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dekuhotnugget · 1 year

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Zelink Relationship in Breath of the Wild

In early 2022, I started playing Breath of the Wild and to this day, this game manages to win me over in a way I never imagined in a game of the franchise. One of the things that fascinates me about the game, beyond the whole world and exploration, is the relationship between Zelda and Link.

Notes:

This analysis is based on Zelda and Link's Diary cited in Breath of The Wild. Link's diary is quite subtle because, of the game's English translation but, I'll explain how it works.

In the game, there is a quest called "Captured Memories" where you have to go to various locations in Hyrule to recover your memories with Zelda from 100 years ago, which I will also use in the analysis.

The memories and the diaries in BOTW are crucial in deciphering the sentiment between Link and Zelda.

Part 1: Zelda's Feelings and Thoughts about Link

First Impressions of Link

First, let's talk about Zelda's feelings based on what we have in BotW. In BotW, precisely in Hyrule Castle, in Princess Zelda's room, it is possible to find Zelda's diary, where she expresses about how it was to meet the champions and about went to researched the ancient technology and below that she wrote "P.S. Tomorrow , my father is assigning HIM as my appointed knight..." and this "HIM", she refers to Link.

In the first memory of the game, we can see that Zelda wasn't happy with the idea of being followed and watched by Link.

Zelda also brings up the fact that Link spends most of his time in silence, writing this in his diary:

"And still, not a word passes his lips. I never know what he's thinking! It makes my imagination run wild, guessing at what he is thinking but will not say. What does the boy chosen by the sword that seals the darkness think of me? Will I ever truly know? Then, I suppose it's simple. A daughter of Hyrule's Royal family yet unable to use sealing power...He must despise me."

In one of the memories, Zelda is angry to discover that Link has followed her, going so far as to yell at him and with that, she adds in her diary "He seemed confused by my anger."

From that point on, this is where I believe her first impressions of Link were wrong because, after that memory comes another one where we see Zelda being chased by the Yiga Clan, then Link appears to save her.

After that incident, she writes in her diary:

"I am unsure how to put today's events into words. Words so often evade me lately, and now more than ever. He saved me. Without a thougth for his own life, he protected me from the ruthless blades of the Yiga Clan . Though I've been cold to him all this time...taking my selfish and childish anger out on him at every turn... Still, he was there for me. I won't ever forget that. Tomorrow, I shall apologize for all that has transpired between us. And then...I will try talking to him. To Link. It's a worth a shot."

The beginning of a big friendship and love

This diary entry starts to make more sense with the next memory we see Zelda worrying about Link's safety while still berating him, after defeating several strong enemies.

From that point on, Zelda begins to treat Link in a more friendly manner and shows concern for him as well and we can see this in the memory where they are both riding a horse, while Zelda thanks Link for his advice.

After that, returning to her diary, Zelda writes the following:

"Bit by bit, I've gotten Link to open up to me."

"When I finally got around to asking why he's so quite all the time, I could tell it was difficult for him to say. But he did. With so much at stake, and so many eyes upon him, he feels it necessary to stay strong and to silently bear any burden. A feeling I know all too well... For him, it has caused him to stop outwardly expressing his thoughts and feelings. I always believed him to be simply a gifted person who had never faced a day of hardship. How wrong I was..."

and then, in the last sentences:

"I wish to talk with him more and to see what lies beneath those calm waters, to hear him speak freely and openly...And perhaps I, too, will be able to bare my soul to him and share the demons that have plagued me all the years."

And with that quote in her diary, we found out that yes, Link can talk in the game and that's quite interesting to add. Another very interesting thing to add is how Zelda talks about how one day she will give her soul to him. I looked it up and it means to tell someone tell your secret thoughts and feelings.

For all these years, Zelda has been pretending to be a person that her father (the King of Hyrule in BotW) wants him to be and even, she tried to open up to her father and this happens in one of the memories too, when he found out that she was taking a break from her training to try to awaken the sealed power but, instead of acting like a father, he acts rudely, saying that she should focus on her training instead of wasting time on silly things.

If we go to her father's diary entries, he says:

"The reason her sacred powers still won't awaken is because, she's speding all her efforts playing at being a scholar!"

With that, we realize that Zelda during those years was pressured by her father and was never able to open up to anyone. During two memories, we discover that she was unable to contact two of the goddesses, the goddesses of power and courage. With that, she also mentions that she will go to Mount Lanayru, in hopes of being able to speak with the Goddess of Wisdom but, once again, she is unsuccessful and we see this in the memory, where she returns with Link from Mount Lanayru.

This is where things start to get interesting. Still in the same memory, Mipha speaks "If I may...I thought you...Well, I'm not sure how to put this into words...I'm actually quite embarrased to say it. But I was thinking about what I do when I'm healing. You know, what usually goes through my mind...It helps when I think-when I think about-"

Unfortunately, she isn't able to finish the sentence due to the Calamity Ganon waking up at the exact moment but, I strongly believe she meant "It helps when I think about..." (the person I deeply care about/love).

Skiping now to the last memory of the game, we see Link surrounded by several guardians while protecting Zelda. She begged him to run away and leave her to save himself but, Link wouldn't. About to die for the guardian, Zelda gets in front of Link to protect him and finally, after years without success, she finally manages to awaken her power.

Zelda ends up saving Link, sending him to the Shrine of Resurrection. 100 years later, when Link was fully healed, she aided him throughout Hyrule and helped him to defeat Ganon.

After having sent Link to the Shrine of Resurrection, in other memorie, Zelda goes to Korok Forest with the Master Sword to the Great Deku Tree. During this they have a conversation and in this, Zelda says:

"Great Deku Tree, I ask you, when he return, can you please give this message...Tell him I-"

"Now, then...Words intended for him would sound much better in the tones of your voice, don't you think?"

"Yes."

We never learn what her next words were but, with that scene and for me, it's the last detail that proves that Zelda didn't have a reason to find the power inside her but, when she did find a reason, protecting the person who she cared/loved about, she was finally able to accept who she was and with that, she finally awakens her power and in the end, saves Hyrule from the Ganon Calamity. Until now, Zelda's feelings for Link were just a theory but, I discovered more solid evidence which clearly shows that Zelda is in love with Link. After you complete the game, in the village of Rito, you will meet Kass and he will tell you about his master, who was part of the Sheikah Tribe and who was in love with the princess, better known as Zelda, however, Kass himself mentions that "But the princess herself only had eyes for her escort, her own knight attendant."

More evidence, in the lyrics of the game's ending song it says "An ancient hero, a Calamity appears, Now resurrected after 10,000 years. Her appointed knight gives his life, Shields her figure, and pays the price. The princess's love for her fallen knight awakens her power. And within the castle, the Calamity is forced to cower" and with that, i say checkmate.

Part 2: Link's Feelings and Thoughts about Zelda

Intro

BotW world is an absolutely huge and expansive one that contains many secrets. Some of them may be obvious and can even be found in the game itself but, there are others that only you will be able to find if you do research outside the game.

Unlike the other diaries of the characters in the game, Link's diary is not found in any location in Hyrule but, in the side quests themselves but, this diary is only exclusive to the Japanese version. In other words, the version translated from Japanese to English, they decided to change and put the translation of the side quests in 3rd person but, in the original version, the Japanese one, the game presents the sides quests in the 1st person, that is, in the Japanese version of the game, the side quests are told from Link's own perspective and not the player's, thus creating a sort of Link's diary. blowing minds

But first, before talking about what Link thinks about Zelda, I think it's important to talk a little more about the character itself. In Hyrules Warriors: Age of Calamity, 100 years before the events of BotW, Link is introduced to us as a Silent Knight and Skilled Swordman who is renowned for his figthing skills courage and his devotion to the Royal family of Hyrule. Slowly but surely, Link is becoming much more expressive with his emotions as time progresses. In BotW, there is a cutscene where we see Zelda and Link riding their horses together. At this moment, Zelda thanks Link for his advice on how create a bond with her horse. This means that some point, Link must have shared his expertise on horses with Zelda, in order to help her to do that he needs to speak or at least, write it down for her, although we don't see this in game. It's very possible that Link directly spoke with Zelda here so, it's not like Link is incapable of speaking or of any communication at all, is just that he chooses not do but why? Well, the answer is in Zelda's own diary. In her diary, Zelda says the following:

"With so much at stake, and so many eyes upon him, he feels it necessary to stay strong and to silently bear any burden. A feeling I know all too well... For him, it has caused him to stop outwardly expressing his thoughts and feelings"

Link tells Zelda that the reason he doesn't speak is because, he feels it's necessary to stay strong and to silently bear any burder so actually, our beloved protagonist has fell strong emotions all along, he had just decided to keep them all bottled to himself in order to appear reliable and strong to Zelda. What else can we find out about Link? What does he really think of Zelda? Well, Link actually has an extensive character description in BotW. We can find the answers to these questions and more as Zelda and the King of Hyrule aren't the only ones with diaries. Link has written a diary of his own.

Link's Diary

So, Link's diary where is it? Well, as I mentioned before, Link's diary is hidden in the side quests of the Japanese version of the game. In japanese version however the answer becomes clear all of the entries in the adventure log are entries that Link has written himself to keep track of his own adventure. The English version of the game, the journal entries are written in 3rd person and refer to the reader as you but, upon loading up the japanese version, instead of being written in 3rd person, the journal entries are written in 1st person from Link's prespective. All of the entries in the journal were written by Link but, the surprises aren't just limited to this in his diary. Link doesn't just record his current objetive, he also has written down some of his own thoughts and feelings. With a lot of views and yours in comparasion the same quest "Captured Memories", in the Japanese version can be translated to something like this:

"I've acquired the legendary Master Sword, the legendary blade of evil's bane. Somehow, I get the feeling that the sword itself is delighted that I've come to retritive it.

Zelda is still battling to supress the evil Ganon at this very moment...She believes that I will defintely come for her!

I wonder if...As I am now...Am I really strong enough to save her?"

While in the English version of the game, the quest is described like this:

"You've visited all 13 of the locations shown in the old pictures and recovered the associated memories of your days with Princess Zelda.

In your memories, Princess Zelda always seemed burdened by her task...

Go and save her as quickly as you can to finally ease that burden."

The quest text in the Japanese version essentially reintroduces Link to us as someone who has normal human emotions rather that the silent knight or silent hero decipted through the games knowing that the adventure log belongs to Link as his diary. Suddenly, the seemingly trivial text reveals more hidden sides to our hero, especially the last part "see her smile again with my own eyes". They completely omitted this from the English version it's words like these that add so much more to Link's character. After Link has conquered the lost woods by not getting lost, he reaches the inner sanctum of the forest where he meets the Deku Tree who has been guarding the Master Sword, legendary sword of evil spain. When Link has regained enough of his former strength, he pours the Master Sword from his pedestal. Once more, after he obtains the Master Sword, the adventure quest text for heroes in English versions, reads:

"You've acquired the legendary Master Sword, that which seals the darkness. You feel that the sword itself delights to be in your possession...

Even at this moment, Princess Zelda is within Hyrule Castle, figthing to suppress the Calamity. She endures, believing you will come for her...

Will you be able to save her as you are now?"

When comparing it to the Japanese version is quite similar apart from one word which points towards more evidence of Link being the author. A Japanese word can mean "myself" or "yourself" and it changes the text a first person's narrative. This means that the text would read something like:

"I've acquired the legendary Master Sword, the legendary blade of evil's bane. Somehow, I get the feeling that the sword itself is delighted that I've come to retritive it.

Zelda is still battling to supress the evil Ganon at this very moment...She believes that I will defintely come for her!

I wonder if...As I am now...Am I really strong enough to save her?"

With that, we can really get a feel for how strongly Link wants the power to be able to save Zelda. In the quest "Destroy Ganon", the last section in English is written:

"The ghost of King Rhoam told you that Hyrule is on the brink of annihilation.

Princess Zelda is currently fighting to contain Calamity Ganon inside Hyrule Castle, but her power cannot keep him at bay forever. Eventually, Ganon will regain his full strength and destroy the world.

Your ultimate task is to aid Princess Zelda in defeating Ganon before that can happen."

But, in the Japanese version is written:

"The spirit of the King of Hyrule has told me that the land is on the verge of being obliterated.

It won't be long until Princess Zelda reaches her limit in containing the destructive power of Ganon at Hyrule Castle. When she does, Ganon will completely regain his power and everything will come to an end.

I really hope I'll be able to save Princess Zelda before that happens..."

Link really wants to believe that he can stop Ganon, stop his power in time and puts an end to everthing. After falling once already, it's no surprise that he may have some doubt in his ability.

Happiness

I was given a bunch of gems from Hudson as a sign of his gratitude for everything that I've done for them so far.

After Link has helped Hudson's establish Tarrey Town and after Hudson's and Rhondson are married in the quest "From the Ground Up", Link shows us his warm-hearted side, he is glad for other people's happiness as a conclusion to from the ground up and in Japanese version, he writes:

"Hudson's and Rhondson's wedding ceremony has concluded and Tarrey Town is really prospering.

I wish those two can live in happiness together forever."

The English version like the others is again written in third person and is directed at telling you the player that you wish the couple eternal happiness rather than Link.

In the quest "Test of Will", Link is challenged by three Gorons to train his tolerance to extreme heat in an endurance contest. After besting the Gorons at their challenge, he records the events in his diary, adding a little of his own humor into the mix in his recorded entry, Link mimics the way Gorons speak by attaching Goro to the end of his sentences:

"Ah! Is that all I'm getting out of you, Kabeta brother Goro? That's too bad, Goro..."

While in the English version, it says:

"Oh, that's all from Kabetta? That's too bad, brother..."

Else, does Link think about Zelda? Well, he thinks her voice is really pretty. In the quest "Follow the Sheikah Slate", which Link recieves at the benning of the game, he seems to quite like Zelda's voice. The last part of the quest text, in English simply reads:

"From Hyrule Castle, off in the distance, you hear the woman's voice speaking to you again..."

In comparasion to the Japanese version, goes a little like this:

"From the top of that giant tower, I could once again hear a girls beautiful voice coming from the castle that looks so far away."

"Follow the Sheikah Slate" is another one of those quests that has had parts submitted in. It's English version counterpart the original is much more descriptive and it allows us to finally connect with Link and his feelings.

Thoughts of a Failed Hero

In BotW, Zelda and Link's relationship is quite the dynamic one. In the very first memory, we see Link who has been appointed as Zelda's knight by King Rhoam. In this cutscene/memory, Link is already welding the Master Sword with the weighty responsibility of being Zelda's personal knight as well being chosen as the hero by the Master Sword itself. There is no doubt that Link is under immense pressure and expectation here. Zelda and the others conduct the ceremony of legend to celebrate Link in fulfilling his destiny despite being a huge step towards spending off the Calamity. Zelda, as mentioned before, doesn't seems too enthusiactic and the whole thing feels tainted with despair. Zelda's resentment towards Link continues to worsen as her insecurities and fear of being unable to awaken her powers.

Urbosa points out that Zelda's, Link is a living reminder of her own failures. Like Link, Zelda is also under immense pressure and responsibility to protect Hyrule. Link dedicated himself to his nightly duties and was able to fulfill his destiny and wield the Master Sword. Whereas Zelda was always told that because she was born into the Royal family, she had to dedicate herself in awakening her powers. Urbosa tells Link that every time Zelda sees him, reminds her how she still hasn't achieved her own destiny.

Zelda and Link's relationship hits a turning point when Link saves Zelda from the Yiga Clan. Zelda and Link begin to develop a genuine bond, Zelda realizes that she is not the only one with doubts, she had originally thougth that Link's silent and stiff behavior was a result of him not liking her but actually, as mentioned earlier, it's because he feels it's necessary to stay strong and silently bear any burden. Zelda's thought that Link's sucess was purely out of natural talent. In her diary, Zelda's says:

Zelda feels guilty for how she had been treating Link so, she tries to talk to him which results in a significant improvement in their relationship. In part 1, we've seen all about what Zelda thinks about Link, but what about Link himself? What does he think of all this?

Still determined to get stronger, Link once again visits the Deku Tree in the Lost Woods. Link returns the Master Sword to his pedestal and is thrown into "The Trial of the Sword" quest where he must survive an onslaught of enemies, starting with none of his own equipament. After finally conquering all 51 merciless levels and making it through to the very end, Link is rewarded with a full powered Master Sword. After he has awakened the Master Sword's full potential, the quest text for try of the Master Sword, in English version reads like this:

"You conquered the merciless Trial of the Sword!

You now have the physical and mental strenght necessary to use the Master Sword to its full potential.

Princess Zelda is no doubt quite happy with your achievement."

But, in Japanese version is a little different:

"I've conquered the relentless Trial of the Sword.

I've obtained the physical and mental strenght necessary to control the full power of the Master Sword.

I'm sure that Princess Zelda would also paise me for how much I've grown."

After enjoying countless hardships and striving to get stronger for so long, it is not until this quest that Link is finally pround of himself and has enough confidence in his ability to face Zelda.

In one of the memories, we see both Zelda and Link running, through the rain, fleeing Hyrule Castle. Meanwhile, Zelda ends up slipping her hand from Link's and ends up tripping. This scene is further proof that Link has feelings for her and that he clearly cares about her. After Zelda says that death of the Champions, her father, the Divine Beasts was her fault, it cuts to this scene where, you clearly get the sad expression on Link's face. If he didn't like her, I don't think he'd stop running to hear her.

With all this vent, Zelda simply surrenders in Link's arms, who accepts her without hesitation or thinking twice.

Then, after defeating Ganon and at the end of the game, Zelda finally granted Link's greatest wish, giving a beautiful smile to Link.

Thanks for reading this far. 😊 Really, it was one of the longest and most laborious analyses I've ever done so far but, it was worth it because, it made me love this ship more and see Zelink in other perspective.

#the legend of zelda #breath of the wild #zelink #link x zelda #long post

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j-almori · 4 months

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m6 as greek gods

(or other important figures in greek mythology)

note: this is more of a ramble than a proper headcanon/au post. and i must say that i am not that sure about all the comparisons — for some of the m6, it was harder to find characters of greek mythology that would resemble them well, and for others i found several characters that are comparable to them in some ways. and i just wanted to indulge in both these interests of mine so here it is

lucio:

ares, the god of violence in war and courage. besides lucio having a violent mindset by default ('kill or be killed', yknow) and most of the time trying to show bravado, which clearly ties to ares' main traits, there is another similarity which lies in how other people perceive lucio and ares: the fact that ares represented all the horrors of war didn't do well for his popularity among the greeks. majority of people didn't like him at all, and he had little respect as a god, often ending up humiliated in myths. it reminds me of how lucio wasn't actually liked nor respected among the people of vesuvia

cronos, the god of time. tbh i myself think this comparison isn't very fitting, but i like the fact that they have some specific parallels in their stories: 1) patricide :); 2) acting selfish and committing atrocities simply out of extreme fear of death; 3) being locked in one place after being defeated (cronos was defeated in war, lucio was.. metaphorically defeated by death. or you can see it as him being defeated by asra when they sabotaged the ritual) without an ability to escape the imprisonment (yes, lucio is again metaphorically imprisoned in the palace as a ghost before receiving external help) (i know the last point is forced but i'll keep it anyways :p)

another character that could resemble lucio is narcissus, but i think the parallels between them are a bit superficial

nadia: athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy in war, craft. i don't think there's any other more suitable option for her, since they both possess and represent very similar traits. for nadia, war strategy could represent her rational approach to being a leader of vesuvia and her skill for battle and war tactics that are shown in the confrontation with the devil. besides, one of the main symbols of athena is an owl, much like in nadia's case

//about lucio and nadia being ares and athena: ares and athena's contrast in what they're representing in war is, i think, very similar to differences in lucio and nadia's view of leadership, what kind of rulers they wanted to be, and how they used their power to achieve their goals. lucio wanted to affirm his power by brute force and domination above all, punishing even those who help him (e.g. asra's parents), without thinking of long-term consequences. nadia sees that true power comes from strategy, maintaining balance, and a way of thinking that equally considers everyone's well-being.

muriel:

hades, the god of the dead. honestly my first reason for associating muriel with hades is hades' helm of invisibility, which instantly reminded me of muriel's gift-curse. another thing about hades that reminds me of muriel is how hades isn't often depicted in ancient greek art bc of people's fear of him, making his overall image very hazy, much like muriel doesn't leave any tangible memories of himself bc of his curse. they also resemble each other in how they are disconnected from the rest of the 'cast': in hades' case, it's how he's obliged to stay in the underworld to carry out his duty as the god of the dead, making it difficult for him to interact with other gods (besides, he himself doesn't show much interest in the affairs of the overworld); in muriel's case, it's how he also willingly chooses a solitary life in the woods, staying isolated from others

artemis, the goddess of wilderness, healing, purity. (she's also the goddess of hunt but that doesn't connect well with muriel so ignore that). she, like hades, is also a much more reserved goddess who prefers to stay in the forests surrounded only by animals and her nymphs (who are basically personified nature) than to participate in the olympians' drama. i would say that this comparison relies more on the importance of wild nature in relation to both artemis and muriel than on their character traits, since artemis doesn't hesitate to show her wrath and cruelty when punishing someone, unlike muriel

asra:

orpheus. i don't think it's really necessary to explain this choice if you're familiar with the myth

among the olympians, i would say that he resembles hermes the most — the god of roads, travelers, wit, humor, and too many other things to list them all. he has a unique role of a soul guide, who helps souls travel to the afterlife (well let's say that asra would be a soul guide for one particular soul and that he helped them travel back to life than vice versa). i'd say that hermes is a bit too mischevious and trickster-ish for asra, but i like how hermes' function of a traveler between realms fits to asra's magical abilities and frequent travels outside vesuvia.

ok i just realised that there's also hecate, the goddess of magic (!), crossroads, necromancy (!!) and ghosts — all things that asra is connected with, in some way. she, too, is a goddess who travels between realms. besides, people were placing shrines to hecate at the entrance of homes/temples to keep the dead spirits away, which reminds me of asra's protective spells against lucio's ghost. one of hecate's many symbols is a serpent, and, well... asra has faust, so...

julian: it was difficult to find a resembling enough figure for him, but here's what i decided:

dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, festivity, theatre. he's also referred to as a god of resurrection (!), and sometimes is said to be a foreigner (and i think the motif of being a foreigner is mostly present in julian's image, even though most of the m6 aren't native to vesuvia). despite dionysus being a popular god, there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding his origins and true identity, which could be tied to how julian likes to keep a mysterious external image of himself (imo) (and regarding dionysus' identity: he's sometimes said to be hades or zagreus, hades' son, both of which have death motifs, and, well, julian does have some deathly symbolism too)

note: i also thought of some similarities between julian and eros, but ultimately i didn't find this comparison fitting enough

portia:

hestia, the goddess of hearth, sacred fire, family. she is the youngest among children of cronus (after they were freed by zeus). she doesn't have much representation in mythology, being a non-confrontational and kind goddess who couldn't leave her duty of keeping the olympian hearth (therefore not taking part in any godly drama). still, she was very important to the greeks due to her being a keeper of the home and sacred fire: "among all mortals, she was chief of the goddesses." to say shortly, i think all these traits resemble portia very well, with her greatest assets being her caring, considerate and dutiful nature (she's literally responsible for the entire palace!!). and, like hestia, portia carries great importance in lives of the others without causing any drama or creating some aggrandized persona for herself: her sincere friendliness and attentiveness to others are enough for her to be greatly valued.

persephone, the goddess of spring, vegetation, nature (and the underworld but that's not really relevant in portia's case (afaik)). tbh this association is the least supported by facts, i just think portia and persephone have similar vibes

note: i must say that the arcana character whom i haven't gotten to know in much depth is portia, so i'm sorry if her description wasn't accurate enough

✦✦✦

that's all for my rambling today. thank you for reading! honestly this is the first time i'm writing smth like this, sorry if it's a bit all over the place (which it probably is). just wanted to finally write down these associations that have been plaguing my brain for some time now. (and i would be happy to read your thoughts on this too!)

last note: i definitely wouldn't call myself an expert on greek mythology, i mostly relied on my not-that-deep knowledge of it which i got from a bunch of different sources over the years + fact-checked some things while writing this. overall, don't take this too seriously

#the arcana #rambling #count lucio #lucio morgasson #julian devorak #portia devorak #muriel of the kokhuri #nadia satrinava #also i'm kinda anxious about misphrasing something bc i'm not a native english speaker so i'm sorry if smth sounds weird to you 💀💀#AND this probably has been done before but idc :p #the arcana game #the arcana mystic romance #the arcana m6

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drewlover · 10 months

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you’re a crisis of my faith

pt. 2

“The sea has witnessed everything, Sally Jackson,” he says. She does not breathe because he does not either — he had abandoned the farce of human breathing a long time ago. The words he spoke were ancient, and the modernity of her name was jarring. He was restraining himself from calling her something else. “It has witnessed bloodshed, has witnessed peace. You cannot change that, no matter what you believe. I have always been here.”

A shuddering breath escapes her, no matter how she tries, for she is not a god. She was not God, either. Once, she might have been an extension of Him. A saint, others would call her, but she had been more than that: a follower. A believer. She knows that that is the only reason kindness settles in her bones, the feeling washing over the spongy tissue and the muscles of her heart, following her soul towards what might have been the ends of the earth. She imagines herself flickering between forms that have been, forms that could’ve been. Forms that she will be.

He laughs and she is jolted out of it, of imagination, towards him. Towards reality. (And gods were real — so much more tangible than her God was, more than her God is. She refuses to succumb to the thought, remembers how kind He is, and refuses even more as guilt washes over her.) She is not a god. She cannot change, and she cannot flicker. Remembrance is hard, too.

But of her lives, one thing she always remembered, was always reminded of: she was mortal. Posiedon would not let her forget this soon.

“You have witnessed Him, then,” she says, enforcing her gaze and nerves with steel. She was not a god, but she had been an extension of Him. Of that she would not let herself forget, not in this life nor the next.

“Is that what you would call peace, then?” His smile holds no humor, no kindness. In a way, she appreciates the truth. The sea very rarely gives that away. “He had lived a life of suffering—”

“—and the gods have not,” she finished. He raised an eyebrow, but he was not furious. She could feel the power brewing underneath his skin, and could see him blurring at the edges. He was not furious, but the gods have always been selfish. Her God – or rather, the God of who she had been before – was, too. “He had suffered, but he loved. Is that not peace?”

“We have loved, too,” he said, lips pulling back into a snarl, or the ghost of it. She held her ground, unswayed even as the tide pulled at the sand under her feet. “We have loved, too, and yet He has fallen but we have not.”

“He loved like a mortal has. Has lived like one. You have been a god, and only a god for all of your life. You will be for all eternity. You will never love like He did.”

He stood still, like a statue preserved from eons ago, an altar to the seas. Water lapped at both of their feet, sand being pulled away from under them by the current. Sally did not know if it was Poseidon’s kindness — or curiosity, perhaps resignation — that kept her standing straight, an arm wrapped around her belly.

When she imagines herself, she thinks of a ship in the harbor, a vessel destined only to be remembered if those inside her were great. She remembers a life, remembers what could’ve been both of it. She remembers a child, and the familiar weight of them in her arms. She remembers laughter, and greatness.

He presses his lips against her temple, full of an emotion older than her, even at her most ancient. She closes her eyes.

“You will be remembered, Sally Jackson.” Poseidon smiles at her, the sea swirling in his eyes, every bit the god that he was. “You always have been. It seems that the River Lethe has never been able to wash that away.”

#my writing #this might be a fic someday but who knows <333 i certainly dont #posally #posally fic #so much love you could drown in it

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plasmasimagination · 4 months

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Hii

I'm very new in this plataform and the english is not my first language, so i'm very nervous. 😓

I saw your account for casuality and your open requests (if are still open) so, I'm here!

I can ask for a HSR and genshin matchup?

PD: I like your writing, I think it's cute and congratulations for yours almost 400 followers✌

She/Her

I'm pan, so I'm fine with anyone you think.💕

I'm ENFP and I'm pretty sure a 8w9.

I'm a bit like the tipycal sunshine character, optimish, always happy, extroverted, distracted... But I still a mature and wise person who sometime are very weird and feel like a strange, like so young and so old in the same time. (Ancient dreams from Marina is literally my song 😭)

I don't have a good relation with my family and I speake about them and my past never (That make me feel cringe) so, I considere myself like a bit mistery and reserved person for that and a others little things.

i love with all my soul the animals, the fantasie and sci-fi, whatever misterious-type things, philosophy and the classic fairy tales, I wanna be a writer and I have planned study philosophy.

I have a little problem with the authority for that I'm most a leader over a follower but if athe person is more capable and I respect that person i can follow the orden, and I'm very passionated when I have to defend my ideologys or when I saw a injustice, the discussions in my classroom are very interesant😅

My senses of self-preservation is almost non-existent, you know that character who always die for someone else? I'm them, I think this is the reason cause I'm a Griffyndor.

I'm very attached to my own moral, but no to the rules in general, so if I must be a alignment I would be a chaotic good.

I hate be alone, but I still fell very nervous in big crowds specialy if are very noisy, and places with no visible exits.

I can cry for whatever, I'm very kind, compassionate and affectionate all the time, i love help people in whatever, but i can be a little cruel with bad people.

I think that is all i can say about me, sorryyy id this is too long😭 i didn't know very well what write.

If you do this, so thaks to you, don't forget take care od you and a good rest.💕

HEY SWEETIE, THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING AND DONT WORRY YOU DID GREAT, and please, no need to be nervous you're way too sweet!

Anyways onto your request....

BLADE

Sunshine x grumpy

Fight me over this

It doesn't matter how you end up together, but what matters is that you are together and that's all thats important

He was very cautious of you in the beginning but later grew fond of you

He's okay with your want to be leading, he doesn't mind it at all actually, he appreciates it, he's more of a follower type of person that just does what told to

I think he would be a lot more laid back and sweeter around you, he wouldn't always be frowning or emotionless, occasionally smiling and generally enjoying your presence, it somewhat heals him in his eternal suffering

He will try to stop you from always putting others Infront of you, and will force you to take more care and be selfish from time to time

Kindness and compassion...you're gonna need that with him

You're like his safe place, he can trust you and actually tells you about him and his past.

Generally I think you guys would be very cute and that blade would appreciate a cute sunshine like you

SCARAMOUCHE

Rare matchup I do

But I also think that scara could use some sweetness in his life

No matter how much he denies it he absolutely loves you and your personality

He would burn the entire world down just to make you happy

At first he was very closed off and distant from you but got comfortable sooner or later and now he's all yours

Tho there might be a few discussions about who's gonna plan certain missions and who generally takes lead in the relationship (it's always gonna end up being you) but otherwise you guys are a great match

Do reassure him a bit and make sure he's doing fine because that boy needs it

#genshin fluff #honkai star rail #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact x reader #genshin headcanons #honkai x reader #scara x you #scara x reader #blade x reader

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the-travelling-witch · 1 year

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(for the brain rot thingie) i love xiao so much ; - ; always thinking about how touch starved he is. he at first recoils from touch because it's so unfamiliar and strange to him but then it's like oh. oh i can't get enough. and he's so shy and hesitant asking for more but when he DOES get to hold you, it's so tight and protective and fearful to let you go. i am soft for him. i want to hold his hand T_T

hngh yes!! touch-starved xiao will get all my love and affection, no questions asked, i‘m so soft for him <33

xiao holds you so timidly at the beginning of your relationship, almost like he’s afraid to touch you, as if you were a blooming flower who‘d wilt in his grasp

and that’s basically how he sees you; he’s convinced his karmic debt would taint you if you spent to much time in his proximity, so he holds you an arm‘s length away, for your own sake; his longing to feel more of your touch, more of your fingers gracing up his arm, more of your lips fluttering against his cheek goes neglected because he‘d never forgive himself if his selfishness was what brought about your fall from grace

putting up a strong front, xiao keeps acting on this principle until your love cracks the façade he tries so hard to maintain, like a flower cleaving its way through solid rock while growing towards the warm sun

the first time he let you hold him completely was when he was at his most vulnerable; his head was spinning with ancient wrath, tearing his mind into a million different directions and ensnaring his lungs; but throughout all of it, a tender touch kept him together and allowed him to breathe again

without the fog clouding his mind, xiao slowly but surely found himself come to again but the comfortable sensation which had freed him from his frenzy didn’t stop, instead, soft circles continued to trace along his chest

cracking open his somber eyes, he found himself staring at your understanding smile, your eyes full of love as you brushed his teal bangs out of his face; that night, you stayed like this for a while, with xiao’s head resting comfortably in your lap as you offered him gentle reassurance

after this incident he’s a lot more open to physical touch and -to his embarrassment- realises how much he craves it now; he’ll still blush like crazy when you hold his hand in public but now his fingers squeeze back in appreciation as he tugs you closer to his side

but there’s nothing that compares to the feeling of having you wrapped safely in his arms, just the two of you, as you press fluttering kisses along his temple, jaw, cheeks, the corners of his mouth and even his eyelids before finally landing on his lips

how could you not fall for him a little harder when you notice how his grip on you tightens just a little bit as he hides his flushed face in the crook of your neck?

[⇢ ˗ˏˋ｡˚ anemo hours ☾ . ೃ˚⋆࿐]

#⇢ ˗ˏˋ happy hours ﾟ☾. ࿐#coffee & tea break #my regulars ♡#letter from: the gorgeous jade ❀#am i still lucid #is this still english #it’s very cute in my head though #i am soooo soft for this boy #he deserves ALL THE LOVE #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact fluff #xiao x reader #xiao fluff #xiao genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin fluff

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dianethepisceswitch · 11 months

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The Seven Deadly Sins

This post will contain spoilers for all of Twisted Wonderland, including the main books, events, and cards may be referenced. This is your only warning.

For those who are unacquainted with the concept of the seven deadly sins, let me explain briefly.

The seven deadly sins are basically sins that you should never commit/act upon. Acting upon them can "inspire further sin". These sins include pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. There were two sins that were removed from this list, vainglory and acedia.

Pride is basically like having a big ego and being full of yourself.

"consciousness of one's own dignity"

Vainglory is just being prideful and bragging

inordinate pride in oneself or one's achievements; excessive vanity.

They're pretty much the same thing, so they got lumped in together.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Greed:

"intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food"

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Lust:

"very strong sexual desire"

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Envy is just being jealous, to put it simply

"a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck."

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Gluttony is being a fatass eating a lot of food(me)

"habitual greed or excess in eating."

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Wrath is extreme anger

"an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat."

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Sloth:

"reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness."

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

The 8th sin, acedia, is:

"spiritual or mental sloth; apathy."

I did a bit of extra reading on this one, and it pretty much sounds like depression.

"a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world. In ancient Greece akidía literally meant an inert state without pain or care...In modern times it has been taken up by literary figures and connected to depression."

If you take a moment to think about it, you can see how these sins can connect to certain characters.

Riddle is wrath, this one is obvious. Riddle has a reputation for being easily angered, so him representing the sin of wrath makes the most sense.

Leona is sloth. He's lazy. It's obvious he does care about things, but he doesn't care enough to make an effort. He also displays the sin of pride, though I feel like sloth is a better choice because his laziness is more apparent as opposed to his pride.

Azul is greed. C'mon, he's completely capitalist. He's greedy in two ways. One, his money. That's one of the most important things to him, hence why he buys ingredients "for the low low price of free", according to Jade. Two, his power. It's clear that he values his power above all else, which is why he goes completely insane once Leona destroys his golden contracts.

Jamil is envy. He's envious of Kalim, not because of his status, but more so his lifestyle. Kalim will get praised and thanked for doing the bare minimum, whereas Jamil could plan a whole banquet and not get a single thanks. No praise or gratitude for anything he does, because it all goes to Kalim. I was going to put lust, because of Jafar, but I'm going to try and keep my reasoning strictly canon to Twisted Wonderland.

Vil is pride. Vil is very prideful when it comes to himself, and Rook and Vil's other fans aren't helping. Vil has high self-esteem, which is good. However, assuming you watched chapter 5, you would've seen what happened when someone hurts his pride. He goes "evil berserker mode". When his pride gets hurt, bad things happen. If you look at the song lyrics of "Absolutely Beautiful"(a banger btw), this point becomes much more clear as well. He puts himself above others, and views himself as more important.

Idia is acedia. It's really obvious Idia has depression. Given his backstory and the way he acts, it would be weird if he didn't. Just like Leona, you can tell he cares, but he just can't bring himself to care, physically or mentally. He stays in his room, refuses to socialize, and if he has to attend class, he just goes via tablet. This is clearly depression, and remember, depression is pretty much acedia.

Malleus is lust. Ok, hear me out. It could happen. I know I put the definition up top, but technically it's possible to lust for someone or something non-sexually.

"In fact, sometimes lust has nothing to do with sexual desire. It can be “intense enthusiasm; zest,” which is closer to its earlier meanings of “pleasure,” “delight” and “inclination.”"

So it would be possible for Malleus to be lusting for Yuu, in a friendship way. Or perhaps Aniplex will cater to the simps and make it sexual, though I doubt it.

Grim is gluttony. I feel the prologue monster was either overblot Grim, or foreshadowing to overblot Grim. Either way, Grim is a glutton, he LOVES food. If he can eat it, he will. Blot stones, grass, etc.

#disney twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland #disney twst #disney #twst disney #twsited wonderland #twst wonderland #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #jamil viper #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia #grim twisted wonderland #rook hunt #kalim al asim

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corishadowfang · 4 months

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Darkness: Fallen Stars Edition

ALRIGHT, so I've been sitting on this for a long time, and I finally, finally get to talk about the Darkness(es) in Fallen Stars. Because, uh...

We've been building up to this for a while.

So, uh, below the cut's going to be a lot of worldbuilding notes, notes on the personal Darknesses, etc. Hope that at least some of it's interesting, aha.

Darkness, In General

Darkness has always been lurking in the corners of the story. It's not the most direct antagonist (that honor goes to the bluebloods), but it is the biggest over-arching threat. It's been watching all of the characters, and kind of...getting a feel for what's going on in their heads.

Fallen Star's Darkness has a very...weird sort of relationship with humanity. They love the people of the world, but in a very weird, twisted sense. Except for a couple of rare circumstances, Darkness doesn't really care about people's health, mental states, or even whether they live or die. But they find people fascinating--specifically, they find how people react to them fascinating. They like to see how far they can push people, what they do when they fall apart, how people deal with grief, what makes people lash out in anger or how they'll react when faced with extreme conflict. Just about every sort of reaction has some sort of entertainment value for them, whether they actually break or they manage to overcome adversity; they're an ancient entity that's virtually untouchable, so they aren't exactly worried about people, like...actually doing things to them.

They do have a couple of small exceptions as far as the "caring about what happens to people" thing goes--primarily, anyone they've claimed as "theirs." Why they claim people is usually because they do something that stands out quite a bit--Mimir, for example, outsmarted them in their past life. This is still a very selfish sort of love, though; they'll "protect" the people they've claimed, so to speak, but they aren't necessarily going to ask what they want, and they don't particularly care if anyone else is hurt in the process.

Fallen Star's Darkness also takes a slightly different approach than canon; here, Darkness is fueled by both the darkness of the world in general and in people. Even if it's "destroyed," it'll be revived eventually by the worlds just existing (though it might not have the same "consciousness," so to speak), and the more darkness is in an area, the stronger it gets.

They can also "sense" people's internal struggles, so to speak. While they can't always predict how people will react to certain things, they can figure out whether they're scared/sad/angry, etc., and can get glimpses of what causes it. Because they're formless, they can also basically be anywhere, at any time--and often, be multiple places at once. (Basically, they are all throughout Scala, all the time.)

Personal Darknesses

So early into the story, I started thinking about Darkness and how they'd play into things. And I kind of got this idea--what if they split apart into various different 'types' of Darknesses? Like Vanitas's Unversed? So basically, one Darkness would govern Grief, one would govern Wrath, etc. Each one had appearances that would kind of indicate what they represented, and they'd have personalities that tended to reflect that, too. (So Wrath was always ready to lash out at people, Grief was always thinking about the things that were lost, etc.) The intent was like...a very "darkness is not evil" sort of thing, in a round-about way. The Darknesses weren't inherently evil; they were a necessary part of nature, and they just governed things that were a little less pleasant to think about.

I did end up deciding that strayed a bit too far from canon--but then realized that I could still use a similar idea if I repurposed it a little.

See, originally, I had Brain, Skuld, and Frigga forming close connections with some of these Darknesses--Grief for Brain, Wrath for Skuld, and Control for Frigga. So I thought that maybe I could just cut out the middleman; these could really just be their personal Darknesses, made manifest by the power of the more Ancient Darknesses.

I knew I wanted to have the group confront Darkness, and I figured that first "official" confrontation would be the perfect opportunity to have them face their personal Darknesses. Since there were five Darknesses left over after the fall of Daybreak Town, I figured it'd make sense for most of the main crew (plus Sigurd, since I wanted him to start being dragged into the group) face them. Which started the brainstorming, haha.

I'm...basically going to go through each of the Darknesses in the order the characters face them in, haha.

Kvasir

Kvasir's personal Darkness is Ignorance. Throughout the story, he's been...pretty clueless about a lot of things. He had no idea what was going on with his family. He could say insensitive things without meaning to. And it's not his fault that he wasn't aware of some things, but that ignorance led to a lot of problems--some smaller (like unintentionally be insensitive to Meili) and some pretty big (like getting Mimir kidnapped).

So, each of the crew gets their personal darknesses manifested as creatures that taunt and hinder them. For Ignorance, it looks very cute and innocent, from the outside--but it hides huge teeth that can do a lot of damage. Kind of playing into that "unknowingly hurting people" thing. The countless closed eyes I feel like is pretty obvious, haha, but basically--Kvasir is blind to the truth of what's going on around him (and, in some worlds, would choose to intentionally close his eyes and continue ignoring what's wrong).

His "challenge" was basically Darkness keeping him "ignorant" of what was really going on--it really leaned into the "ignorance is bliss" thing, haha. He was given a world where he was happy--and all he had to do to keep that was to choose to ignore the harder parts of what's going on around him, like letting what was happening with his family slide.

Kvasir gets out by "defeating" his darkness, so to speak. He was faced with the option of remaining ignorant or acknowledging the truth, even if it's harder. And make no mistake, there is a world where he'd choose to continue ignoring things--but at the end of the day, he loved his friends more. He chose to acknowledge what was wrong and fight against Ignorance to reach Mimir, which let him overcome his challenge.

(And an additional note: this isn't a cure-all. Kvasir's just made the choice to try and do better--but that doesn't mean he isn't still going to have to work at things. Good thing he has friends to help.)

Brain

Brain's personal Darkness is Guilt.

So guilt, under normal circumstances, isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's definitely unpleasant, but it has a purpose: it's supposed to let you know when you've done something wrong, and the discomfort helps propel you towards change.

The problem comes when your sense of guilt gets broken. That can happen for a lot of different reasons--and in Brain's case, a lot of it stems from trauma.

So let's talk about survivor's guilt. Survivor's guilt is, essentially, when you feel guilty for surviving something horrible when other people didn't. Symptoms aren't going to present the same in everyone; in Brain's case, it specifically manifests as a feeling that he didn't really deserve to survive--or, at least, he didn't deserve it any more than anyone else. He just happened to be lucky enough to be chosen.

But Brain's got some stuff complicating that. Ava gave him the Book of Prophecies and Master's Defender with the presumption of changing fate--and whether Ava intended it or not, Brain took that as her entrusting him with saving the world. And at first, that wasn't as much of an issue; Ava obviously had faith that he could do it, and Brain himself was confident enough in his own abilities that he didn't really consider the possibility that he might not be able to.

But here's the thing: there is no single person that can save the world. Not on their own. There were so many forces working against him that he was probably never going to succeed--and that's not his fault. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't feel like it was his fault. So he's got a lot of additional guilt, since he feels personally responsible for the fall of Daybreak Town, for his friends being separated, and for what happened to the Dandelions.

(And he's got additional guilt because, well--he made a very human choice, in the end. And, again, I wouldn't call that a moral failing--but he still feels like it is, and that's what matters here.)

Brain's guilt manifests in a lot of ways. He overworks himself, he doesn't sleep, he tries to keep things from people in an effort to protect them (like he couldn't before). And he's also just...so tired. He wants to leave entirely just because he can't deal with that anymore and thinks someone else is better suited for his position--but that causes him a lot of guilt, too.

Guilt (the Darkness) manifests as a creature that is slowly being eaten alive because that's what excessive guilt feels like--it slowly consumes you until there isn't much left of a person anymore. (Which is also why Guilt is falling apart--Brain's guilt is pretty severe, and if he's not careful, it really could kill him.) The fox-like skull was specifically a reference to Ava--she is the one who gave him the responsibility, after all, and seeing that is a reminder of who else he failed.

In Brain's vision, he's specifically faced with everything he feels guilty about. His friends and Daybreak Town--the things that he feels like would still be here and okay, if he'd succeeded. And then Scala ad Caelum and the ruins of Daybreak Town and Ephemer himself, where he feels very...judged.

As Darkness says later with Skuld, they aren't here to actually teach any lessons; they're just presenting each person with their own personal problems and seeing how they react to them. "Winning" doesn't necessarily mean finding a healthy way to overcome Darkness--so Brain doesn't. He realizes that the way Guilt manifested gave it an inherent flaw, and he utilizes that to his advantage.

Brain's guilt was...probably never going to be solved cleanly here, because it runs too deep. I'm sure that won't have any consequences in the future.

Skuld

Skuld's personal Darkness manifests as Helpless Anger. Originally I planned for just 'Wrath' because that flowed a little better, haha, but this felt a little more true to what she's actually going through.

Helplessness wasn't something Skuld really had to struggle with too much, before the events of Union X. She's very much a person who tries to take fate into her own hands. Wants friends? Makes her own party to try and make them. Ephemer goes missing? Joins up with the Player to find him. The Player goes to fight in the Keyblade War? Runs back into the fighting to save them.

But she's suddenly had to face a lot of things that she's just...completely helpless to stop. She could save her friend, but she was helpless to stop the Keyblade War itself. She couldn't stop the fall of Daybreak Town--and unlike Brain, recognizes that they were completely helpless to do anything. And now she's found herself in Scala ad Caelum, where she's had to deal with a council that knows much more about what's going on and is completely willing to manipulate her as a figurehead, where she's suddenly facing the prospect of people hunting them down at any moment, where even her friends are willing to hide things from her, and she's never felt so powerless and scared.

Those feelings can result in a lot of different reactions. Sometimes, they make people give up completely. Other times, however, they can make people angry; they'll lash out at people, may use it as a way to take control in some of the few areas that have the ability to. And Skuld is furious. She's had this constant sort of anger following her throughout the story. The more that's happened, the harder it's been to keep that in check. It's become present enough that she'd probably have trouble separating herself from it anymore.

Now, Skuld's also got the whole "you're not supposed to be here/can you fight fate?" thing going on for her. I knew I wanted to bring in Subject X somehow, and this ended up working out pretty well. Subject X is a figure that had everything stripped away from her; she is probably the most accurate manifestation of Skuld's feelings of helplessness, and she's being forced to confront that directly--that no matter what she does, she was never going to escape her fate.

But she had to have an actual monster to face, so it breaks its way out of Subject X. Helplessness/Anger (...do you see why I wanted to use 'Wrath'?) is literally chained by fate (those threads were worldlines, in case that wasn't clear, and also kind of reference "threads of fate"). The creature is bound so tightly that it can't escape. Fire is pretty self-explanatory--'anger' is associated with fire a lot, so the creature is made of flames.

Skuld's initial challenge manifests as a dungeon she can't get out of; no matter what she does or where she goes, she's just as trapped as the version of her that's more powerless. Once the creature manifests, we see the second half of her challenge. The creature sets the room on fire and prevents Skuld from escaping--but as Skuld noted, it only set the room on fire because it was struggling to get free, and it lashing out was what caused the problem. (Kind of referencing the idea that like...it's not Skuld's fault she's trapped in a helpless situation, and it's not wrong that she's angry about it, but if she lashes out and focuses that anger on the wrong thing, she could end up hurting those she loves.)

Skuld doesn't get out by defeating her darkness or by giving into it (so to speak), but instead working with it. She isn't wrong to be angry; she just needs to watch how it's wielded, because it could either be helpful or harmful, depending on the situation. (Fighting the council? Great. Lashing out at her friends? Probably not so great. Admittedly wish I had dug into this more earlier in the story, but uh...it is what it is.) She also kind of internalizes a realization that she'd already had--that sometimes, there isn't much you can do, so find what you can do and do that.

Sigurd

Sigurd's personal Darkness manifests as Loss.

Sigurd's was interesting, because this is the first time the reader really gets to look into his head. There's some stuff I still can't entirely talk about because of spoiler reasons, but, uh--as you can probably tell, Sigurd is one half of the now-traditional "tragic siblings" thing, haha.

Sigurd lost his brother--but that isn't the big loss. He also lost himself in a way; he's mostly been following orders and trying to play peacekeeper, but there's not a lot of this that's been because he really wanted to do these things. He's molded himself into someone who can take orders with little opposition (which is why Brain has frustrated and challenged him, haha), and basically gives himself over to that.

Loss (the Darkness) manifests as a masked creature that has parts that disappear and reappear because Sigurd...isn't really sure who he is anymore. The horns specifically reference Luxu, and the "deal" he made with him. As for the mirror--mirrors reflect yourself back at you. Sigurd constantly sees a stranger.

His challenge was that he just...couldn't remember who he was and what he was doing. He is, in many ways, just a pawn, meant to serve a role--and a personal identity doesn't matter much for that.

He's the only one that doesn't really defeat his darkness; Brain comes for him and breaks him out of the vision before he can really do much of anything. (Which is part of the reason Darkness was so frustrated; they wanted to see what Sigurd would do, not have their game interrupted by Brain.) This does mean that Sigurd will...have a lot more personal exploration to do.

Mimir doesn't have a 'personal' Darkness to manifest (since they don't face the same 'challenges' as the others), so that's why they don't really have a section here. And, uh...I think I've probably rambled long enough, anyways. But yeah! Been planning this for a while and am excited to finally have this out.

#kingdom hearts #fallen stars #skuld #brain #ask me about darkness. i CAN ramble more

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stromuprisahat · 2 months

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Do you think there's discourse among the grisha

Like the younger Grisha fight over the words bloodletter and witch and if Grisha is outdated/a slur and we really should be using odarannye

Meanwhile Ivan is off somewhere to the side like 'I cannot WAIT until you lot go off to the front, let's see if you're still worrying about fuckin WORDS while dodging Fjerdan FUCKIN axes'

Absolutely!

If not in general, officer brats definitely do shit like that. I mean:

The servants sprang forward to pull our chairs out and clear the dishes. I doubted I’d ever get used to being waited on this way. “Ne brinite,” Marie said with a giggle. “What?” I asked, baffled. “To e biti zabavno.” Nadia giggled. “She said, ‘Don’t worry. It will be fun.’ It’s Suli dialect. Marie and I are studying it in case we get sent west.” “Ah,” I said. “Shi si yuyan Suli,” said Sergei as he strode past us out of the domed hall. “That’s Shu for ‘Suli is a dead language.’” Marie scowled and Nadia bit her lip. “Sergei is studying Shu,” whispered Nadia. “I got that,” I replied. Marie spent the entire walk to the stables complaining about Sergei and the other Corporalki and debating the merits of Suli over Shu. Suli was best for missions in the northwest. Shu meant you’d be stuck translating diplomatic papers. Sergei was an idiot who was better off learning to trade in Kerch. She took a brief break to point out the banya ... then launched immediately into a rant about selfish Corporalki overrunning the baths every night.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 9

While Alina isn't the most reliable narrator, she might be onto something, when she has her super powerful re-organisation speech:

“The Darkling has changed. If we have any hope of beating him, we need to change, too. Two Grisha from each Order,” I repeated. “And the Orders will no longer sit separately. You’ll sit together, eat together, and fight together.” At least I’d gotten them to shut up. They just stood there, gaping. ... “But … but it’s always been this way,” sputtered Sergei. “You can’t just overturn hundreds of years of tradition,” protested the Inferni. “Are we really going to argue about this, too?” I asked irritably. “We’re at war with an ancient power beyond reckoning, and you want to squabble over who sits next to you at lunch?” “That’s not the point,” said Zoya. “There’s an order to things, a way of doing them that—” They all started gabbling again—about tradition, about the way things were done, about the need for structure and people knowing their places. I set the cover back down on the dish with a loud clang. “This is the way we’re doing it,” I said, rapidly losing patience. “No more Corporalki snobbery. No more Etherealki cliques. And no more herring.”

Siege and Storm- Chapter 14*

But then looking at this, they seem to be more likely screaming about Grisha being traditional name, oddarenye innovatory bullshit and zowa foreign nonsense.

It's like watching US movie about those university fraternities. Wording and notions are the same. Traditions, order of things, enmity between "different" groups and spiteful actions. Pretty sure we could extrapolate a little and add creepy/humiliating/kinky initiation rituals etc.

Ivan's totally right. They truly need some hardcore reality vibe check.

_____

* I'll get into the S&S quote deeper, once I'll get to that chapter, because OHMYFUCKINGGODS, Aleksander "Eat, drink, dress the same like my subordinates" would surely tolerate such behaviour in his own ranks.

#reply #Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #Second Army #Ivan Kaminsky #S&B Chapter 9 #S&S Chapter 14 #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo

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a-boca-do-inferno · 3 months

Text

Prague getaway (jack ryan x female oc)

summary: “Oh, loosen up already.” Randy leans back and shoots him a teasing look. “We’re gonna be here a long time, might as well hold hands and start singing Kumbaya.”

warnings: angst, blood, violence, swearing.lots of it, light smut, fluff

words: 10.7k (:O)

notes: jack ryan girlies rise!! i put my whole pussy in this. also its my first time ever writing with an oc so bear with me lmao.

CENTRAL EUROPE

Birds chirped outside and the loud chatter coming from the street was a bit distracting from the sound of TV, but Randy managed. Her plate faced her on the coffee table, now empty, along with a half filled cup of apple juice. It must have been past noon while she had the time of her life laying on that dirty and ancient couch, watching some Czech program about the Internet. And by the time of her life, she secretly meant being bored as hell. Tagging along with Jack Ryan wasn’t even on the list of the worst things that could’ve happened to her given the circumstances, by the way, she’s well aware of that—seeing as her life was now on the line and he was only there to protect her—but goddamnit, was that cable shit. The things she did to put Jim at ease.

Although the girl didn’t really agree with his tactics to go about it; Johnson just knew better than to argue with Greer. After she started getting on his nerves with her insistence on using the intel she acquired and he actually took her seriously, it had been noticeable he came to think of himself like a father figure to her, since she was a rookie in the mission department. And Randy simply let him feel that way. Being away from his family ever took its toll on the guy and contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t the clueless, selfish bitch everyone made her to be.

Always, anyway.

Jack glances at her spread out on the sofa, trying to keep his annoyance in check and failing miserably. “What are you watching?” His voice suggests he’s very affected that Randy herself doesn’t appear fazed by their current situation. At all.

They had been stuck in that shithole for six hours now, completely in the dark as to where the mission stood after the shady organisation of the moment—as Johnson liked to put it—crushed into their hotel rooms and chased them out of town. And despite not exactly considering the capital of the Czech Republic under a terrorist threat for his idea of a nice vacation, it certainly beat having to now share some dirty kitchenette in the outskirts of Prague with the most insufferable woman he’s ever met. Jack caught wind of the discrepancies in the way they did their job from the start, and to say he wasn’t pleased with hers was an understatement. Her so-called intel had led them to that place, and her negligence above it all bothered him to no end. That and the ever present snark. He wondered how in the world did that character make it to the agency. She should’ve been in publicity, instead.

“A nice TV show about ordinary people wanting to become influencers”, Johnson responds in that tone of hers, with an almost sweet smile. Ryan’s mouth moves as though he’ll say something, but decides not to. He has better things to do with his time than to argue with a brat. Jack simply stares at her green eyes and sighs, going back to his computer screen, and Randy snorts, “well, Jim did mention you don’t like having people around.” Her feet move back and forth as she watches him type. “I’m like you in that way, you know?” Closing the distance between them, she brushes some stuff off his eyelid carefully, and it’s clear the man wasn’t expecting that. He tenses up. “So, my bad. I don’t wanna be here any more than you do, but you know Greer.”

“Is that so?” Jack blinks, scanning her face up and down wryly. “In that case, you’re free to leave anytime you want.”

Johnson laughs heartily, contrasting his impassive demeanour. “You do have a sense of humour, Jackie! I’ll give you that.” She shrugs and grins, with a declare to her voice, “and to answer your question: maybe I’d try to, but I’m not skilled enough to outsmart a Marine, I’m afraid.”

Jack looks away, still typing on the keyboard mechanically. “You sound like a fan.”

“You wish.” Her orbs gleam with mischief, and she sits a bit straighter to make a striking pose. “I wouldn’t mind learning some moves, though. I’d love to kick some ass. I bet I could take you, big man.”

Ryan chuckles under his breath, against his best judgement. It feels surreal to him, this girl. “You certainly have a unique way about yourself.” He states bluntly, raising his brows as he closes up the laptop and puts it on the small table to their side. “Don’t really look like someone in Logistics.”

Randy nods, crossing her legs with a smug expression. “I didn’t get the memo before taking the job, I guess.”

“Right.”

“Oh, loosen up already.” She sits up and leans back on the couch, her attention going to the program running in the background for a second. “We’re gonna be here a long time, by the looks of it. Might as well hold hands and start singing Kumbaya.”

Jack shakes his head slightly, his tone growing more serious. “You need to focus on the mission, Johnson. This isn’t a game.”

“Sure thing, dad”, she snickers, running a hand through her short hair idly. “You talk like it’s your head those fuckers want on a plate.”

“It is too, actually.” Ryan frowns. That’s the attitude he doesn’t like. “I suggest you get your head out of your ass as soon as possible. Enough people have died because of you.”

Although his words sting, Randy keeps a lighthearted mood. “So is that why you’re behaving like an asshole ever since we landed, you’re worried about yourself?”, she wiggles her brows, fixing a few blonde strands softly and clicking her tongue. “And here I thought you just didn’t like me.”

“I don’t have time for this”, Jack mutters to himself and leaves, closing the door to his room quietly.

Johnson only hummed along, watching as the winner of the episode celebrated on the screen. She knew Ryan was doing nothing but his duty protecting her, of course, yet it felt strangely disappointing that he, of all people, seemed to judge her so much for her actions up until that point. Randy went behind her superiors’ backs to scavenge the information that now threatened her own safety, sure, but how many times had he done the same thing again? Either way, arguing with the guy about it was just showing she cared for his opinion—which she didn’t, for the record. That cable just sucked and she was bored as hell. With a heavy sigh, the girl stood up to turn off the TV when a sound made her ears prick up. She frowned, inspecting the empty space. Something fell on the floor with a loud thud in the other room and Randy took a step back.

“Jack?”, she calls, getting no reply.

Her feet moved toward his door and it crashed right before her eyes, causing her to step away in reflex as two bloody men were thrown on the ground with it. With no time to process what was happening, Ryan took her by the arm and dragged her out of the apartment with no delicacy whatsoever. They ran down the stairs while he cocked his gun and whispered something unintelligible. She grabbed his forearm when another two hooded figures started closing in on them. Jack quickly got rid of the attackers and gave Randy a look before pulling her out of the building and into a car.

“Drive.” He commands, keeping his eyes behind at anyone following their vehicle.

She obeys without a second thought, stepping on the accelerator with all her might. Johnson grips the wheel tightly as she mouths, in a shaky breath, “what the fuck is going on, Jack? Talk to me.”

Ryan braces himself as they take a harsh turn, blood dripping from his eyebrow. “They found us again.”

“Am I supposed to know what that means?” Randy gasps when a pickup appears out of nowhere, shooting at them. She makes a u-turn and steps on the pedal, watching from the rear mirror. “How the hell did that happen?”

“I don’t know, just drive!” Jack rolls down his window and fires all his rounds at the vehicle still on their tail. He goes back to his seat and reloads his pistol, looking straight ahead. “We gotta get to the Embassy.”

“Got it.”

♡♡♡

“I see.” Jim sighs through the phone call. “I still have some business here in Moscow, but I’ll be in Prague as soon as I can.”

Jack doesn’t like the sound of it at all. He keeps track of Randy moving around in the background. “Copy.”

The ride to the Embassy was messy, but they made it in one piece. Well, Ryan did. After settling in the nice hotel the Ambassador offered them in another city nearby Prague—as to not draw any more attention to them, in his own words—, now with heavy security outside, Johnson winced when trying to change. She lifted her shirt and only then saw the ugly bruise on her abdomen, her skin sliced open and gushing blood. It was a bullet graze and albeit it wasn’t serious, the thing still hurt like a bitch. As the girl hissed and took a seat on the bed, Jack stopped in his tracks and crouched down before her. He gauged her injury with a trained eye, his lips curling in thought.

“Remorse?” Randy laughs deeply, tilting her head. “Don’t worry, I don’t hold grudges.” She sighs and looks at him seriously, like she hadn’t been until now. “How the hell did they find us this time, Jack? This stinks. No one knew about that hideout except you, me and Greer.”

His voice drops to a lower register as he takes her arm and brings it around his shoulders to lay her down, “I’m working on it. Right now we need to focus on getting you patched up.” Jack pulls her body close to his and fluffs the pillows, making her comfortable. He tries to ignore the way her hair tickles his chin.

Johnson chews the inside of her cheek, but accepts the help. “I’m okay, it’s just a graze.” She gulps and scratches her eyelids, taking a deep breath and glancing up at the ceiling. “That pickup didn’t look cheap. These people have some serious connections here. We have to get to the bottom of this.”

“We will”, Ryan says with resolve, nodding once. He scans the room in search of a med-kit and Randy points to the bathroom.

While Jack leaves for a moment, Johnson moves a little and pouts when the pain comes back. He catches her in the act and she chuckles, a little embarrassed, “so much for spy training, huh?”

Rummaging through the kit, he hums, “if it was easy, everyone would do it.” In the midst of pulling out the antiseptic and the gauze roll, he steals a quick peek at her.

Randy only grunts in response, her lips pursed. “Greer’s gonna get our asses for this. He doesn’t even know we left Prague in the first place.”

Jack doesn’t reply immediately. He’s finally found the right size gauze roll and puts it aside. His orbs roam her up and down, studying her exposed skin. He whispers, almost talking to himself, “he’ll get over it.”

“You know, I’m sorry about earlier��, her gaze has an amused gleam, but seems sincere. “I have been a little more annoying than normal, I’m aware. I’m sure by now you noticed why I’m not so popular among my peers in the agency, especially not after this… mess.” She looks down.

“You make it difficult for them because you can afford it”, he considers, cleaning her wound delicately. Taking note of her surprised reaction, he adds with a smirk, “I read your file. You’re not the only one who did the homework.”

After a moment of silence, she speaks up again, solemnly, “when we’re done with this, I’d like to make it up to you.” Randy sits up against the headboard with his help, now grinning, “how does pizza sound?”

His chest feels funny as Jack catches the look on her face. The offer sounds genuine and he smiles. “I’d love that. Your call on toppings.” When her bandage is finished, he puts the med-kit away in the bathroom cabinets.

“That’s right, I make all the decisions”, Johnson pushes his shoulder lightly as he sits back down, making him raise his brows but laugh along. “You learn fast. I can see why they talk so much about the analyst down the hallways, now.”

“I make them talk, huh?” Ryan tries to play it off with a soft chuckle, yet the blush on his cheeks is obvious. He leans in closer to take the phone on the bed, and with their faces only inches apart, his body can’t help but linger in that position. Suddenly the atmosphere tingles with tension and his breath hitches ever so slightly. Her eyes are breathtaking.

“Your humble act doesn’t work on me”, her voice is but a whisper, the corner of her lip lifting up ghostly. “Jim gave me the rundown on you before I came here, you know? He told me not to inflate your massive ego.”

He beams, his look dropping to her mouth, “that sounds like jealousy.”

Randy laughs and now can’t hide her own bashfulness. She reaches for the bedside table and puts on her round sunglasses, looking away from him in a not so subtle attempt at denying his advances. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jack.” The girl sighs heavily, unable to stare back at him for now.

Her words were clear enough. It was a bad idea, indeed. And in spite of being visibly disappointed, his facial expression stayed blank as his phone started ringing again. It was probably Jim. He thanked the heavens in silence for that call to get him out of that situation. His thumb hovered over the screen for a moment and Ryan moved away from her, pressing the answer button as he got up and left for the other room. He grabbed his jacket over the chair as he went, glancing back at Johnson before she was completely out of vision. There was a flicker of curiosity in her emerald orbs whilst Jack closed the door.

Randy went to sleep right away, in hopes to wash off the incident with Jack by rebooting her systems. Besides, she was very exhausted; so much so her bones felt like jelly under her skin. Turning on her side with all the care in the world, she shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Soon her body began to spasm and shake, sweat dripping from her forehead as she turned on the bed and hissed when her wound stung. She sat back up with a quiet gasp. The war nightmares were a normal thing to occur, but had been more frequent from the moment she landed in Prague.

On the other side of the wall, Jack leaned back in a chair as he flipped through a small manila folder. His attention was glued to the paper, but his mind wondered. The sound of Randy tossing and turning on the mattress reached him and he tensed up, closing his eyes briefly as if to block out the sounds. He stayed like this for several moments before finally forcing himself to face reality. They had been running from terrorists when they should be the ones trying to catch them, and that didn’t sit right with him. Hiding wasn’t helping them in any way, out of maybe buying some time to rethink their strategy. And with Johnson hurt, Jack saw no other option but to push things forward on his own. He called Mike November the next minute, urging him to come to the Czech Republic tomorrow. They were gonna need all the help they could get.

The hours dragged on and his thoughts kept him awake. There was no way he could sleep while Randy was alone in the other room, wounded. She wasn’t a field operative, and that meant her training would only help her so much away from him. The girl barely survived the last encounter with their attackers, all because she had been lucky enough not to be in the room they invaded first. He tried to shake off the feeling of guilt over her injury to no avail. It wasn’t serious, however it could’ve been, and the mission would’ve been compromised then. Ryan gave up on the file and sat it aside.

Regardless of not being able to figure out Randy entirely just yet, John realised he had been cultivating a fondness for her over the past events. For someone who never used a gun in her life, except maybe for her training days, Johnson kept calm and helped with what she could, no questions asked. Not everyone has that kind of self control in the face of danger and he admired her for it. She even reminded Jack of himself, somewhat, back when he was a rookie—even though he wasn’t as annoying, surely. Either way, the blonde had a grace about her. Perhaps it was that nearly youthful spirit, the playfulness even in the blink of imminent disaster. He still found it hard to believe she had made her way into the CIA without losing most of her spark by now.

His look automatically dropped to Randy’s file, right under the mission’s. He scanned through some of the notes and reports he had been doing up until now. Johnson had been with the agency for just over four years, still her work ethic was impressive, at the very least. The only negative points were personal complaints from her previous office colleagues, most of them depicting her as a “stubborn, impulsive and rebellious, but effective agent”. He chuckled under his breath. That sounds about right.

Jack flipped through more pages, going over her skills: communication, adaptability and problem solving were top on the list. His eyes glossed over the next sheet: relationships, but he quickly stopped himself and closed the envelope. He’s already overstepped as it is. Ryan put down the file and let out a frustrated sigh. Thinking back on the days before the mission, he remembered Jim’s words.

“She’s a tough cookie, but you’ll get used to it.” Greer swirls his glass of Merlot casually. “I know how it looks and trust me, I’m one of the people who doubted her from the beginning, until it turned out her intel was solid. I don’t care how she got it or why, just as long as we catch that son of a bitch Jones.”

Jack could see the concerned look on Jim’s face as he delivered his briefing. He didn’t appear so confident in the girl’s abilities as he tried to come across. And while it didn’t bother Ryan perse, he had this unshakeable gut feeling that there was a lot more to Randy than what you can see at first glance. Perhaps even more so than she let Jim himself know.

“Copy.” That’s what he said back then, nodding and staring at the table.

“And don’t even think about it”, were his boss’ last remarks as he gulped down his wine in one go. “Randy’s not Cathy, Jack. You’re there to protect her and the information she holds before Jones can get to her.” His voice sounds tight, but not really threatening. Greer’s always been a little too overprotective of the rookies. “No fooling around.”

“Jack”, Randy calls huskily. “I’m bleeding.” She complains, yawning softly. Johnson stares at the dark room and sighs, doing her best to wake up fully. “Jack.”

His eyes fixated on Randy’s picture when he heard her voice coming from her bedroom. He stood up and opened the door, flicking on the light and making his way to her bed. Her wound oozed blood under her shirt, soaking the fabric in red as it dripped down onto the mattress and he shook his head, looking at all the work he had put on the bandages now gone.

“What the hell did you do, Johnson?”, he grumbles, running for the bathroom to take the med-kit.

“I moved”, she shrugs and tries out a playful smile, but grimaces when a sharp sting hits her like a brick. “Just… hand me the gauze and I’ll clean it up myself.” She concludes, noticing he isn’t pleased.

Jack comes back with the kit and narrows his eyes, his features remaining stoic, “sit down and put pressure on it.” He grabs her wrist to help her up, moving her back to the headboard. His lips purse as he inspects the red liquid streaming from her side. “It looks even worse than before, Jesus.”

“Sorry”, she frowns and looks away, feeling guilty for making him do this again. “I really can do it, you know? I’m not a baby.”

“Really? You’re not doing such a great job at convincing me otherwise”, he states softly, his initial anger dissipating to give room for worry as he treats her injury. She doesn’t respond, adjusting herself on the pillows. “Stay still.”

Randy sighs. “I wanna talk to Greer.”

“What for? He says he’s coming.” Jack wraps the gauze around her abdomen, holding the roll package between his teeth. “There’s nothing we can do for now. Jones is onto us. We have to be extra careful.”

“Yeah, that’s not really my style”, she huffs, visibly bothered by his decision making without consulting her. “I’m calling my contact in Roztoky. He can help us move around the city without worrying so much.”

“Your contact”, Ryan sounds unimpressed, finishing off the new bandage. He looks down at his lap for a split second, then turns his gaze back to Randy. “Don’t you think it’s time you caught me up on all of this?”

“I told you everything.”

“Did you, now?” Randy glares and he stares right on, scowling himself. “All you have done so far is get on my nerves and not cooperate with the mission at hand.”

“I don’t cooperate with you bossing me around, that’s very different”, Johnson blurts out in a single breath, looking upset. “I might not be the big shot you are in the agency, but I have a right to know where we stand because it concerns my safety too. I don’t care if I’m fucking Logistics.”

Jack still glowers at the girl, but eventually softens his features. She’s got a point. “Fine. I called a friend just now. He’ll help.”

“Okay.” It’s all she says, and anticipating the end of the conversation, Jack moves to leave. Her hand touches his arm faintly before he does, “thanks.”

Nodding, he steps away and closes the door.

♡♡♡

When Jim told Randy to get on the next plane to Prague only days ago, something inside of her shifted. So far she had been carrying this intuitive sensation that no matter what she did, the guys higher up would never take her warnings into consideration. And then, just as Johnson gave up and decided to do things on her own, Jones bombed a US Embassy in Europe, and announced he would keep on doing it until he was either killed or caught. Overnight, all the letters the girl sent the director of the CIA were answered and in less than a week, they stationed her and Jack in Prague.

“Wait for further instructions. As of now, Dr. Jack Ryan will be assisting you”, was the last email Greer typed. And with that, Johnson flew with the so-called doctor to Europe. She knew all about Jack’s successful streak with Suleiman, then Venezuela and Moscow, of course. The tales of “the analyst” often made her chuckle whilst spooning her salad, since people were unable to hide their admiration—and sometimes, even envy—for Ryan as they shared his stories on lunch break. Nothing much happened on Logistics, so that had been their entertainment for a long time. Until things became erratic with the Prague bombings, that is.

Looking back now, everything happened so quickly. Randy didn’t have a chance to take it all in. The rush was similar to her days in the army, when she had to get moving around with no time to think or feel. There was the goal and the path she’d be taking towards it, nothing else. She saw the same mindset in Ryan right away, even if their approach was fundamentally different. The blonde reckoned the Marine Corps could be stricter and, as a result, more demanding than military service. That is also why, although not hitting it off well from the beginning, she tried her best to remain friendly with him—which could include being annoying every now and then, sure, but that’s beside the point. They both possessed life experiences not too far apart that deeply shaped them into who they were today, for better or for worse, and that meant something. Jack was her.

Only grumpier and square.

Staring back at the table, Randy resumed eating her meal. Pancakes were her favourite dish, no matter where she was. And again, she felt lucky enough that Jack’s remorse made him go out of his way to try and fetch her some from the downstairs cafeteria. His friend Mike was funny, funnier than Ryan—not that it was hard—and she had a great time while they chatted over a nice American breakfast in Central Bohemian, Czech Republic. It almost felt as though they weren’t being chased down by assassins, and she hadn’t nearly been hospitalised for an infection in her bullet graze only the night before.

“So?” Randy smiles brightly at Mike, urging him to speak after she briefed him on the situation. Jack had been quiet until now, because he was boring, so she took it upon herself to catch Mike up on the whole deal. If his laughter at her stupid jokes was anything to go by, she’d take a hunch and say they built a strong bond already. If only things could work like that with Ryan. “You think you can help us, Mikey?”

Michael can’t help but snort, oscillating his eyes between Johnson and Jack, who’s still eyeing his empty plate in thought, “where did you find her again?”

“Don’t ask”, Ryan finally sighs and Randy shrugs, eating her pancakes happily. He looks at November seriously. “I’m gonna need you to call your guy. We have to be in the same place as Jones, hit him when he doesn’t expect it. We’re running out of time.”

“I’m on it”, Mike nods, then glances at the girl with a grin. “How about you, sweetheart? Ready for some grown up action?”

Jack rolls his eyes at this, but Randy laughs out loud. She’s yet to get used to being treated like a damsel in distress. “Hey, I can throw a punch! Don’t let Jack poison your mind. He’s just butthurt that I got intel working in Logistics that he couldn’t as a field agent.”

“Ouch. That hurt even me.” He snickers and Ryan stands up, putting his gun inside his pants. Mike follows suit. “Just right down to business, huh?”

“I told you, we don’t have time”, Jack takes a look at Randy, who’s watching them with her chin on her hand, smiling. He clears his throat and touches her shoulder lightly, “we’ll be back before dark. Try not to hurt yourself while I’m away.”

They hadn’t mentioned the little incident last night, but when his touch found her skin, Johnson’s mind made its way back to his closeness hours prior. How he ogled her lips with no shame whatsoever, and how eager he seemed for breaking the rules for her, so to speak. It was a nice change in pace for the Jack she had come to see around that period. It also took her an enormous amount of self-control not to jump on him right then and there, however there were more important things at play. If only she wasn’t such a professional.

Randy renders a hand salute, mockingly. “Aye, aye, sir.”

Mike smiles at Ryan. “I like her.”

As they left, Johnson sighed and stood up, going for the burner Mike brought with him so they could communicate. She called her boss in Maryland and gave him a summary of the mission, explaining Jack’s plan thoroughly. They found a way into Jones’ charity event tomorrow, courtesy of Mike’s contact. If everything went well today, she would be face to face with her target in just a few hours. Her orders were loud and clear: shoot to kill. Placing the device down, the blonde took a deep breath, looking out the window at the clean, welcoming landscape of Horoměřice.

She was never a fan of big cities, despite being born in Los Angeles. The nice and quiet suited her better, so leaving Prague, notwithstanding she wished for better circumstances, was actually a relief. Away from the hustle of the capital, she could think more clearly. And the thought of coming back here after the operation made her happy. The people were nice and very comprehending of her ignorance of their culture—albeit she did speak a little Czech, but had to pretend not to, for the sake of her cover. Ryan still had to think she was the sweet and rebellious rookie; at least until she got the job done.

A few blocks away, contemplating the clear, blue sky also, Jack caught himself appreciating the view for longer than he intended. The small things were ever the anchor he needed to keep moving forward, especially in this line of work. Whenever he was on a mission, time went by in a rush, and the only way to alleviate that feeling was to focus on the here and now. Nature could calm him down like nothing else, but as he watched the trees moving along with the wind, the green of the leaves slowly merged into emerald eyes he now came to know too well. Putting his hands in his front pockets, he took a peek back at the old building behind him and Mike walked out of it.

“Please, tell me you got us in.” Jack practically begs, watching him come down the stairs. He had been talking to his guy for over fifteen minutes while Ryan waited outside.

“Did I ever let you down?” He grins, showing his phone with a party invitation on the screen.

“Don’t make me say it”, Jack beams and nods, checking the time before heading to the car with November right behind. As they get in, he turns on the engine. “Jim’s getting here soon, but I might not catch him. You stay here and brief him on the plan. I can hold my own with Johnson.”

“Just like the old days, eh?” Mike puts on his belt. “The band’s back together.”

“With a new formation, but yeah”, he mutters, driving back to the hotel.

“Oh, tell me about it”, Jack wants to roll his eyes at the teasing on Michael’s voice again, but doesn’t. “Actually, you don’t even have to. It’s clear you guys are already at it.”

“Stop talking”, Ryan takes a turn, stepping on the pedal. “She’s too much. You might have noticed.”

“Sounds like your type”, Mike snickers, gaining a wry look from Jack. He shrugs, measuring up the hotel as they arrive. “But I’m sure Jim wouldn’t approve. He never does.”

“I don’t care”, Jack says somewhat defensively, getting out of the vehicle with November. They make their way to the elevator and he presses his floor. “I’m not thinking about that.”

“All these years and you still think you can lie to me, Jack”, Mike positions his hands in front of his body with a smirk, the doors closing as they’re going up. “She’s into you, though. I could feel the tension.”

Jack scoffs in disbelief at his words, his face heating up. “Please, stop talking.”

“You know, it’s none of my business…”

Jack nods impatiently, not looking at him. “It isn’t.”

“But you should go for it. Friendly advice”, Mike gives him a look before they head towards the room. They stop in front of the wooden door as he finishes, “you can thank me later.”

Ryan displayed another eye roll at Michael and got inside, finding nothing but an empty and unmade bed. He stopped in his tracks and pushed Mike down when someone stepped out of the bathroom with a machine gun. They grabbed their guns simultaneously, taking cover behind a small couch next to the door. Before either of them had a chance to shoot, the gunfire suddenly ceased and the sound of a body hitting the floor could be heard in its place. Jack frowned and stood back up swiftly with November, pointing the pistol now at Randy, who stared at them with a desolate look. Her clothes were bloody and her green orbs filled with tears.

He runs in her direction and takes the girl in his arms, whispering, “what happened?”

Johnson sobs and hides herself into his chest, clinging to him for dear life. “He said he was room service… I just opened the door and…” She gulps, crying copiously.

Jack looks at Mike approaching them, still holding her firmly. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”

The security guards supposed to protect them were nowhere to be seen, and Ryan made the connection quickly; they must have been paid off, just like the ones in Prague. He swore quietly, rocking Randy’s body to try and calm her down. She was shaking like a leaf, but appeared not to be hurt. The crushing weight of guilt hit him once more as he shut his eyes tightly. He shouldn’t have left her alone again. Brushing her cheeks, he cupped her face and wiped off her tears, causing her to smile. She squeezed his hands, as if to confirm she was really okay, and his heart skipped a beat. But as soon as their foreheads touched, the moment was interrupted by November.

“I thought you were a rookie.” Mike hums in confusion, staring at the dead body in front of them while checking his vitals. The guy had a broken neck and arm. He adds, his brows furrowed in her direction, “where did a rookie learn how to kill a guy with one move like that?”

Randy freezes in Jack’s arms and he feels it instantly. He studies the cadaver for a second before turning to stare back at her. He looks lost at first, but the mere prospect of all his suspicions being true causes him to take a step back. He inquires, demanding an explanation, “Johnson?”

She stands there paralyzed, and eventually raises her hands slowly, as a sign of surrender. Ryan points his gun at her again in the blink of an eye and her breath hitches. “Jack, please…”

“Who are you?” Mike chimes in, as his friend’s too shaken up to say anything. His gaze is hard and menacing, nothing like the lighthearted gleam of this morning.

Johnson closes her eyes, shaking her head. “Jack…”

“Who the fuck are you?!” Jack snaps, pressing the barrel of the pistol to her forehead, his hazel orbs now glistening with tears.

Johnson’s desperate face turned into a cold one all of a sudden and she disarmed him easily, pointing Ryan’s glock right back at him. He looked at the girl shocked and hurt, but lifted his arms up in reflex. They stayed in that position until Randy sighed when Mike aimed his own weapon at her. She dropped the firearm and unloaded it masterfully, throwing the rounds on the ground whilst glaring at Jack.

“I’m not your enemy.” She spits, her voice strained with anger. With that, Johnson storms off.

November still tries to go after her and Ryan steps in front of him, holding his shoulders. “Let her go. We got a job to do.”

Mike watches as she gets into the elevator down the hallway and snorts, “well, you did say she was too much.”

♡♡♡

Jack walked into the event with grace, making the bar his first stop. Mike kept humming a song in his earpiece, but it didn’t bother him as it should, since his mind was elsewhere; lost in blonde locks and lying green eyes. He had no idea where Randy had gone to, and aside from not wanting to think about it now, his bitter side also wouldn’t allow him to care as he did before. She wasn’t some helpless chick doing a brave thing for her principles, after all, like he initially thought. Johnson had her own interests and her own set of skills—which he obviously didn’t know anything about—to achieve them. She’d be fine without him.

“Here he comes”, Ryan mumbles as Jones appears in the VIP section upstairs, surrounded by security and other people he assumed were his associates. He drinks his glass of whisky in one go and keeps his eyes on his target from afar, inspecting the perimeter stealthily. “Please, tell me Jim’s there. We’ll be needing the cavalry soon.”

Instead of Mike’s reply, a familiar voice he hadn’t heard in a few days reaches his ear and Jack tenses up. “Where’s Johnson?” It’s Greer’s first question. No greeting, no nothing. He sighs, trying to think of an excuse not to talk about this now, but his boss is insistent. “You might wanna tell me if you want your cavalry right away.”

“She’s gone”, Ryan growls, not sounding as casual as he would’ve liked to. He strolls towards a group of women and smiles charmingly at them, blending in. They quickly make a gesture for him to come closer and he obliges, muttering on his way, “she left yesterday.”

There is a pause, then Greer mouths, “what happened?”

“She’s NSA”, he says amidst another deep sigh, forcing a grin when one of the girls pulls him to dance.

Jim didn’t respond and Jack went along with the brunette, always maintaining Jones in his rearview. He wasn’t aware if Greer was too surprised to say something or just didn’t care—seeing as he had been the first one to tell him Randy was only as important as the information she held, anyway. As long as she kept feeding them her intel, whatever happened to her afterwards was irrelevant to the agency. As far as anyone knew, an employee from Logistics should’ve never been on the field with them in the first place. And even in the face of Johnson secretly working for another organ entirely, which was the case, whilst representing a conflict of interests, Ryan reckoned she had been useful enough. At the end of the day, that’s all that mattered. Maybe she’d try to stop him from getting Jones just to put the credit on the National Security Agency’s office, but they would still get Jones. She’d serve her purpose, either way.

As soon as Randy left the hotel, Jack dialled up a nerdy kid in Langley, Josh, who happened to be a self-proclaimed fan of his and asked for a small favour. All the facts he had about Johnson was the Californian accent—unless she was that good at her job, going as far as creating such a round persona for her cover—and a nearly faded tattoo she had on her lower abdomen: 345-27-720. Ryan saw it for the first time when treating her wound, but thought nothing of it. Everything about her appeared so innocent, it went unnoticed. Now, remembering the way she aimed his own weapon at him without hesitation, he felt a bit proud of his photographic memory.

It was a long shot, still he tried. And the results of the background check didn’t disappoint as they came just minutes before he had to leave for the party. According to California’s military records, the social security number belonged to a Miranda J. Brooks; white, American born, 26 years old, Second Lieutenant with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Intelligence. The only catch was: Brooks was officially dead for over six years now. The death certificate only mentioned she was killed in combat somewhere in Afghanistan. She had no close family except her grandmother, Mary Brooks, who lived alone in Arizona. And the only thing he could register listening to Josh vomit all of that on the phone was how well she pretended to be such a clueless, defenceless girl while having this background. It only made his admiration for her stronger. And Jack hated it.

He somehow learned about that NSA program a few years back, but didn’t dig deeper on the matter. It wasn’t in their policy to have field agents capacitated in combat—which had been the reason why people in there butt heads with CIA operatives in the past, many a time. So, they allegedly started recruiting deserters and otherwise discharged soldiers to power their own task force, an effort not to be so dependent on the FBI or the State Department anymore. And while Ryan wasn’t sure if it was even a legal practice, he wasn’t a lawyer, therefore that part didn’t concern him. What he couldn’t figure out was why Brooks would fake her own death for this, or have her death faked by the agency itself. Besides, there was no record of a discharge anywhere. It didn’t add up and as soon as Jones was out of the picture, Jack would go looking for answers.

“Wanna go upstairs?” The woman dancing with him grins drunkenly, grabbing back his attention.

Ryan wrinkles his nose involuntarily when the smell of alcohol hits his face and pulls away politely, faking an apologetic expression. “I’m taken, sorry.”

The woman huffed and pushed him, stumbling back to her friends. Jack watched in silence and frowned as his eyes caught a glimpse of Jones disappearing through a hallway with his men. He warned Mike of his position and followed them suit, the adrenaline already pumping into his veins when he came up the set of stairs and stepped into a quieter area. Ryan took out his gun and pointed it to the ground, sneaking after the terrorist from a safe distance. Hiding behind a wall, he checked his rounds and looked ahead, running back the strategy in his mind.

“Nice suit”, a smooth tone startles him and he holds the pistol at the direction of the sound, gulping faintly when his gaze meets Randy’s—or rather, Miranda’s.

“What are you doing here?” He lowers his weapon, dragging her behind the wall with him. She’s wearing her usual clothes, and he almost wants to scold her for not even trying to act the part now. When she only smirks in response, Jack tightens his grip around her arm. “Stop playing games, Brooks. I already know everything.”

“You’re so predictable”, she chuckles and harshly shrugs him off, albeit her beam stays. Randy looks up, pretending to be in thought, “although, I didn’t think you would let me go so easily. I thought you’d fight for us, Jackie.” She says dramatically, then laughs.

Ryan’s scowl grows deeper, and he snarls, “Look, I don’t know what your angle is, but if you fuck this up, I’m coming after you next. I don’t care who you work for.” He holds her wrist forcefully and she can’t contain her own glower, trying to shake him off again, this time unsuccessfully. “I’ve had enough of your bullshit.”

“Have you, now?” Johnson hisses and lifts her chin defiantly, his hot breath reaching her cheeks as his nostrils expand in pure rage. “If you were being honest, you’d have reported me to your superiors last night. You didn’t.”

“I have more important things to do”, he grits his teeth when she raises a brow, clearly not believing a word he says. “Now tell me what you’re doing here. I’m not gonna ask again.”

“I told you, I’m not your enemy”, Randy takes a deep breath, her features finally softening. Jack’s grip is looser now, but he keeps glaring. She sighs and tilts her head, cooing, “I know you’re mad at me for lying to you, Jack, but this is my job. You of all people should understand.”

The worst part was he did. Jack saw her and felt like staring into a goddamn mirror every time. He truly, genuinely saw her—no matter who the fuck she even was at that moment—and his body acted on its own as he pulled her by the collar of her shirt and devoured her mouth mercilessly. Ryan hadn’t a clue who he was kissing right now, the rebellious rookie or the dead soldier; all he knew was those were the smoothest lips he ever tasted, and he wasn’t letting go just yet. His tongue made its way between her teeth and he heard a gasp before Johnson pushed him against the wall and pressed herself on him, unashamed of who could see them.

“Jack, focus.”

Jack ignored Mike as his back hit the cold concrete with a quiet thud. His deep groan seemed to only fuel Randy’s desire and she licked his bottom lip, now guiding the kiss. He panted when her skilful hands dropped to his pants and in a sudden glimpse of clarity, Ryan grabbed her wrists to stop her, but with no brute force this time. She pulled away from the kiss to give him a playful look, her chin completely red with lipstick as she tried to catch her breath, and he wiped his own face unconsciously. They both stared at each other for two seconds before bursting out laughing. He placed his free palm on her hip, bringing her body flush to his again.

“Jack?”

November’s voice sounds like white noise as Johnson hums smugly, “okay, big man.” Jack’s flustered features cause her to giggle and she opens her mouth to speak again, then shuts it at once when a few men carrying rifles appear in her vision, observing them from afar.

Ryan’s eyes follow hers and he tucks Randy behind him instinctively, turning off the safety on his glock. “If you have a gun on you, now’s the time to use it.”

“You don’t really think we can take them? We’re outnumbered, greatly”, she scoffs, doing her best to hide his weapon from the bodyguards’ view with her body. She presses herself against Jack and he offers her a puzzled look when her hands carefully put his pistol back into his pants. Johnson brushes her lips on his and he gladly accepts the caress, shivering from head to toe. She whispers, biting his bottom lip, “act drunk.”

“Pfft”, Jack wants to protest that poor excuse of a plan, but it’s too late as the men are now only a few feet away, watching not so subtly. He sighs and palms her butt without warning, getting into character, and fakes a loose smile. “How’s that?”

“Perfect”, she bends towards his touch, kissing him sloppily. Jack squeezes her ass cheek softly in reflex and a moan escapes her. “Jesus…”

“Jack, what the fuck are you doing?!”

Mike screaming in his piece brings him back to reality and he stares at the ceiling before eyeing her. “I don’t wanna spoil the mood”, Ryan gulps, still rubbing her waist slowly as he tries to get a hold of himself. He clears his throat, “but what’s the endgame here? Take out the voyeurs?”

Randy chuckles and holds his hand, taking him towards the empty hallway again, away from the party. Before they leave, she senses the men are following them. While they stumble side by side surrounded by red painted walls, she mumbles, “there’s a door to your right over there. This is where Jones makes his deals and he’s trying to close one right now with the Russians.”

“I thought you said he gave up on it”, Ryan trails off, maintaining her close to him by wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Because that’s what I heard, he changed his mind today”, she slows the pace, pushing him to the wall once again with a grin. “I bugged his office while you were away with Mike yesterday, forgot to tell ya.”

“How in the world…”

“And they almost caught me, that was the mess you found”, Randy continues and Jack’s mouth remains agape. She shrugs, pecking him casually, “you play a good drunk, by the way.”

“Were you gonna tell me any of this if we hadn’t figured it out on our own?”, his tone sounds defeated, almost like he’s still hurt. But should he be, really? She said it earlier; Ryan of all people couldn’t judge her for lying. “Would you trust me?”

“Well, I’m telling you now”, loosening up his tie, she puts it around her neck clumsily. “What do you think?”

He smiles. “I think I hate your games, but sometimes they’re fun”, he grabs her by the hair and brings her into another quick kiss.

A loud sound, similar to an explosion, came out of the main room and Randy gasped in surprise, dragging Jack away from all the rubble and the dust. She coughed while running through the wreckage with him, and Jack took it upon himself to protect her face, covering it with his hand. He tried calling for Mike, but he couldn’t hear the answer amidst all the screaming and chaos going on around them. Soon the first shots were fired and not knowing whether it was the police or the terrorists, he took the lead and pulled out his gun as he knocked down the door to Jones’ office, supposedly. They entered the room and were met with the man glowering, his bodyguards ready to open fire.

Ryan stays alert, aiming his pistol at him and muttering, “Mike, where the hell’s the cavalry?”

Michael snorts, seeming out of breath. “I think your NSA friend can answer that better than me.”

Jack frowns, shooting a look at Johnson. She appears calm, calmer than she should be in a situation like this. However, just as he’s going to question her about Mike’s affirmation, Randy takes out her gun at last, but doesn’t aim it at anyone. He furrows his brows, “care to fill me in here?”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Ryan”, Jones chimes in with a heavy accent, eyeing Randy for a moment, solemnly. “And nice to see you again, miss Johnson.”

“You know each other?” Jack blinks, holding his weapon tightly, his knuckles becoming white. He turns off his safety, now raising his voice, “someone better tell me what’s going on here or I’ll shoot, I swear to God.”

Jones made mention of speaking up again and a door behind him opened to reveal a tall blonde with two other men surrounding him. Randy knew that was her chance and took the shot without so much as a second thought, hitting the stranger on the forehead. Everyone stood shocked, except Jones. The terrorist’s guys yelled at Johnson to toss her firearm and with one hand gesture coming from him, they went silent. She eventually lowered her pistol and sighed, studying the pool of blood around Viktor’s bald head before she took a look at Jack, who seemed as confused as he had been the day prior.

Johnson approaches Jones and nods, her expression serious. “Thank you. You’re free to go now.”

Jack widens his eyes and quickly steps between them, still pointing his weapon at him. “What the hell are you doing, Randy?!”

“I’m sorry, Jack. That was the deal.” The girl hugs her own body and the Czech police finally appear, screaming at everyone to lower their guns. “I’m sorry”, Randy glances at him one last time with a hurt look before she leaves and Jones and his men are cuffed and taken away.

“Jack, are you okay?”

Staring at the dead body still on the ground, Ryan places his hands on his hips, in a pathetic attempt to process what just happened. He stands there for a few seconds, then turns around to step out of the building. “Please tell me she wasn’t in on it, Mike.” He begs in a murmur, measuring up the destruction caused by the explosion earlier. “And where’s Greer, too.”

“I’m right here, Jack.” Jim sighs on the other end. “Don’t worry, Johnson’s not compromised. She was just following her orders.”

“Which were?” He kicks off some dust, finding his tie under a broken block of concrete in the hallway. It must have fallen off Randy as they ran.

“Catching Viktor Vasiliev.” Jack walks among the damage with a sour face, closing his eyes when he finds the woman he danced with earlier that night. She’s dead. Greer adds, “he deals in chemical weapons and was the one behind the Prague bombings all along. Jones was her informant.”

“Catching?” Ryan deadpans. “She killed him, Greer.”

“Those were her orders…”

“You knew about all this.” Ryan reckons, with a more consternated tone as he cleans up the dust off his tie and gets out of the main room—or what’s left of it—, trying not to think of the medics tending to the dead bodies as he passes. “You knew it and you didn’t tell me.”

Jim grunts, “I only found out when I arrived here and the NSA director gave me a call explaining everything. You already had your plan, Jack, and I know you well enough to say with confidence that you would have gone with it anyway. No matter what I said.”

He scoffs, shaking his head at Greer’s words even though he can’t be seen. Reaching the sidewalk, Jack sees Randy is talking to a police officer from a distance. She’s laughing at something he’s saying while Ryan purses his lips, unable to take his eyes off her figure. “Now what?”

“Now we’re going back to Langley. Our job here’s done, we helped as we could with manpower, but the intel was solely NSA’s. It’s their case now.”

“It has always been.” There’s bitterness in his words, and his scowl is inevitable when he remembers everything. All the lies. “What about Jones?”

“He’s coming with us. He made a deal.”

Jack sighs, looking down at his shoes. “And Johnson?”

Jim pauses. Ryan watches as Randy disappears in a police car without looking back, and he can’t ignore the lump in his throat when the answer comes in his ear, “Johnson who?”

♡♡♡

Randy’s always been in love with Arizona. There was just something about the quietness of the desert, and the way the roads stretched endlessly when driving back home. She hadn’t seen her grandmother in such a long time. A real nice scolding would be the first thing waiting for her as soon as Johnson opened the door to her granny’s trailer, she just knew it; yet it only added to her anxiousness to finally seeing the iconic “welcome to Phoenix” sign on the side of the road.

Singing a tune along with the radio, she thought back to what she left behind in Europe a week ago. Deciding to quit had been a big step for her, but she was never happier to make a decision. She’s always hated jetlag, anyway. And whenever Johnson saw Jack again, if ever, she would just have to thank him for indirectly leading her to discover this. Turns out the adrenaline wasn’t doing it for her anymore. And albeit it was all she had known until that point in her life, maybe it’s time for a change. Prague taught her as much. Even through the moments of tension, somehow connecting to some ex-Marine’s need for the hustle of going after the bad guys made her notice that deep inside, she was tired of it herself. That didn’t mean switching to “normal”—hell no.

Quieter, mayhaps.

A deep sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head at no one in particular, rolling down her windows and smiling as the wind hit her face. Reciting the lyrics to the song a bit louder now, she turned the volume all the way up and stepped on the pedal, patting her door from the outside to follow the beat. Love’s never worked out for her even as Miranda Brooks back in the day. So there was no surprise on her part when the brief romantic getaway with Jack Ryan had a tragic ending—and by tragic, she meant not being physically able to say goodbye to him, face to face. “I hope you’ll understand someday”, was the email Randy sent, and off she went to the States, in a flight separate from his.

With Jones now in custody—his deal was merely to reduce his sentence, since he did actively help plan other bombings before deciding to do the right thing after Prague—, everything should be fine. Except nothing felt like it, not to Randy. Being jobless and alone was a new thing, so she reckoned it was just a matter of adjusting. Taking a peek at herself in the rearview mirror, the girl thought of changing her hair. The last time she’d been a brunette was prior to enlisting. Another deep sigh left her throat as she rolled the window back up and turned off the radio.

Who was she kidding?

No amount of pretending not to care would save her from feeling like the worst person in the world. The whole thing with Ryan was just too fucking much, funnily enough, even for Johnson. Which was beyond her in itself, because lying to people came easy for her, it had to, since it was what she did for a living. But reminiscing about the disappointment in his eyes when she killed Viktor in front of him made her stomach turn every time. How did she come to consider his opinion of her that much? Randy had no clue. Still, she stubbornly persisted in the idea that everything happened as it should have. She accomplished her mission and Jack accomplished his, too. She was well and breathing, after all. He did his job. And without being deceitful, unlike her.

“You bitch!” Granny exclaims as soon as she spots her granddaughter’s car on the road. She’s in front of her house, wiping her hands with a kitchen cloth as she comes down the little steps before Randy even pulls up.

Laughing out loud, Johnson gets out and runs toward her, squeezing the old woman in her arms. “Granny! Oh, God. How I missed you. You look so beautiful.”

“Liar!” She chuckles, but her eyes are filled with tears. Staring at the rusty pick-up truck behind them, Mary shakes her head in disapproval. “I can’t believe you’re still driving that piece of shit, Miranda. That’s why you never visit your grandmother anymore! You’re probably afraid it’s gonna explode on the way.”

“Shut up, she’s family”, Johnson giggles and kisses her white hair, still holding her close. The scent of home made her heart flutter in her chest. She teases, “c’mon, I’m hungry. You better have made me pancakes!”

“Oh, he did!” Mary hums happily, opening a grin from ear to ear, and Randy raises a brow in inquiry. She shrugs, walking to the trailer along Brooks. “Your friend. He said you were gonna meet him here.”

“My friend?” The girl frowns and touches the gun under her jacket automatically, but as soon as she takes it out, her alert eyes spot the so-called friend sitting on the little couch, sipping a coffee, and stops in her tracks. “Jack?” Johnson breathes out, astonished.

With a shaven face and a sweet smile, Ryan blinked slowly at her. Her knees suddenly went weak and she took a step back, trying to take in his presence. It hadn’t been so long since she last saw him, yet it felt like an eternity. He wore a baby blue shirt and some jeans, and her mind took note of how casual he looked out of his work persona. Her mouth stayed agape as she searched for the words to speak. They all ran out on her.

“You don’t look happy to see me”, Jack finally murmurs in amusement, causing Mary to exchange a knowing look with him as he stands up, putting his hands in his front pockets. “How are you, Randy?”

“I’m…” She trails off, even more baffled by his soft and amicable tone now. She really thought he hated her guts. “Jack, I…”

“She’s better now, dear, that’s for sure”, granny chimes in before she can finish, doing a thumbs up.

Randy’s cheeks go red and she widens her eyes. “Granny!”

“What? I’m old, but I notice these things, Miranda. You like the boy.” Mary smiles and now Jack’s the one blushing and laughing awkwardly. “And he likes you too, for that matter.” After giving Johnson another one of her teasing looks, she points outside and pats Ryan’s shoulder softly. “I’m gonna leave you two alone now. You go talk and make up, otherwise there’s no pancakes for nobody.”

Randy can’t hold back another laughter as her granny steps out of the trailer with the tray full of their breakfast. She’s really not kidding. Glancing at Jack again, he’s still slightly flustered, crossing his arms while raising a brow. Johnson squints, “what?”

“An email? Really?” He asks, his expression wry as he sits back down, resting his elbows on his knees. It’s almost comical how big he looks in that position, especially seated on her grandmother’s small couch. “A text would’ve been warmer.”

“I didn’t wanna hurt you again, Jackie”, even though she tries to make light of it, there’s a sincerity to her words that’s hard not to notice. Taking a seat beside him, Johnson leans back and sighs. “You know, I quit the agency.”

He figured as much, especially because Greer seemed a little sad when questioned about Randy while they had dinner last night. Ryan smirks, not wanting to miss the opportunity, “which one?”

Johnson snickers and nods, comprehensive of his sassiness. “Both, actually. I’m a civilian now.” Looking down at her boots, she bites her lips in thought.

His orbs fall to her lap, his voice going lower, “why?”

“I miss my granny”, Randy smiles and shrugs, tilting her head. He hums along and she comes a little closer, resting her chin on his shoulder. Jack sniggers, his hand flying to her knee in response. “How about you, why did you come here?”

Jack paused and his breath hitched. He should’ve seen the question coming, but somehow didn’t prepare for it. Why did he come, really? It was lost on him, if he was being honest. There were a lot of points left unexplained about her that still bugged him; like the illegal task force run by NSA, or even why Johnson was pronounced dead and given another identity when she hadn’t even been discharged. What did she do while working undercover for two national organs at the same time, exactly? What were her real motives, her ideals, her drives? Ryan knew this was his chance, perhaps the only one, to clear things up with Randy. However, with green orbs watching him expectantly, his common sense turned into goo.

“To say goodbye, properly.” Jack’s aware he sounds a lot huskier than necessary, closing his eyes when her face comes nearer. He stammers, gazing at her intensely, “you think I’m allowed that much?”

She clicks her tongue in jest, giving a head shake. “Jim’s not gonna like it.”

“Greer gave me the rundown on Randy Johnson.” The corner of his lip curls up as Jack goes in for a tender kiss. He whispers, pulling her into his arms, “he never said anything about Miranda Brooks.”

Randy’s grin got bigger as she let herself be held by him. Much was unsaid between them, but in her experience, there wasn’t a thing in this world that couldn’t get sorted out through a nice chat and some pancakes in sunny Arizona. Besides, who was to say the change she needed in her life wouldn’t be brought by Jack Ryan in his shining armour?

#jack ryan x reader #tom clancy's jack ryan #tom clancy's jack ryan x reader #john krasinski x reader #john krasinski #jack ryan x female oc #tom clancy's jack ryan x female oc #jack ryan

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galactic-glamour-girl-posts · 1 year

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In celebration of the Animaniacs reboot’s THIRD season coming out soon…

I’m going to list a few things I think the second season of the reboot does better than the first. Here we go:

1. It gave Nora some much needed development. She gets more screen time in general this season, and because of that her character is more fleshed out now. We find out she's a mother and despite the fact that she had previously been established as selfish in season 1, she buys her daughter whatever she wants to compensate for her lack of parenting skills. That doesn't necessarily make her a good mother, but she's clearly trying.

We also find out the reason why Nora's a competitive person and why she mostly only looks out for herself-her upbringing. We're shown that her sisters often belittle and mock her. Not only that but her sisters are twins, so Nora undoubtedly felt like the odd one out amongst her siblings all her life.

There's also her great grandmother Flora Dora, who's is a very successful business woman that Nora looks up to, and it seems like she aspires to be just as successful as Flora Dora. Flora Dora also constantly organizes competitions at family gatherings, something that clearly reinforced if not encouraged her to be a competitive person who's a firm believer in pulling up the ladder behind her.

2. It goes even further with the dark and adult humour than season 1 did. Season 1 had a few instances of characters going from saying hell and had blood onscreen a couple times, and the swear jokes were more blatant than ever, but otherwise was about as adult as Animaniacs usually is. In season 2 we still have blatant swear jokes...AND a character admitting to inc*st, slavery and genocide are mentioned and not sugar-coated at all, Nora straight up mentions doing drugs, Pinky unintentionally committing murder...there's quite a bit of death this season actually, etc. Granted this shouldn't be too surprising because the reboot does have a higher age rating than the original series ('93 was TV-Y, the reboot is TV-PG). Animaniacs is literally more adult than ever (whilst still being a kids show of course) and I am here for it.

3. THE SONGS!!! Season 1's songs were very good, Animaniacs songs usually are, but season 2's music was really, REALLY good! It had a lot of variety too: rock, rap, parody songs, Broadway showstoppers, electro pop, swing, etc. My personal favourites were "Warner's Ark", "I Am The Very Model of an Ancient Roman Emperor", "Magna Cartoon", and "Yakko's Big Idea" (*cough*buy/stream the soundtrack*cough*).

4. The "running gag"/recurring joke of the season was better (there are less reboot jokes). Season 1 was funny, but I gotta admit they ran the whole "this is a reboot of a 90's show" joke into the ground. Like I get that the show is meta but they made that joke every other episode to the point where felt like they were repeating themselves. So I'm glad season 2 dropped that. There are quite a few jokes about and references to "Yakko's World", but 1) They at least tell us something about Yakko as a character by showing how much he values that song and that he seems to canonically be sentimental towards it, and 2) They were more creative with how they would reference it or use it for a joke each time, whereas most jokes about the show acknowledging that it's a reboot in season 1 are essentially just the characters stating "this is a reboot of a 90's show!" over and over again.

Plus bonus things I wanted that aren't necessarily "improvements":

A Plotz Cameo

Assuming that was him and not just an expy or relative of Plotz. If it was him does that mean he's not retired? Is he just an actor now? Either way it was cool to see!

A Wakko Song

I was hoping Wakko would get a song number this season, and he did! ("Gruesome Ol' Gruel"). Maybe we could get a longer one next time though? Like, at least a minute or two? Preferably a rock song please? Honestly I think Wakko has the best singing voice of the three Warners, I just wanna hear him sing more!

A Yakko Solo Segment

...probably should explain this one. You see, in the original show Wakko has SIX stories basically all to himself where his siblings either aren't in it for long or don't appear at all ("Potty Emergency", "Clown ‘n’ Out", "Ups and Downs", "Bingo", "Go Fish", and “Ten Short Films About Wakko Warner”). He even gets another one in the reboot "Wakko's Short Shorts: Now Loading"). Now on it's own I don't mind this, in fact I think it's a good idea for each Warner sibling to get their chance to shine on their own without their siblings every now and again...the problem is that didn't really happen. Other than "Dot’s Quiet Time" (a segment's that basically a song number full of gags) and "Dot’s Poetry Corner" (a series of very short bumpers), Dot only got one story segment, “Cute First (Ask Questions Later)”, and even that took 93 episodes to get to...in a 99 episode series. Great.

Meanwhile Yakko literally only gets to star in a segment on his own if it’s a song ("Yakko’s World", "Yakko’s Universe", etc) or if it’s a one off gag/series of bumpers they’ll only do for one episode ("Useless Facts", "Disasterpiece Theatre", etc). Other than that he has ZERO stories in which he stars by himself without his siblings being present for a lot of it. Admittedly, Yakko was kind of a spotlight stealer in earlier episodes of the original show, so maybe the writers caught on to that and gave the other two solo segments intentionally, but still none of those segments were just him, his sibs were still there. I just would've liked to see Yakko star (mostly or entirely without his siblings) in a segment with a story (not one where the whole segment is a song, not a bumper segment) just once.

So imagine my delight when the reboot not only gave us just that, but also made it an homage to my favourite Looney Tunes short, "Duck Amuck".

"Yakko Amakko" was one the highlights of season 2 to me, plus I loved the ending. He did what Daffy and even Bugs Bunny couldn't do, actually outwit the artist, how awesome is that?!

Many people thought season 2 was better than season 1, and I can see why (I personally like both seasons about the same-I think season 1 is better than season 2 in some areas, but season 2 is better than season 1 in others). There's also little things like Dr Scratchansniff being a recurring character again or how they actually referenced the PatB spin off this season (because correct me if I'm wrong but season 1 never made a direct reference to the spin off) that I almost listed but didn't have too much to say about them. They were neat.

Hopefully season 3 will turn out to be the best season yet!

#animaniacs #animaniacs 2020 #animaniacs reboot #yakko wakko and dot #yakko warner #wakko warner #dot warner #the warner siblings #the warner brothers #the warner sister #the warners #nora rita norita #pinky and the brain #mr plotz #thaddeus plotz #animaniacs season 2 #animaniacs season 3

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arcsparkasriel · 10 months

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Vtubertale Profiles: Ralsei Dreemurr

For those who heard the story from my first post, you probably already know the gist of it. However, I'm sure those among you want to know the story of my adorable little brother Ralsei again! Or at least with a bit more detail.

After "The Plan" failed quite catastrophically, when Chara and I...expired. Mom and Dad were pretty darn distraught. I still have issues from what happened, but I'm glad I have everyone to help me through it. Mom doesn't like to talk about that day, but I think I know what happened. All Mom could do was cry for the next three days until her mind and body couldn't cry anymore. I wish I didn't know how badly our selfish plan would affect them. Dad took it really badly too but in a different way. Yeah, shocking I know. Going nuts after watching your children die. He did not cry, he hardly spoke, and seemed to shut down completely, having retreated inwards. Then you know the rest. Dad let his mouth move before his brain could and declared war on humanity in a fit of rage.

Mom being disgusted with him and everything that had happened, had enough. Leaving her role as queen and essentially divorcing Dad, moving back to our old home in the Ruins, never to be seen for years.

However, Ma and Dad...ahem, most definitely...had a moment of romance any day at least a month back before this all happened. I did the math a long time ago. Understandable I suppose. Mortifying thinking about the details as their eldest son, but understandable. On the day of "the plan," I was only a week away from receiving my first weapon as a Monster, and my own royal circlet, officially being called a Prince. Ma and Dad were about to have their 1st honeymoon in centuries. So spirits were high at the time...until they weren't.

Another month after she left, did Mom realize she was with my first biological sibling. I've only gotten a few details from Mom about her time of pregnancy and I only remember a few scattered memories while being stuck inside that FLOWER. The Flower though didn't appear until she was further along. Maybe five months down the line? I do remember hearing her talking to herself...or Ralsei rather every day while she was carrying him.

"You'll always be safe with me. I'll teach you everything you'll ever need to know."

"We'll have so much fun together."

"We may not be the fullest family anymore, but I'll be all the family you'll ever need."

Stuff like that. The Flower didn't think much of it and probably scoffed at the comments at the time. Thinking back on it, however, I could tell Mom was barely hanging on to sanity. Frisk and I just convinced her to go into therapy just a few weeks ago. Both of us are convinced Mom was only an edge away from snapping and doing something insane. Yeah, I know all about the "Underfell" and "Horrortale" versions of Mom that did break and lost their sanity. One of my other selves told me as much. Those possibilities scare us every day. How Frisk and Ralsei managed to keep her from snapping I still don't know. We love her so much though. Mom is worth it.

When the day came...maybe enough of my soul seeped through the Flower to remain near Mom. Cause I vividly remember hearing every labored scream throughout the whole process. I was right outside the window. She was in the kitchen, just out of sight. Days prior, the Flower saw her gathering durable rope, a ceiling hook, a large bag of pain-dulling mushrooms, dozens of pillows, rubbing alcohol, and a large plastic tarpaulin. Typical, always thinking hygienically that mother of mine.

Jeez, she actually had to go through it the ancient way with no pain relievers or access to the royal hospital. Well, she was once a shield maiden before the war. So maybe Mom was just defaulting. Yeah, maybe I'll share that story with you all in a future journal. The labor itself probably took a full day, which still makes me mentally cringe and sympathetic. I don't know how I managed to keep the Flower still during all that time, the details are really fuzzy. I don't put too much thought into "the power of love" but perhaps there is something to that.

The next thing the Flower heard was the baby's first cry. And Mom doing her best to stifle her own joyful sobbing. She must have been exhausted but pushed through all of it. I got the best Mom ever. I could hear her voice shushing the baby and trying to soothe him. Surprisingly it worked. A small gasp I remember from her, but then a moment of silence and a soft cooing like a dove's call.

"Born in the dark, I suppose this was going to happen. I love you anyways, my little baby boy. It's nice to meet you, little one. I'm your mama. My little Darkner. We'll need to make sure you're covered. The light might be too much for you. For how long I cannot say."

I don't think the Flower quite understood what she meant until Mom somehow stood up to stumble into her room six hours later. The tiny wrapped bundle cradled in her arm. She was wearing a simple lilac gown in place of her royal robes. She was visibly drained of stamina and exhausted in every possible way. Bags under her eyes, a slow gait, and heavy breathing.

The Flower saw what the child looked like. 'Unnaturally pale with some pinkish hues coming through the fur. His tiny nails as well as his horns once they grew in would be that same pinkish shade.

"Albino" I remember the flower saying. And then laughing that horrible laugh that never leaves my thoughts. "Albinos never last long in the wild, let's see how long he lasts in captivity. Even if the barrier breaks, he'll fry like an egg in the sunlight."

After that, the Flower regained control and that's the last thing I remember.

Over the next few years, the Flower popped around to spy on them. Ralsei grew quite fast and took to his immortality quickly. By that time, the loop had already started to take effect and I had reset quite a few times by this point. For Ralsei's fifth birthday, Mom got him green robes and a pointy hat, for his eighth birthday, she made him a long hot pink scarf and gave him an ancient crucible steel human cauldron that fell from the surface. Just last week, we took it to be appraised by a professor at the nearby university. Ancient Celtic apparently. Very well preserved. Probably thanks to Mom's efforts. Ralsei still uses it to practice his unique "Cauldron Cooking". Not that much different from using a crock pot. Ralsei's Sea Salt Ice Cream Cakes are quite good.

When the human children began falling down into the Underground, Mom tried to help and adopt each and every one of them as her own. Ralsei was so excited each and every time to make a new friend, never having anyone else other than his own mother to play or talk with. It was quite a lonely existence in the Ruins.

Which only made their deaths all the harder on both of them. And every time it happened, a piece of their hearts broke. Ralsei just became more and more fragile. Mom only got angrier and angrier at Dad. Ralsei retreated further into the safety of his mind. The Flower from time to time would pop out and torment him. I still feel guilty about that.

I often saw Ralsei hanging around the flowers at Chara's grave by the entrance to the Ruins. Maybe some part of him knew something was there, even though Mom would never dare speak of Chara or me. The memories were still too painful.

When Frisk arrived, everything changed. There's something special about him. You know, other than the master of time manipulation, ability to fight infinitely stronger opponents, and superhuman willpower to keep his soul together. Once Frisk connected with us monsters, we couldn't help but love him.

After Chara betrayed us, I not only thought I was incapable of giving love but receiving it too. Sure, there was a time when she was my best friend too. She was my sister. Mom, Dad, and I wanted to save her all that time. To give her a family and a place to call home. Unfortunately, vengeance blackened her heart long ago. Mine nearly was. I walked the abyss of the Underground every day for centuries of time loops. Somehow I avoided falling in permanently. Chara just...didn't want to be saved. She fell into that pit years ago, and nobody, not even I could have pulled her out of it.

You definitely know the tale of how Frisk escaped Mom and began his journey right? Well, it happened just a little differently. Ralsei didn't want to stay trapped in the Ruins either. He had grown too attached to Frisk and didn't want to see him go. So he slipped some melatonin into Mom's pie. I'll have to ask him what kinds of things Mom was teaching him. Frisk confronted her at the exit like normal, except Ralsei disobeyed and followed them. After Mom allowed Frisk to go, Ralsei told me Mom was losing consciousness quickly, so he dashed out of the Ruins after Frisk.

Ralsei caught up with Frisk quickly and started following him on his journey. I think everyone in the Underground had an inkling about what Ralsei was, even with his robes on and his hat covering his head, including the smiley trash bag. But for whatever reason they chose not to say anything.

Most of the journey went just as how Mr. Toby Fox displayed it in the game he made about our story. With the addition of maybe a few extra conversations Ralsei and Frisk had with the other monsters and each other. I wasn't around them the whole time, and I'm still learning details as time went on.

At the end, Mom was livid with Ralsei, but forgave him immediately when she reunited with Frisk. And then there's Dad...

Meeting Ralsei for the first time was... wonderful, but hard for Dad. Not knowing that he had another blood son. Never being there for his birth, his birthdays. Never being there to make his first toy, or play ball with him, or anything really. It was even stranger for Ralsei. Since he had never known or been told about Dad from Mom. He wasn't angry at Mom for never telling her. Ralsei isn't one much for cliched responses. All he wanted was to learn more about his father.

The details after that go into how I came back, which I'll cover in good time. All you need to know is officially meeting my new little brothers for the first time as myself was probably the best moment of my life.

These days. only a year after we left the Underground, life is finally getting better. Not always fantastic, but so much better. Every day, one step at a time. Ralsei, Frisk, Susie, and I are still close as ever. We all live together in a seven-room multimillion-dollar apartment, paid in full by the government of England. Susie having just joined our family only a month ago. On the surface, Mom thought Ralsei should have new more modern clothing. So he traded out his robes for a modern-style Poncho to cover his Torso.

When he goes out into direct sunlight, we always try to get him to wear his pointy hat or a sunhat that Muffet made for him. We had to swap out his old glasses for some professionally made ones. Of course, boss monster-sized glasses for big monster eyes weren't readily available, so we had to get his custom-made from a company in America.

His cooking is starting to rival Mom's and my own. His Cauldron Cooking is quite top-notch.

Our apartment is very much like his own little kingdom. Since he can't always go outside, he takes care of most of the chores and cooking when Mom can't. We have our own sizable library that he's been spending a lot of time in. For work, I've been having to learn a few different languages being so close to other countries. Spanish, French, Polish, German, Italian, and Danish. And the ancient languages that I'm glad to have persisted. Celtic, Welsh, Latin. So I bring a lot of language learning books home that he snags almost every time.

When he does go out, he's often visiting Dad and my other work friend Noelle and her sister December.

Ralsei, Frisk, and Susie aren't quite ready for public human schools, so until we can find something suitable for them, Alphys often stops by to be their tutor.

It's getting late, but I will expand on more details of Ralsei's life here later. Maybe you can catch Ralsei and Susie hanging out silently in my streams! Howdy to you all and I hope to see you again next time!

twitch_live

#undertale #anthro #furry #english vtuber #post pacifist #deltarune #vtuber #deltarune ralsei #ralsei #ralsei deltarune #vtubertale #asriel dreemurr #asriel #dreemurr family #ralsei dreemurr #envtuber #undertale au #deltarune au

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