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queenofcats17 · 10 months

Text

A follow up to the last fic. I was going to make this one big fic, but the last one was getting a little long so I thought I’d split it up.

So, here’s Kell meeting Null!

I dithered back and forth a bit about whether Benrey or Kell would go into the game first and find out Gordon isn’t dead, but decided on Kell heading in before Benrey.

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Kell didn’t talk to Benrey for a few days.

He eventually left Gordon’s bedroom to interact with Joshua and cook, but he refused to look at or talk to Benrey. Benrey didn’t try to force an interaction, something Kell was at least slightly grateful for. He didn’t want to look at Benrey’s face. The face that Benrey had stolen. The face of the man Kell had loved. The face of a dead man.

God, how was he going to explain this situation to Joshua? Should he try to explain it to Joshua? Would Joshua even be able to understand it? Oh God, what was going to happen to Joshua when Kell eventually left? He couldn’t just stay here indefinitely. But he didn’t trust Benrey alone with Joshua. Granted, Benrey had done a good job taking care of Joshua so far but... Well... How was Kell supposed to trust the person who had killed and replaced Joshua’s father?

The more Kell thought about this whole situation, the more upset he became. This was all just... so much. He needed some kind of distraction. Something to take his mind off of everything just for a little while.

Which was how he found himself in Gordon’s office, putting on his VR headset and firing up the VR port of Half Life.

Okay, so this definitely wasn’t a distraction. This was definitely just him thinking even more about this awful situation. But he wanted to see the game where Gordon had lost his life. He wanted the meet the other AI’s. Benrey had mentioned them briefly when Kell had brought up maybe checking out the game, giving names and saying the AIs probably wouldn’t hurt Kell if he went in. Still, he’d cautioned Kell against booting up the game.

That cautioning had made Kell want to check out the game even more out of spite. So, he’d waited until Benrey was out getting groceries and couldn’t stop him, and booted up the game, hoping he wouldn’t get trapped or have his body stolen.

The scenery he was greeted with when the game loaded looked...different than what he was used to seeing from Half Life. It did still mostly look like Black Mesa, but there were some immediate differences. Like the wall of roses that blocked half of the hallway.

“¿Qué carajo?“ He whispered with a frown, reaching out to touch the roses.

As he did, he noticed his clothing had changed. He was wearing the HEV suit now. Before his talk with Benrey, this would have terrified Kell. Or he would have tried to come up with some rational explanation for how this was possible. But now... He just accepted it with a weary resignation This might as well happen.

“You’re...You’re not Benrey.” A voice came from behind him.

Kell turned around, only slightly startled by the sudden sound.

A man stood in the hallway, wringing his hands. He was one of the scientist NPCs, but the detail on his model was far crisper than it would have been in the base game. All of the graphics were so much clearer and crisper. It all looked so real.

The scientist NPC looked to be in his mid to late 30s, a kind but anxious expression on his face as he wrung his hands. He had short brown hair and strange yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow. The pupils were rectangular, just like Benrey’s were.

“Who... Uh... Who are you?” The scientist asked.

“I’m Kell.” Kell forced a smile as he extended a hand. “I’m Gordon’s...” He paused, shaking his head. “I was Gordon’s friend.”

The scientist’s expression grew solemn. “So you... You know what happened,” he said, shaking Kell’s hand.

Kell’s smile dropped and he nodded wearily. “Benrey broke down and told me.”

The scientist nodded in turn. “Is he... Do you think he’ll- Do you think he might... come back here?”

This caused Kell to frown slightly. “Why?”

“Well, I...” The scientist hesitated, beginning to fiddle with his cuffs. “I was hoping- I thought maybe he’d try to make things right. Try to- To fix things.”

“He seems pretty guilty, so he might. But I don’t know.” Kell shrugged, folding his arms. “I don’t know him.”

The scientist was silent, watching Kell. There was an intensity to his gaze that made Kell distinctly uncomfortable.

“There’s something you both need to see,” the scientist said after a moment of careful observation. He gestured for Kell to follow before beginning to walk quickly down the hallway.

“Hey! Wait up!” Kell yelled, scrambling after the tall man. “I don’t even know your name!”

The scientist stopped, allowing Kell to catch up. He gave Kell a sheepish smile, letting out a little chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, uh, I’m sorry. My- My name’s Tommy.”

Kell couldn’t help but smile in return. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tommy.”

The two of them made their way through the game together, gathering the other AIs as they went. The trek through the game wasn’t necessarily fun due to the horrors the game held, but it was improved for Kell by the presence of the AIs.

Coomer greeted Kell warmly, giving him a bone-crushing hug and proclaiming that it was wonderful to meet a friend of Gordon’s. Bubby was a bit prickly but warmed up a little the longer they were together. Not by much, but a little. Forzen didn’t talk to him, but then again he didn’t really talk to much of anyone in the group. Darnold was incredibly excited to talk to Kell once he found out what Kell did for a living, something that rang true with the other scientist AIs as well.

Their journey through the game was derailed as they all gathered beneath the enormous tree in the strange garden to listen to Kell talk about his work. It was nice for Kell to be able to focus on his job for a bit instead of thinking about the awful situation regarding Gordon. He liked talking about his job, especially to people who clearly found the subject fascinating.

“You need to come back again so we can talk more,” Darnold insisted as the conversation began to wind down. “I want to see some of your designs!”

“I don’t know if I can bring my designs in here,” Kell said. “But I can certainly try.”

“You should.” Bubby folded his arms. “I want to see those designs too.”

“Okay, okay.” Kell laughed, putting his hands in surrender. “I’ll try to bring some of my designs the next time I come here.” He couldn’t believe he was agreeing to come back here. He didn’t even know when that would next be. He did need to go home after all, and he didn’t know if the weird port would work on his computer.

“For now, though, I think it’s about time for us to wrap things up,” Coomer spoke up, his voice softer than usual. “There’s something I do believe you’ll want to see, Kell.”

“Someone I’ll want to see?” Kell echoed with a frown.

“Oh! Uh, yeah! That’s what I wanted to show you!” Tommy said. “Come on!”

Once again, he gestured for Kell to follow him before taking off. Kell didn’t hesitate to follow. Tommy had proven trustworthy so far.

And so the group headed into the boss chamber together. Upon first glance, there was nothing particularly alarming about it, aside from the incredible detail. Then Kell noticed the figure floating in the middle of the chamber. They had their back turned to the group, which meant their waterfall of brown hair covered most of their body. Good lord, their hair was long. It went all the way down to their calves. Funny...Their hair looked a lot like Gordon’s...

“Mr. Null!” Tommy called out. “We have someone we want you to meet!”

The figure turned at Tommy’s voice. And Kell’s heart stopped.

It was Gordon.

Kell shook his head again, rubbing at his eyes. he had to be seeing things. It couldn’t be Gordon. But it was. It was Gordon. Kell knew that face too well to mistake him for anyone else.

He looked... different. For starters, he had an obscene amount of hair. But that wasn’t the only difference. The skin on the left side of his face was lighter than on the right, and his left eye simply displayed a missing texture pattern. The sclera of his remaining eye was blue, and the pupil was rectangular, like the other AIs.

But it was him! It was Gordon!

Kell felt like crying. “Gordon?” His voice was small. He was afraid any second this would end and he’d wake up back in Gordon’s office, with Gordon still gone.

Gordon’s gaze slowly landed on Kell. His hair began to twitch and writhe, like agitated snakes. “Who are you?” He demanded, his eye beginning to turn magenta.

“It’s me!” Kell took a step toward him. “Cariño, it’s Kell!”

“No, I don’t know who you are!” Gordon floated back, his hair continue to writhe as his body began to glitch. “You shouldn’t be here! I-I-I-I don’t know you!”

The room around them began to distort, jagged rocks jutting up from the water all around them. The walls grew higher, bits of furniture from other parts of the game sticking out of them.

“Mr. Null! He’s not- He’s not here to hurt you!” Tommy called out as he tried to dodge the rocks burst forth.

“My boy, you must calm down!” Coomer yelled, punching a rock to smithereens.

“For fuck’s sake, kid! He’s a friend!” Bubby snapped.

The other AIs were similarly preoccupied with avoiding the rocks, but Kell could only focus on Gordon, still floating in the center of the room as everything distorted around him.

“I’m here, Gordon,” he said as he fought his way through the shifting terrain. “I’m here for you!”

“G-G-G-Go away!” Gordon yelled, covering his ears and screwing his eyes shut. “You s-s-s-s-shouldn’t be h-h-h-here!”

Kell let out a yelp as a rock appeared beneath him, carrying him into the air. The surface of the rock was slick, making it hard for him to keep a hold on it, but he wasn’t going to give up.

“I’m not running away,” he muttered, maneuvering himself around on the rock so he was in a position to jump.

And then he jumped.

Time seemed to slow down as he soared through the air. He held his arms out, ready to latch onto Gordon. The landing was... much less graceful than he’d been hoping it would be, and both he and Gordon ended up in the water from the force of the jump. But Kell had succeeded in what he’d set out to do. Because he was embracing Gordon.

“I’m not going to leave you this time,” he murmured, holding Gordon tight as tears began to well up in his eyes. “I’m sorry I ran away before. I’ve regretted it ever since it happened. I thought you’d be better off without me. I thought you didn’t want me around. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you.”

Gordon stiffened at the contact. Although Kell couldn’t see it, recognition was slowly dawning in Gordon’s eyes.

“You...You’re not real,” Gordon murmured, tears welling up in his eyes too. “You can’t be real... You’re just... My mind’s just manifesting you.”

Kell hugged Gordon tighter. “I’m real, Gordo.”

The distortion in the cave began to dissipate, returning the room to what it had been before. The AIs who had been on top of rocks were deposited back into the water.

“How do I know you’re real?” Gordon asked, sitting up so that he could look Kell in the eye. He didn’t let go, though. He held onto Kell’s hands as though he were afraid Kell would disappear if he let go.

“I can tell you what’s going on outside?” Kell suggested with a lopsided smile.

Gordon’s eyes went wide and he immediately moved closer. “What’s going on? Is Joshua alright? Benrey didn’t hurt him, did he?” His eye began to turn magenta again as his hair rose up around him.

“Joshua’s fine,” Kell assured him. “Or, well, as fine as he can be since his “dad” and I have been fighting.”

Gordon’s eye returned to green, although his hair didn’t completely settle down. “So you...You know what’s going on,” he said, looking away.

“I came to visit because I was worried and Benrey broke down and told me everything,” Kell confirmed. “He said... He said you were dead.”

Now that things were calming down a bit, Kell was once again hit with a wave of emotions.

Gordon wasn’t dead.

“I was.” Gordon’s eye turned magenta again, hair rising up around him. “He killed me. If Tommy’s dad hadn’t saved my data-”

He was cut off, though, as Kell threw himself onto Gordon in a hug again. He was sobbing in a mix of English and Spanish and no one in the cave could understand a word he was saying. Thankfully, though, Gordon seemed to understand the message Kell was trying to convey.

"I’m glad I’m alive too,” Gordon whispered.

Kell wasn’t sure how long he spent just hugging Gordon and sobbing incomprehensibly. He was just so happy that Gordon was alive. He’d really thought that one of the people cared about most in the world was dead. But he wasn’t! Gordon was still here! Gordon was still here and Kell could finally start fixing things with him.

Eventually, though, he did have to separate himself from Gordon.

“I should... I should probably go tell Benrey you’re alive,” he said, giving Gordon a tearful smile. “Maybe he’ll even know a way to give your body back.”

“He better.” Gordon’s expression was momentarily dark, but he managed a smile back at Kell. “It was really good to see you, Kell.”

“It was good to see you too. I’ll... I’ll come back as soon as I can. I promise.” He gave Gordon’s hand one last squeeze before logging out of the game.

As soon as the game finished turning off, Kell was ripping the VR helmet off and scrambling out of Gordon’s office.

“Benrey!” He yelled, all but sprinting into the kitchen.

Benrey yelped, dropping the cereal box he’d been putting away. “K-Kell? What? What’s going on?”

“Benrey!” Kell grabbed Benrey by the shoulders. “Gordon isn’t dead!”

Benrey’s eyes went wide. “He... He isn’t?”

“He’s in the game!” Kell couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “He’s in the game and you can fix things!”

“I... I can fix things...” Benrey nodded slowly, beginning to smile as well. “I can fix things!”

“You can fix things!” Kell scooped Benrey up in a hug, twirling him around the kitchen. For a moment, he could almost pretend it was Gordon.

Once he remembered who was in Gordon’s body, though, he put Benrey back down, his smile fading. For a moment, Benrey looked confused by this change in expression. Then his smile was replaced by a look of guilt and he looked away from Kell, going back to putting the groceries away.

“Tommy asked for you to come back,” Kell said. “He wants you to fix things too.”

“I... I will,” Benrey replied. “Just... Let me put this stuff away. Then I’ll go talk to them.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

As it turned out, Benrey and Gordon couldn’t switch back right away due to the lack of trust between the two of them, but a switch back was possible. Things could be fixed! They certainly wouldn’t go back to the way they’d been before, but they could get better. Gordon could come back. Kell could fix their relationship.

That made Kell feel much better about having to go home at the end of the week. Benrey was going to make things right. Gordon would be able to come back. Kell would be able to fix things.

It was going to be okay.

#hlvrai #fanfiction #the witch's house au

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mell0bee · 1 year

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CR asks: 1 & 17 if you're feeling spicy; if you're not, 9, 14, 25, 39 (feel free to pick & choose)

i took so long to do this because i had all the questions answered and then tumblr crashed and deleted it all :( but here we go (also thank u for the ask!!!)

9- Location in Exandria you'd like to see in a possibly canonical one-shot/EXU but with non-main campaign characters (as in Song of the Lorelei/The Darrington Brigade)

vasselheim!!! i doubt it will be a major location again for a full campaign because it was featured so heavily in c1 but an exu type deal could be so cool!!! i thought that vasselheim was SO underutilized in c1. when i was first watching it i was Big Sad that the no arcane magic thing was played for laughs, you could easily center a whole campaign around that idea. i wanted to see more of it during c1 and obvs after exu calamity i want to see more of it Even More. theres just so much to learn about it after the context of exu calamity. like i want inside information about the political system. i want to explore how decisions get made there. and like bro do u want a story about Hubris??? oh yeah??? you like critical role so are you perhaps a Hubris Enjoyer??? perhaps of the Magic User Variety?? imagine a wizard or a warlock trying to hide their magic in vasselheim. it basically writes itself. imagine a high-ranking cleric as a pc. or a noble. based on what's happening in c3 do you think they have like. an Old Secrets Protection Board? and perhaps some Scholar Spies trying to break in? idk man there's so much you can do there and i would like to See It Please Thank You

14-Describe the art you would most like to create or commission if talent/money were no object.

i have like 7 animatics in my head that i am not talented enough to make but honestly. this whole jester-focused animatic set to folding chair by regina spektor. it’s really good in my head i swear. also a post c1 animatic set to dodie's cover of blackbird which has been in my head since i finished c1 god i have actual brainworms

25-What class do you most want to see Matt play if he is in a future EXU campaign as a new (not Dariax) PC?

artificer. primarily bc as much as i love him, matt’s pcs tend not to be my kind of character. at least in cr oneshots he’s got a thing for the Generic Edgy Protagonist Boy type which i’m sorry buddy but like. no thanks. and based on artificer/engineer type npcs he’s played i doubt he will go for that archetype as a pc. matt loves some Insane Scientists and so do i, easy S tier character trope, so whether he plays it straight or goes for the more unhinged type like most of his npcs im down 100%. also i had a whole rant here abt how much i love dariax and i hope that matt continues to step out of his comfort zone for pcs because for me personally i think it works really well!!

39- favorite parental figure NPC?

I HAD A WHOLE RANT HERE ABT HOW MUCH I LOVE MARION LIKE I THINK I WROTE LIKE 300 WORDS. the gist of it was how i love that she is very much an imperfect parent which we can see in jester now, but she’s still a good parent!! she’s still trying!!! she’s got her own trauma but she’s trying!!! idk that is v important to me. also i love how she is a sex worker and is not shamed for it at all. and that she has agoraphobia (sp?) and its treated as like!!! fine and not irrational at all!!! idk man idk how matt and laura did such a good job with such a respectful and grounded portrayal of a character like marion but they DID also parent trap ftw

spicy answers under cut, just keep scrolling if u dont want to see my mildly lukewarm takes. thank u.

1- Character you don't particularly like, but will defend vehemently when people dislike them for the wrong reasons.

(also this is the only answer that saved lmao)

sadly i cannot think of any other characters so i have to talk about Mr. Warcrimes McTreason. i like canon essek okay though i do think he is Overhyped, but fanon essek is so annoying lmao which makes me not particularly like him. on the other hand i think people not liking him bc they don’t think he deserved redemption are Wrong. as a redemption arc it was like. Fine. not everyone can pull a zuko and like. whatever. and idk i think that redeemed heroes should be a little morally dubious. as a treat. i guess in a way i am glad that aeor arc essek doesn't get to actually be morally gray bc the fandom would be insufferable but Hot Take i am a Gray Morality Enjoyer i think that More protags should be war criminals actually.

17- You know that post that's like "I wish you could filter in ao3 on 'attitude towards a canon event'?" In the world of imagination, you can! What's the event or attitude?

*gestures vaugely at kingsley* to be completely honest i was pretty sad for a few moments there that they succeeded in rezzing molly, was tentative when whatever the end of 140 was, and i’m so happy kingsley is a thing. i think that people who wanted molly back have Missed The Point Entirely. molly needed to stay dead and talesin knew that (thank you talesin) (also not to mention fanon molly, who is infinitely worse than fanon essek. god can you imagine that. again thank you talesin.)

#bee post #critical role #ask #again pls dont look under the cut if you dont want to see the spicy takes thank you. i am trusting you all as my followers #to have a brain cell #weirdly specific cr asks

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mistresskezzie · 21 days

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Shane for bingo!

Character Opinion Bingo

Shane From Stardew Valley

I am the most normal person about him ever :)))

In all serious though, Shane is my scrunkly, the wet pathetic man that I adore in my little farming game and fandom is so mean to him sometimes ;3;

I'm about to ramble ;3;

For a TLDR: Shane suffers from bad depression and clearly self-medicates through alcohol; he's very rude when you start talking to him, but as you befriend him, he softens up to you and realises you genuinely do want to be friends with him (or marry him as he is a dateable NPC).

A lot of people give him so much flack, and are always spouting the whole "you can't fix him" rhetoric

And it's like

Yeah I'm not trying to fix anyone??

I'll try and keep it as spoiler free possible, but during the cutscenes you get as you befriend Shane, you see a lot of it is Shane taking the steps to help himself get better through therapy and trying to cut down on his drinking. Your character doesn't force them to do that, your character is just there helping them though. One of his lines is literally him saying he realises he has people here that really do care for him. You're not fixing him you're showing him he has support, even when he's his absolute lowest point.

And I think a lot of people don't seem to understand that, nor do they understand depression and addiction.

Like a big complaint is his room is messy and that he still drinks after his events.

Yeah; depressed people tend to have messy rooms and are more unkempt because we're depressed and don't see a fucking point in keeping things organised. And yeah I also wish there were less lines about him drinking BUT addiction just doesn't magically go away and considering how bad it was it would probably kill him if he just stopped cold turkey u_u

He's a weirdo, he's kinda gross, but I love him because he's weird and he's gross T~T

His character is abrasive at first because you're a new random person in town and he's depressed; depressed people don't tend to let new people in super quickly, even close people, for numerous reasons. But like when you become his friend it's shown he's just a fucking marshmallow ;3;

at least i think he's a marshmallow ;3;

One of his cutscenes after he cuts down his drinking is him using that money to get his Goddaughter/Niece, Jas, a pair of Bunny Jewel Slippers which are literally stated to be expensive - the first thing he does is literally give a gift to his young niece, she's the first person he thought of ;3;

And he has chickens! He loves them, he's just a soft, squishy, silly chicken man and I love him ;3;

#the-bar-sinister #sorry for the rambling i love this chicken man #and the fandom always makes me upset when it comes to him #cause a lot of people act like he's an ireedemable dick because he's a bit rude at first #and then say stuff about how he goes back to drinking just rubs me the wrong way #addiction/depression don't magically go away after one conversation #i dunno just gives me the vibe of people that are all supportive of mental illness until that mental illness is seen to have 'gross' parts #like the fact this man's room is a mess with muddy foot prints and his jacket is ripped up #and some of his dialouge like depression isn't an aesthetic you literally find him nearly about to roll off the side of a cliff at one poin #sorry i keep rambling i just love my chicken man and want to protecc him lmao #thank you for the ask <3

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ikroah · 2 years

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How many times have you heard someone say “if I had his money, I could do things my way?” But little they know that it's so hard to find one rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. —“A Satisfied Mind,” Porter Wagoner (1955)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #21 - Freeside V

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: @tarberrymentats

Archive Links

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript

Notes

Okay so here’s the thing. Yes, in-game there are sewers beneath Freeside that you can enter and explore. Yes, as far as dangers go, there are ghouls in parts of the sewer. No, none of these sewer tunnels actually allow you to subvert the Vegas gate via subterranean means, like I very confidently thought they did when I first outlined this volume of IKROAH and scripted this issue probably close to a year ago. Yes, it would have required rewriting the entire outline of Volume 2 to account for this because Agnes would have to get out of Freeside a different way. Yes, I care much more about telling a strong and coherent narrative than I do about what strictly happens in the video game Fallout: New Vegas. Yes, this is very sexy and cool of me.

Everybody give a big round of applause to @tarberrymentats for crushing the art again just like they did last December, they’ve been one of my favorite artists since I first ever became a part of this community and it’s been great to become such good friends outside of just the Fallout fandom. I love it so much when I get a guest ink-and-colorist because adhering so close to my pencils creates this really interesting hybrid of our styles that you just don’t get from any other kind of collaboration. It’s an especial honor to have had Halk work on this issue specifically, too; I couldn’t help but get the number one ghoul aficionado to assist with an appearance from of my favorite minor NPCs in the game: Rotface! He was fun to write, and fun to use as a way to show a little bit more of Agnes’ character and history. First that “maniac medic” thing Beth mentioned, now this? What the fuck is her deal? Maybe we’ll finally find out for sure in an issue or two. Maybe.

Also of note: IKROAH has a brand new font! Caveat Brush has been the font for all of the previous issues, but as my lettering has gotten much better and much more attentively professional over time, I started to disagree with it. The new font going forward is “Unmasked” from BlamBot, a possibly generic font that is nevertheless very suited for my purposes here.

Original Pencils (click for full size)

It felt really great to draw Agnes again after so long. With this issue primarily just being a conversation, I wanted to make sure the layout was interesting throughout, and conveyed the emotional beats and narrative focus very intentionally. I’ve included the original thumbnail sketches on the pencils for page 5, because that page had so much empty space anyway due to the way it looked in the final product. You can see a few alternate designs for the fifth page among them, such as a more typical-looking page, a dizzying overhead shot, and a close-up of the Lucky 38, but I went with the sort of “tunnel system” layout for Rotface’s dialogue rather than try to stack a bunch of balloons.

You can also see on the fourth page an original sketch for Agnes’ “flashback” panel (to the very first issue of IKROAH) that wound up getting replaced for old art. It just didn’t look good with the whole page around it, and using the old panel from Issue #1 carried a lot more weight. It was still a pretty cool design, though, so I’m glad you can all still see it in the pencils.

And lastly, there’s the final page, which was actually added after I had already scripted and drawn the entire issue. The issue originally ended just with Agnes walking away, but it felt like it was missing something, and this extra coda with Agnes and Cass entering the sewers was a much better final note. I just want to say, going into this issue, it was probably my least favorite that I had scripted just because it felt far too purely functional as a matter of getting Agnes from Point A to Point B. But it went through many dialogue revisions, especially during the process of lettering it after it was already drawn, that kept the same idea while adding much more emotional depth, and now I’m instead very fond of this issue and what it does for Agnes’ character.

Tumblr was being very difficult with letting these particular pencils be viewed at full size on desktop, so just click here (1), here (2), and here (3) for them instead.

Transcript

EXT. FREESIDE, a street corner. A ghoul known as ROTFACE sits on the sidewalk against the building of a pre-war water filter installation business.

Suddenly, over him, is:

AGNES: Is this seat taken?

ROTFACE: It is if you’re asking, ugly. Take a hike. Unless you maybe care to spare a cigarette.

AGNES SANDS sits down next to the ghoul.

AGNES (sitting down): Thanks, Zeke.

ROTFACE: Don’t mention it. How’re you doing, Agnes? S’been a while.

AGNES: Yeah, I was, uh…shot in the head.

ROTFACE: You’re fine other than that though, right?

AGNES (weakly smiling): Yeah. Yeah, just peachy.

ROTFACE: Y’know, I heard you were back in town—well, figured, because what I heard specifically was that you killed Dixon.

AGNES (removing two cigarettes from a box): Oh. Well…there was, uh, well, it was this whole thing with the Followers*—

CAP: *Last ish. -Lou

ROTFACE: Oh, I’m well aware, ha ha. Grecks said he could hear Dr. Farkas chewing you out from four blocks away.

AGNES (handing cigarette to Rotface): Zeke, I really don’t want to talk about it.

ROTFACE: Alright, sorry. Tough break, Ag. I mean it.

AGNES: Um…nice hat, by the way.

ROTFACE: Aw, thanks! You think so? Cost a lotta caps, but man, worth it. Really brings out my eyes.

AGNES: Wait—where’d you get the money?

ROTFACE: Just because I’m a beggar doesn’t mean I can’t save up for stuff. something nice every once in a while. And last time I really got anything nice for myself was that steak I had after top surgery. Besides, this is more of a long term investment. I spend my caps on food, that’s gone as soon as I eat it, right? But this hat? Bought it three weeks ago.

AGNES: I worry about you…please don’t buy hats instead of food.

ROTFACE: Bury me in it, then. If you worry so much, why don’t you buy me something to eat?

AGNES: I would, Zeke, but…I can’t. I literally can’t. I’m broke.

ROTFACE: Get your own corner to beg on, then.

AGNES: I’m serious, Zeke, come on. I’m only here at all because I need to get on the Strip.

ROTFACE: For business or pleasure?

AGNES: Uh…no, it’s…I…I…

A memory of blinding light from the barrel of a pistol, a gunshot, and then the silence and darkness of the grave.

AGNES: There’s someone I’ve been trying to find.

AGNES: But I blew the last caps I had here just trying to scrounge enough for the gate.

AGNES: ...I’m worried I’ve really fucked up.

ROTFACE frowns sympathetically.

ROTFACE: Y’knooow, I heard that security has been kind of lax at Mick and Ralph’s lately—

AGNES: No. I’m not going to steal it, Zeke. And not from them.

ROTFACE: Not gonna steal from Dixon either, or did you at least loot his corpse?

AGNES glares fiercely at ROTFACE.

ROTFACE: …eheh. Sorry.

ROTFACE: Well…alright, fair. I'd be a bad friend to make you go back to that shit, anyway. So let me be a good friend. Maybe I can get you onto the Strip.

AGNES is stunned. She leans toward ROTFACE urgently.

AGNES: You’ve got enough cash for the gate check!?

ROTFACE: Ha! Good one. If I did then I sure as hell still wouldn’t be in Freeside. No, what I do got for you is a damn good tip: you want to go in? Go under. But it’s dangerous.

ROTFACE: What you do is pry open the manhole on east Fremont and take the old sewer tunnels. It's gonna be miles of maze-like bullshit, sure, but all the pre-war stuff's still connected. The first ladder you're gonna want goes up behind the Ultra-Luxe, I think. Squatters used to sneak onto the Strip this way sometimes, but it's been a while, might be sealed off by now…might be. I'm not sure. That's not why they stopped.

ROTFACE: No…that'd be because of the ghouls. And not the kind capable of a pleasant conversation like moi.

AGNES: Huh. If it is sealed, would you know with what?

ROTFACE: Probably nothing that you couldn't pick apart in your sleep. Shit's gotta flow somewhere, and sewers need maintenance, so it shouldn't be all tombed up with concrete like what Mr. House did to that one vault hotel.

ROTFACE: But yeah, that's it. Fuck the gate check. Get a little messy, or just a whole lot lucky—and Agnes Sands is on the Vegas Strip for free.

ROTFACE: Really gotta watch those ghouls, though. Get caught, and you may not spend any money, but it still might cost an arm and a leg. Know what I mean?

AGNES: Thanks. It’s, uh…at least I know what to expect.*

CAP: Wouldn’t be the first time. See IKROAH #11. -Lou

ROTFACE: No problem, friend. And I’ll sell my hat for a nice grassy plot if you don’t come back.

AGNES (standing up): You really mean that?

ROTFACE: Hell no. You’ve told me before that you’d want to get cremated, anyway. Now scram, I don’t need deadbeat beggars like you hogging my corner.

AGNES (walking away): Thanks, Zeke. I’ll be seeing you.

ROTFACE (waving goodbye): Aw, don’t mention it, Agnes. And best of luck to you in Vegas!

EXT. ELSEWHERE IN FREESIDE.

AGNES walks a few blocks to reconvene with ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY, and they share a few words before they continue walking together.

ROTFACE (cont.): I always wanted to go and try the machines. Y’know, slots…but if I was a good gambler then I probably wouldn't be a beggar, ha ha.

EXT. ELSEWHERE STILL, EAST FREMONT STREET.

AGNES and CASS approach a sewer lid over a manhole in the middle of the dilapidated street.

ROTFACE (cont): There's always some kind of system in place that just makes sure you lose anyway, right?

CASS casts a nervous glance toward AGNES.

ROTFACE (cont): So it’d probably be a bad idea no matter what.

AGNES returns the look impassively.

ROTFACE (cont.): There’s an old saying like that, I think, but...gun to my head, I can’t remember how the whole thing goes…

The manhole lid is off, and AGNES and CASS are gone.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fnv #courier six #agnes sands #rotface #freeside #volume 02 #21 #ikroah archive

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joost8910 · 3 years

Text

Deltarune: The two Knights theory

MAJOR spoilers for Deltarune Chapter 2 ahead. Strap yourselves in, this post is a long one.

So, as the title suggests, this theory postulates that there are not one, but two knights in Deltarune: The Old Knight and Kris.

The New Knight, Kris

As we see at the end of chapter 2, Kris creates a dark fountain right in the middle of their living room. Presumably, they could have created the fountain in the library in between the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. This would make Kris the Knight that Queen refers to.

“The Knight” “The Roaring Knight…” “Today, It Deigned To Create This World” “Reaching Its Long Hand Into The Sky” “It Coursed Its Will Into Its Blade” “And Made” “Thrusting The Fountain From The Earth”

[Image: Queen overlooking holograms showing a hand and a knife]

The blade shown in Queen’s cutscene is clearly a knife, much like the one Kris uses. Given that Queen confirms the cyber Dark World was only created today, Kris’s soulless moment at the end of chapter 1 fits into that timeframe.

Knight is a Title

Going by the continuation of Queen’s dialogue:

“This Power Of Determination…” “Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess…?” “If One Was Simply” “Determined Enough” “Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?” “So Then” “If The Knight Has Taken Its Leave” “Then I Will Simply…” “Make New One”

Queen’s theory is that any sufficiently determined Lightner can create a dark fountain. This would make such a Lightner a New Knight.

It’s possible Kris only becomes the New Knight after chapter 2. Queen’s dialogue could be what gives Kris the idea to make their own fountain.

Escapism as Possible Motivation:

u/_snout_1’s theory on reddit postulates that Deltarune’s main theme is about escapism. Kris using the dark worlds as a form of escapism fits as a probable motive behind their actions to create more dark fountains. So despite Ralsei’s warning of the Roaring, Kris makes a new fountain knowing they will seal it by the end of the day; playing as a hero.

(Or maybe Kris is just getting possessed during the soulless scenes, but that’s less interesting imo)

Why the Old Knight is NOT Kris:

The reason I theorize there’s two knights is because of King Spades, Jevil, and Spamton.

If Kris was the only Knight, then I think at least one of these three would recognize Kris. While King Spades could believably fall for a disguise, I don’t think Jevil would. I admit that is purely speculative, but I think the best evidence that there is a Knight separate from Kris comes from Spamton.

[Image: Spamton saying “KRIS, DID YOU KNOW THAT THE KNIGHT…”]

[Image: Spamton distorted, saying “No, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to --“]

When asked about the Knight, Spamton is about to tell Kris something before suddenly his text shifts from all uppercase to proper case usage and he apologizes profusely. I believe the Old Knight somehow knows they are mentioned and stops Spamton from revealing anything. This also hints at the Old Knight being the one who helped Spamton’s career in his backstory.

Spamton’s Backstory:

The NPCs in the trash heap after the Spamton NEO fight talk about Spamton’s backstory. They talk about how someone over the phone helped Spamton become a [[BIG SHOT]]. Eventually, the help Spamton was receiving disappeared and his career fell apart as result.

Gaster’s Connection to Spamton

[Image: the final NPC in the trash heap] From the last trash heap NPC’s dialogue:

“The day he was to be evicted from the Queen’s mansion,” “I went to his room to check on him…” “But he wasn’t there.” “There was only a phone hanging off the handle” “He must’ve left in the middle of a conversation,” “Because I could still hear someone on the other end…” “…” “But when I put the receiver to my ear…” “There was nothing but garbage noise.”

Garbage noise is the same phrasing used to describe the sound that plays when you use your phone in the dark world. This sound is mus_smile, which plays during Undertale’s Entry No 17. This is strong evidence for Gaster being involved here.

Eggs, The Old Knight, and the many fragments of Gaster

Recall back to Undertale: this particular Gaster follower

[Image: the Gaster Follower that holds a small head]

“They say he shattered across time and space.” “Haha… How can I say so without fear?” “I’m holding a piece of him right here.”

This confirms here that Gaster himself is not whole. There are at least 3 main pieces of Gaster in Deltarune that are important here. The Voice that talks to us at the beginning and in the twitter, The Man that gives the eggs, and The Old Knight

The Voice matches Entry 17’s speech patterns of VERY, VERY, INTERESTING. As well as the music playing being AUDIO_ANOTHERHIM, with Gaster’s theme in Undertale being mus_st_him.

The Man that gives us the eggs is likely the Mysteryman sprite we’ve all come to love

Given that the narration vaguely describes him in each scene “Well, there is a man here” As well as how he disappears in each scene is very similar to the Mysteryman in Undertale. It’s also possible that each instance of the Egg Man is a separate fragment. Maybe the eggs themselves also contain small pieces of Gaster? Very speculative there.

The Old Knight’s best evidence for a Gaster connection I’ve already shown with Spamton’s section. However, there is another piece that many others have pointed out. EGG in WingDings is EGG

One Side and Two Up: matching the movement of the knight piece in chess.

Additional speculation about the Old Knight’s connection with Gaster

The Old Knight either is a fragment of Gaster or has a fragment of Gaster like the follower in Undertale does.

If the Old Knight is a piece of Gaster, then one of their goals is most likely to become whole again.

If the Old Knight has a piece of Gaster, the same goal to make Gaster whole again could very well apply. Or, the Old Knight is against making Gaster whole so they can abuse the piece they own for some unknown purpose.

Summary and Closing Thoughts

Based on what Queen has said, Knight is more of a title than a singular entity. The title applying to a sufficiently determined Lightner that creates a dark fountain. This makes Kris another Knight as shown in the end of chapter 2.

Evidence from Spamton shows the original Knight is a separate entity from Kris.

There is also evidence that links the original Knight to Gaster. We don’t know the exact connection, but given the Gaster was shattered into pieces, I believe the Knight either is or has a piece of Gaster.

That’s my theory on the Knight(s)! I’m very excited for how the plot develops in further chapters.

#deltarune #deltarune spoilers #gaster #kris #theory

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lulu2992 · 2 years

Note

I think I lied and I do want to be a Joseph apologist? Like I wished he talked to us more in the game because we don’t really get a good sense of him. It seems like cares personally about his siblings and his congregation, he seems to generally be a deeply convicted but kind of hippie-ish guy. So what happened for him to KILL at least two Faiths? What was going on with the whole Atonement thing? Assuming the Voice is real, how does the religion of Eden’s Gate play into the prepping?

He genuinely cares about his family (especially his siblings but also his followers) and his convictions are as sincere as they are extreme. He doesn’t see himself as a villain at all and has pure intentions, which is precisely why he is dangerous. If believing this makes you a “Joseph apologist”, then I am one too... and so are Greg Bryk and the writers because they said that multiple times in interviews! :)

I’ve always thought it was weird that we knew so little about the previous Faiths. You’d think characters would talk more about this subplot and that there would be more clues. Two or more women were Faith before Faith and at least one died; it’s not nothing! But all we have is:

Joseph’s line: “She was not the first to carry that name, but she was the most devoted”

The “Grieving Note” to Lana

The “Dirty Crumpled Letter” to Selena

“A Confession”, the note written by a Faith (clearly not Rachel)

An NPC saying, “[Rachel] is the latest in a long line of Faiths. Before this one, it was a girl named Selena. And before that, Lana” (I don’t even know if this line is still in the game or if it was cut).

Joseph is sincere and well-intentioned in Far Cry 5 but, during the game’s development, and especially before Greg Bryk was cast, it wasn’t always the case. There’s evidence he used to be a more villainous, more manipulative, and less honest man. Basically, the “early Joseph” was a more stereotypical cult leader. I’ve always wondered if him possibly killing the previous Faiths (I say “possibly” because we don’t know what exactly happened, just that Lana apparently died) is an idea the devs got when he was still this “shadier Joseph”, that they wanted to expand on, and then just kind of forgot about but didn’t completely remove from the game. I don’t know, maybe it was always supposed to be this mysterious and unexplored, but I’m surprised by how little information there is about something that, I think, should be far from anecdotal!

In the files, the Henbane River region is often called “SELENA” (Holland Valley is “JOHN” and the Whitetail Mountains are “NORTH”), so I also wonder if there was supposed to be only one previous Faith, Lana, and the current Faith’s real name was going to be Selena, not Rachel. NPCs also sometimes refer to Faith as Joseph’s “half-sister”, which implies they are related, and it’s a term the lead writer also used in several interviews. To me, it sounds like they explored a lot of options and scenarios regarding Faith and I can’t tell if Lana and Selena are also an (almost) abandoned idea or if they’re still totally canon.

If they are and it really was Joseph who got rid of them, he must have done it for a “good reason” (from his point of view, obviously), maybe because the Voice told him to. Greg Bryk was once asked about Faith in a convention and what, in his opinion, made a potential Faith a “good” Faith. The way he sees it, Joseph needs one because he misses “the maternal aspect of the feminine energy” in his life, a “Mother Earth energy”, even. Unlike John and Jacob, Faith is more of “an essence” and doesn’t have to be one specific person. He thinks that “when [Joseph] would lose faith, [he] would find another Faith”. The answer makes sense but it’s pretty vague and it doesn’t explain what happened to Rachel’s predecessors. I wonder if Greg Bryk even knows more about them or if that was just his personal theory.

As for the Atonement, it’s unclear whose idea cutting people’s skin off was. My guess is it was John’s, just like building and training an army was Jacob’s and drugging people was Faith’s. Joseph doesn’t seem to have a problem with the procedure, only with John’s zealousness (due to the intense and complicated relationship he has with pain… and to many unresolved issues), so I suppose it’s how the “Far Cry 5 God” actually wants people to Atone for their sins? Maybe the Voice asked them to do it that way? I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. The Seeds believe they’re helping people and only doing what God wants, after all.

And the prepping makes sense because the Prophecy says the Apocalypse is coming and that they’ll need to survive for seven years in their bunkers. They have to save at least 3,000 “souls” so they need a lot of food and supplies!

#I wonder how much food you’d need to feed 3000 people for exactly 2557 days #far cry 5 #joseph seed #faith seed #john seed #jacob seed #you’re barely mentioned but I’m tagging you too jacob why not #far cry 5 spoilers

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absolutepokemontrash · 3 years

Text

The Demon Bros Play DND!

Who’s ready for some Stupid Headcanons?

So, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s claimed that the tabletop RPG known as Dungeons and Dragons had the power to turn your children into satanists and devil worshippers. So of course, the brothers have totally played DND after hearing about all the human world nonsense.

Lucifer the Back-up Back-up DM

He’s too busy to play this game dammit, stop inviting him! What do you mean both Satan and Simeon can’t DM the one-shot? Ugh... fine.

Despite all his UUUUUUUUGGGGHHH, Lucifer is a damn good storyteller, prepare to be immersed as hell.

Also, sorry guys, he’s a rule whore. If something’s against the rules, YOU AREN’T DOING IT.

He’s also a complete sadist who will randomly get everyone to roll perception checks for NO REASON.

Lucifer has definitely stood up and slammed his hands on the table while giving a description for extra effect, Mammon screamed and nearly fell out of his seat which REALLY ruined the mood.

“Everyone, we’re rescheduling, I’m too busy.”

He’s been a player a few times, and he’s NOT good at it. All his characters end up being really generic and boring. He’s better at being the world and everything in it, not the dummy wandering around it.

Human/fighter lookin’ motherfucker

In conclusion, he’s a good DM, but he’s probably too busy to play.

Over-Powered Self Insert (Mammon)

This game is for nerds! He’s not playin’, Levi!

Fine, his character is great and amazin’ and is also him. MC! What do these numbers mean-

Mammon’s the type of player to make his character a self insert and not take it too seriously, then get really REALLY attached as the campaign progresses.

He’s the type not to make a backstory for his character either, so go wild DM MCs!

He also both purposefully and accidentally metagames a whole bunch. Like dude, YOU know this, YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT.

Shit he forgot his dice, can he borrow some?

“Okay MC, that’s five points of piercing damage.” “I RUN OVER AND HEAL THEM! I’LL SAVE YA MC!”

Mammon goes out of his way to save MC’s character long before it would make sense in-character to do so.

“Well, as your first man it’s my duty to save your character! You’ll probably be a blubberin’ mess if I didn’t...”

He’s not the best role player, but he’s also not the worst at it either. He tends to break character when things get too serious and he doesn’t know what to do.

Notes who? He came in here with one sheet of printer paper and it’s for doodling only.

He and Asmodeus start the tavern brawls. No question about that.

Theft is very common, he’s stealing from everyone, including but not limited to: the party, the royal guards, the dead enemies, the giant fuck-you dragon that Satan dropped in there to deter Mammon from stealing...

“I’m gonna steal that crown from the dragon.” “Roll stealth.” “Nat 20 BITCHES.” “Fuck you.”

If his character dies, may the Demon King have mercy on his greedy little soul because he’s going to mope about it for a damn long time.

Over-Powered Self Insert Again (Leviathan)

His character totally isn’t a self insert, shut up! He just looks and acts like an idealized version of himself!

He’s the one with twenty pages of character info and backstory AND the amazing commissioned art.

Levi has about 40 sets of expensive blue dice that he claims gives him the best rolls but an average session with him usually leads to roughly 10 crit fails.

While his luck with dice isn’t that good, he’s the player who will get as much out of their turn as possible, AKA break out the calculators and notes we’re doing some math.

His turn goes on for at least ten minutes because of all the shit he’s doing. When you finally think it’s over he goes “I still have my movement!”

Takes notes like a madman, every bit of lore and character info is being written down, meaning it’s a headache for everyone involved if there’s a continuity error because Levi WILL point it out.

“So you all head to the east, the great Valley of-” “Hang on, valley? In the second session you said there was a mountainous area to the east.” “Levi, shut up.”

Levi is the self appointed “guys come on let’s get back on track!” player, and whoever’s DMing is grateful to have him.

Levi is kind of the opposite of Mammon in terms of character seriousness, at first he’s taking everything super seriously and then as the campaign goes on he slowly loosens up and has some fun.

Out of curiosity one day he searches up a magical girl DND class and he’s ALL OVER IT. PLEASE LET HIM BE A MAGICAL GIRL NEXT CAMPAIGN-

Damn good at roleplaying, he’s carrying the entire in-character discussion until everyone else gets into it.

The Done With Your Bullshit DM (Satan)

So, this is the game that’s supposedly summoning him all the time despite the fact that he hadn’t been up to the human world since the 50s... what the fuck is everyone on up there?

It was the 80s, probably a lot of drugs.

When Satan DMs, you can only break the rules if it enhances the story... or if it fucks with Lucifer’s really boring character.

He will fudge dice rolls every once and a while, he also gets very attached to the characters everyone has made so he doesn’t want to perma-kill any of them unless they roll a DND quadruple natural 1 sin or something.

As attached as he gets, he isn’t above completely raging, killing everyone’s characters, and ending the session if everyone’s being annoying.

Don’t worry, your characters will be safe and sound next session once everything calms down... just don’t mention how Satan burned your character sheet right in front of you. It’s your fault if you didn’t make a second copy of your character sheet!

He’s pretty decent when it comes to improv when a player stumbles into something he didn’t plan out, but that’s not going to stop him from getting a little annoyed.

Though, if you somehow manage to get to the big bad too soon... yeah sorry, he’s got a way more dramatic fight scene planned, your player’s getting conveniently blasted out of there.

As a player, Satan is pretty decent at the game overall, but he tends to be a little aggressive if there’s an overarching mystery to be solved.

He needs to understand what’s going on! He doesn’t care if it upends the plot or it’s too early to find out! He needs to know!

His character is actually distinct and different from himself, Satan thinks it’s more interesting that way. All the books he’s read have made him a pretty awesome role player!

Satan’s notebook both as a DM and a player is filled to the brim, no detail is too insignificant to be put on the page.

Satan doesn’t fear dungeon puzzles... dungeon puzzles fear Satan.

“Are you all stupid?! This puzzle is so easy a four year old could solve it!”

I ROLL TO SEDUCE- (Asmodeus)

At first he didn’t want to play, he doesn’t play these kinds of games, sweetie. He’s too pretty.

When he’s finally convinced he puts a decent amount of effort into his character, but leaves the backstory pretty open.

Asmo would probably be the bard... right? No. He’s the warlock with the magic sugar daddy patron, and the warlock patron is spoken to as such.

“Hey baby... how’ve you been? Have I been good~?” “...”

Huh! Who woulda thought that all the bedroom roleplaying would transfer so well to DND!

Simeon is the only DM that doesn’t immediately shut this down, so Asmo will be extra inclined to play if Mr. Nice Shoulders is DMing.

When he gets really into it he buys a bunch of sparkly and very pretty dice, they bring him good luck in every roll!

Asmo has a fictional harem, no question about it. It gets to the point where Satan, Lucifer, and Simeon stop describing NPCs as attractive.

He’s rolling to seduce either way, he’s turned many an antagonist into a lover. To be fair, Asmo’s horniness has gotten everyone out of a lot of jail cells... so they can’t complain.

His notes consist of really random comments about the plot and the other players. It’s also COATED with doodles.

‘Wow, this character is such an asshole, I hope Belphie kills them.’ ‘Shit.’ ‘MC looks so cute when they play their character!!!!!!!! :D’

Poor bab forgets the rules a lot... it’s just too much to remember, okay?! How was he supposed to know that he ran out of spell slots an hour ago?!

Please help him, MC...

*Dice Cronch* (Beel)

Homeboy has been given edible dice, no question. He has also eaten the non-edible dice...

Beel goes to Satan for help with making his character, and he ends up really loving the character! :D

Problem is, he’s not that good at roleplaying... D:

“Can my character eat that person?” “Beel, no- you know what? Let me check what you’d need to roll to do that.”

I’ll save you MC part 2 electric boogaloo, but when it comes to Beel, the entire party is getting protected, no matter how little it makes sense in-character.

While Beel does take notes, a lot of them don’t end up being very important for later events. For example, he’ll jot down stuff about the layout in one room, but it turns out he didn’t take notes for the room that was actually going to be used for a boss fight.

He’s always nice to the NPCs, shame Belphie doesn’t show them the same courtesy.

Murder Hobo (Belphie)

Chaotic evil.

“Belphie, your character’s alignment is neutral good, remember?” “Fuck that, this guy’s annoying me.”

If Belphie doesn’t like an NPC, it’s up to the rest of the party to stop him from derailing the campaign and killing them.

He has space themed dice because cow-man likes space and thought they were pretty.

Notes? NOTES? You think Belphegor, the Avatar of SLOTH, takes notes? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

He’s drooling all over the notebook... ew. Someone wake him up and tell him it’s his turn.

He puts about 35% effort forth to make a halfway decent character, and approximately 4% effort to actually roleplay.

Belphie sleeps through important plot details so he’s almost always really confused. He’ll turn to MC and ask them to explain what he missed before not learning his lesson and going back to sleep.

Wake him up for the dungeon puzzles though, he and Satan love those.

“Okay, we can’t see what’s in the room because none of the conscious party members have dark vision?” “Nope, what do you do?” “...I shove Mammon inside and shut the door.” “WHAT?!”

Bonus! The Best DM (Simeon)

Our favourite angel has homebrewed this entire campaign and boy fricken howdy are these players going to enjoy it.

Simeon fudges the dice rolls to avoid anything too irreversibly bad happening, buuuuuuut he’s still a total asshole who does the random perception rolls to keep everyone on their toes.

Everyone gets a character arc god dammit, even if they don’t have a backstory, one will be provided!

He’s got a map, he’s got miniatures, he’s got dice and backup dice for the backup dice, he’s got DM notes for days!

Simeon could be a voice actor with the amount of character voices he can do, no one ever gets confused with who’s talking.

Did someone just uncover a massive bit of plot that was meant to be found out later? Good job! No harm done! Simeon’s DM improv is second to none, and the plot will adjust accordingly!

#Obey me #Obey me!#Obey me Headcanons #obey me! headcanons #Obey me Lucifer #Obey me Mammon #Obey me Simeon #Obey me Leviathan #obey me beelzebub #Obey me Belphegor #Obey me Satan #Obey me Asmodeus #Obey me MC #obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date?

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young-dumb-and-vaccinated · 3 years

Text

The Sommelier (Hannibal x Female!Reader) pt. 1

Ding dong fannibals I’m back on my bullshit :)

I discovered that I cannot for the life of me be concise so this one might come in a couple parts. I don't anticipate it's gonna go as long as Cult Girl but we'll see. Y/n is an introverted waitress at a fancy restaurant with a crush on a mysterious regular. An encounter with a dangerous criminal pulls her into his world.

Trigger warnings: graphic descriptions of violence; implied drug use; religiously-motivated violence.

In some ways, waitressing was the perfect job for an introvert. Customers didn’t see you as a person, they saw you as an NPC. As long as that was the case, you weren’t expected to engage with them beyond the script: you take their order, bring them the food and they, hopefully, leave a tip. To ensure that, you perfected the art of fake happiness. You were there to make money, not friends.

Well, there was an exception to every rule. Yours was the sommelier.

The sommelier was a regular at the restaurant, but never ordered a meal. He mostly just sat at the bar, drank expensive wine, and watched the people come and go for hours at a time. Among the waitstaff, he was a bit of a local cryptid. Waitresses whispered about the handsome gentleman with an unidentifiable accent and deep pockets. About how lucky you had to be to score a bartending shift on one of the nights he showed up. It got to the point where bartending shifts were swapped like currency, because every woman on staff wanted the chance to meet the sommelier.

One of the more religious line chefs liked to remind you all that the devil would come as everything you could ever desire. He was fully convinced that the sommelier was Satan incarnate, and he wasn’t completely off the mark. Standing at six feet tall with features sharp enough to cut diamonds, the sommelier wouldn’t look out of place in a vampire thriller. He always dressed in dark suits. Your coworkers hypothesized this was so the bloodstains wouldn’t show. Despite the chef’s well-intended (if not condescending) warnings, even the threat of eternal damnation couldn’t scare you off.

As much as you liked to believe you were above stupid workplace gossip, you knew you weren’t. You were never the most socially adept person, but this gave you something to connect over. It’s how you discovered that you and the other waitresses were all in the same boat; broke, lonely and in desperate need of some excitement. And if that came in the form of a wine-loving vampire taking a liking to your restaurant, there were certainly worse ways to go.

Unfortunately, not even the chance at encountering the sommelier could make you look forward to working Easter Sunday. Your manager had you working from noon to midnight that day. As employers went, he wasn’t much of a tyrant. He offered you time and a half and even let you switch from waiting tables to bartending halfway through the shift. He, too, knew how coveted the bartending shifts were. And you weren’t in any position to refuse, either. You quite enjoyed having a roof over your head and food in your stomach.

That didn’t make up for the fact that most of the other twenty-something employees had left for the holiday, and you were one of the few stragglers left available. Easter was the most dreaded workday of the year, because the infamous after-church crowd quadrupled in size and lasted all day. They came in double-digit parties, had no concept of birth control and tipped in prayer. Too many times had you reached for what looked like a generous cash tip, only to find that it was a church pamphlet disguised as a fifty.

You clocked in at noon exactly, after waiting for the second hand to pass the twelve just to be sure.

“[F/N]!” Your coworker, Charissa, grabbed your attention before you could walk away. “I heard you’re at the bar this evening. Congratulations.”

“He’s not going to show up, Charissa.” You rolled your eyes. You decided to go into this shift expecting the absolute worst, that way you wouldn’t be setting yourself up for disappointment. “It’s Easter.”

“You don’t know that.” Charissa nudged you in the side.

You grinned. “Why would a vampire come to dinner on the one day everyone is gonna be wearing a cross?”

“Oh, shit, I didn’t think of that.” Charissa gasped. “Well, good luck anyway.”

The first wave of customers filing through the door and filling the restaurant with noise pushed all optimism out of your head. Sighing, you approached a person that Charissa had already seated.

“Hi, my name is [F/N], I’ll be your server today.” You greeted the first customer in your block. “Can I get you something to drink today?”

The man couldn’t have been a day over twenty-five, if that. He was still lively in a way that meant he hadn’t experienced the drain that was a minimum wage job. He was wearing a shirt that said ‘on fire for Christ’ under a flannel with no buttons. One look and you knew he wasn’t going to tip.

The man flashed a row of eerily white teeth. “I thought you said you would bring the wine?”

You momentarily thought you’d already taken his drink order and shook your head. “I’m sorry, did I--”

“Ah, I see your confusion.” The man shrugged and forced a laugh. “You’re waitressing this week, you and I are going on a date next week. My mistake.”

Great. You thought. It hasn't even been five minutes and I'm already being gaslit.

Any interaction that forced you to go off-script was bad, but this was a particularly irritating diversion. “Would you like to see a wine list?”

“I’m Chase.” He said. “It’s nice to meet you, [F/N].”

“Have you decided on a drink?” You repeated, trying not to grit your teeth too obviously.

"I'll have a glass of your finest coke, please." He faked an English accent, poorly.

"We only carry Pepsi products." You said, dreading how this joker would react to such a minor inconvenience.

He threw his head back and made a face like he had just taken a bullet to the chest. "No, it's gotta be coke! It's coke or nothing!"

"Did you want something else, then?" You tried to hurry him along. "The bartender makes a very nice mimosa-"

He smacked the table as if he had some urgent question. "McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A? There is a right answer, so choose wisely."

"...uh," You mumbled, just praying that he would order a drink already. There wasn't even a Chick-fil-A in the area. "I like McDonald's."

Again, he acted like he was shot in the chest. "Oh, you're down zero to two!"

"If you need a few minutes to select a drink," You said. "I can come back-"

He grabbed your arm and forced a laugh. "I'm just kidding around with you, [F/N]. Pepsi is fine."

You scribbled the order down on your notepad, mostly just to pry your wrist from his grip. You wanted to go into the bathroom and scrub yourself down, but perhaps it was just easier to chop the whole arm off. That way you could get worker's compensation, too.

The tables were filling up and you had spent far too long coaxing a drink order out of this youth pastor creep. You had actual families to wait on. The shift was off to a horrible start.

You made him wait for as long as you could get away with. You took drink orders from three full booths before returning to the youth pastor. Because you knew he was raring to corner you again.

You planted the pop in front of him, the glass already wet with condensation. "Have you decided on a meal?"

"I was just looking over this menu and something caught my eye." He began, looking at the holiday menu your manager had printed off. "This rack of lamb, it's a special, right?"

"Right." You nodded. "It's a pretty large meal, though, so I'd recommend sharing it-"

"No, y'see.." he cut you off. "Jesus was the lamb of god. He died on the cross for your sins. And, look!"

He pointed to the menu. "It says it's a 'praying hands' lamb!"

"Oh!" You forced yet another smile. "I can see the confusion. That just refers to how the rack is arranged."

"I think it's a sign from god." He said.

You demonstrated the shape of the dish with your fingers. "See, the rib bones are long and the racks are Frenched, so the dish takes the shape of a pair of, well, praying hands."

"I'll take it." He nodded furiously.

He took a sharp breath in through his nose and you started to seriously wonder if his definition of "coke or nothing" had a double meaning. It formulated in your head as a joke, but it became more and more of a serious inquiry by the minute.

You leaned in just slightly to get a closer look at his face. Some details you hadn't noticed before were beginning to come into focus. His eyes were vacant and glassy. A small but noticeable stream of blood trickled from his nostril.

"Sir?" You said in a clear, projected voice. "Is there someone I could call for you?"

He turned his head. "Jesus died for your sins."

You looked around the room for any sign of your manager, a supervisor or anyone with a shred of authority. "This man needs help!"

In your haste to call attention to the situation, you didn't see him pick up his steak knife.

"You want to know what Jesus felt when you pierced him?" He muttered, just loud enough for your ears alone.

You felt the serrated knife puncture your skin before you had time to process his words. The pain shot through your body, making you freeze in place.

A chorus of screams filled the restaurant. Blood was pouring from the open wound in a quantity you didn't think possible. Underneath, the knife went straight through your hand and into the table.

The man gripped the handle and gave it a twist, a look of horrifying pleasure on his face. At this point, several people had stepped in to restrain him. He was tall and athletic and could easily overpower many of the other customers, which he did. He found another steak knife and began to cut throats while chanting an incomprehensible prayer.

An older woman claiming to be a doctor rushed to your side. She made a makeshift tourniquet from a napkin and a butter knife. Everything after that was a blur. You struggled to stay conscious as the woman tried to guide the knife from the table while keeping it embedded in your hand.

Soon enough, police and ambulances arrived on the scene. The woman placed you in the care of one of the many EMTs, then rushed away to assist the others.

"I'm just doing what Jesus says!" The youth pastor shouted, before gouging his knife into another man's throat. "Spreading his love!"

The officers notably didn't open fire and made an attempt to de-escalate. Maybe that was how the youth pastor was able to escape.

#hannibal nbc #hannibal x reader #hannibal lecter #hannibal x you #tw religion #tw christianity #long form #tw customer service #tw blood #tw violence

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phoenixtakaramono · 3 years

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Thank you for answering my q ♥️. The thing about Bingqiu is, you're probably right about LBH having many possibilities for love interests although it saddens me a little that in this aspect Bingqiu aren't like Hualian or Wangxian because no matter what circumstances or AU, you could hardly find a better partner for either of them. Wangxian and Hualian are IT for eo while SY is replaceable. Wangxian and Hualian are inevitable while Bingqiu is not. Idk, I love them that's why it makes me sad.

I had a long response on mobile, and then the app closed on me without saving. :’) *cries*

Happy to reply to your asks, anon! 💗 That’s a very interesting perspective actually. Although while some could find it disconcerting, I personally think it’s amazing to see such variety. I also think Bingqiu is less of a “one-time deal” than you think, OP (at least, I like to headcanon in every universe or timeline, there is a Shen Yuan for Luo Binghe—because that’s a romantic thought so long as it’s not a terrible AU LBH). Or as the more extreme diehard Bingjiu fans put it, a SJ for every Luo Binghe. The other ships like Bingjiu (this could be argued) and LQG/LBH are fanon, but Bingqiu is presented in SVSSS as a fated match (it just took a whole lotta misunderstandings to reach that point; whew, what a huge “love trial!”)

Hmm, so these are just some more of my personal thoughts on the MXTX ship(s): I wish Bingqiu was as popular and accepted as Hualian and Wangxian, but SVSSS is supposedly the least well-known out of the three despite its seniority. Out of all her works so far (at the time of this post, we have not yet heard more information of her upcoming fourth novel), I think the Bingqiu ship is a little less clear cut because, and this is no fault of her own, one party is a modern man who’d transmigrated into another man’s body. This identity theft/body snatching muddles somethings and raises questions for a few readers; furthermore, MXTX did not write a scene revealing the truth of SY’s transmigration in the main story and in the extras—which I feel could help this couple feel “authentic” and “deserved.” In MDZS and TGCF, there is no imposter syndrome or transmigration throwing a monkey wrench into the relationship. It’s pretty clear cut. In SVSSS, the relationship thusly can feel a little...I hate to use this word, but it can come across as “disingenuous.” Which is a shame because we see Shen Yuan as SQQ say such romantic lines like these near the end of the book (ugh, my heart 💘):

The second he flipped open ‘Proud Immortal Demon Way,’ the story officially began; the moment he closed ‘Proud Immortal Demon Way,’ the story still remained unfinished.

Or, in other words, the story that circulated among the people of the world has already come to an end. But, the story between you and me has only just begun. (—SVSSS)

But, for context though, under the assumption some of you guys aren’t super familiar with transmigration trope (I’d binged almost the entire genre of transmigration stories from translated light novels to transmigration manhuas/manhwa/and isekai manga at the height of my obsession...it’s literally one of my new favorite genre tags), there are only a handful of works where the main character admits to being a modern wo/man who’d transmigrated into another person’s body in whichever fictional work belonging to the premise. It’s unusual to see them reveal that information. Why?

Because the main character knows they would be called crazy or be looked at with worried/ sympathetic looks (if you tell someone who’s alive and breathing that you came from a different world from another time, and that they were fictional characters or NPCs in your previous world, they would naturally think you’ve either gone mad or are temporarily delusional/confused or have a wild imagination and are playing a joke on them)

Revealing such info could lead to dangerous situations like an unstable universe or to its collapse (some other transmigration works have done this), or their own lives being threatened (like the fear of the character’s loved ones realizing their child/lover/whomever was replaced by the soul of a stranger) in a strange and unfamiliar world that they were uprooted into

Sometimes the System strictly forbids it

Sometimes the MC is willing to discard their previous identity (oftentimes plain or boring or overworked/ stressed or financially troubled) and start over as a new identity, so they essentially disown their mundane past and wholeheartedly embrace their new role

It’s more of the norm to see the main character embrace their new role aka this new identity in the new world. So it’s not so strange to me that Shen Qingqiu never admitted to being Shen Yuan in canon to Luo Binghe. (Plus, I doubt the System would even allow him to, because his true identity and the knowledge that there is another world out there is confidential fourth-wall-breaking information that a book character like the protagonist should not be privy to.)

Another thing that is different is that in TGCF, we find out Hua Cheng/ San Lang was head over heels for Xie Lian from start to finish (my gosh, all time biggest simp & the world record holder for the most patient love and devotion that has lasted for practically so long 😭 he really is his most devoted believer). In MDZS, the romance between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian is also pretty clearcut (oh gosh, Lan Wangji, when we find out how much he cares for WWX, ugh, my heeeeeart). In SVSSS, Luo Binghe started out as a sweet, devoted disciple in the first half of the story (embodying the “white lotus” archetype) who then blackened in the second half of the story (I know some people don’t like to see LBH being typecast as a yandere, but his actions—while influenced by Xin Mo—highkey reminded me of a yandere at that time) and we nervously read his interactions with Shen Qingqiu until the penultimate conclusion. And then in the extras we see them bonding and even getting married! MXTX was definitely trying to show post-main story that Bingqiu is a happy relationship and is OTP.

And another thing I’ve noticed is there is no real alt. ship competition compared to the canon ship in both MDZS (although technically it can be argued JC/WWX is one such competition, but...I mean, it’s easy to see why people ship it, especially since fanfiction allows us to play with so many different possibilities) and TGCF (I mean, technically I can see Xie Lian with...oh god, I’ve also seen quite a few alternative ships (as you can see, anon, I’m quite the open-minded reader, even if I do have my favorites...which tend to be the canon couple of whichever fictional work) and some of them were intriguing, but I ship Hualian hardcore. For SVSSS, while I also ship Bingqiu hardcore, I also like Bingyuan (Binggeyuan), but it’s also interesting to see the other alternative ships in the fandom. Bingqiu still dominates the fandom in the end (as do all canon couples in all fandoms).

Since it’s canon OTP, I personally don’t see SY as “replaceable.” MXTX is pretty clear about her couples all having their red strings of fate (Wangxian, Hualian, and Bingqiu). Bingqiu was still the canon endgame OTP in SVSSS. SVSSS is indeed MXTX’s first work (I could see why it’s considered rough around the edges), but the build up to the romance, to the “Oh” moment, are different from the setup in MDZS and TGCF where the main characters had good romantic sexual chemistry. LWJ and WWX were mutually in love with each other (the subtle gestures and the overt ones). Xie Lian also wasn’t afraid to bond and inevitably reciprocate Hua Cheng’s/San Lang’s affections. With SY!SQQ...in SVSSS, SY spends a good first half and almost half of the second half of the book oblivious to LBH’s crush on him, and we read SY vehemently declaring himself a straight man. Yet it’s the littlest actions he does that show how much he cares for LBH. He’s also an unreliable narrator, lol. But that’s where the humor comes from: the misunderstandings. SVSSS is mostly comedy and satire/parody/genre deconstruction imo making fun of established Chinese fan culture norms; romance is included but I don’t think it’s SVSSS’ focus. The romance here is so much less...”overt” (I’m not sure what word would work here) than MXTX’s other works and we have to rely on subtext (like how SY, himself, a man, poetically describing another man’s eyes—LBH—as obsidian starry night skies SY, so hella romantic 🙄 and him mentioning over and over again how attractive LBH is like, SY, we get it, LOL, and him throwing himself into life-threatening situations for LBH like saving his life even though he knows LBH has plot armor from his protagonist’s halo). I really like the first half of SVSSS and chapter(s) near the end, and the extras personally. I think they show more of the happy ship dynamic (the tragic middle is hard for me to reread multiple times without me feeling like an incurable M).

I do appreciate that MXTX must have belatedly instinctively realized with her writer’s instincts (or she heard feedback) that she needed to show a bit more of the Bingqiu relationship after the main story was done to show that, yes, troublesome things did happen but this is the endgame couple for a reason and they’re happy together. So I’m appreciative for the extras.

While she does leave things a bit open to interpretation (lol, such as LQG’s misunderstanding in the succubus extra; I joke that LQG is like the typical second ML—since the 2nd ML in Chinese works never gets “the girl” over the protagonist despite being qualified), she did write the succubus extra where Madam Meiyin checked Shen Qingqiu’s love fortune. While it could be argued that since this was Shen Qingqiu’s body, her divination was Shen Jiu’s life story essentially—particularly the past—but you also see ambiguous passages like this:

Madam Meiyin examined it for quite some time, and her expression became increasingly solemn as time passed.

Perplexed, she said, “Immortal Master, my learnings must’ve been too shallow, for this red line of your past seemed a little… …unclear. When I first observed it, it seemed like you were destined to be alone. However, when I take a closer look, I can see a very faint line of marriage.” (—SVSSS)

I always like writers who leave things open to interpretation^. In this case, Madam Meiyin made a weird expression when she was reading out Shen Qingqiu’s love fortune. I headcanon this was the System interfering with her divination, because this is an NPC. Shen Yuan, a modern man, transmigrated into the cannon fodder villainous NPC. She of course wouldn’t be able to see Shen Yuan’s past (that’d be breaking the fourth wall) so the muddling is essentially the System’s censorship in play. But she does hint at Shen Qingqiu’s (SY) destined lover essentially—and her descriptions seems to be pretty clear to the audience that she’s talking about Luo Binghe being the person at the other end of the red string of fate. (Although, lol, LQG’s misunderstanding, hahaha. And SY’s obliviousness, dear lord. I want to facepalm and laugh simultaneously.)

Haha, don’t worry. I think we’re pretty much all suckers for lifetime romances. I think it’s also fun to see all the different fanon ships in all of MXTX’s works (that’s the beauty of fanfiction) but the canon ship is canon.

#mxtx #bingqiu #svsss #hualian #wangxian #ask #anon #phoenix talks #phoenixtakaramono #answered #replied #sorry anon for taking a long time to reply #I forced myself to regain motivation to retype what I could remember b4 my app force shut and didn’t save my reply #I say force but it’s less of me forcing myself than it was to finally find the time to sit down and rekindle my motivation #after the busy day I had today #I hope you find my personal thoughts interesting #it’s word vomit lol but this is me writing casually #it’s midnight when I typed this so hopefully it makes sense #I’m a pretty open minded person when it comes to all ships #ship and let ship #I don’t like it when ppl police ships saying one is superior over the one #I mean yes the canon ship is canon and is therefore No.1 #but fanwork is where creators can explore possibilities #I do wish Bingqiu is more popular tho OP

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dinopopduck · 3 years

Text

Ezekiel Only Being Unaffected By Certain Kinds of Magic

Let’s just start with me saying this isn’t exactly a new theory. It’s the demigod thing, and it’s a fairly popular one. If you haven’t heard of this headcannon, I put as much as I can find here. If you have, I found a bunch of new stuff that I haven’t seen anyone else mention, so reading this isn’t a complete waste of your time, I hope.

I tried to keep this from becoming wordy, but it got really long anyway, because there was a lot to talk about here.

Ezekiel being unaffected by magic is sort of an ongoing thing in the show. He is influenced by it much of the time, such as by Santa’s Hat, Pan’s Flute, Prospero’s spell, lycanthropy, etc. When it comes to the stuff he was seemingly completely immune to, there is one link that connects them all.

Apple of Discord: Everybody knows this one. The Apple is a Greek artifact, meant to turn you into the worst version of yourself, and Ezekiel was only one completely unaffected. It’s blamed on “he’s already the worst version of himself” or whatever.

Zeus Lightning Bolt: the episode where Ezekiel ends up decked out in Greek armor, and is sent to pick up Zeus’ Lightning Bolt, which was freaking out and zapping everywhere. He picks it up just fine, and he’s then able to hand it off to Flynn. It may have been purely because of the Greek armor he was wearing, but Flynn did not seem so sure about that working.

Cindy’s Love Potion: Ezekiel is able to be near the potion without becoming obsessed with Cindy. At first, it’s blamed on him being obsessed with himself, then later Jacob tells Ezekiel that he was already in love with Cindy. It was an obsession, not a love, potion you literally spent the episode proving that blah blah, he didn’t even recognize her at first blah blah, anyway, I have a better reason.

There are two Greek mentions in this episode. First, the potion project itself is called Project Aphrodite, a Greek goddess. Second, the sunflowers; when asked, Jenkins mentions how sunflowers are a Greek symbol of unrequited love. In addition, “love” potions may have originated in Greece, or at the very least, were common enough to have multiple sites claim that, lol. At the end of the season, where each librarian uses their gifts to turn Apep mortal, this greek potion is what Ezekiel ends up using.

See a pattern here? Everything that he was completely unaffected by was Greek in some way. So, he has an immunity to these kinds of artifacts, but why? I vote demigod.

Anyway, moving on.

Here’s some magic he could have been immune to, or could not have been. Its pretty debatable.

Fortuna: Technically a Roman Goddess, but the show does acknowledge how similar they are to Greek Gods. He may have been affected by the spell, but broke out of it pretty quick. Some think he may not been affected at all; slot machines aren’t exactly fair, especially in a casino that exists to cheat completely. As for Ezekiel getting so upset over losing, what he says, “Not the guy that loses, I’m the guy that wins” sounds very similar to what he was saying in Point of Salvation, but that’s a whole nother topic.

Alternately, he was affected and this point shouldn’t be here. I don’t know, I’m not the writers.

Libris Fabula: He was a little bit affected, just far less than the others, as he acted pretty much the same. He did get a barely noticeable clothing change, became luckier than normal, and was just able to cast a spell for some reason? Speaking out that spell, it froze the guy, and a certain Greek God does have the ability to put people to sleep. Not really the same thing, but worth thinking about. Maybe. More on that later.

Most people think he was immune, but he could have just been similar enough to the character he was portraying that he didn’t need to change a whole lot.

These ones are barely worth mentioning, because have other reasonable (though I guess your definition of reasonable may be different from mine) explanations, but you could see them as magic immunity as well:

Silver Screen: Ezekiel gets into character the least, while Cassandra and Jacob are out singing and calling people by their character names. Maybe less affected, maybe just a spoilsport. Probably the last one.

Point of Salvation: Was the only one able to remember previous loops. Since they were in a video game, it’s explained that since he was the first through the door, he became the player while everyone else became NPCs. I mean, sure.

Christmas Thief: Saint of Thieves only used his truth telly power on Ezekiel’s mother, not him. Ezekiel did not feel obligated to say anything. Could just be that the guy wasn’t talking to Ezekiel. Or, earlier in that episode Ezekiel tells his mother he doesn’t steal anymore (at least for anything other than the Library, I assume, cause he still kinda does) and therefor that made him immune to the spell, since it only works on thieves.

Image of an Image: Both Cassandra and Ezekiel got their pictures taken, and Cassandra was the only one affected by the transfer spell. However, Ezekiel wasn’t one of the “chosen ones” because he snuck in, and jumped in front of the camera while Eve (one of the “chosen ones”, who was later able to be affected) turned away. Either that, or he just didn’t have time to feel the effect, since his picture was taken after Cassandra’s, and Eve’s was placed in manually.

That’s all the possible instances of magic immunity I could think of.

Next, we have some other stuff that is relevant to this point, but wasn’t necessarily artifact/magic immunity.

Prophecy Cube: Created by the Oracle of Delphi, who is from Greek mythology. This isn’t about whether Ezekiel was affected by something, as he was still able to use the prophecy glass/get stuck in the cube. Rather, it’s about the Zeus Challenge in the cube. They probably would have died in there, but luckily, Ezekiel had just happened to steal, and keep on him, the exact thing they needed to get through– a bunch of golden coins, and a prophecy that ensures at least one coin can’t be destroyed. Luck? Prophecy? Divine Intervention? Plot convenience? Okay its probably the last one but STILL

Also, Ezekiel getting pissed at Zeus.

Zeus’s Bolt (again?): There is a promo image I think for season 4? that has each of the Librarians holding their tools. Jacob had his axe, Cassandra had a notebook, Flynn had Excalibur, all normal, except for Eve and Ezekiel. Eve had this big staff thing I didn’t recognize, and Ezekiel had Zeus’ Bolt for some reason?

Lightning, just, in general: If there is wild electricity in an episode, Ezekiel is probably around.

Examples:

City of Light: Gets shocked and knocked backwards into Jacob by a very electrified fence, gets up right afterwards and is fine.

Broken Staff: The Zeus Bolt thing, you get it.

Image of an Image: Ezekiel electrocutes Jacob. Jacob was not really fine. He lived, though.

Point of Salvation: Ezekiel electrocutes Jacob part 2 Electric Boogaloo, but this time on purpose. He was not fine. He died. But don’t worry, he lived.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Mentioned a little bit above, Ezekiel, Jacob, and a student get stuck in the Zeus Challenge, and Ezekiel uses some coins he just so happened to steal recently. Throwing them on tiles shows whether or not lightning will strike if it was stepped on. Seriously, why is it ALWAYS Jacob?

The Dark Secret: Ezekiel is the one sent to wrap a cord around a lightning rod constantly being struck by lighting. “Why am I bloody doing this”, he asks? I mean, Zeus probably isn’t going to kill his descendent(?), right?

Werewolves: Have you heard of the Lycaon of Arcadia? It’s a Greek myth. Basically, this dude named Lycaon wants to test how smart and all-knowing Zeus is. To do so, he kills his own son, cooks him, and serves him to Zeus to see if he notices, ya know, no biggie. Zeus was like “wtf man” and brings the son back to life, and turns Lycaon into, you guessed it, a wolf. So, Zeus creates a werewolf of sorts, maybe one of the firsts. In Fangs of Death, Ezekiel just so happens to be the one (main) character to be turned into werewolf. So, if he was a descendant of Zeus, imagine how big of a “fuck you” that was to the god. That all being said, Ezekiel was turned by an Egyptian god, so that might not have been intentional. Also, they may have just been avoiding turning Jacob, because there is already a werewolf named Jacob and they didn't want another Twilight reference in that episode.

Family/Name: Ezekiel is adopted, and his adoptive mother mentions how she took him in off the streets. Because of that, we don’t know who his birth parents are, and whether or not he, or anyone else, knows is unknown. Soooo, we can take some creative liberties as to who his parents might have been.

As for his name, it carries some religious connotations. It should be remembered though, the meanings I’m talking about here are Biblical, not Greek, so again, might mean nothing for this argument. “Ezekiel” is “God’s Strength” or “God will Strengthen”. Jones might also be something like “God is gracious” or “God has favored”, thought different sites say different things. However, I’m pretty sure the name Jones came from his adoptive mother, and apparently Jones is a common last name in Australia. His first name is more relevant, because all of his siblings have themed names; Mercy, Charity, and Honor. So, either his mom named him differently because she knew something we don’t, or he already had the name before she adopted him. Either way, this probably means absolutely nothing. But what are we here for? To analyze a dead show like an English teacher analyzes the color of curtains in an 100 year old text. If it wasn’t for all the other stuff, I probably wouldn’t think about this too much.

Okay. So Greek stuff, lightning, and Zeus himself come up a LOT when it comes to this guy. So is Ezekiel the son of Zeus? Possibly, but a more popular theory is that he’s Zeus’ grandson. Because Zeus’ son just so happens to be Hermes; god of things such as luck, travel, money, trade, and most importantly, thieves. Oh, and animal husbandry/shepherds and sleep, I don’t know how much those apply but I will try.

Time for some comparisons, honestly most of these don’t even need to be explained so I’ll keep it short-ish, cause this shit has gotten way too long already.

Luck: Ezekiel, especially in the first season, likes to rely on luck, and tends to be very lucky in general. Examples where this is mentioned include Fables of Doom and Apple of Discord. “Smarter to be lucky then lucky to be smart!”

Travel: We can assume that he ended up traveling in his previous job (that being heists all over the world) fairly often, even before the Library. Becoming a Librarian with a teleporting door increased that of course.

Money: Steals very high-value items to sell. Also apparently likes to take money from his coworker’s wallets. And probably everyone else’s.

Trade: The aforementioned high-value pieces he steals are traded/sold for money. In Christmas Thief, we find out he kept none of the money or items, giving it away to others who needed it. That kinda fits this category, I think.

Thieves: I really don’t need to explain this. Unless you haven’t seen the show.

Animal Husbandry/Shepherds?: Basically the care of animals. Um, well he doesn’t keep cows or anything, but he has a tendency to “adopt” magical creatures that need help. Stumpy, Nessie Jr., maybe Frankenstein’s Monster as well?

Sleep: I mentioned earlier how Ezekiel froze a guy (not really in an icy way, just couldn’t move) by hitting him with his coin. Hermes is able to send people to sleep with his Caduceus (the snake wand thing). Yeah, it’s not really the same thing, though you could consider being frozen a kind of sleep. He could have just been lucky enough to find a magical coin, and lucky enough to figure out how to use it at the exact right time without even knowing what it did. It’s a stretch either way, really, and was never explained in the episode at all. Yeah, I can't find anything else that fits.

Hermes is considered to be a thief and trickster, and a lot of the things he is god of are Ezekiel’s main occupations. With all those similarities to Hermes, frequent events related to lightning and Zeus related things, and immunity to Greek artifacts, we can conclude that he is perhaps the son of Hermes, taking after his father in abilities and getting visits from grandpa.

Alternatively, his somehow IS Hermes, but I doubt that. He’d probably be way more powerful. He was also able to see the future with Prophecy Glass, which Jenkins claims is impossible for immortals to do (although in that case he was talking about a Prophecy Cube, but close enough). It’s more likely that he is a demigod.

Okay, that is all I can think of that is relevant. I binged the series about two months ago, and have been thinking about this theory. I went ahead and re-watched the episodes that I mentioned in more detail, as well as parts of others that I remebered. The reason I bring this up is because I may have missed things. I did not rewatch a majority of the episodes, more that I looked at a list of episodes on wikipedia and tried to remember what happened in them, watching clips and episodes if I needed to.

The show was cancelled, so we’ll probably never get a confirmation as to who Ezekiels’ birth parents were, and as such, you can’t prove me wrong! That being said, if I got any facts incorrect in this, please tell me so I can fix it. I’m not well versed on Greek Mythology, in fact I know basically nothing, and did the research as I went along. So again, there could be more. This is just what I found in like, less than a day of searching.

Join me next time on “How is Cassandra magical, where’d she get it from? Also, were we ever gonna meet her parents?” And “In the first episode of season 3, Jacob is just able to hit a heavy punching bag of its chain, across the room, at bullet speed, just because of a shift of his wrist, and later in that episode do the same thing to Apep, and it’s just…never addressed or spoken about again? Like wtf man?”

I'm probably not doing that

If you managed to get through all of this, thank you, and I hope this wasn’t too painful to read.

#the librarians #ezekiel jones #greek #hermes #zeus #this took so long #magic #magic immunity #theory #headcannon #demigod #curse of cindy #apple of discord #broken staff

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kitkatopinions · 3 years

Note

Can we talk about the rampant bi/panphobia surrounding Yang "looks at guys like they're fresh meat in the first 3 volumes and chibi" Xiao Long? Blake's gets brought up a lot as 90% of her reason for existing is to be the romancable NPC, but it's hardly talked about with Yang. She has shown express interest in guys. Even if Bees goes canon, it's not a Bi/Lesbian ship. It's a Bi/Bi or Bi/Pan ship or what ever other possible identity that doesn't erase Yang's attraction to men. I get the whole wanting rep thing but there's more lesbians in RWBY than any other LGBT identity and they aren't really that good in terms of representation. Do we really need another angry/aggressive/problematic lesbian in RWBY? And whenever it does get brought up, Lesbian!Yang fans always go "oh, it's just comphet". Um, excuse me? Isn't comphet not supposed to be a thing in Remnant?

Okay, so there's a lot to unpack here, and I do get why you're so frustrated because as a bi person, it gets so frustrating dealing with not only a huge lack of representation, but also feeling boxed out of, undervalued by, and invalidated by your own community sometimes. I myself have been really frustrated and even hurt by the way many RWBY fans (and specifically Bumblebee fans) have talked about Blake and Yang's sexuality, like they would be less gay or less rep if they were bi, how shipping them with men is 'wrong' because it's 'straight behavior' and 'validating the straights,' and I got particularly annoyed once by a post that claimed that people only shipped Yang and Weiss so that they could force Blake - who they claimed was a canon lesbian - into a relationship with a man. I think it's clear why people talk about Blake's status as bi more than Yang's - Yang has one moment in eight seasons where she acts clearly attracted to men, whereas Blake has had two canon romantic relationships with men, Adam being her ex and her having gone on a date with and kissed Sun on the cheek. When people dispute Blake's status as a bi, sometimes they (rightly) come at it from the point of view of 'this is just my own personal headcanon for my own benefit.' But too often, Blake's attraction to men is dismissed outright and fans try and find every excuse to invalidate it so that they can insist that Blake is a canon lesbian. That's pretty openly biphobic imo. (Also I don't agree that 90% of Blake's character is a romancable NPC. I think maybe she's become mostly not an active character who only really exists as support and romance, but the idea that it's 90% of her overall show character is weird to me, Blake is done dirty by the show but that doesn't mean she's not a character for the first five seasons.)

But Yang is also worth talking about. Because of the fact that her moment of displaying clear attraction towards men is brief and early in the show, many fans have just... Thrown it out entirely, and decided that not only does it not count, but that anyone who brings it up is living in the past and is stupid for paying attention to the early seasons. That's obviously really dumb. The idea that after the first five seasons, Yang is displaying clear romantic attraction towards a girl for the first time, she is now one hundred percent a lesbian in canon because she's only displayed romantic attraction towards men once... That's also rooted in biphobia. Being attracted to men doesn't just suddenly go away because you're attracted to women and vice versa, no one chooses to be bi, gay, straight, ace, whatever. If Yang was sexually attracted towards men at seventeen, that part of her doesn't stop existing just because she's sexually attracted to women too. The thing is, headcanoning Yang (or even Blake!) as a lesbian is totally fine. I think the RWBY creators did say that sexism, racism, and homophobia doesn't exist in Remnant, but like ??? Idk why they'd decide something like that if they were gonna make jokes about Jaune and Qrow wearing skirts haha laugh at the non-gender-conformity of men, and if they'd write the first five seasons with literally one gay character, while tons of straight relationships that get credence, everyone else expresses no clear romantic inclination towards the same sex for five years of the show running. And we're supposed to think there's no heteronormativity at least? Cardin and Jaune both have clear toxic masculinity problems that Jaune grows out of, but we're supposed to think that toxic masculinity has nothing to do with any sexism or homophobia, however internalized? I think if people want their fans to believe there is not sexism or homophobia or racism in their fake world, they need to make good and sure their own internalized issues don't leak into their work. So I don't think it's wholly invalid when people decide that in their headcanon, they think Yang just acted like she was attracted to men because she thought she should. I especially think it's valid for people to headcanon that Yang had acted like she attracted to men because she thought she was. She was only seventeen, seventeen year olds put on behavior that they think is cool and she is the niece of Qrow 'wink at Winter to piss her off' Branwen, and Yang could've realized maybe during school that putting on behavior was all that was, and that she isn't actually attracted towards men and likes girls - specifically the girl dancing with Sun at the school ball. That's perfectly valid as a headcanon. But that's all it is, a headcanon.

Yang is not a canon lesbian and it's perfectly valid and supported by Yang's canon interactions for people to consider her bi or pan, and people can even headcanon her as ace if they want. Trying to demand that other people see fictional characters as the sexuality you prefer them in is just going to drive wedges, especially when so much venom seems to be directed towards bi characters, with others acting like they're literally less rep if they also have romantic interactions with people of the opposite sex. Like, people literally have the idea of "I love that Blake is bi, but I hate that people are shipping her with men or talking about Blake's romances with men and idk why the show put any focus on her romantically interacting with men." Like, sure, okay, so you support bi characters so long as they don't be bi too obviously. But... I'm getting off topic.

Here's the thing... I would caution not to get too deep in this "there's too many lesbians," concept. We're supposed to all be one community, supporting and fighting for each other. The problem isn't that there's too much representation for lesbians, the problem is that there is not enough representation for bi people, or pan, or ace, or trans men, or trans women, or non-binary people, etc. We don't have to wish less for other gay people to wish for more for ourselves. I agree that disregarding Yang's moment of attraction to men maybe isn't the way to go, but it's not that there are already enough lesbians in RWBY. There are only three side characters (by the way, two of them aren't confirmed lesbians, just because they're in a relationship with each other,) two of whom made a very minor appearance in all of two or three episodes and will likely never return to the story. As you say, the rep that lesbians have gotten in RWBY isn't very good. Them desiring more representation is perfectly valid, and I even get them wanting that representation from Yang, despite her single moment of lusting after boys in season one. That's a perfectly understandable desire. I myself want gay Neptune despite him expressing interest in women. It's not wrong. The only thing that's wrong is villainizing and mocking people for their own very valid ships like BlackSun or Yang x Jaune or Yang x Mercury or Blake x Ren or whatever ships people like. I'm sorry that I can't agree with you here, but if there was a scene in RWBY where Yang discusses her feelings for Blake and says that she realized she's a lesbian... I might not be particularly happy with the writing staff, because I already heard there's an element of disregarding Blake's former relationship with Sun in things like the comics, which is frustrating as a bi person. But I would be happy for the people who would find in this something that speaks to them and makes them feel like their own experiences are represented. Sometimes I can feel excluded from the LGBTQ+ community due to my attraction towards men, and that's hard, but I'm not going to start devaluing the victories of other gay people because of it, I'm not going to start getting upset when they get representation, or when a character they love claims an identity that reflects their own.

I do get where your frustration is coming from though, and it's perfectly valid to feel upset and exasperated both with the way MKEK write their queer relationships and in how people in the fandom tend to disregard the bi identity of characters.

#rwde #anti rwby #rwby criticism #rwby critical #representation in rwby

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tiramisiyu · 3 years

Text

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: 【腾霄】 Xia Yan | Skyflying Date Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist

Video

Translation under cut~

Part 1

Home

After finishing up with work, I returned home, collapsing onto my bed. Suddenly, my phone rang.

MC: Hello, Xia Yan?

Xia Yan: Got home yet?

MC: Just did, what’s up?

Xia Yan: Recently, there’s been an experiential culture variety show called “A Unique Challenge” – have you heard of it?

MC: I have – it’s been pretty popular recently, though I haven’t seen it yet.

MC: I heard that they’ll pick normal and famous people each week to experience cultures of different regions or types.

MC: Cheng Cheng’s idol participated once, experiencing an ancient ceremonial culture and playing some little games.

MC: Although, since when were you into variety shows?

Xia Yan: My friend was one of the picked participants, but he’s got something going on for now and doesn’t want to go there anymore, so he gave it to me…

Xia Yan: That week just happens to be a pairs’ challenge – would you be interested?

MC: What’s the theme?

Xia Yan: It’s trendy culture, and I heard that they prepared a lot of things for this topic. Want to go try?

MC: Sure, let’s go together.

In the few days after, as long as I thought about participating in a show with Xia Yan, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat nervous.

Finally, it was the day of filming.

Clothing Store

MC: Xia Yan, are you not done yet?

Xia Yan: Almost, almost…

MC: You’ve already been in there for ten minutes. Are the clothes hard to put on?

Xia Yan: Ugh, this headband is a little hard to handle.

MC: Then I’ll help you put it on.

Speaking thus, I got up and walked towards the fitting room.

Xia Yan: Ah, no need, no need!

Xia Yan pulled the fitting room’s curtain tightly.

Xia Yan: Uh… I feel like… this outfit doesn’t really suit me, so I should probably change!

Rustling sounds came from inside the fitting room.

MC: Let me see! If you don’t come out, I’m going to lift the curtain!

I faked an act to scare Xia Yan. Sure enough, hearing me say this, the sounds of movement from the fitting room stopped, and the curtain was slowly pulled open.

Xia Yan: Ugh…

MC: …

Back during school, Xia Yan always wore school uniforms, and the clothes he wore now were mostly casualwear. Speaking of which, this was my first time seeing him wear hip-hop style clothing. The bright symbols didn’t feel over-the-top; instead, it added a free, confident youthful vibe for him.

Xia Yan: This outfit… is it… too gaudy?

MC: …

Xia Yan: You’re not even talking… looks like it really does look bad. I should go change it.

MC: Don’t change it! It looks great, of course it looks great!

Seeing Xia Yan walk towards the fitting room, I grabbed onto him.

Xia Yan: For real?

MC: Of course – you look super cool!

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Wait, why haven’t you changed yet?

Xia Yan: Do you think the clothes I picked for you look bad?

MC: How could that be? I’ll go change now, wait for me!

Xia Yan: Go ahead – after changing, we’ll officially start the challenge.

In fact, Xia Yan and I were already in the middle of filming. We were changing clothes at this store due to the show’s requirements.

[Flashback]

Filming Studio

Host: The theme this time is trendy culture. The topics that can be drawn are different, and the contents of the challenge are also different.

Host: Next, could the guests please come onstage to draw topics?

I followed everyone towards the stage and drew an envelope out of the box. When I flipped it, I saw a word written in large font on the envelope – skateboard.

MC: (It actually ended up being skateboarding…)

Host: Alright, could everyone now open your envelopes and read the details of the topics?

Hearing the host’s words, I rushed to open the envelope and take out the topic inside.

MC: Search for the mysterious skateboard?

MC: Looks like we have to find various components of the skateboard, then assemble them.

Xia Yan: Let me see…

Xia Yan took the mission card from the envelope, looking it over in detail. According to the instructions on the mission card, the components of the skateboard were scattered in different places on the commerce street, guarded by NPCs. Our mission was to find the NPCs, complete various tests, collect the skateboard components, and assemble them.

Host: The mission locations are at the pedestrian commerce area outside. Please finish them as soon as possible.

Host: The program team will keep track of each team’s time, and rank everyone based on completion time.

Host: If you have not completed it beyond three hours, it’s counted as a failure.

After finishing her explanation of the rules, the host gave a slight smile to everyone.

Host: Alright, after you have prepared, you can set out.

Host: Before the game starts, you can all choose a trendy culture-themed outfit at the clothes store.

[Flashback end]

After regaining my train of thought, I rushed to put on the clothes and pull aside the curtain, then walked in front of Xia Yan. However, as I turned in several slow circles, Xia Yan kept his eyes on his phone the whole time.

MC: Xia Yan, why do you keep staring at your phone!

MC: You’re not even giving me your opinion… does it look good or not!

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: It looks great, of course! You look great no matter what you wear.

MC: Really? Why do I feel like you’re… being a little perfunctory?

Xia Yan: It’s not perfunctory, they’re all my sincere thoughts!

Xia Yan rushed to shove his phone back into his pocket.

Xia Yan: I just received a message and didn’t notice, sorry.

MC: Is it an important message?

Xia Yan: It’s nothing urgent.

Xia Yan stood up, walked around me in a circle, carefully looking over the clothes I was wearing.

Xia Yan: Inspection complete. It really suits you, so let’s go with it!

Xia Yan: Looks like my eye is getting better and better.

MC: Pfft…

MC: Right, Xia Yan, I haven’t asked you yet – when did you learn to skateboard?

MC: I definitely remember that you hadn’t learned to skateboard before.

[Flashback]

Near the School Grounds

During middle school, Xia Yan wanted to learn to skateboard, but the school prohibited students from doing dangerous activities like this.

School Dean: Young man in front, get over here!

Xia Yan: Crap!

MC: I’ll cover for you, run!

Xia Yan planted a foot on the skateboard, kicked off the ground quickly, and disappeared past a corner within seconds.

School Dean: You-! Which class did that boy come from?

MC: I don’t know. I also just passed by, and I’d wanted to persuade him to stay away from these dangerous activities.

Xia Yan: Oww!

The sound of something falling sounded from far away, followed by Xia Yan’s pained shout.

MC: Xia Yan!

Since he left in a rush, Xia Yan, who was not yet familiar with the skateboard, fell heavily down from the stairs.

[Flashback end]

MC: After falling that time, didn’t you not ride the skateboard ever again?

MC: When did you secretly learn it again?

Xia Yan: Uh… that time was just an accident because I ran off too quickly. Afterwards, I was very careful.

MC: So you really were doing it secretly…

Xia Yan: Just a few times. I didn’t say it because I was afraid you’d worry.

MC: Really?

Xia Yan: It really was just a few times. Think about it, weren’t we together all day?

Smiling, Xia Yan changed the topic.

Xia Yan: I actually truly learned the skateboard after going to the Ministry of National Security.

Xia Yan: The teacher who took me in back then really liked skateboarding, and I learned from him.

Xia Yan: There was very little time to relax in the Ministry, but whenever there was time, I would skateboard with my teacher.

Xia Yan: When I was little, I was only concerned about looking cool and rushed too much. After learning the basics from my teacher, I wasn’t scared of getting hurt anymore.

MC: Alright alright, I won’t look into the things you’ve hidden from me.

MC: You can’t be like this in the future. You have to tell me if anything comes up!

Xia Yan: …

MC: Could it be that you’re hiding other things from me?

Part 2

MC: Could it be that you’re hiding other things from me?

Xia Yan: I’m not.

Xia Yan: Alright, it’s about time, so let’s hurry out.

Hearing Xia Yan say this, I took out the mission card given by the program team from my pocket.

MC: We have a total of four components to find – the board, bracket, bearings, and wheels respectively.

MC: Although, where should we start?

Xia Yan: There’s a clue on here, right?

Xia Yan pointed to a sentence on the mission card.

Xia Yan: “One cunning and one foolish” – this should be the clue.

MC: Does this mean we have to find two NPCs, one smart and one dumb?

Xia Yan: Shouldn’t be, I feel like this sentence seems more like a riddle.

If it’s a riddle…

>The answer is a word >The answer is a term

MC: The answer should be a term, and “cunning” and “foolish” represent one word each.

Xia Yan: But what word does “cunning” refer to?

MC: Cunning… crafty… foolish… inflexible…

MC: I got it!

MC: Cunning refers to “skate”, and foolish refers to “inflexible”, which is “board”.

MC: When joined together, they form the term “skateboard”.

Note: 狡诈 = Cunning; 狡猾 = Crafty; these are synonyms (or near synonyms) that have the same first character; the second character of “crafty” sounds the same as and looks similar to 滑, which makes the first character of “skateboard” in Chinese.

呆 = Foolish; 呆板 = Inflexible; the term for inflexible includes the term for foolish, and the other part, 板, is the second character of “skateboard” in Chinese.

Also note that skateboard in Chinese is made of two characters, rather than one (hence why the answer is a term, not a word)

I do think that this riddle is a bit of a stretch though haha

Xia Yan: If the answer is “skateboard” … then let’s go ask at the skateboard shop.

Skateboard Shop

As soon as we entered the skateboard shop, Xia Yan and I saw another team of guests. They were surrounding the staff member, wanting to ask for some information.

Guest A: You really aren’t an NPC from the program team? You really don’t know what this sentence means?

Guest B: We’ve already asked all around. This is the only skateboard shop on the commerce street, so it has to be this place.

Shop Staff: My apologies, sirs, I really do not know what that sentence means. Please do not impede my work anymore.

Guest A: Alright, sorry about that.

The two gave up struggling. When they saw Xia Yan and I come in, they sighed helplessly.

Guest A: Don’t waste your energy. That person isn’t an NPC; we’ve already asked.

After speaking to us, the two left the skateboard shop dispiritedly.

MC: What do we do now? We guessed wrong…

Xia Yan: Not necessarily.

Xia Yan: She only said that she didn’t know what the sentence meant, but she never denied that she was an NPC of the program team.

Smiling, Xia Yan walked up to the staff member, took out the mission card, and pointed to the riddle on it.

Xia Yan: We already know what this sentence means. This is a riddle, and its answer is “skateboard”.

Xia Yan: This is the only skateboard shop on the street, so you should be an NPC of the program team.

Hearing Xia Yan speak, the staff member smiled slightly.

Shop Staff: Congrats on solving the riddle and successfully passing the first stage.

Shop Staff: This is the skateboard’s bracket; please hold onto it.

MC: Awesome, Xia Yan, we got it right.

Xia Yan: Then do you have the clue for the second stage here?

Shop Staff: If you want the second clue, the two of you need to do a little challenge.

Xia Yan: Sure, what challenge? Bring it on.

Seeing Xia Yan’s determined expression, the shop staff took out a little plate, grinning.

Shop Staff: It’s nothing difficult; the two of you just need to eat two spicy peppers raw to get the next clue.

Xia Yan: W-what?

Xia Yan’s smile stiffened instantly. Seeing this, the cameraman followed up quietly, pointing the camera at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan: Ah, this… uh…

The peppers were bright red, and a single glance would tell you that they were very spicy.

MC: (Even someone who can handle spice probably wouldn’t be able to endure this test.)

Xia Yan closed his eyes, held his breath, took a pepper, then stuffed it in his mouth. After chewing quickly twice, he rushed to swallow the pepper down.

A mere few seconds after, Xia Yan’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, inhaling deeply.

MC: Xia Yan, are you okay?

Xia Yan: Water… water! Quick, give me water!

Luckily, the program team had prepared in advance. I rushed to hand a glass of water to Xia Yan. He swallowed the water noisily, and even his eyes had reddened from the spice, tears at the corners of his eyes.

MC: (I can’t let Xia Yan suffer alone, so I’ll do it too!)

I grabbed the second pepper and stuffed it in my mouth. The agonizing taste spread in my mouth, and I speedily swallowed the pepper.

Xia Yan: Ah! Haa…. Don’t eat it! Haa…

Right after swallowing the pepper, a mere few seconds later, a burning hot spiciness rushed at me, filling my mouth with pain.

MC: So spicy! Water! Water!

MC: This is way too spicy!

Xia Yan: Haa… here, water… haa…

Unable to pay attention to how I appeared in front of the camera, I took the water and drank it down noisily.

After ten entire minutes, Xia Yan’s and my tongues finally recovered.

MC: So much hassle just to get this clue.

Xia Yan: Miss, you can give us the second clue now, right?

Shop Staff: Indeed I can.

The staff member took out a little paper slip and handed it to Xia Yan.

Xia Yan: “Seems to be but is not; search for the origin.”

MC: Looks like it’s a riddle again. I wonder what it means?

MC: Origin… does that mean the originating point? Could it have to do with the materials that make the skateboard?

After not hearing an answer from Xia Yan, I looked up, wondering. Xia Yan wasn’t looking at the paper slip; instead, he was staring at the product shelves, thinking about something.

MC: Xia Yan, Xia Yan?

Xia Yan: Ah, sorry, I just got distracted…

MC: Is there something you want to buy?

Xia Yan: No, I just felt like there was someone over there just now.

MC: Probably the cameraman from the program team; don’t they have to take some other shots?

Xia Yan: I feel like there’s someone who’s been watching us the whole time.

Xia Yan: Although, since we’re filming a variety show, people watching out of curiosity is also normal.

Xia Yan: Let’s go, we’ll think about this new riddle on the way.

MC: Sure.

Part 3

Commerce Street

After walking aimlessly on the road for a while, I felt faintly unsettled from seeing Xia Yan’s expression. He didn’t seem like he was thinking seriously about the answer to the riddle – instead, he kept scanning the people on the road.

MC: Xia Yan, I feel like you’ve been a bit absentminded ever since the beginning.

MC: What did you see? What’s the matter?

Xia Yan: It’s nothing…

MC: …

Xia Yan must be hiding something from me. But we had microphones on us right now and were surrounded by the program team staff, so I couldn’t just ask him.

Seeing my concern, Xia Yan gently touched the microphone, then winked.

Xia Yan: Let’s rest up ahead first.

MC: (Is he hinting that he’ll use other methods to tell me?)

We found a drinks shop by the road and scanned the menu code on our phones. Just as I was browsing the menu, contact notifications popped up.

[Phone Interface]

[Xia Yan]: It seems like I offended someone when investigating a case before. I received a text when trying clothes on earlier.

[Xia Yan]: The text told me to be careful, and he’d let me know how one “ends up when sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong”.

[Xia Yan]: Though I don’t know if they’re just trying to scare me or if they’re serious, it’s still better to be careful.

[MC]: Did they bring up the show filming today?

[Xia Yan]: No, though I’m a little worried.

[Xia Yan]: There are lots of people here, and I can’t tell if anyone with bad intentions might have mixed in.

[MC]: Okay, I got it.

[MC]: I’ll help you keep an eye out on the surroundings. You be careful too.

MC: …

So Xia Yan’s unusual expression just now was because of this. I relaxed the expression on my face, ordering a drink as if nothing were up.

MC: Let’s hurry and think about that riddle.

MC: Search for the origin… what does that refer to?

MC: Is there some special story associated with the origin of the skateboard?

Xia Yan: Hm… I’m not too clear on this either. I’ve only heard that skateboarding is an extension of surfing.

Xia Yan: Apparently, people living on the seaside were the ones to invent the first skateboard, to not be limited by geography or climate, and to enjoy the feeling of surfing.

MC: Could it have to do with surfing?

I turned on my phone and sure enough, I was able to find a surfing equipment shop.

Xia Yan: Who would’ve thought that there really would be a surfing equipment shop here…

Xia Yan: Then let’s go see.

Surfing Equipment Shop

Xia Yan: Surfing is the origin of skateboarding, and the surfboard and skateboard also have similar aspects.

Xia Yan: So the answer to “Seems to be but is not; search for the origin” is this place, right?

Shop Owner: I didn’t think that you two would be able to get here this quickly.

Shop Owner: You’re the first team that drew skateboarding to get here.

Shop Owner: You can get the board and sandpaper here.

The shop owner thus handed the items to us.

Shop Owner: If you’d like, you can assemble the components you’ve gotten first.

Xia Yan: It’s inconvenient carrying the sandpaper around, so let’s just assemble it here.

MC: Sure.

Xia Yan: Then can you also provide us things like screws and washers?

Shop Owner: Hahaha, of course. You two won’t need to waste energy searching for those.

After getting the materials, Xia Yan tugged me down to sit and started to assemble the skateboard.

MC: You really are familiar with this.

Xia Yan: Yeah, because I’ve always disassembled and reassembled my skateboard myself.

Xia Yan: To me, the skateboard is just like a partner.

Xia Yan stared seriously at the skateboard, twisting the wrench in his hand.

Xia Yan: Did you know – each skateboard gives everyone a different feeling, and each one is special.

Xia Yan: The tightness of the brackets, the size and hardness of the wheels, the material of the board – all of these will give a different feeling for each person.

I gazed quietly at Xia Yan. His eyes were shining, flashing with the light of excitement. Hearing him speak, it felt as if the skateboard in my hands had a life.

MC: Xia Yan, why do you like skateboarding this much?

MC: Is it because of the stimulation from fast movement?

He stopped the movements of his hands and thought for a moment. Then slowly opened his mouth.

Xia Yan: It isn’t that, or you could say that it isn’t just that.

Xia Yan: As an extreme sport, skateboarding can be mentally stimulating, but compared to my line of work, it’s not really worth mentioning.

Xia Yan: I still like skateboarding because it lets me continue to challenge myself and break past my limits.

Xia Yan: After completing a challenge, the joy of achievement is what has me most fascinated.

I had never ridden a skateboard, and I hadn’t personally experienced the emotions Xia Yan had towards skateboarding. But seeing him look like he liked it this much, my emotions felt somewhat complicated…

MC: Xia Yan, when we were little, mom and dad didn’t let you skateboard, and I didn’t support you for it…

MC: Do you blame us?

Hearing me speak, Xia Yan was somewhat surprised.

Xia Yan: Blame you? What for?

MC: Because we didn’t understand you…

Xia Yan: I don’t – I wouldn’t blame uncle and auntie, and I definitely wouldn’t blame you.

Xia Yan: Uncle and auntie wanted me to grow healthily, and you didn’t want a repeat of the past – it was all for my own good.

Xia Yan: Everyone has their own selfishness, especially towards those who are the most important to them.

Xia Yan’s voice got lower and lower, and I seemed to hear a faint whisper.

Xia Yan: I’m like that too…

Before I could ask him about it, Xia Yan’s hands stopped moving as he smiled.

Xia Yan: Alright, it’s done. Now only the wheels and bearings are left.

Xia Yan: Boss, do you have the next riddle clue?

Seeing us about to leave, the boss took out a sheet of paper and handed it to us.

Xia Yan: Let me see… A car carries seven people, and twenty-eight people return home…

Sure enough, yet another riddle.

Xia Yan: Should be a word riddle… a car with seven people on it…

MC: Ah, I get it! The answer is “wheel”.

Xia Yan: Makes sense, so the twenty-eight people refer to the four wheels?

Note: The Chinese character for wheel is 轮, which is visually made of three different characters, 车 (car), 人 (person), and 七 (seven). If there are 7 people per wheel, and 28 people total, this means there are 4 wheels.

MC: Then “return home” should refer to where the tires are…

Xia Yan: “Return home”… or we can take it to mean “the place of the very beginning”?

MC: Does it refer to that studio where we started filming the show?

Xia Yan: Possibly, but it might also be the first place where we found the clue.

MC: That skateboard shop?

Xia Yan: Yeah, it said in the mission card that the locations to finish the missions are on this commerce street, but the studio is some distance away from here.

MC: So the location should be the first store we entered after arriving on the commerce street, or the place where we found the first clue.

MC: Although the program team wouldn’t know where we’d go first, so it’s more likely to be the skateboard shop.

Xia Yan: Yep, that’s right.

MC: Then let’s go check out the skateboard shop again.

Skateboard Shop

We changed direction and headed back to that skateboard shop. Seeing that we had returned, the store staff was a little curious.

Shop Staff: Why did you come back? Did you leave something behind?

Xia Yan: Yeah, we left “something” behind.

Xia Yan displayed the clue in his hand, pointing to the words on it.

Xia Yan: A car carries seven people, and twenty-eight people return home. The answer to this riddle is this store, right?

Shop Staff: Correct, the answer is indeed this place.

Seeing that Xia Yan and I had already found the answer, the shop staff no longer concealed anything, taking out four wheels from the shelves.

Shop Staff: Here, take it.

MC: Awesome, Xia Yan, now all that’s left is…

MC: Ah…

Suddenly, a massive force pulled me backwards.

Xia Yan: Careful!

MC: Xia Yan?

Xia Yan’s brows drew closely together, switching positions with me in what was nearly an instant, blocking me from the front. Only then did I realize that someone was running straight towards us. He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, and a single glance could tell you that he came with ill intent.

Xia Yan: Who are you?

If Xia Yan hadn’t pulled me back just now, that guy would have made it in front of me by now. When I remembered the message Xia Yan sent me earlier, my heart jumped up to my throat.

MC: (Is it someone who came to get revenge on Xia Yan?)

MC: (Xia Yan thought someone was watching us before. Could it be him? Was he following us the whole time?)

???: Ow!

Before I could react, Xia Yan swept a leg out, knocking the guy down to the ground.

???: Heeey! W-wait! You can’t just hit me!

???: This is different from what was promised!

Xia Yan: ???

Seeing that Xia Yan had stopped, the man propped himself up into a sitting position, then speedily shifted backwards. After he had escaped beyond five metres, he cleared his throat again, rambling some “fierce words”.

???: If you… got the skill, then… have a showdown with me!

Xia Yan: …

MC: …

Hearing this, Xia Yan and I had completely frozen where we were. The man sitting on the ground had also gotten up, taking advantage of this to snatch the wheels in Xia Yan’s hands.

???: I… I’m taking the wheels. If… if you want to take them back, then find me at the park!

???: Remember, it’s the park behind the commerce street!

After speaking, he sprinted out of the shop door, holding the wheels.

Part 4

If you asked me what the most awkward experience of my entire life was, I bet it would be this moment. It was obvious that the guy who’d just come was an NPC arranged by the program team, yet Xia Yan and I took him to be a dangerous hoodlum and knocked him down.

Xia Yan: So it was someone arranged by the program team…

Xia Yan: And I was just making a big deal out of nothing.

Shop Staff: Sir, isn’t your desire to protect a little too strong?

Seeing that the shop staff, who didn’t know about the whole situation, trying to hold in her laughter, I felt so awkward that my toes could pretty much dig into the ground.

MC: …

Xia Yan: I’m really sorry…

Xia Yan turned around, apologizing to the program team staff. But the director said nothing, holding up a sign in his hand, which had writing on it:

Continue!

Xia Yan: Ahem ahem… then let’s hurry and find him.

MC: Okay, let’s use our ability to get the wheels back.

Park

After adjusting our mentalities, Xia Yan and I arrived at the skateboard park behind the commerce street. The man we’d run into at the shop just now was holding a skateboard, waiting for us in the middle of the square. Beside his foot were several skateboards of different styles and some protective gear.

Director: This is the special guest we invited for the show. He’s a professional skateboarder and has won quite a few awards.

Xia Yan: I’m really sorry about just now…

Skateboarder Young Man: No problem, no problem… I’ve fallen a lot while skateboarding, and I’ve long gotten used to it.

After a simple greeting, the man in front of us cleared his throat, reciting the show script given to him.

Skateboarder Young Man: You two have finally arrived.

Skateboarder Young Man: If you want to get the wheels back, then bring on your true skill!

Xia Yan: Then tell us, what do we need to do for you to return the wheels to us?

Skateboarder Young Man: See this racecourse? You two have to ride to the endpoint together.

Skateboarder Young Man: No worries if you go a little slowly, but if you fall off the skateboard midway, you’ll have to start over.

MC: They… want me to skateboard?

Xia Yan: Sure, no problem.

Seeing my shocked expression, Xia Yan circled his arm around my shoulders with a smile, patting me gently.

Xia Yan: No problem, we still have two hours, which is enough for me to teach you now.

I looked at the racecourse before us. It was around two hundred metres in distance, there were obstacles on the straight path, and there were around four or five turns. The worst was a row of barricade poles near the endpoint…

MC: This is…

Skateboarder Young Man: Barricade poles. You must use a Hippy Jump to jump over them.

MC: Hippy Jump?

Xia Yan: It’s a term for a skateboarding move, meaning that you jump up from the skateboard, then fall back onto the skateboard while riding.

MC: ???

MC: I don’t even know how to skateboard, yet they also need me to… jump?

Xia Yan: It’s fine, we can definitely do this. I’ll teach you how to skateboard first.

Xia Yan borrowed two skateboards from the program team and helped me put on various sorts of protective gear.

Xia Yan: Here, put your left foot on the skateboard first, and put your center of gravity on the left foot…

I carefully followed Xia Yan’s directions, planting my foot on the skateboard.

Xia Yan: Then put your right foot on, stand stably and get a feel of it.

MC: Okay.

Seeing that my feet were placed horizontally on the skateboard, Xia Yan gently let go.

Xia Yan: Great, keep the skateboard horizontal. Don’t push down with your heel.

This was my first time standing without support on the skateboard. Though I wasn’t moving, my legs still couldn’t help trembling. The skateboard wasn’t as stable as I’d imagined – the board was prone to movement, and with my wobbliness, it also rolled from left to right.

MC: Aaah!

I didn’t know why, but Xia Yan’s miserable fall during school replayed over and over in my head, making me more and more nervous. All the muscles in my body tightened, and I tried my best to maintain balance.

Xia Yan: Don’t be nervous, relax… relax…

Xia Yan: You don’t have to tighten up this much. I won’t let you fall.

Under Xia Yan’s consolation, I heaved a deep breath, then gradually straightened my body. Sure enough, when my legs stopped trembling, so did the board.

Xia Yan: Now, let’s try moving.

Xia Yan: Put your forward foot where the truck bolt is, slowly kick at the ground, and then follow up with the back foot.

Xia Yan: You have to fix the center of gravity on the left foot. Don’t be afraid.

Xia Yan opened his hands on my sides, as if he could grab onto me, no matter what pose I fell in. With him standing beside me, I felt filled with limitless courage. Following his instructions, I lightly kicked at the ground with my right foot. The skateboard rolled forward crookedly, and I gritted my teeth, quickly moving my back foot onto the board.

MC: Ah…

I spread my hands, trying to maintain balance.

Xia Yan: Straighten your front foot. That’s right, just like that, you got it!

The skateboard rolled forward, slow as a snail – but no matter what, I had successfully overcome my mental obstacles.

For the next hour, I repeatedly practiced skateboarding, as well as learned some simple turns under Xia Yan’s instruction. With half an hour left to go before the mission ended, I decided to end training and officially take on the challenge.

Skateboarder Young Man: Ready to go? Ready, start…

I heaved a deep breath, stepped onto the skateboard, and started to move.

Xia Yan: Awesome, here I go.

Seeing me stabilize myself, Xia Yan caught up from behind. He held onto my hand, spurring me forward at a faster speed.

Xia Yan: How does it feel?

Two skateboards, one in front and one behind, moved forward at breakneck speed. I held tightly onto his hand. A slight summer breeze blew at the hairs around my ears, bringing a sliver of warmth amid the coolness.

MC: Pretty decent.

Xia Yan: Push down lightly with your toes. We’re about to get through the first turn.

MC: Okay.

The turn was right before us, and the flowerbeds on the roadside looked like they were rushing at me.

MC: (Relax, I have to trust Xia Yan… and trust myself!)

As I maintained my balance, my toes pushed down on one side of the board. The board started to turn, but the arc of movement couldn’t keep up with the curvature of the path.

MC: (I have to get past!)

I couldn’t help squinting my eyes and holding my breath. As if the skateboard had heard my prayers, it slowly changed directions, and the shrubbery in front of me also gradually got further.

MC: Xia Yan, I did it!

Xia Yan: I said so already – you can definitely do this.

My heart beat wildly, but I knew that it wasn’t because of fear – instead, it was because of excitement. Right then, I understood why Xia Yan loved skateboarding so much, refusing to give up even if he fell and got hurt. Extreme sports were not only a source of excitement and stimulation, but there was also the sense of accomplishment after conquering yourself.

MC: (We’ve gotten past four turns. Next up, there’s…)

Xia Yan: Do you trust me?

MC: ???

Xia Yan: No, I should say, do you trust in yourself to jump over the barricade poles?

Xia Yan turned around and looked at me, his eyes full of anticipation and encouragement.

Do I trust in myself? As a newbie, it was really hard for me to say. But…

MC: Xia Yan, I trust you.

Seeing my certain expression, the corners of his mouth pulled up slightly.

Xia Yan: When you hear me say “Jump” in a moment, jump upwards.

Xia Yan: Don’t jump forward or backwards, just straight upwards. Then, raise your knees high.

Xia Yan: And leave the rest to me.

As we spoke, the barricade poles got closer and closer to me.

Was jumping up from the skateboard really something I could do? Though they were only 30 centimeters high, I might fall from jumping if I’m not careful…

A thin layer of sweat formed on my hand, and I started to feel a chill at my fingertips.

Xia Yan: Right now, jump!

Xia Yan and I let go of our tightly held hands simultaneously, and I followed Xia Yan’s instructions, lifting my knees as I jumped.

The feeling of flying through the air left me without the feeling of safety, and my heart beat furiously. I shut my eyes tightly in anxiety.

Suddenly, a strong arm clasped around my waist, and an external force pulled me upwards. With a clunk, my feet fell back onto the skateboard.

MC: Ah—

Xia Yan: Don’t be afraid.

Xia Yan: You’ve already done very well. Just leave the rest to me.

Xia Yan’s gentle voice sounded by my ear. He maneuvered my skateboard with one foot, with one hand supporting my backwards-leaning waist.

MC: …

Our poses right now looked very much like embracing dancers.

I lifted my head. Xia Yan’s face was as close as could be, such that I could even feel his breath. The hairs in front of his forehead entangled, and I could smell the fragrance of his shampoo, fresh and clean.

Xia Yan: Look, we did it!

With the sound of the timer’s ring, Xia Yan and I rushed past the yellow finish line.

Part 5

Skateboarder Young Man: Wow, you two really are impressive.

MC: Ahem ahem…

Xia Yan: …

Hearing the man’s teasing, Xia Yan retracted the arm he’d encircled around me.

Xia Yan: Alright, you can return the wheels to us now.

Skateboarder Young Man: I didn’t say that there’s only one part to this challenge.

The man shrugged, looking at us like he was waiting to watch something interesting.

MC: What? But now… there’s only half an hour until the mission ends.

Set up by the program team again as we were, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat frustrated. Seeing my expression, the skateboarder man shrugged.

Skateboarder Young Man: Plus, two teams have already finished the mission.

Skateboarder Young Man: If you two don’t hurry, you won’t be able to rank.

Skateboarder Young Man: Although, it can’t be helped – sucks that you guys drew skateboarding. That’s the hardest topic, after all.

Xia Yan pinched my hand on the side, giving me a meaningful look.

Xia Yan: Then how many tasks are there after this?

Skateboarder Young Man: There are still ten moves after this. Both of you have to try five types of obstacles.

Skateboarder Young Man: But between the two of you, you only need to successfully do six of them for me to give the tires to you. It shouldn’t be a big deal with this guy’s skills.

Skateboarder Young Man: Though you won’t be able to rank, finishing the mission in time can be considered passing with minimum grades.

That was true – getting the wheels and finishing the mission within limited time wasn’t difficult.

Xia Yan: Minimum grades? Ever since I was little, I have never handed in an answer sheet that only met minimum grade.

Xia Yan: If you’re a prizewinning skateboarder, would you dare to compete with me?

Skateboarder Young Man: Compete? Why wouldn’t I dare? What do you want to compete over?

Xia Yan: With these ten movements, I can finish them faster, jump higher, and do them with better posture than you.

Skateboarder Young Man: Dude, maybe your skateboarding is impressive compared to normal people, but I’m a professional skateboarder.

Xia Yan: If you don’t try, how can you be sure that I’ll lose to you?

With an expression that could pass for a smile or a level expression, Xia Yan looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Xia Yan: If I win, you’ll give the wheels straight to us without needing her to try.

Xia Yan: If I lose, our challenge will change from ten to twenty, and we’ll have to successfully do them all to get the tires.

Xia Yan: How about it?

The man in front of us also looked eager, but as a program guest, he couldn’t change the rules without authorization. Right then, the director following us on the side spoke.

Director: Sure, then let’s change the rules so you two can compete.

Director: This way, the show will be more interesting!

Thus, Xia Yan and the skateboarder started the competition. The racecourse this time was a harder one – not only were there different sorts of obstacles, but there were also half-pipes – heaven for skateboarding enthusiasts. Seeing that the two were going to compete here, the enthusiasts got out of the grounds, excitedly watching from the side.

Whoosh – Xia Yan and the skateboarder sped past me. According to the agreed-upon rules, they had to circle the track twice, during which they had to use ten different moves. The first to arrive at the end would be the winner of this race. The first circle had already finished, and their speeds were about the same, though Xia Yan was leading.

MC: Xia Yan, do your best!

Skateboarding Young Man: Hah, is that all you’ve got?

The man laughed disdainfully, springing up at a turn, jumping onto the railings with his feet planted on the board. His skateboard stayed stably on the railings, sliding down the handrails. He swayed twice, stabilized his body, and continued to speed forward after landing back on the ground.

MC: He’s already finished ten moves, and even used the moves to take a shortcut…

As expected of a competition-winning skateboarder – he could use anything on the path. Meanwhile, Xia Yan still had two moves left to go, and the distance between them was widening.

Skateboarding Young Man: Sorry, the result’s determined – you’re going to lose.

Xia Yan: That’s not for sure.

Xia Yan’s foot pushed off forcefully from the ground as he lowered his centre of gravity, seeming like he was about to make some move.

MC: Up front is…

MC: Xia Yan, careful!

There was a deep pit in the middle of the grounds. Unlike before, when he opted for stable paths, he rushed down the half-pipe. The skateboard sped downwards, then shot up along the upwards slope.

Right then, Xia Yan flew up into the air from inertia.

Xia Yan: Just watch me.

MC: …

This scene looked like a stunning artscroll, unforgettable even from a single glance. Amid the azure skies, Xia Yan looked like an eagle with wings spread, soaring into the sky. His extended arms were like wings that sought freedom, as if he would rush into the sky if given a chance. Right then, everyone and everything around me retreated from the stage. My eyes were fixed solely on him.

MC: (Xia Yan… really is amazing.)

The people all around all gasped in amazement, making the skateboarder young man look towards Xia Yan.

Skateboarder Young Man: What?! How could this be…

After the skateboard flipped several times midair, Xia Yan’s foot fell back onto the skateboard. He rushed from the other side of the pit back onto the racecourse, leaving his opponent behind.

Xia Yan: This time, it’s my turn to take a shortcut.

His soft hair fluttered in the summer breeze, a sliver of unruliness on his face, his eyes dazzling.

Xia Yan: As long as one hasn’t arrived at the end yet, there is no such thing as a so-called foregone conclusion in life.

Xia Yan winked at me, leaping down from the ladder on the side of the racecourse.

With a clunk, he dropped stably onto the ground, rushing towards the end.

Xia Yan: Sorry, I win this time.

With ten high-difficulty moves complete, Xia Yan arrived at the end first.

And so, this competition drew to an end.

MC: Awesome, we won!

When I saw the race end, I happily ran towards Xia Yan.

Director: Quick, follow with the camera!

Director: Did you catch that shot of him flying up from the slope? That part was absolutely magnificent!

The intense competition seemed to have left Xia Yan somewhat exhausted. He wiped his sweat, wanting to find a place to sit and rest. I got a bottle of water from a staff member, planning to hand it to him. Right then, the cameraman and several staff members walked over, getting near him.

Suddenly, a dazzling light passed before me.

MC: Huh? What’s that?

I took a careful look. One of the field staff was the source of the dazzling light, which came from the opening of his sleeve.

When I saw the thing in his sleeve, cold sweat formed on my back.

That was a knife!

MC: Xia Yan, watch out!

Part 6

When I made out the thing in that person’s hand, my heart leapt up.

MC: Xia Yan, watch out!

When that person heard me, he looked back at me, then straight-up took the small knife out of his sleeve and rushed at Xia Yan.

MC: Crap!

MC: (What do I do?)

Driven by urgency, I snatched the skateboard beside me, throwing it towards the person.

Clonk—

Field Staff: Ah!!!

Caught off-guard by the wooden skateboard striking him, the man staggered. With his sneak attack stopped by me, the man in front of me rushed at me furiously.

Xia Yan: So it was you.

With a cold, short laugh, Xia Yan rushed forward, kicking the knife out of his hand. Before the man could react, Xia Yan caught his hand, restraining him onto the ground.

Field Staff: Let me go! Why did you damn detective have to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong!

Xia Yan: Hah, paying for murder with a lifetime. I merely made your father’s crimes known to the masses.

Xia Yan: Good thing you did not hurt her – otherwise, you would regret it.

Xia Yan looked frigidly at the person on the ground, then paid no more attention to him.

Xia Yan: Call the police.

The program team staff had been shocked frozen by the scene before them, only regaining their senses when Xia Yan reminded them.

Director: Yes, call the police, quick!

The sudden interlude cut the show recording short, and the director apologized to us. Not long after, the police arrived. Xia Yan and I also went to the police station.

Police Station

Yan Wei: He confessed. It was indeed him that sent you the threatening messages and emails.

Yan Wei: He thought that it was all because of you that his father ended up in jail.

After Xia Yan and I finished with record-making, we happened to run into Yan Wei, who had just finished interrogation. He looked at Xia Yan, smiling helplessly.

Yan Wei: He suddenly went from an extravagant life as a young master to the son of a criminal. He couldn’t bear it and wanted to get revenge on you.

Xia Yan: I never would’ve thought that he’d be able to get into the program team.

Yan Wei: He hasn’t said how he got in – probably bribed the crew staff.

Yan Wei: Don’t worry, I’ll deal with this thoroughly. I won’t let him threaten your safety.

MC: Thank you for the trouble, Sergeant Yan.

Yan Wei: No need to be polite – it’s part of my work.

Park

After we left the police station, the program team director called us, saying that they’d tape the remaining portion another day. During the call, the director repeatedly apologized to us, saying that they would definitely do a strict audit of the identities of the production team members. He also promised that similar things would not happen again.

Xia Yan: I never would’ve thought that he really would blame everything on me.

MC: Ugh… since we were in the middle of filming earlier, I didn’t have time to ask you.

MC: If I didn’t notice that something was off about you, were you not planning to tell me about the situation?

Xia Yan: It’s so rare for us to get out and have fun, and I didn’t want to sweep away your excitement.

Xia Yan: Not to mention that things happened so suddenly, and I wasn’t sure if it was a prank or if someone really was targeting me.

Xia Yan: So I didn’t tell you from the start.

I knew that, when faced with difficulty or danger, Xia Yan’s initial reaction was always to bear it himself. It had always been like this, ever since we were young.

[Flashback]

Near the School Grounds

MC: Xia Yan, so you were here.

Xia Yan: Ah… I…

Xia Yan’s foot had just stepped onto the skateboard when he saw me come over, and he hurried to retract it.

MC: When did you buy a skateboard?

Xia Yan: I didn’t, I borrowed it from our classmates… don’t tell uncle and auntie.

MC: The older boy from the neighbors just fell and broke his bone a few days ago, yet you’re still willing to play?

Xia Yan: That’s why I don’t want you to tell uncle and auntie!

MC: Then why did you hide it from me too?

Xia Yan: I didn’t do it on purpose – I wanted to show you after I learned to do it.

Xia Yan: You were the one to say that the older boy looked cool when he was skateboarding, after all…

MC: Really? I don’t even remember that…

Xia Yan: You… ugh…

Xia Yan: Either way, I borrowed a skateboard afterwards, wanting to learn, but you guys said that skateboarding was unsafe, and I was afraid you’d worry if I mentioned it.

Xia Yan: Rather than making you worry all day, I might as well… just not tell you.

MC: …

School Dean: Young man in front, get over here!

Xia Yan: Crap!

MC: I’ll cover for you, run!

[Flashback end]

Maybe it was because he worried for others too much, but Xia Yan always tended to hide lots of things inside.

MC: Xia Yan, did you know – when you hide things from me, I get even more worried.

MC: When we were young and you fell while skateboarding and injured yourself, your foot had clearly swollen. Yet you bore it all yourself, saying that it was all fine.

MC: Until mom and dad finally noticed two days later and rushed to take you to the hospital.

Xia Yan: I know… back then, I thought if I just endured it, it would be fine. I didn’t think it would be that serious.

Xia Yan: I originally didn’t want to make you, uncle, and auntie worried, but I ended up causing trouble for everyone instead.

MC: After that, I always worried about if you were hiding anything else from me, bearing it all alone.

Just like today. Even though with Xia Yan’s skill, he still might not have been injured even if I didn’t notice…

But, what if?

During then, Xia Yan had just finished off an intense competition and was exhausted. What if someone was able to take advantage of this to hurt him?

When I thought this, I couldn’t help shivering, balling my hand into a fist.

MC: Fortunately, this time, you didn’t hide it from me the whole time.

MC: If I clearly could have helped you, yet I have to watch you get injured with my eyes wide open, then I will never be able to forgive myself.

I stepped forward, gently clasping onto Xia Yan’s hands. His warm hands were full of calluses, proof of what he had experienced during those eight years. In the past, I always felt that this pair of hands brought a feeling of infinite peace of mind, but now, I also felt a sliver of heartache and worry.

Xia Yan: I know.

Xia Yan held my hands back, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Xia Yan: That’s also why I told you everything in the end.

He gently twisted up my stray hairs, tucking them behind my ears.

Xia Yan: Though I hope that all I bring you is happiness and joy, rather than unease and worry.

Xia Yan: But I know that people can’t stay away from all trouble, especially in NXX, where the road ahead will be difficult to traverse.

Xia Yan: So, I’ve decided. If the road ahead is fated to be covered in thorns, then I will grow with you by your side, no matter what comes at us, traversing this bumpy road fearlessly.

MC: Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Was what I said a little foolish…

MC: You didn’t. I’m really happy that you’re finally willing to face trouble with me.

Xia Yan: Mhmm. In the future, if I encounter any unsolvable issues, I’ll tell you, and we’ll figure it out together.

MC: Okay, it’s a promise.

Xia Yan let out a long sigh, no longer discussing those slightly depressing topics.

Xia Yan: Today’s challenge was pretty fun. My only regret was how they had to stop filming midway, so we couldn’t rank or get prizes.

MC: It’s fine – plus, I feel like the challenge wasn’t a failure.

MC: It’s precisely because of this ending that I feel like this was a worthwhile trip.

The summer night wind blew over the lake surface, the cool air dominating my senses.

I silently made a wish in my heart – I hoped that one day, I could become strong enough. I hoped that I could also protect Xia Yan, this eagle flying high with his wings spread, and his smile that was as warm as sunshine.

Videocall

Good morning, got any plans today?

Why am I wearing this outfit? Because you said I looked good in it, so I bought it.

I also bought the outfit that you wore during filming.

Speaking of which, after the episode was broadcast, my colleagues laughed at me for a good while, saying that I looked hilarious when I was eating the chili peppers.

They even made me into a meme sticker and sent it into the Ministry group chat… even the teacher who taught me before started using it.

Revealing my identity? No need to worry about that, I reported it to the upper ranks before we went. And it’s exactly because of this that they watched the episode…

For the past few days, I checked out the comments… a lot of people were saying that we looked like a couple, dunno if you saw that…

Your colleagues and friends also said so? Then… do you feel troubled by it…

No? That’s good then. I actually feel like those shots were really well taken, and I rewatched it several times.

It really is great that we can use this sort of method to save good memories.

Right, the weather today’s pretty good, so do you wanna go out and skateboard? I can teach you to do some other things.

No protective gear? You don’t have to worry – I’ve got it all, gear and skateboards.

It might be a bit uncomfortable to wear the gear. If you haven’t gotten used to it, you don’t have to wear it. Either way, I’ll protect you.

With me here, I won’t let you fall, so just relax and leave yourself to me!

Then I’ll head for your house now, and I’ll also bring the clothes. See you soon.

#Tears of Themis #tears of themis translations #xia yan #luke pearce #mihoyo #未定事件簿 #tot translation #weiding shijian bu #i am here for raven appearing #and the idea of xia yan's colleagues making him into a meme #oh and the pepper thing #hahaha #ok i'm gonna wither away until we get new xy content see yallll

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