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sambergscott · 4 years

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Lights Out

Summary: The elevator jolts and the lights flicker, before plunging them into total darkness. There's a Brooklyn-wide power outage, they're stuck in the precinct elevator and Amy is claustrophobic AF. Then her water breaks.

Based on this amazing (!!!) s7 finale theory by @luna-minerva. Thank you so much for letting me turn that into this. I really, really hope you love it.

She has a birth plan written out by her sixth month of pregnancy detailing her preferences for labor — dimmed lights, calming music, an epidural, Jake by her side at all times — laminated in the apartment, her go bag (already pre-packed in their family friendly sedan) and her everyday purse. She sent copies to her doctor, both their parents and Captain Holt, printed one for Jake to keep at work and saved a digital copy in the Notes app on both their phones. Just in case.

(“Single spaced, double sided: Santiago Style,” Jake grins when she hands over the final draft.

“Of course. It’s an important document about the most important moment of our lives. I want everything to go smoothly.”)

And for most of her pregnancy, it does. She sends him out for pierogis, potato pancakes and hot chocolate most nights, cries over every car commercial on TV and waddles around the apartment making sure everything is perfect for when the baby arrives. The doctor assures her that they’re both healthy, but she should take an early maternity leave, given the stresses of her job.

She survives for one day before she’s back at the precinct, prompting several raised eyebrows and whispers from around the bullpen. Ignoring all of them, she hitches her purse onto her shoulder, lifts her head, and marches determinately to her old desk.

“FOMOW?” Jake guesses with an amused smile.

“It’s not FOMOW,” she huffs in annoyance. “I just finished organising the nursery and since I was passing the precinct, I figured I’d come visit my husband, if that’s OK with you.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” he holds his hands up. “I’ve missed having a beautiful lady to look up at when my paperwork gets boring.” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully. “I suppose you’ll do.”

She rolls her eyes, sitting down and trying to make herself as comfortable as possible, a difficult task when you’re as big as a whale and your back has been aching all day.

“Peralta,” Holt’s new assistant barks as he leaves Holt’s office, “you missed some signatures on this report.” He drops it on top of all the other open case files, candy wrappers and clutter on Jake’s desk, a welcome change from the way Gina would turn their work into paper airplanes and fly them across the bullpen. As Jake starts scribbling his name, Holt’s assistant notices Amy. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Oh, I’m OK. I work here. Well, I used to work here. I’m on maternity leave.”

“Of course,” he nods, realisation spreading across his face. “You’re Sergeant Santiago. Captain Holt mentions you constantly.”

“He does?” She clutches her heart. “Jake, did you hear that? Holt mentions me.”

He mouths “dork” and she sticks her tongue out at him.

“So when’s the baby due? You look ready to pop any day now.”

“Two weeks,” Jake answers on her behalf, sensing danger. The ‘ready to pop’ comment has been driving her crazy for weeks. She is well aware of her size and does not need perfect strangers reminding her. She’s pregnant, not a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. She’s supposed to be big. He shoves the signed documents into Holt’s assistant’s hands and glances apprehensively back at his wife. “You OK?”

“Mm-hmm.” She plasters on a brave face. “Can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually miss Gina.”

Jake snorts and presses play on CCTV footage of a robbery.

She twists her engagement ring on her finger, braids the ends of her hair and straightens a pile of folders on the desk. She is something of a workaholic and not being able to do anything is torture. “Any cool cases you’re working on?” She asks Jake, because what else are husbands for if not living vicariously through their work while on maternity leave?

“Hipster coffee shop got broken into last night. The owner was devastated that she had to drink Starbucks this morning like the rest of us instead of her fancy $8 million gold infused coffee blend from Outer Mongolia.”

“At least she gets to drink coffee,” Amy responds snarkily.

“Worth it though,” he grins. “And I’ll be your personal in-home barista once this baby is out.”

“Thanks, babe. You’re the sweetest.” She rounds their desks to give him a chaste kiss (she may not be in work but they are still at work), when something catches her eye on the screen. She instructs him to rewind the video, pointing out that the intruder has the same bone structure and blonde hair as the owner behind the counter.

Jake gasps. “It was an inside job!”

A failing business tries to scam the insurance company; it’s a tale as old as time.

He grabs his phone, gun and jacket in a rush to arrest the owner before they skip town.

“Can I come with you?”

“What?”

“I want to come with you. I’m the one who solved the case.”

“You’re pregnant. You can’t.”

“I’ll walk ahead of you, pretend I’m just a normal customer,” she pleads. “You know I’m good at going undercover. Remember Dora?”

“Of course I remember Dora, Johnny loved Dora, but this is different. It’s too dangerous.”

“They own a hipster coffee shop, Jake,” she deadpans. “They’re not going to hurt a pregnant lady. I’m FOMOWing so bad, I just want to be there.”

“Ames-.”

“Please, Jake,” she kicks her persuasion tactics up a few notches, pulling out the doe eyes and pout that she knows he can’t resist.

“Fine,” he concedes before she starts crying and playing the “I’m having your baby” card. “You can come. But if anything dangerous goes down, you have to get out of there straight away. You can’t get involved.”

“Deal.” She shakes his hand firmly (she took a refresher seminar a few months ago) and retrieves her purse from her old desk, following him to the elevator like old times. Peralta and Santiago off to take down bad guys (and look good doin’ it). Of course, there will be no actual taking down of bad guys nine months pregnant, although she could do it if she wanted to, she’s definitely felt the urge to kick Charles in the shin whenever he brings them disgusting foods or tries to kiss her belly.

Just being there is enough for now.

She speeds up, reaching the elevator before him and pressing the down button first. She smirks at him over her shoulder and steps inside when the doors open. Despite being married and expecting a kid together, their competitive edge has never wavered. In the last few months alone, they’ve bet on the sex of the baby, who would cry first when they heard the heartbeat, what fruit or vegetable their baby is that week and who can put a diaper on a football fastest. Bets are the cornerstone of their relationship — the original bet sparking Jake’s realisation that he liked her liked her — and Amy can’t wait for their kids to join in when they’re old enough.

(Kids, plural, because for some reason, even after difficulty conceiving and morning sickness and FOMOW, she would still go through pregnancy all over again. They don’t quite want eight like her parents, but at least one more would be nice).

Rosa’s black boots stop the elevator doors closing and she squeezes through the gap. “Got an early lunch date,” she explains.

“Oh,” Amy says, sharing A Look™️ with Jake. Rosa hasn’t dated anyone since Jocelyn dumped her, choosing to be on her own for a while since she hasn’t really had time alone to process her almost marriage to Pimento, prison and coming out. Repairing her relationship with her parents has been her #1 priority and this is the first Amy’s heard about her seeing someone new. “Is it... serious?” She tries not to push too hard because otherwise Rosa will just close off (it’s pointless asking about names or jobs or appearance), which is hard because she just wants her to be as happy as she is with Jake, but also knows from past experience that Rosa will eventually reveal the information when she’s ready.

“It could be,” she responds vaguely. “I like her, but she’s a doctor so we both work way too much.”

“Well, I hope it works out. You deserve someone really great.”

Rosa pulls her in for a tight, unexpected hug. “Thanks, Santiago,” she murmurs, her voice cracking as if she’s about to cry.

The elevator jolting and lights flickering ruins the moment. After a few terrifying seconds, it stops completely and they are plunged into darkness.

Amy’s blood runs cold, panic filling her lungs. She’s had this nightmare a million times, having suffered with claustrophobia ever since her brothers locked her in a closet as a kid.

She hears Jake’s “cool, cool, cool, cool, cool” and Rosa saying that it’s probably a power cut, but she can’t speak. She can’t do anything but think about how they’re never going to get out and how the squad will have to send them food supplies through the safety hatch in the ceiling and how they’ll have to raise their baby in this tiny metal box, teaching her to count using the buttons to the different precinct floors.

She feels pain, a fun combination of Braxton Hicks that she’s been having for weeks and panic attack. She tries to focus on her breathing and not on the four walls closing in on her. When the breathing techniques fail, she focuses on Jake.

Kind, funny, handsome Jake. Her husband, but more than that, her best friend. She concentrates on the toothpaste stain on the front of his shirt, his unruly curls that she loves so much, the ring on his finger glinting in the light from Rosa’s phone. His own phone is pressed to his ear and she can only hear one side of the conversation but it’s clear that he’s debriefing Holt.

“- Me, Amy, Rosa -"

“- We’re fine, just stuck -"

“- How long? -”

“Shit.” He hangs up, pocketing his phone. “Power’s out everywhere. Our back-up generators haven’t kicked in, something about air in the fuel system. The fire department are busy with the blackout and we’re apparently not an emergency, so. We could be in here a while.”

“Shit,” Rosa echoes his sentiment.

“Yeah. You OK, Ames?” He turns his attention to her.

She shakes her head meekly.

“Claustrophobic?” Rosa guesses, remembering her reaction to being locked in the trunk when she was trying to get her and Gina to face their fears.

She nods.

“We can play Celebrity to distract ourselves. I’ll go first. He’s the greatest actor -.”

“Bruce Willis,” Amy and Rosa say at the same time.

“Thought I’d give you an easy one to start,” he blushes.

Amy almost laughs despite the overwhelming fear. She loves him, Bruce Willis obsession and all. She takes a few seconds to think of someone good. Then, “They’re in - oh - water -.”

“They’re in water?” Rosa repeats, confused. “You mean like Jaws?”

“Or Finding Dory?” Jake adds. He made her watch the movie with him after Pimento’s Memento disease and now wants to buy a fish and call it Dory, even though he famously killed her fish back when they were dating. “Is it Ellen?”

“No, my water.”

Jake and Rosa both look down in horror. She buries her face in her hands. As if this situation could not get any worse.

“At least this classifies us as an emergency now,” Jake quips.

Rosa does Amy a favour and punches him in the arm.

They notify Holt — who in turn notifies the FDNY — and Jake sends a text to both their parents.

Rosa climbs onto Jake’s shoulders and opens the safety hatch so Charles can lower a care package of towels and bottled water into the elevator.

(He also delivers Sour Candies, upon Jake’s request).

Terry tries to pull the doors apart, but even his tree trunk arms are no match for the heavy metal.

Amy breathes through her contractions, stubbornly determined to stick to her birth plan and give birth in the hospital.

Her body, however, has other ideas.

“Four minutes apart now,” Rosa announces. She punches a wall out of frustration. “Where the hell are those firefighters?”

“They’re not going to make it in time,” Jake responds, equally frustrated. “Camila warned me months ago that Santiago babies come early, fast and are always boys.”

“This baby is half-Peralta and a girl. She might be the exception.” Amy takes a sip of water, ignoring the look of disbelief on Jake’s face.

“Diaz, you went to med school, tell my wife that this baby isn’t going to wait.”

Rosa opens her mouth to speak but Amy cuts her off.

“Diaz, tell my husband that the contractions aren’t even that painful and we have time.”

As it turns out, they don’t have time at all.

She’s feels pressure, the urge to push, and not even the glug glug glug of Rosa’s babbling brook sounds can calm her down.

“I do not want to give birth in the precinct elevator,” she cries.

Jake, on back rubbing duty, exchanges nervous glances with Rosa. She’s fully dilated and with the fire department still busy tackling other emergencies, this is happening. Right here. Right now.

“You know, it’s actually kind of perfect, Ames. We first met outside this elevator, right? And I kept the elevator doors open to let you win the Jimmy Jabs because of my massivecrush on you. And then you let me win to save our car. We fell in love in this precinct. It’s where we had our first for realz kiss, where we got engaged, where we got married. It’s kind of fitting that it’s also where our baby is going to be born.”

She tilts her head back to kiss him, ignoring Rosa’s complaints that they’re gross.

She thinks back to her wedding vows. Not everything is in our control, but as long as you’re with the right people you can handle anything. And you, Jake Peralta, are the right person for me. She can handle this with Jake by her side. She can bring their daughter into the world.

“OK... I’m ready.”

“That’s my girl,” Jake says proudly, shuffling into a better position to hold her hand and see the baby when she comes out.

They all disinfect their hands with Purrell from Amy’s purse and Rosa explains what’s going to happen and Jake jokes that he feels like Sandra Oh in Grey’s Anatomy.

Rosa rolls her eyes. “Christina was a heart surgeon, dumb dumb. You’re thinking of Addison. What?” She questions at their surprised expressions. “I like Grey’s Anatomy! It makes me feel things! I’m not totally heartless.”

Amy releases a string of expletives as another contraction starts.

“We’re going to start pushing on the next one,” Rosa instructs, forgetting her favourite medical drama.

Amy nods quickly.

Jake brushes fallen strands of hair away from her sweat-covered skin and takes her hand. “Squeeze as hard as you need to, babe.”

No amount of studying or listening to her mom’s stories could prepare her for the pain of pushing a baby out. It’s worse than the time her brother pushed her off the monkey bars when she was eight and she broke her arm, worse than the time she got shot in the line of duty, worse than the heartbreak of Jake being sentenced to 15 years in prison. It’s worse than anything she’s ever experienced and when it’s over she has so many questions for her mom, including why on Earth did she do this so many times?!

She’s also going to thank Jake for not complaining once and buy Rosa many drinks for her part in all this.

Having her colleague deliver her baby was definitely not part of the birth plan, but out of everyone they work with, she’s glad that it’s Rosa.

Rosa who’s been there for Jake since the Academy.

Rosa who has always had her back, too, who comforted her when Jake was in Florida, helped get her to her Sergeant’s exam on time and encouraged Jake to ask her out.

(And thank God she did).

Labor is exhausting.

It’s painful and emotional and long.

“You’re so close,” Jake cheers her on when she hits a wall.

“He’s right. I can see her head. One more push, Santiago.”

“I can’t-.”

“You can,” Rosa insists. “1,000 push ups.”

“OK,” she whispers. Rosa doesn’t just throw around 1,000 push ups willy nilly. It means something. And if Rosa is so confident that she can do this, then she can do it.

She pushes and pushes and eventually hears a baby’s cry.

It’s the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard.

When Rosa places her in Amy’s arms for immediate skin-to-skin, all four of them are openly weeping.

She’s the most perfect person she’s ever seen.

“I love you both so much,” Jake murmurs, kissing the top of Amy’s head. He leans down to kiss his daughter, too, marvelling over the fact that he gets to say my daughter now.

They cuddle for a while, quietly bickering over who she looks most like. They decide that she has Jake’s hair, nose and mouth and, when she opens her eyes for a second to see what all the fuss is about, he is thrilled to discover that she has the same beautiful eyes as her mom.

They wrap her up in Jake’s favourite blue hoodie to keep her warm and Rosa snaps their first official family portrait and sends it to their parents, Amy’s brothers and the Nine-Nine’s WhatsApp group. She reads out the messages of congratulations that fly in, making Jake and Amy both cry some more.

Finally she interrupts their family time to cut the cord, pulling out her pocket knife and lighter from her leather jacket.

Jake’s eyes go comically wide. “You’re going to use a knife?”

“Do you have any other suggestions?” She snaps.

He falls silent.

“Thought so.” She sterilises the blade (recently sharpened following Brad Leone’s tutorial from the BA Test Kitchen) with her lighter and carefully cuts the umbilical cord.

“Say thank you Tía Rosa,” Amy coos, stroking her daughter’s tiny hand.

“Tía?”

“Mm-hmm,” Amy hums with a tired smile. “We were going to ask you to be her godmother anyway, but I think you have more than earned that role now.”

“I’d be honoured,” she responds.

After another hour and a half stuck in the elevator, the lights come back on, the elevator doors open with a ping and they are suddenly faced with a crowd of concerned police officers, firefighters and paramedics, little Maya Peralta gracing the rest of the world in the most dramatic of fashion.

The firefighters spring into gear, holding the elevator doors shut while others help Amy into an awaiting wheelchair.

Jake hovers next to the paramedics as they check Maya’s vitals. Thankfully, everything is normal, they clean her up and replace Jake’s blood-stained hoodie with a warm blanket.

“She’s perfect,” the female paramedic tells him as she hands Maya back to her dad, confirming what he knew the second he laid eyes on her.

They then turn their attention to Amy, who is fine — more than fine, she’s the happiest she’s ever been — just a little sore. They decide to take them both into hospital as a precautionary measure since Maya is two weeks early (Santiago Style!), packing up their equipment while Jake and Amy introduce the Nine-Nine’s newest recruit to the rest of the squad.

Terry says something about little girls being the best, Hitchcock and Scully claim not to have known Amy was even pregnant and Holt’s stoic façade crumbles when Maya grips his finger with her entire hand.

Charles’ eyes are red and puffy like he’s been crying, but he’s uncharacteristically calm when Jake asks if he wants to hold her. He nods, of course, and is enamoured with her the moment he feels her weight in his arms.

This isn’t how she planned it —none of it is — she wanted the controlled hospital birth and the grandparents to meet the baby first and she really wanted to catch the perp from the coffee shop robbery, but Jake was right. It’s kind of perfect that she was born here, in the Nine-Nine, surrounded by their second family.

She meets her husband’s eye and smiles.

#b99 fics #jake x amy #my writing #I'm really proud of this so I hope you all love it #also the knife thing turned out to.....not be as big of a deal as I expected #but thank you for your advice anyway #let me know what you think!!!!!

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bestusdtdapp2083sa-blog · 4 years

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Is there nevertheless a revenue without heading bankrupt? Bitmain lastly posted the prospectus, and Kai-Fu Lee can be an investor

In reaction to numerous calls from the exterior world, Bitmain lastly posted its prospectus around the Hong Kong STOCK MARKET. Analysis 1: The exterior world is not bankrupt at all! However, the decrease in gross profit is a caution information for Bitmain's prospectus, which in one dropped swoop broke the rumor that the outside world was not angry enough for Bitmain to keep playing. The prospectus states that the web income in 2016 was 113.6 million U.S. bucks, while the internet revenue in 2017 soared to 701.4 million U.S. dollars. In Learn More / 2 of 2018, revenue attained 2.85 billion U.S. dollars and net revenue reached 743 million U.S. bucks. The annual income and net income results for the whole year display that even if Bitmain lost profit the second one fourth, it still made money throughout the first half of the year, breaking the rumor that "Bitmain lost nearly US$328 million in purchase losses before month is going to move bankrupt." However, the price tag on Bitcoin has fallen to 6,000 to 7,000 factors from a most of $20,000 last year. The price of mining machines has also plummeted. We can see that the gross profit percentage of Bitmain's items has declined, from 48.7% in the first half of 2017 to 36.2% in the initial half of 2018 (however the operating profit rate did not decrease to 36% in the first half of 2017 , The initial half of 2018 was 37.5%, hook increase). Evaluation of Bitmain Prospectus 2: Operating cashflow is unfavorable and "dark box" Except for the decline in gross income and increase in inventory, Bitmain's cash flow from operating actions in the next quarter showed a poor worth of -620 million yuan. A danger sign of tight cashflow? Bitmain alleged that this increase in supply and the decrease in advance payments had been the main factors. The creator and CEO of Kyber Funds (Kyber Funds) Hu Yitian particularly described in his Facebook enthusiast group PO posting, ?he payment from the mining machine offered by Bitmain in cryptocurrency will undoubtedly be accounted for after being sold as legal currency. Include operating cashflow, but include purchase cashflow.?? Hu Yitian analyzed, "Through the perspective of conventional valuation models, totally free cash flow is operating cash flow minus the capital expenditure essential to maintain operations. Consequently, if the cryptocurrency part is not considered, the business seems to be burning money on a regular basis." However, Bitmain's strategy prevents investors from understanding the summary of the cash movement of operating actions. Specifically, Bitmain that locations an order at TSMC must prepay 50% from the payment, and it cannot be compensated in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is included in the purchase cash flow. Allow the cash flow of operating actions turn out to be an opaque "dark box." Bitmain prospectus analysis three: this is a dark horse which has suddenly emerged, nonetheless it is meaningless to say that it is among the top ten fabless fabs in the world. Bitmain also emphasizes that if it is estimated by income in 2017 on your own, it is among the most top ten in the world. Daiwa China's second largest fabless chip style company. However, the existing market feature of Bitmain belongs to the "high roller" type, that's, the price of Bitcoin has risen and fallen, causing the sales of mining machines to go up and fall. More than 90% of Bitmain's present revenue sources come from mining machines. Spread the risk and use the current best 12 months to say that you can't persuade the crowd that you simply squeeze into the top ten on the planet. But aside from this point, a start-up group that was only set up in 2013 and did not have the assistance of Chinese govt policy subsidies at the start, the results have been quite amazing, as well as the semiconductor circle is regarded as a dark horse that has abruptly emerged. And Bitmain furthermore clearly stated steps to make money by marketing mining machines! Bitmain has ruled the united states of Bitcoin mining machines, with a market share of 74.5%, and Jianan Zhizhi, the second place, can only be seen from the distance. In 2017, the total sales of mining machines accounted for 89.9% of the annual revenue, and in the first half of this year it climbed to 94.3%, indicating that Bitmain still has working mining pools (it has opened 11 mines in The far east, located in Sichuan, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia and other places), also self-operated mining but did not bring much revenue. Bitmain prospectus evaluation four: Kai-Fu Lee also has investments, but he's optimistic concerning the AI ?hip, not the mining machine business. However, the list of investors in Bitmain is more interesting. In addition to the previously known reddish shirt capital, there are also innovations familiar to Taiwanese Li Kaifu, chairman and CEO from the manufacturer, and Beijing Integrated Circuit Sector International Account (LP). Investors in the B round are Temasek Lanting Funds, Newegg Technology and Whampoa Capital. Although the outdoors world thinks that Bitmain's AI chip is still in its infancy, it cannot be weighed against the thriving Google TPU and NVIDIA GPU. However, in accordance with Chinese media reviews, Kai-Fu Lee pointed out that as a Tech VC, Innovation Works is certainly good at grasping technological trends and enters the market earlier in the early stage before the air outlet is usually formed. Innovative Functions uncovered Bitmain when it was installation of the artificial intelligence acceleration chip track in the past. In August 2017, Innovative Functions completed the A round of investment decision in Bitmain and became Bitmain's first circular of institutional investors. At the Taiwan Semiconductor Forum in Sept, some foreign analysts also pointed out that "Chinese companies cutting into AI chips in the mining machine chip business is an opportunity for development." Analysis 5: I'm a little thief. I didn't disclose how much Bitcoin Cash (BCH) I have, but I keep 880 million yuan in cryptocurrency, which makes up about 28% of complete assets. However, the outside world most really wants to know how much of its own cryptocurrency Bitcoin Money (BCH). However, the prospectus did not compose (disappointing XD within the currency group), in support of stated that this cryptocurrency within the hands of Bitmain emerged mainly from Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dash. The source is in the selling of mining machines. By June 30, 2018, the cryptocurrency stability has been US$880 million, data processing for 28.0% of the total asset value. Blind place: lack of the third quarter financial report, but the prospectus information is only from the initial half of this season, and Bitmain intends to IPO at the end of the entire year or early next calendar year. The transcript of the next half of this season is the most significant, and Bitmain is certainly facing a lot of hidden worries. , That is invisible in the prospectus without the third quarter earnings report.

#bitcoin price #bitcoin news #ethereum games #crypto mining game #top crypto games

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topmodelcentral · 2 years

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Sarangerel Tumbish for Khuyag

~ Mongolia (1) ~

#Sarangerel Tumbish #MNTM #Mongolia's Next Top Model #cycle 1 #model #fashion #Khuyag #editorial #green #dress #simple #elegant #traditional #pretty #stunning #beautiful #gorgeous #fierce #regal

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houseki-no-suffering · 6 years

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The Lustrous’ writing system

(contains minor and major spoilers from the manga!!)

Writing and reading are recurring elements in Houseki no Kuni. Phos’ first job is to write an encyclopedia and we know that the gems possess a vast library. Writing is so important that Peridot’s main occupation is making paper for other gems to use, just like Alex’s job is being a scholar and writing about Lunarians.

Also, while Admirabilis, Lustrous and Lunarians seem to share a common language, they do not share the same writing system (when showed a dépliant of the Moon facilities, Phos is unable to read it). So which script do the Lustrous use?

Since it’s sensei that educates the gems in writing and reading, we can assume that he taught them a type of script that humans used when he was originally created, so we can try to identify it starting from the scripts that exist today.

First of all, there are many types of writing systems, each with their own conventions, and they are classified according to what the different symbols of the system stand for. While linguists still kill each other in their sleep over classifications criteria, for the sake of this post I’m going to adopt a simplified version of Daniels’ classification. So we have:

Logographic: like Chinese, each symbol is a morpheme (a single unit of meaning, like 王, king)

Syllabic: like Japanese kana, each symbol is a syllable (け, か and こ, ke, ka and ko)

Alphabetic: like our Latin alphabet, each symbol is a distinct phoneme, vowels included (like A, B, C etc)

Abugida: or alphasyllabary, it’s in between Alphabetic and Syllabic, sequences of consonants and vowels are written as a unit like in Devanagari and Tibetan ( क् + प/ पे = क/ कॆ, K + a/e = Ka/Ke)

Abjad: like the Alphabetic, but symbols are only for consonants, like in traditional Hebrew and Arabic (ב‬ ,ג‬ ,ד‬, B, G, D)

Featural: the shape of the symbol resemble that of the sound, like in Korean Hangul (like ㅁ, M, that looks like a mouth)

Another thing to account for is the direction of writing: when the gems write they go top to bottom, vertically and right-to-left like we can see from these pictures:

Pic 1 is of one of Alex’s drawings: the paragraphs align on the right side of the paper, while there’s room left on the opposite side of the sheet, at the end of the second paragraph. The second pic is of Rutile: while it looks like they’re taking notes left-to-right, they could also be editing what they just wrote because the entire page is already densely written. Also notice how they write with a stylus, not a brush, because this detail will be important later.

Similarly, here we have Ghost, Sensei and Phos reading right-to-left, starting from what would be the last page from a Latin script user’s point of view. Notice how the titles of the books are on the left of the binding. Sensei is also reading right-to-left: this is from the panel where he’s teaching a new book to young Phos so he’s reading the first pages, the ones on the right.

So we have a top-to-bottom, right-to-left script, which hints at the gems’ writing system being based on an East-Asian script, since they’re the ones most often written vertically&RTL.

It would make sense for the Lustrous writing system to be Asian-based: the story is highly influenced by Buddhism and the mangaka is a Japanese woman. Yet, while I do believe that the script the gems use is Asian (or, well, similar to known Asian scripts) I don’t believe it’s Japanese. Let’s look at some examples:

(Lustrous script vs Chinese/Japanese cursive)

(regular Chinese/Japanese vs cursive form vs Lustrous script)

The gems’ script does resemble Japanese and Chinese cursive, but there are a few issues. First of all, cursive is hardly intelligible even for skilled readers, because it is regular writing that was drastically simplified and smoothed out to create a beautiful and abstract appearance: it’s more of an art form than an ‘actual’ writing system. Also, cursive is created by the movement of the brush never leaving the paper, so we would expect the gems to write with a brush when we know that they actually use a stylus.

Finally, since cursive is just a type of calligraphy, we would expect some of the writing we see in the series to look like regular Japanese and Chinese, like the script on the left in the first picture, yet it never does.

(Lustrous script vs Traditional Mongolian)

What we do have examples of are the tidy and geometrical vertical lines that characterize the Lustrous’ script. They write vertically in a continuous swirl of characters that is similar not only to Chinese Cursive but also to another East Asian alphabet, with whom the Lustrous script also shares a lot of other characteristics: Traditional Mongolian, a script derived from the Old Uyghur alphabet, a distant relative of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

I have a couple of examples to raise my point and they have to do with the few images of single letters/symbols that we see in the series, like the one below, from ep.12.

I couldn’t find a higher resolution picture, but look at the paper sheets on the wall of Alexandrite’s room: the one on the left is about the different types of Lunarian apparitions, while the one on the right is about the island where the gems live.

If you squint your eyes a little, you can see that, above each portion of text in the image on the right is a symbol, probably a letter or a number to classify the different types of information. Same thing for the left image: there’s a symbol next to each ‘model’.

When Alex tests Phos’ knowledge, they do refer to numbers to classify the different types of models, so let’s say for a second that those symbols are numbers. Even if the picture is not super clear they are not angular enough to be Chinese/Japanese numbers: 一十二三四五六七八九十 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Now look at Mongolian numbers:

They look swirly and rounded like those in the picture. Also, remember how Mongolian writes top-to-down? If you stack these numerals up in vertical sequences (like in dates or two+ digit numbers) they will acquire the same length of the ones showed in the picture.

Finally, we must also take into consideration the type of script. Remember that very long list at the beginning of this post? Well, how do the gems differentiate among symbols and sounds? Do they use an Alphabetic script like Mongolian or a Logographic one like Chinese? Do they use something different altogether?

Thanks to Phos’ never-ending curiosity, we do have one example of how the Lustrous’ write sounds and it’s from when Phos tried to speak with the Lunarians and heard them saying ‘fu’ and ‘a’:

When they write those sounds down, they use two different characters: one for ‘fu’ and one for ‘a’.

Now, the manga is written in Japanese and Japanese uses a syllabic script, so it can’t write single consonants. Instead, it attaches the vowel ‘u’ (or sometimes ‘o’) to a consonant to suggest that it should be read by itself. So we could think that the ‘u’ in ‘fu’ is mute and that the Lunarian said ‘f’ instead of ‘fu.’ However that ‘fu’ is used to make a joke just a couple of panels later, suggesting that it could also exist as a syllable on its own, not a single consonant.

This would change the type of script the Lustrous use, because if Phos wrote down ‘f’ and ‘a’ (instead of ‘fu’ and ‘a’), then it would mean that the gems use an Alphabetic script, like Traditional Mongolian. On the other hand, if Phos heard ‘f+u’ and wrote down the syllable ‘fu,’ then the gems’ script could be Syllabic, like Japanese or an Alphasyllabary like Tibetan.

As for other types of scripts, I don’t think they are using a Logographic one (like Chinese), because if they were, then Phos would have written all the different ways in which the sound ‘fu’ could be represented, just like when Japanese speakers tell each other which kanji to use to write their name correctly. This is because each symbol stands for a morpheme (a unit of meaning), not a phoneme (a single emission of sound), so the same unit of sound can be written in different ways.

Phos is looking at the sounds they just wrote to come up with an idea about what they could possibly mean: it would make sense for them to write down all the possible combinations of sounds for ‘fu’ and ‘a,’ not just one.

What we can say for sure is that the Lustrous’ script is not Abjad, because the vowels (like ‘a’) have an independent symbol. And speaking of independent symbols, if we come back to Mongolian for a second, we can see that the symbols for ‘initial fu’ and ‘independent a’ do look a little like what Phos wrote down:

If this were true, then the Lustrous’ script would work like Mongolian: an alphabetic script where letters have different forms depending on their position in a word (initial, medial, final or independent).

There is one problem with Mongolian, though: it’s written vertically, top-to-bottom like the Lustrous’ script, but left-to-right rather than right-to-left. So if the gems are indeed writing in some sort of descendant of the Traditional Mongolian script, then it was modified to allow right-to-left vertical writing, like in a mixture between Chinese cursive and Traditional Mongolian.

For example, the two Lustrous letters above look like a mirrored version of the Mongolian letters below, and that could explain how one system writes RTL and the other LTR.

Among all the existing writing systems that I have analyzed, I think that Traditional Mongolian and Chinese cursive are the ones that resemble the way the Lustrous write the most. Among the two, I believe Traditional Mongolian shares more features with the Lustrous script than Chinese cursive, except for the fact that Mongolian writes left-to-right.

If the gems really did write in a parent script of Mongolian, then it would be interesting to know if they also spoke a descendant of the Mongolian language or if sensei taught them Mongolian script because he was created in Mongolia, but this post is already long enough.

I’d love to hear what you think about the Lustrous script though, and if I made some mistake or forgot to mention something, feel free to add to this meta.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk #meta #long post #writing #writing system #script #hnk headcanon #mongolian #linguistics #lustrous writing system #meta tag #best

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thecasperanfamily · 3 years

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Past and Present: A Casperan Family Oneshot

The fic about Lin's inhibitor cuff that I promised I'd post six months ago and then completely forgot about. Bear in mind that this does include some reference to another one of my fics, A Shot in the Dark, but I don't think prior reading of that one is necessary to understanding this. Basically all you need to know from that is that Douxie had a very bad experience with an inhibitor cuff when he was in New York with Nari and Archie.

I hope you all enjoy, and I am so ridiculously sorry about the absurdly long delay.

CW: Injury and brief mention of past torture (the former is not too graphic and the latter is only implied, but thought I should warn you just to be safe)

~~~~~

The front door gave a familiar squeak as Douxie shouldered his way in, a bag of groceries in one hand, his phone in the other as he skimmed over a text from one of his wizarding associates currently situated somewhere in the highlands of Mongolia (HexTech’s magical cell service had remarkable reach).

“Shoes off,” Zoe called from the dining room without looking up from her latest project, which was strewn across the table in the shape of various bits and bobs of magical gadgetry.

“Hello to you too,” Douxie chuckled, stepping back onto the welcome mat and levering off his high-tops as instructed. He joined her in the dining room afterwards, dropping his groceries on the bartop that separated it from the kitchen. He stood behind her chair and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Is Lin with Archie and Nari?” Zoe gave an affirmative hum and nodded. “New project?” he asked, reaching out to poke at a piece of circuitry. Zoe slapped his hand away before answering.

“Sort of. HexTech manufactures these things large-scale for the underground wizarding community, but I wanted to do some tweaking to the standard model and make a custom job.”

“...and what thing are you tweaking, exactly?” Douxie asked, watching curiously as she fiddled with a few multicolored wires, alternating between using her wand for its intended purpose, and as an impromptu screwdriver.

“It’s an inhibitor cuff for Lin.” If she noticed the way Douxie’s hands suddenly tensed on her shoulders, she didn’t say anything about it. “HexTech doesn’t actually produce any models small enough for a baby--I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone’s magic surfacing that young--but lots of young hedgewizards and witches have to wear a cuff to keep from having magic outbursts in public.” She stuck her wand between her teeth and reached for a small plate of metal engraved with restrictive sigils.

“I...uh...” Douxie cleared his throat. “...I don’t think he needs one of these, love.” Zoe finally glanced up from her work long enough to shoot him a disbelieving look as she took her wand out of her mouth. He tried not to shrink under her penetrating gaze. “His...outbursts haven’t really been very serious. Maybe a few books knocked off their shelves, the odd static shock here and there, but nothing worth--”

“You said he shattered a lightbulb on the other side of the room just two days ago,” Zoe cut him off incredulously, brandishing her wand at him as though to drive her point further. “And as someone with electric-based magic, I can assure you those ‘little static shocks’ are going to become a major concern as his powers mature. Plus, what are you planning to do about doctor’s visits? And school? The kid can’t stay cooped up in your house for all eternity, Douxie, and we can’t risk--” She stopped short with a sharp inhale. Douxie froze as the air around them seemed to suddenly press down on them like a cold, heavy hand. Zoe met his eyes just long enough to share a glance of knowing dread.

“Douxie!” Archie’s voice rang with terror as it echoed down the hallway, but the wizard was already halfway there, catching himself on the doorframe of Nari’s room as his feet slid across the floor. Zoe slammed into him from behind and the two of them fell into the wood nymph’s room in a panicked heap.

Dark blue flames were crawling across the floor, spreading out in a fierce, protective barrier around the quivering, crying child curled in the center of the room. Nari was huddled against the far wall, clutching her left arm against her chest as Archie crouched over her, wings spread open protectively. Douxie felt nausea turning in his stomach--while Archie seemed to be unhurt, Nari’s aura was practically screaming with pain and fear, though she herself was frozen in silent panic. Lin’s aura was a chaotic storm of confusion and anxiety, along with something Douxie couldn’t place, though it felt unsettlingly familiar. And it was growing stronger.

Douxie reached out with his own aura and grappled with the magic swirling around the room for a moment, feeling like he was trying to subdue a raging dragon with nothing more than his bare hands. He managed to part the wall of flames just enough to let Zoe dart forward and snatch Lin up off the ground. He curled into her and grasped her shirt with a small, trembling hand, his aura beginning to calm.

“Get him out of here!” Douxie barked, taking advantage of Lin’s momentary relief to smother the flames with his own magic.

“What good is that going to do?” Zoe argued. “It’s his magic, it’ll just follow him!”

“I think he’s reacting to Nari’s aura--maybe to all of us, I don’t know! Just get him out and calm him down! And whatever you do, don’t be afraid!”

“As if,” Zoe scoffed, and Douxie once again found himself thanking the gods for her near-supernatural sense of calm in the face of danger. She swept out of the room, clutching Lin close to her, her warm, steady aura wrapping around the child closely and brushing against Douxie as she passed. It was like a plug was pulled, and the heavy feeling in the air, along with the bone-rattling thrum of magic, immediately drained away. Douxie heaved a sigh of relief as the last of the fire flickered and sputtered out, leaving nothing more than a bluish scorch mark on the floor.

“Nari!” he gasped, streaking across the room and falling to his knees in front of her. She was trembling like a leaf, tears streaming down her cheeks. Archie moved aside, and Douxie felt his stomach turning again--Nari’s left arm was covered in a web of burns, the patterns crossing over her skin like cruel, artistic brush strokes. He moved to put his hand on her shoulder, and she flinched, her aura flaring up with panic. “Hey, hey, it’s me,” he breathed. He reached out and carefully brushed against her aura with his magic. “You’re safe, I promise.” He felt some of the tension leave her spirit as she finally registered his presence.

“...S-sorry,” she sobbed breathlessly. “I’m so sorry, I should not have--”

“It’s not your fault he scared you like that,” Douxie cut her off, his voice quiet but firm. “Let me see your arm.” Still sniffling, Nari gingerly held out her left arm, the burn marks catching the light like hideous gemstones. Douxie swallowed, pushing back the wave of guilt threatening to crash over him as he gingerly cradled her arm in his hands. “...What happened?”

“...I don’t think he meant to hurt her,” Archie said softly. “His powers just seemed to...flare up on their own. It didn’t reach me--I was on the windowsill--but Nari was right next to him, and the pulse struck her full-force. I believe her shock and pain must have frightened or confused him--whatever it was, his magic quickly became defensive, as you saw.” The Familiar paused and shook his head. “...At any rate, we should tend to Nari’s injury before anything else. I’ll fetch some bandages.” He rubbed against Nari for a moment before leaving.

All of sudden, Douxie was keenly aware that everything in him ached. Fighting against Lin’s magic had drained more of his reserves than he could have ever anticipated. Grief and anxiety were warring for dominance in his chest, as the dreaded truth washed over him: Lin was dangerous. Sensing his distress, Nari shifted towards him and curled into him, angling herself so that her arm wasn’t pressed against him. Douxie’s hand came up to cup her head against his shoulder out of habit, his other arm wrapping around her carefully.

“...Douxie,” she whispered. “There was something about Lin’s magic. Something ancient. It...” She trailed off, taking a deep breath and pressing closer to him before she finished. “...it reminded me of the Arcane Order.”

“...I know,” he replied in a hollow voice. “I felt it too.” Archie slipped back into the room, padding up to them silently and dropping a roll of bandages and a tube of burn ointment beside Douxie’s knee.

“...What are we going to do?” Nari asked softly as Douxie began tending to her arm. He didn’t answer her right away. “...Douxie?”

“...I don’t know.”

It was only a half-truth at best. Douxie knew exactly what needed to be done. But everything in him was recoiling from the idea as though it burned him the same way Lin had burned Nari’s arm.

*****

He wasn’t sure how long he spent tending to Nari, only that it was probably far longer than necessary. Even as he began to wrap her arm, he could feel her magic humming and gently pulsing, mending skin and soothing pain. She would be perfectly fine by morning. But he still lingered, mind running in circles as he tried to forestall the inevitable decision he had to make. He could tell Nari sensed his unease, but she didn’t press him for it. After a while though, she became more and more insistent that she was alright, which was her way of telling him to stop avoiding the problem. He reluctantly took the hint and left her with Archie, steeling himself as he stepped back out into the hall and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Zoe was back in her seat at the dining room table, the mess of wires and circuitry now gone. In their place was a small, innocent-looking iron band, covered in runic engravings, lying in the center of the table where he couldn’t miss it. Lin was sitting on Zoe’s lap, drowsily suckling on a milk bottle as she gently bounced her leg beneath him. She looked up as Douxie came in, her eyes drifting over to the cuff for a moment, then back at him.

“...How is she?” she asked, avoiding the subject of the cuff for now.

“She’ll be alright,” Douxie sighed, running his fingers through his bangs tiredly. “Lucky she wasn’t human, though. A burn like that would have seriously messed up her arm otherwise.” He collapsed onto one of the chairs next to her with a sigh, propping his elbow on the table and resting his forehead against his hand. Zoe glanced at the cuff again, then down at Lin, who was clearly moments away from falling asleep altogether.

“...It won’t hurt him, Douxie,” she began. “All it does is--”

“I know,” Douxie interrupted a little too quickly. “I-I know what it does. And I know it doesn’t hurt, I just...” He trailed off with another sigh.

“...So then...what’s your deal here? Why does that little thing scare you so much?” Douxie shook his head wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Stripping him of his only defense doesn’t feel little to me, Zoe. I’ve had my magic suppressed before, and I was--” He shook his head again, as though clearing it of the unfinished thought. There was a long, weighty silence. Lin’s bottle slipped out of his grip as he nodded off, and Zoe caught it before it fell.

“This isn’t about what happened to you, Douxie,” she insisted as she set the half-empty bottle on the table. “This is about what’s best for Lin--for everyone around him, too. Look,” she continued, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. “I get that there’s something going on with you here. Something happened that you don’t want to talk about. Everybody has crap like that, especially when they’ve been around for as long as we have. But you can’t push your issues onto Lin. That’s not fair to him, and in this case, it’s downright dangerous.”

“I know,” he said again. “And I’m not trying to....push my issues on him, I just...I don’t know.” Zoe regarded him for a long moment, her piercing gaze sweeping up and down his hunched figure critically.

“...How about I take him for tonight?” she suggested. “His travel crib is still in my car and I’ve got some spare supplies at my apartment. You’ve clearly got some stuff to think about, and if your guess is correct, and Lin can sense emotions as strongly as that, he would probably feel safer at my place while you’re dealing with this.”

“...Yeah, okay,” Douxie quietly agreed. His gaze finally landed on the inhibitor cuff, and he swallowed. “...Better take this with you.” He pushed it across the table towards her. “...Just in case he needs it.” Zoe’s hand hovered above the cuff for a moment, before passing over it and coming to rest on Douxie’s.

“He’s going to be okay, Douxie,” she murmured. “I promise. Nothing is going to happen to him.”

*****

He was back in the warehouse again.

It had been a long time since he’d been here, but he still knew it the moment he saw it. He’d never forgotten the shadowy walls, the ice-cold concrete beneath his feet, the incessant buzzing of the electric lantern. He couldn’t move. Of course he couldn’t. He never could. He couldn’t see the ropes that held him fast, binding his wrists behind him, but he knew they were there, knew there was no use in struggling against them.

That didn’t stop him from trying though.

Where is the forest-child?

He was screaming, he always screamed no matter how much he tried to keep silent. He strained against his bonds, fingers clawing at the iron band around his wrist. He needed his magic, he needed to get out before he broke. And he always broke. He always failed. The words burned like molten lava on his tongue, hot tears streaming down his face as he tried and tried and tried to summon his magic--but the cuff around his wrist was secure, sucking his powers out of him like some kind of horrifying metal leech. He could taste his inevitable betrayal in his mouth, feel himself giving in to the fire that raged in his veins.

No. NO. PLEASE, NO.

It was over. He could feel it. He hadn’t heard himself say the words, but he knew he had. He felt the fire grow cold and leave him, felt the ice of horror creeping in to take its place. Archie’s body lay at his feet, but he still couldn’t move, couldn’t take his friend into his arms and beg for forgiveness, couldn’t rush to Nari’s defense as she screamed his name, over and over again, pleading for him to save her as the Order ripped her away... He couldn’t find her, the world was covered in blue flames. Blue like Zoe’s eyes, blazing with ferocity as she stood against the Order without him, doomed to failure but refusing to back down. Blue like Lin’s magic as he wept in the center of it all and Douxie could do nothing for them--

“Douxie!”

He bolted upright, gasping for air as Nari’s voice pulled him from his dreams. He felt her hand on his shoulder, cool and soothing against his heaving back, while Archie’s familiar warmth pressed against his legs. Instinct drove him forward as he pulled both of them in, hands trembling as he clung to them like lifelines. Archie pressed against his neck, the Familiar’s purrs vibrating through his body and anchoring him in the present. Nari’s hand stroked through his sweat-drenched hair as her aura swirled around him, breathing her innate calmness into him.

“S-sorry,” Douxie croaked. “M’sorry...”

“Shh...” Nari whispered, coaxing his head down until it lay against her shoulder. “Let your aura uncoil--there...” He shuddered as his magic began to settle, and winced at the sound of a few books and knick-knacks clattering to the floor. He hadn’t even realized he’d been keeping them aloft.

“Been a while since you had a nightmare that bad,” Archie observed gently. “...Do you need to talk about it?” Douxie shook his head without bothering to pick it up from Nari’s shoulder.

“...S’just the same one I used to have a lot back in New York.” He felt Nari tense, her hand going still against his hair. Douxie only clutched her tighter. “...You know that wasn’t your fault,” he murmured. She gave a noncommittal hum, but at least she didn’t try to argue with him. Archie settled down on Douxie’s lap, purrs never wavering as the wizard’s hand stroked across his back. Nari pulled back enough to look Douxie in the eye, ignoring his huff of protest when he was forced to lift his heavy head.

“You have been troubled since this evening,” she observed quietly.

“Been a bit of a troubling day,” Douxie replied.

“I do not believe Lin meant to harm anyone, Douxie,” Nari asserted. “I do not understand his powers, but I can feel his soul just the same as yours, and I can feel that he would never wish to hurt any of us. He is not evil.”

“That’s....not really what’s been bothering me.” Nari tilted her head inquisitively, and Archie shifted under Douxie’s hand to look up at him with curious eyes. The wizard heaved a sigh and reluctantly began to explain himself. “...Until he can learn to control his magic, it will have to be suppressed. It’s....pretty normal for young wizards these days, but...” He took a deep, frustrated breath. “...When Zoe told me he needs to wear an inhibitor cuff, all I could think about was what happened to me when I was....forced into one. In my head, I know she’s right, that this is what’s best for him and for everyone, that it’s nothing like what happened to me, but... I just keep remembering that feeling of being completely helpless, cut off from the only thing that could keep me--us--safe. I’d been scared plenty of times before that, but that was the most terrified I’d felt in centuries. I don’t want to do that to him. I don’t ever want him to feel helpless.”

Silence fell between the three of them. Douxie’s hand had stopped stroking Archie’s back, though his thumb continued to rub back and forth idly against the cat’s shoulder. Nari’s hands were clenched in her lap, her aura pulled in tight around her as though out of shame. Douxie put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated in a firm whisper.

“I-I know,” she stammered, raising one of her hands to cover his. Her statement echoed the one he had given Zoe earlier. The wizard’s heart twisted in his chest.

“...You seem to have forgotten one crucial detail, Douxie,” Archie mused. Douxie looked down at his Familiar in bewilderment. “You were not so helpless as you believed. If I recall correctly, you were walking free again before the day’s end.”

“...Only because the two of you saved me,” Douxie reminded him, wondering what he was getting at.

“And you do not count your friends--your family--as one of your strengths? Oh, I can only imagine how well Zoe would take that,” Archie smirked.

“Archie!” Douxie yelped. “That’s not what... Of course I... If you say anything to her...!”

“Then what makes you think Lin would ever be helpless?” Archie interrupted his stammering with a pointed look. “He has all of us just as much as you do. Regardless of whether that boy has access to his magic or not, he will be protected. As will you.” The Familiar gave a short huff of finality, a draconic way of saying that Douxie did not have permission to argue with him right now. Douxie gave a sigh that shifted into a soft laugh after a moment. He glanced over at Nari to find her smiling gently, and she gave him an affirming nod.

“...Of course I know all of that, Arch,” he murmured. “It’s just....It’s hard to forget how I felt in that moment, that’s all.” He returned to methodically stroking his Familiar’s fur. “...But Zoe was right. Regardless of how I feel, this is what’s best for him. I guess it’ll just take some time for my heart to sync up with my head.”

“Well...as immortals, time is certainly something we have a lot of,” Nari reminded him. “For now, I believe the most pressing matter at hand is that of getting you back to sleep. You expended a great deal of magic today. You need your rest.”

“Always playing the Mum, aren’t you?” Douxie chuckled.

“Gods know you need it,” Archie grumbled.

“Archie is correct,” Nari said. “You do not exactly have a history of proper self-care, Douxie. So, while you look after Lin, we will all be looking after you.” She gave him a gentle push, and he fell back onto his pillow with a dramatic huff. Archie moved from Douxie’s lap up to the space between his neck and shoulder, settling there with a purr. “I will stay and guide your spirit into restful dreams,” Nari whispered, as though she had sensed Douxie’s apprehension. Which, knowing her, she probably had. She laid her hand over his heart, and he felt her aura flowing within him, bringing rest to his tense muscles and silence to his troubled thoughts.

He was asleep within just a few moments.

*****

Lin was his usual, cheerful self when Zoe brought him back the next morning. The inhibitor cuff on his wrist was glinting in the morning sunlight drifting through the windows. Douxie forced himself to ignore the jolt of unease that shot through him at the sight of it. Lin reached for him as soon as he saw him, leaning out so far that he almost fell out of Zoe’s arms.

“Were you a good houseguest, young man?” Douxie inquired, balancing the baby on his hip and taking his travel bag from Zoe.

“Yeah, he slept like a log,” Zoe reported, tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter.

“Mm. Evidence would suggest otherwise,” Douxie commented, taking note of the dark circles around Zoe’s eyes and the way she was stifling a yawn as she dug around in her seemingly bottomless purse.

“Hmm...? Oh, no, he’s not what kept me up. I was working on... Dammit, where did I put it? ...Ah, this.” She pulled a very large and somewhat battered-looking sketchbook out of one of the dozens of interior pockets and spread it out on the table with a flourish.

“Another one of your projects?” Douxie asked, unable to make sense of the hastily scribbled equations and sketches that covered the pages.

“You said you didn’t like the idea of him not being able to access his magic at all. But he obviously needs a way to suppress, or at the very least, weaken it. So I was up all night drawing concepts and potential schematics for a custom inhibitor cuff. See that little monitor there? I was thinking he could use that to adjust how much magic the cuff actually inhibits. Now, a project like this would probably take a few years to finalize, but I bet HexTech would be more than happy to fund it. Hell, they might already have some unused blueprints for something like this somewhere in their archives. I can’t imagine this is the first time that--” She was abruptly cut off as Douxie pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder and squeezing her tightly with one arm (the other was still full of Lin).

“You’re amazing,” he whispered. “You’re brilliant, absolutely bloody brilliant, and I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but Zoe I swear--”

“A-alright, alright, easy, Doux!” she blustered, though she made no attempt to push him off. “It’s not even done yet. I can’t even promise that this is possible. But....I think it’s worth a try. That is, if you’re okay with it.”

“I’m more than okay with it, I’m... Gods Zoe, I love you.” He felt her give up the pretense and relax into him.

“...I love you too,” she murmured. One of her hands came up between them and caught hold of Lin’s. He cooed contentedly as his fingers wrapped around Zoe’s. “...We’re going to be okay. No matter what comes next, we’re going to be okay.”

“...Yeah,” Douxie breathed. “Yeah, we are.”

Thank you so much for reading. ✨

#tales of arcadia #toa #the casperan family #douxie #toa zoe #toa archie #toa nari #lin casperan #zouxie #the magical siblings #and their therapy cat #fic #angst #hurt/comfort #found family

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justsomerandomntmranking · 2 years

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My Thoughts On Mongolia's Next Top Model Cycle 3

Memes aside, this cycle is the first of this series that I actively followed and enjoyed. This came after the first 2 cycles of Mongolia's Next Top Model, which I say would be the best series if not for the ending of it, when the eventual winner, Chamia, would die from a fall off a building, which many, including myself, think was murder by either her boyfriend or another model on the show. Anyways, due to that, the series went on hiatus for 2 years, making people wonder if the series would ever come back. However, it came back with the thanks of the new COVID pandemic and a new TV program and a host who doesn't help people get murdered. It was nice seeing it back and I will happily say, it gladly lived up to the hype they were preparing for us after the death of Chamia (I will review MNTM one day but I don't know if I ever do Chamia's cycle just because it doesn't feel right, go on my ask and see if you would want that). A big part of why the cycle in general was just great was because of the cast.

As always with this type of series, the cast is very strong. We had mixed Vietnamese with Dieu, Hanna's more Anna-Taylor Joy look, Nuna and Naraa just looking stunning, Dino was the better Brendi K of the cycle, same makeover and everything, Mendy looked like the first winner of MNTM, and Tsolmon was just expensive looking. I loved this cast look clearly as they all look so different and Mongolia embraced the casts' look and also gave some creative yet versatile makeovers.

My biggest problem with the cycle was the group twists. Every other episode until the finales, the girls would be put into 2 groups and the winner of the groups would receive immunity. The rest would have to do a runway challenge and the worst of the walkers would be eliminated. It screwed over a lot of girls like Hanna, who would never win any of the group challenges and keep much weaker models like Dino and Khulanii. Indonesia's NTM C2 is doing it much MUCH worse though because they do it every goddamn episodes.

Ignoring all of the flaws, the photoshoots were super creative, one of the best in any NTM in my opinion. We started off really well with a fire runway, inspired by ANTM's but much more safer and more cooler, but the cycle kinda hit a wall for me when we had a pretty boring duos shot, inspired by All Stars from ANTM and a shitty car photoshoot. However, the cycle took a big shot up with its super cute ads shot and one of the best photoshoots out of the entire series, its tights photoshoot where the girls would play with illusions. Plus, the cyberpunk themed photoshoot using new camera angles and risks is just amazing to look at. Finally, the challenge shots were super high quality for a background image and if I were to rank them, most of them would be in the top 10 list.

(Pictured Below: Akune and Hanna: View full photos here)

Oh yeah, the winner Hanna! Hanna really started off 2022 with a big bang. I mentioned how much she looked like the asian Anna Taylor Joy to me. She had pretty shit teeth but ignoring that, she was the most consistent throughout the cycle. She wasn't as meme-worthy as Kyveli though but we got some meme worthy content from her. Mostly, her judgemental "bitch please" looks into the camera. There was some hate for her win due to her connection to the host but like Saleshia, who cares, as long as you modelled the shit out of the show then connections be damned

Now, the notable models of the cycle!

Key Models:

- Nuna got the awesome pink hair of the cycle, which I fucking adored. I love dyed up hair like that (Adela PhNTM C2) and she worked it! It's a shame that the group twist of the cycle fucked her because she was a worthy final 3 contender.

- Tsolmon was just expensive looking, height be damned because she carried the cycle with her personality and modeling skills. She would've been a great winner for the show, even if her height would be a big issue for the judges

- Khatnaa was the judge's pet project for the cycle due to her braces, age, and her inexperience. I say as a new up-and-coming model, she really carried her own during the cycle, despite being dragged unfairly to the final 2.

- Dieu is so adorable! I loved her "out of the balls to the walls" modeling, she didn't really have a chance to do any modeling post show but she took a lot of risks throughout the show. It was great to see her make it to the semi finales and her massive improvement throughout.

- Dino is like Brendi K when she was unfairly dragged to the almost end, except she was actually eliminated for her best shot while Brendi K quitted and would've most likely stayed. She was a lovely girl but her photo quality was a oof.

Best Model

Hanna

Obvious is obvious, a lot of the models this cycle could easily take the award from me but the winner was one of my favorites from me. Shoutout to Tsolmon and Nuna as well since they completed hard for this spot!

Photo of the Cycle

Tsolmon's Dansran Jewelries Beauty Shoot

This shot won POTY from RGB for a good reason, this shot showcases her face well and her amazing model potential.

Worst Model

Khulanii

It's hard to choose a model here because I don't hate anyone this cycle but Khulanii comes close for me mostly because she never looked like a model to me, just ok to me (plus her walk is a MESS).

Most Robbed Model

Naraa

It's hard to choose a model for this spot since I agree with most of the eliminations but Naraa came close for me. Naraa was a stunning gal but her elimination was complete bullshit. She got screwed over by the group twist, leading her to fuck up on the runway and unfairly eliminated, she deserved better!

This took me a while to finish but yeah, enjoy!

#mntm #ntmranking

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