#which. how does he feel about it really. outside of it trying to eat fontaine/the world

[confused-stars]

i need to actually remember for my writing that my main hc for why Childe is Like That is that he saw something real and true just once in his life and has been chasing that high ever since despite it being a massively traumatizing experience

kind of like a very weird Lovecraft protagonist

#genshin #childe #there's like a dozen other points of reference i need to get his character even remotely right though #there's also the fact that he seems to have thrown himself into fighting the whale with no hesitation #which. how does he feel about it really. outside of it trying to eat fontaine/the world #how does he personally feel about his connection to the whale. does he love it? is he afraid of it? does he /know/? (probably not) #i also don't think he's that introspective. he's just moving forward and not figuring his shit out #no i can't start writing childe meta again it's past midnight nothing coherent happens at this time

[favoniuscodex]

AXIAAAA. I HAVE RETURNED WITH MY COMPLETE FIC!

“Oh, they’re so graceful when fighting, you’ve got to see them in action.”

Childe/Tartaglia x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1799, excluding the bonus mini scenario (I really over did it this time..)

Warnings: Childe’s identity/spoilers once again- and, reader uses a polearm, wounds,

‘ ’ = thinking

“ ” = talking

(Y/V) = Your Vision

(Y/V/C) = Your Vision Color

(E/C) = Eye Color

Start!

(Y/N)- they come from Fontaine, someone who wields a (Y/V) vision. Bu~t, they don’t really focus on the outside world, like most people do. They don’t know about the fatui, the famous traveler, no! None of that. And here (Y/N) is, on their way to Liyue. By foot. They bring up their map and check where they are, and not very surprising, they are pretty close to Liyue Harbor. The only roadblock there is, though, is the fact that they’re in Lisha, and Lisha can be pretty darn dangerous.

‘It’s pretty peaceful here,’ they thought. ‘I don’t think much will happen though..’ Easily unclipping the (Y/V/C) pendant from their hair, (Y/N) sighs. ‘What did I do to get such gift? I don’t spend time worshipping the archons, nor do I know much about them.’ In the background, (Y/N) can faintly hear multiple activated ruin guards, a ruin hunter, + a ruin grader, and practically just war. And when they turned to see what was happening, there stood the infamous No.11 of the fatui harbingers, fighting them all at once. But hey, they don’t know what the fatui or who the main members of the fatui are. ‘Might as well help though- Some people told me that I’m quite skilled in combat.’

Materializing their polearm, (Y/N) sprints towards the scene. Childe, on the other hand, did not notice the (Y/V) user and the killing machine that somehow snuck up behind him without being noticed. (Y/N) swiftly weaves their way through the ruins, climbs onto the top of a column near the fight, and jumps onto the machine, striking the eye of the ruin guard. And now the harbinger notices, taking his eyes off of the other ruin guard. “Careful!” Quickly pulling their polearm out of the eye, (Y/N) hauls it at his previous target, paralyzing it. “Do not take your eyes off of your opponent! Any of them! You must know where they all are.” They jump down to retrieve the spear, taking a good look at the unknown man in the process. Half lidded eyes, looking like he was going to faint any moment.. A few scratches here and there, and one deep cut right below his collarbone. ‘What are you even doing here?? It’s dangerous, like hello??????’

(Y/N) sighs and quickly wipes out the remaining machines using their elemental burst. Making their way over to the hydro user, they shake his shoulders quite harshly… “Hey, hey! Stay with me, don’t close those eyes!” In response, he chuckles and falls limp into their arms, but reassure them with a small smile with fully opened eyes. “Good, thank you.. I’ll try my best to keep you conscious, alright?” (Y/N), surprisingly strong enough to carry this man bridal style, actually does so and sets him down against a ruin wall. As most people know, Childe is not very obedient. But when he’s in a pinch, the harbinger would probably choose the smart way and not make the situation worse.

(Y/N) examines the wounds a bit more, removing his grey jacket to get a closer look. “You’ve got a lot of battle scars.. Try not to be so reckless, okay?” Sighing, they continue. “The cut on your chest- it’s going to need stitches.” Shuffle shuffle. “You’re lucky I’ve got some topical anesthetic cream to numb the pain.” (Y/N) takes out a cloth and presses it to the cut, stopping the bleeding. “If you have questions, please do ask away. I’ll know that you’re conscious that way.” They finish preventing the wound from bleeding more and take out a bottle of clean water, applying it to a different soft cloth. “U-Uh..,” (Y/N)’s head slightly snaps up at the voice. “How do you know these things? You don’t seem to be the adventurous type,” the male said. Gently cleaning the wound with the wet cloth, they reply, “Many come to where I live, usually seeking help. This help, it’s mostly in the form of dealing with a wound.” Childe nods in reply, and immediately winces when (Y/N) presses the cloth a bit too hard on the cut. “Sorry,” they mumble.

Once finished with the cleaning and disinfecting step that was full of whimpers and sorry’s, (Y/N) takes out the numbing cream and spreads it around the wound. “Ask me some more questions, while we wait for the cream to take effect.”

“Well, I was wondering- what are you doing here?”

“On my way to Liyue Harber.”

“Ahh. I see.” (Y/N) easily slips the string into the needle. “Where do you come from?”

“Fontaine.” Childe hums in response. Then it hit him- Why are you helping him? Why would someone help a fatui?

“Why are you helping me?”

“Huh?? What do you mean? I couldn’t really let you die there, right..? Besides, you didn’t notice the ruin guard behind you. If I hadn’t come you would’ve already become dead meat.”

“N-No, I mean, I’m part of the fatui! And the fatui are ‘bad’, you could say..”

“But you don’t seem bad. Now tell me- do you feel anything around the cut?”

“Nope,” he says, popping the “p”. He couldn’t help but continue to wonder why.

“Alright. I’m going to start stitching now,” they mumble. “Hm.. How about you tell me about this.. Fatui.”

“Oh! Sure!” Childe begins to babble about the organization while (Y/N) focuses on quickly finishing the stitching. When they finish, (Y/N) decides that it’s finally okay to introduce themself. “I’m.. I’m (Y/N)! Oh I’m done with the stitching by the way.” They look around their bag to find some bandages, and sure enough, there’s a load. The (Y/V) user puts a finger to their lips and stares at the wound, thinking of a way to dress it. Childe, on the other hand, is lost in their (E/C) orbs. They were pretty, what could he say? Snapping out of his trance, he quickly replies with, “Ah, yeah! I’m Childe, or if you want there’s also Tartaglia, and Ajax.” Nodding, (Y/N) signals for Childe to move off of the wall, which he does, and then wraps the bandaging around his body.

“That should do,” they said, standing up and holding out a hand. “Come on, I’ll head to Liyue with you. Wait, that’s where you’re headed, right?”

“Yeah.” Childe takes the hand and stands up, brushing the dust off. “Do you have anything I can wear in the meantime? Jacket’s all.. Bloody. And kind of messed up-” (Y/N) giggles and takes an oversized coat out of their bag.

“Here you go! This should do. You can keep it, I don’t need it anyways.” He gladly accepts the coat and slips it on, relishing the coziness it brought.

“So, lets go?”

They arrive at Liyue around noon. “Thank you- perhaps we can meet up again sometime soon? I’ve got harbinger duties to do..,” Childe mumbles.

“Yep! That’s fine,” they reply, cheery. “Do take it easy though. Your wound isn’t even halfway done recovering.” The ginger nods and walks off, waving a hand. (Y/N) waves back, thinking what to do. ‘I should probably find a place to stay.. Hm.’

A week later…

“E-Excuse me!” (Y/N) grabbs the ginger’s hand. “Hi..?” Childe turns around to be met with the same (E/C)s from the other day.

“Oh! It’s you!” He smiles brightly, ruffing their hair. “How about we get to know each other? Liuli Pavilion! My treat.”

“Okay! Sounds good,” they reply, taking his hand in theirs. “Lead the way, Riptide.” Childe and (Y/N) both freeze. Had they just called him.. “Riptide?” He glances at (Y/N) who has confusion and embarrassment written all over their face.

“e-EHHHHHHH YOU HEARD NOTHINGG! NOTHING I SAY,” they quickly said.

“‘Nothing’, huh?”

“N- agHHHH FINE. Your eyes, they remind me of a riptide along with your whole look in general..,” (Y/N) mumbles, face turning redder every second. Childe finds this amusing- a skilled fighter who is completely falling apart due to an accidental nickname.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind, actually. It does sort of suit me, after all..,” he replies, quietly saying the last part. He immediately drags (Y/N) to Liuli, words seemingly to be caught in his throat.

“So correct me if I’m wrong- The fatui is an organization created by the goddess of cryo herself, the Tsaritsa. And apparently this group is.. Bad?” Childe simply laughs in response.

“You could say that.”

“Really now.”

“Mhm.”

“But- But you don’t seem like a bad person! Even if you’re a harbinger..,” (Y/N) sighs, staring into Childe’s ocean eyes(aHDHNSRDGHJM HIS EYES ARE SO PRETTY but zhongli’s eyes still remain in first place). “Alright, now onto you. You are the 11th harbinger of the fatui, said to thrive for battle. Your fatui code name is ‘Tartaglia’ and your real name is.. ‘Ajax.’”

“Correct! Wonderful wonderful..”

“And you use a bow, plus your water blades. You have two visions, but one is a delusion. One vision is hydro, and the other is electro.”

“Correct, once again! Now eat up before your qingce stir fry gets cold,” he interrupts. ‘They seem to be quite the special one.. Pretty cute too-’ Childe shakes his head, ridding of the thought. He watches (Y/N) dig into their order, more thoughts invading his mind. This time, he didn’t care- It was rare that Childe would be easily in love with someone just after a week, but (Y/N) here is a special case.

Two or three weeks later, the ginger had decided- even if it was way too early, he was sure that (Y/N) reciprocated his feelings. Bravely yet nervously striding up to their door, Childe knocks once. Twice. And 10 more times. What a great start, mister. He fumbles with the bouquet behind his back at the sight of you, nearly dropping it. “H-Hey! I hope you’re ready for what’s to come today~”

“Eh? Is today a special occasion-? Let me get dressed then-”

“Nono! What you’re wearing is perfectly fine! Now,-” Childe hands them the bouquet. “-may I take this lovely and incredibly skilled fighter on a date?” (Y/N), taken aback by his words, immediately punches him in the stomach by instinct. They didn’t really do well when it came to confessions, since most people were strangers. Quickly apologizing, they place a quick kiss on his cheek and boop his nose. “Got your answer yet?” They said, giggling. Oh how the tables have turned.. Now Childe is the one taken aback, scrambling to find the right words. Who knew that one who hails from Fontaine could fluster a one from Snezhnaya? A harbinger of all people too.

Let your imagination run wild from here! Where did Childe take you? What happened during your date? How did it turn out in the end?

Bonus(aka the title’s mini scenario): “Zhongli! Zhongli!” Childe rushed towards the funeral director, with a proud face on. “You’ve got to see (Y/N)! Oh, they’re so graceful when fighting, you’ve got to see them in action.”

“Really now?” Zhongli replied, unamused.

“Truly! C’mon, c’mon!” The ginger pushes the ombre to a waypoint, taking them to where his significant other trained.

-windwheel aster anon

CUTE but uhgfkxjgkjDJKJKSDK bestie this is so long how did u fit this all into a single ask,,, did tumblr up the character limit,

#long post #mail.childe #I CANT ADD A READ MORE HELP #//mail #PLEASE ITS SO LONG AND I CANT ADD A READ MORE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[philliamwrites]

killing me softly with his song | (Childe / Reader) [chpt.1]

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Childe / Reader

Tags: #fem!reader, #from childhood friends to lovers, #reader is a fatui agent, #slow burn, #unresolved sexual tension, #mature language, #forbidden love

Words: 2k

Summary: "Lybuov zla, polyubish i kozla," sighs your sister as she wipes off the table, but that makes you feel even more miserable. Falling for a goat might save you from an actual heartbreak by Tartaglia's hands.

____________

Loosely connected chapters about you and Childe finding happiness. Maybe.

Notes: Part 2

Masterlist

***

childe? what a problematic asshole i hate him i- *trips* *thousands of pictures of childe spill from pockets* fuck those aren’t mine i swear i’m just holding them for a friend i- *slips on a pile of pictures* fu ck no they’re not mine i hate him i just- *more pictures fall out as i fall to my knees, desperately trying to pick them up* hang on a sec jUst LISTEN

Chapter 1

     A cold gust of icy wind drives you deeper into the sheets and you swear by the name of Her Majesty Herself once you get up and find Alexei, you’ll smother him with a towel for leaving a window open in the middle of the night.

    Somewhere outside, a rooster crows. Fine, not dead of the night then, but no one cares for technicalities like these when sleep is involved. Especially after a night like this one, when Alexei fucked you into oblivion and back, you need every minute of shuteye you can get before another day of exhausting missions in the Chechnaya Taiga of Snezhnaya claims your last strand of sanity.

    It’s peaceful mornings like these that make it all worthwhile though—the quiet during the early golden hour when people slowly wake up to a brand-new day and get ready to do their chores, their factory work. The sheer number of possibilities stretching out before their hands, and hope rekindled every morning despite the harsh cold waiting at their doorsteps. You love how everything stands still, how even the uncaring universe seems to grant people a sliver of peace, allows them to be soft and vulnerable. To be kind to themselves by indulging in a freshly brewed cup of coffee or tea. Nothing can spoil this for you, nothing and no one—

    An awkward cough sounds from the door. You close your eyes, willing him to disappear by simply ignoring him, but his eyes burn into the back of your head like two smouldering coals and eventually, you turn around to see Alexei standing in the door frame, shifting from left to right. “There’s someone out there who wants to talk to you,” he says.

    Turning around, you try to disappear into your pillow. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they can wait until it isn’t such a damn unholy time.”

    Alexei clears his throat. “It’s uhm … it’s someone from the Fatui.”

    Your eyes snap open. Suddenly the warm, cosy blankets feel like a snake’s tight hold around your body, and you struggle out of its grip, grabbing for the dressing gown you carelessly threw around the back of your chair last night.

    The sun hangs low in the east, painting the city of Kerch that stretches outside of your window a sheen of dusky gold. When the red-brown bricks of the dacha cottages come into view, you think of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child every year in celebration of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa of the Zapolyarny Palace.

    Cold already seeps into your bones even though the robe is tight around your body. You hiss when your bare feet hit the icy floor but can’t find your slippers. Time to die like a woman.

    You brush past Alexei, who’s scratching his head, still just in his underwear and you think him crazy for walking around half-naked like that even though it’s minus 58F outside and the heating systems inside your barracks only start to work once outside temperatures drop to minus 75F.

    Maybe what they say is true. People from around Noyabrsk in the north of Snezhnaya regularly dip into frosty rivers and you do remember him mentioning ice swimming is his hobby. It was one of the few things you thought attractive about him. Actually, it was the only thing you thought attractive about him.

    Light streams into the floor from the kitchen, flickering once, twice in dangerous foreboding. It’s time to switch the lightbulb. Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure, because that isn’t important right now. What’s important is Tartaglia sitting at your table, leaning back in a chair, both feet crossed on top of the table, and eating your leftover mayonnaise sandwich you saved up for breakfast.

    His eyes slide lazily toward you, taking in your form—barefoot, shivering even though the fur from your bathrobe is of the finest white wolf fur obtainable on the market.

    Tartaglia finishes your sandwich, smacks his lips and licks mayo off his fingers. He doesn’t even like it, and you know from time to time he can’t handle dairy all that well. He just eats it because he knows how it infuriates you.

    “Alexei, huh,” he says in lieu of hello. “Didn’t know you’re into himbos.”

    Behind you, Alexei makes a sound like a kicked puppy. You glare at him over your shoulder, then jut your chin towards the front door. “Out. Now.”

    He doesn’t wait for you to repeat yourself. Surprisingly fast for a guy this big, he bolts into your room, gets dressed in record speed and leaves your little one-bedroom apartment without so much as a Goodbye or “We’ll hear from each other,” and you prefer it that way. It saves stuff from getting messy.

    Speaking of messy, you really wish Tartaglia would have sent you a note before coming. The smell of icy wind and snowy forests clings to his clothes. He must have come straight from a mission, not unusual in the slightest, yet in most cases he sends a message your way just to make sure he doesn’t run into one of your one-night stands and it doesn’t get ugly.

    Like right now.

    “I thought you had a little more class than that,” he says nonchalantly. His feet keep wobbling from left to right until you make your way over and push them off your table. Not that you actually sit there to take your meals, no. But this is your home, you have to assert dominance.

    “Well, I’m not picky,” you say, taking the empty chair opposite from him. “The nights of Fyrva’snezh are really fucking cold.”

    “I’m sure Fire-Water will do the same trick.” He’s sulking, yet he has no right to it and knowing Tartaglia, that’s why he sulks even more.

    Your relationship can be summarised with one word: complicated. Which is funny, because besides martial arts classes (taught by a teacher that is a real ball of sunshine who could easily snap your spine like a twig) and infiltration tactics courses (led by a grumpy teacher who once woke you all up in the middle of the night to do a spontaneous quiz about infiltration steps and everyone who failed or fell asleep had to run a marathon through the forest in their underwear) you had to take at the Fatui military school of Zapolyarny, they also teach mathematics and molecular physics, and that shit was complicated.

    Growing up in a small seaside village—bless little Morepesok; how much you miss babushka Katya’s refreshing botvinia soup—with only a handful kids your age, gravitating towards Tartaglia was the natural development. He loves ice-fishing, you love eating fish. You gag just smelling solyanka, he wolfs it down like it might be his last meal on earth. Opposites attract each other, as they say, and how true it is for you two—you, the morning person and he, the night owl; his will of iron and your nerves of steel. Your bow, his sword, even though Tartaglia is a masochist who likes to make it hard for himself by trying to switch weapons solely because you’re better at it than him and he is a sore loser.

    His worship of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, your fear of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.

    “I don’t think you came all the way here just to call me a slut,” you say. He is in no position to do so anyway, because Camilla from the ptychy’moloko shop down the road that leads to the Sarov church didn’t shut up about blowing him for weeks until you sent her a liver of a pig and claimed that was the leftovers from the last girl that thought she could put a leash on the Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Camilla quickly moved on to an inconspicuous merchant who sells matryoshka dolls for a living and all is well that ends well.

    “What do you want?”

    Tartaglia starts tapping a gloved finger against the wooden table, a nervous tick you don’t know he’s aware of.

    “I’m leaving for Liyue first thing tomorrow.” His tone is low when he speaks, his earlier nonchalance replaced by a sense of urgency.

    “Okay.” It isn’t the first time he’s leaving Snezhnaya by order of the Tsaritsa, but every time he does, something inside you leaves with him. “So, you want me to keep an eye out for Teucer and the others?”

    “He’s really unhappy I’m leaving again already.” Tartaglia doesn’t mention the reason he was sent away just a couple of months ago to Inazuma was because he accidentally blew up an artillery factory belonging to a nobleman that secretly shipped orders to Fontain. The fallout from that was easier to handle with him not being anywhere nearby. Tartaglia is like a pair of hot tongues; no one is sure where to put him or how soon he would cool off, but if they just drop him, he might light the world on fire. Kid gloves are put on and a careful perimeter marked out.

    “And what excuse did you make up this time?” You knock your foot into his leg, lingering on his calf just a second too long before withdrawing again. “Another business trip to promote your toys? You can’t hold up this charade forever, you know.”

    “Why, your eyes feast on Snezhnaya’s greatest expatriate toy seller, now extending to the Liyue Branch of our Institute for Toy Research.” Tartaglia’s eyes have taken on a playful glint, and he leans forward as he speaks. “You wouldn’t be so cold to break a little boy’s heart. That’s not you.”

    You want to remind him that you have no problem to put an arrow between a man’s eyes, or rip out his fingernails, one by one, to get the information that you want.

    “You owe me, toy man.”

    “Put it on my tab.”

    Tartaglia looks like there’s something else he wants to say, but as always, he decides to swallow those words even though they must hurt like swallowing needles. You know that feeling, and so you help him sort out his tightly entangled yarn of emotions by figuratively pushing him off the cliff.

    “Don’t forget to bring condoms. I hear the women of Liyue are beautiful.”

    Tartaglia goes a sickly grey colour, like the ashes of a dead fire, but he’s been the leading role of this play too long to fall out of character now. He gets up and stretches like a cat getting comfortable in a spot of sunlight. His jacket rides up, showing a stripe of skin, and you quickly turn your head away before giving into leaning over the table and mark him with your teeth.

    Patting his left pants’ pocket, Tartaglia says, “I’m always prepared.” He carries a grin that is dry, humourless, and for a brief moment, you two lock eyes, trading a look that feels like a dare. You allow yourselves to imagine how he picks you up and carries you to your bed where you two would proceed to fuck without abandon through the whole day and the following night, leaving the bed only to get food until Tartaglia leaves for Liyue and you’d send each other love letters until his return. What an idea. What an utterly stupid, naive, wonderful idea.

    “Well, lucky ladies,” you say, not bothering to hide the jealousy in your voice because jealousy is easier to handle than regret.

    “Lucky indeed,” he agrees and dons his easy-going smile, one that he’s perfected after hours upon hours in front of the mirror until it accomplished what he wanted: to mock people, infuriate them.

    On his way out, he stops to ruffle your hair in an affectionate way, one typical for childhood friends, but the distance between you is like the ocean separating Snezhnaya from Liyue.

    It was on the very first day of your conscription into the military organisation, Number Six of the Ten Laws that the Fatui abide by: Any physical or romantic relationship between Fatui agents is prohibited. As thou would not exchange flesh with thy brother or sister, so thou shalt not with your comrade, for he or she is thy brother or sister in arms.

    And everyone knows Her Majesty the Tsaritsa’s word is law, and though the law is hard, it is the law.

__________________________________________________

please drop by my ko-fi if you enjoyed my writing!

#philliamwrites #ao3 #fanfiction #genshin impact #genshin impact childe #childe #tartaglia #genshin impact tartaglia #reader #reader insert #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #genshin impact childe x reader #genshin impact tartaglia x reader #tartaglia x you

[kazuzuha]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ part three

part one ; part two ; part four ; ...

this work is protected by copyright. copyright © kazuzuha ™ 2021

It took me another two years to find a new goal and remember my past one - the latter being that of me exploring the world, meeting new people, seeing the archons, eating new foods, feeling the wind of the highest mountains in Teyvat...

Interestingly, this goal that I had forgotten coincided with the one I had now; running away.

That was all I had in mind in the time gone by, all that truly kept me breathing in that suffocating place. My own mindset was an opposition to my mother’s, her traditional perfectionism trying to mold me into someone flawless, yet, not better than her. My own set of unbearably high standards wore me down, then were further pushed by her hand which ignored the fact that our pressures came from the same place. But I knew. I knew. 

It was at fifteen that I fully understood that knowing you are in an unhealthy situation does not call upon the Archons to help. 

Father was not around, busy with climbing ranks and taming the snowstorms. If he knew of my ambition, he would have agreed to that marriage proposal I had been given years ago, suspiciously immediately after the Tsaritsa’s interest in me was expressed. It was not that my father did not love or care for me; the opposite stood true. However, he was unaware of how deeply the mental scars inflicted by my mother ran. She was a good wife, a great wife for a Snezhnayan especially. But she was not a good mother. All I had tried to explain, he had already known of, but from a completely different perspective; words convoluted, actions exaggerated - after years of hearing second-hand stories about his child, his image of me became exactly what my mother intended. Therefore, hoping and begging for his help would be redundant. I had to get away on my own two feet.

That being said, I still needed outside help and financial freedom. I made acquaintances amongst my peers, though being taken into a circle of Snezhnayan kids was a difficult task; due to my family’s high standing and my mother’s foreignity, I was either avoided or sneered at. No one dared say much, but those that did were not speaking in welcome. The odds would be stately against my success, if it were not for my observance. Most children were homeschooled and the only way to meet others my age was at a very occasional party or in organised training. There were certain aspects that I saw were well accepted in their eyes; strength, resilience, beauty and charm. I trained in strength, my mind forced resilience, the beauty and charm part could be subsistuted by wealth and social standing. It should have worked. Unfortunately, I did not consider my gender.

After beating a boy twice my size in combat, I was not revered as I had previously expected. I was not suddenly accepted into a friend group, was not offered the bitter alcohol they hid under their shirts. I was a foreign girl they could not touch, could not win against. And that pissed them off. The spreading of rumours seemed like a simple childish act at first, but the way people began to view me was set in stone before they even met me, painting me as unattainable, arrogant. A sense of déjà vu made me realise that I was once again losing an exit out of this place. But I was a quick learner.

Instead of my peers at the training grounds, I looked elsewhere. Tagging along with my father under the pretense of learning his strategies, donning my most modest dresses and tint on my lips, I met the younglings of aristocracy. They recognised my situation as their own, shunned for being better than everyone else. The mindset of superiority deeply ingrained in their small heads made it laughably easy to appease them and get piles of information that I made sure to memorize. My graceful actions, soft-spoken words and dainty visuals… all crafted to fit the perfect standard of a young girl beloved by the Tsaritsa. 

Manipulation was effortless to replicate and after shedding a false tear over an acquaintance’s loss of a parent, the apprehension of the lack of my care about using others sent shudders down my spine. I hated it. I hated being forced to do the same I had been an object of. Most of all, I was horrified by how good I was at it. A secret account provided by a lovesick fool who turned out to be the son of the main manager of our biggest bank. Five sources of income through illegal trade business from Fontaine. A shy girl who wished for one good friend, the daughter of the biggest weaponry corporation, owning over fifty industrial factories in Snezhnaya alone. In less than two years, I was the biggest shareholder of two major companies. 

All I needed was a good public reason to leave and never come back - if I had run away in the middle of the night, the powerful people around me would send hundreds behind me without a second thought. The only ones who can facilely leave are the Fatui - Tsaritsa’s dogs - and, of course, her Harbingers. I have seen my fair share of Fatui, especially when I was still dealing with the mess that was the illegal trading with Fontaine’s machinery. They were soldiers, but they were also people; until you gave them enough power to be drunk on. As for the Harbingers, two of them I had met on multiple occasions; the man I had momentarily seen at Tsaritsa’s side on that balcony was presented as Dottore, or Doctor, though his unhinged expressions pointed to him being a rabid predator, not a healer. He was a shadow; never seen, but always… there. The second Harbinger was my father’s old acquaintance known by the title La Signora, or more favourably, The Fair Lady. As a visionless female aristocrat, I was expected to marry quickly and provide many future soldiers to the armies of Snezhnaya. When I was younger I did not understand the disgust and abhorrence I felt at the thought of my set future. Without dreams, I only wandered. It was not surprising that I began to look up to the notoriously powerful Signora, especially since the silver shade in our eyes was of the same empty shine. Fascinated by her bold disobedience of our land’s customs, I caught myself imitating her walk; young and impressionable, sure, but I also knew that without a Vision, I would never be able to stride as freely as she could. 

That is why I spent so much energy and time on getting Mora. In complete honesty, I could have left Snezhnaya a year into my socialisation. In only a few months, I had enough financial security to start a business in the faraway Liyue which flourished past my expectations. Despite resigning myself to using others, the human mind sometimes cannot help but create bonds of affection to others and so, after the first time hearing “comrade” or the late-night conversations with a painfully vulnerable and lonely teenager, I could not help but want to stay longer, although merely subconsciously. I began finding reasons to stay; perhaps visiting Liyue to oversee my business after a scandal was not a good enough plan to leave, perhaps I should save just a bit more before I go on a long journey, what if the branch deal suddenly fails, I need to manage this project myself… The excuses piled up, my very few friendships strengthened and then, I thought; living here for the rest of my life would not be the worst. This idea was proven wrong time and time again, the glares like daggers in my back, enviness of others putting poison in my cups, the bloody display of the rare bunny I was gifted by a prominent and popular merchant, my mother’s slap at the word “Liyue” leaving my mouth.

I was woken up by news of the forgotten childhood marriage proposal being reconsidered.

“My clever girl is all grown up now!” my father spoke loudly, his fork sounding on the golden plate as the guests around him followed his proud tone with interest. Turning to his closest comrade, another one of Tsaritsa’s most trusted, he spoke as if confiding a secret though all invitees could hear him clearly: “Nobody is ever going to be good enough for my dove, but I’m considering accepting that proposal. They’d make a good match, both of their heads full of coins.”

Booming laughter ensued as my smile froze on my lips. He had never discussed this with me beforehand, so why now?

As if he had read my thoughts, Father’s eyes found mine, his bright and naive, sure that I would simply go with it as I had with everything until now. I decided to keep the illusion intact and made myself smile wider. 

“Girlie that plays with coins, hah! If that’s what he needs to tie him down, I’d get on my knees myself,” the other man spoke, raising his glass towards me and eliciting another round of hollers. 

Not one to stay quiet in rage, I spoke with a light, pretty tone: “Sorry to say this old man, but I’d prefer for the man to kneel down for my hand himself. Your legs might just give out from how long you’d have to be begging on the ground for him.”

The hidden jab of my not even knowing who the man proposing was went past their ears.

“As expected!” the man yelled over the ear-wrenching laughter, slapping my grinning father on the back, while another man, whom I recognised as my only female friend’s absentee parent, spoke up; “She’s really your kid, through and through. Shame you didn’t make a boy, too, with that spunk he’d be one of Tsaritsa’s best warriors by now.”

“No kid of mine would be any good as a soldier,” Father countered, the alcohol in his glass disappearing. “Us Silvers use our heads.”

After he playfully headbutts his comrade, the conversation moves elsewhere and I take my leave. Again, I find myself on the balcony, heaving deep breaths, desperately trying to calm my racing pulse. Vaguely, I think about my wild expression and how others would react if they chanced upon me at this moment, but my unbearable fear does not allow for a stoic attitude. 

Ah, right, I wanted to run away.

It is needless to say that I got my plans in order just that night.

I only let my closest friends know of the finality of my departure, sent a personal letter to the Tsaritsa and prepared an entourage of people who wanted to permanently leave Snezhnaya as well.

Tsaritsa’s reply was swift and curt; a permit to leave for business. There was not any mention of a permit to return, but that was exactly what I had been looking for.

I mentioned my journey East to my parents at a rare shared dinner, as if passing news. My mother would have dragged me by my hair if we had been alone; having my father present was imperative. With my mother’s forced silence, I explained that, due to the scandal - which I had painstakingly created myself - I wanted to take charge of the business in Liyue Harbour for three months until I found a capable enough manager to take over the decision-making.

“It is unsavory for women to make the main decisions in a business,” I sighed, massaging the side of my head as if troubled by this gravely. My father nodded, sympathetically, while my mother coldly glared at my theatrics. It was not her that I needed to convince, anyway; she would follow whatever her husband decided. Holding Father’s hand, a physical contact of seldom, I continued: “I want to get this over with quickly, that is why I am going myself. After all, the marriage should not be put off for too long, should it? You told me a few days ago that you wanted a grandson, after all.”

I left three days after that.

The tearful farewells were done in secret, only polite nods were given in the public eye. More people have come to bid me a good journey than I would have expected, my ties reaching further than those of the usual Snezhnayan. I decided to speed up my leave before anyone else could notice.

White mountains and the creaking of snow beneath the heavy feet slowly turned into browns and greens and sloshes of mud. We stayed the night at a guesthouse in Fontaine, the waterfalls washing away the prints of our path. I wished I could have run away immediately, but arriving at the Liyue headquarters was a necessary evil to maintain our facade; if we did not send word, it would have been no different from an escape without planning. 

The warm water felt wonderful against my cold skin, accustomed to the harsh weather of the land of Cryo. It was a few hours after sunset and only the sounds of nocturnal butterflies were present. The unchanging moon shone down, reflecting its light into the lake, its shape sometimes a copy, sometimes a caricature. 

TBA

[leelee10898]

Chapter 3: Slow Hands

Song inspiration Slow Hands by Niall Horan

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixleberry studios except those unique to my story.

WARNING contains NSFW (Ok this was my 1st time ever writing NSFW so bare with me lol)

pairings: Liam&Aria (MC), Aria&Leo

Summary: Social season is in full swing and the gang is heading to Lythikos for skating, skiing. Aria is having flashbacks from her summer in Italy. Meanwhile Leo returns to the palace will he be sticking around?

If you would like to be added to the tag list let me know... 

Tag List @scarlettedragon @annekebbphotography @bobasheebaby

                  ************************************

Time seemed to be flying by since Aria arrived in Cordonia . Her first run in with the press at the derby went really well.. they dubbed her the mystery woman, which was quite fitting considering that's exactly what Liam called her at the Masquarade.

Bertrand managed to get under her skin a bit. He was still pissed at Maxwell for bringing her there. He was always mumbling about "house Beaumonts reputation is at stake" and her personal favorite her "damning house Beaumont beyond repair". Maxwell was her sanity. His crazy antics and being super hilarious saved her from going off the deep end. He was like the goofy older brother she never had.

She was starting to learn about the ladies at court as well. Olivia was the court bully. She was always degrading the other ladies, but Aria knew how to handle her. Kiara was fluid in several languages which Aria thought was astounding and admirable. Penelope had an obsession with poodles, which she thought was cute and weird. Madeline was well, Madeline. She was raised and bred for courtly life, and was very cold to the other suitors. Hana was her favorite, she is so kind and naive, you can't help but love her. Aria hated that Hana let everyone walk all over her, she knew she would have to fix that. The worst part was the lack of time she had with Liam, stealing whatever moments she could when she did get to see him.

She was learning about everyone but one person. She didn't know much about was Liams brother. Ever since she danced with him she just wanted to know more. They were never formally intoruced, she didnt even know his name and had no idea what he even looked like. She never found the time to ask but this long ride to Lythikos was the perfect opportunity.

"Maxwell, tell me about Liams brother." She question as she scoots up in her seat. "Huh? Oh Leo? Maxwell says putting his phone on his lap. "Well he is the former crowned Prince of Cordonia. He abdicated the throne and broke off his engagement to Madeline. He has been dubbed by the press the play boy prince.. he's a really cool guy though."

 "Soooo prince Leo.... wait... He was engaged to Madeline? And now she's a suitor for Liam?" Aria shouts sitting straight up now. "Will you two keep it down over there! Bertrand scoffs "I am trying to figure out how to keep house Beaumont from completely falling from grace" Aria and maxwell exchange a look and smile.

 "Yes, during Leo's social season before he was to take over as king he chose Madeline to be his bride. I guess they felt bad for her and asked her to come back to court as a suitor." Maxwell says with a yawn.. Aria couldn't believe it.. Madeline was a previous suitor? That didn't sit well with her, but she shrugged it off.. the thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was his name, Leo... so if Liams last name is Rhys, that would make Leo, Leo Rhys... that's so crazy. she thought to herself rubbing her head. They share the same name comparing Liams brother and the Leo she met in Italy. All of this made her mind drift back to that night they attended the Masquarade in Italy.

They had arrived at Leo's hotel, since Ellie had company she would be staying with him. Her first thought was how much nicer his hotel was then hers. Her second thought was the fact they were staying in fricken Rome!

"Hey what do you say we stop in at the hotel bar and get a night cap before we go up?" Leo asked as they walked into the lobby.

Aria already a bit tipsy wasn't quite ready to end the night yet.. " What the hell, let's go!." They walk in and sat their selves at a table.

 Already aria was feeling the atmosphere. The music was great and there were people on the dance floor. "Let's do shots Leo" Aria insisted drumming her hands on the table.

"you really want to do this?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Absolutely!" She jumped up and went over to the bar returning with 4 shots.. "vodka?" Leo asked "we are in Italy and you get vodka?" He chuckled.

"when in rome..." Aria winks as she takes the entire shot , Leo follows suit..

" I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant by that." Leo laughs hysterically. "Eh whatever." She waves him off before downing her 2nd shot. "Were gonna need more." She declares running back to the bar.

When Aria is gone for quite a while Leo wonders what she's doing . He finds her at the bar laughing with the bartender. "Leo dear, please come tell this lovely man that I am American pop star Britana Fontain." Aria winks and motions for Leo to come. Leo shakes his head and decides to play along.

"What's wrong Britana?" Leo saunters up to the bar wrapping his arms around her. "You don't believe she's famous?" Leo cocks an eyebrow .

The bartender laughed "Oh no I believe her,Here your drinks are on house." He says in broken English. "Salud" leo says raising his glass. "Salud" Aria does the same as they quickly gulp down their shots.

"Let's dance." Leo grabs her hand and leads her onto the dance floor. She shakes her hips and moves her body to the music. He pulls her in closer, body's touching. She turns around grinding against him. Leo puts his hands on her waist and whispers in her ear "why don't we head up to the room?"

She was so lost in thought she didn't feel the car roll to a stop. "We're here." Maxwell bounces up and down in his seat. "Aria.. ARIA!" He waves his hands trying to get her attention. "Sorry, sorry." Aria apologises.

They get out of the car to see a beautiful scene. Everything was covered in white glistening snow. "This is where Olivia lives?" Aria asks taking in the sight. "This is one of the duchess' homes." Bertrand informs her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a few calls." He says walking away.

 Maxwell dances in anticipation.. "Go ahead Maxwell." Aria laughs. Maxwell runs and throws himself down on the snow. He moves his arms and legs making a snow Angel. "This is gonna be soooo much fun." He laughs as he gets up to admire his work.

Olivia had planned skating and skiing before the nights dinner. Aria was able to steal a few moments with Liam thanks to Maxwell's quick thinking, he distracted Oliva with his Lord of the dance on skates.

After skating it was time to skii. At the top of the hill she met up with Drake. "Can you even skii Hale?" He teased. "Really Drake? Wanna race?" She enticed him, He was so easy to rail up. "Your on Hale." He accepted with a large grin. The both skii down the hill, weaving in and out of the other skiiers. Aria spots Olivia and Liam up ahead slowly making their way down. She can't help but be petty, as she zooms past and sprays snow all over Olivia. "ughhhhhh." She hears Olivia groan from behind her. Drake has a lead on her but she gains momentum. Aria zips past him and stops herself at the bottom of the hill. Drake comes shortly after. "ok, ok I admit defeat.. nice moves Hale, I especially liked the snow shower you gave ole livy there." he laughed pulling up his goggles. "I'm not sure what you are talking about." She feigned, trying to hold back a laugh.

As Olivia reaches the bottom of the hill. Covered in snow, Olivia almost looks like the abominable snowman. Drake and Aria look at each other and bust out laughing. Olivia scowls at them and announces "I have had enough snow, dinner will be in 1 hour."

At dinner Aria was pleased to find she was sitting with Hana and Drake, the disappointment was they were stuck all the way in the back.. They ended up being served last, the soup was cold and before they could even eat Olivia announced it was time for dancing. "But we haven't even ate." Hana sighed sadly.. "I don't think she cares."Drake mumbled starting eat the plate that was placed in front of him. Olivia had the upper hand here, her house meant she got the most time with Liam.

Having learned the Cordonia waltz through Hannah she danced flawlessly with Maxwell, before switching partners to Liam. "Lady Aria, I didn't know you knew the Cordonian waltz." Liam murmers taking her hand. "Yes, Hannah taught me last night." She twirled around. "we won't have much time before we switch partners again, but I wanted to see if you would meet me, tonight at my room." Liam inquired as they glide across the floor. "I have something I would like to show you." Before she could reply Olivia was back and Liam was gone. The last swell of the dance came as she looked over to see Olivia plant a kiss on Liams lips. Aria felt her stomach turn. Liam pulls away looking at Olivia sternly before escorting her outside the ball room.

 *****

Later that evening aria sneaks off to Liam’s room. As she reaches the door, she paused for a moment to gather her nerve. She exhales deeply before knocking softly.

 "I am so glad you came." Liam smiled stepping aside to let her in. "Well, I have to admit I was curious about what you wanted to show me." She said twirling her hair in between her fingers. He leads her through the room and out onto the patio to a hot tub, candles lit surrounding it. "Wow, this is.. this is beautiful." Aria exclaims taking in the site "did you do all of this?" "Well, yes.. I wanted it to be relaxing for you. I know how stressful court can be." He admitted as he places his hand in hers "So how about we get in" Liam said disrobing and climbing in. Aria does the same. "Ahhhhh, this feels nice." She sighed sinking into the water. "I am glad I got to share this with you." Liam looked at her, His eyes conflicted.

Aria smiles and moves closer placing a kiss on his lips. She felt him smile as he deepened the kiss. She climbs onto his lap stradling him, wrapping her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair. "Aria!" He says surprised. "Shh." She quiets him with her lips . He runs his hands along her side's and back removing her bra. She grinds her hips back and forth feeling the hardness in his boxers. "Aria, we shouldn't." He loosely protest. She stops kissing him. "If you don't want to..." she says as she climbs off his lap. He grabs her thigh.. He looks at her, licking his lips. "I don't know what's going to happen, truth is I have feelings for you, far more then I should.. but I have to do what's best for cordonia.. I don't want to hurt you.." He sighs running his hand down his face. "I'm a big girl liam." She says rubbing her finger in circles on his chest. "I understand you have to make the best decision for cordina." Liam rubs his hand up her thigh "fuck it." He says pulling off her underwear.

He leans over to kiss her as he sticks his fingers in her warm center. Aria moans quietly pulling at Liams boxers. She clumsily gets them off and climbs up onto his lap and lowers herself onto his cock. She rocks her hips slowly, watching his face with each movement she makes. Liam eyes roll back in his head as he lets out a soft moan. She picks up the pace and his hands firmly grab her hips. He starts to buck up thrusting himself into her, harder, faster, she matches his pace. She throws her head back and moans "Oh Liam, mmmm." It sends Liam over the edge he kisses her neck back down to her breast his hands firmly gripped on her thighs she can't hold back anymore as she lets loose and gives into the sensation. He moans loudly. "Oh fuck... Aria." She feels him tense up as he thrust into her deeply, her movements start to slow as he shoots his hot cum inside her.

She climbs off of him and kisses him gently. "That was amazing." Liam says " we should get some rest " aria gets out of the water and gathers her clothes. "Aria." Liam says leaning over the side of the tub "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met." Aria smiles at him "until next time my prince" She turns and walks away.

Aria sneaks back to her room. Once inside she takes a hot shower and puts something comfortable on. Settling into bed she hears a knock at the door. She opens the door to find Maxwell and let's him in. "Maxwell it's a bit late, did Bertrand send you?" She yawns and walks over to sit on her bed. "Yes, he did."Maxwell says as he walks around the room "he wanted me to tell you to be ready by 6am sharp tomorrow morning." "Why so early?! he is crazy you know that right?" Aria sighs throwing her slef back on the bed. Maxwell chuckles "yeah I know. But since the next event is at our house, he wants us to get an early start. "Ugh fine, I'll be ready.. good night max." Aria grunts still laying down. Maxwell turns to leave "Oh i almost forgot, we just received world that Leo would be attending the Beaumont bash, looks like you'll get to finally meet him." Aria sits up straight "LEO will be there?" "Yup, sounds like he will be around for a while." Maxwell says opening the door "Well good night little blossom." Aria could feel herself getting nervous. She tossed and turned for hours before falling asleep. In the morning they would head to the Beaumont estate.

*****

Leo arrived at the palace late that evening. Palace employees carry his luggage to his quarters as he walks to the study. After his run in with Madeline the night of the Masquarade he kept a low profile. She was not happy about his being there and she didn’t want him interfering with her second chance at becoming queen. Once he told her she wasn’t the reason for his return she laid off and left.

A knock comes at the door "come in." Leos back turned to the door, looking out the window. "Do you have what I asked for?" Leo questions as he walks over to pour a glass of scotch and sits down in the chair. "I do sir" the man walks over and hands him a large envelope. Leo slides the man an envelop full of cash. "No one is to know about this, do I make myself clear." He raises his eye brow. "You may go." The man nods and leaves the office closing the door.

Leo plays with the envelope for a moment flipping it back and forth before opening the seal. He pulls out several papers and a photo and lays them across the desk his mouth slightly agape “I’ll be damned." He mutters "Sorry dear brother." downing the rest of his scotch. "This may get a bit complicated...."

#trr #choices trr #trr fanfic #king liam #prince leo

[real-life-pine-tree]

Leo Will Never Know: Surviving a New World (10/?)

In an alternate timeline, Yugi indirectly prevented the events of Arc-V from ever happening. But how could this small change have an impact on a few selected people? A spin-off of the Arc-V Aftermath series. Based on the hilarious comic by @justanotherotakuandartist​​​​. Co-written with @violetganache42​​​​​.

Back in the Spirit World, night had fallen across the sandy terrain and the three suns were replaced with a single full moon that was like the on back on Earth. There hasn’t been a single Duel Monster ever since the Harpie Lady Sisters got destroyed, so it was safe to go outside for now. It still doesn‘t mean it was going to be a pleasant experience for everyone, unfortunately; even though a small campfire was lit on one of the school’s structures, the dread still lingered, as heard from a mix of whimpers and sobs.

An annoyed Chazz demanded, “There’s no crying at Duel Academy, so cool it, will ya?”

“We’re sorry, boss,” Ojama Yellow answered. “We’re just getting used to gravity is all.”

“And there are monsters out there,” Ojama Green added.

“That’s right. Real, big, scary, mean monsters,” Ojama Black agreed.

“Hello? You guys are monsters,” Chazz retorted.

Ojama Yellow laughed nervously a little because they were being somewhat hypocritical. “Oh, yeah. Good point, boss,” he said.

“Now let’s see if the three of you can still fly!” Chazz shouted, dealing a blow which sent all three Ojamas off of the building. They all fell onto the dunes, landing on a spot near where Syrus, Alexis, and Hassleberry were standing.

“This really stinks. What if it stays like this forever?” Syrus asked, sounding a bit worried. “Is this really how it’s all gonna end for us?”

“Don’t worry, private,” Hassleberry responded. “There’s probably a rescue team comin’ here right now.”

Alexis simply glanced up at the sky, lost in her thoughts; although she heard what they were talking about, she could tell it would be practically impossible for a standard rescue team to search for them.  In her mind, she wondered, But where’s here?

At that moment, Ray showed up with Hope Dragon Flower. "Are you guys hungry?" she asked.

"A little," Syrus complained "But Dorothy said we only have a week's worth of food and water."

"I think I can help with that," Ray said. "Hope Dragon Flower, care to show off your special trick?"

"Of course, mistress," Hope Dragon Flower replied.

A pink aura surrounded the floral dragon’s body, indicating she was activating her special ability. The flowers on her body reacted to the glowing as they drank the energy the aura possessed and their petals curled outwards and sprouted open far wide. When the glowing coat dissipated, its reminants stayed behind in the now fully-bloomed flowers, ranging from roses, hibiscuses, and tulips to violets, lilacs, and irises. It felt like there was an endless variety of the floral plants draping all over Hope Dragon Flower. Normally, this would only occur when utilizing one of her effects during duels, but Ray had just discovered not too long ago there was actually more to it than she initially thought.

She told Hassleberry, Alexis, and Syrus to take any flower they like, so the three walked up to the dragon and picked off three of them. Thanks to the ability’s energy coursing through her, the three flowers that were removed started to bud and bloom again; of course, that was only just the beginning. Ray signaled the three to go ahead and eat the plants they were holding, adding a reminder to pull the petals off to obtain the best flavor. Syrus was the first to try out how edible the flowers were, taking a petal from a red rose and putting it in his mouth; a few seconds in and he was left mesmerized at how delicious it was. Alexis and Hassleberry grew more curious and decided to consume a couple petals from their pink lily and marigold respectively. They also relished in the delicacies with each bite they took. Ray explained she discovered her Hope Dragon’s trick back at the infirmary and how all these flowers have an excellent amount of filling in them, which helped her regain some of her stamina because the lack of food was one of the contributors to her fatigue from earlier.

"So your dragon can supply us with food?" Hassleberry asked.

"She can," Ray confirmed. "Even if we run out of food at the academy, Hope Dragon Flower can produce edible flowers for everyone. I also spoke to Bastion earlier and he told me how he was able to use Water Dragon to stay hydrated. Now we can explore this world without running out of food and water."

"Your Hope Dragons sure are amazing," Syrus praised. "Is there anything they can't do?"

"Well other than function in the real world, nope," Ray jokingly replied.

Back inside, a Duel Disk blade popped out and the Graveyard compartment opened up, resulting in a red light to glow. Very shortly after that, a deck of Duel Monsters cards were placed in the Main Deck slot. It was revealed to be Jim, who was arming himself with his deck in case more threats occur and was accompanied by Jesse as they walked down the hallways.

“Hey, is Adrian okay?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah,” Jim answered. “Miss Fontaine patched him good as new. After a good night’s rest, he’ll be right as right.”

“Hope so,” Jesse said. “Hey, does that croc ever get heavy?”

Meanwhile, at the library, it was still darkened and closed for the time being, which was a perfect time to see how the demon arm has been doing… But wait a minute. Where was the arm? The canister is now completely empty albeit the orange bubbly liquid. This was not going to be good for Adrian, and speak of the devil, he arrived at the library and found the capsule armless, baffling him.

“Huh?” He ran to the table where he left the capsule to get a closer inspection. The arm’s not in there, he thought with a scowl on his face. Where could you have gone? Did someone come in here and take you while I was away? I got to get you back here. He turned around and began running in the opposite direction, initiating his search with one more thought in mind: We had a deal.

He dashed down the stairs where he came up from, headed to his right, and passed the bookcases before reaching the exit. While scurrying down the halls, he continued thinking, I have to find it ‘cause if I don’t, everything would have been for nothing. It owes me.

As for some of the other students, they were all hiding away in the classroom with white blankets covering their entire bodies and leaving their faces uncovered. They were clearly scared and some of their complaints consisting of but not limited to how long they will be stuck away from the island, not wanting to be in this dimension, how scary it is, and wanting to see their mother made it more evident. Among the huddled crowd was Blair and her newfound friend Marcel Bonaparte; there were a few hiccups here and there upon their first meeting at the start of the year, but there were signs showing it was smoothing out…at least for now.

Not too far away from them, the orange ghostly spirit of Viper’s deceased son Pierre skipped down the halls, ready to begin a plan of its own. “I’m sensing a dark soul that will serve me well,” it ominously said. “I feel I’m getting closer. You can’t hide from me. No one can.” The demonic spirit stopped skipping and looked up to sense the source of the dark energy this soul presents. It rose up from the ground and soared to a nearby classroom door.

“He’s here,” it presumed. “I’m sure of it.”

"Hey, um... Marcel?" Blair asked.

"Yes, Blair?" Marcel replied as he lifted up his blanket.

"Will you, uh..." Blair blushed. "Will you come take a walk with me?"

"Where?" Marcel wondered.

"Just...down the hall," Blair answered.

"Don't worry," Marcel reassured as he and Blair left the classroom. "I had to go to dez twilet as well. At least there won't be a line."

"You're so funny," Blair complimented with a small laugh. "Got any other jokes?"

"Sure," Marcel answered. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?" a nearby voice responded.

Meanwhile, back in Nurse Fontaine's office, Jaden had a hard time sleeping. As Winged Kuriboh cuddled up to him, he sat up in his bed. "Axel?" he asked. "You awake over there?"

Axel glanced at Jaden. "Oh good, you're awake," the Slifer Red student noticed. "Couldn't sleep, huh? I just wanted to say, what you did back there in the lab was really cool. So I owe you one, pal."

"You're welcome, Jaden," Axel replied. "Now get some sleep."

Before Jaden could get a chance to lie back down, Winged Kuriboh woke up and flew out of the bed. He had this strange feeling that something amiss is going on.

“What’s up?” Jaden asked. “Is something wrong?”

All of a sudden, there were two overlapping screams echoing not far from the nurse’s office; one was a boy and the other was a girl. Axel shot up from the bed as the screams subsided and asked, “Did you hear that?”

Jaden nodded in response and added, “Let’s go!”

The duo climbed out of their beds, with Axel heading for the side and Jaden dashing to the bottom to get his shoes. He wanted to stay behind at the infirmary to make sure Ray, Bastion, and Adrian would be fine by tomorrow but with the alert of a new danger, he needed to make sure whoever screamed will be healed up for as long as it will take. Once his shoes were on, he aimed for the door that leads out into the hallway to follow Axel.

As the door slid open, Axel turned to his right to find the source of where the screams came from. “This way,” he instructed Jaden.

With them now out of Fonda’s office, they dashed down the halls to see if any of the students that led out the loud screams got hurt. Surprisingly, in what felt like no time at all, they both caught up with Jesse and Jim.

"Hold up!" Jaden called out.

"Jaden!" Jesse remarked, glad to see his friend. "So you guys heard it too?"

"What, are you kidding me?" Jaden asked in response. "I think the whole academy heard that!"

"We better move it," Axel instructed.

"Right," Jaden agreed.

When the group turned around the corner, they were in for a surprising sight. "It's Blair!" Jaden exclaimed. "What happened?" He picked her up. "Blair, wake up..."

Blair groaned as she opened her eyes. "Jaden.." she weakly said. "It took him... It took Marcel... I tried to stop it, but...it scratched me with this gross-looking hand..."

"What do you mean 'it'?" Jaden asked. "What was it, Blair?"

"Look at that," Axel said as he lifted Blair's arm. "It scratched her. I tell you, I've never seen a scratch like that."

"Blair, hang in there," Jaden advised. "Ms. Fontaine will know how to fix this right up."

"Take her, and we'll go look for Marcel," Jesse said. "Sound good?"

"Alright," Jim agreed.

After everyone else agreed, they all parted in opposite directions; Axel, Jesse, and Jim continued their search to see where Marcel could be while Jaden strayed further away from the trio to heading back to the nurse’s office. He ran as fast as he could as he carried an unconscious Blair in his arms and an anxious Winged Kuriboh floated by to see how severe the peculiar, demonic wound was. In the approximately same amount of time to find her, questions have already flooded Jaden’s mind. I wonder if what attacked Blair is the same thing that attacked Viper on the platform? But why Blair and Marcel? And what’s with that wound?

Jaden inspected the state she was recently stuck in, knowing this wasn’t a natural injury, but hopefully something can be done to make it better. “We’re almost there,” he assured. “Just try to hang on.”

Elsewhere, a forbidding atmosphere was slowly budding in the darkened interior of the library. There was no source of light except for two candleholders on their individual small shelf, carrying three candlesticks each with newly lit flames flickering within the dense shadows. Their combined luminosity unveiled an elevated portion of the floor containing a table with six chairs around it and a throne where Marcel was seen sitting on; however, he had a more eerie appearance as shown by his spikier hair, a grayish-brown cape, and a more menacing glare from his eyes as he stared down onto the floor.

“Who’s in here?” a familiar voice interrogated.

He didn’t glanced up to see a figure of a cloaked Duelist walking up to him, noticing the unnerving change in the library before stopping to see who was sitting in front of him. “Aren’t you that kid Marcel?” he asked.

“Not anymore,” “Marcel” answered as his upper eyelids lowered. He moved his left arm from underneath his cape and rested it on top of the armchair to show him it has been completely corrupted by the recognizable demonic arm in addition to a distorted voice that took over his French accent. “Surprise,” he simply added.

Adrian gasped at this bold move the demon took. “But… I thought we had a deal,” he said before pointing directly at its vessel. “You promised to share your power with me! But now it looks like you got yourself a new plan, so what gives?!”

“Nothing has changed, Adrian. You have my word,” “Marcel” remarked as he stood up, still retaining his dark, evil grin and stare, which made Adrian a bit uncomfortable. “I can still give you the power you desire.” He raised his demonic left arm and made a gesture with his hand that suggests they should reach an agreement. “All I require is that you follow my every command,” he continued, with his voice becoming distorted again.

Adrian didn’t have a response to this per se; everything he heard the demon say rendered him speechless. Everything about its possession over Marcel, from the creepy tweaks to his hair, face, and attire to the transitioning deformity of his voice, was rather unsettling. At the same time, it sounded like it was a entity of its word. All it did was find a temporary host to use until it was satisfied with the results of whatever it has in mind, then it can move on to helping him achieve his personal goals, but…will it all be worth it for him?

Meanwhile, the other students were in line for food. Aside from the academy-provided meals Dorothy was handing out, there was also edible flowers provided by Hope Dragon Flower.

"It's chow time, everybody!" Hassleberry announced.

"Okay guys, come and get it!" Syrus announced. He handed a tray containing bread and a bottle water to Chazz. "Enjoy."

"'Enjoy'?!" Chazz repeated. "This ain't food!"

"It's all we have," Syrus explained.

"Hey Chazz, can we have some?" Ojama Yellow asked.

Chazz groaned. "Ever since you guys became real, all you are is hungry! Go ask them!"

"Sorry, you three," Alexis said. "But we have to ration our food, so you'll have to ask Hope Dragon Flower."

Next to the table containing the rations of bread and bottled water was another line forming for the floral treats provided by Ray and Hope Dragon Flower. After giving them out to her friends as a snack last night, she figured the whole school could use some of the flowers, and once Bastion feels better and gets cleaned up, he’ll join up with her and provide more amble supplies of water from his Water Dragon. The Ojama trio have heard about Hope Dragon Flower’s ability and how it can be used for survival purposes, so them falling down to the ground was good timing on their part; at least they don’t have to eat Chazz’s loaf of bread.

“Come on! Hurry up!”

Chazz turned his head to see three impatient Ra Yellow students standing behind him. The yelling came from the one in the middle, who had shaved brown hair, small, circular glasses, and a voice that sounds strangely and exactly identical to the protagonist of an easily recognizable and iconic ‘90s shonen action anime.

“It’s our turn! We got to eat too!” he continued.

Chazz simply turned away from them, much to their disdain. “We’re starving,” the grayish-brunette student added.

“Now move it, buddy!” the spectacled student demaned.

"Be quiet!" Dorothy spoke up. "We're all here together, so we can't run out of supplies. I hope you understand, but we don't even have enough food for Pharaoh." She noticed the cat nuzzling up against her leg. "No matter how he tries to butter me up."

Meanwhile, in Nurse Fontaine's office, Blair was sleeping peacefully. Thanks to Hope Dragon Bird's feathers and large wings, she provided a proper cushion for the Slifer Red Student.

"I'm worried about Blair," Bastion said. "The school doesn't have the proper resources to treat her. We must get back to our world before her condition worsens. I'm sure a real hospital would be more than capable of helping her."

"You're right," Jaden agreed. "But at least Ray let her borrow Hope Dragon Bird."

Blair stirred in her sleep, causing Hope Dragon Bird to nuzzle her. "I am glad to provide assistance to this young human girl," the dragon spoke up. "Any friend of my mistress is a friend of mine. However, I do not provide the proper healing supplies she needs, so I all I can do is make sure she is properly rested."

"You mustn't worry," Bastion advised. "It's clear that Blair appreciates your help."

"But there's gotta be something we can do," Jaden said. "Right, Ms. Fontaine?"

"Unfortunately we've run out of the medicine we need," Ms. Fontaine reported. She gave Jaden a small list. "Now unless you know where to find a first aid kit with all these medications, Blair's condition will only worsen."

Jaden looked at the list. "That's a pretty long list," he commented.

"Did she say 'first aid kit'?" Bastion checked. "The submarine! I saw one stranded in the desert. It must have a first aid kit on board!"

"You think Crowler will let us go?" Jaden wondered.

"Probably not," Bastion pointed out. "We better ask Ray to accompany us. Surely Crowler will let us go if she's with us."

Sure enough, he was right. Because she was one of his favorite students, there was no way Crowler wouldn’t let them go off in the desert on their own; besides, since there was a year difference between Ray, Jaden, and their friends’ ages, she is more than capable of being their chaperone.

"I see..." Crowler said once Jaden finished explaining. "Well as long as Ms. Akaba is accompanying you, I don't see a problem." He looked over at Ray. "But are you sure about this? Two of your dragons are currently busy."

"It's alright," Ray replied. "I still have Hope Dragon Wind and Hope Dragon Moon. I can duel with just them."

"Very well," Crowler decided. "Just make sure everyone comes back in one piece."

“Don’t worry,” Axel reassured. “If I’m with them, nothing’s gonna happen.”

“You got that right, mate,” Jim concurred. “You see, Axel and I have both recently taken dueling in the desert, one-on-one." He looked over at Axel. "Now show 'em what else we've got."

Axel took out some notebooks. "Student notebooks?" Syrus asked.

"Correct," Axel confirmed. "But once we've reconfigure their hard drives, we can use the notebooks as if they were global positioning homing beacons. Which will help guide us back to Duel Academy."

"Just don't take too long," Crowler advised. "It's bad enough the vice chancellor is fretting over one of the student's disappearance. I don't want any more students vanishing."

"It's alright, Dr. Crowler," Ray replied. "I'm sure we'll all make it back in one piece."

Moments later, the students departed the Academy and split up into two groups to carry out their mission. Jaden, Jesse, Ray, Axel, and Jim were all geared up and near the sandy dunes whereas Hassleberry, Syrus, Chazz, and Alexis were closer to the Academy’s entrance.

“So here’s the game plan: we’ll look for the first-aid kid and you guys guard Duel Academy,” Jaden proposed.

“Sure,” Chazz acknowledged. “If trouble comes looking for us, me and my Ojamas will handle it. Right?”

The Ojama trio cowered behind their boss, grabbing a hold on either his shoulder or resting on top of his spiky, black hair and whimpering out of fear. Unlike what usually happens when they tend to get like this, Chazz raised both eyebrows and had a surprised expression as his reaction; he should’ve seen that coming.

“I’m going with you, Jaden,” Adrian declared as he walked towards the group setting out to find the submarine.

“Okay, but I thought that you were hurt,” Jaden recalled.

“I’m feeling much better,” Adrian informed. “Plus, after Ray saved me from that Harpie, it’s the least I can do to say thanks.”

“Cool. Sounds good,” Jaden replied before turning his head to see Jesse. “We should head out.”

“Yeah,” Jesse responded as he nodded in agreement. “Let’s go find us a submarine.”

“You got it,” Adrian stated.

“Chazz, good luck,” Jaden encouraged.

“Luck is for losers,” Chazz retorted.

“See ya,” Hassleberry and Syrus both said, which was followed with the former giving some quick advice. “Duel first. Ask questions later.”

With all said and done, Jaden, Jesse, Ray, Axel, Adrian, and Jim all set out back into the sandy terrains in search of the submarine Bastion saw; given the path he took when they found him reuniting with the Duel Academy alumni, it would hopefully give them some kind of clue as to where it would be. Wherever it is, the first aid kit was absolutely essential if they wanted to patch up Blair’s abnormal scratch wound and bring her fever down. There’s no telling what will happen to her if her condition worsens.

Shortly after they initiated their expedition, Adrian went back into his thoughts again, determined to make sure the others don’t find out about his true colors. This excursion is providing the perfect cover for me to find that sub and cover my tracks ‘cause if these guys find out about that card I’m after, my plans could be in serious jeopardy, he internally monologued while turning around to look back at the Academy. And I can keep him happy by watching Jaden’s every move.

On top of the school’s structures, the demon-possessed Marcel was standing behind one of the walls, peeking on Adrian as the six students trailed further and further away. Everything was going according to plan. “Watch them well, Adrian. You work for me, now,” he commanded in a low voice so that no one hears him. He moved the attached demon arm out of his cloak and angled it at around 90 degrees, causing it to mutate it appearance. Bone-like features ingrained within its composition surfaced on top and expanded outward to form a custom Duel Disk that looked nothing like the ones made by KaibaCorp or the ones at Duel Academy.

“Now to send Jaden a little welcoming present,” “Marcel” schemed with his mouth forming an evil smirk and his voice sounding distorted once again. He took out a card and placed it onto one of his Monster Zones, reading it with a briefly lit green light.

"What now?" Jesse asked after a bit of wandering around.

"Well Jess," Jaden replied. "Since our Duel Monsters are real, I thought we'd just fly to the sub."

"I can take it from here," Ray said as she took out two cards from her deck. "I don't want any of your monsters to get involved in accidental duels."

"You sure?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ray insisted. "My Hope Dragons should be big enough to fly us over there." She activated her Duel Disk and put her cards on it. "Come on out, Hope Dragon Wind and Hope Dragon Moon!"

The sky increased in brightness for a short time, enveloping the three suns as trails of lunar energy soared from over the horizon and flowed to where Ray was standing. It may be daytime where they are right now, but somewhere within the Duel Monsters dimension, it is already night because the moon never leaves the atmosphere. At the same time, gusts of winter winds sailed across the land and blew from below her feet, forming large tornadic spirals around her that sent smalls chills up her spine. The combination of the lunar energy and the winter winds condensed into one glowing white sphere with a windy atmosphere, almost like Neptune, until it imploded on itself and bursted out cold air coated with stars and snowflakes. As the smoke cleared, Hope Dragons Wind and Moon hovered side by side in the spot where the sphere once was.

"You want us to use your dragons as transportation?" Adrian asked.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Hope Dragon Wind reassured as she and Hope Dragon Moon knelt down. "We can carry all of you with ease."

"But please slow down, sister," Hope Dragon Moon advised as Ray climbed onto her clawed hand. "You tend to be a speedy flyer."

"Geez, I know!" Hope Dragon Wind. "I know better than to fly my usual way with humans on my back!"

"Come on, you two," Ray said. "We can worry about that later. Time to find that sub!"

#Arc V Aftermath #Leo Will Never Know #yugioh arc v #Zarc (arc v) #Ray Akaba #ZarcRay #GenesisShipping

[beccaislearning]

Valbonne is trés bonne, and Nice is SO NICE.

I’m catching up on myself now, so forgive me the time lag between events and their corresponding blog posts. I’m a busy nomad at the moment. Places to see, busses to catch, vino to drink, pasta to eat. Werk, werk, werk, werk, werk. I know, your heart bleeds.

So in between the long mornings and slow afternoons at the beach in Antibes, I took myself on a couple of mini excursions.

In fact, the original plan included way more trips all over the south coast of France, potentials including St Tropez, Cannes, Monaco, Grasse, and maybe even Marseille. The problem was that faced with the reality of how lovely Antibes was, and also the reality of how likely it was to be able to do all these things well in five days and really enjoy myself, I narrowed my outings down to two: a morning in Valbonne at the beautiful Friday market and a day in Nice. With hindsight, I think I made GOOD DECISIONS.

Valbonne’s market was as vast and as beautiful as I hoped. I would say that it had a good ratio of chic classy French wares to tourist tat, say about 90:10. It’s not even that I think the tourist tat is always to be avoided, sometimes it’s worth a trip just for the tourist tat. My case home from China was building with some of the finest tourist tat that this world can offer and last year I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to take a good picture of a woman modelling her wares of dog baseball caps on her Yorkshire Terrier. I didn’t get a good picture, but by no means do I consider that time wasted.

However, Valbonne I kind of went to channeling my hopes to dive into the real life version of a book I recently read (A Pig in Provence, Georgeanne Brennan) that persuaded me that Provençal living is the finest kind of living, and that fresh goats cheese tastes more interesting than it actually does. So for me, Valbonne was a slice of French magical realism, and it hit that desire almost as well as any market could. To be fair, I just love markets as well. All it had to do to tick my boxes was sell any stuff from a trestle table under a plastic red canopy, with the potential of a haggling-type exchange.

I didn’t buy anything to take away with me, but I did eat some rather good Provençal street food: socca (a kind of chickpea pancake from the region that is crispy with good and black crunchy bits on the outside and tender like wet scrambled eggs on the inside) served with heaps of pepper and beignets of deep fried courgette flowers in batter. I loved Valbonne, but I did nearly die of melting away from the coast. I returned by a beautifully air conditioned bus that took me through some gorgeous villages, with a plan to jump straight into the sea. Feeling all adventurous, I nipped to the adjacent-to-Antibes Juan-les-Pins, but all that did was to satisfy my smugness at staying on the right side of the Cap d’Antibes. Too many private beaches, too much noise, and far too many crisp packets and floating plasters in the water.

Now Nice, if I’m honest, I kind of went to begrudgingly, reasoning with myself that I would just go back to Antibes if it proved disappointing and not worth wasting my last full day in France for. I was worried that it would just be too much of a city with less personality that a beautiful little town or village. I was wrong.

I hopped off of the train and walked towards the coast, through the city centre. Straight down the Avenue Jean Médecin, which is a generic (though not unpleasant) main shopping street, complete with packed trams zipping up and down. It wasn’t until I got to the bottom at the Place Masséna and Fontaine du Soleil that I was really impressed, and got to see a little of the Niçoise personality. It is paved with fabulous monochrome tiles, covered in plinths hoisting up crouching white statues, with public fountains-cum-water-parks to your left and right, one shooting up unpredictable and energetic spurts of water from the ground, the other steaming up cooling and calming mist that create iridescent little rainbows as the sun hits their clouds.

I moved further away from the city to the famous Promenade d’Anglais that I feel might be a little overrated (though in all fairness I was recommended to visit in the evening) and the packed out long-but-narrow strip of beach that runs along the promenade. The beach was heaving, with many private beaches, like Juan-les-Pins, and instead of sand there were piping hot pebbles that were being baked in the sun (alongside the many stretched out in glamorous swimwear on their glamorous towels). Though I can’t genuinely pooh-pooh the beach because, though packed and pebbly and a little sold-out, had a sea of the brightest aqua blue that impelled me to whip my clothes off right there and then (awkwardly shuffling around under my towel to be fair) and jump in (in my swimsuit). I believe that being in sea that beautiful makes you feel beautiful. It makes life feel beautiful and your soul shines. It’s just the science of the Mediterranean.

I hopped out and wandered up through the pretty Vieux Nice (the old town of Nice). I met Philippe who grabbed my arm and told me that he needed to show me the Cathedral. He kindly did, though sadly when we parted ways, I had to assure him that we would not be keeping in touch. Almost a holiday romance, but I find myself ok with missing what could have been. I marched my way up to the MAMAC (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art).

MAMAC is a well regarded, though not one of the most famous art galleries to go to in Nice. Had I had more time I may have gone up to Cimiez that hosts the Chagall museum and the Matisse museum. But I didn’t so I went for contemporary art, as that is probably my favourite flavour. I bought a ticket at MAMAC and found out that actually I got a 24 hour ticket to many of Nice’s museums, so if I’d have planned better I may have taken an arty day in Nice, starting earlier. But you live and learn.

Anyway, MAMAC was wonderful. It was as surprising, shocking, inspiring and varied as any good contemporary art gallery. There was an exhibition on the theme of ‘Earth, Air, Fire and Water’, that for some reason spoke right to my soul. The whole gallery was laid out in an incredible building- amazing exhibition spaces, great and generous resting areas, and an amazing roof space made up of turrets, terraces, bridges and roof gardens that gave way to beautiful views across the city and coast.

After this I had a brief wander around the area known as the ‘Petit Marais’ for its elegant coffee shops, that is just next to the gallery. Then a final beer and socca (having got a taste for it), before hopping on the tram and heading back to the station for Antibes, and my final night in France...

#france #travel #valbonne #market #socca #mamac #art #artgallery #nice #provence #cotedazur

[buttdawg]

New South: The Saga Continues 11/2/2019 (2/2)

New South Championship: Chris Crunk vs. Cabana Man Dan (c)

Geez, the title belt is huge.   I like it, but it does seem like a little much.    One thing I like is how they’re not presumptuous enough to call this the “New South World Championship” or anything like that.   The belt has like four states engraved on the centerpiece, so it’s not even necessarily trying to claim the entire Southern U.S.   But they still treat it like a big deal, because it represents the promotion, and the land where it operates. 

I like that.   They’re humble where they need to be humble, and proud where they ought to be proud.   Kind of the opposite of WWE, which crows about how their Saudi Arabia shows are trending on Twitter, but gets really self conscious about using the word “wrestle” in a sentence.   

Anyway, before the match can start, Dump Sanders, the outgoing General Manager, interrupts and announces that he’s adding a third man to the match, Tyler Matrix, who was a former champion who lost the title without ever getting pinned for it.   So I guess this is Dump’s way to stack the odds against Crunk, as Dan’s bum shoulder made this match look like a shoo-in for Crunk.    And I’m fairly sure Crunk’s responsible for the shoulder injury.  

Crunk not only rejects the pre-match handshake, but he attacks Dan when the faces try to shake hands with each other.    He’s a good heel.   He teases a dive to the outside, then stops and yells to the crowd that there’s no way he’d do that.   Pretty clever.   Then he puts Matrix in one of the ringside seats and powerbombs Dan into Matrix.    Is Crunk that big a deal in this promotion, or were they just not sure how to book a triple threat match?   I’m like six or seven minutes into this match, and so far it’s allllllll Crunk.  It’s a good match, I’m just surprised he would be dominating two faces at once like this.    Maybe Dump should have made this a four-way.

Dan tries to use his flip flop, which I think is a pretty big deal, since he’s billed as the “Master of the Flip Flop Chop,” but Crunk catches it and throws it into the crowd.    The crowd throws it back, though, which I guess is the advantage of an intimate venue like this.    Dan throws it out into the crowd again (?).    Well okay.

Tyler Matrix finally gets into gear and starts hitting Crunk with some kicks.    Tyler kinda looks like a young Dave Mustane.   Then he and Dan go at it, which normally would make sense, except Crunk’s been eating their lunch all match long, so maybe they should be wearing him down while they have the chance.   

Nice spot where Tyler hits a swanton bomb on Dan, and then Crunk zips into the ring, tosses him out, and tries to steal the pin, but Dan kicks out at two.     Okay, now it’s starting to feel like a more even three-way match.   Though really, you’d think Dan would be less of a factor.    He’s got a bad shoulder and he keeps limping in the ring, so I would expect this to be mostly Crunk vs. Tyler with Dan struggling to stay in it.    

But ironically Dan steals the win when Matrix reverses a move on Crunk, and then Dan schoolboys him to score the pin.    Well, good for him.    I was really expecting some sort of clusterfuck WCW-in-1997 finish to this show, but a clean win is always fine by me.   

Okay, wait, there’s an encore?    Well, all right.  

Dy-Lan & The Kenway vs.  Lion Heart (Leo and Johnny Lerman)

Some guy appears on the Titantron and addresses the crowd, but I can’t tell what the hell he’s saying.   He says something about a “female surprise”, and then some lady comes out to “Baby Got Back” and twerks in the ring.    Her name’s “Cat Fontaine”, apparently.   

The announcer calls this match the “pre-show extravaganza.”    Why are they showing it at the end, then?    I guess they edited the order of the matches, but why not just leave them in the order they took place?  

Not much to say about this one, except Lerman and Dy-Lan do some mat-based stuff for a bit, which is kind of weird for an indy show in 2019.    Or maybe it’s not, how would I know?    Hot tag to Leo gets a nice pop.    This isn’t bad or anything, but I don’t know what to say about it.    Leo hooks Kenway in a rear naked choke and taps him out to win.   I guess Lion Heart is kind of a submission/old-school grappler combo?    I could get into that kind of team, but I think I need to see them against someone else to really see what they’re about.  

And that’s it.    Never did figure out what BB-8 and that “GM1″ card was all about.  Oh well.   

#new south #the saga continues