I got together, yo.” He explained.

“... Well, the notion isn’t all that impossible. Look at Kai and Jay. They might not understand the concept but they’re as gay as gay gets.” Shade says with a shrug as Neuro opened the rehab doors.

“I told you not to call me that at work though. I am your boss.” Neuro huffed at Griffin, holding the door open so the others could walk in.

“Chill out Oreo. We’re used to you two.” Tox says lightly and Neuro’s cheeks coloured.

“Do you sleep with that?” Chamille asked, gesturing to the tranq gun Tox held, sure that it was locked and loaded.

“And what if I do?” Tox shot back at the purplenette.

“I’ll check to see if they’ve eaten.” Shade says as he turned off down their hall- only to freeze mid step. “U-uh.” He stuttered, catching Ash’s attention.

“What’s so shocking to have you-” Ash stopped mid sentence, the same shock and fear filling him at what laid ahead. “U-uh… Did… Did someone… Leave their doors open?” He asked the others as they walked over.

They all stood stock still, staring down the halls at the opened habitats. Neuro shot Griffin a glare but he immediately held his hands up.

“Wasn’t me Oreo! You took my keys, remember?” He defended and Neuro deflates, knowing that was true.

He then took a breath.

“Shut it Oreo.” Tox says before he could speak. “I’m the one with the gun here. And there’s only one of them we really have to worry about anyway.” She says, holding it defensively before starting ahead into the still dark hall.

“Shouldn’t we set off the alarm yo?” Griffin asked as he looked around carefully.

“No. An alarm is too loud and might spook them, make them feel cornered. That’s the last thing we want.” Neuro told him as they watched Tox’s back.

She came to Zane’s habitat- then deflated with a huff. They looked at each other confused but walked over carefully when she motioned them to come. They all blinked at the sight before them, surprised- even though they shouldn’t be. There, both big cats lay, pressed closely together, holding onto each other tight. Zane was fast asleep against Cole’s chest from what they could tell from Cole’s position with his back to them, his pawed hand thrown over the Jaguar’s waist. It was… A sweet sight to see. But the question remained… How did Cole get out and who opened their habitats opened? A low, irritated growl escaped the larger cat, his tail flicking irritably as he glared at them over his shoulder, his reflective gold eyes very effectively sending chills down their spines. Neuro quickly reached out and pulled the second door shut, using his keys to lock it tightly before they all managed to relax.

“Alright. Let’s lock up and find out what the fuck happened here.” Neuro announced and they were quick to agree.

“Hey, yo… Aren’t these Gravis’ keys?” Griffin asked, pulling them out of the now empty habitat.

“Yeah. I overheard them asking Paleman for them yesterday but he seemed to have lost them…” Shade says, looking at them in Griffin’s hand.

“I’ll check the security feed and get to the bottom of this.” Neuro says as they locked up Cole’s former habitat, the group of them following him to his office where he got to work accessing the security feed. “Well I’ll be damned.” He huffed as he looked at the screen, the others gathering around him.

“What?! Zane let them out?!” Ash yelled, shocked.

“But… How?!” Shade asked, baffled and Neuro chuckled.

“Demi humans are more human than we think, that’s how.” He told his team lightly. “I’ve always believed that was the case but I haven’t come across strong enough evidence. That is, until today. What most likely happened is that Zane stole Gravis’ keys from Paleman when he wasn’t paying attention then used it to free himself and Cole as we saw. Though it’s a good thing that they don’t seem interested in escape or else this would have been ugly.” Neuro says and Chamille chuckled.

“Well. Looks like we have a lot to learn from those two, don’t we?” She asked him.

“Yeah. We do.” Neuro agrees. “And it’s all thanks to one massive mistake.” He says looking at Griffin as he looked at the screen, terrified from the prospect of Cole being able to open doors.

Griffin looked down at him then then grinned.

“You’re very welcome Oreo.” He murmured, pressing a light kiss to the corner of Neuro’s lips who only smiled.

“Don’t push your luck, Speedy.”

_________________

(It’s been ages since I posted a whole fic on here, huh? Well! here’s this fluff without plot! I literally had no idea what I was writing, just that I wanted big cat bois. Hope you enjoy! I have to get back on the Move on Dragons movement now.)

#ninjago #zane ninjago #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago cole #cole ninjago #cole brookstone #neuro ninjago #ninjago griffin #ninjago tox #ninjago shade #ninjago ash #ninjago chamille #other chars #Glaciershipping #aweebwrites' work

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